Mta bus time

Gday guys,
My ex moved 9 hours drive away with my youngest son about 5/6 months ago.
I've seen him 4 times since then all trips i have done and paid for exept the last trip she did drice 3 hours to meet me closer , when i went the first time i spent all my savings on the trip i took her and her other two kids to the animal park, dinosaur world,tree top walk that was 49 bucks per person just so he could have his mum and sisters there to have a good time.
I even had to go on the bus carying a massive swag on a 7 hours to the city then try catch smaller busses to the next station then another 6 hours to where she was and then stay at a camp ground through a storm and she would only let me see him half the trip due to the weather
it's been a struggle to see him due to the distance and i'm on low income i also have my eldest sone here half time, now my car has broken down again im having to get the bus back to the city to meet her
Now shes demanding i come a week earlier than we have planned for months she wants me to tell her weeks ahead when the bus is booked while im still trying to organise with my mum to have my eldest boy and work around her job as well
she said the reason i get to see him is not so me and my son can see eachother, its so she can have a break and do stuff with her other 2 older daughters and i have to work around them and her plans when they arn't my kids ,
i already tried to do above and beyond what i see most pertners do for the other ones kids ,
when we were together and it wasnt good enough and i was told they arnt my kids i dont get to speak to them about anything or get a say about anything that happens with them
she drinks almost every day i feel like shes an emotional manipulator she always tries to gaslight me basically i dont know if im going crazy or if shes crazy, whats the right way to deal with this , should i have to only work around her just because shes the mum , am i being unreasonable? is she being unreasonable?
please any advice or opinions will help my melting brain
i just want to see my kid and not have to deal with anymore bullshit i have enough in my head already i can't keep doing this

