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chhabiramdhruw · 1 year ago

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How To Make Money Online-20 Ways to Earn Money Online

how to make money online – On this page, based on our understanding, follow the best ways to use extra time while learning. We will continue to add best practices to this page, so please tag us. Also, post your thoughts in the comments!

How To Make Money Online

1. Online surveys –

A common and undeniable way students can make money is by collecting online courses in their free time.Think tanks continue to attract young people from all over the world in response to reviews and experiments.

Completing a few buildings will reward you with £2-3 in cash or prizes. Some courses can be packed up to £3 ($5)!

A few good ones to try are: Toluna、Branded Surveys、LifePoints、InboxPound、Onepoll、Say、Opinion Outpost、Populus Live、YouGov、Pinecone、Valued Opinion、The Opinion Panel、Pricerebel、Marketagent、Mingle、Opinion Bureau、SurveyBods、Panel Base、Survey Junkie。

So pursue the Swagbucks You get ratings as you browse the web, watch recordings, and throw.

2.Online market trading –

While this is not an easy way to bring in cash, putting resources into a currency exchange can help if you find out how to do it properly and safely. With the same token, you may be tolerating serious misfortunes if you do not look at them properly.

Today there is no compelling reason to support the yachts of the Wolf of Wall Street style retailers. You can do it all yourself with the help of online market exchanges. I have spent many hours researching this new opportunity, trying different things on the regular stage EToro.com.

EToro has more than 12 million customers worldwide and offers free custom accounts. Highlighted in the history of BBC 2 “Brokers: Millions on a Goal” and supports several Premier League football teams.

3. Start your own website –

Interested in making easy money? You need a site. It is the best way to bring cash while you relax.

Starting a site with Bluehost takes less than 20 minutes, is free of charge and should be done by an . It only takes a touch of web-based media to get your first visitors, and there are many ways to sync your web page.

Save the Student is just one example of a fruitful site, started in college by Owen Burek in his first year, which has already become a full-time and great career.

Use a little Owen to manage in a very efficient way to start a site in a short time. It is probably the best source you can have.

4. Become a delivery rider or driver –

Do you have a bicycle, motorcycle or car? What can be said about the Smartphone? You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people.

Join tech organizations like Deliveroo chasing new riders. They let you adapt perfectly to work when you need it, transferring food from cafes to customer entry. You can make up to £ 16 60 minutes.

Bend your chances by reaching directly to the carriers near the big chains like Dominos to check if they have shipping operations.

5. Write and publish a Kindle eBook –

If students are welcome in anything, it is investigated and constructed. With the Kindle store, anyone can distribute an eBook and bring money to Amazon.

In addition, the Kindle app is currently available on any gadget (PCs, iPads, mobile phones and in fact, Kindles) so your global market is huge!

Rundown your book for £ 1.49 – £ 6.99 and get 70% of the deal. Looking at Amazon is a clear marketing tool (and remember the people who hope to use it), that’s a great setting.

promote digital literature

The way to improve with eBooks is to make respect, and a true composition in life. Basically the packing data you have researched you put it into a general issue (e.g. ‘insider facts’ to find a new line of work) and then presenting it with an easy-to-make process (eBook) authorizes a person who puts in a few quid it.

Another great idea is to have a customized cover (use these) so it sticks, and once your book is live in the Kindle store it is very important to get a few surveys so it seems to be high in results. Urge abusers to leave a formal survey by the end of your book.

The great thing about this ideal idea is that whenever you donate on time (say 20 hours), you will earn easy money in the long run!

6. Affiliate marketing –

If you happen to be a decent person with a web-based media or perhaps have a blog or site, you can start earning money right away by developing organizations, objects, management and offers on the web.

Join as a distributor in the , Awin check out their blog offers or use vendor posts to find something you find that your friends would like the most, rob you of your offshoot connection and give it to you. If someone can buy (can be within as long as 90 days) using your connection you will make a nice commission.

To do more, set up a site (read our guide) or an active Facebook page and welcome all your friends to join it and post what your member offers there.

7. Mobile phone recycling –

You can make good money and help weather the weather by reusing your old phones and other unused gadgets. Maybe ask if they can have sex with them.

Go to our page to bring money from old phones for the best organizations to use and how they guarantee you get all the money shown on the web.

8. Part-time job –

Low maintenance work is undeniably the best option, taken by many students hoping to improve their illicit study loans. It provides you with a good deal of inconsistency in salary and can give you the ability to gain valuable insight into a job.

However, consistent employment is not always easy to find!

Start with our quest for a new job, then explore neighborhood segregation and manage your college skills to find opportunities.

It is also worth joining the CV Library, a free utility that will work with your CV and the appropriate functions for low maintenance and vocation.

Use your booklet to find a low maintenance job while learning to get extra tips.

9. Sell your notes –

In the event that you wouldn’t fret imparting your notes to different understudies it’s an incredible method to produce some additional money. There are destinations out there that you can transfer your notes to, alongside your cost, and afterward when another understudy downloads them you get paid.

The greater part of these locales like Nexus Notes and Stuvia are free for you to list your notes yet will in general take a cut of your benefit to deal with the showcasing and so on so you don’t need to go out there and advance your notes yourself.

You will no doubt need to transfer PDFs except for it’s great for the return and you can submit manually written notes yet you’re probably going to get more cash-flow in the event that they’re composed up.

10. Sell second-hand course books –

Another great way to bring in cash is to buy more student reading materials at the end of the year, and then sell them just after the renewal week – when new receptions for students find they need them!

You can advertise nearby or show them online successfully in the Amazon Marketplace (just remember they take a commission from the books sold).

Here are 29 things you can sell right now!

11. Buy and sell domain names –

A space name is only a site address (eg. ‘savethestudent.org’ or ‘mysite.co.uk’) and there are loads of augmentations (.com, .net, .co.uk and so on)

They cost just $0.99 to enroll with Go Daddy.com yet premium space names can get $1,000s if not millions when sold on. In 2007 VacationRentals.com went for a cool $35m!

Presently you’re presumably not going to go over anything like that, however you can in any case turn an easy gain with a touch of looking. Try to discover accessible area names which have some business esteem, eat them up and afterward show them available to be purchased on a site like Sedo.com.

12. Sell your photos –

In the event that you think you have a decent shot and a little innovativeness, have a go at transferring your photos for nothing to stock sites. A decent beginning stage is Adobe Stock or Getty Images.

Get more cash-flow selling photograph subjects that have less query items however you feel would have some interest. It very well may be a smart thought to test them out on paper first yourself (get free photograph prints here).

13. Freelance work –

Maybe you appreciate composing, managing Facebook pages or making smidgen visual visuals in your spare time. There are many private positions out there that require specific skills or just a time that someone else may not have.

In addition, the key to outsourcing is that you can serve UK customers and across the planet with a web connection from home, to your hours while performing important skills.

An unbelievable place to start is on the great private site Upwork.com. Or on the other hand take a stab at using our non-learning requirement to get a new job to get independent positions close to home.

14. Sell clothes on eBay –

Everyone’s favorite friend about dumping garbage is eBay. An online closure is a fiery way to turn that sleeveless coat (which came in all its design in seven days) into hard cash.

Some eBay sellers take a gander at the patterns and try to see what will be bigger in front of the market. If you think you’re welcome and you wouldn’t have to worry about facing the challenge, you can buy from traveling in bulk and sell when the flu arrives.

15. Sell your stories and videos –

In the event that you have an intriguing story, you could take a stab at offering it to the papers. It very well may be anything from laying down with an expert footballer to getting trapped in a garments horse!

One of the Save the Student group was adequately sad to have a pigeon fly through and crush their window at college and offered the story to The Sun for a clean £50.

You could likewise film your mates consistently and send it into You’ve Been Framed to net yourself £250 and a couple of moments of popularity.

16. videos –

Based on late data we are currently seeing a larger number of recordings on YouTube than viewing on Google.

Also, with the YouTube Partner Program launched late now you will now be able to benefit from recording and transferring recordings. You will find the amount of information revenue collected in a thousand ways.

Depending on how hard you work (fitness, sponsorship base and theme) you can get a cash load on the boat, and there are plenty of news every seven days for YouTubers that are increasingly making it their business.

17. Source property for wealthy investors –

We as a whole expertise much cash there is in property, however on a superficial level (with house costs however high as they seem to be) you may be thinking this market is beyond reach.

Honestly, bunches of individuals make a lot of money just sourcing reasonable properties for rich financial backers who basically have no time.

Try to discover properties beneath market esteem (BMV) by keeping away from domain specialists and rather flyering your region with your contact subtleties offering to purchase houses. At that point approach financial backers with an easy decision offer to pass on the subtleties of cut-value property in return for a % of the deal esteem.

Most urban communities will have month to month organizing occasions for landowners and property financial backers. Track these down, join, put on your best suit and oblige bunches of business cards. Or then again you could begin on LinkedIn or even Twitter to assemble some underlying contacts.

As you would envision, this isn’t really a speedy method to bring in cash however whenever you have a couple of financial backers in your telephone directory it can end up being worthwhile over the long haul. In case you’re intrigued, I suggest perusing this book.

18. Watch videos –

Assuming making recordings seems like a lot of difficult work, getting paid to watch recordings online must be perhaps the most straightforward approaches to bring in cash, ever.

Swagbucks and InboxPounds are the most mainstream sites as they in a real sense pay you to pause for a moment and watch things like adverts and recordings expecting to turn into a web sensation.

For more included and compensating openings, consider spreading out as a consultant composing up film captions or composing film audits.

In the event that watching recordings and motion pictures is your thing and you need to expand your income, head over to our full rundown of approaches to bring in cash from watching recordings.

19. Rent out your house for filming –

Chiefs for TV and film are consistently on the chase for houses to film in. For example, a scene for Coronation Street was as of late recorded in the understudy house one of the Save the Student editors used to live in!

Not exclusively would you be able to take in substantial income however it’s insane seeing your own place on TV. Begin by seeing this site.

20. Work as a charity collector –

Alright, so this work takes a specific sort of individual, as you’ll need to take a great deal of dismissal and be tireless.

In any case, in the event that you are effervescent, charming and figure you could offer ice to an Inuit then this could really be an incredible understudy lucrative thought. You get paid commission on new recruits (normally around £20).

View Wesser just as noble cause sites like Oxfam.

#make money online #how to earn money #how to make money online #make money tips

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fireflykaizoku · 3 years ago

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☀️☀️☀️ Nice to see the Summer Event is still going!!! Can I get a late night car rides with Kid and the prompt 23? What I'm thinking is they both go to a party and someone was an ass to the reader and they leave early when Kid recognized them and was like "want a ride?" And then they have an improv date at some gas station that's open 24/7. I find funny the concept of gas station dates. This is too big. Thank you and sorry.

omgg i loved this. this was so cute and now i want to go on a gas station date tbh :') i hope you like it bby ❤

It was supposed to be a fun night. You were on a summer break after a long semester, and all you needed was to relax. That’s why you didn’t oppose it when your friend insisted, telling you to go to that party.

However, your night wasn't as you were expecting. You were taking a sip of you drink, talking to one of your friends, when a taller man approached you. He was quite invasive and didn't respect your "no", holding your arm trying to talk to you.

He was an asshole and it ruined your night, so you decided to head back home. It was a bit late already anyway.

Meanwhile, Kid and his best friend, Killer, were talking. The redhead checked his phone and realized he should be going back home. He needed to wake up early the next day.

You were walking back home, the streets were empty and a bit dark. You couldn't help being afraid. Especially when a car slowed down next to you. You tried to ignore and keep walking, but they kept driving slowly.

— Hey, do you want a ride? — the driver asked while rolling the windows down.

Taking a deep breath, you looked to the side. It was a man you remember seeing at the party. You remember seeing him talking loud to a dark haired man with tattoos. His bright red hair and massive figure were hard to miss.

You crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow. Would you even trust him to drive you home? He was a stranger after all.

— What if you kidnap me? — you asked. — No, thank you. My house isn't far anyway.

— You’re walking home by yourself at this hour, are you fucking insane? — the redhead clicked his tongue. — Are you even aware that this is a dangerous neighborhood?

Before you could deny again, you saw the guy who ruined your night earlier. In a second you were inside the redhead's car.

— I'm Kid, by the way. — he said as he drove off.

— I'm (Y/N)... — you replied, still a bit shy. — You can turn left now…

He nodded and kept driving. You didn’t talk much during the ride, only talking about the party, why you left and just some basic things about each other. Kid drove by a gas station. It was rather empty with only a few customers inside the convenience store. Of course, it was past 2AM already.

— Hey, can you stop here? — you asked. — I'm hungry. But you don’t need to wait if you don’t want to, you can just drop me here.

He was about to decline, but thinking well, he was a bit hungry himself. Not only that, but the man was very curious to know more about you.

— It’s alright, I want to get something to eat as well.

Kid parked in front of the store. A small group of friends was sitting in a corner, a couple in the other. Everything was quiet, only the chatting and the low sound of music in the background. You grabbed a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee while Kid got a hotdog and a can of soda. You both sat in front of the window, far from the others.

You found out Kid lived with his best friend, worked at a mechanical shop, liked cars and motorcycles and metal concerts. While he looked a bit intimidating with his scowl, Kid was actually very fun to talk to. He could be funny, and made you laugh without even realizing. And while he already thought you were very attractive, your outgoing personality, the way you started talking about random things and laughing at his bad jokes made Kid forget that he would have to be awake in just a few hours. He was enjoying your presence way too much and wouldn’t mind having 4 hours of sleep that night.

When you looked around, the convenience store was almost empty and the cashier was bored, reading a random magazine. Looking outside, a few cars were playing loud music, driving back from parties and heading back home, or probably heading to another club. The night felt so young and you wanted it to last a bit more, even if it was just ten more minutes.

— Are you in for another cup of coffee? — he asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You smiled and nodded, getting up and heading towards the coffee machine. Both of you took short sips, trying your best to make the liquid last as long as possible. But inevitably, you had to go back home. You could see the sky already had a light shade of purple, a sign that the sun would rise soon.

Your house wasn’t far, but the drive was too quick for your liking. Kid parked in front of your house and for a second, neither of you said anything.

— I may need a nap during the day but… If you’re free later tonight, do you want to go out? We can go somewhere other than a gas station. — he broke the silence, looking away to hide his pink dusted cheeks.

You smiled, feeling your heart beat fast and wanting to dance with joy.

— I’d love to. Even though I never thought I’d have this fun on a gas station date. — you giggled. — I need your number, though.

He handed you his phone with the “add contact” tab open, and you handed him your phone as well. Both added the phone number with your names.

