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lizbotw · 4 years ago

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it’s only sharing a disgustingly sweet milkshake at the local college town diner after both of your evening classes that suna graciously provides the answers to the math homework.

the spongy pencil eraser is easy for you to sink your teeth into as you puzzle over his handwriting. “you know,” you mumble around the nib, trying to figure out if that’s a 5 or a 6, “i never know why you do this to me every week.” this time the drink with two plastic straws floating in an unhealthy heaping of whip cream is a syrupy strawberry flavor.

rintarou tips forward to sip at one of them and in your peripheral, chunky pink-coated fruit pieces travel up the clear tube and disappear between his lips. he releases the straw with an annoying ah that makes you frown, even if you weren’t concentrating in the first place. “aw, don’t tell me you don’t like hanging out with me.” he feigns hurt.

a well placed sip of your own allows you to avoid having to answer that—you have a personal rule of never being sappy in the presence of calculus. if you didn’t like him, suna knows you wouldn’t be hanging out with him—there are just some things you can’t do, even if it’s for the sake of your grade. none of this has to be said out loud of course, but he decides to be annoying and ask anyway.

actually—well... maybe hanging out is... not exactly how this appears to bystanders.

sharing a drink like this, you two probably look more like a couple on a (terribly cheap) afternoon date, rather than two broke college students that split meals to save money and believe that sharing answers for homework isn’t cheating, it’s collaboration.

ha, as if it would ever be different—things like the former never come true. maybe in movies, but that’s about where the line is drawn.

as if he knows what you’re thinking, suna raises an eyebrow at you over the glass, a smile playing on his lips—the same stupid look he always gives you. it feels particularly worse this evening.

it’s hard to avoid eye contact with him mere inches away, but you manage when a car painted a very interesting shade of red rumbles past the fingerprint covered window. you’re grateful for the distraction.

the subject changes when you realize suna has terrible taste when it comes to ordering milkshakes. “what flavor is this?” you spit out the word as though the very concept of calling this a real flavor is more disgusting than the drink itself, smacking your lips and screwing up your face at the excessively saccharine, artificial strawberry aftertaste.

this is no ordinary strawberry milkshake. no, this is a so-bad-only-suna-rintarou-would-order-something-this-horrible-(and-not-necessarily-on-purpose-either) strawberry milkshake.

“valentine’s valor,” he states matter-of-factly like those words mean anything to you. you stare at him until he elaborates. “their valentine’s special,” he clarifies and is gifted with a sarcastic thumbs-up from you in thanks—it is pointedly ignored and suna slings an arm over back of his seat. “dunno the exact flavor though. forgot.”

it tastes like the embodiment of pink, you decide. valentine’s valor. what a stupid name. there are a million and one better words that start with v... you can name at least five with a little thinking. you should ask them to hire you as part of their marketing team, you decide.

maybe it’s fitting title though. you certainly need valor to even think about taking another sip of that... concoction—which you do because you are obsessed with getting your money’s worth.

“valentine’s day was half a week ago?” your mental calendar helpfully supplies.

the clatter of pans in the back kitchen somehow mingles charmingly with the way rintarou throws his head back to laugh—a scene straight out of a movie really. you decide you hate him in the moment. “right you are. want a prize?” ugh. you stick your tongue out at his tone.

great. as if to add insult to injury, of course you’re sharing an out-of-date love holiday special with suna of all people. valentine’s was four days ago and this is where you are on a thursday night. the sticky upholstery of the booth seat, ripped and fraying at the corners, squeaks and groans and attaches itself to the fabric of your jeans as you shift around, suddenly hot. what a strange situation to be in, you think. this has to be a metaphor for life—then again, you’d been thinking this whole... thing has been a metaphor anyway.

yup, ever since suna sat next to you in a calculus II lecture all those fated months ago and took pity on how much you fucking sucked at math, up until the present where he takes slightly less pity on you but does enjoy emptying your dorm mini-fridge and making you pay for his milkshakes—all of it. this entire thing with him. one big stupid metaphor.

the specifics of how you came to have a routine like this are certainly murky, but two things are for certain—one, your calculus grade is certainly a lot better than it would have been otherwise, and two, you have one friend more than you did at the start of the school year. (that last one is kind of a big deal, you think. the college social scene is brutal. the word friend has started to become more disappointing than exhilarating lately though.)

rin reaches to your left to pick at the fries you’d ordered as a side—you’ve learned not to try and stop him. “also,” he adds, mouth full, “you’re totally getting me a new pencil after this.” yes, true, the pencil you’re currently leaving frustrated teeth marks all over isn’t yours. very easy to forget in the moment. you’ve probably destroyed 15 of his pencils by now for the 15 weeks of the last semester—only 7 so far for the current one. you do the mental math.

instead of drawing in the sharp lines of the differential equation that should be going in the question box, you lightly trace in the curves of a 2 and then another one next to it in the corner of the worksheet, graphite underlining them both in one swoop. the horribly thin paper of the school library’s printer is scratchy as you write but soon you flip the pencil over and under your fingers to tap the eraser (that has seen better days) just below what you wrote. “this is pencil number 22.”

suna leans over to look at the number as if you hadn’t just told him what it said. what an idiot. “glad you’re keeping count.” he settles back into his seat. “when can i expect my reimbursement?”

“you’re funny,” you say, without a hint of humor in your voice. the pretty 22 you had written now has flower petals growing off of the sides as you get distracted doodling along the edges of your work. it’s quiet for a moment as he watches you, or maybe as he takes the chance while you’re distracted to shove more french fries down his throat—either option is plausible and you don’t lift your eyes to check.

something occurs to you.

“rin.” you take an extended pause in between the words as you continue drawing, just to annoy him. you don’t continue speaking until he grumbles in acknowledgment (you try to hide your smile). “do you ever doodle in your notebooks?” now that you thought about it, suna was surprisingly pretty straight-laced when it came to class—you couldn’t ever recall him ever slacking off to the degree that meant his pages were filled with hearts and stars and flowers and suns and atomically inaccurate animals and tiny people in different colored ink. your work was always certainly the more vibrant out of the two (perhaps that could explain your grades and how you understand like... nothing in your lectures, but you decide correlation does not equal causation).

“waste of time,” he says around another mouthful of fries, another one already halfway there to his mouth.

suna is also surprisingly negative at times—but the blue book flipped open to his homework says maybe he’s just a liar though. you squint at it.

“it’s still pretty early but we probably should get out of here soon,” suna says, pulling his phone out from his pocket to check the time and leaning his elbows on the table. “i’ll walk you back. your roomie doesn’t leave the gym until 9—before you ask, yes i’ve been keeping track. it’s not stalking if it’s for my own sake.”—rin is, of course, referring to the long standing rivalry between him and your (very nice, might you add) roommate you don’t really understand but which has cumulated in him deciding he would avoid them as much as humanly possible purely out of spite. (“the only person i like in dorm 302 is you,” he’d told you one time and the throwaway sentence maybe made your heart flutter more than it probably should’ve.)

the bell above the front door jingles behind you as another patron enters. rin glances up at the sound and then returns to his phone with a bored bat of his eyes, probably scrolling through twitter or replying to texts, and picking at his teeth with a toothpick (where did he even get that?).

you try to get back to work (copying) but something in your gut tells you there’s more to his notebook than the messy handwriting and crossed out words that meet the eye.

with suna distracted, you take the chance to carefully slide the book towards you and then, in a single quick swipe, pull it into your lap under the table, already leafing to the back pages—everyone knows that’s where the real secrets are—not sure what to expect. a flash of color makes you pause and you flip back to a page that has the corner folded into a tiny, crisp triangle.

whatever you were thinking suna had stashed in the back of his calculus notebook certainly does not match up with what’s staring you in the face currently. sparkly, gel-inked hearts in neon colors glitter under the fluorescent overheads. in each of them, written in capital letters neater than you thought possible for suna, is your initials, a small plus sign in the middle, and then S.R. (for none other than suna rinatoru) next to it. it instantly makes sense to you. “rin, what the fuck.” one side of the book dangles from your hand, pages fluttering, and you hold it up for him to see, other hand flying to cover your mouth because you don’t know whether to laugh or pretend to be mortified or what.

it’s very amusing to watch how suna goes from a disinterested stare, to widened eyes, to reaching over the heaps of school supplies to attempt to grab the book from you, frantic. you hold it just out of reach. “what are you—” an old lady at a table shushes him when he half-screams. “—give that back,” suna whisper-yells instead in the greatest verbal equivalent of tiny caps you’ve ever heard.

“not a chance.”

he looks like he wants to lunge across the table and pry his prized possession from your meddling hands, but also has half the mind not to make a scene. getting kicked out and then subsequently banned from his favorite diner all on a noise complaint and disorderly conduct accusation was not ideal.

you hum, flip back to your place, and observe the drawings covering the lined pages. you shoot him a venomous smirk over the edge of the cover, one that’s more theatrics than anything, and say with all the satisfaction of someone who knows they have all the power, “oh, this is gold.” he deflates and you feel grateful he doesn’t see right through your facade because oh man are you sweating inside right now. what the fuck? no way suna rintarou is drawing little hearts with both of your initials in it like a lovesick middle schooler. no fucking way. you almost want to tell him that you did the same thing once when the thoughts about him had gotten especially bad (you felt guilty afterwards though, thinking you never had a chance with him, but... now... if he’s doing the same—well, that kind of changes everything).

suna is utterly defeated you think—doesn’t even try to defend himself, just slumps in his seat with a groan. you at least expected a “i can explain!” from him, a last attempt at dignity, not the resigned “i’m never going to live this down, am i?” he mumbles after a few seconds. well, either works for you.

“nope,” you quip, maybe a little too cheerfully because the response you receive is a distressed wail and him banging his head against the table. the old lady shushes him again. you chuckle at that (it feels a little wobbly though because once again, freaking out here) and flip the page. you stop.

this one has similar perfect little hearts drawn all over it, but there are other things. cute, standard shaky drawings of misshapen dogs and volleyballs and other things you never thought suna would take it upon himself to create but all of which make sense are there. but there’s something else. little scribbles in the corners with your last name swapped with his and even him trying out his name with your last one—all of them are scratched out but not so much you can’t read them. a list on the right in a very tiny font that makes you think he was embarrassed even penning the words is titled “date ideas?” (the question mark is in red and the dot is a heart) and has several popular spots around town written down in the local lingo of unofficial names for them.

“listen... please let’s forget about this.” rin’s voice is muffled and he’s still faceplanted. “it’s fine if you don’t... you know... yeah.” if you don’t feel that way, he means. true, the doodles were a pretty good indication of his feelings.

what to do...

well... you take pity on him, let your lips upturn and your eyes soften to reflect the sentiment, and shut the book with a quiet thud. you slide it back across the table from where it came and back to him silently. you give it a resounding pat when suna peeks up at you, expression saying it all—he was so going to get you back for this. you stick your tongue out—acceptance of the challenge. and just like that, you’re friends again—maybe that’s what’s so great about suna.

as you get ready to leave and slowly begin the trek back to the dorm buildings with him, street lamps glimmering a pasty yellow, there’s no awkward tension, no need to ask questions, no verbal wonderings about what ifs between you two. it’s just joking and shoving each other around and challenges to see who can run to the next tree the fastest in the middle of the chilly february night. you know, maybe for now you’ll keep your own thoughts a secret.

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starryviolentine · 4 years ago

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Camp Paya (A Pre-Apocalypse Story): Chapter 5/?

Part three of the “Pre-Apocalypse Adventures” Series

Chapter 1 (here) Chapter 2 (here) Chapter 3 (here) Chapter 4 (here)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that when Minerva claims not one, but two additional seats at their lunch table, it means that someone other than Minerva’s sister will be joining them as well. Being around too many strangers makes Violet uneasy, so the extra spot does make her a teensy bit nervous, but she puts on a brave face and tries to convince herself that everything’s going to be fine. It’s only one more person. And, surely, a group of four can’t possibly be any worse than a group of three, right?

Wrong.

The entire universe must have something against Violet specifically because, out of all the hundred-plus kids at camp this summer that Minerva’s sister could have become friends with, it turns out to be Brody. The sight of the auburn-haired girl bouncing over to their table comes as such an unexpected shock that it renders Violet frozen in her seat, unable to do anything other than gawk like a complete idiot. Brody, who looks just as surprised to see Violet, comes to a clumsy halt next to Minerva, mouth falling open ever so slightly. For a few seconds that last an eternity, the quarreling friends stare at each other in silence.

