#learn numbers sort colours make fun fish arrangements

[umilily]

ended up buying a cute fish game

long shot asking this here, but anyone ideas what to get for the birthday of a 3 year old that you’ve never met in person?

[scrumptiousalpacadeer]

A Note on the ‘F’ Word - (Forgiveness is Willy Wonka)

I’ve come to think that forgiveness is a bit like the scene in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film where Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is opened to the public after years of secrecy. In this classic scene, the crowds are gathered at the entrance of this most magical of places - a place that grandparents told their grandchildren of at bedtime in hushed tones; a place of flowing nectar-chocolate and sweets that burns like heaven in our hero Charlie’s imagination; a place they had never truly dared to believe in but dreamed of many times; a place run apparently run by some weirdo eccentric that the cynical masses had given up on long ago. 

That is until five Golden Tickets are sent out into the world...Willy Wonka is opening his factory again.

In the scene, Gene Wilder approaches the eager crowd, leaning and limping heavily with his cane along a red carpet; a look of grim severity on his face. The whole falls silent; all that is heard are the regular steps of Wonka and the taps of his cane. What the hell? This is not what anyone is expecting; this God-like man of mystery and invention  a miserable invalid? The opening of the Chocolate Factory is meant to be an epic event; the whole world is watching.. 

Wilder suddenly stops walking right next to his baffled fans and the world stops, holds its breath; locked in Wonka’s charismatic spell. Then something very weird happens; he begins to topple forward away from his cane - as if he’s had a stroke, or has suddenly died or fainted.... the crowd gasp, utterly horrified. Its the end of everything and it was meant to be the beginning. 

And then....well, Willy Wonka does a perfect forward roll and springs up beaming from ear to ear: it was all a façade of ill-health; a silly joke. The crowd goes wild with relief and joy and the factory’s golden gates open for the day, signalling a new era. 

 The other day I had a phone call out of the blue from an old friend; a friend I hadn’t seen or heard from for eight years. Rahul; my party hard philosopher; he who introduced me to the basics of meditation in my student digs 1996, whom I’d shared hundreds of fags with and laughed and danced hard with at house/techno nights ‘down the Student Union in my final year at London University, 1997. Rahul who I’d watched Sideways with and had half a lager with when I was seven months pregnant. Rahul who often got so insanely drunk and gobby at a party that no-one knew what to do with him. Rahul, wild man of peace; loose canon. Rahul who years became a Maths teacher as I became an English teacher. 

I very nearly didn’t answer the phone because I didn’t recognise the number, but I was in a care-free mood, listening to Radio 3 in the kitchen (how times have changed since 1997), so I picked up. 

One of the first words I said to him was ‘sorry’. ‘Sorry, Rahul!’ - It was weird because I’d been thinking of getting in touch with him for a while to ask his forgiveness. I hoped for an opportunity to say sorry to him for being such a crap friend; for taking him for granted; for being a selfish shit-bag; for not answering his calls, for the years of silence; for draining his resources then abandoning him when I found new pastures. I needed to say thankyou to him for being there for me at times in need; times I’d been hollow in spirit and he’d stepped in, but I hadn’t grasped it at the time. 

“What do you mean? You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, “ he said. “this is how it works with you. Years go by.” That's the thing with forgiveness; it hurts. It pained me that he forgave me without a second’s thought when I knew full well I hadn’t played fair. One time, in our mid-twenties, Rahul had bought me a ticket to go and join him in Atlanta America where he was working in I.T. His generosity was always off the scale.

Since our last meeting Rahul had lost half of his family and was now an orphan. His younger sister had died from a ‘cancer thing’ he told me; his mother crossed the threshold in April this year after contracting Covid in hospital. Her death was a relief, he said. “She was so happy to get the virus; all she wanted was to join her two children.” Apparently there had been a cot death. Rahul was the only one left alive now. He was talking to me from his flat in Hounslow, looking out over the town. 

I had to steady myself on the windowsill as he told me how his world had imploded. I felt the disappearance of his world in my stomach; and a sudden revelation of the nature of our connection. I hadn’t realised it before, but Rahul and I were conjoined by our exiled status. He, more visibly - a boy of high Indian descent inhabiting a West London life of hedonism, doing the drugs and the booze but also somehow accepting an arranged marriage foretold in his stars - a marriage that ended in disaster...Me; a girl from a house of shame and smutty lies and buried criminality, trying to climb the ladder and be so gleaming white and impressive... We both knew how hard it was to play the game in this world; feeling all the time we could only exist outside it.  Perhaps that's why, back in the 1990s, filled with the possibilities of our lives - born out of joint as we were - , we could feel the beat so keenly and dance so crazily together. Rahul and I knew the art of getting wasted and causing trouble.

I enforced the point that I’d been a real bitch and I told him how and why and that he deserved better. I told him of my stark memory of his mother singing sweetly to my baby daughter in Summer 2012, distracting her, so that we could sit and chat in his garden.  I told him I lived in the country now; that so much had changed. “Are you comforted?” he asked. “Are you still Chrissy Woo?” It was always his nick-name for me - a nick-name I didn’t mind. “I don’t think I am,”  I said. “I couldn’t go on like that.” 

Did he know that my father had died...that I was an orphan too? Rahul and my father had met many times so I didn’t inform him of my father’s subtly racist jibe after he’d come over for fish and chips one time. I didn’t tell Rahul about my revelation that my father was, on one level, arguably, as far as I was concerned, often, a ball-less sack of shit (that’s a W.O.P.E. Whole Other Post Entirely - very much related to the ‘F’ word) Out mutual disappointment of our hopeless fathers was the subject of a much longer conversation.  

I think the thing that’s so frickin’ scary about forgiveness as I am just as the very beginnings of understanding it, is the sheer unknowability of the space that comes after it. For my part, all the resentments, angers, prejudices, judgements, pulsing hatreds at times, these were very loyal friends that I woke up with each day without even having the faintest idea I was doing so. Sure, they were ugly and they caused merry hell enough, but, well, at least I knew where I was. At least I was livin, and sometimes that's really hard to do. They were the furniture I manoeuvred around; the reliable chairs I sat in for comfort when I was never good enough; when I just couldn’t keep my head above water. What happens if I let that all go? What will I hold onto? If I know longer want to stab my father with a screw-driver in the manner I meant to stab the lawn today as a form of irrigation for my new grass seed (see previous post and the WOPE I referred to earlier is coming soon) what the fuck happens then? I will have absolutely no idea who I am. Everything has the potential to start looking like Wonka’s Oompa Loompa Land with giant toadstools and chocolate rivers and that’s just too much happiness for anyone, surely, to stomach. I will know that I don’t know anything, and I’ve spent my whole life pretending to know everything. Surely the space will swallow me up, won’t it? How on earth do you start something entirely new? 

There’s that terrifying moment of suspension before something new comes in - like Willy Wonka topping over his cane. There’s those seconds when, learning a new guitar chord, our fingers hover in space over the fret; the new contortions our fingers must make to strike a new sound feels so awkward; so wrong; the muscles tearing into a new shape.. There’s that burning second that we leap out in the dark, blind, towards the possibility of a new tune, we take a mad punt and see where our clumsy fingers land, risk making a new sound... Chances are first few times around we’re gonna fuck it up. It’s agony. Forgiveness feels to me, when it comes in, like a hard grounding grief, a thunderstorm of reluctantly received understanding that wipes out the old and invites me to the chocolate factory. And some days it leaves me entirely and I feel like I’m back in the dumb days again. 

But, and I’m riffing here, I think the answer partly has to do with a belief in change and a steady embracing of transformation; or at least a basic faint belief that it might just be possible. Cynics and miseries say ‘people don’t change,’ ‘things don’t change’, but this is of course undiluted horse-shit. People  transform utterly on a daily basis, all the time...One of the tricks, I’ve learnt, is to spend as large a proportion of time as possible with people who also believe in change and progress - a bit like stocking up on sunlight for those dark hours that must be spent with angel eaters - ( translation: rampant materialists/misery guts who refuse to believe in magic of any sort).

