#basically at some point no matter how fun and laid back your curriculum is

[septembersung]

I actually refrain myself from posting the majority of my homeschool curriculum thoughts here but a friend and I recently got into it (not even arguing just hashing out) and I have itchy typing fingers. The urge to write to find out what I think etc etc.

[jalapeno-princess]

In it to Win it

Kindergarten Teacher Jinyoung X Reader

Genre: Angst with a fluffy ending (Cocky and narcissistic Park Jinyoung)

Word Count: 3.9K

Summary: You’ve been a kindergarten teacher for the last three years and it’s been such an amazing experience other than the fact that one of the other teachers had it out for you for the last year and you’ve had enough of his brutality. Little did you know the reason why he was so cold toward you was because he had developed feelings for you from the minute the two of you were introduced to each other. Jinyoung never did relationships because he was so dedicated to his job and he wasn’t going to allow you to be the one to change that.

A/N: To the anon who requested a kindergarten teacher Jinyoung imagine a couple of weeks ago I’m so sorry for the delay and I apologize if it’s not what you were expecting but feel free to request again!

“Okay class, raise your hand if any of you have suggestions on how to decorate the door for Halloween.” As soon as the question fell from your lips, every tiny little hand raised and you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at how eager your students were.

“Hmmm, how about you Subin?” The little girl beamed at you before speaking up.

“We could draw a big haunted house and then have ghosts flying out of it?” You smiled gently at her while writing down her suggestion.

“That sounds cool! What do you think Woojin?” He sent you a toothy grin before pointing at his shirt.

“I’d like a big, scary monster with sharp teeth and blood coming out of his mouth.” A few of the girls shrieked while most of the boys cheered on his idea. You however, weren’t a fan and shook your head in disagreement. Being a kindergarten teacher had its ups and downs. You’ve been at this for almost three years now and you’d like to say you were finally getting the hang of things.

Kindergarteners were at that age where they were still learning the basics; manners, abcs, 123s and your responsibility was making sure each and every one of your students had the basic curriculum down before sending them up to first grade. It was almost the end of first quarter which meant the start of the holiday season.

This was always one of your favorite parts of the semester. You loved preparing for the last three months of the year; specifically the door decorating contests. Every year for Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas, there would be a door decorating contest for each grade level and the prize was a pizza party.

Every year, you had your students come up with ideas on how they would want to decorate the door and you were always so excited to see the effort and enthusiasm they put in to making sure your door stood out. When you first became a kindergarten teacher, you didn’t think much about being competitive; all that mattered to you was that your students had fun.

Unfortunately, you soon changed your mind about the entire event when a fellow kindergarten teacher made it aware that he took the “friendly competition” very seriously and went through great lengths to make sure his class won every single time. Park Jinyoung, in more or less words was the biggest pain in your ass.

From the day that you met him, you believed that he was one of the most arrogant and selfish people you’ve ever met. He was assigned to show you around on your first day of school and when you first laid your eyes on him, you had to bite your lip to prevent you from drooling. He was extremely good looking. Watching as he interacted with his students made your heart warm. Not only was he a sight for sore eyes, but he seemed to get along really well with children and he was very charming from what you observed.

However, Jinyoung made it aware that he wanted nothing to do with you unless he really had to. You never understood why he was so cold towards you, especially because you were nothing but nice to him but it didn’t matter. All that you cared about were your students and your work ethic as a teacher. From that day on, you made a promise to yourself to avoid Jinyoung and his snarky remarks at all costs, no matter how attractive you found him.

There were much more good looking men out there with genuine personalities. Park Jinyoung did not deserve your kindness nor your patience. At one point, you’d find yourself observing him in the hopes that you’d find out he was like that to the rest of the teachers and staff. To everyone else, he was quite the gentlemen.

He held doors for whoever was walking right behind him, always asked how the other teacher’s days were going and you found out that he would buy Christmas presents for the entire staff. You couldn’t remember if you ever did anything to upset or insult him and sometimes you wanted to confront him for his rude personality, but you didn’t want to cause any problems and end up getting fired for something you had no control over.

At the end of the day, you walked outside with your students and sent them off with their parents one by one. After saying goodbye to the last of your students, you were right about to head back in to your classroom when you heard someone call out your name.

“I overheard Mirae telling one of my students that you guys are going to win the door contest this year. Ha! I have to laugh. You stand no chance y/n. We’ve practically already won, so there’s no point in wasting your time.”

You sent him a chilling glare before scoffing. What was his problem? He was acting like such a child. If you weren’t mistaken, he could pass as one of your students.

“You overheard correctly. I plan on beating you this year. Why are you so confident huh? I wasn’t too impressed with your wicked witch last year. Honestly, if you want to win you should just put a picture of yourself on your door. That’ll scare everybody.” He let out a sarcastic giggle before crossing his arms indifferently. God, why did he have to be so handsome yet such an asshole?

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? Well whatever, just be prepared to see a bunch of sad faces when my students come running over to your class with pizzas in their hands. Have a nice—you know what? You don’t deserve a nice day. Just have a day y/n. Can’t wait to win.”

You wanted nothing more than to slap that egotistical grin off of his face but you knew you couldn’t. As much as your school believed in equality and treating every employee fairly, you knew they would end up choosing Jinyoung if the choice between the two of you ever came up. Not only was he there a couple years longer than you were, but he was quite the social butterfly and everyone in school seemed to like him. You on the other hand despised him with every fiber of your being and you were going to make sure your class was going to win each and every door contest.

As the days went by, your students worked diligently to color, cut and paste their drawings on your door. Going with Subin’s idea, you placed a big brown sheet of construction paper on the door and stuck on windows and some silly string to use as cobwebs. Then your students made themselves in to ghosts and scattered their drawings all over the door.

Once you were done with the finishing touches and stepped back to take a look at the final product, you were quite impressed with how it turned out and you could only hope the judges liked it just as much. When the day of judgement came, you watched nervously on the side to see what the scores were like. Jinyoung’s door was quite impressive and you weren’t surprised. He always put so much time and effort in to decorating. However, you couldn’t help but feel as if he was the one to do the entire project all by himself.

As talented as the kindergarteners were, you knew they weren’t capable to draw intricate shapes nor cut the paper perfectly. This contest was meant strictly for the children; therefore, you sent in an anonymous tip before the judges could come up with a decision. The day before Halloween, you were notified that your class had won the contest and you were extremely over the moon. In your three years of working at that school, this was the first time your class won the Halloween door contest.

Jinyoung won every single year for the last three years and you knew it was all because he was the one actually working on the door. He was a cheater and you hated that he’s been getting away with it for so long. A huge part of you wanted to march over to Jinyoung’s classroom and rub it in his face that you won, but you weren’t one to stoop down to someone’s level like he seemed to be. You just let your student’s cheers of happiness speak for you.

