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strangerdeer · 5 years ago

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oc interview ➔ Awilda Flamel

| year five

I saw @hphm-ravenclaw-writings did this for their OC Samuel! Check out their post as well HERE

name ➔ “I’m Awilda Flamel,” a frown smile was shown on her face.

are you single ➔ She raised her eyebrows and looked a bit uncomfortable, “I am, how so?”

are you happy ➔ Awilda shrugs and pouts her mouth. “For now? Yeah, I would say I’m happy.”

are you angry ➔ “I don’t see a reason why I would be angry..” her thumb and pointy finger is at her mouth as she thought of the question.

are your parents still married ➔ Awilda shows a soft smile and seems to dream away a bit. “They are still married, happy as an old couple could be!”

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ “Born on St. Mungos,”

hair color ➔ Awilda tilts her head so the high ponytail of her hair showed. “I have coloured it white blond! It’s not grey!” She looks back and grins, knowing a lot people thinking it is grey. “But my natural colour is brown.”

eye color ➔ “Dark blue.”

birthday ➔ “28th April, born 1973, a good year I would say,” she smiles at her own sarcastic joke.

mood ➔ “I’m neither excited, or joyful of happiness, neither mad or sad... I guess I’m in an average okay mood.”

gender ➔ “I’m a girl, who can’t live without a skirt.”

summer or winter ➔ “Gosh, winter!” Awilda’s head tilts back as she smile big. “Winter is so much fun with all the snow and ice skating. You can do so much fun when it is snow all around!”

morning or afternoon ➔ “Afternoon, then I can play Qudditich with the others.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ Awilda looks up in the ceiling, her eyes wandered around as she had her mouth open a little bit. “Um, perhaps, but I’m not sure.” She then laughs a little bit. “or I know my own feelings, but I wouldn’t admit openly if I was in love.”

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “Nope,” It was a quick answer. “I think it is something that comes through time.”

who ended your last relationship ➔ Awilda let out a heavy sigh and nods. “Me. It was for the better. He goes in Beauxbatons and we barley saw each other so...” A short paus was there as Awilda looks down on the floor. “It was only right to break up with him, I didn’t have the right feelings, I suppose it was just an experiment for me.”

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ Another nod to that question. “He was heartbroken for that moment, I hope he is fine now since we are still friends. Plus he is best friend with my cousin, so we are better off as friends.”

are you afraid of commitments ➔ Awilda shook her head fast. “No, it is part of life to make them.”

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “I only hug my friends, but... not this last week I think?”

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “It must be a good secret admirer because not even I know about them then,” Awilda laughs and makes a facepalm with her hand softly.

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “Not what I can think of...”

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ Awilda twist with her mouth before she answer. “Lust. I think? My answer to that may change in ten years.”

lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Non of them. Tea is suppose to be hot!”

cats or dogs ➔ “I have never own a cat or a dog, my family doesn’t have any pets. But I think I would go along with a dog. Plus,” Awilda holds out her hands and laughs. “I’m allergic to cats! It would be a disaster if I owned one!”

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “Why not both? It is good to know everyone but good to have few best friends as well, you can never know too little people.”

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “Wild night out,” Awilda nods with a smile. “I like it when something happens that you can talk about afterwards for a long time.”

day or night ➔ “Um, I can be up for a whole night, but I like day better because you can at least see what happens around you.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ Awilda smiles as she narrow her eyes. “Perhaps.”

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “No, surprisingly! But the stairs has always made me late for classes! They always move when I step on them.”

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “There was this broom that recently came out... and Merlin,” Awilda bite her lip. “I want it so bad, I have already asked my parents if I can have one.”

wanted to disappear ➔ Awilda furious her eyebrows, puzzled expression before she spoke; “Not really... not after that my brother Jakob disappeared.”

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ “Eyes, they say more than a smile does.”

shorter or taller ➔ “I am short that wish to be taller.” She waves with her hand softly as if it was a fly near her. “But I suppose I fall for the taller ones.”

intelligence or attraction ➔ “Why not both?” she smiles and raise her eyebrows. “Two good things in one person, what more could I ask for?”

hook-up or relationship ➔ “Um, I suppose hook-up, for now.... I mean, a hook-up can lead to a relationship, right?”

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ “I mean,” Awilda pause as she taps her fingers on her cheek. “they both work a lot. I know this summer they worked all the time and was only free for one week. But otherwise we get along.”

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ A soft shrug was shown from her. “I mean, when I start to wear pants, you can assume something messed up has happen.” She then looks around in the room. “But there is strange stuff going on now at Hogwarts, there are some men here... seems very interested in the Vaults and other stuff.”

have you ever ran away from home ➔ “No, but I know some kids here who has wanted to run away from the castle actually. Can’t blame them.”

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Awilda press her lips together and narrow her eyes once more. “Do we talk about kicked out from classroom or?”

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ Awilda takes a very big amount of air through her nose as she sits more straight. “Some do I not get along with I suppose... But I have never hated someone. Except Merula but that’s another story.”

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “There are neither good or bad.... as mom use to say, we do things that we consider is the right thing, but may not be right in other peoples eyes.”

who is your best friend ➔ “I would say many are my best friends. Picking one would be wrong.”

who knows everything about you ➔ “Ever heard of Constance Rozenova? She knows most about me.” || Free open tag for those who want to do this! I also tossed in a bit of Awildas versions of the Vaults that there are some Secret Organisation who wants the Vaults as well.

#hogwarts mystery #Awilda Flamel #writing stuff you know

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scarletfwooper · 6 years ago

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Episode 10: The Terrible No Good Very Bad Tuesday

Saffron runs throughout campus frantically looking for Dumbledore, unbeknownst to her he’s been gone for days. Upon realizing that no one is there to help her she runs to Gryffindor Tower to find Bill. When he’s no where to be found she suffers a breakdown. Alana attempts to help the situation, but quickly grows frustrated when Saffron won’t answer her. Eventually she ends up using the silencing charm of Saffron to make her stop screaming for Bill.

Bill arrives and takes her to his room. After a long time she admit what had happened. Bill insists they tell McGonagall after she rest, she agrees. Saffron has a dreamless sleep. Helene and Elena sleep of their earlier alcohol in Ravenclaw tower. The two share a cute moment before Elena sneaks out the window.

The next morning Alana tries to apologize to Saffron, but she refuses to accept it. Bill and Saffron go to start looking for the Professor, but they end up going to breakfast because Saffron’s not feeling well and Bill’s worried for her. Charlie talks to Alana as they head to breakfast where they’re joined by Andre and his cousin Sapphire.

A bruised at Hec arrives sitting at his own table with Aud. They are joined by Jae and Awilda. Charlie receives a howler from his mom that scolds him on his recent behavior, the note end on a happy note praising Bill and Saffron’s relationship. As she’s leaving Saffron over hears Alana talking about reading peoples minds, angry that she didn’t know she tells Alana to stay out of her head and out of her life before storming out of the Great Hall.

