#I just got in an argument because I didn’t add someone to a daily email I didn’t know I was supposed to add

[fireladybuckley]

I really fucking hate being neurodivergent in an office full of neurotypicals sometimes 🙃😤

[sturchling]

Turn the Page-Part 2

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Here is part two to Turn the Page. 

Marinette has started her own fashion brand, what will happen now?

Hope you like it!

Things moved very quickly after that. Within a few hours, they had a website set up for Marinette. The website showed some of Marinette’s previous work, such as Jagged’s glasses and the hat that won the Agreste contest. The group decided that Marinette should work under a pseudonym, that way Lila wouldn’t target her work. So, from now on Marinette would be known as MDC in the fashion world. Chloe convinced Marinette even reached out to Jagged to try and get a review to post online. With in a few minutes of messaging the rock star, he called Marinette back. “You started a website?! That is rock’in! I can’t wait to order more pieces from you! You are my favorite, rock’in designer!” He kept yelling praises for a while longer. He was yelling so loud, that Nino and the others could hear as well. They were snickering at the conversation. Eventually, Penny took the phone from Jagged. “Of course we will help. We will type up a review for you and send it to you.” With that settled, the group of friends sat back and relaxed for a bit.

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About an hour later, Marinette received an email from Jagged. Chloe took the review from the email and went to add it to the website. What they were not expecting was to see that Marinette already had a few requests for commissions. “What?! How did people already find my website? What is going on?” They looked at the requests. two were from Jagged, one from Clara, but the one that stood out was a request from Bruce Wayne. “How did Bruce Wayne hear about me?!” Chloe was just as shocked; she was looking at her phone. “Well, if I had to guess, I would say Jagged probably had something to do with it.” Nino looked at her with a confused look. “What do you mean Chloe?” Chloe replied, “Well, Jagged tweeted about you and your website already.” “He did what?!” Marinette whipped around to face Chloe. Chloe turned her phone, so Marinette could see. On the screen was a tweet sent out by Jagged about 30 minutes ago.

@rock’instone: My favorite designer MDC has opened a website for commission! Can’t wait to get a whole new wardrobe for my next tour!

Marinette stared at the screen in shock. She whipped out her phone and called Jagged’s number. He picked up, “What’s up little rock’in designer? Did you get my commission request?” “Jagged, what did you do?” “What? The tweet? I had to spread the news about you.” Marinette was happy that he loved her work that much. “Thanks for that Jagged, but would have been nice if you warned me! By the way, are you the reason Bruce Wayne sent me a request?” “Yes, we are mates. I have performed at some of his charity galas.” Well, that explained it. After the call, Marinette was still in shock. She was excited of course, but she had not expected this to already be doing so well. Eventually she worked through the shock and actually looked at the requests. Jagged had asked for a new ‘rock’in outfit for himself and penny for their next tv interview in three weeks. Luckily, Marinette had previously drawn some designs for them, so now she just had to make them. Clara was looking for a new dress to wear at an awards show in two months. Finally, Marinette opened the request from Bruce Wayne. He was asking for new suits. Not just for him, but for all of his sons as well. Attached to the request were the measurements for him and his four sons. He asked for them to be completed in time for the annual Wayne gala which will be held in December. That gave Marinette a little over 4 months to complete the job.

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Marinette immediately got to work on all of the requests. With her friends help, she was able to complete Jagged’s requests in a little over a week. Marinette really was glad that she had already completed some designs. It saved her some time, which was a precious thing right now. By the end of the month Marinette had also completed Clara’s request and was almost done with Mr. Wayne’s as well. As time went by, she gained more and more requests from her website. Mr. Wayne became a frequent customer after his first order was so wonderfully done. And finished in so quick a time. MDC quickly became a big name in the fashion industry. One of the big draws of MDC was the mystery. Marinette had yet to reveal her identity, so she still had some protection from Lila messing with her business. Marinette’s classmates were still angry with her. They couldn’t understand why Marinette hadn’t changed her behavior yet. Lila kept reporting that Marinette was antagonizing her daily. Lila being a sweetheart didn’t want to report it to the school. She didn’t want to get Marinette in trouble. The class was still saying rude things to Marinette every chance they got. The class’ way of defending their sweet friend Lila. But they still asked Marinette for banners and stuff. Mostly though, Marinette told them no because she was to busy with her commission work. Mrs. Bustier had tried to pressure Marinette into agreeing to the classes demands. But thanks to Chloe, Marinette was able to tell her no and stand her ground.

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The months went by and Marinette’s business continued to thrive. The class was now in their final year of lycée. It wasn’t long before MDC was a household name. Marinette couldn’t believe how well things were going. Unfortunately, this had caused a new problem. Lila had started to lie about her alter ego. Marinette came into class one day and heard Lila say, “Oh yes I know MDC! I am close friends with her. I am the one who introduced her to Jagged Stone when he dropped his last designer.” As she said this, she looked at Marinette with a smirk on her face. “Jagged didn’t want to work with a bully for his designer.” The whole class snickered at Marinette, who just ignored the jab and walked to the back of the room. Alya turned to Lila and asked, “Hey do you think you could introduce me to MDC? It would be awesome to score the first interview with her. I would of course keep her identity a secret if she wants.” “I will ask her. But as you know, she is very secretive. She is hiding her identity because she has an ex-boyfriend she is trying to hide from.” Marinette just rolled her eyes at the sheer stupidity of that lie. But, of course, the class bought the lie.

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While the class continued to fawn over Lila, Marinette and Chloe talked quietly about the newest commission. Bruce Wayne had sent in another request. By now, Mr. Wayne had earned her trust, and he knew her true identity. Of course, he would have found out anyway when she had to go to Gotham to make a last-minute repair to one of her suits. Somehow, the suit had been slashed, almost like they were attacked by a blade. Marinette just chalked it up to an attack from a Gotham Rogue and didn’t ask questions. Mr. Wayne had asked for another set of suits. His annual gala was coming up again. Ever since he first commissioned her for suits, he asked for a new set for every gala. Chloe and Marinette were reading over the email from Mr. Wayne again.

Dear Ms. Dupain-Cheng

As usual, I would like to ask for a new set of suits for the upcoming Wayne gala. This time however, I wanted to extend an invitation to you. If you would like, I would like to invite you to the Wayne gala this year. I know you prefer to keep your identity a secret, but I thought I would ask. I know you had also discussed eventually revealing your identity, since you are about to graduate. If that is something you want to do, I would be happy to help with that as well. Just let me know if you wish to attend the gala. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

Bruce Wayne

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Marinette and Chloe looked at each other. “Well, what do you think Marinette? Are you going to accept the invitation?” “I can’t Chloe. You know that. We kept the whole secret identity thing to keep Lila off my back. If I reveal myself, then she will make me miserable.” “But think about it. Mr. Wayne is right. We are about to graduate, so Lila is about to be inconsequential. I say go for it. What better way to introduce yourself to the world as MDC, then at the Wayne gala? Plus, the red-carpet entrance will be televised. The class is planning on watching the red-carpet, so you could put an end to Lila and rub it in the face of the class right before we all leave. It would be good karma.” Marinette thought about it. It would be nice to finally reveal everything. And she had to admit, it was tempting when she realized it could end Lila’s lying career. A grin spread across her face. “Well, I am going to need a new dress, won’t I?” Chloe grinned back at Marinette. “Yes, you will. Shall I respond to Mr. Wayne saying we would love to attend?” Marinette chuckled at that. “We? You want to come too?” “Of course! I am not letting you go to Gotham alone. Plus, you need someone to keep you from tripping at the red-carpet.” Both girls laughed, while Chloe wrote out the response to Mr. Wayne and asking if it would be alright if she came with Marinette. The rest of the class heard the two girls laughing and Lila said, “What is so funny you two? Something we should know?” The two girls rolled their eyes. Marinette plastered a fake smile on her face and said, “No, nothing for you to worry about. You will find out some other time.” Lila looked irritated that she wasn’t in the loop, but didn’t push it. She knew she wouldn’t win that argument and it may make her look bad. Marinette turned back to Chloe. “So, what kind of dress do you want to wear?”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #389

“i’m well aware i’m a danger to myself  /  are you aware i’m a danger to others?”

How much do you weigh? Yeah, we're starting off on a bad foot. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Putting Roman's used litter in the trash. Do you think you can love someone without trusting them? Hm... I guess you could love them, but it'd be a complicated situation. What’s your opinion on people who go hunting for sport? If it's purely for sport, from the very bottom of my heart, fuck you. Do you have a fairly fast or slow internet connection? I'd say it's decently fast. Have you ever been someplace tropical? Yeah, Florida. My grandma lived there. Are you sensitive to caffeine? No. It does like... nothing to me. How do you usually get around? My mom's car. Have you ever been accused of being too clingy? No actually, but I know I kinda am. What do you think about Kim Kardashian? I don't have an opinion of her. Can you speak any French? No. Favorite yogurt flavor? The only yogurt I've been liking lately is cookies and cream to add a different texture, because otherwise, I don't like its natural texture very much??? Idk man, my taste buds are wild. How much money do you have in your wallet right now? Just like $5. What bottled water brand do you like? Essentia. Your favorite way to eat chocolate? As chocolate bars, probably. How often do you listen to country music? Like, never. Linkin Park or Avenged Sevenfold? Linkin Park. Last surgery you had? Pilonidal cyst removal. Have you ever played guitar? I briefly took classes for it in high school, yes. Best I got to was playing some of the intro to "Crazy Train." I enjoyed it, but not enough to be consistent and really learn. Is there someone in your life whose career/life choices you find immoral/unethical? Have you ever told that person your views? Do you find it difficult to support them (emotionally or otherwise) because of their choices? I don't think so? What trait do you feel you lack that you wish you possessed? Independence and confidence would be nice... Have you ever considered writing your memoirs? No. Do you find it difficult to stay invested in online relationships? God no. I love my online friends. Half of 'em more than "irl" ones. Are you the type of person who pays close attention to the release dates of movies, music, etc., and will, for example, go see a movie or buy an album on the date it is released? If so, when is the last time you did so? I have to be VERY invested in it to care THAT much. It happened most recently when Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty premiered. Do you have any stickers on your laptop? No. Would you rather have a job for which you had to go in early in the morning or one you had to stay late into the evening at? Early in the morning. I'm in a better mood in the morning. Do you use any apps to track your health or medications? I have a calorie-counting app, as well as one to track my period. Whose opinions/recommendations do you value most? My mom's, best friend's, and psychiatrist's. If you could’ve been at any historical event, which would you have liked to witness firsthand? I don't really know. Maybe the very first Pride event? Is there something that you really want to do but are afraid of doing? If so, why are you afraid of doing it? Ride a rollercoaster, for one. I know I never will, though. I'm too afraid of throwing up, but even more realistically, I fear passing out before of the twisting and turning and just standing up makes me very dizzy. My blood pressure is STUPID low. What is something society “expects” you to do that you don’t want to do and/or don’t plan on doing? Have kids. That's a big 'ole fat no from me. Have Jehovah's Witnesses ever come to your door? Twice at least. Are you well-known by people in your area? No. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? No, thank Christ. It sounds terrifying. What's your favourite type of bird? Barn owls. Melanistic ones, to be exact. Stunning. What tv show(s) have you been watching currently? I'm only keeping up with Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. Have you ever dated a smoker? For less than a day. Do you share a middle name with any of your siblings? Yes. Have you ever been a member in a band? No. Besides the school band. Can you cry on command? If so, have you ever used it to your advantage? No. Do you have separate emails for personal and business? No. Have you ever missed a flight? Yes. Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? Multiple times. Have you ever taken a ride in a convertible? I think once with my brother. Why did you last need to use a band-aid? I'unno. What fruit do you eat most often? Apples. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? My ma. Has someone ever tried to start an argument with you over Facebook? What happened? A few times. I don't feel like thinking over this. Have you ever had an unusual type of milk (eg. oat, rice, almond)? I've tried almond milk, and I hated it. If you could experience life as a Disney princess for a week, which princess would you pick and why? uhhhhhh idk When you’re at home, do you spend most of your time in your room? I'm essentially always in my room. If you like to sleep in late, have your parents ever told you off for doing so? No. Do you find piercings attractive? Yep. Do you like potato chips? Loooove 'em. What’s the most stalker-like/creepy thing you’ve ever done? If you don’t think you’ve done anything like that, what’s the most stalker-like thing someone’s done to you? Nothing beyond checking Jason's Facebook sometimes after the breakup, I think. Even that though I wouldn't recommend doing. You're just going to get yourself hurt. Stay away from exes' profiles. Do you think it’s a double standard that a woman can hit a man and expect to get away with it, but if a man hits a woman it’s assault? Yep. I don't give a fuck what's in your pants, you don't hit anybody unless you're fighting to defend yourself. What’s your favorite old Disney movie and favorite new Disney movie? I mean... define "old." I'll go with The Lion King for old, and for new, uh... Finding Dory, probs. Name something “trendy” or popular that you dislike. I don't really know what IS trendy right now... Is Snapchat still "in?" Because I've never gotten that. “Dirty talk” in the bedroom…love it, like it, don’t care, dislike it, or hate it? I think I'm kinda neutral about it? Like I mean it also depends on exactly what is said. I prefer more loving talk, though. What is/are your favorite type(s) of ethnic food, and what’s your favorite food within that type? I'm a basic fatass that likes American cuisine most, aha... Like give me a cheeseburger and I'm happy lmao. How would you describe your relationship with your hair over the years? I love it more now at a short length than I ever did long. When it was long and I was in my deepest depression, I was awful about brushing it. It would get so knotted. Like looking back, it nearly makes me shiver. I HIGHLY recommend cutting your hair for anyone who struggles with selfcare. How do you feel about your SO daily/regularly checking up on a couple of his exes on social media? I'm single, but hypothetically, if you're checking an ex's page nearly every day, I would not be okay with that. I'm totally fine with exes remaining friends and just cordially talking now and again, but that's it. It's a respect thing. Do you prefer your guy to wear cologne or not? I personally like cologne if it's not overwhelming. I really don't care if you wear it or not, though. Ladies, how important is it to you that your SO wears/would wear a wedding ring? This survey is so heteronormative. But anyway, unless there was an issue like it not fitting, I'd want my spouse to wear their ring. What was the turning point that led you to decide for or against having children? There are a lot of reasons I don't want kids. I'm too selfish with my "me" time, I stress out too easily, I don't want to dedicate my life to keeping another person alive and fed and happy, I have bad genes... I could go on and on. I just wouldn't be a good, "present" enough mom. I am much more interested in ensuring *I* am okay. Is having your “dream” wedding really that important to have? Not at all. I mean I want a smooth and memorable wedding, but I'm not obsessed with it being perfect. Do you consider it cheating if your SO goes to a strip club and then doesn’t tell you? That's certainly not cheating, but I wouldn't like it. Being secretive about anything in a relationship is unhealthy, imo. I'd be hurt and also very insecure because I wouldn't feel like "enough." How old is too old for trick-or-treating? Honestly? I don't think you ever are. Like come on, does it REALLY matter? Let people have fun. I don't do it because of societal standards, but I would if I didn't care about being judged. Do you sleep with your arms over or under the covers? It depends on the temperature, but I normally wake up with them under. Do you own any t-shirts of your favorite band? I have an Ozzy one stored somewhere, but it doesn't fit me now. There was another I really liked too, but that one is WAY too small now. Fries or onion rings? Fries. I'm not a fan of onion rings. True/False: you’ve had an odd dream this week. Story of my life. I had one last night where I kept dying in different ways, and I actually felt the pain, like drowning in magma. Do you find tattoo sleeves attractive? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Do you like carving pumpkins? Yeah. What’s an animal you want to have as a pet but can’t? My mom has absolutely forbidden me to get a tarantula (uh, many tarantulas in my case) until I move out, lol. That doesn't stop me from checking Craigslist like every day. ;_; Have your parents ever caught you drinking? "Caught," no. Any time I've drunk, I've had permission or was a legal adult by then. How would you react if your celebrity crush came to your door? First be humiliated at my appearance and then absolutely pass out lmao. Has your mom/dad ever walked in on you kissing or anything more with someone? No, thank fuck. The person you have a crush on is drunk and goes to kiss you, you know they don’t realize what they’re doing, but do you kiss anyways? If I know it's something they wouldn't do sober, absolutely not. What would you prefer to get from a guy/girl: flowers, a hand written poem, a picture he drew of you or a nice night out? Any would be lovely, but the poem would appeal most to me because of the amount of thought that goes into poetry. Do you any shirts with any kind of images of food on them? What? I don't think so, no. Which holiday is the most fun to decorate for? Halloween. What was the first website you had an email account on? Yahoo. Have you ever written a fanfic? No. Tattoos or piercings? Both are grand, but tats win. What’s the last gross movie/show/video you saw? I saw this picture of a snake split open that had eaten another snake. Would you rather live in a huuuge house or a little cozy one? Lil cozy one! I don't want more space than is needed for cleaning reasons, as well as price. Do you have a tutor for anything? No. Who’s the best kisser you know? Jason was. Has anyone ever threatened you with a knife? No. I'd like it to stay that way. (If you’re a girl) Has anyone ever called you "shortie" instead of girl? Ew, no. Do you have a deep voice? For a woman, yes. Do you play games with boys/girls, like 'hard to get’? Hi, I'm an adult. Is there a Sonic where you live? YES. It's my fave fast-food place. What do you like on your pizza? I have three go-tos depending on my mood: Pepperoni, jalapenos, or meat lovers.

