#me.at work

[meatiermeatball]

Occasionally I have an interaction with a client that just baffles me

[aoyagi1]

finished tgcf……thoguhts

+ love watching xie lian get into Situations . and looking at his face in a normal unbiased way. will be watching season 3 if there ever is one

- i speak mandarin but probably only at like grade school level max bc i only use it at home so i cant fully understand their old-timey speak (?) without subs so several times ive found myself trying to process both the chinese audio and the eng subs at once and registering neither

- i have So much trouble keeping track of whos who bc they all have the same fucking face shape 😭 if they dont have a distinctive enough personality i just completely forget who they are.those two guys who worked for xie lian are interchangeable to me.at one point i thought xie lian and an le were the same guy with a hairstyle change for a couple minutes before i grasped the difference in their Vibes bc they have almost the same hair/eye color

- racism :^( (not the one thats actually part of the storyline i mean the depictions of indigenous people at one point for a gag and i think maybe also a non-han chinese ethnic group i cant place.and also the orientalist dancer outfits from that one part probably)

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Psalm 139 and defilement by u/ElectricalAd9212

Psalm 139 and defilement When they brought the Queen's coffin into Westminster Hall, it was a moment of profound emotion. My whole family watched in hushed awe. My mother started sobbing. It wasn't just the sight of it, it was the sound of it. The Queen had asked that Psalm 139 be sung as she was brought into the Hall, one thousand years old, where Kings and Queens have lain in state for their people to visit.I listen to this and feel endlessly moved again. The words resonate so deeply with me.At the time, I was only slightly irked by the sight of Markle and her husband. Watching it back now it feels like they defile this sacred moment. Their very presence is defilement. Their faces are loving the attention, but they know they have been working on the abuse of the Queen, her family, and her life, with Netflix and Spare, and that they are gleefully plotting it all as they prepare to spit on the Queen. And yet here they are, desecrating this moment with their presence. They are like something evil from the Old Testament, an evil, spitting, hating and malevolent tale from the ancients.But purity and love and goodness transcends evil. That is the message we must take from the Queen and her life. Her love and goodness neutralises the defilement. She was tested to have Judas's so close to her.Nothing will diminish the sunlight of her love and duty and service.God Save Queen Elizabeth II. Her memory will never die and as long as we remember neither shall the ideal we strive for of duty, sacrifice and love.​ post link: https://ift.tt/H5iYBZI author: ElectricalAd9212 submitted: September 09, 2023 at 03:12PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[protegetapaix]

19/9 09:16am

dear diary,i am back after long months of longevity of happiness that recently shattered. Another hurt another chapter of hurt am i right ? But this hurt,is different,my heart feels weak i am torned to the core.

As you wouldve known i fell in love with a man name Amsyar,he was my highschool lover well atleast for a good 5 months and years later our paths crossed again. I didn’t regret every second of it.

One regret

Everything was well throughout our chapter of love,we fought we loved we hurt we did everything together at the end of the day when there was no more fight in us,our love sat us there,we had to give in so much sacrifice so much,energy,hurt,everything you name it. Willingly,it worked out well.

I fell into the deepest darkest cave; more like a hole i can’t crawl out from, in my life. And the past few months or you can say the last few months of our love,i was selfish.

I regretted my selfishness.

He helped me even when i said i could not be help,he helped me in every possible way. I was dealing with miscarriage,grieving,mentally drained and i just couldnt anymore. Through the last two months all it was about was me and me and me. 70% of me 30% of him. I did not take his words into heart,infact i can’t. My mind was a messed,i was figuring everything and processing everything at once. I swear to god i couldn’t take anything in anymore and my mind was so dark and cold and i was so scared. I don’t blame him,i just wish there was a little fight in me to let him in,let me caress him lighting a fire in my heart and wake me up. i couldn’t. I was fighting with myself everyday,and i couldn’t. but now i beg him for a little fight in him,which he will no longer be giving and i redha.

Until one day i lost him. He didn’t wanted to sit down and try all over again,he didn’t had anymore fight in me. In all honesty i didn’t too,but what moved me was how much i wanted to love this man for another eternity.

When we first met god our days were full of laughters,and maybe a little fight when he called me by his ex name hahahaha. Jokes aside. Meeting every two to three days became everyday,we would always find reasons to still see each other up till now like me asking him to sneak out to eat mac breakfast with me.At first i was scared of getting to attached,but this man gave me warmth that makes me want to be attached with him all the time. He is still my warmth up till this day,but through those cold months i couldn’t give my all,i couldn’t show him anything. I regret.

