#i hope that annoying person becomes lactose intolerant and eats milk | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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Have you ever tried Turkish Delight? No. I’ve looked up photos of it before and it has genuinely never looked appealing; sorry to those who are delighted (heh heh) by them :/ I’m willing to try it if I ever get the chance, but I really doubt that I’ll enjoy.

Do you have a Vietnamese restaurant in your town or city? They’re a lot less common than other Asian restaurants, but I think we do have a fair share, yeah. The most common are banh mi joints. I think the reason why they aren’t super popular in my country is that Vietnamese dishes tend to be veggie-heavy - at least that’s the impression of most people here - and with Filipinos loving rice and meat in everything they eat, other cuisines simply end up being more popular, like Thai and Chinese.

Do you or have you ever owned a portable gaming console? Yes; we had a couple of PSPs and a DSi as kids. These days, we have a Switch.

Have you ever been in a car with a sunroof? Yeah the Vitara has one. It’s my favorite trick to pull off whenever a friend is riding with me in it for the first time, haha. Everyone always gets so excited about it.

Do you have to have an occasion to eat out or do you just do it for fun? Back in college I allotted a certain portion of my weekly allowance to be able to eat out once or twice a week. Food is the way to my heart and happiness and it just felt good to have nice food, man. I didn’t want to have to wait for occasions to be able to eat at my favorite restaurants.

Have you opened a letter today? No, I haven’t.

How far away is the closest cinema from your house? It’s around a 10-15 minute drive.

Have you ever been to the emergency room? Nope.

Are you one of those people who can’t go without their morning coffee? I wasn’t for a very long time, but it’s starting to become that way now that I’ve started having a regular 9-6 shift. I find that I’m way crankier and am prone to crying from anxiety if I don’t make myself a cup of coffee. When I do, I feel super productive and more motivated to do work.

Have you ever worn fake eyelashes? Twice. Once for junior prom and the next was for my college grad photo shoot.

Do you know the story of how your parents met? If so, tell me? They both started out as part of the kitchen crew in a luxury hotel in the city, my mom as a waitress and my dad as a cook. My mom started pursuing my dad when she discovered what school he came from lol because priorities, I guess.

What is your favorite Chinese food? Minced pork with eggplants is a huge favorite of mine. Xiao long bao and pork buns (steamed or baked) are also suuuuuper good.

Would you ever work at a movie theater? Probably not at this point in my life. It would’ve been a nice gig during college.

Do you have a phone charger in your car? Yessir. I need one since I constantly use Waze to get to anywhere for both directions and traffic updates, and the LTE I need for that drains my battery.

Do you live far from your parents? No, they’re like 10 steps away, in another room.

Have you ever submitted a video to Funniest Home Videos? Nope. I always loved the videos though and the show made up a big part of my childhood.

Have you ever been attracted to an authority figure? I’ve found several teachers attractive before, yeah. The biggest crush I had was on my biology teacher...I think everyone else had a crush on her too lol, she was the personification of beauty and brains.

Do you think you have a wide vocabulary? I mean I guess I know more words than most people my age...but I also feel that my vocabulary still would’ve been a lot wider if I just continued to read well into my teenage years and now as a young adult.

What was the last hot food you ate? Lumpia.

Have you ever seen a meteor shower? I don’t think so.

Describe your current position: I’m sitting up on my bed, laptop on my lap, right leg outstretched with my left leg tucked underneath it.

Have you used a microwave today? It’s only 5:01 AM, so I haven’t. We’ll see about today.

What was the last electronic device you purchased? I don’t really buy electronics. I’m more likely to buy accessories for the stuff I already have, and the last one I got was a new case for my phone.

Have you ever slept through an alarm? I think so; only a few times though. I wake up from them easily.

Do you have any celebrity crushes? Kristen Stewart and Kate Winslet are where it’s at for me, y’all.

Do you prefer going out for coffee or brewing your own? I can go either way. Coffee is coffee. I don’t mind making my own for convenience, or paying a few hundred bucks for a little more quality coffee.

Have you consumed caffeine today? If so, in what form? Yeah I have a cup of 3-in-1 barako coffee beside me. I actually made this cup at like, 7 PM last night...then I fell asleep for a bit, woke up at midnight, fucked around for a few hours and now I’m back to drinking it at 5 AM, ha.

Do you have lactose intolerance or know anyone who does? I have a mild case of it. It’s not a complete disaster for me to eat cheese or consume milk, and I wouldn’t say that my trips to the bathroom afterwards are emergencies. My body has for the most part been nice to me, hahaha.

Do you know anyone who follows a raw vegan diet and lifestyle? Not to my knowledge, no.

Have you killed a bug this week? Probably.

What was the first food you learned how to cook? I followed a recipe for onion rings a few months ago and that was super fun, but I haven’t followed that up yet so I dunno if it’s right to say I ‘learned’ it.

Do you have a Bachelor’s degree? If so, what in? Journalism.

How many email accounts do you have? Four, but honestly I barely use the Outlook one anymore. I have three main email addresses on Gmail.

Can you go see a doctor alone or do you like to take someone with you? My parents come with me because they take care of the finances and insurance that go with things like that.

Have you ever made your own pasta noodles from scratch? Hmm, I don’t think so.

How long is your average shower? 5-10 minutes.

How close is the nearest park from your house? We don’t have any public parks because my country sucks, but my village has a few small parks that residents can flock to and walk their dogs in or bring their kids to play in or whatever. The nearest one is a 10-15 minute walk or a 2-minute drive away, depending on how you prefer to get there. Which household chore do you hate the most? Cleaning up dog pee.

Have you ever been to an all-you-can-eat buffet? So many times. They’re very common here and there are a lot of restaurants that solely have a buffet gimmick. Sambo Kojin was my favorite, and I’m really hoping their business wasn’t affected by this stupid virus.

Can you see out any windows from where you are? Yup.

Do you like pineapple on pizza? No, but I also don’t like pineapples and all other fruits.

What color is your soap? Green or white. I don’t really pay attention.

Is anything bothering you right now? Just about all the time, yes.

When’s the last time you had a headache? Sometime this week or last week.

What woke you up this morning? I woke up naturally as I normally do these days.

Are you planning to go see a movie anytime soon? Yeah my workmates have been watching American Murder on Netflix and all of them so far are raving about it, so I want to give that a shot soon.

Will you sleep alone tonight? I always sleep alone.

How do you feel right now? Confused at my lack of drowsiness and a little sad but it’s manageable for now.

Is shyness cute? I don’t feel any particular way towards it. I suppose it can be endearing and it can also be annoying.

Will you be up before 7:00 a.m. tomorrow? I already am.

