I (20F) am currently unemployed. It’s kinda a long story but I quit my old job last October and have been unemployed since then. Originally I was living with my mom, but a few months later, I decided I need a change.
My grandma had recently rented a 5 bed house so I moved in with her. My sister (25F) has been living with my grandma for a few years and now my nephew (1 1/2M).
My sister has always been a very selfish person but we all love her despite that. When she was pregnant we all thought she was going to be an amazing mother, and she was for the first 3-4 months before she got very lazy. We all tried to be understanding since her baby daddy bailed but it just got worse.
My nephew is now 17 months and my sister still has yet to change. My grandma is 68 years old pretty much raising my nephew. My sister always just leaves us (without asking) with him even though he’s not our responsibility. Despite that we all care for him (feed him, bathe him etc) not for her but for him. We all feel so bad that he gets close to no attention from his mother.
When my nephew got signed up for daycare I had to watch him for a couple days until he could start but that wasn’t an issue. Then he went and got sick so she took him out later that week. Then she asked me if that week I could watch him and she would pay me $100 of course I said ok and when it came to the end of the week I got no money from her; instead, she got me a $6 starbucks drink.
Then, for months after that, I was expected to watch him and I would get promised money but would never get it. Keep in mind that when she comes home from work she sits on her phone and I still have to watch him because she doesn’t. He also gets more excited to see my grandma than my sister.
After a month or two, my sister and grandma told me to not look for a job anymore because I have to watch him. I understand it’s probably hard to deal with being a single parent with a toddler but she literally signed up for that. So now I won’t have a job because my sister is making me put my life on hold to watch her child.
But today, I went up to her and gave her a heads up that I’ve been applying to jobs. She said okay that’s fine you can just watch him in the mornings so i’ll work 3rd shift. I stopped what I was doing and said I’m not gonna watch him. And that I’m not his mother, I am pretty much forced to watch him and I get nothing from it.
She was literally speechless. And then I told her how “it’s BS how everyone else is raising him but her.” And how “I’m not going to take care of your child for you because there’s a difference between me helping and completely doing your own stuff for you because you’re lazy”
I’ll admit that was pretty harsh but it’s what everyone in my family thinks but no one has the balls to say it to her. So AITA?

Took my car in for 10k service and also asked to do the TSB Eco mode update. Four hours later, I check the documents online and says my car is ready for pick up but the notes said the tech searched my VIN and no TSB was found. When I went to pick up my car, their social media guy approached me and said that he would give me a Starbucks gift card if I leave them a good review. I told him that I was a little disappointed because the TSB I requested was not done. One of the service reps heard me and asked me about it so I showed him the TSB on my phone. He said that TSBs are tied to VINs so if nothing comes up, they can't do anything. I explained to him that I exclusively used Eco mode before the TSB for battery preconditioning was done but now it's useless. They asked the senior foreman to look into the TSB and he found it right away. They apologized and said they will do it but I did not have time to wait another hour for it. They said that I can bring it back and they'll put me in front of the line and get it done right away. I thought that all service depts at dealerships would have all this sorted out by now but I guess not. I had to go to 2 different dealerships for the battery pre-conditioning TSB also. This is the closest dealership to me so I want to give them a chance to get it right. If you're taking your car to get this TSB done, make sure to print out the TSB. You can download the TSB here.

she is a food and beverage team lead at target which means she is in charge of the starbucks and target cafe. She put her title as "food service manager" on her resume. what kind of jobs could she realistically get? could she get a job in as any of the following restaurant manager, fast food general manager, or retail store manager? If not what should she be looking for?

