#I got an email that I had 50 new followers

[crowbraincoin]

Where to make friends as an adult.

Recently I saw a devastating citation stating that most adults find it hard to make new friends as it feels like there is a lack of community and resources to do so. It takes nearly 50 hours of time together to move from mere acquaintance to casual friend. For more advanced levels of friendship, it can take more than 200 hours before you can consider someone “close”. (source)

So, though I'm not an expert by any means, I thought I'd offer some examples, ideas, and tips on finding and making friends as an adult! Check below the break :>

Ideas on where to find friends:

🆓 Local free (or cheap) events. I went to a presentation that included a free beer in the ticket cost and I had a blast! Most cities have an events calendar you can look at. Soon I'm attending a free event for the transgender community honoring those that came before us. 📖 Library programs. Most libraries that I've seen don't even require a library card, just your email or phone number to sign up for a program! Be it a presentation, class, or event, the library is the place to be!

❕Events of interest. I think about what I'm interested in and what I would like to connect with people about, and I search around to see what I can find. I use sites like Eventbrite to help me search.

💻 Online Communities. For those who can't make it out very often, consider joining online communities by searching for fandoms or topics of interest and see if there is a discord server, bluesky feed, tumblr community, or other communities on socials!

How to make friends:

Consistency. Once you find a place you enjoy going to, an organization you whose events your enjoy attending, or a series of events that takes place KEEP GOING!! Consistency is key, you have to keep interacting with folks to become friends with them.

Transparency. Just be yourself, but that doesn't mean you should be trauma dumping! Sharing personal detail allows us to feel closer to people, but make sure you're not sharing too much information! That can always come later when you're closer friends.

Confidence. You have to believe that you're someone that people want to be friends with. Don't believe it? Well ask your current friends why they are friends with you! You'll not only get a confidence boost, but also hopefully share a touching moment with your existing friends.

Follow up. If you want to be friends with someone you've met, you have to build up the nerve to further connect with them. This means sharing phone numbers or socials.

Start talking. The best way to do this is by asking questions or by giving a non-threatening compliment. Try not to make it all about you, though it is easiest to talk about the one thing we know best (ourselves) it typically won't help you make new friends! Show that you're interested in them, their thoughts and feelings on the topic of the event or a neutral topic such as musicians or food.

Questions. Ask open ended and non-invasive questions and follow through. Examples below!

Invite them out. Once you've established an acquaintance, invite them to hang out! BUT if you're the one inviting them out then you need to make sure you have some plan in mind. This could be going to a trivia night, a local event, or going to a new place together.

Further questions or topics of discussion:

I'm new to this [place or reocurring event] how long have you been coming here? Do you like it so far?

If you could be a crab or a lobster, which would you be and why? (make sure you have an answer ready!)

How long have you known about [place or event theme]? What got you interested in [place or event theme]?

(If at an event with drinks or food) I'm having trouble deciding what to choose, what should I try?

What superpower would you want and why?

What do you do for work? Do you like it? (follow by asking non-invasive questions about their job. This is easier when you have no clue what the job position actually is, lol).

Hey, I really like your style! Where did you get your outfit?/Who or what are your fashion influences?

What questions or topics of discussion do you typically go for when meeting new people?

[bvtbxtch]

I Can Make You Scream | Eddie Munson

Day Three of Kinktober

Summary: Your first collaboration (a Halloween special) with one of the most popular cam boys, Eddie, leaves you breathless and waiting for the next shoot with him.

wc: ~6.7k (I got excited)

Pairings: camboy!Eddie/pornstar!Eddie x camgirl!reader

Warnings: This is literally all smut minimal plot, so 18+ MDNI!! Cam sex, blood and biting, fangs, lingerie, spitting, markup, overstimulation, not being able to cum, light bondage (restraining hands), softdom!Eddie, choking, oral (f and m receiving), overstimulation, squirting, protected p in v sex (wrap it up, folks). This is purely porn with a plot.

Shout out to my darling partner @darknesseddiem who will be posting their 15 prompts later in October. It is my honour to collab with you!

The knock at the door sent lightning bolts straight to your core. You hurry your way to the front door, ensuring to check that your makeup and hair looked perfectly effortless. You took a deep breath to exhume any last minute nerves before you opened your door. 

-

You had moved to Indianapolis from Detroit for school, but very quickly found out the hard way that college was not your thing. Now being stuck with the bill for a new apartment and no scholarships to foot the cost, you had to do what you always had thought about doing. At least now you had an excuse, right? You uploaded your ID and personal information to camwow.com, one of the most popular porn cam sites in the states. You bought yourself a new magic wand from the sex store down the road and took the plunge. Little by little, you gained a following. Money, brand deals and collaborations flooded through you. But the one rule you made for yourself, was you would only do solo work. 

Things changed when you looked at your private inbox. There sat a message that you had to look at four or five times to make sure it was real. The name “metalhead_munson” with a little blue checkmark sat bolded in your inbox, the subject stating plainly: hey :) You had heard of Eddie before, he was only one of the most famous cam workers on the site. Eddie’s message was professional - transactional almost:

I caught one of your shows the other night and was thoroughly impressed. I was going to be in the Indianapolis area on the 30th. My management is giving me a couple of days of free time and I would love to film with you. We could film on my channel and we could split profits 50/50. I would link your profile in the livestream so hopefully we can get your followers up. If you could give me the number to your agent so we can set this up, that would be great.

Cheers,

Eddie Munson.

Your heart raced as you read and reread the message. You didn’t have an agent. You barely knew what you were doing… but he was impressed? Did that mean that he was turned on? Did a huge cam star jack off to your stream? After hours of screaming into your pillow, dancing around your living room and staring at the email, you conjured up a response. 

Hello Eddie! Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot coming from such a big personality on the site like yourself. I unfortunately don’t have any agent contacts but I would love to work with you - thank you for the opportunity! I am free any time around halloween, but was planning a themed stream, if you’re interested?

You signed the message with your phone number and encouraged him to call or text you any time. You couldn’t deny that you hoped he would call. You had seen Eddie’s stream before, it often gracing the front page on camwow. The girls that he often had on his stream were beautiful, more beautiful than you, you imagined. But apparently you knew how to work your body in a way that got you some recognition. So you thought, fuck it? Why not see where this might lead. 

It was 2am when you received a call from an LA area code. You hastily picked up the phone and put on the sweetest most professional voice you could muster up.

“Hello?” You breathed.

“Hey, um is this Y/N?” The baritone rasp had your breath caught in your throat.

“Yeah, that’s me.” you let out a nervous giggle.

“Hey, It’s Eddie. I just wanted to touch base about the messages on camwow. You still up for it? I’d love to meet you.” His voice made your blood run cold. Even over the phone, the man oozed confidence and sex appeal. You couldn’t help but be intimidated. 

“Cool, yeah I would like that a lot. Umm, what did you think about the halloween theme I had thought about? If it’s stupid, we don’t have to but if you wanna I’d-”

“That’s a great idea, honey.” honey “I got a few ideas. I’ll text them to you, okay?”

“Cool, yeah. Sweet..” You were tripping over your own words, your brain short circuiting from the pet name. 

“Great, doll. Don’t be too nervous, okay? I know this is your first collaboration, but we can go slow if you want.” Although there was a lightness to his tone, you didn’t feel judged. You took a deep breath and thanked the man on the other end of the phone. You stayed frozen on the line long after he had hung up, unsure as to what had just happened. You’d see him on October 30th.

The next day Eddie had sent you four or five ideas that he had based around your halloween special. You both agreed on one and as much as the anticipation was killing you, your belly swirled with aroused excitement. You couldn’t wait for the two weeks it would take for Eddie’s arrival.

-

You swung your door open and your heart skipped a beat when you looked at the sight in front of you. There stood the man you had lost sleep over. He loomed over you in the frame of your door, but his lopsided smile eased your nerves. He donned a loose fitting white tee just sheer enough that you could see faint dark tracings of ink on his torso. His alabaster skin complimented the purple and green veins adorning his hands. The man twisted the chunky rings on his right hand. Your mouth watered thinking about where those fingers might be within the next few hours…

“You gonna let me in, or what?” His grin spread to a shit eating smile that immediately made you feel at home in your body. You gave the man a puzzled look as he shuffled past you into your space. Embellishing his canine teeth were fangs. Eddie noticed your confusion.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. They’re fake and they won’t hurt… that much” You follow him into your apartment as he takes in the sights. There was something magnetic about the mop headed man. You followed him around your puppy even though you were in your own house. You snapped out of your daze to remember you also needed to be (at least) a competent host.

“Can I get you anything to drink or anything?” you ask. He politely waved you off as he plops down on your sectional. 

“It’s a nice place you got here, doll.”

“Uh, thanks.” You awkwardly shuffled towards Eddie and sat yourself on the opposite edge of the couch. 

“So, I usually like to go over what we will and won’t do before we go get comfortable. Is that okay?” Eddie offered. There was no sense of annoyance or impatience with you. He was the perfect gentleman, which was making it harder and harder to focus on functioning like a normal human being.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I mean, I haven’t really done this before… but I guess I’m down for anything as long as we kind of chat about it first.” Eddie laughed at your bluntness. You hid your face in your hands and let out a soft giggle. You were nervous and embarrassed but not by him. Eddie rose to his feet and offered out his hands to you. You peered out of your hands and grabbed him with a curt smile. You let him pull you up and you suddenly felt breathless while he was invading your space; but it wasn’t a nervous energy. It was new and scary but you felt oddly at ease with the gorgeous stranger in front of you.

“Wanna show me to your studio?” he said with a wink and a genuine smile. You dropped your hands from his and began to walk to your room - which you had spent hours cleaning leading up to Eddie’s visit. You even went as far as getting new bedding to make your room look ‘cooler’.

