#don’t leave it on healthcare workers to pick up the pieces just because they were doing it before. do u think they had a choice?

[puppyeared]

Why are ppl scared to call it what it is and say we’re still going thru covid on top of seasonal illness. Like. That’s pretty important right. I was watching the news and they were like oh yeah we have an unprecedented number of flu cases “as well as other sicknesses” without actually saying Covid. No announcement abt vaccinations or masking or anything. Also if I hear someone joking abt “war flashbacks” for mentioning covid I fucking hate u

[kaqeyamas]

♡ —  folklore plots.

okay so, i just wanted to take a moment to make sure it’s known that these plots aren’t direct interpretations of the songs on taylor’s new album. they’re just ideas that i came up with based on little pieces of each song, or while listening to it!

The 1

give me a plot where muse a & muse b are exes. their relationship was actually pretty decent, despite muse b never showing enough attention or affection, hence why even after a year or two of being separated, muse a is still hung up on the other, and kind of searching for them in every new relationship and behind every corner. they were convinced they were the one, and seeing them again certainly hasn’t made that feeling go away at all??

Cardigan 

“but i know you, dancing in your levi’s, drunk under a streetlight” and i’m just picturing this pair of friends who have always kind of gotten into trouble, who were absolutely the type in high school to sneak out to get drunk and wander around town together, whether it lead to drunkenly adventuring the sidewalks of random streets in town, drinking and dancing along the way, or finding themselves at the local lake with half a bottle as they talk about everything and anything under the moon. they were literally like... night owls and that’s when their friendship really existed?? and maybe as adults, they haven’t seen each other in ages and when they do all of these old memories come back like “wow i was never that happy with anyone else??”

The Last Great American Dynasty 

toxic toxic toxic. these two bring out the absolute worst in one another, but one thing is certain -- the only way they were ever going to escape was if one of them died. muse a comes from money, and lives as such. expensive drinks, and infidelity. muse b is made into a monster in the town’s eyes, because they know of their partner’s cheating and they’re rightfully angry and upset, but they stick it out, because the money is too good to pass up on. it’s messy, and they’re constantly fighting, but when things are good? they’re so good. almost good enough to forget the bad. 

Exile 

muse a was growing restless in a relationship that felt like it was going nowhere, and muse b was oblivious to it, until it was too late. now muse a has a new partner, and muse b can’t stand it. but neither of them can truly shake the idea that they’re meant to be together -- muse b just needs to do something about it.

My Tears Ricochet 

i’m just not writing this one out because i honestly can’t think of anything that’s not super toxic, and that’s not my cup of tea. (TLGAD already is pushing it; sorry y’all!)

Mirrorball 

muse a has never truly felt like they fit in anywhere, until muse b shows up. they aren’t exactly sure what it is about them, but just being around them makes muse a want to be somebody completely new. whoever muse b would be interested in. making jokes to get noticed. wearing flashy outfits to keep their attention. but, at the end of the day, muse b thinks they’re perfect just as they are. this has super soft vibes and i’ll accept nothing less. 

Seven 

picture this -- they’re seven years old, and next door neighbors. fighting off monsters and building forts in their living rooms. their parents think they’re going to end up getting married when they’re older, and that probably would have been true, if muse b hadn’t switched schools senior year. fast forward ten years, and they run into muse a in their home town and every good memory comes flooding back because best friend love never dies.

August 

this is nothing more than a summer fling. (or is it??) muse a and muse b get to spend three months together, wrapped in the sheets and enjoying the sunshine together. making memories and ignoring the reality that they couldn’t last once the season ended (maybe one of them had to go back home in august) but they made those three months count in every moment. smiles and love songs and fall came in and stole it all away. (make it angstier by saying this fling only happened because muse b had broken up with their significant other before the fling started but by august, they want them back, leaving muse a heartbroken)

This is Me Trying 

muse a and muse b were head over heels. madly in love, and destined for it all. the big house, the happy family, wedding bells and all. until one drunken night, muse b makes the mistake of cheating on their partner. but they know they fucked up, and they’re not about to let the worst mistake they’ve ever made ruin the best thing in their life. they won’t go down without a fight, and if it takes apologizing for the rest of their life, they’d do it, just to get muse a back. lots of angst, and super sad. honestly?? i want this to make me cry.

Illicit Affairs 

make my whole life and give me a cheating plot. but not the kind of cheating plot that’s built on toxicity and mindless decisions!!! muse a is married and unhappy with somebody that doesn’t treat them right. maybe it’s abusive, maybe it’s just empty and the passion isn’t there? cue muse b, who lives down the street and has always made a point to wave and smile when they spot muse a outside, and their friendship builds to the point of sleeping together on accident. but it’s not a one time thing, or meaningless. they fall into bed because when they’re together, it’s the first time muse a has felt alive in ages, and suddenly they’re in a whirlwind romance, sneaking around to hook up and share little moments together. muse a feels guilty and shameful, muse b hates putting them in this position but is too attached to stop, and they both know that muse a’s marriage is going to implode if they get caught. -- but that’s not enough for them to give up. (make it interesting -- let them get caught?? END THE MARRIAGE!! give me angst.)

Invisible String 

you guessed it. this is a soul mates plot, and i’m not even sorry. muse a and muse b have never truly met, but their lives have always overlapped. whether it’s crossing one another in the grocery store, or sitting in a resturant at the tables that face one another. sitting in the same movie theater on opposite ends, or accidentally getting one another’s coffee at the local starbucks. after too many run ins, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities and the coincidences, and they decide to spend an evening together, getting to know one another -- and to nobody’s surprise -- they’re a perfect fit. muse a gets all of muse b’s jokes, and muse b likes all of muse a’s “flaws” and they’re just as dopey and gross as you’re probably imagining. 

Mad Woman

i’m not writing this one either.

Epiphany 

this one could go either way, and it’s entirely up to you and what fits your characters/what you feel most comfortable writing! muse a is either a soldier, or a healthcare worker. either way, they’ve both been through a lot, and seen more loss than any person should. but in a seemingly bleak world, muse b exists. the reason muse a works so hard. whether it’s somebody to come home from, after being overseas (if muse a is in the army!) or squeezing in time between doubles after a four car pile up came into the hospital (if muse a is a healthcare worker!), muse b is there to hold them, and remind them that there are good things left in the world and they’re just so healthy. 

Betty 

i’m just here to hurt myself at this point, but !!! give me a couple that everyone thought would make it. years together, and completely wrapped up in one another. they’ve been dating since high school, and now they’re about to enter their last year of college. muse a went back home for the summer, while muse b stayed at their apartment near campus. they stayed in touch, but as the summer progressed, muse b heard from muse a less and less, only to find out that muse a had spent the summer with somebody back home. when muse a finds out, they end things, but immediately regret it -- even if they won’t admit it. they’re just praying that muse b will come to their senses and come back. meanwhile, muse b is just trying to find the courage to face them, knowing that they only made this mistake because they were young, and thought they were bored of the “same old thing” even though it turns out nothing could ever compare to muse a. suddenly they’re at muse a’s front door in the middle of the night, knowing and hoping that they’ll get the love of their life back. (will muse b actually accept, despite how much they miss them? or will they slam the door?? will it be awkward if they get back together? will the trust ever come back??)

Peace 

muse a has always struggled with money, but when they fell in love with muse b, they swore they’d do whatever they could to provide the best life for them. but words don’t pay the bills. no matter how hard they work, it feels like they’re always struggling to keep their heads above the water. while the late fees build up, however, there’s no denying that their relationship is based on the purest love. the kind of love that leaves a person speechless. muse a would do anything for muse b, and vice versa. muse a constantly feels as though the other deserves better, because they want to give them more. give them everything, and they just can’t. but they don’t realize that for muse b, their love is enough. 

Hoax 

alright, so... this one’s not healthy. but, i’m writing it anyways because i’m in love with this idea?? SO muse a and muse b have been on and off for years. they’re always finding ways to hurt each other, whether it’s flashing their newest fling in the other’s face during the breaks, or picking fights for fun when they’re still together. when it’s bad, it’s so bad. but when it’s good, it’s so good, in ways that only make sense to one another, because no matter how many people they sleep with or relationships they break, they always find their way back to one another, convinced that there’s not a single person that understands them the way they do. they’d rather be angry and fight than be without one another. no matter how many times they call it quits, their hearts belong to each other and nobody can even begin to compare. make this more interesting by developing growth!! make them realize it’s not healthy! make them realize what they want, and that they have to work to have it! sacrifices and affection! real love! not just passionate sex and pillow talk secrets. not just years of history, but the effort to make it work because wasting times on their silly game just isn’t working anymore!

[tact-and-impulse]

With These Hands Chapter 11

Look, I say we’re ending 2020 with affection and fluff! Also, now that I know what it’s like working in a hospital, I can write this AU better, and this episode has heavy influence from my first night call shifts. For my fellow healthcare workers, because this was...a year. Here’s to staying safe in 2021!

The rest of this chapter is under the cut or on FF.net and AO3

Chapter 11: Endurance

Admittedly, Kenshin’s stomach dropped when he saw her. She was limp in her chair, arms dangling at her sides and her face turned away.

“Kaoru-dono?!” He rushed to her desk, panic overriding sensibility. But before he could touch her, her eyes snapped open and her right fist lashed out in a glancing blow that brought him to his knees. Acting on instinct, he latched onto the edge of her desk, elbow colliding with the hard surface. “Oro!”

At the contact, she blinked away her drowsiness. “Ken…shin? Oh, no! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” She sat up, her fingertips brushing his aching cheekbone. The pain was already fading, and he resisted leaning in.

“This one is fine. It was this one’s fault, surprising you.” He managed to answer. Despite how his skin was buzzing, he was not going to behave like a hormonal teenager.

“I still shouldn’t have punched you.” She withdrew, her voice full of concern. “I hope it won’t bruise.”

“There have been worse hits that this one has taken, so don’t worry.” And on that same side as well, he ruefully thought. “Are you still working?” It was already past seven.

“I’m on night call.” Her explanation contained no small amount of misery. “And I had a meeting in the afternoon, so I only got an hour of sleep before I came here. It’s going to be a long Thursday night; at least, I have the weekend off. What about you?”

“This one is also in the same situation, filling in for a colleague who was supposed to work tonight. There was a family emergency, so this one is here instead.”

“Oh, good. Not that you have to work on short notice,” She hastily added. “But we can keep each other company.”

“That’s true. It will be easier to stay awake.” He would have been content to stay at her desk; he had nothing urgent at the moment. But she did, as signaled by her blaring pager. She mouthed an apology, before taking the call. Leaving her to her responsibilities, he drifted back to his spot across the room, to print his list of patients.

***

He was reading the interim notes on his patients when she commented.

“By the way, I forgot to mention earlier. I like your scrubs.”

“Oro?” The faded magenta met his downward gaze. “These are very old.”

“But you look so cheerful! The other male doctors stick to blue or black.”

“So did this one, in the past. However, brighter colors can be comforting or distracting for the children, so that’s something this one can do for them.”

“You also can pull it off, because you’re an attending.” She pointed out, and he laughed.

“There’s nothing wrong with navy either.”

“It’s not navy, it’s indigo.” Grinning, she tugged the front of her scrub top. “But it’s my favorite color.”

“It suits you very well.” Belatedly, he wondered if that was harassment, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she blushed. At the sight, his own face warmed.

“Thanks.” For a heartbeat, the only sound was the humming of their computers. Abruptly stretching her arms over her head, she declared. “I need coffee. The cafeteria’s closed, but do you want anything from the vending machine?”

“This one can join you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy, and you can just text me.” They had already exchanged numbers, thanks to the group chat Misao had started for the workroom.

“No, it will be a long night and this one prefers not to stay in one spot.” He pocketed his pager and stood from his chair.

Her smile widened. “Yeah, I won’t argue with that. And I’m glad! It’s more fun with you.” Her blush had not faded, and his cheek tingled.

He replied honestly. “This one feels the same way.”

Unfortunately, the closest machine had its interior lights off and the glass front bore a paper sign. ‘Out of Order’ was written in large block letters, punctuated by a frowning face. If he had to guess, it appeared to be the handiwork of either Sano or Misao, perhaps even a joint effort.

“That’s a shame.” He said. “Should we search for another?”

“Sounds like a plan! Let’s hope the others are still functioning.”

Their workroom was at the injunction between the main building and the children’s hospital, so they had options. He allowed her to decide, and she headed for the pediatric side. She swiped her badge to access a corridor that was glass on both sides, from ceiling to floor.

“This part is one of the best, in my opinion. Well, at least during the day.” Outside, it was dark, except for the street lamps. Occasionally, a car zipped past on the road below, illuminating the surrounding greenery. But he understood her. When it was sunny, they were provided with a scenic view of the city beyond.

“Yes, it’s the closest we have to stepping out. It’s important to have something to look at, other than the interior of the building.”

“Right? I always feel more rejuvenated when I go through this way. Although, I do love the murals in the children’s hospital.”

“Which do you like best?”

“Hmm. I think the bamboo forest, on the sixth floor. The animals are cute, the pandas and the tanuki.”

“Also, because that is where shinai come from?” He innocently referred to her love for kenjutsu.

“Okay, a little bit.” But she laughed. “Well, which is your favorite?”

He already had an answer. “The fourth floor, with the countryside motif. It reminds this one of his childhood.”

“You were a country boy?”

“In the Kansai region, yes. However, it has been almost twenty years since this one lived there. This one doesn’t even remember the closest town. We did grow rice and vegetables, and there were some chickens.” He pieced together the fragmented memories. “But it was a very long time ago.”

“It must have, I couldn’t tell at all.” She was thoughtful, and he realized he might have shared too much. But she didn’t pry, instead asking. “Did you have any baby chicks?”

“Not that this one can remember.”

“That’s too bad.” Disappointment showed on her face.

He smiled. The image of Kaoru, cradling fluffy chicks in her arms, was sweet.

In a corner near an empty waiting area, they finally found a working vending machine. Kaoru cheered at its presence, peering within to decide on her snacks. She was terribly adorable, depositing her change and punching the buttons. Holding her coffee and a package of chocolate-covered biscuits, she beamed. “Alright, your turn!”

As she walked past, he caught the scent of jasmine flowers. Too subtle to be perfume, it must have been her shampoo. He thought it was pleasant.

“Kenshin? Aren’t you going to buy something?”

He jolted, realizing he hadn’t moved. “A-ah, yes.” Breathing deeply to settle his nerves, he chose a bottle of green tea, and the same cookies she picked. She had already opened her drink and sipped it as they walked back.

“Whew, I feel a lot better.”

“That’s good. You need your strength for the hours ahead.”

“Yeah. I still wish I had more sleep, but I just remind myself that at least, I’m not in one of the hospital beds. That was much harder.”

“And now, you’re here. Your patients are extremely fortunate to have you, because you understand what it must be like.”

Her blush had returned in full force. She nodded, before her brows drew together. “Wait-”

Overhead, the loudspeaker crackled, calling for a medical response team. They both stopped, listening attentively. The alert meant that a patient’s condition was deteriorating. He checked his list as the room number was announced. It did not belong to any of his charges, and judging from how Kaoru exhaled, it wasn’t any of hers either. But elsewhere, someone was struggling and their colleagues were doing everything they could to save them.

As they approached familiar walls, it was his pager’s turn to vibrate, and reluctantly, he excused himself.

***

After midnight, he had one emergency surgery, for a patient that had gone into hemorrhagic shock. Two hours later, he emerged from the operating room, the worst outcome kept at bay. He ordered for two units of blood, to be transfused if the patient was anemic, and headed back to the workroom.

Kaoru had her earbuds in, obviously engrossed. Upon his entrance, she removed them and greeted him. “Hey, Kenshin. How’d it go?”

“Well enough. The patient is stable for now, but this one will keep a close eye. Did you have any new admissions?”

“Just one in the emergency room, who’s waiting to be placed in a room, but it seems like a straightforward case. History of glycogen storage disorder, so I’ve been reading up.”

“This one didn’t realize articles were accessible on CD.” He had noticed the small player next to her keyboard, that had appeared in his absence.

“Oh, no, this is an audiobook. It’s an old one, I already know all the twists. I only replay it because of the narrator.” Her expression became very fond.

