#but of course needing two to three weeks business hours to check the passport office or whatever

[saint-nevermore]

ohhhh universal credit is a scam. shame it took me until now to realise. i work extremely part time (6 hours per week, weekend job) and that was enough to bring my UC payment down to £109. A month. and my mom expects £100 from me per month, out of my UC, because i used to get £270. suddenly, i can afford absolutely nothing. on top of the passport office fucking me over withdrawing the application without telling me that is a genuinely horrifying amount of money the government lovingly robbed from me in a short span of time. my head is spinning

do not paypal me right now since i had to declare my paypal's statements and im genuinely fucking terrified of what they're gonna do with that lmfao

[kpop---scenarios]

Revenge Is A Bitch (1)

Pairing: Nichkhun x Reader | Jaehyun x Reader

Warning: Eventual smut, cheating, angst

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: Surprise! It's now a series. Let me know if you wanna be tagged!

Summary: You're life with Nichkhun was amazing, until you went to visit him on a business trip, where you meet Jaehyun, a friend and coworker of your boyfriend. Things escalate quickly from a little flirting in a club, but things get even worse when Nichkhun finds out. "

Y/N." Nichkhun growls. "Give it back." He says, trying his best not to smile. You stand on the other side of the couch, his phone in your hand as you stick your tongue out at him. 

"You want it back?" You ask.

He nods his head. 

"Then come get it." You yell, laughing as he charges for you, bursting out into laughter as well. Sometimes you were needy, especially when you felt like he was paying more attention to his phone than you. You giggle and scream as you run around the couch, Wooyoung sitting on the couch watching the two of you in disgust. Nichkhun grabs you, pulling you into him, peppering your face in kisses. You stop fighting him and he sets you down as you both continue laughing. You give him back his phone and he slides it into his pocket before tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

"I love you, beautiful." He whispers. 

"And I love you." You grin, placing a kiss on his lips. 

"And I'm gonna be sick." Wooyoung groans, leaving the living room as the two of you laugh at his annoyance and disgust of your love. It had been two years of just pure bliss and happiness with Nichkhun, something you never thought you'd ever find, until you found him. 

A few hours later, you were sitting on the edge of the bed with your arms crossed as you watched Nichkhun pack a bag. As usual, a last minute business meeting came up, and he was taking off for a week. 

"Babe, where's my blue suit? The one with the stripes.. yanno?" He yells from inside the closet. As much as you didn't want to help him, you begrudgingly stood up, shuffling towards the closet to help him find the suit he needed. You roll your eyes as you walk in, and Nichkhun is on one knee, holding a ring pop, making you laugh. "I'm sorry I have to leave my love, but with this ring, I hope you remember that I love you, and I can't wait to come back to you and marry you one day." He grins. 

He always knew how to make you feel better and put a smile on your face. Some days you swore he knew you better than you knew yourself. You take the ring and stick it on your finger as he stands up. 

"Now, I actually do need my suit." He laughs. 

"You mean the one that's hanging right in front of you?" You giggle, taking it off the rack and handing it to him. 

"My savior." He grins, putting it carefully in his bag. 

"Toothbrush?" You ask him, beginning to list off the items he needs. 

"Yes!" He exclaims. 

"Underwear? Socks? Passport? Wallet? Casual clothes?" You ask. 

"Check, check, check.. where's my passport?" He asks worriedly. Despite only going to a different city, he still needed it. 

"Nightstand, left hand side." You sigh. He quickly leaves the closet, going to his nightstand as you zip up his bag, bringing it into the bedroom. 

"Like I said, my savior." He grins. 

"I'll call you when I land." He says before answering his ringing phone. "I'll be right down." 

He gives you a quick peck before heading through your lavish apartment, with you following behind him, watching him walk out the front door, leaving you alone. 

It had been a few days and you still hadn't heard from Nichkhun. This really wasn't unusual for him, considering he got very busy with work but he hadn't even sent you a goodnight text in the last 3 days, and that made you really sad. So you decided to do something about it. With a plan in your head you went to sleep, knowing you had an early morning ahead of you. 

When you woke up, you booked your last minute ticket, and began packing your bags. You felt a frisson of excitement skate across your nerve endings as you zipped up your bags and waited for your ride to the airport. You very rarely, well actually never had surprised Nichkhun, but this time it felt right. It felt like it was going to be a wonderful surprise. 

After a smooth flight, you caught a cab, and told him to go to the hotel Nichkhun was at. You felt like nothing could go wrong, this was the perfect plan, with a perfect execution. You paid the nice cab driver, who also took your bags from his car for you and you went into the lobby to wait for Nichkhun. You called his phone a few times, but he didn't pick up. You look around the fancy hotel and observe a couple who seemed to not be able to keep their hands off each other. You loved that for them. You smiled to yourself, imagining you and Nichkhun being that publicly annoying. You wished you could show your love and passion the way they were. The way they touched each other, it spoke of passion and need and familiarity. 

You looked at your phone that has now gone to voicemail six times, you glance up once more and see the faces of the couple that enter the elevator with tears in your eyes. 

**

“Welcome to Club Arriba! What can I get you to drink?”

"6 shots of your strongest liquor." You yell, slapping the credit card that Nichkhun had given you for emergencies. Clearly this was one, and so was the lavish hotel room, and the room service you had ordered before coming to the club. 

"You got it." The bartender smiles, sliding the cars off the bar. You stand there waiting for your shots when three girls approach you. 

"I love your dress." One giggles. You hold up your finger, asking for a moment before you quickly, and quite professionally down four of the six shots you had bought. 

"Thank you." You grin. You turn to the bartender and wave him over. "Four more shots for me and my new friends." You yell, taking the last two shots on the counter. 

And like that, you had made friends with some really nice girls, who bought you drinks too. The four of you were dancing, laughing and having a great time when you feel a pair of hands land on your hips. You look behind him and see an extremely handsome man smiling down at you. You don't mind, you enjoy the attention, besides it wasn't like you were getting much these days anyways. You move your body closer to his, swaying your hips to the beat of the music, while smiling at your new friends, who were also dancing with others. As you were getting more into it, you felt a hand wrap around your wrist. You look up and see a man that you absolutely recognize trying to pull you away from the other man that had begun groping you. 

"What are you doing?" You ask. Glaring at the man. You know him.. from.. Nickhun's office. "Jaehyun?" You ask. He looks at you surprised that you remembered his name. He pulls you away from the man, through the crowd to a secluded hallway. He swings you around, pushing you against the wall as he crosses his arms. 

"What the hell are you doing?" He asks. "You're in a relationship with my good friend and my boss." He hisses. 

"Mhm, are you sure you're as good of a friend as you think you are?" You ask, tilting your head to the side. 

"I don't understand what you mean." He sighs. 

Of course he doesn't. No one knows, you didn't even know until this morning. 

"What do you want, Jae? Should I blow you so you don't tell my precious Nichkhun?" You ask, pouting. 

"I would never do that to Nichkhun." He deepens. "I'm going to have to tell him about this." He finishes. 

You shrug your shoulders, pushing yourself off the wall. "Do what you gotta do." You say. “You know what I’ll help you tell him." You say, taking out your phone. Jaehyun stands there, watching you, unsure of what you're doing.  You turn around with snapchat open, and kiss him on the cheek before snapping a picture before he moves away from you.  

"What the fuck are you doing? Do you realize that this looks fucking bad?" He yells.  

"I've seen the way you look at me when I come into the office. Do you want a taste Jae? Would you like to feel me gripping you while inside me? How about how wet and warm it would feel to cum inside me? So good."  You whisper into his ear. 

Jaehyun moves back from you, looking partially offended, and partially turned on from what you said. He doesn't say anything to you, he just walks away, and you watch him disappear into the crowd. You adjust your dress and throw your shoulders back and walk back to your new friends. 

As you continue to dance, you can feel eyes on you, raking your body up and down. You look around and see Jaehyun leaning against the bar, his arms crossed as he watches you. The way your hands roam your body, the way you lick your lips as you watch him. You can feel his guard being let down as he begins to inch closer to you. The rush of victory flows through your body as he walks towards you. 

"Let me take you home." He says, offering his hand to you. He slides Nichkhun's credit card back in your purse and he weaves the two of you out of the club. 

"Are you trying to get in my panties, Jaehyun?" You ask, looking at the handsome man. 

"I'm just taking you home." He says. 

The two of you are standing outside your hotel room as you put your key in and open the door to your large suite. 

"Don't tell Nichkhun I'm here." You say, walking inside, Jaehyun following you. 

"Let's just get you to bed." He sighs. 

You stand in front of him, pulling your dress off, dropping it on the floor. You're almost naked, in front of your boyfriend's good friend, feeling nothing but lust and attraction for this man. 

Jaehyun takes a deep breath. "Fuck it." He whispers, crashing his lips onto yours, pushing you onto the bed. Your fun starts now, and soon Nichkhun will know that revenge is a bitch. 

[araluenrangerdanger]

The airport AU

Remember when I said I was writing the airport au from this post? I’m done with it - read under read more or AO3

Halt was used to travelling by plane. As a governmental officer, he often had to leave the country and – such misfortune - he always got seasick when he went by boat. So, due to these things, he was well familiar with the Araluen airport, located in the mainland near the capital city.

It was a simple process, really. Go to the check-in desk, get a boarding pass, go through the passport control, security check. Halt knew it all. He could practically waltz around the airport with his eyes closed.

One day, however, it all changed. Well, not all of it. Mainly the passport control. Where once stood real, living people, there were now machines. Halt and machines didn’t go together. If he even passed his own microwave, it broke down and Halt always had to spend such a ridiculous amount of money to get it repaired.

These machines came with an animated manual subtitled in several languages. Halt took out his diplomatic passport and frowned at the small screen. It seemed simple enough.

Just when he was about to put his passport inside of the machine, he appeared. A man with a bright green uniform of the airport’s information workers. He had red hair and he was smiling at him.

“Hello, can I help you?” he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that Halt was giving him his famous death glare. Still, he politely declined.

“No, thank you. I know how to do this.” As it turned out three seconds later, he did NOT know how to do it. He put a wrong page inside the machine. Halt didn’t notice this, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the information worker standing a few feet away, looking at him with anticipation.

“Do you want help?” the guy asked again, trying to hide his smile. Halt had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Really, he got this. So he rejected his offer for the second time and tried again.

Machines truly seemed to hate him. After he put his passport in for a second time, correctly if I may add, a red icon showed up telling him to go to the police officer. Halt narrowed his eyes at the screen. When people were doing the passport check, it was so much better. Why did the management of the airport think this was better? Halt glanced at a sign telling him that this was a much easier way to pass the check. As if, Halt thought.

He took out his passport, determined to not deal with that thing for the third time when the information guy swept in.

“You should try pressing it down,” he suggested. Halt paid him no mind and continued on his merry way to the police. He left the man standing there as he made his way through the control.

From now on, whenever Halt travelled, he had the luck to meet this guy. Apparently, he belonged to a new team of information workers that was created after the installation of these machines to help people pass through easily (not that Halt cared. He certainly never, ever opened the airport’s website to do a small research. Not at all). Halt tried his best to avoid them, but he was never completely safe since they were everywhere. Well, almost. At least they didn’t occupy the toilets.

The next time Halt passed through the new passport control was when he returned from Skandia. It was around noon and there were only two workers in bright green T-shirts that pegged them as members of this new team. Neither of them had red hair though and Halt relaxed.

He didn’t need help this time. He remembered the words of the redhead and pressed his passport down and it actually worked! His happiness didn’t last long. The machine broke down when he was inside and it took forever to get him out.

When he was inside of it for a few minutes already, he exasperatedly turned his head towards the information workers who were watching him like hawks.

“Sorry, you have to wait! We’re not in charge of those,” he heard a vaguely familiar voice and of course, there he was. Halt sighed. He was totally going to file a complaint against these stupid, useless things!

“How long?” he shot back. He was unusually grumpy – well, grumpier today. His flight was delayed by four hours and by now he was supposed to be in an important meeting. Instead, he was stuck at the airport. In this demonic machine. What a great day.

The redhead leaned against the device. For a second he looked somewhere behind Halt, where the baggage reclaim was, then replied: “Don’t know. A police officer has to come and get you out.”

He smiled. Halt wasn’t sure why; he was stuck here. It seemed as though the information worker wanted to chat while he was trapped. There weren’t many people around he could help, he must’ve been incredibly bored.

“Don’t worry. This is not that bad of a situation. I mean, the machine’s still working. At least from where I’m standing.” Halt narrowed his eyes at him and turned around so he faced the exit, leaned against the shiny silver wall of the compartment and waited. He was not in a mood to chat.

The next time Halt took the plane actually was not an official journey. No, it was something much more frightening. He was going on a family vacation with his brother and sister to Arrida. Halt hated holidays with a passion and it didn’t help that his younger brother always tried to play tricks on him. While his younger siblings were outfitted for a proper vacation (Caitlyn wore a pretty summer dress and Ferris had a dark blue shirt with flamingos printed on it, shorts and a straw hat), Halt was dressed in his formal attire. He wasn’t about to embarrass himself at the airport where some of the check-in workers already knew him (if not in person then by sight); it would ruin his entire reputation.

As they stood below the departures board and waited for their check-in number to appear, they heard a very cheerful voice: “Hello, can I help you?”

Halt didn’t even have to look to know who it was. “Oh. It’s you,” he grumbled under his breath quietly. Unfortunately for him, Caitlyn heard him since she was standing just a few feet away.

She looked between the two of them. “You know each other?” she asked, curiosity seeping through her voice.

She was given two different answers.

“Of course,” said the stranger.

“We’ve... met,” Halt admitted. Caitlyn took in his expression and decided to not pursue this matter further. Instead, she smiled and looked at the guy’s ID card that hung around his neck.

“Tell me, Mr. Crowley. What should I do if I’m terrified of flying?” Halt grumbled. That wasn’t true. Caitlyn had never been afraid of flying. If there was someone who would’ve run out of the airport if he could, it was Ferris. His younger brother was afraid even of his own shadow.

Crowley momentarily stiffened, then turned his ID card around and gave her a bright smile in return. Halt turned his attention back to the departures board and while he, in fact, did listen to what this Crowley guy had to say to Caitlyn, he just wanted this vacation to be over already. He noticed that Ferris moved in closer to them to get tips on how to conquer his fear of heights and they both listened intensely.

Halt had to admit; Crowley knew what he was talking about. Even though he tried to ignore his incomprehensible babbling, Halt couldn’t help but stand there. Both his younger siblings seemed to cling to his every word; it was fascinating what effect this guy had on people.

But, he wasn’t beating around the bush and actually gave them helpful tips which surprised Halt a little. From how their last meeting went down, he assumed that this Crowley cracked jokes on every occasion he got, so seeing him act so responsible had taken him aback.

“And what if I travel by myself? What should I do?” Caitlyn asked, pulling Halt over to her. He wasn’t sure why he did that, though. He did NOT want to listen to Crowley’s excited babbling. He already knew how the airport worked. If Caitlyn wanted to know, then fine, but he could be getting a coffee that very moment and he wouldn’t complain in the slightest. 

At one point during the conversation, he met Crowley’s eyes. An unusual feeling shot through Halt, but he shrugged it off fairly easily and broke the eye contact. He patiently listened to the end and let Crowley tell Caitlyn everything she wanted to know. Afterwards, his little sister spent the whole vacation talking about how amazing this guy's advice was and Halt couldn't help but think that maybe she had a small crush on Crowley. 

His concerns about whether he had to go break someone's neck were in vain as Caitlyn introduced her new boyfriend to them two weeks after they returned from Arrida. 

The next time the two met, Crowley was in a tight situation, getting yelled at by a passenger whose flight had been delayed by three hours and when he wanted to use the coffee machine, it just ate his money and he had no coffee. 

Halt could hear Crowley say: "I'm sorry about the inconvenience, sir, but there is no way I can solve your problems. Can I suggest calling the number on the machine and telling them it doesn't work? Or there is a nice coffee shop if you continue in that direction." 

The passenger didn't listen and tried to argue some more. Crowley sighed exasperatedly and run his hand through his red hair. This was proving to be a difficult day for him and this person certainly didn't help. 

"Yeah, well, I’m sorry, I can't do anything about it," Crowley said and half-turned to leave before he was stopped by another passenger who was on the same flight. 

An elderly woman came up to him and started complaining in broken English. "You give us wrong information! You say check-in open at five but it’s opened now!" 

Crowley's tired eyes looked over to where the check-in for the flight to Teutland was supposed to be. Indeed, they were open already. Around the check-in desk were tons of people belonging to other flights. 

Halt watched as a man with an ID card in a business suit came up to Crowley and they chatted for a while, from time to time looking at the chaos near the check-in desks. That must be his boss, Halt thought. Actually, he had no desire to go check himself in, mainly because he also had a reservation for that Teutland flight.

Crowley continued to walk around, asking people if they wanted help. Eventually, he got to Halt. 

"Hello, sir, can I help you?" he repeated his default phrase as Halt had heard it twenty times for the last fifteen minutes. Halt saw the hopeful look in his eyes. So many people rejected his help, some because of the language barrier, some because they were aware of what to do. Halt would have to disappoint Crowley yet again. 

"No, thank you," he politely declined. Crowley sighed. 

"Do you know the number of your check-in?" He asked. Halt scoffed. Of course, normal people didn't have the airport's mobile app where they could easily access this information, but Halt already knew what his check-in was, and right now, it was swarmed with people. 

But Crowley looked so eager to help someone and Halt gave in. "No, am don't know the number but maybe you could tell me?" 

Crowley visibly perked up. "Of course," he all but shouted. A bright smile appeared on his face as he opened an application similar to Halt's and asked: "Could you tell me your destination and the departure time, please?" 

Halt told him the details with skilled precision that he practiced ever since he got his job. It was fundamental to listen to and remember the useless things that some diplomats let out of their mouths. 