You opened your door and let Eddie take in the sights. He took a few steps into your room and hovered to your small bookshelf nestled in the corner of your room. He eyed over your bed, cameras decorating different sides of the bed, their wires treading to your computer. Then his eyes softened when his eyes trailed to you, standing in the middle of your room, hands locked together in anticipation. God he couldn’t wait to devour you, but there was another foreign pang in his chest. 

“You okay? You still wanna do this, right?” Eddie stepped towards you, nervous that you were going to change your mind. 

“No! No, god no” You blurted, maybe a bit too aggressively. “I just…I just don’t know where to start.”

“Well before we turn on the camera, we should get more comfortable,” Eddie offered. You nod your head enthusiastically as the man stalks towards you, coming almost chest to chest with you.

“Can I kiss you?” His eyes looked pleading. You stared up at him with your bright eyes and he felt that pang in his chest again.

“Y-yeah.” you gasp. Eddie’s hands trailed up to your cheeks and he brought his face close to yours, giving you a split second to pull away from him if you wanted. You closed your eyes in anticipation of a forceful kiss, but you almost flinched in surprise of the man’s lips caressing yours. His lips were soft and warm, you felt like you could melt into him. His touches were careful, like he didn’t want to scare you off. You both pulled away and you couldn’t help the smile that grew across your face. You were surprised to see the same one mirrored on the brunette’s face. He cleared his throat and gestured to the bag sitting in your living room. 

“So, I uh- I brought costumes - like not crazy ones, but something just a bit different… you know, to add to these…” The man smiled and pointed to his prosthetic fangs. 

“Y-yeah, I did too, if that’s okay.”

“Sure. I’ll go to the bathroom and change, and I’ll leave you to it. Just open the door when you’re ready for me, okay, Honey?”

“Yeah, sure Eddie,” You gave Eddie a warm smile and he turned to leave you. “Um, Eddie? I uh…. I wanted to let you know that the main reason I do my cam stuff alone is because I have some performance anxiety.” You looked down at your socked feet in anticipation. You half expected Eddie to laugh and walk away; but he was suddenly back and tilting so your eyes were met with his deep brown ones.

“Doll, there’s no pressure at all. Let me make you feel good and if you come, I’ll be stoked. But if you don’t then we can stop and never talk again. Or if you just wanna stop let me know, okay?” You couldn’t sense any judgment in Eddie’s tone or his eyes. You felt dumb for blindly trusting someone you only just met in person. Eddie sauntered out of your room and gently shut the door. You turned to your closet to grab the dainty lingerie hanging neatly on the rack. You slid your jeans and tee off of your body and crumpled them into your hamper. You take off your panties and bra and quickly slide the teddy over your body. You stepped foot into your ensuite to give yourself one final look over and you couldn’t help but bite your lip in admiration. 

The soft pink lace held your tits in place, giving you a delicious cleavage. The corseted bodysuit hugged your waist perfectly, while the lace detailing let a small peak of your skin embellish the lingerie. The frilly lace straps adorn your shoulders that made you look almost virginal. Perfect. The small mesh skirt emphasized your waist. You turned to look at your ass, looking perky and perfect. You looked perfect. It was just what a vampire needed for a sacrifice.

You padded out of your ensuite to your bedroom door. You opened it and called for Eddie to join you whenever you were ready. You sat yourself at your computer and booted up camwow.com. You hated to admit, but your heart was in your chest. You shook with excitement and anticipation. You felt Eddie’s presence in the frame of your bedroom door and you turned to look at him. Your breath caught in your throat while you drank in his form.

He stood leaned tall over your doorframe. His pale skin was now on full display, highlighted by small drips of fake blood. It seemed, to your delight,  he forgot a shirt for his new costume. His toned abs framed a well trimmed treasure trail to where you wanted to see him the most. Highlighting his bulge were a pair of leather pants that caressed his curves perfectly.  His curly hair laid on his broad shoulders. He looked like an adonis. His eyes darkened as he bathed in your appearance, but his lips fell slightly open in awe. 

“Well don’t you look good enough to eat” Eddie teased as he kneels onto your bed. 

“I could say the same to you, Eddie.” your voice was saccharine sweet. Eddie couldn’t wait to hear how sweet your moans would sound…

“So, we’re all set up camera wise, if you just wanna log into your account, we’ll be good to go.” You stood up from your desk chair and Eddie’s brain short circuited. You looked delicious and he couldn’t wait to make you fall apart. He played it cool as he switched you spots and you perched on the edge of your bed. 

“So, I have some rope and stuff too… is that okay?” Eddie’s voice had become thick with lust. He could hardly contain myself. You hummed in agreement. “Oh, and… I gotta say, doll. You’re looking delectable, but there’s a big part of me that wants to rip that thing off you. You okay if I tear up that little number? I’ll buy you a new one.” His eyes turned from the screen and looked pleading, like he would die if he didn’t get the chance. Lucky for him, the thought of him ripping clothes off you went straight to your core. 

“Yeah… I’m sure we can make something work.” You giggle. Unable to control your giddy anticipation. Eddie raised slowly from the computer, and you saw the small red light appear on the cameras fixed around the bed. It was show time. 

“You tell me red light if you need me to stop, okay?” Eddie’s voice rasped, just above a whisper. “We’re gonna start and I’m gonna move a little fast. You ready?” He stood above you at the end of the bed, his chest was heaving. You could feel your heartbeat in your ears as you nodded up at him.

“Use your words, pretty girl.”

“Yes, Ed-”

“That’s sir to you, unless you want to be punished.” Eddie’s voice thickened with pure sex, making a shiver travel down your spine. 

“Yes, sir.”

Eddie leaned down by the end of the bed and grabbed two pieces of black velvet rope. Before you could compute what he had in his hands, he was climbing onto the bed on top of you, pushing you back towards your headboard. 

“Good girl. Make this easy and it won’t hurt as much. I’m hungry…” Eddie growled, his eyes fixed on you, pupils dilated like you really were his prey. He grabbed your wrists with one hand and slammed them above you onto your headboard. He tied one of the velvet ropes tightly around your wrists. You finally caught your breath and were able to comprehend what was happening. The boldness washed over you as you let go of your anxieties. You gave Eddie a devilish smirk then instantly twisted your face into one of horror.

“Please sir, don’t hurt me. I promise I’ll be good and do whatever you want.” You saw Eddie flinch at your words like they were wax burning his skin: a surprise, but a welcome and unexpected one.

“Keep your hands there and I won’t have to tie you down further then.”

“Yes, sir.”

Eddie smiled widely to reveal his fangs to the camera positioned at the side of your bed. He held his hands up to your throat and pressed down just enough to send static to your brain. You felt the cool sting of his rings that he kept on his body, but felt another surprise: adorning his pointer and middle fingers were rings that rested on his upper knuckle and formed into pointed claws. The sharpness sent another type of coolness across your skin. The glint of the metal poked into your neck and you hissed as Eddie continued to press into you. The delicious feeling of oxygen deprivation is topped only when Eddie presses his mouth to yours. You moan into him, all of your body already felt under the mop head’s control. 

Eddie’s mouth moved expertly against you, breaking the seal your mouths had to give you brief moments of breath. He pushed his tongue further into your mouth and you felt your body go numb, all feeling going to your already throbbing core. You wrestled with Eddie’s tongue in your mouth, eliciting a moan from him. You couldn’t wait to watch your recording back again and again just to hear his moan. Eddie bit down onto your lip and pulled hard. You whimpered at the sting and you tasted a metallic tang in your mouth. You went to lick your lips to rid of the small slit of blood sitting on them but Eddie grabbed your jaw and ran his tongue across your lips with a satisfied moan. Eddie looked you deep in the eyes, a silent check in, and what he saw filled him with excitement that went straight to his hardening cock. Your eyes had darkened with lust, already kiss drunk from him.

Eddied trailed his kisses from the side of your mouth to your jaw, to the pulse point by your ear. His mouth was saccharine sweet on your skin, like it belonged there. But in true Eddie fashion (as you’re learning), the sweet was often mixed with heat. You were just melting into his touch when Eddie took a hard bite down on your neck, eliciting a yelp of pain from you. You could feel two small streams of cool liquid trickle down your neck. You began to hyperventilate from overwhelm. Eddie softly grabbed your cheek for you to lock eyes with him.

“Relax angel, the hard part is over. You’re doing so well for me, I gotta be good to my girl… especially…” Eddie leans down to your neck and takes a long swipe up the side of your neck. “When you taste so good” The man’s smile was now tinged with the red of your blood. The lust had finally taken over your body and you happily submitted. You pulled Eddie’s mouth to yours feverishly. You pushed your tongue into his mouth. Your sweet mouth was now tainted with your own metallic taste. When Eddie pulled away, you both looked in satisfaction at your matching stained lips. It took Eddie a moment to compose himself and remember he had a scene to shoot. He sat himself up on his calves and ran his clawed fingers across your collarbone with enough pressure to send a constellation of goosebumps to form across your skin.

“I think we should get this off of you, so I can see you better.” Eddie groaned as he traced his fingers between the valley of your lace-covered breasts. You looked at him dough eyed and scared, but there was a glimmer of lust and wanting in your eyes. You really were going to drive Eddie insane. 

With a quick flick of his wrist, and added pressure to (what he was beginning to think was) your offending garment, to rip down the middle of your torso to your belly button, exposing your hardening nipples. You let out a gasp, the lines of fear and lust blurring further. Eddie’s mouth was immediately on your sensitive skin, his mouth danced across your left nipple while his hand pinched your right. You were barely cognisant of the small bead of blood still dripping down your torso. Eddie kissed his way down your stomach to the meeting of where your body was bare and clothed. He sat back up in fake disdain. 

