#me reminicising old things

[stephanleyhes]

Remember when kamil got all those wazons 😂

[taliatravels]

On things that have changed (and things that have stayed the same)

In the last nine years, a lot has changed. Arriving back in Uganda, I'm reminded over and over again about what has changed and what has remained the same.

So many more roads are paved, almost the whole way from Mbale to Manafa is paved--though our beloved Bududa Loop remains as rocky and hole-ladden as ever. The road to safari is paved now, even once you get in the park. The old metal gate welcoming you to Murchison Falls has been transformed into a massive Disney-esque gate.

At PDI, the old mud school house has been replaced by a new brick building. The school has a new playground made of metal, and they're in the process of building a new resource center, which will hold a computer lab, music rooms, job training and community rooms. Across the street from the school is the new PDI office, where the workers and teachers gather to do work for the community. Even the work that PDI does has evolved. No more are the VSLAs, but PDI now has a SACCO. They've introduced a new sports program to encourage children to stay in school in Bubiita and Bududa town. The Second Chance program just graduated its ninth class, and the head teacher and P1 teacher at the school are both Second Chance graduates.

The compound is also different. There's now wifi, running water (including a shower!), and a new house. There is power most days--gone are the days of the generator. The garden is more lush and the house is now blue. The students are also now banned from sitting on the roof, which if we're being honest, is probably for the best (even if I have wonderful memories sitting up there and singing along to Taylor Swift's "new" album).

What's stayed the same? Paapa, Maayi and the family are still as earnest as ever about supporting the community. I've enjoyed many nights sipping some Crazy Cock (whiskey) and a Nile (beer) with Paapa, reminicising about old times, while talking about what could come next for PDI. (Though another change I could mention is that in the village alcohol now comes in bottles, not packets).

The same mountains still watch over Bubiita, and the region is just as beautiful as ever. This time around, I've enjoyed taking morning walks several days per week to get a chance to spend time in the amazing nature.

The students are different, but in many ways, the same. There's three times as many of them now, but I still see the same earnestness to help others as I saw with my group. There are still late night dance parties and matatu tournaments and chapati making nights. There's still going down to the pitch to watch or play a round of football. And most importantly, there's still a lot of laughter.

Looking back at who I was nine years ago, I feel like an entirely different person. As Ugandans like to remind me, I'm much fatter now, but in a lot of ways much happier. I've worked hard to become this version of myself, and being back here has reminded me how much I was coming into my own the last time I was here. Bududa is where I learned to not care so much about what other people think about me, and where I learned to love dancing, even if I'm bad at it. I had my first research experience here and one of my first "office" jobs. So regardless of the big and small changes that I've made since 2015, this trip has reminded me that "Despite everything, it's still you."

[seventeen-scenarios-blog]

[DRABBLE] Happy 21st Birthday Hansol! (G)

Genre: Fluff Word count: 916 Warnings: None!

A/N: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHH..... ADMIN SEOKMINNED SAID SHE WAS LATE FOR SEOKMIN’S BIRTHDAY..... LOOK AT ME NOW.....

Sorry it took so so so so so long!!! I’ve been dealing with the lack of inspiration for my drabbles and I finally managed to churn this out. 

Seriously super late like one month late but HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY HANSOL!!! STAY MEME <3

Also, stay tuned for a Minghao drabble coming real soon!!! 

- Scooped ✌️

January 15, 2018

“Gosh, Hansol’s birthday is in just a month and I still don’t know what to get for him! Help me pleaseeee,” you whined to your friend.

“Erm, hello? He is YOUR boyfriend,” your friend said, “you should know what he likes best.”

You sighed in defeat. It was true, you should know the best what Hansol likes, but somehow, you just had no idea.

He doesn’t play video games a lot, compared to his other hyungs, and he doesn’t read much either. He watches movies? Sometimes? You weren’t sure either. Now you’re just sitting in silence, thinking back to the dates that the both of you had. Only now did you realise, you didn’t know many things about Hansol.

You were determined to make this the best birthday ever.

January 31, 2018

You paid a visit to Hansol’s school, to meet him of course, and along the way, you met a few of his friends.

“Seungcheol, do you have any idea what he likes? Anything he has been raving about recently?” you pouted to the older boy.

“Hmm, not really, then again Hansol doesn’t really talk much, an album maybe? He’s always listening to music,” Seungcheol said, “Sorry, can’t help much this time.”

You sigh. You turned your head to another direction, in hopes of finding someone else. You saw another familiar figure.

Target spotted.

“BOO SEUNGKWAN, STOP RIGHT THERE!”

