Lkq pick a part

MAJOR STORY SPOILERS
TOTK is a 10/10. It’s probably the best game I’ve ever played. It’s also probably going to be one of the best games that I will ever play. but there’s one thing that i don’t like. The ending. No it’s not the final boss. That was a good challenge that was rewarding and felt like a actual fight for the kingdom. The fighting in the dragon was sick. But there’s one part of this whole thing that I don’t like. How Zelda is treated.
I get that they can’t not have Zelda. But it felt like her choosing to become a dragon doesn’t have any consequences. It was a choice that should have changed this Zelda through out the whole game. After beating Gannon, I could envision in my head a cool final shot of Hyrule, The camera zooming out from Link and the sages until it shows the one beautiful shot of Hyrule with the Light Dragon flying in the sky. But that didn’t happen.
Like I said, I know that Zelda would have to change back somehow. But I would have personally liked in some sort of postgame/DLC mission of trying to find a way to change back Zelda.
Anyway that’s it. I still love this game. I still have so much to do in it, and after writing this I’m gonna go play 40 more hours.

(throwaway account) (all names are fake) (I am being vague on purpose, please do not try to offer me legal consultation; all I need are words of kindness)
I really like my coworkers. They are some of the smartest, most creative people I have ever met. I have grown a lot working with them and I have nothing but respect for them. We've even hung out outside of work, and they are a very fun and welcoming group. One of my coworkers in particular, Jane, became a real friend.
We also have a manager, Sharon. To call Sharon our "enemy" like I did in the title is a bit of a stretch, but Shanon has been making too many blunders and mean comments and refusing to take responsibility for her mistakes, and many people are mad at her. Some would even like to see her be fired.
Last month, Sharon did something to Jane that was a dick move at best, and illegal at worst. Jane was devastated. Jane confided in me at the time, and it was really upsetting to see such a dear colleague being mistreated by the company. Many people wanted Sharon to be fired for this, and even Jane seemed excited about the idea.
Jane had made a comment to me about her situation, which I figured was "on the record". It was not. I later referenced that comment to one of our higher-ups, a director named Emma. Emma was so enraged at the news that she threatened to fire Shanon for what she'd done to Jane. I later told Jane about it, thinking she'd be glad to hear that Shanon might be fired - but Jane was furious.
Jane is a very kind and reasonable woman. Even at the height of her anger, she offered me mercy, and helped me understand why what I'd done was unethical. I should not have shared her comment; it was not mine to share. To make matters worse, in this specific context, the comment even paints Jane in a bad light - something I'd never ever ever intended to happen. Our director Emma did not express any resentment towards Jane, only towards Shanon; but Jane never wanted to be seen as a person who makes comments to others, and I'd just accidentally shown Emma that Jane did just that. Jane was terrified of losing her job.
Jane was right. What I'd done was horrible. I had been criticized of doing similar things in the past - getting too caught up in other people's pain, to the point where I started seeing it as my own, or trying to "mediate" issues between different people that had never really asked me to do it - but I'd never done anything as serious as what I'd done to Jane.
This was a wake-up call. I'd hurt the feelings of Jane, the person who least deserved it. She'd been going through such a hard time after the whole Shanon situation already, and all I did was make matters worse.
I have to step away from my coworkers. I cannot let their pain become my own. I cannot let a mistake like this happen again. I value them so much, and I really enjoy their company; but I've been a liability this whole time, and I had no idea.
The shame and regret I feel are eating me alive. I cannot look at myself in the mirror. The last thing Jane wants is for things to be weird at work, so I douse myself in medicine to calm the brain before I get to the office, and manage to be normal for a couple of hours before having a panic attack when I reach my car. I cannot let Jane know about this - she'd think I was playing the victim and making this about me. It'd just make her feel worse.
Jane is very kind, and hasn't told anyone about my blunder. She is not trying to turn people against me.
I told another close colleague (Rachel) that I'm stepping away from the coworker-friend group for a bit; I even left the non-work group chat we have. Rachel was so supportive and understanding. She thinks it's for mental health reasons. She has no idea it's because she'd been talking to a monster this entire time.
I cannot be friends with my coworkers anymore; not until I learn to separate my personal life from my work life, which is not happening anytime soon. Besides, I know they will one day find out about what I did to Jane, and they'll be rightfully mad at me for sharing her secrets - if I distance myself from them before this happens, they can at least rest easy knowing I have no secrets on them I could share.
I mourn the loss of their friendship. I loved them, I really did. I'm so sorry. I've been so naive, so dangerous in my ignorance this entire time. The kindness Jane has shown me, even while furious at me; the support my coworkers have given me through thick and thin; I cry because I now know I never deserved it, and I'll never have it again.
I have other things going for me; I have a family and non-work friends and hobbies and stuff. My life is not over. But a part of me, a part that I'd managed to trick people into trusting, has died - and it had to die. I just wish I hadn't hurt Jane in the process. I cannot hope for my coworkers to forgive me; I want them to forget me. I want them to think of me so neutrally, so little, with so little sincere love, that they are never threatened by me again.

