#givemefeedback

[introverted-n-anxious]

The Other Cold Meat

My Dad worked for a funeral home for as long as I can remember. When I first started making my own money, I would join him at work and help out wherever I could and he’d give me twenty bucks. 

I was fairly young when I would join him and I’m embarrassed to admit that I always felt a tinge of fear. It looked just like any ordinary office and during the day my sister and I would have a ball rifling through desk drawers and filling out forms for our imaginary deceased friends. Perhaps this is where my love of filling out forms started.  The offices were a dream for a stationery lover like myself and I would sneak Post-It notes and brand new pens into my pockets. 

But then, when night fell, my imagination would run away with me. There would be doors that were always locked and I drove myself mad wondering what was behind them. 

One room I knew was the Viewing Room, but I didn’t always know if there would be a casket in there. I’d approach with my vacuum in tow and stand with my hand on the door knob for several minutes, psyching myself up to open the door. There was rarely a casket left in there and if there was, it was hardly ever left open. Yes, that means that sometimes I’d walk into a room with a casket and yes, sometimes it would be left open. 

If it wasn’t open, I’d go about my business vacuuming the room. Dad would saunter in and ask, “Hey, want to see who’s inside?” I’d always make him open it and look first in case the body had changed in any gruesome way. 

I always vacuumed that room the quickest, leaving a wide berth between the vacuum and the casket. My fear was I’d knock the trolley holding it up and the whole thing would come crashing down, the body rolling across the floor to my feet. 

The funeral home I hated the most had a door that led to the morgue straight from the chapel. The door was a massive, imposing thing and there was a large mystery stain on the carpet at the base of the door. In my childish mind, in the days before I knew how a morgue worked, I assumed it was a massive stainless steel room where bodies were piled on top of one another, waiting to be buried or cremated. Therefore, the mystery stain could only be a result of the seeping bodily fluids of those corpses. I vacuumed that room pretty quick too. 

As I got older and learned more, I became less fearful of things like that that frankly didn’t make sense. I’d wander the casket room and urn displays and decide which one best suited me. I’d sit at desks and look at family photos and wonder just what kind of person would choose to work with grieving families on a daily basis. 

When I was in high school I was still occasionally working for my dad when a classmate of mine died in a car crash. I was meeting a friend to walk to school and I saw she was crying as she appeared over the crest of the hill to meet me. 

We’d both gone to school with this boy since primary school and while my friend cried, I felt strangely disconnected. Perhaps I was just stunned. I’d never known anyone to die who wasn’t a grandparent, and this was a peer. Just a kid.

My high school was grieving not just for him, but for the other teen who died in the crash and the for the injured friends who had survived and had to live with that traumatic event. 

That week, I went to work with my dad and started by emptying out all the rubbish bins around the offices. As was my habit, I checked out the whiteboard to see the week’s activities. It was divided into a grid that gave details of upcoming services and there at the top I saw his name. 

It seemed so odd to me that such a massive event was reduced to another name on someone’s to-do list. I felt like his death was somehow more ‘special’ than the other ones and it wasn’t fair to just add his name with the others, only to be erased next week once his service was over. Looking back, I’m not sure what sort of fanfare I expected. 

One day, I’ll just be a notation on a whiteboard too. 

I wonder how people’s perceptions of death change once they work in a funeral home. For me, I find it silly when people are grossed out by funeral homes. I’ll mention that my family worked at one for several years, and the inevitable reaction is shock and disgust. Perhaps they, like me as a child, picture rooms stacked with bodies on top of each other. 

Now, I just picture my dad in the hearse, casket in tow, snacking on a sandwich and navigating traffic while onlookers gape in horror. Pointing to his sandwich, he’d say, “Don’t worry, it’s not that kind of cold meat.”

[featheredwyrm]

My Muse...is into fanfic...

So, I was trying to do NaNoWriMo last month, and it failed horribly until halfway through I started playing Overwatch again and I was introduced to the new tank, Sigma. Well, like most of my Special Interests, I started doing research on wikis and wading through fan art and all sorts, and a story came to mind that I started writing down that became my 1/5 attempt to NaNo. I didn’t make it, didn’t expect to, but my muse had returned...

And it had me writing fanfic.

