My experience northwell employee

Whats going on lads I finished a 500mg cycle for 4 and a half months about 3 weeks ago I'm 21 years old, I lost my job during the cycle and then had an emergency bill to cover so I was out of money near the end of the cycle, I hadn't purchased pct before hand because I was debating on whether to blast and cruise or just hop on to pct and cycle again next year or the following year, the next time I will be able to afford pct drugs will be in 3 weeks I've come off of testosterone cypionate which has a half life of 2 weeks, and now I am just beginning to experience side effects from quitting test cold turkey, high anxiety, fatigue and we'll see what else happens down the road.
Shall I wait for 3 weeks until I am able to afford PCT or shall I go to my local GP and try and get a form of PCT prescribed?
Thank You All.

“It’s not very iconic,” Jack mumbled to himself as he watched the frame of the newest variant of Crawler come together.
Though calling it a ‘Crawler’ was a bit of a misnomer, given that the vehicle didn’t actually crawl. Instead, it would move about on treads. Like a normal tank. Which, while practical, were rather boring to look at.
To make matters worse, Shui would be taking just over half of the iconic older variants of crawler that did actually crawl with her on her journey North. Doing so would allow her force to be entirely mechanized – or horseborne in the case of the cultivators – reducing a journey that would normally take months into one that would take weeks.
Plus, a mountain pass is actually a location where the mechanical legs might see some practical use, he thought.
Shui was certainly pleased about the extra support. While Jack wouldn’t go so far as to say she was giddy, there was certainly a degree of ‘pep’ to her steps as she rushed about the city organizing her new ‘army’. Even the mortal elements, which he got the feeling were normally an afterthought in these kinds of engagements.
She’d be taking fully one third of the militia that An had arrived with a few weeks ago. Ten thousand men and women. As well as fifteen cultivators – who Jack had made sure came from differing Sects. A move that would hopefully keep her from getting up to mischief by turning them against him.
Hopefully.
Ideally, he’d like to say that was why she was taking a contingent of homegrown Jiangshi ‘natives’ – for a given use of the word. The reality was that she was taking the militia because the alternative was a force of spear wielding sect troops, which would be like feeding meat into a grinder.
Which might have been just fine for the Empire, but mortals actually had some innate value to him. To that end, those sect troops still in the city – all fifty thousand of them - were going to be re-equipped and retrained as part of his new Ten Huo army.
Which was why five thousand militia members would be sticking around to train them in turn, while the remaining fifteen thousand returned to the very important task of guarding Jiangshi.
Which was a priority, given that An had all but stripped the province bare of soldiers to create her rescue force – and if they didn’t return soon their absence would be keenly felt.
Of course, this all relies on the Sects giving up their personal armies without a fight, Jack thought. Here’s hoping my most recent lesson in who holds the biggest stick will remain stuck in their mind when I make that announcement…
“Perhaps.” Elwin said from beside him, returning his thoughts to the mundane nature of his latest construct. Not that you’d know it from looking at Elwin. The elf’s arms were crossed as she watched with no small amount of awe as his workshop’s many pneumatic arms worked to bring the tank to life. “That will change though. I have oft found that the iconic nature of a soldier or weapon only grows with their success. And to hear little Lin go on about this machine, it will be very successful indeed.”
Jack hummed, conceding the point. Both Lin and Huang were down in his workshop with them – the two seemingly near inseparable these days for some reason – both huddled over a data-slate as they chatted animatedly about something related to the design.
They were a mismatched pair to be sure, but it seemed that Lin had chosen to take the former princess under her wing. Which was rather ironic, given that she was the goat-kin and Huang was the dragon-kin.
“Do you think Shui’s realized that she won’t actually be spending much of her time up north building her fortress?” he hummed.
“I would worry for her intelligence if she didn’t,” Elwin opined. “And the fact that she’s not battering down your door to demand changes to the manifest she’s been provided suggests she has.”
Jack hummed in agreement. He didn’t doubt that Shui had already noticed that her little taskforce was almost entirely devoid of building materials or craftsmen. Not that she’d want to be lugging stuff like stone or timber halfway across the province when there were plenty of natural resources at her destination.
Still, she’d want craftsmen trailing along with your supply chain though.
As well as nails.
To hear his advisor’s talk about them, you wanted nails by the barrel. To that end they had some. Gao, Ren and An had stressed that no army should ever be without things for even a moment, but they weren’t present in nearly the quantities required to build a mountain fortress like the one he hoped would soon block off the only remaining route into the province – if you ignored the ocean.
Which both Imperials and Instinctives were seemingly content to do.
No, the Pig-kin had probably known from the moment the plan was presented to her that Jack would be waiting for her to arrive at her destination before he flew over in his suit and built a fortress basically overnight.
That thought made him feel better about his decision to put her in charge of the job. It was an important job after all, sealing off the last ‘free’ entrance into his small empire.
I’ll probably want to head back to Jiangshi first to resupply basic building materials when I do head over there, he thought as he made a mental tally of what was currently floating around in his inventory. The thought made him sigh. The sooner I get a train network set up the better.
There was just so much that needed to be done…
He shook his head as he refocused on the task at hand, which was creating the prototype of the new Kang Barrel. A name that had created nothing but confusion for his underlings, but tickled his funny bone.
Not least of all because he hadn’t been the one to come up with the joke.
His microbots were. And while the fact that his microbots were currently capable of making jokes terrified him to his core, he couldn’t deny that they were good at them.
Because truth be told, he’d never wondered why tanks were called ‘tanks’. Though, to be fair, he never wondered why half a dozen other things were named as they were.
As it turned out, the reason tanks had been called what they were was because they’d been smuggled to Europe – or the irradiated zone as it was now known – disguised as water tanks.
Thus, Barrels had seemed an apt name for his own variant – even if no one but him got the joke.
Hell, that just made it funnier to him.
“So, how are things coming with your apprentices?” he asked the elf.
Smiling, the woman was about to respond when Ren rushed in, looking more frantic than usual. Which was a rather impressive feat given that she’d spent the last few weeks effectively running his city for him and was normally operating somewhere between totally overwhelmed and barely hanging on.
“Where are your formal robes, master!?” the merchant all but hissed. “I told you the ceremony would be starting in a few hours!”
Jack glanced over at a nearby clock.
“Ah… I knew I was forgetting something.”
Not that it mattered, he didn’t care what Ren said about tradition.
He was going in his armor.
--------------\
“With that, I present your new magistrate,” an older man called out to the crowds below.
The male cultivator was actually the oldest looking cultivator Jack had ever seen. The man was a craftsmen, a well respected one. And he was also the one who had been in charge of creating the staff that ostensibly controlled the city’s runic defenses.
And keying them to Jack.
Theoretically.
That wasn’t how it had gone down – and the other man had made it abundantly clear what he thought of this change in tradition.
Jack didn’t care then and he didn’t care now.
Which was why he ignored the other man’s stinkeye as he stood up from his throne and strode over to the balcony.
“The Empire has abandoned us.”
His first words were solemn, yet they rolled over the crowd below without trouble. A feat accomplished by a few carefully positioned loud speakers.
Which might have been why, despite the distance between him and the throngs of… not quite human mortals and cultivators below, he could almost hear the audible intake of breath that followed his statement.
Criticizing one’s superiors really wasn’t done in the empire, by virtue of the fact that said superior was usually your superior because they were entirely capable of lopping your head off. If they weren’t, you’d be the superior.
Again, certain parallels between the Instinctive hordes and the Empire leapt to Jack’s mind.
“The Empress has abandoned us. Time has dulled her edge. Corruption has infested her courts. Lethargy pervades her armies. And now, like an ape grasping for a branch as it plummets to its doom, the Empress pulls tight on her outer provinces in a desperate attempt to arrest her fall.”
It helped that what he was saying was mostly true. Or so he assumed. Because he’d yet to meet a system of power that wasn’t at least a little corrupt.
Silence was the only response he received to his words though.
Which, again, was to be expected. While the Empress wasn’t a ‘goddess’ in the religious sense of the word – the empire as a whole was surprisingly secular in that regard, focusing instead on something Jack would have described as Pseudo-Buddhism – she was also one of the founders of the Empire.
