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I knew that it was in no way easy to have your child be in the NICU, but I didn’t understand fully at all until Monday when my water broke at 35 weeks and 5 days, after 17 hours of labor I delivered my beautiful baby boy. I only got to hold him for a few minutes before he was sent to the nicu.
I wanted to see him so badly that I lied about my epidural wearing off so i could go down to the nicu, there’s no words for how heartbreaking it is to see your baby hooked up to machines with wires and tubes hanging onto every part of their little body and knowing that there’s nothing you can do but wait. I can only see him for 30 minutes at a time, and when Im not down there I’m calling the nicu and watching him on his monitor or sending down what little milk I can produce.
My doctor is talking about discharging me tomorrow and I’ve just been sitting in my bed crying and praying that they find something wrong with me so i don’t have to leave him here more alone than he already is, i don’t understand how it doesn’t nearly kill her to do out dancing or whatever it is she does and swears it’s just a normal thing for parents to do… i just want to chain myself to his crib and tell everyone to just leave me alone…

TLDR: Next door neighbor wants me to be her BFF and won’t leave me alone.
I (F49) live in a townhouse that shares walls with neighbors on both sides. About a year and a half ago, one of the units sold and a woman moved in (F50), we’ll call her Sadie. For about a year things were fine. I would see her out walking her dog all the time and she was friendly and we always exchanged greetings. She seemed like someone that I had things in common with as we started chatting more, and one day about 6 months ago we both sort of invited each other to hang out and drink some wine.
Well I couldn’t have been more wrong about her. Sadie was looking for an instant BFF who she could drop in on at all hours of the day and talk for 90 minutes straight while vaping, chain smoking, and getting so high that she’s slurring. She chain smokes on her patio so I can no longer have my windows open because the smoke wafts my way. She pressures me to smoke pot, which I never do and have no interest in. She smells BAD, like cigarettes and rotten mouth. She talks endlessly about herself, long drawn out stories about the minutiae of her life. She is not my person. She doesn’t read, or watch movies, go to concerts, go hiking or biking, or do much of anything so I think she’s bored out of her skull most of the time. She’s one of those people that think smoking weed is a personality trait. She does do yoga, but that’s really her only hobby I guess.
I work full time and am also working on a Masters degree. I don’t have a lot of free time and her pop-ins last for hours. She is hard to get rid of, even if I tell her that I have to study. She’s so stoned it doesn’t register. I’m also an introvert, and sometimes I like to just watch a movie and eat dinner alone, but she can see directly into my house and takes this as an invitation to get super high and come over and hang out. This is not my thing, I don’t like sitting around doing nothing. My friends and I tend to see each other when we go hiking, or go to dinner, or a concert, but we rarely just sit around talking for hours on end. We’re active people and we live in a cool city near the mountains so there is so much to do.
Sadie is nice and I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but the usual boundary-setting cues aren’t working. She’s also my next door neighbor so a sour relationship with her would be tough. How do I manage this situation? What can I say to her that will get through? I’ve never had to sit someone down and lay out boundaries before so I’m very reluctant to do that because I fear how she will react. I wish we’d never become friends, I really just want her to leave me alone and give me space, she texts me to hang out every single day and it’s just exhausting. What can I do? I feel like I’ve started to draw my blinds closed and turn off the lights so she thinks I’m not here but this is not sustainable. This is my home, I want to live in it how I want without this woman knocking on my door when she can see me in my living room. Any advice would be appreciated!

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I’ll start off by saying my long time girlfriend is a Spanish citizen. I’ve visited her a few times, and she’s came to see me.
For a long time, since I’m older, we assumed we’d make a life in America due to my career being more developed. However, I live in the “Bible Belt” or the Midwest, and it’s becoming harder and harder as a queer woman to live here everyday. Not to mention all the trans laws being passed.
I have a BA in business and work in IT sales, but know that’s going to be nearly impossible for me to use abroad. So, I recently started taking a course on coding (LaunchCode) for Web Dev. Essentially, I’ll learn front and back end development .
The program has an apprenticeship here in the USA, but I’m curious to know if this will really help me make the move to the EU. My goal is to finish this course by March 2024, and be out of here before the next elections…
I know her and I could marry, or get the partner visa, but my real goal is to be marketable and employable.
Ps. I do speak a moderate level of Spanish and would speak more if I had more exposure.
I’d appreciate any insight!

Starting to think I’m screwed, but want to see if this is salvageable:
I’m at the Bop on Day 2 morning, playing as Abella, partied up with Marina and a (6 body lol) Karin. I would like to try and revisit old Prehevil to regroup and scavenge for supplies before attempting some D2 goals (recruiting Marcoh and Olivia and trying to put down Needles).
Problem is it looks like I’m stuck with the following options:

1. Go to western Prehevil through the sewers (risk getting wrecked by the big squad of rabid moonscorched I’ve only killed 1-2 of) and end up in the Deep Woods, which I really don’t wanna do right now.
   
2. Try to go south of the shopping district through the back alley and get immediately attacked by the mob and likely killed. I don’t really have the means to safely take them out without likely taking run-ending losses (zero heals atm).
   
3. Go northwest of the shopping district through the department store, but I feel underpowered for the challenges there.
   
4. I can’t seem to take the sewers back to the entrance near the lake close to the train because the water valve puzzle reset and I don’t think I can head back that way.
   

