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nerdgirlriot · 2 months ago

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Green Dayyyyy

Going to live events was never really my THING but Green Day being one of my favorite bands on this planet, I will move heaven and earth to see them live.

Anyway, adventure chronicled after the cut:

BART'ed into the city from the East Bay. Our transit system has gotten a bad rep over the years since COVID but the few times I've had to use it, I've never had any issues or weird interactions or anything. I'm probably too nondescript to be bothered with lol

Anyway went with my partner of 25 years who is also a massive Green Day fan (I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't tbh lol), and we managed to navigate to Oracle Park without getting lost, even though I was kinda worried that we'd gotten on the wrong MUNI train but we got to the stadium easily

I'm not a baseball fan so I've never been to Oracle before (and I didn't go to the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy because I was still anxious about COVID) but it's a really nice stadium! And even though the A's are the East Bay team, the whole rigomarole and bullshit about moving the team to Vegas kinda soured me on the A's. But I will be a fair-weather Giants fan, sure. But yeah, Oracle (or AT&T Park as it was known for a while) is a great stadium. And the staff were all cool and helpful and friendly and a lot of them were also excited for the concert.

As soon as we got through the gates, I knew I wanted to get some merch. So I got a Saviors Tour shirt and one for the Linda Lindas too. And I picked up a patch because I'd heard that the patches were specific to each city and the one of San Francisco is pretty simple, but I kinda like it that way?

We got seats on the club level (because I am smol and old and I would not survive in the pit or floor) but I didn't realize how nice it was. Easy access to lots of food and more importantly, bathrooms. We passed by a ton of conssessions options getting to our seats, but we got garlic fries for a snack before the show. And then during the show, (right before Smashing Pumpkins took the stage) I hurried off to get pizza. The counter is run by Tony's Pizza (which is kind of a Bay Area thing, and one of my favorite pizzarias in our area).

And then Green Day happened and everything else is kind of a blur...

They played Dookie AND American Idiot in their entireties and along with some songs from their newest album Saviors (and also Minority and a few others). It was clear that Billie's voice was kind of faltering near the end, but he still had energy and passion and he was powering through it all because it was the homecoming show.

I also think the venue was the best venue because you could see San Francisco Bay and the fog rolling through made it so surreal and magical. Like...when the spotlights shot through that lingering fog and smoke from the pyrotechnics and became shafts of pure light shooting across the crowd

and idk about anyone else but Death of St. Jimmy hits SO MUCH HARDER when you're hearing "he blew his brains out into the Bay" and that's the fucking Bay, that's the Bay, right there. It's the Bay in the song. You can fucking see the fucking Bay. aldkjalsjdlsjkl lsdkjalksd

I sang along and so many other people did too and it was a fantastic experience, almost transcendent and i guess that's the power of live music and an energized crowd

I was trying not take too many photos and videos and just live in the moment but I did get some videos of the crowd when they had all their camera flashlights on and it turned out kinda magical

Had a bit of a walk trying to get back to BART because I didn't want to wait for the next Metro train (which would've taken 20 minutes and walking back to the BART station took less than that) and again, the BART ride back home was uneventful and actually pretty comfortable because I'm still enthused about the new traincars

honestly taking BART to the city and seeing Green Day is probably one of the most Bay Area things to do and I'm so happy that I've gotten to do this both at Oakland and now in San Francisco

i thought Billie roasting Vegas for stealing Oakland's sportsball teams was great and also a little ???? because hey, Vegas is where his very public rant/meltdown happened during that late I Heart Radio Festival set and then he went to rehab soon after so yeah...nothing good happens in Vegas :P

I'll be carrying the memories of last night for the rest of my life

some photos:

View from our club level seats. I was a little worried because Ticketmaster for some reason put in "Obstructed View" on our tickets after I'd bought them but the only obstruction was one of the speaker towers and honestly it wasn't much of an issue because I could still see the screens and most of the stage:

The poles at the stadium had Dookie & American Idiot flags, along with a Saviors tour flag, and also here's a view of the Bay:

The Linda Lindas were greattttt

#it's my life #these things i think #green day #my most favorite band #like...ever...#suicide mention cw #for death of st. jimmy lyrics

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walkingshcdow · 1 year ago

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@storyandscng | Anna and the Good Omens duo

Someone had once given Anna the impression that rent across the pond was cheaper. They might have said "healthcare" or "public transit" or something else entirely. What they said and what Anna's impression was were totally separate things. As it was, she was renting a room on this cute, little street in London. Her proprietor sold instruments, so he didn't mind her singing half as much as her roommates (or, as people here called them, flatmates) back in New York had. There was a cute coffee shop down the way called Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death, which, honestly, sounded reasonable. There was also a lovely bookstore that seldom seemed to be open run by the kind of man who looked like someone's very gay medieval literature professor. Parked along the street, just out of sight from the bookshop, was a Bentley.

Look. Anna didn't know a lot about cars. She grew up in New York City. Cars were as mystical to her as dragons were to other people. She was fascinated by its shiny, black finish that gleamed despite it being parked in the street. She daydreamed about riding in such a nice car, preferably through the countryside with the windows down and a breeze blowing through her hair. It looked like a car utterly at odds with her musical theatre training and she wondered what kind of music played in it and what kind of man (it was probably a man who owned it, right?) owned it. Santiago would have loved it. He might even have been willing to trade his motorcycle for a Bentley. She took a picture of the car once to send to him. He'd responded hours later with more excitement about the car than he responded about most anything. She didn't know how it was that he didn't notice as she most certainly did that there was a redheaded man in sunglasses, sleeping crampedly in the driver's seat. She assumed he had just drank too much at Justine's restaurant the night previous and didn't dare drive home. But this morning she saw him resting again. She didn't have a lot in this world - teaching voice in SoHo only made so much money - but she had enough to buy him an extra coffee and a scone from the coffee shop.

And, look, she didn't want to be rude and wake him, but men didn't scare Anna anymore. Maybe before she'd worked in an illegal detective agency for a werewolf, she would have had one hand on her pepper spray. Probably not, though. She didn't have enough hands for coffee, scones, knocking on the window, and pepper spray, after all.

She rapped her knuckles gently on the window.

