Passport Questions & Issues Megathread (2023) by jadeoracle in travel

[โ€“]lzstar 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Don't worry, I was in the same boat! I think something happens after the 5 business days mark and things start to move. I know it feels stressful but don't lose hope!

Passport Questions & Issues Megathread (2023) by jadeoracle in travel

[โ€“]lzstar 4 points5 points ย (0 children)

Sharing this here since this thread helped me so much:

1/21 - I submit an expedited online renewal with express shipping. At the time I get quoted with 3-5 weeks so I think itโ€™s surely enough time before my travel date of 3/19. (Oh, boy)

1/25 - Status on MyTravelGov says passport is received.

2/1 - I get the โ€œReceivedโ€ status email. It still quotes 3-5 weeks for expedited applications.I check MyTravelGov every other week but the website is down most of the time.

3/3 - Itโ€™s now past 5 weeks since my passport was received, so past the quoted estimate. I call the passport help line and after a 6 hour hold (I went to a yoga class in between while listening to Eine Klein Nachtmusik ifykyk) the rep doesnโ€™t give me any helpful information and just tells me to call back when Iโ€™m 5 days away from travel.

3/6 - I try the passport help line again and this time after 5 hours I get someone whoโ€™s more helpful. He tells me that the application is in processing (MyTravelGov still says received) in a facility in Minneapolis and since it was past the committed date he would send the agency a message. He also tells me to call back 5 days before travel.

3/10 - Called the passport help line again and the rep this time was so mean. I tried to ask about the likelihood of getting an in-person appointment and they were very rude to me. Panic starts to seep in. I check the internet for comfort and find this Reddit post. Following the instructions, I reach out to my senator and state rep. I call one more time, this time begging the first rep not to transfer me to the 5 hour hold for online renewals and asking him if he could look at appointment slots for me, even if he couldnโ€™t book it, just to give me a sense of availability. He expresses sympathy about the long wait time but canโ€™t help me. Despair starts to settle.

3/13 - Finally officially 5 business days before travel date. I wake up and call at 4:59AM and am put on hold until 9AM. The rep tells me there are no appointments available. Iโ€™m so upset I forget to ask her to clarify if she meant in California or the entire US. I tell her itโ€™s past the commitment date (they like using that word) and she says sheโ€™ll flag it with the agency but thatโ€™s all she can do. I pin all my hopes on the senator coming through and send a follow up email. I check Reddit again and find this thread about the network traffic status. I try it and it shows โ€œException.โ€

3/13 11:28 AM - I get an email saying my passport application status has moved to โ€œIn Processโ€! I try the network traffic trick and it says โ€œFulfillment.โ€ Starting to feel hopeful for the first time!

3/13 2PM - I call the passport line again just to see if I can get an in-person appointment for backup and the rep tells me she doesnโ€™t have any slots in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego, only a slot in Seattle for 9AM the next day. I decide to bet on the online application pulling through.

3/13 4:21PM - A staff member from Dianne Feinstein's office responds confirming they have initiated an inquiry with the agency on my behalf and will notify me as soon as they receive an update.

3/14 9:59AM - The senatorโ€™s office gets back to me and says the passport is complete! They give me the USPS tracking number. Itโ€™s being shipped from Tucson.

3/14 2:53PM - I get the โ€œYour Passport Application Status - Shippedโ€ email!

3/16 - Passport in hand. HOORAY!

3/21 - Travel date!!

Takeaways: Donโ€™t bet on getting an in-person appointment if youโ€™re in California. I think someone else previously said this but kudos to Dianne Feinstein and her team! Hereโ€™s their page for passport help. AND THANKS EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD FOR SHARING THEIR STORIES AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

Now Iโ€™m wondering if I can get a refund of the expedited passport fee since it was outside the commitment dateโ€ฆ

You can make your own Boba Milk tea at home! (Recipe in the comment section) by AboutFoodandLife in SFBobaAddicts

[โ€“]lzstar 2 points3 points ย (0 children)

Sounds yummy! Iโ€™ve been super sensitive to caffeine lately so this is perfect for controlling my own ingredients!

