Hey guys :) Just looking for some people to play games and chat with sometimes, mostly during weekday evenings and weekends. I've been getting into ESO again after years of not playing and it would be more fun with friends. (Plus, listening to my bf b.s. with his gaming buddies sounds like such a good time.) I have been mostly into COD/MW2, and I think I'm fairly good at Multiplayer, but I'd like to get into Warzone. I have a bunch of other games too. I'm 420-friendly and open to all backgrounds. 18+ with mic. DM me for my psn.

I am looking for some words of encouragement and/or advice as I work on accepting my supply as is. I have one more avenue to explore (thyroid testing) before I can confidently say that my I’ve tried everything to increase my supply. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for that coming back normal and coming to terms with my supply being what it is.
I keep waiting for something to click, but it’s been 19 weeks and my supply has been stable since 6 week’s postpartum. I honestly don’t mind pumping and I’m not ready to wean yet. I just need to come to terms with being able to provide 1/4 of what my son eats.
There are a lot of feelings wrapped up in this, and a surprise birth diagnosis making me feel as though my body has failed. I am treated for PPD and speaking with a therapist, but I was thinking that maybe some women in the same situation could help too.

I live in a place where it's mostly drive deer hunting, but I like the retriever-breeds the most. I stumbled upon the flat coated and read that it might be able to drive deer too. I have heard that even labs can be taught to drive deer on very small land, but the areas are big here, so I am not counting on that (1200 hectar / 2900 acres).
I have never seen them hunt or met anyone close up. Does anyone have any experience or some story about the breed? How are they to work with? Might they be able drive deer?

Sometimes, if my phone has been rebooted, I will go to my Photos app and my camera roll has been rearranged. They're not in the wrong order, but they've clearly been shifted along somewhat, as nothing is in the same place as it was before, and no, I haven't taken any photos. The view is still 5 items per row, too. This is concerning because it means that photos and/or videos are either disappearing or appearing from/in my photo library. Does anyone know anything about this?