Crowley's bright smile disappeared as he looked through his iPad. 

"That's check-in number 125 and 126," he said and waved his hands in the direction of the crowd. "Over there," he added quickly, then went silent as he studied Halt's expression carefully, like he wasn't sure if he wasn't about to get yelled at for yet another time.

Halt may have been displeased that his flight was delayed, but he sure wasn't about to shout at some poor airport employee, even as one as annoying as Crowley. It wasn't his fault the plane didn't arrive on time and he was trying his best. 

"Thank you," he said simply, grabbed his suitcase and went over to wait in the (non-existent) line. 

Their next meeting happened a month later. Really, Halt was getting quite sick seeing Crowley every damn time he had to take the plane, but the night before his trip, he stood in the shower and a stray thought invaded his brain. Halt, with an expected amount of surprise, discovered that he actually wouldn't mind seeing Crowley again. Even though the guy could be annoying as hell, the few times he talked to him proved that he was in fact a pretty good company. 

Halt dismissed the thought when he stepped out of the shower. There was no use dwelling on something like that. 

But here he was, yet again waiting under the departures board for his check-in desk to open. And, of course, he could already guess by the mane of red hair who exactly was the information worker for today. Halt could swear that Crowley never even left the airport; he was there all the time. 

He was surprised when his bad mood (he didn't have time for his morning coffee. He had to get up at five o'clock in the morning and now, at almost six, none of the coffee shops was open yet) improved the second he saw him. He could tell that Crowley recognized him, too. He smiled tiredly and went to him. 

"Hello, can I help you?" He also sounded tired. Halt never had night shifts, but after seeing this poor guy barely stand, nobody could ever convince him to take on night shifts. 

"No, thank you," he declined his offer, even though he immediately regretted it. He was never a social butterfly, but, for some reason, he wanted Crowley to stay. 

However, Crowley knew when he wasn't wanted and made his way to the few people awake at this hour. Halt had to wait for another half an hour before Crowley came round again, stealing glances at him. 

In a matter of seconds before Crowley made his way to him, asking how default question. 

"You already asked," Halt grumbled. He crossed his arms on his chest. Crowley ran his hand through his hair. 

"Sorry, sir. You looked a little lost and I thought-" he cut himself off. Halt sighed. 

"You know what? If you really want to help me, you can go fetch a coffee."

Crowley looked both directions. Ah, there he was. His boss, Duncan, was strolling between some self-check-in machines. There was no way Crowley could abandon his position now. 

"Sorry, sir, but I can't really leave this place, even if it's to go for a coffee," he explained, taking in Halt's immediately irritated expression. 

"But," he continued quickly. "My shift's ending in fifteen minutes, so after that we can go fetch a coffee? I could use some myself." 

Halt didn't even know he nodded. It must've happened though because Crowley went on to help other passengers before disappearing from sight. 

A few minutes later, a cheerful but tired voice came from behind him.

"So, shall we go fetch that coffee?" 

[noona-clock]

First Impression - Part 4

Genre: Museum!AU

Pairing: Youngjae (Got7) x You

By Admin B

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 

“So... what’s my first task, then?” Youngjae asked a bit dejectedly.

He hadn’t wanted to give in so easily, but you’d seemed hellbent on putting a stop to... well, whatever it was that had been happening between the two of you the past couple of weeks.

You cleared your throat quickly before tugging at the cuffs of your sleeve, straightening them out most likely to give yourself something else to focus on.

“Do you drink coffee?” you asked, eyebrows raised but your gaze averted.

“Yes,” he replied with a nod.

“There you go. Your first task.” You took a few steps to your desk, opening a drawer and retrieving your wallet. After sliding out a few bills, you stuck them out toward him. “There’s a shop just down the street. Iced vanilla latte, almond milk.”

Well, great. This was shaping up to be a wonderful first day of his internship. Not only did you flat out reject him, but you were now turning him into the Coffee Boy.

But did he whine or complain? Of course, not. He was Youngjae, after all, and Youngjae always did his best to get the job done. 

Even if that job was... getting coffee.

As it turns out, you didn’t ask Youngjae to go get coffee again. At least, not by himself. Most of the time, a small group of co-workers in the Curating department went down to the local coffee shop together, though a few times it was just the two of you.

After that conversation in your office, you acted like nothing had ever happened. You were professional and friendly, but you never crossed the line. You never said anything untoward or even hinted at the fact you wanted to flirt with him.

To be honest, it was a bit frustrating for Youngjae. Because he still very much had feelings for you.

He never acted on them, obviously, but they were there. Simmering under the surface constantly.

Since he was still in school, furiously trying to finish up his thesis before graduation, he didn’t spend too much time at the museum. Which was both good and bad. He wanted to see you and spend time with you - and learn from you - but it was also pretty torturous getting to work closely with you but not be with you. 

He went back and forth about whether or not applying for this internship had been the best or the worst idea he’d ever had.

If he didn’t work with you, the two of you would probably be dating by now. At least, that’s what Youngjae liked to think. Your emails would have continued to be extremely flirtatious, and Youngjae would have asked you eventually - sooner rather than later. Or maybe you would have asked him out. Either way, you would have been on at least three - maybe four - dates by now.

But... he truly was learning so much from you. You’d most definitely added a full letter grade to his thesis, and the connections you’d introduced him to in the museum world would surely help him find a job once he’d graduated and the internship was over.

So, really, the only question was, what was more important to him? His personal life or his career?

His answer changed almost daily.

Today, he was pretty sure his answer was ‘personal life’ because he was kind of dreading work. He opened the Employees Only door in the museum lobby with a heavy sigh, and his heart started thumping at just the thought of seeing you. Your beautiful face, your gorgeous smile, your clean, crisp, well-fitted work clothes -- why? Why did he have to be so into you?!

“Good morning!” you grinned when he walked by your office.

What made things worse was that you seemed to have no idea. You had seemingly moved on from your earlier flirtation after having that talk on his first day of work, so you obviously thought Youngjae had moved on, too.

Oh, how wrong you were.

“Morning,” he greeted with the best smile he could muster.

As he set his bag down at one of the small desks out in the common area of the curating department, Youngjae heard you get up for your chair and make your way to the doorway of your office.

“When’s your spring break?” you asked, leaning against the doorjamb and crossing your arms over your chest.

“Spring break?” Youngjae turned to face you, his brow furrowed slightly. “Next week. Why?”

A smirk pulled at your lips, and Youngjae had to will himself not to think about kissing you.

“You said you’re fluent in French, right?”

“Yes...” Despite the few classes he’d skipped earlier to see the exhibit. He’d been learning the language since high school, though, so he would definitely consider himself fluent. 

But why were you asking about his knowledge of the French language and the timing of his Spring Break?

You pushed yourself off the doorjamb and sauntered over to him, the most pleased expression on your ridiculously attractive face.

“I’m being sent on a trip to scout some pieces for our upcoming Manet exhibit.”

“Ooh, Manet, he’s --”

“To Paris,” you interrupted, coming to stand only about two feet in front of him. “And you’re coming with me.”

Youngjae’s heart stopped momentarily, his eyes widening in complete shock. “Wait, what? I -- to Paris?!”

You nodded, your lips pressed together to hold back your excitement. “A business trip, so everything is paid for. And you won’t have to miss class since we leave on Saturday and come back on Friday before they start up again. You even get a bit of leeway to recover from jet lag.”

Even though he wanted to express his gratitude and elation for this amazing opportunity, there was one nagging question on his mind. One he couldn’t leave unsaid for any longer: “Who else is going?”

Because if it was just the two of you, he wasn’t sure he could --

“Just us.”

--handle that.

Oh, great.

“Have you ever been?” you asked eagerly.

“N--no --”

“Oh, you’re going to love it. We’ll go to the Louvre and see all the sights they all saw -- the Impressionists. The bread there really is fantastic, and the coffee. Oh, my god, the coffee. And the chocolate. And the wine. There’s this little restaurant I always go to, their Coq-au-vin is just amazing. I’ll treat you to dinner there one night...”

While you continued to ramble on and on about the pleasures and luxuries of Paris, Youngjae’s heart was in a battle against itself. He was more than keen to visit one of the most legendary cities in the art world and see all the history for himself.

But... I mean, we all know the nickname for Paris, right?

The City of Love.

And he would be there.

With you.

Just you.

For almost a whole week.

To be honest, when you’d told Youngjae he needed to be at the airport at 5:30 in the morning, he’d almost changed his mind. He was the opposite of a morning person, and that hour was simply unheard of. Unhuman, even.

But he, somehow, managed to get up and get ready, changing into a comfortable outfit he’d laid out last night and grabbing his already packed suitcase sitting by his front door.

He trudged onto the city bus, greeting the driver he’d come to know so well over the past month or so since he’d started his internship.

“Where you headed?” the driver asked when Youngjae plopped down into the first available seat. I mean, it was one of many available seats because Youngjae was the only passenger at the moment. But it was also the first one. Because he was just too tired to walk any farther.

“Paris,” Youngjae answered with a yawn. “For work.”

“Well, la dee dah!” the bus driver replied, whistling to punctuate how impressed he was. “Bring me back a croissant!”

A very sleepy chuckle escaped Youngjae’s lips, and he murmured something along the lines of ‘un croissant pour monsieur’ before his head fell back against the cold bus window and his eyes fluttered closed.

“Airport stop!” the driver yelled, jolting Youngjae awake. 

He let out a soft groan, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes as he stood and headed for the door.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he passed the driver. “See you next week.”

“Don’t forget my croissant!” the driver laughed, waving good-bye to his favorite regular customer. He liked a lot of the other regular passengers, too, but Youngjae never failed to thank him with a bright, sunny smile. And that would take you a long way in the customer service world.

“Croissant,” Youngjae chuckled, lifting his hand up as he shuffled toward the airport entrance.

He let out another rather large yawn as the automatic doors whooshed open, and he heard your voice the second he stepped inside the large, bright check-in lobby.

“Youngjae! Over here!” you called, waving your arm to garner his attention. A smile as bright as the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was present on your face as you stood by the Air France desk, and Youngjae was reminded of how difficult this trip would probably be.

“Morning,” he mumbled when he reached you, resisting the urge to let his head plop down onto your shoulder.

“Someone probably wishes he was still in bed, huh?” you chuckled.

Youngjae almost let out a whine. “Don’t mention the word ‘bed,’” he requested as he slid his hand into his pocket to retrieve his passport.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane,” you assured him as you started to head over to the self-check-in station. “And then, when you wake up, we’ll be in Par-ee.”

Yep. Paris. The City of Love, remember? Just the two of you. For six days. 

But he had to get through the several-hour-long plane ride first. He would most likely sleep the whole way, so it shouldn’t be that difficult, right?

Part 5

[thats-pucking-amazing]

Toronto (Tyler Seguin) *Requested*

This was requested by @surelyseguin 

Warnings: I don’t think so...

Requests: Open

Up Next: Gabe “The Babe” Landeskog

You hated fighting...which lately seemed to be all you were doing with your boyfriend of almost two years. The fights were never anything major, just petty arguments, but they upset you regardless. You were almost a full two days without any disagreements...which was why you were currently cooking Tyler’s favorite dinner, that way he would be softened up when you delivered your news.

“I’m home!” You heard him call as he walked in the front door. You heard what sounded like a herd of elephants rush the front door followed by an “umph” as Tyler was bum rushed by your three dogs. His laugh carried into the kitchen as he wrestled with them before getting up and heading into the kitchen looking for you.

“Hi hun!” You greeted as he rounded the corner into the room. “I made your favorite and it’s almost ready if you’d like to set the table? Please?”

He tapped his chin. “I guess I can probably manage that.” He gave you a quick kiss and then reached around you to grab the plates. The two of you worked around each other in a comfortable silence, just the sound of the radio softly playing and the dogs playing outside between you.

You turned off the stove and Tyler brought the plates over. After both were filled with food the two of you returned to the table. There was a formal dining room in the next room, but when it was just the two of you, dinner was usually eaten at the small table that was by the window looking over the backyard.

Dinner was peaceful....for all of about five minutes.

“Alright. It’s not that I don’t appreciate you making dinner, you know I do. I want to know why you made it.”

You sighed, “Can’t I just make you something nice every once and awhile? Why does there have to be a reason?”

“Is there?” Why is he so astute??

“I just don’t want us to fight today. I’m tired of us constantly arguing. So I’m just trying to do something nice.”

He grabbed your hand and interlaced your fingers. “I don’t like us fighting either. I’m sorry we’ve been at each other’s throats so often lately.”

You moved into the seat next to him and laid your head on his shoulder. “It’s not all your fault. Work has been on me about this new project and getting it done a week before the original deadline. I’m just so stressed! And I know you are, too. There’s so much pressure on you and your team to make the playoffs.”

“You’re right. You know you are.” He dropped a kiss on your head and pulled you tighter to him. “But in just a few days we’ll be flying to Toronto together for the WAGs trip. We’ll have at least one full day to just sightsee. You’ll love it.” You stiffened and bit your lip but didn’t say anything. “Y/N?” He questioned. “You’re still coming on the trip right? It’s the first one the team has done. It’s important to me that you’re there.”

“I know it’s important to you.”

“But….” He pulled back so he could look you in the eyes.

“My deadline moved up. Which means I have a meeting with the board the day after we were supposed to fly out.”

“Y/N! You’ve known about this all season long!” He snapped.

“I know!” You responded to his tone with a sharp one of your own. “It’s not my fault they moved the deadline! This is the first project I’ve gotten to lead! I can’t just miss the meeting.”

Tyler ran his hands through his hair agitatedly. “Were you going to mention this before we were supposed to board the plane?”

You bit your lip to refrain from lashing out and sighed instead. “Of course I did, Tyler. I was going to tell you later tonight. I just wanted to make it through dinner without a fight.” You rolled your eyes. “Obviously that was a bit too much to ask for.”

You felt him exhale and the tension seep out, “No, it wasn’t too much to ask for. I know you can’t control what goes on at work. I’m sorry I got mad at you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be there. I know how much it means to you...but Hun, you gotta know I’d be there if I could.”

“I do. Now why don’t we just go watch some tv and relax together in a non-fight filled evening.” He stood up and held out his hand to you in a dramatic bow.

You stood up and curtsied in response. “I would love to my good sir.”

Two days later you kissed Tyler goodbye as he headed for the airport to catch the plane taking the team and their significant others to Toronto. You closed the door and sighed before heading back up the stairs to get ready for work.

Finishing your makeup you looked in the mirror but before you could get dressed your cell started ringing. You grabbed it and checked the caller ID, seeing that it was work answered quickly.

“This is Y/N.”

“Y/N,” The voice of your boss came through the phone. “Change of plans. The board isn’t able to fly in so you’re flying to them.”

You groaned to yourself but talked like there was nothing wrong. “Of course. Where is our flight heading and when do we need to arrive at the airport?”

“The flight is leaving this evening at 6pm. You’ll be taking the company jet so arrive about half an hour before. You’ll be flying to headquarters in Toronto.”

You balked. “Toronto? As in Toronto Canada?”

“Yes. We know everybody on your team has passports because of the business you had in Vancouver about six months ago. You’ll give your presentation tomorrow and then fly back the next morning.”

“Would it be at all possible for me to stay?”

“I’m sorry?” You could hear the confusion in her voice. “You want to stay in Toronto?”

“Yes. I was originally going there today with my boyfriend for his job. When the deadline got moved up I cancelled on him, but now I can meet him there and just fly back with him.” You explained.

“I don’t see why not. You have next week off and you weren’t going to be in the office for the rest of the week with the unexpected team travel to Canada. I assume this means you won’t need the company to provide lodging for you this evening?”

“No ma’am. Thank you for allowing me to lead this project.”

“You’re a good leader, Y/N. I see you going far in the company. Enjoy your vacation.” She hung up and you smiled victoriously. Tyler was going to be thrilled!

Your flight was leaving in about eight hours which gave you plenty of time to pack what you needed for the presentation and for the rest of your trip. By noon, you were ready to leave, but had a few more arrangements to make in order to make sure you were completely successful.

Your flight ran smoothly and by 10:30pm Toronto time you were at the door to Tyler’s hotel room. You knocked and then stood out of view of the peephole. You heard him stand up and walk to the door, shouting the entire way.

“Guys! If this is some kind of prank it’s not funny! You know I’m mad because Y/N couldn’t co-” He cut off when he opened the door and then froze seeing you there.

“Surprise?” You said holding your hands out in a sheepish gesture.

“Y/N? What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come!”

“The board couldn’t fly out so we flew to them. It just happened to be in Toronto. We give our presentation tomorrow.” You explained.

He pulled you into the room and then shut the door. “Does that mean you’re leaving tomorrow? Don’t get me wrong I’m grateful you’re here tonight!” He hastened to explain. “I just want to know how much time I have with you.”

“You can have me for all the time you want. After we present tomorrow I’m here to stay. I’m off all of next week, so I’ll be here for your game and sightseeing with the other couples.” He did a fistbump of joy and you giggled at his excitement.

“This is the best trip ever!” Tyler pointed at you quickly. “Do not tell my mom I just said that.”

You laughed loudly and rolled your eyes. “I make no guarantees.”

“I guess I’ll just have to keep you busy so you don’t have a chance.”

“Deal.”

This was not edited! Let me know if y’all see any blazing errors!

[wesleyv21-blog]

One Week Down!

¡Hola, todos! Sending out good vibes from Quito!

Damn has a lot happened this weekend! Perhaps both the most exciting and nerve-wracking part of the experience so far has finally come: I moved in with my homestay family! But there’s quite a story leading up to this point so I’ll start from the beginning.