But then—and it happens so quickly that if Violet blinked, she would’ve missed it—Brody gives her the tiniest smile and a hesitant wave. Letting out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, Violet starts to relax. Brody doesn’t seem to be mad anymore. Maybe something good will come from this lunch arrangement after all. Violet’s fingers subconsciously move to the blue lizard keychain near her pocket as the gears in her head start whirring.

Hey, Brody, so I know you like arts and crafts and stuff, and, well, yesterday, Minerva showed me how me how to make these really cool little lizard things and I thought maybe you’d like them, too, so I made—

Another Minerva arrives at the table, dropping her heavy bag onto the bench and letting out a weary sigh. The loud thump breaks Violet from her thoughts and causes her to look up. “Thanks for saving us a spot. Joey knocked a whole stack of goopy paint palettes off the counter right as the bell rang and it took forever to clean up.”

“Did you guys finish the banner?” Minerva asks.

“Almost! I think we’ll be done by tomorrow,” answers the other Minerva.

Wait, what?

Violet does a double-take and looks back and forth between the red-headed doppelgangers, clearly having trouble processing all of this. Brody, picking up on her friend’s complete and utter confusion, covers her mouth with her hands to stifle her giggles.

The Minerva to Violet’s right, who also seems to find her reaction highly amusing, gestures towards her clone with a shake of her thumb. “Violet, this is my sister, Sophie.”

Sophie. Not Minerva. Sister. Sophie... and Minerva… Sophie and Minerva. Sisters... Twin sisters. Feeling somewhat dazed, Violet blinks at Not Minerva across the table. “Sophie…?”

Giggling, Sophie nods and waves. But then, as though she’s just had some sort of huge revelation, she gasps and points. “Wait, Violet? You’re Violet? As in…” She turns to Brody, who fervently nods her head up and down. “Yeah, Brody’s told me about you!”

“Oh yeah! Here.” Unclipping one of the lizards from her shorts, Minerva slides it over to her sister. “That’ll be five bucks.”

Playfully rolling her eyes, Sophie takes the trinket and smiles. “Thanks.”

A window of opportunity has arrived and Violet knows that she needs to take it. If she presents her gift right now, after Minerva, it won’t seem so out of the blue... and it will be less embarrassing since she won’t be the only one. All she has to do is go for it. Violet’s heart starts to flutter in her chest, but she’s not chickening out or anything. She just... needs a minute to prepare.

“Oh, Minnie, that’s so cute!” Brody gushes, as expected. But Violet hadn’t been expecting what happens next. Standing up right where she is, Brody proudly shows off a lanyard keychain—one made out of glittery magenta and indigo plastic lacing woven in a checkerboard pattern—attached to the zipper of her fanny pack. “Look what Sophie made me yesterday!”

The tiny sliver of confidence Violet had in her own keychain drops to the very pit of her stomach and shatters into a million jagged shards. She’s too late. There’s no way she can give hers to Brody now without it seeming like a stupid, copycat afterthought.

“I really wanna learn how to make those beaded ones, though,” Brody says, once again looking at Sophie’s red lizard longingly.

“I can teach you. It’s really easy,” offers Minerva, wearing a self-assured smile. “I taught Violet how to make one this morning. Show them the one you made, Violet!”

Even though the only thing Violet wants to do right now is disappear, everyone turns to look at her expectantly. Minerva and Sophie, and Brody, with her stupid blue eyes the same stupid shade of blue as the beads on her stupid lizard. It’s all so stupid. The fact that Violet thought that maybe Brody had been just as bored and miserable as she was yesterday, or that maybe Brody missed her is now, in retrospect, laughable and just sad. No. Apparently, Brody had been doing arts and crafts with her new friend, merry as can be.

Then it hits her. Violet realizes that her best friend is going to be just fine at camp, with or without her. Brody doesn’t need her to have fun. Not like Violet needs Brody. And that’s the stupidest part of all. A raw, volatile mixture of rage and self-loathing overcomes Violet. Breath growing ragged, she grips her lizard keychain in her fist, yanking so hard that the string snaps and all the hard work she put into making is wasted in an instant. Blue beads clatter to the floor as everything starts to come undone.

Everything.

The pressure from the three pairs of eyes on her weighs so heavily on Violet that she feels as though she’s suffocating. And there’s only one way to escape.

Violet runs.

With blurry vision and a heaving chest, Violet eventually finds herself bursting through the doors of Cabin Four, pacing the floors for a moment before letting out a strangled scream. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity mirror and she storms over, glaring icily at the girl staring back at her. Stupid. Ripping the offending purple cap from her head, Violet flings it across the room and takes a good look at herself. Messy hair. Strands in her face. Blotchy skin around her eyes. Nose so red she could give Rudolph a run for his money. Violet resists the urge to smash something hard into the glass.

Windswept blonde locks partially obscure her vision and she angrily swats them away, but the unkempt strands keep falling back into her line of sight, sending Violet into an irrational fit of rage. As the girl huffs and claws at her hair, desperately trying to get it out of the way, as though to spite her, her fingers repeatedly get caught in the tangles and it pinches her scalp. The same sensation as when she’s in a rush to get ready in the morning and brushes her hair a bit too roughly, yanking the bristles through the knots in order to get out the door as quickly as possible.

Of course, somebody always chastises her and tells her that she has to be more gentle. That her hair is so pretty and long and perfect for a ballerina bun, and if she brushes it too hard, she might get split ends. The joke’s on Brody, though, because Violet already has split ends. And guess what? She doesn’t give a damn!

Something shiny and metal inside the nearby pencil cup catches Violet’s eyes and, before she knows it, she grabs in her right hand, holding a fistful of hair in the other. This will show Brody! Maybe next time she’ll stop and think before giving any more unsolicited advice. The scissors are duller than Violet expected, so it takes a bit of effort for her to hack all the way through, but the sheer satisfaction she feels after that final snip! is like nothing she’s ever felt before. Violet can hardly believe how liberating this feels. It’s incredible! It’s—

Immediately dropping the scissors, Violet stumbles a few steps away from the mirror as the reality of what she’s done slowly sinks in. Carefully unclenching her fist to inspect the damage, Violet watches in horror as several blonde strands float to the floor. The sight of the sad, lifeless bundle of hair in her palm makes her feel queasy. Her heart lodges itself deep in her throat and she panics, eyes darting from her hand to the pathetic girl in the mirror. Nearly half a foot of hair is missing from one side of her head, and it’s nothing at all like the time she got a wad of bubblegum stuck in her hair and her grandmother had to cut it out for her. Violet was seven, and she was terrified that she was going to end up with an enormous bald spot and that everyone at school would make fun of her. But Grandma had been really careful with the scissors, and in the end it wasn’t noticeable at all.

But this time, it’s extremely noticeable.

She’s ugly. Ruined.

Breathing as jagged and uneven as her new haircut, Violet attempts to flee the cabin, hoping to disappear into the woods, perhaps to never return again. Just when she figures that she’s already hit rock bottom and things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Violet slams into somebody in the doorway. Ouch. She really needs to stop doing that.

“What in the ever-living fuck, V?”

Of course it would be Therissa. Of course. The one person besides Brody that Violet had been hoping wouldn’t see her like this.

The teenager gives an annoyed grunt, about to go off into a rant about Violet not watching where she’s going, but she quickly picks up on the fact that something isn’t right. Her roomie looks like she’s gone on a round trip to hell and back and it’s only noon. And where did that hay come from? Violet doesn’t seem like the type to willingly hang out by the stables, but—

“Wait, is that hair?” More confused than ever, Therissa tries to piece everything together. Yeah, it’s definitely hair. Human hair. Making the connection, the teen looks up and immediately notices Violet’s new haircut. Oh, shit. Not wanting the situation to escalate, Therissa suppresses her shock and the billion questions that follow and tries to be as calm as possible. “Huh, I didn’t know that ‘beauty salon’ was on the list of camp activities this year.” As she steps a bit closer to Violet, Therissa makes sure to keep herself right in the middle of the doorway, turning her body into a barricade to keep the younger girl from running away. This is a delicate situation, and Therissa knows that she needs to handle it with caution. Once completely inside the cabin, she quietly pulls the door closed behind them. “I do like the direction you were going. Very bold. But it doesn’t look finished, know what I mean?”

Violet keeps quiet and won’t meet Therissa’s eyes, but at least she doesn’t look like she’s actively looking for an alternate escape route. Holding her breath, the older girl takes a chance and gently reaches out to touch her roommate’s hair on the freshly cut side. Thankfully, Violet lets her. Combing her fingers through it a couple of times, Therissa gives a low hum. “I think I might be able to help you straighten things out a bit, if that’s cool with you?”

Walking further inside the cabin, Therissa comes across the scene of the crime. On the floor near the vanity are an old pair of scissors and even more of Violet’s hair. The older girl sits Violet in the wooden chair in front of the mirror and momentarily leaves to grab her hairbrush, picking up the scissors on the way back. After spending a minute detangling Violet’s hair and brushing it out for her, Therissa looks in the mirror with her roommate. “You do understand I’m gonna have to cut it, like, here, right?”

Violet looks at the hand that Therissa’s using to mark exactly how many inches of hair she’s about to chop off and nods in defeat. She lets out a shaky sigh and speaks for the first time since the mess hall. “Just… don’t make it shorter than you have to. Please.”

Therissa giving her a thumbs-up in the mirror reflection is the last thing Violet sees before she squeezes her eyes shut. There’s no way she’s watching this. She doesn’t want to see anything until it’s all over.

Probably not even then.

#twdg brody #twdg violet #twdg minnie #twdg minerva #twdg sophie #twdg #the walking dead game #violet twdg #brody twdg #minerva twdg #minnie twdg #sophie twdg #fanfic #camp paya

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cyclogroup · 4 years ago

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Top 15 Green Home Building Techniques

With the constantly changing environment around us, it’s important to be environmentally aware and active. It’s even more important when you consider how much money you can save by building a green home. The methods and ways you can go about changing your home from an emission-producing powerhouse into more of a greenhouse are easy and simple concepts. Everything you can think of in order to save energy can be implemented in creating a green space for you and your family.

Being aware of energy saving benefits, making the switch from waste producing products to more environmentally friendly products, and much more. By creating and managing a green home for you and your family to live in, not only will you be engaging in a positive atmosphere – but also you’ll be passing on the lessons and importance of surrounding environmental issues to the rest of your family. While in the long run, going green will save you lots of money, the initial renovations needed to go green can sometimes be costly. Consider obtaining a home equity line of credit to finance your green home endeavors.

Some Cost Effective Benefits of Going Green in Your Day-To-Day Life

In order to have a productive green home, you need to be able to cut costs when required. This means using less electricity and trying to eliminate the products that have a negative impact on the environment. Although it’s obvious that there are many cost-effective ways to go green, some of them are often forgotten. Here are some of the top reasons why you should choose to go green in your household for the sake of your budget.

You can eliminate the stress that comes with paying high monthly bills.

Saving money for other things like trips, special occasions and outings.

Reducing your carbon footprint.

Encouraging others in your family to save energy by eliminating the use of certain things during high peak or mid peak hours (on par with what your energy company has outlined).

You can put the money you saved to good use, no matter what it is.

15 Green Home Building Ideas

1. Location Location, Location: While buying property for yourself, take a note of couple of things that you must foresee before moving in. Firstly, avoid building west facing home. This will keep your home cool as it minimizes sun exposure. Secondly, avoid building home in environmentally sensitive locations such as earthquake or hurricane or flood prone areas. Thirdly, check if public transportation is easily available and local grocery shop is not that far away. This will help you avoid taking your own vehicle every time and will reduce your travel time.

2. Smaller is Better: A small home built with eco friendly techniques is going to have smaller environmental impact as against a large home. A house that is too large is likely to cost more to heat and cool. Try to keep the place manageable and cost effective. If you are planning to extend your family and bring in few relatives, you need to put proper resources and accommodation in place.

3. Energy Efficient Equipment: ENERGY STAR label on a piece of equipment states that particular product has been deemed as energy efficient by the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). ENERGY STAR is becoming well known label and consumers today choose energy star appliances for their homes. These appliances offer significant cost and energy savings without compromising performance.

4. Proper Insulation: Insulation is one of the most important ting that you need to consider while building a green home. Heating and cooling account for 50% of your home’s energy consumption. Air leaks such as around windows, door and duct work is responsible for building’s heat loss. Don’t let heating and cooling of your interior spaces air go waste through improper insulation. Proper insulation will not only reduce your energy consumption but will bring down your electricity bills substantially.

