#a​nd after a summer of not getting to choose what I eat I NEED to have a week of food I always like and never fuck up at

[jorvikzelda]

almost two weeks until I go back home to MY OWN apartment but I’m already planning my first week of meals (what do you mean it’s “to cope with the fear I will yet again become a complete and total mess who can’t manage living on my own”). cannot wait to make myself some sushi… of the tofu kind even..

[cozy-the-overlord]

Dances and Daggers

Summary:   The Summer Festival is upon Asgard, as is the tradition of the dagger ceremony, where each unmarried gentleman chooses a lady to bestow with the honor of carrying his dagger for the night. As Prince Thor’s betrothed, Teki’s only goal is to accept his dagger with grace and hope that her violent stepfather doesn’t find fault with her in the process. But Prince Thor is unpredictable, and when he ignores his engagement on a whim Teki finds herself in a desperate situation. Luckily, Thor isn’t the only prince in Asgard…

Pairing: Loki x Original Female Character

Chapter 2: The Piano

Previous Chapter  |  Next Chapter

Word Count: 3,715

Chapter Summary:  In the wake of the Summer Festival, Teki gets a summons to the Queen's chambers.

A/N:  Here it is! Like I said yesterday, I’m going to be posting a chapter a week every Tuesday. I’m really excited for this story and I hope you all enjoy it! 

Thanks for reading! :)

TW: mentions of child abuse

Tags: @lucywrites02

Read it on Ao3!

The Great Hall was roaring.

The last night of the summer festival always called for feasting and revelries, singing and shouting, shattering glasses and toasting from tabletops, and the people of Odin’s palace were only too happy to comply. Frantic servants navigated through the chaos, pressing overflowing goblets into outstretched palms. The drunken celebration consumed the room, the one time a year every noble allowed themselves to act like peasants.

Well, almost everyone.

“What a filthy display,” grumbled Osvald, glaring at a couple kissing passionately, the woman sitting in the man’s lap. He chucked another goblet over his shoulder. “If I wanted to watch sluts tonight, I would’ve gone to the whorehouse.”

Teki didn’t say anything. She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, balancing stiffly on the edge of the bench on the other side of the table. Any other year, her stepfather would be happily participating in the debauchery engulfing the room. She knew that he was only spitting poison tonight because of what happened two weeks ago, on the first night of the festival. On their way back to their rooms, Osvald had tripped at the top of the staircase and hurt his back, cursing and spitting and moaning about how he had been pushed. He had refused to go to the healers.

“What do want me to tell them?” he snapped at her mother when she broached the subject. “That I can’t walk down a flight of stairs?” With that, he hobbled off, insisting that he was fine.

Two weeks later, he still was hunched over in pain.

It gave the family an odd atmosphere. On one hand, Osvald’s frequent foul moods had turned into a perpetual foul mood, and Teki was frequently finding herself on the receiving end of his tongue-lashings for merely existing. On the other hand, they were only tongue-lashings. She had spent enough time with an injured back to understand that her stepfather was hurting too much to be bothered to hurt her, and that brought on a tentative sort of peace.

Brant tugged at her sleeve. “Teki,” he whispered. “Can you cut my food?”

She smiled. “Sure. But first—” she scanned the table for something with writing on it, settling on the nametags marking their seats, “Can you tell me what this says?”

Brant squinted at his name, mouthing out the sounds in silence. Teki waited patiently. She had made it her goal this summer to teach her little brother to read—honestly, he should have already been assigned a tutor a year ago, but since he was so shy around others, her mother had decided to wait. She had laughed when Teki had explained her intentions, but Brant was smarter than his parents often gave him credit for.

His eyes lit up. “That’s me!” he cried out. “Brant Osvaldson!”

“Right!” she grinned. “Good job!” Teki reached over with her knife and fork to chop his meat into smaller bites. Beaming, Brant turned towards the partiers. He turned back around rather quickly.

“Teki!” he hissed, pulling at her sleeve again. “Teki, he’s looking at you!”

“What?” Teki twisted around to see what her brother was talking about, following his gaze to the raised platform where the royal family and their close friends were eating. She locked eyes with the dark-haired prince for only a second before Loki whipped his head back towards his mother.

Teki turned back to her table quickly as well, cheeks burning. She hadn’t spoken with Loki since he gave her his dagger on the first night of the festival. That was likely due to action taken by both sets of parents, who sought to cover up the embarrassment of the Crown Prince giving his dagger to the wrong girl by making certain Thor danced with Teki multiple times every night since. It was … awkward. While Prince Thor was always perfectly polite, it was painfully obvious that there were other activities he’d rather be doing than dancing with a girl several years his junior, whose head barely came up to his shoulders.

She had wanted to spend more time with Loki, but that was awkward too. Teki was supposed to be marrying Thor, as her parents made a point of reminding her. She needed to be spending time with him, not his inconsequential little brother. So, Teki played the model daughter, model princess, model queen-in-training and danced only with those her mother told her to.

But she couldn’t forget how nice Loki had been. How he had sat with her when she cried, healed her rib, gave her his dagger—she still had his dagger, stuffed under her mattress. Usually, the whole “dagger-holding” ceremony was just that: a ceremony that ended with the night. But when Teki tried to return his blade, Loki wouldn’t have it.

“You should keep it,” he said. “To remember the night. If you want, that is. I have plenty.”

Teki’s instinct had been to refuse, to insist that it was his and that he needed to take it back, but something caused her to bite her tongue.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She was relatively certain he knew she wasn’t just talking about the dagger.

Osvald was sure to lose his temper at her if he caught her sneaking weapons into his rooms, so she was careful to keep it hidden. It was rather stupid, the more she thought about it (why would she ever need a dagger? What would she supposed to do with it?) but there was also a strange kind of thrill that would come over her when she took it out its sheath and admired her reflection in the pointed blade.

Brant was back to tugging at her sleeve. “He’s looking at you again,” he whispered. “Why does he keep looking at you?”

“He’s not looking at me,” she said, forcing a smile as she poked him in his tummy. “He’s looking at you, because you’re not eating your food, even after I cut it all nicely for you! You didn’t even say thank you!”

He giggled and pulled his plate closer to him. “Thank you, Teki.”

“You’re welcome.” Teki watched him shovel food into his mouth, trying to fight the urge to look over her shoulder again. The temptation soon became too much, and she allowed herself one quick peak.

Brant was right. Loki was looking at her again.

Teki turned back to the table, keeping her features completely neutral to hide the strange warmth that seemed to be glowing in her chest.

…

Teki stood stiffly in the middle of the Queen’s sitting room, picking at the sash on her dress with nervous fingers. The servant who had led her in had told her to make herself comfortable while she waited, but she was far too tense to even consider sitting down.

The Queen had sent word to her mother that morning that she wished to see Teki in her quarters, but she hadn’t given any explanation as to why. Of course, her mother wasn’t concerned with an explanation. She spent the morning fussing over what dress Teki was to wear, how she should fix her hair, whether or not she should put on jewelry (it was decided she shouldn’t, as her mother feared giving the appearance of putting on airs before the Queen). For most of the morning, Teki had been playing the role of a mannequin as her mother draped different fabric across her shoulders, hoping that her stillness could hide the churning in her stomach.

The Queen had never asked to see her before. They had spoken many times at balls and feasts, but Teki had never been singled out for a private audience. She told herself it made sense—after all, she was of age now, perhaps the Queen simply wanted to get to know her future daughter-in-law—but what if it was something else? What if she had done something wrong? What if the Queen was angry at her? What if (and this was the “what if” making her feel as if she was about to vomit) Loki had told her about Osvald?

Teki swallowed, pulling harder at her sash. She hadn’t outright told him about her stepfather, but she was clear after that night that he knew what was going on. He had offered to tell his mother for her, but she had refused. Doing such would only result in scandal for her family, and if Osvald thought she was spreading rumors about him … all the back pain in the world wouldn’t stop him.

She tried to push the thoughts away. Loki wouldn’t have told. He wouldn’t have! She had specifically asked him not to. What kind of prince would he be if he couldn’t keep his word?

But as time went on, with Queen Frigga still not entering the room, Teki’s anxiety began to be replaced with impatience. What was going on? How much longer would she have to wait? She found herself scanning the room for the first time since she walked in.

It was a lovely sitting room, although not quite as extravagant as she would have thought from a Queen’s quarters. The walls were of simple wooden paneling, the furniture matching with blue and golden accents. Sapphire curtains opened into a gold-plated balcony overlooking the palace courtyard. And in the corner of the room… Teki’s breath caught in her throat.

It was a piano. A beautiful, polished, mahogany piano. She found herself walking towards it without making the decision to move. It had been so long since Teki had last seen a piano. Music had been the first thing her mother purged from the household upon her father’s departure. She had taken all Teki’s sheet music away that first day and sold off the piano by the end of the week. While Teki was never directly banned from playing music, there was an unaddressed chill in the air whenever she brought the topic up. And so, after a while, she had stopped bringing it up.

Her fingertips grazed the keyboard cover, aching to lift it so they could stroke the ivory keys. She couldn’t, of course—what would the Queen say if she found her messing with her piano without permission?— but she longed to play. She missed the thrill of dancing across the keys, that feeling when you had the instrument singing for you perfectly in tune, so much going on at once but knowing that you were perfectly in control. Teki sighed, still unable to tear her eyes from the piano. Oh, it was so tempting…

She jumped out of her skin when the door opened.

“Mother?” Prince Loki called. “Father wishes to speak with you. He—” He stopped abruptly when his gaze landed on Teki.

Her eyes dropped to the floor, sinking into a curtsey out of habit. “Prince Loki,” she murmured. For some reason, her cheeks were burning.

Her curtsey seemed to spur Loki to action; he bowed politely. “Lady Teki,” he said. “Forgive me, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

He remembered my nickname!

“No worries, my prince,” she replied, looking up again. He was smiling, albeit a bit awkwardly. “I was just waiting for Queen Frigga. She—she asked to see me this morning.”

Loki nodded. “Ah. I see.” They stood there for a few moments, glancing around the room as if searching for something to break the silence. Teki shifted uncomfortably. Say something! she screamed at herself, but it seemed her tongue had turned to lead.

Finally, his gaze landed at the instrument by her side. “Oh, do you play piano?” he asked.

“Oh-uh- I did. Or I used to,” she stuttered, shifting again. “I—haven’t, in a while.”

“My mother tried to teach my brother and me. Neither of us were very good,” he grinned. “I did better than Thor, at least, but that’s not saying much.”

Teki smiled. “I’m sure you don’t give yourself enough credit, my prince.”

“I’m sure you’re just trying to be nice. I was terrible,” Loki laughed, shaking his head. “The only piece I actually learned was this silly little duet I used to play with my mother, and even then I could only do the easy part.”

That sounded familiar. How many songs had she learned by playing alongside her father? Teki’s chest expanded with warmth.

“What duet?” she asked.

“Here, I’ll show you.” He sauntered over to the piano and rolled up the keyboard cover as if it was nothing, as if he was completely unaware of how Teki had been agonizing over that very thing minutes before he walked in. She eyed the Queen’s bedroom door. Would Frigga be upset if she found them disturbing her piano? But if Loki did it so easily, then surely it was allowed, right?

Her anxious line of thought was cut off abruptly as the prince began playing a simple melody with one hand, a string of eight repeated notes that she recognized immediately.

“Wait, I know that!” she cried. “That’s Elf Song!”

He nodded. “Yes, Elf Song. That’s what it was called. I’d play this, and my mother would do the hard part.”

Teki choked on her own laughter. Oh, this was ridiculous. “What do you mean, ‘hard part’?” she giggled. “The other part is just chords! It’s easy!”

Loki laughed too, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “I told you, I’m bad!”

“But it’s so easy—here, I’ll show you.” She sat down next to him on the piano seat without thinking about it, the notes just flowing from her fingertips. Oh, she had missed this, feeling her hands on the keys. It was over far too soon.

“See, that’s hard!” Loki protested. “You’re using both hands! That makes it hard!”

“That’s how you play piano!” Teki cried in amused exasperation. “How can you play piano with only one hand?”

“Like this!” He returned to his chopstick melody. This time, Teki was certain he was making a point of being as stiff as possible. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to control her giggles.

“Here, you do that, I’ll do the chords.” She began playing alongside him. It was terribly disjointed—Loki was completely off tempo and finished way before he was supposed to, but by the time she caught up to him they were both laughing hysterically.

“You’re the worst duet partner I’ve ever had,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“But I’ll bet I’m the most entertaining,” he smirked.

“Sure, I’ll give you that.” Teki returned the smile. It was nice, just sitting here and laughing about something stupid. Relaxing, almost. For once, she realized suddenly, she didn’t feel nervous about anything.

“You should play a real song,” Loki said, motioning towards the keyboard. “If Elf Song is so beneath you, then let’s see what a true pianist can do.”

Teki hesitated. Fooling around with what was essentially a child’s exercise was one thing, playing an actual piece in front of someone was another. She wasn’t even certain she could remember any of the songs she once had memorized all the way through. She must have taken too long to respond, because Loki was quick to backtrack.

“Or not, if you don’t want to,” he said hurriedly. “I was only jesting, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, that’s fine.” There was something in the way he was looking at her, the pure apologetic sincerity, that made her determined to perform something. “It’s—it’s been a while, since I played, so I—I’m probably rusty, but, uh, here—”

It was funny, because she didn’t remember making the decision to play one of her father’s pieces. At first, she didn’t even realize that she was playing one of her father’s pieces. It just… happened. He had called it Aster Breeze—she remembered when he was writing it, ages ago when she still had to sit on his lap to see the keys.

“Do you hear that, Teki?” he’d ask as he played a new sequence of notes. “That’s the wind in the tree branches. Can you hear the wind?”

All Teki ever could hear was the piano, but if Daddy said there was wind, then there was wind. She nodded vigorously. He laughed as he continued playing.

Now, at the Queen’s piano, the notes flowed through her as if she had never stopped playing them. She still couldn’t hear the wind, but she felt it, tugging her soul forward and enveloping her in the music. It was an exhilaration she had forgotten she missed—by the time she reached the end of the piece, Teki was out of breath and grinning ear-to-ear.  

She turned to Loki, who was watching her with wide eyes. “That was rusty?” he cried incredulously.

Teki burned. “Well—I—”

“That was absolutely fantastic!” he insisted, breaking into applause. “How can you play all that from memory?”

“I—I don’t know,” she stammered. “I-my father was a court musician, so maybe I got it from him?”

“Well, it was brilliant.” Loki’s tone had a definitive air to it as he nodded. “You should play more often.”

Teki’s heart, which had been soaring high above the trees, crashed back into reality. “Oh—” she mumbled. “I—I can’t—”

“I didn’t know you played, Tekla.” Teki jumped at the regal voice, spinning around so quickly that she nearly tumbled over. Frigga stood in the doorway, her golden curls pulled back behind her head, hands clasped and smile wide.

Heart pounding, Teki sank into a curtsey. “Your Majesty.”

Loki was significantly more amused. “Mother,” he grinned, merely standing in greeting.

“Rise, child, there’s no need for formalities here,” Frigga laughed, moving to sit on the couch and motioning for Teki to join her. “After all, we are to be family sooner than later.” Slowly, Teki followed her on shaking legs.

“Mother,” Loki interjected, voice authoritative and professional. “Father’s finalizing the plans for the Alfheim trip. He wanted to know if you wished to check the dates.”

“Yes, I will,” she affirmed. “I’ll look at those as soon as Lady Tekla and I have finished here.”

Loki nodded. “I’ll tell him to wait to send them in. Mother. Lady Tekla.” With an exaggerated bow and a slight smirk as her official name left his lips, he made to leave. Teki flushed, biting her lip to hold back the giggle. Loki seemed to have a knack for making her smile when she was stressed.

Frigga turned back to her. “Please forgive me for making you wait so long. I was working out the logistics of our upcoming trip and lost track of time.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” Teki said, far too quickly. “Your Majesty.”

Frigga laughed, a melodic tinkle. “Yes, I could tell. It sounded as if the two of you were enjoying yourself.”

Teki’s stomach turned to ice. “Oh, forgive me, Your Majesty,” she stumbled. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Relax, darling, I’m not angry,” Frigga soothed gently, rubbing her shoulder. “I’m glad that someone was appreciating the piano. I’m afraid I don’t give it as much attention as I’d like.” She smiled encouragingly. “And you played so beautifully—how could I be angry? I can’t say I recognize that piece, though.”

Teki forced herself to swallow. “My father wrote it, Your Majesty,” she whispered. “I don’t really think anyone else would recognize it.”

“Your father must be quite talented, then.”

It occurred to Teki that the Queen probably thought she was talking about Osvald, and her heart sank even deeper than it was before. Still, she didn’t bother to correct her.

“I’m surprised Áslaug never mentioned your gift for music,” Frigga continued on, unaware of Teki’s discomfort. “She’s always so eager to sing your praises.”

Teki cringed. The mental picture of her mother obnoxiously bragging about her to the Queen was horrifically easy to conjure.

“Mama—my mother doesn’t like music very much,” she said softly. “I doubt she’d talk about it.”

“Really?” Frigga frowned. “Well, I adore music. Perhaps you could come and play for me every so often?”

“I—” Teki stuttered. The Queen wanted her to play for her? There was something frightening about that thought, but at the same time, something deeply exciting. “If you’d like me to, Your Majesty. I’d be honored.”

“I’d be honored to listen to you,” she beamed. “But now to the matter at hand.” Teki tensed again. “The Summer Festival made me realize that we’ve done a horrible job of including you in our family.”

Norns, she had to have been talking about the dagger ceremony, wasn’t she? That’s what this had to be about. Her long-forgotten nausea from earlier came racing back all at once.

“I’m sorry about that, Your Majesty,” she whispered. “With Thor, and the dagger—”

“No.” Frigga cut her off sternly. “That was not your fault in the least bit, Tekla. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. It’s we who owe an apology to you.”

Teki frowned. “Thor already apologized, Your Majesty.” It had been an awkward, stilted apology, on the dance floor the night after the dagger ceremony, but it was an apology nonetheless, and more than Teki had expected.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “But I think it’s time we went beyond words. Asgard should learn to see you as its future Queen, just as it sees Thor as its future King.”

“But…” Teki was so confused. “What—how would that happen?”

Frigga smiled. “I think it’s time you began appearing as a part of the royal family. Taking your meals with us, traveling with us, sitting with us, and so forth. I think it would also help you and Thor become better acquainted with each other if you started spending more time together.” She studied her seriously. “Is this something you would be ready for, Tekla?”

Teki’s head was spinning. Becoming a part of the royal family—it was something she had always known to be prepared for, but that had still only lingered in the distance future. Everything was happening too fast. She wasn’t ready for it at all.

But her mother had trained her well. With what she hoped was a glowing smile, she looked straight into the Queen’s cobalt eyes. “I’d be honored, Your Majesty.”