— I’ll call you later, then. — he said.

— I’ll be waiting. — you opened the door and left the car. — See you tonight, Kiddo.

Before he could laugh or complain about the nickname, you were already inside your house. For a moment, Kid smiled to himself resting his arms on the steering wheel. He was feeling something he had never felt before, and couldn’t tell exactly what it was. While driving back to his house for a quick shower, the redhead kept thinking he wanted time to go fast until the date that night.

For some reason, he just couldn't wait to see you again.

#eustass kid #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece scenario #eustass kid x reader #Summer Resort Event

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urbanpen · 3 years ago

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What is public transit?

Before we start to understand the importance of public transit system, we need to understand how it is defined.

“A Public transit system consists of a regularly scheduled, controlled vehicular trips, open to all paying passengers, with the capacity to carry multiple passengers, whose trips may have different origins, destinations and purposes.” As defined by Transit consultant, Mr Jarrett Walker in his book ‘Human Transit’.

Now let us understand each element that completes this definition

1) Regularly scheduled vehicular trips

It is important to have a regular schedule for a Public transit, firstly because the people who are going to use theses transits, should be able to predict the timings, routes etc without collaborating with each other, every individual or a grp as a unit, should be able to depend on the transit’s schedule of both timings and routes and plan their trips.

2) Open to all paying passengers

By being open to all paying passengers, a public transit should be accessible to all who can afford the bare minimum ticket price belonging to any economical, racial, or any other social denominations, it needs to treat everyone with equality.

3) Multiple passengers

A public transit’s existence is to do this, to carry a large number of people from one point to another rather from different points to different points and this is the most important and basic measure of its efficiency A good transit system.

Now talking about the importance of public transit system, lets imagine for a while that there is no P.T.S. (public transit system), so what are the options people have walking, cycling, rented cars, carpooling, etc. We all know that walking and cycling have their own limits in terms of distance that can be covered. Talking about rented cars,we all know about OLAs and UBERs , we might have travelled through these at least once, yes they are comfortable , they can take you anywhere, but how affordable are they? And to who all? I remember a trip of approx. 20 km costed nearly Rs 180 by cab, otherwise it would have cost me only Rs 20 by bus. This how cheap travel becomes in a P.T.S. A 20km trip for Rs 20 very much affordable for all.

Now that we have looked at all other alternatives, it shows that only P.T is the one that surpasses the drawbacks of all these alternatives.

P.T is the only system that is truly efficient, economical and environmentally friendly, we will see in this blog how this happens.

If a city has to have a better network of P.T and other vehicular alternatives it should function like the arteries and capillaries, where the P.T is like arteries carry the main blood flow in our bodies & the alternative transit methods would resemble capillaries. This means a P.T.S will connect all the important points and one can use other alternatives from there.

A P.T.S transit also saves a lot of space .If a P.T .S is effectively designed ,that it passes through a city’s dense parts and well connected through other alternatives it can:

1) Promote & support pedestrian lifestyle and mode of travel.

2) Reduce our need of having our personal vehicles & in long run, traffic imagine how different our roads would look if all these cars were reduced.

3) Reduced traffic will further reduce the pollution & the chaos, road widths can be reduced & sidewalks and spaces can be opened up.

4) Less parking spaces are required, these spaces can be used for more things like public spaces, recreation spaces etc, in some places the scale of these recoverable land is such that it can be used for commercial as well housing projects as well.

5) Traffic’s real problem can be truly resolved with an efficiently designed P.T also it resolves pollution, noise & spaces problems.

All this shows us how important a P.T.S is which in our case can be BRT, metro etc. But there are a lot of cities wherein these systems are already installed & yet the overall transportation is not efficient, what might be the reason? What can be done to improve an existing P.T.S & what should be kept in mind before designing one for a city.

Reasons that a P.T.S might be a failure excluding other political and environmental reasons are:

1) It does not move through densely populated area

2) It does not connect the city’s mainly visited areas, maybe tourist spots, government offices, schools, hospitals etc, places that require such connectivity.

3) It does not form an effective interaction with the alternative transit methods, that is the capillary types that we discussed before.

4) It Is not accessible to all.

5) The trips are not frequent, reducing the efficiency.

I remember an incident from my college days, when I use to take a morning bus of 6:40am, I had to catch this bus or I’d be late, I’ll explain, the trip would take nearly 45 mins considering all stops and traffic. So by this if I catch the 6:40am bus I’ll reach college bus stop at 7: 25am nearly, and my college started at 7:30am. Anyways never liked being an early bird, so this much was enough for me.

But the day I would miss that bus because maybe being late but mostly because it was overcrowded and many times it wouldn’t even stop. I had to wait for 30 minutes straight for the next bus, I know you won’t believe me, but yes busses in Pune can make you wait even longer than that. So now Its 7:10 bus and the trip take 45 mins, can you understand the pressure I had here. I would reach college bus stop at 7:55am approximately this is when I still have the second bus having mercy on me and stopping on the bus stop. Sometimes the drivers won’t even stop the bus as it was so crowded that people couldn’t even breath, I have been there.

No, when I realised that I can go backwards a few stops to the depot, maybe it won’t be that crowded and I might not miss the bus. So, one day at 6:00 I was at the main bus depot, but to my surprise there was a humungous crowd was waiting for the same bus, the crowd was so huge that we would require three buses to accommodate them. So, at 6:00am already the bus was so full, and so many people had to give up on that bus and be late to work/school and this is a situation of early morning hours, of course there were alternative buses but again same issues with them.

What I am trying to say is, this is what happens when the P.T (here BRT) does not have enough number of busses and also, they are not frequent.

Had the time between the consecutive busses reduced down to 2-5 minutes, how quickly the crowd would have been accommodated, also I would have been on time even after missing 1-2 busses. Also, I would be pleasant to get a seat, or at least stand in a breathable space.

I am sure we all have had good & bad experiences of our city’s P.T.S, and then how people look at it will help it to be more functional & efficient.

Now what needs to be done to have an effective & efficient P.T.S. Of course, the physical network of routes & schedules etc are nearly the same for a bus system or a metro, it is a result of how your city is laid out, how it has grown & how it feel. But there are a few things that have to be followed about P.T no matter the city, the layout and the urban environment etc. Following them will make the P.T more efficient:

1) It should satisfy the high level of demand found in high density cities and; parts of cities.

2) It should be well incorporated with transit systems(alternatives) and all of them should be designed to do so.

3) It should be frequent

4) It should be accessible to all.

5) It should give its consumers flexibility in terms of choosing wherever they want to go in minimum time.

Many urban designers, transit consultants and people have realised these things, but to get these things work, we need political will, I feel.

This article was to help you understand how important it is to have an efficient P.T.S and how can we achieve it. A lot of text is inspired from the book ‘Human Transit’ by Mr Jarret Walker, blogs by Ballad power systems. And my personal experiences.

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electricscooters · 3 years ago

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Prime 10 Electrical Scooters

What triggered the increase in recognition of electric powered scooters? In modern years, electric motor and battery technology has innovative enormously. Today's LEVs (Light Electric Automobiles) have very clear advantages above fossil gasoline run cars in the regions of functionality, relieve of use and working charges. "Green is in" ... a lot of men and women have turn out to be environmentally-friendly these times. You can say that it has now turn out to be trendy and stylish to vacation in these "environmentally friendly" modes of transportation. Pollution free ... ηλεκτρικα σκουτερ Due to the fact electric powered autos operate on batteries and do not burn fossil fuels as their principal system of propulsion, they provide the chance to minimize your private environmental effect and improve regional air top quality. Tranquil ... There is certainly nothing at all much better than cruising down the streets and the only factor you listen to is the wind blowing in the air. Electrical motors are tranquil and give you an entirely various feeling when riding. A lot of gasoline-run private autos are louder than garden-mowers. Tranquil electric autos seem to be to glide down the road with relieve and are welcomed in most communities. Whatsoever your reason could be for choosing to acquire an electrical scooter, I have compiled a record that you may possibly discover helpful in narrowing down your selections. In no specific buy, the prime ten electric scooters are: Vectrix Maxi-Scooter VECTRIX is the acronym for: Car, Electronic, Commuter, Transformation, Revolution, Innovation, X element, and was commenced by a quantity of engineers. The huge news here is the nickel steel hydride battery, simply because with any electric vehicle, it really is only as excellent as the battery inside of. The V1 product ($11,000) is at present available in a two-wheeled scooter as opposed to the 3-wheeled V3 design (which is not going to be available until finally afterwards this calendar year and will be priced at $15,000). The V3 has two wheels mounted in the front for better handling and stability. Advanced design and style developments of the sharp, placing Vectrix consist of a higher-effectiveness gearbox and drive train, aluminum building for fat reduction and aerodynamic styling to decrease drag. A reduced middle of gravity, rigid frame and even excess weight distribution supply outstanding handling. The Vectrix is nearly silent and hugely productive-a patented regenerative braking technique redirects energy back into the Vectrix battery pack, which helps to lengthen its selection by up to 12 p.c. For customers with city commutes, Vectrix is each handy and value successful. The driver can cease and go with 1 hand by just twisting the throttle back for acceleration and twisting it ahead to slow down smoothly and securely. Rapidly acceleration and managing make it easy and risk-free to zip in and out of visitors. In addition, an onboard charger plugs in to any standard a hundred and ten/220V electrical outlet to demand the battery pack in just two several hours. Functions of the Vectrix Maxi-Scooter include: - goes to 50 mph in six.eight seconds - prime speed of sixty two mph - range of 70 miles on a one demand We really feel that the Vectrix electrical scooter is the wave of the long term and will revolutionize the electric scooter business. Vectrix was named as one of MSN's bikes of the yr in 2007. Created with appears in head, the Vectrix is responsive, great-looking, trustworthy and fun to trip. Go-Ped ESR 750 The Go-Ped ESR loved ones is composed of the adhering to types: ESR 750, ESR 750EX and ESR 750H. The Go-Ped ESR750 merely is in a course of its very own and no scooter in the market place comes shut to its develop good quality, electrical power, overall performance and trendy style. Its longevity, reliability and impeccable overall performance without having compromising on any details helps make it 1 fo the best electric powered scooters. Not to mention it is an environmentally friendly substitute mode of transportation as properly. The ESR750 is the most cutting edge, reliable and flexible electric powered scooter in the market place right now. The Go-Ped ESR750 EX is outfitted with larger sealed direct acid batteries, which produce a selection boost of far more than fifty% more than the normal ESR750 inventory variety and period. The ESR750EX will offer users with an amazing 12+ mile variety in Economic climate mode - a leading speed of twelve mph - and up to an eight mile range in Turbo Mode, which enables users to reach a best speed of twenty mph. It is best for Electric fanatics and scooterists looking for an electric scooter with an superb selection. In addition to it really is unmatched electricity, reliability and functionality, it is compact and effortless to have. The Go-Ped ESR750H Hoverboard electric scooter is based mostly on the highly regarded and award successful GoPed ESR750EX , but incorporating the amazing Cantilevered Unbiased Dynamic Linkless Indespension (C.I.D.L.I.) suspension system featured on their highly successful off road merchandise this sort of as the Trail Ripper and Riot mini motorbike. This two wheeled sensation will quietly, efficiently and easily go riders of up to four hundred lbs earlier mentioned the ground with the sensation as if they have been magically levitating on a cloud. The ESR750H Hoverboard provides two.seven" of suspension vacation in the entrance and 3.five" of suspension journey in the rear. This hover method is adjustable from "plush to company" to accommodate and suit all rider preferences. HCF 737 Pacelite The HCF 737 Pacelite Electric powered Scooter is a lengthy-lived, well-built scooter. This is 1 of the handful of electrical scooters that powers up speedily from a entire quit, then can just take on hills with no hesitation. The HCF 737 Pacelite is a excellent commuter scooter, folding up for effortless storage and transport. Presented its pace, power, excess weight and dependability, both the novice and experienced rider can value its performance. It is a really light scooter - only fifty nine lbs with the battery, and will simply in shape in the trunk of your automobile. Traveling at a leading velocity of 15mph, the HCF 737 Electrical Scooter will go distances of up to 12 miles on a demand. Adjustable handlebars let you to customise your trip for greatest convenience. And the removable seat and folding body allows you just take this electric powered scooter practically anywhere you want. This is one of the handful of electrical scooters that offers full entrance and rear suspension for a clean experience no matter what the terrain. Zapino Electric powered Scooter ZAP is the acronym for: Zero Air Air pollution and they just lately launched their new Zapino electric powered scooter. Not only inexpensive and eco-pleasant, the Zapino is powerful with an advanced 3000-watt brushless DC hub motor, perfect for town commuting. Capable to reach speeds of 30 mph, the Zapino will be able to preserve up with city traffic without having contributing to city air pollution. The rear wheel hub motor on the Zapino results in far more room on board for further batteries and efficiency. This innovative drive technique eradicates the want for belts or chains reducing it is all round routine maintenance. 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If you just take the pedals off the scooter, it gets a LSM (reduced pace motorbike) and you need to have it licensed and insured. Its motor is uniquely constructed with outsized rare earth magnets, which increases the torque and effectiveness. You can truly feel this when you begin - it accelerates for five seconds to 32km/h. The regenerative brake also returns much more electricity in the battery when braking. Its hydraulic entrance suspension absorbs any vibration and can make the ride extremely clean and comfy. Business Name: Ηλεκτρικα Μηχανακια Phone Number: +30 210 802 4862 Email: [email protected]

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drivefloridadrivingschool · 3 months ago

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Everything You Need to Know About 3rd Party Driving Tests and In-Person Traffic School

Learning to drive is a significant milestone, and obtaining a driver's license is a crucial step toward gaining independence on the road. For many, the journey to getting licensed can be stressful, especially when it comes to the driving test and traffic school requirements. Fortunately, Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers a streamlined solution by providing 3rd party driving tests and in-person traffic school programs. This blog will discuss what these services entail, their benefits, and why choosing Drive Florida Safe Driving School can make the process smoother and more efficient.

What Is a 3rd Party Driving Test?

A 3rd party driving test is an alternative way to take your driving exam without having to schedule it directly through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Instead, state-approved driving schools like Drive Florida Safe Driving School are authorized to conduct the driving tests on behalf of the DMV. This can be especially beneficial for new drivers who want to avoid long wait times and the stress often associated with DMV appointments.

Benefits of Taking a 3rd Party Driving Test

Shorter Wait Times One of the main advantages of opting for a 3rd party driving test is the ability to schedule your test at a time that suits you, without waiting weeks or even months for an available slot at the DMV. Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers flexible scheduling, allowing students to book their test as soon as they feel ready.