Anything I’m missing that might make my life easier or am I backed into a corner?

I've already completed my Level 1 in Baptiste Power Yoga (100-hr credits). Level 2 dates have yet to be posted and financially, I'm not able to actually pay for another training with travel and lodging costs.
My only other options to obtain the beloved 200-hrs seems to be by going to another training that is, in total, 200-hrs.
I have some certifications, and plan on attending a few more smaller events where the hours in total would bring me over 200, but I obviously wouldn't have the 200-hr completion certification from just one program. These certifications are in Trauma-Informed Yoga & (soon-to-be) one from TRIBE yoga (which focuses on the military population).
My goal is to teach a hot power flow to active-duty service members and veterans. I've been practicing for almost 13 years now (mostly hot power yoga) and have a significant amount of higher education experience in Psychology and Military Psychology. I live near a base, and have the connections to potentially work with these populations but want to do so from a yoga-validated place.
Best advice?
​
EDIT: I've also read more into how Baptiste Yoga can be a bit culty, so I'm not sure I want to continue down that route, even though it's how I got into my practice.

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I waited for something to happen. My knees bent and my eyes gazed across the dunes waiting to run. But beyond the sound of the swaying bell and the water trickling out to sea, everything was still.
“You know what’s happening?” I called out to Alessia, still monitoring the tops of the dunes.
Alessia paused, then huffed. “No. I see nothing.” I heard her take a few steps through the sand towards me. “That bell does nothing.”
I walked towards the guard, shouting so I’d be heard over the metal clanging next to his ear. “What’s happening? What’s the bell for?”
“All visitors must report to the council headquarters. You can find the council headquarters on the western side of the island.”
I let out a hot breath of anger and turned away. “We can sit here all day listening to the ringing or go somewhere else.”
Alessia cocked her head. “Maybe we should go find this council office. He seems keen on us going there.”
I rolled my eyes and began trudging back up the dune away from the small river and the alluring artefact behind us. I leaned my head down, concentrating on each step, watching my feet sink into the soft sand on every step, grains tumbling down the slope in my wake. Half-way through the grind, I glanced forward to see a man silhouetted in the bright light of the sun.
I squinted until I could make out the details. His face was lined with thick wrinkles, and he had a mop of loose grey curls that fell to the base of his neck. A loose beige shirt with sleeves too long for his arms hung loosely across his thin frame.
Stretching out a hand, I tapped Alessia on the shoulder. She stopped and looked up. “Can we help you?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present,” the man replied in a firm but croaky voice.
“Two representatives?” I looked between the man and the guard at the bottom of the dune. “It looks like we have that.” I pointed between them.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My eyes sealed shut with frustration. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”
He was silent for a second. Then, “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
“No. Sorry.” I leaned over and placed a hand on Alessia’s arm pulling her forward. “Done with this.” I turned slightly away from the man, cutting a path past him to the left.
He responded, pacing along the top of the dune to intercept us. He held out his arms so that the sleeves of his baggy shirt draped like a cloak “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I tensed my cheeks, ensuring they only opened so far as to not scream. “If it’s fine with you, we’re going to find someone who can actually speak.” I tried to walk around him, but he sidestepped to cut me off.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.” He glanced over our shoulders and nodded.
Turning, I could see a woman on the other side of the dune. She was younger, with short, clipped strawberry-blonde hair.
“Is she another representative? Can we talk now?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I raised my arms in protest. “There’s three of you now,” I shouted.
The man turned to his left and called out as loudly as his elderly lungs could. “Yamil, hurry up if you can. They’re getting restless.”
My eyes bulged. “So you can talk.”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My arms tensed and my hands wrung with anger as the man stood his ground in front of us.
“Just wait,” Alessia sighed, her shoulders slumped. “See what happens.”
We watched the woman descend the dunes, cross the stream, and then slowly climb the other side towards us. It was a long, awkward wait, watching her trudge through soft sands, the three of us standing in silence.
Finally, she got close enough for the man to exhale and his body relax. “Thank you for waiting. We need both members present to hold a conversation.”
“Why-“ I cut myself off. “Wait. There’s a body. A body down there. In the sand-“
“We know,” said the man in a calm but resigned tone.
“Who is it?” Alessia asked..
“The former guard,” the woman, Yamil, said as she arrived. “Few months ago a man arrived on the island and shot him. He wanted to get to the ship.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked to Alessia. “Sannaz?”
She nodded, turning to face the ship and the current guard, now returned to their relaxed position. “He’s been dead for months? Why didn’t you move him?”
“We couldn’t agree on what to do with him,” the man nodded calmly.
“Bury them? Cremate them?” I blinked rapidly. “Something?”
“The Council considered all those options.” The man gave the same accompanying nod. “But we couldn’t come to an agreement.”
“The Council?”
“There are ten villages on the island,” Yamil said, folding her arms. “Each one sends one person to the council.”
“And the council couldn’t decide on what to do with a dead body? So you just…” I looked back down at the patch of sand - too far away to make out the hand in any detail, but I was certain I could see the point where the bone poked through the surface. “…left him?”
“We took a vote.” The man turned to Yamil, checking for her confirmation. “Eight for burial, one for cremation, one for placing them in plain sight as a warning. That right?”
“Yes, Fidel.” Yamil replied.
My eyes narrowed, the brows meeting at the bridge of my nose. “Why didn’t you go with the vote?”
“We didn’t agree.” Fidel responded with equal confusion.
Yamil stepped in. “If we don’t all agree, then we don’t go ahead. Everyone has to agree.” Her face flinched slightly as she spoke.
“It’s the only way to stop the majority taking advantage of everyone. If we all have to agree then one-half can’t take advantage of the other half.” Fidel puffed his chest, recalling an old mantra.
I could feel a familiar heat in my veins, and I tried to temper it as I spoke. “You get together. You discuss something. And if any one of you disagrees, you do nothing.”
“Correct.” The nod seemed more enthusiastic.
“And you couldn’t tell us that till now because…?”
