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nerdythebard · 4 years ago

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#13: Doctor Strange [Marvel]

By the Eternal Vishanti, I welcome you back!

Today we're making the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe-616, Doctor Strange. This spell-slinging master of the mystic arts has been my favourite superhero for quite some time now, and I'm always excited whenever we get something related to him. Now, just a quick note – this build is going to be based on the comic book version of Strange, not the MCU one. We're having real spells and incantations, not some thinly-veiled Clarke's Third Law. #LetMagicBeMagic.

Next Time: The Gods call for us again. The Dragon King blesses us with his presence.

Now then, let's examine what we need to become the mightiest mystic of the Multiverse:

Arcane Artillery: Doctor Strange holds enough mystic knowledge to give Mind Flayers an indigestion. What he doesn't know, he can look up in his Sanctum Sanctorum's library. We need to be prepared to have a spell for almost any situation.

Mystic Fists of Fury: Before opening his Third Eye fully, Strange spent some time in Kamar-Taj under the tutelage of the Ancient One, practising his combat skills in case he was ever in a situation where magic would fail him.

The Old Favourites: Whatever incarnation of the character we encounter, Doctor Strange is almost always certain to have the following items on him: the Eye of Agamotto, the Cloak of Levitation, and occasionally the Book of the Vishanti. After the Last Days of Magic event, Strange found a likeness for weapons like shortswords, staffs, and axes.

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Stephen Strange was an ordinary human, but due to the years of exposure to otherworldly mystic forces, his biology changed to not accept regular human food anymore. This sounds like a good excuse to make him Variant Human. We get a +1 to two abilities of our choice (Intelligence and Constitution), we know how to speak Common and one other language of our choice, we get to pick one skill to be proficient in (Investigation), and we get to pick a feat. The Medic feat gives us a +1 to Wisdom, proficiency with the Medicine skill, and the ability to tend to our party members' wounds on short rests (Medicine check [DC 15], if successful - the player can use the maximum value of their Hit Dice to regain Hit Points).

Although he started as a simple physician, the turning point of Strange's life was his training in Kamar-Taj. He gained skills and knowledge, vast enough to call himself a Sage. From this background, we gain proficiency in Arcana and History, we learn two more languages, and we gain the Researcher feature; when we're to recall a piece of lore, and we don't know it, we usually can figure out where to find the information (be it a library, a temple, or somebody's private collection).

ABILITY SCORES

Intelligence is our primary stat, serving as our casting ability and our pride. Next is Constitution, all casters need to keep it high. We follow that up with Wisdom, lessons of the Ancient One granted us both humility and broadened our horizons.

Dexterity is a little low, but we'll take care of that later. Charisma is next, even after his training was complete Stephen can be a bit of a jerk and refusing to hear anyone but himself. Finally, we'll dump Strength.

CLASS

Assigning a D&D class to Doctor Strange was a very (and I mean very) difficult task. Starting off, I had to disregard his Sorcerer Supreme title, because in D&D sorcerers are born with the ability to wield magic. Strange had to study and practice to get his powers, so that makes him a Wizard. Kamar-Taj is also dedicated to studying the teachings of the Vishanti, a trinity of god-like beings who give the Sorcerer Supreme their powers, so that would make Strange a Cleric. Finally, he also draws powers from deals he made with otherworldly entities (such as Cyttorak, the Faltine, Munnopor, Watoomb, sometimes even Dormammu himself), which screams 'Warlock', except there's no way to incorporate multiple patrons without homebrewing. It wasn't easy, but I am satisfied with what I've created. Hopefully, you'll be, too.

Level 1 - Monk: We start just as Strange started, by honing our body first. Monks get the d8 Hit Dice, [8 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with simple weapons and shortswords, and proficiency in one set of artisan's tools or a musical instrument (I'd go with alchemist's supplies). Our saving throws are Strength and Dexterity, and we get to pick two class skills (Insight and Religion).

Monks start with Unarmoured Defence. When we're not wearing armour, or holding a shield, our AC equals [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Wisdom modifier]. We also get Martial Arts, which gives our unarmed strikes some more power. We can now use Dexterity instead of Strength for our unarmed strikes attack and damage rolls, we replace our Strength modifier with a d4 for damage of our unarmed strikes, and if we use the unarmed strike (or a monk weapon) on our turn as an Attack, we can use a bonus action to make an extra unarmed strike.

Level 2 - Monk: We get more mobile with Unarmoured Movement. Our ground speed increases by 10 feet if we're not wearing armour or holding a shield.

We also get access to the Monk's signature feature, the Ki energy. We start with 2 Ki Points, which we can spend on the following abilities:

Flurry of Blows: Spending 1 Ki Point after making an attack, lets us make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action;

Patient Defence: Spending 1 Ki Point lets us take a Dodge action as a bonus action on our turn;

Step of the Wind: Spending 1 Ki Point doubles our jump distance for the turn, and we can take the Dash or Disengage actions as a bonus action.

Level 3 - Wizard: We finally begin our study of spells and arcane arts.

Unfortunately, multiclassing into Wizard does not give us any additional benefits. We do, however, get Arcane Recovery. Once per day, during a short rest, we can choose a number of expended spell slots and refill them. The number must be equal to half of our Wizard level (rounded up), and the recovered spell slots cannot be 6th-level or higher.

Wizards also start with Spellcasting at their 1st level, and they know both cantrips and ritual spells. Our spellcasting ability is Intelligence, but unlike many other casting classes we do not get a full access to our spell list. Instead, we start with six spells in our spellbook and get two more each time we level up. Then, we can only prepare and use [Our Intelligence modifier + our Wizard level] spells at once. Describing all of those spells we pick would make this post over a mile long, and I've made that mistake with Sypha. To not make this a chore for you guys, I decided that from now on whenever I make a Wizard (or, a build where Wizard is a majority), I will simply list the spells we pick without descriptions. Let's be honest, if not here, you'll certainly find those in a different build. Alright, let's begin! First, we get to pick three cantrips:

Fire Bolt

Mage Hand

Minor Illusion

When it comes to our starting spells, let's take these six. Remember, we can only prepare a certain number, and we start with only two 1st-level spell slots.

Alarm

Detect Magic

Fog Cloud (to represent the Mists of Munnopor from the comics)

Shield (of the Seraphim)

Magic Missile (as a stand-in for the Daggers of Daveroth)

Sleep

Level 4 - Wizard: We get to pick our subclass, our Arcane Tradition. For Strange, who can be any combination of Wizard, Cleric, and Warlock, the best choice is to pick Theurgy from 2017 Unearthed Arcana. Theurgists are religious magic-users, who focus more on the arcane research rather than prayer and worship.

With Divine Inspiration, we get to select a Cleric Domain and a deity we wish to follow. Ask your DM if it's possible for you to worship three gods as a collective, a magical triumvirate. For your own Vishanti I suggest Mystra, Mother of All Magic, Azuth, the Lord of Spells, and Savras, the All-Seeing. For a Wizard, I'd say there's no better choice than Knowledge Domain.

We also get Arcane Initiate, which lets us replace spells we learn as we level up with the cleric spells of our chosen domain. What's cool about that feature is, other wizards cannot copy those spells from our spellbook. If we get all of our chosen domain's spells, we can keep replacing spells we learn with spells from the Cleric spell list.

Finally, we gain the Cleric's unique skill - Channel Divinity - except in our case it becomes Channel Arcana. We start with two effects: Divine Arcana and the effect granted by the chosen domain. Unlike Clerics, we can use the Channel Arcana once per short or long rest.

Divine Arcana lets us use a bonus action to control the flow of magic in the area. The next spell we cast gets a +2 to its attack roll or saving throw DC.

Knowledge of the Ages grants us quick insight into a skill we're not familiar with. For the next 10 minutes, we're proficient with one tool set of our choice or proficient in one skill we choose.

We gain one more 1st-level spell slot, and for this level's two spells let's get Feather Fall, and Command from the domain list.

Level 5 - Wizard: At this level we unlock 2nd-level spell slots, and we can access 2nd-level spells. Let's get Hold Person (for Strange's famous Crimson Bands of Cyttorak) and Icingdeath's Frost from 2021 Unearthed Arcana: Draconic Options (for the Icy Tendrils of Ikthalon).

Level 6 - Wizard: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement! As is the rule of thumb with all Wizards, boosting our Intelligence is a priority. That's what we shall put the 2 points into.

For this level's spells, we get another cantrip (Light), and let's take Locate Object and Mirror Image (to represent the Images of Ikonn).

Level 7 - Wizard: We unlock 3rd-level spell slots. Let's get Dispel Magic, and we can get Fly to finally get a representation for our Cloak of Levitation.

Level 8 - Wizard: We get our first subclass upgrade. Arcane Acolyte grants us the 1st-level benefits of our chosen domain. For Knowledge domain, it's Blessings of Knowledge; we learn two languages of our choice and get proficiency in two skills... which we pretty much are proficient in already. To not waste a feature, ask your DM if you can double your proficiency bonus for those two skills instead. If you get a 'yes', pick Arcana and Insight.

For this level's spells, let's get Counterspell and Magic Circle.

Level 9 - Wizard: From here, we get access to 4th-level spell slots. Banishment and Dimension Door seems like exactly what we need to keep enemies at bay and have fun with portals.

Level 10 - Wizard: Halfway through the build, and we get an ASI. Let's cap our Intelligence at 20, with those two points.

For this level's spells, let's grab Arcane Eye and turn back a little and get Speak with Dead from our domain list, as it is one of few spells not available to Wizards.

Level 11 - Wizard: We get access to 5th-level spells. With Contact Other Plane and Legend Lore, we become an even bigger magical know-it-all to aid our party.

Level 12 - Wizard: For our subclass upgrade, we get Arcane Priest, which grants us the Knowledge Domain's 6th-level benefit - Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts. One creature within 60 feet of us must make a Wisdom saving throw, or grant us access to its surface thoughts (emotions and active thoughts, no deep secrets or hidden motives) for 1 minute. During that time, we can also use our action to cast the Suggestion spell on the target; they fail their saving throw automatically.

We also get our final cantrip for this build (Sword Burst), and we get two more 5th-level spells: Planar Binding and Wall of Force.

Level 13 - Wizard: We unlock 6th-level spells. With Globe of Invulnerability and True Seeing, we upgrade our Shield of the Seraphim and give our Eye of Agamotto even more mystic abilities (as it should have had!)

Level 14 - Wizard: Time for another ASI! Let's put one point into Constitution for better HP chance, and one into Dexterity.

Arcane Gate finally gives us a proper yellow sparkly portal thingy, and let's get Chain Lightning for some much needed offensive capabilities.

Level 15 - Wizard: We're getting into 7th-level spells at this level. Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion allows us to recreate our very own Sanctum Sanctorum, and with Project Image we can get Strange's Astral Projection.

Level 16 - Wizard: At this level, we get our final subclass upgrade (and we cross the 100 HP mark, yay!). Arcane High Priest grants us the Knowledge Domain's 17th-level benefits. Visions of the Past lets us spend at least 1 minute of meditation to receive information about a specific object we're holding, or our immediate surroundings:

Object Reading - we learn of the object's previous owner. We know how the person came into contact with the object, how they lost it, and a significant even in their life tied to the object.

Area Reading - we see the events that transpired in the specific location (up to 50-foot cube), going back a number of days equal to our Wisdom modifier.

For this level's spells, let's get Plane Shift and Teleport to double-down on Strange's interdimensional travels.

Level 17 - Wizard: Time for 8th-level spells.

Illusory Dragon is a nice nod to the great "Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme" series (go check it out, it's awesome!), and Maze is another good banishment-type spell to have. Just don't use it on minotaurs.

Level 18 - Wizard: For our final ASI, let's put two points into Dexterity, leaving us unfortunately with an odd number (hopefully, you'll manage to find some ability-increasing item or benefit in your adventure).

For this level's spells, let's grab Power Word: Stun and Demiplane is a good combo to immobilize a foe and send it to the Shadow Realm Mirror Dimension.

Level 19 - Wizard: We unlock the pinnacle of D&D arcane, the 9th-level spells... that is, unless your DM introduces High Magic, which is... whew, a league of its own.

Time Stop and Foresight give us those Time Stone abilities (for all you MCU degenerates. Yes, I know what I said, but Strange was given the Time Stone in his new run, so I did not lie!)

Level 20 - Wizard: Our capstone is Wizard 18, which gives us the Spell Mastery feature. We get to choose one 1st-level spell and one 2nd-level spell from our spellbook and make them our signature moves; we can now cast them at will, without expending a spell slot. Shield and Hold Person seems like a good choice here.

For our final spells of this build, we cannot go without Astral Projection, and let's get Imprisonment a chance.

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And there we go! Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts. Let's see what we've created:

First of all, we're the epitome of Wizard, we're a great utility caster and a pretty good support, with Internet-like capability of finding information. We're don't have a lot of damage-dealing abilities, like Sypha did, but remember - Wizards also get spell by finding them in the world and copying them in their spellbook. This here is only what we get automatically. Go and roam the world in search for that Fireball!

We have AC of 14, but with Shield (and later making it pretty much permanent) it can get up to 19, and we have 130 Hit Points on average. Our speed is also a little better, with 40 feet of movement (plus flying thanks to the Fly spell).

Unfortunately, our Charisma and Wisdom are not great, so those saving throws might be difficult. Our Strength is also not the greatest, so we're pretty much forced to fight with magic.

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And that is it! Next time, we return to SMITE for a few builds, as I absorbs information about Fire Emblem: Three Heroes. Also, the game devs just released a teaser for Morgana le Fay, and my first reaction was 'Hexblade Warlock'. Do you agree?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and your day is going great. I'll see you next time!

- Nerdy out!

#dnd #d&d 5e #dungeons and dragons #character building #marvel #mcu #doctor strange #stephen strange #sorcerer supreme #wizard #theurgy

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makeste · 4 years ago

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I’ve just realised it’s been over a year since you last listed your top 10 characters! Has anything changed since then?

a lot has changed! actually, every single ranking has changed from last time except for one (which you can probably guess, lol).

1. Bakugou (previous rank: 1)

yes, believe it or not, Bakugou is still my favorite. I’ll understand if you all need a moment to recuperate from the shock of this.

2. Deku (previous rank: 4)

hi, so. I really love Deku a lot. I think he is a great character and there’s a lot of subtlety and complexity to him that he doesn’t always get credit for. he is loving and kind, but he’s not a pushover. he has moments of deer-in-headlights anxiety when he’s in the spotlight or talking to celebrities (or girls), but then he’ll go and launch into a five-hour speech if someone mentions a topic he’s interested in. he’s very much aware of the huge burden that’s been placed on his shoulders, and is struggling to figure out how to become his own person (which is fucking hard, you guys; how many sixteen-year-olds do you know who have a solid, firm idea of who they are as a person and what it is about themselves that makes them unique individuals?) while still living up to All Might’s legacy. he’s smart and determined and capable of extraordinary things, but second-guesses himself and has a tendency to overthink everything he does. he is interesting!! and he doesn’t always get credit for being interesting! but he is! anyways Deku ilu.

3. Aizawa (previous rank: 2)

still the best. still so tired. the manga is tripling down lately on highlighting how awesome he is. childhood angst and guilt and trauma?? yes. kicking lots of ass?? hell yes. being outrageously sexy with his floating wavy hair and glowy red eyes and spending almost this entire arc in Eraser Mode while Horikoshi hopes to god no one remembers how he made it a Whole Thing after USJ that Aizawa supposedly couldn’t hold his quirk for long periods like that anymore?? oh, you bet. who is even gonna complain about it. you?? I sure am not. and last but not least, being the greatest dad in the world who’s willing to stab god in the face in order to stay alive to protect his children and continue to watch them grow?? fam. you goddamn know that is a YES WITH CAPITAL LETTERS. how can one character honestly be so great. how can he even contain it. he’s so powerful.

4. Todoroki (previous rank: 5/6)

Ochako slid all the way off my top ten list and I feel so bad about it. but she hasn’t had the spotlight for a long time, and meanwhile Shouto has had what feels like ARC AFTER ARC of being awesome and doing awesome things like becoming Bakugou’s Undisputed Best Friend, having the longest and purest canon romantic relationship in the series (I am of course talking about him/soba), and playing a key role in one of the most beautifully executed family arcs I have ever seen, with his conflicted feelings about his father that are so layered that THEIR LAYERS HAVE LAYERS. and meanwhile his quirk kicks as much ass as ever. remember that one time Shouto almost burned Tetsutetsu alive. remember that other time he fucking annihilated Ending (“GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER”)?! and meanwhile he remains the goodest and purest child in the entire series, making sure Mt. Lady’s heart is okay, and offering his two friends internships without a second’s hesitation because THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS DO. it’s just what they do you guys.

5. Hawks (previous rank: n/a! welcome to the top ten kiddo.)

OH NO I LOVE A MURDERER WHAT A STUNNING INDICTMENT OF ME. send me off to jail. anyway so I have always liked Hawks, but the latest arc has sent him skyrocketing up through the ranks of my heart. not because of the murder thing, but... okay well but actually, it is because of the murder thing though. NOT BECAUSE I’M HAPPY HE KILLED A GUY WE ALL LOVED, jesus, but because of how well Horikoshi portrayed his struggle over it. he didn’t want to do it!! but he ended up having to in the end, and he paid one hell of a heavy price for it. and listen, but if you give me a character who is smart, who is compassionate, and who is one of the most mentally and physically capable characters we’ve seen in the series and yet simultaneously does not have even the slightest ounce of regard or self-preservation for his own mental health? a character who is tired, who is willing to make sacrifices up to and including the ultimate sacrifice for what he believes is the greater good? a character who is achingly alone and isolated in so much of what he has to go through, who doesn’t dare drop his guard ever, who’s not able or willing to share his burdens with anyone else? if you give me a character like that, and then ask me not to love him, it’s like. I am very sorry but I truly have no say in it at this point. he’s adopted. I’m sorry it’s the law.

6. Tomura (previous rank: n/a)

OH NO I LOVE TWO MURDERERS WHAT EVEN IS WRONG WITH ME. hahaha. so in between the time of now and when I last did a character ranking, Tomura had a flashback! and it was very traumatic! he was little and sweet and his dad was a dick and there was a lot of blood and gore and a dog died!! and then AFO was all “HELLO IT’S ME COME TO SWOOP IN AND ADOPT YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO KILL STUFF AND ALSO HERE ARE YOUR DEAD FAMILY’S SEVERED BODY PARTS TO ADORN YOURSELF WITH SO YOU NEVER STOP FEELING MISERABLE.” and everyone sitting there reading was all, “well I’ll just come out and say it, I can sort of understand why he became a murderer now,” and we all agreed that yes, it did indeed make a great deal of sense, when you put it that way. anyway, so obviously you can’t not feel empathy toward the kid after all that, even if he is going around killing A WHOLE LOT MORE people now, and has basically gone batshit insane actually. I remain steadfast in my conviction that Tomura is not the actual final villain -- AFO is. and call me crazy, but in spite of everything, I still think this kid has a shot at redemption. it won’t be pretty, and it’ll be a long, long path, and he might not ever fully make it all the way, but he’s someone who’s been manipulated and used as a puppet his entire life, and I want him to have the chance to finally break free from that. hopefully he’ll get it.

7. Mirko (previous rank: n/a)

so previously this section just said “MIRKO!!!!!”, which I honestly think sums it up pretty well. I honestly can’t think of any other character who has come along and just slapped me straight across the face with their sheer awesomeness as much as her, though. every time she’s onscreen/on the page my face is just a huge grin the entire time. she is fearless. like, she’s the type of person who actually does laugh in the face of danger -- like that’s not just an expression, she will LITERALLY LAUGH. she is Peter Pan with a dagger to his throat, smiling and saying “to die would be an awfully big adventure.” she is someone who’s found her purpose in life and is thriving. Mirko has no time for your existential angst; she’s too busy kicking ass every minute of every hour of every day. I love her so, so much. thank you so much Horikoshi for being obsessed with her and making her the biggest badass in the whole series.

8. All Might (previous rank: 3)

I still adore him! he just has had next to nothing to do for what seems like forever, so the other characters who are still getting steady development are kind of just sneaking past him one by one. but he is still the absolute best. he cares so much. so, so, so, so much. he’s not always the most natural when it comes to being a teacher or a mentor, and he stumbles and makes mistakes, but he loves his kids. he cares about them so fiercely. and that’s far and away the most important thing, and it’s not even close. and he’s also just so endlessly self-sacrificing and constantly putting everyone else before himself, and it’s insane. he’s someone who is just constantly thinking, “how can I do more, how can I help more, what else can I do to try and make the world better” even as he stumbles along with half a lung, and struggles with his feelings of inadequacy and helplessness and feeling like it’s just still not enough. I want to give All Might the biggest hug in the world and tell him that it’s all right, that he did good, that the kids are going to be all right. when Aizawa told him “you being alive is enough” I almost had a breakdown tbh. anyway if I keep going I’m gonna talk myself into moving him back up the list and then I’ll have to rearrange this whole thing lol so suffice it to say, fuck yeah All Might.

