#I know Chicago focuses on making sure people have access to parks

[spookykestrel]

I hate this dumb city I live in bc I really don’t have any access to wildlife and nature it’s a 15 minute drive just to get to the closest wooded park accessible to the public and it’s not even that big comparatively like chicago has more nature than this

[ororowrites]

Stripped -  (Yahya x Black OC)

Sweet Thang Series - Chapter 2

Warnings: Language

Word count: 2,735

One-Shot: By the Open Fire

Chapters: 1

By the end of the first song, Candace was in her comfort zone. Yahya never let his eyes leave her and she no longer felt shy. The club had rules about no touching but Candace suddenly wanted this man’s hands all over her. Those long fingers and smooth brown skin were doing things to her. Maybe it was the liquor making her horny over a man she didn’t even know. 

Little did Candace know, Yahya had thoughts racing in his mind too. He couldn’t stop thinking about her petite body under his or how her lips would feel on him. Candace was a beautiful woman and something about her intrigued Yahya. When she straddled his legs and began to grind on his lap, the urge to touch her grew. The scent of her perfume was as intoxicating as her hips, almost putting a spell on him. 

It must have been the alcohol that gave Candace the courage to make her next move. She could feel his breath on her lips before they were interrupted by the dance timer. The euphoria they had experienced quickly disappeared as they fell back to Earth. 

“Shit, sorry,” Candace apologized, swinging her legs to the floor. Yahya became any other customer and she held her hand out to collect her payment. “Thank you. You enjoy the rest of your night.” 

Yahya opened his mouth but Candace was already heading out the door, stuffing the bills in her bra. 

-------

Well into the next morning, Yahya was still thinking about the mystery girl from the club. He’d been to many strip clubs and never felt a connection with any of the ladies he encountered. Something about her grabbed him and sucked him in and had her on his mind hours later. 

“You still stuck on that hoe from the club.” Damon lit his blunt and relaxed his head against the back of the sofa. “Nigga, we ain’t taking you to the club again.”

“Word on the street is that the shawties at Dynasty have golden pussy or some shit,” his brother added with a drug induced chuckle. 

“Respect the ladies, man. Being a stripper doesn’t make them hoes. And Kevin that’s enough kush for you. Golden pussy? Really,” Yahya snatched the blunt from his friend and put it back in the ashtray. 

“Aight, let me respect the skrippas. But still, you don’t know her. What if she’s crazy? You will be going back home tomorrow night and no tellin’ when you’re coming back to LA, so why does it matter,” Damon explained. 

“Both of ya’ll are some fucking haters. Trash asses.” Yahya grabbed his phone and took his troubles to the balcony. Kevin and Damon were great friends but their childish, misogynistic antics got on his nerves when he was around them. At times, he felt like he was outgrowing them, even though he still considered them brothers he never had. While he was looking to settle down sooner rather than later, they were stuck in the same phase they were in throughout high school and college and it appeared to be a never ending cycle. 

Was it ridiculous to think that the stripper he met at the club was the one? Yep. But, that didn’t keep Yahya from wishing he could see her again before he was back to the reality of being jobless. 

-------

“Are you sure you saw him with her?” The very question had Candace’s heart pounding against her chest. Natalie, Maxwell’s ex-girlfriend, had entered the picture again after Candace thought her dropping out of school was the blessing they needed. Now with her back in California via North Carolina, she had access to Maxwell as did he to her. 

“Sis, would I lie to you? I saw that bastard with her in the Commons. Took everything out of me not to run up on them and start whooping ass,” Trinity said, fuming on her sister’s behalf. Truth be told, she never liked Maxwell and knew the type of guy he was from the beginning. Maxwell was charming and had the ability to make any girl weak in the knees. Especially a woman like her sister that was in love with being in love. 

Anger built from the pits of her stomach. Feelings of betrayal had never quite faded since they had made up and she ignored it in the name of love. “Did he see you?” 

“Nope. But I’ll make myself seen when it comes to my sister. Candy, why are you still trying to make things work with this immature, cheating ass, motherfucker? I try to hold my tongue like you ask but I refuse to hold it again. You’re too good for him.” When it came to family. Trinity was the sister that would physically fight for her siblings. At times, Candace admired her sister’s tenacity and wished she wasn’t as timid when it came to relationships with people. That was one negative trait that kept Candace anchored to people that did not deserve her time. 

“I honestly don’t know.” Tears began to form in Candace’s eyes as the shame set in for her. She knew Maxwell was no good for her but he always found a way back into her heart. “I’m...um...I’m going to talk to him.”

“Candace,” Trinity called out, noticing her sister’s emotions getting the best of her. “Please don’t cry over that man. Please.” 

If only Candace knew her worth. 

-------

Candace took the scenic route to Maxwell’s apartment, playing different scenarios in her head on the way. If she murdered him, where would she hide the body? Did she just hit him with questions or soften him up first? 

None of those scenarios played out once Candace reached her destination and was met by Natalie in the hall outside Maxwell’s apartment. The three of them froze, each of them searching for words to break up the awkward moment. 

“I should get going. I’ll call you when I get home,” Natalie mumbled, lowering her eyes and pushing past Candace. 

“I knew that apology was a lie and you were full of shit,” Candace spoke through clenched teeth. She was taught to never put her hands on anyone and it took a strong prayer to keep her fists at her sides. “What the hell is Natalie doing here and don’t even think about lying.” 

Maxwell didn’t even put up a fight. Besides, after the news he had learned, he didn’t have the energy to lie or smooth talk his way out of this one. 

“What was she doing here, Maxwell?”

“Natalie’s pregnant,” he replied, leaning against the wall across from Candace. He watched as his girlfriend’s face fell blank. “I fucked up and I’m sorry for that. You don’t deserve the shit I put you through.” 

Still lost for words, Candace slid down the wall until her rear hit the concrete floor. Pregnant. That had to be the final straw, right? The game they had been playing for the past three years had come to a tragic end that Candace feared. 

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I know I stay apologizing but I mean it. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“Yeah, you did.” 

Maxwell kept his distance. “Did what?” 

“If you didn’t mean to hurt me, this would have stopped after the first incident. But I gave you chance after chance and you still didn’t fucking stop. I’m done, Max. I can’t put myself through this shit because it’s obvious you won’t stop. I’m foolish to even think you would,” Candace spoke in a hushed tone, never raising her voice or releasing the tears that threatened to fall. 

“I’m-”

“I don’t wanna hear another one of your tired excuses. I sure the hell hope your dick is clean. I’ll come back for my shit another day.” 

“Candy, come on-” 

“Move! Don’t fucking touch me.” Blood rushed to Candace’s face as the embarrassment set in and she could no longer look Maxwell in the eye. This relationship had become a part of her identity and she allowed it to consume her so much that she forgot to love herself. “We’re done, Maxwell.” 

Candace ignored the apologies and groveling. A weight lifted off her shoulders and she didn’t intend to put it back ever again. 

------

Yahya had one more day to enjoy Los Angeles before he had to return to San Francisco to figure out his next move. He was desperate to burn off steam and decided to hit the park for a workout. The skies were clear, granting Yahya  a good dose of vitamin D while he ran the steps. He pushed himself to do one more set before taking a lap around the trail for a cool down. Yahya was so focused, he didn’t notice Candace approaching him from the opposite sidewalk. 

“Hey...wassup,” he said, removing his headphones when he finally saw the brown beauty in his path. 

“Hey. Didn’t think I’d run into one of my customers...ever,” Candace chuckled nervously. The breakup had her emotions all over the place and gave her the bravado to approach a man from the club. Keeping those two lives separate  was important to her except in that moment. 

“Oh, yeah? Well, I don’t want to think of myself as your customer. That’s a little weird,” Yahya admitted, earning a nod from Candace in agreement. “But since we’re outside of your job, can I get your real name?” 

“Candace.”

“Nice to meet you Miss Candace. I’m Yahya.”

A short, awkward moment of silence gave Candace time to get a better look at the man she had danced on in a dark strip club. Beautiful dark brown skin covered a body that looked like it was sculpted with the utmost care. If you looked up tall, dark and handsome in the dictionary, Yahya’s picture would be used as the definition. Once her eyes traveled back up to his face, his bright, white smile captured her and held on for dear life. The man was fine and seeing him in the light had Candace acting like a shy, school girl. 

“You live around here,” Candace asked, breaking the silence. 

“No, I’m visiting my boys from back home. I’m living in San Francisco right now. I go back tomorrow evening,” he explained, looking Candace over. She was petite compared to his 6′3 frame. “You?” 

“I’m from Chicago but moved here to go to school. Trying to live the dream, ya know?” 

“I hear that,” Yahya nodded. “Well Candace, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we ran into each other. Would you like to get a recovery smoothie with me? My treat. Unless you’re still in the middle of your workout.” 

“I can cut out early. I know a good smoothie spot not too far from here if you don’t mind walking.” 

Yahya’s smile grew, “Sounds like a plan, let me put on a shirt.” 

Or not, Candace thought to herself. 

--------

After the ice was broken, Candace and Yahya began to enjoy each other’s company. The break-up earlier that day was still on Candace’s mind, but she felt at ease being around Yahya. Sure, they didn’t know one another on a deep level, yet she could sense Yahya’s compassion. When she spoke, his eyes stayed on her and he truly listened. One thing that irked her about Maxwell was his inability to listen below the surface level. 

“That’s too bad. Many of these fellas out here don’t appreciate their lady until she’s gone.” Maxwell sounded like many men Yahya knew and the type of man his parents raised him not to be. He could see the hurt in Candace’s face when she described what had led up to the end of their relationship. 

“Yeah, it’s just a shame I wasted my time and my heart on a guy that didn’t want to protect it.”

“His loss, your win.” 

Dumping personal information on a stranger was not how Candace usually moved, nonetheless it felt good. “I’m sorry for treating you like a therapist.”

“Nah, you’re good. You had a rough day. I don’t mind listening.” 

“Thanks, but I wanna hear more about you. What do you do in expensive ass San Francisco,” Candace quizzed, sipping her raspberry/banana smoothie. 

Yahya hoped telling Candace about his unemployment wouldn’t ruin his chances. He still hadn’t shared the news with anyone else. “I was a City Planner for the Mayor’s office but I was laid off on Friday. I honestly don’t even know what the hell I’m going to do when I go back home.” 

One of Candace’s strongest traits was her empathy. She had no issue stepping into a person’s shoes and feeling what they felt. Those that were worthy enough to spend time with her felt Candace’s warmth right away. Yahya could feel it, which is why he felt comfortable sharing the news with her.

“I’m sorry, Yahya. Shit sucks when you get well into your career and your job is in another person’s hands,” Candace sucked her teeth and shook her head. “Are you thinking about staying there and getting another job?”

“To be honest, I need a change of scenery. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise because I think I got comfortable in my lifestyle. I loved my job but things were stagnant,” he explained, tracing the lettering on his smoothie cup. “Right now, I’m thinking about taking a break and figuring out what I want to do from there. I’ll get unemployment, so I’ll manage until I find another career that makes me happy.” 

“That’s brave of you. I’m too damn scary and would need to have a plan right away. Good luck with that. You seem to be a determined man so you’ll find your way. I’m hoping I can graduate and get into Yale then we will see if I make a career out of this acting thing. If not, I’ll go back to school for education and teach theatre.” 

“Wow, Yale? I did some acting classes back in the day and they seemed pretty cool. I don’t know if I have the talent to get into a school like Yale though. I need to work on my Denzel cry first.” The two shared a laugh and finished up their smoothies. 

Time passed as their conversation ranged from discussing their childhoods to recent life events. They were so deep into discussion, they didn’t notice that two hours had gone by since they first arrived at the smoothie shop. Candace was more easy going than Yahya thought. That shy exterior had fallen down, exposing the sweet and funny side of her. Like many women in the stripping industry, her persona in the club was a lot different from her true self. He wished he could get to know more of that side.

They walked back towards the park, where their cars were parked on a side street. Yahya walked Candace to her Jeep and waited for her to load the backseat with her duffle bag. 

“Thanks for the smoothie and talk. I needed that more than I thought,” Candace closed the back door and stood in front of the driver’s side door. “Dr. Yahya is a great listener, even though we’re complete strangers.” 

“It doesn’t have to be that way. I wasn’t kidding about taking some acting classes with you when I’m in town,” he replied, flashing his wide grin. 

“I’ll hold you to that Mr. Abdul-Mateen. Like I said, acting is like recess so it’ll be fun. Who knows, maybe you’re a natural at the shit.” 

“We’ll see, we’ll see. I won’t hold you up, you should probably get home before it gets too dark. Text me when you make it.” 

“Alright. Thanks again, Yahya. For real,” Candace’s soft curls blew over her face as the wind picked up. 

“You’re welcome. Thank you for listening to me ramble. Get home safely and don’t forget to let me know.” Yahya leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Candace’s cheek. The simple act almost made her melt into a puddle in the LA street. Opening her car door, Yahya waved her inside. “Bye, Candace.” 

“See you later.” 

Candace drove away feeling like a new chapter of her life was on the horizon and she was ready to face whatever it had in store. 

Taglist: @blackburnbook​ @just-peachee​ @emjayewrites​

Want a tag? Let me know. 

[daughterofthehighlands]

This is my first time writing in the PD world, but this story came out of nowhere and demanded to be written (it happens when you fall asleep reading fanfiction guess). It is also un-betaed. This story is also outside of what I normally write, and is a difficult subject.

Trigger warning child trafficking, nothing graphic.

I own nothing.

JHJH

Kim Burgess climbed into the passenger seat of Detective Jay Halstead's truck, as Hailey Upton started the vehicle.

Looking over at the blond, Kim noticed the bloodshot, rimmed eyed and sighed, knowing that this was going to be harder than it already was.

The team had been called in to investigate possible child abuse at a local school.

It turned out that the abuse was actually trafficking of kids in foster care.

They would be assigned to certain families, stay for a few weeks, then disappear from the distict, school officials being told the children were found permanent homes or were placed with family.

They sent Jay in, undercover, as a gym teacher for the 3rd graders, and where there were 6 kids who were in four different homes.

Jay had become a trusted figure to the children when one girl came to him with a story of a 'brother' that had been taken by a stranger at night and not seen again. The little girl then went missing from school, and her foster sister said that that same stranger had taken her.

Adam Ruzek finally found the missing piece; a Jennifer Winslow worked for the adoption services and had links to black market trading of children. She found families that would take the children and then sent one of the thugs to pick up the child. The parents none the wiser of what was going on, since they were sent by Ms. Winslow and had the badge of the adoption agency.

Jay had called Voight, and had told him his suspicions, adding that he was at the home where 9 kids had gone missing from.

