#benedict would ask for a korean name too

[hayerins]

pov: sophie baek-bridgerton's instagram profile

proud mama of charles eunchan baek-bridgerton, alexander eunwoo baek-bridgerton, william eunho baek-bridgerton and violet eunsol baek-bridgerton

99.9% kids and 0.1% benophie solo pics

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Curtain Story: The super serious, dark, dramatic and heroic rivalry of Miles Bridgerton and Charles Bridgerton

by @orangepeelshortbreadcookies

Chapter 3 -  4.4 / 3.9 - A few days later

Ratings: General

Word count: 1,519

Chapter summary:   Our heroes reach an understanding. A third power is revealed. The subtle art of espionage is up for discussion.

To the surprise of no one, Miles receives a good talking to from both of his parents. By the time they return to London, Charlie still refuses to speak to him.

For some reason, this bothers Miles. He has never been at the receiving end of a cold shoulder. But then he has never caused a catastrophe of such epic proportions before. He never had to.

He also misses Charlie. He misses playing with him, arguing with him, even fighting with him. But Miles is not aware of this fact. And if he did, there is no way he would ever admit it to anybody.

So Miles is left to grow increasingly restless, befuddled with his complicated and “very adult” emotions, as he tries in vain to get a reaction out of Charlie. To be more accurate, as the memory term at his age is still short for the most part, the boy always perks up when Miles manages to catch his attention. But he will take one look at Miles’s face, reminded that he is still mad at his cousin, then merrily returns to ignore him again.

Edmund suggests. “You should apologise.” and Miles will have laughed in his brother’s face if he isn’t so annoyed. What a ridiculous notion. He never apologises. If Charlie can hold a grudge, he can hold a grudge. He can hold a grudge better than anybody.

After one day, Miles gives up. He is at the end of his rope and he thinks he should act like it now.

So he tugs on the sleeve of his Amma’s blouse with his most penitent expression, enlists Edmund, and asks them for help.

A few hours later, Amma stands with him in front of Uncle Benedict’s and Auntie Sophie’s apartment, a box of goodies in his hands and a toy in his rucksack.

Auntie Sophie sees him at the door, and suddenly Miles is reminded of his original objective. Balloons! What’s to become of his seat on her spaceship now? What if she never takes him on after what he did to Charlie? 

Miles carefully watches her face. She’s smiling. That’s a good sign. Maybe he can still manage to persuade her. He just needs to persuade Charlie first.

Before Miles loses all of his nerves, he feels Amma’s encouraging hand on his back. So he smiles and shows Auntie Sophie his dimples. But they are apologetic dimples now.

“Hello Auntie Sophie! This is Miles.” For no reason at all, he has the need to announce himself, suddenly growing self-conscious. What if she mistakes him with Edmund? Miles knows he is way cuter than Edmund, but still. “I am here to see Charlie.”

“Hello Miles.” Sophie’s smile grows wider. “Seong-Ho is inside.” She is probably the only one who calls Charlie by his Korean name. Benedict does too, but not nearly as often. “I’ll take you to him.”

In the nursery, Charlie is playing by himself. An intricate train set is spread in front of him. As he pushes the train down the track, mouth making what might be train sounds, Miles takes in the sight. There is everything lying about the set, locomotives, shuttles, houses, figurines, the likes of which he has never seen and Miles is briefly distracted by the toys. Then he remembers what he comes here for and feels embarrassed. Cheeks flushing, he clears his throat the way Dad does sometimes.

Charlie perks up. Realising who it is at the door, his face quickly morphs into a frown. Surprised by seeing Miles in his home, the younger child doesn’t quite know what to do. So he stops playing, crossing his arms over his chest, and squeezing his eyes shut so he doesn’t have to look at him.

“Charlie.” Miles says hesitantly. “May I come in?”

No answer. Charlie still sits there, as motionless as a young child can be. He concentrates his entire body into keeping his eyes shut.

It’s not exactly a welcome, but not a no either. Miles steps tentatively into the room.

What to say, what to say? Ah, “My Amma made laddoos. They are very yummy.”

No answer.

“She put coconut and mango in there too. I promise, they taste very good.”

Still no answer, but there is a change. Charlie’s eyebrows relax from their furrow, and his eyelids flutter.

Miles bites his lip in pain. To atone for a serious crime, it demands a heavy sacrifice to balance the scale. He sets the box of laddoos down on the mat in front of Charlie and opens it before finally conceding. 

 “You can have the biggest ones in here.”

Charlie’s nose sniffs once, twice, in the same manner Sophie’s does, taking in the sweet caramel-like aroma. He opens one eye to peek at the treats then quickly closes it again, repeatedly as he tries to reach for the shiny golden spheres blindly, but still wanting to make sure he gets the biggest one.

Miles watches hopefully as Charlie takes a bite of the laddoo. He manages to close his eyes when he remembers to, but it seems he is further and further distracted from that task.

“It’s yummy, right?” Miles asks through a mouthful. He has his own laddoo in his hand.

Eyes closed, but rather half-heartedly so, Charlie nods, taking another bite.

Reminded that he also brings something else, Miles announces excitedly.

“I also brought you this.” He shuffles in his bag and pulls out a shiny, red toy helicopter. “You can have it.” He grins. “It is my favourite toy.” Third favourite. His actual favourite is the Space Shuttle Mission Lego set, but as Edmund has tried to make him give away his second favourite, the Planetarium Projector, Miles has managed to haggle with him down from that to the helicopter.

Eyes fully open now, Charlie takes the toy and inspects it attentively from top to bottom. Deeming the offering acceptable, he stands up, still holding it in his hand as he tells Miles.

“Come with. I show you The Baby.”

The Baby is an actual baby. Charlie’s little brother, Alex, who is only 8 months old. He is set up in a crib next to their parents’ bed, and not in the nursery. Right now, he is sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the two bigger boys’ curious gazes on him as they lean over the guard rail. Especially Miles’s. 

Turns out Charlie is not the youngest. Strangely, the knowledge makes Miles feel a little better.

“Is he dead?” He whispers the question, as Charlie has asked him to keep quiet.

“No.” Whispers Charlie back. “He is just sleeping.”

“Does he sleep a lot?”

“Yeah. He slept even more when he was smaller.”

“How can he be even smaller? He’s already so tiny.”

“I don’t know. Dad said I was just that small, too, long ago. He showed me pictures. There is one of Eomma with a big belly and he said I was inside it. He said Alex was inside it too. But I don’t remember that ever happening.”

“Right. I would remember being in my Amma’s belly.” Then Miles realises something. “You think that is actually his cover story?”

“Cover story? Like bedtime stories?”

“No.” Miles shakes his head, feeling very sagely indeed to bestow on this small child a part of his boundless wisdom. “A cover story is a story that they put a blanket on so people don’t know what’s the story under the blanket.”

Charlie nods.

“Do you understand it now?” Smugly, Miles asks him.

“No.”

Giving up on that particular subject, they continue watching the baby.

“Why does he sleep so much?” wonders Miles.

“I don’t know. Maybe he is bored.” Charlie suggests.

“How can he be bored? There is so much to do.” Then he has an excellent idea. “Bring him with you next time you go to Kent. He won’t be bored there.”

The younger child shakes his head.

“He can’t go to Kent. Not yet. Eomma says he can go when he is bigger. But he does that very slowly sometimes.”

“How slow?”

“He can’t talk or walk yet. He can sit up now but not for very long.”

“Oh. Then no wonder he is bored.” His eyebrows draw together. “What does he even do besides sleeping?”

Charlie smiles. Something like pride radiates from him.

“Sometimes I sit on the couch and hold him. He is very soft and warm. Eomma and Dad are happy. I feel strong. He is funny like that.”

Miles wants to test that theory. He plops down onto the soft plush carpet and pokes his hand through a gap in the wooden frame to touch The Baby. He reaches one of Alex’s round fists. It is all small and warm and squishy. The hand opens up slowly and catches Miles’s finger in a tight hold. The Baby is funny.

“Hey Miles.” 

“Yeah?”

“If a cover story is when they put a blanket on it.” Charlie pauses, trying to articulate the question. “So when you hide under the curtain to draw on your face… does that make it a curtain story?”

[thegoodhausfrau]

Tagged on 21 Questions

By @syrenoftheseas I love these too. Thank you! 💖

1. Nickname: I don't have any really. The occasional pet name happens but mostly it's just my whole name which makes me feel like I've done something wrong and I'm being scolded. But that could possibly be because I'm probably actually being scolded.

2. Real name: Super secret.

3. Zodiac: Pisces but Aquarius-Pisces cusp which makes all the difference when you're reading the horoscopes and shiz.

4. Height: 5'6" when soft, 5'8" when fully erect

5. What Time Is It? 4:50 pm

6. Favorite Musician/Group: Too hard but I'll pick five groups I listen to daily- Machine Head, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Sheer Mag

7. Favorite Sports Team: The Corporation or the Ministry Of Darkness...or I could just say the Corporate Ministry.

8. Other Blogs: I have a harem of blogs. Primary two are this one and a Counting Crows lyric that nobody gets the reference. I quietly just exist on that blog, reblogging from mutuals and seeing if they notice it's me.

9. Do I Get Asks?: I do. But they're not consistent. So many fake friends abound here. Everybody wants to be a boy/girlfriend but they don't know how to do that last part.

10. How Many Blogs Do I Follow?: 100

11. Any Tumblr Crushes?: YES.

12. Lucky Number: 3

14. What am I wearing right now?: Work clothes but when I'm off in an hour I'll be in a pretty dress and heading out for a group night.

15. Dream Vacation: A month in Japan. Or 2 months in NYC.

16. Dream Car: The sleigh from The Santa Clause with reindeer power steering and a hot chocolate dispenser.

17. Favorite Food: Oh noooooo. I'm even worse at this than I am with the fave music. Steaks, pizza, ramen, sashimi, loaded hot dogs, eggs benedict, ice cream, brownies, Korean BBQ, Texas BBQ, Memphis BBQ, Kansas City BBQ, you really can't expect me to say just one. Madness.

18. Drink of Choice: 9 out of 10 times it's ice cold water. But booze I want anything tropical with rum like a mojito or pina colada.

19. Languages: English, some French and a bit of Spanish.

20. Instruments: Middle school level percussionist- snare and bass drums, cymbals, triangle, and the xylophone. I was the only one in that section for a while so I had to be pretty good or maybe the band just sounded THAT bad.

21. Celebrity Crushes: My brain doesn't work like that so I don't have one. I'd let Stanley Tucci make me some Italian food though. Would also let Ina Garten adopt me and Erin Jeanne McDowell bake all the pies for me. Salt Bae, Gordon Ramsay, and Sean Brock can also feed me. If I had a time machine Bourdain (that morning after egg breakfast alone was like PLEASE) and Julie Child would be cozied up to.

Random Fact: I have never ridden a mechanical bull but I have ridden an elephant multiple times. Probably even more times than I have ridden a pony. I don't like ponies. Bam, three facts.

Tagging @revrendoni @spacebabepeach @nakedinasnowsuit @mariabbw @fuckin-stevedave @jplovecraft @likealimestonecowboy @prettyplumpkitty because I too am nosy.

[purplesurveys]

623

Do you actually think it's gross to talk about body functions? No, I’ve always thought it’s something that should be normalized. They’re just stuff that has to do with the body, it’s a natural thing. Would you rather sleep (zzz) alone or next to your SO? Sleeping with my girlfriend is always nicer. I wake up a couple times because she tends to put her head over mine or her legs over my entire body, but the sleep is just infinitely better. I’m more likely to sleep in, too. Are you trying to forget about something? Yes, actually. Thank you for being considerate. Have you ever sent a love letter? I don’t know what counts as a ~love letter, but I have handwritten several letters for my girlfriend over the years. When you look up at the sky do you ever NOT see a plane or vapor trail? Yes. Planes only come by every few hours where I live. They’d cross a lot more often in urban cities like Taguig or Pasay, which are right beside an airport.

