Tracfone wireless near me

My girlfriend and I have been together for 1.5 years currently. Our relationship requires a lot of effort, mostly on my end but she does pull her weight so to speak but as of lately I’m starting to feel as though the situation isn’t healthy for me or really all that enjoyable.
My girlfriend has had a lot of family drama going on since we began dating: parents who are in a not-so-great marriage, older sister who is actively ruining her own life, and now her nephew (20M) recently came out and announced he has a partner (32M) which peaked all sorts of red flags and concerns with her. She makes all of these things her problems and they’re eating away at her constantly. She also recovered from a several year-long eating disorder before we started dating and constantly struggles with her self-image now that she has gained weight.
We live an hour away from one another. 99% of the time, I am the one making the drive for us to spend time together 2 or 3 evenings out of the week. I work two jobs, minimum of six days a week, and train martial arts two evenings out of the week so very rarely am I ever just doing nothing and enjoying my free time independently. I carve out nearly all of my free time for her.
So for the past several months I feel as though more often than not she’s in a shitty mood when I go down to see her and it’s always some combination of the things I listed above or her job stressing her out periodically (especially now that her job is in their busy season.)
Don’t get me wrong, I have my own gripes in life and so does everybody— but I do my best to not make other people’s problems my problems. I want to be there for her and I’ve left relationships for this reason in the past but I can only produce so much sympathy to the same circumstances or situations until it just starts to annoy me. I feel as though if she just didn’t try to “fix” her family every day or worry about their shit circumstances she would be able to enjoy her life more. Our conversations have turned into her venting to me 90% of the time we communicate either in person or through text. Physical intimacy is borderline non-existent; we have sex maybe once a month and whenever we do I am always the instigator.
I want to be there for her but as I said, it’s the same stuff she has no control over that she obsesses over until she has a mental breakdown. Or it’s her body image issues that she feels bad about but isn’t willing to exercise, consider her diet, etc.
Looking at the situation I don’t see things improving from a logical standpoint. I feel like I’m just watching somebody I care about self destruct and I feel guilty for wanting to distance myself from the situation. I’m supposed to move in with her next year but honestly nothing about the past several months makes me want to follow through with that.
Have any of you been in a similar situation? How did you amend things? Did you just end things?
tl;dr: my girlfriend makes other people’s problems her problems and doesn’t deal with things properly and is self-destructing. It’s hurting our relationship and I don’t know how to be sympathetic or supportive when it’s the same problems she can’t control or doesn’t want to try to solve.

Hey everyone, I’m fairly new to PC gaming and building (and Reddit for that matter, apologies if this is in the wrong place)
I have recently upgraded my GPU and HDD from an RX 580 4GB and Toshiba 2TB HDD to a 6700XT and Samsung Evo 970 SSD. Unfortunately my performance is no where near what I feel it should be according to userbenchmark. Any suggestions?
My current build B350M Bazooka Motherboard PowerColor 6700 XT 12GB GPU Ryzen 7 1700 CPU Samsung Evo 970 1TB SSD 2x8 DDR4 3000mhz RAM Thermaltake Smart 600W PSU
I have updated all drivers, BIOS, OC’ing the GPU, adjusting BIOS settings for RAM speed, among other things, I am beginning to believe it is the CPU holding me back? Looking to achieve 1080P over 60FPS in all games.

I'm really sorry for a really long post but I wanted to make sure I did not misrepresent anything that happened.
Context:
Me (21F) and my boyfriend (28M) have been in a serious relationship for 3 years (currently LDR). Our relationship started in very dire circumstances when he was in desperate need of therapy and medical intervention because he had been suffering from undiagnosed condition (nothing that affects his everyday behavior, had to remove the reference because of the sub's rules). I helped educate him about the it and he sought help from professionals and is doing a lot better now. The first year of our relationship was very tumultuous with daily arguments, ugly fights, near-breakups but we managed to work through our issues and build a stable relationship. For the last year and a half we've barely even been arguing or bickering and were getting along really well. I noticed him changing his demeanor during fights where earlier he would walk out or just try to win the argument to him actually trying to sort out issues. However, I noticed a pattern where since the beginning of our relationship we'd get into really ugly fights right on my birthday. I have always felt a bit morose and dull on my birthday since I was a child which can be annoying for people who want to celebrate the day with me.
Birthday 2: ( I can't remember what exactly happened on birthday 1 but I'm sure a fight broke out and I had to apologise to him)
Last year, he lashed out at me for not wanting to do anything special and being sad as he was trying to cheer me up. He decided to walk out and said he has decided to not speak to me ever again aka break up. I also have a lot of anxiety issues so whenever there's a fight of this intensity and he walks out, I go into panic mode for some reason and bombard him with texts and calls because I can't bear not knowing what's about to happen next (or if I manage to not do that, I still have bad anxiety attacks). We've spoken about how that makes me feel before but I'll admit it we haven't really brought it up again since we haven't been fighting for a long time. I was deeply hurt that he had to lash out like this on my birthday (even though I don't really celebrate it). I don't think he ever apologized for it and even I never brought it up with him again even though I sort of resented him for doing that. I think I ended up apologizing for him for my behavior and asking him to not leave me. He never addressed the birthday issue again even though it was hard for me to get over it but we moved on eventually.
Birthday 3:
Last night, we got into an argument again. It wasn't a serious issue but it snowballed into one. One thing he tends to do during conversations is if he wants to hear me say a certain thing (apology, for example) or answer a question he will not listen to anything else I say UNTIL I say the exact works. For example, his only reply to anything else I say would be "That's not ___. I'll speak to you when you actually say __. I'll be waiting until then." And he really says this over and over for like 10-15m ore more until I either I cave in and do it or one of us leaves the conversation. We've had conversations about this too but I don't know if they were taken seriously enough. So the same thing happened last night which was actually my birthday and he kept on replying "waiting" to every single one of my messages until I got fed up and started mirroring his own behavior to show him how annoying it is. I admit, it was not a good way to handle the situation but he was literally not ready to listen to anything else I said. And in the middle of all that I realized that we were fighting on my birthday again. Then I dropped all this and brought up how he acts like this (probably unintentionally) on my birthday every year and that deeply saddens me. He got extremely mad at me bringing this up and thought I was changing the subject and said goodbye and left. I, as usual, had anxiety attacks because he simply stopped replying to all my messages so I left him a couple of voice notes explaining the entire situation. A few hours later he replied saying he's broken his phone and won't be able to reply to my texts like he usually does-completely ignoring what I was telling him.
I decided to not to let this drag me down and focus on how I could enjoy my day without thinking too much about him (I did not talk to him the entire day) and I managed to do it well for the most part. But I don't know how to speak to him again. I don't want to be the one having to bring up what happened last night since that makes me look like I'm starting a fight again or nagging....but I also don't want to let this go like last year because it builds up resentment. I feel disheartened that he can't let things go for a day (especially when it isn't a huge issue) and let me relax on my birthday instead of breaking up with me for 2 consecutive years. I suspect he'll try to avoid talking about this due to fear of us breaking into another argument again, but in that case, it'll always keep replaying in my mind until I get closure so I'm not sure how to address the situation moving forward.
For those of you who know, I have an anxious attachment style while he has an avoidant one. I would again like to reiterate that we haven't had a single fight in months and had been in a stable relationship for a really long time so these things don't happen frequently.