I've been thinking about posting this for a long time and I figured I should put it here even though I don't know how this app works but after seeing a Mr ballen video with an eerily similar story to mine this video: https://youtu.be/kkFuZ-_sPP8 where I had the almosy same location and same figure I knew it was time to share it even if no one sees this I just need it off my back. Another reason that I haven't posted this yet is to put it quite frankly I'm not a reliable source, I'm bipolar and I've been known to hallucinate so it's be fair if you didn't believe me, but I did have my cousin with me and she verified everything I saw but still the decision is up to you. This was in the summer or near fall of 2022 me, 19 non binary and my dad took a trip to Oregon for a camping trip & memorial of my godfather. For context, my godfather was my aunt's husband and he died the same time in 2021 and we had a funeral in Oregon but it was essentially ruined when the guy we chose to speak for it implied my godfather was in hell and tried to turn us all to Christianity or else we would end up like him. So we decided to have a second one that was smaller and more intimate with less than half the amount - mostly family, taking place at a campground where my godfather and aunt went many times and had fond memories there. So, from Denver to Oregon, my dad and I flew and stayed at my aunts for a few days before making the trip up to Lewis and Clark Park in Washington, close to Oregon. We met up with another group of my family from Maui & Idaho. I remember the drive up, it was through a bright green thick forest that made me nervous being so far from anything, but I guess that's the charm too. I hadn't gone camping for a long time, so after helping put up the tent and a good meal, I asked my dad for a whiteclaw, which he granted, I only had one, though. After a while, I felt good and chaotic, so after dancing with my younger cousins, it got dark and me and one of my closer cousins, 14, went off into the forest to summon demons. Okay, so you might be thinking "wtf" but look, I don't actually believe in demons, and I didn't think it would work. It was just to be scary and rebellious. So we sat down in a small clearing near a path where my cousin took a bath and body works candle, lit it, and put it between us. I began mystical waving my hands over it, and spouting gibberish I reckoned was similar to chanting. We had a good laugh, then moved on and went back to the sight. Later in the night when everyone else went to sleep me and my cousin decided to summon demons but be more real this time, I looked up a demon summoning spell that had a good looking latin chant and even though we had none of the materials except the candle and a hotdog bun to sacrifice we still spoke it and burned the hotdogs bun but after nothing happened we shrugged it off and just went to talking. We talked about anything and everything for hours until I started feeling really bad. I can't really explain it well it's like anxiety, the kind where it feels like a weight is in your stomach and it's harder to breathe. I felt like we were being watched, which was fair since we were surrounded by dark dense forests. I began flashing my light around, not exactly looking but looking to make sure something wasn't there. My cousin picked up on my fear and looked around too, and now we had two beams of light pointed into the forest. I began to feel a little better as there was nothing immediate until I pointed my flash up. That's when I saw it. A creature. Pale white maybre grey with dark void-like eyes staring at us perched like a monkey on a high branch in a spruce tree. I froze. I went through everything in my mind. Was this because we summon demons? We didn't even do it right... Was this some kind of animal? It can't be, it looks too humanoid. It looks exactly like those skin walker pictures you can find on creepy forums, but it was right there in front of me. Was I hallucinating? Again, I have been known to hallucinate, but I never had before so vividly. Then I remembered my cousin. If they saw it, then it was definitely real, and I'm not hallucinating, so I told my cousin to look up where my flashlight was pointing. They froze, too. "Do you see that?" I asked. I can't remember exactly what my cousin said, but it was something like "What is that?" Or "It looks like a demon." Still, I needed more proof they were seeing the same thing. "What color is it?" I asked. "White." They said. That was more than enough for me. We began to rush away, taking the candle and running to the area where the tents were, I would look behind me and see the figure was now on the ground standing tall, at least 5 feet, it was tall and skinny. Every time I looked back, it would seem to stop, but when I would look again, it would be standing closer, making its way to us. My group and her group set up tents on different paths on the campground, far enough where I felt like we could make it if we ran and didn't look back. I stopped my cousin, where our paths diverged, and told her to run straight to her tent before counting down. "One, two, three!" I said, and ran to my tent and didn't look back. I made it to my tent and accidentally woke my father, who said, "What were you guys doing? You were keeping the whole camp up!" But I didn't want to elaborate. "I'll tell you in the morning." I said, climbing into my sleeping bag. Then and there, I felt okay, I was now surrounded by family, and surely nothing would get me with them around. I texted my cousin to make sure they got back alright, and they did, so I settled for the night, but i didn't get right to sleep. My uncle scared me a bit when he went up to go to the bathroom, and for the whole night I kept hearing this noise right outside my tent it was like a small animal was digging and fumbling around and whenever I would move it would go away. It was right near my head, and it was scaring the shit out of me, but I eventually got to sleep when it mostly stopped. I woke up the next morning and almost immediately headed back to the fire pit where me and my cousin and I were when we saw the figure. It was bright out so I figured I can look in the space i saw it in and could figure out if it really had been an animal or maybe some kind of bird nest but I saw nothing like that, in fact, what I saw was almost a clearing on the exact branch it was on, like something big had been there, like it had been there. When my cousin woke, we confirmed we saw the same thing in the same spot. So what do you think? Was it some kind of skinwalker creature from the forest? Did we accidentally summon a demon with our bogus ritual via hotdog bun? Did we both hallucinate the same thing? Was it an animal? Guess we'll never know.