9. Momo (previous rank: 7)

when is Momo gonna do more stuff, Horikoshi?? huh??! he does realize that whenever she does stuff it’s always amazing?? so why is she not just constantly doing amazing, awesome stuff all the time?? I don’t know, and frankly I’ve had just about enough of this. let Momo do stuff 2020. but I won’t talk about this anymore for now because I haven’t ready any chapter 278 spoilers and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

(ETA: I HAVE READ CHAPTER 278 NOW AND ALL I CAN SAY IS YESSSSS!!! MOMO!!!! also I swear to god I genuinely had not seen any spoilers when I was writing this post lol, it was a total coincidence. I’m glad the “let Momo do stuff 2020″ campaign was so immediately successful though.)

10. Kaminari (previous rank: 8)

last but not least, my five-and-a-half-year-old traitor son, Kaminari Denki. he is just such a shining beam of light and life and goodness and chaos. there is this amazingly buoyant energy whenever he’s on the page that just fills me with love for him. I constantly just want to ruffle his hair, just, all the damn time. he is everybody’s friend, he loves them all so much, and he fearlessly calls Bakugou “Kacchan” heedless of the repercussions (OF WHICH THERE WERE NONE!!), and he sincerely tells Jirou that he’s in awe of her musical talents, and he wrecked his fingers learning to play guitar for her but he was happy to do it, and he was afraid to fight in the big ALL THE VILLAINS VS ALL THE HEROES battle because DUH!?! but he still did it anyway because he had to protect his friends. and his quirk and its side effects are constantly used for comic relief and not taken seriously at all (even though it’s actually insanely powerful holy shit), but he doesn’t care because he’s happy to make his friends happy. he’ll willingly be the butt of the joke if it means he gets to see them laugh. he just has such a big heart, and in all seriousness, if you think he’s the traitor I just don’t even know what to say to you.

so that’s it! Tokoyami, Ochako, Shinsou, Iida, and Sero would probably be the next five, with Endeavor, Toga, Mina, Jirou, and Mirio rounding out the top twenty. maybe not in that exact order but it’s close enough. really there are only like three characters in the series I actually truly dislike, so I’m honestly glad “top ten” is the general standard otherwise I’d be here all night running through them all lol.

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thecreaturecodex · 5 years ago

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Asura Rana, Malkizid

Image by Raven Mimura, © WIzards of the Coast. Accessed at Obsidian Portal here

[Commissioned by @tar-baphon. Malkizid is from the Forgotten Realms, and was seduced by Lolth into attacking Corellion Latherian in the Seldarine War. Since none of those proper nouns exist in Pathfinder, I did my best to make his flavor text a little more generic. Statistics for Malkizid appeared in the 3.5 supplement Champions of Ruin, and these statistics are based on those. The 3.5 version was a devil, but I figured that asura was more appropriate, with the divine connection.]

Asura Rana, Malkizid CR 27 LE Outsider This humanoid is stocky and tall, with skin made of marble. His face would be handsome, if not for his eyes, which are empty black pits, and the bleeding wound that opens his brow. Short horns curl from his temples. Feathered wings grow from his back, and his hands and feet are the talons of an eagle. A thin, rat-like tail grows from the base of his spine.

Malkizid, the Branded King, Elfbane Concerns corruption, elves, treason Domains Charm, Destruction, Evil, Law Subdomains Corruption, Hatred, Lust, Tyranny Worshipers conspirators, evil elves, the ambitious Minions asuras, daemons, fallen angels Unholy Symbol a cracked skull oozing blood Favored Weapon bastard sword Devotion Spend one hour plotting an act of treason, or encouraging others to commit treason. Gain a +4 bonus to saves against charm and compulsion effects. Boons 1: suggestion; 2: blade barrier; 3: overwhelming presence

When a subset of elves turned to the worship of demons and transformed into drow, the elven pantheon was thrown into disarray. During this tumult, the solar Malkazid was tempted to ruin and attempted a coup. Smote across the forehead and cast into Hell, he transformed into an asura, as much for his divine mistake as anyone else’s. Over the course of millennia, he has allied with asura ranas, daemonic harbingers and the Lords of the Nine Hells themselves, betraying them each in turn as he got what he desired from them. Fled from Hell on pain of death by the agents of Asmodeus, he currently dwells in a demesne carved from Abaddon, the Barrens of Doom and Despair. There he works his sinister schemes, nothing less than the complete destruction of all the elven races.

In combat, Malkizid typically opens with his prismatic disruption, stripping magic from his enemies while striking them with corrupted beams of unholy radiance. He favors the use of a lawful bastard sword in combat, but is also skilled with his claws and lashing, rat-like tail. Malkizid rarely battles alone, and if he does not have allies when confronted, he summons them and reinforces their abilities with his magic. He retains many of the abilities of the solar he once was, and is a powerful and flexible spellcaster.

Malkizid’s favorite weapons are his honeyed words and false promises. He delights in slowly turning mortals to treachery and betrayal, favoring elves who would work against their own kind above all other races. Malkizid has no love lost for the drow, and hates good and evil elves alike. Those that succumb to his words he supports with gifts of magic items and powerful fiendish allies, but Malkizid will betray or enslave these allies as readily as any other creature.

Malkizid CR 27 XP 3,276,800 XP LE Large outsider (asura, evil, extraplanar, lawful) Init +10; Senses darkvision 120 ft. Perception +45, see in darkness, true seeing Aura fear (20 ft., DC 36), shield of law (DC 28), true elusive (200 ft.) Defense AC 45, touch 20, flat-footed 38 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +9 armor, +16 natural, +4 deflection hp 610 (33d10+429); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +28, Ref +28, Will +31 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, infernal resurrection; DR 20/chaotic, epic and good; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm effects, compulsion effects, curse effects, death effects, disease, energy drain, fear, fire, petrifaction, poison, polymorph; Resist acid 30, electricity 30; SR 38 Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 120 ft. (good) Melee +3 lawful bastard sword +48/+43/+38/+33 (2d8+15/17-20 plus 2d6 vs. non-lawful opponents), claw +42 (2d6+6 plus infernal wound, tail slap +42 (1d8+6 plus trip) or 2 claws +44 (2d6+12 plus infernal wound), tail slap +42 (1d8+6 plus trip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Abilities branded gaze, lashing tail, prismatic disruption Spell-like Abilities CL 27th, concentration +37 (+41 casting defensively) Constant—detect chaos, detect good, freedom of movement, shield of law (DC 28), true seeing At will—dimensional anchor, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), invisibility (self only), mass suggestion (DC 26), order’s wrath (DC 24), unholy blight (DC 24), waves of fatigue 3/day—quickened blade barrier (DC 26), harm (DC 26), heal (DC 26), mass charm monster (DC 28), prismatic spray (DC 27), resurrection, summon asuras 1/day—dominate monster (DC 29), imprison (DC 29), power word blind, power word kill, power word stun, wish Spells CL 20th, concentration +28 (+32 casting defensively) 9th—astral projection, energy drain (DC 28), implosion (DC 28), mass heal (DC 28), overwhelming presence (DC 28) 8th—earthquake, fire storm (DC 27), greater spell immunity, mass cure critical wounds (DC 27), mass inflict critical wounds (DC 27) 7th—blasphemy (DC 26), destruction (DC 26), greater restoration, repulsion (DC 27), waves of ecstasy (DC 26) 6th—cold ice strike (DC 25), epidemic (DC 25), greater dispel magic (x2), mass bull strength 5th—dispel chaos (DC 24), dispel good (DC 24), flame strike (DC 24), greater command (DC 24), slay living (DC 24), unhallow 4th—cure critical wounds (x2, DC 23), dismissal (DC 23), divine power, terrible remorse (DC 23), tongues 3rd—bestow curse (DC 22), blindness/deafness (DC 22), deeper darkness, prayer, protection from energy, water breathing 2nd—bear’s endurance, death knell (DC 21), eagle’s splendor, owl’s wisdom, resist energy, spiritual weapon 1st—bless, curse water, divine favor, entropic shield, murderous command (DC 20), sanctuary, shield of faith 0th—detect magic, light, read magic, stabilize Statistics Str 34, Dex 23, Con 36, Int 31, Wis 28, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +46 (+50 disarm); CMD 66 (68 vs. disarm) Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (bastard sword), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Lunge, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (blade barrier), Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical, Weapon Focus (bastard sword) Skills Acrobatics +42, Bluff +46, Diplomacy +46, Fly +41, Intimidate +46, Knowledge (arcana, nature, religion) +43, Knowledge (history, planes) +46, Perception +45, Sense Motive +45, Stealth +42, Spellcraft +43, Survival +42, Use Magic Device +43 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Elven, Infernal, Undercommon, telepathy 300 ft. SQ asura rana traits Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abaddon) Organization solitary (unique) Treasure triple standard (+3 mithral lawful bastard sword, +5 mithral chain shirt, other treasure) Special Abilities Asura Rana Traits (Ex, Su and Sp) Malkizid has the following traits:

Malkizid can grant spells to its worshipers as if he were a deity.

Malkizid’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as lawful, epic, and evil for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Infernal Resurrection (Ex) Malkizid rules an infernal domain. If he is slain, his body rapidly melts into corruption (leaving behind any gear he held or carried), his soul returns to a hidden location within his realm, and it is immediately restored to life (as true resurrection) at that location. Once this occurs, Malkizid can’t use this ability again until a full year has passed. An asura rana that is slain again during this year or is killed by unusual methods (such as by a true deity or an artifact created for this purpose) is slain forever.

Immunity to ability damage, ability drain, charm effects, compulsion effects, death effects, energy drain, and petrification.

Regeneration (Ex) Only chaotic, epic and good damage, or damage from a creature of equal or greater power (such as an archdevil, deity, demon lord, or protean lord) interrupts Malkizid’s regeneration.

Resistance to acid 30, and electricity 30

Summon Asuras (Sp) Three times per day as a swift action, Malkizid can summon any asura or combination of asuras whose total combined CR is 20 or lower. This otherwise works like the summon universal monster rule with a 100% chance of success, and counts as a 9th-level spell effect.

Telepathy 300 feet.

Branded Gaze (Su) 30 ft., paralyzed 1 minute and 1d6 Wisdom damage, Will DC 36. A creature reduced to 0 Wisdom must succeed an additional DC 36 Will save or have its alignment changed to lawful evil when its Wisdom is restored. The save DC is Charisma based. Infernal Wound (Su) A creature struck by Malkizid’s claws takes 2d6 points of bleed damage. Bleed caused by an infernal wound is particularly difficult to stanch—a DC 43 Heal check is required to stop it, and any attempt to heal a creature suffering from his infernal wounds must succeed a DC 38 caster level check or fail. Lashing Tail (Ex) Malkizid may make an attack with his tail slap as a swift action. Prismatic Disruption (Su) As a standard action three times a day, Malkizid can fire rainbow beams from his body at all creatures in a 60 foot radius. Each creature is subject to a targeted greater dispel magic effect (CL 27th). Any creature that has at least one spell dispelled is also subject to the effects of a single color of prismatic spray (DC 36, save varies). The save DC is Charisma based. Spells Malkizid casts spells as a 20th level cleric. He does not gain other cleric abilities, such as domains or channel energy. True Elusive Aura (Su) No divination spells or effects function within 200 feet of Makizid unless they are cast by a mythic or divine creature. Even then, the caster must succeed a DC 38 caster level check or the spell is lost.

#malkizid #fallen angel #pathfinder 1e #forgotten realms #commissions

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raeynbowboi · 5 years ago

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The Character Forge: Building an Embodiment of Light

After my build of pure madness, which was so macabre, I felt a change of tone was in order to make something more pure and wholesome. The purposes of this build is to fully commit to light, holiness, and goodness, and make the most light-focused build that I can.

The Power of Light

Light & Radiance: The most important part of a build focusing on embodying light is of course having spells that create light and/or deal radiant damage.

Holiness & Virtue: One step out from light itself is spells associated with sacred sources and embodying pure goodness.

Life & Healing: While not intrinsically “light”, Life is often lumped in with light and goodness, and many White Mages heal.

Helping & Protecting: The low man on the totem pole, this is mostly if the build hasn’t used up all of their spell slots on the first three, spells that help buff or protect allies is a good, friendly thing to have in a fight.

Powers, Abilities, and Skills

Light & Radiance

Blinding Smite (Paladin, Ranger) Color Spray (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Crown of Stars (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Dancing Lights (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Dawn (Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Wizard, Divine Soul Sorcerer) Daylight (Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Theurgy Wiard) Divine Favor (Paladin, War Cleric) Faerie Fire (Artificer, Bard, Druid, Light Cleric, Twilight Cleric, Archfey Warlock) Flame Strike (Cleric, Paladin, Wildfire Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Fiend Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Guardian of Faith (Cleric, Crown Paladin, Devotion Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Guiding Bolt (Cleric, Heroism Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Light (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard) Moonbeam (Druid, Ancients Paladin) Prismatic Spray (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Prismatic Wall (Bard, Wizard) Sacred Flame (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Spirit Guardians (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Sunbeam (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard) Sunburst (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard) Wall of Light (Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Word of Radiance (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard)

Holiness & Virtue

Aura of Purity (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Banishment (Cleric, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Bless (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Commune (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Conjure Celestial (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Divine Word (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Hallow (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Fiend Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Holy Aura (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Holy Weapon (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Prayer of Healing (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Sanctuary (Artificer, Cleric, Devotion Paladin, Redemption Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Shield of Faith (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Spiritual Weapon (Cleric, Conquest Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Temple of the Gods (Cleric, Divine soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Thaumaturgy (Cleric, Divine soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard)

Life & Healing

Aura of Life (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Aura of Vitality (Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Cure Wounds (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Greater Restoration (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Heal (Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Healing Spirit (Druid, Ranger) Healing Word (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Lesser Restoration (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Celestial Warlock) Mass Cure Wounds (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Mass Heal (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Mass Healing Word (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Power Word Heal (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Regenerate (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Reincarnate (Druid) Remove Curse (Cleric, Paladin, Warlock, Wizard, Divine Soul Sorcerer) Resurrection (Bard, Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Revivify (Artificer, Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock, Theurgy Wizard) Spare the Dying (Artificer, Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard)

Helping & Protecting

Aid (Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Aim (Artificer, Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Beacon of Hope (Cleric, Devotion Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Guidance (Artificer, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Heroism (Bard, Paladin, Order Cleric) Mage Armor (Sorcerer, Wizard, Warlock: Armor of Shadows Motivational Speech (Cleric, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Resistance (Artificer, Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard) Shield (Sorcerer, Wizard, Hexblade Warlock) Warding Bond (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Theurgy Wizard)

Emb-Race the Light

Sure, there are High Sun Elves, but the obvious choice for race on a light-based build is Aasimar.

We’re building an embodiment of goodness. Lawful Good is the alignment.

For background, Acolytes worship in temples, Folk Heroes help people, and City Watch is basically DnD cops.

Staying Classy

Cleric Life: Focused more on healing, Life gods are almost exclusively good. Light: As the build is focused around Light as a concept, this is the obvious choice.

Monk Sun Soul: This subclass deals radiant damage, which is important for this build.

Paladin Devotion: Focused on upholding justice and goodness, this subclass is the White Knights who champion righteousness. Heroism: Paladins who swear an oath to protect and serve their patrons, be they man, god, or spirit. Redemption: Those who have sworn an oath to never give up on a lost soul, preferring pacifism and forgiveness over crushing the forces of evil.

Sorcerer Divine Soul: Born with a holy spirit, Divine Soul Sorcerers get angelic wings, the favor of the gods, supernatural healing, and can steal from the Cleric spell list.

Warlock Celestial: Sworn to helping a divine being, they also gain enhanced healing abilities.

Wizard Theurgy: Studying holy magic, you can pick a Clerical domain to steal the features of, and freely pickpocket the cleric spell list. Basically, you’re a Cleric that casts with INT with a bigger spell selection and a huge number of known spells.

Race: Protective Aasimar Background: Acolyte Alignment: Lawful Good Class: Theurgy Wizard (20) - Light Domain Base Stats: Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 14 (+4) Constitution: 20 (+2) Intelligence: 20 (-1) Wisdom: 11 (0) Charisma: 10 (0) Saving Throws: Strength: -1 Dexterity: +2 Constitution: +5 Intelligence: +11 Wisdom: +6 Charisma: +0 Combat Stats: HP: 182 AC: 12 Speed: 30 Initiative: +2 Proficiency Bonus: +6 Passive Perception: 10 Dark Vision: 60 feet Proficiencies: Arcana (Wizard) Insight (Acolyte) Medicine (Wizard) Religion (Acolyte) Skills: Acrobatics: +2 Medicine: +6 Animal Handling: +0 Nature: +5 Arcana: +11 Perception: 0 Athletics: -1 Performance: 0 Deception: 0 Persuasion: 0 History: +5 Religion: +11 Insight: +6 Sleight of Hand: +2 Intimidation: 0 Stealth: +2 Investigation: +5 Survival: 0 Damage Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Wizard Feature: Signature Spells Daylight Mass Healing Word Wizard Feature: Spell Mastery Guiding Bolt Flaming Sphere

Spell Slots 1st (4) 2nd (3) 3rd (3) 4th (3) 5th (3) 6th (2) 7th (2) 8th (1) 9th (1)

Spellbook of Light

Cantrips 3rd Level 6th Level Dancing Lights Aura of Vitality Heal Light Beacon of Hope Sunbeam Sacred Flame Daylight 7th Level Spare the Dying Fireball Conjure Celestial Word of Radiance Mass Healing Word Crown of Stars 1st Level Motivational Speech Divine Word Bless Revivify Prismatic Spray Burning Hands Spirit Guardians Regenerate Color Spray 4th Level Resurrection Cure Wounds Aura of Life Temple of the Gods Faerie Fire Aura of Purity 8th Level Guiding Bolt Guardian of Faith Holy Aura Healing Word Wall of Fire Sunburst Mage Armor 5th Level 9th Level Shield Commune Mass Heal Shield of Faith Dawn Power Word Heal 2nd Level Flame Strike Prismatic Wall Aid Greater Restoration True Resurrection Flaming Sphere Hallow Lesser Restoration Holy Weapon Prayer of Healing Mass Cure Wounds Scorching Ray Scrying Spirit Weapon Wall of Light Warding Bond

Features:

Arcane Recovery: Once per day, after a short rest, restore 10 or fewer level 5 or lower used spell slots. Channel Arcana: Divine Arcana: Three times between rests, you can add +2 to a spell attack roll or a saving throw. Channel Divinity: Radiance of the Dawn: Three times between rests, dispel 30 feet of magical darkness. Hostile creatures in your light make a CON saving throw, or take 2d10+20 Radiant damage, and half on a successful save. Corona of Light: Create 60 feet of bright light and 30 of dim light. Enemies in your light have disadvantage on saving throws against Radiant and Fire spells. Healing Hands: Restore 20 HP with a touch once per long rest. Improved Flare: You can use Warding Flare when you are not the target. Radiant Soul: Once per long rest, sprout shimmering wings for 1 minute, where you flying speed is 30. During this time, add 20 Radiant damage with an attack or spell. Shelter the Faithful: Temples of your god will shelter and care for your party. Signature Spells: Cast 2 level 3 spells without using a spell slot. Spell Mastery: Cast a level 1 and 2 spell without using a spell slot. Warding Flare: As a reaction, shine bright light in an enemy’s eyes to impose disadvantage on their attack roll once per long rest.

How do you feel I did with this build? Was there a better way to exemplify the element of Light? Did I miss an important spell, feature, or ability? Would you build this character differently? And as always, thanks for joining me in the character forge, where heroes are made.