Soon enough i started my intern,we still met everyday be it after hes done with work we meet outside nenek’s place or after my intern we would go get yummy food. No wonder i gained so much weight. He was there when whats left of my family fell apart,and during fhose times all i needed and had was him,i fell deeper i knew he was going to be my end game i knew things were going far. A month or two later,i was nervous. All i wanted to be one day in life was a mother and i become one. We checked at a carpark and the other time we checked before devouring our pizzas hahahaha. And both time,god we were overjoyed,nervous and everything but one thing he didnt make me feel was scared. I felt so secured.

In the end,he lost himself,he lost his ways. I still felt loved,so much love like i did since the start,and he just needed me to push him further to get to who he was or even better. But i was not there. I was burried in my own dark cold cave;hole and i didnt see any light through it. It was so dark i lost myself and i was so scared. But i still had love to give,i still wanted to be loved because this pure form of love is somethings else. But now its not something else to him. Even in the caves of darknest,i still wanted to work things out. I understand we are different,we have different fight. I wish i gave the same fragility,more love and gave a little more light in the midst of my darknest,but i couldn’t fight it off.

I can’t put into words what ive felt throughout those months,i really can’t. If i could i would,so i can live in those moments put into words,all over again. But that would just hurt. So much than how it is already hurting

Now i have to let go one of the most purest form of love i have ever received and given.

And with that,i am letting everything go from here. Till then,goodbye my diary,maybe the next chapter would be my endgame,maybe the next chapter i would be hitched and would be telling you how im already planning my wedding but that would skip the part where i fall in love all over again,are you sick of that yet huh ? maybe the next chapter would be me on a ship sailing through the seas as a marine offshore engineer.

Maybe the next chapter i wont even be here.

I wont say fi hifzillah fi amanillah

But i am letting go.

Wakafa billahi syahida ana uhibukka fillah Amirul Amsyar <3

[biglisbonnews]

The news from a Mozambique landfill site – Mário Macilau’s best photograph ‘The men who roam this dump play an important role in the economy, but they are marginalised. I was warned they were “uncivilised”, that they would steal my camera, attack me, even kill me’There’s a giant landfill site near Maputo, Mozambique’s capital city, that covers 42 acres and rises to 15 metres in height. Young men roam it hoping to find things that are either valuable or can be recycled. These people play an important role in the local economy but they are marginalised by Mozambican society. When I started thinking about photographing the tip roamers, people warned me it would be dangerous: they are “uncivilised”, they said, they would steal my camera, attack me, even kill me.At the beginning of any project, I do lots of research. I need to understand a place and its people, establish contacts who can introduce me to new communities, and build trust with whoever I’m photographing. I don’t work like a photojournalist: I’m not tied to strict deadlines. I like to spend time with the people I photograph. We eat together, play games, get used to each other, so that by the time it comes to shooting, they’re comfortable. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jun/07/the-news-from-a-mozambique-landfill-site-mario-macilaus-best-photograph

[jehovahhthickness]

You're telling nothing but the truth sis.I met a man who works a lot.He has his own business but texts me everyday because I work during the day.Then he calls me every day and every night.We talk for hours until it's late then we get off the phone,go to bed,get up for work and do it again.I have never in my life had a man show me how much he wants me and doesn't play about me.At first I thought he was full of shit then he told me he felt like I don't appreciate his efforts.I switched up quick and got my mind right because ...he's not the last Man who hurt me and doesn't deserve to be treated like he has done something bad to me...(those are his words that he told me but I agree).There's a lot of good men in the world.Gotta be patient.

I wouldn’t really say “a lot” because biologically, men are not good people, beloved. Let’s look at the material.

However, I believe they are some out there for sure.

[vanilla-latte]

god i hate councils and all the excessive protocol in this role

[shishirbhattarai-blog]

