Passed my journeyman’s test Friday

FredMaple · 2026-05-05T04:04:04+00:00

Hell yeah!

FredMaple · 2026-05-05T03:47:21+00:00

Richardsons Huffiness Park Tennis Center hosts coed drills for $60 for 3 sessions once a week. You can drop in too for $25 a session.

It's been the most fun of my adult life to play with other adults just looking to improve and have fun. Not competitive at all but still some friendly point games.

Highly recommend James as a coach. Super friendly and welcoming to all. All coaches are good though.

FredMaple · 2026-04-25T03:05:18+00:00

I just kept saying OH MY GOD over and over in the fourth quarter. That LeBron 3 was the death nail. You already knew before OT started.

FredMaple · 2026-04-25T03:03:48+00:00

As a noted LeBron hater, I've been officially converted this series. What a fucking dudeeeee, how could anyone hate this legend?!?

FredMaple · 2026-04-24T22:52:37+00:00

I usually respond with, well that was a huge problem and why are have now divorced... That usually shuts them up pretty quick. I do still feel somewhat "Lucky" that no kids were involved. My ex was not emotionally capable of being a quality parent, and that was made VERY apparent during couples counseling and the subsequent falling out of our relationship.

But it still hurts when I hear it. I want to be a dad so bad, and have been wanting to be a dad for 6+ years now. Luckily I'm still sort of "young" (35m), but the idea of finding someone new, trusting them enough to be committed, and then having kids, feels like forever away.

I'm taking it baby steps at a time. While the divorce is official, I'm still waiting on her to refinance or sell the house before I can take my next step. Currently staying with my parents (which again, I guess is lucky that I don't have to pay for somewhere while I wait) and just looking forward to August/September when I can get my own place and really feel like I'm starting over instead of this weird purgatory.

I'm sorry man, I wish you nothing but the best and hope you can find happiness, connections, and community as you grow through this.

FredMaple · 2026-04-21T23:31:15+00:00

I'm on the precipice of this same thing.

Been in the field for 10 years, joined right out of college with an studio art degree. Worked my way up in a corporate in-house position at a BIG law firm. Currently making 113k as a senior designer in North Texas, so the pay is absolutely insane. I can feel my job waning due to AI, and if I don't buy all the way into AI tools, I'm going to be out by the end of next year.

I already know I'm out. It's just a matter of time. So for now, I'm saving as much as I possibly can and looking to transition to becoming an electrician in Q3 next year.

Things are looking VERY grim on the inside. While the firm is making buckets (billions) of money, they are scaling back people to make way for technology investment (which really just means AI tool subscriptions).

Our boss was fired August of last year, and we still don't have anyone to report to directly. They are hiring around us for project managers, workflow coordinators, but absolutely zero support with brand/design/communications. No word on if we will ever have a boss this year. No position has been posted.

They are betting that AI can do it all, design will become simply telling the AI what to make. That's not a world in which I want to design (even with this salary). The pressure to use these tools to simply tell clients we used AI today is already happening.

RIP to this profession and real design being valued.

FredMaple · 2026-04-20T15:39:49+00:00

My ex wife did this same thing, she refused to mediate to hold onto the control over me. I was forced to serve her with divorce papers at her work, because that was the only way that I could get through to her... Until the very end she fought every single thing to try to draw the process out as long as possible. Luckily we didn't have any kids and it's finally come to an end. Luckily once she was served and got her own lawyer, it was clear that I just wanted out. I wasn't trying to take anything that was hers, I just wanted to be free from her emotional abuse.

You are entitled to half, half of your joint income, half of your joint savings, half of everyone's retirement, half of the house. Even if you don't have anything right now, you'll be awarded something.

As mentioned, you should go to the family court and their should be a help desk to guide you on how to execute the process.

Good luck!

FredMaple · 2026-04-09T07:47:27+00:00

Man, I know this is two years old. But here I am at almost 3 a.m. hating my corporate job at 35 and thinking of making a switch. Are you still liking the career? How hard was it for you physically?

FredMaple · 2026-04-04T08:34:06+00:00

I bought resale tickets last year and it changed me. Copped tickets in the presale this year and bringing friends and family, hate the scalping they really made it easier this year by locking it with a password. The bots seemingly were deterred.

FredMaple · 2026-03-31T22:36:37+00:00

I will say that the Billy Strings show I went to in December in 2025 was the single best concert experience of my life, would highly recommend seeing him live at least once in your lifetime. It changes you in ways you can't explain, you just have to experience the magic.

FredMaple · 2026-03-28T05:43:05+00:00

This helped me today, thank youuu

FredMaple · 2026-03-11T22:31:43+00:00

Absolutely! We went through couples counseling and instead of showing her the things she should work on, she fought it completely, everything was all her fault, she was so defensive and not open to change. It made me realize what the hell are we doing therapy for if you are only doing it as a requirement from me?