Let me preface this by saying that I've not been job hunting for nearly as much as some of the people in this sub, and I recognize that finding a job in our current job market is even more difficult than it used to be.
I'm currently on the lookout for job opportunities and actively applying to them, however, on one such occasion, the company I applied for replied back to me stating that the cover letter that I sent to them seemed too "cookie cutter". Now, that's not exactly what they told me, of course, I'm just paraphrasing here.
My cover letter speaks in broad terms about me and what I do, and this is by design. As I've been reading from people here and other subs, stating that they have sent thousands of applications but to no avail. Were I to purposely craft and rewrite my cover letter for each company that I apply to, I'm certain that I would miss several other opportunities.
Which is why my cover letter is not company-to-company specific. Now, I replied to the recruiter politely stating that her feedback was greatly appreciated and that I would act upon it in the future, but here, I think, lies the crux of the issue.
There's no way every company expects a unique cover letter for each of its applicants, because the time it takes to adapt a cover letter to the company you're applying for, is time that could be used applying elsewhere or simply researching about the tools and processes of the company itself. Not to mention that even if you were to rewrite your cover letter for them, it still does not guarantee you anything, not even the first interview.
So the value proposition for purposely rewriting your cover letter is simply not there. I'd like to know your thoughts on this as I move forward with future applications.

Hi there,
I've been following the development of LLMs that can be run locally but am by no means knowledgeable, so please excuse if this is stupid beginner question. As a privacy concerned person, I don't like the idea of some company having access to all my exchanges with an LLM, thus models I could run locally caught my interest. With my basic thinkpad this is not an option though. Do you expect models to become even more available to potato pcs in the near future or do you consider it necessary to buy a good computer to participate even in the medium-run? In case of the latter, could you give me an example of one (ideally a laptop) that's good enough?
Any help is much appreciated, cheers!

Hi guys! I recently got myself a used Triple S from my friend who bought it at Harrods. It's a size 43 but it feels pretty big, planning on wearing it tho, just rarely. Question is what size should I buy whenever I buy a new one fresh, there are 0 stores near me that sell Triple S's and I don't really plan on traveling anywhere soon so I won't be able to try one on for sometime.
My feet is goofy, my all time fav shoe YZY 500 feels perfect at size 44, YZY 700 feels ok at 44 (43 1/3 would be better with 700s) my adidas yung 1-96 are 43 1/3, my old cdg converses are 42.5 , my old air force 1 low is probably 42, I can't see the size tag because it's an 8 year old shoe the size tag is straight up just brown.
My feet is exactly 26.5 cm long from big toe to heel, measured the inside length of the size 43 Triple S it's around 28cm perfectly but feels extremely big, like I could fit a 1,6 cm lego brick at my heel and there was 2-3mms still (I was F-ing around a lot lol).
I'm thinking about 40-41 most probably size 41, don't think a 42 would be good either, size 43 really feels extremely big to be honest, it's ok after 10 minutes of walking but still hella goofy. Scared of 40 being too small but wanted to ask on this sub anyway.
Also found a size chart on the internet that says the difference between size 43 and 41 is just 1.5 cms, but I don't think the site has the proper measurements.

My husband and I are spending 3 weeks in Spain this October (flying in and out of Barcelona) and we have no idea where to start with our itinerary. We are both quiet, introverts that enjoy nature, walking/hiking, beaches, cafes, pastries and other good food. We don't party or drink. We are looking for beautiful, mid-sized cities that have a quiet and relaxed vibe instead of being crawling with tourists traps and crowds. We don't want to be in total rural areas but will definitely be avoiding Madrid and probably won't be sticking around Barcelona too long once we get in. When we went to Italy last year I had a severe panic attack while we tried to navigate the crushing crowds of Rome which nearly paralyzed me in fear for the rest of the trip. On the other hand, the Amalfi coast was a dream (even though it was still touristy) it was beautiful and laid back enough for us to fully enjoy ourselves. We are also open to spending some time in Portugal or southern France as part of the trip. Cities that we've looked at so far are: Costa Brava area, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, San Sebastian, Porto. We are open to using transit/trains, catching some short extra flights, or renting a car for a road trip for part of the trip (hubby loves to drive). Any feedback? Thanks!

