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Cover Art & Travis Portrait by Pedro Puglisi
Journal Entry #8
I left the village today. It will never be my home again.
I managed to muster enough dignity to at least walk out with the hunters and witch. I've seen plenty of sad sacks that needed to be hog-tied and thrown onto a wagon before, so I knew there was no escaping my fate.
We walked and walked and walked, until my exhausted body fell to the ground when we camped that night. The sky was clear, and the largest moon Porta shone brightly.
I wonder... Do the gods even care that my life as I know it is over?
Travis
Mattius and I escaped the rapidly filling cafeteria with our precious cargo of sandwiches, then stood at one of the outdoor tables between the main walkway and green space, hoping to catch Drozuk or someone else before our mission briefing.
Well, Arc was looking, I was busy trying to console Mattius while he routinely kept rechecking the squad assignments between bites of sandwich, the dread on his face growing more and more pronounced as it refused to change who he was going to be in a squad with. From what I've been able to gather, Mattius took the advice I relayed from Arc to heart and hasn't done anything stupid. However, he hasn't done anything bold either. The only communication between each other so far have been short conversations during specialized weapons training a couple of times per week, meaning that they've barely gotten past basic introductions at this point.
"Isn't this your chance to get to know her better?" I cautiously asked, "You'll be in the same squad, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to talk."
Mattius didn't bother to finish his last bite of sandwich, opting instead to mope about, "Please, like she'll give me the time of day when there's a pair of twins to flirt with."
I sighed in response to my friend's pessimism, and to Arc hinting with his snickering that he knew more than he was willing to divulge. I didn't even know how to empathize with Mattius' situation. Here he was with a golden opportunity, but all he could do was sulk. Exchanging letters with Caldia has been nice, but it couldn't hold a candle to how wonderful it was to spend the day with her.
Well... it was, until our... sort-of-date got hijacked.
"Hey! Professor Quinsandoral is approaching with an elven Ice Mage. How much do you want to bet that's his son?"
Welcoming the interruption, I perked my head up in time to see my Wind Spells professor walking along the main path with a young elf who, despite some obvious attempts to look different, was clearly his son. Unlike his dad who normally wore traditional high elf robes of varying colors and only carried a wand for spellcasting assistance, he was wearing the same uniform I was. Albeit his arming jacket was blue instead of forest-green, and had an additional leather bandolier across his chest filled with throwing knives that must have also acted as a mount for the oddly shaped shield on his back.
The faces were what truly confirmed they were father and son, not just because they had nearly identical sharp and angular faces topped with platinum blonde hair, but because they both had matching looks of irritation furrowing their brows. The younger also had a dozen silver piercings to differentiate him, the most notable ones being a spike in each eyebrow, a pair of studs in his nose, and two more in his pointed ears. Something I haven't once seen in any of the other elven students, although I'll be the first to admit I've barely interacted with the non-humans on campus.
Raising my hand in greeting, I shouted out to Professor Quinsandoral, who to my delight, smiled upon seeing Mattius and I by the outdoor bar table. His son, however, visibly sighed and dragged his feet as they moved towards us.
"Young Master Mattius, Travis," Quinsandoral greeted us with a gleeful tone, "I was hoping to meet you before my son's mission briefing." He gestured to his scowling child, "This is Vesril, future Lord of Vörðuhálsmýrdalsjökull, or as you may know it by it's poorly translated name, Glacier-cut Edge."
Raucous laughter violently erupted from Arc in my ears so loud that I instinctively brought both hands up to my ears and winced in pain. My obnoxious sword at least had the decency to quiet down, but a hand on my pauldron and worried look from Mattius made it obvious that I needed to think of an excuse fast.
"You okay?"
"Yeah..." I massaged the sides of my head and back of neck to stall, "just... uh, tweaked my neck is all..." I made a show of relaxing my shoulders to help sell the lie, then secretly vowed to test Arc's heat resistance at the spell range later tonight.
Vesril watched our interaction with his violet-colored eyes, completely cold and expressionless throughout, then in a sudden shift, looked over my shoulder and smirked, "That's a gnarly looking axe."
Professor Quinsandoral tensed up, then spoke through clenched teeth, "Yes, Travis does have an eccentric choice of weaponry..."
Vesril huffed, "Figures, it's perfectly fine for your pet human to wield a unique weapon, but if I want to---"
"Travis isn't an elf!" Quinsandoral barked. "And he doesn't have the legacy of his forebears to uphold."
Vesril rolled his eyes, "Monsters haven't attacked the mountain pass in over six eras, that's hardly a legacy. Why do I need to use the same weapon my great-great-something wielded while cowering behind a wall and never using the thing?"
My professor grabbed his son by the shoulder in a tight grip and cut into him with his glare, "You are on the narrowest of branches boy. Your mother still sees you as a child, and your uncle may only be indifferent as of now, but I have final say on whether you can attend this academy. And let me tell you boy, self-expression isn't looked upon kindly at Krisneirous University. They'll rip out those piercings, burn away your tattoos, and snap that ridiculous thing you call a weapon in half before you take a second step on school grounds."
The tension in the air was near to boiling as the two stared each other down in defiance. Mattius looked just as scared as I was to say anything, knowing that this kettle was only a single bump away from exploding.
Ironically, it was a student bumping into Professor Quinsandoral that broke the tension as they rushed by in a hurry, barely able to spurt out an apology. The father and son broke off their staring contest, and in unison with matching faces, cringed upon realizing they just had a very public argument.
Mattius, showing way more initiative than me, pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, "We should probably get to our meeting." He forced a smile towards Vesril, "Want to join us?"
Vesril shrugged his shoulders while rolling back his eyes, "Sure, I'm heading there anyways."
Arc
As the Ethics & Law building came into range, I decided to scout ahead with my focus and see if I could eavesdrop on anyone coming to the mission briefing or at least figure out where Drozuk was. I found him already in the room, seated with his arms crossed, and looking especially grumpy.
Hmm... I'm guessing he's not too thrilled about getting teamed up with Travis, a princess, and an edge lord.
I watched for a few seconds, but after determining that no one in the room was saying anything of substance, I flung my focus over Travis as he entered the building and back outside to watch Princess Seleyna approaching with Sir Asher and another unknown knight. To my surprise, she looked just as grouchy, completely ignoring the unknown knight behind her as they quietly whispered to Asher.
"So, what's got her kindling snapping in the hearth?"
Asher let out a tired sigh, "She's convinced that I'm the one who put her on a team with Travis and Reidar, and flat out refuses to believe I didn't submit anything."
The unknown knight raised her eyebrow, "You didn't? I'm surprised, even I requested a roster change."
Asher chuckled as they approached the building, "Didn't have to, someone already did." He then spoke louder to ensure Princess Seleyna could hear as well, "Honestly, she's being a bit of a hypocrite, given that she submitted a request of her own."
Seleyna ignored the gossip as she stormed in and made her way to the meeting room. By this time, Travis had already sat down in the front row between Vesril and Drozuk, and Mattius took a seat in the second row next to the Creeksmith twins Thaddeus and Zaccheus, so when Seleyna saw Travis' smiling face and friendly wave at her upon entry, she noticeably relaxed and put on a royal smile of her own.
Vesril nodded to the princess as she took the seat next to him, "Princess Seleyna."
"Young Lord Vesril, it's been a while... last year's Spring Gala?"
"Sounds about right." He gestured to Travis, "Your parents pay off the general to put you on the same team with him too?"
Seleyna stifled a laugh, "Not sure, no one's admitted to it yet, but it's safe to assume. That shadow show about us does need a sequel after all." She leaned forward to get a better look at the surly orc, "Drozuk, it was quite the surprise to see that your father was elected Jarl of Coldwater Spring Fortress. Has he been able to settle into his new role?"
"Don't know," Drozuk growled, "he hasn't told me a thing..."
Jarl? Huh... I'm surprised Drozuk never spoke about that, unless... ah, I'm guessing Travis isn't the only one with a dad keeping secrets from them.
The door opened to permit a dozen people in Logistic Corps uniforms, Mattius' crush Treblana, and a tall burly half-orc wearing half-plate. He stepped up to the unknown knight who walked in with Seleyna and reached to shake her hand.
"Captain Adaline, pleasure to finally meet you."
The Royal Knight took the offered hand, "Same as well, Captain Aguk, it's nice to have a face and voice to put to your correspondences."
My focus drifted back towards Mattius, who looked just as nervous as ever whenever he tried talking to Treblana, but at least managed to hide it well and produce a semi-stoic nod of acknowledgement when she took the seat next to him.
"Looks like I'll get to see you fight up close now." Treblana spoke cautiously.
Mattius smiled, "Same here, umm... I'll be counting on you to help overwhelm the opponent, since... you're much more talented at Earth Magic than me. I don't even have the needed mana to mimic the [Earth Wall Slide] you used a couple of weeks ago to shove that muledeer into the arena wall."
"Really? I think you're the talented one. Even from the stands I can tell every repeated structure you build is identical in dimensions and spaced out the same distance."
As usual, their conversation was cut short, right as they were about to build momentum, when Brigadier General Jonas called the meeting to order.
"This looks to be everyone, so let's begin." The general reached to pick up a box in front of him, "Your mission will be twofold; monster eradication in the Coldwater Spring Fortress' territory, and diplomatic relations with the fortresses you'll be harboring at during your journey." He opened the box to pull out a very familiar looking baseball sized sphere infused heavily with Order Mana and a Wind Mana gem embedded in its core. "This is a Master Message Stone. Unlike the private ones some of you carry or the inscriptions in your helmets, this does not vibrate or create sound. Its construction does have a unique advantage though..."
General Jonas grinned madly as he let the orb roll off his hand and crash onto the stone floor with a loud bang, causing all the students to flinch. He softly chuckled as he reached to pick the extremely valuable artifice back up, "It can maintain its paired frequency for a minimum of twelve years, despite how roughly its treated. Princess Seleyna will be presenting one of these to each fortress you visit, partially to build positive public relations with the populace outside of the capital, but also as part of a test run for the Queen's proposed long-range communication improvements."
