u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes

I was a gal Friday (we didn't say administrative assistant back then but I was more than a secretary) for a literary agent in Manhattan. My starting salary was 15k, at age 21, in 1987. Worked my way up to Subsidiary Rights Director. By the time I sold my first book and quit that job to write full time at the age of 31, I was making a "whopping" 30k. Annual "bonus" was usually a few hundred beans - it always seemed like a fortune. My goal for 10 years had been to make or surpass my own age in salary (which for publishing, was always going to be a stretch). Couldn't do it while employed full time, achieved it my second year of self-employment.

Oddly, I still think in 1980's numbers. I hear someone say they make 30k a year as a starting salary, and my immediate reaction is "oh, that person's doing GREAT!"

I remember a big fancy place for two early seasons with a tennis court. Then a very luxurious but impractical house for one season during pandemic (the one with the kitchen on the second floor and a stove that didn't work), and then the current house (the one zoned for 5 bedrooms but containing 9 bedrooms) which I feel like is the one they were in the longest. Am I missing one?

I've been slowly buying the CD versions up on eBay, and finally have all 18 that comprise seasons 1-3. I get weird health stuff and need comfort media for sick days, and I can only rewatch Stargate and Star Trek so many times...So now I have 18 new Stargate episodes. For those who aren't familiar, each CD is narrated by an original cast member from the perspective of their character. Narrators include Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, Wier, Frasier, Lorne, Walter (who knew Gary Jones was Welsh?), Carson, My Imaginary Husband Dr. Zelenka, and a three-parter with Daniel Jackson and Vala, and I think Ba'al is in that one too. Here's the wiki page that lists all of the titles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stargate_audiobooks

Has anyone else listened to some or all of these? What's the general consensus? Maybe should have asked before buying all 18, but who am I kidding. I would have done it anyway.

Just finished listening to the first one, "Zero Point" - which David Nykl narrates the story in character as my imaginary husband Dr. Zelenka. Other than not always loving the actress who played Captain Sharpe (who seemed kind of needlessly caustic 98% of the time), I really enjoyed it. Good story, I love a good space manta ray, the few special effects enhance the narrative, pacing was nice, music not too intrusive, and I enjoyed hearing Nykl's impression of Hewlett's Rodney in Zelenka's Czech accent. I'm even seasoned enough to recognize some of the Czech swear words.

It took some patience to find some of these at decent prices - particularly the standalone one that Claudia Black and Michael Shanks narrate ("Shell Game"), but I finally have them all. I heard that Big Finish did a re-release in 2022 for digital versions (not originally available), but I've not seen a source for those, and anyway, I no longer trust "buying" any kind of digital media given its propensity to be clawed back. I now have 100% of Stargate and Star Trek (except for Prodigy and Lower Decks) on DVD, so I'm ready for the rights expiration apocalypse and am enjoying my freedom from Paramount Plus.

I don't suppose there are any other good Stargate media experiences out there? On the one hand, there is a LOT of Stargate, but on the other hand, there is never enough...

Amanda has been looking like the cat who ate the canary for most of the season. But it was particularly telling to watch her reaction when things went sideways at that dinner last night. As Lindsay is excoriating Kyle for talking to a manager without telling Amanda (and excuse me, there was an entire scene of him telling Amanda about the potential manager a few weeks ago and IIRC she turned and walked away without a word) Amanda's eyes are sparkling, her eyebrows are raised, and she has a small smile on her face. Like she's watching two people she just met get into a fight.

As Kyle starts to lose it, her expression goes to full on smug and triumphant. And this is when the most telling moment of all happened. He sees her sitting across from him smiling, clearly enjoying his distress which she could have dispelled by saying "Actually Kyle did talk to me about the manager), and he mouths "fuck you" (which I'm sorry, but she totally deserved in that moment). Guys, what have we seen Amanda do for EIGHT YEARS any time she doesn't like Kyle's behavior? She yells at him, she cries, she runs off, she lets all the women follow her, she sits weeping as they gather around her heaping her with praise.

But that didn't happen this time. Kyle looked her dead in the eye and mouthed "fuck you", and she turned to whomever was sitting next to her, still smiling, raising her eyebrows like "can you believe this guy?" Not one molecule of her was "hurt" by what he said. Both during Lindsay's excoriation of Kyle and Kyle losing his temper and snapping, Amanda looked nothing but self-satisfied and superior. For the first time in their entire relationship, she did not react to him by yelling back at him and indulging in histrionics. She was DELIGHTED.

Why? She got so much mileage out of the other time Kyle lost his temper and told her to fuck off - she cried and cried and West comforted her. Not this time. She was loving every minute of it. She was loving that as soon as Kyle lost it, West rushed over and sat next to Amanda protectively. She thought she was wearing a suit of teflon.

This tells us exactly where she was emotionally. In her mind, she's already left the marriage and is entering her "punish Kyle" phase. She's accomplished what she worked all these years for - the entire house (except Ben) is going at Kyle FOR Amanda. Not because he did a damn thing wrong to any one of them, but because he had the temerity to interview a manager. Hardly something for the rest of them to take personally.

Amanda told us EVERYTHING we've wondered about this summer in that one dinner. She is moving with the confidence of someone who's just won their first Oscar. She's already mentally divorced and enjoying a committed relationship from a commitophobic cast member. But her performance was transparent, her cruelty highly visible, and her glee at seeing Kyle getting pushed to the breaking point is unmistakable.