Yamil responded in a dour monotone. “Regular citizens aren’t allowed to speak to people from outside the island. They could do things or say things that would be only in their own interests.”
“What’s good for one person - what might even be good for the majority - can still harm some,” Fidel preached. “We must protect those who otherwise would have no voice. Here, everyone has a voice. Everyone is protected.”
I thought of the bones poking through the sand, but I said nothing.
Alessia let out a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. “So how come you can speak to us? Where’s the rest of the council?”
“We understand that at some point someone has to speak to outsiders,” Fidel said gruffly. “As long as two council members were present to witness, we could provide outsiders with information.”
I pushed the oddities from my mind, trying to refocus. “Does that mean you can give us access to the ship?”
Yamil shook her head. “That would require a council vote.”
“And agreement from all ten of them?” Alessia added.
Yamil nodded.
Alessia sucked air between her teeth. “We’re trying to track down the man who killed that guard. Your guard. Your own citizen. We’ll take nothing, cause no damage. We’re just trying to stop-”
“You’ll need council approval,” Fidel interrupted.
“How do we get that?”
Yamil looked to Fidel and wrinkled her nose. “I’ll get word out to the eastern side if you send people to the north. Get them together tomorrow night?”
Fidel bowed his head. “Agreed.”
“Tomorrow?” The words left my mouth tasting of relief.
“Around sunset.” Yamil smiled. “Put your case to the council. If all ten approve, then you can go ahead.”
“And if one says no?” Alessia asked, pulling back one side of her mouth.
Yamil let out a small chuckle. “Then bad luck.”
——————————————————————————
We returned to the boat and waited. We watched as the sun pushed across the sky, fell, and rose again. All the while, in the distance, that vessel loomed over us, calling me like a beacon.
Some connection to Sannaz was right there. Though, I also knew that something else pulled me towards that boat. The connection to the old world.
I spent the day staring at the ancient boat the way a child might study a present, trying to figure out its contents and its purpose from the outside, knowing I would always have to wait till it was unwrapped.
As evening came we trekked across the island to our appointment. The headquarters looked like a large barn: two storeys tall, and no longer than the length of Alessia’s boat. There were no signs outside, no lavish windows, no murals. Just two large wooden doors the same colour as the walls.
The inside was the same four wooden walls surrounding a stone floor. Looking up, I could see the evening sky through thin cracks in the woods. Near the far end, a couple of planks had half-rotted away, their ends broken off. Thin strands of wood dangled above the floor revealing a perfect window to the arriving starscape. Below the spot, there was a darkened patch of the stone where a decade of rain water had left a permanent stain.
“Welcome,” said Fidel, noticing us enter. “Please, have a seat.” He pointed to a patch of dusty stone floor to his left.
The rest of the council sat in a circle. There were no seats. Some sat on the floor, one or two had brought cushions with them, another sat on an upturned log.
As we joined, Fidel began the meeting. “All ten council members are here. Yotese Over Haven was founded on the principle that all islanders from all ten villages are equal in power. No one should be compelled to go along with anything they do not approve of. We move as one or not at all.” He lowered his head and looked around the circle. “As per the guidelines we’ll open the floor for discussion topics before we move to dignitary business. Are there any proposals?”
One woman raised her hand slowly. “I’d like to propose sending a group to look into trading with Eglowe Needles. They may be in need of timber and we have plenty.”
“You do,” I heard Yamil mutter under her breath. The room ignored her.
“Very well,” Fidel replied. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.” Seven hands went up. Three stayed down.
“No consensus,” Fidel announced. “Next.”
Yamil raised an arm like a bolt. “I’d like to rediscuss repairs to the southern village.”
A few of the circle sighed. One man groaned.
“Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight went up.
“No consensus.”
Yamil’s hand immediately raised again. “In that case I’d like to rediscuss the replacement of livestock in the Southern village.” The words were fast, repeated to instinct.
“Again?” one man moaned.
Yamil’s eyes bulged in his direction, reaching out to attack. “Yes. And I’ll keep proposing it until we discuss it.”
Fidel held up a palm to try and calm the mood. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight hands raised. Yamil stared at the detractors, her head shaking from side to side, biting her lip.
“No consensus. Any other proposals?”
The room went quiet, stewing in the uneasy and dusty air.
Fidel seemed to count in his head until enough time had passed. “Very well. As was agreed by this council thirty-three years ago, dignitaries of foreign nations do not need to propose a topic and can present to the council. Therefore, I would like to ask our guests to speak.”
I stood up, unsure of the correct protocol, and nodded to the council members. Then, piece by piece, I laid out our story. We believed the ship would help us find a dangerous man, a man who had already attacked three islands and could hurt many more, a man who had already murdered one of their own. I tried to keep my voice passive, keep my own losses - Lachlann, Thomas - out of the story. Keep to what was pertinent to the room, not to me.
Fidel nodded and took a deep breath. “Those who wish to open the floor to questions, raise your hands.”
A smattering of hands raised. Maybe half. Too few.
“No consensus. Then we move to the vote. Those in favor of granting access to the ship raise your hand.”
I watched as hands raised. Yamil gave a limp raise of her arm quickly. Fidel followed slowly, but with a straight elbow. One by one I could see the machinations of those on the fence eventually lift their hand to the sky. Then I looked to the woman to my left. Her head was lowered, her hands in her lap. She didn’t move.
Then across the circle I saw Yamil lower her hand. “I withdraw my vote,” she said.
“What?” I called out. “You invited us here.”
“I’m going to ask you to remain silent during voting.” Fidel spoke calmly, looking round the circle. “Eight for. Two against. No consensus.”
“We need to get in there,” I interrupted. “People’s lives could be in danger.”
“The matter has been discussed,” Fidel waved his arm dismissively. He returned to a more formal voice. “The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for coming everyone.”
“No. Please. Vote again.”
“We voted. There was no consensus.”
“Eight of you said we could go. Yamil was fine too to start with, that’s nine.”
“There was no consensus.” Fidel repeated slowly, as though I had merely not understood.
“Can’t you use some common sense? At least give us an explanation.” I could feel Aslessia place a hand on my arm, pulling me away. I shirked it off.
“There was no consensus.”
I walked towards Fidel, getting in his eyeline. “What now then? What are we supposed to do?”
“Now?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You leave.”
previous chapter / contents / patreon

