How do semi truck brakes work

I posted this in another community as well. Desperate for outsider input. I26m have only been with my gf21 for a few months. Stuff started smooth and normal, now I would say I’m in love with her, even tho she’s horrible for me. We were originally just suppose to hook up, I don’t tend to date girls that much younger then me, I like mature woman, but I guess I liked how rebellious and fun she was. We’d go out partying and she’d bring out a crazy side in me. I got into a huge bar fight the first few weeks we got together, provoked by her. The sex is great and exciting, she was exciting, she just honestly was so crazy, it was incredibly hot. She brought fun to my incredibly boring life, it felt like I was living in a movie. Now She’s just making me spiral bad. She almost convinced me to quit my great paying job, to travel with her, I tried my first party drugs with her, under her convincing.
Those things should’ve all been red flags for me to start, but I guess I was blinded. Recently her personalities changed. We were drinking, and she started kissing her bestfriend, she practically begged me to have a 3some, and then they basically just hooked up, and I barely was involved. We got into a big argument and she just started hitting me, then shoved me down and had sex with me, while hitting me still, which was very hot but afterwards I felt very disrespected. We were driving and got into an argument and she began to speed, and she threatened to crash the car, accidentally lost control and we almost crashed. It’ll be a work night for me, and I’ll be dead asleep, she has a spare key, and will come into my house in the middle of the night completely trashed, raiding my fridge or waking me up and trying to get me to call out of work the next day. I let her pick out and order some Victoria secrets using my card, and she bought 6 sets, in her defense I didn’t give her a limit, but in my defense if you know the price of Victoria secrets then you understand. She’s very impulsive and comes up with crazy and new ideas for things to do everyday, even if I’m exhausted. She always wants to party, and there’s no space for responsibility for her. She hops around waitressing jobs bc she can’t keep a stable one, bc she just quits when she doesn’t feel like coming in, or gets fired for not showing.
I feel selfish in a way, bc I feel like I just wanted my moment to feel alive, and now I’m realizing this isn’t what I want in a relationship. I don’t want a fun crazy girl, I want someone who I can make a wife, and a mother, in some point in the near future. I feel like I need structure, and something stable, and I won’t have that with her. I really feel love for her, and don’t know what to do. I just feel like she is emotionally draining me, and is sort of a set back. But I also don’t want to lose her, but She isn’t ready to grow up. Advice?

I26m have only been with my gf21 for a few months. Stuff started smooth and normal, now I would say I’m in love with her, even tho she’s horrible for me. We were originally just suppose to hook up, I don’t tend to date girls that much younger then me, I like mature woman, but I guess I liked how rebellious and fun she was. We’d go out partying and she’d bring out a crazy side in me. I got into a huge bar fight the first few weeks we got together, provoked by her. The sex is great and exciting, she was exciting, she just honestly was so crazy, it was incredibly hot. She brought fun to my incredibly boring life, it felt like I was living in a movie. Now She’s just making me spiral bad. She almost convinced me to quit my great paying job, to travel with her, I tried my first party drugs with her, under her convincing.
Those things should’ve all been red flags for me to start, but I guess I was blinded. Recently her personalities changed. We were drinking, and she started kissing her bestfriend, she practically begged me to have a 3some, and then they basically just hooked up, and I barely was involved. We got into a big argument and she just started hitting me, then shoved me down and had sex with me, while hitting me still, which was very hot but afterwards I felt very disrespected. We were driving and got into an argument and she began to speed, and she threatened to crash the car, accidentally lost control and we almost crashed. It’ll be a work night for me, and I’ll be dead asleep, she has a spare key, and will come into my house in the middle of the night completely trashed, raiding my fridge or waking me up and trying to get me to call out of work the next day. I let her pick out and order some Victoria secrets using my card, and she bought 6 sets, in her defense I didn’t give her a limit, but in my defense if you know the price of Victoria secrets then you understand. She’s very impulsive and comes up with crazy and new ideas for things to do everyday, even if I’m exhausted. She always wants to party, and there’s no space for responsibility for her. She hops around waitressing jobs bc she can’t keep a stable one, bc she just quits when she doesn’t feel like coming in, or gets fired for not showing.
I feel selfish in a way, bc I feel like I just wanted my moment to feel alive, and now I’m realizing this isn’t what I want in a relationship. I don’t want a fun crazy girl, I want someone who I can make a wife, and a mother, in some point in the near future. I feel like I need structure, and something stable, and I won’t have that with her. I really feel love for her, and don’t know what to do. I just feel like she is emotionally draining me, and is sort of a set back. Advice?

It is near the start, when he is talking about homosexuality with Gertrude Stein, who also tells Hemingway to make sure his work is accrochable: that it is tasteful and clean enough to sell.
"Under questioning I tried to tell Miss Stein that when you were a boy and moved in the company of men, you had to be prepared to kill a man, know how to do it and really know that you would do it in order not to be interfered with. That term was accrochable."
It isn't clear which "term" he means to say is accrochable. Is it "kill" or something?

