#there’s no one in my life i can ask linkedin questions to | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hyper-pixels · 5 months

Text

How to Grow Up

A guide on how to grow up. It was originally posted by @/friendliness but half the links were broken. So I took what links weren't broken and added other links and more things to know.

This is USA based resources

Personal

Reasons to Stay Alive – A Tumblr post of 116 reasons to stay alive by @/friendliness.

How to Get Better At Asking for Help – Website is Harvard Business Review. The article is “5 Ways to Get Better At Asking for Help” by Wayne Baker.

What to do if you Can’t Afford Therapy – Website is Psych Central and the article is by Steven Rowe.

How to Quit Smoking – “The 22 Best Ways to Quit Smoking” by Debra L. Gordon and David L. Katz M.D. from the Healthy Digest.

How to Legally Change your Name – Website is Forbes.

Wanna Learn Something New? – A Tumblr post made by @/hamletthedane with various new things to try from language learning to ballet.

Free Harvard Courses – Harvard University’s free online courses.

Getting a New Computer? – A quick and dirty comprehensive guide by WIRED on what to look for.

How to Sew – Website is Autodesk Indestructibles. The article is “How to Sew” by Jessyratfink. Having a small sewing kit (that you can pick up from nearly any craft store) is super handy and has saved my life and clothes.

What to Look For in Clothes A YouTube video by Alyssa Beltempo titled “How to Identify High Quality vs. Poor Quality Clothing | Slow Fashion”. Here’s a WikiHow [x] if a YouTube video isn’t your style.

Dealing with Executive Dysfunction – A Tumblr post made by @/compassionatereminders. It's a list to more links on how to deal with executive dysfunction.

Another List Like this One – A Tumblr post made by a now deactivated account. It's a list much like this one.

Home

What’s a mortgage? – Website is realtor.com and the page is called “What is a Mortgage? Home Loan Basics Explained” by Cathie Ericson.

First Apartment Checklist – A checklist PDF. Here’s another link to a Tumblr checklist [x]

What to Ask Landlords Before Renting? – “25 Questions To Ask a Landlord When Renting a Home” by Morgen Henderson.

What’s Renter’s Insurance? – Website is Forbes Advisor. The article is by Jason Metz and titled “How to Get Renters Insurance”.

Plant Care – A master list of how to care for plants made by @/difficults

Job

Time Management – Website is Entrepenuer and has 10 time management tips. One I personally recommend is keeping a physical calendar book on hand. I keep mine in my bag with a designated pen.

Finding the right job – Website is The Muse and it has 13 free career assessment tests.

Make a resume – Website is Resume Now. Many hirers look at your name, the middle of the page (where your experience list is) and skim the rest.

Job Interview Tips – Website is Linkedin. The article is titled “10 Job Interview Tips to Land The Career of Your Dreams” by Caren Merrick.

How to Write a Cover Letter – Website is The Writing Center. University of Winsconsin, Madison. It’s titled “Writing Cover Letters” and I can’t find the author.

Money

Couponing! – Website is Coupon Database :: Southern Savers. It has a list of mobile apps for coupons to places.

Call 211 for Help – the website leads to 211.org. It's anonymous and can help you get connected to food programs, paying bills and things like doctor appointments. Here’s a Tumblr post about it [x] by @/poessionisamyth

Groceries! – This is a Tumblr meme post, but scrolling through tags/reblogs/replies and there’s plenty of good tips. The post is by @/charlotten

What To Do if You Can’t Pay Your Bills – Website is Nolo. The article is “When You Can’t Pay Your Bills: Thiings To Know” that was updated by Amy Loftsgordon.

Are You Paying Too Much for Your Phone Bill? – An article by Beht Beverman titled “How Much is Too Much to Pay for a Cell Phone Bill?”.

54 Ways to Save Money – Website is America Saves.

How to Do Taxes – Website is Wiki-How.

The 70/20/10 Method – Website is Business Insider. The Article is “A Beginners Guide to the 70-20–10 Budgeting Method” by Paul Kim.

Side Hustle Ideas – Website is Forbes. “30 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money In 2024” by Krista Fabregas.

Emergency

Your Rights When a Cop Pulls you Over – Website is Business Insider. Cops are allowed to lie to you, and they will, so be careful.

Hotline List – The website is DoSomething.org. Depression/Suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse and runaway/homeless/and at-risk youth hotlines.

What to Keep in Your Car – Website is MentalFloss. I live in a snowy area that gets blizzards and bad ice. I keep blankets, water and other aids in my car as well as a knife and road flare. I also own a self jumping car battery and it has saved my ass more than once. Heimlich Maneuver – A one minute video by the Mayo Clinic.

The Heimlich Maneuver on Yourself – A one minute video by The List Show TV.

What to Keep in Your Wallet – Website is PureWow. The article is by Rachel Bowie. Keep your drivers license, medical insurance card, and an emergency contact in your card. If you have a pet home alone make sure that you have a card detailing this. Free printable one here [x]

Traveling

Packing List – Website is Smarter Travel.

Traveling with Little to No Money – Website is Nomadic Matt.

How to Pack a Suitcase – Website is Real Simple. The article is by Thersa O’Rourke.

How to Apply for a Passport – Website is WikkiHow.

Making a Travel Budget – Website is Travel Made Simple. “How to Make a Travel Budget” by Ali Garland

#how to grow up #list #housing #living on your own #insurance #traveling #may update more and refine over time

393 notes · View notes

toskarin · 15 days

Note

hey rin, a friend of mine enjoys composing music digitally and has a lot of respect for you as someone with more experience with that sort of thing. he has a hard time convincing the people around him to listen to the things he makes, in both the "finding an audience" way and "getting the people around him to give him their opinion on something he's working on way," and he wanted me to ask you if you could speak on your own experiences with those problems and how you've dealt with them. less related, he was also curious about your inspirations for the music that you make. i know this is a lot to cover, so if it would be easier for you to speak with him directly then please let me know

so I'll open by saying that, as far as people who can give good advice on this go, I'm probably not one of those. a lot of what I do only works because of some specific problems with my brain that are oddly adaptive to this sort of thing

that being said, this is a bit of the "tough love" kind of advice for surviving as an artist, so I'll make a second reblog for the second half of the question

this is either advice that will work or a ramble that will lead your friend to making his life unbearable, so look before you leap

The Easy Section, or "You've Gotta Be a Bit of a Tradie"

let's go over the business stuff quickly before I start rambling at length about the boring stuff

learn to love the work itself. "find a job you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life" is garbage, but creative work really is the one area where you should double down on this. kick back and bump your own album on release day, thinking about how every second of it is something that didn't exist before you put it together. this is what's gonna keep you above water when the wind is dead

get on bandcamp. there is nowhere better for small musicians right now. bandcamp is basically the last remaining website with an effective suggestion algorithm that caters to people who want to actively engage with music and buy it

consider getting on instagram. in the majority of places you're likely to live if you're reading this, the local music scene is on instagram. probably don't use your personal instagram for this

consider getting on soundcloud. you won't make sales through soundcloud, because it's a streaming-focused site (more on that in a moment) with a focus on passive listening, but it's pretty decent for networking, especially with digital music production. soundcloud is linkedin for deadbeats

stay off spotify. streaming generally isn't worth the trouble these days unless you're playing concerts or are otherwise already established. if you aren't uttering the words "you can find me on..." more than once a month, it's probably not worth pursuing a spotify presence to end that sentence with

self-promote. if you have platforms, use them. find the subreddit for your genre and post yourself on the self-promo day. consider posting some bandcamp album codes when you do this, not just so you can get word of mouth, but because someone having an album in their collection means you effectively have a permanent zero-cost advertisement for your music which will only show itself to people who are verifiably looking at something similar. companies pay dizzying sums for ads that couldn't dream of being this targetted. this is a big reason why bandcamp is THE place to be for small musicians

cross-promote and collab. work with your friends. if you don't have musician friends, go make some and then help each other out. "independent" music is a misnomer

blind yourself to the metrics. do not look at engagement metrics. pay them no mind at all. don't look at them unless you're trying to see how effective a specific, deliberate course of action was and already know what you want to find

remember that strangers are unknowable. people do things for arbitrary reasons. if you don't have someone giving you written feedback, don't make any assumptions at all about why they did something. skipped tracks and minimum-price pwyws mean nothing at all

present your stuff in a way that gives it context. why should someone care about your stuff? give them a reason. carve out an hour to really work on a nice album cover, go the extra mile and include track-by-track narrative with your dungeon synth album, or just describe what you're expecting people to buy. I firmly believe that NOMAD/VIRTUE was successful in large part because of its presentation

gimmick. gimmick gimmick gimmick. discount codes are more fun than automatic discounts, free album codes are more fun than free albums, contests are more fun than giveaways, so on so forth. lacking any physical goodies to bundle in, you should still endeavour to give people Something To Do that makes them feel like they're really engaging with your music

zero expectations, zero overhead. do not rely on the whims of complete strangers to justify whether or not you end up in the red. if you ever find yourself saying something like "I can afford to pay for a session musician because I'll just make it back" you can't afford to pay for a session musician. you're probably never getting bailed out if you eat a loss, so try not to put yourself in a situation where you can eat a loss to begin with

someone else's expectations, someone else's overhead. if someone else is paying you to make this music for a soundtrack or something, if (and ONLY if) you have the money in your hand and know you have it, you're no longer gambling. at this point, you can start to look at expenses as investment

now onto the less fun stuff. here's where I ramble for like an hour at you.

if there's one thing I've really had hammered in over my decade-odd as a somewhat commercial artist (in all the disciplines I've worked with, which is most of them), it's that you have to be a bit of a bitch about it sometimes

that nagging fear in the back of your head that you're annoying? it's stopping you from doing what you need to do: annoy people

with that being said, this next section is kind of...

