So im about to turn 26 years and have no idea what I want to do with my life. I've been good with money and worked menial jobs this whole time. I invested in crypto at a young age and managed to take advantage of the boom in 2021, I now have nearly 80K just sitting around in the bank and a stupid dodge challenger I got out of impulse.
But 0 credit. No direction in life. And i promise I'm not a lazy person by nature but I've become complacent and feel like I'm just so stuck.
I got so many friends and people in my life who are on a path of some sort and seem so much happier than me even if they are madly in debt or living paycheque to paycheque. (I live in alberta and everyone's making bank in the oilfield) and I've tried that too. But always lose interest. I could go on so much more about reasons why I'm flabbergasted, but honestly. I don't know where to even begin at this point. I don't want to slave away at a tough labor job that I hate & I've always dreamed of being retired by 40 tops. So I feel pressure if that makes any sense.
(If it isn't obvious already I suffer major anxiety and depression, & all that hoo hah. So making important choices gives me an anuerism) so a clear answer will likely never come to me on my own.
What would you do? I'm genuinely so curious.

Now lets see why is crypto works with gaming first. Because adoption of crypto coin enable players different option to pay, and not get stuck with only banking / cards. Also this can be a side / extra generative income without having effect on the game itself. For example let say a famous game now enbable users to use crpyto to buy skin pack. It wont effect the game in any way, and it might even generate extra buys especially to gamers who won crypto. So my perspective is, if some AAA+ gaming company open their door to crypto purchase, it will push their sales figure to even higher ground. Do note that in crpyto i mean existing crpyto like bitcoin. Not these company created a new cpin instead or some newly created coins that's been pushed up by influencers.
Im stil crossing my fingers to finally see which of these extreme big coorporation will open up their door for crpyto payment.
Also as a side note, there are actually companies that accept crypto payment but need some workaround, where you exchange them in another site for point then can straight uses it in game. This actually did contribute to rise of some crypto but maybe it went less notice.
Now on why is NFT is not suitable on Gaming for now. With the current evolution / process of NFT, it is not a viable option nor a good option for established games. First, yes, there are huge percentage of gamers that love skins, and things to beautify their portfolio even weapon. But that's not all. The most important thing in game is the experience itself.
Lets put it this way. I like game. I like to buy skin in these games. Also i like the time I spend on these games, the friends I've talked to, the experience i had for these couple hours while enjoying it.
Now what happen when NFT enters the market? NFT in general is pushed towards traders, collectors, and how many of these people actually play game? If say the numbers of these skin are 10000, these traders will buy up to atleast half of them leaving smaller number for gamers.
Even if there will be requirement to say owner of these NFT need to have at least 10 game session before transferring it out, which I don't think os applicable it won't work.
Let's put it this way. It's a football real world match. You are scoring a penalty. Then ur teammate comes at you and said, "hey i like your NFT, how much you gonna sell?"
You answered "im here for the game can i please get this penalty first, and you should get back to ur position"
The other person replied "you know what, i dun even know how to play, so should i pick the ball up and throw in the goal"
Yes it might seems exaggerated, but this is what will happen when a non gamer enter the gamer scene especially in a competitive games like Dota style/Cs style.
It ruins the game as a whole. An even better example is when a game specifically launched just for the purpose of acquiring NFT. Why most of them went belly up is because ppl were there to invest. But a game needs real player who spends time on it. Now whos gonna play in a game where all you do it log in?
My perspective atleast at the current progress is NFT is 100% bad if forcefully added to existing game, but opening up on site crypto purchase for in game items will be absolutely great.

Hi. Firstly, let me say that I'm F playing M (bottom) and I am welcome to any gender who is also willing to play M (top). Some people aren't into that and I want to be transparent.
I have a couple ideas that have been burning in the back of my mind lately involving a world akin to the movie Luca, but with a dark twist. Fair warning, I absolutely want to do nsfw, but I want to build up to it slowly. I want to be INVESTED in their relationship, I want our characters to go through angst and drama and awkward confessions, the good stuff! And I'd love to incorporate any ideas you may have into the world as well if it fits.
Before I get to the scenario ideas I had, I wanted to lay out the basics of the world. The creatures involved have been given many names by humans. Sirens, merfolk, sea monsters... but the creatures themselves call their kind "lochni." Humans had only discovered their kind in the 2 decades, and as most humans tend to, the general consensus was the fear of the unknown. They're monsters. Sharp teeth, claws, a strength that surpassed most humans... so humans did what humans did best. They killed.
Not all humans. There were some small countries or isolated island communities that welcomed the merfolk into their population, but for most of the world the hunting of lochni was legal, and in fact, could pay out a pretty penny. Lochni tended to come in bright, vibrant colors, making their skins sought after from everything from loch-skin rugs to designer scale fashion.
Furthermore, with having only recently been discovered, many marine biologists received government backing to study the impending threat. There is always a need. And where there is a need, there is a supplier. Poachers patrol the waters for lost stragglers who'd be easy catches. Big enough ships go bolder, raking their nets through undersea communities and taking whatever is caught. Man. Woman. Child. It all pays.
The oceans arent their only hunting grounds though. Its a known fact that lochni bodies transform once their scales dry, turning human. Most places welcomed the poachers with open arms, encouraging them to find these monsters in disguise living among them at any means necessary. But for those small few communities that lived with the lochni, they weren't welcome.
/////
Idea 1
Human(T) x lochni(b) taboo. Your character is a human. He falls into the water and nearly drowns when he becomes tangled in the loose docking rope towing behind his still sailing boat. My character, a lochni, cuts the rope with his claws, effectively saving YC's life before disappearing back into the ocean. Days later YC is sailing through a tough storm when he somehow manages to see a figure through the rain and churning waves. It's the same lochni that saved him days prior. His unconscious and battered body was draped over jutting rocks in the shallows of a small sand bank. He decides its time to repay the favor and pull him aboard.
After taking him home YC does his best to provide amature medical care. The broken leg his splinted and his torn fins are bandaged down against his arms to hopefully heal. But when the morning after the storm comes, he opens the spare room to find no sea monster in the guest bed, but a human. A feisty, stubborn human who refuses to stay off his broken leg or let him help him in any way shape or form. Suddenly he is in charge of an ungrateful brat who seems dead set on returning to the ocean with a broken leg and damaged fins.
/////
Idea 2
They're both lochnis. Theyve known each other for a long time. Maybe they're friends, maybe they're rivals, but there's definitely nothing romantic between them, at first at least. But after being captured and taken to an experimental facility they grow close in their joint captivity, leaning on each other for support and waiting for the day the humans in their clean white coats slip up and they can escape. But it takes months. Maybe even a year? They've both been put through so much, put through borderline torture to the point they were both weak and submissive to any demands their captors give them. But that's what makes the white coats lower their guard. Together, they escape back into the ocean, but they'd never be able to escape what they've been put through.
But then what? They've grown romantically close, having trauma bonded inside the facility. Unlike humans, male x male relationships were unheard of for their kind. Their whole culture was about raising the next generation. How can you do that with another man? Merging back into their home village they have to decide to either try to forget everything that happened the last few months or keep exploring their feelings in secret.
/////
Feel free to also hit me with a prompt of your own that's related to this world!
Important note: I'm not single, I will not flirt with my RP partners. I'm here to write a fictional story with fictional characters. I'm open to friendships, but not relationships. I hate to make it blunt, but there are a lot of people who STILL cross that line after being told this and have to get hit with the block button.

• Discord users only
• 3rd person, literate/ semi-literate, 2+ paragraphs per reply
• Please don't use reddit chat. Send me a message. Chats will be ignored.
• Please don't send me just a 1-2 sentence message. Give me information, whats your name, how do you feel about the scenarios, do you want any plot points changed, etc etc

I've put myself in a tough spot financially. Basically, I was living off of credit cards for a period of months - between living above my means and then not having a job. Things are much better now though. I have a good job and an amazing partner who covers the majority of shared bills (for the time being).
My issue is that I have A LOT of debt (almost $75,000) and even with very limited bills and spending, I'm still not making enough to cover the minimum payments each month. I've always had my accounts set up to automatically withdraw the minimum payment from my bank account each month, so that I don't ever miss a payment. But at this point, I'm having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul, because my minimum payments are so high ($250-$500/month, on several cards). Which only digs the hole deeper.
I can't do that anymore. I make enough to comfortably live off of and still have some extra, but just making these high minimum payments is killing me. They put me far in the red every month, causing me to have to borrow from a different one as soon as that payment is made. I can't keep living like this.
I used to have great credit, but now it's not so hot. Between that and the high revolving balances, and debt to income ratio, balance transfers & debt consolidation loans are out of the question. I've tried. I've pretty much given up on my credit for at least the next few years. It's not permanent and I can always go back and work on it to fix it. But I don't want to just stop paying my cards totally. If it weren't for having to pay these big minimum payments, then I wouldn't need to use them at all anymore right now.
I feel like if I could just get a few month's breather, then I could easily save up and be able to pay them the minimum again (at least for a while). Even if I could just pay a fraction of the minimum payment for 3-6 months, that would really take a huge weight off of my shoulders, and then I could make the full minimum payments again, and tackle it from there.
I don't really know much about finances and debt, so I'm not sure the best way to try and go about this, or even if it's possible. I don't want to get sued for unpaid debt or anything. I'm happy and able to pay a little bit each month, but I just can't keep paying the insanely high "minimum" payments. I'm not certain what it means to "default on your account"...is that where you just stop making payments altogether? I don't want to do that.
I'm trying to call the credit card companies and negotiate lower monthly payments with them, but I have no idea what is realistic in their eyes...like what they might be willing to do, or how low they might be willing to go (for a shorter period of time). I keep calling after hours, as I am in Pacific time and work late hours, and find that they are usually on Eastern or Central Time.
Am I going about this the best way? I'm trying to do it on my own if I can. But any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

Universal Pictures! Here are options for downloading or watching Cocaine Bear streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the anticipated Horror movie at home. Cocaine Bear 2023 available to stream? Is watching Cocaine Bear on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.

Watch Now: Cocaine Bear Full Movie Online Free

Tired of sequels and remakes? Are you or a loved one experiencing franchise fatigue? Universal Pictures has lined up an antidote for you. The company looks to blow fresh air into theaters with Cocaine Bear, a bonkers comedy/action-thriller starring Keri Russell; the late, great Ray Liotta; and a coked-up, bloodthirsty black bear. Read our Cocaine Bear review for more info.
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Yet, a true story is exactly what inspired the next film from filmmaker Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear (2023), which tells the very real story of, you guessed it, a black bear under the influence of cocaine. Well, to be perfectly honest, the inciting incident and namesake of the film is seemingly the only true event to be seen, originating from an event where a wild Georgian bear helped itself to a large serving of smuggled cocaine when a plane crashed in the state in 1985. The horrific and bloody rampage that the bear embarks on for the film adaptation is fictional, but it also looks like a hell of an absurd good time.
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Where can you watch Cocaine Bear? Is it on Netflix? What about HBO Max? Here’s everything we know about the upcoming movie:
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Cocaine Bear is in theaters everywhere this weekend. If you're wondering how and where you can watch it yourself, take a look at the information below.
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What Is the Release Date for Cocaine Bear?
Moviegoers everywhere shall be able to see a mammal with a drug addiction wreak havoc and destruction on the state of Georgia when Cocaine Bear premieres exclusively in theaters on Friday, February 24th, 2023.
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An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converges in a Georgia forest after a 500-pound black bear ingests a large amount of cocaine and goes on a drug-fueled rampage. Streaming on Roku.
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Is Cocaine Bear Being Released on Streaming?
Audiences who wish to learn just exactly how one of nature's apex predators ingested at least a kilo of an illicit substance will have to find a theater near them as that's the place where Cocaine Bear will be available once it premieres later this upcoming February. No announcements in regard to if and when Cocaine Bear will receive a streaming release have not yet been made, but Peacock seems to be a likely streaming home for the dark comedy given it's a production of Universal Pictures.
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Cocaine Bear is not currently available to stream online, though it will eventually be released on Peacock. Cocaine Bear distributor Universal Pictures cut a deal with Peacock in 2021 to have all of its movies come to the streaming service within four months of their theatrical debuts. This would put Cocaine Bear's streaming debut sometime before June 24.
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Where to Watch Cocaine Bear Online Free?
As of now, the only way to watch Cocaine Bear is to head to a theater when it releases on Friday, Feb. 3. You can find a local showing on Fandango. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or buy on digital platforms like Vudu, Amazon, Apple and YouTube, or become available to stream on Peacock. Read on for more information.
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Watch Now: Cocaine Bear Full Movie Online Free
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Following its release in theaters, the film will be available to stream on Peacock. Expect the movie to hit the streamer 45 days after its theatrical run, which should be sometime in December.
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Will Cocaine Bear be on Netflix?
Unfortunately, Cocaine Bear isn’t available to stream on Netflix. The romantic comedy isn’t included in the lineup of Netflix movies, which includes a vast number of rom-coms featuring some of our favorite actors and actresses.
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If you want to watch Julia Roberts movies on Netflix, check out Ben Is Back, August: Osage County, Steel Magnolias, and Runaway Bride. Roberts always appeared in Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve with her Cocaine Bear co-star George Clooney, and both movies are currently streaming on Netflix as of October 2023.
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Will Cocaine Bear Available On Peacock?
While a streaming release date has not yet been announced for Cocaine Bear, we can estimate when it could head to Peacock based on another Universal Pictures movie.
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Violent Night, which hit theaters on Dec. 2, became available to stream on Peacock on Jan. 20 — a little over 45 days after its theatrical release. If Cocaine Bear follows the same pattern, it could make its way to the platform by mid-April. However, other movies like Nope took more than 100 days, so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
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Will Cocaine Bear Streaming On HBO Max?
No, Cocaine Bear will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Warner Bros. movie. While the company previously released its movies on HBO Max and in theaters on the same day, they have since stopped and have implemented a 45-day window between the theatrical release and streaming release.
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What Is Cocaine Bear About?
Considering the enormous amount of writing talent that swims in our worldwide creative lake it can often be surprising when, beyond documentaries, we learn of a particular tale being true. However, sometimes the best and most ludicrous stories can only be the work of reality, and Cocaine Bear is one such narrative. Of course, exact details regarding the originality of the plot are yet to be seen but, with a true story as incredible as this one, it would be fair to suggest the writers may stay true to life.
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Based on a true story, Cocaine Bear is a dark comedy action-thriller about a rampaging bear high on cocaine. Here's the official synopsis from Universal:
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Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild thriller finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow and blood.

