#(( So we are currently in the hole with our bank... ))

[darckcarnival]

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[nasa]

Black Scientists and Engineers Past and Present Enable NASA Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship astrophysics mission, set to launch by May 2027. We’re currently integrating parts of the spacecraft in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center clean room.

Once Roman launches, it will allow astronomers to observe the universe like never before. In celebration of Black History Month, let’s get to know some Black scientists and engineers, past and present, whose contributions will allow Roman to make history.

Dr. Beth Brown

The late Dr. Beth Brown worked at NASA Goddard as an astrophysicist. in 1998, Dr. Brown became the first Black American woman to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Michigan. While at Goddard, Dr. Brown used data from two NASA X-ray missions – ROSAT (the ROentgen SATellite) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory – to study elliptical galaxies that she believed contained supermassive black holes.  

With Roman’s wide field of view and fast survey speeds, astronomers will be able to expand the search for black holes that wander the galaxy without anything nearby to clue us into their presence.

Dr. Harvey Washington Banks 

In 1961, Dr. Harvey Washington Banks was the first Black American to graduate with a doctorate in astronomy. His research was on spectroscopy, the study of how light and matter interact, and his research helped advance our knowledge of the field. Roman will use spectroscopy to explore how dark energy is speeding up the universe's expansion.

NOTE - Sensitive technical details have been digitally obscured in this photograph. 

Sheri Thorn 

Aerospace engineer Sheri Thorn is ensuring Roman’s primary mirror will be protected from the Sun so we can capture the best images of deep space. Thorn works on the Deployable Aperture Cover, a large, soft shade known as a space blanket. It will be mounted to the top of the telescope in the stowed position and then deployed after launch. Thorn helped in the design phase and is now working on building the flight hardware before it goes to environmental testing and is integrated to the spacecraft.

Sanetra Bailey 

Roman will be orbiting a million miles away at the second Lagrange point, or L2. Staying updated on the telescope's status and health will be an integral part of keeping the mission running. Electronics engineer Sanetra Bailey is the person who is making sure that will happen. Bailey works on circuits that will act like the brains of the spacecraft, telling it how and where to move and relaying information about its status back down to Earth.  

 Learn more about Sanetra Bailey and her journey to NASA. 

Dr. Gregory Mosby 

Roman’s field of view will be at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's, even though the primary mirrors are the same size. What gives Roman the larger field of view are its 18 detectors. Dr. Gregory Mosby is one of the detector scientists on the Roman mission who helped select the flight detectors that will be our “eyes” to the universe.

Dr. Beth Brown, Dr. Harvey Washington Banks, Sheri Thorn, Sanetra Bailey, and Dr. Greg Mosby are just some of the many Black scientists and engineers in astrophysics who have and continue to pave the way for others in the field. The Roman Space Telescope team promises to continue to highlight those who came before us and those who are here now to truly appreciate the amazing science to come. 

To stay up to date on the mission, check out our website and follow Roman on X and Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[sanakiras]

BOUND BY BLOOD [TEASER]

PAIRING — yoon jeonghan x fem!reader

WORD COUNT — 692 [full fic is 10k+]

SYNOPSIS — in an attempt to escape your past, you join your mother when she moves in with her soon-to-be husband at the other side of the country. the only downside is that your new stepbrother causes you to sink deeper into the rabbit hole you were so desperately trying to leave behind.

TAGS — mentions of death, dark content (stepcest + incestuous undertones), explicit sexual content, mc and jeonghan are two fucked up pervs coming together to maximize their joint slay, additional tags to be added

♪ — ethel cain - family tree,, charli xcx - apple,, ruelle - monsters,, boy harsher - pain,, lana del rey - in my feelings,, unloved - danger,, twin tribes - monolith,, banks - the fall

NOTE — title is not what u think it is i promise. yes i came up with this fic after going through ethel cain’s discography can you tell. do keep in mind that this is just fictional and nothing more than a fantasy, so please (!) skip if the tags make you uncomfortable <3

despite being an adult, your mother’s authority still has a hold on you sometimes.

which is why instead of being in bed all morning like you’d planned, you’re currently in a grand church, seated on a bench in the back of the spacious hall with jeonghan next to you.

your parents were adamant on sitting near the front, but when you were walking into the hall just ten minutes ago, it was jeonghan who took you by your arm so that you and him could sit in the back together, and you’re honestly thankful for it.

with a sigh, you don’t know if you’re talking to yourself, or him. “i have no idea what i’m doing here. i’m not even catholic. pretty sure my mom isn’t, either.”

“no? not a fan of monotonous singing in a cold hall on sunday mornings?”

a scoff escapes you, followed by a sarcastic quip. “such a way with words, brother dearest.”

jeonghan shrugs, as if he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. “maybe you should pretend to be sick next time our parents want us to tag along. i’ll have no other option but to stay home and take care of you.”

is it so wrong of him to want you all to himself?

“creative.” you mutter with a grin, simultaneously hiding the effect his words have on your body.

he only gives you that mischievous smile, looking at you from the corner of his eye, and you can’t resist the soft chuckles escaping you.

not much later, he’s sitting closer to you, using it as an excuse to whisper in your ear. “me and my dad aren’t catholic either. i’m guessing it’s just about appearances.”

“of course,” you roll your eyes, “maybe they wanna get married here and this is their way of checking it out.”

jeonghan, very selfishly, doesn’t want to think about his father and your mother getting married. he just smiles at you as a way to conceal his true feelings, and all he can think about is that he should’ve met you first, that you should’ve been his.

so he averts his gaze, attempting to focus on whatever the pastor is saying, hoping it’ll take his mind off it.

the preaching is grim and anything but welcoming. words like hell and damnation are thrown around numerous times in a speech that feels almost like it’s spoken in a foreign language, and he hates it — he hates being here.

but perhaps not as much as you do.

“we must and will all pay for our sins, one way or another—” the pastor’s voice rings through your ears. his words keep replaying in your head, and it begins to make you feel dizzy, heavy existential suffering overtaking your chest, like a loud scream being pushed down but fighting to work its way up your throat.

you have to stop thinking about it.

you have to let it go.

jeonghan takes notice of your change in body language. where you were previously hardly moving a muscle, your breathing has become irregular, chest rising and falling more visibly, and you’re digging your nails into the skin of your thigh.

what he’d do to know what’s going on in that head of yours.

he puts his hand just above your knee in an attempt to comfort you, and when you look up at him with almost disturbed eyes, all you find in his gaze is — understanding.

jeonghan doesn’t know what it is you’re hiding from him, but he figures you must’ve done something wrong in your past, if this is your reaction to the speech currently being given.

but he’s done wrong too.

his palm is still resting comfortably on your bare skin, and your shaky hand reaches out for his instinctively; it feels so right. instead of letting you put your hand on top of his, he raises it to hold yours, intertwining your fingers.

when you look at him with corners of your mouth downturned and eyes glossy, your hand clenching his like you need it as much as you need to breathe, he chooses not to give a damn whether your parents choose to get married or not.

he’ll be there for you when you need it — he’ll make you his.

this is a snippet of a fic i’m still working on so no release date yet, but if you’d like to be tagged once it’s released, leave a comment! x

® SANAKIRAS — do not repost, remake or copy my work in any way whatsoever. translations are not allowed.

[jewishvitya]

Saw an interview with the Israeli ambassador in the UK where she openly rejects the idea of a Palestinian state at all. Including in a two-states scenario. Which, I knew this is the position of our government, Netanyahu was recently trying to push the "I'm the only one who can prevent a Palestinian state," but she was unusually open and explicit about it for an international interview.

And I didn't realize it at first (because I'm awful with faces... and names) but that's Tzipi Hotoveli. She's so right-wing that she was a popular name in the settlements when I lived there. And this is something I can say about many politicians currently running the government, they are the names that aligned politically with the most extremist community. And this is why she's so bad at being diplomatic about it - the people with that mentality rarely care about watering down their goals.

A mutual of mine on a different platform, an American anti-zionist Jew, talked about a trip they took to the West Bank. It was organized to show the occupation, the checkpoints, etc. Someone asked in response if they visited settlements too, and said that he was glad they enjoyed the trip, but it seems to be all one color.

This was a weird comment. What can you see in the settlements to change your mind, if you care about human rights. What can you see that would erase the suffering of Palestinians there, or give context to justify it. Even if settlers knew to say all the right words, this shouldn't be enough to make you forget what Palestinians are living through.