[stuonsongs]

My Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time - 2006 Edition

2021 Editor’s Note: I was looking through some old files and found this thing that I wrote sometime in the summer of 2006 at age 22. For all I know, it could’ve been 15 years to the day! Looking back, I’m not sure how many of these songs would still make my top 10. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of these tunes, but I’m sure you know how it goes - You get older, you get exposed to more things, and your idea of good music expands. Anyway, I thought it might be nice to share with anyone who still uses this site. I present it in its original format without edits to my writing. I ended up writing full posts in this blog about some of these songs if you go through the archive. 

Stu’s Top 10 Favorite Songs…Ever

Let’s start with some honorable mentions. These were so close, and I thought about it for so long, but they had to be left off.

Honorable Mentions

All Summer Long – The Beach Boys

All Summer Long. 1964. Capitol

This song has been described so many times as being “the perfect summer song.” When you listen to it, you can’t help but smile from the opening marimba intro, all the way through. It just screams “summer” and it hurt me to leave The Beach Boys off my top 10.

Bleed American – Jimmy Eat World

Bleed American. 2001. Grand Royal

So full of energy, so rocking, and so what would’ve been the most recent song on my list. I wanted to keep it in the top 10 just so I could have a song from the ‘00s, but it wasn’t meant to be. When the chorus kicks in, I can’t help but headbang.

Marie – Randy Newman

Good Old Boys. 1974. Reprise

Randy has said that a lot of young composers pick “Marie” as their favorite Newman song, and I can see why. The idea of a guy having to be drunk to tell his wife that he loves her is pretty funny, and throughout the whole song it’s just the beautiful melody with tons of strings, all to a tune about a guy ripping on himself as he comes home drunk to his wife.

Does He Love You? – Rilo Kiley

More Adventurous. 2004. Brute/Beaute

I guess this is newer than Bleed American, so it would’ve worked too. This is another more recent song that it killed me to leave off the list. The outro is an arrangement of the main tune with a different chord progression performed by a string quartet. Very beautiful. Also when Jenny Lewis screams “Your husband will never leave you, he will never leave you for me,” I get chills every time.

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

So here it is. After a long day’s work, I’m finally finished. It actually turned out much different than I was thinking when I first started. The number one wasn’t really even in my top five when I started, but I slowly realized I loved it so much. I also left Ben Folds (Five) off this list completely, and I don’t know, I just feel the whole catalogue of Ben is so solid, none of the songs stick out to me that much. But anyways, here it is! After the break of course…

Stu’s Top 10

10.

(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave – Martha and the Vandellas

Heat Wave. 1963. Motown.

This one beat out “Bleed American” just barely. The reason being that somehow, despite being nearly 40 years older than Bleed American, it still has so much energy that it kills. Dan Bukvich once told our Jazz Arranging class that you can boil all the oldies you hear on the radio down to three categories: 1) Great Song. 2) Great Performance. 3) Great Arrangement. This song is one of the great performances. The handclaps throughout, combined with the driving baritone sax behind everything and constant snare drum action will keep anybody with blood running through their veins dancing all night long.

9.

Bodhisattva – Steely Dan

Countdown to Ecstasy. 1973. MCA

This song is my Freebird. It’s just a basic blues progression song at its core with some minor changes at the end of the form. The real kicker that drives this song home is the three minute guitar solo in the middle that isn’t nearly as rocking as Freebird, but it is highly proficient and takes me to places that just make me want to play the song over and over again. I have no idea what this song is about, probably Buddhism, but hey, this once again proves that lyrics rarely matter and the music itself is the core.

8.

Zanzibar – Billy Joel

52nd Street. 1978. Columbia

This song reminds me of long car rides on vacations down the west coast with my parents growing up. They used to play a tape of 52nd Street, or at least their favorite selections, constantly on these trips. I didn’t hear this song again until early in my senior year in college and remembered why I loved it so much. The song has a heavy jazz influence, displayed in the breakdown where Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard does a solo. The best part of this song though is at the end of the 4th line of each verse, Billy does this “Woah oh oh!” thing that just makes me want to sing every time. It was between this and “Miami 2017 (Lights Go Out On Broadway)” which is also a great song, but the “Woah oh oh!” is too much for ol’ Stu boy.

7.

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) – Bruce Springsteen

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. 1973. Columbia

Early Bruce Springsteen records have something that very few other artists can ever pull off without sounding cheesy or forced. It has this undeniable sense of urgency, like the world will fall apart and life will crumble through your fingers if this one moment in time doesn’t work out the way Bruce describes it. There are so many early Springsteen songs that just set a scene of “We have to get out of this town right now girl before it kills us, no matter what any of our parents, friends, anybody has to say.” There’s a line that kinda sums it up: “Well hold on tight, stay up all night ‘cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong. By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms. I know a pretty little place in southern California down San Diego way. There’s a little café where they play guitars all night and all day. You can hear ‘em in the back room strummin’, so hold tight baby ‘cause don’t you know daddy’s comin’.”

6.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra

Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! 1956. Capitol

This song falls into the category of great arrangement. This Cole Porter classic tune was arranged for Sinatra by Nelson Riddle. The story goes that he was still copying down parts for the players while riding in the cab to the recording studio on the day of recording. After the players ran through it once with Frank, they stood up and applauded. The Baritone sax takes control here, outlining a Db6/9 chord throughout the intro. Of course, Frank’s vocal delivery is spot on and goes up and down in all the right places for the biggest emotion impact. It’s amazing how a song with no real chorus can be so good.

5.

A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke

Ain’t That Good News. 1964. RCA Victor

This song was not even going to be on this list, but then I ran across it while scouring my collection of music and remembered how good it was. Then I listened to it and was blown away by the level of detail that went into this arrangement. Sam’s vocals soar above the mind blowingly beautiful arrangement. The lyrics to this one actually add to the tune itself, speaking of wrongdoings in the world around him, and how social change is on its way in the form of the civil rights movement. The song flows with such ease out of Cooke that one might forget the weightiness of the content, but the song’s content is just so heavy that it’s impossible to deny it.

4.

Whatever – Oasis

Whatever EP. 1994. Creation

This song was released as a Christmas present to the U.K. from the Gallagher brothers and company. It never appeared on any full album, only being released as a single, and amazingly, it blows away anything else they’ve ever done. Think “All You Need Is Love,” but with tons of rocking energy and a snide, nonchalant attitude. The chorus speaks, “I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I choose and I’ll sing the blues if I want. I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I like, if it’s wrong or right, it’s alright.” Not exactly poetry, and the song isn’t exactly breaking any new ground either, but the song is absolutely perfect in every way, and it was going to be my #1, but perhaps the only reason it’s not at number one is because I’ve played this song so many times that at the moment, these next three are beating it, but who knows how I’ll feel in a few months. This song also pulls the same “outro performed by a string quartet” thing as “Does He Love You?” but even better. It’s so simple, but I can’t get enough of it.

3.

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Out of the Blue. 1977. Jet

This is obviously the best Beatles song that the Beatles never wrote. The staccato guitar during the verse combined with the strings present in just about every ELO song combine to make a force that is undeniably catchy and musically challenging at the same time. This is really what makes ELO so good. I didn’t discover this song till probably Nov. 2005, and it was one of the best days of my life. I didn’t want to include two songs by the same artist in my top 10, but if I did, I probably would’ve added “Turn To Stone” on this list too because it is almost as awesome as this one. It’s a shame that just like Billy Joel, most critics at the time hated ELO for being overly creative musically (they called it pretentiousness). These days we have acts that really are pretentious (see Radiohead), but everyone loves them, even critics. I’m not knocking all Radiohead, just most everything post OK Computer. Sorry, got a little sidetracked there.

2.

Only In Dreams – Weezer

Weezer. 1994. Geffen

This has been my favorite Weezer song since about a month into me picking up Weezer’s debut album back around early 2000. It has this ostinato (a repeated motif over and over again) in the bass throughout most of the whole song, never even really resolving to the Gb major chord (excluding chorus, which never really resolves) that it wants to until the end of a 3 minute contrapuntal guitar duet when everything dies out except the bass which just retards on its own until it finally plays the single Gb we’ve all been waiting for. The song on the whole up until the guitar duet is pretty tame, but once those contrapuntal guitar lines start intertwining, my ears perk up every time. I can sing both lines at separate times upon request and when the drums finally kick back in fully at the climax of the song, I let out a sigh of relief or bang on my car wheel in exultant joy, whichever is more of an option at the time.

1.

All Is Forgiven – Jellyfish

Spilt Milk. 1993. Charisma

I always loved this song from the first time I heard it, but I didn’t realize how much I loved it until maybe April 2006. I found out about Jellyfish first semester of college in the Fall of ’02 and heard this song, and knew it was great. The constant tom-tom driven drums, the fuzzy, almost white noise distorted guitar, and the half time bass throughout. It was great. Then in April I put it on my mp3 player for the walk to school, and then I listened to it for about two weeks straight. Seriously. It runs into the next song entitled “Russian Hill” which is almost as good, but because it’s a separate song, I couldn’t include it on the list, but in my mind, they always run together and are basically one long 9 minute song. The ending just gets more and more white noise filled until you can barely take it anymore and then it just cuts off completely into the slow acoustic intro for Russian Hill. It’s perfect in every way. I think this would fall into the category of great song. And the way the song builds up right to the middle of the song and then cuts out completely except for some very VERY faint xylophone noodling, and then busts back in with some feedback directly into guitar solo. Man I love this song.

[conelly]

( luke hemmings, twenty-two, cismale, he/him ) did you see BYRON CONELLY walking down main street earlier?  you know who i’m talking about, they’re a DECKHAND.  everybody in town says that they’re SANGUINE & NONJUDGEMENTAL, but have a tendency to be IMPRESSIONABLE & VOLATILE too.  BYRON has been in town for ONE AND A BIT years. c'mon, they’re always requesting SWEET CAROLINE by NEIL DIAMOND at karaoke nights.  well, i’m sure you’ll see them soon! ( ooc: sunny, 22, she/her, est )

hi thanks for tuning in, SUNNY here to tell you all a lil bit about westmere’s very own new nd improved favorite loser below. sorry for this summary being all over the place, it’s kinda how my brain works heh which is kinda perfect bc byron will for SURE be all over the place too ( u can rly tell at a certain point i was like ok i give up + i’m posting mf ). let me know if u have any questions about ‘em and most importantly, lmk if you would like to plot a lil connect or sumn 😙

@westmerestarters​ 

FAMBAM + BACKGROUND

born 14 years after the elder conelly ( wanted brother connect !!! ) entered this word to two parents who didn’t seem to read the job description, it was clear that byron wasn’t planned. and down the line, he’d soon realize through the tumultuous household he was brought up in - perhaps never even wanted.

byron’s parents had one constant - and that was fighting. over anything, all the time. there just wasn’t any love between the two and they stayed together for whatever meaningless reasons until byron hit middle school. ( there might’ve been a super short lull in toxicity once byron was born, but it had to be short as his first memories are nothing shy of toxic. )  it was a messy separation ( they never paid the full legal fees for a full divorce ) - his father moving to the coast of nj & his mother moving to a smaller apartment nearby her own mother ( which, due to the negative relationship among his mother + grandmother, also called for more tension ). he’d often be dropped off @ his grandmother’s house for baby-sitting or when he was ‘ becoming too much to handle. ’ eventually his grandmother moved into his cousin’s house ( MONROE ) and although grateful he made a practically new brother, similar tendencies of feeling unwanted occurred when byron noticed their grandmother praising and coddling and favoriting monroe just a bit more.

( his mother was a struggling addict ( and had been her whole life ), but the loneliness, newfound pressures and whatever excuse she was able to name caused her drinking to spiral worse than byron remembered ( even at his young age ) before. )

( his father was rarely in his life, but when he was, he was THE coolest. always played good cop in any situation regarding his mother, despite choosing not to have an active role in byron’s life. byron looked up to him like no other. when he WAS around, he taught byron how to surf, skateboard, play sports, they’d play video games, they’d eat junk food - honestly anything that byron wanted to do. his dad was an adrenaline junkie and created the stepping stones for byron to be one too. he was a marine biologist & pretty successful at that. passionate,  intelligent, but seemingly finding his newfound life a lot better than his previous - which is why he never wanted byron to stay too long, the boy reminded him of her, of the past. )

( his older brother moved out of the house when byron was just a lil kid, they’re not very close and don’t have much in common ... or so it seems. he lives in nyc and they only talk here and there on holidays. he was never a huge part of his life, but it does bum him out to think what could’ve been / could be. )

TO GET THE GIST 

due to never receiving the attention he craved from his family members, he made up for it tenfold in school. he was always talking to everyone, loud, boisterous, gregarious, life of the party; he wanted people to like him and they did. he become a total people pleaser, molding himself to make sure everyone was content and stayed around. impressionable, adaptable. he felt less this way towards adults and had a bit of a rebellious phase, hanging with the wrong crowd & getting into things he probably wouldn’t do otherwise. old habits die hard and he still tries his best to make everyone crack a smile, to remember him - since he believes he won’t be remembered for much else.

after he just barely skated by in high school ( his grades were never as good as his cousin’s and never lived up to his father’s expectations ), byron felt a bit lost. a lot of people had plans, were heading off to college - but already under the assumption he couldn’t reach any expectation in that realm ( a lil self fulfilling prophecy am i right pals ), he stayed in town - caring for his mother who hardly had anything together, his uncle who got sick very quickly & passed, spending time with his grandmother, while he himself fell into a rut. most of his days meant he drove out towards his dad’s place ( dad hardly there now, out and about with his new family ), surfing, smoking, and grabbing some cash doing odd jobs any way he could. he lost any purpose he once had ( but yall would never know it bc who wants to be in someone’s life who’s a buzzkill ? all smiles, baby, all smiles. )

IN WESTMERE

when his cousin offered the opportunity to travel cross-country in his van, byron had nothing to lose. always adventurous in spirit, he immediately said yes - deciding to ignore that ‘obligation,’ that feeling to make sure they were a-ok that he felt towards his parents. he needed an out and this was it. 

after landing in the small connecticut town for the night, the two fell for it - especially since when they got there along the water, it was a summer night + everything landed into place. they decided to stay there a bit longer ... and that eventually turned into more than a year. still antsy to keep traveling and to move around, byron has been ready to head out ... but stays for a few reasons - and them all being people ( bc lbh the surf is not even on point here ok )

his current job is a deckhand ( on a bunch of boats, ppl prob hired him as word of mouth got around that he knew what he was doing ). prob got that knowledge from being by his dad’s on the water when younger ( he’s ... obsessed with the water ) ! and also he’s just a quick learner ok ( ps: if your charrie has a boat pls let’s make somethin happen )

TO KNOW [ headcanons + more ]

his fav karaoke song is sweet caroline bc he knows everyone will be able to sing nd party along. he does it for the ppl, ppl.

he never saw too many baby / kid pics of himself which was kind of a bummer bc he really only remembers negative times - somehow they overpowered ( i bet lil byron was cute as fuck too fml )

he’s super into drugs, hallucinogenics, honestly you name it. it started off w/ him being impressionable, then bored, and now he just enjoys it. despite his mother’s addiction running through his blood, he still continues to do his thang.  

longboards around town so watch your toes

uses 🤙🤙 all the time and not ironically 

has an existential crisis on the daily about purpose but keeps that to himself most times 

WANTED CONNECTIONS

someone pls give me a sugar mama idc how we plot it out they don’t have to hook up they can idk idc i just want someone giving him money or expensive things it can be so much fun ok ,, pool boy ? idk sign me up

pls if your muse has a boat, let him be the deckhand ok it will also be so fun and potentially angsty if he fucks something up

a fling 100% - even multiple ? idc listen he is currently sharing a tiny VAN with his COUSIN he needs a place - like an actual bed - to crash on at night

can he save someone who was potentially drowning pls??? he used to be a lifeguard, it can be a cool/fun thread to write out

omg off of that can he teach someone how to swim 

look if anyone is into marine bio, can they somehow know byron’s father ?? i feel like that could make room for a cool plot

also i have an older brother connect on the w/c’s page lmk lmk

give me a good influence that will somehow have him open up + tell him that it’s weird to be so sunshiny all the time. maybe someone who witnesses him at his worst + stays, ya know ??

a bad influence plot where y/c takes this impressionable young lad and puts him through the ringer tbh ( srrsly he’d do a lot for ppl, so ask him to do something illegal for them it’ll be fun )

party pals, smoking pals, on the water 24/7 pals, 

co-worker, other ppl that work on the water ( fishermen?? more deckhands?? captains??)

gimmie someone he accidentally bumped into while longboarding ( he’s a large human it might’ve done damage ok )

i want and need enemies ok i know he’s chill as fuck and wants everyone to like him but there’s always a way to find enemies >:o. anything angsty for REAL.

unrequited thing? where he led someone on?? i’m sure he does this constantly

don’t ruin the friendship thing omg plsssss always so fun

look i’m open for it ALL. every plot u have in mind so lay it on me

[faneliacosplay]

Top 10 of 2018

C2018 was a year is this nicest way I can sum it up. My precious fur-baby passed away after fighting a horrible illness and is in a happier place, my health went crazy (still is as of writing), and I finally broke free from an abusive toxic person who had been controlling me for a huge chunk of my life. Despite the bad things that happened, I want to focus on the good things of 2018. One of things I began doing in January of 2018 was at the end of every week, I would write down all of the good things that happened to me, be it sewing, watched a good movie, spending time with a friend, etc. So without further ado, here’s my Top 10 of 2018! (I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALREADY MARCH!!)

1. The Ancient Magus’ Bride

-      I’ve been a lifelong fan of Beauty and the Beast-like stories ever since I watched the classic Disney film. The manga kept popping up in my recommendations for the majority of 2017 and I remember seeing a poster at my local theater for a premiere showing of the first 3 episodes of the then-upcoming anime (I have since regretted not going to this showing). I finally caved and bought the first two volumes of the manga and literally went back to the store two days later and bought the next 2 volumes. I’ve always been a very picky person with my romance be it movie, novel, anime, manga, etc., but this quickly became one of my favorites with it’s excellent world-building, relationships, and don’t even get me started on how gorgeous the animation is! If you want an excellent Beauty & the Beast adaptation, you won’t be disappointed. (I am unashamed of crying happy tears in public while watching the final episode)

2. Satoshi Kon’s Filmography

-      My New Year’s resolution was to watch all of the late Satoshi Kon’s works, starting with his debut film Perfect Blue. I had wanted to watch this film for several years, and it did not disappoint. (I kept spamming for people to go and see it when it got a theatrical re-release in Fall 2018) Next was Kon’s final project Paprika, which I watched about 3 times in May and many times over 2018 and still notice something new every time I watch it. Finally, I watched *the* film that I have wanted to watch for many, many years (since 2004 to be exact): Millennium Actress. I was not prepared for how moving this film would be with its themes of the past vs. present, how an ordinary encounter can lead to something so much more, and lastly: love transcends time. If you could only watch one of Satoshi Kon’s works, please choose to watch Millennium Actress. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch Kon’s other two works, but I aim to in 2019 (along with reading his works)

3. Slayers

-      I watched some of Slayers back in middle school and in summer 2016, but never took off with it until in 2018. I knew I would like this funny series about the adventures of a fiery sorceress, dumb as a stump swordsman, optimistic hero-in-training, and an overly-serious chimera, but I had no idea it would become one of my top 10 favorite anime series! I haven’t laughed so much with an anime in a while, and I greatly appreciated it since my fur-baby passed away and this was one of the last anime we watched together. There’s just something about 90s fantasy anime that’s just so appealing. I will throw in that while I love the tv series, the films are worth watching too, with The Motion Picture being my favorite. If you need something to cheer you up, I highly recommend Slayers!