About: Shishir Bhattarai

Hi

👪👦👦👦👧👦😵😴😴😴😴😾😵👯👰

About Myself

My first blogs was quite interesting and it goes like this

Student's Life During Lockdown

I am a student. My life is very difficult. If you want to know about me and my life then read my blog daily. Today May 9 2003 My name is shishir bhattarai. I am from Nepal. Due to Corona Virus, Schools and colleges are closed and my exam have been postponed which make me fell cry😣😔😔😣📷 I wake up at 7:00 Am. After I wake up i took tea and help my mother to make food. After we had meal we brush our teeth. I started to read book for 1-2 hours because my exam hasn't finished yet. So I should read books 😅😂. At 12:00 clock I started to upload my videos on YouTube as I have just 7 subscribers with 1000 videos but I didn't get any views but also I try.📷 📷 Then in evening I eat rice after having rice. I started to work by writing Read my daily work Am I saw a ghost ? It was just 2:00 clock in the morning when I wake up. I went to bathroom . After coming from bathroom I saw something outside. I looked deeply and I saw man without his head.📷 I shocked and felt much more scared 😬😬 because it was night time and the weather condition was also so bad so I became faint.📷 My mother wake up me. She told me that I was sleeping in the floor. My head was also paining so much. I wanted to knew what I saw yesterday.when I looked there I just saw a tree 🌲🌳🌳🌳 I get pranked In a good languages It was just 2:00 Am When I wake up . I wanted to drink water 😩.I went to kitchen and brought bottle . Suddenly I Saw something. That was like ghost or ghost 💀💀📷mo At that time I felt more scared because It was just 2:00 clock and the weather was also so bad so I thought that this ghost will killed me 😣😔.📷 Then by 🏃 I entered the room. I felt so much scared . Fastly I covered myself with blanket thinking ghost won't catch me.At morning I get shocked. The thing which I thought ghost was just a tree It teaches us that what we look think and look to others, it is not sure that he/she is like that? So we should be good towards others positive toward other so that we can get good response from others in our life. So in my point of view student life are much more difficult and looking and making their life felling lazy In the context of Nepal Class 10 ,Class 11, class 12 exam hasn't started yet. So student are feeling somehow bad because their exam hasn't started and they should read for whole time which makes feeling very much bored and very bad in their life. Just take example of me , I had thought that after completing my see exam I will got there I will go there I thought but that hasn't be success,so what to do due to novel Corona virus it had not been successful. So planning is good but over building of planning is not good. I have make one story Please read this: I was coming from school.itis just 6:30 Pm. I am coming after I arrived home I saw that light had gone Only in my house . I feel something wrong on that. I saw two bikes outsides of my house. Then I entered to my house . Somehow I was feeling terrified. Suddenly crying 😭😭 sound was coming.now I was sure that something was wrong . At that time two people who had gun in their hands. When I saw that I became terrified . I called to police and police came and arrest them

Please comment down how do you feel after reading this story

Please follow our blogs so that when I will write something you will read easily and fastly.

[etacasthrus1975-blog]

Since having youngest daughter Isla nearly two years ago, she felt self conscious over how her clothes fitted, The Sun reported.And after admiring the beauty and regal class of the Duchess of Sussex, she was determined to look like the royal figure.Ms Greer lamented no matter how much make up she put on or how she dressed, she would be presentable after having a rhinoplasty, liposuction on the stomach, inner and outer thighs, a bum lift, fillers under the eyes, lip filler, jawline filler and Botox, the lawyer says she now feels and looks like a princess.Ms Greer said: I look in the mirror, I happy again. I still see me but a better version of me.at the point where I feel I can put myself out there in the world again.had very big self confidence issues, but now I feel I can put on a nice dress and don need to wear much make up because I feel great. My nose definitely resembles hers more closely.also had fillers in my jawline to have a stronger jaw like she does, so I do feel I more strongly resemble her now.way I carry myself on a daily basis has changed I like going out again, being in public and feeling good about myself.really like her, I have always thought she was a classy person. And she actually has a song How many fucks do I give? That whole song basically goes How many fucks do I give? Zero zero not one. The video is disturbing. But if you follow too faced shes been hanging around jerrod for quite awhile. If you don't actually have a job with better pay, don't leave it. I know it's soul draining but you don't want to use up all your savings when you have at least something steady. If you're tech savvy, maybe enroll in a program or course that is geared towards what tech stuff you want to do. Spice blends? So often make it a bit faster to cook. Dried herbs, frozen stuff, a garlic press? Important sanity preserving tools. It nice to sometimes cook something amazing, but mostly I just want something pleasant that won take up too much time or money.. Remember that your skin is a reflection of your health, first and foremost you should pay attention to their deits. Also for me, I have found more "natural" options to be of great value. Products made from or incorporating ingredients such as Tea Tree Oil, Coconut Oil, Jojoba, Argan oil, Aloe Vera, RoseHip Oil all work wonders. For example, this study from 2015 in societies with no access to electric light found zero evidence of segmented sleep. However, this recent study found that there are segmented sleep patterns 나주출장마��지 in a rural population in Madagascar without access to electricity. This finding has undermined the suggestion that segmented sleep patterns are a feature only of people only at extreme latitudes/photoperiods.. I've had a tough couple of months, my parents lost their home so we're living with my grandparents, my illness has gotten worse so I spend most of my 나주출장마사지 time in bed, it's been decided that I'm too sick to go to college right now. I guess I was really excited for this bag and then it didn't turn out to be what I expected. I honestly spent the whole day crying in bed, because I guess I put so much anticipation and hope into it. 6 points submitted 1 day agoThat why I say it hard to compare accurately. How much is social advantage vs physical advantage worth? And it depends on the situation. But on the whole I would say in this regard, women come out on the losing side.There are many situations in which women feel unsafe that men don Think of walking down an empty street at night, for instance.

