u/walkallover1991

I'm 32 years old and have two younger brothers (28 and 24) - both my parents are in their mid-50s. My parents are exceedingly wealthy - I didn't really know it when I was a kid - it was only in my mid to early 20s when I found out.

They put me through both undergrad and grad school (for which I am very thankful for), but I've never asked them for money (I've never asked anyone for money for that matter). I have a good paying job and am self-sufficient.

Anyways, my mom (who came from a working class NYC family) is constantly worrying about my finances and it's getting worse and worse as time goes on - pretty much every other conversation we have these days somehow reverts back to my finances.

If I fly to see my parents and she sees a new pair of shoes or another article of clothing, she freaks out and interrogates me as to how/why I purchased that.

She owed me $1000 after she bought something whilst out when I was visiting them and she forgot her wallet, so I just put it on my credit card and Venmo'd her. She forgot about the Venmo, two weeks went by, and I reminded her, and her first question was, "Is this you telling me you are running out of money?"

Today I sent my mom a picture of something I saw at Costco and she went on a rant asking how I could afford to shop at Costco, how I could afford to have a membership, etc.

I travel quite a lot - I view it as a hobby and it's something I consider worth spending on, especially as I get older and don't want to have kids (much less get married), but it's something that unfortunately I have to hide from her - I've went to Europe once already this summer (and going again next week) and you better believe me she would scold me out the wazoo and yell at me if she found out.

Somehow last week she found me out I bought an Ikon ski pass for this winter ($1200) and she completely lost it.

It feels as time goes on that I'm more and more living a double life around her. I went to this beautiful restaurant where I live (that she always wanted to go to) for a friend's birthday last week, but I didn't tell her because I know she would yell at me or criticize me for going and spending money.

The irony to me is that she was a stay at home mom and my dad was the sole income-earner for our household, but she's gotten incredibly materialistic over the years - she forced my dad to get her a Range Rover last year.

The other ironic thing is that my dad doesn't care and isn't like this - I tell him about my travels and he's always like "cool," "looks nice," and "send pics."

Of course, she isn't like this with my younger brothers. My middle brother (28) regularly goes on fancy all-inclusive vacations with his live-in girlfriend and my mom doesn't say a thing about that and when I point it out she becomes incredibly defensive.

Any advice/reassurance will be great - it starting to get to the point where I get very angry when thinking about her. My therapist basically said she probably feels like she lacks control in some areas of her life and is now taking it out on me and there's essentially nothing I can do.

I have mixed feelings about this IMO.

The mobile lounges and Concourse C/D need to go, and the airport is well underway with their Tier II project to fully replace C/D.

If the federal government truly wants to spend $22b to make Dulles great, then let's make it happen. It's especially optimistic that United's CEO will be at the press conference, which means the expansion plan has their blessing (airlines typically don't like large-scale investment plans at hubs as they tend to drive up lease costs and costs per enplanement).

That said, the renderings look gaudy and look like they might be the end of the Eero Saarinen terminal as we know it, which would make be really sad and would be a crime to destroy.

Edit:

Here's the United PR on it:

https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125476

I was snooping around the LifeMiles website and noticed they had a disclaimer at the bottom of the LimeMiles+ subscription page that said the free cancellation/change benefit was no longer available to new subscribers.

I'm not a subscriber at the moment, but I was a few years ago when I used LifeMiles frequently. The free cancellation/change benefit saved me so many times, and while it was a pain to have to call customer service to cancel, I never had an issue dealing with them and always found their agents to be friendly and efficient.

Avianca is truly sucking the life out of the program - I always saw LifeMiles as the "black diamond" of FFPs in that it was for "experts" only. Website requires the patience of a saint to deal with. So many functions require speaking to customer service. Some redemptions have to be booked via email (and feel borderline scammy). But we were rewarded with insanely good deals.

Gone are the days of booking last minute LifeMiles redemptions on UA from IAD to LHR/CDG for just 20k points.

Their mixed cabin award pricing is gone.

Those weird pricing anomalies that made no sense (IAD-LIS in J on TAP for 35k points) are gone.