5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reduce your need for buying new products that are not environment friendly. Reuse your old material such as wood floors, doors, windows in your next home. Recycled materials such as recycled glass, aluminium, recycled tile, reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic can be used in green home building.

6. Use Sustainable Building Materials: If building a green home is your goal, then using environmentally or eco-friendly products should be on your list which can reduce the impact of construction on the environment. Each and every part of your house such as roofing material, building material, cabinets, counters and insulation to your flooring should be environmentally friendly. Use products such as reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic, recycled glass or natural products such as bamboo, cork and linoleum which are made of natural, renewable materials.

7. Install Solar Panels: Solar energy is clean and renewable source of energy. Solar panels are an emerging and hot technology for people who want to utilize the natural power all around us, the sun. Solar panels may be expensive at first, but the long-term savings you can put into your pocket is a stunning example of the benefits of turning your life from black to green. The location of your house and the way you have constructed solar panels can determine how much power you can collect. By taking advantage of solar power you can bring down your energy consumption and supply excess energy, if any, to your utility company. Also, government grants, incentives and tax breaks are huge bonus to those who want to use solar power in their home.

8. Energy Star Windows: Energy efficient windows labeled as ENERGY STAR windows are new player in window market and are much more energy efficient than normal windows. The ratings for these windows determine how energy efficient they will be. The lower the rating, the more energy efficient are your windows. The energy savings provided by these windows are enough to cover the added cost per window.

9. Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Tankless Water Heaters: Install a rainwater harvesting system while building your green home to collect rainwater from roofs and then storing it in a tank. The collected water can then be used for other purposes such as toilets and sprinkler systems. Rain barrels are one of the most common methods of rainwater harvesting being used today.

With tankless water heaters, you need not wait for the water to get heated. Tankless water heaters heat only that much water that is needed as it is passed through electric coil. This gives you twin benefits. Firstly, it eliminates excess energy costs as it heats up only that much amount of water that is needed and secondly, you can get ample storage place by eliminating the hot water tank.

10. Eco-Friendly Lighting: Both LED and CFL cost more upfront but use less energy and last longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Since they offer significant cost savings in the long run, they can be ideal for your new green home.

11. Water Conserving Fixtures: Low flow faucets, toilets, showerheads are few of the ways that you can use while building a green home to conserve water. They can cut down on your water bills cost and make your home much more environment friendly. Apart from that, consider buying washing machines and dishwashers that give you same kind of cleaning and can save water and energy.

12. Programmable Thermostat: We all know that almost 50% of our energy consumption goes towards heating and cooling of our home. The simplest way to cut down this cost and reduce electricity bill is to install programmable thermostat. Your HVAC system will work when the thermostat reaches the designated temperature. Also, a slight 3-5 % of your energy bill can be saved if you can set your thermostat 1 degree down in the winter and up by 1 degree in the summer.

13. HVAC System: Buy a high efficiency, Energy Star rated HVAC system based on the design and construction of your house that will help you save energy and money. A HVAC system needs to be properly installed so that it could perform up to its full potential. Make sure ducts are short, straight and air tight. The ducts need to be professionally tested with the goal of under 10% leakage.

14. Efficient Landscaping: Shady landscaping can protect your home from direct sunlight during the summer and allows more sunlight to reach your home through windows during the winter. Planting trees on southern and western side of your home can keep your home cooler as they will block sunlight from falling directly on your home and during the winter, when trees lose their leaves, they will allow more sunlight to reach your home.

15. Harness Geothermal Energy: Geothermal energy is known as energy from the earth. Geothermal energy requires more upfront investment but provide unlimited energy to heat and cool your home. During the winter season, geothermal heat pump uses the earth loop to extract heat from deep underground to your home’s HVAC system; in the summer season, heat is extracted from the air and moved back into the earth through loop system.

How To Become Greener In Your Household

Some people think that going green can be a costly or difficult venture. However, there are so many different methods that people choose to go with that can help you save both the money and the effort that goes into making an extensive green energy plan for your home. Some of these methods are often forgotten by people who make green energy plans because they are just so simple and overlooked. These methods are:

Turning off any lights or appliances when you don’t use them.

Remembering that even when you’re not using something and it’s plugged in, it’s still eating away at potentially saved energy (this includes things like laptops, cellphone chargers, essentially everything you can think of that is plugged in).

Buying only recyclable containers and reusing plastics for food storage.

Creating a family energy plan that everyone can plan their daily routine by.

Having safe and environmentally friendly alternatives for things like entertainment. Eliminating the extensive use of the television or the Internet is also a great way to get the family more involved with one another. Plan family game nights and other fun ways to spend your time together.

First seen on this website: https://homebuildingmaterials.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/top-15-green-home-building-techniques/

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royallypsychotic · 4 years ago

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Celine Envelope Bag

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pastel-catboy · 4 years ago

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5 Sustainable Living Hacks – Be the change

So as you know, I am a super thrifty person. I super enjoy saving money, and also, I am working very hard to minimize my footprint. Now I am by no means an extreme minimalist or a zero-waste person, but I think it’s great that we can all aspire towards that. Today I also had the opportunity to work with a fantastic app called Bunz.

A friend of mine was getting rid of all of her craft supplies, and she passed on a lot to me. She told me about this app where you could swap for things. You could trade for things that you don’t want for things you need instead of selling it online where many things don’t have monetary value anymore, but they still can have value for somebody who wants it. So ever since then, I have been like non-stop trading. It’s just a great system to keep things out of a landfill and find new treasures that you would have never seen anywhere else.

So let’s get started with our first hack. This first hack has been a real money saver for me. I bought these foam soap dispensers from the home goods store because I saw all these Bath & Bodyworks bottles of foam soap and realized this is just soap mixed with water and charge so much for it. I can do this myself. I buy bulk body or hand soap, mix one-part soap to five parts water, and it lasts me forever. It works just as well as concentrated soap, if not better, because it’s already lathered for you.

Buying natural liquid soap and using fewer quantity chemicals is just a small way to reduce consumption and waste. I do the same thing with my detergent. My parents have a huge jug of detergent we share, not that they know that we share, which is technically stealing but yeah, we kind of share. I’ve had this bottle of concentrate for a year now, and it’s still going strong. Reusable straws are trendy now, and my favorites are the stainless-steel kind. It doesn’t affect the taste of anything I drink, including water, and I even have these bubble tea sized straws for my extreme tapioca consumption.

Related: Build your own shipping container home today

On my most recent trip, the beaches were completely littered with straws. Small plastics on the beach wash into the ocean and injure animals. I love straws. I drink everything through a straw, but recycling facilities have a hard time catching small plastics through their filters, and too much of it ends up where it doesn’t belong.

While you’re at it, reusable cups are also a must-have. Majority of drink cups are not recyclable because it’s lined with plastic so although most cups advertise made from recycled material, the cup itself will still end up in a landfill. Starbucks is super friendly and will take any vessel, while some places require you only to use their reusable cups. Just make sure to ask your favorite beverage place what they accept. Find out more about what you can and can’t recycle; find your city’s recycling chart for guidance. Toronto is not very advanced with their recycling program. As you can see, drink cups, foil wrappers, and even many plastics are not recyclable. What’s messed up is that black plastic can’t be recycled. The reason being the optical sorter cannot distinguish between the black plastic and the black conveyer belt. What is surprising is that styrofoam is recyclable. Still, there’s the taboo of it being nonenvironmentally friendly in the past, which is why styrofoam is not as standard nowadays, even though technology has caught up to meet those needs.

Wax-coated clothes have become my better alternative to foil and saran wrap. It works better at clinging and preserving than plastic wrap. Now, this can be a pricey item, which is why I Bunz for it. I ended up using BTZ I collected to trade for the food wrap, which means I acquired this for free. Now that’s a smart deal. When you’re done with your food, and this is a trick that my dad taught me, you compost it! It is not just compost, though, as I used to keep it under my sink, and it still gets smelly, and I don’t have counter space for a table composter, which is also very pricey to freeze your compost.

I got a little bin from Ikea, especially in the summer; this completely eradicates our fruit fly and smell issue. This is a cheat, but I wanted to shout out my recent video about repurposing old t-shirts. I made reusable cotton rounds out of an old tee that I throw in the wash to use, and I made a reusable grocery bag that doubles as a cute tote. This is to round up the number because 13 hacks don’t sound as good as 15.

Dryer sheets are single-use items that quickly fill up garbages. You can reuse them in various ways, but for fluffy clothes, an alternative is dryer balls. I have these cute hedgehog ones that lost their noses, and because they can be a bit pricey, I’m going to trade for wool balls and essential oils on Bunz as an upgrade. In my laundry cupboard, I also have a massive stash of rags. I have old torn bedsheets and ripped clothing like the t-shirt DIY scraps to use as a paper towel alternative. The key is to think about single-use throwaway products and finding alternatives for them, like Swiffer sheets and duster refills. It’s not any less convenient to have a washable version of disposable products.

For the home as well, we rarely turn on the heat or a/c. You can call us cheap because we are, but this doubles as emission saving for the environment. There are duvets for every type of climate and sleeper. We’ll throw a fleece blanket underneath for colder weather and have a cooling comforter for the summer, made of breathable material like wool, cotton, or even some that are mesh down alternatives that wick moisture. I went to that drapery section at the thrift store and picked up some white mesh curtains, which I guarantee will be in abundance at every thrift store. Folding mine at the top in three, I cut out a few 12 by 16-inch rectangles. Zig-zag stitch all sides but the top fold, leaving a slight gap to thread your drawstring through. Now my drawstring is old shoelaces. Thread it through what used to be the pocket for the curtain rod, and you have reusable produce bags. These will keep your produce longer with its breathable material since plastic keeps the moisture in and rots your fruits and veggies quicker.

So what about when you leave the house, how do you bring all this with you? I take a go-bag whenever I go in the car: one large reusable tote to throw everything in, extra totes, thermos or tumbler metal straws, and the produce bags. Most days, I don’t have a car, so I just carry straws in this super cute strawberry reusable bag on me. When I go grocery shopping, I try to avoid over-packaged items, and we’ll share industrial-sized items with my family. We buy in bulk, usually industrial-sized non-perishables, and freeze many groceries that are bought in large batches. About thirty to forty percent of my house is Bunz items, so Opalma is a Bunz trade.

This bed table we traded for an armchair. So I mostly trade for plants, toilet paper, and scented candles. My latest acquisition is a set of buns, so these mannequin butts are the newest thing to my home. They are like, where else would you find a pair of mannequin butts? I got a snowboard, boots, bindings, goggles, helmet, and bag for a $50 gift card like that’s less than rental for the day. That’s insane. I don’t even know; sometimes people want to get rid of stuff, and then in this uncertain phase, this is the best time to trade. They have this new currency called BTZ where if you can earn BTZ by referring your friends and answering their daily survey. You get a little bit of BTZ, and you use those BTZ in exchange to buy things at your local stores, so local cafes and small stores will take BTZ as currency. And if you sign up and say that I referred you, I get BTZ; you get BTZ. I can’t speak highly enough of this app. I find so much more value in the things that I’ve traded for because there’s so much story behind it then you appreciate things more. You tend not to throw away or want to buy new things to replace them anyway, and that’s why I very much support the Bunz app and the Bunz community, and I hope you guys can take a look at what they have.

I know it isn’t easy to be sustainable, especially in makeup and fashion, and I think that there’s a great movement right now on moving towards that. I’m not perfect, but I know I’m doing my best to minimize my footprint, do what I can, even outside of just fashion in terms of home and food, minimize my waste, and make that footprint smaller. Thank you, guys for reading. Please share this post if it inspired you!

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workingtolovemyself · 4 years ago

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5 Sustainable Living Hacks – Be the change

Related: Build your own shipping container home today

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healthierlife4u · 4 years ago

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5 Sustainable Living Hacks – Be the change

Related: Build your own shipping container home today

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chanzicoup · 7 years ago

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“Runaways” (Wonwoo x Reader Gang!AU) pt. 3

Make sure to read the post explaining the roles each SVT member has!

Count: 4.0k

Genre: Life on the run

Warning: Abusive Parents, Mentions of Drug and Alcohol abuse, fight scenes

Next Part

~Blake

The clock struck three a.m and a knock plays on Mae's window. Her bag is fully packed and in her hand is the photo of her parents and her before times got tough. Her father was passed out on the couch and she was extra quiet to take the photo out and return to her room as silent as a mouse. Mae goes to the window and lets Wonwoo in, she sees his face and notices it's stiff and that usually means he'd had an altercation with his father. Wonwoo stands at his feet and immediately pulled Mae in for a side hug with a kiss being planted on her temple. She wraps her arms around him, coincidentally on the slash on his back made from his father's blade. Wonwoo winces and Mae lets go, sensing something was up.

