Section 8 apartments in hyde park

Bought top of the line front load washedryer in 2003. Impressed with the quality, in 2010 we started kitchen appliances one at a time, the first a being convection oven (LWS3081ST). A couple of years later a dishwasher. We remodeled in 2019 and added a fridge (LFXS29766S) and microwave. The dishwasher motor went out in 2020 - 8 years old and a new top of the line LG dishwasher was $200 more at Costco than the replacement pump assy was online. New DW it is. The fridge gave up the ghost last summer, out of warranty, but they sent out a repairman because of a class-action. Fridge fixed (fingers crossed).
The microwave door literally came apart a month later. the design didnt have a release button, you just pull on it. Well, it was only held together with little plastic tabs. They disintegrated and the door came apart. I didnt raise a fuss with LG, it was a $150 microwave. I replaced it with a Panasonic that I hate because it was the only thing I could find (besides the LG) that will fit in the custom made cabinet designed around the LG.
20 year-old dryer finally had it after only replacing the rollers twice and the motor a couple of years ago. My wife only uses timed dry/low heat, never any of the fancy sensors. We bought a cheap cheap GE with basic cycles a couple of months ago. The washer is still going strong, having only changed the drain pump twice in 20 years. I will likely go Speed-Queen when it gives up.
Second dishwasher (LDT7808SS) is now screaming - of course outside of the warranty and the additional Costco warranty. Called LG, they want $300 for a non-refundable service call and if any parts besides the pump/motor are needed I'm then on the hook for that too. I told them no thanks, i'll just go buy a GE.
Im going to chisel off the 10-year warranty sticker and mail it back to LG and tell them to shove it you know where.
Rant over

part 2…
Manuel Antonio - Again, so so so happy we came here. We were here for 3 full days but could’ve stayed for a week as we wanted to visit Uvita/Marino Ballena NP, Nauyaca Waterfall, and possibly do a catamaran or mangrove tour. I really don’t understand the comments of MA being a tourist trap, overly crowded, overpriced, etc. We never experienced this and visited during high season! The beaches were stunning and not crowded at all. The wildlife here is incredible, from our Airbnb we saw monkeys, toucans, and macaws everyday.
Activities:

• Manuel Antonio Park: Arrived at 10am and there was no line to get in. The trails weren’t overly busy either, apart from a few areas near the beach. We parked in the closest parking lot beside Sol Frozen Yogurt for 4000 CRC. Only one or two people tried to get us to park earlier but nobody was aggressive. Without a guide we were able to see deer, various birds, capuchin monkeys, a howler monkey, a frog, and crabs. Make sure you bring a reusable water bottle!
  
• Playa Espadilla: Paid $5000 CRC one day for 2 chairs and a bed, and $5 USD the next day for the same thing. The beach is gorgeous and not crowded at all. Lots of spots to lay down a towel in the shade if you don’t want to pay for chairs. There is free parking on the road in front of buena vista hotel. There are vendors that try to sell you stuff on the beach but no more than any other beach frequented by tourists.
  

Food spots:

• El Avion: Food and service is average but it’s still worth it for the atmosphere and sunset view.
  
• En Todas: Delicious fresh food right by the beach, service is a bit slow but the it was worth it for the food. Enjoyed the tacos and quesadillas.
  
• Musmanni: Cheap bakery with sweet and savoury pastries. Great spot to grab some food for the beach or for a quick breakfast.
  
• Sabromar: Amazing local seafood restaurant in Quepos, great prices, get the red snapper! Ended up going here twice because it was so good.
  
• Cafe Agua Azul: Beautiful view, came early expecting happy hour but there wasn’t one, at least not on Saturday. The drinks and food were good, not crazy overpriced either.
  
• El Chante: Affordable spot right outside the park, not the greatest food but good enough for a quick bite after the park.
  
• Pops: Great ice cream spot in Quepos.
  

San Jose - Our flight home is at 10AM tomorrow so we opted to spend our last day and night in San Jose. We are staying in a hotel near the city vs the airport since we still have our car. We spent a few hours in the city checking out the central avenue and market.

The Russian economy is suffering from sanctions imposed by Western countries in response to its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of four regions.
The sanctions aim to isolate Russia from the global financial system, restrict its access to foreign currency and debt markets, and limit its oil and gas exports. The sanctions have significantly impacted Russia's economic growth, inflation, foreign reserves, and business confidence.
According to the Bank of Montreal, the Russian economy is expected to fall into a recession later this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its forecast for Russia's GDP growth from 3.8% in 2022 to 1.5% in 2023.
More on this topic - The Russian Economy is Starting to Suffer From Sections Vyzreport

