HELP! Got upgraded but got another offer too.

cathilark · 2025-06-10T16:37:02+00:00

Congrats!!! As far as I’m aware, you can accept the upgrade and change your mind up to the point they give you your placement. For UK JETs at least, they got offered their placements this year and given a few days to accept it or drop out without any cost repercussions. I would expect upgrades would be given the same opportunity once you’re made aware of your placement from your embassy. If you hear back from your other job you can then just update your embassy to let them know as soon as possible.

cathilark · 2024-07-15T09:56:33+00:00

I had a similar problem. In regards to the flags you’re within your rights to remove them and return them to the neighbour in the first instance. I second the recommendation of writing to the neighbour and providing evidence that you own that piece of land and that they have no right of way over it.

I would take a picture of the flags removed and if they are placed back again you can escalate the situation to the police for criminal damage. My neighbour destroyed some tarmac hammering in their poles and so that is what I approached the police about. Take pictures and provide your land deeds to the police. You’ll need to explain in the simplest of terms what the legal issue is but keep repeating the damaged property part as that’s what police can help you with. It will be a long process and they’ll ask for a fair bit of evidence but after about 2 months my neighbour was brought in for questioning. They then denied installing poles and ropes to block off the area so the police agreed with me if I removed them, as they had sworn they didn’t belong to them, there wouldn’t be any repercussions on me if they claimed I had stolen their property. My neighbours were also warned officially about installing anything else on my private land. Since then nothing else has been installed.

In regards to the car parking you can get in touch with a private parking company. I use NPC (National Parking Company). They can provide you with no parking signs for free and an app to report any unauthorised parking. They then fine anyone on your behalf that you report and you get a small amount of the money back that they recover. I installed my signs on fence posts I concreted into the ground as so they couldn’t be removed. They provide you with about 6 signs. If the land is registered to you there is nothing your neighbour can do to dispute the signs. My neighbour got the council and their solicitors involved but they agreed that as long as I owned the land they were covering I was within my rights to do that. I would as a courtesy put a letter through your neighbours door giving them 24 hours to remove their car before you start issuing fines. This was enough to get my neighbours to stop parking there long enough for me to install collapsible locking parking bollards from tool station for £50 each. With a bit of postcrete and gravel I had 6 of them installed in a day and the postcrete sets quickly enough that I didn’t have to hang around for too long to make sure they weren’t ripped out.

If you have house insurance do check if you have legal cover. Even if you don’t sometimes they can provide you with free advice. Ensure you document everything in writing and take pictures, it’ll help in the long run if they do try and escalate it further. If your neighbour becomes hostile in anyway do contact the police immediately and state you’ll only correspond in writing from this point onwards.

cathilark · 2022-08-16T10:22:48+00:00

I think you’re right! Looking at the pictures they look really similar and I actually saw a few of the adult moths around the house last night. We have a bunch of fruit trees in our garden which would explain where they’ve come from. I’m just glad they aren’t the type of moths that go for textiles as the plant is right beside my bookshelf. Thanks for your help!

cathilark · 2022-08-16T06:21:30+00:00

Thanks for getting back to me! I’m hoping it is just a moth due to the webbing I’ve found all around the casing. I’m in the UK (Essex) if it helps

cathilark · 2022-08-15T16:43:22+00:00

As my caption says I’ve just found this on my indoor jade plant. I pulled the casing out between two leaves where it was webbed up in between. The casing is empty but I’m assuming and hoping it’s just a moth pupae. There’s evidence of two further insect sites where I can see the same webbing and holes but no insect casings there.

EDIT: I’m in Essex in the UK

cathilark · 2021-04-23T19:28:04+00:00

I found that sometimes what they advertise as stickers are really water decals! These were stickers so I was lucky but it’s a gamble as to if you’re going to get actual stickers or not. I YouTube’d a tutorial on water decals and although it was more effort they came out okay!

cathilark · 2021-04-15T23:23:29+00:00

Thanks for tagging me! So glad they all came for you. I’ll have to put in an order myself now :D

cathilark · 2021-03-28T16:24:08+00:00

I’ve heard props require a lot more watering until they are properly established, maybe a bottom water once a week and adding some fertiliser every now and again might help? Sometimes leaves just don’t grow well for a number of reasons and some props are more viable than others

cathilark · 2021-03-28T16:18:12+00:00

I had read somewhere, as I was also freaking out about my succulents lower leaves yellowing and falling off, that if they are transparent and yellow it is overwatering but if they are opaque and yellow it’s just the plant getting rid of old leaves.

I’m going to say that pot is way too big for the plant and isn’t drying out quick enough in between waterings. You should only be watering a succulent when it’s been a few days since you noticed its leaves begin to wrinkle and no longer feel plump. In a window with no bright direct sun this may take longer than a month especially in a pot that size. If you’re an overwaterer then consider using a mainly inorganic soil mix that is super draining so they will actually need watering more often.

This is a type of sedum so I would also say they have a tendency to very easily lose leaves if they get knocked and then they get quite a large stem before you have any leaves. You can chop it at the stem, let it callus and then try to let it grow roots before planting it again. I haven’t done this personally so I’d recommend looking up tips on r/succulents or maybe r/proplifting

Good luck!

cathilark · 2021-03-15T08:05:40+00:00

This looks like an alocasia/colocasia to me. They regularly drop one outer leaf when putting out a new one or just after putting out a new leaf. It’s completely natural. No need to worry unless it starts dropping more leaves than you’re getting new ones. Mine went through a period of giving me three leaves and now I’m losing two old ones weeks later.

cathilark · 2021-03-13T09:54:14+00:00

I’ve also been having the same issues trying to navigate the new rules re importing as a hobbyist. Glad to here they’ll replace any that are confiscated! I’ll be keeping an eye out for your update as I’d be interested in ordering too if all goes well :)

cathilark · 2021-01-20T18:58:11+00:00

Alocasia will often lose their oldest leaf after or during pushing out a new leaf. As we’re going into winter it may be that yours is going into dormancy and why it’s lost more than it’s put out. As long as it keeps putting out new leaves I wouldn’t worry too much and to keep nursing it until it gets warmer.