I miss the times when they sent us silly little promo things like pins and shirts. They also took away the ability to give each other M.U.G. Awards years and years ago, wish they’d bring that back too.
*not pictured on the apron, my favorite pin from the release of blonde roast. It was made of plastic and kept breaking so it’s safely tucked away in storage somewhere.

the past 2.5 years have been so strange. wonderful memories of late night clean plays that were more play than clean, we'd bust out our speakers and have a lil dance party (while cleaning of course. 😉) setting up christmas ornaments, shopping for our tree at 2am.. then the bad memories lmaoo being understaffed as fuck (6 people max working the whole day) crying in the bathroom because a customer ordered 15 venti caramel crunches all different and are yelling at me because im taking too long,
starbucks employees should be entitled to financial compensation.

Just completed a four way instant coffee taste test. Keep in mind, hubs and I are coffee snobs who thinks Starbucks is the McDonald’s of Coffee’s, but we understood walking in that instant coffee was going to be rough. The intention is to find a PALATABLE coffee for long term storage. Not delicious, not amazeballs, just palatable in an emergency situation.
The contenders were:
Death Wish Coffee, Folgers Classic Roast, Starbucks French Roast, Starbucks Italian Roast,
The control cup of coffee:
Blue Mountain Blend medium roast beans, freshly ground and brewed.
As a note: all cups of coffee were consumed black; no cream, no sugar, all the same temperatures being poured and tested.
Results:
Death Wish- bottom of the barrel, wouldn’t even give to a homeless person for fear I would be charged with 1st degree murder if they choked on it. The acid after taste is enough to melt pavement, the liquid itself might as well have been used motor oil. 10/10 would recommend to my worst enemy.
Folgers Classic Roast: Even worse. There is no amount of sugar and cream that can salvage the the bitter burnt peanut ammonia taste that sat in our mouths for what felt like eternity. Might as well drink battery acid and just get it over with.
Starbucks French Roast: not very good. Just… nondescript “Blegh.”
Starbucks Italian Roast: if you didn’t know what coffee was and tried this, you would side eye people who drink coffee black, and then add a bunch of cream and sugar and not have a terrible day.
Starbucks Italian Roast moves on to round two!
Any suggestions for more brands/roasts to try next?

Walked into Starbucks, and didn’t see any pride swag. For a company with a huge base of queer employees, and even offering HRT for trans employee I’m extremely disappointed that starbucks backed down to the MAGA terrorist. Ugh. 😞

Opinion; Starbucks is a fkn CULT. There, I said it.
Hear me out..
I didn’t grow up religious, but eventually found, and joined a church that I was very dedicated to.. It wasn’t till I started working at Starbucks and was equally dedicated, till I realize my religion was cult-like… and now seeing the similarities.
Now, I’ve been with this company just a year now. It’s not a lot of time here but enough to notice some shiz. When I was first hired, having zero company loyalty/attachment, I saw things for what they are.. it wasn’t just the fact that people seemed like they were going above and beyond at their job, but was also the facade partners universally had, maybe even purposely put on? And not that partners weren’t genuine or nice, but, it is something that I realized seemed was conditioned into one’s behaviopersonality, even if we’ll intended.. almost a thing you take on in the job. Example; costumer service, maintaining a positive attitude at work, etc. And what I’ve seen over time, is how the company, oh though maybe well intended, ENCOURAGES this, while partners needs are go unnoticed/uncared for. Now, I understand this is the goal - to have these presidents set, (high expectations, pulling better results, healthy work environment), but, coming from my religious background, I could see how “toxic positivity” and partners pats on the back, were also being met with really harmful emotional whiplash, like; “oh, you’re doing great!” “Remember, it’s just coffee!” To also talking behind your back, gaslighting your emotions, taking anger out on you, treating you with disrespect, etc etc, while those same people, then act like they didn’t just treat you differently the day before. 😓 We’d have meetings with these same partners talking about how important Starbucks mission was, which wasn’t being embodied by these same partners..
Now, I don’t blame the partners, I blame Starbucks as a company for having the audacity to put partners in such circumstances, without knowledge of how things are run in real time.. they are out of touch of what conditions are, and can become in the environment.. they push partners to become better without being better for their partners, offering better pay, more hours, and throw therapy at you, likes it’s a “you” problem and not an “us cause we care about you” problem. And feel that it’s appropriate to enforce such high standards in the process, while keeping sales/costumer service at the expense of your health, or getting sh*t for it.
The best they’ve done for me, wasn’t even the healthcare benefits since I’ve not even been given the hours to qualify, no - but the therapy I’ve been able to use, so my therapist can encourage me to take care of myself and leave..
What I’ve learned working here, or being in an unhealthy religion, and now by going to therapy, is how the brain operates in unhealthy environments, and keeps us locked in without our knowledge and real logic.. is that, like toxic households, unhealthy relationships, cult-like religions, etc, when we gain any amount of reward in the environment that is causing us pain, it tells our brain that there is reward here.. it boosts our moral and the feel good chemicals in our brain that tells us we are safe, and this is okay.. and so, without realizing it, we entertain what is not good for us without proper understanding of what we actually need, or is truly appropriate and healthy. A toxic carousel, that we keep getting looped into.🎠😵‍💫
… so when I tell you it’s a cult, it’s for these reasons, and I hope this gives some perspective, that you won’t be enslaved into ANY sort of job, relationship or situation that isn’t truly serving you, or have your overall well-being in mind. 💛🫡