I want you to understand what happened, Darcy.
Awakening to the smell of freshly fried eggs and sizzling bacon was the highlight of the day. I felt as if I could hover across the house like an old cartoon character following the smells. I stepped down the stairs, a content smile brandished across my face. I shrugged as I walked past the minor black mold that started to creep in under the door and waved hello at my family, sitting around the circular dining table. You said that you loved me, and handed me a cup of coffee. It was brown and hot, the aroma of which filled my senses. I sipped it slowly as I listened to my children tell me about their fanatical dreams.
Charles, my oldest, was nearing seventeen, had started to dream up strange dreams that bordered on nightmares. He told me of the times he was standing on a golden sand beach with a singular palm tree beside him. In front of him was a wall, a wall of water that peaked past the clouds. It was as if it was a curtain for the very sky. Atop the peak of the curtain was the raging white rapids of a stirring sea… yet the water did not move. It stayed stationary as Charles slowly made a sand castle from the golden sand. Content even in the face of annihilation.
Debra, nearly fourteen, told of her dream. She described a beautiful green oasis within a pit of sand, from which she slid down from the dunes above. Within, she saw various things and beings that sprouted coral like protrusions across their bodies. It would’ve frightened her, had it not been a dream, and they were kind. They spoke to her, of which Debra only remembered a little about. She said they were from a village, one of which they were exiled from. When Debra asked why, she was met with an apathetic shrug, and a word. “Unlucky.” She said the dream continued, from which they had a lovely time. Unfortunate strangers left to be kind to other unfortunates.
Finally, Timmy, my youngest who had reached the age of twelve just a few months prior, told of his dream. He said it was simple, a simple room, with a simple sound. The gentle tings and tongs of a wind chime outside of a window. The room around him was gray and ascetic, as if unlived in. He said that in this dream, he would only stare at the wind chimes, as they slowly rang him a tune. Enjoyment through the dull.
I smiled in interest at each of their retellings. It was a wondrous thing, human imagination. Before long however, the clock struck thirty past nine and work called to me. I pulled my tie ready and lifted the brown suitcase that I brought to work everyday. I stepped outside to the evergreen plastic lawn, and the ideal American suburb. White walled homes with gable rooftops, lawns of grass, and sprinklers wasting the water.
I waved hello at the neighbors, and they waved back. Responses that remained static throughout the past ten years of living here. Stability is good though, I thought to myself.
Half an hour later, I found myself at the office of my work, typing away at the cheap plastic keyboard as lights flickered on the monitor, the slow whirr of the office filled my ears. The chatter of the workplace felt off, where I’d expect a chuckle from a distant corner of the office, I heard only drawn out sighs. Near the front of the office, my manager sat behind closed shutters, perhaps he knew if something was wrong. I pressed down on a button underneath the monitor screen and it shut off with a dull beep. I walked towards my manager’s office, passing a few grim frowns from my coworkers.
I knocked on the door, through the closed shutters I could see a small peek of my manager, where he sat with his head in his arms. I knocked again and he raised his head, “Come in.” his voice was slurred.
I walked in and could immediately tell he was hungover, or perhaps even drunk. His usually well-kept hair was a tangled frizzy mess. This was the first sign. He talked to me with somber words. I don’t remember what he said exactly, but he spoke about the business and how it was failing. He lifted a piece of dead coral he had on his desk, I assumed it was a paper weight of sorts. He sighed to it and asked me to leave.
I returned to my desk with the same grim expression the rest of my coworkers held. Jobs were getting more difficult to obtain, and I could hear it from the grapevines and newspapers. I used the work phone to make a call to you, I told you about the situation, and you understood.
At least, I thought you did.
When I returned home from the long workday, the phone had a message from the office. I was let go over the phone, it came so suddenly; I had a hard time believing at first. I didn’t lose face in front of the children, I just had to find a new job.
Charles and Debra had put Timmy to bed, they were observant and smart kids. They knew something was wrong.
Charles was the first to ask, “What’s wrong?” He asked me. Debra grew the same worried look that Charles had.
I didn’t know what to tell them at first, it was my responsibility as a parent to take care of them. I had to keep up that image of stability, I’d find a job soon enough. I waved their question away, I knew they weren’t content with my answer.
By the time I got around to eating dinner, it was cold. It’s not that important to mention, but it’s just another straw to the ever burdened camel. We talked over the cold dinner, just you and me.
“What are you going to do?” You asked me, I couldn’t look into your eyes. I felt the tinge of disappointment in your words. It was unfair.
“I’ll find a new job, there’s another place, up a bit into the city, not much longer of a commute…” I said, you said something in response, something about your parents. I didn’t want to be co-dependant. I said it was off the table. We weren’t poor. We had enough money to pay the mortgage for six months, eleven thousand dollars in savings. You said okay, I knew you had malice in your voice.
We ate in silence, just you and me. I wish I could have a meal with you again.
The next morning, Debra had come down with something bad. High temperature, disorientation, and molted skin. You let Charles take Timmy to school, and we went to the hospital with Debra together. They said it was sepsis.
She wouldn’t make it if she didn’t get treatment immediately, so we said yes to everything they told us. I was by her bedside that night, listening to the cold quiet breeze that flowed in.
She spoke to me, slowly, “Dad.” I nodded to her. She said kind things to me, supportive, good-natured words. Then she told me about her dream the previous night.
She described it to me in her fatigued state. Debra returned to that oasis, where she met the coral men. She waved at them and they did not seem to recognize her. They let her in with open arms nonetheless. She said they spoke to her about trust, and how she needs to trust you.
You.
Trust you.
I didn’t hear the rest of her dream. She slept with Charles and Timmy by her side in that hospital that night. I had no idea where you went. The next morning, she went into shock. You got there an hour later, frantically pushing the nurses and doctors to the side. You were shouting her name.
She was fine. The treatments worked and Debra recovered. The doctors said it was a thirty to forty percent mortality rate, and you weren’t there. We fought in the lobby, do you remember that? I do.
The hospital always made me queasy. Knowing that the injured and ill filled every crevice of the building made my skin itch to the bone. I had gone there between my job hunts to visit Debra. Charles and Timmy were worried sick about her, I spoke to Timmy out in the hallway. He asked me where you were, if I had known what I knew now, I would’ve never said anything. I gave him your number and said he could call you. Charles called you too, and I returned to Debra’s side. She was still in a fatigued state, her mind clouded. She would repeat a few of the same phrases about her dream.
“Friendly wants to meet you.”
“They’re so kind, and strange.”
“I want their face.”
Something creeped me out about the last phrase, and how’d she repeat it while closing her eyes. I went to the front desk an hour later, and asked for the current bill.
It was eight thousand dollars, I knew I had eleven thousand dollars in our account. I knew it, I double checked it that morning and I did the math on how many months I could pay on our mortgage.
So why was the bill declined? Why was it that when I called the bank, they told me I had only ten dollars and twenty-six cents left in the account? I told the clerk I’d pay later and walked back into Debra’s room. I looked at her, softly fading away, I wondered if she’d ever fully recover from the sepsis. I knew everyday she stayed meant a few thousand dollars more in debt. Her oxygen line was on the floor, I guess back then safety wasn’t such a big concern. I looked into her eyes, I didn’t see my daughter. I saw a codependent person fading away. My foot found it’s way over the oxygen line, my heel to the ground with the front of my foot hovering just over the line.
Debra turned to face me, “They will meet… they know my caretaker.” I didn’t know she was talking about you, at the time. It was enough to get me to move my foot away. I walked to meet Charles, who was standing outside, leaning against the wall of the hospital with Timmy.
“How is Debra?” Charles asked. He was genuine, a good kid. Too good.
I told him she was fine, and if he’s seen you anywhere. He shrugged, and he lied to my face. “She didn’t tell me anything.”
No, Charles and you spoke for far too long for you to have said nothing to him. Why would he lie?
I asked him again, calmly.
Charles raised his hands up to his sides, “Don’t know. What’s your plan for a job? She told us you got fired. Maybe that’s why she left.”
Something started to stir in me, from that question. “Please mind what you’re saying.” I said back to him.
He was a teenager though, so he continued his speech, “You’ve been out of a job for all of three days, and she already left. There had to be something else going on.” A noise started in my mind, like a crescendo to an opera performance, rising orchestral tension.
“No.” I stuttered, my hands were shaking. “There was nothing else.” Charles wasn’t content with my answer, he sighed and whipped his head to the side. He said something along the lines of how much of a failure I’ve become.
I looked down at Timmy. I asked Timmy to walk away. He did, like a good kid.
Charles started to walk too, I grabbed his wrist. You know that feeling? That feeling that some parents have that makes you just want to… teach your kid a lesson? I’ve tried to type this section out in more detail, several times, but I’m now electing to omit it.
I strangled Charles. I did. He coughed, wheezed and struggled in my hands. His kick to my shin made me let him go. A second later I recognized what I had done, and fell to my knees in front of him.
I was killing my son, why?
He shouted something at me, but I had gone deaf, trapped in my own mind. He snapped at me and grabbed me by my shirt, forcing me to focus on him. We cried together, breaking down our emotional walls to expose to each other what we were feeling. I felt that I was disappointing my entire family, that I was a failure. I didn’t mention what I almost did to Debra.
It’s only been three days, what’s going on?
Later that evening, I drove Timmy and Charles back home. That’s where you come in. You were slumped over the dining room table, a glass of red wine to one side and a disconnected landline to your other side. I came in shouting at you, asking— no, demanding, what happened to the money.
You mumbled something, and tipped the glass over. I asked again and you yelled at me. Charles was quick to take your side, maybe he didn’t hear what I said and just heard me shouting.
“Leave her alone!” He yelled. I balled my fists in anger and shouted again. You stood up out of the chair and threw the glass across the room, it shattered into pieces. I pointed at the door, poor Timmy was so terrified. You scared him so much.
You walked out of the house, that was the last time I ever saw you. When you shut that door behind you, I felt a wave of relief, despair, and loneliness. On the counter, I noticed you left behind a piece of dried coral. It was covered in swirls, gray and dead. Hard as stone yet I could crumble bits of the facade with a hard enough press. I needed to talk to Debra.
Charles and Timmy elected to stay at home, I let them. I would visit Debra myself, driving the car that evening through the lonely highway as my heart beat raced. I kept thinking to myself, replaying every situation in my head, thinking about what was the smart choice.
I found myself at the hospital again, I still wished I never went inside. The clerk at the front office was kind as always. She could tell something was off about me too as I walked to Debra’s room. The window into the room was stained, a speckle of red. It didn’t concern me at first— stepping inside the room showed me something much worse.
I know what they told you, they told you that I did it, and what I’ve told you so far will make it sound like I had the reason to do it but I didn’t. I didn't do it. Did you? Did you? Who did? Was it you? Was it them?
Debra laid in that hospital bed, at first I thought her face had been caved in. I ran to her, grabbing her hand. I was close enough to see what really happened. Her left hand was clutching a medical scalpel, it was covered in dried dead coral. Like someone left it in the ocean for a few decades for the sea to manifest upon it. Remembering her face now is difficult, not because my memory is poor, but just… how it was.
Her face’s skin was upside down. A thin bloody line from the top to the bottom marked a large oval frame of her face. It was as if someone picked up that oval and just turned it around. I could see her eyes behind her cut off lips. Behind her eye sockets were her white teeth, cracked and covered in sea growth. Blood spilled from her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, gently pooling in her bed. The mouth of hers was twisted and curled, in such a large smile that it was unnatural. I placed my hand to her cold cheek, and I cried. Darcy, I cried, is that not enough? Even after all this time, I remember exactly how her face felt. Like cold meat from the freezer, none of the warmth that she once had. The nurse came in a few minutes after me, or maybe a few seconds. I don’t recall. The nurse restrained me, screamed, and soon enough I was escorted out of the building where dozens of the red and blue had parked up by the front. Flashes of her face kept assaulting my mind, the twisted smile, the teeth behind her eye sockets, the feel of her skin. Debra didn’t deserve this, yet, that smile, it was like she had joy before…
The police had me in one of their cars, and I was taken to the station. My eyes and cheeks covered in dried tears, and my hands in blood. They didn’t arrest me, but their questions were numb to me, I wasn’t in the state of mind to answer them and they let me go a few hours later. I collapsed on the sidewalk outside of the station, curled into a fetal position, crying. One of the policemen came outside to talk to me. I remember him, his voice was uncaring and cold.
“You can’t be out here like that.” He said, or something to that effect. I ignored him, and he dragged me off of the sidewalk and into the lot of the station. I asked him through my broken voice to call for Charles, my son. He agreed and returned to the station. My mind started to drift, and wander, as if it was swimming through a ravine. Rocks on either side of my mind, threatening to poke and scratch me if I diverged from the path before me. I started to dream, there upon the lot of the station.
I remember my own nightmare vividly.
A towering being stood within a sand-encircled oasis. It was hundreds of meters tall, the ankles of the being were at the height of the oasis’s trees. I stood before it, atop the dunes that surrounded the oasis. Long strands of hair, thick as trees, flowed from the skull of the being down to the exposed rib cage. The sun was behind the being, but even then, I could see the coral protrusions from every bit of the skin it had. Twisted and curled, dotted and maze-like, the coral flowed throughout the entirety of the being as it held its head in a bowed state. It was the very definition of colossal, like the sea, and the waters it held.
I walked from the dunes towards the oasis, as if the being was calling my name. Within the oasis, there were two figures facing away from me. Both were women, from their silhouettes, a tall one, and a shorter one. I could see that their hands and arms were covered in a similar coral growth that I started to see everywhere.
As I stepped forward, I recognized the figures, it was you. You and Debra. The figures turned to face me, Debra’s face was the same as I last saw it. Twisted, curled, spiraling, evil. Her smile, arcing from the middle of both sides of her face up to an apex at the top of her head opened slightly. Your face was… You know what your face was. You talked to me.
“What are you talking about?” You said to me, I was confused at first, as I hadn’t said anything. I kept my eyes fixed on Debra. I asked you what you meant.
“Psycho. Where’s Timmy!” You shouted at me, I looked at you, your face changed. It would be blank, if not for the dozens of holes in a neatly arranged grid covering your entire face. Every one of them beckoned my gaze, and the sense of vertigo felt as if I was falling. Your face, I know now that it was resembling a phone’s speaker.
I responded, slowly, freezing up in terror as my gaze darted between the two of you, “I.. I don’t know.” I closed my eyes, I could feel the heat of the oasis fade, and the cool breeze returned around me. I felt a hand shake my shoulder and I opened my eyes. A policeman was standing next to me, holding a cellphone to my ear, he snapped his fingers in front of my eyes.
You yelled at me again, through the phone, “What the fuck did you do to Debra?” I felt pleasant though, hearing your voice. Even if it was a yell. The policeman removed the phone from my ear before I could respond, he pressed down on a button and your voice disappeared.
“Some wife, huh?” He chuckled to himself as he held the large phone in his hand. His words hurt. He continued to speak, “Debra… that’s the dead kid from the hospital, yeah?” He narrowed his eyes at me and grabbed my shoulder. He told me to come with him.
I was in a trance-like state from that point, like the environment around me shifted with me in place. One moment, I was at the booking station, the next, the jail cell. They threw me in with a new set of gray dull overalls. Around me, gray concrete, and a singular window. I leaned my head against the wall, staring out into the window. I was tired. My vision blurred and my mind felt as if it was turning on and off, alternating every other moment. I could only smell the bit of blood that remained on my skin and the metal aroma that arose from the bars of the cell. I focused outside, out into the window. A wind chime hung from something outside, slowly drifting around in the breeze. I listened to the gentle melody it played as I started to slowly hit my head against the prison wall.
I awoke to the sunlight against my eyes, I was laying on the hard concrete floor. Every joint in my body ached and felt exhausted. My vision was blurry, but I could see something new in the corner of my cell. It was coral, sharp and jagged, spiral patterns decorated its skin and it was alive. It was a shade of yellow, blue, and green— the air felt thick and heavy— as if I was breathing the ocean itself. I started to cough. A policeman approached my cell, he slammed on the bars with his baton and yelled at me. Then he saw the coral, and he fell.
Then another policeman came.
And another.
They learned eventually. Now three policemen laid, dead, at the foot of the cell. I kept my gaze at the coral. Watching it grow with my own eyes as it reaches out towards me. The swirls and twists of it slowly morphed on the surface. Slowly it molded into Debra’s twisted face. Sour and angry, her smile turned to a frown, two pale eyeballs peeked from behind the lips.
I crawled away from it and reached my hand through the cell, tearing a pair of keys from one of the dead policemen.
The coral came closer, stretching and bending as if it was the joints of a rotting corpse.
I jammed the key into the cell lock from the outside and managed to unlock it. I slammed the door against the corpses and stumbled out of the cell. I slammed out the front door of the station.
Flashlights beamed into my eyes as I could hear frantic shouting from the policemen outside. I shut my eyes and collapsed on the steps of the station. A moment later all I heard was silence. When I opened my eyes, I saw all the policemen twisted and curved, like coral. Spirals across their skin and their faces moved to other parts of their body. One’s mouth had shifted all the way to their hand. I called out for help, if anyone could help. I looked down at my hands and noticed I was holding a scalpel, a scalpel covered in coral. I dropped it onto the floor, blood decorated its exterior.
I fell into another dream, there upon the front of the station.
I was back in the oasis, half a dozen new men were there, covered in coral growths and twisted limbs. Their faces were sinister, curled, like abominations. I watched as the colossal picked up one of the men and tore them apart. It roared, a roar that shook my very spine. It splattered the man onto its ribcage and turned its head toward another man. The colossal being was— absorbing them.
I knew what I had to do. I’m sorry for doing it, I hope you see now, there was a reason. It had to be stopped.
I slammed my head against the oasis floor and I awoke at the station’s front steps. The coral seeped out of the station, curling and twisted. There was commotion outside, but none seemed to notice me as I crawled away. The coral was following me, I could see it slowly inch by inch, twist its way toward me.
I found myself in one of the police cars, driving this time, seeking a way to end the coral safely, without hurting any more people. I remembered at home, I had a gun, kept underneath the bed. I took care not to speed, I didn’t want to hurt anyone else.
I didn’t want to hurt anyone else.
It wasn’t my intention.
I really didn’t mean to.
I stopped the car at home, I rushed inside, ran into our room and tore the place apart. I was frantic, I didn’t even notice them. The coral started to sprout from me, I could feel the calcium structures start to twist within my stomach. I tore apart the final drawer, the gun seemed to gleam at me.
I picked it up.
“Dad?”
Timmy. I turned to face him, the coral was spreading from my body. I remembered the colossal being, what it was doing. I fired the gun at him. It was a haze from then, I remember a scream… Charles’ scream. I shouted for him, yelling at him to come out. I could feel the coral splinter into every bone of my body tearing my flesh from within. My eyes grew bloodshot and my hand started to seize. I fired the gun throughout the house, again, and again. Charles fled outside, tripping on a piece of coral and slamming his chin into the concrete walkway. I pointed the gun at him as he desperately pleaded with his hands in the air and I shot him.
I turned the gun to myself, pain reverberated throughout my entire body. The coral sprouted from my shoulder, a curling bit of evil that twisted and wriggled. I pressed down on the trigger, and the gun’s hammer struck an empty chamber.
I screamed, I threw the gun onto the street and walked back into the house. Coral had grown all over the inside, so I reached the landline. I dialed you.
“Please send your message after the beep.” It chirped back to me.
I left the phone hanging and walked to our home office, passing by pictures of our family as the coral slowly grew over them. I collapsed in this chair, typing on the computer what had happened. I’m hoping by posting this… you would find it... and understand what happened.
You would understand.