Have you dated someone of another race? No. Probably worth nothing Gab is part Turkish but nevertheless, she identifies as Filipino.   Do you wear any shoes with holes because you can't give them up? Not for that reason, but yeah I’ve done this. When I first started college, was horribly depressed, and didn’t care about my wardrobe just yet, I used to wear my super worn-out white Keds – the soles came off every time I took a step – because they were my only pair of sneakers and I didn’t care enough to get a new pair. When you go out to breakfast, what do you order? I never really get to do that because as a night owl, I hate going out for food too early in the day; but when my family does want to go out to get breakfast I like getting an Eggs Benedict. If we’re someplace simpler, I’m just as happy with pancakes with chocolate chips topped with whipped cream and peanut butter. Have you ever had a job that required a uniform? No. My internship company wasn’t strict and just asked me to report to work in smart casual. What's the best compliment you've gotten from a boss/teacher? I didn’t want to read my internship supervisor’s evaluation of me after I finished my stint but I got tempted to and felt great after – I don’t remember the exact words but basically she said she was astounded that I worked as well as I did for my age. That’s always nice to hear. As for high school, I was a bit of a headache for all my teachers so I never really got to hear compliments from any of them, which I deserve anyway. What's a weird or interesting nickname you gave someone? Does a dog count? :(( We’d sometimes call my dog Kimi ‘Kimi Chameleon’ inspired by the song Karma Chameleon. I’d occasionally call him Kimchi too. Is there a phrase or mantra you repeat when you are frightened? I’m not really sold on the idea of relying on a mantra when I’m in a stressful situation, because I don’t like the possibility of it disappointing me if I end up not getting what I want or if things don’t go my way. What are you most envious of? People born with loads of privilege. I won’t deny that I do have it myself especially in the Philippine context, but there’ll always be people who are one tier higher on this kind of tower, and I hate that. Do you have a friend with a habit that worries you? Tina is a workaholic and will literally forget to eat for 24 hours straight just trying to get a task done, and that is very worrisome. Would you rather have coffee, cocoa, tea, or soda? I have had had two cups of coffee today and zero water, so water would technically be the best option right now hahaha but it’s not in this set so I’ll go for the second best pick – cocoa. When you walk into your best friend's room, what do you smell? It smells like a clean bedroom with clean, fresh bedsheets. What can I say, their house helper keeps it very clean haha. Have you ever purposely broken something that belonged to a sibling? Nah, I’ve never been that spiteful even as a kid. Do you have any hipster friends? That’s not a term these days anymore but Gabie used to be a FULL-ON hipster. Everything about her four years ago just screamed it. Have you ever worked at the same place as your best friend? No. Do you like to visit famous people's homes? I mean I’ve never done it. Do you take days off from shaving when you can get away with it? Yesssssssss it can be so much work, so I like days where I can skip it. What color do you see when you shut your eyes tight? Just black. How would you react if you found out your crush had a terminal disease? Drive over to their house right now, cry a lot, and stay with them all night. Has anyone ever baked you cookies? Our house helper used to bake me cookies everyday when I’d get home from school back when I was in elementary. At one point they discontinued whatever cookie mix it was that my mom would buy and that was the end of the cookie-baking as we knew it. Such a shame tbh because that mix was so delicious :( What's the lamest present you've ever given? I’d never call any present I get lame. If someone got me a gift, that’s enough for me. Would you rather eat free hotdogs or pizza you pay for yourself? Pay for pizza. I feel like I’d get tired of hotdogs eventually, especally because it isn’t even one of my favorite food. Do you ever wear socks with holes in them? No, cos none of the socks I own have them. Is there anything hanging on your bathroom walls? Not hanging, but either taped or sticky-tacked. If your SO agreed, would you want an open relationship? Never. Have you ever slept with three people in the same bed? When? Why? Yes. It was my 18th birthday, I spent it with close friends (at the time) at the Marco Polo, and we shared a bed because it’d be impossible to ask for like, six separate beds for one hotel room. Does your family regularly eat sit down meals together? Only when my dad is home. When it’s just my mom and us, we can go with eating separately. Which is a little sad, but that’s that. Who would you like to slow dance with? To what song? Gab. I’ve always found the song Turning Page by Sleeping At Last to be so moving, so maybe that. What's your favorite pet name someone calls you? Meh, I’m pretty basic. I get called baby, I respond positively lmao. If you could talk to one species of animal what woud it be? Dog. It’d be nice to know what mine thinks about on a daily basis, haha. What's the largest animal you've ever seen in person? Probably an elephant. Have you ever used the change counting machine at a store or mall? No, we don’t have that here and had absolutely no idea that those were a thing. The first time I ever learned about them was in Ellen Degeneres’ video of her and Michelle Obama going to like a Target or something, and I was so AMAZED. That must be so convenient. Would you give mouth to mouth to your dog to save its life? Yes. If you came with a warning label, what would it say? ‘Will probably ask to have some of your food’ Hahaha AT LEAST I ASK Have you ever tried to learn a language on your own? Yes. I honestly cannot tell you how many times I’ve downloaded-deleted-downloaded Duolingo to learn Spanish and Korean. Where do you keep your change at home? I don’t keep change at home, everything’s just in my wallet. Have you ever had a pet destroy something valuable or important? It wasn’t very important but he did gnaw at my old radio’s cord. When I was in fifth grade I was very attached to my radio and him chewing at the cord was when I had to say bye to the radio. I wasn’t too devastated about it after, but I was still a little bummed of course. What's the best burger EVER? Pound’s Amsterdam Burger slaps harrrrrd. Did you ever show up late for an important event? Gab and I arrived embarrassingly late at a friend’s debut a couple of years ago. Our table definitely earned the right to give us death glares when we had finally arrived.

[marzelsoto]

Mr Marzel’s Classroom (Year 3)

Student Teacher: @simba-lyons​

Name: Allison Devine Gender: Female Ethnicity: White Birthday: January 28, 2011 Native: No Magick: Yes, ability to levitate small items Bio: The older twin. Definitely the Boss. Tries to boss everyone around, but means well by it. Will be one of those kids who always wants to play house and she’s the “mommy” and she has to take care of everyone. Super protective over her twin sister, but also the one who fights with her the most.

Name: Madison Devine Gender: Female Ethnicity: White Birthday:January 28, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: The younger twin. Rambunctious but very studious. She really likes science! Asks a ton of questions! Cannot sit still! Gets in trouble a lot for interrupting because she’s talking to her friends. Is BFFs with Taslima. Their mother’s are friends, so they all grew up together. Has diagnosed ADHD.

Name:Taslima Browne Gender: Female Ethnicity: Bengali Birthday: March 11, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Very sweet, very social. Her mother is a medium, so she always has weird stories about ghosts that she brings to class and freaks out the other kids with sometimes. Has to be told not to tell the other children about the ghost she’d met that was decapitated the other day. Her family is on the poorer end of the spectrum--ie, she gets free school lunches.

Name: Jae Lugo Gender: Male Ethnicity: Korean Birthday: June 30, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: Yes, ability to change hair colour at will Bio: Very shy, very studious. Also asks a lot of questions, but only when he really doesn’t understand something. Needs to be reminded to talk in English sometimes, even though he speaks it fluently. Has two dads! They’re great! His daddy works for InterPride and his papa works at PrideU as a professor.

Name: Aman Hayes Gender: Male Ethnicity: Middle Eastern (Muslim) Birthday: October 27, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: His father has water manipulation powers, which is why they fled from Saudi Arabia. He doesn’t have any powers, but he is very Pro-Magick. Will kick butt. Gets in trouble for starting fights a lot. Likes to pick on the shier kids. When he teams up with Jeffery, they can be down right nasty to the other kids.

Name: Najma Gough Gender: Female Ethnicity: Middle Eastern (Muslim) Birthday: September 1, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Just the sweetest. Always wants to sit next to the teachers and hang out with them, even during recess. Gets picked on by some of the other girls for wearing her hijab but the class has been working on their manners. Really likes history and reading!

Name: Zinni Greenwood Gender: Male Ethnicity: White (Fairy) Birthday: August 4, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: Yes, garden talent fairy Bio: From the Hollow! His parents decided it was best that he should go to Mundus school, because they also went to Mundus school for high school. His mum actually works in town in Town Hall in the Parks & Recreation department. He is very proud of being a fairy. Also does not totally have control of his abilities. When he gets really excited he showers pixie dust on accident or his wings sprout and he starts fluttering around the classroom, lol. Zinni and Elodie became fast friends and constantly are the ones bringing sunshine to the class. ** Allergies include mushrooms

 Name: Benedict Curtis Gender: Male Ethnicity: Black Birthday: June 26, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Posh. His family are from a family of lawyers. Secretly a bit anti-Magick, not super anti-Magick but definitely kind of afraid of a lot of it, but his father works at the University, has a lucrative position there so they are staying. Has a very holier than thou attitude. (Think like a little Toulouse in some ways, at least, that’s who he reminds Simba of, lol.) Goes by his full name only, please. Friends with Zakariyah since both of them don’t like their name shortened.

Name: Wilfred Kaufman Gender: Male Ethnicity: White (Jewish) Birthday: July 2, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: BFFs with Benedict, though he is okay with nicknames (generally goes by Wil.) Is a bit of a class clown. Loves a good joke, is always testing his latest ones out on the teachers and other students. Wants to be a stand up comedian like Mr. John Mulaney. (Isn’t really quite that funny yet, but that’s okay, he’s only 7. He’s got the heart for it and that’s what matters.) No one understands how he and Benedict are friends.

 Name: Linda Burn Gender: Female Ethnicity: White Birthday: February 11, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Father is a firefighter who died in a fire a few years after she was born. She’s a bit of a sad, quiet thing. Her mother works as a cashier at the grocers and has to work really hard to make ends meet. Spends her afternoons at the after school program while her mom works late. Loves art, though! She is actually pretty talented and loves to paint. Best friends with Marcos and Mahad.

 Name: Marcos Rodriguez Gender: Male Ethnicity: Latinx Birthday: July 4, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Best friends with Linda and Mahad, because they spend a lot of time at the community center after school programs together. Marcos’ parents are both nurses at the hospital, so they work funky hours. Though, he’s not an artist. Marcos is a music person. He’s so going to be a famous rockstar one day and he definitely acts like it! The leader of what the teachers have dubbed the “Trio”.

 Name: Mahad Schmidt Gender: Male Ethnicity: Middle Eastern Birthday: February 28, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: BFFs with Linda and Marcos. Has two little brothers that he has to take care of after school at the community center. One of his parents is a firefighter (his mom was best friends with Linda’s dad, who died, so they grew up together.) His other mom is a nurse who is best friends with Marcos’ dad. It’s a big ole love fest between these three families. Mahad is the shiest of the trio, but he’s very protective over Linda in particular. Definitely gets bossed around by Marcos a bit, but it is out of love.

 Name: Jaspal Hays Gender: Male Ethnicity: Indian Birthday: June 13, 2011 Native: No Magick: No Bio: The class flirt. Has a million girlfriends (and boyfriends). Cries a lot when he gets “broken” up with. Has to be peeled off of the other kids because he will hug them to suffocation. Just a lovely little boy full of love who wants to share his love. Struggles with English since his parents just moved from India a few years ago. Is a little hesitant of magic, but does his best to embrace it!! He just loves everyone!!

 Name: Jeffery Johns Gender: Male Ethnicity: White Birthday:February 25, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: Yes, ability to glow Bio: Kind of an asshole, but that’s not really his fault. His parents are kind of assholes. His dad travels a lot and is never around and his mum is kind of high-maintenance trophy wife who is more interested in Jeffery’s older sister than she is in him. So, he doesn’t get paid attention to and then acts out in class so...someone pays attention to him. He’s wicked smart, but it doesn’t really show because he’s too busy being a #rebel.  

