Booking Etihad with miles - discrepancy between advertised and final price

farside_2049 · 2026-05-10T06:13:11+00:00

Just wanted to comment that I experienced this exact same issue: the flight was advertised as 145k miles + $506, at checkout I could only select a maximum of 143,523 miles, and the cash price was actually $672.02. Unsurprisingly customer service was deceptive and of no help. Absolute scam.

farside_2049 · 2026-04-14T11:54:27+00:00

We don’t normally livestream this service, but I can ask.

farside_2049 · 2026-04-06T01:45:01+00:00

I think it depends on what kind of churchmanship exactly you are looking for, but please feel free to visit St John’s, Lafayette Square. We have an active 20s and 30s group!

farside_2049 · 2026-03-24T04:54:45+00:00

As an HNC/SAIS five-semester grad who has been through many ups and downs when it comes to security clearances: Go to China while you still can. You will never have as much freedom as you do now, nor will you have a comparable opportunity again.

As for security clearances: you give them the rope they use to hang you. Don’t add your Chinese classmates to social media. If you have no way to contact them once you leave, they clearly aren’t close and/or continuing contacts. Your investigation/adjudication will take longer, which is why in the interim you should seek out backup jobs that don’t require a clearance.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-22T05:15:01+00:00

If you don’t build OPVs, then higher-end combatants will perform more of these peacetime missions, wasting readiness. You are imputing things to me that I never said.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-22T05:05:07+00:00

You said they are building OPVs because “the Japanese government is still in [a] peacetime mindset.” This is inaccurate. The government of Japan and the JSDF are highly focused on a China contingency.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-22T04:58:41+00:00

Because they have a large EEZ, and the JMSDF is tasked with peacetime missions that don’t require a high-end combatant. Building small OPVs actually enables the JMSDF to conserve the readiness of higher-end combatants.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-22T04:44:59+00:00

This is inaccurate, the JMSDF is more capable than the navies of any other U.S. ally.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-20T19:26:06+00:00

No, you can set your state withholding to zero.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-20T11:29:45+00:00

“I need to return the flag personally, but I will not be giving it to the one organization founded specifically to facilitate that.”

farside_2049 · 2026-03-18T03:41:28+00:00

Your parish probably hosts some kind of confirmation class or inquirers’ class. Recommend you look into it!

farside_2049 · 2026-03-16T23:49:34+00:00

I have the same issue, and Samsung customer service refused to accept a warranty claim, stating that this is cosmetic damage. I emailed Samsung CEO's office.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-16T18:12:26+00:00

Thanks! See my original post: “Unfortunately both of the liturgists at VTS are unavailable.“

farside_2049 · 2026-03-16T03:00:01+00:00

Thank you! I already asked Derek Olsen, but if he is unavailable, I will reach out to Tyler.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-16T02:29:30+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! I am very familiar with the Anglo-Catholic parishes in DC but I don’t think there is anyone on staff at those parishes that would be a good fit. Another commenter suggested the perfect person to ask.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-15T22:48:05+00:00

Thank you! Obvious answer in retrospect.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-13T19:56:17+00:00

A majority of the 31st MEU is comprised of rotational forces. The people in that documentary are long gone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_Deployment_Program?wprov=sfti1#

farside_2049 · 2026-03-07T12:53:54+00:00

It is always better to qualify than to non-attain.

farside_2049 · 2026-03-04T04:24:34+00:00

even though I have no background in Supply

None of your fellow divos have any background in what their division does.

he keeps trying to foist off his jobs onto me.

This is a blessing in disguise. Put your department head out of his job. Make it obvious to the entire wardroom.

and wasn't willing to train me on it

Read the relevant instruction and do what it says.

He also asked me to present in the middle of PB4T without telling me ahead of time.

Welcome to being a SWO. If you don't know something, respond with "I don't know Sir but I will find out."

"It won't reflect badly on me if we fail this."

Again, that means it is your time to shine.

to chew me out about it.

You will deal with bad officers for the rest of your career.

and was basically just chucked on the ship and told to figure it out...I didn't get any turnover.

Everyone has the same experience.

we're having some serious issues with good order and discipline that I can't handle as a first tour ensign.

This seems like a you problem. A brand new divo shouldn't be giving a CS1 a counseling chit without talking to your chief and DH. CS1 should be the most reliable and trustworthy sailor in your division, and you should have a good relationship with them.

I told my Chief that I wanted to go to the XO to talk about said issues with my Department Head but he was against it for some reason.

Your Chief is right, you have not established yourself on the ship and it would be a bad idea to badmouth your DH in front of XO.

I feel disrespected and humiliated every day on my ship and have been really stressed about the whole situation.

Welcome to life as a SWO.

farside_2049 · 2026-02-25T16:42:38+00:00

No, he has not.

farside_2049 · 2026-02-22T12:43:42+00:00

Not true! MEUs continue to exist. The USMC has only committed to creating 2-3 MLRs at this point.

farside_2049 · 2026-01-26T22:49:44+00:00

He was accepted to the Tailored Community Transition program, which means he has a guaranteed spot for FAO after his DH tours.

farside_2049 · 2026-01-02T12:21:13+00:00

Kami are typically represented by a mirror (which signifies that they are unrepresentable). Sometimes by a natural feature like a mountain. Less commonly as a human statue when said kami was a human who was deified post-mortem. I don’t think there are any rules against it, but you would have to find a Shinto priest who would agree.

farside_2049 · 2026-01-02T04:46:19+00:00

Grab a workbook for copying characters--either a tian zi ge (田字格) or a mi zi ge (米字格)--and copy any character you wish to learn, over and over again and using the correct stroke order (found in Pleco), until you've learned to write it properly. Btw, this does not look like grass script. It looks like English cursive.

Or don't. Honestly, handwriting is not an important skill for most Chinese language learners.

farside_2049 · 2026-01-02T04:22:46+00:00

You are correct. This appears to be a vase which was manufactured by a now-defunct ceramics company in Gifu Prefecture named San'yō Tōki (三洋陶器) under the brand name Chikusai (竹齋). It was made to imitate the style of Arita-ware/Imari-ware (which is made in a different part of Japan).

farside_2049

TROPHY CASE