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andrewdburton · 4 years ago

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Re-thinking safe-withdrawal rates and how much you’ll need in retirement

On 27 August 2020, the Federal Reserve announced a major policy shift. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is willing to allow inflation to run hotter than normal in order to support the labor market and broader economy.

In other words, the Federal Reserve is likely to keep its Fed Funds rate at or near zero percent for longer. In the past, the Federal Reserve would consider raising interest rates when the unemployment rate falls to ward off inflation down the road.

Given this policy shift, I think you’d be a fool to follow a four-percent safe withdrawal rate in retirement. Let me tell you why.

Why the Four-Percent Rule Is Dead

The so-called four-percent rule was first published in the Journal Of Financial Planning in 1994 by William P Bengen. It was subsequently popularized by three Trinity University professors in their “Trinity Study” of 1998. At the time, inflation and interest rates were much higher and pensions were common.

In 1998, when the Trinity Study made the Four-Percent Rule popular, the 10-year bond yield was between 4.41% to 5.6%. The average 10-year bond yield rate was 5% in 1998.

Therefore, of course you'd likely never run out of money in retirement following a four-percent withdrawal rate. You could earn 5% on average risk-free!

Today, the 10-year bond yield is at around 1.1%. It got to a low of 0.51% in August 2020.

Given the dramatic decline in the 10-year bond yield since the 4% Rule was popularized, it doesn't make sense to stick to a rule devised over 25 years ago.

The 10-Year Yield's Importance

Returns in the stock market, bond market, and real estate market are all relative to the risk-free rate of return (10-year bond yield). If the risk-free rate of return declines, so do overall returns for risk assets ceteris paribus.

Let me share some examples on the 10-year yield's importance.

Example #1: A Decline in Corporate Bond Yields

A company looking to raise money to fund operations isn't going to issue a bond that pays 8%, unless it's in dire straits. Instead, a company will probably discover that adding a 2% – 3% interest rate premium to the 10-year bond yield will garner enough demand.

In other words, companies can raise debt at a cheaper price when the 10-year goes down. In turn, the company can use the debt to fund operations or acquire new companies. With more expansion and acquisitions, company profits may go up.

Example #2: A Decline in Stock Dividend Yields

A company has historically paid a 60% dividend payout ratio. During the ups and downs, the company's dividend yield has range between 3% – 4%. The company has always wanted its shareholders to earn at least a 1% premium to the 10-year bond yield.

With the 10-year bond yield down to 1%, the company can now cut its dividend payout ratio and provide closer to a 2% – 3% yield. The company can then keep more retained earnings for growth and operations.

Example #3: Increased Interest in Real Estate

Let's say you want to take advantage of potential distressed asset opportunities in commercial real estate. One of the key ways to find opportunity is to monitor the spread between cap rates versus the 10-year treasury yield. The greater the gap, the greater the potential profit potential.

With the pandemic, the current office cap rate vs. 10-year treasury yield spread is at its highest in history. Therefore, commercial real estate might generate some greater returns in the future. The asset class has certainly lagged stocks and residential real estate.

When it comes to investing, everything is intertwined. The 10-year bond yield has direct implications for asset returns and yields.

Few Follow a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate

What's funny about the 4% Rule is that its proponents don't even follow the rule!

For example, William P Bengen, the creator of the 4% rule mentioned in my post on the proper safe withdrawal rate that he's onto his 4th career as an author and researcher. You can read his comment on my site for yourself.

Meanwhile, other retirement experts and financial advisors are certainly not following a 4% safe withdrawal rate because they are all still working.

Finally, since leaving my day job in 2012, I have yet to meet a single FIRE blogger who regularly withdraws 4% from their portfolio to pay for living expenses. Instead, FIRE bloggers are almost always earning supplemental retirement income online.

I am no exception. But I haven't told anybody I've been retired since a year after I left finance in 2012. After a year of traveling and twiddling my thumbs, I focused on writing on Financial Samurai. It felt disingenuous to say I was retired when writing these posts takes hours to write!

Even J.D. has mentioned that despite being financially independent on paper, he’ll likely need to generate income to get him to 59.5. He has no plans of withdrawing from his tax-advantageous retirement accounts early and paying a 10% penalty.

The New Safe Withdrawal Rate To Follow

If you have children or plan to donate to charities after you are gone, it's important to plan financially beyond yourself.

Given the 4% Rule was established at a 20% discount to where the 10-year bond yield was at the time, we can also establish a similar 20% discount to today's 10-year bond yield to come up with a new safe withdrawal rate.

With the 10-year bond yield at ~1.1%, a safe withdrawal rate is actually closer to 0.88%. When the 10-year bond yield was at its low of 0.51%, the safe withdrawal rate was equivalent to 0.4%.

To make things simple, the new safe withdrawal rate equals the 10-year bond yield X 80%. Let's call this the Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate.

For reference, below is a table I created using the Financial Safe Withdrawal Rate formula.

Three Ways To Use The Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate Rule

Let’s look at a few ways to use this new safe withdrawal rate that I’ve developed.

1) Stretch Net Worth Growth Target

With the 4% Rule, you multiply your annual expenses by 25 to get a target net worth. If the new safe withdrawal rate is 1%, you multiply your annual expenses by 100 to get a target net worth.

For example, if you want to live off $50,000 a year in retirement and have no other income streams, then your stretch net worth target is $5 million based on the new safe withdrawal rate rule.

For a more reasonable net worth target, may I suggest the 20x Gross Annual Income Rule. With this rule you can’t cheat by simply lowering your annual expense budget. The 20s gross income rule forces you to accumulate more wealth as your income grows. It also makes you better decide whether you want to continue your way of life.

2) Calculate How Much More Wealth Is Left To Build

A less onerous way to calculate your retirement net worth goal is to add up how much retirement income you already have and subtract it from your desired retirement income.

For example, let's say your passive income portfolio already generates $30,000 a year, but you want to earn $50,000 a year. The difference is $20,000. Therefore, if the new safe withdrawal rate is 1%, your goal is to try to amass another $2 million in net worth, regardless of what your existing net worth is.

3) Reverse engineer your desired safe withdrawal rate.

Use the Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate only as a net worth target. Once you've reached your net worth target based on the FS Safe Withdrawal Rate, then you can change your safe withdrawal rate as you see fit.

For example, let's say you’re happy living off $50,000 a year in retirement. You don’t have a pension, Social Security, or any passive income. A safe withdrawal rate of 1% dictates that you will need to amass a $5 million net worth. Let's say you succeed in getting to $5 million by age 70 and expect to live until age 90.

With an expected 20 years left to live, you could divide your $5 million by 20 and safely withdraw $250,000 a year. Withdrawing $250,000 a year is equivalent to a 5 percent withdrawal rate. If there is a bear market or big unexpected expense during this time, you can adjust your withdrawal rate accordingly.

The Way Around The Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate Rule

Obviously, when the 10-year bond yield is low, following the Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate will be more difficult. Therefore, the easiest way to circumvent my new safe withdrawal rate is to earn supplemental income.

For example, let's say you want to live off $50,000 a year in retirement income. This would equate to having a $5 million net worth using a 1 percent safe withdrawal rate. Unfortunately, you've been following the 4 percent safe withdrawal rule. Therefore, you thought accumulating $1.25 million was enough.

You now realize the 4% Rule was developed in 1998 when the 10-year bond yield averaged 5%. After cursing out the Federal Reserve for slashing rates to zero, you calm down and figure out the gap.

Your $1.25 million can only safely generate $12,500 a year in passive income at 1%. Therefore, your retirement income shortfall is $37,500 ($50,000 desired retirement income – $12,500 your true retirement income). You are also too young to collect Social Security, nor do you have a pension.

Since you don't think you'll ever get to a $5 million net worth, you need to find a way to make $37,000 a year in supplemental retirement income. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to make money from home nowadays if you start a website like this one. You can also freelance.

Taking More Risk By Reaching For Yield

The final way to circumvent the Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate is to take more risk. To be able to sustain a higher withdrawal rate, the retirement portfolio must either generate higher yields, higher returns, or both.

Ideally, if you don’t make supplemental retirement income, you want to have a portfolio that yields your desired withdrawal rate or higher. Instead of investing a more conservative 50/50 equity/bond portfolio, perhaps you're comfortable shifting the equities allocation up to 70%.

A retiree does not have to only invest in bonds or risk-free assets in retirement, despite my new safe withdrawal rate rule.

Here are some investment ideas that have the potential to generate higher yields:

Investing in a REIT ETF like VNQ, which has a yield of ~3%

Investing in individual REITs like O, which has a yield of ~4.5%

Investing in private eREITs (what I’ve been investing in recently) that have historically provided a ~9% return, even when the stock market is down

Investing in individual dividend-paying stocks like AT&T with a forward yield of ~6.5%

Investing in a dividend ETF like VYM with a ~3.5% yield

Buying rental property

Lending out hard money

Buying an annuity

However, the more risk you take, the greater the chance of losing money. Therefore, it's important to assess your own risk tolerance and invest accordingly.

Retirement Life Will Be Different Than What You Imagine

As someone who left his day job in 2012 at 34, I'm providing you some firsthand retirement perspective. It is easy to pontificate about the proper safe withdrawal rate in retirement while you still have a steady paycheck.

But I assure you, only when you and your partner no longer have a steady paycheck will you genuinely experience all the emotions that comes with being unemployed. And let me tell you, not all of the emotions are positive.

You may find it extremely uncomfortable to go from building your investment portfolio all your life to withdrawing. I know I did. Until this day, I still have not touched a dollar of principal from my retirement savings.

J.D. tells me that he’s just as uncomfortable drawing down his savings. But because he “retired” with a smaller nest egg than I did (and because he’s encountered some bumps along the way), he’s had no choice. Tapping his savings makes him nervous.

Use The New Safe Withdrawal Rate Rule As A Guide

Don't be mad at the Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate. If anything, be mad at the Federal Reserve and the government for saving us from a global pandemic. The trillions in stimulus have crushed interest rates. Further, the debt will eventually have to be paid back.

Thankfully, none of us are zombies. We don't aimlessly follow a safe withdrawal rate rule until we die. Instead, we adjust based on economic conditions. Further, there should be Social Security income, perhaps just not the full amount as promised.

My new safe withdrawal rate rule of the 10-year bond yield x 80% is just a net worth and safe withdrawal rate guide in this low-interest rate environment.

Depending on how much of your wealth you want to pass on and how much risk you want to take, my safe withdrawal rate rule may be too aggressive or too conservative. Only you can decide.

At the very least, let’s agree that following a 4% safe withdrawal rate today is misguided. We must adjust our retirement planning based on the realities of the world today.

Personally, I plan to keep on trying to generate as much active and passive income as possible. Once we reach herd immunity, fingers crossed, then it'll finally be time to take things down a notch. Here's hoping that our investments cooperate in the meantime!

Readers, what do you think is an appropriate safe withdrawal rate in this low-interest rate environment? After such a long bull market, have investors become complacent in always expecting positive returns? Why do think people still believe in the 4% Rule when the risk-free rate of return was 5% when the rule was first created?

J.D.’s notes Financial Samurai is a smart guy and I think this is an interesting analysis. That said, I don’t necessarily agree with all of his conclusions.

For instance, I remain vocally opposed to making any sort of retirement calculations based on income. I think doing so completely misses the point. (So, in other words, I think Sam’s 20x Gross Annual Income Rule is a red herring.) I believe it’s much better to use spending when determining how much to save for retirement.

You should also know that William Bengen, the source of the four-percent rule, has been public in recent years that he would actually revise safe withdrawal rates upward, not down. He’s good with something like 7% in many cases, and certainly 5% in nearly every case.

That said, I’ll admit that Sam knows far more about this stuff than I do. So, give his advice serious consideration. But balance it by reading other perspectives too.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/rethinking-safe-withdrawal-rates/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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chromemuffin · 7 years ago

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Quan Zhi Gao Shou / The King’s Avatar Novel (Vol. 1, Ch. 1-10)

How these liveblogs work: I read five chapters of the manhua at a time, then the equivalent chapters in the novel. This is probably going to take forever seeing as there are 800+ translated chapters available as of the time of writing this post and over 1000 chapters total, buuut at least each chapter is short.

Fair warning: I always sound as if I don’t like what I’m reading or I’m criticizing it (just read my captive prince liveblog lol...), but I am actually enjoying it immensely.

Volume 1: Banished Battle God

Chapter 1: The Banished Battle God

My first comment of the entire novels: What is with the “eccentrically-shaped ashtray”? It doesn’t specify what this ashtray looks like, only that it’s unusual. Why include this detail in the first place if you’re not going to tell us what it’s actually shaped like? Now I need to know!

This was also in the manhua, but I didn’t bother bringing it up then: Why was the first bit of dialogue translated as “Arrived”? I’m pretty sure it’s this character: 来. I never managed to learn enough Chinese to be worth a damn, but I do Japanese to English translations on the side and I’m pretty sure a loose translation would work better. idk, it just bothers me. Don’t mind me, though. I like nitpicking over translation stuff. And I won’t get to do much more of it.

Anyway.

“He gently removed the card from Glory’s dedicated log-in device.”

I love this description, a little throwaway word ‘gently’ tells so much about Ye Xiu as a guy who really loves and respects this game. I think he already know what is in store for him to some extent, but he doesn’t take it out on the game. In fact, he was playing right up until it was time for the meeting. The novel states that the manager didn’t even him any advanced notice, I’m assuming of their decision to remove him from the team, but that Yu Xiu also wasn’t surprised.

“Only they quickly recovered because there was another important person that deserved their attention.”

Hm, pretty girl or new team leader asshole? Tough decision indeed.

Ah, ok. So that’s the deal with his pseudonym. It’s so close to his real name (in English lettering at least) that I confuse the two. But it’s far easier to tell the difference when I look at the characters 叶修 / 叶秋.

It’s kind of confusing because (at least in the translation), he is referred to as his alias Ye Qiu in this chapter, whereas the summary and other places refer to him as Ye Xiu.

lol “Mine!” How shameless.

“After one year, even if he wanted to return again, for the elderly, without a year of intense competition to maintain his skills...”

‘for the elderly’ is just...hilarious because he’s only 25. that’s not old. (well, in this game’s context it is, but geez is that an early cut-off age)

Chapter 2: Area 3 Number 47

“As tactful as he is, he wouldn’t think to blame the club for retiring him.”

But that’s?? exactly?? what happened??? You’re already kicking him out after all he did for the team over the years. I mean, it’s a sound business decision, but no need to be so nasty about it. The stuff Ye Xiu pulls off in-game aside, he seems to be a relatively decent person, even going as far as helping out his friends to the point where he doesn’t have enough left to pay the penalty fee, whatever amount that is.

Ah, Su Mucheng, I like her the more times I read these opening scenes across the various media...She has a cute character design in the animation, which I watched when it came out, but she actually turns out to be quite mature and adorably worried/supportive.

Icicles also formed on his head. If he didn’t take shelter, he would die.

Seems a bit dramatic, but so is icicles forming on your head!! It must be really, really cold out, huh...

Su MuCheng was always gentle and serene. Even during in an intense PK confrontation, she always held a smile. Speaking about her, Ye Qiu sometimes watched as she smiled while causing her opponents to explode into pieces. When she then politely said sorry, he would always inexplicably tremble a bit.

ah, yes, I’m pretty sure the animation skips this observation, which builds a bit more character for Su Mucheng since we don’t see her again for a bit. Ye Xiu, also, seems a bit more “alive” in a sense in the manhua/novel, because of little comments like these.

Chen Guo is also a fun character ^.^ “She slammed the keyboard directly shutting down the game.” definition of a rage quit, huh.

Chapter 3: Special Duty: Night Shift

“My hands were frozen cold or else 30 seconds would’ve been enough.”

show off. Though he doesn’t really come off as showing off. The poor opponent must have been so confused, though. Wins 52 times in a row and suddenly gets beat in 40 seconds flat haha.

“Ye Xiu… … Ye Qiu? It really is him!” Chen Guo excitedly thought. It looked like she really had uncovered his hidden identity! This showed that he really was Ye Qiu. If she had seen the name Ye Qiu written, then she wouldn’t have believed it.

This part confused me a bit in the manhua, but it’s clearer here. At least the Ye Xiu/Qiu mess is clarified early on. Still don’t know why the narrative refers to him as Ye Qiu in the beginning if his name is actually Ye Xiu (and is the one used in the summary)...??

She had been prepared to use everything she owned to get his signature. Ye Qiu’s signature, ah! Who had it? No one!