Twelve years! Holy gods and God, I know the gift Travis received from the queen was expensive but... wow! The inscriptions in Travis' helmet require daily resynchronizations for the private and squad channels to ensure they don't randomly cut out, the battalion channel needs a weekly reset (assuming normal amount of chatter), and the emergency channel can maybe last two months if he doesn't take a blow to the head to rattle the inscription.
Travis must have had the same thought since I caught him stiffening up and gently placing his hand over the valuables pouch on his belt.
The general continued with the mission brief, starting with introductions to the battalion's leadership, "Captain of Squad 1, Royal Knight Adaline will have general command of the battalion's diplomatic and over all mission, Spartan Captain Aguk of Squad 2 will be acting lead for combat operations, and Raven Four will provide scouting and logistics security with their squad." He paused to gesture to the back row of people wearing the double-breasted jackets of the Logistics Corps, "Staff Sergeant Julien and his team, along with six horses, will manage supplies, field maintenance, and the camp. Keep in mind that they will be outnumbered three to one, so you will be expected to assist when needed."
I continued to listen in on the dry presentation, taking notes so Travis could consult me if needed, but I did take time to enjoy watching the corpsmen and mages struggle to stay awake as the general droned on and on. Honestly, two hours to basically state that everyone will take a gun boat down and up the rivers, stopping occasionally to overnight at some of the more prominent riverside fortresses on the way, then coordinating with the Jarl of Coldwater Spring Fortress to kill as many monsters as possible after arrival seemed like overkill, but maybe that's just because all Travis really needs to do is whatever his squad captains tell him to do.
Eventually, the torture session... err, I mean meeting... ended, and Travis was preparing to leave with his friends for a late lunch when one of the logistics corpsmen called out to him.
"Sir Travis, can you spare a moment of your time."
Travis whirled around to face the approaching man and nervous teenager accompanying him, "Uh... sure, what do you need sergeant?"
He saluted Travis, then reached into his satchel, "This morning, during our preparations, we discovered to our dismay that one of the horses assigned to our mission will not be fully recovered in time from an injury to be cleared for deployment. As a result, we need a last-minute replacement, and Private Tomas has kindly informed me that your horse, 5751054, enlisted last night."
Heh, he almost makes it sound like Travis' nameless horse enlisted on his own.
Travis pondered the request, "Doesn't he need training?"
The Staff Sergeant glanced towards the private, until the social pressure forced Tomas to speak, "Sir! 5751054 is already trained to ride, haul, and self-navigate. He will not be required to know more for this mission given the limited need for equine support."
Travis shrugged, "Well, if he's willing... then I guess I am too."
Sergeant Julien smiled, then handed Travis a document, "Just need your final approval."
Travis signed the sheet, handed it back, then addressed the private, "Will you be in charge of the horses?"
The corpsman saluted, "Yes sir, I'm Private Tomas, my main duty will be to act as stablemaster and coachman."
Travis nodded, then spoke in a stern voice, "5751054 is precious to me. My parents saved up for two years to purchase him for my eighteenth birthday, and still had to do so on credit from my village's horse breeder. If something were to happen to him..."
Tomas gulped, "Understood sir, I will ensure he's properly cared for."
Super serious Travis gave another nod, but broke character instantly after taking two steps away, "Oh, wait! When does he need to report in? I was going to take him to run a few errands this afternoon and might need to make a run to get some last-minute supplies tomorrow."
Staff Sergeant Julien smirked, "As long as he's in his stable when you drop off your personal supply crate tomorrow night, you should be fine."
Travis exhaled a sigh of relief, noticed that his friends had already left for lunch proper, then rushed out the door to go catch up.
Julien gave Tomas a firm slap on the back, "See, I told you he'd be amenable. Most mages are too preoccupied to fuss over small details, so the trick is to make it seem like you're doing them a favor, instead of trying to save your own ass."
Tomas grumbled, "I still can't believe 5640161 did something so stupid."
"Meh, it's probably for the best. You know how primes can be when told to pull carts in a team."
"I know, but still... prancing backwards down the exit ramp?"
The Staff Sergeant could only shrug their shoulders in reply.
Travis
"Your left one's drifting again."
I paused the warmup routine Reidar taught me to check over my [Water Bracer] enchantment and scowled. This spell was proving much more difficult to maintain than [Earth Cleat] or the [Message] enchantment I created on my helmet's dust filter.
It seemed so simple when I got the spell at first too. Basically, just a trio of condensing arrays on the inside of my forearm to collect Water, and six evenly spaced lines at 60-degrees on my outer vambrace to create a thin layer of fast-moving water capable of deflecting small objects down and away from my face. I didn't even stumble much on the diagram's mentioned tricky part of getting the Water to jump over the gaps between my forearm plates, just having difficulty keeping the parallel lines evenly spaced and at the correct angle.
"Hmm... it's a lot harder to keep my formation consistent without a flat surface, and I don't have anything to act as guidelines..." Trying to puzzle out a solution, I thought back to the serving pots Ansel's family used. They were rounded as well but had decorative indentations and ridges to help with spacing and line shape, similar to how I could use my boot treads as a reference for forming [Earth Cleat].
"Ah, I think I understand now why the inscriptions senior students use are so different from the one on Lancel's sword and other knight weapons. When I got a good look at that shield Vesril carries, I noticed it had a lot of directionless Water inscription lines running along it. I'm guessing any enchantment he casts will use the inscription as a skeleton to keep it from falling apart in combat."
I nodded along as I cast a cloud of Fire Mana off my palm and tried to squeeze it into as tiny of a ball as possible, allowing some of my frustration to bleed out, "That makes sense. It'd be like using graph paper to write out a formation. I bet it's a lot easier to invert or neutralize the direction of a line too if the core is made up of mana dust or gems."
"Thramreat mentioned that dwarves used to paint spell formations on their bodies, maybe you can do something similar with your bracers?"
"Good idea." I tossed the ball of Fire Mana above my head, reshaped it into a [Fire Orb], then nodded to Arc sticking out of the ground down range, "Okay, I'm ready."
Light and Shadow Mana pools around Arc as he starts playing music, until a wireframe statue of a bull's head emerges from the ground. Slowly, but surely, the rest of the creature appears, starting with a wattle, pair of giant chicken feet, bull's body and hind legs, and a chicken's tailfeathers.
Bullcock, a single element monster, this stable hybrid of a bull and rooster is well known for their aggressive charges, fast swipes with their spurs, and ability to spit Fire from a distance, but mostly for their excellent tasting meat and valuable leather.
I froze for a moment, eyes locked onto its claws... this is the monster that nearly killed my dad...
Anger floods my body with battle lust, and I nearly forget to dodge when it starts rushing towards me, not even leaving a full foot between us. It digs one of its oversized claws into the ground after it misses me, then swings the rest of its body around in a 180 to quickly about face. I raise my hand to cast [Fire Bolt], but a horn screeches loudly in my ear, disrupting my concentration.
"You want friendly fire? Because that's how you get friendly fire."
I swear as the bullcock makes another charge. Idiot! You can only launch spells downrange! I'll get my boat axed if I damage the building or accidentally lob a spell into another person's private spell range.
The bullcock angles his charge, so I can't safely launch a spell after dodging again, but that doesn't stop it from doing so. The wattle underneath its chin swells up, and a trio of [Light Bolts] fly towards me after the bullcock opens its mouth. I bring up my forearms to block, and manage to deflect the first projectile, but the second and third harmlessly splash against my chest, prompting Arc to start taunting me.
"Oh, c'mon! I've seen children with better reflexes than that."
Clenching my teeth, I try to block out all outside distractions, and focus solely on the task at hand. Using [Earth Cleat] to give my side-steps an extra burst of speed on top of my mana reinforced strides, [Water Bracer] to allow me to forgo a shield and deflect the spit attacks, and at every opportunity, I launch as many Bolt spells as I can downrange.
Like usual, Arc keeps increasing the difficulty, first by making the bullcock move slightly faster, then having it extend a claw to try and swipe at me during its charge, and finally varying the number of Bolts he spits back at me. We keep fighting, long past the point where the monster or I would have died, only allowing short pauses for me to fix my bracer enchantments, but without any warning or fanfare, Arc abruptly stopped the music and dispersed his controlled mana.
Confused as to what happened, I darted my head around, until I spotted Hector entering through the door.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you again."
I released the breath I was holding in, then reached up to take off my helmet and shake away the sweat from my face, "It's alright, just... wasn't expecting company is all. You're the first person to come visit me here."
The bearded Packer made a nervous chuckle as he looked back towards the door, "Yeah, I think the only reason the rangemaster let me pass was because I'm your drill instructor."
My eyes perked up after finally noticing what was on his back, "You got your poleaxe made!"
Hector grinned as he handed it to me for inspection, "Yep, did the final assembly with the polearms club this afternoon, and even demonstrated what I've been teaching you."
I groaned with guilt after taking his weapon. I definitely could have made time this afternoon to visit the club, it's not like I didn't know when they were meeting this week. Looking down despondently, I began to inspect Hector's re-creation of my weapon, seeing quite a few differences before even looking with my mana sight.
Overall, the material quality and mana density was much lower, using the same mid-grade dwarven steel my armor was made of and ironwood, but it did have some good quality leather wrapping around the middle of the shaft and part way up the langets.
"What's with the leather?"
"That's what I'm using right now as a workaround to improve my attunement connection to the weapon heads. Tristan and Percy are heading up north for their Fall Expeditions, so they promised to try and win an elmek horn or something similar to replace the shaft with."
I nodded along, checking over the structural build to see if there were any errors, "Speaking of, I'm surprised you're not at the Hopkins' estate. Aren't you on leave until classes start again now?"
Hector scratched the back of his head, "I... uh... didn't have any brothers growing up, so... those three can get a bit too... rowdy for me."
"Ha, I can relate, I'm an only child." I finished my inspection, not finding any obvious flaws in the build, "Alright if I attune to it?"
"Go ahead."