I come with following pros and cons
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• I'll flood your chat with memes and music recommendations
• Emotional support, mental support, advice you want it, you got it
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• Solid roast to flirt ratio
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That's all I can think of right now, if you need anything else feel free to ask :)
Cons:

• I feel like I have lost my social skills so it's gonna take some time for us to build that friendship, so please bear with me

It's been a year of sleepless nights, anxiety, and constant hard work, but I am finally launching my business! I poured my heart and soul into building this B2B data platform from scratch with the help of two dedicated developers. As a 23-year-old founder, I took a leap of faith and invested nearly $80,000 from a previous startup exit into building out the algorithms behind this product. Our system truly revolutionizes the way you find B2B relationships by identifying (and clustering) relationships between organizations, their media mentions and more using machine learning rather than using stale databases like our competitors.
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I waited for something to happen. My knees bent and my eyes gazed across the dunes waiting to run. But beyond the sound of the swaying bell and the water trickling out to sea, everything was still.
“You know what’s happening?” I called out to Alessia, still monitoring the tops of the dunes.
Alessia paused, then huffed. “No. I see nothing.” I heard her take a few steps through the sand towards me. “That bell does nothing.”
I walked towards the guard, shouting so I’d be heard over the metal clanging next to his ear. “What’s happening? What’s the bell for?”
“All visitors must report to the council headquarters. You can find the council headquarters on the western side of the island.”
I let out a hot breath of anger and turned away. “We can sit here all day listening to the ringing or go somewhere else.”
Alessia cocked her head. “Maybe we should go find this council office. He seems keen on us going there.”
I rolled my eyes and began trudging back up the dune away from the small river and the alluring artefact behind us. I leaned my head down, concentrating on each step, watching my feet sink into the soft sand on every step, grains tumbling down the slope in my wake. Half-way through the grind, I glanced forward to see a man silhouetted in the bright light of the sun.
I squinted until I could make out the details. His face was lined with thick wrinkles, and he had a mop of loose grey curls that fell to the base of his neck. A loose beige shirt with sleeves too long for his arms hung loosely across his thin frame.
Stretching out a hand, I tapped Alessia on the shoulder. She stopped and looked up. “Can we help you?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present,” the man replied in a firm but croaky voice.
“Two representatives?” I looked between the man and the guard at the bottom of the dune. “It looks like we have that.” I pointed between them.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My eyes sealed shut with frustration. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”
He was silent for a second. Then, “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
“No. Sorry.” I leaned over and placed a hand on Alessia’s arm pulling her forward. “Done with this.” I turned slightly away from the man, cutting a path past him to the left.
He responded, pacing along the top of the dune to intercept us. He held out his arms so that the sleeves of his baggy shirt draped like a cloak “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I tensed my cheeks, ensuring they only opened so far as to not scream. “If it’s fine with you, we’re going to find someone who can actually speak.” I tried to walk around him, but he sidestepped to cut me off.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.” He glanced over our shoulders and nodded.
Turning, I could see a woman on the other side of the dune. She was younger, with short, clipped strawberry-blonde hair.
“Is she another representative? Can we talk now?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I raised my arms in protest. “There’s three of you now,” I shouted.
The man turned to his left and called out as loudly as his elderly lungs could. “Yamil, hurry up if you can. They’re getting restless.”
My eyes bulged. “So you can talk.”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My arms tensed and my hands wrung with anger as the man stood his ground in front of us.
“Just wait,” Alessia sighed, her shoulders slumped. “See what happens.”
We watched the woman descend the dunes, cross the stream, and then slowly climb the other side towards us. It was a long, awkward wait, watching her trudge through soft sands, the three of us standing in silence.
Finally, she got close enough for the man to exhale and his body relax. “Thank you for waiting. We need both members present to hold a conversation.”
“Why-“ I cut myself off. “Wait. There’s a body. A body down there. In the sand-“
“We know,” said the man in a calm but resigned tone.
“Who is it?” Alessia asked..
“The former guard,” the woman, Yamil, said as she arrived. “Few months ago a man arrived on the island and shot him. He wanted to get to the ship.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked to Alessia. “Sannaz?”
She nodded, turning to face the ship and the current guard, now returned to their relaxed position. “He’s been dead for months? Why didn’t you move him?”
“We couldn’t agree on what to do with him,” the man nodded calmly.
“Bury them? Cremate them?” I blinked rapidly. “Something?”
“The Council considered all those options.” The man gave the same accompanying nod. “But we couldn’t come to an agreement.”
“The Council?”
“There are ten villages on the island,” Yamil said, folding her arms. “Each one sends one person to the council.”
“And the council couldn’t decide on what to do with a dead body? So you just…” I looked back down at the patch of sand - too far away to make out the hand in any detail, but I was certain I could see the point where the bone poked through the surface. “…left him?”
“We took a vote.” The man turned to Yamil, checking for her confirmation. “Eight for burial, one for cremation, one for placing them in plain sight as a warning. That right?”
“Yes, Fidel,” Yamil replied.
My eyes narrowed, the brows meeting at the bridge of my nose. “Why didn’t you go with the vote?”
“We didn’t agree,” Fidel responded with equal confusion.
Yamil stepped in. “If we don’t all agree, then we don’t go ahead. Everyone has to agree.” Her face flinched slightly as she spoke.
“It’s the only way to stop the majority taking advantage of everyone. If we all have to agree then one-half can’t take advantage of the other half.” Fidel puffed his chest, recalling an old mantra.
I could feel a familiar heat in my veins, and I tried to temper it as I spoke. “You get together. You discuss something. And if any one of you disagrees, you do nothing.”
“Correct.” The nod seemed more enthusiastic.
“And you couldn’t tell us that till now because…?”
Yamil responded in a dour monotone. “Regular citizens aren’t allowed to speak to people from outside the island. They could do things or say things that would be only in their own interests.”
