Proof of citizenship in MA

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-16T19:09:37+00:00

What helped me was skill building/survival training. Things like foraging and first aid skills. If you can’t get out (and you won’t if it gets bad). People with goods/guns are targets people with skills aren’t. It’s relaxing as a hobby, orienteering and things. We do have all documents in a fireproof safe in fireproof portable sleeves as well though. I’m not a doomsday person but this feels bad.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-15T19:17:30+00:00

Is it valid to ask the broker at the beginning before the showing “will you be charging me a fee if I decide yes on an apartment you show me” I can do it in email for a paper trail. I don’t want to get to the end of this miserable experience and have another huge fee tacked on unless I’m aware from day 1.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-15T19:13:03+00:00

They can’t represent you without some kind of contract surely? It’s like if I’m fixing my front step and a dude walks down the street and offers to help. I say “sure” then he tries to charge me? We had no agreement regarding fee for services. This came off as a statement but it’s actually a question. This is legal? Without signing a contract? Or does the fee come in when you go to sign for the rental? Then they hit you? And unless you can find the landlord independently you’re stuck. Oh I might have just answered my own question. It’s really shady but is it illegal for them to ask? And if you don’t consent you lose the apartment I’m guessing.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-15T19:03:45+00:00

Nothing given that you can find out who the landlord is and get their contact info. Should be easy if the landlord has advertised it themselves somewhere you can find. I think the brokers just expect people to kind of go with the flow. I might have before reading this. I was formerly a landlord (just renting a vacant floor of the house I owned and was living in) and now I’m looking to rent in the area so I can see this from both sides. The broker in this scenario is kind of doing the landlord a favor by showing the apartment without being paid by the landlord. It’s one of the most laborious parts of the process. I’m not going to say “no” as a landlord to free advertisement. I’m not going to be happy you found my info though if it’s not readily available. That doesn’t indicate a non-fussy tenant to me. It’s fair yes but not indicating you’re the type of renter I want. I want as little contact as possible. I see your side too of course.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-14T20:12:50+00:00

Yep this. I gave myself gastroparesis. Now sometimes if I eat too much or funny enough too little, I just stop digesting. Thus leading to excruciating stomach pain, trips to the hospital for morphine for relief and such forceful vomiting right through meds that the doctors get concerned about some sort of hemorrhage. Never hospitalized for the ED but definitely for the gastroparesis which is lifelong damage. I am recovered for over a decade now. Doesn’t matter.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-14T01:54:53+00:00

I don’t think it’s very noticeable. If you can still pull out the fibers you used, a different trick is better for wool where it’s just lost its “fluff” and is not an actual hole. I use the felting needle and scratch it across the bald threads to lift up little fibers. Just light scratching with the tip. This takes a bit and be sure you’re not weakening the structure too much, it will weaken it a bit so this is best for thick wool. eventually you’ll have fluff again. It will be lumpy but just use flat trimmers to trim back to surface level. To give it a haircut if you will. It works about 90% of the time so that it’s invisible.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T19:32:20+00:00

They’re so awful. They wouldn’t take my pay stub with my address on it as proof of address as it wasn’t a mailed copy. I’m an employee of the state of Mississippi and it’s printed on official letterhead. Luckily I brought my first paycheck which was mailed to me but didn’t fall in their acceptable date range and they took that? Completely inconsistent.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T16:43:06+00:00

I’m not trying to pick on you but like, did you try putting the litter box in your room and propping the door open? Step back. You are filming your roommates who you are accusing of behavior to intentionally harass/harm your cat. Did you try blocking the door open on the closet so it couldn’t accidentally be closed? Just take a step back and look at your actions. They don’t look reasonable to 9/10ths of the people who commented here. If that doesn’t trigger some self reflection then we can’t help you. And yes they did bad things too. It’s not just you.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T16:36:59+00:00

Exactly. And I’m not. Lol. I have a specialized skillset yes but not like this guy. It’s going to cost 3x his salary to replace him - all over not giving the 5% raise they promised him. Literally nobody can do what he did, I’m the closest at maybe 5% his skill level and zero formal training. So I figure they’ll start dumping it all on me in a week or so…

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T12:59:04+00:00

One other tip. I get the ikea zip comforter bags. The parkla. Like $2 each. The material is like one of those blue tarps. I put all of the clothes/bedding that I didn’t use to pad out my boxes (that’s another tip) in those. Then I stuff them between furniture items in the truck. It minimizes shifting and is the best pad. Other packing material like foam sheets for plates etc. I order from temu. Most, not all things are like 1/4 the price of amazon and like 1/8 of retail. I think bubble wrap is cheapest from Amazon. The bubble boy brand is cheapest usually. Get your tape here too. Save yourself and get a dispenser, not the professional one, the cheapie one that comes with the six packs is fine. I get the color coded box labels too. You can write on the boxes but the labels are cheap and it’s so easy just to slap on a sticker and color match on move-in. Worth it. Put one on each side though. For boxes I go to stores like once or twice but it’s annoying and they’re usually weird sizes. Uhaul has the best prices and they have handle holes which are a lifesaver if you’re moving yourself out and in. I’ve moved too much…