 Name: Daniaal Hahn Gender: Male Ethnicity: White (Jewish) Birthday:July 13, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Daniaal’s name is never EVER spelled right, as soon as he learned to spell his name when he would introduce himself he would spell his name. To adults it could be very cute, to other kids...well it wasn’t always taken the right way. But Daniaal was never one to be made fun of. He knew what he was about and he had a confidence only a kid could have. So even if he rubbed people the wrong way his strong leadership has made him have some good friendships and if after all that you still try to make fun of him he’s just going to stick his tongue out at you. ** Allergies include peanuts

 Name: Eduard Simpson Gender: Male Ethnicity: White Birthday: December 21, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio:  Eduard’s family has lived in Sywnlake for as long as anyone can remember, he’s an only child but has a very extended family considering his mom is a twin and has two brothers that are twins as well. He’s got at least 5 cousins all around the same age and they almost always hang out after school together. It helps when their parents work long hours either at the hospital or the law firm or InterPride. Only one parent needs the afternoon off to look after all the kids. Because of this he’s constantly wanting to be around multiple people. You’ll rarely find him alone as he says it’s too quiet when that happens.

 Name: Zephaniah Carver Gender: Female Ethnicity: Black Birthday: May 15, 2011 Native: No Magick: Yes, sorcerer -- specialty hasn’t formed Bio: Zephaniah and her father are from Australia, they moved to Sywnlake after a tragic magic accident that caused a few houses to burn down. Their neighborhood quickly turned on the father and daughter, her mother passed when Zephy was 3, It didn’t take long for her father to decide they were moving. He had a close friend that lived in Sywnlake and took the recommendation heading there within the month. Zephy doesn’t really remember the accident or why they had to move but she’s found a best friend in Elodie and the girls do almost everything together.

 Name: Milan Cabrera Gender: Male Ethnicity: White Birthday: July 28, 2010 Native: No Magick: Yes, empath Bio: Milan’s powers developed at a young age, from the moment he could talk he just seemed to be intune with everyone around him. So much so it creeped out his old school in Liverpool. His parents weren’t too sure if he was a Magick but they didn’t want to take a chance on having him grow up in an unsafe environment. He’s recently moved in with his aunt and his parents are trying their best to get jobs in Sywnlake so they can join him.

 Name: Darren Ponce Gender: Male Ethnicity: Black Birthday: June 29, 2010 Native: Yes Magick: No Bio: Darren never goes anywhere without a notepad and a pencil, even during fire drills he’ll grab those things before he even thinks about leaving. No one is allowed to see into this notebook, though a lot of kids are curious. Brought in his dog for Show and Tell, and is always willing to work with whoever he sits with.

 Name: Zak Goddard Gender: Male Ethnicity: White Birthday:May 16, 2011 Native: No Magick: Yes, earth manipulation Bio: Zak is the one that seems like a trouble maker. At least until you look closely. Why? Because this is the boy that will bring in all types of bugs and animals into the classroom without asking for permission. Someone who lost a bird in class one day. He’s super into any lesson that involves getting to try things out and is super hands on. He tends to get bored just reading or during Maths.

 Name: Elodie Regan Gender: Female Ethnicity: White Birthday: November 22, 2010 Native: No Magick: No Bio: Elodie is the girl you never can know what to expect, one week she wore a different colour tutu for every day of the week. One week she wore superhero shirts all day. She’ll take charge in a group and she’s the first to try running off to the monkey bars on the playground. If you’re the new kid she’ll probably drag you over to her friends. Zinnie and Elodie became fast friends and constantly are the ones bringing sunshine to the class.

 Name: Zakariyah Banks Gender: Male Ethnicity: Israeli (Jewish) Birthday: April 21, 2011 Native: Yes Magick: No, Bio: Very quiet in class, second generation Sywnlake. Zakariyah’s parent’s moved here as his mother was a Magick that did not feel safe in their previous community.  Zakariyah’s really REALLY does not like his name shortened. He’s very bright but very scared to raise his hand in class. Friends with Benedict based solely on the fact they both don’t like their names shortened.

[staykids9]

85 Questions

I was tagged by @najaemiq thank youuuu!

rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people

last

1. drink - water

2. phone call - my dad

3. text message - my friend @vxvxznnz

4. song you listened to - Lucky One by EXO

5. time you cried - yesterday because Jae was graduating ASC and Kevin sent that video message

ever

6. dated someone twice? - no

7. kissed someone and regretted it - nope

8. been cheated on - no

9. lost someone special - yes

10. been depressed - yep all the time

11. gotten drunk and thrown up - nope but almost

fave colors

12. BLACK

13. uuh...turquois

14. ehmmm white?

in the last year have you...

15. made new friends - yep

16. fallen out of love - not really

17. laughed until you cried - yes all the time

18. found out someone talking about you - yes

19. met someone who changed you - yes

20. found out who your friends are - YES

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - no

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - I think everyone idk I wasn’t on facebook for quite a long time

23. do you have any pets - yES, 4 dogs

24. do you want to change your name - idk...this may seem funny but I can’t really say my name I have difficulties pronouncing it XD so maybe just because of that...?

25. what did you do for your last birthday - I HAD A SWEET 16 PARTY!!! Okay this may seem weird for Americans but in Europe we don’t really have sweet 16 parties (well I just can talk about where I live so let’s say for my friends and family) so it was something special for me because a) I was in the US and b) I turned 16 :3

26. what time did you wake up today  - 11 am

27. what were you doing at midnight last night - I looked at tumblr posts about the 3 new SMRookies

28. what is something you can’t wait for - all the comebacks there are now sdiuhsusdvisu I will die and maybe going on a Stray Kids (or any other Kpop group I stan) fansign or concert

29. there was no number 29

30. what are you listening to right now - Holup by Bobby

31. have you ever talked to a person named Tom - hmmm don’t think so?

32. something that gets on your nerves - uuGH so much. But mostly people that are disgusting like poke their nose in public and then eat it eW or people that won’t shut tf up even if you tell them to shut up ugh omg I could continue this forever

33. most visited website - probably tumblr and youtube at the moment

34. hair color - brunette but depends in summertime i’m more blonde and in winter I’m more brown-ish

35. long or short hair - I have now short hair like Felix but idk if I want it to be longer..XD

36. do you have a crush on someone - yes and no not just famous people/Kpop idols uuugh Klara has a crush this is something very new to all of you but no I won’t talk about my crush don’t ask me questions

37. what do you like about yourself - I like my eyes and sometimes even my hair when it does what I say and doesn’t look like a bird’s nest

38. want any piercings - yES i want a helix and also 2 upper lopes on one side and 1 upper lope on the other...but I would love to have an industrial, an orbital and a tragus ok Klara stop your poor ears

39. blood type - I have no idea...but I think A why does everybody know their blood type

40. nicknames - Froschki (I explained that in another post I think but basically my dad calls me like this because when I was a baby I looked like a frog while I was sleeping), Duša (by my grandma and it means soul...it’s weird in English but it makes sense in Croatian)...I have some more but I can’t remember any more XD

41. relationship status -  single too busy with Kpop for a relationship 

42. zodiac - pisces

43. pronouns - she/her

44. fave tv show - TOO MUCH but I like:

Supernatural

Teen Wolf

Sherlock

American Horror Story

Attack on Titan

Shadowhunters (but I like the books more)

and some Korean TV Shows and Kdramas

45. tattoos - I don’t have any but I rly want some

46. right or left handed - right handed but I used to be left handed but the dumb teacher forced me to write with my right hand and now I can write only with my right hand

47. ever had surgery - nope

48. piercings - I have standard lobes on both sides

49. sport - I did zumba and dancing for a year, horse riding for 2 years and kickboxing for 3 years and now I dance but more at home and not professionally

50. vacation - I was in Germany (well it wasn’t rly vacation but then again it was), Czech Republic (the same as Germany), Slovakia (same as the two before), Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia (almost every year), Bosnia (every year I basically spend the whole summer there every year) and America (the same as Germany etc. I was there with school but it was kinda a vacation for me) I was in England but just for like 5h I didn’t leave the airport so I didn’t list it here XD

I want to go to Korea, Japan, Australia, Thailand and some cities in the US

51. trainers - I think I have 3 pairs...but not sure

more general

52. eating - I LOVE CHICKEN especially fried chicken or smth like KFC but I also like pizza and seafood

53. drinking - I like ice tea (the one in America is sweeter btw I don’t like those) and normal tea but also water OH and coffee

54. I’m about to watch - nothing ig

55. waiting for - the night when no one is awake except me and it’s quiet 

56. want - to meet my friends again and spend some time with them because I miss them .-.

57. get married - well it would be nice but I don’t really have to

58. career - I want to do something with music so musician/singer something like that or anything related to languages/English (maybe teacher or something like that)

which is better

59. hugs or kisses - hugs

60. lips or eyes - eyes

61. shorter or taller - well for boyfriend taller (that’s not that hard because I’m short) and for friends/girlfriend else shorter

62. older or younger - older

63. nice arms or stomach - hmm probably stomach but arms isn’t bad either

64. hookup or relationship - relationship

65. troublemaer or hesitant - troublemaker

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger - nope

67. drank hard liquor - yep

68. lost glasses - no

69. turned someone down - yeah

70. sex on first date - nope

71. broken someone’s heart - yeah and I’m so sry

72. had your heart broken - idk not rly

73. been arrested - haha no

74. cried when someone died - yes

75. fallen for a friend - yup

do you believe in

76. yourself - pffft nope

77. miracles - not really

78. love at first sight - not rly

79. santa claus - nope

80. kiss on a first date - idk but yeah why not depends on the person

81. angels - hmm yeah kinda

other

82. best friend’s name - Vici (hi @vxctxriauniverse) and also Vivi (hi @vxvxznnz)

83. eye color - blue and a little bit of green

84. fave movie - too much but those I would think of rn are Finding Nemo, the Lion King, Infinity War if we leave out the end, Forrest Gump, Black Panther and Spider Man Homecoming

85. fave actor - Park Seojoon, Gong Yoo, Park Hyungsik, Lee Dongwook, Dylan O’Brien, Tyler Posey, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lilly Collins, Matthew Daddario, Harry Shum Jr., Tom Holland, Benedict Cumerbatch, Daniel Sherman, Tyler Hoechlin, Ian Nelson, Evan Peters ok I’ll stop now

I’ll tag @clearlyaemae @felixthekoala @seungmin-jpeg @vxvxznnz @vxctxriauniverse @salty-hun @dibidibiday6 @the-official-pentacorn @swoontaekwoon @jeongshine @uwulix @lovholland @wowed-by-ace @spearbin @jeongin @gem360 @straymemes @strgaykids @jaeminizer and @prince-hyunjin you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to!

[seoulfulcity]

July 8, 2018: Blackpink in your Area

안녕하세요,

I was already on my third week here in Seoul and I still haven't gone out and explore the city at all. So I did what a regular international student would do here in Seoul - I went on a K-Pop adventure.

I wanted to visit the idol cafés all around the city, but upon further research, I found out that many of them are so spread out in opposite corners so I had to narrow everything down to the accessible areas and save the rest for another day. For example, I wanted to visit the filming locations of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (Yeokdo-yojeong Kim Bokjoo/역도요정 김복주), especially Bok Chicken, but the locations are just too far from the ones I had planned to go that day.

On Sunday, July 8, I visited four idol cafés and restaurants: Yesung's Mouse Rabbit, Donghae's Haru & One Day, Chanyeol's Viva Polo, and Jongsuk's 89 Mansion. I decided to just visit the cafés that day and maybe take my time and sit down to study in each one during exam week.

The directions to each café is linked on the titles.

First stop: Super Junior's Yesung's Mouse Rabbit (Mobit) Café

My first stop took me to the area around Konkuk University called Kondae (건대), which was packed with clothing stores and street foods. This quick walk made me realize how empty the day and night life are around Anam-dong, the area surrounding Korea University. Street vendors would yell across the street for the people to buy tteokbokki (spicy rice cake/떡볶이) or cheap clothes from them, compared to Anam-dong where it is quiet most of the time, with a group of friends laughing in a corner once in a while.

I managed to find Mouse Rabbit after a couple minutes of being lost and getting distracted by the nice clothes in the shops around Kondae (건대). The exterior of the café was not very impressive and it was situated in an isolated area. I entered Mouse Rabbit, looked at the price list and left. I was not about to blow ₩10,000 on a latte when I had other cafés to visit - sorry Yesung.

