Chicken fried steak and eggs ihop

🐣🐔 The age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Now, consider this parallel: Did the reputation of top colleges attract brilliant minds, or did these minds build the reputation of those institutions?
🎓 At STEM-Away, we view our relationship with our participants through a similar lens. We mutually shape and are shaped by the passionate individuals who join us.
💡 If you're passionate about STEM, captivated by problem-solving, and thrive on collaboration, we invite you to join us.
When you love music, you sing away
When you live art, you paint away
When you love STEM, you STEM away

I am genuinely really surprised about this haha. The past couple days I've had to turn down some of dinner because it's Bad food, both of which being meat dishes (a sausage that was different from the usual one we get and meatloaf that while being definetly well made, super rich and moist, was an Awful texture) and while my dad was quick to be like. Okay man cool you don't wanna eat the meat but you need some fucking protein what do you want. And i could be like eggs! so i got that so :D
But me and my dad were chatting today about how i hadn't eaten full dinners the past few days and he jsut makes the comment of "well yeah I know you're pretty averse to eating meat, so it made sense" and I just had to sit there like,,,, what????
and it turns out, I am pretty fucking averse to meat! my dad is just so good at noticing and working around it that i LITERALLY DIDN'T KNOW! when i asked him, he was immediately like- "you won't eat ground beef if it's not in tacos, even spaghetti you usually somehow manage to eat around the meat in the meat sauce, chicken and pork you're pretty quick to turn your nose up at if it's not Exactly like usual or right, you won't eat sausage unless it's this one specific brand or hot dogs, you're definetly averse to meat"
it's really awesome how much he cares tbh, he notices I sometimes unintentionally go into like- fucking "calorie deficit" as he said, just because my sensory issues mean i just Don't eat as much, and rather than accuse me of an eating disorder he just either brings it up and is like. Hey man you good? or makes the foods he Knows I'll eat. It's really nice because like- since I'm undiagnosed, sometimes my brain tries to tell me I'm making up all of my symptoms and that it's not real, but then stuff like this happens and it's like. Oh! this is something that i know is related to autism that someone else who didn't even know both notices and takes into account.
Idk this might be incomprehensible i'm bad at communicating

So I just seasoned some wings with smoked paprika, a lemon pepper blend, a salt and garlic blend, and some chili pepper flakes. I also used canola oil on them and shook it in a bag. Im feeling lazy so I was gonna bake them but now my GF wants to come over.
They are currently sitting in the fridge (seasoned) and now I’m wondering if I should’ve just used eggs as the binder and fried them in the seasoned flour I have left from like a week ago.
Is it too late to use flour as a coating and fry them? My fear is the oil will result in the wings being unable to hold onto the flour well enough for them to fry and I’ll just lose all the seasoning.

So I just seasoned some wings with smoked paprika, a lemon pepper blend, a salt and garlic blend, and some chili pepper flakes. I also used canola oil on them and shook it in a bag. Im feeling lazy so I was gonna bake them but now my GF wants to come over.
They are currently sitting in the fridge (seasoned) and now I’m wondering if I should’ve just used eggs as the binder and fried them in the seasoned flour I have left from like a week ago.
Is it too late to use flour as a coating and fry them? My fear is the oil will result in the wings being unable to hold onto the flour well enough for them to fry and I’ll just lose all the seasoning.

I’ve been working on grey-rocking my manager and keeping interactions to a minimum. Or at least, in my own way. I still want to be kind. I’ll compliment her or I’ll ask her how her weekend was.
Anyways, today I watched my manager interact with other people and it seems…that she’s grey-rocking me? I don’t know whether the chicken or the egg came first, but she treats all my coworkers so wonderfully. Compliments them, jokes with them, is fucking KIND to them.
It’s the polar opposite of how she treats me. She’s so cold to me, and the only times she’s interacting with me is when she’s telling me how bad I am at my job.
She even went so far as to go out of her way to embarrass me in front of our VP today. To know that she treats all my teammates in a kind way, only to turn around and treat me terribly? Yeah, it’s too much.
There’s a lot of talk about grey-rocking a manager in this sub, but has anyone’s manager grey-rocked them?