I get Avianca is a business and I know they have a financial case to make these changes, but it's just sad to see one of the last remaining "fun" FFPs basically make so many changes.

For context, I (along with the rest of my immediate family) aren't cruisers. None of us like crowds, groups of kids, or large groups of people in general. We also don't like being on someone else's schedule.

I sailed on the Island Princess almost 20 years ago in Alaska and liked it. I was a teenager at the time, but I liked that it didn't really feel crowded and the crowd was really subdued and skewed retired. One of my most memorable evenings on the ship was being in the hot tub at sunset all alone (I also had the deck all to myself) as we sailed through the Inside Passage. It was such a beautiful, relaxing experience.

My mother has bad rheumatoid arthritis - she's not in a wheelchair or anything but she has mobility restrictions that limits how far she can walk. We haven't done a big family vacation in a while and she was thinking a cruise to Alaska would be a nice getaway all together with my father and my two brothers and our respective partners.

Dad has never cruised but hates crowds the most and gets particularly antsy if he's stuck doing one thing for a long period of time. He's kind of anti-cruise, but I think to him "cruise" is synonymous with images you see of those crowded pool parties Carnival has.

Mom cruised a few times to Bermuda when she was a teenager but hasn't since.

Which line would likely be best for us? I don't think we plan on doing a cruise tour afterwards.

Any one have any idea how the Albany market supports two stores that are less than four miles apart?

There's the smaller store at Crossgates that used to be a Filenes (Macy's relocated their smaller store at the mall post acquisition) and the larger, three-story location at Colonie Center that opened in the 1990s. I haven't been to the Colonie location in years, but at one point I recall it was one of the nicest non-Flagship locations.

It's my understanding the Colonie location as an extension/outlet of NYC and carries certain brands that Crossgates doesn't.

It's just interesting considering other similarly sized metro areas are now down to only one store.

Personally happy about this - my region's (Northeast) warehouses have been out of Kirkland water filter cartridges for the past year or so and have been "online only."

I saw them yesterday at my warehouse - they have a new bilingual packaging design (English/French) and the box strangely has Costco Canada's address / info listed first and in larger print than the U.S. distribution info, almost as if they are just using the Canadian product in the U.S. market. Packaging info is also only in metric (replace filter every 151 L).

Can't beat the price for 10 cartridges at $27.

Switched to powder detergent (Tide) about a year ago - I like its performance over liquid, is cheaper, and is better for the environment. I live in an apartment building and have to go down to the basement to access laundry room, so carrying a ziplock bag of powder is so much easier than lugging around a bottle.

Anyways, I noticed that the cycles are so much longer with powder - my building has industrial Speed Queen units. I use only a little amount of detergent (1 tbs for small / medium loads, 2 tbs for large / heavily soiled loads) and I find that the spin cycle after rinsing takes forever. Run time with liquid was 30 minutes, now with powder it's around 45.

What's causing the extra 15 minutes in run time?

Both already bookable starting 17 December - 4x weekly each on a 7M8.

Cartagena has been on my wish list for a while, so excited to have a nonstop from Washington.

Also interesting that this will be the first Latin destination UA launches that has IAD service but not EWR.

https://preview.redd.it/1fx0nhmvyi9h1.jpg?width=3962&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e110b66c6f2168504ba7fc581a3437fcd44c641e

I live car-free in Washington, DC. The DC store is nice (and has liquor) but unfortunately it's hard to get to via public transit - no subway stations nearby and the thought of transferring buses after doing a Costco run seems exhausting.

Usually end up going to Pentagon City - there's a subway station directly underneath the store.

Normally I just get whatever I can take in a tote bag and a backpack, but today I went all out!

I totaled everything out, and it's around 75-80 pounds:

• 35 cans of sparkling water
• 6 cans of chickpeas
• Sourdough loaf
• Box of 16 mini guac containers
• 7 boxes of pasta
• 6 pounds of chicken tenderloins
• Box of 4 pizzas
• 4 pounds of fishsticks
• 15 bars of soap
• 2 pounds of cereal

I ended up squeezing all of the sparkling water cans and the pizzas into my backpack and then throwing everything else into the IKEA bag.