“Ah.” Inwardly, he was caught off guard, but he maintained a neutral face. “Is he a good actor?”

“I think she was. This book is one of my mother’s recordings, after all. Would you like to hear her?”

Somewhat embarrassed, he agreed, and she transferred the CD to her computer. Momentarily, a woman’s gentle voice filled the air. Her cadence and intonation were similar to Kaoru’s, and she switched between characters with impressive ease. It seemed to be an anthology of short stories.

“You were not wrong; her performance is wonderful.”

“I’m glad you think so! She’d be happy to hear that, if she were alive.” Kaoru clarified. “She had lupus, and she passed away from kidney failure when I was young. She couldn’t get a transplant in time. The Mirror Wing in the main hospital is named for her.” The dialysis unit was located there.

“You must miss her.”

“I do, but at least, I have Okaa-san in this way. Not many people can say the same.”

He definitely couldn’t. Then, the staccato beeps of her pager interrupted them again. He was beginning to dislike that particular ring.

By three in the morning, Kaoru was starting to falter. She was continuing to type on her computer, but her head nodded and she occasionally jolted, unconsciously trying to stay awake.

“Kaoru-dono.”

“Hmm?” Her gaze lifted, though not quite focusing.

“Please, get some rest. The work can wait.” He gently said. “This one can turn the lights off, if that would help.”

“Would you? That’d be really nice.” She murmured.

He flipped the switches, leaving the glow of his monitor. “If there was a bed, that would be better.”

“It’s okay. Hospital beds aren’t very comfy.” She certainly spoke from experience. She opened one of her desk drawers, taking out a spare surgical mask. “Please don’t tell anyone else in your department.”  Before he could inquire further, she proceeded to wear it over her face, and it was large enough to cover her eyes.

He had to stifle his laughter. “This one promises.”

It was uneventful afterwards, without beeping pagers or loudspeaker announcements. He lasted another hour and a half, before he felt the familiar pull of exhaustion. He logged off and sat back in his chair. He could never fully sleep while on the job. That was especially true now, with Kamiya Kaoru in the same room, softly breathing.

It was Director Kamiya who had offered him a place at Kamiya Kasshin, while he was still working for Katsura. He had been disillusioned and burnt out, entertaining ideas of quitting medicine. He was too ashamed to talk to Hiko, but he caved to the “fates” as his guardian liked to refer to them. Akane, Kasumi, and Sakura had sat him down, persuading him to take the new job before deciding anything further. Akane was particularly fervent, she had never liked Katsura.

So, he had accepted the position and adjusting to the new work environment occupied him. Then, the accident happened. It was on a night not too different from this one, and he had also been on call. He heard there was a group of people, on the phone with the director at the crash site, trying to obtain details. He had run to that desk, preparing to encourage the man who had helped him so far. It was at the other end of the hospital and he was relatively late, everyone else mobilizing for the victims’ arrival. When he picked up the phone, he was out of breath. “Kamiya-dono?”

Instead of Director Kamiya’s voice, there was a young, feminine one. Choked with tears, but still strong. “Hello? Please, can you hear me?”

One fateful conversation, and she reminded him of what he loved about his profession. But she didn’t seem to remember. That was alright, the memory was wrapped up in tragedy, and he didn’t want to hurt her. Getting to know her was enough. Even after six years, she was very much the same woman he had spoken to. Compassionate, brave, honest.

Hiko, being his usual infuriating self, had accused him of having a crush, although Kenshin was disgruntled. Not that Kaoru wasn’t attractive, but it was not the point. It wasn’t a crush, he was immensely grateful to Kaoru as well as her late father, for his current life. Originally, he was trying to repay their kindness, in what little he could manage on his part. So far, he enjoyed spending time with her, even when on call. Around her, and for that matter, their other workroom colleagues, he felt at ease in a way that he hadn’t experienced in decades.

But if she asked about him��? He hadn’t decided what he would do yet.

***

Kenshin slowly emerged from his trance. The blinds had been opened, the sky pink with dawn. He clicked his mouse and the monitor lit with the time. Just past six. Night call was almost over.

Kaoru’s chair was empty, and he drowsily recalled her rummaging about, before the door closed. She must have gone to pre-round on her patients, to check on them before meeting with the rest of her team. He hoped they would let her go before noon.

He relayed the night’s events to the day shift’s surgeon, who insisted that everything would be taken care of and please get some rest, Dr. Himura. But he went to check on his shock patient, who was thankfully stable. Then, the parents arrived in the waiting area, and he took the opportunity to speak to them. By the time he returned to retrieve his things, it was already ten. Kaoru was also there, greeting him as if she hadn’t spent the night at the hospital.

“Morning, Kenshin!”

“Good morning. How were your rounds?” He inquired, clearing his desk.

“Quick, thank goodness.”

“And how are you?”

“I feel fine. Well, I know it’s fake, I’ll probably crash once I get home. I’m just going to submit my notes, and then, I’ll go.” She didn’t sit down, her eyes glued to her screen as she logged in. A few clicks, and then, she grabbed her bag. “Done! Geez, I’m ready to leave.”

“Good work, Kaoru-dono.”

“You too.” Despite how little she must have slept, her smile was as radiant as ever. “But you’re still here? I thought you would have been out by now.”

“This one had a few tasks, but this one was just about to leave as well. After you.” He urged her ahead of him. They shared an elevator down, luckily without any stops.

“Have you already eaten breakfast?” She asked.

“This one had a leftover rice ball. The cafeteria is…” His weary mind searched for a word that would be appropriate.

“I know, I really want Tae to expand her hours, but she can’t while she has her regular job. I think I have cup ramen in my pantry.”

“Next time, this one will bring enough onigiri to share.”

“Next time?” She repeated, emphasizing the implication of another call shift in the near future, but she was laughing. “Would they have caffeine in them?”

He smiled at her. “For you, this one will make an exception.”

Her cheeks grew pink. “Thank you, I’ll look forward to it.” After a pause, she added. “What would even be inside such onigiri? Instant coffee?”

Matcha powder actually, but he needed to perfect that recipe. “It would be a surprise.”

“Geez!”

They passed the lobby, and bright sunshine filled his vision. After spending so long in the hospital, it was a relief to be out in the open again. The cloudless sky was an immaculate blue, the fresh air crisp. Beside him, Kaoru sighed, her lips curving. The wind tossed her ponytail, and she shoved her hands in her pockets, continuing on. Suddenly aware that he was staring again, he picked up his feet. Then, they were already at the garage and had to part ways. Work had truly ended.

“Drive safe and sleep well! I’ll see you on Monday!” She waved and he did the same.

“Take care.”

There was no traffic, and his empty apartment was cool. It was quiet as he meticulously cleaned his belongings. As he walked to his bedroom, he barely made a sound. The shower seemed too loud, and so did the hair dryer. Slipping between his clean sheets, he noticed the lack of scent. After leaving his glasses on his nightstand, he checked his phone again. Nothing new, which was supposed to be good. He hovered over Kaoru’s name in the group chat. Well…it wouldn’t hurt. His thumb pressed down, and he began to type.

This one hopes you returned home without issue and that you have a relaxing weekend.

With the message sent, he locked the screen. She could reply on her own time.

And at last, he closed his eyes.

[saundraswriting]

Need Some TLC Chapter 1: Home

SUMMARY: Reader is a Registered  Nurse in a city hospital. She works usually 3-11pm but sometimes works 11pm-7am. Lately though without the necessary staff, she is asked if she could pick up any overtime hours as a nurse or a nursing assistant/patient care tech. Never one to abandon her patients she complies working more and more and more. Without much family or friends to keep her and her workaholic tendencies in check, her neighbors step in. Sargent James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes-AKA the Winter Solider and his best friend Captain Steve Grant Rogers-AKA Captain America begin passively helping, leaving food on her doorstep, making sure she can walk from the elevator to her place in one piece, keeping tabs on her whereabouts and even using their heighten senses to ensure her personal safety behind the walls. When a fire drill doesn't wake you Bucky Barnes takes matters into his own hands, with Steve and The Avengers' help of course.

WARNINGS: NONE for this chapter

PAIRINGS: Bucky Barnes x Reader      Steve Rogers x Tony Stark

SERIES MASTERLIST // NEXT

CHAPTER 1 (Also on AO3 Here)

The elevator was quiet, blissfully quiet. Completely devoid of the talking, typing, clicking, clacking, cart-rolling, pill-passing noise of the general medicine floor of the hospital you worked at. The bright fluorescent lights were the only thing keeping you awake. If your state of being was to be considered awake, you leaned heavily on the back wall of the elevator using it to keep upright. Swaying, your blinks were long and frequent, pushing off the fatigue until the last possible minute. You were almost home, after your fourth 16-hour shift in a row, you had your fist day off in ten or twelve days. The money from working so much overtime was nice but it left you tired down to your mitochondria.

Finally, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. You stumbled out and onto your floor paying no attention to anything other than the floor in front of your feet, keeping ahold of all your belonging and finding your key. Your shuffling gait was in a direct collision course with one of the occupants from the other room on the floor. You shuffled on, not aware of him at all.

“Jeez, Y/N, are you okay?” Sargent James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes asked as he side-stepped your swaying shuffle.

“I’m fine. Jus’ tire’ is all.” You slurred. You came to a rough halt, not wanting to lose a moment with you floormate. You didn’t dare turn around knowing that you would see stars.

“Did you work all night again? Do you need some help getting to your room?” Bucky looked at you back, noticed your light trembling and swaying. “Never mind, I am helping you to your room. Give me your keys please, Y/N.”

“No. I can’t let my patients suffer.” You fisted the keys to your apartment, which was across from the one Bucky shared with the one and only Steve Grant Rogers-or as most knew him, Captain America-and lurched away from him. You tried to put more effort into speaking so the slurring wouldn’t be too heavy, a day nurse had told you that you were practically unintelligible. Your suddenly clear speech did not distract him from the fact it took you three tries to fit you key in the lock.

“What am I going to do with you?” Bucky sighed. You figured it was rhetorical and even if not, it was getting harder to stay awake. Bucky nudged you out of the way, unlocking your door for you and guided you in. You inelegantly threw your stuff on the counter, heaving a deep sigh.

“SArgent Barnes, thank you for helping me get home. I should be fine from now. I am going to sleep a bit and get a shower. I am off today. I hope.” You faced James totally, wanting to convey your thanks properly. “I don’t mean to be such a burden to you. Let me know how I can repay you.” You flashed him a bright grin.

Bucky felt his breath catch. Even run down as you were, even dressed in wrinkly and smelly and sweaty and stained scrubs, your hair a greasy pile on your head and speech almost undecipherable. You were beautiful.

“Repay me? Y/N, there is no need. You are my friend. You are Steve’s friend. I am doing what anyone should do, being a nurse is hard and demanding on a full-time schedule, let alone the insane one you have.” Bucky said. You just shook your head and smiled.

“Fine, you win, mister. Now, if you don’t mind, I need a shower and to clean up my apartment and a nap. So, go do your ‘Avengers’ thing.” You made a shooing motion with your hands. Bucky held his up and walked backwards out the door laughing lightly.

“You shouldn’t lie to your elders. That isn’t polite. If you need me just knock. We just got back from a mission. Steve is still at the compound, but I came straight here” Bucky said. “Do you want anything to eat? I can whip up some eggs for you. You are looking a little thin.”

“I’m not ‘ungry. Have a few chores. Then sleep. Later?” You were slurring again. Bucky took your answer as a question. From sharing your floor, the last few months, he knew you were prone to skipping meals too often.

He and Steve used their heightened senses to keep track of you. Left to your own devices you slacked in the self-care department. He had learned that you worked 3pm-11pm most days but some days it was 7pm-7 am or even 3pm-7am, and the latter seemed to be happening more and more frequently. He knew you didn’t have much family or friends to alleviate the workaholic tendencies you displayed.

“Okay, Y/N. Why don’t you come over for dinner? We can watch Blue Planet. If you need us, we are across the hall.” Bucky offered.

“Thank you again, Sargant Barnes. Without your help I would still be sitting in the hall asleep.” You focused on his face once more. He peered closely at you and seeming to believe that you weren’t in danger of passing out, He ruffled your messy hair and left. He closed and locked the door behind himself.

The second the door shut it felt as if he took all the liveliness with him. You sagged where you stood, exhaustion catching up with you. You looked around and sighed, your place looked like a goblin had been living here for a month. The last two and half weeks especially had been rough on your floor at the hospital, being a general medicine floor, you took anyone eighteen years or older for anything at all. You could have a 20-year-old with the flu or an 89-year-old with a fresh hip replacement. You had the beds for any patient the hospital had to admit that didn’t need a specialty room (unless overflow happened). The floor had 60 beds for usually 6 nurses and 8 nurse aides, however, there was a low supply and high demand for healthcare workers. Recently, you have been the nurse for 30 patients and having to help the aides since there are only four or five of them a night. And even shorter staff on the overnight shift, leading to you picking up or needing to stay over because no one was there to relieve you. You also picked up shifts as a nursing assistant or patient care tech, believe that no nurse is above their aides and you understand you patients better.

“Okay, let’s get changed and then shower. We can clean up after that.” You nodded firmly, pulling from the almost empty energy stores to get moving.

You pulled off your filthy scrubs, not even beginning to identify the mysterious stains and added them to the dirty laundry. After a quick shower you pulled on sweatpants and a shirt, feeling like a functioning member of society and not a dirty trash goblin. You gathered all your dirty clothes and began on of the many loads of laundry, while that went you did dishes and cleaned out the fridge, took out the trash, changed sheets, swapped the throw blankets on the chair and couch. You even wrote a grocery list for the next week or two. After doing a second load of laundry you called it quits. It was 9:30 in the morning and you needed some sleep before tackling the rest of your chores.

“Two melatonin and two-night ibuprofen should do the trick. I can sleep. I can sleep and not have to get up for work until tomorrow.” You said to yourself. You took the medication and curled up on the couch with David Attenborough lulling you to sleep.

“Some arteries of the blue whale of big enough for adult humans to swim through.” Was the last thing you heard.

Masterlist // Next

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Welcome to my first published Bucky Barnes X Reader fic. I am very attached to this. I wrote a lot of myself into this story. I am a Certified Nursing Assistant near Pittsburgh, PA. So I have some experience but I work with the elderly in a nursing home. Please leave a comment or kudos, I am not sure how well received this will be, and I don't really know what I am doing.

[matildainmotion]

A Quiet Blog on Paradox in the time of Covid

While the streets are quiet the volume of online noise is terrific. News, articles, tweets, blogs, zoom meetings, online offerings of classes, shows, concerts and more. I am attracted and repelled by them. I want to take part and I also feel silent amidst the din. Thousands of people with thousands of thoughts. I dive in and out, make quick raids into the online crowds. I am humbled, moved, alarmed, angered, frightened by what I read. I am not sure I have anything to add. I don’t feel qualified and I do not want to contribute to the noise. But I have committed to writing a blog a month and it is a new month. My son would not let us forget April Fool’s Day – he superglued a five pence piece to the bathroom floor. Despite the fact that time is slowing, slurring in strange ways now, I know that April has begun – I am reminded whenever I see, and nearly stoop to pick up, the silver coin lying near the loo. So here I am writing a new blog, wondering if it is possible to whisper online. I want to write something quiet.

           Many people are writing lists. It is what we do when we feel overwhelmed. When we do not know what to do, we write ‘to do’ lists. Along with these and the shopping list of hard-to-get-items, I have started a new list recently, not a ‘to do’ list but a list of things that undo me, an undoing list. It is a list of opposites, contrasts and contradictions. I am going to share this list with you in an attempt to write something quiet, because ultimately it is a list of things that leave me silent. Here it is:

Health/ Death:

It starts with the big and frightening contrast that the virus plays out: some people have it and never know, while others die from it. Covid-19 is harmless. Covid-19 is fatal. Both of these are true. And whatever turns out to be true for you (no symptoms, mild ones, odd ones, severe ones) everyone has to hold and navigate these two truths. In our household we have all been ill. We are not yet better. I have no idea what illness we have had. It has been scary and it keeps dragging on so I feel in the fantastic murky middle between the two truths of it all being fine and it all being fatal.