I left Mouse Rabbit and headed to Donghae's Haru & One Day, which was one subway stop away.

Second stop: Super Junior's Donghae's Haru & One Day Café 

Following the instructions on the blog, it was very easy to spot Donghae's café - it was right in front of the exit! I liked the exterior look and the vibe of the café and the interior was also really nice. Donghae has a big portrait of Audrey Hepburn hanging on the wall, contributing to the minimalist and relaxing ambience of the place. I could really see myself studying in a place like this - honestly, who needs to study in the library or Starbucks in Seoul when you have idol cafés. You're still drinking overpriced coffee, you're still sitting on a coffee table overlooking the busy streets - the only different is that you have a higher chance of meeting an idol when they do decide to visit their cafés.

Third stop: EXO's Chanyeol's Viva Polo

Well, Chanyeol's mom owns and runs the restaurant, but this place was Chanyeol heaven! The blog I abe linked doesn't mention this but when you do take the subway, make sure to take the one going to Sangil-dong (상일동) and not Macheon (마천). Line 5 splits in Gangdong (강동), so make sure to get off there if you end up taking the wrong train (heading to Macheon/마천) and just board the next one, which is usually headed to Sangil-dong (상일동) since they both alternate.

From Donghae's Haru & OneDay, it took me a good 40 minutes to wait and ride for the subways, so Chanyeol's place was the most "out of the way" location I had during the day.

Viva Polo is located on the second floor, so you have to take the stairs up, but the whole stairway has pictures and drawings of Chanyeol plastered all over with written notes and presents left by the fans of the EXO member. Unfortunately, I arrived there around 3:40 PM and they close the restaurant for break from 3-5 PM. I had more than an hour to spare, and I did not know what I would do until then since the location of the Italian restaurant was not in a very popular or lively area so I decided to just head to Gangnam for Jongsuk's 89 Mansion Café.

Final stop: Lee Jongsuk's 89 Mansion

Being a new café, there's not a lot of blogs out there that tells you how to get there - and it was quite a walk from Sinsa Station (신사역) - you might want to save the directions on your map for this one beforehand.

Most of the blogs I've found were just about the café itself and how luxurious and pretty it was. Situated in Gangnam, it's obviously pricier than Mouse Rabbit and Haru & OneDay - Jongsuk is really out here charging me ₩16,000 on egg bacon benedict. I wanted to sit down and enjoy the place, so I ordered a lemonade for ₩8,000 and watched the beautiful Korean men work their magic with my lemonade.

I think Jongsuk has a criteria on how his workers want to look like - it's all about the image here in Gangnam, and Jongsuk joined in on the trend.

89 Mansion is divided into two sections - the café is on the first floor and the restaurant is on the second floor. While my lemons were being aded (HA!), I went upstairs to see the restaurant, and I stayed there long enough to take pictures of the words painted by Jongsuk himself and the picturesque red frame to the right of the stairs before being asked to go back to the first floor because I only ordered "café drinks" and not "restaurant foods" - okay Jongsuk.

I am planning to go back there soon to try out the food though, since everything is so beautiful and fits my aesthetic.

I spent a whole half day travelling from café to café that I forgot to eat my lunch, so while on the way back to Sinsa Station (신사역), I stopped by a Vietnamese restaurant called Hanoi Plate.

I have been missing home lately, and the biggest things that are making me homesick are the Mexican and Vietnamese food. I come from an area in Los Angeles that is really famous for the good Mexican and Vietnamese food, and having been eating Chinese, Japanese, and Korean food everyday the past month, I realized how much I actually missed my good food from home.

The Mexican food by Anam-dong don't look appetizing - I feel like they've never even seen Mexican food before.

I saw the words bánh mì written by the name of the restaurant and I sprinted in. Bánh mì is my go-to food back home - there's a Bánh Mì Chè Cali branch right next to my house and I stop by everyday to buy myself a bánh mì sandwich for my school lunch and snack. It's my stress food - so better believe I sprinted into Hanoi Plate the moment I saw those two Vietnamese words.

I didn't realize they specialized in North Vietnamese food, so I wanted to try something new - Bún chả, grilled pork and noodles. The meal was so delicious that it made me miss my local Vietnamese foods back home some more.

K-Star Road Adventures

Since I was already in Gangnam, I decided to just head to the K-Star Road and take pictures of the JYP Entertainment (GOT7, 2PM, TWICE, Stray Kids), Around Us Entertainment (Highlight), and FNC Entertainment (CNBLUE, F.T. Island, SF9, AOA, N.Flying) buildings and see the GangnamDols just down Apgujeong street. There's a map of the area that shows you where the entertainment buildings and specific GangnamDols are located.

JYP Entertainment just moved to a new location four days prior to my visit at the building, although the pictures and notes in the Dunkin' Donuts in front of the old JYP building were still present.

Just next to JYP building was the Around Us Entertainment building, managed by Highlight themselves after refusing to renew their contract as Beast with their former label, Cube Entertainment, and leaving the company back in 2016. Since Cube has copyrighted the group name Beast, they decided to rename themselves Highlight in 2017.

Then I visited FNC Entertainment, which was just behind the Around Us building. Two guys in face masks and caps walked by and groups of girls were waving at them and trying to talk to them, and to this day, I still don't know who they are. Maybe they're trainees? Maybe they're rookies? Maybe they're backup dancers? I will never know.

Facing JYP building to the left is Apgujeong street, which has the GangnamDols lined up leading to the Galleria. GangnamDols are these bear statues dressed up in K-Pop groups' iconic logos and colors. There were seventeen GangnamDols during my visit and I expect it to grow larger throughout the years: they had a GangnamDol for BTS, EXO, SHINee, Super Junior, 4Minute, 2PM, Girls' Generation, CNBLUE, VIXX, miss A, BLOCK B, among others.

I decided to take the long way and walked to Apgujeong Station (압구정역) instead of going back to where I got off at Cheongdam Station (청당역) since I wanted to take the time and appreciate Gangnam at night - the bright lights, the way people in Gangnam interact with each other, and how they dress their dogs. Halfway during my walk, my Kakao Talk notified me of a text from John:

EXCUSE ME, JOHN? WHERE ARE YOU? I DID NOT EVEN KNOW BLACKPINK WAS HOLDING A FAN MEET? SEND ME YOUR LOCATION NOW! It was 8 PM in the posh area of Gangnam where everyone minds how beautifully they look when they walk, but I was running to Apgujeong Station (압구정역) drenching in sweat. It takes about 30 minutes to go from Apgujeong Station (압구정역) to Yeouido Station (여의도역) without counting the wait between transfers. I was looking at arriving about 45-60 minutes after John sending the text of Blackpink arriving at IFC Mall. To make matters worse, I didn't even know where IFC Mall was! I had no idea how much walking I would be doing to reach the mall. I didn't even know where in IFC Mall the event was held at. Welp! At least I'm trying. I had no other plans anyway and I had four hours until the last subway leaves for the night. I reached Yeouido Station (여의도역) at 9:05 PM, almost an hour since John sent the text. There were two towers - IFC Towers 1 and 2. I went in IFC Tower 1 to a crowd of people leaving. I missed it. I missed Blackpink. I walked to the center of a very-quiet-and-empty second floor of the mall and asked one of the massage workers about a Blackpink event.

"It might be over", she broke my heart.

Well, I guess I would just head over to the food court area, have dinner, and call it a night.

I noticed a crowd were gathering at the edges of the open area on the second floor, looking down at the first floor. I was curious to see what they were so fixated on - Blackpink was still doing the fan signing!

Both the stairs and the escalators going down to the first floor were blocked, and by the looks of the crowd downstairs, I had a better view of Blackpink from the second floor - so I stayed and watched the event from above.

Jisoo and Jennie were on the far corner of the table, while Lisa and Rosé were closer to my area, so throughout the night, I tried to get both their attentions.

Lisa heard me multiple times but could not locate where the voice was coming from. She would look up side to side and wave at the area where she thought the voice was coming from, but no.

After the fan signing, they were asked to sign four Blackpink sweatshirts to give away as a raffle for the people sitting down in the area.

I stayed there until 9:45 PM when they left. It was my last chance to get their attention, so I kept calling for Lisa's name.

She looked around and gave the "where is that voice coming from?" look and hand motion. Rosé located me though, and looked up to smile at me.

No luck with Lisa.

Jennie and Jisoo followed Lisa and Rosé exit the stage, and no luck with the other two members.

I guess my night ended well. I took the subway back to Anam Station (안암역) and got myself chocolate sundae and fries at McDonald's.

I should keep doing K-Pop activities if nights like this happen, I guess? Until then!

고마워요, Chris 「크리스」

P.S. I actually just received my confirmation to attend SBS's "The Show" rehearsal at the SBS Prism Tower tomorrow! KU ISC opened the tickets to only 48 students three days ago, and I was lucky enough to check my phone right after I woke up from my nap to get the ticket! I am really looking forward who I will be seeing rehearse tomorrow!

[bylagunabay]

Saint Michael’s Sword Prayer

In PLAGUE, WAR and SPIRITUAL COMBAT

In three instances, St. Michael powerfully intervened to stop a plague, save a soldier from imminent death, and assist a priest hasten the expulsion of a demon from a possessed lady through the use of his sword. But before reading this edifying accounts, let us first pray to St. Michael …

 ST. MICHAEL’S SWORD PRAYER

O Glorious Saint Michael the Archangel, to whom was given

the Sword by the Eternal Father of the celestial realm,

fight all spirit of ruin in our country, in our families,

in our minds and in our hearts.

 O Glorious Saint Michael wield your victorious Sword on our behalf

so that we may overcome all destructive spirits that seek to lead us

away from Sanctifying Grace, and lead us to final victory.

 Come Glorious St. Michael, flash your Sword with a ray from the Holy Spirit

so that we may be worthy of the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 PLAGUE IN ROME 600 AD

During a plague which greatly depopulated the city of Rome, Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great) ordered a penitential procession in which he himself carried a statue of the Blessed Virgin. As the procession reached the bridge across the Tiber, the singing of angels was heard. Suddenly Gregory saw an apparition of a gigantic archangel, Michael, descending upon the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian. IN HIS RIGHT HAND, MICHAEL HELD A SWORD, WHICH HE THRUST INTO ITS SCABARD. Gregory took the vision as an omen that the plague would stop, which it did, and so he renamed the mausoleum the Castel Sant' Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel) in Michael's honor.

(lenarpoetry.blogspot)

 KOREAN WAR 1950

(3.5-minute read)

By his intervention, St. Michael has been protecting many military personnel around the world from harm and death.

 One account of Saint Michael’s protection is that of a young United States Marine, who prayed to him every morning. Separated from his unit after a blizzard during the Korean War, he was caught face to face with seven enemy soldiers who had guns drawn ready to fire. Only thanks to the Archangel did he miraculously survive the ensuing shootout. The prayer the soldier said daily is known as the "Michael of the Morning" prayer:

 Michael, Michael of the morning,

Fresh corps of Heaven adorning,

Keep me safe today,

And in time of temptation

Drive the devil away.

Amen.

 That soldier, who renames nameless, recounted the miraculous tale in a letter to his mother as he recovered in a hospital. I quote verbatim the relevant portion of his letter …

 “We are going to have some trouble up ahead.” (St. Michael speaking.)

 He must have been in fine physical shape or he was breathing so lightly I couldn’t see his breath. Mine poured out in great clouds. There was no smile on his face now. Trouble ahead, I thought to myself, well with the Commies all around us, that is no great revelation. Snow began to fall in great thick globs. In a brief moment the whole countryside was blotted out. And I was marching in a white fog of sticky particles. My companion disappeared.

 “Michael,” I shouted in sudden alarm.

 I felt his hand on my arm, his voice was rich and strong, “This will stop shortly.”

 His prophecy proved to be correct. In a few minutes the snow stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The sun was a hard shining disc. I looked back for the rest of the patrol, there was no one in sight. We lost them in that heavy fall of snow. I looked ahead as we came over a little rise.