"Turn around." She orders. Wonwoo did as she said and faced away from her. She lifts the fabric of his shirt to reveal the scars she's seen before and a new one freshly made by his hip. A silent gasp comes from her lips as she grabs some bandages from her bag, knowing she'd need them on the run. Wonwoo took his shirt off, knowing how she's going to patch him up would require him to do so. Placing a cotton pad on the cut Mae had wrapped the ace bandage around his waist to ensure the wound would recover. When she was done Wonwoo got dressed again.

"Is this why you wanted to leave now?" Mae asked. Wonwoo nodded and fixed his bag to have it secured onto his shoulder. Mae picked up hers as well while setting her phone on her bed, then she grabbed Wonwoo's hand with a smile. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get the hell out of here."

And that's what the two did. Together they climbed out of the window, the bedroom lights turned off behind them as they entered the cold world while leaving one even colder. Literally speaking because it was freezing outside. The teens were smart and are wearing their warmest clothes, some pajamas, day clothes, and summer attire in their bags. Hand in hand, or mitten in mitten, the lovers walk along the sidewalk with the safety of each other.

"How much money did you get?" Wonwoo questioned. He's collected and/or stolen nearly two thousand dollars from his parents, knowing they wouldn't find out about it unless they were suddenly in need of money. Their jobs paid too much for that to happen any time soon.

"I had a couple hundred saved up and I went into my father's safe and got a thousand out. If I took anymore he would've noticed it." Wonwoo knew her father's safe was in his bedroom, which was a dead zone Mae risked being caught in by even going near it. Her father was definitely home, his car was in the driveway. Meaning if he wasn't in his room he could've been passed out in the living room. Wonwoo was about to scold her for putting her wellbeing on the line for him but he suppressed that speech, she only did what he asked her to do. "So together we have a little less than $4,000. That's enough for now." He explained. He'll look into getting a job when he and Mae get to wherever they'll be going. Their destination was still unsure but neither of them cared as long as they were as far as hell away from here.

Along the sidewalk is another person, he's running towards the lovers. Wonwoo recognized him as the poor boy who'd gotten into trouble at his father's party. Why wasn't he at his home? Did he seriously have a death wish? Last time he saw him was hours ago, which was plenty of time for him to escape the wrath Wonwoo helped him avoid. The kid stops in front of Wonwoo and breaths heavily. Mae stands behind her boyfriend in confusion, which was only natural considering she'd never met him before in her life.

"Kid what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go home?" Wonwoo asked. The boy caught his breath and began speaking clearly.

"I wanted to thank you. You could've killed me out there but you didn't." He said, a cheesy grin on his face.

"No need to thank me. I'm a bit busy at the moment. Good luck kid." Wonwoo pulled Mae along and walked briskly away. The more people they stop to talk to the more time they waste and the bigger the risk of their families catching on to what they were doing.

"Looks like you're running away!" The moron shouted. Wonwoo and Mae turned around with wide eyes and their fingers on their lips to tell the kid to keep quiet. He jogs towards the couple and returns his voice to a whisper. "So I was right, huh? What would you say if I helped you?"

"Help us how?" Mae barked, she's a bit annoyed the kid just shouted their plan, which could've ruined everything if anyone had heard him. He better say something good now or she's gonna flip.

"I can get you guys to America by tomorrow evening." His offer intrigued both of the lovers and they were all ears. "I know a train is leaving fifteen minutes to go to the other side of the country, there is an airport around there and I have a way to get you guess out on the next flight. If we hurry now we'll make it just in time. But we gotta run." Even though neither of them knew each others names the three were sprinting as if they were in a marathon. On the way they encounter no one else thankfully and made it to the train station just as the moron's train was going down the tracks. Skillfully the moron hopped into the opening of the train car and outstretched his hand to Wonwoo, who was just a foot ahead of Mae. Wonwoo trusted the moron and hopped in accordingly, bringing his hand out for Mae, who repeated what he'd done and was next to him on the platform at the same moment the train went double the speed. If she'd waited any longer she would not have made it.

All three of the kids were breathing heavily, the adrenaline running through their veins. They'd just hopped into a moving train, would they have to jump out of one too? The moron tapped Wonwoo's shoulder and gestured him into the middle of the car. Surrounding them were empty boxes marked as "FRAGILE" or "DRIED FRUIT" oddly enough.

"What now?" Mae asked and sat Indian-style in the center, Wonwoo and the moron following suit.

"Now we wait. But it'll be pretty awkward if we wait in silence so let's talk. My name is Jungkook." The moron introduced with a bunny smile and a hand to shake. A friendly face is something the lovers weren't familiar with. Even when Wonwoo had met him the boy was petrified and near tears. Out of guilt Wonwoo shook his hand and stated a greeting of, "I'm Wonwoo, and this is my girlfriend Mae."

"Cool! Pretty name for a pretty girl!" Jungkook joked, making Mae giggle a bit too at his chain pulling.

"God you're such a kid. How old are you, 15?" She asked. Jungkook shrugged his shoulders and scoffed while replying with, "I'm actually 18."

That answer surprised the both of them, Wonwoo thought the moron was younger than he is, not the same age. "Well, Mae and I are 18 too. Guess we have more in common than I thought. But how do you even know about these trains? What if we get caught in here?"

For the next while the three talked about themselves, something none of them got to do much without unsightly consequences. They found out way more about each other, Jungkook travels across the country to find work because his family is struggling. He has three younger brothers and his father is having trouble getting a job while his mother stays at home to take care of the chores and the children. Mae and Wonwoo told him that their families were abusive and that they feared their lives if their relationship was found out. All three of them understood and respected that they had to keep everything a secret. Running away was sometimes the best choice for everyone and especially in their circumstance. Besides, Jungkook was basically doing the same thing. Running away from his family and getting money however he could to support them. He didn't like it but it had to be done. Yes it s a different situation but no one was allowed to judge. That's also how he ended up at Wonwoo's father's party, he heard from two thugs talking that playing poker with the mafia was a good way to get money fast if you played your cards right. Jungkook admits he was stupid for trying to cheat but he had no other choice, he nearly lost all of his money and had to start from square one again. If it wasn't for Wonwoo, Jungkook would've probably been better off dead, which is why he was helping the two lovers escape.

The sun rose and the train stopped near the airport, just like Jungkook had explained. His family lives nearby so this was a convenient form of transportation for everyone. Secretly the three exited the train car with out being seen by supervisors or conductors or anyone unloading boxes and made their way into the crowd of people heading into the airport for their flights.

"What's the plan now?" Wonwoo whispered.

"I'm getting you two on a plane. If you don't have cash I know a guy who can sneak you in." Jungkook answered.

"We have money for tickets if that's what your talking about." Mae mentioned. Wonwoo had their money combined in a plastic sandwich bag stuffed into a pocket of his bag, something they did to pass their time on the train while Jungkook had fallen asleep.

"Good. Now make sure you guys already know where you want to go before we pay, it'll make you look less suspicious." Jungkook spoke before he added," do you guys have passports?"

The one thing they didn't have and never got a chance to obtain. From their silence Jungkook understood that they didn't have one so he was left with going to the "guy who could sneak then in" instead of taking the more legal route.

"Don't worry, my guy can get you in without a passport. He's a pilot that owes me a favor." The explanation was needed and said so Jungkook stopped at one of the telephones located in the airport to call in his guy. Mae and Wonwoo stood off onto the side and waited for Jungkook's phone call to end.

"What if things don't go as planned?" Mae asked anxiously with her arms crossed and bottom lip in between her teeth, something Wonwoo noticed she did when she was greatly concerned.

"Then we think of something else." He grabbed her hand and gently rubbed his thumb in circles on it, calming Mae's nerves a bit. Wonwoo knew how scared she may be, what they are doing is crazy and if they make the slightest mistake they'll be goners. Trusting Jungkook is even risky, considering they just met him and he could be lying about everything he told them. But it was a risk he was willing to take and hopefully Mae know what he was doing was for the best.

Moments later Jungkook came back after finishing his phone call. "My guy says he's got two tickets to New York that are already approved by the airport so you guys won't need any passports. He said things may get a little bumpy at the airport you two will arrive at but if you guys pretend you lost the luggage with your passports they'll excuse you."

"Where do we gets these tickets?" Mae questioned.

"My guy said he'll meet me in the men's bathroom in five minutes to give them to me. You two wait here and I'll be right back." Jungkook walked away but Wonwoo was a bit uneasy about letting him do everything.

"I'll go with you." He spoke, giving Mae a reassuring glance before following Jungkook into the bathroom. Mae heaved a sigh of relief, if Wonwoo was with Jungkook then she knew he wouldn't turn on them and if he tried to he wouldn't be successful. While she was left alone she had time to reevaluate her thoughts. Was she really doing the right thing? If anyone told the police they'd make her return to her father and throw Wonwoo in prison for kidnapping. They wouldn't listen to a couple of rebellious teenagers who have troubled minds. All her father had to do was say Wonwoo brainwashed her and that would be it. Would her father even be upset she was gone? She's disappeared a few days at a time before so he should at least think she'd be back any day but would he get suspicious when she doesn't return? Hopefully he'd be happy and never even try to ruin her plans, which is something he'd do just to anger her. Is it too late to go to the hell hole she has as a home and play it safe until Mae becomes eighteen?

A deer caught in headlights would be words Wonwoo would've used to describe Mae when he came back. She seemed so deeply out of it that she hadn't noticed Jungkook and himself had finished what they were doing, the fixed tickets in Wonwoo's hands. He didn't question what she was contemplating about because they were running out of time, the plane was boarding in less than five minutes and if they weren't on that plane before the doors are closed that would be it. Jungkook couldn't help them from there before he had to go his own way. Was it fair? No. Was that the way is had to be? Hell yeah.

A few seconds after Mae had snapped out of it Wonwoo gently held her hand and Jungkook got them into the boarding line past security and the baggage claim. While they stood and waited at the end of the line Jungkook began to bid his goodbye. "When you guys land make sure you just follow the crowd out of the airport. And don't make yourself noticed by anyone, not even the staff at the little snack shops by the exits. Just get out of there as soon as you can." He whispered.

"Thanks again. We owe you one." Wonwoo mentioned.

"I owe you for saving my life back there. We're even." And with that Jungkook patted Wonwoo's shoulder and turned to Mae with a nod of the head as his wave goodbye. He put both hands in his pocket and began to speed walk out of the airport and out of the couples lives, no one knowing if they'd ever cross paths again in the future. The line moved up and when it was Mae and Wonwoo's turn they showed the host their tickets. They had a bit of nerves because it came natural to them but things ran smoothly and they made it to their seats in the far right side on the plane, Mae getting the window and Wonwoo sitting in the one to her left. It was a three seater but no one else joined them after the plane was completely boarded, another luxury they thanked Jungkook for even though his presence wasn't there.

They had an almost fifteen hour flight ahead of them that they had no idea how to survive without any form of entertainment. Neither one of them brought a book nor any kind of technology, thinking it would only slow them down and take up much needed space in their bags. Luckily the flight provided it's passengers with complementary movies for them to use to pass time and a discounted price on food and drinks. Knowing that price was still high Wonwoo was hungry and knew Mae had to be too so he dipped into his pocket for their cash and ordered sandwiches for the two of them. Surprisingly they weren't bad and the movies weren't either. Of course Mae had ended up falling asleep on Wonwoo's shoulder so he had to move her a bit so his arm was draped over her back and her head fell into his chest.

Now this moment of silence gave him time to reflect on his choices. As he looked down at Mae he remembered the promise he made to her when they first met, to always keep her safe and happy. He knew he did the best that he could despite her father being as very active role in her life but he knew it wouldn't even compare to the life he could give her if she had no contact with the man who loved her before a tragic experience replaced that love with utter hatred. Both of them had to get out of their homes, they weren't safe and ruined the bright futures they both could of had. Even though Wonwoo has no idea what he wants to be when he is an adult and is almost sure Mae is as lost as he is he knew that one thing was for certain and that was anything was better than what their parents had planned for them.