I’m 23 years old (F). I live in Toronto. I’m making ~85k/year. I have a one bedroom + den apartment with parking in the building ($2050/month rent & $180/month parking). My parents never helped pay for school so I’m slowly paying off my student loans ($300/month). I also had to get a car for this job, so I’m slowing paying off that too ($400/month + $300/month insurance). I’m single. I’m gay. I’ve had one five-month relationship that ended almost a year ago.
I feel like I’m doing everything right but I don’t feel happy. It feels like I’m just surviving. After all my expenses, I don’t have a lot to put into savings and/or spend on myself. I see friends from university who went back to live with their parents but I don’t have that luxury (we don’t get along well enough to live together). I see their mindset and it makes me envious that they feel so free, and can dream on.
I took a sales job because it was the only career where I could start earning good money right away. I enjoy most parts of it, but I don’t find it necessarily fulfilling.

It’s my 2nd time. I last visited March 2018 and I’ve been itching to go back.
My wife has never been so this is her first time.
Below is what I planned with the city we are sleeping in for the night. Any feedback is appreciated and welcomed.
Day 1, Tokyo: Land in Tokyo at 5:30pm. Check in the hotel and walk around
Day 2, Tokyo: Tokyo Sea
Day 3, Tokyo: Tsukiji Fish Market Tokyo Tower Shinjuku Gyoen Meiji Jingu Shrine Harajuku (Shopping, Check Out Takeshita Street) Shibuya
Day 4, Tokyo: The Imperial Palace Imperial Palace East Garden Ramen Street For Lunch Sensoji Temple Akihabara Ginza (Shopping)
Day 5, Tokyo: Daytrip to Nikko (~8 hours): Shinkyo Bridge Shoyoen Garden Rinnoji Temple Toshogu Shrine Futarasan Shrine Tamozawa Imperial Villa
Day 6, Hakone: Travel to Hakone early in the morning and spend the night there
Day 7, Kyoto: Leave Hakone and travel to Kyoto Kinkaku-Ji Kyoto Imperial Palace Nijo Castle
Day 8, Kyoto: Daytrip to Osaka
Day 9, Kyoto/Nara: Daytrip to Nara for a bicycle tour
Day 10, Kyoto: Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine Sanjusangendo Hall Kiyomizu-Dera Temple Yasaka Shrine Chion-In
Day 11, Kyoto: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama Tenryuji Temple Okochisanso Garden Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
Day 12, Hiroshima: Take morning high speed train to Hiroshima Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Children's Peace Monument Atomic Bomb Dome Hiroshima Castle Shukkei-En
Day 13, Tokyo: Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima) Travel back to Tokyo and visit along the way: Himeji Castle (Travel to Himeji)
Day 14, Tokyo: Explore the city until flight at 6pm

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Section 2: The Mindset for Building Online

• Chapter 1:Play the Long Game (7:11)
• Chapter 2:Knowledge Blindness (5:29)
• Chapter 3:Overcome your fear (4:29)
• Chapter 4:Meet 4.66B Prospects (4:43)
• Chapter 5:The New Rules of Internet Money (3:28)

Section 3: Idea

• Chapter 6:How to Ideate (7:37)
• Chapter 7:A Niche of One Part 1 (8:45)
• Chapter 8:The Background (4:07)
• Chapter 9:The Transformation (9:34)

Section 4: Audience

• Chapter 10:Moneyball (10:49)
• Chapter 11:The Profile Funnel (10:08)
• Chapter 12:Rapid Relevant Creation (15:22)
• Chapter 13:The Scroll Test (11:20)
• Chapter 14:The Art of the Capture (9:39)
• Chapter 15:The Distribution Network (8:04)

Section 5: Proof

• Chapter 16:A Niche of One Part 2 (5:07)
• Chapter 17:Building an MVP Service Business (8:13)
• Chapter 18 Part 1:Service Automation (5:25)
• Chapter 18 Part 2:Behind The Scenes of Automation (10:45)
• Chapter 19:F.I.T.I. (14:09)

Section 6: Product

• Chapter 20:Move Fast & Cheap (12:39)
• Chapter 21:Building in Gumroad (7:04)
• Chapter 22:Creating a Compelling Launch (11:54)

Section 7: What’s Next?

