#remote jobs in las vegas nevada

[stateofnevadajobsneats]

remote jobs in las vegas nevada

Remote Jobs in Las Vegas Nevada: Find Your Next Work-From-Home Opportunity

Introduction

As remote work becomes more common, job seekers are searching for opportunities to work from home in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the city's booming tourism and hospitality industry, it's no surprise that remote jobs are in high demand. In this article, we'll explore the remote job market in Las Vegas and provide tips for finding your next work-from-home opportunity.

Remote Jobs in Las Vegas Nevada

Las Vegas is home to many industries, including tourism, hospitality, gaming, and technology. While many of these jobs require in-person work, there are still plenty of remote job opportunities available. Some of the most popular remote jobs in Las Vegas include:

1. Customer Service Representative

Customer service representatives are essential in the tourism and hospitality industry. Many companies in Las Vegas are hiring remote customer service representatives to handle customer inquiries and complaints.

2. Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants provide administrative support to businesses and individuals from a remote location. This job can include tasks such as scheduling appointments, responding to emails, and managing social media accounts.

3. Writer or Editor

Content creation is a growing industry, and many companies are hiring remote writers and editors. This job can include writing blog posts, creating social media content, and editing website copy.

4. Web Developer

Web developers are responsible for designing and creating websites. Many web developers work from home and collaborate with clients remotely.

5. Graphic Designer

Graphic designers create visual content for websites, advertisements, and other marketing materials. This job can be done from home with the use of design software.

Tips for Finding Remote Jobs in Las Vegas Nevada

Now that you know what remote jobs are available in Las Vegas, it's time to start your job search. Here are some tips for finding your next remote job:

1. Utilize Job Search Engines

Job search engines such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter are great resources for finding remote job opportunities. You can filter your search results to only show remote jobs in Las Vegas.

2. Check Company Websites

Many companies post remote job opportunities on their websites. Check the career page of companies you're interested in to see if they have any remote job openings.

3. Network with Professionals

Networking is an essential part of the job search process. Reach out to professionals in your industry and ask if they know of any remote job openings. You can also join industry-specific groups on social media to connect with other professionals.

4. Create a Strong Resume and Cover Letter

Your resume and cover letter are your first impression with potential employers. Make sure your resume is tailored to the job you're applying for, and your cover letter highlights your qualifications and why you're a good fit for the job.

5. Prepare for Remote Interviews

Remote job interviews are becoming more common, so it's essential to be prepared. Make sure you have a quiet, distraction-free space for your interview and test your technology beforehand.

FAQs about Remote Jobs in Las Vegas Nevada

1. What are some benefits of working remotely in Las Vegas?

Working remotely in Las Vegas allows you to avoid the daily commute and work from the comfort of your own home. It also gives you the opportunity to work for companies outside of Las Vegas without having to relocate.

2. What skills do I need for remote jobs in Las Vegas?

The skills required for remote jobs in Las Vegas depend on the job you're applying for. However, some essential skills include strong communication, time management, and organizational skills.

3. How much can I expect to make in a remote job in Las Vegas?

The salary for remote jobs in Las Vegas varies depending on the industry, job type, and level of experience. However, many remote jobs pay competitive salaries and offer benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.

4. What equipment do I need for a remote job in Las Vegas?

The equipment you need for a remote job in Las Vegas depends on the job you're applying for. However, most remote jobs require a reliable internet connection, a computer or laptop, and a headset for video conferencing.

5. Are there any downsides to working remotely in Las Vegas?

Working remotely can be isolating and require a lot of self-discipline. Additionally, some remote jobs may require working outside of typical business hours to accommodate clients in different time zones.

6. Can I work remotely in Las Vegas if I'm not a U.S. citizen?

Remote work in Las Vegas is available to anyone with the legal right to work in the United States. If you're not a U.S. citizen, make sure you have the necessary work authorization before applying for remote jobs.

Conclusion

Remote jobs in Las Vegas offer job seekers the opportunity to work from home and avoid the daily commute. With the right skills and qualifications, you can find a remote job in Las Vegas that fits your lifestyle and career goals. Use the tips and resources provided in this article to start your job search today.

Looking for remote job opportunities in Las Vegas? Check out job search engines, company websites, and industry-specific groups on social media. And don't forget to prepare for remote interviews and tailor your resume and cover letter to the job you're applying for. With these tips and a little bit of perseverance, you can find your next work-from-home opportunity in Las Vegas.

[nonconstories]

Someone pissed me off a couple of days ago

So! Below are several links to programs and foundations that promote adult literacy! Hundreds of millions of adults world wide were failed by their education system and now must fend for themselves while trying to read contracts and hospital bills and infographics from the CDC. But they don't have to be alone, and it is never too late to learn!

ProLiteracy: A network of educators, researchers, and advocates which provides research reports, learning materials, and other support to adult education programs. They assist with connecting volunteers to local programs and provide guidance and support to community leaders trying to use their programs' findings to advocate for social and political change.

Adult Literacy League: An adult education program in Central Florida, which aims to provide students with one on one attention to foster growth and confidence. It also offers English Second Language courses and job skills training, and each new student receives a comprehensive assessment to determine the best plan for them.

Saint Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center's Foundational Skills Program: A 100% free adult education program aimed at adults reading below a fifth grade level. It operates year round and is either in person or remote, and they now have a GED testing center that is open to students and the public alike.

Washtenaw Literacy: A free network of trained tutors for adults in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Adult Learning Program (Las Vegas/Clark County): Free education classes to those lacking a high school diploma, those seeking to learn ESL, and adults who read below an eighth grade level. Also assists in students' search for gainful employment. Nevada got so fucked by COVID and the education/literacy numbers in the South West are grim. Please help these guys.

Hawaii Literacy: In addition to helping adult residents of Hawaii Island learn to read and write AND bridging the education gap in Hawaii's underserved children, they offer computer literacy classes, ESL classes, and a bookmobile. 1 in 6 Hawaiian adults struggle to read and write.

[amymedbiller]

Top Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Las Vegas: Your Guide to a Rewarding Career

Top Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Las Vegas: ⁢Your Guide to a Rewarding Career

Top Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Las Vegas:⁣ Your Guide​ to a Rewarding Career

Are you considering a career in healthcare but don’t want‌ to be ‍on the front⁢ lines? Medical billing and coding may ‌be the perfect fit for you! With the ongoing demand for healthcare professionals, this⁣ field offers stability, good pay, and opportunities for growth. In this guide, we will explore the top medical billing and coding schools ⁢in Las Vegas, ⁣providing⁤ you with valuable information on how to launch a rewarding career.

Why Choose Medical Billing and Coding?

Medical ‍billing and coding play a crucial role in the healthcare system. Here are key reasons ‌to consider this career path:

High Demand: ‍ The healthcare industry is expanding, ensuring job security.

Flexible Hours: Many positions offer remote work options or flexible scheduling.

Good Salary: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for medical records and health information technicians was about $45,000 per year.

Quick Entry: Programs can often be completed‌ in under a year,⁢ allowing for quick entry into the workforce.

Essential Skills for Medical Billing and Coding Professionals

To⁣ succeed in medical billing and coding, several skills are essential:

Attention to Detail: Accuracy in coding is critical to ensure proper billing.

Analytical Skills: Interpreting medical information correctly is important.

Communication Skills: ⁣Being able to effectively communicate with ​healthcare providers and insurance ⁢companies is crucial.

Technical Skills: Familiarity with medical billing software and coding⁢ systems is necessary.

Top Medical Billing and⁤ Coding Schools in‍ Las Vegas

Here are some of the leading institutions offering‌ medical billing and coding programs in Las Vegas:

School Name

Program Length

Certification Preparation

Phoenix‌ College

1 year

AAPC,‍ AHIMA

College of Southern Nevada

1 ⁤year

AAPC, AHIMA

Western Technical College

9 months

AAPC

Van Education Center

6 months

AAPC

CSN Online Programs

1 year

AAPC,​ AHIMA

1. Phoenix College

Phoenix College offers a comprehensive medical ⁣billing⁣ and coding program that can‌ be completed in one year. ⁤They prepare students for both AAPC and AHIMA certification exams, which are crucial‍ for career advancement.

2. College of Southern Nevada

The College of‌ Southern Nevada provides an accredited program⁤ that encompasses‍ theoretical and practical components. With rigorous training ‍available, students are equipped to take the AAPC and‍ AHIMA certification ‌tests.

3. Western Technical College

Offering a shorter program duration of⁢ just nine months, Western Technical College focuses on essential coding and billing practices. Students receive extensive preparation for‍ the AAPC certification.

4. Van Education Center

Known for its fast-track approach,‌ Van Education Center provides a​ 6-month training program specialized in medical billing and coding, ⁤ensuring that graduates are ready to enter the⁤ workforce quickly.

5. CSN Online Programs

The College of⁢ Southern Nevada’s online program is ideal for those looking for flexibility. The course can be completed in one year, offering the same quality education with the convenience‌ of online​ learning.

Benefits of Studying Medical Billing and Coding

Choosing to study medical billing and ⁤coding‍ offers numerous benefits, including:

Career Versatility: Jobs are available in hospitals, clinics,⁣ insurance companies, and more.

Work-Life Balance: Many positions offer standard office hours.

Ongoing Education Opportunities: Professionals‌ can continue their education to⁢ specialize ‌further or move into management​ roles.

Practical Tips for⁤ Success in Medical Billing and Coding

To thrive in the medical billing and coding field, consider these practical tips:

Stay Updated: The healthcare ⁢industry is continually evolving, so ongoing education is vital.

Network: Join professional organizations such as AAPC or AHIMA to connect with others in your ‌field.

Gain Experience: Seek internships or entry-level jobs to build your ‍resume.

First-Hand Experience: Student Testimonials

Here’s what some‌ graduates from Las Vegas schools have⁣ to say about their experiences:

“The program at CSN not only prepared⁣ me for my certification but also gave me⁣ the confidence to start⁤ my career in medical billing. The instructors were incredibly supportive!�� – Jenna R.

“I completed my studies‍ at Western Technical College and transitioned to a great ⁣job within months! The hands-on training made all⁣ the ⁢difference.” – Mark T.

Conclusion

Embarking on a career in medical⁢ billing and coding is a wise choice, especially in ​a vibrant city ⁣like Las Vegas. With‍ many reputable schools providing excellent programs that prepare⁢ you for industry certification,⁣ you can jumpstart ​your ​future in healthcare. By investing time and effort in your education, you’ll open doors to ⁣a fulfilling career that combines stability and growth potential. Explore ‍the options listed in this guide to find the medical billing and coding program that aligns with your goals, ⁣and take the first step towards your rewarding career today!

https://schoolsformedicalbilling.org/top-medical-billing-and-coding-schools-in-las-vegas-your-guide-to-a-rewarding-career/

[work-at-home-mania]

Financial Services Specialist 1 - Remote - Nevada

Nordstrom. United States – Nevada, Las Vegas Industry: Retail / Merchandising Job DescriptionFor over 100 years, Nordstrom has created a reputation of Legendary Customer Service. As a Financial Services Specialist, you will be an Ambassador for Nordstrom, handling phone calls from… Date posted: 11/26/2024 01:16 AM

[startupnv01]

StartUp NV Offers Las Vegas Startups Just For You!

StartUp NV Offers Las Vegas Startups Just For You!

Nevada has a growing startup community, and there is no shortage of amazing resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. One of these organizations is StartUp NV offers las vegas startups just for you!

Founded in 2015, StartUpNV provides new and existing entrepreneurs with a place to work; an incubation program from idea to exit; and access to capital partners for funding.

See ID

The City of Las Vegas has a new identity, one that is emerging from an ecosystem of startups that diversify the economy that is mostly known for tourism. These startups have their offices inside the International Innovation Center in downtown Las Vegas.

A few of the most notable Investors in Las Vegas tech startups include See ID, a company that created a real-time asset tracking system; Slack, a business communication tool; and Instacart, a company that offers a prescription delivery service.

StartUp NV, a nonprofit business incubator and accelerator, offers programs and associated venture capital funds to support Nevada-based startup companies. This investment program is designed to build a thriving startup ecosystem that supports new companies, generates good-paying jobs, and creates generational wealth.

The State of Nevada recently announced it would administer and dispense $90 million over the next decade to help small businesses and venture capital programs managed by StartUp NV. The SSBCI funds will match investments made by StartUpNV’s affiliated venture funds including AngelNV, which is a $200,000 annual conference fund; FundNV, a $1 million pre-seed fund; and 1864, a $10 million seed fund.

Moveline

Moveline is an online moving broker that helps you get quotes from reputable companies by allowing you to give them a tour of your home or apartment via video chat or mobile app. Once they have the inventory, Moveline provides three to five guaranteed quotes.

Their service makes long-distance moves much less stressful and much more affordable than using traditional moving companies. They also help you avoid movers that charge unexpected last-minute fees by conducting background checks on their company.

The 18-employee startup moved its headquarters from New York City to downtown Las Vegas in August after the Downtown Project’s VegasTechFund invested in them. It was the right place for Moveline because of Vegas’s unique sense of community and its local talent pool.

Slack

Slack is a chat app for your entire team, designed to replace email as the primary means of communication and collaboration. Its workspaces organize communications by channels for group discussions and private messages for sharing information, files, and more.

It also has 1,500+ integrations with critical business apps so you can manage your workflow and track progress across the board. It’s easy to use and consistently chosen as one of the best productivity tools for internal communication.

It’s a great tool for remote teams, since it can replace email and text messaging. It can also keep all team members’ communication styles together in one app, keeping them organized and engaged no matter where they are. It even has features like emoji reactions, gifs, RSS feeds, and reminders. It’s also a great way to build community and foster a virtual culture.

Instacart

Instacart is a delivery service that offers groceries and other household goods. You place your order online or through an app and then receive your items at a time that is convenient for you.

The service allows you to shop from a wide variety of stores and delivers the orders to your home or business. The company also offers a membership called Instacart+ for a fee of $99 per year or $9.99 per month.

To earn more, you need to shop in areas with high demand. These zones are highlighted with red rectangles on Instacart’s mobile apps.

Instacart also offers a new feature that lets you shop multiple customer orders at one time, eliminating the need to drive back across town for your next batch. This feature can help you save time and make more money by giving you more opportunities to increase your earnings.

StartUp NV

Address : 300 S 4th St #180, Las Vegas, NV 89101, United States

Phone : 702-550-8950

Email : info@startupnv.org

Website : https://startupnv.org/

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Shotgun - m. tkachuk

And here is 8.7k of a road trip with Matthew Tkachuk, which honestly, is the real dream. Let me know what you think of it, reblog (I love looking at tags!!) and pop into my inbox if you’d like!

Wine pairing from someone with zero authority on the subject: a nice brut rosé - crisp, fruity, bubbly. Plus, I like the vibes. 

