The day seemed like it would be ordinary until the aeronautical community’s most sought after document showed up on my doorstep.
It came wrapped in brown kraft paper tied off with twine, and the exterior packaging had no return address nor any indication of a postage stamp. It was as though it had been simply bundled up and dropped into my wall-mounted mailbox by a random passerby.
No part of me was willing to surrender the strange parcel without opening it first. Regardless of who its contents truly belonged to, my eyes would be the first to see it. I removed the twine and then dug a thumb under a fold in the packaging paper before clawing it away to expose a brown tan notebook circa 1900. It was full grain buffalo leather with a crisscross of cord for the spine and a thick hand cut string keeping it sealed shut.
When I undid the string, the pages that had been gripped tight by the leather fanned out gently then returned to their original position, my eyes landing on the front page. It was without a printer’s mark and read in big handwritten type: “THE DIARY AND RECORD OF HENRY H. HELGELAND.”
I knew in that instant the package was in the hands of who it was rightfully sent out for. Not just because I’d recently lost my job as an associate at our city’s art museum but because of a separate, much deeper connection to the diary’s author.
Perhaps it’s in my best interests to turn it over to the National Archives, or the US Arctic Research Commission, or maybe even the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, but at the risk of seeing it blue-penciled to death, I’ve elected to instead share it here and now.
The world needs to know what happened.
---
Henry H. Helgeland — my great grandfather — was a severe looking man with a walrus mustache and a bone to pick with anyone who ever doubted him. He was born in Oakland, California in 1871 and was, by all available accounts relayed to me, well-behaved and well-liked. His father worked a lucrative job in the shipping industry, transporting timber between San Francisco and the Central Valley. Two years into Henry’s life, his mother would contract a fatal case of diphtheria and die shortly thereafter; when he was old enough to understand what had happened, Henry “yearn[ed] fervently for a reunion to mend [his] great anguish and sorrow.”
Near the turn of the 20th century, Henry attended Stanford University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, where he learned everything from thermodynamics to machine design. But it was a lecture about polar transportation that would ultimately kindle his interest in a separate enterprise: arctic exploration. Indeed, the race to the North Pole was well underway, with naval officers, geologists, and aeronauts around the globe vying for the chance to make history. My great grandfather, like many of his peers, propounded the theory that he, and he alone, would be the first to reach the Great White North.
In 1895, Henry graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and sought to expand the member list of the so called Ascension Society, a student organization he’d assembled to aid engineering graduates with materials science. Many of its constituents had engaged in research projects and experimental setups to hone their craft of mechanical systems, but in time, however, the venture would instead prove a hotspot for investors and philanthropists. Donations averaging up to $5,000 helped fund and promote the fantastic ambitions of my great grandfather. So long as the Ascension Society was gracing him with their support, he’d be the first to reach the North Pole.
In early 1898, armed with enough capital, Henry used the proceeds to purchase the materials required for the balloon.
---
A notable circus at the forefront of traveling attractions in the early twentieth century was The Fielding Troupe. With its impressive lineup of talent — from fire eaters and aerialists to equestrians and strongmen — the ensemble drew crowds from nearly every town in western America during its historic run. Its wide reach would ultimately reel in many notable faces, including my great grandfather.
Prior to a performance in Oakland, the Fielding Troupe led a procession through the town around Stanford University, announcing their arrival with a parade of wagons, floats, and animals. The strategy, as it were, was to drum up as much publicity and fanfare as possible. Evidently it worked, as a healthy fraction of the faculty and student body at Stanford made the trip over to Oakland in order to see the troupe in action.
Surrounding their arena with two hundred feet of heavy duty tent canvas, the troupe put on a show for the ages the night Henry was in attendance, with extravagant acrobatics, trained animal performances, and a special appearance from Curtis the Clown. Following a skillful display of juggling and good natured audience ribbing, Curtis’s master stroke was an intricate stunt involving balloons and wire flying. Firstly, he would inflate several multi-colored balloons and tie them off with string, securing them firmly in his grip. They served as a flashy distraction from the piece of flexible metal snaking out from the harness he had concealed under his equally flashy costume. Then, with a whisper of strength, a couple stagehands hoisted the balloon-carrying clown thirty feet into the air to make it appear as though he was levitating by virtue of the balloons alone. A separate performer — a marksman — showed off his sharpshooting skills with a Winchester model rifle and gunned down the balloons, exploding each one as the stagehands loosened their hold on Curtis’s harness until he was eased to the ground.
Henry watched the routine with eager delight. Seeing Curtis the Clown float above a hundred or so onlookers helped stir within him a plan. The ceiling of the Big Top Tent where Curtis had concluded his ascent represented more than the centerpiece of a traveling circus.
“Ascendancy,” Henry muttered to his wife Ruth. “This is how we get to the top of the world.”
---
The spherical vessel measured sixty-five feet in diameter, with a capacity of over 200,000 cubic feet. Its construction was overseen by Henry and a couple french engineers who installed in its gondola three berths and ample ballast to keep it stable. The gondola, a carefully constructed assemblage of wicker and chestnut wood, was built as such to bar any interference to the magnetic instruments of the explorers. Keeping it shielded against severe weather conditions was a varnished silk calotte and a vaselined net composed of over four-hundred hemp cords. A bamboo pole was attached bellow the carrying ring to attach the side sails and, perhaps most notably, the balloon was fitted with hemp and cocoa nut fiber guide ropes to help steer and maintain a consistent altitude.
After two years of exhaustive construction, work on the balloon was completed in 1900. Henry named it Ascension, after the society that funded its creation.
---
What follows are several selected passages lifted directly from Henry’s memorandum, transcribed by me. The first entry reads:
“At nine o'clock on the forenoon, May 5, 1900, under the auspices of the Ascension Society, we embarked from the 71st parallel on our quest of the Pole. Our great journey sets off from Point Barrow, Alaska following a grueling adventure aboard the steamer Sursum. I, Henry Helgeland, travel forth, accompanied by Charles Ringvold, esteemed navigator, and Edward Meyer, long celebrated physician, into the arctic wilderness. Together, our efforts will generate a most formidable team and an unwavering spirit. We will ascend.”
Indeed, the SS Sursum disembarked from a port in San Francisco in mid May of that year; it offered easy access to the Pacific Ocean and sailed through the Bering Strait, covering over 3,000 nautical miles before reaching Point Barrow on July 2.
When the balloon took off, carried by a fierce north east wind, it was to a thunderous applause from those that had come to bear witness to the bold endeavor. Among them were crew members of the SS Sursum, high ranking associates of the Ascension Society, and carpenters tasked with helping the balloon reach its initial phase of liftoff.
As it elevated to 300 hundred feet and passed around an onlooking whaler, Henry was reported to have shouted: “To the top of the world, hurrah!”
---
36 hours would elapse before a second entry was made.
“July 4, 1900, Lat. 77° 48' N, Long. 143° 4' W. We are soaring at a height of 600 feet above the Earth's surface, traveling at a speed of approximately seven kilometers per hour. Our morale remains similarly aloft. Charles relayed to me that, God willing, we anticipate reaching the pole in roughly 800 miles. Beyond the drag ropes lending their ballast to our journey, optimism is our guiding force. We will ascend.”
Turbulent air currents had a different plan in mind, however.
“July 5, 1900, Lat. 80° 8' N, Long. 138° 37' W. Alas! Our aerial journey came to an abrupt halt yestereve on the 80th parallel. We voyaged as many as 500 miles before a forceful downdraft spun our vehicle on its vertical axle and compelled it into a sharp descent; we had lost what we estimate to be just over 100 cubic feet of gas.
“Edward suffered severe injuries during the initial impact and claims his vertebrae have been shattered, leaving him immobile. We’re at the mercy of the floe on which we now rest, at the mercy of the Polar Sea. Should we face the specter of death, we shall meet it with unwavering honor. We will ascend.”
---
“July 6, 1900. We find ourselves solitary in the barren expanse, accompanied only by bergs, ice-fields, and majestic glaciers. Our rations encompass a container’s worth of hardtack, enough salted beef for approximately one week, canned stew, dried apricots, some chocolate bars, and seven bottles of ale.
“Edward’s outlook remains grim; he suspects he’ll never walk again. In witness of his current state, I’m beginning to share in such apprehensions. Edward, whom we have reposed on on of our sledges, fears that the opportunity to make known the great love he holds for his mistress Rebecca is one he’ll never be granted. ‘You shall be reunited at once,’ I assured him. ‘Our journey to triumph will not be thwarted by minor inconveniences.’
“We’ve plotted the course to our next destination: that being Herschel Island, located off the coast of Canada in the Beaufort Sea. Charles — who shares in Edward’s dismay — estimates a three month footslog spanning just under one thousand miles is in store for us, perhaps more given Edward’s ailment. I am determined to see this mission to its completion, yet survival remains a paramount desire. Who’s to recount our extraordinary journey should we fail?
“While establishing our encampment and scouting the local flora of the area for additional sources of sustenance, I happened upon a plant of an unknown species. Half a meter tall, bulbous tubers, and thin roots terminating in clusters of white flowers; intuition suggests this is a water hemlock, which precludes it from edibility. Nevertheless, I shall regard this finding as one of great fortune. A portent of divine value. We will ascend.”
---
Two days later, gold prospectors off the Alaskan coast at Nome beach were in the process of emptying their sluice boxes when from the sky flew a carrier pigeon directly to their mining site. It bore a label with the inscription “Helgeland” and contained the following dispatch:
“July 7, 1900. First dog watch. Three southerly traveling carrier-pigeons were sent off at approximately 7 h. 40 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, the following among them. This is Rear Admiral Charles Ringvold of the United States Navy and the Helgeland Balloon Expedition of 1900. Our hopes of reaching the pole have been reduced to naught. Assistance urgently needed. Our destinies have hitherto been unknown, and now my fears have been actualized. GO IN TERROR OF HENRY HELGELAND. He is not who he proclaims to be. I volunteered for a man of honorable stature and venturesome drive. The man before me betrays neither.”
The remainder of the message was a hasty scrawl, decrypted only by the best in linguistics and modern codebreaking.
“UNASSISTED WE WILL PERISH HELPED WE WILL PERSEVERE PLEASE GOD HELP US HENRY WILL KILL US ALL DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT HE PROCLAIMS.”
The communication was immediately passed off to the Smithsonian Institution, where word fell within the earshot of Ascension Society proponents and additional members of the US Navy. A follow-up expedition — a rescue team led by Captain S. P. Matthews — was put together at once with the authorization of the Secretary of War.
Months later, after a congressional bill introduced to secure grant funding for arctic exploration — and thereby a rescue mission for Helgeland’s lost expedition — was successfully passed, the USS Greenwich departed from the San Francisco Naval Shipyard with a crew of thirty boatswains, medics, and deck officers among others.
What they would ultimately uncover puzzled them all.
---
“July 7, 1900. The team has fractured. We are without our provisions and without the morale that has served us thusly.
“Charles and I set upon the pursuit and capture of a walrus, a most strenuous task in the Arctic Circle. Furnished with a Winchester model .40-82, the sport skews in our favor but we are in no short supply of peril. These are one ton beasts with the strength of a hundred strongmen as they stave the ice, and yet it is not them I should have feared.
“’I can’t allow you to proceed further.’ I heard the click clack racket of the Winchester as Charles chambered a round and raised the rifle, training its twenty inch barrel toward my back after I had volunteered — quite ignorantly — to take the vanguard.
“’Charles?’ I managed between clattering teeth.
“’You’re a man of bold stature. An honorable man at that. But not honorable enough to die for. And that’s it, Henry. I will not die for you.’
“’You speak out of distress, not rationality.’
“’I’m as rational as one permits when I say we won’t all make it to Canada. You can’t expect us to sledge Edward for the next month and retain our strength. Our sanities.” I could hear him gulp, ‘our lives.’
“’You’re not who you say you are.’ I realized in that moment. ‘Not even an ensign would renounce his own crew. Who are you really, Charles?’
“His credentials were a farce; a clever scheme to scrape through the expedition’s vetting process. He was no navy-man nor expert nor navigator and if you piled his life’s accomplishments on top of one another, they’d be equal to that of a cretin.
“’Doesn’t matter any more, Henry.’
“’Then why haven’t you shot me?’
“I sensed beyond his terror a hint of reluctance and felt within him the trepidation of an amateur. The man had never wielded a firearm in his life and wouldn’t start hence.
“’In Your infinite mercy, hear my prayer. In Your boundless grace, grant me Your forgiveness,’ he muttered below his breath. I could’ve believed he’d have squeezed the trigger if not for the unexpected convulsion that suddenly brought him to his knees. Befallen by the strange attack, Charles unhanded the Winchester and collapsed to the ice in the midst of a crippling seizure. And in a matter of moments, he had succumbed to death.
“With some activated charcoal or perhaps an emetic, he could have eluded such a painful demise. I stepped over to look upon his body, his pupils dilated to the size of dimes. Reviewing the immediate symptoms, intuition tells me he’s become the latest victim of hemlock poisoning, the kind of amateur mistake I’d expect from someone such as Charles. Ideal timing, if I may speak candidly.
“Hope remains alive. I will ascend.”
---
Investigators with the crew of S. P. Matthews found everything except answers.
It took them all of three months to zero in on the campsite left behind by Helgeland’s expedition. Any prospect of finding the balloon itself was dropped by the wayside to preserve manpower and time.
The camp was discovered on the 79th parallel, not in any particular state of disarray but with enough evidence to suggest conflict had broken out between the members. Edward was discovered in a tent with the rest of the rations and a bullet hole stamped in the side of his head. There was no telling how long he’d been dead for.
Forty-five meters away from the camp, buried under a stalagmitic gathering of ice and snow, was the body of Charles Ringvold. A followup inquiry would prove my great grandfather’s claims that he was a fraud, but like Charles himself, the truth is buried deep under the surface. Edward and Charles are commemorated for their failed — albeit honorable — efforts in the face of great opposition.
The body of my great grandfather, however, was never found. Theories thus abound in the saga of Henry H. Helgeland and we are no more the wiser now than we were a century ago. He is remembered for murdering his men in cold blood, deserting them, and then yielding to the elements somewhere in the frozen hell of the arctic. The carrier-pigeon message sent by Charles corroborated the apparent facts.
But I know the truth. Because only I have the answers.
“July 8, 1900. All that remains is me, for everyone else has vanished. Edward and I regaled each other with stories of our mistresses as night fell upon our place in the arctic wasteland. Rebecca, Edward’s beloved, works as an expert seamstress in San Francisco and will no doubt be devastated when news of his fate reaches her. But the great memories they shared together, I assured him, will serve her well in the years to come.
“‘You shall be reunited at once,’ I whispered to him once more before executing the dying man with the Winchester. It is my turn to face whatever awaits me on the ice.
“My great anguish and sorrow have been mended.
“Ruth is calling to me now. Our son promptly requires our presence.
“I shall go to them."
The fruitless search for my great grandfather peaked at last with the unearthing of a path of footprints snaking away from the tent where Edward’s body lay. Investigators followed them for approximately ten meters before they abruptly ceased. Captain Matthews is quoted as saying: “it was as though the walker had simply floated away.”
And indeed, it was our family that won in the end, for my great grandfather received exactly what he wanted. The final, undated entry of his diary is comprised of but three simple words:
“I have ascended.”