i thought i would also make a separate diet post so we can share foods that seem to help, or at least bother us the least! our personal rules for food will all be different, so please be patient with me for having packaged foods, low-lactose cheeses, etc. (although definitely let me know if you think any of these are truly going to mislead people.) you should also know that maximizing the ratio of vegetables to protein has made me feel the best. anyway, this is my list:
foods that seem to help: . herbs like lavender, thyme, oregano, rosemary—i put them in a chicken and vegetable soup. once i infused lavender in (unsweetened) soy milk. i take a rosemary pill when i have flareups. . garlic (raw is best—i make a caesar dressing using thug kitchen’s recipe but with silken tofu instead of almonds. it fucks) . onions & leeks . swiss cheese (i think it’s the enzymes?? esp the kosher one from sprouts) . dill pickles (i like kuhne for subtle/crunchy and grillo’s for more flavor)
foods that don’t hurt: . spinach/dark greens—although I’m getting a little tired of them, i do love salads. recently i top my salads with nuts, turkey, and low-lactose cheese like mozzarella. i dress it with oil & vinegar. . asparagus . broccoli . okra (i buy unbreaded and pan-fry it, so good and rich in magnesium!!) . soy products (I’m sure this varies person to person. but soy has antimicrobial properties!) cabbage—check out gaz oakleys purple soup on youtube, it’s delicious!! . chicken salad with soy mayonnaise, dill, cucumber, celery
foods to bring joy/keep sane: . lily’s sea salt dark chocolate if you don’t mind stevia (also rich in magnesium, and cocoa has antimicrobial properties) . zero sugar jerky (chomps and tillamook are good brands)
please share your safe foods in the comments if you’d like to help build this list!

Hi, I am a mess but doing my best. I am not experienced with chickens outside of my interactions with this one, and I don't have a lot to work with regarding my mental health and money. But the neighbors found a little red hen in the alley not long ago and decided to keep her.
She has no coop and sleeps in the bushes, and wanders the complex's backyard area nibbling grass and bugs during the day. They seem to just feed her table scraps like leftover potatoes and rice, and sometimes tomatoes. I never see them interact with her besides that, they don't even clean up after her. I got some chicken lay pellets from a local feed store and whole wheat and barley kernels from winco and give her some every day to make sure she has decent nutrition.
She seemed to be doing well for a couple weeks, she was laying eggs every other day and following me around while I moved my plant pots around to grab the bugs underneath them. She tries to follow me into my room a lot (I feel bad for shooing her away but I don't want bird poops in here). She has decided she is above my kitten in the pecking order and tries to chase her off when the kitten gets close to her food. She tore up my plants scratching for bugs and taking dust baths, but I can't be mad. She's super cute and now I am sure I really really want a few chickens of my own eventually. I never knew they were so funny and full of personality. I've been reading up a bunch about their care.
Last week I heard her clucking at night and she dropped a bunch of feathers, so I think something attacked her. Maybe a stray cat or raccoon. She didn't seem injured, just ruffled. A few days ago some loose dogs got into the backyard and chased her a bit. They luckily just seemed curious and not aggressive, and they ran off when I yelled at them. She stood with her face in a corner clucking for a few minutes until I gave her some treats. She was super scared. I got a chicken electrolyte water mix to hopefully help her recover from stress.
Last night she was clucking a lot all night, I went out to see what was up several times but I didn't see any animal. She may or may not have slept. Today the gardeners came with the loud lawnmowers. I can imagine she was terrified and hiding until they left. When I went out today she was gaspy and raspy and can't cluck. I read up on chicken symptoms and it seems maybe she has a respiratory infection, or maybe gapeworms. Or maybe she just has a lost voice/sore throat from stress? Can that happen? From what I have read, her poops seem normal. She poops in front of my door a lot so I don't even have to go out of my way to check that. (It's really gross lmao)
It's frustrating knowing there's stuff that can be done for her condition but I can't do anything myself, I have been crying about it. Communication with the neighbors is hard because we speak different languages and I also have intense anxiety and fear of people, and I can barely even communicate well with English speakers because of it. I am not sure they really care given how she is kept? Is this a dumb take? I feel like the situation is urgent enough now to maybe call animal control to come get her, but I am really afraid the neighbors will get pissed at me, and also they might just put the bird down rather than treat her. Or maybe she'll recover with electrolyte water and food and I am just worrying about nothing? I lost pets earlier this year already and it destroyed me, and I know this isn't my bird and I shouldn't feel responsible but seeing her in bad shape is making me feel like it's happening all over again. I can't take it.
I'm scared of posting this, I am afraid I am going to be burned alive for not knowing how to handle this.

