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wolfpawn · 4 years ago

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I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 166

Chapter Summary -Tom and Danielle go to Ireland to see about booking the venue, while there, Tom realises something that makes him see that this actually matters a lot more to Danielle than he thought.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

NOTES -

Aoife is pronounced E-Fa MacDaragh is pronounced Mac-Dar-ah

Look, I like the idea of taking your husband's name, it's traditional, so to me, it's nice. I totally respect any woman that keeps hers, that's her business, but I like it, personally, and for this, so does Danielle.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1 @black-ninja-blade

Tom and Danielle looked at the building in front of them. The fact it was wintery, wet and cold, with plants and trees bare of leaves did not give the best idea of what the place would look like in the summer but it did allow them to see what they were looking at. It was secluded and picturesque, everything they could want location wise.

“Are you happy with it?” Tom asked, looking at the walled garden behind them.

“It’s very beautiful.”

“That’s not what I asked, Elle.”

“I am just anxious to see what we are dealing with.”

“Elle, I know I have said this, ad nauseam but I mean it, when we talk about if we want to book this, I do not want the cost to be the sole reason you say no, I want this to be perfect for us.”

“So if they said something like eighty grand, you’re okay with that?” She challenged.

“Obviously not, but you know that’s not what I mean.”

“No,” she conceded. “I just think it’s all a bit mad.”

“Why? We have the money.”

“I rather we spend the money on a bigger house if you’re adamant to spend it at all.”

“I am curious, how much did your parents leave you to say you are so money conscious.”

“I paid for my house outright and still had enough to move everything over, set myself up over in Britain and have a rainy day fund. Dad’s practise wasn’t worth too much, you saw it, it's small, more an office than anything and our house was small, so it wasn’t too much either. But it got me a three-bed in Suffolk, so…” She shrugged.

“I never asked but why a three-bed? You didn’t seem interested in having a family when you came over.”

“I didn’t, I was only twenty-five but I was thinking if I did, it would be a solid investment, or even if I didn’t, it’s a lot easier to sell a bigger house these days.”

“You are so sensible.”

“Too sensible for this,” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why I was never gone on marriage, the waste of money.”

“Is that how you feel still?” Tom looked at her worried. “Why did you say yes?”

“I want to marry you,” Danielle stated immediately, Tom said nothing whilst waiting for her to make explain what she meant. “I didn’t say that right, what I meant to say was perhaps that’s why marriage was never something overly appealing to me before, the dislike of the financial part of it. I always thought it to be an unnecessarily expensive endeavour; I still do, as you can see but I do want to be married to you. I just don’t want to spend twenty thousand euro doing it.”

“Why did you pick that number?”

“The average cost of a wedding in Ireland is twenty-one thousand euro.” She informed him.

“Can you imagine how cheap and expensive some people make their day?”

“Well, Ashford castle is about an hour from here and that’s actually one of the most expensive locations to get married in the country, so…”

“Where?”

“It’s where Rory McIlroy and Pierce Brosnan both got married, very exclusive,” Danielle commented, not paying too much heed to him until she realised Tom was on his phone. “What are you doing?”

“Checking something.”

“Tom...don't even think about it.”

“I am just looking.”

“Tom!”

“Which is closer the church?” Danielle said nothing. “Elle…”

“No, we are not considering it. I don’t even know why we are considering this, this is all crazy.”

“I just want it all to be incredible, so when I am ringing you from a set saying reshoots are going to be another few days and miss that party we had planned, you can remember I am not actually a bad husband.” He explained as they walked towards the front door of the abbey as the rain began to fall again.

Danielle rolled her eyes as she listened to him. “I don’t need a fancy wedding venue for that.”

“I know, but it may help.” Tom held the door for her as they walked inside.

As soon as they did, it appeared that the manager was eagerly waiting for them and rushed over to them, a woman behind him with a file of some manner with her. “Mr Hiddleston, Ms Hughes, how wonderful to meet you, I am MacDaragh Canty, I am the manager here and this is Aoife Zeigler, our events coordinator.” He introduced them. “We are so honoured you have considered us for your wedding.”

“Thank you.” Tom smiled, shaking the man’s hand. “Elle was saying this place was beautiful but I have to admit, I think she sold you short.”

“Thank you. We try to keep it looking well. I will allow Aoife to take you around and discuss different aspects of the building with you, she is very knowledgeable on the building and grounds and has practically every name of note that you could want from florists to chocolatiers regarding a function to hand and if you wish to discuss anything with me, please, do not hesitate to ask and I will be at your service.”

“Thank you,” Tom repeated before looking to the woman in front of them who had yet to speak as the man walked away to deal with another matter.

“Follow me please.” She ushered them to the edge of the foyer and began to discuss the different manners in which guests would be welcomed and other such things as she walked through the building with them.

For the most of an hour, Aoife went through everything with them, talking about extra security measures they could put in place, all things considered. After it all, they sat and discussed the cost of everything. More than once, Tom felt Danielle’s shock beside him, knowing she did not want to pay so much for the day but he rubbed her hand slightly to have her remember that this was not an issue for them.

“And would you be getting married at the church here?” Aoife asked.

“No, my parish one, it’s halfway between here and Galway.”

“Right, so you are talking an arrival time of about four then, or do you want the pictures here?”

“More than likely here.”

“Okay, well, we can take all that into account, we also need to make note of dietary needs. Any allergens?”

“Gluten sensitivity, dairy sensitivity, a few vegetarians and two vegans are the major ones.”

“Okay, so if we make the meals for all of the vegetarians vegan, we can ensure the meal is satisfactory for all of them, as regards the sensitivities, we will treat them as allergies and keep their food separate, the best thing to do would be to prepare them near but not next to the vegan food, for obvious reasons.”

“Thank you.” Danielle smiled.

“So, do you want to make a reservation now or think it over?”

“We would actually like to take the night to consider it.” Tom declared. Internally, Danielle frowned but did not let it show for fear that it would force Tom to say something aloud he did not wish to discuss. “We are staying nearby so we can sort the deposit tomorrow if required.”

“Perfect, thank you very much for your considering us. I am the only one to have the dates you discussed with us, so do not worry about it becoming public knowledge, I understand that these things are a concern for you both but we will not permit that information to become public knowledge.”

“Thank you, we appreciate that.” Danielle smiled.

They walked to the car and said nothing to one another as they got in, Danielle startled that Tom took the driver’s side, but she sat into the passenger side and watched as Tom chuckled as he pulled the driver’s seat back so he could actually get into the car properly. “So...is there a reason you are not booking?”

“Yes, the fact you are speaking about me saying yes and not us.”

“I just don’t know.”

“What don’t you feel is right?”

“I am not sure.”

“Talk to me.”

“I don’t know. I just am not blown away by it.”

“Okay, well, that’s why we’re here. We’ll get something that you do actually want,” Tom commented as he drove out the gate

“It’s not all about me.”

“No, there are two of us in it but I don’t want to say yes to somewhere, pay a considerable sum of money and for you to look back at not have the biggest smile possible at the thought of the day. I like it but if you don’t.”

“Tom, we could get married in a registry office in London, Cork, Galway, fuck even Ballinasloe and I would be happy, as long as I get to call you my husband at the end of it. I would get married today, in these clothes, half wet and no make-up just to be married to you, it’s not the place or the cost, it’s the fact that in twenty years time, when I have long fucking forgotten what we even ate at the wedding, that I get to see the band on my finger and remember that it is there because I am married to you, that is what matters. When some post comes through the door saying ‘Danielle Hiddleston’ or when people call us Mr and Mrs Hiddleston and it’s not an error, that’s what I want. I don’t care about a venue in the grand scheme of things. That’s not what we are doing this for. I don’t care about the wedding, I care about having a good marriage to the man I love who will call me to tell me he is stuck doing reshoots for a few more days so I have to go to a party by myself and when I roll my eyes, I wonder why I married him in the first place, that is all that matters.” She explained.

Tom stared at her wide-eyed, processing everything before one part of it stuck out above everything else, causing him to pull in for a moment. “Danielle Hiddleston? You would take my name?”

“Yes, why?” In everything, she had not thought that something to focus on.

“You...really?”

“Yes,” She nodded, thinking it an odd thing to say before looking at him. “Would you want me not to?”

“I never thought you would want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I take my husband’s name?”

“Well, you’re a very independent woman, you are getting your name for your work, changing it because of getting married and with how other women keep their name for that reason.”

“Well, that’s their choice, I would like to take yours. I always liked the way families are traced through it and if we have kids, I rather have the same surname as them and their father.”

Tom said nothing in return, he simply leant over and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster at her declaration.

#I Hate You I Love You #Chapter 166 #Tom Hiddleston #Tom Hiddleston Fic #wolfpawn

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hms-chill · 5 years ago

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Feeling Deeply

Summary: It’s nearing the seventh anniversary of Henry’s dad’s death, and navigating the succession process only makes that harder, but at least Alex is there to help.

Chapter 2

The next morning, Henry's alarm wakes them both far too early. Alex has essays to write and grants to find and things to do while Henry's in meetings for the day, but getting up for them is the last thing in the world he wants to do. He just wants to stay right where he is, so when Henry starts to move toward getting up, Alex tightens his arms around him and nuzzles into his shoulder. Henry laughs a bit, running a hand through what Alex can already tell is an atrocious bed head, and Alex feels his heart soar. Today is better, then.

"I've got to get up, Love."

"No. Won't let you. Stay here," Alex grumbles, and Henry laughs again, moving away enough to press a kiss to Alex's forehead.

"I love you. And I... I really appreciate what you did for me last night. Thank you."

"I love you." He says it half buried in Henry's neck, but he looks up in time to see the little smile on Henry's face. He runs his hand though Alex's hair again before bringing it down to cup Alex's jaw, and Alex melts.

"I do have to get up. I'm meeting with some donors for breakfast, then with Pez at his favorite brunch place, then Buckingham all afternoon."

"Come back for lunch? I miss you," Alex says, and Henry gives him a smile.

"I'll do my best. I miss you, too."

Henry kisses his forehead, then his nose, and then Alex is smiling into a kiss on the lips. He watches from the bed as Henry goes about the process of getting ready for a day of meetings, building a prince around the core of a young man. It's something Alex has seen a hundred times by now, but it doesn't seem to take as long as it used to. When Henry kisses him goodbye and promises to have the kitchen send up coffee, there's more of Henry in the prince than there's ever been, and Alex is beyond glad.

It's only after Henry is gone that Alex launches into action, getting himself ready for the day. Henry thinks he's just going to be taking it slow and adjusting to the time difference before a fancy state dinner, and that was his initial plan, but after last night, it's been revised a bit. Bea's texted, so he takes his coffee to the music room and finds her on the couch, fiddling with something he thinks is called a thumb harp. She sets it down to come wrap him in a hug as soon as he appears, and he has to be careful not to spill hot coffee down her back.

"Thank you for doing this for him."

"Of course. Thank you for helping. I'll probably ask your mom, too, but I wanted to make sure it was a good idea first, and I thought you might know better than she would."

Bea just nods, and they get to work. She's got to go before too long, her own series of charity meetings and projects to get to, but she promises to send Alex an email with everything he needs to set his plan into motion. He texts Catherine as he makes his way back to Henry's room to work, and she responds quickly, so Alex settles in and gets started on something much, much more important than another project could ever be.

He does finish his essay and start his grant search before he meets Henry for lunch, an honest to god picnic in a secluded part of Kensington Gardens, because it's beautiful out and Henry's been inside all day. And lunch is perfect, all laughter and casual touches and stealing bites of each other's food as they finally, finally get to spend time together after days apart. Henry had come into it looking a little tired and with a hug that begged for a break, but he looks better as they're wrapping up. Alex suggests they walk to Buckingham, because it's a nice day and it's not too far, and the fresh air is clearly doing Henry good. So Henry grabs his hand, and they drop the picnic basket off at Kensington and start toward Henry's next meeting. Alex can feel the tension building as they get closer, as Henry gets ready to go in and see every piece of his family's history that could ever hurt them picked apart and put on full display. Alex just distracts him as best he can, rambling about all sorts of things and keeping a tight hold on his hand.

When they get to Buckingham, Henry gives him a hug, the kind that says he wants Alex to stay close even if he can't. So Alex hugs him as tightly as he can and tells him he's proud of him. He offers to break into the meeting and cause a ruckus to end it, and that makes Henry laugh, and when he pulls out of the hug, he's got his armor back on. Alex stands on his toes to kiss him, and Henry goes, leaving Alex to try not to feel like he's sending his boyfriend into a war zone.

He takes his laptop back to the Waterloo Vase for the afternoon, because of all the places to study, a towering vase that reminds him of how much Henry loves him is probably the best one. Henry finds him there a few hours later and greets him with a hug that just says he's tired, tired of all the questions and the taking and the picking. It's a hug that's begging for cuddles and an episode or two of Bake Off, but it's not one that means Henry's going to fall apart or that he needs a long weekend where they don't see anyone else, so Alex counts it as a win.

They go back to Kensington and facetime June, and she puts David on so Henry can baby talk to him while she and Alex catch up. Then, Alex and Henry curl up on a couch in the music room to watch Parks and Rec with Bea, Henry's head on Alex's shoulder as Alex tries to absorb some of the "too much" that gets to him in times like these.

Their last event of the day is a state dinner, and Henry is tired, but Alex can tell he's enjoying it as much as he ever enjoys events like this. There are interesting people to talk to, and there's good food, and afterward they're free to mingle with whoever they'd like, so in sum, it's far from the worst. Alex gets into a conversation with a Hungarian diplomat about the finer points of Hungary's shift to the Euro, and he sees Henry laugh at something one of the waiters says. He tries not to be too distracted by that laugh, tries not to fall too much in love with the fact that in a room full of diplomats and politicians and activists, Henry has chosen to talk to a member of palace staff.

Eventually, Alex is getting another glass of champagne when Henry comes to give him a hug that asks if they can go. Alex puts the fresh champagne flute down and takes his hand instead, and Henry leads him through a side door and into the kitchen. From the kitchen, they stop in a wine cellar just long enough to grab a bottle before Henry is leading the way back out to Buckingham Gardens. He tucks them away somewhere out of sigh of the palace and lies down on the grass, tugging Alex down to join him before turning his attention to the sky.

"Looking for Orion?" Alex teases, but Henry shakes his head.

"Orion's a winter constellation. I'm not sure what I'm looking for; maybe Leo or Signus."

