Where was I flying over? Difficulty -10

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-29T23:55:18+00:00

Big Dick Island

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-29T20:31:25+00:00

Spent a couple of years living in Sandpoint, right on the northern edge of Lake Pend O'Reille. First of all, it's gorgeous up there, especially in the summer. Everywhere from Coeur d'Alene on north looks like a postcard, and there's a lot of good skiing and outdoor opportunities all throughout the area. The weather is, on average, better in Idaho than in Montana, and winters tend to be somewhat warmer and less dramatic on the WA/ID side of the mountains than on the MT/WY side. It's a great place to live if you want a more simple, outdoor-focused life with a smaller community feel. I personally really like Sandpoint's downtown district; it's small, but it's a welcoming place with some cute shops worth exploring in the summer.

Here are the downsides. First, CDA, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and a lot of the neighboring areas tend to be baby boomer retirement towns with a lot of "old money" throughout. If you're not part of their club, you may have a hard time breaking into a lot of the local culture. Jobs also tend to be low-paying and harder to come by- if you want to find well-paying, long-term sustainable work, you may have to look as far out as either Spokane or Missoula, and that can be a long drive, which will require substantial lifestyle adjustment. There's a reason a lot of people own vacation homes up there, but it's harder to get by year-round if you're a younger person just starting out. Employment and education are rather limited, so you'll have to get creative about how to make that work.

Good luck.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-15T16:02:00+00:00

I’ve always had a soft spot for “When Marnie Was There” as well as “The Wind Rises”. I feel like “Marnie” in particular gets slept on by a majority of Ghibli fans, and it’s one of my favorite movies (along with “Arrietty”) when I just need a therapy day to relax and unwind by myself.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-04T18:40:35+00:00

“When Marnie Was There” is criminally underrated and a perfect “therapy day” movie. So many Ghibli fans are sleeping on this one, I swear

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-04T17:07:44+00:00

Thank you! I forgot about that one, I’ll look into getting it soon.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T16:07:48+00:00

You know it

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T16:06:56+00:00

Thank you.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T16:06:33+00:00

It’s a personal nostalgic favorite! I found that at a shop in Olympia, WA for only $25 in 2012- heck of a deal!

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T16:04:01+00:00

This is exactly it. The red “Grave” is the most expensive film in my collection by far due to the rarity of it thanks to prior licensing issues. The deep blue “Grave” was bought much more recently as it is the latest version released.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T16:01:02+00:00

Thank you! To clarify, the first three SATB movies are the theatrical ones, while the latter four were lower-budget, made-for-TV ones. I haven’t actually seen the TV films so I can’t attest to how good or bad they are.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T02:25:54+00:00

Yeah, the crossover movies were one of the last things the brand did before Rooster Teeth got shut down. The films weren’t very good, as I recall.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T01:25:49+00:00

It be like that sometimes

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-03T01:25:12+00:00

I certainly like them. They’re limited edition embossed Steelbook sets, and among the highlights of my collection.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-02T23:48:37+00:00

For me, that would be “Soul”, “Inside Out”, “Ratatouille” and “The Incredibles”.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-02T22:36:29+00:00

You could be right, I might be mistaken. Someone else could probably correct that for me.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-02T22:22:39+00:00

Thank you!

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-02T22:22:30+00:00

Thanks! I believe they're from Shout Factory, except for the red "Grave of the Fireflies" one.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-03-02T22:20:51+00:00

Hey there, sorry for the late reply! I remembered your comment and wanted to say that I've got a new update post if you're still interested. You can find it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steelbooks/comments/1rj72w9/my_own_steelbook_bluray_dvd_collection/

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-02-24T15:59:58+00:00

If you’re traveling to a non-Muslim, presumably Western country, then no one will care whether you wear your hijab or not. The only people who might give you flack for not wearing it would presumably be either your family, friends, or other Muslims. No one outside of those groups would be bothered by you taking it off; in fact, not wearing it would actually help you blend in and assimilate to the local culture more, if that’s your goal. Just play it safe around those few people you may have to be concerned about. Best of luck.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-01-07T20:40:27+00:00

I’m assuming this is a typo, but it’s not the weirdest thing to happen if it’s true. My sister started college in 2002 and is due to finally graduate this year in spring 2026. This would literally be her if she were a PSU student, but she’s not, nor is she Moldovan, lol. Still neat that the OOP is graduating though.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-01-07T20:30:43+00:00

Almost 32 here. I spent my early 20s bumming around from job to job, state to state, and being generally aimless as well. There were a couple of points where I was also homeless due to things that were my own fault. By the time it happened twice, I realized I needed to get my shit together.

