#i used to go to nye parties but to be honest i really prefer being alone for it

[poorlittlevampire]

idk what to do for new years eve i think i will watch kiki’s delivery service maybe and cry

[amydancepants-peralta]

we’re the fortunate ones (spinning ‘round the sun) ☀️

Here is chapter one of my entry into the @b99fandomevents 2020 vision challenge:  Peraltiago celebrating NYEs, throughout the years/seasons.

More to come soon ☺️ (ao3)

season one:  with these things there’s no telling (we just have to wait and see)

The first time Amy Santiago spends her New Year’s Eve with Jake Peralta, it happens completely without her volition.  

She had been working alongside Jake (and the other detectives at the nine-nine) for three years now, and until Captain McGintley decided to partner them up together, had been able to avoid sharing too many cases with him.  Jake was, to use his own terms, a Lone Wolf - so determined to be the hero that ran in to save the day that he often left little to no regard for the consequences.  It was entirely different to the way Amy preferred to operate, and it was just one of the reasons why they often butted heads.  

But a few months ago McGintley had retired, and Captain Holt (aka, her RABBI) had taken charge, and now the two of them were getting assigned together on a steady basis.  

To say her tolerance level had risen to an all-time high was an understatement. 

When the call had come in about a major drug bust going down on the docks at New Years Eve, Amy had been torn between the desire to be part of the action and the urge to lay low and attend the party her best friend Kylie had organised.  In the end, tactical operations had won out over beer pong with strangers, and by 8pm she was in an unmarked car with Detective Daniels, making just enough small talk to make the passing time bearable.  

Until, Daniels got a personal call three hours in and had to leave, and Holt had called in the relief team.  Which so happened to be Detective Peralta.  

In all honesty, Amy tries her very best to not let out a defeated sigh as her louder than normal partner jumps into the car, slinging a backpack undoubtedly filled with unnaturally-coloured drinks and bags of candy coated in sugar into the footwell before bending his legs and collapsing onto the seat.  His smile is bright, but then it always is, and when she hands him the second pair of binoculars Amy notices how cold his hands are.

“The docks are cold at night” he mutters without prompting, and as Amy looks over him he shrugs.  “You’re my partner.  Even if I wasn’t in the stakeout with you, I was going to be around.”  It was an oddly mature thing for him to say, and she stares for a beat longer, blinking in confusion with her own binoculars still resting in her lap.  Turning his attention to the docks in front of them, Jake gives Amy a glance from the side of his eyes before shifting uncomfortably in his seat, obviously aware of her staring, and after a minute Amy lifts her binoculars and points them directly at Jake.  

The image is distorted, obviously.  If she turned the dial in the middle a little, it would focus on the flurry of curls in his overgrown hair; but for now she waits, and it only takes a few seconds before he sighs.  

“What are you doing, Santiago?”

She lowers the goggles, gripping them with her fingers as she stares her partner down.  “I don’t get it.”

Jake turns to look at Amy, furrowing his brow and glancing at their surroundings before returning his attention to her.  “See, how it works is … you point those things at the stuff that’s really far away, and they become bigger through the lens.”

“I don’t need you to explain telescopic imagery to me, Peralta.” Amy huffs, her exasperation obvious as she drops the binoculars to her lap, folding her arms to her chest accusingly.  “I’m talking about you.  You had the night off.  You could be literally anywhere else in the city right now.  Why were you waiting outside?”

Another shrug.  “You’re my partner, and I thought you might have needed backup.”

“Nuh-uh.  Not buying it.”  Narrowing her eyes, she gasps as a realisation strikes her.  “The bet!  You know you’re going to lose, so you’re trying to steal these arrests from me.”  Raising her hand, Amy points one neatly manicured finger at her partner.  “Sabotage!  That is the lowest of the lows, Peralta.  You have every right to be nervous, because I am clearly going to win this bet, but taking them from me?  Unbelievable.”

Jake rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief as Amy talks, and the look on his face only irritates her further.  “Ah, firstly?  I’m all for a little bit of fantasy, but making yourself believe that you’re going to win this bet is just foolish, Santiago.  I am obviously the superior detective here.  Secondly, I meant what I said earlier.  You’re my partner.  If you’re on a stakeout, I’m on a stakeout.”  He pauses, feigning interest in the roof of the unmarked car they were in before muttering, “Holt is turning me into a better cop, or … whatever.”

Amy lets a silence fall over the two of them as she absorbs his last statement, hands fiddling distractedly with the strap on her binoculars.  She wasn’t wrong - this whole evening had been completely out of character for him.  But maybe his constant trips into the captain’s office were finally beginning to sink in; and maybe Jake was beginning to realise that as strong as they are on their own, they were far stronger as a team.  She mumbles out a thank you, and he waves his hand at her, reaching for the car stereo and turning it on.  Instantly, music blares from the speakers. 