Currently waitlisted at top pick and the dean of admissions asked me to call to discuss my candidacy at the school and to ask for them specifically. I got the email at noon but was busy at work and didn’t check my email until after I left around 6pm. I left a voicemail and emailed saying I would call in Monday morning.
Is that typical for a school to do? I was just emailed an A from a different school off the waitlist, so my mind is thinking it might be something else? Does anyone have any similar situation?

Grappling can be exciting to audiences because a wide syllabus of techniques means no two grappling matches ever look the same. That said, striking will always capture the eye of the masses because grappling can be slow paced, and include techniques and rules that people don’t understand. There could be a way to create a mainstream (or at least larger) market for sport grappling viewership, but it would require a new sport which irons out the deficiencies of popular grappling sports using new rules and ways to win.
MMA has rapidly drawn global obsession in a matter of decades, with ONE FC being the second most popular global sports organization by social media views last year just behind the NBA, and UFC being the fifth. One reason for its initial popularity was due to the inherent intrigue of different fighting styles clashing. The MMA rules are designed so fighters of many backgrounds can compete against one another by simply not competing for the same result. A victory can come by submission, knockout, or points, and points can be won with effective grappling or striking. This means even a completely uninitiated viewer can understand the strategies each fighter might use upon learning of their background. If a kickboxer is standing across from a wrestler, the audience can expect that the former will be attempting a win via standing strikes, and the latter will try to take it to the mat. Contrast this with other sports where the athletes are both expected to be proficient in the same skills, and are competing for the same result, and the intrigue is gone. Finally, of course, MMA is popular due to the sensational suddenness of the knockout. There is no touchdown so great in football, or three pointer from such distance in basketball, that it ends the game immediately, and this constant brutal risk of a brush with mortality, the end of the fight, and the bruised egos ensuing is a source of riveting suspense. The last two paragraphs have given a blueprint for the problems to solve and values to strive for in mixed grappling: multiple stylistic backgrounds competing against one another for different results, with a sudden and exciting way to end matches sooner than expected, and hopefully a faster pace and less confusing rules than those of popular grappling sports today.
The grappling sports I will draw inspiration from in order of popularity are Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Greco Roman Wrestling, and Folkstyle Wrestling. Across these sports, each have different ways to win on the ground, with some favoring the submission and some favoring the pin. The reason why a pin is a win in most grappling styles is that, in a combat situation, being on top and in control is inherently advantageous. This is for two reasons: The top combatant can freely stand up, and can more effectively strike and damage the bottom combatant. Those reasons, however, only exist in real combat: a grappler has no motive to escape the entanglement, and no strikes are permitted in sport. Pins are useful as an artificial reason to value top position, and to express control. In BJJ, where pins are not scored at all, submission is the only way to finish a match. Half or more high percentage submission techniques are done from bottom position, so BJJ athletes often would rather be on bottom than top. This makes matches boring because to obtain top control an athlete generally needs a takedown, whereas if one’s goal is to be on bottom they must simply sit down and allow themselves to be mounted. This is a common and despised tactic in BJJ known as sitting guard.
With this in mind, the question between submission and pin becomes a question of using a less realistic method of victory, or using a method that incentivizes athletes to forgo the most explosive and exciting part of a grappling match (the takedown). A submission, however, is still a better end to a grappling match both because it is a simulated incapacitation rather than a mere expression of dominant top control, and because BJJ fighters would be at a severe disadvantage if they could lose to pins. These listed problems with submission grappling could be lessened or fixed by borrowing two rules from folkstyle wrestling. A stalling call in folkstyle comes when a downed wrestler makes no effort to stand up, which can result in point deductions or