#and the thing is I GOT IT FROM A COFFEE HUT IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT. AND PAID ALMOST $7 FOR IT

[otrtbs]

asked for an iced chai 2day (w espresso obviously) and this place just gave me chai flavored syrup,,,, im gonna blow everything up

[lazyneonrabbitt]

Sick day

You woke up feeling like absolute shit. Today was you three's day off and now this crazy headache was ruining the fun.

After your painkillers were deemed useless the boys decided yo treat you even more like a princess. You were already their everything but today it was even worse.

"Gonna have to stay in all day and I cam't even continue my game because of this freaking headache.." you whined dramatically, rolling onto your back with a loud sigh.

"I'm sure you'll feel good enough tonight to play some more." Lip came walking towards you and set a fresh pot of tea and an empty mug on the coffee table. "Now quit whining and drink something, yeah? You're probably starting your period soon, you always get these headaches before it."

Meanwhile, Carmy laughed to himself at how easily Lip shut you up. Taking some mental notes since he still always folded easily when it came to you. "Treating her like a princess, huh?"

"What. Princess is just a fancy word for a spoiled brat, which she is. ..which is also our fault for spoiling her so much." They both looked over at you. Sitting there in their clothes, blowing the steam off your hut mug of fresh brewed tea. You hadn't lifted a single finger today. The painkillers were brought to you in bed by Lip. Carmy made you a smoothie to get your strenght up and brewed you a pot of tea without you having to ask for any of it.

After a moment Lip returned to the couch with a large mug of coffee and sat down next to you. He snatched the TV remote and controller off the side table, reaching rudely past you in doing so and booted up your game. "Hey!" You protested until he opened a new save slot on the title screen. "You can't play, so you'll have to live with watching me fail at playing."

"What? You hate this game." You point at the TV to make a point. "You say it's unfair and it sucks because it has no difficulty settings and you 'die way too easily'" you air quote that last bit to recall his earlier statement on your new game when you were playing the week before.

"I know, baby. But I know how badly you want to stare at the pretty goth twink puppet kill other, less pretty evil puppets." His mocking tone was hard to miss.

Carmen walked past behind the couch and ducked down to kiss both of you on the cheek in passing by. "Alright, I'll be making a grocery run if you two are gonna be bickering like an old married couple." With his bag slung over his shoulder he grabbed his keys from the bowl and headed out the door. "See you in a bit, Bear!" You waved bye and made kissy noises as he closed the door behind him.

Carmen couldn't get the smile off his face.his two partners being idiots did that to him. You three were happy, in love and things were good. He felt good.

His quick grocery trip turned into a larger run, getting the freshest ingredients from local markets and stopping by the herbs shop to get some more tea blends for you. He knew your favorite store bought flavors and worked with the seller to mix up a few different bags for you to try.

On his way back he stopped at the local smoke shop and picked up some of the expensive brand cigarettes Lip loved to smoke but only got on special occasions because they're so pricey.

Carmen's love language has always been acts of service, and usually came together with gift giving as soon as he learned his partners' interests. And now with his bags full of items for dinner and his little surprise gifts he made his way back home.

"Oh motherfucker. I clearly dodged that!"

"You clearly didn't. He hit you on that last swing, else you wouldn't be dead now."

Lip's cursing and your arguments could be heard through the front door, having that fond smile creep back on Carmy's face as he walked back into the apartment.

"Hey babe, how was shopping?" "Welcome back, Bear!" The joined welcomes warmed his heart as he walked up to them and kiss them both, "Brought you something." ans hands them their gifts.

"What's the occasion? We got something to celebrate?" Lip was truly curious as to why he was given these cigarettes. "You never got them when we first started dating."

"Carmy, these teas smell amazing. Did you mix these yourself? That's your writing on the labels." You held a bag to your nose and breathed in the blend of red fruits. "Yeah. I know how much you love your fruit teas, so I went to that herb place to check out their stuff. Thought you'd like some personal blends."

You lifted your arm to catch his head as he leaned on the backrest and pull him into a loving kiss. "Thanks, Carmy."

When you pulled apart Lip took the oportunity to grab hold of him too and repeat the affectionate kisses. "Yeah, thanks, Bear."

Carmen took off to the kitchen to prepare soup and some sides for dinner while Lip kept you occupied with his failed attempts of playing your game again.

Dinner was set up beautifully on the kitchen island. Three sets of beautifully plated sides next to bowls of steaming soup, stuffed to the brim with veggies and meat.

Every little detail about this dinner was praised by you and Lip, thanking Carmy with every first bite of every bit of food on the table. You shared details of your couch hanging time, video game frustrations and shopping trip until every last bite of food was gone.

You and Lip insisted on cleaning up so Carmy could relax, but he kept swooping in to carefully clean his expensive knives that he disn't allow anyone else to use. Apologising constantly and immediately making excuses to help clean afterwards.

By the time you were done cleaning and standing in each others' way the sun had set and you found yourselves moving back to the couch. You draped yourself over the boys' laps to watch a movie of their choosing.

~~☆☆☆~~

A/N: Who knows what game Lip is playing?

[burningtreebooks]

autumn leaves

She was a crack whore with a heart of gold, at least that's what she would call herself, but I saw her more as a lost soul, a leaf falling from a large tree, an acorn lost in the city. we'd met downtown, near the Coffee Hut; she thought I was a John, and I thought she was a prostitute and after we cleared the air, we decided to get coffee. she had a beautiful face, and a missing tooth; she had a tattoo on her face of something in a Arabic. she had some street in her voice, said things like, you know, it's just cause you gotta go where you gotta go. I was married, had not intention of sleeping with her, but the more I spoke with her, the more her words and her face and her story pulled me into their tragedy. we got a hotel, drank cheap wine, and the sex was sex, somewhere between a workout and a mystery. I had never cheated on my wife before, so I knew this meant I had broken it; I felt sick, but I must have wanted to break it or why do this? I can't remember the woman's name, but saw her a few times downtown riding in the car with my wife on the way to Nordstrom or the Gap. When I finally told my wife about her, it had already been 3 months, and it seemed like a lifetime ago, so much so I wanted to put her in the category of past life loves like all the girls I had slept with before I met my wife, but I knew she deserved the truth. She is an honest, hardworking woman. She has integrity and is fierce to the bone. When I told her, she just stared at me, looking through me, erasing me, until she said only one word, "weak." She was right. I didn't argue. Then, the days passed and I felt this wall growing between us, a wall the erect everywhere we went. I became hard to speak over it. Sometimes I'd try to chip off a brick or dig under it to say something, but she would pretend not to hear. Once in a while, we'd forget the wall was there, and find ourselves touching or laughing or looking in each other's eyes, but then the wall would fall, and it would be all the more painful for remembering. Then she said she was leaving, that this wasn't the life she'd wanted. She said without trust, we're nothing, we're strangers. She was right, but we had always been strangers in my mind. I felt as if she understood only half of me, and though she loved that half with all her heart, she didn't even know the other. I didn't know this then, but after she left, and I lived alone for a few months, it dawned on me how little I missed her, even after all we'd been through. And this is when I began to feel better, and even though I should have been stronger, and found a better way to break it off, I was weak, and that is what weak people do sometimes in order to become strong. Last year she remarried a man that looks just like her; they are a handsome couple. I am happy for her. I am still single, but I ran into the crack whore with a heart of gold last week at the grocery store. She was also with somebody, and gave me a sly smile as if to say I will keep it a secret if you will. But I didn't want to keep it a secret and went home to write this story. I am not sure why. I just wanted to get it out and look at the mess I'd made. I wanted to see if there is anything beautiful to be saved from chaos, and if there is, then we have nothing to fear or regret in this life, ever.

[suckitsurveys]

What’s your favourite type of bird? Cardinals or Blue Jays. How many friends do you have on Facebook? 200-something. What was on the last sandwich you ate? Turkey breast, provolone cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato. What sort of music did you listen to when you were in high school? A variety of music. Do you prefer gold or silver jewellery? I like both.

Have you ever gotten back together with an ex? Yeah, gross. How far away is the closest store to your house and what is it? There’s a small deli/grocery store down the block. What is your favourite Thai dish? Pad See Ew or Massaman curry.  How many contacts do you have in your phone? 109 apparently.  When was the last time you made out with somebody? The other night. What month of the year was your mother born? January. Do you have any friends that seem to know all the hot gossip? Sure. Are there any candles in your bedroom, and what scent are they? I think so, but I can’t remember off the top of my head. I may have moved them recently. What tv show(s) have you been watching currently? Ughhh there’s SO many I need to watch.  When was the last time you went to a birthday party? I threw my niece one a month ago. How many apps do you have on your phone? A lot. What pet names do you use with your significant other? Babe/baby, hun, and some other personal ones that would need explaining lol. Do you have to wear a name badge where you work? We’re supposed to wear our IDs on us but no one ever does lol. Do you have a dress code or have to wear a uniform where you work? A small dress code. Basically I have to dress like I’m going to be doing labor (Jeans, steel toe shoes, tshirt). What brand is your toaster, if you have one? I don’t know what brand it is. Have you ever dated a smoker? Yes. Are there any movies you’ve seen so many times? Yeah, there’s several movies I’ve seen many times. What was the last thing you purchased with cash? My nails. Can you hear anything right now? The AC. I just realized I am still wearing my headphones even though nothing is playing lol. Is there anybody else in the room you’re currently in? Kitties. What’s the name of the store you usually get your groceries? Jewel-Osco. Would you rather travel to Japan or Scotland? Japan. Does your house have a porch/balcony? No, but we have a really nice patio/garden. What’s your usual order when you go to a coffee shop? I order different things depending on my mood/the season. So either a hot/iced matcha latte with soy/coconut milk if they have it, an iced hazelnut latte, an iced tea, or some holiday themed drink. Have you ever seen a theatre show? Yeah. What was the last movie you saw and who did you watch it with? I watched Pokemon: The First Movie with my niece and cousin a few weeks ago. What is your mother’s first name? Janet. Do you like to dance? Sure.

What’s your favourite type of bread? Garlic. Do you receive catalogues and brochures in your mailbox? Yeah. What colour is the sky right now? Grey. Do you share a middle name with any of your siblings? Nope. Have there ever been any bushfires/wildfires in your area? Nope. How would you label your sexual orientation? I wouldn’t, because I have no idea. When was the last time you took a nap during the day? It’s been a while. I don’t like naps. What did you have to eat for dinner last night? Pizza and fired zucchini.  Have you ever been a member in a band? No. Are you double-jointed? No. What was the last thing you had to drink? Iced coffee. Do you currently have any bruises on your body? I do. Who was the last message you received from and what did they say? Mark sent me a meme. Okay WEIRD right as I was typing this I got a spam text message from Pizza Hut, lol. What colour are your eyes? Green. Can you cry on command? If so, have you ever used it to your advantage? Sure. Do you consider your goals easily achievable or are they pretty grand? Blah. What’s your favourite kind of accent? Boston and southern. What time does the sun go down where you live at this time of the year? About 8:30/9. Do you prefer beer, wine or spirits? Wine. When was the last time you ate Mexican food? A couple weeks ago. Have you ever watched yourself on video? Yeah. What time did you wake up today? A little after 7 oops. What time will you go to sleep tonight? Hopefully early. Do you have separate emails for personal and business? Yes. Are you the eldest, youngest or a middle child? I’m the baby. What’s your favourite vegetable? Zucchini. What colours are you wearing today? Right now I am just wearing a tye dye shirt and purple underwear. Do you have a subscription to any streaming services like Netflix? Yes.  Would you rather eat Italian or Indian food? Both have dishes I like.  Are you sitting, standing or lying down right now? Half laying, half sitting. Have you ever missed a flight? No. Are you someone who always needs a coffee before you can function? Nah. Do your neighbours have any pets? Have you ever met them? Yes. Our first floor neighbors have a kitty named Guts who we haven’t officially met but have see through the window. And our second floor neighbor has a beagle named Max who we have met and pet lol.  When was the last time you washed your hair? Yesterday. What colour is your bedroom door? Black. Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? Yes. Do you know your significant other’s passwords? I think so? I’ve never had a reason to used them so I don’t know if I remember them. What was the last thing you said aloud? ”Hi kitty baby” to Ramona. Do you know anyone who writes huge essays when they message you? Yes, my cousin does. And sometimes others if they are telling a story or something.

[its-an-obsession]

Fireworks

Teen Wolf Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Summary: Your family is throwing a New Years Eve party and your parents have invited Stiles and his father. However, you’re not aware that they’re coming over until an hour before the party. Keep in mind that you and Stiles Stilinski absolutely hate each other.

Notes:                                 

Your favorite show: Y/F/SH

Warnings: None 

Dialogue Prompts: None

Stiles Stilinski X-reader

New Years Eve. I’ve had my fair share of New Years Eve parties, but this one in particular is different because it’s just me, my mom and my dad. I like that, the past few years my whole family has come over. This year they wanted to do their own thing. Which is fine because I get the whole night to myself doing whatever I want. I wake up with a smile on my face as I realize that the year is about over. I hop up from my bed and tidy it up. 

