#there is economic downturn in my brain

[larnax]

这个功课太难死了。这个功课有汉字“系”可是以前老师不教我们那个子，这样看来干我。

这个投影片没有那个字！！！我觉得它是“累”可是这个功课也有“累”一起田。文学的鬼魂在打击我

[pocket-size-cthulhu]

It's getting to the point where instead of being encouraged, I just get pissed when people tell me their friends' success stories with getting jobs as software devs without formal education.

Everyone is like "oh yeah my friend did it without a degree, you can too!" And I'm like ok how did they get past the auto rejectors that won't even look at you if you don't have a degree? How good were they before they were hired, and who supported them while they educated themselves? Or who agreed to take them under the wing and give them a chance even though they were green?

I know people are trying to be encouraging but it's starting to feel less like "I believe you can do it" and more like "if you haven't done it yet, what's wrong with you?" They'll be like "you don't need a degree to succeed, just a willingness to learn" and I'm like, I know that as well as anyone, but to the people responsible for making budget decisions, I'm too much of a risk. What do I have to show for myself to them?

Like at the end of the day it just feels like either these folks were super lucky or I'm super unlucky and either way, hearing their stories doesn't usually help or encourage me. I'm fighting an uphill battle here trying to convince folks who think we're in an economic downtown, that a US-based junior developer is a good investment. Yuck. If you don't have anything helpful to say then at this point just don't say anything 😭

[indelen]

It’s tragic backstory hours so I’m fortifying myself with a chocolate loaf!

This is my reread of the Lockwood and Co. Books, organized by @blue-boxes-magic-and-tea, I'll make a general summary of several chapters and then post bits and pieces that jumped out at me.

Part II, Chapters 5-6:

I think it’s significant that Lucy comes from the north of England specifically. Northern England got the bad end of the stick multiple times in English history. The area was razed to the ground and starved viciously during the conquest of William the Conqueror. It was raided by Vikings. It suffered during England’s wars with Scotland. It’s a part of UK that saw a lot of violence and poverty. It has a lot of industries like mining, smelting, etc. and that means coal and factory towns and all the economic issues that come from them. A lot of hard, low wage jobs that are the first to go when the economy downturns or society changes. North of England was the worst hit my Margaret Thatcher’s policies and by austerity measures during the mid-2000s economic crisis. Knowing all that and from what Lucy tells us of living in Cheviot Hills we can guess that while life for people and especially kids sucks in London, it sucks a lot worse outside out it. North England post war had a lot of mines and factories with multiple shifts and late work hours. When The Problem kicked off and the curfew was enacted probably only the very wealthy owners could afford to make changes that would keep their factories running and there were probably massive layoffs. So the financial burden was shifted onto children and there are no competing agencies who try to poach the best kids here, just washouts like Jacobs who run The One Agency that’s your only option. If you’re born in that one town with Talent you’re stuck going to that one washout guy. And you don’t see the point in moving because the next town probably just has some other washout guy.

In the context of all this Lucy running away was an act of extraordinary risk, and yet you get it, because continuing working for Jacobs was both her only option and unbearable. She tried giving evidence against him at the trial and he was the only person who could complete her certification. This negligent alcoholic had untold amount of power over her and the law was on his side.

Odds and Ends:

The way Lucy consistently tries to be detached from this part of her life is so heartbreaking. She knew these kids from age of 8 to age of 13. She tries to separate herself from the horror of it all but the damage is so very much there.

Lucy simply wasn’t educated and apparently many children in this universe are not. Children’s brains until the age of about 8 can only focus on learning things one at a time. It’s why some kids pick up skills earlier or later than others. Something has to come first and the order of how the rest stacks up is different for every child. The ability to learn in parallel develops later and this is where proper education of multiple subjects really starts. In North America this is about Grade 3 level. That doesn’t mean the time before this is wasted, since that’s when you learn the basics of reading, writing and math but also things like social play, following instructions of authority figures, measuring time, adhering to a schedule and the general flow of whatever school system you have. But, in this universe this is all they teach agents! they teach just enough to make them obedient and no more. They learn to follow orders, read to do what they’re told, complete basic tasks, but nothing else. This is a world the people who do the most dangerous job are given no analytical or critical thinking education and if you display any independently, you’re told to shut up and die for your country like a good little soldier.

The most "this was definitely written by Anthony Lockwood"-ass ad imaginable. Spare a thought for poor Lucy alone and low on funds in a new metropolitan city trying to find a photo atelier for a portrait to staple to an application.

Lucy is often mean, but let the record state George fucking started it with her. Sir, she made an appointment and sent an application and presumably a photo. You know she's not Arif's girl. You're just crashing from a lack of snackies and are cranky.

Remember kids, always good to ask what happened to the guy you're replacing in any given interview!

Hang this dialogue in the Louvre, i don't care how

Now girl that's no way to talk about your future husband. But also, what I kind of love about this is that Lockwood is obviously conflicted here because her realizes Lucy quite literally too good to be true. She's obviously the most Talented person to ever apply for any position with them. And yet if she's really that powerful why hasn't another bigger agency scooped per up? He senses that there is some flaw, some lie beyond the fact that she doesn't have a reference. He extends her an offer and gives her a chance because she seems like a good fit and it's too good an opportunity to pass up, but he's not foolish or naive about this either. It's why for all his flaws he is a good agency leader.

RIP beloved "biscuit rule" slain in battle with a US publishing editor whose hands grow out their ass and who thinks brittle North American teenage brains will crack at the mere mention of certain British terms and idioms.

Lucy describes Lockwood's smile count: 5

[officialyellowguy]

there is an economic downturn inside my brain

[logorrhea5mip]

I wish i had 20% of the creativity my brain displays when dreaming while mildly sick.

To give an example:

A young man, dressed in informal baggy clothing stands with a microphone on a hill overlooking a city. (he is, at the same time, both me and Tom Scott, as is normal in dreams)

"As an infrastructure reporter, you might wonder what im doing here in Iceland, which certainly isn't well known for grand engineering projects not advanced technology"

"After the GEA project was ratified, the local economy expectedly crashed, and Iceland needed a new path towards its promised, prosperous future. The PIP, almost nonexistent before the crisis, quickly rose in power and became the dominant party that would define the 40s in this country. While their legacy is controversial, it's biggest physical relic isn't. And it is right behind me."

At the center of the large metropolis, a peculiar structure rises. The upper part of it is a half kilometer wide and slightly more tall ellipse of road, reinforced with a mess of jutting steel pillars and I-beams, almost as if someone had too much of them and needed to stick them somewhere.

The lower half of the structure stands on a U shaped building, which looks like many residential towers haphazardly stuck together, with the shortest ones in the middle and tallest ones on the sides. The roofs of the buildings are connected to the steel mess above them, which in turn holds the road.

"Sincere the highly specialized materials used for Loop construction aren't domestically produced here, and it would be to costly to import them, the project leaders decided on an approach that would utilize the domestic metal industry, resulting in an effective but unorthodox looking design."

"And while the Reykjavik Loop isn't as tall as the Dubai Circuit, as technically complex as the Double Loops of Berlin, nor as important to the sport as the Loop of San Francisco, it is more than enough for this often forgotten corner of the world."

"And it truly is, a wonder to behold"

So, this is all form a single dream i had. And while this isn't the best writing or world building ever, one has to appreciate it's volume. To list it all out:

In the mid to late 2030s, a UN project (GeoEngineering of the Atmosphere) suddenly stopped most of the acute effects of climate change.