One other contradiction within the virus itself: one of the ways in which Covid-19 can get serious, so I have read, is when the immune system overreacts in a ‘cytokine storm’ – it is an overaction that causes more damage. Sometimes our attempts to make things better, make them worse.

No Work/ More Work:

Whilst some people are stopping, their diaries emptying, their work cancelled, others are working superhumanly hard - key workers, those providing healthcare or food. My husband and I are not key workers. We are both at home. We try to order a delivery of food because we live with my mother and she is in the extra-vulnerable-Covid category and so we must self-isolate. No sites work- all the food delivery websites have notices explaining that they are working round the clock to meet the extra demand. Some will remember this as a time when they sat at home. Others as a time when they could barely make it home. Work has stopped, like never before. Work is speeding up, like never before. These are both true.

Action/ Inaction:

There is a contradiction within the very language used to underscore the importance of the lockdown. ‘Save Lives,’ we are told, an imperative that implies heroism, courageous actions and brave adventures. And what heroic action must we take? To stay home. Those of us who are not key workers must be brave enough to do nothing. We must actively work at having no adventures, if possible not even to the shops and back. We must be courageous. We must do nothing. These are both true too.

Isolation/ Connection:

When I go out for our daily walk, if we see anyone else, we carefully keep away from them, yet say hello. Before the pandemic we would have walked nearer but ignored them. Now we are social distancing yet socialising. Isolating yet connecting. This is also happening online. We are staying separate, together.

Ordinary/ Extraordinary:

Littered amidst those thousands of online articles are the words ‘unprecedented,’ ‘challenging’, ‘crisis,’ ‘extraordinary.’ I am therefore struck when I go out to empty the recycling, by how ordinary the world still looks. Of course this links to my not being one of those key workers – I am sure the inside of a hospital does not look ordinary right now, but our lane does. It is quieter but no different to normal. The silver birches and the oaks opposite, the dustbins to the left, the last of the logs from the winter’s store, the gravel on the driveway – nothing looks unprecedented. I try to imagine going out and knowing nothing of what is going on in the world, and I wonder how long it would take me to notice that everything has changed, forever. Everything is different. Everything looks just the same.

Panic/ Calm.

Linked to the above, there is a strange mix of anxiety and stillness present. Less planes, less cars, less people rushing about the streets - peace and quiet. And panic. Panic buying. Panic phone calls. Panic internet searches. Last week the backs of my hands turned red and my skin began to crack. After a session of anxious googling I realised I had developed hand dermatitis from so much hand-washing. My skin was panicking. The world is calmer. The world is deeply worried.

Empty/ Full

The days are empty. Empty of school, meetings, rehearsals, visits, cafes, outings. And yet full. Full of each other, of the simple getting through-ness which is all-consuming. Full of helping the children to sleep and to wake, finding clean clothes, making meals. Full of putting the cushions back on the sofa, retrieving the toys from under the table, of watching My Little Pony, of writing when I can, of walking when we can, of working out how to order in supplies. It is after midnight by the time I get to bed. The days pass. I have nothing in my diary, but when someone asked me when they could call me, I was not sure when to suggest because I am busy. There is nothing to do. There is everything to do.

Heaven/ Hell

Some people with whom I have connected online (again the not-key-workers amongst us) have said that they are having a wonderful time. Even that it is somewhat idyllic. I see it too - and feel slightly threatened by - the images of other families that go out online, the lovely creative lockdown projects in which others are engaged. I understand it. For once our family is altogether - my husband is not away. The craziness of the world as it was before has suddenly stopped. We have our heavenly moments- when the children make Pharaoh headdresses out of cardboard boxes with my husband, when we all go out for our daily walk and play jumping-on-each-others’-shadows on the grass. 

And then my son has one of his meltdowns, or my daughter. Then someone is furious, someone else in tears. The trauma underway within the world unlocks, in lockdown, all the trauma present within our family’s history. I read of how domestic abuse is on the rise - of course it is. There is nothing idyllic about a pandemic.  

There are heavenly moments, there are hellish moments, every day. 

Grief/ Hope

There is huge grief. So much loss – of lives and livelihoods. Loss of mothers, fathers, of sisters, brothers, lovers, wives, husbands. Loss of grandparents. Loss of children. Loss of work. Loss of projects in the pipeline. My husband works in theatre – all the shows are cancelled. I have been working on a novel for the last 8 years - I have been wondering whether the story I am telling will still make sense in the world now. There is the loss of the spring and summer we were going to have. The holiday. The grand plan. The loss of the world we knew.

There is great hope. People are uniting, supporting one another, showing extraordinary kindness, bravery and dedication. The skies are clearer, the carbon emissions lower, the unsustainability of our lives and the potential to stop the world and make huge changes fast has been unexpectedly, dramatically demonstrated.

Even the weather is part of this contrast: there is a worldwide pandemic in motion and the days are glorious. Sunshine, blue skies, buds, birdsong and death. Every day more death. Every day more sun.

As this pandemic is affecting everyone, it makes me think of everyone and of their different stories. It is a game I used to play even before this happened, to make myself imagine how in this moment someone is dying, and someone else is being born. But at present it seems more potent, more real, the certainty that there are people in deep grief, whilst for others the sudden change to their routines will have enabled a reunion, a love affair. People are dying because of Covid-19. People will be born because of Covid-19. There is so much to grieve the loss of. There is so much to hope for.

That is my list of opposites to date. Opposites are not new. They are not a sudden startling appearance as a result of this pandemic. Opposites are as old as us. We organise our thoughts around them, our language, our culture. The difference right now is not even in their extremity – we have long lived in a world of painfully extreme polarities, of rich and poor, right wing, left wing, and most recently, Brexiteers versus Remainers. The difference now is that more of us are being forced to hold the other, the opposite within ourselves – to embrace the contradictions. Usually our impulse is to take one side, make someone else into the opposition. But now our main opponent, front and centre of the news, is a tiny invisible thing that lives inside us. And it could be in any of us, no matter our gender, economic status, sexuality, religion, race. The opposition is not over there, on the other side. It is literally within us. On our hands. In our lungs. It is taking our breath away. All the wonder, all the horror, of this phrase is true.

These contradictions are paradoxical. Paradox is not paracetamol. It does not lower fevers. It is not a disinfectant, but I do think it is cleansing on some level. Paradoxes are powerful. They disturb, disrupt and ultimately leave me quiet, with nothing to add, because it has already all been said. Both sides have spoken. Both sides are true. What more is there to say? And after this dumbfounded silence, what comes next? I do not know. But I think not-knowing is the best thing we can do right now – those of us that are not nurses or doctors, the not-at-all-key workers like me. I think the best thing I can do is to sit in lockdown, being unlocked, undone by contradictions. Not deciding what the world will be like next but letting the world work on me, after all the devastating work that I, and all the rest of us, have done upon the world.

Usually my blogs end in ‘a question for the month,’ specifically for those who are part of the Mothers Who Make network. This month I am not sure what to ask because I do not want to move too quickly onto answers. Solutions. To-do lists. I do not yet want to fix everything, make it right, because the wrongs need honouring. I also notice I have written less about my mothering this month, less about my making. Usually I relate everything back to these themes, but I suppose it is part of the undoing of opposites that I am not singling myself out as a mother right now, or as a maker. My husband is at home – usually he is not. Usually we are fixed in our opposing roles. But right now he is caring for the children in our tiny garden, while I write this, quietly, in the living room. So, this month, I think all I want to ask everyone, anyone, whoever you are, is simply this: How are you? How are you doing?

If you wish to answer this then one way might be to join us via Mothers Who Make’s new weekly international peer support meetings, every Tuesday, via Zoom. Every kind of mother is welcome to join, with their children in the background, or the foreground, or running in between. At the end of the month we are going to host one for parents and carers too, regardless of gender, in recognition of the ways in which the current crisis is challenging many of our usual roles and divisions. And I don’t know anyone who is not a carer at this moment - someone who cares. Come and join us. On a Zoom call there is a button in the corner of the screen that you can press to mute yourself, so you can be quiet online, as silent as you like, and then, if you wish, you can unmute yourself and tell us how you are.

[badmousestuff-blog]

Is TAXATION THEFT

(SHOTS OF ME OPENING A LETTER)

Mmm Money. Oh hello there, Badmouse, I was just enjoying the sweet sweet smell of the British Payslip, nah its pretty bland, this one here’s from a job I had about 2 years ago, ah memories, memories, memories…. (Sees Tax) I’ve been stolen from.

£50 taken from me! Money that I don’t even get to decide how it gets spent, 1 vote every 5 years out of 2 preselected jerks every 5 years I wouldn’t call a great turnaround. We don’t tolerate thieves coming into our houses and stealing our prized possessions, why do we allow the Federal government to do the same?

(British Mouse appears) We don’t have a Federal Government in Britain, you poser twat.

Rational Mouse: Maybe I can be of assistance.

Its not really ‘THEFT’ though is it? Its a lot less of this “Gimmie your money, of you’ll die!” And a lot more of this “Gimme your money, and I’ll give you, Mrs Piggy Winkle.

IrM: Still Theft Buddy! If one man steals from you, is that Theft? What about 5? What if they buy the man a hamburger and give him a vote? Is that not still the…

MYOPIA ———————————————

RM: This is Myopic and Archaic guff dude

(Irrational Mouse Gasps)

This isn’t how the form of governance we now inhabit came to be anyway, its like that Who will Pick the Cotton without slaves analogy when you compare it to Roads.

Its conflating a systemic transport basis, to a generalised commodity thats sold many times over. They’re not the same thing, theres a very obvious reason why business prefers state run roads the same way industrialised economies prefer state run schools. You’re sort of neglecting why these things came to emerge in the first place. Is it it any coincidence that most of the toll roads started being gutted when Feudalism came to a close?

IrM: Who even are you?

RM: Oh, I’m RATIONAL MOUSE

IrM: So that means I’m…

(RM does the Jack Nicolson eyebrows)

IRRATIONAL MOUSE… Well thats not fair is it?

RM: Look just read the script bud, y’know how it ends

IrM: Fucking writers, you don’t do anything…

RM: Excuse me

IrM: The state has been showcased to be an incredibly inefficient, bureaucratic nightmare, that can never innovate like the market can, it wastes too much of its money, I mean have you seen the state’s attempts to be cool, they couldn’t even make a Millennium Dome profitable.

EFFICIENCY ———————————————

RM: Well you’re right on profits but apart from that its pretty much all Chicago School taft

(IrM gasps)

So many of us have a distrust for the public sector these days, its really no wonder seeing as for the past 40 years men in suits have done an active push of erasing the private sector defects by blaming the state. Quite interestingly, and surprisingly for a lot of leftists, the state sector is actually very efficient, especially when it comes to R&D.

IrM: Blow me

RM: No, I’m serious, wide spread free at the point of use services benefit amazingly from economics of scale. https://newint.org/features/2015/12/01/private-public-sector http://www.psiru.org/sites/default/files/2014-07-EWGHT-efficiency.pdf

Let me put it this way, what seems more efficient to you. Have 10 businesses all competing to not to make the best product, but to win them over to you, you can’t just ask them. In order to do that you’ve gotta come up with some snazzy designs, aesthetically pleasing logos, a funky marketing gimmick, before long you’re spending so much dough in marketing you’re not even interested in helping people, just getting yourself seen. Or You could just have one org that does all of that stuff, it doesn’t need to compete. Sounds to me like a lot of hands that could be spend doing R&D.

IrM: Thats investment not waste, besides R&D is the definition of the private sector … Yea?

RM: No. The private sector utilises R&D a lot, but effectively every piece of GPT was created in the public sector. Yes Samsung made this phone, but who made the battery that goes in it? Why is the state sector significant? TIME. Companies flock new models of these out every year to keep the money train rolling, and most importantly keep faith with their shareholders. Makes them flimsy, crappy, liable to break. But GPT takes decades not years to bring it up to commercial satisfaction. Do you really think that  shareholders are gonna give you investment with the tagline of “Coming this summer. 2047”

Fact remains, we’ve had plenty of time to analyse the effects of the free-market and what we find is theres hardly any greater efficiency.

IrM: You’re really getting off topic here, okay fine businesses want roads, the market isn’t as efficient as I thought, it doesn’t mean that taxes are moral.

WHY BASE AN IDEOLOGY AROUND IT? —————————————————————

Fair enough, the government sure as hell does take my money through a warm gun doesn’t it?

But for the vast majority of us… its really small, like in my pay check I only lost 1/20th of my monthly income, and sure its annoying not being able to spend that on the latest gamer game or a lush soap but I am getting free healthcare, an education, a polli… I’m getting firemen, ROADS, libraries, Society. If thats worth £50 a month then fuck me daddy I’m ready.

(BRITISH MOUSE gasps)

Point here is, you’ve got no semblance basing your entire ideology around something so insignificant, especially when the majority of us will not be owners we’ll be workers and buyers. Now I’m no normie, I know that a lot of this just goes on corporate warfare, IMF loans, and bailouts. But I recognise that thats part of the system we live in and sadly we have to hang on to what we’ve got whilst the very government I am under is selling it all off to the highest bidder. Don’t want things getting worse do I?

IrM: Yeahh its not a significant thing to base your ideology around, but you’re not getting the point, Taxation is still THEFT!

RM: Ok.

IrM: (Puzzled) eh… No, Taxation is Theft.

RM: Well at this point does anyone care about the views of an An-cap. Come back to reality dude.

(Blinding light)

IrM: The right of a man to own his own own property is a right ordained by common natural law prerequisite to our beings here on earth, through the self-ownership of a person’s own oneself, by natural exclusivity to the creation of ethics and rule of law, as prescribed in first principles, to disagree is literal rape and medieval iceland an…

RM: Alright I get it, you want a wibbly wobbly philosophical answer. Look I could the Positive/Negative rights shit if you want, Kant and Moral hierarchies if we want, I really don’t think folks give a damn about that right now, besides theres probably better people who could do that job than me (Olly)

I think when the dust has settled it all comes down to taxes being negligible compared to what you defend.

IrM: Huh?

RM: Exploited Labour

IrM: Huh, there is no exploitation, if I want someone to pick my potatoes…

EXPLOITATION IN 45 SECONDS

A man has £10 worth of Capital, he uses this to buy raw materials. He pays a wood turner to turn this wood into a chair worth £50. For this he pays the labourer £10. The turner therefore has to make 5 chairs in this arrangement in order to buy 1 of them for himself. You don’t gotta be a genius to see theres a disconnect going on here…

Remember my old pay check? I made about £1000 a month, Now as you…

IrM: Why do you keep leaving? I’m in here?

RM: I got £1000 a month, in an average day we made £1500 worth of goods, generally there were 3 people there each day. Divided by all of us thats £500 each. Now I’m gonna be super generous and say that only half of that is profit, that brings us up to a daily average of £250, but I only saw £60. Whats going on here?

IrM: You decided to take that job…

RM: No I didn’t it beats eating ass omelettes for a living.

I’m not denying its very liberal estimate it is, but £190 is a lot of money that I literally get no say in how its spent, I’m sure a lot of it would of have to have gone back into my employment or taken out as more taxes, but its not the specific amount I’m interested in, the point is I get no say my labour power, I don’t even get a vote, best I can do is fuck my boss. If we drag this out to a month, thats £3000, I’m getting screwed. And this, this small little number, is what we consider… THEFTTTTTTTTTTTT. Those Chicago boys were good.

IrM: You can… You can start your own business…

RM: Majority will always be workers not owners.

IrM: Not if everyone decided to save up their money and open one

RM: Nobody’s going to buy your cigars if they’ve quit smoking to sell you cigars.

PAUSE

And don’t think I’d stop there, I’d consider RENT theft too, think of all the money we spend so just existing in buildings, somehow I don’t think it costs half our pay checks to have personal washing machine fixers.

IrM: But its their property

RM: O RLY?

IrM: Yes, if they weren’t allowed to do that then they wouldn’t bother, nobody would be able to find anywhere to rent

RM: And maybe if jesus had been hanged we’d all be kneeling over a fucking gibbet.

IrM: Wa.httt??

