#i feel ya... november is always the worst month of college too...

[fatuismooches]

hiii, how we doing? been doing good i hope, or at least as well you can be with school and all. ik how it is cuz its really stressing me out. im also moving schools, along with having to still take a test at my old school a week after ive already moved. which makes no sense to me and is really annoying but whatever.

i havent really been doing much on tumblr at all tbh, way too busy and kinda out of motivation. i hope you're doing way better though, cuz i now your gonna be crushing it all.

remember to get some sleep, to eat and stuff, cuz my eyebags are so dark my brother thought i put makeup under my eyes lol

-luv ya

HAI! I've been doing good, just always busy and tired as you've guessed 😅 I hope you transition into your new school nicely! i know that can be pretty hard and lonely, but most importantly take some time to yourself and do something relaxing, and don't worry about tumblr rn (i mean, i come here like once a week SO DON'T FEEL BAD, you are more important!!) 🫶 (also YEA. i hate tests. HATE.)

Remember to take care of yourself too, and GET YOUR SLEEP HOURS IN!! telling you rn... being sleep deprived in class is not fun... go eep.

[jaskiers-sweetkiss]

The 4 Times Luke Got Sick + The 1 Time He Got Julie Sick

Pairing: Julie x Alive!Luke (college AU)

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: light swearing, non-fatal illness

Summary: Luke was always getting sick. It was probably the worst things about being roommates with him, Julie decided. That, and when they’d first moved into their dorm Freshman year of college he’d tried to hit on all her friends. It seemed like every year the poor guy went through at least one serious bout of illness that Julie would have to practically nurse him back to health from.

A/N: I got 2 anon requests for sick!Juke this week, one for a College Roommates AU where Luke constantly gets sick and Julie takes care of him and another where they’re friends and neighbors but have crushes on each other that don’t come to light until they both get sick together feat. Mothering Rose. I decided to combine them since they had a similar theme, I hope that’s alright! As per usual, let me know what you think and send me a message if you’d like to be added to my taglist! Also, I am taking requests right now so feel free to send those in!

Masterlist

___

1 - Freshman Year

“Juuuulie,” Luke called from his bedroom.

“Whaaaat?” Julie called back from her own room, making no attempt to get up from her bed.

“Can you come here so we can stop yelling?” He whined and she rolled her eyes but rolled out of her bed unceremoniously.

Given the coed nature of the dorms, they were each provided a small separate bedroom connected with a combined living room space that currently could use a good vacuuming, she noted as she walked through it before pausing at Luke’s door. It was only about three months into the semester and while Luke and Julie had become fast friends through their love of music, she hadn’t really been in his room before.

She raised her fist to give a hesitant knock, not really sure what the protocol was.

“You can come in,” he laughed but for the first time in their conversation, Julie noticed that his voice seemed a little off.

When she stepped into the room she immediately knew why. Luke lay in bed, slightly propped up by his pillow. She immediately noticed how red his face and nose, in particular, looked and the pile of used tissues next to the bed.

“Woah, dude, are you sick?” Julie exclaimed, immediately taking a step back in an attempted to put as much distance between herself and the sick boy as possible.

“Yeah,” he croaked sheepishly, “Sorry, I guess I should’ve warned you.”

“Ya think?” She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest but smirking to let him know she wasn’t that mad about it. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Um, yeah, actually. I was gonna ask if you could run down to the market and get me some chicken noodle soup?”

Julie nodded, happy to be able to help her sick friend.

“Sure! Is there any medication I can pick up from the pharmacy for you or anything?” She offered but he shook his head, pulling open the top drawer of his bedside table revealing that it was full of various medicines.

“I, uh, came prepared,” he said with a self-deprecating chuckle. “My immune system is pretty shit.”

Julie nodded.

“I better get you that soup then, huh?” She said kindly, starting to feel awkward lingering in the doorway.

“My wallet is in my jacket pocket,” Luke offered, pointing to the coat hanging in his closet.

Julie nodded in silent thanks as she pocketed the piece of leather, closing the door on her way out. Despite the sunshine, it was a short but chilly walk to the campus market, which was fortunately only a couple of blocks away from their residence hall. She located the soup fairly quickly but stopped to look through the tea options, grabbing a box of peppermint and chamomile tea bags. The check-out process was fast and she was back in her dorm only a few minutes later.

Before even taking off her coat or slipping off her shoes, she put the soup in the microwave and started up her electric kettle. While she was waiting she then busied herself with hanging up her coat in her own closet and leaving her shoes in their designated spot by the door.

“What are you doing out there, Molina?” Luke groaned from his room when the kettle started whistling.

She quickly switched it off, bustling around the designated “kitchen” area of their dorm for a mug to start steeping the peppermint tea. No sooner than she placed the teabag into the mug had the microwaved beeped, signaling that the soup was ready. Bowl in one hand and mug in the other, Julie pushed the door open with her shoulder, slowly stepping into the room in an attempt not to spill either of the hot liquids in her hands.

She gingerly set the mug on a cleared space on Luke’s desk before handing him the chicken noodle soup.

“What’s that?” He asked, gesturing to the mug with his spoon before eating some of the soup.

“It’s peppermint tea,” she answered factually. “My mom always makes it for me when I’m sick, it supposed to help with congestion and should soothe your throat.”

“You’re the best, Molina,” Luke said graciously, slurping another mouthful of soup.

“Damn right I am!” Julie laughed, “Let me know if you need anything else, I’ll be in my room.”

___

2 - Sophomore Year

Julie wasn’t entirely sure why she hadn’t anticipated this. Maybe she’d hoped that all the elderberry and echinacea tea she’d made him drink last year had actually helped his immune system, but nope. November had rolled around and with it, cold season and cold season meant that Luke would undoubtedly get sick. He wasn’t lying, his immune system really was shit. This year was worse though. While last year it had been a series of bad colds, this year it was the flu.

She’d found out when he’d vomited in the middle of a rehearsal with the band they’d formed at the end of the previous year with two other guys they’d met in one of their music classes.

She’d been keeping an eye on him all day as he’d been shivering a lot and seemed especially pale but she had figured the boy knew his immune system better than anyone else and would say something if he was feeling sick. Obviously not.

“Oh my gosh, Luke! Are you okay?” She gasped, rushing over to rub his back soothingly as he bent over the trash can in the spare music room they’d occupied for rehearsal.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he said, waving her off as he stood back up with the intention of picking his guitar back up.

However, Julie stopped him, placing her hand against his forehead with a frown.

“You have a fever.” She said disapprovingly and he sighed.

“It’s fine Molina, we gotta practice.”

“Nuh-uh.” She insisted sternly, sticking out an arm to hold him in place. “You are not gonna get the rest of us sick. I’m driving you to the campus health center and then we’re going home.”

Luke huffed and rolled his eyes but relented, moving to slide his electric into its case and grab his jacket.

“Whatever you say, boss.”

“We’ll see you guys later,” Julie sent Alex and Reggie an exasperated smile before following the boy out.  

The campus health center confirmed Julie’s suspicions, it was the flu. They picked up his prescription medicine at the campus pharmacy next door before heading back to their shared dorm.

“Will you make me soup?” Luke pleaded as Julie made sure he was settled comfortably in his bed, his lip stuck out in an irrefutable pout. “And Mama Molina’s special tea?”

Julie smiled at the nickname which Luke had coined last year as Julie often referenced her mother when taking care of the seemingly constantly sick boy. The name had stuck and then been made official when the guys had visited her over the summer break and Luke had accidentally called her mother it. Rose Molina fell in love with it instantly and now Luke, Alex, and Reggie all exclusively referred to her as such.

“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes lightly. There was nothing special about Mama Molina’s tea, it was just a cup of peppermint tea with a little bit of honey but it had seemed to work wonders for Luke last year and he much preferred it to the cocktail of cough syrup and sinus pills he’d normally take.

As she delivered the steaming soup and tea, Julie prayed that her superior immune system and flu shot would keep her safe from contracting her roommate’s illness while she took care of him. Still, she tried her best to keep her distance while keeping an eye on him.

She started him on a new Netflix series in an attempt to keep him from going stir crazy in the dorm while she was in class. She picked up all his missing work and made sure he had plenty of soup and tea (peppermint in the daytime to clear up congestion and soothe his cough, and chamomile in the evening to help him sleep).

“You’re too good for me, Molina.” He said sleepily as she tucked him into bed one night.

“I know,” she responded with a smirk, patting his cheek lightly before leaving, turning off the light as she went.

___

3 - Junior Year

Luke’s annual illness came later the next year. All November and December Julie was on high alert, ready at a moment’s notice to grab a can of chicken noodle soup from their cupboards and start up the kettle, but the moment never came. They’d finally moved out of the dorms this year, now living in an off-campus apartment with Alex and Reggie, which meant they had more room for Julie to store her supply of soup and tea and she had two backup caregivers.

When the new year rolled around and Luke still hadn’t shown any signs of getting sick, Julie had remarked,

“Maybe you’ve finally built up your immune system enough.”

The next week Luke was calling for her from his room across the hall.

It was the flu again but this time it was easier.

Julie, Alex, and Reggie took turns taking care of their sick roommate while the others were in classes, though everyone agreed that Julie had to be in charge of the tea. Despite Julie’s insistence that it was easy to make, Alex and Reggie refused after their first attempts had been scorned by Luke who insisted they did it wrong.

“You are such a drama queen,” she’d said, rolling her eyes at the boy as she delivered the tea.

“You’re the best, Molina.” He’d said as he took a sip, ignoring her comment on his dramatics.

“Shut up and drink your tea.” Julie laughed, brushing off the compliment as she turned on Netflix, taking a seat on the other side of the living room.

___

4 - Senior Year

After what all their friends had insisted was years of tension and pining, Luke and Julie got together just in time for Luke to catch pneumonia. It was the worst virus Luke had caught yet and Julie was silently glad that their relationship was new enough that they hadn’t kissed yet. Judging by Luke’s state, she hoped she never got pneumonia.

He had a fever for the first few days and Julie, Alex, and Reggie did their best to keep their distance, only coming into his room to deliver soup, tea, water, and medicine. Once the fever had disappeared, Luke was allowed to rejoin the rest, though only from a distance. The four roommates spending the afternoons in the living room together to keep the boy company as he laid on the couch. Still, even with the fever gone Luke spent the next week and a half nearly hacking up his lungs every time he coughed and with stabbing chest pains.

“You’re not eating your soup,” Julie noticed one afternoon as she did her homework on the opposite side of the living room, Alex and Reggie both in class.

“I’m not hungry,” Luke whined, pushing the bowl farther away on the coffee table.

Julie frowned, getting up from her armchair to perch across from him on the coffee table, picking up the bowl.

“Babe, you’ve gotta eat,” Julie said pointedly and Luke frowned at the term of endearment, knowing she was using it to convince him to do what she said. “The doctor said you’d have a loss of appetite, but you need to eat.”

“C’mon, open up,” she instructed, holding out a spoonful of soup.

Luke huffed, glaring at his girlfriend but opening his mouth anyway, allowing her to spoon-feed him.

“Wow, I did not think Luke could get any needier,” Reggie remarked as he stepped into the apartment, Alex coming in behind him.

“Don’t get used to that,” he added, “Cause I will not feed you while Julie’s in class.”

Julie laughed, ruffling her boyfriend’s hair affectionately before feeding him another spoonful.

“I don’t deserve you, Molina,” he said affectionately between bites.

“Don’t you forget it, Patterson,” she smiled.

___

+ 1 Year Later

After graduation in May, Julie and the Phantoms released their first full album and began their first tour in the fall thanks to the large following they’d accrued through their posts on YouTube since sophomore year and the success of their album. They’d had been touring for a couple of months before they finally took a break, just in time for Christmas.

Alex, Reggie, and Julie had all made plans to spend the break with their families, Reggie staying with his older sister and their family and Alex and Julie with their respective parents. However, Luke’s parents had found themselves on a business trip out of the country which is how the boy ended up spending his first Christmas at the Molina’s. Ray and Rose had been more than happy to have the boy stay with them when Julie explained the situation, though Ray had insisted on a strict policy of the two never being alone in the same room before Rose reminded him that Julie and Luke had been living together for five years and were grown adults.

The Molinas and Luke had a lovely Christmas together but when Julie woke up two days later she wished they had instituted her dad’s No Alone Time policy. She groggily made her way to the kitchen, rifling through the pantry for the peppermint tea to soothe her sore throat and hopefully clear up her sinuses. Before she could get very far though, her mom walked into the kitchen, immediately catching on to what she was doing. Julie rarely reached for tea on her own, hot chocolate being her hot beverage of preference, so Rose knew something must be up when she found her daughter rifling through the tea shelf.

“Go lay on the couch, Niña,” she insisted, ushering her daughter out of the kitchen, “I’ll take care of this.”

Julie did as she said, finding her favorite blanket from the basket in the corner and cuddling up on the couch. Her mom came in a few minutes later with her favorite mug in hand, setting it down on the coffee table in front of Julie.

“Don’t burn yourself, it’s hot,” Rose warned, placing a soft kiss on the top of her daughter’s head and patting her shoulder gently before returning to the kitchen to start on breakfast for the family.

It was only a couple of minutes later that Luke stumbled down the stairs calling her name.

“Juuuulie?” he pouted as he made his way into the living room. “Will you make me some tea?”

Her eyes went wide with the realization of how she’d gotten sick as she clutched her own mug of tea in her hands.

“So this is your fault,” she gasped, voice thick due to the congestion.

“What?” Luke asked, tilting his head in confusion, the fogginess in his brain from having just woken up and being sick preventing him from connecting the dots quickly.

“You got me sick.” She accused, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend who’s eyes widened in response.

“Oh my gosh, seriously?” He asked, concern immediately filling his voice. “I’m sorry Jules.”

“I haven’t gotten sick in over four years and all it takes is one germy kiss from you,” she whined and Luke barked out a laugh before wincing at the pain it caused his throat.

“Well, the good news is we can recover together,” he said, plopping down on the couch and snuggling into her side.

“Luke, honey, do you need a blanket?” Rose asked as she returned to the living room, another cup of tea in hand, the woman obviously having overheard them from the kitchen. Luke nodded sheepishly and Rose smiled, setting the tea down in front of him and crossing the room to grab a blanket.

“Thank you, Mama Molina,” he said graciously, wrapping himself in the fleece material and picking up his tea.

“Anything to get the two of you better before you have to go back on tour,” she said, patting both their shoulders lovingly before going back to her cooking.

Julie groaned at the reminder. They were supposed to start back on the road in a week, but with Luke’s track record of illnesses, there was no knowing how long either of them would be sick this time.

Fortunately, thanks to a diet of Rose’s homemade chicken noodle soup and tea remedy as well as medication, Julie and Luke were feeling better in a couple of days.

“I’d always known, but now I really see where you got your nursing skills from,” Luke remarked on the first morning he’d woken up able to breathe through his nose.

Julie grinned.

“You sure are lucky to have the Molina women in your life,” she teased.

“Damn right.” He nodded sincerely.

___

JATP Taglist: @meangirlsx @morganayennefertyrell

[coldcocoamilk]

hey y'all lousy Levihan lovers - I got a new laptop, which means I can finally write comfortably again. we know what that means - a new fic.

as always, this fic is available on archive of our own at this link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32169334/chapters/79707976

Title: I Went to College and All I Got Was This Lousy Degree

Summary: At the start of Hange's senior year, she's told that she must tutor the ill-tempered Levi Ackerman in Biology if he wants to graduate and keep his baseball scholarship. From that point forward, she does everything she can to keep it strictly business with Levi - until they keep running into each other, everywhere. It takes a little time and some self-discovery, but eventually, she finds herself falling for that baseball boy in the midst of her college career.

chapter 1 under the cut :)

1580.

The numbers were bold against her computer screen and seemed to be burning permanently into her retinas. What was that, like, two questions? It wasn’t fair.

“What did you get this time, honey?”

She turned the laptop to face her mother, who frowned. “It’s a ten point increase, at least.”

“I wanted a perfect score,” Hange moaned. “I hate the College Board. This is some crap.”

“Well, that’s three out of three. You’ve still done better than anyone I’ve ever seen,” her mother reassured her. “Can I take these cups?”

Hange looked over her desk at the array of cups, old bowls, and soiled paper plates. “Yeah, but I want the orange one. I’ll help you bring all this down – sorry about the mess.”

“You’ve been studying hard,” her mom reassured her. “I just don’t want any roaches to be drawn in.”

The warmth from the soapy dish water was soothing on her aching hands. Ever since eight that morning, Hange had been either typing, writing, or highlighting, and when her hands weren’t in use, her eyes flew across text resulting in the typical tension headache she felt directly behind her eyes. Now that it was six, and dinner was almost ready? Done. She was done. Hange thought that senior year would be the worst year for her, but so far, junior year was setting the bar pretty high with the combination of exams, state testing, entrance exams, and college applications.

“Leave the water in the sink. I made you some veggies,” her mom told her.

Perhaps it was weird, but one of the few things that Hange enjoyed out of her mom’s cooking was vegetables. Everything else was either too bland or too salty, too mushy or nearly burnt, but her vegetables were always well seasoned and just cooked right. Going vegetarian had been easy for Hange, especially since it was pretty much all she ate at home anyways.

“Are you going to Nanaba’s after dinner still?” Her mom asked as they ate their dinner together.

“Yeah, I’ll probably sleep there tonight, if you don’t mind,” Hange replied between forkfuls of carrots. “By the way, when does dad come back?”

“Wednesday morning, so you’ll have to take the truck into school, okay? And that’s fine, just check in with me at some point. Go ahead and take the truck tonight, too.”

“Yup, gotcha,” Hange replied, finishing her plate. “Thank you for the food – I really like that new sauce you’re using.”

Her mom beamed, a rare sight for her tired face. “I used balsamic dressing in it! I knew it’d be good.”

Hange grabbed her bag from the bottom of the stairs on her way up. It was way too hefty for her plans tonight, and besides, she really didn’t need her calc II book at Nanaba’s, anyways. She packed the usual: laptop, jeans, cute shirt, a long skirt, cardigan, flats, and some pajamas. Her deodorant and perfume got haphazardly thrown in there too, along with an extra hair tie and her chargers. On last thought, Hange reached for a couple of suspiciously heavy balled-up sock pairs, throwing them in there too. Nanaba would appreciate that.

The truck keys were on the counter next to Hange’s wallet, and she clipped them onto her belt loop on the way out. Everyone in the house had ended up with her trusty carabiner trick: can’t lose your keys if they’re always attached to your pants. Her logic was that if you lose your pants somehow, you’ve got more issues than your keys.

“See ya mom!” Hange called out to the house. Her mom’s jazz music was already audible from the bedroom, and the dishes from dinner sat soaking in the sink. It was always much more laid back when her dad was out on a business trip, and a nice treat in comparison to his uptight antics.

Dusk in southern California during April was always nice – it wasn’t chilly enough to warrant a decent coat, but it was warm enough that you could get away with a dress. Sure, the daytime was utter hell, but at night, her dad’s hoodie on the passenger side of the bench seat in his truck was a welcome blanket on her lap as she drove to Nanaba’s house just fifteen minutes away.

Nanaba had been Hange’s best friend since the sixth grade, and they weren’t planning on changing that any time soon. Once upon a chilly November evening, school had just let out and they sat waiting for their parents to pick them up. Fifteen minutes passed, then half an hour, then a full hour – somehow, the two had ended up being “those kids.” You know the type. Mom fell asleep or lost track of time, child has to try their hardest to remember the house phone number, mom freaks out and arrives in a panic. In that span of an hour, the two started an inseparable bond over Pokémon Sapphire on Hange’s Gameboy Advance.

Hange let herself in with the key under the mat, making her way quietly through the house and up the stairs to Nanaba’s room. She found her with a clear plastic bonnet on her head, cross-legged at the head of the bed on her laptop, and the room reeked of chemicals. “Yo,” she announced herself, dropping her bookbag on the bed and flopping down on it. “That time of the month again?”

“You make it sound like I’ve got my period,” Nanaba complained. “What score did you get?”

“A fifteen eighty,” Hange replied. “You?”

“Fifteen thirty,” Nanaba beamed. “My highest yet!”

“Yooooo!” Hange shot up. “I’m proud of you! That’s, what, a seventy-point improvement? You studied!”

“I took your advice and had my dad buy me that SAT prep book you kept talking about. It really did work, thank you so much,” Nanaba gushed. “I feel like I can finally relax, just a little. Next weeks is finals, but in a couple hours, it’ll be Sunday, which means I’m not studying for a whole twenty-four hours.”

Hange flopped back down on the bed. “Preach. You feel like going out tonight?”

Nanaba leaned against the headboard of her bed, the plastic cap on her head crinkling against the wall. “Nah, I don’t think anything is happening. Besides, I’m doing my hair. I need you to help me touch up the sides again.”

“All right,” Hange replied. “How long do you have left?”

“Ten minutes,” Nanaba closed her laptop and stretched before swinging her legs off the side of the bed. “We’re not going out tonight, but I do have a bottle, if you wanna.”

“I brought shooters!” Hange shot back up, immediately digging through her bag and extracting the balled-up socks. “Some different ones this time, for us to try. What did you get this time?”

Nanaba walked across the room and opened her closet, pulling a bottle of liquor out from a box labelled WINTER. “Eddy orange this time. Haven’t tried it yet, but I thought we’ve abused the lemon enough.” Glass clinked as she pulled out two shot glasses: one shaped like a miniature beaker, and a normal one that simply said BOOBS.

“Beautiful,” Hange grinned. “Today we’re trying… uhh… UV Blue, Jägermeister, and this weird peanut butter whiskey stuff.”

“Did you shoplift again?” Nanaba gave her a glance. “You know, it’s one thing to buy with a fake. It’s another to shoplift entirely.”

“Does it count as shoplifting if your parents don’t drink but keep getting gifted weird alcohol gift baskets from my dad’s customers so it all just ends up sitting in the liquor cabinet for years anyways?”

“God, your dad’s job is weird.”

“Yeah, I know.”

[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

This is what it looks like when I try.