The mana inside the poleaxe ramped up to match mine in only a fraction of the time it took me to sync with mine, and unsurprisingly, I was able to maintain the attunement when I tried using mana reinforcement. It did feel a little strange however, like I was squeezing my body through a narrow gap in the fence each time, so I must have been near my limit for how large and mana dense an object can be for me to attune with.
Hector watched me test out his new toy, but cocked his head when he noticed Arc planted in the dirt near the back wall, "What's your sword doing down there?"
"Oh, umm..." I turned towards my best friend and had a spark of inspiration, "Since it's indestructible, I like to use it for target practice."
Target practice? What do you---
Arc's words cut-off right as I hit his blade with a [Fire Bolt].
"Ouch! That actually hurt a little..."
Hector barked a few laughs as he placed a hand on my pauldron, then suddenly wrapped his fingers around the edges to dig painfully into my deltoid, "Initiate, when in uniform, you are expected to keep your sword sheathed and on your person when not in use. I strongly advise you to do so in the future."
I gulped, "Yes sir."
The pain stopped, replacing it with an affectionate pat as he gave me a sly grin, "Now, when you say indestructible, do you really mean indestructible? Because I've heard the stories and rumors about these blades, but never quite believed them."
Arc began to moan. "Ugh, I knew this was going to happen eventually."
Arc
Snowsday, the 32^{nd^} of Eighthmonth
Travis looked down at his directions, then back up to the intersection in the artificer burrow and sighed.
"It just says left, not left-left or first left?"
My bestest buddy in this whole world shook their head and frowned. We'd come up to another intersection, but instead of the usual four-way cross, the left side hallway entrances were spaced 60-degrees apart.
"Well, logic would assume they mean the first left..."
"Yeah, but that one is newly constructed. There's no scuff marks or scratches on the walls, unlike the second one on the left."
I mentally groaned. That does it, I'm putting a pin in the auto-translator upgrade on my soul's patch and am going to implement a mapmaking feature. Not like Travis really needs the translator anyways, humans all speak the same language, despite originally being four distinct cultures, and common is used as the international trade language between the three kingdoms.
I still don't get how that's possible. I mean, nowadays you have the military shuffling soldiers all over the kingdom and congregating every year for the Spring Flood to help spread and reinforce the language, but according to Travis' history books, humans all spoke the same language before the four tribes united. Maybe the alphabet being phonetic helps prevent regional dialects from forming? These guys don't even have a word for homophone. Although, I don't get how that's possible either... elves are the ones who invented paper, humans had to use good old-fashioned leather scrolls before Oskar made contact.
"Arc?"
"Oh, sorry, got lost in my head. Uh... just pick a direction, if it's not right, I can replay my memory and help you backtrack."
Travis nodded, then took the first left, walking down the tunnel for a full minute before a couple of familiar looking dwarves, plus a human and an elf, came into view.
Thramreat was pacing in full armor with an anime-sized war-pick on their back, glaring occasionally at what I now recognized was the entrance to Durinn's workshop as the elf held her ear up to the tumbler lock. The beardless dwarf kept mumbling, eventually letting their thoughts be heard. "I still don't feel comfortable doing this..."
Orebeck, also decked out in full plate, but with an extra bandolier of glass vials across their chest and a heavily modified crossbow on their back, was looking completely fed up, "Well... I didn't feel comfortable making an aphrodisiac so you could seal the nest with my best friend. So, we're all just going to have to pound sand for a while."
The brawny knight (who might have been a goliath, I couldn't tell for sure), looked down at the two dwarves with a completely baffled expression, then leaned towards the elf to whisper, "Umm... I thought he just mixed up a thing of beard oil?"
The elf stopped her lockpicking attempt to lightly pound her head against the door and sigh, "Yes, they did. But dwarves... work differently when it comes to mating." She snapped her head towards Travis as he approached and hissed at the party, "Quiet! Someone's approaching."
Travis waved to the group, blissfully unaware of who they were at first until Thramreat began to panic.
"Travis! Umm... it's not what it looks like!"
Orebeck and the bow wielding elf both facepalmed, unlike the knight who grinned and waved back, "Hi Travis! Are you coming back to the estate for the training camp?"
"Uh... no, I'm going on a Fall Expedition... Do I know you?" Travis gave the Darius-sized knight a second glance.
The knight padded their chest, "Oh, sorry, don't have my tabard on. Thramreat said it would get dirty." He extended a cheerful hand forward, "I'm Knight Lieutenant Evan Raycraft. You have a really pretty singing voice."
Travis shook the offered hand, "Thank you." He turned to look at Thramreat, but abruptly stopped part way to look at the door, "Oh, this is Durinn's workshop... Wait, why are you guys here?"
Thramreat, still looking as guilty as a rat in a grain bin, quickly spoke first, "Just passing through. That's all."
Orebeck rolled their eyes at the dwarf's pitiful attempt to lie, "We're trying to break-in to Durinn's workshop. I know where they keep their hidden files, so we can use them to help prepare while we ride out to the nesting grounds."
Travis still looked confused, "Umm... why would you need that? Also, why are you all fully decked out and armed to the teeth?"
"Always smart to use protection when approaching a bearded's nest." Thramreat replied, then grumbled, "And as for the former... Durinn is apparently a sinner in the eyes of the bearded."
Orebeck finally lost their temper, and unloaded on the beardless, "Oh, would you quit being such a self-righteous beaver you orthodox piece of slag! Every bearded does it. It's perfectly natural."
"Enough!" The elf shouted, forcing the argument to stop. She glared at each dwarf to ensure their silence, let out a huff of frustration, then smiled at Travis, "Apologies, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Watcher Ariawyn Famaris. Was there a reason you came to visit Durinn's workshop?"
"Oh, umm... actually, I was looking for Thramreat." Travis turned towards the dwarf, "I've been having troubles with a Water enchantment for my bracers and was wondering if dwarves still used monster paste to help assist with their spellcraft."
Orebeck let out a chuckle as they dug through one of their pouches to toss something dense with Water Mana towards Travis, "Here, catch. Monster paste will just wash away after a few minutes. We use mana-infused wax nowadays for Water Enchantments. Just heat it up a bit to apply, but be careful not to let it melt off in combat, oh... and make sure you wipe your armor clean every night. It'll corrode the rust protection if you don't."
"Thanks," Travis gave a nervous wave goodbye, "umm... tell Durinn I said hi."
Travis
A pair of golden eyes stared up at me, catching the sunlight from the patio door in my dorm's living room just right to make them look like they were glowing. I reached forward to tickle the baby's tummy and started grinning like a madman when Boris started to giggle and smile back.
"Ugh, I can feel my soul getting stretchmarks just from looking at the cute little guy."
I leaned back to relax in my chair, enjoying the sight of Gramps completely taking over not just the packing of my crate, but Drozuk's too.
"Waterproof cards, dice set, blank notebooks, charcoal sticks, barbecue sauce, sandals..."
Caldia, to my surprise, came with her dad, but she was busy designing the family crest that Drozuk wanted to submit for reservation before leaving tomorrow and decorating our crates so they'd be easy to identify.
Oh, and Barry was here too. He brought up a crate of "essentials" that every soldier needs, including a pair of paperback "adventure novels" that he told me not to worry about if they get ruined or misplaced. I think my face was still red from blushing when he snuck those into the bottom of my crate.
Everything was just so... peaceful. With Gramps taking charge, I had absolutely nothing to do at the moment (other than anger Caldia by getting to hold the baby). The care package I spent my afternoon assembling yesterday was already sealed and labeled to ship to Aelder Creek, the aelderwood scraps I received from Father Viburnum were secured in my lockbox, and Gramps already agreed to store it in the Hopkins' vault while I'm away.
My respite eventually ended though. Gramps finished off the checklist that he brought, and closed the lid on Drozuk's crate, but stopped before doing the same for mine.
"Drozuk, would you mind taking the baby for a moment?"
Not sure what was going on, I stood up so I could approach my roommate, and smiled as he went as stiff as a statue when I handed Boris to him. I then turned back to see that Darius was holding a blanket in his hands.
"Travis, if you don't mind, there's an old Packer tradition that my family would like to conduct with you, given how you're technically a former ward of our house. It's a very old one that dates back long before the kingdom was founded and is observed whenever a young man comes of age. It originally started as the final parting gift of a mother to her son before he went to become a spartan, a reminder of which clans he and his ancestors were descendant of, but over time, as our values changed, so has this tradition."
I nodded my head, not even considering the possibility of saying no, especially with how emotional he and Barry were becoming.
Darius unfurled the blanket, allowing me to see the majestic work of art it was. It was a deep black, but the fabric shimmered with a swirling mix of violet, silver, pink, and blue light. The moons and stars were stitched into it, arranged into the constellations of the Elemental Eight greater monsters. Thunderhawk, the screeching death. Thunderhoof, the raging bull. Sunbeaver, the mountain shaper. Copperdillo, the invulnerable force. Diamondback, the walking fortress. Bushtail, the forest tender. Dark Drake, the unexpected disaster. And Icefang, the sun eater.
"In the Southern Plains, it's easy to get lost after fighting countless battles in the seemingly endless expanse of grass and gentle hills. Should you ever find yourself alone and in need of comfort, let the stars guide you, and eventually you'll find your way home."
I gazed up at Gramp's blubbering face through my own welling tears and reached forward to receive one of his legendary hugs.
"It's beautiful. Thank you so much."

Here are all of the new US CCS (Level 3 fast-charging) stations that rolled out in April 2023, according to the Department of Energy. These chargers are suitable for most new EVs on the market, except for:

1. Tesla drivers who haven't bought the official CCS adapter yet. Certain older Teslas need additional work done to accept the adapter.
2. Leaf owners like me, and some owners of older cars that also use CHAdeMO. If you drive a Leaf, or an older CHAdeMO car, see my matching post in leaf.

Some of these chargepoints will be "refreshes," e.g. the provider replaced them with faster chargers etc. Some may be incorrect. This report is only as good as the Alternative Fuels Data Center data.
