Welcome to the Monthly Watch Guide! Here you can discuss with fans, plan ahead for the next game and buy/sell tickets or merchandise.
All times listed are Central Daylight Time.
Outside fans are welcome! Please make sure to stick to our rules or you'll get pounced by Diesel.
Listings to buy/sell tickets or merchandise posted outside of this thread or our Discord server will be removed.

Houston Dynamo FC schedule (all competitions)

St. Louis CITYSC vs. Houston Dynamo FC

Competition: Major League Soccer
Date: Saturday, June 3 - 7:30 PM
Venue: CITYPARK - St. Louis, MO
Stream: Apple TV - (Free game)
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN 93.3 FM (Spanish)

Chicago Fire FC vs. Houston Dynamo FC

Competition: U.S. Open Cup - Quarterfinals
Date: Tuesday, June 6 - 7:30 PM
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium - Bridgeview, IL
Stream: CBS Sports Golazo Network

Houston Dynamo FC vs. LAFC

Competition: Major League Soccer
Date: Saturday, June 10 - 7:30 PM
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, TX
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN 93.3 FM (Spanish)

LAFC vs. Houston Dynamo FC

Competition: Major League Soccer
Date: Wednesday, June 14 - 7:30 PM
Venue: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
Stream: Apple TV - (Free game)
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN 93.3 FM (Spanish)

Houston Dynamo FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Competition: Major League Soccer
Date: Wednesday, June 21 - 7:30 PM
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, TX
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN 93.3 FM (Spanish)

Austin FC vs. Houston Dynamo FC

Competition: Major League Soccer
Date: Saturday, June 24 - 7:30 PM
Venue: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN 93.3 FM (Spanish)

Houston Dynamo 2 - MLS NEXT Pro schedule

LAFC2 vs. Houston Dynamo 2

Date: Sunday, June 4 - 6:30 PM
Venue: Titan Stadium - Fullerton, CA
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required

MNUFC2 vs. Houston Dynamo 2

Date: Sunday, June 11 - 6:00 PM
Venue: National Sports Center - Blaine, MN
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required

Houston Dynamo 2 vs. Timbers2

Date: Thursday, June 15 - 7:00 PM
Venue: SaberCats Stadium - Houston, TX
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required

Houston Dynamo 2 vs. Earthquakes II

Date: Sunday, June 25 - 7:00 PM
Venue: SaberCats Stadium - Houston, TX
Stream: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass required
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV: all regular season, playoff, Leagues Cup, and certain MLS NEXT Pro games are available to stream exclusively on Apple TV through the MLS Season Pass. MLS Season Pass is not included with an Apple TV+ subscription.
Tickets: single-game tickets are sold through Seatgeek, the club's ticketing partner.
Pre-game/Tailgates: Check with the supporter groups for information on pre-game/tailgates.
Watch Parties: certain supporter groups are hosting their own watch parties whenever the Dynamo play on the road, check their social channels for updates.
Parking: Lots B and C are open for Dynamo games but plan ahead if the Astros are playing on the same day. There are other paid lots underneath I-69 but I recommend parking on the street anywhere across Emancipation Avenue past the stadium.
METRORail: You can get to Shell Energy Stadium via METRORail by taking the train to the EaDo/Stadium station on the purple and green lines.

I wish I found this subreddit sooner so I could expand my research prior visiting Japan. I only found this subreddit after I returned from the trip so after reflecting upon the trip I will write my mistakes that I made and things that I have learned so I can perhaps help other first time travellers going to Japan. It will be also useful for me in the future. PS: forgive my grammar, English is not my first language. Also a late report + numerous trip fumbles ahead so please be kind xDD
Me (30M) and my gf (25F) went on a trip to Japan April 24 - May 11, 2023. This was our first time travelling to Japan and our first time travelling in a different country by ourselves in general. We both had no experience travelling without family/experienced travellers with us so it was a bit stressful but we still had fun in general.
What we learned:

• Get a very good shoes for extensive walking/hiking. I cannot stress this enough. Man, I returned with bunch of callouses on my toes+heels and blisters on my pinky toes that turned into some sort of stage 2 pressure sore. It was not fun walking with pain that I feel bad for unable to keep up with my gf. I had to sit many times to give first aid and end up buying some products for my feet. Was still able to complete all itineraries but it could have been prevented. No more Sketchers for me.
• 1 month prior to flight, my vegetarian gf attempted to become omnivore for the trip. She was sick for a couple of weeks for eating meat but she braved through it because she did not want to miss out on food while in Japan. She adapted in the end although she had nauseous from eating meat at times. In the end, there were actually numerous vegetarian options for her that she did not have to adapt in the first place.
• We needed more time to prepare for the trip. Our trip was kind of spontaneous and we booked the flight ticket around late March so we have to pay hefty amount of money more. The itinerary was too much than we could have accounted for. We should have given ourselves free time in between destinations and not clump them like there is no tomorrow.
• Check the weather forecast. Preparing for the itinerary while considering the weather can be very difficult as the weather in Japan fluctuates very easily. Good thing we group our itineraries that can be done indoors vs outdoors so would switch up the plan depending on the weather. I also did not know cherry blossom forecast was a thing. I visited places expecting some cherry blossoms and they turned out to be green when we get there. This is a good thing to consider while visiting during spring season.
• Be flexible for the trip. Our trip was supposed to be Osaka -> Kyoto -> Nagoya -> Kawaguchiko -> Tokyo. Then we switched up Tokyo and Kawaguchiko due to price increasing during the Golden Week. We visited within the Golden week period (we did not know this event was a thing) and we realized the price of hotels skyrocket within this period. I wanted to experience some high end ryokans in Kawaguchiko with a view of Mount Fuji but then the price was like 3-4 times the price during the Golden week, hence, we switched up the places. We saved money for lodging because of that.
• Popular restaurants + Tourist trap places can have long lines. If you have tighter schedule like we did, I highly suggest making reservations or come earlier to get into the lines. Even a lot of restaurants that open at 11am, I saw a line already around 9:30am. I did not have time for that that we end up visiting not so pupular places and yet still experience delicious food. Tourist trap places tend to be overrated and expensive. It is a good thing that we went to try other places. Our restaurant policy if there are more locals eating vs tourists eating, it is good and most likely cheap. Some restaurants also do not appear on google maps due to not adapting to the English language so you can usually find hidden gems here and there.
• I think it is better to check in a hotel with breakfast services as most restaurants open around 11am. We had hotel with breakfast service and some have dont. We end up buying food at combini and also got lucky with Denny's near our first hotel as it opens at 6am.
• Note for type of train traveling within your station. I only realized this during the middle of our trip. There is Local, Rapid, Express. Local stops station to station, rapid seemed to skip some stations, and express seemed to only stop at key stations. It is good that the stations have English translations and even the train pre recorded voice also had English parts.
• Check exchange rate before withdrawing money from ATMs. The currency exchange fluctuates but it is not a huge difference. It is still good to win as much money in the exchange to have more cash in hand. The money I lost due to the exchange were minuscule at first but they accumulate since I did not check exchange rate until I returned.
• I should not have been afraid to ask for help. I had this impression that Japanese people don't like to be bothered and they seemed resourceful themselves to not bother themselves asking. At least I learned this the second day of the trip. Hotel receptionists are good resource to ask.

What saved us the trip:

• Being an anime fan/hololive fan helped me with the language. I watched so many animes that it surprisingly helped improve my vocabulary and I was able to understand people speaking in Japanese. Although I cannot read their language(thank god google image translate), I was able to hold conversation even though I speak like a toddlekindergartener. It is almost funny that some anime characters speak unnatural that I even used their kind of speech at times. I am ever so proud when some people told me "Nihonggo Jouzu"-d 4 times during this trip. Some people take that as an offense but I was so delighted when I received that.
• Booking online for reservation. We avoided spending more for this trip since we did not go to theme parks and focused on temple visiting as we preferred. We only had few reservations to do without much competition.
• Renting wifi device. I was about to use roaming but it was too expensive for a 17 day trip. Thank goodness for renting. Things would have been a disaster without my internet. Everyone should get their internet access as their priority.
• Get a power bank device. Since I use my phone all the time, the device dies easily. There are charging stations around but if you want to keep moving, bring your own and charge them while you walk. I had my 20000mah power bank and it is more than enough for charging 2 phones, 1 tablet, 1 wifi device for the day. I just charge the power bank while I sleep.
• Getting a Suica pass. This is self explanatory. I almost got into the hype of getting a JR pass too but I thought it was too expensive for me. I did not need a JR pass. With the help of google maps and Suica pass, I was able to go to my destination. I am amazed they put the price of the transport that I was able to choose which method of transport should I be getting. No taxis for me in this trip since I heard they tend to be expensive.
• Buying unlimited day pass also saved us some money for transport during the trip. It is a good practise to calculate your itinerary beforehand before deciding whether an unlimited day pass is a good option. There were days we did not buy unlimited pass.
• Putting Akihabara near end of trip than early. I would have ran out of money to spend for other places if I went there first.

Brief trip report:

• Day 0 (April 25) - Arrive to Osaka after Layover from Narita around 8pm. Checked in the hotel and ate combini food before turning in for the night.
• Day 1 - Osaka Castle (entered with an entrance fee) -> Izakaya Toyo (watched the episode on netflix and decided to visit) -> Sumiyoshi Taisha -> Nagai Park (it was at this part I realized about the Golden Week as we saw construction of stalls as preparation) -> Team Labs Botanical. The botanical experience was underwhelming for me. I was only impressed with the blue lights on the foliage.
• Day 2 - Yoshino. This is the part where I wished I knew about the Cherry blossom forecast. I checked google to see where in Japan has best place for cherry blossom and it recommended Yoshino. The cherry blossom was already over but the place was still very nice and visited some temples there. I will definitely come back for the actual cherry blossom viewing. At least the Blue Symphony train was a cool method of transport to Yoshino. Then spent the rest of the day/evening at Tsutenkaku.
• Day 3 - Shittenoji Temple (they were building stalls for the festival? got few good pictures due to stalls within sights) -> went to Kobe and tried their Kobe beef from a golden cow plate restaurant in Kobe -> cable car to Nunobike Herb Garden -> hang around BE KOBE sign -> Dotonbori for the rest of the evening (VERY CROWDED).
• Day 4 - Nara. Rented bike there and went to various places. Nara Deer Park -> Sage Ike pond -> Kasuga Taisha shrine. Feeding deers everywhere. -> Todaiji temple (entrance fee) -> Kofukuji temple -> Higashimuku Shopping Street -> returned bike then train back to Osaka-> going first time trying bath house in Solaniwa.
• Day 5 - Checked out hotel. Used Kyo Train Garaku to Kyoto. Used a coinlocker since check in starts at 3pm. -> Jonangu Shrine (entrance fee for garden) -> Fushimi Inari Taisha. Attempted to climb up but my poor feet were screaming. We turned back after reaching the second station before Mount Inari. -> Gion for the evening before checking in to the hotel.
• Day 6 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (I was underwhelmed by this place as it was small. Make sure to come early as it gets crowded later on) -> Nearby Temples (Nonomiya, Mikami, Jojakkoji, Nisonin) -> Tenryuji Temple (entrance fee but most impressive garden I have visited this trip) -> Tenryuji Shigetsu to experience their vegan cuisine -> Sagano Romantic Train to Kameoka -> train back to shop around Arashiyama -> Kinkakuji Temple -> Nishiki Market for the rest of evening.
• Day 7 - Kiyomizu-dera (entrance fee) -> Sannenzaka (they have Starbucks in tatami there, also my gf visited "My Only Fragrance" shop and made her own perfume there). -> Yasaka Shrine (there were numerous food stalls everywhere I think this is how they celebrate Golden Week and I ate good) -> Heian Temple (entrance to garden). They also had numerous food stalls and a concert stage and I ate good -> Kodaiji Temple (entrance fee but they had a nice light show there during the evening).
• Day 8 - Nijo Castle (Expensive entrance fee compared to other entrances. Imo, there are other better places that should be more worth the fee compared to this place). -> Kyoto Imperial Palace (free entrance) -> Rokusonno Shrine -> Higashi Honganji Temple (free entrance. More stall constructions) -> Gion for the rest of evening.
• Day 9 - Check out Hotel. Used Hinotori express train to Nagoya. Always wanted to try capsule hotel and checked in to 9 hours hotel. -> Visited Nagoya Castle (entrance fee but I was disappointed we could not enter the castle itself compared to Osaka Castle). There were also numerous food stalls inside and I ate good. -> Visited their Malls -> Slept at the capsule hotel. To be honest, I slept really well compared to other hotels we have booked. It was surprisingly comfortable despite the random fire alarm that woke me up during that night.
• Day 10 - Checked out Hotel. Used Shinkansen to Tokyo. Checked in at the next hotel. -> Teamlab Planets (way better than Teamlab Botanicals) -> Dinner at Gonpachi (Kill Bill reference). The movie was old and it is the theme of the restaurant. Their food was mid though. It is just a nice ambiance where noise seemed to be welcome here.
• Day 11 - Suga Jinja (Your Name reference). Still surprised there are still visitors there due to that movie. Did some cringe Your Name photos. -> Meiji Jingu -> Explored Harajuku (visited Aoyama flower market tea house) -> Shibuya Crossing (ate good food there). Visited Tower Records + Don Quijote + Miyashita Park. Wanted to do Shibuya Sky but they sold out their tickets. End up getting lost among the crowds for the rest of evening.
• Day 12 - Nezu Shrine -> Sensoji Temple (It was raining too hard that day so we decided to come back another time. -> Shopping at Asakusa ROX + tried their conveyor belt sushi -> Akihabara (spent quite a lot of money here for anime merch). Anime store hopping + visited maid cafe for the first time.
• Day 13 - Sensoji Temple (better weather) -> Ate at Happy Pancake (I find it overrated but I still enjoyed their pancakes) -> Visited a big Muji store in Ginza -> Akihabara part 2 (more anime merch).
• Day 14 - Check out hotel. Left all check in baggages in a coin locker for 3 days prior heading to Kawaguchiko. Used bus from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko station. Took shuttle bus to hotel. Check in at ryokan with a bath house + footbath on their rooftop with nice view of Mt. Fuji. Walked around the lake + view of Mount Fuji. Found myself a waifu Kawaguchiko-san seemed to be the mascot of the town since I see the character on various tourist spots. Had myself a mini scavenger hunt to find all of her cut outs around the town and I found them all!
• Day 15 - Shopping for souvenirs around. -> Took the boat going around the lake with nice view. Took car cable up to have a better view of Mount Fuji. Walked up more higher to have better vantage point. Proposed to my GF, now I have a fiancée.
• Day 16 - Check out Hotel. Bus back to Shinjuku. One more stop at Akihabara for merch. Retrieved coin locker baggages. Train to Narita Airport then flight back to Canada.

