#they took me to canada once and new zealand twice

[grandmaster-anne]

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

By Steve Dougherty and Larry Sutton | Published 17 September 2022

Time Magazine International Edition

QUEEN ELIZABETH II WAS THE WORLD’S LONGEST-serving head of state when she died at 96 on Sept. 8. She had led her subjects for more than seven decades—an extraordinary reign that began in 1952, and spanned 15 British Prime Ministers and 14 U.S. Presidents. She inherited the throne of a country almost broken by the legacy of war, and remained upon it through a time of epochal change for both the U.K. and the world.

When Elizabeth took the throne, the U.K. was the seat of an empire that straddled the globe. Today, Britain is a smaller player on the world’s stage, but she remained the sovereign leader of 15 nations—including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—and head of a Commonwealth of more than 50 nations. She traveled the globe as an ambassador for British achievements, acts of charity, and values. She was also devoted to upholding the “special relationship” between the U.K. and the U.S., engaging with every President from Harry Truman to Joe Biden over a period of more than 70 years. And even as the world changed in profound ways, many saw her as a steadfast rock of patriotic duty. As her grandson Prince William wrote in the preface to a 2015 biography, “I think I speak for my generation when I say that the example and continuity provided by the Queen is not only very rare among leaders but a great source of pride and reassurance … I am privileged to have the Queen as a model for a life of service to the public.”

ELIZABETH ALEXANDRA MARY WINDSOR was born by cesarean section at 2:40 a.m. on April 21, 1926. She was an heir to the throne, but third in the line of succession. Her father Prince Albert—Bertie to friends and family—was the second son of the reigning monarch, King George V. His older brother David, known by his royal appellation Edward of Wales, was first in line to the throne—but also single, childless, and already rumored to have little interest in inheriting his father’s crown.

The early life of Princess Elizabeth was chronicled with zeal both by the British press and in the former colonies. “The water was from the River Jordan,” TIME reported of the elaborate christening pageantry staged in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. Sir Winston Churchill first met Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle in 1928, when she was 2, and proclaimed that he saw in her “an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.”

No one in the realm was more enamored with the young Elizabeth than its monarch, who gave her the place of honor on his lap when they rode through the streets of London in his royal stretch Daimler. “No one else except the Queen rides out so often with the King,” TIME reported. Left out of the spotlight, not ungladly, was Lilibet’s father—the self-deprecating Bertie, who once told reporters, “My chief claim to fame seems to be that I am the father of Princess Elizabeth.”

Her reign as only child ended at age 4, in 1930, with the birth of her sister, Margaret Rose, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, their mother’s ancestral home. The girls romped together on the palace grounds and royal country estates, played with their terrier puppies and corgis—Elizabeth’s lifelong favorite. They also stabled, cared for, and learned to train a royal succession of pet ponies, and shared the same nannies and governesses.

In January 1936, upon the death of Lilibet’s grandfather George V, her uncle David became King Edward VIII. Almost immediately, his eldest niece and all the royal family became prime players in a 20th century succession drama. Edward’s tumultuous 10-month reign as King ended on Dec. 10, 1936, when he scandalized the world by abdicating the throne to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Warfield Simpson. “I always told those idiots not to put me in a golden frame,” he said. Young Lilibet was only 10 when she learned she would become Queen after her father’s death.

ELIZABETH WAS BARELY A TEENAGER when, on Sept. 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. The war’s threat had already thundered throughout Europe, and soon the kingdom Elizabeth would one day rule, along with much of the rest of the world, was engulfed in war. Less than a year later, Hitler entered Paris and promised to make Britain his next conquest. Soon the Blitz—day and night Luftwaffe bombing raids that rained fire and terror over cities throughout England—was at full roar.

And so the Princess spent her teens knitting socks for British soldiers, collecting tinfoil, and rolling bandages for the war effort. She would send portions of her 5-shilling weekly allowance to emergency child-welfare funds, wear secondhand clothes, adhere to the war-rations diet dictated for all Britons, and live frugally despite being a teenage Princess and heir to the British throne.

Even as bombs fell on Buckingham Palace, the royal couple refused entreaties to abandon London and evacuate Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to Canada. “The children won’t go without me,” said the Queen. “I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.”

The King’s decision to remain in England for the duration of the war, enduring its deprivations along with his subjects, endeared him to the beleaguered nation. But it also made the likelihood that Elizabeth might suddenly be called to the throne in the event of her father’s death seem palpable.

The future monarch began her public life with her first live BBC radio broadcast in October 1940. Displaying poise and pluck, she addressed the tens of thousands of children who were evacuated from their homes and separated from their families at the height of the Blitz. “My sister, Margaret Rose, and I feel so much for you as we know from experience what it means to be away from those we love most of all,” she said in a clear voice that offered a hint of the calm and compassion that many would come to admire.

When in 1944 she reached military age at 18, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, one of the wartime women’s units. She spent three weeks at the Mechanical Transport Training Center, where she trained as a mechanic and truck driver. The labor left her covered in grease and grime and not a little well-earned pride.

And she never partied so hard as she did a fortnight after her 19th birthday when, on May 8, 1945—Victory in Europe Day—she joined the ecstatic and rowdy street celebrations that swept London following Germany’s surrender. After standing in uniform on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to greet cheering crowds alongside the King, Queen, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, she, her sister, a group of friends, and a few guardians linked arms and ran among the crowds that surged through the city. For two nights in a row she “walked simply miles,” she wrote in her journal, “ate, partied, bed 3 a.m.!” These were, she would say 40 years later, among “the most memorable nights of my life.”

YEARS BEFORE, ELIZABETH had visited a naval college at Dartmouth where she had been greeted by a towering 18-year-old cadet.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, nephew of King Constantine of Greece and distant relation to Britain’s Queen Victoria. As his family drifted apart he was sent, at the age of 9, to England to live with his grandmother, the widow of the great British naval commander and German Prince Louis Alexander Mountbatten. He was schooled in England, Germany, and Scotland, and became a fine young athlete—as Elizabeth would note to her governess, Crawfie, on that trip to Dartmouth: “How good he is, Crawfie. How high can he jump!”

Elizabeth corresponded with Philip throughout the war, and after its end the Prince was placed on shore duty at a naval base on England’s south coast. He often made the 100-mile trek to London in his small black MG, frequently stopping at Buckingham Palace. As the friendship grew into a romance, Elizabeth was delighted. Her father George? Not so much—at first. “His loud, boisterous laugh and his blunt, seagoing manners … irritated the gentle King,” TIME reported in 1957. Despite that chill, Elizabeth and Philip decided to marry after a short stay with her family at Balmoral Castle in the summer of 1946. The King’s lack of enthusiasm for Elizabeth’s beau—an attitude sparked, in part, by his concern over how the people of Britain would take to a foreign-born prince marrying the heiress to the throne—frustrated the Princess. “There was many a tense moment for George as Elizabeth moped about in tearful martyrdom while her mother and grandmother, the doughty old Queen Mary, fought her battle for her. At last, George decided that the young couple (she was 20, he 25) should wait six months to make sure of each other,” noted TIME.

There were obstacles to overcome, but none insurmountable. Philip became a British citizen, and public-opinion polls showed that a majority of the nation’s populace favored his marrying the Princess. The official announcement did not come until July 9, 1947, followed by the couple’s introduction at a Buckingham Palace garden party. The wedding took place that November, on the 20th. Philip had converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and Elizabeth’s father made the former member of the Greek and Danish royal families a British royal duke, the Duke of Edinburgh, to be called His Royal Highness, or simply Prince Philip.

As Elizabeth made her way to Westminster Abbey in the royal coach on her wedding day, thousands cheered from the neighboring sidewalks of London. Celebrations erupted throughout the globe, from Paris to Panama, from Shanghai to Manhattan—where thousands got out of bed at 6 a.m. to listen to the ceremony broadcast on the radio. Dignitaries—five Kings, six Queens, Prime Minister Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill—were in attendance. All of Britain celebrated, many seeing the wedding as a beacon of hope in the post–World War II recovery period.

ON FEB. 5, 1952, Princess Elizabeth went to bed in a tree hut nestled in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park and awoke the next day as the Queen of England. She was unaware of her new position, for news of the death of her father King George VI had not yet reached that outpost of the British Empire. That afternoon, at a lodge, Philip received a phone call informing him of George’s death. The Prince took his bride down to a nearby river’s edge and relayed the news. Shaken, but in full command of herself, Elizabeth returned to the lodge and began making arrangements for the long trip home.

Elizabeth arrived at London’s airport the following morning. Churchill was there to greet her, along with a small group of privy councilors—advisers to the monarchy. That night she rested; the next day she signed the oath of accession before the Privy Council, and an hour later her accession was formally proclaimed. In the months that followed, there was no hurry to arrange her formal coronation—she was already, technically, the Queen. So Elizabeth and the Palace allowed the focus to stay on King George and his 16 enormously popular years on the throne, and let the nation’s sadness ebb.

The ceremony finally took place on June 2, 1953, a day chosen in hopes of sunny spring weather. This being London, however, the nation settled for a traditional gray morning. At 11 a.m., a joyous fanfare of trumpets announced the arrival of Her Majesty. “Vivat Regina Elizabetha! Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!” shouted the Queen’s Westminster Scholars as she walked up the aisle, her long crimson train borne by six maids of honor. The Archbishop of Canterbury proceeded to ask Elizabeth if she would govern her people according to their laws and customs, execute law and justice in mercy, and maintain the laws of God. She knelt, kissed the Holy Bible before her, and swore to do so, “so help me God.” Finally, he held aloft the Imperial State Crown for all to see, then placed it on Elizabeth’s head. Cheers of “God Save the Queen” filled the abbey as trumpets blared; outside, and across the British Empire, bells pealed and cannons roared.

AS WELL AS the constitutional duties Elizabeth fulfilled as Britain’s head of state and the head of the Church of England, she spent long sections of the following decades traveling the world as her nation’s goodwill ambassador. The November after her coronation she embarked on a 45,000-mile tour of the British Commonwealth, presiding over state balls, garden parties, luncheons, banquets, and other occasions. Among her stops: Libya, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Jamaica, Uganda, and the Pacific island of Tonga. She did not return to London until May 15, 1954, almost six months after she departed.

In the fall of 1957, Elizabeth and Philip spent six days in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and parts of Virginia, where they celebrated the 350th anniversary of the founding of the first British colony in America. In Washington, they were guests of President Dwight D. Eisenhower—a friend since his days in London during World War II—for four nights at the White House. At the state dinner, Elizabeth praised Washington as “so often a focus for the aspirations of the free world.” Later, Vice President Richard Nixon hosted a luncheon at the Capitol, and Elizabeth sought to see how the average American enjoyed life, attending a college football game and stopping in a Giant supermarket.

Clearly, the travel bug had bitten. In 1961, Elizabeth visited India, and at the Ramlila Grounds near Old Delhi, a quarter of a million people came to see her speak. In the city of Jaipur, the Maharaja offered her a ride on a ceremonial elephant. Though the trip was a success for Elizabeth, it also put the Indian government on edge—it viewed such a display of colonial pageantry as undermining the country’s fledgling independence. Philip also drew negative publicity when official photos emerged of a tiger he’d killed on a hunt with the Maharaja.

In Ghana that same year, Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah told the Queen, “The wind of change blowing through Africa has become a hurricane.” (Ghana had declared independence from the British Empire in 1957, though the legacy of colonialism still hung over the country.) Tanzania would declare independence later that year, joined by Kenya in 1962 and a series of other African nations throughout the 1960s.

In 1965, Elizabeth embarked on an 11-day tour of West Germany, the first state visit by a reigning British monarch since Edward VII had paid his last call on Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1909. The trip came a full two decades after the end of World War II, amid fears of lingering resentment between the U.K. and Germany. But those fears were misplaced. The Queen and German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard said all hostility between their countries had been healed in the 20 years since the war. It ended in triumph, with crowds cheering and chanting “Elizabet, Eliz-a-bet!” as she placed a wreath on a Beethoven monument near the Bonn city hall.

BUT ALL THAT TRAVELING would put a strain on her family. That world tour following her coronation took place when Charles was 5 and Anne only 3—and the children were left behind. They did chat with their traveling mother by radiotelephone. But this would go on to be characteristic of Elizabeth, who always tended to make work her priority.

Years later, in 1994, Prince Charles would allow his authorized biographer to disclose that the prince felt “emotionally estranged” from his parents. Close friends found the Duke’s behavior “inexplicably harsh” and called his manner toward Charles “very bullying.” His mother, the Queen, seemed “detached.” Elizabeth and Philip were reported to be hurt by this disclosure. Publicly, only Philip would comment: “We did our best.” Princess Anne exercised less restraint, defending Elizabeth from rumors that she was remote. “I simply don’t believe that there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasn’t caring,” she said in 2002. Yet even Anne might have acknowledged a warmth that was sometimes wanting on her part later in life—when a little more compassion, a little more kindness, might have been called for.

The early 1990s would bring all kinds of personal problems to the fore—most notably in 1992, which the Queen famously described in a speech as an “annus horribilis” (horrible year). This was the year when her second son, Andrew, separated from his wife Sarah; when daughter Anne divorced her husband Mark Phillips; when her son Charles and his wife Diana increasingly became a tabloid issue; and when public concern grew about the cost of the monarchy and who would pay to repair Windsor Castle, which caught fire that year.

The damage was significant. The Nov. 20 fire—on the Queen’s 45th wedding anniversary—gutted the northeast corner of the castle, parts of which were more than 900 years old. It took 250 firefighters 15 hours to bring it under control. In the end more than 100 rooms, covering an area of 1.7 acres, were damaged. When British citizens learned that they were about to foot the bill for repairs to Windsor Castle—to the tune of up to $78 million—they grumbled. Elizabeth rectified the issue by volunteering to pay income and capital gains tax from her private investments. It hurt, but not too much: Her net worth remained at about $500 million.

But these were simply matters of state. Matters of the heart caused greater grief for Elizabeth—particularly the travails of Charles and Di. Their courtship and 1981 marriage captivated the nation, if not the world. No less an authority than the Archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed, “Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are made: the Prince and Princess on their wedding day.” But infidelity would intrude on both sides, and the ability to maintain the pretense of marriage for the sake of appearances became impossible. On Aug. 24, 1992, the transcript of a phone conversation between Diana and a close friend was published in the Sun, with Diana describing life with Charles as “real torture,” and saying she had caught the Queen Mother watching her “with a strange look in her eyes.” Diana and her young sons, William and Harry, continued to reside at Kensington Palace, while Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles was parsed by the tabloid press. The Prince and Princess of Wales officially separated on Dec. 9.

Diana’s decision to grant an interview to the BBC on Nov. 20, 1995, in which she confessed that she had been unfaithful to Charles, had upset the royal family, and Queen Elizabeth in particular. (Of course, Charles had admitted his own infidelity on a TV documentary the previous year, as Diana noted in the interview.) Within a month, the Queen wrote to both Charles and Diana, urging them to agree to an early divorce. Buckingham Palace released a statement saying Charles favored the divorce, but there was no official word from Diana. In February 1996—more than a year before Diana, her romantic partner Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul died in a car crash while being pursued by the paparazzi—she finally released her own statement saying she was ready to divorce too.

It took time for Elizabeth—a woman married seven decades to the same man—to adjust to modern mores. A longtime sticking point was Charles’ future bride Camilla; the press noted that Elizabeth was not enamored of her son’s consort. A shift occurred in 2002, when, by bringing Camilla to events celebrating Elizabeth’s 50 years on the throne, Charles provided strong evidence that he was gaining ground in his campaign to officially bring Camilla into the family fold.

Charles and Camilla got engaged around Christmas 2004, and before long the Queen issued a statement saying, “The Duke of Edinburgh and I are very happy that the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Parker Bowles are to marry.” She and Prince Philip did not attend their wedding at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005, but they did attend a blessing of the couple at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle and held a reception for them at the castle.

A more festive wedding—and one more in keeping with Elizabeth’s sense of tradition—took place on April 29, 2011, when Elizabeth’s grandson William married Kate Middleton in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. And she remained her regal self at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s more modern wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018, which included a fiery sermon delivered by Bishop Michael Curry of Chicago, the first African American head of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.

But in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Harry and Meghan alleged that racism had tarnished their relationship with the Windsors. While the press hounded Meghan as they did Harry’s late mother, “no one from my family ever said anything,” Harry said.

The family was once again thrust into the spotlight when allegations surfaced about Andrew’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew stepped back from royal duties in late 2019, and in 2021 was served with a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, who accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17. According to the Daily Telegraph, the Queen contributed millions to her son’s legal defense, and agreed to contribute £2 million ($2.7 million) to a survivor-support charity as part of a settlement.

