https://www.ebay.com/itm/165996926160
Trading Card Collection For Sale: NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Marvel.More than 700 trading cards for sale, including rare and rookie cards, that range from good to excellent condition. My collection leans more NBA, SI for Kids, MLB and Marvel, with a few NHL and NFL cards as well. None are graded, but the vast majority have been well kept in protective sleeves in hard binders for years. Most cards would likely grade ~6, while several of the rookie & limited edition cards in sharp condition may grade at an 8-9.
The collection is something I'm very proud of, but also ready to move on from. I would like to sell the entirety of my collection in one purchase. Mavin.io has valued my total collection at $4,300, a value that is based off prior eBay sales of the same ungraded cards in similar conditions: https://mavin.io/jonathanehecht3334. Honestly I am unsure as to their exact worth, but the rarer ones - e.g. the Sports Illustrated for Kids Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant Rookie, Shaq Rookie, Allen Iverson Rookie, Sports Illustrated for Kids Cassius Clay, etc. - would likely fetch a great value if graded.
Manufacturers include: Fleer, Fleer Metal, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Collector's Choice, SI For Kids, Topps, Donruss, Four Sport, Skybox, Stadium Club and Marvel. Feel free to message me for more details, including an itemized description in .csv format of each card with assigned value from Mavin.io.
I've included a few pictures of the cards in sleeves to showcase just some of the hundreds of cards I am selling.
Hope to find these trading cards an excellent home!

First/Prev/
​
Dawn rose over Ft. Waishen. There was little for fortifications, and three large gates; one into the forest to the north, the other two leading into the town. In better days, those two gates saw a pretty consistent traffic, as soldiers streamed out to enjoy the city and back in during the wee hours of the morning, but currently they were closed. Curiously, nobody was stationed near them. Instead the walls were lined with soldiers.
Normally Waishen was provisioned to hold twenty thousand soldiers, and more for short periods of time. Currently the troop compliment was some five thousand, soldiers who were gratefully resting after another fruitless tromp through the woods. Forces that used to focus in the cities in case of attack were spread out among fabricated Forward-Operating Bases across the forest, where one or two thousand soldiers would work and suffer and curse the Governess.
At least they weren't in Chappa itself. Life for a soldier in the capital was an excitement-track ride of ups and downs, units being praised or punished pretty much arbitrarily. Fort Waishen was only on the same continent, and that was too close for the soldiers' liking. A fortunate thing, then, that they were going to be attacked today.
The first blow was a surprise, even though it really shouldn't have been. There was a slight snapping sound, probably louder where it happened, then a bone-rattling boom at the gate. The lower officers watched over them carefully, making sure there weren't any mistakes.
“We're under attack! Fire!” Lasers popped, flash-boiling or vaporizing moisture and dust in their path, firing upwards at an angle. The response came instantly, as hundreds of lasers impact the ground in front of the fort. Klokin guns burped, spewing hundreds of balls into the air.
Now there were dozens of those snapping sounds, and soldiers ducked before explosions rocked the air. The gates swung open, and another volley of laser fire caused small explosions as they superheated the moisture in the ground. Then they were racing for the gate, many of them clearly wearing skins. Only a few of them had those monstrous predators the soldiers had heard of, apparently leashed in case things got out of hand. Somehow, the animals didn't understand the seriousness of the attack, yipping playfully as they ran along.
One more volley rang out, lacing through the treetops and the sky, before the call rang out. “There's too many! Surrender!”
Rifles were set down carefully, rather than thrown down and risk breaking, and men with strange spears and stolen laser rifles looked around threateningly as the dogs tugged at their leashes to go sniff these strangers. An old man wearing a mantle of fur and feathers walked in, carrying a satchel of the type businessmen often carry, and the commander went to meet him.
“Commander,” said the man. “I am here to offer you terms by which you can surrender.” Like many of the others, he had a strange case on his back, holding the feathered ends of a dozen spears, and a strange rod in his belt, too thin to be a club. The case in his hand was considerably more important for the moment, and he opened it to reveal a treasure.
There were several furs, of Sarvanian Forest-Leapers, Shonen Hunters, and others, glossy and beautiful, and scattered atop them like jewels on velvet were claws and fangs. Pride of place in the very center was given to a small credstick.
“I must verify these terms, on behalf of my soldiers. I intend no insult.” Clearly the term the commander intended to verify was the amount, and he picked up the credstick to hold it up to his own wristpad.
The old warrior nodded. “Your soldiers can be... paroled... and leave with their personal effects, without fear of harassment. From there, I'm given to understand, you'll be posted elsewhere,”
Commander Shafir nodded as an impressive number came up on the screen. It just so happened that each soldier already had their personal effects with them, packed and ready. “Your terms are quite reasonable, and I surrender my command. Your attack was so sudden that I don't believe my soldiers had time to sabotage any equipment.”
One of the soldiers watched a man scritch one of the predator's ears, to the creature's obvious delight, and her hand twitched, but everyone filed out in good order, heading towards the spaceport and leaving the brave vanquishers to look over their spoils.
Higa grumbled, of course. Some of those people had probably been involved in more than one action out in the woods, and while slaughters like the village they had seen were rare, killings were not. He wasn't the only one to shoot the retreating force a few glares, but they had worked most of this out beforehand, and the expedition was well-organized. The last thing anyone wanted was one of those shots to accidentally hit someone and cause a real fight.
Fortunately, he was able to see reason, and the loot left behind mollified him a good deal. Thousands of rifles and pistols, ammunition and explosives—not meant to be thrown, but still quite useable, tons of perfectly preserved rations, and dozens of vehicles. This being a hub of sorts, the vehicles seemed mostly troop-transports, which their examinations had led them to believe beforehand.
What they didn't know beforehand was what they were going to do with them. A hundred and fifty shuttles could perhaps have moved the entire tribe with a few trips, but that wasn't what they had.
Benches were set out for the council to meet, and they argued. One plan after another was offered and rejected, and it almost came to blows more than once before the shamans could smooth things over. For the warriors to see such a thing was long considered a taboo, but shamans and chieftains alike knew that whatever the spirits might think of it, harming your warriors' confidence in your leadership would be a disaster of its own.
Eventually Mogan proposed a plan, one that was laughed at until he insisted it would work, and spoke again of his experiences. In the end, they accepted it, begrudgingly, and still insisting that there were a thousand ways it could fail. Mogan didn't disagree, but neither he nor the others were able to offer a better.
The plan for the capital itself—not just the city of Chappa but the actual home of the governess—didn't get made. The chieftains insisted on seeing it before they made any decisions, which was probably the correct choice. But Mogan and Ellisan were some of the first into the city, and while he wasn't sure if it was the correct choice he knew he didn't like it.
But just like someone needed to be last on the shuttle, someone needed to be first on the train.
Thus Mogan walked into the Shansheng Spaceport with Ellisan and Karshta. Karshta had told them that the Mantu were considered suspicious if they traveled without someone, usually a Sylfa, to keep them out of trouble. Many found it insulting, but better the insult than the delays.
It also meant a special car, one that cost a little more, but when he saw how close-packed everyone was, he realized this was a blessing. Neither he nor Ellisan had a dog—it was typical of shamans not to, although not a hard rule—but Mogan wasn't sure whether a dog would have been likely to panic or made for more space. That, fortunately or not, was Higa's concern, as he would be on the next train.
The station wasn't as crowded as he might have suspected. Tourists who wanted to visit one city or the other would simply land there, but there were still people who went back and forth, and this was apparently easier than clogging up the skies. The Sovereign, of course, didn't want to look up on one of his vacations and see a sky crowded with ships and vapor-trails, but it was generally assumed that Noepe's famous clear skies were a valuable commodity for the tourists as well. Mantu were not so common, and so the three of them almost had the car to themselves.
It was linked to several others, traveling along a path laid out on the ground. The path itself was little more than a guide-rail, since the device simply floated in the air, but once the other cars were loaded it set of gracefully, picking up speed as it went.
And then picking up more speed, and more, until it was flying faster than most of the shuttles he had seen. There was little trouble with the wind, likely because there were cars before and behind, but the trip that he thought would take most of a day was over with in a little more than an hour. To his surprise, his legs weren't even shaky as he stepped off the car onto the platform. Amazing what one could get used to.
The other two had little problem, moving towards the gate. Ellisan and Karshta left, looking to find places for the others to stay, while Mogan bought a snack and had a seat to wait for the next train.
Higa was on the next, not quite so steady as he stepped down with a few others and their dogs, and one of them waited for the next. This was a process that would take a few days, so others worked on the scouting and the information-gathering. Ellisan even rented a recreational flyer so she could look over the palace from the air.
It was the most massive, ostentatious building he had ever seen.
Some of it, probably a lot of it, was dedicated to actual governance, but he wondered whether he could run across the grounds in an hour. The large area in front could have served as a killing ground for anyone who approached, but it was covered with statues, flowering plants of various kinds, even cages containing animals, including a few predators larger than a bison that paced back and forth ceaselessly in cages that were really too small for them. There were at least two dozen cages, dozens more statues, and perhaps a hundred displays for plants.
There were also distinctive markers for shields, up against the edges of walls that shone with yellow metal, and the gates looked heavy enough that the train at full speed wouldn't be able to get through them. Guards on the wall walked in heavy armor that looked more ceremonial than functional, and the gate was manned by creatures that Mogan could now recognize as Mantu Meht. Others manned plasma bolters and the repeaters that Mogan thought of as Klokin guns. Ostentatious or not, it was well-defended—and more, any attacker would have to punch through the defenses quickly, before squadrons of Aitish fighters and vehicles could arrive to surround the attacking force from all sides.
It was disheartening. The capital was obviously meant to hold out so long as the armies did, and they simply could not take on the armies stationed on-planet, much less whatever might be in orbit.
As intended, the rest of the San trickled in, a hundred or more per day, as Mogan found places for them to stay. This wasn't a boisterous trip, and while there was no trouble the days seemed to weigh heavily on everyone. The chieftains argued over ideas, and Mogan tried to be subtle about urging them to hurry up. The hours seemed to gain weight, each one bringing them closer to discovery
When they did arrive at a plan, he was pleased to find he had a part in it. And less pleased to find that Ellisan did as well.