Ok so I have been talking to this guy but we don’t have a date set we’ve been talking about ideas and I gave my availability since I have finals and work but they haven’t responded how do I ask for their availability but not in a pushy way

Whereever you go, there are fat, lazy people who are living sad lives, doing nothing productive and being content being absolute losers, and I'm fed up with it.
People seem to not be able to grasp that any form of improvement comes with sacrifices. Every "maybe try to eat healthie exercise more" is met with "but I would still like to enjoy my fries and milkshake sometimes/ I am not training to be an olympic athlete". The amount of people that think walking ten minutes to a grocery store, or cycling to work for five kilometers is too far is ridiculous. All they do is eat crap foods and sit on the couch.
So many people nowadays bring their mental baggage with them and are unwilling to do anything about it. OF COURSE someone who weighs double of what should be considered normal is mentally fucked up. No one in their right mind would live like this. So I understand that sometimes people go through shit when they are like this. But the amount of people that are satisfied with it, that are completely unbothered by a lack of standards, is too damn high.
The lack of discipline is the source of so many problems we have in our society. Healthcare is fucking clogged because people are not self-reliant. Instead, they have the doctor as their last resort. I fucking loved David's comeback after his fucked up knee and ankle surgeries: he defied what we see as "normal" recovery, because he put in the fucking work. Too many people think going to a doctor once a month or seeing a physiotherapist once a week is enough for their rehabilitation. No motherfucker, you need to work for this! Lack of discipline is everywhere! How many cars are stuck in traffic because people are unwilling to walk even 15 minutes? People are so fucking undisciplined: look at the side of the roads or the sidewalks. Full of garbage!
People do not have the discipline to 1) not eat crap from McD and those places and then 2) do not even have the decency to fucking take their garbage home or put it in a trash can. Yesterday outside of our apartment block, I found an empty package of cigarettes on the ground, less than 10 meters away from the garbage can. It's never rice with chicken you suddenly find on the side of the road; it's always crap like cigarettes, junkfood, plastic candy wrappers and all that nonsense.
It drives me mad to hear just excuses everywhere! /rant
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PS. I love seeing all of you hard motherfuckers out here, running through rain, mud, snow, uphill. You are a bunch of inspiring badasses who are the bright lights of society. STAY HARD!

Hello good people,
I would like to know how it is to be a freelancer AI engineer. Are companies looking for it? Do you find contracts easily? Are the projects reasonable? Do you work with teams or solo?
Context: after 7years in the industry, I'm thinking to go freelancing mostly for the "time freedom". But I never met AI freelancers and most companies I know prefer to hire someone to be part of the company. I would like to learn from your experience.

So tomorrow is my 24th birthday. I’ll be spending the day doing some city events with my fiancé and I’m pretty excited for it, but I’m still getting this feeling somewhat like a temporary depression. I’ve had this feeling on my birthday starting from around the age of 4.
Growing up, my mom always put extremely high expectations on me for my birthday. I was taught that I had to act and feel super happy the entire day (and the days leading up to it), and if I wasn’t jumping for joy the entire day, she’d put me down for it. Even at a very young age I’d start feeling sad when my birthday came because I always knew I wasn’t going to be able to live up to this expectation she’d put on me. As a kid I’d get crying spells on every birthday of mine, and of course my mom would pretty much say to me “what is wrong with you, it’s your birthday, you’re supposed to be happy!”. I love my mom, but she is a chronic gaslighter, and my birthdays (and holidays too) were some of the times she’d gaslight me the most. “We got you all these presents and here you are being sad. Stop being sad. You’re supposed to be happy”.
It wasn’t till a few years ago that I realized this is why I automatically become depressed around and on my birthday. The expectation that I was supposed to act all jolly and fake would put me down. I moved away from my parents last year and this is the first birthday I’m going to be spending without them. It’ll be just my fiancé and I, and I hate to say this, but I feel a huge amount of relief knowing that I won’t have someone breathing down my neck making sure I’m “happy” the entire day. My fiancé is aware of this and he’s made sure that I know he’s not putting any expectations on me, and words cannot express how much I appreciate this from him. We’ve been together for years and so he’s witnessed my mom doing this to me, so he understands it.
Birthdays are a special day, but they are also just another day, and things can go wrong on a birthday just like they could on any other day. If something happens tomorrow that annoys me, I won’t have to worry about hiding the way I feel. If something happens tomorrow that makes me sad, I can just let myself feel sad and not have to hide it. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit when I say my birthdays have been ruined, but I know I’ll probably always carry this baggage around. The same goes for holidays like Christmas. I’ve spoken to my mom about this, but she just doesn’t understand, so I’m expecting her to always carry this same belief/expectation.
Here’s hoping I can work through this tomorrow so I can enjoy the day for what it is. Happy birthday to all my birthday twins!