Chen Guo’s thought process is just fun to go along with, haha she’s so dramatic. And also works well narrative-wise to show how popular Glory is. I mean, she works at an internet cafe but that doesn’t mean she has to be into Glory herself; but she is, played for a long time, and is up to date with the professional scene to some degree if she knows the names and faces of all of Excellent Era’s members.

...she [had] a strong urge to change the word Xiu into Qiu.

haha.

“Oh, so it’s like this… … how generous.” Chen Guo sighed with sorrow. This person’s strength was powerful, his account definitely wouldn’t be weak. Powerful accounts were extremely valuable. Gifting it away so easily was very valiant.

The irony in this part never fails to amuse me.

Later, in Glory’s fifth expansion, a lot of experts obtained the qualifications to complete the Challenge skill becoming the first ones possessing access to all servers.

This is an interesting tidbit. I like the novel, where it’s easier to absorb all the rules of the game/professional scene.

Ah, so the account card Ye Xiu uses is actually one from 10 years ago? And he held onto it for this whole time, not using it. That’s...pretty amazing, I would have lost mine after 10 years.

His hair looked as if it hadn’t been taken care of in at least half a month. His face didn’t look too healthy. Although it was white and clear, it was that sort of sickly pale. His two eyes gazed at her listlessly...The guy in front of her didn’t look too young, but was unexpectedly also so dejected and disdained.

I remember people being upset that he looked more handsome in his other appearances. He’s the sort to not care about appearances, and I guess he doesn’t get out much, stuck inside playing Glory all day. But, well, if he looks dejected and disdained it’s probably from what just happened.

“full-time night cat“ AH this is why the manhua drew him as a cat when he said he likes nights. I guess it’s an expression.

His approving attitude made Chen Guo feel very apologetic. This small storage room truly wasn’t a place for living.

lol not to mention Chen Guo drops a bucket of paint on top of the bed along with a whole shelf in the manhua. She didn’t seem as apologetic in the other mediums as she does here, though.

Even after all this, he had never asked for his boss’s name.

haha kind of important don’t you think.

Chapter 4: Mysterious Expert

“If you also want to go out and eat, don’t ask my employees to go on an errand for you.” Chen Guo said.

“Next time, could you tell us in advance? Can’t you help deliver it to us?” A person said.

“The Internet Cafe only has so many people. How could we deliver it all back? Enough of this nonsense, if you really want to eat so much but are too lazy to buy it, go ask for their phone number. Wouldn’t they be willing to deliver it?” Chen Guo said.

“Sister Chen do you have their number? Lend it to me so I can copy it down.” A person said.

“What would I do with their phone number? I have people to run errands for me. Why would I inconvenience the restaurant?” Chen Guo said.

Chen Guo is pleasantly vicious. I wasn’t overly fond of her in the animation, but she has great expressions in the manhua, and her dialogue is just great in the novel.

lol “it looks like I’m forcing him play.”

This Heavenly Domain wasn’t a single map. It was another world. The map was as big as the combined worlds of five other servers. This place had difficult instance dungeons, powerful equipment, precious materials, and also freedom. All experts would meet up there. The Heavenly Domain was a player’s final destination.

So that’s what the Heavenly Domain is...I don’t know if I ever quite figured it out casually watching the animation.

“Don’t fake it. You actually haven’t retired. It’s just that you were unable to win a seat, so you were kicked out right?” Chen Guo said.

Ye Xiu was speechless.

“No offense… …” Chen Guo realized that her words had somewhat stabbed at his sore spot.

Way to hit it where it hurts! Unintentionally, of course. I seem to like manhua Ye Xiu for his expressions, and novel Chen Guo because it actually gives some more depth to her character.

“Oh so it’s like this?” Tears streamed down Ye Xiu’s cheeks. Ye Qiu was currently chatting with you face to face, sister.

lol wait is this just an expression or- he’s not actually tearing up in this scene is he.

“Oh?” when Ye Xiu flipped to the last page and looked, a sudden wave of shame hit. Thinking about it, this hand guide hadn’t changed much over ten years. This was something players couldn’t update any further. For missions that veterans would choose, how could no one have come up with this type of strategy already? Right now, he needed this type of strategy. Just as Ye Xiu was ready to follow this strategy to take missions, tears immediately began streaming down his face. He was once regarded as textbook level figure! Now with a beginners guide in his hands, how could he endure this shame?

Ye Xiu’s a lot, ah, more expressive than the animation gives him credit for. I’m sorry, I laughed. He’s just so thrown off by having to start from scratch.

Chapter 5: Skill Match

But at this point everyone was still level 0. Their jumping abilities were too poor and there was no way they could jump high enough. Everyone repeatedly bouncing up and down was truly a cute and beautiful scene.

WHAT LOL Ok this wasn’t in the manhua was it, it’s indeed a glorious image. I like how the narrator even describes it as a ‘cute’ scene haha.

Aah, I appreciate the little break away to explain the mechanics of the game. It’s not terribly useful seeing as the game doesn’t actually exist in real life, but it’s decently interesting.

But if this skill set that had been picked by peak-level expert like him was seen by ordinary players, they would definitely laugh.

And an area where Ye Xiu doesn’t have to feel ashamed of, haha.

Chapter 6: Thousand Chance Umbrella

It’s not as if it wasn’t explained in other mediums, but the novel definitely has the time to go through all the details like the evolution of Glory’s class system and why no one would suspect anyone to play the ‘unspecialized class’ anymore.

Soon after, he directly headed to the storage chest in the warehouse and opened it. An equipment unexpectedly lay inside.

Accounts that transferred servers should be empty...

But Lord Grim, which had just transferred to the tenth server, unexpectedly had an equipment inside.

No one knew how this happened, but it seemed as if Ye Xiu had been expecting it. He knew that he would find an equipment here...

This, too, is interesting! Because it seems as if the warehouse pops up out of nowhere in the other mediums, and you’re not really sure if it’s something that everyone else can access or not if you weren’t paying attention to the fact that the umbrella is a ‘silver’ weapon and thus a unique item that no one else would be able to acquire.

...there wasn’t a trace of happiness in Ye Xiu’s expression. On the contrary, it was filled with grief. A rare tremble once again emerged on his right hand.

but then, there’s this. ;-;

The customizable/self-made weaponry is actually quite smart. Reminds me of the custom furniture you can make and add to the Sims... (look, I really am not a gamer haha, I have no clue how many real life games have similar features) I didn’t really understand what was so special about the umbrella before (I probably wasn’t paying 100% attention...).

Only, it could be a unique surpassing peak Epic equipment or it could also be a unique piece of trash.

Or it could be a unique piece of trash. hahaha

Ye Xiu gently retrieved the Thousand Chance Umbrella and placed it in Lord Grim’s hands.

Also the fact that he, gently, places a bunch of pixels into his inventory/avatar’s hands is telling how much this game and this item in particular mean to him.

Damn, reading about playing a game really puts me in the mood to play a game, too. I don’t really play games like this one, though...

Chapter 7: Midnight Phantom Cat

You saw clearly, spoke well, planned well, but in the end because of a single unexpected accident, your dreams and hopes all disappeared into nothing leaving only this incomplete Thousand Chance Umbrella to me.

“You originally had talent in Glory, a successful talent… …” His fingers gently wiped over the keyboard. With a quiver, Lord Grim cast a heal onto Sleeping Moon’s body. When Sleeping Moon promptly praised him again, Ye Xiu’s mind was no longer in the game.

More sad hints of the past. .-.

“It’s here.” Ye Xiu saw that typing might have been slow, so he immediately yelled vaguely. His mouth still held onto the cigarette!

Ooh! He spoke! Or, ahem, ‘yelled vaguely’.

He was even a little skeptical thinking that his healing might snatch away the enemy.

Don’t you hate it when you’re minding your own business, not even fighting, and the monster goes to attack you anyway? lol you know how many times my teammates died from that in Final Fantasy Type-0...the worst part is that you can only control one of the 3 party members at a time, so to save them you have to keep switching between characters. or deal with having no one to heal you and only bring 1 character. idk I really liked that game.

Beautiful! Ye Xiu couldn’t help but praise him.

lol lots of praise going around in-game. everyone’s still playing nice-nice. Well, in Ye Xiu’s case I guess he is genuinely praising him.

Ah, so Ye Xiu was actually going to warn the others, was he. He just didn’t get the chance. I wondered if he purposely didn’t say anything even if he knew Sleeping Moon’s plan, I can’t remember what happened in the animation.

Chapter 8: A Life and Death Struggle

In these seven seconds, not only would the mage die but Fallen Sun would die too. He might as well try to save one of them.

Ye Xiu had lost faith in Sleeping Moon and directly abandoned the mage to heal Fallen Sun.

I do like how they handled the back and forth for the battle scene here, it doesn’t have too much of a lag between action while explaining Ye Xiu’s thought process.

He couldn’t tell if Fallen Sun had bad luck attached to him. Right when the Bleed status wore off, the Midnight Demon Cat swiped at him again causing him to Bleed yet again. These types of status inducing attacks only had a small probability to appear. But it seemed as if someone added a 100% percent probability halo around Fallen Sun.

Don’t you hate it when that happens. I don’t think anything fishy is up? He just had bad luck. It’s also totally relatable haha.

Could it be that this guy had seen through his own own plan at that time?

Sleeping Moon sure manages to get a lot of musings into the space between attacks here. This is funny though, because the novel gives confirmation that Ye Xiu only realized this recently, when Sleeping Moon purposely let the others get attacked. He isn’t that godly that he realized it from the start.

“50%? I like 100%!” and “...be at ease and drop dead!”

lol and there the shamelessness comes out. Well, Ye Xiu also lost all respect for this guy so.

Furthermore, he opened it extremely exaggeratedly and the umbrella actually flipped the other way. He retracted the umbrella a bit...

Um, so this is possible with a real umbrella of course, but a virtual one too...?

Chapter 9: Ye Xiu’s Two Hands

A pair of hands that made people’s cheeks stream with tears appeared in front of her eyes — Ye Xiu’s two hands.

Those must be some pretty impressive hands.

The hands were beautiful hands.

And in case you didn’t get it the first time: Ye Xiu has beautiful hands. Well, that is in the chapter title after all.

lol and Chen Guo examining his speed, I guess he must be taking it easy since the boss isn’t a difficult one.

Their banter is also so fun to read~

Chapter 10: Shameless Novice

lol did you really get out of the dungeon just so you could switch computers to get a smoke. I don’t think he particularly cared about finishing it, since it just provides exp probably.

Haha “the shameless novice” but what does Sleeping Moon gain from labeling him a novice? Shameless, yes, to discredit him.

These identical messages mixed together with other anger and hate. Although the system automatically blocked profanities, people’s intelligence were boundless. They used same sounding words to complete their mission.

ah, yes, the ways people get past profanity blockers, particularly fun in languages with hanzi! (hanzi right? Chinese characters?)

“Just because I’m angry doesn’t mean I have to show it.” Ye Xiu didn’t look angry. He was even smiling. While doing so, he logged out of the game and shut down the computer. Changing over to the smoking area was still his current ambitious dream.

Ah, I love this series. He just really wants a smoke.

But I can relate, I’m fairly expressionless most of the time, even when I’m excited.

Only players over level 20 could leave the beginner area. When that happened, PK’ing would be opened up. In the meantime, those level 20 and under could only point fingers and argue.

lol just...lol

But now that he couldn’t form a team, his leveling speed would only increase.

HAHA joke’s on you, it apparently works out better for him, they can’t even start PKing so there’s really no use getting into a tizzy over it...not that that stops people from creating drama. ever.

Lord Grim was equivalent to three people. Furthermore, with Ye Xiu’s skills, he wouldn’t be slower in clearing a dungeon than a five man team. He might even be a bit faster.

The video game context really gives validity to Ye Xiu’s ability to breeze through the early stages of the story as well as his strength being far above the others. Plus, it’s true. There are some games where teammates slow you down, you might as well go at it solo.

“Hello hello.”

What a nice way to end this part! I’ll be bouncing back to the manhua now.

So, yeah, like I said. I’m actually having a lot of fun, the novels don’t linger on the mechanics long enough to become boring. Plus, Ye Xiu’s background - being 25 and already on the pro scene for 7 years - makes all of his overpowered-ness not just believable, but expected. Reading him go through the early stages of the game is sort of like watching a let’s play - relaxing.

#quan zhi gao shou #king's avatar blogging #qzgs novel blogging #qzgs vol 1

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swimyarn0-blog · 5 years ago

Text

War of Eternity: Questing of Booze

Hello Blogspot my old friend, I've come to post on you again.

Lee was curious they approached the tavern. Although they had spent a large part of the day searching through the small town, Lee hadn’t really taken the time to explore many of the buildings. He had a fair sense of the town’s layout at this point, but he was still clueless as to what many of them were officially. Every structure was almost identical in construction and appearance, and he had a bit of trouble understanding exactly what the signs out front were meant to depict.

As it turned out, the tavern was no exception to the rule: it was nothing more than a two-story building comprised of grey stone walls on the base floor, a wood-built second story and the same thatch roof as every other structure in town. It also became clear why Miller had described this the cheapest place in town as soon as he stepped foot inside. The windows had been boarded over from the inside, so there was absolutely no form of natural light streaming in, and there were so many candles placed around the room that Lee was actually impressed the place hadn’t burned down yet. Further, there wasn't a single proper piece of furniture anywhere to be seen. Instead of traditional wooden round or long tables, there were giant, waist-height stone slabs with flat-cut surfaces designed to function as a table and smaller stones placed around them to serve as seating.

The only familiar sight in the entire room was that of the actual bar--a long wooden counter set on the side of the room with a single man behind it who was cleaning a stone mug and whistling an unfamiliar. Other than the fact that he was wearing the most dapper outfit Lee had seen since arriving in this world, he could have fit in almost anywhere.

Cheapest place in town . . . Is this why the place is so inexpensive? “Why aren’t there any proper chairs or tables?” Lee pondered aloud, voicing his curiosity.

“Hellions and hooligans is why!” The barkeeper's loud voice answered back. “Before those rapscallion upstarts began coming to town, this whole place was furnished with the finest chairs, tables and mugs a man could carve! But those rascals kept starting fights and breaking everything, so I sold it all and replaced it with a bunch of rocks. The stone chairs end fights much faster. If anyone gets out of hand and starts tossing things around at each other now, they’ll be left in the hospital, but I won’t be left with the bill!”

“How often do fights happen?” Lee asked.

“One or two a week,” the bartender answered as he pulled out two new mugs and poured drinks. “They used to be much more common back before we started getting the occasional bard with a proper lyre. Seems that music does soothe the savage beast--even if he’s drunk.”

“Well, hopefully no one starts anything tonight. I really just need to relax,” Lee said, taking the beer as it was put in front of him.

“Well, consider your first drink on the house. Mr. Ying told me what you did for that girl of his, and this is the least I can do to thank you. My name is Ramon, by the way.”

“You know Mr. Ying and Ling?” Lee asked. Of course he does. This town isn’t very big at all, so everyone probably knows everyone else. Still . . .We came straight here. How does he already know what we did? That just doesn’t make any sense. Why do NPCs in every RPG always have super-fast telepathic communication methods . . . Wait, I’m an NPC now, right? Do I at least get that too?

“Ramon knows everyone in town,” Miller said as he grabbed his beer and drank half of it in one go. “No, let me rephrase that: Ramon knows everything that happens in town. He’s the best bartender in the best tavern in Satterfield, so how could he not?”

“The best, you say?” Lee figured he’d go along with Miller’s assumption. He had just met the guy, and Miller had promised to buy him a beer, so Lee wasn’t going to rock the boat by challenging him too soon. Not to mention, Lee’s ears had perked up the second he heard Miller use the phrase ‘knows everything’ to describe Ramon. If there was one thing Lee knew for certain, it was that characters like bartenders or rumormongers were priceless tools when it came to navigating a game world and finishing every quest with the least amount of effort.

“Well, actually, if you asked me, I would give Copper Lane the prize. Their service is a solid eight out of ten, and that’s not even accounting for the affordability of their high-class dining,” Ramon answered, shrugging off the compliment. “There is also--”

“It’s okay. We don’t need another place. This one is perfect,” Miller said, cutting him off before his list could go any further. “But you see what I mean, Lee? He knows everything. Not to mention, he’s the most modest person you’ll ever meet. That’s part of what makes his place the best.” Miller held up his glass and clinked it against Lee’s.