“Now, this won’t do. I gotta taste that pretty pussy after your sweet blood. You need a reward, and I need my dessert” 

“Please Ed-”

“Ah, ah ah….” Eddie interrupted. His hands hovered over your hips. You were desperate for him to touch you, little did you know, Eddie was desperate to drop this facade and feel you clench around him.

“Please, sir. Touch me, please.” You whined. Eddie was happy to oblige you. He let a low chuckle escape his chest. 

“Since you asked so sweetly, and since I can see that you have already wet through these little panties you got on, I need to taste you.” Eddie took his claws and hooked the mesh covering your pubic bone and dragged down. Once he had a big enough hole he removed his clawed rings and tore the whole crotch of your lingerie. The cool air hitting your core made you shiver. You were suddenly more self conscious than you were before. You instantly remembered that you were on display not only for Eddie but for thousands of people. Almost immediately, Eddie looked up from between your thighs.

“Hey” he whispered quietly enough that cameras couldn’t pick his rasp up. “It’s just you and me, okay?” You gave him a small nod to keep going. 

Eddie quickly turned his gaze back to your glistening core. He pressed a smaller, gentler bite into the flesh of your thigh, eliciting a moan that was music to Eddie’s ears. He liked the mix of pleasure and pain, but hearing your gasps of pure ecstasy was something he definitely thought he could get used to… but he couldn’t think about that right now - wanting to spend more time with you. It was time to use you like a plaything. Plus, how did he know that you would ever want to see him again. 

He shook his head to physically shake the idea from his mind and ran his middle finger through the middle of your slit, which made you a moaning mess for him yet again. Eddie turned himself to the camera and held up his hands with your slick on it. 

“Look at how messy she is for me.” he popped his finger into his mouth and sucked down “mmmm, and so sweet too.” he cooed. He ran two of his fingers back into your folds and stuck them deep into your mouth. You moaned at your own taste, spurring Eddie on further. 

“Oh, my little dinner date is a slut, eh? I guess that means we should treat you like the succubus you are.” Eddie’s words went straight to your core and you clenched on nothing. Eddie let out a low chuckle into the apex of your thigh, sending shivers up your spine in anticipation. You silently begged for him to touch you where you wanted him the most. Your hips bucked in a last ditch plea for relief - and Eddie luckily gave it to you. 

With little warning, Eddie’s mouth attached to your clit and sucked hard. Eddie’s mouth worked expertly at your core, his tongue probing you in ways you didn’t know were possible. You were almost embarrassed, you were a moaning mess underneath him; but you felt too good to care. Your vision was going fuzzy and your chest heaving. You couldn’t help the elicit moans escaping you. You couldn’t help but make eye contact with the camera and you couldn’t help but let a smile escape you.

Your smile was wiped from your cocky face when Eddie stuck his tongue deep in you. Your eyes crossed and your breath hitched. It felt like you were being suffocated with pleasure. Your tied hands flew to Eddie’s hair and you pulled hard, desperate for something to ground you. Eddie moaned into your pussy and you could feel your finish rapidly approaching. You made the mistake of looking down at the mess of hair between your legs and the sight you saw flew you over the edge. The slender hips that sprawled across your bed were rutting into your mattress, his back heaving in desperation. Your blood ran white hot, stars flashed over your vision. A euphoric groan was ripped from your chest. Eddie’s assault didn’t let up once the waves of pleasure became overwhelming. Eddie moaned into your cunt as he tasted your essence. You shuddered under him as you pulled up on his hair, in an attempt to seize his raid on your body. 

“Awww, was that too much for my little plaything?” Eddie growled. His hand flew up to your neck as he crawled his way back up your body. The pressure he squeezed onto you made another flutter flow directly to your lower stomach. Eddie had a talent of pushing you dangerously close to the edge of unconsciousness - a sense of bliss and fear all in one. Your fucked out face looked delicious to Eddie, still stained red with your blood. He leaned down and smashed his mouth into yours. You could taste the remnants of your orgasm and his desperation forcing its way into your mouth. You pulled away with a gasp and looked up at Eddie with your best puppy dog eyes. 

“Can I taste you now, please? Please sir?” you croaked. Eddie could come in his pants right now. He took a gulp and sent you an ear splitting, fanged smile. Willing away his urge to cum in his pants, he took some deep breaths while he undid his tight pleather pants and shimmied them down his lithe waist. His hard cock sprung free and Eddie let out an audible sigh of the relief it brought him. Your hands automatically drifted towards the man’s waist a mere inches away from you.You felt a sting against your wrists as Eddie slammed them back against your wall. You felt your shoulders scream at you from their sudden hyperextension. Eddie barked a dark laugh as you pouted. 

“Play things don’t get to touch. They get to be used.” Eddie ordered. He reached his free hand to tilt your neck backwards to give him purchase for another love bite. You cried out as hot blood trailed back down your clavicle. Eddie pulled away and his face looked similar to yours: your own crimson blood dripping down his chest. 

“Open.” He demanded. Your bottom lip quivered but you obey the man over you. You stick your tongue out. Eddie places his reddened cock onto the flat of your tongue in a hiss of pleasure. His tip felt heavy on your tongue; a salty sweetness that you were instantly addicted to. He was thick, his length equally impressive, and an anxious excitement panged in your throat thinking about how he was going to fit. Eddie slowly slid himself further into your mouth. He ignored your silent pleas to let you adjust to him in your mouth and continued to push into you until your nose was nestled against his manicured bundle of hair at the base of his cock. Your eyes pricked with tears and your throat closed around Eddie’s cock - eliciting a low groan from him. You are granted a brief moment of relief when Eddie slid his cock back out of your mouth, only for your deep gasp of air to be interrupted by him slamming back into your mouth, making you gag and making his dick twitch. Suddenly, Eddie grabbed the camera on the closest tripod and pointed it down at your face. 

“Look at this good girl… taking me so well.” The camera framed (what Eddie thought was) your perfect face, suctioned around Eddie’s cock. He stilled inside you, giving you an opportunity to suck hard and swirl your tongue around his tip. His precum dripped down your throat. Tears freely flowed down your cheeks. Your throat was screaming at you, your nostrils flared in desperation for air. Your throat constricted and relaxed around your scene partner.

You were in pain, his cock stretching your mouth to the absolute breaking point. You looked up and into the man’s gorgeous brown eyes in search for any more praise - begging for any movement, pleading for some sort of release. As much as your body was screaming at you, you had given yourself over to absolute pleasure. You loved the pain, the submission. In that moment, you knew you would do anything for Eddie - anything he asked any time. In that moment, there was a deeper connection than just two people fucking. You were his and he knew it. He could do anything with you, but he wanted to worship you just as much as you were worshiping him. He fastened the camera back onto the tripod, unsheathed himself from you and flopped onto his back beside you.

“Come on then, doll. Show me how much you want me.” Before Eddie’s words could leave his mouth, you were back on him, but you took it slow this time. Your doe eyes had darkened and you were ready to show him just how much you wanted him.

Your tongue ran up the underside of his achingly hard cock. Eddie hissed out praise as you wrapped your lips around Eddie’s tip and hollowed your cheeks. You hummed in satisfaction against him as you bobbed your head. Every suck, every kitten lick, you poured your heart into. You were hypnotized, obsessed, by the moans and praises escaping the head of curls on your bed. You thought he looked like a painting; ringlet curls splayed across your pillows like a crown, flexed biceps framing his face like a beautiful frame, his shirtless torso mimicked that of a marble statue. His abs flexed a contoured trail down to his member, his alabaster skin strewn with black markings. The finishing detail of this piece of art was the blood - your blood stained on his chin and neck. It was like your own signature on this masterpiece.

You were snapped out of your trance by two large hands cupping the sides of your face. His cool rings were like small slaps to your face. 

“As much as I want you to taste me, doll, I need to cum in that pussy. I need to mark you as my own.” Eddie untied your wrists and pulled you up so you were face to face and on top of him.

“I just got to get a condom” he whispered in your ear, ensuring the camera couldn’t pick up your conversation.

“Don’t. I got birth control” you purred, you kissed the sides of his mouth down to his neck.

“A-are you sure, doll? I mean I’m clean but I don’t want you to feel obliged.”

“Eddi- I mean - sir, I want you to cum inside me please. Make me yours.” You knew you were playing a role. This was all for show, but some of it felt real. There was truth in the words you spoke to him. You wanted to be his fully. 

Eddie slid himself up your headboard and he pulled your thighs up towards him so you were straddled on top of him.

“Okay, doll. Show me how well you ride that cock and you won’t get another bite tonight.” Eddie challenged. You agreed, it would be a challenge. Eddie was the largest guy you have ever been with. The wave of intimidation and nervousness flowed through you again. You felt a tight squeeze on your hips and Eddie’s eyes prodded for your gaze. When his golden brown irises met your glowing green ones, he gave you a reassuring nod. It was just the two of you.

You lowered yourself onto Eddie’s cock, slowly sheathing him inside you. You couldn’t control your eyes rolling to the back of your head. You felt deliciously full and you had only lowered yourself halfway. You could tell Eddie was concentrating on keeping his cool. His brows were furrowed and his tongue peeked through his blood stained lips. Beads of sweat were beginning to form under his curly bangs. Eddie peered up at you and immediately lost his composure. His grip became bruising on your hips and he slammed your body into his, pulling moans from both of you. 

