#and it doesn't show me where to pay I have to send an email to be guided by a person working there... EVEN THOUGH I CAN PERFECTLY

[leechandoki]

Venmo: we froze your account

Me: why??

Venmo: because you own use money

Me: ... okay... where do I pay??

Venom: pfftt how should I know lol

Me: the fuck!? Do I even own y'all money??? I only used my Venmo like once!!

Venmo: yeah you do. that's why we froze your account

Me: OKAY SO LIKE CAN YOU LET ME PAY MY DEBT THEN SO I CAN BUY ME SOME STICKERS

Venmo: totally!

Me: THANK YOU!!

Venmo: we just don't know where it is

Me: GOD FUCKIN' DAMN IT

[malk1ns]

A prompt if this sings to you... established relationship mid-30s sidgeno taking in a rookie to live with them? Maybe a Russian? Maybe not! Maybe it's ABO and the baby alpha is overwhelmed by milfy Sid/baby omega is overwhelmed by dilfy Geno? Maybe not! IDK I just want to see an awkward 18 year old being completely rabbit in the headlights witnessing these two icons and heroes being dorky and frisky and middle-aged at home.

Ooooh I love this!

This isn't my best work, but I haven't written in ages and I'm rusty, so—you get what you get, haha. But this is such a fun concept and I had a lot of fun thinking about it!!! That's part of why it's so disjointed I think, I had so many ideas about how this could look and what it could involve and I wanted to cram everything in. Maybe I'll revisit this when I can actually properly use the English language again and clean it up!

--

Mack doesn't get a choice about where he lives his rookie year.

Not a lot of guys do, really—if they're bouncing between the A and the big club, they get real familiar with a few specific hotels, and if they make the show right away the team usually encourages them to look for something in a particular neighborhood—but Mack, after the excitement of the draft was over and the contract negotiations began in earnest, didn't even get that much leeway.

He's a first overall pick. He's an omega. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course he'll be living with Sidney Crosby and his mate.

Crosby—call me Sid he'd said, backstage after Mack stumbled his way onstage and held up his jersey and smiled so hard his face hurt—sends him and his parents an email in late summer, offering up a suite in his house in one of Pittsburgh's suburbs. He'll have a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living area to himself, along with a small fridge, and Sid says he'll help Mack get a car, too, if he doesn't already have one.

Mack's agent is copied on the email, along with four names from the Penguins organization that Mack doesn't recognize. It's not really an offer, after all.

Mack's parents are overjoyed. They're both betas, and when Mack presented his mom had practically lost her mind trying to figure out how to parent him appropriately, and they'd both been desperately worried about him living on his own. As if that had been an option; every interview at the combine included some discussion about where he'd stay, and it seemed like every team had a plan, no input from Mack required.

His dad's more focused on what he'll get out of living with Hall of Famers. "Watch how they spend their time off," he says to Mack as they're standing at Pittsburgh International. They'd all driven down in Mack's new car together, and spent the last two days getting him settled in and seeing the sights, and now his parents are flying back to Vancouver. "You're never going to have a better example than Malkin and Crosby. Pay attention to them, and you'll be fine."

Mack's not sure that this is quite what his parents had in mind.

Sid's amazing, of course. He knows what it's like to be an omega in the league—for all there are more now than when Sid was drafted, they're still an extreme minority, and going first overall, over all the alphas eligible, has only happened twice. Well, three times now. He walks Mack through the accommodations at the rink, connects him with the dynamics counselors and heat coordinators, and he spends a lot of time just listening to Mack, sharing his own experiences and talking him through his panic and nerves. Mack's lucky, and all the guys from BU are jealous as hell, constantly blowing up the GC with questions that Mack's not gonna answer in a million years.

Geno, though?

Mack's been around alphas his whole life. Sports at a higher level are riddled with them, obviously, and omegas aren't cloistered away anymore—he's not required to cross the street if he approaches an alpha, and North America has been totally integrated for decades.

There's getting in board battles with alphas his own age, though, or interacting with random people out in the world, and living with an alpha in his 30s, in the space he's marked as his.

Geno's not nervous around him. Which, obviously, why would he be, but Mack's used to the guys his age being a little on edge, a little anxious, a little fumbling in the presence of Mack's pheromones. Geno's a whole-ass adult, though, and he's been mated to Sid for as long as Mack can remember, so of course he wouldn't give a shit about some 18-year-old kid.

The whole house smells like Geno, a mix of coconut and snow and citrus. It's comforting; Mack's never slept so well in his life, and it just feels safe, knowing that there's an alpha around all the time. Sid's left his mark too, of course, but there's no escaping that an alpha lives in this house, an alpha who's strong, and confident, and sure of himself.

It takes Mack two whole weeks before he can talk to Geno without turning bright red and stuttering. He'd feel more embarrassed by his behavior, the way he reacts to Geno's scent, if he thought Geno noticed for one single second.

Because the thing is, what Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin seem to spend most of their off-hours doing is...each other.

Mack's never walked in on them—they're too thoughtful, and he's seen the way Geno stares down other alphas who look a little too closely at Sid, he's not interested in anyone seeing Sid that way—but he can smell them, all over the house. Geno's got a hand on Sid constantly; at his waist as they move around each other in the kitchen, on his legs when they sit on the couch, cupping the bond-bite on Sid's neck when they think they're alone. He smells like he wants Sid all the time.

And Sid absolutely reciprocates.

Mack can't blame him. If he had an alpha like that— He doesn't let himself go too far down that path, because he has to live with them, and he's too young anyway, he wants to focus on his career for a while, but there's something about how happy Sid looks, the way he teases Geno until they're both pink and smiling, the way he gets this look in his eye when he watches Geno putter around in the kitchen, that makes something in Mack's gut twinge with longing. He wants this, someday—a mate, a home, someone who makes him that happy.

He just wishes they'd do a bit more to hide when they're going off to fuck, though. Mack's cycle is still irregular, and being this close to a mated pair who are having sex practically every night—Mack is shocked they can still do it that much at their age—is gonna push him into early heat one of these days, and then he'll have to ask for a ride to the facilities, and Geno will know, Geno will smell it on him, and they'll both be so nice and understanding and go out of their way to assure him it's normal and make sure he has what he needs, and it will just be the worst, most mortifying thing that's ever happened to him.

Anyway, yeah. Mack's pretty sure his dad had something else in mind, when he was talking about what Mack could pick up from living with Crosby and Malkin.

It's going to be a long year.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Ooh, I got one. AITA for telling me sick, elderly dad "no" when he asked if I'd come help around the house?

So I think I know the answer to this already, but I'm curious about other people's opinions…. and I want to rant.

My dad and I (36, trans masc but I only figured that out about 5 years ago) have been butting heads for a while. Family situation is: I had cool hippy liberal parents but things went downhill with various addictions and depression. I lived with them until I was 30 (with me paying the bills for several years) and then finally moved out after I realized how unhealthy it was for me to be there.

Moving out coincided with me figuring out some things about myself, mainly the trans thing, probably because I felt more comfortable/safe and could focus on things other than that shitty living situation.

