#Week 19: Sent to the wrong printer.

[thebookjumper]

Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon WEEK 19

I can’t believe we’re down to our final two weeks before Arrow returns!  And I’m so excited for it to be back!

We’re going to do something a little different this week.  I’m going to give you TWO DIFFERENT prompts and you can decide which to use.  Why?  Because I’ve been holding on to this one since the beginning, but it’s oddly specific, and I recognize that it may not easily fit in with some of your multi-chapter OHFAT fics.

So, while I’m desperate for SO MANY people to do the first prompt below, I completely get it if you need to use the second or if the second just works better for you.

This week’s prompts are: 1. Sent to the wrong printer.

(Seriously, people.  Think of the possibilities!  Who sends what to the wrong printer?  Does Felicity write out a rant about Oliver for stress relief at work and then send it to the printer in his office on accident?  Does Oliver print out tickets to an event that he was going to surprise Felicity with but send them to her printer by mistake?)

OR

2. Gravity

(Does Felicity keep tripping and falling?  Does Oliver fall from a building?  Does gravity pull them together?  Maybe they end up in exceedingly alarming circumstances.  With multiple meanings, this could go so many ways!)

The rules are simple:

Every Wednesday I will post a new writing prompt.

You will have a week to write, beta, completely rework after a crisis of self-confidence, re-beta, and post your interpretation of the prompt the following Wednesday. (Yes, I’m a writer myself and am aware of the process we go through.)

Tag your response #OlicityHiatusFic, #OlicityHiatusFic-A-Thon, or #OHFAT (or all three for you overachievers out there).  Make sure to use these tags on both Tumblr posts AND on AO3.

Tag me @thebookjumper in all your Tumblr posts.

Add your contribution to the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon collection on AO3.

Look for the next prompt.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

HAVE FUN!

There is meant to be zero stress involved with this.  If you can’t do it every week, that’s fine.  Prompt just not working for you? Skip it. Need to post late?  That’s perfectly okay!

This is just meant to be fun, get some creative juices flowing, and fulfill our desperate need for an Olicity fix on Wednesday nights until our favorite couple magically reappears on our screens in the fall.  The final posting date will be the Wednesday just before Arrow returns to our screens in its new time slot on Thursdays.

There is no length requirement, no ratings requirement, no timeline requirement.  It can be canon, AU, crossover, anything you want as long as it involves Olicity and incorporates the prompt.

If you haven’t written for any of the prompts yet, don’t worry!  You can still write this week’s prompt, and any of the others you want!

TAGS:

@missyriver  @almondblossomme@spaztronautwriter@wherethereissmoak @felicityollies @cainc3@wanhani@dust2dust34 @cruzrogue @hope-for-olicity@babblekween@dmichellewrites @callistawolf @the-queenfamily@angelalafan@bokayjunkie @moonbebesworld @scu11y22@jamyjan@crankyandbitchy  @geniewithwifi@smoakingskye@writewithurheart @some1foundme @xxlissaxxx@nerdyandturdy@aussieforgood @imusuallyobsessed @leonie1988@miriam1779@diggo26 @amphoteros @tdgal1 @queensoverwatch @jedichick04@walker-oliciter @squidbillybritt @green-arrows-of-karamel@uhhmanderrmitch @overwatchqueen@smoakmonster@ourwritinginvein @pls-moi @spacemomnephmoreau@gypsyfire1066  @creativelylisa@sharingmyworld@laurabelle2930 @overwatchandarrow@pennedbyv @dinzbinz@jlr1224 @crazycrystal10 @ccdimples88@perfectlittlesoul@mariposablue9 @rua1412 @dreamsofolicity@quiveringbunny@thearrowandhisgirlwednesday @mammashof@eilowyn1 @xblondepiratesopheeex @1106angel@onceuponanolicity@fallingmeleth @mel-loves-all@releaseurinhibitions @purselover2  @thatmasquedgirl@babblingblondegenius @bitchwhwifi@faeriefantasy  @olicitysmoaky @lover4eternity @a-w-mouse@rynflo@c0bra5nak3 @wetsuiton @charlinert @laureningall@madhaj@arrowfan437 @herskirtsarentthatshort @obibaldwin@smewhereelse @memcjo @pleasantfanandstudent@chachurka@truemyth @jemmaacarters @ivorykeys09@mshellbrat

[wellfuckthisshitagain]

Well fuck, this shit again?

I read a lot about narcissistic personality disorder because my parents fit this behavior so perfectly. However, I notice that my 1st oldest and 3rd oldest sister share some of their same behaviors.

I started looking for these type of behavior from my 3rd oldest sister. She lives near us therefore she's practically living with us. She rents an apparment from my mother and she gets access to our main Wi-Fi, our washing machine, and our food. She basically only shit, shower, and sleep in her apparment.

The problem I have with her is that she would come over and criticize our house. Saying how dirty it is, how smelly it is or how loud and cluster it feels. I'm literally the only one out of the 4 people that sleeps in the house that cleans it. Therefore whenever she passes one of her snarky comments about the house I feel like it's aimed at me.

I also have a problem with her eating our stuff. Before this whole COVID 19 shit I would buy my own Cheerios and Pb &J. I would buy a separate box of cereal for my 2nd oldest sister because she like the honey, but I like the chocolate Cheerios. My 3rd oldest sister would always eat out the honey Cheerios and when only the chocolate were left she'd get mad. I stopped buying the honey favored and just kept getting the chocolate, but I would feel bad because my 2nd oldest sister didn't like those. In the end I just kept on buying the 2 cereal and just kept mine in my room. My 3rd oldest sister would say I was being mean and rude and too exact like my mother with my cereal. Consequently I just stopped buying cereal overall. I notice she started buying her own stuff but kept them in our kitchen and when I would clean the cabinet would find her "stash".

The same thing happens with the PB&J. Recently my 2nd sister has gotten sick so she can't eat sweets but the PB&J had finished too fast. That's when it occurred to me that my 3rd oldest sister has been eating the PB&J all along. With my 2nd sister being sick she realize that no one could take the blame for her eating out the PB&J so she went and bought a new one. But it was the WRONG flavour.We literally have jars and jars of empty PB&J that we recycle and use in the kitchen. The fucking jar is purple. My 3rd oldest sister favorite color! But this bitch went and got the bloody red strawberry flavor PB&J! I told her she'll be the only one eating from that and she didn't have a problem with that, but I know if I go get the purple correct PB&J she'd eat from that as well.

It might seem "cold hearted" And minuscule to be upset about food sharing but I'm mean when it comes to food.

In addition, this occurred over the weekend. Monday or Sunday my 3rd oldest sister asked me to scan some documents for her. Now I honestly didn't want to do it because well, I didn't and she was also being a bitch to me over the weekend which made me more not want to help her. However, I told her I would do it and I did. I scan her stuff for her the Tuesday evening as she was getting home. Just 2 papers no big deal. While I was at my desk doing the scanning I called her to give her back the papers and to see how she wanted me to send her the documents. She said Whatsapp so I sent her the file. "FILE" ONE DOCUMENT. She got upset because I scanned the 2 paper and saved them as one document. It was saved as PDF I'm sure you can separate PDF files if you wanted to, and I told her that. She then asked me to scanned 2 more other paper for her right there and then and to save them separately and as a JPG document. Ok done. Sent via Whatsapp.

Now tonight. I came out of my room to eat, but ended up starting to wash the dishes. She came over from her apparment saying she want me to scan more things for her. I told this child I will help her after I finish the dishes. She started shouting at me that her papers are more important and that she's asking me to do this one thing for her because she's on a time deadline and that she wants someone from work to print them for her tomorrow morning. I kept telling her I will help her, but after i finish the dishes. She's said no. I can either put on my laptop and let her use it or she will take the printer to her apartment and connect it to her laptop on her own. I told her I don't want her using my laptop and I just need to finish the dishes and then I'll get to her.

This woman started saying how everyone have to do everything on MY timing. The kitchen gets clean when I want to clean it! Everyone has to wait on when I'm willing to help!

Now that's when my mother chimed in saying that she wakes up every morning and have to wash the dishes so she doesn't want me to come out the kitchen until I finish and that my sister should help me so I finish faster. My sister didn't say anything to my mother; with that she just kept yelling how I never help her and that she's on a time deadline and that she's just asking me to scan some documents and all I need to do it enter my password on my laptop so she can use it.

I told her numerous times I was going to do the scanning for her while she was shouting at me. She said she can't wait on me so she's just going to take the printer with her and connect it to her laptop on her own.

I only took half an hour to wash up. Just 30 mins. She could have waited. When I went to my room my desk and draw that the printer was set on was pull out of place and the cereal box that i use to hold all my printing paper on the floor. She just left them like that. Didn't even bother to push back the desk and draw against the wall.

Now this got me pissed because most likely she saw my ballet shows on the floor and I honestly didn't want anyone from my family knowing that I'm practicing ballet in my room again. I also didn't want her using my laptop beucsse we all my phone notification displays on it and my emails and plus it's my fucking laptop I have to right to privacy, don't I?

I went to her apartment and yelled at her for leaning my room like that. And that she crossed a boundary for taking the printer out of my room like that. And that it was unfair of her to treat me in such a manner because I was going to help her regardless. She just sat there and said "you're not over this yet?" While on her phone. She then told me to get out of her room and that she's gonna put in her headphones just like i do because she doesn't want i hear me.

I walk around cleaning the house while listening to podcast so I'm always wearing my headphones and my family hates that.

The display board that I bought to make her and my 2nd sister their birthday number sign slipped behind the desk.

Seeing the damn display board that I want to make them their birthday number sign from reminded me of what my 3rd older sister told me a couple weeks back. She wants to have a birthday part. She wants to have it on the roof, with fairy lights and a photoshoot background and to have her boyfriend buy her the balloon numbers to show her age. She wanted to have her own party but from the time she started talking about it no one really paid her mind. That's when she told my 2nd sister to join in on her birthday party so it can be 2 birthday celebration into one party. She knows the family is more inclined to do stuff for my 2nd sister. Even my mother passed a comment saying that she's only joining the two birthday because the family is more willing to do stuff for my 2nd sister than for my 3rd therefore she's using my 2nd sister to piggy back ride on.

A couple weeks ago the 3 of us went to buy decorations for the party, and when we came back home we went to her apartment to look at what they got and what all needs to be done in order to start decorating. She listed stuff like: cleaning the roof, putting up decorations, making food arrangements, getting tablets and chairs on the roof, checking if all the lights are working and making the photoshoot background. Just talking about it made me tired. I knew I would be the one who would have to help her do all these things. At that moment I was laying on her bed tired form the day and now tired from the mental thought of doing all those things and I just sighed in exasperation. She got mad and said she doesn't even want to ask for my help and that she doesn't even want to ask me for the bare minimum of help.

I want to be mean and just don't help her at all with the party. Make only a birthday number sign for my 2nd sister and not my 3rd. I want her to keep the printer and not give it back and just keep it. I want to go buy my PB&J and cereal again and tell her non for her. I want to be so fucking mean to her and just cut her off and just ignore her all the fucking time and just stop talking to her over all. But we fucking live together!

[ryik-the-writer]

Chapter 24 - Felix is helping Pan

[A03]

Chapter 1: Pan meets a Wendy Chapter 2: Scars (Felix’s Story) Chapter 3: Day One Chapter 4: Revenge and Fireflies Chapter 5: Brighter than Stars Chapter 6: filler: The Tigress Chapter 7: Operation Spotless! Chapter 8: Operation Spotless: Reporters Down Chapter 9: A Dance with the Devil Chapter 10: filler: Felix and the Pancake Chapter 11: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 1 Chapter 12: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 2 Chapter 13: The Girl With Blue Eyes: Underground Chapter 14. Recovery Chapter 14.2 Recovery some more Chapter 15: Trapped Chapter 16: Filth Chapter 17: Fairydust pt. 1 Chapter 18: Fairydust pt. 2 Chapter 19: The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 1 Chapter 20: The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 2                                         Chapter 21:  The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 3                                         Chapter 22: Reflections pt. 1                                                                       Chapter 23: Reflections pt. 2

Chapter 24: Closing

Sydney Glass groaned as he sent tomorrow’s paper to the printers.

The issue was mundane and stocked with forgettable stories. In fact, their front page story was about a high schooler who won first place in the district-wide poetry contest.

It was soft, digestible news that was just satisfying enough to keep Storybrooke’s readers sated…

If woefully unsatisfied.

Glass refused to cave however. Keeping Pan away for a week would do the paper, as well as the whole town, some good. Hell, he should have forced the little shit to take a vacation years ago.

Soon enough the chaos from the past week would simmer down and everyone would put their pitchforks away.

Still, the place was awfully quiet without him and Wendy yelling at each other every five seconds.

He glanced out his office window where Felix was working on his computer. The photographer had stayed under the radar since the incident with Mother Superior, being a silent partner as Tink grieved.

Glass still wasn’t sure what he had expected him to do. He and Pan had always had this inaudible communication, always being joined at the hip without really being fused together.

The senior reporter decided not to dwell too much on his suspicion. As long as his work was complete, what harm could Felix’s communication with Pan do?

“Lock up when you’re done, would ya?” he called to the photographer as he put on his coat and hat.

Felix gave an absent nod as his answer and Glass left with a clean conscience.

The blond paused his faux typing and listened with earnest as the door to the exit clanged behind him.

He swirled in his chair and sent a quick text. Pan was bustling through the doors a second later.