To be fair, I thought I was going to die when I got home after doing all this in DC summer humidity - I live around a half-mile from the Metro.

I'm always jealous of folks with cars than can do big hauls!

Great-Great-Grandparents: 

* Date Married: March 1916

GGGF: 

* Date, place of birth: 1884, Widełka

*  Last Polish Residence: Rzeszów

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

* Occupation: Millhand

* Allegiance and dates of military service: None

* Date, destination for emigration: 1905, Baltimore

* Date naturalized: 1929

* Date, place of death: 1963, United States

Great-Grandparents: 

* Date married: 1941

* Date divorced: n/a

GGF: Son of GGGF

* Date, place of birth: October 1920, USA

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

* Occupation: Factory worker

* Allegiance and dates of military service: Allied (U.S. Army), Drafted/Non-Voluntary, 1942-1943

* Date, destination for emigration: n/a

* Date naturalized: n/a

* Date, place of death: 1989, USA

GGM: (Not part of line to ancestor)

* Date, place of birth: 1925, USA

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

* Occupation: Secretary

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: N/A

* Date naturalized: N/A

* Date, place of death: 2024, USA

Grandparent: 

* Sex: F

* Date, place of birth: 1944, USA

* Date married: 1968

* Citizenship of spouse: USA

* Date divorced: N/A

* Occupation: N/A

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, Place of Death: N/A, still living

Parent: 

* Sex: M

* Date, place of birth: 1969, USA

* Date married: 1992

* Date divorced: N/A

You: 

* Date, place of birth: 1994, USA

I have GGGF's baptism registry, his parent's wedding registry in Przewrotne, and his U.S. entry document showing "Polish" as his race from Galicia, Austria. I have his citizenship application and naturalization records.

I then have the birth/wedding/death (if applicable) certificates for everyone on this list. 

I also have GGF's draft document from the U.S. Army that shows he served in the U.S. Army "for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law."

My issue is now the acquisition of 31 Jan 1920 issue.

Hey all from Washington, DC.

Used to live in Charlotte and would drive down to Atlanta a few times a year for shopping and concerts.

As some of you might know, WMATA has air cooled stations that are powered by chilled water plants that circulate cool water (~40 degrees) through vent shafts at stations. It's not quite AC, but it does make the stations much more comfortable during the summer heat.

I remember reading and watching an old news reel that said some underground MARTA stations were equipped with a similar system but that it hasn't been used since the 1996 Olympics.

Is that accurate, and if so, why was the system turned off? Cost?

Thanks!

Years ago before Copa left MileagePlus and started their own FFP, most Copa Clubs were branded as "operated in partnership with United Club" or something like that - I distinctly remember the SJO lounge having such signage. I also seem to recall Chase one-time pass holders were able to use their one-time passes at a Copa Club.

Anyways, as I'm not yet Gold (one segment away!), I tried to use my UC membership at the SJO Copa lounge today - United signage has been scrubbed from the entrance area.

Agent asked how I was accessing the lounge - I showed her my UC digital membership card. She scanned it and voila, I was given access to the lounge.

I later looked at the Copa Club website, and they clearly state "United Club members and one guest traveling on a departing Star Alliance flight" are entitled access.

I found that interesting, as United makes no mention of said benefit on their Club membership website and all Copa clubs are listed as having Star Gold entrance requirements.

31-year old side here. I've never liked anal - it always hurt bottoming and I can never get hard enough to top.

I always viewed the chance of HIV infection from sucking dick and rimming to be statistically low and the side effects of PrEP might very well outweigh the benefits of it in this case. Plus, 99% of the guys I do anything with are usually on it already.

That said, I've met a guy I really like and I've been working on myself via therapy to try to eventually be able to top him eventually.

I was talking friends about this and they were all shocked that I wasn't already on both PrEP and Doxy-PEP.

My old PCP (who has a background in HIV research) didn't really see it as a big deal that I wasn't on it - but I rarely had sex then. I considered myself asexual for a while and only recently started having more encounters with guys - I've already had four sexual partners this year...which for me is huge.

