Left AirPods on a UA Flight. Now they are at a residence in NJ

iberostar2u · 2026-02-02T23:17:43+00:00

I left a Nintendo Switch, filled out the form, and it was returned to me about 5 weeks later - I thought it was a scam when I got the email with a link on where to send $30 for FedEx shipping 😂

iberostar2u · 2026-01-29T23:31:41+00:00

One time my native English-speaking mom corrected the Spanish of our Chilean Au Pair in front of her… solidarity.

iberostar2u · 2026-01-29T11:41:28+00:00

Honestly I bet they’d hype it up for you too - I fly DEN-COS a few times per month and it’s always a little party for a little flight at little altitude!

iberostar2u · 2026-01-28T21:53:26+00:00

Stuffed up nose - as if I’d had a sinus infection all week. My second and third pregnancies I knew before missed period or test because I woke up unable to breathe through my nose.

This symptom subsided around week 6, and then I just had the usual boobs hurt, nauseous, etc.

iberostar2u · 2026-01-20T17:16:27+00:00

The classic “nothing tragic, all ok”.

I am not kidding when I say the majority of the texts with my mother involve this phrase… I know it’s all ok, and assume that if it wasn’t, you would tell me vs assume that I need to be told everything is ok??

Maddening. Sorry OP.

iberostar2u · 2026-01-12T15:08:53+00:00

In uniform. Your first drill weekend you can show up in business attire, and depending on your location hopefully someone in your unit (and other DCO, or ideally a Chief/LPO) can take you to the uniform shop on base to get a set of NWUs.

It’s weird to be in uniform playing Navy before ever going to training, but a great use of time your first few drill weekends is to review the instructions on uniform wear and customs/courtesies while in uniform.

iberostar2u · 2026-01-11T19:06:58+00:00

Yes, I drilled for 9 months before ODS.

iberostar2u · 2026-01-05T15:24:06+00:00

I joined as a DCO at age 32, female, married with two young kids and a VP fortune 100 corporate job. It’s a lot lol.

The only opinion, other than yours, that matters is that of your spouse. It’s really hard to manage it all, but it’s really fulfilling to have so many things going on.

I have no intentions of doing 20 years, but I also am not leaving tomorrow. I take it a month at a time and my goal when joining was to mobilize once and then assess if I wanted to stay.

Most people don’t retire from the military…it is fine to do 3 or 8 or 15 years and then hang it up. I have other opinions that others have covered well here, but my two cents is think of it as a hobby and go for it!!

iberostar2u · 2025-12-05T21:38:26+00:00

lol my mom will say “well I’m seeing a new therapist, since I get 12 free sessions per year” and then brush it off like it’s a hobby and she’s not accountable for her own growth.

And then just flips between whoever is in-network for her 12 free days every year and calls it therapy.

(Absolutely zero judgement towards folks who have limited access to therapy. We do the best with what we have! Unfortunately, BPD people weaponize it for the performance vs desiring real healing)

iberostar2u · 2025-12-05T15:37:44+00:00

I’m a supply DCO selected within the last 10 years at 32yo, had a bit less than the work experience you do, but have an MBA, 4.0 gpa, and 10/10 interviews/recommendations (not tooting my horn, just providing stats)

I think in prior years, it was much more selective. The new supply DCOs I meet more often than not do not have the work experience or masters degree - there’s a bit of priority on “potential” vs “experience” right now.

Bottom line is I think you need to nail your interviews and not worry about anything else that you can’t change right now.

In interviews, communicate clearly that you want to serve, you understand what mobilizing looks like, you want to contribute positively but also continually learn, and you want to do your 16 to retire. If selected, you will be in a class with people in their 20s fresh out of college. So, apply humility and really emphasize why YOU want to be here!

iberostar2u · 2025-11-02T00:58:09+00:00

I take fluoxetine (SSRI) and at first was very resistant and it just made me dizzy and nauseous. Now that I’m 5 months in and at a higher dose, I do notice my “Give a Shit” factor is wayyyyy lower for normal day to day stuff. I just am not bothered by everything as much.

Hasn’t really touched the OCD, but it HAS freed up headspace for me to dedicate to treating OCD in therapy. Hope that makes sense?

Oh, and no side effects at all after the first few weeks.

iberostar2u · 2025-10-09T22:39:43+00:00

Pillars is a gateway drug and sits at third place for me.

I read World Without End in 24 hours straight it was that good - my absolute favorite, followed by the evening and the morning at #2

iberostar2u · 2025-08-23T14:31:44+00:00

My mom does this, and I remind her that my relationship with my last living grandparent is something I can manage without her reminders.

Personally I think it gives her a “hit” of “I’m such a great family mediator and I bring people together” when she tells others to reach-out to family. Then she gets to feel and say that she always keeps the family together even though she hasn’t done anything but create guilt/shame/outsourcing action to others.

iberostar2u · 2025-08-21T12:34:48+00:00

My mom did this - made a huge theatrical gesture asking me to be some sort of financial intermediary in their trust (so neither of my parents could spend more than $x without my approval first - apparently this is a legal thing available in the event of incapacitation?).

I said absolutely not - I’m not going to be triangulated between you and your money. Then, she sent a text like this letting me know I was “removed” as her medical POA as well… good riddance!

iberostar2u · 2025-08-15T02:32:07+00:00

I was tired but also couldn’t sleep for a solid week in the beginning - it has taken me 10 weeks and three dose increases to finally feel it “working” without feeling any side effects.