Friday was taken up by one-on-one interviews with our program director, Faba, during which we just checked in about our medical information and how we’re doing so far. Since there are 24 of us, and each interview took about 10 minutes, and somehow we fell behind at some point, this took almost half the day. When it was finally done around 1:30, a big group of us went out for tapas and had quite the time. It will be our last meal together for some time, because at around 4:00 on Friday, our host families came to pick us up from our hotel!

I was quite the ball of nerves and excitement while waiting for my family to arrive. Hell, we all were! All I had to go on was a letter they wrote me describing how excited they were to welcome me into their home, as well as a photo of the family and some info about them that the program provided. Well, the funny thing was that my family did not show up on Friday. The whole family had taken a weeklong vacation to the beaches of Esmeraldas, a province to the northwest of Quito that is a looooooong car ride from the city lol probably 6-8 hours with traffic. So, one of their good friends who is hosting another student and who lives close by picked me up. She was so nice and hospitable, feeding us cake, tea, and a scrumptious dinner. She is quite experienced in hosting foreign scholars, and in fact I ended up meeting two additional students from other universities and doing other stuff in the country that were wrapping up their time in Ecuador. My temporary host mom has a daughter and a son around our age, so all 6 of us ended up going out to a house party after dinner. Oh, one cool thing about my temporary host family is that the father’s brother is an ex-president of Ecuador who is also a famous economist. In addition to his famous books he’s written, my temporary host mom showed us a picture album with the whole family which was amazing and cute.

Now, this house party was something else. Getting there took around 40 minutes, as we had to drive out of Quito to Tumbaco, a little town out to the west. Let’s just say that the young Quiteño upper-class plays hard. First of all the estate was enormous, surrounded by this huge wall that enclosed probably three or four buildings on this large piece of land. Behind the mansion was this patio that was replete with a huge grill, a hammock, access to the kitchen, comfortable furniture, and even security cameras lol. There were many young men and only four young women including my temporary host sister. The men were going hard, forcing each other to drink, smoking cigarettes, forcing each other to drink more, running around all over the place, fighting over control of the music, grabbing the women as if they owned them. I had heard from one of the program assistants during our safety lecture that in Ecuadorian society, men are under such pressures from patriarchy that they vent all their pent-up emotions by drinking excessively. I don’t know enough to claim that this is what I witnessed, but it is a tempting conclusion to draw. Of course what I saw at the party is also heavily influenced by class, since these kids (my age) have the leisure and money to drink hard on a Friday night. It should also be said that this entire weekend is a dry weekend; bars are closed and you can’t buy alcohol anywhere. The reason? There was a national referendum today, and I take it that for all elections, since voting is mandated by law, alcohol disappears so as to ensure people’s faithful compliance. Nonetheless these individuals had procured alcohol from somewhere and were indulging. The most fun I had was swapping party stories with this one guy who ended up getting so drunk he couldn’t stand by the end of the night, and talking with this truly intercultural young man who spoke English, Spanish, and German, had studied abroad almost as much as he had in Ecuador, and who has plans to continue his education in Europe. One other thing I learned was that marijuana is super taboo here, way different from the states lol.

Saturday morning, my friend’s host family dropped me off at my real host family, and I finally got to meet them! Their house is also enormous. Just like every other house I’ve seen in Pichincha province (which includes Quito and the surrounding towns I’ve visited, like Pifo and Tababela), their house is enclosed in a tall wall covered in spikes. It has three stories, including a large patio and a home office for the parents’ travel agency they’ve owned for over 20 years. The sitting rooms are spacious and filled with cool art, the kitchen is small but intimate, and the house is super well located: just a few minutes’ walk to Parque La Carolina, El Jardín Mall, and our class building. Two parents, a daughter, two sons, and their grandmother all live in this incredible house. There’s even room for a visiting aunt who lives in London who is also very charming. In addition, a lovely Japanese woman named Ayumi rents office space and works as a travel agent for Japanese tourists. Her office is right next to my room; she’s also super friendly! Everyone is so welcoming and nice! We talked, watched Black Mirror in Spanish lol, ate delish traditional Ecuadorian food, compared the Spanish and English in different countries across the world, and went out the shopping mall. More on the food. It’s all soo yummy. There’s like a mini corn-on-the-cob that’s called choclo, and it’s usually served with a slice of cheese. They brought out a cacao fruit, which looks really cool, and when you cut it open you expose the brown seeds that are covered in a white slime. You can suck on the seeds and ingest the white slime, which sounds kinda gross but is actually a good mixture of sweetness and tartness. Oritos are mini bananas that are super sweet. Habas reminded me of edamame, as they’re kinda a bean-looking food whose shell you bust open to reveal a kinda bland inside that you can scoop out and eat. It’s really good with just a pinch of salt added to it! The main course of lunch featured a sardine flank that was served cold in a red sauce with tiny round potatoes. At breakfast there was thick papaya juice which was really good, and with lunch there was this sparkling apple juice that somehow had no sugar whatsoever in it. Tonight for dinner I had pastel de plátano, which is exactly what is sounds like: a little pan-seared cake made of smooshed sweet plantains called maduros. Oh I guess should I explain how meals work lol. Lunch is the main course of the day, usually consisting of 3-4 dishes served around 1-2 pm. Breakfast and dinner are both very light. Coffee or tea is usually served at both, and I’ve had grilled cheese sandwiches served at both as well lol. At breakfast, they bring out the rich fruits, whether in slices or juiced. Dinner, if served at all, tends to be pretty late, like around 8 pm. Needless to say everything I’ve eaten so far is delish(;

But I have to say that moving in with the host family has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Saturday was one of the longest days of my life. I’m overwhelmed still from being here and being so far away from what’s comfortable; add to that the awkwardness of getting to know an established family unit so intimately and the mindfuck of re-socializing your brain to speak only another language. There was a lot of time to myself Saturday, which was hard. But, it was also very fun and I can’t say I regret it. I knew going in that this weekend would be the hardest, but once I get over this hump then it should be relatively smooth sailing. On the positive side, they treat me very well and I can hold my own in conversations with three generations of native speakers. Think about the differences in pronunciation that accompany age in English-speaking lands; well, I’m slowly building the satisfaction of mastering that in Spanish as well. I also get along very well with both sons, which is cool to think that I’m making international friends! It’s a long journey I’ve just begun, but I wouldn’t go back for anything.

Another cool thing was a conversation I had with the youngest son about voting today. This won’t be his first time voting (that came in Lenín Moreno’s election last year), but he nonetheless had some cool perspectives on the referendum. Voting is mandated by law for all those above age 18 and is optional for those aged 16 and 17. If you do not vote, you incur a steep fine. In addition, upon voting, one receives a certificate that one needs to do official citizen business like procure a passport or visa. The referendum consists of 7 questions that will amend the Constitution. These questions are:

1.       Would prohibit those accused of corruption from ever serving in public office (Ecuador has a long history of political corruption, yet the last straw in adding this question to the referendum was the recent imprisonment of former vice president Jorge Glas on corruption charges)

2.       Would limit all elected officials to only 2 terms in the same office (brought about by the last president, Rafael Correa, who changed the constitution to allow himself to run indefinitely)

3.       Would replace all current members of the Citizens’ Participation and Social Control Council (the 5th branch of government here) and replace them all with new appointees (to flush out the last remaining allies of president Correa)

4.       Would remove statute of limitation for sex crimes against minors (due to over 1,000 cases of sex crimes against minors brought to court over the last 2 years)

5.       Would prohibit mining in protected areas, untouchable zones, and urban centers (mining is on the rise in Ecuador, yet this question might prove decisive for the young industry’s future)

6.       Would get rid of the law of plusvalía, which essentially treats the sale of property of any kind as speculation, meaning that the seller must pay like 70% of the revenue from the sale to the state as tax

7.       Would expand the protected areas of the Yasuní National Park, the single most biodiverse place on earth that also sadly houses much of Ecuador’s oil reserves (this question would thus prohibit future oil drilling in Yasuní)

The general populace was expected to vote to pass all of them in what many see as a middle finger to the last president, Rafael Correa, and a vote of confidence for Moreno’s young regime. Yet that’s not how my host brother necessarily sees it. He doesn’t support the current regime, and he certainly didn’t support the last. According to him, both presidents have raised taxes, especially on imports, which has raised the cost of living significantly. In addition, neither president supports/ed policies that are favorable toward foreigners, something he doesn’t like. His perspective is quite interesting and will need to be investigated further. Another interesting thing about the referendum came when Sebastián told me that many voters don’t understand the wording of the questions, not to mention all the annexes that are on the flipside of the ballot page. Very interesting. Also last night I watched a government news channel ahead of the vote today. After going into detail about each of the questions, the focus turned to the actual process itself. Even though this is the 11th national referendum since the return to democracy in 1979, there are some new and exciting steps being implemented in this referendum. For example, there is a new electronic rapid-response exit-poll-type technology designed to report trustworthy results ahead of the official tally. Lots of domestic and international observers were invited to oversee the polls. Something that I guess isn’t new is that all ballots are translated into indigenous languages, and for the many hard-to-access communities scattered across Ecuador, the government helicopters ballots in so people can still vote. Another highly promoted feature on this program was the accessibility of all voting stations so that people with different abilities can still vote. The temptation at looking at this at first was to dismiss it as government propaganda, which it no doubt is. After all, in the U.S., elections are a piece of cake and no one ever has reason to question the outcome (except Trump lol). But, I had to catch myself. This is a country whose democracy is relatively young. Building up these institutions is key for achieving long-lasting social justice. Who am I to come in and laugh at things that Ecuadorians take pride in? Nonviolent, inclusive elections aren’t a given. So, I learned a lot more than I thought I would watching that program last night.

Today I accompanied my host brother, Matías, as he went and voted. It was quite the process to get to his assigned voting place. We had to take a bus probably a mile or so (which, in Quito traffic, took about 30 minutes) and walk to the destination. Although we didn’t know at first which street the school was on, so we were walking around asking people where it was. Finally, we found it, and I watched as Matías showed his I.D., was handed the piece of paper with each question labeled and color-coded, walked over to a schooldesk on which stood a cardboard trifold to act as a privacy shield, and deposited the ballot in the cardboard box in which was cut a slit to slip in the ballot. And home we went. At night, nos reunimos para cenar y mirar los comentarios a cerca de la votación. As expected, all measures passed. Now the country awaits the implementation of each question.

After lunch I had the opportunity to talk to the ones I love most. I cannot overstate how happy I was to reconnect with them and catch up, even just to see their faces and hear their voices. No matter where I am on this earth, I know where home is (:

Classes finally begin tomorrow. I’m actually looking forward both to their content and the sense of routine they’ll bring. 

¡Hasta luego!

[tsgalexandriavirginia]

Alexandria is Open For Business

SUPPORT THE LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT MAKE ALEXANDRIA THE HOME WE LOVE; THEY NEED YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER! 

Our purpose at The Scout Guide is to promote small, locally owned businesses. Daily, we work to discover, support and share the incredible talents in our community, and as our world battles a virus and fears, we must come together to support these businesses in any way we can.  

Finally! With safety measures, we can say goodbye to being stuck at home! As Alexandria slowly begins to re-open, we would like to share all the fantastic opportunities to support local! 

RESTAURANTS: 

CEDAR KNOLL // Now offering take out from the regular menu! Additionally, they will now be offering weekly delivery or pickup of groceries: order by Wednesday at noon for Thursday pickup or delivery. 

STOMPING GROUND // They will be maintaining social distancing with a reduced staff with as minimal touch points as possible for the time being. Although their dining room will remain closed, they will continue to offer takeout and online ordering. They will continue to offer Dinner Bags to go nightly, including three courses for two, $35, and Andy’s Pizza Pop-Ups every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights. 

GRATEFUL KITCHEN // Open from 9:00 am- 4:00 pm Wednesday- Sunday. 

ECO CATERS // Order at superfd-market.com.

ASLIN BEER COMPANY // Offering local delivery to Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties, Curbside Pickup, and Shipping throughout Virginia and D.C. 

RETAIL: 

529 KIDS CONSIGN // Starting June 1, they will be open for regular hours! Also, accepting summer items on consignment! 

ALEXANDRIA & COMPANY // Email inquiries@alxandcompany to set up an appointment or private consultation. All clients must wear masks while in the store Accepting jewelry repair work. 

BISHOP BOUTIQUE // Open for customers! The door will remain open to avoid touching the handle, hand sanitizer and gloves will be provided, and the dressing rooms will be closed. 

KISKADEE // Will be open Monday-Tuesday by appointment only and Wednesday- Sunday 12-5. Make your private appointment now at www.kiskadeeshop.com/appointments. You can also try on at home through the bird bag program! Shop online via their Facebook page using the “shop now” button or text Celeste at 703-606-5254. 

MINT CONDITION // Starting June 1, they will be open for regular hours! Also accepting summer items on consignment! 

MYSTIQUE // Open for appointments Tuesday- Friday from 10:30-5:30 and Saturday 10:30 - 5:00 pm. Only one customer or family allowed in-store by appointment. After each appointment, Mystique will thoroughly sanitize all display cases and jewelry. All employees will wear PPE equipment, and customers will be required to wear masks; if a customer does not arrive with a mask, Mystique will supply the customer with a mask. The store will also offer curbside drop-off and delivery. Additionally, Mystique is offering complimentary jewelry cleaning! 

SHE’S UNIQUE // Open for customers. Both clients and employees are required to wear masks! Additionally, they will be disinfecting all surfaces and equipment after every customer. 

TSALT // Schedule your private shopping appointment today! 

ARTS, CULTURES, AND INSTITUTIONS: 

AR WORKSHOP ALEXANDRIA // Check out the new online store! They are happy to deliver and ship with a virtual wave and hug!

MEG BIRAM // Her studio is always open by appointment! 

BEAUTY: 

GOOD BROWS LLC // Will be performing all serves but those that require your mask to be removed (lip, chin, and full-face waxing -- excluding eye-brows). Prior to entering the office, staff and patients will fill out a Precautionary Coronavirus Liability Release Form and will be screened for COVID-19. The staff will clean and disinfect all surfaces and high touched areas every 30 minutes, remove any non-essential items throughout the business, maintain appropriate PPE during all services. 

SALON DEZEN // Open for appointments! Temperatures will be checked upon arrival, and you will be asked questions about your health. There will be a designated entrance and exit with plexiglass separating each space. They are asking all clients to limit the personal items they bring into the salon. The salon will be disinfected each night with a fogging sanitation device and between each appointment with cleaning products. 

SALON MERAKI // Will be open from Thursday- Saturday from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm! Upon arrival, you will be asked to wait outside until someone comes to get you. Your temperature will then be checked, and anyone showing symptoms will be asked to reschedule. There will be no more than ten people in the salon at a time, and each client will be spaced out by at least 6 feet. 

SARAH AKRAM SKINCARE // Will remain closed until Phase 2. 

FITNESS: 

ASCEND CYCLE + UNDERGROUND // Continue to sign up for virtual classes! 

MIND THE MAT PILATES & YOGA // Continue to sign up for virtual classes on Mindbody under the “trainings” tab or email mtmteachertraining.com to chat one on one. 

SCULP’D // Become a member to get virtual classes today! 

XTEND BARRE OLD TOWN // Buy a $8 Single virtual class, $30 One week pass, or a $90 One month pass today! 

ZWEET SPORT // Sign up on MindBody or ClassPass to join them live today! 

TRANSPORTATION: 

PASSPORT AUTO GROUP // Open to customers! Will aslo bring the experience to you! 

MEDICAL: 

DENTAL BAR // Prior to entering the office, staff and patients will be screened for Covid-19. Masks must be worn for anyone entering the office. The office has added enhanced PPE, including protective face shields during treatment, additional protective garments for the staff. The office will also be adopting procedures recommended by The American Dental Association and the state Dental Boards to limit the creation of aerosols during treatment. Additionally, the office has an electrostatic fumigation process that will be used while deep cleaning the office at night. 

IZALIA LASER HAIR REMOVAL & REJUVENATION SPA // Now scheduling appointments through the month of June! 

HOUSE AND HOME: 

BOXWOOD // Open 11:00-6:00! 

KRISTEN JONES REAL ESTATE // The Kristen Jones Website is now live! 

NOURISH & REFINE // Local pickup is offered in Old Town at 2050 Jamieson Ave. Customers may place an order online and pick up from the front desk concierge between 8:00 am- 8:00 pm Monday- Friday and 8:00 am- 12:00 pm on Saturdays. Use promo code: TSGALX5 for $5 off any order! 

PATINA // Will be open Monday- Saturday 11:00-5:00 and Sunday 12:00-4:00 pm. Curbside pickup and delivery is also available Employees will be wearing masks, washing hands after each transaction, and disinfecting the store throughout the day. 

OTHER: 

THE SEEDLING COLLECTIVE // Will be accepting reservations through June for clients to use the Seedling Collective as a private work or studio space. Reservations will last for week-long periods at a minimum to allow for proper cleaning between reservations. Email concierge@theseedlingcollective.com to book your dates today! 

[tamboradventure]

The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English in Thailand

Posted: 2/15/2020 / February 15th, 2020

Thailand is an English teacher’s dream. With a low cost of living, incredible food, rich culture, plenty of partying, and a mai pen rai (no worries) attitude, the Land of Smiles is a very popular country for English teachers.

For Thais, English is considered a necessity to work in the global market, so there is always a need for teachers. With language schools, primary schools, universities, and other locations offering English classes, there are numerous avenues for employment.

So, how do you get a job teaching English in Thailand?

In order to do so, you need to be a native speaker from an English-speaking country (defined as the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand) or prove your fluency, and have a bachelor’s degree.

Because of the popularity of teaching English in Thailand, I’d recommend also having a 120-hour TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate to make you more competitive.

With all teaching opportunities in Thailand, salaries vary greatly depending on the location and employer. In hot tourist destinations like Koh Samui, Phuket, and other spots, expect to earn less than what you would make in less exotic locales, because people will accept a lower salary in exchange for the beach lifestyle.