“Peralta!” she whispers, brushing his hand away from the knob and turning the volume down as her eyes dart around the docks for anyone that might have heard something.  “You’ll blow our cover!”

“It’s nearly midnight, Santiago.  We were going to miss the countdown.”

“The only thing we were going to miss was the handover taking place, you doofus!”  He stares her down, this time holding his own against her withering gaze, and finally she sighs in defeat.  “Alright, fine.  We can listen to the radio.  But on LOW, Peralta.”

He rolls his eyes again, and honestly sometimes he is just like a child, muttering “Fine, mom” as he turns the dial ever so slightly towards a higher volume.  The music is gone, and two disc jockeys are talking in it’s place, reminding all their listeners that midnight was only three minutes away.

“Perfect timing!”  Jake calls out, scooting his butt to the back of his seat as he leans down into the footwell, unzipping the backpack he’d dumped down there earlier and pulling out two small white cardboard boxes.  Amy’s brows knit in confusion as she recognises the logo on the box - these were from Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery; a tiny little store about three blocks from her apartment, and her favourite place to sneak in a sweet treat.  How Jake knew that, was something she didn’t understand.

“That’s my - ”

“Your favourite bakery?”  Jake interrupts, smiling when Amy nods quickly.  “Yeah, I figured.  I’ve noticed the box one or two times when you’ve brought in a snack from home, and I googled the place a little while ago.”  Huh.  Maybe he wasn’t such a bad detective after all.  “And I just thought, being on duty and all, we can’t really have champagne to celebrate the new year … but there’s nothing in the guidelines about cupcakes, right?”

His smile is so sweet, and Amy can’t help but return it.  “Right.”  Jake hands her a box, smile breaking out into a grin as he settles back into his seat, and Amy can feel his eyes on her as she opens the lid.  The cupcake is vanilla, swirled with a sweet pink buttercream and tiny glittery sparkles littering the top.  It looks delicious, and is exactly what she needs right now.  “This looks amazing,” she states, looking over at Jake as she lifts the treat out of it’s box.  He’s done the same already, and holds his up to hers in a silent cheers, peeling back the lining as the radio announcer reminds them there is one last minute until the countdown to 2014.  

She takes a bite of the cupcake, licking off a little bit of frosting that remained on her lips and raising her eyebrows in surprise as she begins to feel tiny bursts inside her mouth.  Quickly, she turns towards Jake, swallowing as she cries out, “Pop rocks?!”

“Fireworks,” he corrects her with a wink, taking his own oversized bite and giggling as the candy gets to work.  “If we couldn’t get to the fireworks, then the fireworks were just going to have to come to us, Santiago.”

His enthusiasm is contagious, and Amy watches from her seat as he takes a swig of the orange soda he’d pulled from his bag to wash the cake down.  It was different, seeing him in this light.  Tonight, Peralta was more than just another detective from the precinct.  He was her partner, who had sacrificed his New Years Eve to wait out in the cold, holding delicious snacks on standby and turning himself into the bright light that had warmed up her otherwise mediocre evening.  He was still a man-child, but perhaps a slightly more mature man-child than she’d given him credit for, and … if she was being completely honest with herself?  Just a little bit handsome.  

Jake grins over at Amy as he returns his drink to the cup holder, and Amy can’t help but grin right back as she takes another bite, this time prepared for the miniature explosions as they pop against her tongue.  A childlike giggle threatens to escape, and eagerly eats the remaining piece before the feeling fades.  “This is so good!”

A terrible cover of Auld Lang Syne begins playing on the radio, interrupting their feast, and Jake wipes at the crumbs surrounding his mouth.  He’s quiet as the song plays in the background, chewing on his lower lip before twisting towards her, resting his back against the car window.  “Happy New Year, Amy.”

There’s a bunch of tiny explosions in her throat, and Amy wants to blame it on the cupcake but it just might be the tiny glimmer of something in Jake’s eye.  Taking a deep breath, Amy pauses before smiling back at her partner.  “Happy New Year, Jake.”

The song cover turns into a dance mix, blasting through the tiny speakers as the DJ obviously raises the volume in studio, and both detectives screw their face up in disgust, Jake’s hand reaching the power button first.  They sigh in relief as a silence falls over the vehicle, and quickly Jake reaches for the binoculars still in his lap, holding them against his face and switching seamlessly back to Detective Mode.  “So no sign of our perps yet, huh?”