Northern countries, where real estate was highly sough after as climate refugees flooded the less affected parts of the world, experienced a serious economic downturn as their safe haven status suddenly disappeared.

This caused a shift in Icelandic politics which got a public infrastructure and large projects focused party into power(seemingly controversial in the late 50s which appears to be the present), who built The Loop.

Loop racing is a(physically impossible, dream physics is like that often) motor sport, seemingly very popular "today", where drivers race around the Loop many times.

The whole look of the Reykjavik Loop is certainly unique in that way that dream architecture often is.

Remember, all of this came from 3 minutes of random neuron activity.

And meanwhile, conscious me can decide on a surname for my DnD character for 20 minutes.

[lordeemailarchive]

PART TWO: A little spiel and a REINTRODUCTION!!!!

(09/11/2022) (Solar Institute Bulletin No. 20) (From Rio de Janeiro)

In São Paulo, running towards 26. Photos by Lauren Tepfer

Good morning cuties… or should I say Oi!!!! I landed in Brasil a few hours ago. The pop star river runs — stumble half asleep into a waiting car, get to a lovely hotel room, eat some papaya off a gorgeous fruit plate, shower, crash out. I sit typing this at a wooden table near a window, looking out over Sao Paulo. A security guard waits in the hall outside my room. In total there are five men being paid to protect my body this week. I love coming to Brasil, and South America in general, and look forward to it for years. I can never believe the way the Brasilian kids took to my music, this kid from so far away somehow making sense to them, and the shows are totally electric and emotional and play on a loop in my brain for years. I love the food and the architecture and the trees. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a completely surreal feeling getting on a plane in one country with relative physical anonymity, and getting off in another to literal flash-using paparazzi and gorgeous crying kids. It happens for all of 10 days of a year, so I still think it’s sort of bizarre and eerie and a little bit fabulous, someone else’s life. I’m struck by how truly odd the notion of having a security guard is, still like something out of a movie to me, and how inextricably linked it is with coming to America. My first security guard met me at LAX and guided me through a scrum of autograph hunters with a gun tucked into his belt. Proper Dorothy not in Kansas any more moment. Today I feel like an exotic tropical fish, big slow blinks and gorgeous fins, and I’ll swim around and around in my little bowl until showtime. 

My pretty fishbowl

When you read this, by the way, I’ll be twenty fucking six. TWENTY SIX! Kinda can’t believe that, but on the other hand, absolutely can. It’s been a lifetime already, you know? Besides, the lines are only fine, my body’s fitter and stronger than ever and the spiral winds around in ways I’m finding more and more rewarding. Happy to be in this beautiful country on the day the portal opens.

Taken at sunset on birthday eve

So. Tour update incoming. But first, a spiel! I don’t know how much you’ve been following the live music industry conversation, but lemme hit you with a five minute explainer, cause I think it’s interesting, and good to know about if you’re going to concerts at the moment. Basically, for artists, promoters and crews, things are at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty. It’s a storm of factors. Let’s start with three years’ worth of shows happening in one. Add global economic downturn, and then add the totally understandable wariness for concertgoers around health risks. On the logistical side there’s things like immense crew shortages (here’s an article from last week about this in New Zealand), extremely overbooked trucks and tour buses and venues, inflated flight and accommodation costs, ongoing general COVID costs, and truly. mindboggling. freight costs. To freight a stage set across the world can cost up to three times the pre-pandemic price right now. I don’t know shit about money, but I know enough to understand that no industry has a profit margin that high. Ticket prices would have to increase to start accommodating even a little of this, but absolutely no one wants to charge their harried and extremely-compassionate-and-flexible audience any more fucking money. Nearly every tour has been besieged with cancellations and postponements and promises and letdowns, and audiences have shown such understanding and such faith, that between that and the post-COVID wariness about getting out there at all, scaring people away by charging the true cost ain’t an option. All we want to do is play for you. Profits being down across the board is fine for an artist like me. I’m lucky. But for pretty much every artist selling less tickets than I am, touring has become a demented struggle to break even or face debt. For some, touring is completely out of the question, even if they were to sell the whole thing out! The math doesn’t make sense. Understandably, all of this takes a toll — on crews, on promoters, and on artists. You’ll notice a ton of artists cancelling shows citing mental health concerns in the past year, and I really think the stress of this stuff is a factor — we’re a collection of the world’s most sensitive flowers who also spent the last two years inside, and maybe the task of creating a space where people’s pain and grief and jubilation can be held night after night with a razor thin profit margin and dozens of people to pay is feeling like a teeny bit much. Me personally? I’m doing pretty good. You guys have come to the shows in such mammoth numbers (we sold almost 20,000 tickets in London, like what the hell) and not having crippling stage fright hanging over me for the first time is such a fucking blessing that you could tell me I had to cycle from city to city and I’d still be loving it. But I’m not immune to the stress — just a month ago I was looking at a show that was pretty undersold and panicking, only for it to sell the remaining 2000 tickets in ten days. Wild stuff. I wanted to put all of this in your minds to illustrate that nothing’s simple when it comes to touring at the moment, and if your faves are confusing you with their erratic moves, some of this could be playing a part. So, without further ado, some updates:

I know it seemed extremely sus that the Down Under edition of The Solar Power Tour would ever happen. But it's almost that time! I'm honestly really glad it worked out this way, we're playing so well, and I have so much to bring to these shows now I know it inside out. So consider this a REINTRODUCTION to the tour. We're coming. It's happening. Lesgo.

-- We are thrilled to be adding a show at the Adelaide Festival on March 16th. I’m psyched about this, haven’t played in Adelaide since 2014! -- We have to cancel New Plymouth. I would love to wrap it in something to save face but honestly, it’s a pandemic and we haven’t sold enough tickets! I’m bummed, I love that venue, and I hope to play it some day in the future :—) -- Conversely, we are adding a second show at Black Barn. Yes, I know this sounds insane but the powers that be are telling me that’s what we should do. Can’t wait to find out if this was a smart move in real time alongside you, lol! This show will take place on March 2nd, and if you come, I promise you something special and completely one-off, how’s that? ticket info here. pre-sale code: strangeairlines -- I’m EXXXXTREMELY thrilled to announce the support acts for these shows - Fazerdaze and RIIKI REID in Aotearoa, and the absolute huns MUNA in Australia!!! The sublime Laura Jean will join us for Perth — you know how I feel about Touchstone and now I raise you Girls On The TV. You’re welcome. I’m really excited to play in this part of the world — it’s always a super special time for me coming home. Makes it more real. I hope I’ll see you there. We’re gonna do a little flash sale on tour merch — fab quality, fab designs, would cop if I were you. To finish, some recent Mexico pictures I loved, from Lauren’s clever lens. 

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love (twenty six times!), L x x x x x x x PS:

(source: received this email)

[likeabxrdinflight]

real fucking tired of seeing the Republicans use "violent crime" in New York as some kinda scapegoat in all their discourse about the upcoming indictment like

Have y'all ever been here? because I've lived in at least three cities before with a higher per capita crime rate than anywhere in NYC and they were all in the fucking midwest. The neighborhood around my college campus was more "hood" than Brooklyn and I'm not kidding. In college we got emailed those campus crime alerts near daily. I have received one from my school in Brooklyn. One total.