But oh the rewards; oh the sheer mad silly fun of Wonka’s gates opening and guzzling on that chocolate.. The ecstasy of hearing a G major chord sung from your own fair hand. 

I hope to meet up with Rahul this Summer - to see him in the flesh. No doubt it will be somewhat awkward; he’s forgiven me - in fact; he doesn’t see what the problem is. I’m a different person; I’ve had some chunks taken out and they’ve been filled in with wholly different colours. He’s a different person too; I made him promise me on the phone that he would look after himself - so he’ll be made of different colours too. How will we talk to each other? What words will we use? How will we navigate such unknown waters? How do you build something new with someone who looks the same, but is wholly other?..

I have no idea. I think we might just have to chuffing well make it up as we go along; trying to forgive ourselves for all the mistakes we make along the way. 

                                                    *    *   *   *   *

As a random and seemingly unrelated end-note - I went out for a walk down the lane to catch some air mid-blog. What with it being a Saturday night and me being a party fiend, I thought I would ‘pick up some litter’ for fun. I picked up a can of cider and a paper plate. Two cars zoomed past. It struck me that had the drivers of these vehicles happened to take a passing interest in the woman in a camel coat walking alone along the side of the road with an unsteady gate (wellington boots rub my right heel real bad!) and an empty can of cider in her hand they would surely been able to draw only one conclusion: PISS-HEAD!.. OLD SOAK! lonely Saturday night Sussex forty something alcoholic staggering along the lanes with empty cans of cider for company... 

Ah the deception of appearance...

And so, dear reader; Happy Saturday and judgeth not a lady who walketh with a can of cider down a country lane. She might just be a blogger on a break.

I hope you enter the chocolate factory of your choosing some time soon or are already there sampling the delights....

Love from Christine x

[stylesgalaxy]

mastermind; chapter 3

A car zips past me as I run across the street. I ignore it's angry honk and push through the doors to the art shop. It was a bit far from the campus and in the side of town I wasn't very familiar with. Julia and I lived in the opposite side. But I heard from a classmate that this one has the best prices.

A chime rings when I open the door but no one is at the counter to greet me. I don't mind, I start looking for what I need quickly. My calligraphy prints were not satisfactory, apparently, but the professor was letting me resubmit them. I look down the shelf against the wall but it's all canvases. I walk further into the store to check out the other aisles.

"Can I help you?" a voice startles me. I scream and turn around, holding my hand to my chest. The boy in front of me has a very handsome, very familiar face. His dark hair falls in strands over his light brown eyes, almost making me swoon.

"Hi," I say uncertainly. Zayn happened to be an art major as well, I've seen him a few times in big lectures but we've never had any classes together.

"I know you..." he says with a light smile. "You're that hot girl's friend. Julia?"

"Yes," I sigh. I'm the hot girl's friend.

"I'm Zayn, what's your name again?"

I didn't expect him to remember my name, he was very drunk and we only spoke once before I gave Julia the green light. I don't remember why I liked him so much.

"I'm Aria," I answer.

"Ah, nice name. What is it your looking for? I can help you," he says with a polite smile.

"You work here?" I ask in surprise.

He nods.

"I'm looking for ink, silver if you have."

"RIght this way."

Zayn leads me through the store to where they keep the calligraphy supplies and the Windsor & Newton inks. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that it's $2.50 for a bottle and immediately begin hoarding every colour I like. Zayn finds this hilarious, I make him show me the pens. I choose a thin-tipped one that he says is better quality than the other brands. I'm completely immersed in this shop and every thing they have because for once, I can afford these things.

It's been a good two hours before I walk up to the register to cash out. I didn't even notice how much time had gone by because Zayn was so easy to talk to and actually quite funny.

"And your total is... $84.76," he says after ringing up every thing. I happily pull out my credit card to pay. I couldn't believe how much I got for $84. "I trust I'll be seeing you soon?" he chuckles. "I mean if there's anything left for you to buy."

"Don't be silly, of course there is!" I answer. "I have to build a sculpture for one of my assignments, I'm going to be back."

"For Lennard's class?"

"Yeah, you have him too?"

"Wednesday afternoon," he smiles. "Odd guy, isn't he?"

"Oh, no doubt. What are you building for your sculpture?"

"My Patronus," he says after some hesitation.

"What's your Patronus?"

"You can find out when I finish it," he chuckles and starts moving things around his table. I take this as a sign that he doesn't want to talk about it so I leave.

"Whatever, weirdo, let me know if the Tombows go on sale," I say walking towards the door with my big bags.

"Will do! Do you need help?"

"I'm good, thanks. Bye!" I shout through my arms, struggling to open the door.

The buses hate me, as usual, so it takes me about an hour to travel back home. I have one bag in my left hand, and I'm holding my other bag with the huge papers to my chest with my right hand, all while my purse starts slipping off my shoulder. I knock hoping Julia is home and can open the door for me because I can't be bothered to fish out my keys right now.

I hear sounds of scrambling coming from inside and then Harry opens the door for me. I'm confused before I take in his messed up hair and shirt thats inside out. Behind him I see Julia on the couch, hastily arranging her hair to appear normal. I try not to make it obvious that I've noticed Harry's very apparent bulge and fly undone because I can see how discreet he's trying to be about it.

"Hey," Harry croaks. "Do you want me to help you with those?" he nods to the bag I'm carrying. I give him a tight smile.

"No, thanks," I say. I walk around him, careful to keep to not touch him and take my shoes off. "Hey, Jules," I greet her, without making eye contact, as I walk straight to my room. "I'm gonna be working on my assignment, don't mind me. You guys can... carry on or whatever... I don't know." My face heats up in embarrassment. Why am I so awkward?

I shut my door tightly and hope it didn't seem like I slammed it. Because if it looks like I slammed it then it looks like I'm mad, and if it looks like I'm mad that they were getting frisky, it's obvious that I have a thing for Harry. And if either of them realize that, it wouldn't be hard to understand why I act the way I do around Harry. I don't want to destroy the good progress we've made in our friendship this past week.

I sigh deeply and then grab a more comfortable change of clothes from my closet. My desk is already cleared up, ready for me to make my prints. Obviously, I practise on normal paper with my new pens and inks before pulling out the fancy sheets and cutting them in a neatly so they're letter sized. I'm nervous to start the first print but I get over it quickly. If I mess up this sheet, I have more but if I mess those up too, then I'm fucked because I have to submit eight prints tomorrow morning, and I'm not submitting them on two types of paper.

I think about Zayn for a few minutes while I work. Over the past two years I'd seen him around a few times because we were in the same program, but the mysterious and broody vibes that he gave off intimidated me from ever speaking to him. He was also very quiet. That has to be why Julia lost interest in him, because with a face like his there is no other reason I can imagine why she wouldn't want him. He spoke a lot to me today though. I figured that's because he was in a place he was familiar in and he sort of knew me. I can see us being friends in the future.

I didn't make any new friends during orientation in first year, so when Julia started dating Harry several weeks later, we both became acquainted with Louis and Niall and they're now my only other friends. I'm grateful for them since they let me go bar-hopping with them when Julia refused to because her and Harry preferred to just stay home together. And they were really fun too. They liked to make fun of Harry and Julia as if they're an old married couple, and their impressions are really funny when I'm drunk.

However, it'd also be nice to have an artist friend. I already wish I had gotten Zayn's number. Not to go out with him, but to have someone to talk to about my art.

I'm nearly done one print when a knock sounds at my door a couple hours later.

"Come in," I say, surprised that for once Julia learned how to knock.

"Hey," she says slowly. She shuts the door and cautiously sits on my bed. I don't turn my chair around to face her, I just keep working. "Harry just left and I wanted to say sorry about what you saw earlier."

My face heats up again.

"Don't worry about it. It's cool," I assure her.

"Okay, good, I just felt bad because I know you don't like it when—"

"Did you have sex on the couch?"

"We-what?"