EDIT: post formatting

Hey guys/gals/helicopters,
Ive bought an Oppo find x 5 Smartphone at the end of March. Intially, I was almost happy with it. The phone came at a decent price (~435£), with an improvement in camera quality (came from Xiaomi mi 9, which has served me for roughly 3,5 years) a better quality screen with higher refresh rate, more space (256gb) and what seemed at a time, a great battery (4800mah) which charged really quick (with the help of the 80W charger).
However, after no more than a few days ive realized just how wrong i was. Battery was not holding charge nowhere near to what id expect from a new device. In order for it to be somewhat decent (wanted for the device last at least 1,5 days with semi-intense use) I had to get rid of all of the interesting, new (at least for me) and fun features (5g, 120hz refresh rate, auto brightness, Edge lightning, apps running in the background, high performance mode, ensure all apps are optimized, deny all of them access to the foreground, etc).
This removed most of what seemed to make the device unique (have i mentioned i turned off Bluetooth and kept the device in battery saver mode all the time?) but that gave me a possibility to get over 7 hours of screen on time. That was only possible with me using no pretty much no social media (i only do whatsapp and a little fb but still). With this the device only lasted about close to two days ( it might sound a lot, but keep in mind i would barely ever turn on the screen during that time, and of course used no always-on display).
Since i did not want to replace my phone any time soon ive only charged it when it dropped to 20% and unplugged it when it reached 80-99% (as most of you are probably aware its necessary to ensure the longevity of the battery).
So having pretty much everything off helped, I thought maybe the device would now be usable. However, heavens had other plans. A week or so ago, before the device has even reached 2 months of usage, ive noticed that if I charge the device to 99% and go about my day i would usually find it at 86-90% within 15-20 minutes! With screen only on for like 9 minutes, no apps running(aside crom those that i constantly have to turn off again and again) and even mobile data off! I have literally seen the percentage drop from 95 to 90 in under a second and then proceed dropping to 89....
Clearly seems that the device (already!) has some dead cells and thus are they not really charged (hence the jump). Ive seen that with the devices that been used for 2+ years but never in a new device! AcuuBattery seems to imply it still has 96% of battery health (though that quickly changed to 95% with just one more charge!!) so this is either the absolute worst device to plague the smartphone marketplace or ive been sold a defected/refurbished device.
To any one considering this (and potentially any) Oppo device i say STEER CLEAR my friend, unless you want to spend your free time dealing with never ending issues instead of actually using the device. Hands down the worst phone ive ever touched.
To anyone knowledgeable, is it possible to get a refund from Oppo after the initial 30 days? Is there anything i can do to get this sorted (without repairing it, definitely not worth it in this case)?
Something tells me OPP0 will want me to send them the device in order for them to "inspect it" for a couple of months before they actually do anything.
Ive waited for over a month for redmi note 12 pro+ to come out (after when my trusted xiaomi mi 9 took a dive into the water filled sink). I guess I should have kept on waiting.
Any sort of help or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys/gals/helicopters,
Ive bought the aforementioned device at the end of March. Intially, I was almost happy with it. The phone came at a decent price (~435£), with an improvement in camera quality (came from Xiaomi mi 9, which has served me for roughly 3,5 years) a better quality screen with higher refresh rate, more space (256gb) and what seemed at a time, a great battery (4800mah) which charged really quick (with the help of the 80W charger).
However, after no more than a few days ive realized just how wrong i was. Battery was not holding charge nowhere near to what id expect from a new device. In order for it to be somewhat decent (wanted for the device last at least 1,5 days with semi-intense use) I had to get rid of all of the interesting, new (at least for me) and fun features (5g, 120hz refresh rate, auto brightness, Edge lightning, apps running in the background, high performance mode, ensure all apps are optimized, deny all of them access to the foreground, etc).
This removed most of what seemed to make the device unique (have i mentioned i turned off Bluetooth and kept the device in battery saver mode all the time?) but that gave me a possibility to get over 7 hours of screen on time. That was only possible with me using no pretty much no social media (i only do whatsapp and a little fb but still). With this the device only lasted about close to two days ( it might sound a lot, but keep in mind i would barely ever turn on the screen during that time, and of course used no always-on display).
Since i did not want to replace my phone any time soon ive only charged it when it dropped to 20% and unplugged it when it reached 80-99% (as most of you are probably aware its necessary to ensure the longevity of the battery).
So having pretty much everything off helped, I thought maybe the device would now be usable. However, heavens had other plans. A week or so ago, before the device has even reached 2 months of usage, ive noticed that if I charge the device to 99% and go about my day i would usually find it at 86-90% within 15-20 minutes! With screen only on for like 9 minutes, no apps running(aside crom those that i constantly have to turn off again and again) and even mobile data off! I have literally seen the percentage drop from 95 to 90 in under a second and then proceed dropping to 89....
Clearly seems that the device (already!) has some dead cells and thus are they not really charged (hence the jump). Ive seen that with the devices that been used for 2+ years but never in a new device! AcuuBattery seems to imply it still has 96% of battery health (though that quickly changed to 95% with just one more charge!!) so this is either the absolute worst device to plague the smartphone marketplace or ive been sold a defected/refurbished device.
To any one considering this (and potentially any) Oppo device i say STEER CLEAR my friend, unless you want to spend your free time dealing with never ending issues instead of actually using the device. Hands down the worst phone ive ever touched.
To anyone knowledgeable, is it possible to get a refund from Oppo after the initial 30 days? Is there anything i can do to get this sorted (without repairing it, definitely not worth it in this case)?
Something tells me OPP0 will want me to send them the device in order for them to "inspect it" for a couple of months before they actually do anything.
Ive waited for over a month for redmi note 12 pro+ to come out (after when my trusted xiaomi mi 9 took a dive into the water filled sink). I guess I should have kept on waiting.
Im adding a few AccuBattery pics to show the issue I'm describing.
Any sort of help or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

It had been a quiet day at the airport for Steward. He wasn’t particularly used to those as an immigration officer, there were always those that tried to cheat their way over the border. Not that Steward was against immigrants, far from it, but he had a job to do. If there were no rules, everything would descent into chaos. And as long as he was on the clock, there would be no chaos. Whatever happened on his off time was for others to care about. He sipped his lukewarm machine coffee once more, when the door to his office swung open.
“You have to come, sir, we have a crazy one!” said one if the security guards under his supervision.
Steward put down his coffee cup and stood up, adjusting his coat and rearranging his cap. You had to look the part if you wanted to demand respect. Off he strutted towards whatever poor fool had tried to cheat the system on his watch.
Blinking he was staring straight forward towards a man in the weirdest attire yet. Wearing a black jumpsuit, secured at the wrists and ankles by golden rings, multiple of them. The man was going absolutely berserk. Yelling, hissing, jumping, everything you could think of really. And no one in the room understood one word of what he was saying. According to the guard that had called him over, not even Google could recognize the language. To Steward the man looked ordinary enough, besides his clothes. Yet he couldn’t pull away from the thought that there was something off about him. Something he couldn’t really put his finger on, but it was a gnawing sense that was hard to ignore. The man must have had some impressing stamina, as he kept on raging without any sign of calming down.
Two guards had managed, with the help of Steward, to guide, nudge, push and talk the man into Stewards office. The ruckus was gathering too much attention in the arrivals hall and it would be a bad look if travelers thought Steward didn’t have his business in order. At least as long as he was on the clock. The two guardsmen pushed the stranger into the chair opposite of Stewards, quite forcefully. For a moment the man just sat there, blinking at Steward. Steward blinked back, as that seemed the most polite thing to do. Who knows what the customs might be in the culture of this stranger. That’s when the man pulled a strange device out of his pocket. It looked like a smartphone, but definitely not one of a manufacturer anyone else in the office was familiar with. The man shoved the thing to the middle of the table and pointed assertively and multiple times to the time and location shown on the screen. 10:57 AM Fatigua, Heraldia. Steward didn’t know any place called Fatigue, nor a country called Heraldia. He could confirm that it, in fact, was 10:57 AM. So he confirmed as much to the stranger in the hope that it would calm the man down. It did not calm the man down. He grabbed Steward’s coffee cup and threw the thing forcefully against the wall behind Steward. This earned the man a taser in his neck and any further conversation on the matter would have to wait for the several hours it was going to take him to wake up.
Steward had instructed the guard to take the man to the provisional hold down the hall. It was a modest space, with it’s own toilet, that usually was the holding place for anyone foolish enough to add several misdemeanours, or worse felonies, to their effort to cheat the system. Now it held the stranger in his black wardrobe. The device they had kept with them in Steward’s office. So they could inspect it further. Those further investigations soon being barred by the strange bio-metric security of the thing that stopped them from accessing it.
There was a knock on the door, as Steward was slurping his sixth cup of coffee of the day. This time in a new mug, one with blue dots on a pink background. Ugly, but doing its job, just like Steward himself. The guard on the other side opened the door hesitantly.
“What is it?” asked Steward, anticipating some shenanigans.
The guard showed his head around the door without entering. A sheepish look on his face that told Steward that the man wanted to be here as much as Steward liked people that tried to cheat the system under his watch.
“Sir...he’s gone,” stammered the guard.
“What do you mean, he’s gone, who’s gone?” asked Steward.
Turned out that the strange man that they had locked up on the temporary holding cell, something of which everyone agreed had really happened, was gone without a trace. The cell was empty, the toilet clean and if you told a random stranger that no one had been there, they’d believe you. Steward ran back to his office to check the strange phone that they had confiscated from the strange man. It still lay there on the corner of his desk, locked. The only thing that Steward could check was the time. 02:42 PM London, Great Britain.

hey i want to get cell service through boost i don't currently have a phone so no number to port over and i don't need a lot of data so something like the $25 month plan would work great for me but it's not offered when buying a phone, what's the best option for me? could i buy the iPhone12 for $199.99 but it only offers me the $40 or $60 month plans, could i switch after the first month to the $25 month one? the online cs can't give me a straight answer and they also tell me i'll be locked into $40 month plan for a whole year if i bought the $99.99 iPhone11 in local store. thanks in advance man

Since this sub was so helpful in planning, I wanted to share my itinerary and trip report! We had an incredible first time in Japan and I can't wait to go back.
Couldn't fit our (very detailed) itinerary in this post, but if you'd like to download it's here.
And our shareable Google map is here.
About us:

• We’re New Yorkers in our 30s who have been planning this trip for about 6 months.
• My bf has been learning Japanese for about a year, and I’ve been learning for about 5 months (a mix of Pimsleur and Duolingo).
• Boyfriend is into history and baseball, I'm into skincare and nature, but we’re both big on food so that was our number one priority.
• He has a peanut allergy and avoids all nuts. He learned to say that in Japanese (私はピーナッツアレルギーがあります - "Watashi wa piinattsu arerugī ga arimasu”), and every restaurant and hotel was understanding and careful. Luckily most cuisine is nut-free anyway, but we managed not to have any close calls in 2 weeks which is amazing.

Some overall learnings:

• If I were planning this trip again, I think I would skip Kanazawa. It was a lovely town and the food was amazing, but we wished we had spent that time with a night or two in Osaka instead of just making it a day trip from Kyoto.
• Even if you’re not a baseball fan, Japanese baseball games are so much fun. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
• I packed a suitcase and brought a fold-up duffel bag, and halfway through the trip I moved my clothes to the duffel and just used the suitcase for souvenirs. It was a great idea but we ended up buying an extra suitcase at Donki our last day anyway.
• We both felt a bit underdressed compared to locals, especially in Tokyo. I wish I’d packed more dresses, skirts and trousers and fewer jeans and tees - the only people I saw wearing sweats, athletic wear or cutoffs were other tourists. Obviously you can wear what you want, just be aware you’ll stick out! Also, women are generally more covered up, even on warmer days, to protect their skin from the sun.
• If you go clothes shopping, take your shoes off in dressing rooms. I made a right fool of myself.
• Clothes sizing is wildly different in Japan. Know your cm measurements! Your size here may be hurtful to your ego.
• People line up to get on the train (check the ground for a guide of where to stand) and let everyone off before they get on. This seems obvious, but I’ve been living in New York so long that I wanted to weep tears of joy every time.
• If you’re new to sitting showers: there are two buttons. One is to fill up a bowl of water, and the other is to turn on the handheld shower head. Both automatically turn off a minute after you turn them on, but you can also turn them off manually. You sit on the little stool and there’s usually a mirror in front of you, which is… a humbling experience. There are usually also scrubbing washcloths.
• The worst train station toilet was still nicer than a goddamn Nordstrom bathroom. It was a pleasure to have IBS in Japan.
• At many European and American historical sites, you pay a hefty flat fee to see everything. In Japan, you can usually get into the temple grounds for free, then pay for each individual building you go into. Most were 400-700y/person, which felt really reasonable.
• We came at an almost perfect time (mid-May) weather-wise. Most days it was clear or sunny with a high in the mid-seventies. We definitely got some rain, but less than we were expecting (maybe 3-4 rainy days and 5-6 rainy nights).

