#this is just for grand tours but bc all three use white i wouldn’t be shocked if they just change their jersey entirely

[remcocoa]

big day for the uae jersey haters (me)

[boglog]

HoC Onion !

[TW mention of sexual abuse/violence]

I’m foregoing the pros/cons format here but generally-speaking my negative points are still gathered at the top w the highlights near the end.

Obviously, between letting a sex offender have a platform in mass media and potholes, I’d choose the latter. My below crits absolutely are not a demand for Spacey to be brought back and he can die in a fire for all i care. I just wish his character’s absence was not the nº1 reason for this season not making any sense

as far as i can gather, this season’s primary arc is as much about Frank’s death (in lieu of Doug’s) as it is Claire’s emotional and political divorce from Frank while she undergoes your traditional postbreakup analysis of who she was pre Frank and post Frank and were Frank actually there this idea might have legs

...but instead we have Doug ://

the level of intensity that the plot demands cannot be carried by forcing Doug into being a deeper character than he was intended, all the way until the end, he truly just reads as either a pitiful sadist or a henchman. It’s disharmonious and dangerously close to bad. 

Frances Underwood makes more sense if Frank dies in episode 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She’s literally going to be his reincarnation!!!!!!!

literally...who cares if Doug gets stabbed by Frank’s letter opener? whomst?

Doug can’t be Frank’s proxy, but sans a certain pedoph*le, the plot will just have to suffer. 

Other side effects of Doug’s undeserved promotion include but are not limited to: 

forcing Doug to share the role of antagonist with the Shepards, yet another New Villain © that feels totally unnecessary and confusing (the Conways at least got two seasons)

Frank’s diary feels forced and out of character for someone decidedly so unsentimental  

How does Claire have a bun in the oven when she clearly didnt sleep with Frank for all of season 5 and locked herself in her room while he was being assassinated? How is a Dramatic paternity test not going to be insisted upon in the show’s universe?

fixation on Frank’s will as a McGuffin is really... I don't know boring considering no one cares for the guy? What property of his does claire stand to lose? I’m sure the rich people fandom can speculate but i honestly needed this manifested in the show via some examples instead of the grand abstraction that is The Will bc losing Frank’s assets would set Claire back but it would not directly threaten her presidency. Not to mention that i’m not entirely sure Frank’d have Doug of all people as his sole heir if it didn't serve as revenge against Claire, which just lowers Doug’s importantance even more

Frank never cared for Doug, a largely unlikeable character, which we already knew from the beginning, so Doug’s entire arc is pathetic at best as well as his tangential inclusion in the Cliare v Frank arc

My major problems with Doug’s character began as early as season 4. 

Did not understand why they didn't actually have Doug switch sides by joining the Dunbar campaign in earnest in season 4. Like... it’s such an obvious opportunity to Thicken The Plot © that it’s reached this gif levels of dropping the ball:

P much everything about Doug’s character since then is just so.... lacking, while for the last few seasons they give him depth when he magically has empathy for one (1) woman before she dies (possibly as a direct result of his actions). This entire plot about him evaluating why he was so loyal to Frank could've been unpacked whilst he avoids Dunbar finding out about the murders he did commit. I’d rather him having agency than be a flat, troubled underling.

Aright I'm going to stop complaining about Doug. In season 3 and 4, his insecurity over being replaced and his sacrifices for Frank (and subsequent guilt) came close to giving us a real Moment with him as we delve more into how colourless his life outside of work really is. But beyond that, when his character started getting repetitive, there’s very little to compensate for his alternating acts of extreme narcissism/violence versus his childish confusion / self pity when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Anyways I'm basically at a point where I’d be okay if Frank’s long-lost cousin replaced Doug replacing Frank 

I’m appreciating the writers’ distinct refrain from plot formats and that the seasons progressively move towards the Underwoods but what if just for circularity and added balance we return to having a full-on reporter B plot in s6? More emphasis on Janine and Tom’s sleuthing, culminating in Tom’s assassination and Janine publishing the tell-all expose against Frank---including a reference to Zoe---that becomes the magnum opus of her career (and Claire using that against Frank). I just think the season needed more balance that Doug, the Shepards and Tom were not offering 

The Shepards and Tom, meanwhile, are decidedly banal. First of all, I had a hard time even telling Bill and Tom apart esp given that they were introduced one after the other. All white guys are the same.

Bill just kind of sits around until he has a platform to reference his favourite action movies doesn't he?

Moreover what does Tom do!? he doesn't want power, he doesnt seem to want anything. He’s just kind of there?

Unlike the Conways, the Shepards don’t have a clear goal and are not often in direct conflict with Claire the way Frank and Conway were. They want to control the presidency for money and Claire is always bouncing back from reliving her girlhood to political rivalry w Anette, yes, but what does that mean? What are the consequences? The logistics are so indirect and complicated, what precisely does Anette want? And why does anyone care? The Shepards are extremely boring.

Frank’s asides were purple and long af so I appreciate Claire’s succinct style not to mention her fantastic screen presence. I’m left to wonder, though, if maybe hers and every other aside in HoC is a little too on the nose. Like, they didn't hafta spell it out that the bird in the wall was a representation of Frank’s shadow trapping her, I think we got that 

The artistic intercuts to Claire’s troubled childhood wherein a group of bullies coerce her into stripping naked through the forest, while visually stunning and clever for its self-explanatory nature, feel really passive. They don't visually show us any reason for her not to resist, the bullies even let her keep her clothes after cutting them off her so we’re left to wonder why she does nothing....