What are your plans for tonight? Maybe keep doing surveys or send in my online interview that a company I’m applying to asked me to accomplish. I didn’t even know do-it-on-your-own-time interviews were a thing; it’s super convenient and removes my anxiety of being interviewed in real time by strangers.

Would you rather write in pink pen or blue pen? Blue.

Have you ever kissed the last person you text messaged? Yes.

Who was the last person you cried in front of? Just myself. Haven’t cried in front of anyone in a while.

Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? Yep.

Have you smoked a cigarette in the past 24 hours? No, but could definitely use one.

Were you happy when you woke up today? Nah I woke up crying I think. It was one of the more difficult mornings.

Are you the youngest sibling? I’m the eldest.

#survey #surveys

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joonhaze · 6 years ago

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Caramel // Min Yoongi x Park Jimin

✎...Summary : Min Yoongi, a barista at a local campus coffee shop, works with 2 loud, annoying boys and a manager that hides in the back with the chocolate chips. He manages to keep his life barely strung together until his eyes lay on a cute, lactose intolerant boy with sunshine in his eyes. His thoughts are plagued with Park Jimin and he wants to call him his. How? Simple. With a caramel macchiato.

↳ Pairing : Park Jimin X Min Yoongi

↳ Genre : Coffee Shop! AU, College! AU

↳ Word Count : 4,959

↳ Extra Warnings : Tooth-Rotting Fluff

The blonde leans against the counter top, and watches the lazy trickle of early-rising students walk in and out of the cafe, sitting at different tables and sipping on drinks while hunched over laptops and notebooks. The soft clicking of keyboards and the flipping of pages mix well with the aroma of vanilla and cinnamon that wafts through the air, warming Yoongi down to his toes and leaving his mind at peace.

“Yoongi-ah!”

Semi-peace.

He sighs as he looks over at the tall male who just walked in with a backpack slung over his shoulder and the fringe of his red hair peeking out from under his black beanie. He has a smile on his face, one so big that it’s impossible for Yoongi to wrap his head around. It’s 9 am and someone has the actual mindset to smile? He will never understand.

“Honorifics. And you’re late. Again.”

Hoseok shrugs as he walks behind the counter and places his bag in the corner. In the back of his mind, Yoongi knows that Hoseok would trip over it at some point during the day, probably during a rush hour, but he doesn’t bother to mention it to the younger as he wraps the black apron around his waist.

“Seokjin-hyung wouldn’t fire me, I’m the best waiter here.”

“You’re the only waiter here.”

Hoseok shrugs again. “Still counts.”

Yoongi sighs as he greets another customer, taking their to-go order and turning towards the machine. Mornings are always pretty slow, so Taehyung isn’t really needed to man the cashier. Besides, Yoongi already has to deal with Hoseok, Taehyung would be just too much and he’s sure he’d lose it if he sees the boy before twelve.

There’s something soothing about the sight of watching the dark espresso rise in the cup, steam swirling into the air. He places a lid on top of the latest order and hands it over to the girl, returning her small smile as he passes her the cup.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He turns back across the counter to go greet the next customer. “Hello, what can I get yo-”

Yoongi stops mid-sentence and marvels at the sight in front of him.

‘Holy shit’

A boy, looking not much younger than him, stands facing down at his phone, earbuds in under his beige beanie. His over-sized white tee doesn’t do much to hide his figure, his arms toned as well as the rest of his body. Yoongi tries not to stare.

It doesn’t work.

The boy suddenly looks up, and his deep, sparkling brown eyes grow in surprise.

‘Oh my God’, Yoongi swoons.

“Oh, sorry! I thought you were still helping the other girl.” He says, tucking his phone into his pocket and taking out his right earbud. Yoongi doesn’t respond, still flustered by the boy’s incredibly good looks. And his voice is light and airy, like sweet honey-ecstasy to his ears. His heartbeat mimicks a heavy drum and the sound floods his ears.

“I-it’s fine..” He mentally curses himself as he stumbles over his words.

The other doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe he did and decided to not mention it. His smile grows a bit bigger though, and Yoongi hopes that the blush isn’t as intense as it feels.

“I don’t suppose you have any milk substitutes?”

Yoongi snaps out of his daze after he hears the question, and shakes his head a little too vigorously. “N-no, sorry, we don’t.”

Yoongi then again curses, this time Seokjin for not having any soy or almond milk. The stranger sighs and scratches the back of his neck. “Ah, it’s fine.”

It’s not fine. Yoongi has to stop himself from bursting out of the cafe to run to the nearest supermarket to get almond milk for the angel-like stranger that’s flipped him upside down in a matter of seconds.

“I’ll just take a croissant then.”

“That’ll be 2,500 won.”

Yoongi congratulates himself for not stumbling over his words, but felt time slow when the other’s hand brushes against his, their fingertips sliding against each other as he slips the coins into Yoongi’s open palm. He smiles and walks off to the side, waiting for his order.

Yoongi stands there, the cool metal coins doing nothing to calm the heat that’s travelling up to his cheeks. What the hell is going on?

He shakes his head and places the coins in the register a little too rushed, slamming the drawer shut so loudly it makes him flinch. He seriously needs to calm down. His nerves are shot, his face is hot and he knows his ears are red which make him feel insecure and therefore, a bit skittish.

He places the croissant in the small paper bag (he looked for the flakiest, freshest one from the bunch) and hands it to the stranger, his earbuds back in. He takes the bag and smiles at Yoongi, his eyes turning into little crescents. Yoongi feels his insides churn and butterflies turn into hummingbirds.

“Thank you!”

“N-no problem..”

Yoongi awkwardly looks away, and played with the hem of his apron, suddenly feeling very nervous. What was this feeling? He couldn’t stop his hands from shaking and his face was hot, beet-red in the reflection of the stainless-steel coffee pot that was still brewing. The stranger smiled and walked away, the bell jingling in his absence. Yoongi felt a pang of sadness, and regretted that he didn’t ask for the boy’s name. He sighed in defeat as he walked back to the register.

A loud crash sounded from the side and Yoongi turned to see a broken mug with spilled coffee splattered across the floor, and Hoseok groaning next to it as he wrestled his foot from his backpack straps. Of course.

That night, Yoongi barely got any sleep, his dreams haunted by the gorgeous stranger. He stayed awake all night, the boy walking through his head, his smile shining light that wasn’t there and his laugh was like a song that Yoongi would play over and over. He would do anything to see him again, and he wouldn’t make himself look like a fool. He would ask for the boy’s name. He wouldn’t look like a coward.

He was a coward. He was such a coward.

