Panama city beach boat rides

I (20m) am conflicted on deciding between my relationship with my girlfriend (19f) of 2 years, and going away to college where I want to.
Some important background:
I currently live in a pretty big city with my girlfriend, where she goes to university. Both our families all live in this city. She has been going to university for 2 years and lives on campus the first semester before we moved in together.
I moved out of my parent’s home at 18 because my stepfather is abusive. I have worked full time+ and paid to live on my own since then. I have split rent with my girlfriend since we moved in together, and I finally started college classes. All my adult life I have felt a sense of responsibility to protecting my mom and brothers, and have always been stressed by feeling responsible for them.
I am about to graduate with my associates degree and will be deciding where to transfer to school. I want to transfer to a beach school and live near the only healthy family I have. This however is hours away from where my gf goes to school and we refuse to do long distance.
I love my girlfriend dearly and she is my best friend. I have struggled some with attraction to her and various things, but now that I have been vocal everything has been good. She is the perfect girlfriend and I don’t deserve her. She is so gentle and I don’t want to ever hurt her. I do love her very much. But I don’t know if I want to sacrifice things I want to do in life such as go away to school and travel abroad and I feel like I have to have a more linear plan staying with her.
I don’t want to leave her and hurt her or never find someone as kind as her again, but I don’t want to live with regret of not exploring the world and getting out of this bubble I’ve grown up in.
What should I do?
Thank you for any advice. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for.

Same thing happened with Uber Rides as when I started Uber Eats and DoorDash. The first week I make a ton with lots of orders. Then after that it slows way way down.
Last Friday I got tons of rides and made a lot. Today I got three earlier in the day (two from the same person since I was waiting for another trip near where I dropped him off for like half an hour). I started up again at 9pm until 11. And didn't get a single trip. On a Friday night in a big city. I did get a couple good paying Uber Eats orders though.
I'm currently renting a car to do rides, and for the first week it was worth it, I made more even after the rental price. This week, I'll probably make less than my pre-rides average. So probably not going to rent anymore or do rides until I buy a car.

I’m a 23 years old male in western North Carolina near Charlotte.
I first started working as a volunteer at a Fire Department. Worked as a barista at SB for a few months then I went part time at a city Fire Department. All the part time work dried up and I joined the Army as an infantryman. Served a little of 2 years in the Army and came back home where I was employed full-time at a different city Fire Department for a year and a half. Realized I wasn’t really happy there and decided to go into law enforcement(I know, of all the things THAT was my solution). Well I’ve been doing this for around 6 months now and I think I had the realization today that public safety just may not be for me.
All I have ever done is prepared for a career in public safety.
I have no education outside of a high school diploma and public safety certifications. I am married to the most supportive wife and I have a mortgage to make each month along with all the other glorious bills.
I really don’t know what to do to be able to find a new career. The stress load of Law Enforcement has pushed me past my breaking point and frankly I can’t stand to work another moment but I have no choice. I look on indeed but there is nothing that I can go to and make the money I’m making now with no education. I make around 45,000 a year and I’m still riding the line most months.
Any advice for me to find a new career this late in the game?
I’m just looking for 8-5 M-F, around the same salary, and benefits would be nice. I would also appreciate not having to worry as much about being able to make it home to me wife at the end of a work day.
Thank you for reading, I appreciate it.