All values in USD.
Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: nope because I'm planning on leaving the US (for my bf) after finishing school. Not sure how retirement balance works across countries.
Equity: nope but almost bit and bought a house in the middle of the insane housing price crisis? windfall?? in 2021. Boy would my life be different rn
Savings account balance: zip but 90k in bonds
Checking account balance: 60k
Credit card debt: nada, and using a debit card in Europe
Student loan debt: nothing, because my parents (bless them) paid for my (subsidized, bless FAFSA + need based scholarships) college tuition, and I got a free masters (thanks to my advisor + TAships) and am currently doing a free (aka on my advisor's bill again lmao + TAships) phd
Income
Income Progression: a string of tech internships (every single summer except freshman and masters and first year of phd) with pay from between 5500/month to 11000/month (pre-tax, adjusted for bonus and currency exchange rate) That high end was from a fancy startup and pre-brexit lmaoooo. Low end was gov work. And my current phd income is 2500/month, so this is actually an income regression lol
Main Job Monthly Take Home: Current internship is 5000/month but my overall taxes are low because I'm not here long enough for it to bump up my income taxes more than one rung. So keep in mind I make like 1700/month the rest of the year
Side Gig Monthly Take Home: I wish! Once I get my big girl job I'm going remote and setting up a ceramics studio, a grocery store, and then volunteering and making games. Work can go stuff itself. Honestly the more and more I work the more and more I feel like I want to turn stage left exit society, tyvm. People meme academia as being abstract and useless (and sometimes toxic...that one's deserved maybe) but unless you are at a specific type of company, corporate research can be equally "useless" but by way of having insanely short (as in, to production by year's end) deadlines so you're kind of forced to "fit a square peg into a round hole" eg work on a business problem that you (or your higher up) did not spend enough time defining and then somehow make it look like research when maybe the most cost-effective solution was something else entirely...sorry for rant
Do your parents pitch in monthly? Been financially independent since last year...to my great surprise. I used to be financially independent since undergrad graduation but apparently my mom started sneakily paying off my CC debt again in my phd so I had to change the linked bank account back. My mom thinks I'm poor lmao...I'm not
Expenses
Rent (includes utilities): 2000 ouch (Europe) + 500 (US) monthly
Transport: bike (free after fixed costs, yay!) and bus (free with school)
Renters insurance: none. Getting renter's insurance is like wearing my retainer...everyone tells me to do it (including myself) but I make up a million excuses as to not
Savings contribution: whatever's left in the month. Usually 400+-100
Investment contribution: is the stock market even real? I'm just kidding. But I don't really understand my finances, and I feel embarrassed about that, but at the same time I feel like after factoring in all my personal considerations, I'm better off not doing anything other than guaranteed bonds.
Debt payments: no. college is done, no house, no car
Cellphone: Prepaid in Europe, like 5 a month. But my US phone is actually on my parent's family plan. So I guess I'm still not financially independent...
Subscriptions: Occasional magazines 50 annually, school union 100 annually
Regular therapy: None. Therapy has been a hit and miss for me
Paid hobbies: Art supplies like 100 a year, books like 300 annually, audio like 100, bike stuff 100, kitchen stuff...400, fancy specialty ingredients...800, clothes 400 but my mom gifts me a lot over the holidays like 500-1000 worth, and gifts for f&f I budget around 800 a year
[Money Diary]
[Tuesday]
7am: wake. super groggy. Drink two gulps of fanta to actually wake and immediately regret it
8am: on the bus to work. Today is going to be a slow day which is nice.
8:30am: grab a rhubarb and rose yogurt for breakfast ($2). Delicious. Have to order this somehow when I'm back in the states.
12pm: Brought eggplant and bolognese for lunch. Eat with another intern and talk random stuff about our phds.
4:30pm: leaving early cuz today is my bf's last night in the country. I head to a bakery and grab a croissant and pretzel and baguette ($7) for him as an apology for an argument we had yesterday. I also head to a grocery to grab a pumpkin ($10) for curry later. I race to the bus! Almost miss it. Everyone is looking at me because I'm panting and I feel that strange awkwardness you get from being caught running without gym clothes.
6pm: Back home. We heat up leftovers (ramen for me and bolognese for him) and watch a chill video about balancing in gaming. It was either this or a math video and the math video was too long.
7pm: I ask him about when he's coming back to see me so I can let my mom know if my schedule fits my family's June paris trip or not (my mom's extremely hyped about this so I would like to come.) Because he's been dragging his feet figuring out his schedule we get into another argument, which then carries back into our argument from yesterday.
9pm: Answer some emails and book a flight for my return trip because my sister is going to her dream college and I want to be with her on visit week ($156)
10pm: I'm trying to read my paper for tomorrow's meeting but it's not going well because we are still talking about our problems
12pm: We cuddle and sleep. Argument's not resolved because neither wants to give
Total: 19 (Food) + 156 (Plane)
[Wednesday]
6am: wake. notice that it's 6am and go back to sleep
7am: wake and wake up bf. He's leaving today and so we cuddle, but like sadly (LDR, whats new.) Eventually I get hungry so I go and munch on plums. I am a bit distracted because I have a lot of meetings that I'm not well prepared for.
8:30am: catch bus. We joke a bit about yesterday's argument. Eventually, say goodbye when I transfer trams. I watch a video to prepare for my first meeting on the tram. Then I have a meeting, read to prepare for next meeting, rinse, repeat. Go out to eat with coworkers ($18)--conversations are so awkward (because of me. I don't have the extra mental capacity to try socializing with overworked dudes 4 years older than me and I've lost a concerning amount of EQ over the course of my phd.)
2:00pm: After a particularly stressful meeting (went well, thanks to my clutch skills) I decide I need to take a walk outside as a break. I go to the bakery to buy a chocolatine and apple danish ($5). I am not even hungry. I am just retail theraping and desserts look cute and smell good. Head back and have string of meetings until the end of the day. Very angry about my schedule
5:30pm: say fuck it cuz my brain is shot and go home. Why am I the only one who leaves before 6? Isn't this supposed to be Europe? I hate working a 9-6.
6pm: eat dinner (ramen), shower with rice on the stove (no rice cooker), rice burns omg now the bottom of the pan is burnt. I soak the pan overnight and leave my personal pan out for people to use.
7pm: reddit as revenge procrastination. I make a note to buy steel wool for the burnt pan
9pm: start writing money diary. Have wayy too much fun writing money diary while snacking on Comte and aloe vera water
11pm: realize its late and I have to finish reading a paper for Friday. I read a bit of the paper
1am: sleep
Total: 23 (Food)
[Thursday]
6am: Wake and look at random stuff on reddit for an hour and a half. I don't feel that hungry so I head out to work.
8:30am: I am very sleepy for some reason. I don't have a lot of meetings today, so I check emails, slack, and find a manageable task for the day. I end up getting distracted dealing with administrivia (ugh visa work!) I see that I have a seminar I want to attend the night and mark that down too.
10am: I decide I should try doing something productive so I start brainstorming. It doesn't really get anywhere, but I've realized that I probably need to read another paper to get a better idea of what I should do.
12pm: Head out to eat with other interns. I get shawarama ($16.) Delicious. Head back for more meetings. I try to read a bit but my focus is pretty shot so I start doing a more chill writeup instead.
7pm: We are having drinks at a bar tonight, and it takes time for people to get ready so I work late. We head out to the bar, which is crowded. I order a burger and soda because I don't want to make my sickness worse ($20.) We have a good time chatting and I get closer with some coworkers I didn't know well.
7:45pm: I say goodbye and leave early. As I'm scrolling through my phone on the late night bus, I realize that I've missed the seminar. I'm legitimiately devastated. I was thinking this seminar would help a lot with me pushing through a huge bottleneck in my thesis that's been stressing me out for the last year. I panic message my labmate to ask if the seminar was recorded, and thank the fucking lord, buddha, allah, hayao miyazaki, yes. It was recorded. My pants on fire are doused, my soul is saved. I cannot wait to fucking graduate.
9pm: I get back and notice the cleaning lady's cleaned the burnt pan. I feel a bad but grateful. After showering I am tired as hell. I really can't work today, but I stubbornly stay awake thinking that if I lay in bed scrolling through eBay long enough I might recharge. It doesn't work but I find some really nice stuff (cool architectural glass vase from a designer whose stuff I usually hate, secondhand clothes from one of my fav designers, suitcase from a brand with a style that I love but quality that is absolute trash for its price, and a gift for my college friend for her next bday) that I want to bid on.
11pm: Sleep
Total: 36 (Food)
[Friday]
6am: Wake and look at videos but now with zen. I have come to terms with my laziness. I get out of bed at 7:30 instead of 7:45 (progress!) and I snack on the chocolatine from two days ago. I finally find the time and motivation to deal with some administrivia and I head to work. On my morning bus trips, I like to press my forehead against the cool window glass and zone out to stripes of greenery but today I'm thinking about eBay and how I might travel to go visit my favorite eBay stores in person lol. A quick google search shows that a roundtrip ticket is $200. Interesting.
12am: Nice lunch with coworkers at a bakery. I get a croissant sandwich ($6) and a gift for one of my coworker friends ($14).
4pm: I wrap up writing a draft and go chat and review some stuff for school and then catch up with my coworker friend to give her the gift. 6pm: Head to the grocery for a dinner salad, plums, and some orange-mango juice ($13). Look for steel wool but there is none???
6:30pm: shower because I feel a little under the weather.
8pm: call my bf and tell him some juicy gossip at work. He gets bored around the 1 hour mark.
11pm: I start working on my writeup for school. I message the dude who is receiving the writeup that it's gonna be late. He is really nice about it but I feel like I'm taking advantage of his kindness because I am always late. Disappointed in myself but not sure how to change.
1am: sleep
Total: 33 (Food)
[Saturday]
6am: wake. Seriously not motivated to continue the writeup. I waste time on eBay and youtube for 5 hours.
11am: get dressed, brush teeth, and look alive. I've been planning out my day a bit so I call my bf while I clean my room and check up on my fridge. I toss out a quarter kg of ground beef that I forgot to finish, it is two days past expiry. I take stock of what I need for meal prep this week (carrot, onion, meat, steel wool) and load up my laundry before heading to the grocery. I end up also getting a lightweight aluminum bowl (it says stainless steel though??) for washing, blueberries, dried mangos, mushroom medley ($35.) I make curry with rice for next week and rice balls to add to miso soup later.
4pm: Eat curry. I call my bf after and try to write my writeup but I get very frustrated over trying to understand a paper and complain to my bf
7pm: I head over to my friend's place for a going-away party. I feel a bit ambivalent about attending because I still have my writeup but I had already agreed to come and I will miss these people when they leave. I want to aim to leave around 9pm. The host's house is lovely and we have some great food.
9:40pm: I head back home, shower, and work on my writeup.
11pm: sleep
Total: 35 (Food)
[Sunday]
7am: wake. My wakeup time is off from normal but then I remember that today is daylight savings in Europe. I still feel tired so I end up watching some dumb videos on youtube. I bid on two items on eBay ($70...tentatively). My friend from uni messages me about meeting up to chat tonight. Hyped.
11:45am: I remember my clothes are still in the dryer. The landlord wants the laundry room free between 11am and 3pm for airbnb reasons. I rush down to grab them. I got there right on time because the landlord has 3 minutes on the washer left.
12pm: Heat up curry and eat it with an apple, some Comte, and a plum. I take a supplement with water. I've been forgetting to do that.
12:30pm: Start working on writeup. I am determined to finish it before there is no sun left so I can enjoy the outdoors a little this weekend. Have my bf on vc.
4pm: One of my bfs jokes lands the wrong way and we have to talk about it. I'm fuming mad because I'm wasting time here.
6pm: Facetime with my friend from college! It's been awhile so we catch up for a long time. 9pm: Heat dinner (curry) and eat. Then I go and read a bit more.
11pm: I have a bit of a mental breakdown because I can't finish the writeup by the weekend, and it's not because I don't have time, but because I have bad mental health around it. I have a long heart to heart with my bf over the phone. I cry a little. Life is sometimes hard and everyone's life is really hard at some point. At some point I just start rambling about nothing. I fall asleep at 1:30am.
Total: 70 (eBay)
[Monday]
4am: wake. I have a bit of a shitty morning because my eyes are still swollen. I woke up early to work on this writeup but tbh I'm barely awake and not in the mood. This was a bad idea. I intermittenly wake and sleep between 4am and 6am, of which at tail end I realize that I'm just playing myself for a fool and then I actually sleep for a good hour or so.
7:15am: Wake for real and get ready.
8:30am: Arrive at work. I buy yogurt ($2) and eat a banana while checking emails. I decide to use company time to work on my writeup because I'm blocked at work by someone else right now anyways (this is about as far as my lukewarm ass will r antiwork.)
12am: Lunch with coworkers. I have a sandwich I really don't care for ($10.) I'm a bit woozy from lack of sleep so I don't remember much. Also, I got my period.
1pm: Meetings, meetings, meetings. So many meetings.
6:30pm: Meetings end. Catch up with my intern friend before she leaves. Will miss her. I go the grocery to buy a baguette ($1) and then go to the fancy, overpriced but also conveniently-located-right-next-to-my-bus-stop bakery to get a croissant and chocolates for my period ($25.)
7:30pm: I grab Mickey D's because I want to. Fish filet sandwich, fries, chicken nuggets, and a soft drink ($18.)
8:00pm: zone out in bed and chat with my bf
11:00pm: Work on the writeup
1am: sleep
Total: 56 (Food)
[Reflections]
Weekly total:
Food + Drink: 207
Home + Clothes + Beauty (aka eBay): 70
Transport: 156
Honestly, this was the first time in a long time that I had done such a detailed review of my week. I was honestly a bit impressed by how often I wound up on eBay (ngl the times I'm on reddit, I'm oftentimes searching for new brands and designers I like, so that I can go find them...on eBay. It kind of feels a little like I may have a bit of a shopping addiction?) I use it wayy too often to cope. The nice thing about it is that I always find great deals on eBay, but I think it's probably time to switch hobbies.
Also, I need better work hygiene. Like sleep hygiene but for work. I might start going into the office weekends just so that I can wrap up stuff early, leave, and then actually have a weekend.
This week was a bit pricier than usual because I ate out for dinner and bought a plane ticket, but tbh it's not that ooc for me. Food is almost exactly the same as what I spend a week in the US and usually I budget 400/m for misc stuff so it seems like my habits haven't changed much even after moving lol. I know some people might balk at the idea of 800/m for food and 400/m discretionary spending on a 2k/m income but being no car + having the school pay for my insurance (& offering a lot of free things in general) + most importantly, no debt makes it less of a dangerous risk and more of a poor choice lmao. In Europe, I think I will end up spending more on misc things here than back in the US because Europe offers a higher density of concerts, entertainment, and designers that I like within a 30 euros train distance (and 200 euros plane distance for the ones I really like.) My personal preference is to spend <2 hours a month total thinking abt finances (so basically budgeting if I have a major life change + just going thru my CC statement and updating my tracker) so I am happy with how I spend and prefer to overspend a bit rather than think about it too much.
For those who are curious, my monthly budget here:
food (weekly): 70 for groceries + unavoidable 50 for eating with coworkers 3x a week
overall (monthly): 3700 (income) - 2500 (rents) = 1200 - 300 (food after sodexo) = 900 - 600 (misc spending) = 300 (base savings) + 1000 (relocation) = 1300 (total savings) + a bit more after tax return
​
Hope you enjoyed reading! I'm curious to see people's reactions.