This is a noncanon story intended to be a sort of "tie in" to the Jenkinsverse taking place a while before the Vancouver Incident. I'm intending to expand the lore a bit in a few areas while still honoring what's already considered canon in the universe. If I get anything wrong lore-wise, scientific-wise, grammatically, and so on, please don't hesitate to offer criticism. Feel free to let me know if you like the story or not or if you just think it's a steaming hot pile of pure assplay. This is not only my very first attempt at creative writing, but it's my very first time posting to Reddit so forgive my ignorance if you can. I'll release Chapter Two very soon if people like what I've written thus far. Even if they don't, I'll release it out of spite anyway because life is pain, and that pain needs to be shared so we can all grow together. All alien measurements are posted with brackets and their Earth equivalents.
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Eight years before the Vancouver Incident
Elijah Prince awoke from a dreamless sleep, rising sluggishly from a hard floor to his full height. This was not the canvas cot upon which he had fallen asleep. Alarm bells were ringing in his head. His first instincts were to survey his immediate surroundings. He was completely naked. He hadn’t gone to sleep naked. This…this wasn’t good. A nigh profane understatement to make as he was encased in a clear…containment dome of sorts reinforced with bands of some unknown alloy of metal. The floor was apparently made of the same light gray material. The rest of the room was smooth, curved, and eggshell white. Were it not for the floor serving as an explicit contrast, this room looked like Steve Jobs’ idea of Purgatory. It was pretty Men in Black in design and appearance, albeit this room was undeniably a work of nonfiction. No, sir. This was all Papa Reality’s doing for sure. Dark yellow, holographic symbols (characters?) were vacillating in a fidgeting manner upon a darkish green background holoscreen of sorts all around his…”cage.” Maybe “bubble dome” was more accurate. No doubt the holographic panels were some sort of monitoring system. Medical data? Measuring his vitals? Checking the salinity of his piss, maybe? Only God knew at this point. A single, ovaloid door (also white) marked the singular entry/exit of this relatively roundish, white/gray purgatory of a room.
“Aliens. I been abducted by fuckin’ aliens, man.” Elijah’s Tennessean drawl echoed inside the confines of his bubble dome. He sighed and began massaging his freckled temples.
“Okay…why? By whom? For what purpose? How do I get my happy ass outta’ here? Should I even try to escape?” He rattled off his thoughts in rapid succession.
This room was clearly no work of humanity. If he was abducted, should he attempt an escape were it at all possible or would any attempt at such result in his untimely demise? Maybe they just wanted to probe his asshole and drop him off at a random bus stop on Earth afterwards like a cheap whore after servicing a morbidly obese, divorced dad in his Ford pickup at two in the morning? None the worse for wear? Worse for wear? If he cooperated, maybe they’d let him go. Maybe he should acquiesce to their twisted anal desires. Or maybe they’d turn his big, ginger ass into a vat of soylent green. Anything was possible at this point. Panic was quickly building in Eli’s brain, but he fought it down. He was used to extremely stressful situations, but this was definitely new territory for him. Where was he precisely? He was probably in space despite the lack of an exterior view of his alien iPod room allowing him a good confirmation of his assumption. He doubted he was in some secret government facility deep underground beneath the Himalayas or some shit. Unfortunately, Eli didn’t have the time to fully ponder his prospects for a proper course of action. The ovaloid door slid open with a resoundant Hiss! revealing a…well…it was an alien standing in the doorway.
“You gotta’ be fuckin’ kiddin’, man. Ain’t no damn way.”
It was the quintessential “Gray.” It was the stereotypical gray alien with the bulbous head, big black, ovaloid eyes, and spindly limbs. Frail looking. About three feet tall. Give or take a few inches. Naked as a jaybird. No dick was visible. Not good. Eli didn’t trust anyone or anything that didn’t have a dick. If you Googled “alien,” an image of this little fucker would likely pop up as the first search result. There might be green and blue variations of the gray skin tone, but it would be pretty damn similar. Elijah would have immediately accepted a squid man. Or a bird man. But this? Was this really an abduction or an obscenely elaborate prank? No. Occam’s Razor. What if all those country ass farmers who got anal probed weren’t just describing their delusions of experiencing a real alien abduction after having crushed up and snorted twenty Benadryls? What if the consistency of the aliens’ appearance was the result of a real, shared experience by dozens if not hundreds of backwoods corn pones having just been ass blasted by a cabal of extraterrestrial ass fetishists? Eli really hoped the anal probe thing was a bit of fanciful embellishment and not literal. He really didn’t like anything near (let alone inside) his asshole for a wide variety of self evident reasons. The red haired man was so busy postulating about the creature before him and its potential motivations that he hadn’t realized that the damn thing was trying to talk to him.
“Human. Male. Thirty two [years] of age. You. Yes, you. I know you can understand me. You’ve been fitted with a translator.” True to the gray’s word, a small, white orb was clasped to the front of Eli’s left pectoral by some sort of hooking mechanism akin to velcro, albeit it was affixed directly to his skin. He realized that he was hearing two voices: one was the high pitched babbling of the gray’s native language while the other was the English language albeit pronounced by the little alien’s voice.
“Who are you? Why am I here?”
“It’s none of your concern. You are Test Subject Red. Your species’ physiology has quite a few…unusual characteristics. This is a research vessel in Dominion Space dedicated to studying the anatomy and capabilities of emergent species. Your species is of great interest to the Corti Directorate. You will perform a series of tests. We will collect data on your performance. If you cooperate and allow us to collect the desired amount of data, you will be released unharmed back upon the surface of your homeworld. If you refuse to cooperate, then a paralysis agent will be vented into your containment vessel, and your body will be vented into the vacuum of deep space. Do you find these terms amenable?” The alien’s voice was decidedly male despite being high in pitch, albeit he couldn’t be certain. These things might not even have genders for all he knew.
“No. I don’t find ‘em amenable in the damn slightest, but I don’t got no choice now, do I?” A thin “smile” unmistakably curled on the face of the smug little xeno’s face. All in all, this was a shitty first contact with an alien species.
“A choice between life and death is no choice at all, true. You will be tested soon. For now…sleep.”
A cacophony of hisses beckoned a pale yellow gas into Elijah’s transparent prison. Darkness overtook him.
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“I still don’t understand why you felt the need to talk to that thing, Ranit.” The Corti woman was rubbing her temples with exasperation as she and Ranit were observing the red haired human stomp its way into the first test chamber from the live feed screen of the monitoring station.
“Jekra, you’re an expert in xenobiology, but you’re woefully ignorant of psychology. This thing is sapient. No matter how brutish it appears to be, it’s capable of reasoning. I had to establish dominance and lay out the situation, or the human wouldn’t comply with the testing.”
“We could have just used the shock floor and positive reinforcement to get it to do what we need it to. No need to bloviate, but I suppose that would deprive you of your monologues.” Ranit sneered at her. She despised her superior, but what could she do? The Directorate had put his smug ass in charge.
“Is the promise of returning it to its homeworld alive not “motivation” enough, fool woman? You’re not here to question my decisions. You’re here to collect biometric data. I am the director of this operation. Now proceed with the first test.” Jekra swallowed her pride and nodded in agreement.
“Human. Approach the weighted bar on the stand before you.” The red haired primate obliged…begrudgingly. It was angry. That much was clear. No matter.
“Using whatever passes as your primary means of conveying objec-”
“Hands and arms, you mean.” Jekra recoiled slightly.
“Yes.”
“Pick up the weight?”
The human stomped up to the pedestal, allowing Jekra to get the closest look yet at the newest addition to their research vessel. It was…terrifying to say the least. Well, all humans were terrifying, but this one was an exemplary candidate to being the veritable embodiment of that word. Humans were short by Galactic Dominion standards, but this one still towered over them by at least the height of another Corti…and a half. Give or take. Its skin was fair complected. Almost pink. Covered in reddish mottlings. Its entire form swelled with powerful muscles. Its face was brutish and primitive. A very short main of red stubble stood atop its domed skull. Its face was covered in a hefty patch of hair of the same color. It had two, forward facing binocular eyes. Rather than being a single, black lens as with a Corti, its eyes were comprised of a tiny black pupil surrounded by an intensely azure ring which itself was surrounded by a layer of pure white. The eyes were horribly hostile and alien. The eyes of a predator. Its reddish form was completely nude which was completely acceptable and normal for Corti who had a genital pouch to conceal their privates…but this thing? Its massive phallus was swinging gently back and forth with each stomp of its brutish feet like a pendulum and was highlighted by a tuft of reddish hair above it…like it the penile protrusion itself had a head of crimson hair. She was disgusted but fascinated all the same. You had to come to grips with being grossed out in order to study the biology of aliens after all. She was already aware of how powerful the immune systems of these creatures were. The suppressive implants and injections that had been performed on the human while he was unconscious were holding back the veritable deluge of nightmarish microbes within and without the red haired beast…which again begged the question as to why her boss decided to potentially risk being infected and wiping out the ship with Deathworld superpathogens just so he could “show the human who was boss?” Jekra had no idea. Maybe Rankit had a tiny cloaca or something.
“What kinda’ lift do you want me to do?” Jekra was taken aback by that question. What “kind” of lift? She hadn’t thought about it initially in her excitement to document this alien’s strength. It made sense, though. It would give her a good read on different groups of muscle engagement. But that bar was incredibly dense and designed to be impossible to lift off the floor let alone allow for “different lifts.” It was firmly bolted into the pedestal. The point of the test was just to examine the amount of force exerted upon it.
“Any lift that would be sufficient.”“Sufficient? In what regard?”
“Just good enough.” The big human was clearly getting frustrated.
“Now how do I know what’s “good enough” fer yer precious ass? “
“I…uh…simply lift the bar as hard as you ca-” The sound of squealing metal and electrical cords ripping from the hollow tubing within the pedestal resounded throughout the test chamber. The monstrous alien had managed to lift the entire, obscenely heavy bar over his head.