I have Kaiser Permanente, and in my area they have a LGBT clinic. I made an appointment for later this week. I know they offer both PrEP and Doxy-PEP for free.

Is it worth going on in my case?

https://preview.redd.it/wtd20r217r4h1.png?width=1016&format=png&auto=webp&s=82354b33a98a25b3130db731ebca050b21d1d2c5

Looks like they are releasing a new logo - I was watching a podcast on YouTube that had a KP commercial in the middle of it and this was the logo at the end.

Looks cheap imo

Currently work for a defense contractor as a geopolitical intel analyst on behalf of DOS - been in the position for almost four years. I'm currently 31 years old. Have a Masters Degree in International Affairs. Unfortunately I lack direct management/supervisory experience, but I've served as a Team Lead for various contract missions we've had. Have various OSINT certifications.

I've been thinking about applying for the IWC DCO program for the past year or so.

It just so happens that I became friends with someone who has been in the IWC program for the past five years or so. He thinks it's amazing and says it been such a good experience - his background has largely been in tech marketing/sales for various Fortune 500 corporations. He's several years older than me and applied in his late 30s.

In any case, he doesn't think I have enough experience to qualify and should wait a few more years - he said he failed the first round of interviews and had to reapply a year or so later.

What type of experience would further a potential application of mine?

It's hard to quantify my experience with his, just because I've never worked in non-government intel roles.

Great-Great-Grandparents: 
* Date Married: March 1916
GGGM: 
* Date, place of birth: 1895, Wysoka Galicia
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic
* Occupation: Homemaker
* Allegiance and dates of military service: None
* Date, destination for emigration: 1910, New York
* Date naturalized: August 1942
* Date, place of death: 1972, United States
Great-Grandparents: 
* Date married: 1938
* Date divorced: n/a
GGM: Daughter of GGGM
* Date, place of birth: 1917, USA
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic
* Occupation: Homemaker
* Allegiance and dates of military service: n/a
* Date, destination for emigration: n/a
* Date naturalized: n/a
* Date, place of death: 2005, USA
GGF: (Not part of line to ancestor)
* Date, place of birth: 1916, USA
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic
* Occupation: Custodian
* Allegiance and dates of military service: n/a
* Date, destination for emigration: n/a
* Date naturalized: n/a
* Date, place of death: 2006, USA
Grandparent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth: February 1942, USA
* Date married: 1968
* Citizenship of spouse: USA
* Date divorced: n/a
* Occupation: Chemist
* Allegiance and dates of military service: USA, Korean War
* Date, Place of Death: 2008, USA
Parent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth: 1969, USA
* Date married: 1992
* Date divorced: n/a
You: 
* Date, place of birth: 1994, USA

I have GGGF's immigration document from 1910, application for naturalization in 1940, and citizenship approval document from 1942. I also have a "ODPIS SKRÓCONY AKTU URODZENIA" (Short Form Birth Certificate) for her issued by the Republic of Poland in 1950 that shows her DOB and place of birth.

In the line of succession I have everyone else's birth/marriage/death certificate.

Naturalization application from 1940 shows her "present nationality" as Polish at the time of naturalization.

Her naturalization application lists my GGM's name and date of birth.

GGF's parents were also born in Galicia, but I just don't have ready access to those documents.

Work in foreign affairs and I dibble dabbled in various research projects on South Africa in grad school while getting my Masters in International Affairs. I've always found the country's governance fascinating - I've been reading a lot of books on Project Coast, the country's nuclear weapons program, and their Apartheid-era partnership with Israel.

In any case, I just don't understand how the ANC post-Mandela was able to succeed politically for so many years while failing economically in producing inclusive growth and development.

I know the ANC under Mandela launched the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) to build housing and expand access to water/electricity, but ultimately failed to improve educational inequalities. Most of the RDP housing was built on city peripheries away from employment and educational opportunities, for example.

A lot of the work I've read on this blame former President Zuma and corruption via state capture. I think that explains a lot of the ills South Africa experiences today (Eskom, for example) but I don't think it totally explains say the lack of investment in education.

Anyone got a good explanation for this?