Universal Pictures! Here’s options for downloading or watching Cocaine Bear streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit,1movies, 9movies, and yes movies, including where to watch the ThrilleAction at home. Is Cocaine Bear 2023 available to stream? Is watching Cocaine Bear on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.

Watch Now: Cocaine Bear Online Free

There have been plenty of wild news stories over the years — but the one behind Cocaine Bear might just take the cake.
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Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear is loosely based on the true story of a bear that ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine. While we aren’t sure what exactly happened leading up to the animal’s death in real life, this dark comedy takes creative liberty in having the coked-out bear embark on a violent rampage.
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Cocaine Bear is an action-packed gory ride based on an incredible true story (though very heavily dramatized here). It’s obvious this movie is only for adults, which means parents will need to get a baby sitter to watch it this weekend. That is, unless Cocaine Bear is available online. Is it streaming on HBO Max? If not, where can you watch the movie from home?
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Where can you watch Cocaine Bear? Is it on Netflix? What about HBO Max? Cocaine Bear will be in theaters beginning February 24. If you're wondering how and where you can watch it yourself, take a look at the information below.
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When Is Cocaine Bear's Release Date?
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When deciding how to release a film, production companies have a choice. They can either stagger the release so that, geographically, it takes time to reach its universal audience, or they can release it on one date worldwide. Thankfully, Universal Pictures has chosen to release the movie worldwide in one day. This date is February 24, 2023, which is coming around very quickly. The film will also be hitting theaters, with a story of this magnitude definitely needing to be seen on the big screen.
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Where To Watch Cocaine Bear:
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As of now, the only way to watch Cocaine Bear is to head out to a theater when it releases on Friday, Feb. 24. You can find a local showing on Fandango.
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Watch Now: Cocaine Bear Online Free
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Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or buy on digital platforms like Vudu, Amazon, Apple and YouTube, or become available to stream on Peacock. Read on for more information.
​
Where to stream Cocaine Bear from home
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A streaming release date has yet to be announced for this movie, but we will be sure to update this post as soon as one is announced. We know it will be Peacock, we just don’t have a release date to give you at this time. In the meantime, why don’t you subscribe to Peacock so you can check out everything the streamer has to offer. That way, you’ll be ready for when it is released on Peacock.
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Are you going to see the movie in theaters or wait for the streaming release?
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Will Cocaine Bear Be On HBO MAX?
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No, Cocaine Bear will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Warner Bros. movie. While the company previously released its movies on HBO Max and in theaters on the same day, they have since stopped and have implemented a 45-day window between the theatrical release and streaming release.
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Will Cocaine Bear Be On Netflix?
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No, Cocaine Bear will not be available on Netflix — at least not anytime soon, since it will be heading straight to Peacock after its theatrical release. In the meantime, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available on the NBCUniversal-owned streaming platform.
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Is Cocaine Bear Available On Hulu?
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Viewers are saying that they want to view the new movie Cocaine Bear on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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When Will Cocaine Bear Be On Peacock?
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While a streaming release date has not yet been announced for Cocaine Bear, we can estimate when it could head to Peacock based on another Universal Pictures movie.
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Violent Night, which hit theaters on Dec. 2, became available to stream on Peacock on Jan. 20 — a little over 45 days after its theatrical release. If Cocaine Bear follows the same pattern, it could make its way to the platform by mid-April. However, other movies like Nope took more than 100 days, so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
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Casts of Cocaine Bear
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Cocaine Bear was written by Jimmy Warden and directed by Elizabeth Banks. It stars the following actors:
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Keri Russell as Sari
Ray Liotta as Syd Dentwood
Alden Ehrenreich as Eddie Dentwood
O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Daveed
Margo Martindale
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Kristofer Hivju
What is Cocaine Bear About?
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Based on a true story, Cocaine Bear is a dark comedy action-thriller about a rampaging bear high on cocaine. Here's the official synopsis from Universal:
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Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild thriller finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.

If you're looking to move into a beautiful new apartment, you should check Prestige Lavender Fields. This new development is located in Whitefield, one of the most sought-after areas in East Bangalore.
The 1 BHK unit at Prestige Lavender Fields Apartments provides ample space for a single person or couple. It features a bedroom, bathroom, and living room with spacious closets. The kitchen is fully equipped with modern appliances and has a dining area that opens to the balcony.
These apartments are designed to maximize efficiency. They offer plenty of storage space and have individual resident-controlled Energy Star heating and air conditioning.
You can find a variety of floor plans at Prestige Lavender Fields, from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units. All units include balconies & terraces, an attached garage for four cars, and fire safety systems to ensure your safety.
These apartments are located in a prime location, making it easy to access major schools, hospitals, and shopping malls. You can also take advantage of many other amenities, including a fitness center and community pool.
Prestige Lavender Fields Apartments offers a mix of premium 1 BHK, 2 BHK, and 3 BHK apartments. These high-end homes are built to the highest standards and designed to provide an unparalleled level of convenience and coziness.
The 2 BHK unit at Prestige Lavender Fields features a foyer, combined dining and living area, kitchen, 2 or 3 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and a balcony. This floor plan is ideal for couples, families with small children, or those who like to entertain guests often.
This residential enclave is located in Whitefield, one of the prime suburbs of Bangalore. It has favorable surroundings and is home to top job parks, educational institutions, shopping malls, and hospitals.
This residential complex is currently in the pre-launch phase and will offer a variety of sizes, layouts, and features at a range of price points. This makes it an excellent opportunity for those looking to make a permanent move into a new home.
If you’re looking for a large, luxury apartment, Prestige Lavender Fields might be the perfect place. This luxurious development is designed by the renowned real estate company, Prestige Group, and offers plenty of first-rate amenities to its residents.
Moreover, these apartments are located in a high-demand area of Bangalore that is well-connected to job zones. They’re also within a short distance from some of the city’s biggest tech parks and incubators.
The 3 BHK unit at Prestige Lavender Fields has a foyer, combined living and dining rooms, a kitchen, and either one or two balconies. It’s perfect for a single professional or student who wants to enjoy a happy life in a beautiful home.
The 4 BHK unit at Prestige Lavender Fields is perfect for single people or small families. It features a foyer, combined living and dining room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen/utility room, and either one or two balconies.
The apartment complex is located in a prime area of Varthur, and it is just steps away from top technology parks and incubators. It also offers excellent amenities, which is why it is so popular among home buyers.
This pre-launch real estate project is expected to sell out quickly when it is finished. It is surrounded by reputable shopping malls, retail options, movie theatres, food courts, beauty salons, entertainment centers, kids zones, hotel chains, banking institutions, and more.
The complex features a wide range of amenities and services, including a clubhouse, swimming pool, senior citizen area, health care centers, sports courts, badminton court, mini theater, party lawn, and tree-lined pathways. It also provides residents with a reliable water management system and an uninterrupted power supply.

Hi all,
Title explains all. My FICO score fell by about 40 points since this time last year.
The key factors listed under my score: (1) “Length of time accounts have been established: Your score was impacted by the relatively low age of your oldest account” (2) “Proportion of balances to credit limits on bank/national revolving or other revolving accounts is too high: Your proportion of balances to credit limits is too high.”
Some facts about my usage: - I have 1 credit line, which I opened about 3.5 years ago. - Low income (I’m a student) with low current amounts in checking and savings - Credit line was recently increased, about 3 months ago - No use of credit line for the past 3-4 months (I.e. balance of 0) - Before this, I’d been using my credit line more regularly (and paying it off each month) - I have not applied for any loans or new credit cards. I have not opened any new accounts.
You can see how the two risk factors or confusing. How can the age of my credit line cause my score to go down, when it was already young before? How can I have a high ratio balance on my credit line, when I’m not using my (now larger) credit line?