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years ago

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02/11/2021 DAB Transcript

Exodus 32:1-33:23, Matthew 26:69-27:14, Psalms 33:1-11, Proverbs 8:33-36

Today is the 11th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is an honor and a privilege, it is a joy to come in out of the cold and come around the Global Campfire together with you and just let it go, let any…any of the things that are pulling us in all kinds of negative directions just let them go for a minute and let this be an oasis for God's word, for the Scriptures to be read and for us to bring them into our minds and hearts. I will say it probably 100 times before this year’s over. I mean we don't have to drag the anxiety in here. This is a safe place. We’re here together. We’re here together for one reason. We don’t have to guard ourselves. We’re here together for one reason, to hear the Scriptures. We can go back into the anxiety when we’re done, We can even amp it up. We can leave here as if it doesn't matter and go right back and pick all that up or maybe we can catch our breath in here and maybe we can go back out into the world with a renewed perspective and that happens more than it doesn’t. And, so, let’s just let go, whatever’s going on. We just have a few minutes. We can take a break. If we want all that anxiousness, if we want all that depression, we can go pick it back up. But we can let go while we’re in here and see what God does through His…His word today. So, we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week going back to the book of Exodus and God has been meeting with Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. He has been laying out the expectations and weaving together the tapestry of a culture that will be formed out of these former slaves who…who are Hebrew people. He’s reforming them and the people have been all around the mountain freaking out. Moses has been gone a long time up in the clouds, the��the glory of the Lord upon the mountain. And, so, they don't know what's going on. And we’re gonna see…we’re gonna some things today that shouldn't have happened and we’re going to see ourself in those things. Exodus chapters 32 and 33 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Exodus, the story of the golden calf, that's a pretty famous story. And so…well…chances are we've encountered it in one way or another before. This happens because Moses has been gone too long in the presence of God hearing from the Lord what he, you know, how to lead the people and what the expectations are, all the stuff that we’ve been reading for the last several days. Meanwhile this…this whole thing takes 40 days, and the people are down around the mountain going, “whatever happened Moses?” And “where do we go from here because we don't know what happened to him?” And, so, they decide to make a god, the gods for themselves to lead them forward and leave Moses behind. And, so, they commission Aaron. And we know this will story. Then God tells Moses to go down and Moses goes down and he throws down the tablets and they shatter, and this visually represents the breaking, like almost the instantaneous breaking of the covenant, the breaking of the law of the expectations of God. And he confronts the people about their idol worship. He confronts his brother Aaron about their idol worship. Aaron does all this whole back side-stepping blurring of the whole situation that we’ve probably seen so many times in our lives or even done so many times in our lives. Aaron is directly confronted about what he has participated in and he’s like, “what? How? You know. What? You know how these people are. You know how they are. And I don't really know what I did wrong. I just told them give me all your jewelry and I threw it over here in the fire and out came this idol and so we worshiped it”, which of course…I mean…it’s like, “dude couldn’t you’ve…you don't think very quickly on your feet do you? Like we can all see through this.” And Moses is just exasperated. He has been in the presence of God receiving this revelation about this people and formation. And, so, it's like quite a contrast to come down off the mountain and see what's going on. So, he grinds up the…the golden calf and everybody has to drink the water that it's poured into and then Moses goes back up onto the mountain and it gets really interesting because Moses is back up on the mountain kinda changed. Like he knows how ornery and rebellious these people are. He's one of them. He knows, but it’s like things just went to a new level. God has done so many miraculous things to rescue and protect this people. And they are around this mountain that God is descended upon and spoken. Like they’ve heard the voice of God at this mountain. It terrified them to the point that they asked Moses to be the spokesman for God and not God be the spokesman for God. So, they know God is upon this mountain and they know Moses is upon this mountain. So, Moses is back up on the mountain and God is like, “I'm not gonna go with you. It’s time…you need to lead to people but I'm not going to go so I don't destroy the people.” This is like a whole change in complexion for Moses where he's realizing deeply the gravity of the situation. He's realizing for himself no matter how good of a leader he might be and no matter how revered he may be, he's got almost 0% chance of success. Like if God doesn't go this is not gonna work knows it. So, he's pleading and asking like, “if you don't want to go then just take me out of the story altogether because there's no way.” And Moses says something really really riveting that we should be saying and meditating upon. He says, “you said” so, he's speaking to God, “you said I know you by name.” In other words, Moses is saying, “you told me you knew who I was. And you also told me that you found favor with me. So, if indeed I have found favor with you” and I'm quoting here, “please teach me your ways and I will know you so that I might find favor with you.” God's response to that is “my presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” May we remember that as we go out into the chaos of the day. Like if we’re gonna pick all that stuff up we were just talking about at the beginning, may we remember Moses and his leadership here. We don't have a grandstander, we don't have an arrogant person, we don't have a power-hungry person here and Moses. We’re seeing a leadership style here in the Scriptures as we see the posture of Moses. And Moses is a human being and has done all kinds of things including asking God to send somebody else, but here we are. We've gone through all that, and now Moses reaches this point where he realizes very clearly, there really is no other way to lead or navigate life without an acute awareness of the utter dependence that we have on God. And when we acknowledge that then we are surrendering our own power and control into the hands of the Almighty knowing that there is no other way. And God responds, “my presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” May we remember that today.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come into that. When we surrender it feels counterintuitive because it feels like we have to put our hope and trust outside of what we can control or speculate or see it forces us into this other realm called faith, that we believe in what we can’t see or prove, that we believe in Your power, that You are mighty to save and we are not. We need to know this. We need to live this. It could rescue us from so much damage. So, come Holy Spirit and help us learn to surrender. Help of us learn to acknowledge You in all things as we are seeing built into this culture may we find all of the things that will continually remind us of Your goodness and make them a part of our practice as we are continually reminded of who we are, Your children, and who You are, the most-high God and where we are going -wherever You go where all things are made new. Come Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that is home base, that is that where you find out what's going on around here and how to get connected and how to find the resources that are available that surround this journey through the Bible that we are on. So, check that out. Of course, if you have the Daily Audio Bible app then you can check most of these things out as well said, so, indeed do that.

One thing that's in the app or on the web would be the Community section. This is where to begin to get connected. This is where the Prayer Wall lives. This is where we can always reach out to each other and reach back to each other. Also in the Community section are different links of places to be connected on social media. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in the mission that we share collectively to do what we’re doing and bring God's spoken word read fresh every day and offered to anyone who will listen anywhere any time then to build community around that so that we’re never alone and we’re aware of that, clearly aware of that. If that has been a life-giving source to you than thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, everyone it's Christy and this is Tim from Kentucky. We wanted to call and let you know that we are keeping each of you in our prayers as we hear your prayer requests and I just want to say as special hello to Abigail and Desiree in Golden. I just want you to know that we have been listening and praying along with you and your names are just etched on my heart lately, just such young people with so much faithfulness to call in and we thank you so very much and will be praying for each of you. Also, I just want to let Tiffany know that we will be praying for you and Tom and also for Emily. Just all of your calls were so heartfelt. And we want you to know that your family, your DAB family is lifting you up in prayer. Also, Kingdom Seeker Daniel, brother we are praying for you. You and your wife are so very special and just praying for your children and we too are battling some issues with my husband's children. So, we understand, and we are praying for you. Also, if you would please keep Chris Thurston’s family in your prayers Pam Carlyle’s family in your prayers, Gene and also Dottie one of the ladies from our church. We…we've had to say goodbye to four of those in the past month. And, so, if you would, we'd ask you to pray for them and I just thank you for that. They’re now home with Jesus. I just wanted to ask for your prayers. Alright everyone. We love you so much and we pray each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day.

Hi, everyone it's Desiree. I called in January regarding about my mother with the drug addiction. I want to thank all…all of you guys who have been praying for my mother. She is still the same. I’ve been getting…I've been listening to all the prayers that you guys have done they melt my heart. And I want to say thank you to all of you guys, even though you may not call, thank you though for keeping Her and I in your hearts Lord. I'm thanking the Lord for all that. So, after I submitted my video, I just want to say she…after some of your prayers that you've done, she called after 8 months of not knowing what was going on with her. So, that was a big crazy time for us. And with all that's been going on though I want to say that you guys hit it right on the nail. I mean, my life has been so much better living here with my aunt and uncle. My grades are good. I'm an A, B student A+ B+ student. I still have problems with school you know that teenage little attitude. So…so, I just…I'm getting to know God so much more than I've known before. And I just want to say that’s thanks to my parents…well…my adopted parents but it's all because of them and mostly because of God. So, I just want to say thank you to all of you guys that have been praying for us and I love you guys and I'll be listening to you guys and I just want to say I'm praying for you guys as well, who have been having problems. So…

Hi, this message is for Tyler from the February 8th podcast of the Daily Audio Bible. My name is Jessica from __ California and I just wanted to say a prayer for you. You said that you've been praying because you have a pitiful spirit. And I just wanted to let you know or share that God's been working with me lately. Those are thoughts from the enemy and every time I think about, you know, I need to lose weight or condemn myself for eating something or not exercising enough, God's been just having me repeat this over and over again when one of those thoughts comes in my head. He has me say, “thank you God for just the way I am. Thank you God for just the way I am.” And I know it sounds kinda silly but actually it's only been less than a week and these thoughts are coming less and less into my mind. So, you know, I know it's hard to love ourselves sometimes and the enemy really can get ahold of us but just know that Jesus loves you so much and you're not a beautiful spirit. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. And I know people have told me that before and I'm like, “sure, sure. Easy for you to say.” But really, just believe it and just like right now actually have…I have a sheet covering my mirror, so I don't look at myself, I don't judge myself every day. I know it kind of sounds weird, but he really just has me trusting him and saying, “thank you God for just the way I am. Thank you God for just the way I am.” So, I encourage you Tyler that God loves you just the way you are, and you should be thankful for it. In Jesus’ name I pray.

This is Dave from the United States calling. This prayer call is for Haneron from New Zealand. Once I heard your call it stopped me in my tracks. You've been through some tough times. You've had the strength to call in and ask for prayer. And in detail you asked for a covering. I will be covering. This family, Daily Audio Bible will be your covering and the Holy Spirit will be your covering. I pray that you continue to call in anytime that you need strength from your covering. We will be here. And anytime give this family a call. Someone on this planet will be praying for you. I'm going to commit to a day to pray and fast for you and your family and the Holy Spirit be there for you. Thank you so much for calling and giving me the opportunity to ask our savior to pray and cover you and keep you…keep you covered as your request is.

Hi DAB family this is triple T calling to encourage those of you today who are longing for a spouse, longing for a child, longing for friendships just to be surrounded by love in a like tangible way. I know leading up to Valentine's Day and that time frame is always quite difficult on people. I have many people in my life who are struggling and just want to encourage you guys, just press into the Lord and to seek Him and just to keep going after Him and letting him be or strength, your love, you're all in all. In psalms 34 17 and 18 it says the righteous cry out and the Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. So, Lord we just come to You right now. God, I thank You for these men and women across the globe. God You see their hearts, You hear the cry of their hearts Lord longing for a spouse, longing for a child, longing for a friend that they can walk through life with. God we just pray that You would open the doors of opportunity, Lord that You would give men wives and give women husbands Lord Jesus and give them together children Lord Jesus, that You would bring friendships that are unified Lord and strong and growing and encouraging and accountable Lord and just pressing into You God. Through all these things and their waiting in Your time and God we know Your timing is perfect. May You give them the strength to continue, may they press into You even more. Lord Jesus may You be their everything. All that they are, all that they have Lord may they press into You. We love You, we glorify Your name Jesus, for in Your name we pray all these things. Blessings and love. Bye.

Good morning DAB family this is Doctor John in Illinois good this morning I was listening to the prayers and I hear Greg from Washington. Brother it’s hard to hear all your troubles in your families but I guess what I hear…what I hear most of all is your love for your family and your concern. Again, your honestness and your contriteness is what I hear more than anything. And I want to read to you, this is psalms 57:15. For thus says the one who is high lifted up who inhabits eternity whose name is holy, I dwell in a high and holy place had also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Just know brother that He hears here. The word says there's nothing outside His hand. There's nothing He doesn't see or touch or hear. And Father I pray for my brother right now for Greg and for all these Lord that petition you for their families. Lord would you woo their hearts. Just know brother that there's a lot of people, a lot of brothers and sisters in this group, in this family, this wonderful family that are praying and believing for you that God will make a way for you. So, I pray, God bless you. Keep your head up and trust in God. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage for He strengthens your heart.

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moonmint58 · 4 years ago

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Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership

Females Training Bursary Limelight 2

Content

Troon Hockey Club Junior Club Trains: Shona, Tracey, Catherine, Karen, Connie And Claire.

It Can Enhance Your Life.

While the number of female footballers has grown hugely because time, it has not necessarily been matched by females relocating into coaching, yet Signeul can see that altering. As somebody that has been in charge of ladies's football teams for 40 years and is still going strong, few people are better put to speak about the progression of females in coaching functions than Anna Signeul. The programme aims to assist women to navigate profession challenges and maximise their occupation capacity. It builds individuals' feeling of neighborhood as well as their ability to trainer each other. It also opens up communication channels between these groups as well as the organisation which can allow favorable systemic modifications. Join us for a night with Kate Oldridge as well as Lucy Widdowson - Leadership coaches specialising in creating females leaders. They will certainly use an interactive strategy to check out charlatan disorder as well as look into the typical barriers facing females in the modern office and also offer services to support breaking through these barriers.

What are the 3 main coaching styles?

There are three generally accepted styles of coaching in sports: autocratic, democratic and holistic. Each style has its benefits and drawbacks, and it's important to understand all three.

I have actually come out of this experience a calmer, a lot more kicked back, less fiery leader. I 'd advise Lynn and also her group to any person requiring knowledge, understanding and the individual tools to do a great work. To successfully coach females who are at, or coming close to, this leading side implies matching them with a trainer whose qualifications likewise enable them to be an important thought-partner.

Troon Hockey Club Junior Club Trainers: Shona, Tracey, Catherine, Karen, Connie As Well As Claire.

In collaboration with sportscotland we remain to offer the Females in Coaching Programme. The focus gets on ladies trains leading coaching in a range of club atmospheres. Delegates will have the ability to experience a secure group mentoring setting with other likeminded women. This program is structured in such a way that you can focus on what is most important to you and also your scenarios.

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It is both organized and strategic, aiding you establish perspective, greater emotional knowledge, and better total psychological versatility. We are a training service that concentrates specifically on women that wish to redefine their variation of success. We are experts in emotional knowledge, durability and also confidence.

It Can Improve Your Life.

It appropriates for any females who want to advance their careers, are undergoing change, desire even more self-belief, confidence or assertiveness or simply time out to reassess and re-evaluate their values, objectives, function. The courses themselves allow for development of skills but additionally a meeting of minds. " Having access to the most current mentoring techniques as well as application, access to analysis is actually interesting," claims Signeul, that is also a UEFA technological observer and also technical teacher. " The opportunity to network with other instructors is a truly important aspect of the diplomas. That is where I have my sounding boards." The Finland head trainer has actually been preparing her side for the big UEFA Women's EURO qualifying game with Scotland-- a team she led for 12 years and understands very well.

UA women offer sophomore first Power 5 home - Arkansas Online

UA women offer sophomore first Power 5 home.

Posted: Sun, 17 Jan 2021 08:29:10 GMT [source]

UK Sporting activity is identified to see better variety across the high-performance neighborhood as well as this program will certainly concentrate on seeing more females at the top end of high performance. Trains, alongside professional athletes, go to the heart of our high-performance neighborhood and we securely believe that a more diverse mate of extremely competent coaches will certainly assist more of our Olympic and also Paralympic professional athletes realise their potential. Leadership, profession and also exec coaching for organization specialists. We know as well as value the outcomes achieved through respectful listening. This training constructs higher self-awareness and also confidence in your very own leadership. It helps you depend on yourself and your own design of leadership better, integrating strenuous reasoning as well as instinct, as well as valuing difficult and soft data.

Our trains come from diverse histories with knowledge in a variety of specialisms. They bring an extensive understanding of the value and also point of view ladies bring to the office that allows them to incredibly support women leaders. We take fantastic treatment in matching women leaders to their coach, consisting of chemistry calls with 2-3 recommended trainers so that the females leaders can choose their ideal thinking partner. We additionally use eventually imaginative coaching programs on a regular basis in Leeds and Manchester for women that intend to be aggressive, tactical and enjoy an extra effective and also satisfied life. Mikaela Jackson is an individual efficiency train as well as devoted champion of females who aspire to be the most effective variation of themselves, develop success by themselves terms as well as live a life they like with positive impact. https://hemel-hempstead.trusted-coaching.co.uk/women/ can be through sharing instances of finest practice, experienced coaches supplying tips as well as recommendations to striving instructors, or just being able to relate to others and also get in touch with your peers.

Who are the top life coaches?

50 Best Life Coaches in the WorldNo. 1: Christian Mickelson. Business Coach for “Coaches” No. 2: Susan James. Human Potential Coach. No. 3: Esther Hicks. Law of Attraction Coach. No. 4: Bob Doyle. Law of Attraction Coach. No. 5: Cheri Huber. Zen Coach. No. 6: Bob Proctor. Money Coach. No. 7: T Harv Eker. No. 8: Aryana Rollins. More items•

, bespoke freelancer as well as company training and also mentoring for female company owner or particular programs and webinars to improve strength. Recent readily available data shows that although 85% of all primary teachers were women, simply 73% of main headteachers were women. In addition 63% of all additional teachers were female whilst simply 38% of secondary headteachers were females. This information shows that women are under-represented in management positions, specifically at secondary degree. The DfE's National Coaching Pledge welcomes all leaders to make a voluntary pledge to instructor aspiring women leaders. Females Leading in Education and learning is aimed at supporting ladies into management functions, via growth chances, sharing of good technique and access to a range of valuable sources.

Women to Work concentrates on ladies's advancement, both 'into' the office and also 'within' the workplace. Training can be helpful in a range of scenarios; to sustain service startups, to help enhance performance at the office, to sustain job life equilibrium, to assist somebody with their profession. trusted coaching Women business coach Richmond is packed with essential features can be utilized in family circumstances, with young adults, with people experiencing difficulties in life and also in details areas such as training or sales. This is for senior women in the work environment to supply a private space to share, show as well as prepare their management method. We additionally trainer aiming women leaders to assist them accomplish board or collaboration positions. General training has been widely helpful for me as a reflective space where I'm able to evaluate previous experiences, what I did and also what I wanted I had done, as well as informing how I would certainly do points in a different way in the future. I feel I have an entire brand-new 'internal resilience' that will remain to expand and offer me in the future.

Coaching women through unplanned pregnancies - The Catholic Spirit

Coaching women through unplanned pregnancies.

Posted: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:37:19 GMT [source]

Whether youre a brand-new or seasoned coach, or are just interested, were below to sustain you on your coaching trip. The Rugby Football Organization are pleased to introduce the new coaching and also monitoring team that will lead the England Pupils Women's program via to the 2021 Celebration of Globe Cups. You have what it takes to make an adjustment in your life, occupation and business. Book a 15-minute phone call to figure out how a management train can help you in your career. Mentoring females leaders is necessary since it can boost their self-confidence as well as partnership to function, which can be two of the obstacles that stop women from getting to management settings in the first place.

#women coaching #coaching service women #women business coach #women coaching uk #coaching service women uk #women business coach uk

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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Headlines

Laura upgraded to Category 4 hurricane (CNBC) Hurricane Laura, a major Category 4 storm, is set to hit near the Texas-Louisiana border on Thursday morning as local officials scramble to evacuate thousands of residents. The storm’s rapid intensification shocked scientists and prompted forecasters to issue warnings of “unsurvivable storm surge” in Texas and Louisiana. “Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes,” the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday. “This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles inland from the immediate coastline.” The storm battered the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti over the weekend, knocking out power for more than 1 million people, collapsing some homes and killing at least 23 people. Laura is headed toward an area that comprises more than 45% of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity and 17% of oil production, according to the Energy Information Administration. As of Tuesday, producers shut down roughly 84% of offshore production in the Gulf as many refinery plants along the Texas and Louisiana coasts shutter in anticipation of life-threatening storm surge.

Extreme weather (Washington Post) Across the United States, there are signs of climate disaster. In California, two of the worst wildfires in the state’s history took place simultaneously, scorching more than a million acres of land, including a beloved forested national park. On the Gulf Coast, residents of Louisiana and Texas braced for an unprecedented double-hurricane event churned up by exceptionally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. In other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the summer has already seen its toll of heat waves and heavy rains. Record-breaking temperatures in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad this July had my colleagues blistering their hands simply by touching the handle of an office door. The coastal Indian metropolis of Mumbai experiences seasonal flooding every year, but was hit by a year’s worth of rain in the space of a month this summer. Higher-than-average rainfalls in the past weeks led to an arc of destruction from central Europe to the Turkish Black Sea coast to southern China, where, in a grim omen, rising waters submerged the toes of a towering Tang dynasty-era statue of the Buddha that has stood for more than 13 centuries. “This year’s flooding has unfolded not as a single natural disaster, with an enormous loss of life and property,” noted the New York Times, “but rather as a slow, merciless series of smaller ones, whose combined toll has steadily mounted even as official reports have focused on the government’s relief efforts.” Experts are broadly convinced that a steady uptick in extreme weather events of recent years is at least in part the result of man-made climate change. “It seems like every year re-ups the previous year in terms of pushing the envelope, in terms of how much fire we’re seeing in the landscape and how severe that fire is,” Neil Lareau, an atmospheric scientist, told the Guardian about the California wildfires.