Submitted into Contest #189 in response to: Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”
​
The boy had ran through the woods of this pine forest so many times, it never occurred to him that he could get lost. He could not get lost here, any more than he could get lost walking from his bedroom to his kitchen. And yet, the fallen knotted pine that marked the middle of the trail never materialized.
“Shoot,” the boy said, crouching down to the forest floor to take a momentary break. His parents would be worried about him soon. He looked to the tops of the trees and moved his body this way and that to find the sun; if he could locate it he would know where west was and he could find his way out. He ran twenty yards and could not see the sun. He was lost.
A branch snapped loudly in the underbrush. The boy whipped around to face the sound. After a moment, “It’s just a fox. Stop being a chicken. It’s just a fox.” He marched onward. The trees became so dense the sky was blocked. Another snapped branch. The boy jumped, in spite of himself.
“Hello? Is someone there?” There was no answer. The boy trudged forward, still dropping the sticks. Then, out of the deepest brush emerged another boy, maybe a teenager.
“Are you Danny?” He asked, panting. He was wearing a tightly packed hunting pack and the boy saw that he was carrying a compass.
“Who are you?”
“Gil. I’ve been looking for you.” He slipped the hiking pack off of his shoulders and sat on his haunches. He pulled water and a peanut butter sandwich out of it. “Want half?” Gil asked.
The boy hesitated. “How do you know who I am?”
“So you are Danny, then. You’re lost, right?” Gil said.
“Yes, I. Wait. How do you know?” Danny took a small step back.
“It’s my job to find people who are lost in the forest.”
“Well, how did you know I was in here? Did my mom and dad send you?” Danny asked.
“Sure, we’ll go with that. Want part of the sandwich or what?” Gil broke the sandwich in half and ate one of the halves in a single bite. He held the other half out to Danny in offering. Danny tentatively accepted and scarfed the sandwich down.
Gil wiped the crumbs from his hands and stood up. “Time to get you unlost, Danny, follow me,” he said, before heading deeper into the forest, away from the direction whence Danny came. Danny looked once behind himself and followed Gil into the wood.
When they’d walked for some time, Danny asked, “Where are we going?”
“Out of the wood. Stick close to me, we’re going off trail here.”
They started to climb over thick, knotted roots and into beds of all tree leaves. The branches too dense to climb through. Danny had to lift his legs high enough to climb through the openings in the branches that Gil cut with a machete.
“I didn’t come this way, uh, Gil.”
“It’s okay,” he called back over his shoulder. “Shortcut.”
The branches entwined so thickly at one point that Danny and Gil could only pass by crawling beneath them on their bellies. Eventually, the branches cleared and they were in a small glade; it glowed a dull yellow, but was illuminated by neither the sun nor the moon. On the other side of the glade, a rope was strung among several trees, from which hung a wooden placard that said “Turn Back, Private Land.” Gil strode confidently under the rope.
“Gil, this is private property, we can’t cross.”
“It’s fine.”
“The owners might have guard dogs. Heck, they might shoot us. Let’s go another way,” Danny was trying to tamp down the squeal of panic trying to escape in his voice.
Gil turned to him, skin ethereal in the yellow light, “Just trust me, Danny.”
Danny inhaled sharply as he bent under the rope and entered the private property. They continued on a narrow path until they came, quite suddenly, upon a rather large stone house. Danny wasn’t sure how he could have missed it; but there it was. He counted a dozen windows and huge double front doors made of oak. Gil approached confidently and knocked a pattern on to the door. It opened. Gil lazily waved at Danny to follow.
Inside, the house was tiny, a single room cottage with a small fire burning in the fireplace. There was an armchair facing the fire, and in it sat a huddled figure, obscured by a hood.
Still staring at the fire, the figure asked in a rasping voice, “Danny, do you want to go home?”
“Sir?” Danny replied.
“Do you have an answer?”
Danny swallowed and answered, “Yes, but I think it’s time for me to go back now, the way I came. This is not the right way to my house, I can see that now. It was ever so kind of you to send someone for me, but I know the way now.”
The figure in the chair waved his arms and the shadows teeming along the floor took shape, dragging and pulling Danny, overpowering him; pushing him closer to the fire.
“Hey! Gil! Help!” The end of Danny’s screams were muffled by the shadows overcoming his face. Gil stood impassively watching as Danny was dragged, wrapped in shadows into the fire.
Danny emerged somewhere on the other side of the fire, the shadows melting, burning and disintegrating around him. Gil was leaning against a stone wall opposite him, waiting.
“What on earth is happening?” Danny demanded. He tried to suppress the beginnings of tears. “Why are you doing this to me? Just take me home.”
“It had to be this way, Danny. This is the way home."
Danny didn’t follow. “I’m not coming,” he said, sticking out his chin defiantly.
Gil said, “You’re going to want to follow. It’s about to get weird in here.”
Danny still did not move, but then a great din of shrieking cries clamored into the room. Danny turned, trying to find tsource of the noise, but he couldn’t see anyone, or anything, that might be the source of the noise. Sometimes the voices said his name: Danny! Help us.”
Danny asked. “Where are those people, calling for me?”
Gil tapped his fingers to his head. “They’re in here.”
“I don’t understand. What do they want from me.”
“They want you to help them, Danny.”
“How can I help them?”
“They’re trapped. You need to dig them out.”
Danny’s hands were suddenly full of a pickaxe and a shovel. Confused but determined, he slammed the pickaxe into the stone floor again and again, until the stones were broken away. He went to his knees and pulled the stones until he reached rich, dark earth. He hit it with shovel, digging out earth until he saw a dozen or so fingers poking out of the dirt. The yelling was louder now.
“I’m coming! Give me a minute. I’ll be there.”
He put his hands into the dirt, expecting to feel an arm or a head, but he felt nothing. He pushed his arms in to the elbow, but nothing. He knelt upright and the fingers were gone.
“Where did they go?” Danny cried. “They were right here!” The screams had gown fainter.
“You didn’t get to them in time,” Gil replied simply. “They’re gone. We need to move on.”
“No! I have to help them!” Danny reached for the shovel, determined to dig more quickly, but it was gone and so was the pickaxe. The stone floor had been repaired. Danny gasped in shock, but Gil walked on. This time, Danny followed. They left the stone room into an open wood and approached a wide, rushing river.
“We need to cross,” Gil said. “And soon, before the embankment floods.”
“Is there a bridge?” Danny asked, looking into the river. “If we try to swim in that we’ll drown.”
The river started to spill out over its embankment. Danny took an instinctive step backwards. Then, he ran down the length of the river for twenty-odd yards, hoping to find something that could help him cross the river. Gil followed behind him a trot. The river flooded several feet more.
Danny was panicking. “Please, I don’t know why you’ve brought me here. But just help me.”
“I am helping. I’m showing you where to go. Get across the river and you’ll get to where you need to go.”
Danny dropped his pack and took off his shoes and shirt, so they could not weigh him down if he had to swim. He approached the flooded embankment and put his toe in. An idea hit him.