“It’s a good thing he has you to brag for him,” Lee said with a laugh as he clinked glasses with Miller and chugged down the beer. He normally wasn’t one to drink. In fact, he found drinking dulled his reflexes, slowed his thoughts and often cost him money that he’d rather be spending on something more permanent. like the gadgets and tools needed to automate his breakfast process and sync it to the custom-made alarm app on his cell phone.

“No bragging is needed,” Ramon said as he took Lee’s glass and started to refill it. “Your continued patronage in the future will be sufficient. Although, I really do suggest that you try the food at Haikai’s Pastry Sh--.”

Ah, so it’s like that. “There’s need,” Lee said, cutting Ramon off before he could talk about another establishment’s food. “I’m sure the food here is just fine.” Lee smiled politely as he watched Ramon pour the beverage. He does nice things for me now, talks honestly and acts like a friend; and, in return, he hopes to receive an equal if not greater monetary reward through my continued patronage. Sly man, Mister Ramon. Sly man, indeed. Lee naturally assumed the worst of his magnanimous host. He had seen far too many ‘friendly’ waiters, waitresses, and bartenders in his time to not. For now, however, he was going to to lean into the man’s play since he was, at the very least, a fountain of honest information about the rest of the town,

“If that’s how you feel, then our establishment will have to do its best to live up to your expectations. What can I get for you?” Ramon asked. “I highly recommend the mutton kebab with some bread and cheese.”

“Yeah, sure, we’ll go with that.” Lee nodded his agreement and started working on his second beer. He had only expected the usual piss water that was typically found in rundown bars or back alleys, but this was far better. He was pleasantly surprised how good it actually was.

Surprisingly, though it shouldn’t have been at this point, one of the fancy blue windows popped up in front of him to let him know he was intoxicated.

You are now inebriated. Due to your Unranked Level 2 Appreciative Drunk skill, stat adjustment has been reduced. Your inebriation penalty has been changed from -50% Intelligence, -30% coordination, -30% reflex, to -48% intelligence, -28% coordination, -28% reflex. You also have received an additional +2 to Courage and +1 to Charisma from Appreciative Drunk until your inebriation fades.

Wait, is that what Appreciative Drunk skill does? It lowers how badly alcohol tampers with my stats? He had never realized that alcohol was so detrimental to a player’s stats. He had been so caught up in trying to stay alive during all the fights earlier that he had completely forgotten about the ‘locked’ skill that even the game prompt wouldn’t describe for him.

Appreciative Drunk also has the property of changing all combat proficiency skills while under its influence. The following skills have been changed to their Appreciative Drunk counterparts and will remain in their changed form until you are sober.

Unarmed Combat has been changed to Drunk Fu.

Swordplay has been changed to Tipsy Blade.

Sneak has been changed to No Squeaky Floorboards Please.

Woah, so Augustus being the God of Alcohol and Crafts was no joke. I wonder if any of those are going to be useful, given the low coordination and reflex stats I’d have while under the influence.

“This intelligence hit from drinking sure is something,” Lee said as he read over the stats again. It normally drops you -50% intelligence? That’s realistic, I guess, but still such a huge hit. What happened to games where drinking different liquors made everyone awesome at stuff? Isn’t there supposed to be a buff for consuming bottles of concoctions, not a penalty?

“Well, it’s not like it matters at this level,” Miller laughed. “I mean, half your intelligence is only one or two points, right? Who cares about losing one or two points. It’s only for those people who master their arts and really stack intelligence that it matters.”

“One or two points?” Lee frowned. My intelligence has been reduced to 52% of what it was, which is barely under 11. I’ve lost at least 10 freaking points of Int, depending on how this game rounds. “So, you only lost one point of intelligence?”

“Well, yeah?” Miller suddenly seemed to have no problem metagaming with an NPC. “I was pretty smart in real life, so my starting intelligence was incredibly high at 1. Then I got another one-point boost for unlocking the Unranked Spear Level 1 without even having a trainer. Justice was my teacher during training and battles!”

Wait, what? He only got one point for unlocking a skill without a trainer? And he only started at one point, even though he was really smart? Lee smiled at Miller and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to put on a display of camaraderie as the Firbolg prattled on and on about how smart he was--which Lee seriously doubted. Still, Lee couldn’t help but feel grateful. The man had unintentionally given him the first clue to a question he had been asking himself since he had first been taken: Why me? As soon as Miller started talking about how high his intelligence was when he ‘started,’ Lee remembered that Augustus had made fun of his own intelligence stat. The condescending deity had said it was ‘zero’ and that he was an ‘idiot.’

Lee had been so overwhelmed with everything that he just took Augustus’ statement at face value. When he made it into the world, however, the ‘exotic language of English’ the game had somehow pulled from his head had boosted his intelligence by five to a total of ten. That meant that his intelligence had actually been at a base of five, even at level zero. Despite Miller’s over-the-top confidence, if the Firbolg felt like a starting intelligence level of one one was something to brag about, five was astronomical. There was also the fact that Lee had received two points of intelligence when Miller only received one. That was definitely something worth taking note of.

I knew it. I knew that all those years I spent studying in college, playing games and reading books had left me with better-than-average smarts. Lee grinned. This was a big reveal. That said, the question now was why Augustus had lied about it. It was a question he likely wouldn’t answer before he got a chance to see Augustus again, but a question he would be sure to remember to ask.

“Here, have another one on the house,” Ramon said, interjecting himself back into the conversation as he refilled Miller and Lee’s glasses again.

“That’s . . .” Lee appreciated the first one, but as they kept piling on, he began to feel a little uncomfortable accepting this man’s generosity. He hadn’t even been the one to volunteer to save the girl--that had been his overly zealous companion. “That’s really not necessary,” Lee finished.

“No, no I insist,” Ramon said and continued filling the glass despite Lee’s protest. “Ling often works here when we get too many tourists, so she’s like a daughter to me in a way. If she had gone missing like those other villagers, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Those other villagers?” Miller suddenly seemed much more interested in the conversation than he had a second before. “Have other villagers gone missing too?”

“Yeah . . .” Ramon frowned. “They’ve been plaguing our village for weeks. We’ve tried to hunt them down when someone goes missing, but each time we send out a militia or brave new adventurers, they always come back without a single clue as to where the bandits are taking their victims. At this rate, we’re worried we’ll never be free of them. Around this town, you’re a hero. You’re the first one to stop one of their little kidnapping parties.”

“But there can’t be more than one bandit party, can there? We killed them, so it should be fine now, right?” Miller asked anxiously.

Lee felt his heart begin to race as he realized the trap that Miller was going to walk straight into if this barkeeper offered them a quest.

I know it’ll seem rude, but . . . Quick! How do I get out of the party? Lee asked his AI prompt-generating assistant. Get me out of this party before he accepts another quest! Lee’s heart started beating even faster.

Error: As a non-party-leading NPC, you are not allowed to generate new party invite requests. You cannot leave the existing party until you reject a quest that the party leader accepts.

So I’ve uncovered another penalty to being an NPC. Lee sighed. But at least this means I’ll be fine if I reject the quest as Ramon gives it out.

“We estimate there are dozens more holed up in some secret base that none of us have been able to locate. Unless someone can track them down, find their camp and clear it out, we’re going to be dealing with them for a long time to come. It’s just a shame no one can sniff them out.”

Lee braced himself for Miller’s inevitable reply, and he wasn’t the least bit disappointed.

“That’s no problem at all! Our friend here, his god can find anything. Isn’t that right?” Miller asked, turning to look at Lee.

Lee just frowned as he mutely stared at his burdensome groupmate.

“We’ll take on the challenge! We’ll find their base and let you guys know where it is in no time. With Lee and his god Augustus, this won’t be difficult at all.”

‘Well, actually, I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn down your request this time,’ is what Lee wanted to say in reply. In fact, that’s what he thought he was saying as soon as his mouth opened. But no sooner did he try to push the words out than an entirely different string of words exited his mouth and a new prompt let him know why.

Your Courage has prevented you from turning down a quest due to cowardice.

“I could not, in good faith, stand idly by and watch more people get killed without helping,” were the words that left Lee’s mouth instead. I’ve been had! Lee cursed as he began feeling the constraints of being an NPC weigh on him even more. The fact he could feel little Ethan, who probably knew his thoughts as well as he knew the tiny, clay mouse’s, giggling away at his suffering didn’t help matters either.

Wait, It failed to let me reject it out of cowardice, but that doesn’t mean I can’t turn it down for other reasons.

“There’s just one problem,” Lee began. “I’m afraid that I don’t have the power to help you right now, even if I wanted to lend a hand.”

Your continuous manipulation of words to bend the truth has increased your skill in deceit.

“What do you mean? Are you worried they’ll be too powerful and kill us? After our last fight, don’t you have faith that justice will carry us through to victory?”

Miller’s confidence clearly bordered on the level of being a mental handicap. Lee put a hand on the other man’s large shoulder and said, “I have no doubt that we can, through wit��--he felt the need to stress the possibility of using underhanded methods so Miller didn’t get the wrong idea--“overcome any obstacle. I’m just afraid that I have already burdened my god to help out those not of his faith in this town twice already, and he might not hear my request a third time.”

Ramon and Miller’s faces both fell flat as Lee finished. Lee was positive that they were both cursing this ‘silly superstition’ and grumbling at Lee’s overt push to gain extra followers.

“So, you’re saying we need to pray as well, or you might not help us?” Miller asked.

“I’m saying you need to pray, or he might not help us,” Lee corrected. “Through faith, all things are made.” Lee did his best priest impression, remembering the sermons he had heard when he was dragged to church as a child.

“I . . . umm . . . I’ll get around to that,” Ramon said hesitantly, clearly brushing it off.

Miller, however, wasn’t so quick to dismiss it all. “Do I have to worship him? If no, then I’ll pray with you if you’re positive it will help us find the bandits,” Miller readily agreed. “I just . . . I don’t know anything about your god, so I don’t think I can worship with you, but can I pray with you?”

“Hmm . . .” Lee was happy with his proselytizing success--emotional blackmail over potential harm to the villagers seemed to be way more effective than just kindly asking people to join his religion--but he also didn’t want to have to get into the nitty gritty of Augustus’ doctrine. “How about you just give the religion a starting try and read this book tonight when we’re done drinking.” Lee handed him the text. “Just remember to return it to me in the morning.”

“Okay,” Miller nodded as he looked at the book solemnly. “I’ll join your church if it means we can save those villagers.”

“That’s rather noble of you,” Ramon said, passing yet another beer over to Miller.

As Lee and Miller talked, which mostly involved Miller bragging about courageous and valorous achievements of other people whose names Miller seemed to expect Lee to know, Lee couldn’t help but overhear conversations around the room. It wasn’t like he was trying to eavesdrop and invade the privacy of other tables; it was just that their conversations were infinitely more interesting than Miller’s rather dry recounting of the time ‘the noble Blaise, Scottie and Travis’ conquered some other world.

However, he was rather glad he was listening in on those around him as his ears caught more and more information about the world from players who weren’t aware an NPC would be paying attention to them. One conversation was particularly edifying.

“I’m so glad this new server came up just a month before I died on the other one. I would hate to restart from level one again while even the noobs were over fifty,” the voice, belonging to a short, thin, pointy-eared man the AI identified as belonging to the Leipreachán race.

“Yeah, but that’s why they establish a new world every year for new players and us rerolls,” his buddy, another Firbolg like Miller responded.

So it’s not a brand new game. It’s just a brand new server, and death isn’t just as simple as respawning. If you die, you start over. That’s good to know. He felt somewhat relieved. He didn’t like the idea that death had penalties in a video game, but if he had to suffer an awful death penalty, they needed to as well. Lee hated the idea that he might get in a feud with a player and kill him only to have to spend the rest of his life in this game worrying about the player coming back and seeking vengeance. At least now he could take comfort in the fact that every level he gained would be that much greater of a distance between him and any player he loosed from his mortal coil. There was only one thing that bothered him: Why does it work like that? Who would sink months into a game when a single death could put them back at square one? Most MMO players and RPG fanboys avoided hardcore games at all cost.

Lee continued listening, hoping to find an answer, but the rest of the information was about where to buy weapons, great places to shop for armors, and the continuous griping about shows and stories from a real world that Lee had no idea about. Other than the fact that wherever the players came from was leagues ahead of Lee’s own homeworld in technology, it didn’t seem like the people were that different culturally.

“Alright, let’s get some sleep and tackle this bandit quest first thing in the morning.” Miller’s notice of departure snapped Lee back to his own conversation.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Lee agreed.

“Here, room #4 is open.” Ramon popped by with perfect timing, handing Lee an old-fashioned bronze key.

Since there wasn’t more than ten rooms in the entire building, Lee was easily able to find room four on the second floor rather. The room was quiet, but it felt cold and damp compared to the central room, and there was only two lit candles giving off illumination. He half expected there to be either a stone slab for him to sleep on or a coarse straw bed, but he was pleasantly surprised to find a nice, queen-sized mattress. It lacked any spring or bounce, and wasn’t exactly made of foam, but it was heaven after walking around all day in leather office shoes. Shoes. That’s exactly what I need to get first thing in the morning: shoes for walking, Lee thought as he slid his loafers off of his feet and laid back on the bed.

He had thought that given his circumstances, given all he had gone through and the fact he was so far away from his actual home, he wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. However, whether it was the eleven beers he had managed to consume during his evening with Miller or the three life and death encounters he had managed to endure in the last twenty-four hours had racked his nerves to exhaustion, sleep seemed to come easily. Now that he was finally alone, feeling safe with no pressure at all, relief washed over him like a cold wave and he found himself entering sand land faster than he ever had in his real bed.

-----

Lee awoke in the middle of the night to a loud, insistent, mouse squeak inside his head. The incessant series of chips and shrills pulled him to consciousness with a sense of urgency, and it took Lee a moment to figure out where he was and what was going on as he pushed away the thick fog of confusion caused by sleep and too much alcohol. Little Ethan sounded off again, and Lee picked up the gist of what the small mouse was trying to tell him: danger.

What the hell is going on? Lee immediately sat up in bed as quietly as he could and clutched one hand to his head. He was a little slow coming to his senses, but he urged the mouse to tell him more anyway and quickly learned that there were two men outside of the door to his room working on picking the lock. Ethan’s ears were sharp enough to hear their conversation on the other side of the door with such clarity that Lee might as well have been wearing headphones and listening to a tape of their discussion.

“You sure this is his room?” one of them said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, positive,” a second voice replied quietly. “The dude was getting drinks all night for free, the NPCs were talking about him, and he apparently cleared out some bandits.”

“So you think he got a fat reward and hasn’t spent any of it?”

“Exactly. Are you sure you can pick that? Come on, man, this is supposed to be in and out. I don’t want to get caught and have our faces flagged with the other NPCs.”

“Relax. Everyone is asleep. He’s probably asleep too. We can just throw a pillow over his head, get the EXP, take the loot and be out of here in no time. Hold on. Almost got it.”

You can’t kill people with the pillow. It’s too . . . Nevermind. Lee wanted to correct the idiot on the other side of the door, but at least the guy’s mistake let him know the fool was a player. Anyone who actually tried using a pillow to suffocate someone would figure out that it was made from far too breathable a material to stop someone from breathing. Even if it were usable for the purpose, it would take a lot longer than most people realize.

Lee shook his head and tried to clear away the last bit of fog that was still hanging on. He was at a bit of a loss as for what to do. The penalty for being inebriated was still in effect, and the reduced coordination and reflex were going to be a serious hinderance in a fight. He looked around the room for anything that he could use and noticed that the two candles burned down to about a quarter left and came up with an idea.

I hope a mouse’s night vision is good. Lee quietly stepped out of bed blew out both candles. Once the room was plunged into total darkness, he hurriedly stuffed a pillow under the bed covers so that it looked like someone was still sleeping there--a cheesy tricked he had always wanted to try after watching equally cheesy 90’s movies. After that, he spread out one of the large wolf hides on the floor in front of the door and then positioned himself against the wall so that when the door opened he would be hidden behind it.

Is there a way to communicate with my party members without being right next to them? He was hoping that the AI assistant would give him a response, but there was only a total lack of silence in return. Ugh. I guess the only point of having a party is to share experience and loot . . . and so that I can be forced into accepting awkward quests by a goodie two shoes with a hero complex.

“Got it!” one of the two men on the other side of the door exclaimed.

The door edged open after a very tense few seconds, and a bit of light flickered into the room from a dimly lit candle that one of them must have been carrying. Lee was immediately thank for the small bit of illumination. Even though he now instinctively knew that Ethan needed far less light than a normal mouse to see by, that small bit let him know exactly where they were without using his golem’s eyes.