Yesterday I was found guilty for my traffic tickets of ”tint being too dark” and my license plate light not working. The citations were $20 each.
I posted bail like within a week of receiving the citations, I agreed to go to trial not for me to get back my $40 but because the unfairness of the tickets (should have been warning) and the lack of evidence. AGAIN THIS IS NOT TO TRY TO GET MY $40 BACK.
Late one night, as I was driving, a police car began following me. After a few minutes, they pulled me over because my license plate light wasn't working. It was my first time being stopped, and I'm only 23 years old. The officer also mentioned that my car's tint was too dark, but when I asked him to measure it, he refused and relied solely on his subjective judgment. I found this to be unfair. The officer requested my driver's license and proof of insurance. Unfortunately, I didn't have them with me, but I did have my out-of-state ID. Surprisingly, the officer accepted it and said he would check if I had a valid driver's license. Upon his return to my car, he asked my passenger for their ID. My passenger, rightfully so, declined to provide it. The officer left and returned with another officer, who also asked my passenger for identification. Once again, my passenger refused, and the officer mentioned the need to identify them for our safety and to ensure they had no outstanding warrants. It was an uncomfortable situation. Ultimately, the officer gave up and returned to his car. He came back with three tickets: one for the license plate light, one for the tint being too dark (despite no concrete evidence), and one for not having proof of insurance (which was quickly dismissed). He then insisted we call someone for a ride since we couldn't drive away without insurance. It felt as though they were doing their best to make things difficult for us. During the court proceedings for the tint violation, I found myself as the sole defendant. To my surprise, the prosecutor approached me and expressed their opposition. Being unfamiliar with the legal process, I felt nervous. The officer took the stand and shared his experience working for the city. When asked if he could determine tint darkness by sight alone, he confidently affirmed his ability. He then recounted his version of the traffic stop. When it was my turn to testify, I explained that this was my first time being stopped and emphasized my clean driving record. I mentioned how I had requested the officer to measure the tint, but he declined, relying solely on his subjective judgment. I argued that given the circumstances, the violations should have warranted warnings rather than citations. Although I briefly mentioned a possible connection to my passenger's refusal to show ID, the judge indicated that it was not relevant. Surprisingly, the judge advised me to consider the tickets as warnings due to their $20 value. This made me question why fairness and justice were not the primary considerations. In the end, I was found guilty of the tint violation, despite the lack of objective evidence. This outcome left me contemplating how the cost of a citation seemed to outweigh the principles of fairness and justice.
I have come up with a script i would try to follow during my appeal, i need it reviewed by legal peeps, idk.:
I stand before you today to appeal the decision rendered in my case regarding the tint ticket citation. I firmly believe that errors were made during the proceedings, and I am here to assert my rights and fight for justice. When I mentioned that this ticket should have been treated as a warning, the judge stated that I should consider them as warnings since the citations were only $20. I want to emphasize the importance of the principles at stake. It is not merely about a $20 fine; it is about the fundamental principles of justice and fairness that should guide this court's decision. I firmly believe that the significance of a case should not be measured solely by its monetary value. Each case, regardless of the amount involved, deserves a fair and impartial consideration based on the principles of justice and the rule of law. Such statement compels me to wonder how many others may have been deemed "guilty" based on the financial value of their tickets rather than the merits of their cases. The comment made by the judge regarding the triviality of the amount in question gives rise to concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the proceedings. The issuing authority relied solely on subjective observations and the officer's claimed expertise gained from years of experience. However, experience alone does not grant someone the ability to accurately measure tint darkness with their naked eye. The human eye is not a calibrated instrument, and its assessments are inherently subjective and prone to error. I would like to emphasize that I am not present here to provide proof regarding the compliance of my tint with legal limits. The responsibility of establishing the validity of the citation lies with the issuing authority. Neither the officer's visual assessment nor the video proof can substitute for concrete evidence. Without the availability of objective measurement tools like tint meters, the claims made remain unsubstantiated and lacking in credibility.
I implore this honorable court to consider the principles of justice and fairness. Should a citation be upheld based on mere speculation and subjective judgment? Should we accept the notion that years of experience magically grant someone the ability to measure tint darkness accurately? Today, I stand not just for myself but for everyone who values due process and believes in the importance of evidence and objectivity.

Hello all, I’m trying to get some tips/ advice for a trip I’ll be taking soon. So the idea is to be in Thailand for a month+, for how much all inclusives cost for a week I thought I’d rather go to Thailand for longer since I don’t care for drinking much. I want to be able to do different things but don’t know if that would require travelling to different cities within the country (and how that would work). Ideally, I can book one place for a month and then move around from there. What I’d enjoy the most is being able to wander to local markets and try foods, train Muay Thai occasionally, maybe take a cooking class or two, be on the beach, beautiful temples and natural wonders, maybe be on a boat all day and see the jungle. Is there any one place to stay that would make all these things accessible? I’d love to see elephants too. Any advice would be great, thanks for reading all that… 😋