Trip Report- 13 days Tokyo/Kyoto/Hakone/Nagoya (Ghibli Park) /Hiroshima with a 2 year-old toddler. (plus day-trips to Nara and Osaka)
I love reading other peoples' trip reports and thought it might be useful to share my experiences travelling with my wife and toddler in Japan. We used Shinkasens for most of our travel between cities but did rent a car in the middle so that we could drive to a rural Onsen and then to Shirakawa-Go from Nagoya. (We also briefly rented a car to visit 3 plaaces around Hakone, too).
First of all, traveling with a toddler in japan is great. Our kid loves trains and busses and got tons of attention and shouts of "KAWAI!!" from friendly people everywhere we went. She even got a lullaby sung to her by a Japanese grandmother as she dozed on a city bus in Kyoto. She never had to pay for any bus fares or train fares. (technically she was a "lap baby" on the Shinkansens).
We read a book of etiquette before we went and it was very useful to know. I am sure most of these tips are stickied elsewhere , but things like "don't point with one finger, always grasp cups with both hands, don't wipe your face/mouth with the hand-cloth, don't talk loudly in restaurants or on trains, keep yen bills neat and flat and use the trays provided when paying for things," etc, were good to know before we went. We brought and carried a "point-and-say" translation book but only used it once; generally Google Translate worked great for images of menus and signs. (and many restaurants have English versions of menus, or use digital menus on iPad that can switch to English. ) Google maps handled most of our navigation needs without issues too, both via train and car. We parked the stroller outside most restaurants or folded it and brought it just inside the door if the weather was bad.
Prep work --
The only major prep work we did before leaving was to buy our JR pass and alert our banks to the dates that we would be in Japan so that our credit and debit cards would work. We had no problems getting cash from the ATM machines at 7-11 or at the Airport. We reserved all hotels/AirBnB/Onsen/Car Rentals beforehand. Also bought SkyTree tickets before departing. We stayed up until 4am to get a ticket to Ghibli's Grand Warehouse -- fortunately only one ticket was needed since our child was under 4 and my wife wasn't interested. We rented a mobile hotspot device from Sakura Mobile before leaving America and it was waiting for us at our first hotel in Tokyo. We dropped the hotspot and charger in a mailbox in a pre-paid envelope before leaving Kyoto.
Major tips -- no need to pack lots of snacks or water each day , since vending machines and 7-11 stores and similar are ubiquitous. Do pack paper towels/ Napkins and extra plastic bags for carrying wet diapers and trash, as public trash cans are almost non-existant. (and when they do exist, they are often just for aluminum and PET plastic bottles) Throw away trash where you bought it, (for things like satay skewers) or bring it home to your hotel. The "pack-it-out" mindset takes a little getting used to, but the results -- a society seemingly without litter-- are superb. Having a lightweight , easily foldable stroller made this trip much easier. Our child often slept in the stroller, and being able to quickly collapse and carry it was key to getting up and down the many sets of stairs in the train stations. It also occasionally doubled as a luggage cart for us. Packing light is key; we picked hotels and AirBnBs that had laundry options to allow us to carry a minimum of stuff. (and no need to bring laundry soap; the washing machines dispense it automatically) My wife wished she had a Japanese-style suitcase with 4 roller-wheels, but I think we did fine with our backpacks , etc.
In general, we didn't have much trouble finding things for my daughter to eat; she loves noodles and dumplings, and even got really into red snapper sushi one night. (basically she loves anything she can dip in soy sauce). Chicken Karage was usually an easy thing to find and feed to her, as were the egg salad Sandos, fresh fruit, and various rice balls from 7-11. Oddly, she also really loved the "pickle-on-a-stick" things that were pretty common in outdoor markets. (I think we got them in both Kyoto and Osaka)
Flights - we flew JAL to from LAX to Narita outbound, and returned on JAL (operated by AA) from Hiroshima to Haneda to LAX. The outbound flight was great; the JAL service was impeccable and they gave my child a model airplane which kept her occupied for hours. We gate-checked our folding stroller on the outbound flight -- the gate clerk put into a plastic bag for us just before departure,
The return flight (operated by American Airlines ) was a step down, but still fine. Transferring planes at Haneda for the return was a little more of a hassle than we had expected becuase you have to exit one terminal, walk a while, exit the building and then get on a free bus, and then go back through security at another terminal. On the plus side, the Haneda international terminal has a padded play area that my daughter liked near the duty free shops. Becuase our return journey was two flights, gate-checking the stroller was not possible, but instead, after measuring its size, we were able to keep it as a carry-on for both legs. (had it been larger, JAL said they would have met us at Haneda with an airport loaner stroller, something we saw other parents using in Hiroshinma and Haneda)
Highlights from each city (focusing on things that my child loved)
Tokyo -- our first night in Japan was a little disorienting: the Tokyo metro station is like a gigantic multi-layer mall-labryinth, and since none of the maps seem to show the "big picture" finding our way to the correct exit lugging luggage was a bit of a challenge the first time . We went back down that night for our fist meal, and by the next day we were practically experts, and were even able to find our way to Ramen Street (on level B1) for lunch and --after waiting in line for about 20 minutes-- slurp some great noodles.