Hi! I just graduated from undergrad and signed my return offer with this firm last fall after interning there over the summer. I had a September start date confirmed, but they let us know last week they're pushing all start dates by 6 months, so now mine is March 2024. They're giving us a small stipend in the meantime. The firm is Altman Solon - it's smaller, so I'm worried about my job security at this point. I know they did a round of layoffs a couple months ago. Should I start looking for other fulltime opportunities? They did say we were allowed to work in the interim. I'm mostly just concerned about whether the offer will ultimately fall through. They do rely heavily on campus recruiting, so my hope is that they won't screw over campus hires like me. But obviously nothing is guaranteed in this economy.
If anyone has any advice on how to navigate this, I would really appreciate it!

I(21/F) just wanted to let this out because I’ve been really stressed out by a lot of things and with no one to share it with (getting discouraged from sharing because it usually ends with me getting scolded or emotionally put down), I’ve felt hopeless.
I recently had a huge fight with my mom last month over an injury I’ve been telling her to help me get checked with a year before but she never got back to me despite saying that she’d help me get it checked out multiple times. I also recently told her earlier in the year that I wanted to get checked for any mental issues because I was suffering a lot mentally but I was met with it being told that it was too expensive. I gave up because I am not financially independent in a country where parents refuse to make you work and instead tell you to focus on your studies. I will admit that I got used to accepting that I can’t do anything without my family’s permission that at some point I gave up fighting for myself. My grandparents found out the injury when they visited one day and got mad at my mother and I was so sad because it felt like the I had such a heavy burden that I couldn’t say be lifted. (I was often contemplating just saying good bye to the world before that happened tbh.) So I tried to stand up for myself and my mother denied me saying anything about my injury and insisted that I only wanted to get my head checked up. Therefore I left with my grandparents and I got just a tad bit mentally stable (although there were some times where I would still revert back) I actually got checked for mental issues and they told me I might be experiencing severe depression from all the things I went through and I felt miserable thinking about it. I was about to also get checked for my neck but my mother caught wind that I was getting myself checked and got mad at me. I had a conversation with her in text about the amount of things I’ve been putting up with just for her and all she cared about was whether she was being talked about in the house. She refused to apologize for anything and I got convinced by my grandparents to just apologize for trying to fight for myself because she’s my mother. I felt like all the things I worked hard to keep just come crashing down and I just gave in helplessly.
I eventually had to go back to my parents because my step-dad has been looking for me (nobody said a word to him and they didn’t wanna bring him into the situation I guess.) And I just had another small argument with not only my mom but also my younger sister that just made me feel like dropping my feelings here. I asked if we could watch a movie recently and the schedule was either 4:30pm or 7:30pm. I initially asked if we could do it at 7:30 because I wanted to plan out my day but my my mother refused and I obliged to 4:30. My sister asks me the next day when we would watch and I said 4:30. Then at the last 2 hours before the scheduled time they both talk behind my back about moving it to 7:30 because my sister wanted to move it. And I just felt so upset with how they just blatantly changed the time when I already planned my day. They got upset at me for telling them how irresponsible their actions were and how they made me look like an idiot stating the time to them. My mother even told me how I was being unreasonable for reacting the way I did when I was the one asking to watch the movie. Now I’m just so frustrated with everything. I feel so disrespected and I just want to freaking leave the house again.
To whoever read the whole story, thank you and I hope your endeavors have been better than mine.

Hello. I'm digging into traefik and i already set up public domain. It works just fine with staging cert only yet. I followed this guide to make it working. Unfortunately, Christian didn't show how to configure traefik for both: local and public domain with SSL for the same container. The result would be having secured (https) local and public domain.
Do someone know how to do such thing?
PS: In case any config is needed, i will provide!