Hotel Reviews:
Tokyu Stay Shinjuku Eastside (Tokyo): This was a great basic hotel, close to plenty of transportation and right on the edge of Kabukicho. The buffet breakfast was the highlight - a great mix of Western and Japanese breakfast options, including a great miso soup. Hakone Airu (Hakone): Mixed review here. On the one hand, the in-room onsen and public onsen were both wonderful, and the service was extraordinary. On the other hand, the mix of Balinese and Japanese didn’t quite work, and dinner and breakfast were more confusing than enjoyable. Hotel Alza (Kyoto): By far our favorite stay. I can’t recommend this place enough, and it was definitely worth paying a little extra. They brought us an amazing bento breakfast in our rooms every morning, they had every amenity we could need (they even re-upped the free sheet masks every day), and the micro-bubble bath at the end of a long day of walking was amazing. Koyasan Syukubo Ekoin Temple (Mt Koya): This was a great temple experience. Koyasan in general is obviously pretty tourist-y, but Eko-in still made it feel authentic, and dinner and breakfast were both amazing. Your stay includes a meditation class, morning prayers and a morning fire ritual, and you can pay to attend a cemetery tour, all of which were great. Utaimachi (Kanazawa): We were only here for two nights, but this place was pretty good. Very close to the Higashi Chaya area, where we didn’t actually end up spending much time. Always love tatami mat flooring, and the washedryer was a nice bonus, but we were also right next to the lobby and right under another room so there was some noise. The Gate Asakusa (Tokyo): A great and very Westernized hotel with amazing views of Shinso-ji and the surrounding area. It’s on the top floors of a building right in the middle of all things Asakusa, but is still pretty quiet. And has a wonderful, deep soaking tub with free bath salts.

Tuesday: Arrival, Shinjuku

1 PM: Arrival at Haneda
We got customs and immigration forms to fill out on the plane and everything went fairly quickly. Picked up some cash and Suica cards, went to see about taking the Airport Limousine bus ($10/each) but we should have booked in advance because there wasn’t one for another hour. We ended up taking a taxi (about $50) to our hotel in Shinjuku.
4 PM: Arrival at hotel - Tokyu Stay Shinjuku East Side
We dropped our luggage and went to a nearby eel restaurant, Shinjuku Unatetsu. The eel was incredible and not too filling. Wandered Kabuki-cho for a bit, I dragged my bf through all 4 floors of Don Quijote (I had a list of beauty items to pick up), then rested at the hotel.
7 PM: Dinner in Shinjuku (Tsunahachi)
We went to Tsunahachi for dinner and got some amazing tempura (I wish we had sat at the bar to watch it being made!) and then crashed by 9 pm, because we are young and cool.

Wednesday: Harajuku, Meiji, and Shibuya

7 AM: Hotel breakfast
Up early for hotel breakfast, which has convinced bf to start making miso soup every morning.
9 AM: Shinjuku Station - Pick up JR Passes
We went to Shinjuku station to pick up our JR passes, then spent 30 minutes finding the place where we could get them before 10 AM. There was a long line (staff shortage) so we waited about an hour but we got them and headed to Harajuku.
11 AM: Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi Park
We walked to Meiji Shrine, stopping at the gardens along the way (well worth the 500y entrance fee, especially on a beautiful day). We were lucky to come across a wedding at the shrine. Then we walked around Yoyogi Park a bit.
1 PM: Lunch (Gyoza Lou)
Walked into Gyoza Lou and were seated right away. Incredible gyoza as well as beer and bean sprouts with meat sauce - maybe 10 bucks total for 2 people.
1:30 PM: Shopping/museums in Harajuku
We split up so I could do some shopping in vintage stores - Flamingo, TAGTAG and Kinji (my favorite), and bf could go to the Ota Memorial Museum for their Cats in Ukiyo-e exhibit (which he loved). I walked down Takeshita street to meet him and managed to get a green tea, strawberry and red bean paste crepe from Marion Crepes.
3 PM: Shibuya Scramble & Hachinko Statue
We grabbed the train to Shibuya, saw the scramble and the Hachinko statue, then entered the maze that is Tokyu Hands. I got some onsen powders for gifts and some more cosmetics. My boyfriend checked out the Bic camera store and I went to Gu, which is like the love child of Uniqlo and Primark. I immediately undid all the “light packing” I did with new clothes.
7 PM: Dinner Reservation - Shinjuku Kappu Nakajima
I got us a reservation a few months ago at Shinjuku Kappu Nakajima. It was probably one of the best meals of my life. The omakase came out to less than $100usd each, which felt like a steal.
9 PM: Golden Gai bar (Bar Araku)
We wandered Golden Gai and went into a bar where the entrance fee was waived for foreigners called Bar Araku. It was very small but had great vibes, highly recommend. I drank too much sake, which will be a theme.

Thursday: Shinjuku

4 AM: Earthquake
The phone alerts are insanely loud! We rushed down to the hotel lobby and the only other people there were fellow foreigners - apparently Japanese people at the hotel knew a 5.1 is okay to sleep through.
9 AM: Shinjuku Gyoen
We strolled around in the sun taking photos for about 3 hours. Today is a lot less planned than yesterday - I kind of wish I’d switched the itineraries after how long getting the JR Pass took. We did go to the fancy Starbucks, of course.
12 PM: Lunch (Kaiten Sushi Numazuto)
We tried to go to a nearby sushi place but it was full, so we walked up to Kaiten Sushi Numazuto. We were a little disappointed it wasn’t actually conveyor belt sushi (the conveyor belt was for show and you ordered from the staff). Stopped in Bic camera afterwards for a bit.
2 PM: Ninja Trick House
We tried to go to the Samurai museum but learned it closed a few weeks ago. A good excuse to go to the Ninja Trick House instead. You’re thinking: “Isn’t that place for children?” Yes. Yes it is. And we loved every minute. I now have a camera roll full of myself being terrible at throwing stars. The dream.
3 PM: Don Quijote
More Don Quijote, mostly to get out of the rain. Got my last few beauty products I really wanted and a few souvenirs. An overstimulating heaven.
6 PM: 3-hour Shinjuku Foodie Tour
We signed up for a 3-hour “foodie tour” of Shinjuku that stopped at a sushi place, a Japanese bbq spot with insane wagyu beef, and a sake tasting spot. It was great, and we loved our guide, but wished it had stopped at a few more spots to try more things.
9 PM: Walk around Shinjuku
We attempted to play pachinko, got very confused and lost $7. Tourism!

Friday: Hakone

7 AM: Set up luggage forwarding to Kyoto with hotel
Luggage forwarding is brilliant. We did it twice and it went so smoothly, for about $10 USD per bag. Highly recommend.
9 AM: Transit to Hakone
We got to experience Japanese transit at rush hour. I can’t believe I have to go back to the MTA after this. We took the subway to Tokyo station and then the Shinkansen to Odawara, then a train to Hakone-Yumoto. The hotel was only a 20-minute walk away, so we decided to take a more scenic route - which turned out to be a forest hike straight up switchbacks most of the way.
11 AM: Lunch in Hakone (Hatsuhana)
We stopped in a soba place called Hatsuhana with a system of writing your name down and waiting outside to be called in. They skipped our names because they weren’t in Japanese, but let us in when they realized their mistake. The soba was made and served by old aunties so of course it was insanely good and well worth it.
1 PM: Hakone Open Air Museum
We took the train down to the Hakone Open Air Museum, which lived up to the hype. I’m not normally into sculpture, but seeing it in nature, and the way the museum is laid out, made it incredible. And obviously the Picasso exhibit was amazing.
3 PM: Owakudani, Pirate Ship, Hakone Checkpoint
We took the train to the cable car to Owakudani, then the ropeway to Togendai, then the pirate ship ferry to Motohakone. We were running behind so unfortunately had to rush through the Hakone Checkpoint, which was empty but very cool.
6 PM: Dinner at hotel
Back to our hotel for our kaiseki meal. The staff spoke very little English and Google struggled with the menu, so we had no idea what we were eating half the time, but overall it was pretty good.
9 PM: Onsen time
Experienced my first public onsen, followed by the private onsen in our room. The tatami sleep did wonders for my back.

Saturday: Travel to Kyoto, Philosopher’s Path, Gion

8 AM: Breakfast, travel to Kyoto
Took the train to Odawara and then the Shinkansen to Kyoto station. We booked all of our Shinkansen seats about a week in advance but you can also book them on the day, I believe.
1 PM: Lunch in Gion
Our Kyoto hotel let us check in early, and then we went looking for lunch. Quickly learned that most every place in the Gion area has a line outside and closes at 2! We eventually found a tiny spot with insanely good ramen. It also had chicken sashimi on the menu but we weren’t brave enough.
2 PM: Philosopher’s Path, Ginkaku-ji
We took a bus over to the Philosopher’s Path, which was not busy at all because of the rain. It was pretty, and I could see how great it would look in cherry blossom season. We had to kind of rush to Ginkaku-ji, which was gorgeous nonetheless.
4 PM: Honen-in, Nanzen-ji
Stopped by Honen-in (which we had completely to ourselves, thanks rain!) and then Nanzen-ji. My bf is a big history guy and he went feral for the Hojo rock garden. It was very pretty and I’d love to see it in better weather.
6 PM: Food Tour of Gion & Pontocho
This food tour stopped at two places (an izakaya and a standing bar) with a walking tour of Gion and Pontocho in between. We also stopped at Yasaka shrine and caught a rehearsal of a traditional Japanese performance.
10 PM: Pain
My feet hurt so bad. Bring waterproof shoes, but make sure they don’t have 5 year old insoles. I tried some stick-on cooling acupuncture foot pads I picked up at Donki and they were bliss.

Sunday: Arashiyama, The Golden Pavilion and Tea Ceremony

8 AM: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
The forecast was for heavy rain all day, but we lucked out and only got a few drizzles here and there. We headed to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in the morning and it wasn’t too crowded. We did have an amazing bamboo dish at dinner last night so now bamboo makes me hungry.
10 AM: Tenryu-ji, Iwatayama Monkey Park
Headed over to Tenryu-ji, which was very nice but very crowded, and then to one of the things I looked forward to most on the trip, the Iwatayama Monkey Park. It’s a 20 minute hike up there but it is worth it. Oh my god. Getting to feed a baby monkey made my whole week.
12 PM: Lunch near Arashiyama (Udon Arashiyama-tei)
Headed back down to the main road and got duck udon at a little place called Udon Arashiyama-tei. I know I keep calling everything incredible but… yes.
1 PM: Ginkaku-ji
Ran into some bus issues (the first time we experienced anything public transit-wise not running as expected!) but eventually got over to Ginkaku-ji. It was also very crowded (seems like Japanese schools are big on field trips, which I’m jealous of) and not my favorite temple, but beautiful nonetheless.
3 PM: Daitoku-ji
We were ahead of schedule so we got to spend some time at our meeting place for the tea ceremony, Daitoku-ji. It ended up being our favorite temple, especially Daisen-in, a small and very quiet spot with a great self-guided tour. The monks showed us a section normally closed to non-Japanese tourists with beautiful calligraphy.
4 PM: Tea Ceremony (90 mins)
The tea ceremony we booked said it was in groups of up to ten, but it ended up being just us. It was very nice and relaxing, plus we got a little meal.
6 PM: Dinner (Gion Kappa), Pontocho Alley
We both nearly fell asleep on the bus back so we took it easy for the night. Went to an izakaya called Gion Kappa which had the best tuna belly we’d ever eaten, then did a quick walk around Pontocho Alley, got treats at 7-11 and went to bed early.

Monday: Fushimi Inari, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace (kinda)

9 AM: Fushimi Inari
Our plans to get up super early to beat the crowds to Fushimi Imari were hampered by the fact that we are no longer in our 20s. It was packed by the time we got there, and the amount of littering and defacing done by tourists was a bummer.
11 AM: Tofuku-ji
We had planned to go to the Imperial Palace at 10:30 for the Aoi Parade, but decided instead to get away from crowds by hiking from Fushimi Inari to Tofuku-ji, which was beautiful (I’d love to see it in the fall).
12 PM: Nishiki Market, lunch (Gyukatsu)
Grabbed lunch first at Gyukatsu (wagyu katsu - delicious) then wandered Nishiki a bit. It’s touristy, but fun.
2 PM: Kyoto Gyoen, Kyoto Handicraft Center
It was supposed to rain all day but ended up sunny, so we went back to the hotel to drop off our rain jackets and umbrellas. Stepped back outside and within ten minutes it was raining. We went to Kyoto Gyoen and saw the outside of the imperial palace; it was closed because of the parade earlier and half the garden was blocked off because the former emperor was visiting. Without the palace, Kyoto Gyoen is kind of meh. We walked over to Kyoto Handicraft Center which was also meh, but we picked up some nice lacquerware.
7:30 PM: Dinner at Roan Kiku Noi
We had a reservation at Roan Kiku Noi where we had maybe the best meal of our lives. Amazing that it only has two Michelin stars, honestly. Had fun trying to decipher the pain meds aisle at a Japanese pharmacy afterwards and then called it a night.