[meatiermeatball]

I love being homosexual and seeing men and looking at them with my eyes and thinking about them in my brain and kissing them with tongue and

[eriiikliao]

This photograph was shotted in the Xiameng’s beach at 5 a clock am,the scenery was amazing, and beatiful ,looking the sun raise from the horizon is great I could nerver forget.

After editing I got the photograph as the second one. At first I cutout me and my friend from the orginal photo, thenI edited the photo in the pirxl,I used the Crop to cut the extra space，then I used the Spot Heal to remove some sundries to make the whole look cleaner, In order to contrate on me I used the Blur to blur the people around me,I used the pen to make big white wings,and I used the Dodge Tool to make a lane around me which can highlight me.At last I I used a filter to make the whole picture look more bright red。 In this photograph I want to create a sense of doom thats why the sky look much more red then before. The world is full of the danger and I am the savior of people, so they look up to me.My friend on the groud was shocked that I was coming to help them. From my whole work I like it because it make the concept different than before,and use a lots tools to edit it.Make the whole photogrape more interest more interesting. However there also many thing I need to improve,I should use more tools and add more photes more effectively.Nest time I can do bettle.

[techscyare]

Hey guys so my best friend asked me to make this post.

My Best Friend Joanna is currently trying to transition from MtF and would appreciate any help at getting her bottom surgery. I’ve known Joanna for years and she is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off her back if you needed one. She’s asked me to share her go fund me because she needs the help. Her parents are refusing to help her.

From Joanna “I’ve known I was a girl from a young age. In school some of my classmates and I were discussing what it would be like to be the opposite gender for a day; they made fun of me for the rest of the school year when I told them I wanted to remain a girl for more than the one day. Ever since that experience I haven’t shared my gender identity with anyone, especially because I didn’t know that transitioning was a possibility. I tried to live my life as a boy the best I could, but something always felt wrong. In nineth grade I learned that gender reassignment was a possibility and decided to look into it a bit more. As soon as I learned about the cost involved with this, I suddenly became unhappy again; I once again decided to try living as a boy. I’ve seen relationships fail because my then-girlfriend thought I was too feminine. After my previous relationship I took a long look at where my life was heading and how the decisions I have made were affecting me. I realized that I need to do what is right for me and will work toward positive mental health. I began to medically transition in March of 2021 with HRT. Along with beginning to medically transition, I have also been socially transitioning as well. My friends have been helping me learn how to do my makeup; I’ve been buying clothing that makes me feel more in-line with my gender identity; and my friends and boyfriend have been very supportive through all of it. Everything seems to be falling into place. I know that this is what will be best for me. However, simply socially transitioning and taking HRT isn’t enough. With the help of my therapist I have concluded that surgery is the best option for me.At present, bottom (vaginoplasty) is all that is planned. I am currently unable to afford the full cost of surgery, due to factors beyond my control.Normally I don’t like to ask for help, but I don’t know what to do anymore and am asking for help. Anything donation will be greatly appreciated.”

We both understand if you can’t donate. We just ask that you share if you can’t.

https://gofund.me/3a7f7498

[elegant-phff]

Four.You Are Freaking Scarlet Witch

The Next Day

8:30 am

Alexandra Larsson

The sound of my alarm buzzed through my large bedroom.Groaning I rolled over,causing me to fall on the floor below with a loud thud."Godfuckingdamnit"I groaned."This is clearly why you shouldn't get drunk Alexandra!"I scolded myself.I had no plans of going clubbing the previous night.Unfortunately.three royals had different plans.Beatrice and Eugenie had arrived unexpectedly at my house and well,dragged me out of my bed and forced me to dress up and go out with them.According to them,I was still 'not over my sappy situation'.By that I believe they meant that I wasn't over Henry.Which is true in some aspects.I miss his charming smile which would make any girl swoon,how he'd cuddle with me after a day full of exhausting work schedule  and how he'd tell me he loved me and how he'd always be there for me.At the same time I was grateful to have found out about his tactics.I was Glad that I found out about all of his misdeeds before the wedding.It could have been worse.

The past two months I coped with my heartbreak in my own way.I buried myself in work.Thankfully I have six long months of filming Captain America:Civil War starting next month in Atlanta and Germany which would occupy my mind and I had busied myself by working out to get back in shape for the role.I have also decided to take up more charities than before.I joined  "The Trust Support","YoungMinds" and "Action For Happiness".In addition,I also became a UNICEF Ambassador and an UN spokeswoman.As much as hardwork it was,it kept me distracted and that's all that mattered.