You will earn the most in Bangkok, followed by Chiang Mai.

Here’s a breakdown of the various ways to teach in the country and what to expect with each position:  

Public Schools

Public schools are free from preschool through high school. The school year begins in May and ends in March and includes a three-week break in October.

As a public school teacher in Thailand, expect to work full-time, even if you’re not teaching every moment of the day. Responsibilities range from creating lesson plans and exams to grading papers (none of which you are compensated for if it’s on your own time), as well as keeping office hours at school.

Students range in their knowledge and understanding of English, and often there is little guidance in terms of the curriculum you need to create. You’re basically on your own here! Many teachers incorporate games, television shows, and movies into their classes.

In public schools, the student-to-teacher ratio is high, so expect large class sizes.

Salaries range from 25,000 to 40,000 THB ($827–1,317 USD) a month. Teaching in the cities will earn you the most money. You can expect lower salaries in the countryside, but cost of living is so cheap there, you’ll still end up having plenty of extra money!

Private and International Schools

There are very few differences between public schools and private and international schools, other than the lower student-to-teacher ratio and the fact that salaries are significantly higher since they are not free to attend.

International schools have the most coveted positions, but you’ll need to be an actual certified teacher to get one of them, as the curriculum follows the West’s. Private schools are a little less strict, but you’ll still want to have some experience. You’ll need to have not only a degree but also a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate and prior teaching experience, and be a native English speaker.

If you’ve never taught English before or have only a little experience, you’re unlikely to get a job at one of these schools.

Whereas the public schools follow the Thai system and come with little support, these institutions tend to be more like Western schools, so if you’re wondering what teaching is like there, just think back to what it was like when you went to school!

International schools pay the most, roughly 80,000–170,000 THB ($2,633–5,596 USD) a month (which is well above the typical Thai salary and allows for your lifestyle to be more lavish); private schools pay 60,000–80,000 THB ($1,975–2,633 USD).

These positions also come with a lot of perks: contract bonuses, lots of vacation days, health insurance, and sometimes airfare to and from Thailand.  

Universities

Teaching at a university in Thailand can help give you an edge over the competition for other English teaching jobs in the country. But teaching at a university means teaching part-time and earning only 30,000–60,000 THB ($987–1,975 USD) a month.

The upside is that you can also teach at another school part-time, you get a few months of paid vacation, and you are compensated generously should you have to work overtime (about 1,000–1,500 THB, or $33–49 USD, an hour).

Depending on where you teach, your responsibilities will be different. All teachers must come up with lesson plans, but some may also have to teach faculty or have additional sessions outside of the classroom, among other duties.

You may or may not have textbooks to use for your curriculum. Class sizes at universities are notoriously large, about 50 students.  

Language Schools

Teaching English at a language school in Thailand is different than at a public or private school. Classes are normally held in the morning before the workday starts to accommodate businesspeople, then again in the afternoon and into the evening for children and adults.

The workweek at language schools extends into the weekend.

At language schools, classes are small and range from four to ten students. As a teacher, it’s your responsibility to come up with lesson plans and activities.

There’s also the option at language schools to work full- or part-time. Full-time teachers make anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 THB ($987-1,316 USD) per month; part-time teachers make 350–500 THB ($11.50–16.50 UD) per hour.

There are lots and lots of language schools in the country, and jobs are fairly easy to get. They don’t really care about previous experience or even if you have a TEFL certificate (though having both makes it easier to get a job).

You’ll also get very little support from the schools and will basically have to set up everything on your own. You’ll only get paid for actual classroom time.

I didn’t really love teaching at the language schools, but the work was easy even if it was not well paid.

Corporate Training Programs

As a corporate teacher, you teach from a company’s office, giving lessons to their staff. Classes tend to be large, so many employees can attend. Because these programs are quite expensive, the positions are only filled by teachers with experience.

Expect to work during the morning or late at night, as you have to teach people outside business hours.

Corporate teachers make anywhere from 45,000 to 60,000 THB ($1,481–1,974 USD) a month, and it’s normal for the school to cover travel expenses to the company.  

Test Preparation

Test preparation in Thailand is different than in other English positions. You must be knowledgeable in a variety of English tests, including SAT or GRE prep (and have finished in the 95th percentile or above), as well as IELTS and TOEIC, both of which are used to test students before they work or study abroad.

As a test prep teacher, classes are either groups or private and take place on both weekdays and weekends. It’s your job to not only teach the courses but also design and develop the course curriculum.

Test prep teachers average about 600 THB ($20 USD) an hour.  

Best Job Resources for Teaching in Thailand

There are numerous sites to find jobs teaching English in Thailand. The best one for jobs is ajarn.com as it simply has the most listings and is specific to Thailand. It’s the oldest teaching in Thailand website too.

Other sites with job postings include the following:

Go Overseas

Teach Away

Teaching in Thailand

How to Apply for a Visa

It isn’t hard to apply for the Non-Immigrant B visa necessary to teach English in Thailand and your school will help you do, but there are quite a few steps to getting it and then starting teaching.

First, make sure your passport has validity beyond six months and have passport photos for applications, as well as your original bachelor’s degree, transcripts, and a certified criminal background check.

Next, you’ll need to apply for a visa from outside of Thailand and include a letter from your employer with the job offer. Once you have your visa, your employer steps in and handles the paperwork, completing the remainder of the application on your behalf.

After the visa is complete, you’ll need to have a physical exam and a medical certificate from a Thai doctor and then get your work permit. From there, it’s on to the Immigration Department in order to extend your visa in your passport for 12 months.

The last two steps are to get your tax card from the Tax Department and then your teaching license. Your employer should be able to assist you in all aspects of the process.

It’s important to note that if you choose to teach without these necessary items, you run the risk of getting kicked out of the country and fined.

***

Teaching English in Thailand is one of the best teaching opportunities in the world, thanks to the country’s cost of living, tropical environment, and laid-back lifestyle.

With so many options for teaching and the ease of getting a visa, it’s a perfect spot to start your English teaching career abroad.

P.S. – Want to meet other travelers in real life? This year we launched The Nomadic Network, a platform created to help travelers connect, learn, and get inspired in real life! Here are our upcoming events if you want to take part: Seattle (2/17), Austin (2/18), Fort Lauderdale (2/19), Portland (2/19), San Francisco (2/20), Los Angeles (2/23), Detroit (2/24), Boston (2/24), Dublin (2/24), San Diego (2/24), London (2/25), Chicago (2/25), and NYC (3/10).

  Ready to Teach Overseas? Get My Comprehensive Guide

This digital guide will put you ahead of your competition, help you land a high-paying job with a reputable company, and give you first-hand knowledge from real teachers! Get started today with this downloadable PDF (for your computer, e-reader, or mobile device) with the book PLUS 12 interviews about life as a teacher, plus job advice from one of the industry’s top recruiters!

Book Your Trip to Thailand: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Thailand? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Thailand with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English in Thailand appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[traviswsoul]

Day 7 Orcutt to Morro Bay This was the hardest day yet, not because it was a long day but because of the head wind that nearly pushed me over the edge.  I departed Michelle's house at noon, which was a bad idea to stay so late but I got busy writing and didn't want to fall behind on that.  That became compounded when I turned the wrong way down Clark St leaving town and went for a few miles inland.  That is exactly the kind of lesson that I am learning on this trip, to not let stupid mistakes anger me.  I always have and always will make mistakes, brain farts, that could ruin the day or the mood and drive me crazy.  I can be prone to being too hard on myself and I hope to remove that from who I am, I know I'll never be perfect so why freak out when I'm not?  To not be driven mad by the maddening. I figured out a route to continue on and not have to back track, the reason I went so far out of the way is I got so distracted by coasting down hill so effortlessly.  I wasn't about to climb back up that hill.  I imagine I added 10 miles or more to my day, which isn't that bad except for detouring through farm lands with insane head winds which were that bad!  This is when I started cursing the wind, what a silly thing.  It kept my general speed of about 15 mph to under 10, I was not doing well.  I spend the first hour on the bike basically making no progress.  Then it got even better (worst).  I made it into a town, Santa Maria, and stopped at a classic truck stop for pancake breakfast which was fine.  I then loaded up, except for securing my map bag, that also contains my passport and wallet, to the handle bars.  It got left sitting loosely on top of the rear panniers.  A few hundred yards from the truck stop it bounced itself off the bike and sat abandoned and lonesome in the middle of the road as I rode on for about another two to three miles before I went to lean onto my bars and rest that I realized something was missing.  The only thing on my bike that if lost all was lost.  I can't cross the border and make this trip successfully with no passport.  My heart melted down into my clipped in shoes.  That experience warranted a entirely different kind "oh shit" from than a wrong turn.  I didn't even have a moment to be mad I simply went into panic mode, turned around and rode as hard as I could the wrong way down the road so I could see exactly where I had been. The clear plastic cover shimmered in the high sun from a block away and all was well, better than well, the opposite of disaster, this is the kind of things that make you believe in God.  Not having experienced the roller coaster of emotion you might say "No it's not, all that happened was retracing my steps and finding what I lost, but when the stakes are that high, it sure feels like so much more.  Faith is a funny thing, and made up of even funnier things.  I'm going to write a sermon called lost and found faith one day and see if it can't get me kicked out of a church.  The best truth starts as things that they'll throw you out of the church for! So all this craziness happened before I was back on the route even, making for quite a stressful day.  The wind continued to work against me for most of it.  After I rejoined the route in Guadalupe I had one of these spells I'm starting to recognize as a regular phenomenon on a trip like this.  I black out stretches with in days.  I think if nothing is especially interesting or stimulating and my body and mind are fatigued there's not a lot of energy to register vibrant memories, so I don't.    I rode until I saw a logo of a hamburger man,which of course I remember, so I stopped and ate a "california burger,"  they call anything "california" if they put avocado on it, seams like a cheap trick to me but it's a thing.  Refueled I was ready to go however the wind was still kicking my ass and I was worried about not making it before dark,  well, that's the excuse I told my self to justify my next actions but the truth was I was fed up.  I knew there would be days that sucked and I wouldn't want to go on,  it happened the first time one week in.  I saw some good ol boys loading into a pickup when I was pulling out and I asked them if they were headed north, told them I was behind schedule and could use a ride to the next town, luckily the were going south despite being confused about which was north and south at first.  It blows my mind how many people I encounter on the coast who don't know their north from south, they certainly know which way the beach is but havn't put two and two together.   Anyway I just fell back on my mantra to just keep pushing pedals and went on. Oceano, Grover, Pismo and Shell beaches were all quinticential California beach towns one after the other and they culminated with Avilia Hot Spring Camp site which I must return to.  It, obviously has hot springs, had a hippy commune vibe but also appeared to have cabins that were tiny houses.  There is a very strong possibility that when I get back to SD from this trip I will be building a tiny house so it took everything I had to not stop in there and check it out.  After that I turned onto Ontario road, a frontage road along side the 101 nestled up against a big hill on the oceanside, effectively blocking the wind,  I couldn't have been more grateful.  Then I noticed the opportunity for a short cut by taking Los Osos Valley Road and cutting off going to San Luis Obispo, so I made up a little of the milage I added in the beginning. Too bad the trade off was one of the coolest town in all of the west coast for a bunch of miserable farm land, oh well, you can't have it, and I've had more than my share already in this life i'd say. By this point I was exhausted, I was still battling the wind, so when I turned off onto Turri Rd I had to go into full beast mode because I was starring at a big hill ahead of me and a giant cloud was blocking out the suns warmth above me.  I was growling and huffing and yelling my way up this hill, I was rewarded for my show of determination with a juicy and curvaceous cruise down the back side where I saw rabbits, squirrels, and a big fox, plus that cool old windmill, I loved it.  At the end it only got more beautiful, I was back at the coast and came upon a vast grassy river bed with several streams winding through it reflecting the light from the setting sun, and the ocean in the distance. I was in Morro Bay.  I have been waiting several years to come here and visit skateboard legend Jack Smith, whom I'm humbled to call a friend.  We met early on in my days starting push culture, in the memory of my spirit he gave me his blessing and was very encouraging.  I started PC News by turning on my computer camera and reading the newsletter that he used to send out every monday, which was the precursor to the Skateboarders Journal Magazine he we later start. I loved it and I tried to share it with friends but I realized no one was reading that type of content anymore via email.  It needed to be video so I hit record and that was the first episode.  Immediately we sat Brian in that chair instead, I produced it and I could never tell that story without telling about Jack Smith and his influence.  I am thrilled to be here, I was thrilled to see Jack, I was thrilled that when I got here my brother's letter from his realestate office was on the counter, it felt so nice to feel Brian's presence in that moment finally being in Jack's home where he was missed, and talked about with love.  Jack's wife Kathy made an amazing chicken gnocchi soup for diner that night, I had seconds!  Kathy is an angel and understands us guys being called to these big adventures (Jack has skated cross country 4 times since 1976) she has taken wonderful care of me and I've been full the whole time.  She'll be retiring next year after 35 years of teaching, I'm really  happy for her, she's delightful. I also enjoyed getting to visit with Dillon, Jack's son, who's smart and cool, has a great job, and is really fun to talk about skateboarding with. I'm taking a rest day here as well,  I waited too long to be here to rush out right away. I rode electric skateboards to the Morro Bay skateboard museum with Jack, it's founder. We rode around the "volcanic cap," a huge rock called Morro Rock that jets out of the water 400 feet above Morro Bay. But thats another story.

[ladystylestores]

My trip to Lanzarote, Canary Island, Spain – Travel in Covid-19 Times

I’ve just returned from a trip to Lanzarote, an island located on the Canary Islands of Spain. 

After self-isolation in Llandudno, North Wales for three months due to coronavirus, COVID-19, I was ready to travel again once it was safe to do so.    On Monday 6th of July, the Welsh Government lifted the 5-mile stay local rule, and I could finally travel outside of my local community again.    At this point, I would like to highlight that everything mentioned within this blog post is based on my personal experience, and you should seek government advice from the correct sources.    The reason why I mention this is because the rules are changing all the time and I wanted to share how my trip went to help paint a picture of what your trip could be like so you can make an informed opinion on if you should travel at the moment.   

Why did I choose Lanzarote, Canary Islands  

At my time of flying, Spain was on the list of countries you could fly to from the UK without the need to isolate for two weeks after returning from your trip.    Of course, this could change, but this was one of the reasons why I choose Spain.    I didn’t fancy flying to a Spanish city due to crowds, but Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands has direct flights from the UK and felt like a better option due to the current situation.    Plus the sound of the stunning volcanic landscape, hiking trails, sunny sandy beaches and locally sourced food all tempted me to visit the island of Lanzarote. It was just what I was looking for after being at home for so long.    With my bags packed and passport in hand (don’t forget your passport, it’s been a while!) I was ready to travel and explore the Canary Islands.    Around Lanzarote, not all businesses were open for tourism as visitor numbers are still operating on low capacity.   However, businesses are slowly opening up again for tourism, and many restaurants, visitor attractions, rental cars and a select number of resorts were open for visitors on the island.   

You should book travel insurance before you travel around Europe

Please make sure you arrange suitable travel insurance for your trip before you depart. Some travel insurance providers have changed their policy to adapt to coronavirus COVID-19 so please read the small print and make sure that you have a cover.    Proper guidance is to check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website for up to date travel advice for UK travellers, and typically your travel insurance will follow along the lines of the FCO. So, if the FCO says not to travel, then your travel insurance usually is not valid, so please check the FCO website frequently for the latest travel advice.    Also, for those within the EU, make sure that your E111 card is up to date before you depart. For those within the UK, you can still travel and use your E111 card until the end of December. Remember that the E111 doesn’t replace travel insurance, but it’s good to have it with you at all times when travelling around the EU, especially at the moment.   

Do you have to wear a face mask in Spain at all times? 

Do you have to wear a mask all the time? This was a question I had before travelling to Lanzarote.    Of course, this advice will differ from other countries in Europe. But in Spain and on the Canary Islands, the simple answer is yes. You do have to wear your mask at all times.    After gathering some local advice, wearing a mask is not only to protect yourself from spreading germs but as a courtesy to protecting others.    Any situation where you’re unable to keep your social distance is when you should wear your mask in Spain.    This would be any place where social distancing is challenging, such as within shops, restaurants and public transport.    You can remove your mask when you sit down to eat or have a drink. You can withdraw your face cover while on the beach or when going for a swim in Spain, as long as you can keep your social distance.    Within your hotel room or rental car, you can remove your mask. If you’re going to the hotel breakfast buffet, you should wear your face mask.    I hope the above information clears up some questions you might have.   

What is it like to fly at the moment? 

It was a bizarre feeling only seeing five flights on the departure board of Heathrow terminal 5, usually the busiest airport in Europe. It did come as a shock.    Heathrow felt like a ghost town with limited passenger numbers flying on the day.    Throughout Heathrow, you will have to wear a facemask at all times from the entrance until you’ve exited at your arrival destination. It’s advised to swap your face mask every few hours, so you should pack a selection to use throughout your travels.    My temperature was checked as I entered Heathrow airport and I found hand sanitizer located all around the airport.    Check-in was rather swift, and many airlines are allowing free baggage check-in to free up space in the cabin, which is worth taking advantage of.    Security has never felt so fast; it was a swift experience and didn’t take much time at all.    Once airside, in regard to places to eat, I could only find one Pret open, which was enough to grab a coffee and a bite to eat before the flight.    Most airlines are not allowing food and drink service at the moment.    I did notice that a passenger requested a cup of water which was allowed but generally, nothing will be served on the flight unless you’re travelling business.    At the boarding gate, passengers were boarding individually based on row numbers, starting from the back of the aircraft towards the front.    At the check-in desk, the staff said to allow an extra hour due to additional boarding time. Be patient as it will take more time to board the flight, but you could always book your seat at the back if you wish to board sooner.    Once on the flight, cabin crew informed us that the aircraft used an advanced air flow filtration system that kills most germs. This, combined with a face mask and limited contact, helps to reduce the risk.    Once I was at my seat, I noticed that the airline had used empty seats to keep travellers at a safe distance from each other as best as they could.    They also blocked off and limited access to the number of toilets you could use. You can still use them but not as many so you might have to wait.    Generally, I found the flying experience rather relaxing and pleasant, indeed longer than usual, but the additional steps gave me reassurance rather than worry.    I wouldn’t want to take a flight with a connection due to the extra time it takes to board and go through the airport, but one direct flight wouldn’t be an issue.   