Amy clears her throat, mirroring Jake’s actions with her own pair of binoculars and aiming them towards the shipping containers set up along the edge of the dock.  “No, I think the intel might be a bust.”  Pulling the lens away slightly, she glances over at Jake before facing forward again.  “Looks like you’ll have to figure out another way to beat me at this bet, Peralta.”

He scoffs, a loud psh sound falling from his mouth.  “Please.  It’s you that needs to beat me, Santiago.  In all seriousness, you really should be prepared for the worst date of your life.”

She can’t find the right thing to say in response (letting out a choked laugh instead), and so they get back to surveillance in silence, wrapping up the operation when Holt calls them in an hour later.    

It’s another two weeks before the bet is over and Amy is forced to concede defeat.  And despite all of her reservations, she finds that a date with Jake Peralta and his crushing debt wasn’t nearly as bad as she let herself think it would be.  

[eldritchsurveys]

665.

1—are you moody in the morning? >> I can be. Sometimes I wake up and my mind immediately dives into rumination mode for some reason, and that kind of ruins the morning for me. It’s like my brain goes “hey, you’re defenseless and groggy, let’s just Fuck You Up On Purpose!” Thanks. 2—have you ever behaved like a stalker? >> No. 3—do you appreciate other people’s opinions? >> I appreciate most opinions. But some opinions, while I respect that a person may have them, and respect their freedom to have them, I just don’t want to hear. 4—does baby corn freak you out? >> No. I don’t really like it, though. 5—can you lie and keep a straight face? >> Probably.

6—have you ever feared for somebody else’s life? >> Maybe a long time ago. 7—do you prefer honesty, even when it hurts? >> I do prefer it, but I also prefer that people not intentionally be hurtful when they’re being honest. There’s a such thing as tact, and I for one know that it takes a bit of practice to learn, but... at least try. 8—have you ever consulted a psychic? >> No. 9—if yes, do you consider yourself a moron? >> Well, that’s fucking rude. 10—does the opposite sex’s bo turn you on? >> No one’s body or its odour turns me on. (Inworlders, don’t interact. This ain’t about y’all.) 11—have you ever stayed in a relationship out of habit? >> Yeah. Not a romantic one, but a lot of friendships formed by circumstance rather than genuine interest. 12—have you ever deliberately not told someone that they had something in their teeth? >> I mean, maybe. I don’t always care enough to make that step. 13—what was the best decision you ever made? >> Buying this absinthe. My brain did try to shame me for it because I’m not made of money, but I refuse to let it win. Life is a fuck and this Sparks Joy, fuck off. 14—do you have a father- or mother- complex? >> Well, yeah, considering I was abandoned by one and emotionally neglected by the other. 15—if you could pick your own pet name, what would it be? >> I don’t know. Most of the pet names I’ve encountered didn’t suit me. Most of them make me feel infantilised and that’s not a comfortable or affection-generating feeling... 16—have you ever masturbated while driving? >> Regular brain: “are you fucking kidding me lmao that’s extremely unsafe” Kink brain: “man I fucking love Crash (1996) dir. David Cronenberg” 17—how do you feel when someone takes the last of something? >> If it’s something I wanted, I hate it, duh. But most of the time they didn’t know I wanted it and didn’t do it to spite me, so I have to keep that in mind. 18—how do you feel when people tell you “bless you” or “gesundheit” when you sneeze? >> I don’t really register it, tbh. I never say it myself, so it doesn’t strike me as a particularly important gesture. I still say “thanks” because that social script is built-in, of course (and because I understand that people follow that social standard to be polite, so I’m acknowledging that). 19—what are you supposed to say when somebody coughs? >> Nothing. Unless you have cough drops on you and you want to offer one, I guess. 20—do you care what’s going on in the world? >> I mean, I’m sometimes interested, but I’m not going to obsess about it. 21—do you pronounce a second “r” in “sherbet” or an “r” in wash? >> No, I don’t have that particular accent. 22—do you throw temper tantrums? >> I have meltdowns, and people who are unfamiliar with neurodivergence / complex trauma response might interpret them as “temper tantrums”. Which is fine to me, because honestly, the internal mechanisms between a toddler having a tantrum and me having a meltdown are actually pretty similar -- we are overwhelmed by things in our environment that we cannot control and we do not have the internal resources to modulate our emotional response. The difference between a toddler and me is that a toddler, raised in a healthy environment, will likely develop those resources organically, over time -- while I am responding abnormally for my age because my development was not healthy. 23—have you ever committed a violent crime because of a video game or rap song? >> No. 24—have you ever actually overheard one of your friends talking shit about you? >> Probably. 25—how many partners is too many? >> That depends on the people involved. It’s not something I should be judging on behalf of anyone else but myself. (I don’t know how many is too many for myself, for the record. Right now, one is enough because I’m still working through a lot of disordered attachment and intimacy issues.) 26—do you know what the “myspace angles” are? >> Yeah, I remember that. 27—is tom still your friend? if yes, why? >> I never kept Tom as a friend. 28—do you have a sponge frog next to your sink? >> A what? Because if this means just... a sponge shaped like a frog, we need to get one ASAP. 29—do you believe that wearing an aluminum foil hat will stop the government from reading your thoughts? >> I mean, I assume the government isn’t reading my thoughts. They don’t need to -- I’m a resident of the Internet, they can just interpret my data like they do with everyone else’s. 30—would you rather have a hook for a hand or a peg leg? >> No. 31—do you tip the carhops at sonic? >> I’ve never interacted with this element of Sonic. I’ve only been to Sonic once, and I was not in a car. I did find the overall interface there to be a bit confusing, ngl. 32—have you gotten drunk specifically to lower your inhibitions? >> Yeah, definitely. 33—how close does someone have to be for you to feel obligated to wait and hold the door for them? >> Pretty close. It’s awkward for both people when someone’s far away from the door and someone else holds the door for them. Like, neither one of us is going to die if you just let the door go and let me get there on my own time. 34—do you give “breaks” to people who don’t deserve them? (i.e. are you a sucker?) >> I used to, and now I’ve flipped to the other end of the spectrum, which isn’t great either. Trying to slide down into the middle -- not a pushover, but not cutting everyone off at the slightest perceived error either. 35—have you ever been walked in on? >> Yeah. 36—honestly, do you think you’re better than everyone? >> No, my problem is the opposite problem. 37—what do you take to a pot luck? >> I don’t know, I’ve never been to a potluck. When we went to the NYE party at Lauren’s place, Sparrow made gumbo and we brought that. My contribution was a 6-pack of pear cider... yeah, I think that’s my thing. I bring the good booze. 38—do you examine the tissue after you blow your nose? >> Yeah, man. It’s gross to me too -- you know, me, with my extreme issues with being organic -- but you can learn a lot from the consistency of the crap that comes out of your body. 39—how do you know when you are an adult? >> Well, as long as we continue to eschew traditional rites of passage, we’ll never know. 40—what is your cure for the hiccups? >> I don’t have a cure, my hiccups go away on their own pretty quickly. But now I’m reminded of that Grey’s Anatomy plot where Meredith’s half-sister’s mother died of the hiccups. (Well, there was more to it than that, but that’s the funny interpretation.)