"Hi? Sir? I hope you don't mind - I brought you a coffee and breakfast, I live down the way and I've seen you out here and- it doesn't matter. I didn't know what you liked so I got one with milk and sugar and one without. I mean, you look like a 'black coffee only' type of guy, but who am I to judge?"

In truth, now that she could see him better, he really did dress like Santiago: head to toe in black and the kind of face that looked made for brooding. She swallowed the homesickness and smiled, holding out her offerings and waiting for this to go about as well as giving a box of takeout to a panhandler back home.

Or worse. Because, you know, everyone said she'd be paying less rent or making more money or something by chasing her dreams here and London had been distinctly unremarkable thus far.

#storyandscng #ch: anna garcia #.009 | crossover #thread: anna & crowley & aziraphale #go s2 spoilers

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kyndaris · 7 months ago

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Train to Busan

Unlike the movie of the same title as this post, my train ride down to Busan was uneventful. After a late night out in Myeongdong, bleachpanda and I arranged for a slightly later start to the day for our transit down to the famous port city. After enjoying a breakfast at Starbucks (there appear to be hundreds of them in the heart of Seoul, although there are also a ton of other coffee shops as well), we made our way towards Seoul Station and the KTX station within.

Let me tell you of the hassle it all was once we stepped out of the metro! Stairs everywhere the eye could see. And not a single escalator. Yes, there was a conveyor belt for luggage but it was limited to those who would be taking the airport line.

Thankfully, bleachpanda and I hadn't bought too many souvenirs just yet and could still manage to lug our bags up and down the many flights of stairs taking us from the metro station to the KTX station.

As we waited for our designated train (bleachpanda and I had pre-purchased our Korail tickets online), we took a gander at the shops for those looking to take a high-speed cross-country train. Unlike Central Station in Sydney, there were numerous places to eat AND the entrance to a local department store. More importantly, there was a Kakao Friends store. It was here that bleachpanda went and bought Apeach (her constant companion for the rest of the trip and whom I said looked ugly). Given we couldn't open up our luggage right there at the station with everyone watching, bleachpanda managed to cram her Apeach into her already bulging backpack.

On the train, bleachpanda slept through most of the ride, citing a headache which I doubted was authentic. I, on the other hand, eagerly looked out at the passing scenery before reading a few pages of I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki.

While I would like to sing the praises of this Japanese author, the truth is...I found the writing tedious. In fact, by page ten, I could barely keep my eyes open. So, I fiddled with my phone and looked out at the scenery. I may have even fell asleep myself although I couldn't say for how long.

We pulled into Busan at around 2 PM and went for a quick bite to eat as we hadn't had lunch (we did buy a few snacks at a convenience store but I needed something heavier). Once we were functioning human beings again, we braved the rain and headed to our hotel nearby: Asti Hotel Busan to check-in. After we offloaded our luggage in our room, we decided to cross off a few key tourist attractions close by despite the weather.

So, off we trotted back towards Busan Station and Texas Street right opposite it. Then it was down into the Busan metro system as we headed to Busan Tower, which is also commonly known as Diamond Tower. Due to the poor weather, it felt like we were the only ones there as we bought a ticket up to the observation deck.

But while I would have loved just seeing the city from on high, Busan Tower also had a lot of interactive activities inside. They even had a QR game (our end prize turned out to be a couple of pens), one needed to locate within and outside the Tower. This made our time there much more worthwhile after trekking to Yongdusan Park.

And despite the overcast day, bleachpanda and I were still able to see quite a bit of the city and get in our required bird's eye view. I even bought a fridge magnet and another postcard to send to my friend. However, unlike N Seoul Tower, Busan Tower didn't have the facility to mail off my postcard.

After we had drunk our view of the aerial view, we descended down into the bowels of Diamond Tower, hunting down QR codes and engaging in the game that had been organised. Once we had claimed our prize, bleachpanda and I headed to to Gwangbok-ro Fashion Street, which was just on the other side of the Yongdusan Park and down into BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) Square where there was a ton of street food.

Google tells me there are apparently handprints of famous Korean actors lining the streets but I didn't notice. Alas, perhaps another visit is in order.

We did, however, stop at a sushi restaurant called Manatsu for dinner. Bleachpanda even got to enjoy her share of tuna while I revelled in eating something that didn't have kimchi served on the side (something which I can't eat because it's gosh darn spicy)! Our appetites sated, we returned to our hotel to prepare for a busy day on the morrow as we would be heading to several destinations given we were only staying in Busan for only two nights.

Looking back, I can honestly say we should have stayed in Busan longer but alas, Japan was calling.

#personal blog #travelling #travel blog #seoul to busan #ktx #busan #busan tower #BIFF Square #Gwangbok-ro Fashion Street #texas street #no zombies #busan's mascot is a seagull

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somasbrianrot · 1 year ago

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Nepotism? Who’s She?

Reupload bc I don’t think anyone seen the update

(Pt7/?)

Various Wrestler (WWE, AEW) X Reader (Events will be altered or made up)

Summary: In which reader is the daughter of the great Edge, but everywhere she goes her achievements are undermined because of her father being the rated r superstar.

The car ride back to the hotel was quiet, your aunty was sat next to you , Nick to the right of you and Kenny and Matt were in the driver and passenger seats, you awkwardly shifted in your seat, an uneasy feeling in your stomach, your aunt looks over at you and sighs “Please, just talk to us, what the hell was that about?” you shake your head “Well...Roman wasn’t too happy about me leaving smackdown, because we had a storyline going on, the first time he confronted me about it was when we were filming in the same city as WWE, he somehow found my room and invited himself in...he tried to...hurt me but Darby intervened” your aunt nods and Nick shoots you a confused look “What were you doing with Darby?” he questions “That’s unimportant right now” said your aunt and you nodded “We’ll talk later”

“I mean I thought after that Roman would have been done taunting me, that he would have left me alone by now” you explain and the people in the car with you all nod along, before falling into a tense silence, the car pulled into the hotel parking lot and you hurry out, grabbing your aunty by her arm and rushing up to your room “How am I meant to explain to Nick, who I just fucked, that I’m seeing Darby?!” “Hey you got yourself into this mess!” “I need your help! hell even dad’s help” your aunt took her phone out and dialed a number “Calling him now” “wait I wasn’t seri-” before you could say anything the phone answers “Yes?” “Your daughter needs to talk to you” you groan and snatch the phone from her, explaining the situation to your dad.

