#and I don’t get paid an actual salary until the end of august

[hairenya]

I hate being a teacher in the summer I’m broke af and it sucks

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

The Love Cruise - by GleefullyCaptainSwan

Read on AO3: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Or on FF

Tagging:   @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda

Chapter 5: A Kiss is Just a Kiss

Emma stood on her balcony with her eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the ocean, the faint cry of the birds flying overhead, the rush of the wind in her ears. She felt truly at peace for the first time in a long time. She wished Henry could have been there to experience this with her. She had done everything with Henry for almost 7 years now, perhaps she didn’t know who she was without him around.

“Why aren’t you in your suit.” Ruby appeared behind her with her towel in her hand. “I thought we were going to the pool to sunbathe.”

“I was actually thinking that I want to go to this art auction I saw on the patter for today.”

Ruby’s face scrunched in disgust. “Eww, an art auction sounds horribly boring and stuffy. I didn’t even think you liked art.”

“I just wanted to check it out. It’s not like we would ever have the chance to go to an art auction back home?”

“Well, you enjoy that. When you get bored, you know where to find me.” She crinkled her nose and turned to leave.

Emma laughed. “I’ll probably see you in thirty minutes.”

Emma strolled through the hallways to try and find the location of the auction. August was right when he said it was easy to get lost on the ship. She was never sure if she was on the right floor or even on the right end of the ship. If you took all the floors end to end, it would be bigger than the town she lived in.

She noticed a group of people that were dressed nicer than most of the passengers on the ship heading into one of the lounges at the end of the hallway she was in. She looked down at her sun dress and started to worry that she might be underdressed to rub elbows with people who attended art auctions.

She peered into the room, easels set up with paintings on them and perched on each of the walls. Tentatively she wandered into the room, trying to make herself blend in with the rest of the passengers who were lazily walking through the art, nodding their heads, and whispering to each other. She leaned over to read a few of the inscriptions, many of the paintings were ocean themed.

“We meet again.”

Emma yelped and grabbed her chest, turning to face the man behind her.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. Emma, right?”

Emma nodded, “Yes.”

“Where’s your…” He looked around the room. “Boyfriend? If you were mine, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”

Emma swallowed, sickened by the look on his face the way he said the word mine. So possessive as if she were an object. “Walsh was it?” she deflected.

“I made enough of an impression that at least you remembered my name.” Emma smiled politely and continued walking down the rows of art, hoping he would take the hint and leave her to her thoughts. “Which piece do you plan to bid on?”

Emma walked toward her favorite painting on the back wall, it was a ship sailing into the sunset. She looked at the price tag on the painting, choking softly when she read the price. There was no way she could afford to bid on any of the paintings, and this one was at least 3 months’ salary.

“Ah good taste, that’s a beautiful painting. I actually met the artist when I was in Paris last summer.”

Emma nodded, trying to act like this was a normal conversation she would be having back home with her friends. “Which one are you interested in?”

“Ah, I’m here for the piece de resistance, the Homer.”

Emma had no idea what he was talking about, but he led her to a painting in a gold frame at the front of the room. She glanced at the price tag and paled. “Oh, um yeah it’s…why would anyone pay this much for a canvas with some paint on it?”

He chuckled beside her, “I collect art, to hang in the halls of my businesses. This one will hang in the western hall of my bank in Switzerland.”

“Wow, that’s…” Boring, elitist, not of any interest to her! “very exciting.”

“Looks like they are about to begin, I should take my seat.”

She watched him walk to the front of the room and she immediately looked for a spot near the back of to observe the process without getting in the middle of the action.

~*~

Killian stood in the shadows watching Emma as she quietly walked through the rows of paintings in the gallery room. As Captain he tried to show up to at least a few events a day that were happening aboard his ship. He did not expect to find her at this one but was pleasantly surprised when her golden hair appeared on the other side of one of the paintings he had been admiring earlier.

He observed her for a few minutes, intending to make his presence known when the man from the bar approached her. He melted into the background of the room, watching as she politely conversed with Walsh. He could tell she wasn’t interested in the man. Killian knew his type, always thinking they were the most important person in the room, looking down on those that didn’t have the means to present themselves in the same manner as they did. He hated men like Walsh. The man didn’t deserve someone the likes of Emma. He supposed it was because he was one of those people that Walsh would look down his nose at.

Killian wasn’t really interested in the art event. Many of the pieces they were auctioning off were going for thousands of dollars, if not more. A waste of hard-earned money if you asked him. The man led Emma toward the main piece at the front of the room and Killian figured that would be the one a man like Walsh was here for. It was worth millions, the perfect item to throw around his elitist status when trying to impress a woman.

His was drawn out of his thoughts as the gavel hit the podium, signaling the start of the auction. Emma wandered to the back of the room as the auction began, sitting alone in the last row. He pushed away from the wall and strolled toward her, quietly taking the seat next to her.

~*~

Emma was very confused by the auction process, wands going up and down in front of her as each piece was brought forward. The artwork she liked the most was brought to the front and she tried to listen to the fast-talking auctioneer to see how much it would sell for. A wand in the front row shot up to open the bidding at $5,000. Another wand appeared and thus it went back and forth until the wand in the front won the piece for $7,500. That was the price she paid for her yellow bug back home, a car that got her to and from work every day.

She felt someone sit next to her and she stiffened. There were so many other seats available, why did they need to interrupt her isolation?

“I didn’t take you as an art connoisseur, Swan? Are you thinking of purchasing something?”

Emma relaxed as she looked up and saw her favorite Captain (did she know any other Captains?) sitting next to her, looking extremely good looking in his uniform. “Sure, I figure if I rent out my house and move back in with my brother and don’t eat for the next few months, I can afford at least one piece.”

He chuckled softly beside her. “Perhaps your rich suitor could purchase it for you.”

She watched as he stared straight ahead, and she smiled to herself. “Jealous, Captain?”

He nodded, “Perhaps.”

Her heart was racing, she was being completely ridiculous and irresponsible right now. “This is boring.” She leaned closer to him and whispered.

“Perhaps a personal tour of my ship would be more enticing for you?”

Does it include your bedroom?  Emma mentally slapped herself for the thought. Snap out of it, Emma.

“A personal tour from the Captain, how could I say no.”

Their eyes met and she swore she saw a glint of something else hidden beneath those electric blue eyes, he stood quickly and slipped out the back door, Emma following closely behind.

She watched him intensely as he spoke reverently about every piece of the ship like it was something personal to him.

“You talk about the ship like it’s a person.”

“Aye, in a way she is. A Captain’s ship is always his mistress and she should be treated with respect.”

Emma tried to memorize the reverence on his face as he spoke, he had never heard anyone talk so eloquently about some boards and planks. She found herself wondering how he treated a woman with flesh and bones, needs, and desires.

Focus Emma.

They continued their tour, walking through the dining room she ate in twice a day toward a room with a table in the back that she had not noticed before.

“You have your own dining table?”

“It’s actually called the Captain’s table, not very original, but yes. It is used to invite VIP guests to join me at dinner a few times during the cruise, its customary and quite formal.”

“I bet you get all the best food.”

“I suppose a Captain does eat well.” He laughed, the timber of his voice playing in her ears as it was slowly becoming her favorite melody. She needed to stop staring at him like she was a 13-year-old girl with her first crush. But she quickly found that the alternative of gazing at him like he was a plate full of food and she hadn’t eaten in months was a more dangerous scenario.

They climbed the stairs which opened into a huge room, wall to floor windows, equipment littered at each station that was either blinking or moving in lines across the screen. It was overwhelming. “Wow, do you have to know how to use all of this equipment?”

“I don’t personally use it all, but I do have the capability and understanding of each station, yes.” He nodded to a portly man at the end of the bridge. “Afternoon, Officer. Emma, this is First Officer Smee, he is currently on watch.”

“Afternoon Ma’am.”

“Are you sailing the ship on your own right now?” Emma exclaimed looking around and not seeing many other people on the bridge.

Killian laughed, “Don’t share our secrets here, Emma, but most of the time the ship sails herself. I’m barely needed to sail her. It’s all in the computers now.”

“He’s being modest.” Smee interrupted. “The Captain does more than sail her, he’s in charge of everyone on board, keeps the ship running smoothly, and ensures we don’t crash her into each port.”

“Thank you, Smee. Happy to see I’ve at least impressed someone.” He turned toward Emma. “Shall I show you the controls?” Smee excused himself to allow them to wander the bridge in private.

“I have no idea how you know what all these buttons and knobs. I think this would give me anxiety being responsible for all of this.”

“Extensive training, love. They don’t let just anyone take on such precious cargo.” Her heart sped up as his eyes bore into hers. God he was gorgeous. She backed up into one of the control panels, her hand coming to rest on the counter.

“Careful love, if you push that button, you’ll take us off course.” She jumped, pulling her hand off the console and grabbing at her chest which elicited a gruff laugh from him, his eyes slipping down to her lips.

“Thank you again for the tour, I really appreciate you showing me around.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper as he continued to step closer to her.

“Aye, your gratitude is much appreciated.” His hands rested on either side of her, the heat from his body radiating against her hips. She stared at his mouth longer than she should before dragging her eyes upward to meet his. They were darker than she remembered them earlier, his pupils larger. They were locked in a moment where neither spoke and Emma wasn’t sure what she wanted to happen next, just that she didn’t want it to stop.

Before she had time to anxiously weigh her options he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. His lips were soft and warm, and she could barely contain the beating of her own heart or the way she could feel it pounding in her ears, tiny explosions of light projecting on the backs of her eyelids as she pressed forward against him. Her hands came up to rest on his chest, the crisp fabric of his uniform sliding against her palms.

Suddenly he pulled away from her, looking between them toward the floor and shaking his head. “Apologies, Miss Swan, that was inappropriate.” He stepped back and wandered toward the window, looking down at the deck below them.

She took a deep breath and approached him, admiring his profile, his jaw clenched, his eyes focused on the unaware passengers who were going about their day. “It must be a lot of pressure being responsible for so many people.”

“Aye.”

“Then we are very lucky that you’re our Captain.” She added, trying to lighten the mood which had suddenly become tense. She tried to quiet her own disappointment from his change of mood, wondering if he regretted what had just happened because of his status and the public display or because it was her.

~*~

Killian cursed himself for kissing Emma. He was the Captain of the ship and he just kissed a passenger on the bloody bridge while in uniform. He had no idea what had come over him to behave so reprehensively.

Besides that, Emma had already told him that she wasn’t here to meet a guy and then he went and kissed the woman. Of course, there was also the matter that he wasn’t interested in a relationship either, he hadn’t been with a woman since Milah had died. But suddenly standing on the bridge with Emma, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her and then he bloody well went and did it.

Idiot.

He glanced to his left to see the woman staring out at the ocean asking him about the pressure he was under in his position. God she was beautiful. He glanced away, hoping it would stop him from the irrational thought of pulling her into his arms and claiming her lips again. “I’m sure you have a vacation to get back to, I don’t want to monopolize all of your time.”

She looked up at him, their eyes meeting for mere moments but enough to cause the hairs on his arm to stand on end. He needed to get his shit together. Instead of agreeing, she brushed her hand against his sleeve, running her fingers along his stripes, something she seemed mesmerized by on their previous occasion. “I’m supposed to meet Ruby at the pool for some sunbathing.”

Images of her in a bikini laying in the sun came to mind and he coughed into his hand. “I would hate to keep you from such an important activity.”

She stepped toward him, a playful smile forming on her lips. “Deck 12, if you’re into watching…to ensure my safety.” Her tongue darted out across her bottom lip.

Was she hitting on him?

He watched her slip away down the stairs, his frozen incompetent brain never catching up with his mouth to allow for a single word in response to her.

~*~

Emma had no idea what had gotten into her. She came on this ship not wanting to hook up but damn it if she didn’t need more of Captain Killian Jones. She didn’t know exactly why he apologized for kissing her, but she was going to make sure he understood that she didn’t regret him doing it. It’s not like she was going to see him again after she got off the ship. Wasn’t she supposed to be here to have a little fun?

She knew he was interested in her or he wouldn’t have kissed her. She may not have been with a man for seven years, but she knew what desire was and what she witnessed in his eyes before he kissed her was pure need.

Emma found Ruby lying by the pool and she sat down in the chair beside her. “Where have you been? I almost gave up waiting for you.”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” She said with a smirk on her face.

Her friend pushed her sunglasses up on her head. “Distracted by who?”

“Why do you assume it’s a who? There’s a lot of things on this ship to get distracted by.”

“Because I know you. You’re flushed and you keep biting your lip. Was it Graham?”

“I’ve barely talked to him.” She shrugged.

“You don’t have to talk to him to get horny, Em.”

She put her sunglasses on and lay back. “I’m bored talking about this.”

“You’re really no fun.” She pouted.

~*~

Killian knew he should stay the hell away from deck 12, he was too worked up to watch her sunning her half naked body. He should go to his room, take a cold shower, and enjoy a nap. Instead, he found himself on deck 13, staring down into the pool below, scanning the passengers for the woman who was driving him mad.

A kiss is just a kiss, right?

When he caught sight of her, he shifted against the balcony, his body reacting immediately to seeing her laid out below him. He hadn’t even looked at another woman in three years, not since Milah. But he wanted this woman, he needed to have her, to devour her, to feel her underneath him. And now that he had tasted her, he craved more.

“See something you like?” Killian jumped, turning toward Robin’s voice.

“Must you sneak up on me?” He stood beside him, staring down below them.

“Nice view.” He smirked.

“I’m just checking in on the passengers to ensure all is well.”

“Ah, just doing your duty then?”

Killian figured the best way to answer him was to ignore the question completely. “How did it go with Regina after I left you at the bar? I’m guessing from your presence here that she didn’t injure you.”

He laughed, “Well after you ran out on us, she wasn’t too pleased to be left alone with me. But she didn’t leave either.”

“Such blazing progress.” He teased. “You’ll be married before we reach the next port, should I brush up on my officiating duties?”

~*~

“There you are.” Emma wrapped her arms around August’s waist and hugged him tightly. “I haven’t seen you all day, where have you been?”

“Oh, um, I’ve been giving the ankle a rest.”

“Visiting the med bay, again? Maybe requiring your own personal nurse?” She questioned, noticing the new bandages wrapped around his foot.

“Just how do you know Captain Jones?” He diverted with a grin.

“Well played, sir.” She turned toward their friends, “Shall we?”

They took their seats at the table, Emma noticing that they had another guest at the table tonight. Graham was sitting on the other side of Ruby, embroiled in deep conversation.

“Tell me, is it true that William once drank an entire bottle of whiskey before the end of his shift?” Belle asked her as she sat down

“I didn’t say the whole bottle.” Will interrupted Belle.

“Most likely true, he enjoys clearing me out of my good whiskey.” August laughed.

“Not all in one day, that would make me a thief.” Will’s affronted reply coming quickly.

“You are a thief.” Ruby teased.

“You stole my heart.” Belle cooed and Will stared at her. His face crumpled, conflict littering his features. She knew he liked the girl, but she was also sure that if he did have feelings toward her, he would confuse them with his pining for Ana.

She simply smiled at him at the table and waited until they returned to their rooms to approach him. Since Ruby was getting a nightcap with Graham, she used the opportunity to invite Will to escort her back to her room.

“Delivered safe and sound.” He announced as she opened her door.

“So, Belle’s nice.” She said casually.

“Oi, this was a setup, wasn’t it? You didn’t need me to walk you to your room at all.”

“Nope, I just wanted to check up on you. You’ve been spending a lot of time with her.”

“She’s nice, I like chatting with her.”

“But…” Emma pulled him into her room.

“But I feel like I’m cheating on Ana.” He whined and Emma sat down on her bed and patted the spot beside her. He grumbled but took the seat, reaching over to take his hand.