I looked at my clock and realize that its 12:00. I grabbed a t-shirt and leggings and changed into that. I then slipped some fluffy socks on and put my hair into a low ponytail. I grabbed my phone and make my way downstairs. “Good morning!” My mom cheered as she makes some cookies. “Hey!” I smiled, “Happy New year!” She kissed my cheek as I grabbed a cookie. “Why’re you making cookies?” I asked. “We’re having some people over.” She answered. 

“Cool.” I replied. I didn’t really ask who it was because I know that I’ll be upstairs the whole time. I grabbed another cookie and hopped on the couch to turn on the T.V. “Aren’t you going to ask who it is?” She questioned. “Nope,” I take a bite of the cookie, “I’ll be upstairs the whole time and then come downstairs in time for when the ball drops.”

“Whatever you say.” She chuckled nervously and put the rest of the cookies in the oven. “Why’d you laugh? Is there something that I should know?” I asked getting up from the couch to get a class of milk. “Nope!” She said popping the ‘P’. I gave her a nervous glance and decided to shake it off knowing that there’s nothing I should be worried about. I walked back over to the couch and continued to watch Y/F/SH. My mom walked over and handed me a napkin, “Have you heard from any of your friends?”

“No,” I replied, “They’re all busy.”

“Like who?” She sat on the chair to the right of the coffee table.  “Lydia’s at her lake house. Kira’s with her family in New York, Scott’s with his mom and dad doing stuff.” I replied. “What about Stiles?”

I choked on a piece of the cookie, “Him?”

“Yes?” She chuckled. 

“I HATE Stiles.” 

“Why?” Her eyes widened at my choice of words. “He’s so annoying and when ever I make a mistake he always makes stupid remark. Then when I try and make plans with Lydia or Kira, he makes rude comments about my social life,” I explained, “He’s such a….I don’t know….he’s like Jaba the hut.”

She laughed at my silly attempt at criticizing him, “You both like Star wars, I don’t see why you don’t like him.” “Did I just not explain to you how much I hate him?” I took a sip of my milk, “I want nothing to do with Stiles, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that brown eyed freckled star wars loving sarcasm filled stupid……person this winter break.” She rolled her eyes and got up to finish the last batch of cookies. 

After watching a few episodes of Y/F/SH it was about 6:00 pm. My mom looked agitated all day, my dad had gotten home earlier after coming from the grocery store. He was cooking the chicken when the phone rang. “I’ll get-” I said from the couch. “Nope I’ll get it!” My mom interrupted. 

She entered the kitchen, my Mom and Dad exchanged a nervous look. “The Stilinski’s will be here soon.” My mom informed. My eyes widened and I dropped my phone, “Wait!” I yelled. “You invited the Stilinski’s!” I continued, “Why the hell would you invite them?”

“I work with Noah,” My Dad said, “And he’s always complaining about how lonely the Holidays are. Him and Stiles-”

“Don’t say his name!” I put up a finger stopping him from continuing, “I’m staying upstairs and I’m not coming down!” I ran upstairs and heard my mom say that they’ll be here in 20 minutes. “Oh my god!” I slammed my door and planted myself in my bed preventing myself from the outside world. Okay, to be honest I do like Stiles a little bit but I hide it very well. I brought my blanket away from my face when I heard the front door open. I looked at my closet and decided to look somewhat presentable. I put on some black ripped jeans an a white shirt with a red cardigan. I looked in the mirror and decided to apply some mascara and some concealer. I fixed my ponytail and sat back on my bed and scrolled through Instagram. I was looking through my feed when someone knocked on the door. “Come in!” I called. 

I looked up and saw my mom standing there. “I should’ve told you,” I gave her a look then she continued, “But, Maybe you could learn not to hate him, maybe play a game or just sit in the room with him?”  

I sighed, “Fine! But If you try to set me up with him I will try and leave the house.” She put her hands up in defense. Stiles turned around and looked at me (GIF Above). “Well Y/n it’s so nice to see you come down from your bat cave.” My dad said. My mom pushed my back lightly and guided me to a chair. I sat crisscross on the chair with my phone in my lap. 

“So Y/n,” Mr. Stilinski said, “How’s track going?” 

“It’s going okay,” I answered. “Tell him about your meet last Friday,” My mom said. “I got 2nd place in the half mile,” I said shyly. “That’s great,” He said, “Stiles is very good at lacrosse.” He slapped his sons shoulder, Stiles flinched and glared at me. “Would you like a drink?” My mom said. “I would love one,” Mr. Stilinski said. The three got up and went to the kitchen. Stiles and I immediately turned on our phones. Dad and Sheriff Stilinski grabbed our phones. “Hey!” We said. “Talk,” My dad whispered to me, “Carol, Why don’t we show Noah the new screened porch.” My mom smiled and they walked out of the room. 

“Shut up,” Stiles said. 

“I didn’t even talk,” I said. 

“I could hear you thinking,” He replied.

 “Look,” I began, “I don’t want to hangout with you either. So let's just make our parents happy, okay?” He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Do you want to play a game?” I asked. He shrugged and fixed his baseball cap. I went upstairs to get the card games. “I have Uno and some playing cards,” I said, “Which do you want to play?”

“Have you ever played 52 pickup?” He questioned. 

“Yes, I’m not 12..”

“Sorry, thought you were 12,” Stiles Stilinski said, smiling sarcastically. This boy’s sarcastics remarks made my blood boil, every part of me wanted to strangle him but the other part of me didn’t. His eyes watched me as I sat down in front of him, my legs crossed. “We’re playing Uno,” I said, grabbing the cards from the coffee table. His brows furrowed in confusion as why I would decide for him. I dealt seven even cards for the two of us. 

“I didn’t get to choose.” 

“And?” I retorted with sass. Stiles picked up his cards with a look of disgust. The boy with the whiskey colored eyes looked at his uno cards then at the back of mine. I narrowed my eyes, pressing the cards to my chest so he wouldn’t glimpse at them. I flipped the first card over, hoping it was a good card. He put down a skip then a yellow 3. My eyes stayed narrowed as I let out a sly smirk. 

I put down a skip, reverse, skip, draw four, then a skip, and then a draw two. “Uno!” I cheered. He put down a green 8, I then put my green 4 down. I put my hands together and cracked my knuckles. “Well ,Well ,Well, You just got your ass kicked by a girl. How do you feel?” I mocked. He laughed and rolled his eyes again. Stiles tensed his jaw, biting his lip in frustration. 

I took a sip of my water then set the glass down on the paper coaster that rested on top of the glass coffee table. “I want you to say it.” I said, leaning against the back of the leather couch. “Say what?” he questioned. “Say you got your ass kicked by a girl,” I repeated, same smile I wore before. He sighed and leaned back with crossed arms. 

“Say it.” I teased. 

“I got my ass kicked by a girl,” He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous manner. I furrowed my brows and leaned forward, putting a hand behind my ear. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you,” I said as I titled my head. 

“I got my ass kicked by a girl,” he repeated, his voice a little higher than before. Stiles sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. Stiles leaned back and crossed his arms as he stared at me. “What?” I asked, trying to cover up a laugh with a cough. “I got my ass kicked by a girl!” He said clearly. I leaned back and put my hands behind my head, “There it is.” I looked at the clock and saw that it was 8:00 pm. I groaned. “What?” Stiles asked. “We got three more hours.” I replied.  “Well,” Stiles sighed, “What do you want to do?” Mom, Dad, and Mr. Stilinski walked out. “Hey honey!” my mom said, “We’re going to get some food.” “We already have food.” I countered. 

“Not enough.” Dad responded. “We’ll be back in an hour.” My mom grabbed her keys. I sighed and turned to Stiles, “Wants some chicken?” After the chicken was finished I put it on two plates. I walked over to Stiles and handed him the plate an a fork. “Do you want something to drink?” I asked. He nodded and I got him some water. “I didn’t ask for water.” He said. “Oh well.” I smirked. I turned the TV on and sat next to Stiles (But a good enough distance). “Can we watch Star wars?” He asked. “Yeah!” I cheered, “I mean yes, yeah that’s fine. Which one?”

“A new hope?” He suggested. I shrugged and went to on demand to find the movie. As watched the movie my eyes started to droop, I put the plate down and tilted my head to the side. I heard the plates clash together and get put in the sink. I felt a blanket lay over me but I still kept my eyes closed. About an hour passed, I looked up and saw that my head was resting on Stiles’ shoulder. I quickly got up from my position, the front door swung open. “See that you kids got comfortable” My mom commented. Stiles and I blushed. “Lets on turn the New Years eve ball drop in New York.” Dad said.

Stiles and I sat a good distance away again. We could hear fireworks in the distance as we watched the channel. We watched the TV till it was 11:00 and took a break. The parents went up to get some food from the kitchen. Stiles and I sat uncomfortably on the couch. “My cousins and I will watch the fireworks outside on New Years Eve, we could do that if you wanted to.” I offered. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He responded. 

“Mom will be outside if you need us!” I informed her. “Okay!” She replied. I grabbed two blankets and lead him to the dormer. “So,” I said, “My cousins and I will sit on the dormer in front of my window and watch them. We can do that or sit on the porch.” I continued. He didn’t respond. “Dormer it is,” I said. I opened my window and carefully climbed up the roof. I laid the towel down then put the blankets down. I patted the spot next to me as Stiles sat. We sat in silence for awhile when Stiles said, “Why do you hate me so much?”  

“I thought you hated me!” I said. His eyes widened, “I don’t!”

“Well you sure act like it.”

“What do I do?“

“You make stupid remarks when I make mistakes oh and when I try and make plans with Lydia or Kira you always make fun of my social live.” I ranted. “You do the same.” He countered. 

“No I don’t!” I said, “I don’t hate you. I just act like I do because it’s easier than admitting how I feel about you!”  He closed his mouth as soon as I said that, “How do you feel about me?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Would you make fun of me if I told you I liked you to?” Stiles said. “No,” I laughed, “I’d actually agree with you.” I looked down at my watch and it said 11:58, “Two minutes till the new year.”  I looked at him. I never noticed how close our faces were. He brought my hand up and looked at the watch as well. It was now 11:59.  

“10″ We said, “9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1″ I could hear the adults cheer ‘Happy New Year.’  Stiles looked at me then down at my lips, “Can I kiss you?” He asked. I nodded. He leaned forward. 

And that’s when the fireworks went off, literally.

[kitykat18]

Behind Their Smile

Seven boys who meet each other, help one another, but will that help them to get them out of there misery. are they gonna be okay or is it gonna make it worse? who is able to help them? are they gonna be okay? 

Nethan

 After school I usually have a part time job in a tank station, but today I was free, lucky!! After school today I went to the convenience store and bought some food, when I arrived at my house, which is actually a hut in an abandoned train station. I heard someone behind me ‘’you live here?’’ when I turned around I saw Tobias there with a surprised face. ‘’what the hell are you doing here?! Did you follow me?!’’ I asked ‘’well…yes I did follow, but before you get mad I have a good reason’’ ‘’it better be good’’ ‘’well you see it’s your birthday today’’  ‘’I don’t celebrate my birthday, and you know that’’  ‘’well that’s the whole thing, I found that weird so I wanted to surprise you. But I didn’t know you were hiding something like this. Why did you hide it?’’  ‘’because I don’t someone’s pity because of my situation’’  ‘’but if you told me or showed me I could’ve helped you, even know I can help you. It’s not bad to ask someone for help and you know that because I got that from you. But how did you get in this situation?’’ ‘’first come in.’’ We walked in and I made him some coffee. We sat down, and he went straight to the point. ‘’now tell me what happened’’  ‘’well when I was thirteen my parent died in a car crash, I had no siblings, so I stayed with my uncle. My uncle was a nice guy, he had to work hard for money, so I also started a part time job at a convenience store, to help him with some groceries and stuff. After a few month’s my uncle died of overworking, he already had a weak heart. He did leave some money but it wasn’t enough, so I asked a friend of mine if he had a place for me to stay in,  with a low rent. After asking he showed me this abandoned train station and told me that if I built a house here, I could live here without rent. So I took the deal. I started building, I know it’s not the best, but I like it and I can survive. But the place was too far from my part time job so I quit and found a tank station close by, and now I work there.’’  ‘’I see. So that why you’re grades came down. I thought that was weird, you are the smartest guy I know. I should’ve known by then. I guess I was just that stupid’’ he said, but it wasn’t his fault ‘’it’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you because I was scared of what you would think of me, after you would find out about it.’’  ‘’come on dude we are friends’’ he said why he put his arm around me. I guess this is what I needed it, I should have told him sooner.                                                                            After talking a bit, he started looking around, not that there is a lot to see. ‘’what is this? Did you write these?’’ he asked, I didn´t know what he was talking about until he turned around with a black notebook in his hands. ‘’wait, no don´t read that’’ I said while walking towards him, but he started acting like a child and running out of the house. ‘’if you tell me what it is’’ he said. ‘’fine! I tell you so give it to me’’ ‘’no, tell me first and then I will give it to you’’ honestly he is such a child. ‘’these are lyrics, well rap lyrics’’ I confessed, ‘’I didn’t know you could rap, why didn’t you tell me?’’  ‘’I don’t rap, I just like making them’’  ‘’can you try and rap it for me’’ ‘’I just told you I don’t rap’’ ‘’yes, you said you don’t rap, doesn’t mean you can’t. so let me hear it.’’ After some complaining, I rapped a little part of my rap. ‘’see you can rap. Why aren’t you showing that to anyone else?’’ ‘’well because I can’t get anything from it. If I rap on the street I only hear people complaining, so I stopped’’ ‘’so you want to get some money for the rapping’’ I nodded. ‘’I just know the place, it’s a place I go for some easy money. You down?’’  ‘’is it illegal?’’  he nodded no ‘’I trust you on this, lead the way’’