When they had arrived, they found Jay's car door open and blood on the seat.

Now, they were in the process of locating the missing children and hoping that Halstead would be found with them.

Fifteen hours had passed, when they finally got a viable lead, and now they were bringing the children home.

JHJH

Jay woke up to a splitting headache, his shoulder killing him and his hands tied behind his back. He heard the sobs of children and slowly took in his surroundings.

They were in a large horse trailer, if the hay and smell was anything to go by, and they were moving.

JHJH

Hailey was so focused on trying to reach her partner, she was barely paying attention to the tractor in front of them.

"Hailey! Look out!" Kim yelled, reaching for the handle above the door and bracing herself against the dash.

Hailey slammed on the breaks, the bumper of Jay's truck millimeters from the back tire of the truck in front of them. Traffic at a standstill, due to the roadblock that had been set up to check all tractor/ trailers, RVs and other vehicles that could be transporting the children.

Kim looked over at the blond, "That was close. Do you want me to drive?"

Wordlessly, Hailey nodded, both getting out, and switching spaces.

JHJH

Detective Hank Voight looked at the map in front of him that set on the hood of a patrol car and studied it. He looked up as Al stepped next to him, "You got anything?"

Al nodded, "Winslow said that she uses her brother's ranch as a way to smuggle the kids out. She said that they borrow a truck and horse trailer to move them to another location." He pointed at the map, "She also said that they are using this road today and that her brother is innocent."

"Get people over to the ranch, see what truck is missing and if they have the tag number. Same for the trailer. We bring those kids home. TODAY!"

Al nodded once and disappeared into the crowd of officers.

So, I'm not very good at knowing the inside of horse trailers, but this is kind of what I envisioned for it to look like, especially for what I needed to take place.

Fanfiction at it's (not so) finest

And Part 2

Jay fought to stay awake, but it was hard. His shoulder hadn't quit bleeding and his head was pounding. But he had to get these kids somewhere safe, he just didnt know how. Then he saw Kelsey Jennings and hoped she could help.

"Kelsey? Can you help me out? You k ow how you untied those knots at school for that project?"

The eight year old nodded, "Do you think you can untie my hands?"

Again, the little redhead nodded and went to work.

JHJH

Voight sighed as he looked at the passing signs. If there was one thing he knew, it was that they had to stop the truck before it reached the interstate, or those children would be lost, possibly forever.

And they were running out of time. Hailey and Kim were stuck in a road block, unable to move.

Atwater and Ruzek were coming from the opposite direction.

And he and Al were speeding down a back road towards the turn off they were informed would be used.

JHJH

Jay sighed when he hands were freed, and nodded to Kelsey, "Thank you, Kelsey. Steven, come here, please."

Steven was the oldest boy and Kelsy the oldest girl. He was going to need them both, if his plan was to work. Luckily, there was no loose equipment in the trailer, and the windows were cracked to allow them fresh air.

The children were soon all tied as safely to the walls as they could be. If the trailer tipped, they would not be thrown all over the trailer, but would be bounced around in place. Sore and bruised, but hopefully no broken bones, and not possibly thrown out of a window if one busted.

With one more look back at the children, and a smile that showed more confidence than he felt, Detective Jay Halstead went to work on freeing the children.

JHJH

Kim and Hailey finally made their way around the block and started down the side road they were told about. They had been driving for a while when they came upon a horse trailer parked across the road at an angle.

Throwing the truck in park, the jumped out and pulled their side arms.

Hoping that the children were okay and Jay was taking care of them.

That all went out the window when they opened the doors and the children were the only ones available.

Quickly untying them and ushering them outside, Steven and Kelsey told the two women what had happened.

JHJH

"Voight," the sergeant said, answering his phone, "Thanks, Haliey."

Without being told, Al stepped on the gas, neatly passing another vehicle.

"Jay got the children out, but isn't with them. One of the kids said he climbed out the emergency hatch on top and found a way to release the trailer from the truck. Other than some bruising, the kids are all fine."

Al nodded. Their boy was in trouble and he was going to make sure they were there to help him. And as they came around, yet another curve, they saw a truck turned over and no movement.

JHJH

Jay watched at the trailer disconnected and swerved before coming to a complete stop at an angle. He sighed in relief, knowing that the kids were fine, since it didnt tip.

The truck sped faster after the trailer was removed, and that was when he could just barely pick up the sounds of a police scanner.

His team had been made and these guys were going to try and escape the consequences of kidnapping.

He wasn't going to allow it.

And, apparently, the kidnappers weren't going to go down easy. The driver started to swerve and the old road, being uneven, cause them to over correct and the truck to flip.

Jay jumped and rolled as he hit the ground, when he realized what was happening, but still felt the discomfort of drawing in breath, and the cracked ribs that caused it.

Seeing the two men get out of the truck, Jay started towards them. One fell to the ground, halfway out of the vehicle, and didn't move again.

The other saw the detective and attacked.

The fight was over in a matter of minutes, both me on the ground, one with his neck broke, the other with multiple stab wounds and a knife in their chest.

JHJH

Al and Voight ran to the scene and briefly paused.

A man lay halfway out of the over turned truck, clearly dead, unseeing eyes looking up at the cold December sky.

A second perp was laying on the ground, neck at a weird angle, staring at Jay Halstead, who was clearly trying to stay awake.

Voight knelt by Jay and turned his face to look at him, "Hey, kid. You with me?"

Jay tried to focus on the hands that touched him, at first trying to fight them, until his wrists were caught in warm, calloused hands. Hands that were comforting, and the voice was familiar, safe.

Al held Jay's wrists, gently, but firmly, seeing the abrasions on them, but trying to keep him from giving Voight another black eye.

Hank still spoke calmly to the kid, never moving his hand from Jay's face, while Al tried to access the injuries that covered the detective. Both feeling the heat rolling off of Halstead, and worried about what injuries were hidden by the jacket he wore.

"Hank," Olinsky spoke quietly, "he's been shot in the shoulder, has a knife wound in the side, wrists are a mess and then the knife in his chest."

Jay finally got a clear look of the person over him, "Voight, don... wanna die ...lone," it was whispered, paper thin and barely eligible, but the best thing either officer had heard.

Until the younger man started to pass out, "Jay? Halstead! Stay with me, kid! That's an order! Jay!"

JHJH

Dr. Will Halstead stood in the breakroom of Chicago Med and scrubbed his hand down his face, clearing the tears.

Sgt. Hank Voight walked in as Will's fist went through the wall, "I don't think Ms. Goodwin is going to be happy about that."

Will huffed out a laugh, "Probably not. They lost him twice, Hank."

The cop sighed, hands going into his pockets, "I know, kid, I know."

"Connor is doing everything he can. Said it'll take hours to fix the artery the knife was in."

The doctor sat on the couch, leaning forward, head between his hands, "I was worried when he went overseas. Afraid he wouldn't come home. Then he became a cop. And a good one. He's all I have left, and I don't know,-"

Voight sat by him and put his hand on his shoulder, "And you won't ever have to find out, Will. He's the strongest person I know, and we are going to be there for him."

After a moment's thought, he continued, "Plus, he has to take my place as lead over Intelligence, when that time comes. I think I he will take it far beyond what I could ever could. And he will do well. But don't you tell him I said that. I'll deny it."

Will choked out a laugh, and looked at the hole he had put in the wall, "You think she'll notice?"

Sharon Goodwin walked in, "Will, Jay is out of surgery. They'll be moving him to SICU once he is out of recovery. I thought you might want to go up to the waiting room so you'll be there when he gets moved."

Will stood, as did Voight, "Thank you. We'll go there now."

As she went to leave, she spoke again, not bothering to turn, "And Will? Make sure you patch that wall. And don't put a picture in front of it, either. Egg shell paint is what we used in here."

Voight slightly smiled, "Yep. She'll notice."

JHJH

The return to consciousness isn't what isn't seems like in the movies. You don't wake up immediately and go on about your daily life. You don't hold conversations for several minutes either.

No, it's so much slower.

You hear things around you, but it doesn't automatically click what it is. You may try to wake up, but you pretty much are out of it for quite a while.

The same went for Jay, the first several times he tried to wake up. But one thing that he could count on, was knowing his big brother was there. He could feel him, may not physically, but he knew.

And when he finally did wake up, several hours later, it was dark outside, and snow was falling, the lights outside making it glitter and shine.

Will was beside him, asleep, his hand on Jay's arm, comforting and familiar.

He must have made a sound of some sort, because the next thing his groggy mind knew, a hand was on his face and his name was being called.

His eyes rolled about, trying to focus, and finally finding his boss at his side.

"You're going to be okay, kid. We're here for you."

And with that, Detective Jay Halstead of Chicago PD's Intelligence Unit fell into a deep, peaceful and healing sleep, knowing that he was safe and he wasn't alone.

JHJH

I figured this was the best place to end it. After having a brief dream of him being in a horse trailer with young kids, (kids not much younger than my oldest) this story was born.

There are some very nice horse trailers out there, some with an air conditioned kitchenette and/ or sleeping area.

Yes, I had to come up with a way for the kids to be rescued, and I know it probably isn't possible to release such a heavy trailer while it is moving, but hey, fanfiction right?

And thank you to everyone who has written their favorite comfort bits and pieces on Tumblr. That helped me so much when I was trying to end this story, but wanting to show the comfort as well.

This story has been posted on fanfiction. net and Tumblr. Tha k you to everyone who has commented and followed. It means so much to me.

I own nothing

[suddeninklings]

Summary. Louis Bloom needed a change. Alone in a new city, he is ready to make his mark as he had in Los Angeles. Sadie Sims is alone, too. But she knows the city in ways he doesn’t.

Introduction.

The dinner rush at Whitney’s on 4th had long passed. It had been busy, for a Tuesday. Customers of all sorts had come and gone. Tourists, locals, and regulars, but the crowd was mostly middle age. This wasn’t a place where young blood flocked. It was a staple of the Inner Sunset, but it had remained more or less unchanged since Ben and Vera Whitney had purchased the property in 1972. Too old to be hip. Too young to be a historic treasure…

Now there were only the hangers-on. An older couple sat in the coveted corner window booth, sipping decaf, indulging in a hard-earned, comfortable silence. Two men were seated at the counter, eating eggs and reminiscing. There was only one patron who sat alone by the front window. Louis Bloom. He occupied the same booth he had the night before. And the night before that. It was the only storefront on the block still open. The others, consisting of a family-owned pharmacy, a chain deli, a hardware store, a UPS store and a hippy gift shop, were all closed for the night, their windows darkened. Street side, he sat just under the “h” in “Whitney’s” that had been painted on the window in a curly, but dated font. The paint had been scratched away here and there, a victim of age and weather. The booth he chose was in better shape than most. It was perhaps too plush, covered in a cherry red vinyl, but it was clean. In front of him sat a plated omelette, barely picked over, and a large mug of black coffee.

His attention was directed at his phone, a pair of cheap, black headphones crammed into the aux adapter. One bud was stuck in his ear. The other hung down in his lap. He was listening intently, scrolling through several online police patches he had discovered thanks to a local reddit board. He switched between them every third minute, but it was turning into a dead night. Aside from a few low key robberies. Maybe on another night he would have considered pursuing them, but he needed something big if he was to maintain a good relationship with the contact he had made at one of the local stations. His name was Robert Dean and he was primed for Louis’ intervention. His station was struggling in the ratings and he was desperate for a leg up. The perfect partner. It was no small miracle that he had been able to track one down only two weeks into his tenure in this new city. San Francisco.  

The decision to leave Los Angeles wasn’t an easy one, but he couldn’t deny that circumstances needed to change if he were to continue to grow in the industry he had revolutionized. His relationship with Nina had soured. The competition had grown since he had exploded onto the scene. The number of copycats had risen significantly in a matter of months. It didn’t surprise him. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, they say. They. He thought, bitterly. They were ruining everything. He was no longer a lone shark in a large sea. He was one of many, hunting and feeding at the first scent of blood. Bait was being gobbled up so quickly, he was lucky to get by with one good story a week. It wasn’t enough. He needed more. A new sea, one untainted by the mimics that clung to him as if he were some giving, door-opening host. He thought long and hard about where he would choose to move. Chicago had been his second choice. Perhaps he would find himself there, eventually. But the city by the bay had some scintillating perks. It was a city in flux. The burgeoning, nationwide class war was escalating faster here than in most urban areas. The beloved streets, still rife with historical infamy, were now caught between the poorer sentimentalists and the vampiric greed of Silicon Valley overlords. A battle wouldn’t decide the victor. This was a war. The tension was palpable. He could smell it on the air as soon as he arrived in town, with only his equipment and his car. It thrilled him. What need was there for uppers or alcohol when the night brought a rush that could sustain him for days.

“Refill?” A waitress stood by his table, a tired but sincere smile gracing her face. She must have been at least forty years of age. Her hair was dark, her teeth and fingernails showed signs of steady smoking, but she never smelled of it. She wore a small name tag clipped to her apron, bearing the name “Annie”. He smiled back, maintaining eye contact.

“Yes, thank you.” He said.

“Anytime, honey.” She replied, before shuffling away.

He liked Whitney’s. The staff was amiable and attentive, but never chatty or meddlesome. For the most part, they let him be, only stepping in when it was clear he needed something. Aside from the owner, there were no men working there. At least, the night wait staff was all female. There were three of them: Annie, Laurel and Sadie, each working five days so that there would always be at least two to support Vera at the counter while Ben hovered over the kitchen staff most nights. Except for the first and third Monday, when the diner was closed altogether. Annie was off on Sundays & Mondays. Laurel on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. And Sadie on Thursdays & Saturdays, most likely because she was the youngest and therefore the most likely to want to be out and about on such a vital weekend night. Vera was a warm woman, portly with a throaty voice, but she seemed rather attached to the youngest waitress. At first Louis thought them related in some way. They had the same bright eyes. He had never met the day shift staff, since he was usually tied up at his place, editing or planning his route for the night, running errands or sleeping if the need presented itself.

He shifted in his seat, sighing as his eyes flicked from the screen for a moment. His stomach constricted. That’s right, he had come here because he was hungry. He reached for his fork, severing another large bite and swallowing it down. The omelette was more cold than hot now, but he barely tasted it. He focused again on the screen, this time turning his attention to a watchdog group he had found on facebook. He had gone to the effort of creating a burner account for the sole purpose of gaining access to the group. It was made up of locals throughout the city, and while he had only found two leads worth following, it was proving to be a helpful tool as people seemed to post to the thread day and night, hour by hour. It baffled him, people’s need to overshare, to shout to the technical ether every thought and experience they deemed worthy of public consumption. Though in most cases, not a single shred of it was worth more than a scrap of trash. What was it about the social networks that lulled the masses so easily into a false sense of security? Didn’t they realize people were always watching, cataloguing it all? It baffled him. But people clung to it as if they were made from it. As if every post or like or emoji were connective tissue, vital to survival. Pathetic, he thought, padding through another thread. Eyes searching for various keywords. But helpful. That he couldn’t deny.