The boy came back, this time at 3:17, and Taehyung was the one managing the register. The one time Yoongi wanted something, Taehyung was actually doing his job. The universe was out to get him. The boy placed an order and Taehyung wrote it down, cracking one of his jokes with a smile as he jotted. His laugh resonated, and Yoongi literally smacked himself upside the head. He didn’t even know the boy’s name and he was already crushing on him. The boy turned and met Yoongi’s eyes, his smile growing bigger as he waved. Actually, it might even be more than a crush.

Taehyung handed him the small paper and Yoongi set out to work. On the note was messily scribbled spiced white hot chocolate with extra caramel sauce. Yoongi had made the drink thousands of times, but he never felt so nervous making any drink as he did this one. He wanted it to be as perfect as possible. His hand shook as he drizzled the caramel on top, and he hoped it would pass off as a messy-but-pretty design. Besides, the guy was going to eat it, so why care so much?

He tried to reassure himself as he walked past Taehyung and handed the boy his drink personally. He smiled and thanked him. Yoongi couldn’t help the blush that crept onto his cheeks, and he panicked when he saw the boy walking away.

“W-wait!”

The boy turned, his confused pout almost too cute to bear. Yoongi scratched the back of his neck as he stuttered out.

“W-what’s your name?”

The boy smiled. “Park Jimin. And you?”

“Y-Yoongi. Min Yoongi.”

Jimin beamed, happy that he finally had a name to pair the face of the barista that caught his eye. “Nice to meet you, Yoongi.”

Yoongi blushed at the way his name slid off Jimin’s tongue.

It was way more than a crush.

Jimin had become a regular, chatting with Taehyung while Yoongi admired him from afar as he made a variety of drinks every day. What he noticed was that Jimin really liked caramel, it being featured in all of the beverages. He also noticed that Jimin and Taehyung were seemingly close, and his heart sank when Taehyung ruffled his hair as they both sat in a booth during Taehyung’s break. He muttered an apology when he got someone’s order wrong, his mood sour for the rest of the day. He finally confronted Taehyung while they closed up shop a few days later.

“You know Jimin?” He asked, sweeping the glass shards from another cup Hoseok broke that day. Taehyung snorted as he responded.

“Of course I know Jimin, him and I are practically soulmates.”

Yoongi’s look hardened. That’s true, the two were practically joined at the hip. Even as Yoongi found himself on social media more these days, Jimin’s twitter was filled with selcas of him and Taehyung, as well as what he dubbed inside jokes between him and his other friends. He almost liked a few (ok, maybe more than a few) pictures of Jimin, but he thought it would be weird that since they only met a few weeks ago, Jimin would find the barista from the coffee shop spamming his notifications. That’d be really fucking creepy, and Yoongi didn’t want to scare the boy off.

“We met in middle school, when he moved from Busan to Seoul. He had a crush on one of my friends, but turns out he was an asshole so I told him to fuck off and boom, best friends.”

Yoongi felt hope rise up in him. He cleared his throat and continued to sweep, even though the glass sat in a small pile on the side. “Best friends?”

Taehyung looked up, confused. “Well, yeah, what else did you think we were?”

Yoongi felt a blush make it’s way to his face. “Well, I didn’t know exactly, I thought you two were dating and I just kinda slunk off ‘cause I wasn’t sure..”

“O-oh..” Taehyung’s eyes grew wide and he dropped the rag on the table he was cleaning. He dried his hands on his apron and played with his hands. “Um, hyung, I don’t wanna offend you or anything, really, it’s just that... I’m straight, and I’m not saying that I’m like, a homophobe or whatever, it’s just tha-”

Yoongi’s eyes widened and his blush became more intense. “Not you, you fucking idiot! I meant Jimin!” He let the broom handle slip from his grasp in his haste to correct Taehyung.

“Oh! Well in that case, sure, I approve!”

Yoongi snorted as he bent back down to grab the broomstick. “You approve?”

Taehyung’s eyes grew hard as stone as he pointed a finger at Yoongi with a raised eyebrow. “I’m his best friend, so I have to approve of whoever wants him.”

Yoongi shrugged whatever, and continued to sweep at nothing. But as he kicked the glass under the fridge, he couldn’t help the smile at the fact that Taehyung thought that he was worthy of an angel like Jimin.

“Yoongi-hyung! Nice to see you!”

Taehyung had called for a bathroom break, but he was most likely playing Candy Crush in the janitorial closet again. Yoongi minded until he saw Jimin walk in, a smile that lit up the room plastered on his face. It filled Yoongi with this indescribable sunshine, and he couldn’t help but reciprocate the grin.

“Jimin-ah. It’s been a while.”

Yoongi joked before writing down Jimin’s newest order, a turmeric chai latte. He handed Yoongi the 3,000 won before walking to the table in the corner and sitting down under the sunshine. Yoongi would’ve kept staring for the rest of the day if it wasn’t for Seokjin rambling on behind him about how ‘his’ workers didn’t bother to actually work, his fire being extinguished by Hoseok’s comment about how he sits in inventory all day while stuffing his face with chocolate chips.

With Hoseok and Seokjin bickering, Yoongi took the opportunity to go out from behind the counter and serve Jimin the drink himself. He walked over to the boy, his knees suddenly feeling weak. He prayed that he wouldn’t end up sprawled on the floor, like Hoseok usually was. By some miracle, he made it to Jimin’s table, setting the chilled glass in front of him. Jimin looked up from his notebook covered in messily scrawled writing and smiled gratefully, bowing his head in thanks.

“Why don’t you stay for a while? We’ve never really talked except from across the register.”

Yoongi felt his heart stop and time slow. Why the hell was he so nervous about this? He just asked to talk, it’s not like he’ll have to get down on one knee.

“O-okay.” He pulled out a chair and sat down, across from the boy. He closed his notebook and shoved it into his bag that sat on the side before sitting back up and facing Yoongi, cradling the latte in his hands.

“So, what’s your major? I don’t see you around campus much.”

Yoongi sighed. “I finished my music production bachelor when I was 23, and I’m 25 now. The only reason I stay on campus is because my apartments really close to here and this is the best paying job around.”

“A barista?” Jimin joked before taking a sip. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“I said best paying. It’s pretty easy work anyways.”

Jimin hummed, satisfied. “Well, you’re great at it too. I thought that I would piss someone off if I kept ordering different drinks everyday.”

Yoongi smirked. “I’m up for the challenge.”

Yoongi found himself engrossed in conversation with Jimin, all tension and nervousness melting away as they talked. Jimin seemed very laid-back and relaxed, his slight Busan dialect occasionally coming up in his speech. But Yoongi’s Daegu dialect often got the best of him as well, so he didn’t mind. He learned that he also worked part-time, only at a convenience store not far from here. He was also a literature major, but he had a burning passion for dance, something Yoongi admired. People these days aren’t really sure what they’re passionate about until it’s too late, and Jimin was young and chasing his dreams. Yoongi respected that.