Our first morning we wanted to visit the imperial Palace Gardens, but discovered it is closed on Mondays. Stil, just seeing its moat and stone walls was impressive. We walked to the Children's Science and Technology Museum near Budokan, and our duaghter loved operating cranes and turning cranks of giant Rube-Goldberg machines. (some with bowling-ball sized steel balls moving around). Most of the exhibits were in Japanese, but the fact that this wasn't a common tourist destination made it interesting to visit. On the way home for naps we ate at a random underground food court under an office building and learned how to order a food ticket from a machine for eating at a restaraunt. (a key skill!)
We next headed up to the Owl Cafe in Akihabara, mostly as an excuse to have a visit to Akhiabara, and found it was closed, but seeing the electronics stores and nightlife of Akhihabara was fun. As you might expect, my daughter loved getting Gacha Balls from vending machines (both in Akihabara and everywhere else )
Our second day we spent the morning hunting for the legendary "Elephant Playground" (worth the hunt!) and then went to the nearby Tokyo Childrens' Toy Museum. This was a fantastic combo, and I would recommend anyone with young kids in Tokyo do both. From there we walked to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which was a wonderful oaisis, full of picknicking families and couples. We explored the tropical greenhouse and then had a well-needed rest under a tree near a tea-house in the traditial japanese garden section Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden also was conveniently close to the Shinjuku rail station, which was imporant because we had Sky-Tree tickets that evening, and we headed there directly. We didn't have time to do any shopping or visit the two museums recommended to us near the skytree (Tobacco and Salt and the Tobu rail museum) But we did have what I consider my favorite meal of the trip: beers and gyoza and molten-lava hot takoyaki at a tiny( 6- seat) izakaya a few minutes south of the Skytree. (i'd recommend it by name but it was completely in japanasese and I am not sure I can now accurately ID it)

The third day we visted the Tusikiji outer fish market -- we got there early and and it was quickly full of tourists and good food. (many different kinds of grilled things on sticks, as well as raw oysters, etc) I was amazed that the public bathrooms there were sparkling clean -- as they were throughout almost the entire trip. My daughter loved getting an ice-cream drink at John Lennon's favorite coffiee shop (Yonemoto). On the way back thorugh Ginza we bought an enormous fig wrapped like the crown jewels from one of Japnan's famous fruit-gift stores. It cost about $9, but was absoulutely delicious. (it was crazy to see $200 watermelons and $170 muskmellons in the same store) 

We also took this time in Ginza to do one of the things on my bucket list -- buy an overpriced gift fruit from a fancy Japanese store. We bought the second cheapest thing in there - a single giant fig, and I think it cost about $9. (totally worth it!) . it was just fun to ogle $80 spherical watermelons, and other beautiful, but incredibly expensive fruit.
Later that afternoon visited/saw Shibuya crossing, ate decent and very inexpensive sushi at a 3rd floor conveyor-belt restaurant, and went to Harjuku. (not in that order) Harajuku was chaotic fun, but equally fun was the long peaceful forest walk to visit the Meji Ginku shrine that starts just outside Harjuki station . By now we were experts at tossing coins, bowing, clapping, and praying in the appropriate cycle. (something the 2 year old seemed to quite enjoy). We also knew from our guidebook that we were supposed to walk only on the sides of the path at Meji Ginku -- the middle is reserved for the Gods.
NAGOYA/GHIBLI - We took a direct bus from Nagoya station (cash accepted, Pasmo Cards also accepted) out to the sprawling expo grounds that surround the Ghibli exhibits. Our 2.5 year old loved Studio Ghibli Parks Gand Warehouse, particularly the miniature town where she could run around and pretend to drive a train and serve beer at a drafthouse. There was a furry Catbus to sit on, (of course) as well as another padded Catbus to jump around on for a few minutes with shoes off. Totoro is the only Ghibli character she knows well, and she loved finding hidden Totoros and (and a giant bar-tending one) around the Warehouse.