The beginning of November came and went and before you knew it, Thanksgiving was soon approaching. As much fun as it was beating Jinyoung just a month prior, seeing the broken expressions on his student’s faces made your heart hurt. This wasn’t even considerably fun to you anymore. You enjoyed the idea of winning against Jinyoung, but at what cost? The sadness of twenty three five-year-olds?

How could he be okay with putting his students through humiliation just so that he could win the contest? It wasn’t even about winning the pizza party for his students. His main goal was to beat you and you still couldn’t find a legitimate reason as to why he had it out for you. Your students were excited to work on the door again, but deep down you knew you weren’t going to try as hard so Jinyoung’s class had a chance at winning. Sure, you enjoyed seeing your students so overwhelmed with happiness as they enjoyed their celebration, but you felt bad with the way Jinyoung’s students looked at yours in envy.

After the judges talked to Jinyoung about why he lost last time, he made it his duty to make sure each and every one of his students were involved. Your students drew hand turkeys and it the effort they put in to coloring and cutting them made your heart flutter. No matter how frustrating it could be as a kindergarten teacher sometimes, seeing the smile on all their adorable faces at the smallest little things made it all worth it. The day before the judges came to look at your door, you had a unpleasant visit from the person you wanted to see the least. Before school could even start, you heard an all but gentle knock on the door and you released a frustrated sigh when he entered without you allowing him in.

“What are you—“ he rudely put his hand out in front of you and blatantly interrupted you. You were quick to pick up on his furrowed brows and the way he stormed in and you knew he was upset.

“It was you wasn’t it? You lied to the judges and told them that I work on the door all by myself so that my class would get disqualified didn’t you? I know you were pathetic, but that’s another kind of low. Even for you. You’re going to regret that.”

In most situations, you would’ve allowed him to talk bad about you and just kept your mouth shut, not wanting things to escalate but you were tired. He had no right to talk to you like you were the scum underneath his expensive pair of dress shoes. You did nothing for him to treat you so impolitely. Deep down, you knew you could report him for workplace bullying, but you didn’t want all the unnecessary drama that came with having to list down exactly what he was doing to you.

To both your surprises, you found yourself standing up and walked over towards him. You were so angry to the point where you poked your finger at his chest while releasing all your built up anger and frustrations that he caused you over the last three years.

“I’m pathetic? I’M PATHETIC? You’re kidding me right? Even if I didn’t say anything, it doesn’t take a genius to know that there is no way a five year old, no matter how many worked on that damn door could execute such precise and accurate designs. You would’ve been disqualified whether or not I reported you. Do you hate me that much for you to want to win so badly that you did all that work by yourself? You’re forgetting the entire point of this door contest! It’s for the kids! It’s for them to work together and to have fun while doing it! But no, this is all a competition for you! And it’s not even to win best door! You couldn’t give less of a shit about that. You just want to beat me! Well guess what Park Jinyoung, I don’t give two shits what you think about me or if your class wins the damn contest! You and I obviously have two different mindsets here. I want to win because I love seeing my students happy. You want to win because your God damn ego and pride is so fucking huge and the only person you care about is yourself. From the day I arrived to this school, you’ve been nothing but a prick and a jerk and for what? What reason huh?”

You were so in to his rant that you weren’t able to see the way he was looking at you with an apologetic look in his eyes. What you didn’t know, was that the reason why Jinyoung was such an asshole to you, was because he harbored feelings for you. It may not seem like it, especially because he treated you so unfairly, but it was his twisted way of showing his interest in you. It was also because he never wanted to develop feelings for you. Jinyoung was always focused on his education and his job. He never had time to date nor did he feel like it was necessary to do. But the minute he laid his eyes on you and witnessed as you taught your class and got them to fall in love with you so easily, he knew he was in deep shit.

You were also the talk of the board of education. Even before you graduated from your university with your bachelors degree in education, there were so many schools that were looking at you and interested in hiring you from the get go. Teaching was one of the hardest occupations out there but you did it so effortlessly and made it seem like such a simple task. Which is why Jinyoung felt as if he needed to stay away from you.

He felt like if he were to be so closed off and mean towards you that you would want nothing to do with him. But as you continued to be nothing but nice to him albeit his coldhearted demeanor, it only caused him to fall for you even harder. He hated being so mean to you; you didn’t deserve it and hearing the effect that it had on you made his heart hurt. He was surprised that you put up with his bullshit for so long. Anyone in their right minds would’ve told him off a long time ago but not you. You allowed his hostility to continue all the while keeping that beautiful smile on your face that he loved so much.

“You are the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. I can’t believe all the teachers fawn over how kind-hearted and generous you are. If only they knew the real you. The you that only comes out when I’m around. I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you hate me so much but I refuse to allow you to continue stepping all over me. Now get out.”

You didn’t dare look at him and you were afraid of what was going to happen now that you told him exactly how you felt about the mistreatment, but what you didn’t expect was the five letter word that fell from his lips.

“Sorry.” A sarcastic chuckle fell from your lips and you finally allowed yourself to look up at him in disbelief.

“I’m sorry?” He shook his head and began pacing the room back and forth. This was all too much for your mind to process. You didn’t think you’d be confronting Jinyoung for his negative behavior today nor did you think he’d be apologizing to you for how he’s been acting towards you. Were you still asleep? You had to be. There was no way this was all going on right now.

“No, I am. I admit, I was being a dick. I have no excuse for the way that I’ve been treating you and I hope you know that you don’t deserve that kind of treatment. I’m sorry. Genuinely—and there’s no excuse for my actions. I don’t deserve your forgiveness and I know you’re probably in shock by my apology, but I’m deeply sorry for everything that I’ve put you through. I knew my behavior has probably affected you and you should’ve had me reported for harassing you so much. I know my apology probably means jack shit to you, but if I were to tell you why I’ve been acting this way you’d probably laugh in my face—“

“Tell me.”

He looked at you for a few seconds and you felt extremely insecure under the weight of his stare, but before you knew it he hesitantly brought his hand up to your cheek and began caressing right below your eye. If it was anyone else, you would’ve slapped their hand away and honestly even after hearing his apology, you should’ve yanked his hand from off your face but you didn’t want to. His touch was soft and comforting and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like how it felt. But what did it mean? And how did he go from accusing you of turning him in for cheating to cupping your face with his hands? You felt as if you were about to throw up.

“I—I um—okay I’m going to start off by saying this, Park Jinyoung never falls in love. I don’t do relationships. I don’t believe in them. I feel like they’re a waste of time and effort but fuck—ever since I met you I found myself craving to be in one with you. I know it’s hard to believe and you probably think I’m just messing around with you but I’m serious. I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve gotten me to fall for you. I haven’t felt this way for anyone before and I think that treating you like shit was my defense mechanism because I didn’t want to develop any sort of feelings for you. It was hard not to. I mean—look at you. Fuck, all I ever seem to do is look at you, do you not understand just how beautiful you are? And when I see you getting along with each and every one of your students, it makes my heart feel things I never thought it was capable of. Love. Admiration. Adoration. You—you’re the most wonderful human being I’ve ever met. You’re so hardworking, so selfless and passionate about your job. You’re everything I wish I could be.”

