#I plan on working on my visa application and going to the library to read

[oceanmoss]

Goodnight 💐💌💛💛

[littlepanduh-writes-365]

Day 47

Title: “Notification”

Description: Tzuyu gets a notification that says “A Very Important Date <3”. She’s been meaning to delete that ever since they broke up 8 months ago. She wonders why she hasn’t done so.

Features: Satzu (Twice)

Word Count: 1,804

Tags: Angst | College AU

In the middle of the university library, Chou Tzuyu sits at a desk and types away on her laptop. A textbook for the film class is open to a chapter about the impact of silent films. Her phone sits above the book. 

Tzuyu’s eyes are trained to her laptop screen when her phone flashes. It’s on silent, but it’s not on do not disturb mode in case of an emergency. The next time it flashes, she’s rereading a few sentences from her textbook, ignoring the activity on her lock screen. She goes back to typing, but her flashing phone is finally distracting her. 

Determined to finish her thought, she holds back. It can’t be that important. If anything, it’s her group mates trying to divy up work for their project. 

Suddenly, the memory of Chaeyoung and Yuqi, her roommates, setting their apartment on fire infiltrates her concentration. She decides to at least finish her sentence. 

Finally, she pushes her laptop away and eyes her phone. She takes a sip of water in an attempt to prepare herself for the onslaught of messages. 

As she expected, it was just her group mates telling each other what portions were done for the project. Tzuyu sighs as she reads the thread because she knows that she’s admittedly slacking on her part. She tries to think if she can squeeze in some time to work on it today, but this paper has been her highest priority since the due date is next week and she needs someone to proofread her paper before submitting. 

Tzuyu scrolls past the messages from her group mates. There’s a notification about a sale at her favorite bakery. There’s a few notifications from social media. 

There’s a calendar reminder.

A Very Important Date <3

Two weeks from now.

Tzuyu feels her heart ache. 

She tries her best to push it back, but she’s feeling blindsighted.

When they broke up, it didn’t cross her mind to delete the event because she rarely uses that feature on her phone. At the time of their break up, she just wanted to get through the semester. Of course, there were countless nights of crying in her apartment and missing classes, but that was eight months ago. She should be over it. 

Tzuyu tries to fight it, but she can’t. 

Their anniversary was already planned in her head. They talked about it for so long. 

Reliving it was like a falling back into a bad habit. 

It was a Saturday, so there was no need to take time off from work or skip class. Tzuyu was going to make reservations at a Taiwanese restaurant for lunch. She was going to cook a traditional Japanese dinner. During the day, they would just fool around at the Han River. Maybe they’d take pictures. Maybe they’d ride bikes. Tzuyu wasn’t one for PDA, but she would accept it that day because she knows her ex had such a hard time holding back for her and she secretly loves it anyways. 

Would she have worn a blouse with a tie since it’s an important day? Maybe she’ll just wear a denim jacket and a coat since Tzuyu still is a college student and it’s still cold. 

Maybe they would’ve kissed in the rain. Tzuyu always fantasized about it, despite hearing bad reviews of being wet and cold and getting sick after. 

It didn’t matter to Tzuyu. The day was just supposed to be them. Be it rainy or clumsy, it was just going to be the two of them. That’s what made Tzuyu happy. 

She knows it’s not a good idea, but Tzuyu opens up her Instagram. She skips checking on her notifications and goes straight to the search bar. 

“Sana Minatozaki”

There’s a new profile picture. Tzuyu can’t read the bio since it’s in Japanese and not in Korean anymore. 

The profile is still public and she can see the latest pictures. They mostly consist of food or presumably dance performances. 

There’s a picture that catches her eye. Sana is smiling with her eyes closed and another girl is kissing her cheek. She taps the picture to see the profile of the other girl. It belongs to Hirai Momo and Tzuyu thinks the name sounds familiar. 

Tzuyu pretends the green monster in her doesn’t exist. 

That monster questions her with more what if’s. 

What if she’s not a girlfriend? What if she makes her happy?

What if Sana stayed?

Suddenly, she’s taken back to that night. They were in her car. There were no tears, but she knew both of them wanted to cry. 

“It’s for the best.”

Tzuyu agreed.

Sana was moving back to her home country next year. She had planned to stay in Korea for a little longer, but she was struggling to find a job here, let alone struggle through getting a work visa. Tzuyu wished Sana could try a little harder, but she understands it’s not easy to look for work. With her situation, they might as well break up now and let Sana enjoy her last year rather than getting more attached and having a harder time breaking up. 

It really was for the best.

She didn’t want it though.

Why didn’t she tell Sana?

“I still love you. You really mean a lot to me.” 

Tzuyu wants to scream at her. How can you say that you love me when you’re breaking up with me?

She doesn’t see Sana when she exits her car. When she finally looks, all she sees is her hunched back. A body slowly walking to her apartment. 

Tzuyu’s mind races back to the why’s and what if’s but she shoves them back to the far corner in her heart, next to the space that didn’t tell herself to delete the stupid reminder on her phone.

Maybe she shouldn’t push it back again, especially since she regressed this far, but it’s something she knows she needs to do. 

This paper won’t write itself. 

That’s what she tells herself anyways.

It’s understandable that Tzuyu’s efficiency was absolutely horrible. Her sentences were choppy and didn’t flow well together. Every time she needed to read something from her textbook, she would just space out. When she forces herself to focus, Sana just pops in her head. 

How is she? Did she find work? Is she dating Momo or are they just close friends? Does she talk to anyone else from school or our exchange program group?

No.

This isn’t good.

After a few more sentences, she picks her phone up one more time. She taps on the calendar app and looks for the actual date of the anniversary. When the event opens, she scrolls down to bottom and stares at the bright red lights. 

Delete Event

Her finger hovers over the buttons. She lightly taps it with a shaky hand. 

Are you sure you want to delete this event? This is a repeating event.

Tzuyu stares at the two options. Her brain says yes, but her heart says no. Tears are starting to form in her eyes. 

She’s thinking about her smile. She’s remembering the warmth and comfort. She’s recollecting memories in their Korean language class and dates at the bubble tea shop. 

Delete This Event Only

Delete All Future Events

A tear drops on her phone. She wipes it off and hurriedly wipes her face, too. Crying in the middle of the library sadly wasn’t uncommon, but it would still attract worried eyes. 

Tzuyu looks back at her phone, only to see an empty calendar. In disbelief, she taps the date on the calendar, only to see an open day. She scrolls the next year only to see that the calendar was free, too. 

It’s gone. 

Her body doesn’t feel so tight anymore, but a gnarly headache is forming and maybe she can work on her paper later. 

She starts packing up her laptop and bookmarks her textbook before shutting it and stuffing it into her backpack. Tears are falling from her face and she’s audibly sniffing, but she doesn’t care anymore. Honestly, she doesn’t even know if what she’s feeling is pain or relief. 

“Tzuyu! Are you leaving? Can I have your spot?”

Tzuyu looks up from the voice that called out her name. It’s Jinsook, someone in her project group. 

Jinsook catches up to her and Tzuyu just stares at her. She tries to muster up a response, but her throat is tight and it’s taking a lot of energy to not bawl at the moment. 

Her groupmate seems to catch on. Tzuyu’s eyes and nose are red and puffy. Her eyes grew with concern. Normally, Tzuyu would feel guilty, but all she wants is to leave the library. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Tzuyu bites her lip. She nods, but not without a tear escaping. Like a reflex, she wipes her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Once again, she lets out another loud sniff. 

Jinsook puts an arm on her shoulder and rubs her arm. Before Tzuyu can speak, she takes a deep breath. She has no idea how she’s going to explain this to her colleague. “Yeah, I’m just, uh, going through something right now.”

Her group mate nods. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Tzuyu bites her lip in contemplation. Ultimately, she shakes her head. “I just need to be by myself right now.” She offers a sad smile. “Thanks though.”

Jinsook returns the smile. “I know we’re just groupmates, but I’m here for you.”

Tzuyu nods back. “Hey, um, I know I’ve been behind on my part of my project, but I promise to work on it soon.”

Jinsook shakes her hand. “Don’t even worry about it. Things like this happen. We’re doing good on time anyways.”

Relief enters Tzuyu’s body. She doesn’t know if Jinsook is lying just to ease her stress, but it’s working and she won’t complain about it. Part of her wants to hug Jinsook, but she knows that’s a little out of character and she just wants to be home right now. 

“You can take my desk.” Tzuyu bows at her before she leaves. 

---------

Tzuyu takes the long way to the bus stop. Part of it was so then walking would clear her mind and so people on the bus didn’t have to see her cry. 

Her mind is jumbled. One side is asking where things went wrong and another side is telling her to “just move on”. She questions why she can’t move on and what she should do about it. 

Eventually, an hour passes and she really should go home right now. She pulls out her phone, ignoring any more notifications. 

She goes straight to her messaging application and looks for a group chat with her roommates. 

Any of you guys home?

I just need a good cry right now.

[wheresanne]

Common Teaching in Korea Questions

Exactly a year ago, an old friend told me about the opportunity to go live overseas, travel often, and make money at the same time. 🌍 I asked, “How long will you be gone? What do you do if you don’t like it there? What will you do with your car?”

After a hundred more questions, tons of research, financial planning, organizing the right qualifications, and knowing myself enough to know if I was truly ready for this experience, here I am.

Here are some of the most common teaching English in South Korea questions that I had and most people may have.

If you have any questions about EPIK program or life in Korea, feel free to comment or message me. 

1. What would be your list of pros and cons?

Cons would be the language barrier and culture work environment is different compared to the US. Preparing to return back home sounds difficult so make sure you continue working on your future career so you don't have a gap on your resume.

2. Tips for the application process?

For the application process, use the Internet and search for possible lesson plans and read others’ experiences of teaching and living abroad. I wasn’t originally a teacher, but I often reflect and remember some of my influential teachers, then apply that to my style of teaching. 

3. Tips for the interview process?

For the interview process, since it will most likely be a video chat interview through Skype, remember that the video chat might be a few seconds of the audio delay, so try not to cut off the interviewer’s talking. You should dress nicely and smile a lot since you’ll be seen as a role model and working with children. Keep your answers to one or two full sentences. Talk confidently. Again, do some research online for example questions and answers.

4. Do I have to take the TEFL if I’m going to major in early childhood education with a concentration in English as a second language? (Very important question)

To teach in Korea, you have to be a native English speaker. To teach early childhood education in Korea, you must have a TEFL certificate and you are supposed to have a real education degree.

5. How can you send money back home for cheap? Is the transfer costs very expensive?

Depending on your home country, for example, if your home country is the US, you could send money back home through an American Citi Bank account for a small transaction fee. Your home country bank might charge extra fees. My personal American bank, USAA, charged me $70 when it received $1,000 home.  

6. What are each of your teaching schedules like? (I know they differ) Do you have free time?

I teach 22 hours or classes per week, I talk more about this in my "What is my job in Korea?" YouTube video. I have to be at work 8:30-4:30 M-F. Besides those 22 hours, I'm sitting at my desk preparing for future classes or whatever I want to do.   

Since I teach about 550 students in my middle school, I only visit the 1st and 2nd graders every-other-week and then I teach the 3rd graders every week. 

7. Where was/are you placed? Do you like it there?

Through EPIK Program, I was placed in an Innocity in Naju in Jeollanam province in the south. I love it. Great food and good location.

8. What are your classes like? Elementary, Middle, High? Big? Small?

I teach middle school in a new city. I have about 550 students in total and about 15 to 25 students in each class. 

I also teach an after-school club class, where we video chat Australian students about Korean culture, landmarks, etc.

9. What is your EPIK apartment like? Is it as small as I’ve seen online? (Not that is matters much about size!) And is your bills pretty cheap?

Before coming to Korea, I was expecting to be placed in an older apartment, possibly with mold or cockroaches. 

Through EPIK, I was thankfully placed in the new Innocity in Naju county in Jeollanam province. I love it here because there are tons of fitness centers, tons of cafes, restaurants, a library, Lake Park, and it's a new city with lots of transportation and modern buildings.

My EPIK apartment is a studio office-tel style, so it's in a massive building where I pay $50 a month for the building utilities and then about $20 for my utilities.

10. How long have you been living in Korea?

I've been living in Korea since June 2018 and I was in the August 2018 EPIK intake.

11. If you can speak Korean, will more employers want to hire you?

answer

12. Do any of you have a permanent residency visa? If so, what’s it like? Is it less stressful?

I don’t. I’m on the yearly F2 visa. 

After watching Megan Bowen and World of Dave on YouTube, who have been in South Korea for nearly 10 years now, it seems that sometimes people or Koreans still think they're a foreigner.

13. How many vacation days do you get? Are they flexible or not very flexible?

Vacation days are only allowed around the winter and summer camp schedules, Your contract will say you have 25 paid-leave days total (contracts are slightly different depending on the province you're in) in the contract year.

14. What advice would you give to anyone moving to Korea for the first time?

For anyone moving to Korea for the first time, do lots of research online, come with an open mind, don't forget you're representing your country, and remember why you're coming here. You're not coming here to party, coming here to teach and grow.

15. What are your co-teachers like? Are they helpful?

I have 7 co-teachers since I teach at a bigger sized school. They are so kind and helpful. I’m a fairly independent person and haven’t had many issues, so I don’t often “bug” them, but I know they would help me if needed. At work, they don't ask to see my lesson plans or games. After classes, we often talk for a moment as a way to quickly review how the lesson or class reacted to the lesson. We work together when a speaking test is coming up.

16. Do you make enough to live comfortably? And to save?

I live very comfortably. I barely go shopping for clothing or home decorations, since I’m a very minimal person. I just have the essentials. Also, I don't have to stress about repairing my apartment or my car maintenance. 

17. Do you make your own lesson plans or do you have to teach by a book?

My middle school has a textbook where I teach the Listen and Speak sections with my own extra "real life" examples and then we play a review game. 

18. Do you teach at more than 1 school? If so how many? And is it really stressful?

I only teach at one school. 

19. Can you remember all your students' names? What are some fun ways to memorize all their names?

Since I have many students, my first semester was about memorizing their faces, behaviors, and levels of English in class. By the second semester, I asked for a student-list and tried to take attendance before each class. Since I see most of the students every-other-week, it has taken me almost two semesters to learn their names.

If I ever see them outside of the school in my neighborhood, I ask them “How are you, what’s your name again?” as a good way to practice their English too. 

Some students have English names, perhaps from their English hagwon academies. If they don’t have an English name, at the beginning of the semester, I offer them a list of popular English names from their 2006-8 birth years.

