#also that bus ride was so goated we had so much fun

[lynsstrange]

for me the caitvi sesbian lex scene will always be imprinted in my mind with the memory of watching it on the bus ride back from a band competition with my friend and our eye contact getting progressively more intense as the scene kept going further and further until we decided to skip it because there were people right next to us 😭

[marshmallowprotection]

Kait!! Look, Saeyoung will be in heaven!! They are around like.. 15-17 cats in general lmfao

Wanna know the most fun part? YOU CAN PET NEARLY EVERY SINGLE ONE. In fact, most of them even follow you around for head pats and cuddles! The 5 kittens here will think you're their parent and the others usually want some head scratches!

There are these 3 gray and white cats who only follow you for head scratches (the third one took a bit to trust me and today I head him purring for the first time, he has such a quiet purr though-)

They are these two very identical white with some black cats who start licking you even if all you did is stroke their head like.. one time. They keep rubbing your leg and meow at you. (Although they'll mostly lick whatever skin they find on you AHAHAHA)

Saeyoung will be so happy LMFAO. Wait until I tell him that we have like 50 or so chickens and a BIG ASS field! We got like.. infinite eggs!! There's even a garden here where we raise vegetables as well~

We used to have two dogs and goats but they aren't here anymore. Honestly, I would have LOVED to see Saeyoung do the same thing my uncle did with a goat LMFAO

My uncle basically sat on a goat's back and did a gesture like he was riding a motorcycle by touching it's horns ANDHWHDH

And you actually need a car or to use a bus to get around here where I am. So I think that Saeyoung would be very happy driving around here! Although he'll need somewhere to park his car and sadly, I don't think he can bring his whole collection T_T

We even have a beach near us so I think he'll also be very happy to go and relax there! I remember someone fishing one day while I passed by my grandma to dive in. So I think Saeyoung would be really happy about it!

Ah, I wish I could also ride the bike with Saeyoung! Would be fun doing races! The current ones we have are uncomfortable to ride sadly.

The bittersweet thing is that while no one is riding their bikes here like back then, the house in front of us has two kids and even some relatives who come with their own kids and today they played outside! Reminded me so much of the old good days.

It's funny how it used to be one or two kids from nearly each house but now it's only one house, although they don't play that often outside. I had a smile watching them, though.^^

I was originally gonna ramble a bit about Yatora but I think I'll leave it for another ask, Kait! I have a lot to ramble about him as well SKDHWJD

It's been a while since I rambled about doing things with Saeyoung, hehe. I love both Saeyoung and Yatora so much, I'm so happy they are in my life! I wanna shower them both with so much affection and make them a flustered mess~!

I hope you have been doing well, Kait! It's really warm these days so stay hydrated and take care! <3

See, that is also a literal heaven for me. I would love to just flop over on the ground and have a dozen cats decide to be my best friend. Honestly, who doesn't want to do that? Who doesn't want to be swarmed by a dozen cats? I'm sure maybe somebody who is allergic might feel that way, but that ain't me and I am here to pet some kitties. But, I think it's worth saying that Saeyoung would eat this up, too.

He clearly is the kind of person who wants to enjoy the outdoors. He loves animals more than anything so if you put him in a chicken coop and tell him to go crazy, I'm pretty sure the situation will turn into something where he is either getting chased down by the entire flock or he's helping them get exercise. Either way, you're going to laugh at him when he inevitably trips in the mud. Farm life is not for him but he's going to fight for it.

Can you imagine that? I don't know if Yatora would do that to you but... It's still funny.

[satosuguhastakenovermylife]

MWAH NAMI RIGHT BACK AT YA YOU HAVE YAPPED WITH ME ABOUT THE MOST RANDOM SHIT LIKE YOUR REACTIONS WATCHING HAIKYUU, AND FOR HYPING ME UP IN ALL THE THINGS I DO, FOR MAKING ME THE GLAMMEST SCIENTIST AND SO MUCH MORE!!! AND IM SO GRATEFUL AND GLAD THAT WE'RE CLOSE💕💕

OKAY SO BESIDES NAMI

@starry-toya - you listen to my bullshit all day long every single day idk how you do it but you do and that's fucking rad and I love talking to you and words can't describe how much I love you so this isn't that long because I think you know and I think I know already too and i hope we're together forever <3

@pepe-le-pax - the og bestie, you've listened to all my stupid ass existential crises and you've been there for me always for the past seven years and for that i cannot be more grateful. we've gotten a bit distant lately but i hope that phase doesn't last. love youu

@chronicinsanity - second person who deals with all my bullshit and stupidity, you're the funniest and my best friend. i dunno how I'll make it through bus rides without yapping to eachother because the only reason a lot of my days aren't completely shitty is because I get to talk to you at the start and end of every day at school. i love you so muchhh and I'm very surprised that I'm your best friend too because you are mine and I will miss you A LOT (sorry I'm just very sad about you leaving if you haven't realised lmao)

@getosugurusbangs - ELIIII YOU LITERALLY OOZE COOLNESS EVERYDAY AND I WAS SO NERVOUS TO TALK TO YOU AT THE START BUT YOURE SO NICE!! AND SO COOL!!! AND GREAT TO TALK TO AND I HOPE WE GET TO DO SO FOR A LONG TIME!! I LOVED THE BL RECS BTW AND THANKS FOR CHEERING ME UP AND CHECKING IN ON ME WHEN IM WAY OVER MY HEAD ILYSM <333 (penis bros 4lyf)

@riririnnnn - MY PARTNER!!!! YOU'RE SO COOL AND I LOVE TALKING TO YOUUUU WE ARE PARTNER FOREVAHHH AND LETS COPARENT OUR CHILD ONCE ISAGI GIVES BIRTH 💥💥💥 (on a more serious note, you were there to talk me down when i almost did something terrible to myself and I am so so glad you were genuinely you are a great friend and I love you lots)

@jujutsustraycats - BIG BRO ISH!!!! THANKS FOR ALL THE STUDY ADVICE AND FOR ALWAYS MOTIVATING ME TO DO BETTER <3 AND ALSO FOR BEING THE #1 COSMIYA ENABLER YOU ARE CHERISHED FOR THAT AND IK YOU'RE BUSY AND WE DONT GET TO TALK AS MUCH SOMETIMES BUT I LOVE TALKING TO YOUU!!! AND ILY AND I HOPE YOU'RE WELL LET'S YAP ABOUT A BUNCH OF SHIT WHEN YOURE FREE!!!!

@sharkissm - MAKIIIIII ILYSMMMM YOU'RE SO SWEET AND I LOVE TALKING TO YOU ON HERE AND ON DISCORD!!!! also you're the only one I can say the most out of pocket shit with and it's really fun!!!! i love you and let's talk a bunch of shit forever 💕

@blue-thief - you have the most GOATED takes ever literally i don't make the rules it's true. thanks for being the first person to tell me about whatever the fuck is going on in CSM and yapping with me about alnst 🫡 also thanks for helping me with julius caesar, your notes and essay was a fucking god send. ily and happy new year :3

@biggestcharleskinnie - CHARLIEEEE I LOVE YOUUUUUUU YOU'RE SO FUN TO TALK TO AND IK WE INTERACTED MORE ONLY RECENTLY BUT THAT ALONE HAS BROUGHT ME SO MUCH JOY!!!!! ILYSM BUT PLEASE END THE PEACHES WAR djfjdjdjf

@shrii-kk - SHRIIII IM SO HAPPY WHENEVER I GET TO TALK TO YOU!! YOU'RE SO PRETTY AND YOUR LOVE FOR ISAGI YOICHI TRANSCENDS PHYSICALITY JJJFJDDKWK i met you only a couple weeks back, but getting to chat with you on discord about various different shit has really gotten me through this month haha. i love you and I hope you're alright <3

@somepoetwannabe - HI SAM ILYSM!!! talking to all of yall has genuinely been great this year, and I'm so glad I met y'all through pranu on hex. i know some of y'all, i don't know a lot of y'all but I love you guys <3 WIL WHENEVER YOU FRONT NEXT LETS TALK ABOUT HOUSE MD PRETTY PLEASEE, love i love talking to you about music and just the little things :3 thalia you're so cool and i had a lot of fun talking to you too, and lastly bill you were the first one I met, and you're really nice and i wanna say thanks for trying to get me into tma, it seems genuinely so interesting but I fall asleep everytime I try listen to it because it's soothing sjdjdjfj AND I'VE ALSO TALKED TO A BUNCH OF YALL AND ITS BEEN GREAT BUT IM AFRAID IT'LL GET TOO LONG IF I GO ON HAHA

@hijinks-n-lowjinks - jinx!! i love talking to you about fandom stuff and it's really fun. you were one of my first mutuals on here lol and I got comfortable interacting with people on here because of the times I talked to you so thanks a lot <3

okay I'm ending the post here but every single mutual I've interacted on Tumblr is included here, i would've yapped more but I think this is already too long jsjsjdj anyways yeah :D

I love talking nonsense with you and I hope that we can talk nonsense with each other for the rest of our lives.

[umichenginabroad]

Dublin Week 10: Wales

Welcome to this week's installment of my blog. It's been an eventful 7 days since the last installment, so buckle up buttercup.

The past week was the first week of my two week spring break, and was filled with my trip to Wales with the mountaineering club. It was the best week of my semester, hands down.

Day 1:

My week started bright and early on Monday morning with a three hour ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead, a town on the west coast of Wales. The ride was incredibly rough and uncomfortable, but we all made it in one piece, which is all that matters. After a quick stop at the Lidl (grocery store chain) in town, we got on a bus to the cabin we were staying at near Llanberis. The weather was absolutely horrendous, with high winds and driving rain, a theme that unfortunately persisted throughout our trip. Despite the poor weather though, we settled in nicely and had a relaxing evening of low effort dinners and passing the time with games and a bit of drinking.

Top Left: My mates Cormac and Colin face off in a heated game of chess Top Right: The gang comes together for a spirited game of "family fun time" Bottom Left: Club captain Jack poses as a game of "sling pot" is played in the background Bottom Right: I absolutely destroy my friend Fiona in a game of chess (fun fact: the guy behind her, Tal, has the same last name as me, however we are not related)

Day 2:

The weather on day two started off looking much better than the first day. Because of this nice weather, I opted to go climbing.

Left: Our cabin looking pretty in the best weather we had all trip Right: Some goats that came up to our cabin as we walked to the bus on day two

The climbing we did was at an old slate mine about 30 minutes away from our cabin. The region of Wales that we were, Snowdonia, is well known for its outdoor activities, and this quarry is a popular climbing destination. After a quick (but very steep and slippery) hike up the quarry, we set up some ropes and climbed and explored the quarry for the rest of the day. I got to climb twice, and it was a lot of fun. I haven't climbed outdoors in years, so it was great to get back into it.

Some views from the quarry, as well as a picture of me climbing

On my second climb, the weather suddenly turned and it started to snow and hail, so after finishing my climb, we packed up and hiked back down to our bus, and went back to the cabin to rest up and eat some dinner.

That night we stayed up late again having fun, and even got the chance to see some stars, which was pretty awesome.

Me finishing off a card tower that my friend Colin and I made

The stars on night two

Day 3:

Unfortunately the nice(ish) weather of day 2 couldn't last, and we had some pretty crummy weather on day 3. Because of this, most of us decided to go on a hike up the tallest peak in Wales, Mt. Snowden. If you're thinking that this was perhaps an ill advised decision, then you'd be right, but you also clearly overestimate the forethought of a group of college kids, and know very little about how good stories come to be.

As you might expect, the weather, in fact, did not get any better as we gained altitude on our hike, and by the time we stopped for lunch, it was incredibly snowy, cold, and windy. Some of us even set up a little shelter to stay warm which was a lot of fun.

Top: A seagull looking very out of place and a view from the first half of our hike Bottom: A 360 degree view of our little lunch shelter

After lunch, the weather progressively got worse until it was full on blizzard conditions. We made the decision not to got to the very top of the mountain, but we still got a group picture pretending that we did. It's not like the view would've been any different.

A group pic from the "top" of Mt. Snowden

Believe it or not, the conditions descending the mountain were even worse than the conditions going up. The wind picked up considerably, and was pushing us downhill, which made descending rather difficult. Once we got low enough though, the weather chilled out a bit, and we just had a nice hike in the hills of Wales. Overall it was an incredible day with zero injuries and everyone had a great time.

A view from our way down the mountain

Once again, our evening was filled with food, drinking, and overall good vibes. Also, my mate Colin got a buzz cut.

Left: Hanging out after the hike Right: Colin getting his buzzcut

Day 4:

Unfortunately, the conditions on day 4 were so bad that outdoor activities were just out of the question. So instead of climbing outdoors, we climbed at a nearby indoor climbing gym. Even though the gym was pretty small, it was really nicely laid out with fun routes and nice equipment. After a relaxing few hours at the gym, we returned to the cabin for one final night of games and drinking as everyone celebrated a great trip. The club also made everyone bracelets from old climbing rope.

Top left: For some reason rope bracelet making has to be done in the dark with red headlamps Top right: Jack is definitely not in any pain as Fiona braids his hair Bottom: Colin and I have to trade socks as part of family fun time

Day 5:

As you'd expect, everyone was suuuuper well rested after the previous nights celebrations, so everyone decided to just get a little bit more sleep, and things got moving a little later on day 5. After packing up and cleaning the cabin, we got back on our bus one last time and departed for the ferry in Holyhead.

Colin jumps on some trash bags to get them to fit in the dumpster

Fortunately, our ferry ride back to Dublin wasn't nearly as rough as the ride there, so most people just hung out and/or slept. Once we got back to Dublin, I got a ride from a friend's parent back to campus, where, after eating a bit of dinner, I promptly passed out of exhaustion, thus concluding my trip to Wales.

You may be wondering: "Sam, wasn't St. Patrick's day also this week? What did you do for that? I'm sure it's a huge thing in Dublin."

Indeed it is a huge thing in Dublin, and had I been in Dublin on St. Paddy's day, I would have undoubtedly participated in and told you about the festivities. However, St. Paddy's happened to fall on the day that we were coming back from Wales, so unfortunately I was unable to participate. I reckon it was worth it though, considering the great week I had in Wales.

This coming week, my Dad and two siblings are visiting, so stay to hear about what we get up!