His hands left your face and right as you were about to complain, he brought them down to your hips and pulled you closer to his body causing your cheeks to warm up. You absentmindedly wrapped your arms around his neck and wanted nothing more than to kiss his stupidly handsome face while beating him up for treating you like shit for so long. Hearing his confession made your heart flutter and as much as you wanted to hate him and continue being upset with him, you were just as head over heels for him as he claimed to be for you.

“If you didn’t already know by now, I like you y/n. Hell, I think it goes beyond that. There aren’t enough words that I can put together that can explain to you just how sorry I am for everything—but if you let me, I’d love to take you out on a date and then we can see where it goes from there? But I completely understand if you want nothing to do with me. Just know that I have every intention on treating you the way you deserve—the way I should’ve been years ago.” You took a few minutes to come up with your decision even if you already knew the answer.

“You’re an asshole Park Jinyoung.” He giggled softly before agreeing with you.

“I know. And I’m sorry.”

“I deserve someone better than you. Someone who would tell me how they feel rather than push me away because they can’t accept their feelings.” Although you had your arms around his neck, your words sent a pang of hurt to his chest because he knew you were right. He was afraid that it was too late. But the gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth broke him out of his self pity and he found himself smiling against your lips.

“I like you too. Prick. More than I’d like to admit and more than you deserve. But you need to promise me that you’ll change. I refuse to be in a relationship with someone who treats me like shit. The minute you start acting cold towards me again is the minute I throw hands. You hear me? Man, I’d hate to see how you used to pick up girls back in college. Maybe you’re such a hard ass because you’re single.”

His laughter filled the room and you found yourself laughing along with him. Hearing him laugh every now and then sent butterflies to your tummy especially because of how adorable his laugh was and because of how cute he looked when he tried to cover up his mouth every single time. His eye crinkles were also very adorable and you found yourself getting on your tip toes to kiss both sides of his face out of habit.

“Correction, I was single. And so were you, but now you’re mine. I meant what I said baby, I’m going to take really good care of you from now on. God, I love kissing you. I’ve dreamt about kissing these pretty lips of yours for the longest time. To think I could’ve done so sooner if I wasn’t so stupid. It doesn’t matter anymore, all that matters is us, right now. However, I hope you know that just because we’re dating doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you y/n, I’m still going to win that door contest.” You playfully slapped his chest before motioning him out of your classroom.

“We’ll see about that you cocky asshole.” Right as you were about to open your door, he gripped both of your wrists and pinned them up against your head before placing a rough and passionate kiss upon your lips.

“I can’t wait for Christmas time. I’m going to purposely put up mistletoe in my room so I have an excuse to kiss you. Thank you for giving me a chance y/n. I’m really excited to see where things are going to go for us.” With one more kiss on your lips, he was making his way out the door. But before he could leave, the cutest little voice spoke up and you found yourself stifling back a laugh.

“Our door is way better than your door Mr.Park! Can’t wait to beat you again and eat our pizza in front of you!”

[antiadvil]

What Phil Saw

summary: After their first night together, Phil knows he made a mistake sleeping with one of his students. Dan disagrees, but he's too busy having a crisis about his major to press the issue too much.

Or, the conversation Dan and Phil had after their first night together in Electrify my Heart, from Phil's point of view.

rating: PG13

wc: 2.8k

read on ao3 or under the cut

Phil woke up to a thud and an alarm ringing. He poked his head out of his sheets to see Dan, fallen on his floor, angrily tapping at his phone screen.

“Dan?” Phil asked, just as the alarm finally went silence.

“I have a class,” Dan said, pulling his clothes on, his jaw set.

Phil had no idea what time it was, but he was exhausted, so it must have been insanely early. “It’s so early,” he said.

“Yeah,” Dan snapped. “That’s how 8 am’s work, Phil.”

“Sorry,” Phil apologized, “Sorry.” He hesitated. “Can I get you anything?”

“How long does it take to walk to the main quad from here?” Dan asked, yanking his shirt over his head.

“Maybe half an hour? I can walk with you if-”

“Fuck,” Dan said, looking at his phone again. “I’m going to be late.”

“You can skip,” Phil said, before he could think about how he really shouldn’t be encouraging college freshmen to skip their classes. “I want to talk to you,” he pressed on.

“No, I can’t,” Dan said, not offering an explanation. He had his shoes on now, and walked towards the door.

“Okay, but Dan, we really need to-”

Dan closed the door.

“Talk,” Phil finished his sentence, sighing. He groaned, falling back on his bed. If Dan wasn’t going to talk to him, he might as well get some more sleep.

When his own alarm went off, he turned it off and went to sleep again. He finally woke up at almost noon. He had slept through his morning class, was half an hour from missing his afternoon class, and really needed to get his shit together.

What did functioning people do in the morning?

Breakfast or something, probably, but since it was so late, Phil thought he could get away with lunch instead. He could eat quickly, get dressed, make it to his class, and then make it to the lab he was supposed to TA this afternoon.

Where he would probably see Dan again. Great.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Dan again. There were few things he wanted more than to see Dan again, but so soon, so publicly, after the way Dan had run off this morning? No thank you.

Maybe Dan would skip. He certainly didn’t seem like he wanted to see Phil right now. Hopefully Dan would skip.

Phil made it to his afternoon class a few minutes late. He took a few notes, and tried to focus, but he couldn’t stop thinking about that morning. The previous night.

It had been good. It had been so good. Dan was cute and fun to talk to and the fact that he was apparently fun to have sex with too was a definite plus.

This professor was so boring. This class was so boring. Why was he even taking this class? His advisor had recommended it because psychology was important to his field of study, but he could not be less interested in the material.

Maybe it had just been too long since he last got laid. He was losing his mind over one hookup.

It was more than a hookup.

But that was all it could be. All it was supposed to be. And it could never happen again.

Phil hadn’t had a serious boyfriend in years. He hadn’t wanted a serious boyfriend in years. He was too busy. And for god’s sake, couldn’t he at least catch feelings for someone who wasn’t one of his undergraduate students?

God, he hated this class. Was he even in the right focus area if this was supposed to be important to him?

Too many crises at once. Phil buried the heels of his hands in his eyes.

***

Phil normally liked teaching lab. It was a more slow paced environment than office hours, and he got to spend longer with his students. Today, though… was not normal. Phil suddenly wished he had called off sick. They could’ve found someone to cover for him, surely.

They probably couldn’t have. His lab would just have gotten cancelled. And then these students would move on through the CS curriculum never having implemented selection sort. And it would be all Phil’s fault.

It wouldn’t be his fault, a small, indignant voice in the back of his head insisted, it would be the fault of the department who wouldn’t give them enough funding for enough TAs and the university who did god knows what with the mountains of tuition money handed over to them every semester and the crumbling state of higher education in this godforsaken country.