Wonwoo brushed a strand of Mae's hair out of her face and moved his free hand to cup her leg before he fell asleep himself. Not even the sounds of a woman's crying baby from the front row woke the two up, nor did the elderly man who apparently had a broken hearing aid woke them up as he complained about not having water at room temperature. The couple woke up after about eight hours, having another two and a half before them to finish the duration of their flight. That lull time was filled with scanning through a magazine thirty times over and sitting with closed eyes because both of their ears had popped and now they were getting slight headaches.

The flight was over and no one could wait to get off. Because Mae and Wonwoo were seated in the back they were the last to exit the plane and they followed the crowd, like Jungkook had told them too, to the exit of the airport. This is a marker for both of their lives as the end of their old ones and the start of new ones that were up to them to mold. They could choose what to do, who to talk to, what to eat, where to go, when to leave, when to return, they can decide for themselves now and while that freedom may be given to all it was not given to them until this very moment, the second they stepped out of the airport and onto the streets of New York. The city that apparently never sleeps as both the boy and the girl had heard. The local time was three pm according to the town's clock and it was just enough time for finding a cheap hotel room. Of course there were hotels on every block but Mae and Wonwoo skipped the ones that looked really fancy, knowing it would be out of their budget to buy a room for even one night.

It wasn't until Mae spotted a shack like building a ways past a burger joint that had a no longer lit up sign saying the words "Motel" and "for info head inside." At first sight one would think that the shack was closed down but as the two walked closer they noticed through a very dirty window that an old woman was wondering around inside near the register and a younger man who appeared to be in his mid-forty's was leaning on the counter, talking to the woman. Wonwoo and Mae headed inside and Mae stepped forward, since she had a more fluent English accent then Wonwoo did he let her take this one.

The room wasn't any cleaner than the window. Mold grew on corners, water damage decorated the celling like lights on a Christmas tree. On the other side of the room they saw a little run down bistro run by a teenage looking girl who chewed bubble gum and clearly didn't want to be there. Clearly she was too young to have a job. The food in the display case was less appetizing, donuts growing hair in place of the frosting and if you looked twice you might have seen it move. It was sickening.

"Excuse me," Mae spoke in English, "we would like a room." She and Wonwoo ignored the obvious health code violations and calmly walked up to the front desk. The man at the register looked up and paused his conversation with the old woman to tend to his customer.

"Of course, a room for two I'm assuming?" He grabbed a key from a bottom drawer and held it in his hands, a bit surprised someone had actually wanted to rent out a room. His first customer in nearly a month. Even lowering the prices of rooms didn't bring in much.

"Yes. For at least one week." Wonwoo answered.

"No problem. That'll be twenty dollars a night so $140 in total. Any extra nights after that are ten dollars more." The rooms were cheap and that was perfect for the couple, if they were too expensive they would not have been afraid to threaten to report the dangerous business in ransom for free rooms. Wonwoo handed the man the exact amount of money he was charging for the apartment and Mae took the key, both of them saying their own thank you's.

"Your room is A103 and that is down the hall, third door on your left." The man said before lighting a cigar, the woman scoffed and uttered something about her son dying before she does if he kept going like that.

Mae and Wonwoo sped walked down the hall and entered the place they'll be calling home until further notice. It was dingy, walls painted with the smell of cigarettes and questionable stains resulting from things neither of them wanted to know. The curtains were rags sewn together, nearly matching the bed spread which was also scraps of fabric combined to almost conceal the sheets covering the mattress. On each side of the thankfully queen sized bed there was a slab of wood held up by legs that had been broken off of chairs and hot glued on. a green couch with worn out seems was next to the window and in front of said couch was an old television and a coffee table made exactly like the "night stands" with a rotary phone on top of it. At the foot of the bed there was a long chest, and assuming this was where they could store their belongings because of the lack of closets or dressers. There was another door which was half open, inside was a shower and a sink, be cautious in there in case of rats. No wonder why this place is run down.

"Better than the streets." Wonwoo said as both of then walked in. Mae nodded in agreement and began to take off her jacket. Even though the two slept on the plain their bodies were physically exhausted from the jet lag. They put their things down on the floor and started to unpack.

"Better than going back." Mae joked. In the trunk their things went and Wonwoo stood up to shower, going into the bathroom with a spare change of clothes and his toothbrush with a tube of half used toothpaste in his hands. Minutes later he came out shirt less and only wearing a towel.

"Care to join me?"

#seventeen #kpop #seventeen kpop #seventeen imagine #kpop imagine #seventeen reaction #kpop reaction #svt #svt wonwoo #seventeen wonwoo #seventeen fanfic #kpop fanfic #seventeen scenario #kpop scenario

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bixmove01-blog · 5 years ago

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WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IN PACKING: PACKING PAPER OR BUBBLE WRAP?

Packing paper and bubble wrap are also vital packing items besides cardboard boxes. That also ensures your costly articles reach in your new home in the pristine condition.

Any packing is not viable without the defensive nature of the packing materials. The presence of the same in these three materials is noteworthy. They have a significant role in the job of wrapping your things for moving. Here is a tough contest between packing paper and bubble wrap.

ADVANTAGES OF PACKING PAPERS:

Packing paper is considered, perhaps, the first-rate packing material for shifting. There are different reasons behind that. From the following study, you can find the defensive nature of white clean wrapping paper.

In general, packing paper has and definite role in wrapping and cushioning. Only bubble wrap can challenge it. It is a kind of polythene made film with expanded air-filled air pockets inside that. Bubble wrap has essential use for safeguarding more delicate and flimsy things. It provides a delicate breezy pad around those articles.

a) Softness: As packing papers are soft in nature, it is delicate on the surfaces that are wrapped with. To tell the Truth, delicate packing paper is suggested in packing the most fragile items in your home. Like glass things, fine china, sensitive fine art pieces, and even fragile artworks. The top quality pressing paper will guard sensitive surfaces against scratch. Also, prevent the damages in any other way. Hence, it's quite safe to use as an underlayer for security.

Firm Wrapping: Firm wrapping around the things is another unique feature of pressing paper. It shields from dirt, dust, scratching and even moisture. In the end, wrapping paper can give a suitable shield for your items. It offers the most pleasant packs of your valuables.

Space Cover: One of the advantages of pressing paper is that it takes lesser space. Other materials like bubble wrap, towels and different bits of clothes are no match for them. This quality alone can impress you to use packing paper. The saved space in boxes eventually fits more items in a solitary holder.

Powerful: A single sheet of packing paper may seem flimsy to you. But, when you utilize multiple sheets around the delicate things, the question of security is doubled effectively.

Clean: Top quality packing papers are acid-free. There is to ink involvement in them. It implies that it won't smear or stain the surfaces of your valuable items. This is something common occurrence in the case of newsprint. So be careful in use newsprint. Use them on external layers or as padding and space-filling material.

Ecofriendly: We can reuse Spotless and white packing paper. Additionally, it is biodegradable hence nature-friendly while disposed of.

Cost-Effective: It is another reason that compels packers and movers to choose packing paper over bubble wrap, which is the price. The cost of one major pack of spotless, white, corrosive free wrapping paper costs much lesser.

Advantages of Bubble Wrap:

Many packers and movers consider bubble wrap as top packing materials. It is for security concerns. It is useful to handle any unfriendly climatic condition or any unsafe physical incident that may occur during a house relocation.

Here are some details of why.

Supreme Protector: Bubble wrap is a supreme protector. When placed well, it absorbs vibrations, shocks, and direct hits on the fragile objects. The air-filled bubble along the surface of the polyethylene coat enables it to play likewise. Even the breakable item is by accident dropped on the ground, the air within the bubbles takes the shock in. The inside item remains safe from all possible harms. At some stage in moving, an article can come into touch with others, which can result in great damage. When bubble-wrapped, the possibility of that sort of harm is almost zero.

Fits in with any shape: It fits cozily around any odd shape things when packing because of the air pockets. The wrap sheets are basically of plastic and truly malleable.

Strong Shields: When folded bubble wrap is placed over super-delicate things, it forms an absolute defensive pack. It covers the breakables altogether. When a twofold layer of air pocket wrap is used, the defensive shield thus formed is practically indestructible. This is the outcome you're after, isn't it?

Versatile Use: Bubble wrap scores an extra point for its quality of adaptability if we draw a line between packing paper and bubble wrap. The bubble wrap comes in various shapes (sheets, envelopes, packs, and so forth.) and sizes (huge size and small size).

Lightweight: Bubble wrap is light in weight which implies that it never adds extra weight. That is appreciable since the moving cost is based on the weight when moving for long-distance.

Reusable: Air pocket wrap is reusable. It can endure numerous packing and unpacking before it becomes of no use. Repeated use of your sheets of air pocket wrap over in your packing needs, saves your money. It also helps to produce less waste.

Anyone might accept this comparison between – packing paper and bubble wrap. Both have their importance in their respective packing area. The clarification here made is not for contesting with each other. They both are equally important in offering the great protection shield for your delicate things. Concluded that you should pack your delicate items with packing paper. Then for additional protection, you should use the bubble wrap.

Other Important Blog

Concealed Moving Costs, Fees, and Charges When Using Movers

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MOVE FRUITFUL AND LESS TIRING

Blogging Cost Reduction

Avoiding injuries while shifting

Relocation Modernized & Evolved

Significant Role of Packers and Movers in the Relocation Process

#packersandmovers packingpaper bubblewrap

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batterymonster2021 · 6 years ago

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Why I live a zero waste life | Lauren Singer | TEDxTeen

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/why-i-live-a-zero-waste-life-lauren-singer-tedxteen-10/