• Chapter 23:What’s Next? (2:58)

I just woke up at 2:30 am and I swear I heard my neighbour yell , “who’s there “ and I heard this weird cat like voice say “its “ something but in a weird catlike voice but I’ve dreamt stuff like this before In university I dreamt conversations people in my residence had outside my door when they weren’t in the building but this felt real so I proceeded to locking my door to my conjoined garden with like 8 other apartments in my complex and made a large sound and know I feel like my neighbour, a lovely girl , might think the worst of me because I definitely would and I don’t want her to feel unsafe around me

So to start, me and my partner are renting a manifactured home in a park filled with these homes in the state of Texas. 100 homes. We signed in August and the main selling point was that the entire park is pet friendly. I have 3 cats (rescues and siblings) and my partner has a smaller dog. We were not required to pay a pet deposit and have not been forced to pay extra per pet on top of our $1,200 rent (3 bed, 2 bath). Our rent is split between actual rent and lot fees, totaling $1,995 a month. My partner puts his dog on a lead and leaves him to do his business and we have no issues with this, he barks or paws at the door when we is ready to come in (this does not and has not left scratches).
For anyone wondering why a couple is renting a 3bed, 2 bath home. The 1/1 was $1,000 a month and we have a brand new washer and dryer that would not fit in those units. Those units only use stacked washers and dryers, plus it was small and we each have a desk. The 2/1 and 2/2 options were both $1,145. So when we were shown the 3/2 and was told it would only be $50 more it was a great idea and still is because one bedroom is our office/gaming, I work from home. And having an extra bathroom and bedroom meant family could stay with us if needed or wanted. And if me and my partner do part ways one can move to the other bedroom until one or both of us moves entirely. I understand that break ups can be messy regardless of the type of person but at this point in 4 months we can move if we want even though we signed a 24 month lease. There is a clause in the original lease stating what needs to be done if tenants want to leave before the lease is up. Only allowed after 1 full year with good payments standing. We pay on time.
Now the fun part. The park was sold to another company and the park manager printed out a stack of papers (left haphazardly on my porch) which is basically the new lease, plus the addendums, and a flyer stating that there will be a park meeting held over 2 days over the span of 6-8 hours each day for a "New Lease Signing Event". Refreshments provided. I ordered Taco Bell and me and my partner sat down for almost an hour reading the new lease. This new lease states these ridiculous "rules". I will list the main ones that make me question how a lease could add such rules that go hand in hand with a tenants quality of life. Not to mention the park manager himself has a litter box and food bowls in his office because he feeds and watches over multiple stray cats that freely roam the park which even he will not be allowed to do anymore.

1. No outside visitors may stay in the home for longer than a week. They are not allowed to bring pets unless they are a service animal, and even then would require signing a document and paying a fee before being allowed to enter the tenants home.
   
2. When allowing your dog outside to do business the owner must stay with them at all times, the dog cannot be put on a lead, steak, or chain around a tree. And the deification must be removed before returning inside the home or a fine will be issued.
   
3. Now all homes are not allowed more than 2 pets. No animals over 50lbs, no exotic animals or "dangerous and/or aggresive" dog breeds. Each pet will incur a $250 deposit and $25 per pet added to the rent monthly. (None of which is in the lease we signed in August).
   
4. An inspection of the inside of the home will be conducted every 2 months, and if the home is continuously in good condition the inspections will be less often. (Not horrible but are they allowed to open cabinets, drawers and my closet???)
   
5. THIS ONE. Vehicle maintenance must be completed from start to finish in no longer than 1 hour, and no high maintenance can be conducted in a tenants driveway at all. Examples, switching of engines, replacement of chassis parts, heavy brake work, tune-ups, gasket replacements, the list goes on. Any minor vehicle work (as stated) cannot take longer than 1 hour.
   
6. THE DUMBEST. If any tennant is caught feeding a stray animal that animal is now your pet and the $250 pet deposit, and added $25 to rent will be enforced. Regardless of what type of animal. (Excuse me, but if I see an emaciated animal I'm feeding it and you can shove it).
   

Here is my concern. Last summer I lived in a duplex that was bought out without me knowing. I found out from the new landlord, not the old.. And was told to pay a $1,000 deposit and asked if we could relocate while they renovate. Neither of which we could do, but renovations needed to be done. It was a less than favorable home infested with roaches... Big ones. And I was tired of spending money dealing with that issue. They also asked for a deposit even though I paid a deposit to the last owner when I signed a month to month lease. All of this lead to us being forced to move at a time when we barely had the money, but were able to do what needed to be done when my original deposit was returned by the old landlord.
Now here we are, signed a lease in August for this home (we are really happy here because we can actually afford it, no bugs, we have an office and a whole extra room and bathroom for visitors or anyone who wants to stay a while). And after 8 months are being asked to sign a new lease.
*Should my original lease still be upheld?
They are saying that if we sign the new lease April rent will be forgiven. But this is a place where every home has a pet. There's even an outside cat with a gps collar we occasionally see and the owner will now be forced to keep the cat inside (effecting the animals quality of life). Even more so, giving us credit for April's rent won't do much if people are having to give up pets if they have more than 2, it isn't going to mean much if we are being forced to pay the deposit and added cost to rent PER PET. (For us that means $500 deposit since we are only allowed 2 pets, and $50 added to an already high rent which would turn $1,200 into $1,250. Costing us $800 from now until our lease is up just for the added monthly pet cost, not including the deposits). Because I refuse to disclose how many cats I actually have.
It's a good thing my cats hide well when someone knocks because I'm not giving up any animals who have particularly not destroyed one single thing in this house. Not one sctrach.
To anyone reading I do apologize for my emotions. This is essentially happening to me twice in less than 9 months. Any advise would be helpful. I do plan on being very professional during the meeting.

In Adventures, Stephany drives one of the most beautiful cars in the world. I love drawing cars and wanted to add my take on what would be a beautiful car in the series.
Ace cars MODEL YEAR: 2023 Darla Limited
Price: $50k
Ace Darla Limited PÜRBoost Exterior: Bright Platinum Interior: Black Engine: 3.5-liter High Output V6 hybrid Electric Motor Transformation: 8 Speed Hybrid Transformation Powertrain: AWD
Standard Equipment:
Advanced Air Bags Parkview Rear Cameras Front and Rear Park-Assist with stop Blind Spot and Cross Path detection Push-Button start Air Suspension 4 corner Rain-Sensitive windshield wipers Keyless entry Key fob featuring, Start, Lock and Unlock, panic mode, open trunk and lower air suspension
Interior Features:
Apple Car Play Android Auto 115-Volt Aux Power Outlet 9-Amplified Speakers and subwoofer A/C auto Temperature Control Wood/Leather steering wheel Heated steering wheel Power adjustable pedals 8-way powered driver and passenger seats Heated seats Ventilated seats 12.0-inch infotainment with Nav. Heated and Ventilated Rear Seats
Exterior 18 in wheels All season tires LED headlights and Taillights Led Trunk lighting
Optional Equipment:
Elite Package: Equipped 19 Harman/Kardon Premium Sound system and subwoofer Polished gear shifter Head up display window Digital rear view mirror Amber lighting in vehicle Premium quilted seats Suede headliner
Limited Level 1 Safety Package: Included 19 Speaker Harman/Kardon Premium sound system with Subwoofer Digital Rearview mirror Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go Heads Up Display Lane Keep assist LED High-mounted head lamp Parallel and Perpendicular Park-Assist with Stop Pedestrian Emergency Braking Surround View Camera System Wireless Charging Pad Twin Panel Moonroof
PÜRBoost Package:
High Output 3.5-liter V6 engine
3.0 electric Motor
8-Speed Transmission+ Manual Mode
Performance equipment:
3.5-liter High Output V6 Horsepower: 400 Torque: 500 Miles to E: 350
3 electric motors Horsepower: 200 Torque: instant Miles to E: 250
Total MSRP: $70k

Does anyone park on the street near the apartments (kelton, gayley) and want to share their experience with that? I’m planning to end my lease and switch to an older car. Has anyone ever experienced a hit n run there or a break in ? Thanks for the advice!