It didn’t matter. He was here, even if he didn’t want to be, and he was going to do his job, however unpleasant his job might be today.

“Alright,” he said loudly, clapping his hands. The room stilled, faces turning in his direction. “Today’s lab is on the course website, as usual. I’ll be around to take attendance and then I’ll be going around again and helping with any questions you might have.”

Phil pulled his CS 115 folder out of his backpack, pulling out the attendance sheet and papers he had pre-prepared for today’s lab. He couldn’t help but grimace at the list of names on the top of the stack of papers. Today was a week before the drop deadline, and he was supposed to finish doing check ins on students who were struggling. Dan was the only one he hadn’t already spoken to. It was a bit of an awkward subject to broach with someone you considered a friend. But... Phil really did need to talk to Dan. As soon as possible, and not just about his grade in the class.

He started taking attendance, stopping for a few extra seconds at Dan’s table. “Dan? Can I speak with you after class?”

Dan was resolutely avoiding eye contact, his cheeks rosy. “Fine.”

“You and your boyfriend fighting, Howell?” one of the boys at Dan’s table said.

Phil froze. He didn’t know. He couldn’t. He was just messing with Dan. Right? “That was inappropriate, Nathan,” he managed. He hoped he didn’t seem as upset by the remark as he really was.

Nathan rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer.

Phil quickly moved on, and spent the rest of the lab avoiding Dan’s table. There were plenty of other students who needed help, and whenever someone in Dan’s area looked like they were struggling, he sent a CA over instead.

Unfortunately, avoiding Dan could only last so long. Soon, the class was over, and Dan was trying to walk out the door.

Phil grimaced, steeling himself. “Dan?” he called, hoping he sounded normal.

Dan jerked to a stop, then slowly turned around. “Yes, sir?” His voice was mocking. Heat flooded into Phil’s face.

“I hope you didn’t forget about our meeting,” Phil managed.

“How could I forget?” Dan’s voice was beyond mocking now. It was cutting, even cruel.

Phil took a deep breath, trying not to get angry. He put on his best stern voice. “Dan. I’m trying to give you some leeway, given the situation, but that is not an appropriate way to speak to your TA.”

Dan didn’t reply. Phil took that as his cue to move on. “Alright,” he said. “Dan, you’re not doing very well in this class.”

Dan still didn’t say anything. Whatever, Phil decided, the less Dan talked, the faster he could get through his script. “I’m not encouraging you to drop the class, though that’s certainly an option. Hopefully this is a temporary issue we can work through. We have a lot of resources available to you; we want you to succeed.”

“That’s nice,” Dan said stonily. “Anything else?”

Phil toyed with the idea of saying yes, that was all, of letting Dan go, but he couldn’t. “Dan… can we talk?”

“About what?”

“I think you know what.”

Dan just stared at the floor.

Phil pushed on, wincing into the awkward silence. “You kind of ran off this morning. I just wanted to say- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m your TA. You’re my student.” Phil hesitated, but Dan didn’t seem to have anything to say, so he continued. “But you’re also my friend. And I just wanted to make sure that… you were okay with what happened.”

Dan stared at the ground, and Phil’s stomach started to sink.

“I would never want to hurt you, but you need to tell me if I did,” Phil said softly.

Dan finally looked up in the briefest of glances. “You didn’t,” he said quietly.

Phil allowed himself to relax a little bit. “That’s good. But I’m still sorry.”

“It was that bad, huh?” Dan rolled his eyes.

“Dan, no, I just meant- I really like you. But you’re my student, and I can’t do this right now. I don’t know, maybe later but right now I just can’t.”

“Great,” Dan said flatly.

Phil tried again. “I hope we can still be friends.”

“Friends.” Dan looked pained.

Phil’s stomach sunk a bit further. “It’s okay if you don’t want that. It’s okay if you never want to see me again. You can switch lab sections, you can-”

“No,” Dan interrupted. “No, I… You’re basically my only friend. I’m not losing you over something stupid like this.”

“Aww,” Phil said. He hoped Dan was exaggerating. He had to have at least one other friend, right? Or at least acquaintance, or roommate, or something? “That’s really sweet, Dan, but you need to make more friends.”

“I know,” Dan mumbled.

“But Dan, really. If we’re going to be friends, I need to make sure you know I’m sorry. It was my job not to cross any boundaries, not yours, and now I’ve made everything all weird.”

“Stop acting like this is all your fault,” Dan snapped. “Stop sitting there apologizing like you did something to me I didn’t want. I’m 19, I knew what I was doing, and if I didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have fucking said I did.”

God, he had no idea what he was saying. Nineteen felt so distant to Phil, he realized with a stab of guilt. “I- Dan, I just mean-”

“Just stop.”

“Fine,” Phil said.

“Fine,” Dan repeated.

“I guess we’re done then. Unless you have anything else to say.” Please let this awful conversation just be over.

Dan glared. “No.”

Phil breathed a sigh of relief, reaching for his coat. “Well then, I guess I’ll see you next week, unless you decide to switch labs.”

“Wait,” Dan said.

Phil froze.

“I have a question.”

“About what?” Phil asked warily.

“Computer science.”

Phil turned back towards Dan. This was something he could handle, then. “What is it?”

“Do you like CS?” Dan asked, his eyes shining.

Phil sighed. So much for handling things.

He couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen it coming. He had taught hundreds of intro to CS students, and Dan checked a lot of the boxes for students who would either drop CS 115 or drop out of the CS program later down the line.

There wasn’t anything wrong with that, he reminded himself. It wasn’t his fault or the students’ fault. Sometimes people just decide to do one thing and then decide that that thing isn’t for them and decide to do another thing instead. And that was fine.

He took a deep breath. “It’s, well, it’s a love-hate relationship. And when I hate it, I really hate it. But when I love it, it’s like the best thing in the world. And even when I don’t, I really do believe that CS has the power to change the world. And I want to be a part of that change.”

Dan nodded, still staring at the floor. Phil wished Dan would look at him instead, so that he could explain to Dan with his eyes what his words couldn’t. The way it felt when a complicated concept finally clicked into place. Finally passing that one test case you’d been stuck on for hours, or even days. Finding a bug, and then fixing it. Being able to help someone else, seeing another person’s eyes light up with understanding. But Dan didn’t look up.

“I know a lot of people go into CS for the wrong reasons,” he tried. “It sounds cool or the starting salaries are so high or they want the power to reshape the world in their image. And then they get here and it turns out computer science is hard, and frustrating, and time consuming, and sometimes, it’s just not for them. And that’s okay. It doesn’t make them any less valuable or any less intelligent.”

Phil waited again. No response. He switched tactics. “Are you thinking of changing majors?”

“I don’t know,” Dan said, his voice watery. “What would I even change it to?”

“You can figure that out,” Phil said, trying his best to be encouraging. “It’s okay if you do; CS isn’t for everyone.”