 Mom, my heart stopped. There were seven of them. Seven Commies in their padded pants and jackets and their funny hats. Only there wasn’t anything funny about them now. Seven rifles were aimed at us.

 “Down Michael,” I screamed and hit the frozen earth.

 I heard those rifles fire almost as one. I heard the bullets. There was Michael still standing. Mom, those guys couldn’t have missed, not at that range. I expected to see him literally blown to bits. But there he stood, making no effort to fire himself. He was paralyzed with fear. It happens sometimes, Mom, even to the bravest. He was like a bird fascinated by a snake. At least, that was what I thought then. I jumped up to pull him down and that was when I got mine I felt a sudden flame in my chest. I often wondered what it felt like to be hit, now I know..

 I remember feeling strong arms around me, arms that laid me ever so gently on a pillow of snow. I opened my eyes, for one last look. I was dying. Maybe I was even dead, I remember thinking well, this is not so bad. Maybe I was looking into the sun. Maybe I was in shock. But it seemed I saw Michael standing erect again only this time his face was shining with a terrible splendor. As I say, maybe it was the sun in my eyes, but he seemed to change as I watched him. He grew bigger, his arms stretched out wide, maybe it was the snow falling again, but there was a brightness around him like the wings of an angel. IN HIS HANDS WAS A SWORD. A SWORD THAT FLASHED WITH A MILLION LIGHTS. Well, that is the last thing I remember until the rest of the fellas came up and found me. I do not know how much time had passed. Now and then I had but a moment’s rest from the pain and fever. I remember telling them of the enemy just ahead.

 “Where is Michael,” I asked.

 I saw them look at one another. “Where’s who?” asked one.

 “Michael, Michael the big Marine I was walking with just before the snow squall hit us.”

 “Kid,” said the sergeant, “You weren’t walking with anyone. I had my eyes on you the whole time. You were getting too far out. I was just going to call you in when you disappeared in the snow.”

 He looked at me, curiously. “How did you do it kid?”

 “How’d I do what?” I asked half angry despite my wound. “This marine named Michael and I were just …”

 “Son,” said the sergeant kindly, ” I picked out this outfit myself and there just ain’t another Michael in it. You are the only Mike in it.

 He paused for a minute, “Just how did you do it kid? We heard shots. There hasn’t been a shot fired from your rifle. And there isn’t a bit of lead in them seven bodies over the hill there.”

 I didn’t say anything, what could I say. I could only look open-mouthed with amazement.

 It was then the sergeant spoke again, “Kid,” he said gently, “every one of those seven Commies was killed by a sword stroke.”

 Link: https://ucatholic.com/blog/the-miraculous-true-story-of-saint-michael-saving-a-us-marine-in-the-korean-war/

 EXORCISM 2019

Fr. Michel Rodrigue, exorcist and founder and Abbott of The Apostolic Fraternity of St. Benedict Joseph Labre (Quebec, Canada), recounted his experience with St. Michael during a difficult exorcism.

 "I know the devil because of the exorcisms I’ve done in my life. During one exorcism, I didn’t have too much time because I had to teach a course to the seminarian. With exorcisms, you never know when you’re going to finish. It depends on the will of the Father. Sometimes it can take one day, two days. Sometimes it can be three weeks. Sometimes it can be two years. This is a ministry. When you begin this ministry, you never know when it ends.

 I went to pray to Jesus at the Tabernacle and said to Him, 'You must do something. I don’t have any more time, and I cannot come back again because it is far.' I also asked Saint Michael for his help. I was so tired and didn’t think I could finish. Exorcisms can be very depleting.

 When I entered the room and started the exorcism prayer again, Saint Michael appeared. He was so tall. I SAW HIM WITH HIS SWORD, A FLAMING SWORD, REACHING UP ABOUT FIFTEEN FEET HIGH.

 I said, 'Please Saint Michael, you’re my patron. Help me with this case!' He just smiled. Then I saw him lower his sword coming down and when the flame of Saint Michael’s sword touched this person, the wind of the devil left. [Fr. Michel made a swoosh sound]."

(Jesusmariasite)

[gudetama-studies]

Lol so this is for the ask thing 1,7,8,9,10,12,15,20,23,26,27,32,35,36,37,38,42,44,47,48,49,50,5,52,53,54,55,56,57,59,61,62,66,69,70,78,79,80,88,89,87,81,82,92,93,94,95,96,97,99,100

get to know me  | ask one 

 🍳 // I just copy pasted everything and went to delete those you didn’t ask haha oh man I think my answers are going to be boring af, thanks for sending these in though! did you pick these numbers off the top of your head or 

1) What images do you have set for your desktop/cell phone wallpapers?

my desktop wallpaper is gudetama bae (ofc), my lock screen is of sakura, and my home screen is some random grid I downloaded off line deco. 

7) What was your favorite 90s show?

noooo I was born in the tail end of the nineties and barely made it into the club I’m going to have to be super lame and say friends. 

8) Who was your last kiss?

hershey kiss ( the peppermint flavour is so good gdi)

9) Have you ever been stood up?

um ya and I hate hate hate hate it when people cancel plans last minute it’s my pet peeve I think 

10) Favorite ice cream flavor?

I used to like this flavour they sold at a place near my house, called Blue sky but I think they’ve stopped it. I love caramel biscuit and cream though! 

12) Your favorite pair of shoes?

Adidas sneakers atm 

15) Have you talked to anyone on tumblr that you could see yourself dating/having sex with? If possible?

hahah hmmmm no?? Like I’ve made good friends but I guess for me a relationship requires like more commitment and also knowing more about each other, so I don’t really have those thoughts. 

20) Does the person you’re in love with know it?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

23) Your fears?

That I won’t be able to support myself in the future, but I feel like it’s a very common fear amongst people my age. That nobody will want me because I have no experience (jobwise or anything) and that I’m too complicated for anyone to love ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

26) Your idea of a perfect first date?

 I think it’d be nice to just have a meal or something where you can talk to the person f2f and get to know each other, develop a connection. 

27) What is something most people don’t know about you?

I have a birthmark of a broken heart on the back of my left leg lol32) Are you single?

y e s 35) Coffee or Tea?

coffee! but I’m weak Only weak coffee for me. 

36) Online shopping or shopping in person?

Shopping in person is just easier and it helps me resist temptation haha it’s really fun to go to online shops and put things in carts whilst oohing and aahing at everything tho 

37) Would you rather be older or younger than your current age?

hmmm younger! I feel like when you’re younger, as trying of a time as it is, there is more stability and also more possibilities.. do I sound like someone who has many regrets? Like it feels now that I’m older that my life is just spiralling downwards..  

38) Cats or Dogs?

cats. I’m scared of dogs. 42) What kind of music to you listen to?

recently I’ve been listening to some korean songs but usually I listen to mostly indie.. it really depends on my mood44) Where are you from?

the little red dot aka sg 47) What was the last thing you bought for yourself?

N o t e b o o k. I fed my stationery addiction 

48) Why do you think your followers follow you?

I have no idea actually haha hopefully bc they like gudetama but then again who doesn’t. 49) How many hours do you sleep at night?

Depends, it can be anywhere from 10 hours to like

50) What worries you most about the future?

as a humanities major there are 1 million worries about getting a job and being able to support myself and doing something I love but I do worry about my family too. Their health, and how they will do for themselves.

51) If you had a friend that spoke to you the same way you speak to yourself, how long would you be friends?

quite awhile???? I don’t think I’m that harsh of a critic on myself, which sounds terrible to admit. 

52) Are you happy with yourself?

hmmmmm not in some aspects, I wish I was more spontaneous, and more daring, and less of a picky eater. More involved with my community, that sort of thing. But I think everyone has things they want to change about themselves. 

53) What do you wish you didn’t know?

r IGHT INFRONT OF MY SALAD?

54) What big lesson could people learn from your life?take chances lol don’t be so shy 

55) If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?television series???? can I have gatsby’s house in the great gatsby (but that was a movie oops)

56) What’s your favorite Website?

I’m on tumblr a lot. And I know it’s not a c o o l thing anymore but oh well. 

57) What’s the habit you’re proudest of breaking?

not taking care of my skin lol 

59) What’s the best bargain you’ve ever found at a garage sale or thrift store?

the planner I recently bought!!! Ok it wasn’t a thrift store but sg doesn’t really have that big of a thrift culture ok 

61) If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?

ARKANSAS ( bc the pronunciation haha idk I never really got people naming their children after countries and places like ??? ) 

62) If you had to teach a subject to a class, what would it be?

umm lITERATURE IS FUN GUYSSSS 66) Have you ever been stung by a bee?

yes. Once. I think it was a bee. It was on a train in hk and stupid me forgot I saw a bee on the seat in front of me and stuck my elbow there w o w 69) What’s the most memorable class you’ve ever taken?

I answered something similar to this recently! tldr: intro to lit 

70) What’s your favorite breakfast?

EGGS BENEDICT I’m a cannibal 78) Would you break the law to save a family member?

if it meant saving their life, yes, and only if it was someone in my immediate family. 

79) Talk about an embarrassing moment?

where do I even begin 

80) Are there any causes you strongly believe in?

I believe in human rights mostly,

88) Has anyone ever told you that they wanted to marry you?

n O I wouldn’t even marry myself what

89) Do you get easily distracted?actually I’m quite good at multitasking and I think I can focus q well 92) How do you feel about tattoos?

I think they’re really pretty! Well most of them anyways, there are ones that I am tempted to get ( watercolour tattoos look amazing ) but I am far too afraid of pain. 

93) Do you have any pets?

fish guppies and snails and prawns my cousin owns a fish shop 

94) How tall are you?

151/150 ( every centimetre counts )

95) How old are you?

20

96) 3 physical features you get complimented on a lot?

haha um my smile, my hair 

97) Is there anything you’re really passionate about?

The survival of the arts in Singapore 99) Do you believe in love at first sight?Yes, but it hasn’t happened to me. welp 

[enigmasalad]

Minor Hamilton College Au character Headcannons.

Charles Lee: Asshole. He's a complete asshole. Yes he's a coward but he's terrible enough to make PEGGY consider going on a diet. PEGGY MAN!! However that hate is to hide a lot of things like how weak he feels or heartbreak. He also really loves anime. Yuri! On Ice is his favorite and he fanboys over it to his Boyfriend (who's a bastard but perfect for him) "Benny". He also doesn't like GWash much. Benedict Arnold: He is the definition of coward and sly. He has betrayed the trust of so many people and left them alone and broken. Why you may ask? Cause things won't go his way. Things aren't going right. He finds some comfort in Charles (who he calls Charlee to mess with him) and even though he's hurt Lee many times he still loves him. He's pretty intelligent and manipulative and can spread rumors and have them stay for a long time. John Adams: Worst professor ever. Of all time. Heck his wife has to be the tough one. Dolley Todd: She got pregnant as a teen and luckily the father of the child was very supportive. Things were going great until the father (her new husband) got into a car wreck and died. She was friends with Theo at the time and Theo introduced her to Burr. Burr then introduced her to her best friend in the world (James Madison). James was very kind to her and the two are like family. Dolley is happy that her child has such a supportive "family". Theo: She was in a relationship with someone else before she met Burr. The man was kind of rude, naive and stupid but they were engaged. However he died in a hit and run a week before the wedding. It still pains her to this day but being in a not secret relationship with Aaron has helped her heal a lot. She's super smart and is like the mom friend to all the females (and I imagine she sings and talks like Tiana from Princess and the Frog). She holds weekly tea meetings in her apartment for Dolley, Maria and James. She also calls the people close to her names such as "hon", "sweetpea" and "sugar biscuit". GWash: HOLY LORD ITS THE GREATEST DAD EVER. He's a professor and is strict,smart but caring. His child-I mean students come first (besides his lovely wife). His office and home is welcome to people who need it. He also wears homemade sweater vests and dorky ties. Martha Washington: she's a gorgeous, small, plump Korean beauty. However she can get very feisty if you wrong her or her loved ones. She is very affectionate towards her "sons" and makes sure they eat and are alright. Martha Skelton: She's very quiet and EXTREMELY pretty. She is also very smart and can literally break you down. Her and Tjeffs were a thing for a bit too. They worked well together. However one thing about her is even though she seems kind of cold and logical she has a soft side. When she was hanging out with Dolley and the two got drunk one time Dolley accidentally let it slip that James really REALLY loves Thomas. Martha handled it pretty well and told Jeffs that even though she loved him there was someone who would love him way more than she ever could. She's now one of Thomas's close friends and gives him advice on how to woo the ice queen known as James Madison.