Trading Card Collection For Sale: NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Marvel.
More than 700 trading cards for sale, including rare and rookie cards, that range from good to excellent condition. My collection leans more NBA, SI for Kids, MLB and Marvel, with a few NHL and NFL cards as well. None are graded, but the vast majority have been well kept in protective sleeves in hard binders for years. Most cards would likely grade ~6, while several of the rookie & limited edition cards in sharp condition may grade at an 8-9.
The collection is something I'm very proud of, but also ready to move on from. I would like to sell the entirety of my collection in one purchase. Mavin.io has valued my total collection at $4,300, a value that is based off prior eBay sales of the same ungraded cards in similar conditions: https://mavin.io/jonathanehecht3334. Honestly I am unsure as to their exact worth, but the rarer ones - e.g. the Sports Illustrated for Kids Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant Rookie, Shaq Rookie, Allen Iverson Rookie, Sports Illustrated for Kids Cassius Clay, etc. - would likely fetch a great value if graded.
Manufacturers include: Fleer, Fleer Metal, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Collector's Choice, SI For Kids, Topps, Donruss, Four Sport, Skybox, Stadium Club and Marvel.
Feel free to message me for more details, including an itemized description in .csv format of each card with assigned value from Mavin.io. I've included a few pictures of the cards in sleeves to showcase just some of the hundreds of cards I am selling.
Hope to find these trading cards an excellent home!

Hello, I am looking for some opinions on my financial situation. I will be 30 in two months and I am in a position to pay off my mortgage, which is $158,000 at a 2.85% interest rate. I have about 25 years left on it. If I paid off my mortgage I would still have $140,000 in retirement savings. If I didn’t, I would have $140,000 in retirement and $160,000 in non-retirement brokerage assets. I am primarily invested in the S&P 500 yielding a much higher long-term rate of return than my mortgage. Although the math tells me to stay invested, my risk meter tells me that paying off my mortgage could be wise. What are you me thoughts? As some other background, my home is worth about $520,000, I have about $90,000 saved outside of the retirement and non retirement brokerage assets, and my income fluctuates wildly because I’m in sales. However, I generally earn at least $80,000 however there are years I do more, such as this year where I will earn about $200,000. Thank you.

We, however, won’t be going there just yet. No, we’ll be taking a trip in the other direction. To a different castle, one where human’s aren’t welcome. Worry not, we’ll be safe, or at least I will, I can’t guarantee anything else. So, let us proceed if you dare, into a forest that surrounds an even darker fortress.
​
Within the fortified though decrepit interior are certain creatures that prefer the night. Inhuman, yet, human all the same. I am referring to vampires, if you haven’t already guessed. We pass the corridors and enter a dining hall. There are three gentlemen of class and distinction, talking amongst themselves.
​
“Ohhhh,” one of them groans, who goes by the name Razzal, as he reclines in his chair. “I drank too much.”
​
“I told you not to be so gluttonous,” another man, who wears a monocle and is named Duhamah, chides the first. “Now where was I? Ah, yes, the rumors of the eradication up north.”
​
“I put no stock in it,” offers the one who is quite familiar to us, he being Samuel. “I simply cannot believe that an entire hive was eliminated. It’s simply impossible.”
​
“I don’t know,” Duhamah starts as he scratches his chin. “I have seen far greater deeds done. What say you Razzal?”
​
The gluttonous one belches. “I haven’t an opinion one way or the other,” he responds as he rubs his distended belly. “And I shan’t have one until I have seen it with my own eyes. Which is why I plan to depart next evening. That is if my belly doesn’t, mmm, keep me.”
​
“You know,” Samuel begins as he leans forward. “I have half a mind to join you.”
​
“Well,” Duhamah adds as he leans forward. “I think-”
​
“Victor! You have a lot of explaining to do!” a bellowing voice cuts him short.
​
Samuel, or Victor, this is getting confusing, greets this new fellow. “Your Grace,” he speaks as he rises from his seat.
​
“You will not dissuade me with pleasantries!” his Grace, one Turrel barks. “What have you to say about the theft of my relic?”
​
“Why, I have no idea what you are talking about,” Samuel, okay let’s just call him Victor, assures his master as he rounds the table.
​
“I thought you might take that angle with me, and had I no proof I would have to capitulate,” Turrel starts, seemingly defeated, but soon rallies. “But I have proof and I know who the guilty party is. You see, I always safeguard my most precious possessions and the Soul Nail is no exception. I can sense its power and I know it has been used and I can sense its presence in the vicinity of your old home.”
​
Victor swallows, but keeps a calm disposition. “I can assure your grace, its proximity to my former dwelling is sheer coincidence,” he speaks as he tries to stay composed.
​
“Coincidence?!” Turrel booms as he gives a laugh. “I do not believe in coincidences.”
​
“How can I possibly prove my innocence to your grace?” Victor grovels as he lowers his stature.
​
Turrel takes a moment to think. “If you retrieve the Soul Nail and return it to me, I will consider you, absolved,” he lays down the parameters for innocence as he stares intensely upon his subordinate.
​
“Then I shall leave post-haste,” Victor relays as he bows before departing, under the watchful gaze of his peers.