So i’ve worked for about 7 months and my store and i’m a deli worker and one of the people i got hired with wears those masks that cover everything but his eyes and the store manager was fine she actually walked into the back during a walk just to see his mask because she liked it but this one teamlead just has weird vibes like you can tell. He’s the electronic teamlead and keep in mind deli is across the store everytime my friend is scheduled he somehow ends up walking by the deli and always asks for him like he out to get him, this team lead has been known to get people fired and pick favorites and the situation right now is weird. I stayed 30 mins overtime for him once and he never bothers me or anything but with my friend the first time he met him he was complaining about the mask and was calling coaches on the radio just to see if it was really okay? my friend had told him our coach said it was okay and all he said was “suree” in a sarcastic voice but the main thing i want to ask is can I report him? I’ve have many proof of weird stuff he’s done like he pulled me one time to dairy and he was so upset that the dairy workers called out that he started telling me “im gonna fire them” “do you know how much points they have?” and he proceeded to show me the dairy workers points like isnt that personal or is that even allowed? but that’s my main thing can i report him for showing me other associates points? since he out to get my friend just because a mask i don’t want my friend losing his job over a petty teamlead.

[M]/Doing retro just in case, coz it took me much longer to lay this out lol/[M]

Canadian Federal Elections 101

Canada has inherited its political system from the United Kingdom, sticking to Westminster parliamentary system ever since. This means, that unlike in the United States, the outcome of Canadian elections are won by whichever party manages to elect the greatest number on Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of Canada, allowing the leader of this party to assume the office of Prime Minister.

The Senate of Canada provides for a stark contrast, since despite being originally designed to ensure provincial representation, the upper house remains unelected and is largely subjected to the politics in the House of Commons.

When no party is able to secure more than 50 per cent of seats in the House, a leader of a political party that is able to command more than 50 per cent of MPs, for example through singing supply and confidence or coalition agreements with other parties, becomes Prime Minister instead. Historically, however, the largest party in the House of Commons tends to form a monitory government, when it commands a plurality of MPs, rather than an outright majority. This allows the largest party to remain in power, but it has to rely on MPs from other political factions to pass crucial pieces of legislation, especially when it comes to votes that indicate parliamentary confidence, such as federal budgets. Losing those votes, would effectively mean that the current government has to either be completely re-staffed with new Cabinet Ministers, or call a snap election.
However, minority governments remained fairly uncommon in Canada, since the current voting system, called First-Past-the-Post (FPTP), allows for individual MPs to win their respective ridings - also known as constituencies - to be elected into the House of Commons with a simple plurality of votes. Thus, a political party can win most seats in the House of Commons through strategically placing their bets on ridings with very tight margins, where just one extra vote may allow their nominee to win a permanently seat, effectively making all votes for the opposition candidate in that riding meaningless.