What was your hotel resort like in Lanzarote?  

I stayed at the Sands Beach resort located in Costa Teguise on the island of Lanzarote.    They had self-catering options for families with a large selection of swimming pools to choose from, which was great for social distance swimming.    Swimming is one of the things I missed the most, so it was a much-welcomed joy to have a few laps in the pool each morning.    The breakfast buffet was open, and you had to order each item individually. This will take some additional time, so be sure to arrive early to allow your choices to be accommodated.    I would visit the local supermarket and stock up on breakfast items to make in your room so you can relax in the morning and take the stress out of breakfast.    Not all resorts are open yet in Lanzarote, and some have chosen to stay closed until September so your choices will be limited.    The Sands Beach Resort chose to open early to learn about the extra steps needed to open up. The Spanish government have issued rules that resorts must follow to remain open to meet the health guidelines and create a safe environment for guests.    Another issue is staff. The resort is running at low capacity and it’s been tough getting the team back to work as some have chosen to wait until it’s safer to return to work while others are happy to get back to work again.    Rooms are required to undergo additional cleaning after each guest which is why I would recommend staying for 1-2 weeks.    Also, the stock has been an issue as the supply chain for resorts has not been open on the island since lockdown and resorts are having to use supermarkets to purchase items they need to operate.    It will take some time for resorts to open up again but those that have chosen to open up as soon as possible will learn from the experience and adapt to the guidelines, which will take time for some resorts to adjust to.   

What is it like going to a restaurant on the Canary Islands?

After cooking for myself for three months, I’ve simply run out of hot pot recipes and I’m also getting a bit bored of baking banana bread.    Being allowed to visit restaurants again and not have to do the washing up was one of the most enjoyable moments from the trip.    Getting to taste the local flavours again was an absolute pleasure. Enjoying fresh seafood and a glass of white wine that’s made on the island was pure joy.    If you wish to dine out, it’s best to call in advance to book a table as space within the premise is limited due to schedules and social distance.    I noticed that temperature checks took place before entering the restaurant, and hand sanitizer was always found at the entrance.    You must wear a facemask until you have taken a seat at your table, then you can take it off to enjoy your food and drink.    Also, I noticed that the menu could typically be found by using a QR code to access on your smartphone. Make sure you have your Roam Like at Home data turned on while travelling around the EU as it will come in handy.    If you can pay for your meal by using contactless payment, this would be the best method rather than using cash.   

Do you need to fill out health forms before you travel?

Spain requires you to fill in a health form before you arrive. Once the form is completed online, you will get a QR code which will be scanned on arrival.   You must be checked into your flight and have your seat number before you fill out the form. This information helps with track and trace, and you will be contacted if needed.    Also, when returning to the UK, you must fill in a form explaining where you’ve been and where you will be going to in the UK.   After filling in the UK form and placing my address in Wales where I will be, I instantly got an email from the Welsh government asking me to quarantine and stay at home for two weeks. I was not aware that the rules in Wales required two weeks quarantine, but not a problem as I have been home for the past two weeks and will follow the guidelines as instructed. Something to think about as I was also aware that those from Scotland had been advised not to travel to Spain altogether. So, the rules are different depending on where you live.   

Did I enjoy my trip to Lanzarote, Canary Islands? 

The most important question. Did I have a great time going to Lanzarote? Were all the extra steps worth it?    My answer is for the most part yes. I do have mixed opinions about it though, as I enjoyed the trip, but travel is no longer normal like it used to be and some fun has been sucked out the experience.    But I do understand that this is for my own and others’ safety to allow tourism to open up again so I would say that it was worth it.    My issue was the length of the trip; I wish I could have stayed longer to justify the extra time you need to go through all the additional safety steps.    So, If I were staying in Lanzarote for two weeks, I would have said that it was worth it.   

My advice at the moment to make travel safer during COVID-19 

I would recommend only taking one direct flight to reach your destination. Avoid having to take connection flights as this increases your risk of a possible infection.    Stay in one resort and try to find a self-catering option so you can prepare breakfast and lunch from your room as buffets are not a safe environment at the moment.    Book ahead to reserve your table if you wish to dine out at a local restaurant.    Book a rental car to explore your surroundings and avoid public transport.    Use contactless payment and avoid cash when possible.    Stay for 1-2 weeks. Travel to your destination will take more time so you should allocate this time into your holiday to make it more rewarding.    Don’t forget to relax and enjoy your holiday. You will have to go through many additional steps to make your holiday safe so please have patience, remain calm and take your time.   For this reason, a weekend city escape might not be ideal at the moment as you won’t have enough time to enjoy the actual holiday.   

Thank you for reading my blog post about my trip to Lanzarote  

I hope all the above information helps you understand what travel and tourism are currently like in Europe at this moment in time, and I wish you a pleasant future trip!     This blog post was put together in collaboration with the UNWTO and the Canary Islands as part of the #RestartTourism campaign to help tourism recovery on the islands. I hope you’ve found this blog post informative.   Travel tip shared by Dave  

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[michaelfallcon]

I’m Just Digging Out From My Email

“Press back to return to the video player. Press back to return to the video player. Press back to return to the video player…”

I woke up with a start, neck crooked, with a cold sheen of sweat on my brow. The headphones were still somehow in my ears, but the movie, another vainglorious biopic, had long since ended. Lights were on in the cabin; the drink cart jostled my elbow.

How did I sleep? There was the worst fucking turbulence for a couple of minutes, and then I was just…went out for an hour and a half at least, maybe longer, in a twilight, twinkly state of half-rest.

I’d slept through my allotted in-flight work time, which was extremely unusual. Totally unlike me, honestly, but this was a long, long travel day, a set of two international flights over unfamiliar destinations, split up by a three hour layover. And that meant I could make it up in the International Lounge.

Flights like this—work flights—afford few if any luxuries. Once, exactly once, I was upgraded to Delta One, for reasons I don’t totally understand. I know other people in this business who fly business class every time: the international CEOs, the Executive Directors Emeritus, the consultants who demand it in their dignity riders, and the sort of folks for whom money doesn’t matter, whose careers in coffee are really more like hobbies.

The rest of us sit in coach.

But the International Lounge, well. On flights like these, access is complimentary, which means between flights I can put my feet up, grab a handful of snack mix, maybe a soda water with lime, and relax for once in my life. I hate traveling for work, and affliction I can’t seem to shrug off or numb myself out to it no matter how much I fly. It’s something really hard to explain to people who never travel for work, and look at travel as being intrinsically connected with holidays and fun. Traveling for work is neither. But the lounge, of all things… I find myself looking forward to it.

In what felt like a fast-forward batch of seconds we landed an de-planed. My feet were numb. My hands, too, numb all through my extremities, first like my fingers and toes had been rounded into clubs, and the there were thousand fire ants inside my skin. I couldn’t shake it off. I started doing a little dance, right there in the aisle, the people around me politely looking away into their cell phones. It faded a bit but not completely as I walked out into the terminal.

“May I see your ticket please?” She stood tall, blonde, in a perfectly manicured blue and grey uniform with a tiny silver nametag. It read Leentje. 

I handed my ticket to Leentje, awaiting her next direction. It came efficiently. “Oh! Welcome Mr. Mike-El-Man, you are welcome to International Courtesy lounge at Gate 52. It is this way.” She pointed down a vast concourse of numbered gates.

“Thank you, Leentje.” I’m pretty sure I pronounced it right.

I walked and walked, in what felt like another batch of fast-forward moments, still just slightly numb, shaking off the combination of a flight and a nap, running through my task queue in my head. I owed a bunch of email replies; I’d assigned myself a couple of stories to edit; I needed to dig out from a half-dozen different things.

At the lounge they checked my ticket—their nametags read Marieke and Jopie—looked at their computer, checked my ticket again, looked at another computer, and then finally admitted me. I glanced at the ticket before tucking it back into my passport, and for just a second it looked jumbled, like the words and letters were all mixed up. Have you ever broken a digital display screen? It looked like that, but on paper, and for just an instant.

The lounge was massive, an interconnected series of rooms dotted by service areas with row upon row of breads, cold salads, Segafreddo superautomatic coffee makers, self-service Diageo booze, and entry level charcuterie. I wasn’t hungry, but my feet still hurt, and I needed somewhere to set down my shit, plug in to a power source, and start finishing all my work.

There was every possible seating configuration: low tables, private desk nooks, huge high-backed privacy swivel chairs, bar stools near the food, and a set of long lounger daybeds with a raised portion, like what you lay down on in a cartoon shrink’s office. I chose that one, finding a lounger with nobody else on either side. A small mercy that lasted just a moment, barely enough time to put on my headphones and plug in my laptop.

He was maybe 50, or 55, and had that rumpled suit coat with shiny elbows thing that people get when they live their lives in the same set of suit coats. He sat down on the lounge directly next to me and made hard eye contact.

I looked up from the computer.

“Hey! How ya doing? Crazy running into you here!”

“Sorry, I don’t really like to smalltalk when I travel,” I heard myself saying in reply, which is what I always say in these situations. Yes, I know it’s rude, but it’s rudeness as a sort of self-defense, which I consider at worst a menial sin. “I have travel anxiety,” I said; I like to add this bit in to sort of buttress the self-defense posture. It’s not my fault I don’t want to talk to you, it’s my medical condition, you understand.

He didn’t understand.

“Whoa, sorry, hey—you’re the guy from Sprudge, right?”

I was.

“I’m sorry, hey! Good to see you!”

I always say this—good to see you—because I’m shit at remembering if I’ve met someone before, and so good to see you functions as kind of a catch-all salutation without causing offense. Of course I’ve seen you before, and I remember, and so it’s good to see you—but if we have never met once on this earth in life or death, well, it’s still really good to see you now, in this moment we’re sharing.

“Good to see you, too! I’m really glad to catch you here, you know. I sent you that email last week but maybe we can just talk about it now? I’m gonna run to the bar and grab a hot toddy, you want anything?”

I did not want anything. I wanted to be left alone. What I wanted most of all was for him to get up and walk away so that I could furiously check my inbox, and cross check its contents with this interaction so as to best figure out who this person was, what they wanted to talk about, and how to manage the rest of this interaction as efficiently and inoffensively as possible.

“No I’m good, let’s talk when you come back! I’m just digging out from my email.”

The man walked away in his rumpled suit coat, leaving his bag behind in the lounger next to mine. I had to know this dude, but I couldn’t for the life of me… couldn’t remember. So I opened the laptop.

100 new messages

My heart started pounding very quickly. My cortisol levels spiked. I had just looked through this shit before the 10 hour flight and there was what, maybe a dozen emails that needed replying? I had to scroll back to a second page of the inbox to get to the last tronche of read messages. I started to feel the fire ants again running up and down my legs…

Maybe I need some tea or something, or a glass of whatever shitty wine they’re pouring. It’s unhealthy to go straight from a flight to more work, after all. A big glass of spa water—that’s the best thing they serve here, you know, in these lounges, is the tower of water with cup up fruit inside. I stood up from the lounger, surveyed the room, and in that very instant felt the creepy-crawly sensation of a hundred eyes upon me.

I knew everyone in the room. And, I suspected, they were waiting on me for an email.

They were all there. Rob Riggle, Director of Coffee at Pik-Kwik Coffee in Nashua. Helga Ingiborg Gunnarsdottir, the international green coffee buyer and coffee competition judge. Ezekiel Christian, owner/founder/marketing manager at Hallowed Coffee Roasters of Grand Rapids. Jon Luis Fitzcarraldo, a third generation Salvadoran land owner and general manager of a network of washing stations. Dizzy Morris, editor of the industry-focused trade publication Bean Teen Magazine. Hector Hernandez of Finca Hernandez in Chiapas, whose Finca Hernandez Yellow Bourbon (roasted by Goatyard Coffee) just received an unheard of 96 rating on Coffee Scores. Tina Sonsgard and Ricky Kim, who owned Construction Yard Coffee Roasters in the Bay Area. Constance Marino, the national barista champ and green coffee buyer. Hercules Siffaretti, the current international president of the World Coffee Association. Julio Trocas, the land management advisor and UC Davis trained agro-chemical salesman.

There was Lev Piav, the Ukrainian-cum-Australian international coffee consultant. Next to him sipping an Amstel was Matty Morely, son of Mickey Morely, who since the 80s had run Morely Roast Academy, a ten day $12,000 independent coffee shop owner certification. Hiroko Mayamara, who had personally judged more coffee competitions than any living person, and lived in a state of perpetual travel. Tim Wright, the Dean of Coffee Studies at Texas A&G. Dane Copeland, the hard-living Gen X bad boy founder of Little Beirut Coffee Roasters. Giacomo Olio and his team of staff representing La San Luigi Produzione, makers of the world’s most expensive espresso machines.

It went on. The entire coffee industry, it seemed, was sitting in this lounge, as though it were one of those invite-only executive after parties that pop up around the international trade shows.

I sat back down. I rubbed my eyes. My hands were completely numb, and fumbling, stumbling, I opened my laptop.

1,000 new messages

The words and addresses became like a floating jumble of crushed LED display. The whole lounge started to float. The man—I still didn’t know his name—came back over and sat down next to me, holding two large glasses of liquid.

“I went ahead and got ya a spa water, looks like you need it. You look tired! Ahawhawhaw…”

“Oh, yeah, you know, long flight—so do you!”

I hate it when someone says that—”you look tired!”—as a way of making conversation. I don’t look tired, you look tired. Of course I’m tired, I just flew 10 hours, and I’m starting to get the sinking suspicion that in fact I am dead, and this is hell, or at least purgatory.

“Listen—that thing I wanted to talk to you about. I just think it’s crazy that nobody is reporting on it yet!”

“Oh definitely, me too, me too. Listen—these days for news tips your best bet is to email my colleagues directly…”

“Of course,” said the man—I still didn’t know his name—”but since I’ve got you here right now I just figured…” but his dialogue was broken by a second man, looming before us, his enormous mustache gleaming in the early morning airport lounge light.

“Jon Luis Fitzcarraldo, what are the odds!”

What are the odds indeed. I stood with my spa water, smiled at both men, and began walking back through the lounge. There was Lettie Dinklage, PR emissary for Toraji Springs Syrup Company. I had to write her back. There was Duke Iannucci, who I’d known for a decade, whose nominal job was fixing espresso machines for Metallico Espresso but who functioned as a sort of all-around brand emissary for the company. He’d emailed me two weeks ago asking for travel recommendations and I just… well, I still needed to dig out. I hadn’t written back. I kept walking, my eyes focused, my numb hands slipping on the water glass, back to the front of the lounge.

Marieke and Jopie were still there, standing in their crisply pressed blue suits. I approached with my ticket and passport in hand.

“Listen… your colleague Leentje sent me here… am I pronouncing that right?

“Leentje, yes.”

“Anyway, is there a way I can get on an earlier flight today? There’s something weird going on here and I need to… know my options.”

“Yes of course,” said Jopie, in no-nonsense lilting English. “Let me check your layover.”

“I think it was just supposed to be like, three hours. I have it in my email…” Reflexively I looked down at my phone, opening the Gmail app. My lock screen was now a digital spiral, like a black hole or a vortex or the gaping mouth of hell IDK…

10,000 new messages

“Were you on the 8am from Portland?” asked Marijke.

“I… was but something is… very wrong…”

“The computer here says there was a delay in your connection,” I heard Jopie say. “You will be delayed on your next flight. I suggest you enjoy the lounge, and we will call your name when there is an update.”

I paused for just a beat. My head felt numb now, like my extremities had from the moment I woke up on the flight. The lounge buzzed and hummed behind me, a service cart of fresh pastries clattering through the room.

“Give it to me straight, Jopie. Am I dead? Did my plain crash? Is this hell?”

She paused for a moment. Jopie and Marijke looked at each other, spoke briefly in Dutch, and turned back to me with a smile.

“Our records show you will be here for some time. The WiFi password is ‘relax’ spelled in English. That’s R-E-L-A-X.”

“I know how to fucking spell relax!”

“Alright sir. Perhaps you want to chat with the other guests in the lounge, and enjoy a complimentary drink? Or use this time to catch up on some emails?”

I thanked them, Jopie and Marijke, and apologized for raising my voice. How terribly American and embarrassing of me, to act like that. Totally unlike me, really. I try to be the most polite American of all time when I travel. It’s just, this had been such a long travel day, and it was only getting longer.

It’ll be fine. I’ll just go sit back down in the Lounge. You know, I do have some stuff to dig out from. I did have some emails to send.

Jordan Michelman (@suitcasewine) is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

The post I’m Just Digging Out From My Email appeared first on Sprudge.

I’m Just Digging Out From My Email published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[shebreathesslowly]

I’m Just Digging Out From My Email

“Press back to return to the video player. Press back to return to the video player. Press back to return to the video player…”

I woke up with a start, neck crooked, with a cold sheen of sweat on my brow. The headphones were still somehow in my ears, but the movie, another vainglorious biopic, had long since ended. Lights were on in the cabin; the drink cart jostled my elbow.

How did I sleep? There was the worst fucking turbulence for a couple of minutes, and then I was just…went out for an hour and a half at least, maybe longer, in a twilight, twinkly state of half-rest.