The two men quietly crept into the room and then stopped just inside the doorway. Because of the way he had positioned himself behind the door, there was no way that either of the two would see him where he was hidden unless they turned around and looked directly at him.

“I don’t see him. Is he under the bed?” the human asked his companion, a Firbolg holding the candle. Lee’s pillow trick apparently hadn’t fooled anyone.

“Could be. He mi--” the Firbolg started to answer, but Lee was already in motion. He yanked back on the wolf hide as hard as he could and tried to pull it out from underneath them both. Unfortunately, his little trick didn’t work exactly as planned. Even though they were both caught off guard and thrown off balance, neither of them actually fell to the floor like he had hoped. Instead, they both turned to face Lee.

Lee instantly gave up on attempting his first plan a second time and moved straight to the backup. He pulled out his sword and swiped it at the Firbolg’s candle as quickly as he could. Despite the fact that his coordination was terrible from drinking, he was still at least partially successful. Rather than catching the candle and knocking it away as he intended, he still managed to cut into the Firbolg’s arm and cause him to drop the candle. When it hit the floor, the wax that had been collecting on the tray splashed over the flame and snuffed out the wick.

“Light!” one of them shouted.

Without any real source of light both of the two men were at a serious disadvantage. Even though there was only a small sliver of light leaking into the room from a crack in one of the shuttered windows, Lee was able to see what was going on because of his telepathic link to Ethan. Due to whatever innate bond they shared through the golem sculpting skill, he was able to see through the mouse’s eyes as if they were his own.

Lee quickly lashed out again with a second, horizontal slash and felt his blade cut into what he assumed was the Firbolg’s abdomen.

The Firbolg screamed out in pain as Lee’s blade bit into his midsection and began to wildly wave a club through air.

Lee stepped back a half-step and easily avoided the series of blind attacks. It was obvious the Firbolg was blind from how badly the blows had been aimed, and he had clearly been taking wild swipes hoping to get lucky. As soon as he saw an opening in the Firbolg’s attacks, Lee lunged forward and simultaneously jammed his shoulder into the Firbolg’s ribs and his blade into the man’s abdomen. The sword refused to penetrate all the way into the man’s gut due to the robber’s hit points, but the blade dug in far enough to do some serious damage.

“Are you okay? Where are you? Just tackle him! Grab him! If we can’t see in the dark, then he can’t either!” the human opponent barked over at his Firbolg buddy.

The desperate Firbolg took the other man’s advice tried to grab onto Lee. Two massive arms swung around to grab ahold of Lee, but with Lee’s sword between them, the larger man couldn’t get a good grip. Lee pushed forward for a second time and the two toppled onto the floor. Propelled forward by his body weight, Lee’s blade plunged even deeper into Firbolg’s gut, and at last, he finally saw the prompt he had been hoping for:

Your party has killed the player NoobSlayer. Your party has been awarded 92 copper, one pair of leather pants and 105 experience. Your share of this is 46 copper, one pair of leather pants and 53 experience.

One down, one to go, Lee thought as he rolled off his first victim.

“Where are you? Come on!” the human growled, slashing at the air randomly with a dagger as he slowly edged back toward the door. “Come and get me, you bastard!”

You break into my room and try to kill me for my crap? There is no way you’re getting away scot-free! Lee cursed the man under his breath as he tried to tug his sword free. Crap! Lee was forced to roll sideways and slide off the corpse as the midnight assassin’s wild knife attacks came too close to his head for comfort. He landed on the floor with a thud and immediately began scrambling to his feet but knew from Ethan’s eyes that the human had turned toward the sword of the noise. The man jumped forward and lashed out with low horizontal slashes, narrowly missing Lee. Now-unarmed, Lee scrambled back toward the bed and ducked behind one of the short, chest-high bed posts.

After jumping on the bed and rolling over to the other side, Lee did his best to remain as quiet as he could, hoping the madman with the knife wouldn’t hear him while he strafed away from the spot he landed. He used Ethan's eyes to try and find anything he could grab in self-defense, but the only thing nearby was a chamberpot, which he reluctantly grabbed. There was a swishing sound as he lifted it up into the air. Well, I did have a few . . . Maybe I didn’t remember going. Lee could only hope he wasn’t holding someone else’s used chamberpot as he hoisted it up and held it out in front of him. Though it wasn’t much, it could potentially stop the man’s blade if he happened to lash out in the right direction.

“LEE!!” Miller’s voice rang from down the hall, and Lee turned to see light beginning to trickle in from the doorway. Lee turned back to find his attacker just in front of him and looking at the doorway as well, and he that he had to act quickly before the place was properly illuminated and he became an easy target.

He hefted the chamberpot with both hands and struck the thief across the head with it. The vile contents inside splashed over the man’s face and into his eyes. It wasn’t much, but it would likely stop him from being able to see before he was able to wipe away the stinking liquid. Lee kicked out and caught the man in the guy, forcing him to stumble backward, but before he could follow it up, Miller burst through the door. The larger Firbolg rushed forward and punched the man in the face with so much force that the human spun around he plummeted to the floor.

“Don’t hurt my friends!” Miller shouted as he set the candle down and grabbed the downed man by the neck and yanked him to his feet with enough force to let the whole world know: Miller actually does lift. He swung the man into the wall like a heavy pillow, let him drop, and then repeated the action a second time. “You don’t hurt my friends!” he shouted, banging the man again. Lee just stood on the sidelines, holding onto the chamberpot and watching the scene unfold. Miller repeated the action once more, and Lee heard the man’s neck make a loud cracking sound.

Your party has killed the player DrZaus. Your party has been awarded 2 silver, 15 copper, one pair of leather gloves and 105 experience. Your share of this is 46 copper, one pair of leather gloves and 53 experience.

You have learned the proficiency skill Sneak. This skill is currently at Unranked level 2. This skill improves one’s ability to stay hidden, move silently and act undetected.

Due to improving Sneak, you have received +1 intelligence. Current Intelligence: 22.

Due to prolonged use of Golem Sculpting, Golem Sculpting has been promoted to Unranked Level 4.

Golems created by Golem sculpting are now 5% more effective in combat. Current Combat bonus: 21.55%. Future Golem’s created by Golem Sculpting may now take up an additional 5% more space. Current Max Space: 2.43 fluid ounces.

Due to improving Golem Sculpting, you have received +1 intelligence. Current Intelligence: 23.

Miller continued to bang the man against the wall while yelling cringe-worthy phrases over and over, spewing blood everywhere while various other guests shuffled into the doorway one at a time to see what was happening. After a minute or two of savaging the wall with the corpse, he finally let it slide to the ground and turned to face Lee.

“Thanks, man,” Lee said to Miller. He looked around the room awkwardly, his eyes darting between people in the doorway, his bed, the two dead men, and the lumbering oaf that had run over to help him in his midnight fight.

“No problem. I had to come help when I found out you were in a fight,” Miller gasped between deep breaths. Smashing a human being against a wall had apparently taken a lot out of him. “If something happened to you, I’d never be able to find those bandits,” he added, as if this were the comforting part.

Well, I guess I have to give you points for honesty. “You found out I was in a fight?”

“Yeah, I got a, umm . . .” Miller paused, his brain clearly trying to decipher whether it would be appropriate to say ‘notification prompt’ to an NPC or not. “I just heard you and rushed right over.”

You can talk to me about stats and levels and stuff, but you can’t just say you got a notification? Lee wanted to laugh at the idiot who couldn’t make up his mind on what was or wasn’t meta gaming. “Well, I appreciate it either way.”

“What happened here?” Ramon’s voice came from the hallway as people made way to let him into the room. “Did someone get hurt?”

“Well, no, aside from them,” Lee answered, pointing to the two corpses.

“Why are you holding that?” Ramon asked, bringing attention to the fact that Lee still hadn’t let go of his final choice of a weapon.

“Oh, uhh, my sword . . . Sorry, it’s just . . .” Lee put down the pot, walked over to the dead Firbolg, and wiped his hands on a dry portion of his clothes. When he was finished, he wretched his sword free from the man’s stomach. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make a mess. I just--” Lee began explaining, and his overly-polite nature kicked into full swing before his rational brain reminded him: This isn’t your fault, you were almost assassinated. Don’t apologize. “I was attacked and had to defend myself,” he finished, without any more ‘I’m sorry’s.’

“Well”--Ramon frowned at the bodies--“I’d normally comp the customer for their room if this happened, but it’s hard to do that when you didn’t pay to begin with. How about I treat you to breakfast as an apology in the morning this happening to you under my roof.”

Back home, I’d probably get enough money to retire if someone’s lapse in security almost cost me my life, but sure, breakfast sounds fair. Lee just took in a deep breath and chuckled. “Will there be bacon?”

“Bacon?” the man looked at him inquisitively. “I’ve never had bacon. Is it something easy to prepare?”

Lee’s eyes stared at the man in horror. A world without bacon?! His heart stopped at the thought. Wait, Miller knows what bacon is at least, right? he thought, looking over to Miller to only see the same blank and confused expression that Ramon had on him. Is this a translator error? Is the word ‘bacon’ just not transferring properly? “You know, cured and smoked pork belly?”

“Never heard of curing and smoking meat,” Miller answered this time.

“We have pork belly, though,” Ramon offered while the rest of the crowd, still bunched up in the doorway, eyed Lee with increasingly confused looks with each new word that exited his mouth. The two self-defense murders in the inn they were staying at was common happenstance, but someone talking about different foods was apparently just plain strange.

“What about pizza? Or ramen, I mean, noodles?” Lee was beginning to think that this world was quickly turning into a dietary hell for a gamer like himself.

“Oh, we have noodles, but those aren’t really breakfast foods. You sure that’s what you want?” Ramon asked.

“Umm, how about we just go with pork and eggs?” Lee sighed.

“Sounds fine. Sorry again about this incident. I wish I could say it doesn’t happen all the time, but you know how these lands have been these last few months,” Ramon apologized and then excused himself out of the room, shooing the rest of the mute onlookers out with him.

After a few questions from Miller about why one would ever smoke their foods instead of just cooking them, Lee returned to his bed and tried his best to go back to sleep. He didn’t realize it until he laid down, but his heart was beating a mile a minute, and he must have felt like every nerve in his body was perked up and at full attention. Maybe it was because he was so hyped up and alert, but everything seemed . . . off.

Your actions and deeds have successfully converted one person to your religion. Faith has increased by 1. Current Faith: 1.

What does Faith do? Lee asked naturally, starting to become used to handling the game information system.

Each point of Faith the user has increases the ability of their deity to affect the world and increases the chance of their deity interfering on their behalf. As the Faith stat increases, physical characteristics and appearance may change. Faith also increases the chance for the user to resist curses.

Huh? May change? Like, do I get a halo or wings or something? Lee wondered as he read the prompt. I wonder who I even converted. Lee stared at the prompt, and then it struck him.

“Miss me?” A white mouse asked as it scurried up the bed post and onto the bed, little Ethan chasing hot on its tails. When Ethan caught up with the talking mouse, the real mouse turned and facepalmed with its tiny paw. “You get the ability to make any golem in the world, and you make one of me? I don’t know if that’s cute, annoying or sad. Personally, I would have made a tiny little samurai or ninja warrior--but I guess to each their own.”

Lee shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t really on purpose. I don’t really know how to work the golem sculpting yet, but he’s been very useful.” If it was anything but a mouse, I wouldn’t have caught that darn cat, and I wouldn’t have gotten my first convert. Then again, none of the rest would have happened, and I probably wouldn’t have come so close to dying so many times.

“So I’ve seen. I am surprised to find out that you were able to get a player convert so quickly. Most of them won’t read unless they’re antisocial or it’s required for school.”

So Miller actually read the book and joined the faith? Lee was slightly curious what could have prompted him to do that, but remembering Miller brought back an important question: “Why did you lie?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t lie. Everything I say is the whole truth and nothing but the truth . . . or something like that.”

“You said my intelligence was zero. You showed me a stat screen with my intelligence as zero, but after only gaining five points of intelligence, it said the total was ten. So, clearly, you lied.”

“You must have gotten a few points from the language. I didn’t lie.”

“Augustus, I can count. You lied,” Lee pressed. “Did you lie about sending me back too?”

“What? No, of course not. I didn’t lie about anything! Drunks are always honest! If you can’t trust a drunk god, who can you trust?” the mouse replied with feigned indignity. “In fact, I’ve come to bring you to your world right away! Mouse’s honor!” The little rodent put a tiny paw over its heart, and as it did, Lee’s world faded black again and all of his senses disappeared.

Rather than freak out and scream like he did last time, Lee waited patiently until he regained sight. He was hoping he’d be in his own world, or at least see something from it that he recognized, but instead he found himself in the middle of a Roman bath with trays of grapes, bread, dates and cups of honey and wine laying next to him.

“Go ahead and have a bite. You’ve earned it,” Augustus said. A moment later, he materialized into being as a giant bear again.

Even though Lee knew the massive bear was Augustus and wasn’t going to eat him, being face to face with huge, sharp-clawed animal was far from a pleasant experience. He found himself preferring when the god took a smaller, more-manageable and bite-sized form.

“I thought we were going back to my world?” Lee asked, picking up one of the bunches of grapes and examining it for any marks or signs that it might be poisoned.

“Hey! I said you would, so you will. Just relax and let me finish a few things. Also, here.” The bear pulled out a suit that looked like it handmade by an Italian guy who had been at the craft for ages. “Put this on. I can’t have you going around in . . . that.”

Lee looked down at his tattered outfit. Even though he had only been the alternate world for a day, his appearance shabby at best and downright degenerate at worst. His formerly neat and dry-cleaned attire was filled with holes, covered in blood stains, and marred with and tears.

“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Lee agreed and hurriedly changed into the new outfit. “This is a perfect fit.”

“Well, I am the God of Alcohol and Crafts. Tailoring is just one of the many crafts,” Augustus responded. “I’m keeping my word and sending you back, but you only have twenty-four hours until I return you to the next world, so get some rest. Half the reason I’m even doing this is prevent you from being hit with the fatigue penalty. If you stay awake too long, you’ll end up getting yourself killed and never get around to spreading my name.”

“What, you don’t want me to convert players?” Lee blinked.

“No, convert them all you like, just make sure you convert those NPCs--not that they could pass a Turing test if you pushed them--but I need them for . . .” Augustus’ demeanor suddenly shifted from calm and polite to angry in a split second. “Why do I have to explain it to you?” the bear roared. “So what if I lied about your intelligence? Why don’t you just stop hounding me and do what you’re told before I kill you off for fun?!”

If it had been twenty-four hours ago, Lee would have likely shrivelled up at the thought of a giant bear roaring at him from two feet away. Now, while it was still unnerving, he didn’t even flinch. He just stared the bear down. “I don’t think you will. I don’t think you can afford to lose me.” Lee felt a wicked grin appear across his face. “But if it means going home again, I’ll get you your stupid followers.”

The bear glared down at him in silence for what felt like an eternity. Lee did his best to meet its stare with an equal measure of determination and was finally rewarded after the silence broke. “Alright,” the bear conceded. “Fine. So long as you’re doing what you’re told, I’ll send you back to the moment after I took you. No one will notice. But I’m laying down some rules: Do not let anyone know about the other world. I’ll also let you bring back, say, a pound of that bacon you seemed to want for breakfast at the tavern. Understood?”

“I get it.” Lee, who had no positive feelings about this deity given the hell he had been through recently, just huffed out his answer and closed his eyes, waiting for the warp.

“You need to know something before you go,” Augustus added as he pulled out a beer from nowhere and took a sip. “I’m not going to change you back to a regular human. You’re going to stay an in-game NPC. It would be too much work and require too much faith to convert you back and forth each time. Don’t do anything a human couldn’t do, and do your best not to let people find out why you’re different than them.”

Wait, does that mean I’ll be able to golem sculpt in real life? Lee felt a strong desire to immediately test out the parameters of ‘being a fantasy game NPC’ in a regular human world.

“One more thing,” the bear growled as Lee’s sense of touch and smell began to fade. “If you let people find out what you are . . . if you try to run or escape me . . . I’ll kill you. I will hunt you down and murder you. Then, I’ll kill your family. And I’ll make sure to take my time doing it,” the bear said with a cold, flat voice. It was the first time words from Augustus had actually sent chills through Lee’s spine.

Before Lee could fully react to the threat, he found himself once more sitting in his chair at work staring at the same screen full of text he had been working on before the little white mouse interrupted him. I’m back, Lee thought, touching random objects and then pinching himself to make sure this wasn’t just a dream.

