#but less than three weeks! 5 exams (of 8) and then i am free!!!!

[scribbling-dragon]

i do believe. if anything will do me in it shall be. chemistry. terrible beast that it is

[onlythebrave-mp3]

my top 2020 fics!

okay! so i recently jumped back into this fandom after a couple of years, and started reading fic again, and i wanted to rec some of my favorites that were written this year. there’s ten on this list, and i probably could’ve done like 30 but this is already so long lol. it’s kind of in a general order, so #1 is my fav for this year, but i tried not to focus on the ranking too much because it stresses me out and i don’t need any more anxiety so it’s ended up being a pretty vague system.

1.  Our Lives, Non-Fiction (113k) by @indiaalphawhiskey 

listen. I’ve reblogged this fic like 10 times. I’ve read it twice already and it came out less than 3 weeks ago. It is an instant classic, right up there with fics like TIF or Wear it like a Crown. It has gorgeous, gorgeous writing, a thoroughly developed plot and well written character development, and such a compelling story. It is a marcel/louis fic, and I usually shy away from that kind of thing, but i’m so glad i didn’t this time because god, this one is so good. Seriously, if anyone ends up reading it, come and rant to me about it and we can cry together. Halfway through the second chapter, I created a note on my phone so I could keep track of everything I loved, and my comment on that fic is essentially a love letter to @indiaalphawhiskey. It's just so good. If you’re going to read one fic off this list, read this one. 

2. Loving You's a Bloodsport (106k) by @rosesau

okay i’m pretty sure this one made me cry like four times, which is a feat for me because i’m not usually a crier. Its soulmates with a little bit of a twist, and the plot is so well developed. Harry and louis’ feelings and their progression are written so vividly and i wish i could forget that i read it so i could go and read it again for the first time. It's also got some enemies to lovers, which is my favorite trope, and all of the side characters are beautifully developed as well. Prince!Harry, soldier!Louis, angsty soulmates. What more could you want? Oh and if you’re not convinced enough, here is a quote that fucking follows me around because its so beautiful: “Love and hate are two sharp knives balanced on a very fine line and I’ve cut myself on both because of you.” (ohmygod)

3. Mine Would Be You (114k) by @crinkle-eyed-boo

okay this one is listed at number three but it really should be 1c lol. I started this one at 11 pm like an idiot, and i don’t think i slept that night at all. It's Exes to lovers, and it's so well written. It switches between the past and the present, it's  heartbreakingly beautiful, the breakup and resolution are both so realistically written as well, and there's a great ot5 plotline too that i really loved. This one was also an instant classic- i bookmarked it before i even finished reading it. It's also got beautiful art and Louis and Harry are both artists in NYC, which I'm a slut for. Please read this one, it's so good.

okay i just realized how long this got so i’m putting the rest under the cut

4. The Murmur of Yearning (93k) by @mediawhorefics (for some reason tumblr isn’t letting me tag them??) | mediawhore on ao3 

I just finished this one, and my goddddddd it's so good. I read it in a day, and it's essentially 100k. Which isn’t that unusual for me except I did skip a class to get through it (an exam prep class. Not my finest moment but I passed. so.) There are tons of original characters that draw you in, and the whole world that is created is so fascinating and detailed. There's also no homophobia, so if you like historical fics but get triggered by that kind of thing, this is for you! Also, if you’re worried about the non-con elements, I'm sure you could message the author but also feel free to check in with me! I’ll definitely be rereading it in the near future and am totally up for discussing and crying over this fic with anyone.

5. Remember Me Fondly by @bluejeanlouis | kiddle on ao3 

ahhhhhhh this one made me sob too! It's set in both the present and the past, and I fell in love with all of the characters. This one is also heartbreaking, but I promise there’s a happy ending. Also, they way this fic deals with the fame and the homophobia and tours that harry and louis went through -even if it isn’t actually canon and is set in the 90s- is so vividly painful and realistic. It's written half through a journalist’s eyes and half through harry and louis, yet the switch in pov is so seamless and fluid and adds so much to the piece. 11/10.

6. Nothing But You On My Mind (83k) by @absoloutenonsense | nonsensedarling on ao3

okay. I started this in the middle of the night, and told myself I'd read one chapter to see if I liked it and then I would go to sleep. I'm pretty sure I read like 6. It sucks you in right from the beginning, and there's such a well developed plot. And it's so unpredictable and all of the details are so nuanced and tiny and then you look back at everything after you’ve finished it and go oh. Ohhhhhh. This one is also enemies to lovers. Are we sensing a pattern here?

7. An Invincible Summer (44k) by @twopoppies | Brooklyn_Babylon on ao3 

so as you can see this one is only 45k but i just love it so much that i’m rec’ing in anyways. It’s such a gentle, exploratory piece of literal art, and I kind of want to stay in the world that was created forever. Its set in the 1940s on a farm and i know @twopoppies has said that it started off as an excuse for barn sex, but it such a vivid story and its heartbreaking and emotional and uplifting all at once and please please please go read this. The only critique I have of it is that it's only 40k.

8. Somewhere in Between Lightning (99k) by @nauticalleeds, @shiningdistraction, and jassy117 on ao3

So this one's exes-to-lovers as well, and it's written in such a realistic way. Also i’m in love with the concept of louis on love island, despite the fact that he said he hates it. There's a sauna scene that I still think about sometimes. It's got just the right amount of angst and fluff and pining and despite the fact that it's set on a show that is usually pretty dramatic and unrealistic, this is written in a really beautiful but pragmatic way. I love it. i’ve got it  downloaded on my phone so I can read little snippets of it sometimes if I have to wait somewhere.

9. You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) (95k) by @harryrainbows | lucythegoosey on ao3 

god so this one incorporates some of Fine Line into it, and wouldn’t say it's a song fic so much as it is written as a canon compliant fic that ties harry’s songs into it and its done so fucking well oh my god. Harry and Louis are exes in this one too (lol i'm sorry) and the build up of them getting together and the pining and longing is written really well.

10. At Risk, I Fold (15k) by @bearmustard | clare328 on ao3 

so i know this one is only 15k, but I put this in the list anyways. It's canon compliant, and it does mention the stunts (as stunts), but don’t let that deter you. Harry and Louis are written almost exactly as i’ve imagined them, and this one is such a heartbreaking look into the resilience and love and bravery that they have. It made me cry despite the fact that it’s not really a glum fic. The only reason it is last on the list is because it's shorter and i was mostly intending this to be a long fic rec. The love that they have for each other really shines through in this one, and it’s super gentle and soft and sad and happy all at once and just please go read it.

[willkillforgoodmemories]

Schools Re-imagined

Okay fellow guys, gays and ladies (all beings are invited), TODAY on quaran-talks (get it, quarantine but replace the tine with talks, never mind), we will be 

“RE-IMAGINING SCHOOLS” (Mostly High school and it’s equivalents around the world)

so that they actually do their job and prepare us for the real world, which they haven’t. They have, however given me sleep-deprived days, traumatic memories and snakes for friends. 

ASPECT NUMBER ONE

Changing when school starts. I mean, whose lovely idea was to start school at 8.00. Many schools also start schools at 8.30 but lord, imagine how happy we all will be if schools opened a little later.

  According to the National Sleep Foundation, the sleep requirement for teenagers is between 8-10 hours per night. That indicates that the earliest healthy wake-up time for teens should not be before 7 a.m.

I propose that schools start not earlier than 9.00 am. That way one does not have to bear with the absolute feeling of grogginess of completing tasks on auto-pilot (when you complete tasks by doing the bare minimum because your brain is not awake), not rushing through morning routines (rushing can cause stress and anxiety) and can start the day on a good note.  All those you thrive on 3-4 hour naps, it is in no way healthy and in some ways, not even your mistake. Moving on,

ASPECT NUMBER TWO

The marvellous blame-game. The student is usually the pawn. Don’t get the concept while in class, the teacher will probably say that you weren’t listening. 

Ma’am or Sir, it’s your job to make sure the students understand what you teach. Be patient and stop telling them it’s wrong if they don’t understand the concept.It won’t hurt if you take out some time and teach them the concept again. 

If you don’t get the concept during homework and use the reference guide, the parents will usually say that they weren’t paying attention in class and should know it. The reference material was made for a reason, and that was so that the student could use it. If the student wasn’t able to understand in class, there is a high chance they would be able to understand it on their own with their own research. Don’t doubt a student’s ability, even a little pat on the back can go a long way. More on this later. 

ASPECT NUMBER THREE

A very popular opinion is that schools kill creativity. They don’t out right kill it, they just suppress it until it never come backs. In other words, it’s there but not quite. (confusing, just like the world’s education system). If the student says a wrong answer, don’t outright say no or prompt the class to laugh at them. Question their understanding in a polite way.  Promote creative thinking and finding different ways of solving problems. Creativity can be found in all subjects, you just need to find a will. Don’t suppress interests such as liking of a particular aesthetic, genre of music or style. 

ASPECT NUMBER FOUR

There is no space for individuality. Uniforms are okay because you don’t have to go through the hassle of picking out clothes but limiting other choices such as style of hair, use of accessories and nail polish and colour of hair should not dictate what kind of a student they are. Teachers and Administration should not care about these things because every student needs their own way of showing creativity. These things do not dictate what kind of student they are. There is a common misconception that students who do the above mentioned things will distract students and disrupt the class. The students usually compliment or comment on it and move on with their day. The teachers, however will call them out, fine them, give them detention or some other kind of punishment. The only people that are getting distracted here is the staff who takes the time out of their day to call a student out on their mode of expression. All those teachers who support their students’ choices are pure gems and deserve all the love in the world. 

ASPECT NUMBER FIVE

The ungodly amount of homework. This is an extension of ‘aspect number two.’ I along with many other teenagers believe that the homework should be limited to two hours a day. No, I don’t mean two hours per subject. I mean two hours total. It can be extended to 3.5 hours but not more than that. Take the example of a GCSE student. A normal student takes about 9-12 subjects. Depending on the intensity of the subjects,the student should spend about 15-20 minutes per subject. During tests and exam weeks, this can be bumped up to 5 hours but still, testing a student’s skills of memorization does not prepare them for the real world. After spending six hours in school, this time should be taken to go over material and identify weak points in their understanding, not increasing stress.  

ASPECT NUMBER SIX

The unhealthy expectations which really effect a teenager’s mind, and not in a good way. Many people are out here judging a student who excels in art on it’s ability to do STEM subjects, and vice versa. That’s like judging a fish's ability to climb a tree. Let the student pursue what they like without a thought in their head, “what will everyone think of me.” As a human being, they’d support and not belittle your choices. Let them pursue what they like. If they get bad grades, ask them about it. Don’t start shouting. Teachers, do not announce grades in class, you are literally creating students who build up low self-esteem. How hard is it to understand that teenagers are human beings. They’ll learn. If a previously-gifted student gets a bad grade, don’t make them feel bad about it.

ASPECT NUMBER SEVEN

Actually take a stand on matters that make sense. Stop bullies, racists, homophobes and sexists. Don’t go around nit-picking students who have long nails and unkempt hair or uniform if you have these problems roaming around. That just says that you are only caring about your outer appearance at the expense that most of your students will grow up to be ignorant citizens. A teenager mirrors their surroundings and if you can create a positive surrounding, it’s your part towards a more understanding society.

ASPECT NUMBER EIGHT

WHO thought that giving extra homework on weekends would be a good idea. Like, WHY? Weekends should be for relaxation and for revising topics. Wouldn’t it make sense if students took time to, I don’t know, go over the work from the week. That way, the information can be retained for a longer time. I also present to you the idea of making open book tests the norm. What many schools don’t understand that not everyone can memorize entire books. A student who does well on assignments but not on exams clearly shows that they understand but can’t remember it. The real world clearly shows that you don’t need to remember things because resources will always be at your disposal. A student should know how to apply concepts because 85% of the stuff they learn in school is utterly useless in real life. The remaining 15% are basics of subjects which should be learned. 

ASPECT NUMBER NINE

The schools either need counselors that actually do their job or teachers that are willing to go the extra mile. Counselors need to understand the students’ situation and help them. Don’t blame everything on the phone. (Phones are least of our problems). Normalize opposite-gender friendships. Lastly, with classes algebra and all that, wouldn’t also having classes like etiquette's, how to file taxes and other worldly classes actually help.  

REVISED TIMETABLE

As per the guidelines above. 

Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm.

Sleep between 11:00-11.30 pm. Wake up at 7:45 am (Assuming you slept at 23.15 which is the halfway point, you got a sleep of 8.5 hours, which is healthy)Getting ready and having breakfast at a peaceful pace takes an average of 15 minutes. You will be done by 8:15 am. An average school commute takes about 30 minutes so you should have 15 minutes to spare before 8:30 am strikes and you leave for school.School starts at 9.00 am and ends at 3.00 pm. (Schools here last for 6 hours).Go for extra-curricular activities. On average, extra-curricular activities last for 1.5 hours so you should be free by 4.30-5.00 pm. That leaves you with 6 hours. Even if you take an hour long nap and take exactly 2 hours,no more or less for your homework, you will still be left with 3 hours of leisure. These 6 hours can be scheduled how ever you like. 

Now compare it to my timetable that was in place before the lock down. I woke up 6.00 am (Usually woke up early to complete homework which was impossible to complete yesterday) Left home for school at 7.15 am, usually made up for sleep in the  car. 

Reached school by 7.45. School started at 7.50 am and went on till 2.00 pm. All extra curricular activities were suspended due to tests and exam prep. Reached home at 2.40 pm. (Was picked up from school at 2.10 pm because group assignments roles cannot be assigned in class for some stupid reason so a lot of work has to be done outside class). 

Refresh and have lunch, start homework at 3.00 pm. Went on till 5.00 pm, took a 15-minute break and again continued till 9.00 pm (This is just homework). Picked up the assigned reading and assignments, that went on till 10.00 pm. Time with family till 10.45 pm. 

These were the good days. The days I was assigned art homework were torture. I have gone to school with only 3 hours of sleep many weeks. 

For a system that is suppose to help the students, the education system sure does hate students.

[artiemoonqueen]

Baby

By: Monica Lebron

I was part of a family that had very few pets. We had a turtle that was always there since I can remember but was never...never named. We had doves that my dad once built a coop next to our garage. We would have them in the house as they would sit on our shoulders and often lay unfertilized eggs everywhere. My brother and I were definitely too young to take care of doves. One perished from a night in said coop by a predator, the other was wounded and healed inside the house. We somehow...crushed this one during one of our rough housing. I know I know, we are heathens and should be sent to Peta jail but we were children. Being only three years apart from one another at ages 8-10, we were wrestling and playing on the couch with a comforter and one thing led to another. Our last friend from a pair seems to have gotten tangled up with us. We were very very mournful I swear to you all. After that, our parents had divorced(not because of the doves) and I was left to entertain myself without any responsibility to a pet. It was another story for my brother and mom but this isn;t about their many adventures with pets. This really isn't about the ‘previous’ pets we had in the past. This story is about Baby. In the year 2018, long before my 28th birthday I had to figure out a living situation.