Convenient Locations Instead of driving to a crowded DMV office, students can take their driving test at a location managed by Drive Florida Safe Driving School. This can save time and reduce stress, making the experience more comfortable and less overwhelming.

Friendly and Supportive Environment Many students find taking their driving test at a school to be less intimidating than the DMV. At Drive Florida Safe Driving School, the instructors and examiners are trained to be friendly, patient, and supportive, helping students feel more relaxed and confident during their exam.

Practice and Preparation Since Drive Florida Safe Driving School also offers behind-the-wheel training, students have the opportunity to practice with certified instructors before taking their test. This hands-on experience can be invaluable in preparing for the exam, ensuring that new drivers are well-prepared and comfortable behind the wheel.

How to Schedule a 3rd Party Driving Test with Drive Florida Safe Driving School

Scheduling a 3rd party driving test with Drive Florida Safe Driving School is simple. You can visit their website or contact their office to find available dates and times. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Prepare Your Documents Before scheduling your test, make sure you have all the necessary documents, including your learner's permit, identification, and any required paperwork from the DMV.

Choose a Date and Time Select a date and time that works best for you. Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers flexible scheduling, so you can book a test during a time that fits your schedule.

Practice and Prepare It’s always a good idea to take a few practice lessons before your exam. Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers behind-the-wheel training to help students gain confidence and improve their driving skills.

Take the Test Arrive at your scheduled time and location, and be ready to demonstrate your driving skills. The examiners at Drive Florida Safe Driving School are patient and supportive, making the process as smooth as possible.

In-Person Traffic School: What You Need to Know

Traffic school, also known as a defensive driving course, is designed to educate drivers on the rules of the road, safe driving practices, and how to handle various driving situations. In some cases, attending traffic school may be required by the court to reduce a ticket, remove points from your driving record, or fulfill legal obligations. Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers in-person traffic school programs that are convenient, informative, and engaging.

Benefits of In-Person Traffic School

Interactive Learning Experience Unlike online courses, in-person traffic school provides a more interactive learning experience. Students can ask questions, participate in discussions, and receive immediate feedback from certified instructors. This hands-on approach helps to reinforce the material and ensures that students fully understand the concepts.

Real-Life Scenarios Drive Florida Safe Driving School’s traffic school courses cover a range of topics, including defensive driving techniques, traffic laws, and the effects of alcohol and drugs on driving. Instructors use real-life scenarios and examples to make the lessons more relatable and practical, helping students learn how to handle challenging situations on the road.

Meet Legal Requirements Completing traffic school can help drivers meet legal requirements for ticket dismissals or point reduction. Drive Florida Safe Driving School is state-approved, so their courses fulfill these legal obligations and are recognized by the courts.

Improve Your Driving Skills Even experienced drivers can benefit from attending traffic school. The course helps reinforce important driving concepts, updates drivers on new traffic laws, and offers tips on how to handle unexpected situations. It’s a great opportunity to brush up on skills and become a more confident, safer driver.

What to Expect During In-Person Traffic School at Drive Florida Safe Driving School

Friendly, Professional Instructors The instructors at Drive Florida Safe Driving School are certified professionals who are knowledgeable about traffic laws and safe driving practices. They make the class engaging and informative, ensuring that every student leaves with a better understanding of how to be a responsible driver.

Structured Curriculum The course is structured to cover all essential topics, including road signs, defensive driving techniques, and the consequences of impaired driving. The curriculum is designed to meet state requirements and provide students with valuable information that they can apply to real-world driving.

Engaging Learning Environment Students will participate in discussions, watch informative videos, and take part in interactive activities that help them retain the information being taught. Drive Florida Safe Driving School ensures that the learning environment is comfortable and conducive to understanding the material.

Certificate of Completion Upon successfully completing the course, students will receive a certificate of completion, which they can present to the court or insurance company, depending on their requirements. This certificate may help reduce points on their driving record or lower insurance premiums.

Why Choose Drive Florida Safe Driving School?

Drive Florida Safe Driving School stands out as a top choice for driving education because of its commitment to quality, convenience, and student success. Here are a few reasons why you should consider their services:

Experienced Instructors The team at Drive Florida Safe Driving School is made up of skilled, certified instructors who are dedicated to helping students succeed. They understand the challenges that new drivers face and provide personalized guidance to ensure each student gains confidence on the road.

Flexible Scheduling Drive Florida Safe Driving School understands that everyone has different schedules, which is why they offer flexible options for both driving tests and traffic school courses. This flexibility makes it easier for students to find time to complete their training.

Comprehensive Services From behind-the-wheel training to 3rd party driving tests and traffic school, Drive Florida Safe Driving School offers a wide range of services designed to meet all your driving education needs in one convenient place.

Commitment to Safety Safety is a top priority at Drive Florida Safe Driving School. Their programs are designed to teach students how to drive responsibly and safely, ensuring that they are well-prepared for the road.

#florida driving safety #4 hour basic driver improvement course in person #driving school bradenton #3rd party driving test #scf traffic school

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anniekoh · 5 years ago

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elsewhere on the internet: coronavirus, part 1

Reading a ton these days about the coronavirus, from all sorts of angles: humorous memes, local governance, border politics and xenophobia, Chinese social media, journalistic freedom/censorship, Taiwan, open science, the indie music scene etc etc.

Wuhan: a tale of immune system failure and social strength (TJMa, Feb 4, 2020)

In the confusions of the seal-off, three Wuhan Weibo users posted descriptions of what their aunt had experienced. The suspected coronavirus patient was turned away by overcrowded hospitals. Her conditions worsened rapidly at home, was finally admitted into an Intensive Care Unit, and died two days later. She never had the chance to be formally diagnosed. When her nieces posted about her death, they understandably expressed dismay. One of them described gruesome scenes at hospitals, some of which she heard about from interactions with an ambulance driver. This became her sin. As influential Weibo accounts picked up the story, they were displeased and irritated by the distraught posts... Quickly, a narrative of “bad elements” trying to sow mistrust about government disease response began to develop around the three cousins. Discrepancies of their accounts were highlighted. Suspicious wordings were scrutinized. The most eye-catching theory was that they were internet agents hired by the Taiwanese regime to stir up discontent on the mainland, based on their occasional language usage. Piqued by such storylines, thousands of Weibo users descended on the cousins’ Weibo space to insult them. “Disgusting bitches!” they cursed. When Weibo belatedly verified the identity of the three women, a few accusers made public apologies. Weibo later suspended some leading accounts in this episode.

The cousins were not alone. All over Weibo, desperate help seekers from the epicenter of the contagious disaster were being chased and attacked by “truth guards” for spreading rumors and misinformation. The bullying was so widespread that a user came up with a satirical guideline advising Wuhaners asking for help on Weibo to self-humiliate and apologize preemptively to the truth guards for their forgiveness.

By Jan 26, 3 days after the official seal-off, the spectacle had grown into a national concern, prompting bloggers to openly call for a calm-down of the frenzy: “Wuhan people are not our enemies.” More concretely, a plea went out to stop leaking the personal information of people from Hubei. Apparently, vigilantes in the system who had access to information such as hotel check-in registries were passing it on so that others could avoid, report, or drive away those associated with Hubei province.

As ordinary people were being chased, isolated, bullied, silenced and pushed around, the other line of questioning, after those responsible for the fiasco, was struggling to keep its focus. In a bombardment of outbreak-related information, public anger acted like the small ball in a roulette game. At any given moment it may land on top of the Wuhan Municipal Government, Hubei Provincial Government, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States CDC, or the World Health Organization (WHO), depending on which media story or blog post was trending at that time. The outbreak and the Spring Festival holiday together created an unprecedented online time-space where hundreds of millions of Chinese, all off work, had nothing else to do but watching one of the country’s worst public health crises unfolding on their mobile phone screens. Every actor’s every action was scrutinized and commented upon by millions online. At one point, 10 million people were watching the live stream of the construction site of an emergency hospital, assigning nicknames to bulldozers and excavators.

....

The sealed-off megacity was also kept afloat by an advanced network of internet-based service providers and mobile-organized support groups that were both non-existent 17 years ago. It was Alibaba’s online shopping platform, Didi’s mobile taxi hailing, SF’s courier services and Meituan’s food delivery system that kept the basic life-supporting functions of Wuhan operating when all its public services were either stopped or severely stretched.

The Digital Radicals of Wuhan Guobin Yang (February 3, 2020)

After Wuhan was closed down, a genre of writing called “diaries in a lockdown city” began to spread on Chinese social media.

....

Internet censorship and control did not start now, but they look particularly cruel at this point. Many people are stuck at home after the city is locked down. They depend on the internet for information and to keep in touch with families and friends. We become isolated islands without the internet.

As a social worker and activist, Guo Jing tries to rediscover her place in an isolated city, to paraphrase the title of one of her essays. She explores the streets and the food marts in her neighborhood to see how the lockdown and the illness have affected the city. She talked to the street cleaning workers to find out about their lives. In her diary on January 28, she wrote:

I interviewed eight street cleaning workers, six women, two men. They work for about seven or eight hours a day. Their salary is about two thousand and three or four hundred Yuan, which is less than two thousand after tax.... Every day they could receive “84 Disinfectant” and reusable gloves. They had no disposable gloves and were all short of masks. The lucky ones among them may receive 20 masks at a time and can go back for more after using up. One poor guy received only two masks since the city was locked down.They are all very kind people. Some don’t have disposable medical masks, so they would use their scarves to cover their mouths. I had three disposable medical masks with me in case I might need them outside. I gave the masks to them …. I asked them whether they are worried. One big sister said of course. She was already living separately from her son and daughter-in-law. They don’t go out, and she would buy things for them and deliver them to their door.

See also the Jan 29 story by Zhong and Palmer: Wuhan's virus and quarantine will hit the poor hardest

I’ve been riveted to the coverage of the coronavirus, and very very aware of how much the U.S. media (and non Chinese-language media) generally misses in terms of the context and the nuance. There are major exceptions to this, such as Li Yuan at the New York Times (Feb 4, 2020)

So many officials have denied responsibility that some online users joke that they are watching a passing-the-buck competition. (It’s “tossing the wok” in Chinese.) The Chinese people are getting a rare glimpse of how China’s giant, opaque bureaucratic system works — or, rather, how it fails to work. Too many of its officials have become political apparatchiks, fearful of making decisions that anger their superiors and too removed and haughty when dealing with the public to admit mistakes and learn from them. “The most important issue this outbreak exposed is the local government’s lack of action and fear of action,” said Xu Kaizhen, a best-selling author who is famous for his novels that explore the intricate workings of China’s bureaucratic politics.

Those officials could often be corrupt, but even the party’s fiercest critics sometimes acknowledged that they got things done. Liu Zhijun, the former railway minister, is serving a lifetime sentence for taking bribes and abusing power. He also oversaw the creation of China’s high-speed rail system, which vastly improved life in the country.

Journalist William Yang has been giving updates on the coronavirus

Chinese infectious disease expert Tseng Guang said in an interview that China’s disease control system only has the authority to collect and analyze data, and it is not a decision-making institution. He said that the disease control agencies play a weak role

Qingqing Chen has also been a key media conduit

Eight Wuhan residents praised for "whistle-blowing" virus outbreak Global Times (via Qingqing_Chen, Jan 30, 2020)

In an exclusive interview with Global Times' Editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the CCDC, said those eight residents should be highly regarded as they turned out to be correct about the viral outbreak, even though the information they spread "lacked scientific evidence".

The eight residents were briefly detained by Wuhan police after they circulated online "rumors" that cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the viral respiratory illness that battered China in the spring of 2003, were detected in some of Wuhan's hospitals.

The residents were released shortly but news about the arrests angered many in the country as the novel coronavirus continued to spread in the country. Many termed that detaining the eight whistle-blowers as evidence of local authorities' incompetence to tackle a contagious and deadly virus.

Questions about a health care system that immediately was overloaded.

In Sickness and in Health Yangyang Chen, (Jan 29, 2020, SUPchina)

Despite a population of 1.4 billion, there are only a few million medical practitioners in China, most of whom have a bachelor’s degree or less. The problem of extreme shortage in qualified staff is compounded by the country’s size and uneven distribution of resources. Outside of first-tier cities and provincial capitals, well-trained doctors and modern medical facilities are few and far between.

Despite the overwhelming demand and staggering medical costs, the basic income for most doctors in China is relatively meager. Overworked and underpaid, many accept bribes to complement their salaries. With weak regulations and insufficient compensation for its workers, the Chinese government has incentivized the prevalence of “gray income” in the medical industry, a major source of public resentment.

Moreover, without adequate access to care or relevant education, the general public has a poor understanding of medicine, and can develop unrealistic expectations for its efficacy. A string of highly publicized scandals damaged the reputation of the medical profession, further sowing distrust between caregivers and their recipients.

Chinese Storytellers chinesestorytellers.com has also been a huge resource, sharing “stories about hospitals being understaffed and patients being turned away have prompted people to start online volunteer networks to help patients who have no choice but to quarantine themselves at home.”

And of course about the legitimacy crisis in Chinese politics

How Much Could a New Virus Damage Beijing’s Legitimacy? Taisu Zhang, January 29, 2020, Chinafile

THE TRUTH ABOUT “DRAMATIC ACTION” Da Shiji (达史纪) | Jan 27, 2020, China Media Project

But is it fair to regard this case of large-scale quarantine also as a “Chinese miracle” in public health?

...

Everyone must understand, first of all, that this epidemic was allowed to spread for a period of more than forty days before any of the abovementioned cities were closed off, or any decisive action taken. In fact, if we look at the main efforts undertaken by the leadership, and by provincial and city governments in particular, these were focused mostly not on the containment of the epidemic itself, but on the containment and suppression of information about the disease.

Comic relief: Quarantine makes life better, MessyCow.com

[Quarantine makes life better, MessyCow.com

#coronavirus #wuhan #china #social media #elsewhere on the internet #journalism #health care

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jasbethso · 5 years ago

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A Year of Bittersweet Capstone

This school year has been extra challenging for us. Not just because it is our last year in high school but because of our capstone subject. Every time I hear that word, it seems very daunting and bothering at some point. Knowing that I have a few knowledge about wirings and how it works, I have already prepared myself on the amount of stress capstone may bring. As I am writing this personal blog, it amazes me on how I can look back at some of the hardest part of this school year and how I can finally say 'Salamat God kay tapos na'. My biggest achievement is finally relating to Aristotle's 'The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.' This is truly hard yet rewarding task for all of us. I am very glad we are able to make our project as we have envisioned it to be.