“I need another axe!” An axe appeared in his hand. He ran to an enormously tall oak tree and whacked and whacked and whacked at the base. Sometimes it would seem that he was more than halfway through the base and other times it was like he’d made no dent in it. The water was past his ankles then his knees, then he was swept away, desperately grabbing for the trunk of the tree, which finally fell as he was moved downriver, causing a massive wave that carried him even more quickly down the raging waters.
“Danny?”
Danny’s eyes blinked open to see his mother dabbing his forehead with a cool, wet cloth.
“Mom?” Danny sat up. “Oh mom, I had the most awful dream”
His mother’s eyes were filled with tears. “Danny, we were so scared. Billy, tell the doctor he’s awake!” Danny’s older brother ran out of the corner of the room and down the stairs. “You’ve had a terrible fever, Danny. We haven’t been able to wake you.”
Danny could hear a light figure taking the creaky wooden steps two at a time, and a young man with a white coat and a stethoscope rushed into the room.
“No!” Danny jumped in the bed, drawing his knees to his chest. “Mommy, help me. Get him out!”
Danny’s mother looked from him to the doctor with confusion. “Danny?”
The doctor approached closer. “Danny, it’s ok.”
“Mom, that’s Gil. He tried to trap me.” Danny pointed at Gil.
“That’s the doctor, sweet. Doctor Viro.”
“No, that’s… that’s the boy from the woods.”
Danny faltered as the doctor approached and he could see that what had been Gil’s features resolved into someone older, gentler. Danny exhaled and slowly lowered his knees away from his chest. The doctor sat on the side of the bed gently placed the stethoscope on Danny’s chest and then his abdomen.
“Good,” the doctor said. Then he reached in his bag and pulled out a thermometer. He popped it into Danny’s mouth. “Temperature dropped,” the doctor under his breath. Then he stood up and said to Danny’s mother. “More rest. Fluids. He should be fine.”
Danny heard a faint squelch, squelch, squelch. The doctors boots, covered in mud, leaves and twigs, were leaking water on to the bedroom floor. Danny tried to show the shoes to his mother, but he was back in the river, speeding toward a waterfall. Danny flailed his arms, looking to grab anything to keep him from going over the edge. Just as he was about to go over the waterfall, Gil grabbed his hand and pulled him on to a rocky outcrop on the other side of the river.
“What do you want with me?” Danny asked. “Why were you in my house?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Gil said.
“You were the doctor, dragging your dirty boots on the floor.
Gil gave Danny a skeptical look. A thought dawned on Danny. “This is a dream. It’s not real! I can end this.”
Gil shot a dark look. “Are you sure you can end this? I think you need to find your way through the wood first.”
Danny stood up not the rock, and slipped his shoes off to dump the water out. Putting them back on, he headed toward a mountain in the distance.
“Where are you going?” Gil asked.
“I’m climbing that mountain and finding my way out.” Danny hiked for what felt like hours. Finally, he reached the bottom of the mountain and spared a glance back to Gil who was following closely behind in silence.
“Are you coming?” Danny asked.
“I can’t.” Gil replied. “I’m have to stay here.”
“What's making you?" Danny was genuinely confused.
“It’s the laws of this place.”
“What if you held my hand?” Danny held his hand out.
Gil cocked his head to the side. “There is one thing you could do.”
“What?”
“Give me a drop of your blood.”
Danny raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? One drop.”
“Just one.”
“What will one drop do?” Danny crossed his arms over his chest.
“It will break the enchantment keeping me here, and then I can join you out of the mountain and find my way of the the wood.”
“Who are you, really? What are you doing here?” Danny asked.
“I’m Gil and this is where I’m fated to be.”
Danny, taking great pity on Gil, sat on his haunches and rub his hand along the broken flint gathered in a clump along the bottom of the footpath. He took a piece to his palm and nicked his skin; it hurt worse than he thought it would.
“Here.” Danny held his hand out to Gil.
Gil approached and pulled a vial out of his shirt. He uncapped it and held it to the wound on Gil’s palm. He recorked it and put it back in his shirt.
“Thanks,” Gil said, looking at the ground.
Danny continued up the mountain, somehow never getting out of breath, but the peak never seeming to get closer. After hours or days, Danny didn’t know, he stopped.
“Gil, why isn’t the peak getting any closer?”
“It is,” Gil replied, looking at something over Danny’s shoulder.
Danny turned around and a pair of wrought iron gates blocked the rest of the trail leading to the peak of the mountain. Danny tried to pull them open, but they were locked. He hit the lock on the gates with a rock, but no luck.
“Here, let me try,” Gil suggested. He walked to the gate and fiddled with the lock, reaching in and out of his pockets while doing so.
A few minutes later, the gate popped open, and Gil stepped through. Danny followed. The peak was much closer; maybe thirty minutes’ walk away, but Danny’s legs grew heavier until he could not longer lift them. He felt like he was being dragged back down the mountain.
“I need to stop,” Danny said, pulling off of the trail.
He couldn’t deny it now, he was being pulled down the mountain.
“Gil, help me. I’m falling.”
Gil shot him a pitying look. “Sorry, but only one of us can go through. I already used this,” he pulled the vial out of his shirt, "to open the gate. It senses another person who didn’t provide blood. You’ll have to go back."
Danny looked confused. “Wait, so I can’t come up?”
“I’m sorry.” Gil was smiling.
“Can you give me your blood?”
Gil laughed. “I’ve been trying to get out of here for hundreds of years. I don’t have any to give.”
Danny was further down the mountain now, nearing the gate. Rage filled him and he remembered, in the side pocket of his cargo pants, he had put a makeshift slingshot before he set out in the wood. He pulled it out and scrambled his hands over the ground until he found a decently sized rock. Gil had turned around, walking back up the mountain. While falling ever further, Danny aimed the slingshot and hit Gil in the back of his head.
Gil stumbled, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. He fell back and tripped over a large root sticking out of the ground, he fell and fell until he was even closer to the gate than Danny. Danny summoned all of his remaining strength and kicked Gil in the chest and though the gate, grabbing him by the shirt and retrieving the vial as he did. Danny didn’t wait to see what happened to Gil, instead he ran back up the mountain and reached the peak. He turned around to view the landscape below him and he woke back up in the room, his mother lightly sleeping in the chair next to his bed.
Danny was hyperventilating, still expecting Gil to walk through the door. Instead, Dr. Viro came back in, smiling genially. “Up are we, Danny?”
Danny did not led his guard down. He spied the doctor’s shoes to make sure they weren’t waterlogged boots. He tensed up as the doctor again listened to his chest.
“Are you ok? Your heart rate is kind of fast.”
Danny pulled back. The doctor moved the stethoscope to Danny’s back.
“Lungs sound good. I’m going to listen to your chest one more time. Okay?”
Danny nodded. The doctor stuck his hand into an inside pocket of Danny’s dressing gown and retrieved the vial. He pushed Danny into he bed, continuing to push him until he disappeared.
Danny fell onto the ground of a blank, grey room with no noise and no depth.
“Gil! What did you do?”
Danny stood up and wandered, but The room seemed limitless. He started to cry. I just want to go back home. He heard something that sounded close-by and yet far. He was afraid to listen more closely, lest it be another group of people begging for his help. But when he listened, he heard Gil’s voice, altered to sound like Danny, talking to his mother.
“I’m swell, ma,” Gil said.
Danny yelled as loudly as he could, hoping to get his mother’s attention, but no noise came out.
On the other side, Gil settled into the bed and accepted a kiss from Danny’s mother.
Danny continued his unheard scream.