“What’s good for one person - what might even be good for the majority - can still harm some,” Fidel preached. “We must protect those who otherwise would have no voice. Here, everyone has a voice. Everyone is protected.”
I thought of the bones poking through the sand, but I said nothing.
Alessia let out a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. “So how come you can speak to us? Where’s the rest of the council?”
“We understand that at some point someone has to speak to outsiders,” Fidel said gruffly. “As long as two council members were present to witness, we could provide outsiders with information.”
I pushed the oddities from my mind, trying to refocus. “Does that mean you can give us access to the ship?”
Yamil shook her head. “That would require a council vote.”
“And agreement from all ten of them?” Alessia added.
Yamil nodded.
Alessia sucked air between her teeth. “We’re trying to track down the man who killed that guard. Your guard. Your own citizen. We’ll take nothing, cause no damage. We’re just trying to stop-”
“You’ll need council approval,” Fidel interrupted.
“How do we get that?”
Yamil looked to Fidel and wrinkled her nose. “I’ll get word out to the eastern side if you send people to the north. Get them together tomorrow night?”
Fidel bowed his head. “Agreed.”
“Tomorrow?” The words left my mouth tasting of relief.
“Around sunset.” Yamil smiled. “Put your case to the council. If all ten approve, then you can go ahead.”
“And if one says no?” Alessia asked, pulling back one side of her mouth.
Yamil let out a small chuckle. “Then bad luck.”
——————————————————————————
We returned to the boat and waited. We watched as the sun pushed across the sky, fell, and rose again. All the while, in the distance, that vessel loomed over us, calling me like a beacon.
Some connection to Sannaz was right there. Though, I also knew that something else pulled me towards that boat. The connection to the old world.
I spent the day staring at the ancient boat the way a child might study a present, trying to figure out its contents and its purpose from the outside, knowing I would always have to wait till it was unwrapped.
As evening came we trekked across the island to our appointment. The headquarters looked like a large barn: two storeys tall, and no longer than the length of Alessia’s boat. There were no signs outside, no lavish windows, no murals. Just two large wooden doors the same colour as the walls.
The inside was the same four wooden walls surrounding a stone floor. Looking up, I could see the evening sky through thin cracks in the woods. Near the far end, a couple of planks had half-rotted away, their ends broken off. Thin strands of wood dangled above the floor revealing a perfect window to the arriving starscape. Below the spot, there was a darkened patch of the stone where a decade of rainwater had left a permanent stain.
“Welcome,” said Fidel, noticing us enter. “Please, have a seat.” He pointed to a patch of dusty stone floor to his left.
The rest of the council sat in a circle. There were no seats. Some sat on the floor, one or two had brought cushions with them, another sat on an upturned log.
As we joined, Fidel began the meeting. “All ten council members are here. Yotese Over Haven was founded on the principle that all islanders from all ten villages are equal in power. No one should be compelled to go along with anything they do not approve of. We move as one or not at all.” He lowered his head and looked around the circle. “As per the guidelines we’ll open the floor for discussion topics before we move to dignitary business. Are there any proposals?”
One woman raised her hand slowly. “I’d like to propose sending a group to look into trading with Eglowe Needles. They may be in need of timber and we have plenty.”
“You do,” I heard Yamil mutter under her breath. The room ignored her.
“Very well,” Fidel replied. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.” Seven hands went up. Three stayed down.
“No consensus,” Fidel announced. “Next.”
Yamil raised an arm like a bolt. “I’d like to rediscuss repairs to the southern village.”
A few of the circle sighed. One man groaned.
“Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight went up.
“No consensus.”
Yamil’s hand immediately raised again. “In that case I’d like to rediscuss the replacement of livestock in the Southern village.” The words were fast, repeated to instinct.
“Again?” one man moaned.
Yamil’s eyes bulged in his direction, reaching out to attack. “Yes. And I’ll keep proposing it until we discuss it.”
Fidel held up a palm to try and calm the mood. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight hands raised. Yamil stared at the detractors, her head shaking from side to side, biting her lip.
“No consensus. Any other proposals?”
The room went quiet, stewing in the uneasy and dusty air.
Fidel seemed to count in his head until enough time had passed. “Very well. As was agreed by this council thirty-three years ago, dignitaries of foreign nations do not need to propose a topic and can present to the council. Therefore, I would like to ask our guests to speak.”
I stood up, unsure of the correct protocol, and nodded to the council members. Then, piece by piece, I laid out our story. We believed the ship would help us find a dangerous man, a man who had already attacked three islands and could hurt many more, a man who had already murdered one of their own. I tried to keep my voice passive, keep my own losses - Lachlann, Thomas - out of the story. Keep to what was pertinent to the room, not to me.
Fidel nodded and took a deep breath. “Those who wish to open the floor to questions, raise your hands.”
A smattering of hands raised. Maybe half. Too few.
“No consensus. Then we move to the vote. Those in favor of granting access to the ship raise your hand.”
I watched as hands raised. Yamil gave a limp raise of her arm quickly. Fidel followed slowly, but with a straight elbow. One by one I could see the machinations of those on the fence eventually lift their hand to the sky. Then I looked to the woman to my left. Her head was lowered, her hands in her lap. She didn’t move.
Then across the circle I saw Yamil lower her hand. “I withdraw my vote,” she said.
“What?” I called out. “You invited us here.”
“I’m going to ask you to remain silent during voting.” Fidel spoke calmly, looking round the circle. “Eight for. Two against. No consensus.”
“We need to get in there,” I interrupted. “People’s lives could be in danger.”
“The matter has been discussed,” Fidel waved his arm dismissively. He returned to a more formal voice. “The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for coming everyone.”
“No. Please. Vote again.”
“We voted. There was no consensus.”
“Eight of you said we could go. Yamil was fine too to start with, that’s nine.”
“There was no consensus.” Fidel repeated slowly, as though I had merely not understood.
“Can’t you use some common sense? At least give us an explanation.” I could feel Aslessia place a hand on my arm, pulling me away. I shirked it off.
“There was no consensus.”
I walked towards Fidel, getting in his eyeline. “What now then? What are we supposed to do?”
“Now?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You leave.”

