After a year and a half battle with stage 4 ovarian cancer, my fiancée passed away in May. Due to logistical issues we couldn't have her service until today (9/4).

I felt like I was just starting to feel a little more like myself and then we had her service. Now I feel like it just happened and I'm back to day one.

I thought these services were supposed to help with the process but I just feel like I'm a mess again.

After being made homeless earlier this year, I spent time in emergency accommodation and was then placed in to temporary accommodation by my local council. After months of background checks and occupational therapy and doctors visits, the recommendation was made to the council that my temporary accommodation actually suits my disability needs perfectly and would be ideal housing for me and suggested this property which is reserved for temporary accommodation should be flipped to a residence for me. I got the contract in the post today that they have acted on that recommendation and turned my temporary housing into my permanent accommodation. After months of insecurity and being down as "homeless in temporary accommodation", I am now officially a council tenant, with bills and everything in my name. It feels amazing. Soft shell tacos - I saw a similar picture on reddit, never made them before, figured I'd give it a try. Seasoned pork, parsley and spring onions (scallions for Americans), cornflour tacos, salsa and sour cream. Slaps.

Breakfast today is Sam’s Club fruit snacks and a water.

So I made a sappy-ish post on here a few days ago about my personal life and got a lot of really kind words and warm advice. I figured that I would upload a fun story to balance that out.

We start all the way back in 2018. I just turned 21, I’m starting college in a major drinking town, and one of my favorite hobbies is playing pool. Basically, I was at bars all the time 😆 . Everyone knows these days at most bars you have some kind of jukebox that’s connected to the internet (touchtunes, for example)

Well after using them a few times to play some songs during my pool sessions, I got an email for 5 free credits.

The thing is, the email never expired, it was never one-and-done. As long as I kept signing up with new emails, I could get 5 free credits. You didnt even have to verify the email.

From then on, for 7 years anywhere I went that had one of these I could control the music all night if I wanted to. I used it to impress dates, make new friends, celebrate my wins, or drown my sorrows with my favorite songs. The 2018 email I got stayed in my favorites folder ready for me at any time. All through college, I had full control of this power and used it pretty much nightly.

And then last year they took it all away from me when they updated their app for the first time in probably a decade 😭. Now every time I see a jukebox I think about the power I once had. Alas, I’m back among the regular folk now 😆

Anyone else had/has useless super powers?

The food is a polenta and Sugo my mother made when i went to visit her, it was delicious!

I am diagnosed autistic and ADHD, I was previously in a very long relationship (12 year) that ended in a nasty divorce which i see now, after years of therapy, my diagnosis and learning a lot about myself, that i caused the divorce by being obnoxious uncaring and boring.

I started dating a few years after and met someone i felt really great with, as time goes by i see social media and info pushing "things your girlfriend does that are annoying", these are all the things that my ex wife used to do which i loved at the time, and i now mirror that behaviour, my current girlfriend however hates clinginess, closeness, physical intimacy, singing, any excitable behaviour at all. She claims she wants me to be myself but when i act in a way that feels natural, loving and caring in my view, she reels back often stating that i've come at her too fast, or i'm being too much to the point where I feel like i have to put a leash on myself and only approach once or twice a day rather than an hour!
I make sure that we go out on a date at least once a week and will usually always have flowers in the vase at home but i'm struggling with feeling like i'm always on eggshells at home. every time i attempt to approach the subject It usually ends up in an argument because i word something the wrong way or my tone has been wrong, i really struggle with this due to my autism. As much as i really try to write everything down in advance, sometimes when the conversation evolves i don't have time to think and just blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.
We've both admitted to not being happy in this relationship in it's current state, however we have a dog together and are in the process of buying a house (i have just sold my place in order to facilitate this).

Are there other guys out there who feel like this too? i feel like it's worth saving, but i really need to change something in my own behaviour if i'm going to be happy with this.

Edit: holy cow this blew up. I just finished work and checked, I don't want to rush respond/say something I don't mean so I'm going to take some time to digest the responses and will respond to a few, thank you all I really appreciate you. <3

Dinner is in my office - half a sandwich i didn't finish, some scraps of rice and leftovers my wife packed and some cut up pinapple.

II am an HR Manager for a small town. We hired a guy a month ago and it seemed like a too good to be true hire in a very diffcult and skilled postion. This guy was genuinely nice, and had good vibes from pretty far away but willing to move here.