[darlingnisi]

Celebration Day 3 : VIP Edition

Part 2 Here!

Funk Soldiers Panel

Shelby J

Kat Dyson

Xavier Taplin

Joey Rayfield

Kip Blackshire

About Last Night... (The Prince on the Big Screen event)

A lot of reherasal

Kirk organized everyone, got the materials out

Biggest challenge was that there were a lot of performers who worked with P at different times so the arrangements of the songs were often different. Hard to sync up with the show or pick the right one to use at first

Shelby said it was hard not to turn and look at him on the screen

The fludidity of the performance came with experience because they knew what P expected of them musically

Kat said “having him in my ear floated me back to my time with him” The instructions he gave inside of the performance still applied

Joey noted that he better understood the difference between just playing and performance from his time with Prince

“I almost forgot he wasn’t there”

Kat Dyson Origin Story (Guitar)

Recommended by Sheila E. Kat and Rhonda Smith met Sheila while demoing gear at an industry show. Sheila asked for their music as she had an idea to do an all girl band at the time. She got sick and gave their info to P. P took them both on.

Their audition was a four hour jam session in 96. P asked Kat “How much of my material do you know...and how much did you buy?”

Her favorite P music are the soundtracks, especially Batman and her favorite songs are Joy of Repetition and Question of You.

She and Rhonda did an arrangement for Question of You for him.

Xavier Taplin Origin Story (Organ)

Played with and was reccomend by Gouche, another NPG member

Audition was P on Bass and Job Blackwell on Drums. They played 777-9311 and P had him solo for 60 bars. He fell back into the groove and P told him to keep going...fell back into the groove again...and P told him to keep going. P put his bass down, walks over to  Xavier, and stands “uncomfortably close for 15 seconds just looking at me” he then says “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Joey Rayfield (Trombone)

Gets a call from Adrian Crutcfield about an audition in Charolette North Carolina. Gets PDF of a chart for Xtraloveable and realizes it’s for Prince

They have a Skype audition.