But they don't say the right words. Especially there, the people openly dehumanize Palestinians. And if you talk to them for a while, they will do it to your face. And they will be open about wanting no Palestinians living on any part of the land. Israeli Arabs are often seen as a different story, as long as they accept Israeli sovereignty. Still not fully trusted, though.

I saw someone confusing the electric fence I mentioned in a few posts, with the separation fence, which is the wall around the West Bank. Not the same thing.

The separation fence is built within the territory of the West Bank, but it's a large wall all around that cuts them off from other areas of the land.

The electric fence is smaller, and it's specific. The one I'm referring to is in Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. That's the settlement I grew up in. It's one of the more established settlements, and it's basically a small town. Right behind the apartment building I lived in, there was the electric fence. And in a distance of maybe a couple of traffic lanes past the fence, were Palestinian homes. They could see us, we could see them.

The fence was there for our sake, not for the Palestinians. But sometimes the settlers would tear it down, forcing the border police and the military to guard that spot and rebuild it. I wondered why, because a hole in the fence near my home scared me. And then I learned they were protesting against the feeling that they're being contained. The settlers, with how they're constantly expanding, felt that they're not given enough. Settlers treat "we can't expand as fast as we'd like" as if that's oppression.

They would regularly get into conflicts with border police and with the military over this. They'd go out to claim another hill, and their temporary homes would get torn down. Individuals from the West Bank settlements would have the Shin Bet keeping track of them in case they'll do something that could provoke an escalation of violence. And this isn't to claim that Israel was being fair to Palestinians or protecting their interests. It just means that Israel tried to be strategic to an extent, and the settlers are inflammatory. Their stated goal, openly talked about, is to establish a presence on the ground, so that any agreement that gives land to Palestinians won't be possible. I kept hearing sentences like "not even a square centimeter." Meaning that they want to leave nothing for Palestinians. They aren't trying to think about what Israel can get away with, they feel entitled to everything.

And these are the people that the current Israeli government aligns with. Which puts a lot of things out in the open, and pushes a lot of other things into further extremes.

[thelastharbinger]

Tidbits of ATSV That I Enjoyed (Or Alternatively: Just Miles Being The Most Endearing Spidey Ever)

Miles patting The Spot's head after successfully webbing him (I don't see this as condescending, but rather him still engaging with the humanity of a villain like Spot) and ~very assertively~ telling/asking him not to escape.

"I'm like Robin Hood-if he gave to himself."

Miles' spidey senses going off when he arrives late to his dad's party because there's nothing more frightening than Brown parents when they're mad at you. Beware the chancla or correa!

O.k. So we all know there are different versions of the movie out there. You may already know that one of the slight differences is when Miles goes to save Inspector Singh. There's a version where you can hear Gwen's voice in the distant background yelling no! when she thinks Miles gets crushed under the rubble, and there's another where she's silent as she webs to him. Now, I have found ANOTHER version (online) where her shouting is even more at the forefront. She's practically screaming and sounds more desperate, (prolly because it's close to the same way her Peter Parker died so she's reliving trauma) and the fear in her voice is palpable. That one haunts me.

Jefferson trying to equate studying for his police exams to childbirth, which Rio quickly nips in the bud.

Ganke having a soccer poster of Son Heung Min, a famous Korean footballer who currently plays for the Premier League Tottenham Hotspur and is captain of the South Korean national team.

Miles having a Sashimi (his universe's version of Supreme, but I just like the idea that Miles loves eating sashimi. Like I know that kid has good taste in food) poster in his bedroom.

The fact that Miles kept in touch with Aunt May for long enough after the events of ITSV that he helps her move.

The Spot saying he was one of the more handsome scientists at Alchemax according to his colleagues.

Miles and Gwen having the same collectible toys, the only difference being that he keeps his in the box and she doesn't.

"Hey, don't try to wow me with big words, man," *in deep manly voice* "I do crosswords every day"- Miles after Spot points out Alchemax as "the crucible of our connection!"

Miles going, "This job is so dumb sometimes" after he tries to web Spot at the deli, but it goes through a hole and lands on his face.

"Nahhh, he seems more Dominican to me." Kinda want Miles to meet a native Dominican Spidey because that dynamic would highkey fuck hard *pun not intended*. They would repair relations between our two islands-PR&DR.

"Almost there Mami *smiley face* *cowboy* prayer hands*"

The college admissions coach at Visions Academy straight up saying, "That's your story! Now, just stick to the script..." Ma'am what???

"Calmate Mami, eso no es my fault."

"I've hit a lot of different villains with a lot of different food...I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Miles in his angsty teen era and smart-mouthing everyone around him. Love that for him.

"He almost killed his mom as a baby, I mean, look at those shoulders." No but for real tho. Those shoulders are as wide as a truck. Kim Seokjin who??? (if you understood that reference, ily).

Miles writing a love letter to his dad in 2 cakes.

Gwen at the water tower chowing and saying how feelings make her hungry after her and Miles talked about how they can't be together cause it would end in tragedy. Like Gwen, come again?!

Also, Miles' and Gwen's talk at the Williamsburg Bank Building being lowkey the catalyst for the 2nd/3rd acts of the film. Without them both kind of silently admitting their feelings for each other, Miles probably wouldn't have chased after her the way he did. Pretty sure you know the rest.

"I bet she doesn't even speak Spanish," and Jeff going "Que barbaridad" in his very broken Spanish. Queue Rio's bombastic side eye.

Both Gwen and Miles referring to Spot as a Villain Of The Week, even though neither of them have spoken about Spot to each other.

"I was bitten by a-wouldnt you like to know? Know what I mean?" SIR. Chill. This movie is for children.

The Spot inverting himself, going from a white mass with black spots to a gaping black hole with smaller white spirals. It's giving Junji Ito.

The irony of Pavitr exclaiming, "Well that was another easy adventure for Spider-Man!" right before an incoming canon event. HIS. He was about to experience his first big loss, and his happy-go-lucky nature would've been challenged.

Miguel saying conyo! when all the Spideys start pointing at each other.

"!Cállate!" "Nosy!" Sidebar: we don't talk about Gwen's banter with bad guys enough. She's so funny!

A lot of the Peters saying hi to Gwen as she passes HQ because she is canonically the one lost love--the love interest they all would've ended up with had she not died, so they all have an affection for her.

Web-Slinger going "Giddy up!" Cause he's swinging up.

Miles offering his fresh new takes on how to deal with the Spot upon meeting Miguel, saying "He just wants to be taken seriously. Like we all do." MILES YOU BEAUTIFUL, COMPASSIONATE GOLDEN SUNFLOWER BOY I LOVE YOUUUUU.

Hobie referring to Peter B. as Humbling Reality Spider-Man, which considering how steeped in tragedy the Spidey lore is, is really saying something.

Miguel's nonono no puedo más no puedo más. His misery is very funny and delightful to me. Little bitch ass.

"You know you're the only Spider-Man who isn't funny." Yes! More Miguel slander in the next one, please! Little bitch ass.

"Snitch!"

Miles shouting out Peter's name for help whilst Miguel pins and lays into him the fact that he's an anomaly. This after he momentarily glitches back to his ITSV store-bought suit. Mimicking the way-in also the first movie-Miles shouting out Peter's name for his own rescue as Doc Ock attacks him at the research facility. Because even though he feels hurt by Peter at this point, that's still his dad mentor and he still instinctively looks to him for protection. Rip my heart out why don't you!

Gwen sneaking back into her and her dad's place just to get that printed polaroid of her and Miles, a pic she already has on her phone.

Earth-42 Miles wearing Nike while our Miles wears Jordans.

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Bank Holiday Blues

Currently doing the mental health evaluation and ... well, sometimes you just do everything you possibly can and you're still fucking struggling. Which fucking blows, thank you very much.

I've gone through the checklist. I've eaten. I've hydrated. I slept recently. Technically my "meds for neuropathic pain" are an antidepressant so I can't even say I need meds. As for therapy ... well, been there, done that, developed the coping mechanisms. But mental health-wise? I am struggling to cope at this point.

To be fair, this is largely external factors. This is the realisation that I was very much right about literally nothing changing in this country when we got a Labour government, because now they're saying, "Well, the Tories lied about the massive financial hole they left so we have to scrap all our infrastructure promises, cut the winter fuel allowance, and let the energy companies jack up their prices right at the start of autumn" and it's getting to a point where I wonder if they're just trying to kill the old people so they don't have to pay their state pension.