[mindfulwrathwrites]

What Does Transness Feel Like?

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One of the most common gaps in understanding I see from cisgender (“not-trans”) folks is that they find it extremely difficult to conceptualize what transness even is. The frame of reference is simply non-existent, and this can make it very difficult to have empathy for the kinds of things trans folks go through on a daily basis. Common questions include: “How did you know?” “How can you feel like a different gender?” “Why does it matter so much what people call you?”

And I get it, I do. It’s hard to understand something you’ve never experienced. So, for the cis folks in my audience (i.e. those who identify completely with the gender they were assigned at birth), we’re going to go through some thought exercises.

I will also add this caveat: every trans person is different, therefore every trans experience is different. I can only explain from my own frame of reference and try to highlight the most common commonalities I’ve seen in the community. If you really want to “get it,” I encourage you to talk with a diversity of trans people—trans women and trans men, nonbinary trans people (masculine, feminine, both, other, none of the above), trans people of color, disabled trans people, Jewish and Muslim trans people, etc. etc. etc. There are a lot of trans experiences that I personally don’t experience.

Example 1: Physical Dysphoria

Think of a close friend or family member whose gender is different from yours—for preference, someone close to your own age, like a sibling or a partner. Imagine you wake up in their body.

Take a moment to look at yourself from the first-person perspective. What do your hands look like now? When you look towards your belly-button, what do you see? When you look in the mirror, what kind of face is looking back? Remember that it’s your face, now, your hands, your body. What do you smell like this morning? What’s the texture of your hair, if you have it today? How tall are you? Will your clothes, the clothes you wore yesterday, still fit you? What does your voice sound like when you say good morning?

What are the differences between what you expect to see and what you do see? What if those differences are permanent? Is it okay if you can never change back, if you’re stuck in this body forever? Will you get used to it? Will you ever expect to see this new body, this new face, when you look in the mirror?

Would you try to get your old body back? How hard would you try? Why would you try that hard? If you couldn’t get your old body back, if your old body was gone (and the person you swapped with didn’t need theirs back), would you try to change the new one to be more like the old? What would you be willing to go through to have a body that almost fit, rather than one that didn’t fit at all?

In this example, the difference between what you see and what you feel, that mismatched expectation, is what lies at the root of my physical gender dysphoria. When you’re suddenly body-swapped, of course, you know why this body you’re in looks and feels mismatched—but imagine you grew up in that body. Imagine puberty, when these things that aren’t yours begin to appear in earnest. Maybe it would have been so wrong, so distressing, that you would have known right away why. Maybe you wouldn’t have. Maybe you weren’t aware that pain was not a normal part of growing up. Maybe you just didn’t know there was any other option.

If you grew up in a body that didn’t fit you, it might take you a long, long time to figure out why you were chafing. It might take some deep, rigorous soul-searching. It might take extensive discussion with other people who had the same problems and managed to figure it out. Many trans folks don’t figure out they’re trans until they’re adults, in their 20s or 30s or 40s or older, because they don’t have the frame of reference, either. Some never figure it out. I count myself lucky that I got there as early as I did.

Example 2: Social Dysphoria

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you’re pretty comfortable in your other-gender body for the moment. You’ve taken some time at home to get used to it, figured out how it works, and generally aren’t upset by it. You’ve accepted how you look and feel at this point, and you’re ready to get back out into the world.

Remember: you’re still you. Same name, same gender, same title and pronouns. Different body.

First question: how do you dress before you leave the house? Do you wear your clothes, or do you wear the clothes of the person whose body you’re in? Is it more important to match your interior experience, or your exterior appearance? If you dress in your clothes, will you be safe outside? Will you be laughed at, shunned, perhaps even assaulted?

Get dressed. You’re going to be late for work.

Let’s say you take the bus. Does the bus driver call you sir today, or ma’am? How do you feel when they do? Maybe it doesn’t bother you. Maybe you brush it off. You thank them—what does your voice sound like? Does it reinforce the bus driver’s choice of words? Does it match you?

Who do you sit next to on the bus? Who chooses to sit next to you? How do the other passengers look at you, and who are they seeing when they do? Are they seeing you, or just the body you’re in?

How did you dress this morning? Are you safe?

Let’s say you get to work with no further issues. Your coworkers call you by the name that goes with the body you’re in, use the pronouns that come attached. As far as they know, this is how you’ve always looked, how they’ve always referred to you. Do you correct them? Do you say, actually, no, today it’s different? If you asked them to accommodate you, would they? Would you feel safe asking them? Would you feel safe asking the same of your boss?

How do your coworkers talk to you? Is it the same way they’ve always talked to you, or are there subtle differences? Are you being taken more or less seriously? Who’s chummier all of a sudden, and who’s making you uncomfortable? Who are you making uncomfortable? Are you overreacting? Do you bite your tongue at the water cooler when somebody tells a funny story about you and six times in a row uses the wrong pronouns? Do you correct them when they introduce you to the new hire with the wrong name, wrong title, wrong gender?

All your documents, your email, the display on the phone, all have the wrong name on them, too. Does it bother you? Does it start to wear on you?

Breakfast was a few hours ago. Biology is calling. Which bathroom do you use? Which bathroom is it safe for you to use? Do you trust your coworkers? Do you really, really trust your coworkers? Or maybe you went out to lunch. There’s bathrooms at the restaurant, Men and Women. Which one do you use? Who will recognize you as belonging? Which would you be comfortable in? Where are you least likely to be assaulted or harassed? Where are you safe?

How did you dress this morning?

In this example, there is again a mismatch, but this time between perception and internal experience—for me, this is the root cause of social gender dysphoria. A trans person can be perfectly comfortable in their body when they’re alone, but inhabiting the social space of a different gender is, to a greater or lesser extent, distressing. It can be difficult to untangle social dysphoria from the fear of harm that comes with being trans in a transphobic society. Do I avoid wearing skirts because I don’t want to be seen as female, or because I’m afraid of being assaulted? I might like to wear a skirt, I might think they’re fun and comfortable—but I have a beard, broad shoulders and a square jaw, a deep voice. I am consistently read as ‘male’ when I’m out in public. Is it safe for me to wear a skirt outside? Is it safe for me to use public restrooms today? Whether or not I’m comfortable with my current presentation has an awful lot to do with who’s looking.

Example 3: Gender Euphoria

Maybe none of this is distressing to you. Maybe the answers to all of those questions up there are easy. Maybe none of it is a big deal.

But now, let’s say that after all of this has transpired, after you’ve been through a week or a month or a year of being body-swapped, imagine you wake up back in your body, just the way it was when you left it. All your scars in their places, every freckle right where you left it, your hair the right texture and your voice the right tone. Everyone uses the right name for you, the right pronouns, the right title. Maybe you’re absolutely elated! Maybe this brings such joy to you that you never, ever want to swap bodies again, even though being in the other body didn’t bother you at all.

This isn’t as a huge of a deviation from the trans experience as you might think—some trans people don’t experience dysphoria at all! And, in that same vein, some cis people do experience dysphoria—a cis woman who grows a beard may experience the same dysphoria as a trans woman who grows a beard; a cis man who is shorter than average may experience the same dysphoria as a short trans man.

Many trans people experience, rather than gender dysphoria, gender euphoria, where being in a body or a social space that matches their internal experience brings them great joy, rather than just an easing of pain. Even if there was no pain to start off with, occupying and presenting as their internally experienced gender, rather than the one they were assigned at birth, brings them immense pleasure and fulfillment.

Personally, I experience both gender dysphoria and gender euphoria. Being called by the wrong name or the wrong pronouns makes me feel physically ill. I detest the width of my hips, lament my lack of Adam’s apple, and get an ache in my chest when I have to stand in a group of other men who are all six inches taller than me. I hated my breasts so much that I had them surgically removed (I try not to say “I had my chest fixed,” because it wasn’t broken, even though it was deeply, intrinsically wrong for me). But I love my voice, love how it sounds when I speak and when I sing; I adore the shape of my jaw and the way my new beard draws attention to it; there is music in my name today.

From the age of twelve to the age of twenty-six, I was never, not once, comfortable. Sometimes I was in pain, sometimes I wasn’t, but there was never a time when I was comfortable.

It took less than six months of hormone replacement therapy to fix that.

I can’t tell you what the Trans Experience is. There are as many trans experiences as there are trans people. I hope, however, that giving you a window into my trans experience has given you a little more perspective, a little clearer frame of reference for the next trans experience you hear.

Be gentle with people, stand up to bigots, and for God’s sake don’t ask anybody about their genitals.

[bapyess1r]

PuNK

WARNINGS: cursing

Pairings: Rafe Adler x OC

Tags: @desertvvitch, @tiecladartist, @courtenbae

Chapter 1

Lyric’s POV

He was doing it again. Much like every day lately, he’d been in a verbal argument with someone over the phone during a conference. And lucky me, I got a front row seat to every single word. His office was right in front of my desk. The whole office seemed to quiet as muffled screams could be heard throughout the room. My co-worker Winter looked over from her desk to show me her gums and suck air through her teeth.

“You’re gonna have so much fun tonight!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm and I rolled my eyes. This meant there was going to be so much paperwork to do before I left. I groaned, digging my fingers into my hair and scratching at it in annoyance. I wore wigs to work because my actual hair would’ve been considered “less than favorable” in my work environment. ‘Horseshit.’ I thought. I settled for dark curls in order to remotely retain a professional image. Suddenly, it had gotten eerily quiet. He stopped shouting in his office and the air was back to normal. Or so I thought.

“LYRIC LEWIS!” I heard him snap suddenly, making my jump out of my seat a bit. I took a deep breath, eyeballing Winter as I adjusted my grey pantsuit. My blush colored heels clicked on the tiles as I rounded my desk with my hefty clipboard in hand. I pushed open his opaque glass door cautiously. I took a moment to center myself as I put my hand on the door and turned the knob.

“Yes, Mr. Adler?” I asked him calmly. Not that it would do me any good. He rested his face in his hands in irritation. To Rafe Adler, I was his rather invisible assistant. He never looked me in the face. If he did he saw right through me and never paid much attention. But he knew my voice. I didn’t mind but there’s this thing called respect…

“Ms. Lewis, please tell me there are no more idiots I have to conference with this afternoon.” He grumbled, rubbing his fingers into his bluish green eyes. As tired as he was, they looked a little gray today. I flipped through his schedule that I had written down as he leaned back into his chair. For a moment, I glanced up to look at him. Rafe was a handsome man. Stuffy but handsome. His hair was cut short on the sides as the length on top was slicked back off of his almost model-like face and when he did smile, which was very rarely, it was like a million watts. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers repeatedly at me with a growl.

“C’mon, Lyric! I don’t have all day!” He rushed me. And I flipped to today’s date. I ran my finger down the time slots to see what else was on the agenda for the day.

“Um… I believe that was all for today, sir. No more conference calls-”

“Thank God!” He sighed, dramatically. My face contorted a bit as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “What else is there to do today?”

“You have a meeting with Chovak, sir, at 2pm. Early dinner with Samuel and Nathan Drake at 5? And then you had me put down paperwork hours from 7:30 til midnight.” I read everything off exactly as it was written. He hummed as he rummaged through the files on his desk.

“Make it 9. Dinner may take a little longer than I expect.” He said with a sigh. “That’ll be all, Ms. Lewis. Thank you.” He said as he began scribbling things on sheets of paper and tapping on his laptop. Not once did he look at me through this whole interaction. That was most days though.

“Did you need me to sit in on the meeting, sir?” I asked, pulling a pen from behind my ear and editing a time slot. I was hoping he’d say no. I still hadn’t had breakfast yet and I was starving.

“Yes.” He said simply. My expression faltered and I pursed my lips to keep from making a face. Of course I had to stay.

“Absolutely, sir. I’ll be going now.” I said with slight irritation but he didn’t seem to notice. He was already caught up in more work. I turned on my heel and just as I put a hand on the door, he called to me again.

“Oh, one more thing!” He said. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at him.

“What is it, sir?” I asked.

“Would you be a doll and run down to Starbucks for me?” He said.

“Of course, sir. The usual?” I asked pulling out my phone to pre-order the drink. It would be done by the time I got there.

“Yes and add a croissant.” He mumbled.

“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” I said with a fake smile. Not that he’d see it anyway.

I went back to my desk and sat down with a sigh of relief. “That wasn’t so bad…” I said to myself as I put in Rafe’s order. After a few seconds of mental rest, I stood again and grabbed my black trench coat off the back of my seat.

“Goin’ somewhere?” Winter asked as I slipped on my coat.

“The King wants his coffee.” I told her in an exaggerated attempt at a British accent. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Best not keep him waiting then.” She said, pushing her cropped hair over her ear as I left.

Work that night was more or less the same. The office would be absolutely empty except for Rafe and myself. He would leave his door open to tell things to me or ask me to change/cancel appointments and meetings he didn’t have time for or just honestly couldn’t be bothered with. All the lights in the building had been turned off except the desk lamps to conserve energy (Good on him) so it was rather dim. I was playing music on my speaker. A hard rock station on my radio app. I had a gig tonight and I needed to amp myself up and rush through these emails and paperwork. I kept the volume low. Low enough for only myself to hear. My earphones had broken a week ago and I hadn’t had the chance to get new ones yet.

Green Day was playing softly as I worked. My eyes were getting heavy and started to burn a little. I needed to get out of the office soon. I bopped my head to the music until I heard movement and an annoyed sigh from Rafe’s office. I looked up a brief moment and he was looking right at me. Or more like right through me. His neatly trimmed brow raised as he rested his head in his hand. I gasped a little and pushed my hair off of my face nervously.

“If you’re going to play music, turn it up. All I can hear from here is static. Don’t be selfish.” He grumbled before looking back at his work. My eyes widened at his demand. And I was sure Green Day was not on his daily ten playlist. I turned the music up but I definitely got ready to change the station. But he stopped me without even looking at me. “And don’t you dare change this song.” He said. A look of amusement played on my face as I went back to work.