Alex chuckles, but Henry doesn't say anything, just moves to rest his head on Alex's chest, eyes still turned toward the stars. Alex puts a hand in his hair, but doesn't say anything. Henry's quieter now than he has been for a while, the sort of quiet sadness that Alex knows comes over him sometimes, so rather than try to force him to talk, Alex wraps an arm around his chest and waits.

"We used to do this with my dad," Henry says eventually. "He'd take us out at night, each of us on our own, and he'd show us where the constellations were. It's... my earliest memory with him is waking up late one night, and I was so sleepy, but he wrapped me in a blanket and took me outside to see Orion. He told me that every culture in the world could see a soldier or a hunter or a hero in those stars, and he taught me to see it, too. And I... well, in the Greek myth, Orion's a bit of an ass. More than a bit, if I'm honest. So I decided that my dad was probably a better hero to celebrate, and I told him he was the one the stars made a picture of. I pretended the whole world saw those stars and decided to celebrate my dad. And now, he... well. That's why I look for Orion the way I do. It... it was always sort of our constellation, and I... I like to think, sometimes, that he's connected to it somehow. I know that's a bit daft, but it's nice to imagine."

"I don't think it's daft," Alex says. Henry's quiet, and again, it's the sort of quiet Alex doesn't want to step on.

"This... this is seven years since he died. Seven is... well, I'm not sure how much I buy it, but it's an important number in nearly every religion. So if I'm, you know, especially maudlin or quiet..."

"I understand. I mean, I... I understand as much as I can," Alex says. "And I love you. Even when you're maudlin or quiet. Especially then."

Henry turns his head and kisses Alex's chin. Alex smiles and kisses the side of Henry's head, just above his ear. Henry opens the wine, then points out his first constellation. Alex holds him close, and after a bit, he asks, "H? I know we're supposed to be taking time and relaxing after this week, but would you maybe want to visit your dad while we're on vacation?"

Henry sits up, and Alex is worried for a moment, but then Henry grabs his face and kisses him, and he feels a flood of warmth as he realizes he's said the right thing.

On AO3, Chapter 1

Notes:

@steelrosealchemist and I were talking about Orion a few days ago, and it's my favorite constellation, so I thought it might be nice to work in some backstory about why Henry's looking for it on New Year's, right before he makes a move. So there’s that fun little tidbit for y’all.

#my fic: rwrb #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor x alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #rwrb #rwrb fic #red white and royal blue

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transrightsjimin · 4 years ago

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im sorry im not rly in the BE hype atm :((

rant coming which has nothing to do w the album but everything w stress nd fatigue nd crying nd more job stress nd sensory overload and me turning everything into a worse issue in my head etc etc

i was this morning when i saw the mv nd watched the vlive but i obv slept way too few bc i went to bed late nd woke up early for the live and i had to rush a lot w errands nd an appointment w my autism coach nd at said appointment we called a dude from the municipality to inquire abt jobcoaches nd it turned out we misunderstood what jobcoaches are as they are who u get referred to when u have a job, nd the guy found it hard to figure out what type of trajectory(?) would best fit me for help nd now i have time to think abt it and will speak him again in 2 weeks or sooner if i want to. im just so tired nd a bit hungry and on edge and one sec, im in the side of the house tht faces kids playing around aka screeching as if theyre dying every second nd its majking me only more on edge!!!!

but urgh i cried so bad during the appointment and was prob way too rudde to her before the appointment, bc she talks loudly nd sounds rude nd confronting but just naturally bc ofher tone nd language nd urghgh h thikning abt jobs nd trying to talk nd not cry too hard when trying to explain stuff to the man over the phone was rly hard, like obv its fine if he knows im crying but its just hard to talk when crying nd im just so devastated thinking abt jobs!! i dont know what type of job i could handle nd it feels like im making everythig up bc i did somehow finish two studies in uni and im privileged enough w education and whiteness tobe more easily selected for a job by e.g. last name on my cv and i shouldnt be this picky but god i cant handle smth as physically demanding and underpaid as this, im tired 4/7 days that im not working nd what i earn in those 3 days is still not enough to cover rent bc they pay only for the delivery time itself instead of more hours!!! it just feels like wtf am i doing bc the municipality guy did admit im not the usual person he works w bc i had an education, as if i dont belong in the group but its really just an issue of having -100 confidence and no job experience!! like i rly dont strive for a fancy job or ‘’’career’’’, i just bneed something that i can pay my monthly expenses w and have a bit left to save up for e.g. emergencies, additional medical bills (like the 350 euros from the adhd diagnosis and therapy, which my autism coach will contact my adhd therapist abt, like if that bill can be delayed or split up in a payment plan), paying back for loan debt eventually and MAYBE soon god forbid i save up for smth fun. and i “need” the job also to have a daily activity and some structure in my life bc a large part of the reason my schedule is so fucked up is bc i have no more set time tht i need to be anywhere or any strictness or reason to get up nd so i just dont ghhh

im always looking for reasons why i cant do smth and why smth would go wrong and im already looking at every area where getting help w getting a job can go wrong like e.g. me being too stubborn abt companies i dont agree w or me thinking i cant do anything just bc i have not much working experience outside of mail delivery :(

nd then there was this A B C task list system my adhd therapist proposed in wihc i keep track of my most to least urgent + important tasks every day nd we werent sure where to keep track of that kind of list and she suggested sticking a paper to a wall (i think id rather use my wardrobe) to write it on and change or replace that every day and it sounds like a hassle but i rly need to do it every day, nd i can try other methods but thatd be either writing it on my phone but im not always on there nd theres not a type of file i can make that doesnt move back chronologically as i make new notes

ALSO im just very frustrated w myself bc my mom wanted to come over w food and i know she was too sudden w it but if only i left on time for the stores it wouldnt have been an issue. i feel like shes rly sad she couldnt come visit. fucking hell i rushed so much back and forth from the stores that i forgot to put the leftover letters from work yesterday into the outdoor mailbox and i already stress abt this bc my current teamcoach (aka manager) is more stricter w this stuff nd recently asked for a statement / explanation by me on why there were 29 letters w/o sticker from a route i did counted from the collected mail that were in outdoor mailboxes, and i did not do that but my only alibi / reason for not making that huge mistake was that i hadnt posted any mail yet that day and obv he wasnt happy w that. i sometimes had dreams / nightmares recently where i was late again or fucked up w a new route and got fired for it and thats quite an awful scenario / fear to me bc thats exactly why my dad was fired by his previous employee, for being late too often nd we’re the exact same. it just sucks bc i know many ppl who worry abt being late arrive to early at shit bc lol anxiety but i still arrive late every day WHILE being stressed abt it nd my whole fucking issue is that i need to break w bad patterns MYSELF, like whether i get help for autism stuff or adhd or sleep or whatnot, the homework / assignments / tasks / advice they give me, in the end i still need to be the one to do it and push through and make a change or put more effort into not going continuously back to the same distractions or demotivating black-white thinking

just URGH im so easily annoyed nd sensitive, also as in sensitive on a tactile level nd it doesnt help tht my room is a mess nd im super stinky from bts BE excitement and from squeezing my skin a lot last night, nor does the fact that i have rly bad coordination / awareness of my surroundings nd continuously bumping into shit or getting caught on smth help, which is also another reason im just so slow at work bc if i try to walk or deliver mail faster i keep end up bruising nd tripping or tear my hands on all these hard to move or sharp mail box slots if im not careful nd slower, which does still happen but not as bad when im careful

im also rly dizzy rn from haing slept too few and just urgh i “need“ a stupid fucking job, i need the money i need the structure but my god does actual labour and having to deal w colleagues every day and trying to keep up w stuff and be fast and precise enough in whatever the job is, sound horrifying hhhgghgh

OK RANT OVER IM SICK OF ME TALKING SO MUCH

#rambles #i dont even feel like explainig any of this stuff more if it was unclear #bc trying to re-tell what ppl from bureaucracies told me and each nd every thing explained is so complex

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hanschensolo · 5 years ago

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The things I remember from growing up:

• Sunlight streaming through stained glass in a dim, cluttered shop in Venice

• The little dog that would run out to greet you when you pulled into our building in Naples

• The lemon tree in the yard that almost matched the yellow building

• Cold floors and high ceilings that carried sound right to the ocean

• A princess Jasmine doll who was the picture of beauty and could wear any fashions I made for her

• The shop around the corner where everyone knew my name even though I couldn’t understand the rest of what they were saying

• The floors in Stuttgart were cold too, but they ate sound and the ceilings were shorter

• The basement floor was always lava, no matter what, no matter who you were

• The Italian restaurant where I played barbies in the attic with the owner’s daughter - their food had a distinct taste that I’ve been chasing for years and have never quite found

• The supermarkt and the ice cream bars that were a euro out of the big glass case

• The ice cream shop with their giant waffle pieces they’d stick into the chocolate

• There was no such thing as a fence around a backyard so it was all everyone’s backyard

• All the women who walked past the house looked so incredibly German and their hair was either blonde or wine red

• At kindergarten I could dress up as whatever I wanted and play with wooden food and make a fort, and I much preferred to play inside

• In Frankfurt there was a playground every thirty feet with big metal structures and dark stone

• People thought I was odd for checking everything I ate but no one ever told me what it was and I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t eating cows

• I was only in first grade for a week before they realized I knew how to read and write already

• Making flowers by coloring in the squares in the graph paper

• Teaching the kids on the playground how to say Harry Potter quotes in English even though I didn’t even know how to pronounce all of the words

• The kids’ area in the commissary where they played movies and had little plastic chairs and I would sit and read my Archie comics

• Siobhan’s house was fancy and Jaschka’s house was modern and at someone’s house I ate paper on a dare but their house was very plain

• When we went to Neuschwanstein I found out I was afraid of falling down stairs because there are so many spiral staircases and none of them have handrails

• I had my Harry Potter themed birthday party at a Pizza Hut because we couldn’t get all my classmates on base

• I was supposed to be asleep but Maddy’s dad was watching Daredevil and I wanted to watch it too so I did and it haunted me for years

• When Ma found out her mother had died I just remember the cord from the phone stretching from the kitchen all the way around the living room wall into the hallway, where she stood out of sight while I waited on the couch

• I broke my Hermione Granger christmas ornament and was mad about it for a long time

• When I finally got to go to the school on base I got to take the bus and I would lean my head against the bus window and listen to “Yeah!” by Usher

• Mrs. Bowker had a dog named Laika after the space dog and nobody else cared

• In gifted and talented we did a lot of experiments with sugar cubes and I always had to ask for more because I kept eating mine

• Every day after school I would ask my mom to get me a Baby Bottle Pop because those ads showed on the military channel

• Cabinets built into the walls of my room

• Staying in a house in Garmisch with a circular bed and remembering that no one sleeps with sheets there

• Doing gymnastics in someone’s living room because there was nowhere else on base to take lessons

• Painting upside down with my paper taped to the underside of a table to feel what Michelangelo must have felt

• Snow and the smell of Glühwein and the lights on the kiosks at the Christmasmarkt full of nutcrackers and clocks

• Paying a euro to use the bathroom and feeling very grown up

#sad girl hours #i don’t want to ever forget any of it #i’m heartbroken that i’ve forgotten so much already

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pentakillmaven · 6 years ago

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The Nose Knows, Chapter 11 (NaNoWriMo 2018)

Here we are--the penultimate chapter! Once again, thank you so much for all the likes, reblogs, and new followers! I will be revising and posting this on Archive of our Own, along with a bonus sin chapter :) so please look out for that! Also, this chapter includes links to visual references for the outfits I have in mind for the characters if you want to check those out.

Chapter Rating: T

Chapter Warnings: Mild language, canon-typical violence

Chapter 11

The next week seemed to pass by in a blur; between school, Ladybug duties, and working on her dress for the fashion show, Marinette was lucky to get five hours of sleep a night. But unlike the week before, when the dread of the standardized testing had dragged her down, she felt light as a feather despite the relative lack of sleep.

When Saturday rolled around, Marinette was just putting the finishing touches on her dress, hand-stitching the green embroidery along the neckline. The dress itself was a fairly simple knee-length, one-shoulder black dress, with leather-edged horsehair ruffles giving the skirt some dimension. On the bodice, playful embroidery brought to mind one particular feline superhero. As always, Marinette stitched in her signature, letting it flow into the design running down the side of the bodice under the single shoulder strap. She tied off the thread, snipped the excess down, and stepped back to survey her handiwork. "Well, Alya, what do you think?" she asked, turning to her best friend.

"I think… it looks amazing! This has definitely got to be some of your best work yet!" Alya, on her part, was already dressed for the evening, opting for a burgundy-colored full-length jumpsuit with a tie waist that offset her hair beautifully. Said hair was up in curlers at the moment, while Marinette's was still unstyled, a messy topknot keeping it mostly out of the way. "And you finished just in time, too--we only have three hours to get ready before we have to leave."

"Oh, merde, is it really that late already?" Marinette whimpered as she looked at the clock, confirming that it was already after four. "All right, I'm going to jump in the shower really quick, and then we can finish your hair before we do mine."

"Sounds good, girl! See you in a few minutes."

Marinette slipped into her strappy pumps, wrapping one of her mom's black faux-fur stoles around her shoulders for warmth as the girls put on the finishing touches to their outfits. The choker Adrien gave her nestled right at her collarbone, the green stones in the pendant pairing beautifully with the embroidery just below. "I feel like that should be a bell instead of a pendant," Alya teased Marinette gently. "That way Adrien knows where you are at all times."

Marinette giggled, an embarrassed flush visible even through her makeup. "I don't think Adrien's really the collaring type… Now, if it was Chat Noir, I wouldn't be surprised."

Alya's eyes widened in shock at the innuendo, but she burst out into laughter a moment later. "Oh my god, Marinette! Since when do you have such a dirty mind?"

"I guess someone is rubbing off on me," Marinette said pointedly. "Or am I not the one you confide into regularly when it comes to your love life?"

"Touché. I'll give you that one." The two girls hustled downstairs, where Nino was waiting with his car. Being the oldest of their friend group, he was the first to get his license, and his side gigs as a DJ allowed him to afford to get a car. It wasn't a top-of-the-line model by any means, but it was better than public transportation or walking. "Ooh, don't you clean up nice?" Alya asked as she slid into the front seat alongside her boyfriend, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks, babe--you look pretty foxy yourself." Nino gave Alya a wink. Marinette didn't miss the glare and subtle tilt of the head that Alya gave Nino in return, figuring that it was in response to the "foxy" comment.

For once in his life, Nino wasn't wearing his hat, though Marinette could see it tossed into the back seat alongside his pea-coat. He had on a nice button-down with a waistcoat and tie paired with dark-wash jeans and a leather belt. "You look very nice too, Marinette," Nino added as he pulled away from the bakery. "Adrien's going to have a heart attack when he sees you."