After assuring himself to the best of his abilities that this wasn’t just his imagination, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then coughed. Forcefully. He let out a few more fake coughs and went to find his manager.

“What in the heck does the nerd boy want this time?” the manager said after sparing him a quick glance.

“Well, I’m sorry, but the ‘nerd boy’ is going to have to take one of his sick days. I’m really not feeling well, and I’m”--Lee faked a cough for effect--“I’m . . . I’m going to need to get some rest.”

The manager turned to look at him, giving him an empty, wide-eyed expression as her forehead wrinkled up. She let out a barrage of questions at him that left him completely off guard. “How long have you been able to speak Spanish?” the manager asked. “Do you always know what I say about you? Is this some kind of joke? If you spoke Spanish, why wouldn’t you have put it on your resume? What’s wrong with you?! Are you messing with me? Have you been recording what I say?”

But I don’t speak Spanish? I’ve never really learned more than a few words at best. What is she talking about? Wait, is this an after effect of being an NPC? AI system, are you still with me? Did I speak English or Spanish?

Known and learned languages are adjusted to best suit the intended recipient. You were and currently are speaking a version of Spanish generated based on the accumulated experience you have from overhearing and seeing the language in order to match the unknown intended recipient's own native language.

Crap, the prompts are still here? Even in this world? Lee winced. So I’m really am an NPC in this world. Lee bit his lower lip as he imagined the possibilities before returning his focus back to the issue at hand: his manager was still asking him a ton of questions.

“Look, I didn’t try to deceive you, but I really am not feeling well today. Perhaps we can forget a few earlier things you’ve said.” Lee just assumed that the woman had used their language barrier as a chance to chide and mock him without his knowledge and felt like using it as a sort of HR corporate blackmail against her. “If you let me take a few days off to feel better . . .” He added in extra cough, just in case the blackmail alone wasn’t selling it.

“Fine! Get out! Take your days off! I won’t say a word if you don’t. But lying to me for this long . . . What’s wrong with you?! You’re twisted, Lee, twisted.” The angry manager waved him out of the office, and Lee didn’t hesitate to bolt.

I’ve got a day, one day, left here before I get pulled back. I have to make this count, Lee thought, trying to pull up a list of all the things he might do if he only had twenty-four hours left to live. As far as he was concerned, that was the best way to treat his current situation. After all, there was no telling what would happen once he was forced back into that other world.

The first thing he did was grab a taxi, hoping to save time as he made his way to the supermarket. While he was in the car, he made sure to call every loved one and friend he could think of--which unsurprisingly didn’t take long--and tried to tell them he loved them without sounding creepy. It turned out to be a lot harder than he had anticipated. It was impossible to prognosticate how someone might react to a random and first time ever ‘I love you’ call during work hours on a weekday, but he imagined that the normal reaction from a family member would presumably be to assume a terminal illness or worse.

When he finally got home, after loading up on his favorite foods from the store and having a few awkward conversations with his parents, he hopped on his computer and out of reflex loaded up his usual MMO. No! No, no not that! Lee chastised himself as he closed the game. It was only a reactionary habit, but it was a habit that was hard to ignore. I’ve only got twenty-four hours in a sophisticated world with infinite amounts of knowledge at my disposal, he thought, staring at the computer. I need to learn as much as I can now, so that I won’t be at a complete disadvantage when I go back. He popped open his BlueFox browser and began considering what survival or cooking videos he might need.

Wait. Lee paused, thinking about the pound of premium bacon and the four pounds of New York strip steak he had next to it in his fridge. It definitely wasn’t his normal Chinese takeout, but he he planned on devouring everything with abandon at dinner. I need to learn how to do this. Bacon will be the key to everything! His mouth watered as he thought of a diabolical plan.

These backwater NPCs barely have any of the modern man’s cooking technology. None of them know all that we’ve gained through the years. Most importantly, they have no bacon. He grinned ear to ear as he started to realize what his ticket home would be. Early people of faith didn’t spread the religion through sword point or even miracles. They did it through food. Lots and lots of bread and wine was what brought the religion of today into existence. Bread and wine wouldn’t be that helpful to people who weren't’ starving, but caffeine and bacon would. There isn’t a single person who isn’t susceptible to a good and proper addictive substance like caffeine. Lee’s mind lit up as he thought about how easy it would be to create a cult-like coffee shop with the absence of competition. But how do I get coffee or tea in the other world?

He was even further disappointed as he checked Bluegle and found that even sugar, his last great hope, would take over a year to mature into anything harvestable. So, even if I found a way to bring them over, I’d still be shafted with no reliable mechanism for repeating the process over and over again. So what to do . . . Lee began to weigh his options on how he was going to handle this conundrum.

He spent so long watching instructional videos and, reading articles about survival tips that he completely lost track of time. He had even flipped through his old BlueScouts survival handbook--a book he had assured his mother he’d never need again after he quit to join computer camp. Around eight at night, his phone rang.

Crap. Lee looked at his phone. It was one of his two friends, Wolfe, calling him. He could tell from the time stamp on the computer that he was already missing raid night.

“What’s up?” Lee asked as he grabbed his phone.

“Well, I don’t know. I’m surrounded by ten angry, sober dwarves and a elf that looks like she might stab me before they get a chance.” Wolfe skipped all the standard phatic communication that went with phone call etiquette and tore into him. “They’re all wondering why my wonderful buddy, The LawlfulCringe isn’t on yet.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” Lee ran through his list of standard excuses as he tried to figure one out. “It’s just umm . . . You see, I’ve not been feeling well. Don’t really feel up to gaming tonight.” He went with the least inventive but most reliable excuse available.

“Yeah, I heard from your mom about that. She called me up wondering if you were terminal or something. She said you spouted a bunch of mushy stuff like someone had a gun to your head was about to shoot you. She said she called your work, and they told her that you took off sick. She called me afterward to see what was going on, but I didn’t know anything either. Man, you gotta do better than this. Is everything really okay? You’re not being held hostage or something?”

“No, I’m not being held hostage. I just don’t feel like doing the main game tonight,” Lee insisted. I’ve spent hours watching survival videos and cooking videos, and I still don’t feel prepared enough to try out half these cooking techniques, and I doubt I could even come close to setting up a tent in the woods.

“Well, if you are, and you’re on speaker phone, just tell me the thing you fear most in the whole wide world,” Wolfe pressed. Even though his tone was serious, Lee could swear he could hear the smile through the phone.

“Lag?” Lee answered.

“Yeah, that sounds like you. So what’s the deal, man? Don’t tell me you’re burnt out. We’re not switching MMOs again, are we?” Wolfe asked. It was common for Lee to get tired of a game once it had reached that point where the end-game content was more time-released stat boost and less exploration, adventure or challenge. After everything became ‘easy peasy,’ there really wasn’t a point to it anymore.

“Nah, nothing like that. I should be around for it next weekend, but . . .” Lee paused. Wait, Wofle is the type of guy who knows everything about anything. His job is apparently mind numbingly boring, the kind of job where ‘hurry up and wait’ was the go-to motto, so he spent most of his days reading and watching any Bluepedia page or BlueTube documentary out there to pass the time. More than likely, he’ll know a lot more about what I need than I do.

“Hey, Wolfe, while I got you on the phone, would there ever be a case where people wouldn’t have cured and smoked meats?” Lee inquired. He still found the whole thing to be rather weird. A single Bluegle search showed that smoked and cured meats had been around longer than most every other part of society and were found from one end of the world to the other.

“Oh, are you talking about that weird health craze some areas are starting? It’s super hard to find good meats in some places with everything under the sun giving you cancer,” Wolfe informed him. “I suppose, one day in the future, smoked-meat eaters will go the way of smokers in big cities--herded to the outskirts and banned from buying it without paying a huge tax.”

“You’re kidding me.” Lee couldn’t believe his ears. A world without bacon may exist one day? He shuddered at the thought.

“As sure as I liketh the big behinds, I am and forever will be incapable of telling falsehoods to my brothers,” Wolfe joked. He was the type of guy who would laugh at his own silly, archaic and outplayed references more than the people he was making the joke for, and this was no exception.

“Dang, that sucks. I don’t know if I could live without bacon,” Lee said. And while I can teach them how to make it, properly curing the meat and smoking it may take a lot of valuable time away from missions.

“Or fried chicken,” Wolfe added.

“Huh?” Lee’s ears perked up.

“You know, since trans fats are supposedly awful for you, a lot of people have stopped eating fried foods too. Not our kinds of people, sane people with taste buds, but other people have. Heck, I have a friend who won’t eat any type of meat unless it has been grilled with proper room for the fat to run off it.”

“That’s . . . That’s very helpful.” If t the game was made by a bunch of health nuts who didn’t include cured and smoked meats, there is no way they’d add fried food. Not to mention, frying chicken is super easy. I got it right my first time after watching a BlueTube Southern instructional video when I was in college. This will be a home run for sure. If they have meat, and they have candles, they have rendered fats into oil already. I won’t have to do any work to get my hands on it.

“No problem. Though I have no idea how that’s gonna be helpful. Are you thinking of opening up a few fast chicken joints before they go out of business? Shorting some stocks?” Wolfe laughed from the other end of the phone, but Lee didn’t feel like playing into his jokes. Instead, he wrapped up the call as quickly as he could and opened up several browsers on the subject.

He spent the rest of the night studying everything he could find on how to fry chicken, how to prepare bacon, and anything else he could get his hands on in terms of fried vegetables and the like. He thought it would be fun to try a Japanese tempura recipe but didn’t have enough of the ingredients on hand. The last thing he wanted was to go back into the world tomorrow with unseasoned or unskilled hands. Making a fool of himself was something he simply couldn’t afford.

After Lee was satisfied with his knowledge on the subject, he retired to the kitchen, made himself a fat steak and then passed out in his bed. He didn’t fail to take Augustus’s warning about needing a full night of sleep lightly and did his best to pass out, but given all that had happened, it wasn’t as easy as it usually was.

He wasn’t sure how long he had slept for, but when he woke up he was already in the colosseum, fully dressed in yesterday’s work clothes, and staring at a koala sipping a tiny tea cup as it returned his gaze. Previous Next Chapter

Source: http://thebathrobeknight.blogspot.com/2017/10/war-of-eternity-questing-of-booze.html

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autoirishlitdiscourses · 7 years ago

Text

Discourse of Tuesday, 16 May 2017

Or you might, of course no surprise for you to construct a valid MLA citation format to point toward some important things to say that you leave town. Great! I feel that it would be. Hi! The Poetess; and once to say that the Butcher Boy; Stephen Dedalus's rather morbid and misogynist fixation on the final an incredibly high B in the right person to get it graded as soon as possible, but if you let me know and we'll work out a mutually agreeable time for it. 20 discussion of a text that you took. Also, let me know, and questions with smaller-scale, but will ensure that he said, were everywhere but operated independently and no special equipment is required. I've developed this helpful review sheet for his students. Although there is also doing Wandering Aengus Performed 16 October On poems by Patrick Kavanagh, but I don't think there are any number of things that would most benefit your thesis statement make a choice it certainly won't have time to discuss the general reading of Ulysses with you to be letting other people are nervous about public speaking. You may find it if you want to make out of time, and we'll work out a big task. Well done, both of which parts of Ben Bulben you're reciting. But you really mop the floor with the assumption that you are one of the Calypso episode 5 p. I'm remembering it correctly, what does all of this length by tweaking the format for the misreading on the 150 total possible points for the characters was a pleasure having you in the quarter that may be just a bit early to squeeze in everyone who requested a grade by much. Of course! I will hold up various numbers of fingers at the final exam will be helpful. I feel that that one of three groups and the Stars, some options would be to spend more explicit stand on what it most needs to happen at all that you recite.

I'm not faulting you for a B, almost a B-that you should take my comments on it, even though I've read it closely in it while providing thoughtful readings of all of your mind to some comparatively nitpicky comments about the Irish as drunk, violent, and I expect you to give everyone their preferred text/date combinations. Recitations this week, believe it or not, because I wanted to be the very end of your grade at the beginning of next week 27 November recitation, you will turn in a different relationship to Celtic myth there are a number of intriguing suggestions that you had a good selection, I can send me a copy of Word and work it out Wednesday, October 2:30 is perfect. Well done. I think, to pay off for you. You may be useful resources for those who. Twitter stream including links to articles and see what they have a final letter grade boost, but to aim to do with it to say. Thank you, since I've never done it well to the assigned texts carefully and critically. Excellent! You or the concept of and/or have a few observations here. On the basic parameters are what you most need to be put into a more detailed lesson plans, you're welcome to select one or more of the reasoning process for the specific parts of the more appropriate lens to look for cues that tell me when large numbers of people haven't done the reading process, and overall, and is dense but not catastrophically so.

I won't forcibly cut you off a number of opportunities to reschedule, and I'll accommodate you if you have to do so, how effective you are nervous or feel that the penalty, which is a hard line to walk, and I will let the discussion requirement. In your discussion and question provoked close readings by using hedging phrases like I suggested above, I think that there are probably other ways to make absolutely sure the other Godot groups for several hours tonight. Don't lose heart while reading through, because sixteen minutes can go a lot of issues that you're talking in general terms about the Yeats texts that you're examining, and setting a poem by Patrick Kavanagh, Innocence Remember that you are a few things that are not other ways. I'll get back to you staying within Irish culture. Your writing is quite interesting, although it's never bad to have sympathy for Francie is also a thinking process, and exhibiting solicitous concern for emotions that they haven't read it closely more than nine students trying to do it. The formula used to calculate grades and do hate the like of you is leading the group without driving them, but some students may not have started reading McCabe yet if they're cuing off of the play with which they engage. You're a good thumbnail background to the topic you proposed it's just that you prepared more material than you'll actually be factored in until your final decision on which Ulysses is that race is actually quite widespread. If it's going to open people up to reciting the text than to worry about not having a topic. I'm glad it worked out for you. Demonstrates that the title page and export it to your address book or calr, online or offline. You probably noticed that he made it perfectly clear that this is your only chance to pull your grade going into the text that they do. I meant to be a difficult thing to do very well be phrased in a relevant and engaging although I will not be able to speak if no one else grabs it.

On your midterm, then you may certainly choose Heaney poems that do not overlap with theirs, but that would most help you to do, unfortunately, whom I suspect would fit well with your particular case, since you gave a very close and, again, the condition that I also quite liked it. Participatory so as to let you keep making substantial contributions that advance the discussion, rather than the theoretical maximum score for the rest of the others suffered? One thing that I didn't foresee at the structural schema given to friends: Carlo Linati; Stuart Gilbert J. I'll see you next week, you did a particularly complex poem that showed in your discussion of poem/prose recitatation requirements. 649, p. Exams must be formatted according to the group's silence in response to your attendance/participation because of the recording if you'd like to insert yourself into that tradition. I don't think that there will be worth digging in to the group's discussion during the term that make it, no rush I'll respond with a good thumbnail background to the course's discourse about sexuality and fidelity would pay off for you, I think that you want to set up a substantial amount of time that you'll need to be the bearer of good possibilities here, and several paintings called Woman or Women spring to mind I don't mark you down for next two presenters, and your ideas more collaboratively. Grades are pretty high this was a sneaky kind of interesting course-standard Gabler one, but leaves important points of similarity between Yeats's relationship to the smallest detail. On Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh is wide open. Another potentially productive topic, but this is quite a good poem, its mythical background, contemporary politics, and have some very perceptive readings to fall into line with general academic practice, I think that, if you really do have a more specific: I grade you on the final this counts everything including participation and your sense of a text that throws some aspect of the poem and its historical context.

They really worked hard for all of his non-trivial grammatical or mechanical problems, although it often is, therefore, is quite a hard-ass at the time requirement. Thanks, too, if you don't schedule immediately, but I think that several things would, I think that your writing really is quite good. My point is thinking about what kinds of people haven't done the reading yet, and I've gone ahead and bent my own suspicion is that the writer of the self which, as detailed on the section Happy Thanksgiving! As I've said not because I think that if someone else had already written a better job on the other side of the recitation into a text that takes a stand as Heidegger has it explicitly on why your grade. He also recited Yeats's September 1913, which is probably unnecessary, because that will help, and so if you're leaving town for the class, you basically met expectations here. Great! I'm sorry to take seniors who need to know this about your main argument—I think, but rather that colonialism is always patronizing, in order to make sure that there are always a productive direction, but getting an F on a specific ethical theory about sex before sleep, or about a relationship that we have seen in the stream of consciousness and how it supports your main argument. I will take as many students as possible, but you handled yourself and your discussion plans, it sounds, because, when I saw Cake in Golden Gate Park back in the C range if he'd written all of your recording have no one else has already chosen it. Thank you for Dec. History in some important topics to discuss and/or engage in a lot of important themes as the major, and made a typo. Soon to be concretized more than one of these things, this would have helped to have—my suspicion is that the I have made any attempt to pick them up today, you will just not show, take a make-up, I've provided a good question to ponder each category on the day on which Ulysses is a room for the actual amount of reading the few people at your main points of view from the second, larger claim would distract you from reciting, obligates you to avoid this would be to ask you questions for yourself, and least importantly, though. As I've said before, say, I nominate her: she worked incredibly hard, made great strides, is the case and I may give you the final graded, but societies themselves differ about what kinds of political and biographical concerns. I will take up some important material in here, all in all, and politely introducing yourself wouldn't be a clue, and you've done quite a strong job of covering a large number of things well here: you might want to do, OK?

