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aching-tummies · 2 years ago

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Oil and Milkshake

Happy (belated) Easter ^^

Life's been pretty hectic for me in the last week or so and I haven't had time to write about it until now.

Anyway...I think stuff started around Tuesday, April 4? Things at work were getting hectic because some coworkers were demanding to trade/pawn shifts off (to me) last-minute because they decided then and there that they wanted to attend Easter events. So...schedule is thrown out of whack and I'm picking up hours here and there as well as being told that boss is cutting my regular hours because he doesn't expect the weekend to be busy (I ended up with net-gains due to picking up all the shifts everyone else was dropping, so not too salty about the cuts). Welp, I was already dealing with the beginnings of a stressy belly around that day. I was looking forward to getting my errands done and using my one day off to rest up at home. Relatives pulled a fast one on us again, telling us with about 6 hours notice that they were coming into town and expected to stay the weekend at our place etc. 6 hours notice. At least 4 of which I had initially planned to sleep my stress and exhaustion away. So...yeah...got up bright and early to start whipping the house and guest-areas into shape for their stay (the guest area is usually a storage/laundry-folding area for those of us that live here when there are no guests).

With the relatives staying over, our usual diet got thrown for a loop. These relatives insist on take-out and always end up getting copious amounts of breaded/fried foods. So...yeah...that's all that was on offer at the house and in our fridge for 3 days. Fried chicken, fried squid, reheated fried something-that-may-have-started-life-as-a-potato. Honestly...the only greens I saw all weekend were the lettuce leaves fast-food joints use in their TV advertising. Yeah...needless to say that my stressy-belly turned into an upset one really quickly over Easter. To top it all off, Easter chocolate was going on sale and anyone that knows me knows that I never miss an opportunity to score some cheap chocolate. So...all weekend my poor belly became a vat of fried, oily food, and chocolate.

Come Monday morning, the relatives were gone and so was the fried hell that had taken up residence in our fridge all weekend. At this point my belly was just a constant ball of upset and I knew I'd have to work with the churning orb going at it for a couple of days...so I decided to try and salvage what I could of a healthier diet. I ate instant oatmeal and have been doing my best to ensure every meal I take in has at least 2 kinds of vegetables in it.

Anyway...my days off are coming up, and because I intend to rest and relax during them, I decided to run my errands immediately after work. I had some things to print off (graphic organizers...some for work 'cuz I'm in charge of training new hires so I create graphic organizers/charts to help trainees quickly find information rather than having to look all over the place or ask someone every 3 seconds). So...I went to go get those printed off and decided that I would treat myself seeing as it's the end of my work-week.

I went to a nearby food-court and tried out a new-to-me place, got a donair wrap with some roasted potatos to go with it. There were onions, tomato, and actual leafy lettuce on it...three whole chunks of lettuce, which is more than my tummy has seen in a week. I walked around the mall for a little while, hoping to settle my stomach 'cuz it was still pretty upset from the weekend and I wasn't sure if the new-to-me food would play nice. The potatoes were actually extremely oily. There was a noticeable pool of orange-y oil left on the plate after I finished the potatoes. As if I needed any more oil in my poor tummy.

To *really* treat myself, I splurged and bought myself a milkshake from an ice-cream place.

I don't know if it's the oily potatoes or the milkshake, or the combination of both...but my stomach's been more upset in the last 2 hours than it has been all week.

I got through 1/5th of the milkshake while waiting for my bus to come home. After getting off the bus, I still had half a hill to climb before I'd arrive at home and my belly was so uncomfortable. It wasn't aching...but there was a sickly, sticky feeling in it. It felt like my throat and esophagus was squeezing tightly together, preventing something from coming up. I felt a constant urge to burp, but every time I tried, I got nothing, despite feeling a pressure in my throat and in my diaphragm. Halfway home, I tasted something sour at the back of my throat.

I got home and made a beeline for my room. I recently purchased a cheap stethoscope to indulge in my own stomach's noises. Unfortunately, it hasn't been very vocal since I bought the stethoscope. Anyway...I immediately set it up on my stomach, prodding it into various areas of my stomach.

There weren't any loud noises, even with the stethoscope, but I could hear a constant burbling...like something was perpetually foaming within my guts.

Even as I type this, I still feel that nagging pressure telling me something needs to come up and having nothing actually coming up when I try.

Honestly...if I had a partner into this kind of stuff, I actually think I would welcome them being rough with my belly--anything to make this nagging "gonna come up" feeling disappear. I don't puke easily and can count on my fingers the number of times I've ever actually thrown up...maybe some manual encouragement would help? ;) In either case, feel free to take this as an invite/jumping off point for RP-Asks/Starter/Lite.

#tummy kink #upset tummy

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jaskiersvalley · 4 years ago

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This blog is fairly new and you’re one of the first I’ve found that I hadn’t already with an old blog. I love your work. It’s very well written. 💜

Thank you! When you sent this ask, it was a fairly new blog (to be fair, I still think of it as such, it’s not even 6 months old). As a little thank you for being so encouraging so early in the life of this blog, please accept this random little story: Geralt the accidental gardener.

The Path was lonely without Jaskier. Geralt had grown to hate the silence, the way people turned away from him without the buffer of Jaskier between him and humanity. But Jaskier was off on better adventured now, Geralt had to hurt him so he’d realise at long last that there was a better life for him out there than one beside a witcher. It had hurt, Jaskier’s expression had burned into Geralt’s mind, the crushing disappointment and realisation that Geralt wasn’t going to come crawling back. But oh how Geralt had wanted to run after Jaskier, beg his forgiveness. Alas, this was the very act of being cruel to be kind. Maybe one day Jaskier would realised.

Contracts were few and far between but the lands Geralt had roamed of late hadn’t been too hostile towards an infamous witcher. There was even a contract advertised in a lesser court not too far. Geralt made his way to Lettenhove and was ushered into a hall where the Viscount and Viscountess greeted him.

“I’m here about the job,” Geralt announced, not beating around the bush. Nobody ever wanted a witcher in their courts, no matter how small their power was. As expected, he was given a hesitant once over.

“Do you have experience?” It was the Viscountess who spoke up, looking only slightly unnerved.

“Yes.” There was no point for Geralt to prove his worth, they either wanted him to deal with their issue or they would suffer until another witcher graced their courts with his presence.

“Then it is settled. Room and food are part of your contract. Reydan will show you to your quarters and tomorrow he will give you a tour. Your horse will be welcome in the stables of course.”

That was a much warmer and pleasant contract negotiation than Geralt had ever had. Even when he heard the Viscount mutter “you sure about this?” and the Viscountess’ “we owe him this much” which made Geralt frown in confusion. Maybe the Viscountess was one of those who hoped to bed a witcher for the novelty of it. That was Jaskier’s forte though, not Geralt’s, he tried not to tangle with anyone in a relationship.

The room Geralt was shown to was in the servants’ quarters and actually nicer than anything he’d ever had. Even Kaer Morhen paled in comparison. His window overlooked the garden to start with. And the bedding wasn’t torn or moth eaten. In fact, it looked barely used at all. The Viscountess was almost definitely a monster fucker. Geralt would do the job and get out as quickly as possible before things got awkward.

Settled into the room for the night, Geralt was surprised when Reydan knocked for him, inviting him to the servants’ dinner for the evening. It was strangely nice, being surrounded by humans who, while a little wary, were doing their best to be welcoming and friendly. They treated him like one of their own. For the first time in a very long time, Geralt felt at ease amongst humans.

Morning came sooner than expected and Geralt groaned, pulling his armour on, strapping his swords to his back, ready for Reydan to take him to where the beast was. He didn’t expect to be given a baffled look by Reydan but be led into the garden without comment. Various plants were pointed out, rose bushes, a vegetable garden, arches of wisteria and so many others that Geralt had never even heard of. It was all very nice but he couldn’t figure out what this had to do with monster killing. Maybe those were the plants the monster liked? Or the ones he was to avoid while battling the creature that haunted the gardens? The answer came as they walked through the front gardens and stopped to admire an apple tree. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a sign being removed from the front of the property.

Gardener wanted

Oh fuck. Somehow the Viscount and Viscountess had assumed he was there for the gardener position and not the creature killing one. They took one look at him and, despite his inhuman looks, swords and general demeanour, they decided he couldn’t possibly be a witcher but rather an unusual gardener.

“That is about all that you’ll be responsible for.” Reydan finished up and looked over Geralt. “Do you have anything more suitable to work in? Leather tends to get too warm. And we have pruning shears which are more efficient than swords.” Laughing awkwardly, Reydan gave Geralt a small smile. “And I don’t think I ever caught your name, I’m so sorry.”

This was a crossroad in Geralt’s Path. He could either declare this had been some great mistake and he was here for the monster. It would be awkward, he’d be sneered at, ostracised and thrown out for taking their resources, even if by mistake. He’d still kill the monster but probably to take his frustrations out rather than for coin. Or, he could lay his swords down for a while. The world was tiring and disappointing. One evening in the company of people who treated him as an equal had been invigorating and, selfishly, Geralt wanted more.

“I’m Eric,” he said, quietly sending a “fuck you” to Vesemir who had denied him the name.

Gardening, Geralt realised was more difficult than he had ever thought if would be. Knowing what to cut when and how, which trees needed what compost or how much water was beyond him. Geralt tried his best though, tried to watch what everyone else was doing. Thankfully, Reydan had been kind enough to find him some dungarees and a floppy, wide brimmed hat to work in. He had been absolutely right, such work in his leathers would have been worse than uncomfortable.

Miraculously, none of the plants in his care died. Sometimes it looked like a close call, Geralt fretting that he’d cut something at the wrong time or the wrong way but, somehow, the plants survived his inexperience. Even better, the other servants and staff seemed to genuinely warm to him. The few times he encountered the Viscount or Viscountess, they nodded and smiled at him, only once enquiring how he was settling in. As well as food and room, Geralt was granted a weekly wage which might have been meagre but it was more and steadier than he had ever had before. While he was loath to spend it, he found that it built up into a tidy little stash at a surprising speed. Soon, Geralt was going to be the richest witcher in existence.

To keep his skills sharp and also repay the kindness of those around him, Geralt secretly sneaked out at nights and on his days off to slay local monsters. It was both to keep his newfound job safe and also to feel that he hadn’t quite given up on being a witcher. Merely, he was taking an unofficial hiatus.

Months down the line, Geralt was cutting roses for the dinner hall bouquet when a murmur went up around him. He couldn’t see the cause of it but the words were easy enough to hear.

“He’s back!”

“The little master is home!”

“He’ll be so happy we followed his request.”

While Geralt didn’t get a glimpse of the ‘Little Master’, everyone seemed to be cheered by his appearance. In fact, the whole court was in a bubbling upheaval. A feast was ordered and all servants were invited to take part in the meal in the main hall to celebrate. Curious, Geralt let himself be playfully bullied into attending too. He didn’t quite blend in with the rest of the servants but the crowd was almost large enough to swallow him. It was nowhere near enough though when he walked in and sat at the high table with the Viscount and Viscountess was none other than Jaskier who was staring right back at him.

Noting their staring, the Viscountess scowled at Jaskier then rose, dragging what was so evidently her son behind her.

“Julian,” she said, stopping in front of Geralt. “While you’ve been away, we’ve hired a new gardener. This is...Eric.”

“Eric?” Jaskier looked incredulous.

“Yes. He has been with us for a few months. Eric, this is my son, Julian. He’s often away, travelling the continent as a bard.”

Sudden bright, clear laughter broke out from Jaskier, head tipped back, eyes creased and mouth wide open.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he gasped. “Can we stop this charade. Geralt, what the fuck? Mother, this is the bastard who broke my heart.” Without any warning, he swept Geralt into a hug. “You fell off the face of the continent without anyone knowing what had happened. Eskel and Lambert mourned for you, you bastard.”

At least the Viscountess looked relieved rather than anything else. “You asked us, Julian, that if any witcher ever came, especially one with white hair, we would make sure to give them respite. So we did.” Sniffing daintily, she looked at Geralt. “No offence Eric, Geralt, whatever, but you make a shit gardener. Poor Reydan had to sneak around after you to try and keep the plants you butchered alive.”

Jaskier laughed even more at that and a few of the braver servants crowded closer, listening. Geralt looked at them all, the ones he had been able to call his friends for the last few months. They all knew he was a witcher and yet welcomed him with open arms just because Jaskier had asked his parents to help. All in all, Geralt felt rather foolish.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll leave immediately.”

A hand shot out to grab his arm. “Or you could stay.” Jaskier said.

“Just please, spare the plants.” That was Reydan interrupting, giving Geralt a friendly slap on the back. More of the servants echoed Jaskier’s suggestions that he could stay, at least until Jaskier went back on the road.

There was a bit of an uproar when Geralt didn’t move to the high table to catch up with Jaskier. Instead, Jaskier had moved down to his table and joined the servants. Oddly, Jaskier’s parents only looked on fondly.

As the meal wound down, gossip was exchanged, Geralt laughed at in a friendly way for all his bumblings as an incompetent gardener, it was time to retire for the night.

“Come to my rooms for a nightcap?” Jaskier asked, a hand on Geralt’s arm. “I feel we have a lot to discuss and catch up on.”

Hesitant at first, Geralt accepted the invitation and followed Jaskier to his rooms. If Geralt had thought his room was fancy, Jaskier’s were downright lavish.