Summary: (Modern AU - They’re all about 25 in this)  Lucy could only nod her head solemnly because--‘what the hell did a person say to the woman who’d just attempted to steal her boyfriend and had spent the last month undermining her under the façade of friendship??’ {A Jolene AU} 

Fandoms: The Stand 

Ships: Larry Underwood/Lucy Swann

Word Count: 3,298 

Last year Larry Underwood had seen his first real relationship crash and burn.  

January began with him stuck in the ‘Otto’s’ Gas station for an extra hour after his shift. Cleaning after closing sucked. 

The curse of being too jovial led his co-worker to hoping he could cover for him. Normally, he’d say no but Redman was a nice guy and it allowed Larry to sit and wonder if the new year would suck the life out of him too.

For the time being Larry’s only friend in the world was the Otto’s mascot; a large blow-mold like 3-D sign staring down at the only non-24/7 station in town. Otto the Orange Soda Bottle’s floating glove gripped the gas-pump nozzle with a sickly grin. He was just about the only boy in the college town that didn’t go bat-shit for the fizzy fruit that mixed well with plenty of acholic beverages.

Larry was passing time by staring up at Otto through the glass when a gentle tap alarmed him. A familiar dark haired woman stood at the doors. “Are you open, Larry?” She waved her hand in hello. Larry wanted to criticize her for missing all of their obvious ‘closed’ signs but found no energy.

“Closed.” He strolled over with an annoyed frown.

The woman, Nadine Cross, nodded like she knew her luck was shot. She seemed severely committed to her bit. 

“Shit. Don’t know that I can make it to another station.” She pointed a sharp thumb back towards the lone car by pump number four. Larry stood atop his tip-toes to observe the dark vehicle. He glanced back at Nadine, unsure if he wanted to make conversation with a girl who’d broken up with him (‘If you could even call it that’) in September. 

Sure, they’d remained semi-friends since the split but Larry found the whole thing to be strained. For a while there, he was still in love with her and she didn’t seem to care...running around with some new guy. 

But then he’d met Lucy Swann and suddenly he didn’t really give a shit what Nadine was doing. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” He tapped the glass in a half-finished pattern as a goodbye, see-ya later thing but about not until about halfway to the phone did the girl decide to tap back; finishing the jingle for a neighboring carpet joint. It was vaguely odd.

Mr. Felder, Alan Felder, advised Larry to help one last dollar if the kid was truly stranded. It occurred to Larry that Nadine could be faking...he turned back with the phone under his ear. "A little strange but she’s not threatening.”

He smiled at Nadine through the glass.

He got the go ahead to switch on the pumps, let the girl do her business and leave. But that all rested on the fact that Nadine was actually there for gas...

Most likely, she wasn’t. 

But Larry still strolled on over, unlocked the door and let Cross inside with a hesitant smirk on his face. She sauntered over to stand next to the row of air-fresheners and looked nothing short of pleased with Larry’s confusion. “Having a good night?” 

New Car Scent twitched on it’s metal rod as she flicked it absent-mindedly and Larry thought he could smell a hint of the blue tree. “Trust that my night’s been shitty.” He shook his head, passing by her violent presence at the forest of little trees to go back to his counter. “And it seems like it's only gonna get worse.” 

Nadine wasn’t phased. Her brutal personality seemed to be locked in the trunk while the jewel toned one had her hands on the wheel. “Always negative.” Her eyes rolled around like glass marbles. Her attention then moved towards the overflowing aisle of snacks, feet carefully maneuvering against the tile as if walking a tightrope. “Maybe I just wanted to talk, Larry.” 

“Oh yeah, What about?” He asked, unimpressed by her show of grace under the ‘Any size for just $1′ sign. 

“Us.” Clarifying Larry’s worst fear, Nadine’s busy eyes still blinked ‘No Vacancy’. For there was nothing different that he could spot, the woman had no room available for a partner just the same as she didn’t last month when they broke it off. 

“Can’t you be a normal person and just imagine this conversation happening in your head before you go to sleep?” Larry flicked his lighter open and pictured their last true conversation which had taken place on the curb outside of her house. Thank God she’d been getting rid of an ugly yellow couch at the time or else his ass might’ve froze to the concrete. 

“Mmmm.” Acknowledged but with no appreciation, Nadine moved closer. 

And Larry stepped back even further. He could almost see her November breath in the air. “Isn’t this all a little too high school, Nadine?”

She slammed her hand down on the counter. “Oh, trust you to invalidate my feelings.” Her scowl deepened but it didn’t intimidate him any. She slammed her palm to her forehead and grimly sighed. “Can’t I just come to you and say-” 

Larry hopped onto the stool behind him and leaned onto his knees. 

“Maybe I made a mistake, ok?” 

“Honestly, Nadine.” He felt his chest tighten as he sat up again. “You come to me with this now-?” A laugh escaped. “You look right through Lucy-”

Nadine dropped any sense of her previous gloom. “Lucy? Sorry to break up your ‘happy home’, Larry-”

“She’s my girl, Nadine.” The flat, serious tone coming from him seemed to jerk the woman into further rage. “I never seemed to have a real shot with you anyway and I made my peace with that.” 

“So maybe you didn’t then but now-” Nadine looked towards the freezers and swallowed softly. 

“Now, I have Lucy. Best thing to ever happen to me, Nadine-”

“Bullshit!” She burst, surprising herself. “She’s not for you.” Her heart nearly leapt from her chest. “You’re just living out some damn idyllic fantasy but it’s not gonna last, Larry! You’re not that kind of guy!” She broke to breathe. “You’re-...complicated and...” Nadine slowed to a pause, feeling ridiculous but desperate. 

Larry, who’d shared quite a few screaming matches with her previously, didn’t seem phased at all. “For a minute of my life, Nadine-a couple months, I thought I knew who you were. But I didn’t.” He shrugged. “And I am really fucking complicated. you got that right. But that’s about all you do know.” His eyes widened briefly. 

Nadine deflated a bit on her spot. 

“It took me about all my life, so far, to figure out that I could be a damn nice guy if I stopped wasting it being bitter at the world and thinking I was the shit. And you...” He gestured to her with a vague emptiness. “You came along and you were everything I wanted in a girl.” Larry shrugged, taking his hand away. “You were happier back then, Nadine. But our relationship obviously couldn’t sustain that for you.” Larry was sort of proud of that statement.

“How wise of you, Larry.” She was close to growling but her chest was nearly breaking from the pressure of her quick beating heart. She sniffled pathetically, in her eyes at least, and rolled her lips together. “I think you could make me happy now...” 

Larry softened a bit. “I’m sorry, Nadine but you wouldn’t make me happy.”

Nadine just about wanted to die. 

                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Don’t cry. Hold it in until you get to the car...take a deep breath-Oh fuck it..’

The soft rattling of the car keys breaking the strained silence of the night was what kept Lucy Swann’s composure. It was almost a metal heartbeat that she could silently count in her head to fuzz her focus away from tears-because Hell, she’d seen people do that shit in movies.

On beat twelve she burst into tears. Curling her aching body over the steering wheel she’d used to accidentally run over four orange cones during her drivers test. 

On beat sixteen she choked on the rush of air which flooded her lungs from a ‘relaxing’ deep breath. 

And on beat twenty...she stopped counting. Letting out horrible sobs that almost seemed to take up space in her tiny jeep. With every damn move she made, her ears rang because it was all...fucked.

Hissing to herself, Lucy sucked down her snot like a congested child and wiped her palms over her cheeks. Her vision blurred but her mind kept focused. It played scenes over and over like a stuck television. She swore she could hear the static but pushed that sickening illusion away while ripping her body up and to the right against the force of her seatbelt. 

Slowly she gave the car a little gas and--

Hard knocks of a fist ricocheted off the driver’s side window and Lucy nearly slammed down on the gas instead of the brake. “FUCK!” Her hands, shaking from anger, reached down to shift back to park. That was all the consideration she paid the damn blue jeep. Lucy grasped the door handle and shot herself clear from the seat and ignored the way the door clipped her skin when she closed it. 

“Jesus, Nadine?” Her eyes burned directly into the center of her chest, unable to meet her line of sight. But Nadine didn’t seem to hold that against her. No...because Nadine Cross was an infuriatingly clever angel. “What are you doing here? Did you want to talk to me about something?” She half-laughed. 

Nadine sloshed her feet in a puddle. “Seems like that, Luce. Sorry for catching you at a weird time. Were you-?” A smiled played at her lips before she thinned them out again. 

Lucy raised a brow at the nickname but continued shaking her hair out of a ponytail while Nadine shifted her feet into first position. She felt a reluctance to answer or to even bring up her boyfriend’s name in present company.  

“I was just on my way to Larry’s.” She gave in. 

“Judging by the tears...” Nadine vaguely gestured to Lucy’s puffed and red cheeks. “I can only assume he told you that I went over to Otto’s last night.” 

Lucy could only nod her head solemnly because--‘what the hell did a person say to the woman who’d just attempted to steal her boyfriend and had spent the last month undermining her under the façade of friendship??’ 

“We fought about it a bit...yeah.” She rubbed behind her ear, regretting being so openly vulnerable just then. “He wants to be your friend Nadine. But that’s all. And I just got a bit upset because...nevermind, it’s not important.” She shook her head. “I want to get along-I do.” Suddenly she couldn’t help but focus on the fact that she could still hear the radio in the Jeep. 

“I want that too.” Nadine moved with a grace that Lucy wished deeply to have. Her smile was big, more lip than teeth and strangely enticing. 

Frustration ignited in Lucy and traveled like fire through her veins. Her own ‘just being nice’ smile cracked, the left side breaking and sliding down her cheek...giving her a hysterical expression. “Do you?” She blurred an image of herself in her bathroom mirror from that afternoon over Nadine’s perfect figure as she stepped closer. “Because It didn’t seem like that last night.”

Nadine blinked, face twitching slightly and Lucy thought something was coming through before she came to believe she’d just guessed correctly now. 

“Why can’t we just...be friends?” She threw her arms out and slapped them down sharply at her thighs. “Sure, this charming civil charade is fun for you but no me, ok?” 

“I-...” Nadine opened her pouty mouth but clamped it down quickly. “I don’t know, Lucy. I wish I could tell you something, ok? But-” She pathetically waved her arm back. 

Lucy took the moment to softly walk over and finally look the woman in the eyes, a shy expression, not quite happy or sad, came over her face. “At odds or not...I’d listen to you if you wanted to talk about something.” 

Like a flickering flame, Nadine’s whole aura changed. “I have nothing to talk about, Lucy.” 

A road was blocked. Maybe permanently. 

Lucy backed off. “Well I do, Nadine.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little now as the anger bubbled up her throat again. “Perfect Nadine Cross.” She hummed, thinking of the brutal beauty which graced her presence now and the delicate voice that she spoke with.  

“Nobody said I was perfect, Lucy.” She said smartly. 

The burst of frustration felt like a migraine behind Lucy’s eyes. Her face scrunched up before easing into a glare. “Nobody has to.” She gaped her mouth in defeat, lifting her arm to vaguely gesture to the girl. “You’re everything I’m not...and you know what? I was crying because maybe I’m still afraid he might leave me for you!” Her footsteps were light against the pebbles as she wobbled back over. “Larry was in love with you.” Another shrug. “And worst of all, you’re the one who ended it all.” 

Her eyes narrowed. “But do you at least have the decency to leave him alone after walking away?” The question & it’s obvious answer hung in the air between them for a few minutes.

Nadine pursed her lips...thinking of the bandit, the heartbreaker & the trusted stranger who’d swept her away from Larry Underwood’s way of living. Randall Flagg was gone...but the tears shed for him were purely argumentative. 

Lucy’s eyes drowned in desperation. “Nadine...I love him.” She tripped over those words but it only enhanced the honesty behind them. “He’s a good man. I have faith--I do--that his love for me is stronger than what he still...” 

A small puff of fresh air sprang through Nadine’s lungs. “He still has-?”

Lucy’s eyes rolled instantly. “Of course. And I won’t hold that against him, Nadine.” She bit into her lip. “But how is he supposed to grow...to move on when you keep coming round with your leash and collar, huh?” 

Nadine’s strange, beautiful eyes flickered with emotion. For a horrible second, she appeared to be amused. Scaring every bit of strength out of Lucy Swann before her mouth thinned out again. 

“I’m tired of being scared that you’ll take him away from me.” She found her last bit of words and decided to run with them. “So please...I’m asking you to please accept us and move on...because I can’t love anybody else.” 

‘Neither can I...’ Nadine was faced with the proof just some time ago. And here now, was life giving her another reason to curse Jesus for being a Cross-maker.

Her fingers twitched, wanting maybe to reach out for Lucy’s...to ask for something she didn’t deserve but wanted. Earnestly and with a deep ache in her belly, Nadine wanted friendship. But what intruded her mind like an uninvited guest...thoughts of Larry. And how easy it might be to-with one hand stab Lucy in the back and the other choke the life outta Flagg who’d said love was only meant for the two of them. “I’m trying.” She choked out, looking off to avoid her-...Lucy’s reaction.  

Which was close to floored. She opened her mouth but Nadine found some sort of stream had burst. 

“This is what that looks like for me now, Lucy. It’s a fucked system.” Her throat burned and kept her words hot. “Don’t you think I’d like to move on-?” She choked herself up a little, pushing her nails into her bottom lip. “I try...I try to be a good person, Lucy but then...” Quickly swiping a tear from her cheek, she snorted down some mucus. “My mind just plays these awful scenes and I feel like they’re inevitable." Pausing, she took in her audience. 

Lucy Swann looked genuinely concerned. 

“I can’t explain it and really this is a tangent I didn’t plan to go on.” Nadine got the same feeling which usually came when she attempted to sleep off a headache. 

“How do you jump ship when it’s already sunk? Is that the kind of feeling?” Lucy came closer once more, holding out a hand as it began to drizzle. 

The tears burst suddenly and despite Nadine’s embarrassment and restrain, she took the hand and was pulled into a comforting hug. She wanted to scream and cry more than she wanted to be alive. Lucy was nearly knocked off her feet but managed to keep them both up, leaning back on her Jeep. 

For a strange moment, Lucy Swann wrapped her arms around Nadine Cross and rubbed circles onto her back. 

                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey! I’m here-” 

Lucy barely had time to even think about finishing that sentence before Larry burst into his living room with a proud expression. “I made you dinner.” He sauntered over with a smirk. Lucy smelled his cologne and couldn’t help but lean into his chest and allow herself to be lead into his kitchen. 

“Red Bull and Cup of noodles?” She giggled as she shrugged out of her flannel. The priceless look of joy that Larry shined was far too contagious. “Oh, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Luce.” He gently pressed a kiss to her temple but didn’t pull away. Instead, he pressed his nose against her hair and took in a long breath to chase the scent of fresh linen that was just so Lucy. “You know that, Lucy?” 

Anxiety raced through her veins as memories of bowling on Sunday nights and flashing neon signs fled her mind. All she wanted was to be pulled deeper into her boyfriends arms but she stepped out of his strong arms. “I do. But...I know you still love Nadine too.” 

Larry stepped back as if he’d been slapped. “Oh, Lucy.” He started, reproachfully. Behind his eyes came visions of that September afternoon. That damn yellow couch and Nadine Cross dumping him like garbage on the curb. 

His gorgeous lover smiled sadly. “Maybe you gave her your heart and she stomped on it but Lord knows--” She turned her cheek and sighed “You have mine to fill that void.” 

His arms goosefleshed. So he reached out, gently cupped his palms under her elbows and shook her just a bit. “Don’t talk crazy, sweetheart.” His voice was steady and warm in her ears. Slowly, he pushed her arms up to wrap them around his neck and pushed their foreheads together. “Who’s the girl I sing about, huh?” 

Lucy chuckled, lips turning up in a smile despite the sad tone. “Me?” She opened one eye with a cheeky smirk. 

Larry laughed madly and rubbed their noses together. “And who’s the girl I want to fuckin’ marry?” 

When she stepped out of his arms then, the lowering sun was beginning to shower his living room with stunning hues of pink-golds. Her heart was beating so fast that she felt close to fainting. “Larry Underwood...are you serious?” 

His smirk resembled the famed Elvis Presley’s. “I can’t imagine lovin’ anybody else for the rest of my life.” He chuckled, an image of the man he’d been when Lucy first met him flashed in her head. He’d grown a lot since then. 

“How quick can those tears dry, baby-?” He swiped his thumb against her cheek and attempted to hide the slight stutter in his voice. “Cause seeing them is breaking my heart.” 

Lucy rolled her eyes with a gleaming grin. “So charming.” She mocked, passing him by and bumping her hip into his on the way to the kitchen. “Come eat dinner with me, you idiot.” 

Neither of them had ever been happier. 

[yasxgamal]

Basic Information

Full name: Yasin Gamal Pronunciation: ee-ah-ceen gah-mah-l Nickname(s): Yas, E. Birthdate: November 20th, 1986 Age: 34 Zodiac: Scorpio Gender: Male Pronouns: He/him/his Romantic orientation: Panromantic Sexual orientation: Pansexual Nationality: English Ethnicity: Egyptian Current location: London, UK Living conditions: Yas' place is a one-bedroom mess. It's a good flat, spacious and in a good location, all things considered, but he's not the best at decorating. Apart from the very odd artwork or two hanging crookedly on the walls, there isn't much more to it. He keeps his space clean and tidy when he has the time to do that, but it's not a very personal place. Also probably smells like smoke most of the time -- or, air freshener if he's trying to impress you.

Background

Birthplace: London, UK Hometown: London, UK Social Class: Wealthy if you count the parents' money, Middle if you consider his own money and lifestyle currently, and his tendencies to waste it all on cigarettes. Educational achievements: A really fancy degree in Computer Sciences and Computer Engineering at the most expensive college in the UK Father: Omar Gamal Mother: Safiya Gamal Sibling(s): Samir Gamal and Aisha Gamal. Birth order: Samir, Yas, Aisha is the youngest. Pets: Ramen, the stray cat that crawls in through his window and occasionally spends weeks sleeping inside, and then disappears for months on end. Previous relationships: One big relationship in college for 3 years, a miserable breakup. Then mostly only casual things after that, none he would consider true relationships. Arrests: N/A Prison time: N/A

Occupation & Income

Current occupation: Programmer for the Time Machine project Dream occupation: Programmer for the first working Time Machine Past job(s): College Era: various internships, waiter, freelance photographer for kids' parties, freelance I.T., tech teacher for the elderly, tech teacher for children, coder and manager for a pornographic film company's website. Post-College Era: has helped coding and programming several apps and softwares independently, then a stable job at GoodCore Software Ltd. as SQA Lead. Spending habits: Yas spends a lot on cigarettes and technology, but everything else he doesn't care enough for. In debt?: No Most valuable possession: Emotionally, his own laptop or phone, and all the photos and memories stored in them, as well as his work. Legally and monetarily, though, it's the BAFTA statuette from his sister, which he now gets to keep for a year because he won a bet (it's fine, she has more than one).

Skills & Abilities

Physical strength: Average Speed: Average Intelligence: Above Average when it comes to all things technology, Average on some other subjects. Accuracy: Average Agility: Above Average Stamina: Above Average Teamwork: Great in environments where everyone is delegated a certain job and he gets to do his thing in his corner to add to the mix. When it comes to people wanting to mess with his codes, he gets a bit stubborn and difficult to deal with. Shortcomings: often lets his pride ruin things, a bit of an inflated ego when it comes to his work, bad at communicating. Languages spoken: English, Arabic Drive?: Yes Jump-start a car?: No Change a flat tyre?: Yes Ride a bicycle?: Poorly Swim?: Yes Play an instrument?: If you count the guitar lessons in his childhood (he does) Play chess?: Yes Braid hair?: No Tie a tie?: Yes Pick a lock?: No Cook?: Yes, the very bare minimum, and he hardly does it.

Physical Appearance & Characteristics

Faceclaim: Rami Malek Eye colour: Greyish green Hair colour: Black Hair type/style/length: Shaved on the sides, originally short on top but it grows out too fast and he can't be bothered to get a haircut, so it grows out curly. When it starts to become a mop and look like he has a helmet of hair on, he cuts it short again, and repeats that cycle. Glasses/contacts?: No, but they're needed. He has shit eyesight and no one ever forced him to get glasses so he never did. Don't ask him to read any signs that are far away. Dominant hand: Right Height: 5'9 / 175cm Weight: 154 lb / 70kg Build: Slim Exercise habits: Nonexistent, but he does a lot of walking Skin tone: Olive (Type IV) Tattoos: The initials of his siblings, A.S. in a simple font, on the bottom of his ribs on his right side. They all have matching ones. He continuously tells them the joke that they should get a fourth sibling with an S name, so he can get A.S.S. tattooed instead. Piercings: None Marks/scars: Several small scars around his legs and arms, from climbing around and getting into trouble as a middle child desperate for attention. A more notorious scar runs up behind his left elbow from a night in college when he got wasted with his friends and had an accident with a knife (don't ask). Clothing style: Black, a lot of black. The most colourful thing in his closet might be a dark grey jumper. Very minimalistic in the sense that he never wears patterns or colours or graphic tees, it's always just very dry and kind of bland. He probably could get into fashion if he wanted to, but he feels bad spending so much of his hard-earned money on the high-fashion stuff. Also he can frequently be spotted wearing those compression gloves/braces on his hands, for carpal tunnel syndrome Jewellery: A couple necklaces that have no emotional attachment besides "I thought they were cool so I bought them", but he's never without them, even when they mostly just hang inside his shirts. Dabbles in rings if he's feeling fancy. Allergies: None Diet: Consists of mostly snacks. He occasionally buys the healthy kind, like a couple granola bars or some fruit, but if he's going through a big project, he'll only snack. Anything easy to eat with one hand goes. He does, however, understand the value of nutrition and that he needs to fuel his body properly every once in a while; when that happens, he resorts to ordering food from some healthy restaurant nearby. It's basically a couple salads a month and then nothing but Doritos for days straight. Physical ailments: Carpal tunnel syndrome happens often enough that it's almost chronic, because he doesn't usually take breaks or stretch his wrists out like he's supposed to. Back pain from sitting all day (and bad posture) is also so present that he barely notices it anymore.