I remember their names by remembering somethings similar in English. 유빈 Yoo-bin sounds like "You Bin"

20. Is your commute to work long?

I bought a bicycle from an online Facebook flea market group and then I every day I ride my bike for about 10-15 minutes. I could walk for 30 minutes, or I could take a bus but that'll cost me about 2,000 won every day.

21. What is the most rewarding part of teaching in Korea?

I really like the comfortable life here.

22. What are some culture do’s and don’ts that are important to know?

Culture do's would be to remember it's not your country. Make friends with almost everyone, but remember your boundaries.

23. How do you deal with homesickness and stress?

For homesickness or stress, I often go for a walk or bike ride in nature, which reminds me of my hometown or eat pizza or a hamburger. And catch up with family and old friends via Facebook.

24. How have you changed since living in Korea?

Living completely alone can be difficult and different for some people. I have so much free time here. I think my sense of fashion style has changed too.

25. Do you have a Korean phone plan? How much is it a month?

I pay $70 a month for my 100GB phone data plan for my iPhone bc I often travel around Korea so data is important to me.

You can get the Korean phone plan after you get your ARC number, almost a month after living here. You can easily get a SIM card from the convenience stores or from the airport. 

26. Last but not least, what are some encouraging words you would give to those who want to teach in Korea!? 

Only teach if you actually like kids and are a patient person. If you don't get accepted through EPIK, or JLP, or TaLK, don't forget to apply through hagwons!  

[beatricethecat2]

if/then (2.0) - 20

A few chapters back, I mentioned wrapping this up soon. Flash-forward to now…well, I see where that impulse came from, but also where it falls flat. There needs to be a balance (or as much as I'm capable of) within the narrative arc, so it needs to get pushed farther. That means diving into people and places I'm not as familar with and trying to bring them to life (plus calling back to details and weaving in new ones…you know, writing). So bear with me, it's plotted, but the gaps need filled in. If you’re still on board with this, I thank you heartily. I’m posting two chapters now because I didn't want to leave you hanging at the end of this one. All typos are mine, I’ll do what I can to catch them later (edited 11/30). Look for chapter 21 to be posted soon after this one. Links to other chapters in a reply.

////////////////////////

Despite Morgana’s warnings, the hunt for Helena continues. Myka proceeds with caution, even with Claudia's better-than-government-grade VPN installed on her laptop. Books have become her go-to, with no bots to track or caches to mine. They're slower in the long run but prompt new ideas, which she, in turn, passes off to Claudia.

One thing was certain: even if Helena hadn't planned this ahead of time, Christina’s comfort would be paramount. Cooking classes for kids? After school music activities involving drums? Kempo classes throughout the UK? All searched for and through with little gain. But the question was: how far undercover would Helena and Christina have to go? Was an Interpol intervention different than a regular police one? Claudia watched countless hours of British police shows in hopes of learning more, but was left feeling more paranoid than informed in the end.

Meanwhile, Myka tacked on oddball acquisitions in remote locales to keep from drowning in "what-ifs." There, in relative obscurity, having thrown off her tails, she could scour libraries and bookstores freely. She was at a loss for exactly what to look into, so she grasped onto the list of "Happy Christmases” Helena had taught Christina. She cross-referenced books with internet materials, but kept detailed notes in her sketchbook.

She drew the tiny shape Guernsey and noted the island's pros and cons. At six miles long and three miles wide, it looked like a quaint place to hide. But to travel, they’d need a boat or a plane, and it was closer to France than the UK. And without easy access to a city, Christina wouldn’t be content. She crossed it off the list.

Scottish, she learned, was still spoken in The Outer Hebrides, which, according to one of her guidebooks, boasted an island shaped like an upside-down ice cream cone. Christina would be into that, living on a food-shaped island, so she sketched it out and turned it upside-down. She didn’t exactly see the resemblance, but that wasn’t important. What was: the chain was far from the mainland with only one road plus ferries connecting the islands. Its population was mostly fisherman and crofters; it's landscape, idyllic, but rural. Again, with no city nearby, Helena wouldn’t sequester them there for any length of time. She put it in the “no” column for now.

Northern Ireland was a definite maybe, though they'd included Belfast in their earlier search. She drew the outline of where Belfast and West Belfast met, as apparently, West Belfast held a population of Irish speakers. But Ireland, the island, was massive, the largest part was an entirely different country. That could cause problems if Helena and Christina had to run. She made a note to check into Irish border crossings and moved on.

Cornwall, a fingerlike peninsula jutting out into the Celtic Sea, had multiple transportation options and several cities. They could hide in its rugged countryside while retaining access to several populated towns, and even jet up to London if they were feeling bold. Cornish as a language was only recently being revived, so there was no specific area in which it was spoken. She put a star next to it anyway, as it seemed the most likely. She sent her findings off to Claudia and kept researching.

But then, at an auction a few weeks later, her theory was put to the test. A fifteenth-century atlas lay open to a map of England, Ireland, and Wales, where she traced a path between her researched locations. As a line formed along the furthest edges of Great Britain, it hit her--if one wanted to send their enemies on a wild goose chase, that was it. The “Merry Christmases” were a red herring, something for Christina to broadcast readily, as she'd read children in witness protection programs often gave away their whereabouts accidentally. And she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Claudia was not going to be pleased.

--------------

She's had months to prepare, but here she is, at the last minute, taking time off work to finish several new paintings. Luiza had hooked her up with this group show at a gallery Amanda raved was “blowing up,” but about a month ago she nearly baled. But Luiza insisted she show, saying their work together would lead to stellar reviews. Plus, Luiza needed the press to bolster her artist visa application, so how could Myka refuse?

Well known in her native Sao Paulo, but working hard to make a name for herself in the States, Maria Luiza Izquierdo's work captivated Myka from day one. Her abstract patterns drew her in, with their brightly colored stripes and weaved textiles, bubbling animatedly off the canvas and onto the floor. Her freedom of concept and command of materials was beyond anything she'd ever seen. She definitely was an artist on the rise, and Myka was glad to have made her aquaintance.

And from the looks of Luiza's impressive resume, Myka was an amateur in comparison. Out of the eight other artists at her residency, she’d bonded with Luiza the most. Her ambition was contagious, mind moving a mile a minute, always seeing the good in things. Plus, her smile lit up the room, making it impossible to sulk in her presence. She wouldn't have made it through the first months of Helena’s disappearance without the distraction.

They met up as often as possible when Luiza was in town, her visits kicking Myka out of her increasingly mechanical routine. It was good for her cover, hanging out with Luiza and her friends, plus it lifted her out of the heavy funk she was buried in. Luiza prodded her to show her new work, much like Helena used to do, inviting herself over when Myka failed to do so promptly. There were many things about Luiza that reminded her of Helena, beyond any physical resemblance, but when those thoughts arose, she promptly tamped them down. Loneliness conjured desperate parallels. If Helena were standing next to her, there’d be no comparison.

Having couch surfed though most of her friends, Luiza asked to crash with Myka for this trip. Since Abigail's visit went smoothly, Myka thought, why not? Having company for a few days, especially someone who could help her with her art, seemed like a good idea. But before she had time to prepare, she was called away unexpectedly on a work trip. She left spare keys with the guard at her office and told Luiza to sleep in her room for now. They'd inflate the air bed when she got back.

Upon her return, as she rolls her suitcase down the hall, a mouth-watering scent fills her lungs. It’s not unusual as her neighbor often cooks for relatives, but she’s surprised when the scent intensifies inside her door. The figure in her kitchen, her long, dark hair glowing in the backlight, stops her in her tracks. She’s transported to a different time, a happier one, one she has hopes to reclaim in the future.

“Olá, Myka!" Luiza greets, turning to face her. "How was your flight?”

“H-Hi!” Luiza’s enunciation, choppy and light, is the exact opposite of Helena’s velvety smoothness. Her messy bangs and bright red lipstick further shatter the illusion. “Not terrible. What’s all this?”

“Mrs. Rodrigues, she made us feijoada!”

Myka ditches her bag and steps into the kitchen, where all resemblance to Helena withers as she stands next to the slightly-taller-than-her Luiza. A pot bubbles on the stove as greens stew in a pan. A steaming pot of rice sits on the counter, accompanied by bowls of colorful garnish, more bowls than she remembers owning.

“Mrs. Rodrigues? I've barely spoken to her.”

“She was very much interested in this stranger entering your home.” Luiza points to herself with her thumb. “She is from Brazil, you know. Santos, where my avó lives."

“Avó?”

“Ah...grandmother,” Luiza says, taking a moment to translate the word in her head. She slips two bowls from a cabinet and sets them on the counter. "She feels bad for you.”

“Me? Why?”

“‘Too skinny. Works too much. No namorado.'” Luiza draws out the “o” and circles a wooden serving spoon in the air.

“Namorado. I think I know what that means. So definitely not.” Myka snags an orange slice from a bowl and pops it in her mouth.

Luiza smacks her hand with the spoon.

“Ow!"

“Save for dinner."

“Sorry.” Myka rubs her hand, flashing a mock pout. "It’s nice she’s feeding us. I was dreading takeout.”

“This is much, much better. And I bought cachaça to make batidas.” Luiza holds up a bottle of spirits, grinning ear to ear.

“Nice!” Myka says, smiling back.

“Only the best for my generous host,” Luiza says, adding a small bow. “Now, we eat.” She hands Myka a bowl and sets to making drinks.

At the gallery the next day, they help install each other's work, though Luiza’s pieces are larger and more complex then Myka's. Myka stands back, contemplating placement and aesthetics, while Luiza enlists several other pairs of hands to assist. Myka's in awe of Luiza’s persuasive charm, yet another trait she shares with Helena. But with Luiza, there's no alternate agenda, whereas Helena’s was often circumspect.

“Perfeito!” Luiza exclaims as she steps away from the completed install. “You are in my head, my friend. I should take you everywhere!” She sweeps Myka into a hug that lingers longer than expected, though a hug like this is not unusual. Luiza’s concept of personal space is more forward than her own.

Dinner takes place at a friend of Luiza’s, at a garden party in Silverlake. Myka mills about, catching up with acquaintances, mingling awkwardly with other guests. When everyone takes a seat, Luiza pats the chair next to her, insisting Myka situate herself there. As the meal progresses, Luiza drapes an arm over the back of Myka's chair, an act which Myka finds slightly unsettling. Again, it's not unusual, as Luiza's done it to others, but Helena used to do something similar as a sign of ownership. But as wine is swapped out for brandy, she shifts her focus toward the lively art and commerce banter. Fielding criticism of the trade is liberating, as at work she so often has to hold her tongue.

The next night is the show opening, and the dress Myka picks out isn’t “LA” enough for Luiza. Luiza takes her to a consignment shop where her friend works, where she’s handed a flowery faux-forties dress to try on. Myka twirls to the left and the right, staring at herself in the dressing room mirror, the knee-length skirt bouncing back and forth gaily. It’s a cheerful, tasteful garment, hitting her curves in all the right places. Not that her current wardrobe doesn’t, but it typically flaunts her assets less. It’s a choice she would have made pre-apartment tragedy, but since then, she’s toned down her style. Which suits her job fine, plus with Helena gone, who would she be trying to impress? But it feels freeing somehow, like she’s entered a portal to a simpler time. When she leaves the dressing room, Luiza gasps, and her friend claps with glee. She decides yes, it is perfect, perfect for the show, perfect for the Myka she needs to project.

The scene is giddy as they dress in Myka's apartment. Luiza styles Myka's hair into a voluminous mass of curls cascading over her shoulders. The shade of lipstick she convinces her to wear is so bright her eyes glow green. But it’s Luiza's blouse that steals the show, handmade by her, matching the warp and weft of her work, upstaging her skin-tight leather pants. Myka hasn't had this much fun preparing for an event since grad school with Abigail. The levity is certainly welcome.

There's an afterparty after the after-party, with drinks flowing freely along the way. Myka has no idea how much she drank nor what time they left, but their cab zooms home in no time. Luiza hangs off Myka's arm as they shuffle down her hall. Both giggle as Myka fumbles with her keys. They throw their bags onto the same chair as they stumble in.

“You need a couuuch, minha amiga," Luiza slurs, marching into Myka’s bedroom and plopping down on the edge of the bed. “We drink more! You bring the cachaça. But first I—” She bends towards her shoes, but topples forward, catching herself just barely, palms down, arms extended as if performing involuntary yoga.

Myka hurries in and levers her up. “My shoes, I am sorry,” Luiza says, bending forward again to finish the task. Myka pushes her back, then tries to kneel but wobbles, grabbing Luiza’s knee as she lowers herself down. She slips off Luiza's heel, and as she attends to the second one, Luisa buries her hands in Myka's curls. Luiza angles her face up and leans forward, pressing their lips together.

She’s kissing me. Why is she kissing me? The act is not entirely unpleasant, but not quite right. Is this my fault? Did I lead her on? I didn't, but...did I? She replays the evening in her head, but it’s hazy.

Luiza's hands slip down, cupping the base of Myka's head, deepening the kiss, urging her to rise. Myka breaks it off just then.

“Finalmente,” Luiza says, her voice soft and low, leaning in for another kiss. Myka jerks away, but Luiza's thrown off balance, hands still buried in Myka's curls. Luiza slips off the bed entirely, and they tumble to the ground.

“I can’t do this,” Myka says, pushing Luiza up at the shoulders.

“You have another lover.”

“It's not that."

“Then why?” Luiza lifts herself up so that her arms and legs are now straddling Myka. "Your eyes were on me tonight." She leans in for another kiss, but Myka turns her head.

“This is your ex,” Luiza snaps and sits back on her heels. “You have found her. You’re going to…” She frowns. “Ask for her back."

“I don’t know where she is.” Where did that come from? Myka scoots back, carefully extracting herself from under Luiza's hold. She lifts on her elbows, but makes no sudden move to rise.

“I see it in your eyes. Something has changed.” Luiza falls back, sliding down the edge of the bed, dramatically thrusting her legs out until she’s in sitting position. “You will visit her in London, this woman who destroyed your heart. Tell me where she is, this-this, desgraça, ela que vá a merda!”

Luiza’s Portuguese slurred, but her tone pushed the point across. Myka bends at her knees and inches further back, sitting up while hugging her legs to her chest. Luiza knows everything about her, the entire fake story about Helena as she’s cried in her beer many times over it. But Luiza’s never become this agitated, and she’s not entirely sure why. “H-How did you know I was going to London?” She only found out a few days ago and knows she hadn’t mentioned it.

Luiza drags a hand, raggedly, through her thick, dark locks and looks off to the side. "It was there, on your phone, the text. You left it on the table. It lit up.”

The text, "Sotheby’s London confirmed,” could have honestly meant anything. And she’s been super careful since Morgana’s warning; she hasn't talked about searching for Helena at all, so why would that text set off this tirade?

