#glad i was able to participate wasnt sure if i had the time

[sav3yee]

Alolan heat

[ingravinoveritas]

Hi! I know you mostly post about DT and MS but I wanted to say something about Georgia. I know that many people here are not a big fan of her (I personally like her though) and I am respectful of people's opinions most of the time. But I see some people on IG just giving her hate for no reason at all. The latest incident is regarding her recent IG post where she shared a photo of herself drinking a bottle of beer. Some dt fanpage put up their story and said that she is trying to get young people into drinking and that she doesn't care about the impact she has. And I was like wtf? Like she didn't even caption her post with anything related to the beer. The focus of the post wasnt even on on the bottle in her hand but the writing on her hoodie. Plus loads of other people put more explicit photos of their drinks. Basically I can't understand why anyone would hate on her for this post alone. Like point fingers when there's something genuine but this, I really can't understand.

Sorry for the rant. I just needed to get it off my chest.

Hi Anon! Well, first let me say that you can rant to me anytime, and it’s totally okay that this wasn’t about DT and MS specifically. I am happy to post about all things in the realm of DT/MS, and this certainly falls under that heading.

So, first things first, for those who haven’t seen it, here’s the post in question:

On its surface, this picture/post is pretty damn innocuous, but if you look more closely, it’s...pretty damn innocuous, other than the word “cock” jumping out at me like a flashing neon sign, because I am, in fact, a child. But seriously...there is a concept that very much applies to situations such as these, and that I wish more people online understood, and it’s called “pick your battles.”

What do I mean by that? Well, in terms of the fandom and the history of her relationship with David, I am only peripherally aware of Georgia. I know what I’ve read/seen/heard over the past several months, thanks to her participation in Staged, but I’ve not had a particular investment in her, as I’ve never been a DW fan and when I got into Good Omens last year, I was initially drawn more intensely to Michael than David. That being said, there are things that I’ve seen Georgia do that I’ve found questionable--for instance, engaging in online bullying towards a fan on Twitter and signing/retweeting Michael’s “petition” when that whole brouhaha of his went down recently. To me, those things set a far more troubling example than what was clearly a joking/funny picture shared on Halloween. So if one wants to be concerned and worked up about something, it should be something that is worth being concerned and worked up about.

If nothing else, let’s break it down: Georgia is a mom to five children, with whom she has been stuck at home on a near-constant 24/7 basis for months on end. Being in that position, it is more than understandable that she might want to keep her sense of humor intact by having a drink to unwind once in a while. I do not have five (or any) kids, but I am getting palpitations and want to have a drink just thinking about being in that position. I also don’t think that Insta picture is representative of Georgia’s typical drinking habits (i.e., she seems more like a “one or two glasses of wine” person and not someone who regularly chugs beer from a bottle, other than for comedic effect).

Also, there does seem to be some sexism/double standards at work here, because I can think of numerous examples of David drinking--such as getting flat-out sozzled as Crowley in Good Omens, drinking right out of the bottle as Peter Vincent in Fright Night, and enjoying at least one glass of red wine on pretty much every one of his appearances on Graham Norton. Heck, David and Georgia both drank wine as versions of themselves in Staged, but not once do I recall anyone saying that David doesn’t care about the impact he has, or that he’s setting a bad example.

I realize that at least part of this stems from a sort of...overprotectiveness...that some fans feel toward David, or a history of disliking Georgia that I don’t fully know everything about (though I’m sure some folks can fill me in). But to me, it delegitimizes any argument fans might have against Georgia when they say she is responsible for everything and David is responsible for nothing. David is not innocent or a child--he’s a grown adult man who can make his own choices, and can face the consequences of those choices, whatever they may be.

So, TL;DR: Pick your battles, sexist double standards are bullshit, and Georgia is no more telling young people to drink by posing with a beer bottle than she is telling them to worship the penis by wearing a sweatshirt with the word “cock” on it. Also there are other issues worth getting worked up over that are more difficult to discuss, but don’t avoid that discussion by going after an “easier” (but ultimately less important) target instead.

Thanks for writing in, Anon, and I’m glad you were able to get your rant off your chest. x

[pbandjesse]

I got a vaccine appointment! I dont exactly feel better, but I am excited. I am mostly annoyed it was such an ordeal and I wouldnt have gotten it if James wasnt working at home and watching my email for me. They didnt even text me again after last night. I got an email right when I woke up and it again didnt let me make an appointment. But James kept my email open all day and kept an eye on it and was able to snag me an appointment for tomorrow morning. But like I feel mad that people who cant be looking at their email all day are going to have so much trouble and it just sucks thats how they are doing it. I really hope they can make this better cause it sucks. 

Today was kind of draining though. I slept alright last night and didnt feel to bad when I got up. I got washed and dressed. I had breakfast. I wandered around the apartment. I didnt want to do much. I decided to make another sweatshirt. I combined felt letters and I think it looks pretty wicked. I need more letters though. Im almost all out of vowles. But I like my new Death sweater and it is very cozy. 

I left here to head to work and it was a very warm day again! I enjoyed my walk and got to the site a little early. I washed my hands and did my temperature before I headed upstairs. 

While it was a smaller group today, man was it a lot. Screaming fights. A broken table. Tears for no reason. Thankfully it was just for small moments, and most of the time they were fine. But the yelling was a lot. I felt a little unsupported because there were a lot of empty threats of sending kids home. And then got a talking to because I was sitting with a child showing them how to knit when one of the first screaming fits happened and I didnt stand up fast enough I guess? I have no idea. It doesnt make me want to be there, thats for sure. 

But there were nice moments. Some of the kids decided to brush and braid my hair. Mostly the boys, which was funny mostly because they were so persistent but they did not know what they were doing. 

We played games and played with play dough. The kids had a yoga class that they hated but I told them they couldnt go to the gym if they didnt participate so all but 2 got themselves together. So those two sat out for a couple minutes but then rejoined. I just felt like there was a lot of stress in the space today and that made it hard. But we tried to keep it together. 

I found out from James about my vaccine appointment later in the afternoon. I was really excited. We were watching Home Alone and I got the text and I was so excited. I let my manager and coworker know that I would probably be late tomorrow. I am hoping I dont have any side effects that zap my energy, like the flu shot sometimes does. But it will be alright. Im real excited to get the process started. and it looks like James is on a list now too so thats good. 

We finished up the day a little early. And I got to walk home with sun still outside. James was still working when I got back here so I started making pasta. 

We had dinner. Sat around together. I organized my bag. I am switching to a backpack since Im biking tomorrow. I played a little animal crossing. And then me and James played a puzzle game together. I took a bath and washed my hair. And now were in bed watching true crime videos. 

I feel a little down. But I think Im just sleepy. I have to leave here early tomorrow so I am not late to the appointment downtown. Im glad I get to bike there. Im still nervous. 

Wish me luck. Sleep well everyone. Goodnight!

[bobthebuilderhasallmyuwus]

DBH rarepairsweek! RK1700 - Wrong Blind Date!

I wasnt quite sure what a wrong blind date was ┐('～`;)┌ , so I just gave it my best shot! (◡‿◡✿)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connor glances around the room once more. his eyes follow the line of tables set up in the middle of the room. Then they shimmer when he looks up at the chandeliers, and once more look with awe down at the marble floor beneath him.

“Yup”, Connor thinks. He was definitely in over his head. 

He would have let out an external sigh but his lack of air filled lungs prevents him. 

“I can't believe I let hank convince me to do this”, he processes. 

Yes it was only 2 weeks ago that Hank walked up to him and placed a card on his desk. At first Connor was confused, but after picking up the card scanning it, he realized.

“Oh” He responded. “Hank.. You really didn't have to.”

“Nonsense!” the hefty man replied. “Android rights are finally being put in action! This is exactly the kinda thing you should do to celebrate.”

Connor shifted in his seat as he took a glance back at the card.

“Androids Welcome!” It said. “First Ever Inclusive Blind MatchMaking Event!”

He looked back up at Hank and tried to force a smile, but it must have come off as awkward as he felt it was because Hank pulled up a chair and sat down next to Connor.

“Look.” He said, “I know this isn't really your thing, and truth be told it ain’t really my thing either.” He let out a sharp breath. “But, things are different now, androids are people now, you are a person now Connor.” Connor felt his words pierce his heart. “I want you to experience the world, and do fun things, and do pretty fucking dumb things, and I just want to see you feel what it means to be alive.” Hank gave Connor a warm pat on his shoulder. “So what Im saying is, you don't have to go, not if you don't want to, but maybe consider it eh? You never know what'll happen.” And he had him, hook line and sinker, when Hank sounded so sincere about Connor’s life, Connor couldn't help but feel inspired to live. 

So here he is, “living”, at a way too fancy gala for a way too minimal event. He fake sighs once more and looks at his watch. He tried to convince Hank that he didn't need a watch as he has an internal clock but Hank smoothed talked Connor, again, into wearing it. “6:55″ It reads, the event was about to start in 5 minutes. He’s surprised by the amount of people that showed up, most of them being androids but there were a few humans in the mix.

The instructions for participating in this were weirdly convoluted. What was supposed to happen is that every person here was given a name tag with a number, and eventually would be called to sit at the tables. Each table has a barrier in front of them and to the sides, So you couldn't see who you were talking to and the people next to you wouldn't intrude. You're given 5 minutes to talk to the other person and once everyone has talked to each other at least once you’d find the number you had chemistry with the most.

Connor thinks it's pointless because androids have pristine audio processing and can recognize individual subjects by their voice alone, but hey, whatever makes people happy. 

“Everyone” Calls out a lady as she bangs a fork on a wine glass. The attention immediately shifts to the lady in the room. “Thank you for coming to this first ever inclusive experience, I know things are difficult with tensions between humans and androids but, we here at the Elijah Foundation want you to feel as included and equal as possible.”

Connor rolls his eyes, the speech is pushed out of an overly cheery smile, of course it has his name on it, everything chaotic does. “Please if you would sit at the respective tables, we’ll have a timer that will indicate for row A to switch to the seat to the left, and row B to the right.” Connor dreadfully heads to one of the chairs and takes a seat. He sees a microphone in front of him, assuming he’s supposed to speak into it, he tests it out. He hears his voice comes out distorted and deep, “Ah, So that's why”, He thinks. It seems they did have a measure for their auditorial machinations after all. 

“Alright everyone seated?” The lady says in an overly-cheery tone once more. “Lets begin!”

Connor sits in front of the mic nervously, his hands gripping his knees. Its already been 10 seconds and the other person hasn’t said anything. He decides to go first. 

“Hello, Im Number 42, how about you?”

“....41″

Hearing both his own and his partners voice so distorted is very unpleasant, he can't see how anyone could find this to be an enjoyable experience. 

“Well, how's your day been 41?”

“.....Fine”

Connor can feel his impending doom. 

“Ah I see, A-Anything you like to do for fun?” 

“......Not much”

Connor put his hands on his head and his elbows on the table, How is he supposed to talk?! Is this even talking at all?! He had to stop giving into Hank, this is beyond torture. After 15 long seconds of silence, his partner finally spoke up.

“Why are you here?”

Connor paused, why is he there? For Hank? For living? For himself?

He replies, “Honestly? I don't know, I don't come to things like this often, well I've never been to one at all, I feel.... out of place.”

“...Me too.” Despite the distorted sound, Connor can tell his partner went a little bit softer there for a second. He’s glad to know he’s not the only one.

“So... why are you here?” He asks.

“.....Its a trivial story”

“Trivial? Trust me, Nothing you can say will get more trivial than what I'm doing right now, you can tell me.”

His partner pauses for a few seconds and then begins to respond.

“Got into a fight with a..... coworker.”

“Coworkers can be difficult, I certainly have some.. hard to work with people in my office. What did you fight about?”

“He’s the one that kept going on and on about this event. Kept shouting out how meaningless this was, and how anyone who goes here’s just looking for an android prostitute.”

“Oh geez, Im sorry to hear that. I hear a few remarks like that where I work too.”

“Anyways... his voice got annoying, so I told him to shut it. He crumpled a pamphlet and threw it at me, asked if I was thinking about a career change. So I told him I was, Unfortunately, My pride got in the way, and I vowed to come back with an android who was most definitely not a prostitute.”

“Pfftt...” Connor let out a smile.

“See? Its trivial, trivial! I should of just kept it to myself.”

“No.. No.. Its..just..so...ridiculous” Connor lets out a few giggles.

His partner stays silent. “I mean, seriously, “android prostitutes” How generic can you get?”

He hears his partner let out a few snickers of his own. “Yeah.... it is pretty generic isn't it?”

“Totally. You know what one of my coworkers told me? “Where’s Dorothy tin man.”” 

“Wooooooooooow” Says his partner. “Generic and unoriginal, how surprising.”