Psychology

MBTI type: INTJ Enneagram type: Type Five Moral Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Temperament: Somewhere between Phlegmatic and Melancholic? Element: Water Emotional stability: Who is she! Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert Obsession(s): Outdoing his siblings, no matter how much he loves them Compulsion(s): Working to the point of forgetting to take care of himself Phobia(s): Acrophobia and atychiphobia Addiction(s): Cigarettes/Vaping Drug use: Sometimes wrongly and terribly pops an Adderall when pulling all-nighters. Has smoked weed before, but he doesn't love the slowness of when he gets high. Alcohol use: Not very often nowadays, but the occasional blackout still happens. He's known to become a completely different person when he drinks, much more loose and fun and happy, so he does it sparingly Prone to violence?: No Prone to crying?: No Believe in love at first sight?: Yes, but doesn't think he's the type to ever experience that, since it takes a while for him to get close to people, so he believes in it as an abstract concept

Mannerisms

Accent: RP English Speech quirks: A lot of pauses between words and sentences, since he often thinks a lot before he speaks. The occasional ums and uhs and some stuttering if his mind is working faster than he can speak, too. Hobbies: Photography, playing video games, reading novels (graphic or otherwise), finding passive-aggressive memes to send into the Gamal siblings groupchat Habits: Stealing wifi, smoking and vaping, ordering delivery of everything instead of getting it himself Nervous ticks: lip chewing, tapping fingers, bouncing one knee, scratching his neck/jaw or touching his nose Drives/motivations: It's all for the glory, babey Fears: Never achieving anything grand Sense of humour?: It goes as far as memes and roasting his loved ones, but not much further than that. He's usually not comfortable enough to crack jokes, but you might get a sarcastic comment or two if you're lucky. Deep down, he can be sharp and quick-witted, but it doesn't come out often, unless he's having drinks. Do they curse often?: Hecc yes, probably as a form of rebellion against his posh parents

Favourites

Animal: Tarsier Beverage: Strong black coffee with two spoons of sugar Book: Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Colour: Green Food: Zalabya Flower: Jasmine Gem: Peridot Mode of transportation: Walking, and if not, the metro Scent: Oranges Sport: Tennis Weather: Rainy enough that he doesn't feel anyone's judgement for staying inside all day Vacation destination: Japan

Attitudes

Greatest dream: Finally being famous for his work Greatest fear: Never achieving anything big enough to make him happy, and being forever miserable because of it Most at ease when: Left by himself or enjoying someone else's company that he's truly comfortable with, probably in silence, doing his own thing Least as ease when: Forced into environments where he has to put on fancy clothes and pretend to be enjoying himself when he's not. Alternatively: when he's going on hour 32 without any sleep and he's denied more coffee Worst possible thing that could happen: Achieving greatness but realising he needs something else in order to feel fulfilled and be happy Biggest achievement: His degree and hopefully the first working Time Machine Biggest regret: He doesn't like to say he regrets things, so there's nothing he'd call a huge regret. But if he had to say something, he'd probably say it was not telling that one high school crush that he liked them.

[lovemesomesurveys]

What battery percentage is your phone on right now? 44%.

Do any medical afflictions run in your family? Cancer and diabetes. 

Who did you last talk to in person and what did you say? My mom. We were talking about the story being covered on 48 Hours on the ID channel.

What's your favourite Mexican dish? I like burritos, especially from this local Mexican restaurant. It’s simple, just beans, rice, cheese, cilantro, sour cream and guacamole, but it’s so good. I like to have this gravy and cheese dip on the side for dipping, too.

Have you ever been to a professional sports game? Yeah, I’ve been to a hockey game once.

How far do you live from New York City? I’m all the way across the country on the opposite side in California. 

How often do you talk to your parents? We live together, I see and talk to them all the time.

Do you prefer pads, tampons or something else? I just used pads. TMI, but I say “used” because I don’t have a menstrual cycle anymore due to health reasons.

What was the weather like in your town today?  It’s supposed to be 77 F today. It’s slowly been starting to cool down. I need it to drop down more for my liking, though.

Are there any phrases or words that you say a lot?  Yes, but for some reason whenever I’m asked this I can’t think of an example.

How many boyfriends or girlfriends have you ever had? One.

Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? Yeah, my childhood birthday cakes were ordered from a cake shop.

What was the last movie you saw and who did you watch it with? In the Tall Grass on Netflix with my mom and brother.

What's the name of your first real boyfriend or girlfriend? Derek.

Do you clean your ears daily? Not daily, but a few times a week.

What accent do you have? As a Californian I feel like I don’t have one, but I guess it would be a Californian one? *shrug* Like I said, I don’t feel like I have one but everyone does. It’s not distinctive like someone from Boston or North Dakota, ya know? Ha, I Googled Californian accent and it even says, “Their accent is indeed similar to General American, meaning it sounds to American ears like it isn't an accent at all. Everyone has an accent, however.”  Then it talks about how we pronounce certain sounds/words differently and some of our sayings and slang. Ha, it also brings up how if anything, non-Californians would probably think of a Californian accent being valley-girl or surfer dude, which yeah that’s true people do tend to associate us with that and words like “hella” and “stoked.”

What scent of air freshener do you keep in your bathroom? It’s a pumpkin cinnamon scent or something like that.

Have you ever dated a model? No.

What's the best job you've ever had? I’ve never had a job.

How about the worst? --

Do you have naturally straight hair? No, I have wavy hair.

What is your ultimate goal in life? I don’t know. 

Have you ever visited someone in prison? Yes.

What months were you and your siblings born in?  I was born in July, my younger brother was born in February, and my older brother was born in November.

Do you write down your passwords in a physical place to prevent losing them?  Yeah.

What are your three favourite vegetables? Potatoes, spinach, and broccoli. 

How many times a day do you check Facebook or any other social network? I check Facebook and a few other social medias a few times a day.

When was the last time you had a blocked nose? It gets stuffy now and then, but it doesn’t tend to last long. I haven’t had a real stuffy nose, like because of a cold, since earlier this year.

Who is your favourite comedian? I don’t have one.

What colour are the socks you're wearing today? White.

What did you have for dinner last night? Wingstop. 

What was the last concert you went to? Green Day back in 2009.

Are you an ugly crier? Yeah. I’m also just ugly.

What scent is the soap or body wash you use in the shower? It’s just Caress bar soap, it smells clean and soapy.

Have you ever had sex in/on a vehicle? No.

Who do you live with? My parents, brother, and doggo.

What letter does your street name begin with? --

Do you do anything to groom your eyebrows? I pluck them.

When was the last time you ate at McDonald's? A few months ago.

What's your favourite Popsicle flavour? Not a popsicle kind of gal, really.

Who was the last person you sent a Facebook message to and what did you say? My aunt. She was just checking in and seeing how I’ve been doing.

Do you have any injuries at the moment? Yes.

Have you ever been to an ophthalmologist? I’ve been to the optometrist numerous times, but I don’t think an ophthalmologist. 

Do you own any animal print clothes? No, not my style.

Are you tall, short or average? Would you change this? I’m short and “I wish I was a little bit taller.”

When was the last time you went to a drug store/pharmacy? Hm, I don’t recall. My mom or brother always pick up my medicines for me, I haven’t gone in awhile.

Do you ever binge-watch TV shows? Yeah. My current binge-watch is Sabrina: The Teenage Witch (the one from my childhood with Melissa Joan Hart). 

Have you ever mustered up the courage to tell someone how you feel only to be rejected? Yep. Twice. Not a fun time...

Do you keep your files and documents organized in one place? Unfortunately, no. I’d like to be organized with that kind of stuff.

What's your favourite sweet treat to bake? I don’t bake anymore, but I used to like making cupcakes or cookies during the holidays.

Are you good at flirting and letting people know you're interested? Ha, no. I’m too awkward. There’s been times I thought it was obvious I was interested only for them to be like, “I had no idea.” 

What did you have for breakfast today? It’s 1:22AM.

Do you prefer sweet or savoury breakfasts? Savory.

Do you like chick-flicks? Yeah.

Have you ever taken an acting class? Yes, which is really shocking for someone as shy and awkward as I am. I actually took two while at community college.

What is your favourite kind of berry? I don’t have a favorite. I really only like strawberries out of the berry choices, but I couldn’t even tell you the last time I had any.

When was the last time you watched one of your favourite movies? I’ve been watching some of my favorite horror movies. I plan on watching a lot this month.

How often do you use Youtube? Quite often.

Do you prefer Prince or Michael Jackson? I like more Michael Jackson songs, but I like some Prince songs as well.

What's the coolest thing you've ever dressed up as for Halloween? Not sure about “the coolest.”

Are you ignoring anyone right now? I guess that’s what it’s called when you don’t respond to messages or make any attempt to contact or reach out to them. :/ That was never the intention and even now it’s still hard to admit that that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the past few years. They eventually stopped trying to reach out and I don’t blame them. I’m such a shitty person.

How do you usually style your hair? I throw it up in a pony tail or bun; not much styling going on.

Do you have any tattoos? Tell me about them. Nope.

Have you ever worked in a store while someone shoplifted there? I’ve never worked at a store. I’ve witnessed it happening while shopping at stores, though.

When was the last time you used a stove? I just made my ramen.

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? Insects, seafood, stuff like bull testicles, etc. 

Are you sitting, standing or laying (or something else) right now? I’m sitting on my bed.

How many hours per week do you typically work? Zero.

What was the last pill or tablet you took? My pain medication.

How far away from your house is the closest grocery store? Just down the street.

Have you ever lived in university/college campus housing? Nope.

Who was the last person you complimented? My mom.

Are you the type of person to take naps, even if you've slept plenty? “Even if you’ve slept plenty” ha, right.

Do you have a crush on anyone at the moment? Nope.

The age old question: dogs or cats? Dogs.

When was the last time you saw your best friend? I see her everyday, all the time. We live together. She’s my mom. 

Do you know any couples who resemble each other? No, but I’ve seen couples who do.

Have you ever been fired from a job? Why? Nope.

Are you tired right now? I always am. <<<

Do you like spring rolls? Yeah.

What do you live on in terms of a street, road, crescent, place, court etc? Lane.

How many purses or handbags do you own? Six. Do you get along with all your aunts and uncles?  There’s one uncle we don’t talk to for reasons, but otherwise yeah. I haven’t seen any of my aunts or uncles in awhile, some I haven’t seen in years, but there’s no drama with them. I have one aunt that I’m really close to, though.

Have you ever eavesdropped and heard something you didn't want to hear? Yes.

When was the last time you used a pen, pencil or marker? I used a pen yesterday.

What's your favourite type of curry? I don’t eat curry.

Do you often go to do or say something and then just forget? It happens. Brain fog.

Who makes you laugh the hardest? My mom and brother.

Have you ever had casual sex? No.

What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Food.

What's the last letter of your middle name? Nah.

If your phone rang right now from a number you don't know, would you answer? Nope.

How long is your hair? Down to my butt.

What was your first pet's name and how did you pick that? The first pet whose name I picked was our dog, Scruffy, when I was about 4 or 5. I’m not sure how I chose that name. Do you drink diet or regular soda? Regular.

Have you ever been to Europe? No, but I’d love to.

Do you worry about your own health? Always. Yet, I admittedly don’t do some things I should be doing. I certainly could be doing a lot more.

Who did you last make plans with, and what plans did you make? Uhh, I made plans to watch something on Netflix with my mom tomorrow haha. Those are the only kind of plans I make nowadays.

Can you smell anything right now? My ramen.

How old were you when you got your first cell phone? 15.

When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes? I got a new pair for my birthday from my mom. All the shoes I have were birthday or Christmas gifts, to be honest. I don’t recall the last time I bought a pair of shoes myself.

Do you like fruit and vegetable combo juices? No. Or any kind of juice, period.

Have you ever been on a spring break trip? Yeah.

Would you rather be warmer or colder right now? I’d like if it were cold enough to need a blanket. We’re still not there yet in California even though it’s almost mid-October. :(

How tall are your highest heels? I don’t wear heels. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

What's your favourite flavour of frosting? Good ol’ vanilla is the best, but I like strawberry, lemon, and cream cheese as well.

When did you wake up today? I haven’t gone to bed, yet, it’s 3:58AM.

Do you change your appearance often? No. I haven’t in quite awhile.

Have you ever blocked someone on Facebook? Why? Yes.

How many people do you work with?

What was the last thing you ate? Ramen.

Do you have any plans for three hours in the future? Probably attempt sleep.

Has anyone ever made a comment about your weight that offended or upset you? Yeah, it’s frustrating.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 1 Part 10

Hope you’ll like it ! :)

Liam Thursday November 9 – Friday November 10

The young lad entered in his flat his head full of ideas. He had finished his training at the pool, and then had gotten Nate on the phone. Since they had seen eachother during the holidays, Liam was feeling better. Thanks to his bestfriend and the young lad's siblings, vacations had been well. Of course, the freshman missed his mother (it may be not usual for almost adult man to tell they miss their mother, but he really did), but otherwise, he had been fine. Anyway, as always, they had talked about everything and nothing, and now, Liam was ready to sleep. A day couldn't be better. (Or maybe it could... like, by sleeping the whole day...but nevermind).

"Hi dude." said Nick with irony. "How was the sky today ?"

Liam looked at him, and noticed Rebecca and Colton were here too. What's the ? Did I missed someone birthday ? No, it must be more important than that... The black girl and his roommate were not really friends anymore, and they didn't see her much since the return from holidays. She was spending most of her time with her boyfriend Emilio (yes Liam remembered his name, he was not the kind of people to forget important things). As for Colton, their relationship was... complex since Barbara ran into Liam. That's why they couldn't be there for a birthday.

"Told ya he completely forget about our meeting for the project." complained Nick. "But I guess it's not a problem since we did nothing because someone else was late."

Rebecca blushed, and grumbled :

"At least I didn't forget. I came as fast as I can. And anyway, now I have to go, and Colton too. See you later."

She ran away, followed by Colton, who looked at Liam with a mix of guilt and curiosity. Honestly, the brown lad didn't remember at all this meeting. I'm pretty sure they never talked to me about this... Nick punched a trashcan and mumbled :

"For a girl who pretend to be the fastest runner of the university, she's really slow when it's for studies."

"She may didn't want to come." stated Liam without thinking.

A blank made him realise what he just said. Ooops. Since they had helped Rebecca after her assault, Nick harbored a growing rancor. She had never thanked him, and he was legitimately mad at her. Or maybe he's since she started to see some other people... According to Nate, it was common in college for students to move between groups of friends, because there were way more people than in highschool.

"Whatever..." grumbled Nick. "I guess you're hungry, since you were training at the pool, right ?"

Liam nodded, despite the fact he didn't really want to eat.

It took approximately two hours for Nick to calm down, and a lot of videogames. Usually, Liam played with him an hour each night, or less according to his need of sleep, but this night, he decided to stay a bit longer. Apart from sport, games were a good mean for Liam to forget his problems. However, often, when he played, he was so distracted that he would lost in no time. Two days ago, he discovered Nick have been lowering his skills for almost two month in order to make game last longer. As Nate said, he is basically a good person.

"Dude, did you hear me ?"

"What ?"

Nick sighed.

"Jeezus man, I'm used to repeat things twice, but I'm asking you something since diner, and you're always ignoring me. What's wrong with you ?"

Since diner ? No way. (Liam might be a little absent-minded, but a blank that long, it was impossible). His roommate rolled his eyes, and swore a bit.

"I asked you at least ten times why your father bought you this playstation ?"

Playstation... Oh, this thing ? During the holidays, Isaac tried his best to please his eldest son, and bought him a lot of stuffs Liam didn't use at all. He had decided to bring the playstation because Nick would be happy to have it, but he never really wanted to play with it.

"I guess he thought I would like it... After all, the games aren't that bad. And I'm quite good..."

"Dude... Your joystick isn't plugged in. I'm the only one playing since we started, like two hours ago."

A long silent followed this comment, and then, Nick burst into laughter. Okay, I look like an idiot now... Liam laughed too, kinda surprised by his own stupidity. At least, he had a funny time... Seing Nick smile had become rarer.

"I'll take another beer." stated this one once calmed. "You want something ?"

"No thanks. Imma sleep. See you tomorrow."

The next evening, when Liam arrived at Pasta's place, Judy leapt on him with excitation.

"Hi Liam ! You're late ! C'mon, I have something to show you."

She lead him towards the kitchen as fast as possible to the breakroom where they all take their diners. What is going on ? Did she see an alien ? (They had spoken about alien a few weeks ago). (Liam was convinced alien were real : he already knew two mutants, and he thought Rebecca was an alien too). (Everybody has the right to believe whatever they want to, so no teasing).

"Stop contemplating your feet and look at the TV for god sake." ordered Judy.

Obedient, he watched the screen. A presentator was explaining something about a soccer team coming in town for a match, but he didn't understand what was the matter. His boss was staring at him with the excitement of a child. Wait... Soccer team... Judy... Don't tell me...

"He's coming in town the next weekend !" yelled the young girl. "My god, Raphaël Muller is coming in town ! I count on you Liam... I want to see him here, please !"

The lad nodded slowly. His former captain probably hated him, as Barbara and the others... In which mess I get myself into exactly ?

Rebecca Tuesday November 14

"Look at this piece of shit." sniggered Matthew. "What a nerd... He even brought his charger."

Around the sophomore, the swimmers laughed. As for her, Rebecca felt an irascible urge to punch the arrogant cocky lad in the face. He had no right to speak about Nick like this. However, as Theo was next to them, she didn't dare to bring about a fight.

"Seriously captain, why are you keeping him in the team exactly ?" asked someone. "He's always dressed, never wore his swimsuit, and I don't even remember him being in the pool once."

The black girl clenched her fist angrily, but said nothing. The worst ? They were right. Nick joined the club about two and half months ago, but he had never been swimming. I wonder why... One thing was sure : the geek didn't care at all about their opinions.

"There are several reasons guys." explained the captain. "First, Liam is close to his roommate, and I kinda like this attitude. Secondly, Laura needs someone to help her with the stuffs, and Nick volunteered. You should consider him like my girlfriend's assistant more than a swimmer. Oh, and thirdly, I thinks he's funny. Any other question ?"

The boys shut their mouths up, except Matthew, who turned to Rebecca, and smiled :

"What about ya runner girl, ain't you swimming ?"

"I was warming-up." she answered prudently.

She never knew what the sophomore was planning. This asshole...

"I hope you did it well, because I want to make a race against you. One length, the faster you can."

Around them, the other started to get interested, and she quickly understood she couldn't say no. I'm not a coward, and he knows that. However, she already saw him swim frequently, and he wasn't that good.

"Rebecca, are you taking up the challenge ?" asked Theo.

She nodded, provoking a clamor of excitement.

Only the women came to encourage her before her race. The captain organised the whole thing, and now, the spectators were over-active. Matthew and her were heading towards the diving board, while their teammates took places around the pool. Even Laura and Nick had stopped their activity. It'll be the first time he watchs me... She didn't know why, but her desire to win grew with this idea. Theo was busy explaining to Liam (who was the only one still in the pool) that he had to let the place.

"Give me your best." ordered Matthew. "Don't be merciful with me only because I'm not an Olympic athlete."

"Don't worry mate, I'm used to be at one hundred percent, whoever is my opponent." she assured.

Liam left the pool, and Theo rose his arms.

"Okay everybody, I'll give the signal. One length, the fastest wins !"

They all applauded. Then, the captain whistled, and Rebecca dived. Her whole body focused, and her brain forgot about everthing except the length she had to do. Her muscles moved in coordination, as fast as possible, pushing her further in the pool. She didn't care about Matthew, Theo and the audience. She only wanted to win, as Bob trained her to. In no times, she reached the other side, and stopped. She raised her head, and looked around. The crowd was astonished. Indeed, her opponent was far behind, and finished his own race way later than her. He stared at her, manifestly shocked, and mumbled :

"Well, I guess you're better... Theo might be the only one who humiliated me like this. Well played Rebecca..."

"Thanks."

She went out of the pool, quite surprised by Matthew's reaction, but she fast enough found herself lost in the crowd of teammate who wanted to congratulate her. I wonder what Nick thought about it... Apparently, Laura and him had already left the pool, because Rebecca didn't see them anywhere.

Pete Thursday November 16

"What do you think ?" he asked.

Mike scrutinized him a long time, undecided. The football player took a mouthful of his ice cream, and then replied :

"It make you fat."

Pete looked at him, surprised, and then smiled.

"Okay, I guess I'm not taking it then."

However, when he took the top off, he discreetly put it in his bag. He needed clothes too tight, in order to emphasize his round tummy. After all, it was exactly what Theo asked for. The two roommates were doing shopping since the beginning of the afternoon, skipping classes in order to avoid students they would potentially know. Well, it was in fact Pete idea. Mike didn't realised he gained weight yet, and the short blond lad was helping him to find a new wardobe a bit wider as discreetly as possible. And I hope no one will see us, because I don't want Mike to realise what is happening. Honestly, Pete feared his roommate's reaction in that case... And besides, it was easier to stuff his face with a partner. Until now, everything had been going well, and the young freshman started to feel reassured about that. Thus, he could focus on his other problem. Since one week, he felt... paranoid. In fact, after their binge, Theo had come into his room, and they had had the most memorable night of Pete's life. He had eaten so much that he had not been even able to stand up the next morning, and had missed all his lessons this day, being in a painful foodcoma. But during the night, Theo had given him more pleasure than he had thought possible. However, the swimteam captain had then vanished. And because he spent most of his time alone or with Mike, Pete didn't know what was happening. In fact, since he had left the swimteam, he had lost almost all his friends, and was quite solitary. Plus, he was kinda addicted to weed and greasy foods. That was why he wanted Theo so badly. I don't need to be so worried... He's uncatchable. This is a part of his charm.

"Hello there." greeted suddenly a mocking voice behind them.

Mike and Pete faced Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey, and the blonde guy gulped. What the fuck is he doing here ?