“There. Fuck it. Clean and press. Happy, shithead?” She was not happy. She was feeling an entirely different emotion right now that was worlds apart from happiness.
“H-how!?” She glanced over to the shorter male. Ranit was equally shocked and dismayed.
“Gravity here’s weak, ain’t it? I already pieced that together when I was walkin’ over here. Let’s keep the ball rollin’. I got shit to do.”
“I-I, yes. Okay. Proceed to the next room.” The red monster grinned and jauntily stomped through the next door to the adjacent, cuboidal testing chamber…all the while carrying the ultra heavy bar over his shoulder like a toy.
She was stunned. Her boss was stunned. The entire point of this series of experiments was to measure the agility, strength, and endurance of a peak performance human and compare it to the examples they had on file of “average” humans to discern any weaknesses and/or ascertain what physiological aspects of the species they could potentially exploit for their own gain. But this? That bar had been bolted to the pedestal. It was so dense and heavy that it had to be loaded onto the ship and pedestal with heavy, industrial anti-gravity pads used in starship construction. There had been multiple force transducer sensors that were intended to relay the force imparted to the bar when the human (supposedly in vain) attempted to “lift” it. The biometric sensors in the room measured what and how many muscle groups activated when straining against something incredibly heavy. This was to be cross referenced with the data from the “average” human control to attain the [sarcomere] length and [myofibril] count in each muscle group as they were contracting. However…the force transducer had a hard limit of [205 lbs.] The human had produced considerably more force than that to rip the bar sheer from its bolting. But…how? The human control group wasn’t capable of this! Not even close! How strong could these apes get?! Ranit was the first to break the silence.
“H-he’s heading to the next chamber. We…should focus on whatever data we’re capable of collecting. We’ll worry about the implications of this first test later.”
For once, Jekra was in complete agreement with him. She followed Rankit over to the observation glass of the next test room. She wanted to get a good look at what this human was truly capable of with her own two eyes this time in case the cameras had malfunctioned or something. Not likely, but a scientist always strove for certainty.
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Eli was a happy boy. Each test had been a complete breeze. That bar had clearly been weakly fastened with a weak set of bolts. All he had to do was deadlift it from the pedestal and snatch it into position for a good press. It was a hell of a lot lighter than they had made it out to be. The agility test had been just as easy. It’d just been hopping from one elevated platform to another. The fifty pound bar on his shoulder was hardly a problem. Microgravity was pretty fun, he had to admit. The sheer shock and panic the (female?) voice exhibited whenever Eli did basic bitch, vanilla shit brought him an alarming amount of joy as a bonus. However, the entire time he was performing the tests, he was scanning for potential exits and structural weaknesses in the test chambers. Those flimsy ass ovaloid doors wouldn’t be enough to stop him, but he needed to have a better understanding of the layout of this ship. After the (male?) alien had provided him the ultimatum, it solidified one, crude fact about his tenure aboard this ship: These aliens likely had no intention of setting him free whether he cooperated or not. Anyone who delivered a promise of freedom with the threat of death as an alternative never intended to make good on the promise of the former considering how it required an immoral calculus to even propose the threat in the first place. It implied that Eli was entirely replaceable and/or a liability if he survived. Otherwise the threat wouldn’t have been needed or even imposed post-capture. These aliens were smart, sure, but they were oddly naive considering their intellect. The aliens didn’t even question why he was bringing the weighted bar with him.
They probably thought it was some sort of oonga boonga ass, primitive trophy for the human to show off later…Eli knew there would be now “later,” though. The bar was actually hollow. One end had been shorn open with his prior exertions. A small, rubberlike gasket was dangling from an electrical wire of sorts with an opening in the center. Some kind of electrical insulation. It was just big enough for the human to get a seal on his face around it, beard or no beard. He had crammed the gasket and wire into the hollow bar. Perfect. An improvised oxygen canister. The air was thinner here than on Earth, and the O2 would be pretty stale and unpleasant to breathe, but it would at least give him enough air to stay conscious long enough to maybe identify whence they piping in that knockout gas in his containment bubble. Maybe he could find a way to clog the vents. Hoping was better than nothing after all, and Eli was hardly willing to leave his survival to the whims of his abductors. One of the things he’d learned during his SERE training at the MRTC was that anything is a tool/weapon with enough creativity applied. Adaptability and improvisation were often the difference between life and death in a situation like this. Eli continued on to another strength test while swinging his bar back and forth to “force” more air into it. He wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but it was better to try than do nothing. The human proceeded to the middle of the large, white, and cuboidal room. A massive, metal crate of an unknown alloy sat in the middle of the room with a series of horizontal lines spaced an equal distance apart from one another. An unknown alien script was at the exterior of each line likely serving as a denotation of distance. It was pretty obvious what they intended he should do. The (female?) alien voice from before chimed in over the comms.
“Alright, human. Your next tes-are you seriously going to carry that bar with you everywhere?”
“Yeah. It’s mine. I earned it.” It was a stupid answer, but they already assumed him to be a knuckle dragger…a smart knuckle dragger but knuckle dragger nonetheless.
“Don’t even think of using that thing as a weapon. We’ll vent the room with paralytic agent if you try anything.” The (male?) voice could be heard quietly in the background (whispering?) He didn’t know he could be heard in the test chamber apparently.
“Don’t worry about the bar. We’ll confiscate it from him after he finishes this last test when we vent the room. We’ll void him out the airlock afterwards once we get the data. He can’t do any damage with it.” Anger flushed Eli’s face, but he kept his emotions in check. It confirmed his suspicions.
“Alright…the object of this next test is t-”
“Push the crate as far as I can. The lines measure the distance I pushed it.” The female (Eli was now banking on these aliens having genders) voice was clearly annoyed at being interrupted.
“Yes. Correct. Commence testing. Take your time.”
Eli quickly scanned the room. This was going to be either his final few minutes of life or the time he made a daring egress from an alien vessel. He looked up at the wall opposite of the one he was standing…yes. Perfect. Eli grinned. A reflective panel of (glass?) was visible high up on the wall. He bet that was a two way mirror of sorts. A potential exit. Judging by how light the gravity was here, he bet he could bust right through that. And the crate? Perfect. Eli took a series of deep breaths and charged the massive metal crate. He pressed the hollow bar against it and pushed with all his might. The crate was a LOT lighter than it appeared to be as seemed to be the theme out here in spooky space. Only about 300-320 lbs. Eli himself weighed 315. Hell, he could’ve picked up the crate and ran with it like an atlas ball if it weren’t so damned bulky. The smoothness of the floor also helped a lot with his forward momentum. Before long, the crate was rapidly sliding towards the far wall. Closer. He needed to get closer. The female voice was counting in fives for each measure of distance he pushed. 5, 10, 15, etc. He could hear the astonishment in her voice, but that astonishment turned to confusion when he passed the final distance marker…and kept going.
“Stop! You’ve completed the test!” Eli ignored her and continued pushing.
“Stop, you imbecile! We command you to stop pushing!” Eli ignored her. The massive crate slammed against the far wall with a resounding echo and such force that the glass panel vibrated. Perfect. That was definitely an observation area.
“Finally, you stupid primitive. Not that it matters. We got the test data we needed. Time to say goodby-hey, what are you doing?!” Eli quickly leapt atop the metal crate. He looked up at the glass panel. The male voice chimed in with a panicked tone.
“Jeckra! Vent the test chamber! He’s trying to climb up here!!”
“How?! That’s impossible! We’re [15 feet] away from him up here!” They really shouldn’t have told him that. These aliens didn’t handle stress terribly well.
“Just do it, damn you!!” The sound of hissing filled the room.
Boy, was Eli ever lucky. He figured they could vent that knockout gas into whichever room he was intended to be in considering his brute strength. Thank God for that metal bar. He placed the gasket over his face and took small shallow breaths. Controlling his breathing was an absolute necessity here after all the strenuous pushing he’d just done. The familiar cloud of pale yellow gas was filling the room…but his improvised gas mask was working. The gas stung his eyes a bit. Before long, his eyes were tearing up a bit. Eli looked back up to the panel. There was no ledge of any sort. He couldn’t gamble on trying to punch through the glass. For all he knew, he’d absorb the knockout gas through his skin or something. That meant he’d only get one shot at this. Elijah squatted as low as his legs would allow while the aliens screamed random, panicked obscenities over the intercom. He took a deep breath from his makeshift oxygen supply and leapt with all his might. He was airborne. Just level with the two way mirror. He removed the metal bar from his face and launched at the glass as hard as he could. It shattered, exposing a sleek, white control room…and the terrified faces of two gray E.T.’s. Elijah let gravity carry him back down into the cloud of gas while still holding his breath.
“Jeckra! *cough* *cough* Turn off the gas! Vent it out of the room, or we’re dead!” Eli smiled. A taste of their own medicine.
“*cough* I’m trying!!”
Elijah made another mighty leap. He was fully confident of his ability to make it this time. The microgravity of this ship had been a blessing. Truly. He would’ve never made it in 1 g back on Earth. He didn’t know what other weapons these xenos were carrying, if any and/or had any sort of security team to back them up, but that was a problem for future Eli. It was always better to try than not in a situation like this. He managed to catch the now exposed ledge of the broken two mirrowindow. The jagged glass cut into his hand. It was surprisingly brittle, but it was extremely sharp. Blood trickled down Eli’s hands and wrists. He pulled himself up and over. Into the observation room. Face to face with his tormentors. He towered over them. They were quivering in terror. They were completely unarmed. He grabbed each of them gently by the throat and pushed them against an adjacent wall. It was time to get properly introduced.
“Hey, there. I’m Elijah Prince. And you are?”