Imagine if we were given the whole school year just to work on this project without other tasks, it would be the ultimate dream. Flying agricultural drones and robots equipped with artificial intelligence? If only we were given enough time for it, it would not be impossible. Of course, in reality, there are a lot more to do and accomplish in school. We had to juggle our time between doing school works for the whole day and going to a group activity for this project after school.

To be honest, I think our school is not ready for this subject and so are the students. The school is introducing robotics in the subject but there are only few teachers who are knowledgeable on programming. We cannot just solely rely on those Indian people on YouTube to teach us all of these things. Programming is new to us, especially we haven't had any computer-related subjects. We only had ICT subject when we were in 7th grade and nothing else. I also know some students in previous school years having the same subject who had the same struggle. However, since this is part of the new curriculum of K to 12, we cannot do anything but to bear with it. Also, as a student, we also wanted to do our best for the project but we lack support. It is ironic that the school is not even initiating a seminar or a workshop for programming but is having a subject for robotics. This is our struggle. I would not be shocked if other students would encounter this problem too in the next coming years. Unless the school would really take it seriously in coming up with ways on how to make students be ready and equipped for this subject and the so-called 'Industry 4.0', everything would be fine.

I salute all those programmers in YouTube who are very willing to share their innovative ideas to their subscribers. This allowed us to at least have an overview on how to properly connect and wire all the sensors. Following the instructions in YouTube was somewhat easy but programming was the hardest part since some were not willing to share their codes for the Arduino. Although they also film their codes but sometimes it is just 2 seconds of the whole instructional video. It's funny how we were so desperate to know the code that we had to screenshot some clips of the video and zoom in just to get an idea of it. We were totally clueless at the start of the year.

During our second semester, we were thankful that we had the subject Empowerment Technology. This subject was not a burden to us like how other subjects would feel like. It even made things easier for us by guiding us what to do in our projects. Calling it a blessing in disguise? I'd say yes. Our subject teacher, Sir Rae John Arango, was very willing to help us finish our project. He even set a target date for the project. I can clearly remember when he said 'Dapat before kayo magbakasyon tapos na 'yang mga projects niyo para pag Christmas wala nang problema'. Who would not want to enjoy the holidays, right? But of course, knowing that we are procrastinators, we did not meet that target date. Sir Arango still helped us program our projects despite being busy with his Continuous Improvement Project. Even if there were 11 groups for Capstone, he managed to help us all. I truly admire how he was very passionate in helping us one group at a time. To be honest, our capstone subject was only making us knowledgeable on the proper ways in conducting the research but not on how to do the actual project itself, on how to program and build the actual robot. I bet we are all very grateful that the Empowerment Technology subject are able to do this. Doing the project was somehow a lot easier for us by since our teacher was guided us on what we need to download, search for and other sensors to buy. Sir Arango is an angel sent from heaven to us struggling students or what I prefer to call 'frustrated programmers'. We owe the success of our projects to you Sir. (Sir Arango, if by any chance you are reading this, beke nemen)

We were on our track, fully confident that we are going to be able to at least start programming our project, AgriCop. When we thought everything is going in our favor, Typhoon Tisoy came. There was a blackout in our whole province. When we thought things couldn't get any worse, we were all wrong. There was no signal for us to communicate with other groupmates and to even just search in YouTube for the project. The scariest part of it is that I even had to charge our laptop using the generator while knowing the risks of the fluctuating current. I just needed to start doing the codes but then there was no internet to search for reference. We ended up doing nothing for the whole month of December. A month away from Capstone and a month before cramming and stress because of it.

Working in a group of five made it a lot easier. Although other groups have more members in their team, I mostly prefer to work in small groups. We are the only group with all girls which made it quite difficult since when need to immerse ourselves in mechanical and electronics. We are quite good in making arts and crafts, designing things, doing calligraphies and other artworks. However, this is the complete opposite of what we are used of doing. We had to let go of the paint brushes, scissors and color palettes. Instead, we learned how to properly handle screwdrivers, how to use a grinder and most especially how to solder. It was an intimidating task for all of us but we were open to learning new things. I am also grateful to my brother who taught us how to do all of these things. We did not know what tools to use but he was there to let us borrow all of the things that we needed for the project which allowed us to save a lot of money instead of buying new tools. I am so proud of what we have learned and achieved.

We were already warned by our teacher at the start of the school year that this capstone project would really be worth a lot of money. We had to save money from what my parents give as our allowance in school because sometimes it is quite embarrassing to ask extra money from my parents for this. Also, we had to buy the most basic parts first since our group did not have enough money to buy all things at once. Capstone even tested our negotiating skills since we have figured out that some of the things we have ordered were not useful for the mechatronic system of AgriCop. So, we had to sell it to other groups who needed extra relay drivers and arduino board. We were also lucky since one of our groupmates have vouchers and her shipping fee for her orders is always 50 pesos only. We also had to wait for Shopee's promo such as during 11.11 and 12.12 Christmas sale for us to get discounts. We also asked for scrap materials like aluminum tubes to reduce our expenses. Overall, we spent about 6 thousand for this robot. For me, that is already a large amount of money since it is like the salary of a normal government employee for a month of work. I am very thankful that our parents were very supportive and would understand us if sometimes we go home late just for this project. Seeing how the AgriCop works and operates is worth the amount of money that we have invested for it.

Last week has been the most tiring week in my entire existence. It was the very first time that I have experienced studying the whole day in school, going straight to our classmate's house, eating at around 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening, losing track of time, staying awake until 4 o' clock in the morning and going to school at 7:30 AM. We have gone through this cycle every day last week. It was physically and mentally draining. We also had different summative tests and projects to pass aside from the AgriCop. We did not even have the time to review or even do requirements in other subjects. Staying up late was the most challenging part of it. My father would always remind us to get enough hours of sleep but at that time we just cannot. We were deprived of sleep. The schedule of final defense was moved a week earlier than the planned date. Every single day we were required to pass different outputs in capstone. At that time there was no room for 8 hours of sleep but more space for eye bags and eye strain. We already divided the tasks for each of us. I was assigned to work on the write-up. There was this one time that I can't really handle my sleepiness anymore that I took a nap for an hour not minding how many mosquitoes were already buzzing in my ears and biting my arm. Four o' clock in the morning is our usual 'dismissal' in the group activity. We are so blessed that the father of one of our groupmates would drive each us to our houses even if it is already early in the morning. My father also does the same thing when we decided to do group activity for the last few days in our house. We are very grateful and blessed.

We have invested so much in this project, our effort, money, sleep and sacrificing time for other subjects. At some point, we felt like we were the underdog out of all the groups but I am glad that each of us did not let go of that little hope that we can pull this through. We were all tired. I saw it in the eyes of my classmates and even in my own groupmates' as we go to school in the morning after probably not getting enough rest at all. I heard their voices saying 'Di ko na aram ang uunahon', 'Papano na ini', 'Di pa ngani ako nangarigo nan nagmahaw'. We were all going through the toughest part of our life as graduating students. I always believe that the only way to overcome a situation is not to run away from it but to get through it with high hope. I am very thankful that I have groupmates who would always lift each other up and still laugh at the dumbest things that we would do at 2 AM. The perfect term to describe all of us is 'sabaw'.

We were nervous and at the same time excited during the poster presentation of our project. This was the time that we did not have any practice of our script. We just had the time to read the lines once and then the first judge already stood in front of us. We were glad that they get to appreciate our projects and made suggestions for the design of AgriCop. There was this one science teacher which was part of the judges who made me teary-eyed. Not because I was scared or intimated but because she understands what we have gone through and she was really listening and paying attention to every detail that we are saying. She told us that she really appreciates the Mechatronic System of AgriCop that is not complicated compared to other groups. She also mentioned about how it could help farmers to easily replicate our study using mechatronics. She appreciates how we put into consideration the situation of the farmers and the knowledge that they have when it comes to programming. In every word that she mentioned, I could sincerely feel her genuine appreciation to our project and how we, girls, are able to come up with AgriCop. Finally, there was at least this one teacher who can relate to all of our struggles and how hard research is. She understands our situation and acknowledges all the efforts that we have put in this project. We needed that extra boost of support at those moments. I would forever cherish all the kind words that she said to us.

The day of the final defense came. At this same day, we were also preparing for the awards in school so it made it extra hassle for us. We were practicing the script at around 10 AM and also writing down all the possible questions of the panel. I remember how nervous we were entering the STEM B room to present our project. We weren't able to finish our presentation since we exceeded the time limit and the panel already told us to show the remaining slides. The teachers were very kind to us which is the complete opposite of what we were expecting. I guess they already knew the amount of effort, money and sleepless nights we have invested for this. They commended and congratulated us for the project. They also mentioned that they witnessed how our research studies have evolved from simple studies in junior high to a research product with quality. We feel blessed that the AgriCop functioned properly and cooperated well with us. Leaving that room made us all sigh in relief. Finally, our capstone project is done. After a whole school year of working on it, it is already finished. I remember how we were all jumping around outside the room saying 'Tapos na!'. We also had a mini celebration and ate sotanghon and puto which was the food left for the panels. I can still feel that relief we all felt at that moment. A truly rewarding moment.

Capstone has been a very tough subject for all of us. We weren't prepared for it, especially in programming but we are thankful that our Empowerment Technology teacher guided us all the way. Being in a group of all girls did not became our weakness, instead Capstone allowed us to work even harder and build stronger friendship. I will leave all of the stress, rants, negative emotions, will and hopes that I have had doing this project here in my blog. As I venture more on robotics in college or in my future job, I'll look back at this and remember how we all started. I'd remind myself of a struggling student without any idea of robotics but manages to overcome it and finish strong.

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gwennhadu-bug · 6 years ago

Text

Bon Route (part...3ish?)

@alyanette-april 4: Travel

Remember that Alyanette college road trip AU I have in the freezer? I pulled out a chunk of it again! This doesn’t directly follow the first posted installment, but it makes for good, long, dialogue and plotless reading on its own. And honestly, you can start to see why I keep this in the freezer, but how could I not post it for the theme of “travel”...??

“Road trip!” Marinette chirped , following Alya’s rough tug out to their waiting van.

The T&S Boulangerie van was an old white Renault van with their logo emblazoned on the side. Tom had splurged for an automatic van, deciding that it would be less likely to jostle any catered goods on the inside. Alya and Marinette had filled the back with the materials for Rome, of course, as well as their own suitcases. The front seats were ready for a long trip with a blanket and pillow for the passenger, bin of snacks, and plenty of music. Alya had done her research and was as ready for this as she figured she could be.

Marinette’s parents had flown out the night before and it wasn’t hard for their daughter to sneak home, explain the secret plan to their cover shift manager, get the van, and drive it to Alya and Marinette’s apartment early that morning. They still had a few fresh croissants aromatizing the van when the two girls left Adrien and Nino’s place. Marinette jumped into the driver’s seat and Alya buckled in next to her. “Alright, Mari. Recapping our plan… Day one, we’re driving to Chloe’s in Geneva. It’s about a 6 hour drive, but since we need to stop every 2 hours for safety, we’re stopping in...Auxerre, and Saint-Albain. So accounting for the time it takes to stop, we’ll probably be there around...15 or 16 o’clock. An entire evening with Chloé, like you wanted.” She rolled her eyes and added, “For some reason.”

Marinette started the van and didn’t immediately reply. She drove down the street, rolling over the old stone roads and into the busy traffic. With expert confidence, Marinette weaved in and out of the slow or stopped cars, through the old, small side streets. “We owe it to her. She moved away two years ago, Geneva’s only 3 hours by train, and no one but Adrien has visited her once!”

“Because we’re broke university students and she’s a salope,” Alya responded. “This is your right turn.” Marinette turned on to Boulevard Saint-Germain with a pleased sigh. This was a main road, not a side-street, and the van wasn’t as terrifyingly large here. “Take Pont de Sully, then we’re taking a sharp right to Quai Henri IV.”

“She’s not a salope. She’s gotten so much better. She got so much better through all of lycée, you know that!”

“She just learned how to use underhanded compliments instead of outright insults. And don’t you remember all that shit she pulled in lycée? Especially when you first got together with Adrien? No, she was still a salope then.” The car loudly rolled over Pont de Sully and Alya took the opportunity to look out at the Seine. Early morning light reflected over the river, lighting up their city that she wouldn’t see for almost two weeks. Marinette took her sharp right onto the next street. “Okay, we just follow this road until the A4 ramp towards Orly Airport and merge onto Périphérique.”

“Got it,” Marinette answered. Their road took them parallel along the Seine and with early morning Paris traffic, they had plenty of time to admire the city and chew on breakfast. Cars impatiently honked, like they always did on this road, so Marinette dutifully ignored her fellow Parisians’ complaints. “She wasn’t ever nice, I’ll agree. But Alya, you saw her at her worst; before you moved in, she was a pretty sweet girl in Primary school. She just got worse as we got older and closer to college. Maybe that’s why I actually believe she’s improved...I know what she used to be.”

“You sound like Adrien,” Alya complained.

“Is that a bad thing?”

Maybe not to Marinette it wasn’t. Maybe not to the girl who still loved him madly and deeply despite her claims otherwise. Alya sighed, not wanting to answer that. But their conversation didn’t feel finished. “When it comes to Chloé, I think it’s bad. He coddles her too much.”

“Adrien has never once coddled Chloé! He is always trying to make her a better person.”

“Marinette, Chloé has spent the majority of every year since I’ve met her trying to make my very best friend, which is YOU, by the way, miserable. I won’t apologize for not trusting her.” She turned away from Marinette, looking out her own window at the city instead. Eventually, she spoke up again. “Here’s your exit. Okay, follow this for 2 kilometers, then take the A6B exit.”

Marinette seemed a little visibly stressed at this point. She had told Alya many times as they prepared that she had never driven outside of Paris...beyond quick catering errands for her parents within tight, slow-speed city driving, Marinette didn’t drive much at all. But neither of them wanted Alya as the first driver at 7 am in an unfamiliar vehicle. Picking up on that, Alya kept quiet except for instructions. “Keep going here….yes, just keep on A6B. 8 kilometers here.”

“Eight kilometers?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a while…” Marinette agreed, her voice cautious. She seemed distracted by all the graffitti to the point that Marinette chirped in surprise when the van zoomed into a tunnel. But soon enough they were back in a small, one-lane road, speeding through the suburbs of Paris. Buildings were suddenly newer, smaller, and farther apart. Trees began to appear. “Okay, I think I’ve got this,” she finally said, a little more confident.

“Good, because our next exit is coming up in about a kilometer. Just stay to the left- follow the signs towards Lyon.”

Marinette leaned forward to read their approaching exit sign more clearly. “A6?”

