u/glad_to_be_here_

I am looking for recommendations for singing lessons for an adult who likes karaoke and wants to explore singing lessons for fun. I am trying to purchase this is a gift for their birthday, so being able to pre-pay or purchase as a gift card is important.

I did email one business and got a quick response, but I saw some mixed reviews online so now I’m apprehensive and looking for recommendations. Thank you!

Does anyone know of any outdoor/public calisthenics equipment at parks? Specifically I’m really looking for parallel bars, and a tall pull-up bar. Someone told me Cornwall park does but I’m not seeing anything on the Bellingham city parks website stating that as an amenity. Thanks!

I usually fly out of Seattle but am trying Bellingham for the first time since I don’t feel like driving so far. I will be parking at BLI and leaving on a 6am flight, and wondering how early you guys usually get to the BLI? I’m assuming it’s much faster to get through

I’m just curious if there’s any specific bar food that Bellingham is missing.

We’ve got burgers at the cabin, crunch wraps at L&L, rice bowls at gruff, hot dogs at el capitans, falafel and phillys at the racket, standalone places like pye hole and pelmeni.

Is there a food niche being overlooked?

I have my stomach fully tattooed and it was really close to my limit on pain tolerance. If you have your full stomach and full buttcheek tattooed, how do they compare?
I know pain is subjective but I’m curious about the general experience between the two.

I’m looking for some inspiration of people who have mixed styles of work, and by that I mean having two separate types of tattoo styles on your body, not pieces that blend two styles.

Specifically I’d like to see some people who have traditional tattoos with separate pieces of blackwork (whether coverups or purposefully having both styles done).

I’d like to get some blackwork done with some negative space designs and I’m needing inspiration on how to make it cohesive with the trad work I already have.

Hi! I work for a local building trades company and we’ve been receiving a lot of phone calls from people who have been scammed by other “businesses” for repair services. I am making this post to bring some awareness to the ongoing issue and provide some detailed information on how you might be able make safer decisions on getting home repair services.

PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE JUST MY RECOMMENDATIONS BASED OFF OF MY OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES MANAGING AN OFFICE IN THE BUILDING TRADES. The suggestions below are intended to help guide you in making better decisions and hopefully identify tactics commonly used by scammers so that you can avoid being taken advantage of.

How the scammers operate:
Large national companies/ call centers make ads online to bring in customers. They take your call, collect your personal information, and then distribute your contact information to people who sign up as contractors for a specific city. The “contractors” are not usually vetted in any way (insured, certification of business license, etc). Pretty much anyone can sign up and say they’re a contractor and receive leads on different types of work. Once your information is passed onto the contractor, they call you, show up to your home as fast as they can, and charge whatever they want for service. They pay a small fee to the national company for the lead, and they pocket the rest. More often than not, work is done and they leave quickly, then you find out it was done incorrectly, and the contractor cannot be reached no matter how hard you try. Now you’re left without a repair and a huge bill (that they often make you pay up front).

That’s when companies like the one I work for get called to repair the problem that was never fixed or fixed incorrectly. I have heard innumerable stories of charges more than $1500 for what should have been a $500 repair. It’s understandable that the customer feels taken advantage of and frustrated. I’d like to prevent that from happening and am going to provide some information based on what I’ve learned over the past year as this scam has become more common.

Things to look out for:

-Many of these companies claim 24/7 service. This is one way they try to justify extremely steep prices. Unless it is an emergency that has to do with your safety, consider if the repair can wait until normal business hours to be fixed. Oftentimes these contracts act pushy and rush you on the phone, hoping that their promise of arriving quickly will prevent you from asking too many questions.

-Do your research. Ask what the name of the company is. Take it a step further and look up the company online to see if they have a website, reviews on Google/ Yelp, an address for an office, an office phone number or email contacts etc. Anything that will substantiate that the business is real and operating locally. Ask your friends and family if they have recommendations on companies they’re worked with.

-Contractors/Technicians should ALWAYS show up with proof of the company they work for. Such as: clothing with a company logo, business cards, and ESPECIALLY a vehicle with the company name on it. Not only does this tell the customer who is pulling into their driveway, it’s a form of advertising for the company. It is very uncommon for contractors to not have marked vehicles.

-Call around. There’s a lot of companies providing field service home repair and you have a right to call around so that you can make an educated decision on who you’re letting into your home. I know it can be frustrating to take the time to explain your repair to different people, but you can gather a lot of useful information on whether or not the company is trustworthy by making multiple phone calls. Did someone answer when you called? Did the person seem knowledgeable and willing to answer your questions and explain things to you in a clear manner? Are they transparent about pricing and lead times? Do they have a warranty? (Spoiler: WA state requires 1 year warranty on labor for licensed contractor services).

Lastly, REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN ASK THEM TO LEAVE AT ANY TIME IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE OR UNSURE ABOUT THE SERVICES YOU’RE RECEIVING. For instance, if someone shows up to your home without a marked vehicle, if they seem like they don’t quite know what they’re doing, if they make you uncomfortable by being pushy and unclear on the repairs that were completed. All of these are valid reasons for telling someone to leave.

Please let me know if you have any questions, I’m happy to provide further guidance if I left anything out. Remember to stay safe out there and try not to let the frustration of needing home repairs leave you in a position of being scammed.

It’s all fuzzy and I hope I’m not mixing up details with another book but I think I remember the following:

- there’s other young girls living there too but they all end up dying

-she is told there’s no one left on earth but actually ends up making contact with someone on earth from her iPad

-the two humanoids raise her but I think she eventually blows up the station they’re all living in and tries to escape and there’s a long scene where she’s trying to traverse a space desert

-I remember an atrium of sorts where all the food is grown

-the two humanoids are trying to convince her to get impregnated to continue the human race

Red Rum is closed today so I need somewhere else I can get a big delicious salad.

TIA!

I heard through the grapevine Woods downtown is closing but wanted to know if anyone can verify or if it’s a different location?

And if it is, do we have any idea what’s going on the space?