“I guess you could say that coffee shops are where I think best? Back in Busan, it was the same. Except there, I had only one drink.” He giggled. Yoongi was interested. “What was it?”

“Ah, it sounds silly, but my friend recommended it to me, and she got me hooked on it.”

Yoongi shrugged. “Try me. Do you know how many stoners walk in before closing and they say literally anything that comes to mind? Some dude asked for a side of peppers with his cranberry milkshake, which we don’t have.”

Jimin burst into laughter, throwing his head back in a fit of giggles. Yoongi smiled, his laugh was so cute. It made him feel all light and smiley. Jimin sat back up straight and sighed, brushing his hair back. He faced Yoongi and smiled shyly, still a little out of breath.

“A cold brew caramel frappuccino.”

“That needs milk though, doesn’t it?”

“They had almond milk as a sub.” He sighed longingly. “Best coffee I ever drank.”

Yoongi put a hand on his chest, feigning offence. Jimin’s eyes widened and he laughed, putting his hand on top of Yoongi’s. He didn’t hear Jimin’s apology between his giggles, all he heard was his heartbeat in his ears as the heat from Jimin’s hand sent a flow of warmth down his body.

“I’m sorry hyung, your coffee is also the best.” He smiled. Yoongi smirked, secretly thriving that Jimin didn’t move his hand. “I know, idiot, I make them.”

Taehyung and Hoseok hid behind the large display of pastries and watched the two boys talk.

“So like, are they dating?” Hoseok whispered. Taehyung shook his head. “No, I gave Yoongi-hyung my approval only a few days ago.”

“Your approval?” Hoseok pondered. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“I’m his best friend, I have to approve of whoever wants Jimin to keep him safe.”

Hoseok scoffed. “I’m Yoongi’s best friend and I let him do whatever he wants.”

Taehyung cocked a brow in question. “Yoongi-hyung does what he wants by himself. And besides, he doesn’t like you.” Hoseok pouted. “He doesn’t like you.”

“I don’t like either of you bumbling idiots.”

The two boys yelped when Yoongi appeared out of nowhere behind them. Taehyung coughed nervously. “W-where’s Jimin?”

Yoongi scoffed. “He went to class. Like a good person.”

Hoseok clapped and rubbed his hands together with excitement. “So, what are we going to do to get the good person and the incubus together?”

Yoongi’s eyes widened and he blushed profusely. “Shu-shut up..”

“He’s right though!” Taehyung nodded. “Jimin’s always texting what time you come in just so he can come over.”

Yoongi’s blush darkened tenfold and Hoseok giggled at his reaction, shutting up when Yoongi shot him a glare that would bury him if it could. He cleared his throat.

“So, all we have to do is do something nice for Jimin, get him all happy, then you confess and he gets even happier! It’s easy!”

Yoongi hated to admit it, but Hoseok’s words made a smile creep onto his face. The thought of Jimin happy made his heart flutter. Hoseok laughed again.

“Look, you’re smiling just thinking about it! You’re so whipped!” He pointed at Yoongi’s red cheeks. The elder stuttered and hit his hand, muttering to shut the fuck up. Taehyung leaned back against the counter.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Yoongi sighed and scratched his neck. “I don’t know, I just.. I want to make him happy, but I don’t know how.”

“Well, you’re a barista. Do something original! Like a make a drink that has 10 pounds of sprinkles!”

“Okay, first of all, he likes caramel, and second, I don’t want him bouncing off the walls and crashing onto the floor like you do.”

Hoseok shrugged as Taehyung thought, staring at the coffee machine in a trance-like manner. “Did he say what drinks of yours he likes the best? Make a mega-size of it.”

Yoongi thought back and couldn’t help but smile when he recalled Jimin telling him his coffee was the best ever. But that was after he said...

Yoongi gasped. “He likes cold brew caramel frappuccinos!”

Hoseok and Taehyung boggled at the mouthful that Yoongi exclaimed, and the eldest blushed before scratching his neck nervously. “He told me back in Busan, it was his favorite drink. They made it with almond milk though...”

Taehyung’s eyes lit up. “Well, there you go! Go buy some almond milk and make him a frapp!”

Yoongi smiled at the ground. Yeah, it was a good idea. It was a great idea, and he was sure that he would make Jimin smile with the small gift. His fantasies were interrupted by Seokjin bursting through the door, brown smears of what Yoongi assumed to be chocolate chips in the corner of his mouth.

“Oi! Get back to work!”

Yoongi had called Seokjin for today off. Well, more like he called and told Seokjin he was sick, then hung up before he could hear Seokjin explode on the other side.

He wrapped himself up in a scarf and raised the bridge of his glasses that were slipping off before he walked out of his messy apartment.

It was June, but it was one of those windy days that made it feel like the middle of winter. There was probably a storm coming.

Yoongi walked down the street and past campus, eyes focusing on the dorm wing, wondering if Jimin was laying on his bed, nodding his head to the beat of his music while he jotted notes down in his book. He bumped into the lamp post and hastily muttered an apology before realizing it was a fucking lamp post.

He was crazy.

Yoongi opened the glass door of the 7/11, the bell jingling and a wave of warmth hit him from the humming heater. He sighed as he unfurled the scarf so he could breathe better. He walked towards the back of the room, scanning the fridges until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the small jug and walked up to pay. The boy scanned the item and Yoongi handed him a 5,000 won note.

“Hey, Jungkook-ssi, do we have any mo-”

Yoongi felt his back tense like a wire when he heard that familiar voice. Jimin walked in from the back and his eyes widened before he grinned. Yoongi hid the milk in the bag and at his side, and tucked it away at his side. He reciprocated the smile.

“Yoongi-hyung! I stopped by the cafe earlier, you weren’t there?”

Yoongi coughed. “Yeah, I’m a bit sick and I didn’t want to get sued for giving someone the flu.” Jimin’s eyes turned up and crinkled at the ends, his shoulders shaking as he chuckled. The other boy, Jungkook, smirked at Jimin and looked back at Yoongi, the smug look still gracing his features. Yoongi shrugged it off and walked out, pushing the door open and leaving with the ring of the bell.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jimin-ssi!”

Instead of walking home, he stopped by the cafe and went around back, thanking the gods that Jin was probably snacking in the inventory at the moment. He pulled out an ice tray and carefully poured the almond milk inside, setting it into the freezer for tomorrow.