“I’m going to say something to you, and I need you to listen to me, ok?” He shook his head. “And you can’t get mad at me because what I’m about to say is said in love.”

“Get it over with.” He exhaled, rolling his eyes.

“Ana was a bitch.” She held up her hand to stop him from interrupting. “She used you for whatever she could take and then she left. She’s gone and she’s not coming back. And I think you know that, and you use it, so you don’t have to put yourself back out there, so you don’t get hurt like that again.”

His shoulders sagged. “I can’t go through that again.” He whispered. “She damn near ruined me.”

“I know.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, remembering the night Ana left. He had called her after midnight, barely about to understand a word on the phone. By the time she arrived at his apartment he was a blubbering mess, crying on her shoulder, both of them drinking through the night until they fell asleep on the sofa. He had gone through phases of anger and depression, but never acceptance. “I was there, remember? There was a lot of whiskey involved.” He chuckled, a tear spilling from his eye. “But honey, you deserve to be happy, you’re a great guy.”

“Are you trying to have sex with me right now, because I’ve never considered it, but you could convince me.”

She smacked him on the back of the head. “Don’t ruin this moment, William.”

“Ow, ya bloody brat.”

“I love you; you’ve been my best friend through everything, and I want you to be happy. But to do that you have to put yourself out there.”

“Is this lecture for me or you?”

“Hey, we’re talking about you here.”

He laughed and then reached over and pulled her against his chest, falling back onto the bed together. “I love you too.” He nuzzled into her neck, “You could still convince me, this is a really good moment.” She pulled back and shoved him away from her. “I mean, this is a great start, maybe I’d enjoy it rough coming from you.”

“Will!”

“Ok, ok, I know, you can’t handle all of this.” He stood up from the bed and turned to leave. “What’s that?” He gestured to their desk in the corner of the room and the object sitting on it. Emma paled. Sitting on the desk was the painting she had been admiring during the auction. The one that sold for $7,500 earlier today. “Who’s Walsh?” he passed her the note attached to the paining.

A painting of great beauty deserves to be owned by an equally beautiful woman.

Yours, Walsh

[debbiechanclub]

Twenty Questions

Tagged by: @champbucks! Thanks for the tag!

What do you prefer to be called name-wise? Katie and I also quite like KP so y’all can call me either :)

When is your birthday? August 31st (big Virgo energy).

Where do you live? Northern Virginia. My husband and I are hoping to relocate a little further south where it’s a slower pace and more affordable.

Three things you are doing right now? Drinking coffee, thinking about work things I need to do, and wondering if anyone will actually tag me in this or if I’m gonna post it on my own like some sort of narcissist. (Lol NOT ME having this ready to go 😂)

Four fandoms that have peaked your interest. Not all of these are current because really the only thing I’m obsessed with right now is wrestling but... wrestling, Marvel, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones. I’ve written fanfiction for all those, that’s my measuring stick hahaha.

How has the pandemic been treating you? Honestly? Better than most, and I feel both grateful for and bad about it. I started a new job at the end of January; we were ordered to go into 100% telework in March (and we’re going back into it now). However, due to the nature of my work, 90% of it CAN’T be done remotely... and because the people I rely on to do my job haven’t really been able to do their job, either, I’ve basically been getting paid my full salary to sit at home for the last eight months. That’s government contracting for you.

A song you can’t stop listening to right now? Still stuck on “Daze Inn” by Carlie Hanson.

Recommend a movie. I know we’re moving into Christmastime, but the only movies I can think of are all suspense/thriller/horror 😂. If you have not seen Hush on Netflix, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s about a deaf woman fending off a home intruder. Every time I see it pop up when I’m searching for something to watch I wish that I hadn’t seen it so I could watch it for the first time again. That’s how good (I think) it is.

How old are you? 32

School, university, occupation, other? I went to college, got a B.A. in English Lit, and I’ve basically been working as a writer/editor in various fields ever since. When I graduated in 2010 the economy was still shit and I couldn’t find a full-time job to save my life, so I started looking into becoming a pro wrestler. I ended up training at a school in Western Maryland (I was the only girl) for about six months. It was a total joke of a school, and I’m pretty sure they’re not in business anymore. I remember showing up for training one evening and the owner took us all out to a Public Storage and put us to work moving his new girlfriend’s shit into a storage unit. That was all we did that night. I was pissed because the school was a 1.5-hour drive one way for me. Had it been a legitimate operation I probably wouldn’t have quit and, who knows, maybe I’d be a pro wrestler right now. I think about that sometimes and wonder.

Do you prefer heat or cold? Cold. Cold clothes are cuter and more comfortable than hot clothes and you can’t tell me different.

Name one fact others may not know about you. I was born with a big birthmark on my left cheek. The medical term for it is “giant hairy nevus” and it was actually a type of mole. It grew hair and I had to shave it. I had it removed when I was 13. It took two operations to get it all and my body rejected the sutures (it literally pushed them out of my face; luckily it didn’t affect the healing process). I had two more procedures using just local anesthetic in the doctor’s office to remove excess scar tissue and redirect the direction of the bottom portion of the scar. Then I had fat taken from my stomach and injected into my cheek to fill it back out. I got a staph infection from that; luckily my dad caught it in time and antibiotics took care of it. For a long time I was extremely self-conscious about the scar, and I assumed it was the first/only thing people noticed about me. But these days no one even realizes I have it, and when I tell them about the birthmark they’re blown away. The surgeon did a very good job.

Are you shy? I don’t like the term “shy.” I prefer “reserved.” I’m very reserved until I decide that I like you enough or you can be trusted enough for me to be my true self. I’ve had my best friends tell me that the person they know now is completely different from the one they first met. Admittedly, a lot of people don’t get to know the real me because the reserved way in which I initially present myself combined with my hella bad RBF makes them assume I don’t like them/I’m a bitch.

Preferred pronouns? She/her.

Biggest pet peeves? When people don’t accept/respect/understand that others can have a different opinion or viewpoint from theirs and IT’S OKAY. Or when people decide that someone MUST be “x” because they agree with/like “x.”

What is your favorite “dere” type? I don’t know what the fuck that means, fam.

Rate your life from 1-10, 1 being crappy and 10 being the best it could be. I’d rate it a solid 7. I’ve come a long way... if I’d filled this out four or five years ago (or hell even two years ago), I probably would have said 4/5.

What’s your main blog? This is my main and only blog.

List your side blogs and what they’re used for. See previous.

Is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends? I’m in my 30s! There’s more of us on here than I thought, so that’s a relief 😂. That being said, I’m not opposed to having younger friends - but just be aware! If you’re a minor and are weirded out by that it doesn’t hurt my feelings.

Tagging: @freshlysqueezedmox @drewsmcintyres @justamess44

[the-lions-lens]

Jrnl Entrie: August 12th, 2020 (started on the 1’st)

Life, in it’s entirety has completely changed for me, yet again. In one hand, I find it aggravating; agitating, and I am tired - but not all of these changes are negative; actually mostly positive, but to know how difficult the path ahead will be, brings a sense of anxiety and exhaustion all in a single vibration. With Success, comes sacrifice; with sacrifice, comes success.

I’m going back to school to finish my degree - who would have thought? Definitely not me; I thought I was done wasting my time with school, but my family came in my direction , in the sense of an intervention. “Aaron, where do you see yourself in 5 years?” My aunt sat next to me and requested an answer... I didn’t know what to say? I’ve plateaued; as an actor, a paid performer for the state of Florida? That was a big deal... i couldn’t see myself anywhere else - but the more that I thought about her question, the more I realized that - inevitably, my future is FUCKED, if I didn’t tighten up. no 401k, no job security, still paid hourly, invalidated salary, minimal benefits - I loved my job, but as a job; it’s more of a hobby. That was my compromise of doing something that I love; while also attempting to maintain a stable lifestyle.

I’ve spent thousands, and thousands of dollars on schooling - and felt towards the end of my drive to gain an education that it was a waste of money. Again, I had became a stunt performer; so why would I want anything else? I was going to DIE in this castle before I quit... that was until my family threw some facts my way - and now I’m here, finishing college for my degree. 1 year... 2 semesters... 3 classes each. I’m literally THAT close.

Here’s the catch... as an incentive for me to finish college, my aunt and uncle said that they would pay my way, and send me to Seattle Washington to live with my family on the west coast of the US... where you can literally walk from the mountains to the beach, the land of talent, adventure, a future. I’ll be getting my degree in Digital Media and Web/Video Production; it would be exactly a year from August 24th, and I’ll be getting a job before I moved out there so that I would have security upon arrival that I’d have a career waiting for me. As a Web Production Specialist, in the state of Washington - it’s a average of a 97k annual salary - with a growth of 130k as a production director. I could NEVER find something like that here in Florida.

Obviously, I accepted the offer... I’m leaving a year from the 24th, and there is so much that I need to do within that time... people that I need to see... places that I need to visit... some people, I wish I could bring with me... maybe there is a chance? Nothing is impossible. I’ve been riding these wave’s and they’ve been kind to me recently; let’s hope it stays that way.

Either way. I’m stressed the fuck out regardless of ease. I need a release - and I don’t have one. A person would be nice; I don’t need drugs. I don’t need alcohol. Just a traveler - someone who’s consistent with me. Companionship bring’s a euphoria like no other.

Fuck. Me.

[yasbxxgie]

How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built Six Homes Even as the group has publicly celebrated its work, insider accounts detail a string of failures

The neighborhood of Campeche sprawls up a steep hillside in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Goats rustle in trash that goes forever uncollected. Children kick a deflated volleyball in a dusty lot below a wall with a hand-painted logo of the American Red Cross.

In late 2011, the Red Cross launched a multimillion-dollar project to transform the desperately poor area, which was hit hard by the earthquake that struck Haiti the year before. The main focus of the project — called LAMIKA, an acronym in Creole for “A Better Life in My Neighborhood” — was building hundreds of permanent homes.

Today, not one home has been built in Campeche. Many residents live in shacks made of rusty sheet metal, without access to drinkable water, electricity or basic sanitation. When it rains, their homes flood and residents bail out mud and water.

The Red Cross received an outpouring of donations after the quake, nearly half a billion dollars.

The group has publicly celebrated its work. But in fact, the Red Cross has repeatedly failed on the ground in Haiti. Confidential memos, emails from worried top officers, and accounts of a dozen frustrated and disappointed insiders show the charity has broken promises, squandered donations, and made dubious claims of success.

The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people. But the actual number of permanent homes the group has built in all of Haiti: six.

After the earthquake, Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern unveiled ambitious plans to “develop brand-new communities.” None has ever been built.

Aid organizations from around the world have struggled after the earthquake in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. But ProPublica and NPR’s investigation shows that many of the Red Cross’s failings in Haiti are of its own making. They are also part of a larger pattern in which the organization has botched delivery of aid after disasters such as Superstorm Sandy. Despite its difficulties, the Red Cross remains the charity of choice for ordinary Americans and corporations alike after natural disasters.

One issue that has hindered the Red Cross’ work in Haiti is an overreliance on foreigners who could not speak French or Creole, current and former employees say.

In a blistering 2011 memo, the then-director of the Haiti program, Judith St. Fort, wrote that the group was failing in Haiti and that senior managers had made “very disturbing” remarks disparaging Haitian employees. St. Fort, who is Haitian American, wrote that the comments included, “he is the only hard working one among them” and “the ones that we have hired are not strong so we probably should not pay close attention to Haitian CVs.”

The Red Cross won’t disclose details of how it has spent the hundreds of millions of dollars donated for Haiti. But our reporting shows that less money reached those in need than the Red Cross has said.

Lacking the expertise to mount its own projects, the Red Cross ended up giving much of the money to other groups to do the work. Those groups took out a piece of every dollar to cover overhead and management. Even on the projects done by others, the Red Cross had its own significant expenses – in one case, adding up to a third of the project’s budget.

In statements, the Red Cross cited the challenges all groups have faced in post-quake Haiti, including the country’s dysfunctional land title system.

“Like many humanitarian organizations responding in Haiti, the American Red Cross met complications in relation to government coordination delays, disputes over land ownership, delays at Haitian customs, challenges finding qualified staff who were in short supply and high demand, and the cholera outbreak, among other challenges,” the charity said.

The group said it responded quickly to internal concerns, including hiring an expert to train staff on cultural competency after St. Fort’s memo. While the group won’t provide a breakdown of its projects, the Red Cross said it has done more than 100. The projects include repairing 4,000 homes, giving several thousand families temporary shelters, donating $44 million for food after the earthquake, and helping fund the construction of a hospital.

“Millions of Haitians are safer, healthier, more resilient, and better prepared for future disasters thanks to generous donations to the American Red Cross,” McGovern wrote in a recent report marking the fifth anniversary of the earthquake.

In other promotional materials, the Red Cross said it has helped “more than 4.5 million” individual Haitians “get back on their feet.”

It has not provided details to back up the claim. And Jean-Max Bellerive, Haiti’s prime minister at the time of the earthquake, doubts the figure, pointing out the country’s entire population is only about 10 million.

“No, no,” Bellerive said of the Red Cross’ claim, “it’s not possible.”

When the earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, the Red Cross was facing a crisis of its own. McGovern had become chief executive just 18 months earlier, inheriting a deficit and an organization that had faced scandals after 9/11 and Katrina.

Inside the Red Cross, the Haiti disaster was seen as “a spectacular fundraising opportunity,” recalled one former official who helped organize the effort. Michelle Obama, the NFL and a long list of celebrities appealed for donations to the group.

The Red Cross kept soliciting money well after it had enough for the emergency relief that is the group’s stock in trade. Doctors Without Borders, in contrast, stopped fundraising off the earthquake after it decided it had enough money. The donations to the Red Cross helped the group erase its more-than $100 million deficit.

The Red Cross ultimately raised far more than any other charity.

A year after the quake, McGovern announced that the Red Cross would use the donations to make a lasting impact in Haiti.

We asked the Red Cross to show us around its projects in Haiti so we could see the results of its work. It declined. So earlier this year we went to Campeche to see one of the group’s signature projects for ourselves.

Street vendors in the dusty neighborhood immediately pointed us to Jean Jean Flaubert, the head of a community group that the Red Cross set up as a local sounding board.

Sitting with us in their sparse one-room office, Flaubert and his colleagues grew angry talking about the Red Cross. They pointed to the lack of progress in the neighborhood and the healthy salaries paid to expatriate aid workers.

“What the Red Cross told us is that they are coming here to change Campeche. Totally change it,” said Flaubert. “Now I do not understand the change that they are talking about. I think the Red Cross is working for themselves.”

The Red Cross’ initial plan said the focus would be building homes — an internal proposal put the number at 700. Each would have finished floors, toilets, showers, even rainwater collection systems. The houses were supposed to be finished in January 2013.

None of that ever happened. Carline Noailles, who was the project’s manager in Washington, said it was endlessly delayed because the Red Cross “didn’t have the know-how.”

Another former official who worked on the Campeche project said, “Everything takes four times as long because it would be micromanaged from DC, and they had no development experience.”

Shown an English-language press release from the Red Cross website, Flaubert was stunned to learn of the project’s $24 million budget — and that it is due to end next year.

“Not only is [the Red Cross] not doing it,” Flaubert said, “now I’m learning that the Red Cross is leaving next year. I don’t understand that.” (The Red Cross says it did tell community leaders about the end date. It also accused us of “creating ill will in the community which may give rise to a security incident.”)

The project has since been reshaped and downscaled. A road is being built. Some existing homes have received earthquake reinforcement and a few schools are being repaired. Some solar street lights have been installed, though many broke and residents say others are unreliable.

The group’s most recent press release on the project cites achievements such as training school children in disaster response.

The Red Cross said it has to scale back its housing plans because it couldn’t acquire the rights to land. No homes will be built.