I’m a 34 yo guy married for almost two years to my 30yo partner (same sex couple). For the last years and a half, an issue between my partner and I has been our dynamic with another couple, specifically the girl. I have been friends with the girl in that relationship for 7 or 8 years, acquaintances at first, then closer as I got to know her and her then-husband and would hang out with them here and there (even though they had a tumultuous relationship, which should have been the sign for me to not hang out with the couple, but read on ).
Looking back, there have always been boundary issues with my friend, that perhaps go both ways. The drama started when her and the then-husband were in India while they were there visiting his family. the plan was to spend a few days with them and then go about my own sight seeing. While we were there, her then husband got drunk for three days straight and basically had a psychotic break and accosted her verbally in public. While I would normally mind my business and let them figure it out, I witnessed the repercussions of his bad behavior and told her she should consider getting out of what seemed like a very toxic situation. She agreed, and a few weeks later, my now husband left his apartment to move in with me, and she took over his lease and left her husband and got a divorce.
Right around then the pandemic happened, and she started spending a lot of time with me and my husband,a bit too much really but by then I felt bad for her being alone, and also I had told her I would help her anyway I could while she sorted out her life. During the first few months of the pandemic the three of us had a lot of fun times trying to survive the scary Covid world, but I definitely recognized boundary issues. Once or twice she got drunk and said some sexually inappropriate things to us, which I shrugged off but later realized was when I should have put my foot down and drawn some serious boundaries.
Once things cooled down in the world a bit, she got a boyfriend who was really likable and treated her much better than her ex husband. I was happy for them. They even played a big part in me and my husbands wedding. I invited them to come with us to my hometown for Christmas, which was fun even though they were a bit over the top around my family, which was later confirmed by people in the family. Here’s where it gets weird….
on the last day of the Christmas trip, my friend put on a jacket that was my sisters, to go outside in the snow. She had been drinking, and when she came back inside, she remarked that there was a set of ear pods in the coat of the pocket. I never thought a thing of it, but the next day on the drive back home, my sister called and said one of her EarPods was missing. I asked how sure she was that they were both in there, and she said positive . My heart sank.
The difficult part was that it was not the first time something had gone missing around my friend. The first time, Xanax medication was missing out of my bathroom, and when I told her about it (not accusing her at all, because I didn’t think it was her) she “found” the bottle in my car. Was strange but i didn’t want to be distrusting, so I chalked it up to nothing. But when this happened…I just couldn’t shake the feeling. She had spent a short amount of time in prison when she was younger for being an accomplice to a robbery, and while I told myself people change and she seemed to have moved past that kind of behavior, her choices to be with her monster of an ex, plus all of this was just…confusing.
For a couple of weeks I kept my distance, but my husband wanted to keep hanging out with them. Finally it boiled into an argument, and I told him that it felt like he was choosing them over being by my side until I figured out how I felt about my friend. Well, one night we really got into it, and he decided to tell her what I was thinking about her stealing. This of course did not go over well, and put a huge divide in our friendship and betrayed the trust with me and my husband.
We eventually decided to make nice for the sake of our friends group, but of course it has lingered. That’s been a year and a half ago, and it still comes up often because my partner really likes them. After this long winded explanation, I basically just wonder if anyone has any insight, because I am truly confused about how I should approach this. On one hand, I feel like it would be best to just move on from my friendship with her, but I also feel betrayed by my partner choosing to spend so much time with them. Any insight is appreciated, and I am sorry for the long drawn out explanation.

Hi guys! I got accepted into grad school at UMD College Park, and I am having a terrible time finding roommates. My husband and I are both students (he is finishing up undergrad), so we can’t really afford an apartment on our own. My grad program will not allow me to work more than the 10 hour assistantship that they are offering me. My husband is a music major, and plans to work part time. We are desperately in need of roommates. I’ve posted on all the Facebook pages with no luck. It seems like no one wants to be roommates with a couple. That’s understandable, but what do I do? We can afford, at max, $1300 a month in rent. Can anyone point us to some cheaper apartments in the College Park or surrounding areas?