4. Venom

-      Confession: I did not have high hopes for this movie. I was the only one among my friends who was uninterested in this film whenever we would watch the trailers/promos/etc. Eventually after this movie came out, my friends and best friend convinced me to see it. My sociology buddy told me “This movie wasn’t marketed right! Go see it!!” and another told me “This is the best action rom-com of 2018.” The next day my family asked me if I wanted to see it and Bohemian Rhapsody (also an excellent film) and I said “Sure!” This film has since spawned never-ending jokes between me and my best friend. (I ended up making her a Venom scarf for Christmas!) If you’re trying to get someone to see this film, don’t show them the trailers depicting it as a dark, gritty, action thriller, show them the home video trailer depicting it as a rom-com because that’s exactly what it is. I still can’t believe that a movie about a human falling in love with a man-eating gooey alien is real.

5. The Shape of Water

-      “2017 will be remembered as the year men screwed up so badly, women started dating fish.”- Jimmy Kimmel, 2018 Oscars. I’m beginning to see a pattern for stories of humans falling in love with monsters. My mom and I wanted to see this film after the trailer dropped in summer 2017 and were disappointed when the film didn’t play here. However, sometime in February 2018, this film played in our town for one weekend, so we dashed to the theater. I don’t even know where to start with how beautiful this film is and since several people I know still haven’t watched it I’ll just state this: Please watch this film. It earned the 4 Oscars it won. (It earned all 10 it was nominated for!)

6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

-      I almost didn’t see this film. 2018 was a pretty hectic year for me and I didn’t really keep up with films/entertainment news, so I saw no trailers for this film (except for a really short tv ad). All I knew was what my best friend had said: “Brianna, let’s go see Spider-verse. In 3D.” (y’all, 2018 was the year of listening to my best friend) It was so nice not only to see a different Spider-Man, a diverse cast, a well-curated soundtrack, and a completely new style of animation that makes you feel as though you’re reading/watching a comic book??? Sign me up! I’m so happy this film won the Oscar!!

7. Macross Frontier Movies

-      I’ve fallen deep into the Macross hole in the past year or two and have no plans of crawling out. The 2008 series Macross Frontier was my first and favorite entry in the series so far. I knew that there were two recap/alternate retelling films made, so when I was free one day I watched them and I was really surprised that I enjoyed them more than the tv series!? I haven’t really mentioned this, but my big problem with the tv series of Frontier was it’s ending being not too good. I don’t want to ruin it since Macross (particularly made after 2001) is a bit unknown in the USA, but I will say that if you want to get into this franchise, start with the Frontier movies or with the iconic Macross: Do you remember love? film. The music is just as good as the tv series, same with the costumes, and the writing is much better! The performance of Northern Cross at the climax of The Wings of Goodbye was really moving. Not “Do you remember love?” moving, but pretty close.

8. Sailor Moon Theatrical Double-Feature

-      Everyone who knows me knows that I’ve loved Sailor Moon for pretty much all of my life (ever since the 3rd & 4th seasons aired on Toonami back in the day!) A holiday tradition for me was to watch the 2nd theatrical every Christmas Eve, unfortunately my two VHS tapes finally gave out in 2016. Thanks to Viz Media, this past summer saw theatrical re-releases of all 3 Sailor Moon films. Shockingly, my local theater was showing the films subbed so my mom and I bought our tickets right away. It was so surreal seeing these films that I grew up with on the big screen, and I know non-Sailor Moon fans won’t get this, but hearing/watching the whole “Moon Revenge” sequence in the theater was so intense. This part never got to me as a kid for some weird reason and I had no idea I was crying until my mom pointed it out at the end of the film. With the 2nd film, seeing Luna transform into a human was emotionally moving as always, just 10 times more since it was on the big screen with that nice surround sound system. That night when I got home, I didn’t get any sleep since I still couldn’t believe that this happened. The now 20+ years old Sailor Moon movies got released for the first time in USA theaters. This is an experience I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.

9. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc

-      I was so excited when a sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura was announced. Like Sailor Moon, I watched this series as the heavily-edited Cardcaptors on Toonami. When I got older and learned that there was more anime out there besides the ones I saw on TV, I went back and watched Cardcaptor Sakura to get the whole, magical story and even read the manga, which I believe is the greatest children’s manga ever made. I loved every single moment of the new series and felt as though I were watching another episode of the classic series. The only thing that felt different was that the animation is no longer hand-drawn. (it’s still good) When you reboot or make a sequel to a series be it tv, film, or book, sometimes it’ll miss the charm that made it so enjoyable in the first place. Clear Card thankfully still carries the charm its predecessor had.

10. Little Witch Academia

-      I had started this anime around holiday 2017 but didn’t finish it until early 2018. This was one of the most optimistic series I’d ever had the pleasure of watching. I don’t want to compare the two, but the inspirational message that Kiki’s Delivery Service gave me when I was 10, was the exact inspirational message you will find in Little Witch Academia. (and that I needed to hear as a 20-year-old) I was starting to get a bit depressed and losing confidence in myself with my science grades getting lower no matter what I tried, as well as other things in my personal life. After dropping Science, I had a long wait between classes, so I decided to start watching Little Witch Academia again. Seeing our protagonist Akko trying her best at flying a broom and failing was me with my science grades, but her determination to get her broom just a few centimeters off the ground was so inspiring to watch. After this I watched the other Studio Trigger works I had yet to see, and while they’re all good in their own way, none of them have left the imprint LWA left on me. Sometimes when I get frustrated or lack confidence in myself, I tell myself Shiny Chariot’s words of wisdom that motivated Akko throughout the series: “Never forget your beautiful dreams. Believing is your magic!!”

[haespoir]

honestly, i’d like to start this post off by saying thank you!!! never would i have thought that i would ever reach over 100 followers,,, so the fact that i’ve hit 1000 followers seems so unreal to me,, so thank you guys! for supporting my writing and dealing with my nonsensical rambling!! 

with that being said: in honour of reaching 1000 followers, i’ve decided to start a little series on my blog. i’ll be writing for five main groups: nct ( all units ), loona, twice, red velvet and the boyz. these are my favorite groups to write for though i’ve really only ever written publicly for nct. 

i’ve complied a list of 60 aus ( most are from this masterlist and i’ve just chosen the ones that i like ) and 20 songs so just pick one and send me a request! note: most things will be written in bulletpoint and this post will serve as a masterlist for everything! 

example requests: 

“competitive au #1 w doyoung?” 

“angst song #2 with sana?” 

if a prompt is taken, it’ll be bolded with the name of the idol next to it! i’ll also include who requested it uwu basically, it’s a first come, first serve type thing! you can also request more than once!

ok with that being said,,, have fun! 

songs

angst

01. [ younghoon | anon ] “love letter” jinsoul and kim lip 

02. “push and pull” kard

03. “rumor” kard 

04. “lady” exid

05. “see saw” gowon and chuu and kimlip 

06. “walkin’ in time” the boyz 

07. “hard to love” bol4 

08. “destiny” lovelyz 

09. “we were in love” t-ara and davichi 

10. “dont recall” kard 

fluff

01. “hi” lovelyz

02. [ donghyuck | anon ] “walk u home” nct dream 

03. [ heejin | anon ] “what is love” twice 

04. [ jaemin | anon ] “shine” pentagon 

05. “imagine” bol4

06. “nevermind” jeong sewoon 

07. “real man” the east light

08. [ doyoung ] “a girl like me” gugudan 

09. [ yuta | @jenofanclub ] “heart attack” chuu 

10. “the day of confessing my love” jo kwon 

aus

roommate aus

01. friend of a friend needs a place to stay before they get evicted

02. my roommate fell nd broke their arm in the shower,,, what do i do

03. [ yeri | @najaeminclub ] new roommate cooks for the first time and almost burns the house down

04. overheard you singing in the shower you sound angelic 

05. [ doyoung | anon ] your clothes ended up in my laundry and now im wearing your favorite tshirt 

enemies to lovers au 

01. you’re a jerk barista who purposely screws up my name when i order 

02. [ jihoon | @lovejihoonie ] you saw me crying and you weren’t supposed to,, why are u trying to hug me 

03. you come to the restaurant i work at and choose me as your server every time just to annoy me nd i can’t do anything or i’ll get fired

04. [ yuta ] look i know we haven’t said anything nice to each other for years and this is a bit sudden but can you hold my hand and pretend to be my partner for the next few minutes cause my ex is coming over and i can’t be on my own for this so lets just pretend we aren’t mortal enemies okay? omg, you’re saying nice things about me and your arms are around my waist and my heart is pounding in my chest and oh god no out of all the people i could crush on why you?

reincarnation aus

01. [ jaehyun | anon ] i meet and fall in love with you in every lifetime at the same age but your age is always different so it never works out and for the first time i’m meeting you when we’re the same age and i’m horrified that i might fuck this up

02. [ doyoung ] i skipped like four cycles of reincarnation and i know you’re pissed at me for leaving you all those lifetimes but it wasn’t my fault please please will you take me back

03. [ yukhei | anon ] i don’t know how to tell you this but the reason you didn’t see me in our last reincarnation cycle is because for some fucked up reason I was reincarnated as your dog

04. [ taeyong | @najaemini ] we keep reincarnating as people who speak different languages and it’s kind of pissing me off because i can never initially confirm if it’s you but at least i keep learning a bunch of cool new languages each lifetime

height difference aus ( specify who is the tol nd who is the smol pls !! ) 

01. [ jacob | anon ] you were trying to reach for a box of cereal and a whole shelf’s-worth of cereal boxes fell on you here let me help

02. [ jeno | anon ] we’re both baristas and sometimes i have trouble reaching for things and i show up to work one day to find a personalized stool with hearts and my name on it i hATE YOU 

03. we’re in art class tgt and i just opened a cupboard to find a tiny person (you) squished inside and you just looked at and said “shh i’m hiding” we’re on the bus and im really not trying to take up your space im sorry i just have rlly rlly long legs 

04. [ juyeon | @jenofanclub ] you’re afraid that you’ll lose me in big crowds so you always hold my hand but now you just hold my hand when there’s only, like, five people around and I’m getting vry suspicious

05. you’re super short and i’m sorry but it’s really really cute whenever you try to reach that book on the top shelf here lemme help you- oh no don’t be embarrassed, your face is all red and you’re even more adorable now i am going to die

competitive aus

01. [ jaemin ] we’re both ‘team leaders’ at a summer camp for little people and you may be hot but goddammit my collection of twelve-year-olds are going to beat yours into the dust

02. i used to be the best baker in the neighbourhood but then you showed up at Mrs Appleby’s 80th birthday with a stack of brownies which almost gave me an orgasm my honour is at stake and im going all out for the next event

03. [ renjun | @najaeminclub ] a mutual friend invited us to their laser tag party and we’re the last two alive on opposite teams and goddammit if im going down you’re going down with me

04. you’re going to be at the halloween party and you’ve won best costume for the past three years but this year i am wearing the best costume ever if you defeat me i will eat my - wait you actually look really cute when did you turn hot what the fuck um

05. [ donghyuck | anon ] we’re always making stupid bets like ‘bet you can’t drink this whole bottle of BBQ sauce’ but then you did and now you’re sick and i feel really bad here let me look after you

06. did you actually just blue shell me on our date you fucker

college aus 

01. [ momo | anon ] excuse me, I know we don’t have assigned seats in college, but I’ve been sitting in this one for eight weeks and it seems you’re in my spot

02. [ lucas | anon ] bless the spring semester stage combat class for practicing on the North Lawn, because watching my crush get sweaty and worked up while pretending to fight people really Does Things to me, okay

03. i was abroad last semester and forgot to fill out the housing form, but your old roommate dropped out so hi, hey, how’s it going, I guess we live together now

04. both of us turned up at the wrong room for this lecture but don’t know where its meant to be 

05. [ lucas | @najaemini ] we live in halls opposite each other and i keep seeing you changing through your window 

witch aus 

01. listen, i know im new at this and all, but you screeching at the top of your tiny frog lungs isn’t going to help anyone, is it????? don’t you dare croak at me in that tone

02. [ jeno | anon ] we’ve been friends for years, so are familiars are really good friends with each other too. nd recently, while we’ve been doing witchy stuff, i’ve noticed that our familiars are growing extremely close and being affectionate towards each other. that’s weird because like our familiars are supposed to represent our subconscious and that’s not how we feel about each other at all… right?

03. [ seulgi | anon ] i borrowed the broomstick you keep in your wardrobe, and while i was cleaning up some lint; it suddenly shOT UPWARDS AND SMASHED INTO THE CEILING WHILE I WAS STILL HOLDING IT AND IT WON’T STOP MOVING GET ME DOWN FROM HERE I SWEAR TO GOD.

ghost aus ( in which one person is a ghost ) 

01. the neighbours asked one time if I had any roommates and i said no and they just looked really confused because they can always hear me shouting or talking to someone. yea, my neighbours think I’m crazy now, so thanks for that.

02. we’ve been arguing for a solid hour about whether Amelia Earheart actually died when the plane supposedly crashed; i don’t care if you met her one time when you were in purgatory. that doesn’t make a difference!

03. my ghost is really temperamental so i sometimes just scream “FUCK OFF” at it really loudly. it quietens down after that.

04. i’ve become so used to all the weird shit that happens in my house that when i invited people over and you were just throwing books around in the hallway, i completely forgot that they aren’t used to it like i am and now they just ran out of the house screaming. 

05. [ johnny | anon ] you’re a ghost and you scared me so much that i died and i literally rose out of the floor two minutes later as a ghost, now we’re stuck together for eternity and now i’m gonna beat your ghost ass.

06. CAN YOU NOT POSSESS DOLLS PLEASE IT’S NOT FUNNY AND IT”S JUST A DICK MOVE AND SCARES THE HECK OUT OF ME EVERY TIME

you know them but you don’t know them aus 

01. my friend can’t stop talking about how they want to set me up with their other friend so we start texting each other and they’re hilarious but shy about meeting and ALSO there’s a cute bike delivery guy who brings my mail at work and winks at me whenever i sign for a package 

02. [ sana | @jenofanclub ] i’m obsessed with a food blogger who writes about cheap ways to be gourmet in your 20s and i flirt with them over comments but they never post pictures of their face and ALSO there’s a really cute grocery bagger at the store down the street who teases me and always asks to join me for dinner and i definitely want to say yes

03. [ jaehyun | @jaehyunclub ] there’s an overnight IT person at school who always answers the phone when i call about a problem with my computer and i totally have a crush on their voice and their exasperation and ALSO the bakery down the street is always running out of my fave scones and the adorable person behind the counter can’t hide their amusement and i think it’s super rude but also super cute 

04. [ lucas | @najaeminclub ] my boss is always telling me how perfect her son would be for me and she promises he’s coming to the next holiday party and don’t worry he’s heard all about me too and ALSO there’s this dude i slept with once a couple of months ago and sometimes he still sends me dick pics when i ask him to at 3 in the morning cause seriously dude’s got a good dick 

05. our kids are bitter rivals and the only time we ever meet is when we’re both called to the principal’s office and whatever maybe i think you’re kind of cute but your kid’s a monster and ALSO someone keeps buying the last everything bagel at my favorite coffee shop 2 minutes before i get there in the morning and has heard about my plight and has started leaving me bragging notes about it 

06. [ changmin | @lovejihoonie ] i hired a dog walking company and i’ve never met the person who comes to my apartment but they leave me really cute notes and they give my dog presents and i kind of love them because my dog does and ALSO one of the artists at this gallery opening is hella cute and i want them to paint me like one of their french girls

??? aus

01. [ jacob | @lovejihoonie ] im calling to cancel our date bc im actually in the er right now, sorry,,,, i mean,,, i guess u can come here,,,, bring me fries 

02. we’re both meant to be going on blind dates with other people but we sat down at the wrong table and got our hopes up

03. a scary-looking person who unintentionally makes kids cry and a daycare volunteer meet at a children-filled park

04. [ sunwoo | anon ] you’re infamous for being an asshole nd i had to sit next you in class. turns out you’re kinda nice one-on-one. 

05. i let you cheat with my answers on a test and then you got the highest grade possible nd now you owe me a HUGE favour.

06. i just got bowled over by your huge-as dog in the park nd now you’re profusely apologizing while trying to hold your dog off 

07. [ kun | anon ] i kind of naturally spoil people and like taking care of them, you’re always getting sick in class / feeling down in class nd omg i think the teacher ships us???

08. [ yuta | @najaemini​ ] you always like to make me embarrassed by leaning in too close or hitting on me, but i’m used to it now nd one day i decided to retaliate

09. [ ten | anon ] ok so when we were little i accidentally mentioned that i had a crush on you but i always thought you didn’t hear me because you just looked at me weird and never commented but now we’re in high school and omg you just introduced me as your boyfriend/girlfriend/datemate wtf we never discussed this!!!

10. [ donghyuck | anon ] why are you so clingy people will think we’re dating- i know we are but you’re the one who wants it to be secret you moron!

11. [ taeyong | @najaeminclub ] i understand that you’re my bodyguard but that was a freaking FRISBEE not a nuclear bomb jesus christ- hey why are you still on top of me and why have i not noticed how beautiful you are? 

12. you’re so perfect and i’m in love with you but i’ve never actually met you and you keep avoiding meeting up, so i called nev and max to help me figure out whether or not you’re catfishing me

13. [ irene | anon ] you had a party and i got really drunk and stole your toaster, so i showed up the next day to return it and you were really hungover so i made you breakfast (but i burnt all of it)

14. [ jungwoo | anon ] you have dimension-jumping powers and you’re mad that literally EVERY OTHER VERSION OF YOURSELF is dating ( insert idol ). then ur idol asks u out and is confused when u screams ‘FUCKING FINALLY, JACKASS!’

15. [ hyunjae | anon ] i suggested we play spin the bottle so i could kiss you, but now everyone else is kissing you except me :/

[robynbernard]

JPN DAY ONE: TOKYO

Almost to Home Base: 

My flight landed a few hours before Dave and Ryans as their flight was delayed a bit. I pulled the typical traveler move and took a nap on my bags in the side of the airport waiting for the guys to arrive. Once we met up, we were to navigate to our first Airbnb located in Ikebukuro.  Please Note: In June 2018 legalized home sharing and is part of an amendment to 1947’s Japanese Hotels and Inns Act. The law requires hosts to obtain a government registration number and meet various regulations.This is really important to watch out for when you look for places to stay. 