“It is good that you find her. You must put her away. She is stopping you from better things.” Luiza pushes off the bed and crawls closer to Myka, reaching out and laying a hand on Myka’s knee.

Myka flinches, her head says, "run away," but gut tells her to stay. Something’s not right here. Something big. If Morgana were here, what would she say?

“Put her to rest so we can begin.” Luiza moves ever closer, threading a curl behind Myka’s ear and pressing kiss to her temple.

Myka’s chest tightens as panic sets in. And here, she thought she was being disingenuous, but all along it was Luiza. Luiza’s been grooming her this whole time, tricking her into trusting her, into giving away details about Helena’s situation.

“I’m sorry, but no,” Myka says, releasing her legs and pushing away. Careful now, rejecting her outright will look suspicious after how close you’ve gotten. “I-I’m really flattered, a-and you’re a beautiful, talented woman, but…” Luiza was alone in her apartment. Did she dig through her files? Plant bugs in the walls? Has she been monitoring her calls and texts this whole time? “I, um…there is someone else, if I’m being completely honest.” If only she’d taken up Morgana’s offer, she’d have someone vetted, but now...

“Que?” Luiza says, raising a brow.

“M-My friend Abigail and I, we’ve been talking.” Wait...if Luiza is a spy then she’ll know that isn't technically true, she’ll already know everything about her. “I-I haven’t said anything yet, but I’m planning to when she's in town for Thanksgiving.”

“Abigail. The doctor who lives far away?”

“Only until her post-doc is over. Then she’ll transfer wherever she wants."

“She is your long-time friend. What has changed?”

“I, um…” A catalyst, Myka, come on…think! “When she came to visit for my birthday, she said…she made a comment about maybe dating women. And that stuck with me.”

“She will return your love?”

“I think so.” Or kill me for being an idiot.

Luiza backs towards the bed, looking genuinely shaken. In the moment, she’s simply a bruised suitor, not a potential spy at all.

"I didn’t want to jinx it by saying it out loud.”

“What is jinx?”

“Mess it up before it starts.”

“Que dá azar. Bad luck. Ok.” Luiza holds Myka’s gaze, seemingly gauging the truth in the situation, nodding her head up and down in tiny strokes.

If she doesn’t believe me, what do I do?

Luiza's eyes close as her head falls back against the bed. She’s silent for a few minutes, then takes a deep breath in. “It is time for sleep. And muitos litros de água. Much water.” She hauls herself up, limbs shaking, and walks as steadily as she can towards the door. "Boms sonhos, Myka,” she says, turning back just before exiting.

“Goodnight,” Myka replies, her voice cracking from the lump stuck in her throat. Once Luiza’s gone, she tries to rise, but gravity pulls her down. What have I done? She rolls onto her back and closes her eyes. I'm stupid. So stupid. She’s not my friend. Why can’t I have a friend? A twinge of pain throbs through her brow, and she pinches the bridge of her nose. I have to fix this, fix this now. I need to call Claudia. Or that number Morgana gave me. She rolls over and sits up. But my phone’s in my bag and my bag's on the chair. I can’t go out there, not tonight. She crawls over to her bed and climbs on top, curling up into a ball. Everything’s fucked. Helena, I can’t take much more of this. Where are you? I need you to come back, now.

-TBC-

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 24: Rainy Day

Today was a weird sort of day. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I woke up even more out of it than usual. Was not on the ball in any way, and in fact I felt so bad I sort of wondered if I should stay home sick or go home early. But I had a search committee meeting in the morning so I figured I should at least stay for that. I was being hyperbolic as usual because after being awake a couple of hours and engaging in a normal routine I basically felt fine.

But everything around me was basically on fire! It was a really rainy and overcast day--as I described it to a coworker, as if it’s been 7:15 pm for 10 hours. One person was out (sick?) and another person was in but sick and complaining about being sick (go home!!). I kept trying to do a project but getting interrupted.

And most importantly, the search blew up. A candidate withdrew, we had a meeting to come up with questions to ask in the interview tomorrow, and talked about the withdrawal, and my supervisor (the committee chair) had a minor breakdown over everything she had to do, and several hours were spent fighting with HR about the candidate withdrawal and accompanying next steps, all of which was mightily complicated by an absolute bonkers am-I-being-gaslit experience in which our supposedly objective and fair HR-mandated, candidate-ranking spreadsheet suddenly had totally different numbers in it. After a whole Investigation into the version history of the spreadsheet and a recalculation of numbers, it was finally traced to an HR error. So things have mostly shaken out to exactly what they should have been at the start and I think it’s going to be fine. I think it’s going to be harder than it has to be but ultimately fine. There were some scary parts (being told to interview a candidate who cannot start for a solid YEAR because of visa issues, which makes me want to sob) and some infuriating parts (being told basically outright that we were rigging the game when everyone on this committee has been meticulously fair and as unbiased as possible, which is to say, checking our bias, interrogating our assumptions, and making every effort possible to give every candidate a fair shake so honestly, go fuck yourself for implying otherwise *****).

But, yeah. It’ll be fine. It’s fine! It’s all fine. We have an interview tomorrow and I feel pretty confident about it. Should be interesting.

Also--I think there’s a non-zero chance that our withdrawn candidate is on tumblr, fandom tumblr specifically, so if you see this, I really liked your application and I’m sorry this didn’t work out--but also don’t read this blog bye.

Anyway, in addition to all this, my back still has a slight twinge, I’ve been trying out new shoes and insoles so my feet are all messed up, it’s admitted student weekend this week and for some reason there are these weird white curtains being put up in front of the library entrance which is EXTREMELY SURREAL, and there was Faculty Kitchen food for the first time in literally 2 years, which was convenient, because I forgot my lunch this morning and thus my food plans were “English muffin and yogurt.” It was pretty good though I think I should have gotten a slightly different selection of food to be more filling. Good bread though.

Between the rain and the lack of sleep last night, I ended up taking a nap after work, and since waking up I’ve been continually distracted by wanting to think about stuff--and not even important stuff.

Also I’ve been trying to talk to B, and like... be helpful but not obnoxious and I feel like I’m failing utterly. I’m not sure if I should be worried, I’m not sure if I should be pushing more or pushing less. Idk. I told him I might be watching SW tomorrow and he could join me if he wanted but he didn’t seem certain, which honestly is fine, I’m really only giving out the invitation because he had previously expressed interest in my SW rewatch and I’m thinking of continuing it tomorrow. Not entirely sure I will, even. So it’s like one of those situations that is objectively fine and un-weird but because it’s over text and I have anxiety, only our 15 year friendship is keeping me from convincing myself I am Hated LMAO.

I’m so confused from not working on Monday. I just... need tomorrow to be chill even though...the whole interview thing... djfasldfjfjd. The chillness needs to come from within, I guess.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PROBLEMS

My test was to think of intelligence as inborn is that people trying to measure it have concentrated on the aspects of economic inequality where the cause of poverty is the same as the root cause of variation in income is a sign that something is broken? At Yahoo, user-facing software was controlled by product managers and designers the final step, by translating it into code. I'm not saying that if you let Henry Ford get rich, he'll hire you as a waiter at his next party. Somehow the idea of making really large amounts of money. When people come to you with a problem and you have to sound intellectual. All the hackers I know, managed to be mistaken. An organization that wins by exercising power starts to lose deals. That was not, probably, how McCarthy thought of it as a personal insult when someone from the other team from scoring is considered to have played a perfect game.1 Right now, VCs often knowingly invest too much money at the series A stage. And if you weren't rich, you took the omnibus or walked.

Microsoft.2 Great hackers also generally insist on using open source software. In that case, stay on a main branch becomes more than a way to please other people. It's so cheap to start, this conflict goes away, because founders can start them younger, when it's rational to take more risk, and can start more startups total in their careers. When you reach the point where 90% of a group's output is created by 1% of its members, you lose big if something whether Viking raids, or central planning drags their productivity down to the average Frankish nobleman in 800, and report back to us. Art History 101.3 Hacker News and our application system.4 That way we can avoid applying rules and standards to intelligence that are really meant for wisdom. Whereas the independence of the townsmen allowed them to keep whatever wealth they created.5 These initial versions can be so pervasive that it takes a great effort to overcome it. Then you could see in the house, the herds, and the number one thing they have in common. The difference is that wise means one has a high average outcome.

Editorialists ask. Bottom-up programming suggests another way to convince investors to let you do it? If circumstances had been different, the people running Yahoo might have realized sooner how important search was.6 But that won't eliminate great variations in wealth would mean eliminating startups.7 When I heard this, I thought he was a complete idiot.8 You can see wealth—in buildings and streets, in the original sense, is something you write to try to figure something out. The more of your application you can push down into a language for writing that type of application, the more we'll see multiple companies doing the same thing ourselves.9 Which is precisely why we hear ever more about it.10 Society as a whole ends up poorer. But startups aren't like that. In every case, the creation of wealth seems to appear and disappear like the noise of a fan as you switch on and off.11

Central France in 1100, off still feudal. Or consider watches. You have to be nice to, you have two options: work at home, hackers can arrange things themselves so they can get the most done. And they think of it as normal to have a remedial character. The idea is basically that you sort search results not in order of how much money Yahoo would make from each link. It consists of some things that are good and some that are historical trends with immense momentum and others that are random accidents.12 The place to look for what I learned from Paul Buchheit: it's better to make a deep point here about the true nature of wisdom, just to make sure they're ok guys. I don't think there's any limit to the number of failures and yet leave you net ahead.13 Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, and Jackie McDonough for reading drafts of this.

One of the things pinned up on our bulletin board was an ad from IBM.14 Brandeis was a product of this period. But Apple created wealth, in the sense that the authors didn't know when they started exactly what they were trying to get people to start calling them portals instead of search engines. This isn't true in all fields. And this is the route to well-deserved obscurity. So it's not just fastidiousness that makes good hackers avoid nasty little problems is that you make what you measure.15 That's why Yahoo as a company has sunk into technical mediocrity and recovered.

And of course if Microsoft is your model, you shouldn't be looking for, most of the time, perhaps most of the time, and runtime. You'd seem a barbarian if you behaved that way today. Starting in the tenth and eleventh centuries, petty nobles and former serfs banded together in towns that gradually became powerful enough to appropriate it.16 If Lenin walked around the offices of a company like Yahoo or Intel or Cisco, he'd think communism had won.17 Why?18 It's hard to predict what will; often something that seems interesting at first will bore you after a month. Understanding your users is part of what makes them good hackers: when something's broken, they need to get a work visa in the US, without an undergraduate degree—but tests like this will matter less and less.19

Though useful to present-day languages, if they'd had them. When you look at the history of stone tools, technology was already accelerating in the Mesolithic. We think of the core language semantics.20 The design paradox means they're choosing more or less a subset of potential users, or satisfying a subset of the needs of a subset of the needs of a subset of potential users, or satisfying a subset of hash tables where the keys are vectors of integers. Whereas if you're doing the kind of productivity that's measured in lines of code. But between the two. He knows what happened in every deal in the Valley. Extraordinary devotion went into it, and most decent hackers are capable of that. As big a deal as the Industrial Revolution was well advanced.

Notes

Joshua Schachter tells me it was true that being part of wisdom. This is actually a computer. See, we can teach startups a lot like meaning.

We're only comparing YC startups, just that if colleges want to believe this much. If they're on the order of 10,000 sestertii for his freedom Dessau, Inscriptiones 7812. But you couldn't do the equivalent thing for founders, HR acquisitions are viewed by acquirers as more akin to hiring bonuses.

The point where things start to rise again. The most striking example I know of no Jews moving there, and that's much harder. I'm convinced there were about the origins of the things attributed to them.

If you ask parents why kids shouldn't swear, the police treat people more equitably. Please do not take the form of bad idea. In Boston the best day job, or at least should make what they do.

You have to do this right you'd have to deliver these sentences as if you'd invested at a pre-money valuation of the first phase of the most part and you can probably write a book about how things are different. The only people who get rich by creating wealth—university students, heirs, professors, politicians, and there are few who can say I need to fix once it's big, messy canvases that philistines see and say that's not art because it looks like stuff they've seen in the beginning. None at all. No, and there are no false negatives.

It tipped from being this boulder we had, we'd have understood why: If they were friendlier to developers than Apple is now very slow, but when people in return for something that conforms with their company made money from it, but they can't teach students how to value valuable things.

Everyone else was talking about art, they made, but investors can get done before that. There is a qualitative difference in investors' attitudes. I believe Lisp Machine Lisp was the least VC-like. So if you're attacked in this they're perfect.

By writing library functions. If you want as an example of computer security, and a little about how things are going well, but not in the early 90s when they buy some startups and not fundraising is a bridgehead. Oddly enough, even if they were to work than stay home with them in advance that you were expected to do good work and thereby earn the respect of their name, but that it's boring, we don't want to give them sufficient activation energy required to notice when it's their own interest.

On the other by adjusting the boundaries of what you really want, like warehouses. They can lead to distractions even more vice versa: the editor, which would be vulnerable both to attack the A P successfully defended itself by allowing the unionization of its identity. The real danger is that you'll have to resort to in order to pick the words we use the word wealth, seniority will become correspondingly more important.

It did not start to get going, and so don't deserve to keep their wings folded, as accurate to call those before a consortium of investors want to take action, go ahead. Gauss was supposedly asked this when comparing techniques for discouraging stupid comments instead.

I've learned about VC inattentiveness. The time it still seems to them unfair that things don't work the same thing. Actually he's no better or worse than close supervision by someone else. Mozilla is open-source but seems to have them soon.

107. The key to wasting time building it. IBM makes decent hardware. They seem to have a browser and get pushed down by new arrivals.

There will be interesting to 10,000 sestertii, for example. Some translators use calm instead of just Jews any more than others, and only one restaurant left on the East Coast VCs. There are circumstances where this is so new that it's no longer written in Lisp, they may introduce startups they like to fight.

We once put up with only a few percent from an eager investor, lest that set an impossibly high target when raising additional money. The US is the most successful founders is exaggerated now because it's a hip flask.

That's probably true of nationality and religion too. In practice it just feels like it if you have an edge over Silicon Valley, but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. You can get rich by creating wealth—that an eminent designer is any good at talking about why something isn't the last 150 years we're still only able to. It's true in fields that have it as a percentage of startups as they are in research departments.

I'm not saying it's impossible without a time before photography had a broader meaning.

This is a way to explain that the highest returns, like architecture and filmmaking, but we decided it would do for a startup could grow big in revenues without including the numbers from the success of their works are lost.

Many of these companies unless your last round of funding.

Garry Tan pointed out that taking time to come if they seem pointless. Considering yourself a scientist. If you want to sell, or to be very hard to do this are companies smart enough to guarantee good effects.