Unknown
This story is strictly fictional.(Not a fan fiction, this is original.)
The Beginning
I had gone to sleep pretty late that night so when I actually woke up I thought I was thrown into another random dream where I woke up in a forest, but things were realistic. I could feel the droplets fall from the leaves of the trees to my hands and the squishy slimy mud below my feet. Alright I need to assess the situation. I just woke up in a random forest, none of the plants or trees are native to where I’m from, and I’m in a thin long sleeve shirt with a jacket over it and layered tactical pants which are obviously different clothes than what I went to sleep in, and then there’s that rumbling that shakes the ground periodically. Well I can only do two things in this situation: sit here and hope that someone will find me or try looking around.
It’s been about 2 hours since I started roaming this seemingly infinite forest and I finally saw something besides trees and more trees. It's a lone rocky hill and after reaching the top I looked ahead and I saw a beach. When I turned back to look at the forest I saw the cause of the rumbling sound. “This must be a dream, it has to be.” I thought “I have to get out of this cursed forest right now!” And as I ran towards the beach, I saw that vicious, vile creature. The predecessor of the modern serpent, the Titanoboa. It rushed towards me and even running with every ounce of strength and explosive power I had there was no chance. The snake coiled up around me crushing my bones. I felt everything from my wrist snapping to my legs breaking.
Eventually I had either passed out from the pain and died or I died in that moment but… why am I lying on a beach? The chill breeze, the hot sand on the back of my neck and the upwelling tides hitting the heel of my foot. I guess I’m still alive. My clothes are folded next to me. There’s a stone with a book next to it.
Words were being chiseled out as I looked at the stone, they said:
“Unknown’s status”
“Survival Time: 5 hours and 34 minutes”
“Encountered Enemies: 57”
“Enemy Type: insect 56”
“Predator: 1”
“Death Type: Death by a predator”
“Enemies defeated: 5”
“Calculating Achievements…”
“Rewards will be granted based on achievements.”
“Rewards granted!”
“Rewards obtained look in inventory to view.”
“View inventory by visualizing it”
I opened it and it says:
“passive skill Bug killer level 5”
“Earned by killing 5 bugs in your first life”
“Passive skill Poison/Venom resistance level 22”
“earned by getting poisoned 22 times in your first life”
“Journal of the next life”
“Earned by surviving 2 or more hours in your first life”
“10 Stat points granted!”
So I died and got and was brought back with game abilities. What the hell? There was also that book when I tried to open it, It opened directly to the middle. I was able to flip the page back once but that was it. It was already written in, and it read: “this is the second time”. “That’s… creepy.” I started to feel hungry and began to roam again.
Survival
I saw a river that secured freshwater, I take out my pocket knife and start to sneak around. I see a dilophosaurus. I rush towards it and stab it in the neck. I take out the knife as it shoots poison at me. I stab it again in the head and kill it. The stone structure appears from beneath me once again. It says “First predator kill”
“Predator kill results”
“Damage dealt 100%”
“Damage Taken .5%”
“Weapons used: Knife”
“Calculating Achievements…”
“Rewards Granted!”
“Rewards obtained look in inventory to view.”
“View inventory by visualizing it, your inventory will be viewed as whatever you visualize it as.”
“Melee Mastery Level 1”
”Experience gained 10”
It looks like I’m going to be here for a while, I should get familiar with everything. I open my inventory and I see a new option, it says “Stats”. The stats are Health which adds how much damage I can take, Strength which helps deal more damage with a physical attack, and a gray option which reads “Craftsmanship”. There’s also a catalog of everything I’ve encountered like the Carboniferous and Permians. I can’t even pronounce that, why do insect dinosaurs have such weird names? The snake that killed me out of nowhere was a Titanoboa. I don’t level up automatically so I have to do it manually. I get to level 2, I get 2 stat points and a new option opens which is “craftsmanship”, The ability to craft something instantly while consuming the needed material. Putting more stat points into it unlocks more craftable items. I can only make a small fire for now. I guess what they say about carnivores is true, this tastes so bad. I hope that poison resistance can hold up to this. That’s my first day here, or second if I count the time before I died.
It’s the second day. I need to gain experience if I want any level of security. I hunt dodo birds on the beach, by the end of the day I get to level 5, I gain 2 stat points for every time I level up. I put the 6 stat points into “craftsmanship”. I can make a stone axe and a stone spear now. I have all the materials needed except vines that I can get from the forest. I use coconut shells to collect water and take some with me. I managed to get some vines without a problem so now I’m back at the river and I have plenty of food to cook. Now that I'm back I make the axe and spear. I wonder if there is anyone around.
Survival
I’ve developed a routine to go hunting to gain experience for the beginning of the day, then check my stats and inventory, after that I would look for any materials that might be useful. On the way back I’d look for any signs of people. After doing this for 3 days I’ve found a grave. It said “Though life may seem like a game it never is. You don’t come back, at least not the same.” Well I guess I’m an exception. I pick up the bag and it’s heavy like it has tools in it or something. When I get to the river I finally get to go to sleep. I wake up and do my routine. When I got back to the riverside I saw something running across the river. I've never explored the other side of the river but I’m curious as to what I might find. Looking deeper into the plains I see a forest and an icy mountain in the distance, but suddenly a small stone looking creature pops out of the ground waving a small flag with a peace symbol on it and the ground starts to shake. What the hell is that? A large stone wall is launched from the ground and lands straight up behind the golem. 5 humanoid golems climb out of the hole that the stone wall came out of. The wall starts to tilt towards me and the smaller golem and I back up then the wall falls crushing the mini golem. What’s going on here? The 5 golems run over to put the wall back up, they’re panicking because of the small one. Once the wall was back up they gathered the pieces of the small stone golem then they held them all up, the pieces started to float together and the small golem was together again but still had cracks in its body. It waved. The golems looked at me and pointed towards the stone wall then they started writing carving out words. I can’t even say that, they just lightly press their fingers on the wall and the small area just crumbles. When they’re done it says “Sorry about that mess right there. The point of this is to tell you what you need to do to thrive in this world, if you follow my instructions you will. Give a thumbs up when you’re done reading.” I hesitantly give a thumbs up and the layer with writing falls off.
The other missions were blank. I should prepare food and tools for this new companion. I’m going to start the mission tomorrow. Morning has arrived. I walk across the river and after touching the stone a guy appeared behind the stone. This is gonna be interesting.
Day 1
Unknown- “Hey, new guy.”
New Person-“Huh what?”
Unknown- “You took long enough.”
Unknown - “Ask questions later, follow me.”
I take the new guy to the otherside of the river.
I don’t want to tell him about my first life so he won’t get any false hope of a second life.
New Person - “ Can you at least tell me your name?”
Unknown - “You can call me Unknown for now.”
New Person - “I don’t remember my name.”
Unknown - “Yeah, you don’t remember much about before you got here the same thing happened to me.”
Unknown - “I’ll explain while we eat.”
2 hours pass…
New Person - “So we’re eating a dinosaur right now?”
Unknown - “Yeah .”
New Person - “So how did you say you opened your inventory?”
Unknown - “I just visualized it like a game.”
New Person “Nothing’s happening”
Unknown - “We could try getting back to the beach where I first learned about the abilities”
New Person - “Yeah let’s go in the morning”
Unknown - “You could get some leaves to use as a bed.”
New Person - “Alright.”
Day 2
Unknown - “Wake up.”
New Person - “Ugh.”
Unknown - “Do you want to see your stats or not?”
New Person - “Fine, fine”
I lead the way to the beach and we get to the stone.
New Person - “What do I do now?”
Unknown - “Put your hand on it.”
The stone cleared back to how it was at first.
It says “choose name”
He put his name as “Anonymous”. He only got 2 skills but one of them is an active skill. That’s the first active skill that I've heard of. The 2 skills are “companion’s stat copy” which is a passive skill and “temporary skill copy” which is the active skill.
Unknown - “Try being more original.”
Anonymous - “Wow ok.”
Unknown - “Now that you have your skills you should try opening your inventory.”
Anonymous - “Alright.”
Anonymous - “I can see it.”
Unknown - “Try equipping your passive skill.”
Anonymous - “Ok I did”
Unknown - “I don’t know how you would activate or use it”
Anonymous - “it says I could use a voice cue or an action cue to activate it”
Unknown - “I see”
Unknown - “Now that you have your skills lets do a little hunting”
2 stone structures unexpectedly appeared, they say:
“All conditions have been cleared”
“Skillset acquired.”
“Skillset 1 Hunter, Skills: Target Lock On, Precision Strike, and Killstreak.”
“Skillset 2 Tamer, Skills: “Trainer, Taming experience, and Supreme Command”
Anonymous - “So what did you get?”
Unknown - “I got Hunter, what did you get?”
Anonymous - “I got Tamer.”
Two books fall from the sky landing 2 feet in front of him and I. We picked up the books and the titles read “skill set manual Hunter” and “skill set manual Tamer”. Both books give detailed explanations on how to use our class and what to do with them. With the Tamer, it says there are 2 ways to tame dinosaurs. The first way is through having a bond with it or building a bond like constantly coming back to feed it food and building trust but that can only be used with the trainer's skill. The second way is to put the dinosaur on the brink of death and nurse it back to health. It also includes how difficult it would be to tame the dinosaur and the recommended “method” to tame the dinosaur.
Anonymous - “This really does remind me of a video game”
Unknown - “Yeah it does…”
This guy seems more excited than anything but that made me remember that I didn’t open the bag from the grave, I’ll check that out when we get back.
The Hunter skill set is for hunting as it says in the name. The manual includes the weaknesses for encountered dinosaurs, it also said the recommended hunting spots for certain levels.
We are back and eating to get ready for the first hunt. Opening the bag, I see Rusted Iron tools. There is a “Rusted Iron axe”, a “Rusted Iron spear”, and a “Rusted Iron Blade”. We go to the edge of the forest without going in too deep simply so we can hunt a dilophosaurus.
Anonymous - “Did you hear that?”
Unknown - “Yeah copy my skills”
Anonymous - “Alright what do I do now?”
Unknown - “We’re going ahead just stay to my left side”
I pull out the Blade from my inventory.
Unknown - “This should be enough to damage it and give you time to kill it with your axe ok?”
Anonymous - “Alright”
The dinosaur leaps from the bushes. I activate the skills precision strike and target lock-on. I stab it but it doesn’t pierce far through its skin.
Unknown - “Now!”
He struck the dinosaur on the head with the flat side of the axe and knocked it out. A screen appears saying: “Conditions complete taming possible”.
Unknown - “You know how to tame this thing?”
Anonymous - “Yeah we just have to feed it. Its taming difficulty isn’t that high either.”
Unknown - “Help me carry it back to the river.”
We carry the dinosaur to the river. In about 10 minutes it woke up and we held food to its face. It ate the food and didn’t attack us. A screen pops up again and says “Velociraptor tamed”. I doubt it’s an adult Raptor. I didn’t even think it was a raptor to begin with; it’s too small.
Unknown - “Hey why don’t you try using your skill or something?”
Anonymous - “It worked! I could also give you control of the Raptor”
Unknown - “Cool, let’s head back.”
Day 3
Unknown - “We should go hunting with the raptor”
Anonymous - “You sure?”
Unknown - “What, you scared it’ll turn on us or something?”
Anonymous - “No.”
We head to the beach where all the dodo birds are. Anonymous sends the raptor to kill the bird.
It rushes toward the bird and it bites its head off. It doesn’t eat the body, it just drops the head.
Unknown - “Well that’s just brutal.”
We feed the Raptor and go hunting for the rest of the day. It got to level 10 and Anonymous is level 5 and I’m level 8. I put my stat points into strength and health. Now my strength is at +12 and my health is at +4. Tomorrow we’re going to the forest edge so we can level up more now that we are stronger.
Day 4-8
We’ve been hunting on the forest edge for the past few Fr days and I’m at level 23, Anonymous is at level 18, and Rapt is now level 25. He levels up faster than the both of us because he does most of the hunting for Anonymous. Anonymous does get 45% of the exp that he earns from targeted kills though.
Day 9
Today we head into the deep forest.
Anonymous - “What was the recommended level for this area?”
Unknown - “To go alone the recommended level was 12, but with the most dangerous creature it said recommended to be level 25”
Anonymous - “You really are a cautious guy”
Unknown - “This is our lives on the line here ya know?”
Anonymous - “Yeah I get it. Let's just go already.”
On the way there he starts to ask questions. Now that I think about it we haven’t talked about much besides trying to survive.
Anonymous - “Hey do you remember anything about before you came here?”
Unknown - “Not much but if you ask questions I might remember something.”
Anonymous - “Ok, how old are you?”
Unknown - “ 15”
Anonymous - “Yeah you are young”
Unknown - “How old are you then?”
Anonymous - “I’m 17”
Unknown - “Huh, well we’re here”
Anonymous - “Ok I’ll be on alert”
There’s just a group of Raptors around level 10.
The group only has 3 of them.
Unknown - “Copy my skills.”
Anonymous - “Ok”
Unknown - “I got the 2 on the right”
I take out the rusted blade swiftly as I rush behind the Raptor and stab it. Anonymous does the same and both of our weapons break as soon as we hit them while killing the dinosaurs but there is still one more. I bring out the spear and kill the last one before it could rush after me.
Anonymous - “Wow, that was close!”
Unknown - “Yeah I suppose they only had 2 hits each”
After collecting everything we store it in our inventory. Anonymous calls back Rapt and he comes running back. We switch back to the stone tools that we’ve been using on the forest edge.
Unknown - “Are you still up to hunt?”
Anonymous - “Yeah; you’re the one that almost got killed.”
As we continue into the forest I notice a grave.
Anonymous - “Is that a grave?”
Unknown - “Yeah I’ll check it out”
The grave said: “Time elapsed 255 days”
Beside it was a heavy bag.
Anonymous - “You sure it’s a good idea to take from a grave like that?”
Unknown - “It would be wasteful to let things go unused like this.”
Anonymous - “Yeah.”
We go back to the campsite and open the bag. In it is a book, the book’s title is “Caster Skill Set manual”. I’m too tired to read it so I toss it back in the bag to read in the morning. In the middle of the night, I hear Anonymous flipping through the pages of the book, but I continue to sleep.
Day 10
I get woken up in the morning by Anonymous.
Unknown - “Huh,what is it?”
Anonymous - “Last night I stayed up and read the book and I got some really valuable information.”
Unknown - “Like what? It said it was a caster Skill Set. Can we even use it?”
Anonymous explains how there are 2 ways to get mana availability or access to magic. The first way was to find a mana river or water source with mana and absorb it. The second way is to find a magic stone and you could do one of 2 things with it, you can absorb the mana out of the stone to increase your mana capacity or use the stone as a staff to increase your magic power.
Unknown - “Did it say where the mana river could be found?”
Anonymous - “It didn’t say where but it did show an image of the river and it looked like a snowy area.”
Anonymous - “The only place that has snow is where I saw I first got here; the icy mountain.”
Finally something new that I can look forward to.
Unknown - “We should head over there tomorrow after the first challenge is completed”
Unknown - “I've been putting stat points into “Craftsmanship” for a while and I’m finally able to make all the things needed for a house. Now we just need to gather the materials. Deforestation time!”
Anonymous - “Finally, I’m tired of sleeping on palm tree leaves.”
A few hours pass…
Building the support beams is the worst because we have to make sure they are aligned, and that alone takes about an hour.
Thanks to the auto crafting feature, all we have to do is gather the wood in one place and I can easily select the option in the crafting menu. The walls fit like wooden puzzle pieces because they have slots to lock it in with smaller blocks. The end result is about the size of a classroom.
Unknown - “I can finally get some shade without going into that insect-infested forest!
A shadow comes from behind the wall and raises its scythe to strike Anonymous.
Unknown - “Anonymous get outside now!!!”
Anonymous runs out not knowing what's going on.
I dash outside, the reaper follows Anonymous and he still can’t seem to see it.
Unknown - “Go across the river!!”
Anonymous - “Why what’s going on?”
Unknown - “Just trust me go!”
As soon as Anonymous gets in the river, the dark figure stops at the river bank. I equip my axe and swing causing it to phase through it. But water splashes on it and it seems to have taken some damage from it so I quickly take out my shovel and splash the water on it. It melts into green slimy goo and Anonymous appears to be able to see it now. A screen now appears, it says: ”Special Achievement! You've defeated the grim reaper! The minimum requirement was to survive from it. I'm impressed. As a reward you and your companion shall receive mana accessibility! The next mission will be revealed shortly.” 2 copies of the same book explaining about mana dropped. The basic casting skills are “heal” and “ally heal” . We can use them just as we would use active skills. Anonymous crosses the river to come back and we make our way into the base but it’s pitch dark, we make torches and hang them up. The first thing I want to learn is ice magic. Though it’s called caster skill, the term magic is more convenient. In my stats I have a high Ice magic proficiency and a high earth magic proficiency. Anonymous has an electricity magic proficiency and a wind proficiency. To cast spells we have to visualize it just like we would visualize our inventory. The more we master the specific skill the less mana it takes to perform the skill. I tried to make a sharp ice projectile but all that happened was I made a small ice sickle. I’ll just read more into the book, and if I increase my knowledge of this I might get better at it. I walk back and anonymous is sleeping on the wall with his book in his hand. I make a sleeping bag for myself because I had unlocked that with the house parts. I just go to sleep. I'll read it in the morning.