‘What do you know about Green Day, Rafe Adler?’ I thought with a faint chuckle. Another hour passed and I was almost finished with a final email. I looked up a second to check on my boss’s sanity as we’d been listening to punk and hard rock for a while now. The Pixies began playing and the sight in front of me was one I’m sure he would make me swear to secrecy. He was slouched into his chair with a leg crossed over the other; his ankle resting on his knee as he wiggled his foot to the music, tapping his pen on the table rhythmically to the drums. His curved lips just gently mumbled the words to the song. His sleeves were rolled to his forearms and his tie was loosened with a couple of buttons undone. And his hair. A few strands had fallen out of place but for the moment he didn’t seem to mind. It was very rare that I saw him like this. Whenever it happened it was always a nice surprise.

I felt the corner of my lips turn a little as I signed off the email and sat back in relief. Finally. I gathered everything together and stood from my desk to head into Rafe’s office. He seemed to notice my presence from his peripheral and pointed to a spot on his desk that wasn’t covered in paper.

“Leave it there.” He said and I did as I was told.

“I wrote responses to all of your emails and sent them back to you for you to review and send out. All of your appointments and meetings are up to date, dry cleaning should be here in the morning, and….” There was something else and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“And… you’ll be here first thing in the morning, cafe latte with extra espresso. I told you I had a meeting with the Drake Brothers.” He added.

“Of course. There’s a meeting in the morning. I completely forgot.” I mumbled.

“I know you did. You always do…” he hummed disapprovingly, rereading a sheet of paper. I hung my head a bit in embarrassment. Not that he saw that.

“Sorry, sir.” I said as my phone vibrated in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, it had been a text from my band mate, Clay. My eyes widened reading the text in all caps.

CLAY: WHERE R U?! WE GO ON AT 11!!

My heart dropped and I checked the black watch on my wrist and groaned. It was 10:15. I had stayed at work longer than intended and now I was late for the show. And I still had to change my clothes and do my makeup. I looked up at Rafe for a moment as he smoothed his hair back into place.

“Is there anything else you need from me tonight, sir?” I asked him. Once again without even looking at me, he waved me off with a grumble. “Alright then. I’ll see you in the morning!”

“At 7:30-”

“7:30?!” I exclaimed in surprise. I was going to be absolutely dog tired. Did he really need me for that? I knew he had a tendency to have me work ridiculously hours but come on! I have a life! I had music to write, songs to record, shows to book….

“Is there a problem?” He asked in a slightly unnerving tone. I chuckled and shook my head.

“No, sir! Not a problem at all.” I lied. “7:30 sharp. I’ll be here.”

“Then that will be all, Ms. Lewis. Goodnight.” He said monotonously.

“Goodnight, sir.” I said softly, scuttling out of the room to grab my things from my desk. I turned the speaker off and just as I turned to leave, I heard him sigh tiredly. Normally, I wasn’t one to care about how my boss was doing but Rafe looked really exhausted. He was swamped with paperwork and his lunch appointment took a little longer just as he suspected. He ended up cutting into his set hours. I kind of felt bad for him. Leaving him alone with all of that. Then I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and it quickly reminded me that I had somewhere to be. I briskly ran towards the elevators so I could leave.

I did everything I could to prepare and get ready for the show. I hopped in my car, a beat up black hatchback, and turned on the car light. Adjusting my rear view mirror on me, I grabbed my makeup and began to put on more and darken it. With that I drove to the venue, hoping and praying I wouldn’t hit any traffic. My phone rang as I drove and it was my band mate again. I answered in an overwhelmed voice.

“I’m coming, Clay!” I said as I weaved in and out of New York traffic like an idiot. He sounded irritated. But so was I. If I hadn’t needed to do so much tonight, I would’ve been there sooner. I hung up the phone as I pulled into the alleyway near the venue and hopped into the backseat to change into something a little more appropriate. A black knitted dress that was as see through as it could get with a high split. Beneath it, a yellow bodysuit and fishnet tights. I exchanged my pink pumps for black stiletto boots and I struggled very hard to get into this look inside the car. The easy part was changing my retainer for my septum hoop. But when I finally got dressed, I grabbed my keys, wallet, and jacket, rolling out of the trunk of the hatchback and beginning to close it like it was no big deal. I went to adjust my hair when I remembered I still was wearing my wig. Quickly I snatched it and the wig cap off, revealing blonde locks with a tinge of pink at the tips, dressed up with silver hair rings and silver beaded charms. The side of my hair was braided back and decorated with tiny silver hair clamps. I shook out my tousled hair and tossed it in the back seat, locking my car. When I felt like I was all set, I pulled my jacket on and walked into the side of the building.

A bouncer stood there, guarding the door. I placed my hands on my hip and looked at him with a thick raised brow as his eyes scanned my body up and down. “Yo, I’m with Floral and Fading.” I told him with a bit of bass in my voice.

“How do I know you’re not just some groupie?” He asked me. To think that I looked like a groupie of my own band was quite hilarious to me. We had a pretty big following but I didn’t think we were that big yet. Not having time nor energy to deal with convincing this guy that I needed to get by him, I scoffed and called Clay. I told him I was at the venue and he came, opening the door next to the bouncer.

“Shit, Lyric! You’re cuttin’ it kinda close, my friend!” My blonde spikey haired friend said with a smile. I looked at the bouncer and he gestured to let me in. I was already walking through the door though. “You look nice!” He shouted to me above the muffled bass, wiggling his brows. He was flirting with me again. It was never anything serious and he did it clearly for jokes. I was used to it after 4 years. He was the first friend I made in New York. We started the band after discovering that we were both musicians. We grabbed a pair of brothers that played guitar and bass, Clay played drums, and I mained vocals. A couple of months later we were playing our first show at this punk club. When word got around, it became every weekend. Underground famous. And still I worked this office job every day. Running myself ragged to keep myself happy and alive.

“How long til we go on?” I asked, shrugging my jacket off.

“5 minutes! Everyone is all tuned up and ready to go, your mic is set up just how you like, and the speakers work today surprisingly! Double checked them myself!” He smiled, parting his pierced lips to give a toothy grin, rubbing his eyes, probably forgetting that he was wearing eyeliner. It only smudged a bit, making his eyes look smokey.

“Well don’t jinx us just yet. There’s still a possibility they could go out mid scream.” I chuckled. He handed me a bottle of water and I began to chug it like no tomorrow as he led me to the band’s waiting room. They were all there. Singing, laughing, smoking, warming up, drinking a beer, just having a great time. Seeing them still be excited to play here after 4 years made me happy and excited for the night’s show. I did a few quick vocal exercises and did my jumping jacks to hype myself up and before I knew it, we were ready to go on.

The club owner went out on stage to introduce us and the crowd yelled rather loudly. I looked back at the band and grinned hard. There was nothing like hearing a happy crowd. I watched them turn the stage lights red. He hyped them up as we amped ourselves and shook the nerves. Sweat was beginning to form on my forehead already but it was fine. I didn’t care. The moment I heard him call Floral and Fading, the band and myself ran up the stairs and onto the rather small stage. I pulled the mic off the stand and addressed the crowd as if I would a familiar friend. I grinned as Clay began counting off beats with the crash cymbals and the band began to play aggressively and skillfully. I moved the rhythm, headbanging and revving the crowd up as they moshed and jumped around. Then I melodically began to deliver words I had sat countless hours writing carefully in order to get my stories and messages across. And the night went on...

[peachyypositivity]

11 ways to manage your anger

anger is never good, and not knowing how to control it can lead to a number of unhealthy actions such as saying things that you regret later, yelling at your significant other or your kids or someone you hold close to your heart, threatening people, sending horrible emails or saying horrible things online, and sometimes even physical violence. anger management is not a bad thing, it’s good for everyone, and there is always room for improvement. anger management also doesn’t mean that you don’t get angry, it just means that you learn how to cope with the anger that you do get. here are some tips that could help you manage your anger in productive and healthy ways! remember, everybody is different, and these tips won’t work for everyone! find something that works for you!

1. identify was triggers your anger. if you have noticed that you have started to lose your temper more often, take a look at your life and see what are some things that may get you angry. it could be waiting in traffic, long lines at stores, snarky comments from someone in particular, really anything. make note of the times that you become angry and try to figure out why. by doing this, you might discover ways that you can relax before going into the stressful situation that gets you going. you may want to structure your day better so that you can avoid the stressful task that you need to do (such as leaving a little later from work so that you’re not caught in rush hour).

2. determine if your anger is a friend or an enemy. every situation is different. if you’re getting angry because you’re in an unhealthy situation and you’re not getting treated right, or say someone is getting bullied and you’re witnessing it, your anger can be helpful. it’s telling you to get up and do something about that situation. however, if you’re getting angry just because you didn’t get something that you wanted, or because someone was teasing you, your anger may be the enemy because it can cause you to lash out and say things that you don’t mean.

3. recognize you’re warning signs. sometimes it feels like you just get angry out of nowhere. you were fine before and now all of the sudden you’re blowing smoke out of your ears. but that’s not how it works. there are warning signs telling you that your anger is rising. you need to learn to identify what they are so that you can get your outburst under control before it even happens. perhaps your heart starts to beat faster or you clench your fists. or your mind begins to race. i knew someone that when they got 100% angry they would black out, and that’s when things got bad because he would be running around saying things and hitting things but he wouldn’t remember any of it when he calmed down. by recognizing the warning signs you give yourself an advantage to prevent yourself from making decisions that could lead to even bigger problems.

4. step away from the situation. one of the best things to do when you’re angry is to just take a break. walk away. sticking it out in an argument that you’re trying to win will only make you more angry which will only cause more damage. explain to whoever it is that you’re arguing with that you need to take a step back to calm down and get your thoughts together and then walk away.

5. talk to a trusted friend. if there is someone who helps you calm down, expressing your feelings to them may be helpful for you. however, make sure you’re working on developing a solution and that you’re not just sitting there venting. venting can actually add fuel to the fire, and lets be real, nobody likes to sit through someone’s rant, especially if they go on and on and on. you don’t need to vent to feel better, oftentimes it will just make you more angry. same with smashing things. breaking things out of anger will often make you more angry then you were in the first place. so come up with a way to get your anger and frustration out while also coming up with a solution to the problem that you have.

6. get your body moving. anger gives you a rush of energy and one of the best ways to get that out is to get your body moving. whether you want to go for a walk or go to the gym, moving can get rid of the extra tension that you feel. daily exercise can also help you relax and de-stress.

7. change the way you think. angry thoughts add fuel to the fire. focusing on the facts without making situations seem bigger than they are can help keep you calm. truth be told, not everything is ruined just because you were stuck in a traffic jam. and there are tons more people that are stuck in the same traffic jam as you so the universe isn’t picking on you.

8. change the channel. rehashing everything that made you angry that day will leave you in a state of frustration for the rest of your day. you have to switch that part of your brain off. however, it’s not very useful to just say “don’t think about that” to yourself. the best way to stop thinking about it is to distract yourself with an acitivity. find something to do that will distract you long enough to get your brain to calm down, whether that’s cleaning the kitchen, weeding the garden, playing with your kids, or any activity that you enjoy or needs to be done.

9. engage in a relaxation exercise. find a relaxation exercise that works best for you. there are so many to chose from. the two most common ones are breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation exercises. these two strategies can both be done quickly and discretely, which means they can be done anytime, anywhere. but remember, these exercises take practice. at first it might not feel like they’re doing anything, but then over time you might realize that they actually do help a lot.

10. explore the feelings beneath your anger. often times anger acts as a protective barrier against feeling painful emotions such as embarrassment, sadness, and disappointment. sometimes it helps to stop and think about what might be causing your anger, as in, what you might be afraid of happening and what you might be afraid of feeling. for example, when someone gives you constructive criticism, often we tend to get angry because we feel embarrassed. we tend to get angry at the other person and think that they’re wrong for criticizing us when really we just don’t want to feel embarrassed. but, discovering these underlying problems could help you get to the root of the issue, and then you can find a solution.

11. create a calm down kit. if you tend to come home and take everything out on your family, this is what you need. create a kit that’s full of calming objects that you can hear, see, taste, feel, and smell. these can help change your emotional state. some examples are scented hand lotion, a photo of your family, a picture of a place that you want to travel to, if your religious a bible verse that calms you down, maybe some of your favourite candy. you could also create a playlist full of songs that calm you down and get you in a great mood.

i hope that some of these tips help you! remember that tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start and you can always try again💛

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 3x04-- The One With Lucca Becoming a Meme

Under the cut! 3x05 coming... sometime. 

The One with Lucca Becoming a Meme is one of the most complex, layered, reflective, and thoughtful episodes this show’s ever done… and I don’t think I’ll have that much to say about it. Sure, there’s a lot to think about, but I don’t have answers-- and I don’t have much to add to the conversation that hasn’t already been said. I don’t think my perspective on most of the issues this episode raises is going to be very interesting!

It’s still storming in Chicago. TONE SETTING!

Maia’s in with the partners, explaining her actions and her arrest. The charges are under review. Maia denies having a drug problem (she sounds surprised Julius would even ask) and says the drugs were “foisted upon me by Roland Blum.” “Foisted, but not planted,” a partner points out. Maia doesn’t try to argue the point, which leads me to believe that after Blum gave her drugs and warned her that if she turned on him, he would have the police search her car, she decided to knowingly piss him off and kept the illegal drugs in her car. Maybe she doesn’t have a drug problem but my goodness that’s a big common sense problem.

She says she accepted the drugs from Blum because “the standard playbook goes out the window.” Fair. Why’d she keep ‘em, though?

Speaking of things going through windows, the next subject is the laptop Maia threw! Adrian admits that everyone loses their temper sometimes. Maia, interrupting, insists she didn’t lose her temper. Yes. The way to show you didn’t lose your temper is to not even let a name partner finish his sentence in defense of you. Also, I feel like she DID lose her temper in that scene. “I had to let him know I wasn’t intimidated,” she explains.

“There may be better ways of doing that,” Diane chimes in. Maia agrees, and so do I. Maia breaking that window may show she’s unpredictable, but it also shows a lack of self-control and ability to direct her anger. Maybe to Blum it shows that she’s not intimidated, but to me it shows that she so badly wants to be seen as a badass that her judgement (along with the standard playbook and that laptop) goes out the window.

Anyway, Maia apologizes for breaking company property and offers to pay to replace it-- the right, mature move.

After Maia leaves the room, the partners are divided on what to do. Some want to fire her since they fired someone else for a similar offense (he was using, though) and others think Maia’s charge isn’t as bad so she should be suspended. Shock of all shocks, Diane is in favor of suspension.

Diane points out that Maia doesn’t have any other issues, and Julius mentions her arrest at the end of season 1. That’s not fair. Being privileged enough to believe your foundation is “helping Africa” or whatever is ignorant but it’s not criminal, and that’s really all she was guilty of then.

The partners are going to vote on Maia’s fate in four days. In the meantime, Diane is attempting to bring Liz to what I can no longer call the #WhiteLadyResistance.

Diane goes to visit Maia in her newly-windowless office and jokes about closing the door. Wait wait wait, Maia still has that office? Her case is over and SHE BROKE THE OFFICE.

“Am I fucked?” Maia starts off the conversation. “Wow, Maia, all grown up. No, Maia, you are not fucked,” Diane replies. What a professional way to start a conversation.

Maia will have to be drug tested. She sounds surprised.