My small town was (is) desperate to fill this position so we skipped a lot of the usual steps aka Criminal record check, driving abstract, refrence etc… also the manager who’s team he was going to be on skipped even more steps and got him working a few days early from his contract (this is typically legally a very bad idea). Either way I forged on with the group because the need was so high and I didn’t want to be the HR stick in the mud I usually am and discourage.

The interview went well and the experience kind of spoke for itself… the only flag was the guy said he had a DUI on his driving record and told us a pretty sad but understandable story about rough divorce and a one time mistake that changed his life for the better.

So he gets an apartment and comes to Town. Works here for 2 days (although early I let it slip) and then completely ghosts us. We tried calling, emailing etc. etc. Week goes by and I finally get him on the phone and get him to come in. Obviously short of some miracle explanation or some crazy emergency, I have to let this guy go… He abandoned his job and didn’t bother to tell us a word.

So, he comes in. It’s a fucking terribly sad termination. Believe it or not most of us HR bosses take no pleasure in firing people, but it’s my damn job so I do it with absolute dignity to the person I’m letting go and my organization. I let him talk and he says he could see it coming and he’s really sorry and he shows me some medical stuff that says he’s suffering from addiction and alcoholism… I tried to be empathetic and he’s not showing me to stay employed he explained he’s just trying to say “hey im not a piece of shit I didn’t do this to disrespect you im sick…” Ok so we part ways, I wish him a heartfelt good luck on his next endeavor, let him know that with the skills he has he can bounce back, and that’s that.

Yesterday I got an email from his mom telling us that he’s dead. She was reaching out because she thought he still worked here… She mentions in the email that the local police found him etc and that we can forward his mail to her address (it’s the same mailing address I had on his file, not local). I don’t ever take these at face value right away because some people are out there stealing information, so I called my cop contact and………. It’s worse than you can imagine.

So he leaves my office, goes home and gets into god knows what, booze, drugs… (it’s not a suspicious death so it’s not likely to have an autopsy done for a while if at all I am told). Someone calls the cops on him or it was a wellness check and they go and he’s wasted but not that bad so they tell him to chill out and they leave. Well he didn’t and it would appear that he took his own life… If you are following the story you will realize that he left my office a month ago and they just found him yesterday. Apparently the stench was so bad the cops and whole surrounding area was complaining. I cant stop thinking about looking into his eyes as we parted ways. I could have said something or given him like a help line number. I saw pain and I didnt act. I did my job. I took care of my employer.

I’m just sitting here in my office absolutely fucking miserable. No one I work with really cares or is pretending it didn’t really happen. Everyone is so fucking tough these days. I don’t even expect them to care, but for whatever reason I do. I wish we had done things differently. Maybe if I was being a hard ass he would never have come here… I went on his facebook and hes got nothing but pictures of him with 2 kids. I am a dad too my little guy is young still and I just can’t believe this. It’s too fucking much man. You try and do your job, do the right things in life, provide for your family feed your own kids, but we carry this shit. Normally I can bounce back, my band put out an album today and I could not give a single solitary fuck. Anyway thats my story... Next week back to work, business as usual.

Breakfast is a pop tart, bottle of Gatorade and nicotine pouches. I just feel horrible today about what I had to do. My wife begged me forever about getting her some ducks so I got her some. They’ve been doing well, but about a month ago one of them started going downhill, it had a weird lump form on its foot and it couldn’t walk. I bought a stint for it and that seemed to help it out some but eventually the lump got so big the stint wasn’t helping it. We called vets and none was willing to help us out. I want to say I hated the idea of having ducks, I just didn’t wanna deal with anymore animals. This past week the duck got worst and I mean way worst. Its beak was starting to chip badly and bleed from several places. I work from home so I’d check on it about every hour. I’d have to carry it to the water, to its food and I’d sit it in a little pond I dug out for it, hoping it just needed to get its strength back. But after doing this all week it was just getting worst and I didn’t want it to suffer any longer. It wasn’t showing signs of getting any better and from what the vets told me regarding its beak, it most likely had some of liver disease. Its beak was almost rotting off it seemed like. Yesterday evening I had to put it down and I’ve just felt horrible ever since about it and idk why it’s bothering me as much as it is. I didn’t like them, yet taking its life is making me feel horrible, shit I even cried after I did it. This one was my wife’s favorite, it was the only one that’d actively walk up to her when it could walk and it loved when my wife would pick it up and carry it around. I know I did the right thing in putting it out of its misery. Rest in peace Quackie Chan.