Why I live a zero waste life | Lauren Singer | TEDxTeen

Translator: Bob Prottas Reviewer: Leonardo Silva that is the entire trash that I’ve produced previously three years. Once I say that, folks believe that i’m loopy, or that i am lying, or they’ll inquire from me questions like: "whats up. So, how do you wipe your butt?" (Laughter) I are living a zero waste lifestyle, and i’ve for the earlier three years. Now, zero waste, that’s a lovely significant concept. Correct? So let me define it for you. To me living zero waste means that i do not make any trash. So no sending something to landfill, no sending some thing in a rubbish can, and no spitting gum on the ground, and running away.Correct? No trash. It is a big inspiration, and this all started once I used to be an environmental learn scholar at NYU. My senior year, I was once taking a path known as: "The Environmental reports Capstone path", which is the culminating path that each one environmental learn pupils ought to take to be able to exit into the world, and make it a extra sustainable position. Well, there used to be a girl in this type, and each classification she would have this large plastic bag, with a plastic clamshell filled with meals, a plastic fork and knife, a plastic water bottle, and a plastic bag a chips, and she would consume all of this, after which category after category, would just throw it within the trash. This used to be particularly irritating, in view that right here we had been these environmental be trained students looking to make the arena a better place, and there she was once, throwing all this stuff into the rubbish. Sooner or later after type, feeling still specifically upset about staring at her throw the whole lot away, I went house to make dinner, and that i opened my fridge, and observed something that I had not ever seen earlier than.Every single thing in my fridge was in one way or another packaged in plastic, and i could not consider it. You already know I used to be getting so mad at this lady for making a lot plastic trash, and it turns out that I used to be just as unhealthy. I was once that woman, and so I made a determination in that second. I was once going to discontinue utilising plastic. Good, quitting plastic — (Laughter) no longer so handy of a factor. Right? Whilst you feel about your day-to-day life, when you get up within the morning, go into the lavatory, and you sweep your tooth.What’s your toothbrush constructed from? (viewers softly) Plastic. LS: Plastic. What’s your toothpaste on the whole packaged in? (audience) Plastic. LS: Your face wash, your moisturizer, your contact resolution. So many matters that are in our day-to-day lives come packaged in plastic, and so i noticed that if I was once going to maneuver faraway from plastic, the one means that I was once going to try this was once to gain knowledge of learn how to make my merchandise myself. Good, I don’t know about you, but I undoubtedly didn’t understand methods to make deodorant. I didn’t have the recipe simply striking out in my back pocket, and so i noticed that I needed to do some study, and at the same time I was doing study on-line, I came across a weblog known as the "Zero Waste home" started by way of a woman named Bea Johnson who’s a wife, and mom of two children, out in Mill Valley, California, and the four of them are living a utterly zero waste lifestyles. Once I realized about Bea, and her household, my intellect was wholly blown.I suggestion that I was once doing the first-rate factor for the planet by means of no longer utilizing any plastic. But the idea that I didn’t have to produce any trash, was once so empowering, and so inspiring, and it made superb experience. Right? When you consider that I was this Environmental stories pupil, I cared about the environment, studied sustainability, mentioned sustainability, protested for sustainability. But i realized, that I wasn’t absolutely imposing any of those values into my everyday life, and so I made the determination to move zero waste. Let me wreck it down for you, and inform you one of the most things that I did so as to make this transition a little bit simpler. The first thing that I did was once i finished purchasing packaged meals. So as an alternative of going to the shop, and purchasing matters packaged in paper, and glass, and plastic, I started bringing my own jars, and bags to the store to fill with bulk, or bundle-free gadgets.I additionally began shopping my fruit, and greens from the farmer’s market. So, package-free. The 2d factor that I began doing was once I started making all of my own merchandise. Before I began dwelling this way of life, my boyfriend on the time, used to brush his enamel making use of baking soda, and that i notion he used to be in most cases the grossest individual within the complete world. Proper? There is no way that you would be able to get your tooth easy utilizing whatever like baking soda, it is gross. Good speedy-forward, and it turns out that the primary product that I made was toothpaste, made with baking soda. So time beyond regulation I began making all of my possess products. When I would run out of whatever, rather of going to the store, and buying a new one, i might be taught the right way to make it myself.So after I would run out of lotion, I discovered how to make it myself. Run out of deodorant, be taught how you can make it myself. Over time, all of the things I had previously bought, had been now, ones that I made myself. The third thing that I started doing, used to be shopping second-hand. So as an alternative of purchasing new clothing, and putting new waste into the waste cycle, i’d purchase matters that have been totally recycled, second-hand. So no longer making any new trash. The fourth thing that I did used to be I downsized. So I concerned with having only the things that were real integral, and that I fairly wanted. Well this was relatively, particularly rough because i am the sort of individual who’s rather sentimental, and i will be able to inform you as to why a toothpick desires to be in my life.But after I particularly got by way of that approach, and that i absolutely downsized, i realized that I had so many fewer matters in my lifestyles, my dwelling was once less cluttered, and the whole lot with less difficult to scrub. And if in case you have fewer matters you comprehend that you take better care of them. Correct? When you take better care of your matters you do not have this mentality like: "If I don’t want this anymore i’m going to just throw it out and that i get a brand new factor later." No, I best had a number of things and so I took care of them, and wasn’t sending anything to the landfill.All this must sound pretty intricate. Proper? I guarantee you, it’s not that difficult. I’m just an average, lazy character, and i would not reside this lifestyle if it was once intricate. In fact the benefits of residing this culture a ways outweigh any of the negatives that you would be able to assume. The first advantage is that I save money. So I get monetary savings once I buy my meals, and the merchandise, and after I make my own merchandise, considering the fact that i am now not purchasing the embedded rate a packaging, so things are more cost effective. I am additionally saving cash via looking totally second-hand, because second-hand clothing is more commonly less expensive than new apparel. I’m also saving cash when you consider that I’ve downsized. I do not go searching at all times now and you recognize simply buy things on impulse. I handiest have what I fairly need. The second improvement is that I consume better. After I go browsing now I wouldn’t have the alternative to buy processed meals merchandise, bundle-free, and so now my food regimen contains things like recent fruit and veggies, or bulk greens, and nuts that i purchase with my jars and my luggage.And so while you consume better, you consider higher. Over these previous few years, I’ve observed that my weight has stabilized, i’ve extra vigour, i need less sleep, and when you are consuming better, and also you feel higher, and also you lower your expenses, you’re happier. However apart from these things i am happier, because for the first time in my lifestyles, i am dwelling in direct alignment with my values. And why is this important? Right? Waste. Well, waste is a fairly huge concern. In fact the common American man or woman produces roughly 4.Four pounds of trash per individual per day. Over the course of a 12 months, that’s like taking 8.5 of your exceptional associates, and throwing them within the trash.(Laughter) don’t do this, it can be no longer excellent. (Laughter) So, if you care about your neighbors, and you do not throw them away, and also you believe that it’s viable for you to lessen how so much trash you’re producing, i’ve 3 easy steps for you. The first step is to actually seem at your trash, and realize what it’s. Considering the fact that you are not able to remedy a main issue of having numerous waste until you realize what is it. So when I did this exercise, i noticed that I had 3 main sources of trash. The first used to be food packaging, and so I learned how to save in bulk or package-free. The 2d was once product packaging, and so I realized tips on how to make all of my possess merchandise.And the 0.33 was once organic meals waste, and so I discovered learn how to compost. And simply through deciding on these 3 sources of waste and taking out them, i have diminished my trash by using about ninety%. The 2d factor that i might wish to suggest is deciding on at the low-striking fruit. So doing little matters, one-time alterations to your daily existence that have a large-scale, and long-term positive affect.This entails things like making use of a reusable bag alternatively of a plastic or paper bag. Or utilizing a stainless-steel, or glass water bottle, rather of purchasing plastic water bottles. Over the course of nevertheless lengthy, you comprehend that these little changes virtually add up, and make a significant change. The 0.33 factor that i might like to advise is the DIY or truely finding out find out how to make your merchandise yourself. Now I most likely love doing this when you consider that whilst you go to a retailer, and also you have to buy merchandise you sort of ought to settle, and take delivery of them as they’re. Correct? In case you don’t love the way they smell, too dangerous. If you happen to do not like the way they consider, sorry. When you do not like what they are packaged in, you would not have a option.However for me, considering I make all my own products, If i don’t like the way they smell, i change the scent. If i don’t just like the parts in them, i modify it. If i don’t just like the packaging, it’s my alternative. And so by using making my own merchandise i have entire control over what i’m placing in my body. Now I started living this subculture while I used to be still in school. And once I graduated, I had an actual job, a real-man or woman job in sustainability, which is precisely what you’d consider i would want to be doing. Right? Well, while I was once still going for walks my web publication: "Trash is for tossers" and i noticed that I was once getting a routine query, and it went some thing like this: "expensive Lauren, I undoubtedly love the products that you are making, and that i too need truly common products.But due to the fact that of existence, household, friends, blah, blah, blah, blah, I simply do not have time to make them myself. Do you have any product that i can buy that are an identical? Thanks on your aid. Plenty of love. Man or woman XYZ." So I went to stores, and i started looking at products, and whilst I located that they were beauty merchandise that were harking back to the ones that I was making myself, I didn’t realize the same pattern for cleaning merchandise.After I looked at the components of cleaning products, even the "natural" cleaning products contained ingredient that were particularly damaging. Things that were carcinogenic, and endocrine-disruptive. You recognize, when I appeared into it additional, I discovered that cleansing product producers aren’t even legally required to disclose the components of their merchandise on the product packaging, and so once we go and buy a product, we’re on the entire mercy of the company, hoping that they’ve our excellent interest in intellect.I think that we, as customers, have a proper to merchandise which can be obvious and that are not dangerous for us, and so I started serious about my possess merchandise, the ones that i’ve been making for years. That are riskless, and powerful, and have ingredients that i use to do things like brush my enamel, or make salad dressing. And i realized that I had an possibility, and so I stop my job, and started a manufacturer. Since I suppose like we, as human beings, have a right to products which might be reliable for our homes, and our our bodies, and the environment. I get feedback all the time, that i’m doing this for concentration. However I live this culture for myself. I’d never tell any one learn how to live or how much trash that they will have to produce.I simply need to provide tools, via my blog and my business, for folks, who like me, wish to diminish how a lot trash they may be producing. I are living a 0 waste tradition, considering to me, it’s the quality manner i do know, find out how to live a lifestyles that aligns with everything that I feel in. And what’s the point. Correct? I am only one man or woman. What change am i able to make? The factor is modest: I want to be remembered for the matters that I did at the same time I was once on this planet, and no longer for the trash that I left at the back of. Thanks. (Applause) .

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airoasis · 6 years ago

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Why I live a zero waste life | Lauren Singer | TEDxTeen

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/why-i-live-a-zero-waste-life-lauren-singer-tedxteen-10/

Why I live a zero waste life | Lauren Singer | TEDxTeen

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sycophantcas · 6 years ago

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An In-depth Overview Of Reasonable Methods In Korea

ทัวร์ญี่ปุ่นเกาหลี ทัวร์ เกาหลี ญี่ปุ่น 2 ประเทศ 2560

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They most likely would, but... I read a theory somewhere that it's quite easy to set up a one-man travel agency in Korea. You don't actually have to organize any trips, just have the official company name under which you can request flight details from airlines.

Ryeoksatan® @Ryeoksatan®

Don't Travel Without First Reading These Important Tips

When one wants to see the world differently, traveling is key. Travel is adventurous, educational and entertaining. There are so many places spread across the world just waiting for you to discover them. These tips will help to get you on your way. When traveling in different countries, instead of exchanging cash for the local currency, use an ATM to withdrawal some pocket money. Many times these banks offer exchange rates that are better than individuals get. The amount will vary; however, this can save you a lot of money. Selecting an aisle seat will always keep your options open. While a window seat will give you a nice view, it can also lead to some problems. It's trickier to get up and use the bathroom or get to your baggage when you're sitting in a window seat. Aisle seats are also more comfortable. You want to be very careful when catching a taxi in another country when traveling. Make sure you are taking a taxi that is legit. Anyone can put a sign that says "taxi" on a vehicle; you have no way of knowing who the person is or where you might end up. If you cannot fathom leaving your pet back home, research vacations options that are pet-friendly. Allowing patrons to bring their pets is becoming quite popular with vacation spots and many offer special deals and discounts for pet parents. You can go on a cruise or head out to a hotel and spa. Don't fear taking your furry friend along, as long as you make sure you can before you do. Make sure you take clothespins with you when travelling. You would be amazed at how useful these will turn out to be. Always keep your essential items close to you when traveling. If you have to carry a purse, remember to keep it firmly tucked under your arm. Also avoid pocketbooks which are easily opened by others on a busy street or subway. Consider these things when you are picking out your bag. Keep travel essentials in one place. Avoid wasting too much time looking through your home for travel accessories. Buy a plastic bin that will let you store all your travel needs in one location. You could even get one that goes under the bed, so it will remain hidden until you need it. If you will be on a long trip, be sure to pack a raincoat, specifically one with soft lining. Many times it is very difficult to predict how the weather will turn out. This rain coat can make you feel very comfortable during hazardous conditions or just running around your hotel room. Make sure you pre-book parking at the airport ahead of time if you plan on leaving your car in the airport while you travel. Parking can be more expensive when booked the day of the flight. If you live close to the airport, see if taking a taxi is cheaper that it would be to pay for airport parking. Know the rates of currency when you're traveling abroad so you can get an idea of what you're going to encounter. Clearly knowing what the exchange rates are will save you headaches down the road. This will increase your fun and reduce your expenses. You should buy a National Park season pass if you visit them often. The passes can be purchased for $50 and are a great deal as they cover all national parks for one full year. You should not have trouble making plans when you travel that go farther. You might even take a trip to another country. By using these tips, you will make your trip more fun and less stressful. Have a great trip and send some postcards home!