Another thing I'd finally realized, shortly before I moved out, was how messed up my relationship with my dad had been. Basically, I grew up with him doing this thing where he'd tell me I couldn't trust any of my friends (the implication being I could only trust him), or he'd tell me how smart I was because I saw things his way and talk about how people we knew were dumb because they didn't. He also taught me that I shouldn't show or admit to mental illness or neurodivergence because people (even my friends) would take advantage of me.

Once I'd gone, he repeatedly asking me to come visit, sending me messages about how sad he was and how much he missed me. I did visit a few times, but just being back in that house makes me feel real uncomfy.

At some point I share with him my observations about our past and how it negatively effected me. His response… is to say he doesn't think that's how it went. I keep trying to explain, asking him to acknowledge that these things did happen between us and, whether he meant it to or not, it did mess me up. He keeps dismissing it or redirecting the blame onto my mom or his shitty dad, or suggesting that my friends (who I'm living with now) have turned me against him.

But he also keeps pestering me to visit more, guilt-tripping me with how sad my old dog, Cavall, is after each time I do come by (I would have taken the dog with me, but he's a big fluffy malamute mix and the roommates have a small house + one is allergic. I didn't want to impose too much, so I'd limited myself to bringing only the one cat who I had the closest bond with and leaving the other pets with my parents).

All of this back-and-forth with my dad finally comes to a head a couple months ago when I ask for a specific item of mine that I left at my parents house. My dad responds with a little poem about how depressed he is because he misses me and I've abandoned him. I throw back some brusque line in which I call him "bro"…

… and that earns a response in which he mocks me about pronouns and gender identity.

I am shocked, because my parents were always super cool about queer stuff. I tell him so and then block him on facebook. He responds to that by scouring the house for everything I left behind, packing it up in cardboard boxes, and dumping it all in my roommate's driveway with zero notice.

I figure he's done with me at that point… but then, last week, he sent me an email which reads:

"I hope you're well. I hope your family is well. I miss you. I'm sick today. Weak. Dizzy. Queasy. Slept a lot, thankfully. I want to ask you, if I were to become too sick to do things for days, would you be someone I could ask to come make some soup, take out the trash, help and give comfort? I won't be surprised at a "no", but, a "yes" would be wonderful. I got the trash out and the dogs fed. Cavall is off his breakfast lately, but, usually eats supper. He used to eat better, but, he's really getting old and slow now. In the six years I've walked him he's gone from wanting to run a lot to slow walking and sniffing. I'm getting down some oatmeal with raisons and yogurt now. Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow. I think so, but, the question arises at such times. Plz tel yes or no, so I can know for future reference."

And, well, I told him no. I hate the idea of abandoning sick elderly people who are already living in poverty, but after all the shit I described, I don't want to be around him. So, what's the vote?

What are these acronyms?

[chrismerle]

Elsa's Crochet Commissions

I am perpetually broke (I have $25 to my name at the time of typing this post) and I crochet well, so I am attempting to capitalize on that fact!

Things To Know:

I'll take three crochet commissions at a time, but they won't necessarily be first come, first serve. I'll probably work on all of them simultaneously, which means if Person A orders a shawl and then Person B orders a hat, Person B's hat will likely be done before Person A's shawl.

I do clothing items, accessories, plushies, blankets, etc.

I crochet. I do not knit. I do not know how to knit. I don't have any imminent plans to learn how to knit.

The price of the item will be determined by the complexity of the end result, the amount of time I estimate it will take, the type of yarn you want it made of (wool or cotton are more expensive than acrylic, alpaca is more expensive than sheep wool, etc.), and the cost of the pattern if you want a specific item and the pattern costs money.

Payment will be half up front, then half + shipping afterwards. I have Paypal and Venmo.

The item will be made in an environment where cats and dogs are present, if you need to worry about allergies. I can't really feasibly escape them.

What To Do:

If you're interested, get in touch. You can DM me here on tumblr or email me at widgets.apparel@gmail.com. In the unlikely event I already have three commissions lined up, I'll let you know, but if you want I can let you know when I slot frees up later.

Give me as many details of what you want as you can.

If you haven't presented specific patterns and yarn choices, I will supply options for your approval.

Once the details are determined, I will give the price and you'll pay half.

I will commence working. I can offer a rough estimate of when the item will be finished, but I can't make any guarantees.

When I'm done, I will take photos and show you. You'll send the second half of the payment + shipping.

I will package up the item and give you the tracking info, and get it to the post office, at which point it is figuratively and literally out of my hands.

Assuming the post office doesn't shit the bed, your item will arrive! Yay! I don't require photos of you with the item, but I will appreciate them.

Examples (under the cut):

Dragon scale fingerless gloves, acrylic. $32.

Granny square purse, acrylic (with lining). $45.

Headband/earwarmer, acrylic. $22.

Semi-posable dog plushie, acrylic. $175. (took about 25 hours)

Triangle shawl, acrylic. $160.

Fingerless gloves, acrylic. $28.

Textured slouchy hat, wool. $35.

Tunisian crochet plaid hat, acrylic. $35.

Pokeball hat, acrylic. $28.

Mosaic crochet makeup bag/pencil pouch (with lining), acrylic. $36.

Tunisian crochet scarf, acrylic. $42.

Capybara plushie, acrylic. $30.

Rustic bunny plushie, acrylic. $15.

Laptop bag (with lining, buttons, and strap), acrylic. $95.

Medium purse (with lining, strap, and buttons), acrylic. $70.

Stegosaurus plushie, acrylic and wool/acrylic blend. $75 (he's a Big Boi)

Narwhal plushie, cotton/acrylic blend. $20.

Ribbed scarf, wool/acrylic blend. $42.

Chevron scarf, acrylic (I think?). $45.

Flower hat, acrylic. $38.

R2-D2 hat, acrylic. $30.

BB-8 hat, acrylic. $30.

[lionfloss]

I saw your post about how team leads are scared of you and how you know not to be taken advantage of. Can to give any tips on how to talk and how to ask for better pay and things like that?

want to preface this by saying i usually give this advice to people i know in real life whose job i have a general understanding of so my advice is specific to that person/their work environment. and this goes without saying but unfortunately the world we live in, you will have to be a high performer or at least meets all expectations, good attendance etc. and this is more for performance raises, if you aren't at least getting SOME cost of living raise on a yearly basis im so sorry :(

but in general what has worked for me : -practice what you want to say out loud in the mirror/to a friend before the meeting. think about possible reactions your employer could have so you can prepare for pushback -with the above said, try to focus on leaving emotions behind, convey a sense of confidence, avoid "i think/i feel ive been doing..." no. " I HAVE been doing xyz consistently and efficiently" - provide the general date/time of your last raise, and mention what you have accomplished since and specify how that has helped the business or how its helped other employees -even if its a lie, say that you have enjoyed your time there, you want to continue to grow with this company, develop your skills to benefit the business blah blah -avoid making statements that could sound threatening like, "if i dont get more money i'll have to quit" or "I heard so and so got a raise" just things that distract from the fact that you deserve the raise based on performance/merit/its been too long (if i dont get at least one raise a year im out) -DO THIS IN WRITING. Send an email immediately before or after your meeting highlighting what you are asking, what was talked about and have your employer reply with their notes and confirming what was decided.