Tuesday: Day Trip to Nara

8 AM: Travel to Nara
We took the subway to the JR and were there in about an hour.
9 AM: Nara Deer Park
Two things about the Nara deer. One: if you bow to them, they bow back, and it’s very cute. And two, if you buy the 200y rice crackers to feed to them, do it somewhere where there aren’t very many of them. I got mobbed by like 15 deer and bitten 3 times. My fault for having skin approximately the shade of a rice cracker.
10 AM: Kofuku-ji, Nara National Museum
We saw Kofuku-ji and then the Nara National Museum, then stopped at a random little cafe for rice bowls with some kind of regional sauce (I can’t find it now!).
12 PM: Isetan Garden
We spent a long time finding the entrance to the Isetan garden only for it to be closed on Tuesdays.
2 PM: Giant Buddha
Saw Nandaimon Gate and the Daibutsu (giant Buddha), which are both every bit as enormous and glorious as advertised, as well as very crowded.
3 PM: Kasuga-taisha Shrine
Wandered over to Kasuga-taisha shrine, which is famous for its hundreds of lanterns and thousand-year-old trees. There’s a special inner area (paid) where you can see the lanterns lit up in the dark.
4 PM: Wait for the emperor
We got held up by a procession for, guess who, the former emperor again. Stalker.
5 PM: Nara shopping and snacks
Walked around Higashimuki Shopping Street and Mochiidono Shopping Arcade, bought a nice sake set and an amazing little hand-painted cat, ate some red bean paste pancakes and headed back to Kyoto.
7 PM: Dinner in Kyoto
Walked around Pontocho searching for dinner and landed on Yoshina, where we got even more kaiseki. Finished the night at Hello Dolly, a gorgeous jazz bar overlooking the river.

Wednesday: Day Trip to Osaka

7 AM: Depart hotel
Started by taking the subway to the JR. Took us about an hour altogether, though it would have been faster if we’d caught the express.
9 AM: Osaka Castle
We got to Osaka Castle in time for it to hit 85 degrees out. The outside of the castle is gorgeous, but the line to get in was long and I don’t know if the museum parts were worth the wait, especially with the crowds. The view from the top is nice, though.
12 PM: Okonomiyaki lunch (Abeton)
We went to an okonomiyaki spot in Avetica station called Abeton that was full of locals and absolutely bomb as hell.
1 PM: Shitteno-ji, Keitakuen Gardens
We headed to Shitteno-ji (our oldest temple yet) which was nice, though the climb to the top of then 5 story pagoda wasn’t worth the sweat. Then we walked over to Keitakuen Gardens, a small but gorgeous garden in Tennoji Park. Had a nice sit in the shade to digest and plan our next moves.
3 PM: Ebisuhigasbi, Mega Don Quijote
I am a crazy person, so I had to go to the Mega Don Quijote. We walked around Ebisuhigasbi for a while first, and while I was buying gifts in Donki, my boyfriend entered a sushi challenge for westerners (which turned out to just be “can a white boy handle wasabi”) and won a bunch of random crap! Now we own Japanese furniture wipes.
5 PM: Dotonbori & America-mura
We took the Osaka Loop to the Dotonbori area, which was super crowded as expected. We walked around America-mura and enjoyed seeing what they think of us. There are great designer vintage clothing shops here if that’s your thing.
6 PM: Dinner (Jiyuken)
We tried to get into Koni Doraku, a crab restaurant, but they were booked up, so we went to a tiny spot called Jiyuken for curry instead. I would do things for this curry. It was the platonic ideal of curry. It was served by old Japanese aunties from a very old recipe, so we knew it was going to be good, but it exceeded our wildest expectations… for <1000y each.
7 PM: Return to Kyoto
My feet were feeling real bad (the Nikes may look cool but they cannot support 25k steps a day) so we headed back to Kyoto and packed for our early morning tomorrow.

Thursday: Travel to Koyasan, Temple Stay

8 AM: Bus from Kyoto to Koyasan
The transit from Kyoto to Mt Koya is complicated, so we ended up just booking a bus directly from Kyoto Station to Koyasan (which barely cost more than public transit!). We got there bright and early for the 3 hour trip - if you take a bus out of Kyoto Station I definitely recommend giving yourself extra time to navigate to the right bus.
11 AM: Arrive at Eko-in, lunch
We arrived in Mt Koya and checked in to our temple, Eko-in. The quiet and the beauty hit me hard and I fell asleep for a few hours. We got a nice lunch at Hanabishi in town.
4 PM: Meditation class, dinner
The temple offered a meditation class, which was lovely, followed by a vegan dinner in our rooms. I can’t explain how peaceful this place was.
7 PM: Okuno-in Cemetery
We signed up for a monk-led tour of Okuno-in, which was definitely worth it. Came back for some public baths and fell asleep to the sound of rainfall.

Friday: Travel to Kanazawa, Higashi Chaya District

7 AM: Service & ritual at Eko-in
The day started with a religious service and a fire ritual at the temple. Both were stunning. I did wish that my fellow tourists had been a bit more respectful by showing up on time and following directions, but luckily, no one has more patience than a Buddhist monk.
9 AM: Travel to Kanazawa
We took a taxi through some sketchy mountain roads to Gokurakubashi Station, took two trains to Osaka Station, and then the JR Thunderbird to Kanazawa.
1 PM: Arrive at Kanazawa, Lunch (Maimon)
We got into Kanazawa station and went straight for a sushi spot called Maimon, which was delicious. Struggled a bit with the bus system and eventually got to our hotel, Utaimachi.
4 PM: Higashi Chaya District
Wandered the Higashi Chaya district a bit. It seemed kind of dead, but maybe we are just used to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo/Kyoto.
7 PM: Korinbo, dinner (Uguisu)
Walked down to the Korinbo area southwest of the park and found a tiny ramen spot called Uguisu. Incredible. Some of the best broth I’ve ever tasted plus amazing sous vide meats.
9 PM: Bar in Korinbo (Kohaku)
Went to a little upstairs whiskey bar called Kohaku. Boyfriend got Japanese whiskey and they made me a custom cocktail with sake, pineapple and passion fruit that was just insane. They were very nice and talked baseball with us for a while.

Saturday: Omicho Market, Kanazawa Castle, 21st Century Museum

9 AM: Kenroku-en Garden
We walked over to Kenroku-en Gardens, which were as beautiful as advertised. I was hurting pretty bad (crampy ladies, just know Japanese OTC painkillers are much weaker than ours, BYO Advil) so we’re moving slowly today.
12 PM: Omicho Market, lunch (Iki-Iki Sushi)
Walked to Omicho Market and ate little bits from different stalls, then waited about an hour to get into Iki-Iki Sushi. It was worth it. Some of the best, freshest sushi of my life.
2 PM: Kanazawa Castle, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
We walked around Kanazawa Castle a bit, then walked over to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. It was packed and the line to get tickets to the special exhibits was crazy, so we looked at the free ones and then headed back. Along the way we stopped in a few little stores and bought some handcrafted lacquerware from a local artist.
6 PM: Onnagawa Festival, dinner (Huni)
As we walked towards the restaurant, we came upon the Onnagawa Festival on the Plum Bridge, which included a beautiful dancing ceremony and lantern lighting. We went to Huni for dinner, our first “westernized Japanese” restaurant, and it was fantastic. 9 dishes served slowly over 3 hours at a table overlooking the river. Highly recommend if you’re in Kanazawa.
10 PM: Why does the bathtub have a phone
We went back to our hotel, struggled with the automated bathtub, and enjoyed our last night on tatami floors.

Sunday: Travel to Tokyo, Tokyo Giants Game, Ueno Park

7 AM: Travel to Tokyo
Grabbed a taxi we arranged the night before to Kanazawa Station - it would have been an easy bus journey but our number of bags has increased - and boarded the Shinkansen for Tokyo.
12 PM: Travel to Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome Park
Dropped our bags at our hotel in Asakusa, then headed for Tokyo Dome. We got there a little early to look around - there’s basically a full mall and food court and amusement park there. We grabbed some beers and some chicken katsu curry that was delicious.
2 PM: Tokyo Giants vs Chunichi Dragons
Japanese baseball games are so. much. fun. This was a random mid season game, and the stadium was full and people were amped. I’ve been to many American baseball games and never seen fans this excited. We also scored some fried cheese-wrapped hot dogs on a stick and a few more beers and had the time of our lives cheering for the Giants.
5 PM: Ueno Park
After trying and failing to find the jersey we were looking for, we walked to Ueno Park and looked around a bit. It was lovely, but we were exhausted and full of too many beers, so we headed back to Asakusa.
7 PM: Dinner in Asakusa
There was a festival all day around Shinso-ji and there were a ton of street vendors and day-drunk people when we arrived in the afternoon (as a native Louisianan, I approve) and it seemed like the partiers were going on into the night. We ducked into a restaurant for some buckwheat soba (never got the name, but it was only okay) and tucked in early.

Monday: Tsukiji Food Tour, Kapabashi Dougu, Akihabara

8 AM: 3-hour Tsukiji Food Tour + lunch
We started the day with a Tsukiji food tour, which ended up being my favorite food tour of the 3 by far. The guide was great, and we stopped by a dozen food stalls and sampled everything from mochi to fresh tuna to octopus cakes. We finished with lunch at Sushi Katsura, where our chef prepared everything in front of us.
12 PM: Imperial Palace, Don Quijote
We were planning to spend the afternoon exploring the Imperial Palace and Edo Castle Ruins, but it was hot and the palace was closed, so we walked to Taira no Masakado's Grave, then headed back to Asakusa for, you guessed it, Don Quijote. I did not intend for this trip to be “guess how many Don Quijotes I can visit” but here we are. We bought another suitcase and I filled it with food and gifts to bring home.
3 PM: Kappabashi Dougu
We walked Kappabashi Dougu and browsed kitchenwares while wishing we had a bigger kitchen, an unlimited budget and a way to get a hundred pounds of porcelain home in one piece.
6 PM: Akihabara dinner + games + drinks
We took the train to Akihabara, got dinner at Tsukada Nojo, then played games in a few arcades and ended the night at Game Bar A-button, which lets you play vintage handheld games while you drink.

Tuesday: Senso-ji, Flight

9 AM: Breakfast, Senso-ji
We got breakfast pancakes at Kohikan, then walked around Senso-ji and the surrounding shopping streets for a while.
12 PM: McDonald’s
Look, I couldn’t leave Japan without doing it, okay? I got the Teriyaki Chicken Burger (too sloppy and sweet) and bf got the Ebi Filet-O (he said it tasted exactly like a Filet-O-Fish). It was not great but I deserve that!
3 PM: Cab to the airport
I caught the flu on the flight home and have now been in bed for a week! Welcome back to America, baby.