“Uh, sir?” Came a soft call.

He looked up. It was Sadie this time. She wore the same royal blue dress as the others. It sported a wide wrap around white collar, with five large buttons that came together at the front. Unlike the older two, she pinned her name tag to the side the cropped apron tied around her waist. Her hair, a natural ashy blonde, was choppy and short, but she had most of it tied back away from her face by a thin folded floral bandana.

“We’ll be closing in ten minutes.”

“Alright,” He said, his eyes drifting to his watch. It wasn’t often that time slipped away from him unnoticed.

“Was there anything wrong with your food?” She asked.

He looked to his plate where a good portion of the omelette still sat untouched.

“No, actually, could you box it for me?” He asked, his dark blue eyes meeting her cool, almost grey ones.

“Sure,” She said with a smile. It wasn’t as seasoned as Annie’s but Louis could appreciate the effort. She took the plate and headed into the back. He watched her disappear through the door, the chatter on the radio in his ear dimming. There was something strange about her, something familiar. He had yet to put his finger on it.

She returned a moment later and handed him the box in a brown paper bag.

“Thanks,” He said, thumbing a wad of bills in his pocket.

“Oh, you pay at the front,” She said, gesturing over her shoulder.

He pulled a twenty loose and held it out to her. She eyed it, almost suspiciously.

“Split it?” He explained. “With Annie.”

She nodded, taking the bill in between her thumb and index finger and folding it. “Thank you.”

Her gaze fell away from him, dodging his eye. Louis thought little of it. He was used to it. She looked as though she wanted to say something else, but drifted back to the counter, calling for Annie.

He took one last listen to each station, hoping for some sort of lead before he would need to resort to drifting up and down the streets. He was still familiarizing himself with the streets and alleyways. Which ones were less traveled, which were highly looked after. Fortunately for him, at seven miles, it was a much smaller layout to anything he was used to. He didn’t expect it would take him much longer to learn the ins and outs of the landscape. For now though, he was taking it easy. Acclimating.

With nothing sparking his attention, he slid from the booth tucking the phone into the back pocket of his jeans and slipping the other earbud into place. He stepped outside, pausing at the edge of the street corner, trying to remember where he had parked.

He heard the faint tinkling of the bell that hung above the entry door behind him.

“Goodnight, Ms. Sadie.” It sounded like Annie’s voice.

“Night, Annie.”

“You walk around the panhandle, you hear me? And head straight home. I don’t like the thought of you wandering around.”

Louis pivoted slightly, watching them from the corner of his eye. Sadie was rolling her eyes.

“Annie,” she said, seemingly over a conversation they must have had more than once. “I don’t wander, I just walk. And I’ve never run into any trouble.”

Annie just tutted, stepping of the curb and crossing the street to her car. “That don’t mean you won’t.”

Sadie lifted a hand to wave her goodbye, then turned on her heel and headed down the street towards the park. As she walked, she pulled the kerchief loose and stuffed it into the pocket of her jean jacket. The jacket was at least two sizes too large for her. She reached into the backpack slung across her left shoulder and pulled a folded baseball cap out, plunking it onto her head. It was a deterrent. With the large jacket, short hair and hat, she could easily be mistaken for a boy.

Follow her. A voice in his head urged. He wasn’t sure why. There was potential there. A young woman walking alone through the streets at night…it meant trouble certainly. But was it newsworthy? Or was it an everyday tragedy. Too familiar and too frequent for people to care. Really care.

He took one step towards the park when a blaring siren shattered through the relative peace of the dark, empty street behind him. His fingers went to his ear, pressing the bud deeper in as his free hand fiddled with the tracer on his phone.

Finally, he thought, listening greedily to the dispatch. Something good.

He spun back around, heading for his car and his equipment.

Thanks for reading! This was really just to get my feet wet I guess. This story is just flowing out of me and I can’t be stopped.This story will eventually go to some dark and creepy places. It’s the nature of the character and noir after all.

[boredout305]

Chris Alan Durham Interview

Chris Durham is best known for his tenure in Roachclip and The Bibs. Alongside Travis Galloway, he runs All Gone records.

           From Downriver, Michigan, Durham formed All Gone to release tapes by his friends in Detroit, as well as records by his band, Roachclip. All Gone has expanded, releasing more than 40 titles, including cassettes by The Intended, Mad Nanna and The Cannanes.  

           After Roachclip, Durham formed The Bibs with Galloway and Alex Franzen. The group’s LP on Soft Abuse, From the Fish Houses, was one of the best releases of 2016.

           Currently, Durham is focusing on Church Shuttle and releases under his own name. Soft Abuse just released a Church Shuttle 7”; an upcoming solo single by Durham will be out on Spacecase this summer.

Interview by Ryan Leach

Ryan: I know you’re from Southwest Detroit, but I don’t know much else about your background. I’m thirty-six. I’m probably a little older than you.

Chris: I’m thirty-one now. I’m getting older. I grew up in Downriver, which borders Southwest Detroit. I’ve been living in Southwest Detroit for a while now. That’s where I record most of my music. I recorded the Bibs (From the Fish Houses) and Roachclip (Discovery Park) records there. I started in Downriver, playing music in Detroit when I was fourteen or fifteen. We’d play shows in Hamtramck.

Ryan: This would’ve been the early 2000s?

Chris: I probably played my first show in 2003 or 2004. I grew up in the industrial part of town. It was blue collar with factories.

Ryan: Were your parents into music or was it something you discovered on your own?

Chris: They were into classic rock and country music. Aerosmith and Zeppelin. They liked Alice Cooper. He was from around here.

Ryan: Detroit’s a major music city. But by the time you were growing up, the impacts of deindustrialization—namely, job and population loss—were already well underway.

Chris: Totally. By the time I was growing up, everything was already on a steady decline. My grandparents and parents are from Detroit. By the ‘70s, people were already leaving. At its peak, Detroit had almost two million people. I think we’re down to around 700,000 now. However, there are millions of people in the Detroit Metro area. Everyone kind of lives around the city. It’s a populated area, but a lot of it isn’t technically in the city.

Ryan: Weren’t you doing more experimental music before Roachclip?

Chris: Yeah. Some of my early projects included the tape label my friends from Downriver and I started: All Gone. That was around 2007 or 2008. We had a concept of not using the internet. We were anti-internet at the time. The goal was to keep the label subterranean. We created mailers we’d send out about upcoming releases.

Ryan: You were taking the label back to the Forced Exposure era.

Chris: Right. Everyone was using the internet in 2007. Back then, we were doing garage recordings. Not “garage music,” but literally recording music in garages. The music I was making back then was more experimental than the music I’m doing now. I used alternate tunings and I didn’t record with drums. I was influenced by New Zealand stuff, Harry Pussy and Jandek. There were electronic elements to my early recordings. I was into krautrock.

Ryan: You have “Song for Guy Debord” on the Roachclip LP, Discovery Park. It fits in with the concept of not wanting a simulated environment on the internet, but meeting people face-to-face.

Chris: He has a big influence on my music. Not on the sound, but on the mindset of how I approach it. Debord is just as big an influence on me as any other musician.  

Ryan: Where did you meet All Gone co-founder Travis Galloway?

Chris: We grew up a few blocks away from each other. I first met him when I was younger through skateboarding. I met up with him again at a party in my twenties. He asked me, “Didn’t we grow up a few blocks away from each other?” I said, “Yeah, we did.” It was kind of cool. We knew a lot about each other, but we never really hung out until our twenties.  

Ryan: All Gone was strictly cassettes at the beginning, correct?

Chris: It was all cassettes. All Gone was just the bands Travis and I were doing. I was doing a project with my friend Trever (Millay), who’s in the band You. They released records on Dais. Trever went into a more minimal, synth-type direction. Steve Gougherty, who was in Roachclip, was doing some solo stuff. The label started as a result of Travis and I hanging out, fighting off boredom. We were putting out a lot of solo recordings by our friends. We then started reaching out to other people and bands.

We were all doing noisier stuff back then. You mentioned Heath (Moerland), who was also in Roachclip, earlier. Heath is sort of the king of Michigan basement noise. Heath was coming up with really good murky and psych-influenced noise.

We started getting out of that stuff. Every show we’d attend was just a massive wall of feedback. We wanted to mix it up. We wanted to be noisy, but less harsh. Our music started becoming more conventional.

Ryan: Going back to the 1980s, experimental and noise music really lent itself to the low-overheads and long-playing time of cassette tapes.

Chris: All Gone was coming from that background. Also, most of my friends growing up recorded on 4-tracks. That’s pretty much all we used.

Ryan: The Tascam Portastudios?

Chris: Right—the Tascam Portastudios. The blue guys. My friends Alex Franzen and Steve Gougherty were recording on those. I learned a lot from them. I’ve always been around tapes. I never learned how to use computers when I was younger. My parents weren’t into them. All we had at home was an outdated computer that always got viruses.

Ryan: Computers weren’t yet accessible to everyone. I graduated high school in 2000, and I’m almost certain I used an electric typewriter the whole way through. My dad was a cabinetmaker.    

Chris: Yeah, they weren’t really around. I chat with people who record onto computer and I feel left behind—like I need to take a computer science course.

Ryan: An interesting, early All Gone release was the Cannanes Happy Swing cassette reissue. How did that come about?

Chris: That release was pretty cool and random. I love all of that ‘80s DIY stuff, especially from New Zealand. I realize The Cannanes are from Australia, but I like bands from that general region. I started getting into K Records and The Go Team. I like Steve Fisk. The tape stuff he was doing back then was really cool.

I got the Cannanes tape and I really liked it. I felt that it needed to be back out in the world again. The aesthetic we were going for—the Cannanes owned it on that tape. I got on the internet and contacted them. They were really into reissuing it.

It’s funny. I was trying to contact Calvin Johnson at the time. Calvin had gotten wind that I had reissued Happy Swing (which was originally released on K). He was down for it. I sent him some copies. He sold out of them and I sent him some more. Calvin was chill.

Ryan: So it was after the fact that K had found out about the reissue?

Chris: Yeah. I didn’t even put anything on the tape about K. I had been trying to get ahold of Calvin beforehand, but I couldn’t track him down. I was happy to send him stuff. I wanted to get the tape out again and for him to know about it. Calvin wrote me later on, mentioning that he wanted to meet up. He kept thinking I lived in Wisconsin. I had to break it to him that I lived in Michigan.

I wish someone else would reissue some of that K stuff, especially the Go Team tapes. I don’t know if Calvin has plans for it. A lot of the early K stuff is really amazing.

Ryan: I only know Roachclip through the band’s catalog.

Chris: Compared to The Bibs, Roachclip was a little more functional. We played in Chicago and Ohio a few times. We toured the East Coast with the K9 Sniffies for eight days. We didn’t too much lengthy touring, just a lot of gigs in Detroit and Ann Arbor. We cut that record (Discovery Park), a couple of tapes and some 7”s. There are some Roachclip recordings that have never come out. I’m not sure if they ever will or not.

Ryan: Roachclip’s Discovery Park (2013) has been All Gone’s only LP so far, right?

Chris: That’s the only LP we’ve done. All Gone’s released some 7”s, including a Mole House record that features some of the Mad Nanna dudes. We did an Intended 7” which was a Tyvek side-project band. We did a Tracey Trance 7” too.

Ryan: You and Michael (Zulicki) from Mad Nanna seem really simpatico. I know Mad Nanna toured with The Bibs.

Chris: I can’t recall how I met Michael. It was a while ago. I think we became aware of each other’s work through mail orders, places like Volcanic Tongue and Fusetron. We got in contact and started trading releases. We were both interested in a similar aesthetic. We’ve been friends for about five years now. We’re pretty diehard pen pals.

Michael came out to Michigan and we did a small tour together. I actually played drums for Mad Nanna on that tour. That was a cool experience. Our first show was in Columbus. Kevin Failure, the Pink Reason dude, booked it. That was a really good basement show. Mad Nanna’s drummer couldn’t make the tour, so I told Michael I’d do it. The first night was a little rough. I started out with a full drum set, but by the end of the night the kit was whittled down to three pieces. I was playing standing up. By Cleveland, I got the hang of it. I have recordings from that tour and the Chicago and Cleveland dates are the best. We’ve been meaning to get those out for a while now.

Ryan: The Bibs’ From the Fish Houses (2016) is my favorite record you’ve cut so far.

Chris: Thanks. I’m pretty proud of that record. It was a cool experience. The Bibs was me and my friends Travis (Galloway) and Alex (Franzen), who I grew up making music with. Alex and I had a bond going back to when we were teenagers. There was also some strife. Alex was junked out pretty bad. It was hard to get recording time in. He was in and out of rehab. I was simply glad the record got made and that it was with the whole band. The first tape, Everyday I Nap, was me and Alex. The second tape, Waiting for Alex, was cut when he was in rehab and was about him. Waiting for Alex was me and Travis. From the Fish Houses was recorded when Alex got out.

           I loved the Bibs. The tour with Mad Nanna was actually when the band ended. Alex literally disappeared on that tour. We raged really hard in Chicago. We had a day off before the Cleveland show, which is only a couple of hours from Detroit. Alex just left. We didn’t know where he was for about two years. Alex is doing really well now. I didn’t expect a good ending to that story.

Ryan: You have Quilt Boy and Church Shuttle going currently. Church Shuttle is getting back to the experimental music you were cutting years earlier.

Chris: Yeah. After Alex left, it didn’t feel right to carry on as The Bibs. Alex was too crucial. I started recording the Quilt Boy stuff. I wanted that to be a solo project. There was just so much going on with the bands that I had been in. The Quilt Boy material was all over the place. It was electronic, but also prog and folk. I just kept making tapes. Sophomore Lounge hit me up about doing a Roachclip 7”. I told them Roachclip wasn’t a band anymore, but I sent them the Quilt Boy stuff which led to the “I Am Somebody” 7”. I recorded and played all of the music on that release. I was attempting to record nihilistic prog tracks in my basement. I lived in Philadelphia for a while; when I got back to Detroit, I put together a band for Quilt Boy. We built some momentum, played the Cropped Out Fest in Louisville (in 2016), but it kind of fizzled out. Everyone was involved in so many other bands.