“You sound exactly like me when I was your age!” he laughed into the phone and you groaned “I just think you tell the both of them you’re not ready for this kind of relationship, unless you are then that's another question” “Thanks dad, I’ll talk to uncle Christian about it” “Alright kid, by the way, when do you fight?” “I’ve got a promo on Rampage” “I’ll be watching” you agree and say your goodbyes, hanging up and handing the phone back to your aunt “I think I’ll just tell them I’m not in the market for a relationship yet and continue with my job” your aunt nods, suddenly your own phone is ringing and you grab it from your pocket, seeing it was a new number you’ve never seen, you answer and are pleasantly surprised to hear Tony Khan “Is this Y/N” “yes? how’d you get my number” “from a friend, but I have a question” “shoot” “Is your aunt looking for a gig?” I look at her then confirm that she is “I want to offer her a contract!” “really?” “Yes, if you can, bring her to my office tomorrow before the show” “yes sir” I hang up and smile widely at her.

The crowd roars as I step out into the ring, microphone in hand “Hello AEW Galaxy!” they get louder and I smile “I just wanted to come out here today to thank you guys for welcoming me to AEW! I felt a lot of pressure transitioning from the WWE bu-” I’m cut off by the outcasts music, I groan and look towards the ramp, Toni, Ruby and Saraya came out, I panic as they come down to the ring and all slide in, shoving me over and all kicking and punching me, that is until another theme starts up and the crowd goes wild once again, my aunty runs out and fends the outcasts off one by one, when they hobble out from the ring she comes to check on me, we can hear the announcers shocked voices

“This is an indie wrestler Torah-mone! she’s huge in the wrestling world and she’s here at AEW!” you smile at her and she smiles back widely

I’m in the back icing my leg, a particularly hard kick already had a bruise blossoming on my thigh “That looks painful” I hear a voice and I look up to see Chuck Taylor, I smile at him and laugh “I’m a tough one” “Yeah, I mean your dad and aunt sure are so you’re obviously not a weak one” I nod and look back down to my wound when I hear more footsteps then look back up to see more people had joined Chuck, The Best Friends! I stare and seem to catch Orange Cassidy’s gaze as he walks over to me, shades on and hands in his pockets “Those girls must not really like you” this is the first time he directly addressed me and I was shocked “They were obviously being stiff on purpose, or this wouldn’t have happened” His hand lightly brushes my thigh around the bruise mark and I can’t help the blush that rises to my face.

“Come with me, I’ve uh got some bruise cream that should help” I smile at him and slip off of the box, joining him as we walk away from his friends “You know i’ve never heard you talk before” “I don’t like talking much” you nod as you both silently make your way to his locker room, it was a comfortable silence, he gets to the room and opens it up, letting you step in and you slip past him “It’s nice and tidy in here” “yeah” he passes by you and grabs the cream “Go sit down, I’ll help apply it” you nod and sit down, he kneels beside you and squirts some of the cream onto his hands, carefully caressing the cream over your tender skin.

You wince and he holds his other hand out in front of you “here, squeeze my hand, this’ll hurt a bit” you nod and grab his hand, he presses a bit deeper with his hand while still caressing your thigh and you groan, squeezing his hand “Just like that” you blush at the words and he peaks up at you “I’m done, you can get up” you nod and stand up, wincing “You can stay here if you want” “Thanks”

You step out of Cassidy’s room and walk down the hall to catering, immediately spotting your aunty talking to a tall built man with fluffy brown hair “Hey!” you say and walk over “Hey bug! Hook this is my niece!” she exclaims and Hook looks down at you, reaching his hand out for you to shake, you shake it “Firm grip” you comment and he nods “I was just talking to your aunty and seems like we have a lot in common, I guess it’s you I got to thank for bringing this angel to me” he says to you and you laugh “hmm, you’re welcome?” you say and your aunt looks embarrassed “Okay! that’s enough of that! how is your leg bug?” you aunt asks and you shrug “Feels better, Orange Cassidy gave me this really nice numbing cream” “That chivalrous of him” she laughs and you nod.

Your eyes search the room and land on a certain table, the young bucks are talking to Darby Allin and Sting, you gulp and look away but a certain man had already spotted you “hey Torah!” Darby shouts out and you internally groan and walk over “Hey!” Nick is looking at you two weirdly “Come sit with us!”

A/N that episode took so long to get out but I’m back bay bay!

#aew x reader #aew #aew fanfiction #wwe #wwe x reader #the young bucks #nick jackson x reader #kenny omega #me #darby allin #darby allin x reader #orange cassidy #orange cassidy x reader

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angelhqs · 2 years ago

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✦ ROBERTA COLINDREZ, NON-BINARY, THEY/THEM ✦ ANGEL LARA RIOS the THIRTY THREE year old has been in Hidehill for THEIR ENTIRE LIFE and was a CHILDHOOD NEIGHBOR to Ronnie Nilsson, the most recent shadow of Hidehill. Whispers on the streets are that the HAIRSTYLIST AT ROSE SALON who lives in HIDE SQUARE are said to be HILARIOUS and UNSOPHISTICATED but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.

ANGEL LARA RIOS

FULL NAME: Angel Ariel Lara Rios

NICKNAMES: Hella, Jelly, Angelina/e (family only)

PRONOUNS: They/them

BIRTHDAY: October 10th, 1989

ZODIAC: Libra

GENDER & SEXUALITY: Non-binary lesbian (single)

HOMETOWN: Hidehill, Tennessee

NEIGHBORHOOD: Hide Square

PETS: Margot (rescue mutt), Billie (rescue mutt)

OCCUPATION: Hair stylist (and barber apprentice) at Rose Salon

TLDR;

Angel (33 years old, non-binary lesbian, they/them pronouns) was born and raised right in Hidehill. They were a sweet kid growing up, but transitioned from strictly class clown behavior to make room for a bit of troublemaker and burnout tendencies when they reached high school. Their family has worked in salons around town for generations, but Angel is the first in their family to expand into barbering as well as cosmetology. They have a hell of a time taking things seriously, still party and bar hop like they’re twenty five, and would rather step on a Lego than admit they have any unpleasant feelings. They make the perfect wingman, have two ridiculous rescue mutts, and their favorite party trick is playing the Mountain Goats on accordion.

