Why I Own The World

[Longhorned]

I just a fixed a sink that a horrible, Trumpy plumber installed wrong.

[UAEebs86]

I just a fixed a sink that a horrible, Trumpy plumber installed wrong.

Did you have the proper plumber's crack while doing it?

[Longhorned]

No, I had to do most of it lying down and facing upward with my head and arms inside the cabinet. I don't want to subject my good plumber to that. He's a smart person who doesn't want to help transmit the virus between households, and he won't even take new customers.

[UAEebs86]

I want to use my 403B to pay off my mortgage of about $125K. Is that even possible without getting taxed heavily?

Merk,
If your 403b provider is anyone other than TIAA, you are probably getting killed by their expenses. Need to minimize those like cpt said.

I listen to the Clark Howard podcast and he always talks about how educators and educational employees get screwed by the typical 403b company.

You should probably do a rollover of your 403b to Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab.

[Merkin]

I want to use my 403B to pay off my mortgage of about $125K. Is that even possible without getting taxed heavily?

Merk,
If your 403b provider is anyone other than TIAA, you are probably getting killed by their expenses. Need to minimize those like cpt said.

I listen to the Clark Howard podcast and he always talks about how educators and educational employees get screwed by the typical 403b company.

You should probably do a rollover of your 403b to Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab.

It's Fidelity.

Appreciate all the info, I am really unaware of such things.

[Longhorned]

Cate Reese was with Lauren Ware today when she literally walked up to me as I sat at an outside table in front of the library. I thought she must have confused me for somebody else, but nope. She walked right up, pursed her lips a little and turned side to side. She hadn't noticed me at all, and was just checking out her own reflection in the dark glass windows of the library.

[dovecanyoncat]

No way. She knew exactly who you were and what she was doing. She's into you.

[cpt]

I farted so loudly during my muted Zoom call today that Zoom asked me to unmute if I want to talk.

[Longhorned]

Well done!

[legallykenny]

Closed a 2.5 billion dollar credit facility at 6 am and closed on my new house at 3 pm. Feels like a productive day.

[Chicat]

Closed a 2.5 billion dollar credit facility at 6 am and closed on my new house at 3 pm. Feels like a productive day.

So this is what life is like if you studied hard in school and don’t have kids.

Oh well… next life Chi…

[EastCoastCat]

Closed a 2.5 billion dollar credit facility at 6 am and closed on my new house at 3 pm. Feels like a productive day.

So this is what life is like if you studied hard in school and don’t have kids.

Oh well… next life Chi…

Ummm...please take your place in line. If your nice I will let you cut in.

[UAEebs86]

Closed a 2.5 billion dollar credit facility at 6 am and closed on my new house at 3 pm. Feels like a productive day.

So this is what life is like if you studied hard in school and don’t have kids.

Oh well… next life Chi…

Ummm...please take your place in line. If your nice I will let you cut in.

I want a spot.

My sister who is 2 years younger than me is retiring this month at age 55. My first comment was "See what happens when you don't have kids."
Her husband is a lawyer. Fucking DINKs
(Dual Income No Kids)

[dovecanyoncat]

My sister who is 2 years younger than me is retiring this month at age 55. My first comment was "See what happens when you don't have kids."

I recommend it. I've yet to wake in the night and lament: "Honey we forgot to have children!"

But my parents .....

[UAEebs86]

My sister who is 2 years younger than me is retiring this month at age 55. My first comment was "See what happens when you don't have kids."

I recommend it. I've yet to wake in the night and lament: "Honey we forgot to have children!"

But my parents .....

My wife didn't work until the kids were in kindergarten and had to quit work about 3 years ago due to health reasons. So a big part of our marriage we were SITCOMs. (Single Income No Children Oppressive Mortgage)

[scumdevils86]

Only fault in my plan is probably never being to retire before like 70. Most millennials won't be able to even with dual incomes and responsible financial choices.

So instead my wife and I have figured out a way to have a house we enjoy and is big enough for us and 1 or 2 kids. We should hopefully be able to pay off the house in 20 years instead of 30. My wife will only have to work 1 or 2 days a week the whole time my kid(s) are under kindergarten age. We have no debt besides our mortgage and some of her student loans. Should be able to set a little of money aside for our kid's education. We'll try to buy any future cars (several years old used cars like Toyota) in cash. I have long range budgeted goals for some improvements around the house.