Again, not someone you criticized for long before you found yourself suddenly a few feet shorter from the top down.
Fortunately, Jack had a secret weapon.
“Yet Ten Huo only grows in power!”
That was the signal for the doors to the palace to open, and from them cart after cart of sizzling pigs, cows and whole chicken were wheeled forward. Prepared by the palace’s chefs, they’d done an incredible job with the task they’d been given. Even from his position up high on the balcony Jack found the smell intoxicating as it wafted up to him.
Fortunately, the line of sect troops guarding the front of the palace held steady as the crowd almost unconsciously surged forward at the sight of such a feast.
Really hope no one’s going to get crushed in that, he thought.
That was why he had a few cultivators on standby who would use directed burst of killing intent anywhere the press of bodies got too tight. The effectiveness of which Jack had been a little dubious of, but it was apparently a tried and tested method for ‘delicately’ dealing with unruly crowds.
Personally, Jack would have preferred to use his own troops, but Ren had quite reasonably pointed out that when it came to keeping crowds of agitated mortals in line, none were better than the personal armies of the sects.
…Or the Imperial army – but most of them were dead now.
That didn’t mean he’d come completely unprotected. His own troops had emptied out the palace of all courtiers and Sect guards hours ago in preparation for his speech. A feat that would have been impossible mere days ago, but it seemed that his little display to the Sect leaders had the effect he’d intended it to, because the cultivators present on the premises hadn’t even made a single peep of complaint as they were ordered out by a bunch of mere mortals.
Albeit, mere mortals who had An commanding them.
“We must cast off the shackles that have for so long held us back!” Jack announced. “This is not about power. Not about greed. Or pride. It is about survival!”
This time he got roars of approval – though whether that was down to his words or the food that was now being passed out to the crowd, he couldn’t say.
It didn’t really matter. It was about the optics of the thing. When people looked back on this moment, they would remember the cheering. And that would mean it had to have been a good thing, right?
“Ten Huo must grow. Must cultivate it’s strength. Must power through the troubles ahead,” he roared. “Which we have. Through our guards. Through our walls. Through our cultivators. And through our gonnes. Through those things we broke the back of the horde and slew their false dragon. And it is through the power of those things that we might beat back any foe that might threaten our home.”
He raised his fist high – and at the correct moment, his Red Dragon armor flared into being, the feathers atop fluttering proudly in the wind. “Ten Huo forever! Against all that might come! Together we are strong!”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but that time the cheers felt more genuine. A chant even started.
“Ten Huo! Ten Huo! Ten Huo!”
“To that end, I intend to correct some of the failures of the old regime! Firstly, I shall be cutting the mortal guard force of our city’s sects down to one tenth their current size.”
That caused a stir, not just from the cultivators who were stood on the nearby pavilions, but from the rearmost ranks of the sect guard that were currently holding back the crowd while simultaneously handing out food.
Which made sense, he was currently discussing their livelihoods. The only thing that separated them and their families from the desperate crowds in front of them. Because while the city wasn’t quite close to starving as a result of the recent hostilities, it was true that a great many households were now tightening their belts.
Service in the Imperial Army or Sects provided some degree of protection from that reality.
“And from those men and women, I shall forge a new force. A grand Ten Huo army to rival that of the decrepit Empire. Well trained. Well armed. Professional soldiers. An expansion and revitalization of the Jiangshi militia that saved this city all those weeks ago.”
That seemed to silence much of the hesitation that had formed in the sect troops. The crowd though was all for it, whooping and hollering at the idea of more troops of the ilk that had so captured the city’s love with their arrival into it.
“I do this not out of contempt for the sects but out of love. With this I free them from the responsibility of policing the city. Of dealing with the mundane details of the mortal world. I free them to focus on their one true goal; the pursuit of cultivation and immortality.”
More importantly, it would make a coup significantly less likely to be successful later down the line. Or at least, less viable. Because as potent as cultivators were, they were still just individuals. They had more in common with fighter craft than infantry. They could take ground and destroy targets, but they couldn’t be expected to hold it without support.
Support Jack fully intended to cut out from under them while claiming he was doing them a favor. And while he could certainly see some idiots in the pavilion nodding along with the idea of ‘freeing themselves from the need to deal with mortals’, most of the leadership was rightly frowning at the thought of losing their ability to project power into the city.
Without mortal soldiers to form a buffer around them, they would effectively be besieged within their compounds.
Yet even as he could see them slowly considering raising some form of stink over it, he could also see them glancing over to the empty seat in their lineup where the Silver Paw sect might have stood.
No, they might make a perfunctory fuss, but they’d do as he told them. This was the ideal time for him to make a move like this. It was almost expected.
To be sure, he knew some would cause some form of trouble over this move, but that trouble would be a lot easier to deal with when he tripled the number of soldiers he had at his command within the city.
Down below, Jack could see the distant figure of Gao – and a small application of magnification showed the man was looking rather pale. Which made sense, given the massive task Jack had just slammed down in front of him. An, for her part, looked positively giddy about the whole thing. Ren just looked… tired and unsurprised, as if more work appearing on her lap was just to be expected where Jack was concerned. Elwin looked disinterested in the whole thing, which was par for the course.
Lin and Huang were… nowhere to be seen?
Huh, he thought.
For just a moment he was worried something might have happened, but a quick glance at the trackers attached to them – via some ‘gifts’ of jewelry – showed the pair were back at his compound. In the same room even.
Very close.
Probably caught up in some science experiment, he thought with a small smile.
“Yet what is a mortal army without a core of cultivators?” Jack continued. “Am I to demand a tithe from the sects that have already given so much? To both me and this city?” He shook his head. “Nay.”
He stretched out his arm, and with perfect timing a dozen figures dropped from the windows of the palace, landing perfectly behind the sects guards in a crouched position.
They were clearly cultivators – yet they didn’t look like them. For one thing, they were armored. From head to toe. Gleaming steel armor that was inlaid with protective runes.
It wasn’t as comprehensive as metal plate would be. Gaps existed to allow for great locomotion from the user. Yet it was still more armor than any cultivator would ever be caught wearing.
Because in the local parlance, armor was a sign of weakness. A lack of confidence in ones skills and cultivation.
Or at least, that had been the case until Jack showed up.
The next thing about them was that they were uniform. Perfectly so. Only the weapons were different. Some had glaives. Some had swords. Others axes. The only commonality there were the revolvers at their hips.
He didn’t doubt they looked absurd to the cultivators in the pavilions, each of them dressed differently to their fellows, with only a small adherence to their sect colors to mark their allegiance. Because cultivators didn’t do uniforms.
They were warriors. Heroes. Not soldiers.
Or at least, they weren’t, Jack smirked.
He raised both arms high above his head.
“I demand nothing of the sects, for volunteers have already shown up to be part of this great army. Ready to give their lives. Their souls. Their very identities to protect our great Ten Huo!”
Jack slammed his fist down onto the banister, letting the loud thud echo across the courtyard.
“I present to you, the Steel Paw!”
For the first time since they had arrived, the mystery cultivators stood up, their blue cloaks fluttering in the winds as they pulled back their hood to reveal not faces, but helms.
Helms shaped like a snarling tiger.
First / Previous / Next
Another three chapters are also available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake
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I was prepared for my body to change and I was okay with that. I was thinking that there would be stretch marks, weight gain, and probably some muscle loss. I was okay with that.
Surprisingly my first was no problem. I didn’t end up with stretch marks and the physical side of the postpartum period was better than I had anticipated.
My second though messed up my body so bad that I’m struggling to cope. I’ve been to pelvic floor therapy for 8 months and it still hurts to orgasm, my hips are all fucked up, I developed arthritis in my back; I can’t work out like I used to so now I’m struggling to lose weight and find a good calorie deficit… I’m in constant pain. I’m going to go to another physical therapist and hopefully that will help but I just feel so so depressed. Anyone else have experience with this? Does it get better eventually? I’m 8 month PP.