i’m so sick of this, this is the second time in just a couple of months. my bus ride is 1 hour, i have like 15 mins left. not panicking rly but i’m afraid to breath. i’m afraid it might be contagious. pls help. they’re just laughing, i fking hate people.

So today I kinda fucked up in a small way. I saw this girl with some of her friends who I haven't seen in a year and she said hi and I was gonna say something but then I saw my bus was already waiting at the bus stop about to leave so I didn't say anything and ran to my bus which was like 40 metres away. The thing is we've only talked a few times and I was gonna say something but I made a dumb decision to get to my bus and ran because I didn't want to wait for the next bus. Now they might think I'm scared of them or something. I had no good reason to get home earlier which makes it even worse.
If this sounds stupid it is and I should've just said something.
TL;DR avoided a conversation by running to my bus to get home earlier even though I had no reason to get home early.
If this post doesn't belong on the sub let me know where this should go.

Hi, I'm visiting Rio on 28/3 and planning to head over to Sao Paulo on the 1st of April and has been trying to get a bus ticket from buser.com.br for the ride. However, on Buser it seems like I need a local phone number to be able to purchase a bus ticket. Anyone else had any experience of using Buser without a local phone number?
All other online platform that sells bus tickets seems to depart from Novo Rio).Not 100% sure why I'm avoiding the bus station either but sounds like a few posts/comments I've seen on reddit mentioning not to spend too much time there as it can be chaotic/dangerous (even more so if I do not speak Portuguese)?

So first things first, this account is new, yeah I know, my main one is suspended, but I really needed to get this off. Let's start from the beginning, I'm a teenager, I'm 17, and since I didn't really have either a romantic relationship or sibling love relationship, I can't distinguish the difference between them, I do have siblings, but she's the kind of person that would throw me off the bus if that benefited her somehow. Now that that part is explained, there is this one girl at my school, she's nice, and all of that, we got along, and I only saw her as "one of the boys", well, we tell things to each other, we joke around, and we've gotten to know each other a lot better, and idk how to put this, but she is the only person that I don't have to read to understand, the only person that I feel I could trust with anything, and the only person that I truly feel can get me out of my shell. I really want to tell her all of this, but idk if I should or not, because if it's just my first time experiencing sibling love I wouldn't want to make it weird, but if it romantic love and I waste the chance I would curse myself for the rest of high school, and since I can't really tell them apart I don't know what I should, how I should feel, or if she likes me too or not, like she says she trusts me, she acts differently to what I've seen her act with other guys, but I don't know how to interpret any of this. Please help strangers on reddit.