[jessicakehoe]

The Best Vegan Restaurants in Canada

From Toronto to Montreal to Vancouver to Halifax, we rounded up some of the best plant-based restaurants in the country for you to visit on World Vegan Day and beyond.

ByCHLOE New York’s famous fast casual vegan restaurant ByCHLOE is now open in Toronto. Modelled after the chain’s flagship restaurant in NYC’s West Village, the Yorkdale location pays homage to its inaugural space as well as its signature menu, with items like their Guac Burger, Quinoa Taco Salad and Chlostess Cupcakes. The Toronto menu also includes a Maple Bacon Cheeze Burger, Poutine and Split Pea Soup. Word on the street is they’re already looking for their second location, in the financial district.

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Talk less, GUAC more 🥑🍔. Tap to order our fan favorite, THE GUAC BURGER!

A post shared by by CHLOE. (@eatbychloe) on Sep 24, 2019 at 5:06pm PDT

Virtuous Pie This vegan pie joint with locations in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria offers pizza toppings like herbed potato cream, truffle almond ricotta, spicy Buffalo cauliflower, and gochujang-braised jackfruit. They also have vegan ice cream in flavours like Thai tea, bourbon vanilla, and salted caramel & chocolate pretzel. For World Vegan Month, they’re offering customers something called a Vegan Passport, which you can find out more about here.

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KIM JACK THROWBACK 🌶🍕⁣ ⁣ Making a comeback for ONE WEEK ONLY, our Kim Jack pizza will be available this Thursday Oct. 31 to Wednesday Nov 6th at all locations. An OG pie, the Kim Jack launched when we first opened our doors in 2016 and was an instant fav.⁣ ⁣ KIM JACK 🍕: Hoisin Crema, Cashew Mozzarella, Kimchi, Gochujang Braised Jackfruit, Roast Broccolini, Scallion

A post shared by Virtuous Pie (@virtuous_pie) on Oct 29, 2019 at 3:30pm PDT

LOV Montreal’s beloved vegan restaurant recently expanded into Toronto with an airy, plant-filled space at King & Portland. Menu items include poutine with miso gravy, lasagna with lupini tempeh bolognese and buckwheat sweet potato gnocchi, as well as an organic wine list, cocktails, coffee and baked goods. Their newly-launched brunch menu, meanwhile, offers a tofu Benedict, French toast with apple-infused cashew cream, and a vegan omelet.

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Avec l'automne qui se fait de plus en plus sentir, ça donne le goût de manger chaud et réconfortant ! Ce week-end, demandez la lasagne LOV, c'est le plat idéal pour la saison, et pourquoi pas l'accompagner d'un bon petit verre de vin rouge bio ?😉🍷 . With Autumn getting more and more real, comfort food never sound so delicious ! This weekend, ask for the LOV lasagna, it's the perfect seasonal dish, and why not pair it with a glass of organic red wine? 😉🍷 #LOVrestaurant

A post shared by LOV (@lovrestaurant) on Oct 11, 2019 at 8:17am PDT

Aux Vivres For over 20 years, Aux Vivres has been offering Montrealers an eclectic range of vegan food, including Indian chana paratha, Thai rice bowls, Greek gyros with souvlaki tempeh, and “Mexicali” burritos.

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Pommes de terre, pakoras, paratha, chutneys de menthe & de tamarin, garni de carotte & coriandre! 🤤🙏🏻 __________ Potatoes, pakoras, paratha, mint & tamarind chutneys, garnished with carrot & coriander! 🤤🙏🏻

A post shared by Aux Vivres (@auxvivres_) on Oct 5, 2019 at 12:38pm PDT

Planta The plant-based restaurant has three outposts in Toronto—its flagship in Yorkville, with items like eggplant lasagna and vegan pizzas; Planta Burger, which offers six different kinds of burgers and oat-milk milkshakes; and Planta Queen, whose Asian take on vegan food includes items like watermelon maki rolls and potato truffle dumplings.

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life.changing.crispy.rice . . . . . #plantbased #vegan #toronto #tastetoronto #torontolife #food #foodphotography #veganlife #foodie #instagood #yum #delicious #feedfeed #thefeedfeed #igfood #hungry #foodpics #foodlove #foodgram #narcitycanada #tofoodies #foodstagram #foodstyling #eatgood #foodism #veganfood #govegan

A post shared by Planta Queen (@plantaqueen) on Oct 11, 2019 at 8:40am PDT

Heirloom Vegetarian Located in a beautiful heritage building in Vancouver, Heirloom offers a large selection of vegetarian dishes like artichoke tacos, cauliflower steak and cashew coconut curry. Everything on the menu can be made vegan and gluten free, and all the products used are sourced locally. Aside from the flagship location in South Granville, there’s also a juice bar and a fast casual spot by the same owners.

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There’s something about that Mediterranean blue platter and all of that tasty food that has feeling like we’re on vacation ✨ Happy Saturday! Amazing photo by @mandygilldotcom __ #vancouvervegan #plantbased #heirloomveg #yvreats #vancouver #vancouverisawesome #vegetarian #vegan #vanfoodie #plantpower #zerowaste #vegansofig #heirloomjuiceco #heirloomableside #vancityeats #vancouverfoodie #yvrfood #yvrfoodie #smallbusiness #supportlocal #eatlocal #eatlocalgrown #bcsmallbusiness

A post shared by Heirloom Vegetarian Restaurant (@heirloomveg) on Aug 17, 2019 at 9:09am PDT

Raw Eatery and Market This vegan restaurant in Calgary’s Kensington Village offers items like ‘egg’ salad with turmeric scrambled tofu, vegan sushi and almond-milk smoothies. If you’re looking for a more holistic lifestyle change, the restaurant’s co-owner, Megan Pope, is a registered nutritionist who offers nutritional assessment and custom meal plan services.

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New addition to the menu coming this week! Spiralized zucchini in a creamy sun-dried tomato rosé sauce, with basil, cherry tomatoes, micro greens, and cashew parm. ✌🏻

A post shared by Raw Eatery & Market (@raweateryandmarket) on Oct 6, 2019 at 1:14pm PDT

SaVeg This cafe in Calgary’s Beltline district brings the flavours of traditional Korean cuisine to vegan food. Items on its all-day menu include Bibimbap (rice with fresh vegetables and lentils marinated in Korean BBQ sauce), Japchae (Korean savoury “glass” noodles with vegetables and bean curd slices) and tofu rice bowls.

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Japchae!!! A favourite among many 😃⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #savegyyc #savegcafe #saveg #vegan #calgaryvegan #vegancalgary #yycvegan #veganyyc #yyccafe #beltline #beltliner #heavensfitness #beltlineyyc #yyceats #on11thave #yyc #calgary #downtowncalgary #downtownyyc #yycliving #dailyhiveyyc #photography #yyceats #yycfood #yycnow

A post shared by saVeg Cafe (@savegyyc) on Oct 5, 2019 at 9:45am PDT

The Acorn Named the best vegan eatery in the world by Big Seven, a travel publication, Vancouver’s The Acorn has also made it to the pages of Bon Appetit, which encourages readers to “take advantage of the restaurant’s forest-centric cooking (you’re unlikely to find candied lichen elsewhere) and its truly British Columbian ingredients, like blushy salmonberries and Haida Gwaii kelp.”

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Blueberry Tart, Garden Lemon Thyme Pate Sucrée, Rosemary Maple Glazed Blueberries, Acorn Garden Flowers

A post shared by The Acorn (@acornvancouver) on Aug 30, 2019 at 9:42am PDT

La Panthere Vert This 100% vegan restaurant with six locations in Montreal is known for its falafel sandwiches, rice and lentil bowls, vegan poutine, and wide array of plant-based desserts.

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Quel est ton dessert végane préféré?🍨🥧🍰🍮🍭🍫🍩🍪🤷🏽‍♂️ …. What's you favorite vegan sweet? 🍨🥧🍰🍮🍭🍫🍩🍪🤷🏽‍♂️

A post shared by La Panthère Verte Restaurants (@lapanthereverte) on Mar 28, 2019 at 12:56pm PDT

En Vie This all-day “vegan kitchen” in Halifax offers items like panko-crusted king oyster mushroom “wings, chili “cheeze” fries (all the vegan cheeses are made in-house), and a burger with a house-made seitan patty.

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Chili Cheeze Fries! Hand cut fries topped with chili, cheeze sauce, cashew sour cream and green onion. Available on our regular menu and brunch too! . . . . . . #chilicheesefries #veganhalifax #northendhfx #glutenfreevegan

A post shared by enVie A Vegan Kitchen (@enviehalifax) on Oct 16, 2019 at 10:43am PDT

Pure Kitchen Located in Ottawa, this “scratch kitchen” makes all its items fresh in-house using whole ingredients. The menu offers both cold and hot bowls with toppings like maple tamari tempeh steaks and coconut bacon, and sandwiches and burgers with fillings like lemon lentils, fried cauliflower and a double mushroom walnut patty.

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Some days you just want a burger. We get it. Our chefs have created this Backyard BBQ burger as our weekly feature – available at all locations until Sunday! We take our original mushroom walnut burger patty and stack it with our house BBQ sauce | crispy onions | pickled jalapeños | iceberg lettuce | homemade vegan mayo | coconut bacon | your choice of cashew or cheddar cheese | served on @natsbreadco bun (or ask for our @odoughs gluten free option.)! Comes with your choice of side – featured here with the half greens & fries option. Our mixed greens has changed recently – now made with a lemon & @alska_farm maple vinaigrette, greens (some from @juniper_farm !), sesame & pumpkin seed blend, crunchy sprout medley from @backyardedibles & sliced red onion. One of these ingredients not your thing? It’s always easy to omit an ingredient – simply inquire! What burger toppings would you love to see featured this winter? Inspire us below! ✨🍔💕🤟🏼 #vegburgers #purekitchenottawa

A post shared by Pure Kitchen Ottawa (@purekitchenottawa) on Oct 2, 2019 at 11:43am PDT

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[fadingfartconnoisseur]

AK Monthly Recap: August 2017

Hello. I’m thirty-three. And I’m more balanced than I’ve been in a year and a half.

It took a long time to get this point. When I moved to New York in early 2016, I knew it was time — and I was so happy. Even so, I struggled with anxiety. Was I not traveling enough? How would I manage my travels and build a life in New York? Would my readers leave me?! How would I earn enough money to survive in New York when it was so much more expensive than traveling and I would be doing less of the travel that would actually earn me money in the first place?!

Balance is fallacy, I wrote on my 32nd birthday last year.

I still believe that perfect balance is an impossibility. That said, while my life is not 100% balanced, it’s pretty close right now.

For one thing, I’m thrilled to be working with so many US-based destinations this year. A few years ago, only European destinations had budgets, so this is a welcome development. I love exploring my own country and sharing it with my readers. I love that I can swoop in on a quick flight, work an intense 3-5 day campaign, then fly home and do the rest of my content creation work from New York.

And this schedule is working very well. Every 2-3 months, I do a 2-3 week trip, and in between I do short trips of 3-5 days. This allows me to live fully in New York without wondering that I’m gone too often.

Maybe I won’t be as happy with this schedule in the future — but for right now, it’s excellent.

Destinations Visited

New York, New York, USA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Vail, Denver, and Boulder, Colorado, USA

Oulu, Kuopio, Porosalmie, Oravi, Porvoo, and Helsinki, Finland

Minsk, Belarus

Favorite Destinations

Vail. A kickass mountain town with fabulous hiking and wonderful, warm people.