"Tim McGraw" Hint: blond guitarist with yellow jacket and red shorts on occasions
He said the way my blue eyes shined
How are her eyes? Needing sleep? So worried for her, she needs to eat more warm food. When she went to Vegas she was panhandling with song and she got $21 or so with her mom after throwing trash on the fountain like Detti soaped the fountain with a bar and got quickly bailed, and after the first girl scolded the security guard after the littering event. But what she earned with her mom that night was for 1 buffet that night. Not for breakfast. How is her mom? How is her makeup supply? She smeared her guitar with kohl from her tears?
Put those Georgia stars to shame that night
What do you mean? No more singers or celebs from Georgia could come to Nashville then/anymore? Or they were blinded by the LED light? Or the constellations put on a veil?
I said, "That's a lie"
Do you really have blue eyes? Or sunflowers are coming? You uplifted the homeowners of Georgia/ I heard real estate was quite affordable there. But your penthouse is $15K a month - does that include Lisa's 1800GOTJUNK services?
Just a boy in a Chevy truck
How old? Legal to drive? Tall enough to drive that truck? No limb fractures? Eye health OK? Is he wearing his mascot costume, eg Banana SLUG? Sun Devil? Blue Devil? Cardinal?
That had a tendency of gettin' stuck
How? Elmer's glue? Gorilla glue? Uhu?
On back roads at night
Oh, did you have special car lights on like according to the DMV book? And where did the back roads lead to - the stones?
And I was right there beside him all summer long
Why do you expect me to be with my date 24 hours all summer long? How can one date practice swimming in the pool when I am singing a duet with Alicia Keys or Beyonce on my phone in the gym nearby? How can another date earn money for us by Uber Eats while I'm at the office for Uber? How can a third date play tennis while I bargain with the sports store salesman about getting Penn balls vs Onix balls? How can a fourth date record his song in the studio while I coordinate the concert venue? How can fifth date comfort a downcast kid - not her own - with a Happy Birthday song while the peer circle arrange the audiovisual equipment on stage called Rhino Co.?
And then the time we woke up to find that summer gone
"When September Ends" was a cool song? Are you Sleeping Beauty? Who fought the dragon and the thicket for you? Who woke up the castle crew for you? Did you eat pufish? Who almost found a cliffhanger for you? So... what are you going to do in the Fall (Sem.)?
But when you think Tim McGraw
So you had his EP like Goodbye, Norma Jean single in CD? Cool. On Autoloop? What do you like about his songs?
I hope you think my favorite song
Which one? What do you love about it?
The one we danced to all night long
How many hours of dancing? How many calories burned? Was it like with Ed Sheeran for Perfect? What did you wear? What did he wear? Where did you dance? How many stars were in the sky that night? What styles of dancing did you do? How was "Loki" and "...Wonderland strummer"?
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
Cool poetry. Who do you think is worthy of performing on stage? Of having the spotlight? By the way, which lake were you talking about? Do you want to get an MFA degree and upon the conferral, you can write/perform for Equine Therapy Ranches where kids with sadness may go?
When you think happiness
Do you like Gretchen Rubin's work? Do you like Pharell's song, which is on Wii? What do you think of the emoticon deodorant?
I hope you think that little black dress
Do you know Jomaire Studio's sister in a little black dress and black stilettos for weddings? What do you think about Meghan Markle in a little black dress at a baseball game? I liked the white belt a lot.
Think of my head on your chest
Got the ALS challenge? How long did you have to wait for it? I thank Coleman too for supporting the neighborhood around Galleria, which had a cafe and their version of Sparkletts.
And my old faded blue jeans
Can anyone help her get Wrangler jeans? Or Rock Republic trousers? Or jeggings eg from the pharmacy? Or Old Navy blue denims?
When you think Tim McGraw
How often do you think of his name/face? Why? Do you pray for him?
I hope you think of me
Do you like Phantom of the Opera? What do you think if her dress? What if there was a modern version for Jabbawockeesz?
September saw a month of tears
What kind of tears? Was it because of first day of school again?
And thankin' God that you weren't here
Oh, what were the advantages of him not being "there"?
To see me like that
Were you wearing makeup in September - and what brands if so? Did you lose much weight in the summer(s)?
But in a box beneath my bed
Is it from ULine? Was the bed from Ikea or from Sleep Number?
Is a letter that you never read
I remember I had letters foregarding different people, like one of the top human/child traffickers of China and one on a cover for a football player and some for a farmer and some for a colleague and I regret one which was like under hypnosis (I praised his enumeration of "Crayola") - which I sent to someone whom I wanted to say goodbye and I found him as a storekeeper who shooed me away, as a guy who hung around the doorway of my bedroom at 3 am or so, as a guy wanting to know how to get a Peruvian passport, as a guy who bragged abou eating cat dumpling, maybe trying to gain 9 lives (is that the canned cat food?).
From three summers back
Oh you met him at around university? Thanks for your loyalty.
It's hard not to find it all a little bittersweet
You like Dove dark chocolate like fortune cookies? The Ghirardelli dark cocoa squares? The dark chocolate bars by the checkouts of dollar stores? The dark chocolate at the airports? Do you like black coffee? Like Colombian coffee? Do you like Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You"?
And lookin' back on all of that, it's nice to believe
How often and how long do you go into nostalgia? Did you do Throwback Thursday posts?
When you think Tim McGraw
What do you share about Tim McGraw?
I hope you think my favorite song
What is your favorite song, if it's okay to ask?
The one we danced to all night long
Was it a country song? Fast? Duet? With banjos or fiddles? Any props when you danced?
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
What was the phase of the moon then?
When you think happiness
What three things minimum would you do today to be happy?
I hope you think that little black dress
How is your weight (I am concerned with your photos, and you look like a politician in a Christmas green dress in front of a mic, with empty row before her)? When did you buy that little black dress (the song's topic) for yourself? Waist size? Do you think Lululemon or Walgreens leggings would go well with it, like a ballerina?
Think of my head on your chest
Did you have to sanitize the Coleman? What was in it?
And my old faded blue jeans
What brand? When did you buy it? Was it fashionably torn?
When you think Tim McGraw
Someone said he has an MBA - would you be inspired to get an MBA degree as well?
I hope you think of me
What are your three hopes before the weekend? And when someone remembers you, what are the top three qualities of yours that people can publish/televise/discuss/promote action about you?
And I'm back for the first time since then
Where did you return? How?
I'm standin' on your street
What have you been wearing on that street? How long/what time have you been standing there?
And there's a letter left on your doorstep
Can you summarize the letter in a Tweet? What's the color of the envelope? Does it need the HMat?
And the first thing that you'll read is:
What is the first thing that you think of every morning? And every sunset?
"When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song Someday you'll turn your radio on
What is your favorite radio show and your favorite radio channel? Your favorite song on the radio? Who is your favorite DJ? I hope it takes you back to that place"
What place? How does it look like?
When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me
Oh, think of me Mmmm
He said the way my blue eyes shined Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said, "That's a lie"
Whom do you accuse to be lying?

Happy Pride Month! I'm the narrator of the mystery audiobook, The Unexpected Heiress and I've got Audible codes to give away for it.
Summary:

Nick Williams, heir to a vast fortune, lives with his lover, Carter Jones, in the Eureka Valley neighborhood of San Francisco in an unassuming bungalow. Little do the neighborhood ladies, who do their daily marketing on Castro Street, know that just down the street their neighbor is the richest homosexual since possibly Alexander the Great.

His no-nonsense secretary Marnie Wilson keeps things together at the office in the Tenderloin. To her frustration, Nick is always turning away clients. He doesn't really need the money, after all.
In The Unexpected Heiress, Nick is called in to see his lawyer and friend, Jeffrey Klein, whose mystery client, under contract to Metro, was just arrested at the Kit Kat Club on Polk Street but somehow got off with a bench warrant. Jeffrey wants to know who in the police department worked things behind the scene for the star of the upcoming blockbuster It Was Raining Then.
Meanwhile a late night phone call from his estranged father sends Nick into a tailspin and a family secret, along with a lot of other things better kept hush-hush, are all splashed on the front pages of the daily newspapers. It ain't pretty.
In the end, for Nick and Carter, it's actually the beginning of a whole new way of doing business.
Long before the Summer of Love, pride parades down Market Street, and the fight for marriage equality, San Francisco in 1953 was all about the Red Scare, F.B.I. investigations, yellow journalism run amok, and the ladies who play mah jong over tea.
Send me a DM or reply here if you're interested in a copy of The Unexpected Heiress. Please specify US or UK. Thanks and have a great day.

My friend (F18) went on holiday to the country that I originate from. I have talked about my country to my friends before, and have made my point of view very clear when I say it's a very dangerous place, but it's very popular and liked and not really talked about as dangerous in the media, so they always shrugged off my comments and opinions as dramatic. Plus tourists have different experiences anyways, so they never cared
I did end up asking her if she looked into exactly how safe the town she was going to go since it's overall a sexist country and not safe for women, especially young women who don't speak a single word of the language there. She replies telling me that I have to stop ruining her trip by talking bad of it and gatekeeping and that the whole group have talked about how annoying I am about it. I say sorry and let her know that was never my intention, I also apologised to each friend seperately and don't bring up the subject negatively again.
I went with her to the airport 4am since she asked in the groupchat and no one else would, but she made comments of how she wished someone else accompanied her instead, I told her I'd leave if she wanted me to but she asked me not to. I bring this up since I think it's when her weird behavior started.
She goes on holiday, and in a few days she ends up getting her purse and all cards stolen (in her purse) and threatened with a gun. She asks me if any of my family can meet her and give her money, but I'm not close to my family who live there so I tell her I can't, instead she settles when I sent money to her mom's bank account since she's using her mom's card but through the app if that makes sense?Like when people use their phones as contactless cards.
She comes back, and she starts acting weird: ignoring, avoiding, interrupting me. I managed to ask her about it, and she unloads telling me how I set her up and got her in a dangerous situation on purpose by not telling her how bad the place was, how I was selfish with not helping her when she was in trouble, how I made her trip all about me and ends the conversation stating how I should go back there and stop f*ing her life up.
I'll be honest, I feel awful. After she told me to not talk about it I truly tried to make sure all my comments were about her and positive. I sent her a message apologising for my behavior but stating how I felt used and hurt by her, and confused on how to talk her out of doing something she didn't want me to be part of and she blocked me.
The friends she and I share say I'm being rude and should fully apologise, while my friends outside that group say I didn't do anything wrong. I don't really know what to think, and wanted some opinions from people who aren't bias by being involved with any of my friends yk? Thanks for any and all input
I feel like I left a lot out, but 3000 characters limit yk?

I reverted to Islam last year, Alhamdullilah.
I've had my ups and downs and wanted to just share some thoughts that may be beneficial to others in my position.
I had been admiring Islam from afar for years. I started watching the Deen Show on YouTube circa 2012. I had been drawn in by a video of Sh. Yusuf Estes. I even tried to pray salah one day when I was home alone!
There I was married to someone who absolutely did not support my religious musings. I felt trapped. And I felt like the only way I could live as a Muslim, or even think about Islam, was to lead a secret life. On one occasion, because of my then wife's work, I was able to attend an open house at a masjid. It was the first time I ever entered a masjid. I wanted to be a part of this. But I had to just appreciate it from afar as an outsider.
Time passed and circumstances changed. Now I was living alone. I have an (adult) brother who hasn't quite grown up. He's much younger than I am. He was around 21 at the time. I was (gently) reminding him that he has the world at his fingertips. He isn't nearly as limited as he was acting. He was only considering paths that were directly in front of him. He could, I reminded him, just pick up and move across the country. He could quit his job and go back to school. He could enlist in the military like I had done when I was 18. He could do ANYTHING. He had no serious ties to the area or his work. He had freedom that he was simply not using.
After I hung up I realized I needed to take my own advice. My whole life I had lived in my head. I imagined scenarios and "what-ifs." So I thought, if I moved anywhere in the world, what is the first community I would tap into. I realized the answer was the Muslim community. No hesitation. I emailed the Imam of a mosque nearby. No too near, mind you. I went further out. I wasn't ready to bring Islam all the way home. I wanted some distance "just in case" this wasn't what I was looking for. It seems silly to me, in retrospect.
I told the Imam I wanted to take Shahadah. He suggested I come to Jummah but arrive a bit early. I did. The prayer room was packed. I didn't know where to go. I didn't know if I should sit or stand. I couldn't find the Imam.
I had a panic attack. I walked out. I went back to my car. I said, out loud, "Welp, that Islamic adventure was fun but I think I'm good now." I sat in my car and started it. I was ready to go home and never look back. But as I saw the families all walking into the masjid I realized that I wasn't "good" without Islam. And I would never be "all good" without Islam. I took a deep breath and walked back inside.
A brother approached me saying "Oh good, you're here! We saved you a seat in the back!" and ushered me to sit with a member of the community. I was so relieved. So glad I came back! Minutes later I realized something; they thought I was someone else. They thought I was a guest speaker from a community development program who was scheduled to speak after services. I wasn't, I explained. I was here to take Shahadah. We all had a good laugh.
I took Shahadah in front of a room full of brothers. I remember looking out at a sea of cell phones recording me as I became a Muslim. What followed were hugs, free Qurans, a monetary gift and many, many well wishes.
And then...I felt alone again. I still did not know what to do. I didn't know how to pray. I didn't know how to navigate the masjid or observe basic customs. I felt like a stranger despite no longer being outside of the fold. This apprehension I used as an excuse to slide into old habits. I had a girlfriend. I went back with her. But the nagging feeling that this wasn't for me persisted. I ended the relationship about a month later and I resumed praying. The bigger issue was that I still had no sense of community. I would go to jummah but I still felt like I just didn't belong.
The first step I took was I found a masjid closer to home. I attended jummah there for a few weeks. But I found that I never even got an introduction in after an initial salaam. Everyone was too busy. It was too crowded. The social circles were set. A few days later I was eating an early dinner with a colleague and I had a realization; I needed to go for daily prayer. I had never done this. The impulse was sudden. I can only give credit to Allah for this insight. I ended the dinner, I jumped in my car. I looked at the clock. I was going to be late for Asr. I was probably going to miss everyone. I arrived five minutes late. A brother greeted me and said "I'm so sorry, brother. We're running behind. The Imam was delayed! We should start in a few minutes!"
And so I joined the brothers for the first time in a more relaxed and less crowded time. A few days later I did it again. Now, they were greeting me by name. By the third daily prayer I was being asked if I knew anything about construction or DIY because they wanted another set of eyes on a broken gate behind the masjid. Less than a week later I was being enrolled as a member. Weeks on and I feel like I am a part of the community and not an outside observer.
I'm writing this because I feel like if someone told me a story like this I would have felt a lot better in those early days. Cultural differences scared me away. Resilience and trust brought me closer and allowed me to feel like I was a part of the community. Everyone's circumstances are different but I hope this story helps some folks in similar circumstances realize that they are not alone and they CAN be a part of this community and that they should play the long game because, ultimately, this is their home too.

Coloradian local native here, Namaste. I’m leaving! The road rage here is too crazy for me. Today I was doing 55 in the left lane of 470 on the way to the airport and a string of cars passed me on the right. It’s crazy, all 63 of them gave me the finger. Weird, because I have my CO sunshine sticker and my custom license plate N8IVE with expired tabs. I thought people would respect other natives like me.
I just don’t understand how anyone can get that angry! Are people not micro dosing before leaving the house?
I noticed a lot of bad drivers compared to me, so here’s a checklist on how to become an expert denver driver.