"That's the idea," Alya replied, turning up the heater and crossing her arms over her chest for warmth. The night was clear, but cold, temperatures already in the single digits Celsius now that it was past sunset.

"Okay, so I'm headed to the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, right?"

"Yeah, that's it. Adrien said there will be people directing traffic, so we just have to show them these badges. Apparently we get special parking, too." She pulled the three VIP badges out of her clutch, handing one to each of her friends and keeping the third for herself. She slipped the lanyard over her head, nestling it under her wrap.

"Damn, I knew Adrien and his dad were, like, famous and all? But I had no idea that things were going to be this cushy tonight."

"Yeah, have you read these passes, Marinette?" Alya asked, looking down at the fine print on the back of the badge. "We get free VIP parking, special seating, free appetizers and drinks, the works! I bet this is what it feels like to be Jagged Stone."

"I heard a rumor that he might actually be here tonight, actually. Another DJ I see around sometimes has a cousin whose best friend is acquaintances with Jagged Stone's agent, and he said Jagged had some big party to go to."

"If he's there, I'll have to say hi," Marinette replied absently, staring out the window. She was starting to feel nervous, the butterflies building up in the pit of her stomach. Even though she didn't have any of her work on display in the fashion show, this was still a huge event, and she was wearing a dress of her own design. What if some famous designer said it was horrible? What if Audrey Bourgeois was there and she called it a failure? What if Adrien didn't like it?

"Hello! Earth to Marinette!" Marinette jumped as she snapped out of her thoughts, looking toward Alya, who had turned in her seat to look back at her friend.

"Sorry, Alya, what's up?"

"I was going to ask if you wanted to grab a bite before we go, since we have time, but you look like you're about to be sick. What's wrong?"

"Oh, you know… just nerves, that's all."

"Marinette, honey… you look banging, your dress is lit and you're just going as an guest, not as a designer. You have nothing to worry about. If Adrien doesn't declare his undying love for you tonight, the boy has way more serious problems in his future."

Marinette gave Alya a small, wan smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Alya. But I am kind of going as a designer. There's always someone there who asks the VIPs, 'Who are you wearing?' If I tell them I designed my dress myself and people don't like it, that could mean my design career is over before it even begins."

Alya reached out a hand toward Marinette, who took it; Alya squeezed her fingers comfortingly. "I highly doubt that. You're a talented designer! Even if this dress doesn't dazzle people--which I think it will--you still have a lot to offer in other departments. Your hats, your purses and bags? I mean, you designed Jagged Stone's glasses that one time, right?" When Marinette nodded in confirmation, Alya continued, "So if formal dresses aren't your thing, then you design what you do know that you do well!"

"That's true; thanks, Alya. I needed that." Marinette let go of Alya's hand and leaned back into her seat, tucking her arms back up under her wrap for warmth. She looked back out the window, watching the city lights go by, a quiet sigh escaping her lips.

The trio decided to forgo a food stop for the sake of getting to the venue early; it ended up being a blessing, as traffic was absolutely snarled in the vicinity of the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. It was already close to 8 when Nino pulled off of the road, spotting a sign for "VIP Parking." With a flash of their badges, the guard waved them on. "Pull up to the side of the building over there and a valet will take your car from there," the guard explained.

"Valet parking?" Nino glanced back at Marinette through the rear view mirror; the midnight-haired girl shrugged in confusion. "Damn, this really is fancy. I could get used to this." Pulling up to the building, a young man in a red vest approached them. The three teens all climbed out of the car, Nino passing the keys to the valet along with a five-Euro bill. "Merci beaucoup," the valet replied with a bow, hopping in the driver's seat and pulling away from the curb.

"Wow, this is kind of incredible," Alya said. Just ahead of them was a red carpet, paparazzi lining both sides snapping photos while Nadja Chamack interviewed a group of people for the local TV news station. "Oh, shit--isn't that Chloé and her parents?"

Marinette's head whipped around, spotting two familiar-looking blondes standing near an older man with a red, white and blue sash wrapped around his torso. "God damn it… I was really hoping not to run into them… I should have figured they would be here."

"Hey, Marinette, it's okay! Just keep your head up and don't let them see you sweat." Alya reached up and unhooked the clasp holding Marinette's wrap closed, revealing the embroidery on her dress. "No matter what, you created this. Your hard work deserves recognition. All right?"

Marinette couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Alya. I needed to hear that." Shaking her head and straightening her back, she led the group of three toward the red carpet.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! What are you doing here?" Marinette clenched her teeth to maintain a smile at the sound of Chloé's voice.

"Hello, Chloé. We were invited by Adrien personally," she replied, gesturing to the VIP badge hanging from her neck.

Chloé looked at Marinette, Alya and Nino behind her, then turned away with a sniff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Well.. I hope you have a good night, then," she muttered under her breath.

"Chloé, who are these children? Do you know them?" Audrey Bourgeois pulled her sunglasses down, peering at the teens over them. "Oh--you're that girl, the one who made the feather hat, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mme. Bourgeois." Marinette straightened up a bit more as Alya poked her in the back, tugging her wrap off of her shoulders to fully expose the embroidery.

"Your dress is… fantastic! That embroidery work is impeccable. Who is your designer?" Audrey asked.

"Mère! You can't be serious!" Chloé whined, stomping her foot. "Her dress is so, so... "

"It's inspired, is what it is! Tell me, did you design this yourself?" Audrey continued.

"Yes, madame. I was actually inspired by the necklace, you see." Marinette reached up and touched the pendant hanging from around her neck.

"Oh, yes, I can see the influence! The color selection is fantastic, and the texture of the ruffles is divine compared to the smooth embroidery. Well done!"

Marinette's whole face was flushed under Audrey's praise, though only a faint glow came through under her makeup. "Thank you, madame." She looked toward the door, realizing that Nino and Alya had gone ahead of them. "I need to be getting back to my friends, but thank you again."

Audrey nodded; with that signal, Marinette made her way around the rest of the people on the red carpet as politely as she could until she got to the door leading inside the building. Through the glass, she could see Alya and Nino talking to Adrien, who was dressed to the nines in an impeccably tailored black suit with patent leather shoes.

"Gee, thanks so much for having my back, guys," Marinette said as she walked up, shoving herself between Alya and Nino and giving them both a playful elbow.

"Why would you need us to have your back? Clearly you handled yourself out there just fine!" Alya replied. "Chloé looked like she was going to combust when her mom started praising your dress."

Marinette couldn't help but giggle at the mental image of Chloé exploding like a firework. Turning to Adrien, she smiled shyly, entangling her fingers behind her back. "So… what do you think, Adrien?"

The blond just started at Marinette dumbly for a long moment until Nino sidled over. "I think he might be broken," the bespectacled young man said, reaching out to poke his friend in the side of the ribs. Adrien jumped in surprise, shaking his head. "Are you with us now, dude?"

"Y-yeah, sorry… Marinette, you look… wow." Adrien seemed to be awestruck by Marinette's appearance.

Marinette's flush became even more pronounced at Adrien's praise. "I'm glad you like it."

"And you're wearing the necklace," Adrien said, his voice soft.

"Of course. It's part of the reason i designed this dress specifically."

"You designed that dress? And made it in a week? Marinette, that's incredible!"

"Thanks, Adrien. That means a lot, coming from you."

"Adrien? Adrien, where are--oh, there you are." Nathalie walked up to the group, her noticeably pregnant stomach covered with a soft empire-waisted dress in a navy blue color. "The show is about to start. You're needed in the back."

"Okay, Nathalie, I'll be right there." Adrien turned back to his friends. "You guys are going to be right up at the front; any of the ushers can lead you to your seats. I'll try to come out and sit with you guys if I get the chance."

"Are you modeling tonight, Adrien?" Alya asked.

Adrien shook his head. "Thankfully, no. I'll probably have to come out on stage with Father and M. Spadafora at some point, but I won't be wearing any of the designs."

"Oh, that's too bad. I know Marinette always likes to see you on the catwalk." Adrien's eyes widened for a split second before he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry to disappoint. Maybe next time. I'll see you guys later!" With that, Adrien turned and walked away, leaving the other three teens alone.

"Guess we should find our seats, if the show is about to start, huh?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Nino replied. "Marinette, since this was all because of you, why don't you lead us?"

"Oh, all right." Marinette headed toward where the seating area was set up, creating a U-shape around a temporary raised stage with a catwalk jutting out of it. Around the perimeter of the seating area, more men in red vests waited to lead guests to their seats. "Hello, we're in the VIP Section?" Marinette said questioningly to the nearest usher.

"Of course, mademoiselle. Right this way." The usher led the three down to the very front on the left side, into a seating area marked off with red velvet ropes.

Rather than standard folding seats, this area was furnished with soft, cushy-looking couches, a handful of waiters holding trays of champagne glasses and hors d'oeuvres. Marinette could see the Bourgeois family sitting in a similarly-furnished area on the opposite side of the catwalk. "Oh, thank God we don't have to sit with them," Marinette whispered to Alya and Nino. "I think I would have had a heart attack."

"Yeah, I don't think I could handle an entire night of sitting with them, even if we didn't have to speak to one another." Alya glanced over to see Nino already stuffing his face, giving a heavy, long-suffering sigh. "Why don't you go find us a seat? I need to get my boyfriend before he makes a fool of himself."

"Sounds good." Some of the couches had already been claimed, but there was one couch right up at the front that was still empty. Marinette hurried over, using her wrap and Nino's coat to save seats for the other two. Glancing down the row of couches, she spotted some familiar faces--and a very familiar crocodile. "Jagged Stone! Penny! It's great to see you!"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! It's wonderful to see you, doll," Jagged Stone said as Marinette made her way closer to their sofa. "What are you doing here? Do you have some designs in the show? Killer dress by the way. Very Rock and Roll. Made it yourself, I presume?"

Marinette couldn't help but laugh, unable to get a word in edgewise until Jagged stopped to take a sip of champagne. "I was invited by my friend Adrien; his father is the owner of the Agreste fashion design company, so they're hosting the show. No, I don't have any designs in the show itself, but yes, I did make this dress. I'm glad you like it!"

Penny smiled gratefully at Marinette for coming over, struggling to hold Fang's leash as he tried to climb up onto the sofa with them. "I'm glad you're here, Marinette. Jagged is working on a new album, and he actually wanted to ask if you'd be willing to design another album cover for him."

"Really? I'd love to!"

"Great! I believe I still have your email, so I'll send you some of the tracks we have recorded so far so you can get a feel for the album's sound. Do you think you can have the cover done in, say, two weeks?"

"I can definitely do my best! I look forward to getting the email from you."

"That's what I like to hear!" Jagged piped up, leaning over and scratching Fang on the head. "Who's a good boy, who's a good boy?" he baby-talked to the enormous crocodile.

Penny couldn't help but smile at the man, who was now sliding off the sofa to sit on his knees in front of his pet. "Thank you again, Marinette, and tell your parents thank you for hosting us last time. Oh, and if you see Ladybug, will you thank her for me as well?"

"Wh-what makes you think I would see Ladybug?" Marinette asked quickly, tucking her hands behind her dress to hide the sudden shaking of nervousness.

"Well, because you live here, and we don't. We fly back to the States first thing in the morning for more recording."

"Oh--of course! That makes sense. I'll definitely let her know if I see her."

"Thanks, Marinette. It looks like your friends are back, so we won't keep you, but it was great seeing you!"

"Great seeing all of you too! Good-bye, Fang!" she specifically said to the crocodile, who turned its head and lolled its tongue out at Marinette almost like a dog. With a giggle, Marinette returned to the other end of the VIP section, where Alya and Nino had taken up station on the couch she'd reserved.

"Well, would you look at that?" Alya commented. "Nino's friend was actually right!" She took a sip of her glass of champagne.

"Yeah, I guess so. Honestly I thought his 'information' was pretty sketchy, but he was right for once," Nino added

"I'm not surprised," Marinette replied. "He is a celebrity, after all. Celebrities tend to get invited to these sort of events."

"True." Alya handed Marinette a glass of champagne, but the midnight-haired girl waved it off. Shrugging, Alya finished off her own and then started on the second. "So when is this thing supposed to start?"

"I think any minute now." As if on cue, the lights in the exhibition hall dimmed, twin projection screens rising on the back of the stage. A video started to play, showing drone footage of Paris on the left screen with footage of what Marinette presumed to be Milan on the right. A female voice started to speak in English:

"Paris and Milan. Two cities separated by over 600 kilometers, a mountain range between them--yet never before have they been closer than they are today."

The drone footage on the Paris side closed in on the Eiffel Tower, while the Milan side focused on a massive Gothic cathedral. With both landmarks on screen, the Agreste logo and Spadafora Leatherworks logos appeared, superimposed over their respective cities.

"With the collaboration between Milan's own Spadafora Leatherworks and Paris's crown jewel, Agreste Fashion, these two cities are coming together like never before."

Twin spotlights came up, focusing on either end of the stage. From the Paris side, Gabriel and Adrien stepped out; Gabriel was wearing a similar suit to Adrien's, both impeccably tailored, showing off the family resemblance between father and son. On the Milan side, Vincenzo Spadafora walked out with his own twin children, his bald head gleaming under the spotlight, contrasting with his blue-tinted sunglasses and dark goatee. Gabriel and Vincenzo approached the center of the stage, shaking hands and then embracing like old friends as if to show the closeness of the collaboration between their companies. The crowd erupted into cheers at the sight, the screens going black except for the combined logos for the new collection that would be premiering in France for the first time.

Gabriel began to speak, his voice amplified by the microphone clipped to his lapel. "Good evening everyone; thank you all for coming. It is my great honor and pleasure to introduce to you, for those who may not recognize him, the president and CEO of Spadafora Leatherworks, Vincenzo Spadafora." The bald man gave a wave at the introduction. "Like Agreste, Spadafora is a family brand. The Spadafora family has raised cattle in central Italy for over ten generations. When I first visited Vincenzo's family's cattle ranch in Tuscany, I knew they had something special going there. However, the Spadafora legacy has spread beyond the family ranch. The Spadafora Leatherworks global headquarters in Milan is where the real magic happens. Tuscan leather is turned into high-end accessories fit for any fashion-forward individual, and the company is spearheading the development of eco-conscious faux leathers that are truly indistinguishable by the naked eye. That was when I knew that the Spadafora and Agreste companies could create something truly special. And that is what we bring you tonight." The crowd broke into applause and cheers once again. "Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Thank you so much." The two families split off, heading backstage, while the spotlights reset for the start of the show.