So we're very lucky we can maintain a largely debt free and comfortable (if simple) lifestyle as millennials while raising children.

[U.P. Zona Fan]

I got my master's in forestry in order to get a job up here. Housing market collapsed, lost a business, went to work at a little mine and then bought a fuel distributor.

Life doesn't always work out like you think it should in college, but if you keep working and keep your eyes open, treat people with respect and not spend all your time on Facebook and Twitter, you can eek out a nice life.

[Longhorned]

What if I spend all my life on Bear Down Wildcats?

[U.P. Zona Fan]

It's impossible, not enough posters, that's why I love it.

Just a few people that care immensely about one common thing, don't always agree on other stuff but can have discussions about it without losing their minds because there is that common bond.

I've been on for a long time tonight and it's been days since I was on the general til today, still only spent an hour or so here.

Thanks for keeping this place up mods and admins. It's fantastic.

[Longhorned]

I just got such amazing news that I'm shaking. My severe dog allergies have vanished. I just tested level zero on dogs.

We're doing blood lab work as a precaution, but I might be headed toward getting my first dog.

[dovecanyoncat]

Dogs are perfect. They'll make your good world better.

[Merkin]

Can't imagine my life without dogs. Especially since my kids are all grown up.

[Longhorned]

I just bought a wheel of Époisses.

[UAEebs86]

LDL 99
Triglycerides 138
HDL 52

Yaaaaaaaassssss!!!

All thanks to Super Colon Blow!

True!

After only 3 months of following your advice and using S.C.B. 1-3 times per day (I need to be more consistent before every meal):

Change from last year:

LDL 111 -> 102 (still red but only by 2 points)
Triglycerides 180 -> 130 (from red to green)
HDL 37 -> 44 (from red to green)



LH - you're the man man!

[Longhorned]

Super Colon Blow!!! Congratulations!!!!!!

[dovecanyoncat]

It only took a fucking hour, but it feels good to say

Die Autoplay! Die! Die! Fucking Die!

[dovecanyoncat]

Elon sold 10% of his stock to cover taxes on his stock options which pushed the price down for the last 2 -3 weeks. That stock sale ended Monday. Also deliveries and earnings are looking to be higher than street estimates. The recall doesn't look to be that expensive. So fundamentals on the stock are excellent and so I bought more last week on the dip.

Because Tesla's up 11% today and 84 is too humble to brag about it.

[CatsbyAZ]

My self-published novel goes live on Amazon this week.

3 years to write a first draft, followed by 2 years of working with an editor + soliciting literary agents to no avail + finally getting a publisher interested last summer (before they ultimately turned my project down), it's uplifting to fairly consider myself an "author" and "novelist" - traditionally or self-published.

[Longhorned]

My self-published novel goes live on Amazon this week.

3 years to write a first draft, followed by 2 years of working with an editor + soliciting literary agents to no avail + finally getting a publisher interested last summer (before they ultimately turned my project down), it's uplifting to fairly consider myself an "author" and "novelist" - traditionally or self-published.

This is great!

Which character is based on Merkin?

[Chicat]

That’s fantastic!!!

You’ll have to post the link so we can check it out.

Nice work!

[azgreg]

Well done. Fuck, it takes me that long to read a book.

[UAEebs86]

Well done. Fuck, it takes me that long to read a book.

You're supposed to read them after you buy them?

[CatsbyAZ]

Here it is, I had the cover designer sprinkle in a bit of familiar Arizona imagery:

https://www.amazon.com/Responsible-Dist ... 222&sr=1-1

[Chicat]

You wrote a goddamn book! Looks awesome!!!

[Siempre Verde]

My self-published novel goes live on Amazon this week.

3 years to write a first draft, followed by 2 years of working with an editor + soliciting literary agents to no avail + finally getting a publisher interested last summer (before they ultimately turned my project down), it's uplifting to fairly consider myself an "author" and "novelist" - traditionally or self-published.

Purchased! Congrats!

[CatsbyAZ]

Purchased! Congrats!

My goodness - thank you!

[Chicat]

And just like that, you’re a successful author.

Can’t wait for my copy to arrive!

[EastCoastCat]

My self-published novel goes live on Amazon this week.