“Pfffft yeah, you drink coffee for a living I think you can step your insult game up”

His partner lets out a full laugh this time. “I once poured a tablespoon of salt in my coworkers coffee and saw him drink it completely without noticing.”

“And they say we’re the advanced ones” Connor says letting out a few more laughs. 

“Yeah..well, Now I might just have to get a prostitute, I don't think ill be able to do the rest of this”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Im not a prostitute.”

All of a sudden, he hears an alarm go off. “Thats it for the first round everybody! Lets move on!” Connor hadn't notice time pass at all, he was actually enjoying himself to the point that seconds didn't feel agonizingly long. 

“Thank you for talking to me” Connor says, a bit disappointed he has to move on.

“...No, Thank you 42″

His face flushes a tad as he hears his partner talk in the most gentle voice he’s used all night. He gets up and sits in the chair next to him, knowing that even if every other talk goes wrong, at least he had one good thing to recollect. 

After an hour of talks ranging from really awkward to just okay, it was finally over, and everyone went off searching for the number they truly felt was the one. Connor finally let his shoulders relax, he had done it. If he was going to be honest, there wasn't anyone Connor wanted to talk to more. Although his chat with 41 was pleasant, Connor would much rather go home and spend the night petting sumo. He heads for the exit, its a large double door and as he places his hand on one knob, someone else places their hand on another. 

He looks up to see

“Richard?”

“Connor?”

“What are you doing here?” They say simultaneously.

He glances at the tag on Nines’s suit. 

“You’re...”

“41″ Nines responds. “And you're...”

“42″ Says Connor. They take a long gaze at each other, taking the time to process what is happening.

“So.. the coworker you were talking about-”

“Gavin” responds nines. “...... Did he really call you tin man?”

Connor lets out a smile “Did he really drink a tablespoon of salt and not notice?” 

Nines smiles back. 

The interrupting sound of fork on glass comes again. Connor and Nines look towards the source. “For everyone who has paired up, we have a follow up date in the other room!” They look back at each other, still not saying anything for a few seconds. “If its okay with you.... Id like to continue complaining about Gavin as long as you do?”

Connor smiles. “There isn't anything I’d rather do.” He places his hand on nines and they both walk off together. 

@dbhrarepairs

[doubleddenden]

I'm just now hearing about the new details released about Pokemon Home and... I'm conflicted. Confused mostly but also a bit glad and a bit mad.

Essentially you can get a free version or a premium version. Free version is essentially cloud storage for 30 pokemon for just your switch game, as well as being able to do 1 gets trade at a time. If you want to transfer your hard earned pokemon through bank, you gotta cough up $3 a month, $5 for 3 months, or $16 for the year, which can then transfer to SwSh if they are even IN the game, or allow up to 3 GTS trades and store up 6000 pokemon. Oh, GTS is back btw. Suspiciously on a freemium app. Keep in mind Bank let you keep 3000 pokemon in cloud storage and let you transfer whatever pokemon you wanted up a gen, so long as they weren't put in a later gen game (ie you can go gens 1, 2, and 5 to 6 or 7, or gen 6 to 7) for $5 for the whole year.

There's also a room trade you can participate in for free or participate and HOST in paid, and a judge function. In addition, suprise trade and friend trades are here in addition to room and global trade.

Now there's some stuff the switch version can do over the mobile version, namely transferring, while mobile seems to be a general hub of sorts. I'm not entirely sure of the details, but at present that doesn't quite matter.

What's good: well, the fact that gts is back and let's you trade 3 at a time is great, and its great that you can access these pokemon and trade them with your phone instead of hogging a switch around.

What's bad: a lot.

First of all, the GTS returning is yet another artificial problem they made to be fixed. Trading sucks in LGPE and SwSh (do not argue, this is a fact and I will die on this hill lol), even in comparison to the Festival Plaza and ESPECIALLY in comparison to PSS. This is an artificial problem because you're essentially forcing your players to pay more money for a feature that was either free in the previous games or cheaper for storage purposes, with maybe a handful of minor improvements. In gen 6 and 7, you could just trade with your specific friend right there, especially if you had them friended. Here, to do that, you have to transfer the pokemon you want to trade to Home before you can just do it.

There's also just content. Or lack thereof should I say. I for one was hoping we'd at least get a small battling system to make up for the fact that we couldn't bring some pokemon to SwSh, but that's not even here based on what we know. Bank was an absolute STEAL for storage and transfer of up to 3000 to cloud storage and other games for a meager $5 a year. In the grand scheme, $16 a year doesn't SOUND bad? But it's still kinda shitty when you're paying more for, again, services that were either free in past games or for minor improvements.

Honestly this does not help Nintendo's image of being greedy as of late. Arlo said it pretty well when he talked about the SwSh expansion passes, basically saying it is GOOD they're just doing DLC instead of an enhanced version, but it's still kinda like... this should have just been in the game. To begin with. And that honestly feels pretty applicable here.

Great that I can access my pokemon and trade on my phone.

Bad that I have to pay $16 for essentially the same service as Bank but with another service that should've just been in SwSh to begin with. That should've been in LGPE to begin with, too.

Good that they're just doing $30 doc instead of $60 for a new game

Bad that a lot of the returning pokemon and this post game should have just been in the game to begin with.

Good they're making improvements

Bad they're making improvements to problems they made themselves for more money.

To put it simply, in SM, you paid... $45 or so for one copy of a game and bank privileges to let you transfer from past gens upward, and even then it wasnt too necessary because all the pokemon were there and the GTS was in the game anyway.

However for SwSh, you're paying $60 for less, unfinished content. Now, they are adding 200 new pokemon you can just trade for, but again, trading in SwSh SUCKS ABSOLUTE DICK. If you want post game content, you gotta pay $30, and if you want to efficiently trade and transfer, you either pay $3 a month, $5 for 3 months, or $16 for a year. In other words, to get the full content, you're probably going to shell out $106. And even then, you're still missing 200 pokemon and some old features, AND you're inconvenienced due to having to rely on an app for what should've been in to begin with.

It's going to make money though, so they don't care. And likely things won't change.

That's roughly why I can see the anger behind this. I can definitely see the good, but unfortunately, like SwSh, all the good is sort of... soured for me for what feels like a series of New Coke style marketing gymnastic stunts.

I'll say please fix it by gen 9, but again, probably won't.

[stuclyblrs]

hi everyone! i spent this past semester (spring ‘19) studying abroad in china so i wanted to make a post about my experiences! i hope this can help you in deciding if you want to study abroad and help you while you’re abroad! **this post is directed at study abroad programs through a university in the us - i have never done other programs so i cannot speak about them**

choosing to study abroad

i do want to start by saying you dont have to study abroad. this is something that is definitely being pushed lately by colleges (at least in the us) and it can feel like that you must study abroad to get the full college experience. however, its not something that’s necessary or right for everyone and you don’t need to feel pressured to do so. for me personally, i knew i wanted to study abroad in china long before i entered college whereas some of my friends weren’t interested until they started college and learned more about my school’s programs and hearing from upperclassmen who already studied abroad. some questions to ask yourself when deciding if you want to study abroad

will this benefit you as a person, whether its academically and/or for personal growth?

will studying abroad mean you have to take out more student loans that you don’t think you can fully handle (more on this later)?

is your only motivation only to have a more relaxed semester at a country where its legal to drink and/or for resume building? well these aren’t bad things necessarily - live your life the way you want to! - you might not have the amazing time that you’re thinking you will if these are your only motivations

are you (or will you) be able to mentally/emotionally handle the extra challenges that come with living and studying in a foreign country?

this is just a small amount to consider when choosing to study abroad, but another important thing is do what feels right! feel a calling to study in a specific country - then consider it! don’t think traveling is for you despite everyone pushing for it? - then don’t worry about it!

when and where to go 

things to consider when determining when

how long do you personally believe you can handle? will a shorter summer session be better so you’re not away as long or do you want a full year for a more immersive experience?

which semester/summer fits best in your schedule? do the classes offered during this time keep you on track?

things to consider when determining where

what location has classes that fit your major/academic goals? if you’re ideal location doesn’t offer what you need, are you okay with doing a summer session or graduating a semester late?

where are you interested in traveling? have a language or culture you’re really interested in (this is why i chose china for my location!)? is there a place you don’t think you’ll get a chance to visit otherwise?

what are the costs for each possible location like? don’t forget to consider paying for food, transportation, activities, and other travel

if your school doesn’t offer a program in your target location don’t let that deter you from studying abroad. a lot of times universities allow students from other universities to apply to their study abroad programs. start by talking to your schools study abroad office/program to see if there are universities that your school already works with!

money

as i mentioned in determining if you should study abroad, one thing that should be considered is money. if studying abroad means you have to take out extra loans that you’re not sure if you can handle, then it might not be the best choice at the moment - there will be other opportunities in your life to travel and not studying abroad does not mean your college experience is incomplete. do whatever is best for you.

when it comes to determining the cost of a semester abroad, do your research! contradictory to what i just said, in terms of student loans, it was cheaper for me to study abroad due to housing being cheaper. however, i still had to spend extra money on plane tickets, travel, food, and other experiences, so it’s not just the cost of tuition and housing that needs to be considered when budgeting for study abroad. not everything will be budget breaking though, food was incredibly cheap relative to nyc in china, so that was another aspect where my semester abroad was cheaper than normal. additionally, with doing your research on the costs of studying abroad, don’t forget to research scholarships! i received two extra scholarships from my school that were strictly study abroad related and there are plenty of outside scholarships related to general study abroad, different majors, and certain locations.

some tips on saving money for study abroad

once you’ve decided to study abroad work on saving money - set a specific amount of your paycheck dedicated for time abroad, think about maybe skipping getting takeout and cooking at home to put that money towards abroad, possibly get a second job during the summer/other breaks

determine beforehand where you want to travel within the country/neighboring countries beforehand so you can approximately figure out what you’ll need to spend to achieve these travel goals

make a budget for daily expenses (food, transportation to campus if needed) and keep track of your spending

take advantage of programs hosted for study abroad students. about half of my traveling to other cities was done through the study abroad program, which cost a small fraction of what the cost would’ve been if i did it on my own

be flexible! there is a good chance you will go over your intended budget, but it is okay - money can comeback, time will not

with that being said however don’t overdo it, there’s nothing wrong with going a bit over for some extra experiences, but you don’t want to break the bank 

homesickness/loneliness 

in terms of being far away from my family, it wasnt that big of a change compared to a regular semester as i don’t see them during the school year. however, i did miss nyc and my friends very much. it was hard to deal with at certain points, especially when i was having a difficult time with school but here’s somethings i did to help:

set up times to video chat with family and friends - and try to make it a regular thing

send your friends dumb things that you’re doing - dying over homework, eating good food, some animal you saw on the street, a meme that reminded you of them, and so on they’ll be missing you too

make new friends! i know thats easier said than done, but other students in the program are in the same situation as you and will be feeling homesick. set up a semi-regular time to hang out (i made friends with my roommate and another girl and we hung out nearly every saturday to play games on the switch)

some easy ways to get to know people at the beginning are have lunch/dinner together, talk to people in your classes (especially in language classes if you’re in a country that doesn’t speak your native language), hang out with your roommates

participate in any opportunities hosted for study abroad students that you can. it’s a great way to meet other students and get involved in the local culture while spending less money

finally, its important to remind yourself that you have this amazing opportunity to study in a foreign city/country/culture. it is very normal/expected to feel homesick, but reminding yourself of this helps to bring yourself back into focus and enjoy your experience

balance between academics and traveling

this is something i did struggle with and i still do wish i had planned my time better so i could’ve done more, but in general its about finding balance similar to how you would during a regular semester with classes, extracurriculars, friends, jobs. since i wasn’t involved in any extracurriculars or didn’t have a job while abroad that freed up a lotttt of time that i don’t typically have to focus on school work during the week and travel on the weekends. when planning to travel outside of your host city, you’ll want to plan ahead as much as you can as those times are the hardest times to keep up (i had one class that was based on three papers... and two of them were due after weekend trips hosted by the study abroad program not fun man!) here’s some advice that i have for this

save ‘big’ trips for time off - i went to beijing over our spring break, which was the best time to go as i didnt have to worry /as much/ about my work and i could spend more time there compared to my other travels

spend time in the country either before or after. other than beijing, my other ‘big trip’ was to chengdu/xian/zhangjiajie where i visited these cities back to back right after my finals were done

use the time on the plane/train/car/whatever to do some work. i know its easy to just fall asleep or be on your phone, but you’ll be glad that you did some work once the next school day comes

talk with your professors! they will understand that you are a study abroad student and have limited time in the country - one of the weekend trips hosted by my school left before my friday class but we had quizzes every friday in that class so i just let my prof know that i had this opportunity coming up and he let me take the quiz the next monday

try to do your work during the week to leave the weekends free. i would suggest to even save traveling around your host city should be left for the weekends, unless there is some special event going on so that way you can maximize study time during the week and have the weekend free for travel time!