"Did you have sex on the couch?" I repeat calmly.

"No, we didn't. We-uh... no. Not on the couch."

"Good, just remember the couch is off limits for sex. I don't care about whatever else you do," I say nonchalantly. "Wait, the entire living room and kitchen as well. Though I'm sure you knew that already."

"Okay," she whispers. I'm not sure why Julia is talking about this with me so delicately when she's never hesitated to go into very descriptive details about their sex life before. But then again, Julia conjures many strange explanations in that brain of hers, so she's probably labelled me off as a scared prude or something.

"Um, this isn't going to change how you act around Harry, is it?" she mumbles.

I look at her in confusion.

"What? No. Why would it? I knew you two were having sex," I roll my eyes at her. Honestly, just because I haven't done the deed doesn't mean I don't know about it. And like I said, she went into very descriptive details about their sex before.

"I know, but you've never seen us like that before. I just hope nothing traumatized you."

Harry's bulge flashes in my mind and I curse Julia for bringing it up.

"I don't know what your talking about, I didn't see anything," I lie.

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Really. And besides, it was clothed so it wasn't like I actually saw his dick."

"Wait what?" Julia exclaims.

"What?" I respond trying to pretend like I didn't just say what I said.

"You saw his clothed dick?" Julia stares at me, wide-eyed.

"What? No, I didn't. He has a dick?"

Julia and I stare at each other for a few seconds, before we both burst into laughter.

"Oh, God, never tell him that! He was trying to hide it so bad!" she giggles.

"I wasn't planning on it!" I wave my arms around like it was obvious. She falls into another fit of giggles.

"Moving on," I say, "you'll never guess who I met today."

"Who?"

"Remember that guy I approved of for you at that party during orientation in first year? Zayn?"

"Oh my God, I remember him! He was so hot!"

"Was? He still is!"

"Get it, Aria!" she chirps. I roll my eyes.

"He works at the art shop on the other side of the town."

"That's hot."

"Tell me about it," I smirk. "I think I'm gonna go see him again soon."

Julia and I ended up talking for an hour about Zayn and other guys she's dated. For the first time in ages, my mind was completely off Harry and it felt nice to talk to my best friend about boys. We were like young teenagers again, scheming ways to lure Zayn in and planning potential future dates. I hadn't even thought about him like that until I started speaking to Julia.

It was time I moved on from Harry.

---

I accidentally tip my travel mug over trying to pour hot coffee in it and nearly burn myself. Oh fuck. Now there was coffee all over the kitchen counter and floor and none in my mug.

I quickly throw a bunch of paper towels on the tile floor to mop it up and then inspect the counter. My eyes widen when I notice the coffee seeping into the coffee machine. I shut it off immediately and unplug it from power before it explodes or something. I'm not sure how easily electrical appliances catch fire, but I didn't want to risk burning my apartment down today.

I know I can't leave this mess like this, Julia will have my head. Quickly throwing paper towels on the tile floor and the counter, I decide that if I leave right now and run, I can make it to Starbucks to grab a coffee before my class starts. So I messily mop up the mess, wash my hands and run out with my purse. I put my jacket on in the elevator and hold the folder with my new prints in my mouth.

I was up all night last night after Julia and I were finished talking about Zayn. Hence why the coffee is so important. I woke up thirty minutes ago after I fell asleep for an hour and took the fastest shower then failed to make coffee. At least my calligraphy prints were all done and ready. I'm really glad Zayn sold me the fancy paper because it makes the calligraphy look so much more elegant and old fashioned, and the silver ink enhanced it as well. All in all, I'm pretty proud of them.

It was twenty to nine which meant the campus was full of students milling around and slowly making their way to class. There were a few maniacs running around like headless chickens (me) while also texting their roommates to warn them not to use the coffee machine. I was dodging people like a bullet and nearly made it to the Starbucks when I remembered I should have mobile ordered because the line up looks so long. Just as I was about to pull to a stop in front of the store, someone bumps into me harshly and a coffee drops to the ground and my folder slips from my hand.

"Shit!" Niall yells and the same time I let out a horrified scream. Three of my prints landed in Niall's spilled coffee.

"My prints!" I shout, dropping to my knees.

"Aria, shit, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, oh fuck are they ruined?" Niall starts blabbering.

My hands shake and as I reach out to grab one. It was then I noticed that thankfully I had enough functioning braincells before I slept to remember to put them in individual sheet protectors. The coffee touched the plastic on the outside but the prints themselves were safe.

"They're in sheet protectors, they're okay!" I hear Harry's voice. I look up meeting his gaze. I hadn't even noticed him standing next to Niall with a Starbucks coffee of his own. He bends down in front of me, pulling out napkins from his pocket and starts to gently wipe at the coffee. It comes off clean and leaves my assignment looking just as it had before. "See? Completely fine," he confirms gently. I let out a sigh of relief. I was so scared for a moment.

"You were so smart for putting them in plastic sheet protectors," Niall comments.

"Thank fuck," I grunt. I grab a napkin from Harry and help him. He stops and stares at the print he was holding.

"You made this?" he asks, as if it just occurred to him. I nod. "Shit, this is so good, Aria."

I blush and thank him. I'd love to hear him compliment my work, but I'm sad because I have to go to class coffee-less now.

"'No legacy is so rich as honesty'," he reads. "Is that Rupi Kaur?"

"No!" I scoff. "It's Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare is shite," Niall says.

"Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history!" I argue defensively.

"This is beautiful," Harry continues, ignoring Niall and I. I gather the prints in my folder and stand up, the boys follow suit. "'If music be the food of love, play on' I know that one!"

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Niall and Harry were pouring over my prints and to be honest, after staying up all night to make them perfect, it felt nice to have them say it was good.

"'You have witchcraft in your lips'," Harry drawls out slowly. He bits his lip. "Can I have this? I quite like this one," he says.

"No," I quip and pull it away, gently placing them back in the folder. "I have to submit them in..." I check my phone for the time. 8:51. "Nine minutes."

I pull my purse back over my shoulder and try not to meet his gaze.

"What's the drink you got there?" I ask nodding at his coffee cup.

"Uh, a Blonde Hazelnut latte—"

"Great, thanks," I say grabbing his coffee and walking away with it. "Bye, guys, see you later!" I wave at them and smirk at Harry's indignant expression. I bring his coffee to my lips and take a sip.

---

It's been a couple weeks since I sort of walked in on Harry and Julia. They're more cautious about getting horny when I'm in the room now. And because of what I promised, I'm with them a lot. They love to watch TV together, which I don't understand. I mean I understand watching TV or binge-watching Netflix, but it seems like it's all they do. When they're not in the bedroom, or eating, they're in front of the television. How they get their work done is beyond me.

"We're watching Say Yes to the Dress, wanna join?" Julia asks me one night after I get back from work.

"Don't you guys have homework?" I question.

"We've done it already."

Probably forgot to mention that they're also both business majors, so they have some classes together.

"We have a four hour break on Fridays together, that's when we do all of our schoolwork."

They must be some next-level geniuses, because it takes me ten hours to do one assignment. I couldn't help but also feel like I lacked the security they had regarding their future jobs. Both of their father's were rich businessmen, and both of them were extremely smart. Whether they passed with a 4.0 GPA or a 2.8, they were still going to get a job with their parents and do really well. I had no idea what I was going to do when I graduated.

What did one do with a degree in Fine Arts?

These are the thoughts that plagued me some nights. What was I going to do with my degree? It cost a lot of money to even come here to this university, it was only going to double up after I graduate and try to pay it off. I'm going to spend my whole life looking for temporary jobs to pay me enough so I can pay off my student debts. I could sell paintings, but it would take years to make a name for myself that will make me successful. I could try getting my work into a gallery, but the people who get their works in galleries spend years pouring their heart and soul into their pieces. That's going to take time, and time is money—which I don't have.