“Took him damn long enough,” he cursed as he unraveled his scarf.

Felix didn’t feed into his irritation. He didn’t want to prolong their meeting just in case Glass or another staff member suddenly showed up.

“Here,” he said, handing Pan several thick files. “This was all they had. The Boston station hasn’t responded to my request yet.”

Pan nodded and flipped through the top file quickly, grinning like he had the biggest scoop of all time.

“This will work for now,” he clucked, hiding the files in his bag.

As Felix had expected, Pan didn’t immediately leave now that the task was complete. He was never one for small-talk unless he knew—despite frequent denying—that he had done something wrong.

It was amusing to the older blonde, to see the rawer parts of his wild friend. He had the inability to admit he was human, but he’d allow glimpses of that mortality to show, only to be buried again.

“Tink’s fine,” Felix offered when Pan didn’t speak.

“I didn’t ask about her,” Pan growled immediately.

“But you were thinking about her,” he countered, his heart skipping a bit. She didn’t know about tonight, about him gathering the files for Pan behind her and Glass’s back. But Felix had always had a time saying no to Pan about anything. Maybe it was because of how quickly he gained the power within their little circle, or perhaps it was because he had brought him back to life after his parents died, and somehow kept him alive after each and every seizure ever since. Peter Pan had a strange power over his heart and mind that not even the fear of losing Tink could break.

But…that was also his girl…and Pan needed to hear bitching from him now.

“You really hurt her,” he added.

“She’ll get over it,” Pan whined. “It’s not like that bitch would have been a mother to her anyway.”

“That’s not it,” Felix said. “She’s hurt because you drug her through the dirt like this. If it were Wendy, it would be one thing—we haven’t known her that long. You, we have history. You should be one of the only people in the world who would think twice about harming her in any way.”

Pan rolled his eyes, but he tilted his head away so Felix couldn’t see his face.

That’s why she was still mad? What the hell! He was Peter Pan for Christ’s sake! She should expect this from him!

Oh God…

She expected this from him and still got hurt.

He had struggled to rebury the trauma from his investigative rendezvous with Jekyll in the past few weeks, especially with Tink’s recent rage bringing back a serious case of déjà vu.

He would have never put her in the danger he had all those years ago, but the chance had literally presented itself before him. Jekyll’s target had been blondes with minor injuries—so minor that they could have easily walked out of the hospital without suspicion.

Tink fit the mold perfectly, and had he not been absolutely terrified for what was about to happen, he would have let her in on his plan.

That had been his biggest mistake.

Maybe she would have said yes, or maybe she would have called Graham in on it and ruined two months’ worth of work, but she had been kept in the dark. Because of him.

Tink wasn’t like Felix. She wasn’t pulled into the dark hole of his madness. She didn’t look at him, mesmerized, like a fly in the final moments before a spider sucks it dry. She was harder, less willing to put her faith and trust into anyone.

She never went along with anything he needed. She always tried to outright defy him at every turn. She had throttled any plan or suggestion he had made during their high school days, and had assisted Wendy during her first story just because she knew it would piss him off. It was a game he liked to play, because even if she was the opponent, she was never quite an enemy.

She was like him. Hard, very careful of who to let in. But Tink loved life more than he did, and had found a way to love those in it.

Including him.

And that was her biggest mistake.

She wasn’t hurt because of what he had done. She was hurt because he had done it.

“Are you listening?”

“No,” Pan muttered. “I stopped long ago,”

Felix’s gaze hammered into his spine until he was out of the building, hiding his face in the collar of his jacket.

It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. So what if Tink hated him for the rest of their natural lives? He didn’t need friends…he didn’t need companionship…or talks over coffee…or chaste remarks after his rashness got him hurt…or random conversations that filled the bouts of silence that threatened to swallow him whole.

He didn’t want them, but damn it he needed some kind of socializing in his life.

Felix’s loyalty. Wendy’s determination. Tink’s reasonability.

He messed up. He felt it down to the marrow of his bones. But he didn’t want to feel it, didn’t want to admit it.

He sped up to get to his apartment, pushing down anything he felt to the very ends of his soul.

He wouldn’t make this right. He couldn’t.

Because unlike Tink, Pan didn’t know how to use his heart.

[mrchristianaxavier]

Reflections on Anti-Blackness as a Black Trans Artist & Entrepreneur

Last year, I decided to define liberation for myself, as a Black Trans individual living in a white supremacist society. I was tired of being in survival mode and being poor. I was tired of being exploited and tokenized by non-profits that employed me. I was tired of working at non-affirming organizations and companies. I was tired of dealing with anti-Black supervisors and managers. I was tired of being close to death. As a Solutionary, I committed myself to diving deeply into my artistry and entrepreneurship, for these were in fact ways in which a Black Trans individual like myself, could gain financial security and freedom…creating more opportunity for myself, my loved ones, as well as my community.

FrootFly LLC was founded by myself and my partner, who is also a Black Trans woman, to create a Fresh Fruit Distribution Resource for BlPOC, Individuals with Health Immune Deficiencies, Youth & Elders and Everyone open to embracing and honoring the natural goodness the Earth provides. We chose to sell high-quality tropical fruit, not normally found in the convenient and grocery stores that are accessible to marginalized individuals, such as Soursop, Jackfruit, Mamey, Sapodilla, Cacao, Nam Wah Bananas, Yellow & Red Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit and more. Growing up and living in the hood, my partner and I understood the frustration of not having access to healthy quality fruits and vegetables and wanted to increase access to those who need it most, especially during COVID-19. In addition, we wanted to help build our ancestral and cultural connections through the variety of items we offer.  With our Fruit Share Program, FrootFly also aims to provide marginalized individuals with Organic Tropical Fruit boxes, monthly.

In addition to creating a small business with my partner, I also released a children’s book, entitled, My Name is Troy. My Name is Troy is a book specifically for young Black Trans boys, about a Black Trans boy named Troy, who is loved, protected, and affirmed by his family. The children’s book was an envisioning of the love I never received from my family, while growing up and a gift to young Black Trans boys who may grow up thinking they are alone or who are told that they are wrong about who they know themselves to be.

With efforts rooted in health, wellness, equity, and overall liberation, many would assume community to be supportive. But unfortunately, within this beautiful journey of reclaiming our time in a world where many are rooting for the demise an overall genocide of Black Trans people, I (as well as my partner) have experienced much anti-Blackness from many who claim to stand in solidarity with Black Trans Lives and Black owned businesses.  

Here are just a few DONT’s when supporting Black Trans Artists and Entrepreneurs:

Being Blocked from posting in Facebook Groups

When my partner and I launched FrootFly, the first places we went to promote our new business were social media platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Social media allows artists and entrepreneurs to meet and engage with potential customers where they are at.

Paid Facebook advertisements are good for creatives and businesses because they allow you to target a specific audience. Facebook claims that they are 89% accurate when it comes to targeted campaigns. However, as Black Trans individuals in survival mode, securing funds to consistently pay for Facebook ads proved to be difficult. Therefore, much of our Fb promotion occurred via our personal pages, our business page and by posting in various community-based groups. 

After a few weeks of posting, I noticed that many of my posts in certain Trans and LGBTQIA+ groups were being reported and marked as spam, not by Facebook but by so-called community members and group admins, themselves. The same people known to hashtag #BlackTransLivesMatter and show up to community rallies, vigils, and marches with a quickness, were also quick to further oppress and marginalize the very people they claim to stand in solidarity with, on social media. Stopping me from posting in groups, stopped potential income from getting to 2 Black Trans individuals striving to live full lives, and not solely survive. 

It was especially disheartening for me personally to experience because as a Trans advocate and freedom fighter who has positioned himself on the frontlines many many times, I knew if I were an admin of a LGBTQIA+, Trans or Queer Facebook group, I personally would let Black Trans artists and entrepreneurs post their items for sale freely (regardless of the purpose of the group) because I’m conscious and aware of the experiences of Black Trans individuals and understand the necessity and importance of closing economic gaps and increasing equity for those most marginalized.

 White Cis-centric Expectations for Operations

Good customer service means meeting customers' expectations. And meeting customers' expectations pays off for all businesses. Customer support is more than just providing answers; it’s an important part of the promise a brand makes to its customers. 

Most large companies and corporations have customer service departments to handle inquiries and complaints. They have shipping departments that track packages, manufacturers to produce items at rapid rates and in bulk quantities, and huge warehouses to hold these items. However, when you’re a small business, oftentimes it’s the owners who have to make sacrifices unknown and wear multiple hats, especially when first launching a brand. But things can become even more difficult and stressful when you’re a small business owner who is also a part of several marginalized communities.

When shipping items from FrootFly, as well as copies of My Name is Troy, many customers, and so-called supporters, after only a few days, sent emails asking where their items were. Initially, in the name of good customer service, we would respond with our processing time, tracking info and shipping process, but after a while I soon noticed that many of these inquiries were accusatory and filled with anxiety rooted in Anti-Blackness.

It is a fact that Black businesses struggle in ways that white owned businesses do not. One of the reasons that Black businesses struggle to succeed is due to a general distrust of Black people. In general, society views Black people as “unprofessional”. From the way we wear our hair to our diction and ability to code switch, Black people in business realms are constantly policed and expected to fit tightly and neatly in line with corporate norms established by white elites.

Most people who reached out to us did so because they did not trust us as Black people, who owned a business. They did not trust me, as a Black person, who was an author of a children’s book. They assumed that they were getting swindled for their money, scammed, and robbed…because in their eyes, that is what Black people do. It was evident in their typed microaggressions, the way things were phrased and phony excuses. Studies have shown that people of all ethnicities and backgrounds have stated that they rather do business with a white owned company than a Black owned company. If it is hard for Black cisgender-owned businesses…imagine the experiences of a Black Trans owned business.

Understanding the experiences of Black Trans individuals and supporting Black Trans businesses go hand-in-hand. Instead of getting angry and impatient with Black Trans business owners, when products are seemingly delayed, email response time is not immediate, or when operations seemingly do not imitate that of a large corporation…in my opinion, a person who truly stands in solidarity would consider what that person is also experiencing daily. Has that Black Trans individual eaten today? Has that Black Trans individual experienced violence today? Do they have consistent access to Wi-Fi?

Most Black Trans owned business will look a bit different than cisgender owned businesses in terms of operations, due to an extreme difference in access and lack of equity. For many Black Trans individuals, each day is literally a fight to survive…and as entrepreneurs, this is what my partner and I are committed to overcome.

 Reported PayPal Disputes 

When I wrote My Name is Troy, I did so out of love for self and Black Trans youth, specifically Black Trans boys. I did not write the book to make a profit, but to leave something behind in the name of legacy that was beautifully made for Black Trans youth for generations to come. I priced the book at a rate that I felt was accessible specifically for Black families of all incomes, but also leaving me with little profit. For me, the book was bigger than profit. Ultimately it was a gift for young Black Trans boys…a reminder that they matter, while living in a world that seemingly forgets that they even exist.

Upon releasing the book, many people who purchased the book were white and/or cisgender members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Hundreds of orders poured in unexpectedly within the first 2 weeks of accepting pre-orders. The book had done better than I expected in terms of units sold but wasn’t reaching the demographic I had hoped...young Black Trans boys.

I knew that shipping so many books would take me some time. For one, each set of books I ordered from the printer took 2 or more weeks to get to me, due to COVID-19 related shipping delays. There were further delays once I shipped the books to those who purchased them. The profit left over from each book sold only covered shipping fees but did not cover my travel to and from the post office nor the shipping materials used to mail the books. But I committed myself to getting a book to each person who placed an order, no matter how long it would take me. And why wouldn’t I?

After two weeks of releasing my book, more emails began pouring in about the whereabouts of their items. Apparently, I was not moving fast enough. But what people were not being truthful about was that to them I was not moving at a pace that they were used to…a pace that is easily kept by the white owned companies and corporations they usually support.

When I responded to some of the email inquiries, some people encouraged me to be transparent with my customers to make it easier on both myself and patrons. But explaining to hundreds of so-called community members that Black Trans individuals have it harder than most and that their bias is causing their anxiety became exhausting. Many people became combative, but a few actually did admit to their anti-Blackness, claiming they would do better. I knew the anti-Blackness I experienced was real, despite most people’s denial, projection, and dismissiveness.

Several customers even went to the extent of reporting my PayPal account, claiming they never received an item…a claim rooted in Anti-Blackness, impatience, and the expectation for Black Trans entrepreneurs to deliver things at the same rate as white owned corporations. Most of the disputes ruled in my favor, as I explained to PayPal that there were shipping delays. But some did not, causing my account to go into the negative several times, with security measures added that made receiving and transferring funds extremely difficult. With each negative transaction, PayPal also threatened to send a report of owed funds from refunds sent to collections, negatively affecting my credit. This frustrated me for many reasons, but mostly because I stressed myself out trying to get out as many books as I could as often as I could, despite my lack of income and resources.

Is this how community stands in solidarity with Black Trans entrepreneurs? The distrust and bias from so-called allies and accomplices in my opinion, is ultimately violence. Where were the emails from community members asking me if there was anything anyone could do to help me ship things faster? This is what happens when so-called community is not intentionally mindful of the experiences of those most marginalized and when support is performative rather than an investment in Black Trans communities.

When you’re buying something from a Black Trans artist or entrepreneur, you’re not just purchasing a product. You’re helping a Black Trans person eat that day. You’re helping to provide a Black Trans person with another day of shelter. You’re helping a Black Trans person purchase their meds and pay bills. You’re literally helping a Black Trans person to live.