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The gift cards I'm looking for with their rates:

Card	Crypto Rate1 (Ł)	Cashapp & Paypal F&F	Paypal G&S Rate
Amazon US (receipt preferred)	66%-70%	75%	75%
Best Buy	55%	55%	60%
Target	55%	60%	60%
Walmart	55%	60%	60%
Apple/iTunes US	45%-55%	50%	55%
Steam TR	60%	60%	65%
Starbucks	40%	45%	45%
T.J. Maxx	40%	45%	45%

​
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So I've had caffeine my entire adult life (every day for the last 20 years), I'm 41, F, 96 lbs. But for the last 2.5 weeks, I went on decaf and have not had caffeine since. Today I drank a grande Americano from Starbucks (225mg of caffeine) and now this afternoon my stomach is really unusually gurgly and feeling odd. Could this be a result of the caffeine or is the gurgling a separate thing?
Thoughts/experiences?

I do Yoga to Chief Keef. I order iced matcha with no ice. I use Hello Kitty scissors to cut out my mole. I wash myself with Spiderman shampoo. I melt my left airpod in the dryer. I throw up at Starbucks. I take a shit in the secret toilet in the basement of Parsons. I try to kill my roommate. She’s a rat and that’s no insult but a fact. I have 97 cents in my bank account. I did not realize the rice was extra. I smell like Poison. By Dior. I bring a guy home, I lose my key. I shrug when he calls me crazy. I collect my plucked eyebrows. A bunch of them. Half bleached, half Black, like a garden of thorns in my plastic bag. I stalk my ex on social media. I keep tabs on his mom. I scan my boobs. My electricity gets cut off. I smear period blood on my lips. I sue my neighbor. I smell her piss through the door. I love being goofy, I prefer being strange. I sleep with no cushion and snore like a buzz saw. I order a new Macbook. They give me the wrong keyboard. I could complain, but I’m lazy. I hate to walk, I always sprint. I once joined a marathon on a whim. I was on crutches for 2 weeks. I ghosted my therapist, I owe her money. I replaced her with omegle. I miss him, so I call him. Then I block him. I throw away his paintings. I sell a sweater on Vinted. I give it to a homeless man instead. I tell the buyer that I lost it. I sit in cafes and eavesdrop on boring people talking. They argue about their wedding invites. It’s almost comically disgusting. I go to the movies, I sit in the last row. I throw single popcorn sporadically into the air. I duck, when they stare. I apply to jobs I don’t want and cry when I don’t get them. I complain when I’m broke. I write essays for others. Grades directly correlated to the cash. I hotbox my mothers’s bathroom. I let him eat my boogers. I call it love. I add two zeros to my 1%. That makes me a 100. I dye my dog’s hair blue. I match my own. I am swag on steroids embodied. Side effects included. I will crash, but make it suave. My friend tells me she feels like me for once “ Like a magnetic bull on dope”. I laugh, but I don’t think it's funny. Full Speed, I turn Chief Keef off. Pull up Beethoven. Let me get my Zen on.