RM: Theres a reason I think why we call them American Libertarians. See if you pick up a copy of Adam Smiths stuff you’ll notice that he’s not the pastiche we think of him as. Check this out… “The landlords like any other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even from its nature produce” Now I’m not saying BOOM Smith’s a lefty, the point is he didn’t view Capitalism as great just because, he was looking at it based in his experience of the system as it existed in Britain.

But America has a very different history to us Anglos, the entire nation was founded upon a certain hatred of taxes, and tea.

BM: Actually it never really was about the taxes, they just wanted to own the slaves whole sale, didn’t want old money controlling the colonies so they could …

And when you take the views of this man, and throw it into the melting pot of Exceptionalism and Capital, you get all sorts of zany concepts, like the Self-Made man, The U-turned addict, the Noble Christian, and above all the cult of the founders. They’re dead, they’re not going to sleep with you, I’m sorry.

So what of it? Is Taxation theft? Sure, but its not worth basing your life around it. We all think the Capitalist process is just the general flow of life but its very recent, Medieval Ireland and Iceland don’t compare guys, and at the heart of that system is Exploitation, something that we all as a class deal with on a daily basis, and gain nothing from. One might argue, Taxes on business are a trade off for what they get from us.

I know when you first get into politics its juicy to claim theft over a little bite out of your salary, but we only see it that way because its… literally right in front of us, there isn’t a spare column that counts your total labour value. We shouldn’t get so pissed off over the pennies scraped off instead of the huge overhead.

IrM: Well, guess you got me there.

RM: The circle is complete

BM: I must say it really is a very American thing this whole Taxation, not good business isn’t it rather? RM: Well at least we don’t live in a socialist country… like FRANCE!

Yeah thats like 2, 3, 4 personas in 1 video, I could start an extended universe.

BOOM RAWRRRRRRRR

Oh what now?

I’M THE LATE FOR TRENDS GUY, FEMINISM IS CANCER!

nope nope.

WAIT, STOP, SOMEONE GIVE ME AN OPINION!

[dxmedstudent]

Have you read the article “If I Point a Gun at My Doctor, Will He Still Care?” by Keith Smith? What do you think of it?

Hello, I hadn’t read it. So it’ll be my first impressions that we discuss today. It turns out that it is available on tumblr. But I’m not in the business of telling other people how to feel about their own halthcare system or employer, so I don’t feel the need to reblog his post with my commentary.  I’m flattered that anyone would think my opinion on any think piece would matter, particularly on a topic like US healthcare, which I am not well-versed in, because I’ve never worked in the US as a doctor, never been at the mercy of its insurance companies and holes in coverage. I have nothing at stake in such a discussion, and I can’t help but view the topic through the lens of my own culture, my own experiences and the way in which we choose to run healthcare here in the UK. Fundamentally, that means that to me, healthcare should be a right. I believe, fundamentally, in healthcare (whenever possible) being free at the point of need, funded by taxes that are linked not to how much a treatment costs, but to how much we can all pay. This is not a controversial point of view in the UK.  But given these idealogical differences, I don’t think we’d be able to see eye to eye.

First, the title. I regret having to paste violent google searches, and it strikes me as uniquely American. There are many ways in which I feel constrained by my own system, however I don’t think it has EVER occurred to me to link it to violent, gun-related imagery. I wonder if Americans know just how... gun centric their culture is. I feel anger and resentment seething from this article, and that’s familiar because all of us have issues with the faults of the system we work in. I choose to channel mine in different ways, but I can respect another doctor’s right to feel strongly. His experiences with his entitled cardiology colleague is an interesting anecdote, but I don’t think it translates well to the larger topic at hand. He was clearly angry, frustrated, maybe even burnt out, and nobody in those shoes wants to have terse conversations with colleagues who can’t respect that you don’t owe them your presence when you’ve quit or when you’re off sick. He has my sympathies; colleagues can be rude, entitled and entirely miss the point.  But our colleages and our patients are not the same. On an individual level, yes, patients shouldn’t be able to force us to care for them; a clinician should reserve the right to turn down patients who break a code of conduct; nobody should be forced to treat patients who are verbally or physically abusive, threatening, etc. But as a bigger picture? No, as a doctor I don’t think clinicians should pick and choose which kind of coverage they accept. I don’t believe it should be Now, the problem here isn’t patients. And it’s not necessarily doctors. It’s about the system being set up correctly to make sure that looking after vulnerable patients isn’t difficult for clinicians. A system should provide adequate cover for its vulnerable patients; it is not there to serve the interests of companies or employees. Though as an employeee I am passionate about adequate working conditions and remuneration, I don’t fundamentally believe a healthcare system is ‘about’ this. It is there to treat patients. This doctor seems to suggest that medicaid and medicare aren’t remunerating him properly, therefore he doesn’t feel he should be forced to see patients who rely on them. At least, that’s the impression I’m getting, under all the language about guns and slavery.  I don’t think white Americans should be throwing terms like ‘slavery’ around that lightly; for all my issues with working in healthcare, I think slavery an odd and innappropriate choice of a word for doing work which still pays reasonably. Even if someone doesn’t like the conduct of those clients, or feels underpaid, that doesn’t make it slavery, or most workers would be justified to use that term. No, I don’t feel that doctors should be forced to work; I’m against similar ideas that UK politicians float occasionally. For example, that doctors should be forced to work for the NHS for, say 5 years before they are ‘allowed’ to leave. I don’t believe in holding anyone in a job by force. But I don’t believe the system should let doctors all opt out of treating poor patients. Or LGBTQ+ patients. Or fat patients, etc. The system should be set up in such a way that treating poor patients isn’t hugely difficult and doesn’t bankrupt doctors. Otherwise, you’re just going to get a system where most if not all doctors just don’t take on work they feel doesn’t pay. Which doesn’t help poor peope at all. The problem is, I don’t think Americans realise that healthcare doesn’t have to be as complex as they’ve made it. The core conceit of most American articles about healthcare seems to be that there is just no other way of doing things.  He writes, “This  supposed “right” to health care, cannot undo human nature and the delicate and myriad market forces at work to ensure that all parties in a transaction are willing participants.” . He somehow uses the fact that the US system places more emphasis on companies than people to imply that people shouldn’t have rights because it’ll affect companies, who are many of the ‘parties’ and ‘participants’ in these cases. Now, there are plenty of systems out there that are simpler. A company doesn’t need to consent to a transaction if it doesn’t exist. No intermediary insurance companies who can refuse to fund care if they think their paperwork has a loophole means no stressed patients who have to pay, and no stressed doctors who know that their patients can’t pay. You don’t HAVE to have myriad market forces. The NHS, by comparison is much more simple and elegant. People pay taxes in general. People don’t need to pay for healthcare insurance unless they want to.  People fall sick. People go to hospital but don’t pay hundreds of thousands of pounds for care. Nobody gets bankrupted. Doctors are paid a salary which has nothing to do with how much their patients earn; in fact, we’re all paid along the same pay scale so we know we aren’t being discriminated against in terms of salary. I’m paid less than US doctors, but I pay less tuition, so I guess it evens out? It probably doesn’t, but I didn’t go into medicine to be a millionaire.  I really struggled to understand the ‘point’ of the article, so I had to read it through a few times. As someone not familiar with the system, I couln’t really see what was being so fiercly railed against. I think it boils down to feeling that medicare and medicaid not paying enough; he writes that “payment to me for my services was well below what I thought acceptable ($285 for my last 6 hour cardiac anesthetic).”  I don’t know what acceptable rates would be for such anaesthetic procedures, or how the system counterbalances things to make it overall worthwhile. The next bit, however, I find harder to understand. “Soon thereafter I stopped my dealings with Medicare (and Medicaid) altogether as I increasingly saw myself as the recipient of money taken from my neighbors against their will.” What neighbours? Does he mean his colleagues, who would otherwise be making more money if the patients would pay privately? Does he mean the patients, who felt coerced into seeking medical help and paying at all? Or does he mean his fellow taxpayers? I genuinely struggle to see how he manages to frame accepting patients subsidised by the government as theft in any sense. These are the only literal two sentences that actually address the issues he has with the system, and I would really like to know more. Why do people feel this way? What part of it feels like coersion? Why the unneccessarily violent imagery? Perhaps he was writing for an audience familiar with the ins and outs of the system, and didn’t expect that it’d be read by people who can’t join the dots, but I feel he could have spent less time on recollections and more time on the crux of the matter. As an aside about his own aside, I find it interesting that he feels the need to note that "the angriest patients I’ve ever encountered were the Medicare patients I subsequently treated with no charge whatsoever, their charitable care on my part eliciting patient rage like none I’ve encountered since.”. We all have angry patients, and it’s fair to point out that sometimes people don’t treat us like we wish they would. I do think, however that it’s worth thinking about why people might be angry. What role social issues may play into people’s behaviour. Honestly, if I was a poor person navigating the US system, I don’t know if I’d be a ball of rage, too.  Personally, I’ve had angry patients who are poor, and angry patients who are rich, but I find it more useful to reflect on why people might be angry, rather than just using it to frame an entire class of people as being rude by implication.

[breakingmllc]