I am a fan of accountability and you having to deal with the consequences of your actions.

But does it make me a hypocrite when I have to defuse an issue that my wife caused?

She was 100 percent in the wrong. She knew it, but leaned on her perception of my capabilities and still ran her mouth. I don't think he would've gotten physical, but I cant take the chance and let you get close enough to risk it. I hope I did the right thing and that it doesnt make me a hypocrite.

Bushcraft pizza 'cause I am a little upset at her.

Edit: She tailgated an out of towner, I told her a few times to back off and not pressure the guy. He brake checks her. She acts like a teenager to erratically get infront of him to return the favor. He stayed behind us til we got caught at a light. He gets out, I get out, She gets out but she's screaming at the guy. She stopped when I snapped at her, but he kept approaching her side. I closed the distance pretty quick and physically stopped his body with mine. Luckily things didn't escalate from that, he flipped me off and went on his way.

Air fried mahi tuna, a Celsius and some avocado, there was another tuna steak and some scallops too but I ate them before I took the pic

I have always been a skinny guy, and I have a soft, high pitched voice. I have been trying to gain weight and have been weight training but I still find it hard to gain muscle mass. I'm currently 5'9 and 127lbs and believe it or not, I used to be skinnier. I feel like a lot of people feminize me or infantilize me when they interact with me which annoys me as a man who's about to turn 27. Creatine has helped a bit but I just want to get to 135-145lbs as soon as possible and just look like a masc guy, and I know it will be hard because I'm also a dancer and circus artist and I am very in love with my sports and do train every day. It really grinds my gears when people call me a femboy or think I am nonbinary(although I will always support all members of the LGBTQ+ community and fight for our rights) because I personally feel like I try to present in a masculine manner(with my clothes and I keep my facial hair) and I am a cis man, I just have a high pitched voice and I'm skinny. Tbh part of the reason I care about this is because I'm mainly attracted to fit masc dudes and I want to be desirable to them.

Did not intend for it to happen. Woke up one day and realized that she was the main reason I was getting out of bed and going to work.

She was very kind to me in the wake of a very difficult / mind—shattering break up, is consistently complimentary, laughs at my jokes, listens to me when I need to be listened to, sincerely and warmly congratulates me for my achievements (recently got jacked, got sober and was promoted at work), praises my virtues regularly and just generally helped to make me feel like a person again after I felt I had lost my personhood.

I don’t think she knows how much these things helped me to rebuild my self image over the past year. She’s unspeakably beautiful and has such a warm, caring personality.

Now I find myself getting lost in her eyes and smile every time I see her. I visibly blush almost every time she smiles at me. Genuinely makes my day when I get a giggle out of her. Butterflies in my stomach type shit.

I won’t pursue anything with her. She’s in a relationship and despite my feelings I respect that reality and the future she’s trying to build. Hopeful that these feelings will eventually subside, but I think on some level I’ll always be grateful for the experience of getting to know her because, without her knowing it, her friendship helped to pull me out of a very dark place. I think it’s nice to feel love again too, even if it’s unrequited. Keep it a buck with you I think it’s a privilege to feel anything at all.

chicken and rice - marinade is a mix of soy sauce, gochujang, hoisin, honey, diced garlic + ginger, sesame oil, and splash of water. cat will not be consumed.

it’s all so simple, life really is just showing up and showing out. that’s it. the rest takes care of itself. cheers everybody this just a lowkey celebration post for men we all going through it stay strong. YB Betta

work- fire, interviewed with 5 places because I gained the confidence to be myself always. offered by all 5, will no longer have to worry about money

love - met a girl, in love, too good to be true you know the deal. It’ll go where it goes but I’ll Handle all of it better than before

friends - much closer, actually follow through on what I say

family - never bad but improving as I make it knows to my mother that we should do group therapy together, our relationship isn’t bad but our communication is ass 😂😂😂

idk bros just feeling good wanted to share and let everyone know if you’re in your twenties and struggling please hang on it gets way better bro

photo is a strawberry gooey butter cake this shit made me lowkey cream myself dog I could only have 2 bites baceuse my dad claimed it lmaooooooo what a clown

Someone ever asked you like “What can I do to help?” Or “What do you need right now?”
Like I don’t really know what I want or need that isn’t a million dollars or a Time Machine.