There were 171 CCS charge points added or refreshed in April 2023, which is up from 159 in March. For comparison, there were only 100 new CCS charge points in April 2022. Things are speeding up.
"What about CCS charging at Tesla superchargers?" Tesla is in the process of rolling out their "magic dock" for non-Tesla cars in certain locations. I assume they will start to include this in their reporting to the Alternative Fuels Data Center soon. When they do it should be reflected here.
If you'd like to know about new chargers along your routes right away, or just prefer not to check this list monthly when new openings are rare in your area, I've set up a free service that provides email notifications as soon as they open. You can sign up at evpov.com. Or not! I don't really have a business plan here, I built it to help EV owners like myself.
To streamline this post, multi-chargepoint locations are listed with the number of chargepoints first, so that's why the post is shorter than in previous months.

➡ AZ (6) 3320 Stockton Hill Road (US-UV2-8EL-1B) 3320 Stockton Hill Road Kingman, AZ 86409 (6) 1349 W. Main Street (US-Z2C-3SA-2C) 1349 W. Main Street Quartzsite, AZ 85346 (2) GPM INVESTMENTS 4597 DC2 21198 E Ocotillo Rd Queen Creek, AZ 85142 ➡ CA (1) Shepard Place Shops - CPMD 1001-1049 Casitas Pass Road Carpinteria, CA 93013 (1) Eureka 1912 Broadway St. Eureka, CA 95501 (1) 5515 Automall Pkwy 5515 Automall Pkwy Fremont, CA 94538 (1) 7097 - Morgan Hill, CA (18605 Monterey Road) 18605 Monterey Road Morgan Hill, CA 95037 (1) Hemborg Ford 1900 Hamner Avenue Norco, CA 92860 (1) ROSEVILLE HYUND STATION #2 200 N Sunrise Ave Roseville, CA 95661 (2) 101 LOMBARD ST LEVIS RAPID 1 101 Lombard St San Francisco, CA 94111 (1) CHARGEPOINT ZNKR DC 1 2191 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95131 (1) BOA San Leandro Main CA4-111 (San Leandro, CA) 1400 E 14TH ST San Leandro, CA 94577 (1) ARCO Torrance 1800 Artesia Blvd Torrance, CA 90504 (1) Woodland Motors 530 Quality Circle Woodland, CA 95695 ➡ CO (2) HION NETWORK ALAMOSA PL2 610 State Avenue Alamosa, CO 81101 (2) CONIFER CONIFER PL2 27171 Main Street Conifer, CO 80433 (1) In-N-Out Denver-- 4597 N. Central park blvd 4597 Central Park Blvd Denver, CO 80238 (2) CITY OF DURANGO DURANGO PL2 250 West 8th Street Durango, CO 81301 (4) VOLVO CAR USA GW SPRINGS DC4 2115 Grand Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 (2) KUM & GO GRANBY PL1 308 West Agate Avenue Granby, CO 80446 (2) MONTROSE EV 1 MONTROSE PL2 533 North 1st Street Montrose, CO 81401 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL2 1230 Main St Ouray, CO 81427 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL1 1230 Main Street Ouray, CO 81427 (2) CENTENNIAL PARK PAGOSA SPGS PL2 San Juan River Walk Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (2) ES1 SALIDA PL2 1 County Road 105 Salida, CO 81201 ➡ CT (2) BMW RIDGEFIELD RIDGEFIELD 2 746 US-7 Ridgefield, CT 06877 (1) SUBARU CUSTOMER CUSTOMEREXPRESS 45 Winsted Rd Torrington, CT 06790 ➡ FL (1) GLENEAGLES STATION 2 7667 Victory Ln Delray Beach, FL 33446 (1) Bird Ludlam 6890 Bird Rd Miami FL 33155 Bird Rd Miami, FL 33155 ➡ GA (1) GEORGIA POWER VININGS DC1 4300 Paces Ferry Rd SE Atlanta, GA 30339 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ALT #2 5917 Peachtree Rd Atlanta, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER LAKEPOINT DC1 171 LakePoint Pkwy Cartersville, GA 30121 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ATL #1 5917 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Chamblee, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER CUMMING DC1 1532 Market Pl Blvd Cumming, GA 30041 (1) GEORGIA POWER CAPTAIN D MADI 1930 Eatonton Rd Madison, GA 30650 (2) GEORGIA POWER THOMSON DC2 2101 Washington Rd Thomson, GA 30824 ➡ IA (1) KUM & GO CEDAR RAPIDS DC 2604 16th Avenue Southwest Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 (1) LITHIA BMW BMW DC 1 9631 Hickman Rd Urbandale, IA 50322 ➡ IL (1) Kunes GM Of Belvidere Il 1855 N STATE ST BELVIDERE, IL 61008 (1) HOP CHARGERS HOP2-NORTH LOT 343 N Perryville Rd Rockford, IL 61107 ➡ IN (1) CHARGER SOUTH CHARGER SOUTH 920 N Nappanee St Elkhart, IN 46514 (1) KELLEY CADILLAC 4-G-250-L-W-15 555 Grand National Dr Fort Wayne, IN 46804 (1) GM - Schepel Buick GMC 3209 W LINCOLN HWY MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410 ➡ KS (1) Midway Motors Supercenter 2075 E Kansas Ave McPherson, KS 67460 ➡ KY (1) Don Franklin Campbellsville Chevrolet Buick GMC 200 N Bypass Rd. Campbellsville, KY 42718 (2) FORT KNOX IBCRG#4 10 Bullion Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (5) FORT KNOX IBCRG#3 397 Redmar Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (1) FORT KNOX IBCRG#1 7543 McDevett Circle Fort Knox, KY 40121 ➡ LA (1) Gerry Lane Chevrolet 6505 Florida Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (1) EVerCharge - Minden City Hall 520 Broadway St Minden, LA 71055 ➡ MA (1) BIG Y FOODS MOHAWK TRAIL #1 249a Mohawk Trail Greenfield, MA 01301 (1) Simon Cape Cod Mall (Hyannis, MA) 769 Iyannough Rd Hyannis, MA 02601 ➡ MD (1) Pepco - Southern Regional Tech and Rec Complex 7007 Bock Rd Fort Washington, MD 20744 ➡ ME (1) QUIRK AUTO SABARU 295 Hogan Rd Bangor, ME 04401 ➡ MI (6) 10401 South Clare Avenue (US-X52-57X-2A) 10401 South Clare Avenue Clare, MI 48617 (1) KOOL TOYOTA CPE-FAST 3780 Plainfield Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 ➡ MN (1) House Chevrolet Buick Cadillac 3700 FRONTAGE ROAD WEST OWATONNA, MN 55060 ➡ MO (1) 301 West 5th Street 301 West 5th Street Eureka, MO 63025 (1) Reliable Chevrolet 3655 S Campbell Ave Springfield, MO 65807 (1) Dutch Valley Grocery 760 MO-13 Warrensburg, MO 64093 ➡ MS (1) Columbus Hyundai 150 Hwy 12 E Columbus, MS 39702 ➡ NC (6) 278 Shoppes on the Parkway Road (US-FHK-SDZ-2A) 278 Shoppes on the Parkway Road Blowing Rock, NC 28605 (1) 2211 Vinnie's Way 2211 Vinnie's Way Charlotte, NC 28214 (1) Ballantyne BP 9935 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy Charlotte, NC 28277 (1) EchoPark Sonic Automotive 4401 Colwick Rd Charlotte, NC 28211 (2) MODERN HYUNDAI 100000111 965 Concord Pkwy S Concord, NC 28027 (1) Circle K - Gastonia, NC 2106 N Chester St Gastonia, NC 28052 ➡ ND (1) Hwy 83 Leisure & Tools 1619 US-83 Garrison, ND 58540 (1) Enel X - Northdale Oil 4400 32nd Ave S Grand Forks, ND 58201 ➡ NH (1) NOURIA NOURIA ENERGY C 195 S River Rd Bedford, NH 03110 ➡ NJ (2) AAF PARAMUS DC LEFT 375 NJ-17 Paramus, NJ 07652 (1) bp - Springfield, NJ (5 Meisel Ave) 5 Meisel Ave Springfield, NJ 07081 (1) Brogan Cadillac Co. 112 RT 46 EAST TOTOWA, NJ 07512 (1) ESSEX COUNTY ESSEX COUNTY DC 900 Bloomfield Ave Verona, NJ 07044 ➡ NY (1) Applegreen Electric - Chittenango Travel Plaza 2188 Tag Rd NY State Thruway Chittenango, NY 13037 (2) S-R CPE2502 784 County Rd 64 Elmira, NY 14903 (2) PRESHYUN PKG 2 768 E Chester St Kingston, NY 12401 (1) Courtyard Syracuse Downtown At Armory Square 300 W Fayette St Syracuse, NY 13202 (1) MBOC WAY DC250 1 1 Mercedes Way Woodbury, NY 10926 ➡ OH (2) RICART CHARGER HYUNDAI PARK 4247 S Hamilton Rd Columbus, OH 43125 (2) DENNIS HYUNDAI FRONT DRIVE 1 2900 Morse Rd Columbus, OH 43231 (1) RICART CHARGER KIA LEVEL 3 4255 S Hamilton Rd Groveport, OH 43125 (1) Sugar Crossing Convenience Store 2049 Hornsmill Rd SE Lancaster, OH 43130 (1) DONWOODAUTO DW CHEVY 1 12916 OH-664 Logan, OH 43138 (1) CAPITAL KIA CPE250 1 9630 OH-14 Streetsboro, OH 44241 ➡ OK (1) EDMONDOK FESTIVAL MARKET 26 W 1st St Edmond, OK 73003 ➡ OR (3) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC1 1215 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC4 1235 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) OEM 3250 NW Yeon Ave Portland, OR 97210 (1) WinCo Foods - Portland, 102nd #13 1222 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR 97220 (6) 1620 NW Mulholland Drive (US-2SP-J3B-2C) 1620 NW Mulholland Drive Roseburg, OR 97470 ➡ PA (1) PLEASANT HILLS FRONT 1 106 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (1) PLEASANT HILLS REAR 2 139 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (2) DC CORRIDOR BRISTOL PL2 3260 New Rodgers Road Bristol, PA 19007 (1) GM - TROY-ALAN CHEVROLET BUICK GMC 217 Grove City Rd Slippery Rock, PA 16057 ➡ SC (1) Parks Buick GMC 2640 LAURENS RD GREENVILLE, SC 29607 ➡ SD (1) Vern Eide Chevrolet Buick GMC 219 E First Avenue Mitchell, SD 57301 ➡ TN (1) Chattanooga Plant (Chattanooga, TN) 8001 Volkswagen Dr Chattanooga, TN 37416 ➡ TX (1) Chipotle Corinth 8201 S Interstate 35 E Corinth, TX 76210 (1) Prestonwood Town Center 5301 Belt Line Rd Dallas, TX 75254 (1) Gateway of Euless 3050 Highway 360 Euless, TX 76039 (2) PHILOTT HYUNDAI CPE250-B 2310o U.S. 69 Access Rd Nederland, TX 77627 (1) GUNN CHEVROLET, LTD. 16550 IH-35 NORTH Selma, TX 78154 (2) HOS CHARGEPOINT DC FAST 1 4100 Hwy 96 Bypass Silsbee, TX 77656 ➡ UT (1) U OF U SOLAR CANOPY 357 1400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84112 ➡ VA (1) Robert Woodall Cadillac 1063 RIVERSIDE DR DANVILLE, VA 24540 (1) Center of Excellence (For Testing Purposes Only) 300 Victory Drive Herndon, VA 20170 (1) Circle K - Wytheville, VA 2622 E Lee Hwy Wytheville, VA 24382 ➡ WA (1) 7116 - Burlington, WA (9596 Old Hwy 99 N) 9596 Old Hwy 99 N Burlington, WA 98233 (1) 5443 - Everett, WA (701 128th Street SW) 701 128th Street SW Everett, WA 98204 (1) Ruddell Auto 110 S Golf Course Rd Port Angeles, WA 98362 (1) Lincoln Conoco 301 N 1st Street Yakima, WA 98901 ➡ WI (1) AVISBUDGET WEST CPE250 N755 Communication Dr Appleton, WI 54914 (1) AMATO GLENDALE LOT N80W12650 Leon Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (1) RACINE HYUNDAI LVL 3 EAST SIDE 13313 Washington Ave Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 (1) Wheelers Chevrolet of Wisconsin Rapids 2410 W. Grand Ave Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495 

Good afternoon. Brief listing of CAREER JOBS pulled from usps.com/careers/ for your convenience. Tell HR User_3971 sent you, let's see if they pay more than .25¢ per head. Cheap bastards.