I remember being just as lost in high school. Julia applied to this university and convinced me to apply as well. She dragged me to uni fairs to learn more about my program and forced pamphlets in my hands until I was in love with the campus and program enough to apply for it. And I do love it, I got to meet great people and I'm learning amazing things. I was also good enough to get in so that has to count for something, right?

"What are you going to do after you graduate?" I asked Zayn one day. He was showing me sculpting supplies when I randomly blurt this out.

"Uh," he drags out for a few seconds. His eyebrows scrunch in deep thought, but I know he thinks about this a lot too. "I guess, I'm just gonna see where life takes me."

"And that helps you sleep at night?"

"Well, no," he chuckles. "I mean... I kind of like tattooing... I thought I might work at a tattoo parlour. Or do comic book illustrations."

Tattoo parlour. Comic book illustrations.

That's a good answer. That's the perfect answer for Zayn. He has an idea, he has his himself figured out.

"What do you want to do?" he inquires.

"I don't know," I mumble.

"How about I open up my own tattoo shop and you can draw my designs for me while I draw comic books?" he suggests.

I grin at his attempt to cheer me up, and nod.

"Sure, sound's brilliant."

---

Satisfactory work on the prototype. Visually, it's pleasing. Conceptually, it doesn't really make sense. Ask yourself: what is the meaning behind this piece? How do the elements you use embody that? Why did you choose the medium you chose? And remember you don't only have to use one. It would help you to open your mind more.

I growl in frustration and slam my laptop shut. I thought this week couldn't get any worse but the feedback from my sculpture prototype was the cherry on top of the cake. I knew my idea of a dancing ballerina was sub par but I hoped that if I made it look pretty, the professor would just accept it.

Stupid art teachers. They always have to get to deep and meaningful.

I can't help but compare myself to Zayn. Zayn knows what he's making for his sculpture—his Patronus, his spirit animal. That's meaningful. He knows what he wants to do in the future, he's talented, he can get there. He isn't lacking anything.

Angry tears prick my eyes and my fingers close into fists. I lost my touch. I know it. When I came into this university, I was full of fresh ideas. Now I was just drained. All my work was being handed back to me because it wasn't good enough and I had enough. I stared at the stupid cardboard ballerina model then threw it against my wall. It bounced back which gave me no satisfaction, so I picked it up and tore it to pieces, screaming.

The door to my room burst open suddenly, and Harry barged in.

"Aria?!" he took in my state, then the torn cardboard in my hands. "What happened, what did you do?" He walks into my room, completely ignoring the death glare I'm sending him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I scream. He was the last person I wanted to see me like this, and I had no energy to be careful around him.

Harry's eyes widen and he stares at me in shock, then apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I-I came to see Julia, but she's not here yet," he explains. I roll my eyes and turn away from him. Of fucking course. I forgot Julia had given Harry keys to our apartment. Ever since he got them, he'd been visiting more often.

"She went out with her father," my voice comes out scratchy and monotone.

"Her father—?"

"Yes. His personal assistant came to pick her up an hour ago."

"Oh okay," he says quietly, still standing in my room. I turn to look at him expectantly, but he just stares back at me like a doe with green eyes. "I'm not leaving you like this."

"Like what?" Fury drips from my voice. I don't know why it angers me so much. Who is he to know what I'm like?

"Like-like this! All crying and stuff."

"Well, I want you to leave!"

"No," he says quietly and shakes his head.

"Leave!"

He stays rooted and even has the audacity to fold his arms across his chest.

"This is my house and I demand that you leave!"

He bends down to pick up the torn pieces of cardboard. I huff and sit down on my bed, my face in my hands. I can see Harry trying to arranged the pieces back together like a puzzle to fix it. My heart strings pull at his actions. He's trying to be helpful and here I am, being a bitch to him again.

"Leave it, it's not important anymore. I already got my mark and feedback," I mutter. He gently sets the pieces down then moves up closer on the ground so he's kneeling in front of me.

"What happened? Did they say there was something wrong with it?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's useless, it's not good enough," I scoff. Harry immediately shakes his head.

"Don't say that—"

"It's true, Harry! It looks pretty but-but that's not good enough."

"What is 'good enough'?"

My throat constricts and my eyes well up in tears again. I shake my head, not being about to speak of my failure. Harry carefully grabs my hands and looks into my eyes. My heart beats faster at the feel of his soft hands over mine.

"Come, I'll make you some tea. Relax a bit, and we'll figure something out," he suggests.

"Harry, no," I say weakly. Despite my distressed state, I know I probably shouldn't be spending time with Harry like this, especially with Julia not here. But when he insists and pulls me up to my feet, I am unable to refuse him.

Harry sits me down at the small table in the kitchen and swiftly moves around to make tea.

"You've never had my tea before, no?" he inquires. I shake my head not even realizing that his back is to me so he won't see. "You're going to love it, everyone loves my tea. It's probably the best in the country."

A small laugh escapes my mouth. Harry whips his head back, an accomplished smile on his face.

"I doubt that," I say eventually. His face brightens even more at my response.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it."

He gives it a final stir, sets the spoon down on the counter, then places the steaming mug carefully in front of me. I look at the light brown liquid expressionless.

"It's Earl Grey," he says quickly. When I still make no move to pick it up he says, "that's all you guys have here, I assumed you like Earl Grey."

"Oh, I love Earl Grey," I start. Harry smiles in relief. "I hate milk, though."

His smile drops.

"Fuck," he says under his breath. He slowly drags the mug to his side. "Well... this was mine actually," he reasons, "all along." He turns around to grab a new mug.

"Oh," I play along. "See, I thought it was for me, 'cause you put right in front of me."

"No, no," he wags a finger. "That was a trick, and you fell for it. I made you think that was for you, to throw you off. I knew you hated milk all along."

I try to contain my laughter because I know he wins if I do, but I can't help it. His endearing behaviour is making me smile. His eyes sparkle at the sound of my laughter, and I am in awe at how quickly he was able to brighten my mood.

"I take sugar in my tea sometimes," he says. "I know that you..." he narrows his eyes at me and I give a small shake of my head, "don't take sugar in yours... which is why I'm not putting any in here." He places the second mug of plain black tea in front of me. I blow on it a bit to cool it then take a sip, it tastes just as ordinary as I always take my tea.

"Mmm, this truly is the best tea I've ever had," I say sarcastically.

"Told you," he grins.

Harry sits across from me and tells jokes and a few anecdotes to help me relax. Within a half hour, I'm in stitches and I've completely forgotten about my breakdown.

He finishes another story and I'm laughing harder than I have in a while. Tears of mirth slip down my face, and I wipe them away with my sleeve. I've quietened down and look to see Harry staring at me with a content smile.

"I think that's the first time I've seen you really, truly laughing around me," he says. I catch the happy glint in his eye that makes me long for endless moments like this.

"Well, I'm not like this with everyone, considered yourself special," I joke. His forehead furrows and he turns the tiniest bit serious.

"Of course, I consider it an honour to even call you my friend, Aria Collins," he declares. I search for any hint of teasing in his eyes, but I find none. I gulp and smile shakily.

His hand moves up a bit on the table and for a moment my heart stops, but his hand doesn't come any closer to mine.

"Do you wanna talk about your feedback now?" he asks gently. I sigh deeply. I know there's no escaping it so might as well get it over with now.

"My prof doesn't think it's good enough. He said it's lacking conceptually and I need to be more open minded."

He looks at me blankly. I know Harry is at a loss when it comes to art because it's not his forte, but I'm pleasantly surprised when he pushes himself to keep trying.

"What was the idea you had for the ballerina?" he asks.

"It was just a ballerina. I was fascinated with ballet when I first came up with the idea. I just thought they were cool."

He nods and thinks.

"You should make something related to you," he offers.

"But what? And how?"

"You know... and before I start, forgive me, 'cause I don't know much about art and things—"

"It's okay."

"Um, I'm taking a Greek Mythology elective this semester." I tilt my head, not expect this. "D'you know who you remind me of a lot?"

"Who?"

"Artemis."

My jaw drops.