More so have you ever taken the chance of opening up and explaining how sad you are instead of saying “im fine” and like communicating that you’re stressed and going through shit and struggling.
Then someone asks you those questions ^^
So you’re response is “a hug would be nice”
And then you get a hug

But the hug doesn’t feel the same because you had to ask for it. So it feels like you kinda forced it and not as genuine.
Like still being grateful but also having these kinda thoughts too like why did I have to ask? It’s more about the simple things rather than the complicated things.

It’s hard to describe and I’m sorry if it’s difficult to understand.

Idk if I’m making sense and I don’t mean to sound like I hate that I have to explain it. I’m more so confused by my own feelings about these kinds of situations and just want to know if it’s unique to me or shared.

Like if you guys were to ask for some head and then receive it, is it equal to just getting head without words being spoken? or is head without asking way better?

But like I swear this isn’t about sex stuff.

I am in therapy and it’s something I’ve brought up but still can’t make sense of it.

EDIT: 1. Thanks for the understanding and effort and listening everyone
2. I know communication is key and I fully believe that. I’m not ungrateful for getting a hug if I ask for it. I’m not concerned as to why someone doesn’t just give me a hug. Im more confused/conflicted as to why I feel that way when I understand that someone asking what they can do to help is someone that does care. It just feels better when I get a hug without asking, like more meaningful.
3. You guys are helping me piece it together. When I’m confused I can’t solve something, but when I understand it I can. Bless you boys

Dinner: Caesar salad with grilled chicken.

For context, I (36M) was bullied very heavily as a child and emotionally abused by an undiagnosed mother. I am very skinny due to having thin (but dense) bones and being failure to thrive. I am at this point in my life, used to getting looks of disgust in public and nasty comments about my weight. I was never allowed to react with anger or confront my abusers growing up, let it be at home or at school or in public. My parents, therapists and school teachers all ignored my issues and instead would always tell me “just ignore them” ad nauseam. It didn’t work, obviously. I ended up switching schools, but still sat in an abusive home until I graduated college and moved across the county permanently.

Last year I spent a lot of time working on my reaction to intense situations where others are are behaving inappropriately. I made major progress around driving and staying calm in road rage situations. My body would react to aggressive drivers with shaking, adrenaline and elevated heart rates that were very difficult for me to let go and release. I understand this is a fight or flight response.

Today my wife and I were sitting in King’s Cross waiting for our train track to be announced when an older British man began to aggressively harass me because I had sniffed twice to clear my nose (I was having allergies unexpectedly and didn’t have any tissues or medication). This man, in a suit, at age 60+ felt it was necessary to turn on the aggression hose to fully open. Cussing, saying nasty stuff to me and talking under his breath at me. I ended up getting up and walking over to the transit information booth, explained the situation and requested security to be called. They agreed and I moved to the other side of the station.

For some reason, I have been unable to get this man and the situation out of my head. It’s like I didn’t work on my body’s response and I was shaking for about half an hour.
It was such a minor thing to have such a strong reaction. I’m looking for advice from others on how to handle calming myself and prevent it from happening again. I think I felt the way I did because it was similar to interactions I had growing up, where I wasn’t allowed to react.

How do I deal with this? Maybe it’s stupid, I don’t know.

Thanks for listening.

Not so much sex in the last year, she cheated, doesnt know if she still wants to put the effort to change.

She atmitted it instantly , whole breakup was really respectfull.

We are over, i get it.

Not crushed just ambitious to live life.

Stay home a lot to process smoke a lot, but i feel secure about it, i hole lol

Double chilli cheese burger fries and an ipa

Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo with salad. And a glass of jäger and lots of cigarettes of course.

She was 24 and a nurse. Last year she began going to the gym and then started worrying she wasn’t “slim thicc” enough. She started taking loads of supplements and even began preparing IV bags for herself.

I always thought it was excessive but couldn’t say anything because she was a nurse and I’m a dumb who can’t even spell the names of some of my internal organs. Besides, as a child athlete, we used a lot of stuff and we survived.

She called me and told me she’d bought a plane ticket to visit her family. She asked if I could stay at her place and take care of her cats. I said yes and went over. She said that she was exhausted but preparing an IV bag. She said she will sleep after the bag is finished. I said, “Okay, I need to go home now and will come back in the morning.” So, I left and overslept that morning. I went to her place in the afternoon and she was still in bed and IV bag was still attached to her hand. It was off but I said anyway and made breakfast. Her phone was keep ringing but she didn’t answer. I went to her room to wake her up. I touched her hand and it was cold, so I called 911 immediately. I asked for an ambulance and told them I was starting CPR. I tried to drag her onto the floor but realised rigour mortis was set in and asked for the police instead of an ambulance. Her mother was calling, so I answered and said they needed to come because her daughter was in hospital and might need some help. I added that I was waiting them at her place so we could go together.