"This is so cool!" Alya hissed in Marinette's ear as the music started, a deep thrumming bass practically shaking the floor. Marinette just nodded, her eyes trained on the stage, watching the first handful of models walk out to show off the collaborative designs.

"I wish I would have brought my notebook!" Marinette replied, more to herself than to Alya. Her fingers were itching to draw, to create, inspiration striking at the most inopportune time.

"What do you think, Nino?" Alya turned to her boyfriend.

"I think whoever is in charge of the sound needs to turn the bass down a bit, or they're going to blow out the subwoofers," the DJ replied, wrinkling his nose. "I can barely hear the treble over the shaking of the bass line."

"Well, you're no fun either." Alya took another sip of her champagne, tucking her other hand under her arm.

Marinette looked over at Alya apologetically. "Sorry, this really is awesome! I can see all of the little details from here. It's just making me want to draw!"

"That's fair!" Alya conceded. "So what makes this stuff so special anyway?"

"Well, from what I've been able to find out, Spadafora has been able to make a faux leather that feels and acts like real leather. The only way to tell the difference is under a microscope or with other scientific equipment."

"Oh, that's neat!" Marinette nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm actually kind of surprised there wasn't a crowd of protesters outside when we pulled up--stuff like this can sometimes draw those kinds of people, you know?"

"Yeah, I've seen stuff on TV before, especially around Fashion Week. Isn't that part of the reason why the locations of some of the events is kept private?"

"Yeah, that's part of it. Also the secrecy helps to protect the different fashion houses from having competitors rip off their designs."

"Oh right! That's, like, a big deal in the design world, isn't it?"

Marinette nodded again. "Yeah. All of the major fashion houses have their employees and models sign things like non-disclosure agreements, and some of them even require non-compete clauses."

"Wow. That's pretty serious. Is the fashion world really that cutthroat?"

"You have no idea."

All of a sudden, from behind the seating area, a loud crashing sound interrupted the show, a sudden chill coming into the exhibition hall from the blown-off front doors. Standing in the entryway was a villain whose outfit seemed to span myriad different fashions, ranging from a Renaissance-style neck ruffle to bell-bottom jeans. In one hand, she held a large, feather quill, which seemed to glow with dark magical essence. "Peasants! I am Villainista! Turn over Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous to me at once, or suffer the consequences!"

Screams erupted at the sight of the villain, the mass of people in the exhibition hall running for the exit on the opposite side of the room. However, before some of them could get out of range, a beam of the dark energy shot out of the pointed end of the quill, striking the victims. At the moment of impact, they froze in place for a moment, before righting themselves and approaching the villain. "Is there anything we can do for you, Mme. Villainista? Anything at all! Just say the word!"

"Bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir at once!" Villainista ordered her simpering slaves.

"Yes, Mme. Villainista! At once!"

Marinette, Alya, and Nino watched the exchange with horror in their eyes, but before any of them could react, Adrien ran over and grabbed Marinette by the hand. "Come on! You need to get somewhere safe!"

"Adrien!" Marinette's eyes widened as she was dragged bodily away from the VIP area. "Forget about me, you need to get somewhere safe too!"

"Come on, I know a hiding spot. You can wait there for Ladybug and Chat Noir to get here and take care of the villain."

"What about Nino and Alya?" Marinette looked over her shoulder for her friends.

"I saw them running away too. Come on, this way." Marinette started running under her own power, following Adrien, his grip still firm on her hand. On the far end of the exhibition hall, Adrien opened the door to a supply closet, shoving Marinette inside. "Stay here until I come get you, all right?" Adrien said.

"But, Adrien," Marinette started, but the blond interrupted her with a quick kiss to her lips.

"Please. For me." Marinette nodded mutely as Adrien closed the door between them. As soon as she heard his footsteps running away, she opened her purse, Tikki flying out.

"I don't know what just happened, but there's an Akuma outside, and we need to take care of it. Tikki, spots on!" A flash of light filled the supply closet as Marinette transformed into Ladybug. She opened the door and darted outside without looking--only to run smack-dab into a solid chest. A very familiar chest.

Chat Noir stood in front of her, a knowing smile on his lips. "I was hoping it was you, My Lady."

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #ladynoir #adrinette #marinette dupain cheng #tikki #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #chloe bourgeois #jagged stone #gabriel agreste #nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2018 #identity reveal #cat noir

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bailesona · 2 years ago

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DATE STARTER CALL!! okay so, yes, i already have another starter call up, but i’m just thinking so much about the diner squad and like. also my own return to the dating app scene, and how it’s essentially a few photos and a small paragraph that define the first move in a relationship, so i’m gonna apply that same logic here with the muses below the readmore! all you have to do is comment with the name(s) of the muse(s) that your muse would be drawn to, or would swipe right on a dating app for, and i’ll tag you in a starter for a first date with them! we don’t need to have any prior plotting or discussions! just comment a name and let’s see what happens!

NATE JONES. ( FC: ja.ke jo.hnson ) (38 Y/O): jack of all trades, master of seven. bisexual, biromantic, bilingual (english and polish). do i like long walks along the beach? absolutely not, but for the right person i will manage the sandy socks with minimal complaints. currently working as a barista in my dads’ diner, unexpected proud uncle to seven teenagers (never expected to be proud of them) and i look good in a turtle neck.

RENÉE LAMBERT. ( FC: ta.ti gabrielle ) (27 Y/O): singer/songwriter/waitress, new to manhattan, i don’t care what time it is, i will text you new songs i think you’ll like at any hour of the day. i make an insane pavlova, i can make almost any cocktail you like, and after a long history of exes, i have a collection of hoodies that will fit absolutely anyone. aries, pansexual, panromantic, i will fight anyone who asks me if i’m attracted to saucepans.

LEO COHEN. ( FC: ta.ika wai.titi ) (46 Y/O): phase one of my worldly travels has been completed, and now i need someone willing to join me on phase two, in which i kiss the same person in fifty countries around the world! pansexual, panromantic, and i do have a favorite saucepan, thank you for asking. i once spent six months in ireland with five euros and a toothbrush, and left ireland with a job, a found family, and an unexpected phobia of sitting in the passenger seat of a car while driving through the countryside!

SAMMY COHEN. ( FC: jason man.tzoukas ) (48 Y/O): i’m a butcher at a diner in manhattan, i can cook a steak that’s out of this world, and i know all the fancy places to eat in the city, but much more importantly, i know all the GOOD places to eat in the city. pansexual, demiromantic, and i also know how to fold a fitted bedsheet. so. you know. what more can anyone want?

RAMSAY GORDON. ( FC: os.car isaac ) (42 Y/O): i’m a chef who earned two different restaurants three michelin stars each, and yet my favorite food is always gonna be a grilled cheese and tomato soup. i can speak fluent english, spanish, a little conversational mandarin, and all the french curse words, and i can dance! which, according to my colleagues is very important on these bios. i’m pansexual, panromantic, and i insist on making breakfast for anyone who finds themselves with me at that time of the day!

HENRI PATEL. ( FC: ra.hul ko.hli ) (38 Y/O): chef formerly based in paris, london before that, and now a diner in new york. homosexual, homoromantic. i no longer work unsociable hours, and my colleagues have an ever-growing list of date ideas in our group chat, which i would enjoy putting into action with any interested parties.

ETIENNE MONET. ( FC: om.ar sy ) (44 Y/O): hello! i am a sous-chef in manhattan. i work with one of the finest chefs to leave paris, monsieur henri patel. if he is on this app, in person, he is far more agreeable. he simply detests texts. i am pansexual, panromantic, and i am skilled in cooking french, italian and american cuisine. i enjoy going for walks, listening to live music, and spending time with my loved ones! my dear friend renée tells me that quality time is my love language, if this is valuable for you to know. i hope to see you soon!

ALISON FELLER. ( FC: mar.got ro.bbie ) (33 Y/O): single mum to a five year old, recently emigrated from australia and returning to the dating scene. i love going to the movie theatre, or dancing... honestly, i’m up for almost anything in terms of dates. and i’ve recently discovered that i’m bi! turns out that not everyone is attracted to men and women? anyhow, i’m not totally sure what else to put here. bye? talk soon?

#( starter call. )#( i think that's everyone??? )

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foodtheoryblog · 4 years ago

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Blog Assignment #1: Culinary Biography

Hi, My Name is Courtney Smith and I am a student in the culinary skills program at George Brown.

I want to be a chef, because I have a dream of opening vegetarian cafes across the world. I have been vegetarian for almost 4 years now, and while cooking is my passion now and I have improved dramatically at eating more balanced meals, I didnt always eat this way. When I first started, I thought all I had to do was avoid meat but I was so wrong. I found that the food I ate was lacking flavor, texture, and protein! I grew up in a household that had very typical meals with little creativity. There was always some kind of roasted meat, with a starch of either potatos or rice and a salad to finish it off so when I took away the meat my food just tasted boring. After awhile of playing around with spices, sauces and different textures and learning about the exciting world of plant-based foods I can proudly say that I am cooking food that not only tastes delicious to me, but my non-vegetarian friends and family enjoy as well! I would like to further develop my skills and work towards changing the idea that vegetarian food is limited to salads only, and make food for everyone to enjoy as much as I do!

Just about all of my work experience has been in the food industry, starting at the time I was 14 years old. I worked at McDonalds for 3 years where I started as a cashier and then was promoted to crew trainer and was cross trained to work in the kitchen. That was my first taste of working back of house, and I started developing my love for back of house. After that I went to university, and I got a job as a dietary aide in a retirement home. There I got close to many rresidents snad started learning about other dietary restrictions, as well as the process of cultivating a dining experience. An meal isnt only about the food, its about the experience and the ambiance and the company you share the meal with. During this time I was studying psychology at the University of Guelph, and for some reason I could not figure out what I wanted to do with my future, let alone picture it at all. Things got very confusing and dark, and while at school I would spend hours every day cooking to avoid doing my school work and half way through my second year I decided to leave to figure out what I wanted. I knew I had a passion for cooking, so I took a year off and got myself a job as a linecook for a new chain of breakfast resturaunts. Very quickly I started moving up, I was promoted again to crew trainer, and then shift supervisor and it was because I loved going in to work everyday and I was GOOD. Unfortunately, COVID-19 forced me to take some time away but it also gave me time to decide what I was goiing to do when I returned to school. So now here I am with around 5 years of experience in the food industry under my belt, and ready to make a career in the field.

My personal philosophy for cooking, as I briefly touched on already, is that dining should be an experience. Although the food itself must be phenominal, eating should be an experience, and it should be memorable. If anyone has ever told you about the best food they have ever had, they dont only talk about the how it tasted, but the way it looked and the lovely the resturaunt was and the service they had. When dining there should be an emphasis placed on the overall experience.

Something that I hope to gain from my blogging experience, is a deeper understanding of culinary writing. How to explain a dish like a story, and be able to capture every little detail. When I eventually own my vegetarian cafe’s, I want to have somebody read my menu, or maybe another blog, and be able to taste any of the dishes simply by reading about about it.

A culinary quote that I really like is from Paul Prudhomme, “ You dont need a silver fork to eat good food. “ Paul Prudhomme Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/paul_prudhomme_347636

I think that could not be any more true. Sometimes people confuse expensive food with good food, like they do with many different things. Just because something might be more costly, does not make it any better than the other. One of my most memorable meals was a small box of assorted macarons that cost almost 10 euros in Paris. My family and I sat over looking the entire city during sunset, and while we could have easily gone down the street to a fancy resturaunt, that small box of macarons is a dining experience I hold close to my heart.

This is a picture of the cream puffs I made in one of my classes this week. Each time I create something I fall more and more in love with cooking.

This is a picture of my dad and I in 2015. We went on a trip to South Africa to visit family for a reunion, my cousin was getting married, and my grandpa’s 80th birthday. In the future I hope to explore the world and further develop my knowlege of cooking a variety of authentic cuisines.

https://naturallyella.com/ Attached here is a vegetarian food blof called Naturally Ella. I think she does a really good job making it visually appealing, and I actually would like to cook a couple recipes she shows. I really appreciate that she has an entire blof dedicated to being and/or eating vegetarian specifically. Many people still confuse being vegan and vegetarian. I also like how bright and colourful her meals are. If there was something I would do differently with her blog, it would be to possibly improve the organization a little bit. It already is kind of organized of course, but I would make the pictures a little smaller and reduce the amount of space throughout the page so that there is less scrolling.

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fangirlfanwritings · 7 years ago

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Richard Madden Request

Hi cutie can you please make an Imagine with Richard Madden? Like Lily James introduces her to Richard who later invites her to dinner in a restaurant and later he asks her to became his wife and they marry and then they expecting their first child? 😊

Hi I love your blog so much 😭 could you please make a Richard Madden imagine? Like the girl is a big fan of game of thrones and she goes to Glatsonbury fesival with her best friends and there she meet Richard ( I want an awkward but cute meeting please 😂) and also Kit and Alfie and they sympathize and spend the rest of the festival together with their friends + Richard and the girl develop a mutual crush and Richard proposes to her at the end of the festival to see again because he likes her

AN: a little swearing and I made up the movie title. I also attached links to stuff I envisioned in the store!

You walked with Lily down the long paths of grass towards the tents selling food, drinks, and thrifty shirts. “Ugh,” you groaned, “look how long these lines are.”

“Miserable,” Lily scoffed. “It might be easier if we split up. I’ll get us cute shirts and the cotton candy if you get the hotdogs and beer.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll meet you back at our tent.” She turned to leave but quickly turned back to you. “Don’t forget my friends are meeting us in half an hour at our tent. Don’t be late!”

“With this line,” you gestures, “we’ll see.”

So there you were, in a long line filled with people in their hippy concert attire waiting to get two hot dogs and two extra large beers.

18 minutes went by and you finally got to the front. “What can I get you,” the gruff voice of the man working asked. You leaned against the bar, eager to take some pressure off your feet, and waited for your order. After getting your average size hand around the non-averagely large beers you used the other to carry the hot dogs and made your way to your and Lily’s tent. You were about 20 yards away from the food tent when, as you passed by a tent, a dark haired stranger came from the other side and plowed right into your side sending one of the drinks toppling over your arm, your legs, and the ground. “Shit,” the deep voice said. “I am so sorry,” you both looked at the fallen drink on the ground.

You took a deep breath and got yourself together. “It’s ok. I can get another one later.”

“No, I am so sorry.” You looked up and met the blue eyes you had seen on HBO many times before. “I have somewhere I have to be but please let me give you some cash.”