Other Red Cross infrastructure projects also fizzled.

In January 2011, McGovern announced a $30 million partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. The agency would build roads and other infrastructure in at least two locations where the Red Cross would build new homes.

But it took more than two and a half years, until August 2013, for the Red Cross just to sign an agreement with USAID on the program, and even that was for only one site. The program was ultimately canceled because of a land dispute.

A Government Accountability Office report attributed the severe delays to problems “in securing land title and because of turnover in Red Cross leadership” in its Haiti program.

Other groups also ran into trouble with land titles and other issues. But they also ultimately built 9,000 homes compared to the Red Cross’ six.

Asked about the Red Cross’ housing projects in Haiti, David Meltzer, the group’s general counsel and chief international officer, said changing conditions forced changes in plans. “If we had said, ‘All we’re going to do is build new homes,’ we’d still be looking for land,” he said.

The USAID project’s collapse left the Red Cross grasping for ways to spend money earmarked for it.

“Any ideas on how to spend the rest of this?? (Besides the wonderful helicopter idea?),” McGovern wrote to Meltzer in a November 2013 email obtained by ProPublica and NPR. “Can we fund Conrad’s hospital? Or more to PiH[Partners in Health]? Any more shelter projects?”

It’s not clear what helicopter idea McGovern was referring to or if it was ever carried out. The Red Cross would say only that her comments were “grounded in the American Red Cross’ strategy and priorities, which focus on health and housing.”

Another signature project, known in Creole as “A More Resilient Great North,” is supposed to rehabilitate roads in poor, rural communities and to help them get clean water and sanitation.

But two years after it started, the $13 million effort has been faltering badly. An internal evaluation from March found residents were upset because nothing had been done to improve water access or infrastructure or to make “contributions of any sort to the well being of households,” the report said.

So much bad feeling built up in one area that the population “rejects the project.”

Instead of making concrete improvements to living conditions, the Red Cross has launched hand-washing education campaigns. The internal evaluation noted that these were “not effective when people had no access to water and no soap.” (The Red Cross declined to comment on the project.)

The group’s failures went beyond just infrastructure.

When a cholera epidemic raged through Haiti nine months after the quake, the biggest part of the Red Cross’ response — a plan to distribute soap and oral rehydration salts — was crippled by “internal issues that go unaddressed,” wrote the director of the Haiti program in her May 2011 memo.

Throughout that year, cholera was a steady killer. By September 2011, when the death toll had surpassed 6,000, the project was still listed as “very behind schedule” according to another internal document.

The Red Cross said in a statement that its cholera response, including a vaccination campaign, has continued for years and helped millions of Haitians.

But while other groups also struggled early responding to cholera, some performed well.

“None of these people had to die. That’s what upsets me,” said Paul Christian Namphy, a Haitian water and sanitation official who helped lead the effort to fight cholera. He says early failures by the Red Cross and other NGOs had a devastating impact. “These numbers should have been zero.”

***

So why did the Red Cross’ efforts fall so short? It wasn’t just that Haiti is a hard place to work.

“They collected nearly half a billion dollars,” said a congressional staffer who helped oversee Haiti reconstruction. “But they had a problem. And the problem was that they had absolutely no expertise.”

Lee Malany was in charge of the Red Cross’ shelter program in Haiti starting in 2010. He remembers a meeting in Washington that fall where officials did not seem to have any idea how to spend millions of dollars set aside for housing. Malany says the officials wanted to know which projects would generate good publicity, not which projects would provide the most homes.

“When I walked out of that meeting I looked at the people that I was working with and said, ‘You know this is very disconcerting, this is depressing,’” he recalled.

The Red Cross said in a statement its Haiti program has never put publicity over delivering aid.

Malany resigned the next year from his job in Haiti. “I said there’s no reason for me to stay here. I got on the plane and left.”

Sometimes it wasn’t a matter of expertise, but whether anybody was filling key jobs. An April 2012 organizational chart obtained by ProPublica and NPR lists 9 of 30 leadership positions in Haiti as vacant, including slots for experts on health and shelter.

The Red Cross said vacancies and turnover were inevitable because of “the security situation, separation from family for international staff, and the demanding nature of the work.”

The constant upheaval took a toll. Internal documents refer to repeated attempts over years to “finalize” and “complete” a strategic plan for the Haiti program, efforts that were delayed by changes in senior management. As late as March 2014, more than four years into a six-year program, an internal update cites a “revised strategy” still awaiting “final sign-off.”

The Red Cross said settling on a plan early would have been a mistake. “It would be hard to create the perfect plan from the beginning in a complicated place like Haiti,” it said. “But we also need to begin, so we create plans that are continually revised.”

Those plans were further undermined by the Red Cross’ reliance on expats. Noailles, the Haitian development professional who worked for the Red Cross on the Campeche project, said expat staffers struggled in meetings with local officials.

“Going to meetings with the community when you don’t speak the language is not productive,” she said. Sometimes, she recalled, expat staffers would skip such meetings altogether.

The Red Cross said it has “made it a priority to hire Haitians” despite lots of competition for local professionals, and that over 90 percent of its staff is Haitian. The charity said it used a local human resources firm to help.

Yet very few Haitians have made it into the group’s top echelons in Haiti, according to five current and former Red Cross staffers as well as staff lists obtained by ProPublica and NPR.

That not only affected the group’s ability to work in Haiti, it was also expensive.

According to an internal Red Cross budgeting document for the project in Campeche, the project manager – a position reserved for an expatriate – was entitled to allowances for housing, food and other expenses, home leave trips, R&R four times a year, and relocation expenses. In all, it added up to $140,000.

Compensation for a senior Haitian engineer — the top local position — was less than one-third of that, $42,000 a year.

Shelim Dorval, a Haitian administrator who worked for the Red Cross coordinating travel and housing for expatriate staffers, recalled thinking it was a waste to spend so much to bring in people with little knowledge of Haiti when locals were available.

“For each one of those expats, they were having high salaries, staying in a fancy house, and getting vacation trips back to their countries,” Dorval said. “A lot of money was spent on those people who were not Haitian, who had nothing to do with Haiti. The money was just going back to the United States.”

***

Soon after the earthquake, McGovern, the Red Cross CEO, said the group would make sure donors knew exactly what happened to their money.

The Red Cross would “lead the effort in transparency,” she pledged. “We are happy to share the way we are spending our dollars.”

That hasn’t happened. The Red Cross’ public reports offer only broad categories about where $488 million in donations has gone. The biggest category is shelter, at about $170 million. The others include health, emergency relief and disaster preparedness.

It has declined repeated requests to disclose the specific projects, to explain how much money went to each or to say what the results of each project were.

There is reason to doubt the Red Cross’ claims that it helped 4.5 million Haitians. An internal evaluation found that in some areas, the Red Cross reported helping more people than even lived in the communities. In other cases, the figures were low, and in others double-counting went uncorrected.

In describing its work, the Red Cross also conflates different types of aid, making it more difficult to assess the charity’s efforts in Haiti.

For example, while the Red Cross says it provided more than 130,000 people with homes, that includes thousands of people who were not actually given homes, but rather were “trained in proper construction techniques.” (That was first reported by the Haiti blog of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.)

The figure includes people who got short-term rental assistance or were housed in several thousand “transitional shelters,” which are temporary structures that can get eaten up by termites or tip over in storms. It also includes modest improvements on 5,000 temporary shelters.

The Red Cross also won’t break down what portion of donations went to overhead.

McGovern told CBS News a few months after the quake, “Minus the 9 cents overhead, 91 cents on the dollar will be going to Haiti. And I give you my word and my commitment, I’m banking my integrity, my own personal sense of integrity on that statement.”

But the reality is that less money went to Haiti than 91 percent. That’s because in addition to the Red Cross’ 9 percent overhead, the other groups that got grants from the Red Cross also have their own overhead.

In one case, the Red Cross sent $6 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross for rental subsidies to help Haitians leave tent camps. The IFRC then took out 26 percent for overhead and what the IFRC described as program-related “administration, finance, human resources” and similar costs.

Beyond all that, the Red Cross also spends another piece of each dollar for what it describes as “program costs incurred by the American Red Cross in managing” the projects done by other groups.

The American Red Cross’ management and other costs consumed an additional 24 percent of the money on one project, according to the group’s statements and internal documents. The actual work, upgrading shelters, was done by the Swiss and Spanish Red Cross societies.

“It’s a cycle of overhead,” said Jonathan Katz, the Associated Press reporter in Haiti at the time of the earthquake who tracked post-disaster spending for his book, The Big Truck That Went By. “It was always going to be the American Red Cross taking a 9 percent cut, re-granting to another group, which would take out their cut.”

Given the results produced by the Red Cross’ projects in Haiti, Bellerive, the former prime minister, said he has a hard time fathoming what’s happened to donors’ money.

“Five hundred million dollars in Haiti is a lot of money,” he said. “I’m not a big mathematician, but I can make some additions. I know more or less the cost of things. Unless you don’t pay for the gasoline the same price I was paying, unless you pay people 20 times what I was paying them, unless the cost of the house you built was five times the cost I was paying, it doesn’t add up for me.”

[fmr]

Photographs:

...

The Red Cross promised to build hundreds of new homes in Campeche but none have been built. Many residents still live in crude shacks.

Jean Jean Flaubert says the Red Cross promised to transform his neighborhood. “Now I do not understand the change that they are talking about,” he said

Transitional shelters like these on the outskirts of Port-Au-Prince, paid for by the Red Cross, typically last three to five years

After the earthquake, Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern unveiled plans to “develop brand-new communities.” None has ever been built.

A resident in a Port-Au-Prince transitional shelter paid for by the Red Cross

[aalt-ctrl-del]

so you want to vote third-party?

Im gonna go ahead and put it out there, and put it into file, for future reference. My predictions based on behavioral studies, herd theory, psychographics, mass Values, and environmental, geographic conditions, have been thus far exceptionally accurate. The science and mathematical estimations behind the pandemic is super basic, not hard at all, which is most frustrating of all.

If you get to vote come Election day - given that you are all still alive by that point with no medical complications - and you choose to vote Republican. Or worse, third party, if you do not vote Democratic.

There is a high probability that you or those of your close relations will contract Corona Virus.

This is not scare tactic or alarmist, this is a loose estimation based on our current political climate and rising trends. I made a post predicting June to be a hard hitting month, that comes from our behavior in May - specifically, the dates 13-17 range. I checked the calendar, those dates are high weekends for a lot of people. It is also Graduations for seniors of high school and college. Classes end for more, finals come to a close.

So, those days were not random. This is a very important time for people. It is also the most lethal. Thus, given the incubation time of the virus, or its capacity for dormancy, we will see results of this May 13-17 spike within 2 weeks, and in June. If, y’know, you disregard stuff that the CDC is cautioning us to do.

Back to voting. By the time elections roll around, and you decide who to vote for, let me reiterate, if you vote anything other than Democratic, you have taken a mediocre percentage I have calculate - lets say 30% possible encounter with the virus. And you do the thing like, vote third party - there is a Risk Factor which bumps your probable encounter with the virus up to 43%. By then, we should have shot past 100,000 deaths. It is estimated that yearly, at least a minimum of 12,000 people will die of the flu, and in the year 2017-2018, source at least 61,000 people died in that year. We have only been exposed to Corona Virus for 3 months, and already have watched a documented 70,000+ die. With quarantine measures in place and state-wide shut downs.

So what is the difference between the Republican and Democratic parties, which factor into my Risk Equation? Simply put, the Republican as of current is inadequate and a joke. They are actively expediting the spread of the Corona Virus. I mean, we have protesters outraged by Quarantine. Science deniers, anti-vaxxers. Sure, there is a high ratio of recovery compared to those who have died, but even the people who have suffered mild symptoms are developing post complications such as organ failure, scarring of the lung tissue, and my favorite, liver failure.

You can’t live without your liver. Its an essential organ. You have only one liver. Its not on the the same turf as the appendix. Your liver blows up, you die a pleasantly painful death source. I really didn’t read this article, I only know that we’re finding these things, like strokes, haunting people in the age bracket 30-40. I mean, you survive Corona Virus like a champ? Awesome. I hope that doesn’t dump a whole aneurysm on you.

Okay, back to voting once more. The Democrat party, is not much more better prepared than the Republican at this point. But, the Democrats and Joe Biden will listen to the scientists and doctors, like Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx. They will look into the process of stimulating the economy, while minimizing the trauma and destruction the inadequate and soft trump group is going through. Our chances of getting through this lay with the Democratic group, especially in the fall out from this pandemic. The economic strain businesses are so frightened by, will shatter with trump doing his usual thing of ignoring problems until the problem is way out of control. Which Corona Virus is right now. No exaggeration, its hit full momentum; you’re only options right now are rigorous sanitation practices.

Everybody protesting quarantine would’ve been the type to launch them self out a window when the Stock Market crashed. That’s the sort of people they are. If you want to get through this, you’re going to have to survive first. We can always pick up the pieces and rebuild from the wreckage, but if there’s no one to rebuild, then the tragedy remains a mystery.

And if you’re one of those Russian a-holes “But the sexual harassment allegations”. Omg, you absolute blunt tool. trump is a walking PSA of pedo-incest-creepy-uncle. “Grab her by the pussy,” - trump. “I can go in there and start kissing them, and no one can do anything” bragging trump, about walking into a dressing room for one of those American models programs - idek. trump is a misogynistic creepy bastard, that objectifies his daughter. You reason that thing is gonna be your salvation in these trying times?

And I do vibe with the #metoo movement. I don’t dismiss or discredit Tara Reade, about these sexual allegations, but I question a lot of what she’s doing and saying. For context, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and Joe Biden has the clout and experience to wipe the floor with trump. And the Democratic party will be the only faction to get us through this crisis with minimal casualties. The infection is beyond controlling at this point, but we will be ruined financially and physically, our economic infrastructure is edging toward a collapse the likes we haven’t seen in 50 years. But this Tara lady, makes allegations at this point in time of this specific year, when it would’ve have been more pertinent to do so at the time Biden was elected Vice-President. EVEN BETTER, DURING THE #METOO movement. 

If those allegations are true and do exist, then she has been paid by someone named trump - or an affiliate to trumps clan - to speak up. Right now. “BECAUSE OF THE EMAILS” I mean, allegations. I’m not saying Democrats are saints, but the parties interests and motives align far better with your chances of survival, and this Tara lady is trying to convince you to tie a noose for you to hang from. I mean, she could have as easily come forward after Biden was elected, or when his election campaign had more steam - that would have been appropriate. But she chose now, because of the pandemic, because people are dying so fast. At an alarming exponential rate. Tara isn’t doing this to be nobEL or help people, she’s been paid, she’s on someone’s salary. You’re gonna die, because you didn’t think this through. Because you think trump, in all his infinite wisdom, and poor business choices, cares about you? He doesn’t. He’s petty, spiteful, he took the landing gear from the plane and he’s trying to sell it back to the highest bidder, which isn’t you.

Right at this time trump is digging graves, and he’s nailing the coffin lid down. Each and every one of us is a statistic in this mess - you are either uncontaminated, infected-asymptomatic, recovered, or dead. And when you recover, there is strong evidence to show that the virus can still infect you once more. trump doesn’t care. He’s tossing out the pandemic team, we’re gonna get a whole new set of people in to lead us through this; unqualified people. Beautiful people, the sort of people trump likes to surround himself with. Yes people. Group think. People dumber than a blender with a massage feature.

so in conclusion, if you think voting third party is a good idea. 43% higher chance of encountering that virus. The infected and carriers is spreading, corporate businesses and franchises are forcing their GMs not to report those that have been infected, and they sure as hell are not closing their doors to decontaminate. No contact tracing, we have no test kits. No idea the actual statistics. And best of all, no idea if you have truly recovered, if you survive an infection with Corona Virus.