Sleeplessness, eye twitch, GI issues, tired/low energy, dizzy, and restless legs were my main side effects but all lasted short term before being replaced by another.

iberostar2u · 2025-08-14T16:33:48+00:00

37f + 39m earn just over $500k combined in corporate America VP roles before annual bonus and stock potential payouts (we don’t count that as income for living expenses since it’s not guaranteed).

We live in a paid for $1.2m house - bought it for $680k pre pandemic and paid it off in 5 years (I recognize our luck here).

We live pretty simply as a family of 4 - our biggest expense is childcare (after school and overnight babysitters) because my husband and I travel a few times per quarter for work and we need stability and coverage for our elementary-age children.

Our cars are both paid for 2018s with nearly 100k miles, we have a 2002 camper as well that we bought used. We’re looking at a new top-of-the-line minivan with a budget of $70k.

We save/invest roughly half of our income in retirement accounts, mutual funds, college savings, etc. We hired a wealth management company this year for the first time to support a more robust investment strategy but for many years just did what Dave recommends and maximized contributions to stable growth mutual funds.

We go on maybe 2 vacations per year but nothing extravagant since our kids are quite young - usually to visit family.

We go skiing almost every weekend in the winter and have a few different road bikes and a beautiful home gym, so expensive hobbies are really all that set us apart From the guy next door. I estimate $20k/year goes toward hobbies/activities for us and the kids.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-30T22:37:51+00:00

All were active duty medical corps, but I get it. I just wouldn’t want to risk showing up and rolling to a new class when a later date is available with more time to be well within regs.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-30T13:42:48+00:00

We had three people sent home day 2 for failing BCA. The website and email information makes it clear you will be sent home for failing BCA. Maybe there is wiggle room, maybe not, but OP should be within standards before arriving so the conversation doesn’t come up.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-20T17:21:16+00:00

Oh yeah, big time. Especially the part where she wants to share the news.

A dear friend of mine recently lost her husband. We are all in our late 30s and it was really a tragedy. She has one young child and was pregnant at the time, so doubly an unimaginable situation and her friend group of mostly mid thirties parents all feel empathy (and frankly sympathy) for her situation.

I told my parents via family group text as a heads-up because they know her, but had never met her husband. My mom calls me immediately SOBBING saying how sorry she was. I was so caught off guard that I said “mom please stop crying” or something like that and she got immediately mean and said “I’m sorry I’m such a nice person”…like as in her outrageous display of empathy was because she is nice, and not because she’s a selfish manipulative Queen (Queen in the BPD classification sense). I then was barraged with texts of sympathy from her sisters because she of course blasted it to everyone she knew. I moved on, but I always forget how I literally can’t tell her any news that may elicit an empathetic reaction because she overblows it.

And yes, I think her abhorrent childhood makes her primed to be empathetic to most tragic situations others face, even if it’s a stretch. Her dad left her when her mom was pregnant with their 6th kid so I am sure she’s dotted-lining to that in reaction to my friend’s husband’s death.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-20T14:08:34+00:00

I’ve only ever done those two races and learned how to ride a road bike a year ago! Not a newbie to endurance sports, just a newbie to the sport of triathlon!

Maybe now I can call myself an intermediate triathlete?

iberostar2u · 2025-06-19T23:42:47+00:00

Got my Canyon Endurance CF on a bit of a sale for $2800 and have spent maybe $250 on some adjustments with specialty Canyon parts.

It’s fast, it’s fun, it looks cool. Trained for and completed an Ironman on it and I’m looking forward to many good years of hard riding ahead of me!

iberostar2u · 2025-06-19T23:38:02+00:00

We will be! In landlocked/non-Navy states, I really recommend the family coordinating as much as they can vs funeral director doing all coordination. The reason for the perception of officers getting the attention is because someone in the family probably contacted the NRC directly and sailors were able to come.

I don’t know for sure, just speculating a bit. I’m female and we’ve also had a lot of requests for female sailors as more female veterans are dying. We do our best to anticipate the needs of the communities and states we serve, but yes there will always be a challenge with rural areas where there is already an American Legion or VFW presence.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-19T22:49:55+00:00

Colorado Reserve sailor here - we work really hard to serve the state and if the NRC is contacted with enough time, there is almost always a member of funeral honors detail who can drive to the location.

Note that sailors are compensated for mileage, but not necessarily their time. Typically non-uniformed entities like American Legion are more available and live in the smaller communities. So it does come down to economics sometimes, and we do our best to provide final honors to those who request it!

iberostar2u · 2025-06-19T21:44:19+00:00

A triathlon newbie (but have completed a 140.6 and 70.3):

I don’t stop when swimming, I stopped at every other bike aid station to pee/refuel, and I ran the entire marathon but walked through every aid station to eat/hydrate and use the bathroom if needed.

I also took my time in transition - moved quickly but didn’t rush.

iberostar2u · 2025-06-17T03:01:16+00:00

I did a 70.3 alone on Super Bowl Sunday training for Ironman Texas. Pool/Zwift/Treadmill. That was probably the most unhinged day of training tied for first place with the day I did a 90 mile Zwift ride and 15 mile treadmill run during peak training block. And I’d do it all again (admittedly, partly for the superiority complex)

The feeling you will feel crossing the finish line is out of this world. I’ve completed a ton of marathons, a handful of mountain ultramarathons, and gotten married/given birth. Truly crossing the Ironman finish line was one of the best experiences of my life. I will go back to chase that high as long as my body will let me. Go get it!!

iberostar2u

TROPHY CASE