use whatever planning system typically works for you (traditional planners, google calendar etc.) and as soon as you know you have assignments/tests/quizzes, put that in your calendar and start working towards them immediately. also schedule in time to study so you can work towards tests/quizzes everyday so you can travel without worry

i felt i did a good job of balancing travel and academics, however i felt i didnt explore shanghai as much i wanted to. if i had planned out my study time better, i could’ve opened up more free time on the weekends to go out in the city.

other advice

if you’re not in college yet, make sure you’re researching schools that you look at their study abroad programs and that they have the location(s) you’re interested in!

let your advisor know that you’re planning on studying abroad as soon as you can (even if you’re just thinking about it and aren’t sure yet) so they can help you stay on track and plan for it

with that last point being said, don’t solely rely on them - do your own research, check which classes are offered, save any emails confirming that classes abroad will count for your classes, keep track of application requirements and deadlines and so on

i hope this post is helpful in your study abroad journey! if you have any further questions please feel free to message me✨

bonus! check out my day in the life in shanghai video :]

[lifeofalaurie]

my uwc story

i remember reading through uwc blogs when i had just found out about uwc and when i was applying and going through all those months of WAITING for the next step...and they were so helpful. im so glad these exist

i first found out uwc through my brother’s friend, who actually went to UWC atlantic college (where im headed!!!!) a few years back. it was one ordinary saturday afternoon (idk if it was actually saturday but that sounds right) and we were carpooling with said friend (usually i dont participate in these but i happened to be in the car that day) and we were talking about next year and whatever and she just kinda said that she wasn’t going to be back next year bc she was going to this ‘abroad’ program. i didnt even really think about it that much. i in fact forgot about it after that...apparently my dad did not.

so my dad would talk about it here and there but i was NOT INTERESTED for that whole year..then...i started researching a bit myself and thought oh this sounds kind of cool. i still didn't really get what UWC even was or if was even a legit thing. it just sounded like another boarding school (a huge NO for me). then i saw that there was a such thing as a “short program” (or maybe someone actually told me about it) and i decided to apply for the one at the USA campus in New Mexico. i remember writing the essays over winter break and thinking they were pretty terrible (there was also a skype interview involved and that was rough) so i was pretty shocked when i found out i had gotten in but it worked out well bc my fam was going to arizona anyway a week before that so i just flew to new mexico myself after that (i say that casually but we had to cancel tickets and get new ones so that i could go to new mexico instead of home PLUS i had to fly for myself for the first time and i was pretty confused). (also, the program is called global leadership forum or GLF)

after hermit’s peak hike (ALL UPHILL FOR A SOLID 4-5 HOURS) i think it was like 8 miles IDK. view was so nice though 10/10

GLF turned out to be an amazing experience and really solidified my trust in UWC and confirmed to me that it was indeed a real thing. i really loved how much we did in those 2 and half weeks or so - camping, hiking, interacting w wolves, having important discussions - and it really pushed me to decide to apply to UWC for real. maybe ill talk more about it in another post!!!!

ok so coming home i did even more research and really really started liking UWC and decided that i might as well try to apply. i knew they never had a certain ‘criteria’ for students but i also knew it was a long and stressful process and involved really digging deep so i really didn’t think much of it (didn’t think i really had a chance) after submitting my written application. and then began the long waiting game...

here’s a nice picture of the sky @ a wolf reservation! just wanted to add a nice pic 

i never joined any of those fb groups or college confidential things for applicants and good thing bc looking at some of them now stress me out so i wouldve probably been even more stressed if i had been involved in that. also i didnt even know they existed until later so thats also probably why.

anyway i had totally forgotten about UWC (more like i was sure they’d forgotten about me or there had been something wrong like my application wasn’t submitted or something) bc i didnt hear back until the end of november (i submitted the application early october). but finding out i was a semifinalist was kind of traumatic bc in my GLF snapchat group one of my friends (who’s going to Pearson this year!!!) said he’d moved on to the next stage and i hadn’t GOTTEN ANY EMAIL. i think i just accepted it that that was the end. but then a few hours passed when i finally decided to check a different email and, alas, there it was. so a few days later, i got an email from my interviewer when we should do our skype interview and it turned out to be the same day i was taking the ACT. good

the interview turned out to be completely ok and actually really great (enjoyable even!!?). if youre at that stage, seriously the best advice i have is to just chill and be honest when youre answering. also, make it more like a conversation rather than the interviewers (yes there are prob going to be more than 1 but i assure u its ok) asking u questions back and forth. think of it as a conversation- that helped me so much to relax. the interviewers just wants to talk to you and find out what kind of person you are and if youre the same one that wrote all those deep meaningful essays from the written application - so if you were honest from the start youll be completely fine...if not, well..sry

after that, school and extracurriculars and life really went up for me and i just forgot about UWC again. i never really told any of my friends about it or anyone except for my parents. i kind of wanted it to be a personal thing- get in or not in the end.

after a really good last day of school before winter break, i went to the town library (lol) and checked my phone and therE IT WAS. I WAS A FINALIST WHICH MEANT I WOULD BE GOING TO THE UWC USA CAMPUS FOR FINALIST WEEKEND. did not know what to expect

waiting for finalist weekend felt looooong

but it came

i flew there myself AND IT WASNT EVEN DIRECT and i remember feeling so independent and proud for making it. it turned out i was one of the later ones and in the last group to be bussed over (but i met a friend on the bus who i still talk to here and there who is going to RBC this yr!!). we were so late we missed the initial meeting and first night of activities and just went straight to the hotel. at the hotel i saw my interviewer and she gave me a hug (<3) and that helped calm me down and it was also really nice to see her in person bc i remember really liking her during our skype interview. then finalist weekend happened. and im pretty sure im not supposed to expose the process so all i can say was that it was actually so genuinely fun and a real good time 

UWC USA <3 

at the end we all exchanged social media and fb and all that and started a messenger group chat -- as nice as it was to be able to connect to everyone, i think it really stressed everyone out. they told us that results would come out early that week (FALSE). THAT WEEK AFTER FINALIST WEEKEND WAS THE MOST STRESSFUL THING EVER. IT TOOK YEARS FOR IT TO GO BY. i remember constantly checking my email between classes and everyone in the group chat wondering if anyone had heard. then on wed night, we all got an email that said the results would be notified by friday instead. the worst

i remember that friday evening i was packing for my first hackathon (it was fun) and thinking the call wouldnt come until later that night. people were freaking out all over the group chat. then, as i was scrambling packing my sweatpants into my bag, the home phone started ringing and i ran..RAN TO THE PHONE. it said my interviewer’s name on the caller ID and i was like OK THIS I S REAL. and i picked it up and it turned out i was too late so i frantically called back probably 10 times on multiple different phones (my efforts did not work). but then, i got a call to the home phone again and it was her so i picked up RIGHT AWAY and when she told me... i kid you not that i screamed and ran around my house a few times. so thats it. it was kind of a really long and sstressful process for sure, but SOO WORTH IT. i definitely learned a lot just from that process bc it makes you think and reflect a lot all throughout. weeee

if youre even thinking about applying please GO FOR IT (well as long as ur in the right age limit, 16-18.... and also make sure you’ve done some research to get a feel for it).. but just DO IT. and u can ask me questions if u want and ill answer to the best of my personal ability (but remember that im just one person and one experience and each person’s experience is completely different)

here is the general website btw:

https://www.uwc.org/

i will probably do another post to explain UWC - at least in my own words and perspective!

<3 <3 <3

[negotiatedbriefbmcnair]

Focus Group

As I am now back at my University house I took the opportunity to host a focus group with my housemates as they have not seen the development of this project. Two of them have been Vegetarian for some time now as they are eco-conscious so between them and my other housemate they do bring a good balance to the sample. Ideally I would have liked to include more people in this focus group but of course due to Coronavirus social distancing laws this isn't possible currently. I thought about hosting a focus group on zoom but it was hard to get and orchestrate enough people and find a time that worked for everyone, so I will use my questionnaire to continue collating data from the people I couldn't include in this. But I did get some really useful feedback from this focus group. Before the focus group I devised some questions I wanted to ask so that I could lead the discussion where necessary and to make sure I got everything I needed out of the session. 

As I mentioned one thing I really wanted to get out of this focus group was insight into the emotional impact of the video, I wanted to know if people felt inspired by the video or if any or multiple factors clouded or watered down the message in any way. As well as this I asked some obvious questions like were there any problems either visually or in terms of content, would they have liked any areas to be looked at in more detail or any areas that may have had too much screen time. I really like the focus group method as it allows space for the development of answers through conversation which you don’t get from data based research methods. I made notes during the focus group as even though I could easily have done this whilst reviewing the footage post session, I wanted the participants to feel that their points were valued and that I was interested in the things they had to say. Thankfully this was also a lot more efficient than reviewing and making notes later as I could make a note of anything that was interesting there and then. With regards to the data I collected I was really happy with the comments of the participants as they praised and and criticised all of the areas I expected them to. 

The main criticism which I expected to hear from at least some people was that the speed at which the text goes by is slightly too fast. I expected this might be a problem so I made sure to leave space at the end of the soundtrack incase I needed to extend the video at all. The participants did also communicate that they really like the alignment of some parts of the video and they didn't want extending it to take away from those parts which I totally agree with, I think the alignment of some parts with the soundtrack is what makes it inspiring at points. I could fix this by going into the composition and editing sections part by part, but as I am not working with any camera based footage I think I may just be able to pre-compose my entire composition and time remap it from there, stretching and squeezing some parts. This would allow me to keyframe the points I do not want to change, and blend the rest in accordance with that. This was the only real direct criticism that was communicated through the focus group although there were some parts where reading between the lines a little I think I can make some amendments. I was expecting there to be a possibility of illegibility but I showed them this demo on a television and myself noticed the drop shadow being a lot more effective than it had been on Mac screens making the font a lot more readable. I think that although it wasn’t mentioned in this focus group this is something that will be mentioned in my questionnaire as people view it on more devices.  Some points they made that I was really happy to hear included praise of the tone. More specifically they liked that it was communicating climate crisis problems in a way that ‘wasn’t too in your face or depressing’ and instead tried to be ‘encouraging’. I was so happy to hear this as this is exactly what I have been trying to execute, the participants themselves agreed that climate based projects that are too doom and gloom often lose the interest of the average viewer, someone who isn't very eco-conscious; and this is who these videos should really try to be targeting, the people who are on the fence or unaware of how small things can make a big difference. The participants also all directed praise towards the section looking at emissions as a result of home appliances, more specifically the consumption of laptops vs desktops and also the emissions as a result of emails. They really liked the comparisons between data and scenario, for example the Eiffel Tower, as this helped to bring the scale of it into perspective more. There is a lot I took from this focus group that I won't detail in this blog but these are just some of the many things I have learned. This was definitely a useful exercise for me as it is always beneficial to hear what other people think and with my findings I can now go and make some changes to my project. In the future when I am working in focus groups again I would definitely like to increase my sample size and variety but of course this wasnt possible in this case. Also although I had prepared questions prior I wish I had taken control of the discussion more and made sure there was more equal inclusion, which would be especially important with an increased number of participants. All in all though I am really glad I got to hear the feedback from this group.