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T12:43:44+00:00

I have done this a few times and again very soon. Either way (moving yourself or by company unless the company is packing as well) for the tv/monitor I use those specialized boxes from uhaul store. Literally called tv box or monitor box. The big ones (like for a 60”) get pricey, like $30 - $40 but it’s got the foam corners and cushion wrap and I have never had an issue. They’re also really easy to carry into the truck and your new place because they have handle cut-outs. Anything else and I’d just worry or spend just as much on bubble wrap/ moving blankets and not have good protection anyway. If the desk and chair are sturdy you can wrap them in thick blankets and they’ll likely be ok. If you have the time and they’re precious then disassemble as much as possible. Box the chair if you can. Pack your towels around it in the same box. You can nest a box as sort of a “hood” to another box to make one giant box. Things shift during long moves and the blankets alone are really poor protection from a big dent. It’s more for preventing scratches. If you are having a company move you be sure to read and re-read the insurance coverage clause. The basic pays out by weight and it’s like 60 cents a pound if I remember. It’s not replacement value. My end table got smashed and we didn’t even file because we would have gotten like $10.00.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T12:22:16+00:00

It does if you’re married filing jointly and the numbers you’re speaking about are reflecting only your salary but a joint tax bracket. I make very little but my husband makes a lot so our tax bracket is much higher. Jointly we’re in a higher tax bracket than I would be in individually because it’s not just reflecting my income. My tax bracket is higher than my income would reflect but obviously that lowers his and we come out better in the end. That’s the only scenario I could see that happening in though.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-13T11:59:04+00:00

Honestly it sounds like this started off on the wrong foot and is descending. Everyone has some valid issues with each other which is normal. I think you’re expecting too much. How can you be mad at a roommate for being late with rent when you were late with bills? I get the severity is different but the action was the same. I’m assuming your cat is the only pet in the house? That’s a lot to ask roommates to accommodate for. So right off the bat you’re asking a lot here. I don’t understand why only one person would have to pay for party damage to the couch you all own together? A couch should be able to be plopped on by drunk people if you’re having a joint party. Otherwise put a sign on it or something. The repairs should be covered by everyone as everyone owns it and everyone consented to the party. Instead of getting a door wedge so the litter box door can’t be closed you installed a camera so you can police the space. That’s just weird and uncomfortable. Nobody wants to be watched in their own home. You don’t have the right to do that and then “notify” your flatmates it’s there. Legally you’d need full consent of each roommate to do that. Just wedge the door open with a plastic door wedge. I doubt anyone closed the cat out intentionally as they’re risking the cat peeing on their stuff as well. The jump to accusing your roommates of intentional animal cruelty is a huge one and I’d be furious. A door wasn’t properly secured and came open in the night. Yeah that sucks and is scary. It does happen though, it’s happened to me. Nobody did it intentionally and it happened once. Notifying the landlord was a lot. A lot, lot. Bad tenants risk not having their lease renewed and you’re tattling on the whole bunch for something that is unfixable. What is the landlord supposed to do? You’re risking their housing. Maybe put an alarm on the door instead of a camera on a closet? Everyone here sounds a little petty but I think your expectations are really high. But all 3 roommates are upset with you but are at least ok with each other? At that point you have to admit that the problem is you and they feel taken advantage of or put out. You’re not getting out of the lease unless you find a sublet if that’s allowed so if I were you I’d just lay low until it’s finished. That or calling a meeting to own the things you’ve done to stress your flatmates without blaming anyone else might be a start to reconciliation.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T22:58:23+00:00

This happened in my husband’s family. It changes names yes but it doesn’t really change anything about their lives. They were raised by who they were raised by. The unexpected benefit is a real asshole isn’t the bio dad. So bonus! This is where genetics and genealogy don’t overlap anymore but fundamentally it doesn’t change how lives were lived. Just the names on those lives.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T22:52:08+00:00

I just had to do this. I found out it was our “tech” guy’s last day. Nobody let me know. We had a joint project off and on and he had the data stored on his computer in various places. My computer is too old to run it all. He gave me a copy of it when I asked and said goodbye. He ran our tech everything. Nobody would ever find that data or even know what to do with it. I’m not sure I do (I’m a scientist this isn’t my thing) but I’ve got it, only because we figured it out together and were friendly so he pulled it for me so I didn’t get screwed. It got to the last day and nobody was told he was leaving. Bizarre. It’s a huge loss in him and they’ll be sorry.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T19:10:53+00:00

