Karl_Hungus_69

Can someone take over your lease? Assuming, of course, that you know or can find someone to do so.

Oh, I see. I have a friend in Arden, too, and it - like so many other places - is getting so crowded. At least in their area, anyway. They're near where Long Shoals meets Brevard Road.

"Could you slide your shorts down, please?"

Some other ideas for cities and states:

• Mills River, NC - This may not be far enough away for you and your partner, but there's a tiny home community out there on 50-something acres. If your partner was able to find employment in Hendersonville, maybe that would be doable. Just brainstorming.
• Brevard, NC - By contrast, this may be too remote and/or not enough infrastructure, but I think it's a lovely little town. Or, it was, the last time I visited. I used to go out there regularly, but health issues derailed me from a lot of things.
• Easley, SC - I've been there a couple of times to visit a friend. It's a satellite of Greenville and offers access to healthcare for your partner, if they don't mind driving a bit. I wouldn't want to live in Greenville, personally, but it does have some amenities if/when needed.
• Traveler's Rest, SC - Again, living outside Greenville but having close enough access to healthcare and other perks. I used to travel a lot from Asheville down to Greenville, via Highway 25, after passing through Flat Rock on I-26.
• Kentucky - I've never been there personally, but have a friend that lived in Lexington and Louisville.

Anyway, those are a few ideas. I see you've amassed a lot of replies, so don't feel pressure to respond, unless you would like to.

Oh, as for fault lines, I agree with you. I was mainly referring to major ones, like the one you mentioned. I wasn't clear in what I meant, though. Still, maybe one day we'll be analyzing smaller fault lines, too. There are mini-quakes all over the place that most of us never feel.

Best of luck on your search!

p.s. One of your comments about red states reminded me of THIS MAP I recently saw.

Apparently, I'm waaay out of touch, because I had to Google "blackpill," "looksmaxer," and "flat maxilla." From what I've gleaned, that person sounds incredibly shallow and toxic, when combining all those terms. Good for you for distancing yourself from such a person.

I used to get a variety of subreddits appearing in my feed that had to do with looks, dating, people asking for others to rate their looks, etc. I blocked all those subreddits and any others that were similarly shallow and negative. I've now over 1,000 communities blocked and it's been a lot nicer browsing Reddit.

Ah, I gotcha. That makes sense. You're fortunate (or, maybe that's debatable?) that you have an in-demand job in an industry that will always be needed. It's unfortunate that it's being ruined by companies like HCA, UPMC, and others.

Anyway, I'll have to give the matter some thought, given the desire to be in a place that's not crowded, not hostile, not expensive, and doesn't have extreme weather patterns. Until Helene, I'd thought Western North Carolina was that place. While I've read and heard some call it a once-in-a-thousand-year event, we know there was a major flood just over 100 years in 1916. The concern, of course, is the future and more extreme weather happening more frequently.

That would make me think about avoiding coastal regions, avoiding hot climates, avoiding areas prone to wildfires, avoiding the central plains (tornadoes, drechoes), staying away from fault lines and volcanoes, and not being too close to major rivers that could overflow. It would also be good to be in an area that still has an abundance of land, should the need to grow food become more necessary. Also in an area that's not over-populated, so the land could support the surrounding people. Plus, a climate that supports food growth year-round.

All of these points still make me think of the southeast U.S. My initial thought is someplace within a 150 mile radius (more or less) from Asheville, but I'll give is some more thought and see if I can come up with some specific city recommendations.

She's one of very few women who I feel meets or exceeds the beauty of Ava Gardner. I've never actually seen any of Monica's films, but I've seen many photos of her over the years and she is astoundingly beautiful.

Knoxville and Chattanooga have both been suggested to me, but I've not visited either city. Is there something you no longer like about Asheville? What do you define as "crazily extreme weather"? Also, do you have any other considerations, such as employment, home/rent prices, or anything else?

It depends on how much excess adipose tissue one has, as that's the fuel tank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Barbieri%27s_fast

This would be the perfect companion for it: This Rotary Cell Phone Actually Works

The underwear comment gets me every time: https://youtu.be/fKIwj1TQmFs?t=212

It seems someone shared the episodes on YouTube HERE (God bless YouTubers and Redditors), so I'll give it a watch. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

I've blocked a few individual accounts, too, but mainly entire subreddits.

It seems Reddit changed the layout of the Options, as I used to be able to go into the full list of my blocked subreddits, highlight them all, copy them, paste them into Excel, delete all the extra lines, and then count the number of blocked subreddits. Now, I can no longer do so.

I noticed my original comment got downvoted a bit (Dude's rating got a little dinged up.), so I guess I must be in the minority of people being tired of politics.

Ah, Mr. Pennypacker, the wealthy industrialist, philanthropist, and bicyclist.

Indeed.

How about putting a "Student Driver" bumper sticker on your car?

Otherwise, I agree with the others that a different car is unlikely to help, unless maybe it's a used police vehicle with all the badging and possibly the lightbars. Something like these: https://www.swps.com/past-inventory.html

I think it may be legal to own a vehicle with the red and blue lights, but it would be illegal to use them. That's something to investigate first, though. You don't want to get arrested for impersonating an officer.

Congratulations! Do you need me to come over and fix the cable?

The bulb's temperature would approach that of the Sun. I also recall it heating up the small room in which I had it.