I rubbed my eyes trying to get used to the awful brightness coming through my windows.I glanced at the bedside table and saw that it was 8:30 am.I threw the duvet off my body and slid on my slides.Tumbling to the bathroom,I almost had a heart attack when I saw myself in the mirror."Holy shit,I look like a fucking demon,"I screamed but quieting down as soon as my voice gave me a headache.I lazily washed my face and brushed my teeth because they stinked.I took a quick shower and stepped out of my walk-in closet wearing a oversized hoodie and a pair of sweatpants.Since I was too lazy to make myself anything good,I opted for cereal and a cup of hot coffee.As much as I loved some good English Tea,I loved coffee more than anything in this world.I could not live a day without some good Cold Brew from Starbucks.

After I finished my breakfast,I took a Paracetamol and I opened my phone to see a lot of missed calls and messages from unknown numbers."Shit,please don't tell me that I drunkenly gave unknown people my number,"I mumbled to myself.Opening the first message it read:

'HRLLLLLOORRR ISSA SKIPPPPYYYYYYYYYY'

I laughed and let out a 'dafuq',quickly I responded with a,"Hello to you too drunken Skip!I hope a hangover as enthusiastic as the text you sent is currently occurring to you-A very hungover Alexandra."

Instantly he responded with"Fuck of!"

I laughed and left him on seen as it seemed he didn't want to be bothered.Opening the next messages,I realized they were from Guy,Sam,Zara,Mike and a very enthusiastic Savannah who was not at all hungover unlike the rest of us.Opening the last text it read,"Pretty please tell me tihs is Alexandra THe Graet?!"I laughed as I would use this as my nickname sometimes."Depends on whose asking,"I replied.I waited a few seconds and when no response came I decided to leave it and get back to my day.

For the day I didn't have much planned but knowing that I would end up procrastinating I started working right away.I had to respond to all the emails that my assistant Theresa forwarded to me.I had to go through all the papers sent from UN and I had a Skype meeting with the CEO of YoungMind.Then I would head over to the gym to go through my daily workout.I hadn't received the script for CA:CW yet so I couldn't practice my lines.

I made myself some Cold Brew and tied my hair in a bun and sat down to respond to the emails.Halfway through the process my phone screen lights up indicating that I have a new notification.I glanced at my phone screen  and saw that it was from the last unknown number from the previous night.I guessed that it would be Liz or Harry from the group or a stranger that I ended up giving my number to.Hopefully,it wasn't a stranger and if it was they weren't going to snoop to the paparazzis.I slid my finger over the notification to open it,"Oh well,I am Henry the great then 🤴🏻"I smiled knowing that it was Harry and no stranger."I have honestly so many questions regarding your text Harry,"I replied.In a matter of a few seconds,he replies,"As away then!"I laugh at the unnecessary use of the exclamation point."First of all,What if I accidentally gave you the wrong number and the text was sent to the wrong person?You know,you could have revealed your identity to a fucking stranger!Secondly.Did you just steal my nickname?!!HOW DARE YOU?Thirdly,did u seriously just use a guy wearing a crown emoji?Also,petition for Apple to release a ginger guy emoji!"I replied."LANGUAGE!"He replied.I almost fell of my chairing laughing at the reference he made."Secondly,damn woman chill with your questions,"He texted again."You just told me to ask away..."I replied. "Okay...nevermind."He replied."Also did you just reference Captain America?!I didn't know you were a Marvel fan!"I replied excitedly.It would be fun to tease him about it."You have no idea how big of a fan Will and I are!"He texted back."Yeah!We were crazy comic fans in our childhood and we started watching the Avengers movies because of George's insistance."

"You know what I just realized?"He added."What?"I asked curiously."YOU ARE FREAKING SCARLET WITCH LIKE OMG I AM TALKING TO SCARLET WITCH RIGHT NOW,"I laughed at his excitement.He literally sounded like every Marvel fan I have ever encountered."How come you didn't notice it before?smh,plastic fan,"I decided to tease him a bit."WHAT???NO!!I am not a plastic fan!I just didn't realise it because in the movie you have long brown hair and brown eyes with a weird non British European accent and in irl you have short blonde hair and a British accent so it was very different and also I was drunk so...not my fault!!"He ranted."Damn chill out!I was just teasing ya 🤦🏼‍♀️."I responded."Oh okay,phew ya know I don't want your cast mates (aka RDJ,Evans,Paul Bettany AND PAUL RUDD ) to think that I was a fake fan :)"He replied."Damnn,I gotta tell everyone one that Prince Harry is a plastic fan next month ;)"I joked."HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT YALL START FILMING NEXT MONTH?!!!"I mentally slap myself because I wasn't suppose to say it."Shit,you were not suppose to know that.FUCK,don't tell anyone tho."I replied."Only in one condition,you tell me whose in which team ;)"

"Too bad haven't got the script yet!"