“It’s not,” Dan said, finally breaking down into tears. “It’s not.”

Phil had never wanted to hug someone so badly. “Dan, I’m really sorry.”

“For the last time, Phil, stop apologizing,” Dan exploded.

Phil bit back another apology. “Dan, I just want you to be happy. I hate seeing you like this.”

Dan laughed bitterly. He sounded almost strangled through his tears. “That must be really hard for you. Want to tell me more?”

It was like he was determined to misinterpret everything Phil said. “Dan… Computer Science is hard. Especially in your first class. Computer science is frustrating and confusing and hard, and no one’s code ever works on the first try, and if you’ve never had a breakdown over an assignment you either have incredible time management skills or you’ve only been doing CS for like a month or you’re a liar. And I’m not going to pretend that doesn’t suck, but you come out from it a better version of yourself each time. I’m the programmer I am today because of all the times I failed.”

He held his breath, waiting for Dan’s response. “Great. Thanks. That’s so helpful. It’s all going to be fine, because even though I’m fucking miserable, I’ll be a better person at the end of the day.”

Phil sighed. “If you’re really that miserable, you should drop,” he said.

His words echoed into the room. Dan stared down at his shoes.

“The drop deadline is in a week,” Phil said, trying to be encouraging. “You have some time to think about it.” But not a lot, he thought.

Dan nodded, wiping his face. Phil ached for a tissue.

“Can I help you with anything?” Phil asked.

Dan shook his head. “I don’t think so.” His voice sounded so small. “I don’t think we should talk anymore,” he added, and Phil’s heart stilled, and then sank, slowly.

But asking Dan to stay wouldn’t change anything. When Dan left for the second time that day, Phil didn’t follow. He just sat in a nearby chair and cried, until the next TA awkwardly shuffled in and asked him to leave.

He managed to hold it together on the walk back to his apartment, where he locked himself in his room and cried some more.

He spent the next two weeks in a haze. He didn’t miss any more of his classes, but he was barely present. He had been through enough heartbreaks by now that he had learned to struggle through school when his world was falling apart, but it never seemed to get any easier.

At least he didn’t have to see Dan. Dan had dropped the class, Phil knew from the sneak peek at the class roster he hadn’t been able to stop himself from taking. But even though he didn’t have to see Dan, he couldn’t stop thinking about him. His face as he ran out of the room. His determined glare, the tears still falling from his eyes. How Phil had ached to touch him, to hold him, to comfort him.

Maybe it was selfish. There was a Dan-sized hole inside of him. It would fill with time, he knew, but the wait was killing him.

It would be better, Phil realized one day in the middle of a lecture, if Dan had at least been consistent. He had opened the conversation by reassuring Phil that he wanted to stay friends, and ended by running out of the room in tears saying he never wanted to speak to Phil again. Not that Dan wasn’t allowed to change his mind, but it couldn’t hurt to double check, could it?

It had been long enough, he decided the next morning. If Dan never wanted to see him again, he’d just ignore the text and block him (if he wasn’t already blocked). If there was the slightest chance Dan did want to see him again, it would be worth it.

He took a deep breath and picked up his phone to text Dan.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Teacher Teacher (ao3 link)

Fandom: Flash, Legends of Tomorrow Pairing: Barry Allen/Mick Rory/Leonard Snart Series: Flashwave Week 2018 (Destiny Series)

Summary: "I'm starting a school," Len says. "For magical creatures."

"So, like - Hogwarts?"

"No, not like Hogwarts, what do you think I am?"

"A nerd?"

A/N: @flashwaveweek - Flashwave Week: Supernatural AU

——————————————————————————————

"So I've decided to start something of a charity project," Len says.

"O-kay," Mick says slowly. "And?"

"Well, I'm going to need some help -"

"And I'm going to stop you right there. No."

"You don't even know what help I need."

"Boss," Mick says dryly. "I know you. I knew you when you were a kid. I knew you when you were a thief. I knew you when you were a supervillain. Do you really think that you've suddenly become a mystery just because you got magic powers and a book?"

"I didn't get magic powers," Len grumbles. "I got the powers of Destiny of the Endless. And, yes, it came with a book, I'll grant you that - the Book, even. But it's a sight more impressive than magic powers."

"Whatever. You're scheming, Len. Just because you went blind doesn't mean I suddenly have."

Len flips him off, which Mick supposes is fair.

"Can't you just trust that it's scheming that you'd like?" Len tries, like Mick's newly become an idiot or something, and Mick gives Len a look signifying what he thinks of that suggestion.

Len might be blind, but he knows Mick well enough to know what Mick's doing.

"Fine," Len says, rolling his eyes. Mick's still not used to them glowing inhuman blue like that. "Won't you at least hear me out?"

"What, and let you have a chance to use that silvertongue of yours to convince me?"

"Mick."

"Oh, fine. Hit me."

"A school," Len says. "For magical creatures."

"So, like - Hogwarts?"

"No, not like Hogwarts, what do you think I am?"

"A nerd?"

Len rolls his eyes. "I wanna teach 'em how to handle the modern world."

Despite himself, Mick's interest is piqued. "Don't they already?"

"No, most of 'em retreated instead. Various places: to Faerieland, to Dreamland, to Hell, to other realms -"

"Hell? You serious?"

"Mick," Len says, very steadily. "By chance do you remember hooking up with some guy with wings and a piano fetish?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. That was back when I was Kronos. What about it?"

"That was Lucifer."

"Yeah, he said -"

"No, Mick. The real Lucifer. That's why the Time Masters looked so surprised when you came back out alive and sane."

"...Oh. Huh. Say -"

"No, he's taken, or as much as practicable."

"Damn."

"Literally, in this instance."

Mick sniggers.

Len smirks.

"Okay," Mick says. "So this school. What were you thinking?"

"How to handle things in the modern day," Len says, brightening. "Basic things: trains, cars, electricity, music, basic conversations, cultural expectations -"

"Why, though?"

"Because if they get a basic primer in modern day human life, they can come back. All of them: fairies and vampires and brownies and werewolves and spirits of anything you like."

"And we...want that?"

"Of course we want that! Think of how much more interesting everything will be!"

"Yeah, and dangerous. Some of those things eat humans, don't they?"

"Mick. The guy who helped the Legends unleash literal demons and dragons and shit does not get to bitch about a couple of household spirits and a few bumps in the night."

"...we're gonna put 'em back eventually."

"All of 'em?"

"Most of 'em!"

"Even the dragons?"

"...I like the dragons."

"But Mick," Len says, opening his blind eyes wide. "Don't they sometimes eat humans?"

"Oh, all right, no need to get fucking shirty about it," Mick says. "I'll give you that this school of yours ain't a half-bad idea. But why should I help out?"

He doesn't ask why Len asked him. It doesn't matter how well-fit or not he is for a given task, Len always asks him; he's as necessary to Len as Len's right hand.