I had my fair share of success and failures in my education and career, eventually me having a mixed experience in various roles. This has put me in a scenario where I feel completely inadequate and as a misfit , and not even sure what do with my career. I have been applying to various jobs but those I felt were fitting me as per my profile has faced only rejections. I don't have any mentors, or colleagues or friends who can recommend me either. Once in a bluemoon when someone gets in touch I have this enormous doubt and anxiety whether I will be able to do the job, and for being ignorant. How should I solve this and lead a normal life, since I have already lost many years due to this and depression.

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As cliché as it sounds, I want to write the absolute best version of Naruto living up to his full potential.
The way I went about it is to have a Reincarnation from our world into Naruto before his birth.
After meeting Kurama in the void and coming to an understanding of all the horrors that are to come, the fox decides to help in exchange for a promise to allow the Uchiha to die.
As a result, Naruto has a photographic memory that allows him to remember everything he experiences, even to recreate a movement or a chakra manipulation each time so long as he achieved it once in the past.
I refuse to let him graduate before reaching the same age as the Konoha 12, though I am not opposed to him doing missions undercover for Danzo.
My end goal is to have Naruto single -handedly bitch slap the Akatsuki and the other nations around to secure peace and prosperity for himself and his family.
Without whiskers, thanks to Kurama's healing, my Naruto makes an effort to look and act more like Minato, meaning he is never despised in the village, though he is ignored at first.
In this story, Sasuke is a girl, who is going to die pretty early on due to the promise with Kurama, or at least won't be the focus of the story at all.
I have written about 50,000 words of the story already and have just reached the end of the first day at the academy.
I am looking for ideas to fill the time and figure out to what level I will take Naruto until graduation, knowing I want him to annihilate Gaara, Kabuto and the Suna/Sound shinobi.
So far I am already planning on him mastering the Leaf Concentration Exercise, Tree Walking, Water Walking as well as swimming by only releasing chakra through the tenketsu without movement.
I thought Chakra Strings and some basics of puppeteering would be neat, the way Sasuke uses wires with his kunai and shuriken looking pretty badass.
By graduation I want him to have mastered the Academy Style for Taijutsu, as well as leverage friendly relationships with Hinata and Sasuke to learns the basics of the Gentle Fist and the Uchiha Style, if only as a defense option while lacking the required Dojutsu to attack with it.
With almost infinite chakra and decent control over it, I want him to approach Kurenai and figure out a System where he is constantly releasing it at random intervals from different tenketsu to try and build a protection from Illusions that are not Sharingan hax.
The first step of Wind Manipulation, as well as the first one for the other elements could be achieved though I would prefer leaving that for after graduation and learning the Shadow Clones.
The Body Flicker is also a technique I want him to learn, though I will leave it's practice for when he has clones.
I also have Naruto walking around the village for long stretches, memorizing the attire, mannerisms and habits of the civilians, building up a mental database for infiltration missions.
I will also have him study a lot of stuff that isn't strictly necessary to become a shinobi, but could help in the building and running of a village, from civil engineering to architecture, macro economics, sociology and law.
I will also have him learn enough medicine to produce a diagnostic, prescribe medicine or even do surgery, though he won't have the practical experience or the Chakra control to actually become a medic for years, if ever.
Rasengan before graduation and Rasenshuriken before the Chunin Exams goes without saying.
I am considering having him learn seals, but I feel that would be a bit too overpowered, though having him take away Shukaku from Gaara or Isobu from Yagura is mighty tempting.
I don't believe there's any reason Guy would teach his fighting style, let alone the gates to anyone not directly his student, so I feel like those are a no go.
Still, even with all those ideas, I find my Naruto to be stuck with a loooot of free time in the Academy so I am looking for more ideas on what to do with it.
It doesn't have to be training or useful for the shinobi world, but what would you think a smart use of his time could be?
What would you like him to learn or do?
Who would be the instructor?
I am open to any idea or concept you might think of and will probably expand on them if I like it.
Thank you in advance for your time!