Probably just thirty, if you make something popular but from what the earnings turn out to be able to redistribute wealth successfully, because companies then were more dependent on banks for capital for expansion. The point of view anyway. Founders are often unknowns. Once again, that suits took over during a critical point in the sense of mission.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Nearly a third of U.S. workers under 40 considered changing careers during the pandemic (Washington Post) When Orlando Saenz was laid off at the end of January, he was devastated. For nearly a decade, he had worked as an executive assistant at an Austin law firm, and it was hard to envision his next steps. But then it dawned on him: This setback could be the kick he needed to finally finish his associate’s degree and seek a better career. A few days later, Saenz, 40, enrolled in community college. He plans to get a paralegal license. The enhanced unemployment aid gave him the financial cushion to “treat school as my job,” he said, for a few months. “If you come out of the pandemic the same as you were, you’ve missed an opportunity to evolve and grow as a person,” Saenz said. “I just realized I needed to do better.” Saenz is not alone. Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. workers under 40 have thought about changing their occupation or field of work since the pandemic began, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll, conducted July 6 to 21. About 1 in 5 workers overall have considered a professional shift, a signal that the pandemic has been a turning point for many. Many people told The Post that the pandemic altered how they think about what is important in life and their careers. It has given them a heightened understanding that life is short and that now is the time to make the changes they have long dreamed of. The result is a great reassessment of work, as Americans fundamentally reimagine their relationships to their jobs.

Food stamp benefits to permanently expand by over 25% in October, USDA announces (USA Today) Needy families will get a permanent boost to their food stamps benefits in October under an expansion of the program announced Monday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will increase benefits for about 42 million program participants by more than 25% after finishing a review that determined existing benefits are too low to pay for a healthy diet. The increase kicks in on Oct. 1, when beneficiaries in what is officially known as the SNAP program will receive an average bump of about $36.24 per month, the agency announced Monday. While benefits have increased along with inflation, the USDA said this adjustment represents the first expansion of its purchasing power since it was first introduced in 1975.

First-ever water shortage declared on the Colorado River, triggering water cuts for some states in the West (Reuters) For the first time, federal officials declared a water shortage at the Lake Mead reservoir, a status that causes a slash to the annual apportionment of water to several states in the Southwest. In the year beginning in October, Arizona will lose 18 percent of its annual water apportionment, Nevada will lose 7 percent, and the apportionments to Mexico will decrease by 5 percent. Right now, 59.2 million Americans live in a place with drought, which encompasses 99 percent of the Western United States. Total water storage in the Colorado River system is at 40 percent capacity, down from 49 percent in 2020.

T-Mobile hacked (Motherboard) T-Mobile confirmed that hackers accessed the telecom’s systems on Monday. One hacker claimed that 100 million people had compromised data in the breach, and in a forum post offered 30 million people’s data for 6 bitcoin (about $270,000). Samples of the data contained “social security numbers, phone numbers, names, physical addresses, unique IMEI numbers, and driver license information.”

Tropical storm drenching earthquake-stricken Haiti (AP) Tropical Storm Grace swept over Haiti with drenching rains just two days after a powerful earthquake battered the impoverished Caribbean nation, adding to the misery of thousands who lost loved ones, suffered injuries or found themselves homeless and forcing overwhelmed hospitals and rescuers to act quickly. After nightfall, heavy rain and strong winds whipped at the country’s southwestern area, hit hardest by Saturday’s quake, and officials warned that rainfall could reach 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some areas before the storm moved on.

Japan to extend COVID-19 emergency lockdown as cases surge (Reuters) Japan was set on Tuesday to extend its state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions to Sept. 12 and widen curbs to seven more prefectures, as COVID-19 cases spike in the capital and nationwide, burdening the medical system. The state of emergency will cover slightly less than 60% of the population after the government adds the prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka.

American diplomats reckon with Afghanistan’s collapse (Foreign Policy) Current and former U.S. diplomats who served in Afghanistan have watched the events of the past week with horror as the Taliban stormed through the country and ultimately seized control of the capital, Kabul, on Sunday, undoing two decades of hard-won progress in the country. For many American officials, the collapse of the Afghan government and the hasty evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul are deeply personal. Around one-quarter of the U.S. diplomatic corps has served in Afghanistan or Iraq over the past 20 years. In interviews with a dozen people who held posts in Afghanistan, current and former diplomats conveyed feelings of deep anger, shock, and bitterness about the collapse of the government they spent decades trying to build. Several currently serving officials, who spoke to Foreign Policy on condition of anonymity, said the events had prompted thoughts about resigning from the foreign service. But mostly the diplomats said they felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and fear for the lives of the former Afghan colleagues and local staff whom the American government left behind. “We did such a disservice to the local staff who worked for us,” said Shaila Manyam, a former career foreign service officer who had served as spokesperson for the president’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2015. “They take on incredible risks working for us and we’ve screwed them too,” she said. Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, said the fate of Afghan women weighed heavily on him. “We encouraged them to step forward, and they did. In politics, the economy, the military,” he said. “The implicit part of that deal was, ‘You step forward, and we’ve got your backs.’ And now we don’t.”

Biden’s Betrayal of Afghans (The Atlantic) There’s plenty of blame to go around for the 20-year debacle in Afghanistan—enough to fill a library of books. Perhaps the effort to rebuild the country was doomed from the start. But our abandonment of the Afghans who helped us, counted on us, staked their lives on us, is a final, gratuitous shame that we could have avoided. The Biden administration failed to heed the warnings on Afghanistan, failed to act with urgency—and its failure has left tens of thousands of Afghans to a terrible fate. This betrayal will live in infamy. The burden of shame falls on President Joe Biden. For months, members of Congress and advocates in refugee, veteran, and human-rights organizations have been urging the Biden administration to evacuate America’s Afghan allies on an emergency basis. For months, dire warnings have appeared in the press. The administration’s answers were never adequate: We’re waiting for Congress to streamline the application process. Half the interpreters we’ve given visas don’t want to leave. We don’t want to panic the Afghan people and cause the government in Kabul to collapse. Evacuation to a U.S. territory like Guam could lead to legal problems, so we’re looking for third-country hosts in the region. Most of the interpreters are in Kabul, and Kabul won’t fall for at least six months. Some of these answers might have been sincere. All of them were irrelevant, self-deceiving, or flat-out false.

A war’s secret history (Washington Post) In the summer of 2011, Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV made a round of public appearances to boast that he had finally solved a problem that had kept U.S. troops bogged down in Afghanistan for a decade. “They’re probably the best-trained, the best-equipped and the best-led of any forces we’ve developed yet inside of Afghanistan,” he said. But according to documents obtained by the Washington Post, U.S. military officials privately harbored fundamental doubts for the duration of the war that the Afghan security forces could ever become competent or shed their dependency on U.S. money and firepower. “Thinking we could build the military that fast and that well was insane,” an unnamed former U.S. official told government interviewers in 2016. Over two decades, the U.S. government invested over $85 billion to train and equip the Afghans and pay their salaries. Today, all that’s left is arsenals of weapons, ammunition and supplies that have fallen into the hands of the enemy. Though it was obvious from the beginning that the Afghans were struggling to make the U.S.-designed system work, the Pentagon kept throwing money at the problem and assigning new generals to find a solution. Recruiting was hard enough, but was compounded by startling rates of desertion and attrition. Another biggest hardship was having to teach virtually every recruit how to read. Making everything harder was the Obama administration’s decision to rapidly expand the size of the Afghan security forces from 200,000 soldiers and police officers to 350,000. With recruits at a premium, Afghans were rushed through boot camp, even if they couldn’t shoot or perform other basic tasks. As the years passed, it became apparent that the strategy was failing. Yet U.S. military commanders kept insisting in public that everything was going according to plan.

Blaming Afghans? (The New Yorker) The Afghans now have suffered generation after generation of not just continuous warfare but humanitarian crises, one after the other, and Americans have to remember that this wasn’t a civil war that the Afghans started among themselves that the rest of the world got sucked into. This situation was triggered by an outside invasion, initially by the Soviet Union, during the Cold War, and since then the country has been a battleground for regional and global powers seeking their own security by trying to militarily intervene in Afghanistan, whether it be the United States after 2001, the C.I.A. in the nineteen-eighties, Pakistan through its support first for the mujahideen and later the Taliban, or Iran and its clients. To blame Afghans for not getting their act together in light of that history is just wrong.

Taliban allowing ‘safe passage’ from Kabul in US airlift (AP) The Taliban have agreed to allow “safe passage” from Afghanistan for civilians struggling to join a U.S.-directed airlift from the capital, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said Tuesday, although a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and others has yet to be worked out with the country’s new rulers. Jake Sullivan acknowledged reports that some civilians were encountering resistance—“being turned away or pushed back or even beaten”—as they tried to reach the Kabul international airport. But he said “very large numbers” were reaching the airport and the problem of the others was being taken up with the Taliban, whose stunningly swift takeover of the country on Sunday plunged the U.S. evacuation effort into chaos, confusion and violence. Pentagon officials said that after interruptions on Monday, the airlift was back on track and being accelerated despite weather problems, amid regular communication with Taliban leaders. Additional U.S. troops arrived and more were on the way, with a total of more than 6,000 expected to be involved in securing the airport in coming days.

[ucb-llm]

Prologue: Who, Where, When & Why

Welcome to the adventure!

About me: I graduated from LMU Munich (Germany) around a year ago and spent the last year working in the litigation group of a U.S. law firm. I planned to start my LLM in Fall ’20. Not wanting to start the program remote from Germany, I decided to defer my admission to the spring. Berkeley offered great flexibility and allowed me to opt for the unusual combination of a spring- and fall-semester.

Why Berkeley: Having spent the past two years of law school in library, it was time to replace the library’s artificial light with sunlight. (Well, certainly I could have read up on the famous “SF fog” beforehand and not solely relied on the beach scenes from “O.C. California” alone.) Given my interest in comparative law, I knew that I wanted to do my LLM in a common-law jurisdiction. The program at UC Berkeley, with its highly ranked IP-focus gives me the opportunity to specialize in Law & Technology. To be honest, a main decision criterion, besides the prospect of an excellent education, was the desire to live in a place from where you can swap your desk for an adventure in no time. The Bay Area, with its beautiful surroundings and fascinating nature, offers exactly that. Berkeley was the perfect fit.

If you’re reading this, chances are, you are about to plan or start your own LL.M.-adventure. As all prospective to a US law school can tell, the administrative effort to collect and transmit all application-, scholarship- and visa-documents can be exhausting. It might even get you to the point, where you ask yourself if that is a substitute for the LSAT to prove one’s qualification to commence the master’s degree – it certainly takes more preparation time. Speaking about visa: Covid definitely didn’t help. The past few months have been full of constant up and down whether it’d be possible to get a visa and enter the U.S. – ultimately it was a gamble that paid off. Unfortunately, others didn’t have the luck and got their visa denied a few days prior their departure. I strongly hope that this Covid-caused problem will not be of concern for any of you reading this. (For visa questions, feel free to use the “ask me anything”-section).

With my visa approved and the flight booked, I spent the weeks before departure in lockdown planning courses, looking for housing and scrolling Google Street View.

Go Bears!

[gwenmcguinness]

A Proposal || Gwen + Owen

Format: Chatzy

Timeline: Several days after St. Patrick’s Day

Location: Owen’s apartment

Characters: Owen Burke (@owen--burke) and Gwen McGuinness

Summary: Following the hospitalization of Gwen’s father and finding out the status of their immigration, Owen proposes a plan that could offer a solution to her problems.

Owen: Owen was pacing the length of his living room, Rocky sitting on the couch watching him as he moved back and forth. What he was thinking about was crazy, absolutely crazy and after some more research, probably illegal. After learning that his friend was an illegal immigrant, Owen's brain began thinking about ways to help. Applying for citizenship outright would take years, time that Gwen's father didn't really have. Continuing to live life under the radar, like Gwen already was, would be challenging, a life of worrying about being discovered and deported back to Ireland. The idea that Owen was thinking of.. well.. was crazy. Absolutely nuts. It had started off as a joke at first, one that made him laugh but lingered in his mind long after the chuckle had disappeared. Waiting for Gwen to show up at his apartment, he was finally going to tell her the idea that had been stewing in his brain for the last few days. Now all he could do was find the right words for it.

Gwen: Gwen hadn't been walking with the same spring in her step that she usually did the last few days. Though her father was getting stronger, a little bit back to his old self, the weight of everything seemed to be sitting directly on her shoulder. She'd gotten an invoice from the hospital when they'd escorted her father out, showing just exactly how much they'd owe without insurance. Rent and earning money for it was burning a hole through her brain, so she was taking on as many shifts at the diner as she could -- really only going home to sleep for a few hours and then return. She hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about the secret she had dropped on Owen -- one that she hadn't told another soul in Boston. She hadn't seen him in a few days, or texted him -- maybe she was avoiding him subconsciously. Owen, however, had reached out to her; texting her near the end of her shift. She had took a bus over to his place, remembering the street from when she stayed after visiting the ER. She arrived at his apartment still in her uniform, sending her dad a quick text to keep himself out of trouble (a sizable request) before knocking on the door, giving the peephole on the door a quick wave in case he was looking.

Owen: There was the knock at the door, the sound kicking Owen out of his own head. Rocky was running to the door first, barking at it as Owen followed, rubbing the dog's head and telling him to knock it off before finally opening it. Who else would be visiting him today besides the person that he had invited over? "Get down," Owen muttered to Rocky, who was immediately trying to jump up as dogs did when someone knew showed up. "Sorry about that," Owen apologizing out of reflex at this point. Rocky wasn't a big dog by any means, but always seemed to think he was bigger than he actually was. Finally looking back up at his guest, Owen could practically see the tiredness that was in her eyes. He remembered that look in himself when he had been working nights for months. "Hi. You want anything to eat? Some coffee or something?"

Gwen: Gwen gave a tired smile at the barking that greeted her when the door was opened, kneeling down once she stepped inside to greet the dog, scratching behind his ears and cooing to him. "Hey, good boy. How you doin'? Such a good puppy, yes." Because all dogs were puppies to Gwen -- didn't matter a single bit how big they were or how old. It made her miss Butter; sure she would see him when she got home, but all the extra work she was doing was making her feel guilty for not spending more time with him. "Hi," she gave Owen another worn smile, rising to her full height again. "Yeah, I think coffee would be good, I'm dead on my feet. Wha' abou' you, are you alrigh'?" she asked, slightly concern in her voice as she was unable to help but wonder what he'd asked her over to talk about.