Lawyer says Blake paralyzed, protests erupt for 3rd night (AP) Jacob Blake, the Black man shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin, is paralyzed, and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s attorney said Tuesday. The shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha—apparently in the back while three of his children looked on—was captured on cellphone video and ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, coming just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police touched off a wider reckoning on race. Some demonstrations devolved into unrest, including for a third night in Kenosha, where three people were shot and two people were killed during the protests overnight, according to Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth.

US crackdown on nonessential border travel causes long waits (AP) A Trump administration crackdown on nonessential travel coming from Mexico amid the coronavirus pandemic has created massive bottlenecks at the border, with drivers reporting waits of up to 10 hours to get into the U.S. An employee at a company that provides support for businesses with Mexican operations saw the huge lines Sunday night from his home in Tijuana, Mexico. A U.S. citizen, he lined up at midnight for his 8 a.m. shift Monday in San Diego and still arrived 90 minutes late. U.S. citizens and legal residents cannot be denied entry under a partial ban that the Trump administration introduced in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Going to work, school and medical appointments are deemed essential travel but going to shop, dine or socialize is not. The crackdown comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it surveyed about 100,000 travelers coming from Mexico by car or on foot and found 63% of U.S. citizens and legal residents traveled for reasons that were not essential.

Mexico struggles to get in shape (AFP) With martial arts training on rooftops, virtual exercise classes and outdoor workouts, Mexicans are getting creative as they try to slim down during the pandemic in one of the world’s most obese countries. Mexico has the world’s third-highest coronavirus death toll—and the government says poor diets and health problems including obesity, hypertension and diabetes are partly to blame. Social distancing measures mean gyms remain closed in much of the country six months after the outbreak began, posing a major hurdle to efforts to get Mexicans in shape. “It’s incredible that the bars are open and exercise is almost going underground, because there are gyms that open secretly,” Romero, a 27-year-old physiotherapist, tells AFP. Mexico has the world’s highest obesity rate among children and the second-highest among adults, according to the government.

German Town Fears Ruin by U.S. Effort to Stop Russian Pipeline (NYT) Sitting on the Baltic Sea, the small eastern German town of Sassnitz has been working for years to revive its enormous port, including taking on a role supporting a Russian pipeline being laid offshore to deliver natural gas to Germany. But the port, one of the last great infrastructure projects undertaken by the former East Germany, now finds itself caught up in a geopolitical competition between the United States and Russia, a clash that local officials and residents say is threatening the town and region with economic ruin. At issue are so-called secondary sanctions being proposed by powerful U.S. senators to target companies doing business with Russia and the Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom to finish the pipeline, Nord Stream 2, which is 94 percent complete. The port would fall under the sanctions because of the role it plays supplying provisions to a Russian pipe-laying ship involved in the project. The penalty, if the sanctions are imposed, would mean being cut off from the United States “commercially and financially,” and effectively excluded from the global financial system. The port would essentially be turned into an international pariah, with all its business drying up—not just its work supplying the Russian ship. To German officials and residents in Sassnitz, the sanctions against the port and the company that owns it, Fährhafen Sassnitz, are puzzling and infuriating. They threaten to turn Sassnitz into collateral damage as the town struggles to create enough jobs to keep young people from leaving. “They are firing their cannons at sparrows,” said Edgar Taraba, as he unloaded a morning’s catch of flounder and sole from his dinghy. “There is nothing left here to take.”

Greece battles coronavirus resurgence after early success (AP) Workers in bright yellow vests stand on the dock in Greece’s main port of Piraeus, greeting hundreds of masked ferry passengers with fliers and the occasional temperature check. “Would you like a coronavirus test? Yes, it’s free. Right over there, in the white structure, you’ll see the signs,” they tell disembarking passengers. Free on-the-spot tests for travelers returning from Greek islands where outbreaks have occurred is the latest in an arsenal of measures authorities are using to tackle a resurgence of COVID-19 in a country that has so far managed to dodge the worst of the pandemic. New localized restrictions, including a midnight curfew for bars, restaurants and cafes and a ban on large gatherings have been imposed, mainly in popular tourist destinations such as the Aegean Sea island of Mykonos. The number of confirmed virus cases and deaths in Greece remains lower than in many other European countries, but have been increasing.

France joins military exercises in east Mediterranean (Reuters) France is joining military exercises with Italy, Greece and Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean amid a worsening dispute between Turkey and Greece over energy resources in the region, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Wednesday. Tensions between Turkey and Greece escalated after Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a move Athens has called illegal. “The eastern Mediterranean is turning into an area of tension. Respect for international law must be the rule and not the exception,” Parly said on Twitter, adding that it “should not be a playground for the ambitions of some.” Relations between France and Turkey have soured in recent months over Ankara’s actions in NATO, Libya and the Mediterranean.

Army helicopters to pluck people from flooded Karachi city (AP) Pakistan’s military said Wednesday it will deploy rescue helicopters to Karachi to transport some 200 families to safety after canal waters flooded the city amid monsoon rains, displacing scores of people, officials said Wednesday. Although rains have lashed many parts of Pakistan, the southern port city of Karachi, located near the Arabian sea, has been the hardest-hit. Streets were flooded Tuesday with sewage water. Sewage and drainage systems in the city are outdated.

Indian lawyer in court over critical tweets (Foreign Policy) Prashant Bhushan, a prominent public interest lawyer from India, was due to be sentenced yesterday over two tweets he posted criticizing the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In one tweet, Bhushan accused Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde of hypocrisy after he posed with a motorcycle without a mask, despite having put the Supreme Court in lockdown due to coronavirus concerns. In the other post, he said the Supreme Court’s recent activity showed “how democracy has been destroyed in India” under Modi. The Supreme Court has called the tweets a “calculated attack on the very foundation of the institution of the judiciary,” but the case is emblematic of the authoritarian slide India has taken since Modi first assumed power in 2014.

Russian Evangelicals Fined for ‘Missionary Activity’ During Pandemic (Christianity Today) Anatoly Chendemerov was handing out tracts that said “You must be born again!” in the Volga Federal District in southeastern Russia. He was fined 6,000 rubles, the euqivalent of about $80. Sergey Krasnov was passing out Christian newspapers and New Testaments in Krasnodar, a city in the South. He was fined 5,000 rubles, or about $65. Seo Jin Wook, a South Korean, met with about 10 people in a private home in Izhevsk, in the Western Ural Mountains, to talk about the good news of Jesus Christ. He told the people they should come back and bring friends. He was fined 30,000 rubles (about $400) and deported. More than 40 people have been charged with violating a Russian anti-missionary law in the first six months of 2020, according to a new report from Forum 18, a religious liberty news service based in Norway. Government lockdowns and pandemic stay-at-home orders did not substantially slow the multiyear crackdown on unauthorized religious activity. Russia passed a 2015 law that said all religious meeting places needed to be registered and followed it in 2016 with an anti-missionary law. The bill was labeled as anti-terrorism legislation, meant to prevent foreign extremist from exerting influence in the country. Local police, sometimes supported by the Federal Security Service, have fined roughly 100 religious people per year for practicing their faith. Baptists distributing tracts and Muslims teaching people the language skills necessary to read the Qur’an are prime targets, alongside ongoing efforts to completely rid the country of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

US-China trade disputes (South China Morning Post) China should weaponize its exports of medicines and drug precursors if the US cuts the country’s access to computer chips, a prominent Chinese academic and government adviser says, as supply chain security emerges as a key theme in the upcoming American presidential election. The United States is heavily reliant on imported medicines from China, something both US President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden have vowed to address after the coronavirus pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the nation’s pharmaceutical and medical device supply.

With Hacks and Cameras, Beijing’s Electronic Dragnet Closes on Hong Kong (NYT) To get onto his Facebook account, the police used Tony Chung’s body. When officers swarmed him at a Hong Kong shopping mall last month, they pulled him into a stairwell and pinned his head in front of his phone—an attempt to trigger the facial recognition system. Later, at his home, officers forced his finger onto a separate phone. Then they demanded passwords. “They said, ‘Do you know with the national security law, we have all the rights to unlock your phones and get your passwords?’” Mr. Chung recalled. Emboldened by that new law, Hong Kong security forces are turning to harsher tactics as they close a digital dragnet on activists, pro-democracy politicians and media leaders. Their approaches—which in the past month have included installing a camera outside the home of a prominent politician and breaking into the Facebook account of another—bear marked similarities to those long used by the fearsome domestic security forces in mainland China. Not accustomed to such pressures, Hong Kong lawmakers and activists, and the American companies that own the most popular internet services there, have struggled to respond. Pro-democracy politicians have issued instructions to supporters on how to secure digital devices. Many have flocked to encrypted chat apps like Signal and changed their names on social media.

Workations in Japan (Nikkei Asian Review) Workations are a reliable way that Japanese companies are getting workers to relax in a new environment on the company dime, and also support a tourist industry that’s been devastated by national shutdowns. The Japanese government launched a 1.3 trillion yen ($12.6 billion) travel campaign, angling to get people moving around the country which saw a 99.9 percent year-over-year decline in foreign visitors in the four months leading up to July and business down at travel companies 92.9 percent in June. One solution has been basically a surge in corporate retreats, where companies will send groups of employees to work on the beach on the cheap to lift morale while encouraging some R&R, and the government is actively encouraging it. Japan’s domestic tourism industry struggles because most people tend to travel at specific times—summer and year-end—and workers take the fewest paid holidays of 19 countries and regions and just half their allotted vacation on average.

Outbreak in Gaza (Washington Post) The Gaza Strip has been under degrees of lockdown since 2007, when Israel and Egypt imposed blockades after the militant group Hamas took control of the impoverished Palestinian territory. The same conditions that make life a daily struggle there, and that have obstructed even the most basic preparations for the looming threat of a coronavirus outbreak, have perhaps made it harder for the virus to find a toehold. That could be about to change. The coastal enclave’s few points of entry were largely shut in March. But Tuesday, the territory of nearly 2 million people imposed a 48-hour lockdown after authorities reported the first four confirmed cases of the virus in the general population. For months, aid agencies have warned that the silent spread of the virus through the conflict-weary strip could be calamitous. Gaza has one of the densest populations on Earth, a collapsed health-care system, and small supplies of electricity and clean water. Health-care workers are bracing for further signs of a wider outbreak among already vulnerable communities.

#headlines #news

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overnightmillionaireprogramrevie · 5 years ago

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Overnight Millionaire System Reviews

Overnight Millionaire System Review [Wesley Virgin] This Will Shut You Up

Thanks for your visit to my Overnight Millionaire review. But you know what, there's no point in believing what I'm going to say. Believe what Wesley Virgin says. Read on just a little bit and you'll see what I mean.

We don't see many 'legitimate' make-money-online products with the word millionaire in the title. Most of them falsely promise quick success, which would only attract, you know, "think-big-but-do-nothing" dreamers. Whereas many ordinary affiliate marketers (including myself) would often deny that kind of thing without even looking at it. Promoting millionairism? That's so extraordinary that it must be a BS. It's all about building up your business over time. There should be gradual steps to take to get there... Well, who am I kidding? Am I a millionaire? No. Then who am I trying to convince?

Overnight Millionaire System - What Is It?

"Life is not a lottery based on luck", he says.

Wesley Virgin is a multi-millionaire, he calls himself "Billion Dollar Virgin" and one of his well-known products is Fat Diminisher. He teaches his ethos - millionaire mindset - through his other products, and the Overnight Millionaire System is one of them.

"Ah, millionaire mindset. I know all that. If you want to be a millionaire, start thinking like one. It doesn't work. It'll never work." That's it, right there. That's why we (including myself!) are not moving forward much from where we are now.

Of course, this "system" will not spontaneously make you a millionaire. It is a system that made Wesley a millionaire, and he tells you all about it. Is there anything that you can learn from it? YES. This is not a theoretical "how-to" guide by some mysterious seller from ClickBank. Wesley is real, and he will guide you to have the right mental attitude, and teaches a lot of practical tips in selling products as an affiliate.

Overnight Millionaire System is sold for $20, but at your checkout you'll be given a 10% discount coupon code - this 10% will be used on a good cause. I'll tell you about it later.

What's Included?

10 x WHYs

Wesley asks you to write down why you want what you want. People are always after technical know-how. But Wesley says it doesn't matter HOW it's going to happen at the beginning. It's much more vital to clarify WHY you want to become a millionaire.

Audio Files

5-Sets of MP3 audio files "Overnight Mindset Hacks" to listen to for a minimum of 60 days - changes your unconscious mind for success and abundance.

Access to the "Millionaire Mindset Hacks"

The "Millionaire Mindset Hacks" includes video clips that are both motivational and educational, including;

How to come up with all the ideas that could potentially make you $1 million or more, and write them down.

How to visualize and reflect on having $1m in your bank account.

How to become a "high-value person" with a successful skill set that people value and will pay for.

It's important to listen to people who actually have $1 million or more saved up.

Create unshakable belief in yourself to keep pushing forward so you can see results faster.

How to find ways to create multiple streams of income in areas that already are in high demand.

Learn how to become a master at sales, marketing and persuasion as a newbie without reading a lot of books.

What Made Him Determined

Another video within the "Mindset Hacks" is Wesley's own emotional breakthrough story - he talks about his family and when he didn't have money. I know he's a great storyteller, but there was a moment that made him absolutely determined to be successful.

I personally think this 30-minute video is a must-watch. I'm sure Wes's story is relatable to many, and it makes me think, what's the point of life if you don't value yourself high? You are powerful. We all are. With the right mindset, you can do anything.

Upsells

There are plenty of upsells, including;

Affirmation Cash Course ($17) - Affirmations designed to harness the power of the law of attraction and positive thinking, for you to chant them. Wesley's extremely confident about this product, offering 365-day, 100% money-back guarantee. He even says he'd give you 3x your money back if you weren't happy.

Million Dollar Persuasion & Psychology Techniques ($9) - What makes a person buy or not buy. "Cognitive psychological triggers" to get your customer (or anyone, spouse or a child) with you without resistance.

But the most powerful one is "Unrevealed Secrets Of A Millionaire Mind" ($99). It's Wesley's 10-day course with some mind-boggling subjects including;

Day 3 - "Disconnect" - Why your friends and family are the reason you are unable to create the life you deserve. Basically, you may have to cut some people out of your life. You might say "What!? I can't do that to my friends! Who the hell are you to tell me...?" Then fine. You'll be stuck where you are, you see? I can't speak on behalf of Wesley. See what the multi-millionaire actually says.

Day 4 - "When a millionaire speaks...shut up!" - All you need to know about socializing with millionaires, even down to what to wear, what to take and what to trash.

Day 5 - "A Millionaire's Best Kept Secret" - True reasons why you've never been successful in your life. As mentioned earlier, it's not about "how", but it's a "why" mentality that matters.

Day 6 - "Sexual Transmutation" - This is a very interesting one. An ancient method (use your sexual desires to create wealth in life), proven to 95% of millionaires and successful entrepreneurs. With Wesley's personal experience.

Day 8 - "Wealth Fundamentals Were Never Taught In School" - College won't help you become the successful person you deserve to be. I absolutely agree with that. People who have the least knowledge of money are teachers. (No disrespect - I'm from that kind of background myself).

Day 10 - "Be A Giver" - why you must give in order to receive. Why sharing your wealth will make you even richer. This is another one of most wonderful things that Wesley has, and teaches.

Create Better Sales Page

Of course, the product is not just about affirmations, but he will also give you some tips to increase sales. He advises Amazon and ClickBank have the best products, and all the tips he provides are invaluable for every new internet marketing hopeful. For example;

The importance of becoming an expert in your chosen niche.

Wes's "million dollar formula" - address a problem, find out how many people have the problem, and create the solution.

Create ideas instead of having to chase "tricks".

As an affiliate, the key is to make your sales page better than the seller's original page.

Wesley Is Raw

I think the difference between Wesley and other online gurus/tutors is that Wesley talks to your heart from his heart. Don't get me wrong, I know there are thousands of other helpful tutors, who dedicate their heart and soul and whatever. This is hard to explain - Wesley's very raw. He's got nothing to hide. He talks a lot about himself but many of his stories are so relatable to us, he's essentially helping us without consciously trying to help us. Does that make sense? That's how I feel anyway.

By the way he's so pumped up (literally) with so much energy throughout the videos. All of a sudden he would shout "Motivated!!" (#Ahhgg my eardrums.) But I must also add, there's nothing technical, no jargons, anyone can understand it.

He Spends A Lot On Good Causes

Wesley donates a lot of money to the local church and charities. He gives a lot of tips to the waiting staff in restaurants (100-300%!)

Not because he can afford it (well, he can afford it) but because that's what he believes to do. Share and people will share back. Give to receive. What goes around comes around. While you are reluctant to give a 15% tip because you didn't receive a good service... You spend your life forever worrying about "15% of the restaurant bill" level of money.

The Overnight Millionaire System - the price is $37 but he will give you a special $10-off discount coupon code. This discount will help feed homeless people. Wesley's father is a pastor, and he goes to his church every Sunday morning to help them.

Isn't that crazy? They normally ask you to pay 10% MORE to pay towards charitable causes. Anyway that's what he does. He's not making this up, there's a video clip to prove in the link destination. If you don't believe it, that's fine. Then that's what you are - do you see what I mean?

60-Day Money Back Guarantee

If you're not happy, you can ask your money back by contacting Wesley or via ClickBank within 60 days of purchase.

Pros

You'll get all the success tips from a REAL millionaire.

Extremely motivational.

Easy to understand (he talks to you from his heart).

Your money will be partly spent on a good cause.

60-day money back guarantee.

Cons

He's a bit loud (!?)

Not for you if you're expecting an instruction manual type.

Overnight Millionaire Review - Conclusion:

Before Wesley Virgin made his own financial success, he met a lot of millionaires who didn't inspire him. Now being a multi-millionaire himself, he knows how to help you set the right mindset.

If you are a moaner or skeptic but you haven't been successful, perhaps it's about time you considered listening to this guy. Maybe this what you need. I recommend this product to anyone who doesn't want to stay where they are, and take a bold step to make money online.

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nic-and-annie-in-france · 6 years ago

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Amsterdam in 10

1. The unruly vibe. When we entered Amsterdam from the train station for the first time, it was such an abrupt change from the atmosphere of Copenhagen. We were immediately swept into the flow of foot traffic crowding the narrow streets. In stark contrast to the law-abiding Danes, no one seemed to follow the instructions of stoplights or pedestrian signs. Cyclists appeared to be out for tourists’ blood. Luckily, the walk from the train station to our hostel was a short one—I was happy to have booked a place that was very centrally located. However, after seeing piles of litter lining the cramped streets, and after smelling certain odors wafting through the area, I was suddenly less happy to be sleeping somewhere “centrally located” in Amsterdam. Everything seemed brash, bustling, and bacchanal—not what I’d call our natural habitat, but we were determined to make the best of it. 2. The man who complimented Nicolas’ beard. Nicolas and I were really fond of the man working at the desk when we checked into our hostel. I was the one with the cash, so I was handling most of the conversation. Suddenly, he glanced at Nicolas and then did a double-take and said, “You have an excellent beard!” Nicolas was taken aback but thanked him, and complimented his beard in return. “Thank you,” he said, “I like to grease mine down, you know, to make me more attractive. But with a beard like that,” pointing to Nicolas’ chin, “just put a turban on you and you could pass for Indian too!” He belly laughed. Facial hair: uniting men across cultures. 3. The architecture. Of all the cities we visited on this trip, I had the clearest pre-trip picture in my head of Amsterdam. I knew there were winding alleyways, tall skinny houses, bicycles, and canals. That was indeed what we saw when we arrived. When we found a sidewalk or bridge empty enough to stop on without bothering anyone, we took a minute to admire the architecture. I enjoyed the opportunity to notice that all the buildings were of different heights, and the windows zigzagged across the façades instead of making a neat grid. Our hostel was built in the typical Amsterdam style too, so we got to see what the inside of those tall skinny buildings look like. Our room had space for a full-size bed, one chair, a small table, a coat closet, and a bathroom sink—that was it. But the window in the room was huge and we could people-watch while sitting on our bed.

4. The breakfast food. Having to find and buy breakfast first thing in the morning can be tricky, so anytime a free breakfast is offered to us by the Airbnb/hotel/hostel we are staying at, we eat it. Our place in Amsterdam offered us a breakfast of four slices of bread apiece with jam and butter, two slices of cheese, and a hard-boiled egg, plus our choice of tea or coffee. It was basic, but it was convenient, filling, and free. The breakfast and the check-in desk were all in the same room, so while we ate, the desk worker watched the morning news on the international CNN channel, which was reporting on the government shutdown.

Sadly, this was in a museum and not our hostel’s breakfast area, but we can pretend we ate here anyway.