It's right there for everyone to see.

My current situation: 61(F) diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2020 - said to be terminal but have been cancer free for 2 years and no longer expect to die soon. Spouse is about to turn 76(M) and in very good health other than eye problems. I have two kids (stepson 23M - we'll call him Rick, and biokid 30M - we'll call them Buddy) who both have legal disability diagnoses as moderate-functioning autistic people.

Had several long meetings with an Estate Planner to address my concerns of:

1. continuing to grow my retirement portfolio (currently around 3.3M) with the plan of leaving the paid off home and entire portfolio to my kid, and having them live here together (their idea, neither intend to marry or have kids). I'm already able to pay my bills with a 3% disbursement and portfolio still consistently growing.
2. wanting to protect my assets against slip & fall lawsuits - particularly concerned that my spouse still drives locally. Considering transferring car title to my stepson who has no assets.
3. protecting my assets from any long term care my husband or I need. No dementia in his immediate family. Don't know what my lifespan will be now, but I'm more susceptible to something like a stroke. And;
4. when I'm gone, have something like a Special Needs Trust to make sure the kids are maintaining health, home, car and umbrella insurance and getting the property taxes paid (unsure if they can do this given their specific limitations from autism). Buddy works, but not full time and salary is well below poverty level. Rick is not working. Both are on Medicaid (New York), both live with me.

So the lawyer is recommending a number of things to revise what I currently have in place, and feels that first off a MAPT is a good protective step. And I'm paralyzed about making that move because of the idea of giving up "control" of my assets - although Buddy would be trustee and I have no concern whatsoever that they'll misuse that authority.

Can anyone help me understand exactly how the trust works - and how it affects my net worth and my tax situation. Other than the portfolio, my only asset is this house, paid off, market value about 700k. The house would not go into the trust. So who technically holds those assets - Buddy? Who takes on the tax burden of the capital gains earnings, me or Buddy? Would Buddy being trustee of my MAPT disqualify him for continuing on Medicaid?

If anyone who can sketch out the pros and cons of a MAPT, I'd be very grateful. I need to get a trust of some kind established - is MAPT the right choice, or should I be thinking Special Needs Trust? Right now I'm absolutely paralyzed with indecision.

Started a series rewatch after the news hit. (Don't mock me, I'm 82% health issues and stuck in bed). The first episode of season 8 is blowing my mind. First off, Ciara and West hone in on one another within MINUTES of his arrival in the house as the new guy. I mean, it is SO palpable that Amanda and Paige clock it instantly and sit together waggling their eyebrows as Ciara and West make dinner together (noting she's never cooked in the house before). And god DAMN it I felt the little 'oh golly the new guy's kind of sweet and endearing - I like them together' thing happening to me again - where is my fucking Pavlovian response? What is wrong with me?

Worse is Kyle and Amanda. They all go to a carnival the first night (I wish they did that every summer). Kyle tells Amanda he's really bummed she doesn't seem to want to be around him (she's previously said something to the effect of being sick of him). He says he'll be gone for almost a week on a work trip, and when he gets home "I don't expect you to run and jump into my arms, but you don't even talk to me, like you don't even miss me or care about me." And she basically says 'yeah, well I'm fine - I stay home and take care of the dogs and watch TV'. And Kyle starts looking kind of sad and asks "but don't you even miss me?" She gets mad and tells him he sits in his office all day. YES? ISN'T THAT WHAT ONE DOES?

Next morning, Amanda has to fucking REPORT this convo to people while Kyle is standing right there in the kitchen, in this unbelievably caustic, nasty tone. She goes "So Kyle had a whole conversation with me yesterday about how I don't hang out with him enough and I don't spend enough time with him, and I'm like YOU just aren't present with ME" and she wraps it up by saying "The fact that I even TOLERATED that conversation last night...yeah sure. You miss me you wanna hang out with me, blah blah blah blah, let see how many people you talk to other than me today." Kyle looks bewildered and everyone else looks highly uncomfortable, but Amanda is pure smug triumph.

The crestfallen look on Kyle's face says it all. I cannot adequately stress how nasty she is to him in this episode. How do you listen to your husband express the desire to spend more time with you, and your response is to make fun of him, mimic his voice to other, and tout "the fact that I even tolerated that conversation..." It's just so fucking sad.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE REMOVE MY EMOTION CHIP?

Do you feel a surge of irrational anger when you see a post like that? I just saw one with essentially the same title going on about how all old people do is talk incessantly about their health issues and how fucking irritating it is, and "why do they all (random behavior) and why do they all (another random behavior)?". And when you hit 60, there's less room for just telling yourself 'oh, they don't mean old like my age, they mean REALLY old'.

It's enough seeing all of the 19-year olds posting about being terrified of aging, and asking if there is anything - even one thing - that is good about being old. That's sad and somewhat alarming, but it doesn't enrage me. Lumping all "old people" together and bitching about us as if we are all diligently following the same stage directions and reading from the same script makes me feel angry and demoralized.

All this said, I've never felt the urge to create a post about how "I F&cking Hate Young People". Being old isn't a lifestyle choice, FFS. It's mandatory, unless you are unlucky enough to die young.