The theatre, now closed, began its life as the Gaiety for the upper crust of Bombay to see plays.The Victoria Terminus (today Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) is the undisputed highlight of any tour of Mumbai.
https://parsikhabar.net/bombay/reverse-orientalism-slander-and-the-origins-of-bombays-once-fashionable-capitol-cinema/27566/

what are the best coffee shops in the city centre to study in ? already familiar with costa and starbucks

Next Chapter is quite the interesting development~...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Memory Transcription Subject: Governor Tarva of The Venlil Republic
Date [Standard Human Time]: November 4, 2136
Much needed to be done to prepare for the delegation towards humanity. We had to see the general response from all these species we contacted were, and that provided a mixed bag of results… The Rejukinar were the last race that begrudgingly accepted the invitation, their population was the least accepting of the idea of sending an ambassador… with only 29% of the hexapedal purple reptiles outwardly expressing their approval of the plan… the average approval rating between all species was a resounding 72%... All of us have left the federation in its entirety…
The gathering of ambassadors from all the species that the allies contacted on Venlil Prime was the final step… Shuttles from all the different species were gathering together at the Capitol building, with a crowd forming around the building to watch the Ambassadors arrive on the landing platforms…
There was a buzz of activity both Inside and outside, the ambassadors were gathered around in the lobby area, many with drinks in hand as they conversed about this excursion, they were about to partake in…
We all knew this was a dangerous thing we were going to do… and we all knew it wasn’t because the humans were predators…
It’s because they were hateful of us…
…
And they have every right to be…
But this needed to be done.
I took a spoon and clanged it against my glass to gather everyone's attention, the room fell silent as all the other 89 ambassadors turned to look at me… I began my speech, “We have tarnished and harmed innocent people simply based on the crime of existing… What has been done to humanity is not a thing that should be celebrated by anyone with a conscience. This is the collective effort… one we must make to appease humanity, and hope that we might find allegiance once again… even if it’s as a vassal…”
There were a few gasps and murmurings as I mentioned the word…
“Are you sure that this is the best course of action we should take? We could still win in a war with the humans…”
I scowled at the comment made by the Duertian Ambassador…
“You DARE to wish more harm on a people who offered us so much good? Only for us to take everything they hold dear away?! You might as well ally with the Arxur for wanting such a thing!”
They all gasped at me for my comment… I will agree I was a bit rash, but we need to do this, or our extinction is inevitable… I continued before the Duertian could continue…
“We have treated humans the way the Arxur have treated us… We need to be better for them the same way humans have done the same for us…” Those words seemed to make many look down, others simply sighed and nodded in agreement… I spoke once more, “The ship is waiting for us on the main landing platform…”
I began to walk out the door that led to the ship… others began to follow suit… Many waiting outside began to take photos from the fences… This was an important moment in galactic history… and I was one of the few that understood that this was very much the deciding moment of all of our races…
Just as I reached halfway on the platform… I felt a massive shockwave… the sound of the boom that it made was a terrifying one… I opened my eyes…
…
And then I saw it…
____________________________________________________________________________
Memory Transcription Subject: Elias Meier, Secretary general of the UN…
Date [Standard Human Time]: November 4, 2136
____________________________________________________________________________
So they were preparing a delegation? How amusing… to think that they thought they would even get the chance to approach Sol…
No…
After everything, none of them will ever enter Sol space again. So to make things easier for them? I will go about speaking to them in person myself…
My ship exits hyperspace directly in the middle layer of their atmosphere, and begins to descend rapidly… I order for the ship to level out and begin to begin burning it to move directly above the capital… From the Venlil’s perspective, it probably looked like the wrath of God descending upon them, that thought made me chuckle a bit… I get up and make my way to the hangar bay to descend down to the building…
…
As my shuttle descended, I got a better look at the scene unfolding on the surface… many Venlil were screaming as they ran away in fear… but quite a few were simply frozen at the sight of the massive vessel… The ambassadors on the platform of the Capitol building stood still in fear…
Good~
The shuttle placed down upon the platform just before the ambassadors with the rear hatch turned to face them. When the door folded out for the ramp for me to exit… Their eyes widened in utter horror…
It’s all oh…
Satisfying~!
To know everything that they’ve done is standing before them, a monster they have made to claim his rightful place above them all… This feeling… of dominance… oh how I love it~... they will obey the monsters they have made… or be their victims… they’d better…
I’ll ensure it… and I have a few ways to ensure that~
I walked towards them, Cameras from the crowd beyond the fence were trained upon me… I walked towards Tarva… the Venlil seemed to shrink when I peered down at her with all of my heads… The four extra mechanical heads I had opened their teeth mouths open to ensure to them I was ready to be hostile the moment I needed to be…
“W-W-W-wh-ho… a-ar-re y-y-ou??” Tarva asked, her eyes expressing more fear than ever before…
I chuckled at the scene before me, let’s have some fun~...
“You don’t recognize the monster you made of me, Tarva???”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prev: Nature of Abandonment (11/?) : NatureofPredators (reddit.com)
Next:

Is she interested in me? UPDATE: so yesterday when I got my coffee the cafe was pretty busy, but all these people on Reddit had told me to talk to her more so I said 'hi how's your day?' anyway. She seemed happy to chat and said 'you look stunning with your hair down like that'. Is that her being all over the customer service or is she actually flirting?
Original post: A bit of context: I work at an organisation that includes its own cafe and for some magical reason most of the cafe staff are gay women and trans men. I've worked in the professional services part of the organisation for three months and try to be friendly with the cafe staff whenever I get a coffee. One of the baristas memorised my coffee order pretty much straight away and today she drew a coloured in purple heart on my coffee lid. Typically the cafe doesn't write names or anything else on the cups, unlike at Starbucks and similar coffee chains. I know this barista is gay, and from her FB it looks like she has a girlfriend. I am married (polyamorous) and wear wedding and engagement rings. What are the chances of this barista also being poly and the heart actually being because she's interested, not just friendly?

I've been feeling inspired by u/Still_Performance_39 's Introduction to Terran Zoology series, and have been chewing on a few ideas for the past few weeks. I decided to finally try to write a story of my own. I warn you, I have not written fiction since I was a small child, so I make no promises.
Special thanks to u/Still_Performance_39 and Parisito from the Discord for both proofreading and critiquing my initial draft. I hope some of y'all enjoy!
Memory transcription subject: Professor Sellek, Capitol University, Venlil Prime
Date [standardized human time]: January 4, 2137
I feel my spines bristle against my chair as anxiety flutters in the pit of my stomach. Glancing around the crowded lecture hall, I see I am not the only one showing more than a little outward unease.
This “emergency meeting” had been called with little warning, and no indication whatsoever of its purpose. What little I could gather was from the specializations of my colleagues who had also been asked to attend. Professors from across the full spectrum of environmental and biological sciences, offworld development and terraforming, engineers, geneticists, and my entire ecology department, as well as more than a few that I did not recognize. We were packed into the large amphitheater like civilians in a bunker during a raid, a low constant drone of unintelligible chatter permeating the air.
The susurrus dies almost immediately as the doors leading to the stage all but slam open, the Dean of Sciences barely keeping pace with an older human marching purposefully towards the lectern. Thankfully, there is no visible panic at the predator’s sudden appearance, though most do startle or noticeably withdraw. We are all academics and intellectuals here; our conclusions should be based off of evidence, with no room for bias. Their empathy tests are empirical proof that they are much more than the heartless beasts the Grays have proven themselves to be. In the months since they had begun integrating into Venlil society, there had not been a single case of human-on-prey violence that was not in self-defense. That’s not to mention that after Cilany’s revelation of many Federation species’… problematic pasts, Gojids included, many of us really had no room whatsoever to judge the humans for their inherent nature any longer.
That is not to say I didn’t feel at least a momentary instinctual fear response myself. I doubted if I would ever entirely get over my response to the intensity of those binocular eyes. Their gaze seemed to carry an actual physical weight when they focused on you. I remind myself that one of the things that separates us from non-sapient creatures is our ability to overcome our baser instincts, and I firmly suppress the shudder that runs through my body, keeping my spines at least relatively relaxed, willing my breathing and racing heart to slow.