5. The peaceful mornings. Breakfast wasn’t served at our hostel until 8:30 in the morning, so the earliest we could begin sightseeing was about 9:00 am. I was worried that we wouldn’t have a lot of time to get to the museums on the other side of town before they got busy. When we left right at 9, though, the streets were absolutely deserted except for the two of us and the fleets of garbage trucks and street cleaners. I couldn’t get over how empty it was. I kept wondering aloud to Nicolas where the people were who had to work, and he reminded me that the people who work in the city aren’t likely to live in the touristy area. It felt like we were the only two people visiting for Amsterdam’s cultural attractions instead of its nightlife. Given that the city felt so cramped and claustrophobic at other times of day, I was happy to have a little more room to breathe in the mornings.

6. The disorientation. Amsterdam is known for its canals, and it certainly has a lot of them. I knew this going in, yet still felt disoriented every time we walked from one place to another. In lots of other European cities, you have “the river” that basically divides the city in two and gives you a basic sense of direction. If you get lost, you can make your way back to the river and reorient from there. The spider-web shaped system of canals in Amsterdam had the opposite effect. Every canal and every bridge looked exactly like the last, and since they radiated in all directions, they did nothing to help us distinguish north from south or east from west. Even after spending a couple of days walking around all of Amsterdam, we were still extremely dependent on the map on my phone to get around.

7. Favorite fun fact: all about Rembrandt’s Night Watch. It turns out that even for an art lover like me, there is such a thing as too many art museums. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was one of the last ones that we went to. It was a shame that we were suffering from art fatigue when we went there, because it was a massive museum with an impressive collection of art. We decided to plan the rooms we really wanted to see and skip the rest. One of the “don’t miss” works in the museum was Rembrandt’s Night Watch. I only knew the bare minimum about Rembrandt when we went (Dutch, 1600s, fan of chiaroscuro), and I knew nothing at all about Night Watch. The painting was absolutely massive and housed in a cathedral-like room, with Night Watch occupying the place of the altar, and smaller works by Vermeer and Reubens placed in alcoves along the two longer walls. I learned that the painting was commissioned by an actual militia company, but was controversial because Rembrandt’s composition departed drastically from convention. Before, a commissioned work of a group of people would always have each subject’s face clearly visible, and they would be neatly posed with no movement suggested by the painting at all. Night Watch, by contrast, shows the militiamen exiting a building in a rather disorderly bunch, with some people’s faces obscured by darkness or by another object. I tend to perceive Rembrandt as talented and respectable, yet old and crusty, so it’s funny to think of him as the bad boy of painting in his time. I had no idea at first glance what was so special about the painting, so I really enjoyed learning to view it in a different light and appreciate the innovation of it.

8. The demonstrations at the Rembrandt house. We visited the house where Rembrandt lived for about 17 years before his financial difficulties forced him to sell it. Because his belongings were all repossessed, there is a near-perfect record of what Rembrandt had in his house when he lived there. We saw lots of his paintings and etchings, as well as (approximations of) the furniture and objects with which he decorated his bedroom, galleries, and studio. I was most interested by the etching and paint-making demonstrations that we saw in Rembrandt’s studio. A woman taught us about different etching techniques, running a real etching through an antique press and then showing us the resulting print. It reminded me of the linoleum printmaking project I struggled through in middle school art class, which gave me even more respect for the exquisite quality of etchings Rembrandt produced.

9. The (disappointing) Van Gogh museum. The Van Gogh Museum has the largest collection of the Dutch artist’s works in the world, so I had pretty high expectations for it. I thought it would be like the Monet exhibit from Vienna mixed with the Sisi Museum, addressing both his work and his private life. The museum did do both of those things, but in a way that seemed a little glib. It’s widely known that Van Gogh suffered from mental illness and that he lived in poverty because his art didn’t become financially successful until after his death. So it bothered me a little when the captions for his paintings said things like, “The colors express powerful emotion.” Which emotion? How do you know? What is it specifically about these colors that are expressive? Is “expressing emotion” really the top priority for a starving artist desperate to sell a painting? I just didn’t find their interpretations of the paintings convincing, and I didn’t learn as much as I had hoped. Also, the last disappointment was my own fault, but I was implicitly expecting to see Starry Night, and that painting was not in the museum’s collection. I should have thought to confirm whether or not Starry Night was there beforehand to manage my expectations properly, but it slipped my mind. It turns out Starry Night is on display at the MoMA in New York. We’ll just have to go there a different time! 10. The fish sandwich. I read online that the Dutch don’t have much of a traditional cuisine, with the exception of Hollandse Nieuwe, a lightly brined raw herring. Even though it didn’t sound appetizing, I decided that I wanted to try it just for the sake of tasting something new. We went to a hole-in-the-wall fish market/lunch spot, and I got the raw herring sandwich topped with a Dutch toothpick flag, pickles, and diced onions, while Nicolas got a fried cod sandwich. The man behind the counter was friendly and charming; when he handed me my sandwich he said, “The best thing about it is that you’ll speak Dutch afterwards!” The herring tasted about like you’d expect—salty and soft and oniony. It was edible, but by my last bite, I was definitely ready to be done. I was thankful that Nicolas let me have a taste of the cod afterwards so that the herring wasn’t the last taste lingering in my mouth for the rest of the day. I think the cashier’s line about speaking Dutch was a euphemism for having bad breath.

#annie #tapif #travel #amsterdam

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tipsycad147 · 3 years ago

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Candle magic

Careful what you ask for....

A Spell of Protection

Sit or stand before an open fire or tall white candle.

Look into the flame and relax, let yourself feel the warm safe glow. Visualize that these flames are bathing you with a glowing, soft warm and protective light.

The fire creates a flaming, shimmering sphere of protection all around you.

ADORATION CANDLE MAGICK On your altar, place two red candles at either end. Before doing this, rub the two candles with rose essential oil. Again, on Friday, the day of the week devoted to the Goddess Aphrodite, perform this task to attract your beloved. Write your name on one candle, and your beloved's on the other. If you do not know his or her name, simply write "my beloved" or "my true love". Again try to use language that will ensure positive magic. If you simply write "handsome" you may well end up with someone gorgeous, but who is harmful for you in some other way. Each evening at seven, light the candles and move them slightly closer together. Carve into your candle a word of special significance to you, perhaps taken from your insights when you performed the wishful thinking task. Perhaps the word "devoted" should be carved into your beloved's candle. On your own, write the same. Meditate on this quality for several minutes, then snuff out the candles. Repeat this for seven nights, using a different quality each time, until on the seventh, the following Friday, both candles are finally standing as close together as possible. Light them and let them burn down and out. If any wax remains, scatter it before you as you walk through a beautiful place, wishing it to bring good fortune to others hoping for love.

When you are ready say the following :

Craft the spell in the fire; Craft it well; Weave it higher. Weave it now of shining flame; None shall come to hurt or maim. None shall pass this fiery wall; None shall pass No, none at all.

Simple candle spell

1. One of the simplest of magical arts which comes under the heading of natural magic is candle burning. It is simple because it employs little ritual and few ceremonial artifacts. The theatrical props of candle magic can be purchased at any department store and its rituals can be practiced in any sitting room or bedroom.

2. Most of us have performed our first act of candle magic by the time we are two years old. Blowing out the tiny candles on our first birthday cake and making a wish is pure magic. This childhood custom is based on the three magical principals of concentration, will power and visualization. In simple terms, the child who wants his wish to come true has to concentrate (blow out the candles), visualize the end result (make a wish) and hope that it will come true (will power).

3. The size and shape of the candles you use is unimportant, although highly decorative, extra large, or unusually shaped candles will not be suitable as these may create distractions when the magician wants to concentrate on the important work in hand. Most magicians prefer to use candles of standard or uniform size if possible. Those which are sold in different colors for domestic use are ideal.

4. The candles you use for any type of magical use should be virgin, that is unused. Under no circumstances use a candle which has already adorned a dinner table or been used as a bedroom candle or night-light. There is a very good occult reason for not using anything but virgin materials in magic. Vibrations picked up by secondhand materials or equipment may disturb your workings and negate their effectiveness.

5. Some magicians who are artistically inclined prefer to make their own candles for ritual and magical use. This is a very practical exercise because not only does it impregnate the candle with your own personal vibrations, but the mere act of making your own candle is magically potent. Specialist shops sell candle wax and molds together with wicks, perfumes, and other equipment.

6. The hot wax is heated until liquid and then poured into the mould through which a suitably sized wick has already been threaded. The wax is then left to cool and once is this has occurred the mould is removed , leaving a perfectly formed candle. Special oil-soluble dyes and perfumes can be added to the wax before the cooling process is complete to provide suitable colors and scents for a particular magical ritual. Craft shops which sell candlemaking supplies can also provide do-it-yourself books explaining the technicalities of the art to the beginner.

7. Once you have purchased or made your ritual candle it has to be oiled or 'dressed' before burning. The purpose of dressing the candle is to establish a psychic link between it and the magician through a primal sensory experience. By physically touching the candle during the dressing procedure, you are charging it with our own personal vibrations and also concentrating the desire of your magical act into the wax. The candle is becoming an extension of the magician's mental power and life energy.

8. When you dress a candle for magical use, imagine that it is a psychic magnet with a North and a South pole. Rub the oil into the candle beginning at the top or North end and work downwards to the half-way point. Always brush in the same direction downwards. This process is then repeated by beginning at the bottom or south end and working up to the middle.

9. The best type of oils to use for dressing candles are natural ones which can be obtained quite easily. Some occult suppliers will provide candle magic oils with exotic names. If the magician does not want to use these, he can select suitable oils or perfumes from his own sources. The oils soluble perfumes sold by craft shops for inclusion in candles can be recommended.

10. The candles you use can be colored in accordance with the following magical uses: White- spirituality and peace. Red- health,energy,strength,courage, sexual potency. Pink- love affection and romance. Yellow- intellectualism, imagination, memory and creativity Green- fertility, abundance, good luck and harmony Blue-inspiration, occult wisdom, protection and devotion Purple- material wealth, higher psychic ability, spiritual power and idealism Silver- clairvoyance, inspiration, astral energy and intuition Orange- ambition. career matters and the law.

11. If you wanted to use candle magic for healing, you would select a red candle to burn. To pass an exam, burn a yellow candle, to gain esoteric knowledge burn a blue candle or for material gain, burn a purple one. It is obvious these colors relate to the signs of the zodiac and the planetary forces.

12. The simplest form of candle magic is to write down the objective of your ritual on a virgin piece of paper. You can use color paper which matches the candle. Write your petition on the paper using a magical alphabet, such as theban, enochian, malachain,etc. As you write down what you want to accomplish through candle magic-- a new job, healing for a friend, a change of residence, a new love affair, etc.-- visualize your dream coming true. Visualize the circumstances under which you might be offered a new job, imagine your employer telling you that your salary has been increased or conjure up a vision of your perfect love partner.

13. When you have completed writing down your petition, carefully fold up the paper in a deliberately slow fashion. Place the end of the folded paper in the candle flame and set light to it. As you do this concentrate once more on what you want from life.

14. When you have completed your ritual, allow the candle to have completely burned away. You do not need to stay with the candle after the ritual, but make sure that is safe and that red-hot wax will not cause damage or fire. Never re-use a candle which has been lit in any magical ritual. It should only be used in that ritual and then allowed to burn away or be disposed of afterwards.

15. If you are conducting a magical ritual which involves two people (e.g. an absent healing for a person some distance away) then the second person can be symbolically represented during the ritual by another candle. All you need to do is find out the subject's birth date and burn the appropriate candle for that zodiacal sign.

These are as follows-

ARIES red TAURUS green GEMINI yellow CANCER silver LEO orange VIRGO yellow LIBRA pink SCORPIO red SAGITARIUS purple CAPRICORN (black) AQUARIUS (all colors) PISCES mauve

Candle bright Burning fire Keep within you Our/my desire. Listen to the words I/we speak And clear a path To what I/we seek. Let our/my wishes All come true As they burn This night with you. Blessed Be!

CANDLE CHANT

When you are ready to light the candle, chant something like:

Candle of power, candle of might, Create my desires here on this night. Power, stream from this candle's fire. Bring to me my heart's desire. My words have strength, the victory's won. So say I, this spell is done.

Candle Chant (author unknown)

Element of fire, Spirit of light, Essence of life, Awaken the night. Fire of the soul, Flame of life, As light reveals truth, Burn golden bright.

Candle rituals 1) At sunrise light a light-blue candle, do every morning for 7 days, this protects against evil influences, promotes harmony in a love relationship and is an antidote to quarreling. 2) For good luck and to restore good fortune, burn 1 yellow and 1 brown candle. 3) To attract great financial luck, burn 3 candles, 1 brown 1 yellow, 1 orange. 4) For luck in love, burn a red candle. 5) To start a favorable week, burn 1 orange and 1 blue candle, the combination is a powerful one. 6) To avoid scandal and malicious gossip, burn a silver candle. 7) To break up a love affair, burn 1 green and 1 black candle, this negative combination is powerful. 8) For good fortune to come to you, burn 1 orange and 1 blue candle on a Monday. 9) To attract success, fame, honor and power, burn an orange candle each morning on waking. 10) During the night, burn a turquoise candle if a decision concerning the future is about to be made. This will ensure peace and optimism. 11) To keep financial problems from your door, burn 3 pale orange candles, missing one day, will invite a bad day. 12) To prevent rape/violence, burn one yellow and one violet candle before sleep. 13) To prevent robbery and assault, burn a green candle at sunset every day. 14) Maximum protection against violent crime, burn a lime green candle at sunset every night. 15) To help prevent financial loss and disaster, burn a green and red/gold candle, it also helps prevent disloyalty in a love relationship. 16) To restore harmony and stability if domestic turmoil erupts, burn one green and one purple candle. 17) To deprive an enemy of strength, burn one orange and one black candle. 18) Financial disaster to your rivals, burn one orange and one green candle.

Candle's flame: Strong Flame

The power that you are calling forth is moving into our desires for manifestation. This strong flame shows strength in the user or object of the spell.

Weak Flame

On a figure candle, this could mean that the subject is loosing the battle. This can also show that you are facing strong opposition and your magic may have to be repeated to be achieved.

Jumping Flame

This can indicate explosions or bursts of energy being transmitted. Raw emotions or chaotic energies could be at work. An argument could be taking place or a heated discussion.

Rainbow Flame

If your flame is composed of various colors, the elemental is communicating with respect to the color codes. Meaning that the energies are so strong that the corresponding color on the spectrum is manifesting in the Salamander (the flame).

Candle's smoke:

Northern Movement

Something physical is manifesting. You will have to work for what you wish to achieve.

Eastern Movement

Something mental is manifesting. Think things threw and have patience in situations.

Southern Movement

Something intense and short lived is manifesting. Success comes rapidly and with intensity.

Western Movement

The manifestation of strong Magic intervention. The issue is too emotional. You are too involved - step away for a time. Clear your thoughts.

Candle's sounds:

Infrequent noise, soft

Pure thoughts. Intimate conversation.

Frequent noise, mild

An Authority figure giving orders or directions.

Frequent chatter, strong

Candle Wishes

by Lady of the Shadows

Oh, blue fire,

help with health.

I need not power

or great wealth.

Burn brown candle,

help me see

the nature spirits

and fairies.

Light of gold,

your burning bright.

Can you change

my luck tonight?

Burn magenta,

make this quick

before the fire

burns your wick.

Oh, indigo,

see what is brung

by made up lies.

Please watch the tongue.

Candle pink

attract pure love

as warm and bright

as sun above.

Fire orange,

as you burn,

I hope that you

will help me learn.

I need to balance,

candle green,

a situation

that I've seen.

Oh, purple light,

Do not return

the curse upon me

with you burns.

Candle red,

I need will power

to overcome

my vice this hour.

Burn gray light,

I meditate.

Help me see more

in this state.

Fire white,

I seek what's true

so I will know

what I should do.

Oh, yellow candle,

burning there,

I seek more knowledge

I can share.

Certain colors,

remember this,

burn together

to make a wish.

Oh, candle fire,

candle bright,

may this wish

come true tonight.

CANDLES FOR A PASSIONATE LOVE SPELL To draw a passionate love your way, during a waxing Moon gather two taper candles, one pink and one red, and some red thread and jasmine oil. Anoint the candles with jasmine oil using your fingertips, then light them while visualizing the flames of passion growing between yourself and new, but yet unknown, love. Link the candles together by making a figure eight between them with the thread while repeating: "Flames of passion and seeds of romance grow; I open my heart to love. Now the one who seeks me shall come." For best results, enact the spell on three consecutive nights.

CAST A WITCH'S LUCKY CANDLE SPELL take an orange candle anointed with cinnamon oil, clove, or lotus oil. Light the candle and say 3 times: "brimstone, moon, and witch's fire, candlelights bright spell, good luck shall I now acquire, work thy magic well. Midnight twelve, the witching hour, bring the luck I seek. By wax and wick now work thy power as these words I speak. Harming none, this spell is done. By law of three, so mote it be!" Do this spell at midnight.

DRESSING A CANDLE FOR RITUAL

1. Chose type and color of candle appropriate for ritual.

2. Cleanse the candle of prior energies: you may use water, salt, pure soap, or baby oil (all previously blessed and consecrated.)

3. Bless and consecrate oil to be used, appropriate to ritual.

4. State and engrave (if you wish) what the candle is to represent.

5. Anoint the candle with oil and focus on desire (purpose of ritual.)

a. For ritual of achievement: anoint oil from the top of the candle to the middle in a downward motion, then from the bottom of the candle to the middle in an upward motion.

b. For ritual of banishment: anoint oil from the middle of the candle to the top in an upward motion, then middle to bottom of the candle in a downward motion.

6. Bless and consecrate the candle.

7. Meditate on desired outcome.

Some people do not use matches to light candles, the sulfur is considered unclean.

If you feel this way, use an incense starter or stick to light your candles.

To extinguish a candle, snuff it out or wave your hand over it hard enough to make a breeze to put it out.

Do not blow or pinch it out. Blowing a candle out blows desires away, and pinching a flame pinches out desires.

Medieval candle spell reversal ritual

Do this 5 nights in a row, at dusk - as the sun dies and darkness descends.

Light 2 Black candles and as they burn, speak this invocation: |

In the name of the Gods and all ye spirits, In the name of Kernunnos, and the light and the dark and the Gods of the Netherworld, Remove thy curse and sting from my heart and mine. And whosoever shall be casting a curse against me, Let he or she suffer their own curse. Let these candles be their candles, This burning be their burning, This curse be their curse. Let the pain they have caused me and mine Fall upon themselves.

The two candles are completely burned each night.

REVERSING A CANDLE SPELL Do this 5 nights in a row, at dusk - as the sun dies and darkness descends. Light 2 Black candles and as they burn, speak this invocation: In the name of the Gods and all ye spirits, In the name of Kernunnos, and the light and the dark and the Gods of the Netherworld, Remove thy curse and sting from my heart and mine. And whosoever shall be casting a curse against me, Let he or she suffer their own curse. Let these candles be their candles, This burning be their burning, This curse be their curse. Let the pain they have caused me and mine Fall upon themselves. The two candles are completely burned each

Riding Self of Unwanted Energy

Take a black candle which has been ritually cleansed and some anointing oil which has also been ritually blessed. Do not use anything for this which has not been cleansed or blesed already.

Depending on the desired result, you should choose an oil which corresponds to this end. At the time of the new moon, or when it first begins to wane, cast a circle or use your 9' cord to create a sacred space.

Place the black candle (preferable a taper) on the altar with the oil.

Have no unblessed/uncleansed tools in this ritual.

Cast the circle.

Call the Goddess and her consort.

Use a burin to engrave the candle with the spell you wish to cast.

Now, anoint the candle using the oil. While you anoint the candle with the oil, speak these words out loud or silently "Tonight no moon, tomorrow the first one. Let this be eroded til my will be done. Candle burn down to remove all ill. Let this spell be cast by the power of my will."

And once you have anointed the candle, place it in a safe place to burn down completely.

Rolled Candles Supplies: scissors wicking sheets of pliable honeycomb-textured wax, available in natural pale colors and in bright dyed hues utility knife ruler butter knife Step 1: To make the wax easier to work with, heat it on a radiator or with a hair dryer until it's pliable (a minute or two). Cut a piece of wicking; it should be l inch longer than the length of the candle. Place the wicking along one long edge of the wax; fold the wax over the wicking and press tightly to seal it in. Step 2: Carefully roll up the wax sheet with the wicking inside. Make sure the top and bottom edges remain even and that the wicking stays securely in place. Step 3: When the candle is the diameter you want, cut off the excess wax with a sharp utility knife. Use a ruler as a straight edge to make sure that you get a neat, clean edge. Step 4: Smooth the cut end by pressing a warmed butter knife (hold it under running hot water and dry it, or warm it with a hair dryer) along the seam. Don't press too hard; beeswax is delicate and you can easily crush the candle. To prime the end of the wick, press a tiny bit of wax around it just before lighting it. Variations: Vary the height of your candles by cutting the beeswax into strips of different heights before rolling. Create candles of different widths by varying the number of layers of beeswax in which you roll each piece of wicking. You can group candles of varying widths and heights for an elegant display. To make a tapered candle, cut a right triangle from a sheet of beeswax. Roll from one of the equal sides. Make beehive-shape, candles by rolling a tapered candle, then adding layers of sheet wax, each layer slightly shorter than the last. For square candles, gently press the candle against a hard, smooth surface after each quarter turn.