"Oh but the crime rates went up during the pandemic" yeah no shit crime always goes up during economic downturns, please use your brain for five minutes. "Oh the subways are so violent" they're really not. "But the homeless people" they're just sleeping. Literally 90% of the time they are asleep and not bothering you. Leave them alone, we know housing is a problem here but they're rarely violent.

You know how many subway cars I've been in with a homeless guy cuz it's at least once a week, and I've felt unsafe around a guy like...maybe once total in the five years I've lived here? And that's only because some other woman was harassing him and making him angry, so. Really it wasn't even the homeless guy making that situation feel unsafe.

New York is not some lawless criminal wasteland, people are not being shot or mugged in the streets en masse, the subways are not dangerous. It's a big city, don't be stupid, but also shut the fuck up about it?

I'm not even a native new yorker and I'm annoyed.

[xenofact]

We Invented Our Past Again

In the world of technology 2024, among the bullshit (AI that’s just Clippy Turbo), the scams (pick your food substitute), and the pathological rich (everywhere) something seems familiar. There’s something that feels similar, something that’s not just a rut, but a sameness to all of this new inanity. Consider.

There’s new tech messiahs in town, a handful of men (always men) worshiped as virtual gods who are going to save us. Sure they may no thave invented anything, are building on connections and/or inherited money, have horrible politics, and probably committed sexual assault. Yet people gather around them reverently, singing their praises, vying for attention.

We have our Lord and Saviors – and best of all you can swap one out for another, plus they kind of dress alike,

There’s the promise of change, of revolution. We’ll ascend to space or go to mars. We can acclerate technical development into utopia (especially if you give my company money and venture capital). Just trust us, remove all limit, and we’ll have a future – and show those people who’s in charge.

We have the Apocalypse and the Kingdom of Heaven. Funny how the apocalyptic parts don’t get mentioned as much except for a few tech-types who like to pen vicious screeds grounded in their own paranoia.

There’s even the promise of immortality. This new food substitute will add years onto your life. There’s curious and disturbing talk of blood transfusions. Of course there’s always that promise of uploading your brain to the internet that echoes around the edges of these futuristic grasps for eternity.

For some tech promises we shall be undying in the new utopia.

What has Silicon Valley and it’s attendant technosphere given us? Simple.

It’s given us Christianity2.0.

We’ve got thirst for a messiah, a constant promise of Heaven, and a hope of long life/immortality. Wrap this all up in money and what appear to be widespread daddy issues, and yep, it’s American Christianity re-invented.

I mean we shouldn’t be surprised. Religion has well-worn cultural paths that are easy to follow intentionally or not. The tech world has gotten less and less original anyway, so it doesn’t surprise me to see this weird duplication. Honestly, there may be nothing malicious here, it may be sheer unoriginality.

A lot of are looking for a future of more responsible technology, less grift, less bullshit. Economic downturns and economic bubbles may help, but we need to remember there’s a culture issue here. A change will not just be federated servers or government regulation – it willl be, on some level, spiritual and psychological.

Otherwise we might just re-invent a kind of flaccid, hack Christianity again.

-Xenofact

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning!  I hope you slept well and feel rested?  Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. 

Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

Lobsters taste with their feet.

Music helps keep your memories alive.

Intelligent men tend to be more faithful.

Ecstasy was patented in 1913 as a diet pill.

Cuddling before bed helps the brain to relax.

The average person swears 80-90 times a day.

Chubby girls in Japan are called 'marshmallows'.

A day in the life of a dinosaur was 23 hours long.

Some people will ignore you until they need you.

The left side of the face is slightly more expressive.

The phrase “I don’t give a f*ck” originated in the 1790s.

If you travel across Russia, you will cross seven time zones.

The poorest Americans are still richer than 80% of the world.

Casanova’s euphemism for condoms was ‘English riding coats’.

Sleep makes you more creative and makes your memories stronger.

Jackie Chan's mother was an opium smuggler and his father was a spy.

A study found that chocolate milk performs better than energy drinks.

Just because someone doesn’t react, it doesn’t mean they don’t notice.

Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

Eating bananas is a natural aid to reduce the effects of stress and anxiety.

Nearly 60% of terrorists graduated school with degrees in engineering.

The Samaritans set up a helpline to help fans deal with the breakup of Take That.

There are more phone calls placed on Mother's Day than any other day of the year.

‘V’ is the only letter that can’t be used to make an acceptable two-letter word in Scrabble.

Your body is the weakest during 3.00 a.m. – 4 a.m.  This is the time most people die in their sleep.

According to research, siblings may be more influential shapers of who we become than parents.

In Europe, countries led by queens have been more likely to go to war than countries led by kings.

Muphry’s Law is when you make a spelling or grammar mistake while trying to correct someone else's.

Research shows that some people may delay their deaths if it means their family pays less inheritance tax.

The unhappiest people in this world tend to be the people who care the most about what everyone else thinks.

Don't marry/get in a serious relationship with someone unless you'd be proud to have a child exactly like them.

Psychology says, friendship is not about who you spend the most time with, it’s about who you have the best time with.

Studies have shown that the average person believes he or she will live a longer and healthier life than the average person.

There's a cafe located in France which charges €7 a coffee to rude customers and €1.40 to people who talk politely to staff.

Studies have found that one of the most crucial factors in a relationship is how you celebrate your partner's good news.

In 1850, a cult gave 600 acres in Pennsylvania to God.  It was later repossessed by the state because God did not pay his taxes.

According to a study, people don't listen to the smartest person in the room, they listen to whoever acts as if they know what's right.

Your height is generally determined by your father.  Intelligence, emotional strength and body shape are determined by the mother.

Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussel sprouts all contain a little bit of cyanide.  Eating them primes your liver to deal better with other poisons.

According to psychologists, exposure to nature allows us to remember and value important things like relationships, sharing and community.

There is a horse that is born black but turns white as it ages. The Lipizzan can be found in European countries such as Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia.

Death rates drop during economic downturns.  People drive less and get into fewer accidents, leading to cleaner air.  People also have less money to spend on cigarettes and alcohol.

According to a recent Russian law, it’s only ‘champagne’ if it is produced in Russia.  Otherwise, and even if it comes from the Champagne region of France, it’s just ‘sparkling wine’.

In 1871, lawyer Clement Vallandigham was defending a client accused of murder.  In demonstrating how the victim might have accidentally shot himself, he accidentally shot himself.  He died.  His client was acquitted.

Before calling his 1929 novel ‘A Farewell to Arms’, Ernest Hemingway considered such alternatives as ‘Carnal Education’, ‘Death Once Dead’ and ‘I Have Committed Fornication But That Was in Another Country And Besides The Wench Is Dead’.

After Harry Secombe sang at Peter Sellers’s funeral in 1980, Spike Milligan said, “I hope you die before me because I don't want you singing at my funeral.”  Secombe died in 2001, but a recording of his singing was played at Milligan’s memorial in 2002.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day.  Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday!  I love you all.

[penkraft123]

5 Developmental benefits of learning craft

Have you ever observed that even when there’s a downturn in the economic system, arts & craft stores do a thriving line of work? It seems there are many causes for this phenomenon. Possibly it’s because creating things with your hands is a time-old tradition and will never pass out. Because crafting is a wonderful distraction from some of the worries in life. Whether you’re making pottery, jewelry, crocheting, sewing, painting, knitting, woodworking, beading, or any of the other forms of arts & crafts, it’s possible to gain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. So, if you want a little respite from the world I just work on one of my crafts for a while and feel refreshed.

