#been having a Moment since 6am (its 3pm)

[transimailisa]

Graduation ceremony commemorative illustration 🌸

[anonsally]

Days 79-82 of COVID-19 shelter-in-place

These have been four very intense days both globally and personally. This admittedly long post will focus more (but not exclusively) on the personal side of that.

Day 79 was Wednesday. I hadn’t had enough sleep, but I got up at a reasonable hour because I needed a ballet class. Before class started, I got a call from the medical center for scheduling a procedure I need to have done. That will be in 2 weeks, contingent on me testing negative for COVID-19 four days beforehand. I’m anxious about the procedure but will be glad to get it over with after several months of worry. Anyway, ballet class was good for calming me down. 

It was hot out. I did my parents’ grocery shopping (and bought a few things for us) and then had a nice conversation with my dad when I dropped off his groceries. We talked about the state of the world. He told me about a city that had literally fired its entire police department and started over... which is what we probably need on a national level, with very few exceptions. 

I refueled the car on the way home and got a predictably late start on my work day. Wife got two more job interviews scheduled at very different companies. I took a walk, spotting another Steller’s jay at the bird feeders. The jays are so much larger than the little birds who frequent the feeders!

I then went to try to buy milk, but the tiny independent market had closed early to enable the employees to get home before curfew. So I had to go to Trader Joe’s instead. By the time I got home I was somewhat demotivated about food prep, but luckily Wife pulled herself together and scrambled me an egg. I didn’t manage to get to bed till 1am, which was at least an hour later than I’d intended, but Wife was still up at 4am!

Day 80. I forced myself to get up at 8:30 since I knew I would need to go to bed early that night. I arranged to (video-)meet with my boss at 12:30. I started work around 11am or so and got a few thing done. The meeting with my boss was good--partly social, discussing how we were coping with the situation and working from home, what we missed about the office, and such, but we also talked about what I’ve been working on. She reminded me that the study section reviewing my grant application will be meeting this month, so I will have to remember to check my scores.

Afterwards we had a meeting with a few other coworkers, which was fairly productive. I had a short “coffee break” video call with a colleague, too. The county-wide curfew was lifted a day early.

After work, I took a walk in a direction I hadn’t gone in a while. Was heartened to see Black Lives Matter signs even in cul-de-sacs in a wealthy, mainly white neighborhood. I picked up takeout for dinner, and did a bunch of Adulting in the early evening, including preparing for the next morning. I was in bed by 10:45pm.

Day 81. My alarm got me up at 5am, and we left at 6am. We got to the medical center on time at 7am and I went in (Wife was not allowed to accompany me, but had to be there to drive me home; there was a separate room across the street for visitors to wait in, which was good because it was suddenly very cold outside). Initially, there was a lot of waiting, during which I did a little bit of yoga and dancing as I knew I would not be able to move much for the rest of the day. I was there for a diagnostic procedure involving a needle (for data privacy reasons I won’t get more specific here; it’s unrelated to the procedure I’m having in 2 weeks), which required me to remain horizontal for 4 hours afterwards, at least according to the information they’d given me beforehand. I had to be fasting from midnight the night before: no food or drink, including water.

Eventually I was wheeled down to the ultrasound department, where the doctor who planned to do the procedure met me and the radiologists. However, when they looked at the images, there were a lot of vessels around. The doctor did not feel confident that she could do the procedure based on a mark on my skin without accidentally hitting a blood vessel. So she asked the radiologists to do it as an ultrasound-guided procedure, which would be safer since they would be able to see what they were doing on the ultrasound. This procedure was done with only local anaesthetic. Mostly I couldn’t feel what was going on, and it was supposed to be very quick, but unfortunately, the resident had a lot of trouble--the senior radiologist was trying to guide him through doing, but he couldn’t get the needle positioned quite right, and in the end the senior radiologist had to do it herself. It was pretty uncomfortable and there were some moments where it was quite painful. I tried to breathe deeply and stay relaxed, but it was hard. When they finally got it to work, it was over pretty quickly. I was relieved. It was about 11am by then.

However, I had to spend an hour in a large recovery room with many other patients, while my blood pressure and pulse were monitored. I had expected to have the procedure done upstairs in the room where I’d started, where I had left all my stuff. They very kindly sent someone up to retrieve my phone for me so I could at least text Wife and my parents so they would know the worst of it was over. 

After an hour I was wheeled upstairs and transferred from the gurney to a bed (this took 3 people as I was not allowed to stand up yet) for more monitoring. They drew my blood to test my blood counts; I was going to be allowed to leave after only 2 hours of bed rest if the counts were stable. After the 2 hours, I was allowed to get up and use the bathroom (and grab the crossword puzzles from my backpack to work on), and then I continued resting while waiting first for the blood counts, which finally came back fine, and then for the discharge papers, which took an unreasonably long time. Around 2pm the nurse finally allowed me to have some ice--hoorah! (I was parched. I normally drink at least 2 liters of water per day.) At 2:40pm I was cleared to leave; I texted Wife, who went to get the car and picked me up at the entrance to the hospital at about 3pm. 

Literally every single person on the hospital staff was kind and friendly. They all introduced themselves to me by name, including the people whose job it was to simply wheel me from one place to another, and they all seemed to be invested in my well-being. When I was being wheeled through the hallway, whenever we passed anyone else who worked there they smiled and said hello both to me and to the person in charge of transporting me. It seemed like everyone working really considered themselves a team, with respect for everyone regardless of place in the hospital hierarchy. Since, like all patients during this pandemic, I was there alone and a bit anxious, it made the experience much less unpleasant than it could have been.  

I spent 8 hours in the hospital, so I really hope I didn’t catch COVID-19, but the procedures seemed pretty good. I was wearing a mask almost all the time (except in the room where I was waiting at the beginning and end, which was essentially private), as were all the employees, and everyone was sanitising their hands every time they entered or exited a room or touched any equipment. I also didn’t spend the whole time with any one person. So, hopefully it was safe. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon vedging out at home, rehydrating, and finally eating, and I went to bed earlier than usual though later than I expected, around 12:15am.

Day 82. I wanted to try to get a lot of sleep so my body could heal from yesterday’s ordeal, so today I slept till about 10am. The wound from the procedure is tender to the touch and there’s a small bruise near it, but otherwise I’m not in pain from it. Except my ankle is in more pain than it’s been in for ages, and I have no idea why. Maybe I slept on it funny? Or maybe it’s an aftereffect of the weird position I had to hold during the procedure.

I think my joy at getting to eat cereal this morning was perhaps a bit over-the-top!

Wife had a bad headache today, likely caused by neck tension from all the driving yesterday. I am still pretty tired today, despite all the sleep, but I suppose that’s to be expected.

We went to the farmers’ market and stumbled upon a socially-distanced, family-friendly protest. A friend of mine was there with her kids, but I didn’t see her. We bought our produce--though I had to make an extra trip back to the car to drop off my purchases, as I am not supposed to lift anything heavy today. The stand with the curried fish had run out, but they still had some uncooked prepped fish, so we bought that and they explained how to steam it at home. We came home and cooked the fish and ate it for lunch; it was just as good as it would’ve been if they’d cooked it. Phew! Other than that we’ve been relaxing at home, though Wife did gather her energy and go for a run, which has helped to relieve her headache a little (as has the bath she took afterwards, and the painkillers she took). 

I’m hoping to feel up to taking a dance class (online) tomorrow. 

[thatsagevetblr]

Catchy title but I’m possibly the least stereotypical Cambridge student you can imagine lmao....

This right here is my routine on a classic day in exam term. Lectures have finished, as have supervisions, so I have the whole day every day to myself, and this is classically how they go...

5am = Wake up. My alarm is set to Taylor Swift - Better Than Revenge as it’s exactly the right song to get me up and is so much kinder than the usual iPhone alarm. The first thing I do is drink a glass of water. Then I get up, go to the loo, splash my face with cold water, and refill my glass. (Note: you don’t actually have to get up at 5am, I just do because I work best in the mornings and want to make the most of my most productive hours). I get changed into something comfy (at the moment a sports bra and some shorts since its so warm)and then start on breakfast - I usually have a massive bowl of fruit, consisting of a mango, strawberries, a banana, a kiwi, a pear, some raspberries, and some blackberries. While I prep this I watch netflix or youtube, and continue watching while I eat. 

6am = Start working. As I said, I work best in the morning, so I start work at 6. I use Forest religiously and have wracked up over 12,000 hours in the last month... I plan my day the night before, so I know exactly what I have to start working on and get straight to it. Although I will usually make a quick coffee to get the brain working a bit.  In terms of music, I absolutely cannot study in silence - here’s a link of my two playlists I rotate between depending on my mood, the weather, and what I’m studying - ambience and soundtrack mixes , or my ultimate soundtrack playlist I have been cultivating since A levels. 

8am = At this point I start to get restless, so I do 10 squats and 10 sit ups. It’s not much but it’s just the right thing to press pause on the restlessness for me. 

10am = this is when I have my first break, usually about 10 minutes long. I make another coffee, have a stretch, and switch topics so I don’t get bored.

1pm = Lunch time! I usually eat dinner at lunch time and have a huge salad, and as with breakfast will put on Netflix or youtube and just chill while I make it and eat. 

2pm = Time to continue working! I usually make another coffee at this point, I have a special jar of rum flavoured coffee that I will have a couple of cups of in the afternoons.

3pm = Somehow I’m hungry again so get my berries out the fridge and start snacking on these.

4pm = Another change of topic, often at this point to something less intense and I know I shouldn’t struggle with too much.

6/7pm = Sometime around now, my brain shuts off and decides it’s done learning for the day. I lose focus and have to finish. So I pack away my stuff, and get changed for a run or walk. Then once I’m back, I plan for tomorrow, eat something if I’m hungry which usually I’m not, and then it’s time to chill, and repeat tomorrow!

Something to note: I drink a fuckton of water, I’m talking like approaching 3 litres a day usually, so I pee a fuckton too. Every time I pee I refill my water glass, do some squats or stretches, and sometimes make another coffee.

[heads-in-the-clouds-spacecadet]

When asked to write a daily diary for anxiety management.

Here are a few days example....

Sunday 24th 

Mood/anxiety = numb. 

Additional meds =8mg of diazipam.

My whole body aches yet it shouldn't. My stomach is growling yet i feel physically sick. 

Things i ask myself....

Q.1 Will i leave my safe space, weighted blanket & mountain of pillows?

A.1 NO. 

Q.2 Will i manage my yoga routine

A.2 NO

Reasons....Why

I feel exhausted even though ive not been outside since Thursday. I just want the aching to subside the pain to leave. My jaw is clenched closed making eating an ordeal. I know this needs to be done. 

The dread of what passive aggressive message/s ill receive today either in person or written either way im struggling to motivate myself to move.

The Internet has been blocked for nearly a wk now. But i just let it slide as the saying goes choose your arguements "wifi is not the hill i want to die on" quote from TBBT. I hear Luke (my brother) is now in his bedroom and his door is closed. He has been banging around the house sending passive aggressive messages (sms) since 4am. My belongings that i left downstairs were thrown into my room. I'm nervous to leave my room till i know he is asleep. 

Flashback/negative thoughts....

1. How can my baby brother be an emotional manipulator. 

2. Last time i had to justify my everymove i was in Portugal in a very bad relationship. 

*****Ways im looking to excuse his behaviour. Find the cause to my sudden crash of low mood aka depression with a nice battle of anxiety.

---Logically i know its not the same. 

---Emotionally it hurts the same. 