Sam Adler

Materials Science and Engineering

University College Dublin

[joshstambourine]

Greta Van Fleet and Their Kid’s First Day of School

Y’all seemed to love my GVF as Dad’s head canon so I thought I’d continue on the same line with something else cute~ I’ve had this idea since I mentioned it in a fic I recently wrote (A Girl Named Ivy) so I thought I might as well throw a head canon together for it as well... SO I STOP THINKING ABOUT IT LMAO.

Taglist: @anditsmywholeheart @babydxll​

Josh

He strikes me one of those dads who is actually really excited for his kid to start school. Not that he doesn't want them around, or that he doesn't realize its the mark of the beginning of the end... but because he knows this is a part of growing up.

Josh can tell while they are out shopping for new school clothes that his kid is excited. They are beginning to feel grown up, even if its just in a small way --- and Josh is proud of them for that.

I just can't imagine him being the kind of parent that struggles with letting them go, instead I see him being the kind of parent that just wants to nurture their growth in everyway.

"What about this shirt for your first day? You know what we should get you?? A set of wheelies!"

"Josh they don't allow those in schools anymore..."

*Whispers* "We'll get you some wheelies, just don't tell mom."

He'd make sure he goes through the checklist the school had sent out multiple times, trying to make sure they have everything they could possibly need.

When the big day finally comes, he would be talking with his little one all morning making sure they know they are going to have a great time and make lots of friends.

He would want to help make their lunch but instead just spends all his time drawing a picture of a rabbit with a cowboy hat riding on a goats back to put in instead.

Josh wouldn't be able to stop himself from looking in the rearview every few minutes to look over the little ones face. Trying to make sure they didn't look nervous at any point. If they do he'd find a way to reassure them.

"You remember that nice lady that gave you that cool cat sticker a few weeks ago? She's going to be there all day today! She's actually your teacher, isn't that cool?" Josh would just want to do everything in his power to keep them feeling relaxed.

"You give 'em hell today, okay?" Josh would say when they stood outside of the classroom, watching the little one nod. "Before you know it I'll be here to pick you up."

"You promise?"

"Of course I promise... I need someone to go get ice cream with!" He would say as he'd move to give them a tight hug.

"I love you."

"I love you too Dad."

As soon as the classroom door shuts, Josh won't be able to stop smiling the rest of the walk back to the car. He would be just so proud that he raised such a fearless kid.

The first thing Josh would ask when he picks them up at the end of the day,

"So? Did you learn how to move things with your mind yet?"

"No but did you know squares have four sides...?!"

Jake

Oh god.

Jake is going to be having such a tough time.

He wants to be a big strong man about this. "It's so silly... why would I be sad about them going to school?! That's ridiculous."

He would pretend like he didn't care.

Anytime his little one asks about what school is going to be like, he gives very quick pointed answers so he doesn't have to think about them being grown up enough to go.

"Is it too late to home school them...?"

"Yes Jake it's too late to home school them."

Jake just wants to hold hands the whole time they are school shopping. He doesn’t want to let them go.

"Jake, you have to let them go so they can pick out what they want."

"They can bring me where ever they want to be. I can help them reach what they need.”

The moment his kid puts their backpack on their shoulders, even just to test it out, he’s going to need to take a moment. When did his baby get so grown up?!

He thought that was bad but then the school assessment kills him.

Jake wants to be the one to make their lunch for their first day, its a special day, this little one deserves something special. He'd hide candies and other treats at the bottom so Mom won't see.

There is no way Jake isn’t driving his kid on their first day of school. He’s going to talk with them all the way to class with their hand clasped in his.

I think despite how well he covers it over, his kid can probably tell that he’s having a hard time letting them go.

“Dad?”

“Yeah...?” 

“I’ll be okay.”

Hearing them say that would make him smile, trying so hard not to cry. Jake would lean down and immediately give them a huge hug. “I know.” He’d tell them.

“I’m just going to miss you lots.”

“I’ll miss you too.” They’d say, “But. Mom says that I’ll have time to draw pictures probably. Would you like a picture Dad?”

“I’d love a picture.”

As soon as Jake gets back to the car he’s a sobbing mess. He’s so proud but its so hard to see your baby grow up.

Sam

Sort of like Josh I think that Sam is excited for his little one to start school. He has so much confidence in his kids abilities.

Sam would just assume that whatever task is sent his little ones way will be accomplished with all of their effort.

He feels like the kind of parent to hype up school any chance he gets for his kid. He wouldn’t want his kid to be nervous, so he’d say just about anything to keep them from being scared.

When Sam brings his kid in for the assessment he is just going to be absolutely beaming with joy.

He’s just such a proud dad. Getting to see his kid answer questions and have so much fun is going to have him over the moon.

“Buddy you did so good with those shapes! When did you learn those??”

Sam would be on the ball for school shopping. Everything that’s on the school given list and then some.

“Sam... they don’t need a dictionary --- they can’t even read yet.”

“Just incase! You never know!”

*Insert Sam looking for dirty words and snickering to himself*

He’d also want to practice so much with his kid before the big day comes. Going over their numbers and ABC’s so they feel nice and prepared.

When the big day does come around he is immediately going to have his camera out, ready to take some nice first day at school pictures. Whether they are waiting for the bus or he’s driving them to the school.

There are going to be like a million pictures. 

So many.

“You’ve got your crayons?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?! I just want to make sure. Oh and you’ve got your lunch box?? Mom made you such a good lunch.”

“Yup! I’ve got everything!”

“Excellent work~” He’d hum, “You're going to have an awesome first day!”

Danny

Danny I could imagine feeling a little nervous for his little one to start school

He would never tell his kid this of course; I feel like he would understand how well attuned kids can be to feelings, especially nervous feelings.

So he tries to bury his worried feelings.

They’d come out a little every time his baby shows any concerns about school. But he will stuff them down and try to be as reassuring as he can.

“You’re going to make so many friends, buddy! You aren’t even going to notice Mom and Dad aren’t there, y’know? They also have lots of cool toys.”

Danny seems like the kind of Dad that would want them to feel confident. So if that meant lots of new clothes, or cool school supplies. He’d get it for them. Above everything he just doesn’t want them at any point to have a hard time in this process.

In all honesty though he’s the one having the hard time.

His kid is probably hella excited.

Danny sort of strikes me as a parent who would pack a really nice lunch for his kid. Like. This kid isn’t just going to have a ham sandwich like the rest of the loser kids in their class.

#AestheticLunch

The scene I sort of keep running in my head is with Danny standing at the end of the driveway holding his kids hand, they're both just leaning out waiting for the school bus to come around the corner.

“Hey dad?”

“Yeah?”

“...I’m sorta scared.”

“Buddy, it’s okay to be scared. This is a new thing for you. It’s totally okay to be worried about it.”

“I know...”

“Is there something that’s scaring you a lot though?”

The kid would nod, “...I’m going to miss you.”

Danny’s heart would just melt, and he’d pull them up into his arms for a huge hug. “I’m going to miss you lots too! But. As soon as you get home we can play as much as you want, okay?”

Watching his kid get onto the bus is going to be such a scary thing, but he knows it’ll all work out.

I feel like he would plan something fun for afterwards. Whether it be like going to get ice cream, or taking them out to a movie. Just something to celebrate!

Well that’s all of those! Sorry they’re a little bit more briskly written I sort of wanted to get those out of my head so I can focus on the next part of What Friends Do. As always if you guys want an actual full fic written for one of these, let me know~ 

Fun note! My first day of school was proceeded by going to an amusement park on the Friday. Going to a friends house and dislocating my elbow on the Saturday. Having major surgery on the Sunday. And then sobbing my whole first day, the Tuesday.

[tiredbiostudent]

also if anyone was interested! here’s a list of everywhere I went in Norway and yes she got a little long and I am feeling a little nostalgic:

1. Bergen: this is where I lived from January to July and I cannot articulate how amazing she is <3 forever in my heart even if you’re rainy 5/7 days of the week. I am never not thinking of the mountains and skillingsboller and clammy grey days. Fun fact: usually in May there’s a 7fjelltur in which you hike all 7 of Bergen’s mountains. It was cancelled for covid BUT since I feel compelled to prove things to myself I did it on my own and hiked like. Almost 50km in 14 hours according to my phone. Highly recommend!

2. Troms region (February): my first time ever to the arctic and it was INSANE. This was my favourite trip and I think abt it like every single day sdjkfsdkjfb. Stayed in Målselva, went cross-country skiing and snowshoeing and did a roadtrip around Senja (surreal)! It was pretty overcast the entire time but we still saw the northern lights and they were amazing!! Also I was so excited to be back in snow and cold weather (even though the coldest it got was -10) :D

3. Rosendal (May): post-lockdown interlude, this was the first place I went! It’s ~2 hours by boat (the view itself is worth the ride wowza) outside Bergen at the beginning of Hardangerfjord and it’s absolutely spectacular! I’m so glad we (me and my roommmate #socialdistancing) got to go when we did bc baby goats and spring-time weather!!! So cute I miss u

4. Stavanger (May)- a convoluted 5hr drive from Bergen, but the coast reminded me so much of Atlantic Canada :’)) We hiked Preikestolen (v quick and easy for the amazing view you get!!) and timed it perfectly since it wasn’t too busy and the weather was awesome.

5. Norheimsund (June)- super cute town at the beginning of Hardangerfjord + a quick bus ride from Bergen (<2 hrs I think?). Walked behind the ikonisk waterfall and wandered around town and the docks. Very fun day trip !

6. Nordhordaland (June)- went on a little hyttetur på fjellene and it was soooo nice. No cell reception + sleeping in a cabin = happy Abbey.

7. Sognefjord (June)- roadtrip to the end and back around the biggest fjord in Norway and it was very fun :D v warm weather and a little rushed bc we had so much to see but still incredible (the stave churches were so cool!!). Stayed at two farm airbnb’s which was <3

8. Møre og Romsdal (June)- this was suuuuch a fun roadtrip too and some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen <3 Camped on the edge of Oldevatnet, hiked to Briksdalsbreen (the glacier), camped again on the edge of Geirangerfjord, hiked Skageflå, drove down Trollstigen, toured Ålesund (sigrid stans ifykyk) and saw the puffins on Runde!!! such an incredible trip

9. Oslo (July)- was supposed to go to Oslo-Copenhagen-Stockholm over easter break but obviously that didn’t happen lol. So I went solo to Oslo by train (7hrs) and it was amazing! I’m not a city person but I ended up loving Oslo way more than I thought I would. It was so clean and cool and very clearly built for people yk?? I walked everywhere bc I wanted to see everything sdfhsdf. Went to [redacted #] of skam locations, the opera house, the Munch museum (and saw The Scream?!), Frognerparken, the royal palace, botanical gardens, etc etc.

10. Trolltunga (July)- before I even landed in Norway I was dying to do this hike but since I had no one to go with (3-ish hour drive + a 30km hike, not smart to do alone lol) I’d accepted I wouldn’t be able to do it. And then out of the blue I get a text from a friend of a friend asking if I wanted to go the next day and I was like um?? Yes???? The weather was perfect and even though the hike was super busy it was AMAZING and such a good way to cap off my stay in Norway bc I was literally leaving one week later :(

I also went on many a short trip around Bergen and Hordaland, mostly to hike! So if you saw someone trekking around Vestlandet with a little maple leaf patch on their backpack that was me :~)

[jebazzled]

Level Up! Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced RP and You

Hello there! Coming to you again with tips & tricks for a top-notch roleplay experience! Today we're going to talk about writing levels and what they mean for your roleplay experience. We'll cover what these levels mean, how to gauge where you're at, and how you can improve your roleplay writing specifically!

WRITING LEVELS

"Writing levels" are often a descriptor sites will use in their advertising and site buzzes. They might be "semi-literate," "intermediate," "literate," "advanced," or any other sort of buzzword. The key here is that these descriptors are used by site staff both to advertise what type of writing is most common on their site and what type of writing they want to see on their site.

What writing levels are not is a value indicator. There's nothing wrong with being an intermediate writer or a beginner writer; advanced sites are not inherently better than intermediate ones, beginner sites are nothing to be ashamed of! Think of writing levels as an umbrella within the rp community. The same way a forum rp-er might narrow their search to jcink sites, a writer might narrow their search to sites which cater to their style of writing.

That said, it is good to define what each of these levels look like so you can figure out where your writing might fit.

BEGINNER Beginner writing is often very short and direct, without much in the way of literary flourish. Characters might be fairly undeveloped (or developed around one trait, for example, "goth" or "prep") and there's usually more discussion of their appearance than you see in advanced writing.

Examples:

Susie was short and very skinny, with big eyes and long mermaid-wavy hair dyed blue at the ends. She was sitting outside Firefly High in blue skinny jeans, silver Converse, and a black t-shirt. "I hope someone can give me a ride home," she said.

Raven sneered at Susie. She didn't like blue because she liked black, because she was a goth. "Are you listening to popular music? What a phony."

Bramblepaw sat down in the clearing. "Hello" he meowed.

Some guides will also give an example like 

patty threw a pom pom at susie! "take that u nerd!"

But I am choosing to believe that you're past that if you're deep enough in this hobby to be seeking out resources - I certainly never had that self-awareness until I was more in intermediate territory!

Beginner-level writing gets the job done, and can certainly move a story along. But if you've been writing a while, you might be ready to build more multifaceted characters, and to invest more effort in your writing.

INTERMEDIATE/SEMI-LITERATE WRITING Intermediate writing tends to be longer than beginner writing, with more variety in sentence structure and with more advanced word choices. There are likely more "beats" per post, by which I mean that instead of just answering a question or getting on the bus or etc, a character will likely do more actions in each turn writing. Characters are less likely to be a stereotype (see: Raven the goth who only wears black, Patty the popular cheerleader who is blonde and brainless, etc) but applications likely reveal one-dimensional characters. Common application styles I see from intermediate writers are "interviews" and "journals," as well as listicles (10 Things Raven Likes, 9 People Raven Hates, etc); this likely means a character is told rather than shown.

(Wondering what's so intermediate about interviews and journals? See my guides to interviews and journals!)