"Wait why?dont you guys start filming next week so don't you have to rehearse or something?"

"Yeah but Marvel is very secretive.We don't get the scripts for highly anticipated movies until the last moment."

"Damn I thought I was gonna be a exclusive marvel fan for the first time :("

"Lmao,you are a exclusive person Harry"

"Buzz feed quiz says otherwise"

"Omfg you are such a fanboy."

"What can I say,born and raised in comic ;)"

"Sure Jan"

I waited for is reply but it didn't come as soon as the previous texts.After a while he finally replied:

"HI ALEXA ITS KATE HERE,I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US THREE IN BRUNCH NEXT WEEK?-Kate xx"

I laughed as all of a sudden Kate appeared in the middle of our conversation.She could have just texted me from her phone."Lmao,Kate is always hype when it comes to things including you 😂"I chuckled."What can I say?She is my number one fan.Also inform her that I am in,just tell her to text me the details earlier from HER phone."

"Smh I feel like a goddamn messenger."

"As you wish 😒"

"Okay I gotta go,Uncle duties calling me!"

"Have fun !"

Just liked that,I closed my phone and went back to doing work.

The entire day consisted of me being an adult.I replied to important mails,went through papers,online meetings and so on.It felt good to hangout with a few friends before I would be gone for a long period of time.

I couldn't wait to get to know these new friends a bit more.

[biglisbonnews]