The way he looks at me with disgust, resentment & impatience is the trigger. I realise this. How someone you love can make you feel this way. 

Solution: i decide to find a solution to the sudden conflict of money and i know there is a receipt in the car. I go to the normal place the keys are kept and theyre no where to be found. I look in all the obvious logical places they  could be and realise theyre hidden by my loving brother. His Reasons, 1-to stop me  buying shit (his words). 2. He has decided its his house, his car so therefore his rules. (Its all my mums btw)

As im downstairs i notice the kitchen is a mess. Pots all over from a feast Luke cooked up the night before. Or should i say 2am. 

So i feel defeated. Ive basically been cleaning non stop everytime i use a room as per gov guidelines and he just doesnt seem to comprehend the severity of the situation. 

I decide i need to eat. So i opt for Shreddies with Oat Milk (Luke has a serious milk allergy to the milk proteins in cows milk so im not fussed about milk and am happy to use alternatives) topped with vanilla soya yogurt, bannana, a few cranberries, 3 strawberries, sultanas and crushed Almonds. My logical brain is telling me eat well as we are not leaving the bedroom again unless desperate. 

I send a few messages to the family whats app (Luke refuses to be a part of this) and receive encouraging and support in return. Everyone is struggling in their own way so i appreciate having a small outlet between us all.

After food i sleep finally. 

Trying now to Ready myself for round 2 which i know is coming.

My mum calls i dont want to answer but i do. I explain the situation. She knows, she has dealt with his angry behaviour since he was 11yrs old. She stated she is coming to visit Tuesday as per new gov guidelines and we will meet in the park. She then asks me to pass the phone to Luke which i pointblank refuse. Im not ready for round 2 yet. Especially since he has his own phone he is just not answering making everyone worry about him but he just resents it. Its safe to say im proud i refused to do something. Gold star award ⭐

Monday 25th

Mood/Anxiety -  still no change from yesterday but i decide i have to force myself to move. Wash, clean and pack the additional things my mum has requested. 

Additional meds - i decided against taking anything today as i need to be clear headed for my appointment Tues and obvs my mums visit.

I check the weather see its a nice day decide washing is task 1. I set a bath running (multi tasking saving time from all the free time) and head downstairs to pop the washing machine on. Before i left my room i checked my phone for messages i have one from my mum telling me she has had words with Luke and that he needs to basically deal with the resentment in a more positive way. 

This explains all the banging and loud music yesterday early eve. He decided to actually clean. 

Anyhow I head downstairs. Kitchen is clean, messages all wiped from the black board. 

I decide i must try and communicate with Luke as we cant take the conflict with us to the park it isnt fair to our mum. 

I can hear him moving so send a sms message asking if he wants anything in the oven. No response. ***He did finally get out of bed at 3pm so a peaceful day so far. 

I decide food is required. I opt for protein soya burgers x2 with Spinach, tomatos, avacado, sultanas, almond pieces and some crumpets. I sit in the garden to eat.

All washing is out and drying but im to anxiety ridden and unmotivated to enjoy the sunshine. 

I head back to my room to sort bits for my mum and throw away my origami collection. It was over taking my room and again causing conflict. 

Lukes awake!!!. I decide to say hello. So far so good. He decides to make himself lunch and throws a fit because i ate a £0.45 avocado. I walk away as i know he is just venting and i need to not start the circle of negative thoughts or interactions. This is rewarded with resentment. Luke suddenly decides to do his own washing and cut the grass. Which means my washing is in his way. Before he even starts i am pulling in whats dry mainly because i want to go back to bed and need my bedsheets but also because he wont care if my washing turns green or is damaged. To my delight my sheets are dry but my pjs etc need another 30mins so i leave them whilst i go and make my bed. 

Im bellowed at about washing as Luke needs the line. So i head down stairs to reteive the rest of my belongings. 

Self soothing thoughts...

Im walking on eggshells trying not to provoke the beast and i need to keep going. Focus on my achievements. I left my room. I cleaned myself, my clothing and my pillow fort which has been my safe zone for the past 4days. 

Deep down thought i am disappointed as i know isolation and distancing is not a long turn solution as the yrs pass im becoming more and more isolated and lonely. 

Im downstairs again and i ask Luke if he wants anything popping in the oven as i was having toast. He requested 2 burgers and chips but on seperate trays as he was hungry. Easy to do popped into the oven. 40mins later chips are cooked he is plating up and all he says is "why have you cooked so many chips, clearly we now live in a household of wastefulness". 

This was the turning point for me id had enough for 1day and just told him to give it a rest and went to my room. 

Im dozing with Big Bang on in the backround and Luke is banging on my door. Mums on the phone. Confirming arrangements for tomorrow. I say a few oks with the occasional nod. 

I start packing the bits n bobs my mum has asked for and carry then downstairs so theyre ready for the car tomorrow am. 

Its PJs and bed time. Luke has other ideas. He is awake and up and about at 4.30am. Having a bath at 5am, doing weights after his bath at 6am then leaves in the car at 7am. He is back around 8am banging has a shower then decides to leave again in the car. He is meant to be house-bound until July 1st. This in itself causes me anxiety as i cant handle watching another member of my family die in front of my eyes. 

Thoughts...

Yes this is VERY dramatic. STOP IT BRAIN!

Take precautions all will be ok. 

Tuesday 26th

Mood/Anxiety = No change 

Additional meds = 4mg diazipam but late afternoon as i couldnt stop shaking and fidgeting.

My mum is coming to visit. Im trying not to think about the fact Luke is out of the house. 

We are having a picnic social distancing style. 

We head to the coop as Luke has decided even after knowing our mum all his life never be on time, we have to be early. I buy Costa coffee, fresh bread, hummus, bananas, diet coke and some biscuits the nature valley ones theyre really good. Luke doesnt go into the shop I think at least he is listening to some rules. He rolls his eyes as i spray the shopping with dettol spray and use the alcohol hand sanitizer for my hands and door handle etc. I just tell him its how it needs to be done.

We find a perfect parking spot under a bunch of trees. I notice that all the trees are trimmed in a very even shelf across the bottom. It looked like it was designed perfectly for people to walk straight onto the park from the car park without having to fight with tree branches or go around.  But in actual fact its the deer. They eat the lower leaves this made me smile and relax for a moment. WIN.

My mum is late so im nervous that she is 

1. Stuck somewhere (over reaction)

2. Lost (over reaction)

3. Just running late (normal reaction) 

Im a tad fidgety as im aware i have an appointment in 2hrs. Hurry up MOTHER...

I ponder about work and whether or not ill still have a job to return too. Had an email this am stating theyre cutting 200jobs from the team i work in. So not sure if thats a good thing or not. But its also increasing my anxiety as ive read the email and now have a burning desire to do the research to see what my probability of keeping my job will be. Before my brain can go on a major tangent my mum arrives. 

Shes brought Oscar (her poodle) he is so excited to see me. And the big hairy fluff ball  gave me the biggest snuggles. He has a major Covid hairdoo. My mum doesnt hug me which hurts but i know she cant. 

Picnic time. We sit in the middle.of a field away from everyone. Social distancing 10/10. My mum has made me my favourite cakes, rock buns. (Apparently these are a northern thing) but im feeling the love. Its fairly chilled only 1 disagreement with Luke over blinkin avocados.

Im clock checking and aware of impending appointment, im a little (understated) nervous because ive not had positive relationships with therapists or doctors in the past. 

[ditto]

wi rehab week 3 review: the Week™. i KNOW this post is long but god please read about my misfortune if yall want a Saga

current status on raccoons: clement

number of monster energy drinks consumed: 2

number of buns directly killed: 1

Days Since Last Diarrhead on: 1

Baby Raccoon Count: 150ish? probably 130 that need to be bottle fed 

new tasks performed:

baby opossum cage maintenance

baby waterfowl cage maintenance

SQ fluid administration on raccoons

SQ vaccine administration on raccoons

What To Do When Your Tire Goes Flat 101

oral medication administration on possums

CHRONOLOGICAL TALE OF MISFORTUNE: i’m not going to do this regularly but the sheer amount of bad shit that happened this week was COMICAL so let me break down everything that happened to me this work week

MONDAY 6/8

got diarrhead on during 6am raccoon feeding

straight up killed a baby rabbit during bun feeding. they stress real easily and i’m bad at tubing so i had him out for a while and he just fuckin. died. from stress. in my hands. directly because of me being bad at my job. so you know that was uhhhhhhhhhhhhh

shovelled out wet dirty woodchips out of a walk-in enclosure with like 8 goslings using a snowshovel w/ another baby intern. you can’t put a ton of woodchips into one trash bag so we had to keep changing out the trash bag and it was like 92 degrees out and we were both wearing cloth masks and on god i really thought we were gonna die in there

during the pm feeding i get peed on by the EXACT SAME RACCOON that diarrhead on me during the am feeding 

TUESDAY 6/9: the Day(tm)

i have a therapy appointment scheduled at 2pm. my shift is 6am-2pm. i’ll need to leave at 1:30pm to get to it. i tell my supervisors this. it’s chill. i still feel bad about it, because i have anxiety.

right off the bat, i get scolded by my Actual Boss for doing something i watched one of the supervising interns do 

6am raccoon feeding: get diarrhead on again. 

a rac RIPS the fucking nipple off of the baby bottle we’re feeding them with and formula gets fucking everywhere. i say out loud at this moment “IM HAVING A GREAT WEEK”. one of my supervising interns feels bad for me and keeps trying to cheer me up throughout the day. she does make me feel better.

i get dishes which is fine bc i dont mind dishes for real but my hands turn into sandpaper the day after doing dishes for 2 hours so this is more :| than :/. i make jokes about how bad my week is going. the mood is, generally, looking up.

next raccoon feeding is scheduled for noon. raccoons are housed in a separate building, so it’s about a 5 minute drive to get there from the main area. we get ready to leave around 1pm. recap: i need to leave at 1:30pm for a therapy appointment. i’m planning on driving my own car down there so i can do this. it’s chill.

on my way down there, i start hearing the most godawful screeching of metal. i am, quote, “like uhhh.” when i open the gate to turn onto the highway, i stick my head out the window to look

my tire is flat.

i have a flat tire.

my fucking tire is FLAT dude.

>mfw

>

>

pull over after gate

tell the staff member following me “hey i have a flat tire so im probably not going to make it down to feed today” and shes like flkdjsalfksd okay

call the ONE supervising intern whose number i have, who is the one who heard me say IM HAVING A GREAT WEEK, like GUESS WHICH BITCH HAS A FLAT TIRE LMFAOOOOOOO. just making that one call was the funniest fucking thing that’s ever happened in my entire life

to quote her verbatim: “i guess you are having a bad week”

call my dad, who as it turns out was actively teaching a class when i called, so i am well and truly facked and am DEFINITELY not making this therapy appointment

ok. take a deep breath. check my car. i have a donut in my car. i have not changed a tire in three years, and have never changed one in the scenario of I Have A Flat Tire. fack. relay this to the one supervising intern whos number i know (i’m going to call her supervising intern 1 going forward here). ask her if anyone knows how to change a tire. 

supervising intern 1 calls back. apparently there’s a guy who lives on the same property we’re on named donnie. donnie is a maintenance worker who helps out a lot around the rehab place. donnie can help me change my tire. apparently someone currently down feeding raccoons is going to come pick me up and bring me over there so i can continue to feed raccoons until donnie can fix my tire. 

get call from supervising intern 2, whose number i did not have, apparently it got relayed. i ask her if anyone down there can change a tire. she says she can change a tire. she will help me change my tire she finishes on raccoon feeding. ok sounds good. someone is still going to come pick me up.

get call back 10 minutes later. apparently donnie is in the middle of a field right now and it is unlikely that he can fix my tire. someone is still going to come get me to feed raccoons, maybe. i tell her supervising intern 2 can help me change my tire after we finish our shift. she says thats fine. ok cool sick.

try to call therapist. i have no signal. send email which is, verbatim: “Hey! I'm currently on the the side of of the the road in [TOWN 30 MILES AWAY] with a flat tire, so I'm not going to make our appointment today. If we could reschedule for sometime soon, that would be great.” signal is bad, so this ends up being sent at 3pm.