Some jobs may be part-time regular however all listed jobs should qualify for federal benefits from day one. To save text I have only listed the location and date of posting for each. Use the posting number for your search term. LC and MM are entry-level Maintenance.
NOTE: USPS NEVER charges a fee for entrance exams. If payment is requested during the application process, walk the fuck away, go to usps.com/careers/ and APPLY THERE. We even has a video walkthrough prepared.
​
Laborer Custodial:
MCMINNVILLE TN NC11346312 05/05/2023
ST THOMAS VI NC11347318 05/05/2023
FREDERIKSTED VI NC11347315 05/05/2023
ST THOMAS VI NC11347115 05/05/2023
SHELBYVILLE TN NC11347014 05/05/2023
CHRISTIANSTED VI NC11346319 05/05/2023
DYERSBURG TN NC11346311 05/05/2023
OAKLAND CA NC11343582 05/03/2023
EAST SAINT LOUIS IL NC11338575 04/28/2023
SAINT PETERS MO NC11349821 05/08/2023
CHESTERFIELD MO NC11349819 05/08/2023
DANVILLE CA NC11341601 05/06/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11347991 05/06/2023
CORVALLIS OR NC11346706 05/05/2023
UNION SC NC11345064 05/05/2023
WILLISTON ND NC11344998 05/04/2023
CAIRO IL NC11344896 05/04/2023
CHERRYVILLE NC NC11344454 05/04/2023
LEWISTON ID NC11343583 05/04/2023
JACKSON MI NC11343615 05/03/2023
CARLETON MI NC11343610 05/03/2023
RIVER ROUGE MI NC11343575 05/03/2023
DETROIT MI NC11343440 05/03/2023
DETROIT MI NC11343096 05/03/2023
MOUNT IDA AR NC11342996 05/03/2023
DETROIT MI NC11342822 05/03/2023
BISMARCK ND NC11342803 05/01/2023
LITTLE ROCK AR NC11340458 04/29/2023
CHARLEVOIX MI NC11335301 04/24/2023
CHESTERFIELD MO NC11349988 05/08/2023
WALNUT CREEK CA NC11341611 05/06/2023
​
Maintenance Mechanic:
FOREST PARK IL NC11342149 04/30/2023
SAINT PAUL MN NC11342979 05/01/2023
SAINT PAUL MN NC11342648 05/01/2023
SAINT PAUL MN NC11342641 05/01/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11345865 05/07/2023
PITTSBURGH PA NC11342980 05/03/2023
PALATINE IL NC11342140 04/30/2023
NORFOLK VA NC11340070 04/28/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11345151 05/04/2023
KEARNY NJ NC11336994 05/05/2023
GREENSBORO NC NC11347800 05/06/2023
FOREST PARK IL NC11342147 04/30/2023
CHICAGO IL NC11339687 04/28/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11339680 04/28/2023
WEST SACRAMENTO CA NC11335414 04/24/2023
NORTH READING MA NC11340420 04/29/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11343220 05/03/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11339657 04/28/2023
SANTA CLARITA CA NC11326830 05/06/2023
PHOENIX AZ NC11339843 05/01/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11344662 05/07/2023
​
Special! Interesting Maintenance Jobs: (may be skills required)
​
Maintenance Mechanic MPE:
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11337334 04/26/2023
EAGAN MN NC11342646 05/01/2023
BUFFALO NY NC11347599 05/06/2023
RALEIGH NC NC11347559 05/06/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11337093 04/26/2023
EAGAN MN NC11342812 05/01/2023
ROCKY MOUNT NC NC11346323 05/05/2023
PHOENIX AZ NC11342833 05/01/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11347015 05/05/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11347456 05/04/2023
​
Building Equipment Mechanic:
TOPEKA KS NC11344863 05/06/2023
FOREST PARK IL NC11342225 04/30/2023
​
Electronic Technician:
WASHINGTON DC NC11337078 04/26/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11344140 05/03/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341301 04/29/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341213 04/29/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11338431 04/26/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11338426 04/26/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341303 04/29/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341262 04/29/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11339652 04/28/2023
CITY OF INDUSTRY CA NC11344403 05/03/2023
HARRISBURG PA NC11342637 05/01/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341401 04/29/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11341153 04/29/2023
​
NON-Maintenance jerbs:
​
SALES,SVCS/DISTRIBUTION ASSOC:
VALLEY LEE MD NC11344414 05/08/2023
RESTED BUTTE CO NC11349996 05/08/2023
SAINT PAUL OR NC11335306 04/24/2023
PEACHLAND NC NC11348602 05/06/2023
CHILOQUIN OR NC11335310 04/24/2023
OSCEOLA WI NC11347560 05/06/2023
ETNA NH NC11347564 05/06/2023
TRENTON NC NC11344417 05/04/2023
LA LUZ NM NC11349004 05/07/2023
EUREKA NV NC11349019 05/07/2023
TUNKHANNOCK PA NC11344467 05/04/2023
KINGS BEACH CA NC11348910 05/07/2023
BUENA VISTA CO NC11350166 05/08/2023
MOSS BEACH CA NC11346317 05/05/2023
UPTON MA NC11347016 05/06/2023
SOMERS MT NC11343673 05/04/2023
SINTON TX NC11344458 05/04/2023
BYRON IL NC11345003 05/04/2023
HILLSBOROUGH NH NC11345002 05/04/2023
PROSPECT HEIGHTS IL NC11343076 05/01/2023
WRIGHTSVILLE PA NC11344999 05/04/2023
VESTAL NY NC11348690 05/07/2023
QUANTICO VA NC11344731 05/04/2023
NORTH BEND WA NC11344138 05/03/2023
CRYSTAL BAY NV NC11347802 05/06/2023
CORTE MADERA CA NC11350211 05/08/2023
BOLINAS CA NC11345868 05/05/2023
BASSETT NE NC11344387 05/04/2023
DONNELLY ID NC11339548 05/01/2023
​
Delivery/SSDA:
PORTOLA CA NC11348689 05/07/2023
LIHUE HI NC11350203 05/07/2023
​
Mail Handler:
POUGHKEEPSIE NY NC11347552 05/06/2023
ST THOMAS VI NC11347317 05/05/2023
​
City Carrier:
AURORA CO NC11343097 05/08/2023
BLOOMINGTON IL NC11341417 04/29/2023
BOZEMAN MT NC11342841 05/01/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11343095 05/08/2023
DAVENPORT IA NC11344851 05/04/2023
DENVER CO NC11343099 05/08/2023
EAST PALO ALTO CA NC11344451 05/05/2023
ELGIN IL NC11343093 05/08/2023
EVERETT WA NC11323649 05/07/2023
FARGO ND NC11323272 05/06/2023
HANOVER PARK IL NC11342842 05/08/2023
IOWA CITY IA NC11344773 05/04/2023
LAKEWOOD CO NC11343576 05/08/2023
LEES SUMMIT MO NC11345062 05/04/2023
MALDEN MA NC11343090 05/08/2023
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA NC11344450 05/05/2023
PITTSBURGH PA NC11343092 05/08/2023
ROCHESTER MN NC11344874 05/04/2023
WALNUT CREEK CA NC11342829 05/07/2023
WHEAT RIDGE CO NC11343674 05/05/2023
WHEELING IL NC11342831 05/01/2023
CHELSEA MA NC11343269 05/08/2023
CINCINNATI OH NC11343502 05/08/2023
MOORHEAD MN NC11344383 05/04/2023
REDWOOD CITY CA NC11338872 05/04/2023
DENVER CO NC11343507 05/08/2023
GREAT FALLS MT NC11350451 05/09/2023
JAMAICA PLAIN MA NC11343253 05/08/2023
KIRKLAND WA NC11323656 05/07/2023
LIMA OH NC11344421 05/08/2023
REDMOND WA NC11323666 05/07/2023
SAINT PAUL MN NC11343273 05/08/2023
ALBANY NY NC11346324 05/08/2023
BERKELEY CA NC11344423 05/04/2023
DULUTH MN NC11343430 05/03/2023
HAYWARD CA NC11342231 05/07/2023
HAYWARD CA NC11344424 05/04/2023
LONGMONT CO NC11347319 05/06/2023
MANCHESTER MA NC11347561 05/06/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11343433 05/08/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA NC11343443 05/08/2023
SANTA CRUZ CA NC11344405 05/05/2023
BEAVER DAM WI NC11338372 05/06/2023
BILLINGS MT NC11347120 05/05/2023
BOULDER CO NC11347324 05/08/2023
CHAMPLIN MN NC11346193 05/05/2023
CHANHASSEN MN NC11346199 05/05/2023
DENVER CO NC11343505 05/08/2023
FREMONT CA NC11342237 05/07/2023
GREAT BEND KS NC11345912 05/04/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11343270 05/08/2023
KANSAS CITY MO NC11343427 05/08/2023
LAFAYETTE IN NC11344137 05/07/2023
LITTLETON CO NC11343600 05/08/2023
LOS GATOS CA NC11344404 05/05/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11343272 05/08/2023
MADISON WI NC11343274 05/08/2023
MANCHESTER NH NC11342995 05/03/2023
MENLO PARK CA NC11338925 05/04/2023
MISSION KS NC11343608 05/08/2023
MOUNT HOREB WI NC11325171 04/25/2023
NORTHGLENN CO NC11343606 05/08/2023
OAKLAND CA NC11343503 05/08/2023
PORTLAND ME NC11345920 05/05/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11342236 05/07/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11348615 05/07/2023
SAN JOSE CA NC11343500 05/08/2023
SANTA BARBARA CA NC11339030 05/07/2023
SANTA CLARA CA NC11344141 05/05/2023
SCARBOROUGH ME NC11345918 05/05/2023
SUNNYVALE CA NC11344142 05/05/2023
SUPERIOR CO NC11347123 05/05/2023
WALNUT CREEK CA NC11345150 05/04/2023
WALTHAM MA NC11343260 05/08/2023
NORTH SEATTLE WA NC11343617 05/08/2023
SUPERIOR CO NC11343601 05/09/2023