Yoongi had wasted at least half the tray. He wanted the drink to be perfect, but sometimes he added too much whipped cream, and other times, he added too much caramel. He internally groaned when the blender spluttered and splashed the liquid onto him, staining his bright white shirt and his black apron. The drink dripped from the sides, making Yoongi’s fingers sticky. He cursed and threw the glass in the sink, washing his hands thoroughly.

He turned back towards the tray that sat next to the blender. He only had four cubes left. He sighed as he looked at the clock. They would open in about ten minutes. He was up for the challenge.

Yoongi added the ice cubes to the cold brewed coffee, and blended until it was light and creamy, the color change hypnotizing. He added caramel and fused it into a dreamy bliss to sweeten things up. The glass was chilled and Yoongi added a red sleeve to fancy it a bit. He was trying so hard to impress Jimin, it wasn’t even funny. He thought of Jimin’s face when he would see what Yoongi made for him. He hoped he would like it. He didn’t hear Taehyung walk in, and the younger stared for almost a minute before he realized what Yoongi was trying to make. He smirked and headed to his spot behind the register, just as the bell rang to announce someone’s arrival.

Jimin walked up, distractedly looking down at his phone. He met Taehyung’s eyes and smiled, opening his mouth to order.

“Don’t bother.” Taehyung smirked. Jimin seemed confused. Taehyung pointed behind him and Jimin peeked over to see Yoongi’s back turned, his hands busying with something in front of him. Jimin smiled and walked to his spot in the corner, tucking in his earbuds and resting his head on his hand as he watched the barista work. Taehyung shook his head, chuckling at his love-sick friend.

Yoongi-hyung better not screw this up

He drizzled the whipped cream expertly and reached the neck of the scoop to sprinkle chocolate chips on top. He sighed and stood back, admiring his work. It was perfect. Jimin had to like it.

He grabbed the cup and he thought he heard Taehyung chatting with the younger, but no-one was there, the cafe empty and quiet. Taehyung leaned against the wall on his phone, and looked up to see Yoongi confusedly looking around.

“He’s in the back at his table.”

Taehyung pointed. Yoongi looked over the top of the display and there he was, hunching over his phone as the sun kissed atop his head. Yoongi feared he would drop the drink from how wobbly his legs suddenly felt. Taehyung walked past and patted him gently on the shoulder.

“Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Yoongi took a deep breath and exhaled gently, the walk to Jimin’s table seemingly taking years. The boy looked up and smiled at Yoongi, before his eyes fell at the drink in his hand.

“What’s that?” He asked, not seeing much since Yoongi was still standing. He pulled out a chair and sat down, sliding the drink across the table.

“I whipped up a little something for you.”

Jimin’s smile widened and his eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked down at the drink and back up at Yoongi. The elder smirked lovingly, heart racing a mile a minute. “Go ahead.”

Jimin took a sip and practically melted on the table, eyes rolling to the back of his head. “It’s so goooodd.” He groaned dramatically. Yoongi laughed as Jimin took the straw in again, plump lips wrapping around the top like a perfect slipper fit.

“Wait, I thought you guys didn’t have milk subs?”

“Well, I kinda bought some myself. I wanted to surprise you and I..”

Yoongi was interrupted by Jimin placing a hand on top of his, intertwining their fingers. “I love it. Thank you, Yoongi.”

Yoongi felt another blush creep to his face and he was left smiling like an idiot because of one touch. “You moron, look what you’re doing to me..”

Jimin laughed and his eyes gleamed with mischief as he took a swipe of the whipped cream and dolloped it on Yoongi’s nose. The elder’s eyes widened and he cross his eyes, Jimin’s laughter getting louder.

“You’re so cute, hyung.” He giggled.

Yoongi smirked and took the whipped cream off his nose, licking his finger clean. He took a bit of whipped cream and smeared it over Jimin’s cheek, making him pause, then giggle again, more comically.

Yoongi got an idea and took another swipe of the whipped cream, smearing it on Jimin’s lips. Before the boy could open his eyes again, Yoongi leaned over and kissed him. The taste of sugar and caramel infused the two, and Jimin melted into the kiss, holding Yoongi’s hands underneath them.

Jimin was screaming with joy in his chest, smiling into the kiss with pure glee. Butterflies flew and painted his cheeks a light pink. Yoongi felt at pure bliss with Jimin against him. He felt like he was flying, his fingertips gracing the silk that was Jimin’s smooth skin. His thumb rubbed circles in the back of his hand and he sighed when he pulled away, air calling. They rested their foreheads against each other, panting breathlessly. Cheers and whoops came from behind them and Yoongi turned to see Taehyung and Hoseok celebrating behind the register.

“Yoongi-hyung did it!”

“He’s so whipped!”

“Oh my god.” He groaned, massaging his temples as Jimin laughed. Yoongi cleared his throat.

“So.. Jimin-ah, I wanted to say that I.. I like you?”

Jimin kept giggling. “I think you’ve made that pretty clear, hyung.”

Yoongi groaned and smacked his head on the table. “I”m a mess, I don’t know how to do this shit..” Jimin lifted his head and cupped Yoongi’s cheeks, giggling when the older man pouted. “I don’t know anything either, but let’s just do this at our own pace, yeah?”

Yoongi smiled and nodded. He was beaming, happiness drowning out any other thoughts. The cute boy from the coffee shop was finally his, and he wanted nothing more than to shower him with kisses and scream it to the world. Jimin clapped his hands and grinned.

“Well, go grab a straw, I can’t finish this all by myself!”

This is by FAR my favorite thing I’ve ever written, and now I can say it’s totally worth staying up 14 hours for. (snack breaks were included)

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years ago

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Artisanal American Cheese Was Finally on Top of the World, and Then the World Fell Apart

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Talking to Joe Berkowitz, author of “American Cheese,” about the United States’ blossoming artisanal cheese scene, and the challenges it faces amid wildfires and a pandemics it faces amid wildfires and a pandemic

What do you envision when you think of American cheese? Probably not Wisconsin’s squeaky curds or an aged Vermont cheddar. Instead, you most likely see those melty, tangy, flat yellow squares, individually wrapped in plastic and paired with Wonder Bread or a fast-food cheese burger. I happen to love them in a grilled cheese, or stuffed in roti, or slowly melting over dollar ramen. However, the world of American cheese — or rather American-made cheese — is far more complex than than Kraft singles.

In his new book, American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World, Joe Berkowitz hopes to expand what we view as American cheese. Inspired by a tasting event at Murray’s Cheese in Manhattan, he dedicated himself to learning everything he could about American cheese production over the course of a year. What he found was a vibrant world of innovative and experimental techniques, unencumbered by the strict rules and traditions of European cheesemaking. And he’s not the only one making this exciting discovery: Last year, Rogue River Blue, made by Rogue Creamery in southern Oregon, became the first ever American-made cheese to win World’s Best Cheese at the World Cheese Awards in Italy.