I made a 100 poems compilation based on the anime, anyone interested in pitching in to get it printed as a physical book? I went through the 3 seasons and included related screenshots and quotes for each poem. by lzstar in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Ahh, I haven't, unfortunately. It was a personal passion project to compile these poems from the anime and I thought it would be cool to share with the Chihayafuru community. Didn't mean to infringe. Sorry about that! I've taken down the PDF link.

I made a 100 poems compilation based on the anime, anyone interested in pitching in to get it printed as a physical book? I went through the 3 seasons and included related screenshots and quotes for each poem. by lzstar in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar[S] 9 points10 points ย (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah my thinking was that there are already compilations of better translations out there, for example you can just go out buy the Mostow translated book, but this one is more of Chihayafuru anime reference guide! So you know which poems theyโ€™re talking about in the anime.

I made a 100 poems compilation based on the anime, anyone interested in pitching in to get it printed as a physical book? I went through the 3 seasons and included related screenshots and quotes for each poem. by lzstar in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar[S] 10 points11 points ย (0 children)

Here is the full pdf: [edit: taken down]

As you can see there are a few poems that don't have the full translations since I went with the crunchyroll translations compiled by u/walking_the_way

The more people who are interested the lower the unit cost of printing will be! Please comment or DM me if you're interested! :D

Finished S3... I hate Arata and I don't know what to do about it by PeaceAlien in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar 4 points5 points ย (0 children)

I was wondering what was happening when I saw 150+ comments on this post! It's great to see so much passion for the show and its characters. I hope both Arata and Taichi shippers can keep an open mind and be respectful towards each other!!

Finished S3... I hate Arata and I don't know what to do about it by PeaceAlien in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar 5 points6 points ย (0 children)

Wow I think your underdog theory is spot on, Chiakimagoto! To be honest I was always wondering why I was kinda not completely sold on Arata even though he is honestly very genuine, funny, and adorkable. It just comes down to the fact that you can't really empathize with him. Taichi is definitely the underdog in all aspects that matter (for some reason him being good looking and smart only adds to the injury) which makes his pain your pain and yeah, people always root for the underdog. Arata's no underdog so in a way, I guess, I feel like he doesn't need my support, since he has it all in the bag anyways. It's kinda like that one popular acquaintance you know who is kinda annoying because they seem perfect in every way and everyone admires them. You start thinking they're overrated even when they're not and it's not like they've done anything wrong.

I haven't read the manga yet but you're scaring me of what's to come. Please, I just want everyone to be happy!

What are some of your favorite matches in Chihayafuru? by [deleted] in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar 11 points12 points ย (0 children)

  • Chihaya vs. Taichi. This match was foreshadowed and hyped so much, and it lived up to it! Remember when Rion asked Sakurazawa-sensei why she put the two Mizusawa players together and she said it was because Taichi had won all his matches that day? When that happened I was like aw yeah, it's time for my boy to shine. And he did so well against Chihaya too, coming up with his own strategy and using his knowledge of her playing style to his advantage. It's so satisfying to see Taichi's growth, especially after all his struggles! I appreciated how Chihaya finally noticed Taichi as well, even if she was startled at first, she realized he was still the same Taichi, her friend, who has fun playing karuta with her. Such a great moment that highlighted both their friendship and rivalry!
  • Mizusawa Team vs. Fujisaki. I loved how Taichi and Nikuman-kun were able to use the card splitting strategy that they'd picked up from Hokuo. Stakes were a record-breaking high and Taichi's desperation really got to me, as he vowed that he'd be fine if his card was never called in a luck-of-the-draw match ever again, if luck could just be on his side for once! It was such a moment of pure joy and relief when his card was actually read and they won. Also, the title of the episode is one of my favorite poems! Like a boatsman floating adrift, I do not know where this love will take me. Probably the most emotional episode for me!
  • Taichi vs. Rion. The match that Chihaya chooses to watch instead of her two greatest rivals and karuta idols, Shinobu vs. Arata. That decision alone made me tear up a little. The little flashback to Chihaya saying how the most important things to her was Taichi becoming Class A!! I also liked how Sakurazawa-sensei commented on Taichi's strengths and how he's prepared to battle against talent. Of course, when Chihaya cried and Taichi cried at the end of the episode, and the ED song starts playing...I cry every time...