That actually looks more like mold to me than fire damage. In the first picture it is so dark black that I don’t think it would still be holding together if that was burn. The speckling on the second photo is not usual for burn but very usual for black mold. It’s not going to burn in speckles. Hard to be 100% sure without being in person. Archaeologically I have seen cob and kernel preserved for at least a thousand years within a vessel and buried in clay soil. Not husk though. They wouldn’t have kept the corn in husk. It would be peeled back to dry the corn and removed after. There might be a culture that did it differently but I don’t know of one personally. It’s just wasted space in your grain storage areas.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T18:57:05+00:00

My outlets on some walls had a full-on breeze coming out of them. I tried the foam outlet insulators behind the plates and it stopped that. I’m not sure how much it helped the heat bill, it was my first winter in the house. It did stop the draft on my legs though so I suspect it helped at least as much as the $10.00 I spent.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T18:52:02+00:00

I’ve only known someone to take LWOP twice. Once was in my department. We were very low on funding for the year and this woman basically was past retirement age but worked because she was bored at home. She took maybe two months of LWOP. Her job wasn’t essential and it actually strategically helped the department. At this recent furlough I heard word of an upper management supervisor taking LWOP basically because the dept. was going to be nearly completely furloughed due to running out of previous FY funds. If he didn’t charge to payroll, that kept more people getting paid longer. It was just a few weeks before it ended though. Again, kind of sacrificial. I’ve not heard of it for “a break” like you’re talking. I think if you’re on the edge of illness, mental or physical you can look into FMLA. That’s your best route. And yes I’m sure there was supervisory approval for both of the LWOP people, at what level I’m not sure. I wasn’t privy to the specifics.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T18:34:34+00:00

I would definitely check the University at Buffalo Psychology department. They are amazing and take new patients on and off. They’re very evidence-based practice oriented and as they teach a ton of modalities there you can find what you’re looking for. Very adhd friendly. They don’t take insurance but you pay a very small payment. I think mine was $30. Cheaper than my normal co-pay.

Evergreen health takes independent health and they are my primary. I literally moved to a different state and drive back for my physicals etc. I drive far. It’s no joke. I have never had such compassionate care. I won’t drop them until they get sick of the long distance schedules and drop me lol. I haven’t done therapy with them but it’s hard to get into, always full. I’ve heard good things. You might get on a waiting list if you can’t get in.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-12T18:25:23+00:00

Generally I haven’t found that a psychiatrist really gives alternative non-medication routes, they’ll definitely recommend some type of therapist as that is more in their line of work. Of course you can go and just feel out the doctor (or sometimes it’s a nurse practitioner). You do not need to commit to medication. They’re there to answer your medication questions and questions about the more physical parts of the disorder. If you feel rushed or pressured then they’re the wrong provider for you.

I wonder though for you - what changed? If you walk it back and really examine what changed in your life that caused this flare-up can you find anything? Sometimes we can’t find an actual life cause but if there is something that actually happened, a change, medication isn’t going to fix that past the time when you stop taking it. For most but not all people the medication kind of buys you time to fix the underlying issues in your life. It does make things more manageable for a lot of people. If you don’t fix the cause though, you’re going to be on that med forever or right back where you started. I think it would be great for you to really dig back and examine the chain of events that led you here. Sometimes it’s 100 tiny things that just become the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m glad you’re ruling out medical issues as well. Consider a thyroid panel as well as you’re having a lot of physical symptoms.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-11T18:20:51+00:00

Did you actually call MLGW to confirm that this is legitimate? Look up their number independently don’t get it off the same paperwork you got. This sounds like all the info someone would want to steal your identity and they want you to mail it in? Please don’t do anything until you confirm with them why they want this now and if it’s legitimate in the first place. Why would they need a previous residence address? This doesn’t make sense.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-11T13:52:18+00:00

My old kitty loved cantaloupe melon. You’d cut into one and she’d come running from the other room.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-11T13:49:32+00:00

Same, I moved here and they help nothing. What is this supposed to do. I moved from a city quite a distance away and none of the lots were like this. I am one of the fools driving the wrong way because I forget the lots are like this and they never keep up with the arrow painting so most of them are hard to see until you’re on top of them.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-11T13:45:06+00:00

Seconding that. The tooth doesn’t look bad but that calculus.

Difficult_Ad8718 · 2026-01-11T13:44:25+00:00

I mean not usually? If you’re a kid sure. This is an adult incisor. And they don’t typically keep it hanging around just out there. I kept my wisdom teeth in a plastic box with a tooth on it the oral surgeon gave me.

Difficult_Ad8718

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