He learned that the hard way, in a shatter of bloody ice and a shout in a hoarse, pained voice. He's not going to forget it anytime soon.

He's a little concerned about what's going to happen at the end of his life, which is - as far as he knows - still a mortal one, while Len has taken on the mantle of the Endless, which implies something a little less limited, but he feels pretty sure than Len has something in mind to take care of that issue.

Len usually does. Scheming bastard.

He probably even has a plan to hook Mick up with someone similarly immortal just to make sure Mick agreed to immortality himself.

"- even putting aside how awesome it's going to be," Len is saying, "you should help because it'll help lots of people -"

Mick snorts.

"- and because I'm calling in my favor from Tulsa."

"...fuck." Len's always calling in some imagined favor or another to get Mick to do something that Mick would probably do anyway just because he's a sucker for Len asking him for things and always has been, but Tulsa is an actual favor that Mick owes, so clearly Len's really invested in this little project of his.

And, well, what the hell. Mick's not about to let Len out of his sight again anytime soon; he might as well do something worthwhile with his time, and this school of Len's seems as worthwhile as anything else.

Len is looking all hopeful, though, like he thinks there's a chance Mick might say no, sorry, I'm not doing this, I'd rather go off and keep up with the Legends - or the fire - or whatever.

The man literally became Destiny itself and he's still fucking insecure.

Probably just to fuck with Mick. Mick wouldn’t put it past him.

"Fine," Mick grumbles. "But you've got to make sure I get laid."

He doesn’t actually mean it. Len’s ideas for people Mick should hook-up with are universally godawful.

Well, Mick usually sleeps with ‘em anyway, and it’s usually the best sex of his life, but it doesn’t last or anything; no one who sees how co-dependent he and Len are ever agrees to make it last no matter how many times Mick explains that he’s not ever going to fuck Len, both because Len is ace and doesn't want to and also because Mick has been the other half of Len's brain so damn long that he can't see the man as attractive. No one ever believes him, even though it's true.

"I promise," Len says earnestly, which means he’s already planning something. For someone as disinterested in romance and sex as Len, he sure as fuck was interested in meddling in other peoples' love/sex lives.

Mick officially gives up, gives in, and - just for kicks - gives Len a nudge on the shoulder to indicate as much.

"Great!" Len exclaims. "I'll tell your co-teacher and you can get started right away."

"Hold up," Mick says. "Co-teacher?"

"Didn't I mention..?"

"No. You didn't. And you know it."

"Oh, well," Len says, utterly unapologetic. "Too bad you've already agreed."

Mick'd say he is gonna kill the little fucker, but that threat rather lost taste after the Oculus.

Although now that he thinks about it...

"Say," he says as fake-casually as he can manage. "This whole 'Endless' thing means you're immortal, right? Does that mean -"

"You theoretically could shoot me and I'd survive," Len agrees, because as much as Mick knows Len, Len also knows Mick and figured out exactly where he was going with that. "But then I wouldn't tell you anything."

"You wouldn't tell me anything anyway."

"Yeah, you're right, I wouldn't."

"Boss, your usual assholery aside, you can't just introduce me to some random person as a co-teacher; it'll be awkward as fuck!"

"Good point," Len says thoughtfully. "Well, at least it's someone you know."

Mick's about to ask for more information, but Len promptly disappears.

Fucking asshole.

Mick goes to find the school - it's not hard to find anything in Len's gardens, because almost by definition every pathway leads to where you want to go, it being the Garden of Destiny and all that - and he's expecting just about anything in his co-teacher, from one of the Legends to one of their old criminal co-workers to the homeroom teach he had a crush on as a kid, but somehow Len still manages to surprise him.

"What are you doing here?" he exclaims.

Barry Allen, the Flash, blinks up at him from the table. "Um," he says. "Apparently I'm - co-teaching in a school? According to Snart?"

"Why are you here instead of superheroing?" Mick clarifies.

Barry rubs his eyes. "I, uh - there was a disaster. To save the world, I ran into it and disappeared, leaving Wally to be the Flash for - a while. A fair long while. It was this or sit around in the Speed Force the entire time, and, well, this seemed – less awful. Speed Force is kinda creepy."

“…fair enough,” Mick says. He’d say he’s surprised, but actually that sort of disaster sounds just right up the Flash’s alley. He’s traveled with Wally on the Waverider, though; the kid’ll do a good job.

At the very least, he thinks to himself, this mean that he doesn’t have to worry about this being one of Len’s ill-thought-out hookup attempts – after all, he was just at Allen’s wedding, and the man was besotted.

It means he goes into this whole school thing unsuspicious.

Mick really ought to have known better than that.

The teaching itself goes great – he and Barry stay up late a few days with a pack of beer that seriously affects neither of them and they hammer out a curriculum of stuff that people pretending to be normal people should know, like basic social skill rules (when they ask “what’s up” or “how are you”, the answer is “good” even if it really isn’t), rules of the road (stop at stop signs when driving, you let the people in the train get out before you get in, and don’t hog the whole damn sidewalk when you’re with a group), and miscellaneous stuff (don’t put dish detergent in your washing machine, always tip hotel people and waiters if you’re in America and check otherwise, ask before petting the dog and never if they have a sign indicating they’re working, etc.).

Actually teaching the class itself...that’s fun, too. Mick’s never been up-to-date on his mythology and folklore, but he gets a crash course in a whole bunch of different types of magical beasties and their myriad likes and dislikes, and also how to deal with deflecting attention about them in the modern day.

Burned by silver? Say you’re allergic, people will be sympathetic.

Carnivore species? Say you’re anemic and need to stock up your iron, and anyway you’ve always hated [insert vegetable here] ever since you were a kid.

Otherwise limited ability to eat various food? You’re on the new [make up name here] diet and you can’t eat any of this, sorry.

Unable to stand daylight? You’re a computer programmer who keeps weird hours.

Can’t conduct electricity sufficiently to use touchscreens? They make touchscreen-friendly gloves now; get a pair of those and bitch about your “unusually dry skin” the rest of the time.

You’re a persnickety fucking fairy that can’t sign off on anything without reading the fine print? Congrats, you’re a lawyer.

Unbearable desire to count things? You have OCD.

Can’t pass running water without being shipped in a box with earth? Take a potted plant with you and travel via a subway car; that’s box-like enough.

In other words, Mick likes it. He likes teaching, he likes the school, he likes the students - damnit, he likes it.

He even likes the idea of introducing all these magical creatures back into the world.

Sure, the students sometimes try to kill him and Barry, their nature being what it is, but really, that's just a good reminder to keep them on their toes.

And working with Barry, that’s fun, too. He’s more sharp-tongued and cynical than Mick remembered, and he’s clever and funny and he’s got a bone-deep optimism that’s been tempered but is still unshakeable. Honestly, all around, he’s just more mature than Mick recalls him being when they fought him or at the wedding or at the alien invasion – less prone to drama, more contemplative, and patient with problems.