disqualification. This would discourage sitting guard, but not aggressive bottom tactics, like attempting sweeps and submissions. Riding time, in folkstyle, is a scoring system where a timer starts for the wrestler on top, and they gain points for every minute that this timer is going until control is lost. This could apply whenever a grappler is in full mount, side control, or back control. These two rules could make ground grappling feel and look more like a fight, with grapplers rigorously vying for control, and it would mean that, with the right tactic, wrestlers could compete and win on the ground against submission artists. By scoring takedowns, and staying on top, a wrestler could win by points. Of course BJJ fighters still have the advantage on the ground, being that this tactic risks submission at any moment.
All of these sports differ on the ground much more than on the feet, stand up exchanges being won by takedown, but they do use very different types of takedowns with different rules surrounding holds and grips. To indulge you with a personal anecdote, my father, who knows nothing about grappling, was once waxing unimpressed about a martial arts event he saw while watching the olympics. He described it as “two guys competing to undress each other as fast as possible, then stopping to put their clothes back on, and then going again; I didn’t get the point.” I realized immediately that this was a scathingly accurate description of Judo. Judo rulemakers, throughout the 2000s, tried to make a grappling ruleset that was entertaining. Many less exciting takedowns and gripping techniques that led to stalling or slow matches were disallowed in the hope that athletes would be forced into using only high amplitude big throws. What happened is a heap of nonsensical rules for grips and contact that cause most matches to have very few actual takedowns scored or even attempted. Just because only a certain moveset is legal doesn’t mean those moves are any easier to land, so placing restrictions on fighters for any reason other than safety makes for passive, defensive, and low scoring matches. The trick to making a ruleset that emphasizes entertainment, is not by making rules but rewards.
Mixed grappling will have no restrictions except those that promote safety, but it will have a different scoring system. Judo and Greco Roman Wrestling don’t treat all takedowns equally, both having powerful throws that score higher than regular takedowns. In Greco it is the “five point throw”, and in Judo the legendary “ippon”. An ippon throw is scored on power, speed, and the opponent landing on their back. The qualification in Greco for a five pointer is a high amplitude throw where the opponent is lifted in a beautiful arc, and lands on their back. In folkstyle and other martial arts the back landing is also valued, but the reason for this is not clear. It could be that standing up from one’s front is easier than one’s back, but a front landing also means facing away from the attacker. Perhaps it is not for combat realism but for safety, as one can roll out of a back landing. In practice, though, this probably makes matches less safe, as the thrown contort themselves into a front-landing rather than focusing on safe landings. In mixed grappling, an ippon throw shall be an immediate win to the match scored on power, speed, and the opponent being lifted off their feet, back-landing not required. Judo and Greco could be more competitive, taking out relentless wrestlers early, however, an athlete confident in submissions could still pull guard, a possibly economic sacrifice of top position to avoid the chance of ippon.
Finally, upon deliberation here are the mixed grappling rules and scoring system. To solve passivity, folkstyle riding time and stalling calls have been introduced. Grip Fighting and takedowns are as unregulated as safely possible. The brutal excitement of a knockout is captured in judo’s ippon. With these changes, all popular styles can compete evenly by not competing for the same result. The three avenues to victory each favor different grappling backgrounds. The relevance of submission is still paramount, but wrestlers can use mat control, takedowns, and cardio to outwork their opponent by points, and Greco or judo athletes can win by ippon. Under these rules, there could be a best in the world, or of all time, in grappling. The best fighters are in MMA, and the best strikers in kickboxing, but what yardstick works for grappling? Gordon ryan is the best submission artist, but in hand fighting or takedowns he wouldn’t make college wrestling. The best striker wouldn’t be found in boxing, because like in all grappling sports, it just focussed on one aspect of the game. So not only is mixed grappling made for entertainment, but an emergent consequence would be the title of best grappler in the world.