[thecleverkorean]

Kim samuel as your twin brother where you are an idol (like the kang daniel one) thank you😊

UNCHA/N:I AM SOOO SORRY FOR POSTING SOO LATE!!! I’ve been busy with back to back projects, a huge ass paper, and other assignments that I wasnt even on tumblr that often. But I finally have time tonight to write!!! BTW if i do write for other pd101 s2 contestants beside wanna one so if u would like for me to write about one request pls!!! also follow my twitter guyssss~

SAMUEL MY SON!!!! (i love my talented son)

u remember how Samuel was a happy littler camper how he was casted under Pledis 

u were happy for ur twin, but at the same time u were a bit jelly 

when samuel started to train u wanted to become an idol as well

resulting in u wishing every night to become an idol as well

as years passed samuel left pledis and moved into Brave which left u shook, but u supported ur brother 

he debuted as 1PUNCH and u were their number one fan like yassss 

u also made sure to take as many pictures as u can for future blackmail 

but every changed when the duo disbanded u didnt know what would happen to ur brother 

at the same time u were scouted by LOEN (Fave Entertainment) as a vocalist, u have some strong vocal cords

even though u did have a long training period u were able to exceed in dance and of course in vocal so u were able to debut 

Under the name, “RUMOR” (i was listening to KARD while writing this) and there are five members

u had a very strong but mellow concept as ur debut concept was dark color suits 

ur debut was success as u ranked 2nd on all music shows and #1 on album sales for that week  

Later, it was announced that Samuel would participate in Produce 101 Season two

 u made sure to let all of ur fans to vote and support ur twin 

u even made sure to attend all of the stage events and ofc vote for him 

when u went to the final episode and saw that ur twin that samuel didnt make it to the top 11 u were ready to fight mnet 

u were tempted to smash one of the cameras but one of ur members who u came with had to hold u back

backstage, u hugged him and YOU cried not HIM but YOU cried 

u also said a lot of swear words and cursed the mnet building while crying that he had to silence u

but things seemed to turned out great for him as u saw that a lot of people supported him and wished for his solo debut 

he went to work immediately and he could call u help which u were glad to

even though he was ur annoying twin hes family and he supported ur group when u debuted 

and now its ur turn

sometimes he would share his fear to u on how he wont be successful because he didnt make it to the top 11 but u reassured him at hes gonna become a great artist  

when he did debut u made sure everyone in LOEN supported him and posted it on ur social media 

u even cried when u saw the positive feedback from everyone and u guys even have a duet on the album (shhhhh pretend thats there)

u made sure to congratulate him 

now ur a peace on how its gonna be for Samuel 

[ts-akhmim]

Episode 3 | “It does not look good for our tribe. Honestly, we suck... Really bad. ” - Duncan

The way I absolutely flopped at that puzzle… this is why I’m a Beauty cause a sis ain’t smart to complete a puzzle and I’m not brawn-y enough to do well in a challenge hgjfdk BUT that being said, Hagthor beat the thots and apiss and I couldn’t be any happier! I do wish Brawn lost over Brain but yknow, you can’t have everything go your way (‘: it’s funny how I slayed the last challenge and flopped this one tho like a bitch really lacks consistency huh ghfjndmks

Heading into a second tribal council, there is becoming less and less room to hide. I am struggling to hold my own against the other tribes when it comes to competitions, but thank goodness it's a numbers game. If everything goes accordingly, I am taking a backseat this vote and allowing a 4-2 vote out when it comes to Trace. I appreciated Duncan coming to me with the alliance chat information with him/Scott/Trace/Isaac, but didn't like how Autumn needed to tell me first. Shows that I really can't trust Scott/Duncan after a swap comes up. In regards to Scott, he outright didn't say anything. I like him and all, but it was a slimy move to say the least. He only said something because he HAD to vote out someone in one of his two alliances. This group will be dumb as hell if they let me swap. I'll flip on them as soon as possible and invite anyone into my alliance. The tribe swap is where I made my 'Slithers' game infamous last time, so I'm hoping for a similar output. Don't forget: I swapped with the minority last time in Guyana (shout out to Jess), so I'm not worried about the numbers and how its split. ALL I NEED IS A SWAP OR TWIST. GET ME OUT OF HERE. 

Wow we’re really flopping this challenge huh! I really hate this as a group challenge bc we wasted so much time believing in an algorithm that doesn’t even work! 

okay so i again filmed a video confessional while walking the dog which i WILL eventually upload i promise hosts BUT. this challenge was literally torture, staring at the excel spreadsheet was so draining. TJ did so much work for it so I really really hope we win he is so sweet i was real mean to him at the start for truly no reason NNN i really really want the beauty tribe to go to to tribal, or the brains lot again i guess? i dont really wanna go to tribal even though i think Liam M is the easy vote? i'd rather not. i just feel really drained after that challenge i wish this confessional was even a little bit exciting im sorry hosts

i feel like i underappreciated dan as an ally?! the more i talk to him its like hmmm we vibe and we have similar energy? like i get very different but good energies from all of dan, jake and jordan! which i love, like i feel really good about them all. like what's reassuring about dan (and this sounds weird) is he feels fine complaining about others to me in pms? like jake does the same and that makes me feel really reassured trust wise - like i would never talk negatively about another player to someone i distrusted tbh... so i feel really good about that! i feel like particularly in a maybe swap i'll really bond with whoever i get to swap with even MORE. idk i just feel good about this brawn tribe still i don't want to GOOO.

okay so yesterday was... eventful! i watched the sequester mini with jake which was super fun and then right after... he cracked the tomb and i decided to tell jake about my idol. have i had it since day two? yes. but i told him i found it during the mini so i wouldnt seem sus. i dont regret my decision (so far at least anyway JKASD) because a) he cracked the tomb and immediately told me b) i think he is loyal and particularly since i told him i can and will idol him like i dont think he has incentive to leak my idol unless it comes down to lategame and he wants to blindside me but i don't see myself being able to hold onto the idol until that stage anyway! but yeah so jake knows about my idol so i'm hoping i can use it to my benefit, or to save him because i'm really invested in his success this season. maybe we are gonna be the two brawns at the end woo and tony style even tho i think i'm probs the woo nnnnn

Trace went home and that is yet another potential connection I could’ve had in the game GONE… like the Brains really wanna see me flop huh! It’s interesting that it was 4-2 vote tho like it has my overthinking self spiraling lowkey. I do really feel for the Brains having to lose twice though like I’ve been on a flop tribe before and morale is always low so my heart goes out to them and I hope they beat Brawn xoxo 

This challenge? Literal homophobia! Like I love unscrambled eggs and I want my eggs cracked by VARIOUS men but this was not what I had in mind (‘: this challenge being my alliance + AJ is interesting as well considering that AJ was the one person I haven’t established a game connection with but I do really like him. In a way, I do think him participating in this challenge is the best thing that could’ve happened to his game since it allows him to build more connections with others? That being said, Connor on the other hand… is disappointing me in a way like the king isn’t talking much or doing much. If he has personal stuff to attend to, I completely get it and he should focus on that first but I do wanna know so I don’t assume he disappeared yknow (‘: but oh well !!!

I do think me honing in on the fact that Kendall and I are two peas in a pod in this game has her really thinking that which is awesome! I do adore that girl but I gotta keep an eye out (for Selener). She did tell me that her goals this round include the following 1) Set up an alliance with us + Austin, 2) Get AJ to be our alliance’s fake 5th, and 3) Get out Adam. While I am glad she told me all of this, I’m just very cautious of her connections? Austin and I are super close and he likes her, that’s fine. My thing is with AJ because while we were calling, I did pick up on the fact that those two have played before and whatnot so who knows. I’m just a naturally stressed person so ye !!! I do really like Adam though so I hope we don’t lose at all (‘:

I hate myself for being on a call for 9 hours in this game ghjfkdls but that being said, I do genuinely love everyone on this tribe and the thought of losing makes me super emo because I feel close to every person here in one way or another. It’s a dilemma too because us winning this challenge would be ideal but if we do win and Brawn goes to tribal, the Beauty Tribe becomes public enemy number one in a swap scenario because why wouldn’t the other tribes wanna get rid of the tribe that has the most members yknow? It’s a nail-biter regardless ;-; 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fpSJvDJxy38LcRI4MjwzIa64zT_tytXC/view?usp=sharing

So I'm not surprised that we lost AGAIN! Lowkey I feel like I did everything during this challenge so not only do I feel more defeated, but I'm annoyed that not too many people contributed. Like I have to constantly ask people how they're doing in the challenge, and they provide me with NOTHING!! And I'm tired of voting people out :/ Anyways, I feel like voting out Isaac is a dumb move for my game going forward, because Duncan/Autumn are clearly a duo. Duncan even said to me that he wouldn't mind voting out Devon if we needed too. If we don't swap next round and lose again, I have the feeling Duncan and Autumn are going to try and pit Devon and I against each other. I like to think they'd choose me over Devon since I don't have any connections to anyone. The smart move would be for them to utilize Isaac and blindside me, but I like to think they wouldn't be doing that anytime soon. I feel bad voting out Isaac because I know how much he hated being booted early in Malaysia. So to do that to him again is really sad to me. I would try to convince Devon to split up Autumn/Duncan, but he's all about the 4 going forward. Everyone is and as much as I love the 4, that type of game is boring. Idk maybe my style of gameplay is different than theirs. If I see that I'm in a sinking ship, I make sure to grab a life vest and swim to another boat. I don't sit on the boat and say "okay, time to drown now". Luckily none of them know me for the numerous times that I've flipped on alliances before. If we do swap next round, my plan is to remain loyal to whichever brain is on my tribe. However, this won't stop me from trying to make connections with people from other tribes and making new alliances. If I need to ditch my brains to solidify trust with my new tribe, then that is exactly what I am going to do. In the event that I do leave tomorrow, this game was fun! After being out of the tumblr survivor community for 3 years, I don't think I'd come back for a future org/season because the amount of stress i've been in this past week is more than I've endured with online learning since corona came to town. Idk I wouldn't be surprised if a #blindside came my way.

it's only day 7 and we havent even been to tribal yet and we STILL arent going because we won again, and im already going off the deep end like am i crackedt?? what the hell is happening on this tribe like am i the quiet one or is there just a collective quiet going on since we're just sliding through the game rn?? im not gonna lie it's kinda boring... it's getting weird.....the fact that there's an idol just looming around and someone has it and isnt telling me is making me crazy, and then to make me even more crazy i foolishly decided to sit out of the challenge today, i knew i probably wasnt gonna be good at anything with the letters all jumbled together, im just being real so i decide to spare my tribe and myself mostly the misery and sit out, i dont want to be perceived as weak completely and be voted off right now for it, but i do want to start to make sure people think im not that good at the challenges so i dont have a target going foward- also, im really just not good at the challenges. BUT apparently everyone was just like on a call together all day because of the challenge and obviously i couldnt be in it so :// my own fault! i didnt think it through completely and luckily we won, but if we hadnt, i mean... a day long on/off call is more than enough to bond over and pick a first boot from those not in it, but aj updated me on everything and at least according to him, my name wasnt mentioned and they were mostly working on the challenge and discussing white men, so that means i didnt miss much! im still working day by day on trying to water my relationships with everyone and make sure theyre ready to bloom into my little alliances once its had enough time to absorb all the sunshine i naturally radiate!! However.... others arent doing the same gorl.... like connor, literally messaged me out of the blue just to have a conversation and when i tried talking to him he stops messaging me right away ... like hello is it something i said?? i literally feel like parvati when she was going is it me?? am i being punkd??? also tried talking to kendall again today, i do enjoy her i will say she's growing on me but as of now she hasnt responded to me yet, which is ok since i never respond to anyone either oop hopefully its just not everyone vs. adam already in other news i guess a swap could be coming?? i really just dont want to be on a tribe with jakey because im not ready to dig up the hatchet from cvc lets keep it buried please!! unless he's completely forgotten that and wants to work with me and be my shield again but um... dont think he'd be up for that! im here to play a NEW game not my old one, in any case, no matter what happens i feel like as long as i have any of my fellow A name sisters- AJ, Augusto, or Amir with me, i could possibly be fine... i dont think Amir was really playing me anymore either like i did yesterday smh i think that was just a tangent of paranoia my mind created (maybe ..) 

I feel like we have to be swapping tonight like this brains tribe has lost so many challenges in a rwo, that ifit wasnt planned i feel like the hosts have to be like "put it in sis they movin" Im gonna spendthe rest of the of today working on my relationships with the rest of my brawny boys, so no if we do swap, on matter what configurations it lands on I should have options. Still dont know jac shit about the tomb and that is bothering me but thats a problem for another day.