 It was supposed to take only about a hour by train, however the trains kept getting delayed. We ended up passing out on the train. Our room very large compared to most apartments I've stayed in before. I made sure to have our accommodations include at least 3 beds, shower, a good view, and laundry machine that proved to be extremely useful through out the trip. Specially in August where you will literally sweat through many clothes in the day. 

Breakfast: 

We started the day at 5am, I wanted to go to my favorite bread shop called Boul’ange which is located right outside of Shinjuku station east exit. Sometimes the exits can be quite confusing for people navigating through the train stations. I recommend looking at platform routes and a station map prior to you getting to it. That way you don’t get lost in an underground mall. We finally found the shop and I got a mixed berry pastry and some iced coffee. David went with the hot dog, Ryan choose the manly route and got the egg and bacon quiche. “Real men eat quiche” he says. Most definitely one of my top recommendations for breakfast on the east side of Tokyo. 

      A Quick history Lesson:

Bread first arrived in Japan in 1543, when a Portuguese ship washed ashore carrying with it Christian missionaries, goods, and guns.

The Japanese word パソ (Pa-n) came from the Portuguese word for bread pão. 

パソ is written in Katakana, an alphabet used for foreign words. Thus, even centuries later they still utilize the Portuguese word for bread. 

 Shinjuku Park:

One of my most favorite places in Tokyo for relaxation on a good weather day. Only 200 Yen (roughly $2) you gain entrance to the park. There are many main gates to choose from, But I recommend the Shinjuku main gate if you are coming from Shinjuku station. The best route I feel is walking on the right side towards past the children’s garden and the tea house,  towards the Kyugoryotei. You can almost always see artists around the park, taking photographs, painting and drawing in sketch books. I personally feel the best time to go is during cherry blossom season however, it will be busy. The summer was not as busy but still just as beautiful. I always make a stop by the English gardens as well, there is a series of trees lined up across a path on both sides of the garden, just like that of a fairy tale book. On the way out I would highly recommend a walk through the green house, there’s a waterfall and a pond with an abundant amount of species of plants. Any time of year I would believe Shinjuku garden to be absolutely beautiful and a must see if you are in the Tokyo area.

SushiMaru:

Shinjuku is known for some amazing sushi and ramen. We met up with my two friends from high school Rino and Haruna. They suggested a sushi place near the park we were at. A unique design as you walk in you turn left up the stairs and into a second floor seating area. The boys and I ordered a small sushi plate that costs roughly $15. Rino and Haruna ordered a mixed sushi bowl that was set over rice. As much as I love sushi back home in Michigan. It simply does not compare to the fish you can get in Japan. Each bite was so distinct of the type of fish, I absolutely loved the salmon the most. Paired with a hot green tea this was an amazing choice of eats. I feel in Japan you don’t need to eat as much because most food is truly pure, so you can gain enough nutrients from a smaller portion.

 Meiji Shrine:

The Charter Oath in Five Articles:

 Deliberate assemblies shall be widely established and all matters shall be decided by general discussion based on public spirit.

 All people, regardless of their respective status in society, shall unite their hearts and minds, and vigorously contribute to the development of the country.

 It shall be ensured that all people, officials, civilians or military as well as general public, may accomplish their personal calling and not loose their spirit for life.

 Out-dated and harmful practices shall BE BROKEN, and everything shall be based on universal principles.

 The nation’s core shall be vitalized by gathering knowledge from all over the world, while cherishing our beautiful culture and tradition centering the emperor.

 -       Proclaimed by Emperor Meiji

March 14th, 1868

I promised my self that during this trip I would find more. I’ve been to the Meiji Shrine now three times. This time there was a billboard posted at the entrance speaking of the 100th year anniversary of the shrine being built. They speak of the charter oath in five articles. In a way the world looks at Japan as extremely efficient and balanced in tradition with expanding to new technologies of the future. These articles help design the foundation that help to drive the future. My hope is that other areas of the world can catch up with the abilities of what an society can do.

Roppongi Hills:

After the Meiji Shrine we made our way to Roppongi hills, warning there is no direct JR train to this station but it only costs about $2.40 to get there by a Tokyo metro line. Roppongi hills kind of reminded me of Salt Lake City, it being a kind of combination of an uptown feel. Haruna showed us to Doraemon statues, a ton of little Doraemon hanging out in a display outside of a few buildings, each one slightly different than the other. We were about to take a photo and a wedding party (obviously intoxicated) came up and asked us in English to take a photo of us. One of their friends came into the photo with us and landed us one of the best awkward moments I’ve seen in a while. The boys went to a smoking area after that while Rino, Haruna and I chilled by the stairs talking about boys and girl things. Reminds me of back in high school days, so nostalgic.

We stopped by a shop that served sweets. We all ended up getting the BEST shaved ice cream I have ever had. Unfortunately I was unable to remember the name of the shop. I will most likely ask Haruna and Rino to take me back again one day. 

Mori Tower:

We then went to the Mori Tower, because of Haruna’s work we were able to go for free! You walk in and go straight into the elevator. All of a sudden you feel your ears start to pop, and the lights of the elevator changes color. You then notice the elevators floor number is going up extremely fast and your at above 50 floors. I had a moment of panic and then realized we had made it finally to the 52nd floor. There are a few different things you can do around this floor. A couple of restaurants, an art museum, city view, and sky view. We went to three of them starting with city view. For the first night, this was one of the most breath taking moments I’ve had in a while where you have to just take in the sight. You can see ALL of Tokyo: Shinjuku garden, Tokyo tower, Skytree, Everything. I would highly recommend coming to this spot for any age and time, We arrived just before sunset so, it wasn’t too busy. You then make your way to the sky view. Never in my life I would have ever thought I would be able to see the top of a skyscraper, let alone be on the roof at 55 stories high. We were able to see Fuji from here, and watch the sun as it began to set.

Mori Architecture Museum:

On the same floor of the city view there is a art museum as well. The Japanese are known for their beautiful architecture. The museum talks about how architecture is an art, starting with the material you use, borderless boundaries, structure, and how natural color of mI began to see traces of the design work talked about in the museum in every day architecture as we roam the city. It was most definitely an amazing exhibit to see and cost effective for a day trip.

Robot Restaurant:

I will say this is most definitely the most tourist like activity you can do in japan. Similar to that going to a Vegas show, the robot restaurant is filled with lights and entertainment. Located in Kabukicho the “red light” district of Shinjuku, it is a place where you will find it difficult to just go to one bar. See my previous entries for a break down of kabukicho. There is one recommendation I’ll make for the robot restaurant, drinking makes everything so extra. Highly suggested and it seems like they have lowered prices of drinks as well. The entry cost however cost quite a bit, however you can find discounted rates on Voyagin, Expedia, or Trip-advisor’s websites.  

[mysticscanlations]

That Summer Chapter 132 Translation!

Read the raws here: That Summer

SFX: Sizzle

SFX: Splash

White SFX: Ding—

SFX: Chop (x3)

YW: Let's eat.

YW: Get up.

YW: I heard that mackerel is good for brain illness.

-Beans and multi-grains block cancer cells from evolving, too.

YW: Mushrooms help your immunity.

YW: Here.

ST: Oh right

YW: The date for surgery has been set.

-...Although the waiting list is long, so we need to wait 2 months.

YW: You'll be hospitalized for one week, and I'm planning on taking care of you.

-As for the surgery fee, we'll take money out of our deposit money for the house lease and replenish it.

YW: The landowner was a bit flustered when we suddenly said we're getting rid of the house,

YW: but after knowing the situation, if they can find another tenant, we can leave after 2 months.

-Our move-out and your hospitalization seriously overlapped, but it can't be helped.

YW: Since your income is zero right now, I'll do part-time jobs and we can replenish our living expenses.

YW's Mom: Yoo Won, you resent me, don't you?

YW's Mom: Because of me,

YW's Mom: you can't go to college again.

YW's Mom: It happened last year and now again this year...

YW: Mom,

-do you remember?

YW: When we first moved into this house.

YW's Mom: Huh?

YW: You were really excited because you said that you and I were both having a new start in this new house.

YW: It's still vivid to me now.

-The smell of paint from the fresh white walls.

YW: I even remember you bought me pork cutlet that day.

YW: I was worried that I might not make friends at my new school, and you told me this.

Text: 'You will!'

Text: 'Since you'

YW: That since I'm similar to you, I look pretty when I smile.

YW: I'm smiling.

-Just like how no matter how difficult the situation is for you, you always smile and overcome it.

YW: —Mom.

YW: It was really hard, right?

YW: —I can restart studying at any time.

YW's Mom: Son,

YW's Mom: the stir-fried mushroom.

YW: Okay!

-Good thinking, mom.

YW: For now, eat a lot. Physical strength is what helps fight against a disease.

-If you need anything, just tell me.

YW's Mom: Son.

YW: Hm?

YW's Mom: I'm sorry.

-I always have you make difficult decisions.

-But I'm saying this as a possibility—

YW's Mom: But if something goes wrong with me during surgery,

-that—that... There's a terminology for it, but—

YW's Mom: I looked it up on the Internet.

-DN...R?

(DNR: Do Not Resuscitate. In the event of heart or respiratory failure, hospital staff and family will respect the will of the patient and not perform CPR or try to revive the patient.)

YW's Mom: I'm going to submit a consent form for that.

-If I don't give permission ahead of time, then if something were to happen, you would be the one who needs to choose.

YW's Mom: The doctor will probably come to you and ask.

YW's Mom: Whether or not they should save me.

YW's Mom: I can't have you make that kind of decision too.

SFX: Tap...

YW: You don't want... CPR?

YW's Mom: Yeah.

YW's Mom: If something goes wrong and my brain gets damaged, you would need to care for me forever.

YW's Mom: I don't want to live as a bother like that.

YW: That's an extremely rare possibility—

YW: The surgery will be fine, mom. Don't worry.

SFX: Buzz—

YW: I'm heading out for a bit.

ST: Where are you going

YW's Mom: Why did you take my cell phone...?

YW: A tenant is coming to look at our house today.

-I don't have a phone, so I put down your number.

YW: The roads on this street are crowded and they might get lost, so I need to go out.

YW: Mom.

YW: If the surgery goes well and you get healthy,

YW: I'll reveal a surprise secret of mine.

YW's Mom: Secret?

YW: Yeah.

YW's Mom: What is it. Can't you just tell me now?

YW: No.

YW: So you definitely need to get better.

SFX: Close..

Text: Mom's planning on submitting that kind of consent form—

YW: Wow—

-Shit—

YW: Seriously...

Box: I didn't stop her.

Text: If something goes wrong and my brain gets damaged, you would need to care for me forever.

Box: Both mom and I are so tired now,

Box: so please.

Box: They say that God only gives you hardships that you can handle, but maybe he might be overestimating us.

-Anything is fine, so please give hope that things will get better than they are now.

Text: I'm begging you,

Text: please shine a thread of light in that deep sea where can't tell the ground from water surface,

Text: and let us go up.

Box: Not with mountains of bills like this.

YW: Yes.

YW: Ah, you brought your car, right?

YW: You just need to take an immediate left turn at the end of the alley.

-Yes—

YW: Hello?

YW: Have you arrived?

YW: Yes, I'm downstairs,

-so I'll head outside.

SFX: Open

SFX: Creak

SFX: Drop

Box: Why is this...

Person: You're Choi Yoo Won,

Person: correct?

1st rated comment: Ah, this is crazy... Does that mean Hee Bum gave Yoo Won one last ray of hope before leaving...

2nd rated comment: Let's all be happy, all three of them should stop suffering.

3rd rated comment: Comico, please give us the ability to edit our comments.. ㅠ I'm getting embarrassed constantly typing and erasing.. I thought “Maybe the hope will be the hyung who went to America!”, but I guess not. Looking back at the previous chapter, I'm guessing it's Hee Bum's father. Maybe YW just didn't recognize his voice on the phone...

[phynxrizng]

ILLUMINATION, LIONS GATE PORTAL 8:8:18, NEW MOON AND PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE.

Respond to this postbyreplying abovethis line

New post on Monika Carless Author *Intuitive Coach

Illumination. Lionsgate Portal 8:8:18, New Moon and Partial Solar Eclipse.

Source by Monika Carless

August greetings Wild Ones!

Can we take a minute here to breathe? I find August so potent and expansive, sometimes I need to run and hide in a cave and eat grounding food to keep myself from floating out into the atmosphere!

Here's what's happening:

Lionsgate Portal, at its peak today, and waning until August 13th.

New Moon August 11th, Partial Solar Eclipse, AND Perseid Meteor Showers!

I've been dreaming, astral traveling, having communication with guides in the last week that have illuminated my purpose with new insights. How about you? What dreams or visions have you been having?

The Lionsgate Portal is something that occurs every year in July/August and is felt most strongly on the 8th. The Sun, Earth and Sirius move to specific points in the sky. Sirius is our Spiritual Sun and what activates the Third Eye, or Pineal Gland. We open to higher wisdom, or in essence, to our higher self, as well as intuition, telepathy, clairvoyance, etc.

The Perseid Meteor shower will be seen most effectively on the Dark/New Moon on the 11th, and its energy can be harnessed for communing with extra-terrestrials, calling up connections with the Fey/Underworld, working with Goddesses/Gods, or deep vision questing. Leave spell casting for the day after the Dark Moon, unless well versed in the nuances of such work, or there is specific banishing work to be done. The darker entities are easily summoned on this day, best to leave this as a day of rest from magic.

If you'd like to work with the number 8, allow it to help you find balance between the material and immaterial worlds. Tap into its magnetic forces of renewal and infinity. 8 also speaks of abundance. Include these elements in your meditations.

I've been marinating in the wise words of TulaFae's astrological forecast for each sign. Check out what it means for yours.

***

Lion’s Gate opens for us to receive radical wisdom. Throwing all things into flux for us to witness and re-calibrate. It is beyond letting go of what is not working our lives.

It is an energy that is asking us to choose ascension in each word or action to ourselves and others.

Who do we have on our side that will support us as we rise in embodying our wisdom? Who can withstand the regal radiance of our expressed heart space? What energies serve us? Take your passion and turn it into light by radical heart centered action.

Currently, meditation is important throughout the Mercury Retrograde. Even if the meditation is just sitting by flowing water. Companions will be clear calcite, Icelandic spur, quartz, rose quartz, and sunstone.

There are now 6 out of 9 planets in retrograde. Retrogrades bring all that needs to be addressed to the surface. If you feel that someone is out of character, it is due to what they have been suppressing. Everyone, even yourself, needs plenty of compassionate patience.

The New Moon is the last partial eclipse of the summer. Peaking at August 11 th at 08:02:08 UTC time with the moon in 17 degrees of Leo, the Sun at 18 degrees Leo.

Aspects discussed further will be the Leo Moon and Mercury Retrograde in 14 degrees Leo quincunx the Retrograde Saturn in 19 degrees Capricorn and Retrograde Neptune in Pisces at 15 degrees. The positioning creates a yod; a geometric positioning in a chart that is also known as the finger of “God” pointing to fate and destiny and karma.

Fate is pointing her finger to the illumination our subconscious desires of our hearts and how we express our talents.

Neptune brings in dreams. The dreams will be more prominent during this time. Especially for Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius. Neptune also brings up manipulation and deceit. We can easily deceive ourselves by believing we cannot have what our heart truly wants.

From this space, it is also easy to continue a pattern from a concern of lack the needs of food, shelter, and love. The retrograde gives insight to how we have been continuing this and the core wounds which manifested the behavior. The heart knows what it needs out of a logic far beyond the analytical mind.

Saturn’s role here unveils karma contracts to either be assigned or annulled. Making it a wonderful time to clear, delete, and dissolve any cords and contracts with your mind, body, soul, and relationships that hold you back from claiming the authority on your radiant, wild power.

As I go about the signs, note that the rising sign is the vital component. Sun is for how life is perceived. The moon will show the journey of the emotions. Mercury is how we meditate and communicate.

Reading the descriptions for one’s Venus and Mars will reveal about finances and friendships or instinct and sexuality. May you use these descriptions in a way to ascends your confidence and consciousness in all aspects of your life.

Aries

The eclipse happens in your 5 th house, eager for you to get the creative project off the ground. Beloved Aries, your expression and creations are perfect as they are now. Yes, even if they do not feel fully formed. People need you to do what you do best for the greater good. Keep being the leader and show up regardless of what is going on or how you feel. Forgive those who trespass against you by not forgetting but by making your boundaries firmer. Be direct in your compassion and understand the most loving actions can be letting go. Allow the bounty of blessings that are ready for you.

Taurus

Uranus became retrograde in your sign on the 7 th . It is too easy to fool yourself in being unable to manifest what you need. Go back to your values. Dig into your stubbornness when in the manifestation process. Remember your worth as you appreciate all that you have at the point you are in now. Walk barefoot on grass, smell the sunshine, and close your eyes and breath and smile into your heart. Things will shift quickly. All of it is working out as intended for your alignment. Remember being in bliss is what ascends us. Placing concern in money, finances, shelter, and romance are all distractions shielding your eyes from absolutely accepting the goodness that is coming to you.

Gemini

Eclipse in your 3 rd house of communication. Honor your truth, speak it with your heart, and allow others to show up with their truth. Saturn in your 8 th house has been nudging you to build own resources for your future. Uranus retrograde in your 12 th is leading to spectacular insight. It is a perfect time to shift patterns of belief that have karmically played out in your lineage. Look to how your parents have had relationship to money, themselves, and others in their life. Chose what you adore and what is time for you to shift.

Cancer

Uranus retrograde in the 11 th house will bring friends and connections. These connections are usually people you have just started to get to know or have always admired you from afar. The eclipse in the 2 nd house of your own image and values. Your finances reflect how your feel about yourself. If you feel you are radically changing, accept it. Lose all concept of what others expect you to be for them.

Leo

Simply radiate from your heart. Meditate with your hands on your heart. Uranus in your 8 th beckons your intuition and spiritual growth. Go back to old practices that have been swept under the pace of life. Most likely practices and routines you had in 2016. Saturn is bringing a lot of awareness to your body so take care of it kindly.

Virgo

Mercury retrograde is bringing up aspects of the subconscious that need to be deleted. The inner critic can hold you back from choosing your own reality. The words that speak in your mind as you think are potent during the eclipse and new moon. What you think, you will create.

Libra

It will serve you well to change around the furnishings and decorations in a room. Maybe an altar in a certain direction that is specific to your desires. There are some activities in the home that have not been addressed. Perceive who truly has your best interest within your community. Network with those that wish would want to give you the leg up. Express yourself passionately to all you know. Please don’t attempt to censor your heart.

Scorpio

Career is changing; traveling will create more ideas. The 9 th house is activated bringing in innovative ideas, new ways of teaching, and new psychic connections. As ascension is happening to your consciousness, you are being gifted with ascended guides that have witnessed your journey recently. You are becoming clear with what you want and need. It is time to place all events and relationships to the universe. Follow the flow of the ascension as you transmute.