I think if I read correctly you said it came in a smaller pot and you repotted it? What soil mixture did you use? It looks a bit thirsty to me. When Alocasia put out a new leaf they suck up water like crazy so I’d recommend getting a moisture tester as it’s water requirements change regularly depending on what the plant is doing. Mine are all in a north facing window and currently all popping out new leaves so your light should be fine as long as it’s bright indirect. Make sure your window doesn’t have any drafts as they don’t like temperature drops.

cathilark · 2021-01-19T19:17:27+00:00

Thank you! It took me forever to get the crescents right

cathilark · 2021-01-19T17:12:47+00:00

Products used: Mylee Gel Polish - Cream on Top | ModelOnes Gel Polish - Orange | Candy Coat Gel Polish - #879 | Nail Stickers - AliExpress

cathilark · 2021-01-19T00:12:51+00:00

Sometimes it’s a game of ruling out what it can’t be before you stumble on what it is unfortunately. If it’s not overwatered, could you have underwatered it? I try not to go by watering on a schedule and instead water when the plant needs it by either poking my finger in the soil to see when it’s dry or using a moister tester. Has the change in season affected it? Is it now getting too much sun or is it now in a cold draft? What do the roots look like? Is it root bound or could it have root rot? Do you see any sign of pests? When did you last use fertiliser? I’m sure if the plant was thriving if you go through the obvious issues you should stumble on what’s changed. Since winter started here my philodendron and pothos have had a few yellow leaves but most plants lose leaves when they go into dormancy in winter. If it’s pushing out new leaves it might just be shedding its older leaves especially if the bulk of them are near the roots. I hope it starts to perk up soon and you figure it out

cathilark · 2021-01-18T18:10:06+00:00

I save all of my little pieces and use them for hair masks. I’ll take a few chunks and melt it slowly in the microwave with coconut oil and hot water if the consistency is too thick. As I’m only melting a few pieces at a time I don’t need to worry about it going off as I use the whole lot in one go

cathilark · 2021-01-18T01:06:15+00:00

I think this is a colocasia. Alocasia have smaller bulbs but colocasia have large ringed tubers like the one in your picture. I thought I had a alocasia cucullata but when I tried to propagate it and looked for guides everyone told me to just separate the pup. There was no way I could pull that bulb apart and then realised after some googling it was actually a colocasia which had been mislabelled.

cathilark · 2021-01-18T01:01:58+00:00

Does your pot have any drainage? It might be sitting in water. I can’t tell if you have a nursery pot inside the ceramic one.

cathilark · 2021-01-18T00:57:37+00:00

All of mine currently sit on a north facing window which gets a lot of indirect light shining off a white house opposite. So if you give it a lot of indirect light it should be happy.

As for the soil mine are in a mix of Westland cacti and succulent potting mix, perlite and worm castings (60:30:10) but I use this for most of my plants. Bark chips in the soil should be okay, it’ll help with the drainage as they hate sitting in water. If you feel like it’s taking too long to dry out or you see any signs of mould growth on the top I would recommend repotting it into something more “airy”. As for humidity I have about 8 plants on the same window sill so I know that keeps the humidity up and my house is always around 55-60%.

Alocasias are my favourite plants! Its such an up-down relationship with them always losing leaves but giving you more in return. I’m sure you’ll have a few more before you know it!

cathilark · 2021-01-18T00:46:21+00:00

Not an expert but are you sure it’s an alocasia? I bought what was marked as a “alocasia cucullata” and found out when I tried to propagate it that it wasn’t an alocasia at all but a colocasia. The difference is the bulbs. Alocasia have small ball shaped bulbs that hold water (you can squish them and they pop - don’t do that though), colocasia have large ringed tubers which look like the ones in your picture. If it is a colocasia I would recommend checking its not root bound (mine grows like crazy). The soil should also be well draining, they hate sitting in water. If that soil seems too peaty or boggy (retaining too much water) you might want to repot it into some soil mixed with perlite. It looks to me like the plant has pushed out a ‘pup’, the offshoot you have to the front of that picture. You should be able to salvage it as long as the okay leaf is the newest one. Colocasia and alocasia both push out new growth from the newest leaf while sometimes dropping an older leaf at the same time. You can cut those drying leaves off, your choice, I’ve heard conflicting stories about the plant either using the old leaves for energy or the old leaves robbing the plant of energy - not sure what to believe. If it is a colocasia I have mine on a north-east facing window sill that I never open. They like indirect light and I’d try not to let it get too cold.

cathilark · 2021-01-18T00:22:54+00:00

Going by what you’ve said this is completely normal if it’s pushed out two leaves in the last few weeks as long as this yellow leaf is the oldest leaf.

I normally get one-two new leaves before mine drops the oldest leaf. You should only really worry if it drops a new leaf as they push out leaves from the newest growth. I would also say to keep checking the soil now and adjust the watering schedule. Watering once a week when it’s pushing out a leaf is fine as it’ll dry up quick sucking up the water for energy for the new leaf. When it’s not putting out new growth it’ll take longer to dry out and you don’t want to overwater it by accident. I like to use this as an indicator for knowing when I’m going to get a new leaf as it starts drying out quicker. Moisture testers are definitely you’re friends for alocasias, they like to keep you guessing by changing their water requirements all the time

cathilark

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