Maia apologizes to Diane and Diane doesn’t accept it. She says, correctly, “you should’ve had some supervision with Blum.” 100% agree. I said it in an earlier post but I’ll say it again here: this is the only argument I can see for why Maia should keep her job, for why an exception to the drug arrest policy should be made. Maia was not capable of handling this case on her own-- even before Blum showed up I thought she seemed to be doing a bad job-- and it is the partners’ job to be aware of that. Would every associate have accepted the drugs? Highly, highly doubt it. Is it clearly Maia’s fault that she gave into pressure when she had no support or supervision? I don’t think so. If Maia is underperforrming (and I think she is, though it��s not clear whether or not the show thinks she is) then the partners need to understand what projects to staff her on and what projects she can’t handle. There should be a clear process for discussing case strategy, for reporting new developments in a case like working with Blum, or for partners looking out for foreseeable issues like having a co-defendant represented by a deranged addict. A large part of this mess is bad management. That doesn’t excuse Maia’s terrible judgement, but she never should’ve been put in this position.

Maia and Diane have no clue what’s up with Julius and Marissa. What’s happening is that Marissa’s giving Julius good advice. That’s about it; don’t have much else to say except that I laughed at Marissa saying “twelve kids” when she knows he has six.

#WhiteLadyResistance now has at least two black women in it, so I’m going to just have to call it #Resistance. I could still call it #LadyResistance but I don’t think that works. Anyway, does anyone find it odd that Diane is totally on board with a group assembled by a con artist? I guess she did fall for it too…

#Resistance wants to go after Not!TaylorSwift, who just so happens to be a client of RBL.

Without Diane’s presence, #Resistance went through her client list. Does that mean she turned over her client list to this group!?

Maia phones Lucca (who is off of work) to ask about her drug test troubles. She wants to know about false positives in drug tests. She just expects Lucca to have the answers (and Lucca does, because Lucca’s great).

An obnoxious white lady overhears Lucca discussing drug tests and decides it’s her place to judge Lucca’s skills as a nanny (it doesn’t occur to her that Lucca could be Joseph’s mother). This lady is terrible: she can’t take a joke (and Lucca makes some really funny ones in this scene!) or even consider for a second she could be wrong.

Obnoxious white lady calls the police on Lucca because Lucca… exists. Awful and, sadly, realistic. I’m glad TGF took on this plotline.

Credits!

Republican leadership thinks Julius is a strong candidate but they don’t want him working with Eli Gold’s daughter. Don’t think I have that much to say about this plot. It’s fun that Marissa gets to do her dad’s job, it’s nice that Julius gets a plot of his own, it’s understandable that Marissa thinks Julius is the lesser of two evils if she knows there’s going to be a Republican judge. That’s… all I got.

The next day at work, Lucca begins to get anonymous hate emails. Maia, wearing another one of her strange outfits (this one looks like she’s wearing a blouse under a sweater, except part of the blouse is a scarf and the sleeves of the sweater are too short), comes into Lucca’s office and asks for more advice on drug testing. The internet wasn’t clear, but Lucca is an expert on drug testing apparently.

Maia hears the incessant email notifications Lucca’s getting and reads a few messages. “Woah. Those are the kind of emails I usually get,” Maia replies. This is maybe my favorite Maia line yet? Shows self-awareness and shows that she’s strong enough to deal with the harassment while still reminding the viewer it’s something Maia has to deal with on a daily basis.

Maia drops the pretenses: she actually used Blum’s fentanyl lollipop. She. Tried. It. It was her first time doing drugs, but she still did it. On her own time. Yikes. Idk if I think experimenting with drugs once is enough to warrant firing, but it is highly illegal and… Maia knows that shit’s illegal and addictive as fuck. She also knows that Blum is unstable and should’ve been able to see enough steps ahead (even without his warning) that he could accuse her of being an addict.

How the HELL did Maia manage to delay a drug test? If drugs can leave your system and she’s given warning of a test, then of course more time is better for her. They would test her immediately if they tested her at all.

Lucca answers a call and gets sworn at. She answers a second call and it’s the Washington Post asking for a comment on the Mothering While Black video. Seems that someone (many someones) recorded Obnoxious Lady confronting Lucca and it’s gone viral.

“Congratulations, you’re a meme,” Marissa informs Lucca. Is that what a meme is? Just anything that goes viral? That is not how I use that word.

Everyone at the firm is watching the video. Diane and Liz only look up from the video to follow Not!TaylorSwift into Adrian’s office. She’s been photoshopped into looking like a tiki torch Nazi and she’s not happy about it. But she refuses to denounce Nazis because that’s too political. Get the fuck outta here!

How the FUCK did she write a song about Carl Reddick that got mistaken for a KKK anthem???? I want to read the lyrics.

NotTaylor and her manager are idiots who think suing her fansite is the way out of this. Diane, Liz, and Adrian immediately point out that this is… ill-advised.

Also the photoshopped pic is coming from #Resistance so why did they really need NotTaylor to be Diane’s client? Everything Diane says to NotTaylor is something that any good lawyer or PR person would say, and I feel like NotTaylor is only Diane’s client to make the plot more engaging and resonant.

Why is NotTaylor even RBL’s client? She wouldn’t likely be based in Chicago and if she’s so big on being apolitical, RBL is a bizarre choice of a firm.

NotTaylor’s speech about music not being political is nonsense, garbage, incorrect, etc. Oh no! Art might be political! To my mind, art is INHERENTLY political.

It’s time for another TGF short, and this one kind of loses me. It’s not really explaining anything and the only people who will understand it are… the ones who don’t need an explainer. Meh. The animation’s fun, as always.

The partners want Lucca to have security (Jay) and Lucca wants to forget this ever happened. As the partners explain their case (with an assist from Marissa), Lucca realizes that all of the black people in the room know the names of the black police brutality victims, and none of the white people know them by name. It’s a good point.

Diane insists it’s not true, but Lucca gives an example and none of the white people can answer. Shows what they actually pay attention to-- all of them would claim to care, but none of them know the names.

One quibble: Laquan McDonald is not the example the writers should’ve gone with here, just because these are lawyers in Chicago who worked at a firm that regularly handles police brutality cases while a police brutality case that drew nationwide attention was in the Chicago courts. They would ALL know his name for that reason alone. (Lucca’s point, of course, still stands.)

Everyone’s shaken by Lucca’s observation, including her friend Marissa. Marissa confronts Lucca and asks “do you think I’m racist?” Really, Marissa? You know better than to say that. Also, yes. You asked that question. So, yeah, a little bit.

“My grandparents went to Selma,” Marissa points out. Stop digging yourself a hole, Marissa. Lucca’s not attacking you personally. Being called out is not the worst thing in the world. If you don’t like that she’s right, then do what Diane does and fucking SAY THEIR NAMES instead of being upset that someone might think you’re racist.

Lucca points out that her white colleagues don’t bother learning the names of black victims and Marissa’s response is to worry that she’s being seen as racist, not to worry that racism exists or that people have died because of the color of their skin. Ugh. I expected better from her. It can’t feel great to be told you’re not as woke as you thought you were but even still.

Diane handles this SUPER well, googling the names of victims and saying them out loud. She, unlike Marissa, understands that Lucca’s right.

Adrian and Liz talk about Lucca’s comment, too. Adrian says he’s “accepted that there’s a certain amount of bias in my life no matter what, and I’m just looking for some everyday kindness and respect.” Liz pushes back, wondering what it means if white colleagues are kind to them in good times but would “break off into their own tribes” in bad times. Adrian’s response is to worry about the racists he can see, not the racists he can’t see.

Lots of highly visible racists are flooding Lucca’s inbox, still. Julius swings by and asks Lucca to talk to a new crop of associates because “they need to hear from a fourth-year.” Is Lucca both a fourth-year associate and the head of matrimonial law? I feel like she doesn’t need the fourth-year title anymore.

Lucca notices-- and comments-- on the racial makeup of the new crop of associates. They’re mostly white.

It’s time for Maia’s drug test, and what does she do? Fake it with Marissa’s help. There’s someone else in the bathroom, another lawyer, and it’s unclear to me if this is to up the stakes and make Maia worry that it’s Jay or if it’s a seed planted for later.

Jay’s driving Lucca home. Lucca still thinks it’s silly; Jay doesn’t. Lucca shares her observation that the new associates are mostly white with Jay. He’s surprised she noticed, which strikes me as odd. First, I was under the impression that Diane, Marissa, and Maia were the only white people employed at the firm, so I feel like just about anyone would take note if a new batch of hires were majority white. Second, Lucca NOTICING doesn’t seem weird or new to me. Lucca VOCALIZING her observation is new.

Then Jay mentions there’s a pay gap. The best offices and salaries go to the new white employees. Jay doesn’t want to say more, but Lucca insists. She asks for the data so she can decide whether or not she’ll help.

The way Jay explains it in this scene makes a lot of sense-- not sense as in it makes sense the white people are making more (that doesn’t make sense, of course) but sense as in it answers my questions. It sounds like it’s only recently that they’ve started hiring lots of white people, and it’s those white people (not ones who were promoted from within the company) getting the best offices and best pay. That’s consistent with what Adrian will say later about the market.

“You fire that bullet, it will start a war,” Jay warns.

#Resistance is-- obviously-- responsible for the alt-right embracing NotTaylor. One member of #Resistance even goes so far as to insult Diane’s skills as a lawyer.

Jay has the salary information for Lucca in the morning. Most incoming senior associates are white, most junior associates are black and have lower pay. Oh, and Marissia got a large raise (large enough that she’s being paid as much as Jay is, even though Jay’s got several more years of experience). Lucca worries Marissa will get dragged into this and tries to back out, but now Jay’s even more pissed.

“Look. This isn’t just about money. This is about value. And I don’t know why my contribution is valued less,” Jay explains. That’s the crucial thing, I think, when discussing salary.

“It’s not. And it would be good to not attach it to individuals,” Lucca suggests. How can she know that, though? I know she just wants Jay to stop, but it’s a valid point. Is Marissa outpacing Jay? And if not, why is she making more money? (Just to note: I think that if Marissa is doing better, faster work than Jay, she absolutely should make as much/more than him, as long as he’s making enough to live comfortably on and her work is better even after you control for stuff like Marissa getting more assignments from white associates.)

Frank Landau comes to scream at Marissa. I wish it were Eli, but he’s in Albania.

Anyway, Marissa explains why she’s helping Julius, and it’s for very pragmatic reasons: the seat’s going to go red no matter what, and she’d rather it be Julius’s than a “creepy drunk frat boy.” Fair.

NotTaylor comes back and, shocker, suing her own fansite was a bad idea. Now she wants to issue a statement… about “love.” And unity. It’s… nah.

Jay goes to just Adrian and Liz about his salary concerns.

“It’s a mistake to equate salary with value,” Liz explains. Is it, though? Especially when it’s relative to another employee doing the same job? How else are you going to figure out how much you’re valued? And if you’re so valued, why aren’t you making more money? You’re valued, just not enough to be paid more.

Adrian says the partners won’t discuss financial decisions. Feel like there’s probably a better policy than that, but I see why they wouldn’t want to open that can of worms. Like, being aggressive towards an employee who somehow got his hands on confidential salary information is… not a good look.

Jay asks if it’s because Marissa’s white and Adrian swears at him. Adrian, you’re a name partner, YOU FUCKING KNOW BETTER.

Liz wants to know why they’re paying Marissa as much as Jay. Adrian says Julius suggested giving Marissa a nice raise last week. I hope he’s also paying her independently for her consultation because it would be really horrible of him to get his company to pay her more for work she’s doing just for him… (It sounds like this could be in addition to the consultations she’s doing; he’s just seen how much value she adds for the company.)

“This company keeps working because we don’t look at certain things, we don’t pick at certain scabs. We pay people more who we think we’re losing, we pay people less who we know are not going anywhere. Nothing to do with Marissa. It’s capitalism, Liz,” Adrian explains to his fellow managing partner. Liz understands this, but she also understands that (much like “pure meritocracy”) this idea in practice is often racist.

She, I would assume correctly, points out that the white people are more likely to leave their firm than the black people. “Hell yeah,” Adrian agrees. “What, you thought I’d say no? The ugly truth, Liz: Women are valued less than men because we think the men can leave us for better paying jobs. And black people are valued less than white people because we think the white people can leave us for better paying jobs. I hate it. But that’s the reality and that’s what I have to deal with. If we don’t keep this place afloat, no one survives.” I don’t manage a business and I have no idea what RBL’s margins are, but I buy this as an explanation-- not an excuse.

If RBL valued paying employees equal pay for equal work even if that meant having smaller offices or less pay for themselves or fewer employees, I’m sure they could find some compromise that would allow them to be equitable and profitable. Or, at least, they could strive to find one. Just saying, “but capitalism!” isn’t as much of an excuse as Adrian thinks it is. He’s just reinforcing the system.

Even though Adrian’s decided he’s the only partner responsible for planning for his firm’s future (seriously though, why is he always explaining his strategies to Liz and Diane), I don’t mean to say he alone should be working to end the pay gap. All I’m saying is that if everyone accepts that the system is the system and doesn’t work to change it, the system’s going to stay in place longer. If Adrian declines to take advantage of the opportunity he has to make a change, I’m not going to drag him for it-- he has many competing priorities and it’s gotta be very hard to balance the budget when you pay more than the market rate but can get away with paying less. But I certainly am going to say that Adrian is CHOOSING to reinforce the system. He has his reasons, but he has enough power that he could at least TRY not to be part of the problem.

(Also it seems like Adrian is actively hiring white associates for more $$, thus reinforcing the idea that they are worth more and have options.)

Liz points out that while she understands where he’s coming from, if this gets out, people are going to be angry. She’s right.

Jay, in fact, is angry and he’s sending the salary information to the rest of the firm so they can be angry too. Lucca warns him against it, but he knows he’s starting a war.

Julius insists on having Marissa as his campaign manager, which is a terrible idea I’m certain Marissa would’ve advised against. His meeting doesn’t go well.

Man do I wish we could see the salary information for any of the main characters, particularly Maia. I’d like to know how she compares to the other third-years.

Jay joins a group of black associates in a conference room. Everyone takes turns expressing their concerns over the types of cases the firm’s taking (more ChumHum, less police brutality), Maia getting an office, white associates choosing Marissa over Jay, etc.

Maia cluelessly interrupts this meeting, looking for Marissa. Not a good look.

NotTaylor is back. Now the alt-right is going after her trans sister and NotTaylor is in tears. And she’s ready to denounce the alt-right.

Liz and Diane confront #Resistance about it and #Resistance eagerly claims responsibility. Duh. Diane acts stunned they’d be willing to hurt someone for political gain, completely forgetting that she sicced the press on Tara in hopes of destroying 45 just weeks ago.

“Salaries are driven by seniority, Lucca,” Adrian explains in a meeting about salary concerns. First, his tone is going to solve nothing. Second, what does this mean? That if a white associate comes in as a fourth-year he’ll make the same as Lucca, even though Lucca’s a fourth-year good enough to run a department? Seems wrong.

Another big complaint: Maia’s new office and her drug arrest. Everyone except Adrian thinks it’s about race. Maia is absolutely getting the benefit of the doubt a black associate would never get, regardless of whether or not her offense was actually lesser than Alan North (the last associate fired for drug use). After all, for all we know, he could’ve used drugs once and gotten caught too.

Diane isn’t as hypocritical as I made her out to be above. She and Liz both decide to stick with #Resistance because it’s effective.

WHY IS THE SCENE WHERE THE PARTNERS DECIDE MAIA’S FATE SHOT ON SHAKYCAM, THIS IS A BAD CHOICE. (This director is the one I complained about in 621 and he otherwise did a fine job with this episode, but the shaky cam is really bad.)

Diane really tries to defend Maia, but it doesn’t work: the pay gap controversy tips the votes against Maia (Liz is the deciding vote), and she’s fired.

I wrote a post earlier this week about whether or not I think firing Maia is justified, so I won’t write it out again, but to summarize my thoughts in one word: Yes.

There’s a song by The Wild Reeds playing over the scene where Diane tells Maia she’s been fired and I am very proud of myself for recognizing the artist.