THE RUNE CANDLE Select a colored candle that corresponds with the desired outcome. Cast a circle then Magnetize the candle with suitable oil. While you are dressing the candle say "Upon this candle I will write What I require of thee tonight May the runes of magick flow. By mind and spell And flame aglow. I trust that You will grant this boon Oh Lovely Goddess of the Moon" Now take up your blade and carve a rune or symbol that represents the goal of the spell. Place The candle on the center of the alter and light it while proclaiming; "As my will, so mode it be!" Now allow the candle to burn itself out with out being disturbed.

To Change the Color of Flame:

For Candles: add the chemicals to the wax, or soak the wicks in a solution of the chemicals using the "recipes" below

To Add to a Fire: Put three level spoons of the chemical into a paper cup; fill 1/2 full with water and stir. Soak several small chips of wood in this solution overnight. The next day, remove the chips with tweezers and lay on newspaper to dry. They can now be added to the lames to produce bright colors.

Green flame: Borax or Boric acid, copper nitrates or barium nitrates, alum (thallium)

Orange flame: calcium chloride

Red flame: stronium nitrate, some sources site Boric acid as well

Reddish/Orange-calcium choloride

Yellow flame: Table salt, Sodium Chlorate or Potassium Nitrate

Yellow/Green-borax (sodium tetraborate)

Purple flame: Lithium Chlorate, (potassium nitrate)

White: psom Salts (magnesium sulfate)

Another special effect can be achieved by sprinkling powdered iron into a flame. If this is done slowly enough, a number of yellow, sparkling "stars' can be seen clearly.

WITCH'S HEALING CANDLE SPELL To help speed a recovery from illness, write the sick person's name upon a white human-shaped candle of the appropriate gender. As you anoint it with three drops of myrrh or mint oil, visualize healing energy in the form of white light flowing from your hands into the candle and say: In the divine name of the Goddess Who breathes life into us all I consecrate and charge this candle As a magical tool for healing. Place the candle on top of a photograph of the sick person and then light the wick. As the candle burns down, concentrate upon the person in the photograph, willing him or her to be well again, and chant the following incantation: Magick mend and candle burn, Sickness end; good health return

https://crimsonwolfe.tripod.com/id9.html

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weareassassin · 6 years ago

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The Assassin Class - Palladium Fantasy. Part 1

Oh! I’d almost forgotten about this project.

For those of you without long memories, back in the day I was planning to doing write-ups of The Magpie for different systems. But it fell by the wayside. However I’m making an effort to do more. But, instead of me going straight back the AD&D 2e character I was supposed to share with you... two years ago... I’ll try something different. Well a little different.

Let’s continue below the break.

Palladium Fantasy RPG must have started life as Kevin Siembieda’s homebrewed version of AD&D e1. He obviously played with the optional Psionics rules as well as a bunch of stuff from Unearthed Arcana, including the Comeliness attribute/ability. Of course like a significant number of these homebrewed variants, ol’ Kev’ filed off all of the D&Dness and published it as its own thing. It was quite successful. There are 21 sourcebooks, many still in publication, for the fantasy setting alone. There are also many other settings and different versions of the system, including Heroes Unlimited (superheroics), Beyond the Supernatural (horror), and various historical settings. Not forgetting licensed rulebooks for Robotech (giant anime mecha IN SPACE!) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which is where many of us first encountered the system). Of course all of this ultimately led to Rifts. A post-apocalyptic smorgasbord, grabbing something of everything that Palladium Books had published up to that point to create the weirdest and wildest game of the second wave of TTRPGs.

Now it may come as no surprise to any of you that there is an Assassin class (Occupational Character Class; O.C.C.) in Palladium Fantasy. Nor should it come as any surprise that I’ve adapted The Magpie for it. After all it’s close enough to D&D that I can almost transfer stuff straight over without changing anything. Almost.

I’m using the 2nd edition of the rules, published in the mid 90′s when Palladium was at the height of its popularity. I’m going to follow the character gen rules as written. Well yeah, apart from the stuff I’ve pregenerated.

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 14

These are the pre-rolled ability scores for the Magpie in every version of the character. Only Palladium doesn’t use Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma. Oh no. Kevin likes to use two letter codes instead. (Or possibly four characters with at least one “.”)

I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) instead of Int. M.E. (Mental Endurance) instead of Wis. M.A. (Mental Affinity) instead of Cha. P.S. (Physical Strength) instead of Str. P.P. (Physical Prowess) instead of Dex. P.E. (Physical Endurance) instead of Con.

Then he adds two new ones.

P.B. (Physical Beauty) which seems to replace the optional Comeliness (Com) from Unearthed Arcana. Basically how good looking a character is.

Spd. (Speed) which is literally how fast a character can run. Multiplied by 20 and you get the number of yards or meters the character can run in a minute.

Okay so the first six are easy. I just convert the D&D ability score into the Palladium attribute score at 1:1.

The last two require 3d6 rolls. Thankfully my old trusty plastic knuckle bones are with me today. I roll a 15 for P.B. Yeah I’d say that’s about right. And then I roll and 18 for Spd. Jay is a fast boi.

I.Q 16, M.E. 11, M.A. 14, P.S. 13, P.P. 15, P.E. 17, P.B. 15, Spd. 18

However for any attribute that rolls 16 or higher (is “exceptional”) gets an additional d6 added to it. I roll a 6 for I.Q., 3 for P.E. and 4 for Spd. I adjust the attribute scores (but not for the last time. Oh no! We’ll be back).

I.Q 22, M.E. 11, M.A. 14, P.S. 13, P.P. 15, P.E. 20, P.B. 15, Spd. 22

Hit points are equal to P.E. and add 1d6 per level. I roll a 4 for first level.

S.D.C. (Structural Damage Capacity) are different from HP for some reason. But also the same. It says here that “Men at arms” roll 3d6 for S.D.C. and assassin is listed as one of those classes. I roll 13.

Now we get to Psionics.

Psionics are basically another term for “psychic”. Psionic characters have a set number of powers and a pool of points (I.S.P.; Inner Strength Points) to use them. There are even four Psionic character classes; the Psychic Sensitive, Psi-Healer, Psi-Mystic and Mind Mage. However there are no Psi-Assassins (Psisassin?). But there is still a chance for Wild Talents. Which are are available, at random, to 1 in 4 characters of other classes. There’s a 9% chance of being a Major Psionic and a 16% chance of being a Minor Psionic. By sure chance I roll 01; this incarnation of the Magpie is a Major pain in the b Psionic. I can choose any 6 spells powers from the three lists of Healing, Physical or Sensitive; or 8 from just one of them. There’s no shadow themed list, or powers. So I choose Bio-Regeneration from Healing, Summon Inner Strength from Physical and, Meditation, See Aura, Sixth Sense and Telepathy from Sensitive.

My base I.S.P. is 4d6 + M.E. score. I roll 21, which gives me a base of 32. There’s also an addition 1d6+1 per level. I roll 6 (5+1). So I start with 38 points of I.S.P.

The downside is that my skill bonuses from my O.C.C. (class) are halved and I only get half the additional skill picks. Although Secondary Skills are unaffected.

Next we choose Race and Class. There, again, is no Dhampir and given that Palladium vampires are more like Buffy vampires (’demonic’ intelligences possessing and animating the dead) there isn’t any likelihood of there ever being any. So Human will do, especially as the big difference between races is the number of dice rolled to determine attributes.

Class is, of course Assassin.

Assassin’s can’t be of any good alignments (and this is a game that allows evil paladins. Sorry “Palladins”.) and are limited to the alignments Anarchist, Aberrant, Miscreant and Diabolic.

As an aside Palladium doesn’t use the Lawful/Chaotic and Good/Evil dichotomy. It has 7 alignments: Principled, Scrupulous (both Good), Unprincipled, Anarchist (both Selfish), Aberrant, Miscreant and Diabolic (all Evil). There are no neutral alignments as Kevin doesn’t believe in them.

The Magpie is Aberrant. Which is to say evil, but with a strict code of honour.

Assassins must have an I.Q. of 9 or higher and a P.P. of 14 or higher. We qualify.

We get a bunch of bonuses to combat and saving throws, which I shall detail on the character sheet. When we get to it.

There’s a long list of skills with bonuses to them. These I have to half because of the Major Psionics. Skills in Palladium are usually percentile based, with a maximum of 98%. Otherwise they are Weapon Proficiencies (WP) or they give some other bonus. Palladium is possibly unique in that some skills modify attributes. You don’t get +1 to strength just because you hit fourth level. No, you buy the Body Building skill which gives you a bonus to P.S. as well as some other benefits.

I get Climb/Scale Walls which also gives me the sub-skill of Rappelling, Concealment, Detect Concealment (& Traps), Basic Maths, Pick Locks, Prowl, Track Humanoids, a Native Language and two other languages.

I get 4 WP. I choose Knife, Sword, Two Weapons and Targeting (which gives a bonus to thrown knives). I also get the Assassin Hand-To-Hand skill. Which is one of the big draws to the class. I then get to pick two skills from the Rogue and Physical skill lists and another two from the Espionage skill lists. Then I get 5, no 3 (psionics again), picks from a bunch of other skill lists.

I pick Disguise, Intelligence, Interrogation, General Horsemanship, Surveillance, Running, and Acrobatics.

Running gives me +1 to P.E., +4d4 (I roll 12) to Spd. and +1d6 to S.D.C. (I rolled a 4)

Acrobatics gives me +1 to P.S., P.P. and P.E. +1d6 (I rolled a 6). It also gives me a +5% to rappeling and the sub-skills Balance, Highwire and Back Flip.

I then finally get two Secondary Skills. Given Jay’s tendency to run away into the wilds I picked Land Navigation and Wilderness Survival.

Jays attributes are now:

I.Q 22, M.E. 11, M.A. 14, P.S. 14, P.P. 16, P.E. 22, P.B. 15, Spd. 36

All that’s left now is to gather equipment and go adventuring.

I’ve written enough for now. Part 2 will follow soon enough with 1st and 15th level versions of the character.

Join me then.

#assassin class #The Magpie #palladium rpg

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urdearestmom · 6 years ago

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100 Questions

Tagged by @bob-newby-superhero thanks!!

1. What is your nickname? Sari, Sarita, Sarinha

2. How old are you? 18

3. What is your birth month? December

4. What is your zodiac sign? Sagittarius

5. What is your favourite colour? Green!

6. What’s your lucky number? 17 because it’s my birthday lmao

7. Do you have any pets? No but I really want a cat. Everyone in my family has dogs

8. Where are you from? I’m Luso-Canadian (my family is from Portugal but we live in Canada)

9. How tall are you? My driver’s license says 160 cm but the doctor told me 163. Either way, around 5’3”

10. What shoe size are you? Uhh depends on the shoe but usually 6.5-7

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Many, but I always wear the same shit lol

12. Are you random? Sometimes, I guess

13. Last person you texted? I texted myself pictures from my mom’s phone. Last message in general was to @eljane-hoppers

14. Are you psychic in any way? Haha sometimes I think I am, but my mom is more >:^)

15. Last TV show watched? Saw an episode of Four Weddings on TLC this morning

16. Favourite movie? The Book Thief or The Greatest Showman

17. Favourite show from your childhood? iCarly!! Used to watch it religiously after school every day it was on

18. Do you want children? Yes, but definitely not right now lmao

19. Do you want a church wedding? Kind of yeah. It’ll depend on who I end up marrying but it’d probably be some kind of disgrace if I didn’t get married in a church

20. What is your religion? I am Catholic

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Yup tons of times, whether for myself or other people

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Nope, I am a Child of God™

23. How is life? Could be better, probably, but it’s pretty chill right now

24. Baths or showers? Showers, but I also really like baths

25. What colour socks are you wearing? Bold of you to assume I’m wearing socks at all

26. Have you ever been famous? I mean if you google my name the results are me. I was on CBC because I was in the national spelling bee in 2012

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? I feel like it’d be fun and cool for a while but then I’d get tired of it. I don’t like having people all up in my business and that seems like what life is like for big celebrities :/ But having a lot of influence would be awesome

28. What type of music do you like? Literally anything except country music (I’m not all that into rap/trap music either, but I can appreciate it from time to time) here’s a playlist of my favourite stuff it’s like seven hours long but if you go through it you’ll see it’s really all kinds :)

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? Maybe and I don’t remember? My childhood was a questionable era

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2, both under my head

31. What position do you usually sleep in? I usually fall asleep on my side but I almost always wake up on my back so I don’t actually know how I’m sleeping

32. How big is your house? 2 stories and a basement

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? Cup of milk with something else, usually a bowl of cereal or bread/croissant with Nutella

34. Have you ever left the country? YeET I’ve been to Portugal a bunch of times, Spain once, and to France on a 5-hour layover but we didn’t leave the airport and I don’t remember it anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

35. Have you ever tried archery? Does it count if it was on Wii Sports? And yeah once and I was terrible at it

36. Do you like anyone? I think so and it sucks because he’s my friend :(

37. Favourite swear word? Probably fuck, I say it a lot. But I also say shit a lot so I mean idrk

38. When do you fall asleep? Oof regularly past midnight, but the time varies

39. Do you have any scars? A giant burn mark on my leg and a very faint lil thing on my right hand from this time I accidentally did an entire flip in my driveway

40. Sexual orientation? Was previously sure I was straight but I’m kind of starting to question that?

41. Are you a good liar? I like to think that I’m a very convincing actress

42. What languages would you like to learn? Mm I already speak Portuguese (if you ever wanna learn something hmu), and I learned some French because that’s mandatory in Canada but I dropped it and I want to get back into it. So, French! I also learned some German this year and I might continue with it. Also maybe Spanish, I can already understand some

43. Top 10 songs? Umm

Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar

Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions

Theme From New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

True Faith - New Order

Age Of Consent - New Order

A Million Dreams - The Greatest Showman OST

Second Waltz - Dmitri Shostakovich

Power Of Love - Celine Dion

Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

Halo - Beyonce

44. Do you like your country? Canada? Yeah, I love it except for the stupid ass weather. I get sick every fucking time the season changes

45. Do you have friends from the web? Yeeee!! They’re all awesome people

46. What is your personality type? INFP- there’s more info here if you want to know what that means

47. Hogwarts House? Ravenclaw ftw bitches

48. Can you curl your tongue? Yesssss

49. Pick one fictional character you can relate to? Buzzfeed told me that, based on my music taste, I am “a student of classic rock like School of Rock’s Dewey Finn” (but actually HA I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON I LOVED JACK BLACK IN THAT MOVIE)

50. Left or right handed? Righttttt

51. Are you scared of spiders? They don’t scare me as much as induce some kind of panic, but it really depends what kind of spider. Really little ones are actually kind of cute, but big spiders send me into cardiac arrest

52. Favourite food? Akjsnfskd PASTA

53. Favourite foreign food? Idk man I’m already picky af with my food. If I live in Canada does that make the Portuguese food I eat on a daily basis foreign because if so I loooooove me some fuckin barbecued chicken

54. Are you a clean or messy person? Fairly clean. If I wasn’t my mother would hurt me lol

55. If you could switch your gender for a day, what would you do? Idk probably figure out how to pee standing up, maybe make use of the ability to lie on my stomach without hurting my chest :)

56. What colour underwear? I think this is turquoise

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? Depends what I’m getting ready for. On a regular day, ten minutes tops. If I’m going out to an event it can be upwards of an hour; sometimes less, sometimes more

58. Do you have much of an ego? Idk if it’s ego so much as me being confident in myself. Anyone who has a problem with me and decides to be rude about it can suck my non-existent dick

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? I try to suck them but it never lasts for long, I almost always bite them unless I’m really concentrating on not biting

60. Do you talk to yourself? Lmfao only ALL THE TIME

61. Do you sing to yourself? Yeee

62. Are you a good singer? I don’t think I’ll blow out your eardrums but I know I’m not the best either. I’ll just say I’m not terrible

63. Biggest Fears? Heights and deep water

64. Are you a gossip? I live for drama does that make me a gossip

65. Are you a grammar nazi? Yeah if I’m talking to someone I’m very comfortable with (my cousin for example) or if I’m trying to be petty

66. Do you have long or short hair? Long! I’m growing it out so I can be really dramatic and chop it all off later (also thinking of donating it)

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? I can name almost all of them but I always forget a few. I think it’s pretty good considering I was never taught American geography

68. Favourite school subject? Instrumental music and history were my favourites

69. Extrovert or Introvert? Idk I guess extroverted introvert? Is that a thing???? I’m really awkward and panicky in social situations with people I don’t know but if I have friends around I’m just here to have the time of my life

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No

71. What makes you nervous? Having to talk to people I don’t know (it literally makes me panic it’s horrible)

72. Are you scared of the dark? Sometimes, yeah

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Lmao ok this depends on who the person is and if I’m in that kind of mood (but when I was a kid I used to correct my teachers)

74. Are you ticklish? Yes very

75. Have you ever started a rumour? No

76. Have you ever been out of your home country? Yes, I’ve been to Portugal a bunch of times, Spain once, and France on a layover

77. Have you ever drank underage? Chugged a cup of beer by accident when I was 6 oops

78. Have you ever done drugs? No but even if I had I don’t think I would say it here unless it was something minor like weed

79. What do you fantasize about? Travelling the world!!!!! And like, being a successful adult because right now I have no idea what the actual fuck I’m doing with my life

80. How many piercings do you have? Two, one in each ear

81. Can you roll your Rs? You gotta in Portuguese! I’m also fairly sure my French and German pronunciations are pretty much on point most of the time so I can do those types of R sounds as well

82. How fast can you type? Pretty fast on my phone and not slow on my laptop either (when you’re a writer you end up learning to type faster than you thought you would lol)

83. How fast can you run? Oof I’m not slow when I first start off but that only goes for like max 10 seconds

84. What colour is your hair? Dark brown

85. What colour are your eyes? Also dark brown

86. What are you allergic to? Bigots

87. Do you keep a journal? I have a diary I’ve had since I was like 10 but I don’t write in it very often. I also have a notebook where I write down fic ideas and outline plots

88. Are you depressed about anything? I actually think I might have seasonal depression or something but I’m not sure

89. Do you like your age? Yeah I guess being 18 is cool

90. What makes you angry? People who refuse to listen to reason

91. Do you like your own name? Yes it means princess!

92. Did you ever get a foreign object up your nose? No but I ate lead once

93. Do you want a boy or a girl for a child? No preference as long as it is alive and healthy

94. What talents do you have? Uhh I can play two instruments and will be learning a third does that count? I just remembered I can also balance a spoon on my nose

95. Sun or moon? Moon

96. How did you get your name? My mom had a friend named Sara when she was a kid and she always liked the name so here I am having been named Sara

97. Are you religious? Kind of? I don’t go to church very often but I think I believe in God (I believe that there’s something, at least). I’ve also received all the Sacraments that I can (as of right now that’s baptism, first communion, and confirmation)

98. Have you ever been to a therapist? Nope

99. Colour of your bedspread? Right now it’s just plain white

100. Colour of your room? Bright green!

Yeet I’m finished! Took forever ‘cause I kept getting interrupted but oh well

tagging: @eljane-hoppers @hannahberrie @mikeywheelerr @queer-deckovskij

#yeet #look at all this information about me #what an interesting person i am #SIKE