If your boss says no: -ask for specific guidelines or how to work on your performance to get to place where a raise will be given, never let them just say no.

On the flip side, something that has happened to me is getting asked to do things that aren't my job because someone else doesn't have the time or bandwidth: "I would love to help you, would you mind showing me where this task fits into my job description? I want to be sure that I'm qualified to do what you are asking and that I'm being compensated fairly if I'm being asked to perform tasks outside of my scope." (this is especially true if you are on a team with a lot of peers who underperform or dont get asked to go "above and beyond" and performance based raises arent given without asking)

[kaija-rayne-author]

Not going to reblog it in order to respond, but lets talk about piracy, specifically of books.

It's a fraught discussion. Many people take the black/white stance on it. I personally do not pirate, because I know the cost to authors. If piracy had been a thing in the xtian cult I grew up in, I probably would have. We were an hour away from the closest library. It wasn't safe for me to read the queer books I needed.

I've been poor enough (am now) where I can't afford books. I've been far enough away from a library that it wasn't a viable option. My library really doesn't have the books I want to read. I've requested them, but they haven't shown up. Some countries don't even have libraries. Some people can't read the works they want to because of external pressures.

There's more to it than good/bad.

Firstly, the most likely person to pirate a book is a cis, white, western male who makes 70k or more/year. That's just sheer entitlement and yes, it's wrong. Period.

But what about the poor people, the queer people who don't dare check out the queer books they need? What about, what about, what about... I get it. I really really do.

I'm an author whose books are pirated a lot. If I had a nickel/5 cents for every copy of my work that's been pirated, I wouldn't be edging on homelessness right now.

Some truths.

1. Most authors aren't wealthy. Most aren't even financially stable. Like any industry, there's the golden show ponies that make ridiculous amounts of money. Then there's the rest of us, who, if we're lucky, make 10k a year on our books. (I never have.)

2. It takes anywhere between 8 weeks of ridiculously long days to actual years to write a book. And these are niche, hard to acquire skills. Not everyone can write. I think almost anyone can learn how to write well, but it’s not inborn, and most people don't dedicate themselves to it. These are skills we've had to learn. So a person who pirates is also taking that from the author too.

3. Writing isn't easy. It's blood, sweat, tears, and so much time away from the people who love us to make that book. If there's no reward for us in it, why would we continue publishing? I wrote for myself far longer than I have for publication. People tell me I'm a great writer. If there's nothing in it for me beyond the joy of writing, why should I add the extra work of making my stories publishable? And there's sooooo much extra work and hours that go into that.

4. Piracy reduces the chance that that author can keep writing. It really does. We have to eat and pay bills like anyone else. Every single piece of great art we, as a species, have comes from people who had a place to live, money for supplies, and both time and energy to create. If you're living in poverty, like me, it can be nigh impossible to create. So you're taking that too. If you love an author's work, you're making it less likely they can either finish the series you've pirated books from, or even write at all.

5. Boycotting Amazon doesn't hurt Amazon, but it sure as hell hurts authors.

6. If you are in a position where piracy is your only option... email the author, their publicist, or their publisher and request a review e-copy. We'll usually send it in hopes of a review. It's likely to be cleaner and more readable than any pirated copy. Plus, it's legal.

7. If you have to pirate, at least have the basic decency to do something for the author in return. That can be a lot of things. Leaving a review at any site you can access that accepts reviews is probably one of the best. Reviews really do sell books for us. Good or bad reviews, it doesn't matter. Obviously, positive is better, but even a negative review can prevent another negative review by warning people of things they might not enjoy in the work.

Send them an email if you loved it. Writing is a lonely profession, and fan mail has absolutely kept me writing on hard days. It means a lot to get positive fan mail. (I've never even heard of an author who has asked where you got the book.)

Drop a dollar into their Kofi if you can. Or become a patron. Especially if you can afford it and love our work, you can help us keep writing that way too. If my patron were filled to the point where I could afford to write more, I could be easily getting 3 books out a year vs the 1 every couple of years I'm currently managing to do. And my books are free for my patrons.

Fan art can also be a nice thing to receive.

Important! Talk about our books with anyone who might possibly be interested (if it's safe for you to do so) word of mouth is still the best advertising there is. Mention them on your social media too.

8. Piracy is very far away from a victimless crime. You are (whatever your reasons) harming the author who wrote the book. Even if you weren't going to buy it, you're still encouraging people to rip the books and make them available illicitly.

9. I did mention most of us will send a copy out to those who ask for one, right? Especially if we're indie with little to no marketing budget. We're hoping you'll review it, but there aren't any reviews police. Most authors who are decent people will just send it and hope. (I've been harassed for reviewing a book before, so I'd be remiss if I didn't say there wasn't a risk of the author asking you about the review. It's considered incredibly rude to do so in publishing circles, but there's still some authors who will. Use a throw away email.)

10. Sign up for Netgalley and Edelweiss. These are sites where publishers put books up for requests for reviews. You request the book, (for free unless something has changed recently) then, if you get it, you're supposed to review it. But again, there's no review police. (Please do review if you can.)

11. If you do have access to a library, you can ask them to order it. A lot of the time they will. And libraries have to pay the author/publisher to license the work, so we get paid by libraries too. You're helping an author by using a library, not harming them.

12. Lastly, check your entitlement. The world we currently live in doesn't value art (and writing is art) enough to pay a living wage for it. If you want art, someone has to pay us to do it, because otherwise we can't pay the power bill. Or any other bills. Writing shouldn't be the sole province of the wealthy and well off. Yet, I've seen so many writers stop writing because they just can't afford to. I'm there right now. If you want a world where authors can afford to give our work away for free, start voting for things like social programs and UBI. So that we can create art without worrying about the bills.

I'll probably think of more later, but those are the basics.

Don't bother arguing with me. You know it's wrong to pirate. It's, as noted, something that some people need to do because of poverty or lack of access or, or, or. Unless it's a disability issue, just wanting the e-copy vs the paper copy your library has isn't enough of an excuse. You can email the author or get it legally from a reviewing site. And if you're one of the well off folks who pirate? Fuck you. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

You do not have the right to steal from authors for any reason, much less your convenience. Talk about privilege and entitlement.

There are extenuating circumstances, and there are also non-piracy ways to get books.

[astrologycharts242]

My prices and the services I provide.

http://linktr.ee/astrologycharts

EDIT: I'm gonna start adding short videos as well along with the text. The same way that I do in my videos. Where you see I have the 2 charts together. I'm doing this so a person can see what I see.

Your birth time is mandatory (a must.)

I prefer payments to be done through Western union since I live in the Bahamas and the money comes directly. Western union online is much easier to use than having to go in person.

I use PayPal secondarily though both are good but Western Union is way better for me. If I was trying to scam PayPal wouldn't even be an option.

I'm not interested in scamming using astrology especially not with the amount of knowledge I have currently. Someone paying me for a reading is like a donation for me to get better. Communicating with a person regarding his or her chart allows me to get better at astrology.

How I do it? I type the stuff out but I like to respond and give information throughout the time period as I do it. This is how I can learn more about the individual's chart better and by sending information throughout builds trust. When I'm done I send it via email and sometimes both email and the app I'm talking to you on. I'll send the different charts separately like in the subject it'll show this is your tropical part of your chart I'm reading.