Time passes and he randomly got an email with a Delta ticket to Minneapolis. He quit his job and left for Paisley.

At first played on Andy Allo’s Supeconductor sessions.

Story : during a rehearsal P slowly walks up to the stage and says “You and Ida go play ping pong and if you win, I’ll play you. Joey wins and plays Prince. Joey’s in his dress shoes though and is slipping and sliding everywhere. P stops the game, moves a rug to be under Joey and says “I ain’t got no insurance.”

Story from Kat : I played basketball with him. Nobody told me not to block his shot. The game was over after that.

Kip : I was playing with him in the Daisy Chain video.

Kip Blackshire Origin Story (Vocals)

Morris Hayes invited him to a Carlos Sananta show and Jam session at Paisley. Kip absently playing basketball. Hears a “clang” (P dropping his guitar). P comes over and squares up with Kip. Kip passes P the ball, and P checks him hard in the stomach with it. Kip says he isn’t dressed to play and P tells him to come back the next day to play for real. The next day they play a 2 on 2 game. Kirk/Prince vs. Morris/Kip.

Was cleaning up in the bathroom and absently singing. P overhears and invites him to sing with them in the studio. P asks him if he knows Little Red Corvette and Kip says “I wasn’t allowed to listen to you growing up.” Instead P played guitar and Kip answered his licks with his voice. He was invited to join the band and the first song he sang on was Undisputed from Rave.

Shelby J Origin Story (Vocals)

Audition for Larry G’s band. Got in and was at 3121 doing a rehearsal. Kept being told to re-sing Higher Ground. It was P asking.

Was singing I Can’t Stand the Rain during a show. Crowd goes wild and she thought she was “DOING IT!” turns out P had come on stage behind her and was plugging up his guitar to join them. He came up to her mic and sang cheek to cheek with her for that song.

Was in Walmart getting supplies at home when she got invited to sing at one of his shows NYE. From there she was asked to join the band and their next gig was the Superbowl.

Arrangement Panel with Michael B Nelson

Had done work with Micheal Bland. There was an idea for a warm up group early 90′s. Dave and Kathy Jenson with Michael B Nelson, Sonny, and Tommy B made up a 5 piece band. They recorded some tracks and sent it to P. P told them to go to a Carmen Electra rehearsal to be filmed. Time passes asked to come to the soundstage at Paisley...saw pedal boards set up P was there! NPG was very tight at this time so P just held up a signal and they started into Madhouse 4. The horns were shocked for a moment then fell in (this was their audition). They jammed for 6 hours then recorded for the first time that same day....Sexy MF? (This may be wrong...he mentioned that they recorded for the first time that day, then a moment later said the first thing they recorded was Sexy MF as part of a different story so...take that how you will)

Told to get their passports together. They joined him on the Diamonds and Pearls tour

There were 11 semi trucks and 110 people in the entourage for the D&P tour. Their first stop with him was Tokyo

Hornheads was formulated as a horns only group since they were on with P and couldn’t play with anyone else, they just made a mini group to keep their chops up during down time. Mike Nelson wrote the tunes and they have 3 albums.

“Even when he was giving you a hard time, he’s just pushing you”

Q: What was it like during the 90′s? Every office was filled. He gave you exactly what you needed to fufill a task. You didn’t ask for additional questions...you had to trust yourself and know that he trusted you to use your creativity wisely.

Prince preferred Duke Ellington’s style of horns

P would send Mike tapes of a lead line and melody and Mike would add horn parts.

Mike did Black Muse, new Xtraloveable, When She Comes, Groovy Potential, Morning Papers and more (He’s been around for about 25 years)

Percentage of things recorded to released of the work Mike did. 50%

He co-wrote Billy Jack Bitch. While they were working on something, Mike played P a song during tape change. P said “Who do I have to pay to use that” The instrumental part of Billy Jack Bitch was written by Mike.

Story : Working on something and Mike B was impressed with how it sounded. Forgot everything he said could be heard in the control room by P. Commented “man that is funky” P responds “yes it is.”

Story : Tenor sax was playing a solo while working on something and it didn’t go well. When it was done, from the control room P says “You guys see Waterworld?” Tenor sax guy “No who’s in it” Prince, “Your mama” Tenor sax guy, “Oh it’s good to know she’s getting work!” “Prince falls off his chair from laughing” (Waterworld has a reputation for being a very bad movie.)

Q: Why did you last? P told him “You and Clare Fischer really understand my music.” Was asked to be full time in 2012. He never had a falling out or harsh words with P and P never rejected any of his additions to his songs.