“That’s it!” Alya looked back at Marinette and smiled, seeing her friend with a proud smile on her face.

“This is officially the farthest I’ve ever driven,” Marinette announced.

“Then I need to document this,” Alya said. She opened up her camera and panned the outside ‘scenery’ of graffitied highway walls and scrubby brushes. “We have just left Paris and are about to get onto highway A6. Marinette just announced...mind saying it again, Mari?”

“This is officially the farthest from Paris that I’ve ever driven!” Marinette turned to Alya and grinned, then dramatically flipped her blinker to the left and veered towards their exit.

“That’s amazing! But it was only thirty minutes!”

Marinette laughed. “I didn’t say the longest. I said the farthest.”

Alya grinned at Marinette’s wide smile. “Well, buckle up sugar, because our next turn isn’t for another 158 kilometers. Road trip!”

“Road trip!” Marinette screamed out. She laughed in delight. Next to her, Alya closed the recorder app. She could get more footage later on. “What about you, Alya? What’s the farthest you’ve ever driven?”

“Rouen. Two hours away, just past Giverny, with Alix. But I’ve gone on a lot of road trips with my family before I was 18. My longest was...When I was Ella and Etta’s age, my family took us from Rennes to Provence. God, they were both babies at the time. Do not drive twelve hours with toddlers, Marinette.” Alya’s eyes were wide and she shook her head. “I don’t remember much about that trip, but I remember that. Nora and I were basically babysitting the whole drive. Well, she was. I probably just complained about it.”

“So the real lesson is don’t take toddlers and you on a twelve hour road trip,”

“Excuse me,” Alya laughed, “I was ten! Give me a break, young lady!”

“Are you sure you won’t be complaining the entire time on our road trip?” Marinette teased, raising an eyebrow.

Alya couldn’t hold back her smile. “I’m sure,” she answered. “You are much better company than twin toddlers, Mari,” Alya added, reaching out to rub Marinette’s forearm.

Marinette’s smile in reply was wide and comfortable. “That’s not a very high bar, but I’ll take the compliment anyway. We don’t go on vacation very often. Maman and Papa hate leaving the boulangerie...I can only imagine how much Mami had to fight them to leave for this week,” Marinette said with a heavy shake of her head. “When we would go places, it was by train or plane. To visit family, usually...Flew to China, took a train to Central-Pays...I’ve been to Italy once before; it’s a lot faster by train. But this way we have all our stuff.” She turned to look at Alya for a moment. “And I have you!” Marinette added in a squeaky voice of delight before looking back at the road.

“You could go on a train with me too, Marinette,” Alya laughed.

“Sure, but this is much more cinematic. We get to look at all the scenery!” The two of them were still on the edges of the Paris Metropolitan area, passing signs for communes like Evry. “Like Disneyland!” Marinette explained, waving her hand at the brightly colored exit signs that they promptly drove right past. “Have you been to Disneyland?!”

“Of course I have; I’m not an animal,” Alya scoffed. “It’s been a second, though.”

“We should go together some time!”

Alya smiled, looking out at the Disneyland signs. She could imagine Marinette skipping and singing along to the music in Disneyland, wearing mouse ears, holding her hand, watching fireworks with Alya…”We should,” Alya agreed, feeling like she was digging her own grave with every romantic fantasy.

“But that one we’ll take the train for. After all, we’re not animals,” Marinette laughed.

“This isn’t exactly scenery, by the way,” Alya told Marinette with a giggle. “It’s ugly stores and graffitti and crummy houses.”

“It’s different than Paris,” Marinette defended. “Look! There’s...nature and stuff out that window!”

“Nature and stuff?” Alya repeated with a laugh. “Oh, my god, Girl. You know we’re going to be driving to the literal Alps today, right?”

“Exactly!” Marinette replied, hopping up and down in her chair. “Nature and stuff!”

“We’re not at at the alps yet. We’re just getting into the rural part.” Alya looked over at Marinette with a gentle, loving smile. “This part is going to be boring.”

“Please, Alya. It won’t be boring. You’re in the car.”

Alya felt her throat tighten and Marinette looked straight ahead. “I should record more for montage-ing.” She pulled out her phone, recording the fields and farms that they now drove through in silence. “Let’s, uh...put on some music,” Alya decided. She had made a playlist for their road trip, but suddenly got a wicked idea. “I know exactly what to listen to until we get to Auxerre.” She opened up her music app, flipping past the dozens of playlists Nino had made for her or sent her, finally deciding to use the search function again. “Weeee are going to listen to Clara Nightingale’s Miraculous album.”

“Yes!” Marinette gasped in amazement. “Oh, god, I don’t think I’ve listened to that since college!”

“Marinette, I live with you. That is a bald-faced lie. You mean no one else has listened to that since college.”

“It’s not like I know the words anymore, though. It’s such a- YES!!!!”

Alya laughed in delight. The moment the first note of the first song trilled out in peppy, poppy major key, Marinette was singing along to the instrumentals and drumming on the steering wheel. And that adorable liar knew every word.

The two girls sang along to the pop anthems of their teenage years, crooning our to one another dramatically, drumming the dashboard and steering wheel, even rolling the windows down to sing at passing cars. At least until they passed pastures of cows: the windows rolled up real fast right then.

When the titular song, “Miraculous”, played, Alya screamed in delight. “Marinette! It’s your song!”

“Oh, god,” Marinette laughed. “That was an insane day. I’m glad it just ended up being Everyone's song.”

“Don’t lie, Mari. You would have loved to have a song with Adrien back then. The Ladybug to his Chat Noir,” Alya fluttered her eyelashes, adding, “they did get together, after all. For a little bit.”

Marinette squinted as she drove forward. “Was that ever really official though? I mean, you never reported on it.”

Right, because Ladybug and Chat Noir had both specifically asked Alya not to. “Do you mean the relationship or the breakup? Because they were caught kissing like, a lot.”

“People kiss!” Marinette sputtered.

“I don’t know many people who kiss their friends like that,” Alya laughed. If she kissed her friends like that, Marinette would absolutely know. “And That DID end up on the Ladyblog. I know because you nearly had a conniption.”

“I just want to make sure you’re reporting factual, hard-hitting news! Not… gossip!”

“Yeah, I know, we had this exact argument two and a half years ago,” Alya laughed. “There’s nothing there for me to report on anymore. Hardly anyone sees the Miraculous heroes out together.”

Marinette was quiet for a moment, letting Clara Nightingale sing her sad song and fill the car with music. Then she said, “would you report on it? If some of them got together? Romantically?”

“I’d secure an exclusive interview and do it that way.” For some reason, Alya’s answer amused Marinette. “That’s what I always try and do,” she continued. “The Ladyblog functions the way it does because the Heroes trust me, so I need to keep that trust. It’s more important to maintain a trusting, professional relationship than to run a gossip piece.”

“That’s very mature of you, Alya.”

“It’s cause I’m a fuckin adult now,” she said, putting her feet up on the dashboard and grinning wildly at Marinette. “Adults are mature and shit.”

“You’re usually more of the ‘and shit’,” Marinette giggled.

“Hey! Pétasse!” Alya yelled, throwing a crumpled croissant napkin at her best friend.

Marinette squealed in giggles. The song continued in the background and Marinette exclaimed, “This is your part!”

On cue, Alya performed the tiny segment of the dance where she had been filmed...at least the part that involved her arms. “It was pretty cool. But I still think you would have been amazing as Ladybug.”

Marinette blinked in surprise. “Really? You weren’t just saying that?”

“No, girl. You totally have the Ladybug spirit and look down.”

“That’s high praise, coming from you...wasn’t she your celebrity crush?”

“Putain, she still is!” Alya laughed easily. She wasn’t dumb; she knew she was just as likely to land someone like Ladybug as she was to land a straight girl like Marinette. Even if Ladybug saw her as Rena fairly often...that was too big of a fish to try and catch for real. Ladybug wasn’t exactly the warm and cozy, ‘talk about our feelings’ type and still demanded no one tell each other their identities. It was largely why she didn’t let her feelings for Ladybug deepen. But that didn’t mean her attraction hadn’t. “Have you seen her new outfit? And the way she’s grown into it?” Alya whistled low.

She looked over at Marinette and saw her friend’s face was quickly turning scarlet...probably embarrassed by Alya’s gay talk. So she upped the ante, staring right at Marinette. “I mean, damn. She looks mature now, not an innocent little girl. Someone who can consent and downright control. Those little black spanx she got now? Over that ass?” Marinette turned even redder. Alya grinned. “And her fucking legs. Ladybug is strong as hell, but her legs...she redefines thick. She could crush a watermelon between those thighs. And let me tell you, I would love to be that watermelon crushed betwee-”

“Look, our exit sign!” Marinette squeaked, her voice several octaves higher than it normally was.

Alya grinned, pleased that she won their unofficial game of chicken. “Coq a l’ane,” she muttered at the abrupt subject change, smiling as she noticed the sign for Auxerre. She turned her recording back on and pointed it out the window. “Take a look at that! We’re only 5 kilometers from the exit to Auxerre! It’s 9:30 am, and we are making great time. What do you have to say, Marinette?”

Marinette grinned at the camera, her face slowly returning to its normal coloration. “I am ready to get up and stretch; that’s what I have to say!”

“And see the town?”

“Yes, and see the town. It’s supposed to be very pretty, right?”

“Sure is!” She could have kept filming Marinette- god knows she was prettier than the scrubby brush and trees around them. But she turned the camera frontwards anyway, hoping to catch more of the signs as they went. The music played on in the background, Alya and Marinette singing along again as Marinette took the exits into town.

Past a round-a-bout, trees hung over the street (Marinette squealed in delight) and the scenery quickly changed to include more buildings of varying ages. Alya recorded the sights of the town as they drove through, as well as a few shots of her very excited friend. She took a third exit at a roundabout, following the road until they drove next to the Yonne river. Marinette looked from the river to the other side and gasped. “Marinette, the car! You took your foot off the gas. There are people behind us...the car!”

“Oh...oh, shit. Right!” She gassed the car again and quickly found a parking place, then bounded out of her seat before Alya could even narrate what was going on. Marinette bounced up and down.

“She is so cute,” Alya laughed. She got out of her own seat and took a nice, slow pan of where they were. On one side of the girls, the beautiful, narrow Yonne river glittered with boats moored along the edges. Across the river were charming white houses with red-brick roofs and trees, trees, and trees as the horizon line. Blue skies and puffy clouds soared overhead, not tall buildings or intimidating history. On the other side though, it was a sight to behold. The buildings stood side-by-side, only visibly unique from one another by their white stone French coin corners. They were all topped in gorgeous tudor woods of bright colors- reds, yellows, and browns. A cathedral towered just above that view. Gothic, like the cathedral the girls grew up with, but so unfamiliar and so unique and so, so much larger and more impressive in this relatively small town. “And this is Auxerre! What a pretty medieval town!” Alya narrated.

Just on time, Marinette came bounding back into the camera’s view. “Auxerre!” she cheered. “Look at the cathedral! And the river! And the tiny, tiny buildings! Let’s explore, Alya! How do we park?”

“Marinette, we already parked.”

“No, I mean...where do we register to park here?”

Alya giggled. “Mari, we don’t. It’s free. We just leave the car and walk.”

“Oh. That seems...wrong.”

“Welcome to literally anywhere but Paris!”

“Okay, then. Let’s go!” Marinette rushed forward and grabbed Alya’s hand, pulling her towards the bridge over the Yonne river. She was giggling the entire time as if this poor girl hadn’t gotten out of the city for years.

Once Marinette pulled Alya to the center of the bridge, they both turned to face the city and gasped. Alya put up her phone, recording the view. Just across the river and reflected into it stood a wall of two-story medieval buildings. Stone, tudor, and charming. The cathedral and nearby clocktower stood above them, providing a beautiful postcard view...and one that could fit on said postcard. Yes, the city sprawled to the sides, but not in any overwhelming fashion. It was all Right There.

Alya dictated to her camera a little bit of information about Auxerre, then turned to film Marinette. But her friend was sitting cross-legged on the bridge, sketchbook in hand and tongue partially out of her mouth as she sketched the skyline. She smiled softly and turned off the video. It might be awhile.

Alya sat herself down next to Marinette and looked over at the city across the Yonne. It wasn’t a small city by any means; one of the largest in the area. But compared to their home, it was a hamlet. And Marinette was truly inspired. Alya loved to watch Marinette work. Their work ethic had always been one of their earliest connections; few other girls in college would spend hours working on their professional dreams. And as they got older, Marinette was the good influence Alya needed and vice-versa. Even now on vacation, Marinette couldn’t stop her mind from creating and taking inspiration.

They sat together as dozens of people crossed the bridge around them for almost twenty minutes; Marinette drawing under the morning sun, Alya watching the city, the water, and reviewing her videos so far. Finally, Marinette sighed in satisfaction and shut her sketchbook. “Let’s keep exploring.”

“Excellent. And we’re not leaving here without buying a good Burgundy wine!” Alya stood up and offered a hand to help up her friend.

“Fine with me, Alya!” Marinette cheered. “To the clocktower?”

“Absolutely. It’s calling to you, isn’t it?”

Marinette turned to Alya and smiled the way she did when she was in love with an idea. “I’ve not seen anything like it before. I can’t wait to meet it!” She squeezed Alya’s hand and turned to the city, tugging her friend along.

They wove in between people, down alleys, past old shutters and painted doors, around cafes, and up to the clocktower. Alya filmed the entire time, recording all the details of their exploration and the girls’ comments on the old town. She filmed the clock tower, then eventually their visit to the cathedral, Marinette’s scathing commentary on the outside of one of the local boulangeries (as well as her apology after seeing the interior and buying a baguette), their experience buying some fresh, local Morbier cheese and sliced meat, and finally handed the camera over to Marinette so Alya could pick out the Burgundy wine.

Exploring Auxerre, Alya felt like she and Marinette were free for the first time in a long time. They had no home to take care of, no careful relationships to dance around, no schoolwork to feel guilty over. And everything was new. Every building they saw, it was the first time for both girls, and every shared experience was taken while hand-in-hand. It ended up being nearly two hours later before the girls finally realized they ought to eat their lunch and get back on the road. Still, they meandered their way back to the van, pointing out tiny details in the city and the old stones beneath them.

Having parked near a patch of grass, they did not have to go far to eat their picnic lunch. Marinette carried the fresh purchases over to the grassy knoll while Alya rummaged in the back for their cooler.

Trixx poked her head out, taking a look at their new city while finally away from Marinette. “Wow, pretty place! Did you like it here, Alya?”