Did I mention the 43% will exponentially increase as we come near the election date? Yeah, it has a variable ( .43y ), it will fluctuate. Unfortunately, it does not and cannot go down. It only goes up. And 100% chance of an encounter with Corona Virsu, is not the highest number. Because you can get the virus twice, and it can stack with the flu or pneumonia.

August will be interesting :)

[callunavulgari]

Year-In-Life | 2018

Or that annual New Year’s meme about yours truly.

1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before? Got a big girl job! Got insurance! Made my very own eye doctor appointment! Got an apartment all on my own with my boyfriend! And this all happened since October! Basically I haven’t had time to do more than sleep in like two months!!!!!

But like. I’m making good money now, I can actually do things like go to the freaking doctor when I’m sick and not completely bankrupt myself if I get hit by a truck or something. Oh, and my new job has PTO! How rad is that, I can get paid for taking vacations now? The only downside is my eyes are not taking the staring at a computer screen all day very well and ache ALL the time now. But hey! Things are looking up other than my eyes being stabbed out of my skull?!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Ugh I never remember what resolutions I actually made though! I mean, I know one of them was get a better job, which I did. I started smoking again for like two months and then quit again in November because holy shit I don’t need that in my life. I... briefly lost weight and then gained it all back because I stopped caring.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Couple high school people, I think. One of my best friend’s from middle school had her second kid. Another friend from middle school is expecting a third next year. But nobody particularly close, no. 4. Did anyone close to you die? I don’t think so.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? Ugh, no countries. Nick got to go to Germany for his job training but I had to stay here because y’know, money, and also, money. Didn’t have the big girl job at the time and he went to Germany the week before we were due to go to North Carolina and I’m sorry, but I can’t freaking afford two weeks off of work. Couldn’t? Eh, still probably can’t unless I work crazy overtime to obtain more PTO. 

That said, I had lots of fun on our annual trip down to North Carolina. Once again I got to read a lot of books in the pool, chill on the beach, and play dumb drinking games with people five years younger than me. We also had an added date night, which I think I’m going to require every year.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? Oh hey, I basically got everything that I wanted from last year. More steady job with insurance, apartment, not doing the college thing yet, but I’m going to have to think long and hard about how I want to proceed from here. This job opened up a LOT of opportunities for me, and I may pursue some of those instead of college. I just have to decide if that’s what I want.

Only thing that I didn’t get was, y’know, the ring thing. So here’s to hoping for next year? 

Also, ideally, we’re looking to buy a house sometime in either 2020 or 2021, so here’s to hoping we save up enough to make that happen.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 15th is when I started my new job. November 9th was when we moved out. Not many big events this year other than those. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got new job! Got apartment! Read a metric crapton of books! Bought a nice couch that is all ours!

9. What was your biggest failure? Honestly? I’m not really sure. This year was kind of a good one. I’ve been very patient with Nick’s mom whenever we go on our weekly outing to one of the bars in our hometown and haven’t dropkicked her into the street whenever she gets too drunk. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Since moving out of the old house last month my weird allergy thing has improved wildly. We’re still using the sensitive skin detergent and I’m using very mildly scented soaps, but all in all the itching is so much less. I got really sick and missed Thanksgiving because I got some kind of stomach flu, and I think I had another stomach issue a few months back, but it’s been mostly mild. 11. What was the best thing you bought? I got new glasses at a vastly discounted rate because my vision insurance is apparently really good? We also bought a huge new sectional that is bigger, comfier, and LESS EXPENSIVE than all of the other couches we were looking at. I got Nick a sit/stand desk for Christmas and got upgraded to his old one by proxy. Got new books and a new painting for our living room. We also bought a new TV, because my old one was fucked and since we were moving out we didn’t have Seth’s to watch. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mine. I was so good this year. 13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Eh. Nick’s mom drives me nuts, my mom drives me nuts, the roommates aren’t as bad now because we aren’t there, but it got a little spotty near the end there.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mostly things like bills, car payments, groceries, plane ticket to South Carolina to see my family, Christmas presents. While I got a reasonably good big girl job Nick got a reasonably good computer engineering job which means even if he is just a starting salary it’s still about 30k more than I make. Which just, blows my mind to say? Because I’m not making less than 15k a year now?  15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I’m sorry that you have to hear it again, but new job! New apartment! New books and new things and hopefully a new chapter of our life. I’ve been trying to not get too psyched about things just in case the bottom drops out, but for now I’m letting myself enjoy this.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018? Paradise Valley. The Sailor Song. Daddy. Smallest Light. Lots of things off the Stranger Things soundtrack. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Happier? Yeah, happier. ii. thinner or fatter? Little more, maybe? Again, lost a bunch but gained it back. iii. richer or poorer? Richer. With both of us having good jobs it’s so much easier to save. I dumped a little more than I should have into Christmas presents, but I’m still okay.  18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Write. I’ve been really bad about it, but I’m hoping that this year I’ll find my stride. 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Still pretty chill this year. Maybe gotten my head out of my ass and tried to get a good job earlier, but I can’t regret it too much. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent Christmas Eve listening to Nick’s mom bitch about things and eating food that kind of turned my stomach. Spent Christmas Day at his mom’s in the morning and then his grandparents’ all afternoon. Only managed to squeeze a tiny amount of time for ourselves this year, but we had breakfast together and opened our presents. Hopefully next year we get Christmas Eve to ourselves again. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? So, last year we spent New Year’s cooking curry (him) and pirozki (me) and watching Planet Earth. I’m hoping to do something similar this year, but we might end up at his mom’s place getting trashed since we’re both off the next day. We’ll see. 22. Did you fall in love in 2018? Maybe a little more. 23. Best month for you this year? October? November? August? April-ish? Honestly most of my months this year were pretty okay. Like, I’m so sorry for all of you that had shitty years, but mine was so much better than basically anything from the past goddamn decade.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2018? Didn’t watch too much this year? Watched the second season of Westworld, Voltron, the Sense8 series finale, Killing Eve, Castlevania, The Haunting of Hill House, Bride of the Ancient Magus, Lost In Space... But honestly, most of them were good but not fantastic. I really liked the Sense8 finale and Hill House. Oooh, also, She-Ra. And Little Witch Academia! Those were good ones. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Eh.

26. What was the best book you read? Spinning Silver was so good, guys. The Goblin Emperor, A Tale For the Time Being, the Queen’s Thief series, the Kingkiller Chronicle, and the Nightrunner series were highlights too. It was a real good year for books, okay. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Paradise Valley. Holy shit that song is the best. 28. What did you want and got? I got a lot of stuff I wanted this year. The job, the apartment, books, games. Nick got me a fucking switch for Christmas and this really pretty teardrop necklace made of green glass that’s just fucking gorgeous. And I got the glasses, the stupid tv, the better couch... ugh, we spent so much money this year, but I mean, it’s kind of about time that we had the money to splurge a little?

29. What did you want but didn’t get? A... ring? I mean, we’ve talked about it and we’ve both been moving steadily in this direction, but it didn’t happen this year. I foolishly made a bet with one of his brother’s friends while I was drunk. He thought that he’d propose before December of 2020, I thought he’d propose before the end of 2019, so now even if I’m right I’m wrong and I know he is going to give me shit about it.

Also. I think I might actively want kids now? Like, not in a nebulous eventually kind of way, but I think I might want to start trying? I don’t know. More on that next year. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? The Greatest Showman was really great. Other than that though, I didn’t watch that many. 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 29 went a lot like 28 and 27. Had lunch with Nick at the Lantern, and then lazed around until we went out to Old Bag of Nails with a few of our friends. It was nice. Nick got me knitting supplies because I mentioned a million years ago that I kind of wanted to learn so I could do something while listening to audiobooks.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hah! A better president and a ring is the only thing that I didn’t get from my wishes last year. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? Honestly until I started having to dress for an office job my personal fashion concept was PJs all the time except for when I had to go wait tables for a few hours. Now that I have the office job I’ve been wearing lots of sweaters, scarves, and skirts with tall boots when it’s not too cold for them. My bet is next year I’m going to give up and buy scrubs like everybody else in the nursing department. 34. What kept you sane? Reading was really, really great this year. - STILL leaving this answer 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Eh. Amber Heard was recently very pretty on my tumblr dashboard? 36. What political issue stirred you the most? FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 2015678. —– Ayyyyy, this was my response from last year, and apparently also the year before and the one before! Hello past me’s, don’t worry, it’s still getting worse. 37. Who did you miss? Nick, while he was in Germany and when I was in South Carolina. It was dumb. I wanted to smooch his forehead gently. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I have lots of new coworkers, but Bryan is my favorite. He’s pretty cool and I could see myself being good friends with him if he doesn’t fuck off to a different state. 

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: *Sherlock voice* I don’t have friends. ---- I’m just going to leave this here. 

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year:

Took this one in... early March, but it’s technically the earliest photo I took of myself that wasn’t technically from December of 2017. I really miss the dark hair.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year:

This was taken a couple days ago when I got new glasses. I am 100% not naked, I’m wearing a tanktop.

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Uh. I don’t know if I actually tried any new recipes this year? Most things that I cooked were repeat favorites from last year and Nick hasn’t cooked too terribly much either. The new jobs thing has been nice, but also we have SO MUCH LESS TIME.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? I don’t know. There have been a few of them. I had a night that was kind of shitty and empty, and ended up reading that Cornstalk Fiddle fic that I’ve talked about and it turned into one of my favorite memories. The vacation and moving was pretty nice.

44. What are you excited for next year? Still wanna try for that trip that’s just me and Nick, but I’ve got my little brother’s graduation to go to in May and the North Carolina trip in August, which basically wipes out my PTO for the year, but we’ll see. Maybe we can take a weekend trip somewhere nice.

Oh. Also, I’m freaking excited for KINGDOM HEARTS 3?!

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018: Things can get better? Your life isn’t over if you don’t make it to college? Just. Things get better. We’ll go with that one. 46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: I’m singin’ in the rain Just singin’ in the rain What a glorious feeling I’m happy again

First Fandom of 2018: January seemed to be an ecclectic mixture of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Captive Prince, The Exorcist, and Teen Wolf before I settled into Stranger Things at the end of the month. Favorite Main Character of 2018: Ahhhh. Fuck, I don’t know. Ryan Dalias or Doug Eiffel, probably. Favorite Villain of 2018: Damien, from the Bright Sessions. He’s not... exactly a big bad, but he certainly isn’t good. Also, Billy Hargrove. Favorite M/F Couple of 2018: I actually read a lot of Jaime/Brienne this year because astolat started writing it and it was just really solidly good. Oh, Miryem and the Staryk Lord was also A++ Favorite F/F Couple of 2018: I did not read or write any, but let me tell you, I felt Isabelle Lovelace and Renee Minkowski on a fucking galactic scale. Favorite M/M Couple of 2018: Mark/Damien and Billy/Steve absolutely dominated all of my other fandoms this year. But also, Ryan/Akmazian hurts my entire heart. Fandom That You Never Expected To Get Into: The Bright Sessions? I did not expect to actually have feelings about these characters. Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Read some Harry Potter and Thor fic sporadically throughout the year. And Pacific Rim 2 hit my like a freight train. Fandom That Inspired The Most Crack: Uh. Stranger Things, I guess? Last Fandom of 2018: I mean, technically I’ve been reading more Harringrove because of the holiday exchange, but I’m still pretty hung up on Wolf 359 and the Bright Sessions. Unfortunately, neither of them really have fic? Favorite Fandom of 2018: I liked all of them, but Stranger Things and The Bright Sessions was so much of my year I’m gonna have to go with those two.

[mo-torious-mo-blog]