Below is the list of 5 developmental benefits of learning Art and Craft:

1. Fun: One of the best reasons to learn arts and craft is bringing back the olden days. Picking colors to pick patterns, from visualizing to create, it is fun to build something with your own work- force. And it seems that we could all use a little more fun in our lives.

2. A wonderful Hobby: It’s nice always to have a hobby that allows you to express your inner artist and design something beautiful and/or useful. Hobbies are a great way to take your mind off of the daily chores you might be having in your life. They are a wonderful distraction if you need one.

3. Empowerment: Learning the craft is quite easy. Just a course of someday can make you an expert, and then no one can stop you. You can even share your knowledge by tutoring kids and adults, earning handsomely.

4. Creativity: Nothing like a new project to get the juices of creativity flowing. Are you ready to make something for yourself or as a gift? What colours will you use? How big should it be? Should it be practical or frivolous? How will you feel as you’re creating it? How will you feel when it is finished? Ahhh… I love that creative spirit. What about you?

5. Eye-Hand Coordination and Brain Health: Crafting can be an excellent way to keep our brains youthful as well as optimizing our eye-hand coordination. Studies have shown that it’s imperative that we keep our brains active as we age so we don’t stagnate. And using our hands to craft is an excellent way to stimulate our brains in new and challenging ways.So, open that tube of paint, grab a skein of yarn, make gifts to share for the holidays, or create a little something for yourself. Get your creative mind in gear because arts & crafts are not just for children anymore.

If you are the one who is curious to learn new things, Penkraft gives you this opportunity. Penkraft is one of the leading organisations in Thane and Mumbai which specializes in tutoring the trainers. It is ideal for anyone who is looking to learn calligraphy, art & craft including handwriting improvement courses. Penkraft also provides training for homemakers who are looking for opportunities to work from home with its teacher training centre initiative.

Penkraft conducts classes, course, online courses, live courses, workshops, teachers’ training & online teachers’ training in Handwriting Improvement, Calligraphy, Abacus Maths, Vedic Maths, Phonics and various Craft & Artforms — Madhubani, Mandala, Warli, Gond, Lippan Art, Kalighat, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Cheriyal, Kerala Mural, Pattachitra, Tanjore Painting, One Stroke Painting, Decoupage, Image Transfer, Resin Art, Fluid Art, Alcohol Ink Art, Pop Art, Knife Painting, Scandinavian Art, Water Colors, Coffee Painting, Pencil Shading, Resin Art Advanced etc. at pan-India locations. With our mission to inspire, educate, empower & uplift people through our endeavours, we have trained & operationally supported (and continue to support) 1500+ home-makers to become Penkraft Certified Teachers? in various disciplines.

[ubemango]

commission 2: bestie!jk and the case of the Stupid Bag (amongst other things)

(+ and even more convolutedly, a rich&spoiled!oc/humble!jk besties au) 

I wanna say that the ending is as abrupt as it is because conversations between best friends just Go Places but really. just. This whole drabble really just Went Places SPWWPSHSWPGPW.......thank you to Fina @angelguk for helping me out, and a biiiiiig big thank u to my friend for commissioning me this piece. Ur the best, happy Super Super Super Late Birthday!!!!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰💖💖💖💖💖 

The streetlights hurt to look at. It’s too early for your eyes to process, and you’re a second from nodding off for the third time when Jeongguk nudges you up.

“Stop sleeping.”

You yawn. “I’m not the one driving.”

It’s not even his car. You would’ve been happy picking him and letting him drive, but then he would’ve been mad if you didn’t let him pay gas. “If you sleep then I’ll sleep too.”

“No you won’t,” you grumble. “It’s your fault for wanting to see the sunrise.”

“You said you wanted to do it on your birthday!” He complains. It’s good that you’re cloaked with the dark: he can’t see the sheepish downturn of your mouth, because he’s not wrong. You genuinely did want to see the sunrise today, but getting past that stage of Actually Waking Up was really difficult to do. You sit still with the muddled fog of bad sleep. “We’re not even that far from the mountain.”

You can’t deny the looming mass of rock that sits jagged on the horizon. The outline of the steps you’ll be climbing soon are shrouded in the peak of dawn—hardly visible, especially with the way your vision blurs. “All the more reason for me to nap.”

Even if it is for two minutes. Jeongguk doesn’t argue when you slump in on yourself, succumbing to that inevitable wave of pre-sunlight fatigue.

The car door slams you awake. In the two seconds it takes you to reorient your brain,  Jeongguk’s got your door open.

“Up and at ‘em, princess. Sun’s peeking and we’re wasting the minutes.”

You feel him reach over to unbuckle your seatbelt. “I can’t.”

“We’re hiking whether you like it or not,” he sneers. “I’ve been waiting so long for nice nature shots since you got me this camera. Now—“

“—Ugh!”

He’s got a tight fist on your arm, hauling you out from the comfortable heat of the car. It’s just as cold as you anticipated. Jeongguk doesn’t cower from the punch you land on his chest. 

“I’m so tired,” you say, reaching over the console for your bag, threatening an ache in the middle of your back. “And my back hurts.”

He ignores you, rounding the rear to grab whatever he’d stuffed there before he came to pick you up. (There’s a text with a four AM time stamp in your phone that reads Which penthouse am I coming to again?) “Gucci must be so heavy on your poor back,” you hear him snicker.

“It’s small and it makes me look dainty,” you hiss. “Like my shoes.”

“Your Destructors?”

You frown, meeting him where he rummages. “They’re called Disruptors!”

“They’ll never make up for your alien toes,” Jeongguk argues. 

“I’m not standing here for you to berate me. Ha! Wrong berate. You’re here to cele-berate me—ow.”

He gives you a pointed look. Probably for that awful joke, and by your standards wasn’t even that bad; it was pretty witty considering your GPA this year reflected absolutely no sense of critical thinking. 

No matter, because he doesn’t even apologize for nearly whacking you with his massive-for-no-reason military bag.

“She’s so big,” you point out. 

It really is, woven tight with extremely dense fibre: like some sort of green, rectangular boulder with way too many pockets for the camera equipment and whatever else Jeongguk’s got stuffed in there. His shoulders sag with the weight of it all, and he closes the back door shut. 

“That’s what she said,” he comments. He trudges off before you can hit him again for his own poor choice of humour, the beep of the car cutting through your sputtering.

“But like—“ you speed-walk to his side—(you don’t even know how he got to the fifth step that quickly, but then again you’re literally on the brink of brain dead)— “I didn’t even bring that much.”

“It’s fine, it’s just camera stuff, other stuff. You wanna see something?”

“Sure.”

“You see this?” He sticks a finger in the pocket and traces the circumference. “An inner layer of thermodynamic shit. Keeps things hot. Like if you ever take me to a country with those vending machine coffee cups. You can’t do that because you don’t have this bag.”

You frown at the hostility. It’s an ugly bag, but you’re too tired to fight. “So like—to Japan.”

Jeongguk huffs up the steps. “Sure.”

“Then let’s go.” The lamp post at this level flickers off with a quiet zap. You can see the sun starting to bleed out past the stars. “I can use the plane this weekend, we can go—“

Before you can catch yourself, Jeongguk says your name in polite warning. “I don’t need that pretty stuff.”

You keep your stride, cheeks burning hot. Jeongguk’s nice like that. It’s what you appreciate most about him: pushing you past those boundaries of discomfort you’ve been taught never to cross because if you didn’t like something, you stayed pliant for everyone’s best interest.