"Man, it's damn Obiwan." mumbled the jerk. "Whatever. Doing some idiotic shopping ? That's fucking nice, because as far as I could saw, your whole wardobe was hella too tight."

Even the football player, usually not really shy, didn't answer. The head of the faculty's grandson had some sort of frigthening aura.

"You know Piggy, I feel fucking sorry for you. We are in this damned period of the year again." continued Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. "Leaves are falling, and moronic gluttonous animals like you are going to hibernate. Sadly, there isn't a spring for you, idiot."

The blonde lad stared at him with a lack of understanding. What the hell was telling the junior ? I knew he was a dickhead, but is he insane on top of that ?

"I guess the cocky Theophile Meyers and you shared a terrific nooky a night like what... A week ago ?"

The sentence resonated in Pete's head for a while. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey was definitely serious. How... How can he knows that ?

"C'mon mongoloid, you think you're the fucking first one ? Do you really believed the arrogant Theo just met a retard like you and decided to put his dick in your ass ? Your naivety is such a disappointment."

Pete shivered, petrified. This is a lie. It can't be true. Theo loved him. The swimteam captain loved his chubby body, and wanted him. He would not left him just like that.

"You're a liar."

The jerk smiled, obviously enjoying the moment.

"You should ask that moronic Bradley Chichao, his so-called bestfriend about it." he eventually stated. "After all, he was the first one the little bastard fucked before he decided to move on."

Pete hurtled like a crazy in the campus. He had left Mike and Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey the motherfucker at the shopping center, and had rushed straight here. Just, he still was convinced the cocky asshole lied to him, but he needed to be sure. Did Theo really throw him after that last night ? The young freshman approached Bradley Chichao in the park, who was playing guitar. Apparently, he wasn't high. Fine.

"Hi dude." started the blonde guy. "Can I ask you something a bit personal ?"

The junior stopped his music and focused on Pete. I'm sure it was a lie. They didn't even sleep together. They're roommate for god sake.

"Were Theo and you a couple, before ?"

Bradley's eyes got lost in his memories. His face showed his sadness when he answered :

"Yes, we loved eachother... He loved me, but it's over now."

That's not possible... Pete didn't want to believe it but... After all, Bradley fitted Theo's taste. He wasn't tall, but sported a prominent gut, sign of a lot of indulging in the past few years.

"It was a long time ago." explained the asian guy. "Now, we're just friends."

Friends, that's it. The freshman was worried for nothing. After all, Theo could have been loving some other boys before, but right now, he loved Pete. I don't care how many times he cheated on Laura. The most important is... he's my lover. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey was saying bullshits. It was an attempt to hurt his feelings.

"Thanks Bradley."

Pete left him, satisfied. However, the doubt was still here. Eventually, Bradley was a junkie and a fatty, and he might be still addicted to Theo. Did the captain turn me exactly like that ? Was it even possible ?

To be continued

There is one part left for chapter one !

If you wonder who is Raphaël Muller, he’s the childhood friend of Liam. He’s introduced in The HighSchool Game, where he’s playing a very important role.

Pete is about to discover something really important for the story ! You’ll see in the next part :)

[kendricksendrick]

Unusual Asks

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora?

SPOTIFY IS MY SHIT

is your room messy or clean?

i wish it was clean but i am too busy and EVERYTHING gets thrown on the floor currently

what color are your eyes?

blue

do you like your name? why?

ya its easy to spell lol

what is your relationship status?

hmm

describe your personality in 3 words or less

lowkey dead, lit

what color hair do you have?

blonde

what kind of car do you drive? color?

a fucking 2002 toyota sienna SILver

where do you shop?

anywhere i can

how would you describe your style?

skater meets pjs meets the 70′s??

favorite social media account

tbh this one

what size bed do you have?

it can fit 2 people so queen?

any siblings?

2

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

i dont.know

favorite snapchat filter?

leaves ad big glasses one

favorite makeup brand(s)

NYX tbh

how many times a week do you shower?

daily my hair greasy af and im always dirty

favorite tv show?

30 Rock

shoe size?

6/7

how tall are you?

5′2

sandals or sneakers?

fuck man i love slides, but i also love vans but i also love wearing no shoes at all

do you go to the gym?

too busy

describe your dream date

um idk ma

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment?

im a delivery driver where i work so i got some bill$ ya feel

what color socks are you wearing?

i was wearing black and white ones

how many pillows do you sleep with?

2

do you have a job? what do you do?

ok i work at Jimmy Johns 

how many friends do you have?

what kinda question is this

whats the worst thing you have ever done?

been a bitch and back stabbed

whats your favorite candle scent?

idk lemon

3 favorite boy names

hmm

3 favorite girl names

Lia

uh

yep idk

favorite actor?

Zack Efren

favorite actress?

ANNA KENDRICK my love

who is your celebrity crush?

tied for anna kendrick and brittany snow but also now blake lively fuc

favorite movie?

pitch perfect’s also Silence of the Lambs

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?

wish i had more time to read

money or brains?

brains

do you have a nickname? what is it?

may may

how many times have you been to the hospital?

been in it 1x lol

top 10 favorite songs

oh god just look up hannah may on spotify

do you take any medications daily?

birth control so i dont bleed to death or something 

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)

idk

what is your biggest fear?

hmm idk give me one

how many kids do you want?

2??

whats your go to hair style?

down or low messy bun or braid

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)

medium?

who is your role model? me bitch

what was the last compliment you received?

“I like your socks”

what was the last text you sent?

“lol sounds good to me” to my internship supervisor ha

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?

fuck idk

what is your dream car?

not a minivan

opinion on smoking?

i dont do it but i dont care just not in my face

do you go to college?

no but want to 

what is your dream job?

god damn idk 

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs?

suburb probs

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?

um yes

do you have freckles?

ya but kinda poopy ones hah

do you smile for pictures?

ye

how many pictures do you have on your phone?

so many

have you ever peed in the woods?

yea when i was fishing

do you still watch cartoons?

when i have time

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds?

WENDYS but mcd’s for fries

Favorite dipping sauce?

ketchup

what do you wear to bed?

tshirt and underwear

have you ever won a spelling bee?

pff no i used to get out on purpose

what are your hobbies?

band

can you draw?

not really

do you play an instrument?

clarinets and sax’s

what was the last concert you saw?

Modern Day Romeos

tea or coffee?

coffee

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?

starbucks

do you want to get married?

yes!

what is your crush’s first and last initial?

A.F.

are you going to change your last name when you get married?

boi idk

what color looks best on you?

blue?

do you miss anyone right now?

eya

do you sleep with your door open or closed?

CLOSED

do you believe in ghosts?

fuck yea i got beat up by one once

what is your biggest pet peeve?

when i tell someone to lose my door multiple times and they still dont

last person you called`

the random number that called me

favorite ice cream flavor?

mint choco chip

regular oreos or golden oreos?

eew regular only wtf

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?

CHOCOLATE

what shirt are you wearing?

freshman year marching band t

what is your phone background?

my lake fiends and a PINK background

are you outgoing or shy?

both?

do you like it when people play with your hair?

YES PLS DO

do you like your neighbors?

eh

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning?

in the shower..

have you ever been high?

no i wishh ha

have you ever been drunk?

ugh again i wish i wasrn tbh

last thing you ate?

oatmeal

favorite lyrics right now

“ I still remember the moment we met The touch that he planted The garden he left I guess the rain was just half that effect “ -Julia Michaels, ‘Heaven’

summer or winter?

summaa

day or night?

nightss

dark, milk, or white chocolate?

milk only

favorite month?

july and november

what is your zodiac sign

Virgo

who was the last person you cried in front of?

um idk 

[nickrbockr]

Simon Vs Fan Fic: Chapter 8 - Chemistry Plus Timing Times Confidence

Ao3

November didn’t last long and we were all finding ourselves at the airport to fly home for Thanksgiving. Leah and I booked our flight together, of course, and we sat at our gate with snacks, Leah with something healthy, me with Oreos of course. She was using airport wifi to work on a last-minute article for Buzzfeed and I was texting Bram and playing time wasting games on my phone.

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be all fun and games for Leah this year. As a member of the five-year reunion committee they took this advantage to schedule a meeting to help decide when and where (and if time, why?).

I broke the news to Mom and Dad that I decided to propose to Bram alone. Mom was hiding the fact she was just a little disappointed with rehearsed responses, but she was still supportive. Dad was supportive and he let me know that this was unlike me.

“So you’re going the surprise route. I must say that I’m surprised you picked that path. Bram won’t know what’s coming.”

Dad also told me he had finally taken care of the rings, but that I couldn’t see them yet.

“I want it to be a surprise to the both of you.” Dad told me over the phone. This, surprisingly, only hiked up my anxiety a little.

Since Halloween weekend with Bram, I’ve been uncharacteristically calm. I felt like I experienced an awakening and became more mature. Or that I've been being slipped Valium by Leah unknowingly. Either way, it was a weird feeling as I’ve lived with anxiety Simon for so long.

“Okay Dad, I get it, but I’ll need to see them eventually, like when I actually propose to him?” I say sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, don’t worry you’ll love it!”

I hung up the phone and Leah looked at me with nostalgia. “I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving. This year has flown the F by.”

“You’re telling me, the show opens next week. It felt like I just came back from visiting Bram.”

After that weekend, Bram returned to flying under the radar, though he always made sure to text me between classes and work. Seems his busy year picked right back up, but he’ll be home this week for Thanksgiving, giving us an opportunity to spend a decent amount of time with each other.

“We’re two months away from the proposal,” Leah started, patting my knee. “How do you feel?”

“We're?” I laugh. “Yeah, I feel really great about it.”

“Good, you should. I think it’s nice you’re doing it privately.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s so unlike you that it will be an honest surprise to Bram. He’ll love it.”

Her phone vibrated and she laughed.

“Ian says hi.” She showed me a picture on her phone of Ian taken in our kitchen after finding the food we  cooked for him. It was a surprised and happy face. He couldn’t go home this year for Thanksgiving and Leah and I didn’t like that, so we cooked him all the typical side dishes found at Thanksgiving and left him instructions on how to cook the small chicken. I know it wasn’t turkey but we didn’t think Ian could eat an entire turkey in a few days…right?

“So Ian’s cool,” I state, obviously trying to pick Leah’s brain over a suspicion I’ve had for a few months. They were subtle hints, but only ones me or Nick could have picked up.

“Yeah, he is. It’s nice you have him up here so we can share your Simonisms.” She said as she bit into her apple. “I was worried because I didn’t have Abby or Nick to help me, but everything worked out great.”

“Uh-huh…you know, Ian has yet to have a long-term girlfriend, just so you’re aware.” I pretended to go right back to the game on my phone.

Leah turned and eyed with a defensive glare. “And why would that interest me at all?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I think that at his core, Ian is a relationship guy who just never found the right girl to show him that.”

I turn to meet her defensive glare that now downgraded to a mild annoyance glare. “How could you tell?”

“You laughed when he burped, Leah.” I say, laughing. “You’ve never laughed at a bodily function before and Nick is full of them."

She smiled. “I dunno. Maybe I’ve changed too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, I think I’ve softened in college.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I ask.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Well,” I turn my body towards her in the uncomfortable airport chairs. “I personally don’t think you’ve changed that much. The only thing that I noticed is that you’re still the powerful, determined Leah that I’ve always known. But you know, even a porcupine can petted if you rub it the right way.”

“I’m a porcupine?!” Leah laments, laughing. “You’re the worst.”

“I don’t think you’re comprising yourself by falling in like with someone we’ve known for three years.” I follow up in a more serious tone with a small, Simon smile. “I mean Bram and I knew each other since Freshman yeah of high school and we never talked. But he couldn’t help the feelings he developed and I’m glad he took a change. Albeit, a long, drama-filled chance, but a chance nonetheless.” I finish smiling again.

“Maybe that’s it. That I know your proposing and my biological clock began to tick. Ugh! I hate it.”

“Don’t hate it, Leah. But you also don’t have to act on anything if you’re not ready or don’t want to. That’s the whole thing with dating, it’s chemistry plus timing times confidence.”

Leah quietly grabbed my hand to both thank me and to get me to stop talking about it. And I did.

We got on the flight and it always surprised me how short it was. As soon as I would get into my book, the pilot would tell us they were preparing for arrival.

Mom and Dad picked us up from the airport and Nora was in the back seat as well.

“Hey Si, Leah,” Nora spoke, not looking from her phone as we got into the back seat of the car. It appeared she eased into the new band she was forming with her friends in our garage to Dad’s quiet displeasure (I can’t get ot my tools when I need them cause they’re in there every day!). Seems she needed to over compensate in cool since the last Spier attended Creekwood.

“Busy as usual, Nora. Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule.”

She shoots me the peace sign and returns to her phone. If Bram were with us, she’d be already deep in conversation.

“Alice won’t be here until Thanksgiving day itself,” Mom informed me, a bit of melancholy in her voice. “Her trip was extended because apparently library staff can’t understand how computers work!” Mom slams the steering wheel to all of our bugged eyes. Don’t try to get between a mama bear and her cubs, no matter their age.

“I’m sure she wishes she could be here.” I reply.

“She does,” Nora responds, showing me the text from Alice saying the exact same thing.

The drive home is filled with questions about school from Mom and Dad to Leah and me and before Leah could answer question seventeen, we were at her house.

“Thanks for the ride you guys.”

“Anytime,” Mom responded. We drove the two seconds to our driveway and as soon as Nick saw the car in the driveway, he came over.

“Nick, how are ya?” Dad said while hugging him.

“Great, New York is craaazzyyy. Having a hell of a time keeping up but that’s what coffee is for right?”

“Right, right. I don’t know how you do it kid, but you’re doing it. Keep it up.”

“Thanks Mr. Spier.”

Nick followed us inside and we both went to my room.

“So Abby wanted me to talk to you.”

“Oh?” I said pulling out my computer and setting on my desk.

“Yeah. So…don’t be mad.” He starts.

“Not the best way to start, but continue,” I tease.

“Abby and I didn’t break up.”

I shot him a puzzled look. “That’s great! Why would I be mad?” I hug him and he hugs me back half-heartedly. I backed up and he was staring at the ground.

“Yeah, we didn’t break up, but we’re in an open relationship.”

My puzzled look returned with greater cartoon expression. “Oh.” My ‘oh’ wasn’t negative or positive, it just was.

“We just thought, that…it would be easier to tell people that we were broken up because if you tell people it’s an open relationship, they just ask so many questions about it.”

“Okay,” I respond, trying not ask questions about it, but I did have one. “Bram knew about this part too, didn’t he?”

“This is the part I didn’t want you to get mad at.” Nick said finally looking me in the eye. I smiled and shook my head.

“Nick, I’m not mad. Not mad at all.”

“Wait, really?” he replied, shocked.

I started to unpack my clothes from my suitcase.

“Really.Bram is a good friend and I never asked about it so he never had to lie, and even if he did have to lie to me he'd have his reasons.”

“Simon? Is that actually you Si?” Nick joked.

“In the flesh.”

“Okay…well I was expecting an entirely different conversation, so now I don’t know what to do.” Nick said, while texting someone on his phone.

“This may sound crazy, but you’re talking to the right guy about lying about a part of your life because you didn’t want to be asked questions immediately or have people think of you differently.” I smile as I place my hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, you mean you and the gayness.” We both burst out laughing as my hand turned to a fist and I punched him.

“Nick, it’s your life. And if you both are okay with it and happy and it works, then why wouldn't I be happy for you guys?”

Nick smiled and kicked around his feet. “Thanks, dude. Really.”

“Duh, ya idiot. So is that it?”

“You want to ask questions, don’t you?”

“SO MANY QUESTIONS!” I yell. “But only one. Is there someone one of you met that drove you to talk about this?”

“Well, we both…kinda met someone. We’re dating her as a couple.”

“No fuckin’ way.” Nick shook his head with a grin. “That’s what you’ve been trying to do since middle school. Two girls?! Middle school you must be so happy.”

“You know it! Best part, it wasn’t my idea, it was Abby’s.”

There was a knock at the door and Abby entered.

“Simon, I’m so sorry I didn’t come with Nick I was so nervous how you’d react and I got scared but I’m so glad you’re not mad at us.” Abby said in one long breath as she hugged me hard.

I told her roughly the same thing I told Nick.

“Si, no offence, but you’re reacting so…chill to all of this.”

“Well, in the interest of being honest, I’ve been much more chill ever since Bram and I stopped using condoms.”

Nick and Abby shot me an expression of happy confusion until Nick spoke.

“Oh, wait, is that a big deal?” Nick said.

“I thought you guys already did that.” Abby added.

“No! And it’s kinda a big deal. It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, whatever you guys are doing to make this Simon appear, keep it up.” Nick said.

“Oh I intend to,” I joke. “So Nick tells me you guys met a gal, huh?”

“Yes, we did…and you’re sure you’re okay with this?”

“Abbs, of course. Look I’m happy if you guys are happy. And non-traditional relationships are kind of an automatic for me.”

“Bram was right; we should have listened to him.”

I smiled. I love that Bram knows me so well, like we’re building hive mind. I also love that I’m becoming less of a nuisance to my friends. You do learn a lot about yourself in college. It honestly didn’t bother me and why should it? If this is what they want, this is what they want.

“Me too. I guess I’m growing up. Sorry guys.”

“So only you and Bram know about the open relationship, we’re going to tell Leah tonight and I think it goes without saying to not bring it up to your parents?”

“I don’t know, they were pretty responsive to me telling them I was gay.”

We went downstairs and Mom and Dad made Abby and Nick stay for lunch and they did once Nick deeply inhaled the barbecue pork Mom was cooking in the Crockpot.

“When is Bram getting in?” Nick asked, mouth slathered in barbecue sauce.

“Tonight at eight. He had to stay a little later on Saturday to finish up some work.”

“God that boy works hard.” Abby says, taking a bite of potato salad.

“Attention to detail is his forte,” I reply. “When we first started talking when he was Blue, he told me he figured it was me almost right away due to my speech patterns.”

“Awwww,” Abby crooned.

We talked further about Bram until Dad asked Abby and Nick about their projects in New York. After Nick finished his third sandwich, Abby and Nick bounced leaving me alone with Mom and Dad.

“So, since you’re privately proposing,” Mom said. “Where do you think you’ll do it?”

While Leah slept on the flight, I was thinking of multiple scenarios

“I think I want to give Bram the gold standard of proposals: I want to cook him dinner here-”

“YES!” Mom shouted as Dad placed his hand on her shoulder and calmed her down.”

“Yeah, but no hidden cameras to capture anything, Mom, promise me that.”

“I will be sure she doesn’t,” Dad chimed in.

“So yes, dinner here, then some movies, just…very low key and casual so that he doesn’t suspect anything. Then I will bring him into my room when I’ll have candles on my desk and maybe rose petals on the bed spelling out ‘Bram’ so he has to walk close to it and when he turns around to ask me what this is about I’m already on my knee, with the ring from Dad…and I shut the door and behind it hanging are hundreds of pictures of us from the last four years…but that’s just my first thoughts, what do you think.”

Mom’s hands were clasped around her mouth as she breathed heavily to try to control her tears. Dad nodded his head and smiled.

“That’s a pretty solid first thought, Si. Simple but powerful, always effective, I’m sure he’ll love it.”

“I was thinking of writing him a poem too, you know, get on his level, make him realize how much he means to me.” Bram’s was getting his degree in professional journalism, but he always writes me the best small, three sentence poems that make me swoon even deeper in love with him. “Try to speak his language.”

“Simon, that sounds…perfect.” Mom advised. “The most perfect thing in the world. He will have no choice but to say yes.”

I smile, confidently. Ever since Elijah told me I was confident, I guess I discovered more and more everyday that I really have been, even when I thought I was a coward. People can tell you over and over again that you are something, but unless you are ready to believe it yourself, it seems like they’re so wrong.

“Then I better get started, I want to be sure it’s perfect.”

I usually tell at least Leah everything, but this was something that I wanted to stay mine and mine alone. I want it to be so obviously me that Bram knew I wrote it with no help from an outside source. But, it seems it’s easier said than done.

My pen taps my notebook as I lay on my bed and stare off in the distance thinking about what things come to my mind when I think about Bram (both appropriate for a poem and less appropriate).

Grammar. Writing. Planning. Cautious. Loving. Smile. Brown eyes. Soccer. Calves. Cute. Sexy.

I know where this going, so I wrote a bunch of words down that came to mind when I thought of Bram and they started forming sentences. Some were nonsensical, but is that what poetry is? Out of a few pages a few good lines jumped out at me, but I wanted to spend more time on it so I hid it between the mattresses (on my side so Bram doesn’t notice if he stays the night).

Bzzz.

Bram I’m about to board, I’ll see you so soon! <<33

 Safe flight! I will be there to pick you up :)

. .. … I love telling people my boyfriend is picking me up from the airport. My boyfriend. Is it still weird to hear yourself say that phrase?

 Kinda. Only because it wasn’t something I thought could be an option Then I met you and I forgot all about that

. .. … Listen here, I was the one with the crush on you first! Jacques a dit. Oh, my group is next, see you shortly!

I can feel his energy in his text messages and its infections, flowing through my fingers, into my blood, and directly to my heart. Little Brams running through my blood and posting up in my heart. Well, his heart, cause I have his and he has mine per his poetic musings.

I quickly write that thought on my pad and bide my time with Nora until it’s time for me to leave for the airport.

I be sure to get there early and circle the arrivals area until he texted me that he landed. Round and round until it gets me dizzy like feel every I see Bram for the first time if it’s been more than a day.

And there he is, suitcase and backpack, looking like a sculpted statue where the sculptor focused on the calves. I wave to him like a dork because it’s an involuntary reaction when I see him. He tilts his head and smiles as he beelines towards the car.

“Hi!”

“Hi, Peanut!” He says as he places his luggage in the back. I knew I didn’t like it, but I did say I’d easily fall in love with it and it may be working.

He gets in the front seat and my pulse increases as he kisses me tenderly, his lips not chapped from the flight. Anytime we’re in a car together it always brings me back to his Honda Civic the day after the ferris wheel when both of us wanted until we could no longer contain ourselves. I leaned over and kissed him again for bringing the memory back.

