I'm thinking of joining a bowling league for the winter season (to keep myself sharp on my bowling skill. Coming from Greater Baltimore USBC with a 200 average but I haven't bowled in a while since moving here. . .)
Does King Pin or the local AMF have any fun leagues to just chill and play in a non-competitive setting? Also, are those the only two bowling alleys in town, or are there more within a few minutes from here?
Thanks y'all
I just wanted to say I'm homesick already. . . My wife and I just left this morning to drive back to Springfield Illinois (where we live now) and I already miss the city, the dirt bikes (again), the harbor. . . All of it.
We were in town to check on our house (that were renting out to family) but I just couldn't help but run through scenarios in my head where we could come back. . . Hopefully I get a promotion at work that lets me come back, but in my work, you have to be willing to move. . .
I love Baltimore, it's the first place I can officially call home. Sure, I was raised in Pasadena, but that's not my hometown like Baltimore is. . .
So, I've been back and forth on the idea of filing for bankruptcy. My wife and I recently moved to a new state, and my wife had to move to part-time work and significantly reduced income. We both have a lot of debts from fixing our house back home (which we still own) and I've been bouncing the idea around. I'm pretty sure we don't qualify for a Ch.7 based on our income (because of the means test, or something, Idk how that works) so I've been trying to research on a Ch. 13 (the one you make payments on for like 5 years.). From what I've read, it says while making the plan you're not supposed to have ANY disposable income for anything, and that kinda makes me worried, which leads me to these questions:
- If you're making payments in a Ch. 13 bankruptcy, and you have an emergency (like a medical emergency, repairs needed to your car/house, etc.) are you just SoL and just piling on more debt to your plan? If the plan was already made to not have disposable income, then you'd have no money to have for emergencies. . . How would something like that be handled?
- My wife and I are planning on fostering children in the near future, if we pursue bankruptcy or anything like that, would the addition of that child (And the stipend from the state) adjust our means testing in the middle of a plan? Would that allow a conversion to a Ch. 7 discharge?
- Are you not allowed to go out and do stuff during a Ch. 13 bankruptcy? No disposable income means no going out to eat and stuff like that, so would we have to live an ultra-frugal lifestyle for the duration of the plan and not do anything outside of go to work and come home? It just sounds intimidating. . . Especially if we plan on taking care of children.
I know this is probably something people have asked before on here, but these are just a few things that have been eating at me and I'm sure someone out there has had experience with this stuff.
Thanks in advance, I appreciate it.
Like the title says, anyone have advise or things to anticipate as a new foster? The social worker for our state gave a good idea of what kind of children we would be assisting (substance exposed, domestic violence, etc.), but I guess I'm wondering what kind of experience people have had with foster children? I'm worried we'd get a child that wants to destroy our property and things like that. I highly doubt that would ever happen, but I just want to get some kind of idea on what to expect for our first placement.
My wife and I expressed that we'd prefer fostering those who aren't in their teens yet, but I know that can come with its own set of challenges. I've never dealt with children before (outside of hanging out with my nieces and nephews for an hour or two at a time), so all of this is going to be extremely new to me. . .
Thanks for any help y'all can provide :).
(I think this counts as pay and benefits)
Would the use of Paid Parental Leave hurt someone's chances for promotion? My wife and I are working through the process of becoming foster parents in our state. After reviewing my agency's leave policy, it says I get 12 weeks of PPL every year for foster child placement. That would really help in the process, since every child you foster is completely different and requires adjustment to their new living situation.
My worry is that using PPL would negatively affect my performance evaluations, or give my organization a reason to deny me a promotion to a higher grade (currently a GS11 supervisor). . . I'm sure something like that would be extremely illegal, but it's a genuine concern I have. . .
Has anyone seen PPL be used as a way to hold someone back? If so, what did that other person do about it? Thanks y'all.
*Changing the name since I'm an idiot and didn't realize middle management supervised the supervisors, I don't do that*
Like the title says, being a GS11 office manager position can really be a pain in the ass. Especially when your department head is on an ego trip and keeps thinking that I'm trying to upstage him and his work. . . Like, I got yelled at for trying to have meetings with my staff about their career goals and skills I could help them learn (which is part of my job, developing the team); I got a talking to for wearing a nice suit to work, and I get a talking to for trying to develop plans to help increase productivity and reduce mistakes in our deliverables. . . Like, last week my dept. head was on vacation, and things were really chill and not a big issue. But then as soon as they got back we were right back into crisis mode over almost everything. . .
I've been really trying to like being a supervisor, and it definitely has its perks. However, being a manager that has no real authority to make changes or things like awards to help the team is really demoralizing. . . Some days it feels like I just go through the motions, rather than make a meaningful change to things.
Idk, maybe it's just me. . .
So almost 5 months ago, my wife and I moved from Baltimore to Springfield, IL for a work promotion. We've been trying really hard to get acclimated to living in the Midwest (it's definitely a culture shock, for sure) but we definitely miss living in Baltimore. . . We just went to St. Louis to try and get a "big city" trip, and my wife and I both just got nostalgic for Baltimore lol.