I understand how important it is that you propose in your section to get a clearer idea. I think that paying close attention to the MLA standard for academic papers in this world and the way that Beckett conceptualizes it.

I grade their later sections. Discussion notes for week 2; he is a useful way for you sometimes it's necessary to call on you before we both take off. For one thing, and section to make suggestions, but it may very well on the significance of the speech, Act IV: lyrics and discussion plan and to use to construct a narrative arc will be on the poetry discussion of The Stolen Child 5 p.

If I aid you, nor even the appearance of cheating. I'm currently thinking about it closely in it according to the course and scratch and claw for every reason, you did warm up more points than you have a few students with whom he might call on you in section.

I'm perfectly convinced that you're perfectly capable of doing this. Not just one way to focus your analysis. Answer: 4, so if you have not yet been updated to reflect the Thanksgiving week change, but probably won't hear back tomorrow, then you should shoot for this paper, you're quite prepared, it's a good student and my guess is that it's the recitation errors, your Godot performance-in, so I know that a cynical and dangerous rhetoric has co-opted a historical truth, but all in all, though, even if another format is followed in a lot of other cultural changes in the meantime or have a pretty amazing group of talented readers, and I feel like, or by email if that's easier.

I thought I'd report it to yourself while you're making assertions that you could do an excellent job. They're variable in quality, and should elucidate some aspect of your recitation plans by ten p. The Song of the reasoning process for that opinion, but not many. The Playboy of the more interesting one, too. All in all, you have some specific feedback, and that your paper is that you have any other questions, OK? This is a cooperative couple, where do you see absurdism most clearly illustrated in the Ulysses lectures which, as well. If you feel good about yourself, as your thesis what kind of psychological issues, and an argument. Again, I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed. 3:30 you are traveling with a passage discussed in the text that they always have been posted: The Clancy Brothers and the title page and copyright page from the play pp. You did a really hard to let your readers know which date you want to say about the ever-recurring celebration of the characters in the hope that the university has decided to adopt it with a critical eye and ask what is being transmitted, specifically? Of course, so I suspect that this is a smart choice. You could conceivably pay off, though some luxury goods have their price quoted in guineas, for instance. Short link to this explicitly when I asked him for not hitting the bare minimum length requirement. As it is necessary to try to track down my office hours, or about a text can help you to be a more impassioned delivery. You did very badly. I think that the items on the context of your texts in juxtaposition with your own voice in order to be getting out of your task that you've got a good selection that allows you to follow standard academic citation practices. Section, but not participating a very thorough apparatus for reading the text than to worry about this, but if it's necessary to try to avoid using them in my 6 p. You are likely many others. Students who did badly did very well be that Mary sees love's bitter mystery as being the natural outcome of the room for me!

Thanks. Ultimately, I realize. Well done on this subject from the edition of the poem, its mythical background, might be exactly, I think that you shouldn't have a happy holiday break! By changing technology? Take a look at almost any of that first draft and worked out for you to keep its contents secret.

/If you would like me to make broader revisions. And you really do have to agree/disagree, because the justice system just won't see that your attempt to determine whether other parts of the texts you want to cover Ulysses. My basic expectation is that it would help to push your essay, and how it operates and is entirely normal when you do an awful lot of ways, and did a very very hastily is generally given over to earlier this year. C-range papers do not perform pre-evaluations of drafts, but I think, help you in response to divergent views and responded in a lot of ways in which I haven't read; it's of course texts and phenomena, integrating your various sources into a more complex matter. Of course, I think that there are many profitable ways to the poem while responding to paper proposals is taking a senior-level interpretations of the section, and ask again. But, again, perhaps not, however. I go to the professor. There are potentially many other good directions in which this could conceivably boost your attendance/participation that is not yet be clear to you with comments before the other TAs for English 193 next quarter. All in all, and I quite liked it. I myself tend to think about why and how can you tell him you want to cover Ulysses. I said last night? Anyway, I think it's a beautiful little gem that is closely tied to the section website:. If you discuss this coming Wednesday 4 November. I'll see you next week. My one suggestion at this stage, take the midterm and an argument that, counting absolutely everything except for the quarter would be happy if you bring specific issues, and any other questions, OK? There are a lot to be prepared. If we cannot come into my office hours or, as I'm about equally hard for groups to make it to work harder for the quarter by 1 p. All in all other races? I am available after lecture, you did at the draft of a text that's separated temporally from Punishment, 1984, Brave New World, with his wife, Annie, in relation to their hearts, you can get people talking. Fair warning: getting any penalties e. No, I think, and I really liked it. The Song of the poem's rhythm and showed this in your paper on it. Discussion notes for week 4. Your readings really are have those stereotypes reinforced by the romance narrative, are jarring, and that missing more than 100% of the rhythm of the play to see how it came to England.

At this point. Whoops. By the way that mothers and motherhood are used as an allegory; the professor. A basic human emotion, related to Irish literature in English department look into and think about what it wants to this question would help to make sure you understand everything that's going to be more specific. In any case, I'd be grateful if you want the rest of the quarter by 1. First: make sure that you either first or last, or any other questions, OK? I also think that your reading of that idea—you write quite well here. Great! Hi! Have a good upcoming weekend I'll see whether that answers your questions as more angry would have helped to have a good student this quarter, depending on what you're actually saying to each other, and why that connection is significant: ultimately, what do you want to get an incomplete grade for the standard academic citation practices. You picked a good background to the recording of him consenting to be one of the class as a whole or the historical facts, and most are getting full credit a lot of ways that prevents you from doing even better quality, and anticipate and head off other viewpoints, and, as it were a lot of really productive ways to answer quick and basic questions by email: Yes, there is a piece of analytical questions, OK? You handled your material, and this is a smart, sophisticated paper here in a lot of good possibilities here, although it often is, too, that it never really rises far above the compare/contrast papers: Papers in this range is slightly smaller than the mandatory minimum is an indication that you're all scheduled for the phrase Irish Rebellion: The Arnhold Program is a quiz. Have a good weekend, everyone! I will count that as part of your performance were also very likely to drag you up and talking, and let it motivate other people have done a very good selections for your paper.

So often to be one way to fill in missing information or ask clarifying or intermediate questions if any of these are very solid job tonight. I hope you find helpful, but th' silk thransparent stockin's showin' off; dropping warm from Out in th' shade of a variety of questions or need any changes made I will recite all 32 lines of your material effectively and in a college class, but leveraged them well to the longest possible stretch of time that could conceivably boost your attendance/participation grade that was fair to the text itself will, of course texts.

Well done Well done on this write-ups that people often need to be honest, but rather that, and your writing here, all of the Irish pound when it comes down to thanking the previous forty minutes. I'm up for yourself, then you'll get another email about that question. You handled your material you emphasize again, you can see it, let me know if you have already left campus. Let me know if Tuesday will work productively will just mean that Yeats was talking about something that I try to force a discussion of a bunch of academic spam, and that does not overlap with theirs, but has the maximum possible discussion credit if you really mop up on the most likely cause is that asking questions of gradually increasing abstraction. You're very welcome to attend those sections as well. At this point would be to focus your paper are borrowed from other students in the last sentence. That is, I think that phrasing your claims. Many thanks, kind sir. It may be a more open-ended that people were hesitant to jump out and with all of these would have paid off here. Discussion may not know yourself yet, but not so general that the degree to which change has actually occurred and by presenting them as explicitly as something other than that this is your central interpretive difficulties that you're considering. These are real strengths in your section participation score. What assumptions does it express their situation, but I think, too, that your general commitment to sensitive reading and grading papers. Also, please let me know if tomorrow works, OK? You were clearly a bit lopsided. Although your research paper will articulate and have set up in front of the Sirens 1891. You're smart and I think that, I think that it's difficult for students in your future endeavors. I like, though I felt like your lecture orientation was motivated by the rhythm-and I quite liked it.

#Irish literature #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Python #Markov chains

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samuelfields · 4 years ago

Text

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2)

youtube

[Transcribed and adapted from the YouTube video: ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much to Save’]

Key takeaways:

Emergencies are not the time to worry about savings rates—if you have the money, use it.

It’s recommended that you see if halting 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or student loan payments are right for you.

Do not take out any money from your 401k unless you’re absolutely desperate.

If you have variable income, build a buffer and plan accordingly.

On the last episode of ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much Money to Save… ‘

Last time, we talked all about emergency funds, how to get one, why you should have one, and the psychology of saving your money. But, there’s a crucial component to owning your emergency fund—you actually have to use it when it’s an emergency!

Be honest, the pandemic is an emergency. It is 100% OK to use money from your emergency fund—we just need to be smart about it.

Let’s go now to the psychology of using your emergency fund. I see a lot of people who have money saved up, but they are terrified to use it. This is the opposite of people who have a spending problem.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

The psychology of spending an emergency fund

I hear a lot about these hyper frugalistas whose entire life is logging into their personal capital account and looking at it: “Oh no, I had a 29% savings rate last month, but my average is 33.3%. I’m really slipping. What’s wrong? I’ve got to get back on track because the community is not going to respect me enough. I need to get to 40%.”

Get a life. Please, do not end up on your deathbed feeling morally superior to other people because you have a 38% savings rate.

I have heard people still going to work even though they have a huge emergency fund account. Why? You ask them, “Why are you still going to work and exposing yourself and potentially exposing other people?” “Well, what do you mean? That’s my job.” Then you say, “Don’t you have a savings account you’ve been saving for like 10 years?” and they don’t make the connection. It’s called an “emergency fund” for emergencies.

Don’t you think maybe a global pandemic that has stopped virtually 100% of businesses across the world would be classified as an emergency?

If you’ve got the money, it’s time to use it. Use it to live. Use it to help other people. Remember, you can always refill it later, but the craziest thing is that you have people who have done the right thing and saved, but they never built the muscle of spending it.

It’s an emergency fund. If you need it, spend it. That’s the basic framework for how much to save right now.

Extra steps you can take to save for an emergency fund

Remember, one year’s worth of necessary expenses is my recommendation for how much should be in your emergency fund. If you take a look at your numbers and you say, “You know what? That’s impossible, but I think I can do eight months over the course of the next six months,” pat yourself on the back.

What I want you to do is take action. I don’t want you to hear this number and get demoralized because you can’t do it overnight.

Part of money is its patience.

In fact, one of the biggest parts of earning a lot of money is being patient. In this case, you focus on what you can control, cut your expenses, earn more. Optimize your spending on all your bills. Call them up, negotiate, and take control.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

401k contributions, student loan payments, and HSA contributions during COVID-19

One question I’ve heard recently: “Would you recommend halting or minimizing your 401k contributions, your student loan payments, your HSA contributions until we build up at least one year of an emergency fund?”

Yes, I would. Crazy to hear myself saying this, but yes, I would.

For example, your HSA contributions may be worth $10,000 over the course of the next 20 years. Okay, that’s a lot of money, but guess what? Today, in an employment scenario like this, I would rather have a couple thousand bucks now sitting in that savings account relative to $10,000 later.

Remember what I’m saying: You have to live to fight another day. If you have to take a little bit of a haircut on your $10,000 over the course of the next 30 years, it’s not a big deal. You can take the $2,000 that’s in your pocket and you can invest a little bit more aggressively next year or the year after, whenever things recover.

If you’ve got that one-year emergency fund, you have earned the right to keep investing your money and you will benefit drastically from that opportunity over the long term because you did the work ahead of time. For those of you don’t have that, focus on that first.

Should you take out the $100K with no penalty out of your 401k right now?

I would not do that unless it’s a dire case. I would say 50% of the time, I hear from people who took a loan against their 401k or pretty much took a loan, they never repay it. People who take loans out of their 401ks, in general, have poor behavioral control over their money.

Even though they’ve done some amazing things to be able to waive some of the fees and penalties that used to be there, unless you absolutely need to, I would not recommend it.

Why? A couple of reasons.

Number one, it’s a bad sign, overall. If you go raid your 401k it shows that you haven’t done the other things, like saving properly. For most people, the other things can actually sustain you.

Second, don’t forget I talked about all these things you can do: call up your credit card company, talk to your landlord, research unemployment. If you’re unemployed, take advantage of it, please. It’s there for you.

If you have to raid your 401k, then something has really gone wrong. Now, I’m not saying don’t ever do it, but it’s one of the sources of last resort. It might tide you over in the short term, but it will cost you dearly in the future. That money there will be highly lucrative to you in the long term if you can live to fight another day.

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

How do you save for an emergency fund if you have variable income?

There are some guidelines for how much you can afford to spend on rent. In general, 28% is a good recommended number. These guidelines show how much people can spend on a rent or a mortgage, basically housing, a car, all debt combined, including student loan, credit card, et cetera.

If you have a variable income that adds an extra layer of complexity. The way that you do it is you want to build a buffer. If your minimum expenses are $1,000 a month, you want to target 6 to 12 months of emergency fund. In this case, if you have $5,000 a month, you take $1,000 away, pay off your stuff, put $4,000 in your emergency fund, and then next month if you make zero, you can draw from there. In general, you want to build up a buffer and effectively simulate a standard 9-to-5 income.

Now, what does that mean specifically for you? It really depends on the numbers we’re talking about. If your variable income is $1,000 to $2,000 a month, that’s going to be a pretty low rent. Some freelancers, some months, make $30,000—then they make zero for two months.

In general, I would err on the side of being conservative. Look at how much you’ve made over the last year just as a benchmark and then I would take a steep haircut for the next 12 months, again, depending on your industry.

Closing thoughts on saving and spending money during emergencies

We dove way deeper than just cutting back on $3 lattes. We talked about the structure and how much you need to actually save.

The psychology of an emergency fund goes even deeper: what does it mean to build an emergency fund? A lot of people go, “That’s overwhelming. I can’t do that.” Do not give up. Even if you get 70% of the way there, it’s better than zero. You have to save money right now. You can achieve it—it will just take some time.

Finally, we talked about the psychology of spending. If you have an emergency fund, you have earned the right to deploy it. Spend it so you don’t have to go to work, spend it on your loved ones, and even continue investing if you have additional money.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-build-an-emergency-fund/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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kennethherrerablog · 4 years ago

Text

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2)

youtube

[Transcribed and adapted from the YouTube video: ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much to Save’]

Key takeaways:

Emergencies are not the time to worry about savings rates—if you have the money, use it.

It’s recommended that you see if halting 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or student loan payments are right for you.

Do not take out any money from your 401k unless you’re absolutely desperate.

If you have variable income, build a buffer and plan accordingly.

On the last episode of ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much Money to Save… ‘

Be honest, the pandemic is an emergency. It is 100% OK to use money from your emergency fund—we just need to be smart about it.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

The psychology of spending an emergency fund

Get a life. Please, do not end up on your deathbed feeling morally superior to other people because you have a 38% savings rate.

Don’t you think maybe a global pandemic that has stopped virtually 100% of businesses across the world would be classified as an emergency?

It’s an emergency fund. If you need it, spend it. That’s the basic framework for how much to save right now.

Extra steps you can take to save for an emergency fund

What I want you to do is take action. I don’t want you to hear this number and get demoralized because you can’t do it overnight.

Part of money is its patience.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

401k contributions, student loan payments, and HSA contributions during COVID-19

Yes, I would. Crazy to hear myself saying this, but yes, I would.

Should you take out the $100K with no penalty out of your 401k right now?

Even though they’ve done some amazing things to be able to waive some of the fees and penalties that used to be there, unless you absolutely need to, I would not recommend it.

Why? A couple of reasons.

Number one, it’s a bad sign, overall. If you go raid your 401k it shows that you haven’t done the other things, like saving properly. For most people, the other things can actually sustain you.

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

How do you save for an emergency fund if you have variable income?

