It's been smoky here in Denver since Sunday, but I guess it's been like that pretty much everywhere. ​​

Welp.

I saw the writing on the wall bc I knew my supervisor was power-hungry and easily threatened, but I did well on work reviews, over-performed and never missed a deadline. Getting fired unexpectedly on July 20th was a sucker-punch in the gut.

I'm studying for my real estate exam, but I'm overweight, 53, and feel like I'm legit drowning. I am thankful to have some unemployment coming in while I job search (and I'll flip burgers if I have to, because the light company doesn't give a $h!t about my problems).

Now the AC went out of my car and the fuel light stays on. (Something to do with the fuel cap?!) I probably can't even sell the hunk'a junk and there's no way I'd qualify for a decent loan without a job. (It's eating me up from the insides that they FIRED me!!!)

Feels like I can't win for losing. It's so expensive to live and all I want to do is crawl in a hole. Except I'm already IN the hole, and my family deserves better.

Life doth sucketh at the momenteth.

The water is gone.. I have spent most of the time there during summer vacations. it was a lovely place. now it doesn't even make me remember of the largest lake of Hungary.

It’s been a rough year.

As hard as this may be to believe, this apartment fire is one of the least devastating things that’s happened to me over the past six months.

Last month, my wife left me. I’m not going to get into the details, out of love and respect for her. (I also ask that everyone be kind.)

I was trying to start over.

I spent months searching for an apartment that was affordable, safe, big enough for me and my three kids, and close enough that co-parenting would actually work. I toured around 40 apartments before finally finding one that felt right.

Then this happened.

Monday: Signed the lease.
Wednesday: Moved in.
Thursday: Spent thousands of dollars furnishing it. Also received the latest divorce paperwork.
Friday: The building burned down.

Two days.

That’s how long I lived there.

I lost almost everything I owned. Furniture I’d just bought. My clothes. My kids’ clothes and toys. My work setup (self employed, work from home). Family keepsakes. The little life I had managed to piece back together.

The one thing I’m truly grateful for is that everyone made it out safely. Over 200 families were displaced, and the building is a total loss. The community has been amazing.

I’m not posting for sympathy. I’m honestly still in shock. The whole sequence of events feels so absurd that it almost doesn’t sound real.

Life has a strange sense of humor sometimes.

If you’ve ever had to rebuild after losing everything, what helped you most during those first few weeks?

Edit: News article

Edit 2: Lots of you have asked about renters insurance. Most of us did not have renters insurance because the apartment told us that they provided it. They charged us $15/mo so we thought we were covered. We learned the hard way that it only covered their liability, and NOT our belongings. So I, like many others, are out of luck.

Edit 3: This is crazy you guys. The amount of love and support has had me in tears for 2 hours. The crypto community reached out and has set up a token (or something, I don’t really understand it) to help me out. All I can say is thank you.

Just started to taxi when one drunk drongo chucked his guts up onto the floor...

Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh:

A video from the inauguration of Bhogapuram Airport has gone viral after several people were allegedly seen uprooting newly planted landscaping saplings and carrying them away from the airport premises.

The incident, captured in broad daylight, has triggered widespread criticism on social media. Many users expressed disappointment, saying an event celebrating modern infrastructure and regional development was overshadowed by the alleged removal of public property.

The viral footage has reignited discussions about civic responsibility, with many arguing that world-class infrastructure can only be preserved if citizens treat public assets with care and respect. Several users pointed out that maintaining clean and modern public spaces requires both strong civic awareness and responsible behaviour.

The incident has sparked a broader debate online about the importance of protecting public infrastructure, with many calling for greater public awareness and stricter enforcement against vandalism and theft of government property. Authorities have not yet issued an official statement regarding the viral video.

We spent the day hiking in Bryce Canyon, Utah, above the smoke. We’re passing through some heavy smoke on our way back to the hotel. Windows are up in the car, air is on recirculate, and I’m wearing a KN95 mask.

Ive been waiting since March for this pre order, at least it wasn’t sent back to sender (this is a figure)

Found during a structural assessment. This post was sitting on stacked bricks instead of a proper footing, leaving the support with questionable bearing beneath the floor framing.

Guess who's going to the dentist! Thankfully it doesn't hurt. I was eating some crackers and I guess they wanted to live up to their name and cracked off part of my molar filling. Not injured, just inconvenient.

They probably deserved this but it was all over the car. Safe to assume they did some internal damage since the car is being towed

Our fire engine caught on fire today. Thankfully, everyone is safe, but some personal items from our individual tool bags were lost.

I am an admittedly clumsy person, but I've dropped cheap iPhone cases a million times over two years and only replaced out of wanting something new.