Do better.

[gashinamoon]

Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon week 19: Sent To The Wrong Printer

Words: 943

Tags: Fluff, Humour, Domesticity 

Week 19 submission for the OHFAT hosted by @thebookjumper!

Notes: I can't believe there's only two more weeks left of this challenge!! There will be an actual hole in my chest once it ends,I swear.

I hope you enjoy this! Please let me know what you think once you're done :')

Read on AO3

“Okay, this has to stop. I’m stopping this.”

“Stopping what?”

“Stopping this… whatever this is.”

“I don’t know what-“

“Don’t play innocent with me, Oliver. I know when you’re up to something. You’ve been acting weird all night. It’s like you can’t do enough for me!”

“I’m just trying to be helpful.”

“I know, and it’s sweet, it really is, but I know you. Something is up. So tell me what’s up.”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me…”

“I won’t be mad. Unless you broke my computer or something. Wait. You didn’t break my computer did you?”

“I wish…”

…

“Now you’re making me panic. Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. At least not in the way I can tell you’re thinking is wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s about the party.”

“Okay…”

“More specifically about the surprise we were going to announce at the party.”

“Oliver, would you just spit it out? What happened?”

“Alright, so you know how I told you I’d print out a couple of pictures of the ultrasound so that when we tell everyone about the baby, we can show them pictures? And you told me you’d do it but I insisted otherwise because you were exhausted and needed to sleep? And you said I’d mess up your computer or something but you were too tired to argue and left me to it? Well… you were kind of right.”

“So you did break something?”

“No. I accidentally sent the pictures to the wrong printer. I was in a rush because I wanted to get back to you and I clicked what I thought was your printer in the loft. Except when I got home, the pictures weren’t there. So I just figured they hadn’t worked and that I’d reprint them the next day. Only it turns out that they had printed. Just… not on the right printer. And before I could do anything about it- I just… Everyone knows, Felicity. I ruined the surprise. I accidentally sent the pictures to the printer down in the bunker and Rene found them and told everyone. As in, everyone who was supposed to find out at our super surprise party this weekend. I’m so sorry, I honestly don’t know why-“

“Wait. That’s it?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry but… that’s why you’ve been acting strange all day? That’s it?”

“Um… yeah?”

“Can I just remind you that you were the one who wanted to wait until the party? I was the one who wanted to tell everyone as soon as we got back from the 3 month ultrasound last week. Why would I possibly be mad about this?”

“I just thought that you’d be mad because I’ve ruined the surprise. I mean, the entire reason we’re having a party is so we can tell everyone you’re pregnant. It’s kind of pointless now. Because they all know already.”

“We can still have a party, Oliver. It’s your birthday next week, after all.”

“I had a birthday party last year.”

“Yeah, and I want you to have one every year. For at least the next 10 years. To make up for the ones you missed on the island and then the 5 years after you came back. Which part of me takes full credit for. I should have thrown you birthday parties every year as soon as we became friends.”

“So… you’re not mad?”

“Not at all. I’m so happy everyone knows. You know I hate secrets.”

“Some secrets are good.”

“Still. I’m glad this one is out in the open. Speaking of which, how did everyone react?”

“They were so happy. Don’t tell him I said this, but I swear Dig cried. He says he didn’t, but I saw the tears in his eyes. Dinah said she already knew, although I’m not sure how. Thea was texting your mom and online shopping for baby stuff before I could even finish my sentence. My sentence being that they should all act normal and pretend they don’t know so that it wouldn’t ruin the party for you.”

“She told my mom?”

“In her defence, she didn’t exactly tell her. She just assumed she already knew.”

“Fair point. And they were all just going to play along and pretend they didn’t know? Until Saturday night?”

“Yup.”

“Huh.”

“There’s just one more person we have to tell now, you know? William.”

…

“Is it weird that he’s the one I’m most nervous to tell?”

“Are you excited too?”

“Of course! But… do you think he’ll be happy? I mean, I’m an only child too so I know what it’s like to never have to share anything. And he’s a sweet kid but having a baby to compete with might be hard and I feel like we have this great relationship now and I don’t want anything to-“

“Hey, it's alright. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“But he’s only just got used to not having his mom around, Oliver. To having the two of us. To having you, period. I don’t want him to think we’re, you know, trying to replace him or something.”

“Why would he think that?”

“I don’t know. It makes more sense in my head. I just… I love William and I don’t want him to think that us having a baby is going to change that. At all.”

“He isn’t going to think that, I promise. And I think the longer we keep it from him, the more you’re just going to worry about it. So why don’t we just go up and tell him now?”

“Right now?”

“Why not?”

…

“That’s a good question. Why not? Let’s go.”

If you want to be tagged in my fics/chapter updates, feel free to let me know! :)

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[thatmasquedgirl]

Hiatus Fic-A-Thon #19(1) - Communication Error

So the @olicityhiatusficathon prompts gave me Very Strong Feelings this week, and I can’t bring myself to regret it.  I cranked this out in like four hours, so if it’s a hot mess, that’s why.

Thanks @thebookjumper for such fun prompts this week!

A shout-out and much love to @jennonthewire who did not talk me down when I pitched this idea to her.

Communication Error

Hardwired series Prompt:  Sent to the wrong printer

Diggle knocks on Oliver’s door before entering, wondering if his partner in crime is in a better mood or if he’s going to just be surly again.  Something has been off about the boy ever since he ran off a few weeks ago to take down John Nickel—a small-time housing guy in the Glades.  Or maybe it was since Felicity nearly died; he can’t read Oliver any better than he could two months ago when the kid ditched him every other night.

“Hey, Oliver, there’s—” Diggle starts, but he cuts himself off abruptly in an attempt to suppress a chuckle.

Oliver glares down at a portcom screen in front of him like he wants to put arrows in it, gripping the device in his hands so hard his knuckles are white. With exaggerated gestures, he taps the screen, brows knitting together more with every second.  He waits after one last press of a button, glancing over at the other side of the desk.  When nothing happens, he sends the portcom skittering across the floor.

“And you said the shatterproof model wouldn’t come in handy,” Digg notes aloud.

Continue Reading:  AO3 - FanFiction - Wattpad

[weirdo-with-a-nametag]

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Me. Just now, to spite you.

2. Are you outgoing or shy? I’m loud, and friendly, but terrified. Sometimes I go out of my way to socialize with a lot of people, and sometimes I try to be as unnoticeable as possible. It takes a lot out of me, but it seems necessary to be social.

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? My best friend, my sisters, my dad

4. Are you easy to get along with? I’ve been told I am by reputable sources

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I have a pact that my best friend and I are to get drunk together one of these days, and he’s nice so he would care, but knowing myself I’ll probably be the one taking care of him, or I’d just pass out on the floor and he’d go sleep

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? nah

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? nah

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? what opposite?

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? not really? I mean, wait, my approach to talking about sex is somewhat clinical. If other people talk about it in other ways, I can get really uncomfortable really fast. That’s part of what I mean by “sex-averse.” If someone’s talking about sex including me, I freak a little.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? mm, probably my dad. We talked things out a few days after I moved out, which was recent.

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? it says, “Who?”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? I am So Bad at favorites. No, thank you, today.

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Some people, if I know they’re going to, for sure.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Yeah. The world would be less interesting to me without luck.

15. What good thing happened this summer? I got an Infinity Cube (and proceeded to mess with it nonstop fr so long that I had to hide it for the next week until my hand stopped hurting), and I made several thousand dollars for my savings.

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? The last person would be my little sister’s goodbye kiss. Absolutely, I love her.

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Of course.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? who?

19. Do you like bubble baths? bubble baths are nice in concept. I always end up hurting my back by lying in bathtubs, though.

20. Do you like your neighbors? My neighbors hate my family. But me, personally... I’ve never been anything but nice to them, and I think we’re on okay terms. We don’t interact much.

21. What are you bad habits? I bite my nails, ignore my “eat food” alarms, stay up until after sunrise for NO REASON I cannot go to sleep, I get kinda snippy if my mom starts a conversation we’ve already had, use wrappers as coasters instead of throwing my trash away, and rarely stick with something long enough to make anything of it. I have a 95% assembled 3D printer sitting in my room. It’s been at that point for 8 months at least.

22. Where would you like to travel? Oh, yes, I want to learn languages and see the wildlife and touch the water and lay in snow outside of Oregon. Please.

23. Do you have trust issues? Doesn’t everyone? I recently figured out another level to mine, though. Fun!

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? putting on tea water and music while I do the dishes

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? Check the dysphoria for that one. But runner-ups: it’s really uncomfortable to feel my skin-on-skin when I bend my torso too far, fat rolls are a bad sensory experience for me. Amy oily or overly dry skin is distracting, and my ears always feel like they need to be popped.

26. What do you do when you wake up? During quarantine it’s been go back to sleep, eventually turn on some tv, wait for my housemate to get up .

28. Who are you most comfortable around? mm, my two closest friends, or my housemate.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Have one ex, who asked me something that smelled like it was leading toward “do you want to get back together?” recently. But I don’t think either of us regret breaking up, when we did. It was the right choice.

30. Do you ever want to get married? Eh, how are the tax benefits? I wouldn’t mind, but I have a hard time believing it’d be because we fell in love, and it’s also terribly restricting. I’d honestly rather have a household of 4, a big poly qpr specifically, so I’m not lonely and I can put my love somewhere, and we can support each other. That sounds great.

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? mhm

33. Spell your name with your chin. l,kianaz       --I did that twice and it’s identical

34. Do you play sports? What sports? Nah. If you count climbing, then yes, but not competitively. I played ultimate frizbee for a bit? And I like playing hockey. 

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV. No question. Music is the  foundation of the machine that pulls me through my day-to-day. That sounds dramatic, but a more precise explanation would be annoyingly long. Someone gets it.

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? mm, I “like” my best friend in some kinda way, but I’m sure he knows my feeling as well as I do. (still not very well, but the point here is that I’m an open book and we’re close)

37. What do you say during awkward silences? I either don’t register them at all, or I do and immediately divert to some mental or physical activity. Usually blurt out a random thing on my mind, change the subject, or... throw something. Sometimes I throw things at people I want to talk to. Not sure how to explain that one.

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? ?

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? Clothes shopping is exhausting, what with the endless textures and noises and flourescent lights and linoleum floors and I come out of it with one (1) acceptable shirt and a feeling like I’ve been sanding the edges off of my brain with a belt sander for the hours I spent in the store. Grocery shopping can be fun, but it’s usually more pain than the food is worth, and I like looking for art supplies - SCRAP here in portland is fun. Oh, and lumber stores or carpet warehouses, if I can get away with climbing.

40. What do you want to do after high school? I want to go to college for physics, graduate and move out of the country for grad school, and end up on a research grant teaching somewhere. On my current trajectory, I’ll probably flunk out next year and go to the Job Corps for Forestry training. Look for a job as a ranger, maybe. Volunteer with rescue crews. Not a bad life at all, but I love learning and I’d feel a bit cut off, I think.

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Yeah. People deserve second chances in life, but we need to answer for our actions. And no one has the right to demand a second chance from a person. You don’t “deserve” that. You might get a second chance, if you’re lucky. But it’s luck and kindness and trust, not deserved, that you are responsible for taking care not to break.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? Probably I’m just thinking, in some way or another. Sometimes I’m keeping myself from running out of the room, sometimes I’m focused on my music, sometimes I’m coming up with something to say

43. Do you smile at strangers? Usually. I try to smile when I make eye contact with people, try and be nice, if I feel safe

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Space is attractive but I think I’d see/discover more with a physical deep sea trip than a physical deep space trip. Faster, certainly.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? Music, usually, or someone yelling, or I need to pee.

46. What are you paranoid about? my actions having a “butterfly effect” and hurting people, every person, every time I interact with them, but the effects seem so small that no one notices. It��s already too late.

47. Have you ever been high? no? I get a weird loopy reaction to Ibuprofen sometimes, but I’ve never been intentionally intoxicated

48. Have you ever been drunk? see above

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? I stole some pez? But people know about that. Oh. the answer is yes.

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? black

51. Ever wished you were someone else? mm, not really. I’ve wished I didn’t exist, but not to be another person who does exist

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? If I could trust my sense of right and wrong, that would be nice. But physically? I want wings, big enough to fly with.

54. Favourite store? my favorite tea shop was Townshend’s, but they changed. There’s a kombucha place under my kung fu place that’s good, though.

56. Favourite colour? I usually say cobalt.

57. Favourite food? no idea

58. Last thing you ate? 5-am-midnight-dinner-tacos

59. First thing you ate this morning? I am denying the fact that it is morning.

60. Ever won a competition? For what? I won multiple boat races in my 8th grade shop class. Oh and my robotics team went to state two years in a row

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? nah. Got detention for something in middle school, and a lot of trouble in elementary school, but no suspensions.

62. Been arrested? For what? .....no

63. Ever been in love? questionable

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? my what

65. Are you hungry right now? I’m very rarely hungry. Also just ate. No.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? I have 1 1/2 tumblr friends, none of which I know better than my real-life friends, so my bonds with them are not as strong, no

67. Facebook or Twitter? neither

68. Twitter or Tumblr? tumblr 

69. Are you watching tv right now? no

70. Names of your bestfriends? I refuse

71. Craving something? What? sleep

72. What colour are your towels? whatever color is cheapest

72. How many pillows do you sleep with? right now there are five pillows on my bed. Not a personal choice. If given the option, one, maybe two.