This is seeing some of the short-sighted bullshit going on in the US in the run-up to their own election. Because I know a whole lot about populist garbage and people making protest votes without thinking about what they're doing, okay? Our general elections here aren't the best example of it, but I have a better one - Brexit. We ended up leaving the EU for a few very simple reasons: a) populist wankers like Johnson and Farage lied through their teeth to win the racist vote; b) some people didn't really want to leave the EU but didn't like how the EU was going about things so voted leave in protest; or c) figured that Leave couldn't actually win and so didn't bother voting. Now, does any of that sound familiar?!? All you have to do is add d) third options that will never win but take the vote away from the sensible choice and you've basically got the US right now. And this country destroyed itself at least partly based on that one stupid badly-planned referendum. The US can't survive another Trump term, I can't actually do anything about the stupids that might allow Trump to take the election, and I have too many people I love in that country to be anything less than terrified. I know that my feelings are valid, I know I can't spend too much emotional energy on something I can't change, but still.

My situation is still not great. It's never going to be, and I know that, just because of circumstance. I guess it's just harder to keep from being depressed about my disability when so much else is weighing me down. I try to keep counting my blessings, because I have a lot of those. Still, no matter how hard you try, some days everything that's wrong seems so big that you're kind of stuck squished. That and probably the Bank Holiday Blues. I mean, I don't work Mondays anyway, but there's a different vibe to the world on Bank Holiday Mondays.

Right. I just need to take my mind off the blues. One of the blessings I can count is that my last therapist was basically the best. She didn't focus on the diagnosis as handed down from the psychs (which was almost definitely a standard "ADHD is often misdiagnosed as BPD in women" thing) and instead looked at my symptoms and my previous coping methods, and helped me hone them into something healthier. Some people would call what I do "avoidance" and "escapism"; I call it "therapeutic hyperfocus". I've done every healthy thing I can to improve my mood, so if the mood's still there, and hyperfocusing on, like, a video game or something keeps me grounded until it blows over, I do that.

Of course, then I have to pick which video game, but I do have a playthrough of BG3 that I am determined to complete, and nothing says "hyperfocus" like "game you've played a few times before but will still hold a couple of surprises because Dice Be Like That". And I deserve some fun after having had to spend most of Saturday in bed because migraine and exhaustion.

[seriesxwriting]

It’s not just a holiday filing- part 2

Pairing JJ maybank x y/n

Warnings- drugs (weed), kissing, swearing, arguing.

Summary- you went to the outer banks to meet jjs friends and see his life. Now it was time for JJ to do the same in England. He meets your family and meets your friends. But one friend turns out to be a snake, will JJ fall for her tricks?

Series- outer banks

This is part two You can read this but it will make more sense if you read part one first- 👇👇👇👇👇

————————————————————————

It was February half term. And I hadn’t seen my boyfriend since October. But that was okay because in a few hours he was going to be landing in England for the first time ever. My trip to the outer banks had been fun yet educational. I learnt a lot and learnt how different everything was in another country.

But now it was time to show JJ what England was like. February definitely wasn’t the hype of England but we would definitely have a good time still.

“When does he land?” My mother asked me just before I was getting out of the car with a big smile. “I’ve told you ten times” I laughed picking up my sign for JJ. “Sorry! I think I’m more excited than you to meet this mystery man you go on so much about” she giggled wiggling her eyebrows.

“Hm you’d be surprised” I shook my head “it’s- nice seeing you this happy” “can I go and get my boyfriend now” I tried to stop my mouth from smiling but it was useless. She nodded shooing me out of the car. I walked into the airport holing my sign just as the people began exiting.

I watched for him, for his blonde hair and big beautiful smile. And everyone had there own person they were meeting, I watched a girl a little older than me ran up to a dark haired boy. They wrapped each other in their arms laughing and whispering things to each other before they kissed. It just made me more excited for… JJ.

There he was. His eyes scanned the room until he met mine. JJ’s eyes lit up and he began swiftly making his way to me. We met and our lips did too automatically, I had almost forgotten what he felt like. His hands held my head and our foreheads touched “I missed you so much” my hands wrapped round his neck never wanting him to leave again. “I know the feeling babe” he kissed my forehead and pulled me into a hug.

“Welcome to England” I whispered holding him close. “The weather is definitely different” JJ laughed out looking around the airport. “Well I did warn you about the fickle weather here” “it will be nice not worrying about sun cream” he shrugged “In February, you must be crazy?” “Im crazy about someone” he tucked me under his arm as we started walking. “Oh I must warn you again” I told him holding his hand that was over my shoulder. “My mother insisted she picked you up- she’s waiting in the car”

“It’s okay I’ve learnt everything from our FaceTimes” JJ winked getting ready for the challenge. “Do you now? What’s her favourite colour?” I asked smirking up at him. “Yellow” JJ answered quickly “but ironically she hates bananas”. I laughed at him resting my head on his shoulders. “What’s she do for a living” “head teacher, has five degrees and is currently doing her masters” JJ explained pushing the doors open to the grey clouds.

“Perfect, I think your ready” I patted his chest and lead him over to my mums car. She was swiping on her phone leaning against the car. “Mum!” I voiced tearing away her focus to us. “This is JJ” I introduced while reaching for the boot to put his case in the back. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person” he smiled treading over to my mother. As forward as she was she reached out to hug him. “The pleasure is all mine JJ, y/n hasn’t stopped talking about you- your brought up in everything conversation”

“Well I hope it’s all good things” he laughed looking back at me. My arms were folded and my brows were raised. “I haven’t got a bad word to say” “I trust your plane journey was comfortable” “it was! Thank you again for upgrading me to first class you really didn’t have to do that” he thanked nodding. “Nonsense anyone who makes my little girl that happy deserves the best” “I’m not so little mum” I came over wrapping my arms around jjs arm. “No darling, your growling up” she smiled rubbing my arm.

“Let’s get home the journey is a good hour, JJ why don’t you jump in the front so we can get to know each other” she smiled telling him more than asking. JJ nodded and went round while I got in the back behind my mother. She drove us out of the car park asking questions non stop to JJ. He answered perfectly each time and kept looking back at me until we reached the drive at my London house. “Your house is amazing” JJ got out of the car gazing up.

“I have to warn you, when my husband gets back he will have lots more questions- he’s very traditional” she told him unlocking the front door. “I’ve got that” JJ rushed over taking his case off my hands “it’s okay your my guest here” “did I do okay? I’ve never met anyone’s parents” “you did perfect you have nothing to worry about” “well I’ll never have to meet anyone’s parents ever again so” jj shrugged his shoulders looking into my eyes.

“I love it when you talk about our future” I closed the boot and linked our hands as we made our way through the front door. “So what’s the plan for tonight?” JJ asked me closing the front door behind us. “Thought I’d invite a few friends round we can all just have a little drunk up together” I shrugged putting my hands on my hips. “Sounds like a plan” “but tomorrow, your all mine- I’m going to take you around London few shops few sights” “I can’t wait” he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“My parents have agreed to stay at my grandmothers house so we can have our gathering tonight” I wiggled my eyebrows hitting at the fact we would have the house to ourself. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to that y/n” my mother smirked walking past us into the front room. “Let’s- go upstairs” I covered my laughter with my hand. “Hmm I get to see the famous bedroom in person” “one better, you get to stay here for a week” I giggled opening the door.

JJ scanned the room from left to right. “It’s a lot bigger in person” he wondered over to a board of photos that hung over my desk. “Oo should I familiarise you with everyone?” I jogged over. JJ nodded his head with a small smile. “I remember this is charity and tanyel” he pointed to two of the girls that came on holiday with me. “Yes they are coming tonight- so is Jade, Katelyn and Betty” I pointed to three photos. “Jade Katelyn betty got it” he nodded “my boyfriends coming too so watch out” I pointed to a photo on my bedside table in a frame.

“Didn’t think I forgot about you did you?” I smirked while he laughed “we don’t have that many pictures- we will have to get more” he walked over closer to me. “going to be surrounded by girls tonight am I” JJ giggled pulling me in my my waist. “Sure are” I laughed leaning in for a kiss. My love language was physical touch and jjs clearly was too. Because we hadn’t seen each other in so long we could keep our hands off each other.