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This is a throw away. Not sure if he knows my username but I don't wanna risk it.
My partner of 13 years is an abusive prick. It didn't happen immediately, it was a few years in to the relationship, but my dumbass stayed. So he kept doing it. The first time he hit me, I couldn't even move. Or breath. I just sat there in shock, with the words LEAVE. RUN AWAY. NEVER COME BACK!!! Just screaming at me in my head. But I couldn't move. My legs just wouldn't listen to me. And then I just ended up breaking down and crying uncontrollably, having a severe panic attack where I legitimately was not able to breath. Well that scared him or something, I guess, idfk, and he tried to comfort me. Hold me and calm me down. And then once I settled down, he started crying, how guilty he felt, he feels so bad, etc. And I fell for it. I comforted him. I comforted the man who had just given me a black eye. I told him it was okay. And I've hated myself ever since. Can't even look at myself sometimes. And then from then on, it's happened more and more, more often now. I've had black eyes. He busted my scalp open once with a gun. Luckily, there are no longer any firearms in the house. I had an accident years ago and still have problems with my hip, it locks up sometimes if I lay on that side too long. He knows this and has intentionally tried to hurt me in that particular spot.
The verbal abusive is way more common and can even be more helpful. He knows every single insecurity you have. He know exactly what to say to hurt you the most, and he'll say it just to hurt you. Things I've begged him before to not talk about. He's bipolar and has a severe anger issue, and the verbal abuse is just about a daily occurrence. I wake up every single day terrified of what mood he will be in. When he hit my dog, my sweet, beautiful, most perfect girl in the world, Hazel, I promised her I'd get us out. And I intended to keep that promise.
He's never let me work, at least not enough to support myself full time. We have no children, thankfully, just the dog, who I will 100 percent be taking with me. I mostly just babysit or dog walk for the neighbors sometimes. I set up some of the money transfer apps for myself and got debit cards for them that I had shipped to a neighbor, that I knew would come bring them to me when she got them and he was at work. So he doesn't know about those. So I started stashing money away. $10-20 at a time. My sister lives 7.5 hours away, and has a room for me and can get me a full time job with her. The car is solely in my name, so he can't stop me from taking it. So, I saved up enough to put enough gas in the car for the drive with a little extra to live on while I start working and get settled. My sister is in a really bad financial situation too after a break up and could really use the help with the rent and such. I had everything planned out. I was gonna leave and never look back on Monday morning. He works from home mostly, but has to go in to the office on Monday. It's my only chance for idk how long.
And then Hazel got sick. She required surgery, she was having severe kidney issues and her vet was preparing me for the worst. But I couldn't NOT try. After all the times she's protected me. Thrown herself in between us and taken hits meant for me. How could I abandon her or not take care of her after she's saved my life?? He was choking me so hard one day, I genuinely thought okay well this is it. And she bit him. And he stopped. He took his rage out on her, and you know that scene in Avatar The Last Airbender when Aang realizes Appa is gone, and finds out the sand benders muzzled him? And he goes full on avatar state? Yeah. That's what happened with me. Every single ounce of strength I had came out and I knocked him down. But it was worth it. Anyway. Saving her wiped out every bit of money I had saved, except for like ten bucks. I can't go. I can't out the gas in my car. I can't get a bus ticket. I don't have a credit card, I ruined my credit at 18 and am only now working on it now. I have nothing to pawn or sell. I got a smart TV from my mom for Christmas but it's not a nice one or something, just a small 24inch off brand one, but I've posted it on fb marketplace for like $50. But that won't cover the gas. It would get me further, though. That's IF I sell it. My sister can't help, she needs me to help her out when I get there. Mom is on a very fixed income, and barely covers her own expenses. That's it as far as family. I don't have many friends at all. But I have asked. I either got ghosted or told no. I can't donate plasma. Idk what to do. I can't wait months again. I can't stand it. But I have no where to go but my sister's house. What can I do?????
Tldr had a plan to leave my husband and now it's not happy and I have no idea what to do

Hi! I'll be moving to Chicago in June as a new resident physician at the UChicago Medical Center in Hyde Park. Super excited to make the move, I've visited a few times before Covid and absolutely love this city. Part of what I love about it is how walkable and accessible the city is by public transit. In that vein, I wanted to ask about whether it would be a good move to sell my car before coming. I'm planning on living in South Loop and it looks like the 4 will be the best bus route for me to take, making my commute around 30-35 minutes.
From everything I've heard and read, the CTA has taken a significant hit in terms of reliability since Covid. Most days, I'll have to be at work by 6 AM (including weekends), with not a lot of tolerance for being late. Given all of these factors, would it be a better idea to bring my car with me as a backup, test out how feasible it is to take public transit exclusively, and sell it if it turns out to work well? Or would I be okay just selling it prior to moving up? Thank you!