(ALSO I LEARNED ABOUT THIS TODAY BUT APPARENTLY IN THE TIMELINE THERE’S A FIGHT HERE BETWEEN SUPERVISING INTERNS 1 AND 2 OVER HOW THE SITUATION IS PLAYING OUT WHICH IS EQUAL PARTS HILARIOUS AND “MAKES ME FEEL BAD”)

one of the other baby interns comes to pick me up and bring me down to racs. i walk in like AYYYYYYY and start feeding raccoons.

i get diarrhead on again.

i get diarrhead on again again. 

apparently 3 in one day is a record.

my shift is supposed to end at 2pm. we usually end up staying until 2:15-2:30ish, because that’s usually when the other team gets down here. since supervising intern 2 is currently my savior, she is going to drive me back over when the other team gets here and she leaves. other baby interns leave at 2:15ish, i think. 

the other team is, apparently, running late. they get here at 3pm.

supervising intern 2 drives me back over at 3pm. we get to my car.

the donut is on.

the tire is in the trunk.

apparently donnie was, in fact, able to come change my tire. no one told me this. 

im like ok. this is fine. i tell supervising intern 2 thank u for my life. i leave.

my donut has a 50mph max speed limit. i tell google maps to avoid highways on my way home. this turns my 30 minute drive home into a 50 minute one, and still ends up with me being terrifyingly tailgated by trucks for going 10 miles under the speed limit. i almost, but do not, run out of gas on the way home.

i get home around 4:10pm. i call the auto shop across the street from me and tell them i have a flat tire, but i need the car by 6am tomorrow. do they think they can have it fixed by then. they tell me to bring it over and they’ll let me know.

i bring the car over. i give them my keys. i say thank you and leave.

i realize that my garage door opener is in my car, which is now locked. i have no other way into the house, because our garage door keypad has been broken for 2 years. the sliding glass door in the backyard is locked.

i walk back into the auto shop 5 minutes later and ask in the Polite But Obviously Having A Day tone if i can have my keys back so i can get it. i get my garage door opener out of my car. i give the keys back.

i enter my home. i lay spread-eagled on my bed for one hour.

auto place calls back and tells me they fixed the tire. im like did you replace it or did u fix it. theyre like we fixed it come on over. i almost cry on the phone.

go back over. guy is like “ya u ran over a screw LOL”. gives me my keys back. i wait to pay

after a bit hes like “you dont have to pay anything. this is on the house.”

almost cry

thank him

get car

go home

eat

shower

go to bed at 8pm 

WEDNESDAY (6/10)

everyone at work is immediately like AYYY and in general just very nice about the whole thing. i thank everyone involved for helping. its chill

dont get diarrhead on this feeding but i do get bit for like NO got dam reason what the fack

next up is cleaning juvenile cages and i swear to god i get the nastiest. fucking. raccoon cage i have ever seen in my entire life. there was an...i wanna say eigth-of-an-inch thick layer of raccoon diarrhea across this 2 foot x 4 foot cage

like on GOD the smell was so bad i was gagging through a goddamn cloth mask just. oh my god. i had to just go stand outside and stare into the abyss afterwards for a few minutes it was so NASTY IT WAS SO NASTY

mercifully, i am spared from further misfortune for the rest of the day. i come home. i am so tired.

WAIT I HAVE TO MENTION THAT SUPERVISING INTERN 1 HAD SUCH BAD LUCK FEEDING RABBITS TODAY SO LIKE...my luck is contagious 

notes and observations

anyone who is anti-euthanasia in animal shelters and any other large-scale animal welfare places in general can absolutely suck my dick

most other baby animals will generally have various stages of “baby x”, but opossums look like Adults Except Tiny from a very early age. they have stolen my heart.

birds are poopy little creatures

[bike42]

Kentucky Derby Weekend April 29 – May 2, 2021

Wednesday evening, we took Sox the cat downtown to Bailey’s condo, then came home to pack (the cat hates to see suitcases).  I can pack for a hiking trip with my eyes practically closed, but this kind of trip took some thinking!  I had to match shoes, purses and jewelry to all of my outfits, and then of course there was my hat.  Since we’d decided to drive the 6+ hours to Louisville, space wasn’t an issue and we were able to load our car with hat boxes, a large bag of snacks, yoga mat, pillows and suitcases!

 We were up at 6am on Thursday, anxious to get going, and we were on the road just after 7am.  As we were packing last night, Jeff wondered if our iPass was in the new Audi – I thought it was, but we didn’t check.  We had decided to travel straight down through Illinois and skip the Chicago madness so I was thinking tolls wouldn’t be an issue anyway. But as we got to Janesville, we recalled we still had the one toll near Rockford, so I checked the glove box – the iPass was not there.  It had been in our old Audi, so I thought it was odd that we’d have moved it to the other car – we haven’t travelled to Illinois since February 2020.  Then Jeff said he thought he remembered that our new Audi has a built-in toll pass?!  I got out the manual and sure enough!  It led me through the steps to get it activated, and I was able to get it set up just moments before we hit the Illinois border.

 We had rain through most of Illinois, but decent traffic and no major slowdowns even though there was a lot of road construction. We turned east at Bloomington toward Danville, IL which started us reminiscing about our 2013 cycling trip down the length of the state.

 The trees were more leafed out than ours and it seemed to get greener with every mile we traveled.  As we got south of Indianapolis, we saw our first Waffle House, so we stopped the Waffle House in Taylorsville for our favorite breakfast (regardless of the time of day) when we’re in the south (waffles, eggs over easy, split a side of bacon).

 We arrived in Louisville and checked into the downtown Hilton Garden Inn just before 3pm. That left us ample downtime for yoga, naps, catching up email from the day, and showers before our 7pm dinner reservation at Vincenzo’s.

 So many experiences already on the trip feel novel, packing last night, a six-hour road trip, and now checking into the nicest hotel we’ve stayed in since February 2020. Once upside to the pandemic and its quarantine is the pure appreciation I have for the ability to travel again!

 The restaurant was an easy walk from the hotel, and even though we’d checked the weather app before we headed down from our room, we were surprised to have sprinkles on our faces when we stepped out onto the sidewalk. No worries, Jeff had his rain coat and I had my beautiful poncho that I’d bought in Paris two years ago on a rainy April day.

 We had a great leisurely dinner, four courses and a bottle of wine.  It was nice to be dressed up and out together again.  The staff and service were amazing, and we tried to chat a bit with the gentleman we thought was the proprietor (Vincenzo?), but he seemed to have limited English (or hearing).  We’d heard on the local news before going out that that town of Louisville was so excited about this week-end – several hotels and restaurants were booked full – and that’s news!  

  After dinner, we walked through the Fourth street party area, which was fairly subdued at 6:30pm but we expected it’d be hopping later. There was a friendly guy on the street having a cigarette, he was a beer salesman named Scott from Appleton, WI.  He was excited to tell us all about what to expect at the derby, how crowded this area should be right now (in a normal year), all the famous people he’d previously partied with here, etc.  He’d have gone on all night, but his wife was calling him from a nearby table telling him his dinner was getting cold!

 We had a lazy Friday morning, then we were out on the street at 9am to walk to waterfront park. Our hotel was a great location, and we found it was a beautiful day. It wasn’t long before we were peeling off layers. We walked along the Ohio river, east to the converted railroad bridge called the Big Four Bridge, the headed back. The river itself is muddy and filled with debris, but the Waterfront Park was fabulous. All of the people we encountered were so friendly – many greeting us with “Happy Derby!”

 We had tickets to tour the Louisville Slugger factory and museum at 11am, so we walked back along the waterfront and found it in a funky part of old town (Main Street) – the area that had been known as Whiskey Row at the turn of the century.  We really enjoyed the tour.  Since I’d booked it last week, I had this song lyric with “Louisville Slugger” trying to work its was to the front of my brain.  I took to google when we were having lunch later and figured out its from Mary Chapin Carpenter’s song “The Bug.”  It goes:  “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug … sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger, baby, sometimes you the ball … “

 After lunch we wandered into the Evan Williams Experience, where we sampled Peach Mint Juleps – yum.  Back to the hotel, we had a nap, then showers – ready for our next event at 3:30pm.  This was an event booked by the group where we got our tickets:  Princeton Sports Group.  It was billed as “Derby Eve at Buffalo Trace,” but we weren’t sure what to expect.  We got to the lobby and found we were a busload of people, and we were headed to the Buffalo Trace Distillery, about an hour away in Frankfort!  Our guide and driver were great, they plied us with cocktails and information about bourbon and the trip went fast.  

 When we arrived at the distillery, there were three other packed busses, so we had a wait a bit to get through the temperature screening and get assigned to a guide.  The distillery had a policy that everyone wear masks (except when seated in the tasting room), even outside, and some in our group were pretty vocal about thinking that requirement was ridiculous (especially the group from Texas!).

 While I enjoyed the tour of the rickhouses (3-4 floor buildings where whiskey is aged after its barreled), and the room where the empty barrels were stored, I was disappointed that we didn’t get to tour the actual distillery – I wanted to see the chemistry!  None-the-less, we had an enthusiastic tour guide and it continued to be a beautiful day and we enjoyed the beauty and the history of the property while we waited our turn to enter the tasting room.  There we were socially distanced at spots with 5 shots laid out for each of us – a vodka (too strong for me just straight), and three bourbons with progressively better quality:  Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and Blanton’s Single Barrel (we’d been introduced to that last month by our nephew Calvin, a far superior bourbon).  We thought the tasting finished with their Bourbon Cream (like a Bailey’s) which was yummy on its own, but they served it with a shot glass of root beer and when we combined the two – we found heaven! Since it was Derby time, they finished the tasting with a demonstration of making Mint Juleps, and we each were served a large portion of that!

 After the tasting, we had some time to shop, so we headed to the store and bought a bottle of their Bourbon Cream (they sell out of Blanton’s as soon as its bottled, or we’d have bought that too).  By then we were mildly buzzed and in need of food.

 Back on the bus, we travelled about 20 minutes before stopping at Jeptha Creek – an event center where we had dinner, more drinks, dancing to a bluegrass band and playing a little corn-hole in the yard. During dinner, we sat with two couples that had arrived on another bus – also their first Derby experience and we enjoyed trading stories with them.  

 On our bus back to Louisville, our guide decided it was time for bus Karaoke (using the music on his phone and holding it up to the microphone).  One guy, who didn’t seem particularly gregarious, got up to sing, and sang very well as the bus lurched along the interstate.  We sang all the way to the hotel, a fun night.

 We awoke Saturday morning to another beautiful day, and had a leisurely morning with a hotel room workout and breakfast. We had the local NBC affiliate that had full time coverage from Churchill Downs and we watched the first two races on TV before heading out. The gates opened at 10am, but that felt too early to go, yet there were plenty of partiers already there.