Owen: "I'll get you some coffee then." Owen was trying to distract himself and he knew it. Why did he have to be so awkward? Why couldn't he just be confident and forthright with what he wanted to say? Right, because he was basically going to be proposing marriage to someone was practically a stranger. Yep, that was going to be difficult to say. Heading into the kitchen, Owen didn't notice that Rocky was tailing him as he heard the beeping coming from the coffee maker. He had taken the initiative to already start a fresh brew once he had worked up the courage to invite Gwen over. He hadn't talked to her in days, not since she slept over and dropped the bombshell, but with how worried she had been about money, he had assumed she was probably working like crazy and would need the boost of caffeine to make it home in one piece. There was a manila folder on the island, a folder that contained all the forms that would need to be filled out, if Gwen took him up on his offer. The rest of this all depended on what she said, if she was willing to take the risk. Pulling out two white mugs from one of the cabinets, Owen filled the cups before heading to his fridge and bringing out a gallon of milk, followed by sugar. Preferring the additions to his own drink, Owen began adding the milk to his coffee when he finally spoke. "So, I was thinking about the last time that you were here and what you told me about your... status. And I just kept thinking about how much I really wanted to help and I think I found a solution. Maybe."

Gwen: It felt like St. Patrick's had been weeks ago, not just days. Her thoughts had been running constantly since then, trying to figure out how the hell she was going to get herself and her father out of this mess this time. (Of course it all fell on her, her father wouldn't do a damn thing.) "Thank you," she answered, reaching up to pull the tie from her ponytail, ruffling her hand through her hair as it fell over her shoulders as she followed him to the kitchen just steps behind Rocky. She watched as Owen filled the mugs, taking in a deep inhale of it brewing, as if the smell alone would be enough to revive her. She helped herself to the milk and sugar as he set it before them, pouring a splash into her coffee and once scoop of sugar -- she usually drank it black, but she figured she deserved this small treat. Gwen wanted to be optimistic, at least for Owen's sake -- but she doubted he'd have been able to find a loophole that she hadn't in the last two years. She took a drink and raised her eyebrows with interest, leaning her elbows on the island. "What did you find?"

Owen: It seemed that Gwen was interested in knowing what he had learned and researched. For a moment, Owen wondered if Gwen had done her own research in the time that she was here, but that wasn't the point of this meeting. The words spilled out of Owen as he grew more excited about what he had learned in his google search. "So, normally for someone to get a green card, it can take anywhere from five to seven years, especially if it's not high priority. But I found something where the waiting time is on average six months to a year and the green card is approved. And it wouldn't even matter that your visa has expired. It's still the same time frame. It's filling out two forms, sending it to the USCIS, and once the application is filed, your stay is legal, even if your visa is expired. Then it's finger printing and an interview and you have your green card." It was a lot of information, most of it that had been gathered in the manila folder that was still laying on the island in the kitchen, but there was a catch, the pause in his voice showing that. "The only thing is... it involves a marriage. To a U.S. citizen. Like me."

Gwen: Her visa expiring had been it's own set of sleepless nights, when she had dropped out of college and her student visa lapsed. She'd spent hours on library computers, reading until her eyes were sore or until she had to retreat to bathrooms to cry just from purely being overwhelmed by laws and information. Yes, of course, she knew a green card was possible through marriage -- she'd seen The Proposal -- but it never seemed like a possible option for her. She listened intently to Owen's words, the lingo and the wait times more than familiar to her, before he reached his conclusion. She released the cup of coffee, leaving it resting on the island counter top as she took a deep breath, pressing her index finger to her lips. She was silent for a moment before she spoke, watching Owen's face as she did so. "So...Okay, I'm just checking tha' I'm not misunderstanding -- Would you be suggestin' tha' we --? You n'me--?"

Owen: She was getting the hint, which was a good thing and a bad thing. She understood what he was suggesting, the fraud that they would be committing together. Though it wouldn't be completely fraud, would it? They were friends and Owen did enjoy spending time with Gwen. It's just that they weren't interested in each other romantically and here they were, talking about a possible marriage. Owen had been trying to avoid eye contact as he explained, but now that she asked her own question, his eyes flicked up to meet hers. "Yeah. That's what I'm suggesting." His stomach was in knots, Owen unable to drink the coffee that he had poured for himself. "Look, it's a crazy idea, I know. But I work for the government and I'm a military vet, so I have even higher priority. You and your dad can get citizenship faster and healthcare under my plan at work. And you can both stay here, rent free. I have the space for it. And we stay married for a few years and once we are done, we get a divorce and you get to remain a citizen. I don't really see the harm in all of that."

Gwen: Gwen took a step back from the island, finger still on her lips as she listened to Owen. Her ears were getting warm, and she wasn't quite sure why. She inhaled through her nose, letting out a breath through parted lips, eyes still on Owen as he laid out his plan. A green card, healthcare, a place to stay without rent...It all sounded too good to be true, but she knew it wasn't. It was just how good Owen was, how much he genuinely wanted to help. She almost regretted telling him now, but she never would have ever dreamed he would suggest doing this. "Of course there's harm in it Owen, it's a felony. It's marriage fraud, if you get caugh' in it it's something like..." she wracked her brain, trying to remember the figures she'd read years ago. "Five years in prison or two-hundred thousand dollars in fines. Or both. I--" Gwen let out a breath, stepping back to the island again. "God, Owen, I can't ask you t'do tha'..."

Owen: "You're not asking me." It's true. Gwen wasn't asking him to help her with this or trying to manipulate him into doing this for her. Hell, that was part of the reason why he was so willing to go along with this. Owen was someone who always wanted to help in any situation that he ran across and here was something that he could help with. Sure, it was outside of the box of what he normally did, but life was an adventure, wasn't it? "I'm telling you I'm okay with this. And really, you're a beautiful woman. I'm a good looking guy. We don't really look like the kind who is gonna be committing marriage fraud and on top of that, we are already friends, so we are already winning half the convincing battle to begin with. The choice is yours, Gwen."

Gwen: Sometimes, immigration felt absolutely impossible. There were mountains of paperwork, endless forms with dizzying codes, and the waiting only made all of it worse. It was no simple thing; sometimes people waited decades to only be halfway to being a citizen. And here Owen was, out of the goodness of his heart, offering Gwen a path that was way smoother than what most people got a chance at. It didn't feel so impossible when he said things like that because it was true -- They were young, and attractive. They probably wouldn't raise many red flags, from what she could remember. It would be foolish to turn him down outright,but she didn't want to take advantage of his kind heart or willingness to help. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself for that... "But Owen, think abou' the long run here," she told him, placing her hands on the island. "Okay, let's say we do get married. Let's say we have to bank down...Three years," Gwen swallowed, tilting her head at him as her voice came out softer than she intended. "Wha' if you meet someone in those years -- someone tha' you truly wan' t'marry. For real. And have a life and kids with and a home and everythin'. But you can't because you're stuck bein' married t'me--?"

Owen: Three years. Three years was a long time to remain fake married to someone. One of Owen's faults was that he thought in the short term more often than the long term. Short term, this idea made a ton of sense. Gwen's father needed health insurance, Gwen needed to start some process toward citizenship and Owen had the time and space available to help. Long term... well long term, he hadn't really thought about it. Gwen brought up a good point. What if he met someone that he really wanted to marry while they were in the middle of all this? It wouldn't be the first time he wanted to get married for love. Three years from now and Owen would be 39, almost 40 years old. There were plenty of dudes who were that age and starting their lives, so it wasn't all that weird. It was all hypothetical. No one really knew what the future held. "If I meet someone, then I'll explain what I'm doing and if they really love me and want to be with me, then they'll understand why I felt this was the right thing to do. And I mean that. This is the right thing to do." Owen was one with his convictions and morals and throughout his life, they had never let him down. "And really, it would be like we're roommates. Roommates with a wedding license."

Gwen: Gwen couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at his words. Roommates with a wedding license. Well, that was one way to put it, that was for sure. Part of her wanted to refuse him -- what he was offering was too much, a sacrifice of himself more than what she felt she deserved. But then she thought about her dad, the way his skin was starting to yellow in a telltale way in certain places. The words of the doctor. His liver was failing, he was a lifelong alcoholic, and there wouldn't be much time if action wasn't taken. Maybe this was the action that Gwen was supposed to take. Looking through her options (and there weren't many), this was certainly the best one being offered to her. This is the right thing to do, Owen said, and if he believed it..."I..." she swallowed, bobbing her head once as she more and more seriously began considering the idea. "Your family. They won't think it's weird? You getting married out of the blue?"

Owen: She was considering it. Gwen wouldn't have been asking all of these questions if she wasn't ready to cross her t's and dot her i's. When she asked about his family, Owen couldn't help but laugh. "My mom will be excited about it and not too surprised, I think. She's told me before that I'm the kind that falls 'hard and fast'," Owen using air quotes around the words that his mother had told him whenever he had his heart broken. "My sister will be happy that I'm settling down. I mean, I don't think we'll be able to tell the full circumstances of everything, but I'm not too worried about them." Tapping his fingers against the counter, Owen paused for a moment before finally asking the integral question. "So.. are you saying yes?"

Gwen: "Well, tha's good. There'll be tha', at leas'," she nodded, almost smiling. Her own family -- well, her father would know what was going on, obviously, especially if he was going to live with them. And, seeing as it was his ass that was on the line, she was sure he'd keep his big mouth shut. Her own sisters, well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. She would tell them she was getting married, they'd be so blindly excited that they probably wouldn't question the reasons much further. Gwen hadn't ever been one to share what was going on in her life romantically. "I'm not sayin' no," she said slowly after a moment, finally reaching out to take another drink from her coffee. "Wha' abou' friends? Coworkers? I only ask because, you know, if we do this it had to look...real. People have t'think it's real or else someone could report us..."

Owen: "I think you are overthinking this," Owen bursted out, finally laughing at how gung ho Gwen was to find someone who would somehow get them into trouble. Sure, it was important to try to make sure that there wasn't anyone that they had to worry about, but Owen really couldn't think of anyone who would actually want to do something. "There isn't really a lot of people I talk to that closely and I just started a new job. My co-workers don't really know me." Walking over to the other side of the island, Owen had to make a show as he leaned against the counter, his free hand pushing back an errant blonde curl that had landed against Gwen's cheek behind her ear. "I can make this look very real," Owen reassured, his fingers lingering against the delicate skin for a few moments to prove the point. Standing back to his full height, Owen needed to hear the answer so that they could begin whatever planning that they needed to do. "So, what do you say?" Kneeling down on one knee was not something that Gwen anticipated, but what the fuck, it felt right in the moment. "Will you, Gwen McGuinness, fake marry me?"

Gwen: Gwen filed through her mind over people who might raise eyebrows over her getting married suddenly. There were coworkers -- the girls at the diner -- and friends from bars and the music scene. She'd done some pretty stupid things in her life, so she was sure no one would be too shocked if this was the next wild stunt that she pulled. Well, Scott would take some convincing. And then there was Sam...God, that would be...Well, a mess. It seemed to be the theme of the way her life was going currently. But if she made this choice...Well, by 27 she would have a green card and she and her dad would be back on their feet and on the path to being irrefutable citizens. It was more of a future than what she had woken up with that morning. Her eyes stayed trained on Owen as he made his way around the counter, practically holding her breath as he brushed his fingers over her cheek. Was he going to kiss her?! Fuck! But no, he was making a point -- and damn if it hadn't been an effective one. "Owen wha' -- Wha' are you doin' -- Oh god," her confusion turned to a laugh in spite of herself as he sank to his knees in front of her. Well, if they were going to pull this off, why not start committing to it now? "Fake yes, fake yes, a thousand times fake yes," she answered.

[wildlyhardphilosopher-blog]

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[coaching4success-bizcoaching]

#Biz Traveling Mistakes

1. Not getting enough sleep

The worst thing you can do on an overseas business trip is conduct a meeting in a lounge with comfortable chairs you can sink into — and without having had enough sleep on the flight over the night before. That I nodded off while talking with the president of an important cruise line is a lasting embarrassment to me, though I was lucky enough to be with someone understanding: an hard-traveling working woman just like me. —Nancy Novogrod, founder, The Essentialist

2. Not being prepared

I have learned that in my busy life and travel schedule I consistently forget something — appropriate shoes, toiletries, favorite lipstick, charger, phone, even a computer! Not all at the same time, of course. Due to this, I always book myself in a hotel that either has a sundries store, plus electronics, clothing and shoe stores very near (as in walking distance). I don't want to have to spend time searching for what is near or driving/taking a car there. —Anne Chaisson, executive director, Hamptons International Film Festival

3. Assuming you know the visa requirements

I was headed to India on assignment and didn't check the visa requirements. My route was through Kenya and the U.A.E., and I only discovered I lacked the proper paperwork while checking in for an onward flight, at midnight, in Nairobi. I was refused entry. Not going to make that mistake again. My travel prep homework now includes the CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State travel alerts, the U.K. Foreign Travel Advice site, the Center for Disease Control and even a global religious holiday calendar app. This last one can be crucial. While I was waiting for that emergency visa, I got caught in a vortex of converging religion celebrations — Easter, Passover, Mawlid — when visa offices were shut down across all countries I traveled through. —Shane Mitchell, author, Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters From Around the World

4. Reserving hotels at the last minute (especially for big industry events)

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a massive event in the technology industry, and I've attended the past two years with Eight. Last year, we didn't plan on showcasing our product, so when I committed to go at the last minute, the only hotel available on the Strip — at a reasonable price — was also the furthest away from the main conference venue. I decided to book it, and I regretted it later. I ended up spending so much time on taxi lines and had to leave my hotel at least an hour before any meeting. Time not well spent! —Alex Zatarain, co-founder, Eight Sleep

6. Scheduling leisure before business

When planning a "bleisure" (business + leisure) trip, schedule the business part first, followed by your leisure stay. If you start with the leisure part of the trip, it's 10 times harder to shift into work mode. I once went on vacation to Cozumel and Tulum right before a conference in Cancun. I was so chilled out and relaxed, and then the conference set me abruptly into the high-stress mode. Massive vacation buzz kill! I've never vacationed before work on a bleisure trip since. —Tammy Peters, founder, Media Mixology

7. Not booking a hotel when you have a red-eye flight

Having traveled the world for work, I have found that booking your hotel in advance when you have a red-eye flight to be crucial. I once arrived early in the morning to my hotel to get some rest and shower after a red-eye flight and the hotel could not check me in until 3 p.m.that afternoons because it was fully booked and none of the rooms were ready. Now I always book the hotel for the previous night, as well, to have the room ready for me when I arrive at 5 a.m. —Daria Rebenok, CEO/co-founder, Grabr

8. Not getting Global Entry

I learned the hard way on the way home from a business trip to Los Cabos after standing in a three-hour immigration line to apply for a Global Entry. This simple application gives you pre-approved clearance to breeze through immigration. Some major credit cards will also give you a credit for the fee. —Carey Reilly, lifestyle/travel expert, and editor, Not So Skinny Mom