Sagittarius

Being honest with your values. Communicating your perceptions and intuition is needed by everyone who surrounds you. It is necessary to be in the heart. You are not one to mince words, yet truth from you sets others free. Recognize and own where you are not being truthful to what you sense and believe.

Capricorn

Relationships will take the focus during the eclipse and the new moon. It is important to have some space to yourself to perceive your needs and your changing values. Relish in the relationships who support you and nurture you. Spend extra quality time with those who matter the most after your alone time.

Aquarius

Holding space for creating your dreams. It may be only in visualization for five minutes in a day. Be in the process of creating it. Let it happen even though it will not be perfect or make much sense. All that is holding you back is a deep-rooted doubt.

Pisces

Finding new ways to communicate and express yourself. See it as a way of expanding your vocabulary with precision of describing where you are at emotionally. The world needs your service of intimacy by the way you speak and connect with others. Spending time at home and writing will help in this process. The eclipse is offering a way to reveal yourself to all who seek the medicine of your wisdom.

***

Darlings, we are in a continual cycle of ups and downs, the planets do their thing, externalizing our internal landscape. We won't ever be done with retrogrades or full moons or eclipses. We will always play with fire, light and dark will color our soul journey. There is barely a breath of relief between one celestial occurrence and another. The wheel turns and we with it. What we make of it - that's where the magic is.

Let's support each other during this incredibly powerful period in time - non-linear of course, haha! Let us be kind. Let us observe the sky and our internal universe. We are but stars. And that is a beautiful truth.

TulaFae is a well-being coach, astrologer, yoga teacher, world traveler, and a candidate pursuing a license in naturalistic medicine. Her work uncovers blocks in the energy, mental, and physical bodies by illuminating the blueprint of each soul set in and individual’s star charts. She helps others connect to their purpose in life through astrology, meditation, and essential oils. Dissolving confusion and delays of desire by using the body and mind to get tuned into one’s inner compass with harmony and trust.

TulaFae can be reached via these links: Blog

Services You Tube

***

Intuitive Coaching for the Wild Soul. Work with me!

Monika Carless | August 9, 2018 at 1:09 am | Tags: astrology, channeled messages, Making Magic, Moon Lore, Pagan, spirit | Categories: Musings | URL: https://wp.me/p44EFj-KJ

Comment Comment See all comments

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Monika Carless Author *Intuitive Coach. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions.

Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://monikacarless.com/2018/08/09/illumination-lionsgate-portal-8818-new-moon-and-partial-solar-eclipse/

Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Reposted by, PHYNXRIZNG

[protectjugheadjonesiii]

Ever Since New York

Check the Ever Since New York Masterlist for series updates!

Pairing: Jughead x Reader

Description: After his junior year, Jughead goes to New York for a writing internship.  

Warnings: some swearing, you might cry

Word count: 4,574

A/N: umm first of all thank you for 7000 followers?? holy crap. anywho wowowow this is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written. It’s based off of the song “Ever Since New York” from Harry Styles’s album (which I love btw).  This is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever written tbh. Hope you all enjoy!

Tell me something, tell me something You don’t know nothing, just pretend you do

After years of saving the money he earned at the Twilight Drive-In and other odd jobs, Jughead finally had enough to buy a plane ticket to New York.  He had discovered a writing internship there that he knew he had to do. It didn’t take much effort to convince his dad to allow him to go; in fact, FP even offered to pitch in some money. Jughead refused, claiming that he wanted to do this all on his own.  He wanted to deserve this internship as much as possible.

He started talking to Veronica frequently, asking her about her time in New York.  She, of course, gladly answered all of Jughead’s questions.  She was glad to finally bond with her boyfriend’s best friend.  

Jughead also pestered Betty with questions, seeing as she had done an internship similar to his two summers ago.  It was a bit awkward at first, since the two of them used to date.  However, they both got over their awkwardness for the sake of preparing Jughead for his internship.

“It’s really amazing,” Betty told him.  “It’s a great experience, and you’ll learn so much.”

“What are other people like?” Jughead inquired.  “Are they pricks?”

“Sometimes,” Betty laughed. “It depends.  Do you know how many other people are participating in the internship?”

“Just one,” he answered, shrugging.  “I don’t know who it is though.”

“Well, if they’re a jerk then that’s gonna suck,” she offered.  “But if they’re nice, they may become one of the closest friends you’ll ever have.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Betty replied and nodded.  “You’re gonna spend all summer with this other person.  They’re either gonna drive you up the wall or become your new best friend.”

I need something, tell me something new Choose your words, ‘cause there’s no antidote For this curse, oh, what’s it waiting for? Must this hurt you just before you go?

“Have fun in New York, Jug.” FP patted his son on the back as they stood at the airport gate.  Betty, Veronica, Archie, Fred Andrews, and Kevin stood behind FP, all wearing supportive smiles.  Jughead glanced around at the group who followed him to the airport, filled with admiration of his friends and family.

“Thank you guys,” he said, fighting back a giant grin.  “You didn’t all have to come, though.”

“Of course we did,” Fred Andrews argued.  “We’re not gonna see you all summer, Jughead.  We have to give you a proper send-off.”

“Well, proper send-off achieved,” Jughead laughed.  He watched as others in the line began to move.  “I guess I should go now.  Thanks for this.  See you all in August.”  As he turned on his heel and walked away, the group of six gleefully waved at Jughead’s retreating figure.

“You aren’t worried about Jughead all alone in a giant city?” Fred asked FP as they exited the airport.

“Nah,” FP responded, waving his hand.  “He’s a smart kid, he’ll find his way.”

Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know

“Hi, I’m Jughead Jones,” he introduced himself at the front desk.  “I’m here for the writing internship.”

The lady sitting behind the desk glanced up at Jughead.  “Ah, yes! We’ve been expecting you, Mr. Jones!” she exclaimed, standing from her chair.

“Oh, am I late?” Jughead inquired.  

The lady shook her head. “Oh no, not at all.  Your counterpart just got here early, so we’ve been waiting for you to start.”

“My counterpart?”

“Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” she gestured to a girl sitting on a chair against the wall, flipping through a magazine.  The girl perked up when she heard her name, and saw Jughead and the receptionist staring at her.

“Is this him?” (Y/N) questioned, standing up and setting the magazine down.  Jughead noticed it was a TIME magazine.  

“Yes,” the receptionist answered.  “(Y/N), this is Jughead Jones.”  Jughead stuck his hand out to shake, and (Y/N) firmly shook his hand.

“I hope you’re not an asshole,” she blatantly said as they released hands, “because we’re gonna be stuck with each other all summer.”

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” he quipped.  

(Y/N) raised her eyebrow in interest.  “Quick-witted,” she noted with a smirk forming on her face.  “I like it.”

“You better,” Jughead fired back, biting back a grin.  “Like you said, we’ll be around each other all summer.”

“If we were together any longer, I’d worry about you falling in love with me,” she jokingly warned. “So be careful.”

Brooklyn saw me, empty at the news There’s no water inside this swimming pool

“When’d you get here?” (Y/N) asked as she and Jughead exited the building, their first day of the internship finished.

“Two days ago,” Jughead answered with his hands in his pockets.  “What about you?”

“Last week.”  Her pace was quick, and she seemed determined to get somewhere.  “Are you hungry?  Because I’m starving.”

“I would love some food,” Jughead almost moaned at the thought of food.  He was only able to scarf down a small lunch in the midst of the business.

“I know this great burger place,” (Y/N) explained as she led the way to the restaurant.  “It’ll make every other burger you’ve ever eaten seem like a pile of shit on a bun.”

“I doubt that,” Jughead scoffed.  “There’s a diner where I’m from that makes the best burgers you’ll ever eat.”

“Where are you from?”

“Riverdale,” he said. “Pop’s diner, that’s what it’s called. If you ever find yourself in Riverdale, stop by Pop’s.  Trust me, you’ll thank me.”

“Well we’re not in Riverdale right now, Jughead Jones,” (Y/N) reminded him.  “So you should thank your lucky stars that I am your counterpart, because I’ve been here for the past week. You know what I’ve been doing for that week?  Exploring, Jones.  I have tried and evaluated twenty-one restaurants, and I know where to go for whatever you’re craving.”

“What if I’m craving Korean food?” he quizzed.

“32nd street, there’s a great Korean grill,” she immediately responded.

“Ethiopian?”

“There’s a quaint little place on 135th street.”

“What if I want to get wasted?” Jughead smirked.

“There’s a club a couple of blocks away with shitty security,” (Y/N) answered with a smirk equally as wide.  “Or maybe I was just an exception, seeing as how attractive I am.”

“I think you overestimate yourself,” he scoffed, playfully rolling his eyes.  

(Y/N) lightly slapped him on the arm.  “I do not!” she retaliated.  

“Whatever, keep lying to yourself.”  Jughead quickened his pace, leaving (Y/N) behind him.

“Hey!” she called out, rushing to catch up to him.  “You better not leave me!  You don’t even know where you’re going.”

“You’re still here,” he noted, casually wrapping his arm around her shoulders.  “Lead the way, (Y/N).”

Almost over, had enough from you And I’ve been praying, I never did before

“God, this food sucks,” (Y/N) whispered, gesturing towards the plates of Japanese food sitting in front of her and Jughead.  “That place we ate at last week was so much better.”

“True,” Jughead agreed with a mouthful of food.  “But this place is cheaper.”

“Rightfully so!” she exclaimed, jabbing at her tofu with a chopstick.  Jughead silently laughed and shook his head, continuing to eat his fried rice.  He watched as (Y/N) picked at her dish, examining each aspect of the meal.  

It had been three weeks since their internship had begun, and Jughead and (Y/N) quickly became close friends.  They bonded over the overwhelming amount of work at their internship and their food-discovering adventures.  Jughead didn’t know how he would’ve survived an entire summer in New York without (Y/N) by his side.  They even stayed at the same hotel, so during a sleepless night, one would wake the other and stay up all night talking.  On those nights, they would drink hot chocolate.

“I’ve got the check tonight, Jug,” (Y/N) said, snapping Jughead out of his thoughts as she took the bill from the waitress.  Jughead furiously shook his head.

“No, (Y/N), you got dinner yesterday,” he protested, reaching out towards the bill.  “I’ll cover it tonight.”

“You got lunch!” she exasperatedly exclaimed.  “I can handle it.  Dinner wasn’t even expensive last night or tonight.”  

Jughead huffed as the waitress returned and took (Y/N)’s money.  “Fine,” he pouted, “but we’re gonna go out for desert, and I’m paying for it.”

“Fine.”

“Ice cream?” Jughead offered, standing from his chair.  (Y/N) followed suit, and they exited the diner.  She slowly grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.

“I’m feeling frozen yogurt tonight,” she countered his offer, grinning up at him.

“What’s the difference?” Jughead playfully scoffed, trying not to blush at their hand-holding.  They had started doing it last week after he almost lost (Y/N) in a giant mass of people.

“I swear to God, Jug, you said the same thing last week, and I explicitly explained it to you.”  (Y/N) rolled her eyes.  “Ice cream is-”

“Made with cream, whereas frozen yogurt is a yogurt-based treat,” Jughead quoted what (Y/N) had told him last week.

“I knew you paid attention to me.”

Understand I’m talking to the walls I’ve been praying ever since New York

In the middle of the night, the phone started ringing.  Jughead, still half-asleep, answered it with his eyes remaining shut.  

“You can come over,” he said, not waiting for the caller to initiate the conversation.

“Okay,” (Y/N)’s quiet voice responded, and she hung up.  A few moments later, a soft knock resonated through Jughead’s hotel room.  He rolled off of his bed, throwing on a t-shirt, and opened the door.  (Y/N) stood in the doorway, slightly shaking.  

“You cold?” Jughead murmured.  (Y/N) wordlessly nodded.  He gently grabbed her arm and led her inside, shutting the door behind them.  He stripped the blanket off from his bed and draped it over her shoulders, wrapping (Y/N) in the soft white material.  (Y/N) smiled up at him.

“Why do you put up with me?” she asked, sitting on his bed.  Jughead mimicked her actions and sat next to her.

“What do you mean?” he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

“How are you not sick of me?” she elaborated.  “I mean, we’ve been constantly hanging out for, what, a month and a half now?  You know if I’m annoying you, you can just tell me. I’ll back off.”

“Why would you annoy me?” he asked, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. “You’re the best part about this internship.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“I’m not,” Jughead lightly laughed, slightly nudging her.  “I’m serious, (Y/N).  Before I came, I was asking my friend Betty about internships.  She did one two years ago, so she knew what she was talking about. She told me that the people I’ll meet during this internship will either drive me up the wall or become one of my closest friends.”

“So I haven’t driven you up the wall?” (Y/N) inquired with a tentative smile.

“Of course not,” Jughead laughed loudly this time.  A moment of silence ensued, both (Y/N) and Jughead overwhelmed by sleepiness.

“Is Betty your girlfriend?” (Y/N) broke the silence, staring up at Jughead.

“No,” he muttered, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.  “She was,” he admitted, “but not anymore.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing bad,” he shrugged. “Sometimes things just don’t work out, you know?”

“Yeah,” (Y/N) muttered. “I had a boyfriend.”

“Really?  That’s shocking.”

“Shut up!” she whined, elbowing him.  “Yes, I had a boyfriend.  He was actually a total dickhead.”

“How?” Jughead asked, growing concerned.  

(Y/N) looked up at him and giggled.  “Oh, you’re worried,” she cooed, placing a hand on his chin.  Jughead swatted it away.

“Sue me,” he retorted, but then grew serious.  “But really, what happened?”

“Nothing bad,” she replied, facing away from Jughead.  “We were dating for a while, and… I don’t know.  He never really supported me in anything.  He wasn’t nice to any of my friends, and I didn’t notice for so long because I was so fucking smitten.  Eventually it hit me one day, and I realized that he was horrible.  So, naturally, I dumped him.”

“As one does,” Jughead nodded, nonchalantly tracing patterns on (Y/N)’s right arm with his thumb.  

(Y/N) slumped and sighed. “What time is it?”

Jughead glanced at the clock with its blaring, bright red numbers.  “Three o’clock.”

“Jesus,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes.  “I should… I should get back to my room.”  She jumped off the bed and trekked towards the door, her bare feet dragging on the carpet.

“Wait,” Jughead commanded, grabbing her arm.  “Don’t go, it’s too late.”

“You say that as if I have to walk across New York City,” (Y/N) joked.  “It’s fine, Jug, my room is down the hall.  I’m not gonna get mugged.”

“No, but you may fall over before you reach your room,” he countered with a lighthearted smirk. “Just stay here tonight, okay?” (Y/N), too tired to argue, needed no more convincing as she turned around and climbed into Jughead’s bed. He laid down, patting the space next to him.  (Y/N) tentatively settled next to him, slowly resting her head on the neighboring pillow. “You can get closer than that, you know,” he told her, amused by her unusually timid nature.  She hesitantly scooted closer to him, until she was near enough for Jughead to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against his chest.  “That’s better,” he whispered into her hair.  She draped one arm around his torso, the other arm tucked under their now-shared pillow.

“Night, Jug,” she murmured, eyes already closed.  He smiled at her.

“Goodnight, (Y/N).”

Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know

“Oh, Jughead, how is it?” Betty eagerly asked, her face displayed on his laptop screen.  

“It’s been great,” Jughead answered.  

“What restaurants have you tried?” Veronica questioned from her spot next to Betty.

“A bunch,” he vaguely replied.  “(Y/N) is attempting to try every restaurant in New York City.  I think it’s impossible, but she’s determined.”

“Who is (Y/N)?” Archie inquired, popping his head into the camera’s view.  

Jughead laughed, “Where do I begin?  She’s my ‘counterpart’ for the internship.  We’ve become very close.”

“I told you,” Betty grinned. Jughead nodded.

“You were right,” he admitted.  “Right when I met her, I… I don’t know, it just felt like something clicked between us. We’re inseparable.”  Betty’s expression slightly darkened, but Jughead waved it off as a bit off jealousy.

“Ah, you’ve got it bad, bro,” Archie laughed at his best friend.  Jughead rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like that, Arch,” he explained.  “It’s like Betty said, you grow really close to people when you spend so much time together.”

“But you don’t blush when you talk about them,” Veronica noted, pointing out Jughead’s dusty pink cheeks.

“You’re imagining things,” Jughead scoffed.  Betty, Archie, and Veronica shared a knowing glance.

“If you say so,” Veronica sing-songed.  Before Jughead could respond, there was a knock on his door.  A smile subconsciously grew on his face.

“Speaking of (Y/N),” he said, standing up and walking towards the door.  He opened it, and, as expected, (Y/N) stood there.

“Are we going or not, Jug?” she pressed, grabbing his hand.  “I told you the line for the rainbow bagels is super long.  I don’t want to spend all of Saturday waiting for one, even though they’re so fucking pretty.”

“I’m video chatting with my friends right now,” Jughead told her, gesturing towards his open laptop. “Can you wait like five more minutes?”

“Fine,” (Y/N) huffed, crossing her arms.  She stepped into his room, allowing him to close the door behind her.  She followed him as he sat back down in front of his laptop, resting her chin on his shoulder as she peered at the screen. “These are your friends?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “That’s Archie,” he gestured towards the redhead, “the blonde one is Betty, and that one is Veronica.”  (Y/N) smiled at Jughead’s Riverdale friends.

“You must be (Y/N),” Betty smiled.  “Jughead was just talking about you.”

“Of course he was,” (Y/N) joked, nudging his arm.  Jughead playfully shoved her back.

“So how’s it been? Three months with the infamous Jughead Jones?” Veronica inquired with a smirk dancing on her lips.  

“Well it hasn’t been three months quite yet,” (Y/N) corrected her.  “I’ve only gotta deal with this guy for two more weeks.” Jughead’s face slightly deflated as this realization hit him.  “Let me tell you, he’s quite the handful.”

“We know,” Archie laughed. Jughead opened his mouth to say something, but (Y/N) interrupted him.

“Shit, I left my phone in my room!” she exclaimed, standing up.  “I’ll be right back, Jug.”  She turned and faced the laptop.  “It was great talking to you guys.  I hope we can meet sometime!”  She quickly exited Jughead’s room.  Immediately, Veronica, Archie, and Betty bombarded him about (Y/N)

“She’s perfect,” Veronica cooed.  “She’s actually flawless, Jughead.”

“You lucked out, bro,” Archie told him.  “She’s a keeper.”

“She’s absolutely amazing, Jughead,” Betty smiled.  Jughead grinned and shook his head.

“You guys, I told you-”

“Don’t even go there,” Veronica interrupted him.  “That girl is absolutely perfect for you.  The way you two look at each other is… it seems like it’s from a fairytale. You two are soulmates, Jughead.

“She does seem great, Jug,” Archie agreed with her.  “I mean, I’ve never seen you like that with anyone.  No offense, Betty.”

“None taken, Archie,” she waved his comment off.  “They’re right though, Jug.  You never looked at me the way you look at (Y/N).”  Jughead couldn’t think of a clever retort.  “But be careful, Jughead.  Like (Y/N) said earlier, you two only have two more weeks together. If you haven’t done anything up to this point, you might want to consider whether or not it’s worth it to start something now.  Just ask yourself, is it worth the heartbreak that’ll happen when you have to leave her?” She pursed her lips as she watched Jughead’s face darken on her screen.