A Useful Breakdown Of Intelligent Methods

North Korea makes push to attract Taiwanese tourists North Korea makes push to attract Taiwanese tourists Taipei, July 19 (CNA) In an effort to attract more Taiwanese tourists to North Korea, the country opened an official tourism promotion center in Taipei Thursday. Following the opening ceremony, two tour group packages were offered to Taiwanese who now can directly book packages to visit the hermit kingdom. The two packages, NT$30,000 (about US$1,000) for a three-night tour and NT$50,000 for a five-night stay, were the first to be offered by the center -- a joint venture between a North Korean government-sponsored travel agency and Taipei-based Chung Hsing Travel Service. All the destinations included in the two tour group packages are scenic spots authorized by North Korea's tourism bureau to target foreign visitors, an executive of the center said. According to the executive, Chinese and Russian tourists make up the bulk of foreign visitors to North Korea. Fewer than 1,000 Taiwanese tourists visit per year, he noted. According to Chung Hsing Travel Service Chairman Ringo Lee (李奇嶽), there are no direct flights between Taiwan and Pyongyang at present and travelers bound for North Korea have to transfer in China. Efforts are being be made to launch direct chartered flights between Taiwan and Pyongyang and there will be private flights to serve high-end customers, he said.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201807190019.aspx

A Useful Analysis Of Logical Systems

Since then, tour operators that specialize in North Korea including Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours stopped taking Americans to the country. Before that, Americans made up 20 percent of the western visitors that Koryo took to North Korea, according to Simon Cockerell, the general manager of the company, who has visited the country 169 times. “The fact that it is a place endlessly reported on and so little-known is the attraction for most visitors,” Mr. Cockerell wrote in an email. The Seattle-based tour operator Mir Corporation has led North Korea trips in the past, but through a spokesman said that until the government rescinds the ban, the company will be “waiting and watching.” Before the ban, Americans were required to travel in a group with North Korean guides and very detailed itineraries with no chance of exploring independently. Those restrictions make it very hard to do what most global travel operators promise: authentic immersion. “Our approach to travel, which is focused on immersing travelers into the people and culture of a country in order to provide meaningful engagement with locals, matches very well with a ‘Voice of America, boots on the ground’ sort of diplomacy that could be possible in the wake of a possible thaw in relations between the U.S. and North Korea,” Edward Piegza, the president and founder of Classic Journeys , said in an email. North Korea has shown no willingness to loosen the rules it places on inbound travelers, however. “Those going there accept the fact that there are a lot of restrictions, that they will have only a few questions truly answered, that it is frustrating, complicated, etc., and go there open-minded and ready to try to experience whatever they can in the time they have allowed themselves,” Mr.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/travel/north-korea-travel.html

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topicprinter · 6 years ago

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Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Chez Brungraber of Gobi Gear, a brand that sells outdoor gear.Some stats:Product: Outdoor gear.Revenue/mo: $20,000Margin: 58%Started: 2014Location: Bend, OregonFounders: 2Employees: 1Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hi guys! Thanks for stopping by. I’m Chez, the founder of Gobi Gear. I started Gobi Gear about 4 years ago to make organization easier and more fun, specifically focusing on the outdoor adventure and travel markets. Rummage less, explore more!Our gear bags are designed to make staying organized easy, no matter where the adventure takes you. We take pride in selling high quality gear - expecting our items to last. We are a 1% For the Planet partner, and we use no plastic in our packaging - having saved over 70,000 plastic bags (and counting)!Our first product was known as the Hoboroll - a super cool bag that works as a stuff sack or a day bag, with 5 inner organizational compartments and a secret stash pocket. Made of ultralight, water-resistant nylon, this bag fits in the palm of your hand but is ready for adventure at the drop of a hat.Even though we design our gear for the outdoor adventurer, our fans also use our bags in everyday use, from the gym to their kids soccer games. Thus we are launching a brand new line of every-day bags! Ready to serve anyone with an active lifestyle, from mom’s needing diaper bag organization to gym-goers and kite-boarders alike!The best measure of success for isn’t just the bottom line, but rather walking through an airport and seeing a stranger with a Gobi Gear backpack on. Or learning that the owner of other, big brand name outdoor gear companies have heard of you. The idea of outfitting all kinds of people with our gear, all across the world, and putting smiles on their faces - that is what success is to us!A better organized sackWhat's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I started Gobi Gear just before my big trip through Asia. My husband and I had a 3 month trip planned - also known as “travel until the money runs out”, and we were starting out with a 100-mile trek in the Nepali Himalaya. We had already decided we wouldn’t use porters and instead carry our own gear.I had also committed to collecting botanical specimens, as part of my volunteering for the local University in Kathmandu. Never collected plants before? It’s waaaay slow. Ever the impatient hiker, I had to come up with an idea to still be able to cover a lot of ground even while collecting. I realized that the slowest part of the day would be packing/unpacking every morning/evening, and looked for a solution to make this go faster.When I was not satisfied with the solutions out there (stuff sacks mean scattered gear, plastic bags rip and = trash later) I decided to just make my own. I thought a stuff sack with inner dividers would be great - all my gear in ONE place, yet still separated. I got after it on my sewing machine, using leftover curtain fabric, and made the world’s heaviest stuff sack. But it worked!Thanks to my nifty divided stuff sack, I was always ready to go, knowing where my gear was. Packing was a non-event. I was ready to go each day before everyone else! Lots of time for flowers.I showed the bag to other trekkers, who immediately wanted their own. Shortly after our trip I decided to put the idea to work, and created a version that could sell to other folks who also wanted to stay organized while on-the-go.Soon Gobi Gear was born, and I embarked into a crazy world that I had never know - branding, marketing, web design, graphic design - whoa! I have a dual degree in Biology and Economics, and thus knew nothing of how to grow a company. My full-time job at the time was botanical work (and still is). Gobi Gear has been an incredible journey of learning and being pushed outside comfort zones.Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.Turns out… manufacturing is one of the hardest parts of running a business. Not only does inventory mean you are cash poor (or vice versa), but any delays or issues with manufacturing can drastically hurt your bottom line.Gobi Gear started slowly, very slowly, as I was limited to a small initial investment ($20K), meaning a small quantity order to begin (3000 units). In retrospect this was good for us - it allowed us to not overextend early, and maneuvering to meet customer wishes was easy.We found our first China factory on Alibaba, through months of research and prototype samples. We have also worked with agents, local to China and the USA, and in the end, decided it best to just work directly with the factories.Manufacturing is a complex thing, especially for our ultralight product line - we have to specify everything down to the type of thread, and lead-times on fabrics can be up to 9 months. This complexity, however, is why we found it best to ditch the agent - things got lost in translation, and the questions were still just as numerous, only filtered through the agent and thus adding to the complications.A manufacturing disasterIn fact, we had an agent out of Boston that turned from great into total disaster, from one thing to the next. They were late on a very important order of 25,000 bags - meaning they had to air freight the goods instead of ocean freight them.Then they messed up our packaging for 5000 units: a hole had to be cut into a cardboard tube to allow for a hang-tag, and the samples we received had burn marks and ash stains.I brought this up as a concern and the agent assured me it was only for sampling; the final product would not use that technique. But of course, when we finally received the goods, what do we have? Burn and ash... And not just the packaging, but it damaged the bags inside, rendering them unsellable. It was a huge waste of time and money.Later we then found that all of the products in one color scheme had the cord-lock and drawstring mis-threaded, so we had to pay USA labor costs to get those fixed, too. To be fair, the agent did pay for a lot of these issues, but wasted no time in pointing out “errors on both parties”, implying a lot of this was our fault. All we did was place an order…Playing the waiting gameWhen Gobi Gear gets ready to place an order, we now work directly with the factory, and hold the production spot 6 months in advance with a down payment, even if we aren’t sure exactly what we are making! Then we start sourcing as many of the product parts as possible, such as gray drawcord and cord lock, leaving the other details for later.Word of advice: The factories are just about always late on big orders - if they quote you August, you count on September. Just the way it is. Never have a promise date of early March if you’re EXW-China - their Chinese New Year is not only several weeks long, but there can also be a lot of employee turnover, meaning upon vacation return, there aren’t enough workers to finish the job in time.Once production is done, and 166 emails have changed hands, the goods get shipped! And then the real fun begins.Describe the process of launching the business.Just launch it! So many people want it to be perfect the first time - and it probably won’t be. Once on the market, your customers will have ideas or thoughts that you’ll want to add to the next production round - so just get started! That is for us what helped - we dove it!Launching Gobi Gear was a moment of excitement and trepidation - as well as one full of opportunity to learn. We built our first site on Dreamweaver, long before Shopify. And here is the thing - it could always “be better”, but honestly, it’s probably good enough! I fussed and tinkered so many times I finally broke the site, and had to just go back to basics. *New rule: if it is too hard, we don’t do it. *The first orders that come in are so exciting! Even if it is friends and family… and then the one dude whose name you don’t know. Who is this hero??!Over time we re-launched our website on Shopify, but eventually left that for WooCommerce and WordPress, as they allow much more flexibility in design (and hey, gotta put all of my coding skills to work now, right?). Might go back to Shopify. TBD :-)We also love Amazon - first we sold as “seller fulfilled”, but I still recall the day we got approved for Prime. What a difference! Now we ship boxes of 100s of units to Amazon and they do the rest (okay, not that easy, as they make errors too, but it is still awesome). Amazon is a huge marketplace, and who doesn’t live Prime?To get started, I financed the business with my savings. As the business grew, we sold our inventory (recovered our cash), but then needed more inventory, and thus more cash. The best platform was Kickstarter! We launched in July of 2014, and raised over $80,000! This was great cash as it allowed the funding of a new inventory order, as well as other things such as a new patent, a website redesign, and paid for a good PR team for a year.From the beginning, Gobi Gear has always been very good at paying its own bills from its sales; but pushing growth forward is where the extra cash comes in - always finding that next customer.So we learned three important things about launching and money spent:1 - Do it as cheaply as possible.It is so easy to spend it big to get started, but you don’t need to! Word-of-mouth, referral campaigns, and 5-star reviews are great ways to get new customers. Good customer service keeps the previous ones coming back for more.2 - Have multiple products or colors.As long as they are curated and not just any old thing. It really helps sales, as customers like choices.3 - Get your brand out there from the start!We did not know this, and didn’t have a logo that was prominent or even have our website on our packaging! How do you find us? We now have a backpack with our logo on the outside - this is huge.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?Google, Facebook AdsMarketing used to be far outside my comfort zone, but I am getting a lot better at it. And we really have tried it all - Google Ads, Facebook, YouTube, paid PR and social media teams to do it for you.In general, I have not seen a good ROI on most paid advertising. It could be that my ad graphics and messaging are not spot-on, so they don’t convert as well, or that our products are not super photogenic.It could also be that our average product sale is $20 - not a lot of meat on that bone. Our ad spend hit $16k/mo at one point, and barely moved the needle. Bummer. At least we tried!Amazon AdsWe have had success with Amazon ads, as well as with retargeting ads on Google. We spend about $200-600/mo now, and get and ROI of 1.5-6x, depending on the season. Advertising on Amazon is so much easier than Facebook or Google.You don’t add graphics or copy. You can only bid on keywords, and they do the rest. Either it works, or it doesn’t. I actually love the simplicity. I find better than changing keywords is changing the time of year that you run the ads - some months, like September, are just quiet, so we don’t bother running ads anymore.Amazon SalesAmazon itself is a fascinating sales channel - they do a lot of the work for you, and you get in front of a huge marketplace.But there are knock-offs, and Amazon has mixed up our inventory more than once, then shut down our account because customers were receiving products “not as described” - well, yea, because they mixed them up!Detangling these issues can cause a lot of headaches. Overall? Worth it.EditorialsBut our biggest success for attracting new customers has been bloggers and editorial reviews of our product - we’ve had some as big as the Chicago Tribune, Men’s Journal (print edition), and Cheap Flights work with us! That brings the product to new eyes.Pop-upsAnother huge marketing tactic that turned a corner for us was pop-ups on the website. By not having a pop-up, visitors who aren’t ready to purchase are lost forever.This may seem “duh” now, but years ago it wasn’t so. Sumome made it very easy to get your own pop-ups that integrate directly with automatic email campaigns.SEOThere are other things that I feel are necessary but harder to quantify: SEO is something you always need, and could spend thousands if you aren’t careful - or you can download Yoast (Wordpress sites) and do it yourself. Better than nothing yea? After obtaining numerous quotes on SEO, and deciding it was unaffordable, I went with Yoast and took it upon myself to learn all about it.Moving forward, I think Google, with its overly complex platforms and too many ways to track tiny variations of the same thing, will be losing ground to Amazon and Facebook - which are much easier to advertise on. So, I did the SEO myself, and didn’t worry about the rest. I am focusing my energy instead on easier platforms. If it’s too hard, I don’t pull my hair out trying to make it work - I just move on.Viral ContestWhen launching a new product we have found that viral campaigns or giveaways really help get a solid email list. Before our last Kickstarter we gained 2500 new email addresses through a viral campaign & landing page we made through KickoffLabs. We sent out an initial eblast to 5000 people, and got 2500 new email addresses - so a 50% increase!Email ListOnce grown, our email list has been the best for sales. We cherish it, nurture it, offer special discounts and sales, and encourage social sharing and referrals to friends.Customer ServiceTaking good care of customers is important to us and helps our sales - many times I personally reply to customers, and not just about their particular issue, but I ask for pictures of their last vacation or find out what adventure they’re looking forward to. Gobi Gear is a company, but it is also an extension of me, and I am just another adventurer like you :-)How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Our gross margins are 58%, on average. This is after cost of goods, shipping and fulfillment costs, and include a blend of B2C and B2B sales.Most of our business is B2C (direct to customers), through our website and Amazon. While we do have retailers and work with subscription boxes from time to time, we enjoy the higher margins of direct sales.One variable for us is ad-spend, which as mentioned before is usually relatively low, but can increase during holidays or during a Kickstarter event.We have a new website visitor rate of about 85%, and they usually browse for over 90 seconds, with a bounce rate just under 50%. Monthly traffic averages 2500 users.Once we get new customers to our website, we do the following:1. Obtaining their emailWe use SumoMe to offer various discounts or sales in the form of a pop-up. We have an average of 4% opt-in during most of the year, and 15% during Black Friday and Christmas sale events. Even if the customer doesn’t convert right away, we can follow up later with emails, offering incentives.2. UpsellAs the customer adds goods to their shopping cart, we have little messages that appear letting them know they “only need to add $15 more to get free shipping”. This helps us sell more goods in each order, keeping fulfilment costs down.3. Follow-throughAfter the customer makes a purchase, we send them follow-up emails to ensure they are happy with what they received and suggest uses for the product they just purchased. We feel this helps them make a more meaningful connection to the company they just made a purchase from.Email marketing is hugeI mentioned it already, but our email list is our biggest converter! We use ActiveCampaign to enter customers and potential customers into email funnels, sending them various messages based on their behaviour - we can get more targeted this way, instead of sending out a generic message to everyone over and over.Our daily routine involves checking new orders and getting them shipped out, replying to customer service messages (if any), some social media posting, outreach to a few key retailers/checking in on current ones, PR outreach, and planning for the release of our new product line in 2019. Perhaps a little accounting if I need a nap (just kidding).New Product LineGobi Gear will be entering the lifestyles marketplace - taking the high-quality, durable gear to the everyday consumer, with a new line of affordable, multi-purpose organizational day bags and tote bags.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?You know your brand better than anyoneIn the beginning, it is easy to outsource, thinking that other people will be better than you are at various tasks. But in the early stages it behooved me to do those things myself. Outsourcing costs money, which is tight for a start-up. And they’ll never be quite as good at selling your brand as you are. I know because I tried it both ways. Others might seem more professional or have all the “tricks”, but everything more genuine when it comes from you - and early on, that is what customers want, to connect with you and your brand.It also helps you really dive in and understand what your value proposition is and what you are providing to people. And it allows you to be a better manager later, having some understanding of the task you have just assigned.Resisting outsider moneyTo this day, I am still resisting the offers of investor money, and instead keeping it all in-house and in family. That is really hard on the bank account sometimes, and we are strapped for cash more oft than not, but, you learn to get scrappy, get clever, and get by. No one owns us - I have no one to answer to, and that freedom is worth a lot!This might not be the best path for everyone; we are a small family business and I am happy to keep it that way. Aggressive growth would be very hard without extra inputs from investors.Manufacturing is always going to be a headacheIt seems that no matter how on top of it we are, things always come up. Whether it is hiring the wrong agent, or having the factory deliver an entire month late (and missing your subscription box deadline and losing the entire sale - eek!), these things are out of your control sometimes and the best you can do is damage control. And that in itself can be very important. How you respond to issues can make or break your business.We have learned over the years to 1) work with the factory directly for as long as possible; 2) add in 2 months cushion; and 3) have a contingency plan!Don’t try to do everything perfectlyWhen I first got started, I would get paralyzed sending out a MailChimp eblast to my 146 subscribers, because I didn’t love the font, or the border color, or maybe “this image could be brighter”. In the end, what mattered was that I sent the email in the first place.Fretting over the details - from emails to product features - wastes time. Just get it out there. Don’t overextend yourself on your first product production. Just go for it! Your customers will tell you what they think. Then you can make necessary changes.Helpful SkillsI taught myself web coding and design, graphic design, marketing, branding, and how to automate as many processes as I could. These skills have greatly helped me because I do not need to outsource, and now that I’ve given up on perfection, I am very happy with where the company stands today and the lack of cash burn.What platform/tools do you use for your business?We have tried both Shopify and WooCommerce. I prefer Woo as it is more flexible and you host your own domain, which is better for SEO.When you are on Shopify, your site is actually “website.my-shopify.com” - meaning Shopify gets a lot of your SEO. That being said, Shopify is way easier to use as everything is all part of the package deal.With Woo, you need to download plugins and connect the dots. We are considering a homepage in Wordpress and a checkout cart in Shopify.Sales Platform: WooCommerce3rd party apps: Abandoned cart; X-theme as it is the most flexible and responsive!Email Marketing: ActiveCampaignEmail Capture: SumoMeAffiliate Program: AvantLinkInternal Organization: BasecampFulfillment: CliqueHere & In-HouseCustomer Service: ZenDeskWhat have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I really like books that pull out my creative flow. There are of course books that were great for me as it directly relates to business, Poorly Made in China is one, but in general I find it more valuable to get lost into books about the botanical explorations of the Amazon, or journies by motorbike through the Congo. These type of books allow me to relax and step outside of my world, and then later I find it easier to focus on the creative flow of Gobi Gear.I also dive deeply into daily meditation, yoga, and exercise. These activities help me clear my mind and give me the ability to tackle issues that may arise, as well as have the right perspective going forward.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Just go for it! The products you see today are not the first iteration - but you have to start somewhere.Listen to others, but in the end, remember to hear your own voice. You will know deep down what is best for your company. At least for me, it seemed that everyone had an opinion. Some were right, some not. And be wary of those just trying to sell you their services. Their advice may be skewed (naturally).Don’t worry about the mistakes - and use it as a chance to bond with customers. Some of our biggest fans today were our angriest customers - good service and old fashioned caring turned them around.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?We are not looking to hire, but anyone who is interested in marketing/branding and has clever ideas for us - we’d hear you out, and possibly work out a gear-for-work exchange.Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos.