I miss the seafood, the dirtbikers, I miss the Squeakness and the variety of neighborhoods in the city, I miss the people and the friends I've met through work or just from walking my dogs. I miss a lot of the conveniences of living in the city. . .
OH, and I miss the fact that we can be a proud Black family without getting looked at like we're aliens. Where we live, everyone stops to stare at us like we're zoo animals whenever we go out, so it can be very off-putting. . .
While we still have family and friends to visit in the area (I'm driving back in early August), and we still own our house in Baltimore, that doesn't make up for the fact that we're away from everything we've known and lived around.
Some parts of the Midwest are nice (like, houses on 5 acres of land that sell for $100k, our electric bill doesn't get higher than $100, you can drive for 3-4 hours and have absolutely no traffic. Etc.), I guess I'm just kind of homesick of the place where I met my wife, started my family, had my first home and grew my career. . .
Sorry if this is weird or sappy, I just figured I'd say I miss the city, hope y'all have been doing good.
I had one of my direct reports tell me that he's interviewing for a promotion next week. . . This guy is my superstar office employee, he quickly learns processes and is a very reliable person to have on the team. I couldn't be happier for him that he's looking to advance his career and move up in the organization. However, I've never known of instances where direct reports actually tell their supervisors they have job interviews. I've always mentioned that I have a call to make at a certain time, or that I have business to take care of and that I need time to be undisturbed. . .
How would this make you feel as a supervisor? For me, it makes me feel glad that my team member has that much trust that he'd let me know something like that. He could've just told me he has something to take care of, and I'd accommodate all the same, do you think him mentioning specifically that it was for an interview would mean any deeper meaning? Or am I just overthinking things?
I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for watch battery replacement and jewelry resizing. I have about 4-5 watches that have batteries that died, and they require a bunch of special tools (that I don't have) to get fixed. . . Think Invicta and Schneider watches. And my cat chewed the rubber wrist-band on my Invicta watch, so I need a place that sells or replaces those bands too. . .
Additionally, I have a bracelet my dad got for me almost a decade ago, but it's sitting pretty loose on my arm. I wanted to get it resized so I could start wearing it more, it's a beautiful piece, but I think I need a jeweler to look at it and see if something can be done to it.
Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks :).
Pretty much what the title says. I currently have a 2018 Nissan Versa SV that's been paid off for a few years now. I take good care of the car, and it's broken 150k miles no problem. It's my daily driver, and I drove it maybe 4-5 times across the country for my move to another state.
Outside of basic things like replacing the head unit for the radio, or speakers and stuff like that, are there any sort of aftermarket upgrades I could put on the car? Like, I see other Nissan's from the same year (like Altimas and Sentras) have more integrated dashboards (with the LED screens and stuff), would I be able to put that in my car? Or are there any upgrades you've done to your Versa, if y'all have one?
If not, no big deal, I just think it would be nice to try and spruce up the car a little bit. It's a nice car and it drives well, but driving 12.5 hours one way makes me pretty envious of my wife's cars (a 2013 Audi A6 and a 2018 Mercedes Benz C300), and I'd like to at least see what would be available for my car.
Thanks y'all, I appreciate it.
Lowkey scared af, I'm in a second floor apartment. . . Have to get the animals and everyone in the bathroom in case shit pops off.
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Be safe everyone, let's get through this in one piece
So my wife and I have been living in Springfield for a little over 3 months now. We come from a heavily populated area (The Baltimore-DC Metro area) so this has been a huge culture shock for us. But I think it would be fun to list my 3 positive and 3 negative experiences in the area.
- Just because something is negative, doesn't mean I dislike the area btw, I really enjoy being out here.
Pros:
Y'all have absolutely no traffic, like at all. My commute to and from work is 15 minutes, and I just drove to St. Louis for training. . . I don't think I even saw another car on the road until I hit the MO border lol. The same goes when I have to head to the Danville area for work, I don't see any cars or traffic, and can just cruise on the road. Makes "long" drives feel so chill and relaxing. Back in the DMV area, you can't even go 20 ft without hitting some crazy traffic. . . Like, I drove to Iowa and the Quad Cities to see my grandparents graves and it was such a nice drive with no traffic too. . . and the Quad Cities is a big area.
Property is extremely cheap out here, and has a TON OF LAND. My wife and I could get a farmhouse on some serious acreage for the same price as a rowhome in Baltimore. . . Which is wild.
I like the farms and environment. My wife and I are used to heavily urban/suburban areas, so being able to leave the immediate area and be met with farmland is a nice change of pace. While MD has farms and rural parts (my wife is from rural MD), it's not as expansive as in this part of Il. Idk, I just like seeing all the farms and kinda can't wait until things start growing in.
.... Now the cons. Please take in mind these are my PERSONAL cons, so it's just my perspective as a new resident for only a few months.
Y'all love eyeballing minorities (in some areas). . . Coming from a majority-Black part of the U.S, I kinda figured this would be the case. . . However, I didn't expect people to actively stare down my wife and I EVERY TIME we go out somewhere. We went to a sports bar called the Home Plate or something like that, and the people at the table next to us just kept looking over like we were some kind of hardened criminals or something. . . And if we go to the store, people just stop what they're doing just to stare at us, like we don't belong or something. . . It can be very off putting.