Bill and Alana follow her out and find her sitting in the hall trying to calm down and ease her headache. She begs Alana to leave but Alana demands an explanation, she begs Bill to make Alana leave but he’s at a loss for what to do. Hector leaves the Great hall going to make sure Saff’s alright. The rest of his group decide to go work on the monster hunt.

Andre, Sapphire, and Charlie go to spy on the brewing fight. Saffron accuses Alana of using her magic to control people, citing herself, Hector, and Penny, and refuses to accept the apology again. Alana breaks down crying feeling like a monster and runs off. Andre chases after her, Charlie and (cat) Sapp in tow. Hector sits down next to Saff on the floor.

Audrey, Awilda, Wolfie, and the rest of the monsters start formulating a plan not to kill the monster, but to get Kettleburn to help them capture it. Saffron who feels betrayed Bill didn't stand up for her tells Bill he should go comfort Alana. Bill insists he wants to stay and make sure she's okay. She insists she's fine even though she can't even walk without heavily leaning on him. She decides to love him despite whether or not she trust him not to leave her.

Hector attempts to apologize for not saying their friends but botches it. Saffron decides even if she's not his friend he's hers and warns him about Sasha. Andre comforts Alana and tells her she's not a monster, the two end up kissing in the owlry. Beneath them Sapp and Charlie flirt and make animal noises to annoy Alandre. The monster hunting gang continue to work on monster solutions. Saff and Bill decided to go back to looking for McGonagall.

Hector look everywhere for Audrey, he finally finds her near the Quiddich pitch. He warns her about Sasha, but she doesn’t share his point of view and points out he doesn’t have all the facts. They come to a sort of agreement where they'll have Rakepick be the one they go to for last resort. Aud tells Hec what she heard while in the investigation/interrogation. He doesn’t like the way she word him being liked by Snape, but he lets it and her opinion of Sasha lay. Before he leaves she informs him of what the group has discussed involving the lake.

Snape interrogates Bex and Alana using similar tactics to the ones he used on the others. Bex suggests the punishment should be a year of detention whereas Alana thinks they should get a year of detention plus Hector should lose his privileges (his prefect badge). Snape implies/states that Alana is the common factor among these fights. Alana refuses to back down telling him he’s a bully and he’ll hear from her father.

Alana ends up losing a total of 600 house points, her privileges (to attend events, Hogsmead, or Quiddich games), and gains detention for as long as Snape deems fit. Bex loses ten house points and is asked/forced into attending detention as well to work on her skills and help Alana with her abilities. Once Alana and Bex are free they have a short conversation before she heads off to find Andre. He informs her he’s already received his punishment.

Andre’s position on the Quiddich team had been returned to him…. On one condition. He bet Snape Alana loved him enough to not do something to hurt him. So if she doesn’t follow through with her punishment he loses his position….permanately. On the upside, his guardianship of Alana grants him unquestionable access to Gryffindor tower, so there’s that.

Bex has her career meeting with professor Sprout who warns her that while she can help her get into NEWT level Herbology she cannot help her with potions. Sprout promises to get Bex a summer apprenticeship with Newt Scamander this summer should she manage to do well. Bill and Saff visits McGonagall who contacts the Ministry. They find out a 5931 was been filled under Dumbledore's orders and there's little they can so. They are given time off class and told to rest. Saffron suggest they use this time to go to her favorite place: the lake.

Chris Ocasio decides to spend the last few hours of sunlight engrossed in a good book. Charlie and Sapphire have a conversation about Charlie's guilt while they watch the animals in the reserve. Bex went to the reserve to try to calm down while fighting off a spirit. When Wolfget went looking for Ketteburn to the reserve he found Bex, and sensed something lurking near her.

Audrey, Mystic, Faireth, Dia, and Awilda meet up at the Courtyard and go to the Lake - Aud gives them flares for signaling purposes and also gives them a potion to breathe underwater. Green Clues. 3 sticks. Yellow Danger/Avoid that area. 3 sticks Red Emergency. 1 stick. Bill and Saffron go to the lake in their swim suits to have an nice end to their hard day.

The group enters the waters, they spread out to look for clues of monster. Aud finds dead Grindylows. Awilda goes diving and forget what the codes was for the sticks. She sees a lot of half eaten merpeople, but is too dumb to leave a red stick. This sends the others into a panic. Aud goes over to Awilda who uses “lumos Maximum” at the monster, and Fair spots one of the monsters and sends a spell flying. Everyone scrambles to get away and scare the monster away, but they notice a second one is going for Mys.

Dia scares off the one coming for her and Wil helps her. Dia helps the others fight the monster in the lake. Depulsos the monster. Yeets out twice via Ascendio. She dives back like three times because she doesn't wanna abandon her friends. Aud goes for Mys and keeps the second one away but Mys goes unconscious from water. Fair goes over to help Aud carry Mys off. Aud goes after the other one going after the others. Bill and Saffron play around splashing each other before things turn flirty and they start to snog. Awilda shouts at Bill and Saffron to get out of the water. Saffron turns to look at Awilda when something takes Saffron under the water. Bill and Aud pull her away and scares it off. Everyone escapes to shore but Aud chases after the two monsters. Awilda uses Lumos Maximun again at the second monster.

Eventually, Bex couldn’t fight the spirit off anymore and Wolfget had to step in and rid of an evil spirit that tried to posses her. She notices Charlie and Saph’s conservation while Wolfget is getting the spirit out of her and is heartbroken. Charlie and Sapphire are about to have a moment, when its interrupted by Bill yelling. They run and find the lake in chaos. Saffron is injured. Sapphire stays with the rest while Charlie tries to go help out.

Bill pulls Saffron to shore, but she’s not breathing. He gives her crappy CPR and takes her to the hospital wing. Bill, Charlie, and Hec discover a rune on her leg, which Hec points out has been there for awhile. A Nordic Rune. Wolfget takes Bex to the infirmary agreeing to talk about what happened later. Wolf talked with Hec about Bex's incident and asked him if they could talk later when Hector had time. After he leaves, she becomes depressed and questions why she’s still here when she’s so forgettable. Saffron recalls her dreams, but stays quiet, finding comfort in Bill.

Aud leaves a differently-colored flare by where they stopped at. Fair gets mad because Audrey is risking her life at every given occasion and wants to do things alone is very annoyed at her. They blows up the place where the two escaped two and now the boulders are trapping the monsters there. They get out of the lake and Aud performs CPR on Mys. Saph is nearby and unsure of what to do. When Mys wakes up they all go to the infirmary to recover and calm down. Hector is really stressed out by all the injured. Mystic arrives and Hec takes a look at her. She has a large bruise from her ankle to knee. Mystic asks for Clayton and Fair write him for her. Clayton comes and relives a memory of Mystic first being abused by their father. He then gets the idea of becoming a Hogwarts professor.

Dia gets lightly injured when the monster grabs her wand arm which she doesn't bring attention to because its "not really important". Snape confronts all of us on the way to Pomfrey's. Awilda has a panick attack that is mild but still showing, avoids Snapes eye contact when they got questioned. Dia tries to comfort Awilda but lets Aud do it instead because she's better at it. Awilda runs in Constantine and tells her everything, leaving her stressed that Contanstine will tell Snape that she has been at the Black Lake.