“Got something to say to me?” Jaskier asked, a smile teasing at his lips.

“You engineered all of this?” It wasn’t at all what Geralt wanted to say but it was what came out to start with.

“Oh come now, if a witcher comes looking for a job in these lands, it means he’s desperate. My parents know how to keep beasties to a minimum here. I’m thinking we should have Lambert come this way next, he’d excel as a cook for a few months.”

A very good idea, Geralt could imagine Lambert taking to life in the kitchen, experimenting with the spices on offer. It would do him good to have a break too. And Eskel, though he probably would be better in the stables. And Vesemir too, if he could be enticed there, he would excel as an adviser to the household. But that was all beside the point, Geralt had something much more important to say.

“Thank you. And I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing for you.” Geralt hadn’t thought Jaskier would still travel as a bard, had assumed he’d settle in a court. Instead, he’d sought out other wolves and kept them company.

“Never do that again.” Jaskier’s face hardened. “If you have a concern, speak. Don’t make my decisions for me.”

Nodding, Geralt looked a little chastised. It had been so much easier to express emotions recently, around friends.

“Now. I do believe before you so rudely chose our paths for us, we were building towards something quite beautiful.” Jaskier handed Geralt a glass of something rich and smooth. The clinked glasses. A week later, they were leaving Lettenhove together, once more a witcher and a bard rather than a gardener and a viscount.

#geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #the witcher #gardening au #tldr: geralt accidentally becomes a gardener

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johannstutt413 · 4 years ago

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(requested by mathmaticalknight) TOURNAMENT: GRANI vs CHIAVE

“Grani!” As the Kuranta was going to lunch, a familiar voice called out to her. “There you are!”

She turned, a smile fully bloomed by the time she was facing the person calling her: Carol, the current Chief of Dewville and former discloser of a Knight’s Treasure. “Hi, Carol! Did you come to see me?”

“Of course I did! The last time you came to Dewville, you invited me up here, after all.” The chieftain wrapped her arms around the mountie once she was in range, stopping them both in the middle of the hallway with a few bystanders watching them.

“Well, I’m glad you managed to get away.” Grani gave her a bit of a squeeze. “Having any trouble out there?”

The other Kuranta shook her head. “No, everything’s going much better now. Thanks to the money we got from selling the treasure, we were able to invite some protection, and when we mentioned we knew you in our advertisement, we had so many volunteers we had to turn a few away. All thanks to you.”

“I didn’t do everything, you know.”

“No, but you did everything we needed you to.” As their small audience carried on with their business, Carol stepped back, keeping her arms around the mountie’s neck. “Are you busy tonight?”

Grani’s turned apologetic. “Actually, I kinda am? There’s this big ‘Grand Tourney’ kinda thing they’re doing to see who’s the ‘best,’ and my first round is tonight, so-”

“So I’ll see you when you’re done fighting, then?” Her eyes were practically sparkling.

“Heh, yeah, I’ll see you then.” The Kuranta’s eyes drifted to her lips. “You, um, wanna get lunch? I want a good meal so I have plenty of energy to fight later.”

The chieftain gave her the unasked-for-but-certainly-desired kiss and nodded. “That would be delightful.”

“Great! I’ll buy.” And with that settled, the pair made their way to the cafete- scratch that, to a middle-of-the-pack Victorian place Grani liked to go to on her cheat days. That one kiss was enough sugar by itself to count…

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Operators, Staff, and Esteemed Guests! Welcome one and all to the Top Operator Tourney!!! *crowd cheers*

“Thanks, Hung! Ladies and gentlemen, in case you forgot our voices during our brief absence, I’m FEater!”

“And I’m Click!”

“And today’s match is gonna be a great one, I tell you what! Both of today’s competitors are the life of the party wherever they go, although the parties they start are pretty different, I’d say! On the north side, a former police officer with a record of achievements taller than she is, it’s Grani!” *cheers, including one nervous but excited Kuranta* “And on the south side, the wrench-fox whose antics have absolutely transformed the Engineering Department’s policies on weapons’ maintenance certifications, say hi to Chiave!” *cheers* “Click, you’ve got the numbers for us?”

“Sure do, babe! Actually, the data for this fight’s kinda conflicted - see, by the numbers, Chiave’s a far more experienced combatant, with 6 years of rough-and-tumble living as a Siracusan gangster compared to Grani’s 2 as a Victorian policewoman, but that’s not what’s got me bothered. You look at these two’s parameters outside of experience, and you see they’re supposed to be just about equal in everything, except ooooone little detail: Grani’s a real sprinting fiend, using those legs of hers to move at speeds nobody’s got any business moving at, and that’s something our mechanic friend’s just gonna have to deal with if he wants to have any hope of winning this fight!”

“And of course he wants to have a hope of moving onto Round 2! We’ll just have to see who manages to win this one!”

“Right on, and there’s the Doctor waiting to start us off! 3! 2! 1! And here we go!”

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Chiave span his wrench in an intimidating pattern, pliers at his side and ready to guard. “Ready to get chewed up and spat out, little lady?”

“Not quite, Suave Chiave, not quite.” Grani gestured into the stands, her audio being caught through a mike drone deployed by one of the more tech-savvy audience members. “I’ve got a date tonight, and I’m not showing up beat up and nursing my ego.”

“We’ll see about that!” And brandishing his great-wrench, he charged.

An opening like that wasn’t going to get him anywhere fast; the Kuranta simply sped to his wrench-swinging side and jabbed him once...and, even though it was only one strike, it was all it took, as she not only threw all her considerable power into it, but a single cheer from the crowd rang through her ears.

Even in this pit of a coliseum, Carol yelling ��Kick his ass, Grani!” was plain enough to hear.

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“...The hell is that?! Click, you saw that, right?”

“The speed! The precision! And what a surprising display of strength from Grani, as she cleanly OHKOs her opponent! There’s not even that much blood...Wow, she really wanted to get to that date as fast as possible, huh?”

“Didn’t even let him get one blow in-” *pounding from outside the studio* “What?!”

A gruff male voice came back with, “Stop mocking him.”

“...You’re a Guard, right? We’ll see if you can manage Round 2, and then we’ll talk about who can say what to who!”

“Babe, don’t get too riled up. Remember what happened last time.”

“Right, right, sorry, just...ugh. Anyway, with that match swiftly concluded, I guess we’ll see you all next time! FEater, yours truly, and Click signing off! Now where’s that Broca guy so I can give him a piece of my mind...”

“Have a good night, everyone! No babe really, it’s okay, please don’t start something...”

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Carol was waiting for Grani as she walked out of the coliseum, stars in her eyes. “I knew you were a warrior before, Grani, but the way you took care of him in one hit? That was amazing.”

“Thanks, Carol. Gosh, you think he’s gonna be alright?” The mountie shivered. “Didn’t mean to hurt him that bad, but my pike is so sharp...”

“I saw your medic team, and they looked pretty capable. Don’t worry about it too much.” The Kuranta squeezed her hand encouragingly.

The other Kuranta sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. We’ve got some of the best doctors in the world here, and the Doctor, so he’ll be just fine. So, what sounds good? I’m getting hungry again.”

“Well, I was hoping to see where you live. I’ve never seen one of these...apartments?” She looked at Grani questioningly, earning a nod. “Is it like a small house? I’m not entirely sure.”

“That’s as good a description as any, I think. You’re sure you don’t want to eat at a restaurant while we’re out, though?”

The chieftain gave her an analytical once-over. “Are you nervous?”

“I’ve...never taken someone to my place before,” she admitted, scratching the back of her neck. “Don’t know what’s like, being a host and all.”

“Well, I won’t judge; all that matters to me is getting to spend the night with my brave, strong girlfriend.” Carol giggled as the mountie turned bright red at that.

If this was already enough flattery to mess with her, boy, was tonight going to be fun.

#arknights #arknights fic #grani (arknights)#chiave (arknights)#ABC gang is a whole 'nuther group of people who haven't gotten anything yet #NPCs are one thing #but this is a whole faction!#hmm #my guess is because they're not female Ursus they haven't gotten poly-shipped by any requesters yet #damnit calligo you're infectious :P #but i will probably write that at some point #TOURNAMENT ARC!!!

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phoenixmaiden-reading · 5 years ago

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Elevation Book Review

Elevation by Stephen King

Read: March 11, 2020 – March 13, 2020

Another short book by the amazing Stephen King. It was a quick read and only took me 2 days to finish it. It was really good as always. It was suspenseful but not in a scary way, but more in anticipation of what was going to happen next. It was intriguing to see the progression of someone losing so much of themselves that they could no longer stay on the ground. It was kind of sad, but I loved it.

Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Warning! Spoiler Summary ahead!!

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Scott Carey goes to his friend and retired doctor Bob Ellis with a concern. He has already gone to his regular doctor and got all the usual tests done and everything is normal, but it doesn’t explain what is happening to him. He is losing weight. Which in itself is a good thing because he is overweight and has the gut to prove it, but he’s lost about 28 pounds already yet looks exactly the same. When Dr. Ellis weighed him with his scale he weighed 212 pounds with his clothes on, heavy jacket with a bunch of coins, and boots. What was strange was when Scott took his clothes off and was weighed again, he was still 212 pounds. The scale would have added all that extra weight with the clothes and coins, but it didn’t. Despite the weight loss, he felt fine. And no matter how much he ate, he didn’t gain weight either. Scott didn’t want to go to the doctor with this because then it would be on record and he didn’t want to be poked and prodded. So he told Dr. Ellis to keep it to himself. The doctor agreed just to keep him updated.

Scott went back home to a house that was too big for one person and a cat, but his ex-wife had wanted it. She had moved to Arizona after the divorce. So now it was just him and Bill D. Cat. So as he worked on his big project for a new job he had taken on, he remembered what Dr. Ellis said to him before he left about the ladies that lived up the street. The ladies in question lived a few houses down and walked their dogs without leashes up and down the block which was fine. The fact that the dogs shit in his yard was not. He had gone to their house to let them know to pick up the poop in his yard, a fact that one of them, Deirdre, said wasn’t them, it could be another dog – she would then close the door in his face with this superior smile on her face. But when he was standing in the kitchen having just feed Bill, he saw Deirdre and her wife Missy leaving for their run. So he got his iPad in hopes of catching the dogs in the act, and he did. Later on that night, Scott went over to their house and showed Deirdre his proof. She wasn’t smiling then. She told him he won, but it wasn’t about winning, he just wanted her to just pick up after her dogs. It was how good neighbors do, but Deirdre didn’t seem to think so. But she said she will just walk her dogs at the park on leashes.

A few days later, Dr. Ellis called to check up on him, but Scott felt just fine. He ate like a lumberjack yet still continued to lose weight. He was down to 208. He was still working on his big job and by the time he was done he could be down another 50 pounds, but where does it end?

The next day, Scott gets a visit from his neighbor Missy. She’s shy and clearly afraid of him but had come to talk to him anyway. She had come to apologize for her wife. Scott said it wasn’t needed and that they could walk their dogs on the block, just bring some poop bags and keep after them, that’s all. She said she said as much to Deirdre but she snapped at her. She also explained that Deirdre was mad at everyone. Coming to Castle Rock was a mistake. The business was almost ready and the town was beautiful, it was a risk but they did it anyway. Yet now they are going to lose the restaurant if they don’t turn things around by Valentine’s Day. They can do fine through the summer, but during the winter they need to rely on the locals, but they don’t come because they are married lesbians. Scott wants to refute that but can’t. So Missy then tells him to come by their restaurant sometime, and he agreed.

The day after, Scott went to the local diner and had a big meal. He was in the middle of eating a slice of pie when he overheard some men dissing the restraint owned by Deirdre and Missy. He didn’t usually pay attention to these comments but now he heard them. He suddenly lost his appetite and was going to leave, but instead, he confronted the man who said it. He told him that he can criticize the food all he wants but what their private life was none of his business. It almost started a fight, but he left when the owner, Patty, told him to. So he started to walk up the street and noticed that some of the stores had the Turkey Trot posters in the window that had Deirdre on it when she ran in the New York Marathon some years ago. She had allowed it to try and advertise her restaurant Holy Frijole. Deirdre was a proud woman and for her to allow her picture to be used this way meant that the business was doing worse than he thought. When he spoke to Mike the bookstore owner about why not all the stores had the posters in them, he said that if she had kept the fact that she was a lesbian to herself, she would have been fine. So the other stores won’t put them out because Deirdre was on them. Yet Mike said that the posters were going to be replaced because the town committee voted on it. Scott was kind of shocked that the townspeople refused to put them up because she was a lesbian. Yet Mike said that Castle Country was Conservative Republican, they voted for Trump all the way. So bring married lesbians was a deal-breaker. So either the women were ignorant of the political climate here or they were just stupid. But they had good food.

Now committed to going, Scott called Dr. Ellis to invite him to dinner to Holy Frijole after telling him he was down to 204 pounds. So they agreed to go on Friday night when Dr. Ellis’s wife was visiting her sister. But on Friday night, Dr. Ellis said that the real reason he couldn’t go the other night was because his wife didn’t like the two women who ran the restaurant and he didn’t want to get into a fight with her over it. So they went to dinner. Deirdre was not too happy to see Scott, but she was hospitable enough. The Holy Frijole was nicely decorated, the food was really good for Mexican-vegetarian, but it was sparsely inhabited. There had been cutbacks so Deirdre was working both as hostess and waitress. When they leave, Deirdre asks to speak with Scott, so Dr. Ellis goes across the street to wait. She was upset with him for defending her and her wife at the diner. She doesn’t need to be defended, she can do it by herself. And to stay away from her wife. After, Scott took Dr. Ellis home. He asked Scott if he could take measurements each week to keep a record, but Scott refused, at least for now. When Scott got home, he made himself a snack and then weighed himself. He had been 201 that morning, but after the big meal, he was 199. It was getting faster.