Sadly, many employees of Rogue Creamery have lost their homes in the wildfires that have consumed much of the West Coast, and the creamery itself had to evacuate some of its cows to keep them safe. Artisan cheesemakers have faced an uphill battle against climate change, as well as outdated federal regulations and now the pandemic. Understanding what these makers are trying to protect is of the utmost urgency.

Berkowitz spoke to Eater about why cheese inspires such glee, and why the American farms, techniques, and producers are worth protecting. Hopefully, the next time you’re crafting a cheese plate, you won’t just look to Europe for the good stuff.

This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Eater: You compare the American cheese scene to American wine in the ’70s, when Americans went to France and won a blind taste test. The whole world of American cheese seems so exciting and dynamic. What is it about cheese that attracts a certain type of fun, weird person?

Joe Berkowitz: I don’t know what it is about cheese that does it, but weird, interesting, dynamic people do tend to be attracted to it. I met people from all kinds of walks of life who walked away from those lives to just be full-time cheese people in one way or another. I met a literary agent who abandoned her whole life and then bought a farm in Vermont. There’s a cultural thing around it, like everyone sort of relates to that 30 Rock thing of “working on my night cheese.” It’s like a less annoying bacon, you know? I guess the reason the whole bacon thing is so annoying is because it was kind of grafted onto masculinity. Whereas cheese is just a genderless, quirky enthusiasm that runs through everybody, it seems, except for people who are lactose intolerant, and I have more thoughts about that, and some people just don’t like cheese and that’s fine. But —

“We were just mass producers of cheese rather than producers of any sort of quality.”

Wait, what are your thoughts on lactose intolerance?

Oh, well, a lot of people who think they’re lactose intolerant just aren’t, or they may have a condition but it doesn’t mean, as a blanket statement, I can’t eat cheese. What it means, for the most part, is you can’t eat fresh dairy products, probably not yogurt, definitely not a young mozzarella cheese. But when cheese ages, it sheds a lot of its lactose, and the harder aged cheeses — Parmesan, aged Gouda, things like that — people who identify as lactose intolerant should be fine eating them. This is all something I learned during the course of the book, when I asked a gastroenterologist whether I would be okay eating the amount of cheese I was going to be eating and we just ended up getting into that topic. Because everyone would make some joke about going to the bathroom when I told them what I was working on.

Your book makes the case for the vibrancy of the American artisanal cheese scene, and you have this bit at the end where you go to Europe and everybody is still a little derisive of American cheese. America has had a dairy industry for a really long time and we have all these really amazing, varied landscapes. Given the fact that we’ve had all these resources, why was cheese production sort of stagnant in America for so long?

“American artisanal cheese is indisputably — I think at least — as vibrant, and multifaceted, and delicious as any other in the world.”

What we mainly did is just make industrial cheese to export. We’ve been making cheese in America for a very long time. There was the creation of Monterey Jack, but then, with invention of the Kraft single, we just started making industrialized cheddar, and we would export it, and that was mainly all that we were known for. We were just mass producers of cheese rather than producers of any sort of quality. Over the decades, [European techniques] started coming to America, and cheesemakers didn’t have the regulations that they have overseas. That was a huge contributor to the vibrancy of the American cheese scene. And the amazing thing is that now American artisanal cheese is indisputably — I think, at least — as vibrant, and multifaceted, and delicious as any other in the world.

Maybe it’s changed a little bit since Rogue River Blue won best cheese in the world at the World Cheese Awards last year. But when I was interviewing people, especially people from overseas, I would ask questions like, “When did you realize that we actually did have cheese in America?” And a lot of people either have just discovered it or hadn’t discovered it. And at first I thought it was a snooty thing, but it’s not: It’s just that our cheese isn’t in shops all around the world. Some places carry it, but for the most part it’s still kind of like a weird secret. But hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.

HarperCollins

American Cheese

Part of the issue being America’s raw milk regulations. What do you think it’ll take to not just change those regulations, but to get Americans to trust raw milk cheese?

I guess raw milk cheese is a lot like socialism, in that it works perfectly in so many other countries around the world, but for Americans it’s not enough to convince them. There would just need to be enough consensus and enough petitioning the FDA to take a closer look, because the studies under which we initially got these 60-day regulations (because of listeria outbreaks in America) — first of all, those studies were only done against cheddar and there are so many different kinds of cheese. But things are so, so different now, and it’s silly that we adhere to these rules pretty much arbitrarily because that was what was decided at the time.

Rogue River Blue winning the WCS award seemed like a huge deal for American cheese, but then COVID-19 hit. What is the pandemic doing to the American cheese scene?

That’s been really sad to watch, because this time last year everyone was really freaked out about the tariffs resulting from the war between Boeing and Aerobus, and what that would mean for their businesses. It ended up not being so bad. So for that to happen and, several months later, to have this pandemic come along and seriously mess up businesses has just been heartbreaking. A lot of cheesemakers rely on the restaurant business to buy from them directly. And that money’s gone, because nobody’s buying to-go cheese courses from a restaurant.

Cheese shops have also been affected a lot. For me personally, seeing Bedford Cheese Shop close [its Brooklyn location] was really sad. I didn’t know until I went into Bedford Cheese Shop that you could have the monger pick out some cheeses for you based on what you tell them, and they will serve it to you on a plate in a beautiful presentation with a bunch of fixings. And then [cheese producers] Jasper Hill had to sell off a herd of their cows. They’re just buying milk from local producers now, and they’re like the number-one independent cheesemaker in the country. So if they’re having to make sacrifices, then there’s got to be a lot of people who are not as established who are hurting too.

America’s cheesemakers also just got to this point of being recognized. The traditions aren’t as established as they are in Italy or France, where people might rally behind the industry as a whole. It seems like it’s in a very precarious spot.

I know that conditions have been tough for dairy farmers for a long time, and it’s gotten even worse in the last two years. I believe a double-digit percentage of Wisconsin’s dairy farms disappeared in the last year. There’s been billions in government money unilaterally allocated to “farmers,” but the line on that has been that money is kind of a bribe so that American farmers don’t get mad about the tariffs that have been going on. But the smaller farmers don’t necessarily benefit from that money.

In your book you have this whole section dealing with the fact that you’re a vegetarian, and coming to the realization that the dairy industry is so inherently tied to the meat industry, such that you can’t consider yourself free of it. Is there a world in which we could have cheese free from meat?