"You're very independent like she is," he continues. "It's hard to impress Artemis, and it's hard to impress you. She's sworn to never marry—and I know you haven't but you've obviously prioritized other things before relationships. She's very, like, determined and dedicated to her work which you clearly are as well..."

Harry begins to falter and trails off awkwardly. Eager for him to feel just as comfortable as he's always made sure I felt, I'm quick to answer.

"Artemis is my favourite goddess," I tell him. His eyes meet mine.

"Really?"

I nod.

"Who's your favourite god?" he follows up.

"Apollo," I smile. Harry laughs.

"No way! He's my favourite, too!" He blinks owlishly at me. "Why don't you do something Artemis-like for your sculpture. Or Apollo-like."

I try to think of how I could twist this Artemis idea and make my sculpture about me. I absent-mindedly tug at my sleeves and bite my lip in concentration.

"You know..." Harry starts again and I inwardly smile because I know he had an idea from the beginning but he doesn't want to be too forward. "Every god and goddess has a sacred animal."

I vaguely remember reading something like that.

"What's Artemis'?" I ask.

"A deer."

A deer. Huh.

"Deer symbolize things like adventure, cautiousness, individuality..." Harry continues. I raise my eyebrows. He nods, "Sounds like someone in this room."

I crack a smile.

"I like that idea," I say truthfully. "I think I can work with that."

"What else did your prof say?"

"He told me to be more open-minded and not use only one medium or something like that..."

"What's your medium?"

"Well a medium is the physical thing you use to show your art. I was going to use clay for my sculpture."

"So he wants you to use more than clay?"

I nod. Harry looks at me like he has an idea but he doesn't share.

"How about we let this idea cook for a bit, and with time you'll think of a something."

"Okay," I agree, feeling the exhaustion of the night. I got pretty far with the deer idea anyway. "Sounds good." I get up to put away our mugs, and when I turn around Harry put his shoes on.

"I should probably leave now," he mumbles, slipping his arms through his jacket. I nod.

"Thanks, Harry," I say sincerely. "I'm glad you didn't leave, you... you helped me a lot today. I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you."

He smiles wide.

"It's no problem," he says, his hands tucked into his pockets. I surprise both of us by moving forward and wrapping my arms around his torso. He stands shocked for a moment, and then slowly rests his arms around me too. I hug him tightly, trying and failing to not pour all my emotions out. His hand rubs up and down my back. I inhale his scent. I don't want this moment to end.

Eventually, I pull away before it gets awkward. Though I don't think Harry would ever allow me to feel awkward in his presence. I fold my arms together, determined to not look shy but Harry sees right through me and snickers. He opens the door and steps out, waving goodbye.

***

There’s chapter 3! Let me know what you thought :) Also I probably should mention Aria rolls her eyes a lot. Like A LOT alot, it’s gonna get annoying I know but that’s how she is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[dirtdiggersanddinosaurs]

It’s not the greatest feeling knowing your birthday will fall while you are still locked down, I of all people should know as I saw my big 40th birthday plans crumble before my eyes. But as an adult we deal with the disappointment knowing that it’s a small sacrifice to make to keep our loved ones safe. However, I wasn’t so sure Stanley would be quite as understanding as he’d been looking forward to his 6th birthday since, well since the day after his 5th!

We’ve always had a ‘birthday tea’ at home to celebrate any birthday and the boys have always chosen their cake theme for me to try and create…so luckily no major changes there. But, we usually book a special day out, a mini break or a visit to an attraction too. No such luck this year! Add in the fact that extended family and friends can’t visit and I was tasked with still making Stanley’s birthday special from home. It had been James’s 3rd birthday in February and a visit to Cadbury World and partying with Nana at a family rave was very fresh in everyone’s minds, especially Stanley’s. So no pressure at all then!

I asked Stanley what he would like to do if Coronavirus didn’t exist, and he said:

I would like to go to the seaside, one with the games and the bit that goes out over the sea that you can walk on, and has the crocodile with the sausages!

Bless him! I assumed he didn’t mean the coast of Northern Australia, but rather a humble UK resort where Punch & Judy usually reside. I was determined to make that happen for him one way or another!

Oh, We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

We don’t have a garden as such, but we recently did a yard makeover (read about that here) so I had a little more room to play with. All I needed was some good weather – ha ha yes, I know! As it happened we dropped lucky and it was beautiful on the day, but fully prepared for a UK summer I had an emergency canopy backup plan too.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!

In order to bring the seaside to Stanley I first wrote down all the things that we love about it. Then I found a carnival type font online, printed a few copies of the alphabet and crafted my own ‘signposts’

Handmade signs

The Beach

Yes, it’s an obvious one but essential really. I ordered 3 bags of play sand to be delivered and found some blue tarpaulin in the shed that would serve two purposes, to stop the sand from spreading too far and to give the illusion of the sea.

A few deckchairs, bucket and spade sets and we were all set.

The beach

The Arcade

There’s nothing Stanley likes more than taking a tub full of 10p and 2p coins into the arcade! One of his favourites is ‘the grabber’ or claw games where you have to try and win a prize, usually an impossible to grab plush toy.

The arcade crazy claw

I did a bit of searching online and found a ‘crazy claw’ game on Amazon. This is actually a family board game of sorts but I knew I could adapt it to our needs. I built the game up, used the tokens and balls from the set but then added a party bag of haribo sweets. I tested it out, it was nearly impossible to grab the sweets, and I was left highly frustrated yet determined to give it one more try – brilliant, just like the real thing!

Not as easy as it looks!

My second game was a tin can alley set up. I started off trying to make my own, but I was worried about sharp edges with so many little fingers around so I purchased one in the end. It is a lovely set though and we have it to keep, it will be good fun on camping holidays.

The arcade tin can alley in full swing

A gift of a pair of paddleballs from our neighbour (who was in on the plan) completed our arcade. For a bit of healthy competition the winners from each game received a token (re-purposed from the Crazy Claw game) to use in exchange for…

Donkey Rides

This required some imagination, OK a lot of imagination and a sense of humour too! By this point I had decided that anything to make us all laugh during these strange times was a good thing. A donkey mask was fashioned onto Eli’s baby tricycle and voila, we had the fastest donkey this side of Blackpool! I knew it would make Stanley laugh but I expected him to think it was a bit silly and more of a token gesture. But nope, this birthday boy went hurtling down the back alley on the worlds smallest donkey a number of times throughout the day.

Our trusty steed!

Fish & Chips

Our local chip shop had re-opened the week before offering a time slot collection service, and guess what? – they even served the children’s meals in a bucket and spade!

Yummy!

Well, that just had our names written all over it and the boys sat at the beach eating their lunch. Admittedly I had to take Stanley and James’s food out of the buckets and plate it up as they complained that they couldn’t eat it properly. I’ve learned not to get between boys and their food, Eli persevered though!

Fish & Chips on the beach

Ice-Cream

What else? We have a stable style backdoor so Daddy became an ice-cream man and took orders from his ‘kiosk’.

Ice-cream, get your ice-cream!

We had three flavours to go at and a choice of toppings, the end result was three very excited (and messy) boys.

Chocolate with a flake, excellent choice sir!

The Pier

This is where my cardboard hoarding came in handy! I wanted to recreate the face hole photo opportunities that are usually found on the pier at seaside resorts. I drew a cartoon character, complete with victorian style bathing suit onto a piece of thick cardboard. After painting it in I drew the outline in thick marker and then cut out the face hole. Ben made a base from scraps of wood he found in the shed so that it was free standing. We had great fun with this, we all had our photos taken.

Memories

We’ve had some amazing times at the seaside and Stanley always remembers his grandad knotting a hanky and putting it on him as a hat, and I can remember my Grandad doing it too to stop his bald head from burning. So, that was our party hats sorted, I already had some brightly coloured stripey napkins so I knotted them into hats, generational Grandad style chic.