“No, thank you really, but it’s ok.”

“I insist. Those are like 8 euros,” he fished out his wallet quickly and handed you money. “Please...”

“Y/N.” Reluctantly you accepted and shoved the money into your small pockets. “Thank you, Richard.” He looked surprised. “I’m a bit of a Game of Thrones fan and I’ve seen Cinderella a couple times. I actually have to get going also, have to meet up with my friend back at our tent.”

“It was nice to meet you Y/N,” he grinned. “Sorry again about your drink.”

“Don’t worry about it.” You were ready to leave and run back to tell Lily about how you met her co-worker who she knew you had a celebrity crush on. On second thought you thought you shouldn’t mention that to Lily until after the festival was over since she had been trying to get the two of you to meet since she learned about your little crush. But, as you went to walk towards your tent, Richard seemed to follow you.

“Oh,” you both awkwardly laughed, “you’re off this way too?” You nodded and the two of you kept walking, figuring one of you would branch off soon. But with every step the two of you continued to take together you it became clear you were stuck together for a while.

“So...are you enjoying the festival so far?”

“Um, yeah,” you were caught off guard that he was actually talking to you. “You?”

“So far, yeah.” You two kept awkward conversation going as well as awkward glances since the two of you kept walking in the same direction. You saw your bright pink tent with blue door flaps nearing and were both sad and relieved. Sad that your walk would soon be over but relieved that this awkward meeting would be over.

You stopped towards the side of your tent and shrugged with an awkward grin, “This is me. Maybe I’ll catch you later.”

“This is your tent? Really,” he chuckled unbelievingly.

“Yes. Why?” Just then Lily popped her head out and smiled, “Y/N, you’ve found Richard! Come on in.”

“You’re Lily’s friend,” you both said at the same time then laughed. Another familiar face stepped out of the tent and you recognized him as Jon Snow, aka Kit Harrington, “Come on it, we bought more drinks!”

*End of the concert*

The concert came to an end and you, Lily, Kit, Alfie, and Richard walked towards the cars that were picking both your groups up. As the group neared Richard stopped and called your name. “Y/N.” You turned around and halted with him.

“We’ll wait for you guys,” Lily grinned and turned with the boys to walk towards the cars.

“What’s up, Rich?”

“I had a lot of fun with you and I’d like to see you again,” he said quickly. “Next Saturday at 7, dinner? I’ll pick you up.”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

His eyes gleamed, “I am.”

“Then I’ll see you next Saturday.”

*3 years later*

You laughed your heart out at the dumb little joke Richard had tried to tell but had failed at since he mess up the punch line. After both your laughters died down a little he sighed and grinned at you. “I’m surprised that after three years you still find my awful humor this funny.”

“What can I say. It still gets me everytime.”

His face turned from goofy to happily serious. “You remember the first time we came here?” You looked around at the fancy rooftop restaurant you two were sat at.

“I do,” you nodded remembering the night fondly. “We came to celebrate you getting that big script for Not Just Another Night and I spent all night trying to subtly convince you that we should get a dog.”

“Subtly,” he scoffed. “You were anything but subtle that night. You ordered the lasagna and compared it to, something like, how some dogs have layered fur. And we got red wine and you mentioned how dogs can’t have grapes.”

“Ok, so maybe not so subtle but we did we do the next morning?”

“We went and adopted Ned.”

“We went and adopted Ned,” you grinned at your win and thought of the dalmatian that you and Rich had named after his faux father.

“This is one of my favorite places; you know that?”

“Why’s that?”

“Because that was one of my favorite nights with you, that was what led us to getting Ned, and this is the place where I asked you to marry me.” You stopped swirling your drink as his last words registered in your ears.

“What did you say?”

“I said,” he put a hand in his jacket pocket and brought out a red velvet box, “this is the place where I asked you to marry me. And, hopefully, you end up saying ‘Yes.’” He opened the box to show you the gorgeous ring inside. “I’ve loved you since I spilt beer on you at Glastonbury, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you. Make me the luckiest man on Earth and marry me.��

“Yes,” you blinked back the happy tears in your ears.”

“Yes?”

“Yes!” You struggled to keep from leaping across the table as he slid the ring on your finger.

*Wedding Day*

The reception was in full swing when a slow song took over the dance floor. You were standing over in by the tables talking with some of your guests when a hand snaked against your waist. “Mind if I have this dance with my beautiful bride?” You turned and grinned at your husband’s voice. Husband...that’s a word you could definitely get used to.

Your guest’s let you go and watched as you and Richard walked hand and hand to the dance floor. “I meant what I said. You look beyond beautiful.” You looked down at your dress and smiled.

“I’m glad you think so because this dress wasn’t cheap,” you smiled and leaned your head against his shoulder, swaying to the beat of the music. “We’re married,” you said in awe with your eyes closed.

“We are,” you could hear the smile in his voice. “You’re stuck with me now.”

“Good.”

*5 months later*

You sat on the couch with the TV on and your laptop on your lap, mindlessly listening to the noise of the TV and staring at the computer screen that hadn’t changed in 10 minutes. You were just eager for Richard to get home. The familiar sound of keys jingling outside your front door sounded and you made yourself look busy. When you heard the door open you called out, “Hey babe!” You heard him kick his shoes off and walk towards you. He leaned over and kissed your cheek from behind the couch.

“Evening beautiful. I’m going to grab a drink, want anything?”

“I’m ok, thanks.” You tried to act normal and closed your computer when Richard came on the couch and sat by you. “How was your day?”

“Great. Busy. Yours?”

“Average.” Ned, who had been waiting on the floor for Richard to pet him, finally had enough of waiting and hopped up. Ned lept on the couch and stood over your husband.

“Hey buddy,” he rubbed him and you waited for the clink of his collar tags to catch his Dad’s attention. After what you felt was too much time, you gave up on being subtle. “Hey, check Ned’s tags. I feel like he needs new ones soon.” You saw him reach for the collar and heard him stop moving suddenly.

“Y/N…” He peered over Ned and smiled at you. “Does this mean what I think it means?” You smiled and nodded your head as he looked back at the pacifier you had hanging with Ned’s tags on his collar. “I’m going to be a dad?”

“You’re going to be a dad.”

#richard madden imagine #richard madden imagines #richard madden request

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lilmigsbigworld · 6 years ago

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Spring Break: Italia Living

Italy was shockingly all the things I expected it to be and then some. By the end of today, I'll hopefully be on a plane to London, and I can officially say that I completed my original mapped out vision of Lil Migs, Big World.

I want to start off by thanking my friends Grace and Jada for hatching the idea of really taking advantage of our Spring Break. We started planning this trip in November and (so far) we've managed to be pretty smart about our money, only splurging on one fancy dinner that Grace's dad kindly gave us money for.

We originally were not planning on going to Italy, but my friend Isabella (since third grade!) is currently studying abroad there and it was an opportunity we really could not pass by. Of course, getting to Florence was an adventure all by itself:

Friday and Saturday, March 8-9

Jada and I took an early bus from D.C., to NYC. We hopped around to some thrift stores; sadly, no good finds but fun nonetheless. We ate at this vegan place called By. Chloe. So good--we split a meatless pesto meatball sub and were completely blown away. While walking around we just happened to run into Porches, a pretty famous musician. Wild. Then, we did some more shopping, got hungry again, and went to Wolfnights. Guys, literally the best wrap I have ever had, and they also have these swings that you can sit in! We ended our day with some donuts at The Donut Plant, a shop known for a lot of donut innovations. I had a lemon poppyseed donut and had fun time lol

At around 3, we took the train to JFK and met Grace for our 7pm flight. Thankfully, I slept through the whole thing, and woke up at Gatwick Airport in London. We went through customs and security (they had us take our toiletries out of our bags and place them into clear plastic bags which I thought was interesting) and then ate a tiny breakfast. We walked to the wrong gate, and ended up having to run halfway across the airport so wouldn't miss our flight check-in time. Then, we got on the plane only to sit there for an hour, and pulled off the plane once they realized the doors were not closing properly. I got to take some pics on the tarmac though:

Finally, we jetted off to Bologna in Italy. Ironically, we were seating next to a guy from Villanova that is currently studying abroad in Italy, and he gave us some tips for Bologna. Once we landed we had a very chill customs experience and took a bus to the city center.

Bologna is known for its food. Let's just say it did not disappoint at all. I had the traditional tagliatelle pasta with Bolognese sauce and we all shared a litre of white wine (only 7 euros!).

The food here, in general, is so cheap, and that's without even accounting for the quality that you're getting. In the cover of night, we walked the winding streets back to what we thought was were our bus to Florence would be. In a fit of deja vu, we were running around, with the little Italian we know, trying to find the bus. Miraculously, we found the stazione with a minute to spare, and set off for the next part of our travels.

Sunday, March 10

There's nothing like catching up with an old friend, and better yet, meeting a new one. Isabella and Delphine were the most gracious hosts. We started the day by walking to Mercato Centrale through the tiny streets of Florence, and ate the BEST pizza ever. It was so fresh, and the company is apparently from Naples. After, we stopped at Il Duomo and marveled at it for lil bit:

We spent the rest of the day with Isabella, as she showed us her city. We ate at Trattoria Zaza (10/10 would recommend), then we made the trek across the river to what they call "Oltrarno." We climbed to Piazzale Michelangelo, to witness an incredible panoramic view of the city.

#newyork #bologna #food #travel #travelblog #lilmigsbigworld #springbreak #europe #italy

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top1course · 5 years ago

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Impacted By The Coronavirus? Watch This…

youtube

Weeping sound quality for almost a week now, you see I’m making this video I do not have, my typical camera crew with me or fancy lights off fancy Productions this is simple, play me talking to you through my iPhone and my wife Jenny’s actually holding, this camera, you see I know that I have a huge following on social media, and I know for fact, a lot of my, stand-alone of my students they are being impacted by the, coronavirus, i also know that a lot of my friends who are entrepreneurs, who all this is owners, they are struggling, i know that a lot of them are closing their doors, a lot of them are going out of business has these are Berry, challenging times, some of the videos that you saw on my channel on my YouTube they were actually pre-recorded a few weeks ago, this video, Here is, real time, what’s happening, no I’m not going to give you a Rohn motivational talk because that’s not what’s needed right now, need a right now to go strategies that you can apply in your life and in your business, that makes a, difference, at times like these, there’s a lot of fear in the marketplace is a lot of fear, out there people panicking, it is exactly at times like these, daily leadership, not from me but from you, that they need leadership from you as a father, what’s a model as a son as a daughter as a business owner, they need a leader like you that you need to step up, you take charge of the situation because they’re looking, torchy’s the counting on you to provide leadership, to provide clarity, go by confidence to provide that Vision Where We Are, going, how we going to overcome this, Now I’m not going to tell you that everything’s going to be fine, inside things are not going to be fine things, about to get a lot worse you see this another first time I experienced something like this maybe, not to this degree, but I have experienced a few major headaches, like this doing my life and my business career, the first one was back in 1997, back then, immigrated to, canada, and I was here for a couple years already, 1997 win, hong Kong, sweet turn to China, dead Trigger, the Asia financial crisis, and within a very short period of time my father actually went bankrupt because of, the financial crisis so I know firsthand what it’s like, to be a victim, global financial crisis, what, kind of damage, they could do to a family, to loved ones, you see because of that I learned to be self-reliant, Elounda even.

Sometimes in life you cannot count on living your own father to provide for you, that we have to be, self-reliance, the only person that we could count on, isabella, the eye, needed, to step up as a son, to provide, for my mom, and for my family, indian 2001, 911, i remember, do you remember, i vividly remember I woke up in the morning, my mama said you can turn on the TV, turn on the TV, and I saw the plane, rash, into the World Trade Center I couldn’t believe it, i thought it was, the movie, i couldn’t believe I’ve never seen anyone, and while I was in disbelief, slowly I came to the realization while this really happen, and that of course as you know the stock market plummeted, also trigger, the financial crisis, during the time, and I was, if this is owner, Young entrepreneur, lawn mowing a whole lot struggling, he was a very tough time, euro Cup, but then a few years later 2002, sauce, it Hong Kong, if you don’t mind, background my history you know I was born in Hong Kong, all my family, is it Hong Kong, my mom was, with me in cheer at a time, my father was too involved, so we was, very very difficult to see that’s why my heart goes to, the nurses, the doctors, the food truck drivers the policeman because I know how hard it is in fact one of my, childhood friends mom actually work, in hospital, during the time box office, he was very difficulty, so this is not the first time I witness and see something like this, so if you be impacted by the coronavirus hear some strategies, for you, you minus off all your problems, but my goal is to give you, Sleeping more clarity or maybe, to help you to figure out where you should go from here, number one, dennis don’t get paid for your time, get paid for your skills, i’ve been talking about this for years now and I would walk about it last year, that we are, transitioning from, the job economy to now, the skill economy that their job economy, it did, the old model of, going to school get a good grades and get a job and worked at job for 30 years that model is, outdated now we are in the skill economy meaning, you need to embrace the idea of being more like a free agent, monica freelancer, more like an independent contractor more like a remote Talent, so that you are not counting lawn and you cannot count on the government to solve all these problems for, that they were rescued you or you are with lying on a company to take care of you the only person that you can rely on, Yourself and your skill-set, so maybe they say you are a graphic designer and you can always working for a company, during a crisis like this, maybe it’s time to embrace a new model that, maybe you’ll be more a freelancer, monica freelancer model that you are working with, different companies used to applying your skills as your expertise but now you can work with more people, william on one company, that is, new model is different, now if you don’t have those skill sets and maybe you are a waiter you our waitress nothing wrong with that, but they question you have to ask yourself is, do you want to be a waiter or waitress for the rest of the life, waiting is the SKU sad that you have all the people skill is the skills that you have that is good, But knowing that you learn that skill.