General Backgrounder

For example, the Liberal Party of Canada has won the last two federal elections with a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, despite coming only 2nd to the Conservative Party of Canada during popular vote. The Liberals, despite becoming the largest party in the House still fell short of winning the majority of seats, being forced to rely on the New Democratic Party, that represented are more progressive social democratic part of the electorate, for crucial votes. Later, the Government has called a snap election aiming to get their desired majority, but failed, and had to sign a formal Supply and Confidence Agreement with the NDP, that included a massive package of social programmes, such as the recently implemented national dental care and prescription drug insurance.
However, while enjoying a steady lead in polls vis-a-vis, the federal Conservatives during the pandemic, the Liberals had experienced persistent slump as post-pandemic recovered coupled with sticky inflation and rapidly deteriorating housing crisis. As the Federal Conservatives have moved to the right following the election of a new leader, they have utilised concurrent economic challenges and liberal economic policy, blaming the current government's pandemic related emergency spending coupled with expansion of social programs as the root cause for inflation into collapsing housing affordability. As Canada had to respond to America's Inflation Reduction Act with a new public investment into green transition, conservative criticism of the Trudeau government has become ever more vocal, with fiscal deficits presumably exacerbating, concurrent inflationary pressures.
Liberal policies, especially introducing the federal backstop mechanism for carbon pricing, has also spurred, vicious opposition, among Conservatives, especially those living in the Western Canada, that culminated in the razor-thin re-election of the United Conservatives in the oil-producing province of Alberta. The federal response to the freedom, convoy protest, as well as the general push, forever wider collective community during the pandemic, has created some fertile soil for the opposition, Conservatives to capitalise on, especially as the more moderate leader of the party had been ousted shortly after the convoy protest.
After more than eight years in government, the liberal party has also been embroiled in several corruption and ethics candles, including the SNC-Lavallin affair, the pandemic-era ArriveCan App scandal, and, most recently, the accusations of Chinese electoral interference, and Chinese police stations operating in Canada.
In fact, the situation for the current government has become so dire. It's a point, but more than 80% of forecasters projected a Conservative minority government has the most probable outcome for the next election. According to some polls, the Liberals would be unable to form a government, even with the support of the New Democratic Party. The liberal convention in late spring 2023, didn't provide much of a relief either, how's the party continued to lack a comprehensive platform to combat the issue of housing and affordability - something that steadily climbed the rate of priorities for many Canadians, to become the most pressing issue, when deciding who to vote for. If anything, the Conservative party has become the most popular political force, among younger Canadians, with their laser, sharp focus on the issue of inflation and housing affordability.
The issue of housing affordability has become central to the Conservative Convention, where the Party has committed to "restoring" home ownership across the country, through planning laws deregulation and "removing resections on the supply of housing". This would see the federal government to tie federal spending on housing to municipalities shortening approval times, waive HST/GST for housing, as well as allow landlords to re-invest their profits into new housing tax-free. The Conservative convention also proposed federal infrastructure funding to be linked to higher-density housing construction.
What did, however, play in favour of the current government, what is the time. Within Canadian Parliamentary system, the Prime Minister can call an election effectively anytime, so long their term doesn't exceed the four year threshold, that was approaching at Fall 2025, supported by the Supply and Confidence Agreement with New Democrats. As inflation in North America has started slowly subsiding to return to the 2% target in early fall 2024, Trudeau has managed to re-gain some the economic credibility his government has seemingly lost. The Liberals have also continued their tilt to make some inroads into the NDP camp, with the Federal Budget 2024 going heavily on Net Zero and Green Transition.
However, the Liberals also had to deal with a political deadline, whether to call and election before or after the Budget 2025 would've been published. The former might allow the LPC to avoid the criticism of "buying up votes" that the party received after calling the snap election shortly after introducing their Federal Budget in 2021. However, Trudeau also had a stake at deferring the election for long as possible, hoping that waiving inflationary pressure might open up more space for the Liberals to re-gain the economic ground over the Conservatives.

Federal Election 2025

After long deliberation, the federal Cabinet has opened to hold an election in late March 2025, right at the time when a government would have normally tabled their budget. The election that both the Liberals and the Conservatives have approached after almost a year or neck-and-neck perforce in the polls, with Trudeau having a minuscule advantage in personal ratings.
The economy, especially housing affordability, have become two main issues during this election, closely followed by healthcare - namely access to family physicians and waiting times for selected procedures - and the issue of inflation still lingering at the back of the public debate.
Trudeau himself because a matter for the debate, with the Liberals banking on his personal likability, while Federal Conservatives continuously pressed with corruption and ethical scandals and corruption allegations, combined with the Liberal campaign continuously bringing up the "electability issue" of their opponents.

Housing

With the Tories enjoying slight lead on the matter of economic competence, the Liberals opted to treat the housing crisis as a matter of social policy, while banking heavily on personal popularity of Trudeau himself. From the policy-standpoint, LPC Election Platform has effectively copied the proposal originally voiced during the Conservative Convention. Namely, waiving GST/HST for housing construction, allowing landlords to re-invest their profits into constructing more units tax-free, as well as linking federal spending to new housing development and liberalising permitting process. The difference with the Conservatives was the focusing on new federal spending to combat housing affordability.
Liberal election promises involved the commitment for new federal housing construction to exceed population growth by the end of the first term, through the government directly contracting private developers to build more affordable housing, and task the Canada Infrastructure Development Corporation to provide funding to non-market housing in numbers meeting or exceeding population growth in larger metropolitan areas on Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and across Atlantic Canada.
Unlike the Tories, Trudeau also went further, promising the government would cover development charges for projects that included affordable housing. The Liberals have also committed to conducting of affordable rental housing, aimed at younger Canadians and those who are yet to start cloning the property ladder. Conservatives on the other hand emphasised Trudeau's poor track on housing affordability, combined focusing on making home ownership more affable through market-driven construction of new units for sale.
Both Team Blue and Team Red have committed to expediting the arrival of new skilled trades professionals, especially those working in the housing sector, including interest-free loans to have their qualifications recognised or to up-skill their existing credentials. Liberals however, took a step further, promising automatic Permanent Residency who has worked in residential construction after 1 year, as well issuing Open Work Permits - exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment - to anyone with construction work experience willing to come to Canada, so long they continue working in the construction sector for the majority of their time before obtaining permanent residency. The Tories on their part suggested granting PR automatically after they've worked in construction for at least 5 years.
On the matter of banning foreign buyers, both parties have committed to banning home purchases in Canada for those who do not hold Canadian citizenship or are not Permanent Residents of Canada, with Liberals maintaining existing exemptions, so long the person buying has invested an equivalent amount in affordable housing construction.
Rhetorically, the Liberals have echoed the National Housing Act 1938, suggesting their government would run fiscal deficits to finance nation-wide home construction, especially affordable rental units. CPC has openly accused Trudeau of "policy stealing" choosing to emphasis permitting deregulation, subsidies for new units, and investing more construction professionals.

Healthcare & Social Care

Federal Conservatives have focused their attack in increasing waiting times, as well as increasing shortage of medical professionals across the country. Liberals, however, aimed to conservative proposals to introduce more private providers into the system, while emphasising their expansion of public health insurance that now covers both dental care and prescription drugs. Both parties suggested increasing the immigration intake for doctors, nurses, medical researches, providing financial support to have their credentials recognised in Canada as well as to update their skills.
The Liberals have however suggested lowering tuition rates international students who come to study health, social care, and eduction, granted them access to domestic rates of tuition, as well as a designated pathway to Permanent Residency for health, eduction, and social care who have obtained at least 1560 hours of Canadian work experience, and received at least part of their eduction in Canada. This would come as a supplementary measure, with domestic students becoming eligible for federal student loan write off if they have accumulated at least 1 year of post-graduation work experience in health, social care, or education - so long their degree is in the same field.
The Liberals have also committed to covering a Royal Commission to introduce a national social care insurance programme for seniors and people with disabilities.

The Economy

The Conservatives suggest introducing "full expensing" allowing companies to deduct up 120 per cent of their expenses on machinery, equipment, and non-residential property, akin to UK's Super Deduction, to combat Canada's low investment levels. They also propose to introduce tax credits for Canadian companies to up-skill their workers, as well as increased federal funding to provinces to support job training and second career programmes and labour market integration.
The Liberals suggest increasing the minimum wage in federally-regulated institutions, linking as a proportion of executive pay. LPC also pledged to introduce at least 4 weeks of paid vacation after 1 year on employment, with additional increases in line with employee tenure, as outlined in their Convention 2023, while brining paid leave of up to 6 weeks a year, allowing recipients to tradition onto disability payments after that.
Both parties have committed to supporting Employee Ownership Trusts, as well as introduction of worker representation on corporate boards in federally-regulated industries. Team Red however to it a step further, suggesting they will employee ownership mandatory for large corporations , with the only exemption provided for profit-sharing schemes.
Both parties have also supported reforming Canada's Employment Insurance Program:
The Conservatives suggest introducing Individual EI Savings Accounts that any Canadian can access whenever they are let go of their job or decide to quit. The proposed accounts would be funded through mandatory employer and employee contributions and could also be used to pay for labour training and re-skilling, with means-tested federal assistance available for those who's exhausted their accounts. Tories also suggest expanding current marginal earnings projection to apply to both individual and household income. The party also suggests waiving EI Premiums and provide rebates for C/QPP Contribution rebates to those not paying federal income tax, to guarantee every Canadian can earn at least $1000 a month free of payroll deductions.
Trudeau on the other hand suggested making EI coverage universal, and providing up to 90 per cent wage replacement in the first month of claim, while also introducing EI Benefit Floor, where every Canadian would be entitled to a minimum benefit equal to federal minimum wage regardless of their original earnings, for as long as they have enough insurable hours. The Liberal plan also introduces expands "working while on claim" provision, allowing people collecting EI benefits to have their wages supplemented through the program so their total paycheque reaches at least 90 per cent of their average 5-year earnings at all times, regardless whether the claimant is eligible for EI Regular Benefits. EI Parental Benefits are set to be fixed at at least 60 per cent of the family's income, subject o the benefit floor. Liberals suggest paying for the programme through waiving maximum insurable earnings to levy EI Premiums on all income of an individual, while introducing cap on benefits linked to median regional wages. However, the basic exemption shall be aligned to the federal income tax minimum threshold. Surpluses generated should be used to pay for expanded WWoC provisions and putting EI Operating Account back into surplus.
Both parties also committed to brining in a Canada Savers' Credit that mirrors both the amounts and eligibly criteria of the GST/HST tax credit, but is instead deposited in people's Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and automatically invested into corporate equity. Tories and Liberals also support introducing automatic enrolment for Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Registered Eduction Savings Plans (RESPs), Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP), First Homebuyer Savings Accounts (FHSAs) and TFSAs upon either birth of obtaining Canadian tax residency for eligible non-Canadians. While the Conservative proposal would new accounts automatically linked to existing financial institutions the individual already has an account in, the Liberals instant new accounts should be automatically assigned to a new independent crown corporation, so long the primary account holder haven't decided to the move their registered accounts to an eligible financial institution.
Both parties pitch the policy as a potential interim solution to address Canada's sky-high household debt, through increased asset ownership and participation in stock markets.
When it comes to fiscal policy, the Liberal Government suggests they'll keep their "structural deficit" - as defined by tax revenues versus programme expedites - bellow the rate of economic growth over the 10 year period. LPC however is open they'll not restrain their spending on new housing construction, Ottawa set to absorb almost all the costs of housing under the liberal plan. The Conservatives on the other hand suggest introducing the $1 for $1 rule for federal expenditure, where every dollar of new spending has to be offset by a dollar in spending cuts or increased taxes, suggesting to balance the budget in their first 5 years in the office.
Somewhat comically, the Liberals seem to be attacking Conservative proposals on the grounds it may bring back the pain on the nighties - referring to the Chretien austerity era - especially in Atlantic Canada and the Regions of Quebec where benefit dependency ratios have traditionally been elevated.
The Liberals have also committed to expand existing childcare agreements, to make childcare services and spare available to anyone, and drastically reduce wait times for subsidised spots.