Some people like cooking and eating at home with their family. Other people like eating at restaurants. Where do you prefer to eat? Explain your answer.
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I prefer to eat at home for various reasons. I like to eat at home because when you eat at home, and you cook the things that you eat, you know exactly what you are eating.
I don’t particularly like cooking, in fact I eat simple and plain foods for the most. I have a lactose intolerance and general acid reflux problems. For this reason, I have to be really careful about what I eat. I have to make sure I’m eating healthy and lactose-free food everyday.
Being lactose-intolerant and having digestive problems may sound depressing because it strips you of one of the simplest forms of happiness: food.
Nevertheless, I personally think this is a blessing in disguise. It forces me to make sure I’m eating healthily all the time and this improves my overall health. My body is athletic thanks to these two conditions too after all.
Although I usually eat at home, eating outside a couple of times a month isn’t too bad. Especially if you know you eat well most of the time, indulging in some junk food can feel well-deserved and stress-releasing.
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Write to a student in another country describing an adventure that you had.
Hey Mark, I’m pleased to meet you. You asked me to tell you about one adventure I had, so I’d like to tell you about that one time I went to Mater with my friends.
It was my birthday and I hadn’t planned anything. So we decided we’d go on a road trip to Matera.
Matera is known as “La citta’ dei sassi”. You’re supposed to walk around the old-looking town, looking at all the old monuments and buildings that are scattered around the town.
We didn’t know what to visit so, once there, we opted for a hike. There was a large ravine at the edge of the town. We decided to go down there and march our way up to the opposite edge of the ravine. It was surprisingly tiring and many people were doing the same thing (to our surprise, none of them were Italian!).
Being “young and wild” we decided to go on a hike on the 15th of June at 12 a.m. and that resulted in all of us running out of bottled water.
One fun fact I remember about that hike, is when we reached one of the caves near the top of the other edge. There were three girls in a spacious cave and they were smoking weed.
The lengths people go to smoke weed without being caught huh?
All in all, it was an amazing experience.