Ummmm...... Idk how to you know express my feelings towards you . Like you are my first crush In real life . You never noticed my existence even though we go in the same bus , even though we play in the same group or even you come to my class. I tried my best to talk with you but never succeeded. I see you talking with other girls like it clutches my heart so bad but Ik that I ain't worthy of your feelings . Always wearing a hat even indoors . There are only reasons you wear a cap . Either you are insecure of your new haircut which actually gave you a new nickname which mushroom 🍄 . You look cute tho . Or you have just seen my highlights on insta. Idk 😐 . It's ok if ik that you aren't reflecting my same feelings towards me with your heart. The reason I have a crush on you is your smile and you being a scaredy cat 🐈 . Ik 🥺 you get a scared of things easily but at the same time I love it ☺️. I love your flaws . I just wanted you to tell that only . It hurts but for sure I have to move on because I am the habituated one . It's ok I have moved on from so many things 😅. But remember you will always have a place in my heart 🫀. You are a part of my memories and I thank you for entering my life

I know in this post, I’m going to come across as antagonistic. It’s not good to be a bad person, but try to put yourself in my shoes. I met him on vacation, and we hung out for two days together at the swimming pool. I'm a very socially anxious person, but with him, I felt like I've known him for years. One night, he told other teenagers that he liked me. They all told me, and they were hyping me up saying stuff like "oh look your boyfriend's here". I was so excited. I never had a guy like me before. Ever. All my life, I was treated as a freak, even by my own parents, so I was just glad for this opportunity for something special. So I went up to him and asked him if he liked me. He told me he had a girlfriend, and got really mad at our friends for telling me.
He cut off all contact with with me after. I blocked him on Instagram for a few days after he rejected my Instagram request. I was so sad that the guy I liked decided it would be best if he never saw me again. The one person who saw me for all the good I have to offer, and he still gave it up. They broke up two months later, and he still looks at my social media. We're not in contact, but according to my friend, a playlist on his Spotify was made as a birthday present to me. But I don't forgive him. I’m not angry at him for being loyal. I’m angry at him for thrusting me into this situation. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him either, but I was the one that suffered the greatest. He got to choose between two girls. His girlfriend is a victim too, but at least he chose her. And me? I was completely in the dark, and thinking it was finally my time to shine, only to get thrown under the bus.

I feel that my marriage is super imbalanced and I’d like to change that.
My husband is 20 years older than me and makes 10x as much money as I’ve ever made previously in my life. I have never contributed a dime financially to our marriage as I was recently unemployed due to Covid when we married. I’ve never worked since we’ve been together.
I also was not just poor but a poor single mom with a bunch of financial and legal issues. He covered everything without raising an eyebrow. My kids have opportunities I could never have dreamed of for them and my lifestyle went from destitute and miserably stressful to relaxing and luxurious. Like, taking the city bus to dumpy cockroach apartment, to traveling in first class to summer in Europe type of difference.
So on top of this massively imbalanced dynamic, here is what he contributes:

• spends as much spare time with our baby as possible, is a super hands on dad, practically races me to get her for nighttime wakeups because he loves to spend time with her, takes her out on errands multiple times a week so I can rest and sleep in
• completely handles all finances and planning. I have 2 credit cards and i use them and that’s it. I don’t have the bank logins or anything. Occasionally he’ll tell me we need to slow down spending this month, or that he wishes I’d consulted him about a large purchase, but otherwise he just handles everything. He also handles vacations and insurance and home and car expenses and bills and investments. He has said he wishes I were more involved as a partner in these areas but I honestly don’t even know where to begin since he currently covers it all and has his own systems that I don’t understand / aren’t how I work.
• handles all “man” type tasks around the house. fixing things, yard, trash, tree trimming, treating property for ticks, anything involving a ladder.
• handles most of the animal care including scheduling vet appts, hygiene etc
• thanks me and appreciates my efforts constantly

I contribute:

• 100% of cleaning and cooking. I don’t think he’s touched the dishwasher or washing machine or vacuum in like 9-12 months and he basically never uses the kitchen unless he wants a late night snack or something. I make him a nice dinner and either a nice breakfast or lunch which I bring to him in bed or in his office, along with his vitamins and green juices. I keep his home office fridge stocked and always have icy infused water always available. He just leaves his dishes wherever (table, nightstand, desk) and clothes on the floor and I gather them. The house is not pristine because I just can’t do that much pregnant with an infant, but at least I do enough that he doesn’t have to do anything
• large majority of childcare, monitoring health and development, stocking baby care items, planning activities and appointments, etc
• i give him a massage every single night, am always sexually available, try to run him nice baths and other pampery things
• routine easy animal care like daily feeding and walking, just not bigger things like health and bathing
• Make sure he gets more downtime than me. He plays 2 hours of video games per night in the massage chair or hot tub while I’m cleaning up

I already feel stretched thin but I am hyper aware of the imbalance every day. He wanted to hire a housekeeper and nanny but that would take away the few things I actually contribute so I’ve resisted even while overwhelmed. I tell myself I’ll be taking care of him when he’s old so I can finally like we’re more even, lol.
But in the meantime, what can I possibly do to be more of an equal partner?

I have been in Corporate America for a few years (sorry, I do not have any experience with companies in other countries, so my post is going to be exclusively about Corporate America). My unique position allowed me to see what goes on behind the scenes. If you do end up getting a job after going through the recruiting hell, remember that it's all about appearance and not essence.