[←Chapter 63] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 65→]
In a rare moment, Sorore was actually having a nice dream, a normal one, one could even say. She was back home, in that moderately seized house in Erratz, laying on her mother’s lap. She could even hear the gentle sound that the needle made as it went in and out of the cloth. It was peaceful, pleasant, surrounded by familiar sound and smells, though her sight was blurry and confused.
It was not to last, as the sound of rushing water overtook all else, until she was forced awake by its unrelenting pace. When she sat up, rubbing her eyes in the broad bed, she released that it wasn’t the sound of water, nor was it relegated to her dreams. There was a commotion outside people talking in hushed but harsh tones.
Neither Lillian, nor Aya were within the room, and she wondered if they were having an argument. That wouldn’t be good - she’d watched them have the spat earlier, and that dispute didn’t need much worsening. Sorore crept to the door to the outer hallway - she loved how they slid to create whole new rooms. It was something she’d have to think about more she decided as she pulled it open and realised several things at once.
One, there were a whole lot of armoured figures in the hallway, at least four, maybe half a dozen. Two, the balcony door was open, and Lillian was currently arguing with one of them, Aya standing by looking like a mining explosive had gone off right next to her. Three, her brother and Niche had just emerged out of the room beside, and Niche was about to draw his sword at the sudden intrusion.
For a moment, she panicked, her mind going completely blank. Her mind raced with visions of bloody aftermath, and a chase through the city, back to the dinner she’d had with all those nice people.
“Oh, hello!” she blurted, drawing the surprised stares of several of the men, “who might you be?”
There was an instant of shocked silence between all parties.
“Nobody do anything!” called the man who was out on the porch, “We are representatives of the sand-shell legion, on behalf of the matriarch of the Eisen. We have come to retrieve her granddaughter.”
Niche lowered his hand from his sword belt, but Sorore could tell that he was ready to fight on a moment’s provocation. She also noticed that Kieren, in the same gown she’d worn to the square was standing in the stairwell. The woman looked so nervous Sorore thought she might fall over and down the stairs.
“Let’s move to a less cramped area,” said the captain, in a tone that brook no argument.
Eventually, it was sussed out, though not without considerable resistance on part of the paladins, that they were to meet in the great hall. As they sat, they were brought simple drinks of milk and honey, flavoured with something else that Sorore could not quite place. The two paladins looked like pacing cats, constrained on their chairs, arms crossed and eyes hard.
“Under no circumstances can we give one of ours into you custody,” said Lillian, locked in a match with the captain.
“Within the city, you are under the authority of the guard, no matter who you are. If the matriach has sent for this girl, then we have our orders.”
“As do we, captain,” said Niche, “to protect and guide each of these young women and… man, unto the holy lands of Angorrah.”
One of the guards flanking the captain whispered something in his ear.
“She’s not going to like it,” the captain said, then heard something else.
“Very well. Bloodshed before the Festival would be unwise. We have enough of that already. Right then, one of you paladins, assuming you are who you say you are, shall come with us and the lady to be received by the Eisen. I cannot say it’s likely you will have a happy reception. They will expect you to come unarmed.”
The paladins were bristling at the implied threat, and several hands were already dangerously close to their sword belts. Sorore gripped the mug that she was being offered, before Aya sat up and proclaimed to the group.
“Leave two of your men with us, then,” she said.
The captain’s eyes furrowed.
“I don’t wish to second guess you, my lady,” he said, “but why would I do that?”
“Trust,” Aya said, with a side long look at Lillian, “simple. If you leave your men with us, you can’t simply waltz off with me and my friend. Plus, it gives us men who know, and can quickly get around the city, so they can find you whenever they need to.”
The captain considered, and nodded.
“Very well my lady. Two men will be left for the disposal of your party members. But you shall have to come with us, immediately.”
“Me as well,” said Lillian.
“As you wish,” he said, “but you must disarm yourself. That is non-negotiable.”
Lillian was fuming, but unbuckled her belt and handed her armaments to Niche. The legionaries surrounded them, and departed with them out the front of the pyramid. They were left in front of the roaring fire, Kieren sitting beside them holding a considerably more full glass of the amber coloured alcohol.
“You said that this-” Niche began, his face reddened, “you sold us out!”
“Sold you out?” said Kieren incuriously as she swirled the glass around, “sold you out?”
The woman slammed down the glass on one of the nearby table, somehow not breaking it in the process.
“Maybe, you should of told us that you had the granddaughter of Aystara godsdamned Eisen in your retinue? No, forgot that little detail?”
“Okay, can we get this over with?” said Frare, picking at his nails.
“What?” said both the paladin and the trader, staring at the temerity of the youth.
“Blah, blah, we’ve all kept things from eachother,” he said, “so let’s all move on. Who is this ‘Aystara’? Why is she important?”
While Niche gaped at the casual ease from which Frare dismissed the turbulence, the trader seemed to settle.