———————————

Later that evening

Me and JJ stayed laying in bed the rest of the day watching tv, making out and just catching up really until eight when my parents left and we started to get ready. Thankfully when my dad met JJ all he asked was how he was doing when they shook hands, I think my mother had spoken to him. I came out of my on-sweet in a little white dress with long droopy sleeves and tights on. I set my eyes on my boyfriend standing by my bed texting on his phone.

He was wearing loose dark blue jeans and a white top. His necklace was pocking out and he’d placed some more silver rings on his fingers now. The boys blonde hair had been brushed out but it was still styled in that messy style which had me weak at the knees. “You look stunning y/n” his eyes lit up and a smile presented itself on his face. “You’ve cleaned up well yourself maybank- my girls better behave” I stared walking to my dresser to get my jewellery getting quite worried now. “Are they- known not to?”

“Maybe Jade when she’s drunk but… hopefully not” I bit my lip turning to the boy who’d appeared behind me. “I have your Christmas present- I want you to open it before getting ready” he took my hand leading me over to my queen sized bed. “JJ are you serious? We said no presents because we wouldn’t be seeing each other at Christmas” “I know I didn’t even plan it I just saw it and saved because I thought you’d like it”. He rummaged around on the floor in his bag and pulled out a long black box.

“I feel awful” I looked up at him taking a seat next to me. “Don’t” he laughed tucking my hair behind my ear. I gently pulled off the lid revealing a golden locket with the first letters of our names engraved on it. “JJ” I gasped with a smiled. I opened it and inside was a picture of us. The same one as on my bedside table. “I don’t know what to say- it’s gorgeous I’m overwhelmed” I turned to him leaning in for a quick kiss and then hugging him as my eyes welled up.

“I’m glad you like it” “I love it- your so sweet no one has ever done anything for me like this”. He brushed my hair out the way slowly brushing his fingers across my back and clasped the necklace securely on me. “You deserve princess treatment y/n- your so special” he took my hand and looked me in the eye. I was about to kiss him again but the door bell went off. “The girls are here” i tightened our grasp between our hands and we made out way down the stairs opening my door.

“Hey babe!” Jade smiled rushing in to hug me “hey lovely please come in” I rubbed her back with my Spare hand and waited for the rest of them to enter. In came tanyel and then Katelyn, betty and then charity. “This is jj” I introduced while closing the door and squeezing his hand. “Nice to see you again” Charity grinned at him. “And you and nice to meet the rest of you” he nodded looking around the faces. “How you liking England then? It’s much different to the outer banks huh” tanyel questioned.

“Oh massively but it’s nice to get away from home for a bit and the outer banks drama” he laughed “oh yeah y/n told us about them boys she met on the beach- what dicks” Kaitlyn shook her head patting jjs arm. “Well that’s kooks for you” he shrugged “outer banks lingo” I explained when no one understood. “Ohh- well anyway it’s nice to have you here yours and y/n’s story is so rare it’s beautiful” jade smiled nodding her head. JJ looked down and me and I wrapped my arms around his now.

“Well i meet thousands of tourists but no one like your girl here” JJ told me more than them. “She’s your girl” jade reminded him with an eyebrow raise. “Shall we take this into the front room i can’t wait to get to know you” Betty nodded towards the room. “Please- go ahead I’ve laid some drinks out I’m just going to grab my speaker” I let go of JJ to run up stairs to grab it. When I came back down everyone had sat down, JJ leaving me a clear seat and Holding Two drinks.

“M’lady” he passed it as I sat down next to him. “Thank you” I kissed his hand and then set the speaker up to my phone. We all got way too drunk talking and playing games. When we’d finished that we all started dancing to whatever was playing. Me and JJ had been making out the whole night i couldn’t wait to get him to myself. But then out the corner of my eye I saw charity bolting it to the toilet. “I’ll be back” I passed JJ my drink and ran after her practically becoming sober.

I walked into the bathroom and she was on her knees throwing up. “Oh hun” I pouted walking over holding back her blonde hair and rubbing her back. “Get it all out I’m so proud of you” I whispered as she spat into the bowl.

———————

JJ

Katelyn went and crashed down next to him on the sofa. “Do you smoke?” She whispered to him grinning. “Depends what you’ve got” he raised his eyebrow at her. “The good stuff” she pulled out a couple of joints from her pocket and then bounced up to go to the back door. JJ looked for me but I was still busy. “She will be a while she turns into a mum when anyone’s sick” Kaitlyn explained walking outside. JJ followed her and they both sat at a glass table, the light switched on automatically while Katelyn got out her lighter burning it.

“Didn’t see you to be the type” JJ stated when she passed it to him. “Well that’s because you don’t know me” she shrugged propping her head up at staring at him. “True” he shrugged taking a long pull. “Does she ever talk about me?” “Not unless your involved in girl drama” jj shrugged laughing almost. “That’s a shame, I’m way more interesting” “than who?” JJ questioned giving it back. “Than her” “her name being y/n” jj presented harshly. “She’s never had an- attractive boyfriend or a nice one” Katelyn inhaled and blew out.

“Well she deserve one” “so do i” she answered quickly giving the splif back to him. JJ kept looking at her trying to figure her out. “What exactly do you want?” He questioned putting the toll up between his fingers. “You” she shrugged “and I think you want me, your just worried because your living here for a week”. JJ took a hard look at her before bursting out with laughter “I’ve sorted it though- you can stay We with me I’m sure we would have a lot of… fun” she bit her lip looking at him.

“You know your almost convincing” “is that a yes?” She asked him. “Oh I wasn’t talking about this- I meant your friendship with y/n, you almost fooled me and you have everyone else fooled” “this where you call me a bad person but your still going to say yes?” She grinned showing her teeth. “No, this is just where I call you a bad person- because I don’t know how you could possibly want to hurt that girl” he shrugged closing his eyes for the last of the joint.

Katelyn took her chance pouncing on JJ and aiming for his lips at the same time the back door opened by jades hand. “What- the fuck?” She squinted her eyes. JJ put the zoot out in a hurry and looked up at her. “I was not- going along with any of that” he told her seriously. But Katelyn just laughed drunkenly and sat back. “Your unbelievable” she turned on her heels to come find me in the kitchen with charity. “We need to talk alone- is she okay?” “Yeah I’m fine- go” charity nodded into her water.

“Y/n” JJ Swiftly turned into the kitchen. “After me maybank” jade took my hand pulling me to the stairs. I looked at both of them confused but JJ looked as if he was heartbroken. Jade pulled me into my room and closed the door. “What- happened is everything okay?” “No” she shook her head putting her hands on her hips.

——————

A few moments later I stormed out my bedroom and ran downstairs. “Y/n It’s not what you both think can I please talk to you” he tried to block my way. “In a minute” I said sternly looking up at him. He sighed and let me past so I could find Katelyn. She was sitting on the sofa glued to her phone like nothing had happened. I grabbed her hair pulling her up. “What the fuck! Y/n get off of me you psycho” she screamed but I pulled her along getting the front door open.

With that I pushed her out my house and she felt onto the floor. “Don’t come back, bitch” I stated angrily and slammed the door on her. All the girls were watching me and JJ too. “Can we please- he started. -it’s okay JJ” I cut in shaking my head. “Jade told me she came onto you she heard everything, how you defended me- everything thing you said” I smiled weakly my eyes till teary. JJ came over sighing and wrapping me up in his arms. “I’d never do anything to hurt you” he kissed the top of my head. “I know”. He turned to Jade who was smiling at the sight of us two.

JJ mouthed “thank you” to her and she nodded at him. “Do you want us to go y/n? Give you two some space?” Charity asked me sympathetically. “You don’t have to go…” I told them “it’s okay really, we can see your not in the mood no more” tanyel nodded understanding. “I love you girls” I smiled at them. “We love you and we can see how happy JJ makes you- none of us would ever want to jeopardise that” Jade explained to me.

We all said our goodbyes while they called a taxi to drop everyone off home. Me and JJ went straight up to my room and changed into pjs to settle down in bed. “Are you really okay?” He asked for the seventh time. “I’m hurt but she’s really not worth my time” I laid down on his chest as he scooped me up in his arms. “I can assure you, I wasn’t even tempted for a second” he whispered softly. “Because I’m in love with you y/n”. I looked up at him with a big smiled and sparkling eyes. “I love you too JJ” I giggled hugging him tightly.