Got our pictures from our tour back. Framing mine for sure! It’s like my 5th picture in here and the only good one, lol...

Funk Soldiers Concert

Honesty we were all kind of weary about this as this seemed to be a remix of the NewPower Soul group to some degree...or at least that concept, but once again VERY happy to be completely checked about the assumption because they were PHENOMENAL and not just because of something that happened...! Set list : 

I’m Yours

I Feel For You

Party Man

Girls and Boys

Lady Cab Driver/Irresistible Bitch mashup (!)

1+1+1 is 3 (I LOST. MY. MIND. YA’LL KNOW THAT ONE NIGHT ALONE TIME PERIOD IS MY COMPLETE FAVORITE AND NOBODY DOES COVERS OF THOSE SONGS AND IT WAS SO GOOD!)

The Work Part 1 (I WAS ABSOLUTELY DELIRIOUS! AGAIN BECAUSE THIS IS MY ERA AND NOBODY DOES THIS! I was so into it singing, foot stomping and dancing, I got tapped by security and they asked if I want to go on stage! I 100% always say I’d never do it, but I thought I’d get to jam out to The Work since that goes on for a bit. I got back stage and they said I was to be part of a dance battle (WHAT?! I LEGIT AM THE MOST RESERVED PERSON USUALLY ABSOLUTELY NOT! (And also I guess for The Professor, lol) So me and Lenny Beason (from Purple Underground who thankfully I mostly know in real life so I was comfortable) were to battle to...

Black Sweat (Kip told me to go first so I tried to do every dance I could think of...The Housequake, The Get Off dance, Tried to remember the Purple Funk SF Funknroll dance but my mind blanked so I did some booty pops and stopped on the accents with a pose. Lenny went during the next chorus...then I had to go again. Shelby said I’m her funk sister now and we got T-shirts! My heart was beating so fast ya’ll! It pays to love The Rainbow Children! LOL!

Chelsea Rodgers

Xtraloveable (AGAIN A DREAM COME TRUE I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HEAR THIS LIVE WITH THESE GUYS DOING THE HORNS!)

Big City

Welcome 2 the Dawn (SO glad they did this instead of Purple Rain! Amazing choice! A Great song!)

Paisley Park

All the Critics Love You in New York/Housequake Jumps

Alphabet Street (Sheila E came out and crowd surfed for a bit)

Very good job! They were very tight, funky, and kept everyone’s spirits WAY up, especially with the EXCELLENT choice of Welcome 2 the Dawn being the only slow song.

This day was the 21st and honestly it was a BLUR. Even if I hadn’t gotten chosen by Ghost Prince to go up, the experience the band gave us with their energy and love made it hard to be sad this day. For me, interestingly I had a harder time on the 20th seeing him up there at the Big Screen event and with all the news that came out on the previous Thursday...did stay in bed for a bit that day to be honest...but “the day” was so full of just AMAZING like he legit came down like “ya’ll don’t cry for me...look at all this that I left behind for you to enjoy!” This day was was distracting with so much information followed by such an explosive show! Everyone was on their feet dancing, singing, hands in the air, just the whole time!

I’m very glad the days for the arena event got switched because it honestly would have been too much for me if it fell on this day...

Last part here!

[whateverfloatsyourboatangie]

7 Times HIMYM Was Right About Life

1) Graduation Goggles.

In E6S20, the lot talks about Graduation Goggles, according to Robin, the phenomenon when you quit doing something or someone you hated, but as soon as you determined the finalisation, you get nostalgic and wish it back, like in high school, when everyone gets nostalgic after graduation.

During the past six months I worked at a publishing house as English editor and it was, plainly, pretty boring. I didn’t like the hours (far too many) and the work was primarily not challenging enough…

Anyway, when I could quit for good reasons, I suddenly felt sorry for leaving (it wasn’t long though, rather a Barney Goggle Moment). I also always get Graduation Goggles when I go to the hairdresser’s. Initially, I hate my hair and yearn for the moment a too stylish black-clad woman finally massages my temples before getting my hair cut, but then, as soon as I am comfortably seated in one of the chairs, the InTouch on my lap and  the black plastic cloak around my shoulders, I look into the mirror and think ‘Hey, it’s not too bad, is it?’ and wish I could have the indecency to walk out and keep my hair put - which I never do.

2) The Lobster Situation

This refers to when Robin is obsessed to get Barney back after she’s seeing him with another woman. Previously, she was told she couldn’t have lobster and then had a sudden urge to only eat lobster, making her face swell up.