*i should specify that i am a foreigner and hold an international driving permit.
hello,
i'm going to 白沙灣 and intending to camp there during a music festival (held at secret island).
i'm thinking of renting a motorbike, and riding it over there. my questions are:
- are public parking spaces in taiwan - in beach areas like 白沙灣 - free to park overnight? they seem to be, from my googling.
- is the parking fee for cars/bikes very different or prohibitive? because i would also consider renting a car.
- is it unsafe / not advisable to leave a rental vehicle in such places overnight? i've read that taiwan is friendly and safe, but also seen cautions against motorbikes being stolen. i won't rent a fancy / big bike, but it will be a fairly new honda model so not a really ratty scooter.
- would anyone have alternative suggestions for independent transport around this area? i'm travelling alone so cabbing / ride hailing is more inconvenient.
​
thanks in advance for the help!

I'm usually very overburdened with work on a daily basis, with 15 things to do at a time (figuratively speaking), but recently some of my responsibilities have ended and I had some free time. Ever since, I feel too lazy to actually do anything. I'm either binging shows or scrolling on Instagram, not even enjoying it much, and all the while feeling guilty about not doing any actual work. I do normally procrastinate until the very last minute to do things, except when I get a sudden surge of energy and do things early, but lately, since my work doesn't have a fixed deadline yet, I can't work up the will to work. Anyone else going through something similar? Any tips on how to get out of this rut?

This started with a co-worker hitting on me at a christmas party. We exchanged numbers and started seeing each other throughout January. She was very keen to make it committed. I kept quiet at times when I felt like she was going a little too fast - which was a mistake and I should've been clearer with my boundaries.
In early February, a week before valentines, she called me and said we couldn't carry on dating but didn't explain why. It was just over.
I saw her at a work event a few days later. We didn't try to interact but she saw me and because I was upset, I looked straight through her. I hate to admit it but I pretty much acted like she didn't exist. A couple of days later, I find out that she's blocked my number and social media.
A month passed where it became apparent that we were never going to talk again. Despite working in the same office, our schedules are very different and I don't really bump into her. Like an idiot, I called her on my friend's phone and said I missed her. She told me not to talk to her unless it was about work, she didn't want anything outside of work. We work in different departments so it could be years before we work together.
I can't shake the feeling that we've just completely misunderstood each other. I assume she thought I wasn't interested but I don't know because she won't tell me.
The obvious answer is that I need to move on. It's probable that she realized she didn't like me and doesn't know how to handle it. I don't even care if she was seeing someone else, I just miss her.
I've been trying to move on but I think about talking to her every day. I don't even want to get back together, I just want to understand what happened and be on friendly terms.
Friends and family keep saying the feelings will pass and to just give it time, I'm sure they will. But if there's anyone with risky advice about getting her to open up to me I want to try that too. I'm welcome to judgement, I appreciate that this isn't a rational response to being ghosted but I can't help it.

Steroid usage: Dermovate used over the course of a year+ (on my face, between my legs, etc). I would never use it for more than a week at a time on and off.
After quitting, I'm experiencing what seems to be extremely mild TWS for the first few days. There is localized itching where I applied the steroids, some small flaking, my body couldn't handle cold temperatures without chilling up, and sleeping is semi-affected (quite vivid dreams, like I'm on the cusp of insomnia but not quite).
The chills have since subsided, but the itching (kind of) remains, but is very localized. Sleeping seems to be slowly returning to normal. The redness on my hand where the steroids were applied also seems to be getting better, not worse.
Does all this mean I am getting TWS symptoms, but it's so mild that it should just subside without any problems? Looking for opinions or similar experiences. I'm only asking because I've been using quite a high strength cream, and occasionally misusing it.
Many thanks.

Assuming you're searching for natural solutions for skin issues, finding them is not hard. The inquiry is as per the following: How fruitful would they say they are? Here is a look at a part of the local sound skin things accessible and other typical different choices. The base of the issue decides how viable they may really be.
Above all else, remember that the skin is an organ of your body and merits similar regard as your inside organs. You wouldn't consume corrosive, coal tar, or toxin. Accordingly, you shouldn't make a difference those things to the beyond your body.
Similarly, a few spices used to treat skin conditions are protected to eat. Some are not. A medication like spice has drug properties. There might be adverse consequences. Prior to utilizing home grown skin health management items, it's really smart to do some exploration on the likely adverse consequences.
An oil got from the plant or a blend of oils is expected for a spice to be viable when applied topically. For example, the Neem tree's blossoms and leaves are habitually suggested for skin wellbeing improvement. In any case, Neem oil has been utilized to treat skin inflammation and increment skin versatility over the entire course of time.
In this manner, the spice's structure is critical. Home grown healthy skin items that poor person been arranged appropriately are sold by certain makers. While certain organizations make the case that a compelling fixing is a spice, their items just hold back medicinal oils.
Medicinal balms are not home grown solutions for any sort of skin or medical problems. They are alluded to as fundamental since they convey the plant's "quintessence," which is the aroma. Natural oils really contain no oil. They depend on water. Regularly, they trigger unfavorably susceptible responses. Subsequently, it's basic to avoid things that contain them.
Search for parabens and other fake fixings on the mark of any natural skin health management items prior to buying them. Moisturizers and creams of numerous types much of the time contain varieties, fragrances, and petrochemicals.
Neem is habitually suggested, yet it isn't one of the most incredible spices for treating skin conditions. Jojoba oil, Shea margarine, and avocado oil are probably the best fixings. Skin break out, skin inflammation, psoriasis, dermatitis, aggravations, irritation, and numerous different circumstances benefit from these fixings. They might try and assist with deferring the indications of maturing whenever consolidated accurately.
You should contemplate omega-3 fish oil and a decent multi supplement as well as utilizing natural healthy skin items. Wholesome lacks in the eating regimen are really the underlying driver of many skin medical problems. Skin break out, for example, is connected to low levels of the nutrients.
You will treat the issue from the back to front and from an external perspective in on the off chance that you adopt an all encompassing strategy. Turmeric and other skin-recuperating spices can be taken orally. Jojoba, for instance, performs best when applied straightforwardly. Your skin's wellbeing and appearance might improve assuming you consolidate the two stages.