“Thanks guys,” he said halfheartedly.  “Really, thank you.  I’ll see you all in two weeks.”

Tell me something, tell me something You don’t know nothing, just pretend you do Tell me something just before you go

“Our last day!” (Y/N) exclaimed, prancing into Jughead’s hotel room.  After the video call he had two weeks ago ended, he decided to give her a key to his room.  “Our internship is over, and we have one last night to spend together, Jug.  Out of every place in all of New York City, where do you want to go, Jughead Jones?” she asked seductively, a coy smirk growing on her face.

“I’m feeling burgers tonight,” Jughead answered, trying to stop his expression from deflating.  “And then maybe we can get some cupcakes?”

“I like it!” she grinned. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room, beginning the trek to their favorite restaurant.  “Jesus, I can’t believe it’s been three months already.”

“I know,” he agreed.  “It seems like my plane landed just yesterday.”

“Yeah,” (Y/N) breathed. They spent the rest of their walk in silence, choosing to listen to the bustling New York traffic.  

The waitresses at the restaurant, at this point, knew Jughead and (Y/N) as regulars.  They didn’t even bother giving them menus, knowing exactly what each of them would order.

“You two are my favorites,” the waitress whispered as she set their burgers in front of them.

“Thank you,” (Y/N) grinned. “I’m sorry to say, but it’s our last day here.”

“Oh,” the waitress sighed. “Well, you two better visit.  I don’t know what I’ll do without my favorite regulars.”  She walked away, leaving (Y/N) and Jughead to enjoy their burgers.

“You know,” Jughead noted through a mouth full of burger, “I don’t know how you’ve tried almost every restaurant in New York City while becoming a regular here.”

“Talent, Jug,” she told him, wiping her mouth on a napkin.  “It takes a hell of a lot of talent.”

They finished dinner and went to their favorite bakery to get cupcakes.  On their walk back to the hotel, they fell into silence once again. It wasn’t broken until they entered Jughead’s hotel room.  By now, almost all of (Y/N)’s stuff ended up in here.  They found it easier, rather than constantly having to switch back and forth between rooms to grab their stuff.

“So that was our last day,” (Y/N) claimed, flopping onto the bed.  Jughead stood by the bedside, crossing his arms with an amused smile.

“Unfortunately, it was,” he nodded.  He jumped next to her on the bed, earning a shriek from (Y/N).  He swallowed as he stared at her, knowing what he had to tell her. “Do you remember what you said to me on the first day we met?”

“That I know where to go for whatever you’re craving,” she answered with a grin.  Jughead laughed and shook his head.

“No, the other thing.”

“I hope you’re not an asshole because we’re gonna be stuck together all summer?” she offered.  He shook his head again.

“Nope.”

“I called you quick-witted?”

“No!”

“What is it?” (Y/N) demanded, sitting up so that she was hovering over Jughead as he remained laying down.

“You told me that if we were together any longer than just the summer, I might fall in love with you,” he explained, sitting up so that they were face-to-face.  (Y/N)’s grin slightly faded.

“Oh,” she murmured.  “Yeah, I did say that.”

“You were wrong,” Jughead said, trying to keep his voice steady.  He slowly grabbed her right hand.

“Really?” she asked as her eyes followed Jughead’s hand.

“Betty told me to be careful,” he explained, “because we’re not gonna be together that long.  And she was right.  I mean, why would we risk an immense amount of heartbreak just for the sake of a blissful few weeks together?”  When (Y/N) said nothing, he continued.  “So I figured I could just suck it up and get through the rest of our time together and not say anything.  It was a good plan, but you… you ruined it.”

“Sorry,” she quipped with a small smirk.  Jughead lovingly rolled his eyes.

“No you’re not,” he laughed. “You’re not sorry, and you shouldn’t be. Within the three months we’ve spent together, I’ve grown closer to you than I ever have with anyone else.  Hell, my ex-girlfriend said that we were great together.”

“She did?”

“Yeah,” he responded, grabbing her hands.  “Jesus, (Y/N), I’m in love with you.  I’m fucking in love with you, and it sucks.  It sucks because I don’t know if I’m ever gonna see you again.  And this is gonna cause so much heartbreak, for me at least, and maybe you too.  I just… I can’t keep it from you anymore.  But I also think, deep down, you already knew how I felt.”  Tears clouded (Y/N)’s eyes, and her lips quivered as she quickly enveloped Jughead in a hug.

“Fuck,” she whispered into his neck.  “Fuck, of course I love you, Jughead.”  He pulled himself out of her grip and stared at her, stroking his hand across her cheek. They both leaned in, pressing their foreheads against each other.  Their lips ghosted over each other, only millimeters apart.

“If I kiss you-”

“If you kiss me, everything is gonna go to shit, Jug,” she interrupted him.  He nodded but didn’t pull away.  They sat there like that on his bed on a minute, (Y/N) sitting on Jughead’s lap with her arms around his neck, foreheads touching and lips barely brushing.

The tension grew unbearable, so (Y/N) closed the gap and pressed her lips against his, trying to express what she had been feeling for the past three months.  

Jughead, too, attempted to convey every pent up confession he had, wishing that kisses could speak. He wanted his hands, which were encircling her waist, to tell her how she charmed him with her wit.  He wanted his eyes, which were closed with pleasure, to tell her how beautiful she was, especially when she trudged into his hotel room at three in the morning.  He wanted his lips, which were pressed against hers, to tell her how much he loved her.  He loved her, he loved her, and he wanted to keep saying it for the rest of his life.

For the sake of oxygen, the two pulled apart.  They kept their foreheads resting against each other.  

“Everything’s gone to shit,” (Y/N) whispered, and Jughead burst out into laughter.  (Y/N) followed suit by giggling, and their still-entangled limbs caused them to fall onto the bed so that (Y/N) was laying on top of Jughead. This only caused the pair to laugh harder.  

When their chuckles finally died down, (Y/N) climbed off from on top of Jughead and laid next to him, resting her head on his chest.  She combed her hand through his raven locks.

“I’m sorry that I fell in love with you,” Jughead apologized, kissing the top of her head. They were slowly falling asleep.

“Thank you for falling in love with me,” (Y/N) whispered, eyes fluttering shut.  “It may have all gone to shit, but it was worth it.”

Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know Oh, tell me something I don’t already know

Jughead stepped off the plane and saw his dad and friends standing at the gate, excitedly waiting for him.  He didn’t say anything, he didn’t even bother smiling.  Immediately, everyone understood.  

While they were awaiting Jughead’s plane’s arrival, Betty, Veronica, and Archie explained to the rest of the group about (Y/N).  They told them about how Jughead spent three months falling in love with this girl, and they explained that they had never seen Jughead look so smitten before.  

“How was New York, Jug?” FP asked, taking Jughead’s suitcase from him.  Jughead shrugged.

“It was nice.”

“Good food?” he questioned, trying to get his son to open up.  Jughead nodded tiredly.

“Yeah, food was great,” he replied monotonously.

“And the internship?”

“Helpful,” Jughead responded.  “I think it’ll help me improve as a writer.”

“That’s good,” FP said, raking a hand through his hair.  “You had another person with you, right?”  FP noticed Jughead tense up at this.

“Yeah,” he answered quietly. “Yeah, I had a counterpart.”

“What was she like?” Jughead looked up at his dad.

“You already know who it is,” he replied, shaking his head.  “Who told you, Betty?”  FP pursed his lips.

“Yeah, her and Archie and Veronica.  But listen, Jug, you’re going to have your heart broken countless other times.  You’ll get over this girl,” he attempted to comfort Jughead.

“Dad, she wasn’t just a girl,” he protested.  “She was amazing and quick-witted, and I fell in love with her and then everything went to shit.  But the worst part is that it’s okay, because she loved me too.  She fucking loved me, and I kissed her, and now I may never see her again.”

“Well if you loved her that much, you may see her again,” FP shrugged.  “Fate is a tricky thing, son, but the universe seems to cooperate better if you love someone.”

Tag list: @isis278 @lost-in-wonderland-x @spam-to-follow @thatspidernamedmeagan @isabellarose5150 @mariadrinaa @amyyleblanc1999 @sweetvengeancee@latenightbooknerd @sweetthoughts-of-insanity @icouldntcomeupwithausername123 @britishfancyturtlebraindead @sxazzaxs @fragilefrances @opiate-this-hazy-head @onceuponagladerhead @sarahvaliquette @deanskitten @vibes09 @rainbows-and-glitter-bitch @pharaohkiller @platonicasever @littlemisscaptainfandom @becausefuckkyouthatswhy @poorsop @klf1999 @cass-v-95 @eliza-hamilton-helpless @bugheadedarchie  @emmacoffey13

[ericmun]

170803 Compilation of Three Meals A Day Press Conference (Lee Seojin, Shinhwa’s Eric, Yoon Kyunsang)

‘Three Meals a Day’ is coming back with ‘Marine Ranch’ edition. A fishing boat has been tuned into a recreational boat, and the goat ‘Jackson’ and guests are newly making appearances. The cast and the place of the show, Deukryangdo are the same from the last season but there are many interesting changes ahead.

On August 2nd, a press conference for tvN’s new variety program ‘Three Meals a Day – Marine Ranch’ was held at the Grand Ball Room of Stanford Hotel in Mapo-Goo Sangam-Dong, Seoul. Production directors Na Youngsuk, Lee Jinjoo, and writer Kim Daejoo were at the press conference.

‘Three Meals a Day’ is a TV show where the cast use whatever food they find in unfamiliar and secluded farming and fishing villages rather than in the cities where you can easily find something to eat for a meal. The show had ‘Jeongson’ edition twice, ‘Gochang’ edition once, and ‘Fishing Village’ edition three times and it is loved by many.

In this year’s ‘Three Meals a Day – Marine Ranch’, Lee Seojin, Eric and Yoon Kyunsang from ‘Three Meals a Day – Fishing Village 3’ are back together on the island of Deukryangdo. In the last season, Lee Seojin obtained a ‘fishing boat license’ and become ‘the Captain’. Eric displayed his great cooking skills as ‘Chef Eric’. Yoon Kyunsang was loved for the display of his big appetite. Everyone is excited to see what they all have in store working at a ranch this season.

The production team revealed why they chose to go back to Deukryang-do. Lee Jinjoo said she was thinking about where to go for the show and concluded that there was no place like Deukryangdo. She said “I thought we could show summer images by choosing Deukryang-do, and I was looking for new things for the show and ended up casting ‘Jackson’. We are going to feature the cast running a ranch and taking care of the Jackson goat’s family.”

Na Youngsuk PD also explained why this season is a “Marine Ranch” edition instead of “Fishing Village” edition, “Deukryangdo is an island so it makes more sense to go with Fishing Village edition but I learnt from the last season that the cast is not very talented at fishing so I thought we could do ranch instead of fishing on the island. With Jackson and his family happily agreed to be on the show. This let us make a unique show featuring a ranch on an island. Jackson is not just a regular goat but a mountain goat. He is able to produce high quality goat milk. When we offered the town folks the goat milk, they gave us compensations. We bought things we needed with that money.”

As the theme of this season is “Marine Ranch”, the ‘Seo Jini boat’ faced a big change. It was tuned into leisure rather than fishing. Na Youn suk said “We made over the ‘Seo Jini boat’. I gave up on the cast’s fishing so I installed parasols, comfortable chairs and ladders to jump into the ocean. I didn’t do it with much purpose but the cast was in love with it. Lee Seojin, Eric and even Han Jimin were so reluctant to come back once they rode out with the boat. I think chilling and fishing in the middle of the ocean might be what makes this season different from the others”.

How was filming with Han Jimin? Na Youngsuk said “It was great. I even asked myself why I didn’t cast her before.” He also said “Han Jimin and Lee Seojin did Yi San drama a long time ago. She also did two dramas (Wolf, and Korea Secret Agency) with Eric. She became close to Lee Seojin and Eric through the dramas that they worked together. It is not easy to be close to two celebrities at the same time in the entertainment field, especially for an actress. So Han Jimin must be an angel. The atmosphere during filming was fantastic because of that.” He added with “She was so comfortable with us. She spent three fun days with Lee Seojin and Eric without much formality. They dissed each other, took care of each other, joked and had fun with each other.”

Na Youngsuk hinted that there will be active guest appearances in this year’s “Marine Ranch” season, “I am planning to have a guest every time we film. Lee Seojin likes it when there is guest. He gets bored when he keeps still. He has fun and goes everywhere when there is someone around. What sets this season apart from the previous seasons is that you will see people having talks like friends, playing in water, cooking together. It will make the show feel like an MT (retreat).” He also added “In the near future, I would like to have Kim Nam Gil for a male guest and Park Narae for a female guest on the show.”

When asked if Eric’s wife Na Hyemi is going to make an appearance on the show, Na PD seemed rather caught off guard by the question. He replied, “Well. I haven’t thought about it so I don’t know.”

Writer Kim Daejoo said “You guys can expect the positive Lee Seojin that you saw in ‘Yoon’s restaurant. Yoon Kyunsang has a lot more to do than before. It’s important to note that he started learning how to cook. His food is still terrible (laugh) but he started taking interests in cooking.” Writer Kim added “Eric has got faster with his cooking but we want to let him focus when he is cooking and deliver the best food. He has even more varieties now, getting faster, and making food that is very different from the food he used to make before. He was making unique food before but now his food feels more familiar and he improved in that regard”.

One of the things to watch in this season is the newlywed Eric and his cooking skills. When asked if Eric has got faster with his cooking Na PD said “He got faster. It took about 4 hours instead of 5”.  Then he added “After the marriage, the most different thing about him is that he became really cheerful. He was a quiet guy who didn’t talk much but now he talks a lot.”

Na Youngsuk also mentioned about Lee Seojin and his habit of saying “This show is going to fail”. In fact, the show is a simple reality variety show that features a group of celebrities making meals for themselves but this variety show of Na Youngsuk’s has been getting consistent love from the viewers. Na Youngsuk revealed his serious resolution for the show “Whether it fails or not, it has nothing to do with Lee Seojin’s mindset. We follow the viewers’ choice, and I am making the show with a mindset that I will step down if it fails”. He also joked “I don’t think people decide if the show is a fail with viewer ratings these days. I think Lee Seojin will step down himself from the show if the viewer ratings don’t go over 10%”.

He mentioned he is growing more concerned as the show continues with more seasons. Na Youngsuk said “I’ve done many seasons of this so I am making the show while keeping in mind whether I am repeating the same content and whether the viewers will find it boring. I try to keep the show’s unique culture and its simplicity because I think simplicity should not change. The viewers can have their TV on while doing something else. I just hope the viewers can enjoy the simple life vicariously through the TV screens.”

When asked about Lee Seojin’s regular appearances, Na PD said “’Fishing Village’ edition had that vibe of survival with Cha Seungwon and Yoo Haejin who fished and gather things for their meals. I realized last year that people have different approaches towards their environment when I spent time with Lee Seojin, Eric and Yoon Kyunsang on Deukryangdo.”

He continued “Lee Seojin, Eric, and Yoon Kyunsang were enjoying softly in a rather easier environment. It is different from the time with Cha Seungwon and Haejin who always wanted something desperately but I think the viewers are comparing with their standards set to the ‘Fishing Village’ edition. I wanted to cast Seungwon and Haejin as well but they were both too busy.”

The factors like vicarious enjoyment is one of the reasons why ‘Three Meals a Day’ is seeing so much move even after numerous seasons of the show. But curiosity to see the changes in characters in the variety show that have been there throughout the years is also an important reason. Na Youngsuk said “Lee Seojin is learning more about the life in the country, making food and sharing and so on after seasons of ‘Three Meals a Day. When I see him during filming, he is definitely enjoying more than before.”

The first episode of the Marine Ranch edition of “Three Meals a Day” will be on air on August 4 at 9:40PM KST.

Source: Newsen, News1, Joynews, Star MT, Star MK, Translation: EricMun.tumblr

[sheeka11-blog]

Bringing it Home

I’m going to try and capture our experience of bringing a ‘House together’ in such a way that I don’t lose you through sheer boredom or by length of time…..here goes.

As with every experience there should be a beginning, or in our case, a catalyst. Our Blog gives you an insight into Why we stepped out of ‘life as we knew it’ and chose the road less travelled.

With every lesser road, there are far fewer sign posts and far more pot holes which meant we had to negotiate a whole lot more and make so many decisions that were either challenging, sacrificing or damn hard.

The Catalyst: I had been out that Sunday and when I returned home I found Brooke in a distressed state, she had had another very challenging experience brought on by an unhealthy relationship at work, and she was done. That afternoon she wrote her resignation letter and gave her anchor of 22 years, 6 months’ notice. I encouraged her to do this and backed her all the way. That was that, 6 months to plan, to dream to visualise a life without the constraints the past had been imposing upon us . September 2nd was her last day, and mine was to be 1 month later. So, by the 2nd of October we were officially unemployed and it felt amazing…….

We had purchased land in the Far North of NZ several months earlier and although we hadn’t planned on heading north quite so soon, we were incredibly excited to be doing so.

One minor hurdle to get over before our big move was to sell our home in Warkworth. We absolutely loved our home, and over the 5 years we lived there we nurtured our Old girl back to her former glory. We painted her, pulled her apart, refitted bathrooms, put on new decks and verandas and fenced off the surrounding paddocks to allow the few sheep we had to enjoy a wee bit of variety. Auctions are funny things, they require interested parties, reasonable weather and some luck! Fortunately, we had most of that and on the day of the auction. We had a great turn out and reasonable weather. ½ an hour after it all began, it was over and a family from Onehunger were to become the next guardians of our home.

Moving on: On November 3rd, 2016, we hooked our Caravan onto our UTE and travelled North to begin the next chapter in our lives…

500 Olive trees, a beautiful River called the Oruaiti and a view to die for welcomed us to Northlanding. Initially the name Northlanding was just a working title by our Architect Tonia Williams, but we really liked it and after a quick search on the Business directory names we discovered no-one had grabbed this name yet, so we did!

The Plan: Quite simply within the next 12 months we planned to gain and understanding, then harvest our Olives, establish a business…oh and build a house. The good news was, prior to coming up we had had several quality meetings with Tonia, and together we had come up with a design that we loved. Tonias job was to formulate the plans and configure our unique construction concept to them. We were building with SIPS panels http://www.formance.co.nz/ and this house would be the ‘first’ of its kind in the Far North of NZ which meant we had to find a building crew capable of, willing to and able to (with the quantity of houses going up in the area) take on the project. We found one in Doubtless Bay Builders where Melv and Jacqui who co- own the company said yes. Building would commence in March which worked our really well as we wanted to get our fences and our Garage up first.