I hope this is the right place to ask this question, if not can someone please tell me where to post?
My husband and I adopted a 3 year old Collie Shepard mix about 3 weeks ago. She seems to be a very shy girl indoors so we gave her her own little room in our laundry room since we don't use it. Her bed is off to the side in her room where she doesn't have to see us everytime we walk by (wanted her to have her own safe space). The first week she wouldn't move from her bed. The second week she would come to the door of her room but if we approached her or said anything like "hey girl" or 'hey Eevie" she would go back to her bed where we couldn't see her. We stopped approaching her and would only say "hey girl" to her and by the third week she would wag her tail and stay by her door instead of going to her room. Well 2 or 3 days ago I took her bed to wash it and she was of course sad she didn't have her bed. After it was washed I gave it back to her and since then she doesn't come to the door anymore when we come near it. I do want to add that outside she is a completely different dog. she gets zoomies and plays nonstop. I'm wondering if we should take her bed out of that room. I don't want her to feel as though she has to stay in there. She doesn't play with us or come around us indoors. We have noticed that she appears to explore the downstairs during the night since in the morning we find shoes in her bed that were left by the backdoor or living room. When she would come to the door wagging her tail she'll let us pet her but that's it. Outside she rolls over to let us rub her tummy and jumps on us and runs around and everything else. I do know with adopted dogs they take time to get use to the new environment and people. Does anyone have advice on how to make her feel more welcome? We've been giving her treats and food by hand to show her we mean no harm but she takes it from our hand and politely sits it on the ground and eats it when we leave. She we move her bed? just wait? We play so much with her outside and as soon as we get inside... nothing. I'm just most concerned that we're accidentally conditioning her to stay in her room.

I feel so dumb. I’m so lucky in so many ways. Dupixent is available to me, (right now) my insurance is good enough that I can afford it, and it works well. But it is stressing me out to the point of panic attacks. My fridge varies wildly in temperature, randomly drops below freezing on the lowest setting. Also I’ve been on this medicine for six months and only once has the delivery gone smoothly. I’ve dealt with delays, problems with the tracking number, one time the pharmacy shipped it a day earlier than scheduled. Last month the FedEx guy left the delivery outside my door when it requires a signature. I don’t even get regular packages delivered to my door because they will get stolen. Luckily I noticed in time and brought it in, but tracking still indicated Out for Delivery. It was marked as Signed For two hours later. Called FedEx, apparently the guy forged my signature. So now I am sitting at home, anxiously waiting to see what problems will arise with today’s delivery.
Does anyone else have problems? Any solutions? I could talk to my GP about anxiety I guess but I don’t get panic attacks about anything else. Any suggestions on storing it at least? I can’t get a new fridge because I rent my apartment. Landlord won’t replace it. I thought about a mini fridge but I worry those might be even more unreliable.
I am sorry for venting. Today hopefully I get my medicine and the very worst part is over until next month.

Newbie question here but Reddit has always been great for getting great advice on things like this.
I'm starting to feel like I have too many copies of the same layers stored in multiple places and am wondering what I need to start implementing to avoid this.
I work for a small local government in public works and we're implementing an asset management system that uses GIS as a main part of its interface. The problem I'm starting to run into is that I'm beginning to have to manage and update multiple copies of the same layers and it's introducing a ton of room for error.
We essentially have layers in three places right now, In folders stored in our local GIS network drive, in AGOL, and on our enterprise GIS server. The layers in AGOL are being used for web apps, mobile data collection, and dashboards, the layers in our local drive are used for general analysis, map creation, the usual GIS work, and our enterprise server hosts services that we use for third-party software such as permitting data and now asset management data.
The main problem I'm having is making updates to the layers in one place and needing to update layers in the other locations. We have asset information in AGOL such as reclaimed water infrastructure and utility layers that are being updated by field crews and myself based on construction documents, those same layers are being periodically copied and sent to the new asset management software layers hosted on our enterprise server since the third-party software can't grab layers directly from ArcGIS Online without them being publicly shared.
It feels like there should be a way to have these layers pointing to the same underlying source data but I've had no luck so far. Is this where the idea of setting up enterprise geodatabases comes in? We have SQL Server running and I could theoretically create an enterprise geodatabase there but I'm not sure that can be shared "live" to AGOL. I need to read up on where EGDB makes sense to use, I don't quite understand the use yet.
Any thoughts from the many people in this sub reddit that are much better than me at this are greatly appreciated!
TIA.

I remember having an argument with my ex and noticed his pupils were extremely large. This made me very scared and I started having delusions that he was tripping or trying to forget about me. Not sure how I came to this conclusion but it angered me even more and I yelled and said that his eyes were freaking me out. We’ve been broken up for over two years now but I still think about him a lot and I learnt today that dilated pupils means that someone is actually deeply in love with/struck by you and learning that made me feel so upset with my past self for not toning down the anger. I think I really shattered my ex’s heart at some stage and him breaking up with me was likely not nearly as bad as the things I put him through during our relationship. And I will regret this for probably as long as I live :/

Hey all! I’ve started my Canada visa application. They say I need to give me biometrics within 30 days of starting the application. I don’t see any available appointments near me in Seattle. What options do I have? Can I try walking in?
Thanks!

