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WILD MAN: Saint or Sinner Posted on May 2, 2021by Dana Rehn The Representation of Wild Folk During the German Renaissance The wild man was inspired in part by pagan hybrid woodland creatures like the satyr, however, much of the mythology of the wild man stems from barbarians of Europe.[i] For much of the Middle Ages, they were considered the antithesis of the civilised Christian society. They were cannibalistic, sexually deviant predators whose many characteristics were related to monstrous races as well as the insane. Despite the wild folk’s outsider status and the antithesis of Christian morality, the wild man and woman nevertheless became an icon of German nationalism. The image of the wild man and woman became a pervasive figure throughout the German Renaissance, depicted on a vast range of media from stained glass, woolen tapestry, playing cards (fig. 3), and ordinary household objects. The wild man and woman transitioned from a demonic brute beast to a romanticised image of the noble savage. They recall a simpler time in German history and became a part of the image of a united and strong German people. They also posed as an affront to the court culture of Rome and became associated with the virtues of the natural wilderness. Cleric, Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, associated them with the image of the hairy saints who found redemption in the wilderness by categorising them as a type of wild man in Die Emeis.[ii] The German forests that the Wild Man was thought to reside were starting to be romanticised. Geographer, Johannes Rauw, praised the ancient forests that had long been demonised by Italians as a place of barbarians.[iii] From rapists of damsels, wild men were depicted with the virtues of the nuclear family in the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ (Genesis 3). In this way, the wild man and woman became increasingly mythologised, merged with ancient Germans, ascetic saints as well as Adam and Eve. Although there were a growing number of romanticised images of the wild man and woman during the sixteenth century, negative representations persisted. Their depiction was not a simple shift from demonic woodland creature to the image of holy saints; many possessed both contradictory notions of sinner and sainthood. The multifaceted representation of wild folk reflected many of the contradictions of German Renaissance society. Man or Animal The reputation of the wild man stems from antiquity. Aristotle believed that people who lived outside the civilising influence of the urban city lacked the ability to reason.[iv] In this way, they were considered closer to animal than man, subjected to their impulses.[v] The wild man and woman were also believed to lack speech, used primitive tools such as the club, and lived away from civilisation.[vi] Even the food that the wild folk would eat – berries and uncooked food – was a mark of uncivilisation and thus associated them more with animals than man.[vii] Many were also thought to crawl on all fours, which is illustrated by the often bare knees of wild men and women.[viii] The wild man as well as the woman were characterised for their violence and unhinged rage. They both shared a love of combat and have even been depicted jousting against one another.[ix] It is not just appearance, but also behaviour that made someone bestial like peasants who were described with animal qualities. The wild man has also been associated with bears and mythology exists with bears who were able to transform into wild men.[x] Their unbridled sexuality was also more associated with animals. Wild men were thought to abduct pretty maidens, while the wild woman would transform herself into a beautiful woman and attempt to seduce men with her true ugliness only to be revealed during intercourse.[xi] In this way, they were also associated with other pagan and hairy woodland hybrid creatures from antiquity including satyrs and centaurs, who were also known for their immoral behaviour and insatiable sexual appetite.[xii] Albrecht Dürer combined classical mythology with German folklore in the engraving of the Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn (1516) (Fig. 1). The print recounts the mythology of the abduction of the goddess of fertility by Pluto (Hades), God of the underworld – the pagan equivalent to the Devil.[xiii] In place of the classical god is a wild man on the back of a unicorn. Although this wild man is not covered in think body hair, he has wild hair on top of his head and a large bushy beard. He is identified as a wild man by his riding of a unicorn where the wild man was believed to be the only creature strong enough to overpower it by force.[xiv] Unicorns were originally regarded as ferocious beasts who used their horn as a weapon.[xv] Tales and visual art from the fourteenth century tell of wild men who become tamed by love after abducting a woman.[xvi] Yet this print illustrates man’s sexuality was thought to reduce them to a brute beast. Fig 1. Albrecht Dürer, Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn, 1516, Etching, 30.8 x 21.3cm, The Institute, Chicago. During the Middle Ages, many people concluded that wild man and woman were degenerative humans. They became an irrational beast in the same way that the insane were believed to be a form of wild people. Medieval romances frequently described people who suffered a crisis and lost their mind and ran into the forest living as semi-human wild people.[xvii] In Hartmann von Aue’s (c. 1160/70- c. 1210/20) Iwein, the protagonist who has broken a promise to his wife and is rejected, roams around in the forest until he is discovered by a lady who saves him from his insanity.[xviii] The wilderness in part created the state for wildness as it was away from civilisation and rationality.[xix] Like many monsters during the period, the wild man and woman were defined by their nudity. In this way, they were symbolically outside civilisation – both physically and behaviourally.[xx] Even those who have become temporary wild men through madness and fled into the forest shed their clothes and only returned to civilisation by again putting their garments back on. While in the forest they begin to grow hair all over their body to signify their move away from the human realm and into the animal one.[xxi] The wild man and woman encapsulated the fears of Europeans and what happens to one if they abandon civilisation.[xxii] The theme of civilising the wild man was popular during the Middle Ages. It was knowledge and acceptance of the one true faith that inevitably brought the wild man back to civilisation.[xxiii] In a thirteenth-century Bavarian epic poem, republished in the sixteenth-century German collection of stories, Das Heldenbuch mit synen figuren (‘The Book of Heroes’), recounts a wild woman called Raue Else (‘Rough Else’). The woman who was hairy all over and walked on all fours approached the knight, Wolfdietrich, who questioned if she was an animal. [xxiv] The wild woman demanded the love of the knight and upon his refusal turned him into a crazed wild man who crawled on all fours for half a year until God commanded her to disenchant him. In return, Wolfdietrich offered to marry the wild woman so long as she was baptised. She took him back to her kingdom at Troy and after bathing in the fountain of youth she was transformed into her former self, the beautiful princess, Sigeminne (‘Love’s victory’).[xxv] Wild Man as Noble Savage Although the wild man and woman were frequently represented in literature during the Middle Ages, they were rarely depicted in visual art until the fifteenth century.[xxvi] Therefore, their most ferocious reputation left little mark in visual culture. Instead, the wild man and woman were frequently represented in Renaissance art as the image of purity, with their family representing the virtues of parenthood and a companion or as a saint. Lynn Frier Kaufmann argues that the idea of chivalry and courtly love during the Middle Ages influenced the way wild men and women were depicted during the Renaissance.[xxvii] Larry Silver on the other hand interpreted their new role as cultural emblems brought by the rise in Germanic nationalism, which inspired the new translation of Tacitus’s Germania, describing wild people who only wore a cape of animal’s hide, as the first proud inhabitants of the Germanic lands (for example, fig. 2) .[xxviii] In this way, Tacitus’s Germania transformed the wild man into the romanticised version of the noble savage during the German Renaissance.[xxix] They lived a simple and virtuous life. They needed no written laws because they had good morals and rejected the habits of outsiders.[xxx] The nobility and urban elite began to romanticise the wild man for their strength and freedom from the rules of society.[xxxi] Conrad Celtis described a counterpart to early Germans in the Lapps. He described them as speechless but also that they had not been corrupted with luxury, fame, or wine. ‘Here no jurist twists the law, no doctor accumulates his blood money, and no tonsured man plagues the people’.[xxxii] Fig. 2. Nicolaes van Geelkerken after Clüver in Philipp Clüver, Germaniae antiquae libri tres, Leiden: Louis Elzevir, 1616, Engraving, London, The Wellcome Library. Source: archive.org On a playing card by Master ES printed in c. 1461, a wild woman is depicted with a unicorn (fig. 3). While wild men overpower the unicorn with their bold ferocity, it was the wild woman’s sexual purity that allowed her to get close to the unicorn. A tale of the unicorn captured only by pure virgin maidens arose during the Middle Ages. This led to the unicorn being represented as a sign of purity and thus underscores the image of the wild woman as epitome of the noble savage.[xxxiii] A sense of innocence accompanies their ignorance of the civilized world. Playing cards usually consisted of four suits with illustrations of plants, animals, and heraldic symbols. The wild woman with the unicorn is one of four cards surviving in the animal suit by Master ES.[xxxiv] Richard Bernheimer suggests that the images on the cards represent a hierarchy.[xxxv] Therefore, it places the wild man and woman in the realm of animals.[xxxvi] This is plausible since this wild woman represents the Queen of the Animals. However, her clasping grip of the unicorn who is dwarfed by the wild woman shows her dominate position in nature. Fig. 3. Master ES, Wild Woman and Unicorn (Queen of Animals from the Small Playing) c. 1461, Engraving on Playing Card, 10.5 x 7.3cm (Sheet); 9.8 x 6.cm (Plate), New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. The wild man also featured in more than 200 coat-of-arms across Europe, most of which were in German lands.[xxxvii] They were particularly popular during the second-half of the fifteenth century.[xxxviii] Interestingly, the wild man was illustrated beside coats-of-arms of popes and kings as their protector or guardian of the coat-of-arms despite the wild man’s history as a heretical being.[xxxix] Roundel prints of coat-of-arms were likely used as templates for goldsmiths or glassmakers who would fill in the family crest.[xl] It has also been suggested that these roundels were used by the middle class to emulate the coat-of-arms of the nobility. The templates were used as a substitute for commissioned coat-of-arms.[xli] In Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, c. 1490 (fig. 4), a wild woman suckling her baby is reminiscent of the Madonna and child. This image reveals the redemption of women through childbirth for their responsibility for Original Sin (Genesis 3.16). She also serves as an emblem for fertility for the family whose shield she holds to ensure the family line. Fig. 4. Martin Schongauer, Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, Colmar, c. 1490, Engraving, 7.7 diam. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Return to the Garden of Eden The image of the noble savage in turn influenced the idyllic images of the wild family. Master bxg’s Wild Folk Family (c. 1475) parallel Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve who were portrayed in animal skins after ‘The Fall’ are akin to the hairiness of the wild family.[xlii] In Master bxg’s print stands the tree of knowledge, overlooked by an owl in the background, symbolising potential danger as owls served as a symbol for evil.[xliii] A rabbit bounds towards a forest in the top left. Rabbits were used as a symbol for fertility and has been depicted in images of Adam and Eve during ‘The Fall’ and thus can symbolise carnal knowledge. The wild woman’s long hair symbolises her fertility and thus her unbridled sexuality and parallels with the depiction of Eve in the Garden of Eden with long, loose flowing hair.[xliv] Although the representation of the wild family references Original Sin, they are still in a state of nature and innocence and their ignorance of God therefore cannot constitute sin.[xlv] However, it also provides a mirror of the tensions between good and evil within German Renaissance society – between temptation and godliness.[xlvi] The wild family not only recall Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but also the image of the Holy Family who were often represented against the backdrop of the wilderness.[xlvii] In a comparative print in Hans Leonhart Schäufelein’s, Wild Man and Wild Woman originally printed in c.1520 (fig.5), the wild family are still hairy and naked, although they wear fig leaves to help preserve their modesty. The fig leaves allude to after ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden once they have eaten from the tree of knowledge and realise their nakedness and feel shame. In this way, the sins of the past are not completely forgotten. However, the image lies in opposite to the unbridled sexuality of the earlier idea of the wild man and woman. One son attempts to place a leash around a domesticated dog, which further symbolises a new domesticity to the wild family.[xlviii] Despite its clear reference to Original Sin, it illustrates an idyllic family scene, away from the corrupting influences of ‘civilised life’.[xlix] Fig. 5. After Hans Schäufelein, Klag der wilden Holtzleüt, uber die ugetrewen Welt, verse by Hans Sachs, printed by Hans Guldenmundt, Augsburg, 1560 Coloured woodcut, 20.2 x 24.2cm (sheet), 20.2 x 15.2 cm (borderline) The British Museum, London. This image was later copied with an addition of a poem written by Hans Sachs in 1530. In the poem the wild folk lament against the corruption and evils of society such as the lust for wealth, flesh, and violence. The wild folk in Sachs’ verse have chosen to discard worldly pleasures to live the simple and pure life in nature. The verse ends with the wild folk declaring that they will be happy to return to civilisation once the world ‘see the light’.[l] This verse parallels the wild man with ascetic monks whose wildness is a temporary state and who seek redemption away from civilisation. Wild Man as Saints The tales of saints who found redemption in the wilderness by discarding worldly pleasures, growing hair on their body and then returning to civilization and shedding their hair once more became co-opted with the image of wild men and women during the Renaissance. Many stories of anchorites parallel with others, to the point that they can become indistinguishable.[li] Onuphrius is one of the better-known ascetic saints who lived during the fourth century. Paying penance, he lived in a cave for sixty years, as wild men and women were thought to do. His clothes wore away and he grew a thick coat of hair to protect his body against the elements (fig. 6).[lii] Saint John Chrysostom similarly went into the wilderness to pay penance and vowed to crawl on all fours until he found favour with God.[liii] Ascetic saints were similarly depicted with bare knees as wild men and women were also believed to crawl on all fours like an animal, wearing away the hair. In Leben der Heiligen (1499), where Saint John Chrysostom is depicted as covered in thick hair and crawling on all fours in the forest is described as an ‘abominable animal,’ despite being depicted with a halo around his head.[liv] Ascetic saints were therefore reduced to a beast just as the wild men and women had traditionally been as they are seen as degenerating into an animal who grow hair on their body and ate raw food.[lv] In this way, the figure of the hairy monstrosity was able to find redemption, at least in part, cast as the model of repentance. Fig. 6. Anonymous, Saint Onuphrius, c. 1480-1500, woodcut, 14.6 x 11.4cm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the German Renaissance, Saint Mary Magdalene, who was regarded for her beauty,[lvi] was frequently represented covered in hair like a wild woman. Her hairy image found wide devotion through the southern Germanic region.[lvii] In a tale originating in the tenth century, Mary was set adrift by non-believers and by divine guidance found her way to the south of France where she preached and converted the locals. She lived in a cave in Saint-Baume, Provence, paying penance for her former sinful life.[lviii] The name Magdalene means manens rea or ‘remaining in guilt’.[lix] She grew hair all over her body in the same way as a wild woman. In her cave she remained silent and when a hermit approached her, she had trouble speaking after being secluded for so long, not unlike the wild man and woman.[lx] Every hour, angels would ascent her to the heavens where she would gain nourishment as she was so remote that there was no food or water.[lxi] Mary’s ascension into the heavens as a hairy wild woman was a theme in German Renaissance prints and is illustrated in a print by Hans Baldung Grien (c.1484-1545) in c.1512 (fig. 7 ).[lxii] Her ascent represents her body’s transcendence from both worldly pleasures and the wilderness. Fig. 7. Hans Baldung Grien, St Mary Magdalen, c.1512, Woodcut, Sheet: 13 × 8.7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The image and identity of Mary Magdalene during the Renaissance is believed to be conflated with the story of Saint Mary of Egypt who lived in the fifth century. Mary has long been thought to be a prostitute. She travelled to Jerusalem where she became aware of her sins when she could not enter a Church as she was held back by a spiritual ‘force’. She saw the image of the Virgin Mary staring back at her and realised why she could not enter. Mary of Egypt, the antithesis to the Virgin prayed to her for forgiveness and renounced her life of sin.[lxiii] Mary went to live alone in the desert to repent for forty-seven years.[lxiv] The desert was a place to be tested against sins, for punishment, but also for contemplation and redemption.[lxv] Both Mary of Egypt and Mary Magdalene have both similarly been depicted covered by hair that represents their place outside of civilization and discarding worldly possessions. It was also used to provide modesty to discern from their previous occupation of the flesh.[lxvi] As seen in the print by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt (1506) (fig. 8) who was thought to levitate in prayer,[lxvii] is similar to the composition of prints of Mary Magdalene being accented by angels. The naked saints signified the return to nature before ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden.[lxviii] Despite this earlier legend, Mary Magdalene was not depicted in art as covered in hair until the mid-fifteenth century but was rather naked with her long hair covering her modesty. The image of the hairy Mary Magdalene was therefore believed to originate in fifteenth-century Germany.[lxix] The detail of the hairy Mary Magdalene was also not included in the popular thirteenth century The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (c.1230-1298) that combined the tales of Magdalene. Her nudity was implied as the hermit who visited her passed her a garment to wear.[lxx] The hair covering Mary of Egypt was also a later addition to the story and also does not appear in The Golden Legend.[lxxi] She similarly does not seem to appear in art until the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries.[lxxii] The same can be said of other saints who turn into a wild man, at least temporarily such as Saint John Chrysostom.[lxxiii] This suggests ascetic saints who grew hair over their body was a contemporary idea that arose at the same time that the wild man and woman were popular in Renaissance prints. However, as Bartra notes, the idea of the hairy ascetic saint derived from Ancient Egypt when long haired hermits sought solitude in the desert.[lxxiv] Fig. 8. Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt, 1506 Woodcut, 24.4 × 14.2 cm, The Met, New York, Wild Man in Reformation Propaganda The image of the wild man was also co-opted into the Protestant Reformation in Germany and has been used by both Protestants and Catholics in contradictory ways. The engraving of The Pope as a Wild Man was created by Melchior Lorck (c.1526/7-1583) in 1545. This wild man with characteristic thick body hair with bare knees is a hybrid with long rat-like tail. Perched on top of his head is the three-tiered crown of the pope, but the last tier is a tower of excrement. Beneath his crown are ass ears, which represent folly and dishonesty. The ass’s ears allude to the myth of Apollo who made Midas grow the ears of a donkey to tag him for his dishonesty.[lxxv] On his back appears to be a bat with stretched out wings, which is a symbol for the Devil.[lxxvi] The wild man carries his characteristic wooden club, but this one has three cross branches at the end to represent the papal cross. He holds onto the papal key that is shattered at the end, which is a sign that the temporal powers of the papacy have been broken.[lxxvii] From his mouth pours a stream of toads and reptiles. This appears to reference the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet who release four foul spirits. A version of this image was discovered cast on a canon of Protestant troops captured during the Schmalkaldic War.[lxxviii] Melchior Lorck, The Pope as Wild Man, c. 1545, Etching, 22.9 × 19.4 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett Conclusion In Renaissance Germany, complexity existed in people’s relationship with the wilderness. It both conjured up images of the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ as well as the dangers that may lurk beyond. The wild man and woman were just as complex and represented sinfulness, but also redemption and innocence. As Merry Wiesner-Hanks concludes ‘beast, saint, or hero? the wild man was all three’.[lxxix] A closer look at images of the wild man reveals their complexity. There was not a simple evolution between a demonised creature associated with cannibalism and rape to the holy saint. In the age of the apocalypse, the wild man and woman provide a reminder of Original Sin and the need for repentance at a time of social reform. In this way, the hairy woodland creature is not entirely absolved. Further Reading: Abulafia, David, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008 Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994. Bernheimer, Richard, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952. Colin, Susi, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, pp. 5-37. Husband, Timothy, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. Kaufmann, Lynn Frier, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984. Moseley-Christian, Michelle, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, pp.429-442. Schama, Simon, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995. Wiesner-Hanks, Merry, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. [ii] Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995, p. 97; Timothy Husband, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, p. 12. [i] Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994, p. 79. [iii] Schama, 1995, pp. 95-6. [iv] Bartra, 1994, p. 9. [v] Richard Bernheimer, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952, p. 11. [vi] Joyce E. Salisbury, The Beast Within: Animals in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 1994, p. 151; David Abulafia, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008, pp.16-7. [vii] Susi Colin, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, p.8. [viii] Abulafia, 2008, pp.16-7. [ix] Colin, 1999, p.6 [x] Bernheimer, 1952, pp.165, 59. [xi] Colin, 1999, p.8. [xii] Husband, 1980, p. 11. [xiii] Walter L. Strauss (ed.), The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer, Courier Dover, 2013, p. 178. [xiv] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 135. [xv] Anne Clark, Beasts and Bawdy, London: Dent, 1975, p. 46 [xvi] Lynn Frier Kaufmann, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984, p. 34. [xvii] Salisbury, 1994, p. 152. [xviii] Classen, Albrecht (ed.), Meeting the Foreign in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 2002, p. xx. [xix] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xx] Danielle Régnier-Bohler, ‘Imagining the Self’, in Georges Duby (ed.), A History of Private Life: vol. II Revelations of the Medieval World, trans. Arthur Goldhammer, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988, p. 368. [xxi] Régnier-Bohler, 1988, p. 369. [xxii] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xxiii] Colin, 1999, p.6. [xxiv] Husband, 1980, p. 62; Merry Wiesner-Hanks, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, p. 42. [xxv] Husband, 1980, p. 64; Bartra, 1994, p. 101; Bernheimer, 1970, p. 37. [xxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 139. [xxvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp.32-4. [xxviii] Michelle Moseley-Christian, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, p. 431; Tacitus, Cornelius, Agricola and Germany, trans. Anthony Birley, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 46. [xxix] Schama, 1995, p. 96. [xxx] Caspar Hirschi, The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 169. [xxxi] Colin, 1999, p. 23-4. [xxxii] Lewis W. Spitz, Conrad Celtis: The German Arch-Humanist, Cambridge: Harvard Universtiy Press, 1957, p. 100-101. [xxxiii] Anne Clark, 1975, p. 46. [xxxiv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 167. [xxxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. [xxxviii] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 180. [xxxix] Husband, 1980, p. 4. [xl] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 44. [xli] Husband, 1980, p. 187. [xlii] Moseley-Christian, 2012, p. 438. [xliii] George Ferguson, Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 22. [xliv] Christa Grössinger, Picturing Women in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 82. [xlv] Husband, 1980, p. 15. [xlvi] Husband, 1980, p. 17. [xlvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp. 36-7. [xlviii] Schama, 1995, pp. 97-8. [xlix] Colin, 1999, pp. 23-4. [l] Husband, 1980, p. 133. The full translation is found in Appendix B of Husband, 1980, pp. 202-4. [li] Husband, 1980, p. 97. [lii] Husband, 1980, p. 95. [liii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [liv] Husband, 1980, p. 105. [lv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 83-4. [lvi] Roberta Milliken, Ambiguous Locks: An Iconology of Hair in Medieval Art and Literature, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012, p. 189. [lvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 41. [lviii] Joana Antunes, ‘The Late-Medieval Mary Magdalene: Sacredness, Otherness, and Wildness’, in Peter Loewen and Robin Waugh (eds.), Mary Magdalene in Medieval Culture: Conflicted Roles, New York: Routledge, 2014, p. 117; Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lx] Antunes, 2014, p. 118. [lxi] Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100; Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxiii] Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris, ‘Introduction’ in Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris (eds.), Mary Magdalene: Iconographic Studies from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, Leiden: Brill, 2012, p. 9; Else E. Friesen, ‘Saints as Helpers in Dying: The Hairy Holy Women Mary Magdalene, Mary of Egypt, and Wilgefortist in the Iconography of the Late Middle Ages,’ in E.E. DuBruck and B.I. Gusick, Death and Dying in the Middle Ages, New York: Peter Lang, 1999, pp. 240, 242; Milliken, 2012, p. 204. [lxiv] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxv] Bartra, 1994, pp.47-8. [lxvi] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxvii] Milliken, 2012, p. 206. [lxviii] Friesen, 1999, p. 242 [lxix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lxx] Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints (c.1260), ed. Eamon Duffy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, p. 381. [lxxi] Virginia Burrus, The Sex Lives of Saints: An Erotics of Ancient Hagiography, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, p. 149. [lxxii] Voragine, 2012, p. 228; Milliken, 2012, p. 205. [lxxiii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [lxxiv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 74-5. [lxxv] Hélène A. Guerber, The Myths of Greece and Rome, New York: Cosimo, Inc., 2007, p. 57. [lxxvi] Russell, 1986, p. 232. [lxxvii] Robert W. Scribner, For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 135, 80 [lxxviii] Scribner, 1981, pp. 163, 164. [lxxix] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Related Wild Men and Heraldry February 20, 2022 In "wild folk" Representations of Monsters in German Renaissance Prints September 5, 2021 In "cynocephali" Monstrous Women: Hair, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Modern German Prints June 6, 2021 In "Human-Animal Relations"