Your eyes screwed shut in a mix of pleasure and pain. Your mouth hung open in a crooked smile. Your chest heaved, Eddie was worried your lungs were going to burst out of your chest. The shards of your lingerie dangled behind you like angel wings. An angel you were. Eddie had never felt this way about one of his conquests before. His heart was racing because of the thought of the money he was going to make from this gig, but he now felt another infatuation with you.

“Show me how you ride a cock, babe. Take that cock.” he cooed. You ground down on him, the friction of his base on your clit sent tingles all across your body. Eddie squeezed harder on your hips to ground himself. It was now his turn to be self conscious. He was going to bust way quicker than he wanted to if he didn’t find something to calm him down. He couldn’t look at you - his eyes insisting on staying screwed shut. He helped guide your hips up and down on his cock. 

“Fuck, sweetheart. You’re taking me so well. Squeezing me so tight… f-fuuuck it’s like your pussy was made for my cock, eh?” his assault of praises went straight to your core and yet again you felt yourself teetering closer and closer to the edge. Eddie’s name was like a hymn, you couldn’t say anything other than ‘Eddie’ and ‘please’. A satisfied smile ripped across Eddie’s face. His fangs glinted underneath you. The man snaked his dexterous fingers to where your bodies met. A few expert circles around your sensitive clit had you seeing stars again. You clenched down on Eddie’s cock, hurling Eddie dangerously close to his own release as well, but he wasn’t done with you. He guided your hips to grind down to guide you through your orgasm. 

Before you have time to come down from your high, Eddie flipped you over so he was looming over you.

“You have one more for me don’t you, pretty girl?”

“E-Edd, Sir I… I don’t think I can.” Eddie could look at your fucked out frown all day. Little did you know, he was studying every detail of your face so he could remember it later.

“Well sure you can. You’re gonna show me right now.” Eddie’s voice was more soothing than before. His face had softened slightly and his eyes were bright. He pulled your left thigh above his shoulder to assault your pussy at a deeper angle. Eddie’s rhythm was relentless and quick. Your sensitive pussy was quivering already, and had little to no time to recover from your previous orgasm.

“E-Eddie oh my god.” The angle of his cock hitting your g spot repeatedly had a whirlpool of pleasure and pain brewing in your core. You felt like you were going to float away. Eddie pulled himself out of you, making you whine from the emptiness. His cock was quickly replaced with his fingers and your legs dropped around Eddie’s waist. He angled his middle and pointer finger expertly inside you. If you thought his cock was relentless, Eddie’s fingers were just as, if not faster. The palm of his hand rubbed against your clit and you screamed out in overstimulation. You didn’t know if you wanted the assault to stop or to go harder. 

The wind was knocked from your chest as Eddie’s other hand pushed down on your pubic bone. With a yelp, you felt a white hot flash like you had never felt before. Your body shook and it felt like molten lava was coursing through your veins. 

“Fuck yeah, baby! That’s it, fucking good girl.” Eddie’s excitement was palpable. He stuck his cock back into you to feel you contract and flutter around him. Just your comedown was enough to make Eddie cum inside you. He pumped cautiously, cumming hard but using the shred of control he had to make sure he didn’t hurt you. He pulled out slowly, and leaned forward to give you a tender kiss on the forehead. Soon he collapsed beside you, both of you a mess of heavy breathing, your release, and his. 

Eddie guided you to sit up in front of a camera.

“Show them your neck, doll. Show them how good you did for me.” You craned your neck to the side, turning your face towards Eddie’s. The man reached out and cupped your cheek. You couldn’t help but melt into his touch. He then stood up for your computer and ended your stream.

“Sorry… I, I’ve never done that in my life…” your cheeks flourish in a red blush as you begin to explain to the man standing in front of you, pants now lazily covering his softening erection.

“Doll, I know you didn’t mean to. I wanted you to do that for me. It was fucking hot” Eddie reached for your hands and helped you up. You fell against his chest, your legs too weak to fully hold you up.

“Invoice me for some new sheets, okay?” Eddie winked at you. “Come on, let’s get you in the shower and let’s clean up.” 

You grabbed clean towels for the both of you as Eddie warmed the water to the shower. You sheepishly climbed in and waited for him to join you. You thought the man would fuck you, get up and then leave with as little as a ��see you’... or a ‘you’re welcome’. But he stayed, and seemed like he genuinely wanted to stay. He helped wash you off, the warm water washing away any insecurities you felt after your shoot. You both talked about how much you enjoyed yourselves and how well you did for your first partner scene.

“I can’t lie champ, I’m pretty impressed.” Eddie poked at you while you both sat on your couch, pizza on the way, a blanket enveloping both of you in more warmth.”Sorry about your neck, though.” Eddie nervously chuckled and ran his hands through his damp curls. You grabbed Eddie’s hand and redirected his energy to you.

“Eddie. I liked it. I would have told you if I didn't, I promise. It was honestly the best sex I’ve had.” You admitted with a small blush highlighting your cheeks. To your surprise, Eddie’s face was redder than yours. 

“Can I ask you something kind of insane?” Eddie asked.

“What’s up, Eddie?”

“Can I kiss you? Like actually kiss you?” His eyes were pleading, he was already starved of your lips on his. He wanted to show you how much he liked being around you, even if you had only been together a half a day. You nodded slowly, a shy smile reaching your lips, but adoration in your eyes. 

Eddie’s lips were soft and gentle against yours. He didn’t want to scare you off by being too forceful. His mouth melded to yours like he was the only person you were meant to kiss. His arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you in close. His hand migrated up your face to softly cup your cheek. Time had slowed down and the only thing that mattered was the boy you were attached to; once a stranger, to someone you didn’t want to be without within the span of a few hours. 

“So, I can only extend my stay in town for a couple of days.” Eddie whispered after (begrudgingly) pulling his mouth from yours. “Can I take you out tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Eddie. I would like that… as long as you leave the fangs in your suitcase next time.”

Taglist: @aol19 @brinleighsstuff @poofyloofy @anxiousobserver @mmunson86 @filth-fiction-archive @vintagehellfire @sadbitchfangirl @kirstinjayjay @sluggzillaa @eddies-acousticguitar @hideoutside @ali-r3n If you would like to be added to my taglist, please fill out this form and follow me!

[medleymisty]

Sims Stories For Western North Carolina Helene Recovery

I love Sims stories. I also love my state and my mountains. I'm putting the two together, and I will be writing Sims stories to try and help my fellow Tar Heels.

If you're unfamiliar with my work, here are links:

Short Stories (most are text only but some have Sims pics)

Surreal Darkness

Emo Pistols

You may also remember In The Valley of The Sun from 2009 or if you're truly old school, my silly little legacy from the Sims 2 Exchange in 2005. ;)

If you're unfamiliar with what has happened to my mountains, well, at the end of September a hurricane came through, right after a predecessor rain event, and it caused flooding so bad that rivers changed their courses and the highways into Tennessee, our neighbor state to the west, probably won't reopen until next year.

How Helene devastated western North Carolina

I looked at this Google Doc: WNC Helene: How to Help and I chose two organizations that I wanted to highlight.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

If you know me you know we have a lot of cats. I really really wanted to help out the animals in the mountains.

PAGE, Partnership for Appalachian Girls' Education

I am an Appalachian girl, so this group also spoke to me. I know their donation page says they're at 248% of their goal already, but this is going to be a very long term recovery effort and I know they'll need more over time. Their program's main site: PAGE

If you're looking for a way to help out and receive a cool Sims story at the same time, here's what I'm proposing:

If you email me a receipt of your donation to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue or PAGE, I'll write a story or poem or short of your choosing with the following minimum lengths (all dollar amounts in USD - I am happy to look up the conversion rates if you donate in another currency though, and I would round up to the nearest dollar in that case):

$1-5 donation: poem or story with 4 pics

$6-20 donation: story with 8 pics or a new Surreal Darkness chapter

$21-50 donation: story with 12 pics or a new Emo Pistols chapter

$51-99 donation: story with 16 pics or a new chapter of the story of your choice

$100+ donation: story with 20 pics or longer or a couple new chapters of the story of your choice

Please consider donating! I would be THRILLED if I got a bunch of $1 donations and had to write a bunch of poetry or short stories! Every little bit counts. <3

If you're interested in participating, please submit to this form: Sims Stories For Western NC Helene Relief

And if you have ANY questions or concerns, feel free to reply below or message/ask me directly. :)

[8figurehustler]

Where & How I Finally Started Getting Paid With Affiliate Programs | 💰💰💰

The Harsh Truth About Affiliate Programs (And What Actually Worked for Me)

Let’s be real—not all affiliate programs are worth your time, especially if you’re just starting out. I tried a few, and let me tell you straight up: some of them SUCKED.

The Flops:

1. Digistore24

Absolutely not. From faulty links, unreliable dashboards, to emails that wouldn’t stop even after deleting my account, Digistore24 was a complete waste of time for me. I’m not even going into details—it’s just that bad.

2. Amazon Associates

Trash. The only way you’re making even $100/month is if you have a blog on your own domain, 100+ affiliate links, and consistent traffic. And even then? That payout takes forever to build up—and don’t forget the payout fees and percentages they take. Imagine earning 50 cents and having to pay a fee just to cash it out. No, thanks.

Better Option: The Amazon Storefront

If you’ve got a face-based brand on TikTok, YouTube, or Twitter, consider applying for an Amazon Storefront instead. It’s more creator-focused, but they’re picky.

What Actually Worked:

3. Small Brand Collaborations

When I was starting out, I personally emailed a bunch of small fashion and beauty brands. Most of them didn’t even have an affiliate program—but because I reached out, they created one with me or offered me a custom collab.

Why it worked:

• I had a solid email pitch highlighting my strengths and how it would benefit them

• Small brands are more likely to say yes

• They’re open to flexible deals

• It’s mutually beneficial if you grow together

• Just don’t overcharge—be realistic. These are small businesses, not Nike.