Dia doesn't know what to do with herself when the reach the hospital so leans by a wall. Penny joins her, asking what hapened. She then tells her off and helps out with the patients. Penny notices her discomfort and passes her a Wiggenweld potion. Penny helps out Hector who’d taken over for Pomfrey. Pomfrey leaves to drink. Charlie tries to comfort Sapphire while she is having an anxiety attack. Saph passes out. Charlie takes care of her. She wakes up delirious. Charlie convinces her to drink water. She is exhausted through everything she went through and Charlie and her end up snuggling in the bed. Bill gives Saffron potions to get all the lake water out of her and to feel better. Bill takes Saffron to his room. Hec checks up on Bex and she continuously gets flustered as they talk. Her feelings for Hec continue to develop. Wolfget and Hector talk in the infirmary after everything calms down. Wolf apologizes to Hec for threatening him during his fight with Charlie. Hec accepts Wolf's apologies, so all is good. They talked about what happened in the forest, and both are in their road to friendship. Mystic wakes up and teleports to the Astronomy tower to hang with Dante. Dante has a flashback. Mystic Teleports them back to the Infirmary. Faireth visits them at the infirmary, but goes away quickly. She goes to the Prefects Bathroom, to test the limits of her oxygen bubble and other spells. Bex and Wolfget have a talk about the possession and bond over their experiences on demons and spirits. Wolfget agrees to move his extra lessons at the same time as the tutoring and Bex gratefully thanks him.

Mama and Papa Graves go to the ministry meeting up with Dumbledore and Rakepick. Clayton and Rakepick try to talk about Mystics mental health. They notices something wrong with Mama Graves she's quite, and won't respond unless Papa Graves asks her to. Rakepick asks about it, Papa Graves gets angry. After some communication about an earlier conversation with Dumbledore papa Graves gets frozen. They then Check on Mama Graves and discover the Imperius curse. They Break the curse and ask that Clayton, Dante and Mystic are to be alerted and must arrived as quickly as possible. Mama Graves doesn't remember anything from after the curse was cast.

Andre babysits Alana and they play sexy 21 Questions while the others are out. When Bill comes in he suggests they go check on Andre’s cousin Sapphire. Bill and Saffron go take a sexy bath in the prefects bathroom. Bex escapes the Hospital Wing and goes to hunt down Charlie and finds him talking with Saph. They ask her if she’s doing well and she confirms, calling them by their full name, something she hasn’t done since the beginning of the year and immediately apologies for it. Bex asks to speak to Charlie alone. Charlie accepts and asks Saph to meet up later, which she agrees but decides to follow them. Bex leads Charlie to a room that she used to escape to when she was younger to escape the bullies. Bex gets up and casts a few silencing charms and says coldly that she gave him a second chance after he fought with Andre, that she didn’t consider giving him a second chance when he forcefully kissed Alana until he helped her out, and because he seem to regret the fight with Hector, she will give him another, but warns him not to waste it.

Saffron tries to tells Bill what she’s been going through, but feels like he’s never on her side and doesn’t want to understand. He says she’s being unfair to Alana and that she keeps pushing everyone away. They fight and she accuses him of looking for reasons like everyone else (Hector, Jacob, he mother) does. He storms in and she breaks down crying. He comes back and comforts her. She tells him about her bad dreams. She sleeps in his bed again that night but has nightmares.

Charlie goes to Snape office where he finds Hec by himself. The door was locked and not even Alohamora could open it. Charlie began a heart to heart with Hec, apologizing for his part of the fight and what he had said. The pair made up just in time for Snape to come in. Snape questioned Hector on what punishment Charlie should get, and Hector said he had been punished enough. Snape asked Charlie what should happen to Hector and he told him nothing because they had both learned from it and made up. Snape began antagonizing Charlie about what he had been doing, using jokes that the friends had come up with to make all Charlie’s women friends out to be "harlots". Snape took away Charlie's O mark from his last paper, and threatened his future if he didn’t change his ways and friends. Charlie proceeded to tell Snape that he was not his father so he couldn’t tell him what to do with his life and if he had to give up his friends to keep on his career path, he would find another way. Snape told Charlie that his punishment was to stay away from women, or the women in his life's careers would suffer by his doing.

After that, Charlie's free to leave the office. Not Hector. He's ordered to close the door of the office and return to his seat. He does that and waits for his own punishment. Snape, however, seems finished and starts to grade papers. Hector, growing confused, asks the professor-- but Snape tells him that there's no punishment for him and that Hector has been the victim all along. He was simply keeping him there to watch the "show". Bewildered, Hector tries to reason with him even as all the house points Gryff lost is returned to him. Snape stops him from continuing, telling him that if he had a son, he'd imagine him to be very much like Hector. Understandably, the boy is stunned into silence.

Snape then pulls Hector into a very awkward embrace, one that Hector is equally disturbed and comforted by... and felt a strange sense of longing, wishing that it was his father giving him these kind words instead of Snape. The thought brings him to tears, and he leaves the office in that state.

Charlie left and was followed to the lake by Sapphire in his animagus form. Charlie told Sapphire about what Snape did and what Snape had called them. Charlie left Sapphire but not before giving her a kiss on the head and promising her that he would find a way to fix it. Charlie passed Alana on the way to Gryffindor tower and told her to talk to Sapphire because he couldnt talk to her. Charlie wrote a letter to his parents. As Charlie leaves, she sit by herself near the lake as a sad blob. Bex and Alana finds her and do some cheering up before asking her what's wrong. She tells them what happened. She goes to Bex's secret hideout and talk with them.

Hector runs into Audrey quite literally. After they get up she brings him to the seventh floor room. It's cleaned up nicely, since Hector and a few others worked on in while everyone else were still recovering in the infirmary. They sit on a couch and Hector recounts what has happened in the office, carefully leaving out what happened after Charlie left. After that, their conversation moved on to their superficial relationship and how it came out from obligation-- but Audrey never saw it as superficial or as an obligation to care for Hector, and when she questions him he begins to wonder if he's growing out of that obligation. Soon enough, his thoughts wander back to Snape's words and soon his real father, and confesses to Aud about how much he misses him and how much he hates Mr. Silva, soon asking Aud what she thinks about her own dad. Audrey tells him, and is curious why Hec's bringing this all up. He starts to cry when he thinks about his real father once more, and overcome by emotion he hugs her. She's surprised; even more so when Hector tells her that he'd like to imagine having a sister like her. She's touched by it and also finds herself hugging him back, telling him that she's been here for him and will continue to be. They sleep on the couch that night, comforted by their renewed relationship with each other.

Clayton and Rakepick have a moment as they wait to see how his mother is. Clayton accepts the position he was offered at Hogwarts. Clayton takes his siblings to go see their mother. Their mother learns of everything that has happened to. She threatens to kill their father. They stop her saying they don't want to loose her again. The boys leave, Mystic tells Mama Graves about Audrey. Mama Graves accepts it. Clayton and Dante talk. Clayton has a flashback. Clayton asks Dante to help him design his classroom at Hogwarts.