I've been researching and studying North American geography for quite a while now and in my honest opinion, Labrador has to be not only the most underrated region in Canada but the most underrated region in the whole continent. I say "region" cause the place isn't even its own province, it's united into one with Newfoundland. The region is home to beautiful rugged wilderness that I would say despite never going there, look almost identical to those of Alaska, and probably some of the most breathtaking fjords in all of North America. Of course, there's then the Torngat Mountains at the Northern Tip, which are said to be one of the oldest mountain ranges on the whole planet, and probably the most well-known feature of the region. However, it sees a mere 600 annual visitors and didn't even become a national park until 2008. Then there's the massive and picturesque Churchill Falls in the eastern portion that pours into the Smallwood Reservoir, which is the second largest of its kind in the world. Churchill Falls isn't a Canadian national park, however. Despite being further south than Nunavut and more fertile, it has 11,000 fewer people living there. Most people probably have no idea such a place even exists, with the dog named after it being likely what 99% of people think of when they hear "Labrador." You would think there'd be more attention towards it since it's the homeland of the number one dog breed in the world, but that's not the case. This was proven by my attempts to search online for info about the region having to be very specific, or else I would get results about the dog breed. Feel free to take anything I say with a grain of salt since as I mentioned earlier, I have never been there. But overall, I find this region in Canada to be fascinating, while also quite sad since it's so unknown. (Labradorite is also one of my favorite stones BTW.)
So what gives? Why is it so unknown and have any of y'all ever been there or even live there?
​
TL;DR: Labrador is in my opinion the most underrated and beautiful part of Canada, and probably in the entire continent of North America, and I find it odd how underpopulated and unknown the region is to most people.

I have searched and read several old posts and web pages related to this topic. I want to make sure I am understanding things correctly. Here is my line of thinking:

• I am currently active duty.
  
• I purchased a $400,000 home in mid-2021 using the VA loan for the first time. So I have used $100,000 of my VA entitlement. I expect to PCS in the fall of 2024. I do not plan to sell the home before PCSing or refinance out of the VA loan.
  
• The conforming loan limit for the county in which I wish to purchase a second home is $726,200, meaning that I have 726,200 / 4 - $100,000 = $81,550 in remaining entitlement.
  
• Based on this, the VA will back up to $81,550 * 4 = $326,200 of the mortgage on a second home.
  
• Say the target purchase price of the new home is $600,000. So about $600,000 - $326,200 = $273,800 of the loan is not backed by the VA.
  

VA.gov has this to say regarding the situation:

Most lenders require that my entitlement, down payment, or a combination of both covers at least 25% of the total loan amount.

Here are my questions:
1) Does the VA actually mean 25% of the "purchase price" of the home instead of "total loan amount"?
2) Is 25% the typical amount required by lenders in your experience?
3) Is there ever an option to pay PMI on the portion of the loan that is not backed by the VA instead of the down payment?
4) Is the VA funding fee calculated on the whole mortgage or just on the portion of the mortgage which is backed by the VA? ($600,000 vs $326,000).
5) Does a down payment that augments the portion backed by the VA count towards the down payment requirements for a reduced VA funding fee?
6) Should I be aware of any other considerations?

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[Get] Iman Gadzhi – Copy Paste Agency Full Course Download Instant Delivery
📷
You’ve stumbled across this page for a reason.
It’s not because you’ve heard of this crazy new business model called ‘SMMA’ and it’s not because you’re struggling to sign your first client.
It’s because you’re exasperated. You’re frustrated. And you know you can do better.
You’re stuck in a pair of “golden handcuffs”: running a mildly-successful agency but beholden to your clients, your staff, and your phone.
You’ve broken the one inviolable rule of running an agency and not kept a full pipeline.
You know that you can reach the upper echelon of agency owners making six-and-seven figures, whilst working less than six-and-seven hours a week.
You just don’t know how…
My name’s Iman Gadzhi and since 2017, I’ve run IAG Media. In this time, I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, enjoyed six-figure months and made my clients millions.
I’ve also lost multiple clients in a row, been over-worked and chained to the agency that I started to give me freedom.
All the while, I’ve refined, tweaked and optimized my agency whilst also creating GrowYourAgency.com – the world’s largest education company for agency owners.
But in early 2020, I realised there was a problem. For every beginner agency owner desperate to sign their first client, there were three experienced agency owners desperate for guidance, systems and processes, and a solution to their broken agency model.
It’s why I created Copy Paste Agency…
…not so I can show you how to sign a client or perform basic outreach.
So you could take, copy and paste the exact methods I use in my own agency into your agency.
Copy Paste Agency students learn:
How I continue to run a multiple-six-figure agency from home with a skeleton staff and minimal expenses.
How to command higher retainers… and retain those clients for longer.
How to automate, delegate, and optimize every area of your agency from lead generation and sales to service delivery and client communication.
Plus get access to the latest tools and software used by my own agency, IAG Media such as reporting templates.

Posting to hopefully inspire someone to get started or take the next step, but also to share a win with the community.
Back in October of 2018, I bought a very small SFH (property A) at an auction for $37,500. Long story short, it was in a rural area and very few people came to the auction (and no-one besides me showed up to inspect it prior to the auction). Bidding started at 50% of the appraised value ($75,000), and I was the only bidder. I put a few thousand dollars into painting the inside, outside, and replacing the fridge and stove. Then rented it out for $950/mo (later $1,200/mo when that tenant moved out). At the time, I didn't have the cash for it, so borrowed the money from a private lender I knew personally at 12% interest.
​
Shortly after (early 2019), I found a duplex (Property B) on MLS I wanted to buy but still didn't have the cash for a down payment, but did have a good chunk of equity in this new property. I called a lender and asked if I could do a single loan for both properties using the equity in property A to cover the down payment for property B (duplex). Much to my surprise at the time, his response was: "Yep, it's called a portfolio loan, we do these all the time". I was able to buy the new duplex for $135,000 with the seller covering all closing costs, and the equity from Property A to cover Property B's down payment and paid off the private loan. I can't remember exactly, but pretty much nothing out of pocket! Once rates dropped after COVID I refinanced out of the portfolio loan and into separate 30-year fixed loans (I think 3.5%).
​
Fast forward to the end of 2022. Someone reached out to me and asked if I'd be willing to sell property A. I said yes, but for no less than $150,000 (pretty high price for this size home in this area- I was worried it wouldn't appraise). They agreed and we moved forward with the sale in February of this year. I did a 1031 exchange with the proceeds (roughly $80K), and shortly after identified 2 new duplexes (Properties C and D) to buy. They happen to be from the same seller and one was across the street from a property I already own, and the other next-door to a property I already own. Plus, both were a pretty good price and great terms (Bond for Deed with 5.75% interest rate; 30 year am; 20% down).
​
I closed today and the 1031 money covered all of the down payment and closing costs except for $350.00! So virtually nothing out of pocket. Cashflow is decent from day one, but the rents are slightly below market, so I know it'll be great as soon as these tenants move out.
​
In all, this one little house and a $40K private loan resulted in 3 duplexes:
Property B: worth $225K today ($121K in equity). Cashflows $450/mo after PITI, repairs, vacancy, capex, etc.
Property C: worth $175,500 ($35K in equity). Cashflows $180/mo after PITI, repairs, vacancy, capex, etc.
Property D: worth $195,000 ($39K in equity). Cashflows $150/mo after PITI, repairs, vacancy, capex, etc.
​
Happy investing!!

Picked up half of a floor shift tonight to help out a coworker, was covering a dinner break for my cashier, and had this old man come in the store and ask where the gift cards are. That's innocent enough. Then he comes up to the register with a STACK of home Depot and Lowes cards, and asks for pen and paper. He does some math and steps back so I can take care of the customer behind him and I immediately page my SFL to come up and "help" with the card loads because I knew this was definitely off and even if he wasn't getting scammed the system wouldn't let us do that much anyway. She came up and he asked how many gift cards he could get and how much. She told him he couldn't get any at all and we were refusing the sale because it seemed clear he was being scammed. He literally just went "okay, alright.....okay." and walked out. He left the paper behind and his math had added up to about $1,400.
That was so far the oddest gift card interaction I've had.

Predict, Discuss and Follow the Weekend's Events

Use these discussion threads to talk about matchups, share predictions, find stream info, react to results and more. You can also chat live in our discord channel. Feel free to discuss any event, not just the featured events!