It all started with a text. What are the chances you can get the week after next off? Matthew had sent. Madison’s brow furrowed. Doubtful, but I can try. Are you going to tell me what this is about? There was a week left in the season before playoffs started, and with the points spread in the Pacific being what it was, the matchups were all but locked in. It took less than a minute to get a response. No :) I’ll let you know once you get an answer. She got approved for the time off two days later. Her phone rang as soon as she texted him the news. “How do you feel about road trips?”

---

Maddy had met Matthew about a little over a year prior, soon after she moved to Calgary from her hometown of Toronto. Having finished her first week of work as a computer programmer, there was nothing Madison wanted more than to let loose and enjoy a few drinks with her friends. She was sharing a two-bedroom with her best friend Emily, who Maddy would swear up and down was the sunniest, warmest, most kind person she’d ever met. Not like Maddy wasn’t a nice person — she was — but where her idea of relaxing meant going out bouldering, or camping, or a last-minute road trip, Emily was more of a homebody. 

But going out meant going out, and so Emily was happily dragged along to a bar downtown; which one, she couldn’t really say. Madison walked up to the bar as soon as they entered, catching the bartender’s eye and ordering a Tom Collins. She tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited, glancing around the room. It was ten o’clock on a Friday night, so it was plenty packed. “What are you getting?” Madison asked Emily curiously. 

She held up her Molson. “I’m a woman of simple tastes. Plus, I didn’t feel like waiting around for the bartender to actually make me a drink,” Emily added dryly. 

Maddy rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of going out to a bar when you’re just going to be drinking something you could get at the liquor store?” Emily stuck her tongue out. The bartender slid Maddy’s glass over, taking her card and swiping it through quickly. “Thank you!” she chirped, whipping around to head over and snag a free table she had seen a few minutes before. 

She never ended up getting to the table. Instead, she ran straight into 6 feet, 2 inches of pure Midwestern beef. “Woah!” Matthew said, steadying her as she watched her glass fall to the floor, thankfully not breaking but absolutely spilling its entire contents over the wood. “You good?” 

Madison nodded, grabbing a rag from the bartender. Matthew followed suit, joining her on the floor. “Got a little on my shoes, but it’ll be fine. They won’t stain.”

Matthew nodded, giving a final wipe before taking her rag and handing both back over the counter. “Did me spilling your drink all over you ruin my chances of getting your name?”

“Madison St. Pierre,” she said, laughing and sticking out a hand for him to shake. 

“Matthew Tkachuk, but—”

Maddy cut him off. “I probably already know that?” Matthew ducked his head sheepishly. “I may be a long-suffering Leafs fan, but I don’t live under a rock.”

He took a sip of his beer, leaning up against the bar. “Not from around here, eh?”

Maddy shook her head. “Just moved a couple weeks ago. I’m from Toronto, moved here for a job. I do computer programming,” she said by way of explanation. 

“A smart girl.”

She tilted her head. “You could say that.”

“Well,” he said, “I feel bad about spilling your drink on you, let me buy you another.” 

Maddy laughed. “If you insist. It’s really the least you could do.”

Matthew nodded at the bartender, ordering her another Tom Collins and putting it on his tab. “You and your friend are more than welcome to join us,” he gestured behind him to where the rest of his group was sitting, “we were playing a drinking game and could use a few more players anyway.”

And that was how Matthew met Maddy. 

---

Day 1 

Ten days later, Madison was hefting her duffel bag into the trunk of her Nissan. It was 7:00 on a Tuesday. Normally on a day off she’d be taking advantage of every possible minute of sleep she could get, but lines to cross the border could be long and they wanted to get to Montana by lunch. She waved goodbye to Emily, hopping in the driver’s seat and starting the engine. Matthew had initially suggested they just get a rental car, since it would save Maddy the 20-hour drive back. But a quick Google search let them know that the chances of finding a company willing to let them drop off a Canadian car in Nevada were slim to none. Plus, Maddy had always liked driving, so it wasn’t really an issue for her. They weren’t going to be alone on the trip; Matthew had invited Elias and Rasmus along. She felt a little bit like a school bus driver, stopping at Elias’s complex to pick him up, then Rasmus’ condo, finally pulling into the underground lot of Matthew’s apartment building. Holding one hand up in greeting, he wheeled his suitcases over to her car.

Maddy unblocked her seatbelt, hopping out to help him. “Why on earth did you need so many bags?” she huffed, turning one on its side and wedging it in between hers and Elias’s. 

He shrugged. “I’ve got a bag for the trip, a bag of actual clothes and workout stuff for the series, and the suit bag.” He hung the offending article on a hook. “Did you think I’d be able to set my vanity aside for a whole four days?”

“I should have known that would be too much to ask.”

Matty threw his head back, laughing. “Anyone ever told you how funny you are, Mads?”

“Once or twice, Ratthew,” she said, slamming the door shut. 

Maddy hopped back in the driver’s seat, jamming the key in the ignition and turning the engine on. “Next stop, boys, is America.”

---

Well technically, the next stop was a gas station off of Highway 2, about twenty minutes from the border. “Wait, wait,” Matthew said, a conspiratorial grin on his face as Madison took the pump out of the gas tank. 

She raised one eyebrow. “What?”

He made grabby hands at her keys. “Let me drive.”

“Why?” Madison asked. “I’ve been driving for like what, two hours? I’m not tired yet.”

“I’m the only American in the car.”

Maddy put the pump back. “And?”

Matthew looked sheepish. “Someone said that the border patrol officers will tell Americans ‘welcome home’ when they’re coming back. It’s never happened to me flying so I wanted to see if it would be different in a car.”

“If it means that much to you?” she said, tossing the keys over the hood of the car. Matthew caught them. Maddy rounded the back of the car before she could see him ducking his head, blushing. 

They arrived at the Piegan/Carway crossing shortly after. With exactly zero cars in front of them, Matthew pulled straight up to the booth. 

“Purpose of your visit?” the officer said, looking into the driver’s side. 

“Three of us play hockey, we’re road tripping down to Las Vegas before our playoff series starts in a few days,” Matty answered easily. 

He nodded. “And how long will you be in the States for?”

It was clear either this man had never watched a series of professional sports in his life, or he was just following a standard script. “Depends?” Matthew said, fully aware of how questionable that sounded. 

Maddy piped up from the passenger seat. “I’m driving the car back, so I’ll be back in eight days.”

“Right,” Matthew nodded, “But this trip to the US, we’ll be back in seven days. We’re flying back on the team plane, so it’s not a land crossing.” He decided to forego mentioning that, barring a sweep, they’d be back again in two weeks.

The poor officer looked bewildered. “Team plane?”

Matty shrugged his shoulders. “We play for the Calgary Flames, the team charters a plane to fly us from Calgary to wherever we’re playing and back. We decided to take the scenic route this time.” 

“Okay,” he said, but Madison still wasn’t convinced he actually understood what Matty was saying. If the border officer thought anything of the American, Canadian, and Swedish passports he was handed, he didn’t say anything. Giving a cursory glance, he handed them back. “Welcome back,” he nodded to Matthew, waving the car through the gate. Matthew pumped his fist.

---

An hour later, Matthew pulled into a dirt parking lot on the edge of Glacier National Park. “WE MADE IT!” he exclaimed, putting the car in park and throwing his hands up. 

“We drove three hours,” Elias said from the back seat. 

“And?” Matty challenged, opening the door. 

Maddy grabbed her backpack, stuffed with sandwiches and snacks that they had gotten on their way in. “If you guys brought hiking boots or good tennis shoes, now’s the time,” she said, lacing up her own boots. “There’s a loop around here that’s a little under four miles long, doesn’t sound like it’s too difficult but there is some elevation climb, so better safe than sorry.” People typically didn’t peg her for it, but Maddy was a very outdoorsy person at heart. She had taken up rock climbing in high school, and was a regular at the bouldering gyms back in Toronto until she moved. She’d found a climbing gym she liked well enough in Calgary, but with Banff just over an hour away from the city, the park had become her go-to for climbing and hiking. Matty had come with her on more than one occasion, and had surprised her with a long weekend camping for her birthday in March. The snow hadn’t all melted yet, and waking up to the powder-dusted fir trees outside of their tent had been one of the most beautiful sights of her life. 

“Everyone’s got a full water bottle?” she asked, tying up her hair. The last thing anyone wanted was to get heatstroke in one of the most remote parts of the park with only one phone that could even connect to an American cell tower. 

The group started off at a leisurely pace, wandering off-trail to check out anything and everything that caught their interest. The edge of the St. Mary Valley served as the perfect backdrop for lunch, Maddy pulling the sandwiches out from her bag and doling them out. “Oh thank God, I’m starving,” Elias said, grabbing his food from Maddy practically before she even had it in her hand. 

“Did you not have breakfast?” she asked incredulously. 

He nodded. “I did, but I’m still hungry. Should have brought snacks.” Off to his side, Matty snickered. 

 Day 2

Elias had volunteered to take over from Matthew to drive through the night, switching off sometime around sunrise with Rasmus. “I 100% have a crick in my neck,” Maddy grimaced, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and checking her phone. 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Matthew smiled. Maddy groaned, leaning into his side. Almost instinctively, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, taking a few gulps before setting it back down on the floor of the car, where it promptly rolled away. 

“Who do I have to blow to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Maddy groaned. Matthew almost choked on his water. He had to get his mind off of the idea of Maddy blowing anything or he was about to have an issue. He pulled out his phone, jumping on Google maps. 

“There’s a little coffee shop a few miles ahead, off of the Spruce Drive exit?” he asked tentatively. 

She yawned. “As long as they sell caffeine, I’m game.” They did indeed sell caffeine, and after inhaling two cappuchinos and a small mountain of pastries later, Maddy hopped back behind the wheel. “You sure bear claws and muffins are on the meal plan, boys?” she asked, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. 

Rasmus waved her off. “It’s not like you’re going to rat us out, are you?” 

She shrugged, wiggling her phone in her hand as she pulled up at a stoplight. “Bold of you to assume I don’t have Coach’s number in my phone.”

Matty plucked her phone from her hand, placing it back by the center console. “Be that as it may, sweet Madison, you neglect to remember that I’m the only one with coverage in the U.S.” He might not strike most people as a particularly sentimental person, but Matthew loved his family, and decided that the extra charge was well worth being able to call his parents and sister whenever he was missing them. 

She stuck her tongue out at Matthew. “You ruin all of my fun, you know that?” All he did was grin. The drive to Mesa Falls wasn’t long at all, they had just finished their food — Matty popping bites of muffin into Madison’s mouth as she drove — when she pulled over to the curb by the sign. Maddy threw the boys’ backpacks to them, pointing to the single bathroom stall in the tiny rest area. “Go change, I’ll use the car.”

“Why can’t we have the car?” Matthew complained.

She looked at him. “Three full-grown men, all over six feet, in one car. I know you see each other’s dicks all day in the locker room, but I’d really rather not have that in my car. Think.”

Matty made an “o” with his mouth. “Gotcha.”

Swim trunks were much easier to get on than a wrap bikini, Madison was finding, and the boys were finished changing well before she was done figuring out her top. She bit her lip, poking her head out of the door. “Matty?” 

He turned around, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”

“Could you help me tie this?” she asked, gesturing to the halter top. “I think it’s stuck or something.”

Matthew swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he tried to stutter through a sentence. “Uh, yeah. I can do that. For sure,” he said, shuffling over to the car. He gently untwisted the straps, gathering them into a bow at the base of her neck and trying very, very hard to not think about how soft her skin felt underneath his fingers. This was one of his best friends. And best friends weren’t supposed to think about that kind of stuff. Right?

Behind them, Elias and Rasmus shared a glance. They had expected something was going on between them, really ever since the party in November, but this was something new. They had never seen Matthew gone this far for a girl before. And they liked this side of him. 

“Thanks,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before disappearing back into the car to throw on a coverup. “How long is the walk to the actual waterfalls?”

“Not long,” Elias responded. “Ten minutes or so?” It was an easy walk to the falls, which were mercifully empty when they got there. They kicked off their sandals, leaving the bags under a nearby bush. Matthew knew Madison was pretty. She wasn’t a nun and he wasn’t a saint; she had seen him shirtless more times than he could count and he had seen her come out of his guest room in nothing but an oversized t-shirt of his after she stayed the night. His thoughts hadn’t exactly been innocent. But as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her clad only in that damn red bikini, he was convinced he’d never seen a more gorgeous sight. 

She turned around just as Matthew tore his eyes away, looking mischievously at him. “Last one in?” They sprinted to the water. Matty let her win. 

---

About half of their stops had been planned in advance; the others were pulled from websites or Google suggestions or whatever their waitress’ recommendation was for a local must-see. The Idaho Potato Museum fell into the latter category. Rasmus had floated the idea shortly after they had left Mesa Falls, and seeing as how nobody had anything better to suggest, they ran with it. 

“Free taters for out of staters,” Matthew said, reading off of the pamphlet they had been handed at the welcome desk. 

“Will they give me extra since I’m Canadian?” Madison wondered aloud. “For all intents and purposes they think you live in Missouri, Matty.” The nickname rolled off her tongue so easily, she didn’t even think twice. 

He passed the paper to her, the tips of their fingers barely brushing together, but Matthew could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. “Don’t get greedy, Mads.” They walked down a dimly-lit hallway lined with black-and-white photos. 

“Did you know that the first potatoes grown in the United States were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Scotch-Irish immigrants?” Elias read off of a placard, his voice sounding like a disinterested radio announcer. 

Maddy shook her head. “I didn’t, thank you so much for imparting on me this most important knowledge, Elias.”

“My pleasure,” he replied. 

“Did you know that you could survive off of a diet of only potatoes and butter?” Rasmus chimed in, reading another sign. 

“Really?” Matthew asked, leaning in to read. He turned to Madison a moment later. “Really, apparently.”

Half an hour of wandering later, Matthew and Madison had stumbled into the “artifacts” portion of the museum. “What kind of artifacts does a potato museum have?” Maddy asked, looking supremely confused. 

Matthew wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Why don’t we see?” For some reason, he decided it would be a good idea to hold his hand out for her. And for some reason, Maddy took it. 

The “artifacts” turned out to consist of some old farm tools, dusty burlap sacks, and the world’s largest potato chip. Elias and Ramsus were on the other side of the museum, leaving Matthew and Madison to drift through alone. “Crisp, actually,” Matthew said, reading the card under the glass case. “Because I guess they’re worried about people stealing it?”

“There’s a difference?”