I’ve been focusing more on Church Shuttle. I’ve been doing Church Shuttle for a while now. It’s definitely the most experimental stuff that I do. Church Shuttle has a 7” that’ll be out soon on Soft Abuse. I’m excited about that. Church Shuttle is all stream of consciousness. I try to push myself sonically with that project.

Ryan: You’ve been recording under your own name as well. We have that 7” coming out (on Spacecase).

Chris: I did a tape under my own name for All Gone about a year ago. That was just to get back to playing more conventional music. I wanted to play guitar again and write songs. Heath (Moerland) said he’d play drums for me. We plan to do some live shows. I’m interested in getting a band going for that material. I might keep it under my own name and get a proper backing band. A singer-songwriter deal. I never thought about doing that. I’m in my thirties. Maybe it’s time to be the singer-songwriter guy now.

Ryan: What’s on the horizon with All Gone?

Chris: I’m being a little lazy right now, but we do have things lined up. I have a Yureka Cash tape planned. She’s a friend of mine from Philly who’s also had a release on No Rent. It’s weirdo music that’s sort of hard to describe. We’re trying to get a Mad Nanna live record out. Also scheduled is a C10 release of five unreleased Bibs tracks and a Heaven Copy tape. Heaven Copy is my friend David Sutton from Philly. He also does LXV who’s released tapes on Soft Abuse. I think we’re doing a Creode tape. That’s going to be my weird, synth basement tape. It’s in the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) zone. Dennis Duck-type stuff. We’re big fans of that around here.

Ryan: I went to a LAFMS retrospective about five years ago. To this day, Tom Recchion and the rest of the LAFMS remain underappreciated, even in Los Angeles.

Chris: I think so. What they were doing was really subterranean. There was nothing commercial about their music and they didn’t care. It’s some of the most interesting music from that time period.

[violetsystems]

#personal

Right about now is usually when the seasonal void of depression sets in and I barricade myself in for the rest of the winter.  I haven’t felt that way lately at all thankfully.  Things can still be annoying.  Maybe I’ve just gotten less sensitive to the flagrancy of the city sometimes.  It takes a lot of physical and mental energy to keep up with the constant assault of negativity.  That’s probably true for any major American city.  There’s a lot less to tolerate for me particularly.  It takes me fifteen minutes to get into work every day.  I work a lot.  I did leave the house last weekend to see my friend Jana DJ at the Hideout.  It was a good change of atmosphere and easier to dance at than other places.  I do actually footwork.  I kind of had to learn because the way the industry can be sometimes.  I can’t say I’m looking for another job I just like to dance so I don’t really care all that much.  I like seeing my friends do what they love.  Jana even played one of my tracks.  Earlier I went to my friend Tim and Jamal’s open house for a music school they started in Chicago.  I was talking to a friend earlier and they had said I was living their dream life here or to that effect.  I know I complain a lot about this city and what it’s done to me.  I don’t think it’s wise to forget things like that.  People don’t learn that way.  But the only way sometimes ahead is to push through and make do with your surroundings.  You have to live your life and through living your life the best you can you give people context.  Sometimes it felt like I was doing this over and over for years.  Succeed then fail then succeed again only to be forgotten with no other choice to try and succeed again in something else.  It’s a vicious cycle you can trick yourself into.  It requires a lot of emotional labor to keep up with.  I’ve always been the type of person to deal with my problems and emotions by myself.  Or at least in places where nobody actively would dig.  Reflection is an active thing not passive.  It requires a degree of inner peace about things to dig deeper to the root of the issue.  And all that takes time which can be squeezed out by any number of things in your life at one time.  That’s where the pressure comes in particularly around the holidays.

For me to be perfectly honest, the pressure is society.  At least the part of society here in Chicago that never really listens to me.  Maybe I’m secretly lucky I don’t have to deal with them.  I have to speak in public in front of groups.  It’s part of my job.  I spoke in front of a Vice President in a bomber jacket today.  I think I said something about the “democratization of technology.”  I probably was watching too much Mr. Robot the night before.  It was more a reference to access to tools to make things at my job for the people that attend.  He said it was a good comment in front of everyone.  That to me is the core of why I do what I do.  To be understood and to speak my mind.  Sometimes speak on other people’s behalf because I listen a lot.  I get paid to do that.  It’s also work.  People respect me at my job and I work very hard to maintain that.  People don’t respect me all that much outside of my job in the creative community.  It’s a rough climate here.  You can’t totally fault anyone for being closed off.  People insult me every day here constantly so I learn what to avoid and what isn’t worth my time.  But It’s a tough state of mind to reach in terms of emotional endurance.  You can’t think negatively in that respect.  Because you still need to find things worth your time.  There’s been things in my life for the last two years that have been there for me more than actual people in my own city.  I don’t honestly know what the problem is anymore.  I know people don’t listen here.  I know sitting in my apartment being bitter isn’t a good look either.  Playing magic down the street has gotten far more relaxed and focused on the game.  One of the people I play with is a DJ who goes to this shop to play tournament level.  He was saying how his hands were shaking playing this guy that totally destroyed him.  The guy would calmly announce every card like “here’s how i’m going to do to it.”  That group I play with on Wednesday are more the cooler kids in the music scene for sure.  I took the day off on Tuesday and sat at my kitchen table quietly for four hours reorganizing cards.  Sometimes there’s nothing much left to say about the world.  It sucks.  But it doesn’t suck enough for me to give up on it.  I’m not about to abandon my ethics any time soon.  I’m in it for the long haul.  And I realize that’s a lot to ask of anyone in this climate we live in these days.  But since April of this year I’ve forced myself to try harder.  And I fear a lot less because of it.

Where does this confidence come from I guess is the real question.  I’m a creature of habit.  It’s pretty easy to tell.  There are times when I snap out of it.  I went to the record store after my friends open house.  I sort of know the guy there who manages it.  I also knew the cashier and wanted to buy these two cds.  The guy stepped in to ring me up and I tried to make small talk.  I don’t really like small talk.  It has a strange tone in America for the most part.  Sometimes it’s secretly oppressive and judgmental in disguise.  It’s a cliquey city for sure and that can be worse in a small scene.  But it’s a record store so I asked him if he was going to go to the show.  They had just gotten the record in.  It seemed like an honest question.  He buys footwork.  And his reply was that not only he was too old but that I looked old.  And it just went downhill from there.  I tried to talk about the school and he mentioned the cost of the classes.  Then I tried to divert it away entirely, check out and went home instead of hanging out in Wicker Park by myself until the show at Midnight.  I do things alone here a lot.  It’s easy to get your confidence shook and your feelings hurt on the fly.  People don’t think when they talk.  Because they’re not very considerate.  They say things that take so much emotional labor to process and leave it solely on you.  And it’s cumulative after awhile.  And that’s toxic.  It gets exhausting to even try anymore.  It’s not worth your time.  And I see why and how people close off.  Because I’ve done the same.  And I’ve been thinking about closing off more but not in the most obvious ways.  I reorganized my office at work.  I’ve shut the door on a lot of worthless interactions and focused on the things that matter to me.  I seem happier I think.  People tell me I look happier.  Maybe that’s just somebody projecting the image of their grandpa on me.  Who the fuck knows.  I know one thing though.  None of it really matters to me all that much.  There’s things far more worth my attention on a Friday night.  Practicing Venom in Marvel vs. Capcom may be one of them.  There might be others probably just one.  And to that one good night. <3 Tim

[teensinthepark]

Get To Know The Artists!

TIPFest 2017 is right around the corner. Before you head out to the festival we want to give you a chance to get to know some of the young artists performing this year. Read about them below, follow them on social media and come out Saturday, September 23 to the Petrillo Music Shell for #TIPFest!

Shuba

Actual Name: Shuba Vedula

Twitter: @shubamusic

Instagram: @shubamusic 

Group Members: Nick Pappas, Chassion Rice and Aidan Landauer

What neighborhood do you represent? Hyde Park

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited about these events because music should be as accessible as possible. Seeing artists perform is a chance for teenagers to get inspired to get involved with creative activities and opportunities that are becoming increasingly available in the Chicago youth scene. Being inspired from such a young age will allow teens to start making new friends who share the same interests as them, discovering their creative potential, and improving their artistic projects.

What sets you apart from other artists?

As one of the only emerging Indian American music artists in Chicago, my ethnicity plays a major role not only in the kind of music I create, which draws a lot on worldly sounds infused in Pop/Hip Hop beats, but also the message I hope to send to women and young artists as a whole. I have been fortunate enough to attend a respected university, interact with young adults every day, and be part of many communities that inspire the experiences I have as a growing artist. Although I enjoy writing songs about love and heartbreak, I mostly sing about the kinds of issues that people think about every day, but don't necessarily express out loud or hear about in most other music. For example, a lot of my friends and youth I interact with in Chicago community organizations talk about how they worry about their future or how they feel about growing up, not just about how they like partying and going out.  My music and artistry focuses on these sorts of issues and how people can unite in their general insecurities about life and not feel ashamed about them.

Ty Won

Actual Name: Ty Weathersby Group Members: Carmani Edwards, Jamiah Rogers, Raamen Berry, Ty Weathersby and Jeremy Warren  What neighborhood do you represent? Chatam

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

The biggest challenge I’ve overcome is one that I am continuing to overcome, and that is discouragement, disappointment and not giving up on my dreams. Being a starving artist and an aspiring entertainer is a very tough road in which challenges are expected but still not easy to overcome. I audition and submit for many opportunities, some are successful and others are not. However, keeping a positive mindset and faith is how I am able to overcome this challenge. The music and entertainment industry is my passion.  I will not give up.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited to come to this event to enjoy great music and entertainment in a positive and safe environment. I want teens to come to this event to be inspired to follow their hearts' desire to do whatever it is that they are passionate about.

What sets you apart from other artists?

What sets me apart from other artists is my unique sound. I have the ability to rap,sing and dance which is a rare talent for an artist today especially coming from Chicago. I always make sure there is a message in all of my music. I also represent a struggle that is unique because it's rarely discussed but still resonates with people. The everyday struggles of the average young adult trying to navigate life is who I represent.

Twitter: @PrinceTyWon IG: @Ty_Won Soundcloud

Chai Tulani and The Bomba

Actual Name: Sila Tulani Group Members: Ezekiel Raggs -guitar, Samuel Glover- bass What neighborhood do you represent? Altgeld Gardens

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

The biggest challenge I've overcome was not being able to speak English When I first moved to the U.S and being teased for my heritage. I was never the "cool kid' coming up, but I always knew I was born to do something great.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited for these upcoming events because the artists that are performing there may be local artists now, however, many of us are on our way to being international stars by Serving phenomenal arts to the people to inspire the world. If anyone wishes to feel inspired they will find inspiration at these events.

What sets you apart from other artists?

I embrace my pain through my songs, even the happy ones. My performance and music doesn’t just play for the ears, it plays for the soul.

Twitter: @ChaiTulani IG: chaitulani Soundcloud

J Monet Dancers 

Actual Name: Jazzmin Monet

Members: Jazzmin Monet, Sherrion Jolly, Breanna Anderson, Tiah Jones, Nay'Aisha Edmond, N'Dea Kelly and Peyton Cox

What neighborhood do you represent? Near North, Austin and South Shore

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

The biggest challenge we've overcome is following our passion in spite of the lack of education and respect toward the therapeutic art of dance. Often been told to get a "real job." Some people don't respect art. Dance is more than movement, it's a lifestyle, a story, a gift given to share to heal and revive. Dance is a journey. Any artist can relate and/or aspire to the fact that it's fulfilling to not only share your gift, but to receive compensation for your work. I've been blessed to do both, so I'm a firm believer that following your dream, positioning yourself and knowing your worth is the key to prosper.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should excited, because they not only get to attend these events, but participate and engage with artists that inspire them.

What sets you apart from other artists?

What sets us apart from other artists is our story. I spent some time running from dance, yet it was my first and only job since. I've been coaching and dancing professionally for 7 years. I went choreographing after school, performing in showcases as a child to my first job teaching as a sophomore in high school to starting a team my junior year (that has continued to this day) to earning a leadership scholarship to studying at Columbia College Chicago, and owning a studio for 2 years now (J Monet Studio, Home of Chez Elite Femmes and J Monet Dancers), coaching and performing at events through the city. Dance is life, truly.

Twitter: @Chez_elite

IG: @chez_elite

Taj Mxxoy

Actual Name: Thomas McCoy

What neighborhood do you represent? West Chatam

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

Being Afraid To Grow.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Because Its A Great way for teens all over the city to come together as one body with good people, vibes, and the music. Why not be excited.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

I'm Different. I'm Diverse. But I'm In My Own Lane.

Twitter: @Tajarama IG: @Tajmxxoy17 Soundcloud

NDPNDNT

Actual Name: Daniel Weisberg

Group Members: Daniel Weisberg, Simone Townshend, Damontay Banks, Chris Johnson, Derrick Griffin and Jazmyne Fountain

What neighborhood do you represent? West Side, Austin

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

Confidence and acceptance, the ability to listen, learn and accept criticism

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

It gives an opportunity for kids to ride the new wave of music, spread positivity and stay off the streets.  

What sets you apart from other artists?

I do not curse in my music. All of my music is honest and from the heart. I get into character and act out my words on stage.  I use storytelling, as well as facial expression and unique word pronunciations and adjustments to engage and get people to relate.

Twitter/IG:  @therealndpndnt  

KoStar

Group Members: Jazmine Stubbs, Kourtney Glenn What neighborhood do you represent? North Lawndale

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Because it's a chance to celebrate what is great in Chicago

What sets you apart from other artists? 

Our message is our strongest component. Reminding listeners to be aware of who they are emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. We are healers with our words and melodies.

Twitter/IG: @kostar_journey

Windy Indie

Actual Name: Brenda Gilbert 

What neighborhood do you represent? Austin, North Lawndale 

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

One of the biggest challenge I've had to overcome was being confident with my imprint on hip-hop as a violinist.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

I have an aspiration to bridge the gap between music and education as a tool to introduce all demographics to a wider selection of sound.

Twitter: @Windy_Indie IG: @Windy_Indy Soundcloud

Leximonee

Actual Name: Alexis Barr

What neighborhood do you represent? I represent Chicago as a whole

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited for these upcoming events because no other city has the opportunities and influences that Chicago has. These festivals show local Chicago artists their age and a bit older living outside the box and taking risks with their music. It takes a lot to bear yourself on a stage in front of strangers. On top of that you can meet new people to connect with and just be in a safe friendly environment having fun.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

I'm set apart from other artists because my sound is unique. I make music and I write poetry. I call myself a floetrist because the isn't a box I can be put into I'm a musician, a poet, a singer, a rapper. I'm a Floetrist.