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All things kinematic think he’s gonna make you the vice president by will be doing the lid to a Women Veterans Back The Blue I've Got Your Six Colorful T Shirt media is until Thursday he’s taken for this campaign needs to let you know I you can run indisputable whatever the hell is you could run that the Democrats he got the fake is being used upon and yet they correct their own pot and then you have the rhinos in the rhinos have the van and a cigar rhinos that I’ve eaten so badly over the age of the rhinos of people to do the every one of those guys just about IP because they all represented a client in the primaries and is saying he did a good job is a smart guy like you but every one of those guys take God not smart people but he wants to terminate religious liberty destroy the suburbs of the strike and saving the suburbs I’m getting right of the right I’m getting rid of the regulation project see a beautiful house congratulations you like having a nice project next year has set up a cell and with it comes plenty of crime that’s why they keep saying we only think he’s. Ross also goes to stark industriesand purchases some sonic add ins to help against the hulk regattas some less heavy news that she’ll agent whose colson’s friend melinda may starts datingand when she marries this dude called andrew garner’s now heroesand weird more crazy stuff has been happening for a while so she’ll start up the idea of the avengers initiative this program is designed to bring together a group of remarkable people so when humanity has to face a threat that’s too intense for regular old shield in the military they can help defend the planet experiencing this up as the director of shieldand so is getting eyesand people of potential interest for starting with bruce banner he goes in undercoverand finds banner in a bar somewhere which to me doesn’t seem the patient should be if you’re trying to stay calm but whateverand since into shield agents with the most generic names possible petersonand johnson to get the context banner but it goes a little sidewaysand better hoax outand runs away meanwhile back at youand century afterlife human young child called catcher can control her powersand is causing a lot of damage she runs awayand ends up in the middle east were filled colsonand the women they are simply shield to take her down is forced to kill small child to save the day which is obviously a little upsetting so she retires from fieldworkand takes a desk joband also causes her marriage to kinda fall apart now there’s this fun michael keaton type guy called adrian toombs living a good life for the wifeand little daughter called lives family is everything to tombs to support his family he starts the tomb salvage company which cleans up messes left behind by big incidents which seems like a pretty good idea as the world is getting moreand more superhero eand where their superheroes there are classic cities okay this time I start to get a little muddled here I know there’s a bit of a debate over which year the original aromatics basin but for a number of reasons that don’t really want to get into company in 2009 some people say it’s only like movies released some people since 2010 I personally think it makes no sense if it’s in 2009 especially in relation to iron man twoand other future films I meant to his sickness afterwardsand it features the stark expo 2010 so anyway you should matter that much but it is worth mentioning is still being a billionaire playboy at one point he gets into a bar fight get some assistance from his best friend james rhodes rhody a little later he was in order for something but what I status get it for him because he’s too busy sleeping with reportersand you know doing tony start things despite his playboy in us he also has something of a relationship some kind of flirtatious thing going on with his assistant pepper potts also he’s got a bodyguard called happy to see you know to start industries is still in this morally great business of selling weaponsand tony doesn’t really care because billionaire life but no but I saying the strategies the company for less than legal means he starts equally sign weapons to a terrorist organization called the 10 rings inand also pays the 10 rings to kill tony when he goes to afghanistan because I know but I can when the company tony free however they only kidnap tony once they realize who he isand manny build them weapons to use in the whole process tony is mortally wounded but his life is saved by fellow captive hellionsand mental health ins inputs electromagnet in his chest which keeps the shrapnel in there from killing in which tony benson turns into his dental pet project the arc reactor 10 rings also demand more my for staying because of who they had to kidnap vocalsand sent by shield to go talk to stijnand lindsay is back to shield offers to god himselfand save stark button cure for whatever reason tells them not to start building the weapons that the terrace demanded over three months stark with the help against them as a weapon I suit of armor that he can use to escape which is powered by that arc reactorand is just over this time start also earns a bit more humanity while this is happening natasha romanoff now a great agent of shield is sent out on a mission to escort a scientist in a run hydra sends out the winter soldier to kill the scientist he does so by shooting through them enough after those few months stark uses the armored suit to bust out of prisonand kill some terrorists escapes but yes it is killed along the way start crashand the desertand picked up by the militaryand taken home tony’s a changed man now so people stuck industries on the weapons business which obadiah is pretty pissed about thatand also you know tony is not dead then he is running the company yet tony also get closer to pepper spray a new art directorand start continue to refine his armor make you much slicker matter more weaponsand doing a little hot rod written there eventually he turns into what becomes known as the iron man suit this does take a few months so while all this is happening a woman called colleen wing who is pretty proficient in martial arts comes to america from japan she needs the crew to one of those ancient hat membersand gets recruited as a member of the hand but she’s under the impression that the hand is a good organizationand doesn’t know about all the mass murder of kellyand now the sweet mullet is putting a takeover of the world the first he’s got to get this extreme misting perfectand he needs firebreathing henchmen so he finds a bunch of army veterans who suffered serious injuries to be his test subjects injects them with extremistsand some are successful they grow back last lensand their super grateful some are not successful thoughand explode in a very painful way also at some point here in asgard double click a guy called in near tries to overthrow dennis king but he stopped by thor just a typical day for those guys now back on earth the 10 rings find stocks first armor suit that he escaped with lying around in the desertand they start piecing it back together stijn shows upand sees itand thinks back use thisand so start building his own giant iron man suit all of this is happening continues to make a suit way better now can flyand she repulsed blasts in STUFF he also gets a fancy ad about the systemand into jarvis after his dental butler theory is still quite intrigued by the sole tony stark character solutions vocalsand into talk to stark about this whole situation but stuck ambos moss tony also finds out that some of his companies weapons are still terrorists in afghanistan certifiesand kills a bunch of them because he can is a little brush up in the militaryand canada has revealed his buddy rhody that yeah he’s ironman pepperand finds out that stijn’s been working with terrorists sustains like well that everyone knows a bag I now let us look at tony myself yells exceeds by tony so live closeand goes with pepper to discover stains own iron man suit turning it back to full strength puts in a suitand instead have a consistency punch up stark winsand stained eyes the next day at a big press conference stuck supposed to tell the world that iron man is some kind of robot bodyguard they built but he goes a little off script I am guessing is more in touch with shield while stark is getting this press conference at the manco that guy how stark screwed over all those years ago who is now out of prison dies while watching it is on I think of us take revenge on the stark familyand in a surprisingly short time uses his dad’s old art director blueprints to make his own arc reactorand uses that to make an even cooler iron man suit just kidding he makes some electric lips after the press conference nick fury approach to stark himself this time about the avengers initiative is a guy with a super high tech suit could be useful the time is like air now thanks as he’s leaving starks house cure and tells them don’t need natasha romanoff or this one goesand also helps train this random guy called hendrix to be an agent of shield unimportant detail but it happened all this time jesse don’t forget bruce banner still running the military ultimately ends up in rioand start working at a soda bottle factory all the while stirring to contact a scientist called samuel stearns was trying to find a cure for this whole whole thing is to keep a low profileand figure out how to return to a normal life so she was getting mighty busy these days not only to have the soul avengers thing planned but they also start a project tahiti shield still has that creek corpse just lying aroundand after testing it they discover some of its bodily fluids have a healing effect they can bring someone back from the dead fury orders this project we started with phil colson in charge to extract some these fluids in the event that an avenger is killed in action needs to be brought back to some of the sun dying shield employees but it doesn’t go super well because they start going insaneand drawing maps about underground cree city cyclesand like well this program sucks let’s shut it downand so they do stark stone during the life of being a billionaireand also superheroand starts helping establish world peace as iron man going aroundand being a terrorists he also tries to have a relationship with a woman called lena as you know playboy however the 10 rings find out about thisand kidnap lena’s son afterwards blackmailing her in his dealings ireland blueprints for them however to find out about this because of the situation thenand saves her sonand then stop seeing each other is like how you come back from that stark is like seeing his assistant pepper potts does well peace mission continues as he stops group of 10 rings dudesand hackers from selling as weapons in italy also recovered some stolen paintings because why not messages continues to fight the 10 rings especially in afghanistan as he doing this serializes the corpus arc reactor is slowly poisoning him so he start searching for a cure over in brazil bruce banner is working at soda bottle factoryand one day he asked because his hand so some of his super blood goes in one of the soda bottlesand kill stanley which gets the governmentand military write on the sent now back over to hydra they’re working on yet another super soldier program because that seems to be all they can do after rascal serumand making roma peopleand after their attention to making a superpowered army by combining the super soldier serum with gamma radiationand some of that sweet extremist tech that they somehow got their hands on basically taking every superpower giving thing the mcu entering it in a big melting pot it’s called the centipede program that’s led by john garrett from before you must use it for his own purposes since even with the parts his health is failing also with the program you can plan your either let’s hide or see everything you doand also can kill you if you start doing something wrong another very kinsman like almonds lena starts running the stark expo 2010 to shove a budget attackand relationsand whatnot shows up in the flash to really be the tony that the world knowsand loves my cousin all great for tonio as he also has to govern the senate some of whom are members of hydra is there like the government you have your suit because it’s really dangerousand tony’s like hello claims that no one is close to kings techand he’s created well peace so the government should shut up testifying against him is the somehow smug or induce your tony stark justin hammer is rival in the tech world get out of thereand make up about the ceo stark industries okay nothing start to get a bit more complicated because the three different plot lines all happening at once so hang on lake erie sends natasha romanoff to go undercoverand keep an eye on tony understand the 10 rings are pretty sick of our menacing at their livesand so they get anton blanco was completed his arc reactor based whips away into the monaco grand prix which tony will be attending back in brazil the army’s tract number spends locationand attacksand where he lives the command of a mobile on ski first comes the hulkand runs away waking up in guatemala the next morningand deciding he should go back to his old university to look for more data on finding a whole cure because he just can’t take this anymore roadie who is now also that she needs a strike in the study to work with the governmentand starting to get mildly heated between them romanoff arrives at tony’s place is of the pill in a woman’s coffee unstuck steam so she starts throwing up so natasha can deliver some files to stark yourself to natureand acts exactly how you inspect them to tell youand goes to the monaco grand prix as promisedand stripper places a guy in the race is a guess you do that when your superhero is having a fun time driving when ivan manco shows upand these car in half luckily tony’s gotten on the go armor with himand he defends himself later tongue the bank on prisonand getting really nothing out of it this public display of other art directors being out there though but the government even moreand tony’s ass justin hammer sees thisand breaks I got of prison when him to make iron man like machines for hammer tech so he can upstage tony stark thank you goes along with this but really dispels bunch drones so he can later on post some sweet sweet revenge tony starting poison buys arc reactor in the publics against in the government on his backand himand his best friend are on great terms tony’s life sucks right now is this it was a big drunken birthday party for himself which ultimately ends with himand roadie getting the students who fight roadie not being told the drunk guys off of the suitand gives it to justin hammer unaware of what hammers actually doing behind the scenes meanwhile agent jasper said well she’ll agentand another undercover hydrogen is ordered to keep track of bruce banner one exterior goes to help start with his are correct poisoning also there are big disturbances in the atmosphere on this time in the southwest us caused by some commotion away in asgard which will get you that this concerns some people including astrophysicist jane foster she get in touch with another astrophysicist called xl bigand go to new mexico to check it out she’ll discovers this is happeningand keeps an eye on them now way back across the universe in asgard authorities finally of the age where he gets to be the new king even though he’s areaand a spoiled bratand locus jealous but hay is getting corrugated it’s his big day but it gets interrupted by the frost giant sneakingand owns vaultand trying to take away that casket of ancient winters point is that was really upset that his days ruinedand also that the frost I spokeand we know so that is bossy consisting of f than the warriors interchangeable coffee oppenheim to fight the frost giants for what they did this is specifically against oden’s instructions but again thor is dumband arrogant a fight starts but only comes aroundand breaks it up is pretty mad at the door so takes away all his godly powersand his powerful hammer mule near creekside note the owner was made from the core of a dying starand helps to control his lighting powersand also only be lifted by whoever’s worthy of it store down to earth new mexico specifically is harold’s land somewhere nearby as well as activity theory since vocalsand down to new mexico to check out all the business on his way their closest oxen armed robbery at a convenience store because he’s just not good back to start tony’s hang on a big doughnutand has a talk with a fury who wants to help them also natasha romanoff reveals himself as black widow to them justin hammer starts upgrading the armor really gave themand changes it from this to this while that’s happening tony discovers a map of the old stark expo at secret formula for making a new element that his dad left him all of those years ago which is also the perfect replacement for his arc reactor somewhat conveniently so yeah that’s fixed tony’s no longer dying now you just worry about the crazy russianand the smarmy businessmen at this point bruce banner is also gone back to the old university hang out with an old friend of his now justin hammer showing off his ivan banker design drones at the stark expo but vanco goes for zone motives of killing starkand hijacks the dronesand sends them after tony also hijacks the war machine armor with roadieand it is chase during which tony says a little kid is a fan of his called peter parker come in to play more later eventually ready to control the soup back in himand tony team up to destroy all the drones while black widowand tony’s bodyguard happy fightsand I got henchmen eventually tonyand 35 vancoand a giant iron man type suitand blowing them upand killing him by combining the repulsive powers hammer gets arrested gets a kissand really gets the armor kind of soup from not okay when the question meanwhile back in new mexico jane foster xl bigand jane’s friend darcy find thor all powerless like in the desert daysand then set into the hospital she also started asking thor’s hammer mule near owner realizes how big business in the situation could be so also sends clint barton to help closeand with it the escape from the hospital using his asgard trainingand meets up with janeand they start having a little bit of a romance back in asgard loki discovers that he is not shielding sonand I frost giant which makes them pretty upsetand falls into a deep sleep that has to take once in a while called oden sleepand locus is playing a treacherous plan to get owns approval back which involves the frost giants to attack inand then saving his dad’s life is adopted that not his real dad back with banner bruce meets up with bettyand they get back together however in the process the military figure out he’s thereand have for the locationand the loss gets injected with a version of the super soldier serum things to ross tobin take on the whole which means he can survive this sort of thing seeing gen. Help ourselves otherwise all the chocolates would just end up sitting in his cupboards for a year and he wasn’t about to get kids year old suites come next Halloween we basically had the jackpot thinking we could just rinse the old fellow of the suites and make up for the paltry amount we collected over what had been an unusually fruitless trick or treating session only he said there was one small problem since he was getting on in years and then get out much his oldest grown up son had come by to drop off all the suites along with his usual weekly shopping then without having thought it through his son and put all the suites in the top cupboard of his back pantry one that was way too high for him to reach without doing is back in if a couple of us were willing to help them reach the cupboards and take a few tens of supreme in the process suites were ours all of them 90 you’re thinking God’s name is daft enough to just wander into a complete stranger’s house in the middle the night apparently we were and See Other related products: I Don't Understand Your Specific Kind Of Stupid But I Do Admire Your Total Commitment To It T-Shirt

[wannabe-placemaker]

University Galleria?

If you’re anything like I was in middle school (and hopefully you’re not for a ton of reasons), when you think of college you think of 4 years on a manicured, historic campus where you’ll be groomed into the next titan of industry, whatever industry that may be. You assume that a bachelor’s degree will cement a quality of life that will be better than your parents’, or if they were college grads, a life that will as comfortable as they had. That’s the basket of goods that has been sold to pretty much every American born since Animal House was released. That promise is no longer a guarantee thanks to ballooning costs and a one size fits all solution to creating a competitive 21st century workforce.

Personally, I spent hours upon hours researching schools because my parents were zero help when it came to choosing a college. Their advice had always been “work hard so you can get into a good college” without any definition of what defined ‘a good college’. They’d bought the same basket of goods that everyone’s been sold. I knew that my family had the means to help me out with my tuition no matter what. My mom would work 3 jobs if it meant I got to go to the college of my dreams because that’s just the way she is. I of course didn’t want that, so I focused on school’s that meant 100% of demonstrated financial need and that had a good return on investment (% of students with jobs after graduation and high incomes 15 years out). This wasn’t supposed to be a Colgate University shout out, but that’s where all of my experience comes from so here we are.

What I really wanted to get at here is that Colgate University is the model of college that everyone expects: beautiful campus, quality professors, opportunities for learning and social development galore. The thing is, a Colgate model is really only accessible to the ‘top tier’ of students. (Top tier could also mean Daddy’s money, but with a 23% acceptance rate it’s still a top tier in terms of resources.) We need options for those that can’t afford $30,000 a year bills while also giving up 4 years worth of income. I know we’ve all seen the graphs that show that giving up those working years is made up for with higher salaries down the road, but from what I can see those salaries are too far down the line for people that are drowning in debt now.

We need options for adults to gain more skills across the board that is accessible and tailored for regional economies. There is often a rural ‘brain drain’ where the brightest kids from poor areas leave as soon as they can, which leads to skill gaps in local and regional workforces. Those gaps often go hand in hand with population decline, which wreaks havoc on former commercial strongholds like the shopping mall. Anchors are leaving left and right and there’s a swath of empty space across semi-rural America. What if there was a Federal block grant that could be used for adult education in local and regional areas? I’m sure some type of program like this exists on a small scale, but if it does I sure haven’t seen it working. Imagine taking an old Sears at the end of a mall and breaking it into classrooms, maker spaces, computer labs, or whatever else a community needs to train workers that could be utilized locally.

For example, my hometown is Erie, Pennsylvania; it is known for having one of the poorest ZIP codes in the country, population/economic decline, the pizza bomber, and great sunsets. Our primary mall, the Millcreek Mall, is the commercial keystone of the area. If you need anything in that city, you go to where Peach Street meets I-79 and head to the mall with the 4th most leasable retail space in the US. It consists of 5 anchor sized spaces, many of which have changed hands over the past decade. Having good foot traffic from tourists (0% sales tax on clothes and a short trip from Canada) keeps this mall alive, but the mall serves tourists better than it does the local community. Erie also has 5 universities and there are talks of a community college. This community college project has been debated since I was a baby, and I don’t believe anyone has actually taken classes yet.

When the next anchor inevitably leaves the Millcreek Mall, I imagine the gut reaction will be to find another large retailer to fill the space as that occupancy is tied to the leases of the other tenants. As opposed to another retail space that will provide low paying retail jobs and medium priced goods that tourists want sans sales tax, what if we used that space to train workers that Erie could actually use? At one time, GE Trains was the largest employer in town with other manufacturing making up the bulk of resident’s employment. The largest growing industry is healthcare, generally driven by UPMC and tourism driven by wineries and Presque Isle beaches.

Who am I to say what skills Erie’s workforce needs most? I’m not an employer and I don’t even live there anymore. All I know is that people there need options. So many of my friends are saddled with mountainous debt for degrees they aren’t utilizing as they work retail in the mall. For those that are graduating high school in Erie, many of them working in that mall like I did, are going to go to college without any idea why other than they’ve always been told that’s the key to a better life. If an option was literally right in front of them, that was low cost and taught them skills that local employers are demanding, couldn’t that save them a lot of time and financial hardship? They can’t repo knowledge, but they will still take your car. There’s an aging population and a growing healthcare sector; what are skills that are not taught in K-12 that would be valuable to the industry? Things that don’t necessarily require four years of classroom learning. With Erie Insurance being the only Fortune 500 employer in the area, perhaps they could teach courses on insurance coding or underwriting or risk management that could be applied to multiple companies. Getting employers involved in the process will be key to actually producing workers that will be valuable for the area. The city of Erie school district faces newsworthy financial hardship to a point they had to close and sell a school. I don’t really trust them to be teaching students about fiscal responsibility or personal finance, so having civic courses that teach folks how to do taxes, apply for a loan, not live on credit cards, register to vote, could also be included as gen ed courses potentially in this space.

People graduate college and have nothing from it but a mountain of debt and a piece of paper. Many don’t even get that far and drop out with too much debt and no piece of paper. Heck this space could also function as a college prep place. Somewhere to go before you commit to college. Personal opinion, but we should be prepping Erie for climate change. We’re going to be in a prime position with our access to fresh water, open space, and a climate that should be suitable for agriculture and people. We’re going to need infrastructure improvements, construction, transportation solutions that get us away from personal automobiles, environmental workers that shore up our beaches to prevent erosion and to protect our wildlife, urban planners, community activists that can shape the future of Erie for people in Erie. There are levels of thinking that go into all of these things, which means we’ll need folks with Master���s degrees probably, but I guarantee we’ll need skilled workers on the frontlines actually getting things accomplished. People think ‘no college required’ means ‘no skills required’ but we all know that’s not the case. Whether it’s customer service, stocking shelves, trading stocks, digging ditches, building a rocket, or picking up roadkill, there’s skill and often art involved in quality results. Tapping into the talent across the country does not require that everyone go to a four year public university for free, it requires giving localities the resources to create citizens that want to make their world, and hopefully their communities, a place they’re proud of.

[scoutshonor56]

COP NATION

“Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do…”

 As I’ve watched our country being torn apart these last three weeks, I’ve been tempted to voice an opinion, but I thought I would let things simmer and roil a while before setting my thoughts to words – see how events evolved.  What has become obvious is that what we have are two separate issues, albeit both intrinsically woven together, joined at the waist: Racism, and what America calls “law and order”; specifically, those who are tasked to uphold this social contract, the police. Those sworn to protect and serve.

 Well, like America’s fixation with guns, I have also written about race many times – so many times that I’ve given up writing about either years ago; there is simply nothing more to be said, nor has anything significantly changed. So instead, I’m going to put out there some observations and insights about law enforcement here in America.  I draw upon mainly two sources: Last Monday’s (June 8) John Oliver show, and a recent post in the social platform, Medium: Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop.

 A quick addendum about the Medium piece: some may question it’s validity and alleged source, as is wise today – there is a huge, digital quagmire of untruths and bullshit floating around the mass communications world, where anyone is free to write anything and instantly put it out there. I myself am a stickler for checking sources and facts before voicing an opinion.  That being said, I choose not to waste time digging and poking around on this one for the simple reason that it’s irrelevant; in my 64 years I’ve seen it all happen – a lot.  From the war protests and race riots of the 60’s, to the beating and drowning of Joe Campos Torres by the Houston police my first year down here (‘77), to the fatal shooting of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas during a “no knock” botched drug raid January 18th of last year - yes, just like the one that lead to the death of EMT worker, Breonna Taylor, of Kentucky, who was shot eight times, in her home, just last March 13.  

 Also, a lot of the material touched on in this ex-cop confession is mirrored in the Oliver show.  For instance, you might ask yourself, “Is there really such a thing as a ‘killologist’ who regularly trains our police force?”

 Why yes little Sarah, there is indeed, and you can see him on the Oliver show!

 I encourage you to read the post in Medium (it’s lengthy, but if anything, at least read the closing suggestions) and watch the Oliver show, and then ask yourself: Why does America far and away lead the civilized world in police use of firearms, death by firearms, and imprisonment of its citizens?  What are we, as a society, doing wrong or differently?