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I recently moved to the other side of my state, and when I say it’s a remote area - you’re driving over 50 minutes to get to Walmart. I’ve worked full time since I was 18. 5 years for a bank call center with various roles of increasing responsibility in collections, Fraud, and Marketing. By the last couple years there, I had worked my way off the phones. Lead special projects, took on rotational opportunities, not only joined their corporate “affinity” networks but was a pillar leader for TWO of them. Even completed their little “leadership development program”. Attempted to move into sales with them working with our clients. - Rejected due to lack of sales experience or 4 year degree.
Left them to obtain sales experience and ended up in car sales. Despite the toxic culture, terrible work life balance, and extreme stress the money was great (for me) until a global pandemic hit disrupting the entire industry. 3 years at the dealership and I decide car sales is not the future I want for myself. Queue the move.
My girlfriend wanted to move back to her hometown to be close to family. We’ve been together for over 8 years at this point, and she moved to my area 6 years ago for me so I felt like I owed it to her. She’s a fully remote employee so the move didn’t affect her career. I discovered during the move that opportunity in the area was extremely limited, especially for my background.
I’ve tried to no avail to get a remote role in both sales and my previous areas of focus. My current options are basically another dealership, retail, restaurant, or factory. All with either terrible hours, pay, benefits, or the whole buffet. There is a recent local industry apparently on the rise over the past decade that wasn’t present in my prior location which is oil and gas, which brings me to my latest disheartening blow.
—
My girlfriend’s father has been a plant operator for over 8 years at a local cryo processing plant and is considered one of their best operators. I had always found his descriptions of his career interesting but until now there was simply no present job market in my previous area. These guys make great money after a couple years, great life balance, benefits, advancement opportunity you name it. I’ve been applying to all related companies and have gotten nothing but auto decline emails.
Then it happens. There’s an opening at his plant! He personally refers me and an actual human looks at my resume. I research the industry for weeks, multiple mock interviews with her father, and paid out of pocket for relevant online course and certifications. I receive an invite to interview with the plant supervisor, plant manager, and their sole HR rep that handles duties for the entire plant.
Interview goes fantastic! I was well prepared, and could tell they were all very impressed with the certifications I obtained on my own. Let me know I should hear back in a few weeks. Obviously, with her father working there I was privileged to quicker feedback and status updates.
First update: They tell him I blew them away and am the leading candidate.
2nd update: They want to hire me but they are concerned that the only thing “keeping me in the area” is my girlfriend, and that I’ll just leave if our relationship fails. They say they wouldn’t have the concern if we were at least engaged. He then explains to them that we’ve been going strong for over 8 years, and that he wouldn’t be surprised if we were engaged within the year (think he had double motives there lol). They ask him if he’s willing to personally train and bring me up to speed. He agrees.
Update 3: They pick me. Submit my information to corporate across the country so they can extend me an offer. Corporate comes back saying they can’t hire me due to a “potential” conflict of interest due to me dating my girlfriend’s father. He is not a manager, a supervisor, and my role would have shared his title.
I’m devastated. I’m pissed my time and money were wasted. I’m pissed that almost every employee there got their shot with no oil and gas experience but I can’t get mine. All my prior work experience is useless out here. I’m pissed I’m getting trained by a 19 year old at a hardware store right now for $19/hr and a long commute.
My girlfriend wants me to leave negative reviews but I don’t want her father to deal with blowback. Maybe after he retires next year. For now I simply don’t have the energy. To fight the decision, or to keep sending out applications. I’m going to end up a wage slave forever.
—
TLDR;
Lost out on a job offer because HR decided weeks after interviewing me that I’m a potential conflict of interest due to me dating another employee’s daughter.