I take a moment to study the human as he begins setting up at the podium, pulling notes out of a rather well-crafted looking briefcase that would not have looked out of place in the possession of any of my colleagues. His fur… his hair, that is, covering his head and most of his lower face, appears to be an equal mix of black and grey, the remaining visible skin is creased heavily in places, which I knew in their species implied someone getting up in years. His eyes are shockingly blue, like the sky on a cloudless day, and his skin a light tan, contrasting against both his hair and the black artificial pelts he is wearing.
He taps the microphone twice before clearing his throat, his voice a low bass rumble. “Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for the wait. My name is Anton Kovacs, professor of ecology from… well, what was up until very recently the University of Zurich. I must apologize at the start, for I have an idea that some of the topics we need to discuss today may be sensitive, and are quite likely to fly in the face of much of what most of you have believed and been taught your entire lives. That said, however... quite frankly, time is of the utmost essence, and we do not have the luxury to dance around.”
I swallow heavily, releasing a breath I did not realize I was holding. A fellow ecologist? Fascinating. We knew, of course, that the humans had a robust scientific understanding. They had developed FTL technology completely independently, after all. But to think of predators studying the natural world for anything other than dietary purposes was a novel concept for me… And I realize with a start that it shouldn’t be. My own natural bias is revealing itself yet again. They consume flesh (I feel my stomach do an uncomfortable flip) but they are nothing like the Grays. Up until recently, we had all only had a sample size of one to draw from. We must endeavor to start fresh, from first principles, or we can not truly call ourselves scientists. New data requires new observations, leading to new understanding.
Professor Kovacs takes a sip of water, before continuing.
“To start, I need to confirm what I already suspect. I wonder if any of you might have enough common understanding with myself for this concept to translate properly: Does the phrase ‘[trophic] cascade’ mean anything to anyone present?”
Translator technology is well-engineered to allow the collective species of the galactic community to communicate with very little difficulty. We’ve had generations to smooth out the wrinkles. Even if certain ideas or phrasing do not have a direct translation in our native language, the translators are usually able to at least stitch enough of the underlying intended idea into something understandable. This is especially important in academic setting, where the concepts you are working with may be abstract or incredibly complex.
However, that isn’t to say it is perfect. For instance, ‘cascade’ has a few possible direct translations of course. Oddly, though, ‘trophic’ is just a blank, without enough of a shared conceptualization to translate, so I am left confused. I glance around at the other occupants of the lecture hall and see them all quizzically staring as well. I wonder curiously what concept could be so alien as to fall outside of my translator’s purview.
Professor Kovacs eyes the room for a moment, taking in the blank looks, before sighing. “Oh dear. I was afraid of that.”
He rubs his fingers across his closed eyelids for a moment, before opening them and glancing around the room again. His eyes in that moment seem tired, determined, I might even say sad if he weren’t a pred-… Stop, Sellek. They feel emotion, they have mirror neurons, stop demonizing them. Still, I cannot help but suppress another small shudder as his gaze momentarily passes over me.
He takes another small sip of his water, before straightening his posture and speaking into the microphone again.
“Well, buckle up everyone. It’s time for a crash course. Because if we cannot come up with a plan for a truly colossal feat of terraforming and ecological restructuring, and I mean quickly, then I am afraid that the Gojid Cradle is already a dead world… It just hasn’t realized it yet.”