Arguably, Ghibli park was a little disappointing for us two adults , becuase it was pouring rain when we visited making the long walks between areas less than fun. And despite having moved heaven and earth to get a timed ticket, there still were long lines (~40 min) for areas inside the "Grand Warehouse." It was interesting for me to see the sketches and reference photos a used to make each cell of Ghibli animation realisitic ... but it was annoying and crazy that most areas of the warehouse totally forbad taking photographs. Much of the rest of the Grand Warehouse was just lines for people to take selfies in front of recreated scenes from the movies for posting on social media.
We had watched or re-watched all the Ghibli movies prior to our trip, so we were well prepared, but overall I would say that if you can't get tickets to go to the Grand Warehouse, don't feel bad. (There are many many more magical and wonderful things everywhere else in Japan, and your 2 -year-old will love them just as much. )
HAKONE/SHIRAKAWA-GO/ HIDA (Onsen)
We took a Shinkasen south from Tokyo to Hakone, and spent a day there with a family friend who showed us an ancient tea-house along the old imperial road, a famous Shinto shrine, a deliicious meal, and of course, Mount Hakone with its black eggs, sulfurous fumes, and melty black ice cream. The toddler loved the eggs and the ice cream, of course! For me, sitting and eating tea and mochi in the deep forest along the royal road was like being transported back into a historical Kurosawa film.
If you visit Hakone, I would encourage you to get into the woods and do some hiking. It's a gorgeous area. Apparently the japanese love to drink and tour Lake Ashi on a pair of pirate ships. which added a comic aspect to our visit to the much-photographed Hakone Shrine's Tori gate.
We knew we wanted to visit the truly rural areas of Honshu, so we reserved a night at a remote Onsen near Shirakawa-Go. The drive from Nagoya was stunningly beautiful, traffic was light, and because we had rented a toll transponder along with the rental car, we could just breeze through the toll-booths (which are located at the off-ramps) . Seeing the untouched mountains coexisting with sleek new road tunnels and breathtaking shining bridges made me realize how decrepit American infrastructure has become.
IT was a bit stressful to drive on the left hand side of the road, but conversely, It was great to be able to pull over at will. For example, we could stop at at a small town outside of Nagoya for a delicious prix fixe breakfast at "cafe Pierrot" and again later to see and visit a beautiful riverside Shinto shrine along the road. The car gave us the freedom to and be able to just stop and explore and let our child play in the shallow water surrounded by green hills. Driving in the rural areas wasn't too bad, and doing so let us see a whole other world that we would have missed had we stuck to the trains. For example, we visited a delightful outdoor morning market in the village of Miyagawa and bought fresh produce and some delightful snacks (including fish-shaped custard-filled mini-donuts) from the vendors followed by an impromptu picnic along the riverbank.
On this portion of the trip we also got to experience the Japan's wonderful rest-stop cuisine -- you use a ticket machine to select some items, hand them to a chef behind the counter, and in a few minutes your number is called . We had some delicious Japanese pizza (shaped like a elongated, puffy taco ) fragrant beef curry, and a "Miso Katsu" dish too.
Later we would stop at another rest stop and discover that it had an absolutely epic set of slides and tunnels built into the hillside. You borrow a plastic sled and then slide about 150 feet down a green carpet. It was hearwarming to see how kind and welcoming the japanese children were to our daughter, helping her to slide and showing her how to play and explore the tunnels. Arguably this was my child's favorite part of the entire trip.
Shirakawa Go was great fun for the whole family -- it was definately touristy, but it was great to be able to stroll and relax and learn about Japan's past. (Parking closes at 5pm, though!) We had only a few hours there but I think we would have enjoyed an entire day of strolling and snacking and learning. Interestingly all the parking attendents there seem to be senior citizens.
Our Ondsen was in a small farming comunity outside Hida, surrounded by orchards, mountains, and rice paddies. We were the only non-japanese that we saw there, and it was a little challenging to keep our toddler ccorralled during the formal meals (served in a common area, not in our rooms). As expected, the indoor slippers provided were a bit small for my size-11 feet, but we had a great time in a beautiful, secluded place.
Staying overnight got us a ticket to also visit the large and well-maintained municipal baths just up the road. (each side of which had about 7 pools of various temperatures and medicinal properties) There was a wonderful hiking trail that looped through the deep forest around the town. One of my biggest regrets of the trip is that we did not have more time to hike and explore these lush, pristine mountain woods -- I think I enjoyed our hikes here as much as I did the onsen baths.