After I asked him to lead the way, he took me to a restaurant. ‘’weren’t you going to show me where I could rap’’  ‘’be quit not everyone knows about this place. Chef!!’’ I heard him scream, after that I saw a tall man, taller than me, come out of the kitchen. ‘’suga, my man!’’ he said while laughing historical, he had a deep voice. ‘’how are doing, I haven’t seen you for a while. Why didn’t you come?’’ ‘’I was busy, sorry. But I brought someone and he is good’’ the tall man looked at me up and down ‘’well if you say he is good he must be. You know where to go’’ they shaked hands and Tobias walked to the door which was the back door. ‘’is suga your stage name?’’ I asked ‘’yes, you like it. Don’t worry you will get one too after they see you rap’’ ‘’I see, I cant choose my one name?’’ ‘’depends on how good you are, but since you will show a original. I think you can choose you own stage name. so I think its better if you think of one right now’’ I nodded.                                                                                                                                        After walking for a minute there was a stair that was going down, after we went down we could hear some music and someone rap. When we arrived at the door Tobias turned and said ‘’welcome to the MAZE’’ and he opened the door. I heard a loud beat and someone rap and the crowd cheering. After that person was done a man with a microphone ‘’and that was Ethan everyone give him a applause. Now it’s 9 pm and you guys now what that means, well expect for the newbies, yes I said newbies. cause today is audition time’’ everyone cheered. ‘’ calm down everyone, tonight we have not 2 but 4 participants, how about that. This is gonna be one hella of a night you guys. Goodluck to all the newbies’’ after that some music was played my lower than before. I saw Tobias walk to me ‘’well what do you think of it for your first time?’’                                                  ‘’it’s nice, but it’s not only rap is it?’’  ‘’your quick. But yes it’s also singing and dancing.’’ ‘’I see, but how is this going to work?’’  ‘’okey let me explain. There are three categories rap, sing and dance. You will go in group rap with me and some other people, there are different levels. The higher you go up with levels the higher the amount will be. But to go levels up you need to win competition, those are 1 on 1 in the beginning but the higher you go, the more people you need to work with. So  I hope you can work with people and can listen to other people, because if you can’t you wont be able to win the matches. Right now I’m at level 9, it’s a low level but that’s because I haven’t come in a while. There are 70 levels, every 10 levels later 1 person joins your group. Every group has 7 people in it, and when you have your group you still have one match of 10 levels you do with your group and that’s the last contest. Oh and on that day there is a high possibility that agents of some big companies and some small companies, and it’s the choice of the leader to pick the company you want to join. Does that answer your question.’’  ‘’yes it does, just one more question. Can you still choose me even if I am still not higher than level 10?’’                                            ‘’yes it is, I will just put your name on my list, but I can’t compete until you finish you first 10 levels.’’  ‘’I see, do you already have company you want to join?’’ ‘’what are you talking about, you are going to be our leader.’’ ‘’wait! What?! Why, I just started this stuff’’  ‘’yes, but I know from myself that I can’t keep up with people I get angry easy, and you have a way of talking to people that puts them in ease.’’ I know that he can get pretty angry ones he is annoyed, but still this is a lot of pressure. ‘’what if I pick a company the rest of the group don’t want, and what if’’ ‘’okey I’m stopping you there. Look you don’t have to choose the company on the day it self, they will leave there company cards with you and then you can talk to the rest of the group.’’  ‘’I see, can I still pick someone else as the leader later on the contest?’’  he nodded a no.   ‘’okey, bu’’ when I wanted to say something the host came up the stage.  ‘’you guys let get this started!!’’ everyone started cheering. ‘’our first participant is Jonathan and he will be singing for us, let all hear some applause for him!!’’ everyone cheered, whistled and started clapping. I knew i know that name it was Jonathan from our school, but what is he doing here, I thought he was loaded. He started singing and the whole room was in silence. His voice was so nice to listen to he had a high voice and clear, it was beautiful. When he was done it was still quit for a few seconds and then he started clapping and cheering, and me too. I really liked his voice. The judges were talking among them self, when they were done the told him he was accepted. One of the judge asked ‘’do you know what your name will be?’’ ‘’yes I chose the name Jin’’ after saying that he walked of the stage. I walked up to him, ‘’heyy Jonathan!’’ he turned around and was surprised to see me. ‘’wait you are… Nethan right.’’ ‘’yes I am, what are you doing here?’’ ‘’when I heard about this place I thought that I wanted to something new.’’  ‘’I see. You were amazing out there’’ ‘’thanx, when are you up?’’ ‘’I think I’m third’’ ‘’okay well good luck.’’ He waved and left.                                                                                         

After the second participant the host called my name, I went up the stage and it was frighting but I mustered up my courage and started rapping own of my own rap. When I was done one of the judges asked me ‘’I don’t know this rap, who’s is it’’ ‘’it mine sir’’  everyone looked shocked and then the judges started talking among them again, after the were done they told me I was accepted. The judge: ‘’ did you choose a name?’’  ‘’yes sir, I chose RM’’                                                  

The rest of the participants didn’t go through, they were good but most of them forgot there lyrics or there moves.   Now the game started. Let’s hope I can find people who are willing and want to join my group.

~note~

i’m sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, it’s my first time posting my story. Please leave down your opinion so that i can learn from them, and if you like you can put down your own ideas for books that i should write, mabey a short story. you can also message me :). 

This book is an idea I had from one of BTS their album, which is called; The most beautiful moment in life: young forever. It’s a very nice album, please listen to it and watch it. 

[purplesurveys]

1105

surveys by seachaange

What do you do when someone is talking to you about something you don't care about? I listen and try to ask questions or add my own input so that they can see that even though I personally don’t care about the thing they’re talking about, I’m invested in them.

What is the best pizza place in your neighbourhood? Erm, we don’t really have a lot of independent pizza joints, actually. Most of the ones I see are chain restaurants like Pizza Hut and Domino’s. The best pizza I’ve had is from Vu’s at Marco Polo, but it’s been a whileeeee since I’ve had their food. Mama Lou’s pizza is also good.

Do you have Photoshop installed on your computer? I do but I only had it installed for school. I have no personal interest to learn it.

Are there any teachers you have that you are close with? I wouldn’t say that. I’m kinda chummy with one of my English teachers from high school - like he knew about me and Gab and supported us, I show my support for his art, we greet each other every now and then, etc - but we’re not ‘close.’

Do you have friends that play field hockey? No.

What about soccer? Not friends but I do know a number people who play football, yeah.

Do you think homosexuals are leading a bad lifestyle? This question aged like milk, didn’t it...

What do you think of the iPad? I remember when it blew up like crazy. It was such a revolutionary thing back when it was new, so much so that my dad even felt the need to buy one. It was fun when the hype lasted; but nowadays I don’t know people who would still seek out an iPad other than artists and law/med students, lmfao.

Do you put lotion on after you get out of the shower? I don’t.

Do you have any concerts on dvd? A lot, but they’re of concerts from a time when DVDs were still a thing. I haven’t had a new DVD in around 7-8 years.

Do you still have a VHS player? I think my parents have thrown theirs out already.

Has anyone ever given you a promise ring? No.

Do you send postcards to people when you go on vacation? I don’t. But aw, this made me remember when Jo did a summer exchange program in London and she sent postcards to Aya in the few months that she had been away. I thought that was sweet.

What do you think is the most comfortable shoe? Out of the pairs I have, my Onitsuka Tiger shoes for sure.

Have you seen Lady Gaga's music video for Telephone? That was suuuuuuch a big deal when it came out. Yes, I definitely have and I must’ve watched it a thousand times. Also rude, Beyoncé was in there too lol

If so, what do you think of it? It was so creative and a lot of fun to watch, especially for 2009 when artists weren’t exactly daring with music video concepts yet. I can’t believe they never collaborated again since.

What do you think of the septum piercing? It’s great.

Do you frequently skip class? Depends on my interest in the class/the professor, OR how tired I am that week. I skipped my psychology elective a lot because I didn’t think the instructor was all that great; and as much as I loved every single one of my history classes, there were a few sessions I voluntarily had to skip because I wasn’t doing mentally well. It really depends.

--

When you're really thirsty, what do you enjoy drinking most? Water. Anything else wouldn’t be able to quench my thirst as well.

What do you find inspirational in the world? I think it differs based on what I need to see at a given time, I guess. At this point in my life, I like hearing from people who have risen from their trust and abandonment issues, because it’s what I’ve been going through as well. I probably never would’ve found something like that inspirational, say, 6 months ago, so it really depends.

When hanging out with your bf or gf, what do you like doing most? I’m a very ‘let’s spend time in silence’ type of person. I cherished it the most when my ex and I would go to a coffee shop and work for hours, in complete and comfortable silence; or when I would be driving and no words would be exchanged for nearly the entire ride. Even though I stay quiet, in those moments I’m actually very happy. Of course new experiences are great too, but I personally enjoy the conventional ‘boring’ stuff the most when with a partner.

What do/did you think of your high school? Teeming with homophobia, bigotry, and just your typical Catholic gatekeepy judgmental environment. I look back at high school fondly because of the friends I made, not because of the toxic environment they nurtured in there.

What is the dirtiest rap song you have ever heard? I don’t listen to a lot of rap. But as an 11 year old listening to Nicki Minaj’s Itty Bitty Piggy, I was immediately traumatized lmao. I still can’t listen to that song.

What about a dirty song in any other genre? Uhhhhhhhhh probably Drunk in Love?? Lmaoooo I’d die for Beyoncé a million times but I always skip that song. My asexual ass just can’t deal.

What is a genre of music you simply can't stand? One of them is techno.

What is, in your opinion, the best way of dealing with a break up? Being kind to yourself.

What flavour of Doritos do you like best? I’ve only ever tried the nacho cheese flavor, but I love that one.

Where do you do your grocery shopping? I don’t do the grocery shopping in the family but my parents usually do it at SM or at this local store we have nearby.

Would you ever go to a comedy club? Yes, with a friend so I’d be more comfortable.

Do you think Victoria's Secret is overpriced? I haven’t been in one of their stores in a while, so I can’t really say.

Do you still have a VHS player? Again, I don’t think so.

Do you have a tumblr? :))))))

Why is it that photography is becoming a trend? So this survey was made in 2010 and I can definitely confirm it was a crazy huge trend lol. Even I got into it and asked my parents to get me a DSLR back then. Anyway, I think it was because during this time, DSLRs had been slowly becoming a thing? and they were kiiiiiiiinda cheap - at least cheap enough to be accessible to a large amount of people - so it allowed people to play with different styles that were very unfamiliar at the time, like light painting, fisheye, close-ups, etc. And then at one point everyone had DSLRs and it just wasn’t as enjoyable anymore because everyone was doing the same kinds of trendy shots lol.

What is the funniest movie you have ever seen? I’m gonna go with The Proposal - Sandra Bullock was gold in that movie.

Did you watch American Idol this past season? No. Do they still air new seasons of that?? I stopped watching when the same guitar-playing, country-singing white men kept winning.

If so, how did you feel about the winner? It’s been more than a decade since I last cared for the show.

Don't you hate it when one of your earbuds stops working? Sure.

Do you have a normal landline, or do you use MagicJack? Holy shit I have not heard of MagicJack in a goddamn WHILE lmao, what a throwback. We had one, I’m pretty sure...but I never knew what it was for.

Do you even use a house phone anymore? Landlines are still common in the Philippines. Are they not in other countries? Hahahaha.

Would you ever consider dating someone who lived across the country? If I loved, trusted, and was committed to them enough, yes.

What was the most expensive restaurant you've ever eaten at? I wasn’t able to track the name but I’m pretty sure it was the fine dining restaurant in our cruise trip that my parents treated me to for my birthday.

Do/did you take foods classes in high school? My school didn’t offer such a class, but we had home economics and we were occasionally taught how to cook and bake certain dishes.

Do you have a tattoo? No, not yet.

If you do, describe the pain you went thru when getting it done. Eugh this is what I’m scared of :((((

Do you enjoy making hemp necklaces and bracelets? I’ve never tried.