I guess this is something everybody can associate with. The minute you are told you can’t do something, you just NEED to do it. I sometimes have that when I am somewhere really high and I have this sudden urge to drop my phone or camera (which is why I can never get out my phone somewhere high). Or when someone tells you not to scratch a spot, it starts itching so badly, you’d rather pull your face off than not scratch it.

3) Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.

This relates to Ted’s mother’s rule that you should make sure to be home after 2 a.m. because everything from there on is only crap. A long time ago, I wrote a post on the inner child where adults, when having the inner child switched on, react childishly and don’t want the evening to end, which, ultimately, ends in the evening being ruined. Example: Last NYE I made a bad mistake and agreed to celebrate NYE with my man and his friends, who have their inner child turned on permanently when going out (and mostly likely the rest of the time, too). Anyway, it was NYE and we were quite a bunch of people and still managed to secure a table to have everyone seated comfortably, which is close to winning a million Euros, if you ask me. Midnight had passed and so had 2 a.m. and people were starting to go home. The people who didn’t have their inner child on, did the sensible thing, saying “it’s late, let’s go home”. Anyway, not my man’s friends...no, even though everyone was seated and happy, we NEEDED to move to the next club because...reasons. From then on, it was only a drag. I, not wanting to be the sensible for once, accepted the stupidity and dragged along, knowing the evening had passed its peak and it was time to go home; however, the inner children didn’t know, nagging “no, mummy, just five more minutes” while the mummies could already see the children would be arguing and crying in five minutes’ time. Anyway, instead of going home and reminisce the evening with fond memories, we spent an hour not deciding which the next club would be and when we had finally decided, it was so crammed we couldn’t get in before I told them I would go home whereupon everyone agreed it was finally time to go home (apart from the ultimate inner child, but this would be getting too long if I started talking on inner child narcissist traits in people).  

So, heed Ted’s mum’s advice and just go home when the clock strikes 2 a.m..

4) Long Distance Relationships Rarely Work

In season one when Ted meets patissier Victoria, he is quickly falling in love with the sympathetic, warm-hearted cake maker (and part of me still mourns she didn’t end up being the mother, if I am honest with you).

However, their luck quickly gets challenged when Victoria receives a bakery fellowship in Germany, prompting the difficult question whether to stay with Ted or further her career. Both agree quickly that long distance wouldn’t work for them and that her accepting the fellowship would mean their relationship was over (honestly, a year is not that long of a time…).

Now, it is not that long distance cannot work, after all I have already had long distance for a year with my man and it worked out alright; however, I have to agree that long distance isn’t what you should be opting for - especially if it is not foreseeable how long the relationship will have to endure the additional burden. My man and I knew it would only be a year and even knowing that, we needed a little “re-entering phase” when I came back.

For Ted and Victoria  things do not end well in the show and Ted cheats on her with Robin (why, Ted, why? Robin’s really not all that special…). Lily and Marshall also drone on about Lily’s exchange in Paris in which they both suffered from the long distance.

In the end, I would say being together also means being together. Personally, when I choose to be with someone, I want to be with this person, in mind and body.

5) Things you didn’t like in the beginning, you may end up really liking after years

Upon reviewing a shirt he initially didn’t like, Ted realises it has grown on him and he revisits his ex-girlfriends to see if one of them would be a fit now, even if she wasn’t back then. I don’t know about ex-girl or boyfriends, but I can certify that you can actually grow to like things you didn’t previously.

For me, it has mostly been food which has transformed from eugh to yummy, such as carrots. I hated carrots as a child and told my mother only rabbits would eat them; however, now they have become one of my favourite vegetables. My man has always hated hot chocolate, but now I catch him nipping of my cup when I drink one and he has admitted he has grown to like the taste.

Another area in which I regularly flip my mind is fashion. I can perceive something as terribly horrible and wear it a couple of months later myself. Initially I thought the idea of ripped jeans was laughable because who would buy torn jeans? However, even though they’re still not my favourite, I have some pairs of them in my wardrobe now too. Same goes for sneakers. I still oppose the ridiculous sneaker culture creeping up upon us and people who, out of principle, only wear sneakers should be flogged in my opinion; yet, from downright declaring I would never ever wear one pair myself, my man actually bought my a pair of Nike’s last year and I have been seen wearing them on occasion.  

6) Clubs are terrible

There is no message I can endorse more than this one. I. Hate. Clubs. In HIMYM, Ted and Barney go to some fancy club while Lily and Marshall dedicate their time with more grown-up occupations, quickly yearning they were at the club too.

Inside the club, Ted can barely talk to a woman because of the loud music, two beers cost him thirty-something quid and it takes hours until he can get them. Ultimately, he concurs that clubs suck and I can fully understand that.