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? not really

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? probably 12, including in storage and display-only

75. Favourite animal? there are too many cool animals. It was the wolverine for a while though

76. What colour is your underwear? blue today

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? usually chocolate. Been on a vanilla kick lately though

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? used to go for mint chocolate chip whenever it was available, but I like cherry, moose tracks, I like most things without marshmallows or cake batter, unless you get really weird.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? blue.

80. What colour pants? orange, with white dotted plaid striping

81. Favourite tv show? how to pick. I’m rewatching Leverage this week, and the Magicians is visually appealing

82. Favourite movie? uh? It was Treasure planet for several months when I was 7, and I have a deep appreciation for the movie adaptation of Holes, but I don’t know abou favorites right now. The Usual Suspects is good though

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? I don’t think I’ve watched either

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? again, no clue

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? I

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? Dory, or the manta ray, or the baby sea turtle

87. First person you talked to today?... my mom? I think

88. Last person you talked to today? my mom

89. Name a person you hate? no

90. Name a person you love? my sisters. both of them.

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? god. Let me sleep.

92. In a fight with someone? kind of in a fight with my mom over cleaning? Not much of a fight though.

93. How many sweatpants do you have? three? Maybe more if you expand the definition

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? 3 sweaters, 4-5 hoodies

95. Last movie you watched? Holes

98. Do you tan a lot? I burn in 10 minutes or less, guaranteed, and I don’t really tan no matter what

99. Have any pets? yes! Lots! 4 cats, 3 dogs, 2 snakes. Lovely sweet creatures

100. How are you feeling? vibrate-y

101. Do you type fast? no, I cheated in typing class and now I type with three fingers and a braille keyboard

102. Do you regret anything from your past? most of it

103. Can you spell well? I think so

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? I miss my best (and only) friend from elementary school. We haven’t talked since the summer after 5th grade.

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? I have thrown many bonfire parties, and been to those of others

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? I have no idea. Oh. Maybe a little? But we’re still friends, so I think it’s ok

107. Have you ever been on a horse? yeah, horses are fun

108. What should you be doing? sleeping!

109. Is something irritating you right now? my hip

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? “liked”? probably not

111. Do you have trust issues? isn’t this on here twice? Yes, I have trust issues.

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? mm, my dad and a psychologist

113. What was your childhood nickname? I didn’t have one until middle school, and then it was “Lemur” for about a year. Now it’s Murphy

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? I’ve been everywhere between Oregon and Virginia (drove across to move here), Idaho, California, Indiana, DC, Washington, Texas, Vegas specifically, Florida, Canada, and China.

115. Do you play the Wii? Used to play mariokart with my dad

116. Are you listening to music right now? yeah, right at this moment it’s “Tribulation” by Matt Maeson

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? I guess. Usually the noodles are disgusting, usually it’s canned, and that’s not good

118. Do you like Chinese food? there are definitely dishes in amaricanized Chinese food that I like, and for sure dishes in authentic Chinese food that I love, so I guess so?

119. Favourite book? Ah. No comment.

120. Are you afraid of the dark? I don’t think so.

121. Are you mean? I think I can be, but everyone outside my family seems to think I’m an angel, so

122. Is cheating ever okay? Listen, if you can’t tell your SO you’re interested in another person and talk through what that means with them, I think you have more important things to do? That said, I have no experience here. From other people talking about it and my general idea of the fallout and trust, no. Don’t.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? Highly unlikely. I have never tried, or wanted to

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? I don’t even know what love feels like

125. Do you believe in true love? I’m sure whatever it is can be as “true” as you believe it to be

126. Are you currently bored? always

127. What makes you happy? making things, making people happy, seeing beautiful things, and music

128. Would you change your name? I might

129. What your zodiac sign? Cancer

130. Do you like subway? no

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? I ask “what are you looking for in our relationship that is not currently there,” and we move from there. Communication and understanding. This is what happened with me and my (now) ex. We’re closer for having talked through our relationship and breakup, honestly.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? Another repeat? My dad and a psychologist.

133. Favourite lyrics right now? mm, “I want my answers to be questioned” from “Take Me Back” by Kongos because reasons I can’t explain right now. Also a bunch of Lake Ponchartrain by Ludo because I like that song and a bunch of The Mountain Goats but I can’t think sorry

134. Can you count to one million? If I dedicated the time, but why

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? Convinced my neighbor my name was “oop” or something like that? And that my real name was actually my middle name. Completely on impulse. I did convince her, though. 3rd grade me did know what was up, apparently.

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? closed. Windows open, though, it gets way too hot in here 

137. How tall are you? 5′5″ish

138. Curly or Straight hair? straight

139. Brunette or Blonde? n/a. Red.

140. Summer or Winter? winter. I overheat and I love snow and ice skating

141. Night or Day? night. Stars and no sunburn or sunlight-headaches

142. Favourite month? no idea

143. Are you a vegetarian? nah

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? dark

145. Tea or Coffee? tea

146. Was today a good day? today was long

147. Mars or Snickers? snickers, I suppose. I don’t like either of these

148. What’s your favourite quote? I’ve come across several quotes I thought were terribly clever and I wanted to remember, and I remember none of them. Although recently “anything worth doing is worth doing halfway” has been good to me

149. Do you believe in ghosts? can’t think of a reason not to

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? (via catscuddlingandyou) I’ll level. It’s 7:39am, I haven’t slept, and everything hurts, I don’t really want to get out of bed and look for a book for this. I’ll pull up the book I have on my phone, though. “so unnerved was he at the sight that he leaned against the wall with his hand to his throat to stifle his inclination to call out.”

[ao3feed-oliverfelicity]

Aye! Wrong Printer

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xFCwXD

by cruzrogue

This week’s prompts are: 1. Sent to the wrong printer.

for the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon WEEK 19

Oliver prints out a copy of a picture and has no clue where it printed. Some one at City Hall has an eyeful.

Words: 1018, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Quentin Lance

Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen & Felicity Smoak

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xFCwXD

[cruzrogue]

Aye! Wrong Printer

This week’s prompts are: 1. Sent to the wrong printer.

for the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon WEEK 19

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xFCwXD

Oliver prints out a copy of a picture and has no clue where it printed. Some one at City Hall has an eyeful.

----

He knows she will kill him. This is not a small oops, this is major impediment of doom and he needs to tell her now before it becomes a catastrophe. He calls her office, he knows she is in a meeting and won’t check her phone. He knows this because she hammered to him this morning not to call up and asks her what he usually asks her every single day since they became engaged what she was wearing underneath for him to unwrap tonight.

It started off simple enough she wore something in an attempt to tease him all day long. She has taken the time to buy little outfits knowing it would drive him crazy. She looks good in everything but so much better when they were discarded on the floor after she finishes parading her sexy self to him.

He was tapping his fingers on his desk in an anxious manner as he was put on hold. His own secretary worried for him asking if he needs anything he just sways his head no but asks if she had any printouts she shrugs and tells him no.

He is in deep shit.

When she sent the photo his mouth dried up. He was surprised but it was in the best way possible. She had this lingerie that was black with green patches that held little arrows. Her backside in the air taken in their kitchen as she held the counter with a stack of pumpkin pancakes in the back drop of the picture. Her smirk prominent and she knew that he would enjoy this picture very much and more likely whine to her on their next call where he would tell her how much he wants to see it up close.

He had to go to City Hall early and he knows she had taken William to school even though he said he could walk, like that would ever happen. A bodyguard was assigned to him that has gone through some rigorous background scrutiny. The fact that Felicity would be by his son’s side made all the difference to the young boy after some major shifts in his life he was adjusting very well.

It has been a wonderful development how his son took to Felicity. They were actually thick as thieves and he sometimes could get jealous on how they bonded so well. He should have known his girl’s geeky computer gaming ways would sway his kid the most.

Now if only he wasn’t going to be murdered by the woman he loves for his indiscretion. Someone had a printout of her lovely figure in an eight by ten format. Even that in itself was wrong he wanted a wallet size picture but looking at her very nice… he had many adjective to add here like: fine, appealing, pleasant, lovely, oh he could add more but he hopes she is merciful, forgiving, understating to his idiocy by thinking with his other brain.

“Oliver!” His name taking him from his daze of what’s to come he inwardly braces himself as he holds the phone to his ear.

“Hey baby.”

“Don’t baby me, did I not specifically tell you not to call me. I was told this was urgent so if this is about my lingerie so help me you will…”

“Baby, I printed a copy of that e-mail.” He takes a pause as he hears her inward gasp. “That you sent me and have no clue where it printed from.”

He can hear her typing and that in itself is strange. “Let me get this straight. Oliver Jonas Queen you at work printed out a private picture?”

He made a groan she was super mad by calling him his whole name like she was talking to a child. “Yes.”

“You also sent to the wrong printer?”

“Yes.”

He can hear her feverously typing in the background and he sees she is now in his computer visually moving around folders and files going to his recent transactions. How she can bypass security is quite scary sometimes and she locks on the printer location. As she about to speak another voice is heard from the doorway.

“I swear to you Queen. I am not amused.” Quentin Lance is in the room after shutting the door behind him the younger man was about to get an earful.

Quentin holding up a vivid picture that had Oliver swipe from his hand right after he had put Felicity on speakerphone, it was a quick moment jumping from behind his desk dashing to get that picture.

“Felicity is a very attractive woman but I consider her like a daughter so stop giving me mental issues.”

“Hello Quentin.” Her voice chipped with anger. “It seems…”

“It seems both of you.” He gives Oliver a stare down. “Extra nightly time activities landed on my desk, almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry Quentin.” Oliver finally said.

“You should be. There are people who would pay for a Felicity Smoak lingerie picture. It would become a scandal that the mayor does not need.”

Oliver just nods he really can’t say much he’s in the wrong and even the thought of sharing this picture with Smoak fanboys made him irate.

“Your right, it won’t happen again.”

“Your damn straight it better never happen again.” He leaves fuming.

Oliver goes back to sitting behind the desk he hasn’t heard his girl say a word since Quentin and his exchange, picking up the phone.

“Felicity?”

“I’m here. So have you learned your lesson?”

“Umm…”

“Oliver?”

“Okay, okay but maybe if I…”

“Well baby I hope you can handle Quentin.” She says in a sweet but he knows it’s anything but. “I’ll see you later. Hope you survive, love you.”

“Love you.” And she hangs up leaving him to ponder what she was getting at.

Quentin enters his office and as he sits down the printer goes back online and he thinks nothing of it as he goes to check and he grumbles, “You have got to be kidding me. Queen I am going to murder you!”

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Ninteenth Christmas

the series is as follows so far:

First … Second … Third … Fourth … Fifth … Fifth Christmas, Part 2 … Sixth … Seventh … Eighth … Ninth … Tenth … Eleventh … Twelfth … Thirteenth … Fourteenth … Fifteenth … Sixteenth … Seventeenth … Eighteenth … Nineteenth … Twentieth … Twenty-first … Twenty-second … Twenty-third

———————–

She’d shown up on Maggie’s porch a few days after Thanksgiving with a carefully packed suitcase and pain so evident on her face that her mother cried while Scully stood quietly in her arms.

It wasn’t until two days later that Maggie, nearly asleep, felt the mattress dip and her youngest daughter crawl under the covers with her, seeking refuge in the familiar embrace of the one person in the world she had left to trust.

Twenty minutes later, Maggie continued rubbing her daughter’s back while Scully took a deep breath, whispering out, “I had to leave, Mama.”

“Did he stop taking the medication?”

Shaking her head against her mother’s arm, “He’s been throwing out the pills or throwing them back up. He says he doesn’t like how they make him feel, like he’s dead inside but when he doesn’t take them, he stops doing anything.” Sniffing, then clawing for a Kleenex behind her from the nightstand, “this time it’s been nearly two weeks since he showered and he hasn’t written anything for months and when he does get up, he locks himself in the basement on his computer looking for what he missed.”

“What he missed?”

“Why it didn’t happen? What clue or evidence did he not pay close enough attention to? When did the date change? Will it happen tomorrow or today or in a month? When will it happen now?”

The abrupt way her daughter stopped made Maggie believe there was more. Pulling Scully closer, she kissed the crown of her head, asking in a whispered voice, “but what happened to make you suddenly appear on my front porch?”

Slipping from her mother’s arms, she stood, wiping her nose before her face crumpled again, fresh tears racing down her cheeks, “he, um … he decided that the new date would be last Friday and when I got home from Thanksgiving dinner here, I found the house shut up and locked which, while not unusual now, I also found him sitting on the stairs just inside with a shotgun, waiting for me or whoever else may show up before I did, unannounced because the invasion had begun.”

Maggie, sitting up by now, covered her mouth, “did he fire it at you? Dana …”

Holding up her hand, “no, he didn’t but he dragged me downstairs and kept me down there for two days while he waited for the end and,” embarrassment was driving her tears now, “I argued and I yelled and he wouldn’t let me leave and I just … I can’t do it anymore.” Pacing now, “I can’t have him pulling me out of bed because of a new theory. I can’t take not knowing what I’m going to find when I come in the front door. He won’t listen to reason anymore and … … and I told him, once he let me back upstairs, that I was leaving … for good … and when I did, he didn’t even come to the steps.”

This last part twisted the knife in Maggie’s heart.