The Rough Section, or "You've Gotta Be a Little Hard-headed"

at the end of the day, you'll often find that you are your only advocate, and that means you kinda have to get your foot slammed in a few doors if that means holding them open. this also unfortunately means that you've gotta convince yourself you're pretty good. you don't have to think you're great, but confidence is a trade skill

the last opinion people see before the first time consciously engaging with your work (which here means "the thing that primes them for how they feel about it") is yours

which brings us to the first uncomfy rule

absolutely no cutting yourself down before anyone else even gets a swing

you can be modest if you want (you don't have to), but you absolutely cannot prime people to see the flaws in your work. if 50% of people are discerning enough to notice a flaw, why make that number 100%? what do you gain from that?

if something isn't as finished as you'd have liked it to be, but you've pushed it out the door anyway (which you will sometimes have to do), you absolutely cannot prime people to consider it unfinished

if the thing is still being worked on, there's nothing wrong with being forthcoming about that, but the fastest way to make someone think of something as "inferior product" when they otherwise would never have reached that conclusion is by telling them it is

and that, of course, leads us into a bit of an inversion of the previous rule

absolutely do not take the majority of your validation from strangers

doing this is bad for a million reasons, but I see the worst of this in visual arts, where artists double down on what gets them the most engagements and lay themselves at the mercy of complete strangers who have no actual investment in them

of course, it's normal to desire validation and approval from people you respect, but if you put yourself in a position where it's possible to enter a negative feedback loop that crystallises into you no longer making art from the default response of neutral apathy from strangers, it's not a matter of when: it's going to happen to you one day

so what's the move here? spend 8 years making music you don't release like you're in a compressed time chamber? probably not. I did it that way, but I didn't get much out of it, so you probably won't either

the actual answer is that you've gotta network. you need an inner circle. you need people with shared interests so that you can gas each other's stuff up

just like everyone else, you need your friends

you need to have friends who care about you, about what you're doing, and you need to care about them and what they're doing

this is because, while self-confidence is important...

the majority of your external validation as an artist should come from your friends and peers, not strangers

it's important to have artist friends, because then you can encourage each other in ways that are personally meaningful, but having your friends behind you, whether or not they're musicians, is so incredibly important

if you're motivated exclusively by success, however you're choosing to measure that, what you're actually doing is forming a nightmarish parasocial relationship with the concept of a crowd. not even a real crowd! a fictional group that materialises when you've created "the conditions for success"

there is no such thing as a truly independent artist. if your understanding of artistic success requires competition against others, you're going to lose that competition and then explode (unfortunately common)

finding your audience as an artist (and mind you, art is a social field) is very much a process of networking, but it feels gross to say it that way, so I'll just leave that at "if you want to be known by others, you need to be willing to know others"

anyway, this doesn't really terminate in a complete sentiment. I was just transcribing a train of though

if I were to boil this down to a shorter, snappier answer that I could read comfortably read out, it'd be...

TL;DR

the process of finding an audience is so much less about actually finding one than it is about learning to create happily whether or not you have an audience. developing an audience is the largely incidental byproduct of long-term creative efforts coupled with self-advocacy and interpersonal networking

if you want to be found by a scene, you have to participate in a scene, and if you want to participate in a scene, you need to be in the scene. so on so forth

as stupid as it might sound when I put it into words, the truth is that you can't build any kind of audience in isolation. someone has to find you somehow, and it's a lot easier to be found if you're actually somewhere that people might look

117 notes · View notes

piratefishmama · 2 years

Text

Pt1

It continues, also with Robin. She leaves Steve on that floor, pathetically cycling through this random metalheads video game music repertoire, sending a silent apology for her fallen friend to the lady in the apartment below them, sure she got to hear Steve practicing his songs every now and then which was a blessing, but she also now had to deal with his pathetic puppy crush as well.

Sorry two (definitely not house-trained) poodle owning lady, Robin sent her condolences for her hearing. But only a little condolence, one of those dogs had left a steamer in the elevator and it was a tall-ass apartment block. Karma really, sweet sweet karma.

It continued because Robin had a mild gift for hunting people down on the internet, it was a skill she’d developed and honed purely to hunt down the assholes who occasionally popped up on Steve’s insta with threatening messages and dumb as shit behaviours that a best friend refused to abide by. Steve had never allowed her to do anything with the knowledge, but one day, one day, the dogs of war would be released, and she would rain fury down upon them for making him make the sad puppy eyes.

He was just a dude, sure he grew up with wealthy parents, sure he had connections since birth to help him get to where he wanted to be, but… that didn’t make him any less of a soft-ass with a genuine love of sports, and sweaters, and listening to audio books in reading nooks with mugs of coffee like some kind of pinterest mood board model.

That didn’t make him any less of an actual mother hen to several child actors and young musicians ensuring they got fair treatment, ensuring they were never taken advantage of by the industry or the people around them.

It continued because within an hour of sleuthing, Robin poked her head back around from Steve’s guest room (read: Robin’s second home), and proudly announced “Found him!” As loud as she could to get over the cover of the final boss battle from Banjo and Kazooie that Steve absolutely did not recognise but was clearly vibing to.

“Found who?”

“Your mystery hater! He’s a—”

“Robin!! You can’t dox people!!”

“I’m not doxing him, I’m telling you exactly where he is so you can go confront him.”

“That is exactly what doxing is. How did you even find him?!”

“Dumbass posted a pic of a newspaper article that his friend wrote, which, uhm, that’s pretty cool I guess, but it had her name on it! All I had to do was search LinkedIn for her and boom, I gottem.”

“…Okay so he’s basically asking to be found is what you’re saying right now.”

“EXACTLY, can we go? Can we? I wanna see him squirm like a little bitch baby when you turn up to confront him.”

“All you’ll see is my pathetic attempts to flirt with him because I don’t know how I’d be anything but pathetic around him I mean have you seen his hands? Do you remember the Hemsworth incident? Do you remember the Hemsworth incident, Robin?” The incident in question involving a low doorway and a concussion that left him delirious in the fantastic arms of the God of Thunder.

“Do I remember you acting like a drunk school girl with her first crush around a guy with biceps bigger than your head? Yes. Yes I do. It was hilarious and you gained a handsome Aussie as a life-long friend out of that pathetic display—"

“I was concussed.”

“Drunk school girl. That doesn’t mean you can’t manage to charm a little bitch from Indiana, we’re from Indiana, we have common ground, you can bond with him!”

“Oh, because being born within the same state makes for such a conversation starter… should we really go?” Would that be stupid? Would that be crossing a line? Would that be absolutely batshit insane?

“For true love—" and champagne in First-Class "I think we should.”

“…Fine.”

Part 3

#Steddie #PirateWrites #ficlet #I DONT EVEN HAVE A NAME FOR THIS ONE #but it's in demand apparently so here #take it #Stranger Things AU

1K notes · View notes

alittlebitofsainz · 6 months

Text

a place in this world - ch1

a dream come true. you, a race engineer in formula one, having built your way up through the ranks. sure, the 2020 season hadn’t exactly gone the way that everyone had expected, but this was your chance, your moment to prove to the world of racing what you and your driver, carlos, were made of. but carlos isn’t staying at mclaren forever, and eventually, you’ll have a decision to make…

pairing: carlos sainz x f! reader. slow burn colleagues to friends to lovers (please, from my own experience, don’t follow this pipeline)

info: reader lives in the uk due to working at mclaren, and is somewhat implied to be british. it is also implied that they listen to bbc radio 2 and support leicester city football club. this may or may not be because these things are true of me and I wasn’t planning on publishing this, sorry!

warnings: cursing, a lil’ bit of angst, very infrequent use of y/n, one (1) google translated spanish sentence, a dry british writing style xoxo a/n: hello! welcome to a little passion project I never thought I’d share with the internet. this will eventually become a sort of ‘choose your own adventure’ type series, where you can make decisions about your career that can eventually lead you to different teams and drivers. will be posting a masterlist soon with more info so bare with me! any feedback / comments are always welcome

Masterlist | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4

Chapter One: … Ready for It?