But family was also a source of comfort. As the Queen neared the end of her life, she doted on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “In a small room with close members of the family, then she is just a normal grandmother. Very relaxed,” Harry said before he and Meghan stepped back as working royals in early 2020. “She obviously takes a huge interest in what we all do.”

EVEN AFTER SHE ENTERED her ninth decade, Elizabeth continued with her royal duties, despite her age and a rapidly changing world.

For nearly all her reign, the Queen would read a selection of the 200 to 300 letters that she received daily, as well as review official papers and documents sent her way from government ministers and her representatives in foreign countries. Until she was forced to slow down by mobility issues and bouts of ill health, she would have 10- to 20-minute audiences with ambassadors, commissioners, and other officials, and there would be her weekly visit from the British Prime Minister.

Despite growing republican movements within the Commonwealth realms, the Queen herself remained a hugely popular figure in both the U.K. and beyond. And she remained a force for good, offering messages of inspiration and optimism in even the most trying times. In one of her last annual Christmas Day messages, she urged her subjects in Britain and across the Commonwealth to draw inspiration from “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

To many, she embodied the steadfastness she urged in others. At Prince Philip’s funeral, held shortly after he died on April 9, 2021, after 73 years of marriage, the monarch solemnly sat alone in a pew at Windsor Castle because of coronavirus restrictions. The image became instantly iconic, and further burnished her legacy as a stoic leader through good times and bad.

The Queen has been a constant figure in most of the British public’s living memory. Difficulty moving prevented her from attending the majority of Buckingham Palace’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as the nation in June 2022 marked her 70th year on the throne—a first for a British monarch. But community celebrations were widespread across the U.K. Some 16,000 official street parties were organized, and almost 17 million people—about 1 in 4 Brits—took part in events.

The Queen did not lead an ordinary life, but she filled it with inspiring acts of duty both public and private—whether carrying out the requirements of the state from the trappings of the throne, or giving quiet words of encouragement to a well-wisher in a crowd. She “has been a rock of stability in an era in which our country has changed so much,” said Britain’s former Prime Minister David Cameron. “And we could not be more proud of her. She has served this country with unerring grace, dignity, and decency.” —With reporting by ELOISE BARRY, KATHY EHRICH DOWD, MADELINE ROACHE, and YASMEEN SERHAN

PHOTOGRAPH BY © CECIL BEATON—VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

TOPICAL PRESS AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

1956: INTERCONTINENTALE—AFP/GETTY IMAGES; 2019: PA WIRE/AP; SUCCESSION: GETTY IMAGES (13)

1941: LISA SHERIDAN—STUDIO LISA/GETTY IMAGES; 1945: MIRRORPIX/GETTY IMAGES

1947: HISTORIA/SHUTTERSTOCK; 1961: FOX PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

LEFT TO RIGHT, FROM TOP LEFT: JULIAN PARKER—UK PRESS/GETTY IMAGES; GEORGE SKADDING—THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUTTERSTOCK; UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; TOM STODDART—GETTY IMAGES; GAMMA-KEYSTONE/GETTY IMAGES; TIM GRAHAM PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES; BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; JANE BARLOW—POOL/AP

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAX MUMBY—INDIGO/GETTY IMAGES

[mwagneto]

Where did ur parents go?

they went on a two month long vacation to Mexico, they rented a car and drove from city to city to see everything. they usually go on a trip like this once a year, i used to go with them but then i stopped because skipping school for that long was too much

[thishintoflove]

For the BobaDinLuke discord server prompt: "Get out of my head and get into me instead."

Y'all here about the fallacy of the "anti-sex beds" in the Olympic Village this year? They're just made of sustainable cardboard, but let's be real, they probably wouldn't hold up against multiple super-strong athletes going at it....

Anyway, here's some thirsty thursday content!

Din sighed as he tried to wind his way through the crowd at the Track and Field Mixer. He’d been told that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be different- that they wouldn’t include as many group gatherings- and yet the entire team was expected to attend this mixer. Apparently it was for “international comradery” among the athletes, but Din hated the pomp and circumstance of these events. He was just here to run and to win.

Just as he was considering whether Coach would notice if he slipped away, he heard a deep voice call out to him.

“Djarin!”

He turned around to find Boba Fett, the famed shot put athlete from New Zealand, coming toward him with a big grin on his face. They clasped arms and Boba slapped him hard on the back.

“Good to see you back at the Games, brother! How’s Team Canada this year, you guys feeling strong?”

“As strong as possible, considering the year we’ve had.”

“Fair enough,” Boba laughed, the sound warm and deep in his chest, “I’m glad I found you here. I was getting real tired of introducing myself to kids who are still all starry-eyed about being at their first Games. Makes me feel old. It’s nice to see a familiar face.”

“I agree,” Din replied warmly, “And congratulations. I saw that you broke a new record at the trials.”

“Yup, 23.37 meters. Beat my own personal record by half a meter on that one. Getting another world record was just the icing on the cake.”

Din rolled his eyes, but chuckled at the same time.

“And they say that Fielders aren’t cocky. You’re worse than the Sprinters!”

Boba just grinned even more, then raised his brows and gave Din a pointed look, “I thought you knew from experience that Fielders like me are very cocky.”

That comment had Din blushing even as he rolled his eyes again.

Usually his mind was completely focused on his goal, but Boba was a welcome distraction. As a marathon runner, Din was used to taking things slow. He played the long game, always, and he was usually single-minded in his focus. That focus was almost always dedicated to training, but when he’d met Boba in Rio, he’d discovered the benefits of loosening up once in a while.

Boba was a world class athlete, a Shot Put record breaker, but he also liked to have a good time. And during the last games, he and Din had a very good time. Din swore he felt looser after a night with Boba, something he had never experienced before with anyone else. He wasn’t anxious about what it would mean or how it would impact his training: they were just two athletes letting off some steam in the evenings.

“Speaking of,” Boba continued, stepping even closer to Din, “Did you get a load of the beds this time?”

“It has nothing to do with preventing sex among ahtletes,” Din replied, cutting Boba off before he could make another remark, because he knew exactly where the other man was heading with this, “Some kid thought it’d be funny to make a joke about it on that clock app and look what happened. Now it’s all anyone wants to talk about. They’re supposed to be environmentally friendly, that’s it.” “Which is great and all, but I’m not sure they took fat athletes into consideration. Most Fielders like me are twice the size of the other athletes, and don’t get me started on the weight lifters. It looks like I could break that bed on my own.”

“They’re stronger than they look.”

“Care to test that theory?”

Just then, the energy in the room shifted as Team U.S.A. arrived at the Track and Field Mixer. Boba and Din watched with matching expressions of disinterest as the group entered with loud voices and boisterous excitement.

“Americans,” Boba grumbled under his breath, “Your neighbors to the south are the flashiest bunch of bastards every damn year.”

Din nodded in agreement, but he was quickly distracted by a new face at the front of the pack. A blonde man with notable blue eyes and a blinding grin on his face. He looked like an All-American poster boy.

“Who’s that?” Din asked, unable to look away.

“Who, Blondie?” Boba asked, craning his neck to “That’s Skywalker. Some hotshot Hurdler. He was supposed to be a favorite at Rio, but he got injured during the trials. These are his first Games.”

“Hmm, know anything else about him?”

“I’ve only seen a few interviews. California boy, mid-twenties, he comes from a family of athletes. He loves doing press. Seems like the type to talk your ear off.”

They both watched with appreciation as the man shook hands with almost everyone he passed, his muscled arm flexing again and again, giving everyone in the vicinity a charming grin.

“Bet you twenty dollars that we can get him to join us for a little fun tonight.”

Din turned back to Boba and gave him an incredulous look.

“You were just complaining that he’s a conceited hotshot!”

“Yeah, but he’s a pretty hotshot.”

He looked back over at the blonde man. He was lithe and lean, but with thighs that could crush a skull, just like all good Hurdlers. His wide blue eyes sparkled from all the way across the room. Boba was right, he was pretty.

Din sighed.