1)find roommates that I knew

2)find roommates that I didn’t know

3)move back with my dad

4)live on my own

Since I had lived two years with roommates that I knew and some I knew too much. Before that I was living with my father that would sometimes ‘break my soul’. And I was a bit hesitant to move with people that were strangers at that time, I took the opportunity to live on my own for the first time. $650.00 for an apartment that has high ceilings, beautiful lighting that I will admit that I am currently kicking myself that I didn’t take enough selfies. Furniture and decorations of my own taste and pretty chill neighbors, the location was a little out of ways from anyone visiting and just down the hill was a large pharmaceutical company that was the ‘leading biotechnology company that invents life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases’ in other words, high possibility that they are working on zombie-endulced material that a friend of mine who once worked there, would swear that that wasn’t happening but promise to text me ‘code red’ as a warning to get my ass far away from that place in anything were to happen.

So I was alone finally and I had really fucking felt it. I went through a winter before looking through websites for adopting an adult feline. I had no preference other than friendly, pettable, I pick up and hug when I need it, but independent. Spoilers(with tears coming down my face I was able to find that. Sorry I thought this was going to be easier) Before our paths would tangle as the dove with my brother and I’s wrestling match, I first looked on the local humane society website to look for potential companions. While I knew I wanted an older cat because of less time training and the idea of giving an older cat a better life, I saw a green eye, black cat with the christen name ‘Monica’. Now if you want to take this moment to go back to the top of this tale and look at the author’s name, I too am named ‘Monica’. What kinda psycho names a cat with a human name like ‘Monica’? I’ve heard names like Sprinkles, Scooby, Donut, Ringo, Chucky, and just about any reference to a greek god/goddess or dessert. Who was the previous owner that watched too many episodes of ‘Friends’ that decided to name a kitten Monica? I quietly laughed in my lonely one bed-room and moved along the website until the next day, on May 21, 2018. A week before my 28th birthday, my little cousin and I drove our way to the adoption center to look at cats that I had no idea whether I would go through with it or not.

“There’s a cat there named Monica?” my cousin had asked after I told her the musing I did the night before.

“ Yeah, she was cute but I can’t take her! I’d look insane.”

“ You don’t know Monica, maybe she is the one.”

“ Hell fucking no.”

We got out of the car and walked in. The front desk had a box of kittens that needed to be processed in. Their mewls were delightful to hear but were too young to be adopted out. I had signed in and asked ‘what’s your most friendliest outgoing cat here right now?’ The person attending us was quick to say all the cats were great but in her time there she had gotten to like a cat named...Monica. I could feel my cousin's smirking gaze on me. I was not going to subject myself to ridicule for having a cat with my same namesake thank you very much. There were many potential companions to see anyway. Some very old and very young. One with just an eye that I was close to choosing and others with large ears that reminded me of season 1 of ‘Girls’ Adam Sackler. But in the room with both a ‘mr and mrs. Incredible’ was also the notable cat named Monica. Let me tell you a little about the cat that will soon be renamed ‘Baby’. She knew how to get ya’ to want her affection. She knew that being present, unafraid. In the open, fluffy with hints of grey and a rich reddish brown coat along the black, open wide green eyes and a meow that was certain. She was her own saleswoman. In a true cliche, I was ‘hook, line and sinker’.

After $90.00 in cash, in a cardboard ‘cat carrier’ and her meowing away, I took a female, domestic longhair, black, eye color that was the color green. Birth Date 10/2009, formerly named ‘Monica’ home. Our first week, I thought she wanted to get close to me at night so when I awoke to a bat that brushed across my face and not her, that was fun. Eleven shots and two weeks of follow up maintenance shots for rabies, we had gotten familiar to one another. I would feed her half a can of wet food at 5:30 am before my morning shift at my part time job at the dmv and feed her the rest at night after my shift from my salon job. She lay on her back sometimes when we were both in the living room while I enjoyed binging on tv. And meow when I say ‘what?’ when we would eye at each-other. She will follow me to a basement apartment that I shared with my close friend David. We call her ‘pizza’ baby because of the time she climbed alongside the back of the couch while we were eating pizza from Pizzaroni. I felt a tug on my left arm that was holding up my cheese slice. When I looked, she was leaning far to reach my pizza to eat it. Not a successful attempt that time but she will try again. She constantly wanted the attention of David to which he would gladly and promptly pet her while she purred and then quickly turned around to bit his hand away. He always gave her the attention though. For that I am grateful for David. You made sure she ate and loved. You affectionately talk about her to your parents on your long distance phone calls with them and tell your two ideal brunch buddies about your time with Baby. You were the best coparent for her when I would leave for a week long trip to Europe or weekends away to work conventions. She loved you. You had to know that, and you Mike. She loved you too. But she didn’t love the dogs that would shit all over the backyard on the walkway to the trash. Those assholes.

Her next adventure with a month long excursion to my dad’s house before the final move together. While I worked my last few weeks at the salon to save for the time that I would become a true ‘City’ woman. She would find ways to break into my dad's room to lay on the middle of his bed and sleep. His heater would be right in her direction, while we sat unknowing in his recliner in front of his tv. He didn't want to like her. I know this. But who could meet a cat like Baby and not love her. Who would not love seeing a black cat go on her hind legs to look out the window that you have looked through to see the ongoings of the gentleman club next door. Yes, from grades eighth to age 26 I had lived in an apartment that was a stone throw away from a gentleman’s club that late at night, my dad would wake me up to see out the window and watch as the patrons would take pictures of topless dancers on the sign of the establishment before a game of ‘catch me if you can’ through the usual busy main street formerly known as The Bowery before 1867 however that should be left for another drawn out tale. Baby will have a final destination and despite her short time here, my dream of her sleeping peacefully near me while I lay on my bed on a raining day did come to fruition. Super Bowl LIV, February 2, 2019. Both my birth mother and I are hungover from separate nights from each other. She picks up my stuff, Baby and I. And we head to my current apartment in Brooklyn, New York. A dream that I have had besides the many others that will be done and accomplished, I swear. Baby is free to roam the car but she opts to explore little and sleeps most of the way to hear and then to Long Beach for two nights of rest. She walks around like the fearless cat that she is in any space she is in. Never cowers. Never shows fear or intimidation. She is fucking awesome in all her glory and we live together here for another six months until she seems to not to be herself.

As I live in a time of fear for my health during a pandemic, I don’t realize that Baby could be going through a decrease of quality of life with some kind of kidney failure. It was all too quick the deterioration in her appearance and behavior. I was quick to get her to a vet but the results showed more than we had thought and I had to bring her to an emergency vet. They were so kind but when the doctor told me the treatment that would be done to her, I agreed to then going to reception to find out that I would even have enough money to keep her there for a day of treatment. I paid for blood work, exam fees and medicine just to try and figure a way and she seemed to perk up again and walk her way to her favorite rooms to look out the windows or spy on us watching another extructating episode of White Lines. But she wouldn’t eat. For almost three weeks she wouldn’t eat and I had to force feed her food but she didn't want it. I would just get frustrated and I’m sure she was frustrated with me but why wouldn’t she just eat and take the medicine and be like another girls cat that has had kidney failure for years but the cat was still going? Why?

I knew what was going to happen if I made another appointment. I knew and I didn’t want to know. I just had to make the appointment because what if? What if, despite the week before she was back to her ‘old self’ she got even worse the following week, and couldn’t even walk in a straight line. What if her constant sleeping was just her trying to heal herself? What if I bring her one more time and they have a better option that I can afford and I can bring her home and she could lay right beside me on the bed like she use to and look at me with her beautiful green giant eyes that a kid once said were evil eyes but your are dumb kid, really dumb. What if? That’s not how it goes though. We know in our souls when it’s time to say that horrible and final goodbye. So we push through, kiss them more and hold them close and bring them to the vet. We will wait and listen with tears already shed for the answer we didn’t want. The answer that didn’t fit with the what ifs. And you try to say your goodbye while uttering so many I’m so sorry. This isn’t a mom in hospice or a phone call from the police saying your sibling has passed. It’s nothing close to seeing the numbers of people dying from a virus or you dad getting in an accident and obtaining horrible injuries. Those pains are harsh, and grasping air. Those pains affect the heart, and brain for the rest of your life. Baby is like one in a million pets that people have lost. There will be millions of pets to come and go after my time here. However Baby was mine for a short time, but mine. I love her. I miss her. I feel her but I know she can never be here with me again. Feeling her not in the room with us but still having her body left was eerie. She made me happy, and loved like a familiar to its owner. Her snores by my head will be missed. Her purrs and weight on my chest. Her constant knots in her long hair. Her allowances of my kisses on her head. Goodbye Monica, Goodbye Baby.

END

[etraytin]

Quarantine, Day 36

Well, the bar exam results did not post at 12:01am on April 17 I didn't really expect that they would, but I had to check anyway. Like three times. Oh well. It's not like it's MY ENTIRE LIFE'S WORK or anything. Calm, we are so very calm around here. Very zen. We have put on the Tinykittens livestream on the television to watch one of their foster mamas get ready to have kittens, and we are intensely, rigidly, singlemindedly relaxed. 

Today was sewing day! I signed up with the local food bank to help with a drive-through distribution on Monday because they needed volunteers, but I don't really have a proper mask. I've got an elastic-backed bandana headband that does well enough for running around and moving cats, but for something like this, I want to be masked up. And why should I not make my own masks? I'm crafty, I'm reasonably clever, and most importantly, I have my own sewing machine. Specifically, I have my mom's old sewing machine from the early nineties that I have never really learned how to use despite my best intentions, but let's not pick nits. It's a sewing machine, and it works. How hard could it be? (she asked with innocent hubris and massive amounts of unearned self-confidence.)

I spent the first part of the morning running more cats to the spay clinic, but that was so early in the morning it barely counts. After that, I pulled the sewing machine's rolly suitcase into the living room and set it up on a TV tray because we do not have an eating table and my husband and son were using both our desks for their various schools. A half hour of reading the user manual (copyright 1988) and watching some YouTube videos was enough to let me get the machine threaded, and I was ready to go! I was ready to... snap the thread instantly! I was ready to fuck around some with the tension dial so maybe it would not do that! I was ready to rethread the bobbin so it would not do that other thing! I was ready to make an absolutely unholy tangle, five or six times in a row! It was all amazing, I am clearly a prodigy. 

It was around this point that I adjusted my expectations for churning out a couple masks and decided today would be a practice day. I cut a few squares out of an old t-shirt and practiced doing simple straight seams, which is apparently a lot harder than it looks. It took another four or five hours to routinely be able to make more than one seam in a row without rethreading everything, but I'm getting a lot better! And as a bonus,, I've been seaming rectangles on three and a half sides, then turning them inside out so the kiddo can stuff them with polyfil and sew them shut into pillows. His stitches, while a little large, are surprisingly straight! Good job. I think that with some continued work, I will be able to turn a pillowcase into a couple of credible masks before Monday. I hope, anyway. 

Today was also exciting because it was GROCERY DAY. I have been waiting a very long time for this day, with my extremely large aspirational shopping list and very high hopes. The most important part first: they did include the 100 pack of colored pencils! I'm so excited! I ended up with eight unavailable items (including the pencil sharpener unfortunately), and 20 substitutions, but for the most part the substitutions were sensible and often much better than what I'd asked for in the first place. I am 1000% not going to quibble if they want to assuage my disappointment in not getting the pints of ice cream I wanted by subbing in gallons of a different flavor. That is more than okay with me, dudes! They also threw in a bag of someone else's groceries, consisting of some baby cheetos, a box of infant Midol, and a red onion, and I haven't seen my Sour Patch Kids anywhere. But for pity's sake, there's a pandemic on, and when you play Game of Groceries, you 'get what you get and you don't make a fit,' as one of the kiddo's preschool teachers used to tell him. I gave the guys a glowing five star review and left a comment on the corporate Facebook about the good job the store was doing. They are not allowed to take tips at Walmart, which blows, but hopefully that will help them a little at least. 

So all in all, we have enough groceries to last us at least a month, though we'll probably have to go out for milk, OJ and bread a couple of times. The fridge is packed, as is the freezer (three gallons is a fuck of a lot of ice cream, my friends,) and the pantry. In looking at it all, I am willing to concede that I may have become a little squirrel brained this week, especially after the check came in yesterday, and that when I go to the food drive on Monday I should probably take a couple bags of stuff. Nobody needs fifteen cans of pasta sauce to last a month, and we still haven't eaten five of those cans of Spam I had before. There is a fine line between feeling good for having enough and feeling bad because you have too much and other people don't. On the other hand, I bought all the ingredients for key lime pie, plus a carton of fresh whipping cream. It's going to be _so good._  We also have five bunches of bananas, but that was just an accident. Good thing we've got that banana bread with chocolate chips recipe! Still no toilet paper to be had, but we have enough for now. 

Found a fun free game on the App store called Seedship, that killed a couple of hours while I tried to save a sleeper ship full of the last remnants of the human race. Kiddo is reading Bunnicula for the second day in a row, he likes it! I'm glad, I used to love that book. He's also learning to do some fairly sophisticated math for fourth grade involving adding fractions of a circle's radius. I had to think for a minute to figure out what 5/8 of a full rotation would be, and then encourage him to think in the right way to figure it out too. It is 225 degrees, which we figured out in our heads by starting with the clue that 1/4=90 degrees, changing that to 2/8, then dividing it in half to get 1/8=45 degrees. He did nearly all of it himself, too, with just a little nudging from me, and then went on to figure out twelfths as well, then how to add various fractions to figure out total degrees. I'm very proud of him! 

I wonder if it's going to be weird in future years if I or anyone else comes back to look at this and notices that I journal hardly at all about world events, and a huge amount about the contents of my pantry. The contents of my pantry is way less depressing. Reading the news is scary or sad or infuriating or frustrating, but digging out leftovers and cleverly combining them into a new casserole is both productive and fun. It's important, I think, to feel a sense of control, even when very little is controllable. That's maybe not the biggest reason I'm still trying to volunteer, but it's definitely on the list. You're not helpless if you can help others, even in small ways, even if that other is just a cat who doesn't even like you. 

Still no bar exam results. It's gonna be a long day.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Partner search!

Hello all! I’m looking for a skilled, experienced 1x1 partner or two for a Discord roleplay. I have a few particular plots, though please feel free to come with your own ideas. Please read to the end as there is a password I won't answer messages without.

•General/Writing Style•

I usually prefer sticking at around 4 paragraphs and up, but quality over quantity for the most part. If you usually write 3 paragraphs or less, it'll be hard for me to stay interested, however. I would prefer you write in 3rd person, past tense. Please have decent grammar and spelling, varied vocabulary and sentence structure, as well as decent syntax. Please provide me something of substance to respond to in your responses. Please also be somewhat experienced.

•Age•

18+ only, but 21+ preferred (I'm 23)

•Timezone•

Mine is EST. I do not mind what timezone you're in.