Starting college last fall was not an easy change for me. I thought that moving away from home would be just like going to hotel for a while but it wasn't. Never felt quite where I was supposed to be. During the first few weeks I tried to socialize with my roommates and some other people I thought I was sharing a bond with. It went well but whenever we agreed to hang out they never came through on their end. Every conversation never led to me getting new friends no matter how many times I tried. All I wanted was that supportive and cool friend group to hang out with every now and then like everyone else, but I never got it. I gave up trying to make any kind of long or short term friendship because I knew it would lead nowhere. Naturally, I fell into a depression.
My grades started to slip and I felt even more stressed and pressure to get a good grade at the end of the semester. This weight had I had on myself was too much, and actively lashed out in my room from the work I had to catch up on. It got so bad that my anger just turned into sadness and crying laying on the floor. This happened frequently until the semester ended. Even though the work load was over for a small time, I still felt bad since I didn't really get the grades I wanted. Alas, winter break began in December.
This is when I discovered Elden Ring. I was walking the path of grace, yet I couldn't see it... I played it for the gameplay and hype alone which was really fun. So fun that I got burned out and switched games once I cleared everything up until the Altus Plateau. I forgot about it, effectively shutting out my window to true freedom for a while.
The day is Christmas, 2022. I get some cash and spend it on Dark Souls Remastered. I am immediately hit with that "yucky old graphics" feeling the second I see my character. I do as any sane souls player would do and choose Ryan Reynolds and the Master Key. I picked Knight for my first class as I thought that made the most sense. I got in and went through the tutorial prison blah blah blah. Rested at Firelink Shrine and tried to go to New Londo Ruins and wondered why this game was so god damn hard. I said whatever, guess that's not where I'm supposed to be yet. I go to the graveyard by the catacombs and at this point I about quit the game.
Eventually I learned where to go and found the combat to be much better (who would have guessed?). I started progressing more until I hit the Bell Gargoyles. Struggled super hard even with Solaire as a summon. I ran out of humanity after a number of attempts so I put the game down altogether. Keep in mind, I was in not the best emotional/mental state this whole time so I was very prone to giving up. I guess this was it for Dark Souls. For now.
Second semester rolls around and I feel like I can do it right this time. I learned a decent amount of new study skills and made some mistakes that I learned from, so I should have this in the bag. Classes go well the first few weeks, and then I stop. I just quit doing my work. I thought to myself, "I'll just do it tomorrow" or "After this one game". I never did. I lived on campus pretending like I was still a college student. This whole time I felt down on myself and guilty for doing this to myself. My parents would be super disappointed if I told them the truth, so I lied to them. Lying made me feel bad too, so it felt like there was no escape from the feeling of dread. I had to stay at college to appear like I was doing school work so I was essentially trapped there.
Months went by and regret lurked around my shoulder no matter where I went. Even college students studying was a constant reminder that I never did study and that I'm a failure. That depression crept in again and I felt lonely more than anything. More lonely than I had ever felt before. Miles away from everyone I loved, no classes/clubs/activities to attend, no friends to share stories with, no partner share feelings with, no family to keep an eye on me - no more purpose. Video games were my best friend during these times, and I almost lost my grip on that too.
I was going Hollow. I had ran through all of my games...
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Except one.
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I loaded up my character to accept the challenge once again. This time I couldn't lose because I didn't have anything else to run to, so with everything on the line I swiftly rid of the two gargoyles. I did it! The things that had been causing me so much trouble before are finally out my way. I made my up the ladder to ring the first bell. The feeling of accomplishment I got from this was something unlike anything I had felt for the past months, which is what got me invested in the game.
There was a seemingly insurmountable force ahead of me, but yet through my own development of skills and thinking of different strategies, I was able to beat them easily. Could this be what Dark Souls is? If it is, I didn't want to give this up.
Through the messages on the ground, invasions, and player summons I learned that this community is absolutely priceless. I watched video after video about the game's lore, builds, tips and tricks, anything I could get my hands on. Long story short, I beat the game.
This is where I realized that through my own sheer determination, will, confidence, and human spirit I could accomplish anything. I felt that my dark soul was truly starting to come out, my true self that I kept so suppressed within me during the school year. The real icing on the cake is when I was listening to ds2 ost and then came upon the song titled "Longing". It is the end credits theme for the original ds2. This the first time I have ever balled my eyes out to ANYTHING. I couldn't even get close to shedding a tear watching the saddest movie ever made, but this song got to me. These weren't tears of sadness, though. They were tears of joy.
It felt like lifting a fog over not only my head, but my heart too. After listening, I can remember feeling whole again. Like my human side finally returned to me to greet me. My depression faded and my mood quickly became better. Life was becoming good once again. Now I had the ability to see things in a positive light and not in an "everything is over because I failed" way. I started working like I was supposed to but never did (because I was overwhelmed as I mentioned). In plan on starting to get into shape soon and maybe even get a dog. As far as my grades go, I withdrew so I never failed (technically). I am looking towards the future of continuing college with my newfound attitude and outlook on life.
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If you read all that, thank you so much. As always guys
Don't you dare go hollow.
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Don't say it--
Jackpot

They seek out difficult tasks. They push themselves to do shit just because. I don't fucking get it.
I'm watching this army documentary right now about jungle training and these dudes volunteer to go to jungle school, where they get little sleep, they're in the rain and wet, they're miserable, and yet they willingly chose to do it, and push on through it.
I don't get it. How in the fuck do people just do that sort of thing for fun? How do people get all this motivation to do things. Exercise every day. Move across the country for a new job. Put in overtime at a job to move up. Work on a project for months and months and put in 1000's of hours into it.
How do people just do it? How do you start a long project, and just keep at it to the end without losing motivation, without losing confidence, without getting tired or bored.