TIFU. I really messed up in one simple way: forgetting that this particular restaurant sells extremely massive burritos. Burritos bigger than my own head. Burritos so huge that even in highschool, when this restaurant was still a tiny food truck, I couldn't even try to finish one. I am gonna be forced to eat these things all day tomorrow....
I still remember when I first saw the little food truck. Tiny. Innocent looking. And I was in search of good food that isn't the cafeteria slop that are as nutritious as cardboard laid out in the sun.
$12 for a burrito? Not... Terrible of a price but good food costs money and I loved quality, still do.
And then I saw it...
The behemoth. The MONSTER. I couldn't even begin to try to finish it. My small depressed self trying to eat such a massive, flower tortilla wrapped delicious delicacy, filled with rice, beans, pico de gallo, cabbage and more. Practically waiting to explode like a grenade that was over filled with gunpowder and needing only a good tap.
When I got home that day my grandma looked at me concerned before seeing me pull the barely even half eaten creation out from my backpack. I had been nibbling on it all day and barely made a dent. She wouldn't touch it because of her dentures and the irritation rice tended cause her when it slipped underneath.
I remember the name I gave those burritos, "Sumo Wrestler Burritos". Huge, massive, both worth and not worth it. Delicious but full of regret.
When the food truck disappeared I was saddened. I looked everywhere for them but I couldn't find it. I had thought that perhaps they didn't get enough recognition and weren't able to compete with the other businesses. This town is full of tradition. Traditional food. Traditional settings. Traditional old New Mexico.
But then a familiar business popped up, same area but in the abandoned building the food truck usually sat by.
The Giant Skillet.
Oh the food was better than ever. They had tacos, deepfried chili peppers, alcohol, merch, more desserts. They used to only have rice crispy treats that were like a large brick. They still were. They even had sushi and salad bowls. But oh... Oh how could I forget the burritos...
Foolishly, after I got home and was told by my stepdad that he and my mom were gonna go to this restaurant for a date, and asked if I wanted anything for both dinner and tomorrow for work. I was craving a burrito.
I asked for two.
Two burritos.
Like a darn fool I forgot. I forgot the one rule that is known about this restaurant. THE ONE RULE THAT I LEARNED SO LONG AGO.
NEVET UNDERESTIMATE THE SIZE OF THEIR BURRITOS.
When they got home I got out my little lunch box and saw them....
Bigger than my head. Heafty. So wide that when I take a bite I might as well have been a small mouse. A humming bird even.
I realized my mistake as memories flooded me of all the times I had to heave one of those burritos back to the high school and all the way home. I swiftly got a cutting board and sliced one in half. Put one half in my lunchbox and the other on a napkin and took it with me to my bedroom where I now sit. And to my horror... I see the mess I left myself in for next to my half burrito was my Nintendo Switch... It was as big as the screen in both width and length.
I am now here. Nibbling away at this monster. Fighting for my life to save my mom from the realization that I had unknowingly caused her to waste $40+ dollars on burritos that I will likely not be able to finish.
I will post a link to the comparison picture in the comments. If allowed. If not you will find it on my profile.
I am full of rice, beans, pico de gallo, cabbage, spices, and flower tortilla. Who knew that regret could taste so good.
I am honestly trying my best to finish it and totally not stalling as I type.
I just hope that this doesn't leave me sick tomorrow. I cannot risk missing work tomorrow because how would I even begin to explain it to my boss?
Oh how far I had fallen...
Like Lucifer, or Icarus, perhaps... perhaps I got cocky. It was what? 8 or 9 years ago since I had one of these? I swear they weren't this big...
They were huge but not... Pyramid Head's great sword huge! Maybe I forgot. Maybe... My frail sanity has finally caught up with me and the past few years truly had shattered my memory even further. Who knows.
What I do know is that I cannot let my mother know that I can't finish this dang thing right now. I'd like state some genuine advice here...
If you happen to find this restaurant. Ever. Do not be like me. Heed the warning.
Do beware, the burritos of this restaurant.
One is enough for the whole family.
I am genuinely trying while trying to not explode before I go to bed. If I survive I'll let you all know if I can.
TL;DR: I ordered two burritos, forgetting that the restaurants burritos are bigger than the League of Legends fan base. Send help.

So I am one year sober and went to celebrate with a couple of my best friends at a barestaurant that offers a non-alcoholic menu that has mock tails. The server mixed up my order with a different table and I ended up getting a drink with tequila in it. I had the tiniest sip of it and realized it was actual alcohol. The bartenders realized they messed up as soon as I looked up and rushed over to apologize and ended up fixing it, but I’m still a little distressed over it. I know that I shouldn’t be hard on myself but I’m feeling blah about it, but I’m proud that my senses kicked in and that I didn’t gulp it back (I was parched). Words of encouragement would be great right now.

I’m hungry

I’m a 34 year female, who always struggled with anxiety, and panic disorder since a child. I had a panic attack on the highway at 19 and was never able to travel further than an hour or 2 backroads since then. But as of recent, just going down to the street to the store creates anxiety for me. I can’t go down certain roads and only feel comfortable with a few specific roads (very near to my house) just last year , I was able to drive by myself backroads to clubs etc that took about 45 minutes. Now just thinking about being too far from my house and being that I can’t even go down roads not that even far worries me. I have a son and the last year has been full of sleepless nights, anxiety, crying and worrying for his future with a mom like me. I try my best to do things with him in the area I’m comfortable with movies, restaurants and his baseball games are close. My husband takes him to the far locations. But I cry almost everyday feeling like a crazy lady who is failing my son. Does anyone with agoraphobia feel comfortable some days on certain roads and other days don’t? I can go 20 minutes one way but not 20 minutes the other way because that way down that specific road freaks me out. I feel so confused and sad every single day about this.

So my POT finally got his negative STD results (which I’ll check in app when I see him in person!) and so I asked about when he’d like to meet again. He said he had his kid so nights work best. I haven’t seen him since April 27th.
I don’t really want to just go straight to intimacy..I’d prefer to get dinner or something first since we’ve still only met once. His wording also made it sound like he wanted me to come to his house. When I told him I prefer hotels until I know someone well, he said “I totally get it but with kid and coordinating babysitting, it’s tougher. If anything, you’ll know my address and i won’t know yours lol”
I know some people don’t have sex even on the second date (first after the m&g). I am okay with it but it just feels too casual. I thought maybe I should suggest waiting until he doesn’t have his kid so that we can go to a restaurant to catch up and then go to a hotel. Thoughts?

​
Developed by Hangar 13, DICE, Ripple Effect Studios, EA Gothenburg, and Criterion Games and published by EA.
Additionally former EA Black Box and Ghost Games employees who would help access game assets and code from previous NFS titles to streamline the development)
Cartel (or alternatively as “Cartel: Palm City” or "Cartel: Miami" ) would be an open world title based on the Mafia Games, the GTA games and the Saints Row games, with elements of Battlefield: Hardline thrown in with an array of weapons and vehicles based on their real life counterparts.
Gameplay wise the driving would be like Need for Speed titles, and on foot and shooting mechanics like BF: Hardline and Saints Row. Plus you can customize your cars and weapons to the same extent in BF: 2042 and some cars would allow for mounted weapons,on foot you can execute people with your equipped weapon like in The Godfather games. On foot would be an FPS view (you can change to a third person view as well) same with having an FPS view in your car.
There would an single player experience point system (like in BF Hardline single player) you gain XP from killing gangsters, and cops blowing up or capturing enemy vehicles and completing main missions, side missions and activities also there will be 15 levels to achieve with each level up unlocking new weapons, vehicles and customization for your weapons and vehicles. As well as a New Game Plus (NG+) where everything you unlocked is carried over and you can also play on the higher difficulties through NG+.
Also there would be five wanted levels for police and five vendetta levels for the gangs should you reach level five gang vendetta you start a Gang War there are three ways to stop a Gang War either bribe the feds, blow up a gang stronghold, or hide out in a safe house. Police wanted levels one and two local units would come after the player, at police wanted level two or three the state police would come after the player. At wanted level four and five the feds would come after the player. The military will only come after the player if they trespass in Fort Rockport or the Palmount Naval Shipyard
The Storyline
In Cartel: Palm City; in a different universe and timeline where there's a total prohibition of all narcotics in the United States in 2010; tells the story of Jack Rourke (the player character) a hardworking rideshare driver at day and a street racer at night who's scraping by in Palm City circa 2019. One fateful night, Jack Rourke has an inadvertent brush with the Blackwell Syndicate (mainly Carl Stoddard and that showcases a life of reward too big to ignore. As he joins the Blackwell Syndicate who are fighting for control of Palm City against five other criminal groups and take the city for the Blackwell Syndicate including recovering evidence that could not only convict the Blackwell Syndicate, as well as a network of crime lords in many countries, (including the other gang’s backers) including the Blackwell Syndicate's backers the Mob and it would also directly implicate the CIA in Palm City’s drug trade with Jack Rourke earning the nickname “El Sicario” for his efforts in driving the other gangs out of Palm City. When he learns how much the drugs were hurting the people of Palm City and all over the country as well as learning that the Blackwell Syndicate had gotten into the drug trade themselves, he contacts FBI agent Chase Linh who relays the story to her and offers the evidence and his testimony in exchange for full immunity for him and his associates, and the evidence on the computer was enough to convict everyone form all the five gangs, but also their crime lord backers from at least half a dozen countries, as well implicating the CIA in this as well as lobbying efforts to keep all narcotics prohibited, leading to a new administration repealing the Narcotics Prohibition law and legalizing low level cannabis. However six months later after the repeal of the Narcotics Prohibition Jack Rourke would be gunned down by Russian Mafia hitmen, Dimitri "Dima '' Mayakovsky and Henry "Black" Blackburn.
The Cast

• Sean Faris - Jack Rourke
• Erik Armando Alvarez - Marcus Blackwell
• Kieth David - Julian “Julius” Little
• Philip Anthony-Rodriguez - Nick Mendoza
• Kelly Hu - Khai Minh Dao
• Travis Willingham - Carl Stoddard
• Eugene Byrd - Marcus “Boomer” Boone
• Adam J. Harrington - Tyson Latchford
• Jack Derges - Tyler "Ty" Morgan
• David Ajala - Sean "Mac" McAlister
• Jessica Madsen - Jessica "Jess" Miller
• Ramon Tikaram - Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry
• Brooke Burke - Rachel Teller
• Josie Maran - Mia Townsend
• Jonny Cruz - Lucas Rivera
• Ana Marte - Ana Rivera
• Maggie Q - FBI Agent Chase Linh
• Bentino Martinez - CIA Agent Julian Dawes
• Coolie Ranx - Benny King
• Jason Michael Zumwalt - Roman Barkov
• Michael Andrew Hollick - Niko Barkov
• Fred Tatasciore - Tony Alpert
• Josh Coxx - Frank Mercer
• Shontae Saldana - Eva Torres
• Josh Collins - Danny Shaw
• Moti Margolin - Dimitri Glebov
• Jack Yang - Chan Wu
• Graham Shiels - Leo Ray
• Mark Rolston - Neil Roark
• Dean McKenzie - Jonathan Cross
• David Rees Snell - Gregory "GMAC" MacDonald
• Heather Fox - Rose Largo
• Joshua Alba - Zack Maio
• Kurt Caceres - Hector Maio
• Lawrence B. Adisa - Brad Rogers
• Dominique Tipper - Lina Navarro
• David Palffy - Caleb Reece
• David Menkin - Hector "Ming" Domingo
• Bruce Johnson - Wes "Webster" Allen
• William Roberts - Joe "JV" Vega
• Jun-Yamazaki - Toru "Bull" Sato
• Derek Hamilton - Clarence "Razor" Callahan
• Chuck Norris - Chief Norris
• Paul Pape - Jack Keller