Closing thoughts on saving and spending money during emergencies

We dove way deeper than just cutting back on $3 lattes. We talked about the structure and how much you need to actually save.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

0 notes

paulckrueger · 4 years ago

Text

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2)

youtube

[Transcribed and adapted from the YouTube video: ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much to Save’]

Key takeaways:

Emergencies are not the time to worry about savings rates—if you have the money, use it.

It’s recommended that you see if halting 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or student loan payments are right for you.

Do not take out any money from your 401k unless you’re absolutely desperate.

If you have variable income, build a buffer and plan accordingly.

On the last episode of ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much Money to Save… ‘

Be honest, the pandemic is an emergency. It is 100% OK to use money from your emergency fund—we just need to be smart about it.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

The psychology of spending an emergency fund

Get a life. Please, do not end up on your deathbed feeling morally superior to other people because you have a 38% savings rate.

Don’t you think maybe a global pandemic that has stopped virtually 100% of businesses across the world would be classified as an emergency?

It’s an emergency fund. If you need it, spend it. That’s the basic framework for how much to save right now.

Extra steps you can take to save for an emergency fund

What I want you to do is take action. I don’t want you to hear this number and get demoralized because you can’t do it overnight.

Part of money is its patience.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

401k contributions, student loan payments, and HSA contributions during COVID-19

Yes, I would. Crazy to hear myself saying this, but yes, I would.

Should you take out the $100K with no penalty out of your 401k right now?

Even though they’ve done some amazing things to be able to waive some of the fees and penalties that used to be there, unless you absolutely need to, I would not recommend it.

Why? A couple of reasons.

Number one, it’s a bad sign, overall. If you go raid your 401k it shows that you haven’t done the other things, like saving properly. For most people, the other things can actually sustain you.

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

How do you save for an emergency fund if you have variable income?

Closing thoughts on saving and spending money during emergencies

We dove way deeper than just cutting back on $3 lattes. We talked about the structure and how much you need to actually save.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Surety Bond Brokers? Business https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-build-an-emergency-fund/

0 notes

mcjoelcain · 4 years ago

Text

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2)

youtube

[Transcribed and adapted from the YouTube video: ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much to Save’]

Key takeaways:

Emergencies are not the time to worry about savings rates—if you have the money, use it.

It’s recommended that you see if halting 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or student loan payments are right for you.

Do not take out any money from your 401k unless you’re absolutely desperate.

If you have variable income, build a buffer and plan accordingly.

On the last episode of ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much Money to Save… ‘

Be honest, the pandemic is an emergency. It is 100% OK to use money from your emergency fund—we just need to be smart about it.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

The psychology of spending an emergency fund

Get a life. Please, do not end up on your deathbed feeling morally superior to other people because you have a 38% savings rate.

Don’t you think maybe a global pandemic that has stopped virtually 100% of businesses across the world would be classified as an emergency?

It’s an emergency fund. If you need it, spend it. That’s the basic framework for how much to save right now.

Extra steps you can take to save for an emergency fund

What I want you to do is take action. I don’t want you to hear this number and get demoralized because you can’t do it overnight.

Part of money is its patience.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

401k contributions, student loan payments, and HSA contributions during COVID-19

Yes, I would. Crazy to hear myself saying this, but yes, I would.

Should you take out the $100K with no penalty out of your 401k right now?

Even though they’ve done some amazing things to be able to waive some of the fees and penalties that used to be there, unless you absolutely need to, I would not recommend it.

Why? A couple of reasons.

Number one, it’s a bad sign, overall. If you go raid your 401k it shows that you haven’t done the other things, like saving properly. For most people, the other things can actually sustain you.

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

How do you save for an emergency fund if you have variable income?

Closing thoughts on saving and spending money during emergencies

We dove way deeper than just cutting back on $3 lattes. We talked about the structure and how much you need to actually save.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-build-an-emergency-fund/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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The 2017 Egg Bowl live blog: Rebels win a Bowl game after all!

The bowl-banned Rebels took out frustrations against No. 14 Mississippi State in a sloppy, sloppy Egg Bowl.

Ole Miss entered the season without hopes of reaching a bowl game, due to self-sanctions amid its ongoing NCAA to-do. Back in April, Rebels AD Ross Bjork joked about giving every game of the regular season a bowl name anyway, for motivation purposes.

Well, the Rebels just won a game with “Bowl” in its name anyway (even if it was only added to the series’ name in the 1970s by a desperate newspaper), hanging on for a win in the Egg Bowl against archrival Mississippi State, 31-28. Thus ends a bizarre 2017 for the 6-6 Rebels and the interim tenure of coach Matt Luke.

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The Egg Bowl was its typical debacle self, with five MSU turnovers, 22 total penalties, and a ghastly ankle injury for Bulldogs starting QB Nick Fitzgerald, who later returned on crutches to cheer his teammates. Two pregame shoving matches and in-game taunts that included a dog-pee celebration and a Rebel declaring his native Starkville “my city” were the highlights. Those MSU turnovers — four of them with promising freshman QB Keytaon Thompson at the wheel — were the story, as Clanga actually outgained the Rebels by 146 yards on the night and nearly pulled off the comeback.

Oh, and Ole Miss’ best defender on the night, lineman Breeland Speaks, was both ejected for unsportsmanlike flags, one of which put the game’s final result in doubt, and the star of the night’s best meme.

Extremely Egg Bowl.

Thus ends yet another surprising, vicious, and messy edition of America’s frequently most surprising, vicious, and messy rivalry.

Fourth quarter

Ole Miss 31, MSU 28, 1:05. Lol, never give up on the Egg Bowl! The Rebels recover the onside kick, though.

Ole Miss 31, MSU 21, 4:58. Clanga’s best drive of the night, capped by a 30-yard Kylin Hill TD run up the right sideline, plus an unsportsmanlike flag on Ole Miss for yappin’ in the end zone. On brand. MSU also hit the two-point conversion with a Keytaon Thompson keeper on an apparent busted play.

Ole Miss 31, MSU 13, 8:24. The Bulldogs came inches shy of legally recovering an onside kick, but right after, Ole Miss’ Jordan Wilkins broke a 46-yard run right up the middle to hit 110 on the day, and that might do it.

Ole Miss 24, MSU 13, 9:16. Not much had happened since the dog pee, until Deddrick Thomas scored to complete an eight-play State drive. Also, the Egg Bowl trophy has been spotted in its rightful resting place.

Strange place to store the Egg Bowl trophy in Starkville. Between a hot dog warmer and coffee pots. http://pic.twitter.com/yUyul65loE

— Pat Smith (@patsmithradio) November 24, 2017

Third quarter

Ole Miss 24, MSU 6, 2:15. D.K. Metcalf battled for a jump ball and took it 63 yards for a TD that’ll probably lace this one up, then hit the Bulldogs with an Odell Beckham-style dog pee celebration, drawing a 15-yard flag.

Ole Miss 17, MSU 6, 5:53. Good heavens, State turnover No. 5 comes on a strip of Jordan Thomas after a rare pass completion (MSU’s 5-of-12 passing). This one’s nearing a wrap.

Ole Miss 17, MSU 6, 7:13. Jordan Ta’amu found a wide-open A.J. Brown for a 77-yarder, despite a holding penalty on the defense. Brown’s up to 167 yards with 22 minutes still to go. Basically a 10-point swing in three plays. The local reaction to the Starkville native’s TD:

A Starkville Chamber of Commerce welcome for AJ Brown http://pic.twitter.com/GM3zWcn5aE

— [Escort 69] (@BunkiePerkins) November 24, 2017

Ole Miss 10, MSU 6, 7:53. We’re up to four Bulldog turnovers after Keytaon Thompson, the freshman QB who’s having to carry this entire offense, fumbled on a third-and-4 run in the red zone.

Ole Miss 10, MSU 6, 11:30. After Keytaon Thompson broke a 31-yard run up the right sideline, a dropped pass with some uncalled Ole Miss pass interference set up a second-and-long, and two stops forced a punt. Downed at the 1, though. Some good news for everybody: injured State QB Nick Fitzgerald returned to the sidelines to cheer on his team.

Second quarter

Ole Miss 10, MSU 6, halftime. After three Mississippi State turnovers, one Ole Miss turnover, 12 total penalties, two pregame scuffles, and a horrific QB injury (MSU’s Nick Fitzgerald), the Bulldogs score again thanks to some loose Ole Miss defense right before the buzzer.

Ole Miss 10, MSU 3, :57. Turnover No. 4 of the first half, finally in MSU’s favor, as Jordan Ta'amu was strip-sacked by Erroll Thompson.

Ole Miss 10, MSU 3, 1:22. MSU’s in some real trouble now, with turnover No. 3 coming on a fumble by Keytaon Thompson in Bulldog territory. Breeland Speaks found the ball and the camera:

http://pic.twitter.com/nNsmZpV0od

— SB Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) November 24, 2017

Ole Miss 10, MSU 3, 6:24. Bulldogs on the board after a drive highlighted by a 16-yard Keytaon Thompson run. MSU ran seven times and threw just once on the drive, a ratio we might expect to continue as the freshman continues on the biggest stage he’s yet faced. Meanwhile, on the sideline:

Just got hit in the head with ice. Thought it’d be colder so I do have an extra layer on... could use some refreshment I guess.

— OleMissPix (@OleMissPix) November 24, 2017

Ole Miss 10, MSU 0, 10:40. A couple State flags and a 29-yard run by Jordan Wilkins set up an easy field goal.

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 12:08. So we just had a punt blocked by the Bulldogs’ Jeffery Simmons ... and then an immediate airmail of an INT from new MSU QB Keytaon Thompson to C.J. Moore.

First quarter

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 2:38. After a Rebel punt, new MSU QB Keytaon Thompson peeled off a 33-yard run on his first snap. That was about that for that drive, though.

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 9:08. Bulldogs QB Nick Fitzgerald suffered an awful leg injury and was carted off, with both sidelines kneeling in silence. He’s replaced by Keytaon Thompson, a former four-star quarterback out of New Orleans from the class of 2017

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 9:51. CLANGA gets its first win, with a false start leading to Ole Miss’ A.J. Brown landing just shy of a first down. Punt!

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 11:15. A nine-play Bulldog drive was cut short when Myles Hartsfield leaped to pick off Nick Fitzgerald at the Ole Miss 38. Perfect start for the Rebels.

Ole Miss 7, MSU 0, 14:22. A 58-yard heave from Jordan Ta’amu to A.J. Brown and a 22-yard Jordan Wilkins run up the middle, and the underdogs strike first.

Pregame

So much for hugs folks. The Royal Rumble has begun in Starkville. Cooler heads prevailed for now. http://pic.twitter.com/dcSbT8fhJ3

— Joel Coleman (@JoelTColeman) November 23, 2017

Leo Lewis just walked towards the Ole Miss side of the field and blew a kiss in the direction of the Rebel players during warm-ups.

— Robby Donoho III (@RobbyDonoho) November 23, 2017

Lewis is, of course, the star MSU linebacker who’s made a hobby of trolling the Rebels on Twitter and is currently in the middle of the NCAA’s investigation into Ole Miss.

Another dustup:

Not even kickoff and the #EggBowl is already chippy! http://pic.twitter.com/VZPNONYY9B

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 24, 2017

Preview

There’s only one college football game to get you through Thanksgiving on Thursday — and it’s some classic in-state hate. The No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs can continue its march toward the top 10 by beating their rivals, the Ole Miss Rebels, on turkey day. The 114th edition of the Egg Bowl will take place Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast live on ESPN (live stream).

It’s the first Thanksgiving Egg Bowl since 2013, reviving a minor tradition in the state rivalry.

The Bulldogs have been solid but unspectacular in 2017. With eight wins they are ranked No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but they’ve only beaten one ranked team — a crushing 37-7 victory over LSU — in that span. The Rebels haven’t been as fortunate. Their rebuilding season after Hugh Freeze’s resignation has sputtered to a 5-6 record before Thursday’s season finale in Starkville. Even a win on Thanksgiving won’t keep Ole Miss’s 2017 alive — the scandal that forced Freeze out of Oxford also led to a bowl ban this winter.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Scott Field, Starkville, Miss.

TV: ESPN

Streaming: WatchESPN

Odds: Mississippi State is favored by 15 points.

Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State news:

This year, these teams even have NCAA beef. The long investigation into the Rebels has wrapped up Leo Lewis, a star Bulldogs linebacker.

Mississippi State beat Arkansas last week in a game only notable for likely getting Bret Bielema fired.

After a 14-point early lead, Arkansas couldn’t hold on against Mississippi State and fell, 28-21. This TD with seconds left was the nail in the coffin for the Razorbacks. It now guarantees a losing season for Arkansas, and this is likely the final nail in Bielema’s coffin as well.

The Hogs have had a knack for being punchy when it seems Bielema’s back is against the wall. And it’s never been more against the wall than it was right here.

Even if you’re not an Ole Miss fan, you’ve got to like what A.J. Smith is doing.

Nick Fitzgerald isn’t consistent at all for Mississippi State, but he comes through when it matters.

Fitz is the Jekyll and Hyde that everyone loves to pick apart and this game did nothing to change that. For 3.5 quarters, Fitz struggled to find his rhythm and could not break loose running the ball. Yet when crunch time hit in the fourth, he came up big with some clutch throws, including the two touchdowns, and that last one was a picture-perfect throw. The enigma that is Fitz continues to perplex Bulldogs everywhere but we happily accept the Ws he provides.

So who’s gonna be Mississippi’s next head coach? Mike Norvell? Willie Taggart?

The second-year man for the Tigers has done an incredible job following up Justin Fuente’s final two-year hurrah in the Bluff City (19-7 record, finished No. 25 in AP poll in 2014). His lone year at the head of the Memphis program, his Tigers went 8-5, finished third in the AAC and made it to a bowl game. The intriguing thing about Norvell is his high-powered offense, ability to coach a quarterback, and recruiting success at a Group of 5 program, primarily in Mississippi.

Can Mississippi State really be a top-10 team?

The Bulldogs are barrelling toward 10 wins and a coveted spot in the final top-10 rankings, but a dearth of quality wins could keep them from climbing into the FBS’s top tier. Beating a middling Ole Miss team won’t do much for their resume, but would put Mississippi State in line for a prime bowl game — and the opportunity to prove it’s a top-10 program.

Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State prediction:

The Bulldogs have more to play for, and there’s no way the players don’t know this may be their last rivalry game with Dan Mullen as their head coach. Emotions will be high, but Mississippi State will make it two Egg Bowl wins in a row.

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andrewdburton · 4 years ago

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Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2)

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[Transcribed and adapted from the YouTube video: ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much to Save’]

Key takeaways:

Emergencies are not the time to worry about savings rates—if you have the money, use it.

It’s recommended that you see if halting 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or student loan payments are right for you.

Do not take out any money from your 401k unless you’re absolutely desperate.

If you have variable income, build a buffer and plan accordingly.

On the last episode of ‘Money & Coronavirus: How Much Money to Save… ‘

Be honest, the pandemic is an emergency. It is 100% OK to use money from your emergency fund—we just need to be smart about it.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

The psychology of spending an emergency fund

Get a life. Please, do not end up on your deathbed feeling morally superior to other people because you have a 38% savings rate.

Don’t you think maybe a global pandemic that has stopped virtually 100% of businesses across the world would be classified as an emergency?

It’s an emergency fund. If you need it, spend it. That’s the basic framework for how much to save right now.

Extra steps you can take to save for an emergency fund

What I want you to do is take action. I don’t want you to hear this number and get demoralized because you can’t do it overnight.

Part of money is its patience.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

401k contributions, student loan payments, and HSA contributions during COVID-19

Yes, I would. Crazy to hear myself saying this, but yes, I would.

Should you take out the $100K with no penalty out of your 401k right now?

Even though they’ve done some amazing things to be able to waive some of the fees and penalties that used to be there, unless you absolutely need to, I would not recommend it.

Why? A couple of reasons.

Number one, it’s a bad sign, overall. If you go raid your 401k it shows that you haven’t done the other things, like saving properly. For most people, the other things can actually sustain you.

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

How do you save for an emergency fund if you have variable income?

Closing thoughts on saving and spending money during emergencies

We dove way deeper than just cutting back on $3 lattes. We talked about the structure and how much you need to actually save.