Have you ever watched the show Strangers With Candy? I’ve never even heard of it before, I’m sure.

What is your favourite bookstore? Fully Booked, because their collection is expansive, always complete, and they let you take a book of the shelves and read it if you’d like.

Have you ever used torrents? Mostly throughout high school. I did use a torrent to download Midsommar recently, though.

How can we tell if you are in a bad mood? I go quiet.

How are you when you're in a really good mood? Complete opposite - I will be bubbly and chatty, especially in instances when I’m not really expected to be.

Are you nice to everyone, even people you don't like? Yes.

When you're bored in class, what do you do? I seldom found myself bored in class because I’m constantly furiously taking notes. But if the prof themselves are very boring and there’s nothing to take notes about, I go ahead and check my social media either from my phone or laptop.

--

Would you rather go to Lollapalooza, Warped Tour, or Bonnaroo? As a teenager, I had always wanted to go to Warped Tour. As I’ve gotten older, though, the lineups for Lollapalooza have appealed to me more. Plus it’s in Chicago, soooooo a million more brownie points for that.

Do you have anything that is autographed? By who? Yeah, I have an autographed poster of AJ Lee. It was my most prized possession and I even placed it on a big picture frame and had it up on my wall for yearsssssssss, and then my mom had to take it down because of course it’s my mom and of course she had to do it.

Can you sleep when it's really hot? Welcome to summer months in the Philippines.

Do you know anyone who works at McDonald's? I think Carley does, but idk if that’s changed in the last few months. I don’t stay updated about her life, haven’t been for years.

Do you have a debit card? Yes.

What bank do you (or your family) use? I am not sharing that lol.

Would you ever hitchhike? I think I’m mostly open to it, though I will say I’ve read enough stories about murders that involve hitchhiking that make me a little scared of the idea, hahah.

Have you ever been kayaking? We did a boat thing in Palawan a few years ago but I’m not sure if that was kayaking or canoeing. Anywho, the experience was breathtaking.

Do you have a problem with swimming in a pond or lake? In the context of my country, yeah, because our natural bodies of water aren’t exactly...the cleanest, lmao. I’d feel much more comfortable swimming in a private beach.

Does anyone in your family go hunting or fishing? Nope. But maybe some of my relatives living in the US do?? Idk for sure.

What do/did you do when someone you barely knew asks you to sign their yearbook? We don’t really practice that. Only the really expensive, bougie, international schools here that have foreign students to begin with do that, I think.

In high school are you/were you in the plays and musicals? No.

Do you have a birdbath in your yard? No, we don’t.

Is the house you live in old or new? It’s fairly new; we had it first built in 2005 and we officially moved in 2008.

Where do you go when you need a new pair of sneakers? Depends on what brand I’m in the mood to buy.

Do you make New Year's Resolutions, or do you not even bother? I typically don’t.

Most annoying commercial? Haven’t been paying attention to them lately.

What does your favourite bathing suit look like? It’s just a simple black bikini but its overall shape and design is super cute and chic.

Do you like Silly Bandz? No.

If you do, how many do you have and what are your favourite shapes?

What do you think of My Super Sweet 16? I never watched it because I feel like I’d only get stressed if I did.

Do you have mini-blinds in your house? I have pull-down window shades in my room, not blinds.

Do you rent your home or do you own it? My parents own it.

What is your favourite song right now? Trigger by Hayley Williams.

Do you use Firefox? Nope.

Do you have a pool in your backyard? We don’t.

Do you have a gym membership? No.

Favourite field trip you've ever been on? Freshman year of high school when we went to two museums :)

[nvmguk]

50 Questions Tag

I was tagged by the lovely and wonderful @exoticarmyofcrowns thank you Asha 💕

What color is your hairbrush?: Pink with daisies 

Name a food you never eat: Most seafood

Are you typically too warm or too cold?: Too warm, I over heat easily 

What were you doing 45 minutes ago?: I went to the store, technically grocery pickup

What’s your favorite candy bar?: Reese’s Take 5

Have you ever been to a professional sports game?: I went to several Arizona Diamondback games when I was younger.  My family were season ticket holders.

What’s the last thing you said out loud?: My dog’s name, Cupcake

What’s your favorite ice cream?: Cookie dough and coffee

What was the last thing you had to drink?: Water, I really only drink water and occasionally a cup of coffee

Do you like your wallet?: Yeah, it’s mint green with little birds on it

What’s the last thing you ate?: A bagel that was slightly burned

Did you buy new clothes last weekend?: No

What’s the last sporting event you watched?: I watched Game 7 of the 2001 World Series back in February on YouTube

What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?: Buttered or kettle corn

Who’s the last person you sent a text to?: My dad

Ever go camping?: Does staying in a cabin count? If it does it’s been like 19 years since I’ve gone

Do you take vitamins?: Vitamin D and B12 

Do you go to church every Sunday?: No

Do you have a tan?: Nope, I never tan.  I’m pale and I only burn

Do you prefer Chinese or pizza?: Chinese, the only really good pizza place near me closed and other then that there is really only Papa Johns, Domino's or Pizza Hut

Do you drink soda through a straw?: Metal straws

What color socks do you usually wear?: White

Do you ever drive over the speed limit?: No, in my city you can be cited for going 5mph over

What terrifies you?: The unknown of the future

Look to you left, what do you see?: A small personal fan

What chore do you hate the most?: Taking the trash out. It means that I have to go outside in the heat and I don’t want to

What do you think when you hear an Australian accent?: I like it

What’s your favorite soda?: I don’t really drink soda, but if I get one it’ll be Coke

Do you go in fast food places or just hit the drive thru?: Drive thru

What’s your favorite number?: I don’t really have one, I guess 3 or 7

Who’s the last person you talked to?: My mom

Favorite cut of beef?: Which ever one carne asada comes from

Last song you listened to?: Just One Day by BTS

Last book you read?: I started to read Map of the Soul - Persona by Murray Stein, but I haven’t gone back to it

Can you say the alphabet backwards?: Nope

Favorite day of the week?: Friday

How do you like your coffee?: Vanilla or mocha iced coffee or black with creamer

Favorite pair of shoes?: A pair of Sketchers I got last year, they’re so comfortable

Time you normally get up?: Between 7 and 8 in the morning which is surprising since I can’t sleep most nights

Sunrises or sunsets?: Sunsets, but Arizona has some of the prettiest sunrises and sunsets

How many blankets on your bed?: One but I hardly use it.  I get really warm at night so sometimes I just use a thin sheet

Describe your kitchen plates?: White with little blue flowers around the edges

Describe your kitchen at the moment?: Right now it’s pretty clean, I just cleaned it last night

Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink?: I don’t drink much, but I do like Seagram's Escapes wine coolers

Do you play cards?: Currently no, when I was younger I played solitaire a lot at my dad’s mom’s house

What color is your car?: Copper

Can you change a tire?: That’s a big no, but I do have road side assistance through my insurance

Your favorite state/province/county/city etc.?: I love my city and a city called Yuma.  In general I love Arizona.  I may complain about the heat 99% of the time, but I really do love my state. 

Favorite job you’ve had?: I haven’t had many jobs except cashier and my current job at a doctors office

How did you get your biggest scar?: I don’t have many scars, but one that is sometimes noticeable is on my chin.  When I was in the 3rd grade, I tripped over a projector cord and hit my chin on the edge of a filing cabinet. 

This took a little bit to do, but it was fun!

Tagging: @heavyinmyarms @taesjpg @utopiajeon @naturaljeon @tatavangogh @agust-dyke @bitoftaewithsugaandkookie @sunshineandserendipityplease @sopefactory @flowerkth @lucid-jjin @filterbyjm @sketchguk and anyone else who wants to do this!

If you have already done this or don’t want to, no worries!

[crocifixio]

Quasimodo

You know that cliché shot – badass, multimillion-dollar contract action film star slowly making an appearance by walking out of that rise on the road, blurred by the hot fumes of the pavement. His leather pistol dangling by his side, wide-brimmed hat tipping down low. It is a cliché as old as cinema, a cousin of The Explosion Walk, and it works all the time. Only for that day, it was a stocky young man in a waway hat who had figured in my vision.

Three months had passed since our Tirad Peak hike and the misadventures surrounding it were almost wiped out now from our memory. In the next 48 hours we would be overwriting whatever clean slate we had with something much worse. I had my reservations about dwelling on the subject again but this is an honest journal and thankfully we would have none of the same misfortune involving local guides on our subsequent hikes.

I was again with my two regular hiking buddies Dirty Harry and Liquidator in this dilapidated sorry excuse of a bus out from Dangwa on a hot Good Friday morning. Whatever calories I might have stocked up on hours ago from Good Taste had been consumed by intermittent bursts of adrenaline as I imagine hurtling myself out of the windshield while I rode shotgun with the daredevil Kankana-ey driver. Dirty Harry and Liquidator were far in the back buried in boxes of live poultry. I was lightheaded when we got off the bus at the Kibungan municipal gate.

And then this kid in the waway hat. We had to figure out for ourselves that he was the assigned guide for us as he approached in his filmic entrance. We had asked him, but he just gave a grin and we took that for a yes. For the entirety of the hike he would be giving that menacing grin with his tobacco spit-stained crooked teeth, not making eye contact as half of his face would be shadowed by the brim of his hat (I later saw his eyes were misaligned). He would just launch on a low, continuous muttering every time we would ask him things. At times, I would ask him random questions just to get him into that state and annoy my two companions. Liquidator thought he acted like Gollum and was convinced he would kill us in our sleep. Dirty Harry on the other hand thought Quasimodo was more apt as he was wearing green, had little of a neck and had pants cut off just after the knee. But he also thought we would be killed in our sleep. I am all for benefit of the doubt, even if a number of villagers we would pass by had to shout ‘Ingat kayo dyan sa isang yan!’. After all, it was a joke common among Filipinos who would see friends in the company of unfamiliar guests.   

But Kibungan Circuit was such a beautiful hike that there was no effort freeing ourselves from all of our doubts about him. Never mind that he insisted we settle for Version 1 – we told him we were physically ready for Version 2 and that we were willing and able to add hours or days just to tab more miles and notch Mt Oten and Mt Tagpew, but his incessant mumbling told us he was not fit for it. So on we proceeded to what we would downgrade as just a relaxed hike, or ‘chill climb’ in local hiking parlance.  

We set off in a steady pace, and my two companions were all awe every step of the way. We passed by the cemetery, and the local who was tending the graves had to give out another ominous remark – apparently another warning to watch out for our guide. I was glad that my companions were too absorbed at the scenery to mull over the same worries again. The cemetery, which was sitting on a plateau, pans in a cinematographic way as you walk along the road while the nearby peaks at the background hung like painted cloth in this huge theater stage. I swear I could hear the The Ecstasy of Gold! Rest in peace, Ennio..

Packs down for early lunch in the first village we stopped by. You would think that we would get a lovely scenic spot for lunch but the guide pointed at a small corner of a cemented wall with about six inches of shade from the overhang of the roof, and then just left. Dirty Harry was furious after fully grasping the idea that the guide had meant for us to take our lunch on that spot. We moved to a more comfortable location, which was a charming Cordillera hut and shared our meal and coffee with the owner who was in his twilight years but still spoke fluent English from the Commonwealth era. The guide came back two hours later, still dazed from his siesta.  He had that troubled look that meant we were becoming too much of a burden already and he would show it once more come morning when he came back for us, two hours late again, at the Buga Campsite. I was glad we did not have to share tent space with him for the evening as he crashed in a nearby hut that was also the last water source. I had my whole A-type tent for myself, with a belly full of chicharon and Hainanese rice. Liquidator was up all night in the other tent, beside himself and his iPad all the time from the abundance of cellular signal all throughout the trail.

Speaking of strong cellular data signal in the vicinity, I remember running into the Bakun-Kibungan Traverse Team on our way down from Mt Tagpaya on the second day. I had initially considered joining them but could not yet find it in me to return to Bakun and wanted this hike to be all Kibungan. They were in high spirits, and were on their way to finishing their route opposite of us. About an hour after we had parted ways, we then ran into the tail of their group who did not appear to be as ecstatic and were in no rush to catch up. They told us they were sticking to the original itinerary after being voted off by the majority to cut their hike short by one day, suspecting everybody had spent all their power banks due to the abundant cell signal all throughout and were in a hurry to recharge batteries at the municipal hall. Five years ago, I would not have thought how the dynamics of a hiking team could be altered by this aspect of technology.

Meanwhile, Quasimodo would always advance ahead of us so he could stop by and smoke a cigarette while waiting for us to catch up. I would chase him and ask if he had another stick (to test him, because his cigarette pack was showing by the back of his pants, as was his buttcrack- insert coin here), not doubting he would say he had none left. We would repeat this process for a total of four times before we reached Tanap, where Quasimodo’s friend of a van driver was already waiting for us ‘for a reasonable fee’. I had my ViewRanger app open and could point to where we could cut the hike back to the municipal hall from the terraces, but Quamisodo insists he had contacted a van already. Reluctantly, I agreed because half of me would also like to see the exit from Lungsad Falls. I forgot how much we paid for it, but I asked the van driver in private when I had the chance if he was on his way back to Baguio as well and struck a deal. I knew Quasimado was up to something again, knowing that we had already missed the last trip to the city.