You may have seen me posting in here a bit lately. I've realized after last night that I have two different problems and not just one.

1. Histamine intolerance. Immediate reactions or slightly delayed reactions to things I've consumed, especially blue cheese and alcohol.
2. Despite adequate caloric intake in a given day of food, I am hungry during overnight hours and this hunger prevents sleep from occurring. In fact, it causes a state of hyperarousal insomnia where I just feel super wide awake.

• The issue is resolved if I eat a substantial snack before bed, like a bowl of fiber-heavy cereal or a PB&J sandwich or an apple and carrot sticks. This is confirmed by food journaling and Apple Watch sleep data.
  • The ONLY nights where this sleep issue occurs is when I do not eat a significant bedtime snack.
• This occurs even if I eat a heavy dinner between 8 and 9 pm and attempt to go to bed by midnight.
• Problematically, I am a 35F overweight at 188 pounds. Attempts at minor calorie restriction have become impossible because of this.
• I have met with a registered dietician and she deferred to me seeing specialists about my issues before she would speak to me about weight loss. I described my meals to her and she didn't say I was undereating or not getting the right macros. My snacks are fruit and nuts and vegetables or a yogurt or cottage cheese.

Based on the items described above in #2, can this be a sign of malabsorption of calories? If so, could it be from a parasite? Specifically, liver flukes? See history below.

History of Issues

1. Oct./Nov. 2020 the sleep disturbances began where I felt I needed to eat at night before I could fall asleep. I was only getting approximately 6 hours a night because of this. Exercise earlier in the day seemed to exacerbate this.
2. In June 2021 I had my first histamine attack.
3. About one week later I had severe abdominal cramping and a high-purge, high-volume diarrhea event that resulted in stool that can only be described as white, mucus-y, frothy, and to be honest I could barely look at it because I thought I had crapped out a giant, pale snake. I panicked and flushed it instead of studying it or taking a photo for a doctor.
4. Approximately a week and a half/two weeks after this incident, I developed a fever, body ache, chills, and high-frequency diarrhea during overnight hours that lasted for 3+ days. I was going to the bathroom multiple times overnight. Colonoscopy prep was less intense than this was.

• On Day 3, after I'd only been able to eat crackers, eggs, mashed potatoes, and ramen soup for the sodium benefits, I found what looked like orange, fleshy pumpkin seeds in my stool. There was nothing else IN the stool except these things because by this point I was purging nothing but bile. So it was like a neon yellow bile in the toilet with these orange, fleshy kernel-looking things. I was able to scrape one up in a tissue to look at it closely to try to find it on Google.
• Liver flukes were the exact image I found that matched up. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacek-Karamon/publication/282584694/figure/fig1/AS:[email protected]/Fascioloides-magna-adult-parasites-removed-from-a-bile-duct-of-a-fallow-deer-liver_Q640.jpg
• On Day 5, after my diarrhea had largely resolved, I woke up with my first-ever experience of lockjaw. I couldn't open my mouth. It was too painful. It took hours of trying to flex and move my mouth to get it to loosen up. Then, we went to a movie that night where due to just sitting in the theater and not talking or eating, my jaw locked up again while watching the movie (aka, not grinding my teeth in sleep, I was awake and just sitting there). This lockjaw symptom lasted for 2-3 days but has not happened since.
• Unfortunately, my doctor at the time refused to let me come in until my symptoms resolved because she was convinced I had covid because of the GI symptoms with fever. About a week later, I went in and did a stool test. By that point my stool had returned to a normal brown log appearance with nothing of note in the test. Indeed, they couldn't even say I had had evidence of a foodborne illness.
  • Notably, my partner had had the exact same lunch and dinner as I did because we ordered takeout for lunch and dinner I made. He did NOT have any problems. So it wasn't from something I ate that day. He also never became sick with anything.

Other Relevant Items

1. Diarrhea almost every day in recent months, sometimes multiple times in a row before noon.
2. Mushy, piece-y, easily disintegrates into particles consistency. Do not remember the last time I had a normal brown log poop.
3. If I eat salad, a lot of lettuce pieces show up undigested.
4. Some days greasy yellow residue in stool, other days it's a greasy orange-brown. (Look up "burnt sienna" Crayola color.)
5. I have had two CTs in the last two years and both have shown "six, small hypodense lesions statistically benign" according to radiologists in two different labs. Have not had any followup on exactly what those could be. (My suspicion is those are the live flukes.)

Although I reported this to my new primary care doctor in Jan. 2022 and she gave me a referral to a GI doctor, I went through a period of improvement with my diarrhea and had improvement in my heartburn during spring of 2022 (possibly as a result of intense antibiotics due to a random dog bite injury in January 2022?). I opted to not schedule it. So no GI has ever evaluated my current list of symptoms alongside that July 2021 diarrhea incident.
I am booked for a GI next month however due to this worsening histamine situation.

As it currently stands, we still need banks to turn our crypto gains into a currency that’s accepted locally. This only matters for a short amount of time going forward as the inevitability of peer to peer transfers, becomes a reality.
It’s obvious that banks which used to be a safe haven for one’s hard earned Savings has turned into another venue for degeneracy and the gambling of other peoples money.
Overzealous regulators shutting down banks that have aligned themselves with money in the digital age, think they’re going to put the squeeze on in investors, but it’s going to have the opposite effect. It will be like trying to hold water in your hand by squeezing your fist as tight as possible.
I’m not here to say if there’s a particular coin that’ll do better than another, but it’s becoming more and more obvious that this technology could be how we as the 99.99% store wealth in the near future, casting traditional banking and fiat to the side.