The Game Changer:

4. ShareASale

This is where the real affiliate income started for me. ShareASale is a marketplace—meaning it’s not just one business, but hundreds. You sign up once and can apply to merchants in your niche (fashion, beauty, finance—you name it).

What I love about it:

• No need for a huge following—you can have a Tumblr, Pinterest, or Insta

• Most merchants approve you easily

• You can earn flat rates or commission

• It’s now partnering with Awin (even more brands!)

• You’re not locked into one niche—you can explore multiple

If you’re a beginner and want to see actual results, start with ShareASale. Take note that AWIN has owned ShareASale since 2017 and from the end of 2025 onwards, ShareASale will be completely renewed through AWIN, so if you’re signing up for the first time, I suggest starting now with a profile on AWIN so you won’t need to worry about the transfer unless you’re just looking to explore and don’t plan on doing affiliation long term.

Bonus Tip: Pinterest = Goldmine

Pinterest has become my go-to platform. If you’re serious about building traffic without showing your face, Pinterest is perfect. I created an eBook, the M3, that teaches you how to get 1 million monthly views in under 6 months (yes, it’s possible, if i did it you can too)

I’ve already helped over 20 people, and I’m proud of it. If you’re new to Pinterest or trying to scale your account, the M3 is your guide.

If you’re already doing well on Pinterest but don’t know how to monetise it, download my new ebook Pin to Profit which teaches you how to analyse, learn more on SEO & more.

all links down below

⸻

If you’ve tried the affiliate game and you’re tired of the fluff, I hope this helped clear the air. This is real talk from someone who’s been through it, earned the cents, and finally found what works.

Sign Up Now For Free On ShareASale(AWIN): click here

New to Pinterest & looking to grow your audience : click here

Don’t know how to monetise your Pinterest : click here

[rigelmejo]

So many thoughts on using audiobooks lol. Going through the HP audiobooks, if I relisten to an audiobook it becomes Obvious how much improvement is happening. I hear so many new details, very specific details, on a relisten.

But also I know the "listening difficulty" is increasing each book, because I do not notice the improvement as much when just going from one book to the next. Increasing difficulty is good though, if it's anything like how reading skill improves, then pushing up the difficulty of material I can handle ends up lifting the floor of "what feels easy" over time to higher level reading material.

I see very gradual improvement in comprehension from one audiobook to the next. For example HP1 I could follow the main plot on the first listen, HP2 I got lost sometimes about which scenes I was listening to - probably due to the increase in vocabulary/material complexity. I relistened to HP2 and understood both the main plot and a decent chunk of details, which was more than I understood HP1 (which was only the main idea and occassionally details). I get to HP3 and I understood both the main plot and a decent chunk of details on the first listen. So the first listen of HP3 felt as easy as the 2nd listen to HP2. I'm relistening to HP3 now, and understanding another decent chunk of details... so if before I was understanding 50% of the details, now I'm understanding 80% of the details or something. It feels like significantly more.

I am clearly getting benefit from the initial listen to an audiobook, even if my comprehension only feels like "all of main plot" (HP1) or "most of the main plot but not all" (first listen to HP2). Once I can understand "all of main plot and some details" it causes improvement to later be able to grasp More details of something at the same difficulty level. Interesting. So if I already know some context in advance, such as the plot from reading it in english, then just understanding "the main plot" of the audiobook eventually will result in improvement in understanding a lot more. That's the floor of what materials are useful.

I imagine, once I start using audiobooks I have no familiarity with, the floor of wha's useful will be things where I can follow at least "some of the main plot but not all." And ideally, where I can follow "all of the main plot" but not necessarily details.

For anyone emulating what I'm doing: I already had decent reading skills (someone who could read webnovels with Readibu or Pleco word-translation tools, and some simpler written webnovels extensively with no tools), and I am partially listening. As in, I listen while browsing the internet, working on spreadsheets and emails, doing grinding in video games, walking, doing chores, driving. I am not 100% focusing. I find, frustratingly, that 100% focusing I understand more individual words but I am translating in my head and I end up missing what's said right after any word/phrase I have to inner translate - which results in it feeling more exhausting and harder to grasp sentences as whole units of meaning. When I partially listen, what I manage to understand feels just as easy as listening to an english audiobook - I am not thinking super hard, I'm understanding quickly and not mentally slowing down, I can picture the scenes I hear. So on the one hand: if you did a lot of reading and translating words, listening at natural speed with partial focus could let you practice improving listening as a skill and not inner translate so much. On the other hand, my progress is proof partial focusing on audio can work for some people to improve listening skills.*

*Provided they have some knowledge of vocabulary like I did, from reading or anki or textbooks etc, even if it's not listening recognition of that vocabulary. I have no idea how well partial listening would work if you truly had no mental familiarity with a few thousand vocabulary already. Provided they could listen to something in their native language while doing other things - if you can't follow an audiobook or youtube essay in your native language when playing video games, doing chores, doing spreadsheets? Then it won't be doable in a language you're learning either. I often listen to some audio when driving, walking, doing chores, gaming, so I know how much I normally understand if I do it in my native language. I know when, in my native language, I'd tune out what I'm listening to and need to relisten - if I'm composing emails at work or spreadsheets with math, or trying to rewrite something then I can't focus on what I'm listening to, and don't try to listen at those times (or pause what I'm listening to).

Note: I do think similar activities, partial listening during activities when you know you could follow the main idea, with materials you can understand most/all of the main ideas (but not necessarily details) of, would work if you only knew 1000 words. Or even only 500 words, again provided you are listening to things you understand the main idea of (so perhaps learner podcasts or textbook audios). I think this activity has been helping a TON with listening skills, and I wish I'd done it sooner and more often.

Another note: if a listening material is too hard to understand the main idea of, you can look up words you hear that sound important to meaning. This will allow you to understand the main idea, if you look up enough words. Just like with reading, if you encounter a few key words a page that seem critical to understanding the main idea of what's going on. For myself, I try to limit myself to 5-10 word lookups or less per chapter or 4k words, per 20 minutes of listening. Just because if I start looking up more than 1 word every few minutes, I get burned out easily and no longer find it fun. Looking some words up though, if you don't quite understand enough of the main idea to learn from it, will give you enough information you need TO follow the main idea and then learn some stuff from the context of that main idea.

Relistening: I watched a video ages ago by a person learning korean about the value of relistening, of a LOT of relistening. They were right, honestly. I did not listen, let alone relisten, as much as the person. Any time I do relisten, I am reminded how absolutely useful it is. The more you relisten, the more prior context you have (from the last listen) of what's going on, so the more new details you understand and the more words you practice hearing. And practice hearing words is a skill that must be practiced! A lot! Relistening is one of the easiest ways to practice hearing and recognizing words faster. Since it's the same words, relistening to something you can predict more and more of, each relisten the words getting clearer and it getting easier to parse and recognize. I think the polymathy channel's video on using the nature method books first got me considering the use of relistening, but it was a different youtuber that really insisted on relistening 5-20 times to things.

(I wonder how much rewatching stuff as children helped some of us, I remember watching some movies 100-300 times, rewatching again daily, until the tape broke and I needed a new one. I must've practically had those movies memorized, even with my awful memory that ultimately forgot again lol, but I can imagine even at age 4-6 once I watched the movie SO much I understood most of every line. I rewatched movies every night as a little kid, just rewatching the same movie for months straight while I was into it).

All this said... if you do not know enough words to understand most of the main idea, and refuse to look up enough key words to understand most of the main idea, use audio-visual materials to practice listening. Especially audio-visual materials where you can follow the main idea based on the visuals. Like with comprehensible input lessons, cartoons for young children, some* shows you've seen before and know the story well enough that you can follow the main idea with the combo of visuals/prior knowledge/words you do know. For learning brand new words, I am finding audio-visual materials are much faster for learning words I didn't know before, and it's much more obvious what the words mean because I see visuals. Compared to when listening to audio only, and I can kind of guess the meaning of some new words... but if you read or listen to say "monsoon" for the first time you may guess it means something related to rain based on the surrounding sentences, if you see a monsoon visually while someone says "monsoon" then you have a clear meaning visually to attach to the word.

[sirfrogsworth]

My First "Viral" Post

Like, 20 people told me to submit my Brady Bunch GIFset to @world-heritage-posts and hundreds more tagged it #worldheritagepost.

So I was like, "OKAY OKAY, I'll submit it!"

And they never posted it.

Which is completely fine!

WHP, it's cool. We're cool. I don't need World Heritage Post reblogs.

I have reblogs at home.

(my reblogs at home)

I am definitely *NOT* going to do the "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM???" thing.

I only do cool and funny "Don't you know who I am?" interactions like Tony Hawk.

But when I submitted the post it reminded me of an even earlier time on Tumblr when there were only a few people who could make a post go viral.

The main one was called @thedailywhat. If something got posted there, it could get HUNDREDS of notes.

HUNDREDS!!!!

Oh, that's another funny thing. Several people commented "Why does this only have 20K notes!!???"

There are currently 135 million active users on Tumblr and the site got roughly 2.4 billion visits in 2023.

In all of 2010 the entire site got 50 million visitors. Not users. Just people who went to a Tumblr address during that entire year.

In any case, if you thought you created something cool and you wanted more than 10 people to see it, you had to submit your cool thing to The Daily What. It was the first Tumblr to reach 100,000 followers which was more than the actual founder of Tumblr had at the time.

It was run by a single person but he was very private and never revealed his name.

His emails were very cryptic.

I'm pretty sure he sold the site and went to live on a beach or something. But whoever bought it did not understand how to run the blog and the final post was in 2013.