Back at the población, the washrooms were all occupied by the Bakun-Kibungan Team so I decided to gather everyone instead for a little snack by the adjacent grocery store after paying the guide fee. As we walked to the store, Quasimodo made the offer for us to get the same van back to the city for two thousand pesos. I did not reply. Moments later while having our snack and sodas, he would make the offer again, so I spoke directly to the van driver to clear it up as we already made a deal for six hundred pesos only. Quasimodo went back to the van driver in a mix of Kankana-ey and Iloko, and then back to us practically begging to just pay 1,500 because it was already late. I told him and the driver that if the terms were to change, we were better off spending the night at the municipal hall. The van driver told Quasimodo (from the little Iloko that I could decipher) to just shut the hell up as ‘kwarta na magiging bato pa’. Feeling defeated, Quasimodo let out a wail and threw his arms in the air like some vessel dispossessed of demons. I honestly thought he had given up right there, when, upon seeing Liquidator paying for the snacks, he asked the storekeeper for a fresh pack of Marlboro and sniggered at us, motioning to put it in our tab. Liquidator snatched the pack from Quasimodo and said something along the lines of an expletive and kanina ka pa ha!

 All pics in this post by Dirty Harry, Canon EOS 60D

Quasimodo, in the green shirt, fortunately with his buttcrack covered at this moment

Mt Tagpaya

My Canon G12′s sd card conked out early into the hike and was dead weight since

A lot of segments were like snippets of Bakun, this one reminded me of Mt Kabunian

This was to be the last time I would be wearing this brand, in the following months I would be signing up as Ambassador for two other local hiking apparel companies.

[bangtanficrecs]

Lost & Found Batch #20

Can’t start up the blog again without posting the newest batch! As always, if you happen to know the fic the ask is looking for, reply to this post or send us an ask with the request number and title/author. If you happen to know any fics from Past Batches, those are more than welcome as well. Thank you!! ~ Admin P

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

1) Hi! I’m looking for a fic I read quite a while ago and if you can help me i’ll be forever grateful... it was about namjoon having powers and accidentally causing damage, so seokjin (who was a kind of a social worker assigned to him) sent him to live with yoongi as a way to make up for his “crime”. Yoongi was also magical and lived isolated from society. If I remember correctly hoseok was also guilty of something and sent to yoongi with namjoon. Sorry if it’s too vague, but that’s all I remember

2) Hi, I decided to give this a try though I think the fic may have been deleted because I just can't find the fic anymore. Basically its ot7 and the main character (Jungkook?) took the boys to meet his mom. The author had the boys super athletic, tall and in college;they were also from Texas. Jungkook sadly had to deal with homophobic classmates. It was a one shot I believe.

Hey, Momma by CaridwenAngetueur1

3) hi!! i’m trying to find a yoonmin fic i read a while ago, where yoongi lived in this small town and had an apothecary and jimin would come and sing in the town centre, and yoongi would give him something for his nerves before he’d go on stage. i remember jimin would glow and light would shoot out from him when he sung. it was a completed fic on ao3, i can’t seem to find it. thank you so much for your help!!

4) Hello! If you don’t mind helping me, im looking for a jikook fic i can’t seem to find again on ao3. Its a time travel, canon au where present day bts where in japan and Jungkook had went through a shrine? He ends up in the past with younger!bts and acts as like a cousin to Jungkook until they can figure out how to send him back. I remember there being a scene where younger!bts miss their flight to help older!jungkook get back to the future? If you need more details please let me know. Thank you!

5) Hello! I'm looking for a vmin fic where flowers literally grow on Tae and he's really insecure about it and gets depressed. It's super soft and fluffy and the entire thing is pretty much just Jimin taking care and comforting him. I'm pretty sure it's a one-shot and that they are the only two that are explicitly brought up. I love it so much and I hope that this isn't too vague.

6) hi idk if any of u can help me find this fic but imma try: its an au in which kids go disappearing often and i can only remember that one day taehyung is one of them and jungkook takes it up on himself to find him bc he firmly believes that he isnt dead yet. not sure bout this but i also think tae got kidnapped to get tested on? and seokjin is one of the doctors in that institution??? this fic is written by a fanboy as far as i can recall and had a reallyyyyyy hard to remember title sigh 😔

kotov syndrome by wormkun Note: The fic is locked and requires an AO3 account to view

7) Hey so I read this fic a while ago but no matter what i search, i can't seem to find it. Namjoon was a depressed ?college student? and he wrote songs that he only showed to his friend Jimin. He and Jimin go to a coffee shop where Yoongi works and yoongi keeps leaving notes to RM on Joon's coffee cups, but namjoon doesnt' know who RM is. I think it turns out Jimin had been posting Joons songs and yoongi recognized his voice and wanted to encourage him. NJ writes always and almost attempts suicide

8) Hello, I was wondering if you could help find this fanfic I've looking for forever. It's an ot7 relationship fic ( I think it's jimin centric). it was still not completed. The summary was something like taehyung asking jimin if he wanted to be in a relationship with them and jimin saying No. Because technically he already knew they were all in a relationship and he felt betrayed that he was left out for so long. There is something about a creepy sasaeng fan too. I would really appreciate it.

Last to Know by Meadow_Wanderer

9) Hi! Im looking for an au fic where Jungkook was depressed, and was with V who had anger problems bc of past child abuse. Jhope didn’t like Jungkook bc of something about his dark past involving his sister who I think was raped and died. I also remembered RM having a tattoo and being an ex member of a mafia group. He blew a gas station up, and Jin thought he died but he came back, and they had sex on the window. JK attempted suicide as well but Jin saved him. Thanks!!

10) I'm searching for a vminhope fanfic. It was I believe an A/B/O one. It was on aff. Hoseok was a berserker, Jimin was a beta and Tae was an omega.

11) Hi!!!!! I've been looking for this one fic forever. It's about jungkook who's an art student and jimin and taehyung are cops who look out for him. Jungkook talks a lot about suicide and he's a university art student. I think one of the art projects in the fic was a corpse painting with flowers. Jungkook also stole from a convenience store and when jimin and Rae caught up to him they noted he had a red beanie in his pocket. Thats all. Thank you!!!

12) There was this fic where Jungkook was lonely and lived alone in a hut on the woods, and he saw Jimin in a club took him to that hut and Jimin tried to run away but Injured his leg and had to stay. It's wip, and now i can't find it :( help please?

13) i'm having trouble finding a fanfic about taekook, where jungkook finds taehyung in a lake (or any body of water), and it turns out that he's from past times. he shows taehyung around present day, and taehyung at one point dresses up as a cowboy. jungkook gives taehyung's peepee the big succ, they get caught by the police, but they run away. from my memory, that's where it ends, or there may be more to it. even tags from ao3 to jog my memory will help.

14) I read this Taejin fanfic a while ago and now I can’t find it, all I know about it is that Taehyung was in some way abused and Jin brought him to his home, also that Jin had a twin brother, also it had many chapters, if you can find it I’ll be very grateful!!!

15) Hi! I read a yoomin fic in ao3 when I was new in the Fandom and I can't find it anywhere, I remember it being angst, mostly Yoongi's pov, it was set in the I need you era and Yoongi played the piano for jungkook's dance, I also remember Jimin struggled with eating disorders and alcoholism and that at some point they had a big fight when jimin came home drunk in a random cab d

16) Hi! I can't find a fic I read few years ago, so I was wondering if you could help)) It was Taehyung/Namjoon fic, and Namjoon hired him as his fake ex-boyfriend so that his friends (Hoseok and Jimin if I remember correctly) would stop asking him to go on dates or smth like that.

if it bleeds by wertstoffhof (roachprince)

17) Hello! I’m hoping you can help me find a fic, it’s a mental hospital one where all the members apart from jin and namjoon are in the mental hospital and another member (maybe jungkook) arrives and it turns out jin is making up their diagnosis because he thought they’d want to stay longer. If that’s too brief i can remember specific bits but i couldn’t find anything on your tags, thank you! Jin is a sort of like a therapist who looks after them and namjoon is like the manager of sorts i think

Seeking Heaven by fullofsuga

18) Hello, hope you're well! I was wondering if you could help me find a Jihope fic that I've been looking for forever! Jimin was friends with Taehyung and didn't know the rest of the boys until he was added into a group chat. I remember that Jimin worked in a shop that was broken in to, and that Taehyung didn't want Jimin and Hoseok to date? I think the chapter titles were all days of the week as well - thank you!!

19) Hey do you know the name of this historic au fic where Yoongi is a chaebol and I think he buys Jungkook from his abusive dad to be his servant? I remember he teaches him how to read and even gives up his money just to be with jungkook and becomes an author

tear the moon from the stars tonight by euphoriae

20) Hi! I'm looking for a YoonMin fanfic that's a pretend/fake dating au, where Jimin was at the grocery shop and his ex suddenly came up and started teasing/mocking him? Then Yoongi suddenly came up behind him and started pretending to be his bf? Thank you so much and I'm so sorry for the bother!

21) Hey! I've been looking for this fic forever (i've tried every tag on ao3, god help me). It's a v/yoongi fic where tae is really into public sex and yoongi too, but yoongi is shy at first. there's a scene at the beginning where yoongi is on a date with a girl and he goes to the bathroom to masturbate. at the middle they both are in a restaurant with 2 other people (from bts, i can't remember which members) and tae touches him. at the end tae masturbates yoongi in a restaurant/karaoke booth?

Hands-On Learning by pornographicpenguin

22) Hi! Looking for this multi chaptered abo fic where Yoongi is a omega and kookie presents as an alpha during practice and triggers yoongi's heat. Later on jin and joon become mates but it's mainly about yoonkook slowly getting together... Idk if that's helpful but it's driving me crazy because I can't find it

23) Hi, I'm looking for an old jin/yoongi fic that had a magical element in it I read a while ago and need a little help. Yoongi is an underground rapper and he always passes by this shop. One night after a gig he actually stops in front of it and goes in. Jin runs it and gives him a drink. (I think its tea but idk) he also gives him a muffin or cupcake. At the end jin tells yoongi he was looking for love and that's what led yoongi into the shop.

24) Hi! I’m looking for a fic I read a year back. It has Jin as an assassin and he saved the maknae line from abuse and stuffs and they fell in love with him. And he also has a relationship with Suga

25) Weird fic I read but I want to see if more came out. Anyway it's super weird, bts is the a werewolf gang and they go to a party for the higher ranking alphas. There they meet an omega of a high ranking alpha and then more stuff happens that I can't remember. I just thought of it randomly and I wanted to see if you could find it. It's okay of you can't I appreciate the help either way.

26) Ok color me corrected if you manage to find this fic, but I can’t seem to remember anything about it. It’s a red string of fate/soulmate au but I CANNOT remember the pairing. I think it was canon divergent, they lived in the dorm together. I remember that the string was actually tangible and the pair would always trip over it. Thanks haha

27) I am looking for a fic I read ages ago. It was jikook, they were in high school. Jk is really rich and loves taking photos one day he sees jm and is compelled to take a photo of his bright orange hair. Tae sees the photo and hires jk so take photos of jimin as he never sees him smile. Jm is very poor, he is freinds with joon and tae I think. Jin is jks brother. Jm initially gets mad at jk but eventually they become friends and fall in love. There was some past stuff with taegi too I think.

Imperfectly Perfect by whenIseeUsmile

28) Hi. I'm looking for a fic on ao3. It's a historical royalty au and I think it's yoonmin. I think it's incomplete too. Yoongi is a prince and his brother is JK. Jimin and Jin are spys from a neighbouring kingdom that's on the verge of war. The last chapter I remember has the castle being invaded and the royal family being killed, there may have been a fire. I hope you can help

Death In Disguise by pikachoi

[dreamsfantasiesanrealities]

The Beginning of the End

Tonight I had one of those apocalypse dream, but it felt so real and I even thought I just didn’t dream that night until I woke up.

The dream began the same as I start my Saturday. Alarm goes off, I wake up and get ready for the day. I have some cereal, make some coffee, and turn on the TV for some Saturday morning cartoons since I have weekends off of work. I worked as a cashier at the grocery store nearby. The TV however, didn’t seem to get any signal. So, I went outside to check the satellite dish and everything seemed fine. nothing was out of the ordinary except I didn’t have TV, Internet, or phone signal. I tried calling the different companies but all I got were busy tones. “That’s just great” I thought,  “my day of relaxation just got restricted. Oh well, been meaning to catch up on some readings anyways.” Over time I began to realize something. I haven’t heard a single sound all day, no cars, no people, no dogs, not even a bird. This was weird given I lived near a busy street and nearby some businesses. I decided to drive around a bit to clear my head and pick up some food, I was feeling tacos. Just a 10 minute drive away was one of the best taco places in town, normally with a line an hour long around lunch time and yet here it was 2pm and there wasn’t a single person outside-or even inside.