It takes me at least 3 days to complete if I'm reading the transits or birth chart. The reason for that is because I type long paragraphs just to read 1 house. It takes like an hour for me to just read one house in sidereal. The videos I post I can't even explain much because it's hard to create videos on my phone. Then TikTok has a 10 minute limit.

If I'm just looking at information about when you'll go into a relationship or meet your sexual partner or future boyfriend/girlfriend, have sex maybe, meet your spouse even. It doesn't take long to do this 1 or two days max but I find out the dates for these things quick so once I collect the money I give it away right away. It's better if you tell me or at least answer my questions because I want to know your relationship status.

What if you're in a relationship and that person is your future spouse? Most likely I'd know but if you don't answer my questions as I read your chart then it's only gonna be a disadvantage for you.

Birth chart readings

Price: $50.00 usd

I look at 3 charts when reading a birth chart. In the past I used to emphasize more so on just sidereal and the moon chart especially since I would add in dates of predictions of when the things I say would happen. By me using something called the antardashas.

Nowadays I emphasize more so on the Sidereal and the tropical because I understand people aren't even interested in sidereal at all. I still add in the moon chart because I could predict a lot with it. Imagine me reading your 10th and 5th house from 3 different perspectives? I tell a lot about how you will meet the spouse and the spouse career. How would your marriage be like. I emphasize on career for sure. Any house can talk about career because if you watched my Naomi Watts video part 1 I showed how. When I honestly didn't knew who she was let alone a stylist.

Transits 50.00 usd

For this first I look at the antardashas and the time frame for antardasha can vary from like 1 to 3 years sometimes it changes in a few months. What if your current antardasha ends in 3 months then obviously I'll talk about the current antardasha and the upcoming one. The antardashas are like the main source of predictions for me. An antardasha is when a specific planet in your chart becomes activated so it's placements in your charts become activated too.

Then I break down the Jupiter, mars, Rahu/ketu north/south node transits. I emphasize on these the most.

I now look at the Venus transits because I surprisingly know how to predict using it. Saturn transits definitely become important in regards to relationships, jobs, marriage etc.

Love relationships and sex 50.00 usd

With this I breakdown your 5th house and any planets I see that can be influencing that house. I look at the tropical, sidereal, and moon chart. I explain how you meet girlfriends/boyfriends or sexual partners. I also would give a date or two of when you can meet one of those people.

I had often predicted in the past when a person would meet someone their future boyfriend/girlfriend or sexual partner. It's kinda easy to do so at this point I just did it on myself during this current Mars (October 3 to November 16 2023 transit.) Where I had run into a girl who I used to mess with in school lol.

Yeah I said sexual partner because not all relationships are what you think they are and can just be a sexual one.

I might end up seeing when you have sex or go out on a date as well. It depends on what the chart shows me and your current relationship situation.

I might end up throwing a date of when you get pregnant or a girl that you sleep with gets pregnant because the 5th house represents children too.

If I see something that might show me you are gonna end up end up meeting a spouse before a boyfriend/girlfriend I gotta give that date.

Spousal reading 50.00 usd

Easy I'll show you a chart as well. If you want so you can get an idea of what I'm seeing when I'm talking about your spouse. Again I'll give you information from your sidereal, tropical, and moon charts. I'll basically be reading the 7th house and planets in it. Telling you about your marriage circumstances How you'll meet your spouse and when.

I'll even go more in depth and throw in an engagement date. Let's say you're in a relationship now I can find out if that person is your next spouse.

Pregnancy 50.00 USD

Yeah I'll give at least 3 dates of when pregnancy becomes a possibility.

later on I'll update this with maybe screenshots or drop a link showing previous readings. My videos I showed some of these screenshots. On YouTube shorts it's harder to find but on TikTok you can find the thumbnails better.

[batsbirdsandspeedstersohmy]

Tw politics rant.

I am so frustrated at everyone being like how the fuck can you support Biden. He supports genocide. I can not vote for him. Am not voting they are both so bad.

Look at how he talks he is clearly losing it.

BITCH WHAT DO YOU THINK TRUMP GOING TO GO WALK OVER AND BE LIKE HEY STOP THIS WAR AND DONT WE NOT GOING TO LET YOU KILL ANYONE ELSE OR WE KILL YOU?????

Trump's going to make it so much worse. Like Biden isn't doing a great job okay but like he trying to get a peaceful thing to happen. He trying to get it to stop even if he not doing a good job.

Biden has speech problems we know this. He isn't great at the debate he has trouble getting words out right.

So do I

Look at the good things his administration is trying to do.

He is working on putting protections in for us queers he has tooken down a lot of Trump's don't say gay stuff.

He is FUVKING TRYING TO MAKE IT SO YOU CAN FILES YOUR TAXES WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY A CORPORATION !!! FO YALL KNOW HOW BIG THAT IS???? he going against one of the biggest people who line politicians pockets to make it so the American people are scared of doing their taxes wrong and getting in jail. So they pay TurboTax to do it for them.

When really the big companies are the ones who are doing things wrong and getting away with no paying enough.

HE WAS TALKING ABOUT GETTING THE RAILROAD SYSTEM RUNNING UP AGAIN. AND YOU KNOW WHEN THEY WHEN ON STRIKE AND EVERYONE EAS LIKE DUDE ACTUALLY MADE THEM GO BACK TO WORK.

BUT HE ENDED UP HELPING THEM GET A DEAL FASTER THEN THE UNION'S PREDICTED IT WOULD BE.

BIDEN IS A UNION MAN AND WE NEED TO BRING THAT SHIT BACK.

ALSO IT DOESNT JUST MEAN HIM IT MEANS HIS WHOLE TEAM AND THE PEOPLE HE PUTS AROUND HIM. he will actually listen to people and professional who knows things. Trump for hell doesn't he puts yes man next to him and does whatever he can to get money in his pocket and companies.

How is this a question. Protesting by not voting is just giving more votes to trump and a lot of us are not going to live through that.

If y'all want someone better then we should get behind someone in the beginning and push for them to have a chance and become the Democrat candidate. You have to be starting that shit really early. Don't be saying now how bad he is and we should have someone else.

Right now it is him and Trump. Who do you want out of those two to be in control?

Weather you like it or not it's one of those two so who?????

Cause for me it is a very clear answer. Be a fucking grown up and live with the reality. If you don't vote your giving more of a chance to trump.

You think his followers aren't going to vote for him???? They tried to take over the Capital by force last time. You think they not going to vote????

While y'all are dreaming about a better world others are actively making it worse. So either do something to make it better or at least do the minimum and let people into office who are not making it worse and trying to do some good.

Send money where you can to GoFundMes or organizations to help people who are dying. Call/email your representatives and say you need to do better. Tell them their lose your vote don't tell us on social media. But do vote blue. Cause Red is just going to make things worse and help burn everything to the ground. Tell those in power your give money to the other side if they don't do better. Lie to them. Even if you won't give money to anyone. Lie to them make them actually feel like they need to do better. If you really want to show your hate tell them that they are losing money/votes thus power if they don't do better. That actually get them to listen. Don't just decide to not vote and then get the wrose people in power then cry about how life is unfair.