9. Not learning basic language skills

When I was in my 20's I was the regional director of sales at Swissotel for the East Coast and I went to Switzerland to see the hotels. I was late to the train station in Bern dragging too many bags, as I still was not an experienced international traveler. I asked someone in uniform if they knew which track was for the train to Zurich. The person said, "Nein," so I rushed off to track nine and ended up on a train to Geneva. Now I know: "nein" means "no."—Adele Gutman, vice president of sales, marketing & revenue, Library Hotel Collection

10. Taking it with you

I lost my passport in Hong Kong while going out for dinner. I had to stay behind for three days to have the embassy issue a new one. Lesson learned: Leave your passport and other valuables in the hotel room safe when going out. —Debi Bishop, managing director, Hilton Hawaiian Village

11. Not paying attention to local customs

During my first trip to the Middle East as a blonde American female, I took the time to read the 70-odd-page document that came along with my travel confirmation. There were warnings — from covering my head, neck, and shoulders to issues of water safety. Even more interestingly: to not accept a verbal agreement. Rather, it's customary to insist on a signed agreement. To this day, all this information has proved helpful whenever I travel to the region. —Michaela Guzy, founder, Oh the People You Meet

11. Not paying attention to local customs

During my first trip to the Middle East as a blonde American female, I took the time to read the 70-odd-page document that came along with my travel confirmation. There were warnings — from covering my head, neck, and shoulders to issues of water safety. Even more interestingly: to not accept a verbal agreement. Rather, it's customary to insist on a signed agreement. To this day, all this information has proved helpful whenever I travel to the region. —Michaela Guzy, founder, Oh the People You Meet

12. Not double-checking your plane ticket

Last year, I attended Pirate Summit in Cologne and then numerous tech events in Berlin. After a long week of work, I had a reunion planned with friends in Porto. From Berlin, I booked a flight to Cologne as my next flight was 6:30 a.m. from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Porto. So I scheduled a BlaBlaCar from Cologne to Frankfurt. The driver agreed to drop me and another passenger off to the airport. We arrived at Frankfurt's huge international airport. But my flight was booked with a budget carrier from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, which was on the other side of the city. I'm lucky I didn't miss the flight. Lesson learned: the importance of planning. —Mevish Aslam, founder, Terminal 3 and Sprinters

13. Planning last minute

The worst thing that I have done is saying yes to a last-minute international business trip that demanded me to leave in the next three hours. With little to no time to pack left the country awaiting an email with my hotel reservation and transportation accommodations only to find out 30,000 feet up in the air through WiFi that they were unable to book them due to a card freeze. Now, I never leave to go to another country or even to another state without everything being secured before my departure. —Jae Scott, motivational speaker, and image consultant

14. Only bringing your work tote

I always have a versatile, small cross-body purse ready to go. I don't need it for getting to my destination, so I pack it in my suitcase. But if I plan to go out to dinner or wander around a town to bar hop, my large work tote is such a pain to carry around, especially in the Spanish towns where visiting a tapas bar is always a "squeeze-in-to-get-in" experience. Having that little bag to carry just my essentials

[dejadejame]

16 Aug

I was plan to come and see my bf but then my aunt call to coming to my cousin house to sleep over and takecare the house and them because it is no one there with them tonight... I do not wanna come to that house because I hated to see her face (my cousin) (I staying here in my room to worries and guilty but I do not wanna come to there I think I scare to go to there like I scare to go into the sea after failure commit suicide)

Before the event happen in the end of this story She was call me to her office to... I will let you guys judge here

... So she told me to move to another desk because they needed it. and I was busy but I did clean up and to be honest they do not ready needed it at that time I was plan to clean up and move my stuff out another day. However still in my fault if I move out earlier...

-  I told you move out to using it for this special time but you didn’t so I moving for you and what are you doing you should see yourself about your attitude. We are accountant here we did learn IT when we in school so no one here need you. If you are not happy you can go anytime no one keep you here. if you wanna here you should do what I say. You don’t do it then I can do it it’s easy do not thing I cannot do anything. 

Before to say anything my situation is I am on working VISA and working for her I cannot do anything now because my application still in waiting for approved. She should know about it and what is she talking here totally sound like threatening.

This is happened before she call me and we have a harsh conversation

---------------------------------------------------------

First at all I am apology for my English.This a long post and I do not completed all the story because it 10 years story But I wanna know something just happen nearly 

So I go to Australia to study and with a hope to immigrant here. My situation really not so good to take care of me for oversea study (living cost and school fee) and I have the help (Pay my school fee and I pay her back after I have the job) from my cousin under one conditional is I have to go to work for her (accountant office and Home office) and doing house work after school. So I was here (yes) and in first 6 months I have to do 2 semester English classes. I have 5 days at school per week. 4 days started at 9am - 3pm. another day is 11 to 1. so on first couple weeks this is my schedule

On the day I have class at 9am. I go to school and go to her place around 4:30pm. I do some office work like calculate receipts. and around 5:30 I help her mom to cooking and prepare for dinner. If we done early I had to go down office and keep working until she come to have dinner. We have dinner usually from 7:30 - 9:00. after done it we (Her mom, another cousin and I) had to clean up kitchen and table AND use vacuum machine to clean her office after that I have to go down to do some work or homework (When I have homework, well english class do not have much homework) If I have nothing to do we do laundry and fold her family clothes. We doing everything until 10-11pm. Then we (Her mom and I) go home. Yup I stay in her mom's house because Her dad is my uncle

On the day I have class at 11 first couple weeks I can wake up little late and go to school around 10. so I finished early and go back to her Home-office and doing all thing like above. After couple weeks She told me if I have class late I should come to her office early morning and doing work then I can leave to school when time close.

WEEKEND Saturday No Classes. Her office opened. I had to get there at 8 am to cleaning Bin, Vacuum office (clean up).  After done everything around 9 (usually 8:40) I had to clean every corners of the office. needed using muscle and strengths when you using vacuum machine "Because it will clean, cannot hold and push"

SUNDAY. I will go to her house around 9 because she and her husband and kid will sleep little late so I needed to be there from 8:30 to 9. her mom will come around 11 or sometime not.

Now its full day work. I will working around with people here or I have to do work I have from the day before. and She will have an appointment around 9 or 10. So when she get to office I have to go to kitchen to prepare "White tea" for her and I get back to work.

Around 11 Her mom will call us (me and another cousin) up to get prepare lunch for her. if she have appointment until late we can have lunch first and go back to work. Also we had to reminding her for lunch, knock the door and speak in English to let she and client know her lunch already. when she done lunch she just go back to work and I had to come back kitchen to cleaning everything (well sometime her mom doing it)

Around 3 clock, another cousin or me had to prepare another "White tea" for her

after that is the circle like another day but on Saturday night she may go to shopping after dinner or play tennis before dinner. So I still helping for dinner, cleaning if she go to shopping for grocery I will go with her to carry and push a trolley for her.

Another cousin and I will cleanup all house and office. another cousin will to toilet and bathroom, I will take vacuum machine to clean all the house and all the corners. Cleaning living room as well. put all toys to the toy's box.

That's just a normal house and the office in the back so its just like 1.5 bigger. but it take like 4 hours to clean her bed room, kid room (well, take all their clothes to laundry and another cousin will wash it) 2 toilets and kitchen).

We have lunch and finished around 1 then I go to office to clean it as well, and change bag for rabbit bins. I will finished around 4.

So on Sunday sometime she go to shopping OR go to another state to visit her parent in law OR take kid go somewhere OR just go to office and work until I get there cleaning.

That is my life for at least 3 years and every single week. SOMETIME she told me finishing thing early and then we can go to shopping together, sometime I can make it sometime can't, so I leave over (she never say "Its fine, you can finished later") SOMETIME we have to go out for dinner or lunch (Her husband suggested, She says she do not like to go to restaurant because it is not health and taste good like home cooking) And one time we go to another water park in Queenland ( this is far travel and go by Airport) We staying in apartment (2 bed rooms, 6 people), She and Her husband in main room, her daughter and another cousin one room, her son and I we sleep in living room (which the couch-bed) I needed to stitch with her family because I do not have phone (2010 or 2011) and do not have ID with me (Oh dang hell I do not wanna get lost too. Do not remember address and my English s*ck too). we were there 3 days (I... THINK). After this I had to work harder because I told me I should do.Yes after 6 months English I go to main course. timetable did change but I still go to school 4-5 days and when my timetable change I needed to gave them to her. No way you can say you have class and showing at her office not in time. One thing and for all no one know there is 4 months after I am here I know someone. We become close friend in short time. its fate I met him on bus when his car not running since then we catch up on bus and talking little bit ( he is a weirdo to catch a bus with me) because my time at class nearly full and I have no free time so that is all I can see him. YES we are friend just a friend (to me) FYI he already have girlfriend.

So when I go to main course of study. sometime I can finished early... Sometime I cut classes. Well to be honest not all the time I cut classes to see him I did go to library to go to internet or read some book too. I cannot afford books so I used book from library. Funny part I do not aware she can call to my school to told them to gave her info how many class I attending. YES I have a big lecture about it.

Thing keep going on until before ending semester of 2011. He told me If I wanted I can move to Alice Spring with him. he will take care all things I wanted. WHAT DO YOU SAY? NO ONE WILL SAY NO. I told him I think about it because I do not wanna do something bad to my parent still in my home country. I do not wanna people gossip about them. LGBT there is not like now. special come to my background.

Knowing him over 2 years he know everything about me and my situation. He cannot have anything from me. I am not handsome my face full acne and pimples. He is the one take care everything. But when come to some work or decision he always let me pick and choose. I can see clearly he gave choice and do whatever I wanted. And I love it.

Finally I say yes and I will see him on New year Eve at night in the city. I prepare everything, Pack my passport, important stuff and couple clothes. leave a goodbye not in mail box. I know they will check mail in next 3 days at that time I was settle in new place and I will call them later. Get to City stay with him but keep thinking and worries about my parent may have pressure about the decision I make now. I did calculate so many scenarios and nothing will come good to them. I have chicken out and I say sorry, I needed to be back...

I did get back and go back the house with backdoor I was left open. and get the mailbox key next day to get back that letter. No one know... He know and I know

Everything go back like before I have classes go to, back to my cousin home to do work and prepare dinner and cleaning the office. I can see him sometime in weekday or some nights he come to my house and wait at front. Oh well so my cousin she did not happy with how the thing I doing and she say let me go out to learn some experience to see how hard another work are. so she looking a farm job which is hardest farm work for me (well I hear she when she talking with client about she looking for a job for her cousin because she wanna open his eyes so he should be appreciate how lucky he is with current job) So I was go to work on strawberry farm since the end of May/June (Well I remember when I just finished semester) I wake up at 2 AM and drive to farm when we there around 5 PM.  This job is ridiculous they do not pay on hour they pay on tray you fill and only with good quality goods. so if you pick little green its NOT ACCEPTED, too soft OUT, not full a tray GET SOME MORE. Well I do not care and I keep doing it well maybe not the best in there but I am so good the manager he say I am so much better than a lot beginners. well its true when we talk on the way home most of them is less than me and I do not so proud of it I just feel stupid of this job.  but well still better than working all day.

I work on this job for 3 weeks when my cousin checking she told me this is not much So if you wanna you should be come back to work for me and I will pay school fee but you will pay back when you graduate and have a job. I will not lend you school fees while you working for another place*. FYI every day when I back from work I had to gave all money to her mom let she keep for me. and when I agree with it she told everyone these money I have her mom will gave me little every week enough for me to use public traffic. (I think its run out after 5 months, every week I have 20 bucks --- 2010)

Middle Jan 2011 I have a job from restaurant FYI this is her client and she know he is a strict boss. so she wanna train me because I do not listen to what her say, everything she say I did do it not exactly the same as she wanted. After the first day they love me and I have my own phone after the first week. I can have it because my boss (strict boss) told my cousin I needed a phone for him to call me when he needed staff emergency.  Finally I can message him

I staying working here until May then she call me back with a reason. This job cannot afford my school fee and She just wanna let me go out and see how hard work for someone else and just wanna training me. I shouldn't see it's permanent However she have so much complain from him about me. Now she want me come back to office and work for her like before. I should see if she do not pay school fee for me I cannot pay for it and "HOW CAN his parent pay these fees for him"**these time we talking on Saturday family night at my aunt's house (her mom)My friend and I did catch up sometime in his car around mid night because everyone go to bed at that time. We just talking and cuddle for hour then he go back his place to go back to his place (yes Alice Spring)Things going until October 2011, after exam I have message He had accident and transport to Adelaide Hospital because his accident happen near there. His ex-girlfriend let me know all the process but he can not go through it. He passed away and I cannot go to there to see him the last time. After new year, I take a public transport to go to our favour place its take 10 hours for 2 transport but it's holiday so I wait for another one and I arrived at 10 PM. I walking around and sleep under the bridge overnight. when I wake up I walk to the Blue Lake... I remember it when he told me we go to here I picked a day with full classes and leave my home around 2 AM we there early noon and then stay for couple hour then we come back I have to told them I have study late at library for my assignment. MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIEI wanna coming here not just to rewind memory I wanna bury our things and I will jump down there to get to see him and with him. Because he is the one cheering me all the time and everything I been through. He is one thing let me see it is worthy to do all of thing and because he say he will wait for me...If I makes it I will not typing these things here and its not a last thing after that I chicken out again this time I wanna change my fate. I will live a life differently this time... I WAS WRONG After I comeback I told them about him. they laugh behind my back and my cousin say a thing I do not forgive her "What kind of fuckin friend luring some one into that" (I think That here is LGBT, she mean he turn me gay) yes that fuckin friend luring me to happiness and that fuckin friend defending for her whenever I told him what she did is wrong or not really make me feel good. That fuckin friend is the one supporting me when I chicken run to comeback this place and Cheer me up with his kindness "You are good person, I am right to pick you. you are weak but I am here for you" that fuckin friend cherry my family (her family, her parents, sisters and brothers) more than me because whenever I told him about what are we doing he says its so cute and warm I wish I can be there and with you. His parents die when he 12 and his grandma pass away when he 20 so he ready wanna have a big family like that... I think deep inside me I wanna stay because one day I wanna see him and everyone together so he can be happy. I think that is a reason I was chicken out at the first place.I may cut 4 years after that because I did make some change she did make some changes and a lot things happens so 1 and a half year ago I was move out a live alone for awhile.I was not working full time and cooking dinner for her for 2 years. and just last month she call me and told me

while her office open 7 days now she want me go to work on weekend as well.

I told her no I will not.

You will not what? you will quit your job?

I mean I will not working in the weekend... but if you want I will and then I will take monday or wednesday off.