He shrugged. “Apparently it’s only a chip if it’s a slice of potato. This was made from dehydrated potato flakes, or something like that.” Maddy wasn’t sure if it was the sepia-tinted lighting, or the lingering memory of how Matty’s fingertips burned like fire against her back as he tied her bikini, or if there was something particularly romantic about dehydrated potato flakes, but they were alone in the room and suddenly she was looking at him a little bit differently. Matthew looked at her, gaze soft as his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly down towards her lips. Her lips. His body leaned in, and just as she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to meet hers, wondering if they were really going to do this in the middle of the Idaho fucking Potato Museum—

“We were wondering where you guys had gone off to!” Elias’s Swedish accent cut through the silence. Matthew threw his head back, silently cursing his teammate’s timing. If Elias and Rasmus realized anything was off, they didn’t say. “The lady at the front said it’s closing in ten minutes, so we thought we should head out and get something to eat.”

Maddy nodded in agreement, her cheeks burning. “Sounds good. I could go for some food.” They made their way back outside, Matthew settling behind the wheel as he steered the car back onto the highway. He tried to shake the almost-kiss from his mind, but the more he tried to forget it, the more the memory stuck. 

Elias looked down at his phone. “Yelp says there’s an Indian place coming up on the left if that sounds good to you guys,” he said, shaking Matthew from his thoughts. 

Maddy scrunched her nose. “All due respect, I don’t trust this town to make good Indian food. Potatoes, burgers, meat, sure. I buy it. But I haven’t seen a single person of color since we left Glacier.” 

“Fair.” 

The burgers were good; nothing to write home about, but Maddy was honestly thrilled to eat something that didn’t come out of a bag. The plan had originally been to drive through the night again to reach Salt Lake City by the early morning, but Maddy made it clear her back didn’t take too well to sleeping in the car, and the others agreed. “Rasmus, mind finding a hotel nearby? Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just somewhere not too far off of the freeway,” Madison asked. He nodded, pulling out his phone. They had gotten tired of passing around Matthew’s phone anytime they were out of Wifi range, so after a little complaining and one of Maddy’s puppy-dog eye looks, he finally relented and turned his hotspot on. 

“There’s a Holiday Inn up off of the next exit if that sounds good to you guys,” Rasmus said. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the Post Malone song that Matty had plugged in. They switched the aux every few hours. 

“Yeah, works for me.” Madison hummed her agreement; Matty nodded. Rasmus flicked on the blinkers, gently cruising down the offramp, pulling into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn about half a mile down the road. 

Madison bit the inside of her cheek. “They’re going to have rooms available, yeah?” 

“Mads, it’s May in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. I don’t exactly think they’ve got business lining up out the door.” Matty said, looking at her from the side as they walked into the hotel lobby. 

The whole trip was Matthew’s idea, so he insisted on footing the bill, handing his credit card and license over to the receptionist. Maddy snickered behind her hand. Matthew turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. “Something you’d like to share with the class, Madison?”

“Missouri licenses look weird,” she commented.

“And Alberta’s any better?”

She scrunched her nose. “We have a dinosaur on ours. Beat that.”

“I’ll let you have that one,” Matty said, the corner of his lip twitching as he thanked the receptionist, tucking the cards back into his wallet. She handed over the room keys, Matthew passing two to Rasmus and Elias and one to Maddy. “I had us together, if you don’t mind.” 

Madison shook her head. “Fine with me.” It wasn’t unusual for her to stay over at Matthew’s apartment, either after going out or when their movie nights ran a little long and she woke up to Matty tucking her into the bed in his guest room. She had a toothbrush in his bathroom, a change of clothes in the dresser. She had offered to take her stuff back a few months ago, not wanting any girl he might bring over to get the wrong idea. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he had said when she asked, waving her off. Though, come to think of it, he hadn’t brought any girl home — that she knew about — since sometime around the beginning of the year. 

They waved goodbye to Rasmus and Elias, promising to wake up bright and early to get the first crack at the breakfast buffet when it opened at 7. Matty swiped his card, holding the door open when the light turned green and the knob twisted. “After you, m’lady.” 

“Why thank you, good sir,” Maddy giggled, ducking under his arm into the entryway. She stopped at the end of the hall, eyes flickering into the room. 

Matthew stopped behind her. “What’s up?”

“There’s only one bed.”

His head jerked around the corner, not like he doubted her word or anything, but he needed to see it for himself. There was only one bed. One big bed, one very comfortable-looking bed, but one bed. Matty dropped his bag on the floor. “Uh...D’you want me to call down? I can see if they’ve got another room if that would make you more comfortable.”

Madison pursed her lips for a second before shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. We’re adults, we can share a bed without burning the house down.” It wasn’t like Maddy was lying for Matthew’s sake; she really was fine with it. Maybe a little too fine. But they had slept together — in the innocent sense of the word — before, and everything had turned out okay. His arm draped over her shoulder as she cuddled into his shoulder on a late night, her legs tangled in his when some of his friends from St. Louis were visiting for the weekend and took the guest room. He had offered to take the couch that night, but Maddy didn’t want to relegate him to a night of back cramps and drafty breezes, especially when he had an early practice the next day. Nobody ever made it weird, so it wasn’t weird. 

She took her bundle of clothes into the shower, relishing in the feeling of hot water raining down on her aching muscles. Maddy was loving the trip, genuinely, but being in a car for twelve hours out of the day took something out of a person. Slipping into an old college t-shirt, Madison thought for a moment about putting on a pair of sweats. It wasn’t particularly cold — the opposite, in fact — but she didn’t know if it would make Matthew feel weird if she wasn’t wearing pants. Fuck it, she thought, pulling up her boyshorts. If he had an issue with it, it was his problem. Throwing her hair up in a towel to dry, she turned the doorknob, poking her head out the door. “Shower’s open if you wanted to hop in,” she said.

Matty nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “I shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you find something for us to watch?” he asked, tossing her the remote. It wasn’t quite nine o’clock, and while she was tired, Maddy knew if she tried to go to sleep she’d wake up well before dawn, and that wasn’t something anyone wanted. Madison climbed up onto the bed, tucking her feet underneath her and grabbed the channel guide. True to his word, Matthew was in and out in under ten minutes, rubbing his hair with a towel as he walked out. Athletic shorts. Shirtless. Maddy couldn’t help but give him the once-over, having to jerk her eyes back up to his face the moment she realized what she was doing. Matthew met her eyes, the ghost of a smirk playing on his face. “I can put a shirt on if you’d like…”

“No! You’re good,” Maddy replied, maybe a little too quickly to avoid suspicion. 

He ducked back into the bathroom, throwing the towel over the shower curtain. “So, what did you settle on?”

She looked back at the TV. “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives?”

Matty jumped onto the bed. “Guy Fieri. What a legend. Awesome. Where’s he going?”

Three and a half episodes later, it was almost eleven, and Madison’s eyes were starting to droop. Sometime midway through the second episode, when Guy was visiting an Asian fusion restaurant in Colorado, her head had drifted onto Matthew’s shoulder, where it had stayed ever since. His arm wrapped loosely around her, Matty brought his hand up to brush away a stray piece of hair that had drifted into her face. “Getting sleepy, Mads?”

She yawned, nodding and trying to push herself up. “‘M looking forward to a good night’s sleep in an actual bed.”

Matthew laughed softly. “Let’s get you in bed, then.” He threw back the comforter, Madison crawling under, and reached over to the nightstand, turning off the lamps and TV. “Give me your phone,” he said. 

“Why?” Maddy asked, her brow furrowing. 

“You always forget to charge it overnight, and I don’t want you to be grumpy when it dies at 10 AM.” She mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a concession, handing over her iPhone. Matty plugged it in, clambering beneath the sheets. “Sweet dreams, Mads. Good night.”

“Night, Matty.”

 Day 3

 The first thing Madison noticed when she woke up was the warm, unfamiliar weight slung around her waist. It took her a moment to realize that it was Matty’s arm, who hadn’t woken up yet. For some reason that she couldn’t quite identify, or maybe didn’t want to confront quite yet, it wasn’t unwelcome at all, and she savored the last few minutes of physical closeness before he woke up. And he did, wake up, that is. His cheeks reddened as he opened his eyes, pulling his arm away to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly.

Maddy ducked her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. I didn’t mind.”

Matthew yawned. “What time is it?”

“Uh, just before seven,” she said, rolling over to look at the alarm clock. “I’d love to stay in bed a little longer, but we did promise the boys we’d meet them down at breakfast soon.”

He nodded, making a very concerted effort to not read into her statements any more than he absolutely had to. “Yeah, good idea,” he said, tossing the covers off and walking into the bathroom. “I’ll sit on you if you’re not up by the time I get back out there.” Maddy took the opportunity to change, threading a belt through her jeans and half-tucking a t-shirt. “I like the look,” he said when he walked out, as Maddy was twisting her hair up into a bun. It wasn’t entirely unusual for Matthew to compliment her; she had accompanied him to more than one charity event for the Flames as his date, but she had always been dressed up. Dress, heels, makeup that she probably stressed way too much over. Dressed to the nines, never in jeans and a t-shirt before. But she didn’t really notice, the compliment meaning just as much to her as if she’d been in a floor-length gown. 

“Thanks,” she said, stuffing her clothes from the night before back into her duffel. “I packed the rest of your bag while you were in there, figured I might as well.”

It was Matty’s turn to thank her, squeezing her hand appreciatively before giving the room a quick look. “We didn’t forget anything, then?”

Madison laughed. “We really didn’t stay long enough to unpack, but yeah, we’ve got everything, don’t worry.”

---

Elias had volunteered to do the drive down to Salt Lake City. Matthew’s inner six-year-old had returned, insisting that the group stop at a dinosaur park in a rural part of Utah. What “dinosaur park” meant, Madison wasn’t sure, but it made Matty happy, so she didn’t fight it. 

The museum was mostly outdoors, with life-sized dinosaur models dotting the massive field. “Were you much into dinosaurs as a kid?” Matthew asked Madison. 

“Kind of?” she replied noncommittally. “I always loved learning about them, but never had like a ‘dinosaur phase’ like David or Cody,” she said, referring to her older brothers. “My family used to go to the Canadian Museum of Nature a ton when I was a kid, since it was only a few hours away in Ottawa, and it has like a billion fossils in it.”

“Which was your favorite?”

“Pachycephalosaurus,” she said easily.

Matthew blinked. “Pachycephalo-what?” he asked in confusion. He thought he knew all of them?

Maddy laughed. “Pachycephalosaurus. They had these really spiny heads. But secretly, I think I was a little bit of a teacher’s pet who just liked saying the name. Pretty sure they were actually native to Alberta?” she added. “What about you?”

“Well, now I’m embarrassed to say.”

“Oh, come on,” Madison said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Promise I won’t make fun of you.”

“Fine, fine,” Matty gave in, “it was the brachiosaurus.”

“How come?” she asked curiously. 

“I liked the long necks.” 

They spent another hour or so at the park, Matty grabbing a keychain on the way out. “They didn’t have a brachiosaurus,” he muttered, half-angry, picking up a T-rex one instead. It wasn’t a long drive to the actual Great Salt Lake, and for some reason, they had trusted Elias with the aux. Much to Maddy’s chagrin, he didn’t end up playing ABBA, and they were instead led to cruise down I-15 to the dulcet tones of J.S. Bach. 

Madison looked down at her phone. “Anyone want to go see the Joseph Smith sphinx?” 

“Joseph Smith?” Rasmus questioned.

“Sphinx?” asked Elias.

Matthew laughed. “You know those Egyptian statues of like the cat ladies? Where they have cat bodies but the faces of people?” 

“Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church,” Madison explained. “Well, technically it’s called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but—”

“Know-it-all,” Matty said in a sing-song voice. Madison shot a glare at him from the back seat. 

“But most people still call them Mormons. And apparently they made him into a sphinx.”

Elias looked at her, still dumbfounded. “But why?”

Maddy shrugged. “Honestly? Beats me.” The weather had dropped too much by the time they had reached the lake to make swimming very practical, so the four of them settled for taking off their shoes, rolling up pants, and wading into the shoreline. 

Matthew bent down, picking up a chipped white rock from the ground, the water just lapping at his fingers. He handed it to Madison. “For you.”

She took it gently, running her hands over the jagged surface. “Aren’t you not allowed to take anything from a national park?”

He winked. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” They stopped at a Chipotle just as the sun was beginning to set, Matthew taking over driving duties from Rasmus. The plan was to drive for another two hours or so, stopping somewhere in southern Utah for the night to spare themselves from another night spent in her Nissan. 

They drove in silence for a while, Elias and Rasmus drifting to sleep in the back row, before a road sign caught Matty’s eyes and he spoke. “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, you know,” he said as they continued down I-15. 

Maddy looked over at him. “Do you want to go?” She didn’t know where the suggestion came from, but it was out of her mouth before she could take it back, and after a moment, she realized that she didn’t even want to.

His eyebrows raised as he glanced over at her before turning back to the road, the car’s headlights the only thing in sight. “You mean it?” 

Madison shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” She quickly popped the directions into her phone. “It’s only a few hours out of the way, if we drive through the night instead of stopping somewhere we should have more than enough time.” 

“But didn’t you say sleeping in the car made your back hurt?” Matty asked curiously. 

She smiled softly. “I don’t mind, really. I’ll drive. You’re more important.” Honestly, Maddy surprised herself with her boldness. She wasn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination, but it hadn’t escaped her that the dynamic between her and Matthew had changed in the past few weeks and was about to come to a boil. Matty wasn’t exactly the type of guy Madison expected to have a lot of friends who were girls. And a part of her hated that, hated that because of his reputation she automatically assumed when they became friends that all he wanted to do was get in her pants. There had only been one time in their entire year of friendship when they’d even done so much as kissed, and it wasn’t exactly what you’d consider normal circumstances.

---

It was November of the previous year, about six months after Matthew and Madison had met. Matthew had been even more in his head than normal; he hadn’t scored a single point since midway through their East Coast road trip over two weeks ago, and the disappointment was really starting to rag on him. It might not have been something he outwardly showed all that much, but those who knew him knew that Matthew was actually a deeply sensitive person, who took pride in his wins and carried losses with him well after they had faded from the minds of the rest of the hockey world. 

When it had gotten to the point where his frustration was starting to affect his game, Maddy knew it was time to do something. “You’re so much more than your stats, Matty,” she had said, calling him right before she left for the Saddledome. “I know you take this personally, and you feel like you’re letting down the team, but that’s bullshit and somewhere deep down, I know you agree.” Matthew grumbled something that might have been an agreement. “Your team trusts you, they trust you with the puck and with the A, and you’re never going to disappoint them as long as you’re giving it your all. And if you’re the Matthew Tkachuk I know, there’s never a time when you don’t. And win or lose tonight, there’s nothing you could do to change the fact that your family loves you, and your friends love you, and I love you too. Okay?” Clearly, something in her little pep talk had flipped a switch in Matty, because he returned in spectacular form that night, scoring a hat trick in a roaring 5-1 win over the Coyotes. And he didn’t throw a single punch all game. 