“Only one of the two most powerful people in the city, young man,” she said, downing a shot from the glass, “between her and Edmund Poutash, it’d be easier to list what they don’t own. The docks, the schools, the farms… if you want an import or export licence? You go through her. You want to own a ship bigger than a rinky-dink fishing boat? You go through her or Potash.”
She finished the glass, and reached for the decanter, and stopped herself.
“And you waltz into the city, and conveniently forget to mention that you have her granddaughter, who hasn’t been in the city ever, if I remember correctly. To say she’d be furious that you didn’t bring the young lady before her immediately would be an understatement. And worse, you dragged us into it.”
“She must be awfully mean - you had nothing to do with us. You just hosted it.”
The woman blinked at the boldfaced remark, and Sorore delivered a good kick to his shins to drive the point home.
“No, no,” she ultimately said, “no I don’t think she’ll do anything to our family, if she believes us. She’s not unreasonable. At least, so I’ve heard. I’ve only met her once, and that was for a brief time. As for what she’ll do to you...”
She gave a pointed look at Niche.
“You tried to hid her granddaughter from her, maybe unintentionally, maybe not. If I were a betting woman, which I’m not, I would say that means trouble. If you want my advice-”
“I don’t,” said Niche, crinkling his noise.
“Don’t be stupid,” said Frare, before he howled at another kick.
Sorore’s face was burning with indignation and embarrassment. This was all too much.
“If you want my advice,” Kieren pressed on, “you’d go find and talk to your commander immediately. I could fetch for him if you wish - I know where Amicio’s home is.”
Niche, through narrowed eyes and clenched teeth, acquiesced.
“Good, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some letters to send,” she said, “of course, though this has earned you no small amount of displeasure from certain peoples, we’ve been instructed to provide you with house and board for as long as it takes to sort this out. You are still welcome guests and you will be treated as such.”
The tepid truce struck, the children were sent back up to their rooms. Sorore tried to sleep, and managed no more than half an hour before she was woken by her brother.
“The commander’s here,” he said, “he wants to talk to us.”
The commander, looking very tired, but light of step than Sorore had ever seen him, waited by the fire. He was talking with Kieren and the two remaining legionarries in the fast-paced trading tongue of the city, but stopped when he saw the girl come downstairs.
“My lady,” he said, “it seems there’s been a huge misunderstanding.”
She realized that it was his manner of dress which was throwing her off. Instead of his usual worn and thoroughly practical travelling clothes, he wore the long flowing silks of orange and cream. It suited him, matching his calm personality.
“What misunderstanding?” she said.
“Well, we had no idea that our own Aya was the granddaughter of Aystara Eisen herself. I was surprised as anyone. Of course, I knew she was an Eisen, from her mother.”
He looked at Kieren, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.
“But I never imagined that she was a direct descendent of the main house. I thought she was part of the branch, not necessary to cause any fuss, especially during the preparation of the festival. Ah!”
He slapped his head to indicate his shock at the realisation.
“What a terrible mistake I’ve made,” he said, patting the woman’s arm, “this is all on my horrendous lack of judgement. Here’s what’s going to happen, one of these gentlemen and trader Amicio will be vouching for me at the gate. I’m going to the Eisen estate and having a friendly chat with the matriarch, to clear up this misunderstanding.”
Sorore felt at last some suggestion that someone around the city knew what was happening and what they were going to do.
“Here’s what I need you and your brother to do,” Naia said, “I want you to wait and enjoy the hospitality of the madame of the house.”
The term seemed to flatter Kieren, who flushed at the complement. Or that might’ve been the drink, Sorore wasn’t entirely sure.
“Niche, you take care of them. I expect that I might be at the estate for the rest of the night, and possibly onto next afternoon. Things are always so chaotic around the Festival. There’s no reason for you not to attend the festival opening tomorrow, if you can.”
“You want us to attend a festival?” said Niche in disbelief, “right now?”
“Well, not right now, it hasn’t started yet,” said the commander, “but, if Kieren would graciouslly agree to take you as guest of honour, you’d have excellent seats. If that’s not too much to ask, especially after our little debacle.”
Kieren nodded, and affirmed that she wouldn’t mind at all, if the matter was going to be soon cleared up. Sorore was now certain that it wasn’t just alcohol.
“Great. You’re all taken care of, now I’d better explain myself. If you wouldn’t mind,” he said, pointing to the quarter full glass, which Kieren handed to him. The commander downed it all in one, rolled his shoulders, and smiled.
“Don’t worry. It’ll all work out in the end,” he said, “in fact, I would say to enjoy yourselves, as much as you can. And best go back to bed, unless you want to be sleeping during the festival, which, I assure you from experience, you do not.”
Before they could say anything, the commander had swept by them, vanishing out of the front of the pyramid.
“You should heed him,” said Kieren, picking up the decanter and the glass and moving towards the kitchens, “if you’re stuck here for the time being, you might as well enjoy it And that starts with getting good sleep.”