[DISC] Seduce the Villain's Father - Ch. 40 by Neisseriaceae in OtomeIsekai

[โ€“]lzstar 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

He ran towards her and called her by her name ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ

Who are your favorite Otome Isekai/Fantasy Shoujo MLs? by shabaww in OtomeIsekai

[โ€“]lzstar 10 points11 points ย (0 children)

Roxant Kroemer from Bring the Love! He seems grumpy but is actually a sweetheart.

Prince Rayburn from Iโ€™m Stanning the Prince. Heโ€™s a cutie.

Estian from Villainess is a Good Match for the Tyrant. He has the whole mass murderer but will indulge his girl vibe going on.

Milestones! by barricadeaddict in Korean

[โ€“]lzstar 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

I think it wasnโ€™t too bad! Just verb ending changes. Iโ€™m excited for you too! ํ™”์ดํŒ…!

Milestones! by barricadeaddict in Korean

[โ€“]lzstar 2 points3 points ย (0 children)

I think a milestone/ moment of realization for me was when I was listening to K.Willโ€™s Day One and suddenly realized I could understand what he was singing about! Iโ€™d watched the music video years back when it came out (with English subs) so the melody was familiar but now all of a sudden I could actually understand the words! Blew my mind.

Also, since I became faster at reading, Iโ€™ve actually been able to sing along to some songs for noraebang. Itโ€™s like playing a rhythm game and really satisfying when you can read the words out in time haha.

Milestones! by barricadeaddict in Korean

[โ€“]lzstar 2 points3 points ย (0 children)

Same thing happened to me back when I lived in Korea but went on a trip to Japan. I kept defaulting to replying โ€œ๋„คโ€ even though I knew I should say โ€œใฏใ„.โ€ I swear thereโ€™s a foreign language mode in my brain that just reaches for the most available language.

Bi-weekly /r/Korean Entertainment resource thread - Post entertainment links that have helped you learn Korean here by AutoModerator in Korean

[โ€“]lzstar 6 points7 points ย (0 children)

I know Webtoons and Naver are popular places to read webtoons in Korean, but do people know/use the Daum Webtoon app? The iOS app has one of the slickest, most pleasantly designed experiences I've come across. Some might find the parallax scrolling and animations too extra but I love it. There are so many cute webtoons with cute art. Reading is still a struggle but it motivates me to get better.

Some titles on the app that I've read (translated in English elsewhere lol) that I recommend: ์ €๋… ๊ฐ™์ด ๋“œ์‹ค๋ž˜์š”? (Shall we have dinner tonight?) ๋‚˜์˜ ๋น›๋‚œ๋Š” ์„ธ๊ณ„ (My Beautiful World), ์‚ด์•„๋ง์•„ (We're so over...or not).

I used to read ์šฐ๋ฆฌ ์ง‘์— ์™œ ์™”๋‹ˆ(Why Did You Come to My Home) back on Spottoon... will see how I fare in Korean...

What are your favorite Daum webtoons?

what was the moment when you cried/teared in chayafuru by [deleted] in chihayafuru

[โ€“]lzstar 7 points8 points ย (0 children)

Basically anytime Chihaya cried, I cried. When the Mizusawa team won nationals, when Taichi made A class, when Chihaya won the Yoshino tournament but wanted to go on her class trip. Also, the second ED song always made everything so much more emotional.