 We headed out of the hotel about noon. It was a bright sunny day and neither of us were prepared with sunscreen, so we walked around the corner to the CVS drugstore. As we walked down the street, we were greeted with shouts of “Happy Derby Day,” and nearly every vehicle driving by stopped as asked if we wanted a “shuttle” to the track. Our hotel offered a shuttle for $40 per person (which I thought was excessive), we could have driven our car and parked at the University lot and walked from there, but we’d decided we were going to take an Uber (I really want to think the best of people, but it seemed like a bad idea to jump into a car with someone who’s just taped a “Derby Shuttle” sign to his car for the day).

 As we walked into CVS, a confrontation broke out between a store employee and a young black man who was accused of having stashed something inside his coat. You could feel the tension in the store, and it put me on edge too. Other employees were suggesting the manager hold the guy until the police arrived. We grabbed a bottle of sunscreen and went to the checkout, where the clerk was almost too distracted to check us out.

 As we walked out the door, the managers had wrestled the man outside and the police had arrived. The scene quickly was surrounded by others that were taking videos on their cell phones. We moved around the corner, and didn’t see how it resolved, but it went quietly. Perhaps the manager was wrong?  

 Last month, we both got new iPhones, and are still struggling with having to sign into apps we haven’t used!? Ugh. We both really struggle trying to recall passwords that our phones have been so diligent about remembering, or allowing us to use face recognition. After a bit, Jeff succeeded in getting into his Uber app, but then his credit card had changed since we last used Uber, probably in NYC in 2019. My nerves were still on edge, and I was a bit panicked about standing here outside CVS with both of us focused on the phone, Jeff with his wallet in his hand and his credit card out. I pulled out my phone and was able to log into my Uber and my credit card was still active, so I said “I’ll order the Uber and you can work on your account another time!”

 We had a great Uber driver, Onfraus. He had a Green Bay Packer emblem on the front of his Jeep. His girlfriend is from Wausau and he knew a lot about Madison. He asked if State Street was still the place to be, and was shocked when we told him of the devastation after “protests” turned violent last year when windows were smashed and businesses looted after the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. We all agreed it didn’t make sense - the wrong people in the wrong place, with a demonstration of anti-police effort. His calm wonderful manner helped calm my frayed nerves. A lifelong Louisville resident, he was helpful in explaining where he had to drop us, and how to walk to the track from where he dropped us, and also where to find the Uber pickup lot to get our ride back to the hotel after the Derby. It was just over three miles - $45 with tip (surge pricing).

 It was easy to figure out the way to the track, we followed the colorful crowd. Lots of young adults - many of them quite drunk already. I was surprised that many people had chairs, headed for the infield lawn which is where the party really happens, we’d heard. We followed the crowd to the gates, went through security, but our tickets wouldn’t read in the scanner - oh no. Our panic was relieved when a supervisor told us we had Clubhouse tickets, and we were at the infield gate, the wrong gate. They led us out and we worked our way against the crowd for a bit, and felt like was walked all the way around the outside of the track until we found our gate. I’d worn shoes for comfort and was glad to be walking before sitting for the next six hours or so.

 At the Clubhouse entrance, things were more civilized and the crowd was scarce. In fact, due to COVID, they’re operating at about 40% capacity - so for someone like me that likes my personal space, this was perfect!

 We found our seats - the first two seats in a box that was set up for just four, but could accommodate six. Every other box was blocked out with a tarp to maintain physical distance, so we had perfect sight lines to the finish like right in front of us. We were in the covered section, so no need for that sunscreen after all (but we saw quite a few people who could have used it).

 There was a race roughly every hour, so we fell into an easy pattern of watching a race, then exploring the grounds in between races. This year for the first time, all food and drink were included in the ticket price, so we grazed on food and I sampled most of the specialty cocktails: Mint Julep, Whiskey Spire (cranberry) and the Lily (vodka and grapefruit).

 For me, the neatest part about being onsite was standing at the edge of the paddock. Not only was the people watching amazing, but it gave us a close look at the horses. They’d be led around the circle, some seemed proud to be on display, some were fighting being led around, then they’d pull them into a cubicle where magically the tiny saddle would be strapped to the horse, then another lap or two, photos with the owners / VIP and one last parade past with the jockey onboard. How cool it was to see that up close. I’d never noticed their lightweight boots, and the small stirrups that seemed strung up too high. From the paddock, the procession would move under the grandstand and out onto the track where they’d parade by, before heading around the track to the starting gate (which was out of our view, but we could see it on the large video screen). The only downside to being there in person is the race happens so fast and with the crown noise and the garbled speakers, we couldn’t really tell how the horses we’d selected we’re doing!

 We were joined in our box by a dapper young man, Jackson and his girlfriend, Danni, from Miami. Jackson split his time growing up between Middleton WI with his dad (attended Edgewood High School), and Louisville with his mom. He’d been to the derby many times before, but this could have been his first time trying to impress a girl with his knowledge. They were cute.

 In the box kitty-corner to our front right, there were Louisville police officers. They primarily spent their time scrolling through their social media feeds on their phones. Later in the evening, two started smoking cigars and snapping photos of themselves. It seemed inappropriate and was noxious to be around, but the smell of cigar smoke was pervasive throughout the day regardless. As we were heading out to explore between races, we stopped to ask them if it’d be safe to walk the three miles back to our hotel after the race. They looked at us like we had two heads!

 The actual “Derby” the twelfth of fourteen races during the day. It was the only race we actually bet us, choosing Hot Road Charlie (Jeff pick which finished third), and my pick, Rock Your World, finished in seventeenth place. We’d added the favorite pick of the day, Essential Quality to our trifecta bet (it came in fourth). Almost, but that doesn’t count in horse racing, so we lost our $200 but had fun doing so!

 We hung around for a bit, enjoying some last-minute people watching, then joined the stream of people heading out of the main gate.  We turned right, towards the Uber lot, which meant we were once again walking against the crowd leaving the infield – many were now very drunk, most were sunburned, and some were being carried.  It seemed to be a zoo at the Uber lot, and the app showed our same driver, but it’d oscillate between 20-30 minutes away.  The crowd and the noise of the Jesus Freaks yelling at the crowd through bad speakers was making me crazy, so I lobbied to start walking.

 We walked with a smaller crowd, but many of them pealed off as we strolled through the U of L campus.  We walked past large house parties, still going strong.  After a mile, there were only a handful of us still walking towards downtown, but it felt good to move and the neighborhood felt ok. Several people that we’d pass would shout out friendly greetings, and we just kept moving, only slightly creeped out by the recommendation from the police that we don’t try to walk back to the hotel.

 It started getting dark as we got close, but by then, it felt like a normal evening stroll.  It felt great to get to the room though and jump into the shower to wash away the dirt and cigar smoke from the day!  We were probably both sleeping by 9pm!

 On Sunday, we were up before our alarm, so we got dressed and finished packing up and we were crossing the Ohio back into Indiana before 7am.  An uneventful drive, and great to be home in the early afternoon and still enjoy the day.

[starlightfae]

so on tuesday, i went to my psychiatrist and when he asked me how i was doing, i foolishly thought lying would be bad and told him i was good, but i have not been sleeping at night and last “night” i went to bed at 6am so i was very tired at the moment

he immediately was like “stop taking the vyvanse. it’s not working, so just stop it”

i was super shocked like ummmm ok??

he went on to tell me i wasn’t putting in enough effort (it’s true, but bc i’m so Tired™ of trying with no real results, and also because?? i’m not on any ACTUAL antidepressants??) and that the meds could only help me 50% and i had to put in the other 50%

he proceeded to reiterate that i needed to try harder, on my own now, to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. on my own. without the meds that were assisting me in having energy throughout the day. because everyone knows, if a medication isn’t 100% effective, you just fucking rip it away and say “DO IT YOURSELF NOW”, obviously!

and then he told me to come back in three weeks and that “i’m counting on you” and “i hope we’ll see positive results” NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING, RIGHT?????

he also made the stereotypical “we don’t want you to be dependent on medication” comment when?? my brain is fucking broken, dude, i HAVE to depend on medication or i won’t fucking get anywhere! i already depend on it!

it feels so much like i’m being punished for not giving him the results he wants. like i’m not trying hard enough, so i don’t deserve the medication that gives me energy.

i was so blindsided i didn’t get to tell him any of this, i only voiced my worry about there not being an infinite number of meds in the world to try, and the more meds i fail on, the less meds there are to try, but that’s when i got the “depending on meds” comment, so he didn’t even listen to my genuine concern.

and then i realized its even worse than i thought, since the vyvanse was the only motivation for getting up early AND the only motivation for eating actual food, bc i needed to take my vyvanse early in the day and i couldn’t take it without food. now? i don’t have any reason to wake up early or eat.

i got up early and ate today, but then i went back to bed and slept until 3pm. i didn’t do any chores, and now it’s almost 2am and i’m still awake. great first day, right?

i just know these three weeks are going to be terrible, and i’m going to go in and have to look him in the eyes and tell him i fucking failed, and he’s going to be disappointed, and i already have been extremely suicidal lately so the only thing keeping me alive is the guilt that my family would be sad if i killed myself.

that’s literally it. i don’t kill myself because it would make my family sad. i’m not even living, i’m just existing, existing only for them and burdening them while i do bc i can’t DO anything i’m just taking up space and food and money idk why i’m even here, there’s no future for me there’s just more of this terrible shit

TLDR: my psychiatrist took my vyvanse away and expects me to get better results without ANY meds, i still want to kill myself but can’t, and my life is hopeless and meaningless.

goodnight

[svrpvnt]

6am. Your alarm wakes you up and slowly you open your eyes. Your eyes flick around to room; the ceiling, the dresser, the window, the shadow takes up one side of the window. Oh? You reckon he’s a little late than usual. A hungry, flesh ripping sound fills the air. Your eyes never leave the vaguely human figure at your window. Within minutes, he slips back into the night, allowing the sunlight to filter through the rest of the window. It’s only then do you allow yourself to rise from your bed. The sound of vicious eating still lurks outside your window. Ignore it. There was once a time where curiosity begged you to investigate the noise. Don’t think about it. Ignore it.

8am. Your mother kisses your head goodbye as you head out to school. The morning light shines over you, a warm glow on your face. Despite this, there’s still a cold wind that grips your ankles. You smile and wave to Old Lady Grenda as you pass by her white picket fenced house. She’s out gardening and she smiles and returns the wave before going back to her multi-coloured plants. She’s bent over at the waist in a pink floral blouse, beige capris and a straw hat adorned with yet more flowers. She looks like a Barbie doll, glassy eyes and shiny skin. Old Lady Grenda never stops gardening; she’s there when you come home, in the dead of night, in winter. The only time you don’t see her is at 3am. She returns shortly after, back to gardening. You’re not quite sure how her front yard doesn’t look like a jungle yet.

As you wander down the roads, you watch your neighbours rise from their slumbers, ready for another day. A black cat walks beside you. You lean down momentarily to stroke it. Its fur feels wispy, not quite there...unreal. You look into its amber eyes which stare intently at your grey ones. Its fur stands on edge, and it bares its fangs at you. It’s not angry; it’s warning you. You understand immediately. You walk on.

There’s a laundrette that’s open 24/7. You can’t recall ever seeing it close. Its neon sign is dull in the morning light and flickers on and off. No one’s in there except a man you swore you saw on your way here. He stares up at the TV playing the news. His clothes are but rags and mismatched swatches sewn together. He briefly meets your gaze with a bored expression before turning away. A shiver crawls up your back. You hope you never see this man again.