Grandad chic

Two days before Stanley’s birthday we had the good news that Nana could become part of our social bubble. She was able to celebrate and spend the day at the seaside with us (although I think she came purely for the ice-cream ha ha). It made Stanley’s day and there were lots of long awaited cuddles to be had for all three boys.

Having Nana back was the best present!

We also had some socially distanced visits to the gate from Stanley’s friends, and they were able to have ice-cream with us too which was lovely and a nice surprise for Stanley.

After we had sung Happy Birthday and he had blown out his candles on his cake I asked Stan if he’d had a good day, and his verdict was…’BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!’

Fun in the sun for this birthday boy

I think lockdown birthdays can be just as much [if not more] fun than the all singing and dancing parties we were all used to pre Covid-19. If you put a little bit of effort in to make them memorable, you’ll have big smiles all round. But don’t just take my word for it, I asked my fellow bloggers how they made a lockdown celebration one to remember:

Sarah from Digital Motherhood:

We’re in Spain so it’s a bit different, though we were still in lockdown! I ordered cupcakes and we decorated the house with streamers, banners and balloons. We were allowed a small group of people around by the end of May so we had my parents and my daughter’s friend here for a bit. It was actually the day after they started to ease the rules so she was very lucky!

Michelle from Time and Pence:

We created a treasure hunt in the garden and gave my son clues to find lots of treats. We also arranged for his friends and family to have video chats and send him video messages then we ended the day with a BBQ and movie night! He had an extra surprise present in place of a party and he had a wonderful day!

Josie from Me, Them and the Others

We asked friends and family to record birthday messages for our son and then I edited them together to create a birthday video for him.

Erica from Things To Do In Kent

It was our son’s 4th birthday at the very beginning of lockdown so we were quite unprepared. We hastily put together a picnic in the garden and he got Gazillions bubble machines which he and his big brother loved playing with in the garden. For his older brother’s 9th birthday more recently we had a surprise movie day. I made a poster, we had far too many sweets and popcorn and he chose his favourite takeaway (Thai!), I would quite enjoy that for my own birthday!

Katrina from Trini Mama Bebe

We had a drive by birthday from friends and family, and even my sons favourite emergency service came to say hello. They gave him some sweets and some lights and sounds. It’s amazing what a tweet can do!

Nadia from Scandi Mummy

We celebrated our son’s 1st birthday in June with a little rainbow garden party as he’s a rainbow baby and it was (unsurprisingly) easy to find rainbow decorations and a cake to match!

Katie from Mums Family Fun

I organised a scavenger hunt and quiz with my son’s football buddies via Zoom for his 7th birthday. They all sang Happy Birthday to him with his cake. It was really lovely and he had a great day!

Kasia from Oh Mummy Mia

I made a cake for my son because we couldn’t buy any because of lockdown. I tried my best. He loves dinosaurs so the cake was with a dino theme. We did a picnic in our garden for his friendly dinosaurs and later we made homemade play doh and footprint fossils.

Paige from Paiges Preferences

We did a circus/fair for my sons 5th birthday. I have a highlight on my Instagram dedicated to it!

Kerry from Blissful Domestication

We did my sons 7th birthday as a pirate party. Activities included a treasure hunt, fancy dress, a video of happy birthday messages from friends, family and teachers. We decorated a tent for a tea party, and had a treasure chest piñata. Read all about our pirate party here.

Layla from Motherhood Diaries

I got the entire class to send my middle one a birthday message, along with other friends and family and compiled then together along with a Timeline of his birth to present day. He was chuffed! Read more of my party ideas here.

If you are feeling inspired by Stanley’s seaside birthday then check out my Pinterest board for more ideas.

All images are my own unless otherwise credited and must not be reproduced without permission.

Our Lockdown Birthday: How We Made It The Best One Yet! It's not the greatest feeling knowing your birthday will fall while you are still locked down, I of all people should know as I saw my big 40th birthday plans crumble before my eyes.

[homeofficeadventures]

Best Plants for Your Home Office Desk

Arriving in the workplace before the sun climbs and leaving at dusk can result in a true sense of deprivation for people who love the outdoors. Employing a light therapy lamp or light box might assist, but incorporating plants might be the missing character link required to enhance satisfaction and productivity at work. Office plants may raise the humidity around the deskand eliminate toxins in the atmosphere, and add a bit of style to your workspace.

  Snake Plant

Read the plant tag carefully to refrain from picking a specimen that develops several feet . Fantastic for houseplant novices, snake plants need little special care –just dump your own water jar on it on your way from the door on Friday and appreciate that slow-growing workplace plant.

  African Violet

Though sufficient light is vital for blossoms, African violets are not picky about the origin of the light, and also a fluorescent lamp targeted at the plant can help them thrive.

  English Ivy

It requires only moderate light and typical water to flourish inside. If the trailing character of ivy becomes overly extravagant, wrap your ivy tendrils around a trellis or cable obelisk to get a living piece of artwork.

Even though you can not go wrong with any assortment of those timeless Hedera helix, lots of new cultivars enlarged the appearance of the office plant. Little spaces gain from dwarf types such as’Pixie Dixie.’

  ZZ Plant

The ZZ plant is a succulent with two attributes that have helped it rocket into popularity for a houseplant: tolerance to reduced light and also the capability to develop with minimal water.

  Aloe Vera Plant

Aloe plants are easy to develop, so long as they’re provided with one essential component: plenty of glowing light. When a desk is near a bright window, then plant it, and then forget about it, since these succulents just need watering every few months. The normal Aloe barbadensis is appealing enough for any contemporary dining room area, or you’ll be able to learn more about the merits of this stunt’Minibelle’ or the’ speckled’Tiger Tooth’ cultivars. Grow the plants at a sandy cactus combination to make sure the fantastic drainage these plants need.

  Philodendron

Whether a office is flooded with natural lighting or tucked into a comfy corner, then the carefree philodendron will include cheer with its shiny green leaves and trailing habit. Even though the philodendron is frequently used for hanging baskets, it functions just as well developing a little trellis or totem pole. The philodendron does require regular moisture to maintain its lush appearance, thus a self-watering kettle is going to be a lifesaver to those specimens which don’t have a constant caregiver. To get a handsome container mix, develop the silvery mottled’Brandi’ cultivar using a conventional green kind.

  Tillandsia

To be able to increase the Tillandsia or some other plants without dirt, i.e. air crops, it is vital to consider away from the pot. It’s possible to combine air plants into a bit of driftwood with a few fishing line. Also try filling a tiny terrarium with atmosphere plant varieties or arranging some atmosphere plants at a casing, teacup, or other container that is royal.

The Tillandsia genus consists of several hundred species at the bromeliad family, all with silver, green, or rosy spiked leaves. As epiphytes utilized to growing one of shady tree branches, atmosphere plants do not require more light, but these on sunnier desks are more inclined to develop a flower spike. Mist the whole plant as altered scales on the leaves will assume the moisture that the plant requirements.

  Oxalis

Oxaliswood sorrels, are entertaining houseplants that include a dash of office colour whether the plant decides to blossom. The plants are shamrock-like in look, making them hot in the garden centre around St. Patrick’s Day. Paradoxically, some sorts of oxalis are treated as yard weeds, but the cultivated kinds are somewhat more mannerly. These crops do well in low temperatures however desire bright light for the best colour.

  Rex Begonia

It is about the leaves together with these plants, together with heaps of cultivars that contain speckles, veining, as well as swirling patterns in colors of purple, silver, red, and green. A number of available foliage textures include interest with ruffles, puckers, and vibrant hairs lending distinction to types like’Stained Glass,”’Marmaduke,” and’Escargot.’ Rex begonias do good at low light but require very good humidity to flourish.

  Lucky Bamboo

The frequent name lucky bamboo is not really among the more than one hundred genera of authentic bamboo; instead, the Dracaena sanderiana is regarding the corn plant, yet another easy-to-grow houseplant. Growers occasionally shape lucky bamboo stalks into fun shapes such as spirals, weaves, as well as hearts. Left to their own devices, the stalks of bamboo will eventually outgrow their educated contours, but crops grow gradually. Lucky bamboo demands very little mild and may grow without soil if the stalks are submerged in warm water, but be certain that the water level does not sink beneath the stalks or the plant might not recover from this desiccation.