MORE ABOUT ANGEL

(tw: parental illness, smoking, drinking)

The Lara Rios family’s beautiful hodgepodge of cultures has been a shining beacon in Hidehill for nearly a hundred years. They’ve been bakers, bankers, city officials, and more, but they’re perhaps best known for the long line of Lara hairdressers who’ve graced their town with their talents.

Angel was known as the goofball of their family and the class clown of their grade at school, and they thrived on the attention. When it came to hyperfixations and passionate phases of interest, they were considered royalty. Every year, a new favorite style or band or hobby would take over and the Lara Rios house could hardly keep up.

When Angel reached high school, they discovered the thrill of acting out. All of their sneaking out and vandalizing abandoned properties earned them a reputation as a troublemaker and a bit of a burnout, but they never crossed the line that some of their friends did and their heart maintained the lighthearted purity that made them who they were.

Angel’s parents were dead set on them graduating high school and going to college, even as Angel’s father’s health started to deteriorate. They had always been a dreamer, but the hard work it took to make those fleeting and ever-changing dreams a reality wasn’t the kind of hard work that fueled their passion. When their father took a turn for the worse, it became nearly impossible to be so far away from home. They made it through one year at NYU before hopping on a bus back to Tennessee and settling back into Hidehill.

While plenty of people have judged or questioned Angel’s decision to move back home, but it was one of the easiest decisions they’ve ever made. “Bloom where you’re planted.” Those words from Angel’s abuela (and their mother, who got the phrase from her mother) have stuck with them for thirty years and adorned the sign over their front door in Hide Square; where their family is, where their father is still (by some miracle) alive and joking around, where their memories are.

Isn’t it better to live a life reveling with old friends, smoking and drinking in old hometown bars, than to miss out on all the love and laughter that comes out of those nights? To Angel, it’s no contest.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Best friends, a ride or die squad

A mom friend for Angel to be a bad influence on

Friends Angel parties with, gives drunk haircuts to

Neighbors in Hide Square

Dog walking / dog park friends

Regulars at Rose Salon

Exes and crushes (women and nonbinary people unless unrequited)

Masc people who will let Angel practice their barber skills on them (for free)

Childhood and high school friends Angel has and hasn’t kept up with

And more!

#◟ ⋆ about.#illness tw #smoking tw #alcohol tw

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meanderful · 2 years ago

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Wonder and Splendour in Alor

The Calor of Alor

After we disembarked from the Komodo liveaboard boat, we spent a few days in the national park’s port town of Labuan Bajo, sorting out various logistics. Sam went to a doctor to check whether there was any progress with his ears (improving but still not right) and we lost a whole day to booking onward flights because the airline’s website made it near impossible to book flights within 48 hours of leaving. Eventually, we had to book the flights at the airport itself a few hours before departure—having previously joked about who on earth ever just turns up to the airport without a ticket!

We had selected the remote Alor Archipelago as our next destination, 750km east of Labuan Bajo. We had heard tell that because of a lack of tourism infrastructure and therefore few visitors, the diving there was knockout. Two short flights and one night transiting in a different city later and we were touching down on the island of Alor itself.

Photo Above: an aerial shot of the gorgeous land, islands, atolls, and reef

An hour’s taxi ride took us from the airport along a coastal road that ran alongside the large Kalabahi bay, until we reached the village of Alor Kecil. From there, it was a five-minute boat ride across a short stretch of water to reach Kepa, the very small island where our accommodation was located.

Photo Above: the boat ride over to Kepa island with our luggage

A moment for some wider context. The Alor Archipelago is made up of two larger islands (Alor and Pantar), five smaller, and numerous outcrops. The vast majority of the total 210,000 people of the archipelago live on the two larger islands. There is only one single town, on the island of Alor, and otherwise, all residents live in numerous villages dotted about the islands. A whopping 56 different languages are spoken across the archipelago, with 70% of its residents being Protestant and 20% Muslim. There barely any restaurants outside that one single town on Alor, very few accommodation options, and just six dive shops in total. The island we were staying on, Kepa, is home to 75 permanent residents only. We were staying at Marangki, a mini complex run by a lovely man called Harris, consisting of 4 bungalows and a dining hut. Our wooden bungalow had a wet room (with flushing toilet and shower, but no sink), bedroom (consisting of the bed with its mosquito net and a wardrobe), and veranda. The island has no electricity (so a generator was run for two hours each evening to allow us guests to charge electronics) or fresh water (every day, water was brought over in a number of large jerry cans from Alor on a boat and added to a huge water tank that fed our bathrooms).

Photo Above: our bungalow!

The view from our veranda was stunning, looking down a short slope with several Flamboyan trees in full, bright bloom (also called December trees because their gorgeous red flowers only appear for a couple of months a year, just when we were there), across the bay to Alor Kecil on the other side. Within ten minutes of arrival, we saw a pod of dolphins curving through the water right in front of us—an excellent welcome all round. We also realised that as boats are the far more common form of transport (what good are land-based vehicles in an archipelago??), there was always something to see and as it turned out, hear—most of the boats had a cheap type of engine that was so loud and choppy that it sounded exactly like a helicopter landing right on the banks next to us (at all times of the night too, oh joy!).

Photos Above: the view from our bungalow; the view from one of the seating shacks of the ocean and the village of Alor Kecil

We met Tamar and Nico that first day, the dive instructors and new owners of Lazy Turtle Diving. Having worked in the dive industry for years, they had bought the dive shop just six months previously, taking over from the previous management, and so were pretty new to the area. Over the next few days, I quickly learnt that Nico had worked in diving for a solid 15 years, had quite a number of predominantly marine animals tattoos, and in his spare time liked to unwind by crocheting (while we were there, his ongoing project was the creation of a pair of SOCKS in the shape of SHARKS. Need I say more). Tamar was really welcoming, had fantastic life anecdotes (including cycling half the world in just under five years…), and was a complete whiz at repurposing and upcycling all manner of materials via her own crafty solutions—bike tyre inner tubes became dive mask straps, a beach ball in the shape of a globe became a handbag, plastic washing up liquid sachets became mobile phone pouches and purses. Both of them were so completely in love with diving, and especially the underwater wildlife, that they made for a fantastic guiding team.