“Canadian dollars or New Zealand dollars?”

~~~

In the end, Boba won the bet.

It only took a little conversation, a few sly remarks, and Luke was following them back to Din’s room.

“We can lie on the bed, you know. They’re actually pretty sturdy,” Luke said, breathless as Din attacked his jaw and neck with his lips. One hand fisted into Din’s hair as the other tried to brace itself against the wall.

“Why risk it?” Din mumbled against his neck. A shiver went down his own spine as he felt Boba trail a large hand up and down his back.

“Blondie is right,” Boba said, allowing his fingers to grasp a sizeable chunk of Din’s ass as pushed up against him, “As much as I know we’re all capable of fucking against this wall, why waste the effort?”

“I thought you didn’t trust the beds?” Din muttered, leaning into Boba’s ministrations.

“Changed my mind.”

Din just hummed and pressed his back against Boba’s chest, reveling in the feeling of being trapped between the two men. He could feel Luke hard and insistent against his thigh as he sucked a bruise on his collarbone. Luke’s head hit the wall as he leaned back and the moan he let out was enough to have Din hardening even more. He pulled back from Luke’s neck to meet the smaller man’s eyes, and he noted his blown-open pupils with satisfaction.

“I don’t really care how or where,” Luke gasped out, running a hand up Din’s toned arm, “Let’s just do it.”

Din smiled and gave him another quick kiss on the lips before pulling away. He gave Boba’s shoulder a squeeze as he slipped out from between the two men and moved to his nightstand to gather supplies.

“It’s cute that you think you’re in charge here, Hotshot,” Boba rasped, suddenly stepping in to take Din’s place in front of Luke. He slowly trailed a hand along Luke’s thigh and then lifted his leg to wrap it around his hip. Luke just smirked at him.

“Don’t treat me like a kid, I’ve been around the block too.”

His hands wrapped around Boba’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss that was mostly teeth and tongue. Boba growled into his mouth and lifted Luke’s other leg, pressing him into the wall with his body.

“You’re confident now, but just wait,” Boba muttered, trailing his teeth along Luke’s jawline and nipping at his earlobe, “Din and I have been doing this for years. You Sprinters wouldn’t understand, you always finish too soon.”

“I think I can keep up with you.”

“Oh yeah? You think you have the stamina? Or are you gonna falter like you did at the Rio trials?”

“Get out of my head and get into me instead,” Luke growled.

Boba just chuckled and lifted Luke higher, pressing him back into the wall as he attacked his mouth again. Luke let out a long groan as he tried to swallow Boba’s tongue, rutting his hips against the larger man.

“Put him down for a second,” Din called out, turning back around and waving the small bottle of lube in his hand, “We’ve got to prep.”

“Sure thing,” Boba replied.

He turned around, Luke still wrapped around his waist, and then he threw the smaller man halfway across the room onto the bed.

Luke let out a small yelp as he was tossed through the air, just as Din called out “Wait!”, and then the room was filled with a horrible crashing sound as the bed collapsed and Luke hit the floor hard.

[purplesurveys]

1199

America - What is your favorite place to eat?  I mean...these days I obviously haven’t been eating out at all, but I used to always enjoy dining at either Yabu (for the food) or La Creperie (for the ambience).

Australia - Do you have any quirks when speaking?  I don’t think so; or at least I don’t think I’d be aware of them unless someone points them out to me.

Austria - What kind of person do you wish to be?  What do some (or most) of these questions have to do with the countries? Lmao. Anyway, I just want to be remembered as being kind, I guess. I’m not aiming for anything grand.

Belarus - Is there anyone you love?  I’d do anything for my friends, close or otherwise.

Belgium - What do you think of your siblings? I like my sister; I care about her. I don’t really think much of my brother.

Botswana - Do you like to sing? Why or why not?  Yeah, but I only do it for myself. I never sing in front of others; I don’t think I’m that good.

Bulgaria - Who do you consider close to you?  My two best friends and everyone in my college friend group.

Cameroon - Describe your culture.  Folktales, hundreds of languages, more than just adobo and balut.

Canada - Favorite wintertime activity?  We don’t have winter.

China - What was the best moment of your life?  I don’t think I’ve had it yet; but so far the moments that are in the running for ‘best’ are my Paramore concert in 2018 and the day I found out I passed UP.

Cuba - What sort of grudges do you hold if any?  I haven’t talked to Marielle since the backstabbing incident in 5th grade, and I pretty much don’t talk to my uncle (unless we’re at a family gathering and I have to greet him for show) for all his past failures.

Cyprus - What hands-on activities do you like (drawing, carving, building, etc.)?  Embroidery! which I haven’t done in a long while but I’m definitely still into it.

Denmark - Do you wish for something of your past?  I wish I had more time with my relatives who died from Covid. Even a proper goodbye and a big, long hug from each of them would’ve sufficed.

Egypt - Do you stand up for what you believe in? How?  Sure. I speak up about it, educate others when I can, and raise awareness or reiterate my stance about certain issues by sharing posts on social media.

England - Are you controlling?  Depends on what context you’re talking about, because control can mean many different things. I’m a control freak when it comes to my work tasks and I know that can drive some people mad, especially those who prefer working independently.

Estonia - Do you think people often misunderstand you?  I think I’m pretty easy to read.

Finland - What do you prefer, kindness, sternness, or apathy?  In general, kindness; but I also don’t have any clue to what context these words pertain.

France - How do you show love for those you care for?  I like messaging them about things I see that remind me of them. I will also buy them small gifts from time to time, usually food that I know they like.

Germania - What is the hardest thing you have ever had to do?  Breaking up with Gabie, and accepting the said breakup. Both were equally difficult things to overcome and I’m just happy to be out of that part of my life.

Germany - Do you have a hard time forgiving yourself?  Yes. It takes me a while, if at all.

Ghana - What is our favorite sport?  You mean mine? I like pro wrestling, if that counts.

Greece - Do you let others help you when in need? I do, but I have a hard time asking for help. < Yeah. I will accept help when I finally acknowledge that I need it; but getting to the acknowledgment part can take me a while.

Hungary - Who is the person you trust most?  Either of my best friends.

Hutt River - What is the most memorable dream or nightmare you have had?  Back when I was at a low point I used to have recurring dreams of my girlfriend at the time dying. It sucks for the fact that my most unforgettable dreams are nightmares and for the fact that they all involve her, lol.

Hong Kong - Do you fear death?  Not really. I fear dying in a way that I wouldn’t want to experience, but I don’t fear the actual concept of death.

Iceland - Do you hide your real personality? Why?  I hide some parts from people I don’t know all that well or I’m not that close with; like I obviously wouldn’t have crackhead vibes with my clients at work lol. But outside of that I pretty much act the same way around everyone.

India - How important is family to you?  Quite, but it’s not my be-all and end-all.

Japan - Tell us a secret about yourself.  I don’t really have any. I share everything on this blog, anyway.

Kenya - What is your favorite wild animal?  Elephants.

Korea - What is one thing you accomplished by yourself?  Shooting my shot and landing an internship, and eventually a permanent job, at a company I had no connections with, all while I was heavily depressed and wasn’t really doing anything else to take care of myself. 

Kugelmugel - Is there anyone you have a love-hate relationship with?  My mom and I bicker all the time, but she is my mom.

Latvia - Do you believe you are brave?  I guess so.

Ladonia - What is the internet site you visit most often?  I’d say either Twitter or Facebook.

Liechtenstein - How do people underestimate you most often?  I don’t know if I can answer this; people usually don’t.

Lithuania - Do you desire power?  No. That implies being in the spotlight, which I don’t crave at all.

Macau - What is your favorite festival or celebration?  Christmas, only for the huge amount of food I get to freely eat.

Molossia - Do you consider yourself strong?  Emotionally, yeah. Also what is Molossia?

Monaco - Do you think you are a lucky person?  Not a big believer of luck.

New Zealand - Would you rather be an elf, dwarf, Hobbit, or wizard?  None of these.

North Italy - What is your least favorite part of your personality?  There are some parts to my sensitivity that I don’t really like, like my tendency to overthink remarks that were actually meant to be harmless.

Norway - What was the most disappointing time in your life?  All that time I spent being hung up on Gab and desperately talking to her post-breakup, mostly because of how much I neglected myself then. She was working a night shift then and I remember keeping on waking up at like 1 AM and the first thing on my mind always being to message her and UGH it’s just so embarassing to think about now.

Netherlands - Most generous thing someone has done for you?  That one time Andi half-walked and half-took a trike back to UP at 11 PM after already having gotten home, just to retrieve something I forgot to bring home and was having a breakdown about. It was really embarassing and they bring it up every once in a while to tease me, but we have a good laugh about it now.

Poland - Hardest thing you have gone through?  The breakup and deaths in the family.

Prussia - Would you prefer to live forever or die alone?  Live forever I guess, because I have serious FOMO HAHAHA

Roman Empire - How would you like to be remembered?  Like what I said at the start of this survey, just as someone who had been kind.

Romania - What is something you are very ashamed of?  I don’t think there is anything.

Russia - Have you ever suffered from low self esteem? Do you still?  I used to. Not really anymore. I’m liking myself more these days.

Sealand - Who is your best friend?  Angela and Andi.

Seborga - What is your favorite beverage?  Water or coffee.

Seychelles - How do you handle people being rude to you?  Be mean back, but in a passive-aggressive way.

South Italy - What is your favorite part of your personality?  I like that I’m generous and that I can remember a lot of different small details about everyone.

Spain - What would you tell to the person or people you hurt most if you had a second chance?  That she was right, I ended up being happier without her; and that I hope she can finally sleep well knowing she was right, considering our whole relationship was pretty much built on her wanting to be right about everything.

Sweden - Are you a leader, follower, or independent?  Follower.

Switzerland - Would you consider yourself evil, good, or neutral?  Chaotic neutral.

Thailand - How good is your poker face?  I don’t even understand poker.

Tibet - What do you value most?  Friendships, and my happiness.

Taiwan - What do you think of the people or person who raised you?  Grateful.

Turkey - Would you ever want children?  That would be nice, in a few years.

Uganda - How would you like others to see you?  I answered this question like twice already. It still applies hahaha.

Ukraine - What is one thing that has made you stronger in life?  The difficulties I was able to overcome.

Vietnam - What is something you are proud of about yourself?  ^ Those.

Wy - What kind of art do you like?  Paintings and films.

Zimbabwe - Who is your favorite character from any folklore?  I don’t like folktales.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

8th August >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Saint Dominic, Priest 

on Thursday, Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

Thursday, Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the feria (Thursday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Numbers 20:1-13

Moses makes water flow from the rock at Meribah

The sons of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.

There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said ‘as our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!’

Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’

Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.’

These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9

R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

with songs let us hail the Lord.

R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

let us kneel before the God who made us:

for he is our God and we

the people who belong to his pasture,

the flock that is led by his hand.

R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

O that today you would listen to his voice!

‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Gospel Acclamation

Psalm 144:13

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

Alleluia!

Or:

Matthew 16:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

You are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my Church.

And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-23

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

————————————-

Saint Dominic, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-10

The wisdom that Gos predestined to be for our glory

Brothers, when I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

But still we have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-8,10

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

O sing a new song to the Lord,

sing to the Lord all the earth.

O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim his help day by day,

tell among the nations his glory

and his wonders among all the peoples.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples,

give the Lord glory and power;

give the Lord the glory of his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

The world he made firm in its place;

he will judge the peoples in fairness.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Gospel Acclamation

John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 9:57-62

'I will follow you wherever you go'

As Jesus and his disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’

Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[timeworntravelers]

MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX 2018

This weekend Malaysia was hosting the 18th round of the 2018 MotoGP Championship season.

It marked our 5 th time attending a MotoGp event since we began going to races in 2012 and our 4 th different host country. MotoGP series is a world class event attracting race fans from all over the world. The best racers from around the world compete in 3 different classes of motorcycles.

The Moto3 class features 250cc engine powered motos from various manufacturers such as Honda, KTM, Mahindra. The racers in this class are usually of younger age, some as young as 16 years old, which is minimum age required to compete. These young racers evolved from racing series in their home countries such as Asia Talent Cup series or Repsol CEV challenge or Red Bull rookies. This class is very highly disputed as the top rated racers in this class look to get a contract in next level racing class of Moto 2 and top level MotoGP. These motorcycles are fairly evenly matched as power output is concerned and drafting plays a major part of winning in this series. They are literally in many cases handlebar to handlebar for the entire duration of the race. The last race in Australia, there were 14 motorcycles crossing the finish line with only 0.900 seconds separating them. In this modern age of technology, transponders on the bikes can keep up with the non stop position changes. While the racers compete for points in the championship, so do the manufacturers and the various teams. The stakes are high as companies sponsor teams to promote their services and products to an ever increasing following of motorcycle racing fans. Motorcycle companies as well as a multitude of moto related parts and accessories have obviously stakes in sponsorship but even companies such as airlines , breweries , insurance an event some government tourism agencies join in on sharing the multi million fan base all over the world. It certainly works for me as I encourage companies that I see that are part of this series.

Singha the official beer and my official supply girl !

The Moto2 motorcycle class is composed of different chassis manufacturers powered by the exact same engine. For almost 10 years they have been using Honda CBR600RR based engines. The engines are provided by Honda, they are sealed as to avoid any internal modifications. I cannot recall any engine failure in this category. With power being the same for all bikes, chassis setup and rider talent is what sets apart first place from last.

The MotoGP class, is the top level feature class. It is the main event that attracts the biggest names and has the highest stakes. While each team has to respect certain requirements and given set of rules to promote the highest level of competition, it also allows for some non factory teams to access to higher level of competiteveness by allowing for certain privileges.

Attending a MotoGP weekend is a very special and rewarding experience. Not only is the level of competition the highest in the world, it is utterly exciting to witness the talent these racers have, their courage, their sportsmanship and very importantly the respect they have for the race fans that follow them and cheer them on and support them.

When the MotoGP rolls in to a host city , there is no way to deny the energy that it brings to the city and surroundings.

In Kuala Lumpur the entire city taken by the MotoGP fever , sparked by the fact that the local hero Hafizh Syarin was to be the first MotoGP level racer to compete on home soil. Personnel in bars and restaurants sporting team shirts or hats to display their support. As a #motogpfancanada I was overwhelemd by seeing all the motorcycle racing related promotions from clothing to posters displayed across the city.

While using public transportation, people display their team and rider colors everywhere !

Fridays are practice days, and allows teams and riders to setup their bikes to optimize every detail in order to qualify on the saturday for race day on sunday. At Sepang , friday practice day is free of charge for everyone ! To say, that the southeastern asian market is important would be an understatement. Especially for Honda and Yamaha, these 2 major japanese motorcyle companies have their biggest markets in Thailand,VietNam,Malaysia,Indonesia. While touring these countries, one can understand by the huge amount of 2 wheel transportation that goes on here, food delivery, people moving and parts delivery of any kind gets done by motorcycle. MotoGP has added a round this year in Thailand, increasing the number of races to 19 for the season. They start in March and end in November. There are 4 races in Asia and will most likely stay on the calendar for years to come.

The location of the Sepang race track is about 50 kms south of KL city centre. KL transit posted a shuttle service to and from the racetrack for the 3 day event, The price of a 2 way ticket was 35 RM. I took the shuttle from KL Sentral main terminal station. It took about 1 hour to get the circuit on friday morning. As many of who know me , I really enjoy motorcycle racing and to be in a bus full of race fans sporting their colors is an experience I cherish thoroughly. I got to meet people for Australia, New Zealand , UK and Hungary as well as many Malaysians.

There are many departures from KL Sentral, but if you are eager to arrive at the track as early as possible as I did, I did not mind the standing room bus ride.

Once you arrive at the track you see the huge lettering for Sepang on the side of a hill,

MotoGP weekend starts now.

As you walk towards the main gate you are exposed to all the sights and sounds of a motorcyle racing event. There are numerous stands selling merchandise of all kinds, as for me, a canadian fan it is difficult to obtain stuff like this back home. Today I am on a reconnaissance mission to explore the available merchandise being sold and which part of the stands I can get my best experience. Loud music fills the air at the gate area , bright colors and flags abound as you enter the site. In the background you start hearing the Moto3 bikes being started up for free practice 1 (FP1). If the sights and sounds bring back memories of my racing days back in Canada in the 80’s, the size of the racing venue here reminds me that this is not Shannoville Motorsports Park. https://www.facebook.com/groups/533885496621844/

SMP was great for me, however this here ,is the ultimate racing experience.

I could go on to write about all the racing action and the championships at stake , but if you are interested in reading more about that, there are plenty of stories to read across the net and social media. But what I want to share here is more the aspect of attending the event with all the other race fans at the site. There is a feeling of camaraderie at a MotoGP event unlike any other motorsport. While many fans here are motorcyclist themselves, not all are , but all are taken by the energy in the air. We met a young family from Gatineau Québec on our bus shuttle ride back to the train. It was their first MotoGP event ever and are not motorcyclists but they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.It is difficult to not be overwhelmed by such an event when you are with 103,000 spectators !