So, i wanted to ask do anyone of you guys suffer from misophonia which was triggered by something traumatic in your life. Then how did you manage it? Long story short something sexual happen with me when i was 9,it was consensual and with someone my age,sexual touch triggered puberty/menarche at 10 and body changes started happening and i felt isolated from my age group and it left me with shame and so much guilt, i used to cry hours daily at that period of life(none of my parents know about it, they still don't). And then we shifted to our new house and it was near industrial area. So, there was a lot of noise and pollution.Noise disrupt my sleep schedule and at that same time period, small vioces like snoring, breathing, clock ticking, industrial noice makes me agitated, these noices made me wanted to smash me head in the wall. I was unable to sleep due to snoring of my siblings. In a country with high temperature, 6 months without A.C were out of question. And there were only 2 air conditioned room in our house. So, i have to adjust with my siblings or parents. Their snoring and breathing at the time of night sleep disrupted my sleep and either i will cry for hours before sleep or use mobile phones with headphones plugged in which resulted in mobile addiction. The attitude of my family towards wmy condition is very unhelpful. According to them, these are all excuses and i should control my brain and actions and i am unable to. This all drama which continueed from grade 5 till college spanning 8,9 years destroyed me emotionally, mentally, physically.
Due to fucked up sleep schedule for some years, i have hormonal imbalance issue. Depression, anxiety, adhd(i can't focus on anything related to study,mobile phone addiction),unable to share a room with anyone, can't eat with anyone their chewing and eating voices drive me crazy.For like a year or 2 ,i feel numbness and emptiness in me. Zero motivation to do anything.
I don't know what to do, my grades are falling.there was a time when i was the topper of my class and now i am a walking mental hospital. I am in med school, stress is already too much, now these problems are making me insane. My first year exams were worse. Possiblity is i would have to repeat this year. It feels like my life is falling apart. I don't know what to do anymore.

So I’ve somehow relapsed into pretty deep restriction again and still at a “normal” weight but lying to everyone about how fast I’m losing & nearly fainting every time I stand, getting horribly irritable, feeling just drained and drinking so much caffeine. My joints and muscles all hurt again and I know if I keep going again I might not make it this time after I almost didn’t make it last November. I can’t afford another hospital visit and I know I need to stop restricting but I just keep getting so excited about losing and I keep feeling delusional about stopping once I get to this new GW I have when I know I won’t.
Im running a race I was training for MONTHS for finally tomorrow and I’m so scared I’m going to DNF. I want to eat tonight but I’ve already been fucking restricting so hard this weekend and I’ve sabotaged my carb loading window horribly. I’ve planned a regular sized dinner so I’m hoping that can carry me through tomorrow.
I feel like an awful person for lying to my treatment team, my family, and mostly my boyfriend about committing to recovery. I feel like I can’t be honest about restricting or I’m gonna let them all down. Everything feels out of control and Im just not sure how to actually stick with recovery and stop switching around ED habits to cope with life.

Hey! Im in the process of saving up for my first bike and im looking for someone near me who could teach me maintenance on a bike and shit like that because im a hands on learner

Prolly a bit of a weird question but as the title says, what do they do when theres no customers around? The local bestbuy near me often seems to be reather slow, especially on geek squad side. So seeing a CA without anyone up a the desk to help is fairly common. From waht iv been told they dont really do much of the actual fixing, thats done by other agents, so if thats the case.. what do they do when the store is empty/dead ? Do you just vibe and do some paper work, have things to fix behind the desk or something? Or is it just kinda brain off, wait for someone to give you something to do?

Hello all,
I`m experiencing autoimmune conditions with symptoms lasting years after COVID-19 illness. I have not received treatment for my illness in my country, nor have I had a diagnosis, as it is not a deep diagnosis is not available in my home country. It could be cross-reactivity, but it has not been diagnosed yet. The first relapse happened in November of 2020, at the same time with covid symptoms. Before it, I've never had anything like this. None of these symptoms happened before.
​
I need help with diagnosing (especially in the field of immunology), links to similar cases, additional tests that could shed light on the situation, and contacts of doctors and researchers who might be interested.
I`ve emailed Dr. Corbett, lji.org, Dr. Thomas Brannagan, and a couple more doctors, but nobody replied to me so far. I am currently not a resident of the United States, and I am wondering what options are available to me. Here is the list of the symptoms I developed:
Neurology-related symptoms:
Hypoesthesia:
1. Total loss of erogenous sensitivity of nipples (after the relapse in 01.2021), glans frenulum (after the relapse in 05.2021), glans penis and anus (after the relapse in 09.2021)
2. Pain sensitivity of the specified areas is also decreased by around 50%, but not lost completely.

1. Several drops of urine or semen (3-4 drops per 3-4 times) are excreted from the urethra in 15-20 minutes after urination or ejaculation.
   
2. Periodical muscle twitches (arms, hands, legs, feet, face muscles - eyebrows, cheeks, left ear)
   
3. Allodynia (after weak symptoms and relapses, rarely - without any cause). Lasts for 1-2 days, then disappears.
   

6.Non-stop tinnitus (high-pitched noise) - since the relapse in 04.2023

1. Paresthesia, specifically burning/cold sensation around the right ankle (after the relapse in 10.2021, faded away in the spring of 2022, appeared again in 05.2023)