I’d slept through my allotted in-flight work time, which was extremely unusual. Totally unlike me, honestly, but this was a long, long travel day, a set of two international flights over unfamiliar destinations, split up by a three hour layover. And that meant I could make it up in the International Lounge.

Flights like this—work flights—afford few if any luxuries. Once, exactly once, I was upgraded to Delta One, for reasons I don’t totally understand. I know other people in this business who fly business class every time: the international CEOs, the Executive Directors Emeritus, the consultants who demand it in their dignity riders, and the sort of folks for whom money doesn’t matter, whose careers in coffee are really more like hobbies.

The rest of us sit in coach.

But the International Lounge, well. On flights like these, access is complimentary, which means between flights I can put my feet up, grab a handful of snack mix, maybe a soda water with lime, and relax for once in my life. I hate traveling for work, and affliction I can’t seem to shrug off or numb myself out to it no matter how much I fly. It’s something really hard to explain to people who never travel for work, and look at travel as being intrinsically connected with holidays and fun. Traveling for work is neither. But the lounge, of all things… I find myself looking forward to it.

In what felt like a fast-forward batch of seconds we landed an de-planed. My feet were numb. My hands, too, numb all through my extremities, first like my fingers and toes had been rounded into clubs, and the there were thousand fire ants inside my skin. I couldn’t shake it off. I started doing a little dance, right there in the aisle, the people around me politely looking away into their cell phones. It faded a bit but not completely as I walked out into the terminal.

“May I see your ticket please?” She stood tall, blonde, in a perfectly manicured blue and grey uniform with a tiny silver nametag. It read Leentje. 

I handed my ticket to Leentje, awaiting her next direction. It came efficiently. “Oh! Welcome Mr. Mike-El-Man, you are welcome to International Courtesy lounge at Gate 52. It is this way.” She pointed down a vast concourse of numbered gates.

“Thank you, Leentje.” I’m pretty sure I pronounced it right.

I walked and walked, in what felt like another batch of fast-forward moments, still just slightly numb, shaking off the combination of a flight and a nap, running through my task queue in my head. I owed a bunch of email replies; I’d assigned myself a couple of stories to edit; I needed to dig out from a half-dozen different things.

At the lounge they checked my ticket—their nametags read Marieke and Jopie—looked at their computer, checked my ticket again, looked at another computer, and then finally admitted me. I glanced at the ticket before tucking it back into my passport, and for just a second it looked jumbled, like the words and letters were all mixed up. Have you ever broken a digital display screen? It looked like that, but on paper, and for just an instant.

The lounge was massive, an interconnected series of rooms dotted by service areas with row upon row of breads, cold salads, Segafreddo superautomatic coffee makers, self-service Diageo booze, and entry level charcuterie. I wasn’t hungry, but my feet still hurt, and I needed somewhere to set down my shit, plug in to a power source, and start finishing all my work.

There was every possible seating configuration: low tables, private desk nooks, huge high-backed privacy swivel chairs, bar stools near the food, and a set of long lounger daybeds with a raised portion, like what you lay down on in a cartoon shrink’s office. I chose that one, finding a lounger with nobody else on either side. A small mercy that lasted just a moment, barely enough time to put on my headphones and plug in my laptop.

He was maybe 50, or 55, and had that rumpled suit coat with shiny elbows thing that people get when they live their lives in the same set of suit coats. He sat down on the lounge directly next to me and made hard eye contact.

I looked up from the computer.

“Hey! How ya doing? Crazy running into you here!”

“Sorry, I don’t really like to smalltalk when I travel,” I heard myself saying in reply, which is what I always say in these situations. Yes, I know it’s rude, but it’s rudeness as a sort of self-defense, which I consider at worst a menial sin. “I have travel anxiety,” I said; I like to add this bit in to sort of buttress the self-defense posture. It’s not my fault I don’t want to talk to you, it’s my medical condition, you understand.

He didn’t understand.

“Whoa, sorry, hey—you’re the guy from Sprudge, right?”

I was.

“I’m sorry, hey! Good to see you!”

I always say this—good to see you—because I’m shit at remembering if I’ve met someone before, and so good to see you functions as kind of a catch-all salutation without causing offense. Of course I’ve seen you before, and I remember, and so it’s good to see you—but if we have never met once on this earth in life or death, well, it’s still really good to see you now, in this moment we’re sharing.

“Good to see you, too! I’m really glad to catch you here, you know. I sent you that email last week but maybe we can just talk about it now? I’m gonna run to the bar and grab a hot toddy, you want anything?”

I did not want anything. I wanted to be left alone. What I wanted most of all was for him to get up and walk away so that I could furiously check my inbox, and cross check its contents with this interaction so as to best figure out who this person was, what they wanted to talk about, and how to manage the rest of this interaction as efficiently and inoffensively as possible.

“No I’m good, let’s talk when you come back! I’m just digging out from my email.”

The man walked away in his rumpled suit coat, leaving his bag behind in the lounger next to mine. I had to know this dude, but I couldn’t for the life of me… couldn’t remember. So I opened the laptop.

100 new messages

My heart started pounding very quickly. My cortisol levels spiked. I had just looked through this shit before the 10 hour flight and there was what, maybe a dozen emails that needed replying? I had to scroll back to a second page of the inbox to get to the last tronche of read messages. I started to feel the fire ants again running up and down my legs…

Maybe I need some tea or something, or a glass of whatever shitty wine they’re pouring. It’s unhealthy to go straight from a flight to more work, after all. A big glass of spa water—that’s the best thing they serve here, you know, in these lounges, is the tower of water with cup up fruit inside. I stood up from the lounger, surveyed the room, and in that very instant felt the creepy-crawly sensation of a hundred eyes upon me.

I knew everyone in the room. And, I suspected, they were waiting on me for an email.

They were all there. Rob Riggle, Director of Coffee at Pik-Kwik Coffee in Nashua. Helga Ingiborg Gunnarsdottir, the international green coffee buyer and coffee competition judge. Ezekiel Christian, owner/founder/marketing manager at Hallowed Coffee Roasters of Grand Rapids. Jon Luis Fitzcarraldo, a third generation Salvadoran land owner and general manager of a network of washing stations. Dizzy Morris, editor of the industry-focused trade publication Bean Teen Magazine. Hector Hernandez of Finca Hernandez in Chiapas, whose Finca Hernandez Yellow Bourbon (roasted by Goatyard Coffee) just received an unheard of 96 rating on Coffee Scores. Tina Sonsgard and Ricky Kim, who owned Construction Yard Coffee Roasters in the Bay Area. Constance Marino, the national barista champ and green coffee buyer. Hercules Siffaretti, the current international president of the World Coffee Association. Julio Trocas, the land management advisor and UC Davis trained agro-chemical salesman.

There was Lev Piav, the Ukrainian-cum-Australian international coffee consultant. Next to him sipping an Amstel was Matty Morely, son of Mickey Morely, who since the 80s had run Morely Roast Academy, a ten day $12,000 independent coffee shop owner certification. Hiroko Mayamara, who had personally judged more coffee competitions than any living person, and lived in a state of perpetual travel. Tim Wright, the Dean of Coffee Studies at Texas A&G. Dane Copeland, the hard-living Gen X bad boy founder of Little Beirut Coffee Roasters. Giacomo Olio and his team of staff representing La San Luigi Produzione, makers of the world’s most expensive espresso machines.

It went on. The entire coffee industry, it seemed, was sitting in this lounge, as though it were one of those invite-only executive after parties that pop up around the international trade shows.

I sat back down. I rubbed my eyes. My hands were completely numb, and fumbling, stumbling, I opened my laptop.

1,000 new messages

The words and addresses became like a floating jumble of crushed LED display. The whole lounge started to float. The man—I still didn’t know his name—came back over and sat down next to me, holding two large glasses of liquid.

“I went ahead and got ya a spa water, looks like you need it. You look tired! Ahawhawhaw…”

“Oh, yeah, you know, long flight—so do you!”

I hate it when someone says that—”you look tired!”—as a way of making conversation. I don’t look tired, you look tired. Of course I’m tired, I just flew 10 hours, and I’m starting to get the sinking suspicion that in fact I am dead, and this is hell, or at least purgatory.

“Listen—that thing I wanted to talk to you about. I just think it’s crazy that nobody is reporting on it yet!”

“Oh definitely, me too, me too. Listen—these days for news tips your best bet is to email my colleagues directly…”

“Of course,” said the man—I still didn’t know his name—”but since I’ve got you here right now I just figured…” but his dialogue was broken by a second man, looming before us, his enormous mustache gleaming in the early morning airport lounge light.

“Jon Luis Fitzcarraldo, what are the odds!”

What are the odds indeed. I stood with my spa water, smiled at both men, and began walking back through the lounge. There was Lettie Dinklage, PR emissary for Toraji Springs Syrup Company. I had to write her back. There was Duke Iannucci, who I’d known for a decade, whose nominal job was fixing espresso machines for Metallico Espresso but who functioned as a sort of all-around brand emissary for the company. He’d emailed me two weeks ago asking for travel recommendations and I just… well, I still needed to dig out. I hadn’t written back. I kept walking, my eyes focused, my numb hands slipping on the water glass, back to the front of the lounge.

Marieke and Jopie were still there, standing in their crisply pressed blue suits. I approached with my ticket and passport in hand.

“Listen… your colleague Leentje sent me here… am I pronouncing that right?

“Leentje, yes.”

“Anyway, is there a way I can get on an earlier flight today? There’s something weird going on here and I need to… know my options.”

“Yes of course,” said Jopie, in no-nonsense lilting English. “Let me check your layover.”

“I think it was just supposed to be like, three hours. I have it in my email…” Reflexively I looked down at my phone, opening the Gmail app. My lock screen was now a digital spiral, like a black hole or a vortex or the gaping mouth of hell IDK…

10,000 new messages

“Were you on the 8am from Portland?” asked Marijke.

“I… was but something is… very wrong…”

“The computer here says there was a delay in your connection,” I heard Jopie say. “You will be delayed on your next flight. I suggest you enjoy the lounge, and we will call your name when there is an update.”

I paused for just a beat. My head felt numb now, like my extremities had from the moment I woke up on the flight. The lounge buzzed and hummed behind me, a service cart of fresh pastries clattering through the room.

“Give it to me straight, Jopie. Am I dead? Did my plain crash? Is this hell?”

She paused for a moment. Jopie and Marijke looked at each other, spoke briefly in Dutch, and turned back to me with a smile.

“Our records show you will be here for some time. The WiFi password is ‘relax’ spelled in English. That’s R-E-L-A-X.”

“I know how to fucking spell relax!”

“Alright sir. Perhaps you want to chat with the other guests in the lounge, and enjoy a complimentary drink? Or use this time to catch up on some emails?”

I thanked them, Jopie and Marijke, and apologized for raising my voice. How terribly American and embarrassing of me, to act like that. Totally unlike me, really. I try to be the most polite American of all time when I travel. It’s just, this had been such a long travel day, and it was only getting longer.

It’ll be fine. I’ll just go sit back down in the Lounge. You know, I do have some stuff to dig out from. I did have some emails to send.

Jordan Michelman (@suitcasewine) is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

The post I’m Just Digging Out From My Email appeared first on Sprudge.

from Sprudge https://ift.tt/2Pwglhb

[englishzeal]