Life is unfair go do something to help then.

[anonymousad]

harlan guthrie sharing that he was having a baby is actually a pretty normal, non parasocial thing to do imo. i wouldn't call the number of children you have inappropriately intimate information to disclose.

inappropriately intimate information to disclose is more like sharing pictures of your real custody agreement paperwork, sending emotionally fraught screenshots from emails with your father with whom you have a strained relationship (and oversharing how this strained relationship informs your podcasts to people BRAND NEW to your server who just wanted to pay you a compliment), giving your personal home address to fans, and telling people about your kidney stones, including the symptoms you were experiencing.

here's where i'd joke "you know, as a hypothetical example", but being a one-off anon message, i'll be clear that yes, these are all real examples harlan guthrie shared publically in his very large discord server. he doesn't have a good grasp of boundaries or the general concept of parasociality, and the extremely weak and ill-enforced "rules" of his server both exemplify and contribute to this.

(he's also infamously fast and loose with the privacy of others, making a hobby of screenshotting and posting bad reviews of his shows without redacting usernames even after being told repeatedly that this was not cool. supposedly he really has stopped for good now, which would be good, but also he did give a child's real name and face in private conversation with two separate users in the recent 'nazi child' incident, so.)

first of the anonymous asks I got with stories/information on the whole Harlan Guthrie discord thing.

note: yeah I recognize the baby thing is probably just me, I don't like strangers knowing a lot about myself. so seeing others do it so freely and openly despite knowing they have thousands of fans is jarring and kind of scares me.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do more with each of these than just boost them and have them all gathered in one place, but depending on the kinds of correlating incidents that come in I may do something like a timeline of events or something showing patterns of behavior.

I will say that the last sentence of this ask DOES have context, which I learned from someone passing along this tumblr post:

let me know what people might find helpful. I know for some the goal of this kind of thing is going to have one place to point and start asking for accountability, it's nice to have stuff gathered.

[redefinemyworld]

You know, I've been here a while watching the sag-aftra and the writers strike quite aptly as a 19 year old university student who's only other hobby is literally consuming media so this is kind of important to me and I'm not gonna lie it makes me kind of sad.

But not in the way anyone would think. Before we jump to conclusions I am in full support of all the strikes. Don't stop until you get the compensation you deserve.

But it makes me sad because for context I'm South African. I go to university on a financial aid scheme created by the government and lately out government has been getting worse and worse. Showing its stripes worse and worse. And so I'm not shocked that their financial aid scheme is showing funny changed.

So the financial aid scheme is call Nationtional Student Financial Aid Scheme, it became a bursary (scholarship) a few years ago after a bunch of "fee must fall strikes" which were in response to high tertiary school fees. That happened while I was in primary school (around grade 7) and it now funds disadvantaged students whose families earn a household income of less than ZAR350000 per annum ($19520, €17538, £15172).

Okay cool. Nice. But what it doesn't take into account are middle income families earning over that threshold but are still unable to afford school fees, either because there's many mouths to feed in a household or because they are just part of the missing middle but that's not the chat.

As much as I see #treelaw trending I also wanna see NSFAS trending. I want to see tumblr talking about all these things cause they are such a big fucking deal.

Usually how the scheme works is they send money to the university that pays tuition, the university also distributes the accommodation and living allowance to the funded students. Recently, the scheme has changed and they decided to create a bank account that sends students living allowances straight to them and here's where the problem starts.

There was a bid to decide which corporation/banks would be in charge of creating this specific NSFAS student bank account and a bunch of corporations no one has ever heard of outbid the largest banks and organisations in the country. The company is called Noracco, eZaga, Coinvest and Tenet.

Now here's where things get silly goofy.

They are not a registered financial service provider. They barely even have a fucking website. And they are handling people's livelihoods and billions of South African Rands. Only one of the corporations is connected to an authorised financial service provider which is eZaga. (How this was not a requirement I have no idea)

Students are not getting their living allowances. This means no groceries, no transport home, toiletries, nothing. Keep in mind these are disadvantaged students. No one is getting extra money from home to help them with such expenses

They have terrible service. No phone calls, emails nothing is answered.

They have insanely high bank charges. This takes advantage of so many students and uses up what little allowance money they have to live. A student usually receives around R1600 for a month (which is around 89USD)

You can't spend more than a capped amount of money a day, which is incredibly inconvenient when shopping for groceries as one can spend almost R800 (44USD) on groceries plus an extra R50-R100 (3-8 USD) for transportation.

This was started in the middle of the school year (February-November is how the year works here, it started in June/July for universities and TVETs had been introduced to in 2022 and have been striking against it since)

Students are out here SUFFERING and there is no one helping!!! We are being THREATENED to participate in this sham with out living allowances being WITHHELD FROM US.

The financial abuse is soooo real

I know im talking into the void but I'm hoping and praying that this catches someone's attention enough for people to start talking about it.

Here are a bunch of articles calling out this weird, Obviously corrupt organisations that answer anything that doesn't currently have any links connected to it.

The public protector has also recently been assigned to investigate.

https://www.outa.co.za/blog/newsroom-1/post/nsfas-what-are-you-doing-with-student-funds-1233

https://www.da.org.za/2023/07/da-raises-alarm-over-nsfas-direct-payment-system

https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Announcements/Unisa-has-taken-note-of-concerns-raised-by-students-regarding-direct-payment-system

https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/fraudulent-withdrawals-from-nsfas-funded-students-accounts-threaten-their-future-a4a47850-bad4-45e9-a30f-9b8b48a08998

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2023-07-10-tut-students-reject-new-banking-system-for-nsfas-beneficiaries/

On top of this, NSFAS has also been defending thousands of students nationally referring to them as "undeserving". While I understand there are some people who take advantage of them system specifically for underprivileged students the way they went about it is not the best.

Students are actively being thrown out of their residents and accommodations and being de-registered from their institutions. Questions have been put in place as to what is deemed as undeserving but all NSFAS can claim is students who are financially and/or academically ineligible refusing to take into account student circumstances.

At the end of the day, every student uses the scheme the same way. And sure sometimes there's someone with a household with more than R350000 p/a benefiting but personally, I don't see anything wrong with someone having a little extra pocket money. There is no reason anyone, anywhere should be forced to live on a to make ends meet budget.

This was not the best layout. It was probably messy and all over the place, but I have never really written something this long, complex and detailed for tumblr. It's missing so many important details and contexts that I'm hoping anyone who cares to read will find out more about and help give us a voice.

We just want to learn without worrying about where we're going to sleep or what we're going to eat.