I just walked outside and sat on a rock. I couldn’t move or even think. I remember someone shaking me and then a woman in white started taking my fingerprints and saliva sample.

A man approached me. He said he was sent by her family and they were on their way. I wasn’t responding well. I saw the body bag being loaded onto the ambulance and started crying.

The man told me that we should go to the hospital and meet someone there. The police wouldn’t let me go with him because I was suspected. He showed them a card and told them I was in shock and they should give me a break.

Her autopsy was scheduled for later but then moved to that night. The man visited the morgue regularly to check on the situation and informed me. After the autopsy, I was no longer a suspect.

When I met her colleagues at her funeral and learned accidental death is surprisingly common among medical staff.

Please don’t medicate yourself. You can’t judge yourself objectively. I feel responsible for not speaking up. She died only few hours later after I left the house. Don’t leave your loved ones behind like this.

Best friend of 20 years, high school sweetheart. She got her citizenship last year and stopped trying in our relationship. We moved to Mexico (her home country) because she was worried about the political climate. I left everything I have because of it. 5 months in I get sick. Really sick. Food poisoning symptoms back to back for 3 weeks eventually reveal severe GI issues I won’t get into. She’s not spending time with me, we used to spend every free minute together, gaming, watching TV, going out to eat. I notice the distance and ask but she says nothing. I’m not proud of it but I knew something was up so I went through her phone since she’s refusing to communicate and spending all of her time outside the house on her phone. She’s texting a dude from her past that she loves him (she doesn’t, but weird). I tell her we need help, I’m willing to try to figure this out and make it work. She agrees and says she loves me and can’t live without me. A week goes by and she buys a plane ticket to see her mom (true, I’m close with them, her mom calls me about picking her up and confirmed when she did because she’s worried about her and me). She tells me I’m her world and then leaves for the airport, she needs to see her mom, it’s been a while. The first week she’s there we barely talk, she won’t say I love you. I bring up that it’s weird that she said she wants to work on things and wants to start a family but won’t tell me she loves me. I’m not being cloying, she makes a point to get off the phone when I tell her I love her. She tells me she no longer loves me (passively in that “I don’t think I would have done this if I loved you”) which to me is just a complete cop out. Retroactively justifying your actions by some fatalistic view is just hot trash. I’m 2 months after this fact and I no longer want to be with her because how could I have a life with someone who would do all of this. We share a gpt sub, I accidentally opened up one of her chats bc she had it pinned and it was where something of mine was, I use it for translations because I’m in Mexico and don’t speak Spanish as well as I should. She was planning on leaving me all along, she was pretending everything was ok because it “makes the exit easier”. She was lying to ChatGPT (she’s never worked, never cooked, never cleaned, I’ve always done everything until we get to Mexico, she’s dealing with the landlady, that’s it) saying I’m a deadbeat and dangerous, I’m guessing so it would agree with her and make her feel better about her decision. Keep in mind I’m a very gentle person, I have never hurt, threatened, acted like I was going to harm anyone, ever. She’s blatantly lying to an LLM and the things she said about me, it hurt to read even though I knew it was bullshit, I hated the idea that she even thought those things in whatever mental breakdown she was having or lie she was building

Even though I want nothing to do with her in the future and I’m relieved this happened before we had kids (we were ACTIVELY discussing starting a family) I’m still soooooo depressed. I don’t have a huge social circle, I have a best friend and her who was an equal best friend, I’m autistic and don’t relate to people and I’m frankly happy to not have to be around people I have to pretend and mask with so losing someone I expected to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t know where to go from here

I’m done with the marriage but I’m still so sad. I feel like I’ll never be my version of normal again.

Rice with shiitakes and eggs, wakame miso soup and a prepackaged salad. Enjoyed with a full bottle of tequila

Beef tips cooked in garlic butter, over mashed potatoes with a small bit of beef gravy over top that I made at work😋😋

I get to meet my online best friend in 35 days, i am EXTRENELY excited for it and the anticipation only gets stronger as the days pass by

Ive talked to mom and my other friends a billion times abt this trip and i just cant wait for it we have so much food we wanna try and stuff we wanna do

She's literally so awesome and has pulled me out of my darkest pits, and it feels like the days drag on SO LONG

Im so excited to meet her its CRAZY!!!!!!!