I'm not surprised the new owner crashed and burned. Johnny Internets was irreplaceable. He really understood what would connect with people. Nearly everything he posted would gain decent popularity. I'm not sure people realize how much of a skill curating content can be and how hard it is to post popular things with consistency.

He would reject a lot of content outright and was very picky about what went on his Tumblr. But when he actually posted something you made, it was almost guaranteed to go viral.

Well, viral relative to the time period.

I suspect I submitted nearly a hundred things before he finally agreed to reblog me. And I still remember the first thing I submitted that he liked.

I posted this in 2010. How many notes do you think it got?

Probably a million, right?

No less than 100K.

I mean, look at how cute that panda is!

SONOFABITCH!

Back then, that was enough.

But that was just me putting words on something. My ultimate goal was to get him to post one of my original photoshops.

And do you see how he gave proper attribution? That meant a lot during a time when other curators were cropping my watermarks and claiming things as their own.

A real mensch, this Mysterious Stranger was.

These two posts got me enough traction to grow my following and before I knew it, I was The Daily What for other people. I was able to help other artists and content creators get traction and grow their following.

It was a beautiful Tumblr version of paying it forward. Only not as awkward as those weirdos who do it in drive-thru lines.

I ONLY GOT A SODA AND NOW I GOTTA PAY FOR 40 MCNUGGETS?

It's fine.

Enjoy your nugs.

[beardedmrbean]

A swarm of drones has been spotted coming in from the ocean and flying over several parts of New Jersey, prompting concern from both lawmakers and law enforcement officials.

The ongoing drone sightings in both New Jersey and New York have led to significant discussion in Congress, with several representatives questioning the FBI over a lack of answers more than a month after drones were first reported.

Congressman Chris Smith, who represents New Jersey's 4th district, was the latest politician to highlight the frustration, describing an instance when a Coast Guard officer was followed by several dozen drones at night while on the water.

Speaking in Congress Tuesday, Smith said: "So last night, I was on the beach park in Ocean County with the sheriff. He has been working every single night, he's got his own tethered drones chronicling, and one of his officers two nights ago, saw 50 drones coming off the ocean right there."

Newsweek has contacted the FBI for an update on the investigation into the drones via email.

Smith added: "Then, last night, we had a number of other people here, including a commanding officer from the Coast Guard, who said that one of their 47-foot motor lifeboats was followed by between 12 and 30 of these drones as they went through the water. Followed, right behind them!"

Robert Wheeler Jr, who is the assistant director of the FBI's critical incident response group, told Tuesday's Congressional hearing on drone threats: "We do not attribute [the sightings] to an individual or a group yet.

"We're actively investigating, enlisting the help of the interagency task force and the public."

Wheeler also said that "there is nothing that is known" that indicates the drones are a potential harm to the public.

"We just don't know, and that's the concerning part. We're actively investigating and would like to answer those questions, but I don't have a better answer."

The drone sightings began in New Jersey in late November, and have recently expanded into New York, with more sightings reported from residents of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, who recorded up to 12 drones near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told residents on Monday that while no immediate threats have been identified, authorities are taking the incidents "deadly seriously."

[nokki1]

Just need to vent a moment.

I finally had to bite the bullet and visit a dr for the first time in years because I'm having some concerning health issues, and I just want to know if I'm dying.

So when I got an appointment with a new doctor, it started off with the him calling me "fat" even though I'm only 140 lbs. But I had to grin and bare it because my insurance would only let me see the specialist that I wanted to go to for my issues with a referral from the doctor.

Luckily I did get the referral and was able to see the specialist. And I also had blood work done for both doctors. Everything looked fine except for one test which had really high levels. But then this morning, I get a fun email email telling me that I owe $500 for one of the visits and $50 for the other even though they're supposed to be fully covered by insurance. They also told me I have additional bills on top of that for the blood tests, which once again, are supposed to be fully covered by insurance.

So now I have to spend one of my days off trying to fight these charges, which idk if they'll be willing to drop. But if they still make me pay for it, then I'll be cancelling the upcoming tests that the doctor also wanted me to do and all my follow up appointments.

Thankfully since all my test results are posted online, I know exactly what's wrong with me now without needing to do anymore visits. And I can try some herbal remedies to at least assist with my issues instead of having to get a doctors prescription for medicine.

Funnily enough, the disease I have turns out to be a hereditary thing. And I’ve been mentioning these issues to doctors my whole life, but they always just shrugged and told me that it was “normal for women”. But it wasn’t until I had a period that lasted 51 days that they were like “hmmm maybe something is wrong…” 😤

It's just so frustrating that this is the state of healthcare in this country. I pay $800 a month for insurance and still it won't cover the medical fees for visits that they're telling me I need to do annually. And I have to become my own doctor on top of it all.

But I've stopped caring. I'm too exhausted to care anymore. I work 11 hours a day at my job, which is not only physically tiring, but mentally exhausting and stressful as well.

And if I'm going to be forced to spend so much on medical services, I'd rather use that money to live comfortably instead. Because I literally can't afford those medical bills. My rent already takes half of my monthly income, and groceries and other bills take up the rest.

So I'd rather live a short life and try to enjoy every minute that I have of it, then to save up for a future I may never get.

[keshetchai]

Heyyyy do you have any advice for a potential convert/person exploring Judaism going to services for the first time. I have big anxiety and want to show up respectfully but not totally sure what to expect and how to approach it.

Sure! I definitely have advice.

First, like I said recently, we're currently still in the month of Tishrei, and every Jewish professional is absolutely drowning because this month is jam packed with the high holy days, & Hebrew school/Sunday school is starting back up. This is the absolute busiest time of year for anyone who is a "professional Jew." (Rabbis, cantors, synagogue front admin, etc etc).

What that means is this: I strongly recommend waiting until after October 15th (which will begin the Hebrew month of Cheshvan) to try contacting anyone about conversion. You're just much more likely to be able to get in touch with someone, send an email or make a phone call and get a timely response and/or someone with enough bandwidth to really engage with you.

I'm not saying they'll ignore you right now, or to stay away! Just that your email could end up lost or the people in question might be hard to reach because they're doing 50 million things right now. And I wouldn't want you to think that was personal or to make you anxious!

Okay so, the list looks like this:

Try reaching out after Oct 15th this year (when Tishrei is over).

A good basic book you might be able to find in a local chain bookstore is Anita Diamant's To Choose a Jewish Life which is all about conversion! She is a liberal Jew (reform) and the book leans that way, but it does just cover some general considerations and topics as a good starter.

You can try browsing myjewishlearning.com or watching Bimbam videos (youtube) for basic 101 concepts.

If you've found a local synagogue you would like to try visiting, go to the website. See if you can find the admin assistant email or the rabbi's email. Then send an email explaining you're interested in exploring/learning about Judaism and have considered you may be interested in converting and would like to attend a shabbat service for the first time. This is basically all I did! I sent an email to two rabbis at two synagogues I was considering, and one of them replied immediately and I went that very week.

I have anxiety too but it was extremely easy for me, and I'm pretty lucky that my rabbi is pretty familiar with converts and conversion. Not every rabbi has had converts or even a fair amount of converts though, so some of them might be navigating a new thing to them too!

What made my first shabbat really easy was this:

- basically the response email answered my dress code question, assured me I was welcome to join the next service as a guest and he would be happy to meet/do introductions, and then he gave me the name of someone at the synagogue who would be a great community member to sit with/who could help me follow the service, and said he'd introduce me.

So like, to me, that was the most helpful part, which was that when I arrived a little before the start time, we got to say hi and then he introduced me to a woman who sat with me and was able to help me gain a footing. Or at least who could help me when I was totally lost lol! If no one suggests it to you unprompted, you can always ask if there's anyone in the community they'd recommend you sit with to help you acclimate. It's also totally okay to sit in the back.

You won't know everything the first few times! There's also no musical notation if people sing (so it doesn't matter if you read music or not)! I can't guarantee the synagogue will have full transliteration into English for the service! There's a whole other language you probably don't know being used. Lots of people who show up could do the service with their eyes closed. It is OKAY that you don't start there! It's okay to have no idea when to bow or to not know every prayer ahead of time!

Don't worry that you're not sure what's happening. Most of the time people will be super friendly! They'll also want to know all about you. You can either tell them you're wanting to convert/learn more or you can tell them a limited truth.

If I don't feel like explaining my whole backstory to someone, I usually just say "oh, my parents weren't really/super religious." (This is true for me! my parents werent super religious! But they are christians who aren't super religious. I usually just say I converted nowadays, I don't feel a need to hide it if pressed, but yanno. Sometimes I didn't want to have to explain I never went to Jewish summer camp to a stranger at a random event who wants to play Jewish geography)

Anyways most people will probably be very friendly to a new face/stranger and want to know allll about you at oneg (usually like, snacks after shabbat service) if they don't recognize you and you seem alone. (it's also highly likely there will be a lot of regular people who are a lot older than you, so don't be surprised if you basically get treated like a visiting grandkid. It's kinda great.)

Eventually you learn a lot just by immersion and showing up again and again. There's a pattern you can pick up. Tunes to songs may change and eventually you'll come to recognize the most common ones.

I know it's hard to like hear "hey it's okay don't worry too much" if you have anxiety, because, well, I have anxiety! I know you can't just turn it off! BUT I assure you, if you are made to feel unwelcome or bad, then that just isn't a good synagogue to be going to anyways. It's more likely they're just not a good fit for you than anything wrong with you, yanno? And the first rabbi you talk to may not be the one you want to stick with. That's okay too!

I was extremely nervous my first few services, and honestly everyone was just really nice and helpful. I think the other rabbi I emailed didn't end up replying to that email (it probably got lost!) and it ended up being fine, I stuck with the one who replied right away because we got along and clicked.