Examples:

Susie was born on March 20, 2003 in Farmville, Iowa. She didn't like how similar her classmates all were - they all listened to the same music, read the same books (none!) and had the most fun when drinking on a tractor. Susie was more deep, and liked to write poetry and sketch the animals that lived on her family's farm. Today she was sitting outside Firefly High, twirling the ends of her blue-dyed hair and waiting for a ride home. 

Raven wasn't like most girls. She didn't like horses or rabbits, but only liked goats, because they represented the devil. Raven also wasn't like most girls, at least in Farmville, because she worshipped the devil. She wore a lot of black to represent this, and when she saw Susie, she sneered. Blue! Susie must be a normie. "Are you listening to popular music?" She asked. "What a phony."

Bramblepaw had spent all morning hunting and was feeling lonely. All he wanted was to share a squirrel with a friend, and maybe have someone groom the tricky spot behind his ears. He padded from the apprentice den to the warriors', to the elders and no one was home. He sat forlorn in the middle of the clearing. "Hello?" He meowed.

Another common trait of both beginner and intermediate writing is that posts might not leave much for a partner to reply to. The whole point of this weird hobby is to collaborate with a partner - if you're finding that it is hard to keep writing partners, you might take a look at my guide for writing posts that beg a response.

Intermediate writing is stronger than beginner writing, but still sometimes falls flat when it comes to collaboration with a partner, and is almost never beautiful to read. Intermediate writing is when advanced writing is just over the next hill - and that hill comes with a fair amount of work.

ADVANCED/LITERATE WRITING Advanced writing can be long or short, but the writing in either case packs a punch. Advanced writers use a variety of sentence structures, words, and literary devices. They might have specific imagery they use for specific characters, specific literary constructions for different characters, and there is a strong character voice in each post. Advanced writers write multifaceted characters with genuine flaws and fears, and advanced writers produce writing that is enjoyable to read, elegant and emotive. Applications will usually be anecdotal - will demonstrate key moments in a character's life, allowing the writer to show them in action rather than tell the reader what they are like. (A guide to anecdotal freestyle applications is available here.

Examples:

Everything felt the same in Farmville: identical rows of corn stretching endlessly over the horizon, pockmarked by the occasional farmhouse, white clapboard and falling shutters. Every person felt the same - Susie and Mary and Sarah and Joseph, strong peasant names living strong peasant lives, and never straying more than twenty miles from the town in which they were born.

Even Susie knew she had her place in the sameness: the once-every-generation girl who fancies herself to be more, as though her sketches of the sheep and pigs are any better than her grandmother's before her. As though dying her hair blue were enough to make her different when she knew she belonged here as sure as the hogs in the barn.

The only difference between Susie and her classmates was that she didn't have a car to get her to her evening job at the Road Ranger gas station, and her bike had disassembled itself after she'd pedaled it into a gopher hole, so here she was, sitting pathetically outside Firefly High, waiting for a ride. She'd almost rather be fired than beg for one. 

It’s the principle of the thing, Raven had told her mother that morning. Yes, it was 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity; yes, there was not a cloud in the sky and the fields absorbed heat like a winter sweater; yes, she was aware that her white makeup and Wet n' Wild eyeliner was falling off her face like The Scream. But it was the principle of the thing, wearing the long-sleeved black shirt with the hand-cut thumbholes, a long dark skirt; her only concession to the heat, a pair of thin gray flip-flops instead of her beloved Docs. She listens to Death Wish; she doesn't have one.

But nothing makes a Satantic rebel feel more a phony than feeling it drip off of them in the rural Iowa heat, and Raven wanted to take it out on someone. Fair? No, but life isn't fair; she's got that on a sticker on the electric guitar she saved up her Hy-Vee salary for and never learned to play. Maybe pretending to be an asshole has turned Raven into one.

She has no real problem with Susie - Susie Q., from math, or Susie C., from human geo; who knows, they're all the same - but she scoffs at her anyway, loud enough to catch Susie's attention. "What top-40 garbage are you listening to?"

Hunting is something they do together, or they're supposed to. But in the whole time he'd been out in the woods, Bramblepaw hadn't seen a single other cat - not playing at the stream, not waiting in a tree for the finches to return, not sitting along the RiverClan border to taunt their neighbors. If he'd been a Loner, just passing through, he would have thought the entire territory abandoned.

It was unsettling, and when he returned to the Camp, it was more of the same: everyone gone, without a trace; had he imagined them being here at all? Was it all in his head?

His mew sounded small and pitiful to even him, the mewl of a lost kitten. "Hello?"

Advanced writing makes more time for descriptions, scene-setting, and other narration. It doesn't feel "cringey," by which I mean if you read it 10 years from now you're probably not going to want to drown yourself. Please do not ask me about the 2005 Proboards forum I adminned and referenced for this tutorial.

So now that we can recognize what writing our level might be at - how do we shop for a site?

FINDING YOUR FIT

Now that you have a sense of where your writing sits, it's time to use that data point in searching for a new site to call home. Some sites make it easy for you by self-identifying as beginner, intermediate, or advanced; some sites may use "semi-literate" and "literate," but I know I stray from those labels because it feels like a value judgment, and as I said before:

there is nothing wrong with being part of a beginner or intermediate community, if that is what makes the most sense for your writing and for what you aim to get out of your roleplay experience!

Before applying to a new site, you should do a little bit of digging around to see if it's a good fit for you: 

Look at accepted character applications. How do these compare to your own writing?

Skim some threads from top posters. How does this community write and structure their threads? Could you see yourself regularly keeping up with their speed, length, literary quality?

To the above point - does it seem like the community has a tendency towards your personal writing pet peeves? (For example, I personally cannot stand purple prose, and if the site community is prone to it, I am OUT.)

This is in addition to all standard due-diligence site-hunting routines, e.g. not diving into the world of Southern Gothic supernatural if you're looking for, say, urban fantasy.

It's also worth thinking about how the community behaves on the server, if you join it:

Is there a thread shoutout/compliments/etc channel? What passages are members calling out in there as exceptional writing?

Do the members strike you as open-minded and friendly or as more of a closed group? If you choose to shoot for a level above your standard writing as a growth exercise, this will be easier to achieve with an open-minded and friendly group than with a group of snobs.

Do you enjoy the vibe? Something frequently overlooked, I think. If you don't like the energy of the community, just don't join the site - that is going to be much more productive for everyone than you joining and then trying to get the staff to fully re-engineer their community.

Be honest with yourself! Regardless of how much you like a site's plot, lore, and community, joining a site that sits above your writing proficiency is challenging. You might find your characters routinely pended for lacking the development of other characters onsite. Other members may not be enthusiastic to write with you - not necessarily out of snobbishness or elitism, but because it's not fun to feel like you're not getting equal effort or quality from a writing partner. And you might find yourself feeling insecure about how your writing stacks up to others (I've been writing on advanced sites for 10 years and I feel insecure about my own writing sometimes!) which might sap your muse.

If you are looking for a minimal-effort, minimal-stress rp experience, stick to sites that are at or below your writing level. Writing with people of similar skillset will help take the edge off any insecurity, and because writing will be lower-pressure and lower-effort, you will be better positioned to juggle multiple characters and more big plots. "Lower effort" doesn't mean "lazy" - it just means that you free up headspace that otherwise you might spend on the mechanics of writing versus the excitement of plotting.

If you are an intermediate writer seeking to write on an advanced site, you need to take a much more deliberate approach.

One thing I see often is intermediate writers applying multiple characters to an advanced site at once. This is a losing proposition. While staff might be willing to pend an app and work with you on revisions, if they see you submitting multiple applications that require major revisions and overhauls, they see a pattern. While staff might be willing to help you develop one character to their site's standard, if they anticipate you needing that level of coaching on every character, they will question your ability to keep up with their members in threads. Staff cannot be expected to assist members on writing each thread post - at that point, it becomes easier to decline all of the intermediate writer's applications.

If you are an intermediate writer seeking to write on an advanced site, you need to treat this as a "quality, not quantity" project.

When I was 13 I was writing very much at a beginner and intermediate level, just little Neopets rps with my friends. Then I joined a horse rp - an advanced rp - with a 1000 word minimum per post. While I am beyond thankful ridiculous word count minimums aren't common anymore, I can credit this rp with much of my growth as a writer.

I wrote one (1) character. And I only plotted her with a couple of others. I was very active in the OOC community, and was eventually made a mod - but when it came to IC activity, I focused all my energy on one character and just a couple of plots, because I spent hours on each post, making sure that I was matching my writing partners as best I could. It was much more work than the beginner & intermediate forums I was on with my friends, and much more work for much less action. But stretching like that is what made advanced writing get easier and easier - until I could balance two characters on an advanced site, then four, until now, when I write 12 characters on multiple advanced sites with relative ease. The real challenge is in keeping up with threads - not in matching quality anymore.

If you are an intermediate writer seeking to improve your writing, joining an advanced site is a great option for growth, but you need to adjust your expectations.

Here are my best tips for intermediate writers looking to make the jump to advanced - or, for that matter, for beginners to make the jump to intermediate: 

Focus, focus, focus. Choose one (1) character to write - no matter how tempted you are by want ads, no matter how many other ideas you get, no matter what your muse is throwing at you. Use all those on sites at your current level. For your reach site, pick one character.

Be receptive. Your one (1) character might take a revision or two to get out of a pend. Remember that staff don't pend apps to be assholes - they do it because they believe in you and think you have it in you to do the necessary revisions! If they thought you were a lost cause they wouldn't have wasted their own time with a pend. Be open to the idea that they know what works and is expected in their community. After all, if your character and your writing aren't appealing to the site community... you're not going to have anyone to write with!

Focus, focus, focus, part 2. You should not choose this character based on the volume of plots they can attract. Choose a character who has one or two very close plots for you to focus on. You might consider identifying a particularly kind member of the community and filling one of their want ads, so that this close plot is ready-made for you, and so this person can be a friendly face on your writing journey.

Be realistic. You might think: well, if I focus on one character for a few weeks, then I'll be ready to take on another, right? You might be or you might not. Don't rush it. This entire journey is about deliberation and intentionality. Don't take on a second character on an advanced site until writing the first to the same standard is noticeably easier.

Be kind to yourself. This is a lot of work! If you have the time for it, you might consider also staying active on a site that is at your writing level, so you have a place for easy writing, indulging your plot bunnies, etc.

I hope this tutorial has been a helpful resource to you, both in identifying how to find the right rp for you and in figuring out how to improve your writing, if you so choose. Happy writing!

[comebeonetwothree]

Blog #8: Country Roads

07/13/2021

Currently driving through roads where pro-life billboards are placed in front of graveyards… we are officially on the road back home.

Traveling fast but seeing the most we have while covering 1,500 miles and two time zones in the last week. 900 miles to go. We jumped from Portland to northern and southern Montana then all the way through to Chicago… our last stop ;(

We met some really nice people out here- the kind of people that want to take time out of their day to interact with you. People actually smile at you and mean it when they say “have a good day.”

There were a lot of experiences this week that were indescribable. All senses were at full throttle from sleeping in the heart of Portland to camping in National Parks.

Being our last stretch of the trip, it has been hard to not feel sad when we are closing such a big chapter of our life. It’s a weird feeling of being sad but also still being so excited for the next stop. I hope the excitement doesn’t end.

Who

Who is ready to rumble…

In Portland we got to meet up with Maya’s cousin, Michael and his daughter Thea. He moved out there 13 years ago and never looked back.

He was telling us he did a similar trip with his college buddies back in the day and fell in love with the city, so moved there shortly after the trip.

Sounds fun, might fuck around and move…

Batman was ready to rumble, and fumble and everything in between. While whitewater rafting in Glacier National Park, we had the pleasure of riding with Batman The Guide. Batman, because you can’t change who you are but if you can always choose Batman.

He had been living in Montana for 17 years after moving from Oregon. He had previously worked in the park as a shuttle bus driver and recently switched over to a whitewater rafting instructor.

He was a funny fucking dude; the whole crew was super hyped but he had a comedic sense that made it an entertaining day.

While on the water, we were joking around and splashing the neighboring rafts, an independent rafter said they will bomb us with beers if we splash them. One of the other people on the boat yelled back, “Are they full beers?” and they responded by launching three full miller lite beers at our raft.

At the end of our tour, Batman gave us the three beers then we dedicated those three beers to him with a funnel.

More Friends!!! Its wild how many people we got to see throughout this trip. Hitting Yellowstone National Park, we met up with Mayas friends from home: Cole, Jamie and Declan.

They were just starting their cross-country trip from Nyack, NY, hitting the Northern route to the southern, vs our trip ending in the North. Funny coincident.

We camped out with them for two nights… it was too beautiful to just stay one night, so we pushed back our trip to badlands and stayed the extra night.

We were all out at this joint called Buffalo Bar, it had a great outdoor area with corn hole, ring toss and puppiesss. There is something so fulfilling in petting random dogs with a beer in your hand.

This one dog I was petting had an exceptional owner who was traveling him across states to bring him home. I spoke with the owner for quite a while, she was so friendly about letting me pet her dog. She really was doing it all, back at home she has three kids and two other dogs.

When people hear about our travels, their reactions usually make us realize how cool it is to have the opportunity to do a trip like this.

Many times they wish they did the same when they were our age, *cough, cough, go travel right now, cough, cough.*

This woman explained how she jumped right into working out of school and has always regretted it. Her children were already teenagers so I told her she should get out there and do it. Traveling her new dog home was a great start to the on-the-go lifestyle, she seemed to be enjoying it.

I later found out she picked up our tables tab… thank you Jennifer, you have a heart of gold and a generous soul. She explained her hopes that her kids will one day get out there and see the world like she always wished, and we were accomplishing. It was a pass it forward request, when I am able to cover the bill of a lovely traveling stranger. I hope I cross paths with this family eventually and pay it forward for her children that may travel.

What

What a reality…

The National Park pass is something you buy and are given access to all the national parks in the US. We got one in the beginning of the trip knowing we would be reaching quite a few parks. Unfortunately, we lost it after just seeing the Grand canyon.

It fell in a black hole… the area where your dashboard and windshield meet. Remember this when you put shit on the dashboard. It can slide right down to its death, the only way to get the shit out is by taking off the windshield.

Those passes are irreplaceable, of course.

In badlands, we posted up around 10 p.m. in our hammocks. It was a new experience for us, we thought hey its our last time camping, lets try it a new way. 