Hi! We are getting married in November and I am looking for some ideas for wedding bands that will fit with my style ring. A “regular” wedding band doesn’t sit flush against my engagement ring, so I think I will need a curved/contoured/chevron style band. Can you please either share pictures of your rings if you’ve had a similar problem, or give me some suggestions on styles that would look good please?
The store we got the ring from has some I can look at, but I wanted to get some ideas here too. Please and thanks

I made a piece for my parents. I originally had it on evertite stretcher bars and took it off because I need to keep the evertites
It was tightly mounted on the bars, and when I took it off, it's bunched a little.
I'm trying to mount it on regular stretchers so I can have it framed but I can't get it to be smooth and perfect like it was on the original stretchers.
It is an 8.5x11 piece of silk with a tightly woven backing fabric to give it more strength while I was sewing.
Initially, I was just going to mount the silk part and trim the backing fabric, but it doesn't seem to be strong enough to get the stretch back without the backing, so I rebacked it with some heavyweight muslin. I initially attached the trimmed backing to the muslin, then separately attached the silk.
I'm not sure if that was the right way to do it or not. and because it was "too tight" on the frames and now has the bunching because it's not under tension anymore, could maybe cutting the backing fabric help?
Please someone help me. I have tried to find someone to mount it for me professionally, but I can't find anyone, it's a 50th wedding anniversary gift for my parents (now over a year late LOL) I currently hate it because of the non-smooth appearance but I want to love it.
If there's a company/service that will professionally mount/frame embroidery, I'm very willing to pay as well, I just want it fixed without ruining it more.

My gf and I live in the UK and have been together for 2 years. Last year we went on our first holiday abroad together and it was really fun. Before the holiday we had different ideas of the type of holiday we'd like. I preferred more city holiday where we could have a look around somewhere but my gf preferred beach holiday where we do nothing and just relax. I didn't like the idea of this since I don't see the point of going abroad just to relax it seems like a waste of money to me when you can do it at home. We compromised slightly and went to a city with a beach but still spent some time looking around and a few days at the beach. When we got back my gf admitted a city break will be better and she's starting to see beach holidays as boring. We both made a list of places we'd like to visit in the future and we noticed there was a lot of overlap between the places we'd chosen.
We had decided to focus on somewhere fairly cheap this year since ou budget isn't a lot and said as we progress in our careers we'll be able ot take more expensive vacations. One thing that appealed to us was going to a couple of cheap places in one trip so we looked at our lists and picked one from mine and one from my gf's that were closeby and noticed a city on both lists was in the middle so we decided to visit all 3 in one vacation over 10-11 days. We have been planning tis since November last year and had both picked out activities to do during the trip.
We were supposed to book everything last weekend but when it came to it my gf just said no we're not doing that I'd prefer a relaxing holiday near a beach and started looking at beach resorts. I asked her what was going on since we'd had this planned for months and she just said she'd changed her mind. I told her decisions like this we need to discuss and she just didn't respond. I pointed out the trips she was looking at were too expensive anyway since I'm not willing to increase my budget for the trip.
Anytime I tried to compromise and suggest somewhere else she'd just say no without even looking. She kept showing me places that just looked so boring for me since I don't see the appeal in paying a lot of money to just do nothing for a week. I ended up just stopping looking at the places she'd picked and she asked if I was angry. I told her yeah I as since she let me get excited for a trip that it's clear now she had no intention of going on and now expects me to just be fine with somewhere she picks. I pointed out it's supposed to be a joint decision yet she seems to think it should be her picking it. She just walked out and said fine looks like we're not going away then.
Later in the night she said I was being unfair and she was only trying to find a nice holiday for us. I mentioned that we'd had a nice holiday planned that we both agreed to and now she's just trying to find one for herself and expecting me to just agree when she knows my thoughts on the type of holidays she's suggesting. I said if we actually want to go away we need to find a compromise since there's no way I'm spending a week just laying by a pool or on beach and she clearly doesn't want to actually look around anywhere for the full holiday and she just said if we go away it has to be a relaxing holiday. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this since I've tried to compromise by looking at other places but it hasn't gotten me anywhere?
tl;dr my and my gf had a nice holiday planned then when it came time to pay for everything she cancelled and decided she'd rather do a different type of holiday instead despite me saying that type of holiday does not appeal to me and refuses to compromise. Does anyone have any advice?

So, my wife and are having to move next weekend. We got wk2 el dorado tickets and are still attending. Thankfully we are moving far from our current place but have missed the cutoff deadline. I called AXS yesterday and the lady was super helpful and kinda calmed my ass down and said tickets will ship by 4/1 (moving weekend. lol. Anyways, have some questions for my people regarding ticket delivery/ will call.
1.) AXS said tickets could be intercepted once tracking number is given. I.e: told to go to ups store,etc. Is this true?
2.)will call: I have never had to do will call before. Is it best to show up the day before (Wednesday)?
Sorry if these have been answered. I’m stressing the hell out cause I’m a person that is always prepared and organized for shit. Not having the tickets and needing to move are not helping me out. Been to 8 Coachellas and have never had to go through this.