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Buffett Fights With Investors, With His Reputation at Risk Berkshire bucks the trend Tomorrow is Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, the gathering known as “Woodstock for capitalists.” Like last year, the company is bowing to the times by holding the meeting virtually. But another aspect of the discussion may show that Warren Buffett is increasingly out of step with the times, DealBook’s Michael de la Merced reports. Investors are pressing Berkshire to disclose more about climate change and work-force diversity. Shareholders, including the Calpers public pension fund, argue that Buffett’s conglomerate isn’t doing enough to disclose its portfolio companies’ progress in addressing those issues. 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Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would fully reopen by that day. But officials concede that tourism won’t fully return to prepandemic levels for years, and employers have been largely targeting the fall for bringing workers back to offices. The head of the Credit Suisse board’s risk committee steps down. Andreas Gottschling won’t stand for re-election. He is the latest official at the Swiss bank to exit following scandals at Greensill and Archegos. Good and bad news for AstraZeneca. The drug maker beat expectations for earnings and sales growth, but it is struggling to compile the data requested by U.S. officials to have its Covid-19 vaccine approved by the F.D.A., The Wall Street Journal reported. Ari Emanuel’s I.P.O. second act Endeavor, the entertainment conglomerate run by the Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel, pulled its I.P.O. at the last minute in 2019 amid lukewarm interest from investors. Although the pandemic hurt its live events business as well as its talent representation division, yesterday Endeavor made its market debut, closing the day with a market cap of more than $10 billion. Emanuel spoke with DealBook about what changed — and what comes next. On why the I.P.O. went ahead this time “There was confusion with regard to the U.F.C., so we cleaned that up,” Emanuel said about the mixed-martial arts league that Endeavor is acquiring full control of with proceeds from the offering. Debt was also a worry before, and leverage will be reduced with help from a $1.7 billion private placement, with Third Point and Elliot Management among the investors. Endeavor also used the pandemic period to restructure and consolidate, shifting further away from its talent agency roots. Endeavor’s businesses will help feed a demand for content and events after the pandemic, he said: “We’re the story about coming out.” On Endeavor’s role in the streaming wars “We’re platform agnostic, and we serve all parties,” Emanuel said. The broadcasters are spending “huge” amounts to build out their streaming platforms. “I don’t have to do that,” Emanuel said. “I just have to supply it.” On how he met Elon Musk, who is joining Endeavor’s board “I definitely cold called. That’s kind of in my nature,” Emanuel said. “We’ve represented him in some of his endeavors. And then over time, he and I became friendly.” “He’s also a great entrepreneur, meaning he knows how hard it is to build and run a company,” he added, noting that they often call each other for advice. On whether he has any concerns about putting Musk on the board given the Tesla chief’s history with the S.E.C. Today in Business Updated April 29, 2021, 6:16 p.m. ET “No.” “The days of the bullpen, the trading floors — that’s over.” — Whitley Collins of CBRE on how the pandemic has upended the commercial real estate market, reversing the trend of “more and more dense” office spaces. A warning on gig workers Marty Walsh, the labor secretary, said yesterday that most gig workers in the U.S. should be classified as employees, not independent contractors. “In some cases they are treated respectfully and in some cases they are not, and I think it has to be consistent across the board,” he told Reuters. Shares of Uber, Lyft, Fiverr and DoorDash fell on the news. But how much control does Walsh have over how companies classify their employees? There’s no single law that makes workers employees or contractors. The Labor Department can enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. This only applies to employees, and who should fall into that category has been the subject of a long-running debate. New guidance wouldn’t change the law. But it could change how the Labor Department decides whether to bring lawsuits against gig economy companies. “It’s implicitly a sign to employers that you should comply with this interpretation or there’s a risk of enforcement,” Brian Chen, a staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project, told DealBook. The guidance is nonbinding, but Benjamin Sachs, a professor at Harvard Law School, said courts “tend to give it deference” when making decisions. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw specific action coming from the department sometime this year,” said William Gould, a Stanford law professor and the former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. An unequal recovery Alisha Haridasani Gupta, a gender reporter for the In Her Words newsletter, explains why promising G.D.P. numbers aren’t the end of the story. “A boom-like year” is how one economist described what the U.S. economy might look like in 2021. The latest data, published yesterday, showed that G.D.P. grew at a robust 6.4 percent annualized rate in the first quarter. While the headline numbers may at first glance suggest that America’s economic health is on track for a full recovery, a closer look reveals an economy that is “profoundly unequal across sectors, unbalanced in ways that have enormous long-term implications,” as The Times’s Neil Irwin put it. Growth has been fueled by consumer spending on goods, while the services sector has yet to recover. Services account for more than 95 percent of the jobs held by women, according to Michael Madowitz, an economist at the Center for American Progress. “I’m a little worried we’re too confident the service job losses are just going to spring back to life,” Madowitz said. “If nobody closed a business that might be fine, but that seems unlikely.” Roughly two million women have left the work force since last February. G.D.P. does not account for their lost productivity and earnings, nor for the hours of work at home that women shouldered in the past year, uncompensated. Weekend reading: The soul of a C.E.O. Hubert Joly, the former C.E.O. of Best Buy, has written the kind of book he would not have read early in his career, with new-age formulations he might have once found laughable, like “human magic.” But now he sees business as a philosophical quest, and Best Buy’s transformation from a sinking ship to a success proves that putting purpose first is good for profits. Joly spoke to DealBook about “The Heart of Business,” which is out next week. Why did you write a book? So much of what I learned in business school is either wrong, dated or incomplete. We urgently need a new philosophy of business and capitalism, a refoundation around purpose and humanity. There’s no going back after the pandemic. We’ve seen each others’ homes and vulnerability. We need to make a declaration of interdependence. Isn’t pursuing profits the point? Milton Friedman is on my “most wanted” list. People who oppose stakeholder capitalism are mistaken. We can create better economic outcomes by connecting with employees, customers, communities and the planet. People should refuse zero-sum games. The book is a practical guide for leaders who are eager to abandon the old way. And it’s also spiritual? Yes. Because work is fundamental. We should ask ourselves why we work, what drives us. At Best Buy, before the holiday season, we’d gather — even though it’s a very busy time — to talk about what gives people energy, what matters. Magic happens when work is connected to meaning and individual genius, to the thing that’s good or beautiful in each of us. How does this “magic” manifest itself? Two Best Buy employees performed pretend “surgery” on a broken dinosaur toy behind the counter and gave a boy back a new item, saying his baby dino recovered. That had to come from the heart. They could have just sent his mother to the shelf. Leaders need to use their heads and hearts and see and hear employees and give people the freedom to make work meaningful. THE SPEED READ Deals Nestlé agreed to buy a majority of the Bountiful Company, a maker of vitamins owned by KKR, for $5.8 billion. (CNBC) Shares in Darktrace, the British cybersecurity company, climbed after its I.P.O. was priced at a valuation of 1.7 billion pounds ($2.4 billion), below the reported target of $4 billion. (Reuters) Politics and policy The Senate approved a $35 billion bill to clean up the nation’s water systems, but further compromise on infrastructure spending looks unlikely. (NYT) Tech Apple and Samsung were the latest companies to report problems making products because of a shortage of computer chips. (WaPo) How Google plans to revamp its offices for the postpandemic era: Goodbye, sit-down cafeterias; hello, outdoor meeting spaces. (NYT) Best of the rest The fight over control of Apollo Global Management has reportedly sidelined another co-founder, Josh Harris. (Bloomberg) Vaccination passports could help countries reopen their borders more quickly — if they can agree on a common standard. (FT) She rose to fame through the “Disaster Girl” meme. Then she made $500,000 by turning it into an NFT. (NYT) We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected]. Source link Orbem News #Buffett #Fights #investors #Reputation #risk

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suchagiantnerd · 4 years ago

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28 Books, 1 Year

Well, 2020, amirite? Staying home with a 4-year-old and a baby really decreased my reading time, bringing me to my lowest total ever since starting this blog. Here we go!

1. Her Body and Other Parties / Carmen Maria Machado

I rarely feel stupid when reading fiction, but this collection of short stories left me feeling pretty stupid. Machado's writing is visceral and gorgeous but what she's trying to say is mostly beyond me. Overall, the collection (as evident by the title) looks at the ways existing in a woman's body is fraught. Sometimes we want to escape our bodies, often our bodies are harmed or taken advantage of against our will, sometimes our bodies fail us. But as for the more nitty-gritty takeaways, I couldn't get there. One story in particular is staying with me. In it, Machado invents new summaries of each and every episode of Law & Order: SVU, telling a tale of a living, breathing New York City that requires regular blood sacrifices and in which everyone has a doppelgänger. I liked it, but definitely didn't get it.

2. Moon of the Crusted Snow / Waubgeshig Rice

This wonderfully chilling read takes place on a remote reserve in Northern Ontario. Over the course of a few days, cell service stops, the internet goes down, and the power goes out. With no communication possible with other communities, the reserve's residents can only guess at what may be occurring down south. As autumn creeps toward winter, the snow piles up and panic sets in. Eventually, a visitor arrives via snowmobile and confirms the residents' worst fears about the state of civilization while also asking to stay on in the community. Can he be trusted? Will others follow? This was a tense page-turner looking at the importance of community, preparedness and leadership.

3. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar / Cheryl Strayed

Dear Sugar's advice to a person who didn't know whether or not he wanted kids is what turned me onto her. The answer was perfect. For someone on the fence, there is no right answer, no wrong answer. But there was a simple beauty to the way she said this. In this advice column collection, Sugar answers questions about love, parenthood, friendship, loss, death, finances, education, hopes and dreams. She insists again and again that we open our hearts and give forgiveness a chance while still maintaining healthy boundaries. And through her answers (and anecdotes) she showers love and care on so many devastated readers who are often writing to her as a last resort.

4. Girlfriend in a Coma / Douglas Coupland

We start the action with a Breakfast Club-type group of teens at a party in 1979 Vancouver. One of them, Karen, ends the night in a coma and doesn’t wake up for 16 YEARS. Also, turns out she was pregnant, and gives birth while in the coma. Richard, her boyfriend, raises their daughter with the help of his parents and friends, and by the time Karen wakes up again, the world has gone downhill. Not long after she wakes up, everyone starts falling asleep and dying except for the original group of friends and Karen’s daughter. I liked this novel as I’m a sucker for everything dystopian, but I also had to ask WHY? Why this random group of teens out of all the world? Why did Karen have to be in a coma for so long? How does it tie into the apocalypse? I still don’t know guys. I still don’t know.

5. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence / Michael Pollan

Back in the 1960s, research on LSD was banned thanks to a moral panic. But today, scientists and therapists are starting to study its uses again. Pollan takes a deep dive into the future of LSD, psilocybin (certain mushrooms, and if I remember correctly, a substance that a certain toad secretes?!) and DMT, taking various trips himself with the help of trained guides. His vivid descriptions of each trip were the highlight of the book, and I find myself, someone who has never tried anything other than pot, wanting to try microdosing in the future.

6. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine / Gail Honeyman

The first of two contrarian reviews this year, I really didn’t like this book. I found Eleanor’s character and quirks completely unbelievable, and even discovered a little hole in the plot demonstrating that she can’t be as out of touch with pop culture as Honeyman claims she is (which I can’t reveal to you because it’s also a spoiler). I think my issue is that as far as I know, the author is not neurodivergent, whereas Eleanor is. I think this does a real disservice to readers, and would much prefer to read something like this by a neurodivergent author.

7. The Story of the Lost Child / Elena Ferrante

I finally finished the Neapolitan Quartet series! The fourth and final book finds Elena and Lila in their thirties and follows them until they’re in their sixties as they navigate professional successes and failures, new aspects of motherhood, relationship woes, and a fraying friendship. The dynamics of the friendship at the core of this series speak to me so deeply and captures so much about the passion, tension, tenderness, and competition that lurk within a longtime platonic relationship.

8. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle / Stuart Turton

Dare I describe this as Downton Abbey meets Black Mirror? Aidan Bishop wakes up on the same date and in the same setting every day (Blackheath Manor on Evelyn Hardcastle’s birthday) but as a different guest or employee each time. Each night, Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered. Aidan quickly learns that his task is to find the murderer, using the different skillsets and vantage points he inherits with each subsequent body. The tension! The twists! The gorgeous setting! I loved this winding, wild novel.

9. You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance / Chani Nicholas

If you are an astrology lover and don’t know who Chani Nicholas is, you’ve been living under a rock! Follow this woman! Her practice and guidance is so inclusive - feminist, anti-racist, anti-transphobic, body positive, and all about how to discover and lean into your gifts and talents while keeping in mind the greater good and working toward a more progressive society.

10. An Ocean of Minutes / Thea Lim

I started reading this dystopian novel about a pandemic right at the start of the pandemic! Maybe not a wise decision, but it didn’t matter, because this book is a beautiful, moving read. In the near future, young couple Polly and Frank find themselves stranded in Galveston, Texas, when a deadly virus begins sweeping across the globe. Frank gets sick, and the only way that Polly can pay for his expensive life-saving treatment is if she signs up as a bonded laborer and travels to the future (yes, time-travel exists!) The couple agree to meet up in 12 years (which will really be just a few short days for Polly). However, Polly is send an extra five years into the future, and Frank is nowhere to be found. The worry I felt! Polly’s loneliness and confusion in the future! Will they find each other again? Oh boy, this was an emotional ride!

11. Where the Crawdads Sing / Delia Owens

The second of my two contrarian reviews this year, I also really disliked this book, which everyone else and their mother seemed to adore? It was bad! The plot felt really contrived, the characters were two-dimensional, and I felt icky about the author’s two Black characters and how the protagonist, Kya, interacted with them. I don’t think Delia is informed enough about the realities of the Black experience, then and now, to responsibly write Black characters. Also, the ‘twist ending’ was a snooze fest. The one redeeming factor was the author’s palpable love of and knowledge about nature. I really did enjoy reading about the coastal habitat and sea life that the Kya loved so much. Oh, what’s this novel about, you ask? It’s a combo coming-of-age / murder mystery set in the 1950s and 60s.

12. The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power / Desmond Cole

Cole is a Canadian journalist and activist shining a much needed light on racism in this country. In this book, he highlights one incidence of systemic racism in action per month during the year of 2017, focussing on police brutality, harm caused by school boards and educators, the Canada 150 celebrations, and unjust immigration policies. This book packs a punch and Cole’s writing style is really accessible. It’s a great entry point into learning about the realities of racism in Canada.

13. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds / Adrienne Maree Brown

I absolutely loved this book, though I find it hard to pin down. At its core, it encourages us to think more deeply and holistically about nature, social justice, and community. Brown is heavily influenced by Black sci-fi / dystopian master Octavia Butler, specifically Butler’s ideas around “shaping change” while living through change. It’s full of gems of wisdom, like this quote, which is one of my favourites: “Imagination is one of the spoils of colonization, which in many ways is claiming who gets to imagine the future for a given geography.” As Brown also writes about, and which we can really see in this moment, we are currently living through the tail-end of a dying society, imagined by a small few. What could we create together if everyone’s imaginings carried equal weight?

14. From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way / Jesse Thistle

Thistle’s emotional and turbulent memoir begins with a loving memory of his time as a little boy at his maternal grandparents’ home. Not long after, his parents moved the family away from their Métis community and Jesse and his two brothers soon end up in the foster care system. This experience, though relatively brief, absolutely traumatized all three of them. Later, they end up living with their paternal grandparents, who love them deeply but are extremely strict, which doesn’t work for Thistle. He hits various rock bottoms, battling with addiction, trauma and homelessness at the intersection of racism. And somehow, he manages to break free of these harmful cycles, go back to school, and become an academic and best-selling author.

15. Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present / Robyn Maynard

I would call this a must-read for Canadians. Maynard breaks down exactly how Canada surveils and punishes Blackness despite its claims of inclusivity and tolerance. She explores policing, yes, but also social work, education, immigration, and education and it’s impossible not to see the levers of systemic racism at work everywhere. Fair warning though, this is a more academic text and requires real concentration.

16. Jhumpa Lahiri / Unaccustomed Earth

This collection of short stories (the last being more of a novella) was gripping. I somehow fell in love with almost all of the characters. Lahiri writes people so skillfully. I felt their longing, hope, sorrow, grief, excitement. Most of the tales take place within the Indian community in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but some stories take us further afield. Lahiri picks a key relationship to focus on within each story - daughter/father, sister/brother, two roommates, childhood acquaintances - and lays them out gently under her microscope for us to see in all their intricate complexity.

17. Midnight Sun / Stephenie Meyer

Did you guys know I’m a Twihard? Having read all the Twilight novels (multiple times) way before I started this blog, this may be new information. But I’m a huge, pathetic fan and though I love Jacob, I will always be Team Edward. So OF COURSE I had to read this extremely long-awaited book, which is actually Twilight, but from Edward’s point of view rather than Bella’s. It was genuinely enjoyable, but not filled with nearly enough sexual tension for my liking. And of course, never ever read it unless you are also a Twilight fan.

18. The Sun and Her Flowers / Rupi Kaur

It’s Rupi being Rupi! I legitimately enjoy Rupi’s poetry, but I don’t love it. Some of the pieces really resonate, and others do nothing for me. But I do think she’s an important voice for young women, and specifically young women of colour. So much of her writing is about reclaiming your power, honouring the older generation of women who sacrificed so much and received nothing in return, and learning to love yourself in a society that is constantly trying to hurt you. Her poetry is always an uplifting read.

19. Conscious Creativity: Look, Connect, Create / Philippa Stanton

I’ve been following Philippa on Instagram for years as I adore her flat-lays and domestic foraging arrangements (if you follow me on IG, you may have seen my colour-themed #DomesticForaging homages to her work!) So when she published a book outlining her own creative process (and containing tons of her gorgeous photography), I had to read it. Stanton has included lots of activities meant to light your creative spark and inspire new ways of looking at things. She also writes about her experiences as a synesthete (someone who may “see” music as colours or who may “hear” shapes), which was fascinating. This is a book I’ll certainly go back to when I’m feeling uninspired. Want to follow her on IG? Her handle is @5tfinf.

20. Turkey Trot Murder / Leslie Meier

Guys, this review is the start of something BIG. Brad knows that I love to read books that are “in season” (I don’t want to read a book set in the summer during the winter, etc.). So he bought me this very niche Thanksgiving mystery novel to read in October. It’s alllll fluff, and very much in the “so bad it’s good” category. It also turns out that Leslie Meier may be one of the most prolific authors of all time, and so Brad signed me up to her ��book of the month” fan club for my birthday this year, meaning I get a new, seasonally appropriate Meier classic each month. (You should also know that the “book of the month” fan club is entirely made up, and the letters from Leslie are actually written by Brad, and yes, he has designed a logo for the letterhead.)

21. Haunted House Murder / Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross

Wait, what? THREE authors? Yes, some of the Leslie Meier classics are actually novellas, so they are combined with novellas by two other authors into these seasonal collections. Also, Lee Hollis isn’t even real. Lee Hollis is in fact TWO PEOPLE, a brother/sister writing duo! So there are four authors involved in this spooky little collection. They all take place in small-town Maine, so yes, the settings are adorable and the plots are terrible.

22. Autumn / Karl Ove Knausgaard

I think I would describe this memoir (?) as a collection of magical noticings. While his wife is pregnant with their fourth baby, Knausgaard starts writing letters to the unborn child, telling them about, well, everything and anything. That project turned into this book, in which the writer observes everyday things like hands, toilets, fog, petrol, and snakes, and finds the beauty and wonder in all of them. Reading this book left me feeling very inspired and wanting to try and develop this skill in myself as I write.

23. The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century / Kirk Wallace Johnson

Back in 2009, Edwin Rist stole HUNDREDS of dead birds from the British Museum of Natural History. That fact alone is mind-boggling (how?), but it gets wilder. He didn’t steal them for nerdy science reasons, he stole them to sell to the Victorian fly-tying community. Yes, flies as in the things you attach to fish hooks. And no, not flies that will actually be used, but flies that are constructed as a hobby and art form. Wallace Johnson does a great job of conveying Rist’s obsessive passion for fly-tying and the desperation many fly-tiers feel as they try to track down increasingly rare and protected feathers from exotic (or extinct) birds. The author also has a journalist’s nose for sniffing out lies and half-truths and even tracks down Rist himself for a sit-down interview. I was riveted throughout the whole book, which lives at the intersection of history, science, mystery, and psychological deep-dive.

24. Yule Log Murder / Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross

The seasonal fluff dream team is back! And yes, a yule log features prominently in each novella. Once as a murder weapon, and once as a suspected murder weapon! These books also feature real recipes, some of which actually look pretty tasty!

25. Empire of Wild / Cherie Dimaline

This was a chilling page-turner and the second novel of Dimaline’s that I’ve read and devoured. She’s quickly become one of my favourite authors. In this story, Joan, a Métis woman living in the Georgian Bay area, is at the tail-end of the worst year of her life. Almost a year ago, her husband Victor disappeared into thin air after a rare argument between the couple, and Joan’s been searching for him ever since. One day, she wanders past a Christian revival tent in a Walmart parking lot, and the minister is the spitting image of Victor. She manages to have a brief conversation with him and it appears he has no memory of her or his prior life. Yet, in her gut, she KNOWS it’s him and resolves to return him to himself (and to her). This slow-burning horror novel weaves in the Métis myth of the Rogarou, a werewolf-ish creature who walks lonely roads looking for victims, to great effect.

26. Eggnog Murder / Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross

Another seasonal romp in which this time, the eggnog is the murder weapon in TWO of the stories! TWO PEOPLE IN TWO SEPARATE STORIES DIE FROM DRINKING NUT MILK EGGNOG AND NOT KNOWING IT WAS NUT MILK AND SUFFERING FROM A NUT ALLERGY. Anyways, I actually made one of the included recipes this time - eggnog muffins - and they were truly delicious!