Day 11
I wake up and Anonymous is still sleeping. I can just continue to read until he wakes up. The book says that not having proficiency can make using other elements difficult to use but we are still able to use them. The effectiveness of the magic depends on your current physical state. For example, if you’re dehydrated and using water or ice magic it will be less effective. This doesn’t apply for all elements, this rule doesn’t apply to earth, lightning and wind ect. The rule only applies to anything rooting from fire or water. Using magic can work 2 ways. You can use purely mana to create your magic or you can use the surrounding area and use less mana. Training mana does not expand the mana capacity but it does make it easier to use magic and not use all your mana at once like I did the first time. Mana replenishes over time but it is faster to meditate. Anonymous wakes up when I finish reading it.
Anonymous - “You done reading it?”
Unknown - “Oh you’re awake.”
Anonymous - “Yeah let’s see the next mission.”
Unknown - “Alright”
We walk across the river to the stone, it says “It seems you have already completed the second task which was to tame a dinosaur of choice. As a reward, you can choose to stop the timer for another 5 days or continue on to the next mission right away.” I discuss it with Anonymous and he agrees. We choose to use the next 5 days to train our new skills. It’s still bright out so I feed Rapt, we haven’t gone hunting in a while. I decide that I should start to train my earth magic. Using earth magic is more convenient because it’s everywhere so I won’t have to use much of my mana. We head over to the beach where all the dodo birds are first. I'm just trying to at least make a small part of the ground collapse like a sinkhole. With magic, it is not limited to anything as long as we have the mana and creativity for it. When I have more control of it I want to try to combine elemental attacks. The ability to become stronger here is what makes this world even slightly enjoyable. Trying to make a sinkhole without any open space below it didn’t work but splitting the ground and closing it did work. It’s only the size of my foot right now. As I continue to practice it gets larger and starts to take less mana in comparison to the skill size. I eventually run out of mana and so does Anonymous.
…
My attack is now able to fit a fully grown dodo bird and I’m also able to execute the attack quickly. I’m able to split the ground and close it as soon as the victim gets inside, crushing it and having blood spill out of it. It feels like a rubber band when I split the ground then it snaps back when I release it. Too much detail maybe? The Sun is still up so while Anonymous meditates I stand guard just in case something happens. After 10 minutes he’s done and stands guard for me. We continue to practice magic until the end of the day guarding each other when meditating. It’s the end of the day and I can confidently say that I can practice in the deep forest right now. I’ve practiced moving around while casting and it feels like streams of mana coming out of my body and pulling the ground apart. It would be nice if I’m able to move and cast at the same time. We go back to the house and I just read through the other elements and fall asleep.
Day 12-14
We continue to train in the forest for the next 2 days. I am now able to use magic in different ways now, I’m able to use earth as spikes from the ground and pierce the target. I’m not sure what Anonymous is able to do because we train in different areas so we don’t interfere with each other. Tomorrow we should be ready for the next mission.
Day 15
Today I’m just going to relax and check out my stats and options. I forgot that I didn’t level up automatically and I’m able to level up 5 times now. There is a new option that is called “Mana Strength”. I was able to strengthen my mana the whole time. Although I’m able to strengthen it through stats, the practice for control is still useful. I’m going to see the difference so I go to the backyard of the house. I’m able to make spikes out of the ground larger and I’m able to make multiple at the same time. Splitting the ground is less efficient but after some experimentation I found that I can soften the ground to make areas in the ground like quicksand or slippery.
Anonymous - “Still practicing?”
Unknown - “Yeah, I didn’t know that I could put my stats into mana strength”
Anonymous - “Oh ok, I’m going back to sleep.”
I continue to practice until I run out of mana for the 5th time. I cross the river to check how much time is left until the next task and there are 5 hours left. After Anonymous goes outside to practice when I’m done and I go to sleep because I’m tired from practicing. A few hours later Anonymous wakes me up to say the next mission is about to appear. We go across the river to the stone and the stone crumbles and it says:
“I hope you enjoyed your training, but now it’s time for your next mission.”
“Go to the town near the peak of the mountain”
“The map and route is accessible through your inventory.”
“You will be able to see the missions through your inventory as of now.”
The stone crumbles and leaves nothing but rubble on the floor.
Unknown - “It hasn’t even been a week since we had the house.”
Anonymous - “Yeah but If we take down the house and store the parts in our inventory we might be able to rebuild it when we get to the town.”
Unknown - “Yeah, I guess that could work if it doesn’t take up too much space.”
We take the house down, our inventories can’t fit everything so we leave all the food that we didn’t need in Rapt’s inventory. We can’t afford to waste time so we quickly prepare. I check my inventory and see a message from “???” a blank space. It's the map. The mountain is about 15 miles away so it should take at most 2 days to make it to the base of it. 5 miles ahead is a forest with fairly large trees. Anonymous finishes his preparations and we are on the way. An hour later we are still walking 2.5 miles in and we both get a new stat option “stamina”. Stamina can be gained naturally, but stat points can also be added to it. By the next hour we make it to the forest and our stamina stats are at +10 by just walking. Rapt is keeping up like it’s no problem. We rest once we get to the forest. We take a break for about half an hour and continue for another 5 minutes and a triceratops appears. The triceratops seems aggressive and is trampling the area. This is exciting! Something that might be a challenge to test my strength.
Anonymous - “Wait! I might be able to to tame it”
Anonymous runs towards it but it’s too aggressive to approach. I loosen the ground below it and it slips around and falls. Anonymous continues to go towards it then puts his hand on it and I can see particles of electricity leaving the dinosaur and it falls down.
Anonymous - “You got any berries?”
Unknown - “Yeah, but not that many. I gotta get more”
Anonymous - “Ok I’ll watch it for now.”
I go to get more berries deeper in the forest and come back.
Anonymous - “Ok place the berries in front of it, I’m gonna wake it up.”
I pull all of the berries out of my inventory and drop them in front of it. He wakes it up forcefully with electricity and it wakes up aggressively again. Anonymous puts it back to sleep. We do this process 3 more times and Rapt is still on standby to attack but it finally works. The screen pops up just like last time and it says “Triceratops Tamed”. It’s night time now so we set up a fire and sleeping bags and we rest for tomorrow.
Day 16
I wake up before Anonymous so I check for new options and I see that I can make a saddle for our newly tamed dinosaur. I have all the materials to make it except animal hide (Skin or Leather) so I go hunting for a while and I find a lystrosaurus. It looks ugly but kind of like a dog so I can’t kill it. I continue to look for something while not going too far from the camp and I find a dilophosaurus. I kill it with earth spikes and I skin it for the animal hide. I walk back to make a saddle but I make two instead of one. I could still use the other one if we tame another one. I attach the saddle and wake up Anonymous.
Anonymous - “ Oh you made a saddle, nice.”
Unknown - “Yeah I made 2 so if we find another one I can use the second one”
Anonymous - “Alright, let’s continue”
We continue on two feet because it would be difficult to maneuver with all the trees on Trike. That’s the nickname I decided because it has three spikes (Triple Spike). We continue for the rest of the day. We don't need to take any breaks because of our built up stamina. About 6 hours later we are about to make it to the base of the mountain. From the corner of my eye I see another triceratops.
Unknown - “Look! There’s another one.”
Anonymous - “Hey do you have any leftover berries, I don’t need as much as I did the first time.
I give him the berries that I got just in case of a situation like this. He walks over to it and gives it berries “Triceratops Tamed” the screen appeared. Just like that! It would be that easy compared to the first time.
Unknown - “How is it this easy now?”
Anonymous - “It’s less aggressive and there was a skill from the trainer skill set, it was called “Taming experience ” it makes it easier to tame dinosaurs that I’ve already tamed before.”
Unknown - “Well that’s convenient”
I put on the saddle and we use the dinosaurs to get up the mountain. We reached the snowy part and to get to the village it is another 5 miles. They are slower than us running but it’s safer to ride them because of the risk of getting sick. Catching a cold is a possibility for us after all. Since I’m in a snowy area I start practicing Ice magic. By the time I run out of mana I check “Journal of the next life.” I’m able to see day 17.
“Day 17”
When I wake up I see the village and Zephyr is awake before me as always. When we reach the village there’s a gate with 2 people guarding it side by side with iron spears and wearing real world jackets. We walk over to greet them. I notice the chilling breeze stops when we get near the village.
Aster - “Hey there”
Guard 1 - “Hello you must have had a long journey here, what's your name?”
Guard 2 - “You know they probably don’t remember their names.”
Guard 1 - “Yeah I’m just messing with them.”
Aster - “My name is Aster”
Zephyr - “My name is Zephyr”
Guard 1 - “Oh you came up with names already, that’s surprising.”
They look fairly young then what I would have thought the stereotypical guard would be. They look around my age. They lead us in the village. They have an abundance of people and large wooden houses that looked like they could hold many people living there. When we left the gate another 2 guards took their place.
Zephyr - “What about our dinosaurs?”
Guard 1 - “So there's another tamer, huh”
They then open the second gate and it’s way larger. We lead all our dinosaurs to the pen.
The town has a warm glow that makes it feel comfortable. They lead us to a small building. There is a woman sleeping at a desk with papers all over the desk.
Guard 1 - “Hey Lauren, it’s time for you to do your job. Stop acting like you're so busy.”
She wakes up drooling. She has glasses and is wearing a business dress, like a secretary. She wipes the drool off of her face
Lauren - “That’s Ms. Lauren to you.”
Lauren - “So you survived?”
We explain the situation to Lauren and the guards.
Lauren - “Hahaha. That guy has a weird way of wording it making it sound like it’s that urgent, but it’s fine. The fate of the world isn’t all in your hands.”
Aster - “What do you mean by him?”
Lauren - “Well to summarize it there is a threat to this world and the creator of this world summoned us to defeat it. We will fight it in about 5 years. It’s a war between 2 worlds. The “Plunderers'' as they've called themselves have been invading our land and routes for about 10 years.”
Zephyr - “Sorry to interrupt, but why were we summoned?”
Lauren - “Well, 10 people from earth were chosen to create a world. I don't know the main details but they all had a level or skill system. One of the world’s creators lost control of the people so as a result they left and went back to earth leaving the people of their world stranded. This happened 10 years ago.”
Zephyr - “Sorry to interrupt again but-”
Lauren - “I’m getting to it ok!”
Zephyr - “Sorry, Sorry.”
Lauren - “So, to continue Free is what we call the one who summoned us. Because the other creator abandoned his world he opened what we call routes which connect the other worlds so the people from his world who aren’t Plunderers could escape and go to another world, but in that process Plunderes were able to invade. The plunderers have a mark given to them by the creator of their world. In its early days this used to be a calm paradise, hopefully we can go back to it.”
Lauren - “But to answer your question you were summoned to defend this world.”
Guard 1 - “You love telling this story don’t you?”
Lauren - “It’s not like I get to tell it much anymore.”
Guard 2 - “Ok we got the story now let’s give them names already.”
Lauren - “Whatever name comes to your mind.”
Aster - “Aster works.”
Lauren - “Ah I see, the violet flower nice choice,”
Lauren - “And for you mister interruption?”
Zephyr “Zephyr.” Lauren - “Interesting.”
Zephyr - “Yeah”
The guards lead us out of the building to head to the housing district. As we’re walking we see many people wearing modern clothing.
Aster - “So, how do they have modern clothes?”
Guard 2 - “The one that created the routes trades with us. We give valuable materials from our world that we can’t use and we get modern comforts.”
Aster - “Cool.”
We get to the housing district and there are furniture shops and dining halls.
Zephyr - “The town didn’t look this large from the outside.”
Guard 1 - “That’s because this is a cleared dungeon.”
Guard 2 - “Yeah dungeons are basically-”
Guard 1 - “There are plenty of books on it. You can check it out if you're that interested, but I’m tired.”
They lead us to different houses and I go back to sleep. I'm too tired.
It’s been so long since I’ve felt the comfort of a soft mattress. I wake up and I see a letter on the desk by the bed. It says: There are clothes in the closet and a shower in the door to the right, please prepare and go to the main hall for your documents to be written. I get ready and head out but I have no Idea where to go.
Mist - “Hey my name’s Mist, are you new here?”
Aster - “Why do you ask?”
Mist - “I’m supposed to lead the new people to the main hall to get all the documents done if you saw the letter.”
Aster - “Was there another guy here?”
Mist - “Yeah I saw him but he’s still inside, did you want to wait for him?”
Aster - “Eh he’ll be fine.”
Mist - “So what’s your name?”
Aster - “... Aster”
Mist - “Ok let’s go then.”
We walk down the main street and get to a small office building.
Office lady - “Weren’t there supposed to be 2?”
Mist - “Yeah but the other guy is still inside resting.”
Office lady - “Well I can get this one outta the way, but get the other guy in as soon as possible I want to go home.”
She asked questions about how I got here and my encounters with dinosaurs and when I responded they were both in shock.
Mist - “So umm, what type of lifestyle do you want to live.”
Aster - “What do you mean?”
Mist - “Would you like to get stronger.”
Aster - “yeah.?”
Office lady - “Would you like to be an explorer? You can bring your friend too?”
Aster - “What would I get out of it?”
Office lady - “Well, when you’re on break you get to live the luxury life. There’s a process to it though.” Aster - “And that is?”
Office lady - “Well first you have to take “classes” then combat training, then you will be able to prove yourself through an achievement if you want to be a high rank.”
Aster - “I’ll go wake him up.”
Mist - “Alright I’ll be waiting here.”
At the office…
Office lady - “So how’s Misty?”
Mist - “She’s becoming an explorer.
Office lady - “Are you joining too?”
Mist - “Nah she’ll be fine, I already have a job to do and I don’t want to have to go through all that fighting again.”
Office Lady - “That’s shocking, the overprotective brother letting his sister do what she wants?”
Mist - “Shut it.”
Back to Aster
I walk over to the house and I see him standing outside confused.
Aster - “Zephyr follow me.”
Zephyr - “Do you know where the Main Hall is?”
Aster - “Yeah follow me.”
We head to the Main Hall.
Mist - “Hey my name is Mist, we just need to sort your documents.
Office Lady - “So first what’s your name?”
Zephyr - “My name is Zephyr” Office Lady - “Ok how old are both of you?”
Aster - “15.”
Zephyr - “17”
Office Lady - “Now, I’m going to explain what an explorer is and if you’re not interested you can choose another job. An explorer is a part of the military. You have the potential to become an explorer if you can use magic and have combat experience. You get to live a luxury life if you have a high position. Although it is difficult to get to a high position you both seem to have the potential for it. You might be fighting in dungeons or defending routes from the plunderers. You might even get to meet Misty.” Zephyr - “Who’s Misty?”
Office Lady - “Oh, she’s Mist’s beautiful sister that he’s been hiding from the world, but the bird has escaped from the nest and is going to explore and She’s about your age Aster.”
Mist - “Hey hey hey. Calm down there Jade”
Jade - “What, are you afraid that she’ll get taken away from you?” Mist - “Don’t pay attention to her.”
Jade - “Sorry about that but what’s your decision?”
Aster - “I’ll become an explorer.”
Jade - “And what about you Zephyr.”
Zephyr - “I’ll do it.”
Jade - “Ok I’ll get everything sent through to the teachers.”
Mist - “The next entrance is in another 6 months so you guys should find temporary jobs.”
Aster - “What are the options?”
Mist - “I would recommend becoming guards if you guys do fit the requirements. You can apply after I show you around.”
Aster - “Alright”,
We walk out of the building and he shows us around and there are libraries, stores, Training grounds, and different housing districts. We go to the job application center. Mist talks to a guy and he comes over to the desk.
Mist - “You’ll start tomorrow there should be a clock in your inventory, be ready by 12pm you’ll be out by 6pm. Set an alarm now.”
Aster - “What about payment?”
Mist - “We use a system which can be seen through your inventory; it's called the points system. You will receive your pay automatically once you reach the end of your shift.”
Zephyr - “That’s interesting but I’m tired so are you ready to go back?”
Mist - “Yeah that should be it for now”
We head back to the housing district, but I stray off to head to the library. It really is a warming place. “There are a lot of magic related books here.” I finish reading by 10pm and I head back to the house. “Ugh this is such a pain, to think I would have to have a job at this young of an age.” I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed.
Beep Beep Beep! I go to guard the gate with Zephyr. I grab a chair and read until the end of my shift.
Aster - “Nope I don’t have the patience for this I’d rather go back to living and hunting in the forest”
​
Thank you for tolerating my 8th Grade Writing. Part 2 is already completed, stick around for it!