“It’s so nice to have a real week off. I didn’t have to bring any work back with me.” He bragged as he picked up my iPod and searched through it to see any new releases to mentally catalog to listen to later. He finally picked a song and leaned his head on my shoulder the entire ride back to my house.

Mom and Dad know in the years of college that the first day we are back in Shady Creek, we stay with each other, this year it happens to my house.

We bring in his things and as soon as Nora hears Bram is in the house she runs downstairs.

“Bram!”

“Hey Nora, aren’t you the girl in that popular Creekwood band?”

“Working on it. You’re staying here this year right?”

“You know it.”

“Awesome. Come listen to some stuff we recorded last week.”

I wish Nora looked at me the way she looks at Bram. He looks at me and nod him away towards her room as she runs up the stairs. He kisses me on the cheek and follows her upstairs. She can borrow him now, I’m going to have him the rest of our lives.

*   *   *   *

“Happy Thanksgiving!!”

This was the first year that, after four years of dating, that I arranged The Greenfeld and Spier families to have Thanksgiving together.

Extra leaves were in our large kitchen table and sat all of us comfortably around it as Ruth ambled around after eating only a few bites of turkey and cranberry sauce.

The Dads sat at the head of the table with their respective wives to their right. Tracy sat on Ellijah’s left next to Bram, who was next to me. On my left Alice and I were in conversation and across from me was Nora and an empty seat to her where Ruth’s mostly full plate resided.

“I’m glad we were finally able to do this,” I mention. “Bram always mentioned we had similar Thanksgiving traditions, especially the one of eating Thanksgiving dinner at dinner time instead of one o’clock.”

“I mean,” Elijah started, “what the heck is that about?”

“No idea,” Dad joked back. Dad was always good at making people laugh. It was never what he said, but how he said it.

“These potatoes are delicious, Tracy.” My mom added.

“Thank you, they’re Abraham’s favorite.”

Bram blushed. It was so cute to see him revert to Quiet Bram Greenfeld when he was eating with a large group of people.

“So how does it feel you two to be almost done with school,” Alice asked while sipping her wine.

“Great,” Bram answered (surprisingly) first. “I’m ready to be done with school assignments and focus on real stories.”

“Yeah,” I add, “Bram’s already looking for places in New York and we have Abby and Nick keeping an eye on any diamonds in the rough.”

“If worst comes to worst, we can always stay with Nick and Abby for awhile.” Bram plans.

I smile lightly because if we’re engaged I don’t want to share him with roommates. I also see Elijah’s eyebrow raise and look at me slightly, knowing I’m going to be an actor trying to make it in New York.

“I know that acting won’t give me that much to begin,” I start.

“Hey,” Bram comforts.

“No, it’s true, but the play that opens next week, the playwright lives in New York and really likes me, so there’s another connection on top of the professor’s former students and friends. Plus Abby and Nick’s connections, I mean knowing a guy from Julliard has to have its perks.”

Tracy smiles and winks at me, almost saying ‘good answer’ as Elijah gives me a surprised smile.

“I can always find a part time job as well, I mean all actors usually wait tables or bartend, I know the risks involved.”

Thanksgiving always turns into an interview.

“We could live in a box on the street in Mid-Town, as long as we’re together.” Bram intervenes, sensing where the conversation could head and stopping it. My Mom smiles at me as Dad nods his head approvingly.

“You guys are always welcome to visit me when I’m in New York, they have a lot of libraries.” Alice adds. “Then we can order room service and bill the company.”

“You know we’ll do that,” I answer.

“The gauge rig is pretty!” Ruth says to Elijah.

I smile at Elijah as he looks at me.

“Gauge rig?” I ask, trying to move the topic off of me and onto one of the fishing terms I remembered from Provincetown. “You already taking her to the ocean?”

Bram looked at me with surprise, probably wondering how I knew it had to do with fishing.

“Just up at Lake Lanier for now, but she’s just like her old man and loves the water.”

Bram looked at me and smiled. “Look at you mister fisherman.”

“What can I say?”

Whew. Thankfully Bram left it at that. Dad’s eyes bugged because mine couldn’t and it made me laugh.

The rest of dinner was wonderful and we all got to talking in various groups. Bram was talking to Mom, Alice, and Nora in the kitchen as Tracy and Elijah and I were in the living room.

“You almost blew your cover there, son.” Elijah joked.

Nervous heat overwhelmed me as I put my face I my palm.

“I know, and I’ve been so good up to that point. Thanks for not asking me how I knew that.”

“Well it’s not a real term anyway, you are meshing two words about fishing together, but luckily you’re not the only actor.” Elijah laughs heartily.

“So, sweetie, do you know how you’re,” she looked at her son in the kitchen deep in conversation with my family. “Propose?” She whispered.

I told them the same thing I told Mom and Dad: roses, pictures, Poem, ring.

“Very nice, Simon,” Elijah approved. “Very nice.”

“That sounds so perfect. I wish I could get it on video.”

“I’ll take pictures after, I promise.” I said, sipping my water. “But now onto the other fun joint family tradition!”

“Let’s do it!”

We all cleared the table and played board games until at least midnight. Ruth had fallen asleep shortly after dinner and was up in my bed.

During one of the breaks in between the games, Bram found me lost in thought looking out the window staring at my old car that was Nora’s now. He laid his head on my shoulder.

“Tonight was the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had.”

I pulled him closer as we looked at my car. The car we got coffee in and the car I drove Bram to school the entirety of our senior year.

“Tonight was the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had too.”

“Come on guys,” Mom pokes her head in. “Time to play Scattergories and hear your father’s stories defending his bad answers.”

Bram and I said we’d be in shortly and Mom left the living room. I pulled Bram closer to me and we shared a kiss and went into the kitchen. We all laughed and played and it was a great, relaxing, family moment of two families coming together. It’s exactly the moment I wanted to repeat every year for the rest of my life.

[sarohara]

You both like Friends.

Stranger: 1

You: 2

Stranger: 3

You: 4

Stranger: 5

You: what is that

You: hahaha

You: 6

Stranger: 7

You: 8

Stranger: I don't know

Stranger: 9

You: I don't either

You: 10

Stranger: Damn u lost

Stranger: U got 2 numbers

You: No I didn't!!!

Stranger: Yeah u did!

You: ohhhhhhhh

Stranger: You just a sore loser

You: Shut up darling

Stranger: Damnnn we are moving fast honey

You: We are? No idea what you're talking about, hun

Stranger: Hmmm maybe I'm crazy suger

You: Yes you are

Stranger: Yeah probably I did say to people that I shat my pants for like a couple minutes ago

You: Hahahahahahaha

You: what did they say?

Stranger: Well nothing much most skiped and some did say great or why

You: Hahahah I mean...lmao there isn't really much to say

Stranger: True true

Stranger: Tho it would spice up the conversation

Stranger: Can't be bothered to say hi all the time

Stranger: It's boring

You: I mean, if you're on omegle it's because you're bored so it makes sense that is boring duh

Stranger: Yeah true true

Stranger: I have heard boring to many times now that it's starting to get annoying when I see the word boring

You: Yeah right? So boring!!!

Stranger: Haha I see what you did there 🥲

You: Hahahah did you?

Stranger: Yupp

Stranger: Soo where u from

You: Brazil, you?

Stranger: Sweden

You: that's pretty cool

You: and what's ur name again?

Stranger: Brazil is much cooler tho

You: I mean, not again

Stranger: My name is Eddy and you?

You: I don't think so, hun

You: Eddy, it sounds like a nickname actually

You: Like Ed

Stranger: It is actually

You: Sheeran

You: Oh yea?

Stranger: Yea

Stranger: My real name is tooo weird and hard to pronounce

You: Tell me

Stranger: Whats your name

You: Sarah!

Stranger: Nice too meet you Sarah!

Stranger: Well my real name is Erdijan

You: Nice to meet u too!

Stranger: Bet you can't pronounce it

You: Oh shoot.

You: Erdijan

Stranger: Hint the E is silent

You: That's...hard

Stranger: Yup that's why I say my name is Eddy

You: well Erdijan is a nice name tho

You: Exotic I guess?

Stranger: Thank you 😊

Stranger: Haha yeah 🤣 it is

You: Np :)

You: Hahaha I can tell!

Stranger: So Sarah how old are you

You: Take a guess, Eddy

Stranger: Hmmmm 17

You: Closeee

Stranger: 18

You: 16

Stranger: Whaaattt no wayyy

You: 17 in two months

Stranger: Same here

You: Ohh that's dope!!

Stranger: Oh wow happy early birthday

You: hahahah thank you!!!!

Stranger: My birthday is like in 4 mounts I think

You: Hmmm november?

Stranger: Close but its October

You: You mean three months hahah

Stranger: Oh shit

You: Where's your math bro

You: hahahah jk!!

Stranger: I actually don't know

Stranger: I suck at math but I still got a D

Stranger: I gotta thank my teacher who helped me cheat

You: What does a D mean tho?

You: Hahaha you had such a cool teacher huh

Stranger: It's the grade we got on here so it's like F E D C B A so on

Stranger: F is the worst and A is the best

You: Ohhh I see!!!

You: we got like 7 8 9 10

Stranger: Hahah nahhh she used to scream at me at first because I sucked at math so much

You: Numbers, not letters

Stranger: Oh wow really

Stranger: I never knew that

Stranger: I thought everyone had like F - A

You: I thought everyone had like 7-10

You: ahahahhah

Stranger: Hahah then we both are wrong

You: Yess!!

Stranger: Soo what are your hobbies Sarah

You: Dancing

You: Writing

Stranger: Oh really

You: Napping

You: Eating

Stranger: I gotta learn how to dance

You: well I can help you sometime hahaha

Stranger: Hahha maybe one day

You: Yea lmao

You: What are your hobbies?

Stranger: Breathing and just trying to stay alive at this point

You: don't tell me you're depressed

Stranger: Nah I like to work out little bit and just chill

Stranger: Nahhh

Stranger: I'm not

You: Oh! good!!

You: You like to work out???

Stranger: Yeah like going to the gym and so on

You: I've never heard anyone say that they like to work out

Stranger: Tho I have only been going to the gym now 1 month I think

You: Trying to get fit?

Stranger: Yeah well I didn't like it in the beginning until my friend forced me to work out with him

Stranger: Yupp

You: He forced you? That's how you know he's a real one

You: Hahahahaha

Stranger: My friend is always calling me when im going to sleep somehow its like he knows what I'm doing

Stranger: Hahah definitely

Stranger: Now its me that is calling him to go work out

You: Hahahah the tables have turned!

Stranger: Hahaha for sure 🤣

You: 🤣

Stranger: Dude is always saying to me if you don't come today u got to do more the next day

Stranger: He's a real one

You: Hahahahahaha I wish I had that kind of friends

Stranger: Hahaha yeah those people are the greatest

You: I bet, dude

You: 🤣

Stranger: But ngl the dude is damn jacked up

Stranger: I knew this dude for 6 years and I didn't see him for a couple months

Stranger: Dude got so big I didn't know it was him

You: Oh wow!!!

Stranger: Soo what about you do you some friends like that

You: My friends are as lazy as me

You: So...no

Stranger: Hahah well thats still good

Stranger: It's fun to be lazy as long as you guys hang out

You: We don't really..anymore

Stranger: Oh damn for real what happened

You: I mean we do, but not as much as we used to, ya know?

You: Like covid stuff, it's still kinda tough in Brazil

You: and most of them started to work so...

You: They're becoming adults haha

Stranger: Oh wow already

Stranger: Well time is changing but don't worry tho ones corona is gone I bet you will get friends and start to hang out with then

Stranger: Them

Stranger: Same here for me too cause all my friends are now changing school because we are starting college

You: Hopefully!!

You: Starting college at 16??

Stranger: Yupp

Stranger: We got a different school system

You: That's impressive

Stranger: Highschool is like 7-9 graders they are like 14 to 16 years old

Stranger: Then we got to college

You: I'll be starting at like 17

You: Ohhh got it!

You: That's so cool

You: I wish

Stranger: Yeah its cool tho it sucks my friends I got to know these 3 years are going to different schools and so on

Stranger: But im lucky tho cause I got like 5 friends

Stranger: So we will probably meet again

You: Oh yeah I feel ya

You: 5 friends, that's a lot I would say haha

Stranger: Haha are you sure about that 😅

Stranger: Well I wasn't that popular or had many friends in school so I'm glad I finally left that school

Stranger: There was annoying people there

You: I mean, that's a lot if they're like..real ones you know? It's a good amount

Stranger: True true

You: Yeah annoying people, that's life

Stranger: One of my "Friends" almoste stole my jacket from me in our first year

Stranger: Friend

You: Hahahahaha I don't blame them

Stranger: Hahaha well it's alright I forgave him

You: I mean my friends used to do that a lot but like..it wasn't really stealing you know

Stranger: When my big brother found out oh boy he was mad as hell and called that dude and terrorized him

You: omg whyyyy

Stranger: Well this dude was stealing from me

Stranger: He didn't even say nothing to ne

Stranger: Me

You: I mean..he was your friend

You: Couldn't you just ask him to give it back to you?

Stranger: Dude put my jacket in his backpack and acted like he was trying to help me find it

Stranger: Nope

You: Oh no!!1

You: He wasn't a real one

Stranger: Yup that's why I said "friend"

Stranger: I had to last out with him for 3 years straight

You: oh ya you did haha

You: Dang

Stranger: Dude was always talking about girls and so on

Stranger: Nothing else just girls

You: Did you get your jacket back tho?

Stranger: Yep

You: Oh that's annoying

You: Like only talk about girls and guys

Stranger: Funny thing is he came to my home and tried to return it tho I wasn't at home when my mom found out ufff she was screaming at him

Stranger: Dude got scared by my mom

Stranger: Yeah too anyoning

You: Dang...

You: kinda embarrassing

Stranger: Dude didn't stop we always said talk about something else

Stranger: Yeah

You: Ugh If I were you I would probably just ignore him

You: or something

You: and Eddy

Stranger: Well I did try

Stranger: Didn't work

Stranger: Yeah sarah

You: Do you have any social media?

You: Instagram..

Stranger: Yeah I got snap insta

Stranger: Yeah I do

Stranger: My insta is Dumbass_Eddy

You: Ohh Imma follow you there hold up

You: wait ahahahah

You: dumbass eddy? hahahahahah

You: that's funny

Stranger: Hahaha yeah

Stranger: Thanks

Stranger: Well I am a dumbass sometimes

You: I guess everybody

Stranger: True true

Stranger: Well Sarah add me on insta

Stranger: Because I got to go to sleep

Stranger: It's like 3am for me

You: ohh okay :) goodnight!!

Stranger: Good night Il talk to you tomorrow

You: Alright eddy :) see ya

Stranger: See yaaa

[fireflythecinnamonjollyrancher]

hello it is once again time for my end of the year wrap up. this should be... interesting

january

finally finally got to have a happy apartment experience!!!!! tried out tea drops which are dope. there was a fair amount of stress revolving around APO induction and the musical rehearsal, but we made it!!! partied hardy (the infamous tess in the washing machine incident) kelli was watching always sunny more often than not. i wore some arguably bad clothing but ya know. gays. we tried to take off my closet door (it did NOT work). the beginning of the goose saga! there was a sleet storm so kelli and i made some popcorn and watched mike birbiglia’s new special. darci, kelli and i went out to eat and then ended up in babcock playing air hockey before watching videos with kai who was on duty. PEP BAND???? some good memories formed there. dogs in the library! got bullied by my library boss to put gas in my car and i sent her a video of proof that i did it “daddy long legs” “stop. what?” “the musical” (i do love timothy) i actually practiced my instrument lol wild. WE (becky, celeste, timothy and i) WATCHED SPIRIT and got wildly drunk -- the origin of “[redacted] [redacted] who???” which is my favorite joke.

february

MORE PEP BAND im actually really glad i spent my last few college months dicking around with the band. one man drumline!!! kai made some good tiktoks in our apartment! miss hanging with them it was really fun. oh i hung out with sam and celeste watching movies “he was a boy, she was a dolphin, can i make it anymore [strangled dolphin noises]” OUR MICROWAVE HANDLE BROKE OFF while kelli was gone man that entire apartment was falling apart (hey dumbass grab from top) -- a list of things that were broken in our apartment: fridge light, front entry light, showerhead, phone. the birth of the beans insta!!!! got hit on when i was at taco bell with timothy by being accused of being trans (taco bell guy was not far off to be fair). oh the improv posters as compared to the posters i built for an organization fair. went out and got daRUNK at what appears to be wandas. really struggled with my period. cut hair with kelli n darci. MOZZ STICKS. “you still a lil bitch???” oh we did kpy pal-entines!!! where we ate good food and watched the princess bride!!! i received the plush goose. there was a possible bombing at the bank next door to where we rehearsed for band. aw i went on a tommy’s date with becky that was cute. they tried to STEAL the QUESO. disagreed with a curb and still have those scars. worked a horrible gig at the theatre. closing shifts at the library baby! middle school tours EW more library dogs! fish hooks song oh my god. drunk mash nights!!! i rewatched HAVEN and had lots of feelings. actually got drunk alone a lot which was Bad. however michael malloys birthday! watched choir concert at work lol. stats final whilst drunk!!!! becky got a piercing

march

here things go downhill rapidly. hit up the trains at least once. oh late library nights with timothy!!!! the best nights i miss hanging with him while at work. struggled with my car. went on a college sponsored adventure to a back alley farm. SCURVY FEARS. opening shifts that were lonely. oh celeste played plague and named it covid and won lol yikes. the infamous apartment cone. we stayed up long enough to see the sunrise on literally the last day in college I would ever have. that was good. I FOUND OUT KELLI HAD GLASSES im still pissed. came home indefinitely. went to st patty’s day at brookes with karrigan and that was SO much fun (this was before things seemed real) the best part of that was the irish pub owner who happened to have a son that went to my college. got my mom onto tik tok. took a gay lit class. can’t believe i took daily fckn walks around the pasture who was i. hosted virtual meetings for apo and played around with the closed captioning. that was fun. shaved my moms head lmaooo. worked on my capstone which im like super proud of? i wish i could have directed it but say law vee. 

april

BAGPIPE CORPS INTERNATIONAL. virtual band wreaked havoc on my animals mental health. my grandmother would always bug me while i was working which i understand now was misplaced love but it was so irritating at the time. we had library meetings once a week or so that was vital to mental health. hosted a really fun “panel” about queer identity for my queer lit class that was able to educate a lot of people. having a capstone class with am*lia was a nightmare. watched a cirque du soleil show for free and lost my mind. wrote a comedic monologue that i suffered through. suffered through papers and projects. worked on a project with celeste and kelli and we had SUCH a good time. i hosted several jackbox nights for both apo and kpy. that was SUCH an exhausting experience. also uno and drawful with the uno group (kelli would win 100% of the time). ranted about group projects lol i struggled. OH THE MOVE OUT DEBACLE i really went off the deep end. kelli’s virtual birthday!!!!

may

we had so many good jackbox nights. academic showcase and honors convocation happened wherein i was name bronco award winner and that really wrecked me too lol. we had a sunday crew hang out for library workers. clarinet game night too! i tried so hard to build community during covid and im not altogether sure i accomplished it but ya know whatever. watsky broke the record! made my “aced it” grad cap which was so FUNNY and still is tbh. becky taught me how to do makeup. took grad pictures at an abandoned farmhouse lol OH MY GOSH BEAUX ARTS AND APO SKIT i was so proud of that night and annette said it was the best one we’d ever had. wish i had done more but we did it boys. also got VERY drunk for it lol completely redid my room. bc it was NASTY. the way i write papers is so SO funny to me. had our last capstones class and then dressed in grad outfits for our last lit meeting . graduated and got all my stuff from college finally. went shopping with timothy, had el puerto with becky (i think?). oh the infamous miller moths UGH shit is nasty. THE FORMING OF BANJO SHRIMPS occurred on may 24 2020 and that was the absolute best thing to come out of this year. started working at my dads agency which was the absolute worst thing to come out of this year. attended my first protest in cos which was good and healthy. started protesting regularly after that. my most poignant memory was laying down in front of city hall and chanting “i cant breathe” for 8 minutes. 

june

it snowed???? i was angry. part of my job was reading my dad’s email and there was some WACKO shit in there. went to brookes for pride as a surprise which was cute n fun. had a horrible interaction with a client. the appearance of the bigfoot statue!!!! we had a vanilla beans hang out. there was a WILD storm that literally made my hide out in the office. 

july

went on a bonkers rant about america bc fuck this place. helped mom out with homework. we had several clients get divorces which was messy. went to a Bad party where i was angry the whole time. went to the top of pikes peak with my grandma and saw many much bigfoot things. we got a GOOSE he hated us so much. oh there was a night where darci and kai came over and we hijacked kelli’s spotify and communicated that way it was SO funny. took a video of the dichotomy of man bc of my long ass leg hair and short ass head hair. shaved my head to the BONE and tried dragon fruit. GOT NIKO ON JULY 24 my sweet sweet boy lil bat looking motherfucker. got denied for life insurance for mental health reasons. 

august

went back to hc for a birthday “party” and to see the band. did a lot in that weekend (stayed with timothy’s family, helped becky move, met kelli’s look-alike, saw timothy and karlie’s new house!!! had lunch with kellis family which is closest to “meet my parents” i think i’ll ever get lmao). got my prof headshots and hate every single one of them but more for self esteem reasons lol. neighbors got goats and my mom lost her marbles. got trapped in traffic on the way back from hc. niko had crackhead energy. oooooooh documented gender crisis. ma got more chickens. went to a birthday party for a high school friend and was just... so out of my element. its weird. took off my grandma’s bathroom door bc she had knee surgery. started a full time job as my grandmother’s caretaker (love working for the family business lol).

september

went to breckenridge with a friend!!!!!! spicy times lol. cleaned the cupboard. had a birf. turned 22. cas finished her drugs!!!! and felt much better. we did a charcuterie board for my birthday which was very fun. Got a mixer set!!! went to hc for homecoming and graduated!!!!! surprised celeste and hannah with a celebration party for them (it was a lot of fun). came up with my BEST joke (summa cum laude). got called tf out for my gender crisis via tarot. got the goose game!!!! played the goose game!!!!

october

applied to chicago center!!!! will now be working there for a year!!!! this was the first documentation of banjo shrimp nights. surprised my dad for boss day by working with the team to fill his office with balloons. house sat for dad’s friends. started taking showers in the dark. went to celestes and made PASTA wow got very drunk and while she slept i just explored a strangers house. voted!!!!! wow. finally (finally) started to accept that i was maybe agender. had a snow day but i couldn’t work so that was fun. had halloween with banjo shrimps where i dressed up as david rose. that was SUCH a good night. participated in ace week!!! then, dressed as radar for actual halloween and had monumental. worked a volunteer haunted house and like... actually did pretty good?? felt like a real adult!!!!

november

so many things happened in november. i finished miraculous ladybug on netflix. had another bad interaction with a client bc the customer is always wrong. shaved my head. PRESENTATION NIGHT to distract from the election lmao what a good time. had so many emotions about the election. then biden won and we lost our damn minds -- video called with celeste and becky to celebrate (with the reminder that we know that this doesn’t solve everything but it was such a huge sigh of relief). started watching the last kids on earth. made more PASTA and soup! got my GHOSTY TATTOO. kahoot night with the banjo shrimps lol. watched the supernatural finale with kelli (what good memories) rewatched 3below good shit. got the chicago job so i quit being an insurance person!!!! brooke came for thanksgiving!!!

december

i dont wanna talk about it but i finally started watching unus annus (theres an archive its not the same but it provided me wild amounts of serotonin). “call that invisible split dye”. crimmus. had a video call with people from high school i rarely if ever see. this entire month has been a fuckin blur my guys but i’m so excited for what’s next. in two days i will be in an apartment in chicago. i will be reunited with my best friend in a little under two weeks. i cannot emphasize enough how excited i am for this next chapter. so yeah. that was my year. im sure there was more memories but that’s what the sideblog is for lol

[whoisken]

Coming Of Age Comedy: A Soundtrack of My Emotional Journey in H.S.