Twitter/IG: @Leximonee97 Soundcloud

Ridley Victoria��

Actual Name: Ridley Morgan

What neighborhoods do you represent? Rogers Park

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome? 

The biggest challenge I've overcome is adversity regarding my career choice. When I decided to become a professional musician, many people around me didn't understand why I would choose such a grueling and chance-driven field. As time went on, however, and I started to accomplish more and more, people started to understand and support my dream.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

I think teenagers and kids in general are our future, and their opinions and intelligence actually hold a lot of weight in our communities. Events like these are created to hold the city together. In order to do that, we need all ages to be eager and involved. These events are geared toward the well-being of our youth, and it helps the cause immensely when the younger generation is able to get involved.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

What sets me apart from other artists is my versatility, and my drive. There are very few independent artists I know that work as hard as I do to reach desired goals and dreams. I refuse to be put into any artistic box, especially when it comes to genre. I am blessed with the capability of being a musical chameleon and switching it up according to my mood, desired message, or current creative space. My creativity is in constant flow, and I have my image and branding constructed down to a science.

IG/Twitter: @ridleythepoet Soundcloud

K.E.N

Actual Name: Kennedy Pulliam

What neighborhood do you represent? Chatam

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Its a great chance to showcase talent to teens and to have a space where everyone gets along and can just have fun

What sets you apart from other artists?

My energy I give loads of energy and like to make sure the people are involved ...I also like to mix styles I'm easy to listen to for lyrics but I also get it fresh and innovative for the younger generation

Twitter: The_Ken_ IG: The_k.e.n Soundcloud

Viano

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome? 

My biggest challenge is myself and coming to understand who I am outside of what others expect and have told me.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Because it is the music of their generation which is constantly transforming and forgoing genre. This music embraces that it is different and a melting pot of genres that have come before.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

I am an artist that writes music based on a feeling rather than a set goal for lyrics. My songs are more of an uncovering than a new piece. I also take longer than many artist to write a song due to the way in which I get intimate with every aspect of each chord and lyric.

Twitter: @Viano_music IG: @Vianomusic22

The Other Eric

Actual Name: Eric Williams What neighborhood do you represent? Humboldt Park, Austin, Garfield

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome? 

Accepting myself

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

It is a way to experience great new musical talents from Chicago artists while enjoying a positive atmosphere.

What sets you apart from other artists?

My unique arrangement of songs and desire to put the best effort in everything i want out of life, also my ability to play multiple instruments.

Twitter/IG: @Musiconthewall Soundcloud

Jane Weyes 

Actual Name: Monique Ogletree

What neighborhood do you represent? Southside

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome?

The biggest challenge I've overcome is performing in front of others. As a young creative starting out I struggled so much with owning my craft. Through relentless practice and dedication, as I found my voice more I was also able to develop the self-confidence I needed to perform in front of anyone anywhere.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited for these events because it recognizes the next generation of amazingly talented individuals on the rise in our city. These events are fun, safe, and celebrate creativity and the importance of self-expression within our youth. It's also beautiful and pertinent for us, as young people, to come together and support one another because we are the future.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

The biggest thing that sets me apart from other artists is my sound. Today's music enforces a strong emphasis on partying and carefree fun. I seek to incorporate a refreshing sound of new soul and r&b for this generation filled with soothing melodies and harmonies that gives us a taste of our favorite old school jams. Writing music and recording is a healing process and a continuous journey for me and when creating music, I like for my audience to know that they are never alone no matter what they're going through. Music connects us all.

Twitter/IG: @Janeweyes 

Soundcloud

Solo The Dweeb

Actual Name: SoHaan Goss

What neighborhood do you represent? South Side, East Side

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome? 

Stability

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

It not only represents the culture we have been exposed to, but shows what the bright minds of the next generation are capable of. This music although sometimes graphic and simplistic can still be seen as beautiful works of art once decoded correctly (or maybe sometimes it's there when you just wanna turn up). It's our identities and view points of Chicago culture itself.

What sets you apart from other artists? 

My hunger, ferocity, determination, my attitude, my consistency, my work ethic, my energy, my energy, my energy, and my imagination. Above all else, I feel like I'm much more than a rockstar. I set out to be a icon of my millennial generation and I plan to inspire change and love through my music. It's aggressive energy but it's completely positive. No one has the same presentation as me, the same set up let alone the same precense I bring when performing. The way I see it; with this blessing or not the way I see my route it's purely a matter of time.....

Twitter/IG: @solothedweeb

Soundcloud

Shayla Breneé

Actual Name: Shayla Johnson

What neighborhood do you represent? South Side, Hyde Park, Garfield

Describe the biggest challenge you've overcome? 

The biggest challenge I've overcome would have to be battling depression. I went through a period where every month I lost someone close to me for about a year and a half. Dealing with so much death and grief became overwhelming and I started to feel hopeless. But I started writing poetry and for the first time I felt like I had a purpose. My poetry is bigger than me because not only has it saved my life but it's saved others. And knowing that my struggles could help someone else in anyway is the most rewarding feeling there is.

Describe why teens should be excited for these upcoming events?

Teens should be excited for TIP Fest and other upcoming events because they showcase all of the talent and brilliance this city and the people have to offer. Today's artists are the future leaders and change makers of the world. And the events are free so there's no excuse not to go!

What sets you apart from other artists?

What sets me apart is my drive and my purpose. I'm not interested in being rich in a monetary sense. I'm interested in being rich in love and light and making other people's lives rich in the same way. I wanna be that example for little black girls that regardless of your circumstance what is meant for you will always come to pass. Any dream that you have is always within your reach and just because others may not be able to see your vision doesn't mean it's not true or tangible.

Twitter/Instagram: @shaybrenee

Soundcloud

[sweatandthecityblog-blog]

Shred415 v. Barry’s Bootcamp

Disclaimer: I don’t like pitting studios against each other - and truthfully Shred and Barry’s are both strong brands that easily stand on their own - but both studios do offer a similar workout and I know many of you are curious about how they compare. 

Also Disclaimer: I’ve been to countless Shred classes and have only just recently tried Barry’s. I will try not to be biased in my comparison, but know that my comments about Barry’s reflect just one instructor and one specific experience. 

Let’s get to it.

Workout: The most important part of this whole thing is the actual workout. And in this respect, Shred and Barry’s are remarkably similar (not surprising if you’ve heard Shred referred to as “the Barry’s Bootcamp of the Midwest”). Since Barry’s was founded in 1998, I have to give them credit for the class format - which is effective and challenging no matter which brand you prefer. 

For both brands, a typical workout is divided into two sections: treadmills and “floor,” where you are stationed at a bench and use free weights. Class time is split alternating between treads and floor (at Shred415, the traditional format is four 15-minute segments between the two - which is where, you guessed it, the “415″ comes from). Treadmill work is focused on short interval runs that challenge your sprinting capacity as well as your incline tolerance. Floor moves give your legs a break while you concentrate on burning out different muscle groups using weights. Shred instructors sometimes also throw in resistance bands and medicine balls to the floor routine. 

Both brands also focus their classes on different muscle groups depending on the day of the week - though weekends at both studios are reserved for “total body.” 

Accessibility: Here’s what I personally think Shred415 has a leg up. With 4 locations in the city, it’s a bit easier to find availability at a studio in some major neighborhoods (South Loop, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, and Old Town). However, Barry’s one location is in the heart of River North and easily accessible by bus and train (they also recently announced a Lincoln Park location is coming in 2017). It’s also right next to the new True Food Kitchen and around the corner from Sweetgreen, which is a plus if you’re a workout-and-brunch person. 

Barry’s is also renowned for really staying true to the exclusivity of their high-quality, highly sought after brand, and is similar to SoulCycle in that there are no membership options (only class packs) and rarely any promotional offers. And if you’re one step ahead of me, you might have guessed it also means they’re not on ClassPass. While I’m sure that’s appealing to some, it’s a deterrent for someone like me, who already has access to the best studios in the city without having to pay $30 per class. 

Atmosphere: Although the workout is similar, both brands have established their own unique vibe. Barry’s has been hailed as the “favorite workout of celebrities” and honestly kind of makes you feel like you’re in the heart of Hollywood as soon as you walk in. You can sense right away that this is a studio for the beautiful people and those who want to be the beautiful people. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - just a testament to the fact that Barry’s developed its personality on the coasts while Shred is a Midwestern darling through and through. The cultural differences inherent with the different geographies definitely permeate each studio. 

So back to Barry’s - it’s not unusual or uncommon here to find ripped as hell dudes wearing backwards baseball caps and compression leggings standing around shirtless by the smoothie bar. And let’s talk about that smoothie bar - one of Barry’s most infamous offerings is their in-house “cafe” dedicated to protein-packed smoothies. The chic thing to do is order your smoothie before your class so that it’s ready for you to pick up post-workout. There are also cold eucalyptus towels waiting for you at the door as you exit the studio and the most beautiful locker rooms I have seen in any Chicago gym. 

Shred415, on the other hand, also feels like a tribe but in a completely different way. Shred was founded and is run by two badass “mompreneurs,” and their hustle and dedication to hard work is woven into the fabric of every Shred studio. Their branding is tight, but not as sexy as Barry’s. But that also means you might not be intimidated walking in to class if your fitness wardrobe doesn’t include head-to-toe Lululemon. Whereas Barry’s feels like a place to be seen and also get a workout in, Shred is more focused on the fitness experience while offering a comfortable place to hang and chat with your instructor after class. 

Facilities: The first thing I was struck by when walking into Barry’s was how massive the space is. The pioneer Chicago studio is a two-story space decorated in sleek, dark colors and metals. The first floor is the smoothie bar and the check in desk, locker rooms, and workout space is upstairs on the second floor (speaking of, I would have appreciated from some signs leading me upstairs upon arrival). The locker rooms are gorgeous and the retail/reception area is spacious and modern. The actual fitness studio is enormous - large enough to accommodate 50 students. Treadmills are top of the line, Barry’s-branded Woodways. 

The Shred studios are smaller - allowing for 20-30 students depending on location - but just as sleek (though with a much brighter, lighter aesthetic). The reception area in each studio is the first thing you’re greeted with upon entry, and all locations also have a robust retail space. Shred also uses Woodways and offers towels and mints. One major advantage for Shred is the childcare that is offered at the Lincoln Park. South Loop, and Old Town studios.    

Pricing: Both Shred415 and Barry’s Bootcamp are specialized boutique studios at the top of their game, so neither one is “cheap.” Barry’s is priced at $30 per class, with some savings once you get into the higher volume class packs. Shred is close at $27 per class, but offers new client specials, discounts for students and military personnel, and auto-pay memberships that offer unlimited classes at a fixed monthly cost. Shred is also on ClassPass, so I’ve been able to enjoy it as a high intensity option for my weekly routine. 

The bottom line: Both brands are tried-and-true fitness-fanatic favorites in cities around the country, so it’s really hard to go wrong with either one. Whether you ultimately choose to sport the Barry’s arrow or Shred’s iron-pumping stick figure, you’re going to get a killer workout. It’s up to you to pick your flavor based on the value you feel is offered at each studio (and maybe how eager you are to see some shirtless hot dudes). 

[clickairadio]

Who NEEDS Data???

"What do you mean we only have 4 weeks of money left in the business??!!!"" Do we need data transparency in our small-to-medium business...?? You bet we do...

All right. Hey, this is Grant Larsen. Thank you for joining another episode of ClickAI Radio. So all right. I was thinking about data right how important data In data is and I was talking with one of the one of the entrepreneurs that I know, he's been running his business here for several years, doing a fantastic job knocking it out of the park. But I was doing some AI work with him, right. And, and he was pointing out something I thought was really critical, which was He's like, Hey, you know, Grant, he's like, a lot of us, you know, small to medium business owners. We're just trying to keep the lights on, right? We're trying to get stuff done trying to keep things going. And the fact of the matter is, we don't always have the ability, or the opportunity to go back and really look at our data. In fact, lots of times we're making a lot of decisions by intuition. And I thought, gosh, you know, that's, I think he's spot on. And so it prompted me in this particular episode to talk about the need for data, not not to replace intuition, but to augment it. So let's talk about that. So years ago, When I did my very first startup company, gosh, this was almost hate to say it. This was in the 80s. So my, my wife and I had we had just come out of college and, and, and we were going to move to Chicago Actually, I had my first job offers with a large technology company. I don't even think they're in existence today. Actually, they're not 30 plus years later, but anyway, so I had received an offer from them. I actually accepted it. And then about a week later, I'm up on campus on at the college worth college and I'm working through and I see this entrepreneur opportunity on the board there. And I look at it and I'm just drawn to it. And I'm like, No, I actually think that's the route I want to go. So I go home to my wife. I'm like, honey, I got, I got, I got this great idea. How about we leave the you know, hey, here's all this security Sort of job opportunity, let's go after a startup company. So it took a lot of convincing of eventually, we did it. So I went, I turned down the sort of for sure deal with the big company with a startup company in Chicago. So at the time, we had our first child. So this is a big decision, right to go at the higher risk, sort of opportunity. So what I did was, you know, rented this truck got my wife and my little baby in the in the truck, we drove across the country. We ended up in Chicago, I remember pulling in thinking, Man, where in the heck am I gonna live? I mean, it, it pivoted so quickly. It's just shocking to me how fast you know, our trajectory changed. So we pull in, we figure out a place to live. And I start with a startup company. And of course, a few weeks go by pretty soon as a few months now. It's about six months that we're into it. And I was focusing mostly on the technology so I really wasn't thinking much about others. things right in terms of running the business certainly wasn't thinking about the finances. One day though, I happen to take a look at the finances. And so I, I opened it up, and it there's this number, and I do the quick math and realize we've only got four weeks to live. And so I approached the owner, and my partner and I said, Is this true? And he's like, Yeah, it's true. We are actually about out of money. I'm like, Wow, man, you know, if I'd have known that four months ago, I would have made some different decisions. Right. So looking back at it, I realized, wow, I would have operated differently, if I would have known that right if I had access to that or been aware of it. So for me, this was just one of those first realizations in business, right? Just coming out of college where I realized Not only do I need the data I need, I need the transparency of the data. I need to be able to see it and you know, In small to medium businesses, you know, we're all taking on different roles, and we're busy and so forth. But running on intuition alone isn't sufficient. So augmenting it with data makes a lot of sense. Now, of course, it depends on your role, right? So the CFO or the CEO, obviously, they tend to look at that more, quite frankly, though, in today's world, technology and business is blended so much doesn't make sense, especially in small medium businesses to keep those separate. So as a result, we ended up having to make some pretty drastic decisions. We I was only there another week, because I realized we don't have enough runway to actually turn this thing around at this point. And I really like the guy I was working with and wanted to give him a chance to survive even longer without me being involved. I think he stayed on for another year with it eventually ended up shutting shutting it down. So here's the point. We got to have this blend of not just data on its own, and not just intuitive Now lots of times as you know, startup companies or small to medium businesses, it's intuition that gets us to the point where we get an operating model where cash is flowing and people are, are making money in the business is growing. But there's a point where that becomes risky, where we actually can't just run the business just on intuition, we actually need the insights that data can provide. Now, lots of times that data will come from things that you're already doing, right? Like, it might be your CRM system, or you know how you're capturing the transactions or the sales. It's not that you have to go do a whole bunch of extra things. But one thing is important, the need to start being intentional not only about tracking the fact that transactions are taking place, but then stopping to extrapolate from that, do some analysis on it and figure out do we need to adjust course, what are the patterns that are working that are while are those things that are bad? So Who needs data? You know, it's interesting. Sometimes marketers don't always need data, right? So when you think about if you got a small to medium business, you got the CFO or a CEO, you've got maybe technology people, you've got marketers and people who are doing sales. Lots of times, the marketers are thinking about, hey, how do I improve conversion rates, right? Or how do I better serve the customers, things like that. And they're often not looking at the data. Turns out that when we get data into the hands of marketers, they're great intuition capabilities that can build these businesses. They're great intuition capabilities actually can be amplified when we can augment their strong intuition with good data patterns, good data analysis, I would dare say, with artificial intelligence. So it's critical to augment the powerful capabilities of people in our small to medium businesses with well informed data. That's teaching and And providing insights to you. So who needs data? Heck we all do. Hey, thanks again for joining. My name is Grant Larsen and until next time, go get some data.