Easterns

April 1-2 in partly cloudy Little River, SC
Livestreaming Schedule

Date	Local Time	UTC Time	Div	Matchup	Watch

Easterns is US Eastern time. Viewing requires a Full ($12.99/mo) or Plus ($19.99/mo) subscription. Games WILL have commentary. Schedule subject to change but won't be updated here. If the links don't work, try here.
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
#1 Massachusetts	#2 North Carolina	#4 Vermont	#7 Oregon
#12 Pittsburgh	#11 Minnesota	#8 Cal Poly-SLO	#13 Carleton
#24 NC State	#18 Northeastern	#15 Tufts	#14 Brown
#21 California	#20 Ohio State	#22 Georgia	#17 Michigan
Auburn	UNC-Wilmington	Wisconsin	#25 South Carolina

Follow: Easterns Facebook, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Northwest Challenge

April 1-2 in rainy Seattle, WA
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
#19 British Columbia	#16 Washington	Utah State	#23 Oregon State
#12 D-III Whitman	Utah	Western Washington	Victoria
Dartmouth	Washington State	Gonzaga	Chico State

Women's Division – Schedule and Results
The main women's division was last weekend, however, it looks like there will be at least one game between Portland and Whitman this weekend, as part of the Tier 2 division. Not sure if more teams are still to be added to the schedule.
Follow: @DiscNW, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Huck Finn

April 1-2 in partly cloudy O'Fallon, IL (near St Louis)
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A (Tier 1)	Pool B (Tier 1)	Pool C (Tier 2)	Pool D (Tier 2)	Pool E (Tier 3)	Pool F (Tier 3)
Washington-St Louis	Iowa State	Wisconsin-Milwaukee	#10 D-III St Olaf	St Louis	Marquette
Emory	Missouri	#6 D-III Grinnell	Illinois	Boston University	Georgia State
Cincinnati	Purdue	Chicago	Kentucky	Arizona State	Illinois State
Notre Dame	Alabama	Florida State	#9 D-III Missouri S&T	DePaul	Central Michigan
Vanderbilt	Indiana	#8 D-III John Brown	Michigan State

All teams can reach the championship bracket, but more spots are allocated to teams in higher tiers.
Follow: Tournament Site, @HuckFinnTDs, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

East Coast Scrimmage Weekend

April 1 in rainy Ardmore, PA (near Philadelphia)
Women's Pool – Schedule and Results

Pool A
#1 North Carolina
#2 Vermont
#5 Tufts
#15 Yale

Follow: @UNC_Pleiades, @AFDCJuniors, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

B-Team Brodown

April 1-2 in partly cloudy Pittsburgh, PA
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Pittsburgh-B	Penn State-B	#21 D-III Franciscan	#23 D-IIII Messiah
Ohio	Lehigh-B	Michigan-B	Ohio State-B
#18 D-III Rochester	Carnegie Mellon-B	Shippensburg	Case Western-B
SUNY-Fredonia	Ave Maria	Dayton-B	SUNY-Buffalo-B

Follow: @PghUltimate, @PittUltimateM_B, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Atlantic Coast Open

April 1-2 in partly cloudy Axton, VA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A
Cornell
Liberty
George Washington
George Mason
Cornell-B

Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D	Dev Round Robin
Penn State	Duke	Rutgers	Cornell	Maryland-B
#3 D-III Richmond	Virginia Tech	Lehigh	Georgetown	South Carolina-B
#5 D-III Navy	Temple	Connecticut	Liberty	Virginia Tech-B
Johns Hopkins	MIT	VCU	East Carolina	Cornell-B
George Mason	American	Charlotte YCC		Georgetown-B
				George Washington-B
				American-B

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Hello! My partner and me are preparing to go full nomad. We’re debating between towing a camper or doing AirBnB.
We own an SUV and are thinking of buying a small camper under $8k max. We want to drive all over North America for about 1-2 years. We will be renting out our home and that would pay for 90% of our car payment. We want to mostly be in nature but explore cities from time to time. We are not sure if that would work or is better to go renting out airbnbs, we can probably get good deals since we plan on slowly traveling and spending longer times at destinations. We don’t want to get rid of our car, so we would rarely fly during this period.
Would you suggest trying Airbnb or sticking to the original plan of getting a camper?

my wife and I bought a beach house last June, it’s a 4 unit community that shares a pool and common area(lot of land) the community is made up of 2 sets of townhomes.
Information about the homes/ occupants.
Home A: couple in their 50s, wife is the HOW treasure.
Home B: our home, we bought and the home is in a trust that also include my parents. Basically the property is shared by my parents, my wife, and I. My mom is the current HOA president (explanation to follow).
Home C: elderly couple (late 60s early 70s) husband was former HOA president. He’s the asshole. Decided to list their home for sale, they also have a house on Florida, which they said they were moving to regardless of their home sells her by May. If it doesn’t sell they will just rent it out. He spends all of his day sitting outside because he hates his wife.
Home D: also bought around the same time we bought our house. Used as a rental property.
Back to the story…
We move in around June and aren’t there full time. But spend a decent amount of time there. We’ve always been friendly and helpful and tried to respect everyone. Husband of house C has always had issues with us, to many visitors, not leaving our outside lights on, and many other trivial petty things. Well when he decided to list his house back in OctobeNovember he said he wanted to give up the HOA president position (because he assumed his house would seek fast, even with him listing it 100K over what we bought our house for, which is almost identical, plus rising rate). He suggested the husband of home A take it on. Home A thought it wasn’t a good idea having the president and treasurer of the HOA in the same house/married to each other. So they nominate my mom.
Some Information about my mom. She has been a real estate agent for 20 years, has worked with HOA’s before, built up the rental and property management side of her company and has plenty of experience on what to do.
So everyone votes and elects my mom as president (she also asked the former president if they wanted to wait until he sold his house before taking over, to which he said no, go ahead and start asap).
Come to find out after my mom takes over that the last 8 years they’ve been engaged in this good ol boy method of taking care of bills/vendors/accounting. The former president let our liability insurance lapse and didn’t tell anyone. So my mom naturally is trying to right the ship and get everything taken care of. She got quotes for insurance and provided that info to the owners and the former president provided a new quote from the former insurance company that was more expensive and provided less coverage. So naturally everyone else voted for one of the quotes my mom got.
Our pool has had a leak for 2 years and the former president has just put a band aid on it instead of finding the cause. Every time she tries asking questions he gave her the run around. I get the vibe that he’s a misogynist and doesn’t like women’s in power asking him questions, he’s been totally useless.
Everything blew up this weekend…we have residential elevators, the manufacturer states they should be inspected yearly and the battery replaced every 3-4 years. They guy that services the elevators is the same one who installed them, and he has requested that all 4 home do it at the same time as it’s easier for him because he lives 1.5 hours away. My mom being a proactive president got all the information and his first available time and emailed it to all the owners. She didn’t commit to anything. There’s also a new law in place for rentals with residential elevators that she include. Home A and D agreed and were thankful/appreciative. Home C blows up in a and stars taking shit and just being a Dick to my mom. This guy has fought my mom every step of the way. He then threw up using spectrum for our pool phone without getting any quotes…but he’s the one use chose them in the first place.
This whole thing is ridiculous, none of the other neighbors like him and he’s a bully. My only hope is someone will buy the house so he can get out of here.
If anyone want to buy a beach house lmk, lol.
Email threads
https://imgur.com/a/49225WL

Ontario's 2023 budget (p. 84) had the following call to action from the federal government:

Calling for Federal Action on Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax Relief for New Housing

Ontario continues to call on the federal government to come to the table on potential Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) relief, including rebates, exemptions, zero‐rating or deferrals, to support new housing and rental development in Ontario. All levels of government need to work together to get more homes built and address the housing crisis. Ontario is willing to continue to do more in partnership with the federal government.

Today the federal government released their budget that had no mention of removing taxes from desperately needed new housing supply.
As a reminder, the federal government rebates up to 36% of the GST for new housing that costs less than $450,000. In Ontario and BC where the average cost of a new home is over $1 million, the federal government collects over $50,000 in GST on average from each new home built. This egregious amount of tax is suppressing desperately needed housing supply.