Jeongguk’s not pliant, though. He’s assertive with that nice humbleness you’ve never known. Adolescence was a different time, when he’d gotten into your private academy out of his sheer brain power alone. No amount of daddy-manufactured money could get you or your classmates his smarts, and they hadn’t appreciated the poor, newbie boy-genius stealing their guaranteed (or: paid for) placements in the work place beyond. But you’d taken an immediate liking to that shy student cowering in the back—though he still had all the answers to the homework questions if he was inclined to answer.

The very first time you’d tried to offer him a ride home in your helicopter, he’d been livid.

“You can’t—think about the environmental impact! The fuel extracted for such a short trip! Do you know how many villages have been destroyed by Gildan for the sake of extraction?!”

(You hadn’t. But he’d told you, and proceeded to take the bus home like he was so used to doing.)

“You don’t need it,” you sigh. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Jeongguk shrugs. “I mean—it’s what you know. And I don’t blame you. But you know how much pollutants come out of private jets—it just…wouldn’t kill you to demote to, like, first class.”

It’s funny, how much you’ve had conversations like these. The instinct to help him out, his kind rejections. Because you’ve learned now that issues aren’t solved with the expediency you’re given. Jeongguk doesn’t get to have that. And now that you’re in college, you’ve noticed that things really haven’t changed: Jeongguk’s gone astronomical amounts of ahead in terms of course level, and you’re just trying to keep up with the bare minimum credits. You’d feel bad for yourself but having the back-up of money in the form of inheritance really keeps you afloat from the pity.

“This is making me tired,” you complain. You’re pretty sure you’re way past the halfway mark of this mountain, but even you’re starting to feel antsy about missing those first few seconds of the sun waking up. 

“We’re almost there. I can see the outpost from here.”

Jeongguk points to a wooden structure maybe sixty steps from where you’re approaching: built high over the scattered buildings an hour’s drive away, the flutter of an awakening city. Pretty industry made only for your viewing pleasure, because when you get up there, you won’t be looking at the home of scary corporate; the home you’re used to seeing, with your dad running a good third of that district. 

It’ll just be the glass the sun will reflect on. The place so far away you don’t have to think about briefcases and dry-clean only suits.

It’s what you came here for—it’s been easy falling in that trap of indecisiveness. Not wanting what your future is set to be, because right now, the path to your economics degree is tenuous at best. 

So you take the diverging route. And you’re finally at the outpost, out of breath. “The sun’s coming up,” you threaten. Jeongguk hurries up the steps as much as his bag allows, and when you reach the top, the fog in your head dissipates right into the wide skyline.

“Sometimes I want the whole world,” you announce.

Jeongguk settles his arms on the ledge, contemplating the rising sun. “You could get it if you tried.”

Maybe he should just say if you asked, but you know he’s too polite to do so. 

“I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“It’s okay not to,” he commends.

“But you’re so smart. And—you know what you’re doing. But I’m here taking Economics 101 for the second time and I don’t wanna end up in a law office anyway because my dad will get me there just like the rest of our classmates and you’re gonna be doing good things because you’re a great person who’s like, really socially aware, and I can’t do good things because I’m a bad and stupid person with a private jet.”

Jeongguk lets you deflate by yourself, ignoring your spiel for a second to drop that Ugly Bag on the ground. You hear him dig for something; the click of a knob, then a quick snap.

“Look at the sun,” is all he says.

It’s very small. And suddenly it’s not, expanding into bursts of light you aren’t ready for. Not because it hurts to look at but that sudden wave of silence settles fast. A feeling of finality—the beginning that always, always comes back, because new days are inevitable. “The sun is very big,” you sigh. 

Jeongguk hums in agreement, takes another picture. “You’re not bad or stupid. Sure you don’t like economics and you hate school, like, in general. But that’s not your fault, just like owning that jet isn’t your fault. I think you forget some things.”

You pick at your manicure. You’re not so tired anymore. “Like what?”

“Like you’re the only person who talked to me the first week of school,” he goes on. “You offered me a ride home even though I was perfectly capable of taking the bus. You bought my parents groceries when you noticed I wasn’t eating lunch, and you told Seungkwan that you’d stick a wet finger in his ear if he didn’t stop making fun of me for having ugly shoes.”

You laugh. “Seungkwan had big ears and thought he had valid opinions.”

“Anyway—” Jeongguk snorts too—“I’m just saying. I know I—I know I talk a lot about… you doing bad things. Like with the whole plane thing.”

In other words: he’s not here to baby you. He never has. The world you've grown up in has never been kind to him or his parents, and he doesn’t have to keep you in check but he’ll do it for your sake—his, too. “You’re just being a good friend.”

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person,” he says. “It’s good that you’re owning up to those things. Like how you told your dad to veto the health benefit cuts that were under discussion.”

You freeze. You didn’t know he knew that. “How—“

“Who else would get the head of a whole corporate chain under their thumb in one night if not for a really stubborn daughter, who somehow managed to get him to veto a policy I complained about over text the morning I read it in the news?”

Point taken. The guy loves reading his news. Jeongguk lifts the camera once more, but this time points it to your face. “Ew—no!”

“Smile!”

“I’m ugly,” you pout.

“You’re not. Look.” He settles into your side again, into the growing life of the city you don’t love anymore. “Your life—you have… privileges. And you’re learning that you can do good things that your dad isn’t. I’m proud of you.”

“…Really?”

“I mean you have to start somewhere. And I’m really starting to think you didn’t just come to see the sunrise because you thought it’d be a cool thing for me to take pictures of on your birthday,” Jeongguk admits.

You nod. He’s too smart for you sometimes. “I… I kinda wanna switch majors.”

“To?”

“Something other than economics,” you reveal.

Jeongguk squints with apprehension. “Is this because I called your dad my favourite class enemy the other day because I—I’m so sorry. I know he’s your dad but—“

“It’s okay! He’s nice to me but not. To other people,” you fidget. Jeongguk sighs with relief. “But… yeah. You make me want to learn about that stuff. Because you’re right, I have the privilege. And I know have it and I just don’t wanna sound dumb and say wrong things because it’s so easy for me to and I hate that and I wanna—wanna learn and actually do good things. You know?”

Jeongguk nods. “I’m proud of you,” he says again. “Really. You’re doing good. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” 

He lets the heavy camera dangle around his neck. Lets the conversation drift into something more easy because he’s just as tired as you are. “So I know you’ve been thinking about how ugly my bag is.”

“It’s charming,” you divert. The sun is well past the horizon at this point, and invigoration has come in the form of wanting to go the fuck back to the car.

“You’re a liar. Look! There’s even this hole you can put a tube through for when you want to pack those bags of water, and more thermodynamic shit in this pocket—“

“I don’t care about thermodynamics!”