27. Watch Over Me / Nina LaCour

This is a beautiful and haunting (both literally and figuratively) YA novel about the way trauma from our past follows us around, haunting our present. Mila, who’s just aged out of the foster care system, lands what seems to be a perfect job helping to teach younger children at a farm in Northern California. The farm is owned by an older couple who’ve become somewhat famous for taking in dozens of kids from the foster system over the years. Upon arrival, Mila falls in love, but soon starts to notice strange things about the way things are done on the farm, while also suffering from PTSD related to her own childhood traumas. Is there something sinister going on, or could this beautiful, isolated place become the home Mila’s always longed for?

28. Phases / h.duxbury

I started writing poetry again this summer, and quickly found lots of other poets sharing their work on Instagram. @hduxburypoetry (a fellow Ontarian, too!) quickly became one of my favourite accounts to follow, so when i learned that she self-published a poetry collection, I had to grab a copy. Her work is heavily inspired by nature and the changing seasons, which I’m a sucker for, so I really enjoyed it. Her poems also delve into grief, loneliness, love, and growth.

Well, there you have it! As for my 2020 faves, my top three reads were:

Empire of Wild

Unaccustomed Earth

Emergent Strategy

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careerbitespod · 4 years ago

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Episode 2 Transcript: (NURSE) Turning Setbacks into Success with Kim Ceccarelli

Rachael Barksdale: Welcome to the Career Bites podcast where we make career exploration easy - and fun! This week, I explore a career that has been front and center in this pandemic - nursing. I am so fortunate that my guest took time out of her busy schedule to speak with me, given that she is not only a full-time nurse, but also a mother to a toddler and expecting her second! Kim Ceccarelli is a progressive care unit (PCU) nurse in Oregon, but the path to get there wasn’t an easy one - and for Kim, the journey isn’t over yet. I hope her story will inspire you to persevere as you embark on your own path. Here’s my conversation with Kim.

A lot of people are watching the news and seeing all of these nurses talk about the COVID situation and personally, having worked with a lot of nurses when I had my first kid almost a year ago - nursing is really intense! I personally super admire anybody who’s a nurse or wants to be a nurse because I know I don’t have what it takes. Why did you choose to go into nursing?

Kim Ceccarelli: So the starting point, I mean in high school I always had like, you know, that career that I wanted to get into. But I never understood why I wanted to be in it. I just knew that it was something that I really liked being a part of because I always volunteered at the hospitals. My first volunteer gig was at the - like in the medical ICU at Madigan which is on the Fort Lewis military base back home in Tacoma. And I just always admired the work ethic, the way they interacted with patients, just how sharp they were, too, and just how much the doctors and the pharmacists always turned to them. But then it’s like, I always admired them but then I wasn’t sure, like what is it about me that could contribute to this area? And then the turning point happened while I was in college, still trying to figure out my path. I bounced around a little because life was happening, and one of those major life events was that my grandmother who - who lived with us - she was having issues with small strokes and whatnot, but she had the big one while I was on holiday break. And that scared the...the dickens out of me and...but you know, high school because I had to work in a hospital as a volunteer, I had like CPR skills and whatnot, but I just turned her to her side because she was having the stroke, and eventually she had a seizure, which I didn’t know all that connected at the time, and had to call 9-1-1. And that was a really scary situation, you know, having a personal loved one go through that. And again, it was the nurses in the emergency room who calmed us down, and her down, as well as my mother who was sobbing tears, you know. It was the nurses - after the doctors explained things in confusing medical lingo, that the nurses made more sense about like what the imaging was, what medications they were giving, how long she might be there. And then it was the nurses who, eventually when my grandmother went into hospice, they took such good care of her toward the end of her life that just being involved with it even just indirectly, like on a personal level now, was like “I want to be that for other people”. And so, I persisted and - but that was kind of why I chose to be a nurse.

Rachael: Wow, that is super inspiring. And, what a crazy way to get into that, to have your grandmother have that experience.

Kim: Mm-hm.

Rachael: That’s scary, but sometimes it’s those really intense life moments that push us down a certain path. So, you mentioned some of those things that nurses did, they were the ones that explained what was going on in terms you could understand, they were the ones that were comforting...If I were to shadow you during one of your shifts, what are some of the things that I would be experiencing?

Kim: We work 12-hour shifts, maybe other places do 10 or eight, but mainly in the hospital it's a 12-hour shift. We see you first thing in the morning. We’ll take your vital signs that range from your blood pressure, charting down your heart rate, measuring your respiration - so as you’re talking, we will not tell you that we’re measuring how much you’re breathing but we’ll do it very discreetly - we’ll check your blood sugar if that’s what we have to do. And then we kind of just do, like a little mini assessment, like head to toe, ask you your pain levels and whatnot, ask if you slept well if you were there overnight. And then just kind of review as to why you’re in the hospital because it’s always good to know what got you there in the first place. And I have a lot of patients, too, that don’t understand why they’re in the hospital either because of old age or they’re altered because of whatever their condition brought them in for, so we kind of just have that routine to kind of go over like “where is the patient at?” And so after I do my assessments, I usually check-out meds. Typically we have like these 8 or 9 o’clock medications that need to be given - that’s either stuff that they’ve been taking at home if they were taking, you know, maintenance medication, and anything new like that brought them there that they have new orders for, medications for. I’m always seeing how the patient’s doing, seeing if they have the strength to even sit up on the edge of the bed, if they can even swallow or drink well, if they can even take their medications at all. We are like a stroke unit too, as well, so I’m always trying to ensure their safety and make sure they don’t choke on their pills. And then a big chunk of my time lately is charting. At least for my unit, we have to chart like every four hours, and then even more frequently if we’re monitoring the trajectory for a stroke, or if they just got out of surgery usually it’s like every 30 minutes to an hour, just depends on what they’re there for and what kinds of protocols and procedures are in place for that kind of thing for charting. I’m always on the phone, too, if I’m not in a patient room, either mediating care with the nurse managers, the care coordinators. Sometimes these patients’ primary care clinics give us a call for an update. Sometimes I’m talking to hospice organizations if the patient is going that route. Then, I’m talking to the physicians, I’m talking to all the therapists - physical, speech and occupational - just asking how the patient’s doing. I’m talking to all of the imaging departments because we have to coordinate times for x-rays and CTs and MRIs, all that kind of stuff and...I feel like I’m always mediating when I’m not in a patient room. And sometimes, depending on family dynamics, I’m talking to a handful of family members who are okay to get information, because we do have confidentiality laws, but I mean if I’m able to talk to a family member - if it’s okay with the patient or if they’re a power of attorney. Some families like to call throughout the day and some just want a quick update first thing in the morning. I mean all that makes for a really busy day. Then you get things like, that blindside you, like codes or rapid responses, or just like a change in health status that takes all of my attention.

Rachael: It sounds like you don’t have any down time whatsoever, which I think for some people is great, they want to be busy. And that’s good to know for some people that - they’re considering nursing but they need those breaks. I mean you’re going 12 hours straight. How often do you do your 12-hour shifts in a week?

Kim: Yeah, so, I mean, if you’re 12-hour shifts in a hospital typically it’s three days a week. You can have those either all consolidated into three days in a row which is very tiring, but I mean, if you’re young and you can do it - kudos. But even at 30 I’m like “oh my gosh I am so exhausted”. And usually that first day off after three days, which is like 36 hours in three days, but then you account for like, you know, getting to work and staying late sometimes because of charting, or like something happened at the end of the shift. Sometimes it is 40 hours in three days.

Rachael: Wow.

Kim: Which some people don’t seem to understand when they’re like “oh yeah, you only work three days a week that must be really nice” but if you have all those days clumped together, which a lot of hospitals make you do, it’s...it’s rough.

Rachael: Right, it’s just the super-concentrated work week, that’s what it is.

Kim: Oh yeah. I mean, I will say, a lot of my lulls happen like at 2 or 3 o’clock. And I will say also that I’m super fortunate that I’m part of a hospital that has a union that fought for breaks. Breaks are legal, we’re supposed to have your three 15-minute breaks and a one 30-minute break. Some places don’t necessarily do that. I’m not going to, like, name-call or anything, but that’s kind of the consensus in nursing that people just go without their breaks, and that that’s just normal. But that’s not normal and it’s not safe for patient-care or for nursing staff. Yeah, luckily I am in a union that fought to add an extra nursing position to have what we call a “break relief nurse”. So I - I fortunately get all of my breaks. So that makes a huge difference in my day.

Rachael: That’s awesome.

Kim: I feel really grateful to have that.

Rachael: One of the questions I had written down here to ask was how you felt about these ongoing concerns, you know way before COVID pushed every hospital to the limit, about the nursing profession at large having nurses overworked and underpaid, culturally kind of under-appreciated. They’re sort of the teachers of the...of the medical profession, you know, they’re completely essential and yet, unfortunately, disregarded in a lot of ways. I guess, do you want to elaborate on...on your thoughts on that or how you’re seeing the situation from the inside?

Kim: Even before I started working as a nurse, during my clinicals in the two years - two, three years before becoming one - yeah, I just wondered, like, when is my preceptor going to have her break? Like, what’s in place? You go 12 and a half hours almost, thirteen or fourteen depending on what goes on, and I’m like, “this shouldn’t be a culture that’s accepted like this”. We need to feel more appreciated by management. So, I mean, it’s hit or miss, I haven’t worked at a place that doesn’t have a union or - I mean, most of the area hospitals in my, in my state do have unions except for maybe one, but breaks and management of relief for these nurses is pretty standard or at least it’s trying to be the standard. But no, I just, I just don’t think like that culture of not having your breaks and going for 12 hours straight should be accepted and I...I definitely signed the papers to, you know, have that be considered in a contract of ours at work. So it takes a lot of advocating and fighting for ourselves to make sure that we get that respect and those breaks.

Rachael: For sure. So nursing, again, this really intense profession, takes a lot of your time, what would you say would be the top three attributes for someone who’s successful as a nurse?

Kim: One is you need to have a strong backbone. Not all patients are very nice. They will say really mean things to us. Sometimes they don’t even want to be there because maybe a family member brought them in out of concern, or they didn’t understand why they were going because they’re so confused. And you know, in altered states some people can be really combative and whatnot. But we have to have a really strong backbone to just not take those kinds of things personally. Some people are just really sick so they just say some really mean things because they’re vulnerable, and we have to realize that. And so I always say, like, you have to meet the patient where they’re at. So that’s why I do that little review at the start of my shift, which includes introducing myself and reviewing their course of care, and what to expect for the day. And then, second is to never act like you know it all because nursing is an ongoing learning process. And even though I precept and train new hires, or new graduate nurses, like three years into this, I - I still feel like I’m always learning, even new procedures alongside the doctor like just - supplies, I’m like “oh, I’ve never heard of that kind of catheter or whatever” - but it was a preference for a physician and that makes the procedure go easier like for paracenteses and whatnot. Yeah, so it’s always being willing to learn, too, and always accepting advice even from older and newer nurses just to receive their input, because I feel like you’re not going to go anywhere if you’re not willing to learn more. And then another attribute is - I know you mentioned earlier that nurses are underpaid or - but it depends on where you work, hospitals do get the highest pay and such - but that’s not what influenced why...and so we should always reflect and acknowledge that getting into nursing is so much more than just the pay. But it’s because you legitimately want to care for the people that are kind of under your wing. And because they’re going to be from all stages of life, all walks of life, they’ll be at a different stage in, like, their illness either toward the end of life or maybe they just found out something, you want to have the compassion and the empathy for people who are going through these trying times. Especially now in light of COVID.

Rachael: I’m going to take a step back then and let’s talk about how you got to nursing in the first place. We talked a little bit about this before the call, about your unorthodox education path to get to this point, so walk us through that. After high school, what path did you take and what did you learn after going through that process?

Kim: Yeah, for sure. So like I said before our call started, I went and did, you know, the four-year college route, because, you know, that’s all that was kind of ingrained into us in high school, like “go to a four-year college”. So I went. I discovered that I’m not a really great person with studying or I didn’t have like a really good study ethic cemented for myself. Life also happened, like I said, when I was a sophomore in college my grandmother had that stroke. So I was in and out of the university campus helping my mom set my grandma up for, you know, the different areas of healthcare that she needed, like hospice and dealing with the emotions of that. So life happens. I ended up getting a degree out of Gonzaga in psychology because that’s what I ended up changing my major to. It was nursing at the time, but because of life I had to change it. And I actually had an advisor that told me that because of one low grade that I shouldn’t be a nurse. So even though I had, like you know, that turning point in my life that inspired me to become a nurse, I also had someone who told me not to. And that was - that was me saying “I - I’m not going to listen to that”. Why would an advisor say, “you shouldn’t be what you’ve always wanted to be”? So that was definitely a driving force too, but you know I persisted because it was really truly what I wanted. And I - after Gonzaga I had to take a few prerequisites just to kind of, you know, get that A-grade or to really solidify my knowledge in that area, especially anatomy and physiology. And then applying to nursing school was a whole other ball game. Nursing schools are very competitive. They usually have really really large application pools for a small cohort. For example, the school that I eventually got into, there were 600 applications the year that I applied, but they only took, like, 80 students. Which feels like a lot, but out of 600 applicants that’s not a lot. And the applicants for these nursing schools, it’s just so large at any of the schools that you look into and so...It took a couple years to get into this program, but again, persistence was the name of the game for me and I was like “I am not giving up”. So in that time that I had to reapply, and ever since I got out of Gonzaga, I knew how important it was to start working directly with patients. So I worked in assisted living facilities, I worked in skilled nursing homes, I worked with patients in memory care - and honestly, the care that my grandmother received inspired me to look into these areas so I understood what she was going through when she eventually had to be out of the home. Yeah, so I went through to do a two-year associate's degree. A two-year associate’s degree still allowed me to sit for the national licensure exam, called the NCLEX. That in itself was a - that was a doozy and I spent like seven weeks straight just studying and honing my ability to take tests. Because that’s really what it is, it’s like how well can you take a test? The information you learn in school was honestly enough to help you take the exam, but you really had to hone in your test-taking skills with that. I got licensed on my first try. You hear as nurses that “oh, someone passed it the, like you know, the minimum amount of questions”, which is 75, like their thing shut-off. Because I have to work extra hard at everything I do I feel like, I finished at like 115 questions. And the exam can let you take as many as like 250 questions for this licensure exam - so I felt good, and you know, it was a really hard two or three days to wait, but I got - I got licensed by the state of Oregon and I was extremely happy with myself. All that hard work of, you know, working and being rejected initially, my - my grandmother’s passing, like all that really culminated into that one moment where I read the email saying “Congrats! You are now a licensed nurse”. It was a very tearful and joyful moment. But I still pressed on, like even though I just got licensed I felt like I didn’t really have time to celebrate because I was looking for a job. And then even after I started a job I still needed to get a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing because that was kind of the minimum degree to have in hospitals especially. So...and I wanted to make sure, you know, I covered all my bases. So my first year that I was working I worked nights, three times a week for the 12-hour shifts, and at the same time I was attending an RN to BSN program at Oregon Health and Science University. That was for an entire year, so three-quarters - I got my holiday breaks and whatnot. And that focus was very different from my associate’s degree. My associate’s degree was very hands-on learning, was more about pathophysiology, pharmacology, how to do assessments, like things to look for, like practically basically. But OHSU taught me about more in-depth on nursing leadership, epidemiology, community health concerns and that kind of stuff - which I really liked. Some people maybe were like “oh, that’s not very different from like the ADN” but I really thought that that helped me hone in my critical thinking skills as a registered nurse, and I was very appreciative of having that opportunity to go to OHSU. Because the nice thing is this RN to BSN program partnered with my community college and seven others in the area that allowed associate’s degree nurses to transition to this program without having to competitively apply. So it was like a nice, seamless transition to a BSN program so that we could get more BSN graduates in the workforce. Because they - there was something from the Institute of Medicine or whatnot that said that they’re trying to get like a certain percentage of nurses with their BSNs in an effort to improve patient care. Which I think is cool, so that’s nice to have in our area and I feel very lucky to have that.

Rachael: To clarify, you don’t need to have your bachelor’s degree to become a nurse, you only need to have a two-year degree and pass the licensure exam, correct?

Kim: Mm-hm, basically. And an associate’s program can let you do that. But the hold-up is is that most hospitals, or most health systems, they’re trying to phase that out almost so they’re trying to make the minimum requirement to even apply to have a bachelor’s degree. Which it makes it confusing because it’s like “well, why do we have all these associate’s degree programs?” But one, it’s inexpensive compared to like a four-year college that offers a BSN, and it honestly I feel like it makes it have better access to nursing, just getting the education that way.

Rachael: So you mentioned you went right into a four-year degree program and that didn’t work for you...Would you recommend to potential future nursing students to go the associate’s degree route?

Kim: If time and money are important factors I would say, bring out the money if you know exactly what you want at 18, to go for that four-year degree. But if, like, money is an issue then going the community college route to get like your prereqs done and finding a program that has a nursing school, like an associate’s degree nursing program, to go that route, just to save money. It really depends on what your priorities are and what your financial capabilities are, too, to going to school - because no one wants to have loans. So you have to do what’s best for you financially too. And a bachelor’s program I’ve found, some people - the ones that I’ve gone to school with - was a little harder to look into because I felt like they wouldn’t be able to get the childcare, whereas the community college I went to, they provided childcare whilst kids were in class. There was an on-campus kind of, like, childcare program that was available. So it really depends…

Rachael: Do you have other future education or career aspirations going forward?

Kim: Even when I got my associate’s degree my sisters always joked with me that I will forever be in school or aspire to forever be in school. Which is kind of funny and true at the same time. Because I really do want to get the highest terminal degree and get that satisfaction of saying that I did it and that I’m doing this for myself, but I’m also doing it for my patients and the care that I provide. So I actually have a couple applications out to area nurse practitioner programs, and specifically I want to be an adult gerontology nurse practitioner in primary care. I love my hospital gig, I love everything about it: I love the people I work with, I love the patient population...18 and over. So that’s been, like, my niche and the area I thrive in. But a lot of the care that I provide is very reactive. I see them, you know, while they’re at their sickest and then when they’re - when they’re well enough to go home or stable, like I have no idea what happens after that. And that’s kind of the piece of healthcare that I’m like, “well, how are they doing?” Like, I want to know how they’re doing. And so what kind of influenced the whole nurse practitioner route was that I want to be a provider that helps people stay out of the hospital and help them manage with proper education and follow ups to help them manage, you know, their chronic conditions like whether it be diabetes or cardiac issues or whatnot. You know, help them manage it at home and give them the power to be able to manage it. And so that’s kind of what sparked that, just the whole reactive process in the hospital, and then...I just don’t feel...fulfilled not knowing how they’re doing after that discharge day. And then you also wonder - or I’ve also wondered - “why does this same patient keep coming back for the same thing (recurrence in like a heart failure exacerbation)?” Like are they not taking meds? Is there no access to their meds? Do they - can they not get to their primary care physician, because are they too far? Or do they have transportation issues? Like all those things really, like, buzz around my head: “why is this patient here?” The hospital’s great, we do our job, but you’re only in the hospital because you’re very, very sick. And I feel like management outside of the hospital is super-duper important, for all of our health.

Rachael: I feel like that just goes to show how much you care about what you do as a nurse and just who you are as a person that those considerations cross your mind and inspire you to be the best nurse and the best healthcare professional possible so…

Kim: Mm-hm.

Rachael: That’s super inspiring for me, personally, just to know that you care so much that you want to be the best that you can, not necessarily just for yourself but for others as well. If there was one piece of advice you would give a high school student, whether they are looking into nursing or not, about adulting and choosing a career path, what would that piece of advice be?

Kim: Honestly, with getting into the career that I’m in now, getting your feet wet and working right away, whether it be in any capacity, to get into a medical field. There are a lot of certificate programs out there and places that even you could volunteer in as a high schooler. It’s really important to get your feet wet so that you understand and know what you’re getting into, and see how you interact and just how you do with other people at their worst. Is that something you could handle? The blood-and-guts thing is also one factor. I have had people who’ve shadowed me and they’re like “I can’t do this. I can’t deal with the needles, I can’t deal with that”. So it’s like always getting your feet wet and just kind of diving in. Like, don’t say “oh I want to be this” without the experience or the knowledge or the capacity to handle it, so I always say get your feet wet in whatever capacity you can either through work, either through volunteering, career interviewing, what have you, anything. Always reach out. And I feel like a lot of primary care offices are really good places to start, like if you have a primary care physician. Just even asking the nurses who work there, or the medical assistants, anything to get started.

Rachael: That was Kim Ceccarelli, PCU nurse. To learn more about becoming a nurse, check out our show notes. Subscribe to and rate Career Bites podcast on your favorite listening platform. Follow us on Instagram @careerbitespod, or like us on Facebook. Join us next Monday as we sample another career with an everyday professional.

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