Frost collected on the windows as we drove further into the woods. Next to me, my wife of eight years and bringer of many headaches. Now I'll be fair, I contributed to some of those headaches for her as well. But let's face it, we were having marital problems. I know, a cliche sort of story, but a common one in today's modern society.
We were heading to my grandparents' old cabin up north. My aging ancestors said that it would be the best place for us to "reinvigorate the romance" as they put it. Lovely.
But that's not why I'm recording these papers. No, it was something far graver than a failing marriage.
It was 2012 and we had our typical routines. I was an entrepreneur, investing in the stock market with the hopes of making it big. To make the money in this risky scheme of mine, I had to work a regular job just like everyone else. I worked in a factory for cars while my wife, Cassie, was trying to become a hairdresser.
The topic of money was always a strenuous issue for us. Constantly we fought about where the money should be going. Cassie believed that we should save as much as we can, while I was more willing to take the plunge into the market and try to milk this capitalist engine for all its worth.
As you can see, putting those two together created a nasty scenario where two people who wanted to have the best of youthful intimacy, slowly got destroyed by the years of conflicting interests. I still thought she was the most beautiful woman in my life, but the way that she stood in the way of my goals for a better life was starting to make me question this relationship to go on. Hence the cabin.
Now it is December and it's getting close to that date everyone seems to be obsessed over. The end of the world. What a load of baloney.
So that's a little background as to why we're going out to the woods.
But the drive itself was unbearably quiet. Not once did Cassie say anything. She didn't put up much of a fight either when I suggested that we go out to the cabin. Deep down, I think a part of me wondered if maybe she thought this was all in vain and wanted to get it over with. I believe a part of me believes that as well. Perhaps this is all a wasted effort and the ending result will be our inevitable divorce.
But who knows, there's always that slim chance. And when I looked up at the sky, I saw that there was a meteor shower already happening above.
"Hey Cassie, look," I said with childish delight.
She looked up from her window with a stoic expression. But I noticed a slight twinkle in her eye. From what I could tell, she was surprised to see such a glorious display from the beauty of the stars above. Although astronomy was always more of her thing, I still found joy in the little things.
"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that."
"Right, and once we're at the cabin, we could—"
It just hit me when I realized it. I had no plan going forward. My goal was to get her out of the house. What are we supposed to do the moment we get to that cabin? It's not like I'm going to ask to be intimate right then and there. You got to work things up to stuff like that; especially with how strained our relationship is.
This was going to be more debilitating than I thought. No matter what scenario I thought of, nothing seemed appropriately timed. Make her dinner, watching TV sounded kind of stupid considering that we did that a whole lot back at the house, and frankly I'm not the most creative when it comes to trying to mend a relationship.
"You want to go for a walk later?" she cooed.
My eyes drifted over to her. Looking at her as she fidgeted with her long, light blonde hair.
A small smile grew on my face. At least she was trying to make an effort too. Perhaps there is hope after all. "Sure thing Cassie. I don't mind."
Once we arrived at the cabin, it was within no time that we settled in. Although fully furnished, there was dust everywhere. Surprisingly few cobwebs, so spiders weren't going to be an issue. The old, cabin-like aesthetic with furniture that looked like it dated back to the 1800s and was handcrafted made the entire home feel like it was holding some dark secrets of a mysterious past.
Thankfully my grandparents had been smart enough to remove any food from the house before we arrived. The last thing I'd want is to see year-old spoiled food everywhere, forcing the two of us to clean up any more than we had to.
The only thing I was concerned about was that I spotted something in the closet of the bedroom. My grandfather's guns.
"Couldn't you buy a gun safe old man?"
Cassie peeked over my shoulder and said, "Ugh, why is that even here?"
"Hey, my grandpa was a gun lover. What did you expect to find here?"
"Those things should be melted down."
My wife, though I still love her, was heavily against guns. She believed that they could all be taken away from the civilian population.
Frankly, I thought the exact opposite. I believe that it should be every person's right to get one. Maybe not a semi-automatic or shotgun, a good pistol or revolver would be satisfactory enough for me.
I quickly moved her away from the stash and we returned to our usual business, not thinking about anything else.
The walk would have to happen tomorrow morning. And after driving for the last ten hours, I can safely assume that we wanted to sleep in.
As we were getting ourselves ready for bed, I looked at my wife with hopefulness bubbling in my heart. She always tried to do everything So graceful, considering she came from a family that was quiet, elegant, and frankly made more money than I could ever hope to. Why she wants to become a hairdresser, I had no idea. Perhaps a change of pace or out of spite for her parents.
I thought about saying something to remind her that I still loved her. But before the words could even escape my mouth, there was a flash of a bright light coming from the window.
She looked up and our eyes widened with a fearful stare.
I turned around, wondering what was causing that. It was too bright for me to even see out the glass. Then a loud bang followed afterward, making me believe for a moment that something disastrous was going on. Was it a nuclear war? A random volcano? A freak storm? My mind was racing with every possible scenario. But as quickly as it came, both the sound and the light vanished into the woods.
"Are you okay?" Cassie said, hunkering down behind the bed.
"Yeah— I was afraid I was going to go blind there for a moment."
"I tried to look away as quickly as I saw it. But I was afraid I might go deaf from that sound."
Despite it being freezing outside, I opened the window and looked around. There was no smoke anywhere. Nor was there even a remnant of the light flickering somewhere off in the distance.
I caught the smell though. It smelled like burning rubber. Or perhaps it was more like plastic burning. Either way, it was awful and I quickly shut the door, not wanting any of that to get in.
"That was weird,"
My wife agreed and surprisingly, she wanted me to come to bed. This was a bizarre turn of events for me considering that she never once cared. But perhaps it was because she was scared. Reasonable response.
The next morning, we went about our habits and freshened up. After eating a light breakfast, we finally managed to put on some snow clothes, and go for that walk.
The brisk air and gentle breeze was more than I expected to handle. But I feel like the nervous tension was definitely keeping us warm. I never realized how hard it was to talk to her.
"Cassie... what do you think was that strange light last night?"
Another brief moment passed before she replied, "I don't know. I couldn't get a good look."
Oh well, at least we got to go on this nice walk. Thankfully both of us wore boots because the snow was unusually high.
Not too far down the road though, we spotted a house. There was already a family outside. A man, a woman, and three kids. Two boys, one girl. They were playing in the snow, building snowmen and forts. They waved to us, and it was a bit of a bitter reminder about how we had squandered our marriage with our short-term goals in mind.
Cassie had this longing in her eyes. I could tell she wished that we would have done the same. And if I'm honest with myself, maybe parenthood would've been something nice.
We waved as we passed by, but neither of us wanted to talk about the matter.
Moving further down the road, I could spot some smoke rising from deep within the forest. I looked at Cassie, but she hadn't noticed it yet. I pointed it out to her and we were both curious about what could be causing a fire in the woods?
"Want to check it out?" she asked.
"Only if you want to?"
"Do you or do you not?" she said more forcefully.
"Yes! God all right," I replied back in my own angered way.
I led the way, she followed behind as we trudged through the snow away from the road.
As we got closer, I could smell that horrible stench again. Now I was certain we were getting close to whatever it was that caused that late last night. Perhaps it was a meteorite or a satellite.
Finally, we cleared past the last batch of pine trees and saw what it was. But a huge crater with something metallic in the center.
"Is that a ball?" Cassie remarked from behind.
I moved closer to the edge of the crater, looking down at it. Every time a snowflake touched the metallic surface of the orb, it instantly turned into steam.
I decided to circle the edge of the crater, willing to see if there was a way to get a full view of what it was. Just out of curiosity. I wasn't sure what it was actually; it was a gray orb, no unique details other than that it was 6 ft tall I believe, and that was it.
Well, that's what I thought until I moved over to the other end of the orb and saw that there is an opening to the inside. It looked like a seat. Which made me come to the conclusion that it was a space pod.
"Does NASA build space pods, Cassie?"
"Not to my knowledge. I don't keep up with space stuff."
As I kept inspecting the pod, I noticed that there was some green liquid that was trailing off into the snow up to the crater until it vanished into the woods.
"What in the world?"
Suddenly the piercing sound of children screaming as well as a man and a woman broke through the forest, causing my heart to beat erratically like a pounding drum. Those are sounds I never want to hear.
Cassie's face ran white like the snow around her. She looked almost like she was about to faint just from how sickening those screams were. They had such an oppressive fear behind them, something that may my blood run like freezing water through my veins.
I went back to Cassie and wrapped my arms around her as we kept looking around frantically. Both of our minds raced about what could have caused that sound. But then I remembered that the other cabin was not too far from us. The one with the family.
I managed to convince Cassie that we needed to run back to the house. But in actuality, I just want to get over to the other cabin to make sure that family was safe.
We kept running as fast as we could until finally when we reached near that cabin, I saw with all my despair-inducing horror why they made such a tormented display of shrieks.
Bile came fast up my throat, and I had to hold myself back from throwing up by the horrific display.
My wife also gave way to shrieking, so loud it was that it was actually more irritating for me but I couldn't blame her.
The poor family. That poor, poor family...
We moved on but I couldn't stop thinking about how every single one of them had been torn apart like mincemeat. Scattered about and indistinguishable. There was a hand here, a few toes there, something had shredded them until they were nothing more than a gruesome display of carnage.
We quickly left the scene.
When we got back to the house, I quickly decided to call 911. I told them everything about what we had seen and they said they would send over a squad car to the house.
But that wasn't the whole truth that I gave them. All I told them was about the massacre that happened over at that family home. I didn't tell him about the spherical thing that we found in the woods.
My wife was still anxiously walking around in circles, checking every window as she went.
I ran out to the car, thinking that it would be better if we just left right now. I tried starting the car, but it just kept sputtering but no life. Something was wrong, the car should work, I gave it a full tank of gas.
I got out and noticed that there were some bolts and scraps of metal half-buried in the snow. When I bent down to look underneath, I saw that the entire fuselage had been torn open. Something had deliberately destroyed the car.
