Lucky

I walk much faster than my husband, who is 7 years older than I am, but then I have always walked faster than he did, even fifty years ago. It could be just because I have longer legs than he does.
Yesterday I was playing tennis for the first time with a young woman in her 20s; when I happened to mention my age, she said, "But you're older than my grandfather, and he couldn't possibly keep up with you!!" If I had read this thread, I suppose I could have just explained, "But I'm gay."

I just wanted to add my endorsement for Alex.  I had a fabulous session and will most certainly be back.  He has a very kind and calming presence in addition to being an amazing provider.  Can't wait till next time!

I booked a massage with Alex when I was in NY last month. It was right up there with the best erotic massage experiences I’ve had. His therapeutic skills are great, the sensual elements are great, his body is great, the atmosphere of his apartment with the view of the city at night from his table. It was fulfilling in every way. 

If you’re referring to the saunas in Rio with pay boys, you will almost never have a problem telling the difference between a working guy (“garoto de programa” or the more familiar “boy”)  and a client. First of all, at saunas with garotos, there will almost never be a working guy there who isn’t there to make money, unless he is there exclusively to see one client — and in that case, you’ll either approach him alone and he’ll tell you he’s there for another client only, or you will already see him with that client (in that case, never approach when he is with the client — this is completely disrespectful to the client and could cause you a world of embarrassment… or even hurt).
If you’re asking how to physically tell the difference between garotos and clients at saunas, this will never be a problem 99% of the time. In spite of what may be claimed here by some, very few clients except for the unicorns look like they could be garotos de programa in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. In 15 years of regular visits, I’ve personally only seen maybe 4-5 clients at the most who in person would be or were mistaken for sauna garotos in real life and in real time.
Very few non-GP saunas in Rio or São Paulo even allow working guys there, so it’s safe to assume no one at those saunas wants to be paid for a sexual encounter (unless they disclose this to you upfront). They are closer in operation to a bathhouse in the USA. 
 
 
 
 

I doubt that, but that's just me. But I did live in New York for a few years and never saw anyone pursued like you describe.

I doubt that, but that's just me. But I did live in New York for a few years and never saw anyone pursued like you describe.

More bad news on Ozempic:
https://nypost.com/2024/04/17/lifestyle/experts-reveal-why-ozempic-appears-to-change-peoples-personalities/

3 older brothers here.

3 older brothers here.

I'd pay for that tbh 😉 

God, I wish I liked her.
So many things she says are spot on and I think she’s a talented singer.
But whenever I see her perform, I just wanna get away as fast as I can.
I can’t really explain it. It just is.

Very sorry to hear you're seriously struggling Ryan.  I remember when I discovered my studied field, environmental engineering, looked like it was never going to be what I hoped.  It was difficult.
But you were already having difficulties, and as you know, the blow to your identity just compounded the problem.  You're doing all the right things, so, have you tried medication?  If so, how was the expereince?  If it was bad, or unhelpful, would you consider trying another one?  Remember anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications are temporary, so consider considering them if you haven't.  

3 older brothers here.

3 older brothers here.

Oh God, I hope it’s me!

Last year seniors got a break with Schedule R, but this year is is people who borrowed money for college getting the break. I paid my debts, but had I known the government would wipe them out I wouldn't have.

Who knew that you could get pseudoephedrine from the pharmacist? @Charliedidn't, and I'd say he is an otherwise informed consumer. Since he didn't know it, he was "forced" to buy the stuff that didn't work.
I agree, forced may be too strong of a word, but in an effort to stop a few drug dealers, a whole lot of people bought the stuff that didn't work.

People were forced to buy phenylephrine so that drug dealers couldn't get pseudoephidrine so easily. A useless drug exchanged for one that actually works. Using Sudafed to make meth has been surpassed with other methods.

There could be many different reasons.   I handle taxes for two elderly people who make less that 85,000 per year but their taxes were both up slightly due to higher income from CD’s and MMF’s due to higher interest rates. 

Members have stated this fact many times in this very long thread.
As a constant reader, poster, and commenter on these forums, you should probably have known about the best hours before you went to Barcelona. 

I put off tax law until my last semester in law school because I was so sure that I would hate it. To my surprise, I loved it and wished I had started sooner so I could become a tax lawyer. I have done my own taxes ever since.
Now I use programs like Turbo Tax and Taxslayer. With the addition of a small side business, my taxes are harder. Last year I used Taxslayer and didn't seem to have any problem. This year I cannot figure out what they are doing It seems like I am going around in circles. They currently have me owing more than $2000 in federal taxes than I paid last year despite a similar income. I am just lost.
So I come here, where else? Does anyone recommend one of these programs and why? Anyone want to do my taxes for me? I guess I am too old now. Sigh.

I'm pretty sure something else is at work here, as my research indicates that, if anything, one might expect to pay fewer taxes for 2023 than 2022 if one's income remained the same because there was an inflationary adjustment to tax brackets.  The individual income tax cuts made when Trump was in office expire at the end of 2025.
So, I'm guessing one or more of the following is true:
Your total (adjusted gross) income wasn't actually the same in 2023 as in 2022.
Your tax is the same but you had less withheld or made less quarterly estimated tax payments, and what you really mean is that you owe $2,000 more with your return for last year, not that your overall taxes are $2,000 higher.
Data entry error.  I have to say that while the various tax programs I've tried are great for relatively straight-forward returns, if you have one thing that doesn't apply to the vast majority of taxpayers then the program might not do a good job of guiding you through the data entry for that.  The program I use doesn't properly call attention to one tax credit I'm eligible for, and every year after the "interview" portion is done I have to use the search function in the program to guide me to the screen where I enter the data to get that tax credit. 

Not an expert and may be talking out of my butthole but I believe the 2017 tax package giving 1.8 trillion to the wealthy also included a clause that taxes would go up this year and again in 2027 (?) for middle income earners. It's an offset for the millionaire tax gift. 

I know nothing about doing my own taxes so I go to my CPA (who charges $275 for a simple tax return with no itemizations).  Anyhow, I had my appointment two weeks ago with him, and I owed* quite a bit more in fed taxes than I did the year before, even though nothing changed in my income. He explained to me that EVERYONE owed more this year due to a change in taxes in 2023, which not many people were aware of until they filed this year. As he said, "It snuck up on everyone - including him."  So it may not be you doing anything wrong - it's just the tax laws which have changed slightly.
 
*I might have said this before, but I will say it again. Years ago, when I was just starting out with my own business as a 'D/B/A', my CPA said it's always best to owe the feds money each April, rather than get a big refund. As he said, 'Why get a refund of a few thousand dollars ?  Why let the Feds use your extra thousands and then return it to you with no interest accumulated ? '  He said it's always best to owe them money - usually $200 or less is perfect (at least for my income).  So each year I owe - usually under $100.  Last year I owed $19.  This year - with the the tax laws changing as I mentioned - I owed $150. 

I do my own taxes, by hand, on paper with a pencil.  I do it both to the penny, and rounding to the dollar, to see which one saves me more.  I now do a Backdoor Roth IRA.  The trick is: I've been doing my taxes by hand every year for the past 16 years, starting before I was an established gentlemen.  With every year I just add one thing new (a new deduction, a new source of income, a new catastrophic IRA withdrawal, etc.).  It's a lot easier to learn just one new thing per year as my finances get more diverse.  I would probably be lost if I was starting to learn it from scratch after already being established.
As for @Lucky's dilemma: I would just mimick @Charlie's habit of using a professional tax prepare and review their printed forms.  It's a lot easier than trying to navigate a software you only use once because it changes every year.