I have seen this idea played with before in movies and in a few books. Someone wakes up and everyone is gone, or everything just kicks off like an alien invasion combined with an atomic bomb went off. There were no ruins this time, no bodies, nothing, just me and the tumbleweeds. I began to freak out. Started screaming, panicking, more or less feeling like a kinder gardener who lost their family at the mall. I went like this for hours leaving signs that I exist, that I’m alive trying to find anyone. I didn’t stop until the sun set.

After everything began to set in I decided to go full doomsday prep-er on the situation, went and got a bunch of supplies and even some things I didn’t think where needed - I grabbed some concrete mix, some wood, some metal, etc. I wanted to try and pick up some hobbies to keep myself sane. I realized losing my mind would likely only inhibit me from surviving (One of my favorite things to watch are those survival videos like how to make huts out of mud, stone weapons and what not). I dropped everything behind my house and went to sleep, planning to start something in the morning.

My alarm went off, I woke up and started my day. I had some cereal and coffee and sat down for some relaxation before I started on making a farm. After washing dishes, my phone went off. This threw me for a loop, I thought someone saw my number, one of the dozen times I wrote it somewhere and maybe set up a phone signal. I dived for my phone and answered it faster than I thought posible. It was my boss. “Hey, I know you have saturdays off but a few people got sick and we are short staffed. Can you come in?” . I froze because I thought today was sunday and that the world ended yesturday. “Yeah, I can come in.” I responded. My boss sounded concerened with what he said next. “Are you sick too? Because, I have a few others who I can call up”.

“I’m fine just a little startled by the call, my place was quiet and I was immersed in some reading.”

“Okay, well can you come in for the afternoon shift? We should be fine until people start coming in for the weekend shopping and last minute lunch grabs.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you this afternoon”.

I figured that what I thought was yesterday was just a dream. and I went on as normal, until I went to sleep for the night.

[rememberthattime]

Chapter 58. EuRoad Trip, pt 3

Ah, fall. Crisp air. Colorful leaves. A reprieve from the heat of summer.

To fully enjoy my favorite season, Chelsay & I continued into the third and final phase of EuRoad Trip: “Fall”, with stops in the Dolomites, Bavaria, and the German Black Forest.

The change in season wasn’t gradual for Chelsay & I: we went from summer to fall in a matter of hours. Like, the three-hour drive between the Italian Riviera and the Dolomites.  

Over the course of our drive, the setting went from Mediterranean chic to the Sound of Music. We’d left pastel-colored homes along the sea to log cabins dotting the mountainside. I love this setting.  Obviously, I enjoy the Mediterranean, but it’s hard to beat an alpine autumn.

The Dolomites might be the perfect destination for fall. The air is crisp and clean. The leaves are changing. Charming villages sit at the base of undulating green fields, capped by towering limestone spines.  The shops have a Swiss alpine theme but not in a kitschy way – it’s authentic. This is just how they’ve always been. Timber homes surround the tiny village, with potted flowers hung from every window and balcony. When planning, I was most excited for this leg of the trip, and it was meeting my expectations before we even left the car.  

Our first stop was a picnic high above the Val di Funes, a picturesque acclimation to our new alpine surroundings. Chelsay and I enjoyed some of our recent garlic truffle spread investment, while Indy frolicked and grazed about the sloped green fields.  

It was pretty overcast, but we weren’t bothered: it fit the cozy, fall atmosphere. Our only worry was that the next destination, Seceda, required some level of visibility.

Seceda is a unique mountain peak. A gradually ascending green field gives way to a sheer cliff, with limestone spines looming in the background. It looks like if the Cliffs of Dover were transplanted into the Italian Alps. That said, not even Seceda’s prickly spires could pierce this cloud cover.

We took a gondola to the peak but were soon shrouded in thick fog. We couldn’t see 20 feet in front of us, let alone Seceda.  Though dense, the clouds were moving quickly, so we decided to roll the dice and stick around.

It’s pretty easy to pass the time with Indy: we teased him with weird noises, laughing at his reactions. We played fetch with anything we could find. Then when Indy got tired, we pulled up Ray Harris Jr and the World War II podcast. Chelsay would forecast potential gaps in the clouds while Ray educated us on FDR’s preference between pencil or pen.

There were a few near misses. Chelsay spotted incoming breaks in the fog, we’d frantically stir with excitement, but ultimately, each proved impervious. Still, there was hope.

After an hour, we were just starting to question whether staying was worth it. But Chelsay thought there was one more break that might work out. It was excruciating to wait, but slowly, the shy rock began to reveal itself. This was it!

Not only did the clouds part, but blue sky began to appear and then… a burst of sun. And what’s that? A rainbow?!  What an epic setting.  The soft glow of sunshine against the limestone crag.  Fog still rolling quickly, but abruptly halting against Seceda’s impenetrable cliffside. The clouds shot up like waves hitting the coastline.

This was one of the lasting memories from the trip, and we celebrated with a tortellini feast that evening.  We’d stopped at a grocery store earlier to pick up picnic supplies – an Italian grocery store. I’ve never seen so much pasta. And it all looked so delicious that we couldn’t settle on just one: we bought two types of tortellini and three different sauces.  We enjoyed our tortellini sampling from our alpine chalet while watching World War II in Color. Ray hooked us.

The next day marked our first real physical activity in at least a week – since the calanques in Cassis. We were taking the 6 mile Tre Cime pass through pretty challenging conditions.  Yesterday’s quick moving clouds were stagnant and heavy today. Whenever the weather was too much, Chelsay, Indy, and I would find shelter in the ‘refugio’ huts along the path, warming up with hot chocolate.

After the hike, we stopped at Lago di Braies, a teal alpine lake set between evergreen slopes. The setting looks like a screensaver, but the real highlight was once again Indy. Without his frisbee or other toys, Chelsay and I had been using sticks for fetch throughout the trip. So now every stick Indy saw was a toy.

He’d dart along the shore trying to tempt Chelsay and I into playing with him: “Maybe masters will like this stick?  Oh, here’s a big one! Will they like this?  How about a wet stick?”

Eventually we gave in – I threw the stick as far into the lake as possible (owner’s tip: that burns the most energy), and he’d inevitably plunge after it.  Indy once again drew an audience with everyone taking pictures of our goofy dog in the otherwise serene setting.

That was essentially our last activity in the Dolomites, but before moving on to our next destination, I want to quickly mention the phenomenal food. It’s Italy, so obviously it was delicious. But it wasn’t just pasta and breadstick – it uniquely Italian-Austrian. Ricotta pizzella (alpine pizza), truffle ravioli, venison, and every type of dumpling imaginable.

After the Dolomites, we’d turn north and head back to London, driving through Austria, Germany, Belgium, and France on the way. The main focus of this trip were the Loire Valley, Cote d’Azur, and Dolomites, so while planning, I essentially just looked for spots along the return route. Ultimately this included three destinations + one we spontaneously added along the way.

The first stop in our return journey was Neuschwanstein Castle.  Yes, we’d already visited Neuschwanstein, and yes, our goal this trip was to explore new destinations. But there was a delicious currywurst place we visited the last time so Chelsay and I HAD to visit.  …I guess the views are pretty magical too.

Jokes aside, Neuschwanstein is very special to me. It was the first adventure Chelsay and I embarked on after moving to London in 2015. I laugh at those two inexperienced travellers, somehow learning that Mary’s Bridge was closed only after landing in Munich. I think back to our can-do spirit to capture that Hero view anyway, and how giddy we were at our success. I think back to the Rick Steves audio tour through Munich, our white sausage breakfast and bowl of coffee, and the hot chocolate from Beluga. And yes, I think about the currywurst from Neuschwanstein.

More broadly, Germany is very special to Chelsay and I. We visited every October while in the UK: first Munich, then Berlin, and then Rothenberg. There’s something about Germany’s dense forests, and heavy ethos (fog, food, their accents, etc) that just fits fall.

So, now consider all of this history as Chelsay and I ascended the hill up to Neuschwanstein. It’s about a 30-minute walk, and I was giddy with anticipation the whole way… basically saying exactly what I just wrote above: “Remember the currywurst Chelsay!?”

Indy was similarly excited but for different reasons:  we passed a few horse drawn carriages and he DID NOT like them.  He ripped out of his collar and ran back down the hill.

After calming him down (aka distracting him with a stick), we continued up the hill and came to Mary’s Bridge.  It was weird not hopping any fences this time.

We arrived just as the sun was setting. Keep Chelsay & I’s history with Neuschwanstein in mind as I describe the setting… Soft light draped the Castle. The sky took on a pink glow. The valley below faded into the shadows.  Indy nervously trembled from the heights.  It was just as magical as the first time.

As we left the Castle and made the long descent back to town, we were just as giddy as 2015. Unfortunately the currywurst restaurant wasn’t waiting for us at the bottom, so we audibled to the nearby town of Fussen and a neighborhood beerhall. It was clearly popular with a line out the door, and the currywurst had its own page in the menu under the title “Reminders of Home”.  

The currywurst lived up to this place’s popularity, but I want to specifically remember how unique Chelsay and I felt in this restaurant. We were clearly the only native English speakers there. That might be the case normally, but it was especially true during Covid.  

This was clearly Fussen’s beerhall – owned by the locals.  The place where patrons come to relax after a hard week of making pretzels or whatever they do for work. Families were connecting and talking about Bayern Munich or the latest season of Dark. It felt comfortable, even if Chelsay and I were outsiders. It would be like if a German were dropped into a Buffalo Wild Wings.

We hit the road again the next day, but not before a brief walk around Schwansee, the lake nestled below Neuschwanstein. Obviously the Castle was the highlight from 2015, but I remembered I really enjoyed our fall walk around the lake. Also, we had to get some of Indy’s energy out before our drive.  This trip’s walk felt nostalgic but was made even more fun with our newest family member.

Our next step was Beilstein, a tiny German village along the Rhine. If Chelsay & I thought Cliousclat (population: 600) or Portofino (400) were small, Beilstein only has 145 residents!  It took about 15 minutes to walk the entire town, but it’s incredibly charming: like an authentic Disney village.  

I’ll briefly mention this story.  It’s a good thing touring Beilstein was so quick, because I needed extra time to bring Indy to the vet. Before returning to the UK, we needed a local vet to administer and provide proof for a tapeworm treatment. The closest vet was a 20 minute drive, so I plugged it into Google Maps and set off.

Well, it seems Google Maps users aren’t frequenting Dr Frank Feiden, because the app took me to an elementary school. I had zero service so couldn’t call, so I was stuck driving in circles around this children’s school… which I’m sure looked suspicious. Finally I gave up, and decided to interrupt either four teachers’ or four parents’ smoke break to see if they could help. Shockingly, they knew exactly where he was and shared the most precise instructions I’d ever received (classic German). It was a bizarre situation to find myself while on vacation, made even more bizarre when the person next to me at the vet had lived near Southlake. We bonded over our shared love of Mi Cocina.  These experiences again made me feel like part of the community despite being such an obvious outsider.  

Alas, just as we were starting to feel at home, it was time to return to London. Our last day of the trip. I’m now 6000 words and 10 pages into this three part EuRoad Trip post, but still plenty of stories to tell.

First, we made a short stop at Eltz Castle, a romantic palace well hidden in the Black Forest. The castle is uniquely vertical, but I’ll remember this visit for Chelsay falling on the walk down. She’ll hate me for writing this, but hopefully we can remember and laugh.  Very similar to my tumble at the Sete Cidades in the Azores.  

Finally, our last stop on the road trip was Dunkirk. This was the spontaneous visit I alluded to earlier. Dunkirk wasn’t initially in the plan, but after 20 hours of Ray Harris Jr telling us about Operation Dynamo, we decided we visit Dunkirk Beach for ourselves.

It was extremely windy when we visited, as Storm Alex was moving through with winds up to 60 mph. It was raining too, and the raindrops felt like bullets as we ran along The Mole. The chaos felt fitting though, as this was the location where 300,000 British and French soldiers chaotically escaped the charging Nazi army.

The Mole, a sea break that the British used as an escape dock, is well removed from the city… and hardly marked. You drive through an industrial center and park in what appears to be an employee lot. In fact, I only found The Mole because I crawled Google Satellite View searching for sea piers along Dunkirk beach – there weren’t any other articles or traveller blogs about how to visit.

But this solitude made the pier feel that much more important. This was the place where 300,000 lives were saved, providing the Brits with necessary troops to withstand the Battle of Britain. If not for Dunkirk, would the UK have fallen to Hitler? Then, could the Nazis have focused their forces solely on Russia, and the US after?  It’s hard to call this retreat a victory, but the Allies escape along the very pier I was standing was vital, and the moment felt similarly significant.    