I've noticed a gradual decrease in my sense of smell. At first, I noticed a decrease in my sensitivity to isopropyl alcohol, which began about a year ago. However, since March 2023, I've noticed a decrease in my sensitivity to all smells, although not equally. Some smells, like isopropyl alcohol, smegma, and sweat, have almost completely vanished. However, the smell of fruits is almost unaffected.
Over time, there is a gradual decrease in the sense of taste, resulting in less flavor with the same amount of tea.
Symptoms that happened but disappeared after some time:
I experienced a tickling sensation near my left shoulder blade after a relapse in July 2021. However, it gradually faded away by the fall of 2022.
Intense pain under the nails of both hands (like I hit all of them with something heavy - it was painful even to scratch my head) - happened after the relapse in July of 2022, and faded away in 2 weeks. Also happened 3 times in the winter of 2023, and faded away in 1 week each time.
Frequent and strong biceps twitches occur around 40 times per minute. This happened after a relapse in the autumn of 2022, but the twitches gradually subsided within 2-3 weeks. Periodical non-voluntary bladder muscle contractions, like an urge to urinate - was in December of 2022, and faded away in 3 weeks.
Immunology-related symptoms:
Reaction on human excretions: exhaled air, sweat, saliva, etc.
On contact with these substances, depending on the amount of the "allergen" a relapse or weak symptoms happens.
Weak symptoms - pain (like weak needle stick in muscles in arms, hands, legs, feet, near shoulder blades). Lasts for 2-4 hours. After it, allodynia happens (but not always)
Relapse - long buzzing of legs muscles, long whining pains in the legs and feet. Lasts from 6 hours to 1 day. After the relapse, allodynia (lasts around 1-2 days) and some permanent worsening happens. Also, the appetite is decreased during the relapse and for some time after it.
How did I check whether it's psychosomatic or not:
Two plastic bottles. One of them is being touched by another person. I don't see which one exactly was touched. After it, I grab a random bottle and sniff it, then I come back to my room and wait for symptoms to appear.
After several hours I can tell if I have any symptoms and can recognize which bottle did I grab - "clean"(untouched) or not. I have taken this test 5 and 20 times. The match was 100 percent and 95, respectively.
Consuming food made by other person's hands causes a relapse in almost 100% of cases.
But if the food is heated for ~30 minutes at the temperature of 100 C (212 F) and above - it becomes "safe"
When I apply dexamethasone 0.1% solution to my eyes, nose, and mouth, I can interact with others in-person without experiencing any symptoms or relapse for several hours.
Doing the same without dexamethasone causes symptoms even if I stay 0.5 meters away from another human for 1-2 minutes.
Analyses, checks
In November of 2022, I did a blood check in CellTrend for autoantibodies, the positive result is 11 of 18. In some cases, the value is 3x..5x compared to the reference value.
Besides this, I've done several MRIs (brain, spinal cord, also with contrast), ENMG, and a lot of blood tests (including antineuronal antibodies and antibodies to myelin). I did an evoked somatosensory potentials test. The conclusion:
On tibial nerve stimulation, the response from intumescentia lumbosacralis is not detected from the left and from the right, and from the cortex somatosensory lower limbs representation, the response is not detected from the right and from the right.
On the dermatome innervated by the pudendal nerve, response from intumescentia lumbosacralis isn’t clearly detected; from the cortex representation - is not detected.
So, abnormal results - antibodies from CellTrend, CIC (80 and 120 units when normal value is <20), Evoked Potentials.
There was a hypothesis that it was mast cell activation syndrome. But I did a tryptase level check during weak symptoms, and it shows a normal tryptase level (4.5, normal value is 0.11)
I have visited a psychiatrist several times per year since 2006 (a major depressive disorder in the autumn of 2006). After these symptoms started, I got treatment with several antidepressants but none of them provided any noticeable improvement.
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My stats:
M, 37
180 cm, 80 kg
Dont smoke, dont use alcohol, dont use drugs
Health problems before this happened:
Major depressive disorder if 2006, gastritis in 2016

I was near Saint Denis and I saw a prisoner got him free and he game me a tip about the pig farmers money, I was hyped I go there immediately. I killed them when I saw them. Couldn’t find the money, googled it and realized you have to be poised first. What do it do now?