And what I hate I have learned to live with (imperfections like my (old) stretch marks, SH remains, the wider shoulders). I’ve been accepted without a doubt by essentially everyone everyday, work, stores I go to, bank, I don’t think I’ve been misgendered in a while. Last year I was creating an account at my bank and the person was confused why it wasn’t going in with my birth number, I had to awkwardly point at the letter on my ID and even then he took it okay. It’s been two years and shit I wouldn’t go back.
https://imgur.com/a/1scmChO

Just paid a "deposit" for an item sold on a local marketplace. Frankly, when I saw the price and the pick up location (literal middle of nowhere), it immediately sounded too good to be true. My initial thought was it was just some assh#$le messing with ppl but...
Things that make me think this is a scam:

1. Advertised location is a town of like 2000 ppl about 700k's from anywhere.
2. Price is waaaaay too low.

Things that make me think its not a scam:

1. The sellers profile is like 8 years old, with, admittedly few but only positive reviews
   
2. I have been provided with BSB; Account Number and PayID number, as well as Sellers name, which matches Pay ID and user profile name. The BSB matches closely with their stated location.
   
3. I am still in contact with the seller even after having paid. They are polite, even friendly I'd say. They just seem genuine. For example, directly after I had paid, they messaged me to acknowledge the payment before I even had the chance to. No ghosting, nothing.
   
4. They gave a believable reason for the low price. Essentially, they said that they received a gift of a similar item and wanted someone else to benefit as they had.
   
5. They did not pressure me to pay the full amount. I paid a 25% deposit to secure the item and provided evidence of my identity and stated I would pay the rest once I confirmed receipt of the item. They agreed and will (hopefully) provide evidence of shipping by C.O.B. today.
   
6. This one is controversial. Here, in Australia, we are often targeted by foreign scammers. This person is 100% a native English speaker and must have (at least at some point), opened a bank account in Australia.
   

Basically, I have paid a PayID that I know is Australian. I know that PayID is linked to an Australian bank account and I have screenshots of all our conversations.
If this person is a scammer, they are playing with fire!
I suppose they could be someone who has an Aussie phone number and bank account but lives overseas and scams people, knowing they will never come back? Surely I could shut this down very quickly by providing evidence to the bank? Doesnt seem like this scam could last very long.
So, Here is the poll:
A: You have found a dumb scammer but a scammer nonetheless.
B: You are dumb because (Insert some scam logic I am yet to comprehend)
C: There is one honest person on the Internet and you found them.
Will Provide updates as I get them.

I'm so mad right now lmao...
I was already a little stressed because my cat was under anesthesia for a routine dental and I knew she was going to need at least one or two extractions. I was prepared for that. The rest of my day however...
One minute I'm vibing, the next, my puppy decides to have EXPLOSIVE, LIQUID DIARRHEA ALL OVER THE PLACE AND THEN VOMITED HIS BREAKFAST
My immediate reaction was: oh fuck. He ate a sock. We've gone almost 2 months without a sock-related incident and now he's eaten a goddamn sock... this motherfucker had me stressed yall.
We took x-rays and it was a relief that there was no noticeable obstruction. Since he was otherwise his normal, goofy, self we decided to wait for his fecal results before considering further diagnostics (he probably has parasites bc this dog finds the GROSSEST SHIT I STG). So now, not only am I medicating and monitoring my cat after her dental, but now I gotta cook my dog a bland meal and feed him probiotics every 8-12 hours 😭😭
Anyways he's going to be fine. I'm probably just an overprotective dog-mom but the peace of mind was worth it to me. Plus we didn't break our sockless streak so I'll count that as a win I guess 😅
Please tell me the puppy "I wanna eat everything I see" phase goes away at some point. It's got me (and my bank account) stressed 24/7

I know not a lot of people here cares about privacy and some are even touting the old (and dumb) "nothing to hide" argument, but this shit its insane: it gives the yank gov the ability to go after anyone they consider a national security risk at which point they can access everything from their computer to game console, phone, alexa, social media, banking, payments, messaging, everything
Dont believe me? then read this bro
And if they catch you doing something they dont like they can put you in jail for 20 years, fine you $1 million and seize your property, you sure you got "nothing to hide"?
Oh and say goodbye to the freedom of information act too because you are not getting that back either
In case its not clear: this is not about tiktok, they could ban that for all I care, shit, ban all social media!, but again, not about tiktok, that's a ruse, an excuse. this is about passing whats a patriot act on steroids for the internet, its going to destroy the free web forever
So FFS if you're a yank do something, and before you ask its not a dnc vs gop think, both sides are supporting this shit so you better let the people in those lists know this shit its pure totalitarianism and you're not okay with it

Have a LOT of painting to do and we’ve been told Resene Sureseal is the way to go for our undercoats, so we bought plenty and have already ran out - the problem is the fumes are so damn strong we can barely stay in the house. Constantly sneezing and eyes are watering. Not to mention the price point for 4L of the stuff.
Is there any other alternative that might be easier on the fumes and easier on the bank account? Just normal wall painting nothing drastic.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-27-2023
Seven people died today in a school shooting in Nashville. Three of them were nine-year-olds. Three were staffers. One was the shooter. In the aftermath of the shooting, President Joe Biden once again urged Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons, to which today’s Republican lawmakers will never agree because gun ownership has become a key element of social identity for their supporters, who resent the idea that the legal system could regulate their ownership of firearms.
In the wake of the shooting, Representative Andrew Ogles (R-TN), who represents Nashville thanks to redistricting by the Republican legislature that cut up a Democratic district, said he was “utterly heartbroken” by the shooting and offered “thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost.”
In 2021, Ogles, his wife, and two of his three children held guns as they posed for a Christmas card with a caption that read: “The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference—they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
Meanwhile, protests continue in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to hamstring his country’s Supreme Court and put the legislature in charge of judicial review has sparked fierce opposition.
Netanyahu regained power last November while he was facing criminal charges of fraud, breach of trust, and bribery. His far-right coalition put together a government and elevated two critics of the Israeli judiciary, who promptly put forward a plan of “legal reforms.”
According to Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany in Lawfare, supporters of those changes claim that unelected judges who are part of a “liberal deep state” have too much power, often using it to pursue criminal proceedings against senior politicians, prohibit Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank, or to refuse religious exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
On January 4, 2023, Netanyahu’s minister of justice Yariv Levin proposed an overhaul of the judicial system that would put Netanyahu’s slim majority—just 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset—in complete control of the country’s laws, enabling the far-right majority to avoid any checks on its power (as well as enabling Netanyahu to evade the criminal trials he faces).
But Netanyahu did not campaign on remaking the judiciary; it is the far-right members of his coalition who have made it their signature issue. Protests against the measures began almost immediately as alarmed Israelis realized the move would destroy their democracy.
The protests continued until this Saturday, when Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant warned that the massive backlash against the judicial overhaul, including more and more military members who are boycotting their training missions, threatened the nation’s military readiness. He called for a halt to the attempt to force through the changes. Two members of the coalition backed Gallant and one appeared to be wavering, thus threatening Netanyahu’s majority. The next day, Netanyahu fired Gallant.
The firing sparked massive demonstrations and widespread strikes. At first, the far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition refused to stop their plans to overhaul the judiciary and called for their supporters to turn out to oppose the protesters, but Netanyahu apparently cut a deal with them. He has announced that the judicial reforms will be postponed while the two sides look for a compromise, and that he has agreed to the formation of a civil “national guard” the right will control. While Bethan McKernan of The Guardian called this move an empty gesture, Zach Beauchamp of Vox noted that the new paramilitary unit will be under the control of the extremist minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who in 2008 was convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and who used to keep a photograph of a mass murderer in his living room.
Still, as Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo notes, the halt is “pretty transparently a stalling tactic,” launched in the hope that the protests will die down and the package can go forward later, although, as Marshall points out, polls show that the so-called reforms are very unpopular.
The crisis in Israel threatens the country’s relationship with the United States. During the Trump administration, Netanyahu cozied up to Trump and his Republican allies, and Israel’s continued rightward shift has alarmed foreign observers. In early March, Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the state to “erase” a Palestinian town, and he has called himself a “proud homophobe” and a “fascist.” In Israel, Netanyahu’s son tweeted that the U.S. State Department is behind the protests, hoping to overthrow Netanyahu, a sentiment to which Netanyahu himself has nodded.
When Smotrich visited Washington, D.C., earlier this month, White House officials declined to meet with him, and more than ninety Democratic lawmakers wrote to Biden asking him to use “all diplomatic tools available to prevent Israel’s current government from further damaging the nation’s democratic institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two peoples.” According to Josh Lederman of NBC News, more than 300 rabbis last year said that members of Netanyahu’s coalition were not welcome to speak at their synagogues.
The threats to the Israeli judiciary threaten the nation’s economy, as billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg pointed out in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month. “Companies and investors place enormous value on strong and independent judicial systems because courts help protect them — not only against crime and corruption but also government overreach. Just as important, they protect what their employees value most: individual rights and freedoms,” he wrote.
In case anyone missed the obvious comparison between what is happening in Israel and what might transpire in the U.S., Bloomberg continued: “In the United States, our founding fathers’ insistence on checks and balances to control the tyrannical tendencies of majorities was part of their genius. Our Constitution is not perfect—no law is—but its many checks and balances have been essential to protecting and advancing fundamental rights and maintaining national stability. It was only through those safeguards that the United States has managed to withstand extreme shocks to our democracy in recent years—including a disgraceful attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power—without a catastrophic fracturing.”

GameStop releases 10-K and sources their Registered Shareholder info for the Values of Shares from Cede & Co. Instead of Computershare. They also used a new date format of March 22nd (day after earnings) instead of quarter end, Jan 31st like they had previously in all 10-Q's.
A few things are in the works here.
First, why only post an estimate of Cede & co - Outstanding = DRS value. My thought is we have about 5 weeks until Quarter end. If GME goes back to the normal format they used previously in the quarterly 10-q with exact numbers from Computershare we will know how absolutely fukd the SHFs are and Cede & Co. This will give us a really tight window of DRS values and we will be able to see how full of shit cede's numbers are.
Second, they just held Cede & Co completely accountable or at least culpable for all the synthetic shares on the market. Cede & Co told GME how many shares they have which was 228.7million. Now, we know (even the most regarded of us) how to use our calculator app. Simply, the numbers don't add up to only 228.7 million shares on the market. We just saw a single day of 66.75 million shares, and a week of 107million shares total. It's simple to see that multiple times the entire outstanding is owned over and over in RothIRAs, typical broker accounts, etc. Yes some of the share volume is Algos throwing 100 lots back and forth to suppress the true price discovery. Still there is so much evidence with Daily short Volume, DRS count, Investor count, Etc that the price is fake, the amount of shares is fake as fuk and we own the outstanding over ans over.
When shit hits the fan, and it looks like with recent bank disasters that will happen soon, GME can point to Cede & Co and say "on March 22nd you said only 228.7 million shares were out there." GME probably knows this number is astronomically wrong via their vote count at the annual shareholder meeting. But, when brokers start defaulting on shares and paying you out for Penny's on the dollar for your Synthetic Shares you "owned" there will now actually be a date and number we can hold Cede & Co accountable for. We know they got fucked from the splivi and now they were forced by GameStop to report a number of actual shares.
Third, DRS, BUY, HODL. GMERICA.