You ran over to the boy, who stopped in his actions from your command. He was still. He had one leg in the air, midway into his walk, his mouth was half open, looking like he was about to say something to his dazzled friend, Seokmin, standing next to him.

You burst into laughter as you saw the group clown in such a position, and Seokmin joined you as seungkwan got tired of standing on one leg.

“Enough fooling around Seungkwan, I came for business,” you said as you recovered from your laughter.

“How may I help you ma’am?” Seungkwan said formally, earning another hit from you.

“Hansol’s birthday is coming soon! What should I do? What can I get for him?” You said as you looked at the two boys.

“Seokmin, your birthday is on the same day too! What are you going to do on that day?” you asked the boy, who smiled instantly as he recalled his schedule.

“Me? I’m going to have an aquarium date with someone special,” Seokmin said, blushing.

Seungkwan looked you in the eye seriously this time, and gave you an ambiguous look.

“You should know best what Hansol likes. You ARE his girlfriend,” Seungkwan said, winking at you before dragging Seokmin away with him, “See ya, good luck!”

You looked toward the school building, where Hansol was probably having classes somewhere. Sighing in defeat, you continued on your search for answers.

February 16, 2018

You broke into a fit of anger with yourself. Why can’t you do it right?

There were only 2 days left till Hansol’s birthday, you still had no idea what to do.

While Hansol was sound asleep, you took the chance and looked around his bedroom, hopefully looking for clues of things he might need. His shelf, full of english storybooks that probably Wonwoo borrows a lot, his desk, games which Seungcheol probably left behind, his bed, full of the stuffed toys that you probably brought over from your home, and his nightstand, a photo of his family and a photo of the both of you.

Then an idea hit you.

February 18, 2018, D-DAY

You spent the whole day preparing for the big surprise. You laughed to yourself once you were done, because this surprise felt a little cliche, but you knew Hansol would love it. You kept smiling to yourself while you were waiting for him, you just couldn’t wait to show Hansol what you’ve done.

The doorbell rang and you dashed to open it.

“Hey babe,” Hansol said, standing by your door, looking amazing as usual.

“Happy Birthday to you!” you said as you gave him a warm embrace, “come on in!”

Upon Hansol’s entrance, his eyes sparkled.

21 Balloons were floating on the ceiling, in the colours of pastel pink, purple, and white, and at the end of each balloon, was a photo of Hansol, at every year of his life. There was a balloon for when he was just born, there was one where he rode his first bike at 7 years old, there was one for his graduation, and somewhere along the way, you started to appear in those photos. 3 to be exact.

“This is beautiful,” Hansol said, as he carefully caressed the first photo that he took with you.

“I hope you like what I’ve prepared for you,” you said to Hansol, standing shyly at a corner as he looks through all the hanging pictures, triggering a few laughs as he reminicised his past.

“I thought really hard and long about what present to give to you, but I’ve come to realise,” you paused, and put a decorative ribbon clip in your hair, “I’ve come to realise that the best present for you is me, your family, and the memories that we’ve made so far.”

Hansol looked really touched, he walked over and put his long arms around you, giving you a tight hug.

“Thank you so much, I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Hansol said, placing a long kiss on your head.

[noahbordeaux]

From the characters you have now, to past characters, what are some of the friendships you've loved roleplaying out?

THIS LIST WILL BE SO LONG???? i feel like reminicising and also gushing about this rp, so come take a ride with me, children; or maybe not idk i’ll try and sum them up quick. i have a lot of memorable rp’s but i’ll just stick to this one and the rp i was in before this because there are a few people from that roleplay as well whom i adored writing out our pals with. 

okay for this lovely rp.

hudson and julian. heh. maybe it’s my love for hudson bleeding out into the rp but i love my glorious kiddos. @hcdtallxs​.

noah has no friends idc, im mentioning that now because i can, heh. i have to point out his dumb ass.

holden and josefine. like??? they’re pure????? i love them????? also josefine is my favorite vampire, idc, sorry. the literal definition of a vamparent. @josefinexgatti​

i’m mentioning M twice here. one for lucian and malakai. because while i couldn’t hold onto his muse it seemed, they were my favorite thing to write out. the trash beans. i miss them. also dianna and warren obv, like they’re goofy, golden retriever-esque vampires. how could u not love them??? even tho we just started writing them out, i’m pumped. @luciantallis​

oh wow jay getting mentioned twice too. heh. elodie and beth. because i don’t need to explain my love. jay already knows. gjskgjskgjs and of course beth and laila i might as well point out in the same breath. ouroboro gang forever; i love how they both uplift each other. queens. @whitmemore​

ok gn

heh the characters that aren’t empire characters are under a read more 

this old rp i’ll start out with kara and dawson. she was a ghost and he was a vampire. honestly some of the details are muddled because i can rarely remember what i eat for breakfast, like??? i think we started off he had some details on her murder??? or something?? idk but it blossomed into an empathetic friendship, where we actually wrote long threads, yikes. queens. i played kara, chyler leigh fc, loml. 