Epf in Bangalore, is a programme established to ensure that employees have a bright and prosperous future.Under the EPF Scheme, a small amount of your employee’s wages is deducted & contributed to the EPF account. Being an employer, you have to match the same amount put in the employee & deposit in the whole amount in the EPF account. Further, it is linked to the ESIC Scheme.
ESIC in Bangalore - A workers' compensation plan called the ESIC Plan offers medical insurance to the insured. Also, their dependents are safeguarded. In the case of incapacity or wage loss, ESIC offers a variety of financial compensations. In the event of an accident or death brought on by workplace hazards while an insured person is at work, the Plan pays a pension known as a dependent benefit to the insured person's family members. ESI is one of the most important payroll compliance requirements, along with EPF, professional tax, and TDS.
Eligibility Criteria For ESI and EPF Registration in Bangalore
Eligibility Standards for ESI Registration in Bangalore:
ESIC registration in Bangalore - The Shops & Establishments Act and the Factories Act list all organisations,If a factory or other enterprise has 10 or more employees, it must register with the ESI Schemes; Employees who make no more than Rs. 21,000 per month will be covered to review the ESI Registration requirements.
Eligibility Standards for EPF Registration in Bangalore:
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• EPF registration in Bangalore can attain to any business or manufacturing with at least 20 workers
• When hired, a company employee who has already signed up for the EPF Plan is automatically qualified to have their PF account opened;
• A business or organisation with fewer than 20 employees may register voluntarily;
• Any employee whose pay is less than Rs. 15,000 per month is required to withhold and deposit EPF

Benefits of PF and ESIC registration in Bangalore
Legal Conformity:
Companies with 20 or more employees are required by the Workers Provident Fund and Other Provisions Act of 1952 and the Employees State Insurance Act of 1948 to register for the EPF and ESI programmes. There may be fines, jail time, and other legal repercussions if these restrictions are broken.
Employment Perks:
ESIC and PF registration in Bangalore - Companies can offer their employees a variety of social security benefits, like as pensions, health insurance, and maternity benefits, by enrolling in the EPF and ESI schemes. This can raise employee morale and satisfaction levels while also helping to recruit and retain great workers.
Tax Benefits:
According to the Income Tax Act of 1961, businesses that have registered for EPF and ESI are entitled for tax incentives. This can assist businesses in lowering their overall tax obligations and strengthening their financial situation.
Maintain records:
Companies are expected to keep thorough records of the contributions made by their employees by registering for EPF and ESI. These records must include the amounts contributed, the frequency of contributions, and the method used to make contributions. By doing this, it is made possible for the employees' contributions to be precisely tallied and for them to have access to their benefits whenever they are required.
Registration process of ESI and PF in Bangalore
The application form in its entirety
You must first complete the short questionnaire that our knowledgeable team has provided.
Processing of Documents
In order to arrange the papers as needed and for processing, we will need them at the second step in accordance with the questionnaire you filled out.
Application Submission:
With the necessary paperwork and additional statements, we will submit your ESI/EPFO application through the Shram Suvidha Portal.
Announcement of filing
Following processing, we'll get in touch with you to discuss filing your returns.
ESI and PF Registration Documents in Bangalore
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• Certificate of Incorporation / Certificate of Business Registration
• Shop and Establishment Certificate, GST, and MSME Certificate ( any one)
• Copy of PAN Card Detail
• Address of the business with address documentation
• ID, Passport, and address documentation for the company's owner, directors, and partners
• Sample Signature in the format shown in the attachment
• Consent Letter in the format of the attachment (In case EPF Voluntary Registration)
• Employee Information (Name, Gender, Status as Permanent or Temporary, and Last Month's Pay Breakup)
• Email and mobile phone numbers for the company's owner, directors, and partners ( Email ID and Mobile should be unique for all)

How to get ESIC and PF consultant in Bangalore ?
We offer one-stop solutions for things like monthly return filling out and esi/pf registration. Bizivalue is a reputable business with extensive experience in the field of PF and ESI Registration.PF and ESIC Consultant Bangalore are among one of the most effective & well-known companies for offering the top legal advisory services .We'll make sure you always receive the best advice thanks to our years of experience. We serve clients at every level of their business where we may be most helpful, whether as a management coach for front-line staff or a trusted advisor to senior executives.

Hi Redditors I’m at a lost right now. So previously I’ve posted about how my mom(divorced, age 56, unemployed since forever) spent my college fund as she claimed that I owed her my entire childhood and the money should belong to her. College fund was money saved from my high school PT jobs and money from my dad’s weekly allowance during elementary sch years.
Right now since the college fund is in my mom’s hands, I’ve taken a gap year and started working full time to earn back the money. However, my mom hasn’t shut up about asking money from me even tho she already knows I’m struggling. Ofcourse she’s not happy with the idea of me going to college as she wants me to just work and support her instead. Every morning when she wakes up she would be in a bad mood, shouting and complaining about having no money, why do I wanna go to college, and throwing tantrums. Everyday she’s in constant bad mood.
I can’t give her much money as I’m not earning a lot and I already also have to pay for bills (home wifi/my phone) and food as she doesn’t at cook at home at all too. Even though she’s healthy and fit but she just doesn’t wanna get a job as she claims she’s divorced and she deserves to use me and my dad as her ATM as we ruined her life. Everyday she just sits around at home vacuuming and complaining.
Are there any organizations where my mom could receive career guidance? I’m afraid that if she hasn’t work at all since idk when, her savings is decreasing instead of increasing, and I wouldn’t be able to support her if she falls sick and etc. she’s not willing to get any insurance either. Now I’m just thinking if I should just give up college, so that I could support her and make her shut up? or go to college and ignore her but she wouldn’t be happy and then comes her daily verbal abuse…

Here's how I rank mine:
Amazing:

• Europe/Schengen Countries: It's just crazy how super efficient customs is whenever entering Schengen. The border officers that I've met whenever entering/leaving are polite and professional (also like to crack some jokes whenever).
  