Freshman Year is a an entire stream of consciousness that I have willed into being a blur since I loved myself too much and acted and dressed and felt like a bashful fool. So that year’s soundtrack will not be addressed.

Sophomore Year

September-November, 2014 - Make Me Wanna Die - The Pretty Reckless

                                               - Heart-shaped Box - Nirvana

Left in the haze of my grunge, drugs (but didn’t do drugs), and partying (but I didn’t party) phase, that section of my life went out in a bang when I discovered the sounds of the Pretty Reckless. This phase ended because of my feelings of loneliness subsiding because I met some pretty great(?) people that year.

December-March, 2014-15 - Love Shack - B-52′s

                                             - All You Need Is Love - The Beatles

                                             - You & I - One Direction

At this stage in my life I fell in love, with my friends, the feeling of belonging to a group. I thought that I finally found a group of friends who understand me an accepted me and embraced me with love and friendship. I was loved up, and felt confident, because of them and them introducing me to One Direction.

 May-July, 2015 -This Is What It Feels Like - Banks

                           - Cherry Bomb - The Runaways

                           - Undone - the bird and the bee

                           - Losing It - Summer Camp

The Summer I felt like a typical teen. I’ve always wanted to feel the way the characters in movies seemed to feel. During summer there was this gust of confidence and personality on the screen. I wanted to feel that, and I did. This was the summer I actually had friends to be around and hang out. This was the summer I got my license and started talking to my first soon to be boyfriend. This was the summer my friend and I liked the same boy and made a choice. It sounds like a movie and it was one of my best summers ever.

Junior Year

August-October, 2015 - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala

                                     - Gold - Chet Faker

                                      - It’s Too Late - Carole King

This was when shit started to get bad. I’m probably misinterpreting the meanings of these songs as I add them to this portion of my emotional stream, but they have the feel and idea of how I felt during this period. I had a small batch of depression wave over me. I was trying to take care of myself while also appeasing someone else and my friends. This was the worst time to get a SO because I physically and mentally could not be present. I tried to push them away and be with friends more for some normalcy. But I felt like I couldn’t take care of myself because of my mental state, oncoming stress, and family. My relationship wasn’t a relationship because I couldn’t be in it emotionally.

November-February 2015-16  - Tainted Love- Soft Cell

                                  - Aladdin Sane - David Bowie

                                  - Baby’s On Fire - Brian Emo

This was when Shit was bad. I stopped associating with other people in hopes to figure out what was going on with me. I fell into glam rock because it seemed to reflect my mental state. I began worshipping Ziggy as if he was a real god, because the music of the glam rockstars seemed to express how I felt. At this point in my life I was pretty isolated and didn't want to do much (which is usually usual, but I mean less so)

 March- May 2016 - Dreams - Tish Hyman

                               - Cry Baby - The Neighborhood

                               - My Song 5 - HAIM

At this point I almost got over my depression and was functioning again. But when I woke up from my mentally draining haze, I realized I lost 75% of the very few friends I had. I can’t remember what happened exactly, I remember there was no one right answer, but I do remember how it felt. The feeling was pretty bad, because I used to move around a lot. I knew what it was like to leave friends that way, but I was not prepared for just drifting a part. That never happened to me before. I had a hard time accepting the fact that I still thought they were my friends months after they stopped inviting me to things and hanging out with me. So, yea. That hurt.

June-August 2016 - Fooled Around and Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop

                               - Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing - Stevie Wonder

Looking back, I started to appreciate myself more. I used to think that I was distracting myself with happy thoughts and acts to maintain a content mental state, but I think I actually started loving myself slightly more. It was more a feeling like: “ya they dropped you, but why tho”. I asked why  A LOT. To give the reader an idea of A LOT, I mean, I got into my car wreck over the summer because I was asking myself “why did they drop me”. That summer I kept wondering why, but I also prospered mentally.

Senior Year

September-November 2016 - 3AM- HONNE

                                              - The Night Has Opened My Eyes - the Smiths

At this point, I would like to say I was over it, but not really. Seeing everyone again after summer, when I just put myself back together was pretty bad, and I kinda felt like one of those cliches in movies that hardcore believes high school is hell just conservative Christians hardcore believe Jesus is our Savior.

September-January 2016-17 - New Person, Same Old Mistakes - Tame Impala

                                               - High For This - The Weeknd

                                                -Mary Jane - Rick James

We’re almost done. Sorry this is so long, but this is what I went through. It was long and almost unbearable, which is what you are now going to endure with me as I relive this. Nothing really significant happened at this point though. Just the normal stress that comes with college and senior year.  I was a new person, with some old mistakes. I didn’t think enough funk was being represented so I added some classic Rick James. And I just like this Weeknd Song.

February-May 2017 - I’m Still Standing - Elton John

                                  - Dancing in the Street - David Bowie and Mick Jagger

I was pretty indifferent to the feeling of high school ending. I wanted to get out of there, but I’ve already made new relationships and wanted them to last. That probably doesn’t make sense. I was happy, as you could tell by the music of the time, but was basically chill.

Present Day - Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang - Silver

Now I’m done, I’m past high school. I’ll still be feeling even though it’s over. My thoughts and emotions about my time spent will constantly change, and I’ll have to update it. Right now I’m feeling a lot of emotions I want to incorporate into this part, but that’s for another blog post.

The point of this was because I’ve always wanted to make a soundtrack for my life, and what’s more cliche than another typical high school soundtrack. I also just wanted to give people (who probably don’t care) insight to how I felt while they were around me in high school. This was just a normal blog post, but with a twist, to make it memorable, so that I always have to look back at it. 

Thanks for reading!!! 

P.S. listen to the last song, it sums up the entirety of this post...

[fitnetpro]

How Jeff the Doctor, Engineer, and Startup Junkie finally put himself first: A success story

Today, I have a different kind of success story for you.

It’s maybe the best example I’ve ever seen for “just knowing what to do” isn’t enough when it comes to getting healthy!

Meet Jeff (hey, that’s me next to him!):

We met a few years back at Camp NF, one of our in-person events back in 2016 – he’s one of the most accomplished people I know (he started MED SCHOOL at age 16). However, even for a guy as smart as he is, he struggled with actually getting consistent healthy results and getting out of his own way for years.

Over the past few years, as Jeff’s startup life got busier, his health took more and more of a backseat:

Jeff has founded multiple start-ups and is currently running one.

His schedule, both for travel and eating, is completely erratic.

He spent most weekends of 2018 on airplanes, flying red-eye flights.

He kept chasing the next fad, changing his mind every other day.

And his brain wouldn’t slow down! Jeff really struggled with “analysis by paralysis,” thinking about working out way more than he actually worked out.

If this sounds like you and your brain, maybe you can relate?

It took Jeff partnering with Jim, our lead trainer in the NF Coaching Program, for the past year to slow down long enough to start to see results that would stick.

And slowing down isn’t easy for this guy.

Jeff’s brain is always going a million miles an hour, he practically lives on airplanes and red-eye flights, has a super varied eating and workout schedule, and no day is the same for him thanks to his entrepreneurial career!

I’m really proud that Jeff is one of our 1-on-1 coaching clients, and that we were able to get him the results that had eluded him for the majority of his life up to that point.

I love that even as a busy entrepreneur, he’s seeing the “return on investment” of investing in himself with coaching and taking care of his own health! If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear how we could potentially help you at Nerd Fitness Coaching – simply click the button below to learn more!

I’ve chopped this interview into multiple sections, so feel free to pick the sections that you’re most interested in!

How Jeff managed to get his own brain out of the way…

Readers of Nerd Fitness tend to be on the smarter side of average.

Like you. You smart person you.

Jeff is on a different level:

He skipped high school and started college at 13.

He began med school at 16.

He became the second youngest doctor on record at age 20.

After his fellowship, he got an MBA from UCLA.

He studied machine learning in Scotland.

He’s now running a startup in Berkeley, CA.

In other words, Jeff puts the NERD in Nerd Fitness.

In my emails back and forth with Jeff to share this story with you today, I kept thinking two things:

This guy is gonna take over the planet one day, so I’m glad he likes Team Nerd Fitness!

I can totally see why he struggled with getting in shape in the past!

So this is what I wanted to ask him about.

STEVE: You have tried and done many different exercise routines, diet strategies, and everything in between. What has your life been like in that time?

JEFF: In 2014 and 2015, I joined an amateur gymnastics club and really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, when I doubled the number of overnight shifts worked to 200+ nights a year, I developed recurrent upper back/shoulder issues (too much radiology work + muscle hypertrophy from gymnastics) I stopped going to gymnastics altogether, and things deteriorated quickly.

Left to my own devices in 2016 and 2017, I barely worked out at all, and barely stuck to any diet. This is how I gained 20-odd pounds across those years.

STEVE: You’re a doctor and engineer, you have an MBA, and have started multiple startups. You get bloodwork done regularly, and you know your health and fitness information inside and out.

Why do you think you weren’t able to crack the code earlier when it comes to your health and fitness? You had all the information and tools you needed right?

JEFF: I don’t think doctoring, tech, or smarts necessarily help in the pursuit of health. On a side note, there are lots of different kinds of smarts, and the kind I have is definitely limited to very specific applications

Actually, each of these probably works against you, all things considered. It’s kinda like when we say, “Doctors make the worst patients.”

To get (and stay) in shape, I think it comes down to:

Consistency, day in and day out.

Enjoying something about working out.

Building a set of habits that you return to instinctively when life gets busy.

Being surrounded by a support network of people and environments that help you get and stay in shape.

Sufficient sleep, and the practice of de-stressing in some way.

Unfortunately, those are the 5 things I feel like I have to battle each day:

Thinking too much instead of acting.

Not actually enjoying working out. I don’t get the endorphin rush at all. Trying different sports and group activities helps, but even getting back to a sport I love like gymnastics has been remarkably difficult mentally. I’ve also found the more I aim to do HIIT, the more I subconsciously avoid cardio altogether.

Rarely sticking with something long enough to build a set of habits.

Spending almost every weekend in the airport & on red-eye flights, flipping between night and day shifts every other week, having completely variable meal & workout schedules, and lots & lots of meetings.

Usually not getting enough sleep, and not making the time to meditate or de-stress much either.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to have some success keeping the demons at bay in 2018 – as you saw in the photos above, and it’s how I ended up where I am today.

How Jeff Lost 30 Pounds By Focusing on his Diet

With Jeff’s brain being incredibly analytical you can bet he was crazy detailed with his tracking, his meals, and his metrics. You’ll see some of those specifics below,

(Note: if you’re somebody with 50-100+ pounds to lose, don’t get lost in the specifics below! Check out a story like Leslie (100+ pounds lost) or Anthony (200 pounds lost)!)

STEVE: You started working with Jim from NF Coaching back in January – And since then you’ve transformed pretty dramatically, losing 30+ pounds even while working and traveling like crazy.

Can you get into the details? What strategies worked for you?

JEFF: I started the year on a low-fat paleo-ish diet for the first six months (lots of ground meat, sauteed kale, and occasionally some oatmeal in the morning).

Because I travel a lot, and flip days and nights working, my diet varied pretty dramatically.

That got me from just over 195 lbs (“before”) down to about 170-175 lbs.

I hovered there for months and months.

In June, the weight had been hovering for about a month, and I decided to try to full-blown Keto.

I measured every meal to 25g of fat, 21g of protein, and nearly 0 carbs. I stayed in the 5 – 15g / day carb range, and entered ketosis immediately.

Keto didn’t really work for me physiologically.

My weight was remarkably stable day to day while on Keto, right around the 168 – 170 range over 2 months.

At the end of August, I got a follow-up cholesterol/lipid panel just to check where things were at — and it turns out I’m in the small subset of people whose cholesterol spikes to ridiculous levels on Keto [studies have shown a subset of people with cholesterol levels very sensitive to diet].

I stopped Keto immediately, and went back on low-fat Paleo, which got me back to the weight hovering around 170.

I went on a vacation to Greece for the first time in September, where I gained five pounds (from eating a lot more than I should : )

STEVE: I hear ya man. Keto doesn’t agree with me either, but I know it works for some! So tell me what happened specifically. So I’m glad you found low fat Paleo-ish to work for you. That’s what I’m doing too.

So what got you over that final 10-pound hurdle?

JEFF: I was hoping to be able to do a photoshoot (a big goal I had set at the beginning of the year) in November, but the scale wasn’t budging in October and I was out of time!

I had a colleague who really suggested I look at intermittent fasting. I’d never considered seriously before. The thought of not eating for these long intervals, after being so used to eating every 2 1/2 – 3 hours every single day, wasn’t appealing).

I remembered that you’d written a post on IF, so went back and read it through, and decided to give it a shot:

Started a 16/8 fast/feast protocol (1700 calories a day, carefully measured).

Moved to 18/6 the next day.

Move to 19/5.

Eventually did 20/4 for a few days

Went back to 18/6.

It worked wonders — weight started going down again.

I’m actually not sure whether I like IF yet – but it works awesomely for me – there’s a disconnect between how well something works vs. whether I actually enjoy it! Haha

Here’s why I like it: I’m more productive when not eating, show up on time to workouts, and save time by not prepping and eating six meals a day.

But we’ll see. Right now it’s working for me. And it allowed me to hit my goal on time!

  STEVE: As a crazy but lazy fan of intermittent fasting, I hear ya man – it helps me make fewer decisions each day, less clean-up, less work!

Clearly, you put a huge emphasis on your nutrition, but what about your workouts?

JEFF: Workout-wise, things have varied a lot.

I still haven’t been back to gymnastics this year, but have been through all sorts of exercise routines.

To name a few:

Scheduled workouts

Unscheduled workouts

Mini-workouts at home

Assault bike sprints

Rings & small rope climb at home

A few BJJ and aikido classes

I don’t know how to do things half-assed, so I even kicked off New Year’s last year (prior to working with Jim) in Thailand for six days at a weight loss/fitness & Muay Thai bootcamp [Gym Bangarang] in Chiang Mai.

Due to my crazy travel schedule, my workout schedule has been hit and miss. That’s okay though.

So I tried all of that, but there’s been one constant over the past twelve months…

Jeff’s Experience with Trainers and NF Coaching

STEVE: Over the past few years, you’ve trained with a dozen trainers, many of them IN person. I’m curious: what was it about the NF Online Coaching program in particular that appealed to you?

JEFF: The biggest thing about the NF Coaching program is its persistent global accountability.

As long as you keep your coach updated, he/she sees the entire sweep of your nutrition & fitness-related life (as well as most everything else that’s going on in your life), and so is by far the best-equipped person to get you off your ass and eating right / working out.

Working with any other trainers in years past, the training and accountability usually ended as soon as the one-hour training session was over.

Occasionally someone might help put together a food plan, but most in-person trainers are far too busy to keep track of all their clients over the course of the week, the month and the year & help them keep themselves accountable.

STEVE: What else do you get out of NF coaching and working with a trainer like Jim?

JEFF: I started working with Jim in early 2018, and here’s what I enjoy the most:

Jim provides accountability, gets me to track my progress, and a consistent reminder that I need to be doing something:

Watching and tracking each thing I eat.

Getting a workout in whenever possible.

Replying to messages in the app

Uploading food photos.

I do my best to track weights, reps, and sets on workouts, I sometimes dump weeks of food photos in at once (and average about a 2/3 success rate on taking food photos), and I’ve been pretty slack about taking interval follow-up photos and measurements lately.

Jim always adjusts accordingly.

He’s great at providing a bit of extra slack, especially during tough weeks, and not being too critical – except when he thinks I need a push – and he’s usually right!

Here’s the other thing I love:

The chance to share the ups and downs, to celebrate the triumphs and help me make it over the hurdles, a constant social bond in the midst of never-ending work and an ever-shifting schedule.

At Camp, I really appreciated that Nerd Fitness was working hard to change people’s lives.

So no matter where NF went – whether you ever decided to do another Camp, or launch a 1:1 coaching program, or build up NF Academy – I committed to staying involved: to help out people in the NF community where possible, join the NF Academy and Coaching program and share NF with acquaintances and friends.

STEVE: What would you say to somebody considering NF Coaching?

JEFF: It works where all the other trainers and fitness programs fail. The NF Coaching program meets you right where you’re at, keeping you accountable, providing tons of encouragement, and customizing your food and workout plans specifically to you.

It’s changed my life, and it could change yours too.

THE 5 KEYS TO JEFF’S SUCCESS

#1) JEFF ACCEPTED HIS LIFE WOULD ALWAYS BE CRAZY

Every day, we’re faced with a challenge:

The way we WANT things to be, in a perfect world

The way things actually are.

The problem arises when people optimize their lives and assume that they can have things how they want:

Of course I’ll have time to cook an amazing meal each day.

Of course i”ll have 90 minutes to work out.

Of course I’ll start batch cooking and take up Yoga.

Reality paints a very different picture, and THAT’S what you need to plan for!

Jeff had health and fitness goals, and also a crazy hectic lifestyle with ungodly amounts of travel. Rather than beating himself up for this, he accepts this is his current reality and asks “Okay, how can I do the best I can under these circumstances?”

By accepting that things would be crazy, it allowed him to have GOOD success, but not completely take over his life (the startup has already done that!).

Because Jeff knew his workout schedule and access to a gym would be limited, he took the next big step:

#2) JEFF FOCUSED ON FOOD AND TRACKING.

Over the past year, Jeff has dropped significant body fat even with inconsistent or nonexistent exercise. How does that work?

Simple: nutrition is 90% of the weight loss equation.

And for Jeff, to get down to “I want to see my abs” levels of body fat, nutrition becomes 95% of the battle.

Sure, making small changes like “focusing on real food” and “eating more vegetables” can certainly help an overweight person lose weight sustainably in the beginning, but the closer you get to 10% body fat, the more strict and disciplined you need to be.

As they say: abs aren’t made in the gym, they’re made in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Jeff was CRAZY focused on his food tracking, and used metrics to make sure he was hitting his caloric goals each day:

He focused on a Paleo-ish nutritional strategy to lose the first 15-20 pounds.

He tried the Keto Diet, but a cholesterol test revealed his body wasn’t a fan of being in Ketosis. Good thing he got that test done!

He incorporated Intermittent Fasting with strict calorie tracking to lose the final 10 pounds before his photoshoot.

He knew down to the carb what he was eating on most days whenever possible. Although people that are in tip-top shape want you to think it’s effortless, the real story is often far more strict and disciplined – why? Because nobody wants to hear about counting calories and weighing their food: they just want to be told it’s easy.

If you want to get to a low body fat percentage, that’s what it will take. And it will take much longer than you expected. For Jeff, that’s what it took. It WORKED.

#3) JEFF HAS AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

What do you do when you know what needs to be done, but life gets so busy you often forget to do it? You recruit an accountability buddy. In Jeff’s case, it was Jim, his coach. This guy:

It’s amazing that a single text from a friend each day asking you if you did a particular habit is often enough to start a habit building process.

In Jeff’s case, it was Jim’s constant support, sometimes tough love, and gentle nudging that got Jeff to be more diligent and committed to the goals he knew he wanted to reach.

#4) JEFF SETS BIG GOALS TO GET OVER HURDLES

Jeff put most of his focus on his daily habits (behavior change), but he found that only took him so far – as a start-up founder and overachiever, he found that setting big goals in the future with specific deadlines really helped him buckle down and get serious:

“One thing that does sorta work (that my other trainer/friend Alan and I were chatting about earlier today) is having a big goal and a specific deadline.

For me in October, realizing the photoshoot was four weeks away got me to buckle down and do wonders with a nutrition plan, workout regimen, and final week of prep. In the month since, with the hectic trips afterward, and the lack of a well-defined or specifically timed goal, I’ve rebounded by 7 pounds.”

Looks like it’s time to set a new big goal and figure out a timeline! : )

#5) JEFF FOCUSES ON RELATIONSHIPS

I asked Jeff about his investment of coaching, and his answer surprised me:

“From my funky perspective, it’s not an expensive investment at all when you think about the value. I tend to value people, relationships and shared experiences far more than money.