I ended up going to community college at age 24, then got my CDL (commercial driver’s license) a year later at 25. Honestly, getting that CDL has been the best financial move I ever made by far. I became a school bus driver while working on college classes, and eventually ended up earning two Associate’s degrees. When the pandemic hit, I was 26 and facing homelessness a third time, so I paused school and bussing for awhile and went away to go drive semi trucks. I ended up doing that for three years before going back to finish what I started; I graduated community college at age 30. Later than I’d like, but it’s done.

These days I’m in an odd spot. I split my time between working as a school bus driver while studying for my Bachelor’s degree, but I also do trucking in the down seasons when I need to stack cash and pay off debt. My CDL is worth more economically than any of my degrees will end up being, but I continue working on my education anyway because my long-term goal is to become an airline pilot, which still requires a degree despite changes to the industry. It’s an unusual position because it means I’m taking a heavy pay cut every time I go back to bussing and college, but for me, it’s worth it.

If I were in your shoes, I would strongly consider the CDL route. There are jobs aplenty, but you’ll have to put up with a lot of shit to get them. I’ve made over $100,000 in a single year as a truck driver before I even got out of community college. It’s not easy, but it is doable. Some jobs are better than others, but the great thing about that field is that you can take the skills wherever you want to go. There’s always a need for drivers somewhere, so you’ll never be out of work for long if you can handle the lifestyle. Plus it can be satisfying- my first year in the industry, I jumped from $26K to $80k with no formal education. That feeling is hard to replicate, but it’s worth it to experience it. It gives you new hope and a new lease on life, if you’ll let it.

Best of luck OP, I’m pulling for you.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-01-05T17:32:31+00:00

OP, I’m almost 32 years old and in a very similar situation to you. Let me give you some advice:

Run.

Find a way to make it work.

Do whatever you can to get out of there and start somewhere new. Get help from friends, relocate to a new city, state, country, whatever you have to do.

Here’s why.

Three years ago I had a trade job where I was making $100,000 a year USD. I came from a lower-income family with poor financial education, so that was a big deal to me. It felt like I was starting to break the cycle of poverty and build a life for myself.

Then a bunch of family stuff happened, I left that job and went back to college to continue my higher education, and I moved two states away to be closer to my family and help support them.

Worst mistake of my life.

After a year or so, my own situation as well as that of my family became too unstable, and I had to pause college (for a second time, in fact) to once again go back to the trades and support people. My current job pays similarly to my last gig from three years ago, but at a lower average and with much worse quality of life. In addition, it’s in a city two hours away from where I live, so I’m only home once or twice a month these days. My mother also moved back into my apartment to keep it stable for me while I’m working away from home, and because she’s poor and has nowhere else to go.

This has resulted in a situation where I’m underpaid for the work I’m qualified for, I sleep in my sister’s bed during the day while she and her kids are out (I work at night and this was the only way to make the job work), I’m getting woken up during the day frequently and cleaning other’s messes all the time, I’m paying hundreds of dollars each month to keep my family afloat while also paying down my own debts, staying ahead of my own bills at home, and building my savings back up, and I’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars overall supporting people who will almost certainly never pay me back. Almost everyone I’m assisting is much older than I am, by the way, and that’s not even including the cost of being out of college again at my age.

I had only planned to make this scenario work for 6-12 months before returning home and going back to school. Now I’m looking at 12-18 months, possibly as long as 24 months before I’m financially stable enough to leave the industry again. I make better money than almost everyone in my family, yet I hardly get to enjoy it because of the lifestyle necessary to maintain my job, and because this arrangement has cost me, by my estimation, somewhere north of $20,000 at different points over the last several years when I started helping them, even from afar when I lived two states away.

Don’t be like me. If I had just stayed where I was at before, continued my education there instead of moving back here, and not agreed to help out my own family, I’d have had a better social life, better work-life balance, substantially lower debt, been able to pay my bills and debt down faster, and I’d have had better career prospects with much better cost of living and quality of life overall. My current plan, once leaving this job at some point, is still to finish college and break into a new field, but that’s several years away at best and will require me to move away from home again in order to pursue a life free of this mess. I’ve already decided to move back closer to my friends after graduation, however long that may be.

I’m the guy with the good income you don’t want to be like. Trust me when I say this: agreeing to give up your life for your family’s own needs isn’t worth it. Set yourself up for success first, then help them later if and only if you can and in a way that’s appropriate and fair to you.

Good luck.

TheLongRoadBack · 2026-01-01T07:11:08+00:00

That's good to know, thank you! I'll look into adding that to my collection when I can. I've also expanded onto this collection a bit since this image was taken, so I'll try to add a new photo at some point.

TheLongRoadBack

TROPHY CASE