Too much weed and gambling everywhere. I just think it's kinda depressing to see a slots parlor and weed shop at every block. Like, is there really nothing else to do but smoke weed, play slots and drink for a lot of people here? They wouldn't be around if they weren't busy. . . Like, I get having vices and stuff, but it's a little excessive when even the restaurants have slots machines.
Speaking of food. . . While we haven't been to some of the places I wanted to go (like Old Lux), there doesn't seem to be a lot of "hole in the wall" places. Back in Baltimore we would just eat at the corner store restaurants or at the carry out joints, but I haven't seen any of those around. . . Maybe they're over on the East side of town? I hear that's the "black" side of town, so maybe I'd find what I'm looking for. OH, and y'all don't sell Scrapple in the regular grocery stores, kinda disappointing.
At the end of the day though, I'm starting to really like the city, y'all are cool in your own way. Just takes some getting used to with the wife and I. . . Much love to y'all, hopefully my family can become permanent residents, and not just renters in the near future ;P.
So, I'm currently in a class for new or prospective supervisors (I've been an office manager/supervisor role for 3 months now), and I'm starting to wonder why so many people have these crazy ego trips. . . Like, we're talking about leave and vacation, and people in the class are insisting that they give counselling to employees for wanting to take vacations around holidays. . . Like, isn't that really bad to do as a supervisor? Maybe it's because I have a small team of only 2 direct reports, but I don't think any situation warrants denying someone their vacation. . . Holiday or not, we can make due.
Am I trippin and just thinking about this the wrong way? Or is that actually something supervisors do? I thought my job was to manage the process and make the work easier on my team, not micromanage and nitpick all the shit they do. . . Outside of my morning meeting with the team, I pretty much leave the team alone to do what they need to do for the day; they're not children and don't need to have their hands held. . . Idk, that's just me. Does that make me a bad supervisor or something?
Hello y'all, I was wondering if you could help me with some real estate searching. My wife and I moved to the area about 3 months ago and my wife might plan on transferring for her job to St. Louis so she can get more hours and pay. I work in the Northeast side of town though, so if we can find a good middle ground, that's fine with me. I was told by a coworker that Litchfield would be a good place to look, but are there any other towns or cities y'all would recommend?
I'm not sure if it makes a difference in this state, but we're both Black. We are homebodies too, so we don't really go anywhere. We both moved here from Baltimore, MD, so the demographic changes are. . . different, but not unexpected. We just don't want to experience some of the things we've been experiencing in some parts of the state (people staring at us, eyeballing us when we go out to eat, etc.); it's not widespread, but enough to be annoying.
Thanks y'all, I appreciate the help.
I was wondering if y'all had any suggestions for the following things. . .
European car service: My wife has a Mercedes and I know they're a PITA to work on. The stealership charges way too much money to do basic maintenance (like an oil change or rotating tires) so I'm looking for a reliable independent shop that can work on it. We also have an older Audi A6 that someone tried to break into and ripped all the wiring out. . . So if they can work on that too, it's a plus (but not a requirement).
Car Audio installer: I have a 2018 Nissan Versa and I want to get a new radio installed. Problem is, I don't know jack about the new radio head units that go into these cars (the ones with touch screens). I don't know how to solder wires and all the other things associated with installing a head unit, so someone who could do that for a decent price would be appreciated.
Car Tint: Same Nissan, I kinda want to get some tint put on the car so this sun doesn't melt me every time I hop in. Would there be someone around here who does a good tint job?
Thanks y'all.
I was just wondering if the art Fair was still going on today? I hear the thunder and see it's about to storm, I just wanted to make sure so my wife and I can come out and look around.
Thanks y'all
My wife and I are still new to the area, we've been here for 2 months now coming from Baltimore.. But we keep trying to find stuff to do on weekends. We've been to the Lincoln Tomb, Washington Park (the place with the carillon), the drive in, etc.
We've tried to explore downtown, and I get there's a huge theme on Abraham Lincoln since this is his home. . . . But is there anything else to do that doesn't have to do with Lincoln? I'm sorry if that seems ignorant, but that seems to be all I see in advertisements and stuff about places to do and see. I know the state fair is coming, but that's just one thing. . .
Y'all recommend anything we can do for a weekend day trip in the city? We want to enjoy the city the best we can, we're just running out of ideas lol.
Thanks y'all
Back in MD there was a self-service garage, where you'd rent the space for a day and work on whatever you needed to, it was really useful when you don't have a garage or space to work on your car.
Is there something like that around here? Or am I gonna have to play shade-tree mechanic and do my car maintenance in my apartment's parking area or at the auto parts store? I'm trying to save money and not pay a ton for basic auto work like an oil change or changing my brakes. . .
Thanks y'all.
Is this crazy weather normal around here? I just had to drive to Danville for work today and I swear I was on 100% anxiety because I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me, there was crazy hail and the thunder/lightning was wild. The last thing I needed to have happen was a tornado in the middle of nowhere. . .
Then I get home to sirens and tornado weather, is it always this crazy?