Example of common English dialogues for absolute beginners Using dialogues to help anybody develop their conversation skills is a common practice in English. One of the main advantages of using dialogues is that people are given a rubric as a basis on which they can then build its owns. Once they have become comfortable using a dialogue, they can then go on to have related conversations building on their familiarity with the dialogue and the vocabulary specific to the situation. Here are links to various dialogues, which you can use in your daily conversation. Each dialogue is presented in full and focuses on a specific topic. Introductions Hello A. Hello. My name's Peter. What's your name? B. Janet. A. Where are you from Janet? B. I'm from Seattle. Where are you from? A. I'm from Madrid. B. Are you American? A. Yes, I am. Are you Spanish? B. Yes I am. Goodbye A. Hello, Peter. How are you? B. Fine, thanks. How are you? A. I'm fme, thank you. Goodbye A. Goodbye, Janet. See you tomorrow! B. Bye bye, Peter. Have a nice evening. A. Thanks, you too! B. Thanks. What time is it? (Version I) A. Excuse me. Can you tell me the time, please? B. Yes, of course. It's seven o'clock. A. Thank you. B. No problem. (Version II) A. What time is it? B. It's half-past three. A. Thanks. B. You're welcome. In the shop Shopping for a sweater A. Can I help you? B. Yes, I'm looking for a sweater. A. What size are you? B. I'm an extra large. A. How about this one? B. Yes, that's nice. Can I try it on? A. Certainly, there's the changing room over there. B. Thank you. A. How does it fit? B. It's too large. Do you have a smaller size? A. Yes, here you are. B. Thank you. I'll have it, please. A. OK, how would you like to pay? B. Do you take credit cards? A. Yes, we do. Visa, Master Card and American Express. B. OK, here's my Visa. A. Thank you. Have a nice day! B. Thank you, goodbye. Clothes shop A: May I help you? C: Yes, I'm looking for a pair of trousers. A: What colour would you like? C: Black. A: And what size are you? C: I'm not sure. Can you measure me? A: [measures customer] You're 34" waist. How about these? C: What material are they? A: Wool. C: Have you got anything in cotton? A: Yes, these. C: Can I try them on? A: Of course. The fitting room's over there. C: [tries trousers] They're a little long. Have you got anything shorter? A: These are shorter. C: I'll take them. Electrical shop A. Good morning, can I help you? C. I hope so. I'm looking for a television. A. The Samsung TV is on special offer this week. C. How much is it? A. Only £299.95. C. It's a little expensive. Do you have a cheaper one? A. Yes. This one's only £150. C. I'll take it. Do you take credit cards? A. Yes, we do. A faulty TV A: Good afternoon, can I help you? B: I hope so. I bought this television here about three months ago, but the sound and picture quality are awful. The picture is always flickering and there's a dark line down the left-hand side of the screen. And there's an annoying hissing sound in the background. A: Do you have an outside aerial? B: Yes, I do. A: Have you tried adjusting the aerial? B: Several times. A: Hmmmmm. I'll get our engineers to have a look at it. B: A friend of mine bought the same model here and had exactly the same problems. I want a refund. A: I'm afraid it isn't our policy to give refunds, sir. B: I want to see the manager. In the Aeroport Booking a flight A: I'd like to book a flight to Tokyo please. B: Which airline would you like to use? A: Which is the cheapest? B: When do you want to travel? A: Next week, the 15th. B: Would you like a return ticket? A: Yes, I'm coming back on the 30th. B: Let me see....... ABC costs £299.00, but you have to transfer at Hong Kong. XYZ is the cheapest direct flight at £349.00, both tourist class of course. A: How long does the ABC flight take? B: Total time is 15 hours, XYZ takes 11 hours. A: I may as well go with XYZ then. B: How many seats would you like? A: Just the one and could I have vegetarian meals? B: Certainly, there's no extra charge. Checking in A. Good morning. Can I have your ticket, please? B. Here you are. A. Thank you. Would you like smoking or non-smoking? B. Non-smoking, please. A. Would you like a window or an aisle seat? B. An aisle seat, please. A. Do you have any baggage? B. Yes, this suitcase and this carry-on bag. A. Here's your boarding pass. Have a nice flight. B. Thank you. At the check-in desk C: Good morning, may I have your ticket please? D: Certainly. Can I take this as hand luggage? C: Yes, that'll be fine. D: And can I have an aisle seat in the smoking section? C: I'm afraid this is a non-smoking flight sir. But you can have an aisle seat. Here's your boarding pass. Have a nice flight. D: Thank you. At passport control (Version I) A. Good morning. Can I see your passport? B. Here you are. A. Thank you very much. Are you a tourist or on business? B. I'm a tourist. A. That's fine. Have a pleasant stay. B. Thank you. (Version II) E: May I see your passport please? F: Here you are. E: What is the purpose of your visit? F: I'm on business. E: How long will you be staying? F: Fifteen days. E: Thank you very much. Enjoy your stay. At customs G: Do you have anything to declare, sir? H: Just some wine and cigarettes. G: How much wine do you have? H: Four bottles. G: That's fine and how many cigarettes? H: I have 20 packets. G: I'm afraid you're only allowed 280 cigarettes. You'll have to pay duty on the rest. H: Oh! How much is it? G: It's £12.00 plus V.A.T. A total of £14.10. H: Here you are. Asking for directions Directions (Version I) A. Excuse me. Is there a bank near here? B. Yes. There's a bank on the corner. A. Thank you. B. You're welcome. (Version II) A. Excuse me. Is there a supermarket near here? B. Yes. There's one near here. A. How do I get there? B. At the traffic lights, take the first left and go straight on. It's on the left. A. Is it far? B. Not really. A. Thank you. B. Don't mention it. In the Hotel Getting a room for the night (Version I) A. Good evening. Can I help you? B. Yes, please. I'd like a room for the night. A. Would you like a single room or a double room? B. A single room, please. How much is the room? A. It's $55 per night. B. Can I pay by credit card? A. Certainly. We take Visa, Master Card and American Express. Could you fill in this form, please? B. Do you need my passport number? No, just an address and your signature. A. (fills out the form) Here you are. B. Here's your key. Your room number is 212. A. Thank you. B. Thank you. If you need anything, dial 0 for the reception area. Have a good stay! (Version II) R: Good evening. How may I help you? G: Have you got any rooms? R: Yes. Single, double or twin? G: Single, please. R: Would you like a room with a shower or a bath? G: Just a shower will do. R: Room 319. That'll be £12.50 a night, including breakfast. How long will you be staying? G: Just a couple of nights. What time is the breakfast served? R: Breakfast is from 7 to 9. G: And what time is dinner? R: Dinner's from 6:30 to 8:30. You'd better hurry, the restaurant closes in 15 minutes. G: Thanks. In the Restaurant Ordering a meal (Version I) A. Hi. How are you doing this afternoon? B. Fine, thank you. Can I see a menu, please? A. Certainly, here you are. B. Thank you. What's today's speciality? A. Grilled tuna and cheese on rye. B. That sounds good. I'll have that. A. Would you like something to drink? B. Yes, I'd like a coke. A. Thank you. (returning with the food) Here you are. Enjoy your meal! B. Thank you. A. Can I get you anything else? B. No thanks. I'd like the check (bill - UK English), please. A. That'll be $6.75. B. Here you are. Keep the change! A. Thank you! Have a good day! B. Bye. (Version II) W: Good evening. C: A table for two please. W: Certainly: Just here, sir. C: Could we sit by the window? W: I'm sorry. The window tables are a11 reserved. W: Arc you ready to order, sir? C: Yes. I'll have tomato soup for starters and my wife would like prawn cocktail. W: One tomato soup and one prawn cocktail. What would you like for main course? C: I'll have the plaice and my wife would like the shepherd's pie. W: I'm afraid the plaice is off. C: Oh dear. What do you recommend? W: The steak pie is very good. C: OK I'll have that. W: Would you like anything to drink? C: Yes, a bottle of red wine please. On the Phone Calling someone at work A. Hello. This is Kenneth Beare. May I speak to Ms Sunshine, please? B. Hold the line a moment, I'll check if she is in her office. A. Thank you. B. (after a moment) Yes, Ms Sunshine is in. I'll put you through. A. Hello, this is Ms Sunshine. How can I help you? B. Hello, my name is Kenneth Beare and I'm calling to enquire about the position advertised in Sunday's Times. A. Yes, the position is still open. Could I have your name and number please? B. Certainly, My Name is Kenneth Beare... Leaving a message (Version I) A. Hello. Could I speak to Jack Parkins, please. B. Who's calling, please? A. This is Fred Blinkingham. I'm Jack's friend. B. Hold the line, please. I'll put you through. (after a moment) - I'm afraid he's out at the moment. Can I take a message? A. Yes. Can you ask him to give me a call? My number is 345-8965 B. Could you repeat that, please? A. Certainly. That's 345-8965 B. OK. I'll make sure Mr. Parkins gets your message. A. Thank you. Goodbye. B. Goodbye. (Version II) A: Good afternoon, Fowler's, may I help you? B: Extension 237 please. A: I'm sorry, the lines busy, will you hold? B: Yes, I'll hold. A: I'm putting you through. C: Marketing, Harry Webb speaking. B: Could I speak to Maurice Caine please? C: I'm sorry, he's in a meeting at the moment. B: Do you know when he'll be back? C: He should be back around four. Can I take a message? B: Yes, please ask him to call David Jones on 629 3478 C: 629 3478, right? B: That's right. C: OK, I'll see he gets your message. Making an appointment A. Hello. This is Richard Brown. I'd like to make an appointment to see Dr. Habi. B. Certainly. What seems to be the problem? A. I'd like to have my annual check-up. B. Fine. When would you be available to come in to see Dr. Habi? A. Any day next week in the morning would be great. B. How about next Thursday at 10 o'clock? A. That sounds fine. Thank you. B. We'll see you next Thursday, Mr. Brown. Goodbye. In the Hospital Seeing the doctor A. Hello, what's the matter? B. Good morning. I have a terrible ache in my lower back. A. How long has your back been bothering you? B. I've been having pain for about the last two weeks. A. Do you have any history of back problems? B. No, this is the first time. A. Are you taking any medicine at the moment? B. No, just an aspirin from time to time to kill the pain. A. OK. Let's have a look at your back. Please take off your shirt In the Gym A. Hello, my name is Jane and I'd like to ask a few questions about getting fit. B. Hi Jane. What can I do for you? A. I need to get in shape. B. Well, you've come to the right place. Have you been doing any exercise lately? A. I'm afraid not. B. OK. We'll start to slow. Which type of exercise do you enjoy doing? A. I like doing aerobics, but I hate jogging. I don't mind doing some weight-lifting, though. B. Great, that gives us plenty to work with. How often can you work out? A. Twice or three times a week would be good. B. Why don't we start with an aerobics class twice a week followed by a little weightlifting? A. Sounds fine to me. B. You'll need to start slowly and build up gradually to three or four times a week. A. OK. What kind of equipment will I need? B. You'll need a leotard and some sneakers. A. Is that all? How do I sign up for the classes? B. We'll need you to join the gym and then you can choose which classes fit your schedule best. A. Great! I can't wait to get started. Thanks for your advice. B. No problem. I'll see you in aerobics class! At work A job interview A. Good morning Ms Brandies, please have a seat. B. Good morning, it's a pleasure to meet you. A. Could you tell me who you work for at the moment? B. I work for Frank and Banowitz importers. A. How long have you worked for them? B. I've been working for Frank and Banowitz for the past three years. A. And how long have you been working in the accounting department? B. I've been in the accounting department for the past six months. A. You know this job requires a lot of travel. Have you done much travelling for business? B. Yes, the job I had before Frank and Banowitz required me to travel monthly. A. And why did you leave that position? B. I was offered a more interesting position at Frank and Banowitz. A. Have you had any experience in sales? B. Yes, I've spent a few years working part-time as an advertising consultant for schools offering summer language courses. A. That's interesting. How successful have you been? B. The schools I've worked for have all had increased registrations as a result of my collaboration. A. Very interesting... Rules of work A. Welcome to Smith & Jones, Bert. Do you have any questions? B. Yes, what time do I have to start work? A. You have to start work at 8.30. B. What do I have to do? A. You have to type letters, make tea and answer the telephone. B. Do I have to wear a uniform? A. No, but you must wear a tie. B. Do I have to work overtime? A. Yes, you have to work overtime every other Saturday. At the police station Crime 0: Dartford Police Station. Can I help you? W: I hope so. My house has been burgled. 0: Where do you live? W: 2B Southbrook Road. 0: When did you discover the burglary? W: When I got home from work. About 5 minutes ago. 0: Was anything stolen? W: Yes. My all my jewellery's gone and my computer too. And they sprayed graffito all over my walls. 0: How did they get in? W: They forced the back door. 0: An officer will be round in about half an hour. Please don't touch anything. An interview Interviewer: How are you today? Parry: Ok. Interviewer: What is your name? Parry: My name is Frank Smith. Interviewer: How old are you? Parry: Twenty-eight. Interviewer: Are you married? Parry: No. Interviewer: What sort of work do you do? Parry: I work in the Post office. Interviewer: Why are you in the hospital? Parry: I shouldn't be here. Interviewer: Who brought you here? Parry: The police. Interviewer: What trouble did you have with the police? Parry: Cops don't do their jobs. Interviewer: What do they do instead? Parry: Cops arrest the wrong people. Interviewer: They arrest the right ones sometimes. Parry: The law should get those Italian crooks. Interviewer: Are you Italian? Parry: My background is British, but I was born in this country. Interviewer: Do you know any Italian crooks? Parry: I try to avoid the underworld. Interviewer: Are you afraid of the underworld? Parry: The mafia are the worst gangsters. Interviewer: Are you connected with the mafia? Parry: You know, they know me. Interviewer: How do they know you? Parry: They spy on me. Interviewer: Why do they? Parry: They want to get false evidence to frame me. Interviewer: What do they have against you? Parry: They are out to get me. Interviewer: What for? Parry: I have incriminating evidence against the mafia. Interviewer: Are you sure of all this? Parry: You don't believe me? Interviewer: We will see... The police are interviewing a suspect P: Where were you last Tuesday evening? S: I was staying in a hotel in Brighton. P: Who were you with? S: I was with my girlfriend, Marry. P: What was the name of the hotel? S: The George and Dragon. P: What was your room number? S: It was 213. P: Did you speak to anyone? S: Yes. I spoke to the waitress and the barman. P: What was the barman's name? S: His name was Colin? At the bank Opening account A: Good morning, can I help you? B: Yes, I'd like to open a deposit account. A: Certainly Sir. Would you like a Silver or a Gold account? B: What's the difference? A: You can open a Silver account with just £5. The account comes with a cash card so you can withdraw your money at any time. The Silver account currently pays 5% interest. For the Gold account you need a minimum of£500 and you have to give 14 days notice to withdraw money. The interest rate is 6.5%. B: I'll go for the Silver account. A: How much would you like to deposit? B: £500 A: And we'll need two proofs of ID, telephone bill, driving licence, credit card statement, etc. B: I'm sorry, I don't have any of those on me. I'll come back tomorrow. Applying for a mortgage C: Good morning, I'm the manager, how can I help you? D: We'd like to apply for a mortgage. e: Have you found a property you're interested in? D: Yes, we have. C: How much would you like to borrow? D: Well, the property is £75,000, but we have a deposit of £25,000 C: So you need a £50,000 loan. Do you have an account with this bank? D: Yes, we both have accounts here. I've had my account for over fifteen years. C: How much do you both earn? D: I earn £15,000 pa and my wife earns £12,500. C: That's fine. Now, would you like to complete this form......... Holidays Planning a holiday (Ted and Barbara) B: Where shall we go for our holiday this year, Ted? T: How about Majorca? It's cheap and good weather is guaranteed. B: I'd rather do something more exciting this year. Have you seen this ad for adventure holidays in Scotland? T: I prefer lying on a beach to hang-gliding and canoeing. B: But we do that every year. I'd prefer to do something different this time. I'd rather not go anywhere so crowded. T: Well, you have a point. Majorca was very crowded last time. I'd prefer somewhere a little quieter too, but I don't fancy anything too active. B: How about Torquay? The weather's usually good and there are some lovely walks around the coast. T: Sounds OK to me. Would you prefer to stay in a hotel or rent a cottage? A bad holiday A: Good morning, can I help you? B: I'd like to make a complaint about my holiday in Portugal last week. A: I'm sorry to hear that. What exactly was the problem? B: First of all the coach taking us to the hotel broke down and we had to wait for over two hours in the sweltering heat before a replacement arrived. Then when we got to the hotel we found our room hadn't been cleaned. A: Oh dear, did you complain to the hotel staff? B: Of course, but we were told all the chambermaids were off duty. Anyway, that's not all. The people in the room above sounded like they were having all-night parties, every night. I demanded another room but the receptionist told me the hotel was full. A: Oh, I see. B: And to cap it all the food in the hotel restaurant was awful. It was so bad we had to eat out all the time despite having paid for meals in the price of our holiday. A: I do apologise. I'd like to offer you a 20% discount on the price of one of our Autumn breaks as a gesture of goodwill. B: A 20% discount, you must be joking. I want to see the manager. Other conversations What shall we do? A. Hi Chris, would you like to do something with me this weekend? B. Sure. What shall we do? A. I don't know. Do you have any ideas? B. Why don't we see a film? A. That's sounds good to me. Which film shall we see? B. Let's see 'kill bill'. A. I'd rather not. I don't like violent films. How about going to 'Rate race'? I hear it's quite a funny film. B. OK. Let's go and see that. When is it on? A. It's on at 8 o'clock at the Rex. Shall we have a bite to eat before B. Sure, that sounds great. What about going to that new Italian restaurant 'Michetti's'? A. Great idea! Let's meet there at six. B. OK. I'll see you at 'Michetti's' at six. Bye. A. Bye. My friend A. My friend Rich is coming to town next week. Have you ever met him? B. No, I haven't. A. He's kind of crazy, but a great guy. B. Yeah, why do you say so? What's he like? A. He's really hard working, but very much a loner. He's pretty talented and can do just about anything. B. Sounds interesting. Is he married? A. No, he isn't. B. What does he look like? Maybe my friend Alice would be interested in meeting him. A. He's tall, slim and quite good looking. I'm sure your friend would find him attractive. What's she like? B. She's outgoing and very athletic. A. Really? What sports does she like playing? B. She's a great tennis player and also goes bicycling a lot. A. What does she look like? B. She's kind of exotic looking. She's got long dark hair and piercing black eyes. People think she is rather beautiful. A. Do you think she would like to meet Rich? B. Sure! Why don't we hook them up? A. Great idea! Winning the lotto A. Tom, take a look at this! This guy's won ten million dollars in the lotto! B. What luck! A. What would you do if you won ten million dollars? B. Well, I know what I WOULDN'T do! If I won so much money, I wouldn't spend it. I'd put it in the bank! A. You've got to be joking! I'd make sure to spend at least the first two million having a good time and buying things I've always wanted. I'd definitely spend a lot of time travelling. B. Use your head! If you spent money like that, you'd soon have spent all your winnings! A. You are so boring! If you were in his shoes, you'd just put money in the bank. B. That's right. I'm sure I'd eventually start spending some money, but I'd be very careful to make that money last for the rest of my life. A. What use would that be, if you didn't have any fun? B. Oh, I'd have fun. I'd just be careful about how much fun I'd have. A. I can't believe you! B. Well, you know the saying 'different strokes for different folks'! Borrowing S: Dad. Can I borrow the car tomorrow? F: Why do you want to borrow the car? S: I'm going to the beach with Tony. F: Last time you borrowed it you had an accident and dented the door. S: I promise I'll drive carefully this time. F: And the petrol tank was almost empty. S: I'll fill it up before I get home. F: Well, OK then, provided you're home by 8. I'm going out tomorrow evening and I need the car. S: Great. Thanks dad, I'll be home by 7:30. Plans and excuses A: Let's go to a movie together. B: I'd love to. When shall we go? A: How about next Friday evening? B: Let me see..... Oh, I am sorry, I'm having dinner with a friend. A: How about the following Tuesday? B: That'd be great. What shall we see? A: Star Wars? B: No, that's boring. How about Austin Powers? A: Sounds good to me. When shall we meet? B: Seven? In the Kent Tavern? A: Great, see you there. A: Would you like to come to a movie with me? B: When do you want to go? A: How about next Friday evening? B: I'm sorry, I can't. I'm having dinner with a friend. A: How about the following Tuesday? B: I go to evening class on Tuesdays. A: Oh, maybe some other time? B: Yeah, I'll give you a call. Finding a flat A: Hi, what can I do for you? M: I'm interested in the flat in Central Parade. What can you tell me about it? A: It's a conversion on the second floor of a beautiful, four-storey Edwardian house. It has two bedrooms and a large living room overlooking the sea. The kitchen and bathroom have recently been refitted. M: Is it centrally heated? A: Yes, it's centrally heated throughout and double-glazed too. M: Does it have a parking space? A: No, but there's plenty of unrestricted parking in Central Parade and nearby. M: How much is it? A: It's £39,995, but I believe the owner would be willing to accept an offer. M: How long is the lease? A: There's no lease. The price includes a share of the freehold. Selling services S. Good morning, I'm doing a survey on family life. Could you spare a few moments to answer some questions? M. Well, I'm rather busy... S. It'll only take a minute or two. Are you married? M. Yes, I am. S. And do you have any children? M. Yes, two. S. Have you ever thought about what would happen to your family if you die or you're taken ill? M. No, I haven't. S. Let me tell you about our family protection plan. M. I really must be......... S. For only £50 a month this policy covers all medical fees and provides your family with an income equal to your salary in the event of your death. M. I already have insurance, thank you. S. Ah but when did you last increase your premiums? The cost of living is rising all the time and no other policy is as generous as ours. M. I really can't afford any more insurance. S. But can you afford not to? Just think about your wife and children if anything happens to you. M. As I said..... S. As a special offer, for this week only; we can offer you free cover for three months. Just sign here and your policy will start today. You can cancel any time in the next three months and it won't have cost you a penny: M. I can cancel any time? S. Yes. Just return the cancellation form. There's nothing to lose. M. Oh, very well then. Keywords: English conversation lessons, Free English lessons, Common dialogues, improve your English

http://www.englishzeal.com/2019/09/example-of-common-english-dialogues-for-beginners.html

[coaching4success-bizcoaching]

#Biz Traveling Mistakes

1. Not getting enough sleep

The worst thing you can do on an overseas business trip is conduct a meeting in a lounge with comfortable chairs you can sink into — and without having had enough sleep on the flight over the night before. That I nodded off while talking with the president of an important cruise line is a lasting embarrassment to me, though I was lucky enough to be with someone understanding: an hard-traveling working woman just like me. —Nancy Novogrod, founder, The Essentialist

2. Not being prepared

I have learned that in my busy life and travel schedule I consistently forget something — appropriate shoes, toiletries, favorite lipstick, charger, phone, even a computer! Not all at the same time, of course. Due to this, I always book myself in a hotel that either has a sundries store, plus electronics, clothing and shoe stores very near (as in walking distance). I don't want to have to spend time searching for what is near or driving/taking a car there. —Anne Chaisson, executive director, Hamptons International Film Festival

3. Assuming you know the visa requirements

I was headed to India on assignment and didn't check the visa requirements. My route was through Kenya and the U.A.E., and I only discovered I lacked the proper paperwork while checking in for an onward flight, at midnight, in Nairobi. I was refused entry. Not going to make that mistake again. My travel prep homework now includes the CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State travel alerts, the U.K. Foreign Travel Advice site, the Center for Disease Control and even a global religious holiday calendar app. This last one can be crucial. While I was waiting for that emergency visa, I got caught in a vortex of converging religion celebrations — Easter, Passover, Mawlid — when visa offices were shut down across all countries I traveled through. —Shane Mitchell, author, Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters From Around the World

4. Reserving hotels at the last minute (especially for big industry events)

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a massive event in the technology industry, and I've attended the past two years with Eight. Last year, we didn't plan on showcasing our product, so when I committed to go at the last minute, the only hotel available on the Strip — at a reasonable price — was also the furthest away from the main conference venue. I decided to book it, and I regretted it later. I ended up spending so much time on taxi lines and had to leave my hotel at least an hour before any meeting. Time not well spent! —Alex Zatarain, co-founder, Eight Sleep