“You know, I did. Marinette got a real kick out of how trusting all the citizens are. She fits right in with that part...And the streets are really fun to explore.”

“Didja get me ice cream?”

“No, not this time,” Alya laughed. She bent over and picked up their cooler and shut the van back doors. Turning back around, she could see Marinette fussing with their fresh food and talking to herself. “Let me get you some cream before we go over, though.” She kept her eyes on Marinette as Aya bent into the cooler, pulled out a small pop-top jug of cream fraiche, and handed it to her hungry kwami. Trixx took it in both hands, knocking the drink back as she floated in the air as guzzled. Soon enough, she handed the remaining half back to Alya with only a semi-satisfied pout.

“It’s not ice cream.”

“I told you it wasn’t! Just...trick yourself.”

“I can’t trick myself, Rena. It doesn’t work like that. Pah. You’ll just have to make it up to me with some really great ice cream in your next stop.”

“Hey! You don’t even get ice cream every day in Paris. Don’t get greedy, ya little punk!” She took a single finger and pushed Trixx back into her shirt, making Trixx giggle in fake protest. Then, Alya looked back up at Marinette. She had finished laying out their fresh food, only waiting on the fruit, butter, cutlery, cookies, and drinks in Alya’s cooler. Marinette’s back was turned to Alya, the sun directly overhead, as she looked at the shimmering river.

Alya carried over the cooler quietly, not wanting to disturb Marinette. But still, when she was closer, Marinette looked over her shoulder, readjusting her cascading raven hair, and smiled softly at Alya. “This was a great place to stop,” Marinette cooed. She patted the grass next to her.

And Alya absolutely did not want to continue her vlog. She wanted a moment alone with Marinette, to enjoy their picnic, their quiet moment away from the town and all the Auxerre people who had been so kind. But regardless, she pulled out her camera, recording with great animation all the fresh Burgundy region delicacies they bought for their sandwiches. At Marinette’s absolute insistence, the wine remained corked, since they planned to drive.

Lunch consumed half their baguette, most of their Morbier, all of their meat, and only about fifteen minutes of their time. And then they packed all their leftovers into the cooler and headed back to the van.

“I’ll take the next leg,” Alya promised. She filmed their approach to the van but nearly dropped the camera when Marinette tossed her the keys. “Auxerre to….Saint Albain, two hours away. It’s 12:30 now, so if all goes well, we should pull in about 2:30.”

“Wait, we need gas,” Marinette corrected, “so don’t pull onto the highway just yet.”

Alya handed her the camera. “We’re supposed to film the road trip side to this all, so make sure you get as many hilarious shots of me as possible.” And so, the start of the second leg began with Alya lurching forward in the van and pulling through a local gas station.

Marinette dutifully recorded the monotony of Alya putting the nozzle of gas in the van, also catching her amused smile when she saw the camera turned on her. “You’re recording this, Mari?”

“It’s a crucial part of the road trip experience! It isn’t all Clara Nightingale sing alongs and climbing clocktowers,” Marinette explained.

Alya smiled and leaned against the car. “I guess you’re right. I’m not sure if I should be proud you’ve learned to be so thorough in recording from me, or a little embarrassed.”

“You should be proud! I couldn’t have a better teacher,” Marinette gushed. Alya looked down, hoping to hide her blush. Enough Buzzfeed watchers were already shipping Alya and Marinette and she didn’t want to give them any more ammo.

That was a lie. Alya was captain of that fan club and absolutely hoped this trip included as many moments between them as possible. But still. It carried a little weight of embarrassment back at the office.

“So you learn to record everything in your life from me and I learn to be a little more coordinated in my outfits from you. That seems symbiotic,” Alya decided aloud.

“And you’re lucky you have me, Alya. You do well dressing for yourself sometimes, but the level of sophistication…?”

“Is this a crack at my flannel plaid?” Alya asked, putting a saucy hand on her hip.

Marinette laughed. “It absolutely is! You look like a Canadian lumberjack!”

Alya shook her head. “You will pry my flannel out of my cold dead hands. It’s my mating display for fellow gays!”

“Oh, please. You don’t need to dress a certain way to attract girls,” Marinette disagreed.

The gas clanked with completion. Scoffing at Marinette, Alya unplugged the nozzle and hung it back up. “Like you know squat about that. I’m actually queer and need all the help I can get.”

“I just think you can get a girlfriend in any outfit, Alya,” Marinette explained, fussing with Alya’s collar with one hand, holding the camera loosely with the other. She returned to behind the camera, leaving her best friend breathless. Marinette returned to the passenger seat, camera still in hand, giving Alya just enough time to compose herself and return to the driver’s seat.

They pulled away from the gas pump and to the pay station, Alya rolling down her window as the young man gave them their price. He leaned a little farther out, looking at their van. As Alya fiddled around for the card with Mami Dupain’s stipend on it, he said, “So, you ladies are from Paris? Where are you two taking this big van?”

“Rome,” Alya replied, handing the attendant their credit card.

“Rome! Ahh, what do they say there? Belladonna. You’ll fit right in, my belladonna.” He ram the card and winked at Alya. She forced a smile and heard Marinette giggling behind her.

As she accepted the card back, she said, “Yes, I hear the eligible crowd is much more on our level there in Rome than you find in gas stations.”

“Uh...well, bonne route,” the attendant said, clearly a little shaken at Alya’s clap back.

Marinette was giggling even harder. But still, both girls chorused ‘thank you’ and the van eased back onto the main road, headed for the highway. “That poor boy did not know what he was doing when he hit on you. La pauvre! But he totally proved my point, before you killer him,” Marinette laughed, “you’re hot stuff! You can get it!”

“And that’s why I need the plaid!” Alya fired back. “I don’t want dudes like that to hit on me. I want girls to hit on me! I can get guys all I want. But a gay shirt says ‘you’re barking up the wrong tree’ and I like that.”

“Then why not something else, like...like an American undercut?”

Alya looked over at Marinette questioningly, then back to the road. They were approaching a roundabout with their exit towards the autoroute clearly marked, fields visible after their exit. “You think I could pull that off?”

“Well, I would never tell you to cut your hair, Alya. You have the most beautiful hair of anyone I know. Color, texture, softness...don’t cut it,” Marinette gushed. “But you could make any hair style look amazing.” Out of the corner of her eye, Alya could see Marinette panning the camera to show off her hair. “Now flip it, like a shampoo commercial.”

“Girl, you don’t need to ask twice.” Alya tossed her hair; the bounce was restricted by her headrest, but it made Marinette giggle, and that was more important than any video clip.

“What about me? Do you think I could pull off an undercut?”

Alya imagined it in her mind's eye. And as Marinette appeared before her with short hair, pushed to one side with that gorgeous fringe, the other side shaved, looking every centimeter as someone who wasn’t straight and every centimeter hot as hell, her throat tightened and legs squeezed together. Alya cleared her throat as casually as possible. “Yes. Yes, you could absolutely pull it off. You should. You should get one.”

“A few kids in my major have fun haircuts like that. I’ve had this length for years...maybe I should do something dramatic.”

“Yes. It will be amazing. Yes, girl, do it.”

Marinette sounded newly confident and she replied happily, “maybe I will!”

“Just be prepared to have to crawl through suitors because damn, you will look hot.”

“That’s the idea of a haircut, right? Attracting people?”

Alya laughed thickly. “Babe, you have never had a problem being attractive. You are the prettiest girl I know.”

“You’re my best friend. Unfair and biased.”

“Nuh-uh, girl. Gay’s honor; I’m saying that as someone very sexually attracted to the female gender. You are attractive as hell.”

Marinette flushed pink and Alya wished she wasn’t in the driver’s seat. She loved to watch how her face changed with a pleasant blush. “Well, Thanks, Alya.” She fiddled with the camera and Alya knew she’d have to edit that part out. The car was silent for a moment, neither girl exactly knowing how to follow that kind of remark. Usually when Alya said something like that, there was more than fields and empty sky around them. Here, all they had was the toll booth.

They pulled into the toll booth kiosk and Alya grabbed their ticket, ready to be punched when they got off the highway eventually. Taking the opportunity, Alya changed the subject. “Alright, back on the road for another two hours!” Alya cheered.

Marinette looked up from the map and shut the app. “Yep, and we just stay on A6 until we get to Saint Albain. No exits, even. Just….lots and lots of fields.”

“Aw, not all fields. There are some forests.” Alya grinned impishly.

Marinette didn’t reply, but shut off the camera and pulled out her sketchbook. She flipped a few pages and said conversationally, “I liked Auxerre. That was a cute little city.”

“Yeah, it was,” Alya agreed. “It reminded me of the small towns around Rennes.”

Marinette gasped lightly in recognition. “Oh, I bet it did. They’re both very medieval. The tudor, the small streets…” she flipped past her Auxerre drawings and to a new page. “I think I could live in a city that size.”

“Yeah? Wow, I can’t imagine you anywhere but Paris,” Alya admitted, eyes forward.

“I usually can’t either. Paris is my home. It’s my inspiration, it’s who I am, and it’s what I do. But sometimes those rent prices...you know? I wonder how much more comfortable it would be to live in a smaller town where you get to know more of it. Mainly with less tourists.”

“I thought you loved tourists! You’re like the only Parisian I know who doesn’t get mad at them!”

Marinette shrugged. “Everyone in Paris, almost everyone, is there because they love it. We have that in common, so...I can excuse some bad manners. I mean, most of those manners are just people not understanding our culture. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like having more people who know what they’re doing. But they still deserve to experience the city I love!”

Alya sighed. Was it even possible for Marinette to be so loving? So kind? To absolutely everyone?? “Damn. You are something else, girl. You are incredible. If you do leave Paris for a place like Auxerre, the entire city’s level of kindness is going to sink like a rock. Murder will sky rocket! People will fight in the street for no reason! Ladybug and crew will have to work overtime and the Fashion Headquarters of the world will move from Paris to whatever buttfuck city you’re in.”

Marinette giggled, hiding briefly behind her sketchbook. She opened a blank page and started sketching. “I don’t know if I’d ever really move, though. Especially since it really is Fashion Headquarters and no matter what you say, that isn’t changing. But traveling more like this would be nice. Would you ever move?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. My career isn’t tied to Paris or any city; it’s actually best if I get a wide variety of experiences for my writing. I’ve lived in Paris way longer than any other city, so it’s weird to imagine leaving. And I don’t think I could leave you. Or our other friends.” It was really just Marinette. No part of Alya could imagine living without Marinette. She didn’t even want to return to a world without her as a roommate...she wanted to spend the rest of her life bumping sleepy elbows as they brushed teeth, taking turns doing dishes and making dinner, and cuddling much too close on the couch for movie nights.

Fuck, she probably should move out of Paris one day.

“Where would you move?”

“New York City would be fun! Or Los Angeles!” Alya answered automatically. They had played this game before. But life as university students gave the girls different perspectives than they had in lycée and collège. “But definitely a bigger city if I can afford it. Although I can see the appeal of a smaller town, depending on who is with me.”

“Who is with you?”

“You know, if I get in a serious relationship.”

“What do you mean ‘if’? Gas station man and I both just proved you are totally going to find love.” Marinette leaned into Alya’s space, grinning as she crooned in a low, sexy voice, “Belladonna, Belladooooonnaaaaa,” And it was absolutely unfair that her breath on Alya’s cheek and that low voice could make Alya squirm and make her foot push down just a little bit more on the accelerator, but what part of life was ever fair?

“Weirdo,” Alya said, trying to laugh it off as she put her entire hand on Marinette’s face and pushed her away. Her favorite tinkling giggle replied. “I’m just saying, you’re my most stable, longest relationship and that isn’t exactly what I meant.”

“At least you have dated. You were with Victoria for awhile...seven months, wasn’t it?”

Ahh, yes. Victoria. The third Marinette clone in the two years since they started university. Her second longest relationship after Nino, and also one of the most hollow. “I’m not marrying Victoria,” Alya sassed back.

“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I just meant that you’ve actually had real, important relationships. I’ve dated Adrien and...oh yeah, that’s it. One lycée romance and nothing after that. Just some first and second dates.”

Nine first dates, to be exact, and five second dates. And if she was pressed, the stubborn part of Alya’s brain could probably recall every single one of those boys’ names. “Marinette, if there is one thing on Earth that I know, it’s that you’re going to be just fine in the romance department.”

“Alya, that’s so sweet, but you don’t really know that…”

Alya turned towards Marinette and looked at her seriously, just over the top of her glasses. “But I do know that, Mari. You are incredible, amazing, and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. You make the world a better place and you make every person you know a better person. Any b-boy,” Alya cleared her throat twice, determined to cough out all the emotion that was trying to betray her. “Any boy would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend.”

Alya was very glad that she could keep her eye on the road and avoid the intense look Marinette was giving her now. “Thank you, Alya,” she said softly. “You’re the best hypewoman a girl could have.”

Gripping the steering wheel a little too tight, Alya replied, “Yep, that’s me. The best damn hypewoman around. I’m printing business cards and everything.”

“I’ll design them for you!” Marinette offered, turning the page in her sketchbook and making the broad strokes Alya recognized as the start of a new design. “Alya Cesaire...Hypewoman. What other titles do you want? Journalist, obviously. Hmm...Ladyblog Editor in Chief… best friend in the world...wearer of amazing hair...Actually, we’ll run out of room on the card if I list all of your great qualities. That’s what the resume is for, right? We’ll just focus on the hypewoman part.”

“I expect 5,000 of these printed and embossed for all my future employers.”

“What, you don’t plan on a life-long career at Buzzfeed France?” Marinette asked, mirth in her voice. “But I was so looking forward to your article on ‘Which Character from Asterix am I Most Likely To Meet In A Shady Bar’!”

“You’re a shady bitch, Marinette. You know that?”

“I thought I was incredible and amazing! Alya, where is your consistency?”

“You’re all three things!” Alya laughed.

The girls continued to talk about cities, moving, and life and slowly, the conversation grew sillier and sillier. Topics flew by almost as fast as the fields and forests.

They had a long drive ahead of them and many, many more conversations to have.

#alyanette april #alyanette #fanfiction

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drlaurynlax · 6 years ago

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The #1 Cause of HPA Axis Dysfunction (Adrenal Fatigue)

The HPA Axis Dysfunction or Adrenal Fatigue

HPA Axis Dysfunction or adrenal fatigue is real…don’t believe me? Read on for yourself to find out how it can happen to anyone, and the #1 cause behind it all.

I’ve been quiet in social media world the past several months and, to be honest, it’s been a rough stretch to say the least. In short: “Adrenal fatigue” or HPA Axis Dysfunction is real, and if you’ve ever experienced an extreme bout of stress, you’ll know what I mean. Here’s a little personal story, and the science and research to prove it.