Twitter.com/motorious_cafe

[CHANGING MY NAME TO: Mo (first name) Torious (last name)] i asked my parents if I could come up to westchester to have dinner with them, or to briefly stay while I looked for an apartment. They said no. It’s funny, Dr Tabar at Belkvue Hospital (Dr Mounir, intake), told me that I should cut off my relationship with my mother. The only reason my father asked me to attend her 80th birthday party, was to keep up appearances. Before the night was over, and after my speech (unmmmzm....I got you a car), he told me in no uncertain terms that I am no longer welcome in his house. I dove get it. His brother Ladipo Fayemi is a caseworker at HRA HASA, who never once intervened for me, and who nobody in that agency thought to refer my case to. Mr. McCoy, used to make fun of the name. No matter, I no longer want to be called that. I told them that since my father still continues to lie about not having received a copy of the doctored IRS Filings which Lucy Ostrofsky (acting in house counsel) had filed, directly ignoring my instructions, before I was forced out of the company and off the corporate bank account (it takes 3 members of management: myself, Richard McGinnis (Kurt Salmon Associates), President of Motorious Retail Stores (m&m/Mars Family: sponsor of Kyle Bush’s Toyota at NASXAR), patent holder, casino slot machine algorithms) and Philip Munger (who once, unbeknownst to me, withdrew $5,000 in cash from his personal Citibank account, and deposited it into my (the corporate) account, triggering FBI Money Laundering Red Flag: I have never even seen $5,000.00 in cash in one place in my entire life. I spent $500 to $10,000/month on my AMEX PLATINUM: and repaid it within 30 days. Beginning in 1992. Until I didn’t and went bankrupt for $60,000. Bottom line: I don’t trust the man, and he and I no longer have a relationship. All he and my mother have done is agree with the psychiatrists who keep diagnosing me with paranoid delusions that I run a company. All this, I believe, because the only company he ever ran, ended up in trouble with the IRS. I’m beginning to be really suspect about his book selling and his AIDS Charity for orphans in Africa. Before he kicked me out of the house, he asked me if I wanted to help him with his Foundation, and I said « no » I want German citizenship. A look at my brief work history shows I never stay in 1 place very long. What’s wrong with having wanted a change and to seek opportunities abroad? Science Advisers, led by Norman Heyman, Jean Robert Le Shufy, and Kevin DeVito (New Capital Horizons, the US arm of New Capital AG in Switzerland: COPE Holdings (XTERA DAX | NASDAQ) Zuggero, CEO | lent ICV, llc (Integrated Concepts Vehicles, llc, Flipboard.com/@ICV_llc, the first $137,000 after I had lent the corporation $60,000. MOTORIOUS MONEY GRID: says $100,000.00 loan am was made by Phil Munger on November 1, 1999. If that had been the case, why were none of the vendors at the show paid, and why did I receive a phone message on December 31, 1999 from Philip Munger: joe@planetvida.com.br, the DAY AFTER I received a message from Wayne Irving of Spin Records that he had secured $25 Million from ING Barings? My only Full Time Employee: John Goodwin, who I met at Pump No 8 at the Mobil Gas Station in Rancho Palos Verdea, took a salary of $80,000.00 + benefits + expense reimbursement, where on July 2, 1999 he secured an LOI with the Make A Wish charity for a proposed October 31, 2000 Charity Rade at Texas Motor Speedway. He had 9 months to secure a deal with Ford to provide NASCAR vehicles for the event, which was supposed to commemorate 100 Years of Motorsports in America, and also commemorate both Ford and Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary. Moose returned saying that the sponsors (especially the protected sponsor, Coke, will not let the drivers out of their contests to drive the event) Autoweek Magazine, the same issue it quoted several drivers as wanting to participate, reported that My Apple Laptop « had ears ». Motor Trend Magazine wrote an article entitled « The Automotive Analyst », a « fictitious story about a Wall Street analyst having problems with his wife, while talking to his shrink. The concluding sentence: « Build The Car » My only contribution to Ford would have been when I called the $3 million monstrosity (Focus) built by John Colletti and Motor Trend: Ian Cartabiano has penned a sick Mis-Engined Ford Focus Rally Car, which was to have shared a platform with the Renault R5 (Nissan: where Doi had previously worked after NCIS). That, and the referral from Mark Stehrenberger to Scott Sharpe Racing, to [Ford Tuner: I ferget] , who wrote a proposal for tuning the 4.0 liter Jaguar V8 for the Motorious Show Stand, as a potential BMW M5 competitor. Of the $137,000.00 loan, $50,000 went to Mark Stehrenberger Design, who was to generate 3 proposals for the Deusenberg PHAETON: Mercedes Benz Ocean 4 door convertible concept...to. E build at the DRESDEN Factory in Germany), the other $50,000 went to Robert Marianich in Huntington Beach, who was to have converted his studio, and built a « clay resurfaced » proposal of the RIVOLUZIONW: 1999 LA Auto Show, next to Shelby Series One (I met Carroll at Jay Leno’s, where he asked me to contact his assistant, Pearlita Shelby, about helping him with production of the OLDSMOBILE AURORA Engined SERIES ONE: autopsia.wordpress.com, slated to return to INDYCAR, to replace the Honda unit, now that they created Touring Car. I wanted to get the rights to MG ROVER (BBC: BMW’s English Patient), known as Rover Sterling 825 in America (Acura Legend): ARCONA | After the misérable failure of Phoenix Holdings, which paid Queen Elizabeth the nominal sum of £10, and then before becoming the four most overpaid executives in the UK Auto Industry. I even went so far as to ask Lakshmi Mittal (Arcelor Mittal and Harris’s) if he would help me to purchase Land Rover from TATA. CAR AND DRIVER MAGAZINE (Hearst Publications: Vladimir Putin) April Fool’s | Toyota buys Oldsmobile Trademark for $5,000. FIAT acquire the right to the Oldsmobile Aurora Engine through my partnership with Carroll Shelby, Gets the Oldsmobile Dealerships (10 year warrante on the engine), Change the nage to Alfa Romeo, and modify the engine for use in US Alfa’s, like the GT-V8, Spider Véloce (Duetto V8: BMWfilms.com Béat the Devil). Unfortunately, John Goodwin went bankrupt, my ex-wife had a hidden camera in our bedroom vent (Waiting to Exhale, Bernadine’s Rage: 6624 Oceancrest Drive, RPV, CA, 90275). And all of our personal and my corporate accounts were closed on August 14, 2001, due to malfeasance on her part: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY [The Private Bank: Union Bank of California (Mitsubishi Sumitomo: KIRETSU): Peggy Fahnestock, Gloria Marquez: who refinanced my BMW Financial Loan from JP Morgan Chase, because it was higher interest rate than a similarly situated white nan, all other things being equal. The VENDETTA (redesigned Rivoluzione: 200 LA Auto Show, was in an accident THE FIRST DAY I DROVE IT. I didn’t even make it to the highway. There was at least $100,000? In customization (hand hammered and rolled Aluminum body parts riveted and bonded to the steel: Robin Officer, Captain Metal, Magic Mountain, CA (A Kiwi). who I believe, was interviewed on the Jay Leno show dresses in drag. By keeping all the receipts to every modification, the insurance company: GEICO, had to first restore the vehicle to its original condition, THEN, cover all the replacement customization which they did, before canceling my policy the sane day the lease on my 328i was repossed, with $5,000.00 worth of renderings and sketches by Ian Cartabiano, which actually appeared in Bimmer Magazine in 1998. My mother refuses to give me my birth certificate. Whats wrong with this picture? mo torious On Oct 14, 30 Heisei, at 2:25 AM, mo torious wrote: David Ebersman, Will you be the part time CFO on my private placement? except for the fact that Angel List is formerly Google, and I found it impossible to do due diligence on who people claimed to be. since I came from Wall Street, and have helped raise over $500 Million for companies during my career, even though it is many years later, I still know many of the same people. The first person who made a referral for me, was Paul Howard of HQH: Hambrecht & Quist Healthcare, in NYC, when he introduced me to his MIT Sloan School Claasmate, Douglas A Doi (founder of Doi Golf). I see his name on many research publication footnotes, such as the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE ARTICLE: The Beginning is the End of AIDS. The second referral came from Barney Hallibgby, who introduced me to Doug Casey at Gates Capital at 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY, who floats Government Bonds and Municipal Bonds for manufacturing, such as at the March Global Port, which was a former military base turned into a commercial port. As part of the 3Q/2001 earnings report, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal, William Clay Ford, III made two announcements: 1. We are no longer pursuing our aftermarket strategy. (usurped and mismanaged by Jacques Naaser) 2 We can no longer afford to spend 11.1% of sales, on Marketing/Advertising. Bad news for Ogilvy/Mather. Possible 11.1% increase in margins. William Clay Ford: Uber is losing hundreds of millions to billions every year. If All the risks are borne by the driver, why can’t they turn a profit? The following article on the same page of the WSJ, was that The Blackstone Group « was looking for its next big deal ». Instinct tells me to defer from inviting them, or Goldman Sachs or any of its clients (like Facebook and Twitter) to participate in this private placement. http://fortune.com/2012/02/01/meet-the-man-behind-the-facebook-ipo/ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5gQoZEZn04 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8PM_EybRdo https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/facebook-not-feeling-friendly-with-nasdaq/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/09/04/facebook-sets-another-new-low-nyt-rips-cfo-ebersman/ mo torious On Oct 13, 30 Heisei, at 10:56 PM, mo torious wrote: M_DriversLicense (@onyx_project) 2/6/28 H, 12:51 PM i-am-motorious.tumblr.com/post/129742049… ⁦‪@AngelList‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBSf1‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBS‬⁩ frontinalispartners.com ⁦‪@Ford‬⁩ @LapoElkann_LE ⁦‪@Zurich‬⁩ ⁦‪@CreditSuisse‬⁩ pic.twitter.com/2pZqP9LAin

[krysteefrostfizzle]

Krystee Frostfizzle

► Name ➔    Krystee Frostizzle! Remember it. Respect it. Don’t use it too much, it’s copyrighted. 

► Are you single ➔ Why yes! I am, in fact, single. However, don’t take that as an excuse to run up here with some lame excuse for flattery and flirtery. I only let myself be seen associating with men of distinction, you dig?

► Are you happy ➔   Totes! Just got my nails done, just signed an exclusive contract with a slew of new elementals, and my bed and breakfast in Silvermoon has bribed off the health inspector. I’d say more, but that’s classified Horde business. 

► Are you angry? ➔   Nah, it’s just the RBF.

► Are your parents still married ➔   Pa’s doing alright. He’s probably still harassing those skirts down in the Feralas hot springs. Ma died when I was a little squirt. Mistook her homemade perfume with her homemade acid. 

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ Kezan. Moment of silence, please.

► Hair Color ➔ Blonde. I’m a natural. Oh...this? Oh I’m uhh...experimenting with dying my roots. Ever heard of Ombré?

► Eye Color ➔ Purple. That’s natural too. Whaddya mean am I wearing contacts? This is natural! I swear!

► Birthday ➔ August 5th. It’s coming up, too! I’ll send you my wishlist after we’re done. Say, what’s your salary like?

► Mood ➔ Jazzed and sexy~

► Gender ➔ Umm...can you not tell, honey? I’m 110% all goblin woman.

► Summer or winter ➔ Summer duh. Beaches, cocktails, boys...It’s the best.

► Morning or afternoon ➔ Afternoon. I’m not a morning person. Not until I have my coffee. I’d tell you where I buy it, but I’d be harassed for weeks for a promotion deal. It’s so annoying. 

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love? ➔ Nah I’m living my best single life. For now, anyway. It’s so hard to date up when you’re already so high on the ladder.

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ Totes! When I see that bulge in a guy’s back pocket, it’s like my heart skips a beat...

► Who ended your last relationship? ➔ The stock market...And a bazooka.

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart? ➔ I don’t mean to...Well okay sometimes I mean to. But yeah, I have. Ain’t my fault they’re so fragile. Men, am I right?

► Are you afraid of commitments? ➔ Only ones that aren’t in writing.

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Of course! My friend Gogo visited Orgrimmar and I couldn’t not give one of my best girlfriends a hug!

► Have you ever had a secret admirer? ➔ I mean, yeah. Have you looked at me? 

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ Can you even do that? I don’t think you can. Only other people can do that. My bank account has broken my heart once...Next question, please. 

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ Ooh I love these questions. Okay, I’m ready. Love. 

► Cats or Dogs ➔ Cats.

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ Many regular friends. And some enemies. 

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ Wild night out at the Broken Tusk!

► Day or night ➔ Nightlife, man. That’s where it’s at.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ?➔ Yeah.

► Fallen down/up the stairs? ➔ ...Yeah...

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ Yup.

► Wanted to disappear ➔ Also yes.

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes? ➔ Smile. Every time. 

► Shorter or Taller? ➔ Tall. I like tall men...within reason, of course. Don’t like getting crushed. Or i-...well yeah, taller.

► Intelligence or Attraction? ➔  If you ain’t smart you can’t make the moolah. I prefer both, but men don’t need to be pretty. They really just need to be rich.

► Hook-up or Relationship? ➔ Both have their benefits. You can get paid dividends either way depending on how you maneuver it. If it’s a hook-up, however, the guy needs to have a regular girlfriend. Then you can count on those side chick presents. 

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along? ➔ Yeah me and Pa get along well enough. I’m a daddy’s girl at heart, and nothing validates me more then when he calls me a gold-digging hussy. I know he’s real proud of me.

► Would you say you have a “messed up life”? ➔ Well there was the volcano, the dragon, the zombie island with murderous pygmies, and then all the crazy shit that happened after that. Deepholm, Vashj’ir, Pandaria, Draenor, and the Burning Legion....Yeah, I’d say it can get that way sometimes. 

► Have you ever ran away from home? ➔ Yeah man...I hate it when your house blows up. Six times that happened. What? That’s pretty average. 

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ?➔ That was after the sixth time...But I bought Pa his cabana in Feralas so he knows who’s got the cash and the power now. 

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends? ➔ I mean...don’t we all have that one friend?

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends? ➔ Nah not really. But that’s not so much of a big deal. People have to look out for their own interests, ya know? My kind aren’t the type to count on friendly charity. 

► Who is your best friend? ➔ Hmm...ya know, I actually don’t know. 

► Who knows everything about you? ➔ Me. Why? Does there have to be somebdoy else? A girl’s gotta have her secrets. 

Hijacking this from @safrona-shadowsun

Tagging: Everyone. Don’t let me stop you.

[montresssor]

an introduction

I write this unplanned, raw, and spontaneous; an introduction of sorts that should have been written years ago when I started this blog in the hopes that it can turn into something that would train me and nurture me as a writer.

(Better late than never?)

The basics about me are on every piece of social media I own. I don’t really have any secrets or anything particularly incriminating that have ever led me to consider having one of those closed or private Instagram or Tumblr accounts. I got nothin’ to hide: I’m 22 years old, freshly graduated from a British university up north (University of Leeds, like I said - it’s no secret), have been going through an identity crisis for the past four years (#TCKproblems), and am currently fighting a losing war.

All dramatics aside, what I mean to say is just this: I’m job hunting.

But as an international (int’l) graduate in the U.K. in an era of Brexit and Sorry, we only sponsor graduates who have the right to work in the U.K., it really does feel like a losing war.

Here’s the breakdown to keep it nice and simple. In order to work (read: stay) in the U.K. as an int’l, you need the following:

a salary that meets a threshold of over £20,800+ (depending on your field)

a job offer from a company with a license to sponsor you for a work visa

In other words, we can’t just choose any job at a convenience store or restaurant (see #1) and even if the salary is big enough, if the company doesn’t have a license, we wouldn’t even be able to get the visa to stay (see #2).

It’s actually way more complicated than that but those are the basics. And today, a graduate would be lucky if they got a role that paid over 18k, much less 20k.

So what’s the other option, you say? Well. There are multiple, but none of them are easy (I mean, we always knew this wasn’t going to be easy but that’s a blogpost for some other time when I talk about the values, consequences, and ups and downs of going to university abroad).

I’m originally from the Philippines, I have a Philippine passport, I’m a Philippine citizen. Couldn’t you go back to the Philippines then? I could! But do I want to? Smaller salaries, economic and political environment, and the national infrastructure (traffic? no gracias) aside, there is a very simple answer to that question: no. I don’t want to. As much as I love my countrymen and women, my culture, my flag, the food, my family, and my people, I’ve been physically detached from the Philippines for so long now and if it were my choice (hint: it’s not), I wouldn’t want to live there. Who do I know there? Not that many people. What do I have waiting for me there? Well … nothing! I’d have to start anew, build a new support system, make new connections, and figure my way around what will pretty much be a foreign country to me. Could I do it? Damn straight I could, but my point is: I don’t want to.

But something’s going to have to give, whether that’s the Home Office here in the U.K., or my stubbornness to return to a country that’s as strange to me as the next foreign state. And I have the feeling that the Home Office won’t be the one giving in, especially since I’m the one on a time limit. Most int’l students who graduated along with me this summer were given the same visa expiration date, and that’s November 1. That’s right kiddos, it’s the tail end of August and I have until the first of November to secure a £20,800+ job in the U.K., in a job market that’s (understandably) increasingly hesitant to hire int’l’s, much less give us a chance.

And I’ll be the first to admit my faults, the main one being that I didn’t start getting serious early enough. I started applying in December 2017 but only got serious this past March. The only few int’l grads I know who have managed to secure jobs here (I can count them on one hand) started back in September 2017, at the beginning of the school year, maybe earlier.

But that’s in the past. This is what’s happening now and I haven’t even gotten into the mess that’s my whole living situation, hah. That’s an entire series of blogposts that I’m not ready to get into right now when things haven’t even settled down yet.

Yet.

Something’s going to give, something’s going to change and perhaps that’s the scariest part of all of this. I’ve built a home and shelter and fort here in Leeds; I’ve made comrades, friends, mentors, brothers and sisters; I’ve only just gotten comfortable and just started to really appreciate being here, and in the blink of an eye, four years pass and everything starts to change.

And that’s a good thing. 

Well. You have to believe it’s a good thing, but I think it is. 

I went on a hike with a friend today and we almost didn’t go because we’re both generally lazy and amazing at sleeping in. Halfway through the hike and before a steeper portion, we were talking about the difficult parts of hiking – from dragging yourself out of bed, climbing up hundreds of stairs, foraging through rocks and cliffs and all kinds of foliage, dealing with the spitting English rain atop the Yorkshire moors – but then afterwards, when you get to the top and stand at the edge of a cliff with nothing in the way but the wind in your face … there’s nothing better.

[mcjoelcain]

Automate Your Finances Using Technology and Psychology

Learning how to automate your finances has the potential to be a money game-changer.

Why? Because on a daily basis, we face too many choices. Using automation to reduce choices sets you up for success with money, without even having to think about it on a daily basis.

Why is automating your finances important?

Think about the 50+ money decisions you have to make today: Should you save more? What should you cut down on? What about investing – real estate or stocks or index funds? Pay off debt? Did you send in that Comcast bill on time? Is it time to rebalance your portfolio?

Faced with an overwhelming number of choices, most people respond in the same way: They do nothing. As Barry Schwartz wrote in The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less,

“…as the number of mutual funds in a 401(k) plan offered to employees goes up, the likelihood that they will choose a fund — any fund — goes down. For every 10 funds added to the array of options, the rate of participation drops 2 percent. And for those who do invest, added fund options increase the chances that employees will invest in ultraconservative money-market funds.”

Why do so many people believe that personal finance is only about willpower? The idea goes like this: “If I just try harder, I’ll start saving more, pay off my debt, stop spending all that money, keep a budget, learn about investing, start investing, rebalance ever year…” Unlikely. In fact, go ask your friends if they’re taking full advantage of their employer’s 401(k) match. The vast majority of people are not – even though it’s literally free money. Their answer? “Yeah…I really should do that…”

It’s not about willpower. More than anything else, the psychology of automation is critical to successfully getting control of your finances.