• You can work 70 hours per week, you can give them your soul and your blood, be loyal, be passionate, be enthusiastic, they don't give a shit. When it's time to outsource or cut, they will kick you to the curb. Do not listen to your boomer relatives who convinced you that loyalty and hard work pay off. No, there is no such thing. It's all about appearance. You do not need to work hard. You need to give the appearance of working hard. If you do work hard but someone above you thinks you are not working hard, you'll be phased out. In Corporate America, appearance is way more important than essence.
• People become lobotomized. At least, most of the managers and supervisors. They all use the same buzzwords, the same concepts, and the same trite analogies. They are all about efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. Efficiency for what? If you do become more efficient and faster, they will complain that you are not logging enough hours. Or they will make your position redundant. Do not dig your own grave. Fuck efficiency. What are you gonna do in your spare time?
• Always have a Google sheet or Excel sheet that details the hours you spend each working day and on which tasks. You will be questioned when you least expect it. Have they told you, "no, we do not do that! We do not micromanage." Bullshit. It's a lie. Be ready to explain yourself.
• If you do work hard, they will say you are not efficient. "Work smarter, not harder" is one of the many slogans. Certain roles require an immense amount of meticulousness. However, your managers (who are most likely stupid) will think that you are spending too much time on a project because you are not efficient.
• Managers and those in a position of power are pretty clueless. They will use corporate buzz words as a smoke screen. They look at things at a "high level" (meaning with a lack of granularity), and they will hastily make stupid comments. They have no idea what you do, even though they want you to believe that they know everything you do.
• Most people do not read. I have seen managers reading the first three words of an email and then giving a totally irrelevant response. I had to call them out, and let me tell you, I fucking loved it. Oh my god, I loved it so much.
• Try to avoid jokes. People always get in trouble when they get too relaxed and joke.
• You are not there to make friends. A coworker will invite you over for Thanksgiving dinner and tell you that he/she loves you and that you are his/her best friend. The same coworker will throw you under the bus the day after. If I sound cynical, it's because I have just seen too much. I have read internal communications. I was shocked. Things that have turned me into a misanthrope. People literally taking trips together and then ripping each other apart or backstabbing each other. Before anybody says that there are good people out there, I am sure there are, but why take a risk?
• Managers and those in a position of power like power trips. They will go months without asking anything about your job duties, they will completely neglect you for long periods of time... then, all of a sudden, they will wake up and ask something stupid or unrealistic or scold you for not doing things a certain way. It's a power trip. Years ago, a manager told me to spend less time on projects that needed my laser-focused attention. So, what did I do? I tried to be faster. And then he asked me how come the hours I was logging were less. You can't make this shit up.
• Be selfish. They don't care if you have 5 kids and a mortgage. If they need to fire you, even over something stupid, they will. So, if you do find a better job, don't even give them a 2-week notice.
• Again, do not dig your own grave. I have seen so many people digging their own graves. They will give you a project pretending you need to come up with ideas on how you can increase efficiency. And then, you will be working on giving them reasons to fire you or hire someone cheaper. Or if they ask you to train a new employee with the same role as yours. Be careful.

Okay, enough. I will be accused of being bitter and jaded. I am. I just want to find a way to generate passive income without having to deal with these idiots, and their BS, and their recruiting hells

Is the Olympia / Tumwater bus line relatively simple? I've lived in oly for a few years but just moved to a new place and need a functional way to get around, particularly with my kiddos. * I would start with just me and the littlest while older one is in school just to get the hang of it, then introduce my oldest (they're both on the spectrum but the littlest (almost 3) is much more social. He used to love getting on his brothers' school bus to investigate at our old place. He got to go on because we were the first stop and the bus was usually parked early waiting for us lol. Now he doesn't get to go on the schoolbus because there's a few other kids and it's a special education bus, so I don't want to stress the other kids out with a baby on board.. This of course is upsetting to my littlest sooo idk how he'd do on a city bus.. My oldest needs to be carried if he's having anxiety about going in a new store but did well getting on the school bus the first time 🤔 for reference he's 5 but he's still half my size (tall and lanky as can be!)
I also have a lot of anxiety both socially, traveling and otherwise- that's part of why I don't drive 😬 but as they grow so do their needs, and not all things can be delivered unfortunately lol
Sorry that was longer than I meant to share... but yeah, experiences on the bus with kids? Thanks!

I'm considering selling vykas bus for the first time. I've been watching the bussers on my alts and I just have some questions to be clear on how it properly runs.

1. Gate 1 Normal - When you're fighting alone in a party, when do you ts during color orb, pizza, and blue/black orb memory mech?
   
2. Gate 2 Hard - During the clone absorption mech, how do you position yourself? I see bussers spread out to their spots without prior communication unless of course they're on voice chat? I also see bussers use TS when it's black black or Panacea when it's black red. Can anyone elaborate on this? And lastly, during the clone rotation mech, what are the assigned positions for taking orb and scouting?
   
3. Gate 3 Hard - During tentacles, who goes where?
   
4. Is there anything important I should know about the different between a 3 man bus and a 4 man bus?
   

Thank you

Currently the situation is like this:
Her parents and her are on a vacation. It all started when they came back from the place they were going to and then they decided to go to a Japanese restaurant. They got into an argument after she wanted to switch shoes after being out all day and her mom got upset about it for whatever reason, saying that keeping current shoes would be better (?). After a bit, her mom told her in a nasty tone about how she shouldn't complain when at the restaurant there would be no noodles and since my GF doesn't like sushi she didn't need to come since she wouldn't eat anything anyways and should just stay at the hotel alone. They then got into an argument about it and they gave her two options: A: they take her phone for 3 days WHILE OUT IN A PLACE NONE OF THEM ARE FAMILIAR WITH or B: they cancel her phone line starting tomorrow (no data, no #, etc) These punishments wouldn't be as bad if they were just at their house. But no, they're in VEGAS out of all places and wandering around places such as the Grand Canyon. Her parents don't keep an eye out for her either. They once went 10 min without her (yes this very day) before realizing they weren't together. The parents also argued with each other and separated MULTIPLE TIMES throughout the day, leaving her wandering and talking to me for comfort instead. On a public bus, they sat together and left her to sit alone in the back as well. They never tell her plans, or as to what the hell they're doing, either. Point is, they don't look after her and make it seem like everything's her problem and giving her phone up in this scenario is just unsafe considering the circumstances.
Some background:
Her dad is very absent in her life. Although they live together, he has 0 social skills, never really interacted with her, and just sits in his home office all day when they were home. He never really looks after her, and when her mom was out in another country bc of family, he did not take care of her well at all. No cooking, no check ups, or anything that a "normal" parent would have or do. He is basically acting as only the financial support of the family.
Her mom is a very stubborn woman. She does not like to listen to other people and change the things she does, and thinks that everyone but her is in the wrong. She is a teacher at our school, seems like somewhat nice person but the stubbornness still shows. They get into arguments on the daily. She also has a limited allowance of 100$ per month(She has to buy her essentials w these, not just to fuck around w. Ex: clothes, skincare, makeup, etc). If she is on her phone or trying to do homework past her bedtime (10:00) she gets punished for It (lose money in allowance, phone taken away, cancelled phone line, etc). Talking with her does not do anything, as she says to just go to a foster home if she doesn't like the way things are here. Basically, she doesn't listen, doesn't want to change, egotistical, and thinks she's always right and blames others for problems.
Overall, these problems have been recurring almost weekly and each time it has made my GF more unstable. Her mom refused to get her a therapist bc "they have one at school" but you wouldn't use those for obvious reasons.
What is the best way I can support her in a situation like this?
Feel free to leave questions below