She loved her Fox but Dana came first and letting her anger explode in one expletive puff of rage, “that God-damned asshole needs to grow up and realize he is useless, worthless and hopeless without you!”

Scully’s laugh burst out, a wet, hitching, heart-breaking, wry sound that segued immediately into sobbing, propelling her back into bed, this time her head on Maggie’s lap, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&

He was better off without her there to distract him. He had things to do. He’d been trolling chatrooms, archives, hacking as best he could, learning his way through systems, tracing would-be clues, listening to police bands and military chatter, talking to a man who reminded him so much of Frohike that he began to believe that maybe the Gunmen weren’t dead after all but just hiding deep, deep underground, waiting for their moment to materialize back into the real world.

Two days since he’d heard her call downstairs that she was leaving.

Or maybe three.

Did he eat today? There was a dirty dish in the sink but it may have been hers … or his … from before.

Four days.

He needed more paper for the printer.

Six days.

What was that smell?

Eight.

Shouldn’t she be home from work by now? Maybe she was. Maybe he’d just missed her.

She must be here. There’s a pile of dirty dishes now, in the sink and on the counter. Why hadn’t she done the dishes? It was her week to do them.

He thought it was anyway.

December 1st.

Was it possible that the invasion had been just a year off? Maybe the ships had been delayed? Oh, God, what if they were coming this year?

Scully, where the hell was Scully?

Fumbling for the phone, he heard a clicking now and immediately hung up. Land lines were bad. Land lines could be bugged.

He had a firewall and scramblers and could talk over his computer if he needed to.

She wasn’t at the hospital. She didn’t work that day. Why did the staff sound suspicious of him? Did they know he knew something they didn’t? Where was Scully?!

Maggie. Maggie might know. She should know. Maggie. Maggie. Maggie. Call Maggie.

“Fox, she’s not here right now. She’s out doing some grocery shopping.”

Breathing easier, “good,” then hung up.

She would be back in an hour and they’d sit down and talk about the new date.

December 3rd.

What is that smell? Was that him?

Had she come home yet?

Looking through the cupboards, he saw them emptier than before, no vegetables in the drawer, no milk in the carton. Why hadn’t she said ‘hello’ to him when she got back after shopping?

He needed to lie down, the headache encompassing him driving him to the couch, the world spinning, the world closing on him, the world melting into fiery chaos then dripping in darkness, terrifying, unwieldly.

Why wasn’t she home yet?

December 8th.

“Scully, where are you? You didn’t come home yesterday from grocery shopping.”

Nearly dropping her phone in the doctor’s lounge where she was forcing down a salad and sandwich, “Mulder?”

“Yes, it’s me. Who the hell else would it be? Where are you?”

“I’m at work, Mulder. What’s wrong?”

“You need to come home right now. We need to prep the basement some more. The new date is going to be the 21st. I think we just got the year wrong. You need to come home and help get ready.”

Shutting her eyes, she fought to keep the tears from dropping, “Mulder. I’m at work right now and then I go back to Mom’s. I told you last time you called that I was staying there now, remember?”

He sure as hell did not remember! He’d have remembered that conversation and telling her that in no uncertain terms, he heard her say good-bye, then hang up.

The couch.

He needed to lay down.

December 12th.

Washing a dish when he needed it, he ate something.

December 16th.

He hadn’t slept in two days but he had boarded up the back windows. The back door. Barricaded so nothing could get through without a lot of assistance and a battering ram and even then, it would take awhile. Moved out Maggie’s chair. Took up too much room. He needed the room. He needed the space for the camping gear, the propane tanks, the extra sleeping bags, the sandbags for shoring up walls.

December 19th.

He grew weary of calling Scully. He did it every hour on the hour or … was it once a day? Twice a day? Time didn’t pass right in the basement. Climbing up the stairs, he took a shower, wondering where her shampoo had gone.

Why didn’t she just say ‘hi’ to him when she got home?

The bed was made so she must have done that before she went to work.

“Scully, you need to come home right now! I don’t want you on the roads when it begins.”

“Mulder.”

“Why are you crying? We’ll make it through. We always do. We’ll come out of this and we’ll beat them all and we’ll have a planet all to ourselves.”

“I have to go to work, Mulder.”

Ten minutes later, against her better judgement, she answered the phone while in the car, knowing it was him but still not able to ignore him, “what is it, Mulder?”

“Will! We have to go get Will! There’s no one to protect him! He doesn’t know what’s going to happen!! We need to go get him, bring him home! We only have a day left, Scully! We need to go get him!”

Nearly running into the car stopped ahead of her, she slammed on the brakes, pulled onto the shoulder and hung up the phone, turned it off, smashed it on the steering wheel, slammed it on the dashboard for good measure, then pitched it out the window, watching until at least three cars had sped over it, scattering a minimum of 38 pieces of cellular nonsense across four lanes of traffic.

&&&&&&&&&

She finished her shift in peace, the only things keeping her together and distracted were her patients, who needed all the brain processing power she had left. Driving back to Maggie’s, she kissed her mother on the cheek, then curled up in her old bed, staring at the wall until far into the night when, exhaustion winning, she drifted off, restless and scared.

The next morning, the hospital called politely asking her if everything was okay and to tell her that someone had been bothering them all night with calls asking for her. Apologizing profusely, she emailed Mulder a simple, “I am not at work. Do not call me there. I will get fired. See you on the other side of the apocalypse.”

After removing the last line, she sent it to him, then popped Maggie’s phone off the hook and went back to bed.

&&&&&&&&&&

He was overwrought that she wasn’t with him. She would die out in the open and he would be alone in the world. There would be no point to anything after that. All this had been for her. To keep her safe. To keep her alive. To keep her with him forever.

December 21st.

What that a plane overhead?

That low thump outside?

Was she home?

Did she come home because she believed?

Could he take the risk of unlocking the doors to let her in?

What if it was them?

What if they had silently taken over the world? Were coming for him?

What if they had Scully already?

One. Two. Three. Four.

That’s how many walls there were.

One. Two. Three. Four.

That’s how many socks he had on,

One. Two. Three. Four.

He collapsed on the couch against the wall, the rows and rows of canned goods swimming, weaving as he passed out from lack of food and terror at what might be happening above.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Scully slept through December 21st.

She stretched herself awake on the 22nd and made breakfast for her and Maggie.

She stared out the window at the cold, clear blue sky, bare trees whipping in the frigid wind, sun bright but far away, summer yellow having faded to pale tones, near white, warmth meager but making a valiant effort to thaw her just a few moments at a time.

They set up her mother’s Christmas tree that day, decorated the house, prepped for Christmas Day dinner, 15 people strong, not counting Mulder, which she had done accidently twice now, her heart skipping a beat whenever she realized he wouldn’t be there beside her.

Bill, Tara and the boys arrived on the 24th but didn’t ask about Mulder, having been appropriately warned by Maggie to, in politer terms, shut up about him.

She tried her best to be social, to be present and accounted for but when the first wave of her panic attack hit, she quietly disappeared up to her temporary living quarters on her mother’s floor, having been de-roomed by her nephews. Shutting the door, she took ten minutes to get herself back under control, her breathing less erratic, her heart still thumping hard but the light-headed feeling lessening.

Changing her sweat-soaked shirt, she washed her face, took a deep breath and reciting the periodic table, symbol, atomic weight and at least two characteristics for each element, she returned to her family, waving off her mother’s questioning look and Bill’s angry one.

Christmas Day was no better. In theory, more people meant more distraction but reality screamed at her that he wasn’t there, that he might be dead somewhere in their house, that he hadn’t tried to call Maggie’s house once since she’d emailed him.

Presents were unbearable, the happy faces of kids and adults twisted like hot knives through her soul, each laugh, each giggle, each thank you and exclamation another icepick stabbed to her brain, the pressure headache building behind her eyes to the point where she excused herself to vomit from the pain.

Drugs didn’t touch it and finally, she was forced to admit defeat, retreating yet again upstairs, puking a second time before folding herself in the corner of the room, knocking her head lightly against the wall, an old trick she hadn’t resorted to for years in attempts to distract one major pain with a steady stream of minor ones.

She fell asleep there eventually, only to have Maggie wake her by shaking her shoulders, “Dana? Honey? Are you okay? Why are you on the floor?”

Having slipped to the ground sometime after drifting off, she sat up, her headache down to a quietly manageable roar, “I was knocking the wall to help with my headache.”

Knowing this was one of her daughter’s coping techniques for pain, she didn’t inquire about it further, “we’re eating dinner. Would you like to come down or would you like me to bring you a plate?”

She wasn’t hungry in the least but she had a clarity about her next actions, “I’m okay. I’m not hungry but if you could save me a plate, I’ll eat when I get back.”

With a sad smile, she combed her fingers lightly through Scully’s hair, “are you going to go check on him?”

It felt like defeat, like retreating, like giving in when she should be steadfast and strong, “I have to make sure he’s okay. I won’t stay but I can’t abandon him. Not right now. Not ever probably.” Sighing deeply, she only met her mother’s eyes when Maggie tilted her head in her direction, “but I don’t know that we’ll ever be your Fox’n’Dana again.”

Maggie pulled her into a hug, “I’ll love him anyways and always. Make sure he knows that.”

“I will.”

&&&&&&&&&&&

It was fairly late by the time she pulled up to the house. It was dark and silent once again, but this time, the windows were boards and the motion sensor didn’t turn the porch light on. Cautiously, she used her key, opening the door slowly and calling his name, fearful she’d find him with his shotgun on the stairs again.

Instead, everything was normal.

Except for the smell of rotting trash and sawdust.

Not worrying about that, she made for the basement steps but noticed his feet hanging over the end of the couch in the living room. Beelining there instead, she saw his matted hair, three week old beard, dirty white shirt and holey socks. Not sure she could, should or would wake him up, she watched until she was sure he was breathing, then gently set her gift on the coffee table in front of him.

Noticing he hadn’t decorated, she was almost grateful, not wanting to think about past Christmas’s and definitely not wanting to see their ornament collection judging her for abandoning both it and him.

Sneaking back out, she locked the door behind.

&&&&&&&&&&

The following afternoon, once Mulder had woken up from his liquored stupor, he noticed the holiday gift bag sitting in front of him.

He couldn’t bring himself to look but he didn’t throw it away either.

He instead tucked in a drawer in the rolltop desk and returned to his half-bottle of Jack Daniels.

Merry Christmas indeed.

[alicecpacheco]

Outside-the-Box Sterilization Monitoring

  Here is my latest article from Dental Products Report...

In the midst of stricter infection control protocols, autoclave monitoring is often overlooked. The TerraGene MiniBio and the 3M Attest can change that.

We’ve seen a lot of changes in the past 6 months. In some ways, it seems time truly flies, but with the next breath, you can hear yourself thinking, “Wait, that ‘just’ happened?”

This is a really strange time to be alive. In the short span of 6 months, we have seen our lives and our practices practically turned inside out. So many things have changed that I sometimes feel it’s almost too much to process.

A true story here: Last week, I met an acquaintance whom I had not seen since before the entire coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) catastrophe. He’s a gregarious “big” personality who just lights up any room he enters. He walked up to me and stuck out his hand. There was a brief moment where I just locked up, unsure of what to do. Then, I figured, “This is why we have hand sanitizer,” and I shook his hand. For those of you who know me, I’m a touchy-feely type, a hugger—but I hadn’t shaken a hand in more than 6 months. It felt creepy—the same kind of creepy I’d probably feel if I reached into a mouth without wearing gloves. Until I got back to my hand sanitizer, I was almost painfully aware of my right hand and what might be on it. I sure as heck didn’t get it near my face! As soon as I could, I slathered on hand sanitizer and then sat back to ponder how different this was from just March of this year.

For more than 30 years, dentistry has had an amazing infection control protocol. We have always been on the forefront of keeping our patients and our teams safe. And we ought to be doing these things. I would venture to guess that we probably perform more outpatient services that generate aerosols than any other profession in health care.

I am very proud of what we have done in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dentistry has taken huge steps in the last few months to ensure the safety of those we treat and those we employ. Just even walking into most offices now looks totally different than it did 6 months ago and that’s before you take into consideration the clinical changes we have implemented.

As Technology Evangelist, I’m always on the hunt for better, more efficient, and cost-effective ways to provide better outcomes for our patients and for our practices. One phrase never fails to elevate my blood pressure: “But we’ve always done it that way.” I’m a firm believer that better ways to do things are always waiting just over the horizon. All we have to do is find them.

In the situation we currently face, a great deal of time and treasure has been put toward our protocols for infection control. Our profession has implemented massive changes in our infection control processes and systems, many of which are devoted to decreasing the odds of cross-contamination.

I’d like to discuss, though, a part of the system many of us probably haven’t looked at closely in quite some time: monitoring our autoclaves. I think this is because autoclave use often happens where and when the doctor doesn’t really see the process, and it has become just another standard task that is usually done by a delegated dental assistant.

Currently, most offices are utilizing some type of “sterilization monitoring service.” Such a service works like this:

The monitoring company sells the office a supply of spore test strips. Of each set of 2, one strip is placed into the autoclave and processed in a normal sterilization cycle, while the other strip is not run and is used as the control. Upon completion of the sterilization cycle, the strip is removed from the autoclave and then both strips, properly identified as test and control, are sent to the testing facility.

Once the strips arrive there, both are placed in an environment where the spores they contain can be grown and are monitored. If the control strip shows growth and the test strip does not, the test is considered successful and all is well. However, if both show negative growth or, even worse, both show positive growth, the test is considered a fail.