The PDA entry will be the next part to the Story, so keep that in mind when you see [Redacted] interrupting the story.
This is extra short as im planning on making a really big story very soon so stay tuned.
Chuzhoy was in need of some cash so he walked on over to barkeep and asked him if there was any raids that he needed doing. "well We got a task in garbage for the train depot to be captured by the loners, we also got the rumor of the supposed "Sin Forest" said barkeep. "I'll take that task. Sounds like it will pay in decent cash." Replied Chuzhoy "Alright wait until my shift is over so i can talk to you behind the bar." Barkeep excitedly told chuzhoy. A few hours later barkeep met Chuzhoy behind the bar for briefing. "Alright so, this is a one-man task, its practically a suicide mission. so Sin have been lurking around the forests between Radar and the red forest. Some say that is where a sort of ritual occurs. I'm overjoyed that you signed up so you could blend in. But now seemingly they would know every permitted member. Alright so the job will pay for at least half of a exosuit and a gauss rifle. Pretty expensive jobs. So you will go to spy on them, record it on a camera lens and a recording using your PDA. If you get back to me in one piece we will have a toast in your name. Got it?" briefed barkeep. "Got it. When is the ritual set to start?" said Chuzhoy, "at [REDACTED] PM When the sun sets through the [Redacted] in the distance" replied Barkeep " on my way now" yelled chuzhoy as he left in a hurry. Chuzhoy went to his secret stash in the lodging house, removed a loose brick to reveal the stash. Chuzhoy took a Duplet just in case all of his guns were taken, a modified makrov and colt hybrid pistol, and a Forester made Springfield rifle with a 7.8 zoom. Chuzhoy took off the hood and put on a modified Seva suit helmet with a heads up display thanks to Mangun nearby, He took off from rostorok and took off his identification patch. Chuzhoy was not truly a S.T.A.L.K.E.R . (to be continued)
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I appreciate the little attention i have been receiving on my little series, and i think it be amazing if my first two parts gets at least 10 upvotes, for me to consider adding one of you into the story as a Main character.
Part 2 : Freedom Squabble part 2 : TheZoneStories (reddit.com)
Part 1: Freedom squabble : TheZoneStories (reddit.com)
A little roadmap on where im going with the series Little Key for presumed dates day/Month/Year
to enter the raffle to become a main character in these stories just say "Chuzhoy's Nightmare."
Raffle will end at 6/06/23
Thanks for all your support.
Part 4: Chuzhoy's PDA entry
Part 5: Chuzhoy's face ( prequel )
Part 6: Chuzhoy in the Great swamps.
Part 7 Chuzhoy Wanted.
Part 8: The Return of a Familliar face
Part 9: a time to Remember
Part 10: anarchists and Bandits
Part 11: Confronting the Man behind it all
Part 12: Chuzhoy mourns ( Series finale)