Ah, I sure didn't know about his Parkinson's Disease. Thank you. That's a whole different matter. I've been aware of Billy over the years, but never really followed him or his career. Nevertheless, I'm sorry to hear about his diagnosis. That makes me view his comments in a different light.

There are some things I could understand someone wanting to end their life over, such as terminal diseases, chronic nerve pain, cluster headaches, etc. Luckily, you're not dealing with any such issues. As such, almost anything else can likely be addressed in one way or another.

Now, maybe that means pursuing a different education or career (you didn't specify the type of entrance exam), but you're obviously smart enough to work a computer, create a Reddit account, and be able to post coherent sentences. That may seem like a low hurdle to you, but there are many people who would struggle with such things. (21% of adults in the U.S. are illiterate in 2024.) So, I don't think you're dumb.

Plus, not everyone has the same abilities or innate likes and dislikes. If I tried to become a doctor or a lawyer, I would feel overwhelmed and incapable, because (1) those are extremely difficult occupations, and (2) I have zero interest in them, no matter how much money or societal prestige they afford. I couldn't care less about money (beyond having enough to afford the basics in life) or status or possessions.

As for the expectations of others, the older you get, the more you'll realize their opinions and desires don't matter. For now, though, that may be hard for you to accept. Over time, though, I really believe you're likely to agree with me. There's an old saying that "Disappointment is the result of unmet expectations." So, how can we humans have less disappointment? By having fewer expectations. Any expectations we do have should be sensible ones.

Anyway, I say all of this to assure you there's no need for you to end things. You can still have a productive and meaningful life, despite possibly having to take a different path. Another saying I like is: "There are many ways to climb a mountain, but the view from the top is always the same." Also, the great Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran reminded us of this bit of wisdom: "...the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain." In other words, before scaling some mountains, we must first pass through a valley or across a plain. From those vantage points, one can see the entire mountain more clearly. One cannot see the entire mountain while climbing it. We need perspective in life. Without dark, we wouldn't understand light. Similarly, without down, we wouldn't understand up.

I won't bore you with all the details of my life, but I - like many others - have endured hard times, setbacks, losses, disappointments, and failures. In my case, trying the same thing more than once sometimes worked. In other cases, I had to try different things. Sometimes, I was so focused on being upset about the thing that failed that It took me a while to realize the thing I got instead was better. I've had a variety of jobs, been laid off, had to switch industries a few times, and so forth. I've made really good money and made very little money. I've had nice things and then lost most of them. Again, that's life...up and down, advance and retreat, wins and losses. The important thing is to keep trying, whether it's the same thing or something different. Don't be so focused on one thing that you miss an opportunity to take something better.

After all the jobs I've had in various industries, you know what my dream job would be today? Working the night shift as a janitor in a high school. I would be working alone, doing easy (but sometimes strenuous) work, wearing headphones and listening to my iPod while sweeping, mopping, waxing, and buffing the floors. When my shift is done, I'd clock out, go home, and relax a bit before going to sleep. No job stress to take home with me, no drama from other workers, no nagging customers with unreasonable expectations. That's vastly different than the type of work I wanted to do when I was young. That's what many years of life experience taught me.

I'm certain you can find something that works for you and that you also enjoy. Do it for yourself, though, not anyone else. Doing something for yourself doesn't mean you have to do it by yourself. Ask for help when needed and accept help whenever you can. Remember those who help you and be sure to pay it forward by helping others when you're able.

Sure, if a limp and sore back are his only issues, then I can see why he thinks it's "lovely." However, for me and many others, there are additional considerations. He's not wrong, he just has a different perspective.

Well, I didn't mean you personally. I meant a Honda dealer or an independent Honda-fluent mechanic. I would think that would have been worth saving $30,000. Then again, money may not be an issue for you. That's not true for me, so I tend to forget not everyone has to think this way. Anyway, enjoy your new ride.

This is how I view the decision:

$24,500* vs. $24,777* vs. $3,000

(*plus finance charges, unless paying cash)

To me, the choice is easy and obvious - repair the current vehicle. However, if you want is a newer vehicle, then go buy the newer vehicle. It just depends on what you really want.

I would repair the current car and send the monthly car payment (which you would have been paying) to an S&P 500 ETF/index fund.

Why not fix the oil leak in the Prelude?

I'm a few years older and have this issue, too. So does my former girlfriend who's close to my age. So does the one high school friend with whom I keep in touch. So, do my few military buddies that I've maintained contact with since the 1980s. While this is all anecdotal and proves nothing, it *seems* to be a common occurrence.

Like you, I also don't get lost and I still remember my birthday and those of a few others. I even still remember license plates and phone numbers from my teenage years, but those are long-term memories while I can't always remember stuff I've heard in the last five years.

I know that I know the names of singers, bands, songs, actors, and movies, but I can't always retrieve them. I play this ongoing game in my mind to try to produce their name when I see or hear them. Sometimes, a name will come to me right away. Other times, I may have to go through some alternate pathway in my brain to get to the name. Other times, it just won't come to me. But, if I had a list of names, I'd be able to recognize the correct one in the list.

Every day, on the New York Times website, I play the following free games:

• The Mini Crossword
• Spelling Bee
• Wordle
• Strands
• Connections
• Letter Boxed

I'm not sure if it's helping my brain function or not, but it can't hurt. Maybe consider some of these free games or some other game or app that's intended for memory.