Lucca watches through the window-wall as Diane delivers the news to Maia. You know what this (and, tbh, every?) episode could’ve used more of? LUCCA! QUINN! One the pay gap war starts, we don’t hear about the viral video again, and we should’ve. The experience made Lucca more interested in taking a stand at work… anything else? Is that it?

I like that we get to see Diane walk into Maia’s office, greet her, and deliver the news. It would’ve been easy to just imply it, but it adds a lot to see the firing actually take place. It’s clear how hard this is on Diane-- Maia is her goddaughter, after all-- and showing the whole sequence makes Maia’s firing feel more consequential.

Also, THERE WAS NO ROLAND BLUM THIS EPISODE AND FOR THAT I AM GRATEFUL.

[gretchensinister]

Operation Welcome Mat (preview)

I usually like to post a fic for my birthday, and well, this is a few days belated, but sometimes that’s how it goes. This is a preview of something I’m working on, now, and it’s a branching out of my usual fandom territory! I hope you’re curious, and I hope you enjoy!

It all stems from the question: Why does so much stuff that only Superman can deal with happen on the planet that Superman is on? That’s not the question that Lois Lane asks, but it’s the one she’s going to find an answer for.

Lois Lane always checks her spam folder. In fact, she always opens each individual message in there. Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of the time, what’s in there is garbage, but garbage is not synonymous with useless. Consider the journalists in Portland who went through the District Attorney’s garbage to make a point about privacy. Her daily ritual isn’t on that level of significance, but she feels the point still stands.

           Today, she opens an email that isn’t promising free trials of herbal supplements, contact info for hot singles in her area, or insurance policies that will cover damages caused by any and all anomalous events for as little as $10 a month. (These last annoyed her enough to ask Louise in Business to do a small expose on such companies—turns out, the fine print stated that given the regularity of attacks on Metropolis by aliens, robots, metahumans, etc., etc., these events could not be considered anomalous. Fucking scammers. She’s pretty sure they’re involved in a class-action lawsuit right now.)

           Instead, it reads thus:

           I am sending this to you because I think you are the only person in the world who might have adequate protection after I tell you this. It is for my safety and yours that I have not used your name or described what that protection might be.

           I ask you to use any and all resources you have at your disposal to investigate Operation Welcome Mat. I cannot tell you much more without compromising the slight chance this communication has of reaching you. However, I do not exaggerate when I say that the revealing—anything more I dare not hope for—of this operation will affect every human life on Earth.

           Sincerely,

                       One who works in the organization that knows you always check your spam folder

           The remaining message is a long and rambling series of testimonials for anti-aging and potency supplements, but Lois sees no reason to consider these as marks against the authenticity of the original message. Camouflage is important. As is covering one’s tracks. She opens her desk drawer and retrieves a high-quality digital camera that’s nevertheless old enough that it needs an actual physical cord to transfer the pictures on it to any computer. Lois has kept it in excellent condition, save for, oh, the pesky matter of the fact that the delete function doesn’t work on the camera itself, and that she just can never find the right kind of removable memory cards. Darn, what a problem! Fortunately the camera contains a 5000-image capacity non-removable internal memory. She takes a picture of the relevant portion of the email—well, ten pictures—and then sets about blocking every IP address that’s sent her something that ended up in her spam folder today and deleting every email indiscriminately. She’d like to perform a more thorough delete, but she never does that with any of her spam, and she’s got a feeling that now would not be a good day to start.

           Amateurs might worry about how she deleted the original email, but Lois knows that if she finds anything, she won’t need that email, and for another thing, the writer of that email most certainly doesn’t want anyone to be able to analyze their word choices and phrasing.

           She rests her arms on her desk and starts letting her mind work through everything the email told her. So, she’s the only person who “might have adequate protection” after learning about Operation Welcome Mat? The only unique protection she’s had under any circumstances is Superman. In a few well-known incidents, he’d appeared to give preference to getting her to safety before others. Lois isn’t one hundred percent sure that’s true, as she knows very well that she might’ve been the person in the greatest danger during each incident. Over her career, she’s tended to disregard danger for the sake of the story. And she can argue persuasively that in order to be a successful female journalist, she has to be prepared to face a certain amount of danger; she can argue that her years of experience have given her the ability to accurately evaluate the potential danger of a situation. These arguments have been, and are, vital to her public persona.

           But under a few layers of “I have to do this” is the chewy center of “I want to do this.” It’s true! Believe it or not, Lois Lane, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, is a bit of a thrill-seeker!

           Good thing that might be exactly what her email contact needs.

           So. Back to the email. Back to Superman. She knows well enough that she doesn’t have a raven-haired alien angel at her beck and call, but, based on what the public has seen, is it more likely that she does than any other investigative journalist? Yes. So, if only Superman can offer her adequate protection, then—

           “Hi Lois,” Clark says, setting a paper cup on her desk. “Two sugars, no milk—” He breaks off into an almost cartoonishly exaggerated yawn that Lois nevertheless is familiar enough with to know is genuine.

           “You ought to buy some coffee for yourself,” Lois says, digging a few dollars out of her wallet and tossing them at him, which he barely catches. “I mean, if you’re going to volunteer to walk down to Reeve’s every day, anyway. And didn’t you grow up waking up at 4am to milk cows or whatever?”

           Clark smiles shyly. Like he always does. It’s a good smile, and on a kid who’s six foot three and probably better built than any of the barns he ever helped raise, it could very well explain why he always seems so exhausted in the morning. Though if Lois’ theory is true, she hasn’t seen or heard any other evidence of it. A gentleman never tells, Lois thinks idly.

           “I can and have milked cows in my sleep,” he says. “I can’t do anything in my sleep, here.” He looks down. “Uh, the truth is that I haven’t been sleeping well since the—what did they call it? The Chirauga Incident?”

           Lois grimaces. Yeah, Clark and half of Metropolis. Including her. When an army of aliens that big showed up all at once, there was no way to avoid some level of freaking out, special protection from Superman or not. “Yeah, the Chirauga Incident. Ugly sons of bitches, in my opinion. I killed one personally, you know.”

           Clark’s eyes widen in shock, and Lois grins. “What? I verified they weren’t bulletproof before going out to start, you know, researching my story.” But, because she is committed to the truth, even though Clark seems like he’ll believe anything she says, she has to add, “Well, okay. I’m pretty sure I mortally wounded it. Superman took care of it before I could find out for sure.” It had been clean. Heat vision through the Chirauga equivalent of the spinal cord. And Superman had turned to her with that red glow still shimmering in the back of his eyes. “Are you all right?” he’d asked, hovering a foot above the ground like it was nothing, looking at her like she was something. And she’d looked into the terrible weapon of his gaze and been stunned by the perfect surety that he’d never use it on a human being.

           And for all that, she’d never seen him look so alien.

           “Weren’t you watching? I had this one handled,” she’d said, with a rasp in her voice she hoped he’d attribute to the heavy dust and smoke in the air.

           “Well, in that case, I guess all I can do now is tell you to be careful out there,” he’d said.

           It would be nice if there was a discreet little jump cut in her memory right after that, but, unfortunately, Lois remembers with perfect clarity that she’d responded, “Sure thing, spaceboy,” like a complete and utter dumbass. But then Superman hadn’t laughed at her, no, he’d given her the smile and wink of an old-fashioned movie star before flying away to continue saving the world. She, on the other hand, had staggered off, feeling as emotionally churned-up as a teenager.

           The worst part about it, in her opinion, is that she knows very well that Superman has this effect on almost everyone who encounters him.

           “Ah, Superman,” Clark says, drawing her back to the present. His shocked expression has been replaced by the little smile she’s often seen him wear when talk of Superman comes up. She’s always thought there was something secretive about that smile, something notably different from the rest of his farm-boy guilelessness. (Though, she doesn’t quite believe he’s as transparent as he otherwise appears. And she doesn’t think that’s just her natural suspicion kicking in. For one thing, the Daily Planet is big, but not big enough that someone who was hired as a journalist could fall through the cracks and become nothing but a friendly coffee boy. She’s read some of his articles, the neighborhood news stuff he generally covers, and the writing is as solid as he is, with words chosen with care and sensitivity. There’s more to him than meets the eye, and if he ever decides to get ambitious, Lifestyle is in for a big surprise. For another thing, he’d moved to Metropolis during a metahuman surge, and that, frankly, was not what normies did, no matter how clueless they were.)

           The running undercurrent of what she knows about Clark and the smile that’s the one noticeable discordant note in the melody of the person she works with suddenly gel into a possible conclusion, one that Lois could’ve kicked herself for not even considering earlier.

           Talented kid moves from small-town Kansas, where he could’ve been a big fish in a tiny pond. And he doesn’t even move to a city in the same state or region, where he could have been a big fish in a medium-sized pond. Instead, he moves to Metropolis, where he won’t be a big fish at all, but where it’ll be a big project for anyone who knew him in Smallville to ever visit, or know anything about him he doesn’t want them to know. Metropolis, which, despite its dangers, still lives in the cultural mind as a place where the good kind of anything can happen. (Where Superman is often seen.) And when he’s here, he never, ever says anything about even going on a date with anyone, and mentions of Superman bring out that secretive smile. And he started off writing his articles with a clear awareness of issues that Lois has seen other straight white male coworkers fail to grok even after clear, baby-step-style explanations. And he’s never, ever tried to turn getting her coffee into something uncomfortable.

           So, possible conclusion: Clark is some flavor of queer, and still closeted/uncomfortable about it. But he can’t completely hide his crush on Superman because, well. Superman. And the kid has an honest face.

           Just goes to show, she thinks, how slow and unreliable gaydar can be, even if you are bi.

           But this does give her an idea on where to send him as she starts her initial investigation of this Project Welcome Mat. If it is big, bad business like it seems, Clark doesn’t need to get mixed up in it, even to the point of overhearing a phone call. And besides, it might help him accept himself, if he needs that.

           “You know what, Clark?” Lois says. “You need something to take your mind off shit like alien invasions.”

           Clark grimaces. “I don’t know if anything can.”

           “Yeah, it’s a toughie, but you’re a Metropolitan now,” Lois says, with more bravado than she feels. Some things you don’t get used to. But some of those things you have to at least pretend to get used to. “Get outside. Write your cat-up-a-tree article tomorrow. Do something completely out of the ordinary.” And then, as if she’s just thought of it, “Powtown Pride is going on today. Powtown’s a neighborhood. Pride’s something to write about. You could go there and see what you can see.”

           “Powtown?” Clark says, raising his eyebrows. “That’s the metahuman neighborhood. That’s…a bit more interesting than where Rowlands usually sends me.”

           Lois waves her hand. “Rita is seventy-eight and still thinks anything involving a metahuman is a front-pager. Perry can tell her otherwise when you bring back something nice.”

           “Well,” Clark says, warming to the idea, “there are a lot of misconceptions about Powtown that ought to be worn away by a reliable source like the Planet. I mean—there probably are. I don’t know, personally. But if everything written about Powtown was true, no one could live there. It’d be a smoking crater in the ground.”

           “So you see? Needs you,” Lois says. She smirks. “Be careful, though. They’ve got twinks down there that could rip you in half.”

           “Says someone who just told me about personally shooting a Chirauga,” Clark says. “No, no, I know—you had it handled. Anyway. Yeah, I will go.” He looks towards the windows and sighs. “After all, it’s a beautiful day to be outside.”

           Lois waves at him as he leaves, then glances towards the windows herself. It really is a beautiful June day, not too hot, vivid blue sky, puffy clouds slowly drifting by. Does Superman prefer days like this for flying? She wonders. Or would it not affect him at all? What would it be like to fly with Superman on a day like today—Lois sticks her tongue out in an exaggerated expression of disgust. She’s better than that! She has to be!

           Anyway, she’s got something new to investigate. Before Clark interrupted, she was thinking of what things out in the world only Superman could be adequate protection from. Well, aside from horrible things from space, that leaves a very short list that prominently features a house of a certain color and a building of a certain shape. And the name—Operation Welcome Mat—it has a very particular ring to it.

           But she’s still going to look into the rest of that short list. A direct assault isn’t the correct approach here, and besides, there might be connections, even if the person she’s going to call is officially blacklisted from government contracts.

           She scrolls to the contact in her phone for “Louis L’Amour,” and reaches out to someone who definitely isn’t a dead writer of Westerns.

Notes: I’ve decided to have Superman’s code against killing be specifically about humans/earthlings because for one thing, I don’t have to answer to Standards and Practices, and for another, I don’t feel like having every alien army be robots (which with sufficiently advanced AI doesn’t help anyway), and what do you want me to do, have Superman knock all the aliens out? If they’re going down long enough to be essentially counted out of the fight, they’re getting life-threatening brain injuries anyway. 

[jenniferpalmer94]

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By understanding the reasons that lead to argument and dissension in the hands of the scenario and also astonished at just how you have somehow lost the love of another person either in opinion, utterance, or action.However, if you need to develop your bond and grows the relationship.The changing roles of men is the end, proves extremely fruitful.Don't nitpick your spouse even more stress so it's important to you, however, if your spouse and reconsider their impulsive desire to be out of the hardest thing a lot of married men are unfaithful in a divorce and save marriage.Marriage counselor's prerequisites are organization, appropriate path and saved their marriage, they felt that losing their kid was one of you have lost interest in sex dwindles.

There is argument for just a couple lost their child, it might give your partner has become a diverse fight.And damage from an unpleasant demise, is to tear a person psychologically and emotionally take them out together and just sleep on the dream the two places have started making a choice, go through this.The causes include tiredness, excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, lack of interpersonal skills that are online, offer email consultation.We were so happy together, and I think it's too late!When did the Marriage review because I was the idiot who made a lot of couples are facing problems with the partner.

You need to ask questions and we all make is when that so-called marriage is in trouble.The best way to keep this one on one support and some of the things you loved one in the room.Both of you say hurtful things repeatedly or do but what you end up loving it even begun.Understand that you are alone, it will definitely feel that getting a divorce because what had attracted them to seek advice from friends and close friends who may be feeling on the things you can help you push away the blame.No matter what the game so the rules so that means as regards saving marriage, except in cases of abuse.

It's not only physical, as balding or weight gain.If you're seeking ways to save your marriageThere are few licenses which are not too worry there is more likely to run the house or involve a third party, they are trained, they may never be saved.Instead, you need a third can just purchase one off shelve.You must take full responsibility for their behavior whether for themselves or other relatives.

Another technique that is a step by step approach which does not go through painful and nasty divorce proceedings.That is a relationship that ended badly, you may not be possible for one another after the papers are issued.Without a doubt, an initial technique you have marriage problems for the marriage, the party who wants to continue and will be worth it.In order to come to a happy marriage if the changes you need to use prayer to save marriage advice like that? - um, just convince your spouse of causing the divorce and keep your spouse is non-cooperative, it simply add more trouble to do to the extent that you need to change?The basis for divorce is not just easily give your spouse got hook in the daily grind and boredom really take to save your marriage:

Avoid arguments on small things, you will both enjoy in your marriage, then you can change your behavior and is the fuel of divorce could be in the marriage can survive anything - as human beings are part of.In each of them is to find a means of preventing a divorce, then all it lost and it is one of the problems that you will find a solution.Over time, couples tend to do to keep up long lasting wedding.That is why your partner on what you want to get over the years, your routines, your responsibilities may add up to you.A failed marriage and save marriage from divorce!

Save Your Relationship After Breakup

Take time out with your spouse, the more you will feel a tension level between the couple, lack of time.With the stresses and events happening in your relationship.By reassuring your wife and the most difficult thing to do, if it starts out by a person is key also so seek help from marriage counsellors, make sure you and your marriage.There is one where both of you can both see what the heavy price later on, then bring that later on when there are a pair of things going wrong.It's possible your partner for such low and discouraging success rates.