To my little sis in heaven: Everyday I think about how we would’ve grown up together and the things we would’ve done. Everyone in my life has a sister, even our little brother. I never got the chance to know what it was like having sister. I spent a good chunk of my life searching for a best friend to feel like a sister to me. I know if you were still here we would argue, laugh, and cry but our bond would be indestructible. I’ve never been able to keep a friend because I’ve been betrayed over and over again while desperately searching and craving for that unbreakable sisterly bond. You would be sad to know that me and mom are not close and dad works almost every single day although I grown closer to him than her. Mom spends all day everyday in her room. We don’t talk about intimate things and cry together or laugh together. I’ve tried to go in her room to hang out with her and initiate that sentimental relationship but I don’t feel like I’m wanted there, and truthfully it’s a depressing place to be with crumbs all over the floor and trash piled up in the can. I’ve cleaned her bathroom and room but it still gets bad. On Dad’s rare days off he’ll manically clean every part of the house while downing 3 beers if not more. Our family broke the day you left and so grateful for our bundle of joy our baby bro, but he is not enough to glue this family back together. He’s starting to get the same treatment and feel the anxiety I feel but he doesn’t understand yet. Our family are not terrible people, they will bend over backwards for any random stranger and give the last hair on their back, but they are hurting. When we have good moments they are so good I feel like I’m on cloud 9, but when the moments are bad, they’re so bad we all wish we were with you.

[M4F] Fandom Fun!
Come one come all!
Get it?
My name is Jace and I'm 19!! I'm Specifically someone who can do fandom roleplays! I'm sure there's fun to be had for the both of us! Send me a chat and I'll give you my Discord!
The Fandoms I am a part of go like this:
Anime
-Code Geass
-Dragon Ball
-Demon Slayer
-My Hero Academia
-Rosario + Vampire
-Date A Live
-High School DxD
-Infinite Stratos
-Fairy Tail
-Kill La Kill
-Akame Ga Kill
-Attack on Titan
-Naruto
-Zero no Tsukaima
-Goblin Slayer
-Chainsaw Man
-Konosuba
-Spy x Family
-Soul Eater
Games
-Mass Effect
-Genshin Impact
-Azur Lane
-Legend of Zelda
-Splatoon
-League of Legends
-Touhou
-Tales Of series
-Hyperdimension Neptunia
-Senran Kagura
-Taimanin series
-Persona
-Kuroinu
-Final Fantasy VII
-Kingdom Hearts
-Persona series
Western Shoes and Movies
-Avatar: The Last Airbender
-The Legend of Korra
-Wakfu
-The Incredibles
-RWBY
P.S.
I'm also into Vtubers but I didn't have a category for them. Please hit me up I am desperate.

Hi everyone, hope this is okay to post. Im looking for people of Latin background to participate. Doing portraits for those who fill out the google form!
As a first generation Salvadoran-American in New York, finding a community that understood all the nuances and complexity of my identity was difficult. Judged by my level of speaking in both English and Spanish, and how I presented, my identity was always questioned. Finding the alternative community that is Emo, Post-hardcore, punk, hardcore, etc. helped create the self confidence and building blocks for self identity. The space created the opportunity to fit in and the reality that we are all the same. The screams from the bands are our sermon, the mosh pit are our rituals and the venues are our cathedrals. This is the community where we’re whole.
My Latin identity is a part of who I am, but for a few hours everyone in the venue, is exactly the same. We all come together to express our daily frustrations by yelling the lyrics, by tossing our bodies into one another, and picking each other up when we fall. It’s the human experience that brings us together. I know many people in the space have felt this therefore; I have been wanting to connect with my community more. To give back and recognize those who have found their home.
For a few months I’ve been wanting to create a series of work based on the fans, specifically Hispanics, Latinos, Latinx, Latine, etc. who are a part of this community. Who also have felt a division within themselves as I have. To those who have struggled to find their identity but have been able to through this community. This is all for you.
To those who fit the description, I’d like to get to know you and create a portrait of you. If you’d like to participate please answer the google form. The link is provided above. I’m hoping to connect with everyone and to know this community on a deeper level. Thank you.