it had started out like any other wednesday. except it hadn’t, not really. the nature of your job meant that there was no ‘any other wednesday’. most wednesdays meant that you were jetting off to some new country, your wide eyed face in the window seat, reflecting back off the pane of glass separating you from the dancing lights of some exciting new city, 5,000 feet below. race engineer to mclaren-renault formula one driver number 55, carlos sainz, wasn’t exactly what you had listed as what you wanted to be when you grew up, but you were far from disappointed that that’s what your linkedin profile now read, a metaphorical middle finger to everyone who’d said you’d never amount to anything in motorsports.

but by all accounts it had been a relatively uneventful wednesday in your life, in fact even more so than usual compared to the early morning check ins at Stansted airport that you’d grown accustomed to. this week was silverstone, your home race, if race engineers could call it that, and that meant no early mornings, no check ins, no flights, no decanting your liquids into tiny bottles and zipping them into a plastic bag to take through security. this wednesday was a stop at sainsburys to fill up the tank of your vw polo with petrol, and an 80 mile drive west towards silverstone circuit. the most exciting part of your morning was getting stuck in half an hour of traffic on the m25; you didn’t even need the dulcet tones of Richie Anderson on radio 2 to tell you there’d be traffic at Potters Bar. as a native southerner, you could just feel it in your bones.

still, only fifteen minutes late to track wasn’t too bad, considering your lengthy journey, and you were by far the last member of the team to arrive. you would’ve been even less late, but for the fact that you’d sat for the best part of five minutes in your car, engine off, staring at the notification on your phone. there were so many questions running around in your head, first and foremost of which was why on earth did dan from engineering have your number? but the second question, which was possibly the more important one, was why did carlos ask him for it? he said that it ‘might be useful to contact each other.’ if the current expression on your face could be summed up in a noise, it would be a very confused and very emphatic ‘huh?’.

sure, you and carlos interacted a lot during race weekends, that much was a given. you were forever catching up to discuss data, strategies, the car setup, the sandwich options at the hospitality, why the leicester city football team would beat real madrid in a fist fight. so okay, your conversations weren’t allstrictly work related, and you could’t deny that the two of you got on well and seemed to really understand each other, but that was all part of being a driver and race engineer duo; you had to be on the same wavelength. it was non-negotiable. but swapping phone numbers? you couldn’t imagine why the two of you would need to text or call each outside of work hours, and you had work phones for that. which led you to your third and fourth questions: number three, why did you suddenly feel so nervous and giddy with excitement when you re-read his message for the seventh time? (question three point five was why did you re-read his message seven times?) and number four, what the hell were you supposed to message back in reply?

you typed in a thumbs up emoji and then immediately deleted it. how fucking old were you, 65? what next, start talking to him about the cold war? no, you had to keep it fun and casual, not too overfamiliar but not too weirdly distant and cold. god, why was this so difficult? you felt like a schoolgirl with a teenage crush, constantly typing various replies and deleting them again, letter by letter. eventually you settled on a cool, calm and collected response, typing it out and shoving your phone into your pocket before you had time to overanalyse what you’d just sent. quickly gathering up your stuff from the boot of your car, you spammed the lock button on your car keys, just in case the first five times didn’t stick, and trotted off towards the entrance to the paddock.

as it was approaching the hour mark since he’d sent his text, carlos had been starting to worry that he’d overstepped an unwritten boundary. why had he even asked dan from engineering for her number in the first place? it just felt like something that he should have. lando had will’s number, he’d already asked him that. but once he’d sent the message he realised that he couldn’t really come up with an excuse as to why he’d needed it, why he couldn’t have waited until he’d seen her this weekend and ask for her number from herself. like a normal person. deep down he knew why, though he was in some sort of state of denial about it, and it was the same reason that he hadn’t asked for her number two weeks ago in Hungary, or at the previous race in Austria, or when he’d first met her at the start of the season.

he breathed a sigh of relief when her reply came through, 57 minutes after he’d sent his message. well, the first one that is. the second message came two minutes after the first; god, he couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to forget to include who he was at the end of the text the first time around.

but it didn’t matter now, because she’d replied, and her words on the screen made him smile to himself, her voice in his head as he read them through three, now four times over. his fingers hovered over the keypad, contemplating a reply. he checked the time - it wouldn’t be long until she arrived at track anyway and they could chat in person, so he closed the messages app on his phone and tucked it away in his pocket, deciding against committing any words to the everlasting aether which was the iPhone messages app.

it was nearing the end of a lengthy strategy department meeting when your phone went off, a few pair of eyes glancing your way as you apologised profusely, eyes scanning over the text before sheepishly putting your phone on do not disturb and placing it back on the table face down. shit, this meeting wouldn’t be finished for another ten minutes at least, and by that time all the bacon and brie toasties would be gone (everyone knew they were the best lunch option). worse still, you hated the fact that you had to leave carlos hanging; pausing the strategy meeting to send off a quick text was equivalent to a cardinal sin, even if it was to carlos sainz. your eyes were flicking increasingly often down to the time on your laptop, the seconds crawling by as the time approached one o’clock. it felt like whichever godlike entity governed the laws of time was toying with you; surely it wasn’t possible for time to move this slowly? the head of strategy wrapped the meeting at 13:04, and you were out of your seat like a rocket.

amy, one of the strategists, fell into step beside you as you paced it down the corridor.

“you’ve heard about the brie and bacon being back on?” she asked; you only had to reply with a grin to give her the answer that she needed. she eyed you up, as much as anyone power walking down a busy corridor could whilst still maintaining maximum straight line speed.

“everyone from strategy and engineering has been in meetings. so who’s your source?” came her second question. you picked up your pace, under the guise of trying to get to the canteen quicker.

she had a habit of taking just enough time to respond to carlos’ messages to keep him guessing whether she actually would respond at all. it wasn’t entirely her fault, carlos realised; she’d apologised for earlier, explaining that she was busy driving. of course she was, how could he be such an idiot? maybe a part of him was hoping that she’d been acting coy, teasing him by waiting, purposefully trying to keep him on the edge of his seat.

carlos saw her enter the canteen, watched with a small, self satisfied smirk as her face fell, the rattan shelf where the brie and bacon toasties had been, now depressingly empty. he left it just long enough so that she was forced to consider which disappointing option to go for instead, before finally calling her over.

“Y/N!” carlos called, watching as her head whipped round, and he had to stifle a laugh at her confusion. he waved her over.

“sorry, I was stuck in a meeting.” she sighed, her voice slightly breathless. had she ran here? he fought back the urge to tease her about it, shaking his head slightly.

“don’t worry about it.” he replied, gesturing to the seat beside him as he spoke. her eyes lit up when her gaze fell on the plate on the table, in just the way he’d pictured in his head. god, he’d never get over the way the simple things pleased her, and he didn’t mean that in a bad way. over the past couple of months that he’d known her, carlos had learned that the little things really mattered, in a way that was almost rare in this environment. she looked upon a brie and bacon sandwich like it was the sun that shined, and if she’d have looked up at carlos in that moment, she’d have seen that he was looking at her in the exact same way.

“is that for me?”

“no.” carlos replied, deadpan. she shot him a look, her face screwed up in a pout that he’d grown more accustomed to the more he teased her like this. eventually he let out a soft chuckle, as a way to say I’m only joking, of course it’s for you, and she sat down in the seat next to him with a playful scowl, which only caused him to laugh more.

“thanks, carlos. you’re the best.” she told him through a mouthful of brie, bacon and toasted bread.

“I know.” he replied, a cheeky grin dancing across his face. “it was the last one as well.”

“amy’s gonna be pissed.” she giggled, glancing over her shoulder to watch as her colleague was forced to settle for regular ham and cheese.

a podium finish to p13. was it worse to fail because of your own shortcomings or because of something that was out of your control? if you’d asked carlos sainz right now, he would think about it for a moment, and then tell you to vete a la mierda.*

his phone screen lighting up in the darkness was the only thing that brought his attention to how dark it had become in his hotel room. christ, how long had he been sat there, staring at the wall, trying to process how frustrated and angry and upset he was? he’d put his phone on silent, tired of all the commiseratory messages that had been coming through, but apparently his bedtime reminder didn’t obey the laws of do not disturb. sighing, he unlocked the device, and quickly scanned down the many notifications he had been ignoring for the past few hours. one stood out above all the rest, because of course it did. he felt guilt clutch him as he noticed the message from well over an hour ago. from her.not only guilty at the fact that he’d not seen her message, but for some reason guilty for perceiving that he’d let her down at her home race. it was stupid, he knew, to feel that way - it wasn’t his fault that his tyre had blown out with just a few laps to go, but he knew how excited she’d been for her first ever british gp, and it had all ended in disappointment. his fingers hovered over the keyboard at the bottom of his phone for a moment, a million different emotions whizzing round in his head, bouncing off the sides like a demented pinball machine. no wonder he had a headache. he drew in a sharp breath before typing out his reply.

