u/doolallyt

tbh I was getting so sick of location scouting. every gym owner wants like 30% commission and half the office breakrooms in my area are still an absolute ghost town. The grind is just exhausting lately

But I just landed a spot that kinda surprised me. Local health dept set up this massive mobile medical trailer in a huge church parking lot out in the county for a month long community clinic thing. I drove by and realized there is literally zero food or drinks within 3 miles of this place

The staff is stuck there for 10 hour shifts, plus all the people just waiting around. Talked to the site coordinator and wheeled a refurbished combo machine right under their main awning the next morning. Already had to restock it twice this week

definitely going to start looking for more temporary or mobile work sites instead of fighting over the same tired laundromats. anybody else do short term placements like this?

I should probably start by saying that I’ve been chasing FIRE pretty aggressively since my mid-20s. The thing is, I’ve never even set foot in the Middle East and honestly know close to nothing about the lifestyle there... I’ve just been offered a partnership role to head up and build out a new wealth advisory/fintech boutique team (around 8-12 headcount) based right in the DIFC.

For context, I’m 34M, currently working in London in high-net-worth asset management. Not just a standard advisor, more on the structuring and tech implementation side. Over the last 4 years, I’ve built a solid relationship with a major client - guy is late 20s, heir to a massive multinational logistics empire, ultra-high-net-worth. He wants to institutionalise his family’s private investments in Dubai but doesn't have the time or technical expertise to manage the operation himself.

He’s already offered to fly me and my partner out later this month, business class and 5-star hotel for a week, just to show us around and get us comfortable with the idea before signing anything. He’s backing the entire setup capital. On top of that, the numbers he's throwing out are slightly ridiculous. He’s offering a £20k sign-on bonus just for relocating. Then a base of about £5,000 a month tax-free (low, I know), but I get a 1.5% cut on the total performance/origination fee of every single portfolio the fund onboarding handles. He's projecting we'll close about 5 to 10 massive institutional clients in year one, scaling rapidly after. If even half of his targets hit, the tax-free upside completely blows my London ceiling out of the water.

We have no kids. I have a decent senior role here in the City, but with UK taxes and cost of living, it’s going to take me until at least 50 to hit my FIRE number. We also own a flat in South London with a tiny remaining mortgage, which we could easily rent out for £2.5k+ a month to cover our backsides if everything goes completely belly up and we make no bonuses. The risk? I leave a very secure, prestigious career path in London, it turns out to be vaporware, and I have to come back with a massive gap on my CV.

FIRE is the ultimate goal for me but I'm genuinely torn. Do I risk blowing up a comfortable, predictable life in the UK for a massive shortcut?

a couple of weeks ago someone broke into my garage while we were out and took some tools and gear. nothing major was stolen but it made me feel uneasy especially with the kids around the place. i want a proper system with good night vision and clear coverage on the driveway, backyard and front entry.

i looked into cctv installation brisbane and planet security seems like a solid option for residential work. has anyone used them or a similar company locally? what kind of cameras and features actually hold up well in brisbane weather? also where do you recommend placing cameras to avoid blind spots while keeping them hard to reach?

Im so incredibly annoyed rn. I spent the last four months buying every hyped BHA liquid and expensive barrier cream trying to smooth out this horrible bumpy texture on my forehead and temples. The skincare industry literally convinced me my moisture barrier was completely destroyed and I needed a crazy expensive 10 step routine

Turns out it was literally just my stupid $60 aesthetic shampoo from sephora causing fungal acne along my hairline. Why does nobody warn you about how heavily fragranced hair stuff just drips down your face in the shower and clogs everything up? I eventually gave up and just grabbed a standard anti dandruff shampoo and conditioner because the active ingredients in them usually clear up the yeast that causes those stubborn tiny bumps

Its been barely a week and my forehead is basically smooth again. Im just so mad about all the money I wasted on chemical exfoliants when the call was coming from inside my own shower. seriously check your haircare ingredients if your face is suddenly freaking out near the edges, it might just be your shampoo ruining your life

local shops are killing me. every single time I need a banner fast they find a way to mess it up, either the print is blurry as hell or the grommets are falling off.

gave 1DayBanner a try for a show last week just cuz i was desperate. ngl it was actually fine? like, stuff showed up on time and didnt look like trash.

anyone here use them regularly or have a better national backup? im done stressing over my local guys missing windows, need a list of actual reliable vendors for when im under the gun. thx.