One of the reasons we attended the MalaysianGP , besides the fact that we were already in Asia on our #ourworldtour , was to rejoin our friends from Switzerland. We met the 2 brothers, Marc and Thomas at our first MotoGP event back in 2012 in Aragon,Spain. Our paths crossed during the entire weekend in Aragon and beyond, and our friendship was created and meant to be. We kept in touch over the years , remet in twice in Europe and once in Montréal. It was a real pleasure to rejoin them in Kuala Lumpur, sharing our views on world ethics, having a few pints over some great food. The funny aspect of this relationship was that the first weekend we met,we all spoke english to each other. They are german speaking Swiss citizens and it took us many months after we met to realise that they both speak excellent french, actually understanding our Québécois french and learning some of our expressions very rapidly ! In true Swiss fashion, they are both multi lingual as Marc speaks not only german,french,english but italian as well ! I envy their ability to be able to converse in so many languages. Thank you both Marc and Thomas for the great time together, and Au revoir à la prochaine mes amis !

Anytime more then 100,000 people get together in one location it is sure to have some consequences on logistics. Getting to and from the track was another experience of its own. On friday, I took the shuttle bus back to the KL City Centre (KLCC) and it turned out to be a 3 hour long ride in a massive trafic jam.

Again, looking at the bright side, I got to share a seat (rather narrow) with a young Indonesian grafic artist and we got to chat all the way back to KLCC. It is surprising and heartwarming how most people here are receptive when they learn that we are canadians. Canada has a great reputation in many places across the planet and we should ALL be very PROUD of this heritage. Sylvie and I are both extremely grateful for this, and all Canadians can rest assured that we will leave our mark to ensure that Canada keep its rating !

The shuttle bus to the track works well, in the morning, so saturday we took shuttle to the track. Sharing stories with some aussie friends along the way, we also took time to distribute some maple candy to many people on the bus that was greatly appreciated.

We actually saw some people later the next day that we had given candy to and they came to say hello and tell us how good they thought the candy was ! That is what we enjoy the most about our travels, beyond the sites, it is the people we meet and can share with. There are many more good people on this planet then bad, and most attend MotoGP events, OK I am a litte biased !

Saturday is race qualification day that determines grid position for the sunday race. KL is located a mere 3 degrees north of the equator, it is hot and HUMID. Late saturday afternoon it POURED for some 30-40 minutes delaying the last qualification session. While most people looked for shelter, the rain actually felt good in 35C heat ! After the day was over, our friends, Sylvie and I decide to take a TEKSI to the nearby KL airport and to take the KL Expres train into the city ! A little more expensive but much quicker !

For Sunday race day, the organisers of MotoGP decided to advance the schedule by 2 hours fearing that a late afternoon heavy rainstorm could delay the event. Motorcycles race in the rain but at times when conditions are simply to dangerous, delays are unavoidable. It was a good decision as all 3 races were run under dry conditions.

Leaving the track with 103,900 other people was somewhat chaotic, albeit organised ! We did repeat the train part from KLIA2 however there were no TEKSIs and only a shuttle bus to the airport. We did manage to get back to the city centre to have our last meal and a few drinks with our friends Marc and Thomas, and it was the end of a fantastic weekend to a great event. To be repeated somewhere, somehow in another part of the world in 2019 !

[pidgelings]

AAAAA.Hello,I am that shy anon. And before I make a mess of your askbox and ramble about AUs,I want to talk about the long distance AU(your AUs are so good they give me life tbh like I would want a detailed expansion for every one but I don't want to bother you), so I imagine everyone lives in different parts of the world. I imagine Lance living in Miami, you know, and Pidge in Italy (I hc that Sam's parents are german that's why the Holt surname), Keith is korean (I really want Korean!Keith)1/?

Honestly, it’s a blast to get people asking about my AUs so you could ask to hear every single AU and I’d eventually get to them all and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DROPPING THIS IN BECAUSE I LOVE HEARING OTHER PEOPLE’S TAKES ON AUs !!

ALSO, SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! TURNS OUT I HAD A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT THIS AU THAN I THOUGHT AND I GOT BUSY!

Honestly, our takes on this AU are pretty similar but I have some of the Paladins in different locations and slightly different inside jokes and meetings so here’s how those go:

Long Distance AU

Locations

Shrio - Fukuoka, Japan - UTC+09:00Boy has been born and raised in Japan and lives in an apartment here

Keith - Calgary, Alberta (Canada) - UTC-07:00You can blame r-i-v-e-r for my love of Canadian! Keith (and my desire to reference my family’s inside jokes (I live with a bunch of Canadians)(he’s pretty much going to be a mix of Canon! Keith and my family))

Pidge + Matt - Charlottesville, Virginia (USA) - UTC−05:00 and Bari, Italy - UTC+02:00Every summer the two have a mandatory trip to Italy to visit family and don’t come back until Winter

Lance - San Diego, California (USA) - UTC-08:00Family is from Cuba (took a long ass time to get into America and even longer to become Americans) but he was born a Cali Boy (that comes into play a bit later)

Hunk - Apia, Samoa - UTC+13:00Most of his family lives in a village outside the capital but he and his parents live in the capital

Allura + Coran - Dunedin, Otago (New Zealand) - UTC+13:00Allura is currently being taken care of by Coran

[More Under the Cut]

How They Met

Keith and Shiro were the first to meet when Keith’s family took a trip to Japan

Keith got lost and Shiro helped guide him back to his hotel

Shiro was surprisingly good at English despite having spent his whole life in Japan (his accent was heavy though)

When Keith went back to Canada, he stayed in contact with Shiro via Skype

The two bonded by playing free Steam games and making fun of them and also watching Youtube videos with each other

Keith met Pidge and Matt next

He was playing Overwatch and ended up in a party with her and her brother and they all ended up in voice chat

They all got along so well they ended up exchanging Skypes

Keith ended up introducing them to Shiro and everything hit off well

Pidge met Hunk through Minecraft

She was on a particularly cringy server (so many kids desperate to date someone) when she and Hunk started talking through the game’s chat

They started to build on the same plot and they soon exchanged Skypes to keep in touch

Matt met Lance on Instagram

Neither of them recalls who said hi to who first but they quickly became friends because of their similar interests

Eventually, they exchanged Discords and Matt invited Lance to play some Overwatch with him, his sister, and Keith

Lance accepted and he started a rivalry with Keith when he first met him and hit it off with Pidge really well (despite being annoyed by her constantly getting PoTG)

Lance made the jump to Skype to meet Shiro and that’s when Pidge also introduced Hunk to the group

Lance was the one who brought Allura into the group because she was one of his first friends from Instagram

Despite not being into too many video games, she got along well with everyone else

Coran would sometimes appear in the background of video chats with Allura and swing by to say hi to everyone

That’s how this mess of people met

Timezone Fuckery

Fortunately, their timezones aren’t too wonky that they can’t all be in a call at once (unless Matt and Pidge are in Italy)

When it’s noon where Lance is:Shiro - 5:00 AMKeith - 1:00 PMPidge + Matt - 3:00 PM (USA) and 9:00 PM (Italy)Hunk - 10:00 AMAllura + Coran - 9:00 AM

They still don’t regularly do group calls

Most of the time it’s small groups or just a duo that talk to each other because their schedules are the wonky things

Shiro, Allura, and Hunk are the busiest of the group

Pidge, Keith, and Lance are the least busy

Matt can either be very busy or very free

There is no between

Shiro

Dude is an introvert that knows how to people quite well

You’d seriously think he’s an extrovert but he isn’t

Give him that quiet alone time and he’s a happy camper

Probably the busiest member of the group because he’s trying to get into JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

He has a love for Space and Science and is kinda a secret dork about it all (the Holts know it though)

He does enjoy video games but only in moderation

Keith has convinced him to play them a bit more than usual

Shiro does play Overwatch but he stays on the Asia servers (he has jumped onto the American servers once or twice to play a few games with Keith (it wasn’t easy))

Soldier: 76 Main (Team Dad)

Speaking of “Team Dad,” he’s the guy who makes sure everyone goes to bed at a decent time (especially the Holts when they’re in Italy)

He doesn’t really follow his own rule though because he has insomnia

He was in a car crash when he was a teen which is how he got the scar across his nose (he still has black hair and both of his arms though)

The car crash really screwed him up for a good few years as he became terrified of cars (one comes at him on his side and he’s freezing up and panicking)

He was late to start driving a car because of that

He’s much better about the whole thing now

He now just has the occasional nightmare about the event and he’s a rather cautious driver

He’s started to talk in English so often thanks to the calls with the others that he now sometimes forgets how to say the Japanese word of something he says in English a lot

He curses the group for this but everyone laughs it off

He was the one who started the trend of teaching everyone statements in your native language that doesn’t mean the thing the person teaching says it means

He’s actually a secret jokester and is not afraid to mess around with his friends

Gallows humor for days, m’dude

Probably works at a retail store while he finishes up his studies before trying to get into the space program

He’s dead inside, please help him

Keith

A strange mix of social and antisocial

He goes quiet in large group calls but will talk up a storm in small calls

Tends to call the most because he heads out a lot and he doesn’t want to have to deal with talking with a lot of people

Using a Skype call is a great excuse for that

The lone Canadian of the group and the most adamant that Canadians and Americans are nothing alike

Doesn’t seem to sleep ?? Like at all ??

You can message him at any time and he’ll probably respond within a few minutes

Very blunt way of messaging, using just a few words per text

Very much a user of video when he’s out of his house but not so much when he’s in it

He’ll show his surroundings while walking around and make comments about it

He was once in a call with Lance and Pidge while he was at Tim Hortons and when Lance tried to argue that Dunkin’ Donuts was better, Keith ended the call and called Pidge individually

He also complains about the weather a lot ??

“IT’S REALLY FUCKING COLD!”

He also hates when it’s June and the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 at night

*turns on camera* “You see this shit?! It’s 8 PM and there’s still sun!”

Also gets oddly excited during the Calgary Stampede

Like, you don’t like crowds so why are you so excited ??

Turns out he likes watching Rodeos

Also, he wears a cowboy hat every stampede and Lance makes fun of him every time

Also, he says “Eh” without meaning to (it’s basically his way of saying “Right?”)

Lance calls him out every time he does so, causing him to be self-conscious every time he does it(My parents do that a lot and I call them out every time)

“IT’S ‘ZED’ NOT ‘ZEE’ !!”“WE DON’T CALL IT A ‘ZED-BRA,’ KEITH !!”

Also, he totally has a Kinder Surprise almost every call and whenever someone (Lance) asks him what it is he’ll just respond: “Something you can’t have.”(Kinder Eggs are illegal in the USA)

Korean but has never lived in Korea

Knows a few Korean words but not enough to hold a conversation

Genji Main in Overwatch

He’s an enigma of a boy --

Pidge

Doesn’t talk much unless either:A ) She cares about the person talking to herB ) It’s something she’s interested in

Tends to eat during calls so she’s either really quiet or talking with her mouth full

Worst potty mouth out of everyone

Tries to hide it from her parents but her parents know

They know all too well

Loves video games with a passion 

Plays Overwatch a lot and mains Symmetra

She knows all the best spots for turrets and steals PoTG a lot

A true night owl and is not a morning person at all

Fortunately, due to timezones, no one really gets to see the gremlin she is in the morning

Can be very blunt on accident

Doesn’t really know how to people ??

She and Keith are good friend because of this

Likes spooky paranormal shit but doesn’t really believe in any of it

Acts like she does to screw with people though (Keith joins in on this)

Game Theorist before Game Theory was even a thing

Girl has a lot of crazy ideas

Also, she’s a hand talker through and through (it’s an Italian thing)

Uses every rude Italian gesture known to man

Keith and Matt are the only ones who know what the gestures mean

She and Matt prank each other a lot

If the camera is on while she talks, you’ll see a lot of robot and building projects behind her that are unfinished

Is totally the type of person who gets a bunch of projects started and jumps between them as she gets bored with one

Loves movies but loves making fun of them more

She’s a horrible person to watch movies with

She’ll spoil shit she’s already seen and comment on every cliche she sees (even if she likes those cliches)

If she’s driving, she’s very aggressive --

She’d give Shiro a heart attack if she drove him anywhere because he driving would seriously bring back flashbacks to his car crash

Fortunately, she can’t drive him anywhere so he’s safe

Matt isn’t though. Rip

Speaks in fluent memery

Likes Minecraft unironically for the cringe and the ability to build anything

Very snarky but also very sweet

She’s a literal Sour Patch Kid

Matt

An extroverted dork

He and Lance are the masters of keeping conversations going

Also, a total otaku ??

He loves his anime --

Tries to get Pidge to watch a few things but she’s only really found herself liking a lot more of the “edgy” anime (AoT, Parasyte (personal fave), Tokyo Ghoul, Another, etc)

He’s more into the upbeat and popular stuff (Fairy Tail, Lucky Star, SAO, Hetalia, OHSHC, etc) (not a true anime fan) (also, he watched and liked Free! (he doesn’t tell anyone though))

Shiro has had to deal with mildly racist (but not intentionally) questions about anime from Matt (not all Japanese people know/like anime, Matt)

That was towards the beginning of their relationship though so it doesn’t happen anymore

Now he mostly talk dorky space stuff with Shiro

Matt wants to get into NASA like his dad (Pidge wants to too, but is also focusing on other things)

He’s a D.Va Main. Fight me

Also a hand talker like Pidge --

He really likes strategy games too ??

But he also likes dumb games and rage games --

Hates horror games though (Pidge loves them)

He almost died when Pidge made him play a VR horror game --

She recorded his reaction and sent it to everyone in the group

No one lets him live down his girly scream

Pidge fucks with him by playing scary music outside his door or in his room when he isn’t expecting it

Anything mildly eerie can get him to scream within a few seconds

He does oddly well in scary mazes though ?? Like, the ones where people jump out at you ??

Like, he sometimes screams but otherwise, he’s really calm ??

Sends memes to everyone at ungodly hours

Actual sweetheart who’ll listen to your problems and try to help you

Also, he’s every one of his friends’ #1 fan ??

He’s a great friend tbh --

Lance

EXTROVERT

TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING

Loves romcoms of all kinds (especially a really bad one called The Pirate Movie)

Pretty much an Instagram model with the help of his siblings

A morning person and almost everyone wonders how he does it

LOVES VIDEO GAMES

He’ll play anything tbh --

Dating Sims, Shooters, Bullet Hells, RPGS, Horror Games, name one genre and he’s got at least one fave from it

Really scared of horror games though but subjects himself to them anyways

Actually has a Youtube channel that gets kinda popular without him realizing it

He’s a Let’s Player and Streamer --

Everyone in the group knows about his channel and are subscribed

Pidge, Matt, and Keith show up in almost all of his Overwatch videos --

He’s a Widowmaker Main (her gun is a lot like his bayard (either a normal blaster or a sniper rifle))

Pidge made him react to the Bongcheon-Dong Ghost Comic once on a stream and he’s never been the same since then

He really likes heading out to the beaches of California --

He’s a surfer wannabe because he surfs a lot but he’s not that good at it

A fish flopped onto his board once and he freaked before wiping out from losing his footing

He doesn’t like talking about it but his siblings bring it up any time they can. They all saw it

Despite his tan skin he has very visible freckles during the summer (not during the winter though)

Does not handle the cold well --

Like, not at all --

Drops to 70 and he’s in sweatpants, a knit sweater, slippers, a scarf, and you question how he even lives --

Loves the idea of love and is a hopeless romantic --

Wants a fairytale romance but after he and Pidge end up together (yes, that happens in this AU (I’m so predictable)) he knows he’s not going to get one but couldn’t be happier

Really competitive and fights with Keith a lot still

Also a glory hog --

Bilingual with English and Spanish and tends to forget words in both languages

Also the type of person who walks through the process of figuring out the forgotten word vocally

The words he forgets vary from really simple to really difficult

No one else in the group speaks Spanish so they can’t help him

Nicknamed “Starboy” from his Youtube Channel

Really good boi --

Hunk

Soft and friendly introvert --

Like, he’s everyone's friend but also everyone’s biggest critic

He CAN and WILL CALL YOU THE FUCK OUT ON YOUR BS --

Mostly plays Minecraft but does play Overwatch from time to time

Like Minecraft for the building freedom

It allows him to brainstorm

Orisa Main in Overwatch and loves to kill people in embarrassing ways

Hello mini graviton surge~

Best cook of the friends

If anyone needs cooking help they’ll call him and have him guide them through the art of cooking

He has saved lives this way

Does not touch spooky shit at all --

He’s not a screamer like you think he would be but he tenses up and dies a little every time he is spooked before he glares and ignores whoever scared him by giving them the cold shoulder

Cold-Shoulder Hunk is the worst Hunk to be met with because it just hurts your soul when he does this

He and Pidge are the tech dorks of the group and have similar projects they both work on at the same time so they can help each other

Doesn’t do calls too often because his family isn’t rich enough for him to be doing international calls all the times

He also heads out to the village where the rest of his family lives often so he isn’t around his computer much

Has never left Samoa until he met the others

Traveling scares him but also gets him really excited because he’s going to be so far away from home but he’s gonna see a bunch of new stuff but he’s going to be so far from home ??

Gives the best hugs, no argument

Meet him in person and you’ve gotta hug him

He loves giving hugs too --

Tends to mutter a lot under his breath --

Don’t fuck with him unless you’re asking for this guy to put you on his bad side --

He’s not afraid to protect anyone

That’s how he met Shay

Best boy in the end !! Everyone loves him !!

Allura

Extrovert that sucks at reading social situations

Her new friends help her with that

Instagram model like Lance but does it all on her own (with Coran only helping with picture taking)

Natural white hair and gorgeous brown skin ??

Lance is always jealous of how beautiful she looks with little effort --

Girl is also hella smart too ??

She’s a fan of literature and can read books in just a day or two --

She’s also got amazing memory and is able to recall a lot of things

Not a big gamer like most of the group but she does have a handful of video games she likes

A Nintendo Girl tbh

Battle Mercy Main on Overwatch (she rarely plays though)

Likes watching shows like Game of Thrones and Once Upon a Time 

Can get grumpy pretty easily but also jump back quickly

Her dad and mother’s deaths are a very sensitive topic and she doesn’t like talking about it

Likes making fun of the others by mimicking actions they do (Keith crossing his arms, Pidge and Matt’s hand talking, Lance running his fingers through his hair, etc)

Most of them catch on to what she’s doing and complain while she just laughs every time

Likes vlogging a lot

Constantly switches between being very confident in herself and being very self-conscious

She hates that fact about her --

Like, brain, please just let her be confident all the time ??

Likes shopping but only when there aren’t big crowds (she hates bumping into a lot of people)

Pretty much the master of learning everyone’s secrets and no one is quite sure how she does it

Milkshakes are the bomb and she has one also every call (kinda like Keith and his Kinders)

FABULOUS !!

Coran

Doesn’t show up very often but is pretty much everyone’s uncle at this point

He’s crazy but everyone loves him

He’s a swell guy who’ll tell really random stories from his past if Allura lets him

She doesn’t often because he talks a lot omg