Who do you guys think was the most effective teacher in Naruto? Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen, etc.?
Specifically referring to their teaching methods, and how successful those methods were.
Side note but with how strong Sasuke was at the beginning of part 2, I wish we got to see more of his training with Orochimaru, who clearly was an excellent teacher by some metric or another.
I think Kakashi and Jiraiya were both very good at coming up with creative solutions to implanting concepts in Naruto's... unique brain. But I haven't put a ton of thought into this and was curious what other people's answers would be.

I (20F) have known my friend Emi (22F) for 11 years since we were in school together. We’ve grown up together and literally been through so much and almost everything. Now we’re almost ending college/university and getting ready to start our post college lives and have a good career.
The only issue I had with Emi before was she wasn’t very consistent with things or punctual. She would flake often when she initiated plans or I did, as in she wouldn’t respond back and I see her on social media the next day.
I almost went no contact with her one time after we made plans to go to a park, I bought a park ticket and she bought her own. We live in Florida so just know Universal/Disney tickets can be expensive. We made plans, and the night before I call her she declines, texts what’s up. I ask what the plan tomorrow is she says the day of said plans she is going to brunch with her boyfriend… no apology or anything.
I’m not one to cut off a decade long friendship over one incident, so I let it go this time. I almost went no contact until she saw me in person and asked why I didn’t answer her texts or calls, and I went back on my no contact.
Then I got engaged to my now fiancé back in January on our 3rd anniversary. I had an engagement party and invited Emi, another friend, and family, and she just never responded to my text and never came. I wasn’t surprised, but I was also disappointed because I thought we had a heart felt talk.
That drew the line for me because we always talked about being each others maid of honors, and being life long friends til even our kids knew each other. Also I’m aware that she’s told me I’m her only friend since leaving high school and she’s kind of my most closest friend. I valued our friendship so much, but when something starts to hurt you I feel you have to let it go.
She used to reach out to me to spend time every once in a while, when things got bad at home with her parents or her boyfriend wasn’t treating her nice. Sometimes I do think about our good memories. I cherished the good parts of our friendship and growing up together. I feel maybe she’s outgrown me. But she still tries to reach out to me. I’m not sure what to say after everything that’s happened.
TLDR: Dropped my long time childhood friend due to her personal issue with punctuality, flakiness, and disrespect. Need advice if I made the right decision or not.

I want to pick stuff up while I’m riding a horse, also get part way up a climb before going to stamina. Anyone agree?

What is the best spontaneous act of kindness you've ever witnessed or been a part of?

So. Everyone I’ve tried to vent to just blows me off. I got engaged about a year ago and we set a date a month or so later. Due to some work issues, and health scares we postponed our wedding by a year. Had everything gone according to plan, we would have been getting married in spring 2024. I know I may sound petty.. first world problems.. type.. but I think I hate my gown. I picked it up from the bridal shop, because of course i shopped and I got it way too soon.. and I tried it on again and I hate it. What the hell am I supposed to do with the gown I hate? I have time to get another one.. but the money!! My mother paid for my dress.. I’m afraid of telling her I hate it.End vent.

My buddy has been down on his luck, but really wants to get his first computer to play some games on. The reason for this post is, what is the best way to find really good deals? Would it be online, or in-person like fb marketplace? He's in the process of selling his Oculus quest 2 to try and get some funds. What parts would you guys recommend, for say, a budget of around 300 give or take 100?