 How did a simple case of an Atlanta black man, Rayshard Brooks, inebriated and asleep at a Wendy’s drive thru, result in his shooting death just days ago?  By the way officer Rolfe, bravo sir, bravo!  Job well done – so how does it feel to take a human life, shooting him twice in the back for the offense of being drunk and resisting arrest?  Hey, here’s a crazy thought, a wild reimagining: Considering America is now a tinderbox just waiting for a spark over policing methods, how do you think this would have played out if you and your partner, after finding Mr. Brooks too inebriated to drive, said “You know anyone you could call to take you home?  You can park your car right over there, come pick it up in the morning…”  

 The days of dismissing these incidents as “a few bad apples” are long gone; thanks to today’s technology, everyday citizens (not to mention the ubiquitous security cameras that are everywhere) now have the power to record with a handheld phone; anywhere, anytime, and it has become increasingly obvious that no, the problem runs deeper - right to the core of police culture and training.  A culture that recently got Tulsa Police Department  Maj.  Travis Yates in hot water when during a recent podcast he said that systemic racism “just doesn’t exist”, and further suggested research shows the police are shooting African Americans “24% less than we probably ought to be.”

 Uhhhh -  wow…

 Maybe it’s time to look at this nationwide problem from a totally different perspective; maybe we continue to put Band-Aids and cosmetic patches on something that needs to be addressed before the bleeding even starts.  The cause, and not the symptoms.  

Yet, once again we assuredly will see some tepid policy changes, banning chokeholds, mandated race relations seminars, increased accountability and monitoring, policy reviews, blah, blah, blah – as we’ve seen it all before, for decades (Hey, remember Rodney King?), and in the end nothing changes.  If these methods were effective, why are these incidents only increasing in frequency? I join the many who have seen enough; who feel America needs to erase the board and start this equation over, or this bloody ugliness will continue, and only get worse.  For an expansion on this, read an excellent recent editorial written by Mariame Kaba, featured in the NY Times.

 Unfortunately, the Dems have come up with a reasonable start, but decided to call the initiative “Defunding the Police”.  Really?  That’s the best you can do?  Something that anyone could easily interpret as “let’s starve the cops financially!” Until what – they die on the vine?

 No.  But let’s take a look at what this financial restructuring really means, and start with the fact that the police force militia (which it has now become) is amply funded.  This is because every politician, be they a Democrat or Republican, loves running on a “law and order” platform – it’s an easy grab line.  Who doesn’t support law and order in our society?  And if it means the police want something from a military garage sale, like a Humvee, an assault vehicle, military grade ordinance and all kinds of fun urban warfare toys?  No problem!  

 Jeez, why does America accept this as necessary? Because our culture, out TV shows, our movies, are saturated with the fairytale myth of “they’re out there everywhere, the ‘bad guys’, and the only thing protecting the sheep from the wolves are the police!”  We glorify and promote the idea of our security and protection depends on a steely-eyed squad who are not afraid to use a gun; from the days of the old west, to organized crime during prohibition, to Nixon in 1971 making drug abuse “public enemy #1”, declaring war on the scourge of violent drug dealers that overtook our streets and enslaved our children!  

 Which, I might add, has proven a laughable failure by any and all standards, and has cost the U.S. over a TRILLION dollars since 1971, while glutting our jails to overflowing with non-violent offenders and ruining countless families.

 Watch a cop show (or movie) and see how long it takes before the guns come out to finalize justice, to provide closure and a happy ending. Justice ends with the scum bleeding out on the sidewalk.  “COPS”!? Are you fucking kidding me?  I didn’t even know it was still on the air – 31 years…  Oh, we feel so safe and secure in our homes as we watch the shirtless rabble led off in handcuffs to the squad car!  

Who watches a show filled with actual arrests for entertainment?  

 Meanwhile, let’s leave fantasy land and take a look at the real world: Did you know the vast majority of police action is what they call “reactive”?  Meaning responding to noise complaints, issuing parking and traffic citations, dealing with the homeless, domestic disputes, and other noncriminal, societal issues.  Most cops make one felony arrest a year – one.  And here lies the nut of the problem: armed police being called out mostly to deal with issues such as these.  

 Things that should, and could, be handled by trained professionals in these fields, not some cop who got 1,000 hours of training at the academy, little of it having to do with these issues.  And I say this in defense of the police, and this is what “defunding” really means.  They shouldn’t have to deal with these problems, and most are ill equipped to do so – they’re cops!  If all you have is a hammer (club and gun), and you were trained to be a carpenter, everything gets treated like a nail.  This is ridiculous that our police are expected to wear so many hats and are so over extended.  Free them up to deal with actual criminal issues.  If one of the other scenarios turns violent or threatening, then call the police.

 Why does America find this concept so alien – so non-applicable here in the USA?  What, are our citizens somehow different than in the rest of the world?

 Bottom line, these are problems that exist because of the anemic funding in areas such as education, housing, and our shameful, for profit healthcare system that leaves millions uninsured and one medical emergency away from bankruptcy.  The positively obscene gap of income inequality that grows ever larger.  The false promises of politicians.  America is increasingly angry and frustrated with a government that is structured to favor the rich.  So yes, let’s try diverting some of police funding and instead put it into social programs involved with education, housing, mental health, etc.  These areas and the lack of funding are the seed, and then the root of most of society’s ills today – and yes, that often grow into crime and violence.  Often these are people that we’ve let fall thru the cracks, who didn’t get the same chance, the same opportunities; and who need a little help.

 Pay the police a better wage, attract and demand a more educated and diverse pool of applicants, and free them up to do what they are ideally supposed to do – PROTECT AND SERVE THE COMMUNITY.  They shouldn’t be seen as our enemy, nor should we be theirs.

 “You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time – you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks…You have to put them in jail for ten years and you’ll never see this stuff again.”   

- Trump addressing governors during a video conference call, June 1

[recovery-status]

(PART 2)

When I moved up to my moms, I was still with fuck boy. At the time we did part time living at my house and part time living at his house. July 2016 I had gotten my first official job with a healthcare company doing patient registration. I started to feel like a big girl, doing big girl things, making my own money. I had caught on quick, and was very comfortable with my colleagues. From what I can remember, this is when things began to get rough. To save time, i am going to just go over a few things i went through. Keep in mind, none of this that I am putting out there is for pitty. I dont need that. I am just telling my story exactly how it happened. It’s not talking shit if these are facts. There were three things that happened that at the time, I didn’t know what was going on but as time went on and even after the break up, I had put two and two together and really realized what a piece of shit I was with. My ex and I had been going through some rocky things but this day something was really off. He had just gotten off of work and took me to get something to eat. He had explained to me that his sister and a few of her friends were in his words, “going to Vegas and one of the friends needed someone to stay at her house for the next couple of days to dog sit.” I was taken back because in my opinion you don’t need to spend days there, just check in every now and then to take care of the damn dog and leave. We got into a fight over that. Later that night, I go to an old high school friends house to hangout (drink) and I get a facebook message from my ex that my jealousy was too much to handle, that we need time apart and that he needed time to think. I was so sad all night after reading that. I am sure i killed the buzz. Few days go by, he’s barely talking to me but eventually he apologizes for being an ass swears up and down it wont happen again and we get back together. (I’ll come back to this) 

Few weeks go by I move on from what happened, everything is fine whatever. I am at work one day working a 12 hour shift, I don’t remember what sparked this argument but something got brought up and shit hit the fan. Not sure what was all said on both sides, but I remember how it made me feel. I was so fixated on arguing with him over text that time went by so fast because i wasnt paying attention to anything else. Before I even clocked out for the night, he had basically told me to fuck off he was with his “boys” drinking because i made him so upset. He was very good at not taking accountability for what he had done, blaming it all on me, and then just disappearing and ghosting without anything being resolved. After the anger left, the sadness came. I was scared that I had just ruined us, that he was going to leave me & that he would never talk to me again. So stupid. I originally had plans to go over to a friends house to hangout after work, and on my way there I had finally gotten ahold of him Parked on the side of the road on some random ass street, I was begging and pleading sobbing for him not to break up with me. Meanwhile my friend is on the other line blowing my phone up asking where I was. The phone call was just me in hysterics and silence on his end. I dont understand why my mindset went to “I want to die” mode but it did. That was the first time i had really expressed suicide idealization. I was telling him exactly what I had planned on doing to accomplish my thought. It was simple, I was going to go to my step dads gun safe and pull the trigger. Thats the thing I hate about myself, once I have an idea I am obsessed with it good or bad. I make my way home he’s trying to convince me not to do it, saying he loves me and hes sorry just shooting bullshit in my ear basically. I firmly believe I was being watched over that night because the safe that was always unlocked, was locked that night. Somehow in the midst of all the mess, he finally let me pick him up. I get to where he’s at and we make our way to his house. What I didn’t know was that he had texted my mom “concerned” that something was going to happen. I found out early the next morning when she was at his front door looking for me. I have never seen her so worried and sad in my life. To this day i regret putting her through that. She instantly took me to the hospital. She worked in the Emergency department at the time, and was able to contact one of her co workers and they got me in through the back and put me into a room. She took my phone from me, and the social worker greeted me as soon as I walked in. I broke down and was all sorts of emotionally drained. I explained to him the situation I was in, and the plan that I had tried to act on. The doctor comes in the room and after his evaluation, made a decision to admit me into inpatient. When I heard those words, my heart dropped. I was so scared of the unknown. My mom was in and out of the room that whole visit because she couldn’t keep herself together. I broke my moms heart that day. 

[sunkissis]

This post is for you brave souls who are looking to move abroad for longer than 90 days, applying for a long stay tourist visa in the European Union. It’s a complicated, frustrating, expensive, stressful and exhausting endeavor but I believe it’s totally worth it.

  I began researching how to apply for a visa close to three years ago. It has always been my dream that our family could actually immerse ourselves in the French culture and travel throughout Europe. I was curious of what it would take to live abroad for a year. I found the French embassy website and printed a list of the paperwork. Then I created an Excel spreadsheet of we needed to complete and put together a timeline and a budget. If you live in Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Southern Nevada, and New Mexico you and all family members (six years old and older) must be present at the General Consulate in Los Angeles, California.

Here’s where it gets tricky, when applying for a long stay tourist visa, you can’t schedule your appointment any earlier than three months before your departure date. So it leaves a tight window to purchase airline tickets, show proof of income, proof of where you will reside in France and work out all the logistics of moving. Our window kept getting moved due to issues with his company. Initially they wanted him to apply for a work visa (called an Intra-Company Transfer/ICT) so that added additional paperwork and we had to work with an advisor from his company office in Paris. However, if you are self employed, you just would need to state that you will work remotely from home, you need to show a business plan and a letter from clients that will continue working with you while you are abroad. Sounds easy, right?

I am hyper-organized and tend to over-plan for things but even with all my preparation and knowledge of what is needed to apply for a long stay visa, I still paid professionals to assist us during the process. This is something I couldn’t leave to chance. Like in my early twenties, I used to file my own taxes. Back then we were renting, had the simplest W-2s and barely got a $600 refund every year. Now we are homeowners with an actual financial portfolio and a kid, I pay a CPA and leave it in her capable hands.

I found our visa consultant Stephen on his blog An American in Paris and hit him up with all the questions. He gave me a list of recommendations and encouraged me to secure housing before making our visa appointment. Little did I know how difficult finding an apartment in Paris would be. Stephen gave me a list of things to complete that gave me the sweats.

Lizzie Tip:  Be sure to make copies of everything a minimum of two for each document!

Official copies of birth certificates/also need to be translated in French (obviously make several copies)

I already had our birth certificates but mine looked different since I was born in Santa Monica, it didn’t have the official Los Angeles county raised seal. That meant I had to go to the registrar recorder office to order a new it and wait and wait and wait. It was no fun standing in line for an hour and a half but luckily, while I was paying for my birth certificate, I mentioned to the clerk that I was applying for a visa and I showed her my marriage license just to check if the one I had was the proper version. Turns out it wasn’t and she printed the correct one for me. It was a victorious day! I listened to my homegirl Edith Piaf on my headphones and daydreamed being in Paris while waiting in that hellish long line.

Official copy of Marriage license/translated into French

If you want to drive abroad you will need an International drivers license. I got mine from AAA for $20. One of the easiest items to get.

Passports (no less than a year before expiration, at least two blank pages and in good shape)

Visa photos (at least 6 each) Olivia and I needed to re-take our photos because our hair was covering our ears. Bummer, I liked our first ones better!

  Proof of medical insurance coverage (No deductible, minimum of 50,000 euros of coverage, must indicate “valid outside of the USA or “valid worldwide” and show coverage dates for one year) We bought our policy through our current medical United Healthcare Global Plan. They email you a letter to bring to the appointment. Antz company benefits aren’t valid in France past 90 days.

Proof of financial means (Three months of bank statements, pay stubs and tax returns) Or a big sack of cash!

Statement of Purpose (an official statement of what you plan to do while in Paris). In our case, we are not allowed to apply for work while abroad so we stated we were there for our daughter to attend school and immerse ourselves in the French culture (and eat pastries). Fingers crossed that is enough. Most people apply for studying so they show their university admission letter.

Letter of intention not to work while in Paris (also translated into French). This is strange because Antz will be working while in Paris but he is considered a US remote worker, so he is allowed to work but not conduct any business in Paris. This emoji best sums up what I just wrote.

Submit the completed visa application online. What I found frustrating is there is no way to edit existing online applications so I had to re-submit a new application every time I needed to make a change or correction. This meant that I filled out 3 applications, printed them, signed them and scanned them to send to our advisor in France EIGHT SEPARATE TIMES!! That’s 72 pieces of paper. LAME! The online application is in English but it will print in French so make sure you check for corrections before you finish.

A few years ago I attempted to fill out the visa application and I ended up with so many blank spaces because I didn’t have most of the info and I didn’t have approval from his company yet. I totally broke down and cried with frustration. They ask you to show proof of financial means for the year. To me that translates to “You better be fucking rich.” I have discovered they have a minimum of 13,000 euros per person for the year. They also ask for the address of where you will be staying in Paris on the application, so you have to secure an apartment BEFORE you get your visa. How can you do this to people?

In our case, we don’t have a lease for a rental yet so we got an attestation d’hébergement (a letter stating someone will be hosting you during your stay) from the woman I was planning to exchange with last year. She also had to give us a copy of her passport. This was a total pain because I had to find an English sample of what to write for the attestation and then translate it into French for her. Also, the first copy of her passport she sent me was too dark to use so I had to bug her again for a better quality upload. She’s super cool about everything and quickly got back to me but make sure all your documents are pristine. It’s super tedious and frustrating but every time I checked something off my things to do list, I felt amazing! Although the find a place to live box is still unchecked.

So what if I had no idea how to fill out the French OFII Residency form? Big deal that I had to white-out all of our birth dates on all SIX forms (three originals, three copies) because the French write their dates with the Day/Month/Year. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like not having enough money or a solid plan get in the way of my dream! You will become really good friends with Google Translate.

Our final step was sort of ridiculous, getting our police clearance reports. I’m sure the French consulate wants to be sure no one with a criminal record isn’t planning to set up shop in France. We went to the police department in downtown LA and as soon as we found parking, I realized I forgot our passports at home. We tried again later that evening because the hours were 8:00 am – 8:00 pm. Lucky us, we get there at 7:00 pm and they guy said the commanding office had already left for the day and they needed to sign our reports. We could either have it mailed to us or pick it up the next day. Since we were a week from our visa appointment, I didn’t want to risk mailing it, so we said we would come back the next day. Then they guy was like, Oh! we are closed on Fridays. So we had to return on Monday morning. This time I called to be sure it wouldn’t be any drama and they said the  best time to come would be 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. I guess third time’s a charm because we finally got them! Why is everything a hoop to jump through?

We were ecstatic to finally get our clearance reports. The woman who took this photo asked if we were tourists.

You need to show confirmation of your plane tickets. Yep, buy your plane tickets before you get your visas!

We also had to get an official letter from Antz company’s legal department. (which is required if you are working remotely)

Our visa appointment is tomorrow freaking morning! I just finished putting together our folder this afternoon. It took me over a year to complete everything.

I must admit, I feel pretty confident we will get our visas tomorrow. I have an lucky charm named Olivia who happens to speak French and is too adorable for words.