•Response Frequency•

I'd prefer if you could respond at least once a week. I'm a pretty busy student can't definitely commit to much more than that, so I won't ask that of you. Please try to communicate when you will be gone or significantly less active for several weeks or more. I will try to do the same.I'm a bit less lenient with this when we're still doing introductions, so if we've barely said hello but a few days pass and I hear nothing, I'll assume you're no longer interested or never were in the first place and close our discussion. You are free to assume the same of me.

•Genre•

I'm a sucker for Romantic Slice-of-life with a healthy dose of drama and angst, but I do like to weave other genres in there too such as Supernatural, Mystery, Action, and Adventure. I'm really open to most things if the plot interests me.

•Gender and Romantic Preference•

I strongly prefer playing a female main outside of MxM. Beyond that, I am open to MxF, FxF, and MxM . Currently, I'm mostly in the mood for an MxF or possibly F//. My apologies, but please note I do not play male in MxF unless we have roleplayed other pairings together before and have highly compatible writing styles. I rarely double up.I do not engage in dichotomy personality dynamics(ie- dom/sub, ABO, top/bottom) and like pairings to be close to even as possible in contributions to the relationship. If a scene gets intimate, I'd prefer we fade to black.

•Plots/Creativity•

The plots I’m looking to do atm are listed below. Despite this, you're more than welcome to share plots of your own. I'd prefer it if you are open to brainstorming plot points and bouncing ideas off each other too- let's keep this interesting for both of us so it stays alive.

•OCs•

I would prefer not to roleplay with OCs that are excessively shy, Mary-Sues, or OP. Additionally, please ensure your own OC does not monopolize the plot with their own issues and background. Let's share the spotlight.I tend to play multiple characters and would prefer if you did too.Please do not control my main OC or any named side characters I introduce. It can really mess with my plans with them if you suddenly auto-kill out of nowhere or something... If necessary, I may permit you to control a side character of mine, but please run it by me first. Communication is key.

•Platform•

Discord is strongly preferred. I can potentially be convinced to use kik, tumblr, or line.

•Fandoms•

I am willing to roleplay within the universe of several fandoms, but please note I do not roleplay as canon characters and would prefer not to roleplay with canon characters either. Please recall that I am more than happy to do original plots too if you aren't into any of these.-Corpse Party**-Black Mirror-Death Note-Avatar The Last Airbender*-Downton Abbey-Call The Midwife*-Dragon Quest(IV-IX)***-Miraculous Ladybug****(I'd love to delve into the more subtle, darker elements like the consequences of a broken miraculous and time travel)-Fruits Basket**-Soul Eater*-The Hunger Games-Harry Potter(The number of * indicates craving)

•Original Plots•

(Muse I would like to play is bolded. If neither are bolded, I can do either. All of these are open to brainstorming and tweaking!)

Muse A was born into a society where ‘falling in love’ is not a thing. Sure, it’s written in about fairy tales and even history texts, but most Readers laugh it off as a silly, archaic concept. All couples are formed by reading Cerebral wavelengths, stats that are unique to every individual. Every person has a single match and are paired with that person permanently when they come of age. No trades, no take-backs. Muse B, though born into the regular world, doesn’t believe in love either. Perhaps it was the plight of their parents, or that one nasty breakup. Perhaps it was the sight of all the couples around who’d be lovey-dovey one week, but strangers the next. Whatever it is, they don’t buy it. That suits Muse A just fine- their Cerebral wavelengths not only don’t match, they bang together in a cacophony. Why is it then that these two begin experiencing an undeniable pull to each other?

One night, Muse A is taking their usual jog through the park when they trip right over Muse B tying their shoe. Cliche start is cliche, I know, but stay with me here. After some initial awkwardness, the two hit it off quite well. Flash forward a week or so and the pair are starting school in the same class, Muse A as one of the typical debutants, and Muse B a lucky upstart on a basketball scholarship. Muse B had high hopes for where things’ll go…only to find out Muse A has a boyfriend, who happens to be Muse B’s nemesis on the courts. Whoops. But something’s really off with the couple. As in the boy is downright awful, and it isn’t just the rivalry talking. Yet Muse A refuses to leave him…why is that?

(This is an older one of mine, but I’ve recently kinda been in the mood to start it up again.) Marianoh’s Culinary Institute is the most renowned school for culinary arts in the country. Any who truly wish to be a master chef would be foolish not to attend. Unless they don’t have the means- the tuition is insanely high. Muse A is part of the lucky few of humble beginnings that has been selected to attend via scholarship. They couldn’t be more excited. Muse B, on the other hand, comes from a family of celebrity chefs. Their spot at Marianoh’s was confirmed before birth. Yet, somehow, they don’t share Muse A’s joy. Far from it, actually. What happens when the two are partnered up for the year?

(A brand new one definitely open to suggestions) St. Cornelius’ Academy(or University) is an academic institution reserved only for those of royal or noble background as well as their future servants, attendants, and body guards. Students of the academy hail from kingdoms where individuals are born gifted with control over the 8 elements- light, wind, flame, flora, lightening(tech), water, earth, and darkness. Students are divided based on status into ‘Golds,’ ‘Greys,’ and ‘ The ‘Gold’ category includes all royalty and nobility aside from viscounts and barons of low birth. The ‘Gray’ category includes future ladies and men in waiting, other servants, attendants, and body guards. Students are instructed in all areas in order to best prepare them for their future roles from political science to etiquette to combat. Given the wealth of a portion of the student body, the campus is a vivacious display of luxury, featuring lavish gardens, seemingly endless grounds, state-of-the-art learning facilities, and even an expansive kitchen headed by a world renowned 31 star chef. Currently, I have three potential pairings in mind for this set-up.

-Muse A is a new lady in waiting assigned to a spoilt, catty Duchess of Aquaria(Water Kingdom). Catering to the every whim of the young princess-to-be is exhausting, but her goal of reaching far greater heights than her questionable background merits keeps her going. What faster way to do that than catching the eye of Muse B, the princess’ bethrothed and crown Prince of Aquaria using abilities bequeathed to her by her merpeople ancestry? The lines between acting and reality are prone to blurring, however and actual feelings soon begin to muddle her plans. Muse B isn’t as unaware as he first seems either..

-Muse A is the somewhat naive prince of Angion(Flora), unsure of his future. He’s distant from his fiancée, Muse B a cold, proud Marchioness of the same kingdom, and his closest confident is one of his newest body guards, Muse C. Little does he know, that Muse C has quite the secret- she’s truly a girl whose taken on her brothers identity to serve. What will happen when all comes into the open?

5. Muse A has always been at the top of their class since early elementary and thrived on it. They come from a family of high achievers where failure is neither seen nor accepted. Proud and arrogant over their achievements, their grades make them, them. All that changed when Muse B showed up, smashing the entrance exams with marks unheard of. Of course Muse A wouldn’t take that lying down, thus, the classic rivalry begins. What happens when the two find they have more in common than they thought? Life on Muse B’s side is not all it seems as well.

Contact Instructions: Please message me here on tumblr  (https://lisanimelis.tumblr.com/) with your favorite color and a writing sample. If all goes well there, we'll move to discord. 

[todaysbiggesthits]

The Exam

Best Music Moment of 2019

BC: Three straight hours of this

in my Chapman Ryder Cup match with Code  -The Robert M. Chennault Playlist in my Ryder Cup match with Laser  -Vampire Weekend's "M79" with Parks and Rec theme interlude in Pawnee Peytonville with my babe  -Late night music game with JD and Chaps this Fall  -My kids competing for best air guitar solo to Daft Punk's "Digital Love"  -The Stones soundtracking Raceday morning with Counterfeit Kenny and the Kennel Boys 

Codem: -Picking up the keys after closing on #our house and listening to Arden's dreams for the pad while listening to the songs that brought us together in the first place. -Perched in the balcony of Park West watching Chromatics live and in person. -The Chapman format playlist that Brendon and I put together.  It was just one song on repeat.  Xtal - Aphex Twin -Plugging in my klipsch's for the first time in the new house to listen to elliott smith on the day of his death. the sound of his discography wafting throughout the whole house was a true delight.

Bronco: My 6-year-old discovering Green Day.  My 9-year-old discovering Metallica.  Both discoveries have awakened something in them that is hilarious and awesome to behold.  And seeing Tool was pretty flaming awesome.

JD: March: Realizing I’d never heard this Stones song, nodding along to the opening riff, and exploding into my biggest laugh of the year at the first line.

June: The Joni Mitchell performance in the Rolling Thunder Review documentary on Netflix. June: Catching the Thom Yorke Anima short film at the IMAX theater on the Upper West Side. July: Code and I getting a perfect 99 score on the greatest rendition of “Emotional Rescue” karaoke you’ll ever see. October: Playing the music game WAY too deep into the night with BC and Chap (look for the next day’s hangover on my worst moments list).

Chap: Patrick Stickles singing "I'm sorry dad no I'm not making this up" to his dad in the audience.

Nasty: Listening to music at BOB. Nothing but jams that whole weekend. Driving in with Laser - GOOGLE MUSIC JAMS. Trip to the casino - JAMS. Hanging out on the deck - JAMS. Driving to the course with Blazer Black - Fuck Buttons - Sweet Love for Planet Earth aka JAMS. In the cart with Code - JAMS. Driving Chappy and Sfreddo to the rental car - JAMS (but quietly).

Larse: Greta Thunberg speech dubbed to metal

Best Shows Seent in 2019

Nasty: The Killers @ Summerfest. Hot Fuss will always be an all-time favorite album and Mr. Brightside is the best pop song of our lifetime, IMO. Also, my wife loves them which is about the only band in middle of the venn diagram. 

Larse: The Lonely Island at Summerfest

BC: Dead & Company

JD: 1. The Rapture at Music Hall of Williamsburg 2. Viagra Boys at Bowery Ballroom 3. The Strokes and Parkay Boys at the All Points East fest in London with drunk lads screaming along to the guitar parts 4. B Boys at Union Pool 5. Titus Andronicus at Bowery Ballroom 6. Avey Tare at Market Hotel 7. Tame Impala at MSG 8. Weeping Icon at Elsewhere 9. Priests at Elsewhere

Code: interpol - chicago theater illuminati hotties - hideout it looks sad - subT downstairs robyn - riviera steve malkmus - art institute eleventh dream day - hideout colleen green - sleeping village swearin' - lincoln hall surf curse - subT shura - the bottle

Chap: TA was the only show I saw. It was great!

Bronco: All of them.  They were each great in their own way.  Aside from Tool I was able to interact with the band members at each of the shows.  One I didn't have a ticket for and scored one at the door.  One was in the tiniest venue I've seen a show at.  One had a surprisingly entertaining opening act.  And Tool surprised me with how much I enjoyed an arena show despite being so far away I couldn't see the facial features of the band members.  And there was SOOOOOOO much weed being smoked in the Garden that night.  And I was with a few good buddies.  And I was able to sell my fourth ticket for twice what I paid, simulatenously covering me and my fourth friend who had to bail because his life sucks because his wife sucks. 

Confession of 2019

Nasty: I consume more music at my cushy, suburban OrangeTheory workout classes than in my own free time. S/O to Coach Vanessa for having some Girl Talk on her playlists. 

Codem: i had more fun listening to stuff that i already knew about than stuff that was coming out.

BC: I saw a Yacht Rock cover band and didn't hate it -I succumbed to social pressure and saw DMB -I didn't realize until the last minute that my favorite album was released in 2018 (Wild Nothing). Removing it greatly reduced my loyalty to my list.

Bronco: I'm losing my edge.  I enjoyed way more lady singer bands this year than in any other year.

Chap:  Couldn't get my shit together on the tracks list so just posted a random playlist

Larse: Not really a confession but more of a TIL (today I learned), but Raphael Saadiq was an original member of Tony! Toni! Tone!

Biggest Disappointment of 2019

Bin: The National @ Summerfest. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "the frontman was completely detached, even confessing at one point that he was excited to get back home to his family. The result was an incredibly depressing show — which, given the band's dour songs, is really saying something." ... Huge Bummer.

BC: Didn't see nearly enough shows with nearly enough of yous 

Chap: Sturgill Simpson... unlistenable!

Bronco: Baroness.

Laser: Modest Mouse opening for The Black Keys

Code: i was really messed up by dave berman's passing. i had tickets to see him play at the end of august. it was going to be my first catching him live and in concert. i had waited for this moment since i picked up american water back in 2003.  two weeks before he was supposed to come through town, he up and died.  also, much less of a bummer, the chromatics show in miami that Arden and i were going to attend got canceled two days before the show.

Most Overrated of 2019

Nasty: Kanye's shoes

Chap: LEGACY! LEGACY! – Jamila Woods seems to have been highly regarded? Not my thing

BC: FKA Twigs

Bronco: Baroness.

JD: Big Thief

Code: cancel culture

Larse: Mayor Pete

Make it Stop 2019

Chap: In my house, the Nutcracker Suite. It's great, until the 300th time that day.

Nasty: Cage the Elephant (but children, instead of elephant, and in real life, not the band)

BC: Lizzo 

Code: lizzo

JD: Memes

Larse: Trump

Bronco: News

Biggest TBH Regret of 2019

Chap: Can't seem to get to more than one show per year; Jessica Pratt in a church by my old place

JD: Missin’ dat Pratt yet Nick!

BC: Should've listened to the Kanye album.  Should've spent more time with the Deerhunter record.

Rotty: Skipping CHVRCHES at Summerfest

Code: another year with no fog party

Nasty: Not going to Indy 500. lol jk.

Bronco: I didn't buy tickets to a few shows I would've liked to have seen.  One of them I went to the venue and didn't get in.  That bummed me out, but I crossed the street and had a few beers by myself for good measure, so it wasn't a total loss.

Detective Murtaugh of 2019

JD: Everything.

Bronco: Shows that don't start until 10pm. That Girl Band show nearly wrecked me.

Chap: How much I loved Bruce Springsteen's adult contemporary western-themed old-man album.

BC: The ten seconds I lasted with 1000 GECS

Nasty: For the life of me - I cannot figure out how to operate the "play next" queue on these apps. 

Laser: Lizzo at Summerfest - lot of younglings running around; people were racist towards Lizzo's security guards, she vowed not to come back to MKE, one of the most segregated cities in America :(

Resolution for 2019 Status

Laser: — How It Went: Who can even remember this shit...I'm sure it was that I'd do better at keeping track or listen to more shit people suggest and I'm sure I failed.

BC: Listen to one new album a week; reboot the Classic Album Review Club How It Went:  Noooot toooo gooooood

Code: catch ovlov, pictureplane, washer, chromatics, EMA and colleen green live this year. How It Went: i saw chromatics and colleen green. last i checked .400 gets you into cooperstown.

JD: Greater consciousness of how I’m using my attention - an ineffectual and meaningless protest of the ways the world is burning down in pursuit of it. How It Went: Not bad! I especially nailed the “ineffectual and meaningless” part.

Chap: Learn Piano; Guilt Joe Dons into finally inviting me to a concert. How It Went: Learned some piano but got to busy for it... Couldn't guilt JD to invite me anywhere but I DID invite him to a show! The same one I went to! With him!