Mick likes him.

He really likes him.

And he goes along thinking that it’s all well and good to have a crush on someone unavailable to keep him busy (what with Len’s proposed hook-up having yet to appear) right up until the moment when they’re working on grading late at night, laughing at some of the weirder answers (kitsune, man, they’re wild) and then suddenly Barry is reaching over and pulling Mick in and they’re kissing.

It’s very, very nice for the approximately fifteen seconds before Mick’s brain reboots.

Okay, yes, he still waits thirty seconds before breaking the kiss.

Mick’s never claimed to be a good man.

“Red,” he says gently.

“Did I misread this?” Barry asks. “I apologize if I had. I thought you were interested.”

“I am, you didn’t misread that. But for all the things I’ve done, I’m still not a home-wrecker.”

Barry frowns. “Beg pardon?”

“I don’t do infidelity,” Mick explains.

Barry just looks more confused. “Do you mean – I thought you and Len weren’t together?”

“We’re not!” Mick exclaims automatically.

“Then – who…?”

Mick frowns back at Barry. “Why do you think I’m talking about me? You’re the one who’s married. Iris West-Allen, remember? You only talk about her every ten minutes.”

“Only about as often as you talk about Len,” Barry points out, which is true but irrelevant.

“Well, yeah,” Mick says, “but unlike me and Len, I saw you marry her.”

“Well, yeah, and then divorce her.”

“What, seriously?!”

“Yeah,” Barry says, looking bemused. “Two years ago, now.”

“Two – you weren’t even married two years ago! You got married two months ago!”

More like seven months, but who was counting?

Unless...

“What year are you from?” they both demand at once.

Turns out Barry’s nearly nine years in Mick’s future.

No wonder he’s more mature.

He and Iris are still best friends, apparently; they’ve just fallen into more of a Mick-and-Len co-dependent dysfunctional assholes routine than a proper marriage, and anyway there’d been some complications with people coming back from the dead and Barry spending time in space and whatnot so they’d realized they’d be better friends when they weren’t married. After some heartbreak and routine-adjustment, Barry set out fully intent on dating again, but he's been running into the same problem as Mick: no one believes that he's not hung up on Iris because he still talks to her all the time, even though he really isn't.

For Barry’s part, he hasn’t seen Mick since Mick went off into the timeline.

And that means they’re potentially from the same timeline.

And, apparently, both single.

“Oh,” Mick says.

“Yeah,” Barry says.

“Huh,” Mick says.

“So...” Barry says.

“I’m going to kill Len,” Mick says conversationally.

“Why?”

“He set me up. He always sets me up. Except it never works!”

Barry frowns.

“Not you,” Mick assures him. “You work just fine.”

“Maybe he’s gotten better at it now that he’s, well, uh, Destiny of the Endless?”

“...maybe.”

“Definitely,” Len says, popping out from literally nowhere behind them. “You two could be great for each other. Even I can see it, and I’m blind!”

“Literally no one is ever going to buy that line from you ever again,” Mick says. “You have a giant glowing book containing everything ever.”

“Is this destined?” Barry asks. His eyes narrow. “Did you make sure it was?”

“No, of course not,” Len says briskly. “I believe in free will, I don’t read ahead for my friends – or enemies – because it’s no fun, and anyway, I’m the Reader of Destiny, not the maker of it. Your destiny is in your own hands. Lower case destiny, Mick, stop grabbing at me, I don’t care how good a pun it is.”

Mick sits back down.

Not his fault that some of Len’s awful sense of humor has stuck over the years.

“Besides, everyone in the school is betting on when you’ll hook up,” Len says unhelpfully.

“Including you, huh? Setting us up for a big payday?” Mick asks, mostly nostalgically. Len liked to do that sometimes when they were going somewhere new.

“No,” Len says, surprising him. Though all is explained when he adds, with a scowl, “None of ‘em will bet with me.”

“To be fair,” Barry says, barely hiding a smile. “Book, everything ever, kinda a gimme there.”

“Spoilsports, all of ‘em.”

“There, there,” Mick says unsympathetically. “You can always con the regular suckers.”

“Conning the regular suckers is boring.”

“Con the supervillains,” Barry suggests.

Len looks intrigued by that idea.

“Aren’t you not supposed to interfere or something?” Mick asks.

Len shrugs. “Destiny sometimes requires activity. Now, getting back to the more important part, kiss already.”

They both glance at each other, then glance at Len meaningfully.

“...what?”

“Go away, maybe?” Barry suggests.

“But you haven’t kissed yet.”

“Maybe we’re waiting for you to leave. Ever thought of that, genius?”

Len frowns. “But I put in all that work to get you two together! I deserve to see the payoff!”

“Boss. Go away.”

“But –”

“Boss. You promised me you’d get me laid. Stop getting in the way.”

Len departs, grumbling.

“You know he’s just going to read along, right?” Barry asks, his suppressed laughter bubbling through as he speaks.

“Yeah,” Mick says, “I know. But at least he’s not actually here while I do this.”

He pulls Barry in for another kiss, Barry smiling the whole while as he does.

Maybe this school thing wasn’t as bad an idea as all that.

“Professors, I have a question –” one of their ghost students asks, floating through the wall and freezing when they sees what’s going on. “Never mind! I’ll just go now!”

And then they turned tail and dashed out, shouting, “They’ve done it! It’s happened!”

“That,” Barry says, very steadily, “was Snart’s fault, wasn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“Not via his new Destiny powers.”

“Nope, no need. Probably just tipped off a student on his way out of here.”

“Iris would’ve done the same thing,” Barry observes.

Mick thinks back to his interactions with her. “Yeah. Probably.”

They share a look of perfect understanding. Platonic soulmates, what can you do - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

“Wanna move this somewhere a bit more private than our offices?” Mick asks.

The world spins, lit up by sudden lightning, and they’re in Barry’s bedroom.

Mick grins. “I take that as a yes...”

[bittenpath-blog]

48cm:Opinion: How is Your 'Professional' Hygiene & Time Management?

Instead of talking about the same old apocalyptic industry news and dropping f-bombs on what happened to Interbike, let's back up and take a more intimate look at ourselves individually. If you asked me what I thought was the most significant thing that sets this industry apart from others (there are many), I would say it's each individual's personal and professional attachment to this industry and the very people (consumers), they serve. Elsewhere ... sure, people can care about and be proud of the work they do but not many industries come to mind where just about every individual is passionate to the point of being a customer or advocate of their own ties.

Think about that for a second. Whether you own/manage a shop or head up global sales for Sramano, no matter your role in this industry, you are an end-user and/or cycling advocate (a customer if you will) as well. In short, we are them and they are us.

But do they see us as we see them? How does our "hygiene" compare?