The driving portion of our trip ended on the western coast of Honshu, at Kanazawa, but we didn't see much of that city other than a gas station and the rental car return before taking the "thunderbird" train down to Kyoto. (not quite as fast as some shinkasen, but very comfortable).
KYOTO and day-trips:
We had three delightful days in Kyoto, along including day trips by rail to Osaka (to see the market, eat okinomiyaki, and climb Osaka Castle) and Nara (to walk aound and feed the deer in the park and then the koi at a a beautiful botanical garden, stroll through another temple, and to eat the best Udon noodles of the trip while siting outdoors in the forest. In Nara, we also stumbled upon a wonderful Beatles-only vintage record shop called "B-Sels" on an upper floor just across from Nara station, and listened to a street performance of Shamisen music at the station itself. Nara, like Shirakawa-Go, was full of busloads of tourists, but that didn't make it any less of a great experience for us.
Kyoto itself was wonderful to explore on foot -- I won't go into exhaustive detail, but our child loved walking and being pushed in the stroller to various Temples and loved the view from Kyoto tower. (and the Gatcha ball souvenir tower even more!) . She liked the path through the bamboo forest (crowded with tourists) and loved "hiking" through the beautiful and less crowded gardens of Tenryu-Ji temple -- part of which has remained unchanged since the 14th century. We skipped the monkey park.
In Kyoto proper, we walked through Chion-In Buddhist temple , took our shoes off and bagged them, and observed a ceremony -- it was interesting to see how similar it was to ceremonies in America, with the same incense, syllable recitation, and wood-block time-keeping interspersed with bowl-gong ringing .... but on a much grander scale. The size of the wooden buildings is epic, rivaling the stone cathedrals of Europe. Because of the large numbers of steps to get from the massive Sanmon gate to the main building of the shrine, my wife and I took turns exploring and let the toddler play along the paths of the temple's small tea-garden next door.
Hiroshima-
Finally, we spent the last two days of our trip in Hiroshima. It was shocking and surreal to get off the train underground and suddenly be hit with an overwhelming smell of burning -- there was construction work all around Hiroshima station and I don't know if it was from digging pylons down into subterranean ashes, or just from some other more modern aspect of the construction As someone whose worldview was shaped by reading Barefoot Gen as a child, visiting Hiroshima was an important and somber part of our trip.
It was interesting to see that the bulk of the visitors to the Peace Museum visitors seemed to be Japanese school groups. Of course, most of the photos and exhibits museum went "over the head" of our 2/yo child. (she wasn't frightened, just not interested). She did enjoy ringing the peace Bell outside and seeing the collections of paper cranes. We bought books to help share the experience with her again once she is older.
In any event, Hiroshima is a charming city showing no outward signs of being apocalyptically devastated (except at the Peace Memorial Dome) and there is an excellent restaurant district just around the corner from the main train station, with many small restaurants that are open late.
The people and proprietors of Hiroshima seemed particularly kind to us; it's more relaxed there than any of the other cities we viisted. Our chid loved was the "Children's 5-day Science Museum" about a quater mile away from Peace Park that has a lot of hands-on exhibits and two stories of climbing tunnels. We did not do the planetarium there, as it is in japanese-language only and we had limited time.
For us, the highlight of our time in Hiroshima was taking the long ferry to Miyajima directly from Peace Park and then wandering around the narrow streets of Miyajima in the afternoon and evening. It was great to see the oyster beds being worked from the ferry and then later dine on delicious grilled and fried Miyajima oysters.
Our child loved the ferry rides and wandering around Miyajima (there are deer there too) but she also slept for much of our time on the island. The return ferry was part of the JR rail network and so we could use our JR passes for that. (its a short, straighter route).
All in all, Japan was very kid friendly, as long as you can quickly and easily fold up your stroller, and we loved our time in every city we visited. (and could have easily spent much more time in any of them).
Other Thoughts: We bought the Japan Rail Pass, but probably didn't save much money by doing so; My wife estimates that we about broke even with the number of shinkansen, trains, and ferry-rides we used. It was a nice security blanket, though, to know that if we missed a train it wouldn't cost us anything. (but we never missed any trains) . For non JR-line trains, we used a pair of "PASMO" cards. Pasmo cards can also be used at other random retail places as a stored-cash card. When you go through the gates, you must look for ones that say "IC" if you are using a Pasmo card and tap against the NFC pad with it. Using Pasmo is nice because the card is durable (unlike the paper JR Pass) and you can load up enough money for multiple trips on the card.