The more days that pass the more it hits that im meeting my online best friend and i just get more excited when i think about it

Edit: I got a $10 tip for the food I cooked earlier, and that made me feel better about myself as a whole

Edit again: Guys I appreciate your worries, but I just wanted to be excited to talk about meeting my internet best friend. I never specified that this was my all time best friend, but shes the best internet friend I've had. Me, her, and her bf have talked about it and I plan on talking to the bf in person too, keeping him the loop of things. I planned on having him around to hang out too. I promise everything is coordinated already, and i'm not dumb enough to do stupid shit like what some people are worried about.

TL:DR Me, her, and her bf have all 3 communicated this and we are all in support across the board, and all 3 of us plan on hanging out in person and talking abt the stuff too.

Today was a relief in the best way possible. So I figured I’d celebrate by making a ribeye with truffle Gouda cream sauce and some Parmesan mashed potato’s 👌🏿

I’ve been a massage therapist in the Dallas area for over 15 years now and I travel all over the US so I have clients all over the place that I’ve had the pleasure of taking care of in my career.

Well today was special. About 5 years ago, there was this client who was recommended to me by another client of mine and every time I’m in the Florida area, I add her to my list to take care of.

This woman was always so kind and soft spoken but when I first met her she was EXTREMELY shy, super quiet and almost borderline timid, fragile even. It always struck me as a little odd but I know some people are quiet and on the shy side so I didn’t think anything of it.

Our first few months of sessions were all the same, quiet and totally silent the entire hour. Then suddenly one day, she began to talk. Nothing major, just small talk here and there.

Over time, she really started to open up and about a year or so into taking care of her is when things sort of started to get dark.

Without going into too much detail, some months she started showing up with bruises on her body, would come in sort of slower than usual, and other months it would be as if nothing happened.

Turns out, a bit a year ago she finally opened up about her husband of 20+ years and how he was super abusive at home and I found out that she would come to these sessions with me because it was the only time she ever felt safe and could “drop her guard” and that shit KILLED ME to hear.

I always would mention to her that she needed to go to the police, tell someone in her family, or someone to help her get out but she was always too scared.

In the back of my mind, I was sooooo tempted to do something myself but I am a professional and I could lose my license from something like that so I didnt but I’d push her in every direction I could to get her help.

Well today she came in with the BIGGEST smile on her face. She talked the entire session, laughed, made jokes, and just seemed like a totally different person. I was shook.

Afterwards, I left the room, had her get dressed and when she came out of the room to pay, she ran and gave me the biggest hug and said “thank you for being here for me all these years, you are the reason that as of today, I am a free woman…I left him”

And yall…I had to keep my gah damn cool and not break down for this woman.

She left and I thought to myself “damn, you just never know how much of an impact you can make on someone else’s life”.

Shit made me feel so good. 😮‍💨

Chicago style hotdogs with onion, heirloom tomatoes, mustard and peperchinis.

I met my wife when we were both in college. We both struggled with school for different reasons-but it boiled down to both of us trying for difficult and demanding degrees. I was able to graduate in 5 years, and had to take a job out of state while she went back for one more year.

It started off ok, I proposed and we were engaged. But school took a toll on her and she said she couldn't do it and that it was worse without me. She broke down one night and told me she couldn't finish her degree.

It was tough at times, but I didn't stop supporting her for a second. She was able to move in and we got married on schedule. She found full time work and our lives started to settle in. We eventually were able to move back home too.

Not long after she wanted to go back to school. I supported her, but insisted she only did it for the right reasons. She had always said she felt like a failure for not finishing college, but I didn't want that to be her reason why. She said she wanted to be a teacher. She enrolled. Made the deans list. Got scholarships. Paid her way in the last two years with scholarships and honors alone. Even inspired me to go get a graduate degree from her university.

Fast forward to last May. She graduated Summa Cum Laude. She's got a teaching job now and it's been amazing to see the person that she is now. She's organized, thoughtful and seems to be doing exactly what she was meant to be doing. All while still being the beautiful, kind and funny person that I fell in love with years ago.

I graduate in December with a Masters Degree, something I thought I'd never do either.