You also means that you can learn all the excuses, it’s at times like these have to ask yourself okay what kind of music uses I need to develop, that you’re no longer just getting paid, for your time just walked by being there but actually your skill-set, is he in the job economy, you get paid for your time but it’s still economy you get paid for the results, what kind of results can you deliver, how to deliver those results more efficiently, most effectively than most other people, those are the key questions, that you need to ask number to double down on your learning you see most people during time off, self-isolation, what day do they watch Netflix and watch TV, do play video games, That’s their choice but would it be smarter, renault take, these times that you normally wouldn’t have, google listen, to that podcast, watch more educational videos, learning took some courses online, learn from other people, read a book, read a Kindle, do something to upgrade your skills now is the time, to learn, now’s not the time to waste time, see the world kind of at the moment try to freeze, everything kind of slows down everybody slows down, no it’s time for you to prepare yourself, emotionally but also mentally as well, so that when things, return back to, kind of normal, you’re there, prepare, is very critical, don’t waste time the reason you want to keep learning during Times Like These because if you want to keep your job if you want to, get a new job, deskew says I will serve you you need those additional skill sets, Additional knowledge, if you were to, survive and thrive, in times like these, number 3 expand on contract, maybe you need to change the way that you sell as a business owner maybe you knew change the way who you sell it, maybe different target market, maybe different price point, but we need to do something as an entrepreneur as a business owner, do you know that a lot of big companies today they were actually launched, doing reception, iBM, microsoft, general Motors, disney, general Electrics, a lot of these great companies they would launch, during the reception, why because during the recession everybody they are hiding in the bunkers they are afraid, everybody is, panicking, what are so smart entrepreneur if you are smart you also see opportunities, you see this way that you could expand, if, you could survive, if you have the resources if you know how to allocate your resources, Now is the time because everybody else, the freeze, if you are the one that’s active you’re proactive in the marketplace and you expanding your advertising your mark, you would get more attention in the marketplace, and when this blows over, you would have dominated Joel, industry, easy to say not easy to do I understand., but you have to ask yourself and you have to have that communication with your team, and say hey this is what is happening, this is what’s going on, write a powerful question that you could ask, with your team and this is same question that I post to my team is this how do we double, our Revenue, with, 50% of a weasel, how to double a revenue with 50% of resources, she is a thinking question, no expense am I okay what do we need to do what the world panics we expand, That’s what true entrepreneur does.

Will appendix, we, expand, also communicate over communicate with your vendors over communicated with, your customers over communicating with, do employees because if now they are working remotely they’re working from home you don’t have to face to face, interaction, it is, more important than ever, actually over-communicate, because again they need you leadership, they need to know what is going on I need to know what you’re thinking they need to know what each other is, thinking now it’s time to unite as a team, to work as a team together, so, expand don’t contract, number for cut your losses, the epiphysis, we could pivot we could self-correct, we can we engineer we could we structure, yes, but the opposite, cannot be saved, the office is, dad they were already slowly dying the coronavirus simply it is, accelerator, Accelerate the dying process, i know how hard it is to walk away from your business, but knowing that you’re an entrepreneur, don’t let the pizza to find who you are you are if it says owner, it may not be just business, maybe you’ve been doing it for years maybe even decades, but sometimes it may be time to turn the key, particular the skills and knowledge you have to start the next thing, maybe do it live differently, super duper Market, structured abysses in different way, highmore contractors, moley Moley, babies offline now with small online, maybe it’s event-driven now it’s more online virtual learning social media driven, i don’t know, but I know there are things that you could do but sometimes we just hang on too long, we are so emotionally attached for the business now we’re throwing, good money, because that money without wasting good resources when we could have used that money for something else in, The future that would be my recommendation, yes the coronavirus will test your uq the coronavirus with test, your, resourcefulness, now is more important than ever, to be cool calm, because if you’re not cool, Collective, how could you expect a team to, number 5 take some time to reflect, you see when my father went bankrupt I was, how to living in self-pity, i was asking the question why does this happen to me why is this happening to me what did I do, but that didn’t get me anywhere, i believe sometimes we need to shift the question, yes puns are bad, what a better question to ask is what can I learn from this, because let’s not lose perspective, at the moment when we so close to it when we experiencing and of course is very hot, But you took that up, and you look at it from, this Global, 2 years 3 years 5 years 10 years 50 years, a hundred years from now, challenging as it is, let’s not lose perspective, what do we learn from this, how Could You Ensure, that if something like this happens in the future, that you could protect your family, ensure their safety but also ensure their financial well-being what could we do to prevent this, from ever happening, what should we do as, a group as a team was a company as a family, what can we do, to move forward, what could learn from each other, although the social distancing is kind of, sucks, but I’ve been off of words, people will be more united, google Now will cherish those times, we have with each other, sometimes we are very very, interesting, is at times like this we learn, it’s at times like this if you want to, So.

Stay safe, stay strong,

from WordPress https://top1course.com/impacted-by-the-coronavirus-watch-this/

#Education #china coronavirus #corona #corona virus #coronavirus #coronavirus canada #coronavirus can

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eyeareuh-blog · 7 years ago

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WANDERLUST

Since high school I’ve done a bit of traveling here and there and here are my favorite memories from each one:

1.) Hong Kong - We went to HK with a big group of people - my dad, mom, sister, grandma, aunt, and her three kids. The plane ride was short 2 hour flight in this tiny jet from a random airport in the Philippines where the seats felt like cheap economy buses (but hey, <$100 for a plane ticket ain’t bad). Stayed at this nice hotel with sweeping views of the city. We thought that the streets of Hong Kong would be a breeze to navigate since my dad spoke Mandarin, but alas, Cantonese was more widely spoken and the stress of unplanned traveling began. But, to just highlight my favorite things about HK: disney land was a blast! My cousins and I rode the Space Mountain probably ~4 times since there was no line and fast passes were not necessary. You know, I love the thrill. Also loved the street food!

2.) Abu Dhabi, UAE - Went here for two days. It was a weird mix of first world, and second world feel - it wasn’t as updated as the United States, but definitely a step up from the Philippines (but then again we didn’t go to anywhere fancy). Here I was able to eat camel milk, and camel milk chocolate which, oddly, was not that different from your average chocolate. We went to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque at night, which was this beautiful structure with the most intricate details I have ever laid my eyes on. The best par of this was changing into appropriate attire behind the bush in order for us to be let in. Imagine being in 100 degree+ weather with a headscarf, and covered head to toe - I felt like I was in a sauna but I was able to ignore the matter at hand because I was amazed by the beauty of it all under the night sky. We also hit up the Marina mall in search of gold souks and was able to buy this beautiful gold bangle with the most intricate details. The gold souks were just an awe to be in. Also, can’t forget the heat.

3.) London, U.K. - Oh my goodness, where to I begin. First of all, we were lucky enough to stay at a hotel facing the tower bridge, and so my sister and I would walk along this and River Thames at midnight and it was safe and the people were jolly and friendly. Overall, amazing, amazing, amazing. I also want to mention that the fish and chips were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Visited two castles - the Buckingham, and the other one where the queen resides in as well - and wow just wow, it really is surreal how the royals live/used to live. I mean, a room that’s just for a dollhouse - with a miniature working vacuum. What even. The people - I can’t even begin to profess my dying love for the people of Britain. Everyone was so lovely, and kind. We’d be looking like lost tourists at the tube and we’d get help in less than a minute - and the accents were fun to listen to as well. Another favorite was a man giving out free rings at Trafalgar Square, that was just cherry on top. Oh and family! We met some family here and oh man, they’re wonderful! They drove us to the Stonehenge (6 hour drive) and to the Windsor Castle!

4.) Paris, France - Honestly, I think my perception of Paris is a bit biased because of the wrong choice of location/we didn’t have family/we did the bus tours which I’m not really a fan of. We stayed near Moulin Rouge/Sacre Couer - which we climbed twice - mannnnn that was a trip. Did all the touristy things and what not. Most memorable? MACARONS, BAGUETTES, STREET FOOD, PEOPLE WATCHING, CAFES. Yup, all food centered. We shopped at Champ Elysee for a bit but nothing too exciting - but hey their food court had $35 sparkling water - FANCY AF. Also, we had all the french cuisine - escargot, foie gras, all those.

5.) Barcelona, Spain - OH CATALONIA. My heart is still in Barcelona. I think I blew a lot of my money on shopping at Mango and Zara here, tbh. You know that song ‘Barcelona’ by Ed Sheeran? I played that while dancing in the streets of Barcelona. It was an easy to navigate place - especially with my limited Spanish. I was able to take the train and buses by myself and 10 euro was enough to get me places. Oh my the tapas! Sangrias! Everything was amazing. The paella, oh my god. Barceloneta was also beautiful. Man, we did so much. Oh and we were able to go to an FCB game! AHHHH <3 I could literally type an essay. But here’s the rundown: you know that Tony Hawk skating game with Barcelona? Seeing them in real life was surreal. Also went to Mont Serrat which was BEAUTIFUL.

6.) Rome/Venice/Florence/Pisa, Italy - One of the most memorable trips of my life. You know when they say Italian food is good? Italy is where its at. Even the cheapest of the trattorias had the most amazing bread. The pasta? OUT OF THIS WORLD. The pizza? Oh my goodness. The gelato? ORGASMIC. Rome will have a special place in my heart. Oh, and you know that Lizzie McGuire moment of riding behind a Vespa? I HAD THAT AT NIGHT. IT WAS AMAZING. I WAS LIVING. Seeing the Colloseo at night while zipping along it at 40 kmh, and going by Piazza Venezia? MEMORABLE. And then partied with Italians! Oh, and there was this coffee boy I’d visit every day to get my marocchino, and croissant fix - ooh la la. And then there was Venice - oh my god. Also surreal. Squid ink pasta is a must here, and man, oh man, oh man. All the love. Florence was breathtaking but hella fucking hot. And we only stayed a night in Pisa just enough to take some pictures at the leaning tower - it was alright, nothing too spectacular.

7.) Dublin, Ireland - Was only here for a day. BUT! I was able to get a drink at an Irish pub and buy a ton of miniature whiskey bottles. Favorite memory is probably trying to cross the highway to get to mcdonalds - but luckily Irish people are SUPER NICE - by nice I mean NICE, and they drove us. <3

8.) Hilton Head, S.C. - Nice place. We stayed at this gorgeous condo with views of the ocean and we’d go to the beach at midnight and watch the crabs run around - got an exoskeleton of a horseshoe crap as a remembrance but I had to soak it in bleach for a week to get rid of the stench. Wonderuful memories. And the seafood? OUT OF THIS WORLD.

I like food, okay?

9.) Various Places in the Philippines - Eh, just went around to places we’ve never been like the most northern point of the Philippines and just soaking ourselves in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Went to Vigan, it was beautiful - their empanadas were something else.

#myposts

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littledonkeyburrito · 7 years ago

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He just looked at me and my tiny serious expression and said, “No.”

1. What was the reason behind the last time you wore a bandage? I think the last time I wore a bandage was when I hurt my wrist in karate training when I was like 16. I really don’t get injured often.

2. What music artist have you listened to a lot lately? Genitallica. I love their music, so long as I don’t listen too hard and translate the lyrics haha. Then again, they’re barely more dirty than Despacito...

3. Have you ever been to a karaoke bar? Yeah

4. Who is taller, you or your best friend? She is. I am little.

5. When did you last go to a library? I think I went to a library in 2013 to print some documents and get them signed by a JP. That would have been the last time. I can’t believe I remembered that.

6. What did you last purchase at a gas station store? I think the last time I went to a gas station was when my Dad was visiting and we drove through the south of spain. I probably just bought a drink or something.

7. Which time zone do you live in? Central European. GMT +1

8. Do you remember what you wore yesterday? I had to think about it for a second but yes, I do.

9. When did you last lose your voice? It got husky a few times while I was travelling in Central America due to being drunk in clubs/loud bars and attempting to have a conversation with someone.

10. What was the last thing you looked up on the Internet? Give me a sec to check my search history... Last thing I googled was “Dahl Barcelona” because I was trying to find contact info for a shipping company

11. How much did you spend the last time you went out for food? I think it was about 20 euro which tbh was a bit more than I’d like to have spent. I don’t go out much though so it’s not like it broke the bank.

12. What was the last thing you purchased online? A sleeping mask for my brother for his birthday because he does shift work like I used to so I understand the need for a comfortable sleep mask.

13. Do your celebrity crushes tend to be more of actors or band members? Actors. I don’t follow many bands.

14. When was the last time you were at a coffee shop? I have no idea. I don’t drink coffee so I would only ever go if the people I’m with go. The last time might have been that super pretentious coffee place my friend dragged me to in Cartagena in Colombia.

15. Where is the farthest you’ve travelled this week? This week? To the grocery store.

16. Is your first language something other than English? No.

17. Are you a good cook? I’m alright. I like my food but I don’t know how other people feel about it because I don’t cook for others. Tbh I barely cook for me aside from the noodles I make.

18. Did you ever take music lessons for singing or playing an instrument as a child? I took drum lessons for most of highschool.

19. When’s the last time you ran? In the airport in Panama City when I almost missed my connecting flight to San José 20. Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them? No, I don’t like jeans with holes in them 21. Do you celebrate 420? No. 22. Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night? When I’m not working/travelling, yes.

23. Have you ever been on your school’s track team? No, but I made it to districts for javelin/shotput a couple of times, and to regionals once. 24. Do you own a pair of Converse? I own a few 25. Did you copy and paste this survey? Sure did. No shame. 26. Do you eat raw cookie dough? When the opportunity arises 27. Do you wear your shoes in the house? Sometimes when my feet are cold I just won’t take them off when I get home. But not in a carpeted house. 28. At what age did you find out that Santa wasn’t real? I approached my dad at approximately age 7 because I’d been having this debate internally about whether santa was real and I was conflicted about it. So I went up to him and straight up asked, “Dad, tell me the truth. Is Santa real?” He just looked at me and my tiny serious expression and said, “No.” “Easter Bunny?” “No.” “Tooth Fairy?” “No.” “Okay thanks,” and then I continued with my life 29. How many phones, house phones and cell phones are in your house? Just my 1 mobile phone.

30. Who would you call first if you won the lottery? I’d message a bunch of people but the first call would be either mum or dad, depending on what time of day it was. 31. Last time you saw your best friend? February. 32. Are you in high school? Fuck no, thank god 33. How do most people spell your name? Maddy. And then sometimes people get my last name wrong even though it’s really easy and not that uncommon. 34. Would you wear a boy/girlfriends clothes? Around the house I suppose I probably would 35. Will you keep your last name when you get married? Probably. Would maybe consider hyphenating if they had a cool name 36. When was the last time you left your house? Yesterday. 37. Do you have a dishwasher? No. My last 2 apartments had one and I never used it anyway. 38. Would you survive in prison? I hope I’d be able to keep my head down enough to not get shanked 39. Who is the youngest in your family? I have a little cousin that’s 14 I think. 40. Do you know anyone with the same name as you? I know several people with my first name but I’m not actively friends with any of them. When I was in grade 10 at school, there were 4 of us, each with slightly different spellings. 41. What’s the last thing you purchased? Groceries 42. What brand are your pants right now? C&A. I stood in the corner of the shop googling for like 10 minutes to find a comparison chart for australian and spanish jeans sizes. 43. Ever been to Georgia (the state)? Just in the airport. The accents are so thick and southern that I couldn’t understand the girl working at maccas 44. Do you watch movies with your parents? Mum and I would often watch movies together when I lived in Aus. Either at her place or at the cinemas. 45. Do you get your hair cut every month? I get my hair cut every 2-3 months. 46. Do you go online everyday? Yep

47. Have you ever experienced something paranormal? Aside from the party pirate ghosts that apparently haunt my apartment, no. 48. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve been stuck in traffic? I don’t think it was the longest but when I left the San José airport in the cab we hit bumper to bumper traffic almost immediately and it took an hour and a half to get to my hotel.