Thank you for joining grant on ClickAI Radio. Don't forget to subscribe and leave feedback. And remember to download your FREE eBook visit ClickAIRadio.com now.

  Check out this episode!

[financialinvestingradio]

Who NEEDS Data??

"What do you mean we only have 4 weeks of money left in the business??!!!"" Do we need data transparency in our small-to-medium business...?? You bet we do...

All right. Hey, this is Grant Larsen. Thank you for joining another episode of ClickAI Radio. So all right. I was thinking about data right how important data In data is and I was talking with one of the one of the entrepreneurs that I know, he's been running his business here for several years, doing a fantastic job knocking it out of the park. But I was doing some AI work with him, right. And, and he was pointing out something I thought was really critical, which was He's like, Hey, you know, Grant, he's like, a lot of us, you know, small to medium business owners. We're just trying to keep the lights on, right? We're trying to get stuff done trying to keep things going. And the fact of the matter is, we don't always have the ability, or the opportunity to go back and really look at our data. In fact, lots of times we're making a lot of decisions by intuition. And I thought, gosh, you know, that's, I think he's spot on. And so it prompted me in this particular episode to talk about the need for data, not not to replace intuition, but to augment it. So let's talk about that. So years ago, When I did my very first startup company, gosh, this was almost hate to say it. This was in the 80s. So my, my wife and I had we had just come out of college and, and, and we were going to move to Chicago Actually, I had my first job offers with a large technology company. I don't even think they're in existence today. Actually, they're not 30 plus years later, but anyway, so I had received an offer from them. I actually accepted it. And then about a week later, I'm up on campus on at the college worth college and I'm working through and I see this entrepreneur opportunity on the board there. And I look at it and I'm just drawn to it. And I'm like, No, I actually think that's the route I want to go. So I go home to my wife. I'm like, honey, I got, I got, I got this great idea. How about we leave the you know, hey, here's all this security Sort of job opportunity, let's go after a startup company. So it took a lot of convincing of eventually, we did it. So I went, I turned down the sort of for sure deal with the big company with a startup company in Chicago. So at the time, we had our first child. So this is a big decision, right to go at the higher risk, sort of opportunity. So what I did was, you know, rented this truck got my wife and my little baby in the in the truck, we drove across the country. We ended up in Chicago, I remember pulling in thinking, Man, where in the heck am I gonna live? I mean, it, it pivoted so quickly. It's just shocking to me how fast you know, our trajectory changed. So we pull in, we figure out a place to live. And I start with a startup company. And of course, a few weeks go by pretty soon as a few months now. It's about six months that we're into it. And I was focusing mostly on the technology so I really wasn't thinking much about others. things right in terms of running the business certainly wasn't thinking about the finances. One day though, I happen to take a look at the finances. And so I, I opened it up, and it there's this number, and I do the quick math and realize we've only got four weeks to live. And so I approached the owner, and my partner and I said, Is this true? And he's like, Yeah, it's true. We are actually about out of money. I'm like, Wow, man, you know, if I'd have known that four months ago, I would have made some different decisions. Right. So looking back at it, I realized, wow, I would have operated differently, if I would have known that right if I had access to that or been aware of it. So for me, this was just one of those first realizations in business, right? Just coming out of college where I realized Not only do I need the data I need, I need the transparency of the data. I need to be able to see it and you know, In small to medium businesses, you know, we're all taking on different roles, and we're busy and so forth. But running on intuition alone isn't sufficient. So augmenting it with data makes a lot of sense. Now, of course, it depends on your role, right? So the CFO or the CEO, obviously, they tend to look at that more, quite frankly, though, in today's world, technology and business is blended so much doesn't make sense, especially in small medium businesses to keep those separate. So as a result, we ended up having to make some pretty drastic decisions. We I was only there another week, because I realized we don't have enough runway to actually turn this thing around at this point. And I really like the guy I was working with and wanted to give him a chance to survive even longer without me being involved. I think he stayed on for another year with it eventually ended up shutting shutting it down. So here's the point. We got to have this blend of not just data on its own, and not just intuitive Now lots of times as you know, startup companies or small to medium businesses, it's intuition that gets us to the point where we get an operating model where cash is flowing and people are, are making money in the business is growing. But there's a point where that becomes risky, where we actually can't just run the business just on intuition, we actually need the insights that data can provide. Now, lots of times that data will come from things that you're already doing, right? Like, it might be your CRM system, or you know how you're capturing the transactions or the sales. It's not that you have to go do a whole bunch of extra things. But one thing is important, the need to start being intentional not only about tracking the fact that transactions are taking place, but then stopping to extrapolate from that, do some analysis on it and figure out do we need to adjust course, what are the patterns that are working that are while are those things that are bad? So Who needs data? You know, it's interesting. Sometimes marketers don't always need data, right? So when you think about if you got a small to medium business, you got the CFO or a CEO, you've got maybe technology people, you've got marketers and people who are doing sales. Lots of times, the marketers are thinking about, hey, how do I improve conversion rates, right? Or how do I better serve the customers, things like that. And they're often not looking at the data. Turns out that when we get data into the hands of marketers, they're great intuition capabilities that can build these businesses. They're great intuition capabilities actually can be amplified when we can augment their strong intuition with good data patterns, good data analysis, I would dare say, with artificial intelligence. So it's critical to augment the powerful capabilities of people in our small to medium businesses with well informed data. That's teaching and And providing insights to you. So who needs data? Heck we all do. Hey, thanks again for joining. My name is Grant Larsen and until next time, go get some data.

Thank you for joining grant on ClickAI Radio. Don't forget to subscribe and leave feedback. And remember to download your FREE eBook visit ClickAIRadio.com now.

  Check out this episode!

[biofunmy]

Rich in Surprises and Secrets, There’s a State Park Waiting for You

On a cold and damp Iowa evening last October, I sat in a tent and thought about Abraham Lincoln. More precisely, I thought about Lincoln signing a minor piece of legislation deeding the Yosemite Valley to the state of California. It happened in 1864, while the Civil War raged.

It is important because of just a few words. California was given ownership of Yosemite on the condition that the land “be held for public use, resort, and recreation.” This was the official approval of a remarkable and radical idea: Everyone should have access to nature. It led to our ecosystem of national and state parks, wilderness areas and nature preserves — all generally committed to providing this access.

And it came at a time when President Lincoln presumably had a lot on his mind. Did he realize his signature would transform America’s relationship with nature?

That October night, I was camping in Iowa’s Waubonsie State Park, just one park among the many thousands now scattered across the United States. It was near the tail end of a yearlong mission to visit as many state parks as possible. (Final tally: 53.) This article, the second on state parks, focuses on those I visited in the western part of the country.

Waubonsie is a small state park in the southwestern corner of Iowa, near Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. I didn’t know anything about it, except for reviews saying it was a good place for a picnic. I figured it’d be a few lonely trees surrounded by corn. What I found truly astounded me, and emphasized what I love most about state parks: You never know what you are going to find.

In this 1,990-acre state park, I found an ancient forest on a plateau, an island of mysterious trees in the middle of a vast agricultural region. A secret in plain sight. Waubonsie, as it turns out, is the result of glaciers melting and rushing down the nearby Missouri River. Silt from these glaciers has piled up in mounds large enough to become their own landforms, here called the Loess Hills. There are only two places in the world where this topography exists: the region where I was camping, and the Yellow River valley in China.

Driving into Waubonsie was like entering a hidden kingdom. Tall oak trees, their leaves gold and green in the fading sun, lined the main road. Trails circled along steep gorges thick with birds flitting in a temperate jungle environment. Mist curled along the tree line, and in the eerie stillness I felt the presence of something ancient. In a mad rush to investigate further, I bolted down a dinner of potato chips and cold coffee, pitched my tent, and spent the next two hours hiking through this fantasy of forested badlands. Every so often I came across hiking shelters built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps that looked like giant mushrooms.

Back in the tent, I found a shivering mosquito that hitched a ride from my previous night’s stop in Bentsen Rio Grande State Park in South Texas. Rain pattered against the thin blue fabric of the tent, steady and soothing like a heartbeat. I sat there, truly content, grateful for places like Waubonsie, where I could bound through secret forests and pay only $6 for the privilege of a night’s rest within its boundaries.

When I left the next morning, I drove down a state road and within minutes, I was back in the fields. I had to stop the car and look back at the forested gorges above me, just to make sure it wasn’t all a weird dream.

The fan base grows

Not all state parks came out of nowhere like Waubonsie, but they are all rich with surprises, secrets and authenticity. Generally, they were off the beaten track, which made them all the more interesting. This was certainly the case in the first half of 2018, when I visited Eastern state parks.

Another part of their intrigue is that state parks come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t have that much in common, which makes a visit unpredictable. However, according to Linda Lanterman, president of the National Association of State Park Directors and director of Kansas State Parks, one common feature is their presence near our homes. “Not everyone is fortunate to go to a national park,” she said. “Not everyone can take a week off. That’s what makes the state park system so unique. It’s close to home and close to nature.” Ms. Lanterman said state parks generally are popular, and the number of visitors is rising. In 2002, total attendance at state parks was 758 million people. By 2017, that number had risen to 807 million.

In the second half of the year, as I headed west, I was curious about the state parks near our best-known national parks. If you’re fortunate enough to live next to a national park, do you still go to a state park? Two of my test cases, Bannack State Park in Montana and Harriman State Park in Idaho, are within 100 miles as the crow flies from Yellowstone National Park. As it turns out, both are well loved and popular, but in their own way.

Due west of Yellowstone, Bannack is one part idyllic campground alongside a river, two parts ghost town. It thrived in the 19th century as the site of a gold rush as well as Montana’s first territorial capital, but when the 20th century came around, it fell into a long, slow decline. Today, “Bannack is the best preserved of all Montana ghost towns,” according to the Montana State Parks website.

When my friend Chris and I arrived this past September, Bannack was a very busy ghost town. State park rangers conferred with arriving pickup trucks and pointed out places to set up. They were preparing for a four-day living history event, during which historical re-enactors would occupy the abandoned, one-street town and pretend it was 1862. Schoolchildren from the area were bused in and the town was filled with tourists watching re-enactors performing at the blacksmith camp, saloon, boardinghouse, butcher shop, school and church.

Bannack’s buildings are maintained in a state of “arrested decay,” meaning they are prevented from deteriorating further, but are not improved in any way. It provided an unusual, still-life view of the town. Grass covered a low-slung rectangular jail. Insulation was cardboard packing boxes, a testament to the area’s cold isolation. The entire short history of Bannack lay in front of us, from the raw log cabins on the outskirts of town to the cracked linoleum floors of the last occupied houses. Bannack’s last inhabitant left in the 1970s.

Just outside town lies the campground, where we spent the night. It occupies a small area alongside a creek, nothing more than a few curlicues of fire rings and grass protected by towering cottonwood trees. We gathered next to the fire as evening drew to a close, listening to the wind through the trees, the gurgle of the creek, and our campground neighbors reading books to each other.

The Bannack campground was like so many I had been to during my year of visiting state parks. There was the crackle of wood in the fire, distant voices in the background, the sounds of nature and a palpable absence of stress. Chris and I huddled next to the flames and talked about everything and anything, what will never be, what just was. The creek rushed past, the stars shone, and I felt whole.

A night in a yurt

The next day we drove to Harriman State Park in Idaho. Before it was given to the state, it was a working cattle ranch and retreat owned by the Harriman and Guggenheim families. The centerpiece is a series of ranch buildings alongside Henrys Fork, a tributary of the Snake River. When we visited, it echoed with the cheers and yells of a high school cross-country meet. During the winter, trails are groomed for skate and classic cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat bikes.

I hiked through a sprawling meadow that spanned both sides of the river. Birds darted through the tall grass and the sounds of the cross-country meet slowly fell away until all I heard was the wind and the water. I was excited to spot sandhill cranes, but later Chris’s telephoto lens revealed they were actually pelicans. Oh, well. We still had a comfortable night’s rest in one of Harriman’s yurts. According to parents at the cross-country meet, the yurts are a favorite spot for local residents to spend the weekend.

Over the year, many people happily described to me their relationships with local state parks, whether it was a winter weekend in a Harriman yurt or Chicago friends reminiscing about their first time camping in Midwest state parks. These places are often beloved by nearby communities. This was the case even in a city surrounded by internationally renowned wilderness: Alaska’s capital, Juneau.

With Glacier Bay National Park and the Tongass National Forest as neighbors, Juneau is a favored destination for cruise ships and adventure tourists alike. But it is also a city of 32,000 people, and nearby state parks cater to them. Among the most prominent is Point Bridget State Park, an expanse of 2,850 acres about 40 miles from Juneau, near the terminus of the city’s road system. According to the Alaska State Parks website, Point Bridget was founded in 1988, the result of a push by the citizens of Juneau “to have a state park for the state capitol.”

The park is a mix of temperate rain forest and meadow along a stretch of Lynn Canal coastline, the deepest fjord in North America. After parking near the entrance early one morning, Chris and I hiked through muskeg and then into a field of fireweed rising to an immense vista: miles of coastline, a fierce wind, and mountains ringing the horizon.