Please any attention is good, just to put pressure on the people in charge. Please let's get tree law and fund the defended trending together. ❤️

[the-firebird69]

It would seem that the board ship next door to the max really does not have much of an impact on you morons and the technology is advanced the clans had it but they did not have the unity to create such weaponry and we're tired of this dance you little idiots are doing so I'm going to turn it up here and get rid of the trash it's mind-boggling how awful it is this idiot next door doesn't understand he's going to be kicked out of California and the South because people can't stand him they need things they need it now they don't need some a****** telling them off from a head shop threatening them and threatening them because they want a simple return is the product doesn't represent what is shown and he's not going to use the tire he's going to sell it to you you're going to try and use it and you're going to die using the tire just as we said you're trying to implicate him like you have been any of the gosh darn sheriff and you can't do anything except get yourself killed you're a complete moron you're a moron back when you're working for Arnie you fill up your bike and your brain went all over those stupid Street you're a piece of s*** these people are all messians and their duties they have no clue what they're getting for what they're spending which is nothing don't put any effort in all day long you're a repulsive loser Dave stager we're going to take you to town and take it to task and we are already suing you for this ridiculous show obviously he can't send it back there's no guarantee to get any money at all now he has the product you can't do that with an animal like you she's going to sell it back to you and a decent price and if you don't pay it you won't get it ever and if you plan on the internet with the email sending him messages from Craigslist like you're some sort of high in the sky f****** loser really you don't have hardly anything left from what you had because of your stupid attitude and your dreamy lifestyle you're you're a nobody from start to finish doesn't matter what you have in the middle it's ridiculous you have the psychology of a cat

Thor Freya

I lost tons of stuff sitting here bothering him and I just keep doing it and nobody's stopping me he says

Trump

you should stop yourself are you going to lose the rest of it in your life and really it's going to happen anyways cuz you can't get away with what you've done to me you're a dead man Trump. Up on Titan you're gone that's the last one and the whole list of stops and that's what I require from people who mess around with me you're going to educate people on what's going to destroy them and I'm using you in that fashion either you leave and die or I use you up against your realm that's the choice for people who do what you do you tried to harm me badly many many times you have to leave Tommy f is in the cadre with you you and your band of Mary stupid pricks are going to educate people on what not to do and where to go to leave permanently you're killing your whole race your family and your kind for me you must feel some sort of guilt don't you think

Zues Hera

I sort of get this I don't think I know what I'm doing wrong or what's happening I sort of see something it doesn't matter if I know everybody else does and it is the point tons of people are making fun of me everywhere I go I threaten them I get hit it's a big joke

Trump

It actually is turning into a big joke you are getting your ass kicked and headed to you everywhere you go you're costing my son money and you're sitting there holding money off him like you said we need to take money from this a****** and hand it to me cuz he's putting me in the poor house and I need money. You working for the max and it's not working for them and it's not working for you Trump and you're a fool people are trying to get rid of you now they see how consrernating are needing it is they're trying to do things and they try and send things to you and it's horrible you're like a black hole and all that stuff goes in they're going back and getting it out your people are all dying and you can hardly care at all you're so dumb. You're going up there to pretend you're a vampire and so on you're just a retard but boy you dumb I have to give him credit for putting up with us it's awful and every time I look at it gets worse and he says this is what it's been my whole life it's always been like this the stupid s*** screwing up the trucks cooling system messing with me and the Delta 88 it's screwing around with me at school with the final exam I mean it's always the stupid moron that's probably him who's partner with me not bja and it's true and BJ's going to get rid of you Trump for doing that one thing cuz he was really angry about it and now I know about it and that's kind of an animal thing with him it's better it's more human you're so ridiculous you're a little puke. Her son said that question about the final project at Wentworth it's like a thesis and he was talking out his ass talking about people dying and he should not have now send in mind it's a rebel thing and it really is about safety he's been doing it his whole life this guy from has been telling our son about people getting killed doing things he's a winner this guy wants to use devices in like fight club and come up from nowhere when he's been sitting there trying to make them the whole time and alerted us the whole time he is a moron we're going to torture the s*** out of him. Yeah people are putting you into different body it's not you Trump you shit head

Thor Freya

I'm playing around with you Trump it's really cuz you won't leave you're going to die soon

Zues Hera

Olympus

[gjenevarants]

Almost Job/Mom

2/9/24

I think I’m just angry. Angry and disappointed. I’m disappointed that even after so many emails back and forth, after having to reschedule the interview because of something on their end, that the job went nowhere. A part of me understands that they went forward with another candiet. They might have needed to fill the position quickly, but if that were the case you would think they would have scheduled an interview with me at the earliest opportunity. That would have been Tuesday. Instead, they picked Thursday and then rescheduled to Saturday due to conflicting meetings. Part of me wonders if that was about the person who decided to higher. I would think that they would have wanted to meet or at least talk with not over email to all applicants. Again, they could have been desperate but that just circles back to my previous point. I’m just disappointed. I really wanted the job. I finally had something to look forward to and the rug lining the stairs was just pulled from under me, sending me tumbling back down them. Dad mentioned the usual: it would be ok, that I'm still here (both him being someone I can talk to and that I’m still breathing) and all I could remember was that line from Hamilton. See I never thought that I would live past twenty. I always wondered why that line stands out to me. Part of me has always known why and after last November, well, I turn twenty this year. That other part of me wonders how long I’ll last until I snap and actually go for the kitchen knives. 

I’m also angry. I’m angry at mom. When am I not upset with her in some way? This time I’m angry at her and a bit of myself because I went to her for comfort expecting something that wasn't a backhanded comment or a barbed wire phrase. She started out as understanding: that’s happened to me before, I can help you write a response. Then she played the: you’ve gotta keep applying to places, go in person to talk to them. Then she played what she thinks is her trump card: we’re broke as fuck. All that does is make me angry. Just last night, I watched her buy three sets of earrings and makeup she didn’t need. She’s used my makeup before both with and without permission. At least this time she asked before using my nail polish. I still haven't gotten it back though and I have no idea where it is. She always buying shit she doesn't need or have room for: new cloths, wall shelves she is never going to hang (they are on the floor behind the dining table with the boxes, we can bareilly use the damn thing), tickets to shows she really wants to go to but should not be buying because the money needs to go to something else. She’s been talking about not being able to pay off her credit card. She’s been talking about not knowing if she’ll be able to cover taxes. She says and does all this stuff then turns and tells me we're broke as if it's my fault. You think I don’t know we’re broke?! I literally watch her do all this shit and then she says it like it's my fault! There are so many things that I want to go and do! So many shows I want to go and see! And I can’t! And I know that! I may not be ok with it but at least I understand why! I have restraint! Yes I see clothes I want! I see shelving units and other helpful things that could be useful, and don’t even get me started on the things that I want to do before I die! I’m not complaining about the monetary reasoning as to why no! I’m complaining about bull shit laws about not being able to legally travel by yourself until twenty one! About not being able to get hotel rooms and bed and breakfasts because I’m still nineteen. I literally have only twenty dollars in my bank account right now! I have ten in savings! I’m not going anywhere because I don’t want to have to buy thirty dollars worth of gas that will only end up lasting a week! I have been eating less than I should have since December out of self deprivation! Partially because I know we can’t afford shit and because I hate my body shape. My new year's resolution was to exercise, to go on walks but I’m not! The nearest walking trails are all fifteen minutes away! That takes gas and gas takes money. I went on one walk when the new year started. One! And that was with dad and stepmother. I’m angry at mom because she is a hypocrite. She’s more nowadays than she is a mother. 