Once everyone knows where each other lives he sends them all gifts if he can ??

Small trinkets, food, ect.

He’s a dork

Inside Jokes

*Keith blasting California Gurls whenever Lance is in a call*

“Oh geez, who got Play of the Game ?? Pidge ?? No way !!” *pure sarcasm*

Lance and Keith’s constant fight to either get the most damage or PoTG

The Donut Discourse™

Teaching each other incorrect statements in their native tongues (if they have one)

All of the Vine References. ALL OF THEM

Someone playing “Kiss The Girl” from The Little Mermaid the second someone says something that can be interpreted as even slightly romantic

The 80′s Voltron References

Everyone tries to scare Matt

“What the fuck is everyone eating today?!” - Always a topic in calls

*water is even remotely cold* “Is that the Polar Bear Plunge?” (Always directed at Keith and it pisses him off)

Calling Pidge by every possible variation of her nickname

Shiro uses all the outdated memes

Pidge is the meme master

“I didn’t mean to send that!” (Totally meant to send that)

References to 11 Drunk Guys ??

The Star Wars/Star Trek War™

“What the fuck even is English?”

“UN-CLE! UN-CLE! UN-CLE!” *every time they see Coran in Allura’s screen*

Random inspirational movie quotes

“My theme song is...”

McPixel references and jokes (they’ve all played it)

There’s definitely more but I can’t think of them right now. XD

Relationships Form

Pretty much Plance, Sheith, and Mallura happens in my take of this AU

Lance and Pidge start playing video games together on their own

Keith goes into a lot of solo calls with Shiro

Matt and Allura talk a lot more

Basically shit happens

Lance and Pidge’s relationship actually starts out rather plainly

They were talking one game and they got on the topic of relationships and Pidge was like: “You wanna try it?”Lance: “What?”Pidge: “Wanna try being in a long distance relationship?”Lance: “Ummm.... Sure....?”Pidge: “Cool.”

Things got much more romantic after that

Lance is a romantic boy and even if their relationship didn’t start conventionally, he’s going to turn it into a sappy romcom --

Pidge isn’t complaining. She did ask him if he wanted to be in a relationship with her for a reason

Shiro and Keith had a bit more romantic of a relationship starter

Shiro flew over to Canada to visit Keith for a week or two (during the Stampede because Keith insisted that Shiro should come and see it)

Shiro made his move, not at the stampede (there’s no way he'd be able to grab Keith’s attention) but rather at the Calgary Tower

They were standing on the glass that sticks out over the street and Shiro was lowkey freaking out because he didn’t like looking down and seeing how far he could fall directly under his feet (Keith was fine because he loves to sit and chill on the glass regularly)

In his panic, he kinda went: “Keith, if I don’t get off this thing, I want you to know that I love you...!”

Keith knows that Shiro wouldn’t toss that around normally, so he pulls him off the glass and to a less crowded part of the tower so they can talk and it turns out, yeah, Shiro just confessed to Keith

Good thing the feelings mutual!

They almost get kicked off the tower for making out --

Matt and Allura was rather subtle as well

They started talking more and Matt pretty much complimented her daily and eventually she was pretty much like: “If you like it then you should put a ring on it!” (Not her actual words)

Matt shut down for a solid 5 mins before he was like: “uHH?? SURE??”

It’s fine though because they’re a happy, long-distance couple (but they hope the close that distance soon) and Matt treats Allura like the Queen she is --

Lance and Allura totally argue over who has the better Holt, much to the Holts’ embarrassment

Shiro is just like: “Holts are good and all but ‘Koganes’ are where it’s at!”

Cue the three arguing over who has the best s/o while those s/o’s die in a corner --

Also, Hunk ends up with this really cute but tall and strong woman (Shay) who lives in the same area as him

He brings her into the calls sometimes

Meeting In Real Life

The first ones to meet in real life (besides how Keith met Shiro) were actually Keith and Lance

The second Lance landed in Canada he Snapchatted and Instagrammed the whole thing

Poor Cali Boi was suffering because he came up just as fall was starting

Keith played California Gurls the second Lance got into the car

He also teased Lance for not being able to handle the cold

Lance got to try Tim Hortons and it officially ended The Donut Discourse™

Lance asked if they could try the Polar Bear Plunge and Keith was just like: “That’s a New Year’s thing, so no.”

The two messed with each other a lot during the trip but left with a better relationship

They’re like brothers now

Pidge and Matt met Allura and Coran next

It was really fun and Matt got to see his wonderful girlfriend in person and it made the whole trip even more amazing

While Matt and Allura did couple things, Pidge and Coran hung out

Pidge now brags about the fact she knows more of Coran’s crazy stories than everyone else besides Allura

Hunk and Lance met after when Hunk flew over to California for a week

Lance dragged the poor boy anywhere he could

Totally brought him to Disneyland and learned the hard way that some rides are not good for Hunk’s body

Hunk still had fun though

The Shiro and Keith confession trip followed that

Shiro didn’t really understand the Stampede even after Keith explained it but he still thought it was pretty cool

He much preferred going on the fair rides than going to the rodeo though

Also, there was one day it got really cold and the new couple got to cuddle by the fire ??

It was soft as hell ??

Lance flew over Virginia to see his girlfriend and her brother not long after Keith and Shiro’s trip because there was no way he was going to let Keith one up him

Pidge gave him the tour of American History while he was over there because he had never been to the East Coast before

Lance didn’t pay attention too much and just enjoyed the fact that he was actually with his girlfriend in person

There was a lot of hugs and stolen kisses that trip

The big trip where everyone gathered in one spot soon followed that trip

Pidge and Matt’s home in Italy was chosen for the destination because it was during the summer and who doesn’t want to visit Italy ??

Since the Italian side is Colleen’s side, the family’s last name on that side is Marino

The Marinos pitched in to help get Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Allura, and Coran over because they knew that the trip was expensive

Lance’s family was able to support the trip on their own

They all were together for about a week then Shiro and Keith headed off to Rome for a week to have some couple time before heading home

Hunk flew back home after the week was up (he couldn’t stay long)

Coran flew back home as well but Allura stayed with Matt for another week because he ended up surprising her with a trip to Venice

Lance ended up staying the longest because he wanted to get to know Pidge’s family and life quite well

He stayed 3 weeks with them and unlike the other couples who went to different locations, he and Pidge stayed local

Pidge and Matt’s family really like Lance and Allura

Questions about when the wedding would be were tosses around a lot

Those are pretty much all the trips up to this point as there still friends who need to see each other individually

Still, they’re excited about these trips whenever they do happen

So, yeah, that’s my take on the Long Distance AU --

[dreamingstillbooks]

Thing 19

Thing 19 was all about Podcasts. I’m not much of a podcast listener, I tend to watch YouTube videos or if a Youtuber uploads their podcasts I might listen to bits and pieces of it, but on the whole I don’t normally listen to podcasts. Because of this, this Thing provided the perfect opportunity for me to get use to listening to podcasts.

I chose Option 1 which involved listening to, subscribing, rating and reviewing a podcast of my choice. An extensive list of possible podcasts was listed in Thing 19 and I chose ‘Stuff you missed in History class’ - https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts. My interest and understanding of history has grown considerably since my school days, (it might also help that I’m not trying to learn an enormous amount of information just to regurgitate it back out onto a page in some awful exam!), and I took the opportunity to listen to podcasts on some fascinating subjects.

 The podcasts on ‘Stuff you missed in History class’ are broken up into useful topics, e.g. by century (15th to 20th centuries), Biographies, Civil Rights, Entertainment, Royalty, Slavery, Women, etc. The co hosts for the site, Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey are based in the USA and on the FAO page they state that “the vast majority of topic requests we get from listeners are from the United States and Europe. The overwhelming number of our listeners are from the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, which means our queue of listener requests is overwhelmingly from those nations as well” but that they do also “intentionally choose subjects from the rest of the world, too”.

Four podcasts caught my eye  Death at the Duomo: The Pazzi Conspiracy; Savonarola, the Unarmed Prophet; How Lucrezia Borgia Worked; and How the Dancing Plague of 1518 Worked. I couldn’t decide which one to listen to and review for this Thing so chose all four!

The podcasts were well detailed but not overly so and provided a good introduction and grounding in the topics. The podcasts were manageable times, the ones I listened to ranged roughly from 15 to 25 minutes. Both Tracy and Holly do some on the go thinking and actively question details and events during the podcast; they also ask the audience for advice or additional facts and knowledge on different topics. I really liked when they did this, as to me it showed not only an engagement with their audience and listeners but also that while they may have researched a topic for the podcast they were still very much willing to learn more. Some of the later podcasts were transcribed which was very practical and useful.

If I was to make any critic of the podcasts it was that once or twice I thought that it became a little too colloquial, but this was rare and didn’t effect the overall quality of the podcasts. (As a complete aside and a personal hang-up I did find the ads, even though I know they are necessary, at the start of the podcasts irritating).

Overall, I loved Thing 19 and really enjoyed listening to the podcasts and I will hopefully continue to listen to them. 

[tamboradventure]

Meet the Team: The Many Faces of Nomadic Matt

Posted: 4/30/2020

It takes a village to keep this website going. From tech and coding to design to fixing bugs getting readers books when downloads fail to scheduling social media or running the forums, I have a lot of help. I simply couldn’t run the website, write, travel, eat, sleep, or anything in between if I didn’t have the support and help of an amazing group of people.

It’s not just me writing and posting about my travels. I have a big group of full-time staff helping juggle everything.

I realized a lot of you don’t realize that so, today, I wanted to introduce the team to you.

So, without further ado, here’s they are:  

Erica

Erica has been working for me for almost six and a half years and is the events director of The Nomadic Network, our travel community. She keeps this community thriving. In her own words:

I grew up in Connecticut and went to school in Virginia. During a quarter-life crisis at age 21, I chose to finish my last year of college on an adventure in Qatar! From that moment on, my life revolved around traveling cheaply with the money I earned from waitressing. That budget got me to teach English in Isaan, Thailand, and South Korea; farm on St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean and Costa Rica; and volunteer in rural Zambia. At age 26, I returned home to Connecticut, determined to get a job in travel. Soon after, I met Nomadic Matt at a travel meet-up in NYC, and the rest is history.

I whole-heartedly believe that traveling makes friends of strangers, and the more friends there are in the world, the more peace there is in the world.

13 Facts about Me

At 15, I helped build a schoolhouse in Nicaragua.

1. I cooked an American Thanksgiving feast for my Thai co-English teachers in Thailand where barely any of the mashed potatoes, carrots and peas were eaten so my host-grandmother fed in to the monks for the following week unbeknownst to me.

I’ve cut off my hair and donated it to Locks of Love, twice!

I once hunted for possums on the island of St. Vincent with a bunch of Rastafarians. We caught four and made soup. I was a vegetarian at the time.

In Costa Rica, I stayed at in a sustainable living community called Rancho Mastatal, where I learned how to farm yuca, make beer out of turmeric, and build a house out of cob.

I spent 11 days on a coconut water only fast at a yoga retreat in Cambodia, twice

I taught English in South Korea for 14 months and was able to easily save enough money for 21 months of non-stop travel. I also taught the students how to use “boo” colloquially.

This music video I made used to be one of the top hits when you searched for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In Zambia, my friend and I were given a live chicken as a present. We were vegetarians, so we traded it for a pair of second-hand jeans in the town’s market.

I got 19 people (the students and teachers on a FLYTE trip) into an airport lounge in Ecuador for free. I think that’s a travel hacking record!

My college education was entirely free. How? I got a ton of tiny scholarships (I applied for everyone I could get my hands on) that added up, being a Residential Assistant in the dorms, and studying in Qatar actually saved me money (in the most expensive country in the world).

In Korea, I dated a guy who spoke no English and we basically communicated through drawing pictures and reciting American rap lyrics.

Last summer, I took a trip to Tunisia with some friends. I wish I could have stayed longer – what a cool country!

  Chris O.

Chris joined the team as the part-time manager of the forums back in 2015. Since then, he’s transitioned to full-time and has branched out into the Superstar Blogging program and helps me with all of our various admin tasks. In his own words:

I grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and spent my formative years listening to punk rock, reading Star Wars novels, and generally getting up to no good. After ditching my lifelong plan to be a lawyer, I decided to give travel a try. I headed to Costa Rica on a whim and have never looked back! It wasn’t long after that trip that I took a break from university (where I was studying history and theatre) to move to a monastery in Japan in 2007. I’ve more or less been wandering around ever since. Some notable adventures include taking the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia and Mongolia, walking the Camino de Santiago twice, and going on a 10-day road trip around Iceland with complete strangers.

When I’m not traveling, I live in Sweden and can be found reading, writing, or hanging out with my rescue dog, Grimo.

13 Facts about Me

I spent nine months living in Buddhist monasteries.

I lived in a tent for a year.

I was once stalked by a jaguar and chased by a crocodile — on the same trip.

I haven’t had alcohol in 16 years.

I’ve broken all my fingers and toes, and my nose three times, and I’ve fractured both my wrists.

I worked on an organic farm for 11 years.

I co-owned a restaurant in Canada.

I grew up next door to Avril Lavigne.

I wrote a book (and am working on another one)

I played inter-mural Quidditch in high school and was our team’s Seeker.

I have a Star Wars tattoo.

I’ve been vegan for 15 years.

I have a scar from a fight that broke out over which Norse god was “the best.”

  Chris R.

Chris, aka The Aussie Nomad, is a (kinda) former blogger who does all the tech and development work for the website. He keeps it running, fixes any errors you find, and deals with my constantly changing design desires. In his own words:

I’m living the good life in Western Australia by the beach with my amazing family. I got into the world of blogging after quitting my job, backpacking around Europe and, as all Aussies do, undertaking a working holiday in the UK. Like all of us who travel and fall in love with it, nobody wants to go home afterwards.

That adventure got me into creating a travel blog many years ago, which is how I first came to know Matt. I have since repurposed my IT skills from my old life and formed my own business to help out other bloggers with their websites.

13 Facts about Me

I love Belgian beer (and I even married a Belgian).

I’ve worked with Matt the longest out of anyone here. (Take that team!)

I took off to backpack Europe when I was 29.

I’m an advocate for Vegemite and believe all visitors to Australia must try this national treasure.

One of my favorite activities is to take a long road trip, especially with family and friends.

I have no idea how four-way stop signals in the U.S.A. don’t all end up as accidents.

I do not drink Fosters. It’s a terrible beer. No one in Australia actually drinks it.

I like to think of myself as an amateur photographer.

I failed kindergarten as I wouldn’t say goodbye to the teacher.

My first job was working in a supermarket.

I can’t sleep on a plane – no matter how long the flight is.

I can name every Thomas the Tank Engine character thanks to my son.

I don’t drink coffee or get people’s love for it. Tea all the way!

  Raimee

Raimee does all of our social media and content marketing. She schedules posts, tweaks my terrible photos so they look good on Instagram, builds out our content calendar, analyzes data, edits video, creates digital marketing campaigns, and designs our social media graphics! In her own words:

When I was just 14 years old, I took my first international trip to Honduras and Belize with my family. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked on experiencing new cultures, connecting with people from all walks of life, and learning about myself and the world through the power of travel! After graduating with a degree in advertising and marketing from Michigan State University and four years as a digital marketing specialist, I realized that corporate life was not for me. My insatiable need to experience the world beyond a desk led me to search for a job-related to travel. I’ve followed this blog for many years, and now I get to work for it remotely while I strategize, manage, and report on the social media accounts — and I love every second of it!

13 Facts about Me

I’m obsessed with Harry Potter. I’ve read each book at least 10 times. If I told you how many times I’ve watched the movies, you probably wouldn’t believe me.

I once hung out with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter!) at a Red Wings game in Detroit, and actually kept my cool the whole time (side note: He’s a SUPER nice guy!)

Visiting the Harry Potter studio tour in London was one of the best days of my life.

My mom was obsessed with the 80’s horror movie Evil Dead directed by Sam Raimi, so she named me after him.

After having visited about 30 countries, Iceland is still my favorite.

My biggest travel dream is to take a road trip around New Zealand!

I try to read 1-2 book(s) EVERY week!

I used to play the saxophone (and I wish I still did!)

I conquered my fear of heights by jumping off a cliff in Croatia — twice!

I love languages and was close to being fluent in German during college.

I’ve acted in a few independent and short films and as an extra in some network TV shows (I even have an IMDB page!)

In another life, I would have been a film director/producer. Maybe some day!

My favorite number is 13.

  Carmela

Carmela is the Executive Director of our non-profit FLYTE that makes travel accessible to underserved youth from across the country. She handles anything and everything from fundraising, working with our partner schools to plan student trips abroad, connecting with our incredible donor community, and managing our volunteer team.

Born and raised in New Jersey, I had the privilege of taking my first international trip when I was 3 to visit my family in the Philippines where I refused to ride the local jeepneys because they didn’t have seatbelts! Since then, my love for travel has evolved. In 2012, my husband, Raymund, and I took a round the world honeymoon that was supposed to scratch the travel itch (lol). We came back home to NYC for a few years before taking the leap to become full-time remote workers, and have lived all over the world ever since.

When I’m not running FLYTE, I love planning trips (even if they’re not my own), practicing yoga, hiking, rock climbing, reading, eating, and eating cookies (which are their own food group, in my opinion).

I LOVE Math! I have a degree in it, taught statistics to college students, and few things make me happier than a well functioning Excel spreadsheet.

I come from a family of educators. My parents were both teachers before they immigrated to the US from the Philippines in the 70’s. Before I left to travel, I worked for the Chancellor of NYC Public Schools, the largest school district in the country, and now running FLYTE is pretty much my dream job because it combines my love for education with travel.

The Notorious BIG and I share the same birthday. Juicy is one of my favorite songs.

I still don’t fully understand how to use Twitter.

I like suspenseful movies & TV shows, but hate the feeling of being in suspense, so I often read what happens before watching so I can relax and enjoy my viewing experience.

My favorite cartoon is Alvin & the Chipmunks. I still have an Alvin doll that I was gifted on my 1st birthday. It bears no resemblance to the actual Alvin Seville anymore.

I attended an all girls high school and a women’s college – that environment there largely shaped who I am today.

My guilty pleasure is watching Terrace House – the Japanese equivalent to the Real World.