How a Groundbreaking Pastry Chef Bakes Outside the Lines THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JANUARY 15, 2022, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. Toward the tail-end of the 19th century, American cake baking took a giant leap forward. The invention of chemical leaveners such as baking powder and in-home ovens meant that fancy cakes were no longer exclusively for those with full-time servants. No one knows who came up with the American layer cake, but these buttercream-crowned tiers quickly spread across the nation.Although these cakes were decidedly different from their European counterparts, American bakers still tended to look across the Atlantic for cues. French patisserie was often seen as the gold standard of the genre, while fruit-and-nut-studded English “puddings” and rich German and Austrian baked goods made their way over through immigrant communities. Patisserie has never been static. A glance at cookbooks over the decades shows bakers adapting to economic crises, wartime rationing, and the meteoric rise of Betty Crocker. Yet for generations, the archetypical American cake looked like the kind of stately tower seen on the covers of Gourmet magazine. Don’t get me wrong: I love these as much as anyone. But there’s a whole world of desserts out there. One of the most exciting shifts in patisserie in recent years is seeing American bakers drawing inspiration from all over the globe. An American cake these days could as easily be flavored with ube or pandan as chocolate or vanilla, and bakers are just as likely to emulate a Hong Kong bakery’s mille-crêpe as a Parisian bakery’s gâteau. Natasha Pickowicz has a long history of baking outside the lines. The three-time James Beard Award nominee has dabbled with ingredients ranging from worm salt to sunchokes in her innovative, thoroughly delicious desserts.Prior to the pandemic, she was the pastry chef at Flora Bar and Altro Paradiso in New York. Since then, she’s become known for the ongoing pop-up series Never Ending Taste as well as her community bake sales, which have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood and other organizations. And while she’s tackled all sorts of pastry, it’s her layer cakes that have been turning heads and dropping jaws. The confections—which often come garnished with a garden’s worth of flowers and foliage—bear minimal resemblance to traditional American layer cakes. Rather, they feel like a new evolutionary step.I spoke with Pickowicz about her upcoming book, More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community, and the beauty of different baking traditions. Here is our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. Q&A With Natasha Pickowicz First of all, I just want to say congratulations on the book. Could you tell me a bit about it? Thank you so much. Obviously it was an incredible amount of work, a total labor of love. I developed all the recipes. I styled every single photo. My mom illustrated the book. I feel like the images are so fun and personal because I shot them in the home I grew up in. And I feel like the recipes really work because I tested them in my little kitchen in Brooklyn instead of in a fancy restaurant with fancy tools. What do you hope readers take away from this? I'm hoping that my love of pastry and process and technique really speaks to people. I'm somebody who didn't go to culinary school. I'm mostly self-taught.I'm thinking about [baking] from a different perspective. I don't know how to make a sugar rose, but I think that cakes with more natural decorations, like the plants around us, are actually a more beautiful aesthetic choice, to me.At its heart, this book is really about why I'm baking and how closely it's tied to my relationship with grassroots activism. It’s about how baking is a skill set a person can develop as a way of giving back to their community. Your cake aesthetic is so distinctive. How did you start developing it? When I first started working at Altro Paradiso in SoHo, I spent months and months developing my tiramisu recipe. The way that I make the tiramisu sort of is the whole basis for how I make layer cakes, which is not-too-thick cake layers that are evenly mixed and matched with creamy fillings. The cakes are saturated with another layer of flavor, similar to how a tiramisu is enhanced by a coffee soak. I'm thinking about building layers of flavor and moisture.[In this book], you won’t really see American-style layer cakes, where maybe it's a butter-based cake with three-inch-thick layers with a big separation of buttercream in between. Those are great things. That's not what this is about.I'm constantly reiterating this idea that these thinner cake layers that are super moist and have flavor built into them are all designed to be delicious on the palate. Pulling your fork through a slice of cake when you get those even, creamy cake layers is just one of the best sensations. I'm trying to design cakes that are not overly ambitious, but give you that sort of sense of satisfaction. As someone used to working with very high-level professional bakers, what is your process like trying to translate some of that for home cooks? I think that we have so much to learn as home bakers from how things get done in these sort of higher-production settings and the way that professional bakers work in restaurants—not just how organized your workspace is, but just the way that your work is built for replication and consistency. It's very reassuring to know that if you make this one thing, it will come out the same every single time. It's up to you as the baker to decide if and when you want to make any changes along the way. Your parents have lived in Hong Kong and Singapore, and you’ve spent significant time over there. Could you talk a little about your experience with bakeries throughout the Chinese diaspora? I'm not a historian and not an expert on this, so I don't want anything I say to be the definitive take on a really huge tradition of baking. But I think what I noticed when I would go to visit [my parents in Singapore] is that a lot of these pastry and baking traditions are partially a result of centuries of colonization. You're seeing Western techniques that are coming into East Asian countries. In places like Hong Kong, specifically, where there was British colonialist rule for so long, they're bringing with them traditions of making shortcrust with butter or making eggy custards. And those things get remixed endlessly. In Singapore, it's not just Chinese influences and Western influences. There, you're really seeing such a mash-up of this deep diversity. If you just go to a hawker market, you could have Malay food, Indian, Taiwanese, Cantonese—it goes on and on. [Singapore] is really one of the craziest eating countries I've ever been to in my life. It's so much fun being there. With baking specifically, I think a lot of those pastries that we think of when we think of Chinese bakeries are really like that because of that interplay with the colonialist influence. Here in New York, I think what's really interesting for me to see are how the children of immigrant parents are reinterpreting traditions—not just for an American palate, but it's like this distinctly Gen-Z palate, too. And there's so many interesting ideas that get expressed by younger people who really see these traditions not as precious, but as a way to pay homage to culture by playing around with it or subverting it or reinterpreting it for your context in your situation. Are there any particular spots in New York that stand out to you in this way? Wenwen and Bonnie's obviously are such hot spots here in New York right now, but I think it's exactly for those reasons. I think that people are excited by the presentation of culture through this different, younger generation. It just feels so fresh and energizing. I love Kopitiam, too. They do a great kaya toast, which is an example of that British colonialist presence [in Southeast Asia] and how they're bringing together custard and milk bread, but in this totally different way. How has this kind of cross-cultural hybridization influenced your work? I did this pop up at Golden Diner [in Chinatown]. We worked on this super fun menu for the weekend after Thanksgiving. So I had my version of Thanksgiving pie, but it was with a red azuki bean filling. This is a texture or presentation that feels distinctly Western or American, but you taste it, and there's Chinese five-spice powder, there's condensed milk, there's brown butter, and there's red bean. It tastes like the inside of a red bean sesame ball. That sounds delicious. Do you think we’re going to see more of these kinds of mash-ups in the future? I think as it becomes easier to buy and get these kinds of ingredients outside of just a Chinese grocery store, whether it's a specialty oil or a cool seed or spice, you're going to see people playing around more with these ideas and making them their own.And I think that's really cool. I think that the most interesting thing about recipes and food culture is how these things change and adapt and how we're discussing and sharing the stories and the context that makes that happen. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/natasha-pickowicz-cookbook

[alefftin]

A little about Sasha Fedotov.