9am. You’re at school. A smile spreads on your face as you go to hang out with your friends. When you’re at school, you can pretend everything is normal in this town- that’s what everyone else does. There’s only a few who are curious about the mysteries of this town. They try to convince people to open their eyes and not be so blind. They gain no supporters. You float through your classes and breaks, never really paying attention to what’s really happening. You’re only clear memory from that day is entering the girls bathroom. Three teen girls glared at you viciously. Their cat eyes and sugar pink lips emphasising their anger. You were silent and they said nothing. Gargoyles. They heavily reminded you of gargoyles, especially the one who was perched on the sink, one leg dangling, the other close to her chest. You knew as soon as you left, they resumed conversation. Definitely gargoyles.

3pm. It arrives sooner than you expect. As soon as the bell rings, everyone deserts. Laughter and swearing and chatter fill the air as you crowd out of school. Reluctantly, your friends drag you to the 50s style diner with food that’s average at best but a fun atmosphere. The waitresses have large smiles painted cherry red and aging hair tied in top knots. All of you order milkshakes. You like milkshakes, especially strawberry ones. About halfway through, you realise something off about the strawberry flavour. It has a strange metallic taste and isn’t as sweet as usual. In the wrong light, the pale pink almost looks reddish. With a furrowed brow, you turn to the bar where the waitresses wash glasses. One is staring at you with vacant eyes, no hint of emotion. The air is still for a moment. The moment passes and she returns to her bright red smile and resumes chatter with the other waitresses. You turn around, unnerved. It’s better to just drink your milkshake.

5:30pm. Pastel coloured houses line the street as you walk back home. You’ve never been down this street before. You notice a couple of kids running up and down the sidewalk, playing Cops and Robbers. Huh, didn’t you just pass them? They go by so many times, like a looping film reel. You hope they’re having fun. As you’re making your way down the street, soaking up the afternoon sun, there’s one house out of place. A brown house with broken windows and bruised bricks. On the dead grass lay a variety of beer cans, cigarette butts and discarded snack wrappers. Ominous graffiti covers the wall. A crude arrow is painted next to door frame. “Hell is here”, it reads. From the looks of the house, you don’t doubt that statement.

8pm. The sun has gone down. You only notice when you’re in your room, tapping away at your laptop and the shadow has appeared. You drag your attention away from your work and smile at it. It’s a strange comfort. You wave at it. You’re not sure why. Well, you suppose he is quite like a childhood friend, watching over you since you can remember. He used the scare you. He doesn’t now. In a vague movement that seems to be just moving shapes, he waves back at you. Shifting your gaze, you catch Old Lady Grenda still tending to her garden.

10pm. Wrapping yourself in your fluffy blanket, you close your eyes and try to rest. Thoughts drift to your day tomorrow. You groan inwardly; you have a test in two days. That means going to the library. You’d rather do anything else. Slowly, you begin to drift in and out of consciousness. As you finally lull into sleep, the hunt begins.

[chelseaonjta-blog]

a list of all the weird/stupid things i have done so far on JTA (in case i forget)

i’m pretty tired right now because i just came back from italy and the bologna airport. i say those are two different things because one of them is something i truly, really love (italy) and the other one is a weird and grueling experience that is the reason for the creation of this list (bologna airport).

i wanted to list down all my memories on trips, like my itineraries etc first, but since i’m not that masipag yet and am prone to laziness and forgetfulness, when writing this came into my head, i was immediately more excited to write it and i decided to just go for it. so here it is, my weird list of Things I Wouldn’t Have Done If I Weren’t On JTA (alternatively, Things I Would Never Have HAD To Do if It Weren’t for JTA).

- sleep at an airport. this takes the cake, really (so far -- i still have morocco to go!). i guess it was also in the choice of airport i decided to sleep at, but let me tell you, Bologna Airport should not be high up on your “Airports to Sleep At” list. Really. I don’t consider myself very snooty or fresa, and I’ve braved through a lot of gross things. But this. I couldn’t take it. I guess it was through this that I realized I’m not that type of person who can just sleep anywhere. I need to be horizontal, man. It doesn’t even have to be a bed, just something I can lie on. We arrived at bologna at around 1:30, found a cab (ooh, that should go on the list too...more details later) and arrived at around 2am. I tried to sleep. I really did. I just couldn’t. I slept for, at most, an hour, between 2am and 6am. I was sitting, trying to position my backpack and my Italian plates (which were pasalubong and I still have no regrets about buying) while trying to get my upper body and lower body in a comfortable enough position. It just wasn’t possible. Maybe I’m just too long ? which sounds funny, but rly. neither my upper nor lower body could fit in one seat of the chairs, and if i curled myself up on the chair it was just ... difficult. so i ended up sleeping like i would on a bus, except it wasn’t a bus and i was bothered that i had to sleep this way at all. this may sound really angry, but to be honest, i’m not at all. really. i can’t really describe what i felt, it wasn’t really frustration, it was just...grueling. which isn’t really a feeling but...it is what it is. so there i couldn’t sleep, and then when the airport opened and we went past immigration, we found more comfortable seats (these ones actually had cushions on them -- oh yes, the ones we were trying to sleep on at first had no cushion, just metal. it was those chairs you find right in front of check-in counters) and i could sleep better, even if i was curled up and was using my backpack as a pillow (which i had put on the seat beside me...i think at this point i just said fuck it to stranger danger, pickpocketing, stealing, and thieves. i just wanted to close my eyes.) so i slept a little bit more, having 30 minute naps. and then we boarded, and i slept the whole flight. and i tried to go to class. but that’s another point, i think. for this one, it’s very simple: chelsea can’t sleep all night at airports. or chairs.

sidenote: bianca slept fine. i’m truly amazed

- walk around bologna at 1:30am figuring out the cab system. it was quite a stressful early morning, even before the whole airport situation. i didnt know how taxis worked in bologna, which shouldnt have been a problem because they should work like anywhere else in the world, except they didn’t. apparently you’re supposed to call one in advance, and its not common to just flag one down on the street. happy ending for this one though, because on my 2nd try we got one! God BLESS that man. idek how true the whole “u can’t flag one on the street” thing is, but if it is, TYG for this not-so-ugly/kinda cute (he wasn’t cute, but he wasn’t what you’d call pogi) taxi driver. and he had CARD

- oh yeah...which leads me to number 3: pay for a 10euro gelato. guys. it wasn’t even that good. bianca and i were going around florence, looking for cheap gelato. we went to 3 different stores, comparing prices. 4 euro for the smallest size was too expensive for us. so we got excited when we saw this place had gelato for 2.5. steaaal!! we got cups, but then it was only after that i realized that he didn’t get the 2.5 cup...he got the 10 euro cup. :---) and the cannoli, which the dude said was only 1 euro, turned out to be 7 euros. :---) maybe he didn’t say 1 euro, maybe he said 7 but we didn’t hear...either way, i ended up not having cash on hand anymore for the rest of the day. and that was around 11am. :---) and that is how i found out the hard way that most Florentine stores only accept cash. i CRY for my 13.5 euros. it would have saved me a lot of grief later on.

what type of grief? the grief i am currently in as i type this. ok, it isn’t grief. but let’s call it that for now. as i mentioned on my finsta-finsta IG, aka the mobile and easier access version of this blog, I didn’t want to sleep in the afternoon because it would mess up my sleeping sched, so i decided i would go to my spanish class at 3pm. too bad i ended up taking a nap and waking up AT 3PM. which was fine, i mean all spanish people are late and its not uncommon to have people come a little later than usual, even to classes. but i still had to buy a T-10. i had prepared for this -- i had both my card and 50 euros so i could buy a card. neither worked on the machine. i’m kinda worried about my card, it didn’t work on the airport machine either (bianca had to double use her T-10, bless her), but whatever. it worked on the bologna taxi...should be fine. anyway, by the time i tried all 3 machines and decided to give up, it was 3:15 and i felt that even if i did go to class, it would be waaaay too late, even for the spanish. so i called it a day. i broke my 50 by buying ben&jerry’s, bought a T-10 with the loose change (so i wouldn’t have to go through this shit again) and went back to the apartment. like i said on my ig, ben&jerry’s is my alcohol. 

but i digress

- get fined. ok, this one’s on me. and bianca. we deserved it. we were so aware of how much we deserved it that we didn’t even get mad anymore. I mean, we really deserved it. so rewind to 2 days before the gelato and the airport, and we’re in rome. we’re on the bus, and we notice that absolutely no one is validating their bus tickets, and the bus is packed. the driver doesn’t even know who goes in or out. so we decide to just not punch in our cards. big mistake. really, BIIIIIIIIIG MISTAKE. out of all the buses, the police decide to climb on to ours (ok fine..it was crowded, we were otw to Vatican which meant a lot of tourists, etc. etc.). and of course we were caught with unvalidated tickets. so we had to pay a fine...54.9euros to be exact. TYG it could be paid by card or I would’ve cried, because the fee of paying it somewhere else other than the time of getting caught was around 100+ euros. well i already felt bad about losing 54.9 euros, but again, I deserved it. so take note, kids ! be good citizens, ALWAYS ! validate those cards!

- run like hell to catch a bus. i had the paris incident in mind, but i realize that that’s happened a lot to biancs and i. but the paris one is GOLD -- we wanted to watch the eiffel tower sparkle, and we calculated it would sparkle at 8pm. Our Flixbus (best company tbh) was schedule to leave at 8:42 pm. accdg to google maps, it would take us 40-42 minutes to get to the station. so we had to be quick. at 8:00 sharp, the lights sparkled, we gasped, took some pictures, then RAN. i can still visualize the scene. a live performer was playing “can’t help falling in love”, it was already dark (of course), and there were so many tourists milling around. there were also a lot of street sellers. through all of that, suddenly one of the 7 of us (i think it was me tbh), shouted “run run run!!!” and OFF WE WENT ya’ll. through that thick crowd, 7 girls just darting around like mice. we kinda separated a bit at the metro, cause some of the girls thought our entrance would be different, but me and some others stuck to the one we were already going down on. the other girls ran all the way to the other side. when we got down to the station, the girls were also getting down, just on the other side. basically, pointless to go around. trust me, if i wasn’t paranoid about missing the bus, i would’ve laughed. it was actually pretty funny, the whole thing. i remember running the length of the station (our bus stop was at the back) and feeling like i would die. i had never run so fast in my life (i think). we made it, just in time.

- which leads me to another moment i thought i would die: going through Amsterdam’s King’s Day crowd. that shit was wild. that’s as precise as I can be. it was WILDT. that was some stupid, crazy shit. we had just met up with parsley, gabe, shar, and christine. or to be more precise, we met up with the first three and the latter was just pissed to see us. (more on that ...soon lol) and ...ok to be honest, i don’t even remember where we were supposed to go. all i remember is, Gabe or Shar started the navigation, and it led us to the edge of this street concert party thing. when I say “street”, I mean the whole street was occupied with tall white people. the street was actually quite narrow, which made everything worse because the King’s Day people had erected a stage there, so there was a concert going on, and what seemed like a live broadcast of that concert. PLUS, on the other side of the stage, the street was lined with bars. and it was King’s Day. you can imagine the complete chaos. everyone was either drunk, high, or both. it was incredibly crowded. the street was packed, there were people from the bars who were coming out to join in, and there were people who were trying to move through the crowd. we were one of those people. i’ve been through incredibly ...sticky and crowded situations in my life. I’ve ridden the MRT at ultra mega rush hour, I’ve attended enough rock concerts. I thought I would be prepared for something like this. I wasn’t. the crowd was iba, I had never experienced anything like it. It was kind of like MRT at that rush hour, except everyone was MOVING, and you didn’t really want to stay there. at least in the MRT, when ur pushed against other people, no one really moves until the next stop. here, everyone seemed like they wanted to go somewhere else, or were moving to the music or whatever. there was just too much movement. at one point, i wasn’t even moving my legs. the crowd was swaying me along, and yes, I mean swaying. we were going from left to right, kind of suffocating-pushing our way through. oddly, i felt like the band was just repeating songs, and their reactions were being controlled or something. whatever -- all i know is, it was crazy fucking scary. i try not to curse anymore (haha, i know) but i can’t describe King’s Day without expletives. it was just too...WILD. I’m still thankful I even made it out alive. I really thought I would die at some point. 