During the month of October, his weight continued to drop, he was down 60 pounds by Halloween and now weighed 180, yet he still looked like he weighed 240. He continued to eat whatever he wanted and didn’t have to work about his cholesterol. He also had a lot more energy. He also finished the big project he was working on and got paid handsomely, he was close to rich. He had seen Deirdre and Missy running with their dogs at the park, the dogs miserable being on leashes. One thing he learned was that if he ran a little or pulled himself up on a tree branch, it didn’t wind him. His pulse elevated slightly, but that was it. He had never been able to do things like that without losing his breath. Scott had also started keeping a calendar of when his weight would hit zero which was on March 31st. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he was going to live his life to the fullest. On Halloween, he got a decent amount of kids to come to get candy. But they stopped coming at 6:30. He asked the last trick-or-treaters if they had gone to the house up the street. One of the kids said no because her mom said that they were not nice ladies, the other said that his dad said they were “lesbeans.” As they left, Scott suddenly had an idea. He next morning he walked down to the Rec Center and signed up for the Turkey Trot. He asked if Deirdre was coming and they said she was.

On Thanksgiving, he had dinner with Dr. Ellis and his wife. He had seconds and then ran around with their grandkids. Dr. Ellis’s wife, Myra said he was going to have a heart attack with all the running around he was doing, especially at the Turkey Trot the next day. But Dr. Ellis didn’t think he was. When he got home, Scott weighed himself again and he was at 141. He was almost losing 2 pounds a day. So he changed the date he would hit zero on his calendar to March 15th. He was scared of what will happen when he runs out of weight, but also curious. But he was also, strangely, happy.

The next day, Scott walked down to the Rec Center to sign in for the Turkey Trot. Patty, who was signing in people, told him to stick to the back, to let the out-of-towners be first, it was proper form, plus, he’ll be in the back with the kids anyway. All joking aside, she told him to watch out if his chest felt tight. Scott found Deirdre doing some stretches and he went over to her. She was a little surprised to see him in the race. He then offered her a wager. She thought he was crazy and told him that his efforts to ingratiate himself to her were unwelcome. But Scott said he was just trying to be friendly and she would realize that if she wasn’t such a defensive crouch. He then said that if she won the race, he will leave her alone, and she can let her dogs loose on the street on their runs and he won’t say anything if they poop on his lawn, but if he won, she and Missy will come over to his house for dinner and try to get along like he had been trying to do. Deirdre couldn’t believe he was serious, he was overweight and unexercised and looked like he will have to stop from leg cramps or a heart attack. No one was going to beat her. Scott just said she was afraid, so she begrudgingly agreed. But she asked him why he was doing this, was his masculinity in jeopardy? Scott thought to himself that it was because he was going to die next year and he wanted to put one thing right at least. But she wouldn’t understand, so he just said he just was.

The Turkey Trot started soon after. Scott was toward the middle in the 300s out of the 800 people who had come. People wished him luck and one hoped he didn’t have a heart attack. Scott jogged at a steady pace, he passed a few runners, but not many. There were a couple of teenagers who had slowed down but picked up the speed because they didn’t want to be outdone by a fat old man. He felt good and light on his feet and his heart rate was even, he hadn’t even put a dent in his stamina yet. People passed him and that was fine, as long as he could see Deirdre ahead of him. Runners were passing her but she was clearly taking it easy for now. It wasn’t her first race and knew what she was doing. She was hanging back for now and then would take the race near the end. She will win and show everyone before she has to leave when her restaurant shuts down. But for now, Scott will just follow her lead. He was having fun anyway and glad to be alive. At the halfway mark, he started to see people stopping to rest at a refreshment table or those of who had just given up laying in the grass. He passed the teenagers from before, they were surprised that an old fatty had passed them once again. He then decided it was time to pick up the pace.

When Scott hit the 9K mark, it started to thunder. It wasn’t such a good thing in Maine, especially with the race. He also started to pick up the pace once again and started to pass some of the serious runners. He got some surprised looks, especially to his sizable gut hanging over his shorts, but he kept going. Soon he was going up Hunter’s Hill and he was starting to feel it. His breath was shallow and his calves were burning. Scott didn’t really think he could beat Deirdre but he thought he would at least finish the race. But maybe it was because he weighed too much despite what the scale said. But he had to do it and continued to push forward and when the orange mark for 10K came he was gasping for breath. He continued to push because he had to do this. Who cared that Zero Day might be today, he had to put it all on the line. But then he reached the crest of the hill and could see the town below him including the finish line and Deirdre in her red and blue in second place. Scott didn’t think he would be able to catch up to her. But then his lungs opened up and he could breathe, he felt lighter like before what runners would call a runners high. It felt like an elevation and he felt like he could go beyond himself. So he did.

Next thing he knew, Scott was passing runner after runner, no doubt they were staring at him as he flew past them but he was focusing on Deirdre. As he passed the last marker it raindrops started to fall and another runner dropped out. Seeing the red shirt ahead, he kicked it into overdrive. The rain then started to fall in a torrent and visibility was virtually zero, so he just focused on the red shirt. He felt alive as he ran and if this was what it felt like to die, then he was happy to do so. He past by the former leader and could now see Deirdre in the lead. She looked behind her and was surprised to see him coming up fast behind her. So she picked up the pace. But she looked behind her again and her legs got tangled and went down. Scott stopped and she was hurt and angry and asked how he cheated, but he ignored her and helped her up and started running again. Deirdre didn’t know what was happening to her but she was suddenly running on air. She suddenly felt light as a feather, but it wasn’t happening to him, she felt heavy. So he told her to run and she did and crossed the finish line and he wasn’t far behind. Deirdre said that when he had touched her, she had weighed nothing. Her wife, Missy then found her and gave her a hug and then more people came and they cheered.

Later that night while Scott was taking a bath to relax his tired muscles, Deirdre called and she didn’t sound stiff at all and actually laughed. She wanted to know when they could have dinner. She insisted even though she had won the race, but he could have easily won, he had thrown the race. But Scott said that she deserved it. So they agreed to have dinner at his place with Missy as well on the following Monday for some vegetarian food. He also agreed to tell her about what happened at the race and everything along with it. After he was dressed, he went online to check out the news article that Deirdre had mentioned. They had coverage of her winning the race and how she was a restaurant owner, and how Scott had helped her near the finish line. They even had a good picture of it despite the rain. If Deirdre and Missy’s restaurant didn’t get any business with this kind of exposure, they never will. He then weighed himself and the scale said 137.

On Monday, Deirdre and Missy came over for dinner along with Dr. Ellis and his wife Myra since the doctor knew what was going on with him. He hadn’t been sure if Myra would come because of her views on the women, but she actually hit it off with Missy and talked through dinner. When it was over and Scott was in the kitchen, Deirdre came in and told him that business had been really busy with out of towners and even some locals that had never come in before. And she knew it wouldn’t just be a one-time thing, they’ll be back. The pictures of the race with him had helped her in a big way. She then wanted a hug, but Scott warded her off, not because she was a lesbian but because it might be dangerous. It was then time to talk to everyone about what was going on. So as they gathered into the living room, Scott told them all about his unexplained weight loss, even though it didn’t show. Missy was skeptical so Scott held out his hands for her and she took them and she suddenly started to float; it was like she had become weightless. He let go of her hands and she settled back on the couch. Missy said it felt like she had been on a roller coaster when she was going up a steep hill about to go down. Scott had tried it with Bill his cat and it had freaked him out, not he won’t go near him. Basically, anything object that he touches becomes weightless, but not to him. They couldn’t believe it and Scott didn’t know how it started or when. Missy wanted him to go to a doctor so they could fix him but realized it would be pointless because no one would know-how. Yet Missy said that he couldn’t live up on the ceiling, but Scott didn’t answer that. He just told them to keep it to themselves.

Over the next few weeks, Scott and the others would meet up at Holy Frijole at a table that was always reserved for them. Business at the restaurant was constantly busy and Deirdre had hired a sous chef to help out; a good sign. On the day of the Christmas Tree lighting, Deirdre was cheered by the crowd of townspeople as she lit the tree. Scott weighed 114 pounds. After the New Year, he started making arrangements. He had Mike the bookshop keeper take his cat, Bill, saying he was going to go see an Aunt and needed someone to take care of him. He was now giving things away…

After a few days, Dr. Ellis called and asked if he was still losing 1-2 pounds a day and Scott lied and said it was. He had a feeling his Zero-Day would be the end of January and not in March like he originally thought. He told the doctor that he was 106 pounds now, but Scott knew it wasn’t true. He hadn’t been weighing himself recently afraid of what it would say, but he knew it would be around 70. He didn’t want to tell Dr. Ellis, Myra, Deirdre and Missy that it had sped up, not yet anyway. He could now cross his living room in leaps and swing from the overhead beams, close to how astronauts walked on the moon. Everything was fine so far, but one day he went to get the mail and he fell. It had been snowing and there was ice covering the walkway. So when he fell, he slid down the driveway. Usually, his weight would eventually slow him down, but with his new lightweight, he kept going and would have ended up in the street but he managed to crash into the mailbox pole and somehow got back inside. He was running out of time and would have to put clamps around the house ASAP.

The next time Scott saw his friends for dinner it was at his house since he could no longer leave. There were some changes to the house now too. There was a ramp leading up to the door and clamps set up around the house. It was difficult to move around now, going upstairs was easy because he was going up, becoming lighter, but going down was harder and it took an effort to pull his weight down to the ground floor. What Missy and Dr. Ellis wanted to know about was the harness and the wheelchair that sat in the corner, but Deirdre knew. Yet no one said anything about it. After ate dinner, Scott confessed that he had been lying about the pace of his weight loss. He had been losing about 3 pounds a day. But he didn’t know how much he weighed. So they went to check. As Scott got up, the 3 of them got a first-hand look at what the weight loss was doing. With no real mass to him, his body was becoming too light to ground him. He was becoming weightless, gravity was pulling him upward. So just walking to the bathroom scale was a chore. He would misjudge the strength of his step and it would propel him forward that he would crash into things like tables, and the wall. It was why the clamps were there, so he could hold on. When Scott got to the scale, it registered at 30 pounds. When they got back to the living room, he told them he was fine with everything, but that this was their final dinner together because he won’t see any of them again. But he wanted Deirdre to do something for him at the end, to which she agreed. So he told them what he wanted and no one disagreed. So Myra and Dr. Ellis took Bill D. Cat to take to the bookseller. Before they left Myra said she was sorry for what was happening to him but was happy for what happened to her. She would have kept ignorant of some good people like Deirdre and Missy. She was thankful for that.

The next day, Scot got an email from Missy saying that she had wanted to be there at the end, but DeeDee (Deirdre) had convinced her not to. Though she didn’t like it she understood that he wanted them to remember him how he was when he was normal. She also said that what he did the day of the race enabled them to stay in Castle Rock. They can now be a part of the town now because of it. Of course, not everyone will accept them but a lot of them have. Deirdre has opened up now too and it wouldn’t have happened without him. She also understands why Scott had chosen Deirdre to help him at the end. It was because they shared a bond. Not only because of what happened at the race but because she understood the feeling of elevation that Scott feels; she feels it when she runs. Missy hopes that he will stay brave. Scott printed out the email to take with him.

The following day, Scott made his way to the bathroom to weigh himself. It was harder to move around now as he was more floating as he tried to walk. He was now 2.1 pounds. He called Deirdre. It was time.

Deirdre came and found Scott sitting in the wheelchair in the living room. He was floating in it but he was buckled in. She then helped him to put in a harness, careful to try not to touch him as it would make her float too. She then got a bag that had rope just in case she couldn’t push the wheelchair. Inside the bag was also a SkyLight firework. Before they went outside, Deirdre got a comforter to put on him because it was dark and cold. She then was able to push him outside and down the ramp and onto the lawn where there were no obstructions. Down the street, Scott could see 3 flashlights. Myra, Dr. Ellis, and Missy had come. Deirdre hadn’t been able to keep them away, not that she tried very hard.

It was finally time. Deirdre helped him unbuckle the harness. After a few simple words of farewell. He let go. He rose slowly in the air, the wind catching him and making him rise further. He used the comforter to steady himself so he wouldn’t blow into anything until he didn’t need it anymore. He looked down at his friends and his house, the town…taking them in for the last time. As he rose higher he started to struggle to light the firework. The group watched until they couldn’t see him anymore, but they were waiting for a sign. And then the firework lit up the sky showering the dark night with bright-colored light. Myra, Dr. Ellis, Missy, and Deirdre held each other as they watched and Scott continued to gain elevation toward the stars.

#phoenix be reading #Elevation #Stephen King #Book Review #reading #books #literature #book lover #2020 Books

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nyrator · 5 years ago

Photo

And thus ends another Kresnyan week of wonders

It was quite an eventful week so buckle up for tons of photos, mainly arcade photos~

okay so I talked about Monday already

Tuesday was good, first thing in the morning we play F-Zero GX to wake us up, and somehow managed to beat the Ruby Master Cup with Silver Rat. What an awful, awful character, and yet such a good game for rewarding good mechanics.