My last piece of advice is to go ahead and buy yourself a notebook/journal and keep a book for yourself.

This book can/should be any number of things!

For some inspiration, this book can be:

A journal about your religious journey prior to this point and currently

Write about what you believe now, what you think, what you aren't sure about

Write down the books you're recommended, given, or borrowed

Write down questions you have

Write down the complicated or uncomfortable things you worry or think about

Write about experiencing x or y thing for the first time and what you were interested in, confused by, etc

Cut out/copy down Jewish recipes!

Note things that you find joy in or are confused or bored by!

Take notes during classes/readings of books/etc

Write down notes during meetings with your rabbi!

Torah study notes! What'd you learn? What'd someone else say you found interesting? Questions? Thoughts? Etc.

It's a big process! A lot is going on, and it's worthwhile to record your personal feelings and studies in some way! It doesn't have to be a serious diary or a really studious study notebook, it can literally just be...a catch-all book and it is for no one but yourself to benefit from, so it doesn't have to look any which way. But it's very worthwhile, even if you later change your mind and don't convert, you'll still have all that spiritual exploration journaling and notes for yourself as part of your growth!

[literaticat]

I know no author HAS to be on social media. But it seems like the most tenacious ones are active online in some way. If I'm a painfully shy person who is socially awkward-- could that be a potential roadblock for an author career? 

First off: LOTS and LOTS of authors are "painfully shy and socially awkward." That's OK. Don't borrow trouble. Having a career as an author is already hard. There are LOTS of potential roadblocks out there. I'd suggest you not look for extra roadblocks to put in your own way. :-)

You don't need to worry about promoting your book if you don't even have a book. So if you want to get to a place where that's even a concern you MIGHT have, you start by doing the actually most important part: Write a great book. Then revise and polish it. Then look for an agent, or whatever your next step is. Etc. Just go step by step.

By the time you actually have a publisher and know that your book is really really coming out, a couple of things might have happened: The social media landscape might be totally different than it is today. And, more crucially, YOU might be different. I'm willing to bet that during this long process, where you wrote and then dug into this great book and got to craft and know everything about it, going step by step, you will have then had to talk to agents, then editors, then sales people, booksellers, other authors, etc about it. You will have interacted with increasing numbers of scary strangers lovely new people in a safe way, and realized that actually, book people are pretty much uniformly nice, they all LIKE you and your book, and you will at least feel pretty confident when you are talking about books, and your own work. You're probably never going to become an extrovert, or suddenly want to take on Open Mic nights at the Comedy Store -- but you'll be able to get through a normal business phone call or zoom, or quick back-and-forth email/text convo about book stuff, without really even thinking about it. You just WILL. I promise.

So then, at some stage, before your book comes out, whatever "social media" looks like at that time, you get a little account, and follow some of these folks. Follow your publisher and agent, as applicable, and authors you admire, and booksellers and librarians you meet along the way, and people who are interesting to you. Participate a little. If your friend is having a book launch, you can post about it. If you read a great book, post about it. If somebody says something funny or cool, like it. If somebody you like posts great news or an awesome review of their book, congratulate them. Take a cute picture of your pets. Then when YOUR book is coming out, you can add in talking about that as well, a little, and your buddies will like and post about that, too, because you are nice, and they are nice, and they like your book. And when YOU have good news or a book launch or a nice review, other people will congratulate YOU.

Aim for 15 minutes a day, just dip in and out. Think of it like the water cooler at work. When you work hard, it's NICE to take a break and catch up with your writerly colleagues for a few minutes here and there. You're not looking to be a Social Media Superstar or Influencer. The water cooler is NOT your job. But, just like when you work at an office, it's nice to be able to take a break, have a little corner of the internet where you can feel comfortable enough to wander over from time to time, share fun news or things that are interesting to you, briefly see what's up with your colleagues that day, share a laugh, or whatever, then go back to your desk to work. No stress.

If you can manage that (and I suspect you'll be able to!) -- well, you'll be in the top 50% of authors on social media without even trying too hard. And if you really can't manage it -- well, hey, you tried, it's not for you, at least make sure your website stays updated.

[manysmallhands]

Top Albums Of 2024: #7 - 'Short n' Sweet' by Sabrina Carpenter

Following her rebirth on 2022’s slow burning success Emails I Can’t Send, Sabrina’s commercial juggernaut takes a more direct approach, hanging onto that album’s combination of witty pop bangers and country ballads but making everything that much tighter, sharpening the hooks and ramping up the sex comedy. From the opening chords of 9 week #1 hit "Taste" it feels instantly glossy, taking on a mid 80s pop rock vibe that that seems engineered to reach across the generations with its sweet but steely melodies and anthemic chorus. The ubiquitous post disco funk of "Espresso" is just as irrepressible, full of dumb, sticky catchphrases and charismatic winks to the camera. It’s hard to overstate how easy Short N Sweet is to listen to - each song seems engineered to be the catchiest of earworms - but underlying that is a high degree of songcraft which makes it a satisfying and substantial piece of work in its own right too.

For something so obviously ultra-commercial, the character Sabrina holds across the album is surprisingly multifaceted. In some senses she draws on old-school sexual stereotypes - the iconography of the era feels almost forces sweetheart-like, taking in 50s bathing costumes and lipstick kisses - but while Sabrina’s lyrical approach (sample line from "Bed Chem" - “come right on me - I mean camaraderie!”) could seem like a modern version of that kind of sexualised role, her characterisation of men throughout the album - as idiots and scumbags, generally incapable of finding their ass if it had a bell on it - makes for a far less passive perspective, more that of someone on a haphazard and often lonely quest for satisfaction. 

The ballads in particular take a vicious line on the guys, especially on the charmingly silly country vignette "Slim Pickins" and, rather more pointedly, on "Dumb and Poetic". Here, Sabrina takes an unusually serious approach to skewering her target, a man who uses a sensitive side to excuse his failure to sustain relationships: lines like “try to come off like yr soft and well spoken/ jack off to lyrics by Leonard Cohen” are delivered with a savagery out of character with her largely tongue in cheek default. Tho it’s perhaps the only song where Sabrina so explicitly bares her teeth, it’s an undercurrent that’s present throughout and one wonders if she might have missed her calling as a more full throatedly confessional singer songwriter. For now tho, she’s simply the biggest new pop star of 2024: it’s a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it.

[hihigherdi]

Another very intense week. I was in an offsite with my new team that was packed with a combination of huge calls, big problem solving, therapy sessions, strategic planning and more. There was one night where R and I got some drinks and I spent the night in her hotel- it was so good to be with her. I also realized I can’t drink very well - in the middle of the night my stomach was so upset. It’s like I had food poisoning, I had to stay in the bathroom for an hour, not exactly the kind of thing you want to have happen in a hotel room with one of your friends, but thankfully she slept through it. I have a huge amount of work to do this weekend, my part is behind but that’s because it’s just so complicated and I’m still learning so much. I have to learn to be able to get it done. The anxiety dreams! Woof.

Yesterday I had to take BND for his colonoscopy, so took much of the day off.  That I was so obsessed with him is this crazy surreal, faint memory – all of the time I wasted. Ugh. At one point I would’ve been desperate to go inside and hang out with him but he seemed fine when I dropped him off, so I just watched him go inside and took off. Lol.

This wild thing happened yesterday when I was dealing with some Alki house stuff. We finally chose a fabricator to put the stone around the fireplaces, and they asked for a 50% deposit to be put down before the work started. I was totally cool with that and followed their secure link to charge my credit card. An hour later, I get an email from the sales person that says I need to use Venmo, Zelle, or wire transfer, and I have to split the payments into four or five. Confused, I asked if the AMEX I had put the deposit down on had been canceled and he said yes, it had been.

I’m not unfamiliar with vendors who want to be paid in cash and make a change like that but the whole thing felt weird, so I asked him to call me. He didn’t and kept saying I just needed to use Venmo. So I finally called the company (a small family owned business) and got the sales person on the phone. They immediately forwarded me to the accountant who said they were dealing with a scammer who had infiltrated their systems, they had received my credit card payment and asked me to send all of the scammers information to their IT person. I looked at the email again and noted it was only slightly misspelled vs the original. I was so close to just paying Venmo. It would’ve been thousands of dollars last, freaks me out to think about how close I was to being scammed. That was a close call.

Anyway. Time for a little coffee, and then work. Hope everyone here is well.