We set our hammocks up underneath this podium and slept there. It was perfect for a quick and easy set up/clean up. There was a solid amount of people around us, so we weren't too worried about getting attacked by coyotes again. 

Where

When driving to Portland we drove through the Redwood National Forest. This made me realize how long this Earth has been around.

Trees take a while to grow, and these trees were as thick as three full grown pine trees and as tall as two stacked on top of each other.

Neck breaking tall.

After crossing through, we hit the upper west coast and traveled on route 101 until we hit Portland. It was filled with jaw dropping views, so much so I woke Mary and Maya up every 5 minutes to show them the views. Most times it was the same view as before, just with a new massive rock to look at.

It was a relatively foggy day, so we couldn’t see certain lookout points, but there was something so majestic about the fog within the forests and hanging on the coast.

There were points where you cross over a bridge and there was nothing around you, just white. It appeared as being stuck in a dream or driving my bitchass to heaven.

Arriving in Portland, we stayed at a place in ChinaTown. It was so cute and located on top of a great deli, Charlie’s Deli.

We checked out a bunch of shops and stores while in Portland. While we were walking around, this coffee shop had the sweetest workers. They enjoyed interacting with their customers and weren’t just looking to take your money.

Portland is filled with mockingly friendly people, they weren’t mocking anyone though, they were just that fucking friendly. They actually want to converse with people... what a concept.

For dinner we went to this food truck pod place, which is about 15 different food trucks serving food, with a communal sitting area to eat the food.

We met up with Maya’s cousin there for a drink and to catch up.

Hitting Glacier National Park, we started our camping excursion. We started off sleeping in our car since we arrived late to our campground after driving 10 hours to get there. It was pretty comfortable and with the knowledge of bear attacks in the area, it was a secure place to sleep.

While in Glacier, we decided to go whitewater rafting, a whole new way of seeing the parks. It was so dope, the rapids were on the weak side since the heat waves.

After rafting, we found a great lake front public access point where we hung our hammocks up and took a nice long nap.

There are lakes EVERYWHERE here in Montana and great fishing! Let’s travel and fish all over Montana, okay? Cool.

We waited until 5 p.m. when the park lets you in without a pass, to do a sunset hike in the park. We took Going-to-the-sun road to the highline hike, where we got to see some wild animals!

In the parking lot we got to see a horned sheep (looks like a ram) and more mountain goats!! We saw three full grown goats and one baby goat.

This horned sheep actually stormed at us and we had to jump into our car. The people that parked in the spot before us left their cheetos on the ground. This guy was hungry as fuck I guess. Relentless to say the least. 

This National Park is my new favorite spot-on Earth. Spread my ashes here. Moseying through the park was a full body experience.

All your senses are involved, the smells of the forest are beyond refreshing. The touch of the crisp air brings goosebumps to your skin, and the taste of wind in your face emphasizes the overload of oxygen in that area.

There are no commercialized areas for hours outside the park. Just a fuck ton of trees.

The sounds of different birds chirping harmonizes in your ears with the wind blowing and the rocks falling below you. Your sight is spiked the highest out of the senses. These views seemed so unreal they appeared fake. When you finally touch the grounds around you, you realize how really unreal this land is.

Heading to Yellowstone the following day brought a similar element of nostalgia. We camped right outside the park, on the state border lines of Wyoming and Idaho.

Our friends we stayed with luckily still had their national park pass, so we all took our car and got into the park early that next morning. We got to see some bison! Fun Fact: Bison and Buffalos are actually the same thing.

There were so many beautiful trees and hot springs throughout the park. So many cool colors to see. We also watched Old Faithful blow her hole!!

Getting to Badlands eventually, we got a campground directly in the park. Since we got there later than five it was free. We posted up our hammocks for our last night camping on the trip ;( when we woke up, the views were so cool.

Badlands is a shit ton of clay forming giant sandcastle hills all over. But there is so much green for a desert it was an interesting combination.

When

When can we shower…

We have completed so much of the drive home its wild. We stayed in an apartment for the first two nights in Portland and then spent the rest of the week camping.

We hit our record of days without a shower… 5 full ass days. I’m so proud of Mary and Maya, they really can’t stand being dirty.

When driving long ass 10 hour plus drives for a week you find yourself enjoying nothingness. Head empty is such a vibe after jamming to music and listening to murder mystery podcasts for hours on end.

Our music ranges widely, depending on crashing periods. Whenever Mary is driving, she is either blasting screamo edm music or 2000s pop music.

Maya plays some bomb bops; I really don’t know any of the songs, but it has opened my mind to all these new artists!!

I personally love the murder mystery podcasts, there were a few times I had to change it though because it got too spooky. In the case of this week, we were driving to camp in Montana and a murder mystery came on about the Montana Child Killer… dope.

Why

I have ruled out ever living in a city. From the driving on busy ass streets to the dirty smells everywhere, I will happily reside somewhere in the country. Where? Still have no idea… Why? Because there are so many pros and cons to all these places we saw.

I guess i'll just have to come back out here!

I’m really thinking somewhere up north on the west coast. The west coast will forever hold my heart, but I really don’t have the money or the ability to live in a city out there. Maybe one day with a bombass money making job.

Coming back to the East has made me realize how much nicer people are out west and how much slower of a pace it is.

How

How are we coming up on our last spot…

We are hitting our last stop… Chicago. Shoutout to my cousin for going to school here and letting us use and abuse his apartment! Hehe just kidding we will take care of it for ya, Owen!

It feels so strange to be this close to New York. Our license plates being from New York is no longer that cool.

I’m going to miss people peeping our plates and asking us about our travels and/or wishing us luck!

Thanks everyone throughout, we are almost accomplished with this chapter!

[ahedderick]

November woods

   I spent a couple of hours Sunday working on the old logging roads in the woods, trying to make them safe and comfortable for riding. So many branches and small trees moved, so many thorns clipped. Greenbriar is like living barbed wire; i hate it with a burning passion. First thing this morning, though, after I got my daughter off to the bus, I tacked up Hero and set out to see the results of my work.

   The steepest part of the trail is not fun to ride up OR down, but at least going up you can grab mane and hang on for dear life. Hero was trailed by Nutmeg, the Emotional Support Goat, who has gotten used to being out in the woods somewhat since we got her. Lady was also bounding all around ahead of us and behind, looking for those evil squirrels she is so convinced she can catch by barking loud. I was kind of thrilled to be riding that section of trail for the first time since, oh, about 1998. After we got through the steep climb and were riding more peacefully across the slope, I stopped him just to look out through the trees and admire the sunshine and the fall color. Some days are good days. 

   When we continued on there was one tree down across the road that I had been unable to move yesterday. I knew I could take him around it on the uphill side, but at the last minute my nerve failed and I dismounted to lead him around it. It was steep, rocky, the trees were very close together, and Hero has been known to be a little clumsy at times. I lead him around it ok - until he hopped back down to the road level with a loop of wild grapevine caught around both back legs. Let me tell you, even mild-tempered horses do not like having their back legs “grabbed.” He didn’t exactly pitch a fit, but he was stepping around and trying to kick free of the restraining vine, all the while I was trying to get him to back up so I could grab his back hoof and free him from it. It is not a comfortable thing to grab the back hoof of a horse who is upset and wanting to kick. He managed to hop his left foot free, then trusted me enough to let me have his right hoof and maneuver it out of the dratted vine. The we both took a breather to recover emotionally. Meanwhile Nutmeg is standing there with her slotted goat eyes, thinking whatever goats think.

   Getting back on was an extra challenge, because I had a bareback pad on him; no stirrups. And I really can’t jump that high any more. I managed, though, and only hung over his back sideways like a sack of grain for a little while before I managed to get upright. Yay, me.

   Overall it was a lovely ride. Fall is the best time of the year to ride by far, and all the critters seem to love being out in the woods as much as I do. Just need a l-i-t-t-l-e chainsaw work to fix one or two difficult spots. And keep Hero’s hooves far, far away from the grapevines.

[outhereperusing]

LIMA TAKE A SELFIE: WE ARE YOUNG

Let me just start off by saying that Lima is a real city. What I mean by this is that Lima is always awake and people are constantly on the move. My two weeks in Lima were full of bus rides, beaches, museums, good food, and nightlife. It was nice being in a big city and feeling like my California self before returning back to Cusco and Andahuaylillas. The quick flight from Cusco to Lima brought me closer to the Pacific coast and feeling at home. I remember being in the taxi from the Lima airport to the Colegio de la Inmaculada, which is the Jesuit high school we were staying at, and freaking out because I could see the ocean. In addition to the seeing the oceanview, we drove through Miraflores and Barranco, two districts known for their nightlife, shopping, restaurants, and beaches. Driving through the different districts reminded me of San Francisco and the variety of districts a city could have. Being back in a city for two weeks excited me for the possibility of trying new things and feeling a sense of normalcy.

Lima take a selfie

Tonight

We are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter

Than the sun

(Fun.)

After picking up our keys at the Inmaculada one of the first things we did was check out their zoo. The second year volunteers had told us about the zoo, but I was not expecting the diversity of animals on this high school campus. The first animal I saw when walking on their campus were deer, and I mean a whole herd of deer. The deer were so friendly that they would come up to the fence, sniff us, and let us pet them before moving onto something else. When it felt like the deer had enough of my excitement we settled into our rooms and refueled with some aji de atun, which is a Peruvian dish made from an aji pepper cream sauce with tuna and served over rice, before checking out the rest of the zoo. The high school’s zoo has chickens, goats, an emu, macaws, parrots that talk, a llama, bears, jaguars, panthers, a monkey, and capybaras.

All the animals

In addition to the zoo, the high school had orchards of pecans, avocados, chirimoya, and oranges. Driving through the orchards was one of my favorite things because it led to a panoramic view of Lima. At the top of the orchard, I saw the juxtaposition of desert, ocean, and mountains. I also saw how socioeconomic status’ differ between the Inmaculada and the communities surrounding it. The Inmaculada is a upper-middle class Jesuit high school surrounded by a gate and has security around the clock, while the community behind it is on the come up. Seeing this difference in status in the community I was staying at was just the beginning of noticing socioeconomic status and privilege in Lima.

Views of Lima

Our main purpose of going to Lima was to begin the process of changing our visa status. On New Year’s Eve, my fellow first year volunteer and I went to Interpol to ask what we would need to start the process. Finding out that we would need some paperwork from two different banks, we walked from Interpol to the banks and back. When we returned to Interpol, we got in line, but when we said that we were Americans they took us out of the line and brought us to a room to fill out paperwork, get fingerprinted, and receive a dental exam. We were at Interpol for a total of two hours, when it seemed that other people were going to be there all day. Our American citizenship bumped us up to the top of Interpol’s priority. While this is something that I enjoyed because Interpol reminded me a lot of the DMV and airport security screenings, I did not appreciate the looks other people were giving us when we were pulled to the front. After we finished our paperwork we were given an envelope to be mailed back to the US for a FBI background search and allowed to leave. Finishing the morning at Interpol, we made the walk home with pit stops at starbucks for some wifi, the US Embassy, and a mall. With our work at Interpol done in one day, we had the rest of our two weeks to have fun and explore Lima. I knew I wanted to go to as many beaches as possible and check out the club scene in Lima. When planning the rest of our two weeks we prioritized one activity per day to cross off things on both of our bucket lists. After consulting travel books about Peru, our second year JV’s, the Jesuits, and people we knew who have visited Peru we had a jam-packed schedule of things we wanted to see and do.

Tonight

We are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter

Than the sun

(Fun.)

The following day we went into Miraflores to start crossing things off our bucket lists. We walked through Kennedy Park, which has cats roaming freely. I was living my dream in this park because of how many cats there were! These cats were the most photogenic cats I have seen in Peru, and because they are so accustomed to people, they did not mind me getting close to them to get the perfect picture. This park quickly became one of my favorite places and was an easy landmark to orient ourselves in Lima. Cats quickly became a highlight of my trip in Lima. Everytime I would see one I would be instantly happy because they reminded me of my cats at home. One cat in particular takes the honor of being Peruvian Harry. Harry is my Brother’s fluffy one year old black and white cat that I love so much. In college, I would FaceTime my Brother so my roomates and I could see Harry as a kitten. Now in Peru, I Snap-Video-Chat Harry and get pictures of him from my Mom. When we went to the Museo Larco, which is Peru’s premier museum for Andean art, I saw Peruvian Harry and I was in love! We went to this museum for the art, but after seeing Peruvian Harry I only wanted to be there for the cat. This cat looked exactly like Harry except for his nose, American Harry has a pink nose, while Peruvian Harry has a black nose. Seeing a cat that looks so similar to Harry makes my Peru experience easier. It reminds me that there are things here that remind me of home.

Peruvian Harry

One of the things that really made me feel at home was the nightlife. During college I would go out with my friends on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights just to dance around, sing, and overall have a good time. The clubs were places that I felt most like myself and totally free. In Lima I automatically felt like myself because I was back in a city, but I wanted that extra feeling of over-the-top freedom. We went to the club on our second Friday night in Lima, and bounced from two different clubs before finding the best one. What made our final club the best was that it was a smaller venue, had a centralized dance floor, played really good music, had a ton of young people, and there was no cover charge. That night I danced like nobody was watching and sang to all of the songs! That’s how I knew that this club was the best–every song was a sing-a-long. Going to the clubs felt like all of the times I went out with my friends. It felt like they could have been there even though they are a continent away. Feeling like my friends, family, and home are close to me is all that I want while in Peru.

Pre-clubbing photoshoot

Another home that I got to visit was the beach. I was lucky enough to go to the beach a bunch of times while in Lima! I remember walking through Miraflores to get to the beach and feeling a sense of bliss because it was something familiar. The mix of the salty air with the sound of the waves brought me back to San Francisco and being home. I was content to sit and watch the waves roll by, surfers do their thing, and the paragliders soar for hours. When sitting on the sand and getting into the ocean all I could think was that these are the same waters that I have back home. Being on the Pacific Ocean made me feel close to everyone in the states. Because of this, I started to collect sand from the beaches I have been to in Peru. In my room in Anda, I have three different jars of sand and a pile of rocks from Peruvian beaches to remind me that home is not as far away as I think it is. Looking at them on my windowsill reminds me that I am slowly creating a new home here in Peru, while my home a half a world away is still within reach. My heart may be in the United States, but with my feet in Peru I am establishing a new normal that is both exciting and challenging. I can only imagine what I will be feeling about my new home in the many months that are to come.