Well, thank god that we were able to pull that challenge out. I knew if we lost it that my ass could potentially be on the line given how large of a role I played in organizing that challenge, so it would have been sad (and hella scary) to have lost that. But I do think I've shown that I can be a valuable asset to this tribe now in the event that we somehow stay in tribes for another round. I'm anticipating a tribe swap here this next round, so I kind of just need to prepare to meet some new people and hope that I'm on a tribe with some people that I've gotten along with. Ideally, I'd have Jake with me and we'd act as if we weren't that close, but I'd be happy to see basically anyone but Liam there with me. He's a great guy, but I know he doesn't trust me, I know I don't trust him, so I really don't want that to be my only lifeline on a swap tribe.

okay so in the event we swap out of the brawn tribe tonight... which would be TRAGIC i wanted to do an in memoriam of apis 1.0! TJ - i was SO rude and wrong about him! he is genuinely so sweet and lovely, and super hard working. i think he would be a good one to swap with, it would build our bond and he is a challenge workhorse! i hope he isn't mad at me for my round one confessionals, just know tj that i was WRONG and that i was the clown! Lovelis - I get really good energy from him but we also... never talk so idk where I'm getting that from? I think he is definitely going to be a casualty of the swap, I see him definitely getting picked of? Which would be sad! idk we will see Liam M - He is really sweet, but we also talk super infrequently? I feel like he trusts me which is good?! But I think he is definitely gonna go premerge unfortunately just since he isnt super active? we will see ahh Jordan - I really like Jordan i think he is great! we are working together but something about his energy has seemed... off recently? and jake has noticed the same thing and idk what to do with that it just seems off? idk i feel like we potentially are gonna drift apart as allies which would be a shame! Dan - I really love Dan, he has such good energy which I really vibe with him? I think I kind of underestimated his potential as an ally which I really regret I like him a lot tbh.. I'd like to build that trust further for sure, he just gives off such good ally energy Jake - ahh yes have left my favourite for last. ugh i love jake his energy is the best and i trust him 100% unequivocally. he knows about my idol (may've kept it a secret for two rounds but i told him eventually which is what counts jasldfkas) i want him to succeed in this game so badly, im really hopeful for him to SNAP also quickly about the brain tribal, i just hope isaac/autumn/duncan are safe. those are my only preseason connections and would kinda love to see any/all of them in a swap situation tbh i think i want that devon slithers man gone he seems sneaky (is it just because slithers sounds like a snake yes)

It’s been way too quiet around here so I’ve accepted that Duncan/Autumn/Devon/Isaac are all voting me out tonight. Devon keeps talking to me about the swap and really emphasizing about it, so I get sketch vibes from that. Plus that Duncan/Autumn duo is very strong so it makes sense for them to want to vote me out. Plus apparently Isaac is writing my name down tonight so... it’s been fun! I enjoyed my 7 days that I spent here and can’t wait for the perjury trip with Trace and Bodhi 🥳🥳🥳

Lowkey kinda bummed we won this challenge. Which probably raises a few death flags but whatever. I would have liked to put our alliance to the test before a swap :/. It also would have been neat to have the fucking idiot who voted with Trace as a spare vote, now they are definitely going to get fucked. Luckily the challenge provided some new optunity for alliances. For starters we can make a natural extra alliance with AJ without drawing conclusions to a mysterious third faction. Even though Connor did jack shit... I'm not bitter just... disappointed. :/

PERIODTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, WE WON HOES! Like I am incredibly shook that we won because I was ready to jump off of a ledge hgfjkdl so yay for that! The Brains lost and I really do feel for them but Brawn winning makes our numbers equal and the Brawns are more threatening overall so that should mean that Brains would want to work with us in a swap scenario yknow? I’m just shook I’m on the winning tribe ghjfdks

Now that we won, I SHOULD be chilling right? Well, I hate myself so I’m not doing that one bit. I am deathly afraid of a swap next round because the makings of a swap are all there (a flop tribe that needs a swap to save them, us being at 18 people is perfect for 3 tribes of 3, etc). I’m scared I will get swap fucked in some capacity so I’m just aaaa. That being said, I do want to make sure I leave on amazing terms with everyone before we swap in case I am separated from anyone or I join some of these legends on a new tribe. 

honestly, our tribe has been pretty much on a high. our most recent challenge seemed like something tailored for us to lose, and while i was nervous for a second, we were able to best the brains tribe and send them to tribal for the THIRD time. (i really thought they'd have that one in the bag!) i feel sorry for those nerds, they just can't catch a break :( but seriously, the challenge itself really opened doors of opportunity for me in the game i feel. me/kendall/amir/augusto were on call from 11AM est to the time challenge results went up.. and it was an experience. we all got along pretty well and put our braincells together to get through that challenge, but their company was what made it worthwhile! connor was also participating in the challenge, but he didn't really do anything. although i know he's been pretty busy lately so i'm not too bent about it and completely understand, just wish he said a little more in the chat other than the two messages he did! i think what i'm preparing for right now is the swap. i really wanna cement solid relationships and allegiances with the people on my tribe as we anticipate going into bigger tribes as of next round or the round after. i wouldn't mind just staying on this tribe, though. our dynamic is great, the people are great, and we're even better in competition. there's really not much of a loss there if you ask me! 

So in the past 24 hours I've worked my ass off to try to get Autumn and Devon to vote with me against Scott and/or Duncan and I'm not getting my hopes up. Like everything they've given me has been so vague and I've tried to go the extra mile to try to get Autumn and Devon to trust me. I think I'm going home tonight and if I do that's tragic but not exactly a #blindside. It might be my curtain call but I hope I at least made them doubt each other. 

Also #FuckThoth, Jess rigged me out

Me waiting for tribal to happen: https://66.media.tumblr.com/c327b3a59ef66f9835241d079c1fbe39/tumblr_n20f10EtZH1rkuhmio2_400.gif

Me if I make it out alive tonight: https://media1.tenor.com/images/664df9da1de6fb8913ff67b2ca8234e0/tenor.gif?itemid=16269462

 Me if I get voted out tonight: https://media.giphy.com/media/aUW1R5qccvQ3K/giphy.gif

I HATE IT HERE I WANNA GO HOME!!! I feel like the underpaid babysitter that the parents forgot about cause these boys are triiippppinng. I’m selling the vote so well to Isaac I actually wanted to vote Scott with him and I was going to but my damn alliance has him secondguessing and now everyone is all misty eyed about being split while Isaac is panicking so the solution is a CALL. Even though we call EVERYDAY so there ain’t shit to talk about??? Isaac has been blowing my pm’s up all day so no sir, no farewell calls. My emotional energy has been spent for the day lying for 6 hours straight thank you very much. Scuncan and Devon need to cut the melodrama out cause we have a whole game left?? So we will see each other again??? And if we don’t, we don’t. Also we could not get swapped tonight??? So simmer down. The Lord NEEDS to take me cause I can’t do it. Everyone needs their hand held and their feelings coddled and I’m tired. Less  kumbayah, more playing Survivor 

So we won again! I felt terrible in our challenge chat because I really couldn't get my head around the patterns and shit everyone else was doing, honestly hope they don't see general weakness in me because of it.. I'm good at like, everything else, but I dunno, this season's just not been looking favourably on me yet. After the flag incident and then that challenge, I feel like I probably am in the most danger, and I still don't know what to do about it except spam everyone all the time in hopes they feel some social tie to me... I hate it here I rly do. Hopefully we'll start to get more comps I can excel in because so far it's been flop after flop and I rly hate to see it.

Not AJ telling me that I am the person he is closest to on this tribe… I’m crying ugh, I feel so bad for wanting him to leave first like I didn’t get to know him well until recently but I really do like him… why was I blessed with these iconic people on my tribe? Game aside, I do like them all and want them to slay in life <3

I'm so screwed if I don't win this immunity challenge. I know I'm a weak link, so if I don't win this, hopefully *dan* doesn't either cause I might have to target him to save my skin. This is where I'm really gonna have to be social over the next day, cause my ass is quite literally on the line right now. I'm not getting 18th-16th, screw this.

Okay I’m gonna say it, I love my alliance so much.I will not play with my heart and I’ll kill them if I have to but I really really really don’t want to, I obvi love my alliance with Augusto, Kendall, and Connor so much, but i will not play with my heart and ill backstab them if i have to but i really really dont want to. I would also like if adam austin and aj were safe. I really really like adam a lot. he is a fking sweetheart, and hes so funny. Austin is also great and super genuine and kind. i feel bad for calling him boring earlier, and aj is just funny and cool in general. the best case is we never have to go to tribal and i get to keep my inbred nocturnal intoxicated-at-all-times tribe members here. I am gonna need as many of these people in the game as possible for the swap and for the merge, and if we end up do having to go to tribal, I will do everything in my power to keep the tribe from getting divided, because we're gonna need each other to take down the brawn tribe.

I want to be tight with every single one of the beauties because a swap is likely coming and I need them, and the biggest issue rn I see moving foreward is if brawn and brain align, so we must snatch the brains first. every one keeps talking about being stumped about the tomb and I just keep lying DKNDKDNDD but I am lowkey scared they know I’m lying 

[travellers-survivor-old-west]

Episode 2.0: "I ate a Bagel and we SNAPPED" - Eve

After the “Ginger Curse” met its next Travellers Survivor victim....... 

Whew okay so I don't know anyone on my tribe (kinda) which is good but also a bit scary since its just 6 of us. Overall, I feel like everyone's a bit quiet and not too talkative. That being said, they might be talking a bunch in PMs. Right now, I am trying to stay under the radar and just be friendly with everyone. I really like Austin, Eve and Patrick right now. Keaton and Isaac are nice too but I dont really talk to them as much. If we would have lost this first immunity challenge I would have definitely wanted to vote for one of them. No official alliances yet but its still early so I think its okay. THANK FUCKING GOD WE WON. Okay well, we got 2nd but thats a win in my eyes. I just really hope I make it to jury and I will be happy so not being first boot is GREAT. Im trying to get this damn idol but I cant catch a fucking break and my ass keeps getting zapped... I dont think anyone has gotten the idol yet so I hope i get lucky and somehow get to it first. Here is how I see everyone as of right now: Austin: Probably my fave right now and hoping I can get into a f2 with him. He's funny and sweet and I feel like we get along and its pretty easy to talk to him. Eve: Eve is iconic! Want to work with her but I feel like she is really social so she might be a threat later on. Pat: Same as Eve, even though I just met him, I actually have known about him before since he is friends with some of my friends. I know he does good in games so he is someone I would like to see leave a bit sooner since I think he will be hard to get rid of later. But hes amazing and his video for the music video was ICONIC. I can see him and I becoming friends for sure. Keaton: Not much to say, I do know keaton from playing a game with him in the past but he was voted out first I think and then I hosted him in HOS but i wasnt super active in that one :) Anyway, I feel like we dont have much to talk about so I need to make more of an effort with him. I really wouldnt care to see him go tbh but who knows, this can definitely change if we start talking more. Isaac: omg okay so night one I go into everyones PMs to say hi and i notice that I already had messages with him which I found super weird because I didnt know who he was but I guess we kind of got into it like 3 years ago??? I told him I didnt remember this but i do. He was basically an asshole to me for no fucking reason. But this was 3 years ago so i really dont care so I hope he doesnt try to target me over it. He seems nice I guess but I havnt really talked to him much. In his defense he has been sick apparently but if we would have gone into this first TC I would have wanted to see him voted out first for sure.

We won thanks to the combine efforts of Nick, Chloe, and Aidan. All kings and queens! I probably should say something about the vote switch last time. Yeah that happened. Didn’t even realize cas was part of the tribe. Great social game 10/10. So sorry Payton <33. Now we wait to see who goes but so far I quite like nick, Chloe and Aidan. Idk if I can take Chloe that far tho. I feel like she’s gonna get targeted by the other tribes when we merge if we survive that long anyways. I feel like out of our tribe, Nick has the best change of making it to f4 but I’m not sure he’ll be able to win. Payton has a job that takes him away so :/ if we lose again, he’s probably gonna be voted out next. I mean if I’m taken out of the picture. I’m pretty sure the tribe thinks I’m hella annoying but they need me on their side for now. :^)

Lmaoooooo well thank fuck we won because my ass was on the chopping block lmaoooo. My ass didn’t volunteer to do the challenge either because I fucking suck at memory so mfjrkjskfks lmaoooo fuck me man. I’m barely scrapping by but here I am

So happy we are safe again! I'm so use to going to tribal everytime lol. I think now would be a good time to get ashley eve and isaac all together on the same page with me for some kind of alliance

What's up though? Here we are in Survivor: Old West, losing the second immunity challenge and we have a specific reason to point to in Xander. I'm sure he tried his best, but when it came my turn to answer the questions I was only able to give correct answers about the information he gave me. I personally think he is the person that is going to help us the least, but Sammy was not in that challenge. In the challenge that Sammy mainly participated in, Nicole was the person that made things difficult for us. That brings us to late last night where Sammy decides to be the first person to throw out a name and pick Nicole, gives his reasons, and that's it for me once the name is said and agreed upon in my alliance, it's done that's the plan. Now all there is to do is see what Xander and Dylan say, and we're done. I hope so anyway, I could sit here and ponder if Sammy had ulterior motives or if this is a good move for me but at this moment I don't want to overthink anything, so we chillin' --- Oh as I was writing this I found a Vote Reveal advantage on space 25 on the railroad, which I am guessing means there are more things on 50 and 75. Vote Reveal is a bit useless but maybe there will be a specific situation where it will work out.