Growing up, I remember it all vividly: any time my friends or I got too close to the shed, my dad would come out hollering and yelling, telling us to stay away from there and that it was no place for kids. He told me he had expensive tools and dangerous chemicals stored there. As a child, I didn’t question it. It was just one of those things. In my mind, I had been born into a world where the sun rises in the east, breakfast is the first meal of the day and the shed stays locked. They were all true, self-evident and simply the way things existed in my young mind.
But as I grew older and eventually moved off to college, I began to question the shed more. My father still wouldn’t let me look in there. In fact, he kept the sole key on his person at all times. Even when he slept, he would keep the key in his pocket.
Then, during my second semester at the nearby state university, I got a call that every son or daughter dreads. I was attending a lecture on anatomy when my phone lit up, ringing silently in the great, crowded hall. Looking down, I saw it was my brother’s number. I went outside, lighting up a cigarette and answering it.
“Hello?” I said. “Gil?” My brother answered immediately.
“Luke, thank God you answered,” he said. “It’s dad. He’s being taken to the hospital. He had some sort of medical emergency. Can you meet us there? In maybe twenty-five minutes?” I said I would, hanging up. I grabbed my stuff in the lecture hall and made my way to my car. Twenty-two minutes later, I pulled into the hospital.
It was too late, however. My father had died of a heart attack on the way. He was declared dead on arrival.
***
We ended up inheriting the house. Our mother had died of breast cancer ten years earlier, so Gil and I were the last two of the Mortin bloodline. My brother was a good guy, though somewhat of a waste case, constantly smoking weed and dropping acid. He had a tendency to travel out far across the country without notice, moving around to see nature or go to music festivals. That is, when he had the money. And since he worked as a freelance writer, he was often broke.
He really wanted to get at the money dad had left us. He wanted the money from the house most of all. He told me repeatedly that it would be enough to tide him over until he got a footing in the writing industry, that he just needed to make a name for himself and then the money would start rolling in. He had his heart set on it. He would write anything that he could make money off of, from horror stories to romances, short stories to novels, even technical manuals or freelance journalism articles. As we walked to the house together for the first time in months, he repeated this mantra to me again: “Just enough to tide me over, Luke…”
“I think you’re probably going to burn through the money that Dad left you,” I said. “Why don’t you get a real job and just write on the side?” He gave me a sideways look.
“Did you see Hunter S. Thompson getting a ‘real job’ while just writing on the side?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, he was a journalist…” I began as we walked into the house, but we both stopped simultaneously when we saw what was on the coffee table. It was all of Dad’s possessions he had when he died. They were placed neatly in a line- his wallet, his phone, his car and house key, some cash, and last of all, a little shed key on a thin, leather chain.
“What do you think is really in that shed?” I asked. Gil looked at me, pale and wide-eyed in the dark living room.
“I don’t really… I don’t know if I want to find out,” Gil said, whispering as if he were in a church- or a funeral home. I put my hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.
“Of course we need to find out,” I said. “You and I own this property now. We should go look right now.” He breathed in sharply.
“No, no, don’t be an idiot,” Gil whispered. “It’s dark now. In the morning, we can go together. In the morning. You have waited twenty years to find out, I think you can wait a few more hours.” But there was something pleading in his voice, something scared and child-like. It reminded me of when I was scared as a little boy at bedtime, telling my dad there were monsters in the closet, and he would go to open up the door, and I’d tell him to stop, that they’re going to hurt him if he opens that door. But he would open the door and there would be no monsters in there. Surely, it was the same here. Gil would see, and for that matter, so would I. There were no monsters in there.
***
This all happened from yesterday to this morning. We ended up leaving that place together a few hours ago, bloodied and bruised and injured, after being trapped inside all night.
The day before it started, Gil stayed up late downstairs, watching TV and smoking a joint. He made himself a night-cap from my father’s liquor cabinet, pouring some Jack Daniels and ice in a cup with some Coke and sipping it slowly. I stayed with him for a while, talking.
We talked about the good times we had with Dad, about going hiking with him at the Green Mountains, or traveling to New York City with him to see the museums. I thought about how much I really missed him, and a knot formed in my throat. I quickly blinked my eyes to try to get the tears to go away.
Eventually, I went to sleep in the guest bedroom. Gil stayed downstairs, sleeping on the couch in front of the TV. I heard the faint hum of it from upstairs, the canned laughter of whatever comedy he was watching, the acerbic tone of the lead characters as they delivered one witty joke after another. I fell asleep to it, the voices blending into a sarcastic, hissing whisper in my ear.
And then I was floating, bodiless, looking down on a dark cornfield with ravens staring at me. The voice was bodiless, too, sounding like it came from right behind me, but when I turned, nothing was there.
“In the halls of our fathers, everyone is dead,” it whispered mockingly. “You’ll be dead soon too, if you get curious. Some doors are locked for a reason. Some doors should stay locked.”
I woke up suddenly. Something was wrong. I heard Gil yelling. I fumbled around in the dark for the lamp, groggily checking the time. 4:17 AM. Flinging the comforters off, I ran downstairs.
Gil was sleeping on the couch, still as a corpse, and quiet as one too. I looked around confusedly. Where was the screaming coming from? I followed the noise out back. I looked at the shed, and my blood ran cold as I heard another long cry come from inside. I walked across the dirt yard in my slippers, not wanting to get any closer but walking forwards nonetheless. Part of me wondered if I was still dreaming, but the chill air against my sweaty face felt real enough.
The screaming from the shed was not in words. It was a long, drawn-out, painful shriek. It was the shriek of a mother who just lost her only child in a war zone, or the yell of someone doused with gasoline and burned alive, but amplified into an ear-splitting cacophony. I had the key in my pocket. I reached for it with shaking hands, pulling it out, slowly approaching the shed.
Then someone grabbed my shoulder. I jumped, whirling around with clenched fists, ready to fight. Then I saw it was Gil.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” I said through clenched teeth. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He put his finger to his lips, the universal signal for silence. Then he leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“If you open that shed now, we will both die,” he said quietly and calmly, as if he were just stating the weather for tomorrow. “Put the key away and go back to bed. You never want to open it in the dark. Never.”
“What do you know about it?” I whispered back, shooting glances over my shoulder at the shed. The screaming still came, though slower now, maybe one heart-rending shriek every minute or so. Part of me was glad there were no neighbors for half a mile in each direction, and that made me want to laugh. There was probably some horrific animal in there that would rip me apart if it got the chance, and I was thinking about noise complaints.
“Tomorrow,” Gil repeated, gently taking my arm and leading me back into the house. I sat next to him in the living room, pouring myself a gin and tonic, sipping it slowly as the screams from behind the house mixed with the canned laughter of the TV show, wondering what kind of man my father really was.
***
I woke on the couch, an empty glass falling out of my hand onto the cushion. Light streamed in through the windows. Gil was nowhere to be found. I looked back and forth, then heard the sizzling of food from the kitchen.
Stumbling in, I saw he had prepared a massive breakfast of bacon, sausages, corned beef hash, eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce, Texas toast, orange juice and coffee. He was smoking a joint with the windows opened, occasionally sending a grim look out the back of the house towards the shed. I sat down, pouring myself some coffee and grabbing milk and sugar to mix in.
“Who is all this food for?” I asked. He kept staring out the window. “Hey!” He turned suddenly, his face looking pale and drawn.
“What?”
“I said, who is all this food for?” I repeated. He looked around, smiling.
“Just for us. Why not? I figure you will need the energy today, and so will I,” he said cryptically. He sat down across from me, pouring himself coffee and orange juice and grabbing a plateful of meat, toast and eggs. I did the same, giving him occasional glances.
“What did Dad tell you?” I asked, pouring maple syrup on my sausages and bacon and chugging an entire cup of coffee in one long swallow. It burned my throat, but the rising heat and caffeine made me feel instantly better and more awake. Gil sighed heavily.
“Not much, to tell you the truth,” he said. “He was really drunk one time when you were away at college, a couple months ago. He was drinking more and more before he died, like something was weighing on him, something he wanted to forget. Well, anyway, I was sitting down here with him, watching those documentaries he used to love with him, and during a commercial, he just started talking about the shed.
“‘Now boy,’ he said to me, ‘I know you probably have a few questions for me. I probably should have told you and your brother about it a long time ago, but it is something I don’t like to talk about. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. I think talking about it tends to wake it up.’
“‘Wake up what?’ I said. Dad was quiet for a long time, just staring at me. Then he leaned close to me and whispered something strange.
“‘The stairs,’ he said. ‘They’re not normal, son. Sometimes they go down below the shed to a… Well, I guess it is just an empty sub-floor. Just a plain, swept dirt basement below the shed. But I never built any such sub-floor, and it wasn’t here when I bought the house, and it isn’t on the plans either. If that was it, then who would care? Hah, a free storage place, people would be happy, right?’ I nodded, grinning back at Dad. He seemed to have a glimmer of his old self for a second, happy and free. But then his face darkened again.
“‘But lots of times, boy, those stairs do not lead to a sub-floor. One time, they led down to a white room covered in blood, with bright fluorescent lights flickering all over the walls and ceiling. And there was a little girl down there, dancing among all the blood, jumping and twirling in her little blue dress, little ballerina slippers on her feet, and all the skin on her face peeled off. She was just a bloody, grinning skull. And when she saw me on the spiral steps in the corner, she stopped dancing and just stared. The lights began to turn off, everything went dark, and I ran, my boy, I ran faster than I have ever run in my life. I felt little hands grabbing at me as I made my way up the last stair and slammed that shed door behind me. I locked it as something fought to get out, something that felt far stronger than any child. And that was just one time.
“‘It’s worse at night. That’s when the real dangerous ones come out. I don’t know how the stairs work, son, and I don’t think I ever really want to. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll never have to deal with them. Maybe I’ll find a way to destroy them before I die. Aye, maybe…’” Gil stopped speaking, deep in thought and remembrance. I took another sip of juice and ate some bacon before responding.
“So you’re telling me Dad went batshit crazy before he died?” I asked. Gil shook his head quickly.
“He wasn’t crazy, Luke,” he said simply. “At least, I don’t think he was. If he was, the stairs probably made him that way. Do you really think that you were just hearing a fox or something caught in the shed last night? Those screams sounded human. We both know that was something unnatural. But I wouldn’t worry if I were you. If you need proof, we’ll have plenty after today- assuming you still want to go into the shed.” And after we finished eating, with no fanfare or delay, we did. I grabbed the key, and Gil and I went out side by side, scared but not showing it, ready to finally see for ourselves the mystery that had haunted our family for decades.
***
We walked through the hard-packed dirt yard, looking down the grassy field behind the house to the rolling hills that stretched as far as the eye could see. They began to grow blue, pale and fuzzy near the horizon. It was a beautiful place to live, and hard to imagine something so evil might be right in the middle of it.
The shed loomed up ahead of us, boards tightly hammered together and freshly painted a dark red color. The shingles on the small roof all looked relatively new, and the door was expensive and sturdy. I stood in front of the door, listening for the sounds of any movement, but there was nothing. I fumbled in my pocket for the key, pulling it out, looking at Gil who stood close by my side. Then I shoved it in the lock and opened the door.
The shed was dark, as if a curtain of shadow fell across the open door. I stuck my head in, feeling around the side for a lightswitch. And that was when something grabbed my hand. I screamed, ready to pull my hand out and run, and then I felt the lightswitch on the wall. I flicked it on quickly. There was no one in there. Shaking, I turned to Gil.
“Something grabbed me,” I whispered. He nodded, unsurprised. Then we walked in the shed together.
The walls inside were all covered with plates of sheet metal. Every square inch of the shed was reinforced with steel, including the roof, which had a flat pane of metal going straight across the shed, welded to the four that covered the walls. Only the floor was unprotected. It was just a plain dirt floor with a hole in the center.
Looking closer at the protective structure of the shed, I saw deep claw and gouge marks raking the metal’s surface, even those on the bottom of the ceiling eight feet above the floor. Something had clearly been in here and wanted very badly to get out.
I inched closer to the hole in the floor, which took up most of the floor of the shed. It was at least ten feet wide. Looking down, I saw spiraling steps, descending in a clockwise fashion as far down as the light extended. I found a small rock on the ground outside, came back in and dropped it down the center of the stairway. I listened for it to hit bottom, counting the seconds on my watch. After about thirty seconds, I realized it wasn’t going to. Maybe it was too far down to hear when the stone connected.
I looked over at Gil. He was standing as near to the door as he could get, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I gave him high marks for courage, though. There was something wrong in here, and I could feel it. Outside, it was warm and a fresh breeze blew the smell of flowers and pines through the yard. But in here, it was cold and oppressive. A freezing chill seemed to come from the hole in the floor, spiraling up with the stairs and running over my body, sending a feeling like ice running up and down my back.
“Do you want to go first, or should I?” I said, gesturing to the hole. Gil stared at me as if I had gone mad, his eyes widening.
“Why in the fuck should either of us go?” he said, raising his hands and using them to gesticulate wildly as he often did when he was upset. I shrugged.
“This is our property now,” I said. “We need to at least know what’s on it, don’t you think?” But there was another reason too. It was sheer curiosity, and a desire to prove to myself that there was nothing supernatural going on here, no monster in the closet, just the overactive imagination of an old man. Gil sighed.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll go. Go grab two flashlights and Dad’s gun. Maybe some extra batteries. Some extra magazines too. Better safe than sorry, after all…”
We both went inside the house together, leaving the shed door wide open, and that was when, I believe, something got out. And then the killings in town began.
***
We descended the stairs slowly. They were stone, slick in some places. There was no guard rail or any protective barrier, which made my heart beat a little faster. I liked something to hold onto. If I took a tumble on these stairs, I might keep falling forever.
We heard strange sounds from below periodically, but when we shone our lights down there, we couldn't see anything. Echoes rose around us, sounding at one point like kids playing a game of hide and seek, at another like the howling of a wolf. Strange squeaks and clicks would also arise intermittently from the shaft below us, and then stop as quickly as they had started.
The noises got louder as we descended dozens of stories, then hundreds. It seemed like the stairs would just keep going on forever, until we hit the mantle of the Earth and got burned up. Then a door appeared, painted a chipped blue with a fading daisy on the center of it. I looked at Gil, then swung it open.
Beyond it, a hallway with fluorescent lights extended as far as the eye could see. Countless rooms went off it to the left and right. The lights flickered on and off, sending portions of the hallway into darkness. The floor was falling apart in many places, with strange molds and fungi growing out of the wood. White and black molds battled for space, forming huge colonies that were bigger than my shoe. I walked forward, putting my weight gingerly on the floorboard. It creaked slightly and felt wet under my shoe, yet it held my weight.
“Come on,” I said to Gil, who followed closely behind. As soon as we had walked a few steps down the hall, the door slammed shut by itself behind us. I jumped and turned, pulling out the gun reflexively. Gil put a hand on my shoulder, pushing the gun back down.
“It’s OK,” he said. I was breathing hard, my heart hammering in my chest. Maybe that was why I didn’t hear the counting at first.
But as we walked down the decayed hallway, the lights turning on and off above us with every step, I realized that someone was counting, and it had been going on for a while. It sounded like the voice of a little girl.
“Forty… thirty-nine… thirty-eight…” she said, counting off the seconds. I heard giggling from the rooms around us, but I couldn’t see anyone. We kept walking forward, but that counting was getting on my nerves- not least because I couldn’t for the life of me tell where it was coming from.
We checked the rooms to the left and the right. There were broken tables, old office equipment and chairs in nearly all of them. Some of them had fish tanks, but instead of fish, they had plumes of multi-colored molds growing over the top of them, or, in one case, a dead and dried-out turtle.
“...one… ready or not, here I come!” the girl’s voice screamed gleefully, and that was when all the lights went out at once. We quickly fumbled for our flashlights, turning them on at the same time. I had the gun in one hand crisscrossed with the flashlight in the other, a trick I had seen used in cop shows. Gil had a ten-inch bowie knife in one hand, which he had just removed from the massive scabbard he had it in around his leg. In his other hand, he held the flashlight, which he frantically shone back and forth, up and down.
“Geez, calm down with that thing,” I said. “You’re going to make me dizzy.”
“Something’s coming,” Gil whispered, a note of dread in his voice. “Don’t you hear it?” I stopped, listening hard. Indeed, I heard footsteps nearing, small suppressed giggles, the swishing of a dress. My flashlight illuminated a pale face, a little boy sneaking a peak out of the nearest room. He was filthy, covered in black soot with torn clothing and what looked like blood caked into his hair. He looked up at us quickly then withdrew into the room. For the first time, I felt genuinely scared. Now we could be certain we were being watched.
“Hey!” I whispered, running into the room after him. Gil followed close behind me. The footsteps seemed to be right next to us now, but I looked around, not seeing anyone. Then a blur of movement passed by as a little girl ran over to the little boy, where he was curled in the corner under a broken folding table, crying and shaking with terror.
“Found you!” she said. I shone my light directly at her back, seeing a pale blue dress, but I couldn’t see her face.
“Get away from that kid!” I yelled. She ignored me, bending down quickly, and before I knew what had happened, she had ripped the boy’s throat out with her teeth. She turned to look at us, and I saw that her face had been cut off, and now only a grinning skull remained. It was covered in a thin sheen of blood, and two tiny white pinpoints of light seemed to glow inside the empty sockets of her eyes. With her teeth full of flesh and gristle and fresh rivulets of blood running down her skeletal mouth, she continued to cry, “Found you! Found you! Found you!”
Without hesitation, I shot her in the shoulder. She fell back a half-step, turning to look at me with that skeletal grin, then spun around and continued eating the little boy. He was still alive, choking on his own blood, his huge eyes moving over to me as he died, as if accusing me of being the cause of all this. The sound of his last gurgling breaths were the only sounds now. I shot her again, but she wouldn’t go down. A blossom of blood began to spread outwards on her back where I had shot her, but she showed no pain. Gil grabbed my shoulder tightly.
“We need to get out of here,” he said through gritted teeth. I nodded. We ran back to the door we had come in through, but it was locked tight. The lights were still off. I told Gil to take a step back, then tried shooting at the lock. The bullet ricocheted crazily as if I had shot a reinforced army tank rather than a plain wooden doorway. Next we tried kicking it open, but it was as if it were fused to the wall.
I turned to look at him, and the truth passed between us in a glimpse. To get out, we would have to go farther in, where there were likely even worse things waiting for us.