Home

[timeisacephalopod]

Dramatics

I got bored so I figured what the fuck, why not another of the Peter Q/Stephen/ Tony YouTube AU shorts.

When Peter reads the topic this week he laughs and Tony grins because yeah, he figured Peter would enjoy that. And this week they have special guest Wong to back up all their crazy ‘Stephen Did A Really Dramatic Thing’ stories. Stephen glares at him because he doesn’t have a facial expression in between pleased and pissed and that has led to a whole lot of audience questions that are mostly ‘how do you know when he’s actually mad’ and the answer is that Stephen is screaming. Usually not literally, but he’s got a penchant for complaining that Peter and Tony have discovered is a trait they both found secretly appealing. Tony because he can use Stephen’s inability to keep his opinions to himself as a way to drive off reporters and Peter because he thinks its funny to set Stephen on people like some kind of personal pit bull.

In his defense it actually is pretty hilarious to watch this happen.

“Well, what’s the topic?” he asks and Tony hands the slip of paper to Wong, who reads it and lets out a loud snort. They don’t say anything to Stephen because all three of them know that if they say anything Stephen will deny all dramatics, but if they keep him dangling he’ll do something dramatic. Then he can’t deny his tendency to put on one hell of a show one hundred percent of the time.

“This is going to be fun,” Wong says, grinning.

Stephen squints at him, “how the hell is anything supposed to be fun when I don’t know what we’re doing?” he asks and they all start laughing.

“Exhibit A in Stephen Is Dramatic,” Peter says. “Obviously none of us can have fun if you don’t know what we’re doing.”

Stephen sticks his nose in the air, “its not my fault its true. And I am not dramatic,” he says like he didn’t just decide that it’s impossible for Tony, Wong, and Peter to have fun without him.

“Yes you are Stephen, face it. You’re more dramatic than Tony and that’s difficult to do when the man has literally coordinated pyrotechnics to his entrances,” Wong points out.

“In my defense,” Tony says, “that was Stark Expo and it was an important event.” Also he’s always wanted to walk into pyrotechnics and that seemed like a good way to fulfill his childhood dreams. Wong doesn’t seem to think this serves as a useable defense if the look on his face is any indication. Well, its not Tony’s fault Wong is no fun.

Peter snorts, “its funny that I write movies because living with the two of you is basically like living one.”

Stephen takes much more offense to this than he does. “I am not like living in a movie, I am a doctor and to most people that’s boring,” he says.

“A doctor that does a lot of international conferences, has revolutionized the way people do surgery, and has made significant headway in research in various fields related to spinal surgery. That’s not really boring,” Tony points out. “Its me, but with people instead of technology.”

“Right down to the flashy personality, ridiculous cars, and arrogant attitude,” Wong agrees but Peter wrinkles his nose.

“Tony is fake arrogant, Stephen is arrogant arrogant,” he says.

Wong presses his hand to his heart, “that’s so beautiful and eloquent, I can see how you managed to get several writing jobs,” he says sarcastically. Peter flips him off but Wong remains unaffected.

“I am not arrogant arrogant,” Stephen says, “but I agree that Tony is mostly good at faking it. Give him a sad child and a kitten though and he’ll show his true colors.”

Honest to fucking god Wong pulls an actual ass cat out of the bag sitting at his feet and hands it to Tony, who takes the furry little bugger immediately. “Why aren’t we doing a video on Wong’s dramatics,” Stephen says, frowning at him.

“Because I never insisted anyone call my cape a cloak,” Wong says.

“Or decided to get my colleagues to quiz me on seventies music while doing surgery just to prove how smart and able to multitask I am,” Peter says.

“Or convinced a guy’s girlfriend to dump him just so he’ll stop driving up the price of the rare car you want and can’t even drive,” Tony adds, petting the cat’s head.

Stephen squints at him, “I know how to drive,” he says.

Tony snorts, “yeah, if you consider stomping on the gas petal and riding your breaks like you do my ass driving. Your cars are screaming at you Stephen, I know this because I’m the one servicing them. Please stop killing your break pads,” he says. And he has to go fast everywhere. Like sure, Tony loves speed, always has, but Stephen lives on it and has a bad habit of being a distracted driver.

“I’m not worse than Peter,” Stephen says and Tony lets out a laugh.

“Honey, that’s like me saying I’m not a bad surgeon because I’m more competent than a fucking gibbon. Peter drives like he fucks- absolutely crazy, entirely selfish, not really aware of what he’s doing, but somehow ends up at his destination in one piece with everyone else there with him even if you have no clue how you got there,” he says.

Wong bursts out laughing, doubling over. “That is probably the best description of sex I have ever heard,” he wheezes out while Stephen joins him in laughing. Peter looks offended though.

“Am I really that bad at sex?” he asks and Tony shrugs.

“As a sex style I don’t understand how its working for me but it does. As a driving style, I’d rather trust Jesus to take the wheel and I don’t even believe he exists.” That is, he’s sure, probably because of the bad luck he’s had with cars he isn’t driving but that’s not the point. A goddamn goat probably has more skill than Peter behind the wheel.

“He’s right,” Stephen wheezes, “that’s exactly how you drive and fuck. That’s so funny.”

“Okay you know what, this video should have been about dramatic Tony is,” Peter says.

“I don’t necessarily agree, but technically we’re supposed to be talking about Stephen’s dramatics,” Wong says, preforming wrangling duties like he belongs in these videos. Clearly he keeps up with them if he knows to play into the existing structure and running joke. Funny, because Stephen doesn’t think Wong watches them at all and he’s sure Wong lets him believe that for whatever reason. The man is a more subtle dramatic most of the time, but dramatic nonetheless.

“Right, yeah, lets talk not talk about my totally normal not bad sex habits,” Peter says. “Stephen once decided to learn magic and insisted everyone call him ‘Sorcerer Supreme’.”

Tony snorts and starts laughing because he forgot about that. Stephen’s magic phase was short lived, but he did manage to learn quite a lot so now its a useful party trick he uses to steal drunk people’s keys at parties. Tony thinks that’s for the best even if Stephen’s ability with sleight of hand is much better than simple key stealing tricks.

“I was good, I deserved credit,” Stephen says, nose in the air.

“You were good sure, but that good? Eh,” Tony says, shrugging.

Stephen gives him an annoyed look before he sits up and Tony swears to a god he doesn’t even believe in that Stephen pulls a fucking bowl of goldfish out of nowhere. “Those aren’t real fish,” he says, handing the cat off to Wong before reaching for the bowl. Stephen lets him take it until he sticks his hand in there and lets out a loud yelp as Stephen pulls the bowl back.

“You don’t grab fish, Tony!” he yells as Peter does the same thing Tony does and reacts the same way as Stephen pulls the bowl away from him too. “I just told Tony not to grab the fish!” Stephen tells him. “What is wrong with the pair of you?”

Wong hands the cat back to Tony and pulls the bowl from Stephen’s hands and looks into it. “Yeah, those are definitely real fish. Where were you hiding four fish, a bowl, and all the water? I know you didn’t have all that on you when you sat down,” he says.

Stephen sticks his nose in the air, “I am the Sorcerer Supreme,” he says in a haughty tone.

Peter stares at Stephen like he’s preformed a miracle but Tony knows there has to be some kind of explanation. But who the hell keeps a bunch of fish, a tank, the water, and the rocks at the bottom of the bowl on them at all times? And how did he assemble all that in less than seconds when Tony knows there was no fish bowl hiding under his clothing. He’s wearing normal clothes, there’s nowhere for him to hide the bowl. But he had to manage somehow.

“This is why we’re making an entire video about your dramatics,” Wong points out, preforming wrangling duties again.

“You know what,” Stephen says, “I resent that I’m the dramatic one when Peter has cost people literal millions of dollars all in an effort to fund his self insert characters that are really his way of trying to avoid actual therapy for his daddy issues. And then he cast his boyfriend as his fake father- I feel that this is more dramatic than the fish,” he says matter-of-factly. 

Tony and Peter let out twin noises of disgust because they’d only just gotten past that. “Can’t you shut the fuck up about that?” Tony asks, wrinkling his nose at Stephen.

“No, because its true. And mini Peter is fake child Peter that you mentored into manhood. How do you feel about mentoring your boyfriend’s self insert into manhood?” he asks, smiling because he damn well knows he’s just ensured that Peter and Tony won’t be able to look each other in the eye for the next month or better. Shooting the damn movie was bad enough even if Peter is actually a pretty good director though it helps that he knows Tony well.

“This is why the video is centered on your dramatics, Stephen. Its not like the other two weaponize your parental relationships they way you do just because you like being the center of attention,” Wong says, going back to wrangling. Dude is good, Tony might keep him.

Peter frowns, “okay but how does this get him more attention?” he asks and Wong looks at him like he’s stupid.

“With you two alienated from each other you both pay attention to him more. He’s terrible really, he could have just asked for more attention like a normal person but instead he went through this convoluted plan to trap you both in your own web of daddy issues. Dramatic,” he points out.

Peter and Tony look at Stephen, who shrinks into his seat as his cheeks turn a little red. “Wong is lying,” he says with zero conviction.

*

Christine snorts, “he claimed he wasn’t dramatic? He should listen to the way he describes the other doctors at the hospital then. He once said that Glen was so old the Grim Reaper was reaching out and clutching his heart for safekeeping,” she says. “Then went on to point out he’s ‘lucky that he works in a hospital otherwise he would have surely turned to dust by now,’” she adds and they all know that last bit was Stephen’s phrasing. Christine isn’t that dramatic nor does she have a flair for flowery language like Stephen.

“That’s nothing- it turns out he’s been sabotaging mine and Tony’s relationship just to get more attention. He could have just asked,” Peter points out but no, Stephen can’t be a normal human.

“Oh yeah, he does that. Don’t let him get away with it, he’s like a kid. Give him an inch and he’ll take every mile he can squeeze out of you,” Christine says. “A good way to get him out of that habit is to do the opposite of what he wants. And he’s a fast learner.”

Tony and Peter exchange a look, knowing that they’re both keeping that in mind for later. Damn Stephen. “So,” Tony says, “did Wong give you a cat too? Because he’s given us three and Stephen hates them all as much as they love him.” Its like he’s catnip and he hates it. Tony doesn’t mind though, he’ll stand near Stephen and when he doesn’t pet them they go to him and he loves all the cats. Peter mostly doesn’t care about them until he trips on them in the kitchen.

Christine sighs, “yes, I have two. Where is he getting all these cats and why is he pawning them off on us? I had to go buy a cat tree yesterday so they’ll be entertained when I’m not home,” she says.

“Wong’s cat that he previously thought was a fat neutered male cat turned out to be a very pregnant female cat so he has some spare cats,” Stephen explains as he enters the room. The cats mill around his feet as he tries, and fails, to escape them. “Please rid me of these damn fang-y beasts,” he adds as he beelines to Tony.

Tony decides to put Christine’s words into practice and he calls the cats over but ignores Stephen. He watches as Stephen looks over to Peter, but he’s trying to get the attention of the third cat that’s just out of Tony’s reach. Then he looks at Christine, who decides to pick up one of the cats at Tony’s feet. “How come Wong gave you guys the cuter ones?” she asks. “One of mine looks like it has butt hole eyes and there’s nothing wrong with it, I took it to the vet to make sure,” she says.

Peter lets out a sharp laugh that scares off the kitten at his feet, “oh my god, come back kitty I didn’t mean to scare you!” Peter says, offering the cat a bad apology before he tries to call it back.

“I don’t know, maybe Wong decided you like the ugly ones. You had that pug in college,” he points out. And fuck was that thing ever a product of its entirely fucked up genetics. It looked in two different directions, the tongue hanging out of its mouth was nearly poking it in the eye, and Tony swears that one of its legs were shorter than the rest. That thing was a caution of science gone wrong but Stephen reports that Christine loved that ugly ass mutt.

“You leave Maribelle alone, she was a proper lady,” Christine tells him.

*

Peter and Tony are watching Rocket’s rough cut of Peter’s latest way of working out his daddy issues and Tony has to admit its good. A ton of shit still needs to be cut out, but its good. Mini Peter gives a great performance and Tony knows he’s acting, but it looks so natural that it doesn’t seem like he is. “You did an amazing job,” Peter says, wrapping an arm around his waist.

He smiles, “thank your directions, I don’t know how to act,” he says.

“That’s not true, you act all the time. Peter, cut that entire scene that’s basically just Tony laughing at Mini Peter’s jokes, its useless to the plot even if its cute. And that weird three minute scene where Tony is just standing there. Who’s bad style choice was that? I like the fishing scene but it should go too, its just Tony screaming at fish that I notice he does not try to grab,” Stephen says, giving him a look. Okay it was one time and forgive him for thinking it was nuts that Stephen had actual goddamn fish in a bowl he pulled out of literally nowhere. He’s gone through that video frame by frame and he still can’t figure out how he did it. The bowl wasn’t there and then it was. Like actual magic but Tony refuses to believe that.

They ignore Stephen still, deciding to steep him in his own stupid manipulation tactics for a little while longer while he stands there looking like a tit on a log. “Okay fine, I’m sorry I messed with your relationship please pay attention to me,” he says finally. Tony and Peter must be thinking along the same line because they both snort and start laughing before Tony extends his arm to Stephen, not looking away from the screen.

Stephen happily plods over, throwing himself on the couch beside them before laying down with his head in Tony’s lap. Peter shifts so his arm is on Stephen’s shoulder and Tony pets his hair. “That’s what you get for being an ass,” Tony tells him. “Also I think the way this turned out is not very much like Peter’s usual dad self inserts. I think Rocket heard us crying,” he says.

Peter shakes his head. “Nah, he just knows how to find the best takes and sticks them together to make a somewhat cohesive storyline,” Peter says. “So I guess the best scenes deviated from my original script. Also Stephen that’s all good advice, I was thinking the same thing but honestly at this point I’m too involved to know what’s good and what’s bad.”

That, and Tony knows Rocket probably realized that right away that the cutesy scenes didn’t work but kept them in for Peter to come to the same conclusion. They’d been relevant in the script, but not so much once it’d been shot. Turns out he and Mini Peter have enough on screen chemistry to believably build a relationship without all the bonding scenes they had in there before. Well, there were only like four but still.