I may try and jump around a lot of different things for nutrition/fitness/ personal improvement, but where it comes to people and interpersonal relationships, when I decide to commit to someone or to a friendship, I do so wholeheartedly and without reservation — and I stay committed long-term : )”

Life is all about relationships, something I think us nerds can really struggle with in this day in age. So for Jeff, not just investing in coaching, but investing in relationships with his friends is really really important. He sent me dozens of candid photos from the past year, and many of them include big groups of friends doing amazing activities.

I have NO doubt that these friends are the “constant” in Jeff’s hectic lifestyle, and help keep him grounded while everything else is moving and changing at breakneck pace.

How to Get Results Like Jeff

I’m really proud of what Jeff has accomplished over the past year. It’s been AMAZING to hear his side of the story, as I’ve been following it from the other side (through his coach Jim).

If you’re somebody who goes ALL IN and stops, if you’re somebody who can’t seem to get any progress to stick, or if you’re somebody that spends more time thinking than doing, you’re in the right place!

Here’s how to see results like Jeff:

Less thinking, more doing: Your brain will talk you into or out of anything. Act as if you already made the decision, and course correct along the way.

Pick a nutritional strategy, and track it! This is a lifelong journey, so you’re not gonna get results in a week. Stick with it. Track your calories, take photos and measurements, and see how your body transforms.

Know that nutrition is 90% of the battle. Don’t have time to exercise frequently? No problem. You have to eat every day, right? So put ALL of your focus there. Here’s our guide on healthy eating.

Be accountable to somebody else. This could be a friend who texts you each morning: “Did you work out yesterday?” Or a co-worker that you check in with each morning. In Jeff’s case, it’s his NF Coach, Jim.

Invest in relationships. Jeff’s life is chaotic, and one’s fitness journey is often a lone-wolf activity. Jeff has prioritized the relationships and friendships in his life, and it has helped keep him sane despite a hectic lifestyle!

If you can relate to Jeff (do you travel a lot? Is your life super busy? Are you struggling to get results), you’re in the right place!

Depending on your current situation, our 1-on-1 NF Coaching Program might be the droids solution you’re looking for. You can learn more by clicking on the box below and scheduling a call with our team!

Here’s what I’d want you to take away from Jeff’s Story:

Accountability is everything. Have somebody other than you invested in your success.

Want to lose weight? Focus on nutrition and tracking!

If you do those two things, I can almost guarantee you’ll be healthier 12 months from now than you are, and I’ll be sharing your story next year!

-Steve

PS: Just a quick heads up: The NF Coaching program has really exploded over the past 8 weeks (we’re closing in on 1,000 active clients! WHOA), and we’d love to help you become the next success story!

We actually speak on the phone with every single person that is interested in coaching to make sure we’re a good fit for each other, and you can schedule your call at the end of our Coaching page.

PPS: Do you have a Nerd Fitness success story of your own? Email us at contact(at)NerdFitness(dot)com and let us know so we can share your adventure with the galaxy!

PPPS: If coaching isn’t your thing, we also have two other options that have helped tens of thousands of nerds like you:

The NF Academy: 1-time payment to join a self-paced online course and private community

Rising Heroes: our habit based, story-driven team monthly adventure.

How Jeff the Doctor, Engineer, and Startup Junkie finally put himself first: A success story published first on http://fitnetpro.tumblr.com/

[almajonesnjna]

How Jeff the Doctor, Engineer, and Startup Junkie finally put himself first: A success story

Today, I have a different kind of success story for you.

It’s maybe the best example I’ve ever seen for “just knowing what to do” isn’t enough when it comes to getting healthy!

Meet Jeff (hey, that’s me next to him!):

We met a few years back at Camp NF, one of our in-person events back in 2016 – he’s one of the most accomplished people I know (he started MED SCHOOL at age 16). However, even for a guy as smart as he is, he struggled with actually getting consistent healthy results and getting out of his own way for years.

Over the past few years, as Jeff’s startup life got busier, his health took more and more of a backseat:

Jeff has founded multiple start-ups and is currently running one.

His schedule, both for travel and eating, is completely erratic.

He spent most weekends of 2018 on airplanes, flying red-eye flights.

He kept chasing the next fad, changing his mind every other day.

And his brain wouldn’t slow down! Jeff really struggled with “analysis by paralysis,” thinking about working out way more than he actually worked out.

If this sounds like you and your brain, maybe you can relate?

It took Jeff partnering with Jim, our lead trainer in the NF Coaching Program, for the past year to slow down long enough to start to see results that would stick.

And slowing down isn’t easy for this guy.

Jeff’s brain is always going a million miles an hour, he practically lives on airplanes and red-eye flights, has a super varied eating and workout schedule, and no day is the same for him thanks to his entrepreneurial career!

I’m really proud that Jeff is one of our 1-on-1 coaching clients, and that we were able to get him the results that had eluded him for the majority of his life up to that point.

I love that even as a busy entrepreneur, he’s seeing the “return on investment” of investing in himself with coaching and taking care of his own health! If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear how we could potentially help you at Nerd Fitness Coaching – simply click the button below to learn more!

I’ve chopped this interview into multiple sections, so feel free to pick the sections that you’re most interested in!

How Jeff managed to get his own brain out of the way…

Readers of Nerd Fitness tend to be on the smarter side of average.

Like you. You smart person you.

Jeff is on a different level:

He skipped high school and started college at 13.

He began med school at 16.

He became the second youngest doctor on record at age 20.

After his fellowship, he got an MBA from UCLA.

He studied machine learning in Scotland.

He’s now running a startup in Berkeley, CA.

In other words, Jeff puts the NERD in Nerd Fitness.

In my emails back and forth with Jeff to share this story with you today, I kept thinking two things:

This guy is gonna take over the planet one day, so I’m glad he likes Team Nerd Fitness!

I can totally see why he struggled with getting in shape in the past!

So this is what I wanted to ask him about.

STEVE: You have tried and done many different exercise routines, diet strategies, and everything in between. What has your life been like in that time?

JEFF: In 2014 and 2015, I joined an amateur gymnastics club and really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, when I doubled the number of overnight shifts worked to 200+ nights a year, I developed recurrent upper back/shoulder issues (too much radiology work + muscle hypertrophy from gymnastics) I stopped going to gymnastics altogether, and things deteriorated quickly.

Left to my own devices in 2016 and 2017, I barely worked out at all, and barely stuck to any diet. This is how I gained 20-odd pounds across those years.

STEVE: You’re a doctor and engineer, you have an MBA, and have started multiple startups. You get bloodwork done regularly, and you know your health and fitness information inside and out.

Why do you think you weren’t able to crack the code earlier when it comes to your health and fitness? You had all the information and tools you needed right?

JEFF: I don’t think doctoring, tech, or smarts necessarily help in the pursuit of health. On a side note, there are lots of different kinds of smarts, and the kind I have is definitely limited to very specific applications

Actually, each of these probably works against you, all things considered. It’s kinda like when we say, “Doctors make the worst patients.”

To get (and stay) in shape, I think it comes down to:

Consistency, day in and day out.

Enjoying something about working out.

Building a set of habits that you return to instinctively when life gets busy.

Being surrounded by a support network of people and environments that help you get and stay in shape.

Sufficient sleep, and the practice of de-stressing in some way.

Unfortunately, those are the 5 things I feel like I have to battle each day:

Thinking too much instead of acting.

Not actually enjoying working out. I don’t get the endorphin rush at all. Trying different sports and group activities helps, but even getting back to a sport I love like gymnastics has been remarkably difficult mentally. I’ve also found the more I aim to do HIIT, the more I subconsciously avoid cardio altogether.

Rarely sticking with something long enough to build a set of habits.

Spending almost every weekend in the airport & on red-eye flights, flipping between night and day shifts every other week, having completely variable meal & workout schedules, and lots & lots of meetings.

Usually not getting enough sleep, and not making the time to meditate or de-stress much either.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to have some success keeping the demons at bay in 2018 – as you saw in the photos above, and it’s how I ended up where I am today.

How Jeff Lost 30 Pounds By Focusing on his Diet

With Jeff’s brain being incredibly analytical you can bet he was crazy detailed with his tracking, his meals, and his metrics. You’ll see some of those specifics below,

(Note: if you’re somebody with 50-100+ pounds to lose, don’t get lost in the specifics below! Check out a story like Leslie (100+ pounds lost) or Anthony (200 pounds lost)!)

STEVE: You started working with Jim from NF Coaching back in January – And since then you’ve transformed pretty dramatically, losing 30+ pounds even while working and traveling like crazy.

Can you get into the details? What strategies worked for you?

JEFF: I started the year on a low-fat paleo-ish diet for the first six months (lots of ground meat, sauteed kale, and occasionally some oatmeal in the morning).

Because I travel a lot, and flip days and nights working, my diet varied pretty dramatically.

That got me from just over 195 lbs (“before”) down to about 170-175 lbs.

I hovered there for months and months.

In June, the weight had been hovering for about a month, and I decided to try to full-blown Keto.

I measured every meal to 25g of fat, 21g of protein, and nearly 0 carbs. I stayed in the 5 – 15g / day carb range, and entered ketosis immediately.

Keto didn’t really work for me physiologically.

My weight was remarkably stable day to day while on Keto, right around the 168 – 170 range over 2 months.

At the end of August, I got a follow-up cholesterol/lipid panel just to check where things were at — and it turns out I’m in the small subset of people whose cholesterol spikes to ridiculous levels on Keto [studies have shown there’s a subset of people with cholesterol levels very sensitive to diet].

I stopped Keto immediately and went back on low-fat Paleo, which got me back to the weight hovering around 170.

I went on a vacation to Greece for the first time in September, where I gained five pounds (from eating a lot more than I should).

STEVE: I hear ya man. Keto doesn’t agree with me either, but I know it works for some! So tell me what happened specifically. So I’m glad you found low-fat Paleo-ish to work for you. That’s what I’m doing too.

So what got you over that final 10-pound hurdle?

JEFF: I was hoping to be able to do a photoshoot (a big goal I had set at the beginning of the year) in November, but the scale wasn’t budging in October and I was out of time!

I had a colleague who really suggested I look at intermittent fasting. I’d never considered it seriously before. The thought of not eating for these long intervals, after being so used to eating every 2 1/2 – 3 hours every single day, wasn’t appealing.

I remembered that you’d written a post on IF, so went back and read it through, and decided to give it a shot:

Started a 16/8 fast/feast protocol (1700 calories a day, carefully measured).

Moved to 18/6 the next day.

Move to 19/5.

Eventually did 20/4 for a few days

Went back to 18/6.

It worked wonders — my weight started going down again.

I’m actually not sure whether I like IF yet – but it works awesomely for me – there’s a disconnect between how well something works vs. whether I actually enjoy it! Haha.

Here’s why I like it: I’m more productive when not eating, show up on time to workouts, and save time by not prepping and eating six meals a day.

But we’ll see. Right now it’s working for me. And it allowed me to hit my goal on time!

STEVE: As a crazy but lazy fan of intermittent fasting, I hear ya man – it helps me make fewer decisions each day, less clean-up, less work!

Clearly, you put a huge emphasis on your nutrition, but what about your workouts?

JEFF: Workout-wise, things have varied a lot.

I still haven’t been back to gymnastics this year, but have been through all sorts of exercise routines.

To name a few:

Scheduled workouts

Unscheduled workouts

Mini-workouts at home

Assault bike sprints

Rings & small rope climb at home

A few BJJ and Aikido classes

I don’t know how to do things half-assed, so I even kicked off New Year’s last year (prior to working with Jim) in Thailand for six days at a weight loss/fitness & Muay Thai bootcamp [Gym Bangarang] in Chiang Mai.

Due to my crazy travel schedule, my workout schedule has been hit and miss. That’s okay though.

So I tried all of that, but there’s been one constant over the past twelve months…

Jeff’s Experience with Trainers and NF Coaching

STEVE: Over the past few years, you’ve trained with a dozen trainers, many of them IN person. I’m curious: what was it about the NF Online Coaching program in particular that appealed to you?

JEFF: The biggest thing about the NF Coaching program is its persistent global accountability.

As long as you keep your coach updated, he/she sees the entire sweep of your nutrition & fitness-related life (as well as most everything else that’s going on in your life), and so they are by far the best-equipped person to get you off your ass and eating right / working out.

Working with any other trainers in years past, the training and accountability usually ended as soon as the one-hour training session was over.

Occasionally someone might help put together a food plan, but most in-person trainers are far too busy to keep track of all their clients over the course of the week, the month, and the year to help them keep themselves accountable.

STEVE: What else do you get out of NF coaching and working with a trainer like Jim?

JEFF: I started working with Jim in early 2018, and here’s what I enjoy the most:

Jim provides accountability, gets me to track my progress, and a consistent reminder that I need to be doing something:

Watching and tracking each thing I eat.

Getting a workout in whenever possible.

Replying to messages in the app.

Uploading food photos.

I do my best to track weights, reps, and sets on workouts, I sometimes dump weeks of food photos in at once (I average about a 2/3 success rate on taking food photos), and I’ve been pretty slack about taking interval follow-up photos and measurements lately.

Jim always adjusts accordingly.

He’s great at providing a bit of extra slack, especially during tough weeks, and not being too critical – except when he thinks I need a push – and he’s usually right!

Here’s the other thing I love:

The chance to share the ups and downs, to celebrate the triumphs and help me make it over the hurdles, a constant social bond in the midst of never-ending work and an ever-shifting schedule.

At Camp, I really appreciated that Nerd Fitness was working hard to change people’s lives.

So no matter where NF went – whether you ever decided to do another Camp, or launch a 1:1 coaching program, or build up NF Academy – I committed to staying involved: to help out people in the NF community where possible, join the NF Academy and Coaching program and share NF with acquaintances and friends.

STEVE: What would you say to somebody considering NF Coaching?

JEFF: It works where all the other trainers and fitness programs fail. The NF Coaching program meets you right where you’re at, keeping you accountable, providing tons of encouragement, and customizing your food and workout plans specifically to you.

It’s changed my life, and it could change yours too.

THE 5 KEYS TO JEFF’S SUCCESS

#1) JEFF ACCEPTED HIS LIFE WOULD ALWAYS BE CRAZY

Every day, we’re faced with a challenge:

The way we WANT things to be, in a perfect world.

The way things actually are.

The problem arises when people optimize their lives and assume that they can have things how they want:

Of course I’ll have time to cook an amazing meal each day.

Of course I”ll have 90 minutes to work out.

Of course I’ll start batch cooking and take up Yoga.

Reality paints a very different picture, and THAT’S what you need to plan for!

Jeff had health and fitness goals, and also a crazy hectic lifestyle with ungodly amounts of travel. Rather than beating himself up for this, he accepts this is his current reality and asks “Okay, how can I do the best I can under these circumstances?”

By accepting that things would be crazy, it allowed him to have GOOD success, but not completely take over his life (the startup has already done that!).

Because Jeff knew his workout schedule and access to a gym would be limited, he took the next big step:

#2) JEFF FOCUSED ON FOOD AND TRACKING.

Over the past year, Jeff has dropped significant body fat even with inconsistent or nonexistent exercise. How does that work?

Simple: nutrition is 90% of the weight loss equation.

And for Jeff, to get down to “I want to see my abs” levels of body fat, nutrition becomes 95% of the battle.

Sure, making small changes like “focusing on real food” and “eating more vegetables” can certainly help an overweight person lose weight sustainably in the beginning, but the closer you get to 10% body fat, the more strict and disciplined you need to become.

As they say: abs aren’t made in the gym, they’re made in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Jeff was CRAZY focused on his food tracking, and used metrics to make sure he was hitting his caloric goals each day:

He focused on a Paleo-ish nutritional strategy to lose the first 15-20 pounds.

He tried the Keto Diet, but a cholesterol test revealed his body wasn’t a fan of being in ketosis. Good thing he got that test done!

He incorporated Intermittent Fasting with strict calorie tracking to lose the final 10 pounds before his photoshoot.

He knew down to the carb what he was eating on most days whenever possible. Although people that are in tip-top shape want you to think it’s effortless, the real story is often far more strict and disciplined – why? Because nobody wants to hear about counting calories and weighing their food: they just want to be told it’s easy.

If you want to get to a low body fat percentage, that’s what it will take. And it will take much longer than you expected. For Jeff, that’s what it took. And it WORKED.

#3) JEFF HAS AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

What do you do when you know what needs to be done, but life gets so busy you often forget to do it? You recruit an accountability buddy. In Jeff’s case, it was Jim, his coach. This guy:

It’s amazing that a single text from a friend each day asking you if you did a particular habit is often enough to start a habit building process.

In Jeff’s case, it was Jim’s constant support, sometimes tough love, and gentle nudging that got Jeff to be more diligent and committed to the goals he knew he wanted to reach.

#4) JEFF SETS BIG GOALS TO GET OVER HURDLES

Jeff put most of his focus on his daily habits (behavior..

http://bit.ly/2F66smb

[neilmillerne]

How Jeff the Doctor, Engineer, and Startup Junkie finally put himself first: A success story

Today, I have a different kind of success story for you.

It’s maybe the best example I’ve ever seen for “just knowing what to do” isn’t enough when it comes to getting healthy!

Meet Jeff (hey, that’s me next to him!):

We met a few years back at Camp NF, one of our in-person events back in 2016 – he’s one of the most accomplished people I know (he started MED SCHOOL at age 16). However, even for a guy as smart as he is, he struggled with actually getting consistent healthy results and getting out of his own way for years.

Over the past few years, as Jeff’s startup life got busier, his health took more and more of a backseat:

Jeff has founded multiple start-ups and is currently running one.

His schedule, both for travel and eating, is completely erratic.

He spent most weekends of 2018 on airplanes, flying red-eye flights.

He kept chasing the next fad, changing his mind every other day.

And his brain wouldn’t slow down! Jeff really struggled with “analysis by paralysis,” thinking about working out way more than he actually worked out.

If this sounds like you and your brain, maybe you can relate?

It took Jeff partnering with Jim, our lead trainer in the NF Coaching Program, for the past year to slow down long enough to start to see results that would stick.

And slowing down isn’t easy for this guy.

Jeff’s brain is always going a million miles an hour, he practically lives on airplanes and red-eye flights, has a super varied eating and workout schedule, and no day is the same for him thanks to his entrepreneurial career!

I’m really proud that Jeff is one of our 1-on-1 coaching clients, and that we were able to get him the results that had eluded him for the majority of his life up to that point.

I love that even as a busy entrepreneur, he’s seeing the “return on investment” of investing in himself with coaching and taking care of his own health! If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear how we could potentially help you at Nerd Fitness Coaching – simply click the button below to learn more!

I’ve chopped this interview into multiple sections, so feel free to pick the sections that you’re most interested in!

How Jeff managed to get his own brain out of the way…

Readers of Nerd Fitness tend to be on the smarter side of average.

Like you. You smart person you.

Jeff is on a different level:

He skipped high school and started college at 13.

He began med school at 16.

He became the second youngest doctor on record at age 20.

After his fellowship, he got an MBA from UCLA.

He studied machine learning in Scotland.

He’s now running a startup in Berkeley, CA.

In other words, Jeff puts the NERD in Nerd Fitness.

In my emails back and forth with Jeff to share this story with you today, I kept thinking two things:

This guy is gonna take over the planet one day, so I’m glad he likes Team Nerd Fitness!

I can totally see why he struggled with getting in shape in the past!

So this is what I wanted to ask him about.

STEVE: You have tried and done many different exercise routines, diet strategies, and everything in between. What has your life been like in that time?

JEFF: In 2014 and 2015, I joined an amateur gymnastics club and really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, when I doubled the number of overnight shifts worked to 200+ nights a year, I developed recurrent upper back/shoulder issues (too much radiology work + muscle hypertrophy from gymnastics) I stopped going to gymnastics altogether, and things deteriorated quickly.

Left to my own devices in 2016 and 2017, I barely worked out at all, and barely stuck to any diet. This is how I gained 20-odd pounds across those years.

STEVE: You’re a doctor and engineer, you have an MBA, and have started multiple startups. You get bloodwork done regularly, and you know your health and fitness information inside and out.

Why do you think you weren’t able to crack the code earlier when it comes to your health and fitness? You had all the information and tools you needed right?

JEFF: I don’t think doctoring, tech, or smarts necessarily help in the pursuit of health. On a side note, there are lots of different kinds of smarts, and the kind I have is definitely limited to very specific applications

Actually, each of these probably works against you, all things considered. It’s kinda like when we say, “Doctors make the worst patients.”

To get (and stay) in shape, I think it comes down to:

Consistency, day in and day out.

Enjoying something about working out.

Building a set of habits that you return to instinctively when life gets busy.

Being surrounded by a support network of people and environments that help you get and stay in shape.

Sufficient sleep, and the practice of de-stressing in some way.

Unfortunately, those are the 5 things I feel like I have to battle each day:

Thinking too much instead of acting.

Not actually enjoying working out. I don’t get the endorphin rush at all. Trying different sports and group activities helps, but even getting back to a sport I love like gymnastics has been remarkably difficult mentally. I’ve also found the more I aim to do HIIT, the more I subconsciously avoid cardio altogether.

Rarely sticking with something long enough to build a set of habits.

Spending almost every weekend in the airport & on red-eye flights, flipping between night and day shifts every other week, having completely variable meal & workout schedules, and lots & lots of meetings.

Usually not getting enough sleep, and not making the time to meditate or de-stress much either.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to have some success keeping the demons at bay in 2018 – as you saw in the photos above, and it’s how I ended up where I am today.

How Jeff Lost 30 Pounds By Focusing on his Diet

With Jeff’s brain being incredibly analytical you can bet he was crazy detailed with his tracking, his meals, and his metrics. You’ll see some of those specifics below,

(Note: if you’re somebody with 50-100+ pounds to lose, don’t get lost in the specifics below! Check out a story like Leslie (100+ pounds lost) or Anthony (200 pounds lost)!)

STEVE: You started working with Jim from NF Coaching back in January – And since then you’ve transformed pretty dramatically, losing 30+ pounds even while working and traveling like crazy.

Can you get into the details? What strategies worked for you?