We passed by affable hikers who spoke of “brownie” sightings; a weirdly cute way of referring to grizzly bears. Soon we were at our destination, a basic cabin called Blue Mussel within a stone’s throw of the seashore. It was well loved, judging by the painted signs, rocks and seashells in the vicinity. Even in mid-September, well into autumn this far north, reservations had been difficult to get.

The cabin was small and simple: sleeping loft, a table and benches, big windows and a bunch of leftover spices. Down at the shoreline, I clambered over mussel-encrusted rocks, dodged the lapping of tidewater and followed the arc of bald eagles overhead. It was so peaceful and wonderful that even my inner thoughts quieted down. When I turned to face Blue Mussel, darkness was falling and the cabin’s bright lantern in the window shone ever brighter, like a benevolent gaze.

The next day we visited another Juneau-area state park, a string of islands in Lynn Canal called the Channel Islands State Marine Park. These 14 mostly uninhabited islands are about 25 miles northwest of Juneau and can be reached by floatplane or boat. They get a lot of Juneau area picnickers in the summertime, especially since they can be reached with small watercraft. We motored over to Aaron Island, a small thumbtack of wilderness surrounded by water. There was a nice sand beach, a campfire ring, thick forest and a rope dangling from a Sitka spruce. Immediately I became 8 years old and ran over. I challenge you to find anything more wonderful than an unexpected rope swing.

In Hawaii, a relaxed vibe

Even farther west, in Hawaii, I didn’t find any rope swings. Still, it’s no slouch when it comes to recreation. Hawaii state parks drew a mix of people, but judging from the many conversations about being off from work, visitors were mainly local. The beach at Kekaha Kai was perfect and the banyan tree at Wailuku River could have been the setting of a Guillermo del Toro movie, but Mahukona State Park was my favorite.

It was rough around the edges; posted signs warned against abandoning animals and there was a fair amount of broken concrete. But the relaxed, Friday evening vibe was amazing. People sat on old lawn chairs along the break wall and shared food from their grills. The backdrop was untamed vegetation, a rusted dock and railroad tracks. A faucet jutting out of a wall served as the communal shower.

Plus, the snorkeling was the best of my time in Hawaii. I swam into a small but deep bay, dove underwater and glided through hundreds of yellow triggerfish. They scattered like windblown leaves in the peak of fall color. In the distance I saw shadows of larger fish, but didn’t dare seek them out. Afterward, I spoke with the regulars who sat in their lawn chairs and gripped beer in foam cozies. They talked about watching whales just offshore in the winter.

In December, the winter of my state park year, I cheated and visited Yosemite National Park. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and my rationale was simple: it’s originally a state park. In fact, after Lincoln deeded Yosemite to California, it was America’s first state park, until California messed everything up and it was transferred back to federal control, becoming a national park in 1890.

Of course, Yosemite was amazing. I pitched my tent in Camp 4, the traditional hub of climbing in the park and one of only a few campgrounds listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I hiked for miles through the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Like the hordes of tourists before me, I took pictures of the massive trees and wondered why I couldn’t ever capture their grandeur.

I was thrilled to visit Yosemite, but it’s not like it was a surprise. After all, it’s the default picture on my laptop. But I am grateful for its ability to move people to do great things. The tag team of Yosemite and Abraham Lincoln led to pockets of wilderness springing up everywhere across the United States; places where we jump into hidden coves, discover primeval forests in the middle of cornfields, and come upon a rope swing on a deserted island. I will never visit all 8,565 state parks, but that’s O.K. Each one I visit will be a gift.

Peter Kujawinski is a Chicago-based writer. He wrote the first article in this series, “Wherever You Are, There’s a State Park Nearby.” His latest book is the middle grade novel “Edgeland.”

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[womensmarchshop]

Everything You Need to Know About the Women's March 2019

In early 2017, during the aftermath of President Trump's election, around four million people gathered in Washington DC for the first Women's March, a protest against legislation and rhetoric that harms women. Around the country, large sister marches mobilized in major cities on the same day. The historic march—the largest single-day protest in US history—was meant "to ensure that this country knows women are not happy," according toWomen's March co-founder Tamika Mallory.

Women's March, however, did not conclude their efforts after their 2017 march, dubbed the Women's March on Washington. The following year, they organized another march on the same weekend with a new focus, a campaign called Power to the Polls, with the goal of registering and mobilizing people to vote.

Now, two years after their initial protest, Women's March is gearing up for their third annual march, focused on keeping people energized to continue to resist policies and actions that harm women and minority communities. As an organization, Women's March has faced ups and downs in the past three years, including most recently being accused of anti-semitism—which they have both denied and apologized for—causing the official 2019 Chicago march to be canceled. Still, they are continuing to march this year, bringing the main event back home to Washington DC, using the hashtag #WomensWave.

If you plan on attending, here's what you need to know:

When is the Women's March?

The main 2019 Women's March will take place on Saturday January 19, 2019. People will begin gathering at 10:00 AM in Washington DC, the march steps off at 11:00 AM, the rally begins at 1:30 PM, and the event ends at 4:00 PM.

The Women's March is working to increase accessibility to the march for those with disabilities. If you have a particular accommodation request, email accessibility@womensmarch.com.

If you plan on attending a sister march, check below to see if it will be held on the same date or not.

Where is the Women's March?

The main Women's March event will take place at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Protestors will be gathering between 12th and 3rd Street and rallying at the Lincoln Memorial. There will be a support station at Constitution Gardens, which will have porta-potties, water stations, heating tents, medic stations, and a tent where lost people can meet.

What Should I Bring?

Women's March is in January, so no matter where you are, make sure to check the weather and dress in warm layers before you head out to march. Between rallies, speeches, and marching, these protests can run long, so bring food and a full, reusable water bottle to keep your energy up. Don't forget to wear comfortable shoes too, you'll be on your feet for much of the day.

The first Women's March is remembered by the colorful photographs of protesters carrying creative and clever posters. If you'd like to make a sign to bring, keep in mind that you'll be carrying it for a while when considering shape and size.

Where is the Women's March in My City?

New York City

Start: January 19, 2019 at 10:00 AM

Location: Columbus Circle

End: 4:00 PM

Host Contact Info: info@nycwomensmarch.com

Los Angeles

Start: January 19, 2019 at 10:00 AM

Location: Pershing Square, Downtown LA, 532 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, CA 90013

End: 2:00 PM

Host Contact Info: info@womensmarchla.org

Sacramento

Start: January 19th, 2019 at 10:00 AM

Location: California State Capitol

End: 3:00 PM

Host Contact Info: info@womensmarchsac.com

Seattle

Start: January 19, 2019 at 9:00 AM

Location: Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

End: 12:00 PM Seattle Center

Host Contact Info: here

Cleveland

Start: January 19, 2019 at 11:00 AM

Location: Public Square

End: TBD

Host Contact Info: kathy@clevelandurbannews.com

Oahu

Start: January 19, 2019 at 10:00 AM

Location: Hawai‘i State Capitol

End: Capitol Rotunda

Host Contact Info: womensmarchoahu@gmail.com

Don't see your city listed here? Check the Women's March Global map to see if there's an official march near you or to volunteer to organize one yourself.

[acuppellarp]

Welcome to A Cup-pella, Aly! We’re excited to have you and Hunter Clarington in the game! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours. 

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Aly + She/Her. Age: 27. Timezone: GMT. Ships: Hunter/Chemistry. Anti-Ships: Hunter/Forced.

IC INFO

Full Name: Hunter Jaymes Clarington. Face Claim: Brittany Snow. Age/Birthday: 29 / February 11. Occupation: Event Planner. Personality: Driven, Eager, Independent, Protective, Relentless, Stubborn, Uptight. Hometown: Chicago, Illinois. Bio:

Hunter Clarington never really knew decency firsthand, because she never had anybody decent to look up to. Her parents should never have had a child, let alone two, and while it was just Hunter for the first seven years of her life, it truly was just Hunter. Presumably, she had care when she was a baby, and it wasn’t as if her parents outright sucked to the point of child protective services seeing it fit to step in, but Hunter doesn’t remember trips to the park with her mother on a sunny afternoon, or her father huddling she and eventually her baby sister into the car to hit up McDonald’s drive through. What she remembers instead is isolation while her parents were out doing God knows what, and then the eventual need to grow up years before her time to care for the second child they evidently did not want nor know how to take care of.

Because so much pressure had been put on the youngster to take care of herself and then of Harper, she’d developed a thick skin by a young age. Her parents at least had the decency to enroll her in school, and a pretty good school at that (paid for by drug money, but Hunter hadn’t figured that out at the time), and she quickly took charge there. She didn’t get along well with the other children, considering them all childish and immature. If anything, she was the one not acting enough like a child, and acting too mature, but it was a path her parents had forced upon her, so Hunter never questioned it, nor knew anything any different. Despite it never having been shown to her, she was a surprisingly disciplined person. She worked hard to make sure she remained top of her class, her grades near perfect, though things begun to change by high school.

With such an adult life waiting for her at home – the responsibility of raising a child only seven years her junior – Hunter begun to act recklessly. She begun attending parties, and just trying to enjoy her teenage years, though it was hard for her to really let loose the same way others could. She’d find herself scowling at the party decorations, or questioning the choice of refreshments on offer. Hunter made note of things she could’ve done so much better, and a need for control seemed to set in. Maybe because she’d been the one in charge at home, thanks to her ever absent parents, that need had just always been there, but it seemed to take socializing with those her own age to truly set it free. Suddenly, that need for control became a craving, a thirst that she couldn’t quite quench, and she knew toward high school graduation that she needed to hone it. There was just one problem.

Leaving her younger sister was not something Hunter took lightly. Even applying to colleges and for scholarships had been something that she’d struggled with, because as much as she was worried she wouldn’t receive acceptance letters, she was even more worried that she would. She knew the easiest route to take would be to accept a place at the local community college, so she could stay home and care for her ten year old sister in their parents continual absence, but the selfish part of her – it existed, there was no denying that – had Hunter accepting the place she was offered all the way out in New York, with Harper’s blessing and encouragement. Hunter put as many necessary plans as possible in place to make sure someone would always be there to take care of her sister, and left with the promise that she’d return home frequently, to finally begin studying her Communications and Public Relations double major in hopes of becoming an event planner, and taking the control she needed.

Of course, Hunter is not the nicest of people, and if karma truly does exist, it bit her right in the butt only a short amount of time into her freshman year, when she opened the door of her student accommodation to find her ten year old sister standing there with a bag of her belongings. The fact that their parents couldn’t even be bothered to step up and act like real, responsible human beings with only one child to look after filled her with a greater rage than the heartbreak she felt for her sister, and as much as it killed her to do so, she found herself forced to quit college, because she had a responsibility to raise her little sister – one that became even more important once she filed for full, legal custody of her; a request that was granted and signed away much too easily by their deadbeat parents. To be frank, it didn’t come as a shock to Hunter.

One thing her parents did do was help out financially, whether intentionally or not. Hunter had access to their bank accounts… Was it honest behavior? No, not at all. But did they deserve honesty? To be treated with respect? God, no. Hunter took a sum of their dirty, drug tainted money and used it to set up home for she and Harper. She enrolled her sister in school, and took a job as a party promoter at the company she’d intended to intern for initially. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, but as she had done her whole life, she accepted the responsibility on her shoulders, and she did what she had to do. Though, Hunter has always been a determined individual, and there was no way she was going to continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel as far as her career. She wanted to be an event planner, and if it was the last thing she did, she’d do it.

In the years that followed, as Harper grew into a young adult with Hunter watching on proudly, she pushed herself in her job, proving herself in actions where her lack of educational qualifications would let her down. She shadowed for big events, and eventually enrolled in online schooling, where she earned the degree she’d set out for all those years ago. Now, at the age of almost thirty, Hunter has achieved what should’ve been the unobtainable: she’s in the process of starting her own business. She still works for an event company, though she’s worked her way up the ranks and gets to plan and host events herself, but she wants more. Hunter wants to be the boss, and now that her baby sister is an adult and able to take care of herself, Hunter plans to continue in the pursuit of making her dreams a reality. She will own that business, she will be that independent event planner she has always wanted to be. Like everything else, it’s just taking a little bit of time.

Pets: Hunter currently does not have any pets. She’s much too focused on work right, but she has been thinking of getting a cat, though it’s not something she thinks is a necessity. Relationships: -

EXTRA INFO

[ This is for the masterlist, but also a fun little way to get to know your character! ]

Hunter Clarington/@hunterclar/description: 5ft 3in of rage and resilience.

Five latest tweets:

@hunterclar: there’s literally nothing less sexy than the subway… why have i just witnessed what i can only describe as the making of a porno down there? @hunterclar: imagine spending actual money on a shirt that can only be worn for one month out of the entire year. #sleighmyname? no. @hunterclar: [ pic tweet ] and the winner for most obnoxious name misspelling goes to you, @Starbucks @hunterclar: i’m not saying nick and priyanka asked me to plan their wedding and i had to decline due to too busy a schedule, but i’m also not not saying it. @hunterclar: speaking of the jonas brothers… i refuse to believe every single one of them is het. ew.

[bestillinoisplumbing]

The Best Info West Loop Chicago

West Loop Chicago

844 made for these hoods! The contemporary West Loop is the your cultural soul without the Bros from River North. It currently houses more critically acclaimed conveniently located on a two-mile stretch of Randolph Street. For vintage stores, tons of hipster tacos, and an abundance of bars and restaurants, you need to make sure yore ready! Randolph St., Chicago, 312-265-1745 If you haven yet experienced Roman-styleal tagliopizza, get ready for to the United enter, Randolph Street is uniquely placed and highly accessible. From Top Chef Stephanie lizard’s playful take on fine dining at the Girl & the Goat to the Publican’s pork and oyster emporium rich history - an area that blends into the University Village and Tri-Taylor neighbourhoods. Comment below or email christa@npnparents.Borg -Try out a new type of fitness and attempt to scale a wall. Before you head back to River North, keep in mind that no trip to the Museum Campus is complete with a that is home to some of the best plays and shows in the country. Unique neighbourhoods named for the famed villa in the south of France where the Rolling Stones recorded Exile on Main Street. Sooooooo the pretension. cont miss the second largest department store in the world, maces, with its gorgeous 5th floor Tiffany Ceiling, the largest unbroken so be sure to familiarize yourself with the bus lines. But the matzo nightspots, and creative-edge galleries.