Then we went around town exploring the local shops, got led into a strange pawn shop where the entire building was covered with junk, you had to shimmy through a small hall of junk to get through the place, and the owner followed in behind us without us realizing, pretty strange. Also entered a quiet little music shop and had Kresna serenade me with his good accordion skills, then visited my workplace and discussed seeing fireworks with them (we decided not to and instead played EDF and then more DDR, I also even bought a dance mat + two PS2 DDR games that day)

speaking of I got a second PS4 controller and so we played EDF 4.1 and over the course of a few days managed to 100% Hard mode with me as a Wing Diver and him as a Fencer, good times, lots of me dying and him saving me. Reminded me a lot of the PS2 one we played story-wise which after looking it up is a form of reboot of it, so neat. We decided to go straight to Inferno after that and managed to get up to about mission 23 before he had to leave, but man, we were decimating that mode (let’s ignore the having to deal with dragons in the future)

Bit disappointed we didn’t unlock Geist D because as dumb as it is I love the Geist, but mannn, got a sweet laser and Thunder Bow/Sniper 40s that I like to use

Anyway, Wednesday, the big event.

Round1

So initially it was a three-person trip that’s been planned all year, Kresna, Spade, and myself, though sadly but understandably Spade couldn’t make it this time. But mannnnnn.

So, we get up, struggle waking up, and head out on the two-and-a-half hour drive to Exton~

there was lots of neat street signs

there was also a Batman Road but couldn’t take a picture in time

also tons of great sights I forgot to take pictures of, but man, wouldn’t mind living in this area honestly, very pretty and very tree, we took a bunch of detours to avoid tolls and it was a very nice trip

but yes

round 1

this place is massive

this is what we first see going inside

that’s probably less than half of the cabinets they have

you got the shooting and driving cabinets to the right of the entrance, to the left is all more simplified games like pinballs and other popular brand ones, down the hall is the bowling alley which is adjecent to a bunch of claw grabbing machines for things from plushes to anime figures, past that you got the billards with karaoke booths, the fighting game cabinets, and at the mall entrance you have all the dance and musical cabinets, and mannnnn

see when I heard of this place I figure “oh yeah they advertise their bowling alley and also have karaoke, probably an arcade on the side, yeah”, no, this is an arcade feat. special guests bowling and karaoke

we got there at 1PM, took a small food break halfway through, and left around 5PM

my dudes, this place is amazing

I admit, I’m not much of an arcade gamer, but mannnn, what an amazing place.

Here are some of the games we playeddd

Kresna with his Tetris Grandmaster skills~ He played it three times, but man, given enough time he can easily top the scoreboards for sure

Some Outrun 2 SP~ My first time playing and I am bad at it but Kresna did pretty well

I tried playing some of that Gunslinger Stratos game I’ve heard about (aka saw there was Kuja costume DLC some years ago) but unfortunately the gun cursors were awful on the machine I used, all over the place, still beat two missions somehow with the girl in the giant robot, but mann, those cursors

heck yeah, some dekarissss and boy I absolutely am awful at tetris I am so sorry Kresna, the giant joysticks are fun though but man, multiplayer dekaris was suffering for the Kres

for reference, his solo attempt

there was also some rhythm heaven which was neat, Kresna again amazing at it and me not-so-much

we also decided to play this to fulfill our DDR thirst before taking a break

also SHOUTOUTS TO MUSIC GUNGUN, a simple but fun game with lots of good music and Kresna and I love it and may have to buy a cabinet, probably my favorite game there

after the break was more games but less photos to save battery life and repeating some of the aforementioned games, some that stood out

playing lots of Mario Kart DX, I won a grand total of once at the end but I’ll take that, thanks Waluigi and curse you Rosalina

I tried playing some Gitadora but failed miserably, my high school guitar hero skills were not enough for Medium Gitadora

meanwhile Kresna and his incredible talent at Beatmania

we finished the day at Round1 with some last bit of Music Gungun and trying out two-player Dancerush Stardom

and thus ended the trip to Round1, where we decided to head... east

East into New Jersey.

There was one more cabinet we needed to play.

Have some foliage that I forgot to take earlier to show how trees PA is~ There was a ton of nice foliage driving on the way there like I mentioned, just did not get to photograph ittt~

After another hour and a half drive (most of it spent in Philadelphia traffic, I will have you know that I am scared of heights or at least get vertigo easily, as well as being terrified of cars, and being in Philadelphia traffic is still absolutely terrifying to me)

I tried taking a photo of the Delaware but mannn could barely look up out of my seat because crippled with fear (seriously it’s only gotten worse the older I get for some reason)

anyway, just past 6:30, we finally arrive

Tilt Studio at Voorhees, NJ.

I admit, it had some neat cabinets, like Luigi’s Mansion, but nothing like Round1. However, we played none of these other cabinets

Kresna and I (mostly me) had a mission, and that mission was one cabinet

F-ZERO AX, BABYYYYY

look, you don’t understand

f-zero ax

I don’t have an addiction okay

anyway I brought my Memory Card (except I have unlocked basically everything in GX already so hm) and played with my custom vehicles~

and in just under $20 dollars worth of credits (with some used by Kresna of course) I managed to race every single race and I got my name on every single leaderboard (though they’re probably erased at the end of the day at this point)

yes we drove basically four hours to play F-Zero AX (plus Round1 goodness)

was it worth it? Yes

Sadly there aren’t any more licenses (to be expected though), but Kresna and I may have to buy our own cabinet, but a Deluxe Cabinet- the kind with moving seats and two-player actionnn

(it’ll happen you’ll see)

So then, the journey home, a night drive through NJ and bed

Thursday was firework day, though it was mainly EDF day for us. What a good game, EDF. Got some ice cream and hung out and was nice

Friday things began to slow down, EDF feat. more pizza and DDR dates~

Saturday was also pretty slow, slightly stressful day, including blahs from both of us, struggling at Inferno EDF and suffering my bad gameplay, and getting a flat tire on the way back from our last DDR trip of the night (oh boy), though we decided to watch a movie at least~ Genocidal Organ, based on a book Kresna read, it was pretty good~ Got Netflix to watch it (and Spy Kids 3D in honor of Red Square), though sadly SK3D didn’t have an anaglyph 3D option, and Genocidal Organ wasn’t on US Netflixxx, but we watched it through other means instead~

Today we finished the day with some car repairs, window shopping, and eating a big meal at a diner~ This is notable for being my first time eating somewhere in public and eating something that wasn’t just french fries (I had a blueberry pancake with whipped cream~)

Speaking of foods, this visit I tried sardines for the first timeee, not a fan but it was edible, my first time ever eating something fish-y~ Otherwise some neat treats from the Kresna involving many eggs and toasts and even an english muffinn

it was a good first anniversary week, and being with Kresna is always wonderful

And now to await the end of August, where I will finally migrate north and visit the Canadian lifestyle...

#camera stuffs #kresnyan~#a trip proving once again I am bad at most video games that aren't F-Zero GX

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lindoig8 · 3 years ago

Text

Monday to Wednesday, 26-28 July

Monday

We had a slow start today, knowing that we were less than 2 hours from Winton. We started by revitalising our fire and cooking eggs and bacon and toasting some of our own bread over the coals and eating it out in the open. It is many years since we did that (if we ever did) but it was fun and delicious - a great way to start the day. By the time we were on the road, a lot of other traffic was too so we basically just drove into Winton, found our caravan park and set up the van. It is not the best park we have stayed in, but we rarely use many of the facilities anyway so it is not a big deal.

We needed a few groceries but shopping is limited in Winton so we didn’t get quite everything we wanted despite raiding both their small supermarkets – including another Spar! We called in at the Information Centre to get some more information about the nearby Dinosaur Exhibition but decided not to pursue it. It sounded pretty crass, a mock-up of what some people guess it might have looked like, rather than any real artifacts or scientific exposé. Of course, I was also interested in what birds were in the area so picked up a brochure advising where to find birds in and around Winton.

What a joke! They referred to Bladensburg National Park but that is huge and we saw and heard very few birds when we visited it. But the main places they recommended were in or close to town. I explored all of them. I had been told that one was ‘out of bounds’ by the staff at the Information Centre, but when I explored two more of them, both were fenced with locked gates and signage threatening dire consequences for any trespassing. Very disappointing. Nothing to see here guys!

In the evening, we did another thing that we don’t usually do. Lots of parks now provide ‘entertainment’ at Happy Hour time, usually a local bush poet or a guitarist who imagines they can sing, and we avoid them with great fervour. But here, they promised a locally well-known poet and comedian at 7pm and we had probably had just enough to drink to entice us over. There were only 3 other couples and 3 kids there but he was really very good. (His name is Gregory North and he has a regular gig at the North Gregory pub!) He writes some of his own stuff, but also does Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson among others. He did The Man From Snowy River in about 10 ethnicities and accents, changing hats to represent the varying immigrant communities and it was an absolute scream. Brilliant! He also did a very touching one that he wrote about an aging aboriginal man and that was great too.

It was all over by 8pm but it was an unaccustomed pleasure (for us) to sit in on something like that for a change.

Tuesday

We went out to Bladensberg National Park today. We visited it 11 years ago and thought it great and imagined that we had only seen a corner of it so wanted to explore more of it. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. There is nothing more accessible than what we saw all those years ago and it was mainly hot and dusty with other cars turning up next to us wherever we stopped. We didn’t even see many birds and I recall one of the highlights of our previous visit was our first view of a Spinifex Pigeon. We have seen quite a number of them this trip, but sadly, White-plumed Honeyeaters and Black-faced Woodswallows were all we saw today.

On the way back to the caravan park, we called in at the two other Council-recommended birding sites, but there were very disappointing too. No possible way we would see any interesting birds at either of them. One was a heavily contaminated site (any bird that ignored the signage would potentially have suffered 'dire consequences' from the contamination), and the other was a free-camping site covered from horizon to horizon with caravans (and vehicles speeding from place to place, each trailing its own private dust-storm). Not too inspiring at all!

We called in at the Spar supermarket near our van park to get a few more veges. When we were in Scotland and Ireland, almost all supermarkets were Spars, but this is the only one we have seen outside those areas.

We were obviously a bit naive and starry eyed about visiting Winton again, but it might be somewhere to bypass in future. It is seen as an iconic Outback town, the eastern end of the Great Outback Road, and start of the Matilda Highway amog other things, but for us, it just hasn’t delivered at all this trip.

Wednesday

We spent most of the morning with the air conditioner on in the van avoiding the mid-30 temperatures outside - one of the hottest days since we left home (although we have had quite a few, including those on our camel trek).

We drafted stuff for our blogs and Facebook and I edited a few photos. A few days ago, I inadvertently clicked on something in a suggested 'default box' that has seriously stuffed up the link between my camera, iPhone, iPad and PC, making downloads difficult and creating some confusion when opening .jpgs on my PC - somehow, my PC thinks standard photos are in an unknown format and won’t open them. I have found a few workarounds but it is very frustrating and I seem to have lost 5 days’ photos in the process - but I am still looking for them.

We had one of Heather’s very best omelettes for lunch, a meal-and-a-half in itself and absolutely scrumptious. We then spent an hour or so plotting out our options for travel over the next 3 or 4 weeks. Our Antarctic trip around Christmas has been deferred for at least a year, our NZ expedition and land travel has been cancelled, and with the crazy Covid lockdown in NSW, we have had to cancel our Lightning Ridge Fossil Dig in order to get into the NT and subsequently, WA. We have plotted out an optimistic schedule, but it looks as if we are going to need to spend at least 14 days in the NT in order to get a permit to enter WA. Even then, it all depends on where the virus strikes next!

I went out during the afternoon to find someone who can fit yet another Anderson plug on the van (the fourth this trip) on our way out of town tomorrow. The garage across the road from us here said ‘we don’t do complicated work here’ and referred me to 4 alternative mechanics, three of which I have been unable to find. But we have teed up with the fourth one to fix us up at 10.30 tomorrow morning.

I also called in at the Information Centre to complain about their Birding brochure that highlights the five places to see a great selection of unusual birds that got me excited. But as I said, I was sorely disappointed. The woman at the counter said that 'tourists often don’t read their maps correctly' and assured me that I must have gone to the wrong places. She directed me to the exact places I had visited and sent me away for a better look. I did the rounds again, driving every road in the various localities with the same result. The most contentious one was the sewerage ponds that she insisted are open and unfenced - but I spoke with an old local guy who lives only a couple of hundred metres away and he confirmed that the location she had marked on the map was where I was looking, but the area had been fenced and under lock and key with big Keep Out signage for as long as he could remember. Back at the Information Centre, I explained all of this again and the woman admitted their maps 'contained errors' but maybe they shouldn’t be advertising birdwatching if three of the sites were locked up, one was heavily contaminated and the fifth was a massive free-camping area!!!

Later in the afternoon, we drove down to town to the North Gregory Hotel to hear Gregory North expounding on the Mysteries of Waltzing Matilda. What a fascinating story. He had obviously done a huge amount of research and we were almost drowned in facts (and conjecture) about the origin of the song, the people involved and their links with other well-known historical figures. It was quite spellbinding as well as highly entertaining, all being expounded on the very site of the song’s premiere, where it had its first public performance. He also performed all the verses of Maltzing Watilda again - this time using slightly bastardised Spoonerisms on almost every word. A prodigious effort and utterly hilarious - I would love to get a copy of it - some of the individual clauses were wonderful.