Hello everyone, so for the longest time I’ve been placing my cities exactly 6 hexes apart to make maximum usage of the land. This mostly works but occasionally another civ will settle a city in the gap and cause a huge Kerfuffle (aka now I have to burn down their cities because no way I’m going to let that slide)
In my current Diety run, I decided to go for optimal city placement over maximizing land usage and the result is that there are strips of land about 2-3 tiles wide between the cities 3 tile radius. It works pretty well for optimizing the city outputs but I wonder if having denser city placement is better than having optimal city placement.
Thoughts?
Is it more wasteful to have a city that’ll will top out at 8 population with 2-3 districts or to have half as many cities with twice the population and districts?

I'm building a computer chair and the arms need to attach to the upholstered seat. My intention is to mill down some hardwood (likely maple) into 1/8" slats, glue, stack, and press into a 90-degree curved mold to make laminated curved wood supports for the arms. My question is how strong is this method? The final piece will be about 4" x 1" in cross-section. How likely is this to slump and sag over time? I really want sturdy armrests.

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I grew up in the 90s-early 2000s in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) of Ontario Canada. I remember in any park, playground or suburban forest being able to find these little grey objects on the ground.
The outside was very smooth, and it had a fairly matte finish. It was light, and you could easily rip it apart. If you ripped it apart the inside was powdery inside the shell and a little puff of smoke would come out. If you stepped on it, the same little smoky puff would come out.
It was about half the length of a woman’s thumb and a little bit thicker, an oval shape. They were not attached to the ground or plants in any way. I am fairly certain it was not a mushroom. I haven’t seen one of these in a long time, and though my sister remembers them, she has no idea what they were either. Anyone know?