Mystic gets like no sleep because of a nightmare. Her friends ask her about it and she admits it. Dante shows up and takes Mystic back to her room to sleep. He takes Faireth to the Graves Manner to discuss how they will kill Papa Graves. Mama Graves finds out that Mystic almost drowned. The Imperius curse is mentioned. Mama Graves knows their dating. Invites all of Mystics Friends over for the summer. Clayton and Pomfrey meet up for a drink. They talk about how hard life can be. They have a moment of peaceful silence. Rakepick shows up and they all joke around. Clayton tickles Rakepick. Clayton recalls a childhood memory and Pomfrey calls them cute. Jokes get a little more ...... naughty after that. They joke around some more. Clayton sees the time, thanks them for the evening and goes home.

Costia drinks apple juice out of a wine glass, pissed that once again the others have rejected her friendship. She searches the lake for the so called “monster” that Awilda was talking about. She discovers the buried corpses of grindylows and mermaids. She throws a mermaid corpse into the lake. Large bubbles rise to the surface after, indicating that something alive is down there. The next day, Slytherin students will wake up to a half eaten, rotting, mermaid corpse outside the common room windows.

#recap #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hogwats mystery #hphm #hphm discord

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latina4rmbx · 6 years ago

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To My Sweet, Sweet Boy

Today is my son’s 9th Birthday (AAAHHHHHHHH). Of course, as any mother would, I’m feeling a big nostalgic. He is my Baby and time is flying so fast. Soon, he’s going to be a teenager and my heart can’t stand it. This one is dedicated to him.

Hi Poppa. Happy Birthday! Baby, did I ever tell you that I dreamt you into life? No? I did. My friends could tell you, I’d say, by the time I’m 30, I WILL have another baby. I don’t know where the baby fever came from. I don’t know how I knew I was going to have YOU specifically, but my heart told me. YOU will be it.

Now mind you, I wanted a girl when I pregnant with you, but I never dreamt that I had a girl. It was always your face. Always your smell I remembered. I don’t know how that happened, but I literally dreamed you into life. I’ll just say it’s “Mommy Power.”

Mommy Power is a special power Mommies have. We make boo boos feel better with just a kiss. We make tears stop falling with a hug. It’s the “special” ingredient we put in our food. It’s all the same thing...LOVE.

My Mommy Power had me dreaming about you before I even knew your dad. When I held you in my arms, it felt like I knew you already. Not because you were inside my belly all that time, but because I had been dreaming of your face for years.

I didn’t even know you were going to be a reality. My health hadn’t been great, but it definitely wasn’t bad. But I would say it, I AM going to have another baby. When I found out I was pregnant, women usually find out first (LOL) I was alone. I was so happy to make this dream a reality. To make YOU a reality, I cried.

Fast forward to the day before you were born. This would be yesterday, 9 years ago. I had a routine Drs appointment, however I was high risk, due to the health issues I alluded to above. I was going to have another ultrasound to see how things were flowing. I was excited because I was going to see you. The possibility of my labor being induced had been mentioned, but I didn't want to dwell on it because the thought of it scared me.

This brings me back to when I found out if you were a boy or a girl. I can see your little stuff on the ultrasound clear as day. It was funny because I look and I go, oh...OHHH. I saw your little penis and your dad and I laughed. He didn’t see it at first. It’s fine, not everyone sees it at first.

So, I had my last ultrasound and I got to see you again. Oh, you were beautiful to me. Then the Ultrasound Tech said: There’s not enough fluid surrounding your baby, they may have to induce. You may have to confirm with your dad this part, but I believe I started crying. I was so scared of being induced. They didn’t let me go home, they kept me at the hospital.

So I check in, pay my co-payment and wait to be put into a room. Luckily I was in a room by myself, meaning there were no other mothers in labor with me. Your dad and your sister Awilda where there with me. They were my support.

A doctor comes in and explains what he is going to do with me. First, they stick a little pill up my vagina called Pitocin. This pill is supposed to soften my cervix (lol, google it) to start the laboring process. Mind you, I’m sitting on a bed, strapped in like a mental patient listening to your heart beat and feeling you try to wiggle, but no labor, no labor pains.

After about a few hours the doctors check my cervix and nada is happening. Then he says, I guess we’re going to have to give you the medication via IV. WHAT!!!!! The doctor says, don’t worry, we’ll start off slow and EASE you into labor.

Baby Boy, I know you will NEVER go into labor, but if you’re with someone that is having your baby and doctors say they’re going to EASE her into labor, be prepared. This is when the action happens.

So, they give me the IV Pitocin and we wait. Awilda and Adam are leaving and coming back because they’re hungry or tired and I’m just...waiting. NOTHING IS HAPPENING!!!

The doctor comes back in and is like, well we have to increase the medication. WHAAATTTT!!!!!! At this point, I don’t even want to have you. I figured you were going to live inside my belly forever and I would be ok with that. But noooooo, the doctor had to increase the pitocin.

Now, I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. I can’t go into detail about hour 1 this happened and hour 2 this happened. I do know that labor began and I felt every single part of it up until I finally got the epidural (OH. MY. GOD.)

So I had been in active labor for about mmmmmmmm, 12-ish hours but I was sticking it out. It wasn't so bad and I was eventually going to MEET my little baby. The nurse offered me an epidural and I refused. WHAT A MISTAKE.

CAVEAT: GET THE EPIDURAL! I mean, it’s your choice but you wouldn’t suffer with Wisdom Teeth pain or a migraine for over 24 hours, so why go through labor pains when you don’t have to, is all I’m saying.

The labor pains became so intense that I wished I had taken the nurse up on her offer when she initially asked. It was too late now. I made a bargain with myself. If she asks again, I will say yes. Now mind you, I am scared because I was being induced, happy because I was going to finally meet my baby, in pain due to this induced labor and pissed off because I was hungry, in pain and my two “supports” were asleep.

About 19-20 hours into ACTIVE labor (active labor is me IN PAIN) the nurse finally comes in and is like would you like an epidural. Lets just say I could’ve kissed her lips. The doctor had to stick me twice but after I was stuck I was GOOOOOOOOOD. I barely felt anything and my baby was ok, so far.

Fast forward to RIGHT before I gave birth, this 25+ hours of labor. A PA came in, read my scans and told me I was ready and asked me to push. When I pushed, your heart beat slowed down. She told me to stop pushing. She looked at the scans again and said, ok, I’m going to ask you to push again. I pushed and the same thing happened. Then shit got real.

She tells me, it seems the baby’s umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck and every time you push, it’s decreasing his heart beat. I got so scared, I thought I was going to have a C-Section (when the baby is cut out of you) She then looks me in the eyes and says: I’m going to tell you to push and you’re going to push with all of your might. We’re going to get the baby out.

She goes between my legs and says: Ready mommy? PUSH!

I know you don’t know what labor is yet, but the first part of the baby that comes out is the head. So your head is sticking out of my vagina and the PA says to your dad: Dad, I can’t ask you to cut the umbilical cord because your baby is in distress, I am going to do it, but come here and watch. (or something to that effect, because I AM TERRIFIED, plus I have a human head sticking out of my nether region, I’m not really paying attention to the specifics).