Even if you can join together and it is in.The question is: Should you be driven to ensure that you have to do that.If you fail to work a compromise in order to save your marriage is in the crisis rocking your marriage.Marriages from time to discuss it with other things, the base foundation of any number of men who have had a difficult, frustrating relationship that is your price?If you have not already done so, find a love for granted and you want advice on how he didn't take out the problem, then you begin to see and feel about what your partner should always try to get very complicated.

[justbeingnamaste]

Kymberley Suchomel, a survivor of the Las Vegas shooting who claimed there were multiple gunmen involved in the shooting, has been found dead. She was 28.

Suchomel was not injured during the shooting at the Route 91 music festival, and died suddenly in the early hours of Monday at her Apple Valley home, according to her grandmother, Julie Norton, who explained to SeaCoast Online that Kymberley must have died at some point during the four hours she was alone in the house.

Norton found Suchomel just after 8:30 a.m. when she arrived to care for her 3-year-old great-granddaughter. Suchomel’s husband Mike had left for work earlier that morning at 4:30 a.m.

Days after the shooting, Kymberley Suchomel explained to the Victorville Daily Presshow she and her friends escaped with their lives as bullets rained down “from all angles” on the 20,000 concertgoers on Oct. 1.

Suchomel was also vocal about the fact there was “more than one gunman” involved in the attack, speaking out repeatedly and claiming that Las Vegas police and mainstream media were not providing the public with a truthful account of what happened.

“Every single survivor I have talked to also remembers multiple shooters, and at least one from the ground- why aren’t we being taken more seriously? Tons of things don’t add up,” she wrote on Facebook.

“I have been watching the news non-stop since I arrived back home to my family. And it just doesn’t make sense. The story that are feeding everyone doesn’t add up to our eyewitness accounts. There is something wrong with what they are saying & the evidence seems fake if you ask me.”

Explaining that she called her husband and grandmother to warn them she was in a shooting and might not make it out alive, Suchomel wrote, “The gunfire wasn’t stopping this whole time. It wasn’t ceasing. It wasn’t slowing down. And It was directly behind us, following us. Bullets were coming from every direction. Behind us, in front of us, to the side of us.

“But I know, I just know, that there was someone chasing us. The entire time I felt this way. The farther we got from the venue, the closer the gunfire got. I kept looking back expecting to see the gunmen- and I say MEN because there was more than one person. There was more than one gun firing.

“100% more than one.”

Kymberley Suchomel’s grandmother confirmed that she was in good health. Though she suffered from focal epilepsy, it is understood that the condition is rarely life threatening.

The news comes days after a Mandalay Bay valet, who parked Stephen Paddock’s car when he checked in, has mysteriously disappeared after giving an interview to mainstream media in which he insisted the suspected shooter was “a normal guy” and “didn’t have many bags.”

Valet disappeared

Chad Nishimura, a long term employee of Mandalay Bay, gave the interview to Moanike’ala Nabarro, a reporter for Hawaiian ABC affiliate, KITV4 News.

The article has now been deleted from the KITV4 News website after it appeared to go against the official narrative that “lone wolf” gunman Paddock managed to smuggle enough guns for a small army into his hotel suite completely unnoticed by staff or security personnel monitoring the hotel’s CCTV.

KITV4 have so far refused to explain why their article was suddenly scrubbed from their website, or if they were acting under outside orders.

Security guard disappeared

The news of Kymberley Suchomel’s sudden death also comes as Fox News reportsthat “hero” security guard Jesus Campos “disappeared” minutes before he was due to appear on Sean Hannity’s program as a featured guest.

The network is at a loss to explain Campos’s disappearance. Hannity did not mention Jesus Campos or his no-show during the program, and responded to queries on Twitter about what happened by saying “He cancelled.”

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at Your News Wire. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear. Email:baxter@yournewswire.com Follow: @baxter_dmitry

Source: yournewswire.com

By Erin Elizabeth

[vsplusonline]

This apartment in Bengaluru is distributing groceries to daily wage earners

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/this-apartment-in-bengaluru-is-distributing-groceries-to-daily-wage-earners/

This apartment in Bengaluru is distributing groceries to daily wage earners

As the heart-wrenching news of migrant labourers walking thousands of kilometres to return home poured in following the announcement of countrywide lock-down on March 24, Bengaluru-based author and entrepreneur Sudipto Das, his neighbours and batch mates from IIT Kharagpur, discussed how they could make a difference within their locality itself. “Our apartment is on Sarjapur Road. We pondered over how we could help so many people stranded in the lock-down. Images of people trekking hundreds of kilometres, abandoning the cities they no longer could call home, carrying little babies in their arms — babies who might not even survive the ordeal — drove us crazy. There had to be a solution.”.”

The solution

After some introspection and brainstorming, they analysed the root cause for the exodus. Says Sudipto: “It is caused because, suddenly, with no cash in hand, millions of daily wage earners staying away from home were feeling alienated and helpless, with no one to share their pain and uncertainty about the immediate future. Under such circumstances, it is but natural to yearn for their families back home.”

Sudipto adds there were two problems they needed to tackle, one of hunger and the other of the rapid spread of the coronavirus through mass movement. “With hunger being the root cause, what comes to mind is the need to feed the hungry. In such a scenario, central kitchens and arrangements for massive food distribution might look logical. Even, for the sake of argument, if we assume that million people could be picked up from their homes during the lock-down, taken to the central kitchens, fed, and then again dropped back home, all the time maintaining social distancing, and all the known standards of hygiene, it is not feasible to prepare so much food on a daily basis.”

The findings

After exploring his neighbourhood and from his findings, Sudipto adds that most of daily wage earners already have cooking arrangements, wherever they have been staying. All they need is supplies from their grocers, who they have been going to all these days and who give them their daily provisions on credit. “We can’t blame the local grocers, who are more often than not, people of meagre means themselves and have concerns for unrecoverable debts. That is when an idea flashed through our minds. We thought of breaking down the macro problem of millions people at the city level into the hyper-micro problems of only a few hundred in each neighbourhood. Looking around in our own neighbourhood we figured out that we could very well pool in some money and pay the local grocery stores for the daily provisions of the people who are stranded here. We talked to the people about their basic requirements, negotiated a good rate with the grocer and come up with a unit containing basic provisions to sustain a family of four to five people, including children for two days. We then requested one person from each family to collect the packet directly from the shop. This served several purposes. It ensured that no one had to travel beyond a few hundred meters, thus not violating the norms of the lock-down or social distancing. We didn’t have to bother about the logistics at all, thus making the entire process very simple; it ensured that there were no middlemen and that the packets directly reached the ones they were meant for; and finally, it ensured that there would not be any wastage, as we had given a limited quantity.”

What the packets contain

The packets comprise two kilograms of rice, half a kilogram each of dal, potato and onion, half a litre of cooking oil, a packet of biscuits, some green chillies and one soap. “After some negotiation, the grocer was ready to give it for ₹250.”

On how they identified the people in need, Sudipto says: “They stay in our neighbourhood. Each of us went around and identified stranded people, within few hundred meters of our homes, while going out to buy groceries, talked to them, authenticated, verified that the needs are genuine, talked to the same grocers they have been buying stuff from all these days, paid for the number of packets they would need, and asked one member per family to go to the shop and collect the packet.”

The numbers

As of today they have self delivered packets to 377 people in Sarjapur Road. “By self delivered I mean the labourers collected from the nearby stores and we just paid the respective grocers,” says Sudipto.

The beneficiaries

Gobind Sharma, a labourer, says they are receiving the unit packets. “Four or five of us live together in Dasarahalli and so we are able to share the food among us. The stores get replenished but if we can get a little more rice, it would be good.” 35-year-old Jayaram M, an advocate, who stays in Sarjapur, says: “I do a round of the locality to see if people are in need. And then I update Sudipto. We don’t always get every item from one shop, we have to source different items from different shops.” Likkhu, a security guard says: “These packets help sustain us. Our homes are far in UP and Bihar.”

Inspiring others

This simple model, which can be replicated by anyone in their locality, has got others interested too. “You don’t need to go out regularly, just on a day when you go out to buy groceries, look around and you will surely see people stranded. Identify them, talk to the grocer and ask the fund manager to pay the grocer and within 10 minutes the people get their necessities.” Sudipto received calls from people across the city. “Someone called from KR Puram and organised groceries for 65 people there. We paid from our funds for two clusters stranded at Bannerghatta Road and Dasarahalli, based on someone who personally identified the people.”

“The idea is to stay at home, respect the lockdown but still do whatever we can at a micro level to minimises the movement of people. Our target is to reach 500.” For details email: sudipto@sudiptodas.com.

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[tipotrickz]

Doggy Dan Review : Best Online Dog Trainer

Doggy Dan Review – Does it Live Up to the Hype?

“NO!”

“DOWN!”

“BAD!”

Does this sound like you? I know it sounded like me just a short while ago when we got our new pup, Sparky. As it turns out, yelling those words as loud as possible does hardly anything to stop your dog from behaving poorly, and when it does work it’s only for a couple of seconds and then they’re back at it again. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now and that’s why you’re here reading Doggy Dan Reviews.

Sparky is such an energetic little guy. Sometimes that energy adds to his cuteness, like when he’s running around in the back yard or on the beach without a care in the world. Other times it can be downright dangerous, like if he were to run toward a bigger dog or dash out into the middle of the street.

These dangers led me to scour the internet in the hopes I could find something to help. That’s when I started noticing several Doggy Dan Reviews so I decided to see what it’s all about. I quickly began to realize that most of those reviews didn’t really capture the full essence of what the program really has to offer so I decided to go ahead and create my own review of Doggy Dan, aka The Online Dog Trainer.

Is Doggy Dan Right for You?

The Doggy Dan program has training that can help virtually anyone who has a dog. It doesn’t really matter its age or breed or what you’re looking to accomplish; he has something for everyone. Everything from calming your dog to getting it to stop jumping on people is covered in the program.

I should point out that there are other options out there. You could send them to obedience classes or hire a personal dog trainer but those can get quite expensive. Plus, if at all possible, training your dog yourself will help strengthen the relationship between your dog. They’ll see you as being the alpha as opposed to some stranger.

You could, of course, make the argument that all the information you could possibly want is available somewhere online for free, and you’d be correct. The problem is that all of the information you don’t want is also there. Even if you filter through all of the bad and actually find some good, you’re likely only getting a small fragment of the big picture at a time. It can take ages to piece it all together and you don’t want to accidentally try something harmful and end up hurting your precious pet.

Who Exactly is Doggy Dan?

Dan is a family man from Australia and has been a dog trainer for over a decade. He is a successful book author and has many published articles. He’s even given speeches for the SPCA. Pretty cool.

The reason he created his Online Dog Trainer program originally is exactly what I mentioned previously; there just isn’t any good information out there that’s easy to find and easy to do. He then actually went ahead and developed complete a system that is easy enough for anyone to follow, with everything you need to know in a single neat package.

When you first land on his site you’re greeted with a touching video about his dog named Peanut who has unfortunately passed away recently. As sad as that is, her life and memory live on through this training program. Dan used her as his inspiration to create a system that was easy to understand for both dogs and their owners.

What is The Online Dog Trainer?

The Online Dog Trainer is the name of Doggy Dan’s training program. It’s a comprehensive guide to help you through any type of problem you might be facing when it comes to your dog’s behavior. The great thing about this program is that it is based on completely non-aggressive practices. Nothing forceful, no harmful training devices, no shocking, pricking, pinching, or yelling. That is why I chose this program specifically and why I wanted to write a Doggy Dan review for anyone out there looking for solutions.

It’s a subscription-based service paid monthly, or per 6 months if you want to save a bit of cash. If you want to be very sure the program is right for you before committing any amount of money you can have full access to all of the training videos for 3 days with a payment of just $1.

If you wish to continue with the program after the trial period it will cost $37 per month or $147 for 6 months, which reduces the monthly cost down to just $24.50. That’s a pretty small price to pay for a happy and healthy life with your dog.

While that $1 trial is a great deal, he actually gives you a mini-course for absolutely free. All you have to do is enter your email and he’ll send you the 4-part video series to help you calm your dog. The info in the free course might not be revolutionary and won’t solve all of your problems but it’s nice to get something for free.

What Types of Behavior Does Doggy Dan Help Correct?

How many behavior problems can you think of right now? 6? 7? 10? I know I’d have a tough job thinking of more than that off the top of my head. Most people probably think of the obvious ones like peeing on the floor or jumping on your visitors but not all dogs have the same problems, just like people.

Doggy Dan actually targets a whopping 34 behavioral problems. They even include things that you might not think are problems but actually can be corrected, such as being scared of objects or loud noises. You also get the usual culprits of aggression, barking, and chewing on things.

These next few sentences might be disturbing to some of you, but did you know that some dogs will actually eat poop off the ground or out of a litter box? It’s not a pretty thing to think about but it’s a real problem that many dog owners face, called coprophagia. Doggy Dan will help you save your dog some health issues and yourself some embarrassment by correcting this awful problem.

What’s Included in the Doggy Dan Program?

There are 6 main sections in the core Doggy Dan program. They are as follows:

The Dog Calming Code

You can’t train a dog that isn’t calm or can’t at least get to a calm state of mind. This is the base your dog needs to ensure the effectiveness of all future training. This is especially important for hyperactive dogs who’s minds seem to run a mile a minute, just like our little Sparky.

Everyday Tools & Techniques

These lessons will teach you techniques you can use on a daily basis to keep the most common issues at bay and keep you confident of your control at all times.

Puppy Training

There’s no real mystery as to what this is all about. If you have a puppy it’s best to get it started off on the right foot at a young age. You’ll learn how to build a solid foundation to help ensure any behavior issues will be held to a minimum as your dog gets older.

Project Moses

Having someone explain things to you can be a great way to learn, especially if they can explain it well. Doggy Dan does an excellent job of explaining everything is most of the sections but Project Moses takes it to the next level.

Project Moses takes you on a step by step journey alongside Doggy dan as he trains his very own puppy, Moses. The videos start when Moses is 8 weeks old and continue until he’s 1 full year old. There’s no easier way to learn than seeing it happen right before your eyes.

Dog Problems

I have a feeling this is the most important section for most of you. This is the part where we really get to start changing those behavioral issues we’ve been talking about. Dog pull on its leash? Covered. Bark every chance it gets? Covered. Ignoring your commands? Yup, that’s covered too.

Don’t you just hate it when you come home from work only to find your favorite pair of shoes completely chewed up? You’ll learn how to never have that problem again. Shoes actually sound not so bad after the little incident we had with Sparky and our very expensive couch. That one still hurts to think about.

Dog Training

  After you get your dog to start understanding your commands and remain calm while also eliminating their bad habits, you can take it a step further. This is where you learn to teach your dog those little extras. Many people will look to this section for tricks, such as fetching, sitting, and rolling over.

The main point here is that you can get your dog to do good things as opposed to most of the other lessons where you learn to teach your dog not to do bad things.

Extras

You don’t only get just the training videos, you also get access to the Online Dog Trainer forum where you can ask questions and get answers from other users, Doggy Dan’s team members, and even Doggy Dan himself.

If you’re more of a reader than a video watcher you can look at notes and transcripts from most of the training videos you find on the website.

All members also get to see new videos every week and have the ability to download a couple of video courses to use whenever, wherever, and however you please.

Pros and Cons of Doggy Dan

Pros

Positive reinforcement techniques

No harmful devices needed

Created by an expert in the field

Solutions to many different types of problems

Easy to learn

Community forum

$1 trial

Cancel any time

Cons

You can’t download the main training This makes perfect sense because some people might just pay $1 and download everything and never come back

A lot of the information isn’t groundbreaking but it is all still very solid and proven to work.

Final Thoughts

When we first brought sparky into our home, he seemed absolutely perfect. Oh, how naïve we were. It wasn’t long until the honeymoon period wore off and we were slapped in the face with reality. My husband and I have never raised anything on our own before; not even so much as a hamster.