A good game without a travel day following usually calls for going out, and a great game with your best friend scoring a hat trick definitely calls for going out, so she dragged Emily along to the bar that Matthew had told her to meet the team at. Matthew had pulled her into a hug the moment she arrived, kissing her cheek and trying his damndest not to spill the beer in his hand on her shoes. An hour and a half into the night, Madison was four drinks in, well and truly drunk, and Emily had wandered off and appeared to be flirting with an extremely oblivious Noah Hanifin. 

“How are you doing, Mads?” Matthew asked, coming up from behind her barstool and resting his hand gently on the small of her back. 

She looked back at him, a goofy smile on her face, and took another sip of her drink. “I’m good, I’m realllly good,” she giggled. “Did I ever get a chance to tell you how good you were tonight?” Matthew shook his head, very poorly concealing a laugh. He had had more than one beer, sure, but he was nowhere near as gone as Madison. “Because you were really good. A-ma-zing,” she added, punctuating each syllable. Her eyes softened as she leaned in. “I know the points drought was starting to weigh on you, and I’m really glad you were able to do this for yourself. I’m always proud of you, Matty, but I was a little extra proud of you tonight. People sometimes write you off as just another good player without any real subsistence,” she paused, correcting herself, “substance, off the ice, but I know the real you, and the real you is even more incredible than the you that plays hockey. It’s my favorite thing to see.”

“It is?” Matthew asked softly, leaning into the hand that had begun to caress his cheek a little bit imprecisely, but that somehow communicated every kind of unsaid word between them. 

Madison nodded, touching his forehead to hers, and then she tilted in. And then she kissed him. Her lips met his, and she tasted like lime and spearmint chewing gum and his favorite kind of tequila. Her lips met his, and it seemed like the room stood still; he barely heard his teammates’ wolf-whistles or Emily’s elated gasp in the background. Her lips met his, and he drank in every second of the kiss until she pulled away. 

---

Maddy hadn’t been drunk enough to black out that night, and she came to the next morning with a roaring headache and the pang of regret in her heart. She thought it was shame at her behavior, embarrassment that she could act so impulsively, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized. The fact that she kissed Matthew wasn’t the issue, not to her, at least. It was the fact that she was drunk in a bar after a hockey game and that wasn’t how she wanted it to happen. She pushed her feelings to the side, trying desperately to focus on work and supporting Matty through the rest of the season, but they always tended to flare up when they were least welcome. Like at the Idaho Potato Museum.

Which of course meant that Matthew would choose this moment, driving down I-15 with two sleeping Swedish hockey players in the backseat, to bring it up. “I remember when you kissed me, you know,” Matty said softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over his lips, like if he tried hard enough he could remember what it felt like to have Maddy’s pressed against his. 

Madison froze, which isn’t exactly what you’re supposed to do when you’re driving. She thought he had forgotten. He had never brought it up, so she really had no reason to believe he would have remembered. “You do?” she asked, swallowing.

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. “Mhm. I hadn’t thought about it in a couple weeks, but back in Idaho, in front of the World’s Largest Potato Crisp…” He let out an airy chuckle. 

Maddy breathed in sharply. So she hadn’t imagined that. Her fingers tapped nervously against the faux leather of the steering wheel. “Yeah…” She trailed off nervously. “I was drunk.”

“Oh, you were hammered,” Matthew agreed. “But do you regret it?”

There it was, the million-dollar question that she somehow actually had the answer to. A long moment passed before she answered, figuring it would be best to just rip the band-aid off. Worst case, Matty would hate her and she’d only be stuck in a car with him for ten-odd more hours. No big deal. “No,” she whispered, voice so small he almost didn’t hear it. 

“I’m glad, because I don’t either,” Matty said. Madison hazarded a glance to her side; he looked almost nervous, and nervous wasn’t a look Matthew Tkachuk did all that often. “I had wanted to for a few months, but it always seemed like it was never the right time, or something interrupted us, or I didn’t know how you felt about me. But you made the first move, and I’m glad you did.”

“How come?”

He sighed. “I don’t know how long I would have waited to do something, or if I ever would have done anything. I feel like sometimes…,” he searched for the right words, “the confidence that I have on the ice can be misleading. Hockey is about reflexes and instincts and knowing the game, but it’s also thinking three steps ahead, anticipating every possible outcome and preparing for them. And that’s the part that I carry off the ice. I think I was worried if I ever brought it up with you, if I ever mentioned that I so much as remembered the kiss, you might clam up and tell me it was a stupid, drunken mistake, and I don’t know what I’d do if you said that. Because I don’t know how you feel about me, not like that”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to force the words out, as scared as she was about admitting them. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” Matthew had never seen Madison like this before, unsure and worried and downright vulnerable, and it meant so much to him that she was letting him see her like that. 

Matthew let out a watery laugh. “Only pretty sure? Hurts my ego a little bit.” Maddy opened her mouth, but he waved her off. “Because I’m definitely sure I’m in love with you.” This wasn’t ever how she imagined telling him, and it wasn’t how Matty thought he’d tell her, on a freeway in Southern Utah on their way to the Grand Canyon, but sometimes life throws unexpected things at you and you have to roll with the punches. 

“When did you know?” Madison asked curiously. 

Matthew bit his lip. “Few months ago? I knew I liked you as more than a friend probably since you kissed me, but it was after that game against Vancouver that I really understood I had fallen in love with you.” Maddy remembered the game. It had gone terribly for the Flames, a 4-0 shutout with more than one fight and the bench racking up penalty minutes. What she didn’t know was what made that one special. Matthew looked over at her, answering her unspoken question. “Why that one?” She nodded. “I think it’s because it was such a shitty game. I wouldn’t have blamed you at all if you had just skipped out after the end of the third, I know I can be hard to deal with after a loss. But you didn’t leave, you stayed. I remember seeing you outside the tunnel, swallowed by my jersey because it’s three sizes too big for you and you refuse to let me buy you another—”

“I don’t want another because it’s yours, and I love it,” Maddy said quietly.

Matthew smiled. “Your call. But when I turned the corner and saw you, I realized three things at the exact same time. You were there for me when you didn’t have to be, and I wanted to be able to do the same thing for you. Second, you’re who I wanted to come home to. And last,” he gathered his thoughts, “I realized if I never saw another girl in my jersey for the rest of my life, that would be fine with me.”

“I think I knew when you introduced me to your family, when you flew me down for the All-Star break?” He nodded in recognition. “Just seeing you with them, how much you love your parents and adore Taryn. You even managed to not chirp Brady for a whole dinner.”

“My mom threatened me.”

Madison laughed. “Even so. It just gave me a whole new side to you. I had seen you with your friends, and with the boys, and with me, but it wasn’t the same. How deeply you cared about making sure I fit in with them, and had fun, and felt included. It was the last piece of the puzzle, really.” Her hand rested on the center console after she downshifted.

“So, are we going to do this? Do you want to do this, Mads?” Matty asked, wrapping his fingertips gently around her free hand. 

Flipping her hand around, she interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m all in if you are.”

Matthew bent down, kissing their hands. “I’ve been all in since the moment I met you.” He glanced behind him to the backseat, where Elias and Rasmus were still fast asleep. “What do you think they’re going to say when they wake up?” 

“I’m not sure,” Madison said, laughing. “Probably tell us it’s about time. Pass me my phone, will you?” Matthew pulled out her phone from where it was charging on the passenger side. 

“What do you need to look up?” he asked curiously as she pulled off of the freeway and into a gas station; the directions were already programmed into the car’s navigation system.

Maddy gave a coy smile, gently putting the car into park. “I’ve got to text the girl’s chat, tell them they’ve got to make me a jacket. They’re going to go wild.”

 Day 4

 The chat did go wild, even more so after she sent a picture of her kissing Matty’s cheek. After about a half-dozen “we called its” and a promise for her jacket to be ready by the first home game of the series, she turned her phone off, leaning over to ruffle Matthew’s hair; he had taken over driving sometime around four o’clock. “I like that I can just do this now,” she mused, playing with his curls as they crossed the border into Arizona. 

“Please, no PDA in front of the children,” he said playfully, gesturing to the backseat. Elias flipped him off. 

The entrance to the Grand Canyon was only an hour past the state line, and there were more than a few cafés to grab a quick breakfast at. Most of the day was spent walking around the vast expanse of the park, marvelling at its natural grandeur, and taking more than a few incredibly aesthetically pleasing Instagram pictures. A few minutes before they had to pack up and leave for the last leg of the drive, they had hiked over to the South Rim. 

Matty leaned on the barriers overlooking the canyon. “It’s so big.” 

Rasmus snickered from behind them. “Duh, Tkachuk. That’s why they call it grand.” 

He ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah, I mean, obviously. But it’s just kind of surreal, you know?” Madison nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and if either of them had turned around they would have seen Rasmus and Elias sharing a very “I-told-you-so” look. “Kind of reminds us how small we are in the grand scheme of things.” 

It seemed like only a few minutes later that they were pulling into Las Vegas, Rasmus steering the car into the underground lot of the team hotel. None of the boys were expected at practice until the next morning, and they had decided before leaving that the easiest thing to do would just be to book the rooms for the one night. 

“Anyone feeling up to going out?” Maddy asked as they walked down the hallway to their adjoining rooms. “I found a tiki bar a couple blocks away, great Yelp reviews.”

“Sounds good,” Rasmus said. Elias nodded. 

“I’m in,” Matthew added, unlocking the door. “Meet out here in ten?”

The break allowed Madison to get a much-needed change of clothes while Matthew hopped in for a quick shower, emerging in a T-shirt and very, very nice-looking pair of black jeans. Maddy bit her lip, looking him up and down. “You like what you see?” Matthew asked, expression cocky. 

She shrugged. “I don’t have to hide it now.” Madison slipped her phone into her back pocket, grabbing her jacket from where it was slung over the lounge chair. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Matthew said, poking his head out the door. “Boys are already out.”

The walk to the bar couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but it felt like twenty in the best way possible. She was holding hands with Matty, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing over the top of her hand, the twinkling lights of dozens of Vegas casinos in their view. Two and a half mai tais and an hour later, the group sat at a table in the corner as Maddy giggled, retelling a particularly embarrassing moment on her high school volleyball team when she tried to make a dive that instead ended up with a ten minute pause in gameplay and the worst nosebleed of her life. She finished the story to raucous laughter, leaning into Matthew’s side. He bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “What is it, Matty?” she asked, pulling away to look at him. 

Eyes soft, he tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear before speaking. “Just thanking God I invited you on the trip. And for the Idaho Potato Museum.”

Madison laughed, the sound like music as it reached his ears. “We should write them. Thank them for helping to get us together. Maybe they’d give us season tickets.”

“Who needs season tickets when I have you?” Matty chuckled, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.  Sure, Madison was a few drinks in when she kissed him. And sure, it wasn’t like Matty was exactly sober either. But this kiss was different. This kiss was the start of everything. 

[breannesamaya]

Intro

ooc: Name’s Pugsly I’ve been RPing for like a billion years I’m 20+ and this is Breanne. She was indeed a sim in the Sims 4 and I fell in love with the idea of her so I gave her some backstory popped her on tumblr and here we are. 

Name: Breanne Samaya

Age: 26

Birthday: March 17th 1997

Sexuality: Bisexual

Job: Waitress 

Location: Roswell, New Mexico

Time in Roswell: 3 years

Birth place: Cebu, Philippines, (grew up in Las Vegas Nevada)

Siblings: Meili and Leona (younger and older sisters)

Height: 5’6

Languages: English, Tagalog, Bisaya

Pinterest

Spotify playlist

Hobbies/Likes

Plants: Breanne collects plants and dreams of having a luxurious garden. She has a small one along with a herb garden.

Collecting: She collects cool rocks, has done so since childhood. Working on becoming a Wildlife conservationist has helped her expansive rock collections.

Nature Documentaries: Name it and she’s seen it. She spends her free time watching new and old ones on her couch in sweats and hair in a messy bun.

Hiking: She could go on a planned nature walk, end up lost for a few hours and find her way back and Bre would consider that a good time. She’s dabbled in nature photography a bit due to her nature walks. (Includes cave exploring)

Star gazing: With a telescope or just laying down and looking up at the sky at night. Breanne likes to dabble in the space side of things.

Soap Making: She doesn’t do it often but soap making is a hobby she wished she had more time for.

Dislikes

Lying/dishonesty: The Samaya sisters were not raised to lie. It makes her anxious to have to do so unless it’s something harmless.

Greed: Greedy people of any nature rub her the wrong way. There’s just something inherently wrong about wanting to hoard copious amounts of something so other people can’t have it.

Math: She’s not the biggest fan of having to do math, it rears its ugly head in her profession more often than not being in a science reliant field.

Drama: Unnecessary drama stresses her out just as much as lying does. Breanne is very much about doing what makes herself happy first. She doesn’t care what other people are doing.

Westerns: She abhors this genre as a whole. She doesn’t have one reason for disliking the genre. It’s just literally every single thing about the concept of American Westerns.

Conspiracy Theories: Some are funny and she can remotely tolerate them. Most theories she takes personal offence to and cannot stand them. Will not tolerate listening to them.

Mazes: The idea of mazes stresses Breanne out to a point where she might be actually scared of being trapped in one.

About

Breanne was always the kid finding cool rocks or cool plants outside and trying excitedly to show her peers. They slowly grew less and less enthused with her ‘look at this cool rock I found,’ until she one day had a small group of friends who shared her passion. Not for lack of trying. If she was bullied about it she barely noticed and when she was aware, she didn’t care. Breanne was busy living her best life because humans could never be as cool as the things she brought home and kept in a shoe box.

Her parents didn’t understand the hobby, but at least she was doing well in school and minding her business. That’s really all they could ask for. Things got a little easier for Breanne once her family was in Las Vegas, except she wasn’t a fan of living in the desert. Her parents were. They enjoyed the weather and the live Las Vegas offered them. They were struggling back in the Philippines and while they weren’t rich or well to do, they were better off. Her father was a valet for upscale hotels and mother worked in restaurants. It meant Breanne had to grow up a little faster so she could take on her share of the chores and keep an eye on her sisters.

The Samaya sisters grew super close because of this little bump in the road. They told each other things they couldn’t tell their parents. Even as they started going their own ways in life. Meili moved to California, Leona didn’t really want to leave home, she remains in Vegas. Breanne’s college ventures to become a Soil Scientist took her to Eastern New Mexico University. Where she’s started her four year bachelor degree. 