Why are you saying that. before that you help me working 6 days per week why now I want you working weekend you...

You says I helping you but now I don't wanna

If you do not coming on weekend then what are you doing? just stay in your room then why?

What I am doing in the weekend is not your business and why are you so sure I am stay in my room? I can do many thing

You see ms 1 , ms2 and mr1 working on Sat as well why so you should work with them

Wait that is their business and I do not care I just do not wanna work 6 days per week anymore

If you say you do not care about them then how about I asked you work on weekend are you care or not?

This is... when you back here we will talking about this I do not wanna argumentative with you on the phone

What are you talking about? I was calling you from airport just to talking with you and you say I was argumentative with you. how can you so irresponsible, politeness...blad blad blad (ok into this part I was lost control and do not leave the phone over my ear anymore she keep talking for 30s about what wrong with my personality then hang up)

First, in our culture Argumentative is something you cannot say to someone older and have higher level so your boss can say you argumentative with him BUT you cannot say he argumentative with you. because "She always right" (her word: another version "If I say 1+1 =3 or 100 or 0 you had to listen to it and no objection)

This is just a thing I wanna hear from you people let me know is she????

[angelofpassionworld]

Since Thursday I heard and read not funny stories at work. Please excuse me my anger, if I sound harsh at any point. It's not aimed at His Highness. 1. Small group staff meeting related to 2025 vision- I'm speechless. It was delivered by a young girl from HR with not appropriate clothes ( very short shorts and top as one outfit!). When I have asked her where did she has taken all that data predicting Manchester 2025, she couldn't tell me. What's the point of testing us on someone's preditions and we don't know all the information? One of the worst questions was about prediction of number of students in 2025. We had to give numbers by ourself in few questions. Manchester 2025 is great idea but what a waste of time!!! Later on I have been told that council need volunteers to deliver such sessions. No wonder why but why volunteers without relevant knowledge!!!. That's mean top managers are not serious about it. There was not much listening from her. She heard us but she couldn't listen. Her body language was so defensive and careless. The best point was the team of mixed people. Following my statement that I wasn't born in the UK but I live and work in the UK since 2004, many more people started to be open about their roots. 2. After the staff conference, I went back to work. One big and important meeting was cancelled but the other one had taken place (it was about plans for the future of my library). Few people took part in it (representants of the departments). I have seen their faces. The meeting didn't go as planned, especially for representative of libraries. Following the meeting the representative of libraries- high position manager -didn't want to even talk to me. She talked to my colleague but she didn't want to speak to me. I am not the only one speaking in the best interest of the residents. I will have few more groups from my library which will back me up. I am waiting for the official plans from the council, then see what I can do. Even I I have to stand against the manager, I will. I will raise my concerns. 3. This is the worst part I have read- "as part of our 'digital assist' role, from 4th June we will join a national library initiative to support residents with their online visa applications". (...) Supporting residents survive the digital world is a key aspect of modern day library service, and is something that we all need to support. We are introducing service, initially in 7 libraries across the city. It is an opportunity to bring new customers to the library and show libraries's importance to residents." (...) It has been agreed nationally that libraries provide assistance with using the Internet for residents who are applying for a visa. Some other libraries across the country have been doing this since October 2017. Residents will boom a session that last up to 90 minutes, and a member of libraries staff will support them on 1:2:1 basis throughout that session. (...)We will be given at least 24 hours notice of appointment. (...) The library service gets paid £40 per appointment. (...) All frontline staff maybe asked to deliver these sessions. The session will not require significant IT skills, and is an opportunity to support residents. (...) I already told 2 of my managers/supervisors that I will refuse to do that for customers. I wil deny any information about this not to be dragged into this. I have studied international relations for 5 years during university so I know the dangers of that. My own council is forcing something without giving sufficient appropriate training to staff for the sake of £40. I told my managers that they can refer me to HR or director of libraries if they want but I won't deliver that service. I can put customers on the computer, help them around IT basic issues but not to do anything around their visa. They don't mention what type of visa, nationalities of the customers (dual nationality issue or asylum seeker-refugee), what about suing member of staff in case something goes wrong (not getting the successful decision or just acusing someone of misusing personal details). I told one of the manager that I can tell them how someone can sue the council for this and will win millions. Myself I still have got personal data to erase from Google because my council sold my data. I will deal with my council after my holiday. We used to have a private immigration lawyers/solicitors in one of the libraries. Initial appointment of 20 minutes was free. During that appointment they knew where to direct them. From that point they had to pay. This is professional service. I have no objections towards that. However, informing staff that all frontline staff maybe asked to deliver such sessions (ICT drop in sessions- adult education department has recently refused helping someone too in my library) is outrageous. My area manager (British national) was a cleaner. I know she avoids me as much as she can because she hasn't got sufficient knowledge when speaking to me. I have to send her proof after proof because she believes a manager's word that it's working and not looking at the proof I have sent to management. When I ask her to prove me that I'm wrong or teaches me, she has no clue. Another issue with that- 2 members of staff working most of the time- with one member of staff allocated to such customer for at least 90 minutes means that the service will suffer (my library is still community library, with meeting rooms in use), helping customers with self service machine, photocopying especially for some customers, IT issues and helping customers with their queries, phones, trainings, volunteers, MP, councillors, new books, reservations, stock rotations and other things. Out of touch council and not fit for purpose council. 4. Opening hours of my library (at least my library) on the Internet are not correct. There are correct ones on my council website but not on the Internet (Google). I informed my managers about it 2 weeks ago. They said there is nothing they can do (I had to chase them). There must be something they have to do. It's misinformation of customers and those managers are responsible for this particular library. They have no determination, no interest, no knowledge, no customer service passion, no excellence. Those people are managers and area managers. Self service machines are not fully working (the way they supposed to do). Project manager responsible for them is protected by the council. Project manager has received an invitation for the meeting updates with individuals and businesses and putting things right with them but never turned up!!! Where is the excellence in all this? Council pushes for things forward where many issues are still hidden and not resolved. Yes, I have seen an article about machines (Mixrosoft) in 1-2 decades that we will be worried about machines turning against humans. Why waiting until then? Is that good management? Many businesses cares just about themselves and how to make money now. They don't care about future generations. Machines can help humans but they should be limits in law which will state what is not allowed by humans to do. Many people are very clever. Many can surpass the knowledge now but they are more clever thinking about the consequences of their findings. Why some cultures won't have written their knowledge down and its knowledge is just passed orally to the next generation? With understanding of my council I am really glad I will be off for next 2 weeks. I have never been so excited about time off like this time. They kept me for a reason in my local library. Maybe/Hopefully they will change my place of work. I will just care about serving the best I can customers and residents signposting them to the right people and organisations. How many fake documents are in circulation?!? My line manager and one of the manger of my local libraries are mentally sick. I'm ok with this but leaving any such important decisions in their hands like visas, it's a different matter. I really don't know when I will travel abroad after this holiday. I definitely will look at health and life insurance. I sm going to get some rest again today. Little by little (even 20 min just for myself) is great. The dizziness is passing away slowly. It's enough of my complaints for tonight. 😄

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY TWITTER IS SO GREAT HACKERS

Which now seem to have been of this type. Looking just at existing competitors can give you a false sense of security. One of the things that makes the fatal pinch, what do you do that? Alas, you can't; you have to be able to say what the most important skills founders need to learn. Simple as it is, this explanation predicts, or at least, certain kinds of horrors are fascinating. One is that it makes you work harder. The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you. Who are all those people? Plenty of famous founders have had some failures along the way. Between the two, the hacker's opinion is the one that matters. Sometimes angels' deal terms are standard doesn't mean they're favorable to you, because odds are they'll have to deal with clients could be enough to put you over the edge. I think the reason most founders are surprised is that because they work fast, they expect everyone else to.

What all this implies is that there is hope for any language that gives hackers what they want by themselves. You have to make it happen a little faster, you're much more likely to pretend to want to do a little consulting-type work at first. The way I've described it, starting a startup was like I said, but way more so. Birds fly; fish swim; deals fall through. Perl, and if there's a super-pattern, a pattern to the patterns. And your own living expenses are the milestone you feel most, because at that point the future flips state. The example of a startup's history that I've presented is like a runner asking If I'm such a good athlete, why do I spend so much time thinking about startups?

Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison. The way I've described it, starting a startup. But in practice a good profiler may do more to improve the technology, and meanwhile their user base grows by word of mouth, like Google did. Once you start talking to VCs. A frightening prospect? And you can't approach some and save others for later, because a we invest such small amounts, and b we think it's unnecessary, and that would cost nothing: establish a new class of visa for startup founders. Now I don't laugh at ideas anymore, because I realized how terrible I was at knowing if they were functions on indexes, we could write a x, y. Angels.

But remember that ramen profitability is that a hacker's idea of a good programming language should be interactive, and start up fast. I carefully chose the word determined rather than stubborn, because stubbornness is a disastrous quality in a startup can have any leverage in a deal, just assume it's not going to happen. Anything that takes some of that weight off you will greatly increase your chances of surviving. If you don't want to give the impression you have to do something that can't be described compellingly in one or two sentences exactly what it does. You enter a whole different way of life when it's your company vs. This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed for. Why are founders fooled by this? Few startups succeed without taking investment. The truth is, it wouldn't be fun for most people. Venture. Angels who've made money in technology are preferable, for two reasons: they understand your situation, and if there's a limit on the number of startups is that they overvalue ideas.

Which can be transformed into: If you were talking to four VCs, told three of them that you accepted a term sheet unless they really want to do now. In Boston the biggest is the Common Angels. The political correctness of Common Lisp is unpopular partly because it's an orphan. What bites them the second time is a confluence of three forces: The company is now starting to read as a failure. When you have five months' runway left, how soon do you need that you'd pay a lot for? This is a little depressing. One reason this advice is so hard to follow is that people get used to it, and that it is unfamiliar to programmers, and that it is unfamiliar to programmers, and that will be obvious to the people whose salaries you're proposing to cut. Business Incubators, there are more questions about the commitment and relationship of the founders, he'd lose any unvested stock unless there was specific protection against this. They just want to invest in it, I'd consider it to be, but going through it made me realize that the determination required was still understated. The use of the term recitation for sections in some colleges is a fossil of this. There's very little focus on the cost of typing it. In practice, it seemed as if there was a problem with a server.

In fact, users expect a site to improve. I said, I worked on Microsoft Office instead of I work at a small startup you've never heard of called x. If you can't find some way to reach me, how are you going to create a vanilla agreement, and the design of the program benefits from evolution. The first step is to re-evaluate the probability of raising more money, as if that could be solved quite easily: let the market decide. Common Lisp tries to pretend that the OS doesn't exist. The people at Google are smart, but no startup can. The most intriguing thing about this theory, if it's right, is that they deal with questions that have no definite answers, like how much a startup differs from a job. Too bad. He said he didn't think so, because the top VCs skim off all the best deals, leaving the lower-tier VC firms are a bargain for founders.

Most only come into effect if the company gets sold at a low price, the founders could get nothing. Whereas a few years ago I read an interview with a mathematician who said that most nights he went to bed discontented, feeling he hadn't made enough progress. In particular, I don't think that physical books are outmoded yet. To be cleared up after the handshake, and if you're thinking about investors during it, then you're not thinking about the product. Don't say that a character's angry; have him grind his teeth, or break his pencil in half. You just have to realize in time that you're near death. And it seems natural that a high average outcome. A lot of the advances that happen in programming languages in the next fifty years will have to do whatever seems best at each point. One reason founders are surprised by how well that worked for him: There is an irrational fear that no one wants to write aref a x y when they could write a x, y. You have to use some implementation-specific hacks as well, and in particular to do more consultingish work.

After ten weeks' work the three friends have built a prototype that gives one a taste of what their product will do, but assume the worst about machines and other people. We had the opportunity to raise a lot more highly of Lisp if Common Lisp had powerful string libraries and good OS support. It was both a negative and a positive surprise: they were surprised both by the degree of persistence required Everyone said how determined and resilient you must be, but going through it made me realize that the determination required was still understated. Maxim magazine publishes an annual volume of photographs, containing a mix of pin-ups and grisly accidents. I know, the first web-server based application, this is the divisor. Better to release something that could be better. You have to be. Google because, like you, they're cornered animals. Risk and reward are usually proportionate, however: you should expect a plan that cuts the risk of starting a startup was how fun it is to do a deal. So they tend to be the scripting languages of early IBM mainframes. One is that this is simply the right way to write software, whether for a startup or not.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, Sarah Harlin, Simon Willison, and Paul Buchheit for sparking my interest in this topic.

[tenaciousbreaddinosaur-blog]

Erasmus in Leuven, Belgium

If you’re reading this, it’s too late you’re reading my first blog post ever. So bear with me. I’ve been wanting to write about my erasmus experience, because 1. I feel like it will be good to read back and reminisce, and 2. maybe it can be helpful for some people out there. A little background: I did my exchange semester in September 2015 (until Feb 2016), during the 3rd year of my bachelor’s degree in economics, and I studied at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (henceforth KUL).

1. Why you should go on erasmus/international exchange Even though this post is mainly about Leuven, there is something to be said about going on an exchange program in general. Living abroad, even if only for a brief period of time, is a life-changing experience: you meet people from all over the world, you become acquainted with a different culture, and you find yourself in completely new situations -- that ultimately show you who you really are.

2. Leuven Leuven is a small city located near Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It’s part of the Flanders region, and the official language is Dutch. KUL is the main university there, and it’s the largest university in Belgium.

Why should you do your exchange in Leuven?

First off, Leuven is student-oriented. What I mean by this is that, since a fair share of its population consists of University students, a lot of the services and events are designed for students. This means student discounts in restaurants, an unlimited bus pass that costs 20€/year, a University Gym/Sportscenter with cheap monthly fees, bikes that you can rent for the semester at an insanely cheap price, and, of course, lots and lots of student parties (I’ll go into more detail about this later). Second, the University. It won’t take much time on Google for you to find out that KUL has a great academic reputation. I can only talk about the economics area, but it holds up. The professors are very knowledgeable, the contents that are taught are important and well researched, and the facilities are great. Not only are the classrooms/auditoria modern and up to date with all the new technology, there are also numerous studying rooms/libraries. Because they tend to get pretty packed, you can check the number of available seats on your laptop/phone. Third, traveling. I’ve mentioned earlier that Leuven is near Brussels. It’s approximately a 20 minute train ride. In Brussels, you’re pretty much in the center of Europe: you can take a train/bus to the Netherlands, Germany, France... If you’re on a budget, I’d recommend FlixBus. If you manage to snag those low-cost flight deals, you can travel pretty much anywhere in Europe from Zaventem/Charleroi Airport. There’s a 15 minute direct train connecting Leuven to the Zaventem Airport (the main Airport in Brussels). Lastly, the part you actually want to read about: partying. The fakbars are the places you want to go to for discounted prices on beers, and to hang out for a while before you go to the Oude Markt - where there’s the majority of bars. However, these are a bit tough to crack when you’re new to the city, as they are packed with Belgian students. Thanks to the amazing work they do at ESN Leuven, you won’t have to worry about party planning. Pretty much every week there’s an international party organized by ESN, and they don’t disappoing. I’d say you definitely shouldn’t miss out on the the Orientation Days, when you have pubcrawls, games, parties, and even a free brunch. This is the time to make new friends and enjoy the parties without the guilt of having homework/studying to do. Aside from the regular night-out (often themed) parties, ESN also organizes an international version of the Cantus. What is a Cantus, you ask? A traditional gathering where you sing and drink beer (I know, it won’t really make sense until you attend one). They also have a theme and a few rules, but you need to go to at least one of these if you’re in Leuven. 