List of activities

• Story Mission: Missions that advance the plot
• Side Mission: Missions that do not advance the plot but earns extra experience/money
• Street Race: Just like it is in Need for Speed, finish first.
• Combat Race: Just like Street Race, but weapon use is allowed.
• Mayhem: Cause as much destruction as possible and get the highest Cost to State score.
• Car Snatch: Steal a car from the cops or one of the four gangs and bring it to a chop shop and also unlock the car you stole for free.
• Drug/CigaWeapon Trafficking: Deliver drugs/military-grade weapons/Cuban cigars to dealers and avoid the cops and rival gangs.
• Car Delivery: Deliver a load of high-end cars to car dealers.
• Assassination: Find and kill a named character, bonus if you fulfill a special condition

Vehicles
Civilian

• Acura NSX '17, Acura RSX-S '04,
• Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio '16,
• Aston Martin DB5 '64, Aston Martin DB11 '17, Aston Martin DB11 Volante '19, Aston Martin Vulcan '16,
• Audi R8 V10 Performance '19, Audi S5 Sportback '17,
• BMW i8 Coupé '18, BMW i8 Coupé K.S. '18, BMW i8 Roadster '18, BMW M2 Competition '19, BMW M3 '06, BMW M3 '10, BMW M3 Evolution II '88, BMW M3 GTR L.E. '06, BMW M4 '18, BMW M4 Convertible '17, BMW M4 GTS '16, BMW M5 '18, BMW X6 M '16, BMW Z4 M40i '19,
• Buick Grand National '87, Buick Cascada '16
• Chevrolet Bel Air '55, Chevrolet C10 Sidestep Pickup '65, Chevrolet Camaro SS '67, Chevrolet Camaro Z28 '14, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 '17, Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '17, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 '13, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 '19, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (2020), Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible (2020), Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 (Cross’ ZO6)
• Dodge Challenger SRT8 '14, Dodge Charger '69, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat ‘18
• Ferrari 458 Italia '09, Ferrari 458 Spider '11, Ferrari 488 GTB '15, Ferrari 488 Pista '19, Ferrari F40 '87, Ferrari FXX-K Evo '18, Ferrari LaFerrari '13, Ferrari Testarossa Coupé '84,
• Ford F-150 Raptor '17, Ford F-150 SVT Raptor L.E. '17, Ford Focus RS '16, Ford GT '17, Ford Mustang '65, Ford Mustang BOSS 302 '69, Ford Mustang Foxbody '90, Ford Mustang GT '15, Ford Crown Victoria ‘08
• Honda Civic Type-R '00, Honda Civic Type-R '15, Honda NSX Type-R '92, Honda S2000 '09,
• Infiniti Q60 S '17,
• Jaguar F-Type R Convertible '19, Jaguar F-Type R Coupé '16,
• Koenigsegg Regera '16 (Roman’s Regera)
• Lamborghini Aventador S '18, Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster '17, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe '19, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster '19, Lamborghini Countach '89, Lamborghini Diablo SV '95, Lamborghini Huracán '18, Lamborghini Huracán Performante '18, Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder '18, Lamborghini Huracán Spyder '18, Lamborghini Murciélago SV '10, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08
• Land Rover Defender 110 '15, Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR '15,
• Lotus Exige S '06,
• Mazda MX-5 '15, Mazda MX-5 '96, Mazda RX-7 Spirit R '02,
• McLaren 570S '15, McLaren 570S Spider '18, McLaren 600LT '18, McLaren F1 '93, McLaren P1 '14, McLaren P1 GTR '15
• Mercedes-AMG A 45 '16, Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé '18, Unlocked at REP LVL 18, Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé K.S. '18, Mercedes-AMG G 63 '17, Mercedes-AMG GT '15, Mercedes-AMG GT R '17, Mercedes-AMG GT S Roadster '19
• Mercury Cougar '67
• Mini JCW Countryman '17
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX '07, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X '08, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X K.S. '08
• Nissan 180SX Type X '96, Nissan 240SX '98, Nissan 350Z ‘03, Nissan 370Z ‘09, Nissan GT-R ‘07, Nissan Fairlady 240ZG '71, Nissan GT-R '17, Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero '02, Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R '71, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '93, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '99, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '02,
• Opel Astra '09
• Pagani Huayra BC '17
• Plymouth Barracuda '70
• Polestar 1 '20
• Pontiac Firebird '77, Pontiac Firebird '99, Pontiac GTO '05, Pontiac G8 '08
• Porsche 718 Cayman GTS '18, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS '18, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet '18, Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 '73, Porsche 911 Carrera S '97, Porsche 911 GT2 RS '18, Porsche 911 GT3 RS '19, Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS '18, Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet Ex '18, Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive '18, Porsche 918 Spyder '15, Porsche Cayman GT4 '15, Porsche Panamera Turbo '17, Porsche 911 Carrera S (991) '12
• SRT Viper GTS '14
• Subaru BRZ Premium '14, Subaru Impreza WRX STI '06, Subaru Impreza WRX STI '10,
• Volkswagen Beetle '63, Volkswagen Golf GTI '76, Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport '16,
• Volvo 242 DL '75, Volvo Amazon P130 '70

Military

• Light Vehicles: M1161 ITV, VDV Buggy, LYT2021, MRAP, SPM-3, ZFB-05, Quad Bike, Dirt Bike. Desert Patrol Vehicle. Skid Loader
• Infantry Fighting Vehicles: LAV-25, BTR-90, ZBD-09, AAV-7A1. AMTRAC
• Main Battle Tanks: M1 Abrams, T-90A, Type 99 MBT, HT-95 Levkov
• Anti-Aircraft Vehicles: LAV-AD, 9K22 Tunguska-M, Type 95 AA
• Mobile Artillery: HIMARS
• Helicopters: AH-1Z Viper, Mi-28 Havoc, Z-10W, AH-6 Little Bird, Z-11W, KA-60 Kasatka, UH-1Y Venom, Z-9 Haitun
• Naval Craft: DV-15 Interceptor, RCB-90, RHIB Boat, PWC, ACV
• Emplacements: .50 Cal, M220 TOW Launcher, 9M133 Kornet Launcher, HJ-8 Launcher, Centurion C-RAM, Pantsir-S1, LD-2000 AA, Schipunov 42. Launch Pod

Weapon attachments

• Optics (Pistols): Iron Sights, Improved Iron Sights, Ghost Ring, Mini (RDS), Deltapoint (RDS), Comp M4S (1X) Magnum Scope (2x)
• Optics (Rifles): Short Range; Barska Reflex (RDS), Kobra (RDS), Coyote (RDS), EOTech Sight (1x), PKA-S (1x), HD-33 (1x), F2000 (1.6x) (F2000 only). Medium Range; M145 (3.4x), PK-A (3.4x), PRISMA (3.4x), Mark 4 HAMR (3.5x) ACOG (4x), PSO-1 (4x), JGM-4 (4x). Long Range: CL6x (6x), PKS-07 (7x), Rifle Scope (8x), Hunter (20x), Ballistic (40x), IRNV (1x), FLIR (2x)
• Accessories: Canted Iron Sights, Magnifier (2x), Variable Zoom (2x-14x), Flash Light, Tactical Light, Laser Sight, Tri Beam Laser, Green Laser Sight, LaseLight Combo, Range Finder, Target Detector, Stabilizer.
• Barrel: Standard Barrel, Heavy Barrel, Light Barrel
• Muzzle (ARs/Carbines, DMRs, LMGs, PDWs, and Sidearms): Muzzle Brake, Compensator, Suppressor, Flash Hider, Flash Enhancer.
• Muzzle (shotgun): Duckbill, Full Choke, Modified Choke
• Underbarrel: Underslung Rail (M320, GP-30, M26 MASS), Bipod, Ergo Grip, Angled Grip, Stubby Grip, Vertical Grip, Folding Grip, Potato Grip
• Auxiliary: Straight Pull Bolt, Bipod
• Ammunition: Shotshells, 12 Gauge Buckshot, 12 Gauge Dart, 12 Gauge Frag, 12 Gauge Slug

40mm Grenades, 40mm HE, 40mm Incendiary, 40mm CS, 40mm Dart, 40mm Flashbang, 40mm LVG, 40mm Smoke, 40mm 3GL.

• 25mm Grenades - 25mm Airburst, 25mm Dart, 25mm Smoke.
• Arrows - Broadhead Arrow, Bullet Point Arrow, Explosive Tipped Arrow (Tek Arrows), Poison Arrow

Weapon list
Key: Base weapon (special variant)

• Melee Weapons: Blunt Weapons, Knives, Collapsible Baton, Machete (L.S 16 Machete), Breaching Hammer, Sledge Hammer, Axe, Inquisition Sword, Shovel, Bayonet, ACB-90, Shank, Machete, Bowie, Carbon Fiber, Scout, Survival, Trench, Boot, SEAL, Dive, Tactical, BJ-2, Precision, Baseball Bat, 2x4, Lead Pipe
• Light Pistols; P226, M9, QSZ-92, MP443, G17 (Street Racer Special), FN57. Machine Pistols; CZ-75. G18, TEC-9, MAC-10, MP9, 93R.
• Heavy Pistols: M1911, Compact 45, SW40, DEagle .38, DEagle .357, DEagle .44, DEagle .50, DEagle .501, DEagle .700, 45T (Mercer’s 45T), .40
• Revolvers; Unica 6 .38, Unica 6 .357, Unica 6 .44, Unica 6 .50, Unica 6 .501, Unica 6 .700, .38 Snub, .38 Special, .357 RS, MP412 REX, .44 Magnum (.44 Magnum Force), .501 Magnum Enforcer, .700 Magnum
• Short Rifles/Shotguns; Mare's Leg, Lupara, Shorty 12G (Modern Lupara)
• Personal Defense Weapons/SMGs: MP5, MX4, PP-2000, UMP-45, CBJ-MS, PDW-R, CZ-3A1, JS2, P90, UMP-9, MP7 (Combine MP7) , AS VAL, SR-2, MPX, Groza-4, K10 (Dillinger II), M1A1, M1928 (Dillinger), MP5SD
• Shotguns: QBS-09, 870 MCS, M1014, Hawk 12G, Saiga 12K, SPAS-12, UTS-15, DBV-12, DAO-12, USAS-12, AA-12, 870P Magnum, 37 Stakeout (Cross’ 37 Stakeout), Double-Barrel Shotgun, KSG12, M26 MASS
• Carbines: AK5C, ACW-R, SG553, AKU-12, A-91, ACE 52 CQB, G36C, M4, ACE 21 CQB, Type-95B-1, MTAR-21, Phantom, Groza-1, RO933, AKS-74U, CAR-556, ACWR.
• Assault Rifles: AK-12 (Shovak AK-12), SCAR-L, SCAR-H, M416, SAR-21, AEK-971 (Russian Dillinger), FAMAS, AUG A3, CZ-805, QBZ-95-1, ACE 23, L85A2, F2000 (SC-20K), ARX-160, Bulldog, AN-94, M16A3, M16A4, AKM, L85A2, ARM, MDC, SAR-21, AUG A3, HCAR, SA-58 OSW, HK51, FN FAL, SG510.
• Light Machine Guns: U-100 MK5 (Modern Dillinger), Type 88 LMG, LSAT, PKP Pecheneg, QBB-95-1, M240B, MG4, M249, M60-E4 (M60-ULT), AWS, L86A2, RPK, RPK-74, RPK-12,
• Designated Marksman Rifles: RFB, Mk11 Mod 0, SKS, SVD-12, QBU-88, M39 EMR, ACE 53 SV, SCAR-H SV, M39 EMR
• Sniper Rifles: R700PPS, TRG-42P, CS-LR4, M40A5, Scout Elite, SV-98, JNG-90, 338-Recon, M98B, SRR-61, FY-JS, Dragunov SVD, L115, GOL Magnum, SR338, CS5, .300 Knockout, M200 Intervention, M82A3 .416, M82A3 .50, M82A3 .501, M82A3 .700, M82A3 .900, M82A3 20mm Vulcan, AMR-2 .416, AMR-2 .50, AMR-2 .501, AMR-2 .700, AMR-2 .900 AMR-2 20mm Vulcan, HVM-II, M136 CS, Vidhwansak, Rorsch Mk-1, Rorsch Mk-4, 20mm Vulcan Grenares: M67 Frag, V40 Mini, RGO Impact, M34 Incendiary, M18 Smoke, M84 Flashbang, Hand Flare, CS Gas Grenade, Molotov, AA Mine, AT Mine, SLAM, C4 Explosive, M18 Claymore
• Launchers: M32 MGL, M203, M320, GP-30, M26 MASS, RPG,MBT LAW, FIM-92 Stinger, RPG-7V2, SA-18 Igla, Mk153 SMAW, FGM-148 Javelin, FGM-172 SRAW, XM-25
• Gadgets: Defibrillator, First Aid Pack, Medic Bag, Repair Tool, Ammo Box, Ammo Pack, M224 Mortar, MP-APS, XM25, UCAV, Ballistic Shield, MAV, Motion Sensor, PLD, Radio Beacon, SOFLAM, T-UGS, SUAV, RAWR M240B, RAWR M203, XD-1 Accipiter

Other: Nail Gun
Mission Structure
Prolog (2019)