This has been an ongoing issue from the day I downloaded Fjordur, and now its spreading throughout the maps.
I've had issues with Fjordur from the day it was released, and that was being constantly kicked off the map if I DARED to go near certain places. The biggest problem zones was the Green obelisk/Red woods parts of the map which was guaranteed 100% to kick me every playthrough.
I cannot enjoy Fjordur as a result.
Another issue that has arisen is the game kicks me 9/10 times when I try to log out, and I end up losing about 20 minutes of progress, ontop of sometimes dying when I log in case I load into a compromising position (either flying or in combat).
These have now extended to Lost Island which I recently started on. (Its also starting to affect the other maps, like Crystal Isles, Valguero, Extinction, etc)
I'm at my wits end and I know for a fact WildCard won't do shit about it because from what I've seen they never do anything about any of the major issues with the game, they rather keep adding new dinos like that's supposed to make it better.
I genuinely don't know what to do because in the beginning the issue was my saves being deleted by server wipes but now the issue is being kicked out of the game for absolutely no reason and losing a heap of progress.
Am I unlucky or is this something that happens with others and how in the heck do you guys cope if you're affected?
I apologise in advanced for this vent post, I really wanna be able to play this game but its hard to enjoy to the max when I am getting kicked out at the most random times, or when I'm trying to end a session, or I'm losing my entire saves.
I play on Xbox One and I feel like I've tried everything I could possibly think of except for buying a new console but I can't do that because I'm not exactly rolling in money.