I've been helping one of my parents focus a little more on their health lately, and it made me curious about other people's experiences.Was there anything that noticeably improved your parent's energy levels as they got older? Not looking for medical advice, just interested in lifestyle changes that seemed to help. Things like walking more, eating differently, sleeping better, drinking more water, or creating a routine. My parent seems to do best when they're active and consistent with daily habits. They've also started taking a few supplements, including fish oil from carlson labs, but it's hard to know what contributes the most.

What change made the biggest difference for your parent?

I just started playing padel, and I'm interested to know how other Londoners find their regular court and playing group.

At the moment, it seems easier to find a court than to find players that want to play regularly and are at a similar level. I've tried asking friends and looking online, but the majority of them don't play. While researching court alternatives, I also discovered CatchCorner, which made me wonder how other people got started.

Have you met individuals through social gaming, used an app, or joined a club? When you were first starting out, what worked best for you?

discussed books, shows, funny work stories. i actually thought - oh, maybe this conversation is going somewhere. she made jokes, asked about my day, even remembered my cats name

this morning a message hey tinder is asking me to verify you, can you send the code they texted you

well thats it

i say are you serious she says trust me babe its just security

i say why do you need my code she sends a fake page link

used to be bots were obvious from message one. hi baby and a crypto link. now they go for 2 days, remember details, joke, ask about your cat. then bam

i read about a human verification system with biometrics. maybe if everyone did this verification, these scams wouldnt happen

but whos gonna scan their eye for okcupid

anyway unmatched. back to talking to bots. at least they dont ask for verification codes

well ok they do

I honestly didn't expect this to be the thing I'd get stuck on, but here we are

After talking about it for years, I'm finally opening a small retail shop

It's not a huge operation or anything. The plan is to sell home décor, seasonal items, gifts, and a mix of products that people can pick up for themselves or for their homes of course. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but between work, family responsibilities, and the usual fear of taking a financial risk I kept finding reasons to put it off

A few months ago I finally decided that if I kept waiting for the perfect moment, it would probably never happen

So now I'm in the middle of setting everything up, and I've discovered that running a store involves about a thousand decisions I never even considered before

• Paint colors
• Lighting
• Checkout counters
• Signage
• Floor layout
• Inventory placement
• The list seems endless
• But the thing that's currently driving me crazy is shelving

Before starting this project, I never gave store shelving a second thought. You walk into a store, products are sitting on shelves, and that's about as much attention as most people pay to it

It seems that now I have understood that the whole atmosphere of my store relies on shelves

It should be something practical that can accommodate ceramics, planters, trays and cookware. But at the same time, it should not make my store look like some cold industrial place. The metal shelf options that I have seen before looked very practical and durable, but they gave me an impression that they turned my store into some warehouse

On the other hand, some of the more attractive wooden displays look great but don't seem nearly as flexible when it comes to rearranging products or changing seasonal displays

I've spent more time researching shelving than I care to admit

I've looked at slatwall systems, freestanding displays, wood shelving, metal fixtures, and combinations of all of the above. Every option seems to solve one problem while creating another

One store owner told me flexibility should be the priority because you'll constantly change layouts during your first year

Another said aesthetics matter more because customers notice the overall feel of a space before they ever notice individual products

Now I'm stuck somewhere in the middle trying to balance both

Recently I came across SI Retail while looking at fixture suppliers and display systems. They seem to have a pretty wide range of options, which got me thinking more seriously about how I want the store to look long term rather than just what will work on opening day

The irony is that consumers will not spend more than a few seconds pondering those shelves

And I have been spending weeks worrying about them

Guess that comes with starting up a business. You start caring about things that you never even thought about before

For anyone who's opened a retail store, boutique, gift shop, or similar business, what did you learn about displays and store layouts that you wish you'd known at the beginning?

Did you prioritize flexibility? Appearance? Cost?

And if you had to start over, is there anything you'd do completely differently when it comes to shelving and fixtures?

There is something incredibly grounded about the way a few seeds can dismantle the concrete silence of a space especially when you realize that a garden is the ultimate biological collaboration, a heavy and deliberate rejection of the sterile and the temporary in favor of a rhythm that is ancient and unyielding, it feels like a masterclass in atmospheric pressure where the raw and heavy smell of wet earth and the high energy burst of a new bloom become a direct frequency for a kind of life that doesn't need a screen to be vibrant, and even with all the digital distractions and the high-tech landscape designs there is still no replacement for that first and vulnerable moment of putting your hands in the dirt and feeling the heavy and tactile realization that you are standing in the middle of a slow-motion explosion of life

From careers to relationships to lifestyle choices, what looks like success on the surface but might lead to regret?