She and her parents scrapped together what money they could and helped her get a house near her college to complete her courses and make getting an internship easier. While Breanne has her scholarship and what little money the internship offered, she makes up the missing income for her house by working as a waitress at the Crashdown Cafe. During her second year of college Breanne got an internship. She and few other interns are under the tutelage of Dr. Smith. A month into it, disaster struck when mislabeled data had her name on it as well as almost identical handwriting. An investigation was opened and eventually Breanne’s name was cleared but she’s still shaken up by the whole thing. 

Amid that drama, Breanne and fellow college student Morgyn became close friends. He was a shoulder to cry on when she needed it and vice versa. They started hanging out mostly during the nights when she was free, over their mutual love of star gazing.

Breanne herself is very outgoing. She likes to socialize and if she can put a smile on someone’s face she will. She also likes to keep to herself on some occasions. She very much needs to decompress after long socialization days. She loves the outdoors and loves talking about it even more. She’s bubbly and will often ‘wake up and choose violence’ with little regard for the input of others. The only opinion that matters to her, is her family. Rules are a necessary annoyance for Breanne and while she will follow them when necessary if she can bend them for her benefit she absolutely will.

Wanted Connections:

Ride or Die - Someone to do all the impulsive things that cross Breanne’s mind and is totally down for it (or totally against because Bre NO)

College students/Internship friends/Teachers - Anyone else doing the internship with her (either summer or during her third semester) and after that, just other college students. Along with teachers!

Regular customers/Coworkers - Breanne usually works the graveyard shift (school year) Randomized shifts during summer time. 

Enemies - it’s a strong word, but anyone who doesn’t get along with Breanne is welcomed!

Plot Theme: “I cannot seem to find my way from underneath you, but you always find your way around me.“ [source] 

Plot Theme: A plot based of If You Were Mine... [Song] [Lyrics] 

Prompts: [Link 1] [Link 2]

Things I don’t want to forget about:  

Roommates: 

Friends: 

Coworkers:

Others: 

[stateofnevadajobsneats]

federal jobs in nevada

Federal Jobs in Nevada: Opportunities, Requirements, and Benefits

If you are looking for a stable career in the government sector, you might want to consider applying for federal jobs in Nevada. With a growing economy and a variety of industries, the state offers a diverse range of employment opportunities for federal job seekers. In this article, we will explore the different types of federal jobs available in Nevada, the requirements and benefits of working for the government, and answer some frequently asked questions.

Title: Why Consider Federal Jobs in Nevada: A Comprehensive Guide

What are Federal Jobs in Nevada?

Federal jobs are positions that are part of the United States government and its various agencies. In Nevada, there are several federal agencies that offer employment opportunities such as the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Department of Veterans Affairs. These agencies offer positions that range from entry-level administrative roles to specialized positions in fields such as engineering and law.

What are the Requirements for Federal Jobs in Nevada?

The requirements for federal jobs in Nevada can vary depending on the position and agency. However, most positions require applicants to be U.S. citizens and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Some positions may require a bachelor's degree or specialized training in a specific field.

In addition, federal jobs require applicants to undergo a security clearance process that includes a background check and drug test. Depending on the position, applicants may also need to pass a physical exam.

What are the Benefits of Working for the Federal Government in Nevada?

There are several benefits to working for the federal government in Nevada. One of the most significant benefits is job security. Federal jobs are typically stable, with little risk of layoffs or downsizing. In addition, federal employees receive competitive salaries, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Another advantage of working for the federal government is the opportunity for career advancement. Many federal agencies offer training and development programs that allow employees to grow and move up the ranks.

Federal Jobs in Nevada: Examples of Available Positions

If you're interested in applying for federal jobs in Nevada, here are some examples of positions that are currently available:

Administrative Assistant: These positions involve clerical work such as answering phones, scheduling appointments, and maintaining records. They typically require a high school diploma or equivalent and strong organizational skills.

Park Ranger: Park rangers work for the National Park Service and are responsible for maintaining and protecting natural and cultural resources. These positions require a bachelor's degree in a related field such as environmental science or park management.

Civil Engineer: Civil engineers work for agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and are responsible for designing and overseeing construction projects. These positions require a bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a related field.

Attorney: Attorneys work for agencies such as the Department of Justice and are responsible for providing legal advice and representation. These positions require a law degree and passing the bar exam.

How to Apply for Federal Jobs in Nevada?

To apply for federal jobs in Nevada, you must first create an account on the federal government's official job website, USAJOBS.gov. Once you've created an account, you can search for available positions in Nevada and submit your application online.

Be sure to read the job announcement carefully and follow the instructions for submitting your application. In addition to submitting your resume and cover letter, you may also need to provide additional documents such as transcripts, certifications, and references.

Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Jobs in Nevada

What is the salary range for federal jobs in Nevada?

Salaries for federal jobs in Nevada vary depending on the position and agency. However, federal employees typically receive competitive salaries that are based on their level of education and experience.

How long does it take to get hired for a federal job in Nevada?

The hiring process for federal jobs in Nevada can take several weeks to several months. After submitting your application, you may be asked to participate in an interview, take an exam, or undergo additional screening. The length of the process can also depend on the number of applicants and the urgency of the hiring agency.

Are federal jobs in Nevada only for residents of the state?

No, federal jobs in Nevada are open to applicants from any state or U.S. territory. However, some positions may require residency or relocation to Nevada.

Do federal jobs in Nevada require prior military experience?

No, not all federal jobs in Nevada require prior military experience. However, some positions in agencies such as the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs may give preference to applicants with military experience.

What kind of benefits do federal employees in Nevada receive?

Federal employees in Nevada receive benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and opportunities for career advancement. The specific benefits can vary depending on the position and agency.

What kind of training do federal employees in Nevada receive?

Federal employees in Nevada receive on-the-job training and may also have access to training and development programs offered by their agency. Some positions may also require specialized training or certification.

Conclusion

Federal jobs in Nevada offer a stable and rewarding career path with opportunities for advancement and competitive benefits. While the hiring process can be competitive and lengthy, it can be well worth the effort for those seeking a fulfilling career in the government sector. If you are interested in federal jobs in Nevada, be sure to create an account on USAJOBS.gov and start exploring the available positions.

[breezeybreanne]

About Breanne: Intro Post

Name: Breanne Samaya

Age: Late 20s

Gender: Cis Female

Birthday: March 17th 1997

Sexuality: Bisexual

Job: College Student/Waitress

Location: Oasis Apartments, Silver Lake California

Birth place: Cebu, Philippines, (grew up in Las Vegas Nevada)

Siblings: Meili and Leona (younger and older sisters)

Height: 5’6

Language: English, Tagalog

Hobbies/Likes

Plants: Breanne collects plants and dreams of having a luxurious garden. She has a small one along with a herb garden.

Collecting: She collects cool rocks, has done so since childhood. Working on becoming a Wildlife conservationist has helped her expansive rock collections.

Nature Documentaries: Name it and she’s seen it. She spends her free time watching new and old ones on her couch in sweats and hair in a messy bun.

Hiking: She could go on a planned nature walk, end up lost for a few hours and find her way back and Bre would consider that a good time. She’s dabbled in nature photography a bit due to her nature walks. (Includes cave exploring)

Star gazing: With a telescope or just laying down and looking up at the sky at night. Breanne likes to dabble in the space side of things.

Soap Making: She doesn’t do it often but soap making is a hobby she wished she had more time for.

Dislikes

Lying/dishonesty: The Samaya sisters were not raised to lie. It makes her anxious to have to do so unless it’s something harmless.

Greed: Greedy people of any nature rub her the wrong way. There’s just something inherently wrong about wanting to hoard copious amounts of something so other people can’t have it.

Math: She’s not the biggest fan of having to do math, it rears its ugly head in her profession more often than not being in a science reliant field.

Drama: Unnecessarily cruel drama stresses her out just as much as lying does. She is all about the Chaotic Good Life, loves causing chaos but for the enjoyment of herself (and hopefully the other person as well.)

Westerns: She abhors this genre as a whole. She doesn’t have one reason for disliking the genre. It’s just literally every single thing about the concept of American Westerns.

Conspiracy Theories: Some are funny and she can remotely tolerate them. Most theories she takes personal offense to and cannot stand them. Will not tolerate listening to them.

Mazes: The idea of mazes stresses Breanne out to a point where she might be actually scared of being trapped in one.

Asks, Opens, Rules 

About

Breanne was always the kid finding cool rocks or cool plants outside and trying excitedly to show her peers. They slowly grew less and less enthused with her ‘look at this cool rock I found,’ until she one day had a small group of friends who shared her passion. Not for lack of trying. She was labeled weird for the longest time in school and she barely noticed. If she did notice she didn’t care. Breanne was busy living her best life because humans could never be as cool as the things she brought home and kept in a shoe box.

Her parents didn’t understand the hobby, but at least she was doing well in school and minding her business. That’s really all they could ask for. Things got a little easier for Breanne once her family was in Las Vegas, except she wasn’t a fan of living in the desert. Her parents were. They enjoyed the weather and the live Las Vegas offered them. They were struggling back in the Philippines and while they weren’t rich or well to do, they were better off. Her father was a valet for upscale hotels and mother worked in restaurants. It meant Breanne had to grow up a little faster so she could take on her share of the chores and keep an eye on her sisters.

The Samaya sisters grew super close because of this little bump in the road. They told each other things they couldn’t tell their parents. Even as they started going their own ways in life. Meili moved to California, Leona didn’t really want to leave home, she remains in Vegas. Breanne’s college ventures to become a Soil Scientist took her to LACC. Where she’s starting her four year bachelor degree.

She and her parents scrapped together what money they could and helped her get an apartment in Silver Lake so she could compete her college courses and internship. One day while working on analyzing samples, Breanne had come across weird levels in soil samples. Breanne reported them to the proper people, nothing ever changed. If anything she was told to ‘fudge the numbers a little,’ of which she would never do. It seems to be a source of contention. But Breanne is not a liar, she was raised better. “If you want to keep your internship and continue with your scholarship, you’ll do as you’re told.” She was informed. It went against everything she believed in but she really needed this. While Breanne has her scholarship and what little money the internship offered, she makes up the missing income for her house by working as a waitress at Golden Griddle Diner.

Breanne herself is very outgoing. She likes to socialize and if she can put a smile on someone’s face she will. She also likes to keep to herself on some occasions. She very much needs to decompress after long socialization days. She loves the outdoors and loves talking about it even more. She’s bubbly and will often ‘wake up and choose violence’ with little regard for the input of others. The only opinion that matters to her, is her family. Rules are a necessary annoyance for Breanne and while she will follow them when necessary if she can bend them for her benefit she absolutely will.

*Do not ask about Teacher/student ship I will N O T being doing that.

Wanted Connections:

Morgyn* - best friend/potential partner

Morgan grew up in Gate City, Virginia. Misunderstood often by his community and peers, this weird cloud of judgement they cast over him meant nothing to him. He wanted to learn everything he could, that’s all he really cared about. Friends came and went but that didn’t bother him much either. He never took to being told what to do often and questioned authority almost at every turn. It got him in trouble often,  much to his parents’ dismay. They tried therapy and stricter rules but he would not budge.

Girlfriends came and went as well. Never a cheater but a big romancer, he loved taking women on dates as lavish as he could get being from a family with money. He wasn’t one to settle down or settle on his goals in life so relationships ended after a short while. Jordyn thrived in college; he had taken as many advanced classes in high school and that continued through college. He’s currently trying to pick a topic to get his masters degree in.

If he isn’t buried in a book or eight thousand browser tags on a topic, Morgan can be found outside or at a social gathering somewhere. He loves to chat, about anything but small talk bores him. Somewhere in his life and travels he bonded with someone over their extensive knowledge of tea. He got his degree at Hampton University and through teaching he travelled throughout the country. He got a job in California and decided while here to go for his master degree once he decides what subject he wants to get a master degree for.

*Morgan does not have to be Cisgender male if filling this role let me know of name/gender/pronoun change to I can adjust this accordingly! Faceclaim is up to you as well!* 

College plots found here

[liamtsullivan]

{ self para - 001 }

“ identity cannot be found or fabricated but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go. ” -- doug cooper

{ TW's: mentions of prostitution / mentions of violence against sex workers; mentions of child predatory behavior; mentions of teenage intimacy; general sexual identity struggle; mentions of drug use / addiction } 

ooc; i’ll be honest i went heavy on the warnings because i want everyone to take care of themselves; it’s some deep / complicated shit but it’s not extremely wild. but please do what you gotta do to take care of yourselves, babies.

AGE 6 ( Las Vegas, Nevada ) --

It’s late and Liam’s supposed to be in bed. Mommy’s not home yet, and it’s one in the morning; he knows because he looked at the numbers on the digital clock sitting on the floor beside their bed - a mattress with no bed frame, settled in the corner of their small bedroom. He’s sitting up coloring, and Miss Tiffany hasn’t come to check on him in at least three hours, probably assuming he’s asleep, only he’s not. Which is why he hears the front door swing open. Loudly.

“That mother fucker.” That’s Miss Wendy; she’s always loud, says all the bad words.

There’s sniffling that Liam hears next, soft whimpers that make the six year old’s head lift, wide blue eyes blinking toward the closed bedroom door.

“We should’ve taken her to the hospital. Damn it.” That’s Mommy, he recognizes immediately. She sounds worried; she gets that way sometimes when he hears things he’s not supposed to hear in the apartment, but this isn’t about him this time.

Shuffling off of the mattress, Liam leaves his Batman coloring book and jumbo sized crayolas behind him, slowly easing the bedroom door open. The crying is louder now, and from where he’s standing, he can see that it’s Miss Jeanie that’s crying. He can see that she’s got small, circular red marks up and down her arm; ones that weren’t there before when she was home that afternoon. They look like they hurt, Liam thinks, those little red marks. They shine in the light, and he thinks for a second ‘I don’t think that’s right’ because his skin’s never shone like that before, never been so glaringly red before, either.

As he slowly creeps closer, he notices miss Tiffany scrambling with a first aid kit, and she’s muttering under her breath about ‘calling the fucking cops on that bastard.’ Liam’s not sure what that means or what’s going on, but he knows that something’s wrong, he can read that well enough.

“Calling the cops wouldn’t have done shit, they don’t give a damn. They wouldn’t-- Give me that burn ointment. Get the gauze out of the medicine cabinet. Fucking hell.” Miss Wendy is barking angry orders, which is once again not entirely unusual, but it’s a scene to behold all the same.

Minutes go by, the three women - Miss Wendy, Miss Tiffany, and Mommy - all skittering across the floor, taking care of Miss Jeanie, comforting her, cleaning the red marks on her arms, wrapping them in bandages. He hears more swears in those ten minutes than he hears in a whole week - whatever happened, it was bad, it was scary.

He’s hugging the frame of the doorway into the living room space when Stephanie finally turns around and sees him there.