Sometimes, if my phone has been rebooted, I will go to my Photos app and my camera roll has been rearranged. They're not in the wrong order, but they've clearly been shifted along somewhat, as nothing is in the same place as it was before, and no, I haven't taken any photos. The view is still 5 items per row, too. This is concerning because it means that photos and/or videos are either disappearing or appearing from/in my photo library. Does anyone know anything about this?

So i returned my PSVR2 for a refund a few weeks back (I am in the US). FedEx says PS Direct signed the return on March 10th. It has been more than 2 business weeks now and Sony is basically incommunicado. Each time I try to call the customer support number it says to call again because they are too busy due to seasonality (or something to that effect)
My question is how long should I wait before disputing the charge with my credit card company. Also worried that if I do that Sony may block my PS account. Part of the issue is i am not entitled to the refund for the Horizon game so don't want to claim refund on the full amount either
Suggestions welcome on the best course of action here

hey, ive been awake for ages so lets keep me awake (im not allowed to sleep yet its too early)

I decided to make a long post and finally publish the end since I received a few hate messages. Seriously, if they get triggered by what I’m sharing, you can focus your time on something else.
Anyways…
On the drive back, Leah states she’s concerned about me because it looks like money is very tight. She asks me if everything is good at home. I explained that I am maxing out my retirement accounts and most of my spare income goes to saving for a home and my investment portfolio. Leah, then, interrupts me and says she was also maxing out her retirements accounts but money wasn’t tight like in my obvious situation. I ask her to confirm what the maximum amounts are and she is far (so far) from the amount. I corrected her and then she excuses by saying that the way I live is miserable. She then informs some months ago when she was maxing out her accounts (she doesn’t even admit or acknowledge her amount is so wrong), but stop doing it because she has decided to have all the disposable income possible to enjoy her life. I was so irritated that I asked them to please be quiet for a moment because I was trying to merge lanes.
Once they notice I’m on the highway, Anna starts checking how many steps they took and celebrates they walked like 4000-5000 steps in the morning (I can’t remember the exact number). I later checked my amount, and I was close to 20k. Mal starts complaining she feels her skin is burning, Anna starts telling me we need to stop in a CVS/Walgreens ASAP and get Mal something for the pain. I was driving by small towns, I was not stopping there for Mal. I asked Anna to look for a pharmacy close to the hotel…
Most of them were closed by now, and I am the one who has to look for pharmacy while I’m driving. The craziest thing is that the closest open pharmacy was around the corner from my home… we stop there but i still have to drop those hammies.
At the pharmacy, they take like half an hour to get what they need. The remaining of the trip felt like an eternity, we make it to their hotel and I inform them that unfortunately due to my SO’s personal commitments, his mom arrived and we don’t have the space to host them (my MIL was arriving in like 2 days so to an extend we needed to get the guest room ready for her).
I drop them off, I did hug Anna and Leah goodbye, yet they still assume I’ll be back next day to take them out and again back on the day after tomorrow to take them to the airport.
After dropping them off, I knew I wasn’t coming back. I drove back home. Once I was home, I had a rush of energy and decided to clean my vehicle because I was convinced it smelled like a$$. I deep cleaned the interior so well that I didn’t realize it was already 3 am.
Around 10 am, the hammies text me to say they have decided to upgrade to a really nice resort in the retirement town. They sent the new location (I assume so I’d know where to visit them). I inform them I’m exhausted and it is likely I’ll not make it to see them.
That day was long and peaceful day because the hammies didn’t text me again until the next day. Around 6 am, I receive a message asking if I’d be able to drop them off at the airport. I told them it was not part of the original plan and I didn’t have the availability to spend over 4 hours driving there and back. They said all was good. I later checked Uber. From their destination to the airport, the Uber ride costed like $125.
After they left FL, I received a nasty message from Leah and Anna. They trashed me for being so inconsiderate. They claimed I was rude for not going on their extra day and not taking them to the airport. They demanded I paid the Uber. My response was short and cold. Something along the lines: I offered you both my home. Y’all decided to change plans and bring Mal- who in all honesty I can’t stand. I was tolerant and patient for 3 days but y’all don’t seem to appreciate I took time and resources to spend 3 days with you 3 because I thought you both were friends. If you feel this way about me, please don’t contact me again. I wish you the best.
I was amazed I wasn’t blocked by Leah and Anna on social media. However, a friend of mine (who knows them from college too) ran into Leah and Anna a few weeks ago at a bar. He shared he couldn’t recognize Anna and Leah is even heavier. He did send a picture and sadly Leah is probably very close to reaching 700 lb. Sadly, she is probably months away from losing mobility.
Now to answer questions. What car do I drive? I drive a SUV with 3 rows. Leah was in the back row, Mal in the middle, and Anna was my copilot. After the trip. I deep cleaned my car. It felt sticky and honestly smelled like sweat/a$$. Later, I took it for it’s maintenance and it needed a wheel alignment. However, a week later, I had to get a second wheel alignment. My SO jokes the hammies were so heavy that my vehicle needed 2 wheel alignments to go back to its optimal performance lol
What do the hammies do for a living? Leah and Anna work for tech companies (FAANG). They earn around $150k+ annually but barely ever contribute to their retirement so they have a lot of disposable income. Also, Anna has rich grandparents who set a trust fund for her. She uses those additional resources to pay for housekeeping services and afford not cooking. Mal is just leeching from Leah. She moved in with her right after Leah became single.
How did they get 4 Disney tickets? Leah was in a long time relationship. Her ex boyfriend broke up with her a few weeks /days before the trip. An acquaintance later told me he paid for the tickets. He used the time they were in FL to be able to retrieve his belongings. He was kicked out by Leah and she didn’t let him take anything after he ended the relationship. $800-1000 was nothing for him in exchange of his belongings.
What are they up to now? Anna recently got engaged and married 2 months later. I wasn’t invited. However, we have friends in common. One informed me the wedding was ruined because an uncle or aunt of the groom joked that Anna needed to watch her weight or the next celebration they will be celebrating would be the groom’s divorce. Additionally, a few friends in common have heard about the trip. To those who sent me nasty messages, guess who they sided with? Not with the hammies. If anything my friends said they can’t believe these hams have become so entitled and have the need to trash me every chance they get! I even hosted a common friend and we had a great time. She’s visiting again in May!