1. Alternate hits between your nic stick and weed pen to maximize response time.
   
2. Text Trevin the whole time you are driving.
   
3. This is a big one… never think that you are at fault or a problem of any kind. In fact, go the other way with it!
   
4. Speed up when someone passes you, especially if they are using the other lane on a two lane highway.
   
5. DO NOT USE THE CELL PHONE LOT! Definitely just pull into the shoulder right before arrivals at DIA.
   
6. If you can see pavement between your car and the car in front, scoot up… max distance should be 1/4 car length.
   

Drive selfish, everyone.

Well I can't tell the difference with people sometimes but my roommate is a good friend of mine of little over two years. Just pointing out a few things I'm starting to notice more as of late.
I was upset one day because I was worried that I couldnt get my dogs here in the time frame I needed to. I threw my worries at them to see if they could make me bounce back because I have taken care of my animals alone before. I just didn't feel like because of my mental state at times that I wouldn't take good care of them. The statement she made floored me and actually made me upset. They ended up looking at me and saying "We can't even take care of ourselves. What makes you think you can take on both your dogs again?" Like I have the mental of 'i did it once. I'll do it again!' I just never understand where this came from. I have taken care of her animal on my own and she gets very annoyed at her animal when it's becoming needy.
Another situation is is that I had to go to urgent care and I mentioned the fact that I paid the electric bill fully (roughly like 92$), my cell phone bill (50$), and had to pay 200$ for urgent care and my medication for it. This is the third time I mentioned I might not make the half of the rent but most of it. (Times before were because of me paying the bills fully or me buying food for the both of us). They stated to me "You can't keep doing this." Which in a way it is true but I told her what I paid and they brought up the month prior when my employer messed up my pay.
A big issue I have is another good friend of hers, which I do not get along with, is my boyfriend's ex. The ex girlfriend speaks ill of him but they dated years ago and he did mention he was toxic at times during it and understands the mistakes during the relationship. She keeps comparing things about their relationship to mine. But the worst of it was the ex ended up saying "I don't know if I should be friends with him because what if he leaves her for me? Because... After all we are similar people." Like what? He barely talked to her now because of the relationship they had and the fact she jumped the gun on something completely on her own. And honestly I felt offended that she even told me this shit.
The last thing which was another red flag for me is when I was talking about my boyfriend at the time (it's a rocky relationship because of the roommate/friend) I was mentioning family and other friends of his. She dead ass looked at me and mentioned "I didn't know he had a sister and honestly I don't care". When he mentions it but doesn't go into too much detail about stuff because it's private. She's known him for years! I have only met him about a year ago and know a lot more about his family then she does. I just personally love talking about my other friends accomplishments with other good friends. But it just seems like they don't listen and it goes out their ear.
These are only a few things but there is a lot of others which are good things on top of this. It's just the last part of 'not really caring' because of their friendship was on a thin line for awhile apparently. I'm just trying to figure out where I stand because it seems like they don't want to be friends anymore because I'm taking my boyfriend's side more then theirs. I also keep inviting this person to do things with other friends but the roommate keeps complaining they don't know anyone so they don't wanna do anything. Nor do they want to get to know the others by the sounds of it.

​
where do i even begin with this post. cw for a lot of medical talk and dysphoria discussion, mild s/h discussion
i'm havinf several panic attacks per day the likes of which ive never had before, i will fix my typos and explain to the best of my ability but i'm atruggling to get words out please bear with me and please help if you can any advice is good advice solicited or otherwise. additional context im a UK based trans man under the care of the NHS and pilot gender clinic CMAGIC
​
i started nebido on Feb 13th this year, first loading dose. my 2nd loading dose was april 3rd. previously on sustanon 250. seemed fine at first but over the last month i've noticed all my masculinisation reversed. my chest has noticably re-inflated, i'm curvy again in all the disgustingly wrong places, im cramping again what could be my monthly returning, im extremely emotional
​
is this normal for loading dose nebido and IS THIS REVERSIBLE?? am i going to get my masculinisation back. will my fat redistribute to the masc way again exactly the way i was before i started nebido. why did this happen so quickly?? im extremely dysphoric qbout my chest getting bigger again and my curves having all come back im DISGUSTED. i feel VILE. i cant escape the physical sensation of my chest being bigger feeling heavier showing more out of my clothes, ive been doing all sorts of unspeakable behaviours on my chest out of unfathomable impulse and i cannot calm myself down or stop feeling them there
​
will this all go away and go back to normal if i stick with nebido? will estrogen blockers on top of nebido help me?? ive been crying to all sorts of health phone calls today hoping someone would prescribe something. someone from CMAGIC is talking to their clinical lead tomorrow but ive already been told my shot date cannot be changed under any circumstance and im begging for some kind of emotional relief for the next 26 days of feminine hell.
​
does anyone have any sort of information or relief for me bc i'm in an absolute state of disrepair and have been for days. i cant breathe, i cant eat, i cant stop crying or having panic attacks, im hyper aware of my body in ways ive never epxerienced before, i cant do anythjng anymore. i want more than anything to have the body i had in january (sans chest of course, but at least my chest was extremely deflated to the point i didnt feel the need to bind excessivlely and could passively cope)
​
and a big one - how LONG will my body take to re-masculinise? it wont be months and months for my fat to redistribute and cramps to go away?? tell me it wont be months and months of living with my re-feminised body before it's fixed. does anyone have any hope for me? thank you sm for your time i really appreciate it

Hello
NOTE: I posted this in southafrica, but thought I would post it here as well for more help.
Hopefully someone here knows something that can help. It would be greatly appreciated.
In November of 2022 i started my first ever cell phone contract with Telkom. The amount for the contact every month was R299 and was to come off my account as a debit order. This was and has been coming off my account perfectly fine so far.
The problem came when there would randomly be a separate Debit order from Telkom, with a different reference number. This other debit order would be for a random amount of money that was much higher than the actual debit order is meant to be (Like R1063.73) and happens at random points during the month.
Obviously it was not legitimate, so I started making many phone calls to both Telkom and my bank to try resolve the issue. The people from Telkom either tell me they cant help or they say i must send proof and they will create a case and escalate the issue. Of the few times I have sent proof, I have received no case or feedback, just silence. The people I have spoken to from my Bank have said that it is a problem laying with Telkom and that they cannot do anything to solve it.
I have gone into multiple different Telkom stores to try get someone to fix this, they keep claiming that they cant do anything, or say they are going to create a case and will let me know (surprise, of course nothing comes of it).
I have gone into my bank and sat in those endless Que's, luckily someone there was super helpful and showed me that the bank really cant help as each thieving debit order came from a new unique reference. The person I spoke to there told me I should keep trying with Telkom, and admitted likely nothing will happen as Telkom is bad with this stuff, and that I should keep disputing the debit orders when they pop up.
The theft debit orders have kept appearing, for rediculous amounts of money too, and I have disputed them whenever i see them. All the while trying to get someone from Telkom that isnt a useless sack of dog sh*t. I am now reaching my breaking point as the bank charges alone for the debit orders and disputes are getting to be a lot.
Does anyone know anything that can help resolve the issue or have any advice on what to do? Please.
NOTE: I only have 1 debit order and it is with Telkom. PLUS the reference on the debit order always says "TELKOM". PLUS PLUS this issue only started happening at the same time as the legit debit order. So with the randomness of the times and amounts, I believe someone at Telkom has been using the banking info required for the legit debit order to intentionally create fake debit orders to steal from me.
Someone please help. I don't know what to do and every form of Telkom communication and avenue of assistance seems to be a bottomless hole full of useless and corrupt people.

So much backstory but will try to keep this as brief as possible. First time ever posting on Reddit so I’m sorry if I don’t do this right.
My son is 15 and barely knows his bio dad. The last time they saw each other was in 2017. Before that there was a period of about a year when he was 5-6 years old that he stayed with his dad and his new family every other weekend. Bio dad stopped paying child support and ghosted us basically. We have talked about their relationship in the past and son has always had a good attitude about the situation. Very emotionally mature for his age and doesn’t feel like he’s missed out on anything. Feels like his dad is the one missing out. Doesn’t ask about him, almost never mentions him unless something jogs a memory.
A few years ago while my son was deathly ill in the hospital I had heard from his now former stepmom that bio dad was basically off his rocker. Drugs mixed with mental illness apparently. She was calling to warn me in case he showed up at the hospital trying to see our son. Just a few weeks later bio dad murdered his own parent and did awful, sick things to cover up his crime. He was arrested right away and has now been sentenced to life in prison.
The issue is I’ve never told my son. When it happened he was 11, almost 12 and very very sick. I felt like he was too young. His dad and most of his family live a couple of hours away in a neighboring state. It was not in the news here and we do not cross paths with any of the few members of his family that live near us. Point is I was not worried about my son finding out from any other way. I briefly worried about him googling his dads name but as far as I know he doesn’t even care enough to do that. And he def would have mentioned it if he had.
Originally I told myself I’d tell him when he was convicted, when there was some sort of closure. Then thanks to Covid that took well over 2 years. Then he was convicted and I still couldn’t find the nerve to tell him.
Fast forward to a couple months ago and his dad is now contacting me from prison. From contraband cell phones his fellow inmates have. Turns out he applied for stimulus money, was approved but they sent it all to me for child support. Prior to that I hadn’t received any money from him since 2013 and obviously didn’t think I’d ever see another dime. Now he’s hassling me for that money cause he was counting on it. Rumor is he’s been gambling in there and owes some people a lot of money and is being threatened with rape over it. Blows my mind that after not sending any money for a decade almost, after being absent from most of my son’s life…. AND after the terrible things he’s done, he has the absolute audacity to ask me to send him a dime. He has always been narcissistic and only cares about himself and what he wants. I’ve blocked all the numbers that he has texted and called me from so far. If he continues harassing me I’ve thought about calling the prison he is in.
Basically I feel like now I can’t run and hide from this anymore, it’s time to talk to my son. I’m concerned that since bio dad still had my phone # he might still have my son’s too. And I def don’t want my son to hear it from him. I feel so guilty that I haven’t told him, that I’ve been keeping such a big secret from him. I beat myself up over it daily. But how do I even begin this conversation? How do I guide him through this when I’m still struggling with it so much myself? I’ve thought about offering for him to go to counseling so he can talk to someone. I doubt he’ll like that idea but might be the best thing for him. As well as I know my child and as close as we are I have no clue how he will take this information. Just hate him having to live with this knowledge like I do but can’t put it off any longer. Open to advice or guidance. Just pls be gentle with me…. I know I’ve handled this all wrong and the weight of all this is slowly suffocating me.

Hi everyone,

We get a lot of questions regarding internet/tv and cell phone plans so we have decided to create a monthly thread to get all parties interested in this together and answer questions and share deals. Any new threads asking for deals or if they have any questions regarding their services will be directed here. Thank you, /Halifax mod team ----- **Don't** 1. Write down your email / phone numbers to get sales on here, instead share those through a direct message. 2. Don't be rude **Do** 1. Be respectful and friendly and most importantly helpful 2. Keep discussions on topic 

I am currently in a long distance marriage with my husband which will end in a few months time (we got married without having lived together yet which is typical in my culture)
I feel that my husband is not as supportive or emotionally invested in the relationship as i am but i also dont know if i am just being too needy and demanding..
He has a very busy life which is split between work family and friends and he does try to make time for phonecalls but it still doesnt feel like i am really a priority in his life or that I am more important than all of that. I also deep down feel that he just does this so he can fulfil his duties towards me so that i dont complain about us not talking enough
We recently reunited after three months apart and it was very hard for me to go back to my country as i am living alone and also have been missing him so much so i was crying a lot on our last day together and in the airport. He was telling me to stop crying and that we'll see eachother in a month its no big deal (he was laughing and thought It was funny) and then when i couldnt stop he was saying kind of aggressively why are you crying and repeating it which made me just want to leave him at that point, we just kept walking through the airport with me crying at his side when i just needed him to sit with me and reassure me
He also returned home and spent the evening with his family sending me photos of what they were doing then he told me he was going to bed without even calling me for a few minutes to check if i was okay. I told him how disappointed I was and expected at least a phone call and he just told me that i knew how tired he was so i told him to just forget it. I know this all sounds really trivial but i am feeling very uncared for and unloved even if he does tell me he loves me i feel like he doesnt really care about me that much as this kind of behaviour is quite typical from him and i always feel that I'm the one missing him more.
I also got him and his family gifts and put thought into them whereas he got me a perfume from the dutyfree (which i feel like he only did because i had told him that i had a gift for him) and i also asked for a very basic plastic ring adjuster as my wedding ring is too big and he didnt even bother to get it for me.
I do make efforts to make my life fulfilling outside of our relationship but my family situation isnt great and im living in a country where i only have a couple of friends ( which will end very soon). I Am really questioning myself and whether i am being too demanding in this relationship or what can I do to make this work as i really feel my needs are not met but i have already brought this up to him and he just tells me that he does everything he can to make me happy and show me that he loves me ..