- ah, amsterdam, what else is there to do? oh yeah, get high. this seems pretty basic considering everything else on this list, but really. I don’t think I would’ve ever tried weed if I hadn’t gone on JTA. I didn’t really wanna do it, plus it was still illegal in the PH and I didn’t wanna get caught up in that. but hey, it was Amsterdam, it was totally legal. I actually wanna amend my earlier point and be more specific: get high on a boat. that was actually kind of fun. we were doing this canal tour thing, and we had eaten the edibles an hour before getting on. to the merit of biancs and i, i think we were still very good clients. it was the nighttime tour on the canal, so everyone else was either drunk, high, or romantically involved. trust me, biancs and i were the most behaved ones there. we would pretend to listen, nod and laugh when we felt it appropriate, and converse with the hosts. it was a good experience. even better? the food and wine on the boat. there’s no better way to say this, but we demolished that buffet. 3 plates filled high with sausages, crackers, and cheese and we only left some for the others (the others didn’t seem to mind though, because like i said, they were knee-deep in the other 3 reasons above). there were free-flowing drinks too, and biancs and i shared with 3 other girls, and i think we had 5 bottles all in all. so like...one bottle each. it was a good time. i felt myself getting slower once i was hit, but wow. i thoroughly enjoyed that. the host even gave me a lei at the end of the tour! maybe he appreciated our participation. or maybe he just knew we were high.

i was high when we were going through the King’s Day crowd too, but that was less...enjoyable. i think that once we were in the crowd, i kinda snapped out of it and focused on not dying. yeah, that was kind of a waste. but hey, generally i had a good time.

- get drunk on 1 euro carton wine. this was actually super fun. its one of those things that become tradition immediately after you start it. it started when bianca bought carton red wine. i think we got pretty drunk off of it, and i vaguely remember going back to the supermarket (yes, the supermarket was still open, which meant...it was pretty early) to buy another one, which we also finished. then all hell broke loose. we started getting noisy, we called pars and gabe, we went to the kitchen and stole strawberries from one of our then-flatmates, Maria (who was honestly really nice), and I accidentally turned on the lights in Marion’s room while she was there. she actually came out and told me that i had turned it on, and all i kept saying was “sorry, sorry”. this was all before the flatmate drama, i think. (lol that’s another story too, i guess). oh and this all happened while we were on the phone with sina gabe. bianca went inside the “coat room” of the apartment and stole someone’s hat (at the time we thought it was manon’s, but it could actually be javier’s??? still don’t know until now, tbh). then we went back into our room and...decided that we wanted to sleep in the empty room beside us. so we tried first to enter it through the adjacent balcony, didn’t work. so we got the keys box and started trying out different keys until we found the one that fit and we just....slept there. didn’t do anything nasty, didn’t trash the place. just...fell asleep. i don’t know if i should be thankful or confused that drunk chelsea and bianca’s idea of a wild night is sleeping in an empty bedroom right beside ours. not even a hotel or another flat, but literally the one that pretty much looks like ours. yeaaah, i don’t know either. that was pretty fun though, biancs and i got to bond and i guess it solidified our reverence for the carton wine. it tastes like shit, but it does its job.

- have trashy tinto-vodka nights with raya. this is steadily becoming Chelsea’s JTA Greatest Hits list, but whatever. i’m enjoying this trip down memory lane. to be fair, i only had 2 trashy wine nights with Raya, when she was still in her old condo and my parents hadn’t come/bianca and I didn’t have a trip on the weekend, but it was one of the best nights. it was honestly really fun, just getting to know and bonding with Raya. I hadn’t known her so well pre-JTA, and when we were thinking of getting a room together (me, bianca, and Raya), I wasn’t so sure how that would play out. but after bonding with her, I realized that Raya and I vibed pretty well. we were into the same stupid shit and laughed at the same nonsense things. so sleeping over at her place and getting drunk was honestly really fun. it wasn’t even wild or anything, it was just...~ hearty fun ~. we’d try to invite bianca sometimes, but she’d always say no LOL mainly cause raya’s place is quite far from us and she didn’t want to sleep over (but biancs is totally fine sleeping at an airport?? i don’t understand, but hey, you do you.) and raya and i would also cook sinigang! ok fine, we cooked it on one day only, but after having it for lunch then getting tipsy, we decided we wanted more so we made another batch at around midnight. we both agreed it tasted a lot better. gooooooood times.

- having to walk Amsterdam alone at night. sorry i jumped back into amsterdam, i just totally forgot about this. this was actually a big deal for me, even though in summary it wasn’t so special. i had had to wake up at around 3am that day so i could walk and catch the bus that would bring me to the Flixbus station. i was worried because amsterdam had had shit weather the day before and i was contemplating taking an uber, but in the end i decided to walk. it was only a 20-minute walk, which in daytime wouldn’t have bothered me. but since it was nighttime and the airbnb wasn’t in city center, i was kind of afraid. i’m matatakutin pa naman. i imagine shadows becoming figures and am generally uneasy in the dark. but at the time i thought, u gotta do what u gotta do, right? so i trudged on. and honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. i saw no one on my walk, and i realize in hindsight that if i had walked in the morning, i would have enjoyed it a lot. i got to see the river and some pretty cute, homey houses. there were parts where it was eerily dark and quiet, but overall i didn’t feel pressured too much. i don’t know why this is a big deal for me, and i feel like it’s silently a landmark experience for me. i guess because it was something i had no choice but to do alone (bianca had left earlier, gabe and pars were asleep and staying another day in amsterdam), and i had to face my fears. alone. epitome of JTA, I guess. well, it ended fine though, and overall I think I grew from the experience. I guess I realized there that I have some of my own inner strength that I can rely on, and that what scares me sometimes is...nothing, really. that I make things up in my head and I’m too praning, but really, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

- get in trouble with an airbnb. technically this wasn’t me, because it was under parsley’s name, but we all felt this. amsterdam really was something else...

anyway, parsley booked the place, but she only put it down for 2 guests, when we were...six. everything was going well until the owner apparently saw parsley and the lille girls going out all together, and the owner messaged pars about it saying that she (pars) has to pay a fine of 25E/night. the owner only saw 4 people though, so i guess that was a silver lining? so that added to the general stress of amsterdam, post-Heineken Experience. christine made pars tell this lie about the other 2 people only staying a night, but the owner then said that she saw four bags in the airbnb. which was weird, considering our airbnb was separated from the main house and was locked, so that meant that the owner went inside to check herself. invasion of privacy right there...the owner even made up this story about a socket burning out in our airbnb, which is why she had to go and check. though when we went back, everything was ok...well, we were also in the wrong anyway. we told the owner that the other bags did belong to 2 people, but that they would soon leave because they had early flights, which technically wasn’t a lie. so it ended up that we had to strategically get in and out of the airbnb. it would all be fine by sunday, because bianca was leaving sat night and pars, gabe, and i were leaving early sunday morning. we just had to time our ins and outs so that if ever there was someone checking on us from the main house window, s/he’d only count two people. it was pretty intense, the tension in that place. not just cause of the owner, but also cause of some people in the airbnb. but that story, maybe for another time.

- getting drunk on port wine. oh, PORTO. I love that place, really. it still has my heart, 6 countries and 9 cities later. it was a great first trip (that i should probably recount soon, before memory fails me and i forget the tiny things about it that i loved). one of the reasons why it was so good was because of port wine. and all i can say is...beshie. sarap shet. really, nothing quite like it. i still remember that one of them tasted like maple syrup, no joke. the others tasted....i don’t know how to describe it anymore, but one was incredibly fruity and one was oaky without tasting outright like a barrel. it was amazing. it was delicious, the best wine i’ve ever had. it was also 20% alcohol content. and we had 3 glasses. we got pretty hit after that, and what made it kinda go away was our mad rush towards a building tour that wasn’t that good anyway. but nonetheless, it was extremely good wine. I still can’t forget it, and at the nearest opportunity I jump at the chance to go back. Porto definitely isn’t one of those cities that a lot of people think of instantly when you say “Europe trip”, but I say it should be. One of the cheapest, beautiful, and most relaxing trips ever. I never would have considered it myself, were it not for its close proximity to Spain.

- see how the french dance. this is more of an afterthought, and honestly not as hard hitting as the other things on the list, but wow. the french dance weird. i will forever laugh at that video of gabe and pars copying them because it’s so spot on. it’s really some sort of robotic, zombie move thing that’s equally fascinating and equally scary. I definitely would not have known about it if I hadn’t been on JTA, going to clubs with my friends.

- tried to make coffee without water. yep, this goes on the list of stupid for sure. so javier has this coffee maker that i’ve never even seen before, and when he explained how to use it, he didn’t mention anything about putting water in the bottom. so when i tried to do it on my own, i did exactly as he told me. of course, without water, the thing just started burning. i think i was too late to realize it, because i had already begun to smell the burning. when i took it off the stove and laid it on the towel, the towel just straight up burned. as in the coffee maker scorched a hole through the damn towel. i felt pretty stupid in that moment, and honestly really scared for my life that Javier would be angry and would rethink this whole “letting us stay for an extra 3 months” thing (yeah, I realize now that I’m actually a pretty paranoid person). thankfully, he just laughed it off and cleaned it for me, and was even nice enough to make a new batch of coffee for me. God bless the man. the next batch of coffee still tasted burnt though, so i had to thoroughly clean the coffeemaker afterward. phew, that was a close one though. I thought I had really fucked things up at that point.

- lost money without explanation? this is a question mark because i don’t really know how this happened. it started when i was short by 200 euros after my parents left, even though i didn’t use any of my own money when my parents were here and they had given me more cash. i let that go and just offset it. then the next time i counted, i was missing 50 euros naman? like HUH ? I can get pretty magastos, but when I’m cheap I’m cheap af. I knew I hadn’t spent that money anywhere, yet here it was being missing. I don’t know either, maybe there was something off from my counting from the beginning? either way, I’m still sad I can’t find it anymore :///

- thought i lost 20 euros to the laundry machine demon. i straight up didn’t go to that laundry shop for like 3-4 months because i thought the machine had swallowed my 20 euros when all it needed was 3 euros. later on, i found out that there was actually a lot of balance left on that card, because the 20 euros wasn’t swallowed up, it was charged to the card! TYG!!!! i was really happy the day i found out. also kinda sad cause i spent a looot of months hand washing or just not washing because i didn’t want to go to the shop.

- sleeping in hostels. ok, i know i said i wasn’t fresa, but i never really would’ve considered hostels and been so positive about them if it weren’t for JTA. I’m honestly really loving the hostel vibe. the people are friendly, its communal, its pretty clean, and you get cheap accommodation. i guess this isn’t really a weird or stupid thing to do on JTA, but I just find it...cool how much my perspective has changed on traveling. (maybe that should be my next post?) and again, i don’t think i would have done this if not for JTA. so thanks, JTA, for letting me experience that :)

I think that’s it...for now. We still have morocco next week, and amidst the polarizing opinions about it (”it’s one of my greatest trips, u should go!” vs “be more careful, there are more sketchy people there”), I’m kinda excited. I hope I get to relax a little more, because I think that’ll be our last out of Spain trip. I can’t believe we thought of going to Germany pa after Morocco. I would’ve died of tiredness. anyway, that’s all I can remember for now. soon, I’ll try to add pictures and finally start recapping our trips. I think it will do me a lot of good in the future if I at least record my JTA experiences.

ciao!