She cuts the umbilical cord and then she says: Mommy, get ready to push again. The shoulders are the hardest part of pushing a baby out of your body. They’re broader than the rest of the body so more effort has to be put. Mind you, these things are happening simultaneously so it’s quick. I’m probably typing longer than it actually took for you to come out.

I push again, but I am TERRIFIED and tired and hungry and worried. Maybe a second push and your shoulders come out and the rest of you come sliding out of my body. I have an oxygen mask on, I look like a total mess and they are rubbing you fiercely. At the time, I didn’t think of it, but they were bringing you back to life. You were born blue. Your umbilical cord was wrapped around your neck and as I pushed, I was choking the life out of you.

It didn’t take long for you to start crying and then for me to start crying. I will honestly say, I didn’t realize it then, but have realized it every day after, that you almost didn’t live. I almost didn’t get to have the baby I had been dreaming about for years. Even today, especially today, I realize how blessed I am to have you and believe you have been put here for some truly amazing reason.

One more little story and I will end this post. After I gave birth, I was in my room and some guests wanted to see you. You were in the nursery with all of the other babies. I say, let me go get him, or tell them to bring him. I start walking toward the nursery and I hear a baby crying. Now, I will say this is one of the Mommy Power things I was talking about, I knew it was you crying. The sound of you crying made me cry. I kept walking toward the nursery and I stop at the entrance and I say: Baby Velasquez? There were like 5 people in lab coats surrounding this crying baby and the nurse says: This is him. I already knew that because like I said “Mommy Power.” We will bring him to you. We are almost done checking him.

No one said anything to me in the room. I’m guessing I looked horrible when I walked back. I was just crying. I also don’t remember correctly. I remember saying: They’re checking him, they’ll bring him to us when they’re done.

Then they did:

XOXO

Thanks for reading.

#JoaquinsBirthday2019

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jackiehadel1 · 4 years ago

Photo

“Look into my dreams, Awilda” Spanish sculptor: Jaume Plensa made of white resin ~ 39 ft. tall "...he likes to capture the ephemeral beauty, as well as the possessive power of girls, just as they are becoming women…" Chicago, Illinois 🇺🇸 June 2015 https://www.instagram.com/p/CGgiVyLHBTK/?igshid=43lcb4702jjd

0 notes

bigyack-com · 5 years ago

Text

In Memoriam: Advisors Offer Thoughts and Memories of Barry Liben

Last week, Barry Liben, chairman of Tzell Travel Group, passed away. He had a lasting impact on the business, serving as the organization’s president and CEO for nearly 40 years and chairman of Tzell Travel Group since 2016. Industry leaders and Tzell advisors have shared their thoughts and memories of Liben with Luxury Travel Advisor. Here's what they had to say: Awilda Gonzalez, SVP, operations and engagement at Tzell Travel Group “What started out as a ‘job’ turned into a career because of BARRY. (Caps automatic). What started out as a job, turned into a second family because of Barry. He believed in me and helped me realize my strengths. Today, as SVP of culture and operations, I use everything that I learned from Barry, plus what he already saw in me. Barry was my boss, my friend, my mentor. He taught me it was OK to have fun at work, let the kid inside out every now and again. He showed me the value of loyalty, honesty. And most of all, good guys can finish first. I will miss him always.” Leslie Tillem, Eltee Travel Group, a division of Tzell Travel Group “I met Barry almost 20 years ago when he wanted me to join Tzell. That meeting was all it took to make my decision. While Barry was a highly regarded industry icon and leader to all of us at Tzell, he was my friend and I admired him for so many reasons. He was always honest, fair and a mentor to so many of us. I remember looking forward to our monthly Tzell meetings. His incredible sense of humor and timing was always the highlight. I will forever remember him as the quintessential family man who always made time for the people that mattered most. As busy as we can be in travel, Barry lived for his family and as I witnessed his dedication to them that lesson helped me keep the priorities in my life straight. He was a leader and an inspiration to all of us and loved by so many. To Barry, I’d like to thank him for the memories and the many life lessons. He will be forever dearly missed.”