I really thought about going vegan. It’s something I’m interested in, but I just didn’t want to write a book about how awesome cheese is that ends in me becoming vegan.

Well, it would involve a lot of drastic changes. We would have to prioritize cow welfare in a way that I seriously think we’re incapable of right now. So it doesn’t seem feasible to me at this time. I wish it was. I wish that there was space and the will to take these single-serving-use male cows and keep them alive after they’ve impregnated female cows and served their purpose. But right now, as soon as that happens, they’re off to their next purpose, which is beef supply. And because of how much money that generates, I don’t know how there’s ever going to be no demand for beef.

It’s an unfortunate reality, and I was coming to terms with it when I was visiting these farms. I really thought about going vegan. It’s something I’m interested in, but I just didn’t want to write a book about how awesome cheese is that ends in me becoming vegan. So for that reason alone I never seriously considered it, but I felt pushed in that direction by my conscience while I was researching the book.

I know that there’s a saying that happy cows make the best milk, and from what I’ve seen, it’s actually true that the better you treat cows, the better the milk is. And there have been studies showing that when cows are frightened, and uncomfortable, and feel bad all the time, their cortisol shoots up and the milk tastes more bitter. So not only is it unethical, but it tastes bad. But I sort of assume after my experience writing the book that the better farms, and dairies, and creameries use milk from cows that were treated as best as they could be treated.

I know that there’s a saying that happy cows make the best milk, and from what I’ve seen, it’s actually true.

At this point in your diet, is there still room for Kraft Singles?

It’s weird: With grocery-store singles, I think there’s a hierarchy of mediocrity. The top level that you can get to is “This tastes pretty damned good on a cheeseburger” — or a veggie burger, in my case. I think there’s room for shredded mild to make your mac and cheese a bit more creamy, and there’s awesome artisanal cheeses that I want to buy just so that we can eat those off a plate and feel like we’re having a delicacy.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/30zWNNP https://ift.tt/2GtmhFB

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This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

“We were just mass producers of cheese rather than producers of any sort of quality.”

Wait, what are your thoughts on lactose intolerance?

“American artisanal cheese is indisputably — I think at least — as vibrant, and multifaceted, and delicious as any other in the world.”

HarperCollins

American Cheese

Part of the issue being America’s raw milk regulations. What do you think it’ll take to not just change those regulations, but to get Americans to trust raw milk cheese?

Rogue River Blue winning the WCS award seemed like a huge deal for American cheese, but then COVID-19 hit. What is the pandemic doing to the American cheese scene?

I really thought about going vegan. It’s something I’m interested in, but I just didn’t want to write a book about how awesome cheese is that ends in me becoming vegan.

I know that there’s a saying that happy cows make the best milk, and from what I’ve seen, it’s actually true.

At this point in your diet, is there still room for Kraft Singles?

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/30zWNNP via Blogger https://ift.tt/3d1ekU5

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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jcionlittle · 4 years ago

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How To Increase 7 Inch Height Fabulous Unique Ideas

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#How To Increase 7 Inch Height Fabulous Unique Ideas #Can Adults Still Grow Taller

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lotsofdogs · 7 years ago

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Celebrating 14 Years (+ 14 Things You Might Not Expect)

After Ryan and I got engaged, I remember discussing whether or not we’d continue celebrating our dating anniversary now that we’d have a wedding anniversary to celebrate instead. To quote Ryan, “YES! We’re not just going to lose those SIX years!” So here we are, fourteen years later, still celebrating the night we went on our very first date back in 2004.

It’s crazy for me to think back on the people we were when we met – so carefree and young! – and everything that happened to those two crazy college lovebirds since our first date at The Cheesecake Factory.

Sometimes I look at Ryan and still picture him as the shaggy-haired college junior I met but then I realize he’s no longer 19 and he’s so much more to me than just the hot guy I saw at the gym. I’m so proud to be married to someone who always makes feel like a priority and there’s truly no one else in this world I’d rather have by my side every day. I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband I consider not only the love of my life but a true partner in every sense of the word.

Whoa! I didn’t mean to turn today’s blog post into a mushy-gushy love fest, but sometimes I feel like in the craziness of day-to-day life it’s a GOOD thing to sit back and count our blessings and Ryan is certainly one of mine.

When we were driving back home from Florida after Christmas, Ryan and I got into quite the comical discussion about little things we know about each other that we think might surprise those who don’t know us very well. I thought this discussion might make a fun blog post and so Ryan and I turned our random car conversation into today’s blog post.

We’re each sharing seven things we think those who don’t know us very well might be surprised to know about the other person. We each brainstormed seven things about the other person – 14 total, in honor of our 14 year anniversary because we’re cheesy, but hopefully this doesn’t come as a huge surprise to you guys by now. I also threw in some throw back pictures for your amusement!

Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Ryan

In Julie’s words…

He owns “A Little Bit of Mambo,” the Lou Bega album that came out along with his first (and only?) hit, Mambo Number 5. I think we’ve all owned semi-embarrassing CDs in our past that make us laugh but here’s the thing with this one… Ryan STILL maintains that this album is a GOOD one. He still owns it, plays it and sings along with nearly every word. Oh and his first concert was Up in Smoke with Dr. Dre, Wyclef, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Warren G. He also maintains that this concert was a great one, but that one I will give him.

His all-time favorite breakfast (from anywhere, ever) is McDonald’s hotcakes and sausage. His dad used to take him out for hotcakes and sausage when he was a kid, so I think Ryan’s love for this meal is wrapped up in nostalgia, grease and sugary sweet syrup. When McDonald’s began offering breakfast all day, it was a very good day for Ryan.

He plays the drums. Ryan has serious rhythm. He’s always noticing beats and creating his own beats to songs. I always thought this was cool and then the cool-factor went WAAAY up when I learned he used to be in a band in high school called… wait for it… “The Bandits.” You should probably know something about Ryan in high school. He was very far from a rebel and a pretty squeaky-clean soccer-playing kid, so this band name choice made me laugh so hard when he first told me about it. My little bandit.

Little repetitive things easily annoy him. Ryan is an up-for-anything kind of guy which might lead you to initially believe he’s laid back… but he’s also very easily annoyed by certain things, especially repetitive things like someone shaking their leg or tapping a pen on their desk, scrolling through their phone right next to him, a clock ticking, etc. Before I stopped biting my nails, we got in a heated fight or two because he couldn’t handle me going to town on a rogue nail out of the corner of his eye. Also, after 14 years together, I’ve finally come to realize that it’s better for our relationship if I don’t drive when we’re together because the man cannot handle keeping his mouth shut when I am behind the wheel.