In one study, researchers found that making 401(k) accounts opt-out instead of opt-in — in other words, making employees automatically participate, although they could stop at any time – raised contribution rates from less than 40% to nearly 100%.

How to automate your finances

Using “The Next $100” Principle, which I’ll show you below, your automated money flow will automatically route money where it needs to go – investments, paying bills, savings, and guilt-free spending.

And you can focus on the things that matter to you, instead of constantly worrying about your personal finances.

Bonus: This week, I’m launching Automate Your Money, a brand new program that walks you through, step-by-step, how to automate your personal finances. Everything you need to know and do is included.

This is the exact system I spent years testing and perfecting and which I’ve taught to hundreds of thousands of people.

Time-sensitive: I’m only letting new students in for three days – sales start on August 18th 2021 and end at 11:59 PST on August 20th 2021. Join today!

Case study: Michelle’s Automation System

To see how this will work, let’s use Michelle as an example:

Michelle gets paid once a month. Her employer deducts 5 percent of her pay automatically and puts it in her 401(k). The rest of Michelle’s paycheck goes to her checking account by direct deposit.

About a day later, her Automatic Money Flow begins transferring money out of her checking account. Her Roth IRA retirement account will pull 5 percent of her salary for itself. Her savings account will pull 5 percent, automatically breaking that money into chunks: 2 percent for a wedding sub-account, 2 percent to a house down-payment sub-account, and 1% for an upcoming vacation. (That takes care of her monthly savings goals.)

Her system also automatically pays her fixed costs like Netflix, cable, and insurance. She’s set it up so that most of her subscriptions and bills are paid by her credit card. Some of her bills can’t be put on credit cards—for example, utilities and loans—so they’re automatically paid out of her checking account. Finally, she’s automatically e-mailed a copy of her credit card bill for a monthly five-minute review. After she’s reviewed it, the bill is also paid from her checking account.

The money that remains in her account is used for guilt-free spending money.

To make sure she doesn’t overspend, she’s focused on two big wins: eating out and spending money on clothes.

She sets alerts in her Mint account if she goes over her spending goals, she keeps a reserve of $500 in her checking account just in case. (The couple of times she went over her spending, she paid herself back using her “unexpected expenses” money from her sub-savings account.) To track spending more easily, she uses her credit card as much as possible to pay for all of her fun stuff. If she uses cash for cabs or coffee, she keeps the receipts and tries to enter them into Mint as often as possible.

In the middle of the month, Michelle’s calendar reminds her to check her Mint account to make sure she’s within her limits for her spending money. If she’s doing fine, she gets on with her life. If she’s over her limit, she decides what she needs to cut back on to stay on track for the month. Luckily, she has fifteen days to get it right, and by politely passing on an invitation to dine out she gets back on track.

By the end of the month, she’s spent less than two hours monitoring her finances, yet she’s invested 10 percent, saved 5 percent (in sub-buckets for her wedding and down payment), paid all of her bills on time, paid off her credit card in full, and spent exactly what she wanted to spend. She had to say “no” only once, and it was no big deal. In fact, none of it was.

Bonus: This week, I’m launching Automate Your Money, a brand new program that walks you through, step-by-step, how to automate your personal finances. Everything you need to know and do is included.

This is the exact system I spent years testing and perfecting and which I’ve taught to hundreds of thousands of people.

Time-sensitive: I’m only letting new students in for three days – sales start on August 18th 2021 and end at 11:59 PST on August 20th 2021. Join today!

“The Next $100” Principle Applied: Automating your Finances

Too many people try to save money on 50 things and end up saving 5% on everything — and causing themselves a huge amount of stress that makes them give up entirely. Instead, I prefer focusing on my top two discretionary expenses (for me, eating out and going out), and cutting 25%-33% off over a period of six months. This generates hundreds of dollars of extra cash flow that I re-route to investing and travel.

To show you how automating your accounts works, I’ve prepared a 12-minute video that shows you how to build a personal-finance infrastructure that automates your money so you can spend less than 1 hour per week monitoring your money. Everything will be done automatically – investment, savings, bills paid. Everything.

Ramit’s 12-Minute Guide to Automating Your Finances

1. Log into all of your accounts

First, you’ll need to log in to each account and link your accounts together so you can set up automatic transfers from one account to another. When you log in to any of your accounts, you’ll usually find an option called something like “Link Accounts,” “Transfer,” or “Set Up Payments.”

These are the links you need to make:

Examples: Your 401(k) should be connected to your checking account via direct deposit (talk to your HR rep about setting this up — it takes 10 minutes to fill out a form). Then log into your Roth IRA, savings account, and credit card, where you can link your checking account to them. Finally, there are some bills that can’t be paid through your checking account, like your rent. For those, use your checking account’s free bill-pay feature so they automatically issue your landlord a check on the precise date it’s due. Now, you never have to manually write a check again.

2. Set up automatic transfers

Now that all your accounts are linked, it’s time to go back into your accounts and automate all transfers and payments. This is really simple: It’s just a matter of working with each individual account’s website to make sure your payment or transfer is set up for the amount you want and on the date you want.

Most people neglect one thing when automating: dates. If you set automatic transfers at weird times, it will inevitably necessitate more work, which will make you resent and eventually ignore your personal-finance infrastructure. For example, if your credit card is due on the 1st of the month, but you don’t get paid until the 15th, how does that work? If you don’t synchronize all your bills, you’ll have to pay things at different times and that will require you to reconcile accounts. Which you won’t do.

The easiest way to avoid this is to get all your bills on the same schedule.

3. Get all of your bills on the same schedule

To accomplish this, get all your bills together, call the companies, and ask them to switch your billing dates. Most of these will take five minutes each to do. There may be a couple of months of odd billing as your accounts adjust, but it will smooth itself out after that. If you’re paid on the 1st of the month, I suggest switching all your bills to arrive on or around that time, too.

Call and say this: “Hi, I’m currently being billed on the 17th of each month, and I’d like to change that to the 1st of the month. Do I need to do anything besides ask right here on the phone?” Of course, depending on your situation, you can request any billing date that will be easy for you.

Now that you’ve got everything coming at the beginning of the month, it’s time to actually go in and set up your transfers. Here’s how to arrange your Automatic Money Flow, assuming you get paid on the 1st of the month.

2nd of the month

Part of your paycheck is automatically sent to your 401(k). The remainder (your “take-home pay”) is direct-deposited into your checking account. Even though you’re paid on the 1st, the money may not show up in your account until the 2nd, so be sure to account for that.

Remember, you’re treating your checking account like your e-mail inbox— first, everything goes there, then it’s filtered away to the appropriate place. Note: The first time you set this up, leave a buffer amount of money—I recommend $500—in your checking account just in case a transfer doesn’t go right. And don’t worry: If something does go wrong, use the negotiation tips above to get any overdraft fees waived.

5th of the month

Automatic transfer to your savings account. Log in to your savings account and set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account on the 5th of every month. Waiting until the 5th of the month gives you some leeway. If, for some reason, your paycheck doesn’t show up on the 1st of the month, you’ll have four days to correct things or cancel that month’s automatic transfer.

Don’t just set up the transfer. Remember to set the amount, too. Use the percentage of your monthly income that you established for savings in your Conscious Spending Plan (from Chapter 4 of my book; typically 5 to 10 percent). But if you can’t afford that much right now, don’t worry—just set up an automatic transfer for $5 to prove to yourself that it works. The amount is important: $5 won’t be missed, but once you see how it’s all working together, it’s much easier to add to that amount.

Automatic transfer to your Roth IRA. To set this up, log in to your investment account and create an automatic transfer from your checking account to your investment account. Refer to your Conscious Spending Plan to calculate the amount of the transfer. It should be approximately 10 percent of your take-home pay, minus the amount you send to your 401(k).

7th of the month

Auto-pay for any monthly bills you have. Log in to any regular payments you have, like cable, utilities, car payments, or student loans, and set up automatic payments to occur on the 7th of each month. I prefer to pay my bills using my credit card, because I earn points, I get automatic consumer protection and little-known benefits, and I can easily track my spending on online sites like Mint, Quicken, or Wesabe.

But if your merchant doesn’t accept credit cards, they should let you pay the bill directly from your checking account, so set up an automatic payment from there if needed.

Automatic transfer to pay off your credit card. Log in to your credit card account and instruct it to draw money from your checking account and pay the credit card bill on the 7th of every month— in full. (Because your bill arrived on the 1st of the month, you’ll never incur late fees using this system.) If you have credit card debt and you can’t pay the bill in full, don’t worry. You can still set up an automatic payment; just make it for the monthly minimum or any other amount of your choice. (Incidentally, paying your bills on time is the one of the top factors in determining and improving your credit score.)

By the way, while you’re logged in to your credit card account, also set up an e-mail notification (this is typically under “Notifications” or “Bills”) to send you a monthly link to your bill, so you can review it before the money is automatically transferred out of your checking account. This is helpful in case your bill unexpectedly exceeds the amount available in your checking account—that way you can adjust the amount you pay that month.

Tweaking Your System: Freelancers, irregular income, and unexpected expenses

That’s the basic Automatic Money Flow schedule, but you may not be paid on a straight once-a-month schedule. That’s not a problem. You can just adjust the above system to match your payment schedule

How to automate your finances if you’re paid twice a month

I suggest replicating the above system on the 1st and the 15th—with half the money each time. This is easy enough, but the one thing to watch with this is paying your bills. If the second payment (on the 15th) will miss the due dates for any of your bills, be sure that you set it so that those bills are paid in full during the payment on the 1st. Another way to work your system is to do half the payments with one paycheck (retirement, fixed costs) and half the payments with the second paycheck (savings, guilt-free spending), but that can get clunky.

How to automate your finances if you have irregular income

Irregular incomes, like those of freelancers, are difficult to plan for. Some months you might earn close to nothing, others you’re flush with cash. This situation calls for some changes to your spending and savings. First—and this is different from the Conscious Spending Plan—you’ll need to figure out how much you need to survive on each month. This is the bare minimum: rent, utilities, food, loan payments—just the basics. Those are your bare-bones monthly necessities.

Now, back to the Conscious Spending Plan. Add a savings goal of three months of bare-bones income before you do any investing. For example, if you need at least $1,500/month to live on, you’ll need to have $4,500 in a savings buffer, which you can use to smooth out months where you don’t generate much income. The buffer should exist as a sub-account in your savings account. To fund it, use money from two places:

1. Forget about investing while you’re setting up the buffer, and instead take any money you would have invested and send it to your savings account. 2. In good months, any extra dollar you make should go into your buffer savings.

Here’s an example of how I set up my sub-savings accounts:

Once you’ve saved up three months of money as a cushion, congratulations! Now go back to a normal Conscious Spending Plan where you send money to investing accounts. Because you’re self-employed, you probably don’t have access to a traditional 401(k), but you should look into a Solo 401(k) and SEP-IRA, which are great alternatives.

Just keep in mind that it’s probably wise to sock away a little more into your savings account in good months to make up for the less profitable ones.

If you have an irregular income, I highly recommend using YouNeedABudget as a planning tool. It uses a forward-looking system that’s very helpful if you don’t know what you’re going to make next month.

Your money is now automatic

Congratulations! Your money management is now on autopilot. Not only are your bills paid automatically and on time, but you’re actually saving and investing money each month. The beauty of this system is that it works without your involvement and it’s flexible enough to add or remove accounts any time. You’re accumulating money by default.

Most importantly, whenever you’re eating out, or you decide to buy a new pair of shoes or fly out to visit your friends or get the “Pro” version of that web app you’ve been eyeing, you won’t feel guilty because you’ll KNOW that your finances are being handled — automatically.

Excerpt from Ramit Sethi’s new book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Used with permission.

###

Bonus: This week, I’m launching Automate Your Money, a brand new program that walks you through, step-by-step, how to automate your personal finances. Everything you need to know and do is included.

This is the exact system I spent years testing and perfecting and which I’ve taught to hundreds of thousands of people.

Time-sensitive: I’m only letting new students in for three days – sales start on August 18th 2021 and end at 11:59 PST on August 20th 2021. Join today!

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Take my earning potential quiz and get a custom report based on your unique strengths, and discover how to start making extra money — in as little as an hour.

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Automate Your Finances Using Technology and Psychology is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/the-psychology-of-automation-building-a-bulletproof-personal-finance-system/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[mo-torious-mo-blog]

[CHANGING MY NAME TO: Mo (first name) Torious (last name)]

i asked my parents if I could come up to westchester to have dinner with them, or to briefly stay while I looked for an apartment.

They said no. It’s funny, Dr Tabar at Belkvue Hospital (Dr Mounir, intake), told me that I should cut off my relationship with my mother. The only reason my father asked me to attend her 80th birthday party, was to keep up appearances. Before the night was over, and after my speech (unmmmzm....I got you a car), he told me in no uncertain terms that I am no longer welcome in his house. I dove get it. His brother Ladipo Fayemi is a caseworker at HRA HASA, who never once intervened for me, and who nobody in that agency thought to refer my case to. Mr. McCoy, used to make fun of the name. No matter, I no longer want to be called that.

I told them that since my father still continues to lie about not having received a copy of the doctored IRS Filings which Lucy Ostrofsky (acting in house counsel) had filed, directly ignoring my instructions, before I was forced out of the company and off the corporate bank account (it takes 3 members of management: myself, Richard McGinnis (Kurt Salmon Associates), President of Motorious Retail Stores (m&m/Mars Family: sponsor of Kyle Bush’s Toyota at NASXAR), patent holder, casino slot machine algorithms) and Philip Munger (who once, unbeknownst to me, withdrew $5,000 in cash from his personal Citibank account, and deposited it into my (the corporate) account, triggering FBI Money Laundering Red Flag: I have never even seen $5,000.00 in cash in one place in my entire life. I spent $500 to $10,000/month on my AMEX PLATINUM: and repaid it within 30 days. Beginning in 1992. Until I didn’t and went bankrupt for $60,000.

Bottom line: I don’t trust the man, and he and I no longer have a relationship. All he and my mother have done is agree with the psychiatrists who keep diagnosing me with paranoid delusions that I run a company. All this, I believe, because the only company he ever ran, ended up in trouble with the IRS. I’m beginning to be really suspect about his book selling and his AIDS Charity for orphans in Africa. Before he kicked me out of the house, he asked me if I wanted to help him with his Foundation, and I said « no » I want German citizenship.

A look at my brief work history shows I never stay in 1 place very long. What’s wrong with having wanted a change and to seek opportunities abroad?

Science Advisers, led by Norman Heyman, Jean Robert Le Shufy, and Kevin DeVito (New Capital Horizons, the US arm of New Capital AG in Switzerland: COPE Holdings (XTERA DAX | NASDAQ) Zuggero, CEO | lent ICV, llc (Integrated Concepts Vehicles, llc, Flipboard.com/@ICV_llc, the first $137,000 after I had lent the corporation $60,000.

MOTORIOUS MONEY GRID: says $100,000.00 loan am was made by Phil Munger on November 1, 1999. If that had been the case, why were none of the vendors at the show paid, and why did I receive a phone message on December 31, 1999 from Philip Munger: joe@planetvida.com.br, the DAY AFTER I received a message from Wayne Irving of Spin Records that he had secured $25 Million from ING Barings?

My only Full Time Employee: John Goodwin, who I met at Pump No 8 at the Mobil Gas Station in Rancho Palos Verdea, took a salary of $80,000.00 + benefits + expense reimbursement, where on July 2, 1999 he secured an LOI with the Make A Wish charity for a proposed October 31, 2000 Charity Rade at Texas Motor Speedway.