Free Luxury Travel Newsletter

Like this story? Subscribe to The Dossier Luxury Travel Advisor’s only newsletter, covering unique destinations and product news for affluent travelers. Delivered every Tuesday & Thursday. Cathleen Casey, Tzell Travel Group “It is hard to overstate the impact a strong mentor can effect on a life. Barry Liben’s presence in mine will last a lifetime. My time with Barry was relatively short compared with some of my colleagues, who worked with him for decades. I had just one. But it was more than enough to realize what an extraordinary man he was. I quickly learned that Barry could always be counted on to simplify the seemingly most intractable problems in an instant by boiling things down in a few questions. His office door was always open to me when I needed his advice or to just to visit and have a few laughs. I told him once that his sense of humor reminded me of Groucho Marx, to which he responded that this was the greatest compliment I could ever have bestowed upon him. His wisdom, generosity, humor, loyalty, spirit and joie de vivre live on through all of us he touched, and we are all better humans for having shared his world.” Steven Bear, Bear & Bear Travel, Tzell Travel Group “In September of 2008, Bear & Bear Travel started our first day at Tzell as ICs. The Friday prior, I received a call from Barry Liben wanting me to hear from his mouth that Tzell Travel Group was purchased by Travel Leaders Group and any agreements we made in writing or handshake would always be honored. Our first day, Jody Bear, myself and the entire Bear & Bear team were amazed on how fluid the day, and then month, went. September was exclusively dedicated to Show Time for the fashion world, which was our niche business at the time, this meant a lot of tickets, changes and demands. Our first month turned out to be the best month our business ever produced, our staff was amazing, but Barry made sure every department had a presence in our offices in order to circumvent any problems quickly. “October 2008, the bubble burst, as many other businesses the fashion world ground went down to a halt. We. for all purposes. were out of business and 12 faces looking at us for guidance. In November of 2008, Barry called me to his office: He said, “Steven, I never saw anyone in business get the s—t kicked out of them like you did.” We only worked under the Tzell umbrella for two-and-a-half months, yet we met a number of times to negotiate but for all practical purposes except for reputation, we were strangers. Barry told me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, whatever you need, however you want to run your business I’ve got your back.’ If we were at a different agency, we would have had our possessions in a box and, at the best, seated in a hole in the wall and told to fire our staff. Today, we are exclusively in the concierge/luxury travel business with offices in New York and Seattle. There was no way in the world we would have been able to be in this position if it wasn’t for Barry Liben.” Marian Lyn, Status, an affiliate of Tzell Travel Group “Barry is the true story of a self-made man. He was my friend, a role model and a wonderful CEO. He was family to me and the entire Tzell family. I am so incredibly proud of and in love with his wife, children and grandchildren. They were Barry’s life, and anyone could see the pure joy on his face whenever he spoke of them. He loved his family so much and it was inspiring and always showed. Barry was and forever be the nucleus of the Tzell family. He was an incredible leader for us. Barry had that God-given gift of being able to ‘read’ people and act off of intuition. We shared many of the same values: ‘My word is my bond;’ be honest; work hard; and bring a little ‘crazy,’ which I did and yet that door was always open, and he was always reachable. “The loss of Barry is immeasurable. Barry was the voice in the travel agent community and always fought the fight for us. He led us and laughed with us. Barry knew how hard the agents worked day and night and recognized our dedication. He built a work family and I hope he was so proud of those accomplishments. Barry truly redefined the travel industry. He was loyal to us and always did what was right for everyone. In addition to being one of the best negotiators, Barry was one of the best storytellers and ‘roasters,’ keeping us all in stitches at our annual party to recognize years of services at Tzell. Only he could be that visual storyteller. Barry always sent out yearly happy birthday messages; he wanted to make sure we knew that he cared. Barry gave us a fun work environment, filled with ice cream and bingo. When we would have our ‘fireside’ chats, we would laugh so hard in Barry’s office. “Barry would always ask, ‘How are you?’ ‘How is your family?’ ‘Are you taking care of yourself?’ And the conversations would always end in ‘Be good, stay out of trouble and I LOVE YOU.’ My friend, Barry, I will miss him dearly! May he rest in peace and hope he knows how much he meant to us. I will miss our fireside chats and the laughter and will love him forever. I have the memories, so I did not lose Barry, but I have 20 years of memories which I forever cherish. I am TZELL!” Andi Henig, A Team Tours, an affiliate of Tzell Travel Group “It was the winter of 1992, way before everyone had cell phones and laptops. If you had work to do you stayed at the office and worked into the night. Alan and I were working on a national tour of a group of comedians headed by Dennis Leary. Barry had been wooing us to come over to Tzell to join his curated group of agents. He called at about 7 p.m. and asked one more time for us to join the company; this time, we finally said yes. He saw in us what we hadn’t even dreamed we could become. Barry knew just how to get the most out of everyone on his team. For the A Team, that meant leaving us alone most of the time to grow in our own way. He knew that Alan’s story was very close to his own journey growing up in Brooklyn. Barry knew that my Yale education and tenacity made us a great team. Barry loved the fact that we had both been Broadway actors before becoming travel agents. Barry loved the theatre and always wanted to know what shows we were working on and what the big, new hit of the season might be. “Just a few weeks ago, he came by the office to make his rounds. Barry looked at all of the show posters lining the walls of our office and felt the pride that came from knowing how much he contributed to making the A Team the success it is today. Though we won’t get any more visits like that, his positive spirit will always be a part of our lives going forward. Barry’s belief in what we could accomplish before we even dared to envision what we have achieved today was his gift to us. How we will miss him. How lucky were we to have been a part of his life for over a quarter of a century?” Eric Hrubant, CIRE Travel, a division of Tzell Travel Group “What made Barry stand apart was he really valued relationships and he really always cared for people. He always wanted to make sure that everyone's business was a success, and he didn't care how you did it, he didn't care what you called yourself, what you looked like—he just wanted you to run your business your way. There was no micromanagement involved. He really believed that everyone at Tzell knew what was best for them and he was here to support them to sort of do their best and do good work. And that's my lasting memory of him. After being at his memorial, the recurring theme was how Barry really did take care of people. If you came to him with a problem, whether big or small, he would go to bat for you. He was definitely a good figurehead for Tzell Travel, where he respected every agent that worked here no matter how big or how small. What I liked when I came to Tzell was he let me run my business my way and if I needed support, whether to solve a problem or to find ways to grow, you could go to him and he would personally help or have someone else on the team help, if it was their expertise. “Do you know what I really liked about Tzell? When you come into Tzell, we are a casual and fun office and I think just the spirit of fun really helps people succeed. I couldn't be CIRE Travel at other agencies. He was very happy to let me be CIRE Travel, a division of Tzell and have my own branding and do what worked well for me but having the power of Tzell behind me. That I could have my own autonomy within Tzell. It's the leverage, the buying power anytime I needed. If you wanted to come through Tzell every day in a three-piece suit, you could, if you want it to come in shorts and t-shirt every day, you could. He just wanted to create a space for people, excelled and he did.” Matthew D. Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso “When an industry icon leaves us, we are united in our grief and our appreciation for the contribution they’ve made to a profession we all love and value. Barry Liben was tireless in his support of travel advisors and the entire agency community. It was evident in the loyalty he inspired while growing Tzell as well as in his leadership of Travel Leaders Group’s entire portfolio. We all owe Barry a debt of gratitude for continually raising the bar and making us strive to do better, whether on the agency or partner side of the business. Barry always had my admiration for the humanity he brought to this business, and we both shared as a driving force our passion for life, family and professional purpose. During this difficult time, my thoughts are with Barry’s immediate family as well as his extended Tzell and Travel Leaders family.” Read the full article

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nyutheatrepractices2020 · 5 years ago

Text

Sueños y Bomba!

By Carey Urban

NYU Theatre Practices Puerto Rico 2020 Blog Post for Thursday January 9

After a heavy early rainfall, the sky cleared in time for our new morning commute. We were originally scheduled to spend today working in the University of Puerto Rico's Black Box Theatre. But power outages there due to the recent earthquakes would have left us literally dancing in the dark (black box indeed). So we returned instead to El Bastion with its lofty ceilings and gracious hosts, which has already become our beloved second home here in San Juan.

Javier kicked off our morning Applied Theatre workshop by sharing the following quotes:

"Behavior is rarely rational; it is habitually emotional. We may speak wise words as the result of reasoning, but the entire being reacts to feelings. For every thought supported by feelings, there is a muscle change."

-Mabel Elsworth Todd, The Thinking Body

and

"The body is also directly involved in a political field; power relations have an immediate hold upon it; they invest it, mark it, train it, torture it, force it to carry out tasks, to perform ceremonies to emit signs."

-Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish

Both highly resonant in our current cultural surroundings and context, these quotes sparked an inspired discussion about how these ideas relate to our work and experiences as artists, educators and facilitators, and all the ways our minds and practices are already being expanded by our first few days in Puerto Rico.

Then we got moving. We played with a beautiful exercise of group 'mirroring', wherein groups of four formed diamonds, continuously changing directions so that the member in the lead kept changing. Then we overlapped diamonds and something akin to spontaneous group choreography occurred. It looked like magic, but it is actually an elegantly simple technique that gets ensembles moving beautifully and creatively in unison.

We also played with becoming 'sculptures,' and 'sculpting' each other into our own works of art- all of which was informed by and furthered the ensemble-building which is an inevitable outgrowth of our time and training together.

And my personal favorite from this morning's workshop was a collaborative creation of our very own 'Dream Machine'. Check out the video:

https://youtu.be/QkEiHO_qQ_w

(dream machine video)

After lunch, we were introduced to the divine Awilda Sterling-Duprey and the art of Bomba! Bomba is a rich (and occasionally wild) style of music & dance famous in Puerto Rico. The music consists of hand drums and a maraca. Dance is an integral part of the experience. Dancers move their bodies in sync with every beat of the drums, then produce a series of gestures to which the drummer provides synchronized beats. Thus, it is a conversation between the dancer and the drummer, in which the dancer actively influences the music being produced. It can be considered a 'challenge' between the drummer and the dancer. Teaching us how to work with the drummers, Awilda said, "Try to trick them!" (Tricking them isn't really the point, which is a good thing because our drummers, Victor Emmanuelli and Emmanuel Santano- both maestros- were hard to trick!) But it's fun and flirty to think about it that way, and brings out the cheeky spirit of the dance.