[thaonguyennguyen]

Magnificent Scenery In Less Travelled Places: A Travel Guide for weekend trips in Vietnam (Part 1)

Where to go on a budget!

Looking for uncommon tourist destinations for a 2-3-day vacation in a cost-effective way but you don’t know any place. There are worth going places to visit Vietnam and offer exciting experiences.

BAO LOC TOWN – LAM DONG

Located in Lam Dong Province, en route to Sai Gon and Da Lat, Bao Loc is a small town in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Bao Loc is a temperate city. Its temperature is about 18C degree to 25C degree for whole year. The best recommended time to visit this place is during dry season, from October to April. Do not go there during raining season, it rains endlessly for days.

GETTING THERE

It is only about 180 kilometers away from Saigon. To get to Bao Loc, take the Highway 20 on motorbike if you are adventurous. However, please be aware that traffic in Vietnam is not in high standard and police is everywhere, you may get caught without reason. So, it may finally cost you more than a bus ticket, but you will be impressed by crossing up and down formidable gorges and beautiful roads on the way.

It is 3 hours closer than Da Lat. You can take the same buses to Da Lat and ask them to drop you off earlier when you are just over the Bao Loc pass and reached the Bao Loc Church or Pagoda on your right-hand side. (The Church and the Pagoda are next to each other). I would recommend you get on the morning buses, leaving Saigon at 7-8AM, so you will be in Bao Loc by lunch time.

There are several trustworthy buses you can book: Thanh Buoi, Phuong Trang, Nhat Doan or TheSinhTourist, etc. Ticket is only about VND 150,000 to 200,000. There are several trustworthy buses you can book: Thanh Buoi, Phuong Trang, Nhat Doan or TheSinhTourist, etc. Ticket is only about VND 150,000 to 200,000. 

SLEEPING

Since Bao Loc is not a tourist town, there are not so many options for you in term of accommodation. If you are expecting a luxury stay, then this town is probably not for you. However, break your limit, spending one weekend at motel in a small town is such a worthwhile experience. Room rate in the town in general is about VND 400,000 to VND 500,000/room/night. You can make reservation via Booking.com or by phone in advance.

Many motels are available on the main street of the town - Tran Phu street. This is also Highway 20, where you are dropped off by the bus. There are some other motel-standard hotels around wet market area, such as: Huynh Gia Bao Hotel.

Furthermore, one of the most famous hotel and also the oldest one in Bao Loc is Seri Hotel.

Seri Hotel: 05 28/3 Str., Bao Loc, Tel: 0263 3864 150

Staying here gives you chance to enjoy the beautiful view in front of the hotel, especially having morning coffee at Ho Thuy Ta – a coffee shop by the lake.

SIGHTS

There are several places to sites within easy reach of Bao Loc but in this guide, I only focus on four of them, which all can be visited within two days. The best way to tour between the locations is motorbike. Motorbike renting can be arranged by the hotel when asked. Average price is about VND 150,000/day and motorbike driving license is required.

In addition, it is also available to take taxi, remember to deal for a-day tour to save your money or your accommodation can help arranging a car and a driver (~VND 500,000/day/4-seat car, not including tip for driver).

Tuyệt Tình Cốc - this location is suitable for those who love to explore the lake which is known as a jade surrounded by hills, luxuriant trees.

It is located 18 kilometers away from Bao Loc downtown. Heading to Dambri District, at the Dambri roundabout, continuing southeast way to Loc Tan (Bao Lam District), right at Cau Tre factory, keep going about 10 kilometers, then follow the sign of Đập Chính (the Main Dam), you will see the beautiful lake with natural jade color.    This lake is 20 hectares and a part of Dambri Dam. It also has different name, Lục Kính Hồ (Green Mirror Lake) because of its enchanted green. Moreover, the landscape here is also adorned with huge rocks, making it more charming. At the height of 1000 meters, you can open your view to green tea and coffee fields. 

Nam Phuong Lake - Beautiful view and convenient in transportation, Nam Phuong Lake is only 2 kilometers away from the downtown. 

The lake is surrounded by green and airy grass field.

This is a special spectacle of this lake, known as chocolate filed.

It happens in dry season, soil becomes dry, cracked and makes a scenery that you can see nowhere else. This is also reaffirming my recommendation to go for my hometown during dry season.

Tam Chau Tea Hill

Tam Chau is a famous tea and coffee brand established about 30 years ago in Bao Loc and now well-known over Vietnam. They produce tea and coffee products from the beginning to the end.

In Bao Loc, they have a lot of plantation areas, two special ones are immense tea farms in Dambri District, which are opened for visiting and only 10 kilometers from Bao Loc. From the hill, you can view the whole area of green tea, blue sky and white clouds and can listen to the whispering of the winds.

Linh Quy Phap An Temple

This is a hilltop temple; from its yard you will have an overlooking scenic rural panoramas.

From Bao Loc, take Highway 20 to Highway 55 and keep following Google map and signs, you will reach the Temple after about 40-50 minutes.

Note that the Temple is only reachable by motorbike or even on foot for more interesting moment by enjoying gorgeous scenic and feeling mountains, trees and local people.

This place is a Buddhist temple, so you are supposed to dress properly and behave yourself when you are here.

EATING & DRINKING

Just like many other destinations in Vietnam, street food is a daily pleasure while travelling. My home town is not famous for any special dish which is invented by ourselves, like Bun Bo Hue in Hue, Da Nang with its own My Quang or Hanoi with Pho Ga. Bao Loc people are mostly immigrants from the North or Central of Vietnam, so our food is influenced by others. Basically, we localize others’ food, I can tell. As below, I list out several dishes that are worth your try and enough for your weekend trip there.

Banh cuon - Vietnamese Steamed Rice Roll

For your breakfast, you can try Banh cuon. The shop is located near old market, at a small alley on Phan Boi Chau street (behind Trung Vuong Primary school). It is opened for breakfast only (from 6AM to 9AM). It will cost you VND 15,000 - VND 20,000 per person, depend on what you order. One tip here, if you don’t know what to order, just take a special one, it is supposed to be the signature of the shop.

Nem nuong - Vietnamese Grilled Pork Sausages rolled with rice cake

Address: 28 Pham Ngu Lao Str., 5 minutes walking from Quang Trung High school or Bao Loc Hospital)

Price: VND 25,000 - 30,000/person. The Nem Nuong is from Nha Trang originally, people brought it to my town and made it a bit different. We have Nem Nuong rolled in a rice cake with different kinds of vegetable and deep-fried rice cake

Banh beo - Waterfern Cake (a dish from Hue - Central of Vietnam)

Location: 2/4 Be Van Dan Str., - in a small alley next to Bao Loc Church. 

The shop has been there for so long, since I was in my kindergarten. The shop is famous for Banh beo, Red Bean sweet soup, mung bean sweet soup, coconut jelly, Vietnamese ham and also homemade yogurt. Price is about VND 10,000 to VND 20,000.

Banh Trang Mam Ruoc - Grilled Rice Cake with special shrimp sauce

If you have been in Da Lat before, you may know Banh Trang Nuong, it is called Vietnamese pizza. Yet in Bao Loc, Banh Trang Nuong is a bit different. In Da Lat, rice cake is covered with quail eggs, dry shrimp and seasoning it. Yet in my town, rice cake is glazed by special shrimp sauce, green onion and grill until it is crunchy.

Banh Trang Mam Ruoc is available at a shop next to Hoai Pho cafe, nearby Bao Loc People’s Committee, open from 5PM to 10PM every day.

All of friends visiting my place, I took them here for the first night and most of them liking it a lot. I would recommend you try one normal and one with chili. It is only VND 5,000 each. Hot soya milk is available at the central park opposite this place. Hot soya milk and Banh Trang Mam Ruoc is a good combination.

It is also my proud showing everyone the 2 beautiful parks in front of The People’s Committee. My father designed those two, very first parks of the town.

Pho kho Hao Ky – Dry Pho

73 Nguyen Cong Tru Str., Ward 2. It is opened from 6AM to 9PM daily. The restaurant it always crowded in the morning. You better get there early by 7AM to get seats. A small bowl is VND 35,000 and large one is VND 50,000.

This is also known as Pho 2 bowls, because it comes with a bowl of dry Pho and another bowl of soup.

Oc Heo – Steamed  Pig Brain

The shop is at 23 Le Thi Hong Gam Str., quite popular with the dish of steamed pig brain. This is one of my most favorite dish.

They open at 3PM and steamed pig brain is usually sold out of by 5PM.

Che Ha Nghi - Ha Nghi sweet soup shop

425D Tran Phu Str., Bao Loc.

One of the my most favorite here is Tau Hu Da. It is sweet tofu served with shaved ice and coconut milk.

There are some other Vietnamese sweet soups that you can try, such as taro, mung beans, red beans sweet soup. I usually spend approximate VND 20,000 – 30,000/person here. 

Duy Long Cafe

Address: 10 Tran Quoc Toan Str., Bao Loc.

Café Duy Long is one of the first coffee shop in my home town back 30 years ago. Their coffee is pretty good. Its homemade ice cream cannot be comparable to recognized-brand ones in Saigon, but it is special to us, local people.

The cafe is in the family’s front garden. Spend some time and have a coffee there, enjoys some happy moments with a typical Vietnamese family where three generations (grand parents, parents and grandchilds) are living together

Coming to budget matters, as far as my experiences, lodging is the costliest part for every trip. However, it costs you only approximate VND 500,000 for 2 days and 1 night in this quiet town. Transportation is about VND 600,000, including 400,000 round-trip ticket and 200,000 for motorbike renting and fuel. Food costs approximate VND 400,000 – 500,000. To sum up, not even VND 2,000,000 is already enough for a trip to a cool and quiet place which is only 4 hours away from Saigon.

[jaclynnicole-blog]

CALI TRIP 2018

So after the craziness of living in a rental all Summer 2017 into beginning of Fall, then staying with my sister and her husband in Orlando until October when our new house was ready to move into. For those of you that actually read my blog, you would know most of my California trips take place around September, but this was all postponed. By the time we moved in and got settled it was the Holiday season and I knew I wouldn’t be able to visit then...But I had an idea of when a good time to go was right after the Holidays...I booked my trip (In October) for my annual week trip to California for end of January 2018! Perfect to start off the New Year! 

Now my plans for my trip was the usual Photoshoots for my online magazine with my friend and photographer Ken...BUT I had to also work my trip around attending my favorite Talk Show “The Real”! The one thing I knew for sure was I was planning to attend the show at least two days in a row. Everything else time wise was planned kind of last minute with talents and availability. 