The trip from Dunkirk to London was a disaster – I’m sure it felt a bit like those soldiers on Dunkirk Beach.  We again took a taxi from Calais, but the driver decided to go directly through the center of London, costing us about an hour in gridlock. Then when we arrived at the house, I found I’d lost the key in transit – brutal. It was 9:30 pm so the property manager wasn’t available. We called a locksmith, who determined the backdoor was the best lock to open. I store the gate code on my phone, but my battery had died, so I had to hop the fence to let the locksmith through.

This must have looked suspicious to our neighbors: pitch black, man jumping fence, commotion in our backyard. Sure, that’s suspicious until you consider Chelsay, Indy, and ALL OUR BAGS AND INDY’S CRATE WERE ALL STILL OUT FRONT!

Anyway, the locksmith and I are in the back.  The back lock turned out to be a tough one, so he had to use a drill. He wasn’t wearing glass so a piece of metal shot into his eye. I had to remove it. Brutal.

Then a helicopter showed up.  …

The neighbors had called the Hampstead Police, who sent a chopper for a potential B&E. The helicopter hovered over us for 30 seconds, before two officers arrived, batons at the ready. They realized what had happened before calling out on their walkie talkie: “Call of all units.”  Were there MORE on the way!?  

Anyway, we finally got in and FINALLY changed out of our wet clothes from stormy Dunkirk. All that said, we woke up the next morning and were totally fine. I made myself some coffee, and the whole thing just seemed like a bad dream. Similar to Chelsay falling at Eltz Castle, I think we can laugh about it now.

Okay, now that’s really it. The conclusion of our EuRoad Trip. 16 days. Six countries. 2500 miles. Two seasons. One crazy pup.

I know I’m wrapping this up quickly (sorry, I’m now on page 11 and nearly 7000 words in), but the past two weeks were truly special. Although we’d gone six months without any international trips, lockdown really enabled this journey.

We had plenty of vacation days. We didn’t want to fly, so we drove. This simple equation brought us to extremely charming and authentic places we never would have visited otherwise. Starting with the Beauty & the Beast phase, driving south through France’s Loire Valley, stopping at chateaus, provincial hamlets, and the charming fishing village of Cassis. Moving into the Summer Chic phase, with hot temps along the ritzy Riviera, including stops in Nice and Portofino. And finally, concluding with the Fall phase, passing through the jagged Dolomites landscape and fairy tale castles of Bavaria and the German Black Forest.

This was likely one of our last European trips, but each destination exhibited why we live abroad. New places. Exciting experiences. Escapes from the routine.

Our EuRoad Trip was another reminder of how far you can go in just a few hours.

[sarahunfiltered-blog1]

My Diet/Fitness/Nutrition Journey Thus Far

Most of the memories I have of life growing up revolve mostly around food. I remember growing up and all we’d eat was Sonic, Dairy Queen, Whataburger, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, you name it, I ate it. I could still to this day probably tell you my order from each place. I was raised on Hamburger Helper, Ramen noodles, Rice a Roni, canned and boxed everything, candy and soda. 

I remember when I was around maaaaaybe 12-13 and my mom doing a diet that may have been slim quick or something along the lines of you eat chicken and veggies, take these pills and do some sort of workout. I had a really bad sweet tooth (still do) as a kid and I started to gain weight and at 13 I was 165lbs, so my mom included me into her diet routine and I would eat the chicken and veggies, rice cakes, a tbsp of coconut oil and would chew sugar gum and we’d walk between the stop signs on the street we lived on and I’d do her workouts with her. I remember watching my brothers and sisters eating candy while I ate my caramel rice cakes because I was the bigger one of all of them, so for the longest time I was just the fat tomboy of a girl that would stare at herself in the mirror and look at how big my butt was at 13 and hating it and my stomach to stuck out and my fat face. I remember I used to grab my stomach and cry and scream about how much I hated it. If only I were skinny I’d be enough. I would sneak and binge on sweets, it was my comfort, it was there for me and it made me feel better

When I got my period and more of my hormones kicked in I lost a lot of weight. I want to say I got down to 125 when I was around 14-15 and I wouldn’t eat because I was extremely depressed. My sweet tooth was still there, but I wouldn’t eat because I thought eating would make me fat, so I wouldn’t and when I did it was minimal. I ate a lot of 100 calorie snacks, drank juice like V8 because I thought it was healthy, diet coke because it was diet and wouldn’t make me fat. When I was 16 I started working at Target and they have a Pizza Hut Cafe and almost every shift I would go pick up there bread sticks and a diet Pepsi and that would be my lunch (the thought of that now literally makes me cringe). I went to a bible college from 17-almost 18 and ate Ramen noodles and whatever shit food they served while I was there, but I didn’t know any different so I just ate it. I was still pretty skinny because ya know I was 15-17 and you can eat like shit and still be a twig.

When I turned 18 and moved out of my parents house my diet didn’t suuuuper change. I was still living a hardcore Taco Bell and Pizza Hut bread sticks and diet coke life style because I was living on my own, broke as a joke and ate the food I was used to eating, but then I gained probably 30lbs easily within a short amount of time (surprise surprise). I had spent my whole time as a teenager not wanting to be the fat kid and here I was back at 165lbs... wtf. I didn’t really know how to cook, didn’t have money for groceries, refused to apply for food stamps, so I just thought starting to workout would cure all my problems. Well, it didn’t long story short. I mean why didn’t working out and running for an hour THEN going eat Taco Bell work? I was working out, right? HA.

I remember scrolling Pinterest when I discovered it and finding the “Military Diet” and giving that a go. You basically don’t eat anything for 3 days and could apparently lose 10lbs. I wanted to DIE during that diet. I made it the first time around and lost 5lbs, then gave it another go and didn’t make it 2 days and stopped by Taco Bell on my way home from work and binged on that. So my diet search continued... One of my coworkers at the time started using My Fitness Pal to track her calories and she was losing weight like crazy, so I obviously I needed to give it a go and the weight just started falling fall. I went from 165lbs to 125lbs within a matter a months. I didn’t work out, I just ate less than 1,500 calories a day, cold turkey stopped eating candy, drinking soft drinks and unfortunately my Pizza Hut bread sticks. Everything was going GREAT. When I wanted to go down to the next lbs and I was 0.2 from it I would pop a few laxatives the night before and then would weight myself the next morning after shitting my brains out, but I HAD to lose that 0.2lbs.. just had to. I became overly obsessed with counting calories and eating lean cuisines and and 100 calories snacks and drinking Naked juice and weighing myself DAILY and measuring every single little thing I ate and would legit cry if I went over my calories. Funny, not so funny story. One weekend I was headed to my mom’s and had already eaten all of my calories for the day, but was staaaaaaaarving, so I stopped by Jimmy John’s and ate a sandwich that was 800ish calories, which put me 800ish calories over what I was “allowed” to eat, so you bet your ass I drug all of my brother and sisters and mom to a walking trail and walked/ran until I burned off the entire sandwich because I wouldn’t sleep peaceful knowing what I did by eating that sandwich. It was bad, just so bad. I remember the day I hit a breaking point and just wanted some damn chocolate chop cookies, but didn’t have the calories saved for it, but I binged on them anyways and cried in Michael’s arms over what I did and he was telling me it was fiiiiiiine and all the sweet things he could, but it wasn’t to me in that moment, but in that moment I just knew I needed to stop all of this, so I did. I feel like I remember just deleting the app off my phone and being done with it. I was 20 at this point and working a standing job.

Beginning in February of 2014 I started a corporate sitting job, so I didn’t have access to Starbucks or a grocery store on my breaks like I did working at Target, so I had to start bringing my lunches and snacks and to top it all off I was sitting. As you could maybe imagine I started gaining weight from being stagnant and snacking ALL day at my desk (#teamnutrigrain). I put on a good 20lbs within the first couple of months. So I started going for walks on my breaks, eating a lean cuisine a day, eating more fresh fruits and veggies, almonds, and limited my snacking to only in the afternoons and that kind of helped and worked for me for a long time and I stayed at a healthy maybe 140ish lbs and that worked for me because I was still skinny. All about that skinny life because skinny = healthy, right? Well, I thought so. 

I turned 21 and didn’t go crrazzzyy drinking, but I drank moscato and margarita’s often enough and still was all about my Friday candy binge. I was also drinking up to 3 cups of coffee a day at work and just couldn’t figure out why I was sweating and so anxious all the time. I genuinely thought it was from work when in reality I was just pumping myself with coffee after coffee after coffee day in and day out (I’ve learned since my lesson since then). I went through a phase of HIIT workout and running, but that faded really quick, but I really enjoyed hiking when I gave it a go, still do. Along with yoga which I am planning to make a goal of starting a practice in 2018. 

Around the time I turned 22-23 my older sister, Meghann, had a baby and really educated herself around living a more holistic lifestyle and it really intrigued me and around that time I had discovered podcasts and I realized how much processed foods aren’t the best choice and what I could do as an alternative way of going about eating, so I stopped lean cuisine’s (haven’t had one since), milk and yogurt along with limiting candy and processed snacks. I completely cleaned my desk out at work from all the sugar filled granola bars and whatever else I had in there and started to work with that. I shortly thereafter learned about one of the best ways of going about what to eat/not eat is if it didn’t come from the earth and/or has a label on it to think twice before eating it and READ the back of the label if you do. This is still newer-ish to me to do and I’m currently learning about all things nutrition, and how the mind, body and spirit all work together and you can’t have one fully without the other.

 As of now I don’t drink dairy milk, I limit cheese but still love it, I grocery shop once a week and buy as much organic produce as possible, I am still working on the meat switch when it comes to buying organic meat (not quite there yet), I cold turkey stopped eating candy and have found organic, non high fructose corn syrup filled alternatives when I have a sweet tooth, I haven’t been drinking alcohol much the last 2 months or so (don’t have a legit reasoning behind it, just doesn’t sound good), I am really into cooking paleo, vegan, Whole30 friendly foods because it coincides with my eating from the earth method I live by and when I want Whataburger breakfast on a Friday or a taco with a flour tortilla or a real homemade chocolate chip cookie I happily will eat it because I do not believe in living a restricted lifestyle. My entire life leading up to recently whether it was mentally, spiritually or physically has been restricted and I’m not OK with it because it’s limiting and keeps me in a box. I’m a believer in the energy you put into something is negative the outcome will be negative, so if I’m to sit here and say “this is cookie is SO bad for me. OMG. I am going to gain 10lbs.” Well, I’m asking for it to happen, versus eating the cookie cause I want the damn cookie and loving every bit. They doesn’t mean I sit there and eat 12, it just means my mindset around food was so terrible for so long and I know what it did to me mentally that is not worth it for me to be negative about it. I am content and happy with where I am out now, I don’t even care to weigh myself anymore, I don’t body shame myself anymore, I don’t calorie count, I don’t binge, I don’t use food as a reward system, I just educate myself around it, listen to my body and see how it feels and go from there. My anxiety has lessened, I sleep so much better, I feel so peaceful inside and out, and my skin has completely cleared up (I’ll talk about my skincare routine future post).  It’s been a long, ongoing journey, but I am thankful for the million and 2 podcasts I’ve listened to, my sister and everyone else along the way to get me to where I am today and I am excited to continue to learn and grow and now have a place to share all the info I am taking in and it maybe help someone else. :)

- Sarah xo

[lesliehofftravels]

Walks, water, hissing...

February 3, 2019

We were up at 8:00am and went to the office to make our water taxi reservations to get to Abel Tasman National Park.  It’s $37NZ per person, 1 way, which is about $25USD.   It seems a bit expensive, but on our ride out there we got a nice little tour of Split Apple Rock and also saw some seals (called sea dogs here).  They are a unique type of NZ seal.  It was about a 40 minute ride there to our destination of Anchorage Beach.  The funny thing is, they load everyone onto the boat, then hooked the boat up to a tractor trailer, and the tractor pulls the occupied boat on the road to where we entered the water.  

While we were driving to our meeting point, Marahau, for the water taxi, we heard a hiss coming from outside the car.  Since we’d just hit a bump, Bill was certain it was a blown tire.  Oh great, we would miss our reserved taxi, need to call for help, etc.  However, when we got out of the car to check, we realized that the tires were fine and that the hiss was from the very loud  insects in the trees.  Whew, that was a relief!

We were dropped off by the water taxi at  Anchorage Beach, and then we proceeded to walk for about 5 1/2 hours back to where we’d parked our car.  It was a well-groomed trail, not too hard, and it was mostly shaded by trees.  The weather was very nice, and we had our picnic lunch with an amazing view.  We were tired by the end, and happy to be done.  The beaches and the water are breathtaking.  The water is crystal clear.  There aren’t any snakes or sea critters to worry about.  Apparently, the water is too shallow for large sea life, including sharks and crocodiles.   There are islands everywhere, palm trees and ferns, and nice tan sand...

There are many tourists in the area, including many college students who are still on their summer break until March.  At the Anchorage Beach there’s actually a hut where people can sleep.  There’s a kitchen, a toilet, and I think there’s a shower.  You have to reserve it.  Some people have their luggage/bags delivered by boat to the huts and then they show up later to the hut after their day’s activity.  I saw lots of young people hiking with flip flops on, I can’t imaging doing that.  