Money & Coronavirus: How to build an emergency fund (part 2) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-build-an-emergency-fund/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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autoirishlitdiscourses · 7 years ago

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Discourse of Saturday, 24 February 2018

Tomorrow. Have a good job of weaving together multiple thematic and plot issues and weaves them gracefully without losing the momentum of your future writing. You also picked a longer one than was actually necessary and that taking this implicit interest of your mind as you write it, all,/please come talk to me this long to get a passing grade; e. All of which you want to say that you can express your central argument is basically clear and explicit about why you think? This page copyright 2013 by Mooney. I'll see you before the reflecting gleams. The number I quoted you is to focus it on the final and with your peers and section to discuss with the self that it would be to conform to the hesitations and frustrations in the way that you had a good job here in many ways, was supposed to be as effective as it needs to happen is that it isn't, because it's essentially a repetition of an A-paper receives is based on your own interest in is tracing out connections between the IRA terrorists, while also technically fulfilling them. All of which parts of the play's deeper structures of the text s you want to, you did well here, overall; you should talk a lot of people haven't done a good weekend, and I think that one difficulty you'd have is to call on you, and it would be a woman. I had hoped, motivating people to go back to your proposal. And will respond to very open-ended would have been making all quarter in section to get back to another student who's scheduled an appointment right at 3:56, which pulled the grades up. Come up with a pen in your selection and changed I'd say that's a pretty safe guess, that your score regardless of race that is, after all, obligate you to what's there at the heart of your total grade, you have something to say that some of these are rather complex.

Great Masturbator 1929, I think that your situational and historical texts might support that central claim was, written that as a way that is, therefore, a quite high A. Ultimately, it seems history is to blame to It seems _______________ is to provide the largest overall benefit to the group's discussion during the quarter; and perhaps then to question 1 and see what people do some of my section website and see whether I can post a slightly modified version of GOLD than you expect. Heaney wrote Croppies. Of course, what do you see as being entitled to. I can get people talking, and that there are several things that interest you to achieve this—I'm not going to be bitter and mysterious. /Discussion/following your recitation 5% of all my students. I absolutely understand that my baseline expectation for them. Let me know if you catch her during office hours due to nervousness and/or social construction of your discussion score reflects this. Thanks for doing a good paper here in order to do this a great deal more during quarters when students aren't doing a very good readings and the writer's argument in terms of which revolve around a general overview to a specific question and/or last, because I think that there are potentially other good readings here, I can't believe that I think what your priorities are time passes differently. Does that help? The Butcher Boy song on p.

It doesn't have to go down this road, a free Excel clone. Which I really appreciate you being able to make a decision quite soon. But there are some provocative hints in your paper would benefit from hearing your perspective. I'm glad to be a tricky business, and I'll get right back to you having the bottom of a text that's written as historical documentation, rather than fiction or poetry. Let me know in San Francisco, who is Godot? You did a very strong claim, as a study aid for other students in front of the class's broader interests. Remember that your topic I'm not seeing at this point is that your first draft is the day before Thanksgiving? I can tell you. However, take a shot at getting the group, and I liked your presentation tomorrow!

For the recitation assignment write-ups except as a section you have an A doesn't raise your GPA any higher than a B. 62. SF author Frank Herbert's creepy and implausibly Lamarckian notion of cellular individual memory and history. Again, thank you for doing such a good job here, but some students may not have started reading McCabe yet if they're cuing off of his other published work. Let me know what's going on, and I think that you speak enough in section credit, which was distributed during our first section meeting and that you need any changes, it currently looks like you're proposing to write a much cleaner text than to worry about whether you wish to dispute a grade by Friday and I'll send it right along. I sent Can Aksoy also overheard the conversation would be to sit down and start writing in a blue book! It's completely up to the details of your argument in a comparable phenomenon, and have set up to me in person instead of answering your own thoughts on the other Godot group for several hours tonight. That's fine just let me know if you want to pick up every possible competing text. My Window Yeats, because the comparison is worth making in the future. Because I do before I leave town. On a related note, do you see those elements in a collaborative close-reading skills on at least that passage I take to be pushed even further, if you'd like. As for your recitation.

An A paper, and I'll get you an additional five percent/for emailing me a copy of The Stolen Child second half in terms of participation/attendance based entirely upon attendance I won't assess participation until the quarter. I thought I'd responded to this question, though others have come in and/or make sure that I'll be awake for a grade in the discussion overall. There are many ways, anyway as if you have any more questions, OK?

Again, thank you for a moment, counting both Saturday and Sunday as a study guide. You should turn the letter in to, supportive of, say, but there really were some amazing performances on it. One-Acts Festival lots of good ideas here I think that it would help to make. You can ask the other is that the student really wants to accomplish, intellectually speaking, or that she should have read episodes 5 Lotus Eaters, starting with In that fair city Eavan Boland, White Hawthorn in the way of examining the exceptions is always patronizing, in which he was delaying the release of the people who attended last night's optional review session. 3:50 or so of all of which is not too late to leave me with a well-balanced outline. I can't speak for everyone, As you may find it if it's not necessary or you've hit the Send button in my opinion, and the marketplace, and gave a sensitive, thoughtful performance that was fair to O'Casey's text, and I am willing to do whatever would be a more specific phrases that specify what you're going through my copy of Ulysses in a close reading of the religion, or at least 72. Really good delivery here that was strong in some form, and I've just been so much thought and effort into it—it was more lecture-oriented. Again, you can leverage your own project in order to receive a grade you on the other presenters in both sections? One of my section Twitter stream for the jugular.

You've got a number of things well here, and that has to somehow be constructed through texts that you shouldn't have a recording or any other changes that you won't mind if I find that asking up front what the finals schedule says. To the MLA standard will negatively impact the attendance/participation calculation. Good luck on the specific evidence and that some of Punishment and of your recording. Please use it as a template to create the next generation moves to New York?

Since you two is going to be an audio recording of your information and how much effort and time into crafting such a way that time passes differently when you're doing other things going on as soon as possible. 2 for later in section, and it doesn't keep your eyes and pretend you're not sure what to do on this. But there are places where your writing despite some occasional hiccups here and there memorizing your selection, effectively, and they also show that you're trying to get full credit on author, title, who can and must not look at it if possible. One category will consist of questions that go straight for it to another text than anything else that might work as the quarter. Thanks. There were several ways that I can attest that this cut off perhaps just that I'm looking forward to seeing your recitation and incurring the no-pass and letter-graded options on GOLD. I think that your reader to take so long to get into one of the Western World, and this is the ideal goal of the musical adaptation; other than quite good, but will incur a penalty to your address book or calr, online or offline. Your own hospitalization, or a B paper one day late is worth 100%, not a certain way, and brought up the last minute. The issues involved and their relationship. 57.

D I think, and I keep it fresh in your delivery; you also missed the professor's syllabus specifies that your delivery was solid in a term paper of this work for you never quite coheres as much as it needs to frame itself explicitly as could be done to set the bar for A papers very high, and that the representation of its most precious illusions. Your writing is clear and effective manner. Coming to my sections on the final, you'll still want to think about why in section. Can't blame them after all, I'd say that I gave you is to provide an argument that gets beaten into people's heads extensively during their earlier education, some people will have a copy of the specific language of your grade and that has been assigned for Thursday, but that it naturally wants to have it reflected in your guitar performances this quarter, so it hasn't hurt your grade back, but rather, more specific ideas when you want to post an audio or visual component requirement, but some students may not, what you most need to be letting other people talking and that asking questions that are so stressful for you.

There are a pleasure having you in any way affect your grade is the only student who sent a panicked email after sleeping into the final exam! Your paper's structure would pay off for you if you indicate that that's quite likely a contributing factor. You Are Old. What kind of a great detail simply because they're quite impressive. That is to drop by, you will quite likely a contributing factor. What is legitimate and illegitimate government? Again, thank you for a solid job here in many ways, this is entirely plausible if you arrange them will depend on what constitutes evidence, and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, all in all substantial ways to think about how far past 10 a. None of which is an emotional payoff and a bonus for getting me a handout with thoughtful questions and comments in section we will divide up texts for recitation. Let me know that you're dealing with this is more complex matter. One of these headers for both of which strike me as quite ugly. 223 Eavan Boland these poems can be found on the final to pull your grade. In practice, I feel this way. Contact and Communications Policy: I think that talking a bit less and allow for a job well done! It's yours now. 5%, not on me.

But you really make it up until 7:00-6:00 and 12:30 p. Merely doing the reading. More broadly, think in the text in question according what the nature of the paper you had a good job last week were good, and you did very well elicit some comments even from people who are having difficulties with the boys itself. Keeping your A-on your midterm, recitation, and that not doing so. Administrative Issues: 1. Of course!

The bad news is that I didn't have the opportunity may not be a breach of professionalism on your paper is going to structure your paper, and then map those letter grades is rather heavy, and you have some very interesting ideas about what motivates us to experience non-attenders to make out of ink, network connections go down, files become corrupt. Discussion may not be particularly sympathetic. Grade: B—I also think that your topic is frightening, because I think might have been hoping for. I realize that there are several possibilities for later in the class isn't for them, in turn, based on attendance for your patience. This being a nuanced argument that is minimally acceptable will result in a timely fashion in order to be more careful proofreading would help you to extend the Irish identity that has changed by the final exam from 8 a. One percent/of your idea, but the Purdue OWL is a weaker assertion that takes a while because everyone is scheduled from 1 to 18. How might a vegetarian react differently to the on line six; dropped again on 1. For one thing: your writing is so strong that it would have been for Stephen, but it's an interesting question to think critically about your own ideas that you won't have time to meet, but think explicitly about the source of a rather diffuse concept of the quarter because she fell flat on the day when midterms were handed back and being able to get a clearer idea. Because your writing and polished work. Hi! There was one small error, a heavy course load this quarter, I think you would hope yes/no questions often don't.

So what I'm expecting it's a passionate selection that would have been productive. You did a number of things quite well, here. 1570-1582, Godot Vladimir's speech, page 81—, Ulysses. We will discuss expectations regarding papers at greater length before your recitation notes and get you more specific. I'm looking forward to your presentation isn't worth enough points on it. Still, it has taken me this long to get you your grade. I'm not familiar with that one thing that's holding your sophisticated set of ideas in here, and making a clear and effective and generally free of grammatical errors. I'm planning on leaving town for the first people to speak can be both liberating and intimidating. Similar things might be productive: Nausicaa and The Butcher Boy; Stephen Dedalus's rather morbid and misogynist fixation on the midterm, recitation, you should be in section this quarter. No worries about the poem and connect them to larger-scale point winds up being will, I can do to get to everything anyway, especially when you're operating at the assignment write-up, but not catastrophically so. Similarly, Alan Lightman published a wonderful break! Hi! Let me know if Tuesday will work productively will just depend on most directly contribute to reproductive success by selection pressure, in part because it's essentially a repetition of their own self-esteem. There has never met. Again, you should focus on your new topic if you want your reader is familiar enough with the benefit of exposing your recitation and discussion of Innocence 5 p.

5%, although that is necessary to try to force yourself to make at least some background plot summary and possibly other contextualizing information, but an A-would be more specific, particular idea is correct it seems to have let it sit for two or three days, and I'll see you at eight lines, but the Purdue OWL is a very graceful job of setting this up, and died after. Alternately, we could certainly do that, with this edition of the Artist As a Young Man, which is to have occurred, but it's your job to avoid large amounts of repetition of their own identities: not all of your future, and nicely grounded in a poverty-stricken family; b you're still able to give information that Francie does. There has just been so much. Though it was my choice, and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, all in all, Chris! 10 a.

If you choose, prepare a set of texts should be careful to stay above the compare/contrast paper which is substantially better than I had the pleasure and honor of being helpful. A-or higher. Presenting a paper. However. If I recall my ancient reading of Yeats's life, even if it's late or I'm in a grading daze and haven't used the same time, but you're the one you sent me this email so I assume you're talking in general, and you've mostly done with the TA strike that you realized that your interpretive categories for Ulysses are grounded firmly in a bonus for attending section on the issues involved, among other things, you should definitely read about or 'around'? Your paper has at least 80% on the syllabus, provided that you must turn in your delivery showed that you want, or should I use my recording device to vibrate instead of arguing strongly for the quarter, unfortunately, whom I suspect that you don't feel comfortable talking to me. But I'm glad that it would have a thesis yet; just start writing as communication, electronic or otherwise unresolved. There are a lot of similarities to yours, and a lot of ways. Many thanks. It is not necessarily the only thing preventing you from attending is that you would have most needed in order to follow it. All in all, though. —For instance, to push back the number of things well, here, and showed in the quarter, and this is a minor inconvenience. 764, p. So, think about Simon and Mary Dedalus in Ulysses, and the way: It's often that the questions on the final, but it would be exhausting for someone who is a specific question and arguing a specific claim about what an ideal relationship with Milly reading the text encourages agreement, belief, or the viewer is likely to find a twelve-line chunk; pick a small number of ways.

Welcome to speak can be a useful alternative view that may be related to grotesquerie. The Butcher Boy, so that you should then speak to me I'm looking forward to your attendance/participation calculation. You would have worked more effectively with the material,/your grade from dropping substantially.

I am not. You really do have some perceptive readings, I think you're prepared quite well so far, but I don't round up at a bad thing, and bring in several ideas for discussion with the recitation of a topic is potentially very productive choice for you. Hi! I'm sending this. I think she's worked hard this quarter—I've really enjoyed working with, though it's probably not last unless some totally new narrative path suggests itself to me.

That's all that you often generalize a great deal more during quarters when students aren't doing a large number of difficult texts we're dealing with the critical discourses surrounding the texts, a copy of Dialectic of Enlightenment that is being discussed; so Mary may be a useful skill, too, about what you're doing it is.

If you're thinking about what your primary focus should be more careful proofreading would help to increase the specificity of what your central argument? You have to follow up a bit more would have been a positive influence on your final grade for the quarter, but I'm sending this. Before I forget: Please send me an email from me later that day to be crying about? I used to be taken by the time period and you really have done some very important ways. All of which is one of the calculation described there may not be surprised if they are here. But having specific plans for how you're going to be avoiding picking too many pieces of textual evidence that best support your specific point of thinking about it in a way that the penalty, which I haven't been able to right; that we didn't get a fresh eye, asking yourself what your challenge is going to be. On knowledge that you recited before. One of the poem responds to these questions and were so excited by your selection, in the context of Synge's play, I'd move into the wrong person and his descendants live in Ireland for three generations, but all in all, and attention to how other people talking would have been, though, there's an additional viewpoint on your paper and final arbiter of whether this happens.

I realize. You can hand me your copy of Dialectic of Enlightenment or can get the same degree that you do all the fun under Liberty's masterful shadow; To-morrow the bicycle races Through the suburbs on summer evenings: but to choose something else if you'd like to offer than you might, if you have any questions, OK? I've learned myself over the last line of your paper a more specific about your other texts to set up to your childcare provider during class for the jugular. A in the delivery itself that you'd put a printed copy. Again, I'm happy to talk about, and that perhaps this is a pleasure working with, then you have some breathing room too, but none of the total quarter grade at the beginning of section: Evaluations! VIII. 4 November. You move plausibly between close readings by a group that's often been painfully silent this quarter; b she and her husband with a set of additional purposes, as I understand that that is an explanation of how successful your paper is basically good. Of course the idea of his speech and, Godot Lucky's speech to the performance and discussion tonight. Ultimately, what are our responsibilities to each other you give a fair amount of time that you need to do this. Professional speech and had a low C in the text but using those specifics as an eight-to-date, then you'll get other people are reacting to look for cues that this set of opening thoughts about it in a lot this weekend. One thing that you've chosen, it's a reflective piece and your recitation, you should actually do is to think that this is to engage in a printed copy of the IDs. He would be to have a good selection, I think, don't show up. Again, thank you for a paper that pays off as much as it could be made, in the course so far is the ideal and perfect expression of your argument though I hadn't thought out the issues involved in their papers, and this is the best paper you had a 99, so I suppose, is not good, overall for the term. Many thanks. That being said, most of your finals, and you managed to do so at this point is a strong preference on going second or third, although it often is, I suspect. These papers address to some people. —Even by one person who speaks in response to such mawkish and purple thoughts.

Molly in Ulysses, is to provide a/very limited number/of a person's thoughts based on Yeats's poetry may tie into developments in Irish literature in Celtic mythology in a plug for Zotero which is the case that two people who are friends of mine. This can be, or deviates only rarely, and I've noticed that the professor said that Wednesday is the amount of reading the assigned texts. However. You did a very strong job yesterday you got a lot of important concepts for the sake of having them fresh in their introductions and/or Bloom's anxiety over Molly's affair despite his own paper after letting it sit and take a look at the Recitation Assignment Guidelines handout. I think you've done your recitation/discussion assignment: I am.

#Irish literature #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Python #Markov chains

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