“Last time you said that, we woke up to armed guards,” Niche said flatly.
“Well, I assure you, I’m not boring enough to do that a second time. It would be assassin’s from across the streets, who approach over the rooftops.”
“Do they actually exist?” asked Frare, suddenly excited.
“Oh, I’m sure,” said Kieren as she stowed away her drinking equipment, “but not tonight. Go get some sleep sir paladin, and you two young ones as well. You’ll need it.”
Sorore was cajoled up the steps, Frare coming up after her. Niche seemed placated enough for the time being, though he was clearly unhappy with the outcome. The pleasant dreams neglected to revisit for a second time, but at least the sleep was uninterrupted. When Soroe next awoke, it was a young handmadein, pulling open the screen doors.
“Good morning, my lady,” she said, “how did you sleep?”
“I- well enough, I suppose,” she said, stretching and yawning, before quickly covering her mouth.
The maid had the presence of mind not to notice as she revealed the bright sunlight streaming through the open balcony.
“It must almost be midday!” Sorore exclaimed, leaping out of the bed as she tried to straighten herself.
The maid chuckled as she finished opening up the room.
“Not to fear, my lady,” she said, “it’s customary to sleep into the early afternoon. The Festival does not start until just before sunset, afterall. In fact, you might be earlier than many of the household.”
“Oh,” Soroe said, feeling rather foolish, “Um. Well, I guess I’ll get dressed.”
“Of course. I’ve left out some clothes for you. Madame Kieren suggested that you try clothes from our city. I hope you’ll love them. Do you bathe?”
Sorore wrinkled her nose at the prospect. What kind of question was that?
“Of course I do,” she said.
“Well, there’s a place to bath at the bottom of the pyramid. If you wish to bath alone, you should go now - I’ll bring you clothes for you to change at the waterfront.”
“You bathe together here?” Sorore said
“In the mornings and evenings,” she said, “we do not bring water up into the house if we cannot avoid it. To the stone goes the sea, and to the home goes the sky.”
She looked around, then leaned in with a smile.
“Also, water is very troublesome to carry up all those flights.”
“So just come down to the waterfront?” she said, gathering up what spare things she needed.
“Just follow me, my lady,” said the handmaiden, picking up a pile of clothes and leading her down the stairs.
They emerged onto an inset pool carved into the pyramid interior. A smooth stone deck, with benches and chairs and stacks of towels, as well as several large paper screens, presumably for changing. Sorore was glad to see they were alone, at least for the time being.
At the handmaid, Kiroe’s, direction, she stripped down naked and plunged into the pool. The water was a perfect temperature - cold enough to dispel the last of the grogginess, warm enough to be pleasant to float in. She swam around for a bit, constrained by the relatively small volume, while Kiroe prepared her outfit on the deck.
“Do you mind if I join you?” came a voice from the other end.
Kieren slipped out of a thin morning dress and stepped into the water. Sorore swam over and came to stand beside her.
“Is there any news? About Aya and the commander?” she said, a little too quickly.
Kieren, who’d been sinking into the water with a sigh of contentment, opened one eye.
“Straight to business? Perhaps you are better suited to the city than I thought.”
Sorore tried to smile, but her concern was betrayed, judging by the woman’s softening of expression.
“My knowledge is limited. My uncle is serving as our representative for now. Sounds like your commander was at least allowed to make his case to the Eisen. He made note of one other companion of yours.”
“Oh? Who?” she said, pushing out into the pool, feeling the water surge over her shoulders.
“A man in black clothes,” she said, “who hides his face behind a mask. He was there for the meeting.”
“The mage?” said Sorore, before considering that she maybe shouldn’t have mentioned it.
“A mage?” said Kieren, before submerging herself in the water.
She tossed her hair back as she came back up, spraying water in a neat arc.
“Well, that explains his odd demeanour,” she said, “now, regrettably, that’s all the time I have today for bathing. I will see you at the festival.”
“Hello cousin! May I join- oh,” came a voice from the steps leading out.
It was Ivers, dressed in nothing but a loose robe, which was already half-way off his body, sculpted with muscle from hauling rope and tackle. Sorore stifled a gasp and turned away, trying not to redden.
“I can come back later,” he offered.
“Do you mind?” Kieren said to Sorore, “if you do, it’d be best to finish soon and let others bathe.”
“No, no,” she said, waving her host away.
Kiero had warned her, after all. It would be best to become accustomed to the strange ways of this beautiful city. Besides, it’s not like she hadn’t bathed before in the company of men her age back home. She cursed herself for being so self-conscious, and forced herself to turn around.
“Are you sure? I can leave if you want, it’s not-” Ivers began.
“No, it’s fine. It’s fine,” Sorore said, smiling at him, “it’d be good to have companionship.”
“Well, then, Ivers, I trust you’ll behave yourself,” said Kieren rising from the water.
“Of course, cousin,” Ivers said, casting his eyes to the floor.
Sorore tried not to take a wicked pleasure at the blush that crept across his dark complexion.
“Oh, one more thing,” whispered her host, bending over to the girl, “it’s considered polite to not look when they’re outside the water.”
Kieren laughed at Sorore’s own furious blush as she made for one of the poolside changing screens.
[←Chapter 63] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 65→]