I’m just angry. I’m disappointed in her. Society always paints women to be the backbone of everything. She’s not. I don't even know if she knows what that means sometimes. I’ve tried talking to both her and dad about societarian pressure. About peer pressure. Neither of them understand. Not really. The other day there was someone outside of Target asking for money. They couldn’t afford their rent that month. I felt so bad for them, not because I saw them, but because when I looked at them I saw my mom. I saw where she might end up if she keeps doing this. I saw where I might end up if I can’t get away from her and that scares me. I’ve talked about being seen as her, about being treated like all I’m supposed to be is another her. And I’m not! I don’t want to be! I can’t! Very few people know how to look at me and see someone else. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t distance myself from her. I can’t get away from her shadow. From her reflection. I used to not know why I would look in the mirror and try to see my day. Any features I shared with him. Anything! And now I understand why. Now I get it! And knowing does nothing. 

Nothing changes. Nothing has changed no matter what I do. I’m stuck in this bullshit cycle where I feel like I’m living in her slipstream. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep living with her. I can’t talk to her about anything! If I do she either makes it about her or turns it into a backhanded barbwire phrase. If I keep living with her I may not actually live past twenty. I tried talking to dad about it, about moving. About getting anywhere else and his response was to get a job. And understand why. I get it, but he still doesn’t hear me. And I think maybe, maybe that’s because he managed to get away. 

[chrismerle]

Elsa's Crochet Commission Info

So, it occurred to me that my editing and writing commission info had actual posts, which were linked in my pinned post, whereas my crochet commission info was just a separate page on my blog, which means all the people who only use mobile probably couldn't see it. Considering that, I figured I should make an actual post for my crochet commission stuff.

Things To Know:

I'll take three crochet commissions at a time, but they won't necessarily be first come, first serve. I'll probably work on all of them simultaneously, which means if Person A orders a shawl and then Person B orders a hat, Person B's hat will likely be done before Person A's shawl.

I do clothing items, accessories, plushies, blankets, etc.

I crochet. I do not knit. I do not know how to knit. I don't have any imminent plans to learn how to knit.

The price of the item will be determined by the complexity of the end result, the amount of time I estimate it will take, the type of yarn you want it made of (wool or cotton are more expensive than acrylic, alpaca is more expensive than sheep wool, etc.), and the cost of the pattern if you want a specific item and the pattern costs money.

Payment will be half up front, then half + shipping afterwards. I have Paypal and Venmo.

The item will be made in an environment where cats and dogs are present, if you need to worry about allergies. I can't really feasibly escape them.

What To Do:

If you're interested, get in touch. You can DM me here on tumblr or email me at widgets.apparel@gmail.com. In the unlikely event I already have three commissions lined up, I'll let you know, but if you want I can let you know when I slot frees up later.

Give me as many details of what you want as you can.

If you haven't presented specific patterns and yarn choices, I will supply options for your approval.

Once the details are determined, I will give the price and you'll pay half.

I will commence working. I can offer a rough estimate of when the item will be finished, but I can't make any guarantees.

When I'm done, I will take photos and show you. You'll send the second half of the payment + shipping.

I will package up the item and give you the tracking info, and get it to the post office, at which point it is figuratively and literally out of my hands.

Assuming the post office doesn't shit the bed, your item will arrive! Yay! I don't require photos of you with the item, but I will appreciate them.

Examples (under the cut):

Dragon scale fingerless gloves, acrylic. $32.

Granny square purse, acrylic (with lining). $45.

Headband/earwarmer, acrylic. $22.

Semi-posable dog plushie, acrylic. $175. (took about 25 hours)

Triangle shawl, acrylic. $160.

Fingerless gloves, acrylic. $28.

Textured slouchy hat, wool. $35.

Tunisian crochet plaid hat, acrylic. $35.

Pokeball hat, acrylic. $28.

Mosaic crochet makeup bag/pencil pouch (with lining), acrylic. $36.

Tunisian crochet scarf, acrylic. $42.

Capybara plushie, acrylic. $30.

Rustic bunny plushie, acrylic. $15.

Laptop bag (with lining, buttons, and strap), acrylic. $95.

Medium purse (with lining, strap, and buttons), acrylic. $70.

Stegosaurus plushie, acrylic and wool/acrylic blend. $75 (he's a Big Boi)

Narwhal plushie, cotton/acrylic blend. $20.

Ribbed scarf, wool/acrylic blend. $42.

Chevron scarf, acrylic (I think?). $45.

Flower hat, acrylic. $38.

R2-D2 hat, acrylic. $30.

BB-8 hat, acrylic. $30.

[tomreview]

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I know that once you begin utilizing my DFY messages and preparing, you'll promptly understand that you're at last on the correct way to enduring, groundbreaking outcomes.

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I realize you've been attempting to obtain the sorts of results you'd truly prefer to get on the web. It's intense stuff. Dissimilar to a task, you have no manager guiding you, nor do you have a reliable check to anticipate in the event that you just "put in the hours."

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This genuinely makes me extremely upset.

However, if you haven't been able to make a significant amount of money online up to this point, it isn't really your fault. This is true, despite the fact that it is frequently stated. Why? Gurus like to make things more complicated.

This is the reason such countless sparkly articles hit the market every single day. People believe you should accept that the "old ways" of accomplishing things don't work, and that the "dependable" approach is obsolete. Therefore, they promote the idea of "what's hot now" to you.

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Yet, it's the reason each deal page will incorporate list items like...

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This press button stuff is bizarre, complex, and inadequate... in any case, it's constantly camouflaged/showcased as "fast and simple."

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Want to understand what this forever is?

It's always a cheap page builder that comes with 100 (often obscure) social media buttons to spam your page with and some random, poor products to promote.

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Only that is provided. And you won't get any good results if you don't already have a large, devoted following on each and every one of those social media platforms. Even if you have a large following, people won't trust you or buy from you if you just send them spam.

It just doesn't work like this!

These individuals are "selling you the fantasy," my companion. And it hurts you.

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This causes panic and despair, which are never good for you.

What's more, once more, it makes me extremely upset to see individuals succumb to this stuff, particularly when all they're doing is purchasing, attempting, and falling endlessly further behind throughout everyday life.

That is the reason I just suggest doing stuff that works. Things like: Yes, paid traffic, writing articles, Yes, blogging, Yes, videos, Yes, social media, Yes, product launches, Yes, list building, Yes, email marketing, Yes, product reviews

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However, why? For what reason would they say they are doing that? Instead, why don't they just do the "effortless" things?

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Simply because it's all nonsense!

All things considered, despite the fact that what truly takes care of business requires exertion, it's really not anywhere close to

as overwhelming as it might appear to be on a superficial level. By no stretch of the imagination. At all.

Let me break it down for you.

You will Adore this!

[failedkitchen]

CLoves: The Waking Up App 💙

It's literally not just a meditation app. No alerts to make you feel like a failure for skipping a day, truly scrumptious content for the mind body and soul, no charges if you can't afford it, no questions asked.