CENTRAL SEATTLE WA NC11343577 05/08/2023
SOUTH SEATTLE WA NC11343578 05/08/2023
​
Rural Carrier:
RUMNEY NH NC11344995 05/04/2023
NEHALEM OR NC11340284 04/28/2023
BASALT CO NC11347598 05/06/2023
ROSEAU MN NC11342801 05/01/2023
LITITZ PA NC11342226 04/30/2023
BOZEMAN MT NC11350414 05/09/2023
WAITSFIELD VT NC11347882 05/06/2023
LAKEVILLE MN NC11343081 05/03/2023
​
Motor Vehicle Operator:
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11348643 05/06/2023
SAN JOSE CA P&DC NC11348644 05/06/2023
PORTLAND OR P&DC NC11348645 05/06/2023
OAKLAND CA P&DC NC11348647 05/06/2023
NASHVILLE TN P&DC NC11348638 05/06/2023
ALBANY NY P&DC NC11348642 05/06/2023
​
Tractor Trailer Operator:
CHICAGO INTL SVC CTR NC11348982 05/06/2023
PITTSBURGH PA P&DC NC11348738 05/06/2023
NORTH READING P&DC NC11348739 05/06/2023
LOUISVILLE KY P&DC NC11348749 05/06/2023
EVANSVILLE IN P&DC NC11348902 05/06/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11348735 05/06/2023
SAN FRANCISCO NDC NC11348731 05/06/2023
ROCHESTER NY P&DC NC11348742 05/06/2023
RENO NV P&DC NC11348737 05/06/2023
OAKLAND CA P&DC NC11348730 05/06/2023
GARY IN P&DC NC11348905 05/06/2023
DVD BLDG NJ P&DC NC11348745 05/06/2023
DENVER CO P&DC NC11348736 05/06/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA P&DC NC11348734 05/06/2023
PORTLAND OR P&DC NC11348976 05/06/2023
DES MOINES IA P&DC NC11348977 05/06/2023
CHARLESTON SC P&DC NC11348635 05/06/2023
​
No experience necessary for the laborer custodial or maintenance mechanic positions. It helps on the interview but you can surely think of maintenance related experience to relay for an interview. Based on fixing things around your house, the car etc. Always mention working safely.
​
Pro tip: You can apply for any job that has an exam opening and the test is administered local to yourself. Make sure you're serious and score decently; you can turn down the job offer. Keep a physical copy of your exam score, I believe they are good for two years.
The reason is: These job postings can be posted externally at capacity for testing, meaning they will not allow you to take the exam if they have enough qualified applicants. However, if you have a test score on the books, you are a qualified applicant.
​
Explanation of MVO/TTO to save time:
MVO= CDL B Can only drive box trucks on public roads, can drive anything for moves on postal property.
TTO= CDL A Can drive anything.
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USPS provides the training. (Maintenance jobs at least. TTO and management...GOOD LUCK)
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You don't have to be crazy to work here. We'll train you. Everything but proper email usage.

Here are all of the new US CHAdeMO (Leaf fast-charging) stations that rolled out in April 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
There were 112 "new" CHAdeMOs added in April. To put it in perspective, there were 171 CCS chargers added in April. I think the pace of CHAdeMO rollout has stabilized, while the pace of CCS rollout is still increasing. This makes sense given that only Nissan still makes a CHAdeMO car.
Some of these chargepoints will be "refreshes," e.g. the provider replaced them with faster chargers etc. Some may be incorrect. This report is only as good as the Alternative Fuels Data Center data.
We all know that CHAdeMO is a legacy format and will eventually go away, but clearly Nissan and their partners are continuing to support it for the time being. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, you can still buy a new Leaf.
If you'd like to know about new chargers along your routes right away, or reading these monthly reports is just frustrating in your state, I've set up a free service that provides email notifications only when new stations actually open. You can sign up at evpov.com. I built it to help EV owners like myself (especially my fellow Leaf owners). You can pick other plug types as well.
To streamline this post, multi-chargepoint locations are listed with the number of chargepoints first, so that's why the post is shorter than in previous months.

➡ AZ (2) GPM INVESTMENTS 4597 DC2 21198 E Ocotillo Rd Queen Creek, AZ 85142 ➡ CA (1) Shepard Place Shops - CPMD 1001-1049 Casitas Pass Road Carpinteria, CA 93013 (1) Eureka 1912 Broadway St. Eureka, CA 95501 (1) 5515 Automall Pkwy 5515 Automall Pkwy Fremont, CA 94538 (1) 7097 - Morgan Hill, CA (18605 Monterey Road) 18605 Monterey Road Morgan Hill, CA 95037 (1) ROSEVILLE HYUND STATION #2 200 N Sunrise Ave Roseville, CA 95661 (2) 101 LOMBARD ST LEVIS RAPID 1 101 Lombard St San Francisco, CA 94111 (1) CHARGEPOINT ZNKR DC 1 2191 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95131 (1) BOA San Leandro Main CA4-111 (San Leandro, CA) 1400 E 14TH ST San Leandro, CA 94577 (1) ARCO Torrance 1800 Artesia Blvd Torrance, CA 90504 ➡ CO (2) HION NETWORK ALAMOSA PL2 610 State Avenue Alamosa, CO 81101 (2) CONIFER CONIFER PL2 27171 Main Street Conifer, CO 80433 (1) In-N-Out Denver-- 4597 N. Central park blvd 4597 Central Park Blvd Denver, CO 80238 (2) CITY OF DURANGO DURANGO PL2 250 West 8th Street Durango, CO 81301 (4) VOLVO CAR USA GW SPRINGS DC4 2115 Grand Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 (2) KUM & GO GRANBY PL1 308 West Agate Avenue Granby, CO 80446 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL2 1230 Main St Ouray, CO 81427 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL1 1230 Main Street Ouray, CO 81427 (2) CENTENNIAL PARK PAGOSA SPGS PL2 San Juan River Walk Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (2) ES1 SALIDA PL2 1 County Road 105 Salida, CO 81201 ➡ CT (2) BMW RIDGEFIELD RIDGEFIELD 2 746 US-7 Ridgefield, CT 06877 (1) SUBARU CUSTOMER CUSTOMEREXPRESS 45 Winsted Rd Torrington, CT 06790 ➡ FL (1) GLENEAGLES STATION 2 7667 Victory Ln Delray Beach, FL 33446 (1) Bird Ludlam 6890 Bird Rd Miami FL 33155 Bird Rd Miami, FL 33155 ➡ GA (1) GEORGIA POWER VININGS DC1 4300 Paces Ferry Rd SE Atlanta, GA 30339 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ALT #2 5917 Peachtree Rd Atlanta, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER LAKEPOINT DC1 171 LakePoint Pkwy Cartersville, GA 30121 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ATL #1 5917 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Chamblee, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER CUMMING DC1 1532 Market Pl Blvd Cumming, GA 30041 (1) GEORGIA POWER CAPTAIN D MADI 1930 Eatonton Rd Madison, GA 30650 (2) GEORGIA POWER THOMSON DC2 2101 Washington Rd Thomson, GA 30824 ➡ IA (1) KUM & GO CEDAR RAPIDS DC 2604 16th Avenue Southwest Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 ➡ IL (1) HOP CHARGERS HOP2-NORTH LOT 343 N Perryville Rd Rockford, IL 61107 ➡ IN (1) CHARGER SOUTH CHARGER SOUTH 920 N Nappanee St Elkhart, IN 46514 (1) KELLEY CADILLAC 4-G-250-L-W-15 555 Grand National Dr Fort Wayne, IN 46804 ➡ KS (1) Midway Motors Supercenter 2075 E Kansas Ave McPherson, KS 67460 ➡ KY (2) FORT KNOX IBCRG#4 10 Bullion Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (5) FORT KNOX IBCRG#3 397 Redmar Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (1) FORT KNOX IBCRG#1 7543 McDevett Circle Fort Knox, KY 40121 ➡ LA (1) Gerry Lane Chevrolet 6505 Florida Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (1) EVerCharge - Minden City Hall 520 Broadway St Minden, LA 71055 ➡ MA (1) Simon Cape Cod Mall (Hyannis, MA) 769 Iyannough Rd Hyannis, MA 02601 ➡ MD (1) Pepco - Southern Regional Tech and Rec Complex 7007 Bock Rd Fort Washington, MD 20744 ➡ ME (1) QUIRK AUTO SABARU 295 Hogan Rd Bangor, ME 04401 ➡ MI (1) KOOL TOYOTA CPE-FAST 3780 Plainfield Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 ➡ MO (1) Dutch Valley Grocery 760 MO-13 Warrensburg, MO 64093 ➡ NC (1) Ballantyne BP 9935 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy Charlotte, NC 28277 (2) MODERN HYUNDAI 100000111 965 Concord Pkwy S Concord, NC 28027 ➡ ND (1) Hwy 83 Leisure & Tools 1619 US-83 Garrison, ND 58540 (1) Enel X - Northdale Oil 4400 32nd Ave S Grand Forks, ND 58201 ➡ NH (1) NOURIA NOURIA ENERGY C 195 S River Rd Bedford, NH 03110 ➡ NJ (2) AAF PARAMUS DC LEFT 375 NJ-17 Paramus, NJ 07652 (1) bp - Springfield, NJ (5 Meisel Ave) 5 Meisel Ave Springfield, NJ 07081 (1) ESSEX COUNTY ESSEX COUNTY DC 900 Bloomfield Ave Verona, NJ 07044 ➡ NY (1) Applegreen Electric - Chittenango Travel Plaza 2188 Tag Rd NY State Thruway Chittenango, NY 13037 (2) S-R CPE2502 784 County Rd 64 Elmira, NY 14903 (2) PRESHYUN PKG 2 768 E Chester St Kingston, NY 12401 (1) Courtyard Syracuse Downtown At Armory Square 300 W Fayette St Syracuse, NY 13202 (1) MBOC WAY DC250 1 1 Mercedes Way Woodbury, NY 10926 ➡ OH (2) RICART CHARGER HYUNDAI PARK 4247 S Hamilton Rd Columbus, OH 43125 (2) DENNIS HYUNDAI FRONT DRIVE 1 2900 Morse Rd Columbus, OH 43231 (1) Sugar Crossing Convenience Store 2049 Hornsmill Rd SE Lancaster, OH 43130 (1) DONWOODAUTO DW CHEVY 1 12916 OH-664 Logan, OH 43138 (1) CAPITAL KIA CPE250 1 9630 OH-14 Streetsboro, OH 44241 ➡ OK (1) EDMONDOK FESTIVAL MARKET 26 W 1st St Edmond, OK 73003 ➡ OR (3) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC1 1215 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC4 1235 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) WinCo Foods - Portland, 102nd #13 1222 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR 97220 ➡ PA (1) PLEASANT HILLS FRONT 1 106 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (1) PLEASANT HILLS REAR 2 139 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (2) DC CORRIDOR BRISTOL PL2 3260 New Rodgers Road Bristol, PA 19007 ➡ TX (1) Chipotle Corinth 8201 S Interstate 35 E Corinth, TX 76210 (1) Prestonwood Town Center 5301 Belt Line Rd Dallas, TX 75254 (1) Gateway of Euless 3050 Highway 360 Euless, TX 76039 (2) PHILOTT HYUNDAI CPE250-B 2310o U.S. 69 Access Rd Nederland, TX 77627 (2) HOS CHARGEPOINT DC FAST 1 4100 Hwy 96 Bypass Silsbee, TX 77656 ➡ UT (1) U OF U SOLAR CANOPY 357 1400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84112 ➡ WA (1) 7116 - Burlington, WA (9596 Old Hwy 99 N) 9596 Old Hwy 99 N Burlington, WA 98233 (1) Ruddell Auto 110 S Golf Course Rd Port Angeles, WA 98362 ➡ WI (1) AVISBUDGET WEST CPE250 N755 Communication Dr Appleton, WI 54914 (1) AMATO GLENDALE LOT N80W12650 Leon Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (1) RACINE HYUNDAI LVL 3 EAST SIDE 13313 Washington Ave Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 (1) Wheelers Chevrolet of Wisconsin Rapids 2410 W. Grand Ave Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495 

https://www.yelp.com/biz/regal-beaver-creek-apex-4

• Since I read reviews I never saw a movie in a long time but I would love to (if something worth $50 ever plays) I heard about the 4DX. Other than Regal who else in the region offers the same?

My parents divorced when I was 12, amd my dad left me with my abusive mother. I was Daddy's Little Girl, my brother was Momma's Boy. Before the divorce, my dad would tell me to stay off my mom's radar. Don't argue with her. "If she says 'jump', you say how high on the way up!" The abuse from my mom was everything: Physical, emotional, psychological, verbal... I say everything but sexual. My teens with her were hell. Her crazy just escalated. She took her hatred and anger for my dad out on me. I believe she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, but it might not have been a formal diagnosis.My therapists have said she also sounds Bi-Polar.
In my mid 20s, I wanted to go NC with her. We were starting a family and I didn't want her near my children. A therapist talked me out of it, basically convinced me that BPD's will not take no for an answer. The therapist convinced me instead to set very firm boundaries, and basically go very low contact. At first it was really rough. She fought it like crazed lunatic. Lots of reinforcing boundaries, which one major one was I would hang up on her if she started yelling. We had a lot of 15 second phone calls. Other rules like no talking about my dad, etc. Fifteen minutes with her was my cap. After the 15, it was time to go. Now, things are better. She finally accepted my boundaries, and she calmed down a great deal in the last couple decades. She lives alone, so no longer has the stress of living with someone or raising kids. We can actually visit for several hours now. It's healthy, enough. She wishes we were closer, but I can't let myself be emotionally vulnerable to her again. If she starts to talk about a topic I consider off limits, she will usually stop immediately when I say WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. If I start to get too much of her I will be honest and tell her. She gets it. She has apologized for what she has done to me in the past, though she stated she has no recollection of any of the abuse. She's said stuff like, "I can't imagine EVER doing something so cruel to you! But if you say I did, then I did and I'm so sorry." It seems a little unfair that her mental illness has caused these distortions in memory, as she doesn't really know what she's apologizing for, but I'll take it. I really wish she was able to get help when I was a child, but I believe her mental illness made it impossible to 'hide her Hyde' when her switch flipped. She has been on disability since I moved out on my own at 17, I assume for mental illness but she won't say what her disability is.
My dad remarried when I was 14, to a social worker who later went on to get her Master's Degree in Psychology. (She remained a social worker at the county and then later the VA, never worked as a therapist thankfully.) My dad always joked he went from one extreme to the other. "From a psychopath to a psychologist!" I didn't have the luxury of experiencing too much of a difference. This woman has hated me for over 30 years. I can't do anything right. Always has her scoreboard where she compares me to her kids, and anything I ever did to earn points fell right off into the negatives again. My dad has been telling me for over 30 years to play nice. "Make an effort. Go the extra mile. She'll learn to accept you..." I tried inviting her to lunch to work things out a few times, and they ended in disaster. I tried my hardest to reach a good place with her, but they were all just roasts. Scorching lists of how horrible I am and how I needed to change everything about myself to meet her expectations. Of course she did not need to change anything about her behavior, because she's the master of Psychology and I was just the devil spawn of a psychopath. Doesn't matter that I have a healthy, happy marriage to a man I have been with since I was 18 (so 29 years) and two great kids that I've never had any problems with. We don't have conflict, if anything it is too far the other way as my husband was raised in a family that would rather chew their own arm off before they allowed conflict. I am thankful my home life has been drama free, quite the contrast to how my life was as a child. I vowed to never let myself treat anyone in way that made them hate me like the parent I hated.
Until a few years ago, I put all the blame on my dad's wife for her behavior. Then I finally stopped looking at my dad as the idol I loved so much as a child. That man no longer exists. This is as much his fault as it is hers because he has never advocated for me. Not once. I hoped for years and years he'd see things from my point of view and put an end to her gaslighting, blame shifting, toxic behavior... He has not only allowed it, he has nutured it. He regurgitates her comments as if they're his own. That little girl inside me has mourned the loss of her 'perfect' daddy. The relationship that could have been. He was such a good dad to me, I just wanted my kids to have that man as their grandfather. He is a wonderful grandpa, to HER kids' kids. She didn't allow him to spend time with my kids. (Although he does pick a favorite among her clan- one that he adores and they adore him. After his first chosen one became an adult and moved on, his next chosen child is the youngest. I see his relationship with her as a replica of my blessed childhood with him.) When I would fight for my kids to have time with their grandpa, she would accuse me of being greedy and "expecting handouts" for my boys. It wasn't about the money they spend on her bio-grands, which was/is A LOT, it was the time. My boys are adults now, so I don't need to make excuses for the lopsided treatment anymore. They know.