This particular fanfic has Siebren having a family, and the POV centers around either him or his granddaughter. I’ll leave one of my more recent scenes if any other in the Tumblrverse is interested. If I generate some interest, I might post more, but as it is horribly fragmented at the moment, it’ll be a slow process.

Apologies for not putting under cut. I only have access to mobile right now.

They walked along, enjoying each other’s company, a few precious moments away from their four-year-old son, Ravi. One of Selene’s coworkers had been gracious enough to take him for the night so they could have an actual “date night”, something they hadn’t had since he was born. Their breath came out in great puffs from the cold, but neither cared. The gardens at Christmas had always been special for them: the first true off-campus date they had, then Siebren walking in freezing temps with a frozen knee from asking for her hand in marriage, culminating in their wedding at noon on Christmas Day.

Street musicians serenaded, children giggled and yelled and ran, chasing the snowflakes that had begun to fall again.

The young couple purchased a cup of cocoa each before walking over to an empty bench, Siebren brushing the seat clean with his scarf, folding it and placing it down on the wood so Selene could sit. She sat, and when he did, she leaned over and kissed his lips. They sat and people-watched until Selene wrapped her arms around one of his and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Are you happy?” she asked, voice hardly loud enough to hear over the noise, but she knew he heard her; he always heard her, even if he wasn’t fully paying attention to what she said.

“Happier than you can imagine. They couldn’t put words or notes to express, nor equations to quantify how happy I am. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing big, really. I was just asking.”

He nodded, kissed the top of her head, and took a sip of cocoa before returning to people-watching, chuckling as children attempted to play fetch with their dog, the poor thing losing the snow “ball” in the piles on either side of the sidewalk.

“How many stars are in a binary system again?”

“Two,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Bi means two. Surely you learned that in elementary school.”

“I did.”

A return to sipping and sightseeing, broken again by Selene.

“I was wondering if you were able to get days off from your lab and your teaching assignments yet.”

Siebren adjusted his position so he faced his wife entirely. “I’ve had days off available since I started. Are you attempting to hint at something that I’m clearly missing?”

She laughed. “As badly as that poor dog is missing that the ball they’re throwing is made of the same stuff he’s crunching through.” She kissed him, lips soft, the feeling briefly warming their chilled skin. “Do you think Ravi would like a little brother or sister?”

“Oh, I suppose not at first, but I’m sure it’ll…” he stared at her blankly, realization filling his eyes, a nervous laugh escaping. “Are you? Really?”

“The campus doctor confirmed it at lunchtime. Don’t be mad at me for waiting this long to tell you.”

“Mad? As a hatter! Positively delirious!” He pulled her close and kissed her, a long, lingering kiss. “That’s wonderful news! Two!” He jumped to standing, climbing up onto the bench, arms stretched wide. “I’m going to be a father! Again!”

Many shouts of “congratulations!” and various blessings came from everyone around them, Siebren bouncing off of the bench, wrapping his arms around Selene, pulling her up with him and twirled around. “Another son!”

“Or daughter,” she proposed as he set her back down.

“Or daughter,” he conceded. “Do they have a due date yet?”

“Siebren! I just got it confirmed! I haven’t been to the OB/GYN yet!”

“I’m sorry.” He simply stared at her, grinning from ear to ear.

They sat there, discussing various things, from names to colors to if they should have the new baby share a room with Ravi when they were older, before the cold finally won and they started walking to the car.

Explosions rocked the air, shattering the streetlights above. Siebren quickly threw himself over Selene, brushing glass shards out of her hair as they stood. He told her to stay put while he walked out to the street, seemingly the epicenter of the chaos.

A second explosion sent the crowd rushing back into the park, he trying and failing to move any further towards the street. He used his height to his advantage, catching glimpses of moving machinery marching closer.

Omnics.

He had heard on the news that several cities had been attacked by the “sentient” machines, casualties numbering in the hundreds before that battle was silenced, only to have another one break out a country away. But that would never happen here…

Until now.

He turned back to the park, trying to force his way back to where he had left her. “Selene!” He spun around. Had he gotten pushed off course by the stampede of frightened citizens?

“Siebren!”

Behind him. He spun on his heels and forded through the throng, stooping to help up a child and hand her to her hysterical mother—

Automatic fire. Machine guns.