He hates spiders. When we lived in Florida, Ryan was our designated roach killer but if a big ol’ spider somehow made it into our house, I had to step up to the plate. (Is it just me, or are cockroaches WAY worse than spiders!?) Also, whenever we go hiking, if Ryan happens to walk through a spider web, he does this spastic Matrix-like move to try to avoid getting any more of the web on him and it freaks the heck out of me every time.

He had shaggy highlighted blonde hair when I met him. He also wore a puka shell necklace and I thought he looked like some kind of a hot Abercrombie surfer model.

He’s an amazing dog dad to Sadie. This one might not be all that shocking because I talk about our obsession with Sadie on this blog a lot, but Ryan’s love for her truly is on another level and it makes my heart so happy. He wants to take Sadie everywhere with us, researches drivable vacation destinations that include her, gets the most overwhelming dog-guilt if something happens and Sadie misses a walk one day, etc. Before Chase was born, I remember thinking to myself that if Ryan loved our first child half as much as he loves Sadie, we’d be in good shape. (Good news: I was right. He’s the best father and Chase wants to be and do everything “just like Dad.”)

Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Julie

Okay, before I copy/paste Ryan’s seven things, I feel like I need to preface his bullet points a bit. I asked him to text or email me his seven things and sent him mine so he could see my formatting. When he sent over his seven things, he said “don’t change or delete anything… unless I spelled something wrong” and I had MAJOR flashbacks to our wedding!

Our pastor asked us to submit five things we love most about each other to him that he planned to read aloud on our wedding day and I sent mine to him directly fairly quickly. A few days later, Ryan emailed me his five things to pass along and I found myself sobbing at my desk at work. I instantly emailed our pastor telling him to throw my five things away and re-wrote everything because Ryan brought the heat and I felt like mine seemed silly and dumpy by comparison. So that’s kind of how I feel about the things he shared below. There were a couple of bullet points he sent my way that made me laugh out loud and a few that made me smile so big that I instantly I wanted to go back and make my bullet points way better. But time limited me so, Ryan, you win this one. And I love you.

In Ryan’s words…

She’s very competitive during Game Nights. Day in and day out Julie is a fun loving, relaxed person but the minute a game comes out during Game Night, she becomes the most competitive person I’ve ever met. Seriously. No where else in life is she competitive, but bust out Catch Phrase and I think she would sell her soul to win. Numerous times she opts to not have me on her team because I’m not the best. What the heck!?

She can’t dip to the right. Julie is a great dancer and we’ve been known to get our boogie on at a wedding or two. So as we prepared for our own wedding we laughed away the idea of taking dance lessons for our first dance. Who needs that? We’re pros! Well, come to find that the we are not. The weekend before our wedding we decided to practice our jig at home. It started great. A little box step, a slow turn, we even threw in a twirl or two. We were feeling confident, smiling and enjoying our practice. But then I tired to dip her right. I planted my foot, she pivoted her hips, but when she bent over her right side she turned into a tree. Stiff as wood, couldn’t bend more than two degrees. Literally she went no where towards a dip. So we tried again. And again. Well, after a couple of the same awkward misses we tried to dip left and she nailed it. We consider this her Zoolander trait and still have fun dancing in our kitchen and trying to dip to the right to this day.

Her driving terrifies me. This one speaks for itself. If you see Julie driving, you should probably drive the other direction. Julie gets nervous going fast and she is easily distracted by her thoughts, the radio, the wind… I often fear for my life when a passenger in Julie’s car and feel my heart rate rising and my butt clenching as I jab my foot relentlessly at the non-existent brake pedal that should be on the passenger side. Julie makes it clear that she doesn’t enjoy my ‘color commentary’ to her driving and therefore this cycle makes for a less than ideal family experience. Needless to say, I drive almost everywhere we go together.

She really is that energetic. Julie is simply the most energetic person filled with positive intent I’ve ever been around. She has a aura of infectious positive energy. She’s the kind of person that you find you are instantly in a better mood after spending time together (unless she’s driving, see bullet above). It’s a joy to see her with Chase and the excitement and love she brings to being a parent. I admire this quality and hope that I bring her as much joy and positive energy as she brings me.

She could eat Ice cream forever. Have you ever played the game where you ask someone what they would choose to eat if they were stranded on a desert island? Julie’s answer is “ice cream.” I’m here to confirm to everyone that I truly believe Julie would happily sustain on ice cream any day, any meal, any flavor. If it weren’t for lactose intolerance (She’s not lactose intolerant medically, simply we all have some intolerance to lactose at high enough quantities. Google “The Milk Challenge.”) she could clearly sustain on ice cream without end. Some of you might say…I’m like this too! Let me assure you that you are not. Just this past Saturday she polished off half of a half gallon of Moose Tracks in one sitting. Yup, this is why we generally don’t keep ice cream in the house.

She’s a Super Mario champion. This one is truly random and goes back to a moment in time from our early dating years. Our first spring break together, Julie’s high school friends came to Florida to hang out. One of those nights we all went out to dinner then decided to just relax and have a few drinks at home. We made some hunch punch and a cup or two later everyone was being silly. My college roommate and I schemed up a plan to have some fun with Julie. He recently found his Super Nintendo and we were nostalgically playing classic games of yore. We plotted to convince Julie that we had agreed on a bet that needed her to get past level 3 in Super Mario or I would lose some astronomical sum of money. (Mind you we were in college and I think the “astronomical” sum was $25.) Needless to say Julie was a bit tipsy and reacted as nervous and bashful as expected when we told her she needed to play. Well, what happened next defied our minds and lives with me to this day. Julie jumps on the controller and proceeds to pilot Mario like Drain-o through a clogged drain. She literally went 14 levels without dying. But here’s the thing:I’m pretty sure she never stopped sprinting and jumping little Mario’s heart out. (Mario literally never stopped moving. Our jaws hit the floor and we have been in awe to this day. So, long story short, never bet against Julie on Super Mario.

She’s incredibly kind. This one may not be a shocker but it’s our anniversary and I’m allowed to be a little mushy today. Julie is exceptionally kind and thoughtful. It’s not just the authenticity of her kindness but also the intentional way she goes out of her way to brighten another person’s day. This is another quality I admire and have learned to emulate. It’s the little things here and there that are special. From something as trivial and passing as an informal compliment to a stranger to going out of her way to help others, her authenticity and intent is subconscious. The cliché statement is “she makes me want to be a better man,” but in this case it fits. She makes me want to be a better person to others. Kinder. More intentional with positivity.

Question of the Day

What is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about you?

For those in a relationship, what is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about your partner?

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/celebrating-14-years-14-things-you-might-not-expect/

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