My dad has an identical twin brother and they used to play tricks on me and my cousin when we were younger. It’s equally funny and traumatizing.

I hate raisins, especially in cookies.

I’m an only child, but have over 30 first cousins. I love them as if they were my actual siblings.

Raymund and I met in Hawaii. For that, and many other reasons, it’s my most favorite place in the world.

I know every lyric to every song from the Sound of Music.

  Nomadic Matt

And, finally, there’s me. You probably know a lot about me after twelve years of blogging (sometimes I forget how long it’s been), but here’s a quick refresh:

Growing up in Boston, I was never a big traveler. I didn’t take my first trip overseas until 2004. That trip changed my life and opened me up to the possibilities the world had to offer. One year later, I went to Thailand, where I met five backpackers who inspired me to quit my job and travel the world. In 2006, I left for a yearlong backpacking trip — and have been “nomadic” ever since.

13 Facts about Me

I love politics as much as I love travel and will debate for the joy for it.

I love to cook.

When I was in high school, I was my state’s champ in “Magic: the Gathering.” I know — super nerdy, right? It got me a free trip NYC with my friend (who came in number two!).

I always worry about the future and often use my time back home to develop skills needed for the Zombie Apocalypse. Shout-out to my prepper friend Vanessa for teaching me about seeds!

I once met Paul Giamatti on the streets of NYC and he was as grumpy as I imagined.

I am an unabashed Taylor Swift fan.

I don’t drink coffee.

I believe aliens exist. It’s mathematically impossible they don’t.

I’m terrified of flying.

I learned to swing dance so I could throw myself a Gatsby-themed birthday party.

Both sides of my family came through Ellis Island and you can see their names on the wall where they list all the immigrants.

I used to be the head of a program by the Massachusetts Sierra Club that promoted energy efficiency.

I went to college to be a high school history teacher.

***

So there you have it! The Nomadic Matt team! It’s weird to think this blog I started to simply be online résumé for freelance jobs now requires eleven people to run. I always thought the more systems, automation, products, and passive income I set up, the easier it would be. I could just sit on a beach. But it seems the more we do, the more we create, the more projects I tell the team we’re taking on, the more help we require. I guess that is the nature of the beast but I would have it no other way. I love what we do here. We help a lot of people realize their dreams.

And a guy couldn’t ask for better co-workers to help make that happen.

P.S. – We’ve launched a new Patreon where you can get stories and tips I don’t share on this blog, a private Facebook group, phone calls with me and the team, live Q&As, postcards from the road, signed copies of my books, and much more! Click here to get access!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post Meet the Team: The Many Faces of Nomadic Matt appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site https://ift.tt/2w7dY8V via IFTTT

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

24th March >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on John 5:1-3, 5-16 for Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent: ‘Do you want to be well again?’.

Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

John 5:1-3,5-16

The healing at the pool of Bethesda

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralysed – waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.

Now that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

Gospel (USA)

John 5:1-16

Immediately the man became well.

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’“ They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

Reflections (11)

(i) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

Jesus’ question to the paralyzed man in today’s gospel reading may strike us as strange, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ Surely, it goes without saying that he wanted to be well again. However, his illness had lasted thirty eight years, and, perhaps, the long years of fruitless waiting may have extinguished his hope of ever been healed, and with it, the desire to be healed. The question was probing whether the man was paralyzed in spirit as well as in body. The man’s answer to Jesus’ question suggests a certain lack of hope of ever being healed, ‘I have no one to put me into the poor when the water is disturbed…’ Yet, his answer revealed some desire to be healed, and in response to that faint desire the Lord cures the man with a word, ‘Get up… and walk’. The Lord is always seeking to engage with our desire. He encourages us to have hopeful desires, which are greatly needed at this time of crisis. The opening words of Jesus in the gospel of John from which we are reading this week takes the form of a question addressed to the disciples of John the Baptist, ‘What are you looking for?’ In other word, ‘What is your desire?’ The Lord’s coming among us, his presence to us, is assured, but his coming will only be life-giving for us if it meets with our desire for his coming, a desire that is full of hope in the Lord of life. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus says, ‘Seek and you will find’. If we keep entering into our deep-seated desire for the Lord and the life he brings, then we will find the Lord, wherever we are at this time of social isolation, and the Lord’s presence will be truly life-giving for us.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

The question Jesus asks the paralyzed man in this morning’s gospel reading can seem strange to our ears, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ Surely, the answer to that question is obvious. Why wouldn’t a man who had been paralyzed for many years want to be well again? However, this may have been Jesus’ way of entering into a genuine dialogue with this stricken man. Rather than just heal him without reference to him, as it were, Jesus engaged him in a personal way. He didn’t presume to know what the man wanted, even though it might have seemed obvious. Jesus allowed him to articulate his own desire. Jesus’ question led the man to reveal something about himself; he told Jesus something of his own story. It appears as if he was very isolated in his illness, with no friends who would lower him into the water at the appropriate time. The man revealed something of what had been going on in his life, in response to Jesus’ question. There was a truly human exchange between Jesus and this man, before Jesus told him to pick up his sleeping mat and walk. Jesus didn’t serve people in a detached, remote way. He engaged with them in a respectful way, in a manner that took them seriously as human beings and that invited them to share something of their story. In so doing, he shows us how we are to relate to one another. He also reveals how he wants to relate to each one of us. He invites us too to open our hearts to him, to tell him our story. The telling of our story to the Lord creates a space for him to work powerfully in and through our lives.

 And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospels people who are in great need often approach Jesus for help and he responds to them. In this morning’s gospel reading, we find a man in great need, suffering with a paralysis for thirty eight years, which was the best part of a life-time in that culture. He does not approach Jesus for help, but, rather, Jesus takes the initiative towards him. Jesus sees him and, having seen him, engages him in conversation. We often approach the Lord in our need, but this morning’s gospel reading reminds us that the Lord also approaches us, without waiting for us to approach him. The Lord doesn’t only engage with us in response to our engaging with him. He often takes some initiative towards us without our doing anything to make it happen. In the words of the book of Revelation, he stands at the door and knocks. When we pray, especially the prayer of petition, we are knocking on his door. This morning’s gospel reading suggests that he also comes to knock on our door without waiting for us to knock on his. This calls for a different kind of prayer to the prayer of petition. It is the prayer of listening, the prayer of attentiveness to the Lord, the prayer of waiting on the Lord’s coming, the prayer of noticing his seeing of us.

 And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Fourth Sunday of Lent

Jesus appears to ask a strange question of the paralyzed man in today’s gospel reading, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ Given that he has had his illness for thirty eight years and that he has come to the pool of Bethzatha many times to be healed, the answer to Jesus’ question would seem to be very obvious. Of course, he wants to be healed. Yet, Jesus’ question was not superfluous. It gave the man the opportunity to tell his story and to express his need directly to the Lord. It obliged him to reflect on what it was he really wanted. Jesus did not heal this man without first engaging him and drawing out from him the desires of his heart. The Lord relates in a similar way to all of us. He looks to us to express our wants, our desires, especially our deepest desires, what it is we most want. He seeks to have a personal relationship with us. He waits for us to open our hearts to him, to tell him our story, to share with him our strongest hopes and longings, and also our fears and anxieties and sorrows. If we open our hearts to him, then we will experience his life-giving presence and, in the image of the first reading, our lives will bear fruit that will never fail, the good fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

The question that Jesus asked the paralyzed man in the gospel reading may seem strange to our ears, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ After all, the man had been lying there by the pool of Bethzatha for thirty-eight years, waiting for someone to lower him into the pool when the water was disturbed, because it was believed that was when the healing powers of the water were activated. Surely it was obvious that he wanted to be well again. Yet, Jesus is often presented in the gospels as asking people what they want. In the following chapter of John’s gospel he asks the twelve disciples, ‘Do you want to go away too?’ In the other gospels he twice asks people, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus called on people to reflect on what they truly wanted in their heart of hearts, and he then interacted with those deep desires within people. Yes, Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full. That is what he wants for all of us. However, he needs us to really want that life for ourselves and also to want to take the path that leads to that life, which is the path of faithfully following him, faithfully walking in his way, even when that means the cross.

 And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospel reading, the man who had been healed by Jesus after thirty eight years of illness went on to report Jesus to the Jewish authorities who were very suspicious of what Jesus was doing and saying. The man who received new life from Jesus puts Jesus’ own life at risk by informing on him to his enemies. He received the gift of life but used that gift against the very person who had given him the gift. Although Jesus gave generously of himself to others, he did not always receive an appropriate response from those who benefited from his giving. We can have the same experience ourselves in our own lives. We might put ourselves out for others and receive little in return. My father had a saying that he often quoted, ‘eaten bread is soon forgotten’. Yet, Jesus’ whole life teaches us to give without expecting a return. We do the good thing, the right thing, in every situation, because it is the good and right thing to do, not because of what it will bring us. Jesus also assures us that it is in giving of ourselves in love to others that we receive, even if it is not evident at the time.

 And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospel of John, Jesus is often portrayed as asking questions of people, probing questions, which inquire after where people stand, what it is they really want. We have an example of one of those probing questions of Jesus in this morning’s gospel reading. Jesus asks a paralyzed man, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ We might be inclined to ask, ‘Why would Jesus need to ask such a question? Surely it is obvious the man wants to be well again?’ Yet, the Jesus of John’s gospel takes seriously what it is that people want - human desire. In the following chapter of John’s gospel, some of Jesus’ disciples turned their backs on following him, and Jesus turned to the 12 and said, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ The gospel of John invites us to ask of ourselves, ‘What do we really want? What is our deepest desire?’ In John’s gospel, Jesus declares very clearly what he wants, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me’. His deepest hunger is satisfied by doing God’s will, what God wants. That is our calling too, to want what God wants, to bring our deepest desires into harmony with God’s deepest desires for us.

 And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

The theme of water links today’s two readings. The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem with water flowing eastwards from under the temple towards the wilderness. Everywhere the water flows it brings life and health. For the fourth evangelist, Jesus is the new temple. ‘Destroy this temple’, he says, ‘and in three days I will raise it up’. As the new temple, he is the source of rivers of living water. He promised to give this living water to the Samaritan woman to quench her deepest thirst. This same promise is made to all of us. We can understand the living water that Jesus speaks about as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God’s love. This living water of the Spirit becomes a spring in us welling up to eternal life, as he says to the Samaritan woman. Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full. In today’s gospel reading, it is not the Pool of Bethzatha that gives life to the crippled man but Jesus himself. We are all in need of the life that Jesus alone can give us; we are all like that man sitting by the pool. He asks all of us the question he asked that man, ‘Did you want to be well?’, ‘Do you want the life that I alone can give you?’ We can only give one answer to that question. We ask for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit into our lives, as the first fruit of eternal life.

 And/Or

(ix) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

It may seem strange to our ears that Jesus should say to the paralyzed man in today’s gospel reading, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ Who would not want to walk again having had a paralysis that lasted for thirty eight years? Yet, in asking that question, Jesus was asking the man to take some responsibility for his own healing. Jesus would not heal him without some desire on his part to be healed. The gospel reading suggests that Jesus takes our desires seriously and works with them and through them. In relating to us he does not bypass our freedom. We have to co-operate with his initiative towards us. The first words of Jesus in John’s gospel are addressed to the disciples of John the Baptist and they take the form of a question, ‘What do you want?’ It is a question the Lord asks of us all. It is a question that takes seriously the deepest desires of our hearts. The question invites us to articulate our most basic longings to the Lord. If we do so we will find that he will respond to them generously.

 And/Or

(x) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

Many people benefit from Jesus’ healing ministry across the four gospels. Most of them respond appropriately to the gift they have received. They give praise to God; they announce to others what God has done for them; some even become followers of Jesus. The man who was healed in today’s gospel reading seems to respond somewhat inappropriately. Jesus took the initiative to heal him. The question Jesus asked him, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ may seem strange to our ears. Yet, in asking this question Jesus was giving him the opportunity to be involved in his own healing. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath day which put him at odds with the religious leaders of the time. They wanted the man who had been healed to tell them who it was that healed him on the Sabbath. The man didn’t know who had healed him until Jesus took another initiative towards him and revealed his identity to the man. The healed man they sought out the religious leaders to tell them it was Jesus who healed him. In a sense, he appears to betray Jesus to his enemies. As a result, the religious leaders began to persecute Jesus. The good Jesus did for this man did not serve Jesus well. Sometimes the good we do does not always serve us well either. When we give of ourselves to others, we don’t always receive something good in return. Jesus would make this discovery more than once. Yet, he continued doing good, giving of himself, until his last breath. He teaches us to do the same. We serve, we give, not in order to get back something, but simply because it is the right thing to do, what God wants of us.

 And/Or

(xi) Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

The Dead Sea in the Judean wilderness is a very strange sea. It’s salt content is so great that nothing can live in it. This Dead Sea is referred to in today’s first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, although not by name. The water that pours out of the Temple in Jerusalem is described as flowing ‘east down to the Arabah and the sea’, down to the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea. The impact of this water from the Temple on the Dead Sea is very striking, ‘it makes its waters wholesome… all living creatures teeming in it will live’. In a very imaginative way, Ezekiel is declaring that God’s presence in the Temple is life-giving for all. God is a God of the living. In John’s gospel, from which our gospel reading is taken, Jesus is portrayed as the new Temple of God, where God is uniquely present in a life-giving way. In the gospel reading, we find Jesus giving a new lease of life to a paralysed man whose paralysis had lasted for thirty-eight years. The real mission of Jesus in John’s gospel is to bring people to a share in God’s own life, the life from above, eternal life. If that is to happen, people need to believe in him. Jesus declares more than once in John’s gospel that those who believe in him already share in the life of heaven, the life of God. To believe is to allow Jesus to draw us to himself. It is not clear whether the man Jesus healed in today’s gospel came to believe in him. After his healing, he appears to betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities who then proceed to plan Jesus’ death. Yet, even from the cross, especially from the cross, Jesus continues to draw us to himself so that we may believe in him and, thereby, come to share in God’s own life.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  revmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[jungshookiee]

Baseball!Jungkookie AU (Ch. 1)

Chapter 1 (1/3)

Genre: Angst, fluff, Badboy!jungkook

Warnings: maybe a curse word or two

When your dad got hired to coach the nation's top high school baseball team,  moving to the upper east side of Seoul wasn't as easy as you thought it would be. Getting used to your new high school and your new position as the team's manager was the easy part - getting used to the team's quiet, badboy pitcher was a different story.

ch.2 ch.3

"And this is the cafeteria," Jisoo was saying as she led you two past the large expanse of tables and chairs. She was one of the office workers who had volunteered to show you around the new Hagwon - well, it was new to you. The grey walls and polished floors were different from your school in New Zealand. Or the school in Canada, or Japan, or China for that matter... But it was okay because you were used to it. Your father traveled and coached baseball at the top most elite high schools, and he was known for grooming promising players into star athletes. Everyone wanted him to coach, so it was no wonder you had attended more schools than there were fingers on your hands.

The classes were letting out, ensuing a flood of students into the halls, disrupting your tour with Jisoo. "It gets kind of crowded," she laughed as she pulled you aside to the trophy cases. "We'll wait until the next period starts, it's easy for you to get lost."

A few girls came up to Jisoo and they seemed to be her friend, judging by the way they laughed together and gossiped. You wondered if you'd ever have a chance to make friends like that before leaving again, but as soon as you thought about it, you caught sight of the actually trophies in the case. Plaques, statues, trophies, ribbons, and pictures were brightly displayed, more than you could count, and the majority of them were baseball. You'd heard of this school before, how most of their athletes went here for the soul purpose of training to be the best. Before you could get a good look at the players in the team photos, the rush of students had you squirming in and out of people as if you were caught right in a rip tide. Over the heads of students, you could spot Jisoo, but she hadn't noticed your departure, and you couldn't seem to get back to your spot.

"Excuse me, sorry -" But your voice was drowned out by the babble of conversation ringing around you. Bodies pushed and bumped into you, and you were losing sight of Jisoo. "I'm sorry, whoops, ouch!"

Your eyes widened as they took in the bigger shoe that had stepped on your smaller, black one. They were nearly identical, the uniforms, but this person was wearing the clean black trousers instead of your high waisted black skirt, and were the shoes steel toed underneath?