He had 9 months to secure a deal with Ford to provide NASCAR vehicles for the event, which was supposed to commemorate 100 Years of Motorsports in America, and also commemorate both Ford and Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary. Moose returned saying that the sponsors (especially the protected sponsor, Coke, will not let the drivers out of their contests to drive the event)

Autoweek Magazine, the same issue it quoted several drivers as wanting to participate, reported that My Apple Laptop « had ears ». Motor Trend Magazine wrote an article entitled « The Automotive Analyst », a « fictitious story about a Wall Street analyst having problems with his wife, while talking to his shrink. The concluding sentence: « Build The Car »

My only contribution to Ford would have been when I called the $3 million monstrosity (Focus) built by John Colletti and Motor Trend: Ian Cartabiano has penned a sick Mis-Engined Ford Focus Rally Car, which was to have shared a platform with the Renault R5 (Nissan: where Doi had previously worked after NCIS).

That, and the referral from Mark Stehrenberger to Scott Sharpe Racing, to [Ford Tuner: I ferget] , who wrote a proposal for tuning the 4.0 liter Jaguar V8 for the Motorious Show Stand, as a potential BMW M5 competitor.

Of the $137,000.00 loan, $50,000 went to Mark Stehrenberger Design, who was to generate 3 proposals for the Deusenberg PHAETON: Mercedes Benz Ocean 4 door convertible concept...to. E build at the DRESDEN Factory in Germany), the other $50,000 went to Robert Marianich in Huntington Beach, who was to have converted his studio, and built a « clay resurfaced » proposal of the RIVOLUZIONW: 1999 LA Auto Show, next to Shelby Series One (I met Carroll at Jay Leno’s, where he asked me to contact his assistant, Pearlita Shelby, about helping him with production of the OLDSMOBILE AURORA Engined SERIES ONE: autopsia.wordpress.com, slated to return to INDYCAR, to replace the Honda unit, now that they created Touring Car.  

I wanted to get the rights to MG ROVER (BBC: BMW’s English Patient), known as Rover Sterling 825 in America (Acura Legend): ARCONA | After the misérable failure of Phoenix Holdings, which paid Queen Elizabeth the nominal sum of £10, and then before becoming the four most overpaid executives in the UK Auto Industry. I even went so far as to ask Lakshmi Mittal (Arcelor Mittal and Harris’s) if he would help me to purchase Land Rover from TATA.

CAR AND DRIVER MAGAZINE (Hearst Publications: Vladimir Putin) April Fool’s | Toyota buys Oldsmobile Trademark for $5,000.  

FIAT acquire the right to the Oldsmobile Aurora Engine through my partnership with Carroll Shelby, Gets the Oldsmobile Dealerships (10 year warrante on the engine), Change the nage to Alfa Romeo, and modify the engine for use in US Alfa’s, like the GT-V8, Spider Véloce (Duetto V8: BMWfilms.com Béat the Devil).

Unfortunately, John Goodwin went bankrupt, my ex-wife had a hidden camera in our bedroom vent (Waiting to Exhale, Bernadine’s Rage: 6624 Oceancrest Drive, RPV, CA, 90275). And all of our personal and my corporate accounts were closed on August 14, 2001, due to malfeasance on her part:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY

[The Private Bank: Union Bank of California (Mitsubishi Sumitomo: KIRETSU): Peggy Fahnestock, Gloria Marquez: who refinanced my BMW Financial Loan from JP Morgan Chase, because it was higher interest rate than a similarly situated white nan, all other things being equal.

The VENDETTA (redesigned Rivoluzione: 200 LA Auto Show, was in an accident THE FIRST DAY I DROVE IT. I didn’t even make it to the highway. There was at least $100,000? In customization (hand hammered and rolled Aluminum body parts riveted and bonded to the steel: Robin Officer, Captain Metal, Magic Mountain, CA (A Kiwi). who I believe, was interviewed on the Jay Leno show dresses in drag. By keeping all the receipts to every modification, the insurance company: GEICO, had to first restore the vehicle to its original condition, THEN, cover all the replacement customization which they did, before canceling my policy the sane day the lease on my 328i was repossed, with $5,000.00 worth of renderings and sketches by Ian Cartabiano, which actually appeared in Bimmer Magazine in 1998.

My mother refuses to give me my birth certificate. Whats wrong with this picture?

mo torious

On Oct 14, 30 Heisei, at 2:25 AM, mo torious <1.mo.torious.mo.1@gmail.com> wrote:

On Oct 13, 30 Heisei, at 10:56 PM, mo torious <1.mo.torious.mo.1@gmail.com> wrote:

M_DriversLicense (@onyx_project) 2/6/28 H, 12:51 PMi-am-motorious.tumblr.com/post/129742049… ⁦‪@AngelList‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBSf1‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBS‬⁩ frontinalispartners.com ⁦‪@Ford‬⁩ @LapoElkann_LE ⁦‪@Zurich‬⁩ ⁦‪@CreditSuisse‬⁩ pic.twitter.com/2pZqP9LAin Download the Twitter app mo torious

[tommieyancey71]

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[go-redgirl]

Trump Rewrites H-1B Program to Help American White-Collar Workers

President Donald Trump’s deputies have launched a fundamental reform of the H-1B visa system to protect American graduates from outsourcing — despite furious opposition from donors and leaders from Silicon Valley, Fortune 500 companies, and coastal investors.

The reform will end the annual award of 85,000 H-1B visas by lottery, which has been gamed by companies to import foreign workers at wages far below the salaries needed by American professionals. Instead, the visas will be offered to the companies that compete to offer the highest salaries, preventing employers from undercutting American graduates.

“The Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy,” said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. “The current use of random selection to allocate H-1B visas … hurts American workers by bringing in relatively lower-paid foreign labor at the expense of the American workforce.”

“We have seen more progress in the last few weeks than we’ve seen in the last 30 years,” said Kevin Lynn, founder of U.S. Tech Workers, which opposes the H-1B and other visa worker programs. He continued:

If you look at it on the whole, Trump is side with working Americans. Look at the beginning of his administration when he canceled the Trans-Pacific Partnership. All the elites wanted that — he said no. He allowed labor into [negotiations about] NAFTA II — the USMCA — and they made a better deal for working man and women. On August 3, for the Tennessee Valley Authority, he used the authority he had to protect those white-collar jobs [from H-1B outsourcing]. So he’s clearly made a choice between the elites and working men and women.

Trump has pushed forward with popular and dramatic reforms of the visa worker programs since June, with additional actions taken in August and early October.

The actions may be helping his poll ratings among vital white-collar graduates in two critical states: North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

For example, Monmouth University’s early October poll showed Trump getting 38 percent among white college graduates, while Biden had 57 percent. That is down slightly from a September 2 poll that showed Trump was getting 40 percent but is above Monmouth’s July poll that showed Trump getting only 34 percent of white college voters.

On October 13, Monmouth showed Trump was getting 48 percent of white college graduates in North Carolina, up from 42 percent on September 3.

Both states have been hit hard by H-1B outsourcing, giving Trump a chance to champion the very popular economic self-interest of college graduates.

“There are many financial institutions in North Carolina that are abusing cheap labor and H-1Bs,” Jay Palmer, a civil rights activist who works with abused visa workers, told Breitbart News. He continued:

Charlotte, N.C., is the hotbed of visa fraud. They’re laying off American workers left and right because there is so much cheap [foreign] labor in North Carolina … 

They’re hiring anybody through third-party consulting companies, and they are paying them on 1099s [as gig workers]  to work at the financial institutions. 

They’re replacing American workers such as risk managers and actuaries — any jobs they can fill with cheap labor. It’s horrible. You don’t even know how bad it is.

But other estimates say 900,000 jobs are allocated to H-1B workers. In addition, at least another 600,000 foreign workers hold white-collar jobs after being imported via other pipelines, dubbed Optional Practical Training (OPT), L-1, J-1, TN, Curricular Practical Training (CPT), and H4EAD.

Some of these million-plus foreign workers stay in the United States until they are trained by Americans and can take the white-collar jobs back to India.

But most of these foreign workers come from low-tier universities and work for many years at low wages in mid-skill jobs in the hope or expectation of getting green cards and citizenship delivered via a current or future employer. For example, at least 300,000 Indian H-1B workers are now working while waiting for employer-sponsored green cards. Many more visa workers work as gig workers for little-known subcontractors in the hopes of getting into the H-1B program so they can get citizenship.

CEOs at Fortune 500 companies quietly outsource many of their full-time jobs to this huge “Green Card Workforce,” so cutting costs and boosting near-term stock values for shareholders and C-Suite executives.

This green card outsourcing prevents many American graduates from getting paid jobs where they can use the degrees they earned with borrowed tuition money. Also, outsourcing pushes many experienced American professionals from mid-career jobs, while millions more face lower salaries and persistent job insecurity.

Corporate diversity reports, university reports, and census data show that large slices of the nation’s technology workforce consist of ill-paid, ill-treated foreign workers who have the same job security and professional authority as migrant stoop workers in U.S. fields.

The large number of foreign workers are used to minimize U.S. professionals’ role and prevent the formation of innovative companies. The foreigners’ limited skills and lack of workplace rights help to reduce productivity, the quality of software, and to slow research.

But this labor policy also delivers workplace stability, cheaper graduates, and higher stock values to the current executives and leading shareholders of the Fortune 500 companies.

A statement from the Department of Homeland Security described the new rule:

WASHINGTON —Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the transmission to the Federal Register of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would prioritize the selection of H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) based on corresponding wage levels in order to better protect the economic interests of U.S. workers, while still allowing U.S. employers to meet their personnel needs and remain globally competitive.

Modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a wage-level-based selection process is a better way to allocate H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply. If finalized as proposed, this new selection process would incentivize employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the program to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies.

…

This effort would only affect H-1B registrations submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It would be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but would not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration requirement final rule.

DHS will open a public comment period once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register. Interested parties will have 30 days to submit comments relevant to the proposed rule and 60 days to submit comments relevant to the proposed information collection. The Department will review all properly submitted comments, consider them carefully, and draft responses before issuing a final rule.

In contrast to Trump’s partial populism, Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign theme claims, “We are in a battle for the soul of this nation.”

“When Biden talks about ‘Saving the Soul of America,’ he is whistling through a cemetery,” responded Lynn:

Under globalists like Biden, the neoliberals have destroyed of hundreds of thousands of good middle-class and upper-middle-class jobs. That is what killed the American dream. The American Dream is,  if you want to find it, you go to the cemetery. That’s where you’re gonna find the people have actually lived it. If you’re a millennial, looking to get into the job market, or you’re a boomer getting ready to retire, you’re very insecure right now … I wish Biden would be more concerned about the body.

Biden is backed by companies that have replaced Americans with H-1Bs, he said. “One need only look at the support that he’s been getting from Google, Facebook, and Twitter … it is obvious.”

“This is why it is so critical that if Vice President Biden wins in November, he follows through on his commitment to reforming our failed immigration system,” wrote Todd Schulte, director of the FWD.us advocacy group. The group was created in 2013 by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and other coastal investors who were hoping to get the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” amnesty through Congress.

The bill would have dramatically accelerated the inflow of consumers, renters, and workers into the U.S. economy and also allowed an unlimited inflow of foreign postgraduates. “Because the bill would increase the rate of growth of the labor force, average wages would be held down in the first decade after enactment,” said a report by the Congressional Budget Office.

If Biden “follows through on his commitment to reforming our failed immigration system … We can create a streamlined modern visa system so that people who want to come to contribute or unify their families can do so,” Schulte wrote October 28.

Biden’s 2020 platform promises to let companies import more visa workers, let mayors import a new class of visa workers, and allow an unlimited flow of foreign graduates through U.S. universities and into white-collar jobs. The plan says Biden would “exempt from any cap [the] recent graduates of Ph.D. programs in STEM fields.”

In contrast, Trump is likely to reject migrants, narrow asylum claims yet further, and fund the transfer of migrants waiting in Mexico back to Latin American countries. His 2020 plan offers broadly popular — but quite limited — pro-American restrictions on migration and visa workers. For example, in many speeches, Trump generally ignores the economic impact of blue-collar and white-collar migration on Americans while stressing issues of crime, outsiders, diseases, or welfare, even though his low-immigration policies have been a popular boon to Americans.

Open-ended legal migration is praised by business and progressives partly because migrants’ arrival helps transfer wealth from wage-earners to stockholders.

Migration moves money from employees to employers, from families to investors, from young to old, from homebuyers to real estate investors, and from the central states to the coastal states.

Migration also allows investors and CEOs to skimp on labor-saving technology, sideline U.S. minorities, ignore disabled people, exploit stoop labor in the fields, short-change labor in the cities, impose tight control on American professionals, centralize technological innovation, undermine labor rights, and to get many progressive reporters to cheerlead for Wall Street’s priorities.

Neal Muro@·May 20@ NewMuroDCThe inflow of India's visa-workers creates a huge 'bonded labor' workforce that empowers Fortune 500 CEOs & shrivels professionalism, say US/India tech-professionals. "We’ve lost our competitive, innovative advantage because of it," says US manager. #H1B

[rtirman-blog]

39  The Flatbush Fireball

I was on Long Island early enough to start up my Good Humor route in Glen Head, late that March. This meant that my life at home, rather than being different as I had imagined, was going to be much the same. Perhaps, I will put my thoughts together and come up with a plan for my future.  I was grateful Good Humor was there.  I made very good money during the ice cream season.  Even though I was able to start in late March, people weren’t running for my truck until May.  My best income months were May through August. My thinking was to come up with a plan for my future that I could start in September or October.

 Again, like the previous summer, nothing spectacular happened on my route throughout that summer. As a Good Humor Man, I saw myself as a top money maker.  In reality, I was doing very well, but I probably was in the upper third of the money makers.  I suppose in working for Good Humor, I was able to have feelings of self-worth and the ability to make it in this world.  By the end of the summer, I decided to look for a job in the City.  I could stay with my father and Phyllis while I hunted for a position.  

 It’s a mystery to me how real estate popped up in my mind.  All I know is I was hired by Apostle Reality as a real estate salesman.  The office was on Flatbush Avenue, about a block north of the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues.   It was right where the IRT Subway ended.  If you needed to go further south in Brooklyn, you could walk, take a taxi, or ride the bus.

 In order to sell houses, I studied, took a prep course, and passed the State licensure exam for real estate sales.  By taking that prep course, which was sanctioned by the Real Estate Commission, it seemed as though I had previously seen every question on the exam I was given.  That was the first time I had ever taken a three-day prep course for anything. I think it worked well for me because by taking the actual exam immediately following the three-day course, everything I learned was fresh in my mind.  In high school, I didn’t have to take the SATs. But if I would have taken the SATs, I would have signed up for a prep course, and one that met on days very close to the actual SAT exam.

While preparing for and taking that real estate exam, things with my father and Phyllis were not working out well.  They had only one bedroom.  Since Daddy arrived home each night close to 1 A.M., I would fall asleep in their bed. Phyllis would wait up for him. When they were ready to hit the hay, they would turn their couch into a bed, and I would then go into the living room to sleep, and they would take their own room.  It wasn’t ideal for any of us.  I needed to find my own apartment.  First, I needed a roommate. When I told my cousin Walter, a.k.a. Butch, about looking for a roommate, he offered himself.  You may recall I attended his 12th Birthday celebration when I bedazzled that girl with my Humphry Bogart style kiss during spin the bottle.

Butch was still two years younger than me.  He was working at a cardboard box manufacturing plant in Queens.  But most important in Butch’s life, was his relationship to God.  He was a Billy Graham enthusiast, and a committed Christian. Since we always got along, having him as a roommate would be perfect.  We found a third-floor apartment in a house on Kenilworth Pl. The owner, Manny, felt Jesus had brought us to him in our time of need.  One thing Manny did insist upon- we were not to have girls in the apartment. That was fine with both of us.  It was a great place to live.  The apartment was clean and comfortable, close to everything, especially to my work- the walk was five minutes.