Energy & Environment

The issue has surprisingly played a somewhat muted role during this election, as CPC has contained to opposed federal price on carbon, pressuring the idea of turning Canada into a "natural resource superpower". Liberals on the other hand boasted about their massive investment into Net Zero Transition, while also attacking the Tories one potential fiscal penalties that the government would assume after cancelling the carbon tax. Team Red had also opened to cling to previous commitments of the Conserve Leader to ban overseas oil, which Ontario, and Quebec, as well as Atlantic Canada remain fairly dependent on, due to lack of oil transportation infrastructure from western oil production facilities. Considering the fact Quebec has remained one of Liberal strongholds even at the lowest, as well as the party's perceived electability in the province, CPC would've had even harder to fight for the votes in Quebec.

Tipping the Scales

However, what truly decided this election, was something that may in the future divide the country even more, namely the issue of the French language. Something that has been present in Canadian politics for generations, but something that this time brought a party over the finish line, while completely tanking their opponents.
While both leaders fluent in French, having French Canadian roots, combined with an almost unchallenged dominance of the local Bloc Québécois, it seemed quite unlikely either party would be able to gain any meaningful advantage in Quebec, until both parties have revealed their election manifestos.
Here was the moment the Liberals played their cards best. Namely, the party has committed to supplying French language both within and outside Quebec, through drastically bolstering access to Francophone eduction across the country. The Liberals has committed to introducing a brand-new federal agency tasked with facilitating access to French eduction and integration services - Francisation Canada.
The agency was set to provide free-at-use eduction in French, while also providing up to $1000 a month in finical assistance to immigrants who were willing to learn French. On top of that, the Liberals have committed to make existing Explore and Odyssey Programme universal, integrating them into school curriculums across the country. The Party has also committed to negotiating bilateral agreements with all provinces to provide additional funding and guarantee access to services, including eduction in French across Canada, while making French a mandatory subject for Early Learning & Childcare, as well as in secondary education. LPC would also waive tuition fees for post-secondary eduction in French, and negotiate agreements with other francophone countries, to facilitate French-speaking immigration into Canada and Quebec.

Conclusion

Thus, on the night of the election, the sudden realisation waived through the country. The Liberal Party managed to protect their urban ridings, even in West, as their pledge to "spend whether it takes to make houses and rents affordable for everyone" managed to persuade swing urban voters across the country, combined with their massive investment in green transition. The Tories has also lost their lead in Atlantic Canada, where an idea of a massive EI expansion has resonated with voters much more than the concept of individual accounts. Massive subsidies in battery production have also helped the Liberals to protect their seats across Ontario, especially in former industrial towns. However, what actually brought Trudeau over the finish line, was Quebec. The Combination of absolutely massive investments into green tech, coupled with new social programs, and proposed childcare expansion, on top of the Liberal pledge to "protect and promote the French language from Coast to Coast to Coast" allowed the party to make some significant inroads across the province, despite loosing some suburban ridings, Central Canada gave Trudeau yet another chance to form yet another minority Liberal government.
​

Party Name	Popular Vote	Seats in the House of Commons of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada (LPC)	33.8%	158
Conservative Party of Canada (CPC)	35.8%	140
New Democratic Party (NDP)	19%	20
Bloc Québécois (BQ)	6.2%	21
People's Party of Canada	1,5%	0

​

Acknowledgements

• https://energynow.ca/2022/04/energy-east-will-not-live-again-heres-why-jean-francois-thibault/
• https://2023.liberal.ca/policy/
• https://macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/erin-otoole-socialist-crusade
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-election-results-1.5330105
• https://tnc.news/2022/03/25/pierre-poilievre-proposes-ban-on-foreign-oil-within-five-years/
• https://nationalpost.com/news/why-does-pierre-poilievre-appeal-to-young-canadians-its-all-about-economics-2
• https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-conservatives-more-trusted-than-liberals-to-manage-federal-finances/
• https://centre.irpp.org/research-studies/amending-the-official-languages-act-a-new-vision-of-bilingualism/
• https://energynow.ca/2022/04/energy-east-will-not-live-again-heres-why-jean-francois-thibault/
• https://tnc.news/2022/06/22/poilievre-pay-as-you-go/
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/where-the-six-conservative-leadership-candidates-stand-on-key-policy-issues-1.5888530
• https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2021/party-platforms/
• https://338canada.com/sim.htm

• just skip my post if you’re going to be negative/rude and not helpful please

I’m almost 30 years old and all my life no matter how hard I worked or what I did, I’ve become a victim and enemy of the government and the life I was born into. I’ll skip the abusive childhood but for my adult life I’ve had my identity stolen and been robbed blind and they refused to investigate, they’ve let my brothers killer out after just a few days and then I was shamed for acting like it’s not okay. I’ve reported numerous crimes about being attacked and forcefully evicted illegally from my home, I reported random people with assault rifles blocking my home and I lost my farm to illegal thugs amongst many other things.
I can’t get into Canada because I have multiple resisting arrest charges on my record with nothing attached, I’ve been told these count as violent dangerous crimes even though I never attacked or harmed anyone.
If I go to Mexico I’ve been told I might be robbed/killed/abducted if I travel alone without knowing where I’m at and knowing any locals
Does anyone have any ideas what country/culture I should study to try and find a place i can escape to? My skills here are owning farms & farming, land sales, leading teams. Off grid home&farm science, construction and planning. generally good at managing time and manual labor, I’m also good with producing music, but it’s not popular or known by anyone.
I just want freedom to work hard and live a life surrounded by nature, where they won’t rob me of what’s rightfully mine that I earned. I love cultures like Japan (too strict for me to get in) and Mexico, most of South America, but I have no connections to any of them
I’ve seen some gorgeous cheap properties online with creeks and such, in brazil, Uruguay, and places around there. If I could find a country that would welcome me, I’d gladly build a home from scratch on the cheap land I buy. But I don’t want to set myself up for disaster.
I also hope it would be a place where I could own guns and defend my land from being overtaken by hostile rebels/thieves if they decide to try. Somewhere with a majority of friendly people that don’t want to take things from someone who is being an honest hard worker.
What is a place you’d recommend?