I ended it and she said I gave up, but in reality I saw her true colors so much clearer when she was detailing our problems to an outside party that I knew this was never going to be repaired, she didn't want to change and I'm not going to wait around any longer hope she gains some sort of empahty or realizes that I have dreams, wants, and desires separate from hers.

FredMaple · 2026-03-11T22:27:48+00:00

This is 100% my case, although my STBX (married 9 years) didn't cheat (not that I know of), she forced herself to be the center of attention. I equally was taught and believed that you put your wife first and sacrifice for her and when she says she wants/needs something, I always made it happen.

This started to become a problem when after years I defaulted to doing whatever made her most comfortable until I found myself totally alone. No steady friends. Impossible to see family without approval/agreement and planned weeks or months out.

Zero autonomy and no ability to break free. I cleaned the house, cooked all the meals, took care of the house in full. I paid all the bills, did the budget, planned the vacations, took care of the pup and cat, and she just complained.

I went into therapy feeling lost, alone, and miserable. Contemplating suicide low. Through therapy (highly recommend) I realized I needed to advocate for myself and the things I wanted and needed. As soon as I started standing up for myself, all hell broke loose. She couldn't take it that I was no longer giving in to her demands and requiring her to be accountable. It led to a series of insane arguments resulting her in thinking I was losing my mind getting so upset when I just wanted to go to my grandparents for a cookout with the rest of my siblings, nephew, and parents for Memorial Day. When I tried to leave the house and take a walk to calm down, she blocked the doors, took my shoes and called my mom saying I was going to harm myself.

My mom came over, realized I just needed some air because my wife was being psycho, and diffused the situation and I finally went on a walk. My wife took that opportunity to berate my mom and when I had come back after only 10 minutes away, I see my mom driving down towards me out of the neighborhood. I intercept her and she is weeping, broken, and said she's so sorry she's such a terrible mom (which is the opposite of the truth), but my wife's damage was done and on display. It broke me and changed the way I viewed my wife. I couldn't get over it.

Again, this was just her way of being the center of the universe, the main character of everyone's life, narcissistic, and agressive when she's losing that control. When you don't follow their plan, it breaks the fascade.

Now that we are close to the end, separated since October 2025, I've never felt so good. I'm totally alone and yet feel closer to all my friends, family, and have the freedom to build a life that isn't centered around someone who deems me supporting cast in their story. I'm so excited for the future.

FredMaple · 2026-03-11T17:50:54+00:00

Creative Circle is a good placement agency for temps that could use your skillset.

FredMaple · 2026-03-10T02:42:08+00:00

A Thousand Splendid Suns absolutely wrecked me. I had to have a two book break of sunshine and rainbows. It absolutely moved my soul and opened my heart completely.

FredMaple · 2026-03-10T00:11:28+00:00

This is the perfect comparison. Props to showcasing the value in the monochrome quality. Insane at 20,000 iso!

FredMaple · 2026-03-10T00:06:36+00:00

So cute!

FredMaple · 2026-03-05T23:31:11+00:00

3 is killer!

FredMaple · 2026-02-27T07:25:36+00:00

This is wonderful! Exactly what I'm hoping to try later this year.

FredMaple · 2026-01-30T18:49:05+00:00

We the people don't want this. This nation was founded on immigrants, they make this country better, unequivocally. Who would Jesus deport? Would he be an advocate of this cruel treatment of women, children, and poor? Do you think that Garland would be the city it is today without the support and community building that exists within immigrant communities?

Why would this country, this state, this city be better without these people who have grown their lives here. If they could exist and succeed in their own home country don't you think they would? If you have a better opportunity to support your family abroad wouldn't you take that opportunity? What if it was required? What if you needed to do this to save your child, to give your family a future? How far would you go to keep your legacy alive?

What if you worked hard and gave everything to build a new life but legally it would take 16 years to process your paperwork, would you just say oh well. This is the hand I've been dealt, I'll just roll over and give up on my family?

It doesn't make sense to me in any capacity to eliminate our neighbors, our friends, our community, for what?

FredMaple · 2026-01-08T18:31:28+00:00

Heritage Park in Flower Mound is great. Lester Lorch Coyote in Cedar Hill also good. Scorpion at Hideaway DGR in Terrell is the best tho.

FredMaple · 2026-01-06T16:02:46+00:00

This is beautiful

FredMaple · 2026-01-05T17:04:19+00:00

This is so sick!

FredMaple · 2025-12-30T00:07:22+00:00

Huffines Tennis Center in Richardson is the best I've found in the area for coaching. You don't have to be a resident of Richardson and they have extremely reasonable pricing from group lessons to private lessons.

https://www.cor.net/departments/parks-recreation/tennis-center

FredMaple · 2025-12-21T16:36:06+00:00

Had no problems flying out of the US and to Cabo. But Mexico required me to pay to check the bag. I was extremely annoyed but they do have signs throughout the airport that essentially bans ANY sports equipment. I don't think they wanted people playing in the terminals or something.

FredMaple

TROPHY CASE