1. The Birth of Art - After winning a big race, Jack Rourke collects the winnings at the Palm City Historical Museum
2. An Offer you Can't Refuse - Jack Rourke must evade Volk sicarios with Tyson Lachford and Carl Stoddard members of the Blackwell Syndicate
3. Race Day - After the events of the last mission, Jack Rourke partakes in a race day event and wins three events with his Porsche 911 Carrera S (991) '12
4. Running Man - Volk sicarios Niko and Dimitri crashes the race day and Jack must get to the Blackwell Garage

Chapter 1 (2019-2021)

1. M34 Party - Jack Rourke joins the Blackwell Syndicate and gets acquainted with everyone before going with Tyson in a Pontiac GTO '05 to burn the Volk's cars with M34 Incendiary Grenades as well as stealing GMAC's Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4
2. Standard Routine - Jack Rourke rolls with Tyson, Stoddard and Jonathan Cross to collect protection money but things go south when they collect from a hotel out of town and Jack Rourke chases after the hotel owner in Cross' car.
3. Fair Play - Jack Rourke is tasked with stealing Ryan Cooper's Nissan 240SX and sabotaging it on the eve of the biggest Speedhunter race of the year, the SpeedHunter Championship Finals and in a last minute swap Jack Rourke has to race in place of Tyler Morgan
4. Mia Townsend - Jack Rourke is tasked with taking Mia Townsend out for a night at the city... until a gang of Wraith street racers led by Caleb Reece hassles her and Jack Rourke takes them on in a fight
5. Get Used To It - After the events of the previous mission Jack Rourke and Tyson Latchford are sent to teach the Wraiths a lesson But Caleb Reece makes it serious and Caleb Reece is wound up being killed by Tyson after a chase around the city alongside Danny Shaw.
6. The Saint and The Sinner - It's revealed thtat Caleb Reece was Chief Norris' best friend, and Danny Shaw survives the crash however Stoddard would handle Shaw as Jack Rourke is tasked with infiltrating the Elmore Plaza Hotel and has to kill the manager, Nikki Morris and bomb the hotel before escaping to a funeral and confronts, Danny Shaw and Frank Mercer who are also in attendance. Jack Rourke kills Shaw and nearly kills Frank as well. But Frank tasers Rourke and escapes. It would be revealed that some of the Volk sicarios recognized Sotddard and had to deal with them, then the two escaped in a hearse.

Chapter 2 (2021)

1. A Trip to the Countryside - In order to get a large supply of cannabis from Mexico, Jack Rourke takes a team to retrieve the Mexican from Mexican smugglers only to be ambushed by Los Zetas L.S 16 and Volk sicarios, then it's revealed that Roman had paid off the FBI to go after Rourke and his teammates then they came off with the cannabis killing their pursuers in the process.
2. Code of Silence - The evidence that Tyson and Stoddard had ripped from the Volk had fallen in the hands of Hector Maio who cut a deal with the FBI, total immunity for the evidence and Jack Rouke is tasked with killing him and retrieving the evidence
3. Visiting Rich People - Jack Rourke is tasked with sabotaging a federal proscutor's case against The Mob, the Blackwell Syndicate's backers as well as killing the federal prosecutor in charge of the case.
4. Visiting Powerful People - Jack Rourke is tasked with meeting and protecting a powerful member of Palm City's elite, the owner of Prefered Outcomes Julian Daws... though he more than meets the eyes of Jack Rourke
5. Agent Dawes - Julian Daws is revealed to be a CIA agent who is tasked with keeping the flow of drugs to Jack's surprise and that he is backing the Blackwell Syndicate through Prefered Outcomes.
6. The Drug Trade - Julian Daws walks Jack Rourke through Palm City's drug trade and how the illicit street racing scene is used as a cover to smuggle drugs.
7. Great Deal - Tyson Lachford scores a major deal with a drug farm in Georgia who promises to supply them with large amounts of drugs in exchange for access to databases concerning highway patrol routes; however when the deal goes down at a parking garage, the Volk and L.S 16 ambush them.
8. Bon Appetit - Jack Rourke drives Eva Torrez, Marcus Blackwell and Julian Daws to the rebuilt Elmore Plaza Hotel for brunch only for Niko and Dimirti with a Volk hit squad to blast the entire lobby with gunfire and C4 explosives, Jack Rourke vaults over with Eva Torrez, Marcus Blackwell and Julian Daws, there Jack Rourke and Eva Torrez rush out through the side entrance and confronts the hit squad with Jack Rourke killing both Niko and Dimirti. However Blackwell wants Jack to confront Jonathan Cross at a doughnut store and reveals that the Volk threatened to turn him over to IAD and is chased throughout the city with Marcus Blackwell putting Cross on permanent retirement by killing him with a Lupara.

Chapter 3 (Finishing the other gangs and downfall of Jack Rourke) (late 2021)

1. Happy Anniversary - Jack Rourke is tasked with completing a contract hit against Frank Mercer at the fifth anniversary of the formation of the High-Speed Task Force by firing a sniper rifle stashed in a bathroom
2. You Lucky Bastard - After a failed attempt to kill Razor; Roman's personal driver and #2 of the Volk, Jack Rourke is given the contract to kill Razor, first by car bomb but ends up killing Deputy Chief Jack Keller. instead of Razor. Jack Rourke, Tyson and Stoddard would later find Razer at a Burger King. In this Rourke can choose to kill or spare Razor. Rourke would spare him after he tells him that the CIA is deeper in Palm City's drug trade than Jack Rourke is led to believe
3. Creme de la Creme - Marcus Blackwell plans to kill Roman, Niko, Demintri and Chan Wu in front of the city's Creme de la Creme, the mayor, the police chief, the FBI director and even the city's richest elite. However things go south and Jack Rourke chases Roman and Niko at the airport where they get to a private jet but is shot down and crash lands on the Cross Mermeroral Bridge Chan Wu is still alive and Jack Rourke executes him and leaves before the cops show up.
4. Plugging the Chief - After the events of Creme de la Creme; Chief Norris places to take on the Blackwell Syndicate and to dismantle them, and a contract hit is placed on him where Jack Rourke accepts the contract and kills Chief Norris.
5. Election Campaign - The State Governor had launched his reelection bid with the promise get tough on the cartels that had plagued Palm City and like Chief Norris has a contract hit out on him which Jack Rourke is tasked with taking, using a sniper rifle
6. Just for Relaxation - Marcus Blackwell tells Jack Rourke about a shipment of Cuban cigars as well as a hidden shipment of diamonds (hot ice) straight from Africa however and Jack Rourke takes a crew to retrieve the shipment from federal customs however it's revealed that instead of diamonds it's Cold Shot... the same drug being pushed by the other gangs.
7. The Truth - Jack Rourke and Kahi Minh Dao eavesdrop on Marcus Blackwell and Julain Daws and they learn the truth.
8. Moonlighting - Jack Rourke after knowing about the truth takes Tyson to rob the Palm CIty First National in order to retire from the sicario lifestyle and gets into a massive shootout with the PCPD Heat-style.
9. The Death of Art - After the heist of Palm City First National Jack Rourke finds Tyson dead and meets Stoddard at the museum only to find out that Stoddard knew about the heist, and used his share of the drug money and clout at Prefered Outcomes to buy out The7 as his personal hit squad, however Jack Rourke manages to kill every member of The7 but spares Stoddard (the player can also kill him but canonically Jack Rourke spares him)

Epilogue (2022)
After the trial and the repeal of the Jack Rurke is placed in the Witness Protection Program in Lakeshore City but six months later after the repeal of the Narcotics Prohibition Jack Rourke would be gunned down by members of the West Side Club, Dimitri "Dima" Mayakovsky and Henry "Black" Blackburn.
The Gangs of Palm City
L.S 16 (Los Salmos 16) - Also known as The Salmos. Backed by the most powerful Mexican drug lords and the most powerful arms traffickers in the world, L.S 16 once ruled all of Palm City In fear until The House stepped in. They’re also the strongest gang in the game with access to military grade weapons and vehicles and each gang kill from them awards 500-1,500 XP depending on the enemy type. They are led by Neil Roark.
The House - The House is a gambling gang with strong ties and backed by the Sicilian Mafia; they run the street scene and the casinos in Palm City. They’re pretty strong but weaker than L.S 16, and they have access to military grade weapons and vehicles each gang kills from them awards 250-800 XP depending on the enemy type. Headed by Lina Navarro.
The Volk - The Volk is a Chinese-Russian gang led by Roman Barkov with Niko Barkov as their enforcer backed by the Triads (Chan Wu), the Russian Mob (Dimitri Glebov), and GMAC's crew (Gregory "GMAC" MacDonald, Rose Largo) for cars who control the weapon smuggling and arms dealing in Palm City. With this backing and access to military grade weapons. They are a mid tier gang and each gang kill from them awards 200-600 XP depending on the enemy type. They are also the ones who go after the Blackwell Syndicate the most.
Palm Kings - The Palm Kings (PKs) is a Black gang made up of Black nationalists who controls Palm Harbor’s rackets and extorts store owners. Led by Benny King, they’re equipped with police-grade weaponry and has strong ties with the PCPD despite this, they are the second weakest gang in the game and each gang kill from them awards 150-500 XP depending if it's a regular to elite
Dixie Paladins - The Dixie Paladins are a white supremacy gang and a militarized version of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) who controls the Gold Coast Mountains in the mountainous regions of Palm City. they’re the weakest gang in the game and each gang kill from them awards 100-250 XP from regular to elite members. They are led by Tony Alpert
Blackwell Syndicate - The Blackwell Syndicate is a underground criminal organization based in Palm City and is led by Marcus Blackwell with Julian “Julius” Little as underboss, Hector Maio before "Code of Silence" and Zack Maio after "Code of Silence". Nick Mendoza. Khai Minh Dao and Carl Stoddard are caporegimes and Tyson Latchford, Tyler "Ty" Morgan, Sean "Mac" McAlister, Jessica "Jess" Miller as soldiers. Other members include Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry as the gang's car expert Rachel Teller as the gang's customization expert, Marcus “Boomer” Boone as the gang's weapon experts. The Blackwell Syndicate would be the gang that the player would join. In Act 1, they're an outside and fast tracked to soldier, but in Act 2 the player would be a capo until the end of the game. They are secretly backed by both The Mob and the CIA through Agent Dawes. Jonathan Cross and Mia Townsend are also on the gang's payroll until "Bon Appetit" where Marcus Blackwell executes him with a 870P Magnum to the head. Also Mia would also go with Jack Rourke as well
The police/military force
PCPD - the police force of Palm City/Miami if the player does hostile acts (killing civilians, firing unsuppressed weapons in public, etc) will attract police attention and each kill from them awards 50 XP for regular members and 100 XP for armored members, However the player can bribe the PCPD to look the other way or will even help the player fight the other gangs but would be the target of higher level police forces. (Sort of like it was in The Godfather game) The player can also buy favors from them as well. Also they’ll deploy stronger units at higher heat level alongside the FBI. The cars PCPD drives are the Ford Crown Victoria, Dodge Challenger, Pontiac GTO, and the Chevy Grand Sport
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) - The state police force and Only appears in wanted levels 3 and above, Each kill from them awards 75 XP for regular state troopers and 150 XP for tactical state troopers. Regular state troopers drives Ford Mustang GTs tactical state troopers drives Nissan GT-R
FBI - Only appears in wanted level 5 the FBI will be called in if the player continues to retaliate against the PCPD. Each kill from them awards 125 XP for regular agents, 250 XP for FBI SWAT and 375 XP for FBI HRT, Like the PCPD the player can bribe the FBI to look the other way, or even help the player fight gangs, or the PCPD but at the second highest price. The FBI also has the second widest array of favors the player can buy. regular agents drives the Nissan 350Z or Porsche 911 GT3 RS, FBI SWAT drives the - Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster or Ford F-150 SVT Raptor L.E. and FBI HRT drives the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X or Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR
Military - Only goes after the player if they trespass in Fort Rockport or the Palmount Naval Shipyard. Each kill from them awards 200 XP for regs, 400 XP for experienced troops and 600 XP for elite troops. Like the PCPD, State Police and the FBI, the player can bribe the military to look the other way, or even help the player fight gangs, the PCPD, State Police or even the FBI but at the highest price and The military also has the widest array of favors the player can buy in large part due to Agent Dawes’ connections in Washington.
Multiplayer portion of the game would take place during the five cartels war where the Blackwell Syndicate, The Volk, Palm Kings, Dixie Paldines, Los Salmos 16, and The House (basically where Jack Rourke glosses over saying "It was non-stop chaos for weeks")
Also there would be a free ride mode where the player can explore the city at their leisure or pick a fight with either other cartels or the cops.