So I've been in and out of therapy, for various incidences like "The Great Fight of 2016" when I asked him to not lie to me to "protect me" from feeling slighted when they would do things for her kids, specifically when he denied bringing her son and his wife to Ireland with them- like I wouldn't see their pictures on FB. He apologized for lying, came in to my work tearing up because he had hurt me and promised to not hide things anymore in an effort to protect me. (Her kids had been told to keep things from me and I told him THAT was what hurt me, not the favoritism, I've been used to that for decades.) He thought I'd be jealous of the trip and I told him spending a week with his wife in another country would be a sadistic form of torture, so no. I was not jealous. Maybe I didn't say it so bluntly, I knew he'd repeat it. Regardless, she sent me a scathing email stating I was a jealous, selfish little toddler that needed to be put in the corner, and said she got mad at my dad for apologizing to me. She made him take it back. She said I needed to apologize to them for being a greedy money hungry brat. My dad did a complete about face and took on her stance. That level of disrespect caused me to take a break from them for over a year. He eventually reached out and said we need to just start with a clean slate. (Which meant no conflict resolution, and everyone knows how well that works.) We had a guarded relationship after that, with him becoming more and more insulting. He would constantly tell me I sound like my mother, even though I was trying to improve our relationship which my mother would NEVER do. My husband swears I am NOTHING like my mother was, and we'd have been divorced many years ago if I was. I told him many times in the past to have me committed if he saw that abusive behavior toward our kids. I was afraid to have kids for fear I would mess them up like my mom messed me up. I know my dad was only saying that because his wife was chirping it in his ear hoping it would set me off.
I wrote him a very well thought out letter, with nothing that could or would trigger or provoke either of them, basically stating I wanted to improve our relationship. I pointed out the comparing to my mother was inaccurate and assumedly anger provoking, stating that any comments like that in the future would be viewed as antagonistic.
He wrote back, agreed the comparison to my mom was inaccurate and promised to work on bringing our relationship to a healthy place. He has been trying, and this has angered his wife more than ever. I believe she had hoped I would go NC with him forever, and this effort on my part has given her no fuel to attack me because if she did, she would be undermining the very identity she strived so hard to achieve. Her attempts at pushing me away have definitely doubled, however covert they are. He used to offer to help me with various things, like doing my taxes or helping me with installing a door. Whenever I took him up on it, I'd have to pay her back like I needed to reward her for loaning out my dad. Her form of forced gratitude was bringing them both out to eat. This confused me, because why would she want to willingly spend time with me? Was it really worth it to her to get a free meal? It definitely was not worth it to me, so after a couple of those I turned my dad down on all offers of help. It was several years later that I realized that was her goal all along. We do not enjoy being in each other's company, so it was easy for her to predict what would happen if she forced me to treat her to dinner. I'd stop spending time with my dad, and it would be ALL MY IDEA. But if I would ever accuse her to anyone of planning that, she knows I would be the one to look like the drama hungry hateful witch. Very clever... I didn't even realize how she planned that out until several years later. A skilled narcissist indeed.
Last May, my dad went into cardiac arrest in his yard. If it weren't for the miracle of a registered nurse visiting across the street, he'd be gone. I didn't learn about this for several hours, until I got a phone call from my frantic brother. Narc wife had called HIM, and she probably had to get his number off my dad's phone. He told me Dad dropped in his yard, he may have hit his head, he was not breathing on his own, and they didn't know if he was going to survive.
I called HER, she said as much, and said one of her kids and their spouse were at the ER with her. (This step sibling lives a half hour away, but I didn't t bring up the hours that had passed between his collapse and my brother's phone call.) She claimed she didn't have my number. The number I've had since 2001. The number I texted her from a couple months earlier when I wished her good luck on her surgery. The number I texted her from on her birthday to wish her a happy birthday. Whatever, I didn't mention it, I just asked that she kept me updated. She said they were waiting on a brain scan which would determine if he had brain function, and the doctor would be back any moment. She promised one of them would contact me to let me know ASAP. I asked if she wanted me there, she said no her child was there. I was relieved because sitting in a lobby with his hateful wife would help me none, so I stayed home with my family for comfort. As I waited, I actually felt a peace come over me. If he was gone, the drama with her would be over soon. After 2-3 hours of not getting a response, I called the hospital. They couldn't find him until the 7th person I spoke to which was in the cardiac unit. They said he was still unconscious and had a breathing tube, but he should recover just fine.
After I hung up, I started bawling. That was the first time I cried that day. It was not from relief though. It was from the agony of knowing I'd still have to deal with her for another decade or so. I was hoping that was it. I love my dad, but I was relieved thinking the torment with her would finally be over.
I wrote a group message to my dad, her, and her kids requesting they keep me informed with updates about my dad, please and thank you. She wrote back some lie that made me look like the one being a jerk, but I didn't respond. I knew she would pull her crap again, so I decided to make it public so she couldn't deny it ONCE AGAIN and accuse me of lying or instigating.
The next day, she made a separate group message with all of my dad's "people" in it. These were all her kids, their spouses, their children, her brothers, and the neighbors, there were none of my dad's relatives in it with the exception of my brother and my husband. I was not in this group text. First she claimed she didn't have my number, but I had just called her the night before. Then she claimed she didn't have the right one and somehow made that sound like my fault, but again. She literally had my number from the night before even if it weren't saved in her phone. THEN she claimed she had my husband and I in her phone as one phone number, so when she added the number with both our names she assumed it also sent it to mine. Not good call phones work, but I didn't push. She still refused to use the other group though, even though everyone had been added so the only difference was... me. My dad's siblings and extended family were asking me for updates and I had nothing to tell them most of the time.
She claimed she would send me updates separately, but I ended up getting most from my husband's screenshots. She was VERY prompt about sending me pictures of the flowers and cards her kids got him of course.... a few days later on the day of my dad's quadruple bypass surgery, I hadn't heard anything from her even though my husband had received two of her group updates a couple hours earlier. I messaged the group text I had made with everyone asking for updates. She said, "I messaged you privately." Then she sent me a text saying "No updates." Again I messaged the group, finally showing some of my frustration, "Really? No updates? It has been hours! They couldn't send a nurse out or something??" She massaged me again, "THERE ARE NO UPDATES I WILL TELL YOU WHEN THERE ARE! Stop harassing my family, you are stressing us all out!" In a matter with my dad that was literally life or death, she still couldn't get over her petty games and treat me fairly.
That's when I finally blasted back at her "I KNOW THERE WERE UPDATES! I SAW THEM! WHY ARE YOU MAKING THIS HARDER FOR US BOTH?" I said she was adding extra work for herself to segregate me from everyone else. She let it fly with a lengthy text about how I was ungrateful for the extra effort she was putting in for me, I should be thanking her and I should get my updates from my husband from now on because CLEARLY I wasn't appreciating all the extra effort she was putting in to keep me 'perfectly updated'. "My husband died in front of me and all you can think about is your drama." Called me abusive names, told me I owed her entire family an apology for my toddler tantrum, and so on.
I wrote back telling her she was abusive, said I would not tolerate it any longer, and someone in the field should KNOW how to treat people. For once she didn't have a response. I finally stood up for myself and said something to her that I knew would upset her. And for the first time, I saw her behavior for what it truly was: abuse. I had been conditioned to think someone with a degree couldn't possibly take it as far as abuse, but that's exactly what this has been all along! Thirty plus years of abuse!
I thought, "OMG my dad is going to be so upset with me that I pissed off his wife!" That's when it hit me. Like a thunderbolt! The reason my dad would be upset was because he would have to deal with an angry wife. Not because I was out of line. With both of his wives, he would urge me not to confront them. Not because it would help ME, but because it would HELP HIM!! All along I had let myself think he had my best interest in mind even though he had very poor conflict resolution skills. He wasn't being ignorant, he was being SELFISH!!
After the months of not bringing it up, he sent a meshed through my brother about his disappointment for not attending a family event. I finally dropped it on him. Told him that I needed to siding myself with people that lift me up, not put me down. Said his wife was abusive. It has been affecting my mental health for decades, and I would no longer be attending events that included her. I do still plan on going to events for other family members though, like the wake I attended for my step sister in law's mother.
Narc wife was there. and we ignored each other. (BTW I stopped referring to her as my step mother last fall and now refer to her as his wife, seeing as how she has never referred to me as her stepdaughter. Just his daughter, like we're not related.) Of course I got yelled at later by my dad for not saying hi to her at the wake. Said I should at least be "civil" by saying hi. I told him it was not my job to placate his wife, and no contact means no contact. Not acknowledging her was civil enough. She sent me an email about my rudeness and uncivility of refusing to say hi, which I ignored.
About a month ago, he texted me that she was having a birthday party in 6 months, and that he would invite my boys separately since he figures I won't be going. Then a couple weeks ago, he called me and said he expects me to make an appearance at her birthday party and he won't take no for an answer. Obviously her idea. She doesn't want me there, but she wanted the drama of me saying I won't go. He says if I don't make an effort it is my fault that she and I don't get along. That's fine. I said I'm done with her and I meant it. She can talk all the garbage about me that she wants, I'm not going to play fake nice for appearances anymore. For my mental health, I'm refusing to put myself in a position to be abused anymore.
I wrote him an email again, telling him I will not spend energy reinforcing boundaries with him any longer. Any future attempts to manipulate or control me will end with me hanging up or leaving. I said I won't argue, I won't get mad. I'll just remove myself until he decides to respect my decision. I know she is hoping she can get him to badger me so much I call it quits, but I won't let her force me to give up on him like that. Not yet anyway. I don't envy the repercussion he will receive for being in the middle, but he could've put a stop to that years ago before it escalated. I am not responsible for her anger or her happiness.
If you've read this far, thank you! I know that was a lot to unpack. I have an issue though... I cannot get past how long it took me to realize it would never be better for me until I shut her down! Why didn't anyone point out that my dad's insistence was purely self- beneficial? How did I not see how intentional and selfish his requests to tolerate her abuse were? Why did I waste so much TIME and pain in "being the bigger person" by ignoring it ESPECIALLY after seeing how ineffective being submissive was with my mother?! Why did I waste so much time trying to negotiate with my dad and his wife when I should have just stood up for myself and set boundaries all those years ago?
I feel so upset with myself for not recognizing how futile my efforts would be after going through all that crap with my mom... I could have been free of her toxicity YEARS ago, but I just took it. That's so damaging! I wasted so much time!