With a failed test, the dental office must be notified right away. Once notification is received, the autoclave is immediately taken out of service. A second test is run. If this test shows success, the previous test is considered an aberration and all is well. However, if a second failure occurs, something is seriously wrong with the autoclave and it requires service by qualified personnel.

This testing system works, but the real problem is the amount of time involved. If the test results are sent by mail, several days can pass between a failed test and the office’s receipt of the notification. Also, if a second test is required, at least the same amount of time is “downtime” for the autoclave until a “pass” is received back.

Now what if there was a way for the office to know the results of these tests in less than half an hour? Would you be interested? I thought you would.

Two systems—the TerraGene MiniBio and the 3M Attest—have come to market and can do just that. These systems consist of an incubator and test-tube–like devices filled with spores and growing medium that are referred to as biologic indicators (BIs). I’ve been putting both systems through some clinical trials in my practice for well over a month.

In a manner similar to the spore strip test described above, an office takes one BI and marks it as “test” and another from the same box marked as “control.” The test BI is run in a normal cycle. After the cycle, the tube should cool for 10 minutes. Then (in both brands) you break the seals on 2 tubes that mix any spores that are present with a growth medium. Next, you place both tubes, containing the control and test strips, into the incubator. The incubator then warms the BIs and monitors the tubes for fluorescence, which indicates spore growth.

If the incubator detects growth, a fairly loud beeping alarm sounds and the well that contains the failed tube is identified. On the 3M Attest, the failure is shown by a lit-up “+” sign; on the TerraGene, it’s denoted by a red LED light.

Because there is always 1 tube (the control) that will test positive, the alarm will always go off. I think this is a good feature because it lets the user know the system is indeed working.

The TerraGene MiniBio has 3 wells, so it can test 2 autoclaves and the control simultaneously. Positive and negative results are indicated by green and red LEDs, and the device also contains a tiny printer. All results are printed on a thin strip of paper that can be saved for record-keeping purposes. The device definitely has a remarkable high-tech look, and even better, it runs the test cycle in an impressive 20 minutes.

The 3M Attest has 4 wells but lacks a printer. The LED indicators are built into the device’s side. In addition to “+” and “–” for pass and fail, these LEDs also show the time left in the test. This device runs a test in 24 minutes (versus the MiniBio’s 20), so you’ll see “24…23…22…” etc, to indicate the time remaining. 3M definitely went for a ‘less is more’ esthetic with this device.

Each device also has a USB connection that allows results to be downloaded to a computer that runs software created by each company. The office can then digitally monitor and record results for safe, effective long-term record-keeping.

As for costs—which we must consider—I find both of these products to be incredibly affordable for the peace of mind they deliver. My best current information is that each incubator sells for around $600. The BI tubes cost around $4 each for the MiniBio and $5 for the Attest.

The biggest plus is the speed at which you get the results. Gone is the era of waiting days for them. Now, you can run a test quickly and extremely accurately in your office, anytime you would like, and have those results in less than half an hour. Again, I’ve been using both devices for more than a month and have been very impressed with the performance of both.

In a world where we are trying as hard as possible to ensure the strength of our decontamination, protection, and sterilization processes, in-house monitoring of a critical system such as this is essential. I can’t imagine going back to the “old” way.

[gaiatheorist]

DWP- Dealing With Paranoia.

I have different coping strategies to a lot of people. When I engaged with the outside world more, there was an air of bravado to me, a carefully nurtured appearance of being carefree. There was nothing I couldn’t deal with, I ‘thought on my feet’, and saw through whatever chaos or calamity was happening, to pinpoint a logical, or at least acceptable pathway. In some ways it was innate, just how my mind functions, to triage a situation or potential future situation, map-out possible outcomes and risks, and razor-sharp, whittle down to the preferred outcome with minimal risks attached. 

It was a useful skill to have in my previous employment, the ability to brush the dirt from the knees of my trousers after attending a first-aid incident, then distract or divert a student who was behaving inappropriately, before meeting with yet another parent who wanted to shout at someone about some policy or other being “Paffetic!” Some days we’d have a fire alarm, or a dead pigeon to deal with, or the brilliance of a “Dog in the playground!” I miss “Dog in the playground!” incidents.

It’s also a useful skill to have in terms of working around my brain injuries, the constant background rattle of risk assessment for every task, however mundane, keeps me mostly-safe. (You don’t have to fall off the toilet many times before you figure out a strategy to reduce the risk of it happening again, nobody wants to have to phone an ambulance with their trousers around their ankles.) 

The flip-side is the anxiety over all of the ‘What if?’ outcomes. Mostly it’s just background noise, “What if I fall over?” “I won’t fall over if I use the furniture as hand-rails when the vertigo-thing is bad.” “What if the fatigue hits early, and I forget to do something important?” “Do the important things early in the day, the less-important things can be rolled over to tomorrow if needed.” Most of my functional deficits are manageable, with some adaptations, I manage day-to-day because I over-think everything, and have contingency plans for everything within my control. 

It’s the things beyond my control that are the most difficult to deal with, the ‘unknowns’ that are entirely dependent on other people or agencies. Right now, I’m dealing with more unknowns than I’m comfortable with, DWP, Student Finance, and the NHS are my current ‘sea of troubles’, and I have Thalassophobia. It’s not the NHS’s fault that they’re stretched beyond capacity, but they are in part responsible for the precarious state I’m in now. If there had been more capacity for appropriate guidance when I was discharged from hospital following the brain haemorrhage, I probably wouldn’t be where I am now. There wasn’t, and I am. I had my monitoring brain scan last week, and I ‘should’ have the results within 2 weeks. I won’t, I’ll have to chase it, at the same time as trying to rescue my son’s Student Finance, and feeling like DWP have me on an electronic tag for the ‘crime’ of needing state support while I try to sort out my health.

Universal Credit, “Rolling six benefits into one!”, except it isn’t really. Despite numerous objections to the scheme, the government are carrying on regardless with the roll-out. The flagship has no lifeboats at all, but the band is playing on, the captain charging ahead, while the crew focus only on their discreet tasks. “That’s not my department, sorry.” The current phase of roll-out is transferring current claimants onto ‘Full Service’, the new, all-electronic system. How thoroughly modern, to cut out the pointless ‘time-sheet’ my work coach used to insist I present to her, to evidence what I was doing to actively seek employment. (That’s just my personal niggle, everything I was doing was hand-written in my note-pad, and then typed up into the ‘homework sheet’ for the coach to initial. If this system kills me, the note-pad will be on my desk. The evidence was already online, every task logged on the ‘Universal Jobmatch’ website, I was effectively not just duplicating, but triplicating the data, as back-up. ‘Just in case’, like the time my printer wouldn’t work, and my coach had to look up her password to log onto the system, rather than allow my handwritten notes.) 

If I wanted to be kind, I’d say there are ‘teething problems’ with the roll-out of the new system. The guidance for work coaches on transfer-claims is 19 pages long, all very linear-flow-charts, it’s not the lines that are bothering me, it’s what’s between them. My work coach gave me a sheet of paper in June, “Universal Jobmatch is being phased out, but you already have a CV, don’t you? You don’t need to do anything yet.” Then, at my last appointment, last month, she advised that the ‘live’ service was being replaced by the ‘full service’, but she hadn’t been on the training for it, she had to call over a colleague to ask what would happen next. “You’ll get a message when you need to come in for an appointment with your ID.” (The same ID as I presented a year and a half ago, that they already have on their systems, but I suppose it’s a fraud-prevention strategy.)

I didn’t get ‘a message’, on September 26th, two brown envelopes landed on my doormat, I skimmed them very briefly, and put them on my ‘do that tomorrow’ pile, because my anxiety was already ramped up high about the horrible brain scan I had booked on the 29th. Without going into too much technical terminology, one letter isn’t dated, and says ‘get ready to switch’, and that ‘we will write to you and tell you when you need to switch and how.’ That’s the UC491. In the same post came the UC492, the ‘call to action’, which stated “If you don’t complete all the activities to switch to the online claim by 3/10/2018, your payments may stop and your claim may be closed.” Info-sheet, with no actual information on it, and ‘first warning’, in the same post. (The UC492 is dated September 19th, second-class post, I didn’t receive it until the 26th, or read it properly until the 27th. Six days to register, input all the details they already have, book, and attend an appointment. I’m female, but I’m not Doctor Who, and two of the six days were already tied up with the brain scan. The scans always knock me sideways the following day, the sensory issues from my brain injuries are not conducive to being trapped in a noisy metal tube, and then getting home on public transport with a whopper of a headache, and exacerbated sensory over-stimulus.)

I panicked. Initially that I’d be called for my appointment on the same day as my scan, and incur a sanction for refusing to cancel the scan to attend the appointment. Working around that, one of the ‘commitments’ I’m currently obliged to fulfil is ‘seek and follow medical advice’, the particular scanner they use for my brain is a very expensive MRA machine, cancelling that scan would inconvenience the NHS, and there would be an additional wait for a new appointment. 

I typed in the link from the letter. Which didn’t work the first time I tried it, I’d probably made a typo, cold hands, and eyes that sometimes go a bit ‘off’, I frequently hit the key to the right of the one I’m aiming for. (They have my email address, and mobile number, they could have sent the link electronically.) I eventually got ‘in’ to the site, and, after a bit of searching around, found the right link-out from there. Then my laptop crashed, full black-screen meltdown, so I had to restart it. It took me four hours to complete the forms, part of that is my disability, but I’d already side-researched, and the system times-out after an unspecified period of inactivity. Taking my fatigued eyes away from the screen for six minutes in every hour wasn’t an option. (Yes, there’s a ‘save’ feature, but I was panicking. The inference that if I failed to complete the activities, my benefit ‘may’ be stopped was enough to tip me into major anxiety.) I thought I’d finished it all, when I was presented with another layer, ‘VERIFY’, where I entered my contact details, bank details, and had to take a photograph of the front and back of my provisional driving licence, along with a photograph of my actual face. (Which probably doesn’t look like the photo on my driving licence, it’s 8 years old, and I’ve had a stroke since then.) That all seems as dodgy as hell to me, I wouldn’t hand over my bank details and photographs of my driving licence to a real person, but the system said I needed to do it to complete the online application, so I did it.

The ‘VERIFY’ thing couldn’t be completed, it’ll either be my stroke-y face, or my inability to hold my phone completely still for photographs. All of the faffing about with ‘VERIFY’ meant that the transfer-application had timed-out, and bounced me back to the start-screen. Four hours, gone, and I didn’t have another four hours of functionality in me to do it all again. I had to ‘phone the helpline’, as per the on-screen guidance. I hate telephone conversations, I can’t read the non-verbal cues, and I never trust the person on the other end of the line to record what I’ve said accurately, if I say it accurately in the first place. I have verbal aphasia, sometimes I can’t find the ‘right’ word, so substitute one quickly, and hope it’s not too far out of context. There’s a very slim probability of me using the ‘wrong’ word, and triggering fraud procedures, because my brain doesn’t work properly all of the time. ‘Kenneth’ was able to confirm that my transfer details had saved, and I didn’t have the capacity to go off on a rant about the details already being in the system. Between 10.57, and 11.21, he repeatedly assured me that I shouldn’t worry, and that the deadline on the letter, of 3/10/18 was ‘more of an incentive, really.’ Kenneth didn’t have access to the parts of the system that hold the records on my ‘limited capacity for work’, and the UC branch of DWP don’t communicate with the PIP branch, who have all of the medical evidence and details of the functional impairments my disabilities cause. Kenneth booked me a ‘Personal Security Number and evidence’ appointment, and, when he asked the standard question about ‘any accessibility needs’, I explained that an appointment earlier in the day, rather than later would reduce the risk of my cognitive fatigue having an impact. 

“Right, Kenneth, I have brain injuries, so I’m going to read back everything you’ve asked me to do, to make sure I have it all right?”

(Attend this place, at this time on this date, and provide these pieces of evidence of identity, is that everything?)

“Ah, no, not this Friday, next Friday.”

“That’s why I read it back to you. Next Friday is outside the timescale stated on the letter.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that, you’ve made the appointment, and it’s in the system, you just have to attend it now.”    

I did worry. The letter had stated that the online transfer had to be completed, and the appointment booked AND attended, with appropriate evidence, by 3/10/18, and Kenneth had booked me an appointment on 5/10/18. Kenneth had also told me to take my bank card, driving licence and tenancy agreement, and to get a mini-statement from an ATM as evidence that I had access to that bank account. “Is that everything?” “Yes, that’s everything.” That wasn’t everything. I could be kind, and say that the system is new, and staff are navigating their way around it, but Kenneth didn’t tell me I’d need to provide ‘two months of rent statements or bank statements.’ (Like anyone has a physical ‘rent book’ anymore?) 

On the Monday, as I’d spoken to Kenneth on the Thursday, my email pinged, confirming the appointment. I skimmed it on my phone, and didn’t notice that the time had changed, from 10.50, to 15.30, I was still fuzzy from the brain scan. On the Tuesday, my email pinged again, “You need to read a message in your Universal Credit online journal. Sign into your account today.” ‘Today’ is going to present an issue for me if they send messages later in the day, I’m not fully functional in the afternoon and evening, there’s a much higher probability of cognitive slips. It wasn’t a ‘message’, it was another list of tasks to complete, including ‘preparing for work activities.’, and some equal opportunities monitoring stuff. (Interesting that they wanted a definition of my gender and sexual orientation, but there was no field for disability.) 