*WARNING-LONG*
I am a 22 year old female. I just graduated college, and I am staying at home right now to work and save money. I plan to enroll in graduate school in winter 2024, either online or commute. My goal is to move out before I am done with grad school but I have to save up money first.
My family has lived in the same house my whole life, and my parents bought it in the 90s before I was born. It is a VERY small house for my area. It is a little less than 1,000 square foot with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. It is located in a huge neighborhood, with houses all built the same way and it is a middle class, older neighborhood compared to other neighborhoods in my town.
My whole life, my house has had major issues. From plumbing to electrical, you name it. My parents are also hoarders. Not extreme like you see on TV, but we have piles of old books, dvds and vcrs all over the house. We don't even have a DVD or VCR player. Growing up, I prefered to hang out at my friend's houses, because I was embarrassed with my home. As I grew up, I got over it, and my friends were never mean to me about it and we'd make jokes.
However, now that I graduated college I am very concerned about the state of our home. We currently are having plumbing done, which is a major issues. A pipe under our driveway bursted and we are having our driveway torn up in order to fix it. With that, there are various unfinished projects around my house, lights that don't work that my dad has been meaning to fix for years, a broken railing, broken door, etc.
My parents are reaching their 60s and I am concerned. They are hard workers, and they do not deserve this. This house has been a hell hole my whole life. I am extremely thankful that I have a place to live, and my parents help me with school and are great parents, but this situation needs to be addressed. I have tried talking to them about it before, and even offered to clean, throw out old stuff, or start small projects and my dad gets angry and tells me that it isn't my responsibility, or I have no clue what I'm doing. It is very hard for him to throw things away.
My mom is better with the situation, but my dad gets angry with her too when she tries to talk about stuff that needs to be done, or cleaned or thrown away so then we stop talking about it. On top of that, my parents are strictly middle class. Both teachers. Money has always been tight in my family, so we can't hire a professional for every job that needs to be done. My dad is a handyman, but I think that sometimes he thinks he's better than he actually is (and has undiagnosed adhd), because many projects he's done have to be redone or fixed, because he didn't do them correctly, or he didn't finish.
What do you think is the best way to address this situation? Moving is not an option. I am working in restaurants this summer, but I am willing to help my parents clean, paint, move stuff and help pay for projects around the house. My brother and I have talked about this multiple times, and he agrees with me too, but we have no clue how to approach this situation and be successful with making progress on our home.

My best friend Dan (30M) is pissed because I (28M) keep bringing my wife (31F) to our meetups.
A year ago my wife Amy had a hiking “accident” where she broke several bones. I was out on vacation with Dan at the time and only heard about her condition after she went into surgery. She’s healed up now but some things are permanently demanded.
I told Dan that when we hang out I need to bring Amy. She doesn’t bother us at all. If we’re out at a restaurant, she’ll get her own table. If we’re doing things she stays in her own lane. If we’re at my house she stays in the corner absorbed in her book. It’s my boundary.
Dan is pissed because he wanted to hang out one one with me and I said yes we can talk together but my wife has to be in my eyesight. I brought her to the park and she went off to do her own thing while still being in my eyesight.
He called me crazy. He thinks it’s weird and disrespectful of him. I think since I told him my plan it was fine and it was on him to understand my boundary. AITA?

Available: July 1st (very flexible) – October 30th with option to renew
We are seeking a lease takeover for a three-bedroom townhouse. We absolutely love this apartment. It is with a heavy heart that we are letting it go. Brand new building (finished in 2019). We’re the second tenants in this apartment, and you could be the third! The kitchen is completely updated with sleek stainless-steel appliances and a gas stove, and the bathrooms are updated and beautiful as well. It’s an open layout, making it even more spacious.
Neighborhood: Between Old Kensington and Norris Square. There are restaurants and bars nearby.
• Two fresh local produce grocery stores in walking distance
• Human Robot (brewery), Sutton’s Bar, Sor Ynez (Mexican restaurant and great brunch spot), and Luna Café (breakfast, lunch, super cute spot) are all within 5 minutes’ walk.
• Handball and Basketball court within 5 minutes (we rollerskate here!)
• Affordable and practical gym 2 minutes walking
• Dog parks and local SEPTA train station within 10 minutes’ walk.
• 15-minute walk Temple University Charles Library
Amenities:
- Personal bathroom for each bedroom
- Full size washedryer
- Patio Deck
- Dishwasher
- Free parking spot (street access)
Move in date is flexible, but ideally, we’re looking for someone to move in July 1. The lease ends October 30th, with the opportunity to renew. The landlord does complete a background check and proof of income. Having a guarantor is accepted. Please contact us for more information and/or if you have questions. The apartment is available to tour with at least 24-hour notice.
About the tenants: Each of us are professionals commuting to NYC and King of Prussia 4-5 days a week, and it isn’t sustainable for us to stay. There are two of us in the bedrooms downstairs, and we’re using the room upstairs as an office for our WFH days.
** Apartment Total Monthly Rent is $2000. Single room leasing is not available as this is a complete lease takeover agreement.

Staying 6 days in June (5 if you count our overnight trip to meteora) Polis Grand Hotel- what neighborhood is this considered? Any considerations/suggestions for being in the area the hotel is in or for the surrounding areas? I’ve read mixed reviews but I won this trip and can’t change my hotel.
We have an overnight trip to Meteora and Delphi.
And a one day sailing/ island trip planned.
I want to see all the ruins and things and go to plaka.
Anything else recommended to get into! Restaurants/ cafes that are a must decently close to the hotel? Is it true the beaches in Athens aren’t good? Couple friendly nightlife?
Kinda at a loss and not sure where to find the best info!
It’s our first overseas trip! Appreciate any and all advice.

6 months ago I worked for a short time at a somewhat upscale restaurant. It was the best job I've ever had in my life and I absolutely loved the environment there and the people I worked with aside from the problems I'm about to dig into here.
I ended up getting let go from this job-- I was a slow learner, and I got let go on performance. I loved my manager and he promised to give me a good review for whatever jobs I look at next, because he said he thought I was a good person. He is the kindest, most thoughtful manager I have ever worked for. When they were letting me go, I asked if I would be able to apply again, and he said yes in 6 months. He was also telling me how optimistic he was that things would work out.
Shortly after leaving the job, my car key went missing, which I have a hunch was due to my S.O.'s mother, but sadly we had no security cameras or proof, so we couldn't just have the cops go to the house looking for the key. Instead I spent a good 5 months unemployed, my S.O. saved up to get my car towed and keys made, all the while we were struggling financially and this all lead up to now- I now have a court date for overdue insurance in June and my license is suspended, and my S.O.'s car just got repoed TODAY!! Needless to say it's been a shitshow.
I absolutely loved the environment I was working in before, and I desperately need a job at the same time (obviously). Since I officially hit the 6 month mark on the 1st, I applied to the place again. I immediately got rejected from the location I worked at. I then applied to another location and got a call to interview tomorrow right after sending the application.
Should I hide the fact that I haven't worked since? On the resume I sent in I listed the establishment as the last place I'd worked, which showed it was 6 months ago, so I was honestly surprised they called.
Ever since getting the keys dealt with again, I technically did recently accept an offer at a place in a near management position which I left after a week of training because I was seeing some red flags that turned out to be PROVEN TRUE 🙃 Such as I still haven't been paid and it's been 3 pay periods now, even though I left, and legaladvice advised to to file a wage complaint.. so who knows what I would have endured there.
Should I mention that I got this position since the title may be impressive? Or is it best to shut my mouth that I had a job that I left that soon?
Now, inevitably they are going to ask me what happened the last time I was at the restaurant. Well, buckle in and get ready to hear a little workplace drama: I was a slow learner at first, i admit it. Once I got the hang of things, though, I REALLY got it, and it honestly was the easiest job in the world to me, and I LOVED doing it when everybody wasn't on my ass. Unfortunately, since I had prior frustrated my coworkers, it got to a point where even when I was doing light-years better, I would still have coworkers be on edge with me and always excessively checking to make sure I had things done, even after I had shown that I had my stuff down pat for a while now. 2 of the coworkers, the most on my ass ones, quit, and the manager assured me it wasn't because of me, but I feel that was a lie because I told them I don't work well under guilt or pressure. Basically I had a day where I broke down to my manager in the office, hysterical crying, telling him that I know how to do things now and that nobody's noticed, and he said that many did and many did not.
Once those 2 were out, I was left with the last coworker I'd be around regularly- and it was this girl who was bitter from being paid $1 less from the rest of us. I KNEW she was going to take this opportunity to be just as on my ass, if not more, than the last two, and honestly, I just didn't have the mental fortitude to deal with it. I don't do well for social games, I don't have the heart for it, and if someone is going to try to frame me for something, I have a bad habit of just letting it happen to get it over with. The girl was already snipping and it's been too long to remember specifics at that point, but I knew she was looking for any wrong thing I did to tell my manager. I wasn't planning on doing anything wrong and I wasn't doing anything wrong, but I had had enough, I felt genuinely just sad, heartbroken that this all had transpired and I didn't have the energy to play workplace drama games with this girl, it's genuinely just not something I like doing. I felt shattered, and terrible that my coworkers quit and it boiled down to the last underpaid girl who I actually liked LESS than the 2 who were most on my ass. Those two girls were actually good girls and I thought they had great allover personalities, I just wished they had cut me some slack once I got used to things. I really had a love-hate relationship with them. But prior to any of this happening, this same underpaid girl had made it known to coworkers that she was already upset with the job and bitter, she had an attitude about it and compared it to working at mcdonalds, but none of this was EVER within management's sight that I'm aware of. So they had no idea that this girl I was now left with has been moping around bitter and not taking this job seriously and always ready to quit and be mad at anything they ask her to do due to her pay for a while now. Thats why I lost my ability to play this game so quickly-- she was very visibly eager to try to dimish my every effort from the jump once the two coworkers left and she felt she had me all to herself and had leverage now, and could easily outsmart and outbeat me. I don't even remember what it was, but I snapped and told her I had covid (I didn't), because I knew she would freak out and ask not to be scheduled with me. I was suspended for 3 days because I caused such an upset with the covid comment and then returned to work. I figured once I said that I'd get in trouble but then it would blow over, and I was hoping they wouldn't schedule me with her any more, since they had just brought in a guy from another department to what my position was and he was REALLY good and I absolutely loved working with and learning from him. So after my 3 days, I go in for my next scheduled shift and I see I'm working with her again, even though I had sent a hotschedule message asking to be scheduled with the guy. Which my manager said was fine, but I couldn't do anything about the already posted next 2 weeks on the schedule, it just isn't a workplace where they will alter it. So once I see her I decided to whip out all of my work in the first hour, and I DID. I went complete horsepower mode and knocked out my whole shifts of work in the first hour, and went and laid down in the back for a second. I knew I may get in trouble for laying down, but I just wanted it to be over. I was exhausted as I had been up all night because a manipulative family member had an episode for the first time in a long time of not having one, waking me up when I needed to sleep for my shift. So when I knocked out all of my work in that one hour, I gave her NO room to talk to me. She was very obviously upset that I wasn't consulting her every 2 seconds and I didn't want to deal with this- it had me kicking my ass into gear to complete all that work so hard, but I knew this was the last time I could deal with this. I broke. So I decided to kind of ask for trouble a second time, after the whole lying about covid ordeal, and kind of laid down in the back.. somewhat on purpose, and somewhat because I was actually tired, because I knew this may be thr last straw where I get fired, and I just wanted it to all be done and over with, I was so sad, I just didn't want to have to work in such a degrading way like this where I am forever indebted to everyone and I have to prove my worth at 100X speed and be the picture perfect worker there, when I was already doing GOOD at that point. Alas, that was the last straw and it was over. And to be fair, just being a slow learner wasn't my only problem. Okay, I'm just going to be honest now. I learned at a decent pace, but my two ACTUAL biggest mistakes were that 1.) I have chronic pain and didn't disclose when I interviewed that I need to be home at a certain time in the evening (9/930 latest) to take a medication that impairs my driving, else I have trouble walking and it really slows me down. 2.) I projected my OCD onto the company and purposely overlapped the floors, making them think I was just a slow learner 😬😬 I did this with employee bathrooms as well. I also sprayed down spots of the employee bathrooms we weren't expected to spray down and was in fact told at first that we're NOT supposed to clean those parts, which gave me the ick and I would secretly spray those parts because they would be common/basic parts. Come to find out later that new guy said that's actually how we WERE supposed to do it.. anyways, at the end of the day during bathroom duties I wouod already be slowing down due to my pain to begin with since my medication wasn't getting into my body at the appropriate time, and on top of THAT, my slowing down was even worse because I was sneakily cleaning these parts of the bathroom that everyone would scold you for cleaning because it took too much time. So therenow you know the truth, i was contemplating just baring it all, so there it is. How in HEAVENS am I to explain this tomorrow? Since the manager said he would give me a good reference anywhere, should I assume he is also going to do that for me to the same restaurant of another location nearby? I am scared of putting my foot in my mouth, because what if I TL;DR the truth for them or tell them that I was bad, only for the manager to say I was great, and then it looks weird and I don't get hired, or, what if I lie and tell them I was great but the manager tells THIS place the truth, since it is the same chain? Basically what if his offer to give me a good reference only extends to external places unassociated with the company? Since I was rejected IMMEDIATELY after sending the resume into my prior location, I worry that the restaurant may hear the entire lowdown on what's happened. How should I navigate this? Another thing is now that the one car is suspended and one is repoed as of today, my S.O. and I are living with a relative, so that relative has to drive us around, so I'd have to leave around 4:30-5pm until he can get the car back, or until I pay my insurance AND get the okay from the state that I am officially unsuspended, because he needs toe dropped off at work around 6-630, he works graveyard. Basically the relative would have to drop me off to work, come and get me with him when I'm off my shift, and drop him off (I doubt she would let him use the car alone). Unless I'm thinking about this wrong, which I admit, my mind is currently overflooded and overwhelmed with what to do.