You looked up hesitantly, but your words caught in your throat. An older boy - he must have been a senior, he was so tall, was gazing down at you quite impassively. He had straight dark hair that fell in his eyes, metal piercings in each ear. His features were incredibly gorgeous - round, doe eyes, beautifully complected skin tone. But he wore a severe and intimidating expression, one that made your stomach tighten with a sort of timid fascination. You hadn't been at the school for a day, yet you knew none of the other students were like him.

"You're like a deer in headlights," he said, and his voice was surprisingly supple and nice, and you imagined he could sing quite well. You started; you'd never had a thought like that before. "You're blocking everyone's path."

"So are you," you said, though you didn't know why your voice took on such an abrasive tone. There was something about him that made you want to challenge him, to see what he was about.

The boy raised his eyebrow, as if he wasn't used to being slighted, especially by the younger ones. He flexed his jaw, perturbed, and adjusted his backpack strap lazily thrown over one shoulder, and your eyes couldn't help but notice how well the double breasted uniform with the school's insignia fit him.

"Ya, Y/N!" Jisoo's voice came from the side. You hadn't noticed, but the hallways were nearly empty again. "I'm sorry, I was talking with my friends, hope you didn't get too turned around!"

She grabbed your arm, adjusting the flyaway hairs that must have been a result from the crowd's sudden bombardment. The boy gave a huff of a disgruntled laugh, removed his shoe from stepping on your foot, and brushed your shoulder as he walked past to his next class.

Jisoo watched him go with an eye roll. "That Jungkook is nothing but trouble," she grumbled. "I hope he didn't give you too much of a hard time."

"He didn't," you assured quickly, but there was something that had you second guessing yourself. You felt like you'd been hit with a whirlwind, just from that brief encounter. Though you hated to admit it, you didn't pay attention to much else Jisoo said the rest of the day.

After the tour, your father met you in the office. "You up for some ball?" he asked. He was a tall man, with a stern face that looked angrier in the brown suede blazer and tie. He wore jeans, making him stand out like a sore thumb compared to the other teachers and administration. He was a coach after all; he wasn't used to pauper cleanliness and style.

While you answered all your father's questions about how your first day went, you couldn't bring yourself to mention the boy in the hallway. WHy would you? Like Jisoo sid, he's nothing but trouble. You hadn't asked her more questions about that, and you supposed that was a good thing. This new school required a relatively high GPA, and you didn't need some boy tearing down your good grades.

"Have you met the team?" you asked as you and your father rounded the building toward the baseball field. The cracks of bats hitting balls and cleats rounding dirt could be heard from this distance, and it reminded you of better times; this was your life, this was what you were used to.

"We'll watch for now," you father said. "See what they're made of."

The assistant coach rounded the boys up at the home of the diamond as you and your dad took seats behind the chicken wire fencing. The team was small, but these boys were built for the game; you didn't know how you knew, but the knowledge seemed to be of a simple fact: these boys were primed.

A dark head bobbed in the midst of them all; there were seven, which was odd because a good team consisted of nine.

"The leaders," your dad said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the throng of seniors.

But you weren't listening because you'd already seen his face; Jungkook, the boy who's stepped on your toes. He'd changed out of his uniform into a t-shirt with the Hagwon's name across the chest, form fitted black sweats, and nike cleats. One hand was already cushioned inside a glove.

You immediately sank into yourself, hoping he wouldn't see you, which was a feeble attempt. You were now the team's manager, your dad the coach. As much as you didn't like it, you'll be working closely with these boys.

The circle broke for a mock game. The shorter one, Jimin your father called him, ran inside the dugout and strapped himself with catcher gear. He might have been the smallest, but his thigh muscles protruded against the black workout pants, his toned and stocked torso built, yet lithe under his t-shirt. The catcher was the one that lead the game, the one that made calculative moves and told the pitcher what to do and what not to do on the field; they were fast, smart, and manipulative to their team's advantage. With the way Jimin's eyes narrowed to survey the field, you could tell he'd been doing it for years.

In front of Jimin's crouched position was one of the tallest members of the team, Jin. His body was lean and fit, but what caught your eye was his broad, muscular shoulders. It was no wonder he was an obvious choice for first batter; he worked just as well for first base too. He had power in his swing, and even more power making those long distance throws to the other bases. He seemed to smile a lot, smug, completely confident in his trade.

The first pitcher was a tall, thin boy with lanky arms and legs, and his long distance reach worked to his advantage. Kim Namjoon, the school's star pitcher since freshman year and also the team's captain. He moved like a cat, lethal as soon as the ball parts from his hand. The sound of it finding a home in Jimin's mitt was a like it had knocked the air out of your lungs, but Jimin just as easily shot up and threw it right back for another few rounds. Namjoon wore his baseball cap low, two deep dimples showing when he thought his fastballs hit a little too powerfully in Jimin's grip.

The second hitter was a small boy like Jimin, yet not nearly as muscular. He was pale, too, keeping the brim of his hat low, yet there was no playful smile like Namjoon's; this kid was utterly silent, and for some reason, he made you uneasy. Yet, as soon as he took off to first base, there was no question: this was Yoongi, the team's fastest short stop. They were only good for short bursts of energy, meant to take down bases as quickly as they could, and that was clearly demonstrated when after Yoongi took home plate, then went right to the dugout to sleep.

They traded pitchers, and this next boy was even more cat-like than the last, able to move his body quickly, and soundlessly. He bounced on the balls of his feet as if he had so much energy he didn't know what to do with it. He played with the ball in his glove, he adjusted his shirt you didn't know how many times, and when he wound up to throw, he had a unique way of setting the ball. No one, not even your father, could tell what ball he was throwing until it was happening, right before your eyes. Hobi was his name, and he was a total wild card.

One of the players whose position was left field came to bat, and he was a southpaw. He knocked the bat once then twice against his cleats, shoulders and torso thick with trained muscle. He wiggled his butt, bending the knee, eliciting a giggle out of you. Taehyung turned, flashing an adorable smile, but it caused him a strike. You tried to watch quietly then, but it was obvious batting wasn't for him, and Hobi struck him out in a matter of minutes.

The team switched pitchers again, and Jungkook started walking toward the mound. You knew he was on the team; you knew he'd have his hand at participating, yet your stomach still sank. Jungkook, the team's closer, a position reserved for the heaviest hand to strike out the most batters. He was the team's strongest, the weapon saved for last, and he moved like one too. He didn't wear a hat, so you could see his eyes beneath the fringe of hair. He was just as calculative as Jimin. His stature was tall, muscles condensed and taut, and when he moved, he put all his power, all his thought into it. When his fastball hit Jimin's glove, it might as well have been a mini explosion. Jimin even had to shake his hand out at the impact, yet it was apparent he knew Jungkook was a monstrous, valuable player.

"God, the arm on that boy," your father whistled under his breath. "Never seen anything like it."

"He's dead accurate, too," you agreed, nearly breathless. You couldn't believe the team you'd just watched; they were amazing, they were god-like. There was a reason this Hagwon was one of the top schools.

After the mock game, your father stood to walk out onto the field and you followed close behind, feeling their eyes on you. The assistant coach rounded the team up, and even more poured in from the dugout and the batting cages. They were mostly underclassmen, even younger than you. There was a stark difference between these kids and the god-like leaders you'd just observed on the field. The younger ones were untrained, and the older ones shifted uncomfortably; you figured they needed a lot of refinement if they wanted to perform as well as the seniors.

You father gave his introductions, introducing you as his daughter and the team's manager. He told them if they had any questions, you would probably know the answer. The leaders sized you up, Jimin smiling politely, Jin stretching a bat across the back of his neck with a lazy nod. Namjoon winked, and, surprisingly, Jungkook raised a black brow in challenge, acknowledging you were the one he ran into earlier that day.

"You're kidding right?" Jungkook boasted after you greeted the team. He gave a mocking laugh, jaw flexed, irritated. "She's the size of a twelve year old!"

"Ah, shut up, Kook," Taehyung said, elbowing the black-haired boy. He turned his attention back to you with a sort of fascinated gaze. "She's just right. Welcome to the team, Y/N."

Your father clapped his hands together, rubbing his palms back and forth as if he was getting ready for a feast. "Alright, now that we're done with formalities, we have work to do, team."

You sat at the dugout while the seven seniors led the team in laps around the field, your father a few paces ahead of the rest. You took out your notepad from your backpack and started writing down a diagram of the players. Jimin needed help with his stance, Namjoon needed to improve his four-seam, and Jungkook...he needed to improve his attitude. You didn't write that down though, because as you tapped the end of the pen to your chin, your eyes wandered to that dark head of hair again. Jungkook was silent as ever, comfortable in his stride, the wind flattening his shirt against his smooth chest. He really was beautiful, but he didn't seem to antagonize anyone else. What made him dislike you so much?

A movement from the corner disturbed your train of thought, and when a bat fell from the pile of gloves, shorts gear and bats, you jumped, your notebook clattering out of your hands. From the pile emerged Yoongi, the team's short stop. His messy brown hair stuck up every which way all over his head and he smacked his lips, eyes half open.

"What time is it?" he asked, and because no one else was in the pit, he must have been talking to you.

Forcing your heartbeat back under control, you took your hand off your chest to study your watch. "I-it's five o'clock."

"Oh, thanks." He laid back down into the pile, nearly disappearing.

You pushed yourself to your feet, bewildered. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping, shhh."

"But- but - "

The team was jogging back for a water break, and Jimin was the first to enter the dugout. He grabbed his jug and took a healthy swig. "I wouldn't mess with Yoongi if I were you. He might seem harmless now, but if you wake him..." He looked off toward some unknown distance, shaking his head. "Sometimes, I think looks really do kill."

"The last person who woke him was never seen again," Namjoon quipped, winking flirtily.

Jimin rolled his eyes, shoving his friend to the bench. "Forgive him, not many girls hang around practice." Your eyes shifted to the throng of fans that had been lined up outside the field for quite some time now. Some had posters, some had extra water on hand just in case. The team was wildly popular, but you didn't think it was only because of their incredible skills. Jimin noticed were your gaze was heading and he laughed. "Well, we don't get that many girls up close, I mean."

"Here," came a voice behind you. You turned to find Jin handing you a water bottle from the cooler. He was handsome - and you could tell he had his own fanclub outside. His smile was endearing and his dark brown hair always seemed to fall in the right place despite the sweat - and his arms? You were surprised you hadn't seen any of those girls swoon yet.

"But I haven't been exercising," you said politely. What would happen if those girls caught Jin being nice to you? They were already shooting questionable daggers your way.

"It's hot, everyone should stay hydrated," he insisted, either ignoring his fanclub's glares or not noticing them.

When you were about to refuse again, Jungkook was suddenly there, snatching the bottle out of Jin's grip and shoving it into your arms wordlessly. He went and plopped down on the bench net to you, taking a towel and wiping the wet from his face.

"Hey, what 's this?" Taehyung asked, picking up your forgotten notebook from the floor. Again, you'd been distracted by Jungkook long enough to not notice the other boys taking interest in your things.

"Oh that's - " you tried to say, reaching out your hand but he danced out of the way. The other members glanced his way curiously.

"Wait - you think I'm a bad hitter?" Taehyung had wide, puppy dog eyes beneath his bouncy blond hair, and he was using them for all it was worth. You were surprised he hadn't started poking out his bottom lip.

"No, I don't -"

"Wait, I'm in here too," Jimin burst, taking the notebook and reading it carefully. "What do you mean my signals aren't clear? My stance is off?"

Hobi cracked up in the back, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning. "She's not wrong, Jiminie. You better get to working on that."

Jimin scowled over his shoulder. "She called you a crappy pitcher."

"WHAT?"

"No, I didn't!" you finally yelled, snatching your notebook back and hugging it to your chest.

Jimin was giving you the most disappointed look, so you sighed and addressed him first. "These are just my notes from your practice earlier. They're not insults, they're opportunities for improvement. Jimin, you need to work on your stance. The reason Jungkook's throws hurt your hand is because your bones are absorbing most of the impact." At his name, Jungkook looked up, eyebrows creased in a deep frown. You blinked rapidly before stuttering on, tearing your gaze from his hooded stare. "I - I can help you with that."

Jimin rotated his wrist, contemplating. "You can, huh?"

"And Hobi - I didn't write that you were a crappy pitcher, but you have little ball control and that causes them to fly out of the box. If you manage to aim your trajectory just a little to the left - "

Jungkook pushed himself to his feet then, intimidating waves of challenge rolling off him. "And what business do you have telling any of us how to play baseball? What, suddenly you're an expert?"

You'd had enough of his attitude, and being cornered like this didn't quite make the situation better. You could tell that he wasn't used to being stood up against, and that was exactly why you held your ground, chest nearly bumping his as you went nose-to-nose.

You suddenly grabbed his hand, squeezing his fingers until he winced. "You broke these when you were a kid, didn't you? That's why your cutters always sway in a curve."

His eyes widened. "No, they don't -"

"Surprised she caught that," Namjoon spoke up. "Admit it, kid."

Jungkook flushed and yanked his hand out of your grip, balling his fingers into fists. "So, what? I've been pitching like that since I was seven. You got some magical cure to fix all of us?"

"She doesn't," you father's booming voice barked from the entrance. "But I do, boys. Things are going to change around here if you want to win that trophy. As I understand, each year this team's fallen to second place? The school hired me for a reason, you know. My daughter's right - and you should take this knowledge and work on it on your own time. I got too much planned for practice to knit pick." He turned his back and started walking toward the field. "Break time's over!"

The team scrambled out of the pit, even Yoongi, who had to be excavated from the pile of baseballs and gloves.

[scottsnowden-blog]

One of the first things I did in Australia was to take a tour to Kangaroo Island. The island is situated about 45 minutes off the south coast of Australia. It was absolutely amazing and a great way to start my time in this beautiful country!

If you’re planning on visiting, it’s worth bearing in mind there’s no public transport on the island. You’ll either have to bring your own car or book a guided tour, otherwise you won’t get very far! I didn’t have a car, so I opted for a guided tour starting in Adelaide. After a 1.5-hour bus ride, we took the only ferry from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, a town on Kangaroo Island.

Kangaroo Island – two days on the beautiful island

I spent two full days on the island and this was plenty to see most of what the island has to offer. However, there’s plenty more to do if you’re planning to stay a little longer! Being an island, it’s naturally home to many amazing beaches, but there’s much more than just sandy stretches. Keep reading to discover my top 5 recommendations for things to do on Kangaroo Island!

1. Little Sahara

One of the first attractions we visited was the Little Sahara, a small dune system on the south coast of the island, stretching over two square kilometers. The dunes were formed by coastal blowouts over the past 7,000 years. The sand is very soft and an off-white color, so the sun’s reflection makes it look like snow.

Although the property is privately owned, you can visit the dunes for free, but will need to pay to rent a board or toboggan, which is great fun! Unlike in most ski resorts, there is no lift that pulls you up the hill, so you’ll have to carry the board to the top (or as far as you can). As mentioned before, the sand is very soft, so be prepared to sink as deep as your knees, or slip back a little while walking!

I like to consider myself a good skier, but I’ve only been on a snowboard once or twice in my life. This maybe explains why I face-planted into the sand so often! One thing I learned pretty quickly was that you really shouldn’t scream while falling, unless you want to end up with a mouth full of sand! I tried to master the art a few more times, before deciding it was best for me to admire the experts from the sidelines. The tobogganing, however, was much easier and more enjoyable!

2. Flinders Chase National Park

Flinders Chase National Park is an area of rugged wilderness in the West of Kangaroo Island. The park is home to many of the island’s main attractions, including the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, as well as lots of wildlife and plenty of walking routes. You can still see the remnants of the 2007 bush fire, which tragically burned down 60 percent of the park, but it doesn’t take away from its beauty!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have too much time to explore the park. But from the bit I did see, it’s a stunning destination, and I’d highly recommend spending more time there if you can.

Just be careful of the snakes! While wandering around, I saw a pretty big black snake a couple of meters away from me. I’m not a big fan of these reptiles, so I kept my distance, but was still brave enough to also take a photo. I later found out it was a Black Tiger Snake, which is highly venomous!

3. Remarkable Rocks

One of the main Flinders Chase National Park’s highlights are the Remarkable Rocks. This cliff-top collection of granite boulders has been formed into unique shapes by water and wind over the last 500 million years.

You can walk across and climb over the rocks, while enjoying the amazing view! Apparently, it’s best to come here in the early morning or later in the evening in order to beat the crowds and see the sunrise or sunset over the stones. They’re covered with orange lichen, which appears golden in the sun.

When walking around the boulders, don’t go too close to the edge of the cliffs. They can get slippery and it’s easy to fall. Despite many warning signs, our tour guide told us that tourists still fall into the water from time to time. With some of the strongest waves I’ve ever seen, and the rugged cliffs, it’s very unlikely that you’d make it out alive.

4. Admirals Arch

Admirals Arch is also part of Flinders Chase National Park, located just a couple of minutes from the Remarkable Rocks. To get to the arch, you’ll have to follow a wooden boardwalk that’ll lead you over the cliffs and to the coast. While the views from the boardwalk were amazing, the arch itself was a little underwhelming. Similarly to the Remarkable Rocks, it has been shaped by erosion over thousands of years, and now features some impressive stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.

If you get here later in the afternoon, you’ll have it mostly to yourself, as most tourist buses will have already departed. However, the afternoon sun will also shine through the gap in the arch, making it hard to see anything.

The main reason why Admirals Arch still makes it onto my top 5 list is that you can see a New Zealand fur seal colony from the boardwalk! These friendly, playful creatures are pretty small and like to live on rocky shorelines, which is exactly what Admirals Arch offers.

While we were there, the seals were very active and it was really entertaining to watch them playing with each other! If you’re lucky, you’ll also be able to spot some dolphins or — if you visit between May and October — some impressive whales (May to October only)!

5. Watch Wildlife