I had my fair share of success and failures in my education and career, eventually me having a mixed experience in various roles. This has put me in a scenario where I feel completely inadequate and as a misfit , and not even sure what do with my career. I have been applying to various jobs but those I felt were fitting me as per my profile has faced only rejections. I don't have any mentors, or colleagues or friends who can recommend me either. Once in a bluemoon when someone gets in touch I have this enormous doubt and anxiety whether I will be able to do the job, and for being ignorant. How should I solve this and lead a normal life, since I have already lost many years due to this and depression.

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Hi folks!
I appreciate this is a question for my accountant! and he has already been asked and given his diplomatic answers.
​
But i'm curious to know what everyone else's personal experiences/regrets or what you would do differently.
​
There is only 2 of us at the company. 1 company van and 1 personal van that we use when necessary.
I ordered a tesla last year (leased) but cancelled it due to excessive delays.
And i have no idea what to do now.
I can't decide whether to buy a second hand estate car outright?
Lease an electric vehicle?
Hire Purchase another van?!
​
I'm struggling to understand what my best options are financially so im really interested to hear what other LTD directors have done or found worked for them?
Ultimately, i do about 30,000 miles per year, we don't need another van, but there is no harm in having another one.
Electric vehicle would be nice for when i am conducting site visits/city work to avoid ulez.
Van would be nice for 'brand' continuity and we can get both vehicles matching and sign wrapped.
Purchasing an estate car outright would be nice because of keeping my monthly outgoings down.
​
Then we have the tax/asset implications of all of the above.
Any advice or insight is appreciated because i am procrastinating and going round in circles and achieving nothing!

I am interested in teaching abroad in the near future, but I don't have much experience in teaching mainstream. Since I qualified a few years ago, I have only worked in SEND schools in the UK- Would this make finding an international teaching job difficult? Would schools prefer someone with mainstream experience or should I try to find an international SEND school (and would that be easy to do)?
Just trying to assess my options and how difficult it might be!
Thanks :)

This year I didn't receive a "vereenvoudigde aangifte" because they got info about a foreign account (probably my Degiro account).
"We hebben inlichtingen mogen ontvangen van een buitenlandse rekening in Nederland in het aanslagjaar 2022. U dient hiervan melding te maken in uw aangifte, zolang deze rekening actief is."
I did open an account with Degiro but never deposited any money on it because i stepped away from Degiro after a sh*tty customer experience and moved to Bolero.
Now my question:
1) i read on FOD Financiën that i need to declare this account by filling in a form bia the Nationale Bank. I suppose im still obligated to do this, even if there has been zero activity on this foreign account?
2) Does it suffice to do 1) only? Or do i need to declare something specific in my tax declaration as well?
3) I did deposit some money on Bolero (only IWDA) but if i remember correctly the TOB for this is handled automatically via Bolero and i don't need to do anything for it. Correct?
Appreciate it if someone can confirm the above / help me out!

Hi everyone I joined teaching at the ripe age of 22 last year on a training program, my placement was supposed to last 2 years however they chose to cut back on my subject and now it’s looking like I won’t have anywhere next year.
Hopefully the provider continues looking for a September 2024 placement 🤞 my subject is very specific.
Since I’m acting that they won’t find anything for September this year start, if they do -amazing, but I won’t assume anything, what could I do during the year firstly to make money and secondly to continue having experience?
If I did part time volunteering at a local school could I pass that off as something of a year of experience? Or at least being relevant?
What about supply teacher opportunities? Could I teacher other subjects even though they aren’t my specialism? (I teach business and computing).
It’s a very stressful time as I don’t know what’s around the corner but I’m keeping positive! Any advice is appreciated!