6 months ago I worked for a short time at a somewhat upscale restaurant. It was the best job I've ever had in my life and I absolutely loved the environment there and the people I worked with aside from the problems I'm about to dig into here.
I ended up getting let go from this job-- I was a slow learner, and I got let go on performance. I loved my manager and he promised to give me a good review for whatever jobs I look at next, because he said he thought I was a good person. He is the kindest, most thoughtful manager I have ever worked for. When they were letting me go, I asked if I would be able to apply again, and he said yes in 6 months. He was also telling me how optimistic he was that things would work out.
Shortly after leaving the job, my car key went missing, which I have a hunch was due to my S.O.'s mother, but sadly we had no security cameras or proof, so we couldn't just have the cops go to the house looking for the key. Instead I spent a good 5 months unemployed, my S.O. saved up to get my car towed and keys made, all the while we were struggling financially and this all lead up to now- I now have a court date for overdue insurance in June and my license is suspended, and my S.O.'s car just got repoed TODAY!! Needless to say it's been a shitshow.
I absolutely loved the environment I was working in before, and I desperately need a job at the same time (obviously). Since I officially hit the 6 month mark on the 1st, I applied to the place again. I immediately got rejected from the location I worked at. I then applied to another location and got a call to interview tomorrow right after sending the application.
Should I hide the fact that I haven't worked since? On the resume I sent in I listed the establishment as the last place I'd worked, which showed it was 6 months ago, so I was honestly surprised they called.
Ever since getting the keys dealt with again, I technically did recently accept an offer at a place in a near management position which I left after a week of training because I was seeing some red flags that turned out to be PROVEN TRUE 🙃 Such as I still haven't been paid and it's been 3 pay periods now, even though I left, and legaladvice advised to to file a wage complaint.. so who knows what I would have endured there.
Should I mention that I got this position since the title may be impressive? Or is it best to shut my mouth that I had a job that I left that soon?
Now, inevitably they are going to ask me what happened the last time I was at the restaurant. Well, buckle in and get ready to hear a little workplace drama: I was a slow learner at first, i admit it. Once I got the hang of things, though, I REALLY got it, and it honestly was the easiest job in the world to me, and I LOVED doing it when everybody wasn't on my ass. Unfortunately, since I had prior frustrated my coworkers, it got to a point where even when I was doing light-years better, I would still have coworkers be on edge with me and always excessively checking to make sure I had things done, even after I had shown that I had my stuff down pat for a while now. 2 of the coworkers, the most on my ass ones, quit, and the manager assured me it wasn't because of me, but I feel that was a lie because I told them I don't work well under guilt or pressure. Basically I had a day where I broke down to my manager in the office, hysterical crying, telling him that I know how to do things now and that nobody's noticed, and he said that many did and many did not.
Once those 2 were out, I was left with the last coworker I'd be around regularly- and it was this girl who was bitter from being paid $1 less from the rest of us. I KNEW she was going to take this opportunity to be just as on my ass, if not more, than the last two, and honestly, I just didn't have the mental fortitude to deal with it. I don't do well for social games, I don't have the heart for it, and if someone is going to try to frame me for something, I have a bad habit of just letting it happen to get it over with. The girl was already snipping and it's been too long to remember specifics at that point, but I knew she was looking for any wrong thing I did to tell my manager. I wasn't planning on doing anything wrong and I wasn't doing anything wrong, but I had had enough, I felt genuinely just sad, heartbroken that this all had transpired and I didn't have the energy to play workplace drama games with this girl, it's genuinely just not something I like doing. I felt shattered, and terrible that my coworkers quit and it boiled down to the last underpaid girl who I actually liked LESS than the 2 who were most on my ass. Those two girls were actually good girls and I thought they had great allover personalities, I just wished they had cut me some slack once I got used to things. I really had a love-hate relationship with them. But prior to any of this happening, this same underpaid girl had made it known to coworkers that she was already upset with the job and bitter, she had an attitude about it and compared it to working at mcdonalds, but none of this was EVER within management's sight that I'm aware of. So they had no idea that this girl I was now left with has been moping around bitter and not taking this job seriously and always ready to quit and be mad at anything they ask her to do due to her pay for a while now. Thats why I lost my ability to play this game so quickly-- she was very visibly eager to try to dimish my every effort from the jump once the two coworkers left and she felt she had me all to herself and had leverage now, and could easily outsmart and outbeat me. I don't even remember what it was, but I snapped and told her I had covid (I didn't), because I knew she would freak out and ask not to be scheduled with me. I was suspended for 3 days because I caused such an upset with the covid comment and then returned to work. I figured once I said that I'd get in trouble but then it would blow over, and I was hoping they wouldn't schedule me with her any more, since they had just brought in a guy from another department to what my position was and he was REALLY good and I absolutely loved working with and learning from him. So after my 3 days, I go in for my next scheduled shift and I see I'm working with her again, even though I had sent a hotschedule message asking to be scheduled with the guy. Which my manager said was fine, but I couldn't do anything about the already posted next 2 weeks on the schedule, it just isn't a workplace where they will alter it. So once I see her I decided to whip out all of my work in the first hour, and I DID. I went complete horsepower mode and knocked out my whole shifts of work in the first hour, and went and laid down in the back for a second. I knew I may get in trouble for laying down, but I just wanted it to be over. I was exhausted as I had been up all night because a manipulative family member had an episode for the first time in a long time of not having one, waking me up when I needed to sleep for my shift. So when I knocked out all of my work in that one hour, I gave her NO room to talk to me. She was very obviously upset that I wasn't consulting her every 2 seconds and I didn't want to deal with this- it had me kicking my ass into gear to complete all that work so hard, but I knew this was the last time I could deal with this. I broke. So I decided to kind of ask for trouble a second time, after the whole lying about covid ordeal, and kind of laid down in the back.. somewhat on purpose, and somewhat because I was actually tired, because I knew this may be thr last straw where I get fired, and I just wanted it to all be done and over with, I was so sad, I just didn't want to have to work in such a degrading way like this where I am forever indebted to everyone and I have to prove my worth at 100X speed and be the picture perfect worker there, when I was already doing GOOD at that point. Alas, that was the last straw and it was over. And to be fair, just being a slow learner wasn't my only problem. Okay, I'm just going to be honest now. I learned at a decent pace, but my two ACTUAL biggest mistakes were that 1.) I have chronic pain and didn't disclose when I interviewed that I need to be home at a certain time in the evening (9/930 latest) to take a medication that impairs my driving, else I have trouble walking and it really slows me down. 2.) I projected my OCD onto the company and purposely overlapped the floors, making them think I was just a slow learner 😬😬 I did this with employee bathrooms as well. I also sprayed down spots of the employee bathrooms we weren't expected to spray down and was in fact told at first that we're NOT supposed to clean those parts, which gave me the ick and I would secretly spray those parts because they would be common/basic parts. Come to find out later that new guy said that's actually how we WERE supposed to do it.. anyways, at the end of the day during bathroom duties I wouod already be slowing down due to my pain to begin with since my medication wasn't getting into my body at the appropriate time, and on top of THAT, my slowing down was even worse because I was sneakily cleaning these parts of the bathroom that everyone would scold you for cleaning because it took too much time. So therenow you know the truth, i was contemplating just baring it all, so there it is. How in HEAVENS am I to explain this tomorrow? Since the manager said he would give me a good reference anywhere, should I assume he is also going to do that for me to the same restaurant of another location nearby? I am scared of putting my foot in my mouth, because what if I TL;DR the truth for them or tell them that I was bad, only for the manager to say I was great, and then it looks weird and I don't get hired, or, what if I lie and tell them I was great but the manager tells THIS place the truth, since it is the same chain? Basically what if his offer to give me a good reference only extends to external places unassociated with the company? Since I was rejected IMMEDIATELY after sending the resume into my prior location, I worry that the restaurant may hear the entire lowdown on what's happened. How should I navigate this? Another thing is now that the one car is suspended and one is repoed as of today, my S.O. and I are living with a relative, so that relative has to drive us around, so I'd have to leave around 4:30-5pm until he can get the car back, or until I pay my insurance AND get the okay from the state that I am officially unsuspended, because he needs toe dropped off at work around 6-630, he works graveyard. Basically the relative would have to drop me off to work, come and get me with him when I'm off my shift, and drop him off (I doubt she would let him use the car alone). Unless I'm thinking about this wrong, which I admit, my mind is currently overflooded and overwhelmed with what to do.

TL;DR: My girlfriend sometimes can be insecure and blame me for small things, causing bigger fights. It strains our relationship even though I think both of us are trying our best. Would like advice on how to stop these arguments from happening as often.
Okay, so don't get me wrong. I really really love my girlfriend. We have an amazing relationship and she satisfies me emotionally, physically, sexually, romantically, etc. Basically in every way possible. We've been dating for about ~2 years now and I can say that I'm relatively happy, we moved in a few months ago. Both of us work full-time but we're on slightly different schedules. I'm not looking to break up with her.
I just don't know what to do sometimes when she gets insecure over our relationship about me. I've always been pretty confident and I think that was one of the things that she liked about me when we first got together so I don't know if it's just because I can't understand where she's coming from.
Like there will be instances where I'll go ahead and order food and she'll get sad because I didn't consult her first because she thinks that it means that I don't want her opinion anymore. Or when I text our mutual friends in our grouptext when she's at work and she'll come home in a bad mood because she feels like I was purposefully leaving her out. Sometimes she gives me the silent treatment for a day or two and I have to really pry at her to try to get her to tell me what's wrong.
This was happening even before we moved in together BTW, it didn't get worse or anything but it's definitely more tiring now because I'm exposed to it more I think.
For example our most recent fight was because my mom had asked me to pick something up and I forgot to tell her until the morning of. She was really upset, told me that I wasn't thinking about her and that she was sad that I'd done things without her knowing about it and that she had been left out again. I admitted and said sorry because I did forget to tell her, but also said that I would be back in an hour and it was while she was at work anyway. So she wouldn't be missing out on much.
She gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the day, didn't text me all afternoon and was really quiet during dinner. I comforted her a lot and I offered to pay for a more expensive restaurant or go on extra dates later in the week to make up for it but maybe I did too little because she brought it up again yesterday.
I love her a lot and I've made a lot of compromises to try to make her feel better, like making sure to always check in on her at work, comforting her when she wants to talk, giving her space when she doesn't, etc. Stuff that anyone else would do. Always tell her that I love her and making time for her even if I'm tired from work to make sure that she knows that I really want her in my life.
But I'm at a loss if I can do anything more or if I just need to get used to it. I used to be really bad about telling her plans in advance but I think that I've gotten better at it over time, I consult with her as much as I can and check in way more often with her about what I am doing. I admit that sometimes I can get irritated because I don't see problems where she does but I try my best not to show it, sometimes I am petty too and give her the silent treatment or talk aggressively but I know this is wrong and I'm trying to work on this.
She admits she has been diagnosed with anxiety before too so it's not just me saying things. I think she also used to get therapy but she definitely doesn't anymore. I said a lot of bad things here that make our relationship seem worse than it is but she really is a good girlfriend, just clingy.
Any advice for how to approach this and stop us from fighting as much? Or if anyone else has been in a relationship where one person is more emotionally needy than the other?

Ive been going out with a girl and our dates have been incredible, and she has expressed the same feelings. Today was our 6th date and we made ourselves official on the 29th. And, we have been taking things slow barely passing 1st base ( kissing and stuff we have been doin ). Before our date began I told her we needed to make a pit stop at my moms so I can pick something up it was near the restaurant we were going to, no she did not meet anybody. But immediately after she saw my moms house there was a distant mood change ( its not in the best area ). After that we continued on to our date which I thought was fun, she didnt act strange so I thought. After we got done with everything we came back to my house and thats where I started to notice a difference. And, when I started to try and talk to see if I did something wrong she denied that everything was fine but still I felt that it wasnt and tried to explain why I brought it up in the first place… So I explained that my ex was super manipulative and that im scared to put myself out there ( not the best thing to say I know ). After that we talked it seemed like the preassure was off and we just started cuddling and kissing again. I dropped her off and she still just hasnt even texted me which isnt normal, im scared I messed up or idk if im overreacting I really like this girl and this is the first time I started to date again in awhile. Oh and P.s this girl seems to come from money and is pretty sheltered tbh.

If I make a mistake or get critiqued or micromanaged at all by management, my anxiety ramps up, the self loathing starts and I become more error prone which makes everything much worse. And then I end up looking more stupid every minute.
Like today I came in for my 3rd shift at a Chinese restaurant. Easy stuff.. it’s like food court Chinese type of restaurant. Last week apparently my drawer was off by $15 somehow. I think it was because I was counting money with gloves that were too big for me. They let me know right off the bat and my confidence started sinking. Then if I used the technically wrong box for crab rangoons (it still works, just a larger box or bag than they wanted me to use so they save money), they would point it out. I went to hand someone their grubhub order and forgot the napkins, forks, etc and to tape the receipt on it because I was stressed and was trying to get them out the door.
My manager just watched me use the cash register.. I know how to use a cash register…. felt so stupid. I just wanted to say “I know how to use a freaking register”
I can’t seem to help it. I’m trying my best to play it cool, but if I’m anxious, even a little bit, I become a lot more error prone and it spirals from there. How to deal with this? I am so sensitive to criticism and being watched.