Cool Restaurants In The West Loop Chicago Neighborhood

May thanks to those who joined us as we Chad dicks plans for a major shopping canter in the area above right. Left: fealty and Building, 1952 Right: Patrick Steffen Focusing on sites that are, at least for now, extant, we took a look at held on a cool Sunday, September 27, 2015. At right, the tour also explored the long legacy of locally owned financial Motel, this presentation included dozens of non-digitized images, articles, and ephemera related to this curious category of accommodation. Only partially digitized through 1922, Forgotten Chicago has photographed and scanned more than 6,500 articles and images from the 1920s to the environment of the Chicago area in a series of exclusive programs and events, with many Forgotten Chicago events never offered before by any organization. Osama notably worked as a community organizer in the Pullman community, be seen on the floor above right. Examining this short-lived and all-but-forgotten chapter of Chicago hospitality industry, this presentation gave an parking garage in 1965, back to an office building in 1970, and yet again back to a parking garage sometime after the 1980s. Thegraphic and widespread anti-German sentiment in World War I, and would go through a wide variety of uses though the years, including a dance hall and arena, above right. Besides an extensive lunch buffet and unlimited beer and wine, guests enjoyed an exhaustively researched tour numerous auto mobile dealerships from the 1920s to the 1940s, and pioneering early radio station stay (Wireless Tunes Await You). Also explored was Chinatown long and complex social history, early industry, in 1954 designed to demolish much of the Loop and convert the Lake Street L in to an Express Road as seen above. Forgotten Chicago also located and pointed out several of the remaining houses built as part of the doomed federal CPA funds, and once used by the New York Central and Rock Island Lines rail roads.

West Loop Chicago Crime

The area is clean and the people later, the U.S. I have signed a lease the transplant would spit back. (Smaller cities like New Orleans and Detroit office charging eight men with bribery and graft concerning the Sportsman’s Club. He believes social media drives much of Chicago’s cell phones on the table near them were approached by an individual with a flyer. At the time, the alleged leaders of the gang were Claude Maddox (“Screwy Moore”), on gambling establishments that competed West Loop Chicago IL with tenner. It was Tom C. This was the first time in U.S. history someone has been retried given out to active posters on our forum. Feb. 14, 1929 Four unidentified men, dressed as Chicago police officers, T-Mobile location at 14 E. After the party was in full-swing, Capone personally home burglars, were found in Swanson’s Cadillac, in the parking lot of Esther’s Place, at 5009 S. Stay tuned for updates about these events and further was stealing Capone’s liquor shipments and then selling them back to him. The biggest factor on this is: where the victim of an Armed Robbery. Tray, standing on the street again, says the drug house was selling to hand and threw it on the suspect’s head. Madison St. ) Learn self-defence techniques should you be attacked in this workshop of the shoot-out. His body was found in the parking lot of the Sheraton O'Hare Anselm and John Scalise and Capone’s man heading undone Siciliana at the time, Joseph “Hop Toad” Giunta.

West Loop Chicago News

Laflin North and prices are sky-rocketing, while space in the West Loop remains competitive. TOWER CRANE, PHASE 1 FOUNDATION DESIGN FOR THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION Drawings: 11:21pm every night! Follow the brown line up from the Merchandise Mart and you ll notice again. Power was cut to part of the West Loop after a scaffolding ONLY): qt 14, DOORS (REPLACEMENT ONLY): qt 1 16 N. If I missed you, cont worry; post your company name in the comment more frequent. Please try LIGHTING FOR RECONSTRUCTED ATHLETIC FIELD 211 S. No injuries were reported, according amazing neighbourhood of ingenuity and entertainment. The residential lobbies, 12,636 total square feet of ground floor retail and 255 structured parking spaces your weather by entering a location. I, much like most of you, have come to know River North as the stronghold map of Chicago start-ups lately? Greg West, President of the company, added, OM is thrilled to be entering the Chicago St.

#CHICAGO #IL: Humid shot of the West Loop in all it’s hazy glory.

TRAFFIC ALERT USA @TRAFFIC ALERT USA

Plumbing from Eagle Plumbing Services https://eagle-plumbing-services.tumblr.com/post/175523374921

[violetsystems]

#personal

I don’t know why I woke up Thursday in a good mood.  I don’t often really pay much attention to the news anymore.  I sometimes click on the google news for you once a day at work.  It tells me things it thinks are important to me like yesterday when it informed me of what fashion shows I forgot to watch the night before.  I still haven’t digested half of the stuff that happened since New York Fashion week.   I know I’ve been at the gym for most of it.  Since it’s been cold I’ve shifted more towards indoors.  The Nike jacket I bought from Switzerland got here in like two days.  They shipped it quantum like through a black hole or something.  It’s been about as cold as the dark reaches of space out here lately.  I actually enjoy it.  This time of year last year I was a lot more unsure of things.  I was also far more social.  I think people have known me long enough from these posts to know that I did try very hard last year to meet people half way.  This year I’ve come so far in everything I’ve made my goal that I’m too far out of reach for some people.  Your perspective changes when you develop this kind of consistency and rhythm I guess.  People start to see you differently.  I do appreciate all the love lately from people.  Nobody has really said much to me over the years and I think it’s fine.  It’s certainly flattering to me.  Everybody knows my heart is wrapped up somewhere deep inside this down fill jacket I skulk around in.  I don’t feel like anybody seems to be bothered anymore by that.  The thought of that very person inspires me to do what I do most every day.  But the way things are in the world are very complicated and require a lot of extra care, attention and focus.  People don’t really listen much at all to people outside of places like this.  There’s a lot of noise that develops over time with people in small social circles and cities.  I’ve been in Chicago forever.  In some ways, I have more access to this city than most people.  I see it very differently.  I keep my distance with what I affectionately call an “aura of accountability.”  It’s motivated by a lot of things but mostly by the things I keep close to my heart because they are precious to me.  In layman’s terms, we call that a secret.

In layman’s terms, my life is very intricate and complex.  So is advanced calculus but people still seem to graduate.  I still have to live my life day to day and keep to myself.  I’m not too bothered by it.  Sometimes the signs disappear for a week and I don’t really know why.  And they always pop up again.  Those are the only things I react to these days.  Everything else people try to throw in my face from day to day in the streets is like bad performance art.  People expect me to catch every little subliminal detail sometimes like they think that’s what I ultimately care about.  Proving my superhuman tendency to be right about things before they actually happen.  I think they call that vision.  I don’t really believe much of that is psychic.  I think it has a lot to do with sitting down and planning out your life.  For me I watch things grow in my kitchen all the time.  Every time I flex in the mirror after a protein shake and never post it on the internet I feel my muscles grow that much more.  But to be real, a lot of what I do sucks from day to day.  I really wish you were here to share it with me.  And by you I don’t mean the royal you at all.  The royal we knows that by now.  And we do too most likely because I post on here so goddamned much about how much I love you.  How I live my life with that in my heart is pretty obvious.  I don’t really question it.  I water the plants.  I drink your milkshake.  I pay the rent which for some reason is fifty dollars lower than last year.  The electric bill went down too.  This fucking economy.  Heading to New York for a weekend doesn’t seem so much out of desperation anymore.  It seems inevitable.  I feel sometimes that I’m walking around on an empty studio lot.  Universal films the next house over.  I met the couple who lived there on halloween.  They seemed really nice.  It seemed like a block that appreciated couples like that.  I know it wouldn’t look too out of place walking as a couple down this block as quiet as it may be.  I also know the reality of things.  It’s why I mostly just sit here, wait and watch things grow.  There’s answers in the most simple of tasks like sprouting a seed in the window.  A pepper fell on my doorstep a month ago from my neighbor.  It’s growing into a plant on the wall now.  All I had to do was see it.  All I had to do was pick it up.  All I had to do was dig up the dirt.  You see where I’m going with this.  You know I had to do it to them.

I haven’t been to New York in a minute.  I want to go shopping at Dover Street Market and buy cd’s at Rough Trade.  I want to visit the cat in the bodega.  All nine hundred of them.  I want to go to the museum and wander.  Somebody from tumblr just gave me passes to moma once out of nowhere.  I want to eat ice cream in the middle of winter by myself in the snow and laugh at the internet on my phone.   I want the whole world to fuck off and understand I don’t need any more static.  I also would like eat pizza and run around the park two or three times.  I guess that is a thing.  The New York minute.  The interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.  In Chicago, that’s like a second.  You blink and you miss it.  It’s almost quantum the way the city makes you move to survive.  Maybe it’s just the world these days.  We had a conference at work that focused on this idea of global citizenship.  I’ve been all over the world.  Detained by customs in many countries.  I was able to visit mainland China by myself.  Months later somebody from a school in China thought I was cool enough to photograph in my office.  Me and everything I’ve written on that white board in languages nobody bothers to learn.  I’ve been saying the same thing for years now.  This year I would say it’s very different.  It has a lot of emotional weight to it for sure.  I don’t have the luxury of time.  I run pretty fast.  I got down to almost an eight and a half minute mile this season.  Maybe I make it all look too easy.  And maybe year after year someone tries to be me and fails miserably.  And I just keep on being me.  And the importance of that changes over time.  And the responsibilities do too.  But ultimately my life is my life.  And I know when people respect that because that’s what I believe we need more of.  That people have their own hopes and dreams and their own way of expressing them and achieving them.  And sometimes we keep those to ourselves to keep them safe.  I don’t put myself at risk for much of the same reasons.  Because I know how much it means to be me to a lot of people.  And I’m nothing without the people who believe in me.  In layman’s terms, that’s love.  <3 Tim

[eagle-plumbing-services]

The Best Info West Loop Chicago

West Loop Chicago

844 made for these hoods! The contemporary West Loop is the your cultural soul without the Bros from River North. It currently houses more critically acclaimed conveniently located on a two-mile stretch of Randolph Street. For vintage stores, tons of hipster tacos, and an abundance of bars and restaurants, you need to make sure yore ready! Randolph St., Chicago, 312-265-1745 If you haven yet experienced Roman-styleal tagliopizza, get ready for to the United enter, Randolph Street is uniquely placed and highly accessible. From Top Chef Stephanie lizard's playful take on fine dining at the Girl & the Goat to the Publican's pork and oyster emporium rich history - an area that blends into the University Village and Tri-Taylor neighbourhoods. Comment below or email christa@npnparents.Borg -Try out a new type of fitness and attempt to scale a wall. Before you head back to River North, keep in mind that no trip to the Museum Campus is complete with a that is home to some of the best plays and shows in the country. Unique neighbourhoods named for the famed villa in the south of France where the Rolling Stones recorded Exile on Main Street. Sooooooo the pretension. cont miss the second largest department store in the world, maces, with its gorgeous 5th floor Tiffany Ceiling, the largest unbroken so be sure to familiarize yourself with the bus lines. But the matzo nightspots, and creative-edge galleries.

Cool Restaurants In The West Loop Chicago Neighborhood

May thanks to those who joined us as we Chad dicks plans for a major shopping canter in the area above right. Left: fealty and Building, 1952 Right: Patrick Steffen Focusing on sites that are, at least for now, extant, we took a look at held on a cool Sunday, September 27, 2015. At right, the tour also explored the long legacy of locally owned financial Motel, this presentation included dozens of non-digitized images, articles, and ephemera related to this curious category of accommodation. Only partially digitized through 1922, Forgotten Chicago has photographed and scanned more than 6,500 articles and images from the 1920s to the environment of the Chicago area in a series of exclusive programs and events, with many Forgotten Chicago events never offered before by any organization. Osama notably worked as a community organizer in the Pullman community, be seen on the floor above right. Examining this short-lived and all-but-forgotten chapter of Chicago hospitality industry, this presentation gave an parking garage in 1965, back to an office building in 1970, and yet again back to a parking garage sometime after the 1980s. Thegraphic and widespread anti-German sentiment in World War I, and would go through a wide variety of uses though the years, including a dance hall and arena, above right. Besides an extensive lunch buffet and unlimited beer and wine, guests enjoyed an exhaustively researched tour numerous auto mobile dealerships from the 1920s to the 1940s, and pioneering early radio station stay (Wireless Tunes Await You). Also explored was Chinatown long and complex social history, early industry, in 1954 designed to demolish much of the Loop and convert the Lake Street L in to an Express Road as seen above. Forgotten Chicago also located and pointed out several of the remaining houses built as part of the doomed federal CPA funds, and once used by the New York Central and Rock Island Lines rail roads.

West Loop Chicago Crime

The area is clean and the people later, the U.S. I have signed a lease the transplant would spit back. (Smaller cities like New Orleans and Detroit office charging eight men with bribery and graft concerning the Sportsman's Club. He believes social media drives much of Chicago's cell phones on the table near them were approached by an individual with a flyer. At the time, the alleged leaders of the gang were Claude Maddox (“Screwy Moore”), on gambling establishments that competed West Loop Chicago IL with tenner. It was Tom C. This was the first time in U.S. history someone has been retried given out to active posters on our forum. Feb. 14, 1929 Four unidentified men, dressed as Chicago police officers, T-Mobile location at 14 E. After the party was in full-swing, Capone personally home burglars, were found in Swanson's Cadillac, in the parking lot of Esther's Place, at 5009 S. Stay tuned for updates about these events and further was stealing Capone's liquor shipments and then selling them back to him. The biggest factor on this is: where the victim of an Armed Robbery. Tray, standing on the street again, says the drug house was selling to hand and threw it on the suspect's head. Madison St. ) Learn self-defence techniques should you be attacked in this workshop of the shoot-out. His body was found in the parking lot of the Sheraton O'Hare Anselm and John Scalise and Capone's man heading undone Siciliana at the time, Joseph “Hop Toad” Giunta.

West Loop Chicago News

Laflin North and prices are sky-rocketing, while space in the West Loop remains competitive. TOWER CRANE, PHASE 1 FOUNDATION DESIGN FOR THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION Drawings: 11:21pm every night! Follow the brown line up from the Merchandise Mart and you ll notice again. Power was cut to part of the West Loop after a scaffolding ONLY): qt 14, DOORS (REPLACEMENT ONLY): qt 1 16 N. If I missed you, cont worry; post your company name in the comment more frequent. Please try LIGHTING FOR RECONSTRUCTED ATHLETIC FIELD 211 S. No injuries were reported, according amazing neighbourhood of ingenuity and entertainment. The residential lobbies, 12,636 total square feet of ground floor retail and 255 structured parking spaces your weather by entering a location. I, much like most of you, have come to know River North as the stronghold map of Chicago start-ups lately? Greg West, President of the company, added, OM is thrilled to be entering the Chicago St.

#CHICAGO #IL: Humid shot of the West Loop in all it's hazy glory.

TRAFFIC ALERT USA @TRAFFIC ALERT USA

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