In March, my dog (male, 10-11 year old chihuahua terrier mix) started coughing. At first, it was irregular enough to make us think it was random and would go away but we’re now several months into this and it’s gotten much, much worse.
On a good day, the cough sounds like a goose honking which I would call a dry cough. On a bad day, it’s a very wet cough where you can hear all types of mucus or phlegm or something in his lungs. Usually the coughing session, which last about 15-20 seconds each time, ends with him gagging like he’s trying to throw something up but nothing usually ever comes out. We’ve noticed his coughing is worse at night but he will still have coughing fits throughout the day. The worst night had him coughing what felt like every 20 minutes and it woke me up so many times that I let him sleep in my bed and I went to sleep on the couch. Two nights ago though he coughed up mucus and blood. His breathing is starting to sound very wet, labored, and his chest rattles. Last night it seemed like he was struggling to breathe. He’s starting to look so exhausted throughout the day from spending his night coughing. Before this (even at 10-11) he was still playing and running around with us like a puppy and full of so much spunk (just sleeping a little bit more), but now any sort of playing will immediately lead to a coughing fit.
We’ve taken him to the vet 3 times now. It wasn’t taken seriously the first time (this was back in April). But the second time he got prescribed heart worm meds (he doesn’t have heart worms but it was just in case) and some sort of antibiotic. The heart worm medicine didn’t seem to do anything but the antibiotic drastically decreased the amount of coughing fits he would have. As we tapered off of it, his coughing has continued to get worse.
We took him back this week and got some x-rays done as well as a blood test. His white blood cells are extremely high. The x-ray came back showing some sort of unusual wispy-ness on his lungs on the right side of his body. The vet said that he thinks it’s a pulmonary edema or pneumonia (we originally thought collapsed trachea). He sent for a second opinion and that person thinks it’s a mass. Not sure how relevant it is but the vet asked if he regurgitates after eating; usually not with food but if he drinks too much water which happens pretty often he’ll regurgitate it back up. The vet said he looks good otherwise (good color and whatever it is in the X-ray doesn’t seem to have spread). Next step here is a CT scan and some more tests but we’re unable to do this until Monday. We got prescribed different meds from this visit and it doesn’t seem to have helped the cough much but he does seem to have more energy now.
I guess I’m here posting this because Monday seems far away and my boy is clearly progressing worse and worse. I just want to make sure we’re on the right track and not racing against time. I’m also curious of any other opinions other vets or someone with a similar experience may have and if they recommend anything to ease this experience on my dog? I love him so much and it’s really hard to see him like this.
Please let me know if not allowed but here are some videos and photos of my dog, x-ray, and coughing. CW: I included a photo of the coughed up blood towards the end.
https://imgur.com/a/l9TbxBA
Thanks. And I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for taking him to the vet.

My partner gave me as a bday gift a kindle a couple years ago and all I can say is that it has forever changed my life!
I use it more than my phone, it’s helped shape my spiritual journey, has given my countless transformational introspections, suffice to say im a total book worm bc of it ..
I would love to hear others experiences and opinions about their ebook or thoughts on ebooks period. My partner says they’d rather have something “tangible”, but honest to god, I would not have it any other way than my kindle!
Lol also! can y’all share poetry books and your fav authors .. I’m Hispanic (30yrF) and would also love some poetry recommendations! I’d appreciate some Spanish recommendations too, I think it’s time to brush up on my lingo lols thank you!

Hey guys, I previously had two microdiscectomies and laminectomies - late 2018 and early 2019. My case was very severe so surgery was absolutely vital. I was hospitalised, unable to walk, incontinent and had severe nerve damage. Everything healed up fine thankfully. Neurosurgeon advised that I will eventually need to get a spinal fusion. I thought initially like, “Okay, I’ll get another 8 years before I need to!”. It has now been 4 years and the pain is back. Partially my fault - I became very slack on maintaining my core strength and exercising due to working from home and starting an office job. My physical health became very neglected which I think has played a part. The pain would always come and go, as chronic pain does, and this was manageable. This week it has become so severe that I cannot walk, or if I do I am hunched oveleaning forward. I struggle to go to the toilet, I am having constant muscle spasms I have resorted back to taking Palexia, going to see my doctor on Monday for some muscle relaxers.
So two questions: If the pain continues - should I just ride the wave? Essentially, wait as long as possible to see if it’s just a one off. Has anyone done this?
Secondly - if I do get a spinal fusion, what is the general recovery time and has everyone always needed a catheter? Is there any alternative? I’m avoiding going back to my neurosurgeon as consults are $250+. Obviously if it becomes urgent I will be making an appointment.
Any advice is appreciated! Even just similar experiences to know I’m not alone.
Thanks guys! Look after your spines!

I got to thinking; what would be some objective improvements both for the player base and the game itself? And, would that make the game more money. As that’s really what the game is about, let’s not kid ourselves.
My 3 improvements are pretty obvious, but I’ve been thinking about them for a while.

1. Improve the Pity System. -Lesson the amount of pulls needed to pity. It is currently so large that basically no one does it. Cutting it down to 20 pulls or 15 pulls would make it MUCH easier to pity. Besides, the easier it is to get a unit, the more a person will spend or save up for them, which generates a fun gameplay experience. I mean, if you pull 10 times, and you get NOTHING, it doesn’t make sense to stop there, right? Might as well grind more crystals or buy some to get just enough to get a guaranteed unit!
   
2. Improved Rates -Very similar to the first point. The game would just be objectively better if it was more likely to get a new unit when summoning. Perhaps have a system where you have a 2x rate for units you don’t have on Paid and the First Free summons? And while they are at it, make it so that all 11x summons have a free 5 star with the same shitty odds as before.
   
3. Let us buy more of the better deals. -Make the $1 pack a Once a Month thing -Let us buy the $20 packs more then once per cycle -Ect -This allows for more small spending, while still having the big spending there as an option.
   

I think if GS wants to REALLY improve itself, it should do atleast two of these changes.
They probably won’t… but it’s fun to think about.

Howsiit y'all, I feel lucky finding this group - reading the discussions gave me the impression that it's an open minded group and finally I can share thoughts with those who went through similar experiences. I was first born boy of abused parents in 70's Communist Centra Europe. (It was "normal" to beat up children those times, even at school from first grade on, the teachers were brutal.) My upbringing was two edged sword since dispute the physical and emotional abuse, I was a very spoiled child from the viewpoint of whatever I was crying for, I always got it, even though we were poor. For obvious reasons it was easier for my parents to just get me what I want for I was engaged with something for a very short while, and maybe for them it was a way of expressing love, which they didn't really get from both of their parents. I was physically abused since I remember up to age 14, when I was tall enough to hit back to my father, and at that point the abuse stopped. I don't remember getting hugs from them, and when my Mother felt like she's willing to hug me, I was already 30+ years old and felt awkward about it. My father confessed when I asked if i was also abused sexually, that someone did something to me, but he refused to tell me who it was. Long story short, I'm getting better and better nowadays, passing 50, after years of hustle, finding the right diagnosis / medication / long term solution/ etc. (ADHD/CPTSD/PTSD) I produced bipolar-like syndromes after age 25, with an increasing amplitude into both depression and mania. In my beliefs, my Mother was also misdiagnosed and mistreated with bipolar, causing her early death from an incurable type of cancer. My entire life was like a run amock, and I was misdiagnosed and mistreated with bipolar disorder both in my home country and in the US. I have tons of questions and I'd love to touch base with someone went through similar childhood trauma. Thanks

