u/QueenLuLuBelle

ETA a follow up: in a weird stroke of luck, I found a leather repair person who had worked on this exact sofa for the hosts before. She recognized it from the pictures I texted her. I let the host know, they were totally reasonable, and I was able to take the cushion to the shop and have it fixed in an hour. She did an amazing job for a reasonable amount of money and the sofa actually looks better than it did when I got here. Sometimes the universe works.

I had a mishap and stained the sofa where I am staying. The stains are noticeable, although not huge, but I made them worse trying to clean them. I would be upset if it was my sofa. The sofa currently retails for $2750 and my guess is it is anywhere from 2-5 years old, it is in good but not pristine condition. I have started contacting upholstery repair companies to try to get an estimate for fixing it, but my guess is they won't be able to completely undo the damage.

What is the best process to handle this? This is the first issue I've ever had, my guest reviews are excellent and I'd like to keep it that way as I travel a lot.

First time task rabbit user and looking for advice. I'm buying a couple of things off Facebook marketplace (dresser, table) and need help moving them. I have a Ford F250 that I can use. These are my questions:

• Would I select "help moving" or "heavy lifting and loading"?
• Is it better to ask the person to meet me where the furniture is located and then I drive the truck to my home while they follow or ask them to meet me at my home and we drive together?
• Is it better to hire one person for the pick up location and one person for my home location if it is more than say 30 minutes travel time? (from their perspective)
• Do I pay the person for their travel time to/from the job? (i.e. to get from where they live to the job site and back home)
• How much should I tip? Is it generally a percentage of the task cost or a certain $$ amount per hour?

Thank you very much if you read this far and I really appreciate your help.

I just did dry needling for sciatic nerve pain for the first time. I found that it really helped, but it was pretty painful and I felt panicked throughout the whole thing. It was similar to a vasovagal reaction which I have had a few times when a nurse can’t find a vein for an IV or a blood draw, but I’m usually OK with needles. Has anyone ever tried taking anxiety meds (Valium, Ativan) during the session to try to make it less stressful? Or does it get easier/less painful the more you do it? I want to keep going but I’m sort of dreading my next session. TIA!

I just retired about a month ago and I’m looking to move to a new city. I’ve been submitting rental applications for homes on Zillow, but I’m not getting any callbacks and I think I must be getting screened out because my income isn’t from employment. My financial situation is excellent - great credit, no debt, retirement pension 2X/rent, net worth 950X rent and I have really good landlord references. It’s a bigger city, but it’s not a super competitive rental market. What do people do in this situation?

I just retired and I’m trying to find a rental property - what can I do to get property managers to consider my application without a job? I have a pension that is $5300/month, a net worth almost 1000X the rent, zero debt, and my credit score is over 800. My pension is literally a guaranteed monthly payment until I die. Between my pension and the interest earned on my savings accounts, I make 3X the rent, yet I am not getting any responses to any of my applications. What can I do?

Edited to add: thank you so much for all the helpful replies, I really appreciate it!

a digital nomad guest looking for advice on asking a host about the mattress before booking. I have sciatica and I’m looking to book a 2-3 month stay. Is there a good way to ask about the mattress before booking? Have you gotten questions like this before? I don’t want to come off as high maintenance because I’m not at all. I rarely ask for anything, Ive never complained about anything, and I leave places in as good or better shape than I found it. Half of my reviews describe me as leaving the place in immaculate condition.

One more question. I am currently staying in a place that has an old, unsupportive mattress and I’m miserable. I just got here and still have 3.5 weeks left in my stay and it’s non-refundable, but my body won’t last longer than a few more days. The host is super nice and I don’t want to cause problems for her. Could I ask her for a refund for days I don’t stay if she is able to book another guest? How does that work with Airbnb? It’s a tourist destination in high season and there are very few listings open in her price range (low end) I think it’s likely she will be able to fill it and she has a 3 week gap between the end of my stay and the next booking (monthly stays only). If she can’t, I will eat the cost but obviously I would rather not.

Thanks very much for your help.

I am new to sciatica and I would really appreciate some advice.

I am having a painful flare-up and I’m currently 10 hrs from home by car on a semi-vacation. The drive here was an agony level I hadn’t hit before. I think the mattress here is not helping, it’s old, lumpy and soft. I’m supposed to be here for another 3.5 weeks, but I could go home early.

Would it be better to find a PT here and try to calm it down for a few weeks and then make the drive home? Or will I be back at square one after the drive and it’s better to go home now for easier access to PT and a better mattress?

I’ve been trying to walk 2x/day and do a few gentle stretches but so far it’s not helping much. I do have a prednisolone scrip that I never used because PT was helping. Would it be counterproductive to take that?

I feel like pain is making me unable to think straight. Thank you if you read this far.

I know this question gets asked a lot and I’ve dug through a lot of old threads, but I’m hoping you have patience to respond to another one. I’m considering a move to Baltimore and will be visiting next week to scope out potential neighborhoods. I have Fells, Butcher’s Hill, and Hampden on my list, but would love ideas for additional neighborhoods to explore that might be a good fit for me.

I’m drawn to Baltimore because I like quirkiness/weirdness, authenticity and large bodies of water. I’ve lived in DC (Petworth) and Frederick so I’m familiar with Maryland. I’m mid 50s, single, no kids and an early retiree (thanks Elon) for now. I would love a neighborhood with a strong sense of community, welcoming people, and some green space that is walkable to 1-2 good, low-key bars and walkable in general. I’m not overly concerned with safety, but I am a solo female so nothing super sketchy. I really enjoyed living in pre-gentrified Petworth for many of these reasons (minus the water).

I guess I would mostly like a diversity of people: ages, family status, traditional and non-traditional lifestyles. Frederick was beautiful, but not a great fit for me. I would greatly appreciate any ideas you have and I thank you in advance.