uhmmmm clark and jeremiah. he was a hunter and the other was a vampire and tbh they were just sarcastic, shitty people so i adored them and their banter. sue me. my children. rip. clark was chris evans fc, the male loml, gn. clark and lenny too; trash children. 

ooooh shelby and ryan. a witch and a werewolf, yet bffs since they were younger. they were also complete fuck asses to each other but to stay on the train w my grey’s anatomy, cristina yang gif usage, they were each other’s person. and also it was one of the first times i felt i played a girl successfully, so??? kudos to myself??? heh. also she was hilarie burton fc. so goddess??

[shonarussell-film]

ASC - Revisiting Manderley

Cinematographer Laurie Rose is tasked with shooting a revisit of Daphne Du Maurier’s original novel, Rebecca. Following Alfred Hitchcock’s very successful adaptation in 1940, Rose dissusses his use of new lights and camera equipment in his techniques to emmulate the soft natural light of the classic  period drama.  This was of interest to me as it was helpful to see exactly what light was used to create a certain light. For instance, he discussed using a  SkyPanel S360-C to create an eerie moonlight, which I could identify when I watched a few scenes for the film for reference. I had myself tried to emmulate a soft moonlight using rotolights with white and blue diffusers from behind a tent in an outdoor shoot I had done previously, which did work to an extent but I did not get the same harsh white outline which seen in Rose’s example, is alike to moonlight against a sillhouette.

Rose also discusses using an Arri Alexa and DNA prime lenses, which alllowed for the vintage feel he was after. This was of interest to me as I was unaware of these lenses and how they creates the romantic, textured and reminicisent image we see on screen. He also discusses the use of natural light through the natural features of the old builidng, which both helps and hinders certain lighting scenarios. Learning to work with your surroundings in terms of lighting is important, and i feel like it’s something I have yet to have much practise in. For example, for a cinehaiku shoot, we were working with an awkwardly placed window and tried to emmulate the natural light with redheads and diffusers, as we wanted to keep a shot of the window in the final cut. In Rose’s situation, he shot interiors in an entirely different location, so the natural light and features of the location could still be showcased. This suggests to me that we should’ve done a similar thing and shot elsewhere with better lighting oppertunity.

[valtsv]

for the ship ask: McSpirk (or, if that's been asked, then Jim/Scotty)

when I started shipping it if I did: i’ve always loved polyshipping and all three of them have such a great dynamic so tbh??? since i first started watching tos

my thoughts: they balance each other so well and i love how complete and right their relationship feels

What makes me happy about them: they all work well together as a trio and as couples, and i like to think that they’re not the types to get jealous of the other two’s relationship because they all understand each other so well and know that none of them are a lesser part of the relationship than any other

What makes me sad about them: mccoy may be the oldest but jim is the most reckless, meaning he’s not likely to live that long, and will leave two people who’ve relied on his ability to lead and compromise to keep the three of them together for so long that they’d probably drift apart without him

things done in fanfic that annoys me: jim and spock already being in an established relationship and deciding to include mccoy- i’m tired of seeing my boy get sidelined!!! give me a fic where mccoy and kirk both have to deal with a debilitating attraction to a not-so-oblivious spock. or newly established relationship!spones who’ve been lowkey crushing on their captain for years and, realising the feeling is mutual, attempt to work together to seduce jim with hilariously disastrous results

things I look for in fanfic: fics where they’re all mutually crushing on each other, but none of them realise the other two’s feelings towards them are the same

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: uhhhHhhhhHhhhhHhH jim machine broke

My happily ever after for them: they move in together after the five-year mission and use their experiences to inspire new starfleet cadets to boldly go where no one has gone before. jim becomes an admiral and starfleet’s favourite poster boy, personally vetting potential candidates for captaincy positions. spock comes to terms with accepting both sides of his heritage and understanding that sometimes emotional responses are logical. mccoy brings his husbands home to georgia every thanksgiving and tells anyone who’ll listen all his tales of the perils of outer space that were a little more bearable with his two favourite people by his side.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: jim craves physical contact, while spock prefers less, and mccoy likes to be held by his partner(s), so he sleeps in the middle while jim clings to him on one side and spock drapes an arm (sometimes a leg if he’s feeling very affectionate) over him on the other (jim holds his hand)

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: going on toad trips to the most beautiful parts of whichever planet they’re visiting, and camping together, reminicising about the old days and watching the sky overhead as the stars fade into the soft light of the dawn

send me a pairing!