[david-watts]

not to be invasive and you don’t have to answer this! but how are you able not to work? I only ask because I’ve been looking into disability stuff and was curious if it had anything to do with that

gonna put this under a cut because it is highkey oversharing and goes into weird stuff that’s kinda not relevant but Is lmao (I also rewrote this because I was complaining a lot and I’m trying my damned hardest to be a little bit more positive but FUCK)

firstly where I live is like. going through an economic downturn. it has been for a while, probably before the gfc thinking about it. like for example we used to have four bookstores in town, one of which was a local icon if shops can be icons idk, and five if you include the uni one which wasn’t exactly in town but y’know, now we have one. and like I have a lot of Opinions on the fact that where I live is turning into a tourist trap which I can go into if you want? but anyway.

secondly I can’t drive for various reasons involving getting laughed at for even suggesting the topic and now it’s all ‘why can’t you drive’, and public transport here is piss poor which is HILARIOUS considering the council is either selling the carparks here for luxury hotels we don’t need or for the uni relocation which is another rant for another day but WE DON’T NEED THE UNI IN THE CENTRE OF TOWN, CITIES WITH GOOD UNIS IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM DON’T HAVE GOOD UNIS FOR THAT REASON THEY ACTUALLY PAY FOR GOOD STAFF AND FUND THEIR COURSES INSTEAD OF CUTTING THEM!!! and also the council is trying to get rid of one of the carparks where most people with a retail job park for uh. what is essentially a scam tertiary college who got kicked out of their old premises for not paying rent so that’s a GREAT idea of course. so like the city is expecting people to use the unreliable infrequent public transport that recently had routes and operating hours cut, but I’m going offtopic there it’s just annoying as shit y’know? so I can’t even get reliable transport which would be important for working and I haven’t even mentioned the things that are wrong with me as a person

the actual problems with me are my piss poor working memory (had it tested. it’s Bad) since I invested all my memory points into longterm like I can remember being a fortnight old but I had a list of jobs I needed to do today and here I am eating chips! I can’t remember any of them! also I have a lot of back problems which are both hereditary and like. given. thanks to my m*ther insisting on keeping going which was all fine for her. but anyway. I also have arthritis and asthma which makes things hard for me, and I have coordination issues. don’t let my art fool you I can’t use my hands for shit AND I have no depth perception apparently which is even worse with already shit coordination (I can fake both to an extent but I do not like to) so yeah I have can’t stand can’t remember and can’t grab something four feet in front of me because I think it’s closer than it is disorder lmao.

I actually think that despite the fact I am disordered as Fuck in the brain they’d not actually impact my ability to work that much, it’s mainly just my physical problems that often get denied because I’m like. nineteen. that are my downfall. though if I had on-record dxes of those I WOULD NOT be able to get a job lmao

anyway like??? I dunno if this is what you’re looking for but there’s just a lot of factors going into this and it’s just a perfect storm in a way. I’m hoping if I can get off my ass and figure out how to do commissions or something it’ll be all ok so like a traditional job is out of the question at the moment but then again my m*ther IS insisting I should sell my art at the local record store. so yeah

[giapism]

On the death of small things.

Remember the first time your pet died?

Mine was a hamster. His name was Ramen, a grey fluffball no larger than a tangerine whose hobbies included running on his wheel at midnight and nibbling on my shirt. I’d gotten him as a birthday gift from a friend, and as soon as I took him home in his teensy kingdom of a cage, my siblings were in love. Ramen became the first thing they checked up on returning from school and the last before they went to bed. I remember their squeals as I plopped the mouse into their palms, their giggles at the ball of fur wriggling about inside their cupped hands.

That fateful day came barely two weeks after he joined our family.

“Vicky, the hamster’s not moving!” Daisy hollered from the living room.

“Just leave him be! He’s probably sleeping!” I hollered back.

“I don’t think he’s sleeping! You should come take a look!”

I was sure she was over-reacting. Even by the time I went outside, opened his cage and softly touched him, I still didn’t believe her.

“He’s still warm, Daisy. Maybe just really tired.”

But then I prodded him again. No movement. That’s strange… normally he’d wriggle. Slightly alarmed, I scooped him up onto my palm. Again, no movement.

The next minute was probably the scariest experience in my life. Okay, no it was the second scariest, after thinking my parents were going to get divorced in 2nd grade (they did not). When I first picked up Ramen, he was still soft, squidgy and warm. But with every passing moment, the warmth faded from his body and he stiffened up, until the animal in my hand was no longer “just normal Ramen” but a stone cold, rock hard block. What the f*ck. Barely 30 seconds ago, he seemed so real—I could literally imagine him scrambling around the room—yet now he felt no different from a stuffed animal. Yet even stuffed animals were soft and designed to have a life-like quality about them; Ramen was as stiff and lifeless as a hairy lump of coal, almost as though he’d never been alive at all and my memories of him were just imagination.

I don’t know if you’ve ever held onto someone or something as its last bits of life were fading away, but honest to God is it terrifying. Heart-about-to-jump-out-of-chest terrifying. In that moment, when you them transform from what you know them to be into something completely different—a bad different—your mind starts replaying random highlights of your memories of them at 10.X speed, but there’s also a voice screaming “That’s not them you’re looking at! It’s not them!” inside your head. Whatever you’re looking at suddenly becomes so ghastly and stale you don’t want to believe that it’s them, that you loved so dearly. You don’t want your wonderful memories of them to be tainted and topped with this horrendous image of a lifeless, wax-like imposter. You want to cry. Maybe you do. You find it hard to breathe, but you kind of have to anyway. The rational part of you knows it’s really still them, and so you’re heartbroken and about to crumble, but the other parts are in denial, and it feels like your brain is exploding. You’re scared, but feel bad because you know you shouldn’t be scared. The rational part of you screams to size up, to be present. There’s also a smaller, but much louder part, screaming that it doesn’t understand, it doesn’t like what’s happening and it wants to disappear. 

You agree. You want to disappear and wish you’d never seen this happen.

But you did see it happen. Eventually you get over your fear, complete your responsibilities and move to the next stage: grieving. You deny, you cry, you scream. Finally you accept.

Ramen got a proper burial under a big tree in my front yard, and I still mention him in my prayers. He rests there, maybe watching over the people passing by, or maybe just lying still. Who knows. I was mortified for two weeks, but after that life went on.

Life always goes on, after the death of a pet, a loved one, a natural disaster, or economic downturn. Maybe it could not go on if a meteor crashed and wiped us out like dinosaurs. Or maybe COVID-19 will wipe us out like dinosaurs. I know life will go on, but I’m still terrified of seeing it fade away from people, or things. I will never forget what it felt like to hold Ramen, but it makes me wonder how it will feel when it isn’t just a hamster that dies, but a real person. Not just any old person, but someone close to me—a friend, or a family member. What would it be like to watch the life drain away from them? Is “drain away” really the right verb? If it drains, then where does it go after that? Is it transferred to others, or lost forever?

I realise that I may have been taking life, and the warmth it brings with it, for granted all this time. We’re so used to people and animals being present with us, that we can hardly imagine what it’s like to lose them. Watching death happen, I also realise how incredibly fragile all us living organisms are, how we can transform into nothingness and neverness, and how all proof of us existing can disappear in the blink of an eye! Perhaps that’s why it’s so important that we write and draw and tell stories: to remember and celebrate the lives of organisms, no matter how small, that walked the earth. I decided to write this in memory of Ramen, for this will be the only documentation and proof of his existence as my old phone which held his photos (there were not many) has died and his belongings cleared. 

May he rest in peace and may the positive energy he brought in his life be passed onto others, never lost.

[eretzyisrael]

Moral Dilemmas Then and Now

Dario Gabbai died last month, aged 97. Gabbai was a Sonderkommando, a Greek-Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau who was forced to help herd new arrivals to the German death chambers and remove their bodies to the crematoria a few minutes later. Very few of them survived the war, and Gabbai may have been the last of them.