Hello everyone,
Hoping to get advice - Since March, my best friend John and I have been planning a trip to Spain together for this August. We were planning to go to Barcelona, Ibiza and Mallorca. Since we are travelling in the summer, we wanted to book everything early to get the best rates. We agreed to book our flights separately and since I’m the planner of the group, I booked our accommodations with his encouragement and assurance that he would pay me back by June 1st when my credit card is due. For our 2 week trip, he owes me a total of $1800.
At the beginning of last week, I sent him a nice reminder asking if he could transfer the money for accommodations and he responded two days later with a thumbs-up emoji. That same week, he also told me that he only booked the flight to Barcelona and not the other island flights that he told me he booked a month ago. He said he had to clear off money from his credit card before he booked those flights. This made me a bit nervous but I shrugged it off. It’s now after June 1st and I haven’t received any money. I’ve sent him reminders and he makes it seem like he’s gonna pay but the day/night passes and I haven’t received anything.
I told him I really need his portion of the accommodations so that I can use that money for other expenses. Anyway, I don’t feel good about this, especially since it’s so much money. Luckily, we’re early enough that I can cancel our accommodations and re-book on my own. We booked 2 bedroom AIR BNBs and I can easily just get a 1 bedroom. Would I be the asshole for telling him that since I haven’t received his payment by the deadline that I have had to cancel our accommodations as I can’t afford to pay for everything on my own? I am happy to go on a solo trip to Spain if need be. I’m also ok with us not staying together and just meeting up/touring together if it means that he is responsible for paying his own accommodations. I’m trying to be financially responsible and reasonable at the same time but I don’t feel comfortable about him owing me so much money. If money was an issue, I wish he was up front and honest with me before booking but he kept on saying “That’s a great deal - book it right now” and talking about spending all this money on fine dining restaurants. Anyway, I would love to hear your advice redditors. Thank you in advance.

Scenario: Loid Forger, otherwise known as Agent Twilight has signed up for a few unorthodox extra missions- and is using family vacation time as his cover. With his loving pretend wife Yor Forger, and their daughter Anya Forger having her own goals for this vacation, the group set off for a fun summer vacation- with Bond Forger coming along for the ride. Can this family complete their missions without revealing their true natures to each other?
Round One: Stopping in Danville to get some fresh air, Yor and Anya stretch their legs and take Bond for a walk downtown, while Agent Twilight fills in for a legendary agent; Perry the Platypus. Can Agent Twilight neutralize Doctor Doofenshmirtz? He's not allowed access to any lethal gear; and uses Perry's kit for the entire fight. The fight takes place in the center of downtown proper; with Loid using a Bond-Man costume to cover himself. Can he get through Doof's traps, stop Doof, and convince the crowd (and Yor by extension) that this is all one big show?
Round Two: Thankfully- or unthankfully for Loid, Yor's bought everyone tickets to a late night showing of Wrestlemania. As Loid skulks off to begin his own mission- to infiltrate WWE as a new wrestler and knock out the Undertaker to prevent a fixed bet, Mike Tyson in his prime marches into the parking lot and challenges the crowd outside- at which point, Anya nominates her mother. Can Yor beat Mike Tyson in a fair, non-lethal bout and get to her seat on time before Loid gets back from his attempt to subdue the Undertaker backstage?
Round Three: Anya's feeling quite peckish, and begs her parents to take her to a pizza restaurant for lunch. However, upon arriving at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, a vision from Bond shows her that a man in a rabbit costume plans to kill five children; herself included. Can Anya get her parents to stop William Afton's killing spree before it begins without giving herself away? Loid is well aware of the company's general scumminess, and Yor's dotingly watching her now very worried daughter doing her best to conceal herself in the ball pit.

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark, when out of the blue, my wife called me at work. "We're going to Niagara Falls for the weekend. I got us an awesome deal!"
We had both been working at our first "full-fledged" jobs for a year and had reached that moment after graduation when you suddenly realize you can't make that impact on the world your student enthusiasm once promised. At first, I just sighed. It was the dead of January, and I had already expended all my energy on a week of inconsequential stress. I just wanted to collapse on the couch for two days. Sarah felt a similar weary exhaustion. I could tell. Her tone was more hopeful than excited, but she had dreaded the routine we were sinking into and was trying her best to pull us free.
I looked to the ceiling and adjusted my telephone headset. At that time I was working at Stats Canada on the tele-query desk. I took a deep breath and, as convincingly as possible, said, "Sounds good." I don't think she bought it, but we went nonetheless.
This was Niagara Falls before the casinos when there was a very distinct off-season. When we got to the hotel, we were given the details of our "lovers' special". One dinner to be used either Friday or Saturday, two breakfasts, a roll of tokens for the arcade, 10% off some "4D" movie ride experience, and a 2-for-1 coupon to Max Tussaud's. I guessed it was Madame's nephew? We also got a bottle of sparkling wine in our room and chocolate treats on our pillows. I was impressed. It sounded good.
When we got into our room and saw the "bottle" of wine - basically an aeroplane-sized glass and half - and the chocolates - "fun wrapped" Oh Henry's left over from Halloween - we both started to laugh. The tone for two wonderful days had been set. We decided to cash in on our dinner coupon right away.
The restaurant off the lobby had hopes of being better. There were huge panoramic windows that promised a view of the gorge. Unfortunately, they had some winter moisture problems that day, and it felt like we were defrosting amid the dripping streaks and foggy patches. The decor was your standard booths and tables though the "romantic" lighting was unique. Dollar store battery-powered tea lights were lodged inside thick tumbler glasses and shed a muted pleasantness in a "what a great idea for a craft" sort of way. I had a feeling they were created by our waitress since she was the one who always seemed to be fussing with them. Only one other couple was in the dining room, so she attended to us immediately.
"Can I get you something to start?"
"Sure." "Thank you, that would be nice." We both responded simultaneously.
"And what would the lady like this evening?"
Sarah smiled at the flattery. "I think I'll have a glass of white wine." She glanced over at me to see my reaction. This was a subtle cue of the mood to follow. Diet Coke was usually the beverage of choice. She didn't normally drink alcohol. One glass numbed her nose and made her giggle far too easily. When she did drink, however, it meant she was comfortable with my company and open to anything to follow. I raised my eyebrows in a debonair way.
"And for the gentleman?"
"Do you have Foster's on tap?"
"Yes we do."
"I'll have a pint please."
Sarah smiled at the happy memories I invoked. At university, Foster's was my signature beer. It was at a time when Crocodile Dundee was a known name, and Australia was inexplicably cool. 15 cent buffalo wings and a pitcher of Foster's was the Tuesday night special at the London Arms pub. There the Classics Club would meet and, as a group, circle the wagons and drink ourselves into extroverts.
As soon as the waitress left, Sarah smiled at me. She reached out and held my hand across the table. With my gaze on hers, she slipped her foot from her shoe and slowly began sliding it up my pant leg.
"I got a pedicure this morning." She announced seductively.
I nodded and pretended I didn't notice her invitation. "What colour?" I asked.
"I'm not telling." She teased. "You'll just have to find out later." Her devious little smile was gorgeous.
"Mmmm. I can't wait."
When the waitress returned with our drinks, we immediately retreated to our personal spaces as if we had been discovered by the chaperone. Sarah opened the menu and began to salivate at the variety.
"Can we add an appetizer to the package dinner?" Her question seemed innocent enough.
"You're on the package?" Our friendly waitress disappeared, and we were no longer a lady or a gentleman. She ripped the menu out of Sarah's hand and took mine before I had even opened it. She then scurried to her podium and brought back a tattered, grease-stained, photocopied page that we had to share. We both burst out laughing.
The waitress was flustered that we were not as bothered as she was. "The drinks are NOT included!"
"What choices do we have?" I asked, expecting the usual chicken or fish. I had been on many packages before with my parents.
"Coffee or tea." The waitress snapped.
Sarah and I looked at each other in amused disbelief.
"I'll have coffee please." I didn't even flinch at the ridiculously limited package. I was eager to get my order in early.
"And I'll have the tea!" Sarah followed my lead. "Can I have some milk with that?"
"Yes." The waitress snarled.
"Fantastic!" I enthused.
"Yes, great! I'm glad we got the package, Honey." Sarah joked.
The waitress stormed off and returned sometime later with our lettuce-only salads drowned in Kraft's Italian dressing and our chewy chicken dinners, which she had thoughtfully allowed to cool. She tossed the plates on the table and left us to peacefully devour our deal. We didn't see her again until we requested the bill. For some reason, we found it amusing to leave a generous tip, which of course, defeated the purpose of the package, but we didn't care. It was fun.
The rest of the holiday was marred with similar off-season products and services. The wax museum was only half open, so we couldn't see the pop stars of the seventies. I didn't think it was a problem, but Sarah pouted playfully. She really wanted to see young Bowie. Meanwhile, the arcade was particularly stingy about spitting out coupons. So much so that Mike, the scraggly-haired repair guy, ended up escorting us from game to game and repairing the devices on demand. In no time, he was acting like an old drinking buddy. He joked and laughed, then, out of the blue, revealed that working at the Niagara Falls Fun Centre wasn't his career choice, that his dream was to be part of a travelling carnival. He desperately wanted to see more of the world, he explained and socialize with a greater variety of "wildlife." Mike winked at Sarah to punctuate his meaning, then began advising her on which games to play.
Sarah was partial to Skee ball and clearly had career potential in the sport, but Mike quickly pointed out that the token-to-coupon payout was not the best. In a furtive whisper, he revealed that The Storm Stopper was your best bet, provided the arcade had left it on its original factory settings. He assured us the ones here were "cool." The game had lights that ran around the outside in opposite directions and you had to hit the button at just the right spot to win. It looked impossible, but Mike was right; if you calculated tokens in versus coupons won, it was the best deal. It only took a little practice to win a minor jackpot every 5 or 6 times.
We would cheer each win as if Toronto had won the Stanley Cup. I would give a quick fist pump and a full lung "Yes!" while Sarah would jump up and down screaming, "WhoooHooo!" Of course, in the end, when we cashed in, "Mike's secret" only bumped us up from a key-chain flashlight to a "deluxe" nail beauty set. Mind you, it did come complete with clippers, scissors, a file AND a cuticle scraper. Not only that, it was all neatly packaged in a paisley-patterned pink and green plastic vinyl case. Mike was so pleased to give us our prize and to be honest, we were thrilled to win it if only to see his broad chicletted smile. It was more of a trophy than a grooming set.
That night, I made reservations for us at a fancy Chinese food restaurant - the Bamboo Garden. When we arrived, we had half-expected renovations of some sort. Instead, the place was immaculate. Gentle pools teeming with goldfish highlighted the epic black and red Ming dynasty decor. Real candles flickered on crisp white tablecloths. Again, the restaurant was virtually ours. The reservations on my part were entirely unnecessary. In fact, as soon as we entered, they knew us by name and guided us directly to our table. A live lounge piano caressed the air, its notes danced vaguely around familiar harmonies until finally, as if prompted by our presence, a song emerged immediately accompanied by the velvet voice of oriental karaoke. It was our song remastered

I (46M) have 2 sons (13M + 10M) with my wife (46F). Some key information: We currently live in Mexico, my wife and I were born in the United States, and are ethnically European (mostly Nordics on my side, English on my wife’s), my wife and I moved to Mexico shortly after college for work related reasons. Both our our sons: Marson, 13 and Steve, 10 were born in Mexico and got citizenship upon birth. We left Mexico when Marson was 7 and Steve was 4.
Due to a number of things, including work, we moved back earlier this year and expect to stay here until both boys finish high school.
Marson and Steve have had very different reactions to coming back to Mexico. Marson is a very laid back boy, chill, and didn’t mind us moving, in fact he loves Mexico and he seems to thrive here more than he did back in the US, though he was still pretty successful academically and socially there as well. Marson also loves watching Mexican League baseball, and soccefootball (he plays both baseball and soccer), this has led to it being really easy for Marson to make friends here. Both Marson and Steve are fluent in Spanish. Marson will also often FaceTime his friends from the States.
Steve has always done well academically, but struggled with friends, mainly because his friend groups always had drama and infighting going on. Steve is also much more nerdy and less extroverted. Steve has never had the best behavior, but it’s worsened since coming to Mexico again. Steve and Marson have been arguing a lot lately with Steve almost always being the instigator, we are currently looking for a therapist for Steve.
A few days ago, I got a call from Steve’s school. Steve was in trouble for bullying an Indigenous boy, he made various jokes towards him that were bigoted and cruel. The school said they didn’t know anyone else involved and he was the only one making jokes.
Later that night, my wife and I were talking to Steve about what had happened, he acknowledged what he had done, but as usual, didn’t really show any remorse.
My wife and I were talking about punishments and said that he was grounded for a month and took away his devices. I ended up asking my sisters for advice because my wife and I have been feeling defeated over Steve’s behavior, that’s when my sisters told me that I was overreacting and that I shouldn’t be so harsh on Steve as he’s adjusting to a new situation and we will only make him resentful. AITA?