Porvoo. A pretty little wisp of a Finnish town.

Helsinki. Still one of my favorite offbeat European capitals, and this time I got to explore more islands.

Highlights

Turning 33 in style. I turned 33 on August 2 (no, no birthday post this year, but I might write one this month) and went to see Waitress on Broadway with my friends Beth and Amelia. There was a special reason for that: my cousin Matt was in the show! He’s been in the cast for months now, also serving as the understudy for Earl (the mean husband), so when he announced that he’d be playing Earl for a two-week run, we got tickets!

I hadn’t seen Matt in something like 20 years, but he invited us backstage after the show. It was so nice to reconnect and chat about our grandmothers — and take lots of pictures with pies!

Also, we got the cheapest tickets possible ($49 plus $12.50 fees for a total of $61.50 on the TodayTix app) and were in the very back row of the theater, but the seats were still quite good. If you want to see Waitress, go ahead and buy the cheapest seats — you’ll be fine!

After the show, the three of us planned to go to Guy Fieri’s restaurant as a joke, but they were closed and we went to the revolving restaurant on top of the Marriott instead. That’s how I learned that at 33 I get nauseous at revolving restaurants. Ha!

The next day, my sister Sarah and Beth and I grabbed Korean bar food and discovered a chocolate and wine restaurant next door. SO good.

A chance to revisit Philadelphia. I’ve always considered it my least favorite city in the US, so when Booking.com invited me to revisit my least favorite city and see if I could have a better time, I was excited to go. And I had a great time! It was awesome seeing my old friends Dave and Jeff and making new ones, like my reader Maria, and I ate and drank my way across Philly’s best restaurants and bars.

My friend Lisa came to New York oh so briefly! She came in for a day trip on the day I returned from Philly, so we met up for a nice lunch and stroll through the city, concluding at the magic that is Eataly.

New sunglasses. I wear sunglasses constantly, so I allow myself one designer pair per year. My 2017 pair, pictured in the top photo of the post, is by Tom Ford. I LOVE THEM.

Enjoying glorious Vail in the summer. I made my first-ever visit to Colorado (I know, I’m shocked too) this month, focusing on a campaign to showcase Vail in the summer months. Vail is one of those places I had always heard about, but never considered visiting because I don’t ski. Well, it turns out Vail in the summer is amazing — it’s so beautiful, the air is crisp, and it’s far less busy than during the winter. It’s most locals’ favorite time of year!

For me, Vail was all about the glorious hiking. I especially loved the hike that I did with llamas (!!), and I enjoyed exploring the town, getting to know the locals, spending time in the spa at the Sonnenalp Resort, and eating at so many delicious restaurants. Stay tuned for more on Vail very soon.

Spending time with friends and family in Colorado. My cousins Colleen and Cynthia live in Denver and I was stoked to finally visit them on their turf and check out the places they’re always posting about — namely The Tattered Cover bookstore and D Bar, an incredible dessert restaurant, as well as Hop Alley for dinner.

I didn’t meet these cousins until we were adults and I’m so glad to have them in my life now — we get along so well and have so much in common. The three of us love books and writing and travel, Cynthia loves Scotland as much as I do if not more, and Colleen is the author whose books I review often here.

In Boulder, I met up with two friends from different walks of life: Carrie, who came on my first Central America tour in 2015, and Matt from the world of travel blogging, a.k.a. Expert Vagabond. The three of us checked out Boulder’s best offerings including brunch at Snooze (you guys, I had a chilaquiles Benedict with poached eggs and barbacoa over tortillas with cheese and salsa AS WELL AS a giant blueberry danish pancake AS A SIDE DISH), plus a stop at Dushanbe Tea House, which was disassembled in Tajikistan and shipped to Boulder piece by piece. Oh, and there were a LOT of people out protesting circumcision.

Watching the eclipse in New York City. We didn’t have a total eclipse this far north, but it was still an outstanding event. I went to the Museum of Natural History with my friend Amy and we watched the eclipse surrounded by science-loving New Yorkers.

Finally seeing the Air Guitar World Championships. I’ve wanted to attend this competition for years — since long before I started the blog. Finally the opportunity arrived: my friends at Visit Finland invited me to do another summer trip in summer, and I immediately asked if I could go to the championships. They loved the idea and I was so happy we were able to make it work out!

This was one of the most fun festivals I’ve ever been to. The performers were so enthusiastic and funny, and I got to know several of them at the super-fun after-parties. That’s the Jinja Assassin, my favorite, pictured above. He tied for second.

Chilling out in the Finnish countryside. I stayed at an incredible resort called Järvisydan, which has been some kind of guesthouse since 1658 (!!) and one of the owners is an 11th-generation hospitality worker (!!!). I explored the islands, forests, and fishing villages, and spent time in the best spa I’ve ever experienced.

After that, I headed to the pretty town of Porvoo for some photography and a fitness class out in the forest. Porvoo reminded me so much of my beloved Rauma, but on a smaller scale. Next I headed to Helsinki and met up with a few Finnish friends: Sami, whom I met in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 and who took me on a 20,000-step walk around his island, and Katja, with whom I delivered a kickass conference speech in Italy in 2013 and who took me out to lunch in the city.

A new country: Belarus. Cool to visit country #71 and my fifth-to-last country in Europe. I had a nice walk along the riverfront and discovered a cool coffeeshop, but the rest of Belarus belongs in “challenges”…

Challenges

I killed my computer in Vail. Since I had bought my MacBook Air in spring 2012, I knew it would be time to upgrade to a new one soon. Yet I wanted to wait until it was absolutely necessary. Then it suddenly became necessary — I STUPIDLY spilled water on my keyboard and none of the top keys worked!

I ordered a refurbished 13″ MacBook Pro with maxed out RAM and it arrived in New York shortly after I got back from Colorado. I’d like to thank the Travel Blog Success community for helping me choose the right laptop for me. That Facebook group is worth the membership alone.

Oh, also — I picked up a cheap silicone keyboard protector. Because I’m not letting another spill destroy this machine.

The good news? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE MY NEW COMPUTER. Man, you don’t realize how bad your old one was until you get a new one and everything flies at the speed of light…

The flight over to Europe was pretty awful. As much as I appreciated flying direct to Helsinki on Finnair, I hated leaving at 5:40 PM and arriving at 8:20 AM, or the equivalent of 1:20 AM New York time. They started serving breakfast at the equivalent of midnight. Yeah, I didn’t sleep a wink. And the woman in front of me had her seat back the whole time…and I was in a middle seat…I got a lot of reading done, but that was the only redeeming factor.

Minsk was rough. Definitely the most challenging place I’ve traveled in Europe. A significant language barrier, which I expected, plus some other quirks — like subway stations that have names in both Russian and Belarusian (often VERY different names) but sometimes the stations only have signs in one language and are announced only in the different language!

All that plus the fact that nearly all wifi is only available via receiving an SMS code — so if you don’t have a SIM card (and I didn’t), you basically have no wifi. Good thing I had it at my apartment…

On top of that, I didn’t find there to be much tourism value in Minsk, though I know I could have seen a lot more if I had made more of an effort. I did love my walk along the river, though. I would only recommend Minsk to experienced travelers. It’s hard.

And a small qualm — as soon as I got on the train to Philadelphia, I realized that my lone pair of sunglasses had lost one of its pads. Wearing them hurt like hell!

Most Popular Post

How I Stay Healthy While Traveling — A guide to staying well on the road.

Other Posts

A Different 24 Hours in Philadelphia — What I did in my former least favorite city.

Portraits of New Yorkers During the Eclipse — I loved the shots I got!

Most Popular Instagram Photo

I took this picture in Kuhmo, Finland, three years ago, and shared it as a preview to my upcoming trip to Finland. Just looking at that makes my heart swell with memories of the midnight sun! For more photos from my travels as well as live updates, follow me on Instagram at @adventurouskate.

Fitness Update

My sister bought me a foam roller for my birthday! I was about to buy myself the same thing. That really says it all.

Beyond that, I’m considering revamping my diet. I’ve been thinking that I should reduce my consumption of meat. I think I’m going to start small and slowly reduce it over time.

This flies in the face of eating mostly paleo, which I still believe to be the healthiest diet, but as someone who flies a lot for work, I need to reduce my impact on the climate. I already do a lot of the top climate recommendations — I don’t have biological kids, I live in an apartment as opposed to a house, I don’t own a car and rarely drive — but a plant-based diet is the most effective method that I’m not already doing.

So. I’m not going to go full vegan, but I plan to eat a lot less meat, especially red meat, which is the worst for the climate. I plan to eat a lot more nuts, seeds, and eggs. We’ll see where it goes.

Also this month, I got my first Fitbit — the Alta HR, which is slim and cute but is a heart rate monitor as well. I’m finding it interesting what burns more calories and what doesn’t. Also, my resting heart rate went up super-high when I was in the Rockies!

What I Read This Month

I swore I was going to finish the Popsugar 2017 Reading Challenge this month, but I just barely missed it — only one book to go! I’ve read 51 books so far this year, all of them fulfilling categories of the challenge. I’m proud to have read so many books, definitely a record in my adult years, but I’m looking forward to getting back to reading what I want to read without worrying about category fulfillment.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind (1985) — I actually first heard about Perfume from a guy I dated awhile back who had lived abroad in Europe. “Everyone in Europe has read this book but hardly any Americans have,” he told me. And it’s true — I hadn’t even heard of it, but my friend Dani, who is German, saw it poking out of my bag and exclaimed, “Oh, Patrick Süskind!”

A baby is born in the streets of 19th century Paris, abandoned, and is soon discovered to have no scent, unnerving everyone he meets. However, he has the keenest sense of smell and uses it to his advantage — working with perfumes, using the power of scent to influence people, and eventually becoming a murderer. I won’t give anything away more than that.

I loved this book — rich and literary, such an original idea, so many dark twists, and a protagonist who is pure evil yet you can’t help wanting him to succeed. Not to mention a bit on the short side, which I appreciated. Not a word was wasted (take note, Murakami). I enjoyed this book far more than I expected and I highly recommend it. Category: a book that takes place over a character’s life span.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2007) — I fell in love with Junot Díaz’s writing when I read the superb This Is How You Lose Her in 2015, but it took me quite a while to read his most famous novel, the one that catapulted him to fame and won him the Pulitzer Prize. Oscar Wao is a very non-traditional Dominican-American — he’s a geek, he’s overweight, and he has absolutely no game with the ladies. But that doesn’t matter when there is a fukú, a curse, leering over the heads of his family, waiting to strike.

This book is a soaring exploration of Dominican history, the immigrant experience, and relationships between friends, lovers, and family. And it’s told in Díaz’s brilliant style, English and Spanish and profanity and uninhibited revelations. But for me, the book didn’t truly come alive until Díaz inhabited the voice of Yunior, the same protagonist of his other books, This Is How You Lose Her and Drown. Yunior is unforgettable. And I’m fairly certain that Yunior is a not-so-fictitious version of Díaz. I’m glad I finally read it, but I still think This Is How You Lose Her is Díaz’s masterpiece. Category: a book that’s been on your TBR list for far too long.

American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse (2017) — Over a period of several months in rural Accomack County, Virginia, fires filled the night skies. Several dozen arsons were committed, new fires appearing almost every night. In a community where the only firefighters were volunteers, it took them forever to find the culprits — but once they did, they realized it was a local couple tied up in a crazy love story.

I love true crime, but reading about the graphic murders of innocent people (like In Cold Blood) leaves me feeling uncomfortable, like I shouldn’t be reading about that. American Fire was different — while property was damaged, it was mostly abandoned houses and most of the damage was the terror on a local community, where people in eternal fear of where the next fire would take place. More than anything, I enjoyed this close look at a once-wealthy part of rural America now struggling to keep its residents financially afloat. Category: a book with a subtitle.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013) — For the challenge I needed to pick a book that I’d read before that always makes me smile. To be honest, most of the books I love deeply don’t make me smile — or they make me smile in spite of grueling sadness, which is always what gets me emotionally. But Eleanor and Park is a book that makes me smile with its sweetness.