My roommate is black and recently moved here and is pretty bummed having trouble making friends, and feels isolated / uncomfortable as a black person in a city with very few black people. So I thought id check here and see if anyone else is in a similar boat and would like to reach out. Thanks. Oh and she's a bit older, in her 50s

Hi there (23 M),
I have never been great at making friends. In elementary school, I was a loner, and I found out that both of my friend groups were in high school and middle school were pretending to like me, either because they felt bad or just wanted to laugh at me behind my back. Bad experiences with fake friends have turned me into a pretty introverted, distant, and somewhat sarcastic person. I had severe depression due to my lack of friends for a while, but it subsided after I went to college. I am in the middle of receiving diagnoses and treatments for potential behavioral disorders that make it difficult for me to socialize.
I love college. I love learning about new subjects and challenging myself to do well in classes. One of my personal favorite things to do is answer and ask questions. This has put me as one of the top students in my department, but I think I definitely have a reputation for being a "nerd", "know-it-all" and "teacher's pet". It really never bothered me because I actually made some friends with the professors of the department themselves. I loved talking to them about the latest news in our field, hanging out after class, getting something to eat, reviewing papers with them, etc. I have done lab work for a significant number of the professors in my department and can confidently put 90% of them as references on my resume. I just wanted to give a little bit of context by saying that I have no friends that are anywhere close to my age.
Anyway, coming up on a year now, one of my professors introduced me to a student from another branch who was transferring over (28). We went to a summer conference together, and we hit it off well. We made jokes, talked about our futures, the usual stuff; she even rested her head on my shoulder during the bus ride home, which was one of the happiest moments of my life (sad I know) I asked for her contact information as soon as we returned, and I was ecstatic that I had finally made a fellow student friend. She's five years older, but we both started college later than most freshman. I was so excited that I may have come on a little strong. She hadn't fully transferred over yet, so we mostly talked online. We would talk for hours over text. I would constantly invite her to go hiking, get food, etc. But she would always have an excuse or promise to hang out when she fully transferred. She transferred over, and I would still try to meet up with her again. Our class schedules never lined up, and she would immediately return to her semi-distant city after her classes were finished. Our conversations became less frequent. It took days, or even weeks sometimes, for a response.
Fast forward to now, and I have attempted to hang out with her in various ways through the summer. I always offer to pick her up, as she doesn't have a car herself. Each time there is a new construction program near her house or some other kinda thing, It wouldn't matter to me, but I feel like if she wanted to hang out, she would ask me when I am available, not just decline when I ask with some non-descript excuse. She still responds to messages, but it takes way longer.,
This leaves me thinking of two possibilities.