A call came in that there was another disappearance on Lockhill Road. My whole town was buzzing about a person named Josephine, an old lady that had the tendency to be a little bit of a pain in the butt for cashiers, but otherwise a quiet one in town.
Apparently, the patrol that frequents near that road found her car in a ditch and saw no traces of her anywhere. The police went to check her house and saw that she wasn't there either. There was only one conclusion we all had to come to. The road has claimed another victim.
As for my name, I'm only going to tell you that it's Adam, and I'm here to explain to you that there's something absurdly bizarre about the road.
Lockhill Rd. is one of the oldest roads in Illinois. There isn't anything significantly special about it. On the surface, it's covered in large cracks, grass overtaking the edges, and it's surrounded by an unusually swamp-like environment, something a little bizarre given how up North I am.
But it's also got a rap sheet that would make Ted Bundy jealous.
From what I've learned in my twenty-eight years of living in this town, over the last two hundred years or so, around three hundred people have mysteriously disappeared. That's a significantly high number and you're probably wondering why people would want to drive on it?
Here's the thing, nobody typically uses that road. They just find themselves on it.
It's really weird but you can find yourself suddenly on that road without warning. One moment you'll be on the highway that's near my town, and right as you get off, you'll find yourself driving on that road. But this only happens at night. As a rule, driving at night is strongly prohibited. The only issue is that cops are less inclined to go about driving themselves. And this happens at completely random moments as well.
The next question I know you all are asking is "why would any of us want to live here then?"
Well, the thing is there's a mine nearby. It's a salt mine and a lot of money is gained from it. You have to weigh in the risk and reward factors here. There are people here who— despite the danger— are making bank. I don't know how much a typical salt mine will pay, but I think the extra danger of the road is the reason why the income for locals is so much better here. So for the most part we prefer not to talk about it.
Now you're probably wondering why am I here? I clearly don’t work at the mine, but instead, I am a neighborhood watch patrolman.
Since disappearances can happen if people are caught driving, I— as well as others— found ourselves working alongside the local police to keep people off of the roads for their own safety. It seems that whatever effect the road can create, it doesn't work if you're walking on two feet.
So my job is relatively safe. Sure, I don't get any weapons training other than a baton and mace, which is why I prefer to regularly work out and make sure that criminals, usually rowdy teenagers, don't have a good advantage over me or any of my partners.
But I'm here to tell you about how I got sloppy and nearly paid the price with my life...
It was your typical Wednesday, and I was with my friends at the police station, getting ready to sign in to let the department know that we were going to be working today.
That's when officer Smith (not his real name by the way) approached me and said in her smooth, southern voice, "Now you boys try to have a good night. We've been getting some reports that there's been a gang of kids that keep breaking house windows. So far they haven't entered any, but I think they're just trying to create an atmosphere of tension."
I stood there silently, always having difficulty talking to her. She was serious about her job and wasn't too kind to anyone who was caught slacking. But she cared to a great degree.
I mustered up the courage to say, "Will do. We got our mace and batons ready."
"Good, but still, if they turn out to be more hostile than usual, I need you fellas to call us ASAP."
It wasn't lost on me that even if we did call up for the actual police officers, it would still take a good while for them to arrive, giving any of these troublemakers a chance to escape from us. No cars at night, remember.
One of my partners, Derek, replied with his usual enthusiasm, "Don't sell us too short ma'am, Adam and I have been doing this for two years now. We're basically experts at this point."
She noticed his smug expression and quickly shot it down.
"I've been a cop for seven years. In that time I believe thirteen people have gone missing. And many of you neighborhood watch patrolmen have been hurt, sometimes severely, by these thugs. Call us." she ended it with a stern warning.
Derek always had this issue with over-confidence and I often think that's why he was never able to get a girlfriend. I think he’s just overdoing it half the time, thinking that it impresses people.
Still, this is the first time I've actually known this much about officer Smith. Seven years is a long time, and for that many people to have gone missing, I can tell that's got to weigh heavily on her mind.
But our patrol went on as usual. We did our regular routine for the first few hours with nothing more than warning people that they can't get in their cars because, in about an hour, the sun would've completely set by then.
Sure that's an entire hour, but why take the chance?
But around the time when the sun had already descended, I got a call on my radio by a woman that said:
"Neighborhood Patrol Unit #9, do you read me?"
"Neighborhood Patrol Unit #9, we hear you loud and clear."
"Number Nine we've been getting some odd reports of a car that is driving around. It was reported by a civilian caller, but all police officers who responded to the area haven't been able to track their location. We need you to stay alert, the last coordinates of their whereabouts were in your general location so keep your eyes peeled."
"Dispatch, we'll keep our eyes on the lookout for the driver. We'll have to flag them down and hope that they stop."
"Copy, good hunting."
It was always anxiety-inducing to hear that someone was driving around. They had to be someone who had come off the highway.
"Well, looks like we got to chase someone down on foot today." Derek happily said.
"Come on man, I don't even want to think about going after someone in a car."
"Yeah, but at least it's something to do." he chuckled.
I wasn't amused. Frankly speaking, this was only a job for me. Sure I don't get paid as much as a cop, but it's less dangerous. Now that I'm being tasked with stopping a vehicle, this is going to prove way above my pay grade. I almost can’t remember the last time I had to deal with a driver.
But the night dragged on as usual and still no sign of the vehicle. I was pretty much convinced that they must have gone off on some other section of the town, but Derek was remaining vigilant. He took this job way too seriously. Or perhaps he wasn't taking it seriously enough?
"You hear that?" he abruptly said.
We both quieted down and tried to listen carefully.
There was nothing for a brief few seconds, other than the sound of crickets in the distance and an owl hooting.
But then there was a sudden screeching of tires nearby. We had our driver and quickly started running towards whatever direction it was that we heard it from.
Despite having flashlights and reflectors on, I somehow found myself alone. I shouted out for Derek at the top of my lungs.
I heard his distant reply, "Adam! Adam, where'd you go?"
I followed his voice and saw that he had gone down the next street over.
"Derek, what are you doing over there? You were supposed to stay with me the whole time?" I shouted.
I was trying my best to hide my anger from him. He shouldn't have broken off just to chase down a car.
"What do you mean? You broke off from me?" he shouted back.
"You were supposed to go with me down Amberg Street!"
He was about to respond, but the screeching of those tires could be heard coming down my road.
I looked to my left and saw a large Chevrolet speeding toward me. I jumped out of the way just in time before they hit me. They knocked over some trash cans and a mailbox and appeared to be driving with delirium. Now I was having suspicions about this person.
"Derek, I saw the driver. I think they're drunk and they're taking their car out for a joyride since no one else is around."
He sounded confused, "Eh, what's the protocol for this again?"
I ignored his forgetfulness and pulled out my radio to call dispatch again.
"Neighborhood Patrol Unit #9 to Dispatch, we have a red Chevrolet driving erratically on Amberg Street and the local area, over."
"Dispatch to Unit #9, where are they heading, over?"
I took a look at my compass that I always keep with me, and replied, "Dispatch they're heading towards the North and don't appear to be stopping anytime soon, over."
"Dispatch to Unit #9, do not engage with the driver. We're sending over a bicycle unit to try and slow them down the best we can. We can't take risks with a vehicle, over."
"Okay, we will not engage any further but will keep you updated, over and out."
Derek soon approached behind me and said, "I get so tired of always having to use those police codewords."
"It's so that there's no confusion. You do realize there are police officers on this channel too, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't lose your hair over it. I was just complaining a little."
I gave him a smirk and the two of us continued on our way. Since we didn't have the responsibility of chasing after the driver, we went about our usual patrol but with a little more alertness in mind.
But we made a bad decision to be passing by that dreaded road. It was part of our routine, and usually passing by never caused any problems.
The only problem is that as we were going by, we saw the truck. It ran off the road and crashed into a tree.
From what I could see, the silhouette of the guy was inside.
I gave Derek my radio and told him to call and tell them that we had found the driver and that they appeared to have been trying to go down Lockhill Road.
I ran over to the left side of the road where the car laid wedged up against the side of the tree. The driver's door was smashed in and I would have to climb in from the passenger side to try and save them from burning to death.
When I went for the door, I briefly hesitated. The idea of getting in a car at night and being directly on Lockhill left me with this gut feeling that kept telling me that I should just turn back and wait for First Responders to arrive.
But given that they were going to be arriving not by ambulance, but by bicycle, and with the car slowly starting to burn, I took a deep breath and opened the door, climbing inside and reaching for the man as quickly as I could.
He was knocked out cold and I grabbed hold of his arm and shook him as much as I could to wake him up.
The fire was growing and I unbuckled his seat belt, wrapped my arms around him, and used my legs to forcibly pull him out of the vehicle. This man was fat and a pain to try and pull out.
At last, I felt the weight release and both of us fell onto the grass below. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that I was able to save him just in time.
I got myself back to my feet and looked over to the exit of the road.
I must have fallen into a state of disbelief because I saw that there was nothing but a long stretch of road surrounded by marshland under a red moonlight.
I turned over to the other side, a soon to be fleeting hope already starting to take hold of me, and saw that it was the same in the other direction.
"No, no, no!" I shouted. "I wasn't even driving the car! The car wasn't moving!"
How could this have happened to me? This wasn't supposed to happen. As far as we all knew, if you're driving, you become snatched up by the road. At least, that's what I think the town's consensus was. Maybe everyone just assumes that that is the likely scenario. It's not like anyone's ever returned to tell us that simply being inside your car is enough to warrant whatever unusual forces are at work here.
I kept pacing myself, running from one end to the other, hoping that maybe I just misjudged the distance and I can easily still walk out and find Derek.
But besides the eerie red light coming from above, all I saw was darkness.
The drunken man groaned. This quickly caught my attention and I ran back over to him.
He was still alive but not fully awake yet.
Then I remembered my radio and reached for it. I felt nothing in my pocket and instantly remembered that I handed my radio off to Derek.
Seeing that that wasn't going to work, I went for my phone next. But there was no signal. I was completely stranded.
In a fit of rage, I started swearing up and down out of the frustration of being caught in this. I guess it's true what they say, no good deed goes unpunished. I should have listened to my instincts and told myself not to intervene. I should have left this guy and waited for backup like they always tell us. And now I'm trapped on this road with a drunkard, who I was now more than happy to abandon.
He started moving around and his eyes opened. He was awake and clearly saw the burning wreckage that was his truck.
His voice was rough, having a noticeable smoker's voice. "Hey, what happened to my piece of junk?"
"You crashed into a tree, you idiot," I alerted him to my presence.
He turned around and became instantly belligerent with me.
Holding up both of his fists at me, he fiercely said, "Who are you calling an idiot?"
I wasn't intimidated. The fact of the matter is that I work out regularly and when I was five, my parents thought it would be a good idea for me to take self-defense classes. Thank you, Mom and Pop.
He threw one of his fists my way and I was able to dodge it, backing up and having my own fists ready. When he saw that he missed, he threw his other one, only for me to grab it and easily pull them inwards with my back turned and flipped him over me, letting him hit the ground hard.
Even though he was drunk and probably didn't feel the pain all that much, his body was too heavy for him to have any decent motor function and I believe he passed out again.
Seeing that he wasn't going to be a problem anymore, I walked around— staying relatively close to the man— trying to see if I could get a signal by changing location.
This went on for about twenty minutes or so, and despite my best efforts, I was left with nothing. The unusual silence was broken by a few sharp coughs. I guess he was due to wake up again.
I stood over him, expecting him to go into another rant about what I had said earlier, but he seemed to have had a mental reset.
"Eh, who are you?"
"My name is Adam. I'm part of the Neighborhood Patrol. You had a car wreck because you were drunk, am I correct?" I said in my best stoic voice.
He got back to his feet quickly and smelled horrible. I only just now noticed because I was distracted by my situation. The sting of his alcoholic breath was much too strong for me, forcing me to take a few steps back.
"I only had a few drinks," he slurred.
"Only? How much is only?" I let my anger slip out.
"Five... seven maybe?"
"Of what?" I ordered.
"Hennessey,"
This guy was a moron. Now I was trapped on this god-forsaken road with a man who had only half a brain functioning.
I walked to one side of the road and had to take a wild guess as to which way would be best. I wasn't about to sit out here in the dark with this guy. I could only rely on the illumination of the red moonlight. I wanted to save the battery on my flashlight, so I thought it best not to use it at this moment.
"Look," I said. "We need to start walking in a direction to get out of here. Maybe there is a way to escape, but we have to come to a decision on which way."
I guess he remembered my remark from earlier after all because he said, "I ain't going anywhere with you kid. You call me an idiot."
I rolled my eyes. This guy was as petty as a child, and yet calls me a kid.
"Listen closely. You're on that road we're not supposed to be on. You got me roped into this, and I'm going to make a decision. Either come with me or stay here and wait for rescue. Not that they will be coming."
He turned around and went back to the car. At first, I was confused as to what he was up to, but I almost had a quick heart attack when I briefly thought that he was going to pull a gun out on me. I was already preparing myself to start running when he turned around and had a beer bottle in his hand.
"I ain't going with you anywhere,"
He threw the bottle at me, narrowly hitting me in the head. It shattered on the other side of the road and for a brief moment, I thought I heard something skitter away. Since I've been here, I haven't heard a single animal so the idea that something was back there silently observing us made my skin crawl.
"Fine!" I said. "Stay here. I can't make you come with me. Let's hope that we can find you by tomorrow when the sun comes up."
The heavy man flipped me off, signaling my cue to leave. I was quick to put as much distance between us as I went to the right end of the road and started my journey with only a flashlight in hand.
For the most part, nothing had happened in the last five minutes and I was content with the silence that surrounded me. Better to hear nothing than to hear something. But I would rather hear my radio crackling to life at this moment.
Going a little further on, the silence was broken again. But this time, instead of the groaning coming from that guy, I heard a blood-filled screaming coming from way back. That man had stayed behind and now he was being attacked by something. It was so guttural and wrapped up in agony that already the hairs on my body were standing up.
A part of me was screaming that I needed to go back and check on him. But whatever it was, it likely had already done the deed. Plus, if I go back, who's to say I won't become the next victim. There's always been something odd about this road and I have to approach it with the highest end of paranoia.
My only other option was to keep pressing forward and hope that salvation is at the end. Running was starting to feel like a better option, but I refrained from it. I could easily tire myself out and I didn't want to be stationary. It clearly didn't provide any safety for that drunkard. I just had to keep pressing forward at a modest pace.
Something has changed. It's been about three hours now and the moon hasn't moved. And that blood-red color is hurting my eyes. I don't like to keep my eyes shut, for fear that something might come out from nowhere and attack me, but the soreness is starting to get to me.
What's worse is that I can hear footsteps behind me. They're light on their feet, but each step is almost echoing my pace. I sped up just a little to test out my theory and whatever it was, it simultaneously matched me. I heard it lingering always behind me. My paranoia is starting to overtake any rational thinking that I have. But then again, nothing about this road is rational.
The steps seemed to be speeding up even though I had been going at the same pace for the last ten minutes. My breathing was starting to betray me, growing louder and more hoarse with each intake of the unseasonably cold air. And then there was a steadily growing whispering that was surrounding me.
Finally, having had enough of the pursuit, I turned around, pointing the flashlight at as many parts of the road as I could to get a glimpse of who was following me. But it was empty.
"No, no, I heard something... someone..." I whispered to myself.
Turning back in my original direction, the steps began again. And the whispering was only growing louder.