The Remote Life

Our days quickly fell into a pattern. We’d be eating breakfast by 7a.m.—all our meals were cooked for us, given that all food supplies had to be shipped from Alor. We ate with the other guests in the dining hut, but as we were there right at the end of the season, there were only ever a maximum of two other guests. At 7.30, Tamar, Nico, and Jimen (the captain), would be waiting for me in the Naughty Nudi (their excellently named dive boat) on the shore right in front of our bungalow. There were more than seventy dive sites within 20 minutes, so we were never short of choice. We would zip our way through the sea, tracking our way amid the islands to our dive site of choice, often right in front of a village on one of the small islands. All the villages seemed divided by religion, so there would either be a disproportionately large church or a disproportionately large mosque perched on the hill overlooking the water. Lazy Turtle Diving have an ethos of only diving in small groups so there were very rarely more than a couple of other customers besides myself. They also have a great ethos of finishing the dive based on air consumption and not time—it’s far more usual in the dive industry to finish a dive at 60 minutes (as long as you haven’t hit 25% or less of your tank beforehand), so because I have decent air consumption this meant we often had 70–90 minute dives. We would dive twice in the mornings, with an hour’s surface interval in-between, and then be back at Marangki in time for lunch at 1pm. I often went out for a third dive after lunch, which was always a “muck” dive—a type of diving on the sandy, rubbly bottom of the sea (as opposed to full blown reefs), usually at a very slow pace and with a torch to find the incredibly weird and wonderful critters. Then once back at Marangki after the third dive, I’d enjoy the dense heat of the afternoon and the consistently noisy “helicopter” boats passing by with a nice strong coffee from the dining hut, and hunker down to fill in my logbook (the record for all my dives), have a catch up call with friends or family from home, or do logistics planning with Sam for the next section of our trip. At 5.45pm, the calls to prayer from the mosques across the water in Alor Kecil would start up. The mosque that Sam and I fondly named “Disco Mosque” (due to its shiny silver dome and four smaller, rotating silver minaret domes) would always lead the way with a very melodic call, quickly joined by the call from the very large mosque a few minutes up the hill from disco mosque, which made up for an intense lack of tunefulness with its extremely loud and low-quality speakers. And finally, the third mosque, just along the coast, would join in to complete the clashing trio for the next 45 minutes. I loved the call to prayer, even including the 4a.m. round, which I was almost always awakened by and lay listening to in bed before drifting back off to sleep. Not long after the evening call to prayer, we would have dinner, relax a bit more by the water, and then be in bed by 9.30pm. Without a fan, the sizzling heat of our first few nights there made sleeping pretty difficult (I tell a lie—I found the heat pretty delightful, but all other guests seemed to have a hell of a job sleeping). Considering we were visiting right at the end of the season just as the rains were coming in, we got really lucky with the weather. We experienced a week of sizzling heat, then the odd occasional shower began to creep in, and then a full day of rain on my very last day out on the water.

Photos Above: the dining hut with one of the amazing spreads; disco mosque; the beautiful island of Kepa; a sunset over our bungalow

We were hopeful that Sam would be able to dive by the end of our eleven days in Alor, but it wasn’t to be—although his ears eventually began to feel a bit better right at the end, they were never good enough to dive. Instead, a wonderful thing happened for Sam. In being cut off from electricity, and with very little to do or achieve, he slowly settled into a very present and enjoyable kind of experience. He often did yoga on the veranda, joined us on the boat for a couple of mornings to snorkel, and took his camera out in the water right in front of our accommodation a few times too. But most of the time, he sat on one of the wooden seating “shacks”, as he called them, in front of the water and just watched the world go by—the boats passing, the numerous dolphin sightings, the water flowing with its heavy currents that changed constantly throughout the day.

Video Above: Sam managed to catch one of the dolphins (probably Spinner Dolphins) backflipping!

I found the diving around Alor completely incredible. The marine park contains easily the most pristine reefs I’ve ever seen, with such an incredible variety of corals, marine life, sponges, you name it—at several sites, I saw barrel sponges the size of cars and individual table corals (large, flat coral) far larger than a king’s size bed. Though the currents could be incredibly changeable and speedy at times, I also did plenty of dives with no current or only a very gentle current drifting us along slowly, so that we had plenty of time to peer at all the macro life on the reef. There was a great variety of diving, from shallow reef dives, to huge drop off walls that filled you with awe and wonder at the sheer topographical beauty, to fantastic muck diving. We did one dive where we saw volcanic gas bubbling out of the sea bed at just a few metres; on another, there was a vast wall that both rose out above the surface and dropped down underwater in dramatic curving swoops to who knows how deep and was teeming with so much life that I could barely take it all in.

Photos Above (all courtesy of Sam's camera skills while snorkelling): the volcanic gases bubbling up from the sea bed; the teeming reef; a hermit crab; our diving group below the water, just about to ascend (hence the neon red surface buoy); a shot of me just as I'm about to surface; a snorkelling selfie!

I also did a spectacular cavern dive that was particularly special. Tamar and I descended to the reefy bottom at about 12m and entered a cavern (the important distinction between a cave and cavern—with cavern diving, you can always see the light from the entrance). As it’s been more than two years since I last cavern dived, I’d forgotten the amazing feeling of being suspended within a cavern, perfectly held between the floor and ceiling by the water—plus I always love looking back at the entrance and seeing the black framing silhouette of the cave’s entrance surrounding an oval of vivid blue light. It’s always fascinating to see the creatures that live in a low light environment, from the brightly coloured coral (think neon pink stems with vivid yellow fronds) to a glowing orange sea cucumber. Tamar showed me these brown, almost leathery looking sacks hanging from the cave wall, each about the size of my palm and often several grouped together. She held her torch behind each one, careful not to touch it, and it glowed orange, showing the yolk within. A couple of the eggs even had something flickering around the yolk, undulating side by side in the classic movement of a fish spine—they were the tiny offspring of a bamboo shark!