Bronco: Read more 'classic’ books. I didn’t read many of them, even in school (especially in school? Never could read a book I was told to read). But I’m leaning in the sci-fi direction of 'classics’. I just read Dune this summer, and wrapped up Fahrenheit 451 the other day. I’m feeling an unexplained need to beef up my nerd credentials and this seems the way to accomplish it. How It Went: Nope.  Fell back in to zombie-apocalypse genre series that I've been reading for a while. But I am currently reading arch-nerd Neal Stephenson's "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell". It's almost 900 pages, I feel like I've been reading for months now, and because I'm a stupidly slow reader, I read only before going to bed, and can only make it 10 minutes before falling asleep and hitting myself in the face with my phone, I'm only 25% of the way through. But man is it painting a creepy yet eerily plausible scene of the near future. Guy just knows how to write.

Nasty: Hope last year I was smart enough to leave this blank. (editor’s note: [removes shoes, pets cat, puts on slippers, retires to favorite easy chair, sips martini, slowly pulls reading glasses out of cardigan pocket, dusts them off, loads todaysbiggesthits.tumblr.com, scrolls to ‘Resolution for 2019’] “Nasty: I’m sticking with it - get to NY for a show with JD.”)

Resolution for 2020

BC: See Phish in 2020

Codem: i'm making it easier this year. catch ovlov, washer, EMA and colleen green live this year. bonus points: see dom's much anticipated return to the stage.

Bronco: Build a vinyl collection. I know I dumped on Brendon for suggesting he press copies of Carpet Affair, but my kid's getting way into music and listening to it on his own (via Alexa in my bedroom which is super fucking annoying), so we're getting him his own record player and I think it's going to be a cool activity to go record store diving for whatever classics we can scrounge up.

JD: Get to more shows. Take more aimless strolls spinning tunes.

Bin: Send an email about music on the TBH! thread. 

Larse: None

Chap: Eh I'm cool

Most Anticipated of 2020

Code: my man dom said that he is coming back to the world this year. i have to believe that he'll keep his word. i'm thinking 2020 is going to be the year for chromatics' Tommy.

Chap: TWOD, Perfume Genius, Jason Isbell

BC: Huey Lewis and the News, Tame Impala, Run the Jewels

Bronco: Kvelertak and Mastodon, maybe some surprise extra Tool material?

JD: Working Men’s Club

Nasty: Spotify getting Jay-Z's catalog back. 

[steamishot]

start of fall

i can’t believe this will be my third fall in NYC! and wow, we just passed my 2nd year anniversary here. 

matt officially started working as an attending at NYU. unsurprisingly, the adjustment has been challenging. i’m so happy that it seems the work culture is much better, this hospital is fully staffed and the employees are general happy, and his patients are more diverse (whites, asians, hispanics, and some blacks) vs like 90% blacks. contrast this to his previous under-staffed hospital where colleagues and patients are generally jaded/unhappy and argumentative. however, the work days are still very long, especially now that he has to commute ~30 min each way on a bike. the hours will be longer in the beginning, when he’s figuring everything out. these past three days, he’s stayed 30min-1 hour past his shift, so it turned into ~13 hour work days and 14 hours out of the house each day, and it’ll be for 7 days straight. he wakes up at 5:45am and gets home at about 8/8:30pm with red racoon eyes and tells me he’s so busy throughout the day he doesn’t have time to eat. 

since he’s gone like at least 90 hours of the week, i’m putting my housewife duties hat back on, but trying to be smarter about it this time. i finally bought more glassware to actually start meal prepping - for breakfast, and lunch/dinner. my mom is so domesticated and such a good cook that she would make every single meal fresh, and i subconsciously continued that method. then i asked myself, why am i making oatmeal for just today instead of at least 2-3 days? it’s basically the same amount of effort, or maybe even less being that i’ll have to clean the pot less frequently. and now that i’m trying to eat more for health rather than taste, the same question for lunch/dinner. it’s so easy to throw together a protein bowl and make a bunch at once. 

the long hours again made me sad initially. it’s like, here we go, back on the GRIND. and residency was horrible. however, the biggest difference is that he’ll have 7 days fully off (no exams, no free coverage) and he’ll be getting more than minimum wage for the work hours he puts in. the culture is also much better. i hope that the balance will work well for us - ample alone time and then ample together time. 

now that residency training is over, it’s my time to shine. what this specifically means? still figuring it out lol. my current job provides a decent salary and i’m able to coast. the work culture is great and so flexible that i don’t want to let go of it. however, i’m bored af and i need to come up with ways to continue growing in my career, if not find a side gig or something more meaningful to fill my days. my accounting class is on hold for this month and next, and i’ll restart it in november. i plan on completing the degree by april 2023. then, i can get a part time remote job in the accounting field and go from there. having a concrete plan like this help me keep things in perspective when the material gets tough. 

copilot: i’ve now been with copilot for 45 days! this lady has been making me use weights and equipment i would never have touched if not for her. although it seems that $100/mo is quite pricey for the virtual service, i think it might be worth it for me if i continue to see improvements and it helps me stay consistent. my weakness was the tricep extensions, and i remember struggling with this workout so much with even 8lb or 10lbs weights. now she’s having me use 20lb and i’m able to get through it!  

[littleredroseonthevalley]

An Opera on Separation - Chapter 13

Prologue | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | CH. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15 | Ch. 16 | Ch. 17 | Ch. 18 |

Summary: Emily’s relationship is on the rocks, but as far as Marietta Jones is concerned, the last word is still to be said on the matter. Will it be enough? Especially now that vultures roam to peck on the loves lost’s carcass.

Rating: T - Content not suitable for children.  Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1640

Notes: Today’s song, Kate Bush’s Suspended in Gaffa, holds a special place on my regard. I got third place back in 2016 with that on the SADF Cape Town Dance Open. So listen, and comment for my own sanity’s sakes, please.

Furthermore, I have another announcement. I placed Wildest Dreams’ sequel on temporary hold. I’m not sure I’ll finish it or if it’ll rot on the Purgatory, AKA my Documents folder, but the thing is I’m finishing a Chris fic, so...

The funniest thing is that I don’t even like The Freshman, and yet it seems to be everything I write about. I think that’s because the characters are so vain and unidimensional (they’re whiny millenials, after all), I have an easier time into molding them to suit my own evil purposes.

Enjoy.

Suspended in Gaffa

In the course of the following weeks, things seemed to settle with Emily, Queenie and Nathan.

They fell into a comfortable routine that allocated little time to pointless arguing between the three of them, and, not unlike every other morning, the young man was cooking breakfast, whistling while doing so.

“Good morning!” The youngest roommate walks into the kitchen, all smiles as often.

“Good morning, Emily!” He responded, in equal amount of cheerfulness, while flipping a pancake with a cheeky flair. “I’m almost done with your stack.”

She took a seat at the counter. “You’re on a great mood this morning.” She noted.

The blond took to an uncharacteristic move and chuckled heartily. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

“Any special motives?” The redhead probes, appreciative of the enjoyable and non-conflictive new mood of her housemate.

“No, nothing special.” The man answers, and after a while, continues: “I don’t know, I just have so much free time these days. I’m caught up with my movies and books I’ve been wanting to read for years. I picked up squash again with Mr. Hibert, down at 4B. And I’m cooking! I love to cook, but I couldn’t even eat right back when I was working.”

The young woman smiled kindly at him. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“I am very happy.” He nodded. “Today’s the last day of school, isn’t it?”

She shook her head. “Nah, the students get off today, but the teachers will have to wait until Friday to leave for the Winter break. We have exams and planning meetings to attend.”

“So you’re free this weekend?” He asks while settling the stack of pancakes in front of her.

“I have to grade the end-of-term tests for my students, but after that I’m completely free.” She responds. “And these pancakes are to die for!”

The fair-headed man smirks. “Thanks. And I was thinking of watching a stupid blockbuster on the big TV on the living room Saturday night. Would you care to join?”

The ginger tutted. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I didn’t finish it all on the first day of break. Sure, why not? Six works for you?”

He scoffed. “I’ll be sure to work it out on my busy, busy schedule.”

“Don’t you make a girl feel special?” She laughed of his comment.

The two of them continue to talk amicably until it was time for Emily to leave for school.

“Hello, Ms. Harper.” Marietta knocks on the door of the classroom while Emily got ready for lunch. “I wanted to have a word with you today. Could I walk you to the teacher’s lounge?”

“Of course.” She responded, wary of what could possibly be the subject of such conversation.

The two women walked out the room, Emily locked the door and Marietta begun to talk: “You see, Ms. Harper, I have been speaking with a few of your students about your classes.”

The redhead gasps softly in concern. “Is there something wrong? If there’s something I could do better, I would be more than happy to rectify my behaviour.”

The Caribbean woman laughed, dismissively. “Oh, no, not at all. Much the opposite, the students say they love your classes. I believe their words were ‘kind’, ‘patient’ and ‘smart’. You’ve made a great impression on them!”

Emily giggled in embarrassment. “They are great students, as well. I’m glad they like my teaching, especially for me being so inexperienced.”

“Experience is the one thing you can be sure it comes with time.” Ms. Jones smiles kindly. “Ms. Harper, I have to ask, what’s your plans for the next school year?”

“I’m not really sure.” She confessed. “I’m still trying to settle in New York and all the singledom and living with my mom again.”

The two educators reach the teachers’ lounge and take a seat over an unoccupied table.

The black woman, then, nods to the other’s declaration. “Well, I think you already know, but Mr. Smith of the English department is retiring in June. And the superintendent insists in sending the worse hires, we rarely take the long end of the stick with teachers around here.

“Which leads me to my question: would you be interested in teaching high school come August? You’ll receive a raise, of course, and you’ll have your own classroom. And…” She stops to think a little. “I guess those are all the benefits I can offer you.”

“But what about my GED classes?” The younger woman asks, concerned for them not having a Reading teacher in the coming year.

“That’s up to you. If you feel that you can handle the extra workload, then you can keep on teaching both levels. But if you prefer teaching high school only, you also may. The raise will be less generous, but you’ll still have enough hours to qualify for full-time.” The principal explains.

Emily, hearing that, smiles widely. “Well, then I’m in. I’d love to teach high school and GED classes next year.”

It seemed like a load got out of Marietta’s shoulder. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll contact the superintendent and inform him we’ll have a full English department next year, and you should talk to Mr. Smith about the transition.”

“Of course, ma’am.” The redhead nods.

“Moving on to lighter subjects,” The other woman smiles. “Who’s your Secret Santa?”

The white woman smirks. “Shouldn’t it be a secret?”

“I don’t do Secret Santa ever since a student thought it’d be funny to gift me a pair of lacy underwear.” She says, a hardness of an unfulfilled hatred shielding her eyes for an instant. “And I like knowing things before anyone else. Come on! Indulge a poor, old lady!”

Emily looks around to check if there was someone overhearing their conversation leans over and says: “Ms. Perth, from the Chemistry department.”

“She’s into cats. Try to find a porcelain statuette, she loves those.” Marietta responds and the two of them share a laugh.

It was then that Zig entered the room. He looked forlornly at Emily, who faced him with an equal expression of heartache.

Sensing the awkwardness, Marietta calls out: “Mr. Ortega! Why don’t you join us?”

He coughs. “I’m sorry, Ms. Jones, I just remembered I have to stop by the library to check on some books that arrived this week.”

“No, please, stay.” Emily stands up. “I’m already finished either way. Thanks, Ms. Jones, for your kind offer.”

She walks to the door, her perfume brushing Zig’s nose on her way out. He, then, occupies the seat left vacant by the woman.

“That was painfully awkward.” Marietta says, looking pointedly at the burly man next to her.

“Yeah, well, what can I do if she prefers to frolic around with her jailbait excuse for a husband?” He said, bitterly.

The woman rolled her eyes. “You can fight, for one. Last I understood, she made it very clear she wanted to be with you.”

“It’s useless.” He grumbles. “What frustrates me is that every time I am close to get the girl, down struts Nathan Sterling, the third,” The man sneers the filial name. “And messes everything up.”

“That’s enough, Zigmund Ortega!” Marietta hits with her fist against the table. “I forbid you to hold a pity party for yourself! You’re going to stand up, act your own age, and go after what you want right this instant!”

He looks disinterested at the older woman and drawls: “You got any ideas?”

“In fact, I do.” She fished a small slip of paper out of her pocket and shows it to reveal Emily’s name. “I rigged the Secret Santa. Congratulations, you drew Emily! Now go out and buy a nice present that shows her all your love and care. Now!”

Nathan was enjoying a nice cup of tea, brewed to perfection by his own two hands, while reading a light book. He was by himself at the apartment, and the tall floor made the traffic bellow sound like a soft white noise machine.

His peace, however, was soon to be destroyed by what seemed a wind gust running through the front door: “Emily hasn’t come home yet, has her?”

The man sighed. “No, Soraya, she has not.”

She smirked and pulled a small bunch of notes. “Here’s your cut for our little bake sale. The fatties loved your ‘fat-free’,” She used arrogant air-quotes. “chocolate croissants.”

The blond man laughed derisively. “Thank you, they flatter me with their voraciousness towards my cooking.”

“Speaking of which, how’s your Friday night?” Queenie walks over to the kitchen to grab a water bottle and Nathan trails behind.

“Nothing much.” He responds.

“Congratulations, then. You’ll win our TV back on a raffle I’m organizing.” The older woman smiles wickedly. “It’s for the poor children whose families can’t afford Christmas, see?”

“Of course.” He smirked and shook his head. “What about Emily, though?”

“Don’t worry about her.” She dismissed. “She’ll be on a Secret Santa party with the other teachers.”

Nathan grimaces with the thought and Queenie looks pointedly at him. “I know what you’re doing.”

He looks at her with his patented derisiveness. “What?”

“You’re trying to web Emily back with you.” The woman declared, hard and cold like steel. “I don’t know why, if you are competitive to the point you can’t see anyone else to be with what you once considered yours, or if you hate her and can’t stand to see her happy.

“What I do know, though, is that you’re not going to succeed. My daughter is trusting, naïve and good. But she’s not stupid. You’ve done some terrible things, Nathan, and you don’t get to come back from that.”

He scoffed. “You’re wrong, Soraya.”

“Am I? Am I really?” She smirked and left the kitchen.

Nathan, now alone, contemplates the glass full with water laying abandoned on the counter.

Queenie was wrong.

<< Previous Chapter                                                                     Next Chapter >>

An Opera on Separation - Masterlist

[anotherenglishstudent]

June Round Up

“If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance”

June has been a quiet one, to be honest! I moved home from uni for the summer and three days later we headed on a family holiday. Was a brilliant week of doing nothing but reading and I stole a Philippa Gregory book from my sister to read whilst there. Still getting through it because it’s pretty dense, but I am quite enjoying it. Since then I’ve been at home trying to figure out what to do with roughly 3 months of summer - other than dissertation prep work, that is. I got assigned a disso tutor whilst away, so we started emailing to discuss my plans and I’m compiling a reading list. He’s been helpful so far and seems to know a tonne of books/essays I should read to help but honestly I’m so scared about starting it that I’m just sticking it on the bottom of my to-do list...might need to work on priorities.