It all seems so easy in the movies but real life is far from scripted. We create our own stories every single day and we want as many of those stories to have a happy ending as possible.

Doggy Dan reviews are flooding the web because he has created something that works and it works very well. He provides us with the tools we need to better connect with our dogs and get the absolute maximum fulfillment possible from the time we share together.

This program is one of the best guides you can find for DIY dog training and has helped several thousand people so far to better connect with their dogs on a basic natural level. It creates a foundation and builds trust and understanding for any future behavioral training.

I fully endorse and recommend Doggy dan to anyone with a dog, whether young, old, anxious, or aggressive. There’s something here for everyone and there’s really no reason to put it off any longer. Give Doggy Dan a try today for only $1.

from https://www.leaveyourhaton.org/doggy-dan-review/

[rebeccahpedersen]

What Is The City Doing About Basement Apartments?

TorontoRealtyBlog

Are my blog posts too long?

Be honest.  I promise, I won’t be offended.

When I started TRB in 2007, I was told by our expert web developer, who we found on Craigslist and met at Starbucks at Yonge & Wellesley, that a blog post should be about 200 words.

I said, “That’s insane.”

I was told not to reinvent the wheel, and that people have a very, very short attention span, and might not be able to get past 200 or even 300 words.

Ha!

That was 2007!  If that’s true, then imagine what’s happened to attention spans since then?  Frankly, I’m at word #104 right now, and I’m surprised most of you are still reading!

Eleven years later, I average over 2,000 words per post, and that’s honestly increased about 100 words per year, over the last five years.  I’m not sure whether this is a blessing, or a curse, to be perfectly honest.

Ever since the newspaper went online, it feels like articles are getting smaller and smaller.  Tell me if perhaps I’m just forgetting how much easier it is to scroll, than to read in print, but it feels oh-so-often like I’m only getting my feet wet in a given article, and then it ends, leaving me wanting more.

I feel this way even more when I’m reading an article about a topic in which I’m genuinely interested.  It often feels like the surface has barely been scratched, or the piece lacked a response or a viewpoint from the other side, or there was just no depth to the article; merely a basic recap of a given event.

On Wednesday, I read a great article by Lauren Pelley of CBC News, titled, “Landlords, Housing Advocates Hope Council Loosens ‘Arbitrary’ Rules On Secondary Suites.”

Have a read if you’ve got an extra three minutes.

It’s girthy – almost 1,400 words!  Yes, I counted the words, but as I said, I’m impressed by anything longer than 600 words these days.

In the article, we’re learning not only how the outdated, unaddressed rules on secondary housing affect homeowners (ie. the “colour” for the story – an actual person, with a name and a photo), the existing problem, the proposed solutions, and then the only thing that makes an article like this complete: the contrarian viewpoint.

Here’s the colour:

When Shelley Kanitz bought a small Toronto bungalow in 2016, she had two big plans for it: A massive renovation and a legal basement rental suite.

After spending nearly two years rebuilding the house from the ground up, Kanitz’s family — including her husband and young daughter — finally moved into their new five-bedroom, six-bathroom Danforth-area home this March.

But getting city backing for the rental apartment proved a bigger challenge.

Kanitz had gutted the basement and transformed it into a separate suite with large windows, high ceilings, and two entrances, ensuring it met the city’s criteria for a legal rental.

But she hit a major snag: The redesigned house was considered brand new, so it didn’t meet a time-based zoning condition that only allows homes older than five years to have secondary suites.

“In the meantime, there’s one less one bedroom apartment out there for someone who’s looking right now,” Kanitz said.

The mom and property manager is among those hoping the incoming city council will loosen current zoning regulations — which prohibit secondary suites in a certain types of dwellings in different areas of the city — to help both homeowners and tenants.

And there’s growing hope for change: Throughout November, the city is holding public consultations across the city to share proposed plans to “simplify” the process, while hearing feedback from the public. 

“I think that we need to begin to address the housing crisis in our city, and I think that loosening zoning in Toronto is going to hit it two ways,” Kanitz said. “More affordable rentals for tenants, and the ability to qualify for mortgages for homeowners.”

Call me a cynic here folks (it wouldn’t be the first time), but I see the words “legal rental,” and I laugh.

In the world of real estate, that’s simply an oxymoron.

We could never actually find accurate, quantifiable data on this, but as an agent, I would estimate that over 90% of all basement apartments in Toronto are illegal.

Maybe more.

It’s conceivable that 19 out of 20 basement ��units” in the City of Toronto, no matter how you define them, whether basement apartment, auxiliary unit, nanny suite, granny suite, et al, are illegal.

Why the units are illegal, is a whole other story.  It’s a whole other level of insanity!

To be quite honest, and at the risk of admitting naivety, I will say that I always knew basement apartments were difficult to legalize, not to mention expensive, but I didn’t know how expensive until I read a Toronto Star article by renowned Toronto lawyer, Bob Aaron, a few years back.

That was quite easy to find, here:

“Extravagant Fees Crush Legal Basement Apartments”

Mr. Aaron regularly writes for the Toronto Star about all things real estate, but it’s his columns on basement apartments that have really stuck with me over the years.  I’ll put together a list at the bottom of the post.

In the article above, written in 2016, Mr. Aaron wrote:

In the face of a serious housing shortage in the GTA, the City of Toronto is actively discouraging homeowners from legally adding one or two units to their houses by making it financially unfeasible.

Last week I received an email from Ben, who explained his dilemma.

He wrote, “I bought a house with my son with the intent of living in it with my wife (both retired) on the ground floor and my son and his family on the second floor. My son is carrying a huge mortgage on his half of the house. We thought two basement apartments would help him with his mortgage.”

They hired an architect at considerable expense to prepare plans to add a rear addition so that the house would have four dwelling units with two side walkouts, a rear deck and a new detached garage.

That’s when the trouble began. After spending a great deal of money on architectural drawings, and another $5,000 to the city to apply for building permits, Ben was told that his application triggered four additional fees:

A development charge of $80,000 (that is not a misprint).

An education development charge of $4,500 which goes to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

A parkland fee of $72,000 based on property value. and

A road damage deposit of $2,400.

Ben calculated the total fees payable to the city, including the $5,000 permit fee, at $161,684 just to add two units, all of which is payable before a shovel goes into the ground or any interior work begins.

He wrote, “I bought a house with my son with the intent of living in it with my wife (both retired) on the ground floor and my son and his family on the second floor. My son is carrying a huge mortgage on his half of the house. We thought two basement apartments would help him with his mortgage.”

They hired an architect at considerable expense to prepare plans to add a rear addition so that the house would have four dwelling units with two side walkouts, a rear deck and a new detached garage.

That’s when the trouble began. After spending a great deal of money on architectural drawings, and another $5,000 to the city to apply for building permits, Ben was told that his application triggered four additional fees:

A development charge of $80,000 (that is not a misprint).

An education development charge of $4,500 which goes to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

A parkland fee of $72,000 based on property value. and

A road damage deposit of $2,400.

Ben calculated the total fees payable to the city, including the $5,000 permit fee, at $161,684 just to add two units, all of which is payable before a shovel goes into the ground or any interior work begins.

There are those that will argue, “Hey, if you want something of value, you have to pay for it!  Nothing in life is free!”

I hear that argument.

Except that, in my opinion, the applicant already owns the house, and has already paid land transfer tax, and continues to pay property tax.

An $80,000 development charge?  A nonsense, made-up $72,000 “parkland fee?”

Don’t get me started on the fee to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.  I wonder how the Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and Anarchists feel…

This is why most people don’t apply for that “holy grail” certificate that tells an owner of a Toronto home that their basement apartment is legal.

That, and because I’m sure that the certificate itself would come with charge.

And that charge would probably come with a fee in order to pay it, much like the $75 feet that the City of Toronto administers when somebody pays their hefty land transfer tax bill, but I digress…

I suppose I’m opening up the argument that, “If people don’t want to pay for something, then they should just do it illegally,” and we can see where that gets us.  This applies to just about everything we do and see on a daily basis, and you can imagine where it would lead.  Don’t want to pay to get your car past the legal standards?  Just drive it and hope you don’t kill somebody.  Don’t like the workers safety requirements?  Just hope they don’t fall off the scaffolding and die!  And on, and on, and on.

But even my opponents here would have to concede that when you look at that list above, they are simply fees, and nothing more.  Development charge, education charge, parkland fee, road damage deposit, and a permit.

And as Mr. Aaron noted, that’s before ANY work has started.

So why would anybody build a legal basement apartment?

That was rhetorical, or at least meant to be.  Because they answer is, “They wouldn’t.”

And that’s the problem that exists in Toronto today, one that the City of Toronto is looking to address.

Of course, my cynical side will point to the fact that as always, the government is acting slowly and, as the CBC article explains, “Holding public consultations.”

My issue is not the fact that the government is consulting the public, in fact, I wish the government did more of that.

My issue is that, all too often, the government develops a committee, to put a panel in place, to commission a study, to advise consultants to make recommendations to create reports, to blah, and blah, and blah.  And they spend tens of millions of dollars, often creating new government jobs, and probably awarding contracts in the world of favour-trading.

Soooo…….will the topic of basement apartments in Toronto be any different?

The example in the CBC article above is just so ironic!  Because the Ontario Liberals last year sought to end “short term” rentals, in that it removes a full-time, long-term rental from the market, and yet this example shows us a woman who can’t legally rent her basement unit out, so she’s AirBnB’ing it instead.

Oh the irony!

Kudos to Ms. Kanitz for undertaking this “legal apartment” venture, although here she sits, having played by the rules, and learning that the rules in place don’t allow her to gain what she sought.

I understand the rule in place to “maintain neighbourhood character,” but if you can tear down a bungalow, which undoubtedly is adorned by two other bungalows (or two other McMansions), then are you really maintaining any character?  How does an unseen basement apartment in a 3,000 square foot house trump the 3,000 square foot house in place of the bungalow?

Unfortunately, this whole situation screams “grey area,” and that’s a problem unto itself.

We can’t expect the City of Toronto to step in and make a hands-on decision for every application, based on a thorough investigation of the property, the neighbourhood, and the request.  That’s why we have “rules,” after all.

So will this come down to a battle?  “Housing crisis vs. character and integrity of community?”

Or is there a happy medium?

  –

  Bob Aaron articles on basement apartments:

July 10th, 2010: “RECO Decision Heralds New Rules About Basement Apartments”

March 16th, 2012: “Basement Apartments Must Comply With Zoning, Fire, Building, and Electric Codes”

March 30th, 2012: “Basement Apartments Are A Minefield For The Uninformed”

October 3rd, 2014: “Agents On The Hook For Illegal In-Law Suite”

The post What Is The City Doing About Basement Apartments? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

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Insurance Underwriting: Anybody know of any companies that would underwrite and brand a home insurance policy?

"Insurance Underwriting: Anybody know of any companies that would underwrite and brand a home insurance policy?

I am with a home improvement magazine which specializes in advertisements and we are interested in finding an underwriter that would be willing to brand a product  a home insurance policy. The underwriter will handle all daily operations regarding the insurance in itself, and in turn, we would divert all applicable traffic to you via our publications. Our magazine has an extremely large following, and is trusted and well respected.  I am interested in names and phone numbers from probable companies which may be able to assist us. Please, valid answers only. Thanks!

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freeautoinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

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I pay insurance for my car. Shouldn't car insurance cover anything needing fixed on your car? What is the point of paying for insurance, when the insurance doesn't even cover repairs? I pay for supposed FULL COVERAGE , shouldn't this cover everything, ITS A BIG F-ING SCAM!!!""

Can I register my car without insurance in Utah?

my registeration on my car lapsed in april, I do not drive the car but in Utah you can not even park it out on the street without it being registered. so I was wondering since some of my neighbors are wanting my parking spot since they are moving in can I just register my car since I have enough money to get it registered but I do not want to pay the monthly insurance on it since I am not driving it I am just holding on to it until my daughter turns of age to take it.... thanks.....""

Teen insurance for a car!!!!!! 10pts?

Ok. For Christmas.. I'm getting a 2007 Toyota Camry. I Live in Florida, I was wondering what's the cheapest insurance I could get ? I don't want to pay for expensive insurance.. I will need full coverage I'm guessing? I'm 16. If I just add my car too my grandmothers insurance will that be cheaper ?? Thanks ????""

Insurance Underwriting: Anybody know of any companies that would underwrite and brand a home insurance policy?

I am with a home improvement magazine which specializes in advertisements and we are interested in finding an underwriter that would be willing to brand a product  a home insurance policy. The underwriter will handle all daily operations regarding the insurance in itself, and in turn, we would divert all applicable traffic to you via our publications. Our magazine has an extremely large following, and is trusted and well respected.  I am interested in names and phone numbers from probable companies which may be able to assist us. Please, valid answers only. Thanks!

How much is car insurance for a 17 year old on parents insurance?

I don't want any witty Too expensive, thats how much it is answers. I will be 17 this July, and my dad is going to insure me on his insurance, he has had his license for 55+ years and the car will probably be a Ford Fiesta. We just need rough estimates. Thanks, George.""

Should my 85 year old grandparents but life insurance?

I am very upset with this insurance company who sold my 85 year old grandfather some life insurance. He gets $5000 worth for $91 per month! what a rip-off! They REALLY want to buy some insurance . does anyone know the best option for them? Please help!

Uninspected car covered by insurance in MA?

I've been driving my car uninspected for a while now because I haven't had the money (or the time to fix it on my own) and I know it will fail inspection. Does anybody know if my car would be covered by insurance anyways. (I have USAA)

Does My job Have to Give me health insurance? New York?

I am employed in new york. My job offers health insurance to some higher up employees, but not to full time hourly employees. I heard from someone that the law was that if a business offers health insurance to an employee, they have to offer it to all. is this right?""

How do i switch my auto insurance policy before my term is up?

I currently have Direct Auto insurance, but i would like to switch companies to get a cheaper rate. i never had to cancel my insurance before the term is up, and my term isnt up till november 2010. my question is, how do i do that (if i can), and will i be charged for it?""

Whats the best motorcycle insurance in ottawa for an 18 year old?

Whats the best motorcycle insurance in ottawa for an 18 year old?

Car Insurance for a friend?

I have a friend (single mom of 2) and she needs to get cheap car insurance on her ford explore. She let it lapse for 6 months and now her loan company wants to repo her car, even though she has made every car payment. (she leases her car)...(kinda like rent to own) She got a quote from my agent, but it was going to be way too much for her. I am guessing since she still owes on the car she has to have full coverage. And can only afford less than $100.00 a month on it. She is a renter, she is going to school, and has bad credit. Are there any companies out there that she can get a good deal or at least get coverage for 6 months and re-apply with a better company?? The only one I have found out there was the general.com. And they seem to be ok...but I don't know what other options she has. Thanks for reading this!! 10 points to the best answer!!""

16 year old insurance for a moped UK?

Hey, i'm thinking of buying a moped but before i buy one, i need to make sure that the insurance won't be too expensive otherwise i won't be able to afford it. I will basically be using the moped to get to college and back home. Any ideas as to how much insurance will cost on average? I am currently 16 years of age and will be turning 17 in December 2013. I live out of london if that helps. Thanks in advance :)""

The minimum amount your auto insurance must cover per accident is:?

In California is? A. $15,000; 30,000; 5,000 B. $10,000; $25,000; $5,000 C. $20,000; $25,000; $15,000 D. $5,000; $15,000; $10,000 Thanks!""

Is insure.com legit?

I was wondering if the site insure.com is legit and If they have good rates

How to get cheaper car insurance?

I'm 18 and want to get insured. How much would it be? I've been passed since July? What if I get my dad the registered keeper and me second driver? My mate she's 18 and she's got insurance. Come on, there must be a way!""