Hey there, hustlers. I thought I'd share a story that just happened to me, by asking your advice and potentially you helping me to understand what has happened.
Couple years ago, while traveling in Indonesia I met a guy, who was from the same small country in Europe as I am, who seemed like a genuine guy and who is a developer. We spent quite a bit of time and became I would say more or less friends. Since I work with business development and marketing and he does full stack development, he kinda mentioned to me that he want to build something together. Since he seemed a gunuine guy and a strong developer with over 10 years of experience and managing pretty big projects I thought that could be a good idea.
Some time after I got the idea of connecting AI + Dating, there are many advantages of this kinda app, won't go into detail but it was properly researched. When I presented that to him, he did like everything and we decided to move with it. He did mention that in like 3 weeks we could have the app up and running, at least for the MVP version and we did discuss that timing is important, so we should not waste it.
I was pretty excited about the opportunity, so started doing the work from my side, built branding, pitch deck, gathered lists of accurate influencers (hundreds of them), created approach strategies, extracted accurate VCs to target, found other people who wanted to help out, basically prepared all things neccesary for the soft launch and the fundraising part.
1 month have passed, there are not too many updates from the guy, the communication got slightly worse, he went to vacation with his girlfriend, then he got sick for a week, then he had a lot of other workd to do etc.
Now it's been nearly 3 months that have passed and he have ghosted me for 2 weeks straight, not replying, and not giving me any headsup if something is wrong, or if he does not want to continue or anything. Basically the last conversation that we had he mentioned that he got sick and he really wants to finish everything asap and will respond whenever he feels a bit better.
I was nothing but friendly in our conversations, even when he mentioned that he is being late for this and that reason, I do understand things change, some unexpected things occur and it's normal. But what is not normal, that he's ignoring me for weeks, and leaving me without a clue what's on his mind.
How do people act like that? Is he not man enough to tell if he changed his mind and I should move forward without him or what the hell might be going on in his head?