6. Scheduling leisure before business

When planning a "bleisure" (business + leisure) trip, schedule the business part first, followed by your leisure stay. If you start with the leisure part of the trip, it's 10 times harder to shift into work mode. I once went on vacation to Cozumel and Tulum right before a conference in Cancun. I was so chilled out and relaxed, and then the conference set me abruptly into the high-stress mode. Massive vacation buzz kill! I've never vacationed before work on a bleisure trip since. —Tammy Peters, founder, Media Mixology

7. Not booking a hotel when you have a red-eye flight

Having traveled the world for work, I have found that booking your hotel in advance when you have a red-eye flight to be crucial. I once arrived early in the morning to my hotel to get some rest and shower after a red-eye flight and the hotel could not check me in until 3 p.m.that afternoons because it was fully booked and none of the rooms were ready. Now I always book the hotel for the previous night, as well, to have the room ready for me when I arrive at 5 a.m. —Daria Rebenok, CEO/co-founder, Grabr

8. Not getting Global Entry

I learned the hard way on the way home from a business trip to Los Cabos after standing in a three-hour immigration line to apply for a Global Entry. This simple application gives you pre-approved clearance to breeze through immigration. Some major credit cards will also give you a credit for the fee. —Carey Reilly, lifestyle/travel expert, and editor, Not So Skinny Mom

9. Not learning basic language skills

When I was in my 20's I was the regional director of sales at Swissotel for the East Coast and I went to Switzerland to see the hotels. I was late to the train station in Bern dragging too many bags, as I still was not an experienced international traveler. I asked someone in uniform if they knew which track was for the train to Zurich. The person said, "Nein," so I rushed off to track nine and ended up on a train to Geneva. Now I know: "nein" means "no."—Adele Gutman, vice president of sales, marketing & revenue, Library Hotel Collection

10. Taking it with you

I lost my passport in Hong Kong while going out for dinner. I had to stay behind for three days to have the embassy issue a new one. Lesson learned: Leave your passport and other valuables in the hotel room safe when going out. —Debi Bishop, managing director, Hilton Hawaiian Village

11. Not paying attention to local customs

During my first trip to the Middle East as a blonde American female, I took the time to read the 70-odd-page document that came along with my travel confirmation. There were warnings — from covering my head, neck, and shoulders to issues of water safety. Even more interestingly: to not accept a verbal agreement. Rather, it's customary to insist on a signed agreement. To this day, all this information has proved helpful whenever I travel to the region. —Michaela Guzy, founder, Oh the People You Meet

11. Not paying attention to local customs

During my first trip to the Middle East as a blonde American female, I took the time to read the 70-odd-page document that came along with my travel confirmation. There were warnings — from covering my head, neck, and shoulders to issues of water safety. Even more interestingly: to not accept a verbal agreement. Rather, it's customary to insist on a signed agreement. To this day, all this information has proved helpful whenever I travel to the region. —Michaela Guzy, founder, Oh the People You Meet

12. Not double-checking your plane ticket

Last year, I attended Pirate Summit in Cologne and then numerous tech events in Berlin. After a long week of work, I had a reunion planned with friends in Porto. From Berlin, I booked a flight to Cologne as my next flight was 6:30 a.m. from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Porto. So I scheduled a BlaBlaCar from Cologne to Frankfurt. The driver agreed to drop me and another passenger off to the airport. We arrived at Frankfurt's huge international airport. But my flight was booked with a budget carrier from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, which was on the other side of the city. I'm lucky I didn't miss the flight. Lesson learned: the importance of planning. —Mevish Aslam, founder, Terminal 3 and Sprinters

13. Planning last minute

The worst thing that I have done is saying yes to a last-minute international business trip that demanded me to leave in the next three hours. With little to no time to pack left the country awaiting an email with my hotel reservation and transportation accommodations only to find out 30,000 feet up in the air through WiFi that they were unable to book them due to a card freeze. Now, I never leave to go to another country or even to another state without everything being secured before my departure. —Jae Scott, motivational speaker, and image consultant

14. Only bringing your work tote

I always have a versatile, small cross-body purse ready to go. I don't need it for getting to my destination, so I pack it in my suitcase. But if I plan to go out to dinner or wander around a town to bar hop, my large work tote is such a pain to carry around, especially in the Spanish towns where visiting a tapas bar is always a "squeeze-in-to-get-in" experience. Having that little bag to carry just my essentials

[ajotoole-blog]

Twelve dozen angry men

Live tweeting my adventures in the Department of Justice could have got me in trouble, so instead I saved all my thoughts for later...   unedited and presented in chronological order.

Through an equal parts token apathy / inquisitively officious airport security style entrance. Guys who call you through the the arch and towards the security guard with the search wand, raising their arms wide as they do it: 

"welcome home, wel-come home!"

One corner of hemmed in chairs, already full, these must be the regulars.  Not sure which side they're on though... The jury's out. The workers here go straight to the lift. The rest of us mill about. There's a screen with 'Summary by name". This can have up to four of the same name in a row... Are they different people?   Crime's a family business. There's some interesting handles. Another airport parallel - this is taking my "what you wear to the airport is the best outward signifier of how you want the world to see you, what you want to appear as in heaven' theory up a notch. (Especially for the girl with severe blonde bob and a short leather skirt) Queue for your passport check in and your luncheon vouchers.  Everyone's sitting at a separate table. I go for one near the window so I can see HMS Belfast and the Tower of London. Both look quaint now. The Walkie Talkie looms above, the Gherkin pokes its head around a new building going up.   Shout out to the two women gossiping through the opening important details of jury service. Ridiculous that we have to have extra procedures in place because some dickheads are still addicted to nicotine through burning leaves. We're all here for the first time, but she's read out this information a hundred times and thinks it should all be obvious, and we're being held to account for the mistakes of others. Wivheld number on your tellyphone  (if they contact you out of hours, please answer)

Sitting around reading would be nice but for the chatter of people who feel the need to fill the institutional air with small talk.  Guessing at what they might be called on, how long it will take... "We're still waiting to hear if the trials are taking off..." Is that a legal term or are the staff getting on board with my airport metaphor? We've already had our little luncheon voucher handed to us, like our flight has been delayed for the required amount to supply us with a sandwich, crisps and a plasticy drink. We're airside...  Can't escape until lunch time. I've brought three books, two magazines, pen and paper and my phone, and there's piles of old books and mags and games yet there's still those in tracksuits staring at a wall and holding their head as if that much concentration is too much for them. Hmm, long hair and military coat has struck up a conversation with blonde bob leather skirt. They remain on separate nailed down tables for now. As ever, I'm not here to make fast friends. Let's let the plot unfold. Long hair's miming hitting something with a big hammer.

Larry David's full expecting his lunch to turn up early because we've been released for lunch early...   I don’t think that’s how it works.

Covert coat  has been out and now he's marched back to his table that he believes should be his for the week, despite someone else sitting there. Vegan? Oh, but of course...  Constantly hogging plugs to charge her phone. A group on week 5....  I suppose by that point it's acceptable to buddy up a bit. Listening to the people who've been around for a while, who start managing the others... "You have to go up when they call your name" "You gotta ring the bell" "You only get one vaaaaahcher a day." "You'd phink they'd let us go by knaaaaw" "Have you pressed the button?" "It's quite choppy,  that sea." Sea, madam? That's the Thames. "It was calmer earlier." Tide. If a case gets this far then the CPS must be pretty confident they can get a result, so either they did it and they’re too daft.or arrogant to cop a plea, or they're being fitted up. Or it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. Pronunciation of names by the jury officer.  I know the list is the verbal equivalent of a united nations day out to a hall of funhouse mirrors... But put some effort in. At least with the ones that look even vaguely British. “You've got to have a look at them when they read out the charges. I phink you can tell straight away.” You should tell the judge - it'd save a lot of everyone's time. Jury officer is going through everyone's claims complaining that they could do it cheaper. Some poor old fella who caught the train here for £3.90 is getting bollocked for not using his freedom pass. The other office is taking the register today.... Every pronunciation sounds pretty good so far. Well, some of the African ones are sounding a bit vague. (Why not have a check in computer or something?  All seems very antiquated / paper heavy) An enormous woman who keeps going to the wrong place at the wrong time, through the wrong door, pressing the wrong button, asking the wrong people.... Asking the sandwich lady for the court details, asking the jury officer for a tea... The trackie tramp and the other grey long hair are sitting near the desk and she's having to tell them to pipe down... Twice. The trackie tramp made a long slow and ultimately fruitless pilgrimage to the vending machine.  It's fucking useless apparently. Tracking tramp's shouting at the WiFi.   He's also on the not called yet list. There's a grim inevitability about this.... Jury duty is perfect for people who want to tell strangers the stories your family are so bored of. * at this point they announced that anyone who hadn’t been called for a jury yet was probably getting out of the whole thing, but you had to call back on Friday to be sure * "When you fone up on Friday., I don't want to to hear your life story...." Larry David was first up for lunch again, and first up and complaining when we got released. Larry David hasn't handed anything in yet and is now arguing the toss... and slowing up the process of any of us getting out of here.

And with that...  I’m done.   Let’s hope they never call me up again.

[thesabbaticaldiaries-blog]

Thursday 27th July

The past week has passed so quickly, and it’s been amazing to see Andy. We can only blame the lack of blog posts on him!

Andy's visit - Wednesday 19th to Wednesday 26th July

After a long day of travel from Colombia (thankfully without the 5 hour stopover in Panama that was originally scheduled into our flight), we arrived in the capital San Jose late afternoon to meet Andy at the hostel. Patrick had been giddy all day at the prospect of seeing one of his besties and it was so surreal opening the door of the room to see a familiar face grinning back at us. Unfortunately Andy was more tanned after 10 days in Cuba than we were after 10 weeks in South America. We headed out for beers, dinner and catch ups and realising that the boys were wearing pretty much identical matching outfits.

On Thursday morning we had an early-ish start to catch our bus to La Fortuna which would be our base for the next 5 nights and the activities we had planned. We cut it very fine and with nobody yelling destinations at us from the minute we arrived at the bus station (a bit of a novelty) we had to ask a couple of English girls near the front of the queue to buy our tickets. Not content with how on the minutes we were, Andy decided to disappear to the loo just as the bus started boarding, cue Patrick and I waiting anxiously with the bags saying ‘where the hell is he?!’

Unfortunately the bus journey itself continued on a similar vein with a pretty uncomfortable 4 hours, and the horrible experience of having Megan’s rucksack stolen from the overhead luggage rack. We didn’t see it happen and only realised it was missing when we went to get off the bus in La Fortuna but we know 100% that it was there next to Patrick’s and that it had been taken, having desperately searched every other inch of the bus for any sign of it. At one point it was ridiculously busy with locals standing shoulder to shoulder in the aisle so it would have been quite easy for someone to move it along out of our sight above our heads. We were gutted to have been so unlucky and targeted so near the end of our trip, and it was with complete dread that we realised that with the bag our passports had also disappeared, alongside my kindle, sunglasses, make up bag, a few bits of clothing, my travel diary (thank god for the blog), our playing cards, a selfie stick and our yellow fever certificates. (Arguably Andy bought the bad luck with him!) What followed was a short trip to the local tourist police station to fill in a crime report - not that there was ever any hope of getting the bag back, but if nothing else it would allow us to make an insurance claim - and a phone conversation with both the UK and US Embassy’s in Costa Rica.

As if paying £100 for emergency travel documents to get us home in place of our passports, we’re also having to pay $150 for non-immigrant tourist visas for our US stopover/connecting flight which would see us spend less than 2 hours in New York. Great. We’re also having to spend an additional few days in San Jose to attend appointments at both Embassy’s to get all the documentation in place and we’ve had to change our plans for our last fortnight as we can no longer cross the border into Panama to the islands of Bocas del Toro for a few days.

After the shock was over and we’d checked into our hostel for the first two nights, we we were much in need of a swim and a drink. We also booked a full day’s hike around the Arenal Volcano for the next day - part one of the activities with Andy schedule for the week!

The following morning, after Andy’s bold choice of breakfast burrito, we were picked up at 9.30 and driven to the start of the hike. Our group was a mixed bunch, with a fair few Americans, some Dutch and one Mexican guy who initially came dressed in smart loafers and jeans. The walk started in the sunshine, with our guides Marcos and Emmanuel taking us along a dry river bed cut from the earth by lava, and pointing out amazing animals and plants along the way. After a pretty gentle stroll for about an hour, getting impressive views of the Arenal Volcano, the heavens opened. From our previous experiences in Colombia, we assumed it would be a short sharp shower but we turned out to be very wrong. For pretty much the next 6 hours it did not stop raining, sometimes being significantly harder than the showers we’ve had in most of the hostels we've stayed in. However, the rain made the hike through the rainforest really fun, as we climbed up and down the ridges of the volcano, slipping and sliding all the way. Some of the sections were very steep so we had to use a rope to pull ourselves up/ climb down, and we ended up soaked to the skin and ridiculously muddy (mainly due to Andy getting over excited). Megan impressed the guides again with her climbing ability and got yet another 'mountain goat' reference which she was very pleased (smug) with! On the other hand, the Mexican guy was struggling big time in his not so appropriate footwear (had changed out of his jeans by this point) but luckily also saw the funny side! Halfway along we stumbled across a big group of white faced capuchin monkeys, who were just as fascinated with us as we were with them, which was amazing. At the end of the walk, by which point we were completely soaked through, we were picked up from the 'viewpoint’ (only clouds for us), and taken to an area of hot springs to end the day. The part we entered was a hot river, which was constantly heated by the volcano, and we relaxed in a more sheltered bit as Emmanuel gave everyone a mud facemask and massage and Marcos passed round the cocktails. Could have only been bettered by a clear sky and a view of the stars. A really cool experience.

After getting back pretty late, we were knackered and drenched so we had an easy night of a few card games, leading to our second bit of bad luck, Andy’s phone smashing after it flew out of his pocket as he reacted wildly at losing poo head to Megan on the last card! Gutted.

On Saturday we moved hostels (for a bit of variety and to get away from the annoying French school children) and spent a day doing some much needed laundry, chilling in hammocks by the pool and booking more activities for the next few days. All three of us (!) also signed up to a free Yoga session at the hostel - Megan spent the hour looking completely graceful and the boys spent the hour grunting and moaning about how inflexible they were! That evening we played beer pong at the hostel and the boys went large before going home. Megan left them to it at about half 11 and left to their own devises Patrick and Andy drank each other under the table. The two of them stumbling into the room trying to be 'quiet’ and then proceeding to snore all night (if you thought sleeping with one man was bad, try sleeping with two) was quite hilarious.

On Sunday we’d booked to spend three hours zip-lining in/above the local jungle. We were collected from our hostel first thing and quickly arrived at the office to be fastened tightly into our harnesses and kit for the day. Patrick had the go pro fixed to his helmet which we hoped would capture some of the antics! The course was 13 zip lines of varying lengths through the rainforest canopy. After a quick intro to the pulley-harness system in Spanglish we were off, with Patrick taking the lead and Andy bringing up the rear. We all had a leather guard on our dominant right hands that we’d hold the wire with and which would allow us to brake. After nearly crashing into a tree at full speed on the first short trial line, Megan’s got switched out for a child’s guard as her hands were so small the adult version wouldn’t work! There was hardly any waiting around and as soon as you’d reach the platform at the end of one line, they’d clip you onto another and you’d set off in a different direction. It was amazing fun. After one of the longest lines we landed at a high platform and waited for the rest of the group to arrive before the instructors revealed a surprise Tarzan Swing that we could opt in or out of doing. With absolutely no idea what it would entail but no time to doubt it, Patrick was first up and before the instructor counted to three he’d been pushed off the platform into a free fall drop - shouting expletives as he fell. After what seems like an age the harness kicks in and you end up swinging like a pendulum. Megan went next and screamed just as loud, followed by Andy who was creepily silent! It was so exhilarating (read terrifying) and the adrenaline rush afterwards was amazing. After we’d finished the zip-lining we spent a couple of hours in the local hot springs resort where the pools were as hot as 39 degrees, and had some fun filming ourselves going down the water slides with the go pro.

On Monday, our last full day in La Fortuna, we set off for a day’s white water rafting on rapids that were level 3 and 4. We met a couple from London (Dave and Tricia) who were on their Honeymoon and both about to start their specialist doctor training, Dave in paediatrics and Tricia in trauma/A&E! They joined our Team GB boat and along with our guide Tom. After a 45 minute drive with a quick stop to buy beers for the way back, and a briefing on the rafting commands, we set off in life jackets and helmets. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take the go pro with us but the pictures they captured give a flavour of the experience - so so much fun, very wet, and very entertaining. Tom was fab and did loads of stuff to ensure we had a great time on the rapids, including leaving Patrick to dangle on a rope swing over the river! We did see a couple of boats from another company stuck in hairy positions (one on a large rock at the top of some rapids, and one upside down under a tree branch) which reminded us how dangerous white water rafting can be if you’re not with a good company/good guide.

After a couple of hours on the river we headed back to La Fortuna to the company’s organic farm, where we met a gorgeous puppy (happiest Megan has looked in weeks), had a really tasty traditional Costa Rican lunch, and tried fresh sugar cane liquor made in the farm.

Far too quickly our week with Andy was nearly over and on Tuesday we headed back on the four hour bus journey to San Jose and had a final farewell Chinese for dinner before Andy caught his flight on Wednesday morning… the start of a 27 hour journey for him back via Cuba and France to Cornwall! It has been amazing to spend the week with him - such good company and great times. It’s also been quite surreal to see somebody from home after so long and it felt quite weird not to be heading back to the UK with him.

Still without passports, the last few days for us have been a lot of waiting around in San Jose, with multiple trips to both the British and US Embassy’s to get emergency travel documents and visas. Over £200 each lighter (ouch), we’re hoping to pick our visas up today so that we can head off to the beach tomorrow (Friday) for our last 10 nights of the trip!