He dropped to an awkward crouch as the chaos swelled, his forward progress agonizingly slow.

“Selene!”

No answer.

Or was there, her voice simply lost in the discord, his exceptional hearing unable to filter out anything in the din of shrieks and gunfire?

“Selene!” he tried again.

Still nothing.

The crowd thinned enough to where he could see the bench they had just been sitting at, a shadow on the ground not far away. He ran forward, foot catching on a discarded backpack, he scrambled forward on all fours, fingers numb when he finally reached her. “Selene!” He pulled off a soaked emerald glove with his teeth, checked her over, hand coming back covered in crimson. “Selene, stay with me!”

“I was thinking of something maritime based this time for names,” she stated, unaware of her wounds.

“No, that’s good, that’s good. What were you thinking, exactly?” His eyes searched in vain for someone in uniform. They were too far away from the street, no one would reach them in time.

“I was thinking…maybe a split room. At first. Then give them…space…” Her breath came in labored gulps, growing more shallow by the moment.

He used his gloved hand to try and push away the tears in his eyes, to keep them from freezing his eyes shut. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Selene. But I need you to stay here. I need you with me.”

Flashing lights. Sirens.

“Over here!” he bellowed. “Help! She’s been shot! Help me!”

“Siebren?”

He looked down at her, beautiful blue eyes somehow closer to gray. “Yes, Selene?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. I love you more than the stars in the sky. Don’t go.”

“I’m not going anywhere…” she said with a smile. Her chest rose and fell one last time.

“Selene!” He shook her. “Selene!” He rested his forehead against hers.

The light in her eyes…it was gone.

He stayed knelt over her, believing that his own failing body heat would inspire hers to return. His head slid off of hers into the snow, he finishing the motion, coming to rest in the snow beside her. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close.

There.

Together in the snow. How he had always suspected it would be. Together.

Ravi.

For his son. He had to.

He pushed himself to sitting as boots crunched through the snow towards them.

“Stardust to stardust…”

[acoleworld92]

✨Pool Day ✨

[kakallahan]

I told him my story as we sat

His eyes never wavered from mine

He had a nice smirk

I told him of near-every escapade, adventure, and quest in my life

The last thing I told him was my happy ending

His smirk became a smile

Then like a spark I asked of his story, his happy ending

He ignited

“Which one?”

And just like that his joyous light-filled eyes projected his words as he spoke and I saw the colors of his life as his stories slowly replaced the walls

Every achievement a source of brightness

Every mistake a well shaded object

Every bit of him a work of art

Before it was over I was surrounded by a masterpiece yet unfinished and still

I couldn’t bring myself to look away from his smile

[reganminerphotography]

Caged.. -Please Reserve All Rights Regan Miner Photography

[quentinquaadgras]

142 --- Dot com

My blog is now available at http://quentinquaadgras.com Along with the domain, I have redesigned the theme of the website by hand. I have tried to keep it in the same style as my previous design. I have had criticism about the old design, it was stuck in the nineties. My new design is meant to be modern, it uses some of the new features of CSS and it is easy to modify with new backgrounds and profile pictures. It is not at the level I want it to be yet, I need to add comments back, the text size could be reduced on desktop computers and I would like to add more content on the sidebar. It's a good start though, I would love to hear any feedback. (I will add comments soon!)

[luccolinoarts-blog]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Hoshiko, the Guardian of Stars! I made her with Ristar and (more obviously) Arms in mind. I'll probably change her looks and name later, but I really liked how she turned out! Feel free to give me some feedback, and ask questions! #concept #conceptart #art #digitalart #digital #digitalsketch #luccolino #quicksketch #sketch #bnw #oc #originalcharacter #hoshiko #cute #photoshop #phoshopcc #original #characterdesign #design #givemefeedback https://www.instagram.com/p/B5I0M46HJnm/?igshid=13653dqkkx0d1

[karolinagordon]

I went back to drawing on some old prints before dipping my hands in slime again. #printmaking #drawing #londonartists #londonartist #fineart #anatomy #anatomydrawing #givemefeedback https://www.instagram.com/p/B0npHLinSsF/?igshid=tp1dwvs8x069

[daltonhainer36-blog]