1. Spider Plant Water: May go 1–two days without water.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for workplaces:

They’re easy to disperse. Simply pinch off small segments, set them in new soil, along with your coworker could have his very own spider plant! . Among the most common indoor plants, the spider plant is famous for being a fantastic addition to a workplace atmosphere. They are incredibly low maintenance and flourish in partial shade and light. As a consequence, that you won’t have to waste precious time by always pruning and adjusting the plant to get appropriate light exposure.

The spider plant is also famous for supplying numerous health advantages. 1 report from the University of Hawaii in Manoa claims the spider plant is just one of the very best natural ways to eliminate”volatile organic chemicals/compounds” (or VOCs) and pollutants in the atmosphere.

Click thumbnail to see full size The snake plant is simple to keep, purifies the atmosphere, and also releases oxygen. Snake Plant Water: Can go numerous days .

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They’re extremely hardy, hard-to-kill plants. They adore to develop at room temperature. Much like the above Spider Plant, the Snake Plant is a easy-to-maintain indoor plant which may make your workplace feel much like home. They’re known to live in just about any surroundings, and may go without water for days at a time.

The snake plant is also famous for its ability to clean toxins in the atmosphere. Most plants take oxygen away at night. The snake plant really gives off oxygen, nevertheless, while also filtering toxic substances such as formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and much more. It is a gorgeous plant which needs almost no sun, which makes it an ideal addition to any workplace.

Click thumbnail to see full-size A Cleistocactus winteri cactus is recognizable by the exceptional manner in which it develops from its own pot. Cactus Lighting: Need plenty of sunlight.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They’re usually small in size and will fit nearly anywhere. They need extremely small attention and water. Cactuses are available in many unique styles and types. There are more than 2,000 distinct kinds of cactuses on earth. Fortunately, virtually all them will fit good in a workplace. Cactuses do need a significant quantity of sunlight, but making them a bad alternative for dimly-light offices. But thanks to their own dimension, it’s simple to match them in areas where sun will enter.

The reason why that cactuses are a few of the very best office plants on the planet is they require very little water to live. Cactuses really prefer they go a couple of days without water, which makes them among the simplest indoor plants concerning upkeep.

Click thumbnail to see full-size Per Day Chinese heritage, the greater stalks of bamboo you’ve got, the luckier it’s. Source 4. Bamboo Palm Water: Just have to be watered once every week.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They supply a lush green addition to your workplace. They’re believed to”ward off bad spirits.” (Perhaps your boss.) Bamboo hands grow very fast, based upon the selection of bamboo. For people that have a significant office, the bamboo hands could possibly be the ideal indoor plant. They need very little light and increase in a remarkably quick speed. This plant has long stems and massive leaves to add some glowing greenery into any workplace environment.

This more compact plant appears like bamboo but is really a member of the lily family. It enjoys to grow in tiny dishes of water to the job desk and appreciates fresh natural sunlight.

In Japanese culture, bamboo was a sign of prosperity because of the sturdy root construction. It’s been said to ward off bad spirits, something that lots of workplace dwellers with overbearing bosses can surely appreciate. It is large, vibrant, and does not need much work to maintain living.

There are many modern-looking, little grow lights available that look great on a desk at an office area. They’ll let you supply any plant with loads of UV light, even at the darkest of offices or cubicles.

If you would like to cultivate your office in a very low light cubical or office, then consider getting one of those little grow light fixtures. I’ve got two of them in my desk at this time. It gives complete spectrum UV lighting for your own crops, it may be powered by simply plugging it into a USB port in my pc (or you may use a wall plug), also it’s an”auto” setting which can automatically turn the light off and on during daytime hours. I am looking at getting a third one of them for a little aloe vera plant I’d love to maintain my cubical. I have to say, it is pretty dummy evidence (great for me) and looks very modern in my desk. Is not technology great?!

Purchase Today Click thumbnail to see full size Gerber daisies are a wonderful alternative for the workplace if you’re searching for a flowering plant. Gerbera Daisy Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They’re small and will fit nearly anywhere. They are in a broad assortment of colours, so that you may personalize your office. For those seeking to put in a flowering plant in their workplace, the gerbera daisy could possibly be the best option available. It is a gorgeous plant which may fit in just about any workplace. They are available in a huge array of colours, which helps add some life to the office. However, it is their atmosphere filtering properties which make them popular.

Gerbera daisy plants help filter out the carcinogen benzene from the atmosphere, which makes them a wonderful addition to a workplace. Some sites will assert these crops can be tricky to grow indoors, but they do not call for a substantial quantity of sun to grow. If at all possible, put this plant in a region where light can achieve, if just for a couple of hours per day to receive the best outcomes.

Click thumbnail to see full size The lemon balm plant provides a subtle odor of lemon into your office. Lemon Balm Light: Can endure in both direct sun and heavily shaded locations.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They perform well in direct sunlight or shaded locations. They’re hardy and rather hard to kill. Lemon balm gives a lemon juice which may boost your mood. The lemon balm not only looks amazing, in addition, it gives off a fantastic aroma that will add value to virtually any office area. They can endure in both the sun and shade and therefore are also sturdy enough to be transferred among different strands.

Lemon balm has been examined for its documented mood-boosting abilities. These crops do need quite a lot of moisture, so be certain you water them every day.

Click thumbnail to see full-size The aloe vera will purify the atmosphere and may even supply you with straight-from-the-source aloe vera. Aloe Light: Require numerous hours of sun daily.

Water: Just have to be watered about once every 3 weeks.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

Aloe plants may create aloe vera, which has many applications. It may treat sunburns, decrease itching from insect bites, treat cuts/scrapes, moisturize dry hands, and destroy germs. The aloe vera is famous globally for its unbelievable ability to generate the healing aloe vera. Those seeking to put in a new plant in their office area will also be delighted to discover this plant is easy to take care of and can easily endure indoors provided that it receives sufficient sunlight.

Aloe will also help purify the atmosphere in an office area. If retained in a diverse container using a well-draining potting mix, it also needs to create the unbelievable gel straight through its variegated leaves. The aloe plant might not be as visually pleasing as a few other people, it is among the most useful plants and can endure yearlong.

Click thumbnail to see full size The famed pothos plant is amazing, easy to keep, and quickly growing. Pothos Water: Just have to be watered if its soil starts to dry out.

Notable properties Which Make them excellent for offices:

They’re possibly the hottest office plant on the planet. Pothos grow incredibly fast. There is a fantastic chance you have noticed a pothos plant at a workplace building before. This hardy but little plant grows really quickly and is ideal on shelves and file cabinets. It could appear to be a plant which needs constant upkeep, but pothos are easy to cut and may endure changing from bud to bud as they develop.

Maybe the biggest reason pothos are so well known in workplace settings is their counterparts that are aesthetically pleasing. They grow extremely quickly and need virtually no sun to live, making them among the ideal workplace plants to have around.

The post Best Plants for Your Home Office Desk appeared first on Home Office Adventures.

source https://homeofficeadventures.com/best-home-office-desk-plants/

[userexperienceinsg-blog]

Usability Principles and Testing in Singapore

Usability testing of existing products is designed to identify problems that users are experiencing with the use of the product, resulting in an optimized solution that ultimately increases the usability of the product. If the availability of the product can be divided into three grades: available, easy to use and fun. Then there is a progressive relationship between the three grades, “available” on behalf of the product to meet user needs; “easy to use” on behalf of the product not only to meet user needs but also easy to understand, users with existing experience and simple prompt will be able to use the product freely; then “pleasant” represents the product is not only easy to use, the user can also use the process of emotional good experience, such as sense of accomplishment, emotional resonance, unexpected surprises, moving and happy. The purpose of the usability test is to allow users to use the product from the available to easy to use, it is best to achieve music.