They sit and watch the rough cut for another good twenty minutes before Stephen speaks again. “Are you even acting?” he asks Tony. “Because this doesn’t look like you’re acting at all.”

“I am, yeah. Peter gave me good directions,” he says but Peter snorts.

“Good directing gets you a lot, but it doesn’t replace talent. You were an actor in another life,” he says.

“Technically he’s an actor in this one too,” Stephen points out. “But he should have made a career out of it. You’re better than most current actors. Certainly better than Nicolas Cage,” he says.

Tony sighs, “remember what I said about the gibbon? This is another gibbon.”

Peter snorts and starts laughing. “I’m keeping that.”

[aka217]

Ok so 2018

2017 was pretty awesome, and 2018 had a tough act to follow. But honestly it was a great year as I was able to knock out some bucket list items. Let’s break it down and recap:

Portland: AJ’s birthday had the schmooters take Portland. Pretty cool to hit some vineyards with Ashley's fam, and then explore Portland a bit with the crew. But really as always its the hanging out that highlights the time (and bangers go whole song)

Milwaukee (2x): completing out my hydraulic training were two early trips to Milwaukee. I had the pleasure of seeing my first snowfall which was cool. Also had a grand time continuing to explore the area and fall more in love with the place. Unfortunately getting food poisoning the second time, I couldn’t take full advantage of the second trip, but nonetheless I got my certification and grew fond of a new city.

Bok tower: For my birthday we went to Bok Tower gardens, a small gem in between Tampa and Orlando. Serene place and something a little different than the usual fare or Orlando or Tampa

Tail of the dragon: this was a special trip, as this is sort of a US mecca for driving enthusiast. I went on the road trip with a few friends in a few cars, and i was glad i was able to bring the Miata. While the tail of the dragon is fun, long, and concentrated, really that whole area had many great roads, and to me a lot of better (albeit short) stretches. Definitely a cross off on the bucket list.

Vegas: Vegas is as wild as they say it is. I spent this trip with the wife, revolving around the Life is Beautiful festival, with NERD and Florence + the Machine as the main draws. I’ve always wanted to see NERD live, and my wife made it happen. Other star parts of the festival was Sabrina Claudio, which i did not know of until i looked up who else  was on the schedule. I’m glad i stumbled into her. And the rest of Vegas was wonderful, and had way too much fun. That’s all i can really say.

New York: it’s been a long time coming, for a place i think of sometimes as a second home of sorts. Thanks to Jenny for hosting us, we were able to sneak in a visit before the end of the year. With a mix of seeing old favorites and some new (including a brief taste of Queens living), it is wonderful as always. Went to the Historic Museum to catch the Harry Potter History exhibit, showcasing notes and sketches from JK Rowling. Right after the exhibit, on a whim Hasan Minhaj tweeted a last minute link to a Q&A session he was doing THAT NIGHT in NY. I was originally bummed we would miss the live taping of his Patriot Act show, but this was one of those few moments where great things just fall into your lap, and so we got the chance that evening to see him in person. We also saw Karen, an old friend we always try to find a way to catch up whenever we are in New York. Although brief, New York will always have our hearts, and we feel welcome there each time.

Local highlights:

Megacon/Holiday Matsuri: My first anime expo in a long time (actually my second only i think) , and first time at MegaCon I had a wonderful experience with an old hobby of mine. The main takeaway was meeting Alyson Tabbitha, who i follow on IG because of her unbelievable transformation as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. She’s really kind. Which inspired me to try to Cosplay, which I managed (the week of) to build up a costume for Holiday Matsuri. I made a quick costume of Joker’s school uniform from Persona 5. Bought the pants, but modified a turtle neck sweater and blazer. Chose a more subtle route so that it can be worn on other occasions and not instantly be looked at as a character. Alyson was there as well, and unfortunately i did not have the patience or time to wait in her very long line. But that’s ok because it led to a very nice conversation with someone in the bus. I may not be a devout fan of the genre but I’m glad i went out of my way to enjoy one of my life long hobbies out in public.

Baby goats: this year we did Baby goat yoga! I can tolerate yoga enough to partake in this class, and it is well worth it. Feeding baby goats and having them stand on you while you downward dog is too fun. This, along with the dolphin experience below, are fulfilling tastes of wanting to be a zoologist.

Pride yoga: this was a pretty cool opportunity as we got to get onto the Orlando City stadium pitch to do yoga. A very unique experience and being able to see what it’s like to be on the pitch looking up into the stands is really fun.

Falcon heavy rocket launch: Ashley gives us a great opportunity to see rocket launches on center, and this one was one of the coolest. The largest rocket Space X launches, this was a pretty big spectacle. The neat part was the re entry landing, watching two small rockets come barreling down to earth, only to elegantly land side by side. Sci-Fi for real.

KSC tour: More perks, we did a KSC tour of the grounds. Being a Hydraulic/Mechanical engineer, I can really appreciate some of the ground support equipment and facilities on site, as I find it pretty bonkers to think the kind of engineering that goes on to create such unique and just straight up big machines.

Beyonce/Jay-Z: bucket list for Ashley was to see Beyonce, and to team up with Jay-Z was an added bonus. OTR II was a pretty good album too, so we splurged on the tickets and got some pretty decent seats to the stadium. We had a fun night listening to some great music. And it was clear that night Beyonce is queen.

In the Heights: I’ve been thinking I don’t have theatre in my life as much as I’d like to, and the chance came up to see a well known play be shown at the local Orlando Shakes theater. A great play by Lin Manuel-Miranda, and in an intimate venue as Orlando Shakes it was top notch time. 

USA Womens soccer: Watched the US Womens National Team play in Orlando for the She Believes Cup. I’ve been following the team for a few years now, and thankful to be able to support near by. They deserve a lot more respect by being a dominant representation of the US. 2019 brings the Women’s world cup, and look forward to continuing to cheer them on.

Discovery Cove: Another bucket list item, to be a Dolphin Trainer. This was my first answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question as a kid, and up to this year I never even touched a dolphin. Well my (amazing) wife granted my life long wish and we went to Discovery Cove where I had the ability to live out my dream and not only pet the dolphin, but tell her tricks and take a ride/swim in the cove. This place was actually pretty fun, as they have many other attractions (swimming with fish and manta rays was really fun) and unlimited food and snacks.

Lantern Festival: Initially thinking it was hokey (especially after the amount i paid to do it) it was well worth doing. I knew Ashley has wanted to light a lantern, so the event came up a ways out from Orlando. Although the event could have had a little better coordination as it wasn’t as nice as their PR video, it was still a spectacle to see the hundreds of lanterns continuously lift into the air. As this event neared the end of 2018, we reflected where we were and where we planned to be. 

Heat games: Dwayne Wade’s “Last Dance” we got to see him twice in a week: in Orlando and in Miami. I’m really loving these Vice jerseys, and it’s nice to pay respect to the man who has been integral to our city.

Christmas/New Years fam: Writing this post late (post-2018) I can also add in the crazy last weeks I’ve had, as it was pretty much non-stop from Christmas weekend through New Years weekend. My family, Ashley’s family. Ashley’s Family friends, my family’s friends, our college friends, Ashley’s aunts and uncles. Every night was another party. Every day was a lunch to catch up. Truly blessed to have so much family and friends to be in close proximity, honestly it was a very concentrated dose of the people that you grew up with that really make the holidays so memorable.

That’s pretty much it. I was looking at the previous year, and I don’t think I mentioned that the Disney B250 was completed, a very special project and milestone that really my entire engineering career has led to this pinnacle. well in 2018 production has been completed. It isn’t perfect, and if I did it again I have a lot more knowledge under my belt to tackle it better, but nonetheless I will always be grateful and appreciative of the project, and may never get over how cool it is to see it running in Disney. I can only hope it lasts just as long as the previous set of Tram pullers.

Random honorable mentions:

Discovery of Brambleberry Ice Cream. Initially in Atlanta during the Tail of the Dragon road trip. But then the wife finding it at the local grocery, blessing. Summer as an ice cream flavor

Pan roast at oyster bar: a gem of a meal for 2018, found in Las Vegas. debatable as the best thing i’ve eaten in 2018. 

Marie patties: This was a small mom and pop Jamaican patty bakery near my house that we would always go to growing up while my mom shopped at the oriental store, or after we would get haircuts. The best tasting patties I’ve had, and certainly unique to any others. As time goes on, the mom and pop get old and therefore retired the place. With a stroke of luck we stopped by during one of our trips to Miami as we usually miss the opportunity to, and they were only a couple weeks from closing up. Sad to see such a staple end, and a small reminder nothing lasts forever, and some things don’t last a lifetime.

Hmm...I also beat Persona 5. I don’t think the group can match the hijinks of Persona 4, but otherwise a great game, and one I cosplayed. Plus Joker for Smash, cmonnnn.

I think I’ll end it here. Although not as crazy as last year as far as trips (although we still took a good amount this year) I have to say I crossed a lot off my bucket list this year. And of course I have to thank my wife for all of it pretty much, as she looks out for me way more that I realize. I hope in 2019 I can return the favor and realize some of her goals too. This year I will be turning 30, and ending my Twenties. A remarkable decade of my life, and to think back on that will have to be saved for another time. 

Thank you 2018, you’ve been kind.

[lettersfromjuliet-blog1]

My First Week in Nepal!

Why does it take me so long to start journaling when I arrive in a new country? It’s pretty frustrating-- makes it harder to recall the days. Might as well give it a go. New country, new journal.

First impression of Nepal: the weather. It’s so nice and finally feels like spring. I met Hannah, Fran, and Jeremy in the van at the airport. They were all very friendly, but not like they are now. Not that they seemed fake or anything of that sort, but first greetings are always different. I feel as if nobody is who they truly are the first time you meet them.

I’ve come to enjoy everyone thus far. We met Fergus on arrival at the hotel where Janella, Ellie, Lottie, and Simon already were. We were given our rooms and then went wandering around Kathmandu. It is similar to Sri Lanka as far as the streets go (crowded spaces and pressure to walk straight in order to avoid being hit by a car). Buddhist flags hung everywhere-- blue, red, white, green, and yellow. We walked around for about an hour, the shops were quite cool. There are many hippie-style clothing shops and some art shops as well. That night we had dinner, some went out, and of course, I went to sleep.

On Sunday, the whole group went on a walk to a square that is supposed to have neat architecture, but we didn’t end up going in because it cost money. So we walked around some more instead. I found a wonderful embroidery patch to add to my collection and a fun headband! After lunch, we went to a Buddhist monkey temple with a complete view of the city. There was a lady who gave me a candle to put at the alter type thing, and I thought “why not?” . So I did. But after, she insisted I pay for the candle-- a detail she failed to mention beforehand. I should have seen it coming though. I didn’t want to be scammed so I said no-- which led to her cursing me. I think. I’m not entirely sure what happened.

After that event, we went to a Hindu temple-- Pashupatinath Temple. It was the one Michelle had told me about from her time in Nepal. She had said that it was families held funerals, but not the ones that we are used to. And sure enough, there were funerals going on. It was a confusing thing to watch. Even though we were on the other side of the river that ran through the site, there was a clear view of the obviously personal events taking place. The bodies were wrapped in an orange cloth and their families were standing around them while they said goodbye and cremated the body. We were told that it was okay to watch, but it felt wrong to make a tourist attraction out of the loss of somebody’s loved one. The gloomy sky and stillness in the air made everything feel even more heavy. I began praying, but came close to tears. What could I pray for? This person died a Hindu, not with the God I know. They were not at peace, at least by my religious standards and all I wanted to do was cry. They went an entire life not knowing Jesus. But I’m sure they would say the same for me and my lack of Hinduism. To top it all off, there was a monkey running around with only one hand. Not my favorite spot.

Monday was an early morning with a three hour bus ride through the mountains to go river rafting. My raft, the group-titled goat boat, had Jeremy, Hannah, Ellie, Archie, Janella, and Shawna in it. It was a fun time. At some points we would jump into the river from the raft and go swimming in the chilling water. Coby started a trend of flipping out of the rafts-- which is more difficult than you would expect. Toward the end, we hit a big rapid where Janella fell out, Shawna barely stayed in, and the rest of us fell into the middle of the raft. It caused the type of laughter that inhibits your ability to speak. Boy did it feel good to laugh like that. We passed under some bridges high suspending bridges along the way and drifted through the refreshing nature and mountains.

There was another long bus ride after rafting to our hotel in Chitwan. People went out and did some yoga and Zoe and I stayed in and called it a night.

Tuesday was another early morning. We were scheduled for a safari, but to get there we had to take a little canoe across the river-- a great start to the day. My group for the safari was a fun time. We had Ellie, Lottie, Fergus, Kieren, Archie, Fran, Hannah, Freddie, and Simon. There were rhinos (my first wild rhino sighting), a deer, some monkeys, crocodiles, and plenty of birds. Sadly, no tigers. The first few hours were fun, but then I just got tired and a bit bored.

After lunch, we went on another canoe journey where we saw more crocodiles and birds, and Hannah picked up a water cabbage pet-- Bobby. We got out for a jungle walk where we saw many more deer (which for an animal that is common back home, is still beautiful). There was also the absolute largest bee nest I’ve ever seen. It was hanging off the bottom of a tree and looked liked a camel hump. We sat in the grass and watched a rhino for a while which was really peaceful with the clear sky and fresh air.

Later that night we went to a culture show which was pretty decent, everyone’s favorite was the elaborate peacock dance. At the end most of us went up on stage and learned a dance, and oh my goodness was Coby entertaining.

Wednesday. My least favorite day of the trip. It consisted of ten hours traveling in a bus, for which a total of three of those hours we were completely stopped. I was losing my mind! There was a small waterfall on the side of the road which cooled us off a bit, thankfully since the bus was so enclosed and hot.

Thursday was our first day of volunteering in Pokhara. I went to the farm that is run by the children’s home. In the morning I was turning soil and in the afternoon I was, or tried to, move stones. By stones, I mean great slabs of rock that were probably the same size as most arms. Not quite as strong as I used to be. The baby goats at the farm are purely amazing. Roger is my favorite. He jumps a lot. They’re much much smaller than I was expecting-- and softer too. After the work we had to walk down the cliff in the rain, which was nerve wracking and very cold. But we made it. And created a memorable experience.