49. Have you ever been to New York City? Not yet 50. What is the most amount of money you’ve spent on a meal before? Probably when my brother and I took mum out for her 50th birthday and we took her to a nice fancy place. I think in all it was close to $100 per person and of course we paid for mum too. 51. What’s your worst travelling experience? Oh god I’m sure I have a few but I can’t really think of any off the top of my head. Getting sick in India in 45 degree heat wasn’t fun. And then having diarrhoea during my flight stopover in southern china (read: squat toilets) was even less fun.

52. Have you ever dealt with noisy neighbors or roommates? How did that go? At one of my old apartments, my bedroom shared a wall with the bedroom in the apartment next door. They often had sex at like 3am which was super frustrating, especially considering I was still a virgin at the time and was like, “wahh why can’t I be the one getting laid” and then they stopped banging and started arguing and sometimes it sounded like it was getting violent. Anyway, my flatmate and I called the cops on them once because it sounded like she was attacking him and like throwing stuff at the walls. Cops came and spoke to them. They stopped fighting. Month or so later they started banging again. That was not a fun place to live. 53. Who was (or is) the teacher that gave you the hardest time in school? Nah, my teachers loved me. The trick is to suck up to them at the start of the year and from then on so long as you get okay grades you can basically do whatever the fuck you want and they won’t care. I could literally just get up and walk out of class and not come back and they wouldn’t even question it. Actually, I often did but it was usually for a music lesson. But a lot of the time I would go to my lesson super early because I was bored and my drum teacher didn’t mind helping me skip class. 54. How do you feel when you meet someone with the same music taste as you? It’s fun to drive with those people 55. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen outside of your house? A couple were fucking on my street a couple of months ago at like 5am. I only looked because I was still half asleep and didn’t recognise what the sounds were until it was too late 56. How reliable is your internet connection? Better than Australia 57. What’s something that makes you incredibly nervous? Confrontation 58. What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up to finish homework/a project? 2 nights without sleep. Here’s a tip kids: Don’t start a 10,000 word research assignment 2 days before the deadline 59. What is the worst thunderstorm you’ve experienced? I grew up in the sub-tropics so there’s been quite a few. I fucking love storms and floods (so long as people aren’t hurt and homes aren’t destroyed) 60. How quickly can you write an essay? Doesn’t matter because I don’t need to 61. Have you ever had problems falling asleep in class? Yes, actually. It always took me way too long to fall asleep in class. 62. Have you ever been on the barrier or front row at a concert? Yeah, that time @aturinfortheworse got hi fived by Jack Black at a Foo Fighters concert and I didn’t because I have little arms. 63. If you have a job, who is your least favorite coworker/manager? From my old job, my least favourite was probably one of my staff, Dave, because he was such a pain in the ass and always made problems and bitched about people and thought he could do my job better than me.

64. Are your parents supportive of you? Yes. My parents are pretty great. 65. How often do you take the train to go places? Whenever I have to go somewhere that’s not walking distance and not the airport (I bus to the airport)

66. What is the closest grocery store to your house? The closest big grocery store is Carrefour but I don’t go there because it’s right on the tourist strip.

67. When was the last time you colored with crayons? At a mexican restaurant in Panama City called Orale. The table is covered in paper and you get a pack of crayons. Keep in mind that this place is really really not designed for kids considering the amount of tequila they give you. When I went there at the start of my trip I was talking to a guy in Spanish but the music was too loud for me to hear him properly so I just handed him a crayon and told him to write it down. It legit took me over an hour to realise he was hitting on me...

68. Have you met anyone famous? Just at conventions

69. Do you have any special talents? I am weirdly good with money. I can be on the exact same salary as someone else, have more bills to pay than them and somehow I’ll still always have more money than them. I don’t even necessarily hold back in my day to day life. I don’t know how but money stuff just always seems to work out well for me. I suppose that’s a talent. A very useful one.

70. Have you ever been to a nursing home? No

71. What kind of job did your mom have when you were growing up? She had a few different jobs here and there when I was a kid, mostly in retail I think. But when I got to highschool, she went back to college and studied her ass off and now she does really well as an architect (side note: I accidentally wrote arquitecta which is spanish) and she loves her job. It’s great to see her succeed. I’m very proud of my mama.

72. Have you ever known anyone that’s been on TV, including you? There was a guy that came like 3rd or 4th on The Voice a couple of years ago that I went to school with. I also went to school with a girl who now has like 3 olympic gold medals for swimming so presumably she was broadcast on tv.

73. What was the most interesting animal you have seen in the wild? One time an echidna literally knocked on our door. I’ve also seen dingoes, sea turtles, goannas, baby foxes, koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and so much more because I grew up in the Australian rainforest. More recently, I saw sloths.

74. What was the first video game you ever played? Crash Bandicoot 2 on playstation1

75. What is the one thing you own, that if it got lost, you would be bummed? My passport because it would be expensive and a pain in the ass to replace.

76. What do you find yourself buying all the time? Flights. Haven’t bought any for a while though because I’m running out of money.

77. When was the last time you got a real letter in the mail? A few months ago from my health insurance company.

78. Were you born in the state you live in? Not even close. Firstly, I live in a province. Secondly, I was born in a county.

79. What is your favorite cheese? Probably camembert or brie. I like those soft cheeses. Also a big fan of feta.

80. What color are your jeans? Black. When I travel, I assume people think I only have one pair of pants when in reality I’ve probably got 4 pairs of black jeans on rotation that are not the same at all.

81. Do you get embarrassed when the buzzer at the airport goes off on you? I always dress so that it won’t go off. Except one time back in aus I had to go to the domestic airport and go through security to drop some documents off with one of the bosses on his flight changover and I completely forgot I was wearing steel capped boots and was so confused when it went off.

82. What does your last received message say? “NOICE”

83. What’s a smell that makes you feel ill? Puke

84. Have you ever deliberately tripped someone? When I was ~14 some boys at school were playing some tackle ball game thing and one of them ran right by where I was was so I stuck my leg out and tripped him. He got up and kept running. I hobbled to a seat, half thinking I’d just broken my goddamn ankle. It wasn’t broken but it did swell up so much over the next couple of hours that my friend told the teacher and they forced me to go the first aid room. Then my shin/ankle got the most colourful bruise I’ve ever seen in my life. I wish I had photos of it because it was fucking spectacular. I think the last of the bruising took about 3 weeks to fade.

85. Do you have any boxsets for TV shows? I had the boxsets for Buffy and Angel but I gave them to Mum when I moved

86. Are you tired? Usually

87. What was the last TV show you watched? Luke Cage

88. Is your door open right now? No

89. What was the last conversation you had with someone about? Whether I should agree to look after someone’s cat for a week

90. What was the last parcel you received? Probably a tshirt I ordered online a few months ago

91. Is the person you last messaged single? They both are, yes.

92. What color is your favorite bra? Red

93. What is the newest addition to your wardrobe? A red tshirt with little white birds on it

94. Do you have any currency that’s not your native country’s? I currently have 7 different currencies on my shelf, and I had 4 others when I was in Australia

95. Were you messaging someone right before you fell asleep last night? No.

96. Did you have any unread messages when you woke up today? Yep - it was a photo of their cat.

#Other potential survey titles:#4 pairs of black jeans on rotation that are not the same at all #Yep - it was a photo of their cat.

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thesylvalining · 7 years ago

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Back in the US, one of the first things I usually notice is the freaking roads are huge. It’s one symptom of reverse culture shock, to be sure and surreal is the key word. Then experiences like this happen which assure me yes, I have returned:

Two nights ago…

Benjamin (my gorgeous uncle): I think we left a bag of stuff at Walmart.

Me: Oh no! We should go back for it. But I’m in my pajamas…

Benjamin: So? It’s Walmart…

Me: Good point.

Dorothy, I am definitely not in Kansas (Italy) anymore, where leaving the house in PJs is socially uncouth. So where am I exactly? Colorado. “Home” but not home. If you haven’t seen Rudy Mancuso’s hilarious “Gosh Bless You” video please do so now so you understand the rest of this paragraph. Although I know there’s someone out there in particular who will appreciate this… it’s like I’m somewhere between Heck and Kevin. I am so grateful and excited to see friends and family but simultaneously, it’s a quasi-thank Gosh moment–mostly because I’m never, ever ready to depart Italy. So at least for now, it goes along with ping-pong balls that don’t bounce and having to stand pretty much all the time… 😉

Anyhow, I’m already on my next adventure before finishing my last. What a sin! So, let me redeem myself by catching us all up…

Day Five: Dobbiaco-Big Hike-Dobbiaco

Morning light shone on Tent City, illuminating the rare slivers of un-camped upon grass and a certain silver van housing the newest member of Operation Vacation: Loic! The door cracked, revealing a fancy black and red road bike. The morning sun glinted off three sharp butcher knives which came with their own set of jokes about Loic being either a Belgian master chef and/or a friendly murderer.

Either way, we welcomed him at our shanghai’d picnic table for breakfast. Finally the day broke chilly but with a promise of ample sun as the day progressed. Perfect set up for a long @$$ hike (for Lisa and I) and a million kilometer bike ride (for Loic).

After parting ways, Lisa and I hopped on our steeds and rode several kilometers on dirt to the start of a trail that only climbed, oh, 2000 meters. However, it was swallowed heartily by the massive landslide like a college kid chugging beer. A big yellow bulldozer parked at the trailhead told us–in so many words–to figure something else out. We pulled out our well-worn map and located number 33, which also marched straight up a mountain like a bighorn sheep on crack. Done!

On the trail, sweat began to swiftly collect and cascade down our bodies as if they were fast-melting Popsicles. We soon found ourselves teetering high above the valley floor, the sound of the roaring highway below lowering to a stubborn drone. After awhile we took a break at a high alpine spring to fill up and let things air out…

After a couple hours of steep, steady climbing the trail finally attempted a semblance of flatness. At the end of the day, the undeniably steep route on Lisa’s GPS–named Garminio–resembled something like a Redwood tree.

Holly landslide Batman!

Another world up here…

Even higher up, above 2000 meters (6500 feet), we found the expansive, rocky beginnings of yet another landslide from the recent extreme storms. We picked our way through an uneven, alien landscape which briefly eclipsed the trail.

After we picked it up again at a confluence, we popped over the first ridge, rewarded by a breathtaking expanse of alpeggi (high alpine pastures) and the piercing ridges of the mountains beyond. Behind us, a group of thick gray clouds gathered, like nosy old women peering through their blinds at the youths egging the house next door. We looked at each other; should we turn back, or press our luck?

Ha! Is there even a question? Besides, the skies didn’t feel menacing like they did on National Pressing Your Luck Repeatedly Day at Tre Cime. And just ahead, we were about to make a few new friends…

And then down, down, down we went like little rolling stones decked out in matching freaky light backpacks and a fine mist of dried sweat. By the end, we’d marched 20 kilometers (13 miles), climbed 1500 meters of elevation (4920 feet) and descended about the same. Near the end, uneven pavement was starting to look like somewhere I could sleep a solid eight hours…

We tried hitchhiking the handful of kilometers up the road to fetch our bikes but we had about as much luck as a nerdy, shy, acne-covered kid on prom night. Italians, it turns out, are not the pick-you-up-on-the-roadside type, even when you’re two cute girls with matching lightweight backpacks, a fine mist of dried sweat and big ol’ smiles. Resolutely, we tacked on a few more kilometers walking back to camp where Loic, bless his little creepily sharp-knife owning heart, saved the day. He left via van to rescue our bikes, leaving us to our own devices via Lisa’s tarp. We stretched and watched the clouds (and I devoured almost an entire package of cookies, which actually did semi-wreck my iron stomach for about six minutes).

Afterwards–so as not to evoke the curious tempers of the weather gods, in particular His Highness Rain–we made pasta. With everyone else. And then waited in line for a shower –a lukewarm shower. With everyone else. And then waited in line to do freaking dishes. Dishes are often painful enough already, without having to wait around to do them. With everyone else. That was it for me: I’d rather do math for 48 hours straight then endure one more day of organized camping. With everyone else.

Day Six: Dobbiaco-Val Visdende-Danta-Wild Camping

In the morning, it was time for another lovely, leisurely, sun-soaked cruise from Dobbiaco to Val Visdende. Although we didn’t plan it–we didn’t so much plan as let things evolve–the ride was beyond pleasant. Bike paths first, through the valley:

Then a really dope lunch at a Konditorei (German/Austrian confectionary/cake shop) with a view of the Tre Cime’s shapely backside:

And one small climb to the top of Monte Croce pass.

The rest was a literal bomb downhill. We zipped through a quaint villages and passed tons of road bikers heading up what we were going down (I was jealous–what a climb!).

Can’t argue with the views…

Flat City.

We lingered in one village for a time after Lisa’s steed Wanda got a flat. Tortured by the tantalizing aromas oozing out of the bakery on which Lisa’s limping steed leaned, we ogled the tiny, antique spike she pulled out of her tire. And then an entire, large family from Romania materialized from the pastry-laden air and proceeded to pump up Lisa’s tire. The dad literally dispatched his teenage army to help and they did so gladly as we grinned. So sweet and unexpected, these instances while traveling by bike!

At the riverside campground in Val Visdende, we decided against camping with everyone else (again). Our decision was cemented by egregious, suspicious glares from the odd proprietor, based on what exactly? He was overheard saying “Where is their car?” as we walked over and sat in the late afternoon sunlight enjoying a 2.5 euro Spritz at the campground bar (aka giving him our money). Although in retrospect, suspicions could have been exacerbated by Lisa and I grunting and cussing through dozens of push-ups by the big yellow Caterpillar (the heavy equipment, not the pre-butterfly) in the corner of the campground parking lot…

So we utilized the river just as you would expect a few vagrants would (please note Loic showering in the background):

Then we packed up, stashed and locked the bikes in a clandestine location and moved on in van to the tiny town of Danta, located on a steep hillside overlooking the majesty of the Alps. Loic–bless his murderous, beer-chugging heart–spotted a poster for a town festival there. Turned out to be a very, very good decision because of:

The views.