In Week 22, job openings increased, but the unemployment rate experienced a jump. AI follies, along with renewed expectations of the Fed not raising rates, helped drive tech stocks higher, and NASDAQ (o:13109, c:13240) managed to close the week with gains. Meanwhile, BTC (o:27919, c:27239) continued its downward drift amid a shrinking money supply.
Notable Macroeconomic Updates:
Unemployment Rate (May): 3.7 percent (fact), 3.5 (consensus), 3.4 (previous); JOLTs Job Openings (April): 10.103M (fact), 9.375M (consensus), 9.745M (previous); ISM Manufacturing PMI (May): 46.9 (fact), 47 (consensus), 47.1 (previous); Case-Shiller Home Price MoM (March): 1.5 percent (fact), 0.4 (consensus), 0.3 (previous); Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index (May): -29.1 (fact), -25 (consensus), -23.4 (previous).
World’s Updates:
Spain: The country’s consumer price inflation dropped; Italy: Producer Price Inflation for April decreased; Russia: In April, the country’s economic performance showed positive growth; Germany: Country’s consumer price inflation in May dropped; France: In May, consumer price inflation fell; India: Country’s economy expanded; South Korea: In May 2023, the consumer price index in the country saw an increase; Mexico: In April, the unemployment rate increased. On Tuesday, the Shiller Home Index jumped to a one-year high, the Dallas Fed Index sunk, NASDAQ (o:13109, c:13017) corrected, and BTC (o:27919, c:27861) ranged.
The Dallas Fed Business Activity Index for manufacturing decreased to -29.1 in May, the lowest since Q2 of 2020. The production index turned negative, while the employment situation improved, reflecting managers’ upbeat optimism. Meanwhile, the March Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 1.5 percent MoM, the highest increase since May of 2022, with house prices increasing by 0.5%.
Other Markets Updates:
Spain: The country’s consumer price inflation dropped to 3.2 percent in May (previous: 4.1, consensus: 3.5) — the lowest level since July 2021. This decline was primarily driven by a decrease in fuel and food prices.
Italy: Producer Price Inflation for April decreased to -4.80 percent from -1.50 percent in March.
On Wednesday, NASDAQ (o: 12,968, c: 12,935) and BTC (o: 27,072, c: 27,010) continued to drift sideways on technicals, additionally suppressed by unexpectedly improved job openings.
BLS reported a surprising rise in job vacancies in April, reaching 10.1M, surpassing expectations of 9.375M. This rebound from the previous month’s low of 9.745M suggests a tight labor market, potentially leading to more interest rate hikes by the Fed. Job increased in a retail (209K) and transportation (154K). Regionally, job openings increased in the West (236K), Midwest (137K), and South (20K), but declined in the Northeast (-34K).
The Beige Book came out, indicating an uneven distribution of economic conditions. Some sectors, such as commerce, showed a contraction of activities, while others, like airlines, continued to expand with higher wage being requested by new candidates.
Details: Labor market conditions in some sectors are improving, with better success in hiring seasonal workers in agriculture and hospitality sectors. However, labor constraints and worker shortages are still present in other sectors, including healthcare and retail. Wage pressures remained elevated, with some industries continuing to pay above-average salary increases to attract and retain qualified workers.
Manufacturing output growth in Texas experienced a lull in April, with new orders continuing to fall. Airlines reported high ticket prices amid strong demand and constrained supply. Firms in infrastructure and other heavy construction reported generally stronger activity, while firms in industrial and commercial construction reported some softening.
Other Markets Updates:
Russia: In April, the country’s economic performance showed positive growth, increasing by 3.3% compared to the same period last year. This follows a revised contraction of 0.7% in the previous month. Notably, it represents the first monthly expansion in the economy after experiencing 12 consecutive months of decline, partly influenced by the comparison to a low base effect from the previous year.
Germany: Country’s consumer price inflation in May dropped to 6.1% YoY, down from 7.2% the previous month, and below the expected 6.5%. This marks the lowest rate since March 2022, primarily driven by slower increases in energy and food prices.
France: In May, consumer price inflation fell to 5.1% YoY — lowest level since April 2022 — down from 5.9% the previous month, and below the expected 5.5%.
India: Country’s economy expanded by 6.1% YoY in Q1 (expectations was 5%), and higher than 4.5% in Q4 2022. This growth was primarily driven by private consumption, services exports, and manufacturing, benefiting from reduced input costs.
On Thursday, NASDAQ (o:12944, c:13100) rose by 1.2 percent due to Representatives passing the ceiling bill and Fed members hinting at a pause. BTC (o:26947, c:26867) followed suit during the after-market.
At the same time, fundamentals continued to worsen. In May, the Manufacturing PMI dropped to 46.9 from April’s 47.1, below the predicted 47, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline in the manufacturing industry. New orders and inventories contracted, while production saw a rebound and employment increased at a faster rate. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in price pressures.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker suggested that the central bank might forgo a rate increase in the upcoming meeting. However, he emphasized that the choice to maintain current interest rates should not be interpreted as the conclusion of the tightening phase.
Other Markets Updates:
South Korea: In May 2023, the consumer price index in the country saw a 3.3% year-on-year increase, compared to a 3.7% rise in April, showing a continued easing for the fourth consecutive month. This marks the lowest level since October 2021. The Korean central bank halted its interest rate hikes at the April meeting after raising rates by a total of 3 percentage points.
On Friday, NASDAQ (o:13190, c:13240, +0.3) experienced an increase fueled by an ongoing micro-rally in tech stocks, supported by the BLS reporting rising unemployment and diminishing concerns over the Fed raising rates. BTC (o:27095, c:27239, +0.5) followed suit, although it remained constrained by a tight money supply and low demand from retail buyers.
In May 2023, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent, reaching its highest level since October 2022 and exceeding market expectations of 3.5 percent. Despite this increase, the jobless rate remained historically low, indicating a tight labor market. The number of individuals who were unemployed increased by 440 thousand to reach 6.10 million, while employment levels saw a decline of 310 thousand to 160.72 million.
Other Markets Updates:
Mexico: In April, the unemployment rate saw a rise to 2.80 percent, up from 2.40 percent in March.
In Week 23, apart from the Services PMI for May published by ISM on Monday, not much macroeconomic data is released. Markets are expected to be volatile as traders adjust and readjust their positions before the June 14th FOMC rate decision. Additionally, technical indicators’ leading algorithms will react to the proximity of major index prices to important resistance levels.

Race Information
Name: San Diego Marathon
Date: June 4, 2023
Distance: 26.2 miles
Location: San Diego, Ca
Strava: https://strava.app.link/mUZQ4MN3mAb
Time: 2:54:46
Goals
Goal Description Completed?
A Sub 2:55 Yes
B Sub 3 Yes
C Negative split Yes
D Feel strong on highway to hill Yes
Splits
Mile Time
1 First half 1:27:30
2 Second half 1:27:16
3 Mile 25 @ 6:17
4 Mile 26 @ 6:01
Training
I ran the extremely downhill and fast Mt Charleston Marathon this April with the sole goal of qualifying for Boston and going sub 3. I managed to run a 2:53 and some change however in the back of my mind I didn’t feel great about qualifying on such a ridiculously downhill course. I signed up for the San Diego marathon as it has a reputation for being a tough course and I knew if I could break 3 in San Diego, then my fitness/speed was truly there.
I had about 9 weeks to recovetrain from Charleston until the marathon in San Diego. I’m a newish runner (running/training consistently about 10 months now) but I’m naturally quite fast. I focused on getting in as many miles as possible at a much easier pace than previous training blocks. I ran most of my easy miles based on hr, and I was able to run way more volume then before. I also incorporated a lot of track work for my speed sessions which helped a ton. I did 3 weeks >70 miles and peaked at 75 miles 4 weeks before the race. I did a 3 week taper where I ran 60 miles, 50 miles, then 22 miles before the race. I also took no real rest days at all, running 2 miles at VERY easy pace on my “rest days”. I’m psyched on a run streak right now so that’s why my rest days involved running.
Pre-race
My wife and I drove to San Diego from Vegas Friday so we would have the entire day before the race to just chill out. I think that was a smart move so we felt relaxed and not rushed the day before the race. We did a shakeout run Friday when we arrived and again Saturday morning the day before the race. Both shakeout runs incorporated a few strides.
Race
This race went AMAZING! My rough strategy was to negative split. I made a rule that in the first half I would not go faster than 6:40 miles no matter what. It took a lot of restraint to hold back with people passing me but for the first time in a race the running felt easy. I kept checking my hr and was amazed at how low it was staying. Around mile 16 other runners started to slow and something in me just changed. I started running faster. The second half of the marathon is very up hill for many miles, with a mile and a half uphill that comes at mile 22. It didn’t matter. I was flying. I recently listened to a podcast with David Goggins and he talked about taking souls and I turned that into my motto. Everyone I passed I was taking souls. I don’t think anyone passed me from mile 13 onward. The last 2.5 miles are downhill and they were my fastest miles by far. I never hit the wall and was smiling from start to finish.
Nutrition
I was much more deliberate in my nutrition this race. I had water at every water station, and Gatorade (supplied on course) at every other station in addition to the water.
Start line: honey stinger chews
Mile 4: SIS gel
Mile 8: SIS gel
Mile 12: Gu roctane
Mile 16: SIS gel
Mile 19: Maureen Caffeinated gel
Mile 22: SIS gel
Post-race
I am so so stoked with how this race went. I managed to get 28th overall and 8th in my age group (I’m 29). The big take away is that marathons can be fun if you race them smart. Sticking to a pace and strategy pays dividends later in the race. I’m excited to continue to see where I can take running and to bring strategy to all future marathons.
Made with a new race report generator created by herumph

Sorry for the vague title, I wasn’t sure how to stay within rules and have it make sense
So I (33f) met my current best friend (28f) five years ago at our workplace. I honestly didn’t think she even liked me at first because she’s very negative and had pretty bad resting b**** face. Part of the issue with our friendship is that I am in a management position whereas she is more on an entry level employee. While, she’s not my direct report, there are only a few of us managers in the department.
We’ve traveled together and become very close over the last 5 years, that I consider her my best friend and she says I’m one of her best friends too. While our company doesn’t have rules against socializing with employees, my friend has repeatedly told me that she hates when employees flaunt their relationship with a superior and she never wants to put either of us in the position where it looks like she receives special treatment. I totally understand this.
Here’s my insecurity and I want to know if I’m being a self-conscious baby:
She has complained multiple times to me about not having any friends except me, yet she is always posting on social with her friends and she tells me about their adventures/traveling. When I tell her this, she says it’s all superficial friendships, but our friendship is more real. I can’t help but not believe her because I barely see her (even at work) and she only texts me in spurts or when something big happens. The other part that stings is that she never posts or asks to take photos together. Our management team, including my boss have all known her and I are friends for years and no one cares. So I can’t help but feel like she is ashamed to be my friend or something stupid. Im not sure if I’m overreacting. I put a lot of emotional effort into friendships and I feel like the effort is not being reciprocated. What she tells me and how she acts feel conflicting. How do I talk to her about this without sounding childish or petty?