Running back inside, I slammed the door shut, and locked it. I went even further to place a chair and wedge the doorknob. Now I was desperate. We had no car, and there was no way I was planning on walking out there again. All we could do was wait for help. At least I was able to make that call on a cell phone because when I went to turn on one of the lights, there was no electricity flowing through. The wires had been cut as well. Whatever did this, it was smart and it was targeting us.
Cassie had at this point started breaking down into tears. She was scared. I was scared. But I knew that I needed to be there for her. Even though our marriage isn't so good right now, there's no way I could leave her in such a vulnerable state.
I felt that maybe I should do something to comfort her, what else could I do? What could either of us do? The only thing that we were able to do was to wait for assistance.
I stretched my hands out to her and pulled her in towards my chest. She didn't even try to fight back, but rather she buried herself. This was probably the most affection I've gotten from her in a long time.
Hopefully, the police can handle this. I wasn't too sure if we could make it all night. Every little cracking sound from the cabin was enough to get my hair standing up. Nothing seemed to have been damaged, so I had to come to the conclusion that whatever "it" was didn't come inside.
It would seem that we were in for a night of no sleep.
The next day, there was a knock on our door. I was disturbed from my rest on the couch with my wife next to me.
I tried my best to get up without disturbing her and made my way towards the door. But I stopped before I went to open it.
"Who's there?"
"Police," a voice said weakly.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. How reassuring.
I opened the door and I saw that a bloody police officer was standing in front of me. He had his hand covering over his abdomen which was dripping with it.
"Geez, what happened to you?"
He was practically about the stumble over until I caught him. Wasting no time, I brought them over to the armchair and I knew my wife would not like to wake up to this.
"Cassie wake up," I ordered, panicking.
When she opened her eyes and saw who was sitting near her, she just about screamed but I quickly covered her mouth, much to her shock until she saw it was me.
"Ben, what is going—"
"No time to explain yet, I need you to go and get me some water!" I cut her off.
As much as I hated bossing her around, time was of the essence. I didn't want to say anything to her but I didn't think this poor fella was going to last.
She quickly got up and ran to the kitchen, faster than I would've expected her. Perhaps it was just the adrenaline rush.
I turned to the poor guy who was wheezing and coughing blood.
"Hey, pal listen, I'm going to need you to tell me what happened?"
"Don't worry, I know this looks bad but I didn't walk all the way over here for no reason. I need you to warn the station,"
"About what?"
Cassie came in with some rags that were soaked and gently pressed them onto his abdomen.
He winced quite loudly, but we both knew this was the best.
"Tell them it's a code Protectorate situation— I... me and my partner, we went to the house as instructed. When we got there, we both nearly lost our sanity. It was so gruesome what we saw.
I could relate to what he's describing. It was a messed up sight and I wished I could unsee that.
"When we went into the house to investigate, something lunged out from the darkness. It cut clean through my partner before he could even have time to react. I fired eight shots into that thing. It was so mortifyingly alien."
"So we're dealing with an alien?"
"I don't know if you can count that thing as one. It was so savage, so brutal. Naked and abominable. I quickly got out of there but that thing managed to get me in the stomach. I fired one more shot near its head and that seemed to scare it away. Then I came here."
Both my wife and I were awestruck. So there really was an alien in our area. And it's killing people, how original. But my biggest concern at this moment was the fact that we were now caught in the middle of it.
The cop coughed a few more times— drips of blood coming down his chin.
My wife quickly rushed over with the cloth to try to clean it out so that he could breathe properly, but he just grabbed hold of her wrist, and through more agitated coughing, he choked, "Leave if you can,"
His eyes quickly went lifeless and he fell limp in the armchair.
His hand released my wife and she quickly backed up into me. Held her in my arms as we both stared at the lifeless man who gave us the only advice I think he could say to us.
But I had to honor what the fallen cop had asked me and I got back in touch with the police to tell them that the cop died after investigating the murder scene. I gave them his name and they were ready to send more help until I cut the lady off and told her that he requested Protectorate. They cut the line after that and I had to deal with questions I had no answers to.
But then a new voice answered, " Please evacuate the area. Your area has been labeled by the Protectorate Extermination Committee as a targeted zone. You have less than one hour to comply with this direct order."
Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting to hear.
No sooner after hearing those words, Cassie ran back to the kitchen and started washing the blood off of her hands. I took a blanket and covered the officer. But I was going to heed his words.
I went upstairs and quickly started grabbing what I could and throwing them back into our bags. We were leaving and that was not up for any discussion. Thankfully Cassie was on the same page as me.
After about ten or twelve minutes had passed, I finished packing, only to hear the pounding beat of a rotor. That was a helicopter flying overhead.
Quickly I went outside and tried to get a good look at it. It was a Blackhawk helicopter flying rapidly.
Out of desperation, I started waving my hands, hoping that maybe they'd land and get us out of here much sooner than what my car could manage for us, but they flew off. I know they saw me, but they simply ignored me.
Cassie came out of the house and asked, "Did they just leave? I heard them flying by and thought that maybe they'd land?"
"I don't think they're looking for survivors. They don’t look like any military group that I recognize."
"What did they look like?" her voice trembled.
"I don't know who they are, but their helicopter was painted black and there was a symbol on the side. It looked like a shield with six wings coming out from the side and an eye in the center of the shield."
We heard the sound of distinct gunfire off in the distance. Whatever it was, I doubt it was military engagement. There was only one firing and it was followed by deafening screams of a man. Only to be drowned out by something unnaturally low and clicky. But this roar boomed across the land.
That was coming from another cabin not too far from us. Whatever it was, surely we were going to be next in the line of fire for this thing. It must have been going around destroying people's vehicles if there were still people around after what happened to that first. I can't imagine all of our neighbors still being here willingly.
I ordered Cassie back in the house, knowing full well that something bad was about to go down when I saw three more of those Blackhawks flying into one single location.
I shut the door again and told Cassie to get down as low as she could. I didn't want a stray bullet hitting either of us, but I couldn't help but remain curious to see if they could get it.
I was expecting them to rain down machine-gun fire, but instead, I saw three huge plumes of fire shoot out from each of the choppers. They were trying to burn this thing. They were hitting it hard too. The amount of flames coming down at such a rapid speed made me think that it could catch the entire woods on fire. Thankfully it's winter, so I don't think a forest fire is likely to happen.
But they never stopped firing and it also seems like they were chasing after whatever it was. My eyesight's not so good, so I wasn't able to get a visual of what it was. But I saw something running on all four, darting through the woods as the Blackhawks chased after it.
"What's happening!" Cassie cried.
I had forgotten about her. I was expecting bullets but I guess it wasn't so dangerous after all.
"They're trying to burn that sick monster."
"Is it working?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her that I think the thing is getting away. Whatever it was, it was weaving fast enough to where the helicopters couldn't keep up. But at least it seems like it couldn't hurt them either.
"They're driving it away. It's moving far away from us. Maybe we could leave right now."
Cassie started panicking and stuttered, "We— we are not going out there,"
"Cassie don't be stupid, we have to get out of here. That creature might come back for all we know—"
"And I don't want to be outside all vulnerable when it gets here!"
That was always something I hated about her. Once she made up her mind on something, there was no way you were going to get her to change her mind.
"It's always about your issues, it's always going to be your way! Don't you realize that there is something that we cannot handle, running around willy-nilly, we've got helicopters outside blasting it with fire that doesn't seem to be doing too much, and you want us to stay here like a bunch of sitting ducks because you're too scared to try and Escape like the officer who died for us, said so!"
"YOU THINK I WANT TO STAY HERE AND GET TORN APART BY THAT SAVAGE!" she got up from her hiding place and pushed me as hard as she could.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't fall down to the ground, but when she gets angry, she's a little extra forceful than you would expect.
She tried doing it a second time, but I caught her arms and threw her back, but not hard enough to make her fall.
"How about you calm down, and THINK!" I shouted back at her with increased ferocity. I was at my limit and I was having thoughts of leaving her here. We were on the verge of divorce anyway and the last thing I should care about is someone who will become a stranger to me and no time.
"I did, I want to hide and not be an open target!"
"And I don't want to sit here like an all-you-can-eat buffet for that thing!"
Before the argument could continue down this heated path, one of those flamers happened to be coming by, burning everything nearby. Thankfully it didn't hit the house or even the yard for that matter, but it was enough to leave me with a shaking stomach.
We both dropped to the ground but I was still curious about what was happening outside.
I crawled up to the front window again and my eyes went wide as I saw one of the helicopters blasting its flamethrower down. Inside the inferno, that creature was walking about untouched by the heat.
I whispered to myself, "It's immune to the fire? How?"
The flames eventually stopped raining down. I think they got the idea too.
I looked up at them as one of the soldiers was changing their weapon of choice from a flamethrower, to something a little more ballistic...
"Run!" I ordered. "To the bathroom!"
Both of us got up and as we got into the first-floor bathroom, the sound of explosions rained down from above. Small-scale explosives were now being used against this alien. It let out another one of those guttural bellows, apparently, this actually hurt it more. I also could hear the constant firing of bullets raining down.
But this was all that I could interpret. Cassie and I were both huddled in the bathtub, praying to whatever God exists that we don't end up being shredded by bullets in the process.
Already I could hear parts of the house getting hit by stray bullets as it seemed like the helicopters were moving more erratically as they chased after this creature again. At least it seems like they were moving away from us, but those were the most intense 30 seconds of my life.
Finally, everything fell silent other than the distant explosions that slowly toned down.
Both Cassie and I were breathing heavily, I even found myself wrapping my arms around her instinctively.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She wouldn't quit crying. She never responded to my question. Granted it was a stupid question. Nothing about this was okay.