I noticed the change of time for the appointment, and entered a query online, requesting confirmation as to whether the appointment was 10.50, 15.30, or both. It took over 24 hours for an agent to respond, and he still wasn’t answering my question. I pressed for clarification, stating that the anxiety about potential ‘failed to attend’ processes was impacting on me. He confirmed that it was just the 15.30 appointment. As much as my son ‘hates’ the world-swerve to having to fact-check everything, I hate the way these systems are making me paranoid, I’m developing obsessive over-checking behaviours, because if I’m marked as ‘failed to attend’, DWP can stop my payments.

Yesterday, fatigued after the sensory overload of going for my ‘flu jab, I checked my email. (Conscientious to the end, I’ve never had the ‘flu immunisation before, but, single-and-disabled, if I catch the ‘flu, I won’t be able to feed myself, or manage my medication, I’m a potential cost to the NHS or social care.) There had been an email from DWP while I was walking back from the immunisation, and I must have been in an area with no signal, because it hadn’t ‘pinged.’ An operative at the local job centre had sent a message asking if I could attend an appointment at 12.00. Instead? As well? I still don’t know, because I’ve replied in the ‘online journal’, and had no response as yet. I even went so far as trying to telephone the job centre to query it, mindful that I might not notice an electronic response late in the day. I tried, I Google-searched for the Job Centre telephone number, which is now on 0345 number, not a standard one. That defaults you to an automated message, advising that all Universal Credit queries must now be handled online. I tried the Universal Credit full service transfer telephone number, same message, everything is online once your application is in.  

Some DWP departments only ‘allow’ you to change an appointment twice, there’s the ‘without good reason’ qualifier, and I’m very, VERY good at reasons. Technically, that appointment has now been set for three different times, so I could be on a ‘second warning’, after the first ‘call to action’. I haven’t requested any of the changes, and I haven’t been obstructive, only stating in one message that I had requested an earlier appointment rather than a late one in my original communication, as my ‘reasonable adjustment.’ 

I need to reserve enough functional cognitive capacity to work around systems that aren’t working, and, in spite of my disabilities and circumstances, I’m one of the ‘lucky’ ones. I know how to use a computer, and I have a relatively stable broadband connection. Some people aren’t as adept with tech. Some people won’t open the initial letters, because brown envelopes are never good news. Some people won’t have the functional literacy skills to understand the letters. (The ‘call to action’ tasks are in a margin-block, away from the main body of the letter, and the potential consequences are on a second page, the formatting of the letter does look as if the first page contains all the information, it doesn’t.) After the ‘charitable’ gesture of making the helpline a free-phone number last year, this government has proven that to be an Indian gift. Acknowledging that some claimants would be in such abject hardship that they couldn’t afford phone-credit, or to keep their land-line connected, and then making the next phase of the roll-out completely electronic. “Just pop into the Job Centre, you can use our computers!”, if it took me four hours, I dread to think how long it’s going to take hunt-and-peck typists.

I have a paranoia-loop about my ‘claim’, there’s a streak of righteous indignation that DWP already have all of my information, and I didn’t ask for a new system to complicate matters, but I need to be very careful how I word that to DWP staff, lest I’m seen to be obstructive. If DWP don’t like the look of my ‘evidence’ of rent, they’ll delay the claim, they did the first time, it was 9 weeks between my initial claim and them finalising the ‘housing element’ that doesn’t actually cover my rent. The point they had issue with at the time was clarified, and I know how to work around it again, but I shouldn’t have to, they already have it on record once. If they decide to play hard-ball on the ‘housing element’, I can technically cover my rent, by topping-up with my PIP disability benefit. I shouldn’t have to, that payment is intended to cover the additional costs to me of living with complex disabilities, it’s not for DWP to use as a non-refundable overdraft facility, while my documents sit in a drawer somewhere, until I chase progress. 

I have a little money in the bank, some people won’t. I have additional funds coming in from my PIP, some people don’t have that safety net. I am paranoid that DWP are going to ‘sanction’ my payments on technicalities that I have no control over, technicalities that are deliberately worked into the fabric of their systems, a safety-net that’s more holes than substance. October should have been the start of me addressing my on-going, complex and permanent health issues, with my son back at uni, the PIP awarded, and the ‘limited capacity for work’ notice applied to my UC commitment. Instead of allowing me to focus on my health, as the initial step to being able to work in the future, DWP are exacerbating the mental health issues, and compounding the cognitive components of my brain injuries. 

I’ll have a clearer idea of where I stand after Friday. I’ll attend the 12.00 appointment, ‘acting on last instruction given’, and clarify then whether the 15.30 still stands or not. (Good luck to DWP if they try to suggest that attending two appointments means I’m fully capable of any/all employment, none of my ‘points’ on the PIP award were for mobility or planning, I over-plan.) What I need to NOT do is sit in this chair any longer, ‘just in case’ I miss an email from DWP, that’s a maladaptive coping mechanism. I need to eat, and sort out some mundane housekeeping, AND I think I’m a bit foggy after my ‘flu jab, which isn’t helping. The Marionette PM has stated that she wants a society ‘for everyone’, but not all ‘everyones’ are equal. Some people will fall through the gaps in the systems, collective collateral, who will likely be dismissed as ‘scroungers’ by elements of the press. I won’t fall through, because I’m paranoid, and then the NHS will be left to address the paranoia that the DWP has created and compounded.   

[liveprojectyoko-blog]

Thursday 19th April

A lot of practical progression was made today. The majority of they day was spent visiting Xadon printing- the printers set to be used for the creation of NIL magazine, but other movements were also progressed upon particularly in accordance to the NIL photoshoot scheduled for Friday.

A consultation was scheduled with the printers which was crucial to gain more grounding regarding restraints and features set to appear within NIL. We met with Steve Crisp the sales director at Xadon who sat down with us and discussed all the details of NIL we had designed and the practicalities and constraints regarding cost. The consolation was largely positive as the printers are at a very professional level there is no concern for the work being produced to a high standard, even with more challenging/ unique features that may be displayed. The main discussion was around paper type for which we opted for a 140 uncoated paper type with the cover being a 350 uncoated paper type. The reasoning behind this was last year used solely coated paper which to us felt quite magazine like and not very artistic and the years before used a combination of the two. By using uncoated throughout the whole publication, it would give this issue of NIL an independent style to others before and currently uncoated is a popular artistic style, so this also promoted us to make this decision. We have mostly based our inspiration around the second issue of NIL, particularly regarding the sizing (Smaller than A4- bigger than A5). Therefore, we are hoping to get the costing down by using a smaller size that last years NIL but we will have to see if this actually materializes come the quote of the publication. Discussion around a slightly more complex element of the magazine- the smaller sized inserts set to be placed on the students who are selected for double page synopsis. Steve said this would definitely be doable and potentially would bring the cost up, so we are aware it may be a featured dropped if the client feels it is too costly. He did mention that they would need to be placed either on every fourth or eight pages due to the construction of the magazine and the binding technique being done, this was important as we now need to plan for all double page spreads to work upon these certain pages. It was practical implications like this that will help us now come next week when we hopefully will begin to put NIL magazine together. We also deliberated between the page numbers, as they are to be divisible by four from what we have worked out it will either need to be 76 pages or 80. This will probably be decided upon at a later date and the quote will represent both prices.

The most important decision-making process attained by the consultation was for when NIL was required to be finished by and when we could expect to have it delivered. I think in previous years as told by Steve they have been quite pushed towards the deadline of graduate fashion week, with the university only receiving copies the night before. Obviously, we are trying to be more organised this year. We are planning to have a first draft completed by 29th of April this can then be test printed at uni and any corrections can be altered and made. We decided upon the date of sending the artwork over to Xadon be the following week the 8th of May. This still gives us plenty of time to get the NIL completed and means that it should be delivered Friday 18th of May as well, which is in plenty of time for both our hand in and Graduate Fashion Week. This also means that if anything screws up or goes wrong there is plenty of time to resolve it. Xadon also have the feature of a ‘proof’ which is created the day after the artwork is sent to them and is reviewed by us before it goes to print. It means we will get a better understanding of the colours, any errors and the overall look of the publication. I think this feature is very important and is reduces the anxiety of elements coming out completely different or wrong come delivery.    

Example of a ‘proof’:

Steve also did a small tour of the offices and printing warehouse. It was very interesting to see the printing process start to finish and how much time and effort is put into creating the final produce. It raised the thought that any added features or complications mean added effort, time and precision for the workers. Therefore, we need to make sure ours reduces this at all costs whilst also making sure the magazine is considered, artistic and aesthetically refined.

Once we returned to university I felt it was crucial to go and speak to the third years and gather collectively the one outfit they wished to be shot tomorrow for the NIL shoot. As I have spoken about throughout my efforts towards CRM- customer relationship management is crucial. Alongside Iain Archer (the main client) I want to listen and respect the third-year students as it showcases their work and them as individuals so ensuring all the elements that could involve them do. I wanted to mostly understand firstly the chosen outfit and also any styling preferences they had for NIL e.g. accessory use or particular poses to reflect certain elements of the garments. I really hope that we can reflect the designers wishes as best as possible because I know in years there has been dissatisfaction from students with the photos produced in NIL. Although not all students were in I got to speak to a large amount and got a lot of feedback and directions on styling collections tomorrow which I am pleased with. I also ensured all students were reminded to leave their chosen outfits, accessories and shoes in a bag on the NIL rail to be used tomorrow including a photograph back to front of each garment, so we know how they want the model to wear them. I am very pleased I did this section of research. Below are the overall selected garments but some will be altered due to a change in accessories, footwear or other items of clothing added in.  

I decided to slightly redo the decisions of compatible outfits I produced yesterday as now the individual outfits had been selected this may affect some of the decision making. Again, I have paired garments that may work together well for group or individual shots. I will print these out to have at the NIL shoot tomorrow.

Another progressive step was made in relation to the content for NIL. We had another two responses for the ‘Where are they now’ article and are therefore just waiting on one more. I aim to type both up this weekend, meaning we can progress inserting some actual content into the layout we currently have for NIL. I also had confirmation for the Coast interview taking place on the 24th which is good news. I have sent the questions to Iain so now am waiting a response to make any additional ones or changes to the pre-existing ones.

Concern was highlighted around a lack of makeup artist responses for the shoot that is scheduled the following day. Therefore, I suggested a MUA I personally know who is a first-year student at AUB is also so complies with NIL’s strategy ‘by the students for the students’. The final makeup look was a very natural aesthetic and I knew she would be strong at producing this look. Below are some images of her work and they demonstrate why I selected her. I am very grateful we now have two makeup artists for tomorrows shoot. I feel it is finally now coming together.

The final area of progression was taken with the third-year communication students. For this years NIL we planned to have a selection of flat lay photographs of the communication students work who wished to display their FMP like this. In previous years they have used a range of flat lays differing in quality, size, colouration etc. To avoid this, we decided to have a day where we could style and arrange their work to take photos of them. Ensuring they all look consistent. Also meaning if two were needed to be put on one page this could be done without them clashing or looking odd. We have decided to do the flat lays shoots on the 24th of April- the same day as the Coast interview. So, although I will be helping out there I will mostly be focusing upon the interview. Some planning into flat laying photography will need to be done over the weekend to gain inspiration and look at potential props and backgrounds that should be used to create high quality finishes.

[touristguidebuzz]

16 Things travel taught us in 2017

16 Things travel taught us in 2017

We had good intentions to write our ‘Year in Review’ post at the end of the year, but unfortunately we didn’t feel inspired to write over the holidays. The final few months of 2017 were not great for us, because of this, but we’re optimistic about the upcoming year. 2018 will be a milestone year for us – more on that later.

We used to write an annual round-up post that highlights the adventures of fellow travel bloggers, but after 6 years we decided it was time to put that series to rest. However, if you’re looking for some travel inspiration for 2018, check out one or two of the posts below:

26 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2016

25 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2015

40 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2014

28 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2013

25 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2012

19 Epic Adventures by Travel Bloggers in 2011

Today, we’d like to share a few lessons learned from our travels in 2017. You can also read about what we learned in 2016.

1. You always think you have more time, until you don’t.

A few months ago, my Dad passed away unexpectedly. Fortunately, we visited him in Ontario a few weeks before his untimely passing. We contemplated visiting him another time. Maybe next summer. We have more time, right? Wrong.

I am so grateful for the experience we had with him at Lake Simcoe this past summer. I would have been devastated if I had put that trip on hold. His passing has solidified the importance of not putting life on pause because of [insert excuse here]. Don’t make the mistake of thinking there will always be more time. There might not be.

You only have one life to live – so live it! 

Related – You always think you have more time, until you don’t

2. Make time for the attractions that are close to home.

The photo above was captured at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park in British Columbia, located about an hour north of Whistler (2.5 hours from Vancouver). Spectacular, isn’t it? Can you believe it’s taken us almost 20 years to visit this lake? What the heck took us so long?!

We often dreaming about traveling to faraway lands. But, sometimes, you will find exactly what you need within a few hours drive. How many times have you said, “I don’t have the time to travel, I’m too busy”. Or, the most common, “I don’t have money to travel”.

Well, the easy solution is to visit the attractions that are close to home.

Related – 50 Photos from our Summer Adventures

3. The details matter. Don’t be petty.

We splurged and stayed at a nice resort during our visit to Curacao (you can read about our experience here). It’s a great property located directly on the beach and within walking distance to the Curacao Sea Aquarium (which is awesome for kids, BTW).