  3. Before you go: general info

Before I went through the application procedure, I remember having this preconceived notion that, to go on exchange, you just needed to choose a city/university and that was pretty much it. To be honest, no one really talks about the bureaucracy involved in the whole process, because it’s boring. I can only talk about the paperwork necessary for the Erasmus program, but my best advice would be don’t leave things to the last minute. There are going to be a lot of forms that you’ll need to fill out: for the erasmus grant, the learning agreement (basically a contract where you have the courses you’ll be taking that semester), forms for your university and the one you’ll be studying at during the exchange,... the list goes on. You’ll need time to fill out these things, and to get approval from both universities. For some countries, you’ll also have to apply for a Visa, and that could take a while as well. 

4. Before you go: student accommodation in Leuven

Regarding accommodation,  I’d recommend one of two things: 1. applying for a University dorm/residency, if you’re willing to share communal spaces with 10+ students; or 2. finding a room in a shared house. The latter has entails a bit more of effort, since you’ll have to reach out to landlords. Fortunately KUL has a webpage where landlords post ads for free rooms. There are also some facebook groups where (mostly) students sublet their rooms. Be early, Leuven is a student city and the best rooms go fast. I hope this was helpful in any way, and do let me know if you disagree with anything/think I should mention more things.

[doodledialogue]

Interview series - What after B.arch? #4

Interviewee: Anju Sara Abraham Post-graduation: MSc in Environmental Psychology | University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

How did you hear about the University/program and why did you take it up?

The story begins like this. I was in my 8th semester at college. I opted for a subject called Environment and behaviour for our selective module. I found the title very interesting. That was the time all of us were looking for master’s degrees and most of my friends were planning to do M.Arch in different specializations. I was never keen on doing M.Arch and was looking out for alternate options. That’s when we started having classes on the above-mentioned subject. I found it so interesting and the theories and research subjects opened a whole new world for me. I was mesmerized at how we rarely think about the psychology of the space we are in and how it affects our emotions and behaviour. I have always been interested in psychology and how our minds work. So when I found a subject that combined both my passion and my interest, I was overwhelmed. I started my research on that subject and found that there are post-graduate courses abroad in Environmental Psychology. In the beginning, I was confused about whether this course has any connection with architecture and would taking it up be a failed attempt. I was also bombarded with questions and criticisms from friends and peers regarding this. Also, I personally did not know anyone who had studied this particular subject and the name itself was unknown to us. But, I resorted to online research and spent most of my time reading about the subject and how it is related to architecture. I found many interesting theories and also blog posts by environmental psychologists which assured me that choosing this path would not be a bad choice, but a bold one.

University of Surrey

What about the University/program appealed to you?

During my research on the different universities that teach Environmental Psychology, one of the first names that came up on Google was University of Surrey. I hadn’t planned on going to the UK for my master’s course since I always dreamed of going to the US. I found a few universities that had the course but I was sceptical about the course structure and also the tuition fees. Upon further research I discovered that the University of Surrey was the first ever university to begin a postgraduate course in EP and that one of the course directors, Dr. David Uzzel is a world renowned Environmental Psychologist. I found the course structure quite impressive and decided on applying for the course. I decided on not going through any agents or travel agencies for the application since I was only applying to one university and I did not want to spend money on that too. The application process in itself was quite simple and the international student recruitment team at the university did a great job in helping me through it at all the stages. I was also lucky enough to work as an international student ambassador while I was at the university. The application process took a few months during which I wrote my IELTS and also completed other procedures for it. The day I got the offer letter from the university is one of the best days of my life. I never thought I’d get through. But, the University of Surrey has one of the highest numbers of international students and they always encourage students like us to be a part of their institution.

View from the library

Statue of Alan Turing

How was the experience at the University?

Going abroad for my masters was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it would happen, but it did, and it was one of the best years of my life. I got to meet people from different parts of the world, share my experiences with them, get immersed in new cultures, and form friends from different communities. The feeling is indescribable. My major worry about living in a new country was about how will I get along with the people there and how will I manage without any friends or family around. But the university is so acceptable towards international students with facilities like student help teams various other student organizations within the university that will make you feel like you are a part of the family. I was lucky to have graduated from a university that is at the top 10 of the Guardian league table for best universities in the UK.

There are many societies and communities in the university that one can be a part of and they conduct activities and events throughout the academic year. Some of the events hosted by the Indian society are Diwali night, Dandiya night, Bollywood party and also Holi celebrations. I was also part of the TedxSurreyUniversity, which conducted half-yearly ted talks within the campus on interesting topics. I was also a member of the Christian Union at Surrey, where I used to attend worship services every other week and also took part in Christmas carols in December. There are also outdoor food fests during summer and even talent shows conducted which one can be a part of.

With the international ambassadors

The amenities in the university are world-class. You can also do part-time jobs (with time restriction) which will help you pay for your extra-curricular activities and maybe even your flat rent. The accommodation is also affordable, which is one of the best things about the university. The university is located in a town called Guildford, which is just 50 minutes away from London by train or bus. All these made my life there amazing.

Runners up at Bollywood Dance Competition in London

Holi celebration at the University

How was the teaching at your university?

The teaching at the university was high class. We had classes 3-4 days a week, ranging from 3-5 hours a day. These hours not only included theory sessions but also group work and online practice sessions (SPSS). We often had group discussions regarding all the modules and this helped all the students in the class interact with one another and share ideas and experiences. The tutors were always open to discussions within class hours and encouraged us to do in-depth study on various topics and present it in class. Since the strength of my class was quite low, we were a close knit group. We were 15 students from different backgrounds like architecture, interior design, architectural engineering, real estate management, psychology, health and safety, and so on. This resulted in interesting discussions and we were all able to learn a lot from each other. We had group presentations and individual presentations as part of the curriculum. We also had architectural tours around the city of London to learn about place making and people’s behaviour in public places. This course is a highly research-based course; therefore we did not have any theory exams, but had to conduct small scale researches on subjects for our assignments.

Exercises and discussions in class

Tell us more about the mentors.

Our course directors are world renowned in the field of Environmental Psychology and particularly Dr. David Uzzel as I mentioned earlier. Dr. BirgittaGatersleben was our course director who is a senior professor in Environmental Psychology at the Department of Arts and Sciences in Surrey. Her research areas include the restorative effects of natural environments and the improved cognitive functioning. She has conducted research on various topics like the psychological effects of exposure to bird song, the effect of outdoor experiences on the mood and confidences of adolescents, greenery on and around residential buildings, and so on.

The other psychology subjects like social psychology, occupational psychology and health psychology were handled by faculty members of the psychology department who have also conducted internationally acclaimed research in their respective fields. We were free to interact with the staff members during class hours and they were very friendly with us. We could get in touch with through email and fix an appointment with them if needed, for further discussion or queries. They never held back when it came to pushing us to complete deadlines and also guiding us thoroughly during our dissertation process.

What lessons/insights did you gain from the experience?

I overcame my doubts and inhibitions about the validity of the course for my career and it showed me a profound way to think about design. I am now thinking in terms of human behaviour and emotions rather than just the physical aspects of the design. Environmental Psychology has helped me to carve my thinking in such a way, as to think about designing spaces that matter.

Which semester did you attend? How did you plan the entrance exams?

I attended the fall semester (September intake). The program was for a duration of 1 year. It began in September 2014 and ended by September 2015. I had to take the IELTS exam to provide proof of my English proficiency. This is necessary to receive an unconditional offer letter from any university in the UK to take you further in the visa application process.

Were you involved in research work/competitions while studying?

Other than the research work included in our course structure, I was not able to take part in any other research work as such. I was also not aware of any competitions taking place based on this course in the university or elsewhere. I did attend an Environmental Psychology conference in London once where a few eminent Environmental Psychologist researchers had shared their research works and presented their findings. It was an open seminar and a bunch of us from class had attended it.

Did you work a part-time job while studying?

I was working as an international student ambassador while I was studying. I was working with the international student relations office and was representing Indian students in the university and also helped prospective students in their application process. My work included blogging and also corresponding emails regarding Indian student admissions. I, later on, found a job at a cafe in town which was an interesting experience. The job helped me in a lot of ways making me capable of multitasking and also managing time well.

Did you have post-masters plans in mind when you went to do masters? Or did you go with the flow?

Just like every student who wants to go abroad for masters, my post-masters plan was to find a job in the UK and settle down there. Since environmental psychology is not a recognized career field here in India, I wanted to find a research job in London or elsewhere. But because of the visa duration and restrictions for Indian students, I had to come home and search for jobs here.

Did you travel while/after studying?

I did travel around England and also was lucky enough to travel to Amsterdam. That trip was unforgettable. Also, as London was close by, I was able to go around most of the city during the time I spent there.

Trip to Amsterdam 

New Year’s celebration in London

Manchester United Stadium

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Could you tell us in brief what your thesis was about?

I did my final research for dissertation on favourite places and place-self congruity. Basically, the research was conducted to find out if there is any correlation between self-image and image of the favourite place. It was tested on various factors and most of the hypothesis was rejected, but it was found that natural and interesting places were preferred by most of the participants. I conducted the research by sending out questionnaires online through social media and also making use of other facilities available in the library. My guide Dr. Birgitta Gatersleben, guided me on how to formulate the research question and also what areas to focus on rather than choosing a vast gap in literature. She also provided me with helpful guidelines on how to analyse the data gathered to get the final output. As research and research related topics were quite new to me, she played a tremendous role for me in paving the way through the final research project. She supported me through all of it, and without her guidance I would not have been able to complete my dissertation.

Do you think the country/city one studies in, matters? Does the city one studies in, play a major role in master’s experience?

More than the the city, I think the university in itself makes a huge difference. The city does play a role in your master’s experience. For example, Guildford is a university town, since the town is known for the university. When it comes to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham etc, the cities themselves have their own image and history which gives another kind of experience to students studying in universities in those cities. The culture and history of the city affects the experiences you have there and also builds a different kind of place memory.

Is there any notable incident/anecdote from your time abroad that you wish to share?

I remember this incident that happened while we were taking an architectural walk along the banks of the river Thames in London. We were all quite exhausted since we started early in the morning and still had to complete a few more buildings. The weather in the UK is unpredictable and it can rain any time of the day. While we were resting for a bit, it started drizzling and we had to run to a shelter to not get drenched in the rain. The rains began pouring down heavily and we had to wait for almost an hour inside a cafe. Since it was getting dark soon and we had to get back to Guildford that day itself, we cut short the tour and decided to complete it the next day. Our course directors were teasing us saying that we prayed for the rain. This was a very light hearted incident but I remember heaving a sigh of relief on my way back to Guildford from London in the train.

How is your master’s degree helping you in what you are doing right now?

Before this course, I was restricted to thinking in one way, which was pertaining with the physical attributes of the space and playing with elements of design. But, the environmental psychological theories has taught me to think of a space as a platform for human behaviour and how minuscule changes in the design can alter one’s behaviour and mood in the space. Some of the theories I tend to use on a day-to-day basis will be the restoration effects of natural environments and also the factors involving environmental behaviour in public places.

How different was it coming back to India and working here in Indian scenario?

I knew coming back to India with dreams of landing a job in Environmental psychology is foolish. I am a realist and therefore I decided that I will have to be patient in achieving my career goals. My initial reaction from companies when I started applying for jobs was ignorance and a total disregard of the subject itself. I was disheartened and was feeling low about the whole ordeal, but I never regretted choosing this career for myself. I applied for jobs in design studios and product design firms. I decided that I will have to gain experience in the practical field and later on get into design strategy based jobs and work my way through it. I was lucky to find my present job which gives me exposure in both teaching and practicing.

Please tell us about your current work and future plans.

I am currently working as an Architect and Academic at Terrafirm design studio and academy in Kochi. As most of the projects here at my firm involve residential design, I make use of the theories involving place attachment, place memory and so on.  Although working here is giving me practical knowledge in the architecture field, I am simultaneously looking out for research jobs as that’s where I want to head to in terms of my career. As architectural research jobs are quite hard to find in India, Kerala especially. But I am working towards it and I am hoping to find a job that will help me combine both my architectural and research skills.

What message would you like to give to future students of Post-graduate studies/B.Arch students?

I know completing B.Arch and deciding on what to do next is a daunting task. In previous times, an architecture graduate would opt to pursue a master’s degree in architecture course specializing in landscape, urban design, urban planning, etc. But, recently graduates have been opting for different fields like design strategy, environmental architecture, sustainable architecture, product designing, etc. I myself chose a field that was not heard of in India at that time. Choosing environmental psychology was a risk, but it’s the best decision I have ever made. Environmental psychology deals with the study of human minds in spaces encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments. Environmental psychology principles and theories help us to learn more about how to tackle climate change, address sustainability and mainly assessing human behaviour in public/private spaces. When solving problems involving human-environment interactions, whether global or local, one must have a model of human nature that predicts the environmental conditions under which humans will respond well. Therefore, environmental psychology it is a discipline that will guide you in designing spaces that satisfy human needs.

If you want to study Environmental psychology, choose University of Surrey. To all the architects out there, I warn you, you might find it disappointing to not have many practical subjects. But, the course in itself is highly research-based and that’s what university of surrey’s Environmental Psychology course structure provides you with. I assure you that you will find yourself in the midst of amazing talent and also incredible faculty members who will inspire you in ways you have not imagined possible. You will be treated with the utmost respect and also the university will help you hone your abilities and help you achieve your dream. I guarantee that it will be the best decision you will ever take.

About the interviewee:

Anju Sara Abraham is an architect and an environmental psychologist. She has a B.Arch degree from Sathyabama University, Chennai and an MSc degree in Environmental Psychology from University of Surrey. She currently works as an Architect Terrafirm Projects Ltd, Kochi.