Has anyone, and in what context (time of hire, when calling out/ needing sick days needed more frequently) told your employer of hashimotos & any other autoimmune issues you may or may not?
I did mention casually, In passing to direct supervisor of new job (I have been only been here 2.5, almost 3 months now), that I have autoimmune issues and that’s why I keep letting her know I have quick virtual checks in w my doc but that this isn’t ongoing and only scheduled because of a recent dose change- she said no problem and didn’t ask any further questions or seem to mind at all. This was within the first month of employment.
The past 2 weeks have been rough- I called out 2 weeks ago feeling like shit, said I might caught have strep after being exposed- this was probably the start of my levels swinging and symptoms worsening. Which happened slowly but surely throughout the last 2 weeks. I started falling behind and moving slower, missing some due dates too. This isn’t good being that I’m so new - last Thursday and Friday it came to breaking point and I was in a huge flare up. I managed to work half the day thurs but had to end early (told supervisor was having a flare up day and should be fine by tomorrow ), but there was not a chance in the world I would have been able to work Friday bc my symptoms got much worse . I called out at 6am - it was a big day and probably worst day to call out. I missed 2 important meetings and 2 deadlines. I couldn’t stand up and was in bed sleeping from when I called out in early AM til 6pm. Every once in a while I’d open eyes and apparently agree to send an email or report (don’t even remember these texts), but I never did.. I physically couldn’t have even if I wanted to and could reach my laptop.
Saturday morning I got a text apologizing for the weekend text but she doesn’t see any reports in her inbox, heard I didn’t cancel meeting with someone, and that “I really need to focus” because my reports must be submitted by Monday 8Am”
Trying to explain what it feels to be in a flare seems like a waste of time/ energy . She didn’t reply when I told her I physically could not work or send any of the things on Friday….plus hi- I called out sick, not sure why I’d be expected to work. I said the flare up was horrible but apologized again because I did miss a big day full of important mtgs, etc .
I was thinking of asking my doc to write a general letter saying while I am capable of working, there likely will be times a flare up occurs and I have to call out. I don’t want/ need accommodations or for this to become a big formal HR thing. I just don’t want her to think I’m lying….
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated !

a couple days ago, i purchased some new non slip shoes off amazon. when i went into work with them, however, i made the unfortunate discovery they are not nonslip. in result of this discovery, i fell at work and my manager and two dishwashers saw. today, i woke up and my hip was hurting really bad, so i called out for the day and just rested it. a couple hours after i called out, my manager calls me back and says he’s filing an incident report. i thought this was werid, because the incident in question happened a couple days ago, and now my manager is deciding to do it now. so at the last minute, my manager says i need to fill out some paperwork, and to take a drug test. normally, i wouldn’t mind this, however if i was notified the day of i could have gotten it done, but now since this is super last minute, i do not have time to get it done.
i thought this was extremely unprofessional and made me feel really undervalued as an employee because it seems to me my manager didn’t care about my fall until i said i was hurt, and then decided to do something about it. It’s almost as if when i said i was hurt, he was worried i might sue … Then, he inconvenienced me when i called out to rest. so, i’m going to quit! i’m moving to another job i’ve been looking at for some time because my manager has pulled some things before like changing my schedule without me knowing, cutting my hours, failing to acknowledge my time off requests and overall just creating a toxic sweatshop- like environment. i guess this was my sign!
i thought i would share. hope you enjoyed!

Happy Monday, Barkada --

The PSE gained 81 points to 6512 ▲1.3%

Thanks to Dividend Pinoy for the positive feedback on the new format of the MB REIT Index and MB IPO Tracker images (an update was waaaay overdue), to Rami Hourani, Jing, and CHARToons for the meme love, to Kristoffer Notario and cryptomarcus for feeling my distaste for FILRT, to PHValueInvestor, Joel, Jesley Tan Uy, CFA, and SnooTomatoes5312 for the discussion on the MPI tender situation, and to ACT for the interesting context on the MPI valuation delay.
Shout-outs to Dividend Pinoy PGG, MikeyPylo97, Kristhan Quebec, Jonathan Burac, Chris Darko, Justn, Evolves Capital, Inc., LanAustria, CHARToons, DV Dindo, PNLperShare, KingArk, koninja, Vie, arkitrader, Tenkan Sen, Pao, Technimentalist, Jayman6000, Palaboy Trader, Lance Nazal, Chip Sillesa, and Jing for the retweets, and to CW Sale, Marvin Quezon, Genesis Umali, Evolves.co, Jayvee Menil, and Mike Ting for the Facebook shares.

▌In today's MB:

• COMING UP: The week ahead
  • May CPI data
  • CREIT Q1 div ex-date
  • FILRT Q1 div ex-date
• SPNEC suspended (public float)
• Figaro coffee biz gets PEZA nod
• Top Frontier getting P10.9-B from RSA

▌Daily meme Subscribe (it's free) Today's email

▌Main stories covered:

• [COMING_UP] The week ahead... This week is going to start quietly and then get a little weird on Tuesday when we hear from the Philippine Statistics Authority on our Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading for May. This is the data that we use to calculate inflation. Tuesday is also the ex-date for CREIT’s Q1 cash dividend. Then we have nothing until Friday, which is the ex-date for FILRT’s Q1 cash dividend.
  
  • MB: The BSP was initially full of bravado when it first hit the pause button last month, but it seemed to quickly walk back comments that it would pause for several periods in a row to say that it would still probably just follow what the US was doing. If the CPI data comes in hot (surprisingly high), then the BSP might be relatively quiet, but if the CPI data comes in cool (surprisingly low), then we might get another round of chest-beating about our ability to remain independent of the US on interest rate hikes and continue our pause. I don’t know which way it will go, only that the CPI data itself isn’t coming down that much on a month-to-month basis; the inflation “gains” that we might see could be low-base effects from the alarming acceleration of inflation that started this time last year.
• [NEWS] SPNEC suspended by the PSE for float violation... SP New Energy [SPNEC 1.46 suspended] [link] was suspended on Friday by the PSE for violating the PSE’s minimum public float rule. The suspension was announced after SPNEC disclosed that the SEC had approved SPNEC’s increase in authorized capital stock from ₱1 billion to ₱5 billion. The PSE appeared to base the suspension on SPNEC’s February 2022 disclosure that said the increase in authorized capital stock was meant to facilitate a massive share swap with SPNEC’s parent company; however, this understanding of the larger transaction doesn’t appear to align with SPNEC’s most recent telling of the deal’s structure from May 8, where SPNEC said that it would acquire the projects from its parent company using cash as payment (not shares). According to Nicky Franco, the head of research for SPNEC’s underwriter, despite the PSE’s misunderstanding of the larger picture, SPNEC is still in violation of the minimum public float requirement, and will still need to sell additional private placements to get its public float up above 20% before it can have that trading suspension lifted.
  
  • MB: This is kind of an ugly situation that caught a lot of people by surprise, and the confusion caused by the PSE’s disclosure only seemed to add to the uncertainty. To be clear, the PSE’s misunderstanding isn’t material: SPNEC regardless of whether the full deal is a share swap or a cash purchase, SPNEC still needs to have more of its shares sold to non-controlling entities for it to complete the transaction. It doesn’t matter whether those shares are sold by SPNEC directly or by SPNEC’s parent, the key here is that “the public” just owns too little of the company for the PSE to allow it to be traded as a public company. The problem for investors is that we don’t know how long this situation will last. SPNEC could crush out a deal or two over the weekend, or it could hit a few snags and/or get side-swiped by some external event, and the situation could take weeks to resolve. We just don’t know.
• [NEWS] Figaro gets PEZA approval for coffee production facility... Figaro [FCG 0.74 ▲8.8%; 174% avgVol] [link] disclosed that it received approval from the board of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for FCG, under its wholly-owned subsidiary, Figaro Innovation and Development (FIDI), to produce roasted coffee at its Laguna Technopark facility as an “Ecozone Export Enterprise”. This will give FCG’s coffee project a 5-year income tax holiday, with an additional 10-year “special” 5% corporate income tax once that holiday expires. FCG said that its primary goal for FIDI is to make “trailblazing products and processes” to “level up the F&B industry”, and to “promote Filipino brands, products and raw materials globally.”
  
  • MB: These tax holidays are significant, but they’re only as significant as the volume of the activity that is being taxed. FCG’s plans with respect to the export of its coffee are not particularly clear, considering the old “CTRL-F” of “innovation” (for the subsidiary), “PEZA” (for the plan to acquire tax-free privileges), and “export” (for the plan to export products globally) returned zero hits on the company’s most recent Annual Report and its two latest Quarterly Reports. The global coffee market is massive (~$500 billion/year), and is expected to grow modestly year-on-year (5% CAGR), but it’s hard to attach a potential value to anything without knowing more. The market didn’t care about them pesky details, pumping the stock 9% on the news.
• [NEWS] Ramon Ang pumping ₱10.9-B into Top Frontier... Top Frontier Investment Holdings [TFHI 120.00 ▲8.1%; 41% avgVol] [link], the parent company of San Miguel [SMC 106.90 ▲0.2%; 83% avgVol], disclosed that its board had unanimously approved the sale of 45 million common shares to Far East Holdings (FEH), at a price of ₱241.42/share, for a total price of approximately ₱10.86 billion. The per-share price of the deal is 117% higher than TFHI’s previous closing price of ₱111.00/share. FEH is owned by Ramon Ang, and the deal would increase Mr. Ang’s stake in TFHI to approximately 35%. The purchase will make Mr. Ang the second-largest TFHI shareholder behind Inigo Zobel. When asked about the purchase, Bloomberg reported that Mr. Ang said: “It’s a good investment”, and then added that he has “extra funds”.
  
  • MB: As the Bloomberg article mentions, FEH made some money in 2022 when it sold its holdings in Eagle Cement to SMC. In this game of “follow the money”, we’ll just have to wait and see what TPHI does with the new injection of cash. What we don’t have to wait for is the use of this deal as a contrast to how Manny V. Pangilinan has conducted the Metro Pacific [MPI 4.35 ▼0.5%; 463% avgVol] tender offer transaction. I wonder if COL Financial is going to send me a breathless email about TPHI’s upcoming shareholders’ meeting, too?

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CONTEXT * I’m developing a set of 10 excel templates all with unique column headers. * These 10 templates get consolidated into a single master table. * The end goal is to feed this master table into a standard Power BI reporting tool that can be reused on future projects.
CHALLENGE
For reasons that are very long-winded to explain, I require a number of spare columns in some of the excel templates that might be renamed by the user and utilized at a later date.
Power BI doesn’t seem to like when column names (or fields) are missing, changed or added (If I recall correctly).
Does anyone have any thoughts on the best way to manage this? My goal is avoid messing with the power BI file on every project if someone happens to modify one of the spare columns.