Gabbai, who was often interviewed and appeared in several documentaries about the Holocaust, described shutting down his brain in order to survive in that hellish place. There were things that he had seen, he said, that he could neither talk about nor get out of his mind.

His situation raised moral dilemmas in the purest possible way. He had a choice: he could help the Germans or they would kill him immediately. Should he sacrifice himself in order to avoid becoming an accessory to murder? It would be pointless: there was no shortage of prisoners who would take his job in order to stay alive a bit longer. The Germans killed all the Sonderkommandos every few months, anyway (Gabbai arrived near the end). Maybe they simply stopped being able to do the soul-destroying work, or maybe the Germans were afraid of a revolt; there were at least three bloody but unsuccessful revolts of Sonderkommandos in Treblinka, Sobibor, and Birkenau. These were men – boys, actually – who had nothing to lose, and who knew in the most graphic and painful way they had nothing to lose.

One day, the transport included two of Gabbai’s friends from Salonika. “I told them they were going to die,” he recalls. “My cousins and I gave them whatever food we had, and we told them where to stand so the gas would kill them in two minutes instead of five.”

The cousins scooped the men’s ashes from the oven and buried them outside the crematoria. “We said ‘Kaddish’ for them,” Gabbai says. “But we were already so ice-cold [emotionally]. Nothing was penetrating. That is the only way we could survive.” – Naomi Pfefferman, “Job of Infinite Horror”

Gabbai was apparently not religious, but he indicated that it gave him some comfort to be told that his actions were permitted as pikuach nefesh, a doctrine that permits violating almost any of the commandments when it is necessary to save a human life.

I rarely write about the Holocaust; I’m not happy with the uses to which it is sometimes put. But I’m thinking about it today because the worldwide coronavirus pandemic has again posed hard, though different, moral questions. There are simple (but not easy) ones, such as that faced by the doctor with an inadequate number of ventilators at his disposal. And there are the more complicated ones, like finding a balance between shutting off economic activity in order to reduce the rate of transmission of the virus, and preventing an ensuing economic catastrophe.

This is a very difficult question from a scientific standpoint, since getting a good answer depends on predicting the effects of social distancing, quarantines, and lockdowns on the spread of the virus, something which as yet is only partially understood. We are better able to predict the economic consequences of these measures, although even then there is uncertainty about possible feedback effects that could make a downturn more severe.

There are moral questions too. As an extreme example, suppose it were decided to impose no restrictions at all on workplaces and schools, and let the virus run its course. Because of the nature of the illness, the greatest number of those seriously affected would be the elderly. It might be possible to mitigate the imbalance by isolating only older people – many of them are retired, after all – but there would still be a much greater opportunity for them to be exposed if movement and commerce weren’t restricted. And if the healthcare system became overloaded, as happened in northern Italy, then they would be much more likely to die, even if care were not apportioned according to age.

If, on the other hand, a society succeeded in “flattening the curve” by reducing normal activity, then everyone who was sick would be more likely to receive the best possible care, which would disproportionately reduce the death toll among the older patients.

A straightforward utilitarian argument can be made for letting the virus run its course. Older people are on balance consumers and not producers. They have a negative effect on the economic life of a society. Economically speaking, they wouldn’t be missed. The virus would just be a small blip, with a small number of productive individuals becoming seriously ill and very few dying.

Sweden seems to be doing something like this. They are taking some social distancing measures and trying to isolate older citizens, but they have not shut down workplaces and schools. At some point there will be herd immunity, and at some point a vaccine.

This strategy could not possibly be adopted in Israel, where even secular people are imbued with Jewish ethical principles, according to which every human life is equally valuable. The tradeoff that is being made in Israel between economic activity and suppressing viral transmission leans in the direction of protecting people from the virus, a policy of pikuach nefesh. And I think this is a humane policy, a morally better one, even if it is less rational by some standard than strictly minimizing economic damage.

Somewhat less admirably, people in assisted living facilities here have been more or less abandoned. Staff have passed the disease to residents, and then essentially fled. No one has picked up the ball.

There are other factors in dealing with the epidemic. I haven’t mentioned the attempt to track and isolate carriers of the disease before they can transmit it. In this respect, Israel could do much better if she would (could?) increase the number of tests done daily. This is a win-win activity, because it only isolates those who need to be. In addition, research is proceeding on various treatments that may be efficacious. The slower the virus spreads, the more patients will be able to receive these treatments in time.

There are (naturally) political problems. There is a struggle between the Health Ministry and the Defense Ministry over who should be in charge of coordinating the overall response to the epidemic, although we do not see the kind of political controversies about the efficacy of this treatment or another which seem to exist in the US. On the other hand, the lack of a permanent government and the specter of a possible fourth election may have serious effects on the ability of Israel to deal with the economic fallout from the epidemic.

The corona pandemic is not like the Holocaust in many ways. There is no Auschwitz-Birkenau and there are no Sonderkommandos. But the campaign against it is much like a military campaign, involving logistics, foot-soldiers, and orders that must be followed. And I suspect that some medical personnel, like Dario Gabbai, will be left with memories that will be very hard to erase, much as they would wish to.

Abu Yehuda

[actioncoolingheating]