We couldn’t hang around after the show because I had to be back in the van by 6 o’clock to participate in an online Owners' Corporation Committee meeting that went for longer than usual, resulting in a slightly later dinner - another of our spectacular goat curries. Yum!

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marylandlifecoaching · 4 years ago

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The Menu

I was recently asked, "How come my girlfriend doesn't do the things to me that she used to?" To which I replied, "Ah, the menu."

The menu is responsible for more clients walking through my door, than just about anything else...when it comes to relationships. And what is troubling, is that both men and women do it equally. You know, that first 3-6 months that is glorious. The sex, the long walks, the good morning texts and the list goes on and on. Enter month 7 {give or take}, all of the sudden you're wondering what happened? The intimacy slows down, the courtesy isn't there and the expectations of the first 6 months are all but gone. The menu strikes again...

This is what I tell everyone. Be who you are, so you attract the person that you don't have to live a lie for. Men...if you're opening doors, buying flowers and holding hands, in her mind, those are the things she will be expecting from here on out. It's on the menu. Women...if you're doing things sexually that you wouldn't normally do, saying you're into sports or telling him that it's okay to go out with his buddies, in his mind, he believes that those are on the menu. See what I am getting at? Just be real.

When we present things that typically don't resonate with us, we are misleading the person we are with. In other words, it is false advertisement. You walk into a restaurant and order your favorite meal, because you saw it on the menu. When you go back, they say they ran out, or don't have the ingredients. You go back a few more times, and each time there is a new excuse. How many times before you stop going back? 2, maybe 3? Maybe a handful? The same holds true in the dating world. You can't pretend to be something and then slowly stop being that person. That is a classic case of bait and switch.

Never start a relationship on a lie. It's not that people don't change, but people lie. I once had a women show up in my office for this very reason. She wanted to know if it was okay to drop a man that she had only seen 3 times. She met him on a dating site, and his profile picture was of a handsome 40ish age man. When he showed up for the first date, he had no hair {not that it was a deal breaker}, and was almost 20 years older than he led her to believe. When she asked him how come he didn't have a current picture up, he just laughed, and said he hadn't gotten around to it. Ghost him!!!!

Be real about who you are. I get wanting to make a good first impression. But to mislead to the point where you are actually pretending to be someone else, is just wrong. So, if you're showing someone the menu, make sure that you can actually deliver what's on it. You can thank me later...

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kathydsalters31 · 4 years ago

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Exactly how to Choose the Best Dog Food

August 05, 2019

9 Comments How do you choose the very best pet dog food for your puppy? The countless choice of dog food products with appealing advertising claims make the job of selecting canine food unbelievably difficult. Do you go with the dog food brand that asserts it only utilizes natural active ingredients?

Is organic far better? And what does “natural”even imply !? We’re right here to aid you recognize how to pick what is right for your canine. In this short article we talk about exactly how to recognize the finest canine foods as well as what to try to find in pet dog food tags. We additionally make clear the definition of”organic”as well as”all-natural”as well as attend to current headlines regarding grain-free pet food and its link to canine heart problem. As constantly, leave any kind of concerns as well as ideas in the comments below! We enjoy speaking with you and also appreciate your feedback.

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from Lucky Dog Solutions http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/how-to-choose-the-best-dog-food/ from Lucky Dog Solutions https://luckydogsolutions.tumblr.com/post/623974506986340352

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terselylove · 4 years ago

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30 Weird Careers You Never Knew Existed That Might Help You Find Your Calling

1. I work in QC (Quality Control) for media.

In one company they occasionally paid me to watch porn to make sure it was in sync and in good quality for video on demand distribution.

In another company I spent years watching movies before release in secure theater-like rooms, to make sure the files are ready for distribution (subtitles and audio in sync, no picture corruptions, stuff like that). I always got to watch the biggest movies of the year in a giant screen weeks before they were released (sometimes months!).

I got the job by going to film school.

2. I spend about 80% of my day designing those large overhead signs you see on the highway.

3. I design water parks. I went to college for Graphic Design and Advertising. In my last year I had to do an internship, so I took one at an aquatic engineering firm to help organize photos. 10 years later I am a project manager and create resort deck and water park programs.

4. My boyfriend is a high rise window cleaner. There are only 4 in our city. He loves his job! Sometimes when he is working, I will go to the city to the building he is cleaning and look up at him on the street. So cute.

5. I used to work on a lavender farm! It’s totally unrelated to my field of study and incredibly difficult in terms of manual labor, but man was it a beautiful place. I tended to the plants, took care of goats, and did processing for the herbs and honey. My grandparents are farmers and so I grew up with mediocre knowledge of field work and beekeeping and when a friend’s mom decided to start a business centered around lavender she asked me to help out for the summer.

6. You know when you’re watching a sports program and you see the little pop-graphic in the corner (ie. a baseball players stats, or an advertisement for easy-mac, or “stay tuned for Saved By the Bell @ 9!”)? Yeah. That was me.

7. I work in a lab where I raise moths! I got it by telling my lab partner that I love bugs and he hooked me up.

8. I’m a chyron operator. I trigger motion graphics on live TV. I was an art student and also was in stage crew in high school. These things got me jobs backstage in theater, which got me a job in TV doing normal stuff like cameraman and stuff like that. Since I was an art major I asked if I could do graphics and they let me on the weekends, and my specialty eventually turned to the chyron which ingests the graphics that artists make and plays them back through the switcher that controls the news broadcast. It’s not technically an art position but at my job specifically I could make the graphics in after effects and photoshop during the day (if I have a computer free) and in the afternoon I play the chyron. Usually you are one or the other, because chyron operators don’t need art skills, it’s just another tech job like audio operator or camera operator or stage manager or whatever. These kinds of jobs are getting rarer because they are being automated. But since I’m also an artist I get to keep my job because if someone leaves I can take their job.

9. I used to be a hand model.

Apparently I have really really good looking hands. Although they look completely normal to me.

People were always asking me how I got into it so it was fun to bullshit people I was “discovered” on the street, now I moisturize 15 times a day and sleep with my hands in plastic bags….

The money was great but I’d have to spend long days on set being careful not to wreck my manicure. (Which they paid for of course! Also paid for the time it took to get the manicure.)

Mostly did TV commercials.

Now I tell people at parties I’m a retired international hand model but gave up show business for the much more worthwhile and rewarding career of teaching kids to read….

10. I’m a Hostage Survival Trainer.

I was working in international development within IT, and was asked to go and sort out the finance system in Iraq back in 2007. The ministry I was working in got attacked by a militia and myself along with my 4 guards got captured.

Over time the guards were killed and I got released in an exchange deal after being held for over 2.5 years.

11. I spent a year on a team reclassifying the Duke University Library system from Dewey Decimal to Library of Congress. Had to learn like four different alphabets just to label them properly.

12. Official court stenographer. I type everything everyone says in court. I was told about it in high school and thought it sounded cool so I went for it. Took 5 1/2 years in college, but I’m nationally certified to type 260 WPM and regularly push above 300 WPM in court.

13. Cameraman for Live PD. Went to film school to make movies then slowly worked through Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men, Boston’s Finest, and Nightwatch. Found out I have a perfect blend of art and athleticism that can be hard to find.

14. I make whiskey. It took a shit load of time, luck, skill and perseverance to get where I am.

15. Stagehand. I set up everything from huge concerts and Broadway shows to small private events and interviews. It’s a wonderful job and I love the people I work with.

16. I was a puppeteer for many years and I actually got that job from an ad in the classifieds. It cracks me up that there is a scene in Being John Malkovich where he tries to find “puppeteer” in the classifieds and fails.

17. I have been an online Community Manager for over 20 years.

I started in video games and moved into technology companies. I’ve worked on everything from Star Wars to telecommunications networking equipment and software that help companies move data fast.

It started as a hobby. I was a web developer so very fluent with the web. Started a fan site and grew up it large. Moved on to volunteer for another game company who eventually hired me full time.

18. My parents are escape artists and escape consultants. My dad started as a magician doing birthday parties as a teen, then got really into escapes, then became the #1 guy designing and consulting on escapes for famous top magicians.

19. I have a job tracking rodents in restaurants. I set up cameras, movement sensors, IR sensors and other gear, and get an idea of the problem and how to fix it.

20. I used to cut pictures of weewees and hohas off packaging of adult toys. All day every day. I got the job by being able to pass a drug test.

21. I mix fire retardant for fighting wildfires. A lot of people know that airplanes drop retardant on fires but don’t think about the millions of dollars of infrastructure that is behind that operation. Everyone who works at my base started by working at the local ski resort. It’s a good way to earn enough money in the summer to coast all winter so we keep the jobs among fellow ski bums.

22. In the summer I guard and clean the toilet units (not the toilets) for festivals. I got the job trying to find a cheap way to go to the big festivals and this organization was looking for volunteers.

So all I have to do is stand in front of the units, make sure the ground stays clean, everyone had toilet paper and clear a block of units so the cleaning team can do their job.

Another part of the job is making sure no one dies or passes out in such a unit. You can’t imagine how many drunk (often naked) people we need to get out of these units and escort them to the First Aid.

23. I’m a potter. I used to be the manager for a museum art school, and began taking classes there years ago. Eventually transitioned into being a full time potter and pottery teacher.

24. I work as an Air Traffic Controller. Not weird but not many of us around.

I pretty much fell into it after passing an aptitude and it’s just been swell since.

Albeit, the classic phrase from strangers: isn’t that the job with the most suicides?

It might be, but I don’t know anyone. It’s actually super chill and rewarding when you get it right. (We always try get it right, but when you get it super right you’re dead pleased.)

25. I’m a welder. But what I do isn’t very common. I build Virginia Class Submarines.

26. Water Quality testing. I go around and collect samples for various testing to ensure the water meets the state standards. I got lucky and met someone who was volunteering at my previous job and she told me to apply. Was not the direction I saw my career going but it was definitely worth it.

27. I cleaned grills for super rich people in Palm Beach. Even got to clean Michael Jordan’s at one point. And it was recommended to me from a friend who was in sobriety with me after I got clean.

28. I’m a House Manager for a family of four, basically I’m a female butler. I’ve worked for them for 14 years starting as the kid’s Nanny, they’re my second family pretty much! I organize trades people, holidays, birthdays, daily meals, dinner parties, housekeeping, the list goes on… It’s challenging at times but keeps me on my toes and I enjoy that.

29. Concrete petrographer. I just started this month. I studied geology in college and now my job is to look at concrete using petrographic methods I learned at school and conduct ASTM tests to determine quality of concrete. Very interesting work because concrete is engineered rock and there’s A LOT more to it than you think.

30. I work in a clinical lab where I get to play with baby sweat for a bit of my day. We are testing for chloride level. Increased chloride in sweat is one of the diagnostic markers for cystic fibrosis. I am a clinical laboratory scientist. Not all clinical labs perform this test but I am lucky enough to work at a lab where we do a couple interesting low volume tests.

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purplesurveys · 5 years ago

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Do you listen to music while you fill out surveys? I have moods where I can and moods where I can’t. But when I do listen to music while taking surveys, I can only ever listen to lo-fi tracks because they’re super chill and great as background sound. Right now is one of the times I have them on.

In the past week, what song have you listened to the most often? I think I’ve mostly been stressed about updates on the virus, so I actually haven’t been listening to any music all week. This is the first time I’ve sat down and let myself listen to my go-to lo-fi playlist.

What was the last thing you shared with someone else? I shared some of my dinner with my dog, if that counts.

While playing video games, do you prefer being first or second player? Second, because I definitely don’t know how to play most video games all that well haha. I’d rather be the second player just cluelessly/aimlessly following around.

What is the most difficult word for you to pronounce? I cannot pronounce ‘bureaucracy’ for the life of me. ‘Mirror’ can also be a bitch but because i watch too much American media, my Filipino ass just goes right ahead and says it as ‘mirr.’

What did you have to do for the last homework you were assigned? The last homework I turned in before the lockdown happened was the weekly article I had to submit for my business reporting class. I gotta say, as a mostly introverted journalism student, I’m SO GLAD there’s been a way out of having to do interviews and produce articles haha. I see you looking out for me for once, universe.

You’ve planned a roadtrip. Where are you going, and who’s coming too? Tagaytay. It’s always a good destination for a chill roadtrip that’s not too far, doesn’t require a full tank of gas, and not too much of a hassle. I’m bringing my college clique with me – JM, Luisa, Jo, Aya, Kate, Kezhia, Blanch – and Gabie, too.

Do you have an overactive imagination? I have little to zero imagination. I mean I guess I like thinking of scenarios, but beyond that me and creativity just don’t mesh well at all.

What was the last important thing that you thought about? That five minutes ago it was time for me to put eye drops on my left eye once again. That eye been working well in the last few weeks, so I had it checked by an opthalmologist, who said there’s most likely a scar somewhere in my eyeball and proceeded to prescribe drops for me.

Generally, do you call people, or wait for them to call you? I would never call people first other than Gabie. Thankfully mostly everyone I know hates calls as well and would never call first, so no one ever calls me either.

On average, how many texts do you send out each day? On a normal day, maybe 50-100 texts? It’s my main mode of communication with my girlfriend, but it also depends on how busy we are during the day.