“I don’t want anyone else, I just want you- and I’ll tell you that as long as you need me too” he told me kissing my hand. “I’m so glad we wasn’t just a holiday fling” I whispered with a tear running down my cheek. “We did it babe, we’re here” he wrapped me up in his arms again as we both nodded off to sleep deeply in love.

————————————————————————

For more like this! Here’s my Masterlist💓

[thatdisasterauthor]

Would you like...an snippet?

Just felt like sharing something a little longer from my book The Pits which is funding on Kickstarter right now. (You can back it here, if you're interested.)

This chunk is from chapter 3 and lays down a lot of little things about character relationships as well as Royal's incredibly flexible relationship with gender.

---

It was agreed that while Royal and I took my horse to the church, everyone else would go meet up with the rest of the gang who were apparently camped outside of town. Akhíta informed me that, not including Royal and herself, there were ten other people currently traveling with them.

Despite saying we could handle trading horses on our own, Shiloh insisted on coming with Royal and I.

“Must you be so obnoxious?” Royal asked him.

“I will continue to be obnoxious for as long as your grumpy face continues to be adorable,” Shiloh said, snagging a thick arm around Royal’s waist and pulling them in for a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Royal laughed and tried unsuccessfully to squirm away.

“Oh!” I said without thinking. “You two are…dating, then?”

Royal let out a long, over dramatic sigh. “You rescue someone from a sheriff one time and suddenly you can’t get rid of them.”

“Poor you,” Shiloh said. “Also, I think it is the other way ‘round. You saved me, but I brought you back to Akhíta and now you’re the one who won’t leave.” He gave Royal a final squeeze before letting them go.

“You people have grown on me,” Royal relented. “Now, are we going to trade horses or what?”

Shiloh swept out a hand in the direction of the front door, letting Royal lead the way. The bartender seemed to be glad to see the back of us, though his eyes did stray to Royal’s pockets. Now that evening was falling more people were wandering in, but none spared us more than a glance.

“We should give her Marigold,” Shiloh said as we descended the front steps.

“I was thinking Eagle would be better. He’s more Clarabella’s size, and a smoother ride,” Royal responded.

“How long have you two been together?” I asked, desperately curious. Royal dating was as much of a surprise as them having friends. Their whole life, before they’d left, Royal had been far more likely to hole up in some secluded spot with a book than to bother with other people. Twice our parents even thought they were missing to the point of gathering a search party.

“Bit more than two years,” Shiloh replied. “My turn. What was Royal like as a kid?”

Royal stopped in their tracks and spun to face us, boot spikes gouging the dirt as they did. “Oh don’t you two dare make friends and start trading stories!”

I grinned, liking this game. “Well, all the adults around us would’ve said obnoxious, asking too many questions and all that.”

Royal groaned.

Shiloh snickered. “Not much has changed then.”

“You said you two met when Royal saved you from a sheriff?” I asked. Shiloh nodded. “What did you do to have the sheriff after you, and how exactly did Royal save you?”

Royal closed their eyes and pinched their nose, letting out a huff. “Can we get back to what we are supposed to be doing, please?”

“Oh, we’d broken into the same bank,” Shiloh answered. “But as we were leaving only I was recognized, and considered a threat, as Royal was in a lovely blue gown and red wig at the time. Royal got themself away, then came and broke me out of the jail later that night.”

“They never suspect the woman,” Royal said. “Now, can we get back to the horse issue, please?”

“Sure,” Shiloh said. “Clarabella and I will have plenty of time to trade stories when we’re on the trail.”

Royal shook their head and turned around, heading for the paddock. “This trip will be the death of me.”

Shiloh and I grinned at one another before following. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Shiloh, but he was growing on me. As much as he and Royal seemed to pester one another, it was clearly with deep fondness. It was nice to know Royal had someone like that. Someone who loved them enough to watch their back as they got into everything they got into.

[bobbinacrossafricatake2]

“Unforgiving” Skeleton Coast

May 20, 2024

Having had a day of big game yesterday that was unexpected, today was a more unique adventure to the Skeleton Coast. It was pretty hot yesterday afternoon, and with no A/C we were both worried about sleeping. But the silence (save for the roaring lion that only Jill and the staff heard), the darkness, and an air temperature that cooled down quite nicely, we both slept like the dead. Still, alarms went off early; we rallied, gathered laundry (for one of the benefits of safari camps), got our stuff together and MacDonald collected us at 6:30 for breakfast (no roaming by ourselves in the dark). Quite yummy, as expected, with cooked options and a nice buffet. Coffees, oh yes.

Off we drove with Jo, Robert (our new best friends), Esther, our lunch cook for the day, and Max. The drive was fascinating. In the early light before full sun, the colors were flat and muted with even shrubs and trees seemingly in camouflage. It was fun to listen to Max’s banter with Esther, and he was great at stopping to look at random things. One example: who needs calcium supplement pills when there is dried out hyena poop (only bone remaining) to be had at the side of the road? After a bit, we got to the same riverbed we followed yesterday, but continued along it much further toward the Atlantic. Here, as the sun rose, again the textures, colors and shapes were amazing. The cracked dried clay of the riverbed curls up into the likes of chocolate curls on a cake. The wind makes squiggles in the sand that are like art. Max spotted some tracks in sand built up at the edge of the riverbank, and we stopped, got out of the vehicle, to see the beetle tracks and subtle designs from a spider. Max explained that the spiders make tunnels into the sand to keep cool during the hot days. Then he proceeded to blow away a bit of sand showing the front door, and he opened it by lifting up a tiny flap that was the front door to the spiders den, created from spider saliva and silk. Totally cool. ‘Gotta love nature! He carefully replaced the front door, as guides are immensely respectful of wildlife.

The banks of the river are pretty high, a result of the rushing water that comes only every few years. Periodically, there are scrambles of branches where the current slammed them into a tree or rock and there they stayed. We stopped for birds, flowers, a few giraffes nibbling on branches, an oryx with a baby (adorable). As we got further along, the river spread out, banks became lower and dusty greens started to creep into the browns, rusts and tans of the drive thus far. This is when we were told to put on our seatbelts and the serious bumps began. Talk about the proverbial “African massage” this journey took the cake. The vehicle bounced, tipped, steadied itself and bounced some more - all the way to the ocean! It was oddly soothing, even trying to stay upright, and each of us nodded off a few times! Windows up, at one point the sand cloud got so thick that Max had to stop for it to clear. Yet further on, we stopped to watch a few black back jackals hunting rodents, leaping and running! Truly, Max was a wonder, knowing just when to let us nod off for a few minutes, when to point something out, when to stop the car and let us out for a stretch or a closer look, and when to share his amazing knowledge of the desert. The next transition was to dunes. We stopped this time to let air out of the tires, and carried on. There were areas of purple - yes, with beautiful patterns from the wind, and the purple layer being from granite sand. Riding the dunes was somewhere between exhilarating and terrifying. As we got close to the water, we stopped to view an “oasis,” a water hole with a bunch of birds where an underground river/natural spring popped up in the middle of the dunes. We wander off a short way to observe and a little white tuxedo’ed beetle (black and white markings) chased Jill around. Max picked him up and, of course, knew everything about the little creature! It was quite windy and as headed back the short distance to the vehicle, our footprints were already almost gone from the wind blowing the dunes. Not sure how this happened but at one point Max stopped and the next thing we knew, Jill, Robert and Sarah were singing our national anthem, after which Max sang the Namibian anthem. The apt, memorable line was about “contrast in beautiful Namibia.

We made it to the coast, where we stopped for a break at a National Park office and small museum about the Skeleton Coast. Known for being unforgiving due to the currents, fog and rocks, it is a graveyard of ships and whales that were caught unaware! The museum consisted of animal bones, riggings from ship wrecks and stories of significant wrecks. We went down to the shore with huge waves and an enourmous and totally stinky fur seal population. Thousands for as far as the eye could see. They were fun to watch for a bit, especially the babies, awkwardly hoisting their little bodies around on the rocks. The amazing thing was to the hundreds or thousands surfing, bobbing up and down and having themselves a grand old time in the water. Indeed there were seagulls and birds of prey around to feast on the inevitable carcases of seals among the molt-covered rocks.