*I’m hoping this means somewhat akin to ‘fuck off’

you’d almost forgotten that you’d sent carlos sainz a message of commiseration, which was shocking considering how long you’d been deliberating over it only a mere hour ago. you were back in your own bed in your hometown, seeing no need to stick around seeing as there would be no celebrations this weekend, and carlos had disappeared as soon as the team debrief had ended, making it very clear that he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. which made it all the more surprising when you leaned over to your bedside table, bleary eyes blinking back sleep as your vision adjusted to the pitch black of your room, to pick up the phone which had woken you from your sleep.

your eyes blinked again against the harsh light of the phone, taking a moment to focus on the big bold numbers on your lockscreen. 01:03? who was texting you at this time? eyebrows knitted together in an increasingly deep frown, you scanned carlos’ message. as was becoming customary, you read it several times over, this time to check whether you’d read it right. why would he want to ring you, at this time of night as well? your mind started to reach for wild possibilities - was he in trouble? hurt? worse?

before he changed his mind, carlos hit the telephone symbol next to her contact details.

“Carlos, are you okay?” her voice came through almost immediately, sounding equal parts panicked yet somehow sleepy. shit, not only had he caused her to worry, he’d probably just woken her up in the middle of the night as well. what kind of dickhead rings a colleague that he’s only known for a few months at 1am? he cleared his throat.

“fuck, sorry, I woke you up.”

“don’t worry about it, I was awake.” she replied. a blatant lie, but carlos appreciated the attempt to make him feel better.

“can I help you with something?” she continued, still sounding concerned. he shook his head even though she couldn’t see.

“yes, no. fuck, I don’t know.” he growled at himself for being so confused, so confusing, for not even really knowing why he’d called her. was he going insane, or did he just hear a soft sigh on the other end of the line? he squeezed his eyes shut, collecting himself to try again, but she beat him to it.

“I’m sorry about today, carlos, it must be tough to deal with.”

sometimes it felt like she knew him better than he knew himself. he dragged a hand down his face.

“yeah, I’m- it’s not great.” he stumbled over his words slightly, his voice catching in his throat. usually he’d be reluctant to show this vulnerability, embarrassed even, but something about the late hour combined with how oh-so-soft her voice was… it made him forget his pride for just that moment.

“I can’t stop thinking about it.” he admitted, feeling a ramble coming on but equally feeling powerless to stop it. “I know that it was a problem with the tyre, I know that it wasn’t my fault, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. and then there’s always a part of me that wonders whether there was anything that I could’ve done. like, maybe if I’d driven less aggressively or something, or changed the way I braked around a certain corner. I still feel like I’ve let myself down, let the team down, let you dow-“

“you didn’t let me down, carlos.” her abrupt reply broke him from his monologue, stopping him in his tracks and allowing him to fill his lungs with air, not realising how out of breath he was becoming with his run-on sentences.

“what?” came his soft reply. he’d heard perfectly clearly what she’d said the first time. but a part of him needed to hear it again.

“you didn’t let me down, carlos.” she repeated, with the same clarity, the same sincerity, the same low tone that he’d never heard from her before that made her sound so wise beyond her years.

“you didn’t let anyone down. this wasn’t your fault. I know it doesn’t make it any less frustrating or easier to deal with - there’s nothing I can say that will change that. but please, please don’t blame yourself for any part of it.”

there was silence on both ends for a moment, before carlos let out a long sigh.

“I- yeah, I guess you’re right.” there was something still on his mind, something that one am carlosknew that one pm carlos would never want to talk about, least of all burden his race engineer with it. but that was all the more reason to say it now.

“I just feel so much pressure to perform, now that I have the ferrari contract.” his voice dropped even lower as he spoke, as if whispering it quietly enough could make it not be true. “I feel like I have to earn my place there, you know?”

“carlos, you were P-fucking-3.”

something about the way she stressed the syllables made carlos chuckle despite himself, and from the way she let out a small giggle on the other end of the phone, he guessed that that had been her intention all along.

“anyone can see that you’ve earned that seat at ferrari. you’ve proved that time and time again already. this isn’t about anyone else, this is about you, and what you believe you deserve. the only person you need to convince is yourself.”

carlos chuckled again, feeling some sort of playful nature already coming back to him. maybe he’d finally figured out why he wanted to call her in the middle of the night, maybe it was even the reason he wanted her number in the first place. maybe it was because he knew that no matter how crappy he was feeling, talking to her always seemed to turn the day around. she always seemed to make him smile.

“very inspirational.” he replied, his tone almost teasing over her ‘believing in yourself’ speech. the corners of his lips curved upwards as he could practically hear her rolling her eyes on the other end.

“this is what I get for trying to be nice.” she muttered, but her tone was light, reciprocating the teasing. carlos smiled, his first genuine smile in several hours. probably since the last time he’d seen her.

“thank you, really. talking to you it… it always puts me in a better mood.” carlos confessed, glad that this was a phone call so she couldn’t see the way his cheeks lit up a soft shade of pink.

“anytime, carlos.”

when they eventually hung up the call, carlos felt lighter than he had in weeks, like she’d melted all his problems away with her soft voice and warm heart. he slept easy that night. meanwhile, she was now wide awake.

you groaned when the sound of your phone pinging dragged you from your admittedly tumultuous sleep. it had been difficult to drift off again after that call with carlos, a million thoughts buzzing around your brain like a swarm of bees on cocaine. you felt bad for carlos, sure, but that wasn’t enough to keep you awake on its own. there was another feeling there; if you were to flip through an oxford english dictionary until you found a word that summed it up you might settle for ‘intrigued’.

you were intrigued that carlos that had decided to ring you of all people last night; surely he had family, or at the very least close friends, that he would rather turn to? but you were also intrigued by your own reaction - why were you feeling so warm and fuzzy that carlos had chosen you, the knowledge that when he was feeling low you were the one he wanted to hear on the other end of the line creating some sort of feeling in your heart, like someone was squeezing it not-quite-too tightly?

it was these questions, and an incessant amount of bin lorries driving past at 5am, that kept you from falling back asleep, and were the reason that you were grumbling now, as you reached over to pick up your phone. the grumbling ceased the moment you read the message and saw who it was from, replaced by a softly murmured ‘oh’, and that strange feeling in your chest again.

as always feedback and comments are welcomed with massive appreciation and open arms! a second part is written and will be out soonish! much love, Katie x

#f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 x y/n #f1 x female reader #carlos sainz #carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz x you #carlos sainz x y/n #f1 fic #f1 imagine

127 notes · View notes

csuitebitches · 1 year

Text

Rebranding Yourself Online using ChatGPT

Summary from “Brand Aid: Taking control of your reputation before everyone else does” by Larry G Linne and Patrick Sitkins. This book is from the early 2010s so some things are outdated and not exactly applicable. It’s also a more corporate/ business focused book. I took away what i felt were the major lessons and were more applicable to young adults/ teens/ people on social media today (because social media in 2013 vs today is very different).

I also wanted to add my own input to the summary. I’ve added prompts for ChatGPT that you can use to help figure your personal brand out better.

When rebranding yourself online, I would highly recommend:

1. Archive all your personal Instagram account’s posts (if you have an online business, create a separate page and show very little of yourself). Remove all your stories and highlights. Deactivate your account for at least 8 months.

2. Spend the next 8 months building your social media strategy, your personal brand and reinventing yourself in any way and form you want to (mental, physical, spiritual, etc).

3. Use Pinterest and figure out a theme that defines you the best. Take a look at @mafeanzures

————————-

* A brand is what people think of you.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. What do you think other people think of you?

2. What personal attributes would you benefit from the most if those items were well known to everyone?

Question 1 and 2 in the next few prompts refers to these 2 questions.

ChatGPT prompts after you finish writing down the above answers:

“I want to develop my personal brand on instagram (or any one social media site at a time). Currently I’m seen as a (2 of the most negative qualities and 2 of the most positive qualities from question 1). I want to be seen as (4 of the most positive qualities from question 2). What should I do to be seen as that?”

This will give you a STRATEGY that you can further modify.

Now, ask the same question again but with one change:

This will give you CONTENT that you should consider posting.

* It is very likely that if you are to meet someone new and you’re aware you’re going to meet them, you’ll check their social media out. Whether its LinkedIn, facebook, twitter, instagram… keep your online presence clean.

* Before you post ANYTHING online, ask yourself: “how will this affect my brand?” If you post a story about a nasty break up/ a friendship falling apart/ a negative restaurant review… how do you think other people will see you? Be extremely mindful of your brand and what you post online.

* Rather than the age old advice “just be yourself”, look at “just be your best self.”

7 steps to a great brand:

1. Write down what you think people think of you: both positive and negative

2. Determine your goals in life (career, family, etc). What brand items do you need to get there? For example, the brand item “intelligent” to move up the corporate ladder. What will you need in order to be perceived as intelligent?

3. Gap analysis: the difference between point 1 (current situation) and point 2 (desired situation).

4. Develop action items. For example, if you want to be seen as innovative at work, start bringing ideas to meetings.

5. Influences on your brand: your dress, style, voice tone and quality, health, recreation, the car you drive, social environments, where you live, the language you speak, the subjects of your conversations, social media postings all impact your brand.