“Liam,” There’s a crack in her voice, and the little boy shuffles impossibly closer to the wooden framing he’s already clung to as she looks at him with wide eyes and drops down to his level. “You’re supposed to be in bed, what are you doing up, it’s so late, Liam. You need to go to bed.”

Her words are hurried, rushed, blending together, and there’s tears in her eyes. Liam frowns - bordering on a pout, lips pursed and brow furrowed.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” He asks; and he’s concerned - Mommy doesn’t let him see her cry very often. He’s heard it sometimes, when she’s in the living room, or talking to one of the other girls, or when she’s taking a shower. But he doesn’t see it often. 

His small hands lift to touch her cheeks and Stephanie lets out a stuttering sigh.

“It’s okay, baby bear, Mommy’s okay.” She turns and kisses his fingers. “Everything’s okay.”

Liam looks passed her at where Miss Jeanie and Miss Tiffany have moved to the couch. Miss Wendy is outside, on her fourth consecutive cigarette. Miss Jeanie is still crying softly while she lays on Miss Tiffany who’s petting her hair gently and shushing her. It’s not uncommon for them, this sort of scene, but it is uncommon for Liam to witness it.

“Is Miss Jeanie okay?” The little boy asks, hands falling from his mother’s face. “Did she get hurt?”

Stephanie hesitates but nods her head. “Yeah, someone hurt her, but she’s okay. We’re takin’ care of her, okay? Don’t worry.”

“Was it John?”

Liam’s brow creases deeply as his mother lets out something of a whimper at his question. He didn’t mean to upset her more. Stephanie’s trying as hard as she can fucking manage to keep it together; because god, if it doesn’t absolutely fucking break her heart to hear that her child hears what they talk about in this house, what they’re doing. Even if he’s got the details wrong - there’s no John, only a John, multiple John’s. He had so little understanding of what was going on, and yet he had enough understanding to know that something was.

“I don’t want you to worry, alright?” The woman’s hand lifts to push back through Liam’s dark hair. “My sweet boy. Don’t you worry.”

Liam blinks at his mother, and while he doesn’t know what’s going on - doesn’t have a clue that the little shiny red dots on Miss Jeanie’s arms are cigarette burns, doesn’t have the faintest idea that Mommy and the other girls are putting themselves in different potential dangers every night, doesn’t remotely understand yet that this isn’t a normal life experience - he still nods his little head when his mother asks him. When she asks him;

“Do you promise to stay sweet forever? Never hurt anyone? Can you promise me that, baby bear?”

AGE 10 ( Las Vegas, Nevada ) --

Staying with Jeanie isn’t strange. They don’t live with her anymore, haven’t for a handful of years now, but she and Mom still work together so it wasn’t totally unusual for Liam to see her still. Wendy and Tiff were out of the picture now. At the respective times of their leaving his life, Liam had thought that was probably for the better.

He’s more aware of the culture of what his mom is doing now. More aware of the ins and outs of the process. More aware of the fact that it isn’t just about making money on a night with a John anymore. After all, it wasn’t the sex work that had her overdosing.

There was a ‘make yourself at home, honey’ that Jeanie gave him when he had first arrived. The uncomfortable feeling hadn’t kicked in right away. He knows Jeanie, she’s been there pretty much all his life. So the change of pace is unexpected.

By change of pace, it’s the way she lays her legs across his lap while they’re sitting on the couch. It’s the casual caress of the back of his head when she walks by him while he sits there. It’s the fact that she’s standing in the doorway to the bedroom he’s sleeping in after he’s gotten out of the shower and is in his underwear, about to pull a shirt over his head.

“You’re already so grown up, you know that?” She says, leaning in the doorway.

Liam thinks it’s a little strange, because why is she there? But he nods. He’s polite. And admittedly, he’s a little bit in a daze still, because his mom fucking overdosed this afternoon, and is spending the night in the hospital getting her stomach pumped, and he has zero fucking clue what tomorrow looks like following something like that.

He also has zero fucking clue why Jeanie is coming closer to him, why her hands are finding his shoulders and kneading there and she’s murmuring something to him about ‘being there for him.’ The connection isn’t there. He understands what they do, this job of theirs, but he doesn’t understand what Jeanie is doing. Because now she’s talking about Nick, some boy two grades above her that she knew when she was Liam’s age. They used to hide in one of the lesser used girl’s bathrooms at school and learn about each other. Liam’s young, but he’s not stupid, he knows what that means, he’s also realizing that this has little to do with him. Jeanie’s had some wine - a lot, actually, by the smell of it as she breathes in his space - and she’s under stress because her friend just overdosed, among other things, and--

He watched something on TV the other day; they used the word stressor. He wonders if that’s what this is. She’s downward spiraled into something she didn’t really intend to do, didn’t really plan for.

She doesn’t touch him more - despite small effort on her part; he’s not interested. Not only is it uncomfortable, but even any physiological response isn’t there. Whatever ‘growing boy needs’ she refers to don’t ignite a familiarity in Liam’s brain, they don’t ignite any curiosity, so she gives up. And he’s fine. He is. Because after that, she’s apologizing. She’s crying and she’s calling herself an idiot, and she’s saying that there’s something wrong with her and Liam, at his core, can’t agree with that, because having bad things happen in life doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with a person.

He knows that.

She shares the bed with him, and it’s strange but it’s not at the same time. He and his mom live in a studio apartment on their own now. They’ve shared a bed all his life. This isn’t his mom, though, it’s Jeanie. And the whole circumstance is confusing, and he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do when her arm is laid over him and she’s sniffling gently against his shoulder, and looking for some kind of comfort from a child that doesn’t fully know how to offer it.

But he gently traces the familiar little circular scars on her arm with his fingertips until she falls asleep.

He tells Mom about what happened a couple days later.

And he never goes back to Jeanie’s house again.

AGE 15 ( Los Angeles, California ) --

There’s a gentle panting coming and going between Liam’s lips still as he’s coming back down, flopping against his twin bed. Isabelle stands from where she’s settled between his knees and flops back beside him. He should pull his pants back on and he knows it, but he’s lost in thought - as fucking weird as that might sound for a teenage boy who just got his first blowjob.

It’s one of those things, though. There’s been a number of moments where Liam can’t quite figure how he feels about something. He can’t quite figure if he likes something. This experimentation has been going on with Isabelle for about three months now, and he’s learning things. They both are. He makes her feel good, she does the same, but there’s... A disconnect. There’s something missing.

He wonders if it’s him.

He wonders if it’s because they’re only fifteen and maybe they started this all too soon. But then he thinks, no, no that isn’t it. Because sex is something he’s familiar with, something he’s become desensitized to. Maybe not from experience, but definitely from exposure.

Considering.

It’s over the course of the next handful of months that it starts to dawn on Liam that the reason it feels off is because he doesn’t actually want to be being physical. He is, though. Because that’s what teenagers do. Because girls find him attractive. Because the guys in the locker room are talking about it after football practice. Because it’s normal. It’s expected.

He’s still fifteen when he loses his virginity. And he doesn’t care. Granted, that’s always struck him as something that effects girls more than it effects guys, anyway, but he doesn’t care. He did it. He did it because he thought that was what he was supposed to do. That it was some sort of milestone. That he would get used to it.

For the span of a few days, Liam wonders if it’s specific to girls. There’s a party that someone from another school is having, and a couple of his buddies invite him along. He kisses a boy there, testing it out, seeing if maybe this is where the disconnect lies.

There’s messy, fumbling hands down the front of jeans, there’s the press of bodies back into the edge of a bathroom counter. There’s the heavy breaths and the shaky groans.

But there’s still not what Liam was looking for. There’s still not an answer.

Because he doesn’t hate the touching or the kissing or the sleeping together.

But he also doesn’t want it. Not the way he hears people talk about. Not the way his health teacher implies hormones make it all work for them. He doesn’t want it.

He’s not sure, at this point, what he’s supposed to do with that, though.

AGE 19 ( Los Angeles, California; UCLA campus ) --

“Why don’t you ever want to have sex with me?”

The question is nearly enough to startle Liam, but he manages to stay relatively composed, simply blinking blue eyes in his girlfriend’s direction. Liza’s got a stern, questioning look on her face, and he can’t really figure out why. Or figure out her question.

They had sex yesterday, is the thing.

So he says so, points it out. He can’t imagine that she somehow forgot considering it was less than twenty four hours ago. The brunette huffs in something like exasperation at the reply, however.

“You never want to have sex with me, though.” She argues.

Liam’s head tilts, he can’t quite help it. He’s not an argumentative person, not typically anyway, but there’s something in that accusation that doesn’t sit right. “If you think I don’t want to do it, but then we’re doing it anyway, I think we have bigger problems, Liza...”

“You know what I mean, Liam.” She snaps.

“Actually, I’m not totally sure that I do. Hence this conversation.” His voice is level; he’s not picking a fight, he’s stating a fact.

If he’s honest he’s not even totally sure where this is coming from. He and Liza had been dating for the last five months and things seemed to be going pretty well for them. They liked each other enough. She was loud and confident and took the reigns in their relationship a lot. That was how they ended up sleeping together after only a month of dating. Four months had gone by since then, and given her very open and vocal attraction to Liam, it was safe to say there had been plenty more since.

Which raised the current questions.

“Every time I want us to have sex, it’s me. I’m the one making that call, it’s me that has to suggest it or instigate it, or whatever.” Liza begins.

Ah. He gets it now.

And there’s no argument he can offer now, because he knows that she’s right. It had never really struck Liam as becoming a potential problem - and perhaps that was narrow-minded of him. The fact of the matter was that he didn’t desire what she did all the time, he didn’t have that drive.

Doesn’t. Still.

He likes Liza, he cares about her a lot; he wouldn’t have spent five months of his life dating her otherwise. There’s no arguing, though, that he’s different about their intimacy than he is. His attraction to her is different than her attraction to him. She tells him he’s beautiful all the time, that he’s hot, that he’s distracting to look at. Of course there’s other things in there, too, ones that don’t just have to do with what he looks like, but he correlates them now.

Because his attraction to Liza comes from the fact that she’s loud, that she’s confident, and herself. His attraction to Liza came from the fact that she made him laugh four minutes into a conversation with him. His attraction to Liza came from seeing her passion for her studies, the way she dedicated herself to the things that she wanted.

And sure, he likes that she finds him physically attractive. He can recognize that Liza is a beautiful girl - wavy brown hair, green eyes that lighten up when she’s talking about something she loves. But his feelings have never come from a place of physicality. His place in their relationship has never stemmed from physical attraction. He’s never cared much one way or the other about what they did with one another physically.

She does, though. She likes being physical with him. She likes the intimacy of their bodies together, of making one another feel good. She likes to express her feelings in a way that doesn’t require words all the time. And Liam doesn’t fault her for that - how could he? That was normal.

But he doesn’t feel those same things.

It’s not exclusive to Liza. Liam doesn’t look at other girls or guys and think that he’s missing something. He doesn’t think that maybe he might enjoy himself in that circumstance with someone else. It isn’t like that. It’s never been like that. He’s experimented, he’s gone out of comfort zones, he’s done things for people because it’s what they want, and he wants to keep them happy. It’s what he’s been doing with Liza, isn’t it?

So when she says that she’s done - that because he can’t explain it to her, that because there’s no ‘making sense of it’ - he apologizes. He says that he’s sorry, but he doesn’t fight to keep her there.

It’s not like he can give her what she’s really looking for.

AGE 21 ( Los Angeles, California; UCLA campus ) --

Liam’s been throwing a word around for about eight months now. He took a Human Sexuality class last semester - curiosity, some answers, maybe just a vague interest in what he could learn from the subject, he couldn’t figure. It was an interesting class, though. And it helped. In ways he didn’t expect. Because that was where this word came from.

He says it out loud to himself sometimes, getting a feel for it. Immediately after the subject came up in class, he’d done a deep dive on the internet. Maybe to see if it was real, if it was something people actually knew existed. Maybe to self identify. Whatever it was, that had kind of helped some, too.

He reads it in forums, talks to a couple people from them because he’s not totally sure that it’s something he wants to throw out in the open yet. It’s a big thing, throwing a label on yourself, giving people a definition of you. Liam knows that.

He’s been so focused on school and on work and on helping his mom that it hasn’t stressed him out much. 

He broke up with his third college girlfriend about a month ago, but he didn’t really feel it anymore. Things weren’t perfect there. Every time he thinks of Vivian his brain just circles back to this word he’s got now anyway.

Asexual.

He remembers it from Biology class, talking about plant cell division and shit. Which is embarrassing, because of all the things to remember when finally finding something he might identify with, it had to be fucking plants, didn’t it? There’s a lot on the internet about asexuality, and it’s all kind of on this spectrum, Liam’s come to find.

It’s the first time he’s really felt like he’s not fundamentally fucked up, though. It’s the first time that he’s realized that he’s not the only person in the world that feels - or doesn’t feel - this way. Which, deep down, he’s smart enough to figure that it’s pretty impossible with the sheer amount of people alive on the planet that he’s the only one. But seeing it made a difference. Hearing from other people who feel the same way made a difference.

He’s been really figuring this all out, this being asexual thing. He feels comfortable with it. For the first time it really is something he can put his finger on. He doesn’t have a sex drive. He doesn’t experience sexual attraction. It happens. He’s not the only one.

It’s nice. In a weird way. To feel like he knows why now.

He’s talked to this girl online; she’s nice, he calls them friends to himself. She realized when she was sixteen that she didn’t want to have sex. Liam relates to her in more ways than he thought he could. Her name is Heather, and she’s from Washington, and he thinks about going to Seattle to meet her someday. If only to thank her for giving him someone to talk through these things with. If only for being herself.

She grew up with a single dad, and Liam recognizes the mild irony in the fact that he grew up with a single mom. However, Heather’s dad is a contractor. He’s never been in close to the same positions that Liam’s mom has been - but how many people really had been, anyway? He tells Heather about his upbringing; what his mom used to do, where they used to live, the way that sexual intimacy has been like a static white noise that numbs the back of his mind. It’s there, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t do anything for him. He can talk about it, he can make himself do it.

But it’s not for him.

She apologizes to him, tells him that she can’t imagine living a life like that. She says ‘that must have been hard’ and Liam thinks that it wasn’t really. He didn’t have a hard life, his life was just different. He was still coming out on the other side alright.

Better now, with this.

AGE 26 [ current ] ( Chicago, Illinois ) --

It’s Pride Month and that’s always felt like a cool time for Liam. He’s got friends and has known a number of people of varying sexual identities and orientations, and it’s a happy time for them. He gets it. Feeling like celebrating your identity. Even if he didn’t for a long time.

He’s not wild about it. He doesn’t parade about, he doesn’t post on social media. He keeps the simple black band ring on his right middle finger. He doesn’t act any different than he normally would. If it comes up, it comes up, and he’s fine with that.