Man this was a good show. Let me know if you agree. Follow @daltonobrien36 for more!!! Tags: #timmyturner #jimmyneutron #itslit #funnymeme #ifunny #humor #memes #morememescoming #cantwait #like #follow #givemefeedback #needtowatch #laughs #joy #goodtimes #nickelodeon @instagram @nickanimation Don't forget to follow my other accounts!!! @daltonoballer36 @oballersquad_merch https://www.instagram.com/p/BupjQYjFy48/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l0jnmp6t0pp2

[princessofallthingspossible]

Heart Felt Balloons

I take a balloon and I fill it with love

The ribbon attached, no longer to my finger

I watch as it dances, twirls, and ultimately disappears

Here one minute, gone the next

Vivid colors of yellow, orange, and red

Sunset from long ago from the eyes of a child

I take a balloon and I fill it with memories

So beautiful, so pure, I tie it to the highest branch, of the oldest tree

Never to be forgotten, never to be overwritten.

Bright lights, cold air, unbearable silence

I take a balloon and I fill it with life

I do not let this one go, and I do not tie it somewhere

Instead I breathe it back in

I fill my lungs to their capacity

I tell myself I will live life

I’ve never felt so alive…

[inspire-create-capture]

Arachnid  Regan Miner Photography -Please Reserve All Rights

[introverted-n-anxious]

Thanks but no thanks.

When my sister and I were very young - early primary school years - our parents took us to a modelling agency for what I suppose you’d call an ‘assessment.’ 

We were both dressed in the same dress with matching white tights and shiny black shoes and my dad had styled our hair with extra care. 

We arrived at a building where my sister and I were told to sit side by side in the waiting room while our parents disappeared behind a door with an agent. I was still quite young, so it wasn’t entirely clear to me why we were there or what to expect. All I knew is this is where little girls go to start their modelling career, so I found it somewhat exciting. I’ve always been up for receiving attention. 

Several moments passed before my parents emerged and we all exited and made our way to the car. My sister asked what the agency had to say about us, and that’s when it became clear to me why we couldn’t sit in the meeting room with them. 

They said they saw definite potential in my sister and they felt I would be wonderfully suited to pursue acting. 

....pause to let that sink in....

You don’t have to be an industry insider to understand model equals pretty, but actress doesn’t always equal pretty (though I’m sure it helps.) 

Tell me again how a painfully shy, introverted child with zero known talent can be assessed as a potential actress based on sitting in a waiting room chair. 

Despite the fact that the actress suggestion was clearly made in order to spare me my feelings, I have still held a tiny bit of pride in thinking, “Someone thought I could be in movies!” They unwittingly planted this seed of interest in my mind and I have often entertained the fantasy that maybe I really could be a good actor. 

So, look out for my star on the Hollywood walk of fame! Just as soon as I get over my crippling anxiety, shyness, lack of funds to pursue the interest, fear of rejection, zero experience, zero knowledge of the industry and total lack of motivation to get started. 

*Side note - I relayed this story to my parents decades after the event and they were horrified to know that not only did I remember it , it was also literally one of my earliest childhood memories. 

[lovemysexpoetry-blog]

to the man with good legs, a short film just to turn her on, i can’t promise anything, but two beating hearts and a giant one i swear.

K

[deesfineart]

A small 5x5” painting that I’m thinking of framing. Hit me with some real feedback please ❤️. . . . . . #opinionsplease #givemefeedback #art #contemporaryart #artist #painting #artistsoninstagram #abstractart #artgallery #artists #art🎨 #artlife #acrylicpainting #artstagram #artlovers #artista #artwork #artforsale #artistsofinstagram #artdeco #artlover #artstudio #gold #purple #magenta #yellow #createeveryday #artforartssake #creativelife #critique

[reganminerphotography]

No Editing Required Please Reserve All Rights -Regan Miner Photography

[lazy-travellers-blog]

Social Media 2day Fun

Social Media Today is a digital marketing blog for Marketing Professionals or Anyone who wants to understand great world of social media. At the very first look blog has simple graphic but I like it. In my opinion design is adequate. I usually expect great elegant design on a fashion blog but here it would be more disturbing. For me simple design means easy orientation. And that’s all what I need here.