It is difficult for the product to reach the level of “fun”, and the product designer must deeply understand the user’s needs and application scenarios, overcome the difficulties such as technology and technology, and bring the touching experience to the users with the “supernatural power”. Imagine people riding for the first time 100 years ago, the feelings of the first ride in the Ford Motor Company, and then think of people who have been using the command line interface for the first time to see Apple Macintosh computer, the first time using the graphical interface feel that Should be “fun” experience. Although “music” is difficult to achieve, “easy to use” can still be achieved. “Available” but hard-to-find products are ubiquitous in our daily lives, and we may often complain “Who is so stupid and actually designed to look like this?” If we can make our products reach the level of ease of use, the world can complain less and become more friendly.

Speaking of product availability, we can not fail to mention Nielsen’s top ten usability principles. These ten principles not only provide guidance at design time but also inspire you in the testing process. There are many versions of the Nielsen usability guidelines, and I’m too lazy to verify which one is the most authentic. I have a version here, I think it is very practical, more reliable:

Nielsen usability guidelines

This usability principle was originally designed for “heuristics,” and I think the same applies to usability testing. This diagram groups the ten principles by understanding (product), operation (user), and feedback (product).

Understand, the three principles in this group, from the point of view of product delivery to user information, help users understand the product and quickly form the right mental model:

Consistency, in terms of colour, copywriting, components and operations Way to maintain unity. The same does not require reason, different words need special reasons, why not the same? How often do you ask for a different design?

Use familiar metaphors (language), using familiar user-friendly design language and industry-proven design specifications to convey the intent to deliver the product. Cautious innovation, do not be unconventional. If your “innovation” can not achieve breakthrough results, or there is no sufficient reason, it is not shameful to honestly and properly use the existing design specifications. This can reduce the user’s learning costs, so that users from the use of other products in the process of forming the concept of the new products still apply;

Concise, functional design (clean, functional design), the form of follow-up function, the form of functional decisions, Form and function of unity. Concise, functional design helps form the affordance of the product itself, allowing users to understand how to interact with the product as it looks at the structure or interface of the product. Unnecessary decorations, or noisy information can mislead or disrupt users, creating cognitive stress and burdens.

Operation, this set of three principles from the user interaction between the product and the product point of view, is conducive to users to use the product smoothly:

Freedom (freedom), gives the user a sense of control, do not force the user to the user to choose and The right to make a decision. “It has to be done,” and it would be rude to convey such information to the product, making the user objectionable and exclusive.

Flexible and efficient (flexibility), the number of intermediate users is much higher than the number of primary and advanced users. Designed for most users, do not underestimate, remain flexible and efficient.

Recognition rather than recall (recognition over recall), human long-term memory is flawed and unreliable. Use the product to avoid the user needs to recall some of the past information, even if the previous interface information can not. The current user to complete the task required information provided to users in a timely manner, to reduce the user’s cognitive burden.

Feedback, the four principles of this set of products from the user’s operation to give users feedback on the user-perceived results:

Show state, real-time tell the user where the current position. For the time-consuming task, to what extent. Reduce user anxiety and worry. Timely feedback does not depend entirely on the performance of the product but the design should do it.

prevent errors, for the use of mistakes, the user will subconscious self-blame. But more fact is the design loophole led to the user may make mistakes. More consider the product anomalies, the border situation, consider more possibilities. Efficient use of various constraints to prevent users from making mistakes.

Error correction, sometimes mistakes inevitable, then try to minimize the negative impact of the error. Users in the process of exploring the product will inevitably make mistakes, if you want to encourage users to try, we must try to avoid the design level risk and cost. Allow users to easily return to the previous state, before returning to the wrong, such as iphone’s home key.

provide help, this is the last line of defense of usability. When the user is overwhelmed give appropriate help, tips to help users complete the task. Such as the first use of the wizard, after the revision function module location tips after moving, or a common problem guide.

Taking into account the above ten aspects during the product design stage, there is theoretically no problem in usability. In theory, the theory is the same as it is in practice. In fact, it is often different. It is also necessary to test the usability of real users under real usage scenarios. The following summarizes the key steps in the usability testing processand the issues that need attention:

1 clear the purpose of the test, the test is to find the user exposed the serious problems in the actual use.

Set the key tasks, the user in the testing process to complete what tasks? Different types of users may have to complete different tasks. These tasks are to verify what the predicate problem? Or just test the product’s main task.

Sort the problem script, the user needs to answer what questions after completing the test? What is the user thinking of the mission? What factors lead to the user cannot be normal tasks or the use of ambiguity?

Select test users and group them from different dimensions (new user, gender, age, the frequency of purchase, group purchase, …). Appoint users, arrange test site and test time.

Record (video, audio recording) to observe the process of using the product, and the completion of the task. Question the user according to the question script, and adjust the question appropriately according to the actual situation.

Organize and analyze the test results to find the commonness of the problems and the severity of the impact on usability. The discussion resulted in an optimization plan for these issues, which ultimately resulted in a usability test report.

The testing process and reports to product stakeholders and discuss program solutions, the final implementation of the program to achieve the purpose of improving product availability.

It is said that when 5 to 8 user tests are completed, the problems affecting the usability of the product can be completely exposed. The process of testing to ensure objectivity, because before the test, the product and the designer will have a pre-judgment of the product may exist problems, so do not ask users to ask questions. These prejudices should not be allowed to affect the objectivity of the test. The purpose of the test is to identify the problem rather than verify the problem. The test results often make you unexpected, this is the value of the test.

Author: big fish

Link: https://www.jianshu.com/p/4057aeb77bff

Source: Jane book

Copyright belongs to the author. Commercial reprint, please contact the author authorized, non-commercial reprint, please indicate the source.

read more: https://uxdesignsg.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/user-experience-not-only-pay-attention-to-users-but-also-to-make-the-experience-better-in-singapore/

[triptaptoeblog]

Trip Tap Toe

Adventure Holidays In India

Holiday Packages - India

Immerse your self in Moghul forts, towns that are holy and the bazaars. See a variety of wild life with 500 species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_travel of animals including tiger, leopard, elephant, 200 species, and rhino and subspecies of birds and 30,000 Great Indian Desert, dim woods, high Himalayas, and an extensive coastline make India a destination for those who are consistently up for challenges and dares. Adventure Holidays in India are strict and intense. You can elect for India Luxury Excursions with adequate variety of venture activities planned through the travel plan or select more unusual travel experiences that qualify for off-the-beaten track experience trips in India. It takes some time to get used to more remote regions of Rajasthan to typically the most popular form of conveyance, the Ship of the Desert as well as the paces of a Camel. Yak Ride in Ladakh is another uncommon task you might want to attempt. There are endless choices Adventure Holidays In India for Bird watching Wildlife and Tours Adventure Excursions through the duration of India and each region has its flavor with unique climatic and geological conditions, astounding biodiversity, and rare and endangered species of flora and fauna endemic to that area. Hot air ballooning, paragliding, heli-skiing, zip-lining within the ancient Neemrana Fort are just some of the various fun activities it is possible to choose for during your India Adventure Tours. A choice to remain and dine with conventional Indian families within their dwellings allows Adventure Holidays In India you learn about their traditions and lifestyle and to mingle with all the locals. Fun-stuffed nights in Goa, recognized for music and its tropical beaches, function as a joyful rest to overseas tourists from Us and Europe who sense more at home there. 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A two nights stay each in Gangtok and Darjeeling plus the Green Tri Angle Adventure tour which includes a night stay in Kalimpong is one of the most effective adventure tours on offer. A small town whose beauty is unexplored, Kalimpong, gives a Mazing chances for trekking, river-rafting, experience that is ropeway as well as hiking. On the other-hand Gangtok has an incredible valley while Darjeeling is well-known for its tea gardens, filled with monasteries and clouds that form a green carpet on the inclines of the hills. This adventure tour packages in the right dose of a rejuvenating expertise plus journey sports to ensure you might have an enjoyable holiday.Trip Tap Toe's Facebook Page