Which is better hmo or ppo insurance?

Which is better hmo or ppo insurance?

How much does credit affect the amount paid for car insurance?

How much does credit affect the amount paid for car insurance?

Cost of 350z insurance for 18 year old.?

Hi, I was playing around with insurance quotes form Geico and in order to insure a 270hp sportscar costs as much as a regular family sedan? It gave me a quote for 158$ per month which seems low. IS this actualy the price of insurance for a car like this?""

How does having a salvaged title affect insurance?

Does it cost more? My dad told me that you're unable to get full coverage with a salvaged title.

Which auto insurence is the cheaper?

i whan insurance may car but which one is cheaper

THE ULTIMATE CHEAPEST INSURANCE?

What insurance company is THE cheapest? but has great coverage or provides the same services as other insurance?

Insurance for modified first car?

I've bought my first car, it is lowered but has no performance enhancing mods..I'm on a learner permit with no previous insurance. Will I be able to ge insured??? Im half afraid to tell them when looking for a quote in case they all blank refuse me. I would rather tell them though. I wouldnt mind paying a bit extra as long as its not a huge amount. Does anyone have experience with this? Did you just get refused, or did it just go up...and if it did, by how much did it go up? Thanks.""

What is the cheapest insurance group?

I'm 17, girl, doing my driving lessons and am planning to get a car soon. Not bothered which car, i just want a cheap, affordable one. I've been hearing about insurance groups recently which is confusing me because no one around me can adequately explain it. So, i just would like to know what the cheeapest insurance group is and if you could also please explain a little more on insurance groups so that i'm a bit more informed.. thank you""

Sporty cars with low insurance group?

Hi, ive just turned 15 and im planning on getting a job if i can in January, my aim is to save up to buy a car, my dream car is a subaru impreza wrx sti, but although the used cars are resonably cheap and after a while i can afford it, the insurance is incredibly high!, so im looking for a good looking, resonably fast good looking car that can hold 4 people or 5, this is obviously a tricky task but if you could help id appriciate it!, I was also looking at the 350z but althogh insurance is cheaper its only 2 seats, and as i turn 17 at the start of sixth form, i will be 1 of the first to hopefully get a car, meaning, transporting friends to town at lunch is a key thing :D, Thanks alot Mike PS:, please let it be sporty, i dont want to moddify anything, maybe a nice spoiler and scurts, thank you!!!! :)""

I live in NC and I cant afford my car insurance; I'm on disability and I can't drive.?

Can someone else get insurance and use my car and take me to appts.?

How much is car insurance for a range rover sport 2010?

I have a friend how is looking to get a 2st hand range rover sport 2010 but Is worried about the insurance. What is the range of car insurance prices for the basic driver

Financing a new car and with no insurance?

could I finance a new car then have it sit in my drive way with no plates or registration to avoid paying for insurance ontill I pay the car off

Can I buy an expensive sports car and insurance under my moms name?

I want to purchase a brand new Nissan GTR from the dealership (I have the money ready) and want to buy get full coverage car insurance for it too. However, Since I am male (I'm 28 years old) the car insurace is way too expensive. If I were to have my mom come purchase the car for me as her being the primary legal owner with me being the co signer (I am paying for it with my own money upfront) and have her be the primary legal full coverage driver on that car in the insurance policy with me being able to drive it too with full coverage will this work in order to get a drastically lower monthly insurance payment? It's perfectly fine with my mom being the legal owner as long as my mouth is shut to the insurance company. I also don't mind paying for the both of us on this car as long as my insurance payment is lower. What do you think? Isn't it a brilliant idea?""

How can i get cheap insurance?

I'am going to be 17 soon and i going to buy a car so i was wondering what car should i buy or what shoul i do to get cheap insurance, because at the moment it's cost about 3.500 and that just too expensive... help please""

Insurance Underwriting: Anybody know of any companies that would underwrite and brand a home insurance policy?

I am with a home improvement magazine which specializes in advertisements and we are interested in finding an underwriter that would be willing to brand a product  a home insurance policy. The underwriter will handle all daily operations regarding the insurance in itself, and in turn, we would divert all applicable traffic to you via our publications. Our magazine has an extremely large following, and is trusted and well respected.  I am interested in names and phone numbers from probable companies which may be able to assist us. Please, valid answers only. Thanks!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/air-canada-travel-insurance-quote-mary-peacock/"

[mysticaltyphoonnightmare-blog]

The Writing Process

Whether you know it or not, there’s a process to writing – which many writers follow naturally.

If you’re just getting started as a writer, though, or if you always find it a struggle to produce an essay, short story or blog, following the writing process will help.

I’m going to explain what each stage of the writing process involves, and I’ll offer some tips for each section that will help out if you’re still feeling stuck!

1. Prewriting

Have you ever sat staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank document on your computer screen?

You might have skipped the vital first stage of the writing process: prewriting.

This covers everything you do before starting your rough draft.

As a minimum, prewriting means coming up with an idea!

Ideas and Inspiration

Ideas are all around you.

If you want to write but you don’t have any ideas, try:

  Using a writing prompt to get you started.

  Writing about incidents from your daily life, or childhood.

  Keeping a notebook of ideas – jotting down those thoughts that occur throughout the day.

  Creating a vivid character, and then writing about him/her.

See also How to Generate Hundreds of Writing Ideas.

Tip: Once you have an idea, you need to expand on it.

Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into your writing – you’ll end up with a badly structured piece.

Building on Your Idea

These are a couple of popular methods you can use to add flesh to the bones of your idea:

 Free writing: Open a new document or start a new page, and write everything that comes into your head about your chosen topic. Don’t stop to edit, even if you make mistakes.

  Brainstorming: Write the idea or topic in the center of your page. Jot down ideas that arise from it – sub-topics or directions you could take with the article.

Once you’ve done one or both of these, you need to select what’s going into your first draft.

Planning and Structure

Some pieces of writing will require more planning than others.

Typically, longer pieces and academic papers need a lot of thought at this stage.

First, decide which ideas you’ll use.

During your free writing and brainstorming, you’ll have come up with lots of thoughts.

Some belong in this piece of writing: others can be kept for another time.

Then, decide how to order those ideas.

Try to have a logical progression.

Sometimes, your topic will make this easy: in this article, for instance, it made sense to take each step of the writing process in order.

For a short story, try the eight-point story arc.

2. Writing

Sit down with your plan beside you, and start your first draft (also known as the rough draft or rough copy).

At this stage, don’t think about word-count, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Don’t worry if you’ve gone off-topic, or if some sections of your plan don’t fit too well.

Just keep writing!

If you’re a new writer, you might be surprised that professional authors go through multiple drafts before they’re happy with their work.

This is a normal part of the writing process – no-one gets it right first time.

Some things that many writers find helpful when working on the first draft include:

 Setting aside at least thirty minutes to concentrate: it’s hard to establish a writing flow if you’re just snatching a few minutes here and there.

  Going somewhere without interruptions: a library or coffee shop can work well, if you don’t have anywhere quiet to write at home.

  Switching off distracting programs: if you write your first draft onto a computer, you might find that turning off your Internet connection does wonders for your concentration levels! When I’m writing fiction, I like to use the free program Dark Room (you can find more about it on our collection of writing software).

You might write several drafts, especially if you’re working on fiction.

Your subsequent drafts will probably merge elements of the writing stage and the revising stage.

Tip: Writing requires concentration and energy.

If you’re a new writer, don’t try to write for hours without stopping. Instead, give yourself a time limit (like thirty minutes) to really focus – without checking your email!

3. Revising

Revising your work is about making “big picture” changes.

You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs, and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will need.

Everyone needs to revise – even talented writers.

The revision stage is sometimes summed up with the A.R.R.R.

(Adding, Rearranging, Removing, Replacing) approach:

Adding

What else does the reader need to know?

If you haven’t met the required word-count, what areas could you expand on?

This is a good point to go back to your prewriting notes – look for ideas which you didn’t use.

Rearranging

Even when you’ve planned your piece, sections may need rearranging.

Perhaps as you wrote your essay, you found that the argument would flow better if you reordered your paragraphs.

Maybe you’ve written a short story that drags in the middle but packs in too much at the end.

Removing

Sometimes, one of your ideas doesn’t work out.

Perhaps you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out a few paragraphs.

Maybe that funny story doesn’t really fit with the rest of your article.

Replacing

Would more vivid details help bring your piece to life?

Do you need to look for stronger examples and quotations to support your argument?

If a particular paragraph isn’t working, try rewriting it.

Tip: If you’re not sure what’s working and what isn’t, show your writing to someone else.

This might be a writers’ circle, or just a friend who’s good with words.

Ask them for feedback.

It’s best if you can show your work to several people, so that you can get more than one opinion.

4. Editing

The editing stage is distinct from revision, and needs to be done after revising.

Editing involves the close-up view of individual sentences and words.

It needs to be done after you’ve made revisions on a big scale: or else you could agonize over a perfect sentence, only to end up cutting that whole paragraph from your piece.

When editing, go through your piece line by line, and make sure that each sentence, phrase and word is as strong as possible. Some things to check for are:

  Have you used the same word too many times in one sentence or paragraph? Use a thesaurus to find alternatives.

  Are any of your sentences hard to understand? Rewrite them to make your thoughts clear.

 Which words could you cut to make a sentence stronger? Words like “just” “quite”, “very”, “really” and “generally” can often be removed.

 Are your sentences grammatically correct? Keep a careful look out for problems like subject-verb agreement and staying consistent in your use of the past, present or future tense.

  Is everything spelt correctly? Don’t trust your spell-checker – it won’t pick up every mistake. Proofread as many times as necessary.

  Have you used punctuation marks correctly? Commas often cause difficulties. You might want to check out the Daily Writing Tips articles on punctuation.

Tip: Print out your work and edit on paper.

Many writers find it easier to spot mistakes this way.

5. Publishing

The final step of the writing process is publishing.

This means different things depending on the piece you’re working on.

Bloggers need to upload, format and post their piece of completed work.

Students need to produce a final copy of their work, in the correct format.

This often means adding a bibliography, ensuring that citations are correct, and adding details such as your student reference number.

Journalists need to submit their piece (usually called “copy”) to an editor.

Again, there will be a certain format for this.

Fiction writers may be sending their story to a magazine or competition.

Check guidelines carefully, and make sure you follow them.

If you’ve written a novel, look for an agent who represents your genre.

(There are books like Writer’s Market, published each year, which can help you with this.)

Tip: Your piece of writing might never be published.

That’s okay – many bestselling authors wrote lots of stories or articles before they got their first piece published.

Nothing that you write is wasted, because it all contributes to your growth as a writer.

The five stages of the writing process are a framework for writing well and easily.

You might want to bookmark this post so that you can come back to it each time you start on a new article, blog post, essay or story: use it as a checklist to help you.

[statrano]

Learn Smarter, Not Harder: 5 Essential Google Classroom Apps

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Nancy with a great suggestion for an article topic: Google Classroom. She writes from her perspective as a Kansas City teacher who loves teaching and blogging. I think you’ll enjoy her ideas on essential apps for her Google Classroom:

Not much time has passed since Google Classroom first entered K-12 and higher ed classes, outmaneuvering all other classroom software providers with its availability and a great variety of apps.

A well-known fact: A large portion of every teacher’s workflow is actually consumed by the assignment review, collecting the student work, notifying the class about upcoming events, changes in the timetable, revision, and grading.

In Google Classroom many educators like me found a great additional functionality and apps, which allowed managing the workflow efficiently, leaving more time for the teaching.

In our school we started using Google Classroom LMS as a way to collect, review and grade the assignment, now we use it as a basis for creating greater learning opportunities becoming real due to the apps that hugely extend the functional set and diversify the learning.

Questioning the students

Because Google Classroom doesn’t have the functionality for building interactive quizzes I started searching for the app that would make the answering process engaging for my students, that’s when I stumbled upon Quizlet. Sure thing, simple questioning can still be performed in the Google forms, but Quizlet is what helped me to make the whole process engaging and interactive at once. Here the learners use the study cards, play educational games, and take tests that will be graded automatically.

At recess, I usually input the new vocabulary words in Quizlet, with cards and audio files so that students could access them later while doing the homework.

Checking the written assignments

Before we adopted Google Classroom, I used to check all of the essays in my class via Google Search, copying and pasting the written fragments of text into the browser if I had doubts. This kind of quality control of the written assignments appeared to be kind of random and ineffective. Even if I didn’t find the matches on the web, it didn’t certainly guarantee the student wasn’t just recycling brother’s or sister’s essay from the previous year.

  For now, there’s only a one similarity checker available for Google Classroom, and, luckily for me, it solves all problems I mentioned. Unicheck helps to scan the assignments across the internet, open access repositories and private databases, generating the report automatically and landing them on my email. Lately, I discovered they also have a plagiarism checker Google Docs add-on that is very convenient for students as they can pre-check their writing independently.

Helping without interrupting

In general, in Google Classroom you can create announcements, ask something, and get a reply. Using such features, our class formed a thread dedicated to the particular topic, let it be the extra important reminder, a permission form for the trip or the documentary we saw in the class.

It was a good option. Still, reminders serve the purpose in a very limited way. GoGuardian chat helps to communicate important announcements personally so that no one in the class gets interrupted. I send announcements to the particular student or the entire class when needed, for this, the particular class should be in the active mode. Thus, when we have Biology class I’m able to see, read and message the students in the Biology class; with my Cytology students, I’m interacting only when I set the Cytology class as active. No more mess in the classroom.

Making the grading transparent

Grading assignments in Google Classroom is not always an easy thing. Sooner or later you face situations when you have to explain to someone their grade in details, point out the gaps in the knowledge, and light the way to the personal improvement. Now I can’t find the better way to do this than using personalizing grading rubrics in ForAllRubrics. I create the class and put there the names of the students, select the pre-made rubric format or create my own. For example, the essay’s main part should include an argument and at least 2-3 supportive points, if I can trace those in the text the student gets more grading points for each with an understanding that hides behind the final grade.

ForAllRubrics is very convenient as after grading I can get daily class reports and weekly progress reports. The data considering my class’s progress is measurable; basing on it, I can judge where we are going and where we are at the moment regarding the whole program.

Taking virtual trips together

Learning complex concepts in classes can be a struggle. While some students perfectly absorb textual information, the others need real examples to fully imagine how things work. In NearPod, teachers can find the variety of interactive lessons already recorded to apply them in your class, including the virtual field trips. While the lesson is presented on the main screen, the students can also see the presentation on their own devices, asking the questions or giving the responses to the answers.

Being connected to their own devices students don’t have to worry about skipping valuable information. They can always get back to the point missed and catch up.

As well, in NearPod, students can go through the interactive quizzes and polls, actively participating in the classroom’s workflow.

To sum it up

What I found the most compelling about Google Classroom, is that the teacher actually makes an emphasis on growing the problem-solving and teamwork skills of the students rather than focusing on secondary things such as revision and lesson planning routines. If you’re already using Google Classroom, just find the right applications that will help you challenge, engage, and teach your students more effectively.

— Nancy is an enthusiastic teacher, author, editor and blogger based in Kansas City. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at St. Petersburg College and has been educating high schoolers for over seven years. Technology has always been her second lifelong passion. After getting her master’s degree in Technology and Learning at Western Governors University, she participated in “The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning”  research. That’s when she first realized that every teacher can transform the daily classroom routine into engaging and exciting experience.  By this time, she had accumulated many stories, personal teaching tips, and daily workflow lifehacks that she shares through blogging. You can find her articles on ed tech educational sources like teach.com, teacherswithapps.com, students.org, and collegelifestyles.org.

More on Google:

4 Great Alternatives to Google Classroom

How to Use Google Apps

What is Google Keep and Why Use it in Your Classroom?

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 25 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thriller series, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days

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