• Australia: Pretty much just had to go to a kiosk to answer a few questions and then go through an egate. Then went to customs since I was declaring personal medication and was waved through.
  
• Mexico (Land Border): You literally just drive through if you're going by car from the US. And even crossing as a pedestrian is really easy since the border official took one glimpse of my passport to see if everything matched and just waved me through.
  

Good:

• Africa (Ethiopia, South Africa, etc.): Still pretty efficient for the countries I've been to in the continent. Just the queue for going through customs can be a bit of mess sometimes.
  
• South America (Chile, Argentina, etc.): Similar to African countries I've been to. It's efficient but the queue can be a mess depending where you are. Chile, on the side note, takes its wildlife seriously and you pretty much need to make sure that you declare any food items that you have even if it's just from the plane.
  

Meh/Mixed Bag:

• US: I'm a citizen so my experience is obviously going to be different than the people coming to just visit but I never had an outright horrible experience returning home. Most of the time, it was just a few questions and then waved through. But coming back through certain ports (looking at the US-Mexico land crossing) is a pain especially when so many people are trying to enter the same time and also customs being strict due to drug smuggling going on around the border.
  
• Cuba: Customs is pretty polite but having a US passport certainly does not look to well so I was questioned further to make sure I wasn't a spy or anything and customs can be strict about what you bring in and out of the country.
  
• UK: Mostly a meh experience since it's the usual though I do feel like the questioning at the border can be intense sometimes.
  

Worst:

• Canada: The customs experience I had was pretty bad that I try to avoid booking any flights that have a layover there since everyone needs to clear customs in Canada even if you are transiting. But customs basically asked a bunch of questions about things and acted as if I was going to illegally move and work in Canada when I was going on a 3-4 day visit. Definitely remembered being nervous at that moment which was definitely noticed by the officer who pointed it out to me. I did not go through secondary thankfully but I know I'm not alone in this experience because I know people who went through the same or worse. Certainly did not have an enjoyable day of arrival into Canada.