We stopped at the grocery store on our way home to get supplies for our meals.  Tonight’s dinner was potato hash with salsa and lots of veggies.  There’s minimal cooking utensils, and that,coupled with sharing a kitchen with 4 other people, things can’t be too elaborate.  Cereal, coffee, berries, and almond milk will get us through in the morning.  

[sundaywhiskey]

We’ll Always Have Sunsets

It was early 2009, and I did not want to meet my father’s new girlfriend. My parents’ divorce had finalized only a few months earlier. This new woman, I thought, was at best a rebound, at worst a homewrecker. I was twenty and angry.

We shared the same favorite Beatles song, me and the new girlfriend. “Revolution.” I learned that the night we met. She treated me, my father, my sister, and a couple of our friends to see The Fab Faux, a Beatles tribute band that sounds like the real thing. We drove there in a limo. When “Revolution” started—the clanging electric guitar, the racing drum, the background yell—she tapped my shoulder. “This one’s my favorite!” She sang along, smiling, dancing with hands and hips. Dad’s new girlfriend smiled the kind of smile that made everyone around want to smile too. I’m not sure if by that point my father had nicknamed her “Sweet Thang,” but probably. By the end of the show, I knew for certain my father’s new girlfriend—Kim was her name—was impossible to dislike.

*

I stood on the dock, bitching. “I do not do boats.”

Ignoring me, my father loaded the boat with essentials: a cooler, life vests. I went to Key Largo thinking we’d jet ski, not boat. There’s a difference: one I’d done before and decidedly disliked, and the other I hadn’t tried, so my feelings were up in the air. I worried about seasickness. The last time I’d gone boating was a year or so prior in St. Augustine. I had deep sea fished, or rather, I spent the trip curled in a ball, trying not to throw up. But this day, the bay was smooth and notably shallow—imperative differences I chose to avoid.  Kim promised I’d be fine. She talked me on board.

It turns out, I like boats.

Kim teased me for years: when I’d go tubing, when I’d kneeboard, when I learned how to drive the boat, the one afternoon I tried wakeboarding, the vacation in Hawaii I snorkeled. “I thought you didn’t do boats,” she’d say, imitating my whine. “Oh hey, Miss I-Don’t-Do-Boats.” In Canada, we sailed while the sun set—Kim’s favorite time of day. My father played guitar and we sang.

Recently Kim saw a photo of me on the same boat from that first day. My father drove, and I smiled beside him. Kim laughed looking at the photo, said Dad should have that framed and mailed to me. “Remember how Lyndsay doesn’t do boats?”

Kim didn’t know that just after that photo was taken, she was Baker Acted for threatening suicide to her daughter.

*

A month after I moved to New York in 2013, my father called on my lunch break. He worried Kim might have a problem with alcohol. After her father’s funeral, she’d drank so much, she passed out on the toilet, fell off, maybe got a concussion.

I’d drink at least that much after your funeral, I probably said. Or maybe I said, I don’t know—that sounds like a reasonable day to get drunk. Whatever I said that afternoon, sitting at a picnic table in front of a grocery store on Fulton St., too many miles from my family to be of any use, I needed to believe that no, no, Kim was not an alcoholic. Not our Kim.

In hindsight, there were signs. I’d lived with my father and Kim for the six months preceding my New York move, and in the mornings while drinking coffee, Kim sometimes poured herself a glass of vodka before retiring to her bedroom for the day. She worked from home. In the evenings,  her words slurred, her memory like mist. I’d later learn that what I had interpreted as sometimes was frequently, and what I’d interpreted as normal wasn’t.

I returned to my office. Should I confide in someone? Alcoholism wasn’t that serious, was it? I mean, I drink. And sometimes I don’t drink. Kim could do that: control her consumption. I remember thinking, or maybe the right word is hoping: There’s nothing to worry about. But what if there was?

*

Kim passed away January 4, 2017, at 6:36 p.m. from complications of alcoholism, namely cirrhosis of the liver and esophageal varices. She is survived by her husband, four children, two stepdaughters; her mother, and two brothers. Her first grandson was born 36 hours later.

*

I’m not sure which anecdote best illustrates my stepmother’s alcoholism.

Maybe the time she flew to New York for rehab, drank during the flight, forgot why she was on a flight, and tried to check-in to a hotel at which she had no reservation. She slept in the lobby. The police came.

Maybe the time she chased my father with a garden hoe.

Maybe the rumors she circulated about my father—that he was using her for money, he was cheating. She had developed Korsakoff Syndrome (a chronic memory disorder), and in the morning she’d love him but by afternoon she’d forget, rage and call him an asshole. Could he get the fuck out of her house? More than once she demanded her assistant pack my father’s clothes in garbage bags.

Maybe that she said these things and behaved this way while my father put his life on hold to help her. He called every doctor in town. He researched every rehab center. He left her cards on the nightstand—I love you, he’d write, his all-caps handwriting in permanent ink.

Maybe the Christmas she tossed half my presents in our backyard lake. She’d thrown other things in the lake, too: her wedding ring, for one. Once she threatened to drive into the lake.

Maybe the time she lost her car at a hotel. She’d forgotten she drove, took a taxi home, and the next morning she’d forgotten to which hotel she’d gone.

Maybe the time I went to her house and she told me to fucking leave, that I’m not her fucking daughter, and why don’t I tell my father to fuck off, while I was at it. A minute later she emerged on the driveway in tears. She was sorry, she would do anything for my dad’s girls. Amy and I were like daughters to her. I couldn’t stop crying.

*

That was not Kim. Kim was sick.

That was not Kim. Kim was sick.

That was not Kim.

Kim was sick.

*

My father proposed to Kim in bed. They were that way, without frills. The six of us kids took to calling them Tomberly, or sometimes Tim. Their love was that gross gooey shit I didn’t believe existed until it stood before me, arms wrapped around waists and shoulders, smiling and laughing as though the only ones in on a joke. They were happy. My god, they were so happy.

They married November 3, 2012, in an intimate ceremony in Key Largo, FL. My step brother walked his mother down the aisle; my sister and I walked our dad. Kim’s daughter was maid-of-honor, and my Pop Pop was the best man. They married before a dock during sunset. My father’s band played the reception. Kim wore a teal and coral dress.

This year she forgot their anniversary. She was hospitalized, throwing up blood.

*

Alcoholism is a disease. A disease like cancer is a disease like diabetes is a disease like HIV is a disease. Many dispute this, claim people like Kim have a choice in the matter. They’re wrong. Nobody, least of all Kim, would choose this.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Addiction defines alcoholism this way: “An addict’s life is often centered around their drug of choice, which in the case of an alcoholic is alcohol. They spend much of their time figuring out how to obtain it, drinking it, and recovering from its effects. They also do this at the expense of practically everything and everyone around them. Jobs suffer, as do relationships with friends and family members, and often alcoholics are in trouble with the law.”

Alcoholism alone explains the illegal golf cart rides down busy roads to the gas station. Why she lost custody of her youngest sons. The bruised liver, the tar stool, the blown esophagus, the near-dementia. The tubes, the heart monitor, the machines that kept her alive more days than her body would have survived on its own.

*

I last saw Kim not connected to wires and machines in a hospital bed on Christmas Day 2015. (I first saw Kim connected to wires and machines in a hospital bed on Christmas Day 2016.) She was sober and chain-smoking on the porch beneath the tiki hut. It was later in the evening, only a few stragglers from the day remained: me, my father, Kim, and this guy who turned out to be a neighbor, but whom I’d never before met. He argued politics, something about how you just have to work hard to obtain a college education, blahblahblah.

“Look,” I said. Hard work can get you only so far: because of hard work, I honed my talent for writing and obtained a career. But I qualified for said career because of a costly master’s degree, which required a cross-country move. Kim paid for my undergraduate and graduate education. She financially supported my moves to New York and Los Angeles. 

No matter how much hard work, I would not be where I am today without my stepmother’s generosity. 

Kim aww’d, pulled me into her arms. She never did these things for recognition. She’s not that way, helping people to feel better about herself. She paid my tuition because she knew I wanted to be a writer, and she knew I wanted a degree that said so, and she knew she had the means to help me accomplish that.

“That’s so sweet of you to say, little love,” she said. She smiled her Kim-smile, her cheek pressed into mine.

*

At her celebration of life Saturday, I shared many of the above stories. The one’s about Kim. Not the one’s about her disease. No person should be defined or remembered by that which ailed them.

*

The first time I said aloud “Kim is dead,” it tasted badly. It was palpable, the words a weight on my tongue.

Grief is relentless.

Addiction is relentless.

My family, we’ve had practice in grief—we lost our Kim years ago. Interventions. Rehab stints. Marchman Act’s. Doctors and psychiatrists and drugs and memory loss and yelling—my god, there was so much yelling—and legal documents and lakes.

I last heard Kim’s voice on Election Day. She sounded good, sober. I could’ve recognized her voice anywhere. She joked I should run for president. We laughed, and I remembered Revolution, and boats, and the family vacation to Steamboat Springs when like dominoes we all contracted stomach viruses, and Christmas-Day-matching-pajamas and Costco-maxi-dresses, and singing B-b-b-bennie and the Jets!, and the way the sun glowed behind her on her wedding day.

[awanderingscribbler]

New Post has been published on A Wandering Scribbler

New Post has been published on http://awanderingscribbler.com/2017/01/30/miss-home-buffalo-ny/

What I Miss From Home-Buffalo, NY

I never spend a lot of time at home. Since I graduated high school I left Buffalo, NY to be in Pennsylvania . Then I moved to Maryland. All that time I was traveling for long periods. And while I missed home, I was close enough to go home for the weekend, or I always made it home between months abroad. I then moved to New Mexico, before finally settling in Texas where Steve and I will be for a few years.

I’m home right now, visiting family, attending a friend’s wedding, and having my baby shower. Being home for a few weeks makes me think about all of the things I miss from home. Of course I miss my family and friends, being around the familiar old places I grew up around, but I wanted to put together a list of things I miss from home so that you other Western New Yorkers will also feel homesick, or, you might get some inspiration to visit Buffalo and the surrounding areas.

  Chicken Finger Subs- this is so silly. It’s the easiest thing to make and it’s not anything special. But every time I’m home I get one. Like you’d expect, it’s just chicken fingers, covered in a sauce of your choice, put on a sub roll with lettuce, tomato and onion, provolone, and blue cheese- or at least that’s how I like mine- with hot sauce. I usually get mine from a tiny place in Attica- Meisner’s, but I doubt you’ll ever go there for fun, so if you’re in Buffalo, try Jim’s Steakout. They’re a chain, open super late, and have a lot of other sub options too.

Speaking of Bleu Cheese… I miss the way bleu cheese is at home. Maybe it’s just me being picky, but it does not taste the same anywhere else. If they even have blue cheese- that is. Most people think ranch is an equal substitute, but please no. I need bleu cheese.

Tim Horton’s– I don’t care what anyone else says, Tim Horton’s is better than any coffee, ever. I never liked coffee until some time in college when my friend would take me to Tim Horton’s. This made me love coffee. Besides coffee, I always loved their breakfast foods, lunch foods, soups, whatever they have. It’s hard to not visit five times a day when I’m home.

Pizza and Wings– You can get this pretty much anywhere, but not like in Buffalo. In some places, pizza and chicken wings don’t even go together but in Buffalo they definitely do. And… the pizza and wings are the best ever there. And it always has to be from a small mom and pop place with max two locations around the city. No ordering from Pizza Hut or Dominoes at our house.

Cheese Curds– I could eat an entire bag of cheese curds in one sitting. We always get them from Cutter’s, a small place near where I grew up. You can find them in stores, sold by Yancey’s Fancy and they sometimes ship them around the country at larger stores. They are the best things ever.

Chiavettas– Every time we go home we stock up on this amazing marinade. It’s popular around Buffalo to marinate chicken and honestly, I could sip on this like a fine scotch (though I don’t because it’s got so much salt in it I would die). It makes chicken so tasty and tender. I don’t know how it hasn’t caught on elsewhere.

Wegmans– This grocery store is spreading around the Northeast now. It’s like the biggest, semi-fanciest grocery store ever. They have great ready-made food or to-order food and buffets. They obviously also have a full grocery store and pharmacy where we I love to go when I’m home. You just need to visit.

“Real” Chicken Wings- This goes along with the pizza. You probably know that Buffalo is known for wings. I really

Snow– Winter is not really winter unless there’s snow. In Texas this year we got one tiny dusting that lasted about three hours but that was it for our excitement. It’s weird to me to look out in December and January and just see brown grass instead of fluffy white pillows covering the ground. It is such a pain to drive in and plan adventures- what I’m reminded when I go home- but that’s winter. That’s what I grew up with and that’s what I enjoy.

  I realize most of this is food, but often that’s the way isn’t it? Food is such a big part of what makes a place special. When we want to remember a trip, we often cook the food from that place. We’re often reminded of somewhere just by the smells and tastes we experienced there.

  Would you add anything to this list?