After the lessons were done, Ichika went to his room without saying a word to any of the other students. To say that this day was a complete and utter mess was an understatement. Kicked around by his own sister, stared down like an animal by those girls and having to deal with some snobby British lady thinking she was superior to him just because she knew how to fly a fancy suit.
If he had to deal with any other shenanigans in this monstrosity of a school, he swore he was going to kill someone. That being said, after walking for a while, he reached his room and was about to insert the key.
But he noted something strange about it. « Eh, that's strange? The door’s unlocked. » he commented, before sighing annoyed. « I’m gonna have a lovely talk with the ones organizing the rooms. »
Ichika entered the room, and immediately saw something he didn’t like. 2 large beds, arranged side by side. Something was also missing. Ichika pinched his nose annoyed as he realized what was going on, but before he could exit, he heard a voice.
«Is anyone there? » a voice asked. «Ahh, you're my roommate, right? Please take care of me from this year on. »
He had a bad feeling about this, as he sighed hard.
«I was using the shower, so I'm sorry for looking like this. My name is Shinonono— »
«—Houki. » Ichika said with an annoyed tone. The one who came out from the bathroom was his childhood friend, Houki.
She had just finished showering, and now walked out of the bathroom. It seems like the bathroom was constructed to be both a shower and a changing room. And without confirming that the other person was a girl, Houki had walked out with only a towel wrapped around her.
Below the edges were the naked and tender thighs; and seemingly indicating that she had just showered, the water droplets... skirted down her legs. Healthy white skin is a real eye-opener.
Above that was her slender body that had been rigorously trained, and Ichika could see it even though she had a towel on. Pressing a hand in front of her chest, the large breasts behind her towel were lifted up.
«...»
Houki was shocked. Ichika was pissed.
«I-I-Ichika-»
«Excuse me for a second there, darling. I think I have to make a phone call. » Ichika hissed out, before storming out of the room.
Once outside, he pulled out his phone and made a phone call to the academy secretariat. « On the phone. Get her on the phone! I want her on the phone RIGHT NOW! »
Before the secretary could utter a word, a familiar voice responded. « Something the matter, Orimura. » it was the voice of Chifuyu, who didn’t seem pleased.
« Sis what the fuck is this? » Ichika demanded, an angry look on his face.
« I assume you refer to your room accommodation, right? » Chifuyu sighed.
« Why the fuck am I sharing a room with Houki? »
« There have been issues regarding your room. You should get your own accommodation in a week. »
« You mean I have to share a room with a fucking girl which only knowledge about guys are some gay comics!? ARE YOU HIGH!? » Ichika exclaimed angrily.
« Why, as a male, this could be a pleasant experience. » Chifuyu teased.
« Pleasant my fucking ass! And where’s my stuff!? My super computer!? My miniature collection!? »
« They will also be placed in your definitive room in a week. »
Ichika remained silent, fuming. « You’re fucking we me, ain’t ya? » he finally said, with venom in his voice.
« Perhaps in this week you’ll learn some respect, brat. This is no appropriate way to either talk to a teacher, nor your elder sister. » Chifuyu said sternly.
« Yeah! You’re right! Maybe in a week I’ll learn how to PROPERLY SHOVE MY FIST IN YOUR ARSE! » Ichika roared out, closing the call and being on the verge of tossing it on the ground.
Instead, he took heavy breaths to calm down.
But as he did, he noticed several girls having come out of their rooms to see what the ruckus was about. An angry grimace formed on Ichika’s face. « Wacha lookin’ at, twats? » he hissed out, causing the girls to run back to their dorms.
Sighing hard, Ichika banged the door of his room hard with his good hand. « Oi! You done there!? »
The only response he got from inside was silence. After a while, however, Houki opened the door.
«...Come in. »
«Thanks. » Ichika said annoyed.
The door opened, and Houki was wearing kendo attire. It looked like these were the only clothes she could put on quickly. Truthfully, since she had been hasty in putting them on, she hadn't managed to tie her belt properly.
But as Ichika entered, he noticed something from Houki
A fierce glare. Ichika was glared at. Houki sat down the bed, clearly wanting do deal with the boy.
«What? » Ichika hissed angrily.
«...»
Looking rather angry, Houki quickly tied her wet hair back into a ponytail.
«So, you said that you're my roommate? »
«For a week, yes. Thank sis for that. »
Ichika was glared at. This girl, her eyes were as sharp as bamboo. Really alert and piercing.
«What-, what's your purpose? »
«Huh? »
«I'm asking what you were thinking? Boys and girls can't share the same bed after they turn 7, it's common sense! »
« Houki, by the holy Emperor, what the fuck are you talking about? »
«Wa, wa, wa...! »
«Wa? »
«Was it because you asked for this...? To be in my room... »
Ichika looked at the girl with a deadpan look on his face. «That's the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life! »
But before he could continue his argument, Houki threw a bokken at him.
Ichika barely managed to dodge, the wooden sword stuck on the wall by the sheer strength of the impac. A close call. It was really a close call situation that he had dodged the bokken, and there would be a fatality if it had hit.
«Stupid... you're saying that's stupid? So it's like that huh, like that... » her expression was scary.
«..." Ichika just stared at the bokken in pure shock, before turning towards her, a furious look on his face.
« WHAT THE FUCK, HOUKI!? » Ichika roared out. Houki was momentarily shocked by Ichika’s outburst, but kept her composure. « WHERE YOU TRYING TO FUCKING KILL ME!? YOU GOD DAMN KENDO WHORE! »
Houki looked at Ichika shocked. She clearly did not expect such a response from him. « Y-you’ve changed! The Ichika I knew would never call me that! »
Ichika simply spat on the ground. « Goodie shoes Ichika is dead, ya slang. Killed by good ol’ sis. If you think I’m gonna let you hit me with a fucking stick because I’m not the perfect little fuckboy I was, you’re fucking wrong. Don’t you DARE attacking me, cunt! »
Houki glared at him angrily. Clearly she didn’t like the answer. «H-how dare you! I'll execute you right now! »
Houki darted forward to grab her bokken, before charging at Ichika. The boy managed to dodge the attack, Houki striking the nearby wall with so much strength the wooden sword pierced it.
But before she could pull it out, Ichika grabbed her pony tail, pulling her head back before placing something on her throat.
A pocket knife blade. Whilst not big enough to kill someone in one strike, he could very well slit her throat before she could even react.
All of Houki anger vanished, as her face became pale and her eyes looked as best as they could at the blade in terror. She was in utter shock, not believing that Ichika would be willing to slit her throat.
But as her eyes turned toward the boy, all she could see was a grimace, Ichika’s eyes darkened by a shadow caused by his hair. He was definitely going to kill her.
« Yeah, not so fun when YOU are on the other side of the blade. » Ichika said angrily. « And unlike that sluggish thing? This I can hide well. »
The confrontation lasted for a couple of seconds, before Ichika eventually let go. Houki felt on her knees, never before having to face such a life-or-death situation. She slowly turned toward Ichika, who simply sat on his bed. The boy simply sighed.
« Look. It’s only a week. One bloody week. Is it that hard to handle? I have to deal with three fucking years of this bullshit! » Ichika tried to reason with the girl.
«Y-you tried to kill me! » Houki shot back.
« Oh pu-lease! I won’t kill you. I don’t want to deal with sis. »
«S-so if it wasn’t for Chifuyu, you would have killed me!? »
« YES! As were you. » Ichika shot back.
Houki looked at Ichika outraged. « I-I would never- »
« Houki. Look behind you. » Ichika said with a serious tone, one so cold that it could match his sister.
As Houki did so, she saw the hole she created on the wall. A mortified look formed on her face.
« Yup. That wall could have been my fucking skull, you katana-wielding-psychopath. » Ichika said sternly.
Before Houki could apologize, Ichika glared at her hard, causing her to wince in fear. « But if you ever pull that shit again, I swear to god, you’ll wish for the sweet release of death. » the boy then said.
He then motioned his thumb at the door. « Now get the fuck out. I’m getting changed for bed. I had an awful day and something tells me tomorrow is going to be just as bad. » he commanded.
Houki glared at him for a few seconds, before doing as he said.
« By the way, honey. Nice fucking tits. » Ichika then commented, seconds before she could get out.
Houki blushed and grumbled angrily at the comment, knowing that attacking him was no use.