We had an amazing Summer living in our wee caravan with our dogs and our Olive trees. We got to know the ‘lay of the land’, swam in the river, went paddle boarding down it, welcomed friends, met our neighbours, pruned our trees, cut our 5 hectares of grass and genuinely embraced life. We took a while, but eventually we had let go of our ‘other life’ and had stepped into a new way of living. We realised we needed (an awful lot) less to have (an awful lot) more. Less stuff, less stress, less clutter, less money coming in, less space to live in and I guess most importantly less people. When I say less people, I mean, we now get to choose who we want in our lives and we have some incredibly special people in it, we cherish these friendships so much. We had more time to relax, more time for people that really mattered to us, more energy for each other and our precious dogs, more focus on building a new and exciting business and more passion to throw ourselves into our ‘new life’ in the North.

The Build: Our life slowly began to revolve almost 100% around the house and remember that ‘road less travelled’ part I talked about earlier, well, we were well and truly on and in it now. A beautiful quote about tough times has stayed with me throughout the House building experience, it’s by Robert H. Schuller and its says “Tough times never last, but tough people do.

We had an incredibly tough time, so tough in-fact that it almost broke us, not broke us up, but to experience so much stress, exhaustion, vulnerability and uncertainty and even anger, almost every day towards the end of our build literary made us unwell. We were eating badly, we were not sleeping, we were losing weight, money was running out along with a lot of our tears, relationships with contractors and suppliers were strained and it was very very difficult to make rational decisions. There were days when one of us just could not go on, couldn’t cope with the pressures and it was up to the other one, who was a little stronger that particular day to push through on what had to be done. There is absolutely no question that together we were stronger, and together we got through it. When it came down to it, all that truly mattered was protecting each other and being a strength for each other.

It’s all over: The builders finished what they had to do on the Friday. They left that afternoon and for the first time in months, it was just us: Me, Brooke and the dogs in our home. Things were not complete, there was no fire installed, storm water pipes still had to go in, Gib had to go up in kitchen, windows had to be finished, more painting had to be done, electrics had to be finished and it pretty much rained every day, which meant mud everywhere…but it was ours.

The beginning: We have been in our house for 6 weeks now and all (apart from the painting) is complete. We even managed to have a holiday in the UK to celebrate my wonderful Mums 80th birthday. Time away from the place was going to determine how we might feel about everything.

I truly believe we were operating/existing/coping at a level beyond measure, we were so tired we couldn’t sleep and so stressed we weren’t aware of what was normal anymore. When we arrived in the UK, it was 6.30am UK time and when we came through arrivals we were met by my wonderful Mum and amazing wee sister who had got up at 4.30am to go all the way (by bus) to the Airport to meet us. My eyes fill with ‘happy’ tears as I write this, as it was such a tonic, a generous gesture of their love and support for us. We were beginning to heal already.

The next few weeks was all about family, re-connection and re-energising. We felt the love and support in abundance through laughter, through celebrations and togetherness. Absence did make the heart grow fonder, there was one particular day when Brooke and I were out walking through Scotland’s stunning countryside and she said “you know what? I’m feeling really positive about the future and about going home”. I too felt it, the past was where it belonged, we had stepped into a new era…a new beginning.

We have started our new Business, well three actually. Our Olive Oil is going well, we also started ‘Northlanding Home and Garden Services’ where we service holiday homes and gardens in and around the area, it’s going really well and it’s all on our terms, which clients we say yes to and which ones we say no to and its empowering and inspiring at the same time.

Our other business is our holiday accommodation cabin. We have named it the ‘River Bothy’. Since we named our House ‘The River House’, we decided the cabin can be a smaller version of the house. It’s based on the old settler’s style cabin where the shower and toilet are in a little separate unit and the cabin itself is where the comfortable and cosy bed and seating area is. It is nestled within the Olive groves with views to the River and countryside. Its peaceful, private and most all, we want people to come stay somewhere they too can experience and appreciate the precious things in life like each other, like nature and to be reminded that although ‘the road less travelled’ may have been bumpy, confusing and challenging, it was also worth it in the end.

We have so much more knowledge, strength and self-awareness now, that if the opportunity presented itself to us in the shape of another road with no sign posts and lots of pot holes with the possibility of growth, empowerment and inspiration as the end result, would we take it or would we follow the path others have taken before us………….

I hope you stayed with me to the end and I hope you have gained an insight into how we lived through a really difficult time and how we pushed through and then let go……. it’s everywhere, in abundance.

Be your own Destiny maker, be your own Path maker.

Some photos that hopefully summaries the past 11 months for you....

Northlanding logo. Designed by Danny Neil design. A friend, a colleague, an inspiration

                                         Caravan arriving at site

                             Settled in for the Summer

    Caravan living.

     Summer Selfie

  Me and my special boy.

  Very, very special friends…..how we cherish these relationships.

Paddling on the Oruaiti River

Sun rising over the Oruaiti River

The River House site meeting

 Northlanding HQ. Planning board

 Site ready for Garage

And 3 weeks later, she’s up

 House site cleared and ready to begin the Build

Foundations in and scaffolding ready and waiting for the arrival of the Trusses

Trusses going into place. The team made these off site and we spend a few days treating them with Danish Oil to protect them against the elements when they were outside.

The giant SIPS panels were all painted with 3 coats prior to being hoisted into place.

Pretty cool Ariel shots of the work underway. Taken by Kieren Malone using his Drone

 Back on the ground and the SIPS walls are flying up.

A few days later and the roof is going on, check out the amazing sky

Solar panels are so cool…..sunbathing all day long…bring it on

When you need a little joy in your life, just look up. Picture perfect.

 The River House has arrived….

Looking out across the River from upstairs

A view from the Living area

Downstairs bedroom and little courtyard. Be handy in the summer for shade

Olives and Oil

Learning (as we go) the Art of pruning Olive trees

Lots and lots of clippings

Which we dragged with the quad bike and some tarpaulin to an area on the lower side and made pathways through to the River...

 Ripe Olives, ready to be Shaken Down

A ¼ tonne of Olives. One of many Shaken down that day

Labels designed by Danny Neil. What a guy!

The end results. Our very own Olive Oil with their swanky labels

Look who turned 80 years young. Our wonderful Mum. An inspiration to us all…..

Thanks to you dear reader, thanks for taking the time to read my wee Blogaroo.

Any feedback is welcomed.....

            zdsz�

[samuelfields]

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels

Have you ever met someone who’s told you, “Traveling to experience different foods, sights, cultures, and people? Ew, no.” Me neither.

The point is, the majority of us looooooove to travel, but we all have different styles of how we plan for it and actually prefer to travel, based in large part on our inner math of whether certain experiences are “worth it.”

For example, I’m kind of a rugged traveler. The idea of swank five- or even four-star hotels never appealed to me. A bag of M&M peanuts for $5? No thanks, I brought my own. An $8 bottle of Fiji water? Just tap water for me.

My travel preferences are the complete opposite of IWT CEO Ramit Sethi’s (aka my boss), who recently returned from his six-week (!) honeymoon. The trip spanned across countries: Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand. You can read all about his trip starting here.

Real picture of a real lion that Ramit took.

For me, luxury and travel are like oil and water — like, why bother mixing them? If I traveled, I’d usually rough it out — in the occasional hostel, and for longer term stays, in affordable Airbnbs, just as I did back in my nomadic days; whereas Ramit deliberately immersed himself in absolute luxury, juxtaposed against local life, like touring the street vendors or cooking at a local woman’s house.

Maybe it was Ramit’s excitement about his experiences as he was telling it, but the idea of traveling in luxury became a contagion that latched on and proliferated in my thoughts, shifting my perspective from wanting to ask not “why?” but “why not…?”

Why not try splurging on lavish experiences when I’m traveling (I am older now, after all)?

Why not have both worlds of “ultra lux” and the humility of local living?

Why not be open-minded and dream BIG?

Maybe it’s meta to be cross-examining my boss’s style of vacationing with my own travels on the very blog that he founded, but it’s important to also acknowledge that just because I’m part of the team here doesn’t mean we’re a hivemind. It doesn’t mean I just “get it.” Like you, I must undergo a process of exposing myself to different and interesting ideas and letting them percolate until I choose to make them a part of my decision-making, as long as they make sense to me.

And ultimately, what I took away from his retelling of his experiences isn’t that I necessarily need to also travel lavishly or that I should go to Thailand or India or Kenya. It’s that…

1. My own dream vacation is within my reach … I just have to plan it

While I don’t care to go on my own safari adventure, I’ve been inspired to figure out how to make my own dream vacation — a multi-month stay in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics — a reality.

My goal for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t a spur-of-the-moment thought I came up with just now while thinking about eating sushi for dinner (¬_¬). It’s actually been on my mind since

I got to stay in Tokyo for four months back in 2016. At the time, it was a feel-good fleeting thought — something that I’d pushed off until now obviously to start thinking about manifesting.

Stephanie’s thought process then: “Future Stephanie will figure it out somehow!”

Stephanie’s thought process now: “OK, well, I am Future Stephanie now, so the first thing to do is start automatically transferring savings into an account that’s dedicated for this trip (done); find someone who can help me maximize my credit card points between now and then (in progress); then use my hella points to book first-class tickets to Tokyo.”

The main difference between thinking about Tokyo 2020 then and now is, as you can plainly see, I am aligning my actions with this goal. As of this writing, I have more than a year to go, and automatically saving for this specific goal has already liberated me from the mental strain of thinking about putting funds aside every month (we call this automating our finances).

2. I could share my travel experiences with loved ones

It’s no secret that Ramit took his parents and in-laws with him on the first leg of his honeymoon. But what really fascinated me was what Ramit said to Brian Kelly, aka “The Points Guy,” on Brian’s Talking Points podcast:

“My parents had four kids, not a lot of money. And I was just thinking that if they were to come to Rome, they would’ve come during the hot summer. They would have planned out everywhere they went based on how much it cost. And so for us to even be like ‘Don’t even think about it, just show up.’…

We took private tours of the Vatican. We took them to a cooking class. Both of the moms have never taken a cooking class in their lives. They’ve been cooking for 30-plus years! We all just hung out. And the dads bonded. It was just one of the best memories of our lives.”

I bolded the above because I understand that exact sentiment. My Asian parents would rarely go traveling, much less even *think* about spending more money than necessary on a luxury vacation. The idea simply doesn’t exist in the realm of possibilities for them.

One year I took both my parents with me to Toronto. And I remember my dad telling me how grateful he was to have been able to reconnect with his cousins after 30 years, which wouldn’t have been at all possible had I not booked his ticket and stay.

Having the perspective and ability to share these travel experiences with loved ones to me is truly the idea of abundance and generosity, as well as a powerful motivator for why I work so hard to earn money.

3. I don’t have to fall for the mindtrap of “finding a better deal”

It used to make financial sense to forego luxury hotels and experiences and restrict myself to the idea of budget travel when I was but a broke college kid. And so I’d try to calculate cost and my expected value and level of happiness or satisfaction.

More often than not, this math was way off. One year I recall passing on the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the Bahamas. Although I was interested, it was quite a bit out of my budget but still something I could afford. But I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it or that I could find a better deal elsewhere.

In the end, I missed out completely, and for months that was all my friends who did partake talked about. #FOMO

Old money decisions die hard. But as I’ve learned through adopting new money habits, cost and expected outcome aren’t something I could predict or are necessarily even meant to be predetermined. It’s not always about the deal, but about the convenience and immediate opportunity of being able to indulge in something fun and unique that I otherwise would never get to experience.

4. It’s okay to spend on things I love or just want

How many of us feel a nagging guilt that we “shouldn’t” spend money on that $65 shirt when we already have 12 other shirts, even though we WANT it? It’s hard to justify, and we all feel this, even people like Brian, who travels in style for a living. Here’s a transcription of the Talking Points podcast mentioned above that I thought was particularly profound:

Brian: “I always struggle, especially in a country like Thailand, Amans are expensive wherever you go. And people will grouse, I know, whenever I say the nice hotel in Thailand, but, yeah. I mean, it’s all about the experience.”

Ramit: “I agree. I don’t think it’s for every day. I’m perfectly happy staying at a very budget airport hotel when I need to. I don’t mind it. But I do think that there are moments in life where you say, ‘I truly want to go as far as I can on this.’ And I have this concept on my site where I talk about Money Dials. Think about a dial on your car radio.

And most people have one or two Money Dials that they just love spending on. For you, it’s travel. And so you can turn that Money Dial all the way up and you can stay at Aman’s, Ritz Carlton, wherever it is that you love. Some people just couldn’t care less. But they love clothes. A lot of people love convenience. I love convenience, that’s mine. So if you know what your Money Dial is, then you can go all in and you can spend extravagantly on the things you love.”

We each have an area in our lives where we just naturally spend more money on. These Money Dials explain why we spend money the way we do. In other words, Money Dials is a way for you to figure out what’s important to you and what’s not. For example, I value relationships, so I’ve spent more money to live in a centrally located apartment, furnished from zero, to be more welcoming and host my new and old friends much more easily.

For me, the idea of Money Dials has provided me that healthy balance of knowing that I could spend money on something — guilt-free — because it’s important to me, instead of feeling like I should only be squirreling away money for an indeterminate future.

I could have both — and spend wisely and extravagantly as long as I can afford it and it makes me happy.

5. My dream vacation shouldn’t just be a dream

We often hammer home the message of “you define what a Rich Life means to you,” but I must admit that I have to constantly think about what this means for myself.  

Through writing this article, I realized that part of my Rich Life is being able to figure out that I CAN make my “dream vacation” possible for myself.

Maybe not tomorrow. Not next week or in the next six months.

But definitely in a reasonable and achievable timeline that wouldn’t get drowned out by vague “someday” hopes. I’ve already set up my savings, and it’s only a matter of time before I start looking at flights and places to stay.

The overall message here is simple: it’s important for all of us to think about why we strive to live a Rich Life. For me, it’s about being in control and deciding what my money can do and is for.

And at least for the foreseeable future, it’s living in my posh apartment to spend more time with people I care about and then taking off to Tokyo in summer 2020 to mash myself against hundreds of people from around the world to celebrate amid the biggest stage in sports ever.

See you there?

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/my-boss-went-on-a-dream-six-week-vacation-and-these-are-5-things-i-now-consider-for-my-future-travels/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[kennethherrerablog]

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels

Have you ever met someone who’s told you, “Traveling to experience different foods, sights, cultures, and people? Ew, no.” Me neither.

The point is, the majority of us looooooove to travel, but we all have different styles of how we plan for it and actually prefer to travel, based in large part on our inner math of whether certain experiences are “worth it.”

For example, I’m kind of a rugged traveler. The idea of swank five- or even four-star hotels never appealed to me. A bag of M&M peanuts for $5? No thanks, I brought my own. An $8 bottle of Fiji water? Just tap water for me.

My travel preferences are the complete opposite of IWT CEO Ramit Sethi’s (aka my boss), who recently returned from his six-week (!) honeymoon. The trip spanned across countries: Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand. You can read all about his trip starting here.

Real picture of a real lion that Ramit took.

For me, luxury and travel are like oil and water — like, why bother mixing them? If I traveled, I’d usually rough it out — in the occasional hostel, and for longer term stays, in affordable Airbnbs, just as I did back in my nomadic days; whereas Ramit deliberately immersed himself in absolute luxury, juxtaposed against local life, like touring the street vendors or cooking at a local woman’s house.

Maybe it was Ramit’s excitement about his experiences as he was telling it, but the idea of traveling in luxury became a contagion that latched on and proliferated in my thoughts, shifting my perspective from wanting to ask not “why?” but “why not…?”

Why not try splurging on lavish experiences when I’m traveling (I am older now, after all)?

Why not have both worlds of “ultra lux” and the humility of local living?

Why not be open-minded and dream BIG?

Maybe it’s meta to be cross-examining my boss’s style of vacationing with my own travels on the very blog that he founded, but it’s important to also acknowledge that just because I’m part of the team here doesn’t mean we’re a hivemind. It doesn’t mean I just “get it.” Like you, I must undergo a process of exposing myself to different and interesting ideas and letting them percolate until I choose to make them a part of my decision-making, as long as they make sense to me.

And ultimately, what I took away from his retelling of his experiences isn’t that I necessarily need to also travel lavishly or that I should go to Thailand or India or Kenya. It’s that…

1. My own dream vacation is within my reach … I just have to plan it

While I don’t care to go on my own safari adventure, I’ve been inspired to figure out how to make my own dream vacation — a multi-month stay in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics — a reality.

My goal for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t a spur-of-the-moment thought I came up with just now while thinking about eating sushi for dinner (¬_¬). It’s actually been on my mind since

I got to stay in Tokyo for four months back in 2016. At the time, it was a feel-good fleeting thought — something that I’d pushed off until now obviously to start thinking about manifesting.

Stephanie’s thought process then: “Future Stephanie will figure it out somehow!”

Stephanie’s thought process now: “OK, well, I am Future Stephanie now, so the first thing to do is start automatically transferring savings into an account that’s dedicated for this trip (done); find someone who can help me maximize my credit card points between now and then (in progress); then use my hella points to book first-class tickets to Tokyo.”

The main difference between thinking about Tokyo 2020 then and now is, as you can plainly see, I am aligning my actions with this goal. As of this writing, I have more than a year to go, and automatically saving for this specific goal has already liberated me from the mental strain of thinking about putting funds aside every month (we call this automating our finances).

2. I could share my travel experiences with loved ones

It’s no secret that Ramit took his parents and in-laws with him on the first leg of his honeymoon. But what really fascinated me was what Ramit said to Brian Kelly, aka “The Points Guy,” on Brian’s Talking Points podcast:

“My parents had four kids, not a lot of money. And I was just thinking that if they were to come to Rome, they would’ve come during the hot summer. They would have planned out everywhere they went based on how much it cost. And so for us to even be like ‘Don’t even think about it, just show up.’…

We took private tours of the Vatican. We took them to a cooking class. Both of the moms have never taken a cooking class in their lives. They’ve been cooking for 30-plus years! We all just hung out. And the dads bonded. It was just one of the best memories of our lives.”

I bolded the above because I understand that exact sentiment. My Asian parents would rarely go traveling, much less even *think* about spending more money than necessary on a luxury vacation. The idea simply doesn’t exist in the realm of possibilities for them.

One year I took both my parents with me to Toronto. And I remember my dad telling me how grateful he was to have been able to reconnect with his cousins after 30 years, which wouldn’t have been at all possible had I not booked his ticket and stay.

Having the perspective and ability to share these travel experiences with loved ones to me is truly the idea of abundance and generosity, as well as a powerful motivator for why I work so hard to earn money.

3. I don’t have to fall for the mindtrap of “finding a better deal”

It used to make financial sense to forego luxury hotels and experiences and restrict myself to the idea of budget travel when I was but a broke college kid. And so I’d try to calculate cost and my expected value and level of happiness or satisfaction.

More often than not, this math was way off. One year I recall passing on the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the Bahamas. Although I was interested, it was quite a bit out of my budget but still something I could afford. But I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it or that I could find a better deal elsewhere.