So my husband and I have a dear family that we love very much. We don't get to visit too often because this family lives about two hours away, so we only go to visit twice a year for this family's two son's birthdays.
So we were visiting this family for the oldest son's birthday...he just turned sixteen, and he is a real sweetheart!! The boy's mother was visiting in the living room with my husband and me, (everyone else was outside where the barbecue and the music was), and she was telling us about the Jehovah's Witness family that lived next door to them...
Now this dear family friend of ours had known nothing about about who or what Jehovah's Witnesses are...not even from me. This dear friend of mine never knew anything about my religious background, either, until she had told me during an earlier visit that their neighbors were witnesses, and that though they were "nice," they seemed a little "weird." My friend told me that they had tried to be friendly toward their Jehovah's Witness neighbors, but that they never felt that they could get past "neighborly politeness."
Here's the latest news on our friends JW neighbors:
So the Jehovah's Witness neighbors have a fourteen-year-old daughter that our friend's son had met at school. (He was still fifteen at the time). So the son of our friend and the Jehovah's Witness girl next door knew each other as neighbors, and as fellow school mates, and the son of our friend and this nice girl got to like each other. They began doing innocent things like hanging out a little at their school, but mostly they enjoyed walking to the local Starbucks together every once in a while, and they talked on the phone. Nothing "bad," right??
So our friends, aware that their son liked the sweet, little Jehovah's Witness girl next door, invited the JW family over for a barbecue and some beer...our dear friends are very "laid back" and friendly people, and so the JW neighbors came over...
Well, (here is where I could tell that we were getting to the point in the story where my friend was heading toward being upset), it seems that it didn't take long for this invited-next-door-JW-neighbor (female) to begin to talk about "God" and the "True Religion," blah, blah, blah, and my friend told us that she politely but firmly explained to the JW neighbor that she wasn't much on "religion," that she'd had enough of "religion" growing up. She said that she told the JW neighbor that though she believed in God and in Jesus and in the Bible, she just wasn't into "religion," and that she really didn't want to talk about "religion"; that she just wanted to enjoy the day and the company...
Our friend said that (instead of just politely excepting what our friend had said) their JW guest suddenly got an "attiude," like, "Well!!" She was suddenly "uppity" and "offeneded." (You all know just how easily Jehovah's Witnesses can get "offended" when someone dares to basically "shut them down"!! They just can't handle it!!)
Well, this is what ultimately happened, and why our friend is SO UPSET:
This stuck-up Jehovah's Witness neighbor of our dear friends decided to rip their daughter out of school in order to home-school her (code for: "Complete Control") and to make sure that our friend's sweet son had no more access to their daughter. Our friend's son is so devastated and confused...the girl is not even allowed to talk to him anymore.
Our friend said to us in retrospect over just how weird and unatural this Jehovah's Witness family's reaction was to NOTHING that she just couldn't believe how her JW neighbors could behave in such a peculiar way...
Anyway, what most struck me the most about this relation of events that our friend was telling us about was her comment regarding Jehovah's Witnessses in general, which was: "They just don't live in REALITY!! They're not normal...they don't know how to live in REALITY!! (Wow... That really struck me. That Jehovah's Witnesses don't live in reality...that they don't know HOW to live in reality!!)
Oh, and that's not all!!! I got to talking with some of the birthday boy's male friends who were there for the birthday celebration, and they related to me that they had had opportunity to speak with a few of their Jehovah's Witness friends at school who were leaving to be home-schooled, and when asked "why?" they got some crazy answers, like: "I don't want to take the chance of being shot at school." and, "I don't want to get depressed and end up committing suicide!"
There were other crazy responses from the JW kids explaining why they were leaving school to be home-schooled, but those are the two that just got "stuck" in my head. (SMH)
And so, just from this one visit, I now have the distinct impression that Watchtower is just getting crazier and CRAZIER...more and more WEIRD.
I just can't get over just how Watchtower is getting more and more FEAR MONGERING and staight-up WEIRD, CRAZY, and BIZARRE....