• -She actually still views me as a friend; there's just been a year's worth of extremely unlucky coincidences that prevent her from ever hanging out. or
• She doesn't view me as a friend and is just trying to let me down by responding less and making excuses.

I just want to know what I should do. I know I am being way too clingy rn. That's why I honestly want to know if I am bothering her and should leave her alone. I have no better ideas other than to directly ask her, "Do you view me as a friend?" But that already sounds super cringe-worthy in my head. I just hate uncertainty. I would be a little sad if she said no, but I think I still have enough support from my professors to keep my going. Keep in mind that I don't want to make things too awkward because I might see her more often in the campus this semester. .

Hey there,
I am currently at a point in my life where I'm considering a move to a new city within a drivable distance of a medium to large-sized city. I've been living in the consulting world for the past 10+ years which has taken me from the mid-west to Virginia, and now up in the North East. I could write a book about how sick and tired I am of everything that is the NE and I'm sick and I'm also sick and tired of throwing money away at expensive rent.
I'd love to live near the Triangle but due to the boom and high prices, it doesn't seem possible. This has led me to consider alternatives such as Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Greenville. Of those options which do you think has the brighter future and why? Also, which has a better downtown area w/ good food/festivals/etc.
BTW in case it matters I'm not coming down there to change anything or tell anyone "you gotta do things this way like they do in the North" I'm coming down to hopefully plant roots, eat well, and live well and maybe see the beach and mountains on long weekend trips.

First of all, I must clarify, I'm Mexican, second, I'm not familiar with the English-speaking community, so I'm sorry if you think the post doesn't go here, but I don't know many places where I can ask, and finally, use google translate XD , thanks for your understanding. Ready, start, in my city the transportation system and traffic are just as horrible.
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To say that I preferred to take a truck that left me 4 kilometers away than continue waiting for one that probably would never arrive, and that is saying a lot because I had already been waiting for almost 2 hours.
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So I've decided to return my bike, either electric or with a gasoline engine, what happens is that I still haven't decided which one, I don't know which will be better, but I say, in my opinion, the automatic bike may be fine because I could get to many places faster without spending hours waiting for buses that never arrive, and I could still ride the bike paths. I don't know about your countries, but as far as I know in Mexico, it doesn't matter.
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Obviously I wouldn't get very far since the city is very big, but with an automatic bike I can go back and forth quickly. In my city there are a couple of very steep slopes, but in general everything is very flat where I can go without problems, lately I see a lot of skateboards and electric scooters.
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What do you think is better?

So I’ve had flirtyish interactions with this man for about a year. Sometimes we’re in close enough proximity to have these interactions. Let’s say 2 or 3 times a month. Usually not longer than a minute or maybe two. We both live in a very rural small town where everyone knows everyone. I come from a city where you’re free to just be and being friendly isn’t considered flirting. Anyway, I will admit an attraction to this man so my friendliness is a bit more genuine towards him. But I never thought he’d be as direct as asking me to go out with him on his boat. Now, when this all went down I still thought this was innocent. I said something about my kids would love that. But he got this look on his face like ummm that’s not what I meant. But he restated before he left that we should do it. I said yeah because I was still in friendly customer mode… now I have no plans on going through with it if it’s just us because I’m a Dolly not a Jolene. Should I just forget about the suggestion? I was thinking of asking who would all be there if he brings it up again..