CONTEXT * I’m developing a set of 10 excel templates all with unique column headers. * These 10 templates get consolidated into a single master table. * The end goal is to feed this master table into a standard Power BI reporting tool that can be reused on future projects.
CHALLENGE
For reasons that are very long-winded to explain, I require a number of spare columns in some of the excel templates that might be renamed by the user and utilized at a later date.
Power BI doesn’t seem to like when column names (or fields) are missing, changed or added (If I recall correctly).
Does anyone have any thoughts on the best way to manage this? My goal is avoid messing with the power BI file on every project if someone happens to modify one of the spare columns.

I need advice // [email protected] beauty lead advisor
Hey everyone So im a beauty lead advisor at Sephora @ kohls and my store opens next Monday June 12. It’s been a tough first few weeks and im very frustrated with how some part timers are treating me. I came from working at another beauty retailer and I have a lot of knowledge about products, how things should be overstocked, displays etc. My BTL came from kohls and has been with the company 14 years. All the other part timers aren’t very familiar with Sephora and products in general. Or beauty insider or how b day rewards work at Sephora.
However im constantly under minded when I answer a question they have or do something as simple as restock the stations with q tips, sponges, spoolies etc. It’s ridiculous. Everytime I give a suggestion it gets knocked down immediately. My BTL is sometimes super nice or really rude. She always uses a rude tone or gets bothered when I ask how to do something. And it’s just to me! She doesn’t treat others this way. I’ve brought up to my Store manager a few incidents with a part timer trying to boss everyone around and do my job and I even told her “what is a beauty lead advisor” and she confirmed to me what I thought which is be my BTL’s right hand and her assistant but I’m not treated this way. And my SM told me she would tell the BTL to have a meeting to explain everyone’s roles and what each position means and that still hasn’t happened…
It’s so bad as it is not being open yet, I don’t want to imagine how toxic it’ll be once open. Since I’m the only one treated this way, I’m thinking of having a meeting with my BTL and SM about my concerns. My BTL also undermines me and doesn’t take any of my suggestions and says “we don’t need to do that so no” and I’m like mid sentence. It’s so frustrating because I waited months for this job, I’m so dedicated and I’m nice to everyone. I’ve done nothing but treat everyone with respect and try to get to help my team with ideas since I have a beauty background and they don’t. I don’t think of myself better than them or anything! I just want us all to succeed and bring up good ideas to make things easier . It makes me sad to feel the way I do in such little time working here. Literally cried in my car after my shift today. I’m a leader, I shouldn’t be disrespected by my colleagues and it shouldn’t feel like HS all over again. *I don’t want to give out certain instances or detailed examples incase I need to report any of this to HR in the future.

Hey everyone So im a beauty lead advisor at Sephora @ kohls and my store opens next Monday June 12. It’s been a tough first few weeks and im very frustrated with how some part timers are treating me. I came from working at another beauty retailer and I have a lot of knowledge about products, how things should be overstocked, displays etc. My BTL came from kohls and has been with the company 14 years. All the other part timers aren’t very familiar with Sephora and products in general. Or beauty insider or how b day rewards work at Sephora.
However im constantly under minded when I answer a question they have or do something as simple as restock the stations with q tips, sponges, spoolies etc. It’s ridiculous. Everytime I give a suggestion it gets knocked down immediately. My BTL is sometimes super nice or really rude. She always uses a rude tone or gets bothered when I ask how to do something. And it’s just to me! She doesn’t treat others this way. I’ve brought up to my Store manager a few incidents with a part timer trying to boss everyone around and do my job and I even told her “what is a beauty lead advisor” and she confirmed to me what I thought which is be my BTL’s right hand and her assistant but I’m not treated this way. And my SM told me she would tell the BTL to have a meeting to explain everyone’s roles and what each position means and that still hasn’t happened…
It’s so bad as it is not being open yet, I don’t want to imagine how toxic it’ll be once open. Since I’m the only one treated this way, I’m thinking of having a meeting with my BTL and SM about my concerns. My BTL also undermines me and doesn’t take any of my suggestions and says “we don’t need to do that so no” and I’m like mid sentence. It’s so frustrating because I waited months for this job, I’m so dedicated and I’m nice to everyone. I’ve done nothing but treat everyone with respect and try to get to help my team with ideas since I have a beauty background and they don’t. I don’t think of myself better than them or anything! I just want us all to succeed and bring up good ideas to make things easier . It makes me sad to feel the way I do in such little time working here. Literally cried in my car after my shift today. I’m a leader, I shouldn’t be disrespected by my colleagues and it shouldn’t feel like HS all over again. *I don’t want to give out certain instances or detailed examples incase I need to report any of this to HR in the future.

The title is a bit complex, so bear with me as I explain my thoughts and idea.
My main idea is, that with Zk-proofs and LMs it should be possible to solve the following problem:
Imagine that Alice has created the greatest poem of all times. This means, that anybody who reads the poem agrees, that it's the greatest poem without any hesitation. (It's just an example, okay? 😅) She wants to prove the world, that she has written such a poem, but she doesn't want to let the whole world know it. However, she wants to convincingly prove to the world, that her poem is indeed the greatest of all time! This means, that she cannot simply have the public select a few "trustees" which will hear her poem and then report whether they approve or not. After all some in the public may argue, that these trustees are just not enough to convince the entire public. How might Alice achieve a greatness proof without trusting others or asking for others trust?
To approach this question, I'd like to state two important aspects.

1. LMs. Language models (especially LLMs) have recently demonstrated, that we can use computers to automatically do text based tasks which were previously inconceivable. We can ask LLMs to judge, whether a poem is the greatest poem of all times or or. We cannot explicitly write such a program, but we managed to train LMs to solve this task. Note, that the execution of a LM answering this question is deterministic (given an initial PRNG seed).
   
2. Zero-Knowledge Proofs. These proofs allow a prover P to prove, that a fact X is true to a verifier V, without the verifier learning anything except that X is true. Sounds impossible, right? Oh, was I struck when I learned, that this is possible for all kinds of facts X! With stuff like zk-SNARKS, today, it's possible, to efficiently prove, that a program was executed correctly resulting in a specific output Y without the verifier needing to reexecute said program. This means, that I could write a super complex (but short) program and have it run for 10¹⁰⁰ steps before it halts and produces '42' - and you could verify from my receipt in a very short amount of time, that I ran the program correctly and that the output is indeed '42'.
   

While ZK proofs are great for proving many stuff, they suffer from the fact, that you can only prove things, which you can encode as programs. It's easy to write a program which computes a maximum - so that you can prove, that your value is the maximum. But it's impossible to write a program, which returns true, only when the input is the greatest poem of all times....
That's when LMs come in. LMs are essentially also just programs. We could actually encode the LM and all of it's weights and the execution of ingesting an input and producing an output into a zero-knowledge proof process. That means, that we could use LMs to prove things like that Alice has the greatest poem of all times! Assuming, the LM is public and the public agrees to trust the output of the LM (after all it has read more than any individual human on the planet), then we could create a ZK circuit encoding the LM computation and Alice could prove, that the LM indeed outputs, that her poem is the greatest of all time (for an appropriate question prompt), without her revealing it!
This was a mouthful! But what I find fascinating here, is that we can Trustlessly zk-prove non-trivial things which we "intuitively" know, but cannot explain as a Computer program. (Hence, the Non-Explicitly-Programmable Properties in the title).
What do you think of this? Did I maybe miss something here? Is there some caveats? Or what do you think couls be nice use cases for this?

We have a lot of memorized journals set up because we have clients pay for services a year in advance, which we then move from a Liability account to Income account every month.
This works but we are trying to construct a forecast report that includes those expected journals. To this we would add what's in the pipeline and what is on open sales orders we expect to invoice (no problems with those pieces of the puzzle).
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to report on anything other than the very next expected memorized transaction, as 'next date' is an available field. So we can forecast current and next month, but not beyond that.
I thought a SuiteAnalytics Dataset would for sure allow me to drill through to this, but again all I can see there is the next date, and all past transactions. I suppose it's possible to come up with a formula that uses the NEXT DATE, REPEAT EVERY and NUMBER REMAINING fields, but I was hoping all future dates would be stored somewhere?
Has anyone managed to get this working, or should I start looking at constructing that formula...
Cheers :)

Hi pharmacist and tech friends! I’m new here so I wanted to share a story that happened this past weekend when I was on duty. My lead tech was ringing out a patient that just so happened to be the town clerk for my store’s town. She started the transaction with an attitude. My tech was accommodating and asked for her DOB and address. Verifying factors. She always does this. Patient LOSES it on her and I step in because I overhear. I say there’s no need to argue and I just mentioned we typically ask for names and addresses per policy. She yelled at me stating I was disrespecting Both my tech and her. Wrote a note for my front store manager to ban her effective in the near future. Her behavior is demeaning and condescending. I hope I did the right thing defending my tech and explaining we never violated HIPAA. She got mad because there was another patient checking out next to her. I am still shaking.

Trading and investing are two different approaches to participating in financial markets, each with its own objectives, time horizons, and strategies. Here's an explanation of trading and investing:
Trading: Trading involves buying and selling financial instruments (such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or currencies) with the primary goal of generating short-term profits. Traders often focus on price fluctuations, market trends, and technical analysis to make their decisions. Here are some key characteristics of trading:

1. Time Horizon: Traders typically have a short-term time horizon, ranging from a few seconds to a few months. They aim to take advantage of short-term price movements.
2. Frequency of Transactions: Traders frequently execute buy and sell orders, sometimes even within minutes or seconds. They aim to profit from short-term price volatility.
3. Risk and Reward: Trading can be more speculative and higher risk compared to investing. Traders often use leverage (borrowed money) to amplify potential profits, but this also increases the risk of losses.
4. Strategy: Traders employ various strategies, such as day trading, swing trading, or algorithmic trading. They may use technical analysis, charts, patterns, and indicators to identify entry and exit points.
5. Active Monitoring: Traders need to closely monitor market conditions and news that can impact prices. They often use real-time data and have a more hands-on approach to managing their positions.