June Successes…

Holiday! Hard for a holiday not to be a success to be fair - especially when I didn’t have to do any of the planning. I went to Croatia for a week with my family at the start of June and it as beautiful. Headed into Dubrovnik a couple of days in the week, but stayed just outside in Cavtat. Weather was stunning, hotel was lovely, and that coastline is just incredible.

I’ve read 8 books in 5 weeks and maybe I should stop celebrating when I finish a book but I’m proud of myself, okay? They weren’t all good books, but I read them, and I’m getting through my TBR pile (only the TBR books I own, not the whole list of TBR books).

I got my exam results a couple of days ago and I’m so pleased with my result!! It means I finish second year in a comfortable position and basically my hard work has paid off. It came as a bit of a shock, even knowing I was happy with how the exam went, so I’m really proud of myself.

June Faves...

Music: 2002, Anne-Marie Haven’t been listening to too much music this month, partially because I misplaced my headphones until yesterday, but 2002 is just a feel good song about being young and in love, and it’s really fitting my summer mood to tell the truth.

Book/s: One of Us is Lying, Karen McManus Not sure how much more I could talk about loving this book. But I am willing to give it a go. A YA murder mystery with a twist, I highly recommend to just about everyone, but especially to anyone who isn’t quite sure what they’re looking for from a book. This contains murder, mystery, and suspense, but it is also full of heartwarming friendships, love, growth, and just a little bit of badassery. Go read it, now!

TV: Shadowhunters With the weather being as beautiful as it is I haven’t really been watching much television, but I have finally found time to finish season 2 of Shadowhunters. Now I have to admit...I’ve never actually read the books. I hope to this summer, if I can borrow a copy from my wonderful friend, but I was just never interested until the series premiered. I know its cheesy and the quality isn’t incredible - it also doesn’t completely follow the books - but I just love it. It’s a guilty-pleasure show and so easy to watch. I didn’t realise I’d missed it so much.

July Goals...

Disso reading. Or planning. Or just something about it. Need to make some sort of formal start on it since I have so much free time.

I’m working on being less defensive. This is a long-term goal, not just a July thing, but I’ve realised recently how quick I am to get on the defensive (about myself and others) rather than listening and attempting to understand. I need to realise that people aren’t (usually) criticising for the sake of criticising, and those moments are a chance to see a mistake, maybe apologise, and learn.

Currently I go jogging and do some pilates, but I think I might try to learn a little bit of yoga this month! Just a couple of simple poses and maybe find some meditation type audio tracks to help get me in the mood. If you know any, please recommend!

[quicksilversquared]

How to Fake a Marriage Ch. 6

(AO3) (FF.net)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The next day, Paul was sitting at his desk grinning when Adrien plodded in, coffee from a little shop en route to the bus station (laced with sugar and cream, of course) in hand. Adrien paused, slightly unnerved, before continuing his trek to his favorite desk.

"Why good morning," Paul said before Adrien could ask him why he was grinning like that (seriously, it was creepy). "And how are you on this sunny day?"

"I'm...good?"

"Fantastic, fantastic." Paul grinned some more. "So, I learned something interesting yesterday."

"Oh? Let me guess, it was the principle we learned yesterday during lab? Hate to break it to you, but I was there for that."

"No, no. Not that at all." Paul bent over to dig something out of his bag. "My older sister is getting married, and so like the good brother I am, I was helping her looking through wedding magazines, when I found this." With a flourish, Paul pulled out a magazine where, in full color on a two-page spread, Adrien and Marinette were getting 'married'.

Oh.

Whoops.

"Of course, I was more than a little surprised to find one of my friends in a wedding ad," Paul said smugly as Adrien scrambled to find words. "And with the 'friend' that eats dinner with him every night, no less! So I was wondering..."

"Marinette's my friend from Paris," Adrien said quickly before that line of questioning could go any farther. "She works as a design intern at Rosalie's Boutique, and they were doing a photoshoot for their wedding line. I got roped in."

"They don't have their own models for the photoshoots?"

Adrien shrugged as casually as he could. "I think they wanted to have a more approachable photo. If all they ever showed were tall, skinny models, how are people supposed to know if the dress would look good on them as well?"

"So they had one tall, skinny supermodel and one slightly shorter, also pretty skinny intern star in the photoshoot?" Paul asked dryly, setting the magazine down on his desk. "Yay variety."

Adrien shrugged again, hiding his wince. That was just the way it happened. He and Marinette just so happened to both be on the fairly athletic side.

"My younger sister almost screamed her head off when she realized that I was friends with a supermodel," Paul said, putting the magazine away in his bag before anyone else in the class could see it. "And then she wanted to know if you were available."

Adrien blinked, somewhat taken aback. "...like, dating available?"

Paul made a face. "Exactly. I told her no, that I thought you were dating someone. I know you've never said anything about it," he added when Adrien gave him a puzzled look. "But, like- okay, I know you're a good person and you'd probably be a fairly decent boyfriend, but I also know you're older than me and she's younger than I am."

That meant there was at least a four-year gap. Adrien wasn't particularly interested in dating someone that much younger, especially at this point in his life. Technically, it wasn't a huge difference- his parents had been born nearly seven years apart- but the difference was that they had been in their late twenties/early thirties when they met, not one person already graduated from one university program (and in another) while the other person hadn't yet graduated lycée, or whatever the British called it. People matured a lot in university, Adrien had discovered- it sometimes made having classes with younger peers frustrating- and besides, he didn't date fans.

(He didn't date at all, technically, but he especially didn't date fans.)

"Also, I don't like the idea of her dating anyone," Paul added as he straightened his calculator on his desk. "She's too young."

Adrien's lips twitched in amusement at his tone. He wouldn't have called it before, but Paul was apparently the overprotective brother type. Granted, if his younger sister was the sort who asked her older brother if his even older friend was single, maybe Paul had reasons to not want her to date.

"I noticed you didn't dispute the supermodel thing," Paul added with a grin. "You can't even argue there, can you?"

Adrien let out a groan. He had been so focused on the wedding photos that he had completely missed the fact that Paul had apparently found out that he had been- well, technically still was- a model. "I don't know about the super part. I'm just a regular model. And I'm not really modelling right now." His father wasn't happy about that- he had wanted Adrien to return to Paris to do a couple quick photoshoots for a couple weekends, but Adrien hadn't wanted to take away from his studying time at all. It would just throw him out of his groove and he had no real desire to sit posing under hot lights for hours on end. Regular, non-rushed photoshoots were bad enough- hours of back-to-back fittings and photoshoots crammed together all weekend in an attempt to get everything done would be a nightmare. His father could find a couple other male models to fill in. It wasn't as though models were in short supply in Paris or anything. "And I'm planning on quitting for good once I get this degree."

"Aww, really? But you're so pretty!" Paul grinned when Adrien made a face at him. "I suppose you'll be glad to get out of the spotlight. Do you ever have to deal with tabloids reporting on you?"

"Making up stuff about me, you mean? Occasionally." For the most part he was left alone since he was a model, not an actor or musician or anything. Most models didn't have to deal with the same sort of attention that he did, though of course most of them hadn't been modelling since their preteens and didn't have a parent famous in the fashion industry. The models that did get as much attention as he (unfortunately) did were supermodels, and they were far more serious about their modelling than Adrien was. They had worked for it, instead of basically being handed a modelling contract like Adrien had.

"That sucks."

"I've learned to ignore it. They can say what they want, and as long as people I care about don't believe them then it doesn't affect me." Of course, so far there hadn't been any particularly outrageous articles about him and he hadn't had to search for jobs with employers that might have seen falsified articles about him, so maybe he would change his tune in the future.

Hopefully not. He wouldn't really want to work for an employer who would make hiring decisions based on stories in tabloid magazines anyway.

Paul looked a little dubious but dropped the subject anyway. "If you say so. Hey, so have you started looking stuff over for the tests? I'm thinking a study group this weekend would be good, just to get things started."

Adrien didn't even have to think about it. "Yeah! I'll be free. I started studying yesterday, and I've already marked a few things that I might need a bit more work on. Have you started on your Electronics project yet?"

"I've glanced at it. Took some notes." Paul shrugged. "Haven't put anything together yet, though. You?"

"I've gotten a couple pages put together. I want to get it done by next Monday, and then I can give it some time to rest before I review it." It was a strategy Adrien had picked up during his business program and italmost always resulted in much better papers. If he put things off until last minute, he couldn't get the necessary distance from his paper to actually look at it with a critical eye. "And then I want to clean up my magnets lab."

"And study," Paul added.

"And study." Adrien couldn't help but let out a sigh at that. There were still two full weeks until exams started, and he already couldn't wait until they were done with the tests and he could enjoy a relaxing week off before the second half of the semester started. Once he got his projects wrapped up and his labs organized and turned in things might get more relaxed, but he didn't want to count on that. He had once during his second year in business and let things slide, and he had ended up pulling more than one all-nighter to try to get his studying completed.

Never again. He'd rather get things done ridiculously early than have to deal with too much stuff at the last minute. It was stressful and led to bad grades, which was hugely frustrating when he knew he could do better.

"I get the feeling that I'll be really glad that I'm still living at home," Paul said as their professor came into the room and started setting things up in front. Adrien raised an eyebrow at that; previously, Paul had complained about living at home. He came from London originally and his family lived close enough to the university that there was no point in him renting an apartment of his own. He had been fine with that arrangement at first, but apparently he had made several other friends in his other classes who either had their own apartment or who were sharing with one or two (or three, Adrien wasn't quite sure) other students and they had some fabulous stories about the things they could get up to without their parents there. Adrien personally thought that Paul's other friends sounded a bit immature, but he really couldn't judge that much considering that he hadn't actually met any of them for more than a minute or two at a time.

"Why do you say that?"

Paul shrugged. "Timothy and Eric were talking the other day about how much work it is to clean their own place and cook all of their own meals and it was just something I've never thought of before. It seems like that could eat up a lot of study time."

Adrien shrugged. It hadn't been something he considered to be too much of a bother, but then again he was used to slotting study time in around photoshoots, fittings, and other assorted industry events. Now that he didn't have those to deal with anymore, simple tasks like cleaning and cooking didn't seem like such a big issue. "It can. I tend to clean during study breaks, and then it helps that both Mari and I are fairly clean people to start with. If we make a mess while cooking, we clean it up right away. It's more work if we just put it off."

Paul snorted. "Y'know, sometimes with the way you talk about Marinette, it really sounds like the two of you are living together. You cook together, you clean together..."

"We take turns cooking and we each clean our own apartments. It's just that we have similar ways of approaching it." Adrien had to admit that if he had to have a roommate, Marinette would be pretty much perfect. They were both mature and got along fabulously. On top of that, their near-identical approach to keeping the apartment clean would probably eliminate almost all of the cleaning-related nightmare problems Adrien had heard about from other uni students.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"I know." Adrien paused for a moment, thinking. "What you were saying earlier, that you were glad you were still living at home..."

"Oh! Because my parents take care of the cooking and cleaning for me. I help out sometimes," Paul added hastily. "But when I have a lab report to complete and, like, the bathroom needs cleaning, I don't need to worry about it. Or if I don't have time to cook, I don't have to worry about that either. And maybe I'm just assuming, but I'm guessing that that might be a problem you have to deal with? Having to put studying aside to clean?"

Adrien shrugged. "Like I said before, I try to keep it clean as I go. I'll probably do a full cleaning as a study break before cramming time starts, and then it should be fine until after midterms are done. Besides, I can't study all the time."

"And I suppose Marinette will be cooking for you so you don't have to cook and cram at the same time?"

Adrien shook his head at that and then thought about it again and shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. She has Fashion Week to prepare for and it might fall at about the same time. We talked about how that might be a problem earlier in the semester, but we haven't actually compared our schedules at all recently. She'll probably be working late leading up to the runway, so she wouldn't have time to cook either."

Paul looked surprised. "Really? I thought that, y'know, when she gets home then she's done until she goes back to work the next day so she could take care of the cooking and everything."

Adrien shook his head. "Not really. I mean, kind of? She's not required to be working once she leaves for the day, but there's a bunch of extra last-minute stuff left to do once it gets close to runway week so she has to stay longer to get that done."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She just worked late yesterday, actually. We had to dip into our frozen leftovers supply because I lost track of time and forgot to start cooking." Adrien wanted to kick himself for that little blunder- cooking would have been a fantastic study break, and then they wouldn't have had to eat leftovers that they had been saving for when they were both busy. He also wanted to kick himself for not finding out when Fashion Week would be, because that was fairly important.

Best-case scenario, it would be before his midterms and so Marinette would be able to cook for both of them while he did his exams. Worst-case scenario, both would fall at the same time and they would end up being a huge pile of stress.

He could only hope for the best.

  As it turned out, Fashion Week and Adrien's midterms didn't line up, but the run-up to Runway Week did fall right during Adrien's midterms and that was even more of problem than Fashion Week itself would have been. They went through their entire stockpile of frozen food plus several frozen pizzas during the frantic two weeks full of studying and sewing.

"I'll be glad when this is over," Marinette grumbled as she staggered into Adrien's apartment after a long day at work. A huge number of models had come in for fittings, and she had spent the entire day marking up little changes that had to be done. The following day would be spent joining the seamstresses to help with the alterations so that everything would be finished by the time the models came in for their final fitting. There had also been discussions on accessories, an argument about hair styling, and a frantic frenzy as they organized the shipment of shoes that had only just come in.

It had been a long day in an already long week, and it was still only Wednesday.

"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien called from the kitchen. The smell of baking pizza filled the apartment, making Marinette's stomach grumble despite how sick she was of pizza. They had it for dinner, they had it as leftovers for lunch, and she had even had a piece for a snack a few days prior. She and Adrien tried to mix the flavors up, but there was really only so much they could do.

"Did your exam today go well?" Marinette asked as she entered the dining room area. She couldn't remember which class the test had been for (something math-y, no doubt), but Adrien hadn't been particularly looking forward to it. Now that that test was over, he only had one test left before he got his weeklong break prior to the start of the second half of the semester. Mr. Agreste had called him up several times hoping that Adrien would come back to Paris for the break, but Adrien hadn't quite decided yet if he wanted to or not.

Or maybe he had decided and just hadn't bothered to tell anyone yet for one reason or another. She wasn't going to press too much.

"The test went all right. I don't think I could have handled studying for it for any longer." Adrien flashed an exhausted grin at Marinette. "At least my last test is for a class I actually like. I've been reviewing my notes, but I shouldn't have any problems."

"That's good." At least once one of them was done with their cram time they wouldn't both be on edge. It was hard to unwind when both of them were worried about something and neither had the time to cook.

"At least your finals don't line up with anything," Marinette said, leaning over the short dividing wall that separated the dining area from the kitchen. "I should be able to cook then."