We went back to the office/museum compound where Esther had a lovely lunch of corn and miso soup and paella ready for us. She apparently does this almost every day during her six weeks on! Conversation was lovely and lunch was good. We learned that our 2:00 PM plane back would be delayed,so off we went to see a shipwreck - yay!

The shipweck was from 1976, a South African fishing boat called the South Coast. It was a mass of tangled,mangled metal strewn about the shore. Must have been a harsh end. It was good to get a feel for why indeed this landscape is unforgiving.

Finally, with a little more time, we headed south to the mouth of the river (currently blocked off),where a bunch of flamingoes were feeding in the water. One wouldn’t have known we weren’t in Florida!

Back at the airstrip, we boarded our plane quickly and got home in no time! We blogged and reviewed photos for a bit then headed to our briefing from the research team here. Cheetahs! Yay. They’re such wonderful creatures, and our guy was so totally enthusiastic about understanding them better. He even considers the vulture/cheetah in his research. Loved it!

We then had a lovely chat with Lizelle, the duty manager for tonight, around the firepit - everything from commiserating about knee issues, to healthcare, to customer service to tourism. Fun to get a local’s perspective. Dinner was wonderful, pulling Jo and Robert’s table over to join us. The evening was much cooler than last night, and totally enjoyable. The fact that Seb almost ate a moth with a sip of wine - details, details…

Back in the room, fans to cool, mosquito nets to protect…life is good.

[cowboymaterials]

"Identity—more specifically, gender identity—is an assault on the individual. Trans people are well aware of this incursion on our Unique [Egoist term for the individual beyond the confines of identity]. Dysphoria is an encapsulation of this violence; we internally beat ourselves for behaving like something we are not and we physically cut ourselves for failing to appear as something we are. No matter how well we “pass” as our preferred gender, our dysphoria will always show us the imperfections. This points to a possible solution; to end our dysphoria it is not enough to fumble about in the boxes of gender, rather, it is imperative we destroy all that upholds the gender binary. Dysphoria exists as long as the phantom of gender possesses us and everyone else in society; it was not something we were born with but something that was instilled on us from the moment we are born. This is not to say that we must simply conform to our assigned gender in order to do away with our discomfort, far from it. Instead, we should annihilate all apparatuses of control and description that would seek to impose their draconian rules of identity onto our unruly selves...

"The moment I was ejected from my mother’s womb I was immediately referred to as ‘it’. By using this pronoun the doctor was not identifying me by anything; he was neither gendering me, nor imposing his humanity onto me. Instead, he is denoting a lack of identity altogether, as all that currently existed was the (extremely) limited experiences of a new born baby. However, in an unfortunate about-face, this led directly into my gendering; the complete sentence being “It’s a boy!” This was the first time a gender was appointed to me. By using it/its pronouns I aim to journey back to just before this time; I seek to undo my domestication by harkening back to a time that has long been lost. I only wish that, in doing so, I can revisit myself prior to when identity was instilled onto my individuality...

"‘It’ carries with it the implication of negation; as stated above, ‘it’ holds no specificity in regards to what it is being used for. No identity is being imposed by the usage of ‘it’. Instead, ‘it’ is a universal term that suggests complete ambiguity and no identification of the object, person, thing, animal, etc. Through this negation and ambiguity, it is my ambition to achieve the eradication of gender and a leap into the void of Nothingness. Gender exists to subjugate and specify; I will not be pinned down by definition, and I most certainly will not concede to domination. Rather, I will transform into a fiery, impassioned, inferno that burns and shreds-to-bits every inch of this wretched society...

"While my favored form of attack exists within the unfolding of a riot, I can also find moments of freedom within the anti-identity of it/its pronouns. If I cannot constantly be physically burning and smashing the likes of bank storefronts and Starbucks windows, then I will metaphorically do so by existing as a monstrous vulgarity to the gender binary. If I cannot constantly be dressed head-to-toe in solid black, obscuring any identification, living outside of societal bounds, then I will obscure identification of my Unique under the disguise of what is now deemed to be socially acceptable; If it is now socially acceptable to introduce ourselves with our pronouns, then I will introduce myself with pronouns which shatter the illusion of societal acceptance and which broaden the holes created by my queerness."

Excerpt from Anti-Gender Monstrosity by Rebellious, I.

[sleepycatmama]

Hi! As a fellow polyam, I was curious about your two husbands legally! I of course think anyone can use any terms you want, and don't object to you referring to them as your husbands even if you aren't legally married, but I was wondering if you are all three legally married? Just because I would love to know if and possibly where that might be an option for me/us lol

Sorry, just now saw this.

The government only recognizes my marriage to my senior husband. Some years ago we contacted a lawyer that was recommended to us, who did wills and such, and asked him what all we could do to get as close as possible with the current laws. It turned out to be rather down the rabbit hole for that lawyer, I know he's since presented talks on the work he did for us for other lawyers to learn about. We each have power of attorney and medical power of attorney for the other two - we can't be shut out of hospitals and medical decision making. We have paperwork drawn up that we three all have legal guardianship for our kids. (which is less necessary now that our surviving children are all over 18, but was important at the time.) We have paperwork that if any of us were incapacitated, the others would be guardians for us, and specifically wrote out family members that we would NOT want to ever have control of us. We have wills that have us set up so that we are each others' heirs first, as spouses are, then the kids next.

We also keep a joint bank account - it's not the one we use the most but it's the one we can all move money into and out of as we need. We also have it set up so that we can get to each others' password manager if needed.

When we buy a car, we always have one of the two of us who are legally married, and my younger husband, on the paperwork - the marriage means the other legal spouse has access through that. The house we recently bought has both husbands on the mortgage together, and we're going to do the paperwork so that all three of our names will be on the deed.

There was a lot out there on what gay couples could do to protect themselves when they couldn't legally marry - adapt a lot of that.

I have a wedding ring on each hand. :)

[nityarawal]

We left messages for Amanda and Debbie in Executive. Do you need their numbers? I prefer Amanda. 

She helped with the airbnb bank fraud last year.

I need refunds on all scams now Paige. You and Amanda settle this tonight. Judges want current bank statement to so they can forgive debts from local scams at court/bank & Sheriff- who got busted on foul play.

Thanks!

Nitya 

Yeah- California is the abortion & rape = baby factory State!

Could you please confirm this is a fake check? Sal has made mistakes before and seems sort of senile about continuum with BBVA since he's so new! Please let Idyllwild Town Crier know to stop Trafficking our peeps on Cons. They shouldn't advertise this and a murderer sex offender in one week right?

Could you send latest statement for my judges so they can forgive my registration fees due to PNC management robberies in covid with Mary Sue Haney.

This was bank fraud there. We don't trust the 22.7m federal employees raping our mothers and stealing. Please fire Sal.

Sent to my boss Sue-

Sal- the manager said it was a fake check and refused to cash it! He's a a**hole! I had to get Jerry Sue Haney fired. Do you want executive number? He's likely a fraud- not your check! Lol 

I will let executive office know. He's also had a senior moment about my last 7 years of banking there. 

Lmk if you can call them & fix it with Wells Fargo? Also- I mentioned I can't launder money in any way on the rental. I am on a state stipend- not enough- but they would've withdrawn my food and pay if they thought there was a way to Capitalism on us again! 

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From:��nitya rawal <nityahuntley@gmail.com>

Date: Tue, Oct 17, 2023, 6:24 AM

Subject: Re: Resume For Driver Job

To: Sue Patrick <suepatrick112@att.net>

Aloha! You got all my responses via text? Did you get a place secured here? Are you still coming on 20th? 

I'm moving into a new place & seeing Dr's but will be available. 

Lmk if you need anything and did you send check? I didn't see anything last week! You said you'd send tracking too so maybe didn't get to it? 

I am most often texting. Email isn't as reliable. Maybe I'll open another acct. Tmobile also is spotty in Riverside. 

Country life is simple.

I try to exonomise and only run into towns when need to! (:

Hope packing is going well.

Blessings & Peace,

Nitya 

On Wed, Oct 11, 2023, 11:04 AM Sue Patrick <suepatrick112@att.net> wrote:

Congratulations You have been chosen for the Job you have all I have been searching for as an Experienced Driver I can't wait to meet you in person meanwhile I will be in Idyllwild , CA for the next 4 months. Anyway I am particularly glad you are willing to be my driver. I will want you to know that I will be responsible for the ( Car hire cost and the Gas fee)All I will be needing from you are your driving skills.  I also would like to bring to your notice one more time that I found a car which I will be renting, it's a Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG ( 2017 Model )so I will make arrangements for the car rental and then will let you know ahead of time when it will be delivered to your address.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: My arrival date remains Friday 20th of October All flight details / itinerary will be emailed to you in advance prior to my arrival so as to give you ample time to get yourself prepared and ready.