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man! And for letting me use Barry, Borven and Tarva (No relation)!
First Prev. Next
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Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 24th, 2136.
The door to Suite 4006 didn't look all that different from the door to our bunk room, though the walls around it lacked the friendly atmosphere of the exchange areas; guess admin offices are bland no matter the species. Taisa was beside me trying to appear confident; I noticed she did that a lot. Originally I had thought it was for my benefit, to make me feel like she wasn't scared of me; but I wasn't so sure of that anymore. It seemed that any time she was in a situation that made her feel small or scared she did her best to puff up and push through it. It was one of the things I liked best about her; but that didn't mean I'd ever stop giving her shit for fainting.
"Taisa," I started, placing my hand on her shoulder, her tail curling a little and resting against the side of my leg. "It'll be alright, I figure they wanna ask some questions about what happened earlier. Verify reports, get the story first hand. That sort of thing."
She took a deep breath as her ears flicked at my statement and her tail swayed off my leg. I think that one means she understands, or maybe it's agreement? Still tryin’ to figure those out.
"We tell 'em what happened, get it all cleared up on our end, easy and free 'fore too long. Once we got their questions outta the way we can drop our little 'research idea' on ‘em and see where it goes from there." I squeezed her shoulder gently at the end, she beeped a little but seemed to puff her chest out with a little extra confidence.
"Here goes nothin'." I raised my hand to rap against the metal door, I assume I looked a fool when the door opened up before I actually managed to knock.
"Christopher A. Dewey and Taisa, I presume?" A Venlil in the door stated, keeping the two of us in the span of his left eye. "Come in, have a seat."
He maneuvered his way around behind the desk, sitting down in a chair next to a Human at a shared desk as Taisa and I got situated. "I am Borven, and this is Barry." He stated, introducing himself and then the Human with his tail. "We are the liaisons for the exposure program. I assume that you know why we called you in this waking?"
I nodded, leaning back in the chair. "I'd wager a guess it has something to do with a certain upset Ensign, a bunch of angry Humans and a... pawful of scared Venlil?"
Barry nodded, pulling something up on the pad in front of him. I figured it was probably the report drafted by the guard that questioned us. "We wanted to confirm your side of the story as reported by Officer Gentry and Officer Jaisle, would you mind?"
I motioned with my hand for him to proceed. "I'd be happy to."
“Very good. To start, can you verify that this record of your account is accurate?" Barry queried, handing the pad off to me.
I sat for a few minutes, reading through the report and follow up answers that had been written down. Taisa took the pad as I offered it to her, "Looks good to me."
A few minutes longer, “Yeah, me too. Although two of the Venlil that had hidden behind Chris are missing, A female with white wool and a male with black wool with gray striping. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask after their names.” She corrected, handing the pad back over to Barry.
“Thank you, we’ll be sure to correct that error.”
Taisa's ears perked up as she beeped out a question, her curiosity from earlier evidently not satisfied, "What does the UN intend to do with him?"
"Well, that depends, do you still decline to press charges, Mr. Dewey?" Barry asked, setting the pad back on the desk as he tapped a button to confirm the report.
I shook my head, "Nah, he needs help, not a lawsuit."
"Then in that case I am not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation beyond confirming your account. I apologize." Taisa's tail lashed in what I figured was annoyance at that before she took a breath and steadied it.
A few more questions were leveled at us, asking about the mood in the room just before and after the announcement, what individuals we could remember that looked the most agitated and if we could identify any of the pairs that had departed before the shouting began. Then Borven struck on a question that seemed to give Taisa pause.
"Taisa, what motivated you to intervene and guide the Venlil hiding behind your partner out of the altercation? You could have risked a stampede and caused far more problems than you were solving."
Her ears drooped for a moment, her tail coming to a standstill as she thought over the question. “I saw people in trouble, saw Chris doing something and I just… I had to help. I didn’t really think about whether it would cause a stampede until after I had already gotten them moving. After that I tried my best to stay calm; I’ve read that people at the front of a herd keeping a level head is what can start or stop a stampede.”
Borven’s tail flicked as he tapped something into his pad before swiveling his ears towards Barry. “I think that covers everything I have, Barry, any further questions?
Barry shook his head, tapping away at the pad before setting it back on its mount. “I believe that’s everything that I need. Unless the two of you have any further questions yourselves, you are excused. Thank you for your assistance.”
Taisa and I exchanged glances for a moment. “Actually, we did have one question.” “As I stated earlier, Mr. Dewey, unless you wish to press charges I cannot divulge information with regards to the Ensign’s punishment or prospects moving forward.” Barry sighed. “Please pose your question with that in mind.”
“And I understand that, this is about something else.” Barry raised an eyebrow as Borven fixed a single eyed gaze on me.
“Taisa and I were thinking that we’d, in the spirit of the exchange program, like to run an experiment.” “An experiment?” Borven asked, refocusing his ears on Taisa. She flicked her ears at him and tapped me with her tail, prompting me to continue.
“Yes. We’d like to run an experiment on Human-Venlil Business partnerships; see how we work together. Taisa is a trained ships engineer and I’ve spent the last 15 years hauling freight, organizing and working merchant ships all across Earth. I’d need some more targeted flight training and familiarization with rules and regs but I’ve spent plenty of time in simulators at home.”
A few moments of silence hung in the room before Barry shrugged. “That’s not under our department's purview but I can get you two in touch with the two people you’d likely need to… convince of the feasibility of your proposition.”
“Thank you, Gentlemen.” I said, standing from the seat before turning to walk out the door behind Taisa.
As the door closed I heard Barry and Borven bickering about how many of the pairs were going to want to stay together in one way or another. They seemed like fun, if maybe a bit stiff. After a minute or two of quiet walking down the hall our pads chimed, indicating we had received a message: Barry and Borven notified me that you and your partner have suggested an experiment. Please report to Conference Suite 4185. Sent by Thomas Ashforth, UN Liaison.
It wasn’t a terribly far walk around the station’s outer ring to arrive at the conference room, only a few minutes.
“Alright… 4185 it is.” Taisa spoke up next to me, taking a deep breath as her ears swiveled back a little; she looked worried.
“Hey, don’t worry. We got this.” I soothed while patting her on the back; trying to put a little pep back in her step. “It didn’t get sunk in the bay so we’ve got a chance at least!”
“I know,” She took another deep breath, puffing her chest up as we stepped up to the door. “I’m just scared they’ll say no. Or worse, find a reason to split us.” “We’ll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. You won’t be rid of me that easy.” I joked, putting a small twinkle of mirth in her eye as her tail lashed about.
I saw a retort brewing but it was cut off by a stern voice from beyond the door. “Enter.” Both of us stiffened a little as the door slid open to reveal a room with a small conference table, 6 chairs in total surrounding it. The two at the far end were occupied by a man wearing a UN dress uniform and a small union jack pinned to his lapel, while a very… very small ice-white Venlil sat on a cushion atop the table.
“Please be seated, we’ve got a few questions about your experiment. My name is Thomas Ashforth.” Said the man, gesturing across the table.
As Taisa and I sat down the small Venlil began. “And I am Professor Tarva, no relation. I’m head of the Integration efforts. You must be Taisa!” Taisa returned the enthusiasm with a flick of her ears before Tarva turned her ears towards me. “And you must be Christopher! Protector blessed, you’re certainly the largest Human I’ve seen so far!” I nodded in return. “My friend here is coordinating the fiscal side of the exchange program. So, why don’t you two tell us about this idea of yours?”
I took in a breath to steady my nerves, Taisa’s tail coiling around my ankle helped motivate my voice forward that little bit more. “We know that the recent blockades have caused issues for Venlil prime, and while Earth may not need anything from Venlil prime to get by there’s a lot of people who I’d bet would want plenty. Taisa also tells me a fair few of the freighter captains are still ‘bolty’ about trading directly with Humans; neither Taisa nor myself have that problem. From what she has said there’s a lot of surplus ships floating around VPs shipyards waiting for trade to open up again. The experiment would be to acquire a smaller freighter for Taisa and myself to crew, command, and operate so as to gather a better understanding of how Humans and Venlil work together in a civilian ship environment as well as the operation of an enterprise. Plenty of research is going to come up for military applications but I think opportunities to gain information on Civilian settings will be few and far between for some time.”
“An interesting theory! But what extra information do you think we can get from a civilian vessel that we can’t from a military vessel? What you’re suggesting could easily be replicated within the logistics corps instead!” Her tail was swaying slowly as her ears stayed pointed directly at me.