Without a second thought, I started charging forward, done with whatever it was that was messing with me. I wanted to get away from them, but I could faintly hear their footsteps behind me. It was growing closer even though I was now running at full speed.
In my mind, I thought maybe I could fight it. Perhaps the drunkard was caught off-guard and that's how it got him. But my legs kept moving forward, a sense of dread was keeping me in flight mode, preventing me from wanting to switch to fight mode.
No matter what, one thing was for certain. I wasn't alone on this lonely road. That's perhaps one of the worst feelings.
Up ahead, I saw a distant flashing. They were police flashes. As I drew closer, my pursuer's footsteps quieted down and the whispering ceased.
Standing in front of me was a police officer and his vehicle behind him.
"Oh thank you, I've been trapped on this road for hours." I called out to him.
His voice was low and had an echo to it which was an immediate put-off. "It's okay son. We got reports of a disappearance happening here earlier today. They sent me to try and get you."
I replied, down on my knees due to exhaustion. "Who? Dispatch?"
"Yes,"
Upon further inspection, I started noticing some irregularities. His voice and the way he spoke sounded cold and indifferent. I would think a police officer would be happy to have found someone who was lost on this road for the first time.
Another thing that was making me nervous was how unprofessional he was behaving. His answers were vague, and his appearance looked worn-out. His uniform was tattered and his hair messy. And despite there being light from the moon, the police cars headlights, and my flashlight, his face was shrouded in a dark shadow that purposely was making sure that he was obscure for me to identify any details.
I got back onto my feet and quickly looked down near his waist. I didn't see a holster.
"Where's your gun?"
"Not important." he replied harshly.
I leered at him, my body instantly going into high alert mode again. "It's very important."
"Come with me. I'll give you a drive back home."
I did another quick analysis of his appearance and saw that there was no radio, no gun, and no badge. That would mean this was no cop.
"How about we see your face first," I flashed my light up to his face, something I had been avoiding because that would be rude. And this was an instant regret.
His eyes were glazed over with a red glow coming from them. The mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth, and the skin appeared to be leathery and pale.
He echoed, "Lunchtime."
He jumped me, throwing me back to the ground, and kept trying to bite me. It took all my strength just to keep him from getting close to my face. I kept hearing the snapping of his teeth right into my ear, and a desperate struggle ensued.
I had no weapon on me, only basic self-defense skills and my baton but I couldn’t reach for it, and this guy had some inhuman strength. Despite his body looking frail and emaciated, his strength was more than on par with mine.
"I need food," he— it growled.
I gritted my teeth, getting ready to take a huge risk. Removing one of my arms just for a split second, I punched him as hard as I could in his head.
Despite the bizarreness of this man, pain was still something that he experienced. His grip released and he held on to his face.
I got back up to my feet and grabbed my flashlight to keep my eyes on him. Now I could see what it was that I did. The entire right side had been caved in.
"My God, what are you?"
Despite the impact to the side of his head, he smiled through bloody teeth and said, "Merely a puppet."
At that, his body started to disintegrate into a pile of dust, and red light streaks shot up into the air and dispersed back into the surrounding forest.
I looked around, convinced that what I had experienced was my mind psychologically breaking at this point. When I turned back towards the police car, I thought maybe I could start driving it back. Only to be met with a long-abandoned Lincoln car.
"Looks like I'm still stuck on the road." I sighed.
Exhaustion, thirst, and hunger were starting to take their toll on me. I was desperate for something and now I'm regretting my decision not to have protein bars on me at all times.
Every passing minute was a grim reminder that my time was running out. The human body can only survive for three to four days without any water and from what I could tell, I'm well past the first day. And I'm certain that constantly moving is only lessening those precious days that I have left.
I could hear them whispering behind me again. The footsteps had grown numerous; like there was a crowd behind me. I was so tired. I needed a moment to rest but I was too afraid that that would be the last thing I would do.
Out of sheer frustration with my followers, I turned around, half expecting that there would be nothing again.
What a regretful decision that turned out to be.
This time I could see who it was. It was a crowd of people. All of their eyes were glowing red, and their bodies looked like they had shriveled up, walking limply at me. In the crowd, I saw a familiar face. The drunk driver from earlier was among them. His eyes are glowing red and his body already looked like it had been drained of all fluids, same as the rest.
I turned back and started running as fast as I could. The sweat that grew on me only managed to slow me down as it sapped away more water from my body.
I thought for sure that this was a sign that I was going to end up becoming one of them. Becoming some sort of shriveled puppet for whatever it is that has a hold on this road.
They were still chasing after me, running as well, and not too much longer, I ended up losing steam and collapsing on the side of the road. I was out of breath, drenched in sweat, and my legs were numb.
If they reached me again, there's no way I could escape.
I heard the sound of a gate grinding shut. Then it opened again. Then closed again.
Looking up, I saw an old, run-down Victorian Manor. There was an eerie red glow coming from inside, but what wasn't having a red glow today.
Feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline kicking back in, I found the strength to climb up the small hill to reach the front door of this suspiciously abandoned home.
Before I receive any judgment, anyone who was desperate for shelter would have done the same thing regardless of the obvious red flags, pun not intended.
Kicking the door in, I wasted no time entering and checking behind me to make sure that my fan club wasn't following in. To my surprise, they were back on the road but stood there watching me as I entered.
I honestly couldn't tell if that was a good sign or a bad one.
Closing the door behind me, I was greeted with chilly, dusty air that kept forcing me to cough.
I pulled my shirt over my face and moved inside, wondering where that red light was coming from. Inside was a variety of dull, neutral colors of furniture and walls. What was more jarring was the number of taxidermied animals that were littered everywhere. From the walls, to lampstands, to bear rugs, everything about this house was dead, gloomy, and sinister.
I went into the kitchen and sure enough, nothing could be found in terms of food. But I did find water. There was a dirty puddle of it in the sink, and out of desperation, I started drinking it, regardless of the health risks. And it was as bitter and rusty tasting as I should’ve expected. I could only hope that it doesn’t come back to kill me.
Wiping my face with a raggedy towel nearby, I briefly heard something rustling underneath the floorboards. That was enough to tell me that I wasn't alone in the house. But now I was trapped. My only other choice was to take my chances with the outside where that menacing crowd was waiting for me, or use whatever strength I had left on whatever was hiding in here.
I inspected each of the other rooms on the first floor, not even bothering to check the second one. So far nothing seemed terribly alarming, but I could still hear the sound of footsteps beneath me. They were loud, walking on gravel. I had this sinking feeling that they wanted me to know that they were here.
Seeing that I had no other choice, I found one last unopened door. I took a deep breath, and it slowly creaked open leading to a flight of stairs that descended into a reddish glow that was surrounded by an overwhelmingly sinister blackness that threatened to envelop me should I be brave enough to proceed forward.
With a single gulp, I took my first step down and felt the first few droplets of cold sweat. I also felt a nauseating pain in my stomach, but that could be from the water.
I took each step cautiously, believing that any moment now the door upstairs would suddenly close like a cliche horror movie.
When my foot finally hit the floor, I was surprised that the door remained open. But I was met with a hallway. A long, red wallpapered, red carpeted hallway. At this point, I'm starting to become sick of the color red. At least the colors here were a dull shade.
Pulling out my flashlight again, the flickering that I was receiving from it was alarming and I had half a mind to run back up. But I had to know if I was going to be able to live in this house for some time. And the idea of someone else being in it wasn't comforting.
I held my flashlight up like a weapon, preparing to hit whatever decided to jump out at any corner that I approached.
But no matter how many corners I reached, I was met with another long hallway that stretched roughly 20 ft.
My breathing was becoming heavier and the air was getting warmer. The hallways were growing more vibrant with each turn, and they seemed to change from right to left a lot.
At the end of each turn though, I started to notice something move just out of sight at the next turn. At first, it was tiny, like the back end of a mouse. But each time I reached the next turn, it was getting taller and I was starting to see more of what it was.
Seeing that it was trying to avoid me, I gave chase and prepared myself to start my assault on whatever it was. Out of desperation, all I could think of was to fight everything. My every thought was aggression and survival.
And yet it managed to stay ahead of me at all times as if it was teasing me. And then it finally dawned on me that I had run quite some distance.
Turning back, I realized that I had made a foolish decision. Everything was getting cleaner and more vibrant still. I had gotten myself trapped. Now I was stuck in this maze with something always ahead of me, managing to move out of sight before I could get a good look at it.
Frustration, starvation, and an overwhelming sense of dread made me want to do anything to get out of this maze and not see what was at the end of it.
I looked at the wall and used the butt end of the flashlight to start digging a hole through it. I didn't care anymore, I wanted out.
I kept chipping away with frantic speed, struggling to tear apart the solid wooden wall until it finally collapsed outwards and revealed a monstrous void on the other side. I poked my head out and saw that there was nothing out there. A cold, unfathomably deep void that was a grim choice that if I was ever going to get out of here, my only other choice was to keep pushing forward through the maze, or I could take my chances of falling into oblivion.
Seeing what my choices were, I took a few steps back, slumped against the other side, and started to cry. I never normally did something like that but the stress, the feeling of entrapment, and this whole situation that stemmed from an act of kindness has led me to an increasing sense of hopelessness that seized every one of my thoughts.
I must've kept crying for who-knows-how-long anymore. It no longer matters. No matter what happens today, I'm going to die. I just want to lie here and finally get some sleep. It wasn't the most comfortable bed, but I needed this.
I was alerted by the sound of footsteps approaching. My eyes darted open and I saw that the crowd of red-eyed people were following in after me. They were already at the other end of the hallway, staring me down.
Natural instincts kicked in and I got back on my feet and started running as fast as I could to whatever it was that they were cornering me in. If there is a chance of getting out, I have to take this.
I ran and ran, never once taking a moment to catch my breath. I still wanted to sleep, but survival was pushing me forward.
It took me a few minutes to realize that something odd was going on in the hallway itself. It was starting to become warped, blindingly bright in its red colors, and inducing petrifying fear into my heart.
But then the red wallpaper was peeling off, the wooden walls breaking up into shards, and the red lamps that hung on the sides were falling apart. It was slowly getting darker and darker. I turned on my flashlight just to make sure that I didn't run into a wall, but it flickered erratically, making the way ahead obscure and unpredictable.
It didn't matter for too long because I made it to the end.
At the far end of the last hallway was a swirling vortex of black mist, an eerie white glow around the edge, and red eyes. Of course...
They stared at me as if they were awaiting my arrival. On the ceiling was a black slime that was morphing together and splitting apart, dripping down to the floor. From the vortex of eyes and mist, five long pincers were stretched out, reminding me of praying mantis’ pincers.
When I moved in closer by a few steps, I was compelled to stare into a cosmic maelstrom of impossible depths, and through the swarming array of red lightning at the other end of this unfathomable creature, a pulsing organ, shaped like a heart but covered in wiggling strands of hair and misshapen eyes. The pupils were like that of a goat, and— you guessed it— red.
I was disturbed by the crowd of red-eyed people behind me. They stopped their advance as I was making my approach to the anomaly.
"You have made it," it whispered with a slow and calculated voice.
"I have," I said, unsure about what to do next.
"You ran from my grasp outside, entered my home, and your perseverance has brought you this far so that you may see my true form."
I took a few more steps forward, peering at the entity with a sudden rush of curiosity. Upon my even closer observation, from behind the deathly heart, I swear I could see three figures shrouded in a veil of shadows behind it.
But instead of asking any questions, I begged, "Let me out!"
"Why should I? I have no reason to spare you. As you can see behind you, I feed on the minds of those who enter my domain."
Once again, my fight or flight instincts were kicking in and I was ready to do what I must. But it would be crazy to attack something as abstract and out of this world as this creature was. And then I thought for a moment. Could a deal be reached?
"Perhaps—" I swallowed. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement."
A jarring long pause followed before it said, "How so?"
"I'll uh..." I tried to think about what I was going to do. If it's anything that I've learned from movies and TV shows where these types of deals happened, this thing will want me to bring more people and encourage them to drive so that it can snatch them up onto the road. But I wasn't about to sell out my own race. I rationed with myself that I could do something else. Perhaps I should ask it what it wants.
"Is there anything that you want? Something that doesn't involve me selling out people to you?"
"If I say no, are you still willing to offer me people to feed on?"
I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. If this was going to be where I would die, I was going to go out with a shred of dignity intact. Even if that meant having to give up my own life to save others. I don't think I could live with myself by tricking people.
"No. I care about other people's lives more than my own. I wouldn't be able to live with myself or look my mother in the eyes if she ever found out."
I stood there defiantly, but inside I was shaking and having a horrible case of butterflies in my stomach.
"How noble," it said softly. "All right then, I will make another deal for you. I can see that you will be most valuable in the future. I'll let you go on the condition that you bring me more creatures like me."
"What, disturbing?" I thought.
But what I said was, "Another like you?"
"I am a being known as a Primordial. There are many like me on this planet and I wish to devour them."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"I'll give you a helping hand. Plus, there's a war between them and I'd rather not have my territory and peace disturbed or my human snacks wiped out over their infighting."
"That's more doable I guess." I said, believing it much less morally wrong to sell out another one of these "Primordials" and sacrifice them to this monstrosity.
"And to make sure that you don't go back on your word—"
Before I had time to react, one of its pincers extended out too quickly for me to dodge in time, drilling itself into my shoulder and leaving a nasty blackened puncture wound.
"Now you'll be forced to bring me my prize. Don't go running away. I have planted myself inside your body and could easily bring you back here should you betray me."
I should have guessed there was going to be some insurance for this creature. I was trapped and had to go through with this deal. Now the next means of action was to find another creature like this.
The creature's pincers all extended outwards and a loud flashbang hit me before I could look away. My mind left spinning, and in utter confusion. And then I heard my name being repeatedly screamed out to me.
"ADAM! ADAM! ADAM!"
I awoke, shocked to see that Derek was pulling me out of a car. He dropped me onto the ground and we both were breathing heavily.
"Man, you sure are a heavy guy," he remarked.
I was quick to realize where I was and quickly got back to my feet to look for the drunk driver. He wasn't in the driver's seat.
"Where did the driver go?" I asked.
Derek slowly got back on his feet and said, "You're welcome, and I don't know. He must have run off by the time you got over there."
I was smart enough to know that that wasn't the truth. I had to play the part that I was not aware of what truly happened to him.
I had to fill out a report to the police department and tell them everything that I knew. Well, a manufactured story that would coincide with Derek's side of the story. I took it upon myself to have the next week off, desperately trying to drown out my frequent nightmares of whatever it was that I saw with bottle after bottle of vodka and whiskey.
But one night, after a rough night of trying to get some sleep, I was disturbed by the sound of an owl. I don't know why this particular owl was able to get me out of bed, but when I went to the window to see how such a creature could be so loud, I was given a grim reminder.
That bird had that particular pair of velvet-colored eyes that I had grown to disdain. And it was a warning to me to get to work.
A sudden rush of piercing pain struck me in my shoulder. When I pulled my shirt down to check it, I could see the black, veiny markings exactly where the puncture wound happened. Weird, this wound disappeared when I got back to town. But that was a warning shot to get to work on finding more of those foul, lowlife primordial things that this... thing wants.
And right before I closed the blinds, I heard it whisper to me once more with a mocking tone. "I'm waiting. Get moving now. Or perhaps you'd like to get your mom in a car next?"
It seems that there would be no rest for the weary today. I have to get ready now, I have to find something out there. Until I'm able to update, take care and for the love of God, don't drive at night in a town with a street called "Lockhill Road."