[wilderwestqueen]

i’m rewatching old youtube videos of mine and y’know the weird thing is it’s just making me really reminicisent for wristbands

remember when it was the trend to have like a dozen of them

[rantsthoughtsandmore-blog]

reminicising

Four years go by so quickly when you’re not looking. In a blink of an eye, just like that, we’re all done with this chapter of our lives and moving forward onto the next. I couldn’t help but get huge rushes of nostalgia and flashbacks of my time at UVA while driving back home, each snit bit filled with as much emotion as when I first felt it. I remember it just like was yesterday: move in day. Unpacking all of my clothes and little knick knacks to decorate my room with, I had no idea what college had in store for me. I never knew first year was going to be a huge test for my relationship with Owen. I never knew I was going to hurt him as much as I did, I never knew I wanted to be free. The friendships that budded that first year gradually transformed into something I never imagined. I found my niche, I found my second family. The first day of second year was exciting. We had our own apartment, the infamous apartment 2, and we were all growing up. We had somewhat of a clue of what we were doing and who we wanted to be. We were leaders within our respective Asian organizations. It was a year of stress, it was a year of transition. All of the late nights finalizing logistics for events while cramming for the next day’s exam, I never thought it would all pay off. I never thought those nights crying to Owen, asking why he couldn’t prioritize me, would be the destruction of our relationship. Him pledging AkPSI might of been the best thing he could of done for himself, but I never knew his actions would trickle to effect me and benefit me as much as it did. By third year, everything was routine, yet a lot was changing too. Relationships were either budding, growing stronger, or dying. Everything changed this year. Everyone started to do their own thing. None of us were leaders of VSA or CSA, we weren’t even that active in them anymore and started to just focus on different orgs or just our school work. This was the year where I was most confused on what I wanted to do for my future. I never knew, by the end of it, I would slowly find myself and the skills that  helped me figure out what I would do to accomplish my professional goals. Mei and Emily didn’t live with us anymore but Sheila entered into our lives! This was the year that tested Rachel and Connor’s relationship, the year when Owen and I broke up, and the year Mel and I slowly put ourselves in stupid stupid positions to get hurt time and time again. I never thought this year would be the year that changed me the most. I never thought I would date a guy like Brent, let alone be attracted to boys similar to him. I didn’t think it would take forever to get over him. By the end of third year, I slowly become more comfortable in my own skin and started to open up to people more. That summer was the year where I got to focus on myself and my friends. I reformed myself. And now finally, fourth year. Haha fourth year was something. It was the best year of college. The only thing on my mind: find a job and get the fuck out. This was the year of endless interviews, endless plane trips to different states, endless speeches in front of my bathroom mirror. It finally all paid off. I was so focused on myself, I didn’t have time to worry or care about anyone else. I forgot how to care for someone else. I forgot what it was like to be cared for. And once I got a little glimpse of it again with Andy, I was hooked. Back to my old ways when I was with Owen, prioritizing my days around him. I knew he wasn’t good enough. Everyone said he wasn’t good enough, but I never listen. Going in, knowing 100% that there would be no future, I blindly walked straight into this deep black hole of weeks feeling lonely, abandoned, and ashamed. Never again. Ever. This was the year I realized I have no more time to just be fucking around with bums. I have to set higher standards for myself. It’s been 1.5 years since I’ve uttered the words, “I love you,” to a significant other. I don’t even know what it feels like anymore. Friendships grew stronger this year, though. Cancun happened. Game nights became a thing. This was the year where everyone all had time to come together and play, where everyone was united. It was nice. It’s how I’m going to remember college by, the last few weeks just hanging out, just being together.  It’s going to be hard letting go. Nothing’s ever going to be like how it was before. When will we ever be able to just stay up until 4 AM gossiping with friends? When will I ever be able to just walk over next door to rant and cry or just to hang out? Schyler, Anthony, and Connor are going to Seattle, Owen’s going to Boston. Liuzhi and Mei will be in some med school next year. Mel, Sheils, and Rach will be in NOVA...and I’ll be in Buffalo. It’ll be interesting how things play out. Again, I’m still in denial that everything is changing. I haven’t sobbed or even shed a tear yet. Everything’s changing yet it doesn’t feel like it. I think it gives me comfort, reminiscing on everything that has happened in the last four years. It’s sad, but comforting.