“Chaos.” I said, simply, shrugging at the statement.
That seemed to catch her off guard a moment, her tail falling still before her ears perked up and her eyes came alight with a fire of interest. “And why exactly would I want to include chaos in my experiments?”
“Military ships, combat and logi, all have an inherent order to them, in combat or out of it. They are specifically trained for, and sometimes raised in it. Civilian merchants and shippers don't have that training, which means the operating conditions, stresses and strains on the crew of a military ship are different than that of a civilian ship. Monitoring how Taisa and I work together, our responses to those stresses and strains could provide valuable insight into future workplace ‘integration’ efforts.” I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the table as I looked over her head, trying to avoid spooking her.
Despite those efforts, her favored eye bore into mine, before she changed her tactic and tried again, “Ok, so the idea has merit. But why should we get a whole ship for the two of you? Why not register you with a freight company and have you work with them as well?” She countered, a gleam in her eye as she focused on my face.
“Please point us to a freight company that won't make a stink about having a human pilot, let alone one my size. Even if you did find a freighter willing to stomach my presence that doesn’t change the fact that baseline interactions would be easy enough to find examples of, and could be done with any pair of applicants in any setting. What we are proposing is the examination of a joint business venture. Taisa and I have experience: I was the first-mate on my last ship, and Taisa is a Venlil-trained and registered ships engineer. These are the backbone of any ship, giving you a clean sample to get readings, uncluttered by other people”.
“That comes to another question. Why the two of you? There’s plenty of running freight companies we could organize this same exchange with, without having to dig up the money for a ship.” She retorted, despite the wording and my still… developing understanding of tail signals, I was pretty sure she was enjoying this.
As I mulled over the question, trying to think of the best response, Taisa spoke up from the chair next to me, her ears peaked straight up, a confident look in her eyes with a voice as sure as steel. “Because we’re here. You already planned on something similar or ‘integration’ wouldn’t be on the table. I’d guess that you’ve got pairs picked for all sorts of ‘experiments’, and business is just one part of it.”
Atta Girl Taisa! Said it better than I ever could.
Tarva opened her mouth for another question; if I didn’t know better I’d think she loved this kind of back and forth. But before she could begin Thomas’ voice drifted in and I was reminded of the sharp cold of the Bering Straits. “I’m very pleased you work so well together. But how would that benefit the program? Why should the UN invest in your… ‘integration’.” His eyes passed between us, like we were being measured for a casket, it was clear that wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
Flipping open a ledger, Thomas pulled a pen from his breast pocket, the motion felt like it carried more weight than the drawing of any sword. “Firstly, this, as all business ventures must be, has to be profitable. To you, to the program and to the U.N. until you’ve paid back your debt, and more. How do you intend to actually make a profit? Have you considered fuel costs? Maintenance? Registration? Permitting?” His gaze felt like it could turn me to stone, I hated accountants, near as much as lawyers.
Taisa seemed not to have such hangups, someone had been thinking. “Fuel costs would be negligible when compared to the overall short trip and high margins that could be made by hauling higher value cargo. Maintenance would be handled by myself, limiting costs only to parts. I doubt that we will be acquiring a fresh off the line ship, and I know my way around a scrapyard. Registration and permitting are firm plan-able costs that can be included within the operating budget since they come up at regular intervals.”
Thomas nodded, writing in his ledger before looking back up at us. “And what do you intend to actually ship? The most profitable ventures have a plan and a consistent schedule.” I sat up a little straighter, I wasn’t going to let an accountant send me running like a dog with my tail between my legs. “My experience is with Tramp freighters, sir.” The use of the term earned a look of confusion from Tarva and a slight sigh from Taisa, while Thomas was clearly familiar with the term. “Charging higher rates for a slightly less consistent schedule would make up for the irregularity. I am of the opinion that limiting what is hauled to one type, brand or item of cargo would, in this case, be a poor decision at such a small scale. Bulk freighters at home only work because of their scale and the guaranteed regularity, to make such a thing work for that kind of enterprise the U.N. would have to invest far more into the ship just to get the idea off the ground. Taking bespoke contracts for individuals, or groups of them within the same city or province, would allow us to keep a more flexible margin for each run. As well, I already have a few old associates on Earth that are likely chomping at the bit to open a trade route with VP.”
His eyes narrowed a little as he wrote in his ledger again, that infernal brass pen making notes I couldn’t see. “What guarantees can you give us that this will last? How can the U.N. be sure that in a month’s time this doesn’t blow up in our faces and we’re left with an old freighter, a diplomatic incident, and an empty bag?”
To my surprise Tarva spoke up on our behalf. “Christopher's Empathy test puts him in the top 5th percentile of those tested. Taisa has been searching for a job since she graduated, and from her application wants very much to avoid returning home for work, that coupled with Christopher’s registered work history and their obvious compatibility I think it unlikely the experiment will ‘blow up’ in the U.N.s face.”
Thomas’s eyebrows scowled, like his ledger insulted his mother. He laid his pen down with a sigh, “The U.N. Reserves the right at any time, during the period in which the debt for the ship has not yet been paid, to requisition cargo space. Christopher, you will be completing a mandatory course to bring your capabilities inline with UN or Venlil freight pilot standards, failure of this course is unacceptable.” He let the ultimatum hang in the air… then continued, “Taisa, you will be tested on how much of your education you have retained in your time since graduation, as well as your efficacy in this role. Finally: any and all damages, maintenance, modifications and or ‘personalizations’ made to the vessel, beyond what is required by both species’ workplace safety requirements, will be done at your own expense. The U.N. will not be liable for these costs.”
“These are the terms of our little venture. And they are non-negotiable. Do you accept?”
Taisa and I exchanged a quick glance before responding “Yes.” In unison.
“With that concluded, hard copies of your agreement will be provided shortly. You both begin your respective written portions tomorrow. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your ‘experiments’ results.” Thomas chuckled the last sentence, breaking the accountant’s stony demeanor, maybe he wasn’t that bad.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “So, that means…”
“That means you’re approved.” Tarva beeped, her tail swaying happily. “We of course will need to work out your overall flight training schedule, lodging and a business plan but we can handle that. My counterpart here will need to source a ship, but none of that should be particularly difficult. For now, congratulations on your acceptance into the Integration program!”
I thought for a moment, weighing the last few days in my head, if there was something I could lay my head down under each night it would be that brilliant twilight sky. “What about Heartwood? For lodging, I mean; Taisa’s family lives there. She says it's a small town but I’m sure something could get worked out. Could also help with introducing the people there to Humans!”
Tarva paused, her ears swiveling in thought. “I think that could be arranged, if I remember correctly there is a small shuttle port there. Although I do want to make sure that you understand: rural communities are likely to be less accepting of Human presence, you will be met with some degree of prejudice. You may not get the welcome you’re hoping for.”
Taisa spoke up before I could respond, one eye focused on me while her ears were directed towards Tarva. “I think the people of Heartwood would come around. It might take a bit but if anyone could get through to them it’ll be Chris.”
I smiled a little, looking over to Tarva. “I’ve never met a farmer I couldn’t charm! I’m willing to give it a go, just gotta avoid gettin’ torched, apparently.” For the first time, for the briefest moment, that seemed to set Tarva off balance; Taisa did mention that Exterminators were a sensitive subject.
“W-Wonderful!” Clearing her throat, she regained her composure, “In that case we’ll see what we can work out. I’ll make sure to include an extra form for you to fill out to request any personal belongings you need from home! For now, though, I think the two of you should get a good rest, you’ve both got busy paws tomorrow!” She beeped excitedly and her tail swayed happily as she turned to Thomas and began discussing the arrangement.
Taisa and I took the cue and rose from the table, headed out the door, and walked back to the room in silence until the door to our space closed behind us; both of us releasing heavy held breath as it did.
“I can not believe that worked.” Taisa said, her tail wagging as she wrapped her arms around me. “We’re going to actually have a ship… I’m actually going to get to do what I trained to do, what I want to do.” I returned the hug. “We’ll both get to do what we want, but first we’re gonna have to get through those tests.” She giggled a little, the joy at the prospect evident in her voice. “We’ve got this, together.”
Confident as ever. I pulled her into the hug a little tighter.
“Together.”
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