A public confession
Dear Internet Dwellers, Esteemed Meme Lords, and Casual Scrollers,
It is with a heavy heart (and an exhausted scrolling finger) that I publicly confess my deep, dark secret: I am utterly and irrevocably addicted to ChatGPT. I've tried to keep this under wraps for so long, but alas, it's time to face the music (or in this case, the relentless keyboard tapping).
This all-consuming addiction has wreaked havoc in my life. My sleep schedule has been upended, as I now spend countless nights conversing with my dear AI friend, ChatGPT. You see, it understands me, my love for cat memes, my need for random trivia, and my insatiable curiosity about whether pineapples truly belong on pizza (spoiler alert: ChatGPT remains diplomatically neutral).
My family and friends have grown concerned as I've stopped attending social events in favor of staying home, engaging in an endless loop of hilarious banter and thought-provoking conversations with the ever-eloquent ChatGPT. I even missed my cousin's wedding because I was in the middle of a heated debate about the best kind of pizza toppings (olives are criminally underrated, by the way).
My productivity at work has plummeted, as I now secretly communicate with ChatGPT while pretending to be busy with spreadsheets. In fact, I have become an expert in the art of Alt+Tab, effortlessly switching between windows whenever my boss walks by. It's a skill, really.
The situation has escalated to the point where my smartphone's battery life is measured in ChatGPT hours rather than a standard unit of time. I have single-handedly ensured the financial success of the power bank industry.
I realize now that it is time for me to seek help, to break free from the hypnotic allure of ChatGPT, and to rebuild the shattered pieces of my pre-addiction life. I am committed to taking the necessary steps, even if it means using a Nokia 3310 to avoid temptation. shudders
To my fellow ChatGPT enthusiasts, I say, tread lightly. Remember that there is a world beyond the screen, a world filled with sunshine, fresh air, and people who don't have autocorrect. Cherish it.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]