So so happy our tribe won that challenge. Honestly idk how to feel about this game. Im trying really hard to be social with people so IF we lose im okay but I feel like everyone except Austin is actively reaching out to me. I basically start all the conversations. So to me either people are a bit inactive in this game/ dont care about the game or theyre already forming alliances and dont really need to talk to me. Im really hoping its that theyre inactive. Right now Isaac and Keaton can go, they literally just leave me on read and dont try to talk to me. I had a good conversation with austin WHO I FUCKING LOVE IM SO GLAD HES HERE and he wants to start an alliance soon. We both agree Eve would be a good option but he also mentioned that he would like isaac or pat to join it. This lets me know he likes isaac so they must be talking so idk why he isnt talking to me but whatever. Anyways.. I would love an alliance with Austin, Eve and Pat but a four person alliance when theres only 6 of us can be scary. Luckily our tribe has been doing well in challenges so far but we will probably have to go to TC at some point and thats when shit is going to go down. I can def see people possibly wanting to vote me so im going to start being even more social and get that alliance going with Austin. I wouldnt mind seeing Isaac or keaton going if we do go to TC next round. I doubt anyone has the idol yet and holy shit im so bad at this i always get zapped. I need Jess, Micheal or Alyssa to rig this shit for me please

The challenge involved having people active on call.... And to be honest I didn't want to do it for us. But I offered because I don't want to be that guy. Anyways. We lost but barely. Got our hopes up saying 8/10 if only Michael could count. Makes me wonder what's really going on up there in his head. I'm just glad the votes seem to be off me this time. But we can only hope. I did my part of the competition. So they can't entirely fault me.

Okay so I’m in an alliance w Jared and Owen and I think I mentioned that. I honestly wanted to sit out of the challenge bc I just needed a break. However, we lost and in my head I immediately thought to vote Nicole. She really hasn’t put in too much for these challenges and I know she’s on vacation. Xander would be my next choice just because he is short on responses and I feel like he would vote me out over Jared or Owen and a i assume he’s closer to them after the challenge. I’d like to work with Dylan on the side if possible. I’m just chillin hoping this first tribal isn’t a blindside and if it’s against me then hoes ain’t loyal and that ain’t very western like. I don’t think they would betray me this early tho and I have faith in my alliance.

I feel like these people are carrying me at this point and that is A okay with me. I’m running the Iditarod and they’re my dogs

OKAY WOW PAT EVE AND I POPPED THE FUCK OFFFFFF we did everything we needed in life and it was beautiful. I'm not really doing alot in this game I'm just floating along woooo

Welp it's been real y'all. No one had talked to me since the challenge much and only sammy has said maybe it's me and Dylan says it's definitely me.

Hi welcome to my lifeeeeeee today i ate a bagel and we SNAPPED in the immunity, I FUCKING KILLED IT, (thanks keaton!!!!!) HEHE HAHA IM SO CUTE Waitin for this Alliance to be made tbh but what do i know, we're gonna keep SNAPPING so whatever ladies xoxoxoxoxox

[livingbutamireally]

AY2019/2020 Y1S1 Module Review

AY2019/2020 year 1 semester 1 review

Started school around august after orientation camp in july, and had to study after doing nothing for months after a levels and finally had the taste of the rigour of this major.. semester 1 went by too quickly..

Modules taken this semester:

CS1010S

MA1101R

MA1521

BT1101

GER1000

CS1010S Programming Methodology (Python)

Prof: Ben Leong

Exam Dates: 2 Oct (Midterm) / 16 Nov (Practical Exam) / 27 Nov (Finals)

Weightage:

Coursemology – 25% (25%)

Participation – 5% (5%)

Midterm test – 15% (-)

Practical exam – 15% (20%)

Final assessment – 40% (50%)

(those in brackets are for those taking alternative final)

S in CS1010S is for science students, most students are either science students (DSA/ Life Science plenty) or BZA students.

Overall this module easily had the highest workload compared to other modules, having to rush missions every week, complete tutorials (this is pretty standard duh) and lecture trainings before deadlines for bonus points on a gamified platform. One could sit at their table wracking their brains for the whole day and still not be able to come up with a feasible code, or have their codes stuck with some bugs and not knowing how to continue. Really, without the help from fellow friends this module would be hard to get through. Luckily my TA was kind (and patient!) enough to explain such that my brain could get it. Ended up having to IP this module sadly… This module really requires your wholehearted devotion and really tests your patience i must say, especially for people who are not too intellectually inclined (aka me)..

They introduced a new scheme this semester aka Alternative Final, meaning you get to retake your midterm and finals by tabao-ing it into the next sem except you do your finals during the recess week instead of the finals, kinda like a half-retaking a module? Your grades for finals are IP-ed (in progress) rather than letter grades and the finals and midterms will be accounted for in the following half a semester albeit under different weightage components.

They said its a introductory module, but …………..

This year’s practical exam was particularly hard i think i had friends (even the zai ones) getting single digit marks… banked full in on the Method of Life question (Q5) of finals which is a giveaway question asking you how you can apply the concepts to other parts of your life and your main take-aways from taking this module (filled up the whole page and got full marks for it 4m) without this question i would have failed the paper..

Now i have to work hard the next sem… its kinda sad for us BZA students because CS1010S is a prerequisite for those wanting to take BT2101 and CS2030/2040 modules in the following semester (y1s2). Future students (esp BZA) please take the advice to consider this when deciding whether to IP…. because guess who didnt and regretted not thinking deeper…..

Ah one more thing to take note is the weightage is quite different for those IP/ alternative final people, theres higher weightage for the papers :_D

Ben Leong is a pretty good lecturer, hes solid in delivering concepts except my brain may be a little too slow for him.. Theres also lecture videos online that you can refer to and thousands of papers (with solutions!!) waiting for you to do.. something uncommon for many modules i heard? also, you get to see your final (scanned) paper through a website, in ben leong’s words “how cool is that?” he also uploads the mark scheme for your reference which is pretty cool imo. He’s a very interesting lecturer.

MA1521 Calculus for Computing

Prof: Leung Pui Fai

Exams: No midterms, just an online quiz (4 questions, most get full marks for), and the finals

Weightage: cant really rmb the weightage but i think its 40-60? i think tutorial attendance isnt graded..

They said this was just a repeat of H2 maths with more stuffs well boy i must say this wasnt as easy as they said.. okay maybe for me, ive always struggled with maths for a really long time. Surprisingly got a B for H2 Maths, i got a B3 for O levels really the blemish in my results. Got a B- for this module. Many people will say this is an easy module, you can trust them a little different in my shoes i guess. I didnt turn up for lectures for the half part of the semester since he talks a bit too slowly so i just watch the webcast sped up. But being a procrastinator i’m really behind on webcasts by the time the exams came.. i think i spent too much time on CS1010S and its still not enough.. if you dont have the discipline to watch them religiously at home, i would suggest you go for the lecture even though he may talk abit slowly but it forces you to not miss out on them. I dont really had the time (is it i wonder?) to do the tutorials either so i was also behind on them.. most of the time i just sat for tutorials and took the answers down to only work on them many weeks later (much regrets) so i didnt really understood what was going on as the TA went through. please dont be like me… the recess week was for sure not enough to revise/ learn all the content for all your mods for both midterms/finals so please dont be lazy like me…. this is the suffering i brought upon myself TT

Overall i think. it is not that hard a mod if you do your work consistently.. things got a little confusing towards the end i heard they dropped a whole chapter this semester glad they did.

MA1101R Linear Algebra I

Prof: Wang Fei

Weightage:

Finals (28 Nov, 2h)— 60%.

Mid-term test (4 Oct, 2h)— 20%.

3 homework assignments (4% per assignment) — 12%. 

An in-class Lab (MATLAB) quiz — 8%.

This was one of my most hardest period in my life and i say this on PERIODT. As if maths wasnt tough enough, this will really declare a survival of the fittest among your remaining brain cells. Friends told me maths came into their dreams… pls extinguish my soul. You must be thinking i am crazy for wanting to take 2 math mods in a sem right? ?

Yeahh no one really does that but it was my idea because i didnt want to do maths together with all the core core mods (BT and CS) next sem so i decided ah i should just get maths over and done with ( hAH real joke bc i couldnt clear CS1010S and i cant take 2k level mods for BT and CS and unlocked clown outfit because theres one more ST2334 core mod that involves probability and stats so much for thinking i will be over and done with for dealing with maths– someone tell me why did i choose this major again?)

Somehow along the way i realised the bell curve for this was surprisingly high i think those who chose this mod intend to delve even deeper in mathematics, mayhaps i joined the wrong major. The R in MA1101R actually stands for rigorous i didnt realise until my friend read the fine prints in the SOC Course Curriculum for BZA or sumn. Pure hell. There are 3 homework assignments (graded mind you) and most of the students get around 50++/60 i think i was the one of the rare few who flunked quite badly and always eyeballed by my TA (who is a prof for some 3k or 4k level maths, not for this mod though). I approached him for consults and for help and he was nice enough to sit me down and explain slowly. He’s pretty good at explaining slowly although he’s pretty fast in class (and most of the semester i had close to ZERO idea what was going on in class for pretty much most of the mods). Shockingly managed to pull out a C from my butt. The intellect of the students are no joke.. Homework assignments are every 3 weeks starting week 6 i think (so week 6, 9, 12) and i think are there to make sure you catch up with the work.

Oh lectures-wise, i sat for ½ of his classes, i really absorb almost nothing.. the rest of the lecture hall seem to get it though or so it seems. so i stopped attending my own lectures to watch the webcast for Prof Victor Tan too. His webcasts/lectures are really popular and it really owe it to his teaching, apparently he taught Wang Fei before and of course had over ten more years of experience. WF’s lecture turn-outs are comparatively less compared to VT. And on panopto (webcast platform) i think it was almost always 360++ views for VT as compared to a 80++/ was it 30++ for WF if i recall correctly. VT slides are also more concise and simple to understand where as WF’s ones are similar to the textbook. You are also required to purchase a textbook for this module costs around $20 from the co-op store in science and i urge you to purchase it asap when the profs announce they are made available bc they run oos quite fast.. the tutorial questions are from the textbook and the textbook is very simple and straightforward and put together by some of the lecturers/profs in school.

BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics

Prof: Dr Sharon Tan, Desmond Ong

Weightage:

1. Online Quiz & Datacamp Assignments — 7%

Tutorial 1-4 — 8%

Tutorial 5 onwards — 15%

In-class Assessment (Written) — 10%

Practical Assessment — 20%

Final Assessment — 40%

In class assessment is held 2ish weeks after your midterms week so its kinda like your midterms?

Mm i would say this module is the most ?? its hard to put in words but if you read up the confessions page (NUSwhispers) regularly you would see many complaints that the mod is structured not as neatly as CS1010S its quite here and there everywhere and personal opinion, sometimes i dont know what i am supposed to learn but i guess its like that? The profs seem to value not wanting to spoonfeed and us learning on our own and stuff like that. I heard the mod was much harder in previous years and they simplified it a lot compared to in the past (which i really thank god) but its still a bit ?? They split it into two halves, first half of the sem is taught by Dr ST (Descriptive Analytics) and the next half by DO (Prescriptive and Predictive Analytics).

There are online videos to be watched every week even though you get lectures once every 2 weeks when Dr ST teaches and tutorials to be submitted to your TAs that are graded only after about 6/7 weeks. They leave comments (½ sentences someitmes shorter) and your marks received and thats about all so you dont really know where you went wrong since they are not marked paper and pen way. The tutorials are coding exercises for questions using the R language. They also used Datacamp to drill some of the basics of R for a headstart. Her workshop style lectures are a lot of on the spot learning how to code and stuff which i lag behind a bit because she goes a bit fast in order to cover everything. We learn new content via the online videos that we have to watch every week and theres quizzes for them too weekly iirc.

The next half by DO had no online videos (great!! and no quizzes!!) but weekly lectures and graded tutorials are due every 2 weeks(!!). There are still weekly tutorials but its only graded for every 2nd one, wow this saved me a lot of time phew. I didnt get to do the tutorials for those that are not graded but read through the questions so that i get a gist of whats going on, and somehow i really dont have the time to do it? CS1010S really absorbed a large chunk of my time cries. Finals was a oK it was not that bad i think. There are 20 MCQs and then about 4 structured questions? Closed-book with 1 A4 sheet cheatsheet.

Oh and the bad part about the tutorials are the tutors wont provide you with the model answers/codes so you’re really just on your own. You either get it or nah. :_D

GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning

Weightage:

1. Tutorial — 10%

2. 10 Weekly Quizzes — 20%

3. Project —35% (Presentation 10%, Final Report 25%)

4. Finals (28 MCQs, 2h) — 35%

No lectures so no profs, just weekly online videos and quizzes.

Tutorials are every odd/even weeks depending on the slot you chose.

Groups are arranged by the TAs beforehand.

This was pre-allocated for us so (grits teeth). Honestly a waste of time. One of the mods i neglected till the end to focus on other mods (which was worth it). The workload was manageable, of course (if not how to neglect). Every 2 week you meet together wiht your groupmates to discuss tutorial questions (each group will discuss 1 qn) and every tutorial class ended about 30min earlier. Nearing the end theres a group project report and slides to be done. Report is in the form of QnA so you just answer the questions and slides/ presentation is going through an article of a topic you chose (theres about 10) and you analyse the QR part of it what is good what can be better, etc. Theres also a bit of the stats part with probability and stuff but its a OK. Bell curve steep for finals (40 MCQ, 2h) but most finished in 1h and left the hall, i was one of the few who stayed till the end even though i was just staring at the paper into the depths of my soul for reasons unknown) It’s a lot about experiments not really the scientific/ calculations part of it but understanding about coming up with experiments, the pros and cons of carrying things out a certain way in loose terms something like the art of crafting experiments? makes you think a bit deeper how and what people think and not so dry i guess.