We had a fantastic time at the resort. The restaurant was good. The rooms were clean and modern. The pools were nice and quiet. The beach sunsets were outstanding. It was a fun trip.

BUT – when people ask us about our time in Curacao, we can’t help but tell the story about how the hotel charged us $2 extra for a coffee pod. We spent over $1,000 for 3 nights at this property and the staff felt it was necessary to charge us for 1 measly coffee pod.

Here’s what happened. We couldn’t figure out how to use the coffee machine and accidentally pushed the coffee pod through, before it had brewed. It’s an easy mistake to make. We love our morning coffee, so we called reception and asked if we could have another coffee pod to replace the one we lost. We weren’t trying to be greedy, we just wanted 1 cup of coffee each. That doesn’t sound unreasonable, does it?

Let’s be clear – it’s not about the money. It’s only $2. What got us so annoyed was how cheap and petty the staff were about this charge. It ruined what was otherwise a great experience – all for $2.

Related – The Charming Old Town of Willemstad

4. It’s okay to be a Tourist doing Touristy Things.

Niagara Falls is arguably the most popular natural attraction in Canada. It’s estimated that over 30 million people visit Niagara Falls each year, with numbers consistently increasing every year. That number is close to the entire population of Canada!

When we revealed that we’d be visiting Niagara Falls in 2017 we heard a lot of negative “it’s so touristy” comments. I can appreciate that not everyone is interested in touristy destinations, but we’ve found that these destinations are popular for a reason – because they’re fun!

Sure, there are more line-ups and higher prices at these touristy destinations, but with that high demand comes more options. We enjoyed our time at Niagara Falls and would recommend it to other traveling families. There is so much to see and do around the Falls.

Related – How to Spend 4 days in Niagara Falls with Kids

5. Most airlines want to help – if you’re nice.

We’ve been pretty lucky when flying with our boys. We rarely have flight issues and most of the time things go smoothly. That was not the case for our flight home from Aruba last February.

There was a big snow storm in Toronto that delayed dozens of flights. Our connection to Vancouver was via Toronto, so were at the mercy of this storm. The agents at the airport in Aruba weren’t very helpful. It wasn’t their fault, they had limited information. They did their best – but it was a frustrating situation.

In the end, we waited at the gate for over 9 hours before the plane arrived to take us home. There’s not a lot to do at Aruba’s small airport, so it felt like an eternity. Our boys did great, but they have their limits.

During this time, we reached out to Air Canada on Twitter. We waited on hold for 30+ minutes before deciding to hang up and try our luck with social media.

We empathize with airline agents. It wasn’t their fault the snow storm required flights to be delayed for hours. But they had to deal with the aftermath. Thousands of people were stranded, which meant hundreds of connections were missed and needed to be re-booked. People were angry. We were angry.

Rather than yell and point the finger, we stayed calm and asked for help. Our kids were tired and we missed our connection in Toronto. The person working the Twitter account was able to get us booked on new flights later that night and they secured us a complimentary hotel room at the airport with food vouchers. It was a nice gesture. We all needed sleep – badly.

The lesson – be nice to people, even when you’re upset.

We ended up catching a quick connection in Toronto and therefore did not need the hotel room, but it was nice to know that they were trying to make the best of a crappy situation.

Travel schedules don’t always go according to plan. It’s easy to blame and point the finger, but if you’re nice to the airline representative, you’re more likely to have that nice gesture reciprocated. Try it next time – even if the airline is wrong.

Related – When in Aruba, visit De Palm Island. Here’s why.

6. We are way too dependent on our devices.

When I was in Charlotte last spring, my phone died. It just stopped working and would not reboot. Not having my phone rocked me in ways I can’t explain.

Beyond the anxiety of not having my precious phone, I wasn’t able to do even the most basic things, like reading email or texting. And, because I was in a different country, I was unable to fix the phone until I returned home. That was a looooong 4 days.

All of my email and social accounts have two-step verification, which means a text or notification will be sent to my phone in order to access these accounts.

Guess what happens when you leave Canada and enter a new city in the United States? I’ll tell you what happens — you can’t access your accounts without two-step verification!

Think about that for a minute.

I try to login to my email to get my flight details (because I can’t check-in using the airline app on my freakin phone!) and it denies me access because the verification is being sent to my phone that doesn’t work!

I don’t print anything these days (we don’t even own a printer), which means all of my important info lives in the digital world. And, when you can’t access that info, life gets interesting (and not in a good way).

I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s likely going to get worse before it gets better. 

7. We need to Disconnect and Reconnect more often.

Building on the last comment about our device dependency – it’s important to give yourself a digital detox and reconnect with nature. We’re all addicted to our devices these days, which makes it even more necessary to leave the devices at home and surround yourself with nature.

That means you might actually need to bring your camera instead of your phone when you go hiking or camping or swimming. Now, that might not seem like a big deal, until you actually leave your phone at home and have to navigate the world without GPS.

This year, take time to reconnect with nature WITHOUT your device.

Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

8. Fear of wind is a real thing.

Have you heard of Ancraophobia? Most people have not. Basically, it’s an extreme fear of wind. It’s a rare phobia but it can cause extreme anxiety and panic attacks for those who have the fear.

During our trip to Aruba it became clear that Connor, our youngest boy, has this extreme fear of wind.

Because it’s always windy in Aruba, the moment we stepped out of the airport, and he felt the strong wind hit his face, he immediately freaked out and ran back inside the airport.

The first few days in Aruba were really tough for him. The poor little guy was terrified and didn’t want to go outside. In the above photo, Connor is actually sitting in his stroller hidden behind that striped towel.

Fortunately, that trip to Aruba helped him get over this fear. He’s now mostly okay the wind.

Related – First impressions and observations from Aruba

9. Country music ain’t so bad.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a fan of country music. It just doesn’t do it for me.

However, when I visited Nashville last summer, I decided to stop at a Honky-Tonk bar on Broadway Street (that one, pictured above). You can’t visit Music City without listening to some live music, right?

I didn’t hate it. In fact, it was pretty good. Let’s be clear, I’m still not a fan of country music. BUT, if you find yourself in Nashville, it’s definitely worth checking out some live music – even if you don’t like country music. You’ll have fun, I promise.

Related – How I spent 48 hours in Nashville

10. Visit at least one World Heritage Site every year.

Every year we try to visit at least one UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2017 we visited the Historic Area of Willemstad, Curaçao. As you can see from the above photo, Willemstad is quite the place. Its distinct architecture, vibrant colours and rich history make it a must see when visiting this Caribbean island.

We believe it’s important to learn about a country’s heritage, both naturally and culturally. When you start planning your next big trip in 2018, check out this list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and see if you can incorporate one or two sites into your itinerary.

See more photos of Willemstad here.

11. Our planet is not happy with us.

The summer of 2017 delivered the the worst wildfire season on record for British Columbia. During our time at Porteau Cove this past summer we were covered by a blanket of smoke for days (see the above photo as evidence – the sun actually looks like the moon).

It feels like every year we find ourselves saying, “WOW, there were so many natural disasters this year”.

The storms are getting stronger. The fires are burning longer. The temperatures are getting both higher and lower. Flooding, earthquakes, monsoons, landslides, drought – the planet is sending clear signs that it’s not happy with us.

We have to do better. All of us.

12. Sometimes, NOT leaving your hotel is a good thing.

The Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls is a destination all on its own. During our visit to Ontario last summer, we decided to spend a few days at the resort. We didn’t leave the property once. There was no reason to. We had everything we needed inside the resort.

Picture this – your hotel has a massive water park and wave pool INSIDE the actual hotel. It’s incredible. You don’t need to walk outside. You literally walk down the hall from your room, go down a flight of stairs and voila – you’re inside a 100,000 square foot water park.

The photo below was captured from the second floor inside the hotel. It’s quite the place.

Related – Our experience at the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls

13. South Florida is open for business.

I visited Fort Lauderdale 10 days after the devastating Hurricane Irma hit Florida and several Caribbean Islands in early September. I was tempted to cancel my trip, for obvious reasons, but reports said that power and water was restored and it was safe to visit. It’s not unreasonable to avoid destinations that have been the victim of a natural disaster.

I’m happy to report that Fort Lauderdale is open for business.

The above photo was taken from my hotel room at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort. As you can see, the community bounced back quickly. Most of the beaches are back to normal and businesses are open and ready to serve you.

I was speaking to a taxi driver on the drive from the airport to the hotel. He was very worried about the impact of the hurricane on the local economy. Fort Lauderdale (and most of South Florida) is driven by the tourist dollar, so it’s vital that the tourists return this winter season.

Related – 22 Beaches to Take Your Mind Off Winter

14. Revisit the places that shaped who you are today.

There are few places in this world that we will revisit again and again. Victoria BC is one of them.

We love the city’s old town character and laid back vibe. Every time we drive off the ferry at Swartz Bay we feel a sense of calm wash over us. Victoria is a relatively big city, but it doesn’t feel or act that way.

Victoria is the place where we first met. It’s where our family story began, so we felt it was important to retrace our steps and introduce our boys to the places we used to frequent. We visited in October over the Thanksgiving weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving), which was fitting, given the purpose of the trip.

That trip to Victoria reminded us how important it is to revisit the places that shape who you are today. It puts life into perspective and allows you to clearly see how far you’ve come.

Related – Where it all began. Revisiting Victoria with our boys

15. Catching dinosaurs is a really cool experience.

Last summer, I went sturgeon fishing for the first time. I knew very little about sturgeon fishing prior this excursion up the Fraser River in Chilliwack, British Columbia. I had only been fishing a handful of times, but I had seen a few photos of these giant sea creatures online (like this one).

If a catfish, crocodile and reef shark mated, the outcome would look something like a white sturgeon. They are not cute and cuddly. They look like underwater dinosaurs! Watch the video here.

We spent about 6 hours on the river and caught 3 sturgeon that day. I would have been happy with just one, so I’d say this fishing excursion as a huge success.

Related – Sturgeon Fishing on the Fraser River in Chilliwack

16. It’s okay to visit Cancun in June.

Most people avoid traveling to the Caribbean in the summer months, which is considered the off season. It’s much more humid that time of year and the chance of rain is high. I learned that visiting in June is actually not a bad time to visit Cancun – is there really a bad time to visit Cancun?

It rained every day during my visit, but not for long. It lasted about 15 to 30 minutes and then it was done. I didn’t mind though. I actually like a little rain. It helps wash away some of the intense mid-day humidity.

Related – Photos of the Iberostar Cancun Resort in Mexico

What about you? What did travel teach you in 2017?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Read next – The first sunrise of 2018 was a memorable one!

  16 Things travel taught us in 2017 is a post from: Traveling Canucks

Related posts:

25 Awesome Day Trips from Vancouver, BC

Our experience at the Lions Dive & Beach Resort, Curacao

First impressions and observations from our trip to Aruba

Our experience at the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Canada

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, William Clayton (Arrow) Additional Tags: Fluff and Humor, Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon Series: Part 6 of Hiatus 2017, Part 2 of Not All Dreams Are Nightmares verse Summary:

William sends this speech to the wrong printer and Thea has to help him.

Olicity Hiatus Fic-a-thon week 19: Sent to the Wrong Printer

@thebookjumper

[wordsikeephiddenfrommyself]

June 19 - Day 17

I woke up, took my time getting ready and headed up to work stopping at Starbucks along the way...got there around 10:30. My desk was back in my office, but so were some things that didn't belong, so I moved them out, found my rug, my printer cart, and got them and my desk back into place. Only took me about 30 minutes. I couldn't get my filing cabinet because it's obviously too heavy, even for the dolly we have, which is tiny. Started typing an email to my friend who is writing the drum book, but then I stared at it for what seemed like hours, proofing and editing it, making sure that what I sent was clear and concise, and hoping how I responded wasn't too demanding - because he asked me what my time table to get the finished product was. How reluctant I was to send it, fearing that I said something wrong, reminded me of the first few messages I sent you. That very first thing, I think I had typed up for a couple of days before I sent it. That's kinda how it was before we switched mediums, I was always terrified to say something stupid, so I'd just stare at it wondering what I should say differently. Before I finally sent it, my sister called and we talked for about 45 minutes, and then the head director came running in to get my attention and tell me to check my car. The old, large (oak?) tree outside had split at the base of the trunk, and half of it had fallen into the parking area shattering one vehicle's windshield, and landing on the hood of another. Thankfully mine was ok (I was in the new one), I had parked far enough away that it missed by about 6 ft. I had left my sister on the phone, and she was actually still there when I came back, so we talked for a bit longer then she had to head back to work (she had been on her lunch break). I finally sent the email, then typed up another to one of the guys helping me next week, and did the same...typed it, proofed and edited, then stated for a while wondering if everything made sense. I finally sent it a little after 4, grabbed my stuff, and headed home. I stopped at Whataburger on the way, so you'd have been proud of me for that. I hadn't been there since the time when you suggested I was having withdrawals from not going and "prescribed" it for me as my "doctor". 😂 I got the Monterrey Melt of course, and a cinnamon roll, since I got it free as a reward for using the app. I got home, ate, and started reading Goblet of Fire again, getting through around 100 pages or so. They're finally back at Hogwarts and the Tri-Wizard Tournament has been announced. So that's what I'm doing tomorrow...reading it some more and writing some new exercises for next week. I miss you.