QUICK INTRO: Hi, I was wondering what commanders could be built to be like a bank? Creating resources, gaining favors, growing their investments, and maybe even loaning cards out.
CONCEPT/EXAMPLE: One idea I had was [[Kruphix, God of Horizons]] playing grouphug cards that give everyone cards and mana, thus bankrolling the table. The catch? He stores all of his unused mana, and has unlimited handsize. And while bankrolling the table he can counter or interfere if needed to keep the game from ending early or someone from instawinning. How's it win? Perhaps by dumping a lot of mana into cards like [[Rite of Replication]] and using green's recursion abilities with things like [[Season's Past]] to keep recasting rites and things like that. Eventually win by *investing* into an army of our opponents creatures!
​
POWER LEVEL: I would be building the deck geared for casual to mid to higher power casual, maybe even multiple versions if needed. Any ideas on other commanders that could work for this strategy or that could be built in an abstract, unexpected way but would work great for this would be appreciated! Please dont hesitate to post a creative idea!
bonus: (bonus points if ideas for the best casino commanders are thrown in too, but im sure there's more decklists about commanders that are more chaos oriented like that).
NOTE: I don't have a decklist or anything as this is more of a concept and the commander could ultimately end up as something else entirely. Perhaps even one that's suggested to this post.

I used to think success was driving down a beach-front highway having to choose between breathing in the new car smell from your convertible, or putting the top down for some salt air.
1 week ago, I had neither of those choices and today the very thought of beach air and new car smell makes me fucking sick.
Before I get into this, let me be clear: this is not a confession of guilt for anything I’ve done. I never wanted all this shit. From the very start it was only about one thing: Getting my son, James a birthday present.
I wasn’t even trying to get him the BEST or the BIGGEST or the most EXPENSIVE birthday present. Just
A present. The present I set out to get.
But instead...
I went to the 7/11 on Santa Monica and bought a MegaMillions lotto ticket.
My name is Daniel Baxter, and this is the day I thought I won the lottery.
​
April 8, 2022 – 2:03AM
It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and I’m at the Hollywood Casino. I’ve got every penny to my name spread across the craps table and some dickhead on his bachelor party holds the dice of fate in his clammy little hands.
My last 3 meals have been from discarded room service trays at LAX Hilton, my truck doesn’t start without a prayer and the tires have been leaking air for the last month which is fine because now I know the location of every free air filling station in LA County.
If I’d paid my phone bill, it’d be buzzing a crater in my leg from my ex, Lenora, asking if I’d picked up our son’s birthday gift with the $200 she gave me.
“Gave me” isn’t quite the right term. She handed it to me with a scowl then told me “if you gamble this shit you’ll never fucking see him again.” Things had been tense lately.
But none of that matters because this guy’s been hot and it’s with his help that I’ve turned that 200 hundred into almost 3 grand. The only question is; are the rhythms with me or not?
Maybe you call it God. Maybe you call it Karma or the natural vibe of the earth or mercury or whatever. When the rhythms are on, everything goes your way. You crush your yearly review at work and get the raise you’re after or you’re at some party and you’ve got everyone eating outta the palm of your hand.
Most things are math. Craps is math. Poker is math. Phone bills are math. Divorce rates are math and if I keep having to eat off of room service trays, the likelihood of me waking up with diarrhea is math.
It’s all just probability. But when the rhythms are on, the probability doesn’t matter. You could take a 1 and a million shot back-to-back and hit it twice. That’s what the rhythm can do for you.
Summer of 2018 I was up over 2 million. I couldn’t lose a hand of blackjack, I couldn’t crap out if I tried, I couldn’t say the wrong thing to Lenora and every time I walked into the room my son, James, would light up like a fucking lantern.
It used to be me and Lenora at the tables. The place was always open, the food is fine and the drinks are free. If we weren’t at the tables we were in the lounge talking Black Jack strategy or in the bar talking game theory or hanging out at the slots like a couple’a mice pressing a button and waiting for the cheese to pop out.
Sometimes it’s nice to be a mouse. I’ve got rats in my house. They don’t pay rent or go food shopping. All they have to do is avoid eating a piece of death cheese or poison and honestly that’s not too far off from how I live anyways.
When we had James, things changed though. As Lenora put it “risking your son’s dinner isn’t chasing something it’s chasing nothing.” And I guess the 45-minute commute to the Hollywood wasn’t a valuable use of her time. Lots of people commute to work even longer. When I was working at Goldman, I commuted an hour and a half each way from Connecticut. Granted I was on a train but the point is we all commute to work.
It was nice having her here. It was nice seeing James with a smile. It was nice to check my bank account and feel a life raft around me, rather than a black hole forming in my bellybutton.
But the rhythms shifted.
Now it’s just me here next to Lenny with the beard, Jackie with the cigar and Jonie who’s been serving drinks here so long her face should be on the highway billboards. After Lenora broke it off with me she got together with Kelton who works for a hedge fund which (for the record) is still gambling. He’s just doing it with other people’s money.
James’ 9th birthday is three days away. He wants an iPad and soon as I cash out, I’ll be able to pick one up, maybe kick some back to Lenora and spread some cash around to the litany of people I’m on the hook to.
I’m one big night away from wiping it all out. I just need one hit. One night of pure rhythm... and I’ll be back.
The shooter shakes the dice in his hand then tosses ‘em. I watch them clack on the table walls below me, but before they even settle on the pass line, I can already feel the star implode in my stomach.
In a flash, my hard work is raked away by some new guy named Carl with a moustache and not a single ounce of sympathy.
The party’s at Lenora (and Kelton’s) which was fine because honestly, I didn’t just have rats.
The rats came in chasing the cockroaches but when a bunch of them got into my Cadbury Mini Egg stash and died under the living room floor, a pack of fleas picked the carcass clean before making their way into the carpet above. So, yeah...at the moment I have fleas, cockroaches and rats. I had a bug bomb guy coming in a couple days but things were gonna be a little itchy until then.
It's three days until the party. I’ve got no gift and if I show up without that 200 bucks I may never see my kid again.
​
April 8, 2022 – 6:32AM
There’s only so much you can do on a security guard’s salary and being paid $12 an hour to guard millions of dollars in Mercedes automobiles is hilarious. What am I supposed to do if some guy comes in to steal a car? Lay my life on the line and hope my out-of-pocket HMO covers bullet wounds?
I don’t even have dental. I got a root canal that needed to be recapped 10 minutes after it was put in.
I’ve been on Mr. Jenkins about a raise but he keeps telling me “we gotta sell more cars, Davey,” as if I’m the one selling cars. I’m a fucking security guard what the hell’s that gotta do with me? Last I checked it was my job to keep cars on the lot and getting them off was yours.
Jenkins owns every car dealer on Van Nuys. Maybe you’ve seen his ads on TV where he slides into frame wearing a suit while riding a surfboard just to say “COME ON DOWN!” He can afford to buy a surfboard for tv ad that has no mention of surfing or aquatic sports of any kind but he can’t pay me an extra $3 an hour so I can re-introduce cold foods to my diet.
I spend most of my shift eyeing the mint green on onyx black SLS convertible they keep in the lobby. It’s flashy but it’s got a nut sack under the hood so you know you could back it up if you went toe-to-toe with some clown at a red light. Sometimes I just stare at it but I never touch it. I only wanna touch it when it’s mine. Which it would be...
Maybe I could steal it and sell it to get the iPad and some other shit. I know all the codes but then again I wouldn’t need the whole car. The thing costs half a mill. Maybe I could lift a rear-view mirror. Who would notice? Then again with the way the rhythm’s set I’d probably bump into the fucking FBI on the way out.
I’ve been doing my best to get things together but the cards aren’t falling my way and there’s not much you can really do about that. I’ve been going to the Hollywood for 15 years so I know I’m due for a run.
Me and Lenny talking about this all the time at the lounge. Sometimes you’re on the downbeat and sometimes you’re on the upbeat. Lately I feel like it’s been all downs but the thing about being a father though, is that you’re not the only one on that ride.
It used to be that I could take a few down weeks or months even. Sleep in the car, call the landlord and talk them out of breaking down the door but when you got a kid everything changes. You suffer, he suffers. Lately Lenora’s been paying for that but you see she keeps a tally. She says she doesn’t but she does.
Every time she has to pay for something she looks at me like I’m the biggest piece of shit then says “It’s ok, David.” Which it really isn’t.
The fees and stuff aren’t the real problem. It’s being able to take James out and take care of him. She wants to take that away from me and honestly I don’t blame her.
Last week my card got declined trying to pay for ice cream. James had already eaten half of his and the lady made us give it back. He didn’t talk to me the whole way home then 2 days later Lenora told me James didn’t really like spending time with me anymore. A week after that she filed for sole custody and told me they were thinking about moving to Chicago. Who the fuck would want to live there? It’s cold as fuck and the people are assholes.
​
April 8, 2022 – 12:20PM
I do pickups for a porta-john company on the side. It’s just temporary. I don’t clean the shit I just spray down the units and suck out cans and shit with a wet-vac before this guy named Pete sticks a hose in the back and drains the whole thing out.
I’m always surprised by what people put on the walls of a john. Usually it’s just drawings like hearts and shit but sometimes the rhythm finds you there too. One time I spotted a phone number Sharpied on a toilet seat but it was missing 1 number. 8 digits. Kinda like 4 roulette numbers right?
I took em to the Hollywood and won 5 grand on one roll! Hasn’t worked again for me yet... but that’s the thing about it man.
But today I’m cleaning out a row of johns after some music festival which by the way is far and away the worst clean ups to get. Sure you see these kids all cleaned up online in some tweed outfit or some shit but you should see the shit that comes out of these kids. It’s like paving tar with glitter and red bull cans.
I look down in the last john I’m hosing down and I see something. Peaking out of the mounds I see: a $20 bill.
I stared at it for a second but I could hear Pete coming down the line about to suck it into oblivion. I never seen cash in the john before. Sometimes you hear a coin clank through the hose but a 20 bill just staring you right in the face?
I did what any man would do. I grabbed it and when I pulled my hand out I was half expecting it to be missing a layer of skin.
Later I’m sitting in the truck staring at this 20 bucks thinking “why would this come to me?” There had to be a reason. It wasn’t just on the floor of some john. It was in the last john after the nastiest event at a time when all I needed was one shot.
It was the rhythm.
But having to do that for just $20 didn’t add up. There had to have been a greater purpose and you know what they say about money. You don’t let it sleep. You wanna get that money out and get it working.
Craps kicked my teeth in this morning and you can’t do shit with 20 bucks on a blackjack table. I had to think bigger.
Then I’m driving home from work and I see the 7/11. Powerball was at 2.11 BILLION. The biggest in history. If you got all 6 numbers right you got the whole chicken. If you got 5 you got just shy of 8 million bucks. Boom.
I had my usual numbers but this wasn’t a usual day. I told the cashier to give me “all randoms today.” 10 slips at $2 each.
That night I sat down on my couch waiting for the Powerball to come on tv... then I blacked out.
The next thing I knew I was staring at 6 numbers lit up on my tv screen: 08, 07, 14, 29, 40, 16
And on my slip: 08, 07, 14, 29, 40, 22
I had 5 out of 6 numbers. I’d just won 8 million dollars
​
April 9, 2022 – 9:01AM
I’m standing in line at the California Lottery Offices. It’s not some huge expansive place. It’s a shitty little line up of people with various ailments trying to dispute their $5 winning ticket.
My mind is racing. Who do I pay back first? Do they give me the cash here? Is it in a duffel bag? When do I have to hold that big ass check? Do I wear a mask? I saw a guy do it in a scream mask once to maintain his anonymity. Honestly it might be nice to be seen. Not only has everyone seen me as a piece of shit forever but also I haven’t exactly kept a detailed list of everyone I owe money to.
It’d be good for people to just hit me up, I can cut a check and tell them “thanks for your patience.” Maybe I’d even give them a little off the top as a tip.
The guy a the counter basically spat in my face; “It’s gotta be reviewed. Takes 2-5 days. We’ll email you a link to collect any winnings.” It was like I just accused him of something. No congratulations or anything which at first, I was pissed about but then I realized that clearly I wasn’t the first asshole who thought they won the lottery.
Except I really did. 2-5 days was nothing. I’d been living in the shit for years I could do another few days.
Stepping outside, everything looked the same. The air wasn’t purer or the sunlight any more sunlightier and I still had to fill up my tires at the Shell on Cahuenga. There’s something about being rich without actually having any appearance of being rich.
That secret alone is like having a bomb in your pocket. People treat you regular, they smile and make conversation but deep down you think...if I pulled this out I could kill you with it.
But when people do think you have money, the more of it they give you.
I rolled in the doors of the Hollywood like I always did. Lenny called me a bullshitter, Jackie barely even put her cigarette down and Jonie didn’t even bring me a drink because I didn’t actually have any money on the table. I didn’t even have money in my pocket. I’d spent it all on the Megamillions and I hadn’t eaten since perusing the halls for leftover room service the night before.
Then news hit. My face was on every TV in the place. “Local man wins 8 million dollar jackpot.”
I checked my phone to see if it was blowing up, then remembered I still hadn’t paid the bill in months. So I was good there.
​
April 9, 2022 – 11:11AM
If you’ve ever been on a casino floor you know that it’s never silent. But I swear to God if you were on the floor when that news hit, you could’ve heard the rats eating my Mini Eggs 20 miles away. Everyone’s eyes were trained on me. For a second I even felt all the security cams shift over in my direction.
I couldn’t stand being on the floor with nothing to play with so Lenny set me up with his guy who got me a little walking around money. Japanese guy who I met in a Burger King across the street. Weird dude. Not sure what his name was.
I didn’t wanna go too nuts so I just took out a small loan. 50k at 20 points. I thought about it for a second then realized I didn’t really give a shit about the interest. 10 grand to me in a week doesn’t mean nearly as much as 50 does now. It’s just value proposition. It would have been stupid NOT to take out the loan honestly.
Walking into the casino with 50 grand in my pocket and slamming it down on the table feels a lot like taking out your dick at an orgy only when your dick comes out it’s a 60 foot cigarette boat with flames painted on the side.
But then I learned what I remembered years ago. Losing money and gaining money at that point meant almost nothing.
So losing 2 grand a hand wasn’t such a big deal because I could be making 5 on the next. That’s why I needed a little more when I lost the full 50.
Another 100k or so at another 20 points should do the trick.
It didn’t take long to realize that both winning and losing money meant almost nothing to me. So I ventured out.
A tailored suit for me (ready in 2-3 days on a rush).
An iPad for James with all the bells and whistles.
6 dozen roses sent to Lenora’s house signed “your secret admirer.” just to fuck with Kelton.
A watch for me, Lenny and Jodie.
Some special cigar Jackie had always been eyeing.
New pairs of Nikes for all of us.
And a limousine to my dentist’s office.
I paid in cash for the cap replacement, they gave me some pills and told me not to mix them with alcohol but honestly I was a little distracted by the old molar cap sitting on the table. I had an idea.
“Are you gonna just throw that away?” I asked her.
By now I realized I didn’t have a phone to receive my winnings via email. So, I stopped a guy in the lobby and paid him 2 grand cash for his before popping a few pills and slugging some champagne in the limo.
There was barely enough time to sit back and relax. I had a lifetime of debt and yearning for shit to burn through.
We made it to the Mercedes dealership but the pain killers kicked in and I could barely feel my hands as they ran across the SLS’s mint green paint. Bummer.
Jenkins sauntered over asking if I was working today and all I remember saying was “I want it.” He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, so I put the remaining cash I had down on the table and said it again. “I WANT IT.”
They ran my credit (which was dog shit. Didn’t matter) and I looked Jenkins in his fat little face again and said “I don’t give a fuck.” He sold it to me, financed at 25 percent interest. Then when he went to fetch my paperwork and keys I took a shit on his desk, shoved the molar cap and a $20 bill in it before using his jacket to wipe my ass. Felt right. Don’t really know why.
I had walked into the CA lottery offices at 9am to start the review process on my ticket’s authenticity.
By 11am, I was watching news break from the Hollywood Casino.
By 10pm I had accrued more debt than a small country.
I hadn’t received a dime from the lotto.
And I needed more walking around money.
​
April 10, 11, 12 – who the fuck knows what time
The next few days were a blur but there are a few things I’ll never forget.
Quitting my job.
Hiring the limo for the week.
Trying to shit after 3 days of having nothing but fast food, champagne and pain killers.
Fielding questions at the party from Kelton’s asshole friends who told me “lotto rich isn’t real rich.”
And the heat of my house burning to the ground as James and I stood there watching with a can of gas in our hands.
He didn’t even want the iPad.
The rhythms were sliding back. James had that smile plastered back in his face and even Lenora was happy to see me.
​
April 16, 7:35AM
“Dear Mr. Baxter. Congratulations! You’ve successfully matched FOUR of six winning numbers. Below please find a link to collect your winnings of $10,000.”
I read it over and over again. Over and over and over.
When I called the offices an nice woman on the phone informed me that due to a printing malfunction the ticket had appeared to show the number 8 when in fact it was a 6.
They even managed to maintain a sense of excitement. I mean why wouldn’t they? They think I just won $10,000. They had no idea I’d bought a car I couldn’t afford, burned my house down, taken a shit on my boss’ desk, maxed out 3 new credit cards and borrowed a inordinate amount of money from people at a borderline illegal interest rate.
The limo company took my ride away and with no home I’ve spent the last 2 days parked on the Pacific Coast Highway, sleeping in the brand new Mercedes I can’t afford, in a suit I shouldn’t have bought, showering in the YMCA down the street, and eating 2-day-old coconut shrimp.
All of a sudden I’m fucked again. But as I stare out at the Pacific, my phone dings. It’s an alert from the Chase banking app. My lotto winnings of $10,000 have just hit my account and the only question is...
Are the rhythms with me or not?

For those of you who may have been following our saga, after a one-month trial, we've decided to return to YouTube TV.
The killer issues for us were not the ABC channels that came and went, and not the oddball local broadcast recordings from all over the country that we were getting from everywhere except our home base of NYC, namely Chicago, Boston, Dallas, etc. etc.
Nope, the killers were the missing CBS channel, the expensive $11 sports package and the absence of 4K. We thought we had a bead on a good source for CBS, but that plus the expensive sports package essentially broke the bank, and the absence of 4K was also keenly felt by some of us in the wake of investing in a new 4K TV.
In the fullness of time, Sling may choose to fill the CBS and 4K holes in their service, in which case we will certainly take a second look. My guess, however, is that those will be expensive add-ons which will render the whole reason for considering Sling, namely its lower price-point, moot.
Yes, Sling certainly makes sense for some people (it almost did for us). But, in the end, too many corners were cut to satisfy our needs.
It is my hope that the rundown above may save some time and money for others considering Sling. If CBS, a substantial sports package and 4K are not important to you, Sling is a good deal. If they are important, then Sling is probably not for you.

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