Don’t you wanna, wanna go to Danta…

Traditional antiques on the streets at the town festival. There were some amazing crosscut saws as well, which aren’t produced anymore, at least in the States…

The cheap, delicious food and drink (two euro Spritz and three euro, generously portioned grilled sausage and veal sandwiches).

The entertainment–starting with Lisa’s slightly drunken renditions of Italy’s pop darling Ligabue, courtesy of a cover band. Sorry Italy, but every single one of those songs sounds the same to me 😀 But the lead singer, wearing an ACDC shirt and belting out one cookie cutter tune after another with an unlit cigarette in his hand was literally priceless.

The antics–starting with the enthusiasm of the drunk crowd, particularly one fella who danced with airplane arms for hours on end and the time I had to pee and managed to do so in a pile of nettles. The pinnacle was a really drunk dude who looked like Adam from HBO’s Girls and who decided doing a buttload of pull-ups on the tent was a fine idea. He chose a spot front and center in front of the band, his face a picture of determination, like a baby pooping. He knocked over a beer and the tent looked like it was in an earthquake before a good Samaritan managed to pry him off of it.

The company 🙂

And then–with way too many Spritz still rattling around in our systems, particularly Lisa’s and mine–we popped up the road to find a “wild” camping spot. WITHOUT everyone else. In Italy, there’s just one small problem: camping outside of campgrounds is, well, illegal. Illegal… oh no 😉 Obviously we didn’t care as we located a sufficiently quiet, dark field off the top off the pass. Loic parked the van and we deployed our tent in the perfect, hidden spot. To say we pitched it would be a stretch… we kind of threw it up, staked the doors and passed out.

Day Seven: Wild Camping-M. Aiarnola Hike-Sappada

In the morning, we got a very good laugh out of our floppy, crooked tent. And the perfect, hidden spot? Not exactly. From the road, the bright saucer of a tent stood out on the green, soft grass like a Democrat at a Trump rally. In the morning, in fact, Lisa heard an older couple speaking in Italian (as they cruised by on the trail just across the road… oops), “They can’t camp there.” Of course I didn’t hear a single thing because I once slept through a fire alarm in college and nothing has changed since.

We breakfasted roadside (to many an amused glance at us smearing on sunscreen by a van strung with various tent pieces and bike apparel). And then, a hike. It began oddly mellow. I relaxed into an off-day pace, ambling past countless quaint and/or kitschy holiday cabins. I should’ve known then something was off…

An hour later:

Not that I wasn’t stoked to be dominating yet another steep, Dolomite ridge, with eye-popping views as far as the eye could pop. But there was a tired devil and a tired angel on either shoulder, in rare agreement: it was time to rest. Even my blood hurt. But of course by then we were here:

We had a couple more hours stomping around above treeline, watching the swirling clouds and chatting with the bazillion krummholz trees (German for “twisted, crooked or bent,” and appearing exactly thus, thanks to harsh, high elevation weather). And then there was the time we decided not to take the detour…

Trees=handrails, so as not to fall down…

This!

What goes doggedly up must come tiredly down and that meant us–but on a relatively nice trail with actual turns, this time.

Figuring out which way to go…

Look we’re still going up Sylva! You happy ’bout that??

Traversing up high.

The way down!

And then–and then!–we rested in the best way possible by locating a truly delectable restaurant at the base of a nearby ski slope. We gorged ourselves on local grub like canederli with cheese and speck, pizza, giant ravioli (casunziei), tiramisu…

Food coma settled in quickly; Lisa was quietly freaking out all night/day about leaving Wanda (her kick@$$ touring bike) in a hiding spot and we barely made it there to check on it and the GD Musing before succumbing to a nap. Loic enjoyed the undeniable comfort of a mattress in his van. Lisa and I enjoyed the questionable comfort of the tarp atop a cement landing near the river, smattered generously with rocks the size of walnuts. Screw the Princess and the Pea (or the Princesses and the Pebbles)–we passed out immediately.

Post-nap, we had enough go juice to ride up and over into the long, picturesque valley that housed the town of Sappada.

Loic parked his van down by the river and we scoped out a sufficient illegal camping spot in the woods on the other side.

Before we rode, we stocked up on groceries for a campsite dinner, after which we would set up our tent in the cover of darkness. We also scoped out a nearby “beerfest” but didn’t stay long: Loic the Belgian Beer Boss was nonplussed by Forst beer, the only chugging choice. Food prices were a bit high and inside it was hotter than the inside of a sweaty biker thigh. So off we went for dinner under the stars.

All of us were whooped, so we didn’t last long post-grub. But my excitement to lay down and pass out was dampened by two elements:

The terrible and terribly loud rock music resonating from the sweaty beerfest. Somehow, the farther we got, the louder the Metallica covers became. It was almost like the guitarist was playing in my ear, his long, straggly 80s rock hair tickling my ear. But no… that was just the…

Ants. Lots and lots of ants. Over the last days and as we scoped out our campsite by the river, we spotted anthills the size of small Mayan ruins. None of these ant-thropological wonders was within Forst beer can-throwing distance, so we figured we’d be safe. As soon as I stood outside in the dark, with ants racing up my legs like they were enrolled in the world’s largest ant marathon, I saw the error of our ways. Later on in the night, when I sat up to use the bathroom that is the forest, a flurry of ants dominated the tent’s mesh like a computer screen of binary code. When I opened the mesh hastily–with more than a little trepidation–a wave of ants crested the bottom of the tent like an army of peppercorns on legs. Lisa’s side of the tent wasn’t so bad–but I was screwed.

Day Seven: Sappada-Ovara

Convening at the van after reclaiming our tent from The Ants (the ground literally moved under the vastness of their army), we had some breakfast. Loic was itching to road ride so he took off shortly after, leaving Lisa and I to our own devices. Our devices included a whole lot more downhill–we couldn’t have planned our route better if we actually planned it. And it was gorgeous, twisting like a piece of licorice through a lush, wooded canyon containing a river and any number of ivy-laden, whitewashed, tile-roofed fairytale villages.

In quiet, scenic Ovara, home to the infamous Zoncolan climb (another thigh-busting Giro d’Italia classic, which Loic was currently dominating), we pulled off the main road. And went straight uphill. For a moment, Lisa and I wondered if we hadn’t accidentally landed ourselves on the Zoncolan–but the views from our camp were well worth it.

Finally, this camp was just our speed: simple, cheap and deserted. Once Loic returned, tired but exuberant after punishing himself on the Zoncolan, we set up shop. Soon, we were sipping Spritz before walking into down for dinner:

Across the way, a certain green roof enchanted us, appearing clothed in dragon scales.

“How are those tiles so green?” Lisa said, sucking down a block of cheese.

“I wanna go up there,” I said, sucking down a Spritz.

“Mmmmm,” said Loic, sucking down half a bag of potato chips.

The next day, we’d get a closer look at the mysterious green roof, and much, much more… but of course, we hadn’t gotten that far yet. Until then bye-bye–or mandi mandi (pronounced mahn-dee mahn-dee) in Friulano dialect!

As Easy As DEF: Dobbiaco, Esercizio, Fruili Back in the US, one of the first things I usually notice is the freaking roads are…

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styleandthensome · 8 years ago

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I go to France every year because my dad lives there. This is great, because I am guaranteed a visit filled with good wine, even better food and stunning coastline every year. But it tends to mean I miss out on exploring the rest of our continental neighbour. France is lovely and enormous, and for someone who goes every year, I’ve seen very little of my native country

This year was time for a change. And so, to Bordeaux. And I can tell you exactly why… Cite du Vin. Yes that’s right… Wine City folks. A city, of wine.

Cite du Vin opened a couple of years ago. It was dubbed a wine theme park at the time and I imagined slides you could ride and tumble into a ball pit where all the balls looked like big purple grapes, and I thought it might have a wine bottle-shaped mini train that took you from St Emillion land to Medoc land while you supped on merlot. I can tell you it has none of these things but it’s one of the best museums I have ever experienced and if I didn’t have a hundred other reasons why I’d recommend a trip to Bordeaux, I think this would warrant a day trip regardless.

Wine cities aside, Bordeaux is really worth a long weekend… and longer if you have time.

Here’s why…

Wine

Bordeaux region is famous for its wine, but it’s not until you get there and take a trip out to the vineyards that you learn just how complex and intricate it is. We went with Winerist on an afternoon to explore St Emillion; it took in the ancient village as well as two beautiful chateaux, and of course, lots of wine tasting. The two vineyards we explored, Chateau Fombrauge and Chateau Siaruac, both had marvellously eccentric owners. The latter is related to the famous Rothschild family. The vines are two minutes drive from Chateau Petrus vineyard and bottles go for upwards of £10,000. Tours of both revealed the complexity of classifying wines and the myriad methods used to cultivate the grapes; the age of a vine to where it is in proximity to tree roots will affect the taste. It’s fascinating stuff.

And away from the vineyards, there are many many wine bars to appreciate the fruits of these fields. We liked:

Rue Saint Remi, Rue Parlement St Catherine and Rue Parlement St Pierre are worth wandering down – these streets, the squares in between and the surrounding winding roads are buzzing in the evening. The Bordelais spill out onto the street with glasses in hand. Have a drink at the small and quirky Contesse cocktail bar

A bit futher south and you’ll find the relaxed Place Fernand Lafargue and the Apollo bar (friendly bar staff, truly convivial crowd and watch out for the live music events) while round the corner down Rue Saint James you’ll find the cavernous wine bar, Wine More Time

And of course, Cite du Vin. Your entry includes a free glass of wine on the eighth floor wine bar, which has stunning views over the city.

Food

Most cafes will offer a ‘formule petit dejeuner’ that includes fresh orange juice, strong coffee and a croissant, which is plentiful and much cheaper than a buffet breakfast at the majority of hotels. Books and Coffee on Rue St James served its formule with a side pot of homemade apple compote along with coffee that was thick and flavoursome. Another great breakfast spot is L’Ombriere in Place du Parlement – the square is bathed in sunshine during the morning. In fact many of the old squares are great spots for a leisurely petit dejeuner.

In Books and Coffee we picked up a delicate financier to share later as an afternoon snack, and would recommend doing that whenever you see something in a window that tickles your fancy… you’ll find endless chocolatiers with gloriously tempting windows and you must try the famous Bordeaux canele.

You can’t go wrong for lunch and dinner in Bordeaux. Honestly we didn’t have a bad meal. But in particular, we liked:

Plume (Rue Cheverus) is the essence of relaxed French style. 40 euros bought us a beautiful warm chicken and coconut salad, fresh pasta with pulled beef, two fresh ginger and apple juices plus two coffees. We resisted the homemade cakes… although for the life of me I can’t remember why.

The sun was out in force when we visited Cite du Vin so we had lunch on the terrace. For a museum we didn’t have high expectations but this was Bordeaux – the cheese and meats platter was incredible, as was the fresh salad with smoked salmon and asparagus spears.

We reserved dinner on the first evening at La Tupina (Rue Porte de la Monnaie). It was widely recommended before we travelled, particularly for its traditional Bordeaux fare. It was expensive, but the lamb shoulder with cassoulet was so full of flavour and the tender duck with seasonal veg and hand cut chips were cooked to perfection, so it was worth it. Portions were enormous and unless you’re really swayed by the dessert, they do give you little caneles to enjoy at the end of the meal.

Our hotel, Mama Shelter, is a great spot for dinner and has some interesting dishes. We shared a whole globe artichoke, lentil salad and a plate of confit tomatoes with burratta.

Saturday night needs booking if you want somewhere particular – Bordeaux gets busy. We had hoped to get into La Brasserie Bordelaise on Rue St Remi, but with an hour wait, we ended up in Le Bistrota few doors down – the food was fresh, modern and tasty.

Just like Londoners, it seems the Bordelais like queuing for good food. We spied enormous queues for Entrecote, which is said to have the best steak in Bordeaux, and for Guy & Sons, which admittedly was serving free burgers as part of its launch weekend, but seriously, the queue was at least 100–people deep and after seeing its menu of burgers with fillings like blue cheese with balsamic figs or porcini mushrooms with melted comte… I can imagine there’ll be queues whether the burgers are free or not!

And if you want posh nosh Place de la Comedie is where you’ll find upmarket restaurants like Le Pressoir d’Argent and Le Chapon Fin

Shopping

Given the sumptuous wine and food on offer in this city, Bordeaux is actually a shopping haven too. There are so many affordable and original boutiques that line the streets of the old town, you can pick up some really beautiful pieces – we particularly loved the bags, jewellery, kitchen items and local produce on offer. For designer junkies, you’ll find the usual luxury boutiques lining Cour de l’Intendence, while Galaries Lafayette is perfect for mainstream and unique French brands (the underwear section is stunning… they simply do lingerie better in France).

Essential tips for Bordeaux…

When you arrive at the airport, head to the information desk and ask for a city map – they don’t display them but they have a stash, trust me

Take the bus into town – it’s 1.50 euro (compared with a 30-40 euro taxi) and only takes about 45 minutes to get you to the centre

We stayed at Mama Shelter, which was really reasonably priced design hotel with a roof terrace, ping pong tables in the basement, super hero masks for you to play with in the rooms, and live music and DJs in the evenings. It’s centrally located with good access to the old district and buses

Take the tram to Cite du Vin but walk back to the town centre along the river – especially if it’s sunny. The riverbank has been recently renovated and the majority of the shops (some discounted outlets), bars and restaurants are now open

When you stumble on a mini supermarket (look out for Carrefour Cite or if you stay at Mama Shelter there’s a handy Monoprix opposite) go in and stock up! We found it impossible to find somewhere that sold a decent cheap bottle of water and an apple

A lot of Bordeaux is a UNESCO world heritage site. I have to admit, we didn’t have time for much art and historical culture but did do our fair share of exploring the old streets and the cathedral

If I went back to Bordeaux, I would take the hour-trip to the spectacular-looking sand dunes at Arcachon and treat myself to some local oysters. This can be done in a day or an afternoon in summertime

http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/Discover-Bordeaux/Must-See/Bordeaux-a-World-Heritage-Site

Three reasons to book a weekend in Bordeaux I go to France every year because my dad lives there. This is great, because I am guaranteed a visit filled with good wine, even better food and stunning coastline every year.

#Bordeaux #Food #foodie #France #history #Mama Shelter #shopping #travel #vineyard tour #Wine

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