Before we try to "fix the industry" or adapt to what it being what it is, we should first consider how important it is to optimize and balance out personal and professional time management. I discuss this last, but time management is often more challenging to those working in the retail side of our industry. Their weeks don't often sync with many of their friends', family's, (and even customers'), and if not managed, can result in individuals burning out. Once burned out, motivation diminishes and things start falling apart (I recently discovered a sort of fun, analog way of doing something I've done for years ... but in a much more effective fashion and feel it's worth a conversation).

Poor Hygiene and How to Improve It

This isn't about bathing or conditioning your wizard beard, but when was the last time you checked yourself in the mirror or pretended to rub your eye with your shoulder only to inconspicuously sniff a pit to determine if your deodorant had expired? These things are a part of our daily lives because we care about our basic presentation ... yet we often overlook these attributes when it comes to our professional sides.

Stop looking at your hair and worrying about how many times you wore those socks ... (OK, maybe worry about the socks). Instead take a look at where your "Professional" Hygiene stands. What is "Professional Hygiene" you ask? At a glance, it's your professional identity and practices others observe during and OUTSIDE of your regular day to day. Oh ... and "PROFESSIONAL" identity and "social identity" are two very different things.

I looked at a good mix of people I know and know of and was a bit shocked how few either didn't have a LinkedIn account or hadn't updated it in years. Some just had an old profile picture with zero information attached and one of those owns a shop. I was also surprised to find, at the retail level, that mechanics seemed more likely to have an up-to-date account than other shop employees.

But I Don't Need It

But you do. LinkedIn is FREE and common ground for many of your moneymaking customers. Most are there to keep up and interact with others on a professional level as well as seek opportunities to collaborate and learn.

Facebook is social, and frankly, the ineffective white noise of the internet. On LinkedIn, no one is posting their kids' first day of school, there are very few political keyboard battles, and almost everyone is ... well, PROFESSIONAL! There is an unwritten rule of etiquette as LinkedIn is not the place to constantly pimp out everything you're trying to sell, however it is a great, more refined place to expose your own professional interests, events, knowledge, and accomplishments ... WHICH EXPOSES YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS! Who wouldn't love an opportunity to share all of those valuable assets with a likely successful group of professionals who like bikes ... FOR FREE? (Did I mention it was free?)

There are also an unlimited number of blogs and stories being posted by those you are 'friends' with or follow ... to which is yet another FREE resource of valuable information. Blogs like Occam's Razor offer an assortment of simple to understand viewpoints on digital marketing, consumer behavior, and more effective ways to engage them. Also, shops and employees can share everything from BRAIN articles and the latest promotional videos from brands you carry. Sharing pix and information about upcoming and past events, to passively bragging about the training seminars you send your staff too builds your brand's/business's integrity! Here in Atlanta, PMBA just completed a workshop with some great brands training shop technicians on some of their new technologies and assembly and maintenance procedures ... including e-bikes! Most of the attendees I know are sharing it all over Facebook but I only saw it posted twice on LinkedIn (atta boy Josh Boggs. Sorry James Stanfill, you don't get credit for your LinkedIn posts as it should be expected from you ... but it appears to have been a great week).

Every company, retailer, and individual in the bike industry should have an up-to-date LinkedIn account but read the next paragraph before getting too excited. There is a little upfront effort involved and it's important to get it right.

First Thing's First

Even if you've been in the same position for 10 years or own your business, everyone should have a current resume and curriculum vitae. Looking for a job isn't the only reason people build a resume or CV (though it is absolutely required if you are), but I cannot express enough how valuable it is to have an up-to-date record of your work history and accomplishments.

A resume should be a clear, one-page display of your work history with bullet points in order of importance under each employer and association (Include volunteer work as it oozes integrity). Usually no more than 10 years of work history is needed unless there are some key roles that relate to what you're doing or seeking to accomplish. Building a resume is also a great way to reflect on your professional growth and focus on your where you want to go.

A Curriculum Vitae (commonly called a CV) is more centered on actual experiences and accomplishments. Again, it should also be a clear, one-page item but allows you have a little more freedom in how you lay it out. It doesn't always have to be in chronological order and should be laid out based on what you want it to say about you. You can even have a few different versions depending on what you want to accomplish. While a basic, no-frills resume and CV are fine, there are a thousands of examples out there to help you determine your layout as well as services who put them together for you.

Time Can Be On Your Side

I was a great example of what not to do when it came to time management. There was a point in time I almost lost everything I was trying to accomplish ... and that was before I had kids! I Had a full-time job, worked weekend at a shop when I wasn't traveling to races, was a full-time college student, and got up at 5 a.m. to get in a couple hours of riding almost daily. I was used to maintaining a pretty insane study and training schedule in high-school but working so much started causing me to fall behind (and asleep) in class, be late to work, dating ... (what's that?), and constantly stressed. I eventually hit a wall but I wasn't going to settle just yet. I trained on an organized 'periodization' schedule so tried adopting other things to that format by jotting my daily schedule down minute by minute. I began with a block of required sleep time because I knew every other item's accomplishment relied on it. It was eye opening because I then started re-prioritizing my training and race schedule around my work and school load. Before I even put my schedule in play, I had this weight lifted off my shoulders.

Now with kids and some gray hairs, things are a little more predictable to manage, but some common phrases I hear myself say relate to putting off things I wish I hadn't. This includes personal projects, riding, friends, and worst of all, my family. For years I have continued to keep notes in endless medium sized spiral notebooks for both personal and work-related items and I have become a master of all things Google calendar. Well, I recently discovered there is a next level of organization to be had and I encourage everyone with a semi-busy life and ideas and creativity swarming around in their head to look up "Bullet Journaling." The best part is it's fun and instills a feeling of accomplishment every time you use it.

Arm Yourself with Bullets

I'm just going to say it ... I have a fancy little bound notebook with top-notch paper (Leuchtturm1917 A5) and a couple of dedicated pens. I even put it in a nice, handmade leather cover making it even fancier. It's called a Bullet Journal and it's the best thing I've done in a long time. There is an insecure group of men that have referred to it as a BuJo (let's agree, that's worse), but considering I shaved my legs for 25 years and rode everywhere in spandex I don't worry about things like that.

Here's a video explaining the basic format but the way I look at it, a Bullet Journal is a sole, central hub where you manually input everything from your personal and work life, to ideas and positive thoughts into a strategically indexed format. I still rely on Google Calendar as I live by several audible daily reminders, but nothing helps me remember or follow through with something better than opening a book and writing it down. Even seeing my rather well thought out content page triggers things I may have forgotten to address. It also keeps me on task with things I say I want to do to the point I actually follow through with them. For those that always feel they're playing catch-up (raises hand), this takes a lot of the edge off at the very least.

Don't Procrastinate and Take Care of Yourself First

We're in the middle of what some of the country calls 'Winter' and this is the perfect time to prepare for and make subtle changes ... including getting more organized. If you don't take care of your own needs and happiness first, it becomes harder to accomplish the things others, and you, are relying on. Breathe and start by doing something for you. And just create a LinkedIn account already!!!