Stress = The #1 Cause of HPA Axis Dysfunction

In fact, stress alone is the #1 driver of HPA Axis Dysfunction—the primary attributed cause of practically every known ailment plaguing our society today—from diabetes, to cancer, autoimmune disease, anxiety and beyond.

Contrary to popular belief, stress goes far beyond just mental stress alone.

Physical stress is often times even more detrimental, as it more easily goes unseen, including: imbalances in the basic human needs (such as lack of sleep, dehydration, poor nutrient density, sedentary or overtraining lifestyles), to gut dysfunction (SIBO, leaky gut, IBS), circadian rhythm dysfunction, inflammation, and light exposure (blue screens, light at night, etc.).

In fact, you can be sitting on a beach in Tahiti with a margarita in hand, seemingly no care in the world, but your body STILL be under a significant amount of stress, such as: fighting leaky gut and acne, experiencing shortness of breath from overwork in your daily lifestyle and lack of sleep, and hormone imbalances from overtraining in the gym and under-eating fat and protein.

Regardless of what type of stress you face (physical or mental), our bodies can only take so much stress. While stress is inevitable (impossible to avoid in modern day), if you go over your individualized threshold of stress or experience a significant amount of stress in a short amount of time, your body may back fire.

Enter: “Adrenal Fatigue” or “HPA Axis Dysfunction.”

My HPA Axis Dysfunction Story

It all began in March of 2018.

Actually, rephrase that: It all began about 3 years ago, in 2015—the beginnings of my business and life as an entrepreneur.

Eager to “save the world” with my business aspirations in the health and wellness field, I went to work on the front lines, doing things like:

My Job (“Saving the World”)

Therapy:

Providing counseling and therapy services to individuals with emotional baggage to get rid of;

Nutrition:

Offering support plans and nutritional guidance for individuals seeking health improvements;

Functional Medicine:

Knocking conventional medicine on its head with functional medicine—providing tools, resources, protocols and procedures for helping people truly heal, not just manage their disease:

—You know, just “saving the world” (or trying to).

Along with these pursuits, a sneak peek into my life as an entrepreneur looked something like this for a couple years:

HPA Axis Dysfunction Begins: (Stressful) Life of an Entrepreneur (Beginning Fall of 2015)

6 a.m. Rise & Shine. Wakeup to my alarm across the room (despite wanting to go back to sleep after 5 hours of sleep)

Brushing my teeth, swigging a protein shake, and rushing to get ready for the day to make it to the gym by 6:30 a.m. or 7

7-8:30 a.m. Workout. Hitting a workout in the gym first thing to get energized for the day

8:30 a.m. Breakfast: Another protein shake, greens, coconut butter and 1/2 a banana on my way to my office

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Work It Start the work day, seeing new clients and writing or creating my next online project or book.

2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Workout #2. Hit the gym again for a break in the middle of the work day to burn off energy and clear my head.

3:30 p.m. Lunch. Chicken, avocado, greens, beets.

4 pm-7:30 p.m. Work It. Back to the grind.

7:30 or 8 p.m. Group Meeting. Mixing, mingling and talking more about business.

9:30 p.m. Workout. Force myself to hit the gym again after a long afternoon of sitting to work out pent up energy for 40-60 minutes.

10:30 p.m. Dinner. Dinner at home: Turkey burger patty, sweet potato, coconut butter, greens sautéed in ghee.

11 p.m.-1 a.m. Work. Finish my work for the day (e-mails, admin, etc.).

1 or 1:30 a.m. Bed. Hit the sack and sleep like a rock for about 5 hours.

Wakeup and do it all over again!

But Stress is “Normal” Right?…

Can you relate?

Or do you know anyone who is an entrepreneur, or in school, or loves what they do, or who is super stressed over their work or life—and keeps a similar schedule? (Burning a candle at ALL ends).

Face it: Stress and “running on a hamster wheel” is normal, and if you are NOT doing it, then you better watch out because (gasp) you may fall behind.

Although I thought I was made of “steel”—immune of stress wreaking havoc on my health—my body had other plans in mind.

Before I realized it, various (silent) health issues began to arise including:

Health Issues Arise (2016-2017)

IBS

SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)

Unwanted weight loss (losing about 10 pounds over the course of about 3 years due to malabsorption and gut issues)

Bloating after eating

Chronic constipation

Shortness of breath if I slept less than 5 hours multiple days in a row

Gym performance decline (loss of strength, endurance, gains in the gym)

Hormone imbalances (losing my period)

However, despite all these “new” symptoms, I was completely checked out from my body—laser focused on checking off to-do lists, getting further ahead in business and growing a company.

In addition to not feeling on “top of my A-game,” other things in my life began to shift too, such as:

Lifestyle Imbalance (2016-2017)

Isolation from friendships (in place of work)

Working on weekends and evenings instead of spending time with people or taking breaks

Lack of interests and activities outside of work

Disconnection from my “source”—time spent in Word, prayer

Disconnection from the great outdoors (staying inside most of the days)

Over-screen exposure (upwards of 10-12 hours per day in front of a computer)

Loss of “who I am” or what I like to do (outside work)

Running towards a goal with no end in sight

To say the least, I became more like a robot, and less like “Lauryn”—the well rounded individual I am in my core.

I could talk and write all day about living a health lifestyle, and I knew WHAT to do, but when it came to my own health and life, there wasn’t time to do all the things I preached about!

As a busy entrepreneur, trying to save the world, who had time to do things like sleep 7-8 hours, or mix up my workouts, or eat a variety of nutrient dense foods, or make time for hobbies and passions and relationships?!

This schedule and pace continued for a good 3 years before my body really began to speak—letting me know that something was up.

Getting Out of Balance: SIBO, Leaky Gut, IBS & Beyond (September 2017)

Come September 2017, I was hit with a severe case of SIBO—Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth—in which my body, under high amounts of physical and mental stress, developed a gut condition where unhealthy bacteria overpopulated my small intestine.

The result?

Rapid weight loss and IBS.

Although I have struggled with “gut stuff” (constipation and IBS) most of my life, things really kicked up.

Seemingly overnight, I went from just feeling bloated after most meals to having to run to the bathroom after most meals with loose watery stools, or the opposite, waking up super constipated—unable to go at all.

This conundrum continued for a good 4 months before I decided to dig deeper and consider what else may be going on under the hood.

Thanks to my functional medicine background and training program at the time, we were actually learning about SIBO at the same time, and come to find out, SIBO is exactly what I had—triggering unwanted weight loss, malabsorption, bloating, constipation, tummy cramps, and the inability to tolerate most FODMAP foods.

At the turn of the New Year (January 2018), I was treating SIBO at home with a strict supplement protocol, courtesy of my functional medicine training, and by the end of February, I was feeling much better on the gut front—except about 10 pounds lighter than I’d want to be.

“What’s wrong with Lauryn?” I could sense others saying with their eyes, and it appeared I was “back” into my eating disorder that I had struggled with from ages 10-24.

I could hardly look in the mirror myself, and sitting at barely 100 pounds (on a “good day”), for my 5’4’’ frame, I felt it—felt weaker, and more discouraged, despite being more at peace with eating, feeding my body well and even giving up cardio in place of more muscle building workouts.

However, despite my efforts to gain weight—it wasn’t happening. Eating approximately 2400 calories each day wasn’t doing it. “Carbing up” wasn’t doing it. Working out a little bit less wasn’t doing it.

By March 2018, I found myself in a Gastrointestinal Doctor’s office to try to “get to the bottom” of things to see what—if anything—in my gut was still keeping me from putting on some weight that I wanted, and the conventional medicine “rabbit hole” began.”

The Plot Thickens: The Triggering Event (My Colonoscopy) (March 2018)

To start, the doctor ordered a CT scan of my intestines to start, finding a presentation of a “Megacolon” and “Autoimmune bowel,” and advising we do a colonoscopy to do some deeper digging to see what, if any, autoimmune diseases were present as well as any blockage or structural issues preventing me from absorbing nutrients and restoring bowel function.

In addition, I had a full blood panel done and hormone panel, and the results revealed:

Iron Overload

Low Thyroid Function

Low Vitamin D

SUPER High Cortisol

Low Sex Hormones (practically NO testosterone, estrogen, progesterone)

By the end of March, “C-Day” (“colonoscopy day”) arrived (and so did countless health side effects from this invasive procedure).

Colonscopies: More Harm Than Good

Colonoscopies have become one of the most prescribed outpatient procedures in America with more than 15-million performed each year (1) (CDC, 2016), and are only growing in prevalence.

While only about 50% of adults, ages 50-75, who “should have” colonoscopies comply with recommended guidelines, in 2018, the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (a group of public and private organizations) aims to raise the percentage of people screened for colorectal cancer to 80%.

And although colonoscopies are thought to be “necessary” for detecting “gut issues”—particularly colon cancer—they actually may be more detrimental than good.

In fact, according to Dr. Mercola and Dr. Michael Greger, about 1 in every 350 colonoscopies end up doing serious harm.

I am a case study example.

Colonoscopy: Little Known Side Effects

Common (little known) side effects from this invasive bacteria with a scope include:

Perforation (puncturing) of the intestines (Gatto et al, 2003) (2)

Dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria) (Lorenzo et al, 2016) (3)

Infection with another person’s gut bacteria

Eradication of healthy gut bacteria from prep (Lorenzo et al, 2016) (3)

Electrolyte, bacteria and blood sugar imbalances (from the “prep diet” and extreme cleansing that is mandated) (Shobar et al, 2016) (4) (Mai et al, 2006) (5)

The result?

A gut microbiome that is “worse” off then prior to the colonoscopy.

Given that our gut bacteria and our gut itself is the “gateway” to health, if our gut bacteria gets off (or even MORE off), then you can bet your bottom dollar, other body systems get “off” by “imbalanced.”

Healthy gut bacteria or unhealthy gut bacteria determine whether the following body mechanisms are healthy or unhealthy, including:

Gut Bacteria Govern Our Health

Immune function (disease, skin) (Oregon State University, 2013) (6) (Nanjundappa et al, 2017) (7)

Digestion (Lawrence, 2017) (8) (Kim et al, 2012) (9)

Heart/cardiac function (Tang et al, 2017) (10)

Weight and metabolism (Filip et al, 2018) (11)

Blood sugar regulation (Kumamoto University, 2018) (12)

Brain health (anxiety (Hoban et al, 2017) (13), depression (Clapp, 2017) (14) and memory (Lund University, 2017) (15)

Adrenal health (i.e. “HPA-Axis” affecting hormones, cortisol and thyroid) (Konturek et al, 2011) (16) (Cryan et al, 2011) (17)

Exercise progress (or plateaus) (Clarke et al, 2014) (18)

Headaches (Gonzalez et al, 2016) (19)

Attention/ADHD/ADD (Carmen et al, 2017) (20)

Cancer (Fellows et al, 2018) (21)

A better option than colonoscopies?

Stool testing—Addressing gut bacteria and gut health itself—prior to looking for structural issues with a scope. (Bullman et al, 2017) (21)

Since gut bacteria, gut infections, parasites and bacterial imbalances determine whether you get cancer, IBS or autoimmune disease in the first place, comprehensive stool analysis, like this one by Doctors Data or this one by GI Map, can be tremendously helpful in assessing “underlying issues.” Additionally, organic acids testing, SIBO breath testing and even a new blood test (Tsai et al, 2018) can give you more information as well.

(This is something a GI doc won’t typically tell you).

Me: Post Colonoscopy (April-May 2018)

My colonoscopy was the “straw” that broke the camel’s back —accumulating the past 3 years of stress in one fatal swoop on “C-Day” (colonoscopy day).

The “prep diet” was too much for my already-weakened body to handle (i.e. clear liquid fasting). Couple NOT eating all day with a full bottle of Miralax laxative powder, laxative tablets and all afternoon on the toilet, and by midnight that night, I was “far gone.”

Walking up the stairs to go to bed, I blacked out—passing out on the floor, and eliminating more bowels.

It took me about a minute to come to, as I don’t remember what happened, and strewn on the floor, my body started convulsing and trembling, my teeth chattering, and all I remember is asking my mom for a banana—some potassium.

Ten minutes later, the ambulance was there, and I was hooked up to IV fluids, EKG monitor and a blood pressure cuff on my way to Dell Seton Medical.

“Electrolyte imbalance,” the ER doc diagnosed, and by 4 a.m., my mom and I were back out the door to prepare for my 5 a.m. colonoscopy arrival time.

I went through with the procedure, but little did I realize the “health issues” were not over, as my body spent the next 5-6 weeks trying to recover from the stressful event, inclusive to:

2 more ER visits (for “electrolyte imbalances” and hypoglycemia)

3 urgent care visits for more fluids and blood work

A GI Doctor office that would not return my phone calls post-procedure

A severe acute allergic reaction to a cat that moved in with a new roommate

Blood sugar highs and crashes

And more than a handful of diagnoses, speculations and prescriptions from docs trying to figure out what was going on, including: Asthma, Type I Diabetes, obstructed respiratory system, low sodium, iron overload, and…adrenal insufficiency (aka: “adrenal fatigue” or “HPA Axis Dysfunction”).

Adrenal Insufficiency (aka: HPA Axis Dysfunction)

Adrenal insufficiency (aka adrenal fatigue—or “HPA Axis Dysfunction”) IS real, and although our bodies are resilient to handle stress, if TOO MUCH stress happens at once, or a SUPER STRESSFUL event sets you over the edge, then HPA Axis Dysfunction is a byproduct.

The result?

Complete body imbalance.

The news was really no new news to me. It was more like an “A ha!” moment.

A ha! This is EXACTLY what I had been experiencing all along, I thought.

I could talk about adrenal insufficiency or HPA Axis Dysfunction ALL DAY LONG. I could write about it and educate others about it.

However, when it came to looking at myself in the mirror and facing the facts that I had NOT been taking myself…easier said than done. (It is like the nail salon technician that paints everyone else’s nails—but their own).

Flat on my back, in a hospital bed in the ER after an emergency trip due to a 3 a.m. hypoglycemic blood crash after a friend’s wedding in Dallas was the wakeup call I needed.

For the past two years, (ever since my symptoms of SIBO, gut dysfunction and other health maladies had begun), my prayers had been:

“Lord, be Lord over my body,”

“Lord, bring the manna and balance to my life,” and,

“God, help restore my body to health and help me put on healthy weight.”

Be careful what you pray for.

Never in a million years did I think that my “answer” to my prayer would be in the form of a blood sugar crash, but it was the wake up call I needed.