6. List what you must do to protect your brand. For example: not drinking in public; dressing a certain way; etc.

7. Review every 6 months.

Ask ChatGPT: “I am (ethnicity) (gender), (age) years old based in (City, country). Currently I’m seen as a (2 of the most negative qualities and 2 of the most positive qualities from question 1). My viewers would mostly be people from (conservative/liberal/ rural/ urban/ define audience. In case there are two audience types, ask one at a time) backgrounds. I want to be seen as (4 of the most positive qualities from question 2). What behaviours should I not engage in?”

Using the power of “always”: 5 specific things you pride on yourself for doing regularly.

“I always take the time to be updated in my field of work.”

“I always volunteer every Sunday.”

Things to keep in mind:

A. Are you easy to find online?

B. Is your content consistent?

C. Do your pictures, videos convey your personal brand?

D. What will enhance your brand?

E. What will damage your brand?

Ask ChatGPT: “I want to develop my personal brand on instagram (or any one social media site at a time). Currently I’m seen as a (2 of the most negative qualities and 2 of the most positive qualities from question 1). I want to be seen as (4 of the most positive qualities from question 2). What can potentially damage my brand if I’m not careful?”

If you are willing to see what you are doing and saying on the front page of a newspaper tomorrow, proceed with it. If you wouldn’t want it on the front page of the newspaper, STOP immediately.

More things to keep in mind:

1. The internet amplifies everything

2. Context matters

3. Consistency is everything

4. Your “at home” brand is as important as “outside of home” brand

322 notes · View notes

alwaysmicado · 13 days

Note

i just know if you ever tried to break up with nathan he might *let* you leave, but he would keep tabs on you and stalk you forever

You’re so right, Anon!

Nathan isn't the kind of guy who just lets go.

The man created an AI by combing through the entire internet’s data—your socials are practically child’s play for him. He wouldn’t need to "hack" anything because, let’s be real, he probably already built backdoors into every app you use. You could block him, delete him, deactivate everything, but you know deep down he's watching you through some obscure security protocol you’ve never even heard of.

He wouldn’t stop at just checking in. Oh no, Nathan would analyze every photo, every post. That Instagram story you posted? He’s already run it through some advanced facial recognition software to figure out who you’re with, how often you’re seeing them, and—most importantly—whether they’re a threat to his perceived superiority.

The guy you went to brunch with last weekend? Yeah, Nathan’s already pulled up his LinkedIn, his last five jobs, and his questionable Reddit posts from 2013.

Then there are the subtle things he’d do, just to mess with you.

You’re scrolling through your feed, and suddenly you notice an ad for vodka, his vodka, the exact brand he always drank. Coincidence? Not with Nathan. He’s leaving little breadcrumbs, digital fingerprints, so you know he’s still there. Watching. Waiting.

If you dared to date someone new, it’d only get worse. He'd run psychological profiles on your new flame, digging through their online history like some kind of deranged investigator. And if that poor soul ever posted something innocent like, "Out with my amazing new partner tonight," Nathan’s eyes would narrow. His hand would tighten on his glass. He’d be thinking: Him? Really?

And suddenly, your new guy starts having weird glitches on his phone. Like, weird stuff. Apps crashing. Texts going missing. Maybe one day, all of his favorite playlists are replaced with Nathan’s favorite songs—songs with creepy, passive-aggressive lyrics that sound suspiciously personal.

But of course, no one could ever measure up to Nathan. He’d probably scoff at the very idea. In his mind, he’s not just the ex—you’re the one who made the wrong choice. You can move on, but Nathan? He’s already ten steps ahead of you, digitally weaving himself into the fabric of your life whether you like it or not.

In the end, you wouldn't just be trying to move on from a relationship—you’d be trying to escape a person who doesn’t think “moving on” even applies to him.

– – –

Thank you so much for this ask! 🖤 Nathan Bateman Masterlist

#ask #nathan bateman x reader #cw stalking #nathan bateman #nathan bateman x you #nathan bateman x gn!reader #nathan bateman ex machina #nathan bateman fanfiction #nathan ex machina

19 notes · View notes

golden444manifest · 11 months

Text

Learn from my mistakes

Entry Level Finance Associate Edition ✨

This past year has taught me so much about myself. I bumped my head so many times. However, this has shaped the professional I am today. Here are some topics I had to learn the hard way.

First and fore most write everything down

You will have a lot of information thrown at you and it’s nearly impossible to retain it if you don't write it down. It’s also proven that writing things down is beneficial.

It helps you to process and clarify your thoughts.

It frees up your mind to create more ideas.

Provides a foundation of knowledge that can be built upon.

Helps with forgetfulness, you can access the information when you need it and you don’t have to remember it.

Practice active communication

Give your manager an update before they ask you for one.

Keep up with your email - it’s not fun if people have to track you down. Everyone’s time is important.

Figure out a method to keep up with your emails. I personally practice inbox zero and I work out of my flagged emails folder. More information here.

Seek outside educational sources

Book knowledge will only get you so far.

Don’t be afraid to google things. I bet money your superiors still do it.

Take LinkedIn Learning courses in areas that you lack. - I took a few, how-to-take effective meeting notes, business communications foundation and how to think strategically.

Stay up to date with Finance trends and emerging regulations.

If your employer provides outside resources, take advantage of them! They are there for you for free!

Run your own race

Everyone brings something unique to the table. Try to find out what you bring.

I don’t shy away from responsibility. I'm an extremely hard worker and if you drop something on my desk, I will figure it out.

Remember you are enough and you contribute something valuable to your team.

Get organized!

Here’s my post on my organization system. Extra tips include:

Learn to wrap up your day - Meaning make a habit of shutting down your computer everyday. This forces you to wrap up items you are in progress of and helps you to keep track of them. It also feels good to be able to start your day fresh.

Get a planner - Physical or digital whatever your preference is. Get into the habit of using it every day to log important dates and tasks.

Keep you calendar updated - You don’t want to miss important meetings.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

They do not expect you to know everything. In fact they expect you to know the bare minimum.

Ask questions, but try not to ask the same question over and over.

Get Grammarly Premium!!!

This has saved my life and lifted so much stress off my shoulders. No more am I spending the entire day working on an email and second-guessing myself. I run everything through Grammarly before I send out anything and save so much time.

Closing

If no one has told you today, you are amazing, and you are capable of fantastic things! Once you get the basics down, you will be unstoppable. 😉

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. This year, I felt I had no one to go to because I was the only black girl on my team, and we were very scarce in the Finance department. We can all win together.🤞🏾

42 notes · View notes

thisishowgalaxiescollide · 10 months

Note

You're honestly so close to getting me into nico/jack it isn't even funny anymore 😂

Anyway, if you're willing, give me the final push there and/or your fave fic (if you're reading any). I know I am tempting fate here but... Yolo. 😌 I accept it.

Come, friend, to the dark side. no, seriously, though, they make me ridiculously happy. Like, we don't have to do anything as a fandom because they already do the gay and the loving for us.

I must confess I haven't been reading much lately because work and life have been complicated enough to keep me from doing much more than reblogging a few things here and there. BUT my past self used to read, so I have a few treats for you, <3

1386 fic rec list

Melt the ice, by theaa

Summary:

So, like—was he just not supposed to notice, or—?

So, so, so good!

Caveat Emptor, by Kerfluffle

Summary:

Two months of advance preparation—memorizing detailed building blueprints, stalking specialists on LinkedIn, reading The $12 Million Stuffed Shark—and Nico gets fucked over by his turtleneck. Or, Nico lands himself in hot water after a recon mission goes awry.

Delightful and sweet.

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, by Kerfluffle

Summary:

Unlike some supernatural disasters, theirs starts ordinary—with a harmless bar bet.

Fluffy, horny and funny. Great characterization.

kiss me on the mouth (set me free), by coastalhighway

Summary:

Headlights as bright as Jack’s should be illegal, probably. Nico locks the door behind him - three twists, one two three - and counts his steps to the car. He gets to twenty-seven and opens the door, and Jack smiles at him, sharp as a razor’s edge. He smells like smoke. “You good, baby?” he says, and Nico wonders if he tastes like smoke, too. Smoke and lies and broken mirrors, a nasally voice whispers in his ear, breath hot on his cheek. You broke the mirror, soothsayer, sweet-talker. Liar, liar. Nico sits down in the passenger seat. “Drive.” Jack doesn’t bother asking questions. He drives.

Gorgeous. Jack calling Nico "baby" has me !!!

deep into that darkness, by countthestars

Summary:

Quinn’s whole thing is talking to the dead, but Jack’s gift is dealing with the living.

Amazing. Quinn needs a nap and jack is a brat. I love him a lot.

Double Play, by dilangley

Summary:

This is minor league baseball, long days in little towns no one’s ever heard of playing games no one will remember once the lights go out.