I keep getting rides for $3 that will take like 15 to do or or like $6 for 25 min.
I feel so unsafe when I have to lean forward to deny the trip as I’m driving around this chaotic city.
How do you keep the mental energy to keep going forward even though you know you’re getting efffed by Uber? Doing this has actually brought me to paycheck to paycheck living as I have so many car maintenance bills that add up over time. This is so unsustainable and I feel very insulted that Uber gets away with this.

I(23) just graduated from college with a BS in Mechanical engineering. Around sophomore year of college I started thinking about how can I be different and more importantly “more than” satisfied. I am afraid that mechanical engineering is not going to allow me to fulfill my dream of have a boat or beach house someday, WHICH IS OK, but I want to strive for that(who wouldn’t). Besides that, after graduation it’s starting to get to me about the financial journey that I will undergo as I go off independently in life. I know I am young but questions such as “How will I ever afford to buy a car, house, vacation” have been buzzing in my head! Im sure a lot of people feel this way but I guess everything works out in the end. I start my post grad job for two years in about a month making a decent salary but I am afraid I’ll never make it far if my income does not increase. As mentioned prior, I really want to be different and unique. Inventing has always been a passion of mine and I am extremely creative in that area. I’ve kept a list of inventions that I have come up with all throughout college hoping I can bring them life to them one day. Licensing was something that I have always found cool in that you can “sell an idea” but patenting is a whole ballgame and something that I really can’t afford. Many of my ideas are dumb and just showed thoughts whereas others are creative imo and other’s but I don’t want to give up on these ideas. I tried pursuing one idea and contacted a company and heard back, but became frustrated when I realized the severity of not having a patent. And yes, in case your wondering, I have watched all the Inventright YouTube videos on this stuff. I really hope one day I can have my own product or idea and see it implemented into a company and even on a shelf in a store. But then again, I’m scared - theoretically I will probably end up working for a company as a stable source of income but I don’t want that to be the case for ever. Therefore, any advice would be appreciated or criticism if my mindset is set on the wrong goals!

Lol so I (F22) slid first and asked when he (M20) was gonna take me for a ride in his sports car and of course it went back and forth with flirting whatever. So he was like I get off at 8pm and I’m hungry so let’s hang or you can come keep me company during my last few minutes of my shift cuz he’s a boat boy. Both were tempting but his job was an hr away and we live in cities that’re like 20mins away each. So it was looking like a dub but he was still tryna see me so I was like fine. So he chooses a spot and I’m like okay bet lmk when you leave cuz I was already hanging out with some friends.
Bro…I kid you not I’m on my way there and I’m like so nervous to the point I have to use the bathroom as soon as I turn the engine on rip. Then to make it worse I get halfway there and get a message from him saying it’s too packed to park and he can’t spend too much money cuz he just bought new car parts and has to fill up gas and yada yada yada. Mind you, I already had to make a lie up to my mom so she’d let me go (yes at my big fat age I still have to go thru my mother but that’s an entirely different can of worms) just for him to be like nah.
So I’m a lil annoyed but I’m like maybe this was a sign or sumn. Sign of what? Don’t even know but too many signs were already pointing towards us not being able to meet. Cuz why am I so nervous my teeth start chattering? Get an effing grip. Again I was like annoyed and he was definitely a lil down about it. He asked right afterwards when was the next time I was free but idk…idk

HappyFriday everyone! Hope the day is going well for y’all. Looking for new people to chat with short or long term doesn’t matter to me but no minor’s. Happy to chat about anything, share corny jokes and share pics of my pets and artwork. With that being said I do dabble in spray paint art as well as photography. I’m also very outdoorsy so I like to ride my bike, go camping, fishing, hiking and chill on the beach. So if any of this sounds good to you then send me chat with a little bit about yourself. Well hope to hear from some of y’all soon and have a great weekend.