[zapposter]

The list to refer back to when I realise I’ve been doomscrolling again

1. Read that history book on the nightstand 📚

last time you were in Kraków you Were complaining how you don’t remember any facts anymore, do something about it

2. Try to learn some card tricks🃏

You’ve got two books on this with you, you’ve had them for years, high time to grind that skill out. Especially considering your brother suddenly got into card tricks too and that has always been your thing

3. Paint in the studio 🎰

You’ve already emailed everyone and made sure that you can, now just move your ass and go. Leave for few hours, do some painting. Just zone out, it’s therapeutic

4. Go for a walk 🧳

Just go

5. Draw with ink 🖋️

You’ve got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… eight different colours. Go ham

6. Draw with dry pastels 🥫

Go get dirty, you know you like it

7. Work on the zines for your friends 📠

We ball, I know you’re gonna make it the best zine you possibly can. Add some cool quotes from songs you both know

8. Watch a figma tutorial 💽

It’s new and you’re just learning, so I know it might be scary, but no harm has ever came from just trying. If it doesn’t work out? Just fuck it, go girl

9. Design something 🎪

Create your own one, copy or upgrade some other design. No rules and doesn’t have to be good. Remember to just enjoy the process, you’re designing just for you

10. Illustrate🎖️

Make an illustration, just a baby one. No big projects (unless you feel like it). Just get back into the groove, have fun with it

11. Play some music 🎫

The harmonica? The kalimba? Up to you, or just belt it out

12. Do some yoga 🌬️

(Idc if it’s past 11:30 or before 4:30, get movin love)

13. Go to the library 📔

So many books, it’s free, you can sit there as long as you want. Also it’s literally the peak of academia core and you get a walk. No downsides

14. Watch a movie 📽️

You’ve got a movie list, turn the projector and watch. All these movies are amazing. The vibe is immaculate and you can multitask if you want to

15. Watch a video essay 📺

You’ve got some good ones queued up and its 100x better than scrolling. Learn something new

16. Paint some gouache 🍂

You can make little gifts! Or paint something you like, or make illustrations. And you don’t even have to leave your room (but you can, go for a walk and paint en plein air)

17. Solve a sudoku 🍰

50 to go, you can solve them wrong 50 times for all I care. But by the end of it you’ll have done it and it won’t be so scary anymore

18. Journal 🧃

Just anything, empty your mind out

19. Phone a friend 🎟️

You’re alone as it is, don’t alienate yourself even further please, make sure you get some contact

20. Animate something 🎞️

It can be anything, and remember baby steps. Just try to be more at ease. Remember other programs felt complicated and unfriendly at first too. It will al get better, just trust the process

21. Learn some zippo tricks 🐛

You’ve got a new zippo, it’s was a lovely, thoughtful gift. Imagine if you learn some trick to show him

What’s important in the end is to remember to trust the process and keep in mind that most of the things on the list (just like eating well, waking up at reasonable time and going to sleep at fairly early times. All which you should also be doing) is forms of delayed gratification when you compare it to the option of doomscrolling. The whole day will flash before your eyes before you realise it. The week will pass by, the month and the summer will follow.

Grab life by the horns, look her in the eyes and make out. Tell her you love it. Have fun

[yayspring]

had a weird wig sale day yesterday. i did make £400 so i truly cant complain but i felt like the ugliest wig was the most beloved + i was very confused bc my favourite ones got literally zero love... ill post the wigs at the end of the post + you can all tell me which wig is the ugliest one. and i'll tell you if you're right

i emailed a UK doll convention too to see if they have any vendor spacecs bc i think a cash injection a few times a year would be really good (altho i have never done cons before so fuck knows how this is gonna go). ben offered to come along + help out as well and he's actually done that for ana too so i'll allow it

benno fucked me like a champ this weekend - he's so good! im so lucky!!!! in related news though the huge pink vibrator (long term followers may remember when i bought it + did not check the specs beforehand) i think may be broken lol hmm (it only vibrates if you hold it at specific angles... lol)... hmmm

site is late paying me again. fucking !!!!!!!

i am feeling quite worried about work (see point no.1) but im in contact with a nice alpaca woman who is willing to sell me her champion alpaca fleece for £240 for 4kg. (reminder that i bought 3kg for £70 last week) honestly i probably will buy it even tho that's a lot of fucking money - £60 per kilo is more than ive ever spoent on alpaca - the prev most expensive was 50 - bc it's 15/16 inches lon which is a very very rare length, and i can charge more accordingly. the profit margin is still staggering to be honest so i shouldn't really fuss too much

honestly i wouldnt be so worried about money if we weren't getting married in 3 months bc we still have a shit ton to pay for. HOWEVER my parents have been consistent about saying they will pay for whatever is asked, so i think possibly my worrying is unnecessary, but ana is suspicious that they're gonna pull out of this offer @ the last minute. i actually dont think this is likely (ben doesnt either) bc they've always actually been hugely financially generous (if emotionally devastating) like they paid for everything (rent/food/literally everything) when i was in uni, never asked me for rent when i moved back home, my dad pretended not to notice me buying groceries on his debit card for years - like i really dont think ana is right on this one. but until i actually have the money in my hands i will be nervous. they have a fair reason for not sending me money also - my granddad's will money hasn't cleared yet + they're just waiting for that these are the wigs anyway

the only colourway anyone gave a shit about was the red/black omg i was so shaken bc i think it's hideous + really unsubtle and i only made it bc i thought it would be popular. which to be fair it was but i think it's vile. that blonde ombre is basically perfect, a really really pretty blend with no colour where it shouldnt be, and NO ONE CARED!!! ETA: shortly a fter publishing this post someone did enquire about the blonde one. thank you that's better

[warningsine]

Indie music hub Bandcamp has laid off half of its employees, less than a month after the announcement that music licensing company Songtradr had purchased the platform from video game publisher Epic Games.

Founded in 2008, Bandcamp is beloved by musicians for its artist-friendly revenue sharing and active fan community. In March 2020, the company launched Bandcamp Friday, which gives artists 100% of profits for sales occurring on the first Friday of every month. Bandcamp Daily, the company’s music blog, spotlighted curated new releases and offered features on emerging, independent artists. A number of the site’s writers and editors shared news of their dismissal on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“I had 3 years of having my dream job helping artists make records and making vinyl more accessible,” said Ava Mirzadegan, a former Bandcamp vinyl representative, in a post. “I’m proud of myself for getting here even if all ended like this.”

“Unsurprisingly there has been no humanity extended in this process. Our union will prosper though,” wrote Atoosa Moinzadeh.

Bandcamp had operated as an independent company until Epic Games acquired it in 2022. On Sept. 28, Epic Games laid off about 830 employees, or 16% of its staff, and announced it had sold Bandcamp to Songtradr. In an internal email announcing the sale, Epic Games said Songtradr would offer positions to some, but not all, Bandcamp employees.

Jordan Opre, 27, a Bandcamp support specialist based in Seal Beach, said when he and other workers received the internal announcement of the sale, they were caught off guard.

“I think overall the collective reaction has been surprised,” Opre said in an interview a few days after the sale was announced. “There’s just a lot of uncertainty. There hasn’t been clear or definite communication in terms of who’s getting laid off.”

The Bandcamp staff reductions were part of the September layoffs initiated by Epic Games. A representative for Songtradr told The Times that 60 of Bandcamp’s 118 employees were offered the opportunity to retain their position, and that 58 workers had accepted.

Additionally, the representative told The Times 50% of the core editorial staff would remain on board.

“Over the past few years the operating costs of Bandcamp have significantly increased,” said the Songtradr representative. “It required some adjustments to ensure a sustainable and healthy company that can serve its community of artists and fans.”

Bandcamp United, a union represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union, formed soon after the sale to Epic Games, as the acquisition sparked internal worries around Bandcamp’s future.

The union was recognized in May 2023 and had begun negotiating its first collective bargaining agreement with Epic in August.

“[Bargaining with Epic Games] was actually going all right, compared to some other places we’ve been bargaining with,” said Sandy Pope, OPEIU bargaining director. “It makes you wonder if they knew something was coming and decided it wasn’t worth putting up a big fight. You can’t sell a company overnight.”

Songtradr has not officially recognized the Bandcamp United union, which had been demanding Songtradr extend an offer to all employees and provide severance packages to those who declined to stay on board. Because the transaction was an asset sale, Songtradr had no legal requirement to retain employees or recognize the union.

After initial messaging from Songtradr stressed that it would remain “business as usual” in the wake of the sale, however, Pope expressed a feeling of betrayal.

“We got the email from [Songtradr CEO] Paul Wiltshire, saying they intended to keep everything the same, but then you get rid of the people who do the creative and who started it?” she said. “People loved working for Bandcamp. They were gutted by the news today.”

[lateniteponders]

New Job…? Pt 3

Well….strap in for this roller coaster of a ride/tale.

I started “training” on 7/13/2023, a Thursday. They focused on us getting our onboarding shit and mandatory courses completed. You know…your basic sexual harassment, cybersecurity training, and equality training.

They also had us all create usernames, passwords and profile to access all the needed portals for the company…..but on our personal devices, not the work equipment. No no…we had to wait for that shit to arrive. The following Monday, we got…a laptop. Just that. And said laptop need a username and PW…which the client had not given us yet. So what do we do…? Nothing. We have access to these online skill trainings…but they aren’t mandatory or actually pertain to what our roles will be post training. A few days later I got the rest of my equipment.

Well, yesterday, 7/25/2023…after a 1.5 weeks of sitting around doing jack shit, we got our PWs and usernames. Great, now we can actually set up our work devices now right? NOPE. We all entered our info only to get this message “This user’s account has expired”. A ticket has now been opened for IT. One girl i’m chatting with privately said she has been doing this for 5 WEEKS now.

I also emailed my new manager about my schedule and needing some time off in August for a wedding. WELL…that schedule I was promised of Mon-Fri 7am-4pm? That is not guaranteed for me. So I have no idea what my schedule will be after training. Could be 8-5…or 3pm-10pm. Also…training goes until 8/25….when do I need off? 8/25-8/28. Manager said “if you’re performing well, I do not see any issues with accommodating that request”. THAT IS NOT A YES OR A NO. It is for a FAMILY WEDDING IN ANOTHER STATE. I have mentioned this to their fucking hiring staff 50+ times!!!

So what have I been doing with my time?

I’m playing Animal Crossing and watching “Outlander”. And I’m also applying to other jobs and hope something better comes along. The only good thing about this training is that we are, in fact, getting paid the $19.00 an hour. So essentially I’m getting paid to fold laundry, play video games and watch TV.

God…I really need a new job to come along ASAP. Otherwise, I may just quit at the end of training if they can’t give me off for that wedding.

Learn from my experience: if you have a bad gut feeling about a job…DON’T TAKE IT. Never doubting my gut again.

I picked a shit week to not drink until Friday.