PAYMENT TERMS: This is my second time, my first was 3 yrs. ago . I would be glad if you can help me check around for luxury apartments close to you, an apartment that is very classy and if possible has got a Jacuzzi, if not I am already working on securing an apartment for myself. Concerning the payment, I will send you a payment in the form of a check which will contain payment for your first week duties and the amount needed for the car rental. Once you receive the check, I want you to have the check deposited at your bank, deduct the sum of $485 as payment for the first week's service and then have the remaining funds on the check as payment for the car rental so they can start processing the delivery of the vehicle to your address as soon as possible.

Furthermore, I will be happy if you could get back to me with the following details of yours so that the payment can be issued out to you right as soon as possible and delivered via postal mail. Also I need you to confirm that your details and address are correct to avoid any mistake during delivery by the postal service company .

To proceed, email me the following:

Full name:

Street Address:

City: State

Postal code:

Cell and Home:

Age:

Alternative Email address:

I will appreciate your quick response if you are completely satisfied with the offer as I am willing to go ahead and issue out the funds by this week for the payment of your first week's service and for the car rental.

I look forward to your quick response.

Best Regards,

Thanks.

On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 02:08:31 AM GMT+8, nitya rawal <nityahuntley@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, I am interested in the position. 

On Sat, Oct 7, 2023, 7:20 AM Sue Patrick <suepatrick112@att.net> wrote:

Thanks for the reply it was highly appreciated, I will be staying in the area of Idyllwild, CA for 4 months your services will be needed only for  2 days in a week is a part time Job and flexible I don't think this will disturb your other Jobs,

Please kindly confirm the following questions to proceed:

1. Would you be available to drive me during the weekdays, basically on Mondays?

2. Apart from Monday, Would you be able to drive me on Friday ( evening shift )?

3. Do you have mailing experience via ( UPS or FED-EX )?

PAY: I am offering you $242.5 x 2days = $485 weekly.

A total of 6 hours per week .  

I will appreciate your swift response and get back to me so we can sort out details and proceed further, My Cell phone number is 206-259-5071. You can easily send texts.

Thanks and God bless you,

Dr Patrick.

On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 03:41:24 AM GMT+8, nitya rawal <nityahuntley@gmail.com> wrote:

I am interested in the position. All sounds good so far!

Thankyou for the opportunity! 

I look forward to reviewing your proposal further.

Blessings,

Nitya 

On Wed, Oct 4, 2023, 10:51 PM Sue Patrick <suepatrick112@att.net> wrote:

Hello,

Thank you for applying. I'm glad to read from you regarding the Personal Driver job. I am looking to hire a Personal Driver Immediately . This is a great opportunity for a dedicated personnel with exceptional driving skills and stellar customer service. This position requires a high level of professionalism, vast knowledge of the surrounding area and traffic rules.  

I'm Dr. Sue Patrick, I'm from Newark, New Jersey. I am 74 years old, educated (Retired Medical Practitioner ),I'm cultural, have got a great sense of humor, good morals, very down to earth and with a noble character. I enjoy meeting people and making new friends, I can say particularly that I do have a very kind heart. Although due to my age I'm hearing impaired so I communicate mostly via text and email. Anything other than that I am fit and healthy .  

I will be coming to your city for the next 4 months for charity work, seminars and a little holiday for myself. As part of my trip, I will be going to leisure spots, cinemas, site seeing, Deaf Culture Seminars etc. I will be spending 16 weeks, so I am going to need a personal driver/chauffeur during my stay, The ideal candidate must be a safe driver with experience and also have some sort of mailing experience via UPS or FedEx as I would be mailing out some charity goods periodically.  

IMPORTANT NOTICE: My arrival date is on the 16th of October so basically I have just over 2 weeks to finalize plans. All flight details / itinerary will be emailed to you in advance prior to our arrival so as to give you ample time to get yourself prepared and ready. On the first day, you will pick me up from the airport and drop me off at the luxury apartment I'm renting. I want you to know that I will be responsible for the ( Car hire cost and the Gas fee ) so all i will be needing you for is your driving skills, that's all. I also would like to bring to your notice that I've found a car which i will be renting for you to drive , it's a Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG ( 2016 Model )so I will make arrangements with the head office of the car hire company and then will let you know ahead of time when it will be delivered to your preferred location/house.

Hope to read back from you Asap.

Best Regards,

Dr. Patrick.

On Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 06:58:02 AM GMT+8, nitya rawal <nityahuntley@gmail.com> wrote:

[fk-hd-the-bandit]

I didnt know i had nighmares until two years ago. It was only when a coworker asked and i mentioned then that i dont have good or bad dreams, theyre just dreams, theyre just movies and when you leave the cinema the difference between you and the screen are minimal while squinting at the glare of popcorn ads. Clutching to anything to seperate yourself from the story. He asked if they were stressful and i said of course! Its a story! Its a weird check in where nothing matters it just so happens that i am crawling from the same tsunami and the sand banks fallen in again and again. But a story ends and i am left clutching at my blankets looking for the retro patterned carpets. He tells me those are nightmares. But what about the countless nights i try my best to avoid? The streets i know off by heart in lucidity. I am my own suburb and yes there was always trouble but never in the same way. 

The hardest part about lucid dreaming is trying to catch the bus.

By the time you squint hard enough to read the time you are already in a new place and never where you wanted to go. The hardest part about lucid dreaming is theres no ticket stub in the jacket pocket proving it was never real. So i buy creams for warts that never existed and poison for ants that were never there. I drink and smoke to avoid dreaming all together but surely there were never nightmares. For a month every year i dream of cows dying, decaying, chopped heads falling in to a hole that grinds them out of my perception. I wake up in a sweat but surely thats just how the cookie mumbles. If i were to have nightmares they would of started long before i understood the word itself. Waking up each night running to my parents room to be told theyre just dreams. It doesnt matter. Nothing really matters. The wolves that chase through primary school hallways are just metaphors and yet when bit i still felt it when woken. Dreams are dreams are metaphors are similies are ways to process and dream of other things. When i dream vividly and lucid i refuse to take control of the video camera. Im no director or film maker or best boy. Im the audience to my own subconscious and delving into their work has only left me nauseous. I avoid myself consiously as ive grown quite fond of almost reality. My psych has allowed me an ounce of delulu as he says its the only way we survive somewhat happily in our current world. The crack between my cunt and my thigh often smells like polony. Ive never been good at sleeping as ive never been too fond of scary movies. But theyre movies none the less and they end. Please tell me they end. Ive learnt my world and dreams are both nighmarish and i am left looking for the crack between my cunt and my thigh. Its a truly weird thing to live in different worlds and still sustain this timeline. Minding my own damn business. Its that time of the year.

[chaletnz]