A few weeks back a girl in the bar really hinted at him that she thought they could ‘have a fun night together.’ It was bold, he’d given her that. He’d also, however, told her exactly what she was getting herself into. Or more what she wasn’t��getting into, rather.

He’s not embarrassed to say it. It’s been years since he learned the word, since he found this name to a truth about himself. He’s felt freer, somehow, in that time. Having something to call it. Having knowledge of where these feelings - or lack thereof - have come from for most of his life.

It’s Pride Month and he knows that he’s got something to feel prideful for. He knows that he can stand up and shout from rooftops if he wanted to that he’s asexual and that it’s real and that it’s valid.

He doesn’t. He’s passed the point of really needing to.

Still, it’s nice that it’s there.

[ftpthemovement]

Comfort or calling? Stop stalling it’s time to ride.

God doesn’t place a calling in your heart and not give you the ability to see it through. Are you choosing comfort or your calling?

Last week I was seeking God to inquire him about a word he gave me a few months ago revolving around FTP. Most people don’t know, but we are closing in on the last few months of our lease here in Kennesaw, and the word he gave me was in reference to what the furture would hold for us. When I asked, I wasnt given a direct answer, so I expressed a lack of assurance to close friends and members of FTP. Since the inception of FTP, God has always given a clear vision of what was to come, and this was the first time where there wasn’t a direct clear cut direction or instruction on what we were supposed to be doing. So I went walking in solitude spending time with God and he began to speak to me.

Often times when God talks to me the most, Its during these times where I’m walking with him in a remote location free from distractions and any input, or out side interference. On this particular day, God placed it on my heart that it was time to uproot myself from Kennesaw Georgia, and move to Las Vegas Nevada to do his will. Cause you know, that’s super normal and all 😂

At first I felt very worried because it’s moving across the nation to a place I don’t know, surrounded by people I also don’t know, to places I’ve never been before in my life. Automatically, my first inclination is to worry. Yet God choose to remind me of a word he sent me around a year ago, when he said, “I’m bringing a raging river to dry sands.” I quickly remembered that I used to walk around a repeat it daily, often times I still do; but I never really understood it until recently. On September 6th, I saw the post come up on Facebook, Circa Sept 6, 2019. Exactly a year later, God was reaffirming his word from exackty year ago, and it lined up perfectly with the message he had just given me! Guess you would have to be there to know the full gravity of the situation, but let’s just say it was all the confirmation I would ever need.

But, in the process of such a massive transition, you obviously have to iron out a few wrinkles with such an undertaking. So, I immediately reached out to Alex and Jordan, who are very close brothers and members of FTP to ask them what they thought. Amazingly enough, they not only supported it, but they felt lead to deployed there as well! Talk about faith in action! I really don’t think you could ask for more than that. God says go, thier answer figuratively speaking was, “Say when.” It’s literally the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Obviously all of our intentions are there, but this is when the opposition likes to creep in. See, technically we are still here until the lease is up. We have to manage to somehow raise funding, continue expanding discipleship, and elect overseers to continue our work here in Georgia, while we expand to the west as God has instructed. In the middle we could come up with a number of excuses, fears, doubt, insecurities, distractions, and opposing opportunities in the process. Hence why the topic up top is, “Are you choosing your comfort, or your calling?”

Up until yesterday when I would think about the transition I would start asking questions that I think any sane, logical, rational person would ask. Stuff like, “Where are we going to stay?” “Are we shutting down the businesses we run?” “How do we all manage to uproot multiple families and make it work?” “Where will we work, etc.“ “Where will the resources come from to help make the transition happen?”

Now, everything isn’t complete, but the Lord has already answered about 90% of these questions, and in the coming months we are going to reveal the plan God has placed in motion, and we hope that you share in the vision and take the opportunity in helping be apart of Gods work! But, for now this is where God calls his followers to have faith, and to be prepared to put that faith in action by trusting that he will create the way to see it to completion!

Sounds tough, and it is! Yet, he specifically reminded me of one answer he gave that changed the complete trajectory of all of my thoughts. A question so imperative, that it shifted everything Ive ever known when it comes to following God. What’s that question you might ask?

The question was, “If I choose to stay and not go, would you be mad at me?”

Even reading the question as I’m writing it, it sounds loaded. But in the loving grace that only my Heavenly Father could answer in, I got a peaceful “No.” So, God is calling me to go do his will, but if I don’t go, he won’t be mad at me? Hmm..... I felt a prompting in my spirit to ask God another question. “If I don’t go, can I be just as successful here doing your will as I would be there?” He gracefully and calmly replied, “No.”

“So, if I go I’ll be more successful than if I stay, why wouldn’t I go?” I had a lot of answers to that question. It’s probably one the easiest list I could ever come up with. Because of job security, comfort, and fear. Because of being rooted in what I’ve grown accustom to on a daily basis. All of the things I take for granted that would simply disappear if i choose to be obedient. If you really think about it for awhile there’s sooo much stuff that I could list, and go on and on about. As I sat there and thought about every excuse in the book, God blessed me with a wave of insight that came crashing down on me, saturating me with love, insight, revelation and understanding. If you made it this far, stick around because I’m about to share it with you.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

God showed that I can be saved, be doing good works, and still be far outside of his intended will for my life....

Listen.... It’s the times that God asks for obedience, yet we choose to shrink back from it. You might understand examples like, “God telling you to say something to someone, but your scared to do it so you shrink back. Or, you know you should have done something in a particular situation but looking back would have handled it a million different ways, but froze up. All those are good examples, but imagine that times 100 million, it’s that deep of a revelation.

What God revealed is that often time we will ask Him questions, and he will answer them in accordance to the condition of our hearts. Re read that slow 5 times and meditate on it.

Jesus often times does similar in scripture, by answering people’s questions with a question first, to reveal the motive of there hearts. What God was showing me was that when we ask him questions, we often times ask out of good intentions, but it’s filtered through our intended desires. We ask with intentions on receiving what we want the response to be. Let’s slow it down cause it’s really heavy. It means we aren’t really seeking his will, but instead, we are seeking what we want his will to align with it.

This means when asking God, we can have all the best intentions in the world of serving God, but when we ask him for something, we are asking it for self, and he graciously and lovingly gives us the desires of our hearts. But if your hearts will, even though being good, isn’t what’s God wants for your life, is it a life worth living? It may appear to be good, you claim it’s for his kingdom, but if it’s not the mission he’s called you to....?

Walk with me bro...

How many of you have seen visions in your head from God, or felt a prompting in your heart to expand in ways you can’t even fathom, but then you quickly rationalize every excuse of why it can’t happen for you, and you write it off as a day dream How many times have you asked God for something but if it doesn’t happen how you wanted it to, or expected it to, you start questioning if you have unresolved sin, or if you did something not pleasing to God. How many of you reading this are weighed down by your past decisions in life, and they hauntingly become the excuses of your future?

God literally loves you enough, to bless you, save you, bring you into heaven, and you still not have lived the life he had intended for you. Most people I’ve met say, “Well everything happens for a reason, and God allowed x______ to happen to learn from it, so I don’t consider it a mistake. Yet they refuse to take ownership of truthfully considering if they were choosing their will or his!

God meets you where you are, when you turn to him, then He gives you beauty for your ashes. Things happen because you choose his way or your way, second by second day by day. When you’re on track and fully submitted to his will, you will live how he wants you to live. When you choose your will, and realize what you’re doing is wrong, he meets you where you are at. When you turn from your way, (aka repentance) Thats when he puts you back on the right path.

When you take ownership you realize, you can’t be focused on fear and faith at the same time. You’re going to choose one or the other daily. Several times God gives orders in scripture, man choose his own way, and he meets them where they are at. It’s literally the whole entire book. Man chooses flesh, God sets them straight, repeat. God tells Isreal do this, they don’t do it, they repent, he blesses them. You think he wanted them to mess up? No! He wants to bless them, but just as we do, we pursue our own ways, and then ask God to bless them.

Long segway, but I hope it was useful. Point is, how many times have you been given a vision, or felt the feeling and didn’t act? In my experience, JUST MY PERSONAL experience, everything God calls me to do, is wildly uncomfortable, and he always places me in a positions that my faith is required to go further than my flesh has ever been capable of. Meaning, God gives me visions that I cannot complete on my own, that I have to overcome fear, walk in faith, and be wildly dependent on him to complete the mission. Period.

So, what calling has you placed on your heart that you haven’t been listening to? Are you so far past having them that you don’t even ask God anymore? Are you just focused on, watch over my family, help me make it through this work day, get a decent spot at the mall, next promotion, and don’t let me get stuck in traffic?

Or is it, God you know what I’m going through, if you would just give me a sign, I’ll do whatever you tell me? But, then you don’t read the Bible enough to realize, he’s already given you the sign, your mission, purpose and calling, and you would just rather wait on magic to drop from the sky, settling for comfort and complacent over sacrifice and obedience?

Come on bro!! Excuses are void in the kingdom of heaven, act like you knew! Don’t be the guy who gets so far off path that you say you believe, but don’t seek Gods will daily, so you walk around professing God, but living nothing like what he’s called you to live. You’re better than that.

So, what’s the answer to this ridiculously long blog?

Fully submit yourself to Gods will daily, no matter how crazy it may seem to others. Use me as an example if you need to. If you know me, I’m not the trophy boy for exceptional Christian. I’m what most churches would call a heretic, a false profit, or lost in sin. Yet, all I eat sleep and breathe is doing Gods will daily. My point is, people will always have an opinion, even the people who thought they were closest to God, killed his son, and the prophets who came before him! Christ rebelled against their man made religion, called them a brood of vipers, prob some more stuff, and then went on to reveal love, care, generosity, forgiveness, and compassion! A little different example than what they had set. He goes on to show mercy trumps sacrifice, and forgiveness and love conquers all. He literally displayed the example of what it means to be his disciple for all to see, when he picked up his cross, took on the sin of judging hypocrites, and said “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!”

Yet in this world, being a true disciple is a stumbling block for most religious people. It’s the very ones who claim to know him the most, that continuously persecute his elect. So, if you don’t look like mans religious church, and you don’t look like the world, you might just find that your walking on the narrow path with Jesus, that he himself said very few will find.

So don’t choose the ways of the world and they will hate you. Don’t seek to align yourself with mans religious customs and narrow viewpoint, they will hate you too.

For they fear what they don’t know, and kill what they can’t understand. Blind guides, full of judgment, an outward display of selfish insecurity, masquerading itself as righteousness. They’ve been judging themselves their whole life, because it is all they’ve known to do. Some past judgment on the world, others understand the word enough that they don’t pass judgment on the world, but comprehend the word enough to pass judgment on the church. Yet when they do so its a perversion, because they do not know love, so they lack the truth. They themselves can’t even look in the mirror and love themselves, so they cannot rightly ever loves others! When they look in the mirror they see sin and not their savior. So they outwardly reflect their shortcomings onto others. Claiming to be free, yet they tie a burdensome yoke onto others that they themself cannot carry, because they have skeletons they cannot bury. Depraved bunch in high positions, appearing to be Shepard’s, but they are like chaff in the wind, being thrown to and fro, judgment to judgment. If the words I speak aren’t from God himself, then let this day be held in account for all to see, so that the motives of my heart be displayed for all to bear witness.

Take the time to seek his will, and you to will find yourself on a similar path. But in this walk of righteousness remember, God won’t place a calling in your heart and not give you the ability to see it through. You just have to have the courage to bring it to fruition.

So in closing, are you choosing comfort or your calling? Search your heart man of GOD, the end has yet to come. Will you have the courage to follow his will? Fear is for the fire lake, be bold and courageous, you’ve been called to go and spread the good news of the gospel, baptize in the name of The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit! You have been commissioned!

Stop looking for the approval of man, and rest assure in your approval and right standing in God through Christ, who sacrificed everything for you to be set free! Let God himself be the only judge you consider in your pursuit of his calling. Go to where the pastors don’t preach, and where the teachers won’t teach. Go be a light in dark in the dark, a city on a hill for all to see. Stop settling for tradition, and go complete Gods mission! May his spirit rage inside of you, calling you to relentless actions of faith, being bold as to laugh in the face of fear, and courageously walk out your destiny. God be with you always even until the end of this age. Don’t do, be. because you already are.

From the front lines, -ES

[wordwordoxfordcommaword]

(h/t to @lightveils on Twitter)

• a fic you love without knowing the source material:

I Wish You Were My Husband by Feynite. 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù. Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū, Liǔ Qīnggē/Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū, Original Shěn Qīngqiū/Yuè Qīngyuán.

AU based on The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir (familiarity with that story's not required).

Wherein Shen Yuan transmigrates into a harem intrigues romance novel (gay edition), Yue Qingyuan really fucks up, Liu Qingge is not suitable for his job, and no one even remotely sees Luo Binghe coming.

• a cathartic fic:

Not Easily Conquered by dropdeaddream, WhatAreFears. Captain America (Movies). James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov. 

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” Peggy says, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

AND

A Fine and Public Place by cest_what. Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold. Ivan Vorpatril/Byerly Vorrutyer. 

High Vor gossip is both a volatile threat and a tool to be used.

• a fic you wish could be a movie:

Ravenous by rageprufrock. Hannibal (TV). M/M.

Clarice Starling meets Hannibal Lecter armed with a copy of the Buffalo Bill file.

• a fic that made you gasp out loud:

Single Use Weapon by Fahye. Kings (TV). Jack Benjamin/David Shepherd, Michelle Benjamin/David Shepherd.

"The king is dead," says Samuels. "Long live the king."

A story about fealty and destiny, spies and secrets, and the things we do to hold onto power.

• a fic that gave you butterflies:

Marks of Fate by Fahye. Captive Prince - C.S. Pacat. Damen/Laurent. 

"You're lying," Damen says. "You walked into Akielos and stole something from me."

Damen visits Vere, Laurent prepares to leave it, and declarations are made before witnesses.

BINGO!

• a fic that made you laugh out loud:

In Defiance of all Geometry by idiopathicsmile. Les Misérables. Combeferre/Enjolras, Combeferre/Grantaire, Enjolras/Grantaire, Combeferre/Enjolras/Grantaire, Cosette/Marius. 

Amis House might not be the biggest student co-op, or the fanciest, but it's got something all its own. Specifically, smoke damage on the kitchen ceiling from that time Courfeyrac lit a political pamphlet on fire.

In which there are secrets, pining, pancakes, and revelations, and sometimes the shortest distance between three points is not a triangle but a circle.

• a fic that made you feel seen:

Worldwide Lonesome by loindexter. 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS. Kim Seokjin | Jin/ Min Yoongi. 

After the BBMA, Yoongi starts bringing guys back to the house.