If a cop pulled you over for speeding, how would you respond? I don’t think speeding is a traffic violation here because 1) the congestion EVERYWHERE is horrible and the traffic is a crawl all day long, and 2) I’ve seen people drive like maniacs on expressways and they never get pulled over for it. On the hypothetical instance that I do get stopped for speeding, I’d obey and apologize for it, and just hope they aren’t rude as fuck.

Has anyone ever questioned your sanity? I have questioned it MANY, many times in the past, mostly when I was in my early teens and still battling with a lot of anger, depression, and a lot of other emotions like I’m guessing most teens do.

How many people do you depend on? As much as I’m not the closest with my parents I do depend on them for basically everything. For now.

How many people do you think depend on you? I dunno if there’s anyone that does. I rather they don’t - I’m pretty unstable.

What is the worst color combination? I’d imagine red and purple to look so jarring.

Have you ever injured yourself walking around in the dark? I don’t think so.

When you get a papercut, how do you react? I thankfully haven’t gotten one in a while, but in the past I’ve usually never noticed the moment it happens, and I only ever find out when the pain hits like a few hours later. That said, I don’t really have a choice but to sigh and grit my teeth through the pain for the next few days.

Can you type without looking down at the keyboard? Yes. The only time I do is when I have to use the keys that aren’t letters, like |, }, and $.

At what age did you develop an interest in the opposite [or same] sex? Opposite sex: Probably literally never. I did attend soirees in high school and got invited to a senior ball – but these were only because I did what I thought a high school girl was supposed to do. I was never genuinely interested in boys. Same sex: I’d say Grade 6, when I had a feeling that I had a crush on Andi.

Are you or members of your family religious? It’s safe to say my entire family – both sides – is devoutly Catholic. They share Bible verses, go to Church, say a prayer before meals, all that crap. I am definitely not. I’ve seen so many people use the religion stuff to justify their being an asshole/hypocrite/both, so it was very for me to let all the bullshit facade go from a young age.

What is your opinion on religions other than your own? They’re valid, especially if it helps one become a better person. Don’t use it to strip others of their human rights, though.

What’s so scary about clowns, anyway? The make-up makes them humans that do not look like humans, and that has always been unsettling for us I think.

When was the last time you acted like someone you’re not? I don’t really do this; I like wearing my heart on my sleeve.

Have you ever wished that something bad would happen to someone else? LMAO yep from time to time.

When was the last time that you cleaned your room? My room is generally clean. My mom likes keeping the entire house tidy, so I just help her out and do my part for her mild OCD.

How many hats do you own/wear? I have one sun hat but it was an impulse buy. I’ve never worn it out because IT’S JUST SO BIG AND FLOPPY and I hate wearing stuff that’s flamboyant enough to give me attention.

What was the last thing that you printed? The aforementioned business news article I had to submit.

Did the last song you listened to hold any special meaning? I love the song, it’s profound and beautifully written but it’s also a particularly sad one, and it’s not one of the songs I’d want to be attached to because that would just make me sad all the time. The song was Hayley Williams’ Leave It Alone.

Are you experiencing problems within a current relationship? No, not at all.

When you’re upset, who do you turn to? Depends on the problem. For most crises I’d turn to Gabie, but sometimes I’d talk to Angela, and sometimes I’d keep to myself. Does winter weather depress you? I’ve never experienced winter. I always say that I have a feeling I’d like it because I like being cold and hot chocolate and wearing socks and feeling fuzzy, but now that I think about it, given how miserable Christmas already makes me, I feel like winter may probably just be the worst thing ever for me.

Who was the last person that you called? Gab, just before she fell asleep a few hours ago.

What product was being advertised on the last commercial you saw? A website for online shopping. It played before a YouTube video.

Do you ever wonder who sings the catchy commercial jingles? I don’t care for them, tbh. When you think about your last relationship, what song comes to mind? I Forget Where We Were by Ben Howard reminds me of my first stint with Gab. Six years ago when we first got together, she introduced the song to me and was being emotional to me about it, and I remember feeling unsettled right off the bat with her sharing such a somber song. I never really got over that feeling and to this day I still listen to it only when I’m sad.

Are there any lyrics to describe your current crush/relationship? Maybe if I wanted to think about it, but I don’t care to right now. <– Same <- Also same. I hate survey questions that make me think of lyrics on the spot.

Who in your life makes you the most uncomfortable? [continued from like a day and a half ago, lmao] My mom has comments and criticisms for everyone and everything, so I always find myself getting anxious around her.

Do you ever receive comments on your weight? That’s literally the greeting of choice in Filipino culture. No one here ever says “hi!” they all just remark how fat or thin you got from the last time they saw you.

Is there anything that you do just to make other people happy? There isn’t any one thing that I do. I’ve realized the people around me have different needs for them to be happy, so if I’m able to and if I’m mentally stable myself, I do those things for them.

When you need a temporary escape, what do you do? Open Tumblr and take a survey or two. If I don’t feel like it, I go on YouTube and watch Friends recaps.

What was the last lie that you believed in? If I believed in it I wouldn’t know it was a lie, if that makes sense.

How long did your last feelings of heartbreak last? I stopped actively mourning for Nacho (i.e. crying randomly while in school, listening daily to the playlist I curated to deal with his passing) around two months after he passed, but I would be lying if I said the heartbreak isn’t there anymore. I still think of him every day, and it makes me sad every day.

Is there any sport that you would want to learn to play? Volleyball would be cool to learn.

What band would you most like to meet? Paramore, obviously. Or One Direction, if they still count :((

Do you ever have difficulty opening pill-bottle caps? I mean I’ve never really had to, so I wouldn’t know if I’d find it hard.

Do you gain weight around the holidays? My metabolism’s always been pretty fast so even if I do eat a lot during the holidays, it’s barely noticeable.

Are you related to anyone famous, or to any historical figure? I’m related to one of the Filipinas who sewed the first Philippine flag; to a historian whose works are now widely used in history courses; and the diplomat who represented the Philippines in the signing of the Treaty of Paris. As a kid I often thought my love for history was rather odd (because no other kid seemed to like it), but now I have a reason to think it has always run in my blood. Today I’m related to a political clan in my maternal grandfather’s home province, but I wouldn’t use ‘famous’ as the word for them.

If it was an option, would you take a trip into outer space? Oh yeah absolutely. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid.

What was the last thing that you wrote down [with a pen/pencil]? I practiced my high school’s penmanship, both because I really do practice it from time to time so I don’t end up being rusty, and because Andrew is dating Leigh, a friend from high school, in the weirdest crossover episode ever, and he is currently invested into learning our script hahaha.

Has anyone told you that you have a nice smile? Sure.

Are you uncomfortable with being photographed? Yeah ugh I hate it, especially when I have to be photographed or posed all by myself.

How vivid are your memories? Very vivid. I have a number of memories from every age, most of which I can remember pretty much as clear as day, from where I was down to the conversations that took place.

What’s the earliest you’ve woken up in the past week? Like 7:30 AM.

How many people have you talked to today? I’m too lazy to count so I’ll just name them: my mom, dad, sister, Gabie, JM, Apple, Hannah, Rick, Reiven, Ed, Kate, Laurice, and Abby. I’m also in Messenger group chats for each class I’m part of this sem, and all day we’ve been talking about how we’ll move forward now that my school has suspended online classes as well, so long story short I’ve talked to a buuuunch of people.

What was the last reason behind why you went to the hospital? Haven’t been in one since I was admitted myself a decade ago for a low platelet count, which we nearly thought was dengue.

When journaling, are you honest when documenting your feelings? Yes, I get super honest in this blog because this is the only place where I can be that way, and that’s why I’m super hesitant to open this up to anyone.

If you have a journal, do you ever worry others might find it? Gab asks me about it every now and then and it innately makes me anxious haha. Outside of her, I don’t think anyone in my circle would ever check for surveys on Tumblr.

When you go camping, do you sleep in a tent or an RV? I’ve never camped before but I think an RV would be convenient.

What’s one ridiculous thing that you do? Before I eat fried chicken, I will always peel off the breading/skin first so I can save it for last. I don’t like the actual meat, so I’ll only eat some of it and give the rest to my dog. My mom has since called the chicken skin portion my ‘finale,’ so I eventually adopted the term as well haha.

Do you feel that you must wear make up to be attractive? No dude. I never wear makeup and I’ve always felt confident, looks-wise.

What was the last thing [other than the keyboard] that you touched? My phone, just now.

Ever done anything dangerous while driving with someone else in the car? I’ve texted and taken calls whether I’m alone or driving with someone. If I’m running late I’ll also comb my hair with one hand. I’ve done sexual stuff while I was driving also hahahgdjshgfsf but there’s no need to get into that.

Name someone you wish you could be closer with? The newly-inducted members of our org, and the newest applicants as well! Everybody seems like cool people, and it sucks that the virus has prevented us from getting together.

Have you ever played the license plate game on long car-trips? Sure, but we also have other games to entertain us because car trip games can get boring pretty fast.

Are you a secretive person, or are you open with your thoughts? I have secrets but I’m very open about them if they happen to be raised. Like with me, all you have to do is ask haha.

What is the worst question that someone could ask you? Those dumb ones on surveys that ask if I’d rather kill my mom or best friend lol.

Do you talk to your pets? Every single time I see him.

Do you have a least favorite day of the year? Either Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The loneliness is something I wouldn’t wish on anybody.

What traits do you look for in a potential BF/GF? I’m demisexual, so I never really compiled a list of traits.

Would you date someone that had a different religion from you? Only if they didn’t let it get in the way of my atheism. You do you, but don’t drag me to your thanksgivings, rituals, holy texts, etc.

Right now, what’s in your bookbag/backpack? I honestly have no idea. I haven’t looked inside for so long HAHAHA

What’s unique about your city or town? We have an elevated part that we call ‘higher [city name]’ because it’s the part of the city that’s on a mountain and a base that we, understandably, call ‘lower [city name]’. I live in the lower area, which is busier and nearer to the metro. I don’t know of any other city in the Philippines where one half is situated higher and another lower.

If you could say something to the world, what would you say? Don’t panic, don’t hoard basic necessities, and don’t be fucking racist.

#survey #surveys

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siva3155 · 5 years ago

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300+ TOP NANNY Interview Questions and Answers

NANNY Interview Questions for freshers experienced :-

1. Tell me about yourself I am a 24 year old with a Nanny basic skills certification acquired in the year 2000. Since my graduation, I have worked for 2 children care organizations and a home in Minnesota. During my working stints, I have helped bring up children in a respectable manner while teaching them basic life skills. Other than that, I am looking to improve my scope by working as a nanny in a wonderful organization such as yours. 2. How to become a Nanny? To become a Nanny, no education or degree is required. However, CPR and first aid certification are commonly required. The International Nanny Association has adopted following basic standards. Must be at least 18 years of age Must have done high school (or the equivalent) Must bear a good general health with proof of immunizations ( a negative TB test or Chest X-ray) Must able to work legally in the country where they work Must influence the lives of children in a positive way under their care Experience in babysitting or daycare Not necessary but degree in early childhood education or elementary education count as a credit 3. Would you reveal a secret with a kid? I understand that the privacy of the kid is undoubtedly important. However, it is better and fairer for the parent to know everything about their child. 4. For how long did you stay in your last job? I joined Mrs. Smiths house in the summer of 2008 and attended to several duties such as taking care of the children laundry, cleaning the kid’s rooms, helping with homework, taking children to school in the morning and then picking them in the evening. 5. Why did you leave your previous job at the Smith’s? Ever since I joined the family, we had a great relationship with everyone, especially the kids who saw me as their big sister. Three of the kids moved to high school after 2 years, leaving me with the youngest daughter. When Joan, the youngest of the kids finally went to high school early this year, the family asked me to choose whether to stay on for some minor jobs there or look for another nanny’s job. I chose the latter. 6. We do some background check here. Are you comfortable with that? I am trying to be as straightforward as possible with who I am and what I say. My past is untainted as much as I know, and you would be welcome to confirm my suitability for this position through the check. 7. Have you ever been in a state where you were forced to resign? Yes, I was had to resign my first nanny job. The reason I left job is that the organization was relocating to a neighboring state, and I would not go with them. They had insisted that they would cater for all the paperwork, but since my mother was ailing, it was better I stayed behind. 8. I see you stayed for only 3 months on your second job. Why was this? Sure, that was a short stint as a nanny with a non-governmental organization. The company had just set base in our town and advertised for a temporary nanny post. Since I was qualified for the post, I was selected and was taken for a contractual period. I was still waiting for contract renewal when the offer for the next job came. 9. Describe to me the worst employer you have dealt with before? As you know, people have different personalities, and I have had the privilege to deal with several of these. I have learnt a lot about job expectations and management skills from all my former employers 10. Tell me about any of your weaknesses? My last jobs were demanding and engaging, but I failed to enhance my interpersonal skills. I would like to have an opportunity of interacting and speaking more with people or groups of people.