I decided to concede. Perhaps we should just hunker down and hope for the best. Although I was still completely on board with up and going, Cassie was partially right. We would be caught out there in the open and there was no guarantee that these people who were fighting the monster were even going to care about civilian casualties. They certainly didn't mind incinerating entire sections of the woods away, regardless of whatever houses happened to be nearby.
"Cassie, we'll stay here tonight. But I'm using my grandpa's guns."
"I don't care, I want that thing dead. I'll take one myself."
Well, this was a sudden change of heart. Someone who is always against this stuff suddenly wants one. Though I should have known better when I saw her only pick up the pistol.
"If you fail, I would much rather be able to take the easy way out of this mess."
Honestly, I'd rather have that option as well. But I have to try. Plus, if I was to die today, at least I can go down with this beautiful shotgun in hand.
So that would be the update so far. A black ops group is currently leveling the area as best they can to try and kill this thing, my wife is ready to do what she can to avoid a painful way of dying, and I've got a shotgun, scared out of my mind as I wait for this thing to eventually try and get us as well.
And thus began another long night of no sleep.
The clock had now turned to 12:43 p.m. I was dead tired and the exhaustion of staying up for two days without getting any consistent sleep was starting to take its toll.
Thankfully the sun had come up and this creature did not attack during the night. I'm telling you, that is probably the most luck we're ever going to get out of this.
Cassie was getting more sleep than I was, but she refused to leave the bathroom. She stayed in that tub the entire night, while I made myself a little pillow fort in the living room. And before you start getting judgemental of childish behavior, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die in comfort.
All throughout the night, I heard the occasional bursts of gunfire far off in the distance. I tighten my grip around the shotgun, preparing myself for whenever I would need it.
This particular shotgun was a special type that my grandfather was obsessed over. And it packed quite a wallop. A Browning BPS. With sleek, black metal, this high-powered shotgun is all that stands between a ravenous, deadly alien that came from outer space, and me getting torn in half.
And so began the wait.
Hours were going by. Every moment that I heard them chasing that thing out there, was another moment that told me that it wasn't over yet.
I was drenched in sweat, despite the temperature getting increasingly cold with every passing hour. How we managed to survive this whole time is beyond me. I guess the tension alone was enough to make sure that we stayed warm throughout the whole thing.
Then I heard a rumbling sound outside. Then I heard multiple rumblings. And then suddenly a blast of sound exploded so loud that it shattered all of the glass in the house. I was so scared that I almost fired off a shot.
I quickly got up from the pillow fort, Cassie was looking out the bathroom door. She was as confused as I was.
"What are they doing now?"
When I took a look outside, I had a surge of hope. Outside were 8 tanks, as black as the Blackhawks. They were firing off at a distance, firing off their machine-gun fire at the same time as they tried to destroy whatever this thing was with cannon fire from their turrets.
When I peered further out at the patch of woods that were being shredded to pieces by the barrage, I saw that the alien was moving as quickly as they could to avoid. But it kept stumbling around, and explosives kept burning away layers of its skin. There were more helicopters outside that were trying to flame it as well as firing explosive rockets at it.
I was cheering them on. The creature was definitely taking a beating from the constant attacks and it was only a matter of time before that thing would get too worn down. Already I could see parts of its flesh burning off.
"Come guys, get 'em!" I shouted instinctively by the hype of us actually winning. Maybe I would get out of this alive.
From my distance, I had to wear my glasses to get a better view. But my god the battle was intense.
"I think they've nearly killed it!" I shouted in early triumph.
Cassie came out of the bathroom and crawled next to me, wanting to join me and watching as they finally killed that alien. We both watched with anticipation as they finally seemed to be destroying its tough outer exterior.
The animal looked disgusting. That barbaric creature had two long arms with five fingers that looked about as long as a human forearm, it had a triangular-shaped head, rounded around the edges. I distinctly remember seeing it have bluish-gray skin earlier, but I guess after all of the flaming, bullets, and bombings, now it was reduced to a muscular frame.
It staggered after getting hit for over a day's worth and I was surprised that they were willing to keep pounding this thing so hard for that extended time.
Suddenly the sky overhead had a long, loud engine noise burst through the sound barrier.
We both looked up and my heart sank into what felt like ice-cold water because those were F-22s coming down fast from the sky.
I looked over to Cassie who looked like she had frozen over. Without much rational thought, I grabbed hold of her and we both ducked low to the ground.
The glass exploded above us as I heard missiles coming down, explosion after explosion detonating and leveling everything nearby. They were going to keep hitting this thing till it was either ash, or the entire area had been left in ashes.
Cassie kept crying but I also felt a huge overwhelming feeling of dread laying on top of me. I hugged her tightly, wanting to give myself some warmth from the otherwise cold, apathetic attack that we had found ourselves stuck in.
She kept whispering through choked up words, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,"
"Cassie, listen, we're going to be alright. You hear that! We are going to live!"
The last explosion was so close to our house that I think part of it was coming apart at that point. The whole house shook violently and Cassie and I were even momentarily lifted off of the ground by how much power was behind that last explosion.
I slowly got back to my feet, my ears ringing exceedingly loud. I can barely hear whatever Cassie was saying to me. I still had the shotgun in hand. I was clutching that thing as my life depended on it.
Everything was a blurry mess, I was so dizzy I couldn't even focus entirely on anything.
Cassie was trying to tell me something. She kept pointing around me, her face full of fear.
Finally, things were going back to normal quickly and I was able to understand what she was trying to say.
"IT'S COMING THIS WAY!"
My eyes widened and as I turned around, the entire wall exploded inwards. I found myself being tossed over the couch and Cassie was quick to try and crawl back to the bathroom. I think she left her pistol there.
When I got a good look at it, I realized it was at death's door. It was all bloody, muscular, one of its eyes had fallen out. And it had this blood-filled shrill escaping from his mouth that made your skin curl in itself. Frankly, it sounded like no animal on Earth.
Bullets started raining in, a little too close for comfort for me.
I had to make a decision, the thing was eyeing down my wife. She turned around towards me, her eyes filled with tears.
Without much hesitation, I pumped the shotgun and unloaded an entire blast into its chest while it was distracted.
It screamed out in a horrific shrill, probably more stunned that a simple firearm is enough to finally get this thing injured at this point.
I kept blasting, pumping, blasting, pumping, repeatedly doing this while screaming as I kept shooting that sick animal. It swung its broken fingers at me, cutting a bit of my leg in the process. I fell down for a moment, but I knew I had to get back up for Cassie. It didn't do so well when I finally was able to get close enough to it, point the double-barrel right at its head, and blast straight into its mouth.
Strangely enough, that wasn't even enough to kill it. It fell back, squirming around in writhing pain, and I was shocked when I saw Cassie come out with her pistol and unload all eight bullets into the creature as well. I joined her in the attack, and we kept shooting at it until it finally stopped moving.
We both were out of breath, completely in shock, and frankly just wanting to go home. Maybe even see a therapist.
I rested on the floor next to Cassie who had lost her strength as well. We were just too tired to even run and I had no intention of getting out on my own.
Through the smoke, four soldiers in full body armored gear painted black entered through the gaping hole in the wall.
I was so tired I was sure I'd lose consciousness. Sure enough, everything faded to black. I could briefly hear the chatter of radios, but what they said I could not remember.
When I woke up, I was sitting in a hospital bed. I looked around in frantic movements, wondering where Cassie was— where my wife was?
I saw her completely passed out in the bed next to me. I was so relieved to see her safe and sound.
When I looked around, I saw that we were in a military infirmary tent. It was still snowing outside, but thankfully these tents know how to keep you warm.
But as I was about to get comfortable in my bed, two guys in suits- not black suits, thankfully they weren't going to be so cliche— walked in with two guards in uniform behind them.
The man who appeared oldest, complete with a bald head and big, bushy, gray mustache said, "Good morning soldier."
I chuckled a little bit. "Soldier? I wouldn't say I'm a soldier."
He had a charming laugh that I could tell you enough that he was more of a ladies' man in his spare time when he wasn't working to be some high-up government official.
"Ah, but weren't you the one who managed to kill that extraterrestrial?"
Clearly, he knew what I had done, so there was no point in lying. "Yes sir,"
"That makes you a soldier I guess. You may be just a civilian, but anyone who has the guts to take on something that took tanks and Blackhawks an entire day's worth of fighting to kill is deserving of such a title."
"I'm honored," I responded with unease.
"Well, I feel like it's the least we can do considering that even though we did most of the work, the fact that you managed to kill that thing with a shotgun and revolver is my definition of bravery. So we will be needing you to do a few favors for us in return for some added benefits for your heroism today."
I was well-versed in this kind of stuff. You watch enough movies, read enough books, you learn a little bit about what they're going to tell you next. Of course, I had to sign the documentation that neither of us would ever talk about what we had seen today. We were to never acknowledge any information that was related to what had happened today. And we were to tell anyone we came across that we had a lovely second honeymoon trying to rekindle our marriage.
But in return, I did get some financial help from these guys. They gave me a reward of $100,000 each. Although I'd like for more, I'm not going to pester them with that feeling. Beggars can't be choosers, right?
Although after all of that happened, I and Cassie did manage to recover somewhat of our marriage for the time being. What happened that day wasn't going to save it though. In 2018, we decided to go our separate ways. But we still get together occasionally to talk about what happened on that fateful winter day in 2012. She says that she still has nightmares of that thing chasing after her. I don't suffer from the nightmares of that thing, but I can understand where she's coming from.
The recent events have changed that. After everything that happened and now that I've been a single man for quite some time now, I recently became more interested in what's going on above us.
I started collecting information about aliens, thinking that they were nothing more than little gray men and the occasional giant monster creature. Oh, how I was wrong. I was extraordinarily wrong about what was really going on in the stars.
But I suppose that isn't relative to this story. Despite all of the horror that I experienced, the horrors I experienced now are far worse, but I think it's time I sign off on this message. And so I will go back to a night of no sleep.