I found lurking on this forum really useful for planning our trip, so thought I'd return the favour by posting about our trip here - with some extra tips for travelling as vegan or vegetarian! We just got back a few days ago and I'm already itching to go again. I think our interests generally align with what many people want when they go to Japan - nerdy stuff, food, temples and pretty locations. I hope the below is useful to someone, and happy to answer any questions (whether on food or just something we visited!).
**General tips:*\*
1) Learn some basic Japanese: I've seen this one come up quite a few times and can only echo it - while there certainly are Japanese people with excellent English skills, it will smooth the way so much more if you learn to speak some Japanese. Any attempts at Japanese were always met with a much friendlier response than tourists we saw speaking English, and it was especially helpful in the two ryokans we stayed at, where we had much more conversation with our hosts and they seemed much more comfortable communicating in Japanese (also we got some free apple jam!). Personally I taught myself from the basics because I had time/that's how my brain works (hiragana, katakana, then learning vocab + grammar) - but learning some modular phrases will help, e.g. '____ doko desu ka?' (where is ____?), '____ arimasu ka?' (is there ____?), and 'kore wa hitotsu/futatsu/mittsu o kudasai' (one/two/three of this please).
2) For dietary requirements, do your research and book in advance: There are quite a few helpful guides online for vegan diets, including the IG account 'tokyoveganguide', the website 'isitveganjapan' (https://isitveganjapan.com/food-on-the-go/507-2/), Vegewel (https://vegewel.com/en/area/) and some articles on matcha-jp (https://matcha-jp.com/en/7716). We ate really well while out and about and could pick up certain street snacks - but again, being able to communicate in Japanese helped a lot here (see tip 1). As you probably know, vegan diets aren't well understood in Japan, and they're often shocked to find out you won't eat fish OR fish-based dashi. I've mentioned some of the standout places we ate at below. At conbini/kiosks, plain rice and salted onigiri, as well as the salted ume (plum) onigiri are typically vegan. Mochi are also often a good bet, as are jelly sweets (tend to use agar rather than gelatin). It can be helpful to know the kanji for fish (魚), meat (肉) and eggs (卵). Milk products are often listed in katakana as cream (クリーム) or similar, but could be listed as cow's milk (牛乳). Translate apps can be helpful but it's about 50/50 helpful versus 'hilarious result'.
3) As a vegan, don't expect your western-style hotel to provide breakfast (but a ryokan will!): We generally found that big western style hotels just.. did not provide anything viable for breakfast. You might have been able to negotiate a bowl of plain rice and a piece of fruit, but ultimately we ended up eating breakfast elsewhere (but see tip 4!) and in the future I wouldn't bother opting in for breakfast unless I could verify with the hotel in advance that they had options. However, ryokans were very accommodating so long as you communicated with them in advance, and the two we stayed at provided a list of dietary requirements at the start of our stay that we could tick to indicate what we could eat.
4) Most coffee shops/food places won't open until 10am: It was a bit of a struggle to find places open early enough for us to have breakfast before heading out. We did bring a few cereal bars for this eventuality! But if you research you can find a few places that open at 7am (in Tokyo we went to Komeda Is in Ginza, in Kyoto, the IMU hotel).
5) Always have some cash: We didn't need a phenomenal amount of cash on our trip, although we were also not skimping on spending (we took out 70,000 yen, or about £400, and that was about right) - many taxis, shops and restaurants took cards if needed. However, cash-only purchases did pop up unexpectedly - for example, in one of our very nice upmarket hotels that 100% had a card reader, sending our luggage by takkyubin for some reason was a cash-only purchase. A lot of smaller shops and little cafes will take cash only. If you want to use a card, you can check at the till with the phrase "caa-do wa ii desu ka?" (is card ok?).
6) Be prepared to walk: I know this one is said a lot - it depends what you're used to. We did in the range of 15-30,000 steps a day, and I was fine with a pair of foldable ballet flats and a pair of Vans. However we did bring blister plasters and a blister stick just in case! We also found lots of fun little shops/places by simply walking instead of taking transport, so if you have time it's highly recommended. As you will see below, we broke up the two major destinations (Tokyo/Kyoto) with smaller, slower-paced places. That helped a lot!
7) Build in extra time for navigating public transport: Yea, you probably think you're used to big transit systems - we certainly did. However it's just not always clear which exit you want to get to or how to get there, especially if you're not familiar with the station and surrounding area. Whenever we were pressed for time (for example, when transferring to shinkansen or needing to grab snacks before getting a train) we looked up a map of the station first to plan our route. You probably already know this, but I promise you are NOT ready for Shinjuku station.
8) If you're worried about temple fatigue, collect goshuin: This has been written about extensively elsewhere although I'm happy to share my experiences. Goshuin are a stamp/calligraphy combination you can get at many temples and shrines. They're a very beautiful memento. You need a special accordion-style book (goshuincho) for them that you can buy in advance (I did) or at your first temple (usually 1200-2000 yen). Collecting a goshuin usually costs 300-500 yen and a couple of minutes of your time. You should only collect a goshuin after paying your respects at the temple. Generally the process is just to approach the desk (it's generally quite obvious, and there may be pictures of goshuin on the window of the booth - in some places you choose which one you want), and present your book with both hands, open to the relevant page, asking 'goshuin o onegaishimasu'. They might take your book and give you a number (in which case, you need to wait), or they might do the goshuin then and there - it depends on how busy the temple is.
9) You probably won't be able to check-n early: Of all the places we stayed, only one allowed us to check in before 3pm. However, you should be able to leave any bags with them - just be prepared! If you want to drop off your bags, you can say the following: "Nimotsu o azukatte mo ii desu ka?" (more or less: May we leave our luggage here?).
​
**Brief trip report:*\*
Day 0: We got our flight to Tokyo (14h). We flew Japan Airlines - the vegan meals were.. ok? But the snack was the infamous (iykyk) banana. Everyone else got an interesting snack, so it was sad to just have a banana. I would pack my own snacks next time!
Day 1: Land in Tokyo. Staying in the Ginza area. We got in to the airport relatively late (6pm) so we grabbed a snack locally once we got to our hotel (2foods Ginza) and went to sleep!
Day 2 Tokyo (~26,000 steps). Breakfast at Komeda Is, Ginza. Kokyo Gaien National Gardens (near to our hotel), then walk around the Yanaka Old District, bought some tea/crackers (often vegan but check), train to Asauksa to see Senso-Ji (there happened to be a festival on while we were there so it was packed, but I got a special goshuin!), then across to Akihabara. It started raining but was mostly ok as we were running from indoor shop to indoor shop. We had lunch at a shojin-ryori place in Akihabara station. In the evening we went on a vegan ramen tasting tour (highly recommended!) in Shibuya/Shinjuku.
Day 3 Tokyo (~25,000 steps). Breakfast at Komeda Is, Ginza. Then to Team Labs Planets (we had tickets for the earliest entry). Despite some of what I've read on here, we really enjoyed the experience (happy to say more if asked!). Then we headed across to Shibuya, wandered around, went to the Pokemon Centre and Nintendo store in Shibuya Parco, had lunch at Izakaya Masaka in the basement of Shibuya Parco (highly recommended) and headed over to Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu and walked up through Harajuku. We continued walking up through to Shinjuku and walked around there for a while, including going up the Tokyo Government Metropolitan building (free) for a view over Tokyo. We had dinner at Wired Bonbon.
Day 4 Yudanaka (~12,000 steps). We sent our bags via takkyubin to Kyoto, and then got the train over to Yudanaka (we had breakfast at Komeda Is again - honestly, great menu! and picked up onigiri in the train station for the train ride). At Yudanaka, we travelled over to the Snow Monkey Park, and then back to our ryokan to chill in the bookable private onsen. Our feet needed the rest! We stayed at Seifuso in Yudanaka, which was lovely and inexpensive - our host drove us over to the park (we got a bus back). The food was excellent.
Day 5 Nagano and Hida Furukawa (~11,000 steps). We travelled from Yudanaka through to Hida Furukawa, stopping off at Nagano on the way to visit the Zenko-Ji temple. For lunch we picked up oyaki from Irohado in Nagano, which were delicious (there are 3 shops - one in the station, one in a mall outside the station, and one by the temple)! By the time we got to Hida Furukawa it was relatively late, so we just had dinner. We stayed at one of the Iori Stay apartments, which provide dinnebreakfast (vegan if specified in advance).
Day 6 Hida Furukawa and Takayama (~15,000 steps). We went to Takayama in the morning to visit the markets and see a few temples, as well as pick up some traditional sashiko for my mother-in-law. Then in the afternoon we chilled and walked around Hida Furukawa (shrines, shops and so on) - we had lunch at Sobasho Nakaya in Hida Furukawa, which has clearly marked vegan options. A number of other traditional soba shops have vegan options. There was a little sweet shop near the main street with the koi carp that sold yam-based mochi-type sweets and had a full list of ingredients you could look at.
Day 7 Kyoto (~20,000 steps). We arrived in Kyoto at about 1pm (picked up onigiri and snacks on the journey), and walked from our hotel (located on Shijo Dori) to Nijo Castle and then to the Imperial Palace gardens. We had dinner in AWOMB Nishikiyamachi, which was excellent (sushi).
Day 8 Kyoto (~30,000 steps). For breakfast today we found out our hotel couldn't accommodate our diet (whoops) and we ate cereal bars and mochi from the nearby Life supermarket. We mostly stayed around the Gion area this day and visited a lot of the temples and shrines there - Yasaka Jinja, Kyomizyu-dera, Kodai-Ji (picked up some dango here), Kennin-Ji and others. There is a little bamboo forest at Kennin-Ji which is much quieter than Arashiyama and in my opinion, nicer. We ate lunch at Uno Yukiko (vegan and gluten-free ramen). We also went to the Pokemon Centre in Kyoto! In the evening we ate dinner at the IMU Hotel (you had to book via instagram), and then headed over to Fushimi Inari at night. It was very quiet and highly recommended. We walked up to the first viewing point where you can see across Kyoto (my phone registered this as about 40 floors).
Day 9 Kyoto (~25,000 steps). For breakfast we headed over to the IMU hotel who alternate Japanese/Western breakfast by day. It was only 1000 yen, and really good. In the morning we headed to Arashiyama, and did the usual - the bridge, the bamboo forest (it was fine, very busy even early on) - and had matcha shaved ice with mochi for lunch nearby. Very healthy..! In the early afternoon we had a calligraphy class. After that, we went to Kinkakuji, then slowly walked across to the Kyoto Imperial gardens, stopping off at shops and for coffee on the way. We had dinner at Kanga-An - our most expensive meal, but delicious. You have to book in advance.
Day 10 Hakone (~12,000 steps). We sent our bags by takkyubin to Tokyo. We had breakfast at the IMU hotel and then travelled over to Hakone. It was not a clear day but we saw about 2/3 of Mt Fuji out of the window (you need to be in seats D/E on the shinkansen). Based on conditions we decided not to go down to Lake Ashi. We went to the Open-Air museum which was honestly a lot of fun, then hung out in our amazing ryokan (Fukuzumiro). We had our own private onsen and I wish we had spent another night here! It was not a cheap stay but it was wonderful.
Day 11 Tokyo (~23,000 steps). We arrived in Tokyo at about 11am, and went to our hotel to drop off our backpacks - and were able to check in early! To note, this is the only time we could ever check in before 3pm, although we could always drop off our bags. We were in Ginza again, and had lunch at Ain Soph Ginza (expensive compared to everywhere else, but tasty - you must book, it's very small). We visited a little shrine and then walked to Hamarikyu gardens were we had matcha and wagashi in the tea house. Then we walked down to the Tokyo ToweZojo-Ji to have a look around. Finally we headed back to Shibuya to wrap up any shopping and sightseeing, have dinner at Izakaya Masaka (so good we went twice!) and then did a little karaoke at Joysound by the station - a great end to our trip. On our way back we stopped off at Don Quijote Ginza for any final bits.
Day 12 Fly home. Because of changes to flight paths, our flight home ended up being much earlier than it was when we originally booked (moved to 9am). So we couldn't do anything that day but go to the airport. We flew with Japan Airlines [edit - from Tokyo Haneda airport] and everyone can go into the Sakura Lounge who flies with them as long as you don't have a discounted fare - nice and quiet, with a few limited vegan options for food (pasta). The vegan meals on the flight back were much better than the flight there - our snack on the way back was a sandwich, much better than a banana!