The four famous clans of Amadahai, its ladies and their sons, gathered together in the common hall of what people knew as "the palatial district". The core of the palace had overgrown the square, ring-like shape as new additions were built along the perimeter through the years. The symmetry of the structure was broken to accomodate the growing clans – and their growing entourage.
Half of the morning had already gone by, but the common hall was lit with oil candles and the glow of a central brazier: the sky outside was flat and grey, and whichever light filtered from the courtyard and the high windows on the outer walls of the palace were not enough to illuminate the faces of the clanpeople. They had taken their places on the ground, each kneeling on a soft cushion filled with cattail fluff, and would go on discussing as the morning went on.
The neighbouring village, Pabarha by the pond-of-many-lotuses, had refused to repay their debt. Two years before, the clans of Amadahai had come to their aid and provided them with plentiful rôdo in times of need; when the time came to hold their part of the bargain, however, they sent an empty-handed emissary with words of regret, conveying their intention to break the contract.
The youngest of the mothers present unfurled a thin stretch of birchbark where the two parties had impressed their promises, marked by five symbols. On top, was the picture of an empty granary, Pabarha's most pressing issue at the time. Below, their two choices: an empty granary and a farmhand working the fields or a full granary and a man at rest. At the bottom, two sigils representing the two parties participating in the exchange: the lotuses that gave their name to Pabarha, the village of the perjurers, and a bull atop a pecan tree, mythical symbol of Amadahai.
"When I drew those symbols," The matriarch said, as she passed the scroll around for all to see, "The terms of our exchange were no less clear than they are today. We saved Pabarha from a failed harvest: in return they had to either return the rôdo as soon as they could or would provide a number of farmhands to our city, for the entire period of their indebtedness." It was a fair exchange and, for a time, Pabarha had consented.
The farmhands were sent to Amadahai and they had soon proved themselves to be a profitable investment. They lived in wooden houses appositely built near the paddies and returned to their village every half moon to visit their wives and their families. That arrangement had continued for little more than a year. "The farmhands left four days ago and have not returned to their work – instead, what do we find? A young emissary has come in their stead, demanding Pabarha be allowed to forego her promises." The birchbark sheet had made the rounds amongst the reunited clanpeople and returned to her. "I ask the other mothers leave."
They women silently consented and the youngest, the writer of the contract, threw the birchbark onto the brazier. The mothers had forfeited their right to be a part of that conversation and, from then on, it would be the sons, not the mothers, to hold the first and last word. The clan had no other choice: promises had been forgotten, debts had not been repaid and that intricate tangle of promises, favours, debts and credits could be put in grave danger by such a simple refusal.
It did not happen often that the men gathered inside the high house took decisions without words of approval or lamentations from the elder women of the clans. It had never happened for Cebecajamân, a man who had not lived through his sixteenth year of age and was only recently invited to sit at the councils as one of the leaders nephews. He sat straight and looked around him as the tower of smoke emitted from the burning birchbark dissolved before them. Wordlessly, the women left the room.
For a moment, the men remained silent, reflecting on the weight of that moment – that meant war was the next solution, the only solution. Phazjedjei, Cebecajamân's uncle took his stick and his pipe, which was hidden in a pouch tied under his cape, and began smoking. The others followed his example. Six men, three uncles and three nephews, reflected and smoked. There would be a precise order to how they would speak and, as the youngest man admitted to that assembly, Cebecajamân would go first.
He cleared his throat – the pipe was still a little too much for him – and gathered the courage to speak: "Does... does that means we will have to kill them?"
_____
There were few places kinder than Amadahai on a spring morning. The sun would tickle the surface of the lake, then rise high – but never too hot – to the top of the sky. Those were the sweetest hours: the bright light streamed in like metal from Kamābarha, the same brassy copper that covered the points of Cebecajamân's arrows.
He was counting them, one by one, making sure his quiver was full and none of his precious arrows had been lost since his last tally. Most of the other men in his band would have stone arrowheads, others red copper, but that fine orange-gold one was destined only for Cebecajamân and the other clan-men, their leaders. No arrow was missing, so he took his quiver of woven cattail stalks, his bow and walked to meet the other men. As he passed under the passion fruit tree outside his home, he marvelled at the irony of life: preparing an attack as nature bloomed so beautifully.
He met them at the edge of the city, beyond the mound, where the groves began. Saying "a full unit of men" was something, but seeing them in person, each with his own quiver and bow, each with a straw, padded coat, was rather impressive. He greeted them with respect as he walked over the field to join the other members of his clan. There were three leaders for the attack, Cebecajamân was the youngest, but by far the best shot; then, there was Jajabadojôho, his cousin who was very quick and nimble, and Ineme, a young uncle who belonged to their same generation and who was well respected by the other men. He knew very little of the other men. There were some minor clanmen, children of true clanmen who had no claim to leadership: they often were better warriors, as they had much spare time and filled their days with pigeon hunts and competitions – Cebecajamân, was very envious about that; then, there were young men from the city: the son of the fisherman, the nephew of the butcher, the cousin of the man who sold the best preserves at the market; the rest were farmers who normally tended orchards or paddies and had been called to lend their bows to fight for the honour of their leaders. The best amongst them had been selected, and a hundred forty four good men would be more than enough to put a stop to Pabarha's defiance and dishonesty. As their Kabaima brought them pouches filled with crabapple sâna, the first spring wine, the three discussed the possibilities of a true battle.
"They are going to surrender immediately." Ineme said. There was no sign of worry or doubt on his face. He cocked an arrow absent mindedly as he spoke. "Then, we will either take the grain we need or bring them to the mothers and make a new contract." Swoosh! The arrow hit the the tree before them, which had been coloured with ochre to mark the height of a man. If that tree was a man, Ineme had hit his shoulder.
"I don't know, Ineme," Said Jajabadojôho, "They have the men, and the village is marshy all around and protected, on a hill."
"They do not have the number Cijajabo, and, considering they are not sending the grain they owe, they must be in dire straits – mother said so."
"Even then, they are proud people. They will not surrender without a fight. Cicebe," He said, turning towards the youngest, whose thoughts were rushin in hundreds of different directions and had been very quiet until that moment. "What do you think?"
He looked at his cousin, unsure about what he would say. Something strange and horrible was happening inside of Cebecajamân. Half of his soul dreaded the impending battle, and hoped that the young man facing them, from above the hill, would see how many they were and set down their weapons; his other half, however, had an ardent desire to be tested, to win, to prove himself before the mothers. He was a good shot – a great shot, in fact – and would stop at nothing in the face of danger. He wanted to fight, he wanted to stop his enemies from fooling the mothers of his clan – was that a bad thing? They said men were more impulsive than women, Always ready to fight rather than to discuss, and that the way of the mothers was the most virtuous. But Cebecajamân was a man, and there was little he could do about it.
He cocked his brass arrow and shot it across the field to hit the same tree his uncle had hit before him. His arrow burrowed into the wood just above the other one, where Ineme had intended to hit: the middle of the man-tree's head.
"Either way, I'm ready."
_____
They attacked immediately after sundown. They moved silently through the forest first, getting more and more quiet as the presence of the city became more noticeable. As they hid in the forest waiting for the right moment to strike, hearing the low voices of the Pabarhans, smelling the smoke of their fires, the fragrances of their dinners, Cebecajamân's heart pounded like never before.
"The heart of the fearful and a pigeon by the river..."
The battle ended before it could become too bloody, but Cebecajamân killed his first man that night. He would remember that blood he spilled forever, necessary blood, to remind everyone of the honour of his house, the honour of the promises the famous clans of Amadahai presided over – an honour he'd defend until his last day.