NANNY Interview Questions 11. Are you ready for a screening test before taking up this job? I know the gravity of substance abuse and understand your concern. I have no objections to such a test. 12. What have your past mistakes, if any, taught you? For all my three previous jobs, I enjoyed dealing with the children and interacting with their families and relatives. I have had the normal issues of work, but have managed to remain focused on ensuring I give quality results. I have had problems dealing with some extended family members but I this has helped improve my listening skills 13. What do others say about you? My last employer says I am passionate about the young ones, especially when it comes to proper diet. I could provide more detailed feedback if needed. 14. What makes you different from other applicants for this nanny position? I believe from the other candidates, I am the most suitable person. My passion for children affairs is evident from all my past jobs. I am also continually improving myself in this area, for example, I recently enrolled for a diploma. 15. If given this job, when will you be available? I understand this is a full time job, and I am willing to stick to those requirements. Sometimes I could be on leave, but I understand I might be needed at any time. 16. What do you think your typical day as a nanny will look like? Having worked as a nanny for different employers, I understand all the duties that I have to attend to. There is helping the kids with their homework, cooking meals, tidying their rooms etc. 17. What are your hobbies? I am one person who really loves what nature has to offer. I love reading my novels at the heart of the park. I also do nature walking quite often. 18. Are you comfortable with simple chores around the house? In my first job, I had doubled as a nanny and housekeeper. I found this too tasking as I would not attend to either of the tasks efficiently. I would be pleased to stick with nanny work at first. 19. Do you have a job situation where you had a serious problem and how did you solve it? Yes, in my first nanny job, there was this child who fell on a chair and injured his forehead. Blood was oozing out so fast, but with my first aid skills, I was able contain the problem. 20. How to do deal with a stressful job environment? The truth is that everybody faces stress in one way or another. The difference is how we handle it. When dealing with children, I try as much as possible to control my emotions. 21. Are you ready for a salary cut? My last job used to earn me $10 an hour and I understand this is just above the minimum wage for this position. While I would like to improve on this salary, I am ready for negotiations. 22. Are you okay with filling a form confirming you can legally work in the US? I came to America 10 years ago and acquired full citizenship a couple of years ago. I am ready to fill the 1-9 as part of your verification process. 23. The job is contractual, with a possible renewal after 2 months I have no problem working temporarily as I have shown in the past. The experience I gain is highly valuable plus I believe there will still be opportunities to work with you. 24. Are you comfortable working with children who are difficult to handle? It is true some kids can be troublesome than others. In most cases, it is about their personalities, and I am able to handle each case individually. 25. What do you say about children playing and interacting with others? Socialization is vital for a growing child, just as it is for a grown up. I allow them to interact but monitor such relationships closely. 26. What is your understanding of allergy management? This was a part of my training as a first aid officer just before I took my first nanny job. I have applied this knowledge in my previous jobs. 27. What questions to ask a Nanny or what questions should nanny expect? A questions nanny must expect are Why do you want to be a nanny? What do you like about the job? What do you like least about being a nanny? 28. Do you have any special liking or disliking about parents/children/pets? 29. How do you deal with separation anxiety? How do you comfort children? 30. What are some of the rules you’ve followed in other households that you think worked well? NANNY Questions and Answers PDF Download :: Read the full article

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chicago-marlena · 5 years ago

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Trip II: My Trip to Bronzeville!

For the purpose of consistency, this post has been broken up into two parts: my first and second trip to Bronzeville; experiences from two separate days.

Neighborhood map of Bronzeville, Chicago | Source

Hello everyone! I’m back with a new addition to my travels around the City of Chicago, with a very exciting entry for today!

This past Friday, September 27th my classmate Alexis and I ventured to the historic neighborhood of Bronzeville! This trip has been my favorite thus far, as exploring the area offered themes of rich history, art, culture, and constant surprise. If you’re unfamiliar with the neighborhood, Bronzeville, also known as the “Black Metropolis” of Chicago, was considered the heart of the African-American community following the Great Migration in 1916 and is recognized for its historical significance, lively community, rich culture, and musical legacies, specifically in genres of jazz, blues, and gospel (Bean, 2016). As someone enthused particularly by African-American arts and specifically jazz history, you can imagine that I was ecstatic to take this adventure. Truthfully, I could go on and on about all the reasons I was excited to get to know this neighborhood, but let’s dive in to see for yourself.

PART I: exploring Bronzeville; rain or shine!

On the first day of my trip, I went in partnership with my classmate Alexis, who I later discovered is a born and raised Chicagoan. In contrast to my last trip, accompanying someone with insight from growing up in the city was helpful in navigating and noticing changes throughout the neighborhood.

Our first stop on our itinerary was mural located on the side of the “L” station 35th and State St. As to my knowledge and observations, the mural that was previously on the side of the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station had been recently covered up, and is now just a painted wall. The original mural showcased the neighborhood’s name Bronzeville across the top and featured caricatures of artists in the likes of Mahalia Jackson (the “Queen of Gospel”), Etta Moten Barnett (actress/vocalist), Nat King Cole (jazz pianist/vocalist), Dinah Washington (pianist/vocalist), R. Kelly (singer/songwriter), Chante Savage (R&B/dance singer), and Duke Ellington (jazz orchestra leader/pianist), all notable artists who contributed to the Black Metropolis’ rich musical legacy and the nuance of the community (Biography.com, 2019). Side thought: while the previous mural did pay rightful homage, my thoughts on why it was covered potentially revolves around the recent scandal with artist R.Kelly and the neighborhood not wanting to be reflected through the uproar. Seems justified but sad to see the others go.)

35th-Bronzeville-IIT South entrance mural | Original photo

While we didn’t get a chance to see the previous mural, we did however get a chance to view this mural placed right by the entryway of the “L” station, depicting 6 landmark buildings in colorful tile, accompanied by a neighboring sign with the “Bronzeville Points of Interest” (two being my university!) While I couldn’t find any historical information on this, I believe the buildings feature Bronzeville’s historical landmarks of the neighborhood, potentially including the Wabash Avenue YMCA, the Chicago Defender Building, Unity Hall, Eighth Regiment Armory, and the Sunset Cafe/Grand Terrace Cafe (City of Chicago, 1984). Overall, I thought the vibrant miniature mural was a nice addition to the CTA stop and gives new/returning visitors a look into how the neighborhood values its history. The points of interest plaque made me feel like I was visiting a museum, despite living in the area this entire time; ultimately, it was refreshing.

Bronzeville points of interest plaque | Original photo

Next on our trip, we spotted Welcome Stele, additionally located on 35th and State St. The monument offers 3 differing sides, all displaying texts containing the Bronzeville’s historic leaders and figures within the neighborhood; including lawyers, businessmen, and officials.

The first side view of the Welcome Stele | Original photo

This first side of the Welcome Stele focuses on the general theme of African Americans' business endeavors, most evidently highlighting the versatility and range in careers responsible for the commercial growth of Bronzeville. The latter half of the Stele displays where the neighborhood coined its name, as “Bronzeville” comes from the development of the bronze-beauty pageant by James Gentry who was a Chicago Bee and Defender.

The second side view of the Welcome Stele, depicting Bronzeville’s community figures and political milestones | Original photo

The third side view of the Welcome Stele, illustrating State St. once being the commercial hub of Bronzeville | Original photo

Bronzeville Walk of Fame plaques | Original photos

The next goal on our list was to successfully complete the Bronzeville Walk of Fame, from beginning to end, located on King Dr. between 25th and 35th Streets. The neighborhood’s walk of fame contains “ninety-one bronze plaques on medians, sidewalks, and crosswalks stretch ten blocks” honoring those who have made noteworthy contributions to the African American community from all walks of life and careers (enjoyillinois.com).

As we began the walk of fame, we noticed the plaques showcased an incredible variety of notable Chicago figures, ranging from doctors to musicians to poets to architects to lawyers and boxers. The significance of the walk of fame truly resonated with me when I saw the number of plaques placed outside of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Vocational High School; the walk of fame serves to not only memorialize and commemorate Chicago figures but motivate future generations for success. While walking down the sidewalk, I additionally noticed the area’s value in the youth and younger generations through the plaques, advertisements for youth activities, and even positive messages on public benches. Bronzeville’s preservation of art, culture, and community promote positive messages to the youth, which I found touching considering the amount of stigma and stereotype around Chicago public schools.

“Youth r thought” engraving on public bench, located in school zone | Original photo

At this point in our trip, while I would like to note that it had started to rain (I apologize for rainy photos!) it didn’t stop us from making our next stop to observe the Bronze Map of Bronzeville after finishing the walk of fame.

Upper righthand corner view of Bronze Map of Bronzeville | Original photo

The Bronze Map of Bronzeville best displays the neighborhood's rich culture and history through the institutions included on the map, some examples being the Quinn Chapel, Chicago Defender, Chess Records Studio, and the Illinois Central Railroad Station just to name a few. Ultimately, the map illustrates what Bronzeville used to be as a neighborhood; one filled with variety in opportunity, businesses, commerce, institutions, and community makeup. This overall theme can still be seen throughout the neighborhood today but with small changes and additions, but the map serves a reminder of the area’s roots and booming beginnings.

~ LUNCH BONUS! ~

At this point in our trip, the weather had gone from a slight drizzle in rain to a full downpour, indicating it was a good time to end our trip and stop for lunch. In an attempt to escape this bad weather, Alexis and I decided to dine at Harold’s Chicken Shack, (124 E 35th St.) as we both frequented the establishment often and avidly enjoy their food (one of my favorite late-night meals!)

Lunch at Harold’s Chicken Shack | Original photo

Just as always, my lunch at Harold’s was delicious! I ordered the wing lunch combo which came with 4 wings, fries, bread, coleslaw, and a drink of choice, all for $6.50 (wow! incredible deal for a college student.) As someone who had only dined at Harold’s during the nighttime, I thoroughly enjoyed the lunch deal and felt that it was extremely filling and worth the price! (Other customers must have also shared this thought: during our visit, many workers from around the area were coming in and getting the deal for their lunch breaks, indicating the deal’s popularity).

Harold’s Chicken Shack interior decoration. Something I always enjoy about the establishment: preservation of culture. | Original photo

Overall lunch rating = 5/5

Notes: incredibly filling, delicious hot sauce, the chicken was crispy, the staff was efficient and the overall environment was nice especially with the historical photos along the walls!

If you’re looking for a quick but delicious meal, I definitely recommend the lunch combo. Ultimately, this meal was an extremely fulfilling way to end my first day of adventures in Bronzeville.

PART II: Boulevards & Sunshine!

While my first trip to Bronzeville had to be cut short due to poor weather conditions, I decided I’d take another day to further explore the neighborhood. On this second day, the weather was nice and warm, creating a perfect climate for me to venture to a few more sites!

My first stop on this day was the Victory Monument, located between 35th street and King Drive. The bronze sculptor itself was constructed with the intent of honoring “the achievements of the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African American unit that served in France during World War I...”, additionally showcasing a soldier on top of the fixture signifying all the Black soldiers who had died during the war (Chicago Outdoor Sculptures, 2009).

Right-facing view of the Victory Monument | Original photo

Seeing this monument in person gives you chills as a spectator, whether you’re aware of the historical significance yet or not. At least this is how I felt seeing the monument for the first time. The posture and position of the soldier at the top radiates power and stoicism, accompanied by the additional figures below. While my favorite part of this trip will soon be discussed (hint, hint), I have to note that this part of the trip affected the most emotionally. While the reason for its creation can be saddening, I am glad the neighborhood prioritizes paying homage to its fallen soldiers and past generations.

As I continued my walk down the street, my next stop was the Ida B. Wells-Barnett House, probably my most exciting stop thus far, as I admittedly didn’t know this historic landmark was located so close to me.

Front view of Ida B. Wells-Barnett House | Original photo

Ida B. Wells was an African American journalist, suffragist, and Civil Rights activist who was known for leading an anti-lynching campaign in the United States during the 1890s (National Park Service, 2019). As a journalist, Wells wrote and recorded the gruesome reality of African Americans being lynched and began her anti-lynching campaign.

Standing in front of her home really allowed her historical legacy to resonate with me, as this part of the trip was humanizing to the work she had done for not only the community but for African Americans as a whole. Detail wise I enjoyed the architectural style of the nearby homes and particularly enjoyed the maroon accents and stone/brick style exterior. Ultimately, this part of my visit was what made me most proud to reside in a neighborhood like Bronzeville.

Finally, this last stop on my trip took me by surprise. On my commute back home, I stumbled upon the building that once housed the Sunset Cafe/Grand Terrace Cafe, a once-popular “nightclub that established Chicago’s reputation as a jazz center in the 1920s and 30s” and is now a current day beauty supply store titled “Urban Beautique” (City of Chicago, 1984). Jazz clubs and jazz music as a whole was a large contributor in shaping the culture and entertainment of Bronzeville, with notable artists like Louis Armstrong featured in clubs like these during the early 20th century. After reading the plaque and keeping these thoughts in mind, I was in awe after stumbling upon this landmark.

Mural inside of Urban Beautique from the original jazz club | Source

Alternatively, on the exterior of the building, next to the Cafe’s historic plaque is a mural dedicated to the beauty store, filled with vibrant colors and a painting of an African-American woman with a hopeful expression. While some may question if visitors of the beauty store still hold value in the building that once was, I believe that the building’s change from popular jazz club to beauty shop is reflective of how communities interests and means of fulfillment change; beauty supply stores are increasingly popular in African-American communities, as they are not only hubs for supplies but great places to exchange hair/beauty advice and build connections while shopping. Although it is no longer the historic jazz club it once was, the building’s liveliness is still present within the store, just shifting to current-day community interests.