We slowly made our way around the cavern and back out, then swam a short distance to another cavern. After we had swum a short way in, we did a safety stop (the diving practice of pausing at 5m for 3 minutes when ascending, to greatly minimise chance of decompression sickness), and then completely ascended, coming out in an air pocket—but when I say air pocket, I mean quite a large, cavernous space (though we kept our regulators in our mouth most of the time as the air quality may have been questionable). We spotted a Banded Sea Krait, a type of sea snake on the rocks close to the water’s edge, banded black and blue. After we’d peered at it for while, we descended back into the underwater section of the cavern and swam towards the back, then turning off our torches. The water around us lit up with flashes of blue from Flashlight Fish, which have bioluminescent stripes on their cheeks that they can turn on and off. I felt like a kid who just kept wanting to stare and stare. The whole dive felt like quite the adventure.

On one special morning, as we were travelling the open water between our two dives sites, we spotted a pod of dolphins. Our boat slowed and moved towards them, and they must have realised we were there because they surrounded us. They zipped through the water, following the bow of the boat, leaping fully out of the water in great curves around us and moving so fast that they were just wavering grey shapes in the blue. Another dive boat that was also passing joined us, and for a solid ten minutes, our two boats and the pod moved back and forth together, the entire pod of dolphins circling back around several times to keep moving alongside the boats. I tried getting a sense of how many individuals there were—definitely a minimum of 50, but probably nearer 100!

Besides Harris, Tamar, and Nico, we also met some great people in the other guests at Marangki. For our first few days, there was Jeannine, a 70-something American who has been diving all over the world for the last 40 years and spends at least 4 – 6 months of every year outside the States, travelling and diving. As you can imagine, she was a wealth of diving knowledge, and a flipping interesting person to boot. And then for our last few days, there was David (northern English) and Stu (Kiwi), two international school teachers who had lived in Indonesia for more than ten years and had a load of local knowledge and fascinating anecdotes.

It wasn’t all perfectly idyllic. On one dive, we heard several explosions that vibrated through our bodies and realised that it was illegal dynamite fishing. This is exactly as it sounds: lobbing dynamite in the water to kill everything within radius with one mega explosion, decimating the reef and indiscriminatingly killing all life. Though it must have been not all that close to us (if it takes place within 1km underwater then apparently your whole body shakes) so we weren’t in any danger, but looking around at the reef, including sponges that were easily several hundred years old, it felt like a vast, painful loss.

And one day, when Harris was away visiting his family on Alor and Sam and I had been working on our laptops in the dining hut, I walked the one minute back to our bungalow to interrupt a man in our room who had, it became clear afterwards, just opened the wardrobe to start going through our things (my immediate thought was that he was obviously in there for a legitimate reason, such as fixing something in the room, so I actually exclaimed “oh, sorry!”). He immediately ran and I was left staring at the things he had been riffling through, which were RIGHT next to where our passports wallets, fully intact, were kept. Somehow, he had taken absolutely nothing. A sign from the universe that no matter how close we are to our room, we had to be better at always locking up.

But these were tiny downsides amid an incredible couple of weeks. Though we’d each had a very different experience of the place, we knew that we had found something really special. And given the tales we heard of developers buying up portions of land in the area, we suspect we got to experience the glory of Alor just in time.

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ilovetheseattlemariners · 22 days ago

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I just want someone to say to me “I’m here with you now”

Am I going crazy for you now. I have work tomorrow. I just wish I could be in Kelowna. Are you still waiting for me on June 2024. Do I pick up my phone after I stop running and it’s you except you still say you love me then and we get going on nothing at all. Sweetly. Are we still under the trees at Crescent Beach, smoking darts and eating McDonald’s. And I’m thinking you’re exactly the kind of person I should be falling in love with. Thank you for showing me who I should fall in love with. Are we still holding hands and walking down the pier at New West. Or is it me, waiting for a typewriter and having smoking the first cigarettes I ever got with my own coin. Had my first smoke in Rutland, after we hung out one night and you got shitfaced and I don’t drink and I don’t know you any longer, I told myself that. So does the me of December 2023 get to know you, too? That your vomit was chartreuse. Is it now Autumn? Do I still have September of 2024. Will I have May 2025 when it comes to me, or will it all dissipate to my touch like it all always has. Are we alone during the BC Catholics. You lied and told the nurse you were sick so your mom could pick you up. And then it was COVID and I never saw you the same ever again. When I did it was me and you facing each other on the skytrain ride back home, after we’d both sat silently at a table outside Granville. I was reading, you were sipping on a matcha. And then we got on the train and decided to face each other and stay completely silent the whole time. I wanted to punch your ex’s face. I was broken. He broke me. We were friends once. I cared for nothing more than our friendship once, for nothing more than staying late in 217 or the music room. Those don’t belong to me now. If we are ever born again in this world, do you think we will ever get a chance to love each other again. Can you tell me “I’m here with you now.” Tell me why I miss Central City mall, the fuck ass used games store; why I miss Orchard Park. Why I always think about meeting my ex girlfriend studying at SFU and how the first thing we did was kiss. How I think about meeting my ex bf after watching Cars with A. talking philosophically about things and lamenting having to leave and wanting to make the most out of it all, wanting “more out of life than this”. And I didn’t know what things between me and my ex would be. And then I ran into my ex studying and the first thing we did was kiss, too. How I miss Seattle. How I could live there and have that life forever. Third wheeling. How the past is just a collage of things we should’ve kept going. Things that should be permanent. How the only things real in life are those that are sacred, says Auden, and what’s sacred is ritual. And how ritual goes against the basic law of life: that nothing lasts forever. Transit in Seattle is so impossibly nice. I’d like to show you that. I’d like to show you that I still care. That I can still be a lover and that I still love you. I want to hear your voice, your laugh. Watch your horsey videos. Play Backyard Baseball with you. Watch anything with you over a screen. Why the fuck am I always having to love through a screen. Can I just be with you in person. Your braids at mass were pretty, can I just say? I can’t believe I ever had the balls to just pull you aside at mass and ask for your number. That still is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever and will ever do. We went to UBC together that one day and it was magical and poetic and you could feel summer ending and we took the prettiest photo of us together at the beach. I go to UBC almost every day now and its nothing like that. I miss you. I don’t know why you continue ghosting me. I want you to tell me “I’m here with you now”. I think you might be the most important person in my life. I don’t want you to be gone. We had advisory together. We were the only two not in the band to go to the night market and I told you ai thought I was gay and the sun was fading already and you’d leave a note in a jar for me saying thanks for the affection, it made you feel wanted and