He has a huge part in the book... even saving Frodo from the swamp bog pits... and nobody gave him the recognition he deserves. I truly wish someone (hi Peter!) gave him a series or a full feature movie. He was warmly In my heart since I've met this kind sir.
I will always be Team Tom Bombadil.

Hi all!
Writing as someone who started WGU's Bachelor of Science, Cybersecurity and Information Assurance program on June 1!
I just wanted to introduce myself and also ask for any insight or experience you might want to share.
Background: I am someone in their late 40s making a pretty hard left, career-wise. I have spent the last 10 years as a professor and director of a university's journalism capstone program.
While I admittedly bring little to no meaningful tech background, I am focused. I tell my students how it took me 17 years to complete my undergrad degree, I completed my grad degree in 10 months while also working full-time.
With my background as a journalist and educator, I'm extremely detailed oriented, logical, articulate, organized, evidence based. I read books on critical and analytical thinking in my own time just to refine those skills. I say this all because I think what I what I lack in IT knowledge and experience, I do have some of the soft skills which seem to be also important.
I also have the next two and a half months to dedicate to nothing but school. I rented a place so I will have no distractions. I also only teach two classes per semester, so I will continue to have significant time to devote to this in the fall.
I purchased an Alienware m15 R7 laptop to meet school and professional needs (feedback welcome, comes tomorrow!):

• LCD: 15.6" QHD (2560 x 1440) 240Hz 2ms with ComfortView Plus, NVIDIA G-SYNC and Advanced Optimus
• Memory: 32GB, 2x16GB, DDR5, 4800MHz
• Processor: Intel Core i9- 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900H (24 MB cache, 14 cores, 20 threads, up to 5.00 GHz Turbo)
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 2280
• Video Card: NVIDIA(R) GeForce RTX(TM) 3080 8GB GDDR6

Q1: Is there anything I should or should not do with a new machine before I fire it up and/or connect to the internet?
Admittedly, I don't exactly know what I want to do, or what to do. I plan on utilizing all of WGU's resources, including career development (as I urge my students to, and realize I am going to need this myself).
Q2: What do now know that you wish you knew when you were getting into the field/program?
In order to both protect myself professionally (my employer has no idea I'm doing this but I just renewed a two-year contract) and also because I'm making such drastic changes, I'm also creating new online profiles and accounts (emails, social, online identities). Any relationships I need to continue I'm sharing the new info with, but really starting fresh. I had closed all my personal accounts years ago, so I have a new email, Discord, Reddit, etc. (I joined the WGU Cybersecurity Discord and subreddit.)
Q3: What are good news or other resources you might suggest for someone green in the industry?
I've also found success just listening to pods that are beyond my knowledge or experience, but I passively pick up names, ideas, concepts, etc.
Q4: What is your work/study flow for time management and to-do lists (I use Sunsama), as well as note taking (specifically, does anyone use Roam)?
Looking forward to starting Intro to IT D322 on Monday.
Admittedly, I don't have much to offer here at this point. But maybe my questions can help others until I'm much further along and can help the next n00b.
Thanks in advance! -tg

Just curious- if you float to another unit, do you typically tell the patients families that you don’t normally work on that floor? As a peds nurse they float us to NICU sometimes and I feel like when the parents are asking me questions they’re speaking a completely different language. In this case, do you disclose you’re not part of the NICU team?

Usually I don't think this way but I kinda.. Do right now. Need to let it out. Friendship just feels, lacking in meaning? I suppose. Like even if I got a friend I feel like my mental health is making things a tad bit more difficult. That or current life habits. Whatever this actually is. Because honestly I don't even know.
When asked what to discuss with a friend, simply put.. I don't even know. That's what makes it hard. And even if I do know I am curious as to why.. Like is it worth discussing such a topic? I even think I forgot a few other details about the person. I just met them, so that might be why but I still feel guilty.. Like honestly. I don't even know.
Part of me feels like I'm gonna discard the concept of friendship entirely. Overwork myself instead. In fact I already feel as if I am. Maybe I'm not.. I just, I need a balance.