I was raised as a JW (Jehovah’s Witness)and left when I was 17. I returned when I was 24 last year.
When I (25F) returned, I befriended a male (29M) with zero intention of us becoming anything more than friendship. One night I didn’t want to go home and he invited me over. We had a too many drinks and ended up sleeping together. After this we went from 0 to 100 real quick. My toothbrush was at his house sanitary pads was at his house and we were spending almost every night together. This was a complete accident and so unexpected, but he treated me so well, I couldn’t help catch feelings.
Now there is another girl in our congregation (24F), who I was friends with as a young adolescent, and she too fancies him. I saw her pop-up on his phone multiple times and chose to ignore it until I caught feelings. At this point. I asked if they were speaking on level and he said yes. Because we hadn’t established anything, I couldn’t be angry over it. I told him that it’s fine. I gave him a hug and I left. He kept messaging me telling me that he missed me so I went back to him and again, we went from 0 to 100. A couple of weeks later, I noticed her on his laptop iMessage and read a few messages. When i’d asked him to shut it down after we had “gotten back together”, he told her that he had stuff going on, and hopefully it would change in the future. This time I was hurt that he’d given her hope, so I raised my voice and I left.
Two months went by with 0 contact. He tried messaging me three times but I stood firm.
I was out with family one night, I had one drink too many, and found myself outside his house with no way to get home. I stayed there that night and then again we was back on. My toothbrush never left his bathroom and neither did my sanitary pads. I guess I felt special he hadn’t gotten rid of them, but I also understand that men can be lazy LOL.
Now it’s been maybe three weeks since we’ve been back on, and I’m seeing this woman pop-up constantly. He told me before that he didn’t have feelings for her and that he felt bad and didn’t know how to shut her down. Obviously we are not public because we shouldn’t be having sex or even dating without chaperones. So this woman doesn’t know about me.
Other than her, everything has been amazing. He treats me so well, I have the password to his phone, he gives me the keys to his place when he goes off to work, we go on dates and we’ve even taken my child out together. He behaves in the way that I feel a husband should toward his wife. We’ve just spent the long weekend together and I told him that I felt the need to remove certain males from my life that I knew had feelings for me because I felt like I was being disrespectful to him and I wouldn’t like it the other way round. While I was talking, she popped up on his phone and we discussed her. I explained to him that she had become a trigger and that I couldn’t even look at her, see her name or face without feeling serious angst. I must also disclose that I do suffer from anxiety. So I understand that my insecurities play a part in this and I would never want to pressure or force his hand in any way. He told me they hadn’t kissed or done anything in any sexual way, but she still continues to message him and call him constantly. He then asked me to give him some time to slowly cut her off because we are all in the same congregation and he didn’t want it to be awkward. I said OK. Over the course of the long weekend, I must’ve seen her name at least six times. The third time she called, I suggested he answer and she seemed moody that he hadn’t attended something that she had attended. The phone call didn’t last very long because he was busy and he said he will call her back (he didn’t). From the minute I saw her name, my heart started beating out of my chest. When she had called earlier that morning, I felt a similar way and chose to sleep it off. This time I couldn’t and the anxiety wasn’t going away. We were quiet with each other for a couple of hours because he could sense how was feeling and in the night we spoke. He reminded me that he had asked for time and I told him I couldn’t help how I felt. I don’t want to and never will pressure somebody to do something they aren’t comfortable with. He said that he likes me a lot and that he wants this (whatever this is) even though we haven’t established a label.
I guess I just want to know if it’s worth going through this stress. I don’t want to look like a mug or be mugged off. I’ve already lost two stone in eight months unintentionally due to stress. They are both baptised so we are all terrible JWs and perfect sinners. I’m still establishing my place in the religion and if I choose that it is for me, I wouldn’t be having sex with him anymore unless we took that big step (which he agreed would be a good idea). I guess I feel like she is an easy option as they are both baptised and can date without complaints from the congregation. She is also a single parent. She’s very quiet in comparison to me as I do have a big character and can be very opinionated. I stand up for what I think is right and I protect the ones I love most without hesitation. He says he likes that about me and that he’s proud of me because no matter the obstacles I’m currently facing, I’m still trying to better myself and be the best version of myself.
I guess I just want to know if my insecurities are the problem or if I’m being mugged off and lied to. It doesn’t help that almost all of my previous partners have all cheated on me in one form or another. Again, I really do not want to project my insecurities. I do believe that if we were public I wouldn’t feel this way. But because it’s a secret in the congregation, it’s making things quite difficult.
What do I do?
Please do not share your religious values or crap on ours. We are all human and we are all imperfect. And remember it’s nice to be nice x Thank you

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