I can't believe I bowled for 3 plus years until I asked the local bowling pro why I can't get my speed or Revs to be anywhere near where I want it to be. He had me throw one ball and told me I was squeezing, I thought I had to have the basics down perfect because I have bowled 220+ several times, even though my average is around 170-180, but finding out I was squeezing was a complete game changer. I have so much to work on now, especially with my release.

I'm a rising junior and was/am pursuing a double-major in ecology and politics, with the intent to go into environmental law. This was originally a labor of love, but I actually just... don't enjoy law as a subject. I don't want to go to law school or become a lawyer. I love STEM and I want to continue to work in STEM.
I think the best convergence of my personal interests and financial needs is to pursue a career in computer science. High barrier of entry aside, I legitimately enjoy coding/data, and there's a significantly better work-to-pay ratio in almost all CS careers when compared to law. The only thing stopping me is the sunk cost of my law/policy courses.
I could do a biology-CS double major with only one extra year in undergrad, but I look at my transcript thus far and see all the humanities/policy seminars I've taken and feel literally overwhelmed; cross-discipline double majoring at my college is nearly impossible to do in less than four years, and I was/am so proud of myself for having made it work. I only have three politics courses left before completing the degree requirements.
How do I overcome the sunk cost fallacy? Beyond that, so much of my identity as a student is based in my goal of going to law school; how am I supposed to form something 100% new? I'm sure it seems so petty in the scheme of life, for a 20 year old to be this upset about realizing their 18-year old self was wrong, but I'm really struggling with this. I don't know how to tell my family or friends, all of whom have been really proud of me for my success at double-majoring. I know the harder thing to do is to switch to CS + add time to my degree, but I feel like I'm letting myself down.
Advice/kind words/reality checks/etc are welcome.