Visit article from Reuters (Grade: A+) or alternatively:

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Associated Press (A)	Los Angeles school strike ends, but no deal announced
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Before I start I’m just gonna list some offenses quickly because I tend to ramble:
Nmom: was abusive to me as a child, verbally and if I’m honest physically (but not too bad, guess I’m making excuses but I’m leaving it as a reminder of what abuse can look like), I would get in trouble if she was just in a bad mood, learned to walk on eggshells. She was my primary parent and had custody. I have the best relationship with her out of my parents.
Ndad: was verbally, mentally, emotionally abusive. Neglected me. He was a womanizer and a lot of times I would get mistreated by his women. He threw me under the bus, spread rumors about me. Hated. Manipulated and treated me like crap. Used me for personal gain. Taught me terrible things. Went NC months ago. Texted him recently.
Stepfather aka “the enabler”: my mothers (now) husband. They’ve dated off and on since I was a 2yo. They had their first kid together when I was 7 and got married before I turned 8. In between there he moved in without anyone telling me. I call him the enabler because when I tried to confront my mom about the abuse (in a peaceful way) he seen she got upset by it and shut me down, saying “you never say anything like that to your mother take it back now!” But then years later admitted to me over the phone that he witnessed my mom snatch me up by the collar and knew she was wrong.
I was parentified, not only having to tend to the adults emotions and mood swings but I watched their two kids since I was 7.
Rant: They weren’t thinking about me when they started their family on my back and made me the “in home babysitter”. They had a child but I didn’t become an older sibling, I became a scapegoat. They assumed I seen that man as a father because I slipped up and called him dad once as a three year old (my own father hated my guts). They didn’t even discuss with me them getting married or him moving in. Now I’m getting fussed at because I couldn’t understand that who pays the bills makes the rules. And from then on I would continue silently suffering.

Recently I have been faced with some major changes that will depict my future from here on out. Poor choices and even worse decision is what led me into this mess. I just recently messed up a 2 year relationship with a girl I was ready to purpose too. Madly in love with her. She ended things with me after she discovered me paying for camgirls online on occasion thru out our relationship. When asked about it, I lied to her saying I didn't do that kinda thing. Lied a few times to her about it. The last straw was when she found an old stash of speed I had, that I (stupidly) used on occasion because I thought it made me perform better in bed. Tbh, it did. But, as anyone should be, she wanted nothing to do with it or anyone using it as well. Despite it being only on occasion and never anything more, this still led to our breakup. Biggest mistake I ever made and will pay dearly for this one. I have had a very successful business I have had since 2005. I'm not a rich man, but I do ok for a high school drop out Id like to think. The last 12 years I have worked along side a (once) every close friend, 1 of very few I've ever seen had in my lifetime. Over the past year or so we started to drift more and more apart. Reason being, I was tired of being taken advantage of by him. I knew for awhile all the shady stuff he was pulling, but the money coming in was too good and I did not want to risk anything that would hurt me financially. (He works by commission btw) Over the years he has stolen from me by falsifying his sales made. A $200 item sold ended up being logged as $150 sale, having pocketeed the $50 is an example how it was done. He also stole clients from others, yet would never admit to it. He has done everything he can to line his pockets while screwing others with seemingly no remorse. He is the definition of narcissism sadly. I was the idiot who was blinded my money and never addressed this with him. Being the narcissist he is, he thought he was fooling me the entire time. Just recently we had a fallout, wich was mainly due to the fact i have lost all respect for him over the years and now honestly want nothing to do with him anymore. You can't get a narcissist to admit to anything they did wrong without them turning the scenario into something you did wrong and making you out to be the problem. This is just what they do so they can continue there manipulation and exploiting anything they can for there own gains. I finally convinced myself thst my own mental health was worth more than any amount of money, so I told him he had 2 weeks before I wanted him gone completely. I am the fool for not doing this sooner. It's a hard one to swallow cause the guy did do a lot of nice things for me. But at the same time had no problems with throwing me and others under the bus just to line his pockets more. My business will always do well. Almost 16 years in business now. I love what I do. I also have lived here my entire life in this town,and the past 16 years married to nothing but my store. Stress's with owning a small business led me into addiction for many years as well. Happy to say I'm going on 7 years clean now. I have nothing holding me down here other than my business and 1 rental building I have. No family. No friends. Just acquaintances. I need new sceneries. I need to take advantage of being single, no kids ect ect. Is it smart for someone to just walk away from 16 years in business, making a good living very comfortably? 39 years old, and ive been here my entire life. I fear I'm missing out on sooo much by staying here with the business. I also am afraid if I do decide to move, I will never be as successful as I am now here. I don't have another 16 years to build another business. I will have to start at the bottom again and work my way up. These things are difficult at the age of 39. I don't hate it here, but I do not love it hear either. Am I happy here? No.. sadly I'm not. I'm content. Not happy. That should be the answer To my question right? If I'm not happy, why wouldn't I take the risk of leaving this all behind and start over somewhere new. Experience new things, new people. I'd be a fool not too right? Or am I foolish for leaving 16 years of hard work in the dust?!

Hi! Just repaid my first loan here but my paycheck was a little lower than usual this time. I’m moving cross country and needing to buy my bus/plane ticket but I’m a little short. Will repay $255 on April 7th when I get paid next. Thanks in advance!