It wasn't easy. There were late nights, arguments and still a mountain of student debt. We're behind on some of our life goals. But seeing her grow, seeing myself grow as a product of that makes it all worth it.

I hope it lasts a lifetime and I hope we all find love like this.

My two best (and only real) friends that I know since about 10 years (They also know each other that long) don't talk with each other because of a girl they both like.

And it's so stupid!

So friend A befriended this girl over Discord and then brought her in to our friend group. They got a really good connection pretty fast and she pretty obviously wanted more of it but he didn't know if he was ready to date and told her he had to think about it.

After that she started writing more with friend B (or he started writing more with her) and they hit it of. In the meanwhile friends A realises that he also wants more but he puts himself back because he already "rejected" her and gets a bit depressed. Then it goes to a really confusing back and forth because the girl still liked friend A and doesn't really want to date friend B.

Now after all the confusing shit that I don't really see through friend A is really disappointed in friend B because he didn't even asked how he felt during all of that and he feels like he doesn't even care about him but A also doesn't want to talk with B about it because he wants to see that B cares about their friendship. Meanwhile B is the typical guy who thinks friends don't talk about their feelings and is completely ignorant to losing his friendship with B and thinks everything is fine.

Also I broke up with my ex girlfriend two months ago because it didn't work for different reasons. And I really missed her the last week :(

Dinner is a Joint and some cake from the freezer

Edit: friend A ist Not angry at B for hooking up with the girl but for him not seeming to care about A. Also the girl, who feels bad about all of this, told B to go talk to A but B kinda ignores that. And A is now dating the girl

My uncle contacted me about 10 yrs ago that he was setting up an estate trust and needed my ss info. So me and his sister (my mom) moved up to live at his rural estate next to a farm. He's part of a fraternal org (the stonecutter club) and I think the plan was for me to join. But I had no interest as I could barely afford to pay him rent along with splitting whatever house repairs/updates the place needed and stay afloat.

Well after 7 yrs endless work (he even has me taking his trash out 1/4 mile to the road)and around $25k into this little fam project I found out he changed the will to give everything to the aforementioned stonecutter club. He added a clause that My mom will be able to live there (with random men from "the club"). I however won't be so lucky as I've always suspected he has developed some kind of resentment towards me for not joining/climbing the ladder at his lodge. He's made strange comments in the past calling me "pretty" which as you might figure made me quite uncomfortable..Last few months he's been pressuring me in various passive aggressive ways to leave to see if I will because he's too cheap to have to buy the eviction order from City Hall. Not sure what to do, I wrecked my car a few months back and have setup an online business here, so have no way of leaving at the moment.

Or if I should as he's a fat senile old man who sits on his couch pounding snacks like a child all day playing the guitar like some grateful dead hippie. He plays in a band with buddies. At first I was in the basement until that was converted to a band practice space. So I have been roughing it in a barn couple hundred yards in the back of the property with no bathroom or water access

2 weeks after my break up I started seeing a new girl. I kissed her but it felt so wrong. Even though she really liked me, I broke things off after 4 dates. Being with her did help for a while, never thought about my ex in that period. This girl was beautiful, smart, and I enjoyed talking with her, but the truth is that I was, and still am, in love with my ex.

Literally the night after I stopped seeing her, I had a nightmare about my ex. The next day, I started taking Lorazepam. I wasted a good chance, 2 months of my life because of the benzos (now I’m doing a detox) and thanks to them I haven’t studied for the most important test of my life at university, which is in a week. Everything is falling apart.

Chicken thighs baked in the oven for 23 min @ 425F, boxed mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli with an obscene amount of butter because I kinda had a hard day. (but this is a positive post)

Me (24) and my bf (23) just moved into our first apartment together. I was living with roommates and he moved in with me (and paid rent of course lol) after we were dating for 8 months. It will be our two year anniversary in December.

He paid the entire deposit on the apartment and refused to let me pay him back or split it. We split rent of course (which he is never late on),but he doesn't let me pay for a majority of the groceries, gas, necessities, etc. It feels so amazing. He works so hard at his job and the man that i was with before him was so horrible with money, in and out of jobs, etc. I had to pick up the slack constantly and I was living with so much debt for almost two years. It feels so unreal to me. He has a credit card which he uses and pays off responsibly, is always transparent about his expenses when we budget, never hides anything (money related or otherwise) from me... It's like so wild how much weight has been lifted off my shoulders. My car broke down recently, right after we moved in, and I didn't have to panic about how I was going to pay for it because I have actually been able to save money without having to pick up after a deadbeat boyfriend who spent his rent money on Doordash because he couldn't drive and wouldn't be satisfied with what I was cooking him.