The Real Estate Bubble Fallacy

There has been a lot of talk lately about the "Real Estate Bubble", and many folks are asking the question: "When it is going to burst"? There're saying that the market just can't sustain this level of development and appreciation much longer, and I heat them tell you that it is inevitable that it must come crashing down before long. People are worried. They don't think it can last; That any goes up, must come down. These folks have been conditioned to believe the things they believe most likely from the experience of the stock market bubble of 2000, and maybe the 1990's when the real estate market was initially hit hard in many large metropolitan areas across the country. Its individuals nature to feel this way. We all know the saying (or any 80's tune for you big hair folks), "Once Injured, Twice Shy". Or what about, "All good things must reach an end. "? Its how we react to almost everything that has an effect on our well being and general safety. Its a subconscious reaction at the gut level. Just like in the stock market, you will discover bulls and bears. Bulls are typically more optimistic around the market and expect it go up, and bears are actually more pessimistic and expect the market to go down. The can always be there to provide free advice and "expert consulting". Remember though, who you decide to listen to will certainly have an effect on your responsibility making, and ultimately your success. Well, I'm below to say that there is no real estate bubble! There never was basically a real estate bubble. Its a complete and utter fallacy. "How can I say that? " you ask. I could say that because the real estate market is in reality, a Send. Its a cycle, and we just happen to be biking the big swells, or the crest of this rather long, consistent, and fairly predictable pattern. There is no doubt the fact that real estate has been a rock solid investment for decades, and will continue to be for those foreseeable future and for many reasons that I would like to demonstrate listed here and now. Because you, as a real estate investor, must be able to move ahead with confidence when deciding which projects and properties you prefer to buy and sell. That is the purpose of my website, www.realestateinvestment.net [http://www.realestateinvestment.net], to provide you timely information, strategies and techniques to enable you to succeed. But first, what is a bubble? In terms of economics as well as markets, the best definition is probably something along the lines of "an remote or ephemeral situation or condition with little guidance or substantiation from external conditions". The best example, as well as one foremost in the minds of us all, is the stock game tech bubble of 1999 and 2000. We all in a hurry into the tech stocks and the stock market in general as we discovered the. com millionaires being made. Y2K was an enormous factor in the tech bubble. People were buying new products at a unprecedented rate in order to prepare for doomsday. People were even buying consumable goods to stock up for the dreadful occasion that never came. So what was holding up, or encouraging the "irrational exuberance" as Alan Greenspan characterized it all? Well, we learned soon afterward, not much. It was the isolated, temporary incident that had little support out of your other conditions. It was indeed like a bubble that broke. And it has had little support since then. Historically speaking, following the stock market crash of 1929 and 1987, it had decades for the market to recover, although it did eventually recoup. Just look at the Dow average and the S&P average during the last hundred years and see the pattern of recovery. You can be sure that a slow steady rise for stocks is in develop. Now back to real estate. Let me explain why this is not an important bubble. Real Estate is Cyclic Real estate has had its fluctuations over the years, but it is generally stable, with no drastic swings by itself. If you were to look at the cycles on a chart you will see a clear pattern of gently rolling swells. The pattern is consistent across cities and regions throughout the United states, although slightly varied in degree. In addition , the particular cycles tend to favor the ups rather than the downs. It is far from uncommon to see large cycles of appreciation and much smaller sized downward cycles. In other words, the current double-digit growth we've most of come to know and love in recent years will likely be followed by downturns of single digit declines. Its like taking couple of steps forward and one step back. In the big impression you will still be further ahead than when you started. You will see slower growth, but it will still be growth. Real Estate is really a Basic Necessity People need to live somewhere. They need the roof over their head and their children's brains. Like food and clothing we must have a home. Individuals don't need stocks or bonds. Therefore , you can be sure whether the market is high or low in growth, if interest rates are up or down, people will be selecting, renting, leasing, and selling homes. It is as perennial as the years. This Real Estate Wave Has Been Around Awhile When i don't know when you first realized we were in an up current market in real estate, but it has been on a solid upward development for at least the last 3-4 years. It didn't just simply happen yesterday. Of course like anything else, awareness of the general public is actually a bit latent, and dependent upon the media. It has primarily been lately that the media has really focused on the software and thrust it onto the front page. The good old adage "Success breeds success" is also true. The push will grow as other more traditional investors continue to keep jump on the band wagon and pour their dollars and resources into real estate investment. It tends to create a never ending, self-feeding market that is ideal for more seasoned investors. Realty is Local and Regional It is true that sometimes in today's real estate boom, there are areas in the United States that are not even enjoying the high rates of return that many people are experiencing. California is a fantastic place to invest, so will be Arizona and a host of other places. But the Rust Belt states are not as fortunate. Watch what happens to South carolina home values after this horrendous hurricane season. This is because realty is driven by the primary capitalistic force of Deliver and Demand. Generally speaking, property values increase in locations where the job market is strong, and where you can get more people moving into than away from. Of course there are other sorts of factors to consider; including interest rates, availability of funding, climate, and governmental policies. These are all important and you must be cognizant in their impacts to your strategy. However , it is true no who matter what the rates are or how decent the climate is, people will continue to migrate whereby there are abundant job markets and affordable housing. Privided you can stay just slightly ahead of that migration, you will turn a profit immensely. Real Estate Investing is Diverse You can invest in several ways, from foreclosures and fix and flips, to obtain and hold and everything in between. Right now the business oriented space is relatively soft. It will recover no doubt, and yet people investing in single family homes are probably doing to some degree better in returns. Vacancies are up and rental prices are down for commercial properties, but fortunately, typically the forecast is for this sector to improve over the next number of years.

[trustyourgutblog]

Hey all you cool cats and kittens!😽

In my last blog post, I talked about giving yourself time and space to sit with your emotions during this uneasy time. Now that I’ve done that, I feel like there’s an internal battle raging between wanting to honor my body and rest and wanting to be productive with all of this time at home that we’ve been given.

If you’re like me and are working from home, it may not feel as though you have much more time than normal. Sure, I have some extra time in the morning and afternoon when I would normally be in my car commuting to and from work, but I’m still working at least 40 hours a week.

Or maybe you’re a parent who’s completely overwhelmed with being with their children 24/7 and you’re completely bewildered at how people have even 5 minutes to enjoy by themselves.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m constantly being reminded from podcasts, social media, and others that we should “use this time to be productive,” whether that be picking up a new hobby or working on an unfinished project.

I’d just like to put it out there that it’s okay to use this time to rest. To pause and reflect. To spend time with your children or by yourself.

On the other hand, if you’d like to use this time to pour yourself into a project, learn a language, or start your own business ~ then go for it! I don’t think that there’s a right or wrong way to use your time in quarantine.

What I feel is important is listening to your body and doing what’s right for you. At the beginning of quarantine, I really struggled with the transition from a ton of social interaction to almost no social interaction. Coping with these changes left me feeling tired and worn out, so I was using it to focus on resting and sitting with my emotions.

Now that I’ve gotten into a better routine with my days, I’m beginning to swing to the other end of the spectrum. I’m beginning to consider focusing my extra time on my purpose. Asking myself how I can serve others with this extra time.

I’ve always been drawn to encouraging and inspiring others, so one of the additional projects that I’ve taken on while in quarantine is running an online fitness accountability group. Not only am I enjoying the extra accountability, but it’s been incredible to open up another platform of interacting daily with people who are working to maintain their physical and mental health.

I’ve always been a huge nerd and enjoyed learning, so I’ve been trying to dive into this extra time with reading, podcasts, and training videos. When I’m working, I like to learn more about the developing brain and different treatment modalities to use in therapy. When I’m off the clock, I’ve been more interested in listening to mindset, lifestyle, and business podcasts. Below, I’ve included a link to some free trainings about mental wellness, nutrition, stress resilience, and so many more topics. Feel free to use the link below to nerd out with me! 🤓

When I was a kid, I used to bake with my mom all the time. That’s one of the hobbies that I’ve gotten back into while in quarantine. As a kid, I was pretty carefree about what I ate. As an adult with food intolerances and IBS, it’s been a challenge to find recipes that I enjoy and taste like a treat, but don’t make me feel like garbage. So far, gluten-free banana bread muffins and chocolate PB protein no-bakes have been a hit! It’s fun to create new versions of old recipes that I used to enjoy with cleaner ingredients.

In December, I joined a network marketing company that I haven’t been super consistent with in the last month. But lately, I’ve been pouring much more of my time and energy into sharing information about supplements that benefit your mental and physical health.

I’ve always enjoyed being a therapist because I’ve been drawn to a profession that’s based around the idea of helping others who are in need. At the same time, I’ve always been super passionate about nutrition and physical health, so this company felt like a great fit for me. I’m excited for the opportunity to help more people optimize their physical and mental health.

The more I learn about recessions and periods of economic downturn, the more I understand why network marketing thrives during these times. I’m grateful for a side hustle that I truly believe in and is something that I can continue to work to expand from home.

Now, I’m not saying I’m spending everyday diligently working on every single one of these projects. I’ve definitely binged way too much reality television, neglected my spring cleaning, and gone to bed way too late watching Tik Tok. But, I am working on finding a balance between feeling pressured to be as productive as possible, while listening to what I need to help me feel recharged.

I hope this serves as some validation for some of you who are experiencing a similar internal battle. It’s awesome if you spend your day achieving all of your goals and ticking tasks off of your to-do list. It’s awesome if you spend your day binging Love Is Blind and eating all of the baked goods. You do you, girl (or boy).💁🏼‍♀️

If what you’re doing is making you happy and helping you survive quarantine, then that’s all that matters.

Happy Monday, everyone!