• a fic you stayed up too late to finish reading:

After Me by rayemars. Check Please! (webcomic). Eric Bittle/Jack Zimmerman. Kent Parson/Original Character(s). WIP

In 2009 Kent "living Taylor Swift song" Parson goes first in the draft, moves to Nevada, and starts an NHL career that includes one Stanley Cup win, one league lockout, a lot of media manipulation, bad blood with several teams, a captaincy, big city politics, and the pressure that comes with some questionable sponsors for a club located in the gambling heart of the United States.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Aces learn how to work around the ghost of Jack Zimmermann.

(Not literally.)

• a fic you found at the right time:

What We Pretend We Can’t See by gyzym. Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Ginny Weasley. 

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

[scifigeneration]

A 'coup des gens' is underway – and we're increasingly living under the regime of the algorithm

by Simon Gottschalk

It’s almost impossible for users to detect which information is being collected, who’s collecting it and what they do with it. Sarawut sriphakdee/Shutterstock.com

I recently attended a large meeting of faculty to discuss graduate students’ evaluation, recruitment and retention.

“Let the data drive your goals,” one of the speakers repeated, mantra-like – with genuine enthusiasm and conviction – and I couldn’t help but wince.

The slogan struck me as symptomatic of what social psychologist Shoshana Zuboff has dubbed a “coup des gens.”

If a coup d’état denotes the illegal replacement of one political system by another, a coup des gens – “gens” meaning “people” in French – is characterized by the forced replacement of human beings by abstract information systems.

In my recent book, “The Terminal Self,” I show how we are increasingly coerced to interact with computer technology in all aspects of our daily lives. Among many other effects, this coerced interaction forces us to sync our cognitive functions to the logic of the computer and feed it endless streams of data, rendering us ripe for constant surveillance and exploitation.

Managing the flows of ‘the new oil’

Data is now used by companies to help them evaluate, rank, select or dismiss potential customers. It can be used to measure medical risk, credit-worthiness, psychological health, job performance, spending habits, food preferences, moods, dating preferences and political views.

As European Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva put it, “personal data is the new oil of the internet and the new currency of the digital world.”

The high value placed on data has ushered in what French sociologist Paul Virilio calls an “informational fundamentalism” – an ideology that exalts digital information as the ultimate good and supreme power to which all must surrender their will, time and common sense.

In order to function efficiently, most institutions must intelligently manage these swelling flows of data. However, the technological capacity to manage vast quantities of data doesn’t necessarily lead to intelligent analysis.

On the contrary, notes media studies scholar Mark Andrejevic, “We have become intelligence analysts sorting through more data than we can absorb.” Individuals simply don’t have the brainpower to sift through the constantly growing flows of information they need to process and mine to make intelligent decisions.

An increasing part of our day-to-day lives requires not just processing the “information bombs” – the emails, messages, breaking news and announcements – that randomly detonate in our daily lives. It also demands that we constantly input information into the system.

Feed the beast. adriano77/Shutterstock.com

Think of the growing number of knowledge workers and professionals in different sectors of the economy who essentially have become data entry assistants. Their jobs primarily consist of feeding always more information to an ever-hungrier digital organism, for reasons that seem obvious but are rarely questioned.

We see it in the granular-level data many public school teachers are now expected to enter about every aspect of their students’ learning. We see it in the endless, and often flawed, surveys professionals of all stripes are asked to complete about their daily tasks, progress and “satisfaction.”

This mind-numbing data entry work deskills knowledge workers, alienates them and betrays a tragic mismanagement of human capital.

The digital Trojan horse

If the duty to enter information is openly enforced at work, it’s covertly induced at home. Whenever we’re leisurely browsing the internet, consulting websites, clicking on links or sharing our pictures, politics and preferences, we’re also – unwillingly and unwittingly – producing gigantic volumes of information. Invisible others then greedily harvest, store, organize and sell this data for the purposes of social control, persuasion and behavior modification.

“On Google, you are what you click. On Facebook, you are what you share,” writes Upworthy CEO Eli Pariser.

This extraction of digital information can influence real human lives. In his extensive analysis of corporate surveillance in everyday life, digital culture scholar Wolfe Christl warns that data-mining companies are wielding personal data to automatically make decisions about people that may worsen existing inequalities.

For example, Christl shows how health analytics companies like GNS Healthcare gather massive amounts of data from genomics, medical records, lab data and mobile health devices to provide information about users to health insurance companies. These companies can then significantly manipulate the costs of health insurance for different categories of applicants.

Similarly, he points out that data collected about someone’s emotional stability, happiness and likelihood of having a baby can influence whether they’re hired, retained or promoted.

With algorithms increasingly displacing humans in this kind of decision making, citizens’ fates are increasingly determined by information systems. As Zuboff explains, it’s a trend that reduces people to sources of data extraction and targets for exploitation.

The most baffling aspect of this situation is not the surveillance capacities themselves, as daunting as they are. It’s our tacit submission to a regime of constant and remote surveillance that – except in spy movies or paranoid delusions – would have been considered preposterous a few decades ago.

More worrisome, in a 2017 interview on “60 Minutes,” former Google marketing manager Tristan Harris explained the insidious motives of data harvesting: Tech companies aren’t just trying to find information about users to sell it to companies that want to push merchandise. They’re competing to create the best “brain-hacking” programs that collect the most accurate information about what makes users tick emotionally and what seizes their attention.

The objective is to manipulate users’ emotional reactions – remotely and at the neural level. In the wrong hands, this sort of manipulation can be used not just to sell people stuff, but to also influence their political decisions. According to political scientist Collin Bennett, this project is well underway.

Access denied

To add insult to injury, it’s almost impossible for users to detect which information about them is being collected, who’s collecting it and what they do with it.

Every swipe on a smartphone screen and every message that’s typed is recorded as “signals” that help gain insight into a user’s personality, interests, mood and financial health. The credit scores of a user’s Facebook friends can even be used to calculate their own credit-worthiness. Because of the complete anonymity of the agencies that collect and use this data, it’s unrealistic to hope that one could correct – and avert the consequences of – the errors that inevitably emerge in someone’s “profile.”

It’s distressing to feel unilaterally monitored, powerless and uninformed. According to one study, those who realize that their privacy has been exposed without their consent experience “emotional, psychoanalytic and corporeal responses which are sometimes stultifyingly profound.”

But this surveillance is also a form of exploitation.

After all, we’re the ones producing this information. We’re the ones increasingly sacrificing our time to read website guidelines, watch instructional videos, fill out digital forms, forward information, sustain digital social networks and generate valuable information about ourselves for others to use.

Shouldn’t those who generate this value have more control over the conditions of its production, sale, dissemination and use? And if this right cannot be granted due to inextricable technological difficulties, shouldn’t the same level of transparency be imposed on those who collect, sell and use it?

The regime of the algorithm

The growing dependence on information, the normalization of surveillance and the increasing use of information systems to make important decisions about citizens’ lives amounts to a “coup des gens.”

However, democracy requires privacy, and freedom entails protection from invasion, whether it’s physical or digital. In his famous treatise on the Fourth Amendment, Supreme Court Justice Brandeis argued that “the right to be let alone” is “the right most valued by civilized men” and is “fundamental to a free and civil society.”

Adult citizens of a democratic society should have the right to decide which sort of information is being gathered about them, who can use that information and how they can use it. They should have the right to verify that this information is accurate and, when it isn’t, to correct it. They should have the right – and the responsibility – to question this bulimic addiction for data and its ultimate purpose.

As Dave Eggers writes in his novel “The Circle,” “The ceaseless pursuit of data to quantify the value of any endeavor is catastrophic to true understanding.”

About The Author:

Simon Gottschalk is a Professor of Sociology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

[infinitygaragedoorlv-blog]

Opener Repair Las Vegas, Remote Repair Las Vegas, Roller Repair Las Vegas, Spring Repair Las Vegas

Welcome to Garage Doors

Your Repair Professional

I have always been that person who can fix anything. Innate repair knowledge is not enough without skills. From woodworking to electrical installation, I have fostered all of the skills you need for household repairs and improvements.

 Renovation at a Fair Price

Whether you need a major repair,a garage door opener installation a garage renovation, or to check off a list of honey-dos, we are committed to delivering professional skills at a fair price. It is our highest priority to get the job done right the first time on every assignment.

 Individualized Repair Options

We provide a full consultation to explain available options so that you can choose the service that’s right for your home or business. We strive not only  to meet your project’s needs, but also to prevent potential problems in the future.

Infinity garage door licensed and bond to install garage doors by customer request, garage openers from any manufacture and more.

 Our Services

Garage Door Maintenance

Garage Door Installation

Garage Door Tune-up and Inspection

Garage Door Insulation

Garage Door Weather Stripping

Inquire us - https://www.infinitygaragedoorlv.com/contact-us/

Open 24/7 - 7 Days a week

You can contact or visit us in our office from

Monday to Thursday from 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Saturday Closed Sunday Closed

Contact Information

7800 South Rainbow Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89139

(702)890-3611 infinitygaragelv@gmail.com

 Website - https://www.infinitygaragedoorlv.com/

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Man of Steel - Krypton [Part 3]" on YouTube

And our son explained that there's no force that can really resist this massive force of warlock that we're fighting his clan if they're the size of clan was no matter what they had

No sooner does he explain it then he stabs someone of his race and an in-law you or less clan. And it's a note that the Mac Tommy f is right behind him pressuring and annoying him mildly attacking him and stuck to him and he's trying to run his maneuvers by doing that it's also a huge a****** and a baby who wants to mess with his bike and you saw him do it on the way in and he missed and he's a crab and a b**** so I'm going to strike his in him for but there's an important movie and people like him or stupid don't really stop it and they're not organized and make Daddy's a mess as well. He came in and started messing with him tried to hold it off a little and then instead always manages to push it to happen because he thinks that he's making this invite happen between idiots or pretty much gone so therefore he's a lunatic although he is finding other Max and thinks that they'll get dragged into it which makes it dumb because they get dragged down there and sex excites the situation drags Max into fight him in foreigners anything's foreigners get rid of him for him and they do not and is a little bit of a rub but not much and usually it turns out to be very negative for him there's something curious there and he is going to be killed by his own for it and he knows this coming and it's still a f**** the horrible homo and we're going to penalize him for today's idiotic comments but our son who is not one in any way.

And besides I'm dragging people down there and that kind of activity what happens there is very important it points out that Corky had started cloning again and others like him are and very remote places obscene places difficult to stay in places and even amongst others since we see later in the film and they have facilities in the upper Midwest and other areas that are very dangerous to be in and state they can't do it up there either. And we're finding those already and fighting them they're far less clones made but if they make a lot of them they'll be hard to get rid of so we have to stay ahead of it eliminate all the cloning retain all of the soldiers plus more probably 10 times as many to go after the other cloning cuz it's going to start increasing and populated areas it already has switched to listening and requesting that our sign on for this duty and sign on to our army to be trained and inducted the induction process is only 3 days the training is about a week and you may sign up for this tour of duty when you sign for the Army and it is our pleasure to introduce the Zeus and Hera requested immediately and say it's one of the most urgent services necessary the most urgent is infiltrators but they work hand in hand with anti-cloning. It is a very rewarding job and task is extremely helpful and valuable to us. And we do need you our people and have always needed you you are the lifeblood of this Army without you it would not be working and it has to absolutely has to.

The other side effects and he notes them they lose the territory and after this atrocity permanently and they're inside a huge bug hive and the bugs trying to get in all the time and they use them as juicing sometimes they get in and eat probably 500,000 clones for their noticed their security is terrible and then vulgar people and they constantly go after women because of the loss they do go after their own there be in Australia but it's disgusting now I have to tell females you need to just shoot them there's nothing else left for them..

And yes they lose another section or sector really of Australia because of this and Tommy f is happy but we'll read this and realize it's going the wrong way all the time with his morons. They also venture out near Las Vegas Nevada and it is really and it is part of his film and it's part of this whether north of it and west of it as well and it is where Superman visits and does cousin conflict out there and it starts to clear the area believe it or not for good too.

Another major effect is Trump's flooded into Australia and fight Corky and they devastate each other and the max foreigners go in and they all devastate all of each other and huge areas of freed by this motion most of it is in eastern Australia where we need to secure and the matrix begins because of it it's a very important occurrence and Corky is a sensor you can see him in Chronicles of Riddick and Riddick and he gets back them his face is ruined and it's a skeleton and he has Trump become skeletor and his He-Man and he is extremely angry about it and he also becomes a character nobody thinks he is and that's right he's I don't know Schwarzenegger and Conan. And then become big like that and strong and they can think more clearly and he does go after Trump for some reason is dressed up as Mike the maintenance man James Earl Jones and the murders him feeds his head to them and loses his tons of stuff because of it but the end of the story is that he devastates each side and Australia it's one of his last bastards of cloning. After that they come back to the States and they realize that they're going to lose everything and west and Mexico parts of South America and the South start and the Midwest pull our son to Utah to try and keep him there to try and run their plan and they fail and it devastates the East Coast and West Coast are permanently weakened it's a good plan of his and he tried to do it early which would have been a disaster but that's our side of the coin

Thor Freya

[daledavidson]

This is the post Congressman Mike Johnson wrote about Disney’s FX series, “Little Demon.” Snopes confirms that what he states here is true. The show also airs on Hulu. It airs on Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand now. It is not known if it will also air on Disney+ in the US. The FX cartoon “sitcom” entitled, “LITTLE DEMON.” I couldn’t get to the remote fast enough to shield my 11-year-old from the preview, and I wonder how many other children were exposed to it—and how many millions more will tune in to the new series, owned and marketed by DISNEY. The trailer included dark images of Hell, demons, and satanic imagery, and an explanation that the main character is… the Antichrist(!). Disney provides this surreal description: “Thirteen years after being impregnated by Satan, a reluctant mother, Laura, and her Antichrist daughter, Chrissy, attempt to live an ordinary life in Delaware, but are constantly thwarted by monstrous forces, including Satan, who yearns for custody of his daughter’s soul.” The actress who voices Laura said in an interview, “I love that we are normalizing paganism. Laura is a pagan. She’s a witch. She’s jacked.” Another online review explains that Chrissy discovers she’s the Antichrist “in grisly fashion, quickly reducing a gaggle of school bullies into piles of red goo in what turns out to be the first of many spectacularly gory sequences. Chrissy doesn’t seem overly concerned by the whole triple-murder thing, shrugging it off with an easy-breezy attitude that sets the tone for the rest of ‘Little Demon.’” WHAT IN THE WORLD?!? Please be careful. Our job as parents is to guard the hearts and minds of our kids. This culture has become alarmingly dark and desensitized and this is not a game. Disney and FX have decided to embrace and market what is clearly evil. STAY FAR FROM IT.” “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG. (at Las Vegas, Nevada) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiV7E_vvxAT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=