 At Apostle Realty, I worked diligently at my own desk.  At the start, the firm provided me several leads, and I learned how to greatly increase that number by asking for referrals and giving folks my business card. I began showing houses in November. I tried to make myself a busy guy, showing homes to as many folks as I could.  Somedays, I would go to homes for sale and talk with owners and other salesmen persons. I sold nothing in November, nothing in December, and nothing in January. I told myself people were busy with the holidays.  Since, Apostle gave me a small salary until I actually sold my first home, I needed to keep at it. The real estate commission was 5% of the selling price.  Apostle Realty, my broker, got half, and I would get the other half of that commission. Not selling anything for three months, I was getting pretty discouraged.  Then came February!

Early in February, I escorted a couple to a home for sale by another broker.   The house just came on the market.   I knew nothing about it, but we looked at it anyway.

We walked through the house without me saying a word. We stopped in a bedroom. The couple, to whom I was showing the house, started measuring that room.  The husband turned to me and told me if this measures right, you’ve sold yourself a house.  That’s just what happened.  They paid full price for the home, and were ecstatic…and so was I.  The seller talked to John Apostle about me and my expertise in showing the home. As I told you, I said nary a word.

 My next sale was pretty similar, only, it was closer to our office.  The home was a Calder (the builder), and those houses sold quickly. It was if I had the golden ticket.  The people, to whom I showed it, bought it instantly.  Keeping my mouth shut seemed like a great technique.  I always made sure I knew what people wanted, and I chose homes that were as close to what they desired.

 In mid-February, I was a co-seller with a salesperson who showed me, and my clients, a house in Bensonhurst, a Brooklyn neighborhood west of Flatbush.  Naturally, I had to share that commission with the other salesman.

 Then came the Delellis family from the Bronx.  They were delightful people whom I had met before.  They had a reputation of being lookers, but they would never buy.  Just about every salesperson on Flatbush Avenue had shown houses to the Delellis family. But something was happening to my luck. I was rolling 7’s throughout February. My luck meshed with Mr. Delellis’s bad luck.  He and his family were being forced to move, through no fault of their own, and had to find another home.  They called me to see if there was a home for sale near the subway.  I just happened to view a home, right on Flatbush Avenue, two or three doorways from the subway stairs.  Mr. and Mrs. Delellis hustled down to Brooklyn to meet me.  I made arrangements to show them the house as soon as they arrived. As soon as we walked into the house, the two of them were excited.  The house was perfect for their needs, close to the subway, and for sale at a very reasonable price.

The word got around that I sold four houses in February, and most impressively, I did the impossible- I sold a home to the Delellis family.  I was soon known throughout Brooklyn realty offices as “The Flatbush Fireball!”  Hey, you need to buy a home? You need to sell a home?  Go see “Da Flatbush Fireball”!

 Truly, I was on fire. But if you stay at a craps table long enough, things will, eventually, go in the other direction.  The owners of gambling casinos don’t have craps tables in their casinos to lose money!

 One evening, when I arrived home, Butch was having sex with a gal.  Mr. Christian was now Mr. Sinner.  Whoa! I take that back.  He was now Mr. Mortal Sinner…he was banging her in my bed!  You would think he would have been kind enough to do it in his own bed. Making matters worse, somehow, Manny was aware of his devilish deed, and asked us to find another place.

Butch went back home, and I went back to my father’s apartment until I could find another place to live.  The second thing occurred as I was sitting at my desk trying to figure things out. Sitting next to me was an older guy, perhaps in his fifties, who looked at me and told me that real estate wasn’t for me. He told me real estate was for older folks.  He wanted me to seriously think about returning to school, finishing my degree, and doing something with my life.  His name was Bill, and I sensed that these remarks came from his heart. I think Bill saw me as his son or grandson.  I really did look up to him.  I wish I had thanked him and told him that I heard him, clearly.  His words had an impact, and they made me question and evaluate what I was doing with my life.  It was good money when I sold a home.  However, there are many months real estate salesmen make nothing, yet they put in impossible hours.  If I ever was going to get married and be a dad, that kind of job wouldn’t be so great. Bill was probably right.

 It was already March, and I could go back to Point Lookout, and to Good Humor, for the summer.  I was leaning toward finishing college, but I wasn’t set on it. Furthermore, would Notre Dame even think about taking me back, or would I have to transfer to another school?  Also, what would I study?  So back to Long Island I went.  Back to Good Humor, where the money was good, and the work was steady.

[vinayv224]

Hunter Biden, the black sheep who got Trump impeached, explained

Hunter Biden, then the chair of the World Food Program USA, speaking at an organization event on April 12, 2016, in Washington, DC. | Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images for World Food Program USA

A troubled guy at the center of the fake scandal that became a real scandal.

Hunter is the younger of Joe Biden’s two sons. He never showed as much promise as his brother Beau, stumbling through life and often trading on his dad’s name and position for financial gain. He’s more or less operated in the background as something of a black sheep in the family, but he’s emerged to the forefront of American politics in recent weeks over work he did in Ukraine that fueled a bogus conspiracy theory at the heart of Trump’s decision to strong-arm the country’s president.

It’s not unusual for the children of successful politicians to trade on their family’s famous name and connections to get ahead in life. And when that happens, most political parents hope for a trajectory like the one enjoyed by Beau Biden until his life was cut short by cancer in 2015.

Beau followed in his father’s footsteps to Syracuse University for law school and then clerked for a US District Court judge. He got a job at the Justice Department and then became a federal prosecutor. He then dipped into the private sector briefly. But when Delaware’s attorney general, Jane Brady, resigned to take up a judicial post, the state’s governor appointed Carl Danberg to serve as a placeholder attorney general who wouldn’t run for reelection. Beau won the seat in the 2006 midterms, Danberg got appointed to serve as the head of Delaware’s Corrections Department, and all eyes were on Beau to run for governor in 2016 when Jack Markell’s term would be expiring.

Only an extremely naive person would see this as a career free of nepotism. But Beau, like a successful politician’s kid, had to actually do his work adequately each step of the way. As a candidate for attorney general, he clearly got a boost from his dad’s name, and it seems like the Delaware political establishment was working to open up an office for him to run for. But as a former federal prosecutor and Army JAG, he was qualified for the job and he won the election fair and square. And there’s nothing unusual at all about a two-term attorney general campaigning to win an open gubernatorial election in his home state.

This is more or less how the system is supposed to work for children of privilege — you get a consistent favorable tailwind at your back, but you still need to steer the plane. Hunter, by contrast, has been the guy who even into his 40s keeps needing dad to send the search—and-rescue party. And yet in a strange way, Hunter ended up being one of the most politically accomplished figures of our time since Trump’s efforts to smear Joe Biden over Hunter’s work in Ukraine ended up leading to his impeachment.

Hunter Biden’s whole career is being Joe Biden’s son

According to Adam Entous’s profile in the New Yorker, “it was clear to family and friends that Beau would follow his father into politics,” while Hunter was initially interested in more artistic pursuits “but, with a baby on the way, he decided to go straight to law school.”

The basic desire to make money is pretty commonplace. Hunter, after a year at Georgetown Law, was able to transfer to Yale and finish out at the country’s most prestigious law school. Yale Law grads don’t normally hurt for opportunities to earn a decent salary, but Hunter interestingly went to work right away for MBNA, a major Delaware-based bank (later purchased by Bank of America) that was also a big contributor to Biden’s campaigns.

This was part of a much larger coziness between Biden and the bank that the then-senator took flak for from conservatives like Byron York, who dubbed him “the senator from MBNA” in a 1998 American Spectator article. The nickname stuck in years to come as Biden became the leading Democratic advocate of a bankruptcy reform bill that most Democrats opposed but that major credit card issuers like MBNA strongly favored.

There’s no reason to think that Biden backed MBNA’s position because his son worked there — senators normally line up with their home state’s major employers’ policy priorities — it’s more like Hunter got the job due to his dad’s overall cozy relationship with the company.

Hunter’s career, however, never really seems to have quite launched as an independent entity. In 1998, he went to work for the US Department of Commerce and then left after the Clinton administration ended. He formed a lobbying firm with an old associate of his dad’s. By mutual agreement, Hunter avoided lobbying his father but did continue to collect consulting fees from MBNA through the 2005 passage of the bankruptcy bill the bank had long sought.

In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed him to the Amtrak board of directors as a gesture of bipartisanship. Here’s how Tom Carper, Delaware’s other senator, described his qualifications for the job (emphasis added):

Hunter Biden is a native Delawarian and I would go on to say that he’s also been nominated to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. When Hunter was unable to get into the University of Delaware, he instead went on to Georgetown and then to Yale Law School and managed to get through those OK. He’s ended up being Senior Vice President at MBNA one of the largest financial institutions in the country. He served as Executive Director of Economy Policy Coordination at the U.S. Department of Commerce. About 5 years ago he went off and formed a law firm here in Washington, D.C., and now they represent over 100 clients including a bunch of non-profit organizations and educational institutions.

More specifically, though, and for our purposes and for the purpose of this nomination, Hunter Biden has spent a lot of time on Amtrak trains. Like his father, like our Congressman, Mike Castle and myself, Hunter Biden has lived in Delaware while using Amtrak to commute to his job as we commute to our job in Washington almost every day of the week. You know, you learn a lot about what could work and what would work better at Amtrak by riding trains and talking to the passengers, the commuters, the passengers, the folks who work on the trains and make them work every day. You also have a chance to see the huge economic benefit the region receives from having a strong passenger rail corridor, something that should be available in a lot of other parts of our country.

It would obviously be a stretch to attribute any specific shortcoming of passenger rail in the United States to Hunter Biden’s service on the board. But the fact that the job is treated as a kind of patronage position to hand out to random senators’ kids who have no relevant knowledge beyond riding the train a lot helps explain why American passenger rail is low quality and exhibits little understanding of international best practices.

When his dad became vice president, Hunter left the Amtrak board and instead got involved with a series of investment companies. As detailed by Ben Schreckinger in Politico, a lot of this work seems to have hinged on Hunter and his uncle James Biden sort of hinting around that the family connection to the vice president could help get things done and then not delivering. The Obama administration generally regarded Hunter as a kind of embarrassing family black sheep rather than a real scandal.

Hunter Biden had a lot of problems in life

Stepping back from politics, the Hunter Biden story is basically sympathetic. His mom died in a car accident when he was a little kid, his dad was a loving but busy US senator, and his older brother was accomplished in ways he couldn’t quite match.

And the history of American presidential politics is littered with similar characters like Billy Carter, Tony Rodham, and Neil Bush, who try to capitalize financially on relatives in the White House and thereby succeed in embracing their family without really accomplishing much of anything.

In May 2013, Hunter joined the US Naval Reserve for which he required two waivers — one because at 42 years old he was above the normal age for a military recruit and the other due to a previous drug use incident. In August, his brother Beau received the initial diagnosis of the brain cancer that would eventually kill him.

By February of 2014, Hunter was discharged from the Navy for testing positive for cocaine. The next spring, Beau died. In October 2015, Hunter separated from his wife Kathleen. She filed for divorce in 2016, and in paperwork complained that Hunter had been “spending extravagantly on his own interests including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations.”

Sometime in 2016, Hunter began dating Beau’s widow, which family members claimed to be supportive of, but that relationship unraveled by early 2019.

Hunter’s personal troubles were severe enough that he was for whatever reason unable to attend Joe Biden’s presidential campaign kickoff — an event that featured Hunter’s three daughters, the boyfriend of one of the daughters, Beau’s two kids, Hunter’s half-sister Ashley, and Ashley’s husband Howard Krein, along with an empty seat in the row with a piece of paper on it that said “reserved.”

And during the bulk of this troubled period in Hunter’s life, he was fortuitously on the board of a Ukrainian energy company — a stroke of good fortune that’s become the centerpiece of a bogus corruption allegation leveled at his dad.

Joe Biden didn’t do anything to help Hunter in Ukraine

Back in 2014 after a change of regime in Ukraine, Hunter Biden joined the board of a scandal-plagued Ukrainian natural gas company named Burisma. Hunter had no apparent qualifications for the job except that his father was the vice president and involved in the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy.

He got paid up to $50,000 per month for the job and the situation constituted the kind of conflict of interest that was normally considered inappropriate in Washington until the Trump era. These days, of course, the president of the United States regularly accepts payments from foreign sources to his company while in office, and so do the Trump children. The Obama administration probably should have done something about this at the time, but the White House couldn’t literally force Hunter not to accept the job. And given the larger family context, you can see why Joe might have been reluctant to confront his son about it.

This would all be a small footnote in history except that by 2016, officials throughout the Obama administration and in Western Europe had come to a consensus that Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, wasn’t doing enough to crack down on corruption. Biden, as he later colorfully recounted, delivered the message that the West wanted Shokin gone or else loan guarantees would be held up, and Shokin was, in turn, fired.

There was nothing remotely controversial about this at the time. No congressional Republicans complained about it, and the European Union hailed the decision to fire Shokin. The reason there is video footage of Biden touting his personal role in this is it was considered a foreign policy triumph that Biden wanted to claim credit for, not anything sordid or embarrassing.

But Shokin, of course, didn’t want to go down on the theory that he was corrupt or incompetent. So he started offering another theory: he was fired for going after Burisma by Joe Biden operating on behalf of Hunter Biden.

The question of whether Shokin was actually investigating Burisma at all is a matter of dispute (the relevant Ukrainian players have told inconsistent stories), but this is clearly not the reason he was fired. The desire to push him out was fully bipartisan in the United States and reflected a consensus across European governments, not than anything idiosyncratic to Biden.

The notion that firing Shokin was somehow problematic was not in the air until the New York Times ran a story co-bylined by Ken Vogel and a Ukrainian journalist named Iuliia Mendel (who a few weeks later would become Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s official spokesperson) highlighting Rudy Giuliani’s efforts at muckraking.

NEW: The BIDENS are entangled in a Ukrainian corruption scandal:@JoeBiden pushed Ukraine to fire a prosecutor seen as corrupt. BUT the prosecutor had opened a case into a company that was paying HUNTER BIDEN. The Bidens say they never discussed it. https://t.co/tblUPYPJMG

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) May 2, 2019

The worst you can say about any of this, however, was that Hunter’s position on the board was a standing conflict of interest that should have been avoided. There’s no evidence that Joe did anything wrong, specifically. But an examination of the life and times of Hunter Biden does provide a reminder that most Americans thought politics as usual was corrupt long before Trump arrived on the scene to make it more corrupt.

Hunter Biden is a product of an unloved system

While progressives find Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” to be galling and hypocritical in light of his family’s massive financial conflicts of interest, the real direction of causation likely goes in the other direction. People who identify with Trump’s racial and cultural politics find progressive complaints about corruption to be hypocritical and unpersuasive because the whole system is corrupt.

As of 2014, Gallup found that 75 percent of voters felt corruption was “widespread” in American government.

And if you think about Biden’s role on the Obama ticket back in 2008, the whole point was that he was the reassuring insider to balance out the fresh-faced outsider reformer who was running for president. That’s a common formula in American politics, with an outsider (often a governor) promising to “fix the mess in Washington” with the assistance of a more seasoned vice president. That’s Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. The other formula — the political veteran balanced by a younger and more energetic vice president — is much rarer (H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle come to mind), even though in theory vice president is the junior job.

That’s no coincidence. Some aspects of Hunter Biden’s career and life story are a bit extreme (the Amtrak gig, dating his brother’s widow), but the kid who trades on family connections to make money is much more a case of business as usual than an extraordinary scandal. “Business as usual in Washington,” however, is normally the subject of scorn in American politics. Any focus on Joe Biden’s son is likely to remind people of at least some of what they don’t like about it.

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