Adrien laughed. "Is that a not-so-subtle way of asking if I can cook next week?"

"You caught me." Of course, it was possible that she would be staying at the Fashion Week buildings late enough that she would have to order out or snitch leftovers from Adrien...or, if he decided to go back to Paris, she would have to fend for herself. She foresaw lots of pasta in her future. "Have you decided what you're going to do during your break week? I can manage to feed myself if you're going to go back to Paris. After all, I'm only actually working on Monday, since that's when Madam Rosalie's show is. I'll just be watching other shows the rest of the week."

Adrien shrugged, looking sheepish. "I don't actually know. My father wants me to come back and visit him, but I kind of want to explore the city more while I'm here." He flashed her a smile, making Marinette's heart skip a beat. She might be more or less over Adrien- or at least that was what she tried to tell herself- but there were times when he was just too gorgeous for his own good. "Plus, I want to be here to see your first runway."

And then he said things like that, and Marinette wondered if she ever had a chance at getting over him. All signs pointed towards no.

"It might be hard getting in the building, but it would be nice to have you there," Marinette admitted. Her parents couldn't get away from the bakery, and both Nino and Alya were busy with their own jobs. She would have her colleagues, of course, but that wasn't the same. They had all seen the outfits a hundred times at this point, so they wouldn't have the same reactions to seeing the pieces as a fresh pair of eyes would have.

Adrien laughed at that. "Actually, Madam Rosalie already got me tickets. She said she normally gets some for my father, but he never uses them. She said it was as thanks for participating in the wedding photoshoot." He rolled his eyes and returned to assembling a salad. "I honestly can't figure out who owes who at this point. It's too confusing. But at least it's the 'no I owe you' mindset instead of both of us insisting the other owes us something," Adrien added. "This is much nicer."

"Fair enough." Marinette leaned over the divider, trying to catch a glimpse of the kitchen timer. Her stomach was growling, but there really wasn't a polite way of asking how soon they could eat. "Is there anything I can be helping with?" Now that she had (finally) left work, she was technically free. Adrien, on the other hand, still had studying to do, even if he was trying to avoid it.

"Oh, sure! I was hoping to have a fruit salad with the pizza. We can at least pretend that we're eating healthy." Adrien pointed to the mango sitting on the counter. He had been planning on cutting that up next, but if Marinette was offering, all the better. "You could get that ready, maybe. We should probably use it up before it gets too over-ripe and we have to throw it away."

"Will do."

A brief silence fell over the room as they worked. Adrien busied himself with chopping pineapple while Marinette peeled and cut up the mango. They got everything done and on the table before the timer went off for the pizza.

"When are you done tomorrow?" Marinette asked as Adrien pulled the pizza out of the oven and started cutting it. "Your test is midday, right?"

"Yeah, it starts at twelve-thirty. Thank goodness it's not on Friday, I don't know if I could actually keep studying much longer." Adrien passed Marinette a slice of pizza before serving up a piece for himself. "I'm looking forward to having a week to relax and get my head back on straight before diving back into classes."

"Is it a lot different than business school?"

Adrien thought about it as he took his first bite of pizza. "Yes and no? I mean, obviously it's different topics, and this time I'm at least actually interested in them. We have more labs now, too. But otherwise? The setup is kind of similar, and it's definitely helpful to have that prior experience of when I need to start studying so that I have plenty of time."

"Do a lot of other people struggle with that?"

"Some. I've heard several people talking about all-nighters they pulled to get a paper in on time." Even Paul, who Adrien had thought was smarter than that, had pulled an all-nighter already to get a paper done. Adrien hadn't been able to resist teasing his friend; after all, it wasn't often that he was more awake than Paul. Paul hadn't particularly appreciated the teasing, but he couldn't deny that he had deserved it. "How are the Fashion Week preparations going?"

Adrien couldn't deny that he was stalling, just a bit. He didn't particularly want to go back to studying, since that was all he had been doing all afternoon. A nap sounded far better, or a run over the rooftops, but he had to be responsible. Once he and Marinette finished up with dinner, he would have to go back to reviewing his notes and doing a few more practice problems from his book. Maybe he could persuade Marinette to let him help with the dishes, just to get a little bit more of a break.

Marinette shrugged. "So far, so good. I mean, we're working overtime to get fittings and photoshoots done, but almost everything is ready. I always got the impression that things were crazier because of, y'know, those TV shows..."

Adrien nodded.

"And I'm sure that the backstage area will be insane once Fashion Week starts, but we're hardly making stuff last minute," Marinette added hastily. "Pieces are finished, we're just polishing them up and getting everything in order. I wouldn't be surprised if we all finish early tonight just because we've been rushing to finish all week. I think there's some hand beading that maybe needs to be finished, and then getting things in boxes and carted over." Marinette shrugged, looking pleased. She polished off her pizza and got up to grab another piece.

Soon enough, dinner was over and cleaned up. Marinette excused herself so that Adrien could study in peace, much to his disappointment. Adrien had rather been hoping for a distraction.

"We're all out of Camembert!"

...a distraction that was not in the form of his kwami, that was.

"Don't we have other kinds of cheese?" Adrien asked tiredly as he flipped through a couple flashcards.

"Yes, but I want Camembert!"

Adrien sighed again. "I'll get you some tomorrow after my test. I'm not going to interrupt my studying again, Plagg. I just found something that I need to review more."

"Really? No more interruptions?" Plagg suddenly sounded decidedly impish. "Not even red-and-black interruptions?"

Adrien's head came up at that. "What?"

Plagg pointed to the window instead of answering. Adrien got up and rushed over, peering out into the darkness. Movement on the rooftops caught his eye and he squinted, trying to see more clearly. A moment later, the figure went past a streetlight and Adrien caught sight of a red suit dotted with black spots.

"Ladybug's out," Adrien breathed, twisting so he could watch his partner as she ran over the rooftops. His hand twitched towards Plagg, tempted to summon the kwami, transform, and run after Ladybug. He'd been studying for forever, surely he deserved a break-

A snicker from Plagg made Adrien snap out of his Ladybug-induced trance. He suddenly realized that that was exactly the response Plagg was hoping he would have. If Adrien showed any willingness to go join Ladybug, then Plagg would call him out on his excuse for not getting cheese because he was too busy studying. And of course Plagg would say that he would need his Camembert before Adrien could transform, so Adrien would have to go to the store first, buy the cheese, come back, and then transform, by which time Ladybug could very well already be done with her outing.

"Maybe tomorrow," Adrien said with the most dramatic sigh he could muster.

Plagg's mouth dropped open. "You aren't going out? B-but I thought-"

"I'm too busy. I have a test tomorrow, remember?" Adrien watched as Ladybug disappeared from view and then turned back to his books. As much as he wanted to join his partner, he couldn't. Besides, it wasn't as though he would be missing anything particularly important. He and Ladybug always did the same thing when they ran into each other on the rooftops of London. "I can't wait for it to be over. I think I spent too much time messing around with the study group. We didn't get much done." Adrien wasn't looking forward to telling Paul that if the other boy tried to put a group together for finals, but the others in the group just hadn't been focused enough and they had wasted hours chatting instead of studying. It might have been fun if it hadn't been so frustrating.

"Have you decided what you're doing next week?" Plagg asked, floating along behind Adrien. "You need to tell your father soon, you know. Same-day train tickets are expensive. So are same-day plane tickets."

"I'm not going back to Paris." Adrien had considered it, sure- he missed Nino and Alya, after all, and it would be nice to see his father and Nathalie and the Gorilla again- but Marinette would be tired from Fashion Week and it would be a shame to miss her first show. She would want to have a friendly face there, and she had already said that her parents wouldn't be able to make it. And then, once Madam Rosalie's part of the show wrapped up and Marinette had seen all of the other shows that she wanted to peek into, they could go explore more of London or maybe make plans to venture a little further on a long weekend excursion. He'd known his plans for a while now, actually, but he just didn't want to tell his father that. Adrien knew full well that if he told his father that his mind was made up and he was staying in London over the break, his father would flood his phone with messages about why it would be beneficial for Adrien to spend the week in Paris. The procrastinating on an answer wasn't preventing that entirely- Adrien was getting a dozen texts and a call per day- but he was waiting for his final test to be over before announcing his decision.

Plagg raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't tell your wife that...why?"

"She might tell Nino or Alya and then my father would interrogate them?" Adrien offered a bit weakly as he paged through his notebook. He didn't really have an answer for that, other than the fact that he had just gotten so used to not telling his father that it had just seemed natural to not tell his friend, either. It was stupid, reasoning, but so automatic at this point. "And she's not actually my wife, Plagg. We've been over this a million times or so."

"You keep saying that, and then you keep having dinner dates with her, and visiting her at lunch, and texting her all day," Plagg said, smirking. He settled on top of Adrien's computer and peered down at his Chosen. "And you're ditching visiting your father and your other friends to watch your wife's runway show."

"It's Madam Rosalie's runway show," Adrien corrected. "And she is certainly not my wife." He glanced down at his notebook and frowned suddenly. "And I really do need to study, Plagg. Just eat the cheddar or something. Seriously."

"Aww...."

[workscounselingcenter]

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made a post. For the past several months I was focusing all my extra time (and brain power) to studying for the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE). (For those of you who are not familiar — the NCMHCE is a nationally used exam that is used by licensure boards to become fully licensed as a Professional Counselor.)

The good news, I passed and am now fully licensed!!

So, in the pursuit of sharing information with fellow counselors — I wanted to share the tips and tricks I learned along the way, and what was helpful.

1. Getting a Study Guide: I decided to go with a website called counselingexam.com. The website is a pay by the week site — but gives you access to several practice tests and general information about counseling in general. I paid extra for the study guide (offered when you check out). Truthfully, it was helpful in some regards. Small aspects of the test (difference between short term, intermediate, and long term goals; defining level of functioning, etc) were all discussed in detail. It helped shed light on these often confusing areas. Besides that — nothing really of value. It goes into great detail about diagnoses (but hopefully you have a DSM-V for that) as well as the various theories (but hopefully you have your old theories book for that). Over all, the study guide maybe worth it but I did not think it to be absolutely necessary.

2. Practice Scenarios: This right here — this is what helped me the most. Here, I learned what the scenarios were trying to ask and what answer to choose. My tip — less is more when answering. For example: if the scenario is presenting a client with symptoms that sound like OCD, then it makes sense that you might gather information about obsessions and compulsions, time duration, insight, etc. If you select questions regarding issues related to trauma, alcohol use, family constellation, nightmares, etc. then you are at risk for losing points — as they are not related to the question at hand. Practice, practice, practice.

The website I mentioned earlier literally has hundreds you can go through. Be warned: some of them have wrong answers though — which I did find unprofessional since I was paying for them.

3: Youtube: Believe it or not, several study resources are on Youtube and are of great help. They are free and have important information regarding the information gathering and decision making for the test.

4: Use your head: One strategy I used (which I admittedly for from another colleague) was to “use math and common sense” when choosing the answers. During the actual exam, you DO NOT see which answers you get incorrect (unlike the practice tests). When presenting with a problem with 8 answers to choose from, and you have already chosen 4 really good ones — it may be best to stop. Take a few moments and really decide if they information is CRUCIAL or something that would be unnecessary.

5: Take breaks: The test is scheduled for three hours — use that to your advantage. There is no glory is saying you took the test in an hour (you’d more than likely fail) and you will not get extra credit if you finish early.

Through ten scenarios, with about a dozen questions each, the test questions/scenarios get blurred and start to run together. When you find yourself getting hazy, not remembering the scenario, or just “not caring” then that’s the big signal it’s time to take a break. I gave myself two 12 minute breaks and they were all worth it. Bring some water and a light snack, and rest. Your brain will be able to recharge in no time.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, please click here.

[optomstudies]

What to do when you're stuck with a lazy group? I'm with two guys and we still haven't chosen a topic. We have to present in two weeks. Nobody replies to my messages and both left after class this week. I just wanted to choose a topic and leave!!!! So I booked a study room today and they all made excuses. Ugh. I'm gonna be the one who's doing all the work. This is worth 40% of our grade. Same as the exam. FML

Hi there, thank you for asking, as this is a super common problem in high school, university and the workplace! I’ve never seen this question answered in depth on studyblr, so I’ll give it a go! 

NB. It depends on your personality as to the approach you want to take, so let everyone who’s reading this not pass judgement upon others in such a situation~ Remember in all of this to be polite, understanding and gracious no matter how much you want to flip tables. The following 5 Options go in order of how many bridges you want to burn :’)

Option 0. Wait for a bit longer and try communicating with them again.

I have seen a similar question asked once on tumblr where the studyblr blogger answered “two weeks is plenty of time, you’re probably over-reacting”... Obviously, I’m not going to trivialise your answer by giving you just one option like that - I frankly thought that studyblr was quite rude for answering so shortly to someone who took the time to ask them a question.

How to do it: The way you communicate with them now might not be effective, so make sure that you’re ticking off the following boxes if you choose this option, rather than just letting nothing change: meeting face to face, setting mini-deadlines for each part instead of just allocating once at the beginning, and make sure each member knows what and when they have to complete something.

This option is best suited for people who:

really don’t want to create a commotion and would rather wait a little longer and reduce the time available for them to do the project,

or people who would answer ‘Strongly Disagree’ to “Being organized is more important to you than being adaptable“ and “In a discussion, truth should be more important than people’s sensitivities.” in a personality quiz (a strong prognostic factor for Option 1 tbh),

or people who know they can tackle everything in less than 1 week,

or people who just realised/kind of know they’re actually overreacting,

or have just realised whilst reading this that maybe they didn’t actually try contacting the other group members all that well (i.e. don’t have enough evidence for Option 3).

Pros:

Nobody gets angry at anyone, and it doesn’t reflect badly on you either (because no one finds out if you don’t say anything - people tend to be judgemental if you pick one of the three options below).

Less stressful for some people than confrontation.

You might get eventual cooperation.

Cons:

You might not get eventual cooperation, and end up being stuck with all the work anyway (hence resulting in options below).

More stressful for other people as you feel time is ticking away and nothing is changing.

The time you spend waiting for the others will result in less time for you to tackle all the actual work.

Pro-tip: doing as much individual work as possible sometimes will egg those team members to finally start pulling their weight, or can help you with Option 3 if you do end up going for it.

Option 1. You make all the decisions and do all the work.

Best suited for people who: are academically gifted, like doing work independently, have excellent time management skills.

Pros:

You can ensure the quality of the work will be excellent.

You get to choose what topic to do and direct the overall project turnout.

No one hates you for anything, but NB. your friends and family relationships that suffer as a result of the time you have to sacrifice might not have anything pleasant to say about it all.

Cons:

You need an extraordinary amount of time.

The other people in the group get a free ride and in nastier words, some would say you get taken advantage of for your goodwill.

Lack of group opinion may make the quality of your work suffer.

Other subjects you’re taking may suffer.

Option 2. Badger the other group members until they do some work.