JEFF: I started the year on a low-fat paleo-ish diet for the first six months (lots of ground meat, sauteed kale, and occasionally some oatmeal in the morning).

Because I travel a lot, and flip days and nights working, my diet varied pretty dramatically.

That got me from just over 195 lbs (“before”) down to about 170-175 lbs.

I hovered there for months and months.

In June, the weight had been hovering for about a month, and I decided to try to full-blown Keto.

I measured every meal to 25g of fat, 21g of protein, and nearly 0 carbs. I stayed in the 5 – 15g / day carb range, and entered ketosis immediately.

Keto didn’t really work for me physiologically.

My weight was remarkably stable day to day while on Keto, right around the 168 – 170 range over 2 months.

At the end of August, I got a follow-up cholesterol/lipid panel just to check where things were at — and it turns out I’m in the small subset of people whose cholesterol spikes to ridiculous levels on Keto [studies have shown there’s a subset of people with cholesterol levels very sensitive to diet].

I stopped Keto immediately and went back on low-fat Paleo, which got me back to the weight hovering around 170.

I went on a vacation to Greece for the first time in September, where I gained five pounds (from eating a lot more than I should).

STEVE: I hear ya man. Keto doesn’t agree with me either, but I know it works for some! So tell me what happened specifically. So I’m glad you found low-fat Paleo-ish to work for you. That’s what I’m doing too.

So what got you over that final 10-pound hurdle?

JEFF: I was hoping to be able to do a photoshoot (a big goal I had set at the beginning of the year) in November, but the scale wasn’t budging in October and I was out of time!

I had a colleague who really suggested I look at intermittent fasting. I’d never considered it seriously before. The thought of not eating for these long intervals, after being so used to eating every 2 1/2 – 3 hours every single day, wasn’t appealing.

I remembered that you’d written a post on IF, so went back and read it through, and decided to give it a shot:

Started a 16/8 fast/feast protocol (1700 calories a day, carefully measured).

Moved to 18/6 the next day.

Move to 19/5.

Eventually did 20/4 for a few days

Went back to 18/6.

It worked wonders — my weight started going down again.

I’m actually not sure whether I like IF yet – but it works awesomely for me – there’s a disconnect between how well something works vs. whether I actually enjoy it! Haha.

Here’s why I like it: I’m more productive when not eating, show up on time to workouts, and save time by not prepping and eating six meals a day.

But we’ll see. Right now it’s working for me. And it allowed me to hit my goal on time!

STEVE: As a crazy but lazy fan of intermittent fasting, I hear ya man – it helps me make fewer decisions each day, less clean-up, less work!

Clearly, you put a huge emphasis on your nutrition, but what about your workouts?

JEFF: Workout-wise, things have varied a lot.

I still haven’t been back to gymnastics this year, but have been through all sorts of exercise routines.

To name a few:

Scheduled workouts

Unscheduled workouts

Mini-workouts at home

Assault bike sprints

Rings & small rope climb at home

A few BJJ and Aikido classes

I don’t know how to do things half-assed, so I even kicked off New Year’s last year (prior to working with Jim) in Thailand for six days at a weight loss/fitness & Muay Thai bootcamp [Gym Bangarang] in Chiang Mai.

Due to my crazy travel schedule, my workout schedule has been hit and miss. That’s okay though.

So I tried all of that, but there’s been one constant over the past twelve months…

Jeff’s Experience with Trainers and NF Coaching

STEVE: Over the past few years, you’ve trained with a dozen trainers, many of them IN person. I’m curious: what was it about the NF Online Coaching program in particular that appealed to you?

JEFF: The biggest thing about the NF Coaching program is its persistent global accountability.

As long as you keep your coach updated, he/she sees the entire sweep of your nutrition & fitness-related life (as well as most everything else that’s going on in your life), and so they are by far the best-equipped person to get you off your ass and eating right / working out.

Working with any other trainers in years past, the training and accountability usually ended as soon as the one-hour training session was over.

Occasionally someone might help put together a food plan, but most in-person trainers are far too busy to keep track of all their clients over the course of the week, the month, and the year to help them keep themselves accountable.

STEVE: What else do you get out of NF coaching and working with a trainer like Jim?

JEFF: I started working with Jim in early 2018, and here’s what I enjoy the most:

Jim provides accountability, gets me to track my progress, and a consistent reminder that I need to be doing something:

Watching and tracking each thing I eat.

Getting a workout in whenever possible.

Replying to messages in the app.

Uploading food photos.

I do my best to track weights, reps, and sets on workouts, I sometimes dump weeks of food photos in at once (I average about a 2/3 success rate on taking food photos), and I’ve been pretty slack about taking interval follow-up photos and measurements lately.

Jim always adjusts accordingly.

He’s great at providing a bit of extra slack, especially during tough weeks, and not being too critical – except when he thinks I need a push – and he’s usually right!

Here’s the other thing I love:

The chance to share the ups and downs, to celebrate the triumphs and help me make it over the hurdles, a constant social bond in the midst of never-ending work and an ever-shifting schedule.

At Camp, I really appreciated that Nerd Fitness was working hard to change people’s lives.

So no matter where NF went – whether you ever decided to do another Camp, or launch a 1:1 coaching program, or build up NF Academy – I committed to staying involved: to help out people in the NF community where possible, join the NF Academy and Coaching program and share NF with acquaintances and friends.

STEVE: What would you say to somebody considering NF Coaching?

JEFF: It works where all the other trainers and fitness programs fail. The NF Coaching program meets you right where you’re at, keeping you accountable, providing tons of encouragement, and customizing your food and workout plans specifically to you.

It’s changed my life, and it could change yours too.

THE 5 KEYS TO JEFF’S SUCCESS

#1) JEFF ACCEPTED HIS LIFE WOULD ALWAYS BE CRAZY

Every day, we’re faced with a challenge:

The way we WANT things to be, in a perfect world.

The way things actually are.

The problem arises when people optimize their lives and assume that they can have things how they want:

Of course I’ll have time to cook an amazing meal each day.

Of course I”ll have 90 minutes to work out.

Of course I’ll start batch cooking and take up Yoga.

Reality paints a very different picture, and THAT’S what you need to plan for!

Jeff had health and fitness goals, and also a crazy hectic lifestyle with ungodly amounts of travel. Rather than beating himself up for this, he accepts this is his current reality and asks “Okay, how can I do the best I can under these circumstances?”

By accepting that things would be crazy, it allowed him to have GOOD success, but not completely take over his life (the startup has already done that!).

Because Jeff knew his workout schedule and access to a gym would be limited, he took the next big step:

#2) JEFF FOCUSED ON FOOD AND TRACKING.

Over the past year, Jeff has dropped significant body fat even with inconsistent or nonexistent exercise. How does that work?

Simple: nutrition is 90% of the weight loss equation.

And for Jeff, to get down to “I want to see my abs” levels of body fat, nutrition becomes 95% of the battle.

Sure, making small changes like “focusing on real food” and “eating more vegetables” can certainly help an overweight person lose weight sustainably in the beginning, but the closer you get to 10% body fat, the more strict and disciplined you need to become.

As they say: abs aren’t made in the gym, they’re made in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Jeff was CRAZY focused on his food tracking, and used metrics to make sure he was hitting his caloric goals each day:

He focused on a Paleo-ish nutritional strategy to lose the first 15-20 pounds.

He tried the Keto Diet, but a cholesterol test revealed his body wasn’t a fan of being in ketosis. Good thing he got that test done!

He incorporated Intermittent Fasting with strict calorie tracking to lose the final 10 pounds before his photoshoot.

He knew down to the carb what he was eating on most days whenever possible. Although people that are in tip-top shape want you to think it’s effortless, the real story is often far more strict and disciplined – why? Because nobody wants to hear about counting calories and weighing their food: they just want to be told it’s easy.

If you want to get to a low body fat percentage, that’s what it will take. And it will take much longer than you expected. For Jeff, that’s what it took. And it WORKED.

#3) JEFF HAS AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

What do you do when you know what needs to be done, but life gets so busy you often forget to do it? You recruit an accountability buddy. In Jeff’s case, it was Jim, his coach. This guy:

It’s amazing that a single text from a friend each day asking you if you did a particular habit is often enough to start a habit building process.

In Jeff’s case, it was Jim’s constant support, sometimes tough love, and gentle nudging that got Jeff to be more diligent and committed to the goals he knew he wanted to reach.

#4) JEFF SETS BIG GOALS TO GET OVER HURDLES

Jeff put most of his focus on his daily habits (behavior..

http://bit.ly/2F66smb

[joshuabradleyn]

How Jeff the Doctor, Engineer, and Startup Junkie finally put himself first: A success story

Today, I have a different kind of success story for you.

It’s maybe the best example I’ve ever seen for “just knowing what to do” isn’t enough when it comes to getting healthy!

Meet Jeff (hey, that’s me next to him!):

We met a few years back at Camp NF, one of our in-person events back in 2016 – he’s one of the most accomplished people I know (he started MED SCHOOL at age 16). However, even for a guy as smart as he is, he struggled with actually getting consistent healthy results and getting out of his own way for years.

Over the past few years, as Jeff’s startup life got busier, his health took more and more of a backseat:

Jeff has founded multiple start-ups and is currently running one.

His schedule, both for travel and eating, is completely erratic.

He spent most weekends of 2018 on airplanes, flying red-eye flights.

He kept chasing the next fad, changing his mind every other day.

And his brain wouldn’t slow down! Jeff really struggled with “analysis by paralysis,” thinking about working out way more than he actually worked out.

If this sounds like you and your brain, maybe you can relate?

It took Jeff partnering with Jim, our lead trainer in the NF Coaching Program, for the past year to slow down long enough to start to see results that would stick.

And slowing down isn’t easy for this guy.

Jeff’s brain is always going a million miles an hour, he practically lives on airplanes and red-eye flights, has a super varied eating and workout schedule, and no day is the same for him thanks to his entrepreneurial career!

I’m really proud that Jeff is one of our 1-on-1 coaching clients, and that we were able to get him the results that had eluded him for the majority of his life up to that point.

I love that even as a busy entrepreneur, he’s seeing the “return on investment” of investing in himself with coaching and taking care of his own health! If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear how we could potentially help you at Nerd Fitness Coaching – simply click the button below to learn more!

I’ve chopped this interview into multiple sections, so feel free to pick the sections that you’re most interested in!

How Jeff managed to get his own brain out of the way…

Readers of Nerd Fitness tend to be on the smarter side of average.

Like you. You smart person you.

Jeff is on a different level:

He skipped high school and started college at 13.

He began med school at 16.

He became the second youngest doctor on record at age 20.

After his fellowship, he got an MBA from UCLA.

He studied machine learning in Scotland.

He’s now running a startup in Berkeley, CA.

In other words, Jeff puts the NERD in Nerd Fitness.

In my emails back and forth with Jeff to share this story with you today, I kept thinking two things:

This guy is gonna take over the planet one day, so I’m glad he likes Team Nerd Fitness!

I can totally see why he struggled with getting in shape in the past!

So this is what I wanted to ask him about.

STEVE: You have tried and done many different exercise routines, diet strategies, and everything in between. What has your life been like in that time?

JEFF: In 2014 and 2015, I joined an amateur gymnastics club and really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, when I doubled the number of overnight shifts worked to 200+ nights a year, I developed recurrent upper back/shoulder issues (too much radiology work + muscle hypertrophy from gymnastics) I stopped going to gymnastics altogether, and things deteriorated quickly.

Left to my own devices in 2016 and 2017, I barely worked out at all, and barely stuck to any diet. This is how I gained 20-odd pounds across those years.

STEVE: You’re a doctor and engineer, you have an MBA, and have started multiple startups. You get bloodwork done regularly, and you know your health and fitness information inside and out.

Why do you think you weren’t able to crack the code earlier when it comes to your health and fitness? You had all the information and tools you needed right?

JEFF: I don’t think doctoring, tech, or smarts necessarily help in the pursuit of health. On a side note, there are lots of different kinds of smarts, and the kind I have is definitely limited to very specific applications

Actually, each of these probably works against you, all things considered. It’s kinda like when we say, “Doctors make the worst patients.”

To get (and stay) in shape, I think it comes down to:

Consistency, day in and day out.

Enjoying something about working out.

Building a set of habits that you return to instinctively when life gets busy.

Being surrounded by a support network of people and environments that help you get and stay in shape.

Sufficient sleep, and the practice of de-stressing in some way.

Unfortunately, those are the 5 things I feel like I have to battle each day:

Thinking too much instead of acting.

Not actually enjoying working out. I don’t get the endorphin rush at all. Trying different sports and group activities helps, but even getting back to a sport I love like gymnastics has been remarkably difficult mentally. I’ve also found the more I aim to do HIIT, the more I subconsciously avoid cardio altogether.

Rarely sticking with something long enough to build a set of habits.

Spending almost every weekend in the airport & on red-eye flights, flipping between night and day shifts every other week, having completely variable meal & workout schedules, and lots & lots of meetings.

Usually not getting enough sleep, and not making the time to meditate or de-stress much either.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to have some success keeping the demons at bay in 2018 – as you saw in the photos above, and it’s how I ended up where I am today.

How Jeff Lost 30 Pounds By Focusing on his Diet

With Jeff’s brain being incredibly analytical you can bet he was crazy detailed with his tracking, his meals, and his metrics. You’ll see some of those specifics below,

(Note: if you’re somebody with 50-100+ pounds to lose, don’t get lost in the specifics below! Check out a story like Leslie (100+ pounds lost) or Anthony (200 pounds lost)!)

STEVE: You started working with Jim from NF Coaching back in January – And since then you’ve transformed pretty dramatically, losing 30+ pounds even while working and traveling like crazy.

Can you get into the details? What strategies worked for you?

JEFF: I started the year on a low-fat paleo-ish diet for the first six months (lots of ground meat, sauteed kale, and occasionally some oatmeal in the morning).

Because I travel a lot, and flip days and nights working, my diet varied pretty dramatically.

That got me from just over 195 lbs (“before”) down to about 170-175 lbs.

I hovered there for months and months.

In June, the weight had been hovering for about a month, and I decided to try to full-blown Keto.

I measured every meal to 25g of fat, 21g of protein, and nearly 0 carbs. I stayed in the 5 – 15g / day carb range, and entered ketosis immediately.

Keto didn’t really work for me physiologically.

My weight was remarkably stable day to day while on Keto, right around the 168 – 170 range over 2 months.

At the end of August, I got a follow-up cholesterol/lipid panel just to check where things were at — and it turns out I’m in the small subset of people whose cholesterol spikes to ridiculous levels on Keto [studies have shown there’s a subset of people with cholesterol levels very sensitive to diet].

I stopped Keto immediately and went back on low-fat Paleo, which got me back to the weight hovering around 170.

I went on a vacation to Greece for the first time in September, where I gained five pounds (from eating a lot more than I should).

STEVE: I hear ya man. Keto doesn’t agree with me either, but I know it works for some! So tell me what happened specifically. So I’m glad you found low-fat Paleo-ish to work for you. That’s what I’m doing too.

So what got you over that final 10-pound hurdle?

JEFF: I was hoping to be able to do a photoshoot (a big goal I had set at the beginning of the year) in November, but the scale wasn’t budging in October and I was out of time!

I had a colleague who really suggested I look at intermittent fasting. I’d never considered it seriously before. The thought of not eating for these long intervals, after being so used to eating every 2 1/2 – 3 hours every single day, wasn’t appealing.

I remembered that you’d written a post on IF, so went back and read it through, and decided to give it a shot:

Started a 16/8 fast/feast protocol (1700 calories a day, carefully measured).

Moved to 18/6 the next day.

Move to 19/5.

Eventually did 20/4 for a few days

Went back to 18/6.

It worked wonders — my weight started going down again.

I’m actually not sure whether I like IF yet – but it works awesomely for me – there’s a disconnect between how well something works vs. whether I actually enjoy it! Haha.

Here’s why I like it: I’m more productive when not eating, show up on time to workouts, and save time by not prepping and eating six meals a day.

But we’ll see. Right now it’s working for me. And it allowed me to hit my goal on time!

STEVE: As a crazy but lazy fan of intermittent fasting, I hear ya man – it helps me make fewer decisions each day, less clean-up, less work!

Clearly, you put a huge emphasis on your nutrition, but what about your workouts?

JEFF: Workout-wise, things have varied a lot.

I still haven’t been back to gymnastics this year, but have been through all sorts of exercise routines.

To name a few:

Scheduled workouts

Unscheduled workouts

Mini-workouts at home

Assault bike sprints

Rings & small rope climb at home

A few BJJ and Aikido classes

I don’t know how to do things half-assed, so I even kicked off New Year’s last year (prior to working with Jim) in Thailand for six days at a weight loss/fitness & Muay Thai bootcamp [Gym Bangarang] in Chiang Mai.

Due to my crazy travel schedule, my workout schedule has been hit and miss. That’s okay though.

So I tried all of that, but there’s been one constant over the past twelve months…

Jeff’s Experience with Trainers and NF Coaching

STEVE: Over the past few years, you’ve trained with a dozen trainers, many of them IN person. I’m curious: what was it about the NF Online Coaching program in particular that appealed to you?

JEFF: The biggest thing about the NF Coaching program is its persistent global accountability.

As long as you keep your coach updated, he/she sees the entire sweep of your nutrition & fitness-related life (as well as most everything else that’s going on in your life), and so they are by far the best-equipped person to get you off your ass and eating right / working out.

Working with any other trainers in years past, the training and accountability usually ended as soon as the one-hour training session was over.

Occasionally someone might help put together a food plan, but most in-person trainers are far too busy to keep track of all their clients over the course of the week, the month, and the year to help them keep themselves accountable.

STEVE: What else do you get out of NF coaching and working with a trainer like Jim?

JEFF: I started working with Jim in early 2018, and here’s what I enjoy the most:

Jim provides accountability, gets me to track my progress, and a consistent reminder that I need to be doing something:

Watching and tracking each thing I eat.

Getting a workout in whenever possible.

Replying to messages in the app.

Uploading food photos.

I do my best to track weights, reps, and sets on workouts, I sometimes dump weeks of food photos in at once (I average about a 2/3 success rate on taking food photos), and I’ve been pretty slack about taking interval follow-up photos and measurements lately.

Jim always adjusts accordingly.

He’s great at providing a bit of extra slack, especially during tough weeks, and not being too critical – except when he thinks I need a push – and he’s usually right!

Here’s the other thing I love:

The chance to share the ups and downs, to celebrate the triumphs and help me make it over the hurdles, a constant social bond in the midst of never-ending work and an ever-shifting schedule.

At Camp, I really appreciated that Nerd Fitness was working hard to change people’s lives.

So no matter where NF went – whether you ever decided to do another Camp, or launch a 1:1 coaching program, or build up NF Academy – I committed to staying involved: to help out people in the NF community where possible, join the NF Academy and Coaching program and share NF with acquaintances and friends.

STEVE: What would you say to somebody considering NF Coaching?

JEFF: It works where all the other trainers and fitness programs fail. The NF Coaching program meets you right where you’re at, keeping you accountable, providing tons of encouragement, and customizing your food and workout plans specifically to you.

It’s changed my life, and it could change yours too.

THE 5 KEYS TO JEFF’S SUCCESS

#1) JEFF ACCEPTED HIS LIFE WOULD ALWAYS BE CRAZY

Every day, we’re faced with a challenge:

The way we WANT things to be, in a perfect world.

The way things actually are.

The problem arises when people optimize their lives and assume that they can have things how they want:

Of course I’ll have time to cook an amazing meal each day.

Of course I”ll have 90 minutes to work out.

Of course I’ll start batch cooking and take up Yoga.

Reality paints a very different picture, and THAT’S what you need to plan for!

Jeff had health and fitness goals, and also a crazy hectic lifestyle with ungodly amounts of travel. Rather than beating himself up for this, he accepts this is his current reality and asks “Okay, how can I do the best I can under these circumstances?”

By accepting that things would be crazy, it allowed him to have GOOD success, but not completely take over his life (the startup has already done that!).

Because Jeff knew his workout schedule and access to a gym would be limited, he took the next big step:

#2) JEFF FOCUSED ON FOOD AND TRACKING.

Over the past year, Jeff has dropped significant body fat even with inconsistent or nonexistent exercise. How does that work?

Simple: nutrition is 90% of the weight loss equation.

And for Jeff, to get down to “I want to see my abs” levels of body fat, nutrition becomes 95% of the battle.

Sure, making small changes like “focusing on real food” and “eating more vegetables” can certainly help an overweight person lose weight sustainably in the beginning, but the closer you get to 10% body fat, the more strict and disciplined you need to become.

As they say: abs aren’t made in the gym, they’re made in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Jeff was CRAZY focused on his food tracking, and used metrics to make sure he was hitting his caloric goals each day:

He focused on a Paleo-ish nutritional strategy to lose the first 15-20 pounds.

He tried the Keto Diet, but a cholesterol test revealed his body wasn’t a fan of being in ketosis. Good thing he got that test done!

He incorporated Intermittent Fasting with strict calorie tracking to lose the final 10 pounds before his photoshoot.

He knew down to the carb what he was eating on most days whenever possible. Although people that are in tip-top shape want you to think it’s effortless, the real story is often far more strict and disciplined – why? Because nobody wants to hear about counting calories and weighing their food: they just want to be told it’s easy.

If you want to get to a low body fat percentage, that’s what it will take. And it will take much longer than you expected. For Jeff, that’s what it took. And it WORKED.

#3) JEFF HAS AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

What do you do when you know what needs to be done, but life gets so busy you often forget to do it? You recruit an accountability buddy. In Jeff’s case, it was Jim, his coach. This guy:

It’s amazing that a single text from a friend each day asking you if you did a particular habit is often enough to start a habit building process.

In Jeff’s case, it was Jim’s constant support, sometimes tough love, and gentle nudging that got Jeff to be more diligent and committed to the goals he knew he wanted to reach.

#4) JEFF SETS BIG GOALS TO GET OVER HURDLES

Jeff put most of his focus on his daily habits (behavior..

http://bit.ly/2F66smb