I feel nervous about sharing this, but I don’t think anyone from my company would be on this sub- please no sharing!  
I was hired on with my current company nearly 2 years ago in June 2021. I was 8 weeks pregnant at the interview, and returning to work after staying home for 16 months with my eldest child. My current company is a small, family-owned business that is commission based and has between 8-30 independent contractors, with about 6 people working in office on the executive team. However, my role wasn’t in sales. I am client relations & admin support. My first week there, they asked me to fill out and return a 1099 independent contractor tax form.  
Mind you, I responded to an Indeed job ad, interviewed and was hired to perform a specific job. I told them I think they meant to give me a W-2 form, and asked if they could confirm. A meeting was called with the CEO and CFO where they said that they would like me to be 1099’ed, and that they would cover my expenses related to the job (cell phone, gas) as well as cover my IRS bill up to $7,000 should I receive one due to the nature of my employment. I didn’t love this, but I agreed to it, probably because I already felt guilty about the pregnancy I was about to surprise them with. I wanted to be accommodating. Here’s the dumb part: nothing was put in writing. I specifically remember a conversation with the CEO where I agreed and said I trusted him.  
We usually get refunds every year as average earners, so fast forward to 2021 tax time & we again got a refund. (PS I use my employer’s CPA they set me up with in this arrangement.) We were not impacted by this agreement because I had only been “employed” by them for 6 months out of the year.  
Now here we are with 2022 taxes. I got a $5K IRS bill. I decided to mention it to the CFO first, saying, “I heard back from CPA & I do owe X amount this year, how should I go about this? Do you want me to email you and CEO, or just email it to you?” The response was, “Why would we pay your taxes?” And then continuing to let me know there was absolutely no recollection of that conversation.  
I left, shocked, but also not. I am super bummed that I don’t have anything in writing. Nothing. So I have been paid as an independent contractor, as if my salary is 100% commission, and have saved none of it with taxes in mind at the end of the year. I also have never had my gas and cell reimbursed by the company. They know I use my vehicle and cell phone for about 60% of my job. I’m basically paying to do my job out of the kindness of my heart? /s  
I’m wishing I had treated my job as a contractor job, deciding to work from home whenever I damn well pleased, leaving early, etc. I also wish I were brave enough to say, “alright! Assignment over effective tomorrow.”  
I am already beginning another job in a completely different profession within the next month and they are fully aware I’m transitioning out, but it still sucks and I feel shafted and humiliated being put in a position where I needed to ask someone to pay my taxes. How about you pay me as an employee… pay the payroll taxes, E&O ins, and all other things affiliated with employment, so that I can handle my own damn taxes by myself.  
Blegh. :(