It was as if God was saying: “Lauryn, you DON’T have to save the world…I have already done enough.” And, “Instead of trying to bring glory to yourself, bring glory to me. Live out the gifts I’ve created and let me provide the rest.”

Mic drop.

I spent the rest of the weekend, praying, thinking and broken. I didn’t want to go back to my hamster wheel ways.

And you know what…I didn’t have to. I don’t have to. And whatever plates you are spinning or race you are running too…You don’t have to either.

How HPA Axis Dysfunction Happens

So…how did my body get SO out of whack in the first place?! How does HPA Axis Dysfunction REALLY happen?

In functional medicine, there is typically a “triggering event” that sets the body “over the edge” for HPA Axis Dysfunction and distress.

In my case: the colonoscopy (on top of the past 3 years of stress) resulted in disrupted gut bacteria, along with my side effects:

My Side Effects of HPA Axis Dysfunction

“Diabetes,” hypothyroidism

Unwanted weight loss and inability to gain weight

Suppressed immune function

Autoimmune disease

Feeling “wired and tired”

Shortness of breath

Hormone imbalances

Apathy about my work

IBS

Poor workout performance

Electrolyte imbalances

Melancholy mood

…And, to say the least, an entrepreneur who was anything BUT her healthiest, most vibrant, kick-ass self.

Other Side Effects of HPA Axis Dysfunction

For others, “adrenal fatigue” or HPA-Axis Dysfunction may present as one or several of the following:

Inability to lose weight

Mood swings

Fatigue

Anxiety or Depression

Autoimmune conditions

Food intolerances

Insomnia

Needing coffee or sugar to function

Headaches

High blood pressure

Low or high heart rate

Feeling dizzy when standing up

Inability to concentrate/focus or memory loss

Lyme disease

Catching colds, flus or illnesses easily

Not “feeling like yourself”

Skin breakouts or acne

Feeling burned out or unable to do your usual basic “to dos”

Inability to tolerate exercise like you once did

Random allergies you’ve never had before

How does adrenal fatigue happen to one person but not another? What separates “adrenal fatigue,” or HPA Axis Dysfunction from regular stress?

Check out this blog to find out ALL about adrenal fatigue and HPA Axis Dysfunction, how to find out if you have it and how you (and I) can heal.

Resources

1. CDC. 2016. Colorectal Cancer Screening Capacity in the United States

2. Nicolle M. Gatto, Harold Frucht, Vijaya Sundararajan, Judith S. Jacobson, Victor R. Grann, Alfred I. Neugut; Risk of Perforation After Colonoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy: A Population-Based Study, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 95, Issue 3, 5 February 2003, Pages 230–236,

3. Lorenzo et al. 2016. Persisting changes of intestinal microbiota after bowel lavage and colonoscopy

4. Shobar et al. 2016. The Effects of Bowel Preparation on Microbiota-Related Metrics Differ in Health and in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and for the Mucosal and Luminal Microbiota Compartments.

5. Mai, V., Greenwald, B., Glenn Morris, J., Raufman, J., & Stine, O. C. (2006). Effect of bowel preparation and colonoscopy on post‐procedure intestinal microbiota composition. Gut, 55(12), 1822–1823.

6. Immune: Oregon State University. (2013, September 16). Gut microbes closely linked to proper immune function, other health issues. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 28, 2018

7. Immune: Nanjundappa et al, 2017. A Gut Microbial Mimic that Hijacks Diabetogenic Autoreactivity to Suppress Colitis.

8. Digestion: Lawrence, K., & Hyde, J. (2017). Microbiome restoration diet improves digestion, cognition and physical and emotional wellbeing. PLoS ONE, 12(6), e0179017.

9. Digestion: Gene Kim, Fnu Deepinder, Walter Morales, Laura Hwang, Stacy Weitsman, Christopher Chang, Robert Gunsalus, Mark Pimentel. Methanobrevibacter smithii Is the Predominant Methanogen in Patients with Constipation-Predominant IBS and Methane on Breath. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1007/s10620-012-2197-1

10. Heart: Tang et al, 2017. Gut Microbiota in Cardiovascular Health and Disease

11. Weight: Filip Ottosson, Louise Brunkwall, Ulrika Ericson, Peter M Nilsson, Peter Almgren, Céline Fernandez, Olle Melander, Marju Orho-Melander. Connection between BMI related plasma metabolite profile and gut microbiota. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 01 February 2018 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2017-02114/4834036

12. Blood Sugar: Kumamoto University. (2018, April 10). How intestinal bacteria can affect your blood sugar and lipid levels. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 28, 2018 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180410100937.htm

13. Anxiety: Alan E. Hoban, Roman M. Stilling, Gerard M. Moloney, Rachel D. Moloney, Fergus Shanahan, Timothy G. Dinan, John F. Cryan, Gerard Clarke. Microbial regulation of microRNA expression in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Microbiome, 2017; 5 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40168-017-0321-3

14. Depression: Clapp, M., Aurora, N., Herrera, L., Bhatia, M., Wilen, E., & Wakefield, S. (2017). Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Clinics and Practice, 7(4), 987.

15. Memory: Lund University. (2017, February 10). Gut bacteria may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 28, 2018 from

16. Adrenal Health: Konturek, P. C., Brzozowski, T., & Konturek, S. J. (2011). Stress and the gut: pathophysiology, clinical consequences, diagnostic approach and treatment options. Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society, 6, 591–599

17. Adrenal Health: Cryan, J. F., & O’Mahony, S. M. (2011). The microbiome-gut-brain axis: From bowel to behavior. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 23(3), 187–192. doi:10.1111/j.1365–2982.2010.01664.x

18. Exercise: Clarke, S. F., Murphy, E. F., O’sullivan, O., Lucey, A. J., Humphreys, M., Hogan, A., . . . Cotter, P. D. (2014). Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity. Gut, 63(12), 1913–1920.

19, Headaches: Antonio Gonzalez, Embriette Hyde, Naseer Sangwan, Jack A. Gilbert, Erik Viirre, Rob Knight. Migraines Are Correlated with Higher Levels of Nitrate-, Nitrite-, and Nitric Oxide-Reducing Oral Microbes in the American Gut Project Cohort. mSystems Oct 2016, 1 (5) e00105-16; DOI: 10.1128/mSystems.00105-16

20, Attention: Carmen Cenit, María & Campillo Nuevo, Isabel & codoñer-franch, Pilar & G. Dinan, Timothy & Sanz, Yolanda. (2017). Gut microbiota and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: new perspectives for a challenging condition. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 26. 10.1007/s00787-017-0969-z.

21. Cancer: Fellows et al. 2018. Microbiota derived short chain fatty acids promote histone crotonylation in the colon through histone deacetylases. Nature. 9(105). doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02651-5.

Tsai et al. 2018. Prospective clinical study of circulating tumor cells for colorectal cancer screening. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 36, no. 4_suppl. 556-556… DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2018.36.4_suppl.556.

22. 6. Bullman et al. 2017. Analysis of Fusobacterium persistence and antibiotic response in colorectal cancer. DOI: 10.1126/science.aal5240

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dorothydelgadillo · 7 years ago

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7 Tech Side Hustles That Seriously Pay

While tech skills can provide an actionable and achievable path toward a complete career change, it doesn’t have to be as extreme as all that. Flexibility is one of tech’s most defining features, and part of that flexibility is the wide range of ways tech skills can be used. Yes, you can land a full-time job in tech working for a single company, or launch your own full-time business working for yourself. But what if either of those options are more than you need? If you’re a parent or caretaker looking to make extra cash on the side, someone who wants to supplement their day job with an additional income stream, or a retired person looking to boost a fixed income, is tech still for you? The answer is yes!

Whether you’re working toward full-time tech employment or you’re hoping to score part-time work that actually pays, keep in mind that learning tech skills will allow you to take advantage of the growing gig economy by starting a tech side hustle. Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, says that in 2017 “gig” freelancers (including everyone from Uber drivers to traditional freelancers like plumbers and electricians) made up about 34 percent of the workforce, a number that Inuit projects to reach 43 percent by 2022. Tech skills are an ideal way to break into this rapidly growing sector, so we’ve put together a list of seven hustle ideas that seriously pay, plus examples of the rates freelancers in those roles are asking on freelance work site Upwork. Spoiler alert: Based on current Upwork listings, working these side hustles for ten hours a week could net you from $700 to $6,000 a month.

1. Web Development

Becoming a web developer is the end game for a lot of people learning tech skills, and for good reason. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists the 2017 median web developer salary at nearly $70,000 per year and projects a 15 percent job growth rate (much faster than average) between now and 2026—all of which means web development is a lucrative and future-proof entry point into tech. But it’s also a very flexible field—while you might picture yourself down the road working full-time job as a web developer for one company (or running your own freelance business), there’s nothing stopping you from taking on paid clients and making extra cash while you’re still learning the ropes (or taking up part-time web development as a long-term side hustle).

Once you know fundamental web skills like HTML and CSS (markup languages used to format and stylize web pages) you’ll be able to start building basic websites, and these are skills that can take as little as a few weeks to learn. Add some JavaScript (a scripting language used to add animation, interactive forms, and other dynamic features to websites) and familiarity with WordPress (software for creating, publishing, and managing digital content) to your toolkit, and you’ll have an even wider range of sites you can build and clients you can land. Free tutorials on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can be found on sites like Codecademy and w3schools, and—when you’re ready to expand your skills further—paid, instructor-led courses from sites like Skillcrush can help take your game to the next level.

Average Web Developer rate on Upwork: $75/hour

2. Web Design

Where web development is the building of websites, web design is the process of designing what a website will look like. This includes making sure the site is aesthetically pleasing, while also creating a sensible layout that’s easy for people to use whether they’re on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Web design typically involves tools like Photoshop (an industry standard image editing program) and Webflow (a software program used for web design layouts) to create mockups of how finished sites will look. Like web development, web design is a field you can start freelancing in as you learn. And if you’ve put together some of the web development skills outlined above, all the better—you can earn even more extra cash by combining web development skills with web design skills and providing a full service freelance option for paid clients. You can find basic web design courses online at sites like Coursera, or take a deeper dive with Skillcrush’s Web Designer Blueprint.

Average Web Designer rate on Upwork: $74/hour

3. SEO Consulting

SEO (search engine optimization) is a tech speciality you can pick up while learning other skills (like web development or design), giving you a another option for making side hustle money. It’s the practice of improving a website’s ranking with search engines like Google and Yahoo, meaning the site will show up higher in search results. SEO consulting jobs involve staying up to date with SEO best practices and helping clients implement these practices on their website—this includes researching keywords (the terms used on search engines like Google that are bringing users to your website), analyzing website traffic and trends (identifying what other sites your users are coming from, what links from your site they’re clicking on, etc.), and using this information to improve your website’s search rankings. Google’s Search Engine Evaluator Guidelines is a key place to start if you want to learn more about SEO, after which you can familiarize yourself with industry standard analytics tools like Google Analytics, NetInsight, and Webtrends. Lastly, while developer skills aren’t a must for SEO specialization, any web skills you’ve picked up will also help your cause. SEO specialists often work closely with developers to consult on issues like site loading speeds, outdated or broken links to URLs (web addresses), and optimizing HTML tags (tags that identify HTML documents for visiting web browsers), so being able to speak on these issues using development concepts and language will improve your effectiveness at the job. Basic understanding of skills like HTML and CSS (so you know your way around the structure of a web page) and WordPress (so you’re familiar with how to edit and optimize content stored on the WordPress platform) are recommended for SEO consulting.

Average SEO consultant rate on Upwork: $66/hour

4. Copywriting

Copywriting might not seem obviously related to tech, but—if you already have a writing background—tech skills can help get your freelance writing online in ways that lead to extra money. Think about it—while tech mainstays like websites, web applications, software, and marketing emails are all built with coding languages, those products are used to convey content that’s written in human languages. A stunning looking, easy to use website or app is still going to be dead on arrival if it’s a home for bad copy, so if you know your way around the written word (and particularly if you can combine that knowledge with basic tech skills like HTML, WordPress, and SEO fundamentals) there’s a whole world of companies and clients hungry for freelance writing.

Average Copywriting rate on Upwork: $69/hour

5. Social Media Manager

Chances are—even if you’re brand new to tech skills like coding languages and digital design—you’ve logged some time on social media. However, social media has become such an unconscious part of daily life that you might not even realize having an elite Twitter game or killing it on Instagram are marketable tech skills. The good news is, they certainly are. While you might have social media dialed in, there are plenty of companies and clients out there who don’t (and who are willing to pay a social media manager to handle it for them). Social media managers typically combine experience using major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) with copywriting skills (you’ve got to keep those posts and tweets concise-yet -zippy), a bit of SEO knowledge (in order to understand how to analyze and manipulate online traffic), and a basic foundation in tech skills like HTML, CSS, and WordPress (useful for creating custom email templates and blog posts). Put those skills together, and you’ll be ready to seek out part-time work and extra income through a social media manager side hustle.

Average Social Media Manager rate on Upwork: $32/hour

6. Tech Support

Having a background in tech or computers is absolutely not a prerequisite for learning tech skills—tech careers are achievable for everyone regardless of where you’re at experience-wise. That being said, as you familiarize yourself with tech you’ll inevitably start learning your way around computers and technology. And that means you’ll begin accumulating a knowledge base that people are happy to pay for. Tech support jobs are projected to grow faster than average (by 11 percent) between now and 2026 according to the BLS, so even if tech support isn’t your final tech destination it can be a lucrative sideline as you hone your skills. Certification programs like Google’s IT Support Professional Certificate are an efficient way to both learn more about tech support and be able to demonstrate your knowledge to potential clients. But don’t let the idea that you have to know everything keep you from trying to earn money with a tech support side hustle. The more time you spend with tech, the more you’ll see that “knowing tech” means knowing how to use Google and other resources to solve problems, rather than magically knowing all the answers.

Average Tech Support rate on Upwork: $37/hour

7. QA (Quality Assurance) Testing

QA testers are responsible for running tests on websites, applications, and software programs to identify coding flaws and bugs. If you’re new to tech this kind of work might sound out of reach, but it’s actually an ideal platform for learning more about the coding process. QA testers themselves aren’t the ones writing the code (their job is knowing how to run the automated tests that inspect code for problems), meaning you don’t have to be a master coder to do QA work. However, if you start a QA side hustle you’ll be up close and personal with plenty of coding examples to learn from—while also getting paid. If you’re interested in learning more about QA testing, sites like Udemy and Lynda offer online courses.

Average QA Testing rate on Upwork: $47/hour

from Web Developers World https://skillcrush.com/2018/07/19/tech-side-hustles/

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