Best suited for people who: don’t want to be stuck with Option 1, but don’t want to escalate to Option 3. Give them an ultimatum about the work, or just decide the topic by yourself if they don’t step up.

Pros:

Very similar to Option 0 in that you wait a bit longer before taking drastic action, so you might get eventual cooperation, and you don’t bother your professor.

Cons:

You stress yourself out badgering other people.

Other group members get annoyed at you, and your classmates that happen to watch you badgering have a not-so-great impression of you.

Option 3. Document a significant amount of evidence that shows your effort to get them to contribute and contact the professor about it.

Best suited for people who: would like to do things independently but just cannot afford the time because of other commitments.

Pros:

Professor can step in and (hopefully) offer some sort of alternative solution.

Your other subjects won’t suffer.

Sometimes you have a really great professor and they end up taking into account that you’ve done the project by yourself and mark super nicely/give a bonus mark, or even penalise the other students.

Cons:

Professor may snuff you and say “the purpose of this project is also to learn about team cooperation”. Had a prof before who told us straight up at the beginning of the project that “you work it out, not me”

Professor may help you out, but in a way that doesn’t really end up helping e.g. he just emails the two members of your group to tell them to start working once and that’s it.

Other group members hate you for life (and I know this bothers some people enough not to go through with it, again pls remember no judgement fellow readers)

How to do it: Email should be along the lines of the following:

Dear Professor _______,

I am a current student undertaking [course code]. I am sorry to contact you in unfortunate circumstances, but I have been having severe difficulty convening with the other members for the remainder of the _____ project. While I am aware that group projects have a dual purpose to both educate us on the academic topic as well as to improve our cooperation and communication skills, I have tried [insert whatever means you attempted to contact them by, attaching evidence is up to you]. I have already completed the intro/background research/other individual task, however I cannot complete the ______ by myself/without group input.

I would appreciate any guidance you could offer/I would greatly appreciate your help/If it is possible, could you please [insert action depending on how desperate you are - don’t ask for anything unreasonable!]?

I apologise for having to inconvenience you, and thank you for your understanding on the matter.

Kind regards,

[Name and student number]

Option 4. You do all the work and then leave their names off the work.

Best suited for people who: work independently, don’t mind burning a few bridges. I won’t actually recommend this option, but I’ve seen this happen in real life.

Pros:

Sense of self-satisfaction for some people when the lazy members don’t get a free ride.

Again, you make sure the project quality is exactly what you want.

Cons:

Similar to Option 1 minus the free ride bit.

Not only do the other group members hate you, but their friends in your cohort will too. At least in Option 3, those guys can’t try and gossip behind your backs because whoever they tell will realise that they didn’t do the right thing either.

Do this at your own risk, as it can backfire depending on the professor - if anyone’s watched Cheese in the Trap - the main character does all the work but the professor managed to suss out that the other group members didn’t do anything, and as a result penalised her with a D grade for failing to make it “group” work despite the fact she would’ve gotten an A. Some profs are really... they just don’t see it your way :/

Hopefully things don’t have to escalate to Option 4, but whatever you choose to take, I’ll wish you the best! I’ve given quite detailed instructions and written comprehensively, but feel free to contact me any time if you need any more help :)

MY STUDY TIPS

Please see my #optomstudies tag or my study tips directory (web only) for the full list of study tips + see my langblr posts + stationery + bujo spreads! ^_^

UNIVERSITY STUDY TIPS SERIES

Part 0 Choosing a Degree - what’s right for you? popular!!

> Things to Consider Before Switching Degrees!

> Changing Degrees

Part 1 Administration - choosing majors, available services, choosing class times etc.

Part 2 Getting to Class - pros and cons of attending class, when you should choose not to attend, advice about choosing a backpack and other essential equipment.

> Laptop Considerations and Recommendations

Part 3 Studying - differences between high school and uni, basic tips on how to keep on track, class types like lectures, tutorials, etc.

Part 4 Extra-Curriculars - what clubs to join, what to do outside class, and other great things to discover around campus.

Part 5 Exams - everything to know about examiners, how to prepare, what happens during the whole examination process.

Part 6 Social Life - differences between high school and university, some hard learnt lessons, etc.

Part 7 Part Time Work

Part 8 Four Secrets The Uni Tells You

Part 9 Best Study Spots On Campus

Part 10 Saving Money 1 - Food, Transport, Entertainment

Part 10 Saving Money 2 - Textbooks, Tax, Scholarships

Part 11 Adapting to Uni Study - 3 big differences from studying in high school popular!!

Part 12 How to Study From Textbooks in Uni

Part 13 Dealing with Lazy Group Members popular!!

Transitioning from High School to University popular!!

OTHER POPULAR POSTS

Weekly Planner Printable with Extra Space for Sat/Sun  popular!!

Overcoming the Planning Fallacy

Study Spaces Masterpost

Studying and your Visual System

Catching Up with Your Studies  popular!!

Sleeping and Waking Up Early  popular!!

My 2017 Planner and Bullet Journal  popular!!

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: Another guest submission from Zac Martin. The subject of Ham communications has been touched upon in the past, once from Pat Henry –  Should You Get a HAM Radio License or Hide from the Government? back in 2013 and once from R. Ann Parris – Radio Silence, Communications Without Electronics in March of this year. This article should help in your decision on which path to take, or not take.

To be more specific, this article will tell you how to pass the Technician license exam, which is where you’ll want to start if you’re a beginner. I just finished taking my exam and I passed on the first try. I figured this would be a good chance to expand on what it takes to pass the Tech exam and what do you need to know about it to avoid any surprises.

There are three classes of HAM radio licenses available to civilians: Technician, General, and Extra. Technician is going to be where you want to start, with the other licenses being good ideas a little down the road after a little bit more practice.

The Technician license exam will have 35 questions, you can miss 9. Miss any more than that and you’re going to end up having to take the exam again. However, with the right study tips, passing on the first attempt shouldn’t be a problem. I did quite a bit of researching and studying prior to the exam, and here are the tools that I found the most helpful:

1) Hamstudy.org Fashcards– I studied from several different HAM exam prep websites, but I found this one to be the best. Not only do the flash cards on this site cover all 426 questions from the question bank that your test will pull from, but they let you know the reasoning behind each correct answer as well.

As you miss questions in the flash cards, they’ll cycle back through the stack and you’ll find yourself being asked the same question multiple times throughout your studying to help ensure that you know the correct way to answer the questions that you missed.

The website even keeps a visible graph open for you at all times showing you what percentage of questions from each submodule that you’re getting correct. Should you notice that you’re scoring low on a particular submodule then you can specifically request to only be given flashcards from that specific section, allowing you to really hammer down on what it is that you’re missing.

Over time, the website will let you know what your overall grade is. By test day, my overall grade on the website was an 81%. I ended up with an 80% on the actual licensing exam, so I’d say that the website will give you a pretty clear view of where you stand on things.

2) Hamstudy.org Practice Tests – This is the other cool part of hamstudy.org, the practice tests look exactly like the actual test will. They have 35 questions, and they pull questions from all of the different sub modules that the exam will draw from. After you finish the test and submit it, your grade will appear and you will be able to go back and see what you missed, what the correct answer was, and why. I found it to be incredibly helpful, and it really helped me to know what to expect from the exam.

As a result, when the exam was placed in front of me I had absolutely zero test anxiety. I already knew what the thing was going to look like and I felt confident with my having studied over every potential question from the question bank that there was. A good chunk of this confidence came from having taken these practice tests multiple times.

3) Dan Romanchik’s Free Study Guide – Though it is a lot of pages (40+ to be exact), I printed off the entire free exam prep e-book and read it through multiple times prior to taking the exam. This thing is worth its weight in gold. I actually recommend taking this step first. It will help you to ensure that you are prepared for hamstudy.org’s practice questions.

This free e-book will also tell you the formulas that you are going to need to know for the exam. Fortunately, there’s really only two that you need to know from Ohm’s Law E=IR, and P=EI. If you know those two equations, you’ll be good for most of the math problems.

You can find the e-book at this link: https://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v20.pdf

4) Memorize the different bands – I didn’t see these anywhere within the free study guide, but found that if you don’t know them, you’re going to miss quite a few questions on the exam. You just straight up have to memorize these. I just wrote them all down in a little notebook that I’m constantly carrying with me, and would occasionally glance at them while I was at work.

10 meters = 29.600MHz 6 meters = 52.525MHz 2 meters = 146.52MHz 1.25 meters = 223.50MHz 70cm = 446.00MHz 33cm = 906.50MHz 23cm = 1294.50MHz

5) Ask around to see if there are other HAMs in your area – Initially I had been looking all over online to see where the closest testing center would be to me. The closest one I found was several weeks in the future and about a two-hour drive from where I live. Not ideal, I wanted to quickly study the material and move on my merry way, but I planned to make a day trip out of it.

HAM radio came up in conversation while at work though, and by talking with people there I discovered that there was actually a local club in my town that was able to test me and within just a couple of days. That would mean I wouldn’t have to stress for multiple weeks before taking the exam. I was familiar with Parkinson’s Law, stating that work expands to take up the time that we give it, so I knew that if I set a deadline of two weeks that would give me plenty of time to prepare while simultaneously ensuring I don’t wait until the last minute.

Anyways, thanks to that conversation at work I discovered that there were actually several local testing centers that I could have taken the exam at that didn’t show up on the official  American Radio Relay League, ARRL website. When I showed up to take my exam I notified the proctor that they weren’t popping up online, and they mentioned that they had been having trouble with that for quite some time. I suppose that’s a fairly common problem, because from what the proctor told me there were several other testing sites in my area that I could have gone to, and not a single one of those sites was popping up on the ARRL website either.

So, if you know a local HAM ask them where you can test at as it just may save you a good chunk of change in gas money.

So what did I do to Prepare?

I studied for two weeks for maybe 30 minutes every day or so. If engineering, physics, and electronics come easy to you, then you may be able to get by with less time. I’m terrible at and foreign to them, so that’s what it took me.

I spent the first week reading through the free e-book and highlighting what I thought was important. It was pretty content heavy, so just about the whole thing ended up yellow for me. You may say that’s not really productive, but it allowed me time to slowly think over what I had just read, and helped me to sift through a lot of word fluff when I would refer to the page later on.

I spent the second week taking hamstudy.org’s practice tests and flashcards. I started on Day 8. I sat my butt down for a solid 1.5 hours as I went through all 426 flash cards for the test. As mentioned before, the website keeps a tab running for you showing not only what percentage of the questions that you’ve seen, but what your grade is by that point as well. My score was abysmally low at this point. I was most definitely learning, but the knowledge was still marinating in my head and needed a bit more practice.

On days 9-14 I spent about 30 minutes every night going through flash cards and then taking 2 practice tests while my wife watched Hallmark Christmas movies. I was sitting by her on the couch and able to take a quick break if she had any questions, so this really didn’t force me to be present-yet-absent while I studied.

By the time test day came around, I showed up and paid my $15 cash in exact change (they may not have change otherwise) and sat down to a pencil and paper test. I ended up missing 6 and passing my exam about 20 minutes from when I started. Honestly, you could probably finish it even quicker than that if electronics is something that comes easily to you. I’m pretty terrible at that stuff, so if I can pass it, I know you can too.

After you pass the exam, the proctor will give you your licensing ticket. That doesn’t mean that you can go home and get on the radio that night though. You’ll have to wait several days for your name and call sign to finally be listed on the official website. Only then can you begin to broadcast over the radio using your call sign.

Mine hasn’t been posted yet, but I’ve been told it takes about a week or two. If you follow the above steps, I’m fairly confident that you’ll be able to pass this thing on the first try. As I mentioned before, I’m terrible with this type of material. It by no means come easily to me. But I do feel that I am good at studying, and by that, I mean I can sit down and force myself to go over flashcards for a confusing-to-me subject.

If I can do it, you can do it.

Follow the tips, peacefully take the test, and maybe someday we’ll talk over the radio together!

The post How to Pass the HAM Radio Exam appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[prussiasboxerbriefs]

language journey

thanks to @squeezieslangblr for tagging me and giving me an excuse to infodump about languages :D

rules: reblog, tag ten others and share your answers

1. what languages are you studying/have you studied?

- my dad is german, so he spoke and read books to me in german, and my german grandparents were the only ones who ever bought us dvds, so i grew up watching either pbs kids or the same couple sendung mit der maus and dubbed disney movies on dvd. i picked up a decent amount this way, but my grammar and spelling were abhorrent and i started studying it on my own in 8th grade, so now i can actually consider myself decently fluent (even though my grammar still sucks B) just reasonably less)

- obligatory spanish through 6th grade; i’ve picked it up and dropped it on-and-off over the years but at the moment it’s lower on my wishlist than a lot of other languages

- latin for two years in 7th and 8th grade, of which i remember almost nothing

- started learning french on duolingo at the end of 8th grade in preparation for switching to it in high school; i ended up skipping a year of french because american language education is fucking terrible

- the summer between 8th grade and high school i was emotionally unstable and started learning italian to cope (i’m not kidding) but i kind of trailed off with learning it last summer + haven’t picked it up since

- i was really excited about russian and i started learning that on duolingo as soon as the course came out (bc i still didn’t realize you could learn languages for free without duolingo) (i was in 9th grade, so late 2015 i think?). but i stopped, and then restarted last year, and i was sticking with it up until a couple months ago. i’ve been having kind of a rough time, so i lost my interest in a lot of things i love, but even once i get on meds i doubt i’ll have time for it come september :\ i love russian though, so hopefully i can keep it somewhat fresh

- i can read hangul and kana, and languages i was interested in and super focused on for like a week include korean, japanese, mandarin, hebrew, icelandic, swedish, and dutch

- tl;dr: i’m currently focusing on german and french, and i’ll be taking an online IB course in beginner’s mandarin junior + senior year!! in the past i’ve seriously studied russian, italian, and spanish, and i’ve dabbled in korean, japanese, hebrew, dutch, swedish, and icelandic

2. how long have you been studying?

i got really into languages in april-may of 2015 i think, so that would make it two years

3. did you learn through class or self study (or both)

spanish, latin, and french are all classes i have taken in school, but i go to an american school and language classes teach you nothing here :\ so i take french, but the way class worked last year, our teacher would write the name of the grammar topic we were studying on the board, and then i’d ignore him and research it myself on my computer. hopefully it’ll pick up this year now that i’m in a higher level, but idk. all other languages i’ve self-studied, and i’m self-studying french over the summer anyway 

4. why did you decide to learn this language?

- i want to major in animation for college, and the best animation colleges that don’t cost half your soul are mostly in france, so that’s my main motivation for getting to a decent level in french.

- german is my heritage language, and it’s one of my favorite languages because i grew up with it. (also, german college is free) 

- i decided to learn russian because cyrillic looked really cool to me, and i liked the way it sounded. also, it has a reputation for being “harsh” or “ugly”, like german does, which probably drew me to it as well (other reasons include the declension system, the challenge of learning a complicated grammar, matryoshka dolls, russian literature being super famous and esteemed, snow, how big the slavic language family is, and cheburashka).