  In the beginning of this process I got comfortable reaching out to people who have lived abroad. I emailed Jordan from Oh Happy Day (she has a great guide to moving to Paris ) with a long list of questions which she kindly answered and gave me excellent advice; dress up for the visa appointment, it’s cheaper to pay for extra luggage on the airplane than ship boxes and get a letter from your employer saying you will be employed during the time you will spend abroad. It is important to reach out to other expats because I needed info but also, I needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that it’s possible without corporate sponsorship, or being a millionaire made it more realistic. This has become a full-time job for me. Prepare yourself to be on the phone during the middle of the night talking to France. Seriously, our visa advisor requested Antz high school diploma. It was at his sister’s house and he hadn’t seen it for 25 YEARS!! Then we had to get it translated into French only to end up no longer needing it for our appointment. We had to reschedule our visa appointment FOUR times. I could make a killing turning this into a business but the stress isn’t worth it. I am taking stress/anxiety meds and I am still breaking out in hives. Yet, every meltdown, every tear and every headache will be worth it.

  Let me be honest, money matters, this is not the path for someone who makes less than $50k a year. I am just on the cusp of shelling out the major Euros. We still need to pay a real estate agent to rent our house in LA and put down a serious deposit to rent a place in Paris. Here is a breakdown on what we have spent on documents.

$45 for our official birth certificates and marriage license

$96 in photos (AAA charges $8 per photo and was our least expensive option)

$280 to renew our passports

$2568 for international medical insurance policy

$120 in printer ink (for the hundreds of copies!)

$66 for Antz and I to renew our driver licenses

$66 for our police clearance reports (they only accept cash)

$450 for our documents to be translated into French

$325  for Stephen our initial visa consultant

$1300 for our French visa advisor

$375/99 euros per person for the visa application fees (the euro has gone up $50 since my last post!)

Countless hours of gathering and preparing everything, I’m not even including my cell phone bill for the long distance calls.

Total – $3,123 (although I’m sure it’s higher, I’m forgetting something!)

You have to submit a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the French Consulate to send your passports back along with the visas (fingers crossed). However, the visas are not yet officially complete until after you arrive in France. You must register at your local Mairie (which is similar to a city hall), take an X-Ray for your health exam, submit your forms with the OPII office (French immigration) and pay another fee of 241 euros.

One of the downsides of our move is we can’t take our 11 year old cat Lola with us. She is an indoor/outdoor cat and I know she wouldn’t do well confined inside an apartment all day. Plus, we have so many travel plans and we don’t have confirmed long term housing, it’s not possible to bring her to France as sad as that makes us. I do have info for anyone who may want to bring their cat abroad. Just email me for more details. Lola will be staying in our house, we discussed it and she’s cool with it.

I began writing this post on February 18, 2016 at 3 am. I have updated it over the last two years and it’s insane how much we have overcome to get where we are. Just do it!

Consulate General of France

10390 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 115 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Monday – Friday from 8:45 am to 12 noon. By appointment only

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Applying for a Long Stay Tourist Visa This post is for you brave souls who are looking to move abroad for longer than 90 days, applying for a long stay tourist visa in the European Union.

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 9/30/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Saturday, September 30th, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing Saturday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).

NO IGNORING S&P: ACTING PM RESPONDS TO LATEST ECONOMIC DOWNGRADE –Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy says the recent downgrade by international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) should not be ignored. At the same time, Sealy does not expect any tourism fallout as a result of  S&P’s lowering of the long-term local currency sovereign credit rating on the country to ‘CCC’ from ‘CCC+, while affirming its long-term foreign currency sovereign rating at ‘CCC+’. However, even though S&P has said that the outlook on both long-term ratings is negative, Sealy does not expect the latest downgrade to have a direct impact on the vital tourism sector. In fact, delivering the weekly Astor B Watts lunchtime lecture at the Democratic Labour Party’s George Street headquarters on Friday, he pointed to a number of current and pending investments in the sector, arguing that while it was expected that investors would look at the country’s overall investment grade, he did not see it causing them to hold back. The Acting Prime Minister said he was satisfied that Government had been creating the enabling environment for investment in the sector, though he was not prepared to dismiss the downgrade out of hand. (BT)

CARNIVAL CANCELS CRUISES – Tourism industry players dependent on the cruise industry have had the wind knocked out of their sales. Carnival Cruise Lines announced the cancellation of the Carnival Fascination’s cruises to Barbados for September 24, October 4 and 11, due to the damage Hurricane Maria caused to San Juan in Puerto Rico, home port for Carnival and other major cruise lines. The fact that something was amiss showed up as early as Wednesday when the familiar sight of the ship’s red, white and blue funnel standing out against the skyline was missing at the Bridgetown Port. Chief executive officer of Foster and Ince Cruises, Martin Ince, whose company is responsible for handling many cruise lines coming into Barbados, confirmed they had been advised about the cancellations by Carnival.  (SS)

NOT BUDGING: HEIGHTENED PROTEST NOW SEEMS INEVITABLE – It now seems inevitable that workers at two statutory corporations will be off the job in the not too distant future. This as a bitter pay dispute between management of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation(CBC) and the Barbados Workers’ Union remains deadlocked. Amid feverish last ditch efforts by the Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer -Suckoo to broker an agreement this morning, both sides appeared to be digging in their heels, with the BWU today threatening to call out its members at the neighbouring Barbados Water Authority (BWA) headquarters over the vexed issue of payment of outstanding increments. As the CBC workers picketed the compound of the state broadcaster this morning, there were loud shouts of “speak the truth” after the corporation’s management issued a statement in its evening newscast on Tuesday night to the effect that while workers may be legally entitled to receive increments, such payments must fall within the existing salary scales. Management is however contending that any payments outside of the existing scales would be “tantamount to salary increases”, which, according to Section 20 (c) of the CBC Act, can only be granted by the minister responsible, which in this case is Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. At a press conference this afternoon, CBC Chairman Peter Earle also reported that the strike, which is now into its third day, has had limited effect on the operations of the state broadcaster with only 25 per cent of workers currently off the job and the radio, television and cable station’s programming largely unaffected. However, when pressed by Barbados TODAY, the CBC chairman admitted that the threat of escalated industrial action was cause for concern. (BT)

CLASSES DISRUPTED AT ST LEONARD’S BOYS’ – Classes ended abruptly today at the St Leonard’s Boys’ School, after more than 30 of the 70 teachers at the Government-run institution called in sick, in apparent protest over the dismissal of a clerk typist. It was just yesterday that President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman served notice during a news conference at the union’s Belleville, St Michael headquarters of possible protest action in support of the terminated worker, and today the union seemingly delivered on its threat. After more than a third of the teaching staff failed to show up for work, school was dismissed today at noon – just after lunch – instead of the customary 2 p.m. However, up to 1:30 p.m. several students were still milling around the school compound, waiting to be picked up, as parents were seemingly caught off guard by the early closure. When approached by Barbados TODY,  Principal Joseph Maynard refused to comment on the situation. And in the absence of an official comment from Redman, another union official warned that today’s action was just the “first stand” against the school’s board of management, the principal and the Ministry of Education. The source explained that the clerk typist at the centre of the dispute had been employed at the Richmond Gap institution for three years before she was “unfairly dismissed” on August 31, 2017. The official also said that over 40 members of staff had written on her behalf calling for her reinstatement. However, the school board has had at least two meetings without addressing the dismissal. The source, who did not want to be identified, also suggested that under Maynard’s leadership, the school was in disarray. “The leadership skills are very poor and it is chaos. That entire school is chaos,” the source said, while disclosing that the timetable for the new term had only been finalized this week. “This is week three and the timetables should have been done at the end of last term and because of all the nonsense going on, as a manager and as a leader, the timetables were only fully constructed by the end of this week,” the teacher complained. (BT)

SCHOOL SYSTEM FALLING SHORT, QC PRINCIPAL WARNS - Amid rising crime and violence, a leading educator is suggesting that the school system is failing way too many of this region’s young people and that teachers must take their fair share of the blame for society’s problems. “With all the troubles we have in teaching and the teaching profession I look forward to the day of the teacher’s service commission . . . you need a system of which you can regulate and put terms and conditions on those who enter the system, conditions for entry and exit, if you don’t do your job, leave,” suggested Principal of Queen’s College Dr David Browne, as he zeroed in on the issue of education and its role in development as he delivered a guest lecture at the Rotary Club of Barbados West’s Tuesday night meeting. The principal also advocated for more soft skills to be taught at secondary schools, while lamenting the high number of students leaving school every year without certification. “As practitioners you fail if 70 per cent of the people you are teaching fail in getting certification,” Browne said, while suggesting that educators should be constantly thinking about their craft and presenting solutions to problems. The principal further suggested that on the whole more needed to be done to ensure that Barbados gets more value for the money spent on public education. Browne argued that the recent surge of violence was not surprising. In fact, he suggested that crime and violence had been on an upward spiral since the 1980s. However, he said it was the responsibility of citizens to bring the situation back under control. (BT)

OPEN ARMS – Barbados has embraced almost 20 schoolchildren from those Caribbean islands ravaged during the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria and given them a chance to attend school here. Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for schools Joy Adamson told the SATURDAY SUN the ministry was trying to accommodate the schoolchildren as best they could. “Anybody who comes into the island and wants to get children into school goes through a process,” Adamson said in a telephone interview yesterday. “There is a registration process that we have here especially for those persons and we obviously talk with them and try to see what is the best location for them, then we contact the schools to see if there is space to accommodate them,” she added.  (SS)

DOCS TO THE RESCUE – As Dominica continues to pick up the pieces after being hit by Hurricane Maria almost two weeks ago, healthcare providers are bracing for more health issues. While some healthcare facilities across the island are operating, the Princess Margaret Hospital remains the only place to handle some critical patients.

When a Saturday Sun team visited the Accident & Emergency Department, Dr Chaynie Williams, head of Barbados’ Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Accident & Emergency, was halfway through her 12-hour shift. “The pools of stagnant water are cause for concern. We have not had anyone come in with dengue or anything of the sort yet, but I anticipate we will soon. Same as the rodent-borne illnesses. The piles of garbage building around the country . . . . Something has to be done about them otherwise there will be lots of sick people around,” she said. (SS)

SKERRIT’S FURY: PM RATTLED BY CRITICS IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE MARIA – With Dominica still struggling to pick up the pieces after it was battered by Hurricane Maria on September 18, a rattled prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Friday turned his wrath on certain unnamed elements in the country who, in his estimation, were seeking to undermine the recovery effort. Instead of his usual update on the relief efforts, the prime minister used much of this morning’s daily media briefing to lambaste those persons who he said were using social media and other methods to spread false information about Dominica in light of the storm. “This talk about food supplies and partisanship with food supplies and politicians are the ones dealing with the delivery of food supplies, this is total nonsense,” a visibly upset Skerrit said at the briefing, which was carried live on social media. “As the prime minister of this country, I sleep on the floor. As the prime minister of this country, I bathed this morning from a bucket of water. I don’t eat corned beef, I don’t eat sardines, so where the hell am I going to put corned beef or stock up sardines at my home or anywhere else?” he demanded to know. Skerrit explained that while relief supplies were coming in, there were limitations in terms of places to store the supplies in communities because every single home in the country was damaged during the passage of Maria, which also claimed 27 lives. He also made it clear that the distribution of supplies was being managed by the international aid agencies. “People who are seeking to undermine the government’s effort of bringing relief and bringing aid and bringing restoration of services to our country, need to stop it,” he said. “We can’t be going out there on social media, on the radio and elsewhere and making these unfounded, baseless, malicious allegations. It’s not going to hurt me and this thing must stop. Because it’s really p*****g me off that there are people out there talking a bunch of nonsense about food supplies. (BT)

WATSON TO ISSUE APOLOGY TO GOVT MINISTER MICHAEL LASHLEY - Omar Shawn Watson, of Maxwell, Christ Church, has agreed to issue a public apology to Minister of Transport Michael Lashley. Watson, who first appeared in court back in November 2014 charged with the offence of malicious communication, told Magistrate Elwood Watts in the Oistins Magistrates’ Court today he would issue the apology via social media. The charge stemmed from a message, which appeared on social media three years ago, which was said to be menacing in character and caused Lashley annoyance, distress and anxiety. (BT)

SERIAL BURGLAR – A 23-year-old man, who is known for breaking into houses, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison. Kemar Dorian Clarke of Ashby Alley, Nelson Street, St Michael appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today where he pleaded guilty to a charge of entering the home of I-zion Clarke as a trespasser on September 4 and stealing a $350 bicycle, a $45 bicycle pump, a $75 belt and a $150 bottle of perfume. The homeowner reportedly returned home on the day in question to discover that the kitchen window, which he had closed, was open and the items missing. Police later executed a search warrant at Clarke’s home where the items were found. Today, even before Clarke’s lawyer could mitigate on his behalf, the magistrate revealed that the accused had spent time in prison for breaking into homes. However, attorney Mohia Ma’at sought to explain that his client was a “heavy user of marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine” and that “he got into all of this because of grief”. The attorney further explained that his client was “devastated” after his grandmother, who he was close to, passed away back in April at the age of 98. However, Frederick was not willing to entertain this excuse. He suggested that “fellas come and use any excuse [but] grandmothers are sticklers to rules” . “I think he [Clarke] is a danger to society as it is and he is a danger to himself because he may break into the wrong person’s house and he won’t be here. In fact he is a danger to anyone who has a house. He is not learning and he came back here charged with three offences,” Frederick added. Clarke is also accused of entering the home of Jean Ori as a trespasser on August 28 and stealing a pair of bangles worth $300, a bracelet worth $260, a slave band worth $300, two watches worth $400, a necklace and earring set worth $640, a necklace worth $200, a $100 chain, ten pairs of earrings worth $350 and four rings worth $250. He also alleged to have entered the home of Joshua Hall on the same day and stealing a laptop valued $1,485 and a tablet valued at $299. However, he denied committing those offences. In his own plea for leniency, Clarke told the magistrate that he needed help “before it gets any worse. Psychiatric help with a nurse or something so”. However, the magistrate informed him that he could get the help if he so desired while at Dodds prison in St Philip. “I still will come back out and do the same thing,” Clarke then declared, adding “well, well, well, God don’t sleep”, to which the magistrate replied: “Why you think you are here?” He returns to court on October 27 to answer to the outstanding offences. (BT)

PLEASE RELEASE ME, BEGS GRIMES – After suggesting that he was not worried about the consequences of refusing to perform 140 hours of community service, a 20-year-old man returned to court today begging for a second chance after spending time on remand at Dodds prison. “I can’t handle it Sir, please, I am very sorry for displaying my awful behaviour. I really can’t handle it in prison, that time killing me,” Schifo Romario Grimes of Pilgrim Road, Christ Church told Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the District ‘A’ Court today. Grimes had pleaded guilty back in February to possession of cannabis and was given “a golden opportunity” which he did not grab with both hands. In August an official from the Probation Department, which oversees community service, told the court that Grimes had no desire to complete the hours allotted to him and also had no regard for the consequences. In fact, Grimes had completed only five hours of the service despite being issued with several warning letters over his failure to report to perform his duty. When he appeared in court via an arrest warrant, Grimes told the magistrate he was not interested in the community service. However, today he had an obvious change of heart. “There [jail] ain’t no place for me. I honestly can’t stay in jail. People just coming round me . . . taking my things. I am not a bad boy, Sir. I just asking if I can get another chance to prove myself. I begging you. I can’t handle it please,” Grimes pleaded. His mother, who was present in court, also told the magistrate that her son “did not give no trouble” but just would not do the service. “All the good boys end up here,” the magistrate stated, as he gave Grimes his second chance at community service. “Thank you your honour,” a grateful Grimes said as he left the court to return on December 8 for a progress report on his community service. (BT)

SMITH TO GET HELP WITH DRUG HABIT – A 20-year-old man was today transferred from HMP Dodds to the Psychiatric Hospital for an assessment. On Wednesday, Antonio Daren Smith of Spruce Street, The City, St Michael pleaded guilty to possession of apparatus for the misuse of cocaine and was remanded to prison by Magistrate Douglas Frederick to reappear today for sentencing. However, Smith, who was arrested by police on patrol on September 27 after a cracked bottle with white residue suspected to cocaine was found in his possession, made a formal plea for help to fight his drug addiction. “I want to know if I can do something that could help me like Verdun House. I get addicted by a fella . . . I started by smoking marijuana,” Smith revealed. However the magistrate informed him that he would have to spend three weeks at the Black Rock Hospital for an assessment to be made of his suitability for drug rehabilitation. “That’s no problem Sir. Today Sir?” an anxious Smith asked. He returns to court on October 20. (BT)

