u/Due_Bar_7247

Verizon model.

Manufactured August 2025 according to the battery info, not used until today July 2026.

I wanted to become a father more than anything in the entire world.

I worked day and night to save up as much money as I could, ran schemes to make even more money, bought nice suits, paid for dates for literally anything they wanted (even if it cost thousands of dollars), got cosmetic enhancements, etc. I could not for the life of me find a single date in the US. I moved overseas for a few years and even today I average about 10 likes a day on the dating app I use which I think is pretty good for a man.

I had a girlfriend and would pamper her in any way I could and still it wasn't enough. I don't really know what it was but she just bailed after I had invested thousands of dollars into our relationship hoping for a quick marriage and child.

After that, I came back to the US and figured I would look into adoption and since Catholicism is so pro-adoption even as a "fallen Catholic" I was still friendly with my local rector and asked for his advice. He scolded me for wanting to adopt while not being married and basically said "Well I guess you're screwed. Have fun being single."

I did not like that answer, so I learned more about the process in my own time. TLDR is no amount of money can ensure a successful adoption journey for a single man. Bummer.

So then I returned to the last resort option I had considered as my contingency of contingencies. I turned to egg donation and surrogacy. I shopped around for a reliable agency and yes it is EXPENSIVE but so worth it. I found a wonderful woman to be my egg donor and will soon be assigned a surrogate and I'm so excited to finally be able to fulfill my dream of being a parent without shuffling through the trash that is modern dating.

If you have the means, I really do highly recommend single parentage by choice. The outcomes of children of SPBC are comparable to dual parent households thanks to better economic circumstances, so I really think there isn't a great excuse to gatekeep parentage anymore to those who really desire it.

https://www.cpnys.org/legislative-priorities/

"We oppose efforts by NYS to chip away at the SCOTUS decision allowing concealed carry."

I have always felt they basically just match the Republicans on 99/100 nominations and don't meaningfully contribute much other than less choice because they don't really hold meaningful primary elections which can result in a ballot being a split ticket between a Republican who won a primary and a Conservative who was handpicked to be their party's nominee, causing confusion for the average smooth-brained NY voter, but I NEVER see protection of concealed carry on the NY Republican's legislative agenda.

I voted against my local NY-04 Republican rep who was up for a primary nomination in absence of Tony D'Esposito. The other guy also doesn't sound great, but I am not willing to just bend the knee while this state is going to utter shit and acting like a yes man to these politicians who do not care about helping us other than when election season comes around to secure another 2 years' paycheck. If any of you all live in NY-04 think carefully before you vote for Driscoll tomorrow. I doubt she'll lose regardless, but my vote served as a protest vote.

I am working part-time at a Church for weddings and other things. I can walk home with up to $3000 in under 12 hours of work through tips alone, but I put real effort into making that day special for people and I have some VERY wealthy clients where a few hundred or thousand dollar tip for an hour of work is not unheard of.

I lived in other countries around the world where tipping can even be seen as offensive and not tipping is standard.

Then I come back to the US and DoorDash and Uber Taxi and even going to a fast food restaurant constantly bombards me asking for tips. Can I afford an extra $5? Sure, I could pay an extra $100. But I won't out of principle. If someone goes way above and beyond I will tip them handsomely, but for normal everyday things I don't owe that person anything.

I feel like people will see this differently based on where they live and what industry they work in, but anyone living in America working in the service industry probably hates me because I will waste an extra minute ensuring that these companies are not trying to sneak in an unsuspecting tip out of me to supplement their company not willing to pay a fair wage.

This is not really a hypothetical. It's just a future reality that is really starting to take shape. If I were to have a child born outside the US, to a US citizen parent (me) who is eligible to pass on my nationality abroad, I go and register the birth at the consulate in Eastern Europe and then get a CRBA.

1. Does the CRBA count as a birth certificate for building out a Koseki?

2. How does Japan handle child naturalization when the US does not allow children under the age of 16 to renunciate for any reason and between the ages of 16 and 18 they can reclaim citizenship?

It's looking more and more likely that I might end up working a Japan-remote job (since there are no US jobs anymore, it seems), wait for the birth, transfer back to Japan, this time for the long-haul. I wouldn't go for PR this time with how revocable and expensive it's become. I intend to just go straight for full citizenship, but I don't want my child and I to have mismatching nationalities in the process.

I have structured my taxes in a way that I will basically not owe US taxes on income for a fairly long time.

I am considering getting STP CBI first before Turkey because I am (still) applying for Italian CBD and if I get that, I will only have room for one more for myself and my baby before I would no longer qualify under the "no more than three citizenships" rule.

The two of us would be $100,000 all-in.

How long do we expect this program to remain for potential CPLP access at this price point and would there be any issues if I then get Turkey thereafter putting the two of us at four nationalities?

I'll be honest. I didn't think it could possibly be this bad, and I have a dying family member and a number of things that required my presence in America so I came back from Japan after living there for 3 years.

What a mistake that was.

1500 applications and only 1 real interview invitation. Meanwhile I changed over to Indeed Japan and applied to one job hiring fully remote (even overseas) for something similar to what I did for my last job in Japan before I left and I am already advancing in the recruitment process.

The issue with Japan jobs in America is the exchange rate (I would be paid in yen, so even the best paying Japan jobs work out to be barely entry-level pay in America) and the higher cost of living in America. I could survive on it for maybe a year, but after that I'd need to either drop the Japan job or make it final and relocate back there forever (probably would if I got offered a permanent employment position).

Something is genuinely broken here in America.

I have legitimately never seen one in a gun shop here. Either I'm oblivious or they don't stock them.

Do they outright reject this or will they give pushback but ultimately allow it to be added? I know it can't be added to a NYC license or even NYC Special Carry because they disallow ARs explicitly.