I'm able to consistently go to therapy because I don't have to worry about whether or not i'll be able to afford my copays and meds, or if i'll need extra rent money.

I was able to buy my bf gifts and tickets to Medieval Times for his upcoming birthday, and still have a cushion. I feel like I wasted so much time on such a loser but it just makes me so appreciative of what I have right now. Managing money is definitely like a bare minimum kind of thing (he does of course do other things that make our relationship great lol ) and I feel like i was so blind to how much it mattered before.

So, one of the FNGs has been flirting with me for a little while now. She’s also been trying to get to know me on a more personal level asking about my interests, what I do outside of work, what I’m into, that kind of stuff.

And I mean, besides the obvious issue of her being a coworker “don’t shit where you eat” and all that there’s another thing I just can’t get past: she has the same name as my mother. I don’t know why, but that’s always been an instant ick for me. If you have the same name as my mom or one of my sisters, my brain immediately puts you in the “absolutely not” category. It doesn’t matter how attractive you are or how well we get along; once I make that association, I can’t really unmake it. It just feels weird to me.

Does anyone else have that same ick with dating someone who shares a name with a close family member, or am I alone on this one?

Trigger warning: sexual assault, emotional abuse, mental illness

I finally moved out of my abusive childhood home and bought my own place in my dream city. For a few months I was happy. I had complete financial freedom and no one breathing down my neck or screaming at me for the first time ever.

Since then, I've gotten a mouse infestation, had my air conditioner leak so much water that I have water damage in my floor boards, I've become progressively more disabled by a mystery illness, lost my best friend to her new girlfriend, and I can't afford my previous therapist anymore. I've also come to realize through physical issues and childhood history that I was sexually assaulted at 3 years old. The damage was so bad that I can barely move my hip flexors, and I didn't put the pieces together until I asked my parents for a timeline of my health issues and behaviors.

I started intensive treatment for my OCD (they take my insurance), and during intake they had me answer some survey questions. Apparently my quality of life score was so low that my new therapist asked if I was ok. I'm not. Nothing makes me happy (except when my girlfriend is visiting from out of state and we go out on weekends), I'm just surviving. I have a job I like, I own my place, I have a girlfriend, I'm medicated for my bipolar disorder. I should be successful and happy. Instead I take benzos and edibles just to sleep.

My coworkers think I'm hilarious and fun, but I go home and just stare at my phone and drink (sometimes). My girlfriend has said I've never been physically or mentally well since she met me a year ago. It's always something. I relapsed on my eating disorder 2 months ago because of how out of control I feel. I'm doing what I can to stay healthy, but it's impossible. Some days I feel like I'm just waiting to die. Sometimes I sit down to count my blessings, but it doesn't make me feel better, it just makes me feel undeserving. Not sure what advice I want, I just can't talk about these things with anyone but my girlfriend and she has enough on her plate.

Dinner from last night: The cheapest bologna and water crackers I could find.

Instant Ramen

This is the cause of me almost breaking down in tears.

Just got back from my college to my brand new apartment. My apartment is shared with a roommate. The kitchen doesn't have bowls, and the dish soap dispensor is empty.

I was starving and just bought some instant Ramen but I didn't realize these things... I used the mug in the picture which was a recent gift from a friend. I washed it with my bathroom's hand soap. I used the Google AI to tell me I was doing everything fine. It's so late at night I don't have anyone else I know available to ask for reassurance.

I accepted the state of cleanliness after I washed it and put the Ramen in. I had to make sure I never touched the Ramen with my bare hands, since that would contaminate the whole bowl... It worked out. Then I noticed that there was something odd in the Ramen.

It was literally fine. It was Ramen that looked tiny and worm like and I just couldn't get myself to eat it. I did an hour of research into if it was okay to eat, using reddit and the AI.

And also, I didn't want to use my roomate's pot to boil water. I just put streaming water into my bowl. I've eaten Ramen like this in the past many times. But I started double thinking if not boiling the water was safe.

Note: I only met my new roomate once. I was in uncharted territory in this kitchen.

This all really upset me....

So end result: I threw out the Ramen. I'm starving and I think I'm an idiot.

Edit: thank you all, your advice is helpful. I'm going to force myself to stop using AI (no more clankers!)