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humancityblog · 2 months ago

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what is a 15 minute city? some people think it's communist utopia. it's not.

i've read several opinions online about 15-minute cities being communist propaganda, unmanageable, and that this concept is not realistic. however, this is just propaganda working on people and 15-minute cities are getting implemented all over the world more and more. what is a 15-minute city?

it is an urban planning concept that aims to make it possible for residents to access most of their daily needs within a 15-minute walk, bike ride, or public transit ride. most essential services, like schools, stores, parks, and healthcare, are within walking or biking distance.

i used to live in Moscow, Russia and it is a full 15-minute city. i did not understand this was not the norm in most countries (even though it is becoming more common) and i was too comfortable in that place until i was taken away from there. after moving to the US i realized how car-centric the country was. the only walkable cities are New York, San-Francisco and even there it’s only some small areas. in Moscow, I had 3 bus stops within 5 minutes of walking from my home, had 3 malls accessible by foot within 20 minutes, and there were 2 metro stations 15 minutes away from me, and then the metro took me to any part of the city in about an hour. of course, i also had hospitals and schools around me that everyone would walk to.

being forced to drive everywhere now feels like being in jail to me. 15-minute cities are not meant to trap you in and get you controlled, the cars are. being able to drive everywhere is not freedom. freedom is being able to drive, but also walk, bike, and take a bus anywhere you want to go. this practice can be implemented by us in mixed zoning in city development and making sure to get every citizen access to reliable and working public transport. remember, in rich countries, rich people take public transportation, while in poor countries, rich people drive big cars.

image:

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laurenetuttle · 2 months ago

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Japan Day 3 (September 8, 2024)

Today was a great day! I’ll be at very hot and humid. We both had probably at least eight hours of sleep. The hotel room is very nice, but the beds are definitely very firm and we both woke up with back pain. But the hotel overall is great. We enjoyed another buffet breakfast this morning. And then took off to start our day. Immediately, when we stepped outside, we both were just absolutely drenched with sweat. I cannot emphasize enough how hot and humid it is. We’re both really excited to be here, but I think the next time I come to Japan, I will avoid the summer.

We took the subway over to the imperial Palace this morning. I also cannot emphasize enough how amazing the mass transit is here. The whole subway system has been so easy to navigate so well marked. Everybody is so polite and consider of each other’s space. The subways and stations are all very clean. And the subway rides are always very quiet. Everybody’s keeping to themselves and being very mindful. The imperial Palace is where the Japanese royal family lives. Most of the palace grounds are not open to the public. this includes any of the actual buildings. But we had a nice walk around the outside and we explored the palace gardens. They offered a free audio tour so we both downloaded that app and did most of the tour. However, it was very hot and humid. Near the beginning of our tour we needed a break already. So we stopped to get ice cold drinks from a vending machine. Nice thing about Japan is that there are vending machines all over the place is very cheap drinks and they also have a lot of variety of drinks. We took our time to wander through the gardens and take lots of breaks. I was very grateful today for my electric fan. At one point today Liz got a paper fan which she is very excited about because it is also her favorite color which is purple.

After our lovely hot morning, stroll around the Palace Gardens, we decided to take the subway over to the neighborhood of Harajuku. Harajuku is also another Hoppin neighborhood. We spent some time walking around Takeshita street. This street was quite overwhelming with all the people. But it is known for their crêpes. We did decide to pass on the crêpes because it was overwhelming and we really wanted to find a place to eat where we could sit down and maybe cool off a little bit. We ended up finding a restaurant off the beaten path that is known for their gyozas, which are Japanese dumplings. They were absolutely delicious. We got several types of these dumplings plus spring rolls and a curry roll and garlic fried rice. We also both enjoyed a nice iced tea and enjoyed the air conditioning. Everything that we’ve had to eat so far in this trip has been fantastic. This lunch spot was no exception.

After lunch, we made our way to the Meiji Jingu shrine. This shrine was built about 100 years ago in honor of one of the emperors of Japan. This shrine complex is in the middle of a park which is a nice oasis in the middle of this big city. This whole park was covered in really big trees which provided some relief from the sun. Also sidenote during this period we also purchased these Japanese cooling wipes. Their wipes that you’re supposed to wipe across your body and then make you feel cooler for a period of time afterwards. I think they helped a little bit, but it was just so hot. I’m not sure that anything would’ve made us feel super cold. But overall, the shrine and the surrounding gardens and Park were beautiful. We also witnessed a procession of a Shinto wedding. I also acquired an amulet to help me find a good partner in life. We spent some time paying our respects to the shrine and taking in the scenery before walking back into the city. We then decided to take the subway over to the Tokyo metropolitan government building. It’s a 45 story tall building that has an observatory on the top floor. The observatory is free. We ended up walking around basically the entirety of the building before figuring out where the entrance was. It was definitely a hot struggle. But thankfully, we did find the entrance and there weren’t very many people there. to surprise, the observatory was indoors and air-conditioned. And had lots of seating. So we took a nice break in the air conditioning sat down for a period of time. We also enjoyed the views of the Tokyo city skyline. We saw a little bit of the outline of Mount Fuji. It was obstructed with some clouds. We then decided to take the subway to another neighborhood called Shinjuku we saw the famous 3-D cat billboard, highlight of the trip. After walking around Shinjuku a little bit, we stopped by a famous block of little alleyways and traditional Japanese hole in the wall restaurants called Izakayas. We ended up eating at Coco Ichibanya. We both enjoyed a lovely curry dinner, and the air conditioning that the restaurant provided.