Oneday my classmate asked me  why some people, including me were so special about Sasha Fedotov. We are so special about Sasha, because SPECIAL people deserve SPECIAL attitude. It's just elementary. However, the classmate did not accept this answer, because he, as it turned out, does not consider my friend so unique. I was shocked, because I never allowed myself to doubt this, because I always perceived this statement as an axiom in geometry that does not need proof ...This made me wonder why I so blindly believe in his uniqueness. And, apparently, it's time to sort this out.

To begin with, I will clarify that I first met Sasha when we were studying together at the same kindergarten.There, we did not communicate very much, it seemed to me that he was a very quiet and uninteresting boy.Then we started to study in the same school, became classmates. We became friends in about 3 grade, However, we began to communicate more closely since the 8th grade. But more on that later.

As I have already said, Sasha is rather laconic. But at he same time he is very clever and can to notice even the most subtle moments in a conversation.For example, he's the only one in the company who understands me when  I'm talking about someone without mentioning names, even if he does not know this person at all.

He is very sensitive. He can pay attention to a short frame in someone else's video and find me there or notice a sad song that is broadcast in status and write to me.At the same time, no one will even think that I'm sad.He has an amazing ability to understand people.Sometimes I jokingly say that he sent the wrong smiley face in the chat. And he immediately sends the Emoji that I wished for. How is it possible to guess a smiley face?There are more than 800 of them, not including stickers ! Amazing!

It is impossible not to mention his diligence, kindness and correctness.Absolutely all around notice it, all my friends say that they have not seen a person kinder than Sasha.Even my piano teacher, who is generally negative about friendship, paid attention to Sasha and advised me to make friends with him because of his kindness.Some even think it's too weird.For example, we have a joke about it in the company.This year Sasha entered the school and took a change of shoes in honor of day of knowledge. Everyone is still making fun of him, because such diligence is incomprehensible for the people of my town.

Another the situation is also indicative. This summer we were talking about everything at 3 am at my house. We were discussing about the attitude to education.For me it was normal that everyone around is negligent to learning, do not plan to continue to develop and work in the profession. But I have remembered Sasha's thoughts for a long time.At first, he spoke with awe about his father,and said that he respected his great work. And then he said that he, unlike others, plans to finish college well, and then go on to study at the university, despite all the difficulties.And all this is because he really wants to help his family financially.It wondered me.

Separately, it is worth noting the fact that he, even if he tries not to show it, is still very worried about me. He can give me his shirt if I'm cold. Or, another example is that fact that he seriously disallow me to start smoking.Literally forbidden, oh, for some reason it seems so cute to me.

Well, the last illustration for now. Once not very pleasant situation happened with me and my friend. I, Sasha and our friend Masha were quietly sitting in a cafe. Sasha and I took an ice cream, Masha did not want to take it for herself, because she had a sore throat. Next to us were several adult men.Suddenly they started to pester Masha with questions from the category “Why don't you eat ice cream?”, “Do you want me to care for you?” and so one.We, as girls, were very confused. Sasha was confused,too. this is logical.But at the same time he began to stand up for Masha.I have never seen Sasha, being so serious.I have never heard. how this quiet boy, who sometimes hesitates to wish for “good night,” speaks with such rough voice.

Since then, by the way, he asked us to write to him about every such situation.

Actually , I can spend hours talking about the fact that Sasha is just an incredible person and a great friend, but in conclusion, I would like to tell more in detail about our communication, which I have already touched upon in part.We do not chatting,go for a walk or taking photos so often, like other friends. But at the same time, we sometimes behave as if we have been married for ten years.For example, we do not deceive each other simply never, we consider it very offensive. Some people consider that it is strange when friends climb too much into personal space, and we just do not have this very personal space.For example, when I see that he followed some girl, I have every right to know who she is and why he followed her. Or, when someone in the company says that he has seen me with some boy, then Sasha just silently lifts his eyes on me as if with displeasure. Sometimes, Sasha can write to me, if she notices that I listen to the song “I'm happy alone”, with the question whether this is really the case, although he knows perfectly well that this is just a song. This is a kind of joke that we never discussed, it just originated by itself. This does not mean that we are really jealous of each other (well, at least not in the way we show it). In fact, we are not against any of us finding new friends or lovers.

Because of this "game", I feel really needed. For example, Sasha once wrote me about 10 pm, because he suddenly thought that I was in Krutez and I had to prove to him that this was not so.

P.S.

It was really difficult for me to write this work, because at first it was very hard for me to formulate something when it comes to feelings and sensations, especially such atypical ones (I haven’t seen anything like it in any book, song or movie); and secondly, it is very hard for me to concentrate when I write about something really significant for me, because thousands of thoughts and memories immediately arise in my head, a smile climbs on my face and I just get lost.Maybe you hadn't even understand what this article is about, but I tried very hard, so thank you very much for reading.

Love you!