This book is about first love between two high school outcasts in Alaska — the lone half-Asian kid in a white midwestern town and a girl living through poverty and an abusive home environment. To me, the brilliance of this book is how Rowell gets you to feel every thudding emotion throughout your whole body. Perhaps it’s simply the universality of first love. Whenever I read this book, I feel the happiness skimming underneath my skin, flowing through every inch of my body. I really can’t describe it any other way. If you haven’t read this book, do, and let me know how it affects you. Category: a book you’ve read before that always makes you smile.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (2004) — I’m a fan of Margaret Atwood and The Handmaid’s Tale, but I was not a fan of this book, the first in the Maddadam trilogy. It takes place in the future and is told by Jimmy, a.k.a. Snowman, presumably the last human left on Earth after decades of unchecked genetic engineering ruins the planet. He’s left in charge of a tribe of childlike genetically engineered quasi-humans, the creation of his best friend and brilliant scientist, Crake. The book tells the story of how the world got to be this way, plus the love triangle between him, Crake, and a Southeast Asian child prostitute turned teacher named Oryx.

It’s a realistic and scary dystopia, which often makes me uncomfortable (hello, The Road), but what irritated me the most was that this book was all exposition. Additionally, Oryx was the epitome of a manic pixie dream girl — the happy, beautiful, perfect girl who loves you for no real reason. I’m surprised to see that dreadful trope appear from a feminist author like Atwood. And a lot of reviews call this a love story, but no, I wouldn’t call it that at all; it was a tale of an infatuation. I doubt I’ll be reading the rest of the series. Category: the first book in a series you’ve never read before.

What I Watched This Month

Looking for something funny to watch on Netflix? Check out Ali Wong’s comedy special, Baby Cobra. I LOVED THIS SPECIAL and Ali Wong is one of my new favorite comedians. She is hilarious and it’s especially relatable viewing if you’re a woman in your early thirties. Oh, and she did this show while seven months pregnant!

Coming Up in September 2017

The month is starting in Minsk and then I’m off to a few more countries! First to Lithuania, where it looks like I’ll only have time for Vilnius (I wanted to see Kaunas, too, but there was a snafu on September 1 that you’ll hear about in a month…). Next up, Estonia: Tallinn and a day trip to Lahemaa National Park.

Then a brief stop in Helsinki and a ferry trip to St. Petersburg, Russia! I’m taking the St. Peter Line ferry from Helsinki, which is one of very few ways US citizens can visit Russia without a visa. There’s not a lot of reliable information about it online so I look forward to writing all about it for you.

I’m finishing with two more days in Helsinki and then I fly home to New York. After that, I’ll be staying put for the rest of the month, maybe taking a three-day trip somewhere if I have the time and/or energy.

Any suggestions for Vilnius, Tallinn, or St. Petersburg? Share away!

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2gJmVSi

[berkleydrive]

What to wear if...

You get a wake up call from four of GOT7's members.

(Chapter 10: House Party Caller | Love Inside | a GOT7 fanfiction)

"Yoboseo?" [Hello?] I groggily answer my phone without taking off my eye mask. I don't even care who the caller is, I just want to go back to sleep. It's 9AM on a Sunday. I really don't understand why anyone would call me at this hour.

"Good morning! Are you busy today?" The caller says, their thick American accent slightly waking my senses.

"Hmmm... What?" I moan while turning in my bed. "Who is this?"

"Is she seriously still sleeping?!" Says another voice in the background. I can hear scratches, like someone's grabbing the phone from the caller. I finally decide to take off my mask and check the ID. Mark Tuan.

"Hello?" He says. Wait that's not Mark's voice.

"Hello? Mark?"

"No, it's Jackson. Are you awake now?" He says, scruffy voice tickling my ear.

"Not really. Wae? [Why?]"

"We're on the way to your place right now,"

"What?!" I gasp, bolting upright in the most unglamorous way. Since the last Real GOT7 shoot, Mina and I have gotten closer to the crew and the boys that we were asked to come to all the remaining shoots. Mark and I have been messaging each other a lot—practically every day when he's not busy. The three guys have visited me at home at least twice this month already and it's only the middle of November. I really shouldn't be surprised that they've decided to come over today, but this early and even in this cold weather? Really?

"Because we're bored and we don't know where to go today," Jackson tells me, his American English making him sound like the world's biggest brat.

"UGH. Fine, who's with you?" I ask, finally getting out of bed and heading to my dressing room to change into something decent.

"It's a surprise!" Jackson answers as I struggle to strip off my pajamas.

"Oh my god, can you please just tell me?!" I toss my clothes to the hamper in the corner of the room and hurriedly open the drawers of my white distressed dresser.

"I'll give you a hint. Hyung, say hello," Jackson says, his voice growing fainter.

"Eh? Uh, Hellooo—" Another voice pipes in. Shit. That's definitely JB. I hope Mina's not busy today.

"Do you know who that is?" Jackson again.

"I think I do," I answer while taking out a pair of denim cutoffs and an oversized pink knit sweater from my closet. "Isn't that JB?"

"Ugh, you're no fun. We brought you breakfast so don't bother cooking, okay? See you in like... 30 minutes?" Jackson says, making me panic as I stand in my bathroom. I mutter a quick goodbye before running downstairs in my underwear to get the coffee started, and then running upstairs again to take a shower.

The doorbell rings exactly 30 minutes after the call which doesn't really shock me knowing how much Jackson hates being late. I glance at the mirror by the door. My hair is still wet but at least I managed to slap on toner, essence, eye cream, moisturizer, and a tiny bit of tint on my cheeks and lips. I look through the peep hole and true enough I see GOT7's leader standing with the foreign members on my doorstep.

"Hey!" I say, opening the door for everyone with a smile. As usual, Mark is the first to come in, giving me a big hug after taking off his shoes. He then sticks his nose up in the air to take a sniff.

"Oh my goodness, coffee! Yes!" He saunters to the kitchen without looking back.

Jackson comes in after him carrying a huge ass paperbag. "Oh, you smell good! Good job for someone who just woke up!" He winks at me after a quick hug.

"Noona, I hope we didn't catch you at a bad time," says JB politely in Korean before giving me an uneasy half-hug. I feel my cheeks heat up a bit at the unusual close contact because JB and I have never been this close to each other. We've had brief conversations during shoots though, which makes it easy to talk to him at this point.

"Ani, ani, [No, no,] you're always welcome here!" I answer, smiling warmly at him. His smile is so nice, I wish I could frame it and give it to Mina that instant.

BamBam closes the door and stands beside JB, his off duty model look distracting me momentarily. "Awww, you look so pretty today!" He comments, hugging me tight. I tell him he looks prettier in his black sweater, black skinny jeans, pink jacket and pink socks. I offer to hang their coats for them upstairs, and tell them to make themselves at home—something I really don't have to say anymore but which JB seems to appreciate.

The dining table is all set by the time I got back. There's a stack of pancakes on my plate along with some eggs benedict, and bacon. Mark took the liberty of pouring coffee for me and BamBam. JB and Jackson have somehow produced green tea. We all eat in peace, a few chit chats peppering our breakfast table.

Me gustas tu, me gustas tu, stu stu ru ru...

"That's your ring tone?" Jackson asks, clearly surprised when a call came in.

"What?! I like GFriend," I respond before picking my phone up. "Yoboseo?" [Hello?] I see BamBam smiling again the moment I transform into my Korean alter-ego. He seems to find it too cute to handle.

"Omo omo omo omo omo, are they  really there? Is JB there?" Kang Mina is ecstatic as heck.

"Ne, [Yes,] we're having breakfast right now. You're coming over, right?" Everyone around me seems interested to know who the other guest is. I put my phone down as soon as I wrap things up with Mina, who's reportedly dashing to the bathroom as we speak.

"Hey, give me your phone," Jackson orders. I hand it to him, curious as to what he's planning to do.

"Is that Mina-ssi?" JB asks, momentarily taking my focus away from Jackson. I nod and tell him she's coming over too since she's not busy today. I yabber more about her, how she likes really spicy ramyeon, and how she compliments my outfit every day.

"That's why I always try to dress nicely. I want to know what she thinks because she's really good at making observations." I explain in Korean so JB would know how daebak my friend is. It's great to know that he's interested in her, enough to listen to me talk about her quirks.

"Okay, done!" Jackson announces in English before giving me my phone back. "Now I'm calling you!" He then adds in Korean. I swear this table talk is messing with my bilingual brain. My phone starts to light up and we all hear cute holiday tones coming out of it followed by Jackson's low rapping. I look at the caller ID only to find that he not only changed my ringtone, he also took a selfie of him doing a finger heart and made it his contact photo.

"This is so cute!" I squeal, slightly blushing. I wasn't a fan of GOT7 before joining JYPE and I sure as heck don't have a bias list but it's hard to maintain that when you get to see what kind of people they are off cam. "Thank you, this is pretty spiffy," I tell Jackson, my warm smile spreading like melted butter across my face. I really mean it. I like GFriend a lot but it's adorable that Jackson personally made it a mission to remind me that they're my actual friends. He's totally staying on my bias list.

"Ah pali, pali, [quick, quick,] I need to take your caller ID photos too!" I say, standing to take Mark and BamBam's photos. "Oh, JB-ssi, I don't have your number yet." I hand him my phone nervously. He thinks about it for a second, making me regret asking him in the first place. What the heck was I thinking anyway?! The rest of the boys are eyeing us curiously while eating. JB then smiles at me, takes my phone, and types his number in. He even takes a selfie and saves it in his own contact profile. Jaebum Im.

He typed his name in Romanized form, just like everyone else in my contacts list. I am instantly impressed by his eye for detail because he seems to understand the way with which I organize my phone. Even my brother is listed in my address book as Hope Kangjeon. The only people who are listed differently are my parents (because if something were to happen to me, the first two things people would search on my phone are 'Mom' and 'Dad').

"Ah, it's so weird seeing JB hyung taking a selca," BamBam comments. We can't help but laugh at JB's bashful smile.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" I ask.

"Chill?" says Mark.

"We could go shopping?" BamBam suggests, eyes egging me to say yes.

"Ani, [No,] let's not go out today. It's too cold I think it's better to stay indoors." We all look at JB, me most especially. He's not smiling anymore, but he's gazing at me with a resolute look on his face. Somehow, I get the feeling that he wants to talk to me about something important, which is why he came and why he wants to stay.

"Ah, maja!" [Yes, you're right!] My answer makes the other three members turn to me with surprised looks on their faces. "Why don't you guys just watch a movie or play games, and I'll cook fried chicken for you!" They seem to like the idea.

As we start to clean up, Mark and Jackson volunteers to tour JB around my apartment. They promise not to touch anything in my closet this time. BamBam stays behind to help me wash the dishes. "I didn't know you were such a neat freak," I say as I watch BamBam scrub each plate twice.

"I just got used to it," He answers, reminding me that his family owns a restaurant chain in Thailand. He must've been used to cleaning up well. "You're the neat freak one, your apartment smells so nice all the time."

I laugh and show him one of the tiny bottles filled with vanilla scented incense sticks that I always keep near the window sills. "It's because I have these around the house near the windows and the vents. My mom taught me that." I yabber on as I put the bottle back to its original place. "When I come home from work, the scent reminds me of how far I've come since graduation and it feels really good."

I tell him more about my first year in Korea; How I didn't have a job, I couldn't speak the language well, and the only piece of furniture in my apartment was my bed. The most I allowed my mom to do for me was to help me find a place to stay and open a bank account. I refused when she begged to buy furniture for me because I told her I'd like to do it on my own, and with my own money.

"I feel the same way when my mom sends me pictures of our new house," BamBam replies. He then shows me pictures of the two-storey house he bought for his family in Bangkok and I marvel at the grandness of everything he's showing me, until we hear heavy footsteps upstairs and booming laughter.

"Yah, what are you doing?!" I scream, leaving BamBam with the dishes to run upstairs in panic. Please not my underwear again. PLEASE.

**To be continued**