I love free stuff. Not only because I'm stingy (maybe), but I really believe the best stuff the world has to offer in life is free, and should be. So this is what really got me about the app before diving into its content. It doesn't stop at giving you a 30-day free trial without asking for a credit card, but you can get a full-year scholarship with no questions asked when you truly can't afford it. You just listen to a short message from Sam Harris, the founder and voice for most of the content, send an email, and a few days later someone sends you a very nice email saying you get a year of free subscription (normally $14.99 a month for people who can afford it). And you can do it again next year (which I did, went from student to graduate so it's justified). I really think all business models should be something like this. Sam says in his podcast (called Making Sense, which also has the same business model) that he didn't expect this to work out or be able to support itself, but I guess this type of radical generosity really pays off.

I've been listening to David Whyte's spoken poetry series on the app every night before bed, for a few months now. He reads his beautifully and deadly simple putting-together-of-words in his deep, soothing voice, but also gives background and context to each poem. Each recording is 5-10 minutes long, perfectly bite-sized, and a perfect balance of intellectually juicy food for thought as well as meditative insight. I love having poetry explained to me, telling me the state of mind in which he wrote it, where he was, who it was about, and just super insightful anecdotes that make the poems that much more memorable.

I'm not as good at keeping up a daily meditation practice, but Sam makes it really easy to get back into it.

This is the homepage of Waking Up. Every day, the daily meditation updates, with today's date and a new unseen artwork. You don't really know what you're gonna get every day, how much he's gonna talk, what instructions he'll give (all while sitting comfortably), whether you open or close your eyes, how theoretical he'll get, how much he'll just leave you be in silence. That really works for me, so I don't have any preconceptions of what may come. I just click on the beautiful artwork (the list of artists can be found here) and sit. I also love how it shows how many people are practicing with you at that moment. I don't notice it much, but it's such a nice feature and a pleasant thing to acknowledge. You also choose whether you want a 10-minute session or 20-minute session. I sort of switch depending on the day, but honestly if I don't do the 20 then I just skip it altogether lol.

The homepage is like Spotify, with recommendations and features to guide me on what next across my overthinking mind. Look at the cute artworks!!!

Excuse the lazy layout, but these are the different pages that are Theory, Practice, and Life. This is one of my favourite things about it. They're not just meditations, but crazy stuff like full-length exclusive Alan Watts talks and series by some of the biggest thinkers and practitioners, including my favourite David Whyte series. I started with his Consolations series where every poem explores the meaning, paradox, and complexity of everyday words, e.g. "Genuis", "Ambition", "Heartbreak', etc. They really really hit the spot for me, and I've learnt so much from them. Sometimes they just perfectly align with what you're going through and tell you exactly what you needed to hear. Now I'm on his Contemplative Action series, and it's sooo good.

When I tried Headspace, I hated that they reminded me every day that I didn't meditate and it keeps piling up in my notifications, I just wanted them to leave me alone. But with Waking Up, you get a little contemplative message every day with the title "Take a moment?", and if you click it it takes you to a ~40 second voice message from Sam saying something nice and deep. And an artwork. The one I got yesterday said, "Each of us is looking for a path back to the present. We're trying to find good enough reasons to be satisfied." Thank you Sam for the little bit of data that will go into my subconscious and feed the cats that are hungry for good thoughts.

But if you want to start with some kind of structure, the app starts with an Introductory Course that has about 30 sessions. But no pressure to follow day 1 day 2, they're just called Meditation 1 and so on, and the sessions vary from ~8-15 minutes. They're also accompanied by a nice non-compulsory theory session that goes hand in hand with the meditation for more conceptual backing. To kind of give a ballpark, he explores the sense of self, metta (loving-kindness), the power and necessity of thoughts, mindfulness and its usefulness, and much much more.

Waking Up has given me such good guidance when I need it without forcing it down my throat. I'm still trying to maintain an every day practice, but I also don't blame myself when I don't. Everything about it is just so soothing, including the amount of charity they're doing with the app. In their 100 Days of Giving, random members will be selected to direct $10,000 to one of 10 highly effective charities, with a total of a million. Their radical generosity is infectious, and they truly make the world a better place. I love them very much.

Thanks for giving your time to read this hehe, love you very much too and here's a closing note taken from their twitter.

P.S. I just realised I can pick a head for my profile !! and there are so many !! 😭🥺

[theunaestheticstudyblr]

STEM writing advice

Ok so this could probably work for a lot of writing, but the only writing I've done in years is scientific papers, so I don't wanna lay untrue claims. Anyways, here we go!!!

Don't just put in a quote. Unpack it. By that, I mean explain the contents of the quote and then how it relates to your topic. For example, let's say you're writing about the sky and use the following quote: "the sky gets its color due to the reflection of light". Your followup sentence should explain this, looking something like: the blue color therefore is a result of this reflection in the atmosphere. It both helps explain the quote and its relevance. This is very important for supporting evidence for a claim.

Titles are hard!!!! I recommend writing your intro and discussion before deciding on one. This way you can pull a summary phrase from one to use for a title!

Download or save all your sources!!!! Trust me trying to find them panicking at 2am is no fun.

When compiling resources, make an annotated bibliography

WRITE ON YOUR SOURCES GOD DAMN IT!!!!! I don't know why this belief that you shouldn't write in books or on papers or anything is so prevalent. But fuck it. Trust me you want to write on them! It will save you so much time when you're looking for that once super specific, amazing, perfect quote you read.

Before you proofread, do not touch your paper for at least a day. Don't even think about it. You're too attached. After 24 hours of absence you'll be able to go "wow that really sucks what was I thinking?"

If you hit a block, just word vomit. Just write down anything and everything.

Or start with your evidence or quotes and build from there.

Use something like [zz] for missing information. That's what I use and it allows me to search the document for that to find where I'm missing something whether it's a citation, an explanation, a data point, whatever.

You don't have to write the sections in order. Write your methods first and your intro last. It doesn't matter at all.

It helps having someone else proofread your paper, but if no one can, Google translate or any read aloud service is amazing

Stuck on an idea? Talk about it to someone or something. I use my ferret. I'll just sit there and be like ok this is what my data is and this is the analysis from it, but how do I explain its relevance?? Like sure it shows this but what about this? And then eventually I figure it out. Bartenders are also great for this

If you don't like working at a library, make yourself a spot at home that's just for writing with no distractions. Yes, even that plant will get you away from your paper, trust me.

Get you a nice, soft pillow to bang your head against.

Learn to do calculations in excel and run analysis in a statistical software like R which is free to use!

If you want to access an article without paying, email the authors! A lot of time they'll send you the paper!

Keep track of ALL vocab. Any niche terms might have to be defined, so keeping a list with definitions/explanations is very helpful.

Make a folder with subfolders. Keeping things organized will save you so much time I promise. Put drafts in one folder, papers in another, lists in another, etc.

Save! Always save! Even better: set up autosave to occur every like 10 minutes.

Early mornings and/or late nights are gonna be your thing now I promise.

If your eyes start feeling strained or your head starts hurting, take a break! Trust me, once you start writing in what I like to call the "goo stage" (where you're starting to get foggy and tired, rubbing your eyes, stretching your back, etc) your work quality is gonna go way down. Get up, stretch, drink some water, take a walk, whatever.

Get a stress ball or something. Especially for running data analysis. Things get very frustrating.

Set up a news alert for your topic. It can help you find real world applications for your discussion as well as maybe find you a super recent publication!