Personally, I have never been a party bunny myself and preferred reading in bed (I know it sounds so cliché, but it is actually the truth). However, once or twice I year I convinced myself that partying was fun, so I went out to some fancy club in which the music was drumming from the walls and I was elbowed all evening long, leading me to the conclusion that clubs actually suck, unless you enjoy being deaf for the three ensuing days, like to be butt-grabbed every five minutes and drunk men harassing you. And if you do, you should seek advice...

7) The Platinum Rule

Barney has a rule for everything, we know that, but this rule actually isn’t such a bad idea. Basically it states to not eat where you defecate, i.e. not date someone from work, befriend a neighbour or engage in relational contact with anybody whom you cannot simply avoid.

Obviously, it is difficult to stay out of any sort of relationship at the places you primarily exist; however, I would not seek a relationship at the workplace, for instance, because in the case it doesn’t work out (which usually is the case), everything gets really weird and the place you spent most of your time at suddenly becomes a haunted space for unwanted memories.

Additionally, neighbours can be tricky too. Obviously we all desire pleasant relationships with our neighbours, i.e. them letting us be without interfering too much. But friends? Hm, could work out the other way too. As we can see in HIMYM, Lily and Marshall get all cosy with their new neighbours who then constantly knock on their door, wanting to play charades. Obviously, this can become rather tiresome if one party is more involved into the relationship than another and, personally, I have never sought to be friends with my neighbours. An affirmative nod in their direction has so far sufficed.

Obviously HIMYM is set in a world of extremes and long distance can work, as can a relationship with a co-worker or neighbour, but the above given theories  explained in HIMYM make sense in many life situations and are well-valued to be kept in mind.  

[mistressziggy]

Hello World! It’s 2018! Hubby is in the kitchen making medicinal bacon sandwiches and complaining that the bacon is slimy and won’t separate the slices in a way he finds acceptable for bacon. I suspect he may have a slight hangover but he’s not admitted to it yet, he’s certainly perkier than I was expecting him to be. I am sat here writing this completely hangover-free as I was last nights designated driver.

So, last night was Elphaba’s big NYE bash. Much fun and hijinks were had by all. There were discussions about books, discussions about the pros and cons of the Nintendo Switch, a mad dash to collect missing people from houses to bring them to the party in time for the bells and much celebration as the New Year was ‘rung’ in to the sound of Mons Meg booming out of the TV. I might have had an emotional moment where I started crying and had to go and be quiet in another room, I was a bit overwhelmed by the enormity of getting to the start of 2018. I think I scared a few people with my emotional outburst, I’m not known for crying. Hopefully, I didn’t put too much of a downer on people’s evenings, it was a short thing and people seemed to move past it. We got home, had a cup of tea and headed to bed around 3:30am.

This morning I woke up around 10:30am and immediately got started on my only resolution for 2018, the completion of my Daily Greatness book. I don’t think I’ll be sharing the contents of it with anyone, it seems like it might be too personal for that, but I’ve started nonetheless. I also downloaded an app to my phone called Productive which I’m going to be using to track good habits like cleaning, working on my Daily Greatness book and sticking to my guns about doing less reading and more of my other hobbies.

As today is January 1st, I get my Kindle First book today. I mostly got Amazon Prime so I could get free shipping, I’ve had it since before I met my hubby, but over the years the things they’ve added have made the yearly subscription well worth the price. We get a lot of enjoyment from the TV programmes and films, I occasionally use Amazon music but prefer Spotify if I’m honest, but the biggest thing is the free book every month. Mostly I’ll choose them at random, a cover that I like the look of or a title that intrigues me and this month was no different. This month I picked The Birdwoman’s Palate by Laksmi Pamuntjak. I’m not sure how the Kindle First books will fit into my reading plans for 2018, maybe if I’m ahead for the month I’ll read them in the month I get them, if not I’ll keep them for another time. I plan on writing short reviews of each book I read as I finish them so you’ll see this title pop up again at some point in the future no doubt.

We don’t have much in the way of plans for today. I’ve got ‘chuck it in the oven, heat and eat’ food planned for tea and, other than my chores and tasks set for today, I don’t really have anything planned. My Mum text me at the bells and let me know she’d be calling this afternoon but that’s about it. Today I think will be a day of being lazy, watching films on TV and perhaps read a bit more of my book club book Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear which I actually added into my 52 books for the year rather than counting it outside my 52. Happy 2018!

2018 is Here!!! Hello World! It's 2018! Hubby is in the kitchen making medicinal bacon sandwiches and complaining that the bacon is slimy and won't separate the slices in a way he finds acceptable for bacon.