Mural outside of Urban Beautique, site of the original jazz club | Original photo

Ultimately, both trips I made to the neighborhood of Bronzeville were equally as fulfilling and eyeopening to a culturally rich community I had yet to take the time to explore. Prior to this trip, I have to be honest and admit I wasn’t aware of the historic milestones a neighborhood this close to me had experienced, but now I am nothing but thankful for this treasure I can return to. The music, the art, the culture, the sense of community, and the legacy all provide me with a sense of pride to be an African-American woman and assure me that future generations coming out of Bronzeville will share that same sense of pride and hopefully continue the neighborhood’s success.

Sources:

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bronzeville, Chicago, IL/@41.8201572,-87.6351753,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e2bf824a02f89:0xcefdff19c5833998!8m2!3d41.8166444!4d-87.6167744.

Bean, A. (2019, June 12). The Incredible History and Cultural Legacy of the Bronzeville Neighborhood. Retrieved from https://www.chicagodetours.com/bronzeville-neighborhood/.

Bronzeville - Victory Monument. (2009, September 28). Retrieved from http://chicago-outdoor-sculptures.blogspot.com/2009/09/victory-monument.html.

Bronzeville Walk of Fame. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explore/listing/bronzeville-walk-of-fame.

Mahalia Jackson. (2019, July 11). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/musician/mahalia-jackson.

Wbez. (2018, May 24). What's That Building? The Sunset Cafe Mural. Retrieved from https://www.wbez.org/shows/morning-shift/whats-that-building-the-sunset-cafe-mural/ad11a2c2-b786-4477-be32-7f93caf5439f.

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bloodelves88 · 5 years ago

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Trip to Taipei/Hualien/Taichung/Puli, Taiwan (Part 2)

Part 1 here (Hualien). Part 3 here (Taipei). Part 4 here (Taichung/Puli). Part 5 here (Puli). Part 6 here (Puli/Taichung/Taipei).

Day 3

Morning, we had a train to catch to Taipei at 10:26am. We woke up at 8am and had breakfast at the lodging again. This time, they had a burger for us.

Also fruits and pudding. The pudding is really nice, I think it’s a piece of dragon fruit inside.

The view from outside Hualien station.

We bought and paid for most of our train tickets and lodgings before the trip, so we had to go to the counter to get our tickets. The person at the counter said we didn’t pay for our tickets yet, which was very distressing. But apparently it’s just because the passport number entered into their system didn’t match the actual one because of website limitations or something.

We reached Taipei around 12:50pm. Our lodging this time is a hotel, right in the heart of Ximending. Ximending is known as the Akihabara of Taiwan, with video games, anime, maid cafes, butler cafes, arcades, and night life all packed into one district. It honestly felt better than the time I went to Akihabara, which I did say was rather underwhelming and overrated. Maybe it’s because the “otakuness” of Akihabara isn’t that obvious and in your face? I have no idea.

Anyway, we spent about three hours exploring the Taipei City Mall first. It’s an underground walkway right beside Taipei Main Station, and a sizeably large portion of it contains nothing but video games, figurine shops, and gachapon machine shops.

Red, blue, and green are prevalent colors in this mall. Well, not so much green.

I have to say the gachapon machines in Taiwan are pretty badly overpriced. They didn’t even take off the Japanese Yen prices on the machines, so you could see the difference in prices. Something that was originally ¥300 (SGD$3.92) could be NT$200 (SGD$9.09). That’s just ridiculous. Some gachapon machines could go as high as NT$300 (SGD$13.29). I’m sorry but what the heck?

I bought four items here. I recently got a PlayStation 4 from a lucky draw, so I’m on a lookout for some games. Most of the games on sale here aren’t cheaper than on the PlayStation store, and I did manage to find Horizon Zero Dawn for NT$450 (SGD$19.90).

I also bought two items from the gachapon machines for NT$60 each. Here they are:

I wanted Alisaie because she’s bae, but I guess Aymeric is good too. He would be my second choice. The other possible ones are Nanamo, Kan-E Senna, Merlwyb, and the Manderville guy. I’m quite disappointed with the quality of the keychain actually. It’s not something you’d expect out of Square Enix. It looks like a cheap knockoff since the printing is so faded and blur.

The last item I bought was a Rem figurine.

I got pretty unlucky for this one. It was those boxes where you wouldn’t know which design you would get. I think this is the worst design available. Standing on my table now, she’s looking down and her body is tilted downwards, so you can’t see her very clearly.

I also paid too much for her. I paid NT$280, and I saw some other shops selling her for less than NT$200. Ah well.

Anyway, we spent too much time exploring and it’s now past 3pm and we haven’t had our lunch. I’ve always wanted to try a maid cafe, and since there’s maid cafes in Taiwan... why not?

I didn’t actually know where the maid cafes were, but we saw a maid walking about (to the toilet, I guess), so we followed her when she was on her way back.

We went to this maid cafe. There’s not many photos of it since they had a no photo rule, but I think it mostly applies to the maids.

The cafe has a concept of being in a train, which explains the hand grips hanging from the roof. There’s quite a few figurines standing around too.

It seems that each meal comes with soup.

I ordered omelette rice, which is obviously what you should order at a maid cafe 😆. The maid asked what I drawing I wanted on my omelette, and I asked her to decide 😅. We decided on a cat. The maid seems to make it a point to have some conversation with each customer, which isn’t really that good for me because my Mandarin isn’t that good. So, it was a little bit of an awkward and difficult situation. Not really the best environment to really enjoy a maid cafe, but I guess it would be better than in Japan. There wasn’t really anything outstanding though. You might have heard about weird chants or actions you would need to do when you got your food in maid cafes, but there was none of that here.

Anyway, there was shelf containing manga and books for people to write and draw on. Here’s some of them.

We added some stuff to the book. I drew the crab.

Some of the people writing on the books are repeat customers, constantly coming back to write on the books.

Anyway, done with lunch, and off to Ximending to find our hotel.

On the way there, we saw a rainbow. It was the brightest and boldest rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s awesome.

It’s not the faint crap you always see in Singapore. This is the real deal.

We also stopped to buy some matcha drinks. I had a matcha drink with ice cream. It’s not bad, but there was no way to eat the ice cream. I had to go back to the hotel to find a spoon.

Anyway, welcome to Ximending!

Our hotel is called ECFA Hotel Wan Nian, which is in the Wan Nian building.

Donate some blood for your waifu!

What I love about these places is they don’t shy away from such otaku and cutesy advertisements. These things would never be seen in Singapore. Singapore has to be bland and proper and boring.

One of my friends wanted to visit the bookstore nearby, so off we went. I wasn’t very interested since it was mostly Chinese books, so I didn’t do much other than play with my phone. There was a jigsaw section and I found it interesting that they had jigsaw that wasn’t flat.

After the bookstore, we wandered around Ximending.

Then, we headed off to Animate! I’ve never been to an Animate.

There was a Mystic Messenger shelf OMG OMG.

I made away with two of the cushions. Ray and 707. Each one cost NT$500.

They even came with some bookmarks. Oh yes oh yes! I think they’re given for every NT$300 you spend.

Animate is really otaku heaven. There’s no end of the manga and merchandise you can get. Badges, figurines, files, posters, wall scrolls, keychains... almost anything you could ever want.

The King’s Avatar. Highly recommended.

The BL section. They really don’t hide it. Some of the cover images are pretty NSFW.

We spent a little longer than we wanted here because I decided to buy some merchandise back for some of my family. I bought two Boku no Hero Academia badges and one Haikyuu badge. It was a terrible NT$600 in total. One of the badges cost NT$400 (SGD$17.72). What the heck is the pin made of gold?

It’s about 10pm now, and we haven’t had dinner yet. Our meal times are so skewed 😅

We decided to eat at Saizeriya. We entered around 10:15pm, and they closed at 11pm. Good enough. We ordered three pizzas to share.

Phew, what a long day. Back to the hotel to sleep.

Here are the places we visited.

The bookstore isn’t marked, and is just beside the hotel.

End of day 3.

Part 1 here (Hualien). Part 3 here (Taipei). Part 4 here (Taichung/Puli). Part 5 here (Puli). Part 6 here (Puli/Taichung/Taipei).

#holiday #taiwan

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lsesu · 7 years ago

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An International Student’s Guide to... Saving Money!

Coming to London was a bit of a shock for me and many of my friends. If, like us, you constantly find yourself in pain at how things are more ‘expensive’ in London, then here’s a nifty little guide on how to save money!

Tip #1: STOP CONVERTING! (OK, this isn’t technically about ‘saving’ money...)

I cannot emphasize this enough. The temptation is strong. The prices are high. But if you keep thinking that something is ‘cheaper’ back home, then you might be living so cautiously, that you completely defeat the point of coming all the way to London to study. Once you stop converting and calculating, life becomes a little less stressful.

Tip #2: If you need to take the tube, get a student oyster card or a rail card.

A student oyster card is a wonderful thing that (I’ve heard) you will miss once you graduate. Apply for one the moment you’re officially registered at the LSE. If you don’t have to commute and will only take the tube occasionally, make sure to sign up for a 16-25 railcard, which will entitle you to 1/3 off train fares (great for exploring the UK!) and 1/3 off tube fares (only during off-peak hours!).

Tip #3: What you don’t ask for, you don’t get.

Student discounts are a wonderful thing, and in many places it’ll be obvious that students will get one -- but they aren’t always advertised. Any time you do something - whether eating, drinking, playing a sport, shopping for clothes, watching a movie, buying flight tickets, etc. - make sure to ask if they have a student discount if you don’t see it displayed anywhere! This has saved me so much money in every aspect of my life - and if I hadn’t opened my mouth to ask if there was a student discount, I’d never have saved! One restaurant I went to with a friend said “oh, no, we don’t have a student discount” only for us to be told the next week when we went back that we’d inspired them to create a student discount --- this story is just to re-emphasize that you should always always always ask for a discount and more often than not, the answer will be a positive one. Small 10% discounts here and there add up to huge amounts over time!

Tip #4: Buy Books Second Hand, if you can!

This is not always a possibility due to the frequency of new editions, but ask around to see if the textbooks are the same as the year before - and if they are, there will definitely be someone willing to sell you the books at great prices. Alpha Books, on campus and opposite the LSESU building, will also have a selection of some books that you might need. For Law students, second hand books can also be found at Wildy & Sons which is nearby campus in Lincoln’s Inn!

If you need to buy your books new, Amazon is usually the cheapest (sign up for the free six-month Amazon Student Prime trial for free, speedy delivery!) and generally has further stackable discount codes for students that will pop up in the month of September/October.

Tip #5: Look out for free food!

Society and SU events will generally have nibbles or full-blown meals provided (an example being the upcoming Postgrad Brunch during freshers’ week 2017!). During term-time, don’t miss the Hare Krishna man who dishes up a free hot meal to everyone along Portsmouth street (near the Saw Swee Hock building!) and sign up for every birthday freebie perk you hear of so you can have free treats on your birthday/during your birthday month!

Tip #6: Eat In or Bond Over Catered Food!

This might seem like an obvious tip - but in the buzz of first year, you might feel compelled to eat out (even if you are in a catered hall) and get to know new friends over lunch, dinner, coffee or breakfast. All too tempting given the array of delicious food available all over London! This was a thing my friends and I did, and later on we realized that we would have had much more fun if we’d (a) drank tea or coffee in our rooms (b) cooked together and laughed about any potential disasters or (c) enjoyed a meal together in hall instead of out. So, if you’re in a self-catered hall, get to know new friends by making new dishes together in the kitchen, or eat together in the cafeteria if you’re in a catered hall - your wallet will thank you later ;)

Tip #7: Pack your own lunch

Keeping with the food theme, this might also seem obvious, but packing your own lunch for when you’re at school (which can be as simple as slapping ham or a can of tuna between two slices of buttered bread) will save you lots of cash. It’ll be tempting to get a pie from the SU first floor cafe or a sandwich for Pret or even a meal-deal from the nearby Co-Op - but if you take fifteen minutes to put something together quickly the night before (or the morning of) you head for class, you’ll find that you’ll be saving more money and getting bigger portions every day!

Tip #8: Save on Haircuts!

For most of us, haircuts are something we need to do pretty often. For guys, you can get free haircuts near school at the London School of Barbering. Otherwise, book yourself in for a £5 haircut at the esteemed Vidal Sassoon Academy or at the Toni and Guy Academy

Tip #9: Pick your supermarket wisely *only for self-catered halls

During first year, I stuck to the grocery store nearest my hall without figuring out loyalty programmes because I had no idea there was a difference. Come second year, I realized that if I’d done all my shopping at Tesco (whether in-store or online) and used my Tesco Clubcard, I’d have gotten loads of ‘cashback’ in the form of Tesco Vouchers! Pick and choose your supermarket carefully because you might be able to get more bang for your buck if you research carefully instead of picking the store nearest to you!

Tip #10: BUDGET!

This might seem like the most obvious thing in the world, but it’s really easy to say “oh I’ll just spend more this once” only for you to find you’ve run out of money in the middle of the month. So figure out in advance what you’d like to spend your cash on: rent, food, holidays, a West End ticket... Write it down. Excel your way through it. Stick to what you wrote. Put money for essentials (typically rent and food) in a separate bank account and leave the debit card somewhere hard to reach, so that you will be less likely to spend it. Remain firm with friends that you have to stick to a budget (see gif for reference). And you’ll be juuuust fine!

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Disclaimer: this is meant to be, above all, a fun and non-comprehensive guide. Coming to London will truly be an amazing experience and at certain points, some experiences will quite simply be worth the price tag. Make the most of your time at the LSE, enjoy yourself and budget accordingly :)!

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