- everybody says mandarin is really hard, which makes me want to study it. i’m curious about the tones, and i like the writing system. (also, if i can speak russian and mandarin, then i’ve got the languages of the three major hacking countries under my belt, so i could totally work for the CIA or be a spy or a hacker or something :P )

5. what was a major highlight/milestone in studying this language?

german: finally understanding the declension system of der/die/das

french: understanding how all the verb tenses work, which took approx. 2 years (and now they’re super easy for me!! it’s so cool!!!)

russian: realizing that i was starting to decline nouns + adjectives without even thinking about it (i think that was back in march or april, though, so i’m kind of rusty now)

6.what was the hardest thing about learning this language?

french i’ve found pretty easy because of all the cognates between it and english, and the verb tenses i struggled with until i learned english, and realized that a lot of tenses are either the same construction in both languages, or the reverse of each other in meaning

russian...it took me ages to get the case system, but that was because i didn’t study it enough tbh :P i’m still struggling with perfective/imperfective verbs + verbs of motion, but again i think that’s something that probably just requires rote memorization and discipline

7. what resources did you find most useful for studying this language?

i leaned super heavily on duolingo for a while, although i know better than to trust it for everything now. my personal favorite sites are dict.cc (german-english/french/russian/etc. dictionary), verb2verbe.com (french verb conjugation), lingolia (german + romance languages grammar guide), and russian-lessons.net (russian grammar). “german grammar drills” second edition is a really good grammar book that got me to finally stop butchering my heritage language and slurring my articles so native speakers wouldn’t realize i was incompetent B)))

8. any top tips for studying this language?

for languages in general, i would say make sure you understand your own language’s grammar first (especially if you’re an english speaker whose school never taught you grammar like mine). practice vocabulary and WRITE every day. practice active use of your TL, not just passive consumption. i am lazy and don’t do this and believe me, your skills will suffer.

9. what’s your next major language goal?

my next goal is probably to succeed in my german fluency exam and french and mandarin school exams senior year...after that i’ll have space to study new languages, so i want to get back into russian (if i don’t have time before then), and then maybe korean, thai, or hungarian?...there’s so many languages i want to learn, and it changes so often, i’ll probably study something totally different 2 years from now ;w;

10. anything we can do in the tumblr community to get you there?

i was thinking about starting my own langblr! but i still need to figure that out...also, the majority of my blogging is done on mobile, so i don’t know how much original content i would contribute, and i really want to focus on school and my college portfolio as much as possible. so we’ll see, but i’d love to join the langblr community from more than just my personal blog

i’m tagging @langloser and anyone w/ a special interest in languages who wants an excuse to talk about them (not that you need one tbh)

[christinamirabilis]

Question thingy cos I’m procrastinating going to bed which I will be heavily regretting at 7:30 when I have to get up for class but yolo

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora?  I don’t really use any of them tbh, like, I like to have all of my music in iTunes/on my phone - but if I ever stream music it’s actually normally on YouTube.

is your room messy or clean?  Right now it’s very messy, I was supposed to clean it days ago but I’m lazy.

what color are your eyes?  Blue.

do you like your name? why?  I’ve always been indifferent to it - or, really, it’s that depersonalised feel where I tell people my name is Christina and I answer to Christina but when I start to think about it, say it out loud slowly and mindfully, it feels like a foreign object in my mouth.  So I try not to do that because that’s uncomfortable as fuck.  But anyway, yeah, indifferent, but ever since I learned about Christina Mirabilis and how much she has come to mean to me, it’s better, like, it feels like fate I guess.  If such a thing exists, which is another thing I am ambivalent about.

what is your relationship status?  extremely single so if anyone wants to take one for the team and date me, that would be swell.

describe your personality in 3 words or less?  neurotic, means well.

what color hair do you have?  purple

what kind of car do you drive? colour?  sadly I do not have a car, but I do have a scooter, it’s silver.

where do you shop?  like, as in where do I buy my groceries?  Haha lmao but honestly this is so vague.  Bitch I’m poor and fat, I shop anywhere where I can find something that doesn’t look completely hideous and that my card won’t get declined trying to buy.

how would you describe your style?  see above.  Would like to dress way cooler than I do but lack of money, and - more importantly, since thrift shops are a thing when you’re skinny - being fat.

favorite social media account? Tumblr I guess, even though it’s often incredibly frustrating, because Facebook is a shitstain on the fabric of humanity and I don’t have Twitter and rarely use Instagram.

what size bed do you have?  double.

any siblings?  little sister, she’s 25, lives in Melbourne.

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?  somewhere that is perpetually warm, where I can speak the language well enough to practice as a clinical psychologist, but still in a big city - I’m thinking either Sydney or Queensland, or California.  South of France would be fucking lit too, I guess I know enough French that I could become fluent with total immersion.  Anyway, I just want to be warm year-round, seasonal depression always kicks my ass, I fucking loathe being cold.

favorite snapchat filter?  fuck man I don’t know, I don’t remember the last time I used a snapchat filter.

favorite makeup brand(s)  depends on which type of makeup, I have different favourite brands for different products.  But, generally, cheap, I guess.  Although my two favourite makeup items are an eyeshadow that I got from Topshop, and a Makeup Revolution highlight.

how many times a week do you shower?  most days.

favorite tv show?  that is a really difficult question, I have so many favourites.  Right now it’s Game of Thrones, obviously.  But I think Dollhouse is possibly my all-time favourite TV show.  And right now I’m watching Vikings, which I’m fucking loving, just finished the second season.  Although HONESTLY I don’t give a fuck about Princess Aslaug, when the fuck are Ragnar and Lagertha gonna get back together because Lagertha is my fucking bae.

shoe size?  normally 7 or 8 in NZ sizes, or 38EU.

how tall are you?  5′2″ of pure queer fury.

sandals or sneakers?  docs.

do you go to the gym?  lmao.

describe your dream date?  I’ve done this before but basically - luxury version with the girl I’m in love with involves long extended holiday wandering around the Mediterranean and just having lazy days of eating and napping and swimming and having sex and exploring and shopping. Other than that, I just really love to go to an outdoor bar on a warm summer’s afternoon and have sangria or margaritas or wine and antipasto or tapas, and just chill and chat, and maybe have a sneaky cigarette.  just, like, yeah.  perfect.

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment?  none, I don’t carry cash most of the time.

what color socks are you wearing?  grey with black polka dots, with a rabbit on each, they used to have pom poms on them for the rabbit’s tale but they’ve long since disintegrated.

how many pillows do you sleep with?  I sleep on one pillow but I have another one on the other side of my bed.

do you have a job? what do you do?  I am a supervisor in a bookstore.

how many friends do you have?  I don’t know off the top of my head, I’m not inclined to sit here and count them.

whats the worst thing you have ever done?  taken my pain out on my own body rather than directing my anger at the people who hurt me.

whats your favorite candle scent?  I don’t know but Sophie got me this Limoncello-scented one from Bath and Body Works in Vancouver but it’s humungous and heavy as fuck so she couldn’t afford to send it to me but I hope maybe when she eventually comes back she’ll bring it with her because I think that would be my favourite scent.

3 favourite boy names?  I don’t know, honestly, I don’t often think about boy names, I guess cos I’m fucking gay as shit so boys never cross my mind in any capacity.  But I like Elliott.  But I also like that name for a girl so idk,

3 favourite girl names?  I have heaps but the first three that spring to mind are Anneke, Rhiannon, and Sinead.

favorite actor?  don’t know tbh.  Probably Harrison Ford as Han Solo, cos he’s my son.

favorite actress?  a hard choice but Emilia Clarke is the one I crush on the hardest so yeah idk.

who is your celebrity crush?  who ISN’T?  I swear I’m in love with half the women in music and film.  Emilia Clarke is a big one, obviously, but also at the moment I’m crushing mega hard on Tash Sultana.

favorite movie?  I don’t know, I’ll just say Amélie because that film never fails to cheer me up.

do you read a lot? what’s your favourite book?  I do read a lot, and I have no fucking idea.

money or brains?  In a partner?  Brains, I guess, although that’s very subjective, given Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences - I guess it depends on what you value.  I, personally, value emotional intelligence.

do you have a nickname? what is it?  Stina.

how many times have you been to the hospital?  Uhhh.  I don’t know off the top of my head, and I probably can’t count accurately because there are a few admissions that I just straight up don’t remember.  At least 10 times, I would say.

top 10 favourite songs?  nah, that’s too hard.

do you take any medications daily?  yeah, I take sertraline (anti-depressant), prazosin (alpha-blocker - for PTSD), and birth control (for PCOS).  I also take magnesium and vitamin D because they’re both fucking lifesaving tbh.

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)  I don’t know.  All I know is that it never fucking does what I want it to.

what is your biggest fear?  The people I love dying, especially my close family.

how many kids do you want?  more than one but no more than three.

whats your go to hair style?  down.  I always wear it down.  I have a pretty large side-undercut, so.

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)  The house itself is really big, it’s an old villa, but it’s divided into two flats, we’re on the bottom floor.  It isn’t huge, we have a tiny lounge, a slightly-larger-than-average kitchen, and average-sized bathroom/laundry - but our rooms are all fucking humungous.

who is your role model?  my therapist, my old high school guidance counsellor, my friends.

what was the last compliment you received?  Owen said my hair looked good today.

what was the last text you sent?  it was a really long Facebook message to the girl I’m currently talking to, we’re going on a date on Thursday, I’m excited.

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?  Idk, I figured it out pretty young, I was a bright kid.  Maybe five or six?

what is your dream car?  I don’t really know.  I like 70s muscle cars but honestly at the end of the day any car is a good car.  Plus, practically-speaking, I would like something that is kind on the environment, an electric car or a hybrid.

opinion on smoking?  I think that it is something people do when they need something to alleviate a distressing situation.  It’s no secret that smoking is more prevalent among the poor and the mentally ill, as well as those with high-stress jobs.  I am an ex-smoker who relapses one or two times a year, the last time I had a cigarette was early April.  I sometimes start smoking again when I am not doing well emotionally or if I’m really stressed (eg during exams).  And I don’t like it, it makes me feel tired, it makes my throat phlegmy, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and it makes me stink of smoke, and it is fucking expensive, but it meets a need.  So my opinion is that I don’t like smoking, but sometimes it has a hold on me that I can’t resist, and I have the utmost compassion for anyone who smokes.

do you go to college?  yeah, I’m in my last year of my undergrad.

what is your dream job?  clinical child and youth psychologist.

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs?  inner-city suburbs - far out enough to still live in a free-standing house with a garden, but close enough that I can walk to the city, or be there after a short bus trip. That’s the situation I live in at the moment and it’s perfect.

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?  No, because I’m a snob and only like to use my own shampoo and conditioner.  But I don’t see anything wrong with it, since you’re paying for them.  Taking appliances and dressing gowns and towels, however, is not acceptable in my opinion.

do you have freckles?  Not really.

do you smile for pictures?  Sometimes but I hate having my photo taken so it always looks strained.

how many pictures do you have on your phone?  Not that many at the moment, I just did a big dump of photos onto my laptop, I like to do that from time to time so my iCloud doesn’t run out of space.

have you ever peed in the woods?  yeah, and on the side of the road, and once behind Sophie’s house when her flatmate was taking a really fucking long time in the shower and I desperately needed to pee.

do you still watch cartoons?  nah, but only cos they’re not my cup of tea, absolutely no hate.

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds?  I’m a vegetarian.

Favorite dipping sauce?  see above.

what do you wear to bed?  pyjama pants and an old t-shirt.

have you ever won a spelling bee?  no, they’re not a thing in New Zealand, but if they were I would have fucking cleaned up - not to blow my own horn or anything but I am a freakishly good speller.  It’s kind of a not terribly useful skill though, and doesn’t say anything about my level of intelligence.  Just like my weird propensity for memorising numbers, even if I haven’t used them in 10 or 15 years (like my NCEA student number, and the mobile number for the cellphone I lost when I was 14).

what are your hobbies?  netflix, napping, and memeing.

can you draw?  nope, not even a little bit.

do you play an instrument?  yeah I play the violin, and I can also play piano, and I’m a decent choral singer, and I was once an okay percussionist, and I am a below-average guitarist, and an abysmal flute player.  But those last three were self-taught so yeah.

what was the last concert you saw?  The Veils BUT I’m going to see Sigur Rós on Friday and I am dying of excitement.

tea or coffee?  peppermint tea.

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?  Dunkin Donuts, but not for the coffee, I just really like donuts.  Plus we don’t have Dunkin Donuts in Wellington so it’s a huge novelty for me when I get to have them, I’m almost as excited about getting Dunkin Donuts when I fly into Auckland on Friday as I am about seeing my favourite band live haha.

do you want to get married?  Yes.

what is your crush’s first and last initial?  I don’t currently have a crush.

are you going to change your last name when you get married?  No but I will consider hyphenating if that’s something my wife wants to do.

what color looks best on you?  black I guess.

do you miss anyone right now?  I kinda miss Soph but these days I’m just starting to, like, I don’t know.  Adjust.  Which is nice.  Realising that the way things worked out is for the best, because otherwise I would have been in for a lot of misery.  Even though Sophie is a wonderful person whom I love and care about a huge amount.  Apart from that, I miss being close to Nic, because she is like a sister to me, and I wish that we lived near each other so we could support one another.

do you sleep with your door open or closed?  Closed.

do you believe in ghosts?  No, but I could be convinced to change my mind with enough evidence.

what is your biggest pet peeve?  People with bad manners, it is really not that fucking hard to say “please” and “thank you”?  I mean, I’m talking in a work context here pretty much, customers can be so fucking rude.  And the rude ones are all, without a single exception, baby boomers.  So... yeah.

last person you called?  Owen.

favorite ice cream flavour?  I’m not really an ice cream person but I really like Ben and Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, that’s another thing I’m super looking forward to when I go to Auckland.  If it seems like I’m obsessed with food, it’s because I am - but I am especially obsessed with getting all of the bread and sugar I can into myself in the next week because next week I’m starting the keto diet and I’m dying a little inside just thinking about it, I really fucking love sugar and bread.

regular oreos or golden oreos?  regular.

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?  rainbow.

what shirt are you wearing?  t-shirt with very thin stripes.

what is your phone background?  beyoncé in the formation video.

are you outgoing or shy?  depends on the context, but mostly shy.

do you like it when people play with your hair?  yeah.

do you like your neighbors?  I don’t know them but they seem nice in passing.

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning?  always.

have you ever been high?  yes.

have you ever been drunk?  yes.

last thing you ate?  cheesecake.

favorite lyrics right now?  eh.

summer or winter?  SUMMER.

day or night?  Idk I like both, it depends.

dark, milk, or white chocolate?  milk.

favorite month?  January.

what is your zodiac sign?  Aries but I don’t believe in that shit.

who was the last person you cried in front of?  Either my therapist or Owen and Autumn, I can’t remember.  Possibly both, I went through a stage of pretty much constantly crying a couple of weeks back lmao.