We use T-mobile, and our plan included 5 GB of "high speed data" while in japan but we weren't sure we would have good service for our rural drive, so we gout a WiFi hotspot from Sakura Mobile. This worked fine -- and its speeds was always faster than T-Mobile's coverage when tested. The hotspot generally would last about 20 hours on one charge. But honestly T-Mobile's Japan coverage was probably good enough that the hotspot was an unnecessary expense; we often used it instead of the hotspot and only came close to the 5GB limit on our last day. If I were on a tighter budget, a shorter trip, or knew I wouldn't be in remote areas, I would skip the Hotspot and just use T-mobile.
TLDR: Tokyo Toy Museum is fantastic for little ones. Ghibli Park (Grand Warehouse) is fine, but our kid probably had just as much fun on many other Japanese playgrounds. If you do choose to drive, don't miss the Japanese rest stops which can be fantastic with fresh food and jungle gyms and slides. Our kid may remember little from the trip except the toys she took home from GATCHA balls, but we have a lifetime of memories gained. Don't miss the Udon in Nara at "Mizuya Chaya", just outside the beautiful Manyo Botanical Gardens.
links:
ELEPHANT PLAYGROUND:
https://www.thetokyochapter.com/tokyos-retro-playgrounds/
RAMEN STREET:
https://tokyocheapo.com/food-and-drink/ramen/tokyo-ramen-street/
Miyagawa Morning Market:
https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1255/
Udon at Mizuya Chaya in Nara:
https://www.visitnara.jp/venues/D01057/

Hello! My girlfriend and I moved to Holmdel from North Jersey. We had a spot in Mahwah called chicken and rib crib that sold amazing Cajun fries and Cajun food. We have been craving that around our new location, but are having trouble finding a place. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Couldn't agree with you more. I've been there, and it's not fun looking in the back of couch cushions to try and scrape together enough money so you can at least eat a pack of instant noodles today, or be thrown out of your apartment because you don't have rent.
It really sucks, but this is the fundamental reason why companies like this are able to corner young and financially vulnerable people into a corner.
It's death by a thousand paper cuts, and I think we all can agree that the employeemployee level of trust is almost if not totally immolated in 2023.
I'm a hiring manager, and I always tell people to live by the FBI rule. Forever Be Interviewing. Have I had people leave because I haven't been able to leverage their skills to their full potential? Absolutely. Have I been in situations where I as the hiring manager have been told by the higher ups that we are not paying market rate and can't budge? More frequently than I would like.
Do I change what I tell people? Hell no.
The reason why I as a hiring manager can't pay more, is because the higher ups strategy has worked in the past. There is no positive feedback loop.
The reason why this is the right approach, is it avoids the chicken and the egg problem. You really need to have at least 6 months of living expenses tucked away. You can't do that if you're paid below a subsistence salary, or you're incapable of downscaling your bills. I.e. you have children, family member you have to support, illness in the USA, etc.
If you are interviewing constantly, and I'm talking at least one every 2 weeks, you'd be surprised at how *good* you get at interviewing. That's a head start already. You can high ball your salary, and not give a damn about whether they want to hire you or not. You have your current employer, at least until they find out you're interviewing. If they do find out, double down. Demand more. Accept the counter offer and see if how they value you changes. If it doesn't, FBI and *leave*. *Ruthlessly*.
I got given a brilliant piece of advice earlier in my career by the CEO of a recruitment company I worked for. "Always move diagonally. You will never promoted as fast."
I took his advice and left his company! This was over 20 years ago. I bumped into him last year. He was happy I took his advice. I reflected back, and realised how many times I used his recruitment company to fill roles in mine.
Which brings me on to why do I still do it. Because relationships survive organisations. People don't leave companies, they leave their managers. Which includes constraints put upon those managers. If you're open and transparent as to why, well, relationships survive organisations. I have called people I have worked with before, and been able to bring them into my current gig just on my name alone. It's no secret weapon, it's goodwill. Something that can't be measured, and thus is forgotten. Goodwill is a fancy name for trust, which is a fancy name for this guy's not an asshole. That's my motivation, and it's served me well.
"Oh, but as a manager you'll get fired for that!". Ummm... yes. And I have been. As I personally practice what I preach, I've always got the next gig lined up. So go ahead fire me. I won't sacrifice my values for your greed. You don't want to be working for an asshole. I don't want to be an asshole. If the company requires me to be an asshole, hire someone that is naturally an asshole.
On the flip side of financial vulnerability in 2023? There are plenty of jobs paying close to minimum wage. We certainly don't want to waste that opportunity to punch back and bloody some noses. If a few people leave, it's a blip on the radar that can be conveniently hidden in a spreadsheet of doom. If it's systemic, it hits shareholders. That's when people care.