JAMAICAN HAIRDRESSER SENT OFF TO DODDS – A 21-year-old Jamaican hairdresser, who is accused of importing two kilos of cannabis into Barbados, has been remanded to Dodds prison. Patricia Stephanie Rose of No.2 Springfield Road, Morant Bay, St Thomas appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today charged with possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of the illicit substance after she was nabbed at the Grantley Adams International Airport on September 27 with three packages of the drug in her handbag. She was remanded to prison until October 5 after the prosecutor, Sergeant Martin Rock, objected to her bail on the basis that she may abscond, given that she is a non-national with no concrete ties to Bridgetown. (BT)

BLANKED – West Indies failed in their bid to end their English summer on a high when they suffered a heavy nine-wicket drubbing in the final One-Day International of the five-match series today. Defending 288 at the Ageas Bowl, West Indies were put to the sword by Jonny Bairstow who belted an unbeaten 141 and fellow opener Jason Roy, who hammered 96, as the hosts marched to their target off 38 overs to complete a 4-0 series win. The pair put on 156 for the first wicket before Test captain Joe Root, who ended unbeaten on 46, added a further 138 in an unbroken second-wicket stand with Bairstow to see England to their 16th win over the Windies in their last 22 ODI meetings. (BT)

DERRICK GARRETT’S FINAL PLAY – A caring man, a loving father, devoted husband and a no-nonsense individual, were among the many qualities attributed to late Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) president Derrick Alphonzo Garrett, during his funeral service at the Christ Church Parish Church this evening. Garrett passed away on September 14 after a two-year battle with cancer. And this afternoon, scores of persons, including members of his family, the basketball and other sporting fraternities, members of the Guardian Group where he worked, friends and acquaintances, packed inside and outside the church. Sports administrators such as outgoing Barbados Olympic Association president Steve Stoute, assistant director of sport at the National Sports Council, Mona Alleyne, former Barbados cricket manager, Hartley Reid, former teacher and entertainer Mac Fingall, all joined Garrett’s wife Ingrid, mother Valda Pinder, sons Darren and Derrick Jr., sister Denise Holder, mother of West Indies captain, Jason Holder, to pay their final goodbyes. (BT)

BIGGER RUN BARBADOS – The Cave Shepherd Run Barbados Marathon Weekend is expecting to see an increase in competitors at this year’s event. This was revealed by event director Zary Evelyn during yesterday’s press launch at the South Beach Hotel. “We are expecting growth this year to be around 20 to 25 per cent and that is despite the fact that the Caribbean has gotten a bad press with the hurricanes. "A lot of people out there that were interested in coming to Barbados for the marathon have been calling and emailing and want to know how you guys [Barbados] are recovering so it took a lot of getting the message out there that Barbados is ready for everyone to come in and enjoy the marathon weekend,” Evelyn said. (SS)

CHANGES MADE TO THIS YEAR’S NIFCA – Changes have been made to this year’s National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), with the announcement today of the creation of a new “semi-professional category” of competitors. Chief Cultural Officer at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Alison Sealy Smith made the revelation during a NIFCA press briefing at the Haggatt Hall offices of the Ministry of Culture Sports and Youth, at which she reported that planning for this year’s festival began back in early June. The NCF official also said that  following “an in-depth critical analysis of the last ten years of its Performing Arts component” it was decided that an additional category would be added. Winners in this category will be eligible for a yearlong BIMAP course to study for a certificate in management studies at a value of $2,500. Sealy-Smith also announced that this year’s Performing Arts finals will take place at the Major Noot Hall at the Combermere School instead of the Frank Collymore Hall, which is under renovation. And while the NIFCA Gala is set to return to its original home at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, the Visual Arts Exhibition will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre where its opening will be twinned with the Literary Arts Gala as part of an Evening of the Arts celebration. This year’s NIFCA semifinalists will be announced next week, ahead of the first semi-final on October 7-8 at the Lester Vaughn School. (BT)

NAIL BITING FINALE – There’s no better way to describe Sunday’s finale to the inaugural Richard Stoute Talent Contest for differently abled persons than thrilling. It was a nail-biter. Plain and simple. One of the most keenly contested competitions Barbados has seen in a very long time. So much so, that even after all 16 performances on the night, I’m sure many who packed the house at the Divi Southwinds Resort in St Lawrence Gap were scratching their heads in wonderment about who would be named the eventual winner. The competition saw eight contestants, who suffer from physical and visual challenges, blow everyone away with their fantastic talent and skills. At the end though, it was calypsonian Granville Carter that emerged as the best of the best and he walked away with bragging rights, a huge trophy and $2 000 cash for his efforts. (SS)

That’s all for today folks there are 92 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – News From Around The World

Wednesday 20th September 201

Good Morning Gentle Reader….  Sometimes when I write the Tulip, I can’t take the grin off my face.. Viagra.. May in Bits… Missing trousers.. Drunk Seagulls, Lost Hurst.. and you Gentle Reader want me to keep a straight face, not possible, then I read your comments and the laughter starts all over again .. I catch Bella looking at me, with a quizzical look on her face…. And it all starts over again.. have a great day, sometimes when we think life is difficult for us, think of Gurinder Bharaj arrested for trying to sell “Fake Stiffy’s”…. and if that doesn’t bring a grin to your face, check your pulse, you maybe dead…..

MAN JAILED AFTER BEING CAUGHT WITH 100,000 DOSES OF FAKES VIAGRA…. A man has been jailed after being caught with more than 100,000 unlicensed doses of fake Viagra. Gurinder Bharaj, 27, was found with erectile dysfunction medication worth more than £30,000 after an investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Bharaj, from Southall, West London, was also caught with a smaller quantity of prescription medication, which was also seized. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of possession and supply of significant quantities of unauthorised and unlicensed medication, and was jailed for 20 months at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday. He was also ordered to pay a £75 victim surcharge. MHRA Head of Enforcement, Alastair Jeffrey, said: “Selling unlicensed medicines is illegal and can pose a serious risk to health. “The fact that a medicine is unauthorised means that it has not been subjected to the regulatory scrutiny and quality assurances required to get a license. “These products can be dangerous as their contents are unknown and untested and the consequences for your health can be devastating…. I can’t write for laughing….

GEORGE OSBORNE WANTS THERESA MAY ‘CHOPPED UP IN MY FREEZER’…. George Osborne has reportedly claimed he will not rest until Prime Minister Theresa May is “chopped up in bags in my freezer”, according to a profile of the chancellor-turned-newspaper editor. Tory MP Nadine Dorries said the reported comment was an “insight into the way his mind works”, while Mrs May’s former aide Nick Timothy also took a swipe at the former cabinet minister. The profile in Esquire highlighted the way Mr Osborne had used his editorship of the London Evening Standard to criticise Mrs May’s leadership. The Prime Minister sacked Mr Osborne when she took over at Number 10 and he quit as an MP after the surprise announcement of his move into journalism. The Esquire profile said: “According to one staffer at the newspaper, Osborne has told more than one person that he will not rest until she ‘is chopped up in bags in my freezer’.” Ms Dorries, who previously clashed with Mr Osborne and his ally David Cameron, said the piece was “a brief insight into how his mind works - and always has”. Mr Timothy highlighted a quote in the piece from a former aide saying Mr Osborne “doesn’t want people to think he’s an arsehole, because he’s not an arsehole”.

MAN LOSES TROUSERS IN HALIFAX, CANADA, APPEALS TO REDDIT FOR HELP…. An unlucky reveller set the internet to work this week when he pleaded with strangers to help him find the trousers he was wearing when he went out on the town for a few too many drinks. Canadian Andy Gaudry was visiting Halifax for his grandma’s 80th birthday when he got so inebriated he managed to lose track of the chinos he was wearing and woke up with no memory of where he left them -  and his wallet and phone were inside. Posting on Reddit, he asked the people of the town for help locating his pantaloons. “I blacked out and don’t know where I would have taken my pants off,” he wrote. “[I] had security check the tapes at the hotel and I indeed was pants-less when I arrived back. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.” Users on the site initially thought it was all a joke: While others already knew of the pain caused by missing clothing in Halifax: And, typical of the internet, someone chose to poke fun at his fashion choices: The loss of his charcoal Calvin Klein chinos meant Gaudry was left wandering the streets with his hot pink briefs on show. The only evidence he had to help him piece together the remnants of his alcohol-induced amnesia was a credit card payment to a kebab shop at 4am. “We were out gallivanting around town. I’m not even sure where we were, wherever all the bars are,” he told CBC. “It’s a great town, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. So much so I felt the need to walk around without my [trousers] on.” Gaudry’s bottoms were located the same day his Reddit appeal went out. They were handed into the hotel after being found on Lower Water Street nearby.

SEAGULLS ‘DRUNK’ FROM EATING FLYING ANTS MAY POSE A DANGER TO HUMANS…. Britons have been warned to stay alert due to an unusually high number of seagulls “tripping on acid” after eating flying ants. Experts say this week’s hot weather has caused a mass emergence of the insects, which seagulls like to eat despite it affecting their cognitive behaviour. Dr Rebecca Nesbit of the Society of Biology says the ants contain formic acid, which can cause gulls to appear “drunk” and lose their inhibitions after eating them. Monday was dubbed “Flying Ant Day” because the high temperatures caused swarms of the insects to appear across the country. The RSPB’s Tony Whitehead says seagulls have an increased appetite for the bugs. “The gulls are mad for them,” he said in a statement. “There has been a massive emergence of the ants over the last three days and they are like little treats for the gulls. “They are like M&Ms to them. They go to wherever they are.” The effects of the critters are said to have caused seagulls to fly into buildings and even moving cars. “I have seen the crushed bodies of around half a dozen gulls on main roads around the city,” one Exeter motorist told the Daily Star. “Normally they fly off before getting anywhere near a vehicle, but they just seem to be getting mown down.” Wildlife experts say seagulls become so hellbent on gorging on flying ants, they become reckless and dangerous. Flying ants are drawn out of hiding in huge numbers at one particular point in the year due to their queen’s “nuptial flight”. The conditions for this mating ritual must include high temperatures and no chance of rain, making the current weather perfect for the ant queen to leave her nest in search of a mate. The matriarch of the colony takes flight to find a suitable spot far away from her home to avoid in-breeding, then releases pheromones to attract swarms of male drones. The sudden appearance of these flying ants in huge numbers provides a substantial snack for hungry seagulls. The phenomenon can last up to two weeks at a time.

AND FINALLY… UNDERTAKER LOSES HEARSE AND CORPSE AFTER ‘GOING FOR A BOOZY LUNCH’…. Of all the things you could lose, this is probably one of the most worrying. An unfortunate undertaker managed to lose his entire hearse and a dead body after stopping for a boozy lunch on his way to a funeral. The driver had been sent to Italy to pick up the corpse and take it back to Poland, but stopped off for a bite to eat along the way. After parking his Mercedes hearse “somewhere near the main train station” in Munich, the hapless funeral worker was then unable to find his vehicle which still had the deceased locked up in the back. Local police officers told the media “he wasn’t very helpful and we think that alcohol may have come into play”. After 24 hours and a public call for help, the car was eventually spotted near the city’s Isar River, which is nowhere near the train station. The 24-year-old later continued his journey onto Warsaw to deliver the body.

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the news from around the world this, Wednesday morning… …

Our Tulips today are really close, and I do mean close....

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 20th September 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

[enetproperty-blog]

House Prices Post Brexit

Where will UK house prices in the post Brexit world be headed? House Prices Post-Brexit Well, we don’t know for sure yet because we don’t know what kind of Brexit we will get, or even if we will get one anyway, (the UK could delay the fateful day or even change its mind). Of course, all the uncertainty is making business and consumers delay decisions on things. It will all work out in the end but whichever way you look at it, Brexit is a big change to the economic landscape. Back in 2015 I wrote a piece where I looked at house prices in the UK and whether they were too high or too low and where they might be headed. In fact, I have written several pieces like this from time to time. When I wrote the 2015 piece, (see link at the very end of this blog), I still never really envisaged that the UK would leave the European Union, so things have changed and my conclusions are worth revisiting in the light of the decision to leave. Back then, I was concerned that house prices looked “toppy” in places like London and I also mused on the potential for endemic deflation to set in for the long term, which I suggested would eventually have a big impact on house prices too. (Ultimately, in the medium to long run, consumer price inflation eventually feeds into asset inflation – things like house prices and share prices – or at least it does in the absence of other big factors, such as huge moves in in the cost of borrowing and saving money (interest rates)). So what’s changed then? Brexit and The Migrants Since I wrote my 2015 piece, Brexit has made the UK a far less attractive place for migrants to come to work in. Many migrant workers already here and those considering coming here will regularly translate what they can make and save here in pounds back into Zlotys or Czech Crowns or whatever and conclude that the UK is not so great any more. The devalued exchange rate for the UK pound against other currencies as a result of Brexit has seen to that. Some may also worry about whether they will be able to actually stay in the future (though I think this is less of a concern right now). Plus, the economies of Poland and many other parts of Europe are now growing at a faster pace than the UK and have been so for at least nine months. There are suddenly more jobs and more opportunities back home as the EU area finally seems to be coming out of the slow lane. Oh, and don’t think that the healthcare and schools in places like Central and Eastern Europe are worse than the UK, which must be why the migrants like it so much here. If you think that, you really need to get out and travel more. Most of my EU migrant tenants are not overly impressed with our schools or our NHS. Sorry if that’s news to people. So, why does this matter? Well, population pressures from migration has been a huge factor in house price (and to a lesser extent) rental price inflation. Take it away and you take away a big support for house prices. The Great House Price Collapse 1989-1995 In my 2015 article I reminded people how house prices fell in most of the UK by 30 to 35% in real terms from 1989 to 1995, an event which caused people real misery as the value of their homes plummeted to well below the value of their mortgages, leaving them paying interest on a loan that was more than the value of their home. Ouch!  House prices  did not pick up again until late in 1996, and even then it took a while for the rises to filter outside the south east. It can be so easy to forget this recent history in those areas of the UK, (especially London and the South East), which have seen more or less steady and sustained rises in house prices ever since 1996-7 But here is another thing to mull over. In the period from 1989 to 1995, the population of the UK stagnated or fell. This is a fact which is often overlooked, because most people just ascribe the falls in house prices then, to the shock of fast rising interest rates in 1989 and the withdrawal of double MIRAS (mortgage interest relief at source). They overlook the demographic impact of the population fall on house prices at that time. In this Brexit world, we must be alert to the possibility that if there is a big exit of migrants, house prices will certainly be affected adversely. And so will rents. On a very slightly more positive note, there are some factors working the other way as a result of Brexit. One is that foreign cash investment in the UK property market, especially from the likes of China and Singapore has increased even more as a result of the cheaper pound. But, as we have often said, too much of this money ends up in “me-too flats” which are already oversupplied, even in London. So, the impact on house prices of this particular extra stock could be limited in the longer term and it could possibly even be negative.  (Too much supply chasing too few tenants). The Asian investors are more likely to lose money over ten years than make much, bless ’em! The other factors in my 2015 piece have not changed much, though the risk of some inflation in the UK in the short to medium term is higher than it was in 2015. This could lead the government to increase interest rates, though only if the economy could stand it. However, I don’t think this is the case right now, given the very tight squeeze consumers are still under. So, actually in conclusion, I think that the outlook for house prices and rents is probably worse than it was in 2015. But, again so what? Should you not buy UK property? Opportunities in UK Property Right Now Always remember, not everywhere in the UK do house prices and rents move in the same way. Opportunities abound. And they abound most when all around is doom and gloom. The trick as a property investing landlord who is interested in holding property for the long term is to buy into the right area and the right type of property that will do well, even if the worst predictions about the economy come true. And also, those people who manage their property letting businesses well, keeping costs down, will always fare well too. Makes sure you are one of them. This is how we help people at LettingFocus in our one to one advice sessions.  WE show them where and what to buy and how to manage their lets effectively. Deflation, House Prices and Population ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS Services for Private Landlords We help landlords and property investors by showing them how to make money in the private rented sector using ways which are fair to tenants and which involve minimal risk. Our advice is completely independent. We take don’t commission payments or fees from anyone, ever. 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