We then decided to head back to the hotel because both of us were very tired and hot and gross. We have walked over 20,000 steps today which is more than yesterday. So when we got back to the hotel, we decided to take advantage of the hotel spa/onsen. It’s this big hot tub area where we went to go and relax. Unfortunately it was pretty hot so we didn’t stay very long. But it was nice to relax and soak for a little bit. Also sidenote. Bathing suits were not allowed. We are both now enjoying some quiet, relaxing time and letting our feet rest prior to going to bed. We are looking forward to another day tomorrow with hopefully slightly less walking and maybe a little bit cooler?

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psidrako3 · 4 months ago

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The Little Things: A chronological and vauge saga of my Europe trip.

Mario Kart Wii kart selection music over airport waiting.

When I started this idea.

Airplane pillow surplus

Star-shaped purple helium balloon that saw Iceland.

Outdoor boarding.

Iceland Chocolate.

Beef Jerky discarded.

Granola! oh shit it went everywhere.

Overstimulation from being awoken from a jetlagged nap.

Exotic clothes display cases.

A bronze statue featuring a bear, an inflatable ball, and man with a dog's head.

Brand soda bottle with cap designed to stay on the bottle.

Stage play Spirited Away.

Ea Nasir's Shitty copper.

Plush cat of the goddess Bastet.

Struggling in UK TSA.

Abandoned infrastructure ft C148's "The End".

Haunted by a Hyperfixation.

Really Cool Pharmacy Sign.

Sandwich Friend (Wasp)

Dog walking, but parkour dog.

Lock bridge.

Citywide prep for the Olympic Games, Giant logo on Eiffel Tower.

Only I was able to get through the transit gate.

Big Macaron.

Sections of wood paneling in repair.

Topiaries.

Held an outlet converter in place in a bad socket.

I legally didn't exist in a train.

Munich thunderstorm.

Devil's Foot.

Overstimulation at Hofbräuhaus.

Book of Mormon in our hotel room instead of a phone book.

Quaint German Countryside.

Decorative fountains for filling water bottles.

Me being right about us not being on the path to The tour entrance gates at Neuschwanstein Castle sare the same sounds as the entrance gates at my hometown ski mountain.

Salzburg Day Passes.

Why was the fountain fenced in? Water crimes.

Key man.

Public giant chessboard. [Forgot to take a photo when I was down there so here it is!]

That's a lot of change that people drop down there.

Steep slope Railcar.

Wierd lighting where a figure in a painting had a circle of shadow around his head, forming a halo.

A travel group wearing full black robes, on a hot day.

The crosswalk characters were in love!

Barcode Sticker not placed flat.

Pillar stuck in wall

"Maybe You're allergic to Austria." -Mom

Artificial creek water feature that lets you send ballpit balls floating to the bottom.

*Goes to watch choir performance.*

Dragon statue on funky roof between two larger buildings.

Ambushed by a Trick Fountain.

Stood inside a Cloud.

Air density science w/ a Coca-Cola bottle.

Couple of high-end cars with numbers 69 and 72 printed in gold.

Some form of interference turns a 3 hour train ride into something else.

Mom couldn't Escalator correctly.

Private seating on Train.

KitKat cereal.

Unofficial The Amazing Digital Circus plushies.

Duck Boutique.

City Tour tram decorated like a steam train.

Black Bagel Burger Bun (Say that 5 times fast).

Scale models of buildings in Prague, each with a ruined portion.

Sat around outside.

Choir Performance 2: String Instrument Boogaloo.

Elevator with a swinging door.

Mom getting so turned around by Google Maps we take a Taxi. (We have come to the conclusion that Mom's bad at Google Maps and we just had it good this whole time)

Choir 3 & Wellerman by The Longest Johns (At Beethoven's funeral Venue XD???)

Beethoven's grave.

Alto Clef Floral arrangement.

Finally rained again.

gm_[make joke later] (I'm not doing that it's the spiral parking lot)

Recalling important buildings from the trip.

Lack of bag storage foils day plans.

I was certain that I heard the sound of electricity flowing in our hotel room.

A very well dressed Rabbi.

Older sister being a suitcase clutz.

Overstimulation from the weight distribution of a double Decker Bus.

Shit. (Took Airline Bus without party.)

Burnt trees make mountains look fuzzy from the air.

Glitchy Iceland airplane advertisement roll.

#spirited away #miraculous ladybug #goku #tadc #garry's mod #gmod

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tajmirror · 4 months ago

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Golden triangle tour with Ranthambore Tiger Safari By Taj Mirror Company

Taj Mirror Company's Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore Tiger Safari combines an outstanding travel through India's most iconic places with an exhilarating wildlife adventure. This journey is ideal for anyone wanting a mix of cultural heritage and natural beauty.

Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore The journey starts in Delhi, where you will be picked up from your accommodation by a professional driver and guide. You will visit ancient sites in Delhi, including the Red Fort, India Gate, Qutub Minar, and Humayun's Tomb. The bustling lanes of Chandni Chowk and the tranquil Raj Ghat present contrasting views of India's capital.

The tour continues from Delhi to Agra. You will see the stunning Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The Taj Mahal, built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, is well-known for its magnificent white marble architecture. The journey also includes visits to the majestic Agra Fort and the exquisite Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, often known as the "Baby Taj."

The group next travels to Ranthambore National Park, one of India's top tiger sanctuaries. You will go on exhilarating safari rides where you will have the opportunity to see the majestic Bengal tiger in its natural habitat, as well as a variety of other animals like leopards, deer, and unusual birds. Witnessing these gorgeous creatures in their natural habitats is an incredible experience.

The tour culminates in Jaipur, Rajasthan's lively capital. In Jaipur, you'll visit the magnificent Amber Fort, the complex City Palace, the Jantar Mantar observatory, and the famed Hawa Mahal, often known as the "Palace of Winds." The city's colorful bazaars provide an opportunity to purchase traditional handicrafts and souvenirs.

Taj Mirror Company's Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore Tiger Safari provides an ideal balance of culture, history, and wildlife. This journey offers an enriching and fascinating experience, capturing the spirit of India's rich past and natural beauty. It includes excellent hotels, skilled guides, and flawless transit arrangements.