This one blew my mind and broke my heart simultaneously even though I know nothing about baseball.

sense of expectation, by greenteam

Summary:

“No, no, hear me out on this…” Jack’s mind is running a million miles a minute as he tries to compile his thoughts into something even vaguely coherent. “I don’t have to go out and find someone new to be in family photos who I know I’m gonna turn around and dump the next week. And you get a free invite to the Hollywood wedding of the century.” Nico looks pensive as he lounges back on the sheets. “I think Ellen would give me an invite anyway.” Jack facewashes him for that. (or: 5 +1 plus ones)

Adorable.

won’t believe half the things i see inside my head, by rafting

Summary:

Jack can’t perfectly shift into anyone anyway; he has to concentrate and base his shifts on what he’s seen, what he knows of someone else’s face and body. So he’s never a perfect copy, often missing freckles or getting the hair or eye shades slightly off. He can’t shift his own dick into someone else’s if he’s never seen it, which is what most guys want to know. He thinks he’s got Nico’s face down pretty well. He’s spent enough time looking at it by now. or, the USNTDP is a program designed to help mutant hockey players control their powers, and Jack’s a shapeshifter who is starting to suspect Nico can read his mind.

Very interesting concept.

take the wheel, by greenteam

Summary:

Nico rakes a hand through his hair. “I just worry. That’s my job. You drive, I worry.” “I thought your job was to fix,” Jack says instead of doing something stupid like kissing Nico.

Just !!!

The tag is thriving, though, so I've probably only scratched the surface. I need to get go back and start reading again. One day soon.

#saucerfulofsins #fic rec #1386 #1386 fic rec #these are all probably old by now #if anyone has additional recs send them my way please #nico x jack

38 notes · View notes

alica-tech · 1 year

Text

a guide on behavioral interviews💼

ok i've got a behavioral interview coming up so decided to make this quick guide on how i prepare for these if it helps anyone else trying to land internships or full-time jobs in the tech industry!

the process

1. ⭐ Introduction (10-15 min)

The interviewer wants to know more about you, your career goals, skills, and how you align w/ the company's mission.

Like a compelling essay, you want a strong hook or opening statement. The first question asked is often "Tell me about yourself" and this should be a brief elevator pitch (30 seconds) that highlights your current status (student, major, study area), your relevant experience, why you're interested in the company/why you're a good fit for the company, and what you're looking for (in a job). Practice this in front of a mirror if you have to!

Doing company research is really important for the whole interview! You want to look informed and interested. You can use sites such as:

Twitter Linkedin Glassdoor company website (blogs/news/about/careers page) any press releases/news articles to find info about what the company is focused on or what they care about most.

Find things that are genuinely interesting to *you* and write it down on a separate notepad to remember it

Review the job posting you applied to and review where you meet their expectations (your strengths) and be aware of your weaknesses (be ready to answer like "I'm working on improving my..." or "I hope this company can give me more experience in..")

Top questions: Tell me about yourself, why do you want to work for us, what are your strengths? Why should we hire you?

2. ⭐ Situational Questions (15-30 min)

This is where you use the STAR method to craft your responses to questions about your communication, work ethic, and collaboration style

STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result

Here's a guide + sample questions that you can encounter in any type of interview!

Also, prepare 5-6 solid situations that you can use to anchor your STAR responses. These can come from your resume, where each project can be something you can tie back to another soft/technical skill the company is looking for.

For example, for my hackathon experiences, i can relate it to any collaboration / communication / time crunch / meeting deadlines question. for my research experience, i can relate it to analytical skills / experimental / problem-solving questions.

For me, I put all my projects/experiences on a google doc, and then I write additional bullet points on things I did, problems I solved, challenges, skills I gained, etc. It's kind of like a super expanded resume. It's a great reference at a glance! Reflecting on your experiences/projects is very important as well, whether large or small.

3. ⭐ Closing (5 - 10 min)

This is your opportunity to end on a strong note, re-iterating what makes you a good fit for the company and asking questions that show you've done your research on the role/company!

What are good questions? Questions that aren't easily answerable on the company site, questions that will help YOU make a decision if you want to work for them

Here's some good ones: What is your current work from home / hybrid / in-person policies? What are the most exciting challenges facing your company in the next 6 months? What's the next step in the interview process / when can I expect follow-up? Is there support for junior / entry-level developers (such as mentorship)? How does the company support work-life balance? Can you share any recent projects / initiatives the company has taken on that you're excited about?

Here's some to AVOID: Avoid asking about salary / benefits unless you absolutely need this information before moving forward, Avoid asking questions you can google easily or know by reading the job description, avoid questions that are clearly outside of your interviewers area of expertise

phew, maybe i shouldve broken this into multiple posts, for now this is a quick overview, hope this helps!

----

additional (free) resources:

interviewbit - variety of questions listed for behaviorals

tech interview handbook - more details on preparing for STAR and example responses

handshake blog post - list of questions you can ask at the end of any interview

exponent's blog post - FAANG interviewing, focusing on company values, finding peer-to-peer mock interviews

pramp.com - practice mock interviews with peers

#computer science #interview prep #codeblr #career #jobsearch #tech #behavioral interviews

80 notes · View notes

femmefatalevibe · 2 years

Note

Hi! Can you give some tips on how to stand out, make friends and valuable connections with your professors during your studies? And any other college tips unrelated to studying? I want to reap full benefit of my resources! Thank you for your helpful contributions!

Hi love! This is a very multifaceted question, so I'll offer a few general tips I hope can be helpful. As a note, I went to a very urban school, basically just living in the city and attending classes, so I know very little about campus life. Hope this helps xx

Tips For Making Connections With Professors and Friends In College (How To Stand Out In A Class or Peer Group):

Practice Active Listening & Ask Thoughtful Follow-Up Questions

Remember Details (Small facts mentioned by a professor about a course topic/their outside work or life/a small detail about a potential friend's interests, activities, planned events, internships/part-time jobs, major & courses, etc.)

Keep An Open Line of Communication: With professors, this means asking questions in class (not too many though), emailing any follow-up questions to course or assignment material or related career questions, sending links to relevant articles related to course material, events mentioned in class, etc.). With friends, this can mean following up on an introduction, just say "Hi! Great meeting you, [insert their first name]. We definitely should get coffee/go to that event we discussed together, etc." Remain casual and interested, not desperate or obsessed.

Attend Office Hours & Events Related To Your Interests: Take advantage of office hours and professional opportunities to chat with your professors. In college, coffee meetings with one or more students are very rarely a red flag – especially if they meet with students regularly. Go to events organized by your school, like an art/business club meeting and different discussion panels. Join clubs like the school newspaper or a social club (if Greek life is for you).

Other Tips To Maximize Your College Experience:

Leverage Your Student Privilege: If there's a company you want to intern for or a professional you want to meet, connect with them on LinkedIn and send a personalized message. Share that you're a student with your major and desired career field (keep it short) and that you would appreciate the connection/answers to a couple of questions. Many professionals (myself included) are glad to help students out with a few tips or an informal interview – depending on availability and meeting circumstances.

Create A Work-Life Schedule: After knowing your class schedule and syllabus for the semester, roughly plan the days and times you will be studying/doing your weekly assignments. Then, fill in any part-time job and internship obligations you have. Add clubs and student activities into your schedule next. Then, find the times you want to plan on socializing. Having a general schedule in place gives you a sense of control and structure, which is generally lacking in college, and also makes you more confident when making plans. You can always say to people: "I can do lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12, 1, or 2 pm, for example." This method is better than saying "I'll let you know" when you actually are trying to plan on the spot. Time management helps you actually make plans and seem interested in spending time with the other person. (It also helps with planning your hangovers, but you didn't hear that from me!).

Expand Your Interests With The Internet: If you don't find resources near you to explore your interests, join virtual organizations or do remote internships to gain experience and connect with others in your desired field (including other college students with similar interests who could become long-distance friends!)

Different Friends Can Serve Different Purposes: Have your class friends, going to lunch or weekday meals friends, going out friends, and then your genuinely close friends (if you find 1-2 of these types of friends, that's plenty and very lucky!). Don't be afraid to spend most of your time alone. As long as you have some social interactions and put effort into this area of your life, remember that we all have solo seasons or days. Think of this time as an opportunity to reflect, work towards your goals, and spend time with yourself to discover what you really enjoy and want in life.

180 notes · View notes

bg-brainrot · 6 months

Note

To start, I’m a huge fan of your writing! Seriously, I’ve been reading your stuff since maybe October or November? I always look forward to updates, and I genuinely think your writing is of top-notch quality. Thank you for sharing your stories with us on the internet. ❤️

I saw your post saying you were in game development, and I wanted to ask what are some good ways to network and work with game studios? I’m actually an artist working in the animation industry now (this is an alt account to save posts for my brainrot lmao), but would love to transition into games sooner or later, just not sure how to find good info or leads? There’s only so many animation studios producing major work so it’s easier to scout info, but the world of games is daunting to say the least, even if I’ve been a gamer my whole life.

Any insight helps, but totally understand if you don’t have a straightforward answer to this question lol. You rock, and hope you’re having a good day!

Ahhh first off, thank you so much for reading my fic <33 You best believe I recognize your username when you like my posts and I appreciate it every single time. C: Second, thank you for asking a question!!! I am unreasonably excited to answer it!