Investing: Investing involves buying financial assets with the goal of generating long-term wealth appreciation or income. Investors focus on the fundamentals of the underlying assets and aim to profit over an extended period. Here are some key characteristics of investing:

1. Time Horizon: Investors have a long-term perspective, typically spanning years or even decades. They aim to benefit from the overall growth of the investment over time.
2. Patience: Investors understand that the value of their investments may fluctuate in the short term but have confidence in their long-term prospects. They focus on factors like company earnings, industry trends, and economic conditions.
3. Risk and Reward: While investing still carries risks, it tends to be less speculative compared to trading. Investors often diversify their portfolios to manage risk and focus on achieving sustainable returns.
4. Strategy: Investors may adopt different strategies like value investing, growth investing, or income investing. They conduct fundamental analysis, evaluating the financial health, competitive advantages, and management of the assets they invest in.
5. Passive Approach: Long-term investors generally take a more hands-off approach. They do not actively buy and sell assets based on short-term price movements. Instead, they focus on selecting quality investments and holding them for an extended period.

Both trading and investing have their merits and risks. Trading can offer the potential for quick profits but requires active management and can be more volatile. Investing aims for long-term growth and may be more suitable for individuals with a longer time horizon and a willingness to withstand short-term market fluctuations. Ultimately, the choice between trading and investing depends on individual goals, risk tolerance, and the amount of time and effort one is willing to dedicate to the activity.

Now that the Tish saga is done, it's time to move on to our landlord's retribution. This is a long one because I don't want to divide the story. TL;DR at the end.
Hubby and I lived in this apartment complex from 2016-2019. Until 2018, the apartment next to Tish's was rented by a Dominican couple who (apart from the Colosseum they erected in their living room every weekend for televised boxing matches) were very nice. So, Hubby and I were kind of bummed when the couple decided that they'd had enough of our complex. They came home one day to find at their doorstep a big-ass rat the size of a cat snacking merrily on some KFC bones that had dropped from Tish's garbage can. I would also argue that the couple probably found it hard to sleep with Tish's headboard slapping against their bedroom wall all weekend long (cue Vybez Kartel & Spice).
We were further disappointed when we realized they were being replaced by a mother and her two daughters. It's not that I don't like kids. I just that Jay wasn't exactly a model for confidence.
The family was quiet and timid, but it was clear they had problems. Big problems. According to what Tina would tell me in "casual" conversations in the laundry room, she had once sat upon her parents’ very high pedestal and - by her own account - had been violently shoved from that pedestal when she found herself pregnant with her first daughter. She'd tried to climb another very high pedestal and managed to stay there long enough to marry and have her second child, but "the cheating dog" had kicked Tina from the apex of prosperity to the pits of impoverishment once more. Heavy shit for laundry room talk.
But, it was hard to sympathize with Tina. The girls, unfortunately, seemed to understand all too well that they were Tina’s “burden”. The teenager (Mel) was ferrety and surly - which some would say is normal for a 15yo - but do 15yos spank their own sisters? Not fight - spank. As a parent would. And the 8yo, while sweet, tore through boundaries like acrylic nails through cheap toilet paper.
Tish immediately hated Tina because there was only enough room in this complex for one shit show at a time. Every time I saw Tish and Tina pass one another around the complex, the air would grow cold and the birds would flee to the West.
But, Tish and Jay left not long after Tina and her girls moved in. If y’all are looking for the catfight of the century, I am so sorry, but I must disappoint you. Jay's father returned from graduate school and got primary custody of Jay. That meant Tish was no longer entitled to child support, and she couldn't afford the apartment anymore. Hubby and I sacrificed a goat to the Most High in gratitude.
But then a few weeks after Tish and Jay left, Hubby and I noticed strange noises coming from the apartment upstairs. It should have been empty, but we heard chairs dragging against the floor at all hours of the evening. I called our landlord and asked if anyone had moved in, but she told us, "No."
"But there is someone upstairs," I told her. She dismissed me. Said there was no one up there.
Then why, only a few nights after that, was the security gate to Tish's old apartment open? And why were the lights on?
I called our landlord, but our landlord told me to take it easy, which was nice speak for "Leave me alone, you paranoid dumbfuck.”
Well, Hubby was sure some hobo was shacking up in Tish’s old apartment, which was highly likely considering where we lived. Our former apartment complex rests within one of the only remaining residential nooks in a fast-growing bacchanal city. On the street to the north is a string of touristy restaurants. On the street to the south is the sleaziest bar in five miles, and on the street to the right was a brothel masquerading as an AirBnB. It never once crossed my mind that the girls in 6-inch heels, batty riders, and lashes out to Wednesday walking up and down the road at 1:00 a.m. might were “working”…
Anyway, Hubby decided to go check on the apartment upstairs, and lo - the security gate and front door were both unlocked. Hubby figured Tish or our landlord must have left the doors open by accident, which allowed whoever the hell it was dragging chairs over our heads to enter the vacant apartment. I passed this knowledge on to our landlord, who assured me that she’d send a locksmith to change the locks.
It was an evening after the locksmith changed the locks that Hubby and I came home late to find ourselves face-to-face with the intruder upstairs. At the door to Tish’s old apartment was Mel. With her was a man who, though young, was clearly older than Mel, picking at the security gate lock.
When Mel saw us, she jumped so high she nearly took down some shingles from the roof. The young man, however, bid us a very cordial good evening. Then, he finished picking the locks to the doors and entered the apartment. Yes, my dear people. Mel had broken into the apartment upstairs and set up camp.
You better believe I called my landlord and told her about what we’d just seen. She was shocked. Was I sure that’s who I’d seen breaking into the apartment? Mel was such a mannerly, mature young woman. It must have been someone else! I guess I wasn't just a paranoid dumbfuck, but a blind one as well.
Anyway, a few days later, Mel and Tina started moving furniture into Tina’s apartment. They didn't say anything to us when they saw us. I wondered if I was the bad guy, but Hubby said no: I should call our landlord and report.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I told Tina that Mel could camp out there for a while."
What?
Well, friends, what happened was that our landlord called Tina to confront her about Mel breaking into the apartment. But then Tina told our landlord about her recent fall from grace and then lamented about the horrors of parenting a teenager all alone in a one-bedroom apartment. She cried so much that our landlord decided to make a deal. For $200 a month, Tina could rent the empty apartment for Mel under the condition that when a new tenant was found Mel would move out.
Okay, fine, I thought. If that's how you want to run your apartments, that's up to you. I'll stay out of your business next time.
And that's just what I did when I came home from work one day to find an American couple dressed in bathing suits trying to open the gate to the complex.
And I continued to do so the week after that when Hubby saw Mel cleaning the apartment while three Australian ladies grilled by the complex pool.
But, one night when a hooker knocked on our door, I'd had enough.
At first, I tried to give Tina and Mel the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was something they had worked out with the landlord. Maybe this was actually the landlord playing her hand at AirBnB. So, I worded my texts carefully. Asked our landlord if she'd found a new tenant, since we'd seen some new people in the complex. If she'd been trying out short-term renting since so we noticed so many tourists roaming the complex. If she knew that there were strange people coming in and out every week. No reply.
Turns out we weren't the only tenants concerned - and ignored. Two of our other neighbors had also tried to contact our landlord to tell her about the strange tourists hanging bathing suits all over the fences and ordering "fair" company in the apartment above us. Our landlord, however, never responded to any of us. Didn't even blue tick.
By the time frat boys started renting the apartment, Hubby and I had had enough. We found a new apartment and gave notice. Oddly enough, our landlord got that message as soon as I sent it. She didn't bother asking us why we were moving out, and I didn't push the matter. I didn't even make a fuss when she didn't give us our security deposit back. In my city, it's rare you get that back anyhow.
But then a month later, I got a call from our old landlord. She said she'd assessed the apartment and found no damages, so she had our security deposit ready for us. I mean, money is money, and that was our money, so Hubby and I set a date to meet the landlord at the old place.
Our landlord was oddly chatty when we arrived. At first, we thought she was just excited because she was finally giving the complex a much-needed facelift. But then she started talking about Tina.
[Dramatization below]
Landlord: "Do you remember Tina?"
Hubby looks at me. I look at Hubby. “Of course."
Landlord: "Well, she doesn't live here anymore."
Crickets.
Landlord: "I evicted her."
Quizzical eyebrows.
Landlord: "You won't believe what she was doing."
Side eye-side eye.
Landlord: "Well, she was running an AirBnB! In the apartment right above you!"
Pikachu gasp: "No!"
Apparently, after we left, the landlord came to assess our apartment. When she entered the complex, who did she happen to run into?
A British couple in their bathing suits.
They asked her if she knew where the beach was, and the landlord gave them the directions in exchange for a glimpse at the AirBnB listing they'd contracted.
There it was - Tish's old apartment rented out at $800 a week!!! Take away the $200 a month Tina had arranged to rent the apartment, that was a $3000 profit!
The landlord confronted Tina, and as Tina packed her bags under the close supervision of a police officer, Tina railed on and on about how our landlord was being so cruel to a single mother. How could a fellow woman deny Tina the right to make a living for her girls? No one was using the apartment anyway! She'd sue, she sue for squatter's rights! She was a single mother!!!
So ends the Tina tale, but we have some extra credits. Our landlord realized how lucrative the AirBnB business could be, so she evicted all of the tenants and renovated the complex to open it up for short-term renting. That all came to an end when a 17yo boy drowned in the pool and the family sued the landlord for negligence.
All's well that end's well, eh?
TL;DR: Neighbor breaks into an empty apartment, manages to weasel the landlord into renting it to her for $200/month, and then sublets it on AirBnB for $800 a week!