Friday was the fun run that about half the group participated in. I went to the orphanage with Ben and Seb which wasn’t bad. But there really wasn’t much to do. I painted a smiley face on a wall, watch kids play cannonball, and watch a Hindi movie that I did not understand for nearly an hour. Since it was a school break, there weren’t that many kids at the orphanage and not a whole lot to do. I would have enjoyed it more if it felt like I was needed or was helping in some way, but I felt like the kids were entertaining themselves for the most part.

That night was the big Nepali new year celebration. We went out to a bar and I had a drink and danced a bit. After, we walked about two kilometers to a festival and along the way I made friends with a dog. We stayed until midnight in a big crowd of people dancing to some random Nepali artist. On the way back Zoe, Jeremy and I got a pizza and we got back to hostel around 1:30 in the morning. It was a pretty solid night. Some drama, but not enough to put a damper on anything. Happy New Year Nepal!

~a letter from juliet

[mrsmoerlii]

Day 8: Jaisalmer

ELA, MELA, MASALA AND TELA ON MONIA, SONIA, PAULA AND KALU

Planänderung! Da alle von Jaisalmer geredet haben und wir eigentlich auch super gerne dahin wollten, haben wir uns kurzfristig dazu entschlossen, unseren Aufenthalt in Udaipur um 2 Tage zu kürzen und noch einen kleinen Abstecher in die Wüste zu machen.

Es stand eine Kamelsafari-Tour mit Übernachtung in der Wüste auf dem Tagesplan! Unser Bus war zum Glück pünktlich, so dass wir noch drei Stunden im Hostel hatten, um uns auf unser kleines Abenteuer vorzubereiten.

Wir waren unglaublich aufgeregt! Wir wollten die Tour auf keinen Fall alleine machen und so waren wir heilfroh, als wir erfuhren, dass noch zwei weitere dabei sein würden: Marcelo, 50, aus Brasilien und Alex, 30, aus Australien.

Es war im Hostel schon unerträglich heiß, der Wetterbericht zeigte 38°C an. Bei dem Gedanken, gleich das klimatisierte Hostelzimmer zu verlassen und in der brütenden Hitze durch die Wüste zu reiten, wurde uns als norddeutsche Landeier ein bisschen mulmig. Ich hatte Schiss, dass ich in der Wüste durch Hitzeschlag vom Kamel fallen würde.

Um 15 Uhr ging’s los: Eine Stunde ging es zuerst mit dem Jeep voran. Dabei erwies sich der Fahrer als guter DJ, denn durch die Wüste zu düsen mit laut dröhnender indischer Chartmukke, macht gleich doppelt so viel Spaß! 😁

Schließlich war es an der Zeit das Transportmittel zu wechseln. Durch meine letzte Erfahrung an einen vierbeinigen Untersatz, das mich in Kolumbien ein Krankenhaus von innen kennen lernen ließ, war es ein komisches Gefühl wieder auf einen Sattel zu steigen. Da aber weit und breit keine Zaunpfähle in Sicht waren, ließ ich es auf einen erneuten Versuch drauf ankommen.

Hayat, unser Kameltreiber, konnte oder wollte sich unsere Namen nicht merken und so gab er uns spontan einfach neue:) Ich war Ela, Merle war Mela, Marcelo wurde zu einem indischen Currygericht, Masala und Alex wurde zu Tela, wahrscheinlich einfach nur weil es sich so gut reimte😂

Wir ritten 1,5 Stunden durch die Wüste. Nach ungefähr 30 min. Konnten wir bereits an den Oberschenkelinnenseiten erahnen, dass sich zumindest unser Körper an diesen kleinen Ausflug mindestens noch die nächsten zwei Tage nachhaltig erinnern wird. Jeder, der schon einmal auf einem Pferd saß, weiß, was ich meine…

Vorbei ging’s an wilden Kamelherden und “weidenen” Ziegen, deren Suche nach einem Grashalm auf dem trockenen Ackerland eher der berühmten Nadel im Heuhaufen glich.

Es war so unglaublich ruhig, weit und breit (fast) keine Menschenseele. Vor Ehrfurcht dieses tollen Gefühls, zwei Meter über dem Boden durch die Wüste zu schweben, sprachen wir fast kein Wort und so trotteten wir schweigend hintereinander her.

Als wir ankamen, hatten wir noch ca.1,5 Stunden bis zum Sonnenuntergang. Hayat hieß uns im Lager willkommen:”Hier ist das Schlafzimmer, da ist das Wohnzimmer, das Esszimmer und die Küche.” Er zeigte hinter eine Düne: ”Da ist die eine Toilette und da ist die zweite. Alles in einem Raum!” Humor hat man also auch in der Wüste 😉

Während Merle und ich wie verrückt Fotos in den Dünen machten, baute Hayat unser Schlafzimmer und bereitete in der Küche zusammen mit seinem Gehilfen unser Abendessen vor. Plötzlich, wie eine Fata Morgana, tauchte aus dem Nichts ein Typ auf und fragte, ob wir ein kühles Bier wollen!!??🙄🤣🤣 Wir hatten ja mit Vielem gerechnet in der Wüste, aber damit nicht!😅 Uns war bei der Hitze jedoch nicht nach Alkohol, nahmen aus Höflichkeit aber jeder eine Sprite, sie war tatsächlich kalt. Wie das sein konnte und wo er plötzlich her kam, bleibt wohl sein kleines Geheimnis.

Achja, eine gute Nachricht hatte Hayat noch für uns: es gab zum Glück keine giftigen Schlangen zu der Jahreszeit - nur Skorpione! Was für ein Glück!🙄😅🙈

Und es gab Mistkäfer! Sehr, sehr viele… Aber diese waren wirklich putzig. Wie sie den Kamelkot so über die Dünen rollten, war schon witzig anzusehen. Sie wirkten so zielstrebig, als wüssten sie genau, wo sie damit hin wollten.

Nach dem Abendessen ging es auch schon gleich ins Bett, dabei war es erst 8 Uhr. Unsere Körper waren noch lange nicht auf Schlafenszeit eingestellt, aber nachts in der Wüste kann man auch einfach nicht mehr viel machen. Wir quatschten noch ein wenig und ließen diesen wahnsinnigen Moment noch etwas auf uns wirken, bevor wir die Augen schlossen. Über uns ein klarer Sternenhimmel, noch dazu war Vollmond! Man hörte in ein paar Dünen Entfernung einen Sing-Sang, welches einem das Bild von einem Lagerfeuer und drumherum tanzenden Eingeborenen im  Kopf bilden ließ. Es klang unglaublich schön und machte diesen Moment noch vollkommener. Es war definitiv der dritte Gänsehautmoment unserer Reise!!

Am Morgen erzählte mir Merle, dass sie in der Nacht sogar genau eine Sternschnuppe am Himmel gesehen hätte und in dem Moment vor Glück genau eine Träne ihr die Wange herunter kullerte. Wie schön!😢☺️

Die Wetterbericht sagte eigentlich 25°C Tiefsttemperatur voraus und so war ich ein bisschen verwundert, als ich in der Nacht vor Kälte aufwachte und doch Gebrauch von der dicken, schweren Decke machen musste. Am nächsten Morgen war auch alles nass und klamm.

Wir verschliefen leider den Sonnenaufgang, es war aber ohnehin angenehm bewölkt. Nach dem Frühstück und ein paar Selfies mit unseren neuen höckernden Freunden, machten wir uns auf den Rückweg.

“Eine Übernachtung in der Wüste” können wir nun von unserer Bucketlist streichen! Unsere spontane Planänderung hat sich definitiv gelohnt, es war eines der tollsten Erfahrungen meines Lebens! 🎉🤩✌️

Nach einer unvorstellbar hervorragenden Dusche, sind wir noch für zwei Stunden durch “die goldene Stadt” gelaufen. So richtig motiviert war aber keiner von uns. Es war erstens viel zu heiß und zweitens konnte der Tag die vorherige Nacht sowieso nicht toppen.

____________________________________________________

Change of plans! Since everyone was talking about Jaisalmer and we really wanted to go there, we decided at short notice to shorten our stay in Udaipur by 2 days and make a little detour into the desert.

There was a camel safari tour with overnight stay in the desert on the daily plan! Luckily our bus was on time, so we still had three hours in the hostel to prepare for our little adventure.

We were incredibly excited! We didn't want to do the tour on our own and so we were very happy when we found out that there would be two more: Marcelo, 50, from Brazil and Alex, 30, from Australia.

It was already unbearably hot in the hostel, the weather forecast indicated 38°C. At the thought of leaving the air-conditioned hostel room and riding through the desert in the brooding heat, we as north German land eggs became a bit queasy. I was afraid that I would fall from the camel in the desert by heat stroke.

At 15 o'clock we started: One hour we went first with the jeep. The driver turned out to be a good DJ, because to jet through the desert with loud booming Indian Chart music is twice as much fun! 😁 Finally it was time to change the means of transport. Due to my last experience on a four-legged pedestal, which let me get to know a hospital in Colombia from the inside, it was a strange feeling to get back on a saddle. But since there were no fence posts in sight far and wide, I let it depend on another attempt.

Hayat, our camel driver, couldn't or didn't want to remember our names and so he spontaneously gave us new ones:) I was Ela, Merle was Mela, Marcelo became an Indian curry dish, Masala and Alex became Tela, probably just because it sounded so good😂

We rode 1.5 hours through the desert. After about 30 minutes we could already guess from the inside of our thighs that at least our body will remember this little trip for at least the next two days. Anyone who has ever sat on a horse knows what I mean...

We went past wild camel herds and "grazing" goats, whose search for a blade of grass on the dry farmland was more like the famous needle in a haystack.

It was so incredibly quiet, far and wide (almost) no human soul. In awe of this great feeling to float two meters above the ground through the desert, we hardly spoke a word and so we trotted silently behind each other.

When we arrived, we still had about 1.5 hours until sunset. Hayat welcomed us to the camp: "Here is the bedroom, there is the living room, the dining room and the kitchen. He pointed behind a dune: "There is one toilet and there is the second one. Everything in one room!" So you also have humour in the desert 😉

While Merle and I took photos in the dunes like crazy, Hayat built our bedroom and prepared our dinner together with his assistant in the kitchen. Suddenly, like a mirage fata, a guy appeared out of nowhere and asked if we wanted a cold beer!???🙄🤣🤣 We had expected a lot in the desert, but this not!😅 We didn't feel like drinking alcohol in the heat, but out of courtesy everyone took a sprite, it was actually cold. How that could be and where he suddenly came from, probably remains his little secret.

Oh well, Hayat still had good news for us: luckily there were no poisonous snakes at this time of year - only scorpions! What luck!🙄😅🙈🙈

And there were dung beetles! A loooooot.. But these were really cute. The way they rolled the camel excrement over the dunes was funny to watch. They seemed so determined, as if they knew exactly where they were going.

After dinner we went straight to bed, but it was only 8 o'clock. Our bodies weren't ready for bedtime for a long time yet, but at night in the desert you can't do much more. We chatted a little more and let this mad moment have an effect on us before we closed our eyes. Above us a clear starry sky, and on top of that there was a full moon! One heard a Sing-Sang in a few dunes distance, which let the picture of a campfire and around it dancing natives form in one's head. It sounded incredibly beautiful and made this moment even more perfect. It was definitely the third goose bump moment of our journey!

In the morning Merle told me that in the night she had even seen exactly one shooting star in the sky and that in that moment of happiness exactly one tear rolled down her cheek. How beautiful!😢☺️️

The weather forecast actually predicted 25°C lowest temperature and so I was a bit surprised when I woke up in the night from the cold and still had to make use of the thick, heavy blanket. The next morning everything was wet and clammy.

Unfortunately we slept through the sunrise, but it was pleasantly cloudy anyway. After breakfast and a few Selfies with our new humping friends, we made our way back.

"One overnight stay in the desert" we can now delete from our bucketlist! Our spontaneous change of plans was definitely worth it, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life! 🎉🤩✌️

After an unimaginably excellent shower, we walked for two hours through "the golden city". But none of us was really motivated. First of all it was too hot and secondly the day couldn't top the previous night anyway.

[erinelezabeth920]

Days 17-18: - Quito

Day 17:

It was Saturday. It was a tired day. I woke up late. I hadn’t slept in since god knows when. Not too late though because that damn equator sun shines right through my window. I went down around 8am and had breakfast with Monica; she thought I was going to Quilotoa today instead of the day before. My Spanish was probably off. I was hoping she would do my laundry today because it was beyond tragically low (hadn’t been washed since the hospital, since I arrived to Quito). She said something that the lines were all full (air dry clothing after hand washing), and she would do it tomorrow. Damn. After breakfast I went upstairs and diddled around until 10:30am. At 10:30 I headed out the door wearing shorts and a T-shirt (still held out hopes for laundry, maybe…). It was bright and sunny out. I wrapped my scarf around my shoulders. I tried out a different bus route to the Spanish school which sent me the completely wrong direction, so I just grabbed a taxi instead. I waited out on the steps for a few minutes until Kat showed up. Star showed up directly after; we sat on the steps and chatted, trying to ignore the gazes of the men at the barber shop next door. Soon a younger woman showed up, who we figured out was our tour guide. Michela, either a friend or daughter or something of one of the Spanish teachers was a local college student who was studying history and tourism. She wanted to practice giving tours, so the teachers asked if any of us were interested. It seemed like a nice way to spend a Saturday.

Mike and Ana arrived a few minutes later, and we set off. Kayla was getting her hair done, and Erin was at home mourning the loss of her phone (it had gotten stolen on the metro, just after we had said goodbye from margaritas after Quilotoa). We headed on the crowded metro to the historical district. It was honestly beautiful. We had been there before, but it was basically the first day and I was so out of it I don’t remember much. The day was perfect, sunny and not too hot. Michela told us about the history of the buildings, the Spanish conquistadors, and showed us the statue in the Plaza de Independencia when Ecuador become its own country. We went into the public library, and into some breathtakingly amazing churches of which I have no photos because it’s not allowed. With Spanish colonial architecture, narrow streets, churches and historic buildings, Quito was actually the first city in the world to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I had thought that Michela would speak in English, but she didn’t know it well enough she said, so spoke Spanish. I missed some things, but it was good practice and I asked Mike and Ana to translate a lot. She spoke of politics, the Spanish influence, and Incan relics. There is so much depth and history to this place that I can’t begin to scratch the surface. I stood on the roof of the old library, surveying the city.