Amazon: Arriving at Maniti Camp

Despite plans to wake up extra early to go and get breakfast before it got super hot, I had been woken many times overnight from the heat and the noisy fan blowing on me. I took a cold shower to refresh and stepped out to find a massive jungle bug in there on the wall. I noped out of there and quickly took all my stuff out of the bathroom and closed the door. My breakfast spot was about a ten minute walk away at La Mona Cafeteria. My expectations were a little high, but I was still happy with my croissant and a papaya/pineapple juice to fill the hole before I got picked up for my tour. The café had a resident skinny cat and on the walk back I passed a street cat with kittens! The guide, Wellington Marcielo, arrived a little early while I was still finishing up packing but he was happy to wait a few minutes and then flagged down a mototaxi to drive me and my bag to the port while he rode his motorbike in front of us. The drive north of Iquitos was about 20 minutes or so and through a market where the road got very bumpy. At the port I was introduced to the tour guide Rodrigo, and the other four guests going to the eco-lodge camp with me. It was a family of Puerto Ricans but the girls, Naomi and Rachel, who were probably around my age or a few years younger lived in Massachusetts with some cushy sounding government jobs. This trip was for the dad, who had always wanted to visit the Amazon rainforest. We set off on our boat ride towards the jungle camp down the River Nay, the water eventually changed from blue to dirty brown as we entered the Amazon river and continued north. As we rode slowly Rodrigo told us about the famous river. There are 30 different species of piranha in the Amazon rainforest although most live in lakes, the river contains a lot of catfish – some up to 3-4 feet long. The dolphins here are protected by law and by superstition as the shamans say that dolphins used to be people that chose to come back and live in the water. He also said that he’d led tours where Chinese tourists wanted to eat the dolphins, he was shocked and said “they’ll start eating each other in China!” The Amazon river changes shape every year as the current erodes the banks and washes away parts of the land, but then other parts get drier and form more pockets of land. Quite a marvel. Rodrigo also explained his masters’ thesis about sloth poop and how they bury it under the soil at the base of their tree so that pumas and jaguars won’t find it and know the sloth is there to attack. There is also a specific type of moth that feeds off the algae that forms on a sloth’s fur as it eats leaves and dribbles the juices on itself. This moth lays its eggs in the sloth poop and this mini ecosystem continues. After about two hours of riding down the river we entered a small inlet that led us to our camp where we all unloaded ourselves and our luggage and walked across wooden boards, and tree trunks to get up the bank to our camp. We were allocated our rooms and went in to unpack and use the facilities, then we regrouped for a jungle walk before lunch with Rodrigo. He showed us the “veggie ivory” that is shipped to China to make buttons, a tree that produces iodine that is used as antiseptic in jungle communities, the pona walking palm tree with a spiky trunk used as a grater, as well as a lovely leech pit and bullet ant nest. The walk was only about 40 minutes but in that time I amassed so many bites on my arms but the baby insect repellent cream seemed to work on my legs as I didn’t end up with nearly as many there!

[miseryinyou]

So it's been a snow day(s) for the past 48 hours in my neck of the woods. Not for me. But for most people.

We got about 2 feet of snow Tuesday overnight/Wednesday morning and the world shut down.

I currently live at home. Financially - it's a win. Rent is cheaper than what I could get elsewhere which makes it easier to pay off my student loans. In every other aspect it's a fucking nightmare.

I live with my mom (48) and my younger brother (24).

Because our family is dysfunctional af I have had MOST of the non-financial household responsibilities since the age of TEN. I mow the lawn 90% of the time. I do 90% of the dishes/taking out the garbage/vacuuming/kitchen cleaning etc.

When I complain about the unfair level of household work I do - I am told to "suck it up" OR "stop being so uptight".

Usually I just grit my teeth and think of the money I'm saving by living at home.

But yesterday it snowed. I still worked. I was able to work from home. But I worked.

My mom works for a school district so she had a snow day/day off. My brother works at a bank. They were closed due to snow - therefore he had the day off.

Me? I worked from 6:30am - 3:30pm.

I woke up at 3am. I usually work out for about 1h45min before work. I was convinced I was going into the office until about 6am. Therefore, I woke up an hour earlier than usual so I could shovel the driveway/dig out my car before work. At this point we had about 5 inches of snow. The shoveling took me about an hour (driveway/path to front door/sidewalk/dig out car).

All day. I worked. They were off. We got about 1.5 feet of snow between 7am and 1pm.

I came out of my room for lunch - the kitchen is a disaster. Crumbs all over the counter/dishes in the sink/food on the floor. I have 30 mins to eat so I quickly clean it and take my pre-prepped lunch into my room to eat.

I come out of my room after work. No one. Not ONE of the TWO able-bodied people WHO HAVE THE DAY OFF shoveled the driveway.

At this point it's going to be dark in about 1 hour. So I go outside after working 45 mins of overtime and shovel. It took me 2.5 hours. 1.5 hours ALONE was just digging out my car so I could drive to work the next morning. Also, it was garbage night. So guess who had to get the garbage together and pull it out to the curb? Me. Always me.

I'm annoyed. But whatever. It's not supposed to snow again. I'll deal with it. Tomorrow is a new day. It's not like I spent about 12 hours of my day working/shoveling. And another 2 working out. I'm not tired. It's fine.

But it's not fine. This morning I drove to work. The roads weren't great and my commute took me twice as long as usual.

My mom and brother? Still had the day off.

I come home after a stressful day and The HOLE I DUG FOR MY CAR. THE HOLE THAT TOOK ME 1.5 HOURS TO DIG is occupied by my brother's car. He didn't work. He had no reason to leave the house. He had no reason to get in his car in the FIRST PLACE.

So I had no choice but to park in the 2 FOOT SNOW BANK his car left behind.

Right there I started crying.

I drive a sedan. I have snow tires, sure. But the snowbank is the same height as my tires. I will have to work tomorrow. I was drifting and struggling for 10 minutes just to park after work. So back out to the road with my shovel I go. This time to dig ANOTHER hole for my car just so I can go to work tomorrow.

It's been such a bad week.

God. I'm like 10 minutes away from calling in sick tomorrow. But alas, my fucking family will probably be home (they're calling for freezing rain tonight) and frankly I'd rather work than be stuck at home with them tomorrow.

[kathleenmarymulligan]

For the Love of Dogs

I’ve mentioned the street dogs in Amritsar. I see dozens every single day. They are often skeletal, injured, and so very timid. People abuse them. Or hit them with a vehicle and drive on. I see them lying in holes they have dug at the side of the road. I see puppies wandering through traffic or shooed away, threatened, or worse by street vendors.  I am cautious, because they are feral. But it is heartbreaking to see them try to eek out survival in this unforgiving environment.

I stumbled upon a place called Pawsitive Sanctuary on the outskirts of the city and I was intrigued. I asked to join their Facebook group and was immediately welcomed. I asked if we could visit (assuring them we had received our rabies booster)—and the founder of the sanctuary, an Indian-Canadian woman living in Toronto, called me soon after. Amita has devoted herself (and her bank account) passionately to providing free medical care, rescue, and compassion to these dogs.

Today we rode out to the shelter in the one car they have for rescuing dogs. We met a staff that cares for the dogs with incredible love and generosity.

The lone cat (who loves this staff member) and Aashi, the fearless, fierce, and loving coordinator on the ground

Above: preparing food for all of those dogs!

They have a resident vet who lives on the premises with his wife and young son. When we arrived, he was busy treating the bed sores of a paralyzed dog.

There are approximately 125 dogs currently living at the sanctuary (along with one very loud cat.) Many are paralyzed from train and car accidents. Some have had tumors removed, survived distemper, and horrific wounds inflicted by other dogs. One dog, Cinderella, was rescued when she had such a huge and maggot infested wound on her head, half of her face was literally gone. They are nursing her back to health. It is still pretty hard to look at her, but her face is healing, and she will probably have the use of one eye. The staff showed me pictures of when she first arrived. She is, indeed, doing much better!

Here's a partial view of poor Cinderella.

Almost all of the dogs are gentle and friendly. I quickly developed a soft place in my heart for “Milky” and “Tiger” (a tripod who was very jealous of attention we paid to anyone else!)

Tiger (left photo) and Milky

Those of you who know me know that I am not a particularly religious person. But whatever God is—their love is working through these people to help creatures that have no voice, and who deserve dignity and love just as much as you or I. In what religion are they not deserving of that? And yet so many people—here and around the world-- think of them as “just animals.” It infuriates me.

I am sharing some photos. Some are too distressing to share. If you are strong enough, go to the sanctuary’s Instagram or Facebook pages. I am committing to volunteering at the sanctuary while we are here. Please consider supporting them. A little goes a LONG way in this country- and I saw with my own eyes what donations are making possible. Every dog is neutered or spade. All receive the medical treatment, surgery, and care they need. The sanctuary takes in approximately ten dogs per week. People call them from all over the city, having seen an injured or suffering dog. Some are returned to the neighborhoods where they have lived—if there are people there that feed them and watch out for them (they can’t keep them all!) Some are up for adoption. Any dog that cannot survive on their own is assured of a forever home. We are told that many of the dogs will indeed live there forever-- Cinderella, as well as the many paralyzed dogs among them.

The most critical are kept in this room:

The paralyzed dogs (some are slowly learning to walk again!)

Some of the now-healthy dogs love to roam in the wonderful expanse surrounding the sanctuary

Saying goodbye for now to our hosts: Aashi and Reena

Facebook page

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/pawsitivesanctuary/?hl=en

To donate (for U.S.) use Paypal:

Thank you for listening!