And yes, the excuses are already showing. "Oh, people don't want to work." (For below poverty level wages). "Quiet quitting is in!" (Because duh, you get what you pay for.) "There is a skills shortage!" (Because only monkeys happily work for peanuts, and eventually monkeys get sick of peanuts.)
It's time for everyone to cut the crap and get down to brass tacks. You can't assume your employer is going to do the right thing by you. Empower yourself and don't get steamrolled by a group of assholes, because you're vulnerable.
Don't be loyal to your company. *DO* be loyal to your manager. *IF* your manager is loyal to you. More than likely, they'll drag you to their next gig, because you're trusted hands and a known quantity.
*DO* work hard, give your manager the benefit of the doubt.
*STOP* working hard and actively interview if your manager is not supporting you.
This is exactly what has been deliberately removed from our employment culture. Why? Because it sure maximizes shareholder profit. But it's like buying one of those gold rings from a cheap store. They've been hollowed out, and it's just a facade. Why does nothing work today? Because things have been cheapified, and crappified to this point of breaking.
Everyone needs to push back and start having the *capability* of saying no. Sometimes in not such a polite manner.

Don’t know if this is the right place for this or not but….. I eat 3 meals a day including snacks in between, and some days it’s hard to hit 2,000 calories without feeling like i’m stuffing myself or just thinking that i’m eating too much. I actually think I need to eat more than that maybe but for now hitting 2,000 a day is my goal. I have currently lost some weight working out and eating healthier but I do think I lost a lot of muscle along the way too so that kinda has me in a skinny fat fat phase (more fat than skinny) so now i’m focused on eating more calories while keeping it healthy and trying to build muscle. I’m just finding it hard to hit those 2,000 some days without feeling like i’m eating too much.
My Daily Nutrition: Breakfast: 3 eggs and avocado on a whole wheat english muffin.
Lunch: Chicken breast (2 small breasts equaling just under 8 ounces maybe), brown rice, vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, or Brussel sprouts), and sometimes I add in 1/4 cup of black beans or half cup of sweet potato cubes.
Dinner: Most of the time it’s the same as my lunch just a different vegetable.
Snacks: For snacks I mainly go for apples, bananas, almonds, plain greek yogurt, tuna, and peanut butter.
Drinks: Just water

Hi! I'm an aspiring technical architect. I have therefore picked up the book Designing Data-Intensive Applications and so far I love it. It seems like a natural next step from a developer and is great at explaining patterns already experienced as a developer.
Now, I'm not in a technical architect role but would like to be considered for such a role one day. However, by reading the book, yes you can nail the interview, but I still feel like I need some skin in the game. Do you have any advice on how to practise this role without actually working in it full time? To me this feels like a chicken and the egg problem, but I would really like peoples experiences and thoughts. Cheers!

LOL. let's get started.
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• Chantal says she wants to give on 'honest' look at what she eats in a day at home. She prefaces it by saying she eats all day.
• Chantal: "I'm not trying to be defiant when I eat junk and abuse my body....it's just really really really difficult."
• Chantal claims she'll be putting mukbangs on the back burner and focusing more on getting back to the gym and having a health journey. She aims to be serious about this and be a backbone for the weight loss community. LMFAO
• Chantal shows off her gorgeous seaside view sandwiched between a beige and rusted truck yard. Very scenic.
• I'm condensing all the things she eats throughout the day in subbullets:
  • She air fries 7 frozen meat balls served on two large tortillas slathered in pizza sauce, Big Mac sauce, and cheese. She serves it with two juice boxes and a handful of Doritos.
  • Chantal shows herself cleaning her air fryer and brags about her dishes being done.
  • Chantal shows herself making a rich and creamy coffee. She has it alongside her shisha but doesn't fail to promote Salah's business first.
  • Chantal snacks on a sack of BBQ flavor pumpkin seeds
  • Chantal has a delicious Mozzarella cheese and French salad dressing salad. No lettuce. just shredded cheese and dressing. She has it alongside a bag of Doritos two Reese's peanut butter cups, n another two juice boxes.
  • Chantal emphasises that all the meals are spaced out. She then has a bowl of corn.
  • To finish off the day Chantal shows off an entire rotisserie chicken and a MASSIVE serving of red rice. She has a small side salad.
• Chantal shows off her curtains and beautiful ceiling (?)
• Chantal claims this is an entire day of eating for her. video ends.