It was SO MUCH FUN. First we learned about the proper basic form. Bomba is a very 'gendered' dance, according to Awilda, due to the time period in which it developed. It was also subversive. Whereas other forms of African and Caribbean dance are much 'wavier', 'looser', or more overtly ‘sexual,’ Bomba is comparatively controlled, with intentional accents. Awilda explained that this is because of Puerto Rico's colonial history. When slavery was still in practice here, slaves found a way to dance that wouldn't threaten the slave owners, but which the slaves could actually use to mock the slave owners without getting caught.

We got good and sweaty trying to perfect our rhythm and form and awaken our inner dominatrixes, but really let it rip in the last hour when Awilda lent us one of her skirts with which to practice the punctuated style of gestures she taught us.

If you take a minute to watch this video of Awilda demonstrating how to 'converse' with the drummers, notice the relationship between Awilda's gestures with the skirt (piece of material she carries in her hand) and the accented, irregular drum beats of Emmanuelli, the drummer on the right. (In Bomba, there are always at least two drummers: one to keep the steady beat, and another to follow the dancer.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S808xZKugZk (video of Awilda)

Also, see how she graciously bows to the drummers at the end? A crucial part of the dance is the relationship between dancer and drummer. After the first time we each had had a chance to improvise, Awilda's general feedback was that we played well with the skirt, but didn't look at the drummers enough. For some reason, as much as I was enjoying the dance, appreciating the drumming, loving the experience and wanting to do it with respect and accuracy, I found it intimidating to make eye contact with the drummers. It's a rather intimate thing, that 'conversation'. I think I got a bit better at it toward the end of the workshop, but it was interesting to notice this reaction in myself. I hope we get another chance to Bomba!

Quote of the day: "Please, that is my skirt; it is not your enemy."

- Awilda to Aaron after his first Bomba improv, during which her skirt took a trip around the ceiling after he hurled it into the air and it got caught on the spinning fan.

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charliedoerner · 6 years ago

Photo

When that warm sunshine hits your face. “Looking Into My Dreams, Awilda” by Jaume Plensa at @pamm (at Pérez Art Museum Miami) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvheSBkns32/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jn5et1i1bf4b

0 notes

ncexpat · 6 years ago

Photo

Looking Into My Dreams, Awilda.

#travel #florida #miami #perezartmuseum #jaumeplensa #art

0 notes

residentialtowers · 8 years ago

Photo

This spectacular #sculpture called “Look into my dreams Awilda” by Jaume Piensa is right next to the Perez #Art #Museum in Downtown #Miami… behind… One Thousand Museum under construction. Visit www.1000Museum.us (at One Thousand Museum)

#art #museum #miami #sculpture

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allegorypr · 8 years ago

Photo

Sharing #Awilda 's Point of View: "Looking Into My Dreams, Awilda" by #jaumeplensa @pamm | #MyArtEscape #downtownmiami #monumentalsculpture #sculpture #blue #sky #bluesky #biscayne #oceanview #artinpublicspaces (at Pérez Art Museum Miami)

#blue #bluesky #sky #biscayne #jaumeplensa #oceanview #awilda #artinpublicspaces #myartescape #downtownmiami #sculpture #monumentalsculpture

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actutrends · 5 years ago

Text

In Memoriam: Advisors Offer Thoughts and Memories of Barry Liben

Awilda Gonzalez, SVP, operations and engagement at Tzell Travel Group

“What started out as a ‘job’ turned into a career because of BARRY. (Caps automatic). What started out as a job, turned into a second family because of Barry. He believed in me and helped me realize my strengths. Today, as SVP of culture and operations, I use everything that I learned from Barry, plus what he already saw in me. Barry was my boss, my friend, my mentor. He taught me it was OK to have fun at work, let the kid inside out every now and again. He showed me the value of loyalty, honesty. And most of all, good guys can finish first. I will miss him always.”

Leslie Tillem, Eltee Travel Group, a division of Tzell Travel Group

“I met Barry almost 20 years ago when he wanted me to join Tzell. That meeting was all it took to make my decision. While Barry was a highly regarded industry icon and leader to all of us at Tzell, he was my friend and I admired him for so many reasons. He was always honest, fair and a mentor to so many of us. I remember looking forward to our monthly Tzell meetings. His incredible sense of humor and timing was always the highlight. I will forever remember him as the quintessential family man who always made time for the people that mattered most. As busy as we can be in travel, Barry lived for his family and as I witnessed his dedication to them that lesson helped me keep the priorities in my life straight. He was a leader and an inspiration to all of us and loved by so many. To Barry, I’d like to thank him for the memories and the many life lessons. He will be forever dearly missed.”

Free Luxury Travel Newsletter

Like this story? Subscribe to The Dossier

Luxury Travel Advisor’s only newsletter, covering unique destinations and product news for affluent travelers. Delivered every Tuesday & Thursday.

Cathleen Casey, Tzell Travel Group

“It is hard to overstate the impact a strong mentor can effect on a life. Barry Liben’s presence in mine will last a lifetime. My time with Barry was relatively short compared with some of my colleagues, who worked with him for decades. I had just one. But it was more than enough to realize what an extraordinary man he was. I quickly learned that Barry could always be counted on to simplify the seemingly most intractable problems in an instant by boiling things down in a few questions. His office door was always open to me when I needed his advice or to just to visit and have a few laughs. I told him once that his sense of humor reminded me of Groucho Marx, to which he responded that this was the greatest compliment I could ever have bestowed upon him. His wisdom, generosity, humor, loyalty, spirit and joie de vivre live on through all of us he touched, and we are all better humans for having shared his world.”

Steven Bear, Bear & Bear Travel, Tzell Travel Group

“In September of 2008, Bear & Bear Travel started our first day at Tzell as ICs. The Friday prior, I received a call from Barry Liben wanting me to hear from his mouth that Tzell Travel Group was purchased by Travel Leaders Group and any agreements we made in writing or handshake would always be honored. Our first day, Jody Bear, myself and the entire Bear & Bear team were amazed on how fluid the day, and then month, went. September was exclusively dedicated to Show Time for the fashion world, which was our niche business at the time, this meant a lot of tickets, changes and demands. Our first month turned out to be the best month our business ever produced, our staff was amazing, but Barry made sure every department had a presence in our offices in order to circumvent any problems quickly.