My two days on Kangaroo Island were full of encounters with all types of wildlife. According to the Kangaroo island official website, there are more than 1,500 different animals living on the island, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in Australia!

Let’s start with some of the most obvious (the island has its name for a reason): kangaroos and wallabies! You won’t have to try very hard to spot them, as they appear nearly everywhere you look and come very close, too.

While having a barbeque, we were surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies trying to sneak a cheeky bite! We saw more unique wildlife on our second day, when we spotted pelicans and dolphins in the distance from our lunch break spot in the small village of American River.

More than a third of Kangaroo Island is dedicated to national parks and wildlife conservation areas, such as the Seal Bay Conservation Park. The entrance fee is worth it to see gorgeous Australian sea lions, and to contribute to the maintenance of the conservation area and research about this endangered species. You’ll be able to get up close to the seals, ranging from small pups to big bulls.

While we were there, a tiny pup was crawling through the sand crying for its mom, who was sadly nowhere to be seen. It was heartbreaking and I really hope it found her!

We also stopped at the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, which is home to countless animals, including many nocturnal species. We mainly visited for the koalas, which were easy to spot while taking a walk through the vast park.

We learned that, on average, koalas spend about 20 hours a day sleeping, two hours eating, and a maximum of 30 minutes moving around — what a life, right?! In addition to koalas and kangaroos, I also spotted an echidna — a close relative of the American anteater — which I’d never seen before!

About the author

Caroline

Caroline is the founder of NextStop24, a brand-new travel inspiration and review website. She doesn’t believe anyone should spend hours on research: finding your dream destination should only require a few clicks! Caroline’s always up for a city break or beach vacation, but also loves open landscapes like the Australian Outback. Iceland, South Africa, and Canada are just some of the places that are still on her bucket list. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Have you ever been to Kangaroo Island? How did you like it or would you love to go someday? Leave us a comment!

[lostinyourears]

Arena Mexico Gran Prix Report! 9/1/2017

WOW! What a card! I really loved the whole night. My only complaint would be that my boy Puma wasn’t on the card. Other than that, a great showcase of some of the best talents in the company and a loaded main event! I’m going to be sad to see Elgin and Juice leave CMLL, I’ll even be sad to see Taven and Kenny King leave, both of whom I’m less familiar with, but definitely made me a fan tonight. Gran Prix may not be the highest profile wrestling crossover of the year, but if they keep putting on great shows like tonight... it soon may become one of the best annual crossovers. 

Blue Panther, Blue Panther JR and The Panther vs Mascara Ano 2000, Sanson and El Cuatrero 

(Obviously I won’t have timestamps for this one since it’s iPPV and not on Youtube. Here is the link I am using from the VOD on internettv.tv)

Who’s who?

This one is pretty easy Blue Panther is father to Jr. and The Panther. He is maskless while his sons can be differentiated by one another by color. Blue Panther Jr in blue while The Panther is in all black.

While on the other side we have uncle Mascara Ano 2000 who has no mask and nephews Sanson, who has a lion on his forehead and El Cuatrero who has horse shoes on his pants and forehead with spur like eyeholes.  

How’s the match?

Great! You’ll probably get tired of me saying this by the end of this review, but really the card was good from start to bottom. This is in spite of the fact that it was pretty much a 1 match card with only the main event really getting much build. This doesn’t really need much build anyways as it’s dynasty vs dynasty. Nothing is really on the line, but that didn’t keep this match from being hot. 

I’ll admit a bias as I’m a huge fan of Panther Bros and they really can impress vs the right opponent and the list of who a right opponent is only seems to be growing. It helps that Sanson, El Cuatrero and  Forastero have been proving to be one of the best teams in the company. So Panther Bros had a great duo to work off of. 

I can’t help but to love Blue Panther Sr. he just looks like such wholesome middle aged man. He did a good job here, but the match noticeably slowed down in sections where he and Mascara 2000 were involved. It makes me wish Blue Panther and The Panther had a cousin like Sanson and El Cuatrero do. Black Warrior is actually their cousin, though he hasn’t been in CMLL since 2013 and is 48, so not that much younger than Blue Panther Sr. 

Amapola, Dalys, Zeuxis vs Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Silueta

Who’s who?

Amapola is maskless in black, Zeuxis is in black as well, but has a mask while their third is blond and wearing blue/white/red.

Princesa Sugehit is the masked one on her side, a butterfly mask. Marcela in light blue while Silueta is wearing pink. 

How’s the match?

Pretty good, pretty much only Sugehit and Zeuxis were highlighted. It felt like all the other women were just there. It’s not really a compliant as I think that was the intended result. Those two are the ones having a mask vs mask in 2 weeks, while the other 4 likely won’t be on the card. The two really sold the fact they wanted one another's masks as both teams ripped the other’s captain's mask.

Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas vs Carístico, Mistico, Soberano Jr.

Who’s who?

Cavernario is the young man of his team wearing a loincloth like singlet, Felino is wearing a cat tail and green pants, while Negro Casas is in plain black ring gear.

Soberano Jr. is wearing blue and silver like always while Caristico/Mistico are dressed very similarly, but like always Caristico has red eye detailing that tells him apart from his old mask and identity that Mistico took over years ago. 

How’s the match?

Great! It shouldn’t be too surprising as pretty much everyone in this match can work a great match. Mistico has never underperformed this year and he continues that streak by having some of the best moments in this big match. I know CMLL have always had a shine on him with the Trios belts on him for most of the last 5 years or so. 

I hope he gets a singles title soon, it’s also criminal CMLL has yet to have him win a betting match yet. Soberano Jr. continues to be one of the best young flyers in the business and Caristico/Negro/Felino all showed they can still hang with the kids who are all in their 20′s still. 

Negro Casas continues to tease the fans with whom he might work a singles match with next. Whoever he works against, he is going to pull a good/great match out of. He only has so many more left, one would assume as at 57 Negro Casas is one of the oldest workers in the world people are still eager to go see. 

Team Mexico (Diamante Azul, Dragón Lee, Euforia, Mephisto, Rush, Último Guerrero, Valiente, Volador Jr.) vs Team International (Johnny Idol, Juice Robinson, Kenny King, Kojima, Marco Corleone, Matt Taven, Michael Elgin, Sam Adonis) Gran Prix Torneo Cibernetico elimination match

Who’s who?

*Deep Breath*

Well on Team International we have :

Johnny Idol with purple trunks/gear and long dark hair, he is from New Zealand.

Juice Robinson has dreads and has multicolored tights is from the US.

Kenny King is the only black man in the match and is wearing red gear also from the US. 

Marco Corleone is wearing green/white/red not because he is a turncoat, but because he is billed from Italy... though is really from America.

Matt Taven is also in purple like Idol, but has light colored hair that isn’t as long representing the US.

Sam Adonis has airbrushed tights and wears his hair in a ponytail, representing Trump’s America.

Satoshi Kojima is the only Asian man in the match and is wearing his signature colors orange and black representing Japan. 

Michael Elgin is wearing his signature red singlet here for Canada.

While on Team Mexico we have :

Diamante Azul despite his blue name, he is wearing white pants and mask here with some light green/red touches for Mexican pride.

Dragón Lee also in white, but briefs instead of pants and has things hanging off the back of his mask. Probably the smallest member on his team.

Euforia is masked and wearing white and black.

Mephisto is  wearing a red/white mask with dark pants, he also has black threads hanging off the back of his mask.

Rush in white western boots and gear. He also has long black hair.

Último Guerrero in green and black, Ultimo is also one of the older men on the team. 

Valiente is in all white the stoutest member of the team and 1/3rd of sky team. 

Volador Jr. is also in all white, but has wrist tape, knee pads and no mask.

How was the match?

Great! Really the whole card was pretty much sold on this and if all Torneo Ciberneticos are this fun, it’s not hard to see why. I really don’t think anyone looked bad in the match and each elimination made the tension grow. It’s very much like CMLL’s version of Survivor Series, but with more national pride. 

The match had a nice singing of the Mexican National Anthem before the match started. It was a nice show of respect to the country CMLL has run out of since it’s inception 80+ years ago. 

Some people were eliminated quickly, but even those talents got to get a few good looking moves off. Johnny Idol was the first to bite the bullet, be before that happened he had a nice release suplex on Dragon Lee. The most forgettable talent in the match was probably Euforia, who didn’t even get his signature assisted splash off. CMLL I think did a great job of letting the outside talent look good and strong. Kojima/Elgin/Taven/Juice all being seen as the strongest/stronger members of Team International over CMLL regulars like Marco/Idol/Adonis.

Elgin by far was the best part of the match. CMLL is starting to make the people of Arena Mexico love Michael Elgin. I don’t think Elgin is ever going to come to CMLL full time, as I don’t think they pay as much as NJPW. If CMLL could get their hands on him for a longer stretch of time, I think Elgin would bring many new eyes to CMLL. Though as I said, I don’t see that ever happening... CMLL should have him in more if he is always going to give this much effort.

Though Elgin was more impressive, I think all the outsiders brought their A game. Matt Taven had a scary landing at the hands of Mephisto and also had some miscommunication on a lionsault. Still, despite those two missteps his performance was great. I hope his feud with Ultimo continues, though it felt like his elimination at the hands of Ultimo might be meant as a bookend for that feud. 

While some moves in this match hit less than perfectly, it doesn’t really hurt the match for me and should be expected with any match that bloats to 16 contenders. I don’t mean bloat in an awful way as the Royal Rumble is bloated with 30 contenders, but is often the most exciting multi-man match of WWE’s year. It’s just when you have 16-30 moving pieces, some of those moving pieces might not clash perfectly.  

A great first iPPV for me to watch from CMLL, I’ve been covering them since May/June, this was their first iPPV since March. I’ll say it and not feel too bad about it... this PPV is better overall than anything WWE has produced this year. 

It’s no G1 Climax Finals, but it’s also leagues more enjoyable than something like Backlash from this year. If you have some extra cash to spend I’d highly recommend buying this. 

Buy Link for just Gran Prix for 10$ USD or both Gran Prix and CMLL Anniversary for 20$ USD. You have to make an Internetv.tv account, which they will ask you to do at these links. The stream worked pretty perfectly all night, though had a short hiccup at the start of the main event after refreshing once or twice it picked back up where it had left off. 

Highlights :

Gran Prix 2017 Highlights

(Note I didn’t put finishes or most of the eliminations in this highlight album. I don’t want to give away their product, but still made highlights of the whole thing. Please buy the product and support it if you can. So the lack of falls or eliminations in the main event is purposeful. I think one or two might have slipped through, but for the most part I didn’t want them included, Buy the show, it was worth every Peso!) 

[sorsik]

11 Questions Tag

Tagged by @ho-yass​ ^^ Thanks Kashia! <3

1. If you could relive one day, what would you change/do differently?

The day I chose to go a safer road instead of pursuing my dream. Maybe - just maybe - I would do the opposite.

2. Would you rather say everything that’s on your mind or never be able to say anything at all?

I mostly do say stuff that's not always supposed to be said, and normally people put up with me, so I'd continue this way. My rational mind whispers that the silent option would be safer, though.

3. Who would you love to spend one whole day with?

Any of my three bestest friends. We only see each other, like, once or twice a year T.T

4. What are your 3 favorite traits (could be physical/emotional/or whatever) about yourself?

Self-reliance, language abilities, colour of my eyes.

5. What is something you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of?

My education and career. I've come quite far, especially during 3 recent years, but I still kinda hate my job most of the time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  So, proud of it I am, happy... not so much.

6. What is your life motto?

"Erase all the haphazard traits - and you will see, the world is beautiful" (c) A. Blok

7. Which celebrity do you think is a 10/10 all around?

Is any person ever a 10/10 all around?

8. What’s the best and worst purchase you’ve ever made?

I don't do impulse shopping so all of my purchases are quite okay? There are some dresses and accessories I totally love, and there is a pair of shoes I hate with all my heart - apart from that, I can't think of anything.

9. Are you good at cooking? If so, what’s your favorite dish to make?

I am :) I LOVE cooking and baking, although I don't always have enough time for it. The favourites would be chakhokhbili (it's a georgian dish - chicken in a spicy tomato sauce served with rice), chicken skewers with sour cream dip sauce, gratinée à l'onion, apple pies, crème brûlée... there's really a lot, I have the time of my life when friends come visit us and I get to cook for them ^^

10. If you can travel anywhere in the world without having to worry about money, food, or where you’re sleeping, where would it be?

Out of the places I’ve never been to - New Zealand, Taiwan, and Canada, although I'd totally go back to France and South Korea as well, they're my favourite so far.

11. What is one quality you’d like to have from your bias?

Infinite Dongwoo's positivity :D I could really use that...

For the next 11 questions, I tag @kissmeshinee501, @karenwu0109, @awings, @kebeans, @gravity-kontrol, @namsoogyu, @judginghoya, @little-piece-of-woohyun, @whiteconfession, @ho-yass (it took me 4 months to answer so why not tag you back ^^) Feel free to ignore it - I know that half of you don’t really have time for tumblr lately - but I’m still curious (:

1. Something you're looking forward to? 2. Your most memorable trip? 3. What do you normally have for breakfast? 4. Your favourite language to listen to? 5. Is there a choreo you'd love to master perfectly? 6. Three things you can’t live without? 7. What kind of compliments you like the most? 8. How would you name your pet if you were the one to choose the name? (any pet, like an iguana is cool too :)) 9. Favourite quote? 10. A movie you anticipate the most at the moment? 11. The most ridiculous song lyrics (in your native language) you've recently heard? (pls translate it into English as well ^^)

[novemberhush]

For the Disney asks: Pocahontas, Cinderella and Nemo

Hey, Jess! Sorry this took a couple of days but these were tough ones and I had to think about them for a bit. I’m still not sure my answers are particularly satisfying, but they’re the best I could do! Here goes! 😉

Pocahontas: something new I taught someone

Already I’m stuck! I’d love to be able to say I had some awesome talent I was able to pass on to someone else, like how to play the piano or draw or something, but I’m not particularly talented at anything! I guess I taught my little brother things when we were growing up, how to tie his shoelaces, etc, little things like that. And I’ve tried to teach my mother how to use the iPad, but she still calls me with questions when my brother isn’t there to help her use it! I did get involved in a tutoring programme in my last two years of secondary school where we were sent out to help younger pupils in other schools who were struggling a little with their schoolwork, but I don’t know if that counts.

Cinderella: ‘a dream is a wish your heart makes’. What is that to me?

Wow, another toughie! It probably shouldn’t be, right? I mean, we all have dreams we’d like to come true. I just doubt that mine are particularly interesting. What would I wish for? Besides health and happiness for my loved ones, world peace, an end to hunger and a massive win on the lottery??! I don’t know, I guess I’d love to visit all those places I want to see, like the Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, like Hawaii, like the Northern Lights in Iceland, like New Zealand and Canada and Denmark. Wildest dreams, I’d love to be a really good writer and make a living at it. But I’d settle for the really massive win on the lottery!😂

Nemo: a time I was brave

Oh gosh, I don’t know! I guess posting my first fanfic was a scary moment, but I did it, and I’m glad I did. I’ve also stood up to bullies a few times (at least once that I can think of for myself, although really that wasn’t so much standing up for myself as finally reaching the end of my patience and letting them know about it in no uncertain terms! I guess the old saying about beware the fury of a patient person is true because they never bothered me again. Then twice that I remember for my brother when he was little, and a couple of times for two former work colleagues, one who was being bullied by another colleague and one who was being bullied by a customer. These are a few examples that spring to mind, anyway.), but to be honest I was too angry to be scared at the time so I don’t know if that counts as brave. I was also terrified of dogs as a child (like crying, shaking, run away and hide terrified), but when I saw my fear was beginning to rub off on my brother I made a conscious decision to make myself overcome my fear and I did, for the most part. I’m still wary of some of them sometimes, but I’m generally okay these days. Which if you’d seen how I was around even the smallest dog as a child you would know is no small achievement!🐶

Well, I’m not sure how interesting any of that was, but I hope I answered your questions. Thanks for asking.😘😘😘

[insertspockhere]

Took this from @aconitum-napellus​, who issued an all-inclusive tag.

✍ Tattoos… No. I thought about getting one when I lost my mum, but I couldn’t think of an appropriately tasteful design with which to honour her. 😷 Surgeries… Yes. When I was 18, I had my jaw realigned (to correct an overbite). I had my jaw wired shut for 3 weeks and could only drink liquid food. 🏥 Broken bones… I broke my foot once. It’s possible I broke my tailbone more recently, but I didn’t get it checked out. Couldn’t sit down for a month… 🔫 Shot a gun… No. 😕 Quit a job… Yes - a job I had as a student. Then I moved on to Real Life™ ✈️ Flown on a plane… Yes. 🚙💨 Driven 100mph… *converts that to kph* Um, no, not quite. 🚁 Rode in a helicopter.. No. ⛑ Gone zip lining.. No. 🍼 Watched someone give birth… No. 🏈 Been to an NFL game… No. I live in New Zealand. This is rugby country (not that I’ve been to one of those, either). Been to a couple of cricket matches. 🍁 Been to Canada… No. I’ve been to Japan though. 🚑 Ridden in an ambulance…No. 🏦 Visited Washington D.C… No. My trip to Japan has been my one and only visit to the northern hemisphere. 🌞 Visited Florida… No. See above. 🗻 Visited Colorado… No. See above. 🎉 Visited Mexico… No. See above. 🎲 Visited Vegas… No. But I’ve been to Australia (twice).

🍔 Eaten alone at a restaurant… Not that I can recall.

🎤 Sang karaoke… No.

🐶 Had a pet(s)… Yes, but not since childhood.

🎿 Been downhill skiing… Yes, just once.

🎼 Ability to read music… Been reading music since I was 8. Went to uni and got a degree in music. I play part time in a professional orchestra where they pay me to read music. So, I can read. What I can’t do at all is improvise.

🚵 Rode a motorcycle… Yes, but only small ones when I was a kid. 🏇 Rode a horse.. Yes, once. 🏥 Stayed in a hospital…Yes, when I had the jaw surgery. 💉 Donated blood… No. 🏕 Slept outside… Yes. 🚗 Driven a stick shift…A manual? Yes. Actually, I’ve never driven an automatic. Nor do I intend to. 🚓 Rode in a Police Car… No. 😇 Grandkids… No. 🚤 Driven a Boat… No, if you mean a boat with an engine. I sailed a few times as a kid. 🐌 Eaten Escargot… No. 👽 Seen a UFO… Maybe, in a literal sense? I mean, I’m sure I’ve seen things I haven’t been able to identify. 🚢 Been on a Cruise… Yes, but probably not in the sense the question intends. I’ve done scenic day cruises in NZ and Australia. I should probably add that, in my day job, I see a lot of people off cruise ships, and I know enough to put me off ever wanting to go on one. ⛽️ Run out of Gas… No. I always fill my car when it gets down to a quarter tank. It also means I don’t use the gunky stuff at the bottom. 🍣 Eat Sushi… No. I really don’t like Japanese food - which made my stay in Japan all the more fun, I can tell you. 👻 Seen a Ghost… No. I don’t think so. But I did have a weird dream not long after my father died, where he came to me to say goodbye. It felt so real.

Copy, paste, change the answers and post !

Sad to say, but I don’t really know anyone here very well, so I won’t tag anyone - but I’ll issue the same free-for-all invitation @aconitum-napellus did.