To answer your question, I have a few tips, but I will say it will definitely depend on where you live what resources are available to you (it sucks, and it's honestly a huge downside to this industry :') ). Some tips below, sorted by, like availability ~

Networking from anywhere:

Join Discords! There are a ton for general game developers, a ton for people in specific fields, a ton for specific demographics within gaming, a ton for recruiting or for connecting with mentors-- and honestly, it can seem like a lot, there are a ton of people, a lot of them might already know each other, etc. but everyone is super friendly and super willing to help.

Join GameJams! I cannot stress this enough, but one of the biggest things that will help someone transition into games from another field is experience making games (I know it sounds counterintuitive, but bear with me haha)-- but making games, even if they're small games you make with a group over a weekend, shows directly applicable experience and looks great on a portfolio! GameJams are an easy way to find a group, set aside time, and make a game before you even join a studio. Bonus note: animators are *always* in high demand for those.

Reach out to people whose work you like directly! This is by far the most nerve-wrecking (to me at least), but reaching out to people, like cold-emailing, cold-LinkedIn messaging, is just such a good way to get to know people. As awkward as it is for you, people who like what they do will always be excited to answer questions and help set you on a path forward (like me! I receive messages myself and each time I get excited that someone even bothered to reach out tbh). If you're super lucky, you may even get a mentor out of it!

From in-person locations:

Join local indie dev meetups! I've done this in my area, and each and every time everyone is so willing to talk, to connect, and to give each other advice. The best part of these meetups is that they tend to be very informal, and you may even find teams looking to expand.

(Disclaimer, this one is expensive and genuine connections can be difficult given the sheer number of participants, but it's not impossible) Attend conventions/game dev events! Even at GDC, people from all types of industries attend to try to get their foot in the door, speak with recruiters, get portfolio advice, and learn a bit more about how the industry works. A quick word of warning for this one: be wary of the type of convention! For example, GDC is great for growth and connections, but attend something more press-oriented like PAX or more creator-oriented like TwitchCon and you may be disappointed at the lack of opportunities to just sit and talk. Smaller conventions can sometimes be more helpful to actually network as well.

Attend any local universities/incubator programs game showcases! Again, hyper-specific to this being in your area, but often people will take time to show off their game, host in-person game jams, and more-- usually you'll find these around major universities, major companies, and even places like video game museums. All great places to meet and get to know some mentors or even recruiters.

and some general tips for animation specifically that you probably already know as an animator in another field but are always worth mentioning:

Make sure that you know what type(s) of animation you want to get into (Technical animator, rig specialist, gameplay animator, etc.), which studios rely on which animation types (some studios have one generalist, some split up their animation pipeline very thoroughly, some have only 2D animators, some 3D, some a mixture of both), and which game engines they use-- the more programs you know, the better, of course. I've seen 2D animators spend many a personal hour learning 3D animation for the sake of getting on a game they want to work on, so the sooner you learn the better :')

Again I want to stress the gamejam, but if you don't want to talk to other people or it's difficult to find one, I would recommend at least trying to make your own small game. The reason being that, while animators in general are super highly sought after in the industry, the more you know about game development itself the more sought after you will be! A good animator is fantastic, an animator who knows why their animation breaks as soon as it's in engine is even better (and the best way to figure that kind of debugging is really from trying, failing, iterating!)

Beyond just reaching out to people, find animators you like in the industry and see if they're involved in any mentorship programs, are giving any talks, maybe already have some talks online (old GDC talks end up on YouTube sometimes), or even have guides on how they got their start in the industry. It's definitely not a clear cut journey for anyone into gaming, so there's no one-size-fits-all, but it can give you a gauge for how others in your position got there!

PHEW, I think that's it! I hope some of this is helpful, feel free to like, ask for clarification as I know I can ramble, and thank you again for asking! You rock and hope your day is excellent :D

#anotherbrainrotsufferer #ask #i'm seeing that this might have been too much so im sorry i went overboard #i was very excited to read your question haha #ty again for asking c:

9 notes · View notes

metamorphosisff · 1 year

Text

|Chapter 11| Where There Is Thunder

Staring at the phone does not make it ring.

This I know but I can’t help but will my phone to sound with an incoming call from Xavier. That night his sister called to reveal that their dad had suffered from a heart attack. He had collapsed while getting ready for bed. Ever since, Xavier had been back and forth between both jobs, the hospital, and his parents house. It’s been a week since I’ve last physically seen him and I wished I could pull him into a hug. The few times we have managed to talk on the phone showed me there was a lot he wasn’t saying. He was understandably stressed out, running on fumes, but he did not know how to put himself first. He was more concerned with being strong for his mother and sister. That’s why I resolved to be strong for him.

Tearing my eyes away from my phone, I attempt to get back in the mindset needed for job hunting. The process was so draining and it honestly made me feel like a failure more often than not. So far I’ve been to three interviews but I have not heard back from anyone yet. Until I did, I was still filling out applications in hopes that something would stick. Having a schedule that consists of both day and night shifts left me always scrambling to find time for myself outside of sleeping. I had to use this time as productively as possible. Right as I was updating the filters on Linkedin my phone began to ring.

Glancing at the screen I let a small smile grace my lips. It wasn’t who I was expecting but I was happy to talk nonetheless. “Hey, Jazz.”

“Birdie!” Jazz hollered in greeting. “How are you darling?”

“I’m well,” I answered honestly. Outside of the job situation, I did not have a lot to complain about. For the first time in a long time, things felt like they were looking up for me. I was leaning into that and seeing where it took me. “I think I’m happy but it’s such a foreign concept to me that I’m not quite sure.”

Jazz laughed as she said, “Then that definitely means you're happy. When it feels like the other shoe is supposed to drop? That is doubt trying to rain on your parade but we’re not having none of that.”

“No we aren’t,” I readily agreed.

“And how is Mr. Clipboard?” Jazz asked.

“He’s…going through a bit of a tough time right now. His dad had a heart attack earlier this week so he’s been dealing with that,” I replied.

On top of making sure his grandparents were doing okay in the interim. He made sure a few of his older cousins stopped by even if they weren’t willing to spend the night like he did. Something was better than nothing though and this way gave Xavier some peace of mind though it wasn’t the most effective method. I couldn’t explain all of that to Jazz though because the intricacies of his family dynamic wasn’t my story to tell.

“Damn, I hate to hear it. I hope his father is alright and him too. Medical emergencies can wear you thin,” Jazz says, echoing my earlier thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m keeping an eye on him. How are you doing though? How’s the job?” I questioned.

“These ladies are something else I’ll tell you that but I’m already known as ‘The Regulator’ because I don’t play that. I run a tight ship in that front office,” Jazz said, in a tone that let me know she meant business.

“I could not imagine it any other way,” I chuckled.

“Neither can I,” Jazz cracked. “They keep me on my toes though. It’s nice, feeling like I have a purpose again.”

“I’m happy to hear that Jazz, I mean it. Having a purpose feels elusive to me some days. Hearing you say that renews my hope,” I said.

“Well amen to that. I knew I had to reach out to you. Felt it in my bones,” Jazz said.

Though we kept in touch daily through texts it had been awhile since we heard one another voices. It made all of the difference. Jazz was one of those genuine spirits you only came across once in a lifetime. I am grateful she has come into my life the way she has, making herself comfortable only in a way she could that makes me comfortable too.

“I need to be better about calling too. It’s a bit challenging when I'm sleeping when everyone is working and working when everyone is sleeping but it’s doable,” I said, knowing from experience. Until recently, Xavier and I spoke at length daily, not being able to go a day without hearing one anothers voices. Even now he went out of his way to make sure to speak to me, never letting one day go by without at least a text conversation between us.

“What’s important is that you think of me. That matters to me the most. Just keep me in your heart Birdie and it will all be fine,” Jazz hums.

“I will,” I promise.

“Good, now let’s talk about what you’re going to wear to my ball next month,” Jazz said, switching to the next subject.

“Your what?”

“My ball. Next month. Me and my house will be walking, and as one of my honorary daughters your attendance is mandatory not optional. Yes, you can bring a friend, now let’s focus. Outfits. What is that closet looking like?”

For the next hour Jazz and I switch to Facetime so that she can review the handful of club attire I own. After deciding that none of it will do, she promises to mail me something once I get my size. Her only sole request is that for the night of the ball I take my braids out so my hair can be out, wild and free. Being that she is dressing me for free, I quickly agree. With that squared away she heads back to work and I head back to the living room with a renewed drive to finish job hunting.

Just got home baby.

I think you’re sleeping but I wanted to let you know I’m in.

Actually, I’m just leaving work. I got called in to cover.

Come over. My place is closer.

Okay.