I’ve always been the kind of person to keep bills paid, pay for dates, shop on my own dime, pay for all vacation expenses, etc. However, I fell on a very hard and unexpected situation last December right before a vacation I planned for my partner. When we returned, I had nearly no money and not much to go home to since I no longer had one at this point. She helped me get an apartment and supported me through the unexpected financial strain I’d fallen into. Since I no longer had a job and had to move a couple of cities away for cheap rent, it took much longer than expected for me to get a job. I’m talking 2 1/2 months or more. I ended up getting contracted for a pretty great opportunity (finally) and could get back ahead of things a little. I was able to go back to paying bills and releasing the financial burden off of my partner. However, once again, I fell onto another bad situation that took me right back to square one. My contract wasn’t extended even though I thought I did a great job, and I’m without work again. My partner has an awesome job at Apple that allows her to be able to carry us, but it still feels like I’m just not reaching where I was before. There was a point in which I was able to take care of both of us, but now my bank account is drained and all I do is cook for her and clean around the house. She tells me she’s grateful and I believe her, but it doesn’t feel like enough. It gets harder every day and it doesn’t help that every time she brings up the job search I just get depressed about it. I’ve been applying and interviewing but it seems like nothing is biting. I’m at a point where it’s starting to make everything feel really gloomy for me. I can’t even connect with her romantically or intimately the same way because I feel so useless. What do I do?

So this morning at 3:45a I get a 130$ 3hr route at a DRT near me (literally 2 mins away) and I take the route, it took me over an hour away from home so that was already annoying but not surprised. I get back home by 6:15 and scooped up another 100$ 3hr route from the same DRT starting at 6:45 (I saw it at 6:35). Once I get there. There’s a car in front of me and they send him to a lane, and then I go to my lane. I noticed there was like no packages or anything so I was hoping I’d get sent home with pay. Well there was a manager telling the guy in front of me he was good to go and no routes, and a different manager came to me and said “I think we’re giving you one package, idk how to do it yet tho so one sec” I immediately get excited because I thought these were myths lol and then… They bring me 17 packages out of no where, once again, going an hour away from home 😭 I was frustrated because the person got to go home with pay and then another car behind comes up and they give him the one package. I was so pissed off because I already had gone out and everyone else got to get off easy.
Just needed to vent 😞

Several up for sale today as I continue to thin out my collection. Some are reposted from last week with price drops! I’m 99% sure I have all the boxes for each knife but will let any potential buyers know before finalizing any deals. All knives are PayPal Friends and Family shipped CONUS only please! Please excuse my crappy photography skills or any typos as I am throwing this together fairly quickly and have several to post!
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/BQIxzNQ
First up is a reposted Tactile Turn Ti Maverick(A-)- this knife has not been carried or used either and is just a bit large for my preference. The action seems ok but not as fidget friendly as my other axis lock knives. This also comes with an extra pocket clip, posts and a patch as when I received it the knife was missing a screw in the clip. I emailed tactile turn and they sent me an extra clip, posts and screws as well as a little TT patch. Asking $310 OBO PayPal friends and family only.
TT Maverick: https://imgur.com/a/scbdCOv
Guardian Tactical Recon 035 (B+)- This knife does not appear to have any issues however I have carried it a few times and have fidgeted with it several times over the year or so I’ve had it. So I am rating it a B+ to be safe. Action is super smooth on this otf and despite my love for Microtech I will say is much better than any of my Microtech otf’s. Blade is a distressed black drop point in Elmax steel. Asking $225 OBO PayPal friends and family only please.
GT Recon 035: https://imgur.com/a/WHwzsSp
WE Thug XL(B) - this knife is basically brand new and was never carried. I did cut some packages open with it but that’s all the use it’s seen. Action is nice on this one as well. I did notice a snail trail near the pivot that I have no idea where it came from so I rated this a B as well! Asking $225 OBO PayPal conus only please.
WE Thug XL: https://imgur.com/a/B9uiae5
Chris Reeve Small Sebenza (C+) - This knife has been slightly modified with me bronzing the hardware and was also sharpened on my KME a while back. It could use another touch up but is still fairly sharp! There is a fair amount of snail trails on the knife as it was a user but nothing major and the action is silky smooth! Will come with the lanyard pictured as well as the standard black one it came with as well as a clip insert for removing the pocket clip. S35VN steel and the DOB is 2/6/20 Asking $300 OBO PayPal Friends and Family only please.
CRK Small Sebenza: https://imgur.com/a/xQEc3qf
Something Obscene J Cape Mini(A)- I was just not a fan of the style or size of knife. It’s basically brand new only been flipped open and closed a few times and has a factory fresh blade! Asking $320 OBO PayPal F&F Conus only please.
Something Obscene J Cape mini: https://imgur.com/a/8DygydC
Microtech UTX-85(C) This knife has been modded quite a lot as it was not originally the distressed version. I put the distressing on it myself and also have sharpened it on my KME. It was one of my first attempts on the KME so it was not a perfect sharpening job. Other than the visible mods and some scratches from the sharpening there are no other issues. Action is typical of Microtech otf’s and should be shown in the video! Asking $175 OBO PayPal Conus only please!
Microtech UTX-85: https://imgur.com/a/wSDm24g
Microtech Dirac(B-) This knife is the antique bronze version and the action is great on it. I have carried it a fair amount and there are some scuffs on the handle and clip from being carried. Asking $185 OBO PayPal Friends and Family only please!
Microtech Dirac: https://imgur.com/a/hjhbiFJ
Benchmade Bugout(C) This knife has been carried and used a good bit and has some scratches on the blade coating from sharpening on a ken onion worksharp. The knife has aftermarket micarta scales as well as the original grivory scales it came with. Asking $100 PayPal friends and family Conus only please.
Benchmade Bugout: https://imgur.com/a/0e64Ntz
Giantmouse Ace Clyde(B+)This knife was carried a fair amount but not used to cut much and was never sharpened. Rating it a B to be safe but I cannot see any issues with it and the action is really smooth. Asking $100 PayPal friends and family conus only please.
Giantmouse Ace Clyde: https://imgur.com/a/iGWL5AX