Tomrorow my son goes to his dads house for 2 hours after not seeing him for 6 months due to a protection order because my ex threatened to kill himself and my son in his car when he was getting frustrated with my son because he wanted to bring a toy he just got home to my house. He is 12. They are in reunification therapy and my son is very trusting but also scared to see him. I feel it is too soon but I have no choice in the mater. I know mentally I am very concerned about that and my anxiety is through the roof on it but I have to act normal for my sons sake so I dont trigger him too. I have to drive my son up to his house and drop him off then get him. My plan was to be close by in case anything happens. I know mentally I amnot going to be OK so I asked my now husband if he would come with me. I askedhim last week sometime and told him I really need him. I need someone there to just look out for ME. Help me through this you know? I have CPTSD and am not handling this like a normal person would. I am a nervous wreck thanks to this and prone to panic attacks. He said no problem and again I re-explained why I need him there....worried about panic attacks etc.
Today I went out for lunch with my husband. He says he wants to use the time to visit his mom at the rehab facility because she had a stroke 2 weeks ago. She is fine and thankfully is only working on relearning speech. So first background, since she has been in the hospital I asked if he needs anything and to come to me if he does. He didnt. He never asked me to come with him to the hospital and I am not able to offer as he goes when I am busy with work or other things. He complains constantly about going. I ask how he is and how she is everytime he comes back. His mother also isnt very fond of me anyway and doesnt really talk to me. Me going there shaking and crying possibly is not what I foresaw as "supportive" for me and I wouldnt think would be great for his mom either. If my best friend was in the hospital I wouldnt visit her either, bringing my drama to her like that...no thanks.
I am NOT going to be OK. I will be a nervous wreck and I asked my husband when I asked him a week ago that we go somewhere distracting where its just him and I. Somewhere close where in the drop of an eye we can just get up and go get my son if something happens or he asks to come home early. I told him this originally and this is what he said:"Well just so you know I have to drive you and your son up there andessentially sit around for 3 hours, I think we should visit my mom so Idont have to later and I'm already spending 3 hours for you and plus I have to visit my mom so technically just so you know I will be having a hard day too."
And with that comment he undid what I needed from him for support. I already told him I will go with someone else or sit at Starbucks for 2 hours on my laptop.
Also to note he was NEVER concerned with his mom being in the hospital and I have asked him if he is stressed about it and he said no.
**ETA - I told him I am not OK with this an told him I need him there for ME and I didnt feel he was being supportive especially when I was very clear on the matter. He got mad at me and accused me of projecting. I asked him what he meant and he refused to comment or explain. Now he isnt talking to me.
There is NOTHING else that has to be done tomorrow. He wants to come home and twitch stream all day which he has also done most of the week as well so he isnt lacking in anything and I am not robbing him of important things to be done.

Throughout finals week, I probably averaged 2-3 solid hours of sleep per night. Typically when I get home from school I take a nap, but I started pushing those back farther in the night (around 10pm) because I am afraid when I wake up I might just fall back asleep again.
I used energy drinks (starbucks double shot) to stay awake most of the night. Monday through Friday it was one final exam every day. Once it hit like 2-3am, once I get up, I feel unsteady when I walk around. It's like being slightly drunk.
When friday came around I wanted to take a nap and I absolutely couldn't. My roommate slept like 17 hrs but I couldn't even fall asleep. My brain was racing, I felt an alarm in my head going "what are you doing, you are supposed to be studying, you are wasting precious time you don't have".
It got better as time progressed, but this is something I went through for 2 weeks. And it did not help that I was waiting for a final exam grade that determined whether I passed a class. That was prolonged my symptoms because I didn't have that closure that the semester was over. And we only had the weekend to ourselves before IPPE started and it was over an hour away. I spent the entire saturday packing so I really only had sunday.
I passed PK with a 70.03. Literally I was one homework question away from failing this class.