DAY 1: MONDAY, JANUARY 22ND 2018

As my trip started getting closer I got more and more prepared and everything started coming together! I was so excited to get back out there with kind of skipping a year I was so ready! Getting up at 4:30am was so worth it all! My dad and I headed to the airport around 5:30am. We got there just in time to grab a quick bite (Yay for Chick-Fil-A!). Went through security and made it onto my flight (One of the last ones! LOL!). My flight and times always seem to be the same exact flights so flight left Tampa airport around 7:20am. As soon as we took off started by keeping busy with music and reading the beginning of my book (The Hunger Games, yes I am little behind!). A few hours in I decided to start watching a movie, “Gifted”. Was a great movie I had wanted to see for awhile (Thanks Delta!). Tried to rest my eyes but definitely couldn’t fall asleep knowing the week full of plans! 5 hours later we landed at LAX! Walking off the plane I felt super excited for everything to come! I picked up my luggage at baggage claim and made myself comfortable in one of the chairs in the airport for a bit. It was around 10am so I had a bit of time to kill before my friend was going to pick me up from the airport. Around 10:30am I headed to the restroom to change into my Rising Talent Magazine Shirt and refresh before heading out as I had something super amazing and a special opportunity that literally had come up the night before my trip! As I got myself together, I reflected back to my 2016 trip to Cali and other trips each has been so different and this one was going to be just as unique and fun! So around 11:30am I got picked up and we headed to our first destination on location for a very special meeting with an young and upcoming Actress Mackenzie Hancsicsak,who many would recognize as “Young Kate” on the NBC Hit Series “This Is Us”! Yes, we were headed to their on location set! We got to our location a little after Noon...We ended up heading to eat lunch in the local mall before meeting. Mackenzie and her mom were willing to meet us in between during lunch hour so we although we didn’t have much time we fit in as much as we could in a short amount of time. Walking up into the trailer meeting Mackenzie and her mom was a special moment. I started out interviewing Mackenzie right in her trailer coming up with questions in my head. We then headed outside to snap a few photos of Mackenize for the cover. Many trailers around set we used it as a Behind the Scenes look and went with it. Walking around us were some of the other young talented actors from set, Lonnie Chavis and Parker Bates. We said hello and introduced ourselves in between our photoshoot. After we finished, we ended up talking with Mackenzie’s mom for a bit before leaving after 2pm. We headed to my friend’s house for the night to get ready for the long days ahead and went from there. Just relaxing for the night, I got prepared and confirmed everything and plans for the next day.

DAY 2: TUESDAY, JANUARY 23RD 2018

Well, part of this day and the next deserve its own blog post so I won’t go into too much detail here... Although I didn’t have to be in LA until 10:30am. We still left pretty early to be prepared for traffic etc. Couldn’t be late to what I had most anticipated 2016 trip, this trip and probably for every trip for now on. I was able to get tickets to my favorite talk show The Real. More details in my next blog post about the show itself and my experience at the show a 3rd and 4th time. After the show I had a planned Photoshoot with two young talents and at an outside location Grififth Park and the Travel Town Museum. Wasn’t too far from The Warner Brothers Lot that I was at for the talk show, so it worked out perfect. After 3pm we had set to meet. I was meeting Actress Shae Smolik who has been part of many movies among other projects and Singer Kacey FiField. We started out by taking photos and behind the scenes footage at The Travel Town Museum which had many trains and scenery that was perfect and different for my magazine. We then headed not far off to Griffifth Park for a few more photos and to film the interviess. Was super fun and loved meeting a few of the talents that I had been corresponding with for awhile online. Shae had recently taken over my Instagram to go behind the scenes of a movie she was filming on her last day with the movie. So when we finished it up was around 5pm and we headed back to my photographer and friend’s house and headed out to dinner with his wife and family. Was a long day but we made it work and I was super excited for another very jam packed day the next day, Wednesday. 

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24TH 2018 

So this day was pretty similar to my Tuesday although it was kind of flipped, LOL! We started with Photoshoots at around 9am so we getting up at 6am was a must to make it out to LA at the right time. We were headed to the LA Skyline area for a few photos with a different a feel to them than we usually take. I again had set up two young talents at the same time. One was a talented Dancer Bella who I had come to know through Instagram. I had promised her next time I had come out to California I would meet up with her for some photos. The other young talent was Actress Scarlett Fernandez who is well known from ABC’s Soap Opera “:General Hospital”. I was super excited to meet Scarlette being I have watched GH since I was a teen and love Scarlett’s character. My photographer and I had grabbed a hot coffee before our long morning and met up with the young talents starting out with the interviews. Bella was first then came Scarlett. We then headed over to the LA Bride and Skyline to start taking photos for the feature. I had to finish before Noon to make it over to the Warner Brothers Lot for me to attend Day 2 of my favorite talk show, The Real. I would have gone everyday if I could but couldn’t make it happen. We said our goodbyes and I headed to Burbank to the studio . I was super excited to attend the talk show again I don’t even think I ate much LOL! Again, I will elaborate more about my second day attending The Real in its own blog post I promise as soon as I finish this one! Once I got out of the show it was pretty late and we headed back to my friend’s house. We two headed out for a quick bite and took in everything that had happened the past 3 days. I couldn’t believe it was Wednesday. Half way through the week already. Time definitely flies when you are keeping busy and having fun. When we got back to the house, I was actually relieved the next two days was just more relaxing for me and to prepare for the busy weekend planned before I left the next Monday. 

DAY 4: THURSDAY, JANUARY 25TH 2018

So I definitely tried to sleep in knowing I had no plans but I couldn’t help to think my trip was half done with already. I actually took the time to go through the photos from the Photoshoots we had done so far during the week by organizing and editing some on my own. Took half a day to organize it all but I felt much better afterwards. I then did some catching up on some of my daily shows like yes, the talk show I attended, The Real. But first I had to watch a full day of my Soap Opera, General Hospital. I knew I would feel much better knowing when I got home I wouldn’t have to sit and watch a week’s worth of two different shows from being away. 

DAY 5: FRIDAY, JANUARY 26TH 2018

So again Rest Day 2 was definitely more relaxing. I set aside the whole day to catch up on my talk show, The Real. I even made it to that present day episode which happened to be one of the ones they filmed that I attended earlier in the week (More about that in my next blog post). I couldn’t help but to look back to earlier in the week when I attended that episode and smile. I deifnitely appreciated my two days of relaxation as my 2014 trip I ended up catching a bad cold and wasn’t up for much. I felt this was much needed and a way to clear my head from the rush of everything all week. I prepared for the next day knowing we had a ton of shoots planned a a new studio Saturday. 

DAY 6: SATURDAY, JANUARY 27TH 2018

Our plans for the day consisted of four Photoshoots at a local studio. The talents weren’t set to show up until around Noon. We headed to the studio to get there around 11am to start setting up as we had each shoot planned with a theme. My friend and Photographer was super excited to use his Bentley for a few shoots and was the first thing we got in place (Of course we drove it there!). As he was setting up around 11:30am my first talent showed up, Kirsten Denina, a young Dancer who had won a contest I held through Instagram over a year ago. It was so great to FINALLY meet her! She came all the way from Vegas and was so patient in waiting for me to come out to California so I can meet her. She brought her winning item which was a Diva Dolly Light Up Makeup Case from an awesome company I have been collaborating with for a few years now. When Kirsten got there we started right away with her interview and she had even worn her Rising Talent Magazine Shirt she purchased last year from me. Once interview was finished, and we had set up for some basic shots in front of a white background, Kirsten was ready. Around 12:30pm the next talent showed up, Actress Ava Cantrell who I had been corresponding with her and her mom for a few years now. She showed up early to prepare for the shoot. Kirsten started her photos around 1pm and we would switch in and out with Kirsten and Ava. I slipped in an interview with Ava before she headed for some more photos. Around 1:30pm, Dancer Tiana Heaton had shown up for her 2pm slot. I had been talk with Tiana and her mom through Instagram for over a year through a project I had her do for my magazine, so it was super great to finally meet her in person as well! She too had a Rising Talent Shirt so she slipped it on to start with. I filmed her interview in the shirt, and then we headed over the background to do a few photos with the RTM Shirt and Tiana. In between we were working with Kirsten and Ava as well. In between all of this, last minute I was able to get Scarlett Fernandez and her mom to stop by for a few quick studio shots, since most were done in the sun and outside the first day. I am so glad Scarlett was able to make it to the studio (the studio photos came out gorgeous!) Soon after, a very talented Singer and our last talent set to come showed up Ruby Jay. Now Ruby and her mom had made plans to meet during my 2016 trip to California but it hadn’t worked out, so here we were making it work this trip! We got right into photos with Ruby and once finished we topped it off with an interview and a little bit of singing from Ruby. Did I mention each talent had at least two outfits they took photos in? Since Ava and Ruby were introduced to each other had become friends and Ava happened to still be there we all decided to head to a late dinner. We all decide don Lazy Dog a place I had gone to my last trip following another shoot. We all chatted and hung out for hours probably from 5pm to after 8pm. After making our way outside, we talked for a bit longer and ended up not heading home until after 8:30/9pm. By the time we got home, I think I would say the longest days of my trip we were beat. Many photoshoots in such a short amount of time. Realizing I only had one more full day left of my trip to California I was trying to stay positive and keep my mind off heading home. 

DAY 7: SUNDAY, JANUARY 28TH 2018

So this Sunday was something that came up last minute as well but I was super determined to meet two talented kids that I had been following on Instagram for a few years now. Kelei who had worked on a dance project for my magazine had recently moved out to Californiai, so I was super excited to work something out with her! Dancer Kylee Paige another young adorably talented dancer who I had also promised I would get together with for some photos the next time I came out. Before our scheduled time to meet both of them, around 1pm...My photographer and I met up with a talent and Actress Casey Burke well known from ABC’s “The Middle” for a little Mexican Lunch at a place I had been to my last visit. Super fun to get to know Casey who had done a few studio photos with my photographer but I definitely wanted to meet up to feature her on the cover, so we made it work after over a year of waiting LOL! So three more photoshoots to end my last day in California. At 1pm, we met up at my photographer’s work place for some awesome photos on some train tracks with all three of them. I started with Casey doing an interview right in the conference room. Then came the two girls and we took a few fun photos for memories and then headed out to start the photoshoots. I think it was around 3 or 4pm we finished with the shoot and I went back in to finish up the interviews with the two young talents. Once we said our goodbyes, it was time to head back home. Once we got back to the house, I immediately started to organize the rest of the photos from the last few days onto my flash drive and edit what I could. around 7pm we headed back out to pick up what I just had to have before leaving California, can you guess it? In N Out! YES! Couldn’t leave without it! Came back to the house, only to still work on the photos. I love looking through what went on throughout the week and all the amazing work my photographer and friend does to help me out. We always have so much fun and take in every opportunity we can. I think it was already around 10 or 11pm when I finally finished with what I felt I needed to do before leaving the next day. 

DAY 8: MONDAY, JANUARY 29TH 2018

Although my flight wasn’t until 10:30am, I again had to leave pretty early around 7:30am. I arrived at the airport a little before 9am. I printed out my boarding pass, turned in my luggage, went through security and then looked to grab some food. I am not really a breakfast person, so I grabbed a sandwich and headed to the seating area where they board. I was all set to go home, but truly did not want to leave. How fast my trip went by was probably the craziest part. Getting on the plan to get my mind off heading home, I quickly turned on a movie, “Home Again”. I think little by little I started tearing up because I knew this trip was over. Reflecting back each of my trips out to California have been super different but each one also has been really special in their own way. Every time I got to book my flight for my next trip out to California, I always feel unprepared, but as I get closer to the date everything always seems to work itself out. Trying to make plans with talent ahead of time isn’t always the easiest schedule wise but again things always seem to work out in the end. I even have a few talents set up for my next trip (Cross your fingers it all works out!)! Landing and meeting my dad at the Tampa airport I was super quiet, tired, overwhelmed. When I got home, I immediately unpacked and tried to catch up on a few shows before heading to bed. 

*BE SURE TO READ MY NEXT BLOG POST ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE BEING BACK AT MY FAVORITE TALK SHOW THE REAL!*