3 years to write a first draft, followed by 2 years of working with an editor + soliciting literary agents to no avail + finally getting a publisher interested last summer (before they ultimately turned my project down), it's uplifting to fairly consider myself an "author" and "novelist" - traditionally or self-published.

Outstanding. I'm going to grab a copy.
Totally impressed!

So should we start a book review thread?

[azgreg]

Purchased! Congrats!

[azgreg]

Well, lookie here.

[Chicat]

Got mine too! Excited to dive in.

[CatsbyAZ]

Thanks everybody! I'm honored you've purchased a few copies; please no way feel obligated to like what you're reading. For context, over the course of about 6 months the perspectives of three different editors contributed to whether or not this novel was taken up for publication by a smaller house that was showing interest. Their reactions ranged widely, with the third and last editor casting the deciding "no" vote.

First Editor (Green Light - Approval):

“This is a novel to be proud of. The writing is very strong, unique, and intellectual. Nicole’s philosophical thinking is far beyond the norm, and I appreciate how introspective she is, how she carefully weighs her decisions and how she treats others. This narrative feels “real” in that whoever reads this will so believe the story and world that they won’t even question the narrative, leading to a smooth reading experience.”

And: “The writing and narrative are certainly strong enough for publication at a bigger or independent publishing house, the question is always about timing and finding the right fit.”

Second Editor (Yellow Light - Approval but with hesitations):

“This was a really fun and engaging submission to read. Through meditative letters written by the main character Nicole, we get a glimpse into her unraveling life… What’s wonderful about the writing style is that, though these letters are directed toward others, you’ve allowed Nicole to go into her own headspace, relive past events, and recreate scenes and dialogues that help us understand her and her story better. It’s not easy to weave these kinds of narratives together, but you’ve done so seamlessly. Each piece of her narration pushes the over-arching plot forward and we are eager to read more and see where this story goes. Furthermore, this is a well-rounded piece of fiction: there’s a bit of mystery, romance, drama—everything we look for in a story such as this

And upon further review: "Your storytelling is certainly compelling, and the choice to write the book as letters is creative, giving us a sort of hybrid first person/second person narrative. However, this choice also gives us pause. Fifty pages in, and the letter is still going. This seems unreasonably long for a letter. You dive so deeply into dialogue, most of the time it doesn’t feel like a letter at all. We think the narrative would be stronger if you either committed more to the idea of this book being a series of letters, breaking up the dialogue from them, or if you dropped the concept altogether. Dropping it would definitely be the simpler option; you could merely drop the greetings and references to it being a letter.”

Third Editor (Red Light - Disapproval):

“Overall, I found the manuscript to go off in too many directions. I have to admit that throughout the story I was more or less lost."

And: “...none of the characters were developed; I don’t feel that I know much of significance about anyone.”

Finally: "...this manuscript is trying to do too much, pointing in so many directions that I don’t know where to look, and as soon as I do look and start to think I feel something, the lens is pointed elsewhere. In that regard, it often felt like a journal, as if I was reading a collection of memories about a string of encounters.”

One thing I've learned in hoping to get published is that the book industry parallels the entertainment industry, among other ways, in how reactions can go either way and be all over the place, especially if you're an unknown. Either way, I feel much more confident and prepared about going forward with a second novel down the road. Thanks again everybody!

[Chicat]

Obviously the third editor is a jerk.

[Longhorned]

I've been elected to the Faculty Senate of the U of A! I'm a senator of something.

[Chicat]

Congrats! But please remember what happened to Julius Caesar.

[Longhorned]

Congrats! But please remember what happened to Julius Caesar.

Yeah but first I'm going to slip you all the secrets I learn about the UFOs and stuff like that.

[Chicat]

Congrats! But please remember what happened to Julius Caesar.

Yeah but first I'm going slip you all the secrets I learn about the UFOs and stuff like that.

Already drunk on power I see.

I like it!

[dovecanyoncat]

Congratulations! Is there a certification that comes later and do you have sufficient security?

[Longhorned]

Congratulations! Is there a certification that comes later and do you have sufficient security?

You well know I've been certified for some time now. If you're asking whether the official announcement will roll seamlessly into official confirmation in a Pence-like fashion, I suppose the most honest answer would be that I don't actually care either way.

[dovecanyoncat]

I just don't want a mob to steal your toga and rob BDW of an elder statesman.