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francetaste · 6 years ago

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I’ve been reading news about “Medicare for all.” For people outside the U.S., it’s a no-brainer. Of course everybody gets health care. Of course the cost isn’t based on how healthy you are. Of course it’s affordable. Of course you choose your doctor.

I can only really tell you about the French system, which, in nearly 15 years of experience, has been excellent.

Helicopter landing at the hospital. Courage to whoever was inside.

Who qualifies?

All French residents get a Carte Vitale, a green chip card with your French social security number (kids under age 16 are on the card of one of their parents). The card itself doesn’t cost anything. Coverage is obligatory. If you are a tourist, however, you aren’t covered and have to pay out of pocket or get your insurance to pay. But the bill won’t be anything like what you’d confront in the U.S.

Emergency room waiting area. Efficient. Carcassonne’s hospital is fairly new.

Who pays?

Everybody. The government insurance covers 77% of health expenses. A further 14% is covered by complementary insurance and almost 9% covered by individuals (co-pay, if you like, but not for everything; it’s mostly for glasses and dental work). The government funding comes from employer and employee payroll taxes (50%), income taxes (35%), taxes on tobacco, alcohol, the pharmaceutical industry and voluntary health insurance companies (13%) and state subsidies (2%).

I was talking to someone in the U.S. who was turned off by single payer, saying that he didn’t want to pay in for lazy people who don’t work. Of course, there are some freeloaders in France, but the cost of keeping them healthy is nothing compared to the taxes evaded by the rich using offshore shell companies. They are the real freeloaders. But psychologically, humans pick on those with less status than us and turn a blind eye to those with more.

Also in France, there’s a list of 30 health conditions that are 100% covered–hospitalization, treatment, doctor visits, medication, etc. These include diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, incapacitating stroke, cystic fibrosis, HIV, malignant cancer, etc. A friend had a kidney transplant–something stressful enough, and at least she didn’t have to worry about the cost.

Where emergency patients get wheeled in on gurneys for triage. Not fancy.

What is this complementary insurance?

Complementary insurance covers all or most of the fees not covered by the government program. It’s voluntary and paid individually. It’s private mutual insurance, meaning it’s nonprofit. Patients lose if profits win. The average in 2017 was €688 per person annually or about €57.33 a month.

Patient room. The screens are for TV and Internet; you have to buy time.

How high are the taxes?

Employers pay 13% of salary for health care, maternity, disability and death insurance. Self-employed people making under €43,705 a year pay between 1.5% to 6.5%; over that you pay 6.5%.

In the U.S., the average worker contributions are $1,213 a year for a single person and $5,714 for a family. Worker premiums have gone up about 75% over the last 10 years, vs. about 48% for the employer share. About 80% of workers’ employers pay at least half the premium for both single and family coverage. The average cost of insurance for employers is $6,435, with a $6,000 deductible. (Excuse me, I just fainted at that deductible.)

Other view of a room. The brown column is a closet.

How does it work?

If you’re sick, you call your doctor. Around here, we sometimes can get in the same day, sometimes not. If it’s urgent, one of the other doctors in the group will take us. We don’t have many emergencies, so we usually make appointments for a week or two in advance for routine checkups. Our long-time doctor moved away, so we shopped around for a new one, trying a few recommended by different friends before settling on someone we liked a lot. The idea of in-network or out-of-network doesn’t exist because there’s just one network. While people are free to shop for a doctor when thinking about switching, the French system does require picking a primary-care doctor to limit abuse, such as how much people can shop for somebody to write them a prescription they might not need.

If you have to go to the hospital, there are no surprise bills from out-of-network doctors you never met or who worked on you when you were unconscious. Some doctors can demand a surcharge, but it’s usually in the tens of euros.

How is it different from the U.S.?

Everything is less fancy. This might be in part because we are in the sticks and not in Paris, but I saw the same thing in Brussels. It’s all nice, but not luxe. One hospital in my hometown had a grand granite entry with a grand piano, carpeting in the halls, sofas and armchairs in the rooms. Here, the hospital is brand-new, heavy on the linoleum, only one hard plastic chair per patient room.

However, granite (or carpeted–EEEWWW) floors don’t make anybody better. All that matters is that the place can be kept clean and that it’s arranged in a functional manner.

Vintage formica table in one room. Must have come from the old hospital. Or even the hospital before. Waste not.

The doctors’ offices are pretty simple, too. Always nice, but never fancy. One thing that I found unusual was that the office and examining table are in the same room. You go in, sit at the desk across from the doctor, then get undressed (no paper gowns), get examined, get dressed, your Carte Vitale is read, you pay your €25 and leave. No little exam rooms in a line where a nurse charges in for your vitals, then the doctor comes by for two minutes and disappears. I told one doctor about this, and how the little exam rooms would save a lot of the doctor’s time by not waiting for patients to undress/dress, and she was horrified. Especially with the elderly, she said, it’s important to observe how patients move as they’re dressing. She saw the U.S. system as penny-wise, pound-foolish.

French health care is of very high quality despite being lower cost. France has 3.2 doctors per 1,000 people, fewer than some European countries but more than the U.S., which has 2.5 per 1,000. Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births dropped to 8 in 2015 from 15 in 1990, whereas in the U.S. they rose to 14 from 12 in the same years. Check out this article about dying mothers. Life expectancy at birth is 82.4 in France, among the highest in the world, compared to 78.6 in the U.S. Infant mortality is 3.7 per 1,000 live births, vs. 5.9 in the U.S.

In addition, a number of preventive campaigns aim to keep costs down by catching problems early, including free mammograms every two years after age 50, as well as free tests for colorectal cancer.

In the lobby, a piano. Not grand. Nor is the lobby.

Isn’t it weird having the government decide what’s covered?

Well, somebody has to do it, and it’s probably better that it’s decided by society at large rather than by your employer, non? Most people don’t realize that larger companies self-insure–in fact 60% of U.S. workers covered by their employers are literally covered by their employers through self insurance. It’s called captive insurance, and it’s a way of using the risk of employee health costs or death benefits (which would be low risk if you have healthy employees) as a hedge against other corporate risks. The company sets aside a pool of money as its own insurance. It contracts with an actual insurance company to administer claims. The employer can decide what to cover or not, although the Affordable Care Act set some standards on that.

That means employers have an interest in whether you’re healthy. A few years ago, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong announced to employees that he was cutting employees’ retirement benefits because of self-insurance payouts for two “distressed” babies.

With single payer like in France, employers help pay in, but risks are spread across the entire country. There are no questions about pre-existing conditions, because participation in the system is obligatory.

While there are certainly cases of people abusing the system (I know a couple who would go for a weeklong “cure” for “arthritis” every year at a spa), for the most part nobody gets surgery for the heck of it, nobody has chemotherapy just because they can get it for free. Health care is one of those things you want to not have to need. It shouldn’t be available only to those who can afford it, certainly not in developed countries.

Single Payer FAQs in France I've been reading news about "Medicare for all." For people outside the U.S., it's a no-brainer. Of course everybody gets health care.

#France #health care #hospitals #single payer #U.S compared with France

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pastel-catboy · 4 years ago

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