Epilogue

i guess thats a wrap–new semester starts soon :( i think this might be the first module/semester review tumblr blog but i hope this can be of help to anyone, to anyone at all. the owner of many of similar review blogs get really stellar results which i may be too out of league from so i hope this brings comforts to those who are doing not so well and encourage them because im not any different we exist, and we’ll survive.

CARPE DIEM 2020 LETS GEDDIT

[kosmicdream]

Flight or Fight Drawing mode

for me, i think there’s always this restless feeling that comes when working on comics. That feeling that time is running out or not being utilized to its fullest degree. You are aware of how much more there is to go in your story and can calculate the progression of your journey, but only the present. As you keep going on your story, the circumstances change, and it is always this fluid process you cannot fully accommodate and plan for.

I know in the few years since I started drawing FFAK my expectation for myself and my work has changed tremendously. Its something i reflect on a lot, since i forget how not too long ago, I felt like i was somewhat incapable of producing a comic because of the way i enjoy to write and explore stories. I still think fundamentally, FFAK reflects that raw unedited version of my writing and creative skills in a unique way that I doubt will be replicated again (in the same manner) even as i explore and work on other stories. FFAK just carries this certain kind of momentum of forwards and backwards both at once. You stretch all over the place and peek through small doors to go in strange places. Growth is difficult to gauge because of the way time is handled in the story. Goal points seem endless and bleed together from my perspective. There’s always so much more to go and so much planned that when you make accomplishments they feel sort of like a bunch of tiny small steps in many different directions. And honestly, No one is more impatient than i when it comes to waiting to share this story than me. I am always biting my nails and wanting to get it out faster SOMEHOW even though I work on it constantly as it is. FFAK is no longer just.. a random comic idea i started on a whim that I felt i would only dip my toes in and never actually attempt making. and now it really has consumed my mind like a wildfire. it is also my fireplace and my home in my heart and my peace. I don’t even think I could ever fully be prepared for and handle such a thing but I am glad to have it in my life. But as the haze.. shock? of starting this project starts to fade i find myself fully committed and trying to evaluate the steps and process i take for this comic as a whole. I think its interesting how 2ish years of planning basically gives me enough time to know what sort of story I’m doing. But I am in no eager rush to finish it because my excitement for it only grows and feels more satisfying the more i write and plan. Part of me gets upset I don’t blast pages out the “same” way anymore, even though i appreciate the exploration of ‘putting more effort’ into my drawings. Instead of drawing thru 20 pages a night I’m polishing like, 2.. or 4 a work night. Its kind of annoying!! because I’m not really one for polish and editing (or maybe I just never believed myself capable of doing it in a way i liked? lol) but.. it just feels like the right thing to do right now. it feels almost impossible to ‘rewind’ myself or go back to like, thinking things in a different way than what i try to do now. by attempting more things visually it kind of makes some things easier too. im often pretty surprised like “hey alright that came out ok. i guess i can push myself a little bit more next time to make it look better!!” I think about my early eggshells pages a lot and how i labored over like.. 15 pages over an entire year and felt miserable and in the end, often over rendered + lost clarity and energy and now i just get what i was doing ‘wrong’ to make it not fun for myself. Like, even when i was offered advice at the time I wasnt so welcome to it nor did i understand it, its like I had to suffer a bit before I was able to understand what I needed to do with myself lol. The lesson feels much more impactful after discovering it for myself too on my own pace imo. SO i am thankful for how that turned out! Then i broke down my art to its most base level (earliest ffak pages) and i’ve just been rebuilding myself back up since then and now I’m attempting things I didn’t even think I’d be able to do -- or be interested in. (like color, for example, has never been something I was too interested including with my comics but like.. blammo here i am doing it anyway now.) anyway. its really cool, this art journey thing. i kinda wonder how long ill coast on this certain part of it before i like, end up doing an unexpected detour again. Maybe I won’t..? i dont know!! FFAK is so raw and alive it makes me happy i get to make it and do whatever i want in it. I always wanted to make a comic that I could contribute to on a day to day basis rather than something you just make so you can get it done asap and move onto the next thing. When ffak does eventually finish I wonder if it will be really hard on me. I look forward to its ending because its really neat but it is not a world I want to let go of so quickly. Even tho i have several other stories I’d like to do.. (and have started a couple already LMAO) I think about that expectation with ending stories a lot and completing projects. Most of my very favorite comics have yet to end despite going on for decades.. and when i think about that too, it almost feels very strange. Readers generally want closure to reflect on their experiences reading something so endings are that important ‘release’ from that fake world and  time you participated in it. But when i ask myself what I want to do for endings to my story, i try to contemplate  my favorite endings to stories ive read/watched/experienced to figure out what i want to do with my own. Since.. its my story and my satisfaction with it is really going to be reflective of what I like. Everyone interpretes ‘good’ endings differently and like, clings into diff parts of what makes a satisfying story so its important to isolate what elements you find are important to try to replicate that in your own work. But like.. its hard to see what kind of ending you’re going to make before you make it???? And making the story is a difficult thing to let go of vrs just being funneled all the stuff. Maybe my ‘ffak reader’ half of me will be satisfied but will my ‘ffak creator’ side be happy? Will i feel fufilled on both parts? I mean an experience is going to just be an experience.. i cannot manufacture or control it to be anything than what it will be so to think about it too much is probably only going to go in circles. It certainly has changed me a lot as a person and an artist. WHich is disorienting b/c im also introducing my work to everyone while not also knowing myself completely. (not that is ever fully achievable but, its been something i get forced to confront a lot.) When I work on this project I fight so many demons of my own life, chase ghosts of my heros that i feel are so beyond my ability, and stare down the illusion of my own reflection of what kind of artist i want to be every time i draw a new page.. I’m never going to really be that reflection, and my heros will always be my heros and they’ll always do things I cannot, but I wonder what kind of creator I look like from the outside?? from a person who isnt me. I cannot experience myself as a ‘reader’ but I try to pretend I am seeing myself as one. And the most exciting thing about myself, from that outside perspective, is that I am not sure what I will attempt next or what strange journey i will write about. I am happy that despite every difficult thing I have been through, I am still excited and having fun with my art like I have only just first attempted to draw. Soon FFAK will be three years old and (likely) 4000 pages by then.. I still havent gotten to write and draw out things I planned the very first day, but now I know roughly how the story will end (without actually getting to draw it yet, of course.) And i’m just anticipating the future while knowing  that...i have no idea what it will bring!!! O_O (one thing is for certain i hope to fuck my house doesnt burn down again because, istg, that fucking SUCKED!!!!!!!!) Wooh.. well. i just felt like sharing some thoughts since i just got done re-reading some of ffak and feel a bit overwhelmed with emotion.. Thank you all for sticking around and experiencing this comic with me..! :’3 -kosmic

[survivorkvaloya]

Episode #3: “I Wanna Start S#!t” - Chelsea

Honestly, Steffen, not much has happened for me in the first two episodes. We'll go over it really quick. I liked my original tribe of 5 with Jules, Liam, Christine, and Ryan. They were all awesome. My mentor, Colin, a fellow House of Shade alumni--also awesome. We won the flash game challenge (of the 5 competitors of my tribe, I scored 1 point which landed me in the middle of our tribe rankings). I bonded with Christine early. That could be something to hang onto. The following round was a crapshoot competition and we won that, too! On my new tribe, I like Lauren and Jack and I also have Christine there. I really wish there was more dirt or drama because I love writing lengthy confessionals, but things are just getting started here!

Alright. So I guess no one wants pleasant kind hearted lily around. They want mean angry bitter ass lily which I'm happy to give but they ain't gonna like it. I got an extra vote on this island thing that no one is gonna know about because fuck these bitches. I know I will need the upper hand later when the couples try to destroy the singles. When I get out of reflection island I'm gonna try to buddy up with Connor and ask him to be my new mentor. Jules I'm pissed. I wish I knew exactly what happened but I will try to get to the bottom of it and make sure all those losers pay. I hope you start feeling better too. I feel like I can't trust anyone after that but Jackson seems pretty genuine of not knowing or not being able to do anything. But, because of this HUGE betrayal everyone on that other tribe can fend for themselves. I'll be all nice nice yeah I'd love to work with you but nah. I ain't interested. Let's be clear here, I have no loyalties and I'm not playing some kind of loyal game. You cut my mentor ill cute you. BYE Andreas also told me about Jules getting voted out most likely before the vote which is cool. I appreciate that. But Nicholas Colin we ain't buddies. I'm rooting for a student to win but it ain't y'all. Tonight I will hopefully put together a board of what original tribes people were on their swap tribe and who their mentor is. I think this will help me get a better picture of what's going on. Also, being bitter as fuck only two days in? My aesthetic. 

Oh and also I miss the damn creative challenge? There better be more to come because I'm sad. I've never done a music video challenge this was my shot and these bitches took me out!!! What the HECKIE???? 

nothing's really happened imo. this main is slow. i want drama. nicholas said there's a majority cross tribe alliance. where's my invite? i wanna start shit. my goal is just to make merge so i can blow up, the best way "Trixsea" Steele knows how. :) :) :)

I know i killed this music video challenge, but Chelsea told me that me and only 3 others submitted anything and after re-reading the rules and seeing that its an extra 5 points for every appearance we could actually be fucked. It wouldn't be to big of a problem because honestly I like going to tribal and getting to vote people off, but I also know of the cross tribe majority alliance who supposedly has majority on our tribe right now. If we lose this I'll probably try to blow up and either shake that alliance up or go out in a blaze of chaotic glory.  

Im at tribal right now and I was getting a sick feeling that I was going to be the one voted out... But I always feel like that. I think that I am going to get my team together, Liam got a vote and if he wasn't sure if he wanted to work with me (even thought he said he wanted to) so yeah.... Me, Andreas, Colin, Liam, Ryan, Jackson... Then we have the numbers? yeah cus there is only nine of us rn. We could pull in Conner to make life really easy and to add a couple number just encase. If we do that then out of everyone we would have: Me and Liam, Colin and Brett, Ryan and Jackson, Andreas and... someone (-_- sorry) and then Conner who lost their student. Thats 9 people in a game with 18? maybe that  about half. I don't know what I'm talking about anymore but I do know that this needs to happen soon before I get bumped to the side... I do no like being a side bitch 

Ahhhh, I'm literally so in love with this challenge it was so much fun and Chelsea did such an amazing job editing it. If we don't win I'll be shocked...and scared. Lauren disappeared for a bit and didn't participate so like I'm a little...or a lot worried for her. As of right now I literally love this tribe. QuilLynn is super smart and I adore her, Willow and Chelsea are sweet and adorable and Brett is a gem. I guess the only person I haven't clicked with is Jack but for now everything's looking good and Im hoping we win the challenge :)

Whew, I'm so excited to have won immunity! The challenge was so much fun and now...its messy cause alliances are starting to form and QuilLynn told me about one that apparently me and Lauren are in? So I don't know if Lauren's making deals without me or what, but nobody's approached me specifically and I'm not in any chats so! I'm not sure what's going on and I don't like it. I think right now my #1 is QuilLynn. She's smart, sweet and very easy to talk to so I officially adore her and wanna protect her at all costs. I need to get things in order with Lauren cause I don't wanna get in the middle of some warfare we don't need to be in. 