I re-potted my plant when it came out of dormancy due to loosing its original pot, and recently have been having issues with the soil retaining moisture. Its a struggle just to get the soil damp, and I'm trying to narrow down if its a pot issue or soil issue. Has anybody had any struggles with soil not holding moisture then. The soil itself is about 1-2yrs old
edit: the pot is an 8 Inch/1 Gallon pot, with a watering tray attached to the bottom

That feeling you're positioned on drive bar, you see the crew who's working and realize you're not gonna have a single second of help. You make drinks but push yourself to run in the back grab your own milks cause some people grab yours when you need them the most. You have to run around to make cold bar stuff, you have to get your own ice. Change trash and yet some people have the nerve to ask for a keg when they have no line of stickers or any cafe orders. And yet you're the one running around looking like an idiot trying not to bump into people who just get in the way when I have stuff in my hands. Once you left for your 10 minute break you come back to hell fire of a mess, drinks that have been dropped, water and milk all over the counter. But you know it's cool we all get paid the same and I'm doing everyone's job.

Periodic Order Quantity (POQ) is a type of inventory management system where the quantity of items ordered at each reorder point is fixed, and orders are placed at regular intervals, regardless of inventory levels. POQ is used when there is a predictable pattern of demand, such as when demand varies seasonally or cyclically.
🔢 The formula for calculating the POQ is as follows:
POQ = (D * T) / Q
Where:
D = annual demand for the product
T = length of time between orders (in days)
Q = quantity ordered each time an order is placed
↕ Compared to the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), which calculates the optimal order quantity based on the tradeoff between ordering costs and holding costs, POQ is not designed to minimize costs. Instead, POQ simplifies the ordering process by ordering a fixed quantity of items at regular intervals. This method may result in higher inventory holding costs or stock outs, but it can be more manageable for businesses with limited resources or smaller volumes.
⛑ POQ can be used in situations where there is a predictable demand pattern, and the ordering process can be easily automated, making it easier for businesses to manage their inventory levels. It can also be a useful method for managing seasonal products, as it allows for easy planning and ordering of inventory at regular intervals.
#POQ #PeriodicOrderQuantity #InventoryManagement #SupplyChainPlanning #ProductionPlanning #DemandForecasting #ProcurementStrategy #JustInTime #StockControl #ReorderPoint #EOQvsPOQ #SupplyChainComparison #OrderQuantityAnalysis #EffectiveProcurement #CostOptimization #JustInTimeInventory #StockControlMethods #OperationsManagement #ProcurementStrategies #management #planning