I have been waiting to lay my eyes on him for the past week but I haven’t wanted to seem pushy. Xavier was already being tugged in several directions, needed by so many people that I did not want to add on. All I really wanted was to be there for him how he was always there for me. An ache resided in my chest when he was near– an acuteness of his presence really– and it was even more profound when he was away. I don’t know when Xavier had become this important to me but I didn’t have time to analyze it. Something in me wouldn’t settle until I was able to look into his eyes without a screen between us. It only took me twenty minutes to get into his neighborhood from the train. I stopped at the bodega down the block from his building and got us both breakfast, before making my way over. Texting him when I was in the lobby, I wasn’t surprised to see him waiting by his door when I stepped off of the elevator.

My steps quickened on their own at the sight of him and before I knew it, I was launching myself into his arms. He caught me effortlessly, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly as he buried his face in my neck, and inhaling deeply before placing a small kiss on the hollow of my collarbone. We stayed like that for a few moments. It allowed me to feel the tension slowly leaving his body as his shoulders dropped in my embrace. As if he had been waiting for this moment just like I had been. After a beat, he walks us into his apartment backwards and locks the door.

“Hi,” he says with a kiss to my lips once we finally pull apart.

“Hi,” I repeat.

“There’s a towel and some clothes for you in the bathroom,” he says, while taking the bags from my hands.

“Okay, I’m going to wash up, and you go eat. You look like you’ve lost weight,” I said with a small frown as I took in the hollowness of his cheeks.

“Definitely not as much as I need to,” he replies, which causes my frown to deepen. “Go shower and then I’ll fill you in.”

I sigh but nod my head in agreement. While he heads to the kitchen, I walk down the narrow hallway, and enter the door on the left. I strip out my clothes before folding them up and putting them on top of the hamper. Turning the water on, I let it heat up, as I use some of his Cetaphil to wash my face. Once that’s done, I pluck my purple toothbrush from the holder, and brush my teeth. With that taken care of, I finally step into the shower, and smile at the sight of the same bottle of Dove body wash that I use at home. Xavier was always thinking of me down to the most minute detail. Knowing he was probably waiting on me to eat, I did not linger, and quickly scrubbed myself from head to toe. Then I dressed in one of his Batman t-shirts, a pair of basketball shorts I had to roll over so they wouldn’t fall to the floor, and some teal fuzzy socks that had cats on them which made me snort. I had told him one day I would own a cat because I found them so amusing.

Padding out, I headed to the living room where music was playing lowly from the record player. I couldn’t place the song but it was alt-rock in nature and soothing in tone. Like I thought, Xavier had our breakfast plated alongside the bottles of juice I picked up. Sitting down by his side, I kissed his cheek while saying, “Thought I told you to eat.”

“I am, see?” he asks, picking up half of his bagel and taking a dramatic bite out of it.

I playfully rolled my eyes as I picked up a half of my bagel as well. We ate in a comfortable silence, both of us needing a bit of time to decompress before trying to fill each other in. Like always, we ended up on the floor, head to head once we were done. Our hands were linked in the middle and as a group I learned to be Hall n Oates crooned about Sara’s smile.

“How is he?” I asked, running my thumb on the inside of his palm.

“Besides being a little tired, he’s good. Doctor’s want him to change his diet and exercise more to help reduce stress, even encouraging him to pick up a hobby. Jury is still out on that though. He was being all pissy about needing to take the rest of the month off from work,” Xavier said.

“He has to know taking it easy is what is best,” I said.

“If he didn’t my mom made sure of it,” he snickered. “She fried his ass when he started giving the doctor an attitude.”

“Good, sometimes men are too stubborn for their own good,” I said, with a pointed stare.

“Aye I’m…not as bad as my father,” he said, which was true but didn’t negate the fact that he could also dig his heels in when he felt warranted. “He never speaks about what’s bothering him, about what’s happening with his father, his life, nothing. Just keeps it inside.”

“You think the heart attack was a manifestation of the stress he ignores,” I said.

“The doctor said as much. If we don’t listen to our bodies, then they force us to listen. I just hope he does,” he sighs.

“How are things between you two? I know what he said to you before this went down really hurt,” I said.

“We are ignoring our fight as usual and this time my mom asked me not to bring it up due to everything else that’s going on. Said that what matters is that we have each other at the end of the day,” he said.

“That’s not a fair thing to ask,” I said.

“It’s not,” he agreed.

“Also having each other, family or not, is not enough. Not for what he said and how he acted. You do so much for your family, the least he can do is acknowledge it. Acknowledge you,” I said.

I watched as Xavier took a shaky breath, blinking a few times while his stare remained upwards at the ceiling. His hand clutched mine tighter and I gave him the moment to gather his thoughts and shift through his feelings. Biting down on my bottom lip, I swallowed the rest of my rant. My pointing out the obvious probably wasn’t helpful but I was angry for him.

“There’s just something between us…this wall…that doesn’t allow us to see each other how we should. Neither of us knows how to move around it, let alone tear it down,” he sighed, rubbing his free hand over his face which is something he did when in deep thought.

“And it’s always been like this. He’s just so fucking rigid, always composed, and if it’s not in some rulebook completely clueless.”

The frustration in his voice had been brewing for years, potentially decades, and I hated that I could relate to it in some way. In the earlier part of our friendship, I found myself envious of his family because they are so close knit but I’m realizing even that comes with its own set of problems. It’s own set of expectations and disappointments. Family was destined to be something that either made or break you. I had no idea where either of us stood on the spectrum because it seemed as if we were constantly in limbo.

“Have you ever fully told him how you felt about y’alls relationship? The situation with your Granddad aside, it seems like y’all can only be close if you ignore everything else, and that’s not sustainable,” I said.

“Funny, my therapist asked me a similar question a few weeks ago but I never got the chance to have that conversation with him. Life kept getting in the way. He could have died and those would have been the last words he ever said to me. That I’m basically a fucking disappointment like nothing I’ve done to change my life matters,” he said, jaw clenching.

“It does though, regardless or not if he sees it, it matters a lot,” I said, squeezing his hand. I knew what it felt like to have your accomplishments go unnoticed. It was a point of contention between Lonso and I. “You have to know that and believe it before anyone else does.”

“I know. This shit with my grandfather makes me feel like a failure though and it’s crazy because there are other adults involved as well. I don’t know man,” he breathed out, shaking his head. “We have to talk but with this heart attack shit I have no idea when that will be.”

“It needs to be as soon as possible. Babe,” I said softly, earning his direct eye contact. It was the first time the term of endearment fell from my lips and the shine in his eyes guaranteed it wouldn’t be the last. “There is never going to be this magically perfect moment to have this conversation. There will never be a good time to let him know the ways in which he failed you as a dad. You have the opportunity to tell him each day you both draw breath. Don’t take that for granted.”

There were so many things I wished I could say to my parents. So many things I needed to say but I didn’t know if they were alive or dead. No one I knew had seen them in some months, they purposely stayed out of my reach. I might never get the chance to speak to my parents again but Xavier could. Nudging closer, I placed my head on his chest, and he turned to place a kiss to my forehead.

“I’ll do it this week,” he said with resolve.

“And I’ll be here, whichever way it goes.”

His eyes met mine once more, showing both relief and gratitude in his gaze. Tipping my chin upwards with his free hand, he pressed his lips to mine. I placed my hand over his chest and felt his heart beating rapidly. He was the most unsure of himself he had ever been in my presence and I found his vulnerability to be beautiful. It wasn’t something I took for granted knowing how hard it could be. Xavier showed me with every conversation that it could also be rewarding. I rubbed his chest reassuringly as he fed himself on my kisses. He needed my energy and I poured it into him willingly.

His fingers found themselves in my braids the same time my leg wrapped around his waist. Shifting his lower body, he made it so that I was now on top of him as my braids gave us our own privacy curtain. His body was solid underneath mine, filled with hard planes and ridges reflective of the strict gym schedule he usually kept.

I sighed with bliss into our kiss as his lips pulled at mine before encompassing my bottom one in a nibble. My hands rested on the sides of his face, fingers softly brushing over the scruffiness of the beard that was growing in. Wrapping a hand around my hair, he gave it a soft pull that separated our lips so that he could place open mouth kisses on the column of my throat. His other hand had slipped underneath the t-shirt. His fingers began to lazily trail across my rib cage, occasionally brushing against the underside of my breast but going no further than light teases. Never had I been touched with such tenderness or purpose. His tongue flicked my collarbone and my hips bucked in response causing him to groan against my skin. The vibrations of the sound sent a quiver down my spine.

“I don’t want to rush this baby,” he says, kissing his way back up to my lips that are pouting at his words. He chuckles at the sight of it before flicking his tongue against them, drawing my eyes open. “But would it be okay to play a bit?”

“Play?” I repeated, stealing a kiss from him. He captured one back, leaving me panting when I said, “I think I like the sound of that.”

Biting down on my jaw, he groaned in agreement. “Me too. Let’s go.”

I nodded eagerly, earning one of his full smiles, something I didn’t realize I needed to see until I was able to witness it once more. With two moves, he has us upright and stalking to his bedroom, leaving Hall & Oates and family drama behind.

#metamorphasisff #slow burn romance #Black Fiction #black romance #zendaya x mjb

46 notes · View notes