In the end, I missed out completely, and for months that was all my friends who did partake talked about. #FOMO

Old money decisions die hard. But as I’ve learned through adopting new money habits, cost and expected outcome aren’t something I could predict or are necessarily even meant to be predetermined. It’s not always about the deal, but about the convenience and immediate opportunity of being able to indulge in something fun and unique that I otherwise would never get to experience.

4. It’s okay to spend on things I love or just want

How many of us feel a nagging guilt that we “shouldn’t” spend money on that $65 shirt when we already have 12 other shirts, even though we WANT it? It’s hard to justify, and we all feel this, even people like Brian, who travels in style for a living. Here’s a transcription of the Talking Points podcast mentioned above that I thought was particularly profound:

Brian: “I always struggle, especially in a country like Thailand, Amans are expensive wherever you go. And people will grouse, I know, whenever I say the nice hotel in Thailand, but, yeah. I mean, it’s all about the experience.”

Ramit: “I agree. I don’t think it’s for every day. I’m perfectly happy staying at a very budget airport hotel when I need to. I don’t mind it. But I do think that there are moments in life where you say, ‘I truly want to go as far as I can on this.’ And I have this concept on my site where I talk about Money Dials. Think about a dial on your car radio.

And most people have one or two Money Dials that they just love spending on. For you, it’s travel. And so you can turn that Money Dial all the way up and you can stay at Aman’s, Ritz Carlton, wherever it is that you love. Some people just couldn’t care less. But they love clothes. A lot of people love convenience. I love convenience, that’s mine. So if you know what your Money Dial is, then you can go all in and you can spend extravagantly on the things you love.”

We each have an area in our lives where we just naturally spend more money on. These Money Dials explain why we spend money the way we do. In other words, Money Dials is a way for you to figure out what’s important to you and what’s not. For example, I value relationships, so I’ve spent more money to live in a centrally located apartment, furnished from zero, to be more welcoming and host my new and old friends much more easily.

For me, the idea of Money Dials has provided me that healthy balance of knowing that I could spend money on something — guilt-free — because it’s important to me, instead of feeling like I should only be squirreling away money for an indeterminate future.

I could have both — and spend wisely and extravagantly as long as I can afford it and it makes me happy.

5. My dream vacation shouldn’t just be a dream

We often hammer home the message of “you define what a Rich Life means to you,” but I must admit that I have to constantly think about what this means for myself.  

Through writing this article, I realized that part of my Rich Life is being able to figure out that I CAN make my “dream vacation” possible for myself.

Maybe not tomorrow. Not next week or in the next six months.

But definitely in a reasonable and achievable timeline that wouldn’t get drowned out by vague “someday” hopes. I’ve already set up my savings, and it’s only a matter of time before I start looking at flights and places to stay.

The overall message here is simple: it’s important for all of us to think about why we strive to live a Rich Life. For me, it’s about being in control and deciding what my money can do and is for.

And at least for the foreseeable future, it’s living in my posh apartment to spend more time with people I care about and then taking off to Tokyo in summer 2020 to mash myself against hundreds of people from around the world to celebrate amid the biggest stage in sports ever.

See you there?

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

[paulckrueger]

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels

Have you ever met someone who’s told you, “Traveling to experience different foods, sights, cultures, and people? Ew, no.” Me neither.

The point is, the majority of us looooooove to travel, but we all have different styles of how we plan for it and actually prefer to travel, based in large part on our inner math of whether certain experiences are “worth it.”

For example, I’m kind of a rugged traveler. The idea of swank five- or even four-star hotels never appealed to me. A bag of M&M peanuts for $5? No thanks, I brought my own. An $8 bottle of Fiji water? Just tap water for me.

My travel preferences are the complete opposite of IWT CEO Ramit Sethi’s (aka my boss), who recently returned from his six-week (!) honeymoon. The trip spanned across countries: Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand. You can read all about his trip starting here.

Real picture of a real lion that Ramit took.

For me, luxury and travel are like oil and water — like, why bother mixing them? If I traveled, I’d usually rough it out — in the occasional hostel, and for longer term stays, in affordable Airbnbs, just as I did back in my nomadic days; whereas Ramit deliberately immersed himself in absolute luxury, juxtaposed against local life, like touring the street vendors or cooking at a local woman’s house.

Maybe it was Ramit’s excitement about his experiences as he was telling it, but the idea of traveling in luxury became a contagion that latched on and proliferated in my thoughts, shifting my perspective from wanting to ask not “why?” but “why not…?”

Why not try splurging on lavish experiences when I’m traveling (I am older now, after all)?

Why not have both worlds of “ultra lux” and the humility of local living?

Why not be open-minded and dream BIG?

Maybe it’s meta to be cross-examining my boss’s style of vacationing with my own travels on the very blog that he founded, but it’s important to also acknowledge that just because I’m part of the team here doesn’t mean we’re a hivemind. It doesn’t mean I just “get it.” Like you, I must undergo a process of exposing myself to different and interesting ideas and letting them percolate until I choose to make them a part of my decision-making, as long as they make sense to me.

And ultimately, what I took away from his retelling of his experiences isn’t that I necessarily need to also travel lavishly or that I should go to Thailand or India or Kenya. It’s that…

1. My own dream vacation is within my reach … I just have to plan it

While I don’t care to go on my own safari adventure, I’ve been inspired to figure out how to make my own dream vacation — a multi-month stay in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics — a reality.

My goal for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t a spur-of-the-moment thought I came up with just now while thinking about eating sushi for dinner (¬_¬). It’s actually been on my mind since

I got to stay in Tokyo for four months back in 2016. At the time, it was a feel-good fleeting thought — something that I’d pushed off until now obviously to start thinking about manifesting.

Stephanie’s thought process then: “Future Stephanie will figure it out somehow!”

Stephanie’s thought process now: “OK, well, I am Future Stephanie now, so the first thing to do is start automatically transferring savings into an account that’s dedicated for this trip (done); find someone who can help me maximize my credit card points between now and then (in progress); then use my hella points to book first-class tickets to Tokyo.”

The main difference between thinking about Tokyo 2020 then and now is, as you can plainly see, I am aligning my actions with this goal. As of this writing, I have more than a year to go, and automatically saving for this specific goal has already liberated me from the mental strain of thinking about putting funds aside every month (we call this automating our finances).

2. I could share my travel experiences with loved ones

It’s no secret that Ramit took his parents and in-laws with him on the first leg of his honeymoon. But what really fascinated me was what Ramit said to Brian Kelly, aka “The Points Guy,” on Brian’s Talking Points podcast:

“My parents had four kids, not a lot of money. And I was just thinking that if they were to come to Rome, they would’ve come during the hot summer. They would have planned out everywhere they went based on how much it cost. And so for us to even be like ‘Don’t even think about it, just show up.’…

We took private tours of the Vatican. We took them to a cooking class. Both of the moms have never taken a cooking class in their lives. They’ve been cooking for 30-plus years! We all just hung out. And the dads bonded. It was just one of the best memories of our lives.”

I bolded the above because I understand that exact sentiment. My Asian parents would rarely go traveling, much less even *think* about spending more money than necessary on a luxury vacation. The idea simply doesn’t exist in the realm of possibilities for them.

One year I took both my parents with me to Toronto. And I remember my dad telling me how grateful he was to have been able to reconnect with his cousins after 30 years, which wouldn’t have been at all possible had I not booked his ticket and stay.

Having the perspective and ability to share these travel experiences with loved ones to me is truly the idea of abundance and generosity, as well as a powerful motivator for why I work so hard to earn money.

3. I don’t have to fall for the mindtrap of “finding a better deal”

It used to make financial sense to forego luxury hotels and experiences and restrict myself to the idea of budget travel when I was but a broke college kid. And so I’d try to calculate cost and my expected value and level of happiness or satisfaction.

More often than not, this math was way off. One year I recall passing on the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the Bahamas. Although I was interested, it was quite a bit out of my budget but still something I could afford. But I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it or that I could find a better deal elsewhere.

In the end, I missed out completely, and for months that was all my friends who did partake talked about. #FOMO

Old money decisions die hard. But as I’ve learned through adopting new money habits, cost and expected outcome aren’t something I could predict or are necessarily even meant to be predetermined. It’s not always about the deal, but about the convenience and immediate opportunity of being able to indulge in something fun and unique that I otherwise would never get to experience.

4. It’s okay to spend on things I love or just want

How many of us feel a nagging guilt that we “shouldn’t” spend money on that $65 shirt when we already have 12 other shirts, even though we WANT it? It’s hard to justify, and we all feel this, even people like Brian, who travels in style for a living. Here’s a transcription of the Talking Points podcast mentioned above that I thought was particularly profound:

Brian: “I always struggle, especially in a country like Thailand, Amans are expensive wherever you go. And people will grouse, I know, whenever I say the nice hotel in Thailand, but, yeah. I mean, it’s all about the experience.”

Ramit: “I agree. I don’t think it’s for every day. I’m perfectly happy staying at a very budget airport hotel when I need to. I don’t mind it. But I do think that there are moments in life where you say, ‘I truly want to go as far as I can on this.’ And I have this concept on my site where I talk about Money Dials. Think about a dial on your car radio.

And most people have one or two Money Dials that they just love spending on. For you, it’s travel. And so you can turn that Money Dial all the way up and you can stay at Aman’s, Ritz Carlton, wherever it is that you love. Some people just couldn’t care less. But they love clothes. A lot of people love convenience. I love convenience, that’s mine. So if you know what your Money Dial is, then you can go all in and you can spend extravagantly on the things you love.”

We each have an area in our lives where we just naturally spend more money on. These Money Dials explain why we spend money the way we do. In other words, Money Dials is a way for you to figure out what’s important to you and what’s not. For example, I value relationships, so I’ve spent more money to live in a centrally located apartment, furnished from zero, to be more welcoming and host my new and old friends much more easily.

For me, the idea of Money Dials has provided me that healthy balance of knowing that I could spend money on something — guilt-free — because it’s important to me, instead of feeling like I should only be squirreling away money for an indeterminate future.

I could have both — and spend wisely and extravagantly as long as I can afford it and it makes me happy.

5. My dream vacation shouldn’t just be a dream

We often hammer home the message of “you define what a Rich Life means to you,” but I must admit that I have to constantly think about what this means for myself.  

Through writing this article, I realized that part of my Rich Life is being able to figure out that I CAN make my “dream vacation” possible for myself.

Maybe not tomorrow. Not next week or in the next six months.

But definitely in a reasonable and achievable timeline that wouldn’t get drowned out by vague “someday” hopes. I’ve already set up my savings, and it’s only a matter of time before I start looking at flights and places to stay.

The overall message here is simple: it’s important for all of us to think about why we strive to live a Rich Life. For me, it’s about being in control and deciding what my money can do and is for.

And at least for the foreseeable future, it’s living in my posh apartment to spend more time with people I care about and then taking off to Tokyo in summer 2020 to mash myself against hundreds of people from around the world to celebrate amid the biggest stage in sports ever.

See you there?

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Surety Bond Brokers? Business https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/my-boss-went-on-a-dream-six-week-vacation-and-these-are-5-things-i-now-consider-for-my-future-travels/

[andrewdburton]

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels

Have you ever met someone who’s told you, “Traveling to experience different foods, sights, cultures, and people? Ew, no.” Me neither.

The point is, the majority of us looooooove to travel, but we all have different styles of how we plan for it and actually prefer to travel, based in large part on our inner math of whether certain experiences are “worth it.”

For example, I’m kind of a rugged traveler. The idea of swank five- or even four-star hotels never appealed to me. A bag of M&M peanuts for $5? No thanks, I brought my own. An $8 bottle of Fiji water? Just tap water for me.

My travel preferences are the complete opposite of IWT CEO Ramit Sethi’s (aka my boss), who recently returned from his six-week (!) honeymoon. The trip spanned across countries: Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand. You can read all about his trip starting here.

Real picture of a real lion that Ramit took.

For me, luxury and travel are like oil and water — like, why bother mixing them? If I traveled, I’d usually rough it out — in the occasional hostel, and for longer term stays, in affordable Airbnbs, just as I did back in my nomadic days; whereas Ramit deliberately immersed himself in absolute luxury, juxtaposed against local life, like touring the street vendors or cooking at a local woman’s house.

Maybe it was Ramit’s excitement about his experiences as he was telling it, but the idea of traveling in luxury became a contagion that latched on and proliferated in my thoughts, shifting my perspective from wanting to ask not “why?” but “why not…?”

Why not try splurging on lavish experiences when I’m traveling (I am older now, after all)?

Why not have both worlds of “ultra lux” and the humility of local living?

Why not be open-minded and dream BIG?

Maybe it’s meta to be cross-examining my boss’s style of vacationing with my own travels on the very blog that he founded, but it’s important to also acknowledge that just because I’m part of the team here doesn’t mean we’re a hivemind. It doesn’t mean I just “get it.” Like you, I must undergo a process of exposing myself to different and interesting ideas and letting them percolate until I choose to make them a part of my decision-making, as long as they make sense to me.

And ultimately, what I took away from his retelling of his experiences isn’t that I necessarily need to also travel lavishly or that I should go to Thailand or India or Kenya. It’s that…

1. My own dream vacation is within my reach … I just have to plan it

While I don’t care to go on my own safari adventure, I’ve been inspired to figure out how to make my own dream vacation — a multi-month stay in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics — a reality.

My goal for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t a spur-of-the-moment thought I came up with just now while thinking about eating sushi for dinner (¬_¬). It’s actually been on my mind since

I got to stay in Tokyo for four months back in 2016. At the time, it was a feel-good fleeting thought — something that I’d pushed off until now obviously to start thinking about manifesting.

Stephanie’s thought process then: “Future Stephanie will figure it out somehow!”

Stephanie’s thought process now: “OK, well, I am Future Stephanie now, so the first thing to do is start automatically transferring savings into an account that’s dedicated for this trip (done); find someone who can help me maximize my credit card points between now and then (in progress); then use my hella points to book first-class tickets to Tokyo.”

The main difference between thinking about Tokyo 2020 then and now is, as you can plainly see, I am aligning my actions with this goal. As of this writing, I have more than a year to go, and automatically saving for this specific goal has already liberated me from the mental strain of thinking about putting funds aside every month (we call this automating our finances).

2. I could share my travel experiences with loved ones

It’s no secret that Ramit took his parents and in-laws with him on the first leg of his honeymoon. But what really fascinated me was what Ramit said to Brian Kelly, aka “The Points Guy,” on Brian’s Talking Points podcast:

“My parents had four kids, not a lot of money. And I was just thinking that if they were to come to Rome, they would’ve come during the hot summer. They would have planned out everywhere they went based on how much it cost. And so for us to even be like ‘Don’t even think about it, just show up.’…

We took private tours of the Vatican. We took them to a cooking class. Both of the moms have never taken a cooking class in their lives. They’ve been cooking for 30-plus years! We all just hung out. And the dads bonded. It was just one of the best memories of our lives.”

I bolded the above because I understand that exact sentiment. My Asian parents would rarely go traveling, much less even *think* about spending more money than necessary on a luxury vacation. The idea simply doesn’t exist in the realm of possibilities for them.

One year I took both my parents with me to Toronto. And I remember my dad telling me how grateful he was to have been able to reconnect with his cousins after 30 years, which wouldn’t have been at all possible had I not booked his ticket and stay.

Having the perspective and ability to share these travel experiences with loved ones to me is truly the idea of abundance and generosity, as well as a powerful motivator for why I work so hard to earn money.

3. I don’t have to fall for the mindtrap of “finding a better deal”

It used to make financial sense to forego luxury hotels and experiences and restrict myself to the idea of budget travel when I was but a broke college kid. And so I’d try to calculate cost and my expected value and level of happiness or satisfaction.

More often than not, this math was way off. One year I recall passing on the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the Bahamas. Although I was interested, it was quite a bit out of my budget but still something I could afford. But I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it or that I could find a better deal elsewhere.

In the end, I missed out completely, and for months that was all my friends who did partake talked about. #FOMO

Old money decisions die hard. But as I’ve learned through adopting new money habits, cost and expected outcome aren’t something I could predict or are necessarily even meant to be predetermined. It’s not always about the deal, but about the convenience and immediate opportunity of being able to indulge in something fun and unique that I otherwise would never get to experience.

4. It’s okay to spend on things I love or just want

How many of us feel a nagging guilt that we “shouldn’t” spend money on that $65 shirt when we already have 12 other shirts, even though we WANT it? It’s hard to justify, and we all feel this, even people like Brian, who travels in style for a living. Here’s a transcription of the Talking Points podcast mentioned above that I thought was particularly profound:

Brian: “I always struggle, especially in a country like Thailand, Amans are expensive wherever you go. And people will grouse, I know, whenever I say the nice hotel in Thailand, but, yeah. I mean, it’s all about the experience.”

Ramit: “I agree. I don’t think it’s for every day. I’m perfectly happy staying at a very budget airport hotel when I need to. I don’t mind it. But I do think that there are moments in life where you say, ‘I truly want to go as far as I can on this.’ And I have this concept on my site where I talk about Money Dials. Think about a dial on your car radio.

And most people have one or two Money Dials that they just love spending on. For you, it’s travel. And so you can turn that Money Dial all the way up and you can stay at Aman’s, Ritz Carlton, wherever it is that you love. Some people just couldn’t care less. But they love clothes. A lot of people love convenience. I love convenience, that’s mine. So if you know what your Money Dial is, then you can go all in and you can spend extravagantly on the things you love.”

We each have an area in our lives where we just naturally spend more money on. These Money Dials explain why we spend money the way we do. In other words, Money Dials is a way for you to figure out what’s important to you and what’s not. For example, I value relationships, so I’ve spent more money to live in a centrally located apartment, furnished from zero, to be more welcoming and host my new and old friends much more easily.

For me, the idea of Money Dials has provided me that healthy balance of knowing that I could spend money on something — guilt-free — because it’s important to me, instead of feeling like I should only be squirreling away money for an indeterminate future.

I could have both — and spend wisely and extravagantly as long as I can afford it and it makes me happy.

5. My dream vacation shouldn’t just be a dream

We often hammer home the message of “you define what a Rich Life means to you,” but I must admit that I have to constantly think about what this means for myself.  

Through writing this article, I realized that part of my Rich Life is being able to figure out that I CAN make my “dream vacation” possible for myself.

Maybe not tomorrow. Not next week or in the next six months.

But definitely in a reasonable and achievable timeline that wouldn’t get drowned out by vague “someday” hopes. I’ve already set up my savings, and it’s only a matter of time before I start looking at flights and places to stay.

The overall message here is simple: it’s important for all of us to think about why we strive to live a Rich Life. For me, it’s about being in control and deciding what my money can do and is for.

And at least for the foreseeable future, it’s living in my posh apartment to spend more time with people I care about and then taking off to Tokyo in summer 2020 to mash myself against hundreds of people from around the world to celebrate amid the biggest stage in sports ever.

See you there?

My boss went on a dream six-week vacation, and these are 5 things I now consider for my future travels is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/my-boss-went-on-a-dream-six-week-vacation-and-these-are-5-things-i-now-consider-for-my-future-travels/ via http://www.rssmix.com/