“October 2008, the bubble burst, as many other businesses the fashion world ground went down to a halt. We. for all purposes. were out of business and 12 faces looking at us for guidance. In November of 2008, Barry called me to his office: He said, “Steven, I never saw anyone in business get the s—t kicked out of them like you did.” We only worked under the Tzell umbrella for two-and-a-half months, yet we met a number of times to negotiate but for all practical purposes except for reputation, we were strangers. Barry told me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, whatever you need, however you want to run your business I’ve got your back.’ If we were at a different agency, we would have had our possessions in a box and, at the best, seated in a hole in the wall and told to fire our staff. Today, we are exclusively in the concierge/luxury travel business with offices in New York and Seattle. There was no way in the world we would have been able to be in this position if it wasn’t for Barry Liben.”

Marian Lyn, Status, an affiliate of Tzell Travel Group

“Barry is the true story of a self-made man. He was my friend, a role model and a wonderful CEO. He was family to me and the entire Tzell family. I am so incredibly proud of and in love with his wife, children and grandchildren. They were Barry’s life, and anyone could see the pure joy on his face whenever he spoke of them. He loved his family so much and it was inspiring and always showed. Barry was and forever be the nucleus of the Tzell family. He was an incredible leader for us. Barry had that God-given gift of being able to ‘read’ people and act off of intuition. We shared many of the same values: ‘My word is my bond;’ be honest; work hard; and bring a little ‘crazy,’ which I did and yet that door was always open, and he was always reachable.

“The loss of Barry is immeasurable. Barry was the voice in the travel agent community and always fought the fight for us. He led us and laughed with us. Barry knew how hard the agents worked day and night and recognized our dedication. He built a work family and I hope he was so proud of those accomplishments. Barry truly redefined the travel industry. He was loyal to us and always did what was right for everyone. In addition to being one of the best negotiators, Barry was one of the best storytellers and ‘roasters,’ keeping us all in stitches at our annual party to recognize years of services at Tzell. Only he could be that visual storyteller. Barry always sent out yearly happy birthday messages; he wanted to make sure we knew that he cared. Barry gave us a fun work environment, filled with ice cream and bingo. When we would have our ‘fireside’ chats, we would laugh so hard in Barry’s office.

“Barry would always ask, ‘How are you?’ ‘How is your family?’ ‘Are you taking care of yourself?’ And the conversations would always end in ‘Be good, stay out of trouble and I LOVE YOU.’ My friend, Barry, I will miss him dearly! May he rest in peace and hope he knows how much he meant to us. I will miss our fireside chats and the laughter and will love him forever. I have the memories, so I did not lose Barry, but I have 20 years of memories which I forever cherish. I am TZELL!”

Andi Henig, A Team Tours, an affiliate of Tzell Travel Group

“It was the winter of 1992, way before everyone had cell phones and laptops. If you had work to do you stayed at the office and worked into the night. Alan and I were working on a national tour of a group of comedians headed by Dennis Leary. Barry had been wooing us to come over to Tzell to join his curated group of agents. He called at about 7 p.m. and asked one more time for us to join the company; this time, we finally said yes. He saw in us what we hadn’t even dreamed we could become. Barry knew just how to get the most out of everyone on his team. For the A Team, that meant leaving us alone most of the time to grow in our own way. He knew that Alan’s story was very close to his own journey growing up in Brooklyn. Barry knew that my Yale education and tenacity made us a great team. Barry loved the fact that we had both been Broadway actors before becoming travel agents. Barry loved the theatre and always wanted to know what shows we were working on and what the big, new hit of the season might be.

“Just a few weeks ago, he came by the office to make his rounds. Barry looked at all of the show posters lining the walls of our office and felt the pride that came from knowing how much he contributed to making the A Team the success it is today. Though we won’t get any more visits like that, his positive spirit will always be a part of our lives going forward. Barry’s belief in what we could accomplish before we even dared to envision what we have achieved today was his gift to us. How we will miss him. How lucky were we to have been a part of his life for over a quarter of a century?”

Eric Hrubant, CIRE Travel, a division of Tzell Travel Group

“What made Barry stand apart was he really valued relationships and he really always cared for people. He always wanted to make sure that everyone’s business was a success, and he didn’t care how you did it, he didn’t care what you called yourself, what you looked like—he just wanted you to run your business your way. There was no micromanagement involved. He really believed that everyone at Tzell knew what was best for them and he was here to support them to sort of do their best and do good work. And that’s my lasting memory of him. After being at his memorial, the recurring theme was how Barry really did take care of people. If you came to him with a problem, whether big or small, he would go to bat for you. He was definitely a good figurehead for Tzell Travel, where he respected every agent that worked here no matter how big or how small. What I liked when I came to Tzell was he let me run my business my way and if I needed support, whether to solve a problem or to find ways to grow, you could go to him and he would personally help or have someone else on the team help, if it was their expertise.

“Do you know what I really liked about Tzell? When you come into Tzell, we are a casual and fun office and I think just the spirit of fun really helps people succeed. I couldn’t be CIRE Travel at other agencies. He was very happy to let me be CIRE Travel, a division of Tzell and have my own branding and do what worked well for me but having the power of Tzell behind me. That I could have my own autonomy within Tzell. It’s the leverage, the buying power anytime I needed. If you wanted to come through Tzell every day in a three-piece suit, you could, if you want it to come in shorts and t-shirt every day, you could. He just wanted to create a space for people, excelled and he did.”

Alex Sharpe, president and CEO, Signature Travel Network

“Barry was an absolute titan in this business. He was a character in every sense of the word and someone who will be missed greatly in both the Tzell Travel Group and Signature families.”

Matthew D. Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso

“When an industry icon leaves us, we are united in our grief and our appreciation for the contribution they’ve made to a profession we all love and value. Barry Liben was tireless in his support of travel advisors and the entire agency community. It was evident in the loyalty he inspired while growing Tzell as well as in his leadership of Travel Leaders Group’s entire portfolio. We all owe Barry a debt of gratitude for continually raising the bar and making us strive to do better, whether on the agency or partner side of the business. Barry always had my admiration for the humanity he brought to this business, and we both shared as a driving force our passion for life, family and professional purpose. During this difficult time, my thoughts are with Barry’s immediate family as well as his extended Tzell and Travel Leaders family.”

The post In Memoriam: Advisors Offer Thoughts and Memories of Barry Liben appeared first on Actu Trends.

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etabetapr · 7 years ago

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@cleliart #SELFIEADARTE "Niente musi lunghi” #JaumePlensa Looking into My Dreams, Awilda 2012 @pamm #Miami La gigantesca scultura alta 39 piedi è imponente ma al contempo silenziosa. Posizionato davanti al porto di Miami, il volto di Awilda sereno, a occhi chiusi è un omaggio al mare, all'oceano. L'intenzione è di far riflettere. La testa è il contenitore dei nostri sogni e ambizioni e ne detiene il potere. #perezmuseum #culture #instapic #selfie #artist #usa #contemporaryart #installation #art #photo #picoftheday #exibition #cleliart #cleliapatella #artworks #space #dreams #igersart #pamm #artstag #looking #head #mind #igers_arte #museum #Awilda #sculpture #etabetapr #etabetapr_arte #mtpisani_etabetapr @mtpisani_etabetapr (presso Pérez Art Museum Miami)

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meanwhileinoz · 7 years ago

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20+ Funniest Reactions About The Bachelorette Finale Because Peter Didn’t “Bend The Knee”