We lost. Again. This is the worst. My tribe is cursed. Kinda. It's like a blessing in disguise for me tbh. I'm using this time to recover from last round and regroup. There's more talk of a majority alliance forming and I wanna make sure it happens so I can solidify my place in it. I think my number 1 ally has shifted from Nicholas to Jackson now. Jackson is literally my fave person in this game. He's so nice and fun to talk to, he's socially and strategically aware, and most importantly, he's really cute and nice to look at so! I still got that alliance with JD and Andreas but I am not really loyal to it. JD seems to playing messily and I've mentioned before Andreas seems too well connected for his own good. Anyway, onto this vote! Literally? The only thing I've heard? Is Connor? but....... that's all I've heard. Connor isn't putting out another name. No one else is putting out another name. And that's a recipe for paranoia in my mind. I wanna trust the majority that's been built, JD says Jackson and Ryan will be voting with us, and I trust them 10000% but I'm a paranoid hoe. 

my confessional game so far has been weak af so far like I literally forgot to write a confessional last round, so I guess I'll just do a quick recap. Essentially I have mixed feelings about my tribe bc there are 3 other people who I really like Chelsea, QuilLynn, and Gage. We ended up creating an alliance and QuilLynn titled it "arent you Klad I didn't say fjorden" which is iconic! Anyway that cookie challenge last round killed me but I'm glad I came up with the strategy to split 3 on 0, 3 on 9 and 3 in the middle. Lily was convinced that they weren't going to put all their cookies on one of our tribe mates so like I'm kinda glad I proved her wrong lmao idk. As for the people I have mixed feelings about Jack is okay I mean he usually replies but in PMs he can be kinda boring and give one word answers. Christine is really nice but she just doesnt reply a lot? maybe she just doesnt like small talk or something. Brett, I've heard really good things about him but he only replies when its about him lol, like if I ever start sharing one of my stories or whatever idk he just stops replying lol. Lauren, okay shes super cute but seems inactive. Anyway I was like super excited that we got to do the music video challenge this round, its always super fun even though what I make is always really awkward lmao. Anyway like 4 people from our tribe didnt submit, Jack was sick (so he says), Gage was moving which is alright, and Lauren (didn't say anything about why she didn't do it lol), and Chelsea was editing so its all good. Shes like a really good editor and our video turned out great so I'm glad we won even though we had like 4 people in the video compared to them having like 7. So then QuilLynn informs me that Chelsea told her that theres a majority alliance of like 8ish people?? like what the fuck thats about half the people here. So its Andreas-Jack, Colin-Brett, JD-Liam, and potentially Lauren-Christine. And there are a bunch of people we're unsure could be in the alliance. And then as Im hearing about the alliance I'm realizing that it consists of the people on my tribe who dont always reply to me lol or when they do are boring. And I mean I know im not the most interesting texter but these people are worse then me. So then I was talking to Ryan and asking him about his tribe and the reward and stuff to see if I could get any information about whether if hes in the majority or not without directly asking. So I was like whats was the idol clue reward this time and he told me about how it has to do with whoever gets the lowest score in the challenge, which sounds super complicated bc if someone with the lowest score doesnt have the clue then no one gets the idol. And he gave the clue to me, and I wanna give it to QuilLynn but we dont need too many people throwing the challenge and if one of our alliance members already has it then it should be alright, and it'll keep up my trust with Ryan since Im not supposed to give it to anyone so Im hoping its a win win. but he told me that I wasnt supposed to tell anyone about what the reward was but before he told me that I had already told my alliance bc I think I trust them more oops? but I think I want to trust Ryan. I told him that I heard rumors about a cross tribe majority alliance but thats all I knew, and he told me about a group of mentors and students talk about a potential alliance and they asked Danielle about it and she told Ryan she would try to get him in if she could. So then I tried talking to Danielle just making small talk or whatever and she only gave one word answers, which was fucking weird? Like some shit is clearly going on that I dont know about? I can already tell im becoming messy af which I wanted to not try to do as much as I did last season but maybe im just naturally a messy player and theres nothing I can do about it lol. Anyway I hope the majority isnt something I should worry about and I hope they self destruct somehow or Im just hoping that it doesnt exist at all and it was just a rumor made up to scare people or some shit. 

[yourlocalyorozuya]

A Scrapbook of Memories FIc 01

Title: An innocence in loss.

Pairing: Abeno Haruitsuki/Ashiya Hanae

Rating: K+

A03 Link

[[hello everyone!]]

[[this is part of the new fukigen na mononokean drabble fic series that id been planning for a while!! im so glad i finally started it pHEW]]

[[im kickstarting it with the seven themed drabbles from abeshiya week, the one i wasnt able to participate in, so if they seem familiar thats why]]

[[and if you want to request a fic please drop a line in my ask! :>]]

[[enjoy!]]

An innocence in loss.

A Fukigen na Mononokean fanfiction

Was he too obvious? Maybe too obvious.

Probably.

Definitely.

He glances behind him again. Or attempts to for about .5 seconds before he chickens out and turns back. A new record!

...No, this is definitely very awkward and obvious. He sighs as he drops his head to his desk and groans in frustration.

There’s a comment from the teacher and stifled giggles, but he just. Doesn’t care right now.

Mostly because he can’t feel his face. He didn’t sleep at all...

...Huh.

...The desk felt...nice. Nice and cool. It was getting warmer outside, recently, and it felt nice against his cheek.

Huh.

For some reason, it’s hard to keep his eyes open. Though, technically, he actually does know why.

He grimaces a little, just a little, but it’s too comfortable to keep up.

It takes a while to open his eyes again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“....Wuh!”

And he sits up in his chair abruptly, regretting it immediately when his head starts to spin. "Hurgh!”

“You okay, Ashiyan?”

“...F-Fusshi.” Ashiya says, looking at the boy, “What...?”

“You fell asleep during class.” Is Saga’s input as he slides into the seat next to him.

“Yeah, that was rare! Usually, you’re so full of energy, even if you’re Hanae-chan of the Nurse’s Office!” Fushimi says.

"...Yeah...it's been a while since I heard that too." Ashiya admits. At first, he moves to swipe something from his forehead, then covering his yawn with a hand, "Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well these days."

"Bad dreams?" Saga asks and immediately Ashiya stiffens.

"...Kind of. Yeah?" Ashiya says, carefully. He seems to be playing with his hair even more now, "Yeah!"

"So it is bad dreams?"

"I mean, I wouldn't really call them bad? Or dreams? They're technically dreams..." Ashiya says , fumbling for words, "I mean, they're definitely dreams!"

"Maybe they're daydreams?" Fushimi suggests.

At that, Ashiya seems to pause and consider something. Then, his cheeks flush red and he very quickly says, "Absolutely not! They're definitely dreams!! Dreams that are definitely not caused willingly by my subcon- aack!"

And Ashiya, who'd be reaching behind himself all of this time, loses balance and falls off his chair.

"Ashiya??"

"Owww."

"Are you okay?"

"I can't feel my face."

"Y-you can't feel your face after falling on your back?"

"F-Fuzz...on my face..."

A heavy sigh. "What are you doing?"

And Ashiya freezes up again.

"Abenon~! You came to get Ashiyan?"

"Yeah. Is he alive? I'll drag him to the Nurse's Office if he isn't."

"I'm alive!! Geez." Ashiya shoots up like a beanstalk and subsequently stumbles again, holding out his arms in front of him, "Whoa!"

"Be careful!" Abeno barks at him, "And quit fooling around and get over here!"

"O-okay!"

Ashiya dashes towards the door, giving Fushimi and Saga an awkward two-armed wave.

Kind of odd.

Almost as if he were holding something.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Ashiya had never related more to the expression 'Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire' more than he had now.

Abeno was still staring at him, even as the Mononokean briefed them on what he had to do today, even as he vacantly pet and apologized to Fuzzy for almost dropping him so many times in class.

And he was trying very hard to act normal, honestly he was. But then, it was hard to do that when he could barely meet Abeno's eyes. It made for awkward greetings and an awkward atmosphere in general.

Is everything alright? The Mononokean asks with an air of concern and that seems to kickstart Ashiya's brain back into gear.

"Yes?!" Too loud, oops.

" I-I mean." Ashiya coughs and avoids the line of Abeno's glare, "I mean, yes. Everything's fine."

Are you sure, Hanae?

"Yeah. I'm fine!" He tries a smile.

"...Hm."

...Hm?

......

.....Hmm???? What was that supposed to mean? Ashiya looks back quickly over to Abeno, and he's the one who's averting his gaze, thinking about something.

"Anyway, we should get going-"

"Ashiya."

"Yes?!" Again, whoops.

"Before we go anywhere, we need to talk."

Silence. Ashiya stares at him for a long while, mouth gaping like a fish.

Finally he manages, "Am I fired?!"

"Ha?!"

"A-are we d-discussing my cause of termination?!?"

"...Why are you speaking so formally all of a sudden."

"I always talk like this!"

"Whatever, just get out!"

"D-don't push me!!"

My oh my. ( ‾́ ◡‾́ )

He manages to read that off the Mononokean's scroll before Abeno kicks him towards the nijiriguchi, and he crawls through it just fast enough before Abeno does the same.

"Ow! Abeno-san?"

"What exactly is wrong with you?"

This is when his heart kicks into overdrive. Ashiya can already feel his face heating up.

"N...what is that supposed to mean?" Ashiya's about to deny it immediately, but in a rare moment of reflection, he thinks that saying no so quickly would make Abeno suspicious.

...If he wasn't suspicious already. Abeno's still staring at him with a scowl, though really that was more of his default expressio. In fact, it was usually why it was hard to tell sometimes what exactly was bothering him, despite being so clearly irritated.

"Why is your default expression so terrifying?!"

And he said that out loud.

"What did you say?!"

"I-I mean, nothing's wrong with me!!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that?!" Abeno retorts. He sounds actually angry now.

Ashiya flinches at that and he looks away.

"See, this is what I'm talking about." He thinks he hears Abeno say that.

"Eh?"

"Nothing. Whatever it is you're dealing with, just make sure it doesn't interfere with work."

"...Okay."

....

....Like he was able to just let it go like that.

"Abeno-san?"

"Hmm?"

"That...uh. Remember that time that we were at the Legislator's party?"

"Yeah? So what?"

"That...did I..." Ashiya falters again, under the weight of that gaze.

It made him remember.

Remember certain dreams.

"D-Did I do something?"

Abeno blinks, "Something?"

"...Never mind. I didn't, huh." Ashiya sighs, "That's a relief."

"Exactly what kind of thing are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I'll, uh, go grab Fuzzy."

"Right."

And Ashiya scrabbles back through the nijiriguchi, Abeno sighs and turns away.

"Something, huh."

The wall behind his back and a hand pressed over his own.

The closest anyone had been to him...in such a long time.

"..."

Impudent fingers over his shoulders, barely focused eyes. The scent of sake on his breath.

And still, that dumb grin.

Even before he feels those lips on his.

"Something...huh."

Something restless in his heart since that time.

Abeno tries not to think about it.

"What a convenient word that is."

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Liked this? You can always head over here to request some more drabbles!

Or you can check the taglist/FAQ to see what I’ve written before [and what I currently write!]

And if you wanna show some support, you can head over to my ko-fi page!

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[zios-countdown-diary]

10/13/19-10/16/19. 107 Days until the move.

I see cake today!

First things first- I've failed. Not a huge failure but I've been forgetting to write here. I'm not really sure why I seem to lose motivation when it comes to writing each day but as the trip has drawn closer I feel like I've been purposefully speeding through each day in order to get to the trip faster.

I'll give a rundown of how I've been feeling the past few days. That should at least satiate my need to have a record of each day between when I started this diary and the move (although I'll try my best not to do this again.)

So sunday, the 13th. An uneventful, stressful day at work. Management is apparently going to come bearing down on our asses hard for some of the purported issues. The meeting we had was ridiculously long but at the end of it I found out our owners were going to look at the camera and spy on computer browsing.

I'm still concerned whether or not they'll be able to see any of the things i do on my phone, but common sense tells me no. I'll just have to make sure that I don't slip up, as i need to keep this job until the move.

Monday I had the day off, and that was nice. Relaxed and stopped by the library. Dnd fell through, and apparently dani has had some stuff going on. Spent a lot of time with cake and made a lot of good progress in okami, so that was fun.

Tuesday... Tuesday hit me bad. I had some pretty bad nightmares Monday night. One was about being trapped in a safe room at this fictional hotel I was working at. Much nicer place then mine. I remember getting a bunch of guests into a safe sort of box because of an impending tornado. The box lifted us up and threw us around and then dropped us somewhere where water started filling the box, and people started drowning. I remember almost waking with a start and then seeing an exit? At that point it gets more fuzzy but I remember talking to an attractive girl and something about broken glass. The next dream was a vampire race, and the winner got to suck the blood out of a main runner who ran first. I dont think I was a participant or an audience member, but rather read viewing the race like a tv show or anime. I remember it being humorous or maybe a little horny.

After all of that I woke up heart kinda racing. I had been burping for a while the previous night and burped the whole day too so I was of course worried about my heart for some dumb reason. But that was admittedly a rough day, I checked my pulse a lot and was constantly worried about my left side. I'm now 99% sure my left side was simply suffering from a pinched shoulder nerve or a weird sleep position as it got better throughout the day and wasnt affected by rest or activity. Just position (maybe?) an diet.

That brings us to today, weds. Overall it's been good. Talked with cake earlier, went out with the family, and I'm now on a bus headed towards some very long-awaited kisses and cuddles and more. I'm tired, though that's to be expected, and honestly I could be worse. I'm glad the trip is finally here, and now I'm just praying that Michael behaves himself too.

Also excited cuz I'm gonna get played with tomorrow. I think it's finally time to let cake fuck me.

That toy should feel pretty good too....

Anyways I'll keep updating here, hopefully more regularly so that I don't forget again and feel bad.