Blog is divided to eight sections: Webinars, Social Networks, Marketing, Technology & Data, Social Business, Event, Newsletter and My SMT. Webinars are in the schedule very rare. The last one was on May 9 with title How to Build an Engagement-Driven Demand Gen Strategy in 2017. My favourite on is Social Networks. In this section you can find everything about social media news, updates and tests on each platform. The best practices for your business are in Marketing section. And if you are interested in Technology & Data you shouldn’t miss this interesting section. In my opinion for social media know-how you need to have knowledge of all of these sections and Social Business is mix of everything. If you want to be informed on daily basis you can sign up for daily email with new blog posts and get all social media news in your inbox. I prefer to follow blog on my social media accounts. I am receiving tons of emails in my inbox every day so it’s very easy to lose it. Blog is very active on many social media platforms. My favourite one is Facebook and Pinterest. Blog conversation on social media is great. Blog has the most followers on Twitter (695K). You can see below the number of followers on other social platforms:

LinkedIn 24,753 followers 

Facebook 502K

Google+ 142K

Pinterest 56 423

Youtube 2 142

Instagram 17,5K

Content is posted very often, many times during one day you can find always new blog post. And this is the reason why is sometimes difficult to follow up and get all the information. Blogs posts are created by online managers, advertising professionals and former journalists who cooperate with world’s best bloggers. Very easy is sharing blog post. When you open any post under the title you can find share buttons. 

My favourite blog posts are about Updates and Tests on social media platforms. There is one blog post about Facebook Tests from June 17. I also choose this blog for my social media news during class. The blog post was shared 847 times on Facebook; it has 245 RTs, 13 shared on LinkedIn and 2198 shares in total. And why did I like this post? I love the section about Facebook Dating! Do you think this is too much? I think this is the best idea ever. No other platform knows so much about you. It would be maybe a little bit weird but could work. As reported by The Verge: 

“In March, Facebook was granted a patent for a system that would allow it to build a dating service into the site. The patent describes a way for Facebook to identify friends of friends who might be single, based on “other commonalities or shared experiences.” When you see someone you like, Facebook would let you ask for an introduction.”

There is good news for publishers too. People could subscribe publishers direct from mobile app.

Another interesting tool is video. Without videos any social media doesn’t work. If you don’t like you cannot change it. And this is the reason why I like blog posts about videos. I want to learn more and start to use videos in my own posts. One of these posts is from July 12 with title The Science of Social Video. Post has 446 shares in total, 266 shares on Facebook and 150 RTs. Infographic is showing us huge opportunity for businesses how to promote brand in a better way. Because it’s not a secret that people are willing to make a purchase products even more if they watch video. YouTube is still number 1 for video content with 50% but as we can see in infographic Facebook is going up. Now has 36%.

I like Pinterest-style blog posts. Very similar is post How to Use Video in All of Your Business. Similar style of post but as we know – pictures say thousands of words. Infographic shows how to use video connect for marketing, support, sales, PR/HR.

There is another great post from June 09 Inside Wendy’s Social Media Secret Sauce. I have never follow Wendy’s social media but after #NuggsForCarter  I am big fan. No reason. Just for fun. This blog post is about special things they do and which help them to be good in things they do. Brandon Rhoten, Head of Media, is explaining their know-how. First of all, you need to hire right people. Follow their social media accounts and see if they know how to use it right. And when you hire them leave them do their job. If you know how to engage, take risks and find way how to be unique, you win. This blog post has 1768 shares in total, 1085 on Facebook and 295 RTs. I like this blog because it’s about the same things but it shows us real life example. Not just theoretical. You can see why these rules are working well out there.

I follow Social Media Today Blog most of the time on Facebook. I am very often on Facebook and it is very comfortable to see all blog posts in my News Feed. I have to say that there is no conversation happening. They share blog posts; few people Like it, Share it and couple of these people add comment. No questions. No answers. I would say that all of their social media are quiet. I mean they post a lot because blog posts are going out very often. But I guess because they never ask for any action or feedback people don’t feel like writing comments or asking question. This is the only thing they should work on. Because without feedback is difficult to do things better.

Photo by Jonathan Simcoe on Unsplash

I will follow this social media blog in my future too. It always gives me tons of information. What is new, what is important, tips how to do things better. It gives me understanding of new trends and how to use them in my social media business life.