​
https://reddit.com/link/13xamgt/video/ga4wy15bnc3b1/player
​
Animal testing is absolutely necessary for advancing biotech, I've concluded. When the right time, right circumstance, and right money come, I will do laboratory animal testing for advancing medical biotech, human longevity biotech, human genetic engineering biotech, human body manufacturing and replacement biotech, human fertility duration lengthening biotech, and other types of biotechnologies. I've a multidecadal commitment to advancing biotech for enabling long-lasting human life and youth, longer human fertility duration, and better human health for everyone.
​
Doing laboratory animal testing in the U.S. requires adhering to the U.S. federal, state, and local regulations. Boston in Massachusettes, and San Franciso in California, in particular, perform the most numbers of animal tests in the U.S., for advancing biomedicine and biotech.
The Animal Welfare Act is the U.S. federal law that regulates testing on certain types of animals.
According to my calculation, maintaining an Animal Welfare Act compliant animal testing facility in the U.S. requires at least a multiple six-figure U.S. dollars annual overhead or biotech research expense, and most likely over one-million U.S. dollars annual biotech research overhead; as such, it is not cheap.
Because my aim is building a variety of biotech businesses at Robocentric, with multiple biotech product lines, I don't have to have an Animal Welfare Act compliant animal testing facility in the U.S. to launch the first Robocentric biotech products. As such, I'll first establish and operate an animal testing facility in the U.S. that isn't applicable to the Animal Welfare Act, a non-Animal Welfare Act applicable animal testing facility in the U.S., which will be much cheaper than operating an Animal Welfare Act compliant animal testing facility in the U.S., and have very low overhead.
Robocentric will get into a variety of biotech businesses—namely research and medical biotech devices development and manufacturing, medicinal biotech, cosmetic biotech, supplement biotech, and industrial and consumer biomatter design and manufacturing biotech.
For a lot of the biotech products that Robocentric will develop and market, an Animal Welfare Act compliant animal testing facility won't be absolutely required, and a non-Animal Welfare Act applicable animal testing facility will do, although eventually Robocentric will need one or more Animal Welfare Act compliant animal testing facilities—perhaps in Boston, San Francisco, or both and maybe in other locations—for pushing biotech development and commercialization to the uttermost extremes.
Robocentric will do nonhuman animals genetic engineering experiments, documentation, and publication for advancing medical biotech for curing human genetic diseases by replacing disease-causing human genes with healthy human genes.
Robocentric will do fully robotized genetically engineered nonhuman animal care in confinement for the experiments, 3D scanning, and results publication.
Robocentric will write and publish "Robocentric biotech development plan for nonhuman animals genetic engineering experiments, documentation, and publication for advancing medical biotech for curing human genetic diseases by replacing disease-causing human genes with healthy genes".
Robocentric will do genetic engineering experiments especially on nonhuman primates, for creating improved nonhuman primates with faster reproduction cycles, and for creating human genetic disease cures.
Robocentric will write and publish "Robocentric biotech development protocols and processes for breeding and performing experiments on nonhuman primates for developing medical biotech with regulations to abide by".
Robocentric will do age acceleration and deceleration, anti-aging, and deaging biotech development experiments on nonhuman primates such as on chimps for medical research including cancer cure research, human longevity biotech development, and nonhuman-animal and human aging control biotech development.
Robocentric biotech research nonhuman animal breeding and nursery facility in the U.S. will have maximum robotization with less than US$250,000 per year upkeep cost, with all animals in triple confinement (three layers of walls and doors), in comfortably large spaces, with robot-only access in animal confinements for cleaning, feeding, and animal wastes removal.
Robocentric will develop and commercialize chimpanzee genetic engineering biotech, growth hormone biotech, and neurotech—for enabling chimpanzee growth accelerator (for enabling reaching sexual maturity in less than a year), and breeding accelerator (for enabling reproducing every year or less), for much faster biomedical research.
Robocentric will build and maintain its biotech research nonhuman animal breeding and nursery facility or facilities in the U.S., starting at the most appropriate time.
Robocentric will do human fertility duration lengthening biotech R&D (especially for women), which will require nonhuman animal testing, on both non-primates and primates.
Robocentric will do human blindness and deafness cure research, including medical human genetic engineering biotech research. More than 350 eye diseases are attributed to hereditary factors.
Robocentric will do animal testing because research lab animals will provide valuable biological insights for curing the human body diseases, disabilities, damages, and conditions.
At Robocentric Biotech, we'll treat our research lab animals with dignity, respect, and humane care.
Robocentric will specify in writing and publish how and why research lab animals are used at Robocentric Biotech research facility—for curing human body diseases and disabilities and damages, for developing human longevity biotech, for developing human fertility duration lengthening biotech, for curing human-food animal diseases, for biotech research data measurement, documentation, and publication.
The types of research lab animals used at Robocentric Biotech research facility will be rodents, farm animals, nonhuman primates including chimps, and more.
For developing and commercializing aging control and human fertility duration lengthening biotechnologies, Robocentric will research creating genetically engineered chimpanzees and bonobos with fast growth and sexual maturity, and shorter reproduction cycle.
I will author and publish "Robocentric biotech development sequence and research lab animals breeding, nurturing, and usage plan", which will include the following.
First, rodent, human-food animal, and nonhuman primates whole-body microscopic 3D scanning, recording, and publication. Second, rodent, human-food animal, and nonhuman primates whole-body biochemical composition analysis and determination, recording, and publication. Third, rodent, human-food animal, and nonhuman primates cancer cure biotech, neurological diseases cure biotech, infectious diseases cure biotech, anti-aging and deaging biotech, genetic engineering biotech, and neurotech development, result recording and publication.
The Robocentric biotech development lab will have enough space for breeding and nurturing all the lab animals–rodents, human-food animals, nonhuman primates, and many more.
At Robocentric, GE-NHP means Genetically Engineered NonHuman Primate. Robocentric will do GE-NHP biomolecule, cell component, cell, tissue, organ, limb, and whole-body manufacturing and replacement experiments for developing human body manufacturing and replacement biotech.
My view is avoiding live animal testing to the maximum extent possible, especially nonhuman primate testing, opting to use manufactured human and nonhuman biomolecules, cell components, cells, tissues, organs, and limbs instead.
Performing tests on live research-lab animals is something I would love to avoid in developing medical biotech, human longevity biotech, and human fertility duration lengthening biotech, because I prefer to avoid harming animals, but for now I think some degree of live research-lab animal testing will probably have to be done to some extent in developing medical biotech, human longevity biotech, and human fertility duration lengthening biotech. I want to avoid doing experiments on nonhuman primates, so I'll avoid it to the maximum extent possible.
But I'm aware that some difficult choices will have to be made in performing tests on live research-lab animals, especially nonhuman primates. For example, when developing a human genetic engineering biotech for curing a genetically caused human blindness, blindness cure genetic engineering tests must be performed on nonhuman primates, such as monkeys, chimpanzees, and other apes—before human clinical trials—and the test-subject nonhuman primates will have to euthanized and dissected, and their body parts will have to be photographed, microscoped, spectroscoped, biochemically analyzed, recorded, and published for advancing bioscience and biotechnology.
Sacrificing nonhuman animal lives to protect and save human lives is a difficult choice to make; but I'm aware that it's a difficult decision that must be made, and a difficult act that must be performed, because that is the only way to develop human disease cures and protect and safeguard human lives. So, when the time comes, I'll plan, direct, coordinate, fund, and publicly communicate performing tests on live research-lab animals, for developing medical biotech, human longevity biotech, and human fertility duration lengthening biotech.
At Robocentric Biotech, first and foremost, biotech development experiments will be done on the animals excluded from the Animal Welfare Act—namely, "birds (such as turkey and chicken), rats of the genus Rattus, and mice of the genus Mus, bred for use in research, and cold-blooded animals, insects, and invertebrates".
Biotech development experiments on the species of animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act will be done according to the regulation.
Starting with microscopic 3D biomatter scanning, biomatter biochemical analysis and determination, genetic engineering, biomatter manufacturing and replacement testing, neurotech testing on lab-research birds, rats, mice, cold-blooded animals, insects, and invertebrates—then expanding to the species of animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act according to the regulation.
Robocentric will do research on developing nonhuman-primate artificial wombs, for developing human fertility disease and disability cures, and lengthening human fertility periods.
Robocentric will design and publish triple-walled lab animal enclosures—initially for birds, rats, mice, cold-blooded animals, insects, and invertebrates—with security and survelliance cameras, then eventually for the animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) for expanding biotech development experiments with a licensing by and registration with USDA under the AWA or Animal Welfare Act.
Before each lab-animal surgery for biotech development and testing, Robocentric will notify the relevant federal, state, and local government agencies and relevant institutions (such as National Institutes of Health) in writing.
Robocentric will constantly report to the relevant federal, state, and local government agencies, and related organizations and institutions, when doing live animal testing for biotech development, with citing their laws, their promotions, their policies, and their recommended practices—as a part of Robocentric biotech development and commercialization process constellation.
In doing animal testing for biotech development and commercialization, Robocentric will work with the applicable U.S. federal government agencies (namely, FDA, USDA, and DEA if using controlled substances in animal testing), state government agencies (namely state board of pharmacy and state board of veterinary medical examiners), and local government agencies. Robocentric will also work with relevant institutions and organizations such as National Institutes of Health, and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
​
You can invest in my startup company with as little as US$100, for supporting advancing AI, robotics, biotech, and nuclear-fusion powered outer space tech. Visit https://Robocentric.com/Investors to invest in my startup.
My books on advancing AI, robotics, biotech, and nuclear-fusion powered outer space tech are available at https://Robocentric.com/Checkout/, Amazon, Apple Books, Spotify, and other audiobook outlets.
Allen Young's books on AI, robotics, biotech, and nuclear-fusion tech
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Future: How artificial intelligence, robotics, human body biotech, and mass-scale outer space tech will alter the human reality (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1XD1DJJ)
The Integrated Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Human Body Biotech, and Mass-Scale Outer Space Tech Promotion, Research, Development, and Commercialization (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2QH1PHR)
Transhumanistic Solar System (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQZHSZKJ)
Defining Intelligence: What Artificial Intelligence Should Be (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRDK3F3H)
Human Creativity Analysis: For Advancing Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRTKWNBV)
Human Psychology and Language Analysis: For Advancing Linguistic Artificial Intelligence (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSG3CG84)
America Robotization Plan: Plan for Doubling the American National GDP by Adding AI and Robots to the American National Economy (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXTRK45Y)
​
My contact info is at https://Robocentric.com/Contact. Contact me if you want to discuss investing in Robocentric.

How can I see everything my wife is doing on her phone from mine?
How to Track My Wife’s Phone Without Her Knowing
How to Track My Wife’s Phone GPS
Spy on Your Wife by Hiring a Private Detective
Phone Spying Solutions
Ways to Track Your Wife’s Phone Without Her Knowing
An unfaithful spouse is one of the horrors of marriage. If you have suspicions about your wife’s loyalty due to recent strange behavior, it’s not unusual for you to want to monitor her activities to find out what she’s doing. While the general rule is for partners to trust each other, specific scenarios make it extremely hard to do so, mostly when one spouse constantly acts in ways that suggest they’re having an affair.
Track Wife’s Phone
One way to monitor your spouse to see if they’re cheating is to track their mobile phone. Today, smartphones aren’t luxuries; they’re an integral part of our lives. We take them with us everywhere we go and make use of them more than we do anything else. As such, you can find out a lot about a person by monitoring what they do with their mobile devices. And, thanks to GPS technology, you can also keep track of where people have been using their phones.
However, to do this, you would need to have direct access to the person’s phone. Most people would not allow anyone, including their spouse, to go through their phone to monitor their whereabouts in this manner. Therefore, if you’re looking to track your wife using her mobile phone, the best bet would be to do so without her knowing.
How To Track My Wife’s Phone By Number?
Typically, there are several methods to track a person’s smartphone on the Internet. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them are a hoax. For example, one of the most popular mobile phone surveillance tips on the Internet involves tracking a cell phone using only the phone number.
However, that kind of technology is usually with network operators, the police, and the government. They’re not available for civilian use. So, you cannot track your wife’s phone with her phone number without her knowing. However, you may try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
.
How to Track My Wife’s Phone Using Spy Apps?
The best option in monitoring any mobile device is through mobile phone spy apps. The only way you can track your wife’s cell phone without her knowing is through spy apps. Spy apps are software designed with functionalities that enable them to monitor mobile devices. These mobile applications can track a wide range of cell phone activities, including text and multimedia messages, phone calls, social media accounts, web browser history, and location.
If you wonder, ‘How can I track my wife’s iPhone?’ with these apps, you can remotely keep an eye on all your wife’s activities, including her whereabouts. What’s more? These apps come with capabilities that allow them to carry out their functions in stealth mode. In essence, your wife won’t even know you’re tracking her.
Several mobile phone spy apps are out there, and picking out the one to use can be confusing. To ease the process of choice-making, we’ve recommended seven spy apps we believe are the perfect fit for your surveillance needs.
Conclusion
Your wife is part of your life, and when you start noticing odd and fishy behaviors, especially when she is chatting, you would want a way on how to see my wife's text messages for free. This article introduces the various ways to view your wife's messages for free if you wonder the "is my wife cheating" question. However, I recommend using [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) to quickly and secretly view your wife's message.

I remember both my trips where I saw you. I’m not sure which trip I liked more, but I can say which trip to the airport I liked more. The first one because you made sure I got my fill of fried apple pies from McDonalds, Café Nero coffee, and orange Fanta. If I sit long enough my mind will conjure up a memory of all the things, we did before my final day with you. I can still see you standing behind the ropes talking to me on my phone, both of us praying we didn’t Covid, spoiler for those reading this letter we caught Covid, but still laughing and joking. You were sending me memes and funny messages until I had to wait until the plane was high enough to connect to the Wi-Fi where I found a meme about Covid.
I remember all of our memories, just not which place they were made because the place didn’t matter, I was with you. The only time I specifically can remember the place, and time is the Donut tour. That poor lady was so upset when I didn’t want a donut every 5 minutes. To appease her, I took 1 Boston crème donut and ate half a plate of churros so she knew I wanted to be there. Later we wondered how she kept so slim as she ran those tours every weekend for 3 months. We both agreed that was a lot of donuts.
I just wish I could tell you exactly how I feel about you, but words fail me. I just hope this love last for a life time, but I’m always afraid the other shoe will drop. Most of that I’ve gotten over with your help. This one can’t be solved until you are coming off an airplane into my airport. Until then I’ll settle for being your biggest supporter on Twitch, Discord video calls, and late-night messages. More than all that I’ll hang on to these memories in the picture book of my mind, and the pictures on my phone.
Until we meet again,
kleiner Elfe