People were out everywhere. Tourists and locals alike. The historic center has old buildings, colonial style and cobble streets with vendors selling ice cream, fruit and empanadas. We had lunch at an almuerzo place (3$). After lunch, Kat and Mike headed out. Ana, Star and I opted to stay to visit the Museo del Ciudad. Michela had to head out, but set us up with a tour guide (also in Spanish) for 3$. It was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve had here. The museum was beautifully laid out in an old building where each room explained a historical period of time in Quito. From the geography, to indigenous people, where they lived, what they ate, how they moved from hunter gather to society, the overtake of the Incan Empire (which only lasted 40 years who knew?!) to the first Spanish conquistadors, mass massacre of the indigenous people (what else is new), colonial period, independence, and finally modernization (also didn’t know Ecuador only adopted the American dollar 10 years ago, to avoid inflation and the total shit that is happening to Venezuela right now). Anyway, two extremely informative hours, listening in Spanish. How completely American, that I can live in a place and know nothing about it. After the museum Ana, Star and I bought street churros and they were amazing.

After that I went home. I was tired. I napped for an hour then went to meet Kayla, Erin and Star for dinner at a pasta place in Plaza Foch. Erin was in better spirits. It’s just mentally and emotionally draining to feel constantly unsafe. But dinner was nice. I was exhausted but hung out with Erin and Kayla for a little- we looked for a place to dance in Plaza Foch, but it was too early and everyone was hustling us trying to get us to come in for a drink. I got annoyed and was going to slap the next guy that walked up to me with a menu, so we took a taxi up to the gay bar where Mike and the others were meeting. After another annoying conversation with the bartender about cover charge, we paid the stupid 10$ went in and danced for a little. I’m getting familiar with all the popular latino songs. (Erin already knows them by heart.) It was a typical gay club, flashing lights and music and men who can dance. Mike, Jojo, Ana and Mayra showed up shortly after. I danced with them for a bit; Erin, Mike and Jojo were in their element. I was tired though, just overstimulated from a lot of people in small spaces with smoke and bodies, which is essentially all the public transportation is in Quito, so I said goodbye around 11:45 and caught a cab home.

The cab driver didn’t have his meter on. He told me 5$. I told him absolutely not, 3$. He said no, 4$. I was pissed the whole ride home and gave him 3.50$

Day 18:

Sunday was just wonderful. It was a bright, sunny morning. I ate breakfast with Monica and Hernando. We sat and talked for a long time; I told them how I was an outdoor guide back home and showed them pictures, of the mountains in Washington, the mountain goats, the cherry blossoms. I brought down my laundry (finally). Monica asked if I wanted to go to the market, but I told her I was meeting friends to watch the world cup game.

Heading outside, the city was dead. I don’t know if it’s the Catholicism, the World Cup, or both, but everything felt quiet. The streets were empty and people were biking happily where usually cars are zooming and honking. The first bus I took was playing the game on the radio. When I got off at the park, a street vendor was listening on a portable radio. I took the second bus up toward the clinic and got off to find the bar we were meeting at. The streets were empty, just occasional cars and bikes. The day was absolutely beautiful. I met Erin and Kayla outside, and we walked in to a happy, popping bar. I ordered a mojito and Venezuelan mozzarella sticks. It was a fun atmosphere.

After the game we (the 8 of us) walked to Parque Carolina, a big park nearby. We went to the botanical gardens, and wandered around for a few hours looking at the different plants, flowers and ponds. After that we found a nice grassy space in the park to plop. We read, took naps and took turns watching stuff so people could go buy food. The park was extremely busy, almost like an amusement park with a little river of paddle boats, food vendors everywhere, and a little sketchy looking ferris wheel. Families were playing, happy. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the energy felt different. More carefree. Probably the Catholicism. Day of rest. At one point a family with a guitar and a harp came right next to us and played. It was wonderful. The little boy kept running away with the maracas.

After the market, I stopped for pasta and a glass of wine. It was okay but overpriced. I had bought a 2$ teenage vampire novel in Spanish off the street and tried to translate it. I got through one page. After that, I headed home. I had tea and bread with Monica, Primo, Pablito, Anai, and Hernando. It was nice. After that I headed to bed.

I don’t know how to explain it, but it was a special day, weekend really because I wasn’t jetting off somewhere in search of adventures. Sunday especially felt, well NORMAL. Waking up late, chatting with the family over breakfast, meeting friends to watch the game, hanging out in the park. That’s what typical Sundays are. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was a marker, an accomplishment of sorts in the most tranquil of ways. We were past the point of two week, of the adrenaline of a vacation, and were just, for a brief quiet moment, living. In Quito.

It’s kind of a beautiful thought. 

[survivor-mountmerapi]

Ep. 6: “You never know what some people may have up their sleeve” - Rachel

DeNara

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY VOTED OUT JAMES!!!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOO FLIPPING MAD!!!!!!!!! HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS GAME I WANTED TO PLAY WITH!!!!!

This has Julia written all over it.... I don't expect to make the merge now, but if I do, I am going for blood....

Julia

HOW ARE PIETRO AND I STILL HERE?!?!?! This is sexy

Pietro

I cant believe this allow me and Julia to survive another round. We not only have now a 4 person alliance, but Julia told me she has an idol. We are running this game and we are here to stay, and we will keep slaying the favs. Julia was telling me earlier the day that she was gonna play her idol cause everyone was definately voted her out, but when I talked to Rachel I realised there was a chance she could flip, so I quickly made a group chat with me, Julia, Anastasia and Rachel to try to get them on our side... and it worked!! I LITERALLY THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA TAKE US HOURS TO FLIP THEM, and they decided to flip in 5 minutes.

AND ALSO, this people are playing so stupid! Like Elle in tribal saying how much she trusted James, and how Moth backstabbed her in the past like girllll why are you revealing so many info to EVERYONE?? you are a warrior or a wannabe?? I'm probably sounding very cocky but damn it this people are all so easy to read!!

Raffy

So. Much. Happened. Tonight. Firstly, I think DeNara and Nicholas both realize that Warriors are on the bottom after watching the other tribe's tribal council. This put them both in Mess mode. According to Steven, Nicholas told him about a 5-person alliance that was created with Madi, Gian, DeNara, Ginnifer, and Nicholas. Nicholas said it was created to take out the Winners (Steven and I). He said to Steven that he wants to work with us and to get the tribe to a 2-2-2 tribe split by voting out Ginnifer. Voting Ginnifer did not require this amount of effort as I believe she was the easiest target tribe. But wait. It gets messier. DeNara comes to me and tells me that Nicholas is snaking everyone on the tribe. She says that Nicholas came up with the whole alliance, and that he's been trying to play Steven and I (which we already kind of figured from Gian and Madi). Steven told her that Nicholas was throwing her under the bus which prompted to send quote receipts to both of us about how Nicholas has been playing puppet master to get the newbies and winners to target each other. Now, DeNara fully thinks Nicholas is trying to snake her, and she created an alliance with Steven and I to get him out pre-merge. Meanwhile, this required no prompting from Steven or I as we watched the Warriors eat themselves alive without even going to tribal council. These people are a Mess. And I love it. DeNara also told me that she thinks Julia is running the other tribe from head to toe. She believes that Julia is the reason one of her allies (James) was voted out. Therefore, I told her about Julia's idol to get her to target her even more come merge. DeNara seems very willing to vote out Julia, and to enact some revenge from another ORG which I happily fueled. Now, I can go into merge with someone who will target Julia FOR me. This is what happens when you mess with me and try to play me. Julia whenever you read this, I hope it was worth voting out Ellie. Kisses ~Raffy

DeNara

Well, Nicholas is screwed. I spilled the tea to Raffy and Steven about how hard Nic has been playing and they spilled some tea back. Nicholas has been playing all of us and got caught. They even tried to use me as a scape goat. Works for me because now I have an alliance with Steven and Raffy to get out Nicholas and get revenge for James by taking out Julia. TEA, she has an idol apparently. At least I know now! I really hope this goes my way.

DeNara

Nicholas seems like they almost want to get voted out! They are so chaotic. Nicholas was on call with me and Steven saying we should vote out Ginnifer. Then they told me privately it was to lower our target and then take out the winners. THEN messaged Raffy saying he was their Ride or Die! oh my goodness! Nicholas you are a great person, I really think you are fun to video chat with, but this intense premerge play is gonna get you voted out next.

Raffy

Nicholas is already thinking about tribal before the challenge has even ended. He's already trying to "manipulate" everyone into voting Ginnifer when it would not even take half the effort he is putting in to do it. I'm sure everyone would be happy to vote out Ginnifer, but Nicholas is playing so messy that we have to get rid of him now. He's calling me his "ride or die" and how we have "so much in common" when I have barely had two conversations with the dude. I suggested to Revenge R Us (DeNara, Steven, and I) that we could potentially throw next challenge if we win this challenge to get Nicholas out pre-merge. I feel like a devil on their shoulder.

Elle

God I hope it's actually round 6 😅 Not entirely sure lol uhm anyway yayyy Pictionary went great despite me rushing to get dinner done and then setting up my tablet on call 😂 and photoshop temporarily fighting against me its fine we did it folks we made it to merge✨ well after tribal tomorrow for the others. Now the annoying part: I severely doubt I'm lasting more than like, one, two rounds post merge 😔. I think by being an important piece on so many winning challenges (shape memory, with DeNara and Nicholas in Storytelephone, having a big role in the movie trailer challenge (which won in my heart ❤️), and being the drawer in the Pictionary) I'm like... well I'm entirely and utterly screwed 😂. I can hope people like me enough to keep me around maybe? But that's not really how the game is played... oh well. Oh and because I didn't make an earlier confession: I'm so upset they kicked off James it completely blindsided me D: my buddyyyyyyyyy ugh I should've known that if the math was obvious to me it was to the others as well, it was smart to boot an og warrior :(. James didn't deserve this though!! Upsetting, completely and utterly.

Ginny

Me and the warriors strong alliance have a huge plan in store sucks to suck

Gian

Nicholas being a pot stirrer, but that’s gonna cost him his game :)

DeNara

Holy Crap! This is pure chaos! We found out we we were going to tribal and it was scrambling and messages from everyone to everyone. After talking to Raffy and Steven, I made a group chat with the newbies calling out all of Nicholas' chaos. The 5 of us are splitting the votes between Nicholas and Ginnifer in case Nic plays an idol. My brain is hurting today lol.

Raffy

DeNara started a 5 person alliance with Steven, Gian, Madi, and I called "Down to Business." She did this so the plotting of Nicholas' demise can begin. First of all, Ginnifer and Nicholas are throwing everyone's name under the sun out. Secondly, Nicholas has been PM'ing Madi and Gian about what they should do NEXT TRIBAL after they get Ginnifer out. I have no idea why he would ask that because we have to deal with THIS TRIBAL at the moment. Thirdly, it seems Nicholas has been trying to throw the Winners under the bus. Or, at least, he's trying to set himself up to play the middle between the Wannabes and the Winners. However, his plan only works if we don't talk to each other which we did. Now, it's a #NicholasExposedParty over in our alliance. The plan is to split the vote 3-2 to get out Nicholas and, in case he has an idol, vote out Ginnifer. This plan should work because even if Nicholas votes with Ginnifer he gets out. Plus, even if Nicholas votes for Ginnifer, it ties 3-3-1 which would send Nicholas out. Additionally, I threw Julia under the bus hard to Madi and Gian, making them not trust her at all. It's all coming together for me tbh. These next few rounds should be HIGHLY entertaining if you are a Raffy Stan or a Drama Stan.

Moth

I’m gonna make the merge omg. My life in the game was definitely on the line, I was worried about getting voted tonight because it was between me and Elle and I think they’d vote me out first

DeNara

Morning of my first tribal day..... I really hope I can trust Steven and Raffy tonight. Really my fate rests with them for now. I trust Steven more because he seems to play a more loyal game. Raffy didnt want to make an alliance chat last night and that is suspicious to me... I really hope he isnt lying to me abs Revenge R Us is strong

Julia

Pietro and I are low key running this game right now it’s kind of amazing. I am so here for this it’s iconic. We’ve gotten what we’ve wanted each tribal so far and people really haven’t figured it out yet. I’m hoping Steven still wants to link with us at merge because I think the three of us could run this shit

Rachel

Well, I know the merge is upon us. The plan is for hopefully Gian and Madi to survive the vote (i'm going to be praying all day at work; i miss them!) and us six make it to merge(which includes myself, julia, pietro, anastasia, gian, and madi). We could then have a 1/6 shot of winning this if we can convince someone from the other side to flip at the vote! but realistically, it will be hard and you never know what some people may have up their sleeve. *cough cough* raffy *cough cough*. This game is so mentally stressing, but I love it!

Anastasia

We won the competition thanks to Elle's really good drawing skills. I have a feeling merge is coming up so me and my alliance are making plans for majority. We know that if we have Madi and Gian, all we need is one more person and we have majority. So, we just need to persuade someone to join us before it's too late. I am thinking that we could recruit Moth or Elle (or both) but they could still be loyal to the warriors. Plus we voted their fellow warrior out... So I don't know what they would do. What if I just threw the idea out to both of them? I think I have nothing to lose? AHHH maybe I do have something to lose because I cant like expose our plans.

Moth

The tea is... I have no clue what’s gonna happen after tonight, I’m not sure anyone does but I feel like I definitely would have been voted out had we not won this challenge —

Nicholas

We finally are going to tribal! I’m a little nervous but hopefully the plan to vote out Ginny works. I’ve been using Ginny this whole game with the trading gear back and forth and etc. I think I’m the only person Ginny talks to. I got Ginny who was already people’s target to make herself even more of a target by throwing out lots of names. I also tested people by having Ginny tell them to vote me. Steven and Raffy immediately messaged me and Gian told me only after I was talking to him but that’s probably because he didn’t care what Ginny was saying. Hopefully Ginny doesn’t blow up and call me out at tribal when she starts getting votes.

Steven

https://youtu.be/nLX0HYo7dh4