Claire was raised to be ~proper~ so her resistance (likely) comes in the form of biting, passive-aggressive poise which is hard to get across in a silent montage but it just feels.. weird

Frances Underwood is going to have a very sad childhood

nearly all the Claire flashbacks are cinematic masterpieces and as much i think Claire’s backstory deserves more attention, i also appreciate the minimalism and the choice humanising moments of her adolescence 

listen I'm sure we all agree Robin Wright is peak acting but the actor for young Claire, who has the arguably harder task of copying Wright is fantastic 

Of all the characters who crop up every season seemingly out of nowhere only to disappear once more once when the plot the Underwoods are done with them, Jane is one of my favourites and possibly one of the greyest characters alive. Smart, mysterious, worldly, a bit of a hippie despite her job, severe despite her sense of humour. Really loves her extremely pedestrian surname. We stan.

Secondary characters rarely get anything close to a backstory on this show, esp ones that were introduced so late. Still, her motivations seem more complicated then others (i.e. betraying Cathy, one of two people she cares about) and I wonder if they deserve a bit more of an explanation. Especially seeing as she has a relationship with every major character.

If anyone deserves a spin-off it might be Jane and her name-dropping career/social life

Cathy faking her own death with a terrible french accent? On stan !!!

Seth teasing Doug even while he’s completely undervalued by everyone around him is a power move

Impressed that they managed three characters named Tom, their distinctly different appearances and the fact that they're almost never in the same POV shots works to separate them.

Claire using the word “female” even facetiously is cringe

Whenever they use the cinema room, the movie they watch is always symbolic. Before the 2017 election, Frank and Claire imitate the characters in Double Indemnity, and this season a pregnant claire watches Rosemary’s Baby. Clever.

i liked the whitehouse tour guide’s inclusion and the cameo from _____ though this season was especially white without their usual token secondary character

So overall i liked season 6 as an exploration of Claire’s character even while it did v little justice to most of the other characters and unfortunately spacey’s absence did affect the storyline

and finally: that cinnamontography !

Not that the series should be pushed past its prime, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see Claire as a mother?

[hwarangbangbang]

mark tuan » better. much better.

i got the idea of doing this from reading a bed sharing AU i found on Tumblr, you can find it here. i take no credit for these prompts or gifs, however i do take credit for writing these stories.

mark | jaebum | jinyoung | jackson | youngjae | bambam | yugyeom

title - better. much better. prompt - “we've had this tradition as besties to have a sleepover once a year but ths year... it feels different... were your pajamas always this cute?? did I always have butterflies???” pairing: mark tuan/fem!reader tags - hella fluff cause it's what I do, kissing, hickies, friends-to-lovers, angst I guess?? JFC just read it. pls be nice bc im soft af, who doesn't love frazier, and forgetting sarah marshall coME ON, ask me about me weiner, sry not sry word count - 3,012 words author's note - this is one of the longest oneshots i've ever written, it's just barely over three thousand words I know I'm weak I'm sORRY. enjoy!

Four years. Four years was how long you'd gone without seeing your best friend. Four years since he moved to South Korea from his home in Los Angeles to become a trainee under the JYP Ent. corporation and become an idol. Four years since you two last hugged, last physically saw or touched each other face to face.

But more importantly, four years since you'd had your annual best friend sleepover.

On those nights for the first two years, the third weekend in the month of July, you two would FaceTime and Skype as much as you could, with Mark's apologies that he couldn't be there, and you two just talking and catching up. However these past two years, he never called. And when you would attempt to get in touch with him, he'd either be too busy with schedules to pick up, or too tired to answer.

Either way, you got nothing.

Sure, he'd text you an 'I'm sorry,' but after that and a few hours of messages, you wouldn't hear anything. And it's not like he didn't care.  He was busy -- and you understood that. And as that third weekend in July began to come up, you weren't surprised to hear your phone ding while you were in the middle of grocery shopping. However what you were surprised to see was that it was a text message from Mark.

I have a surprise for you, (Y/N)~

Your brows furrowed in confusion, sending a quick message back before you began to pile your groceries onto an aisle's conveyor belt so you could pay and go home.

You somehow managed to get me a date with Gong Yoo? Ooh, no! Wait, let me guess, Park Hyung Sik?

A small smile graced your features and you had to remind yourself that he was your best friend. Your best friend who you totally weren't crushing on at all. You planned to tell him before he left for Korea, but considering it was so sudden, you hadn't mustered up the courage when his parents drove you both to the airport so you could say goodbye to him with them.

His parents shipped you two more than all of the Aghases in the world shipped MarkBam. His mother would constantly ask you when you would be giving her grand children, when you two were going to finally get together, it was rather endearing, but it always had to come to a stop when you realized you couldn't actually do that. Because you didn't want to fuck things up in the end. The only thing it did was get your hopes up.

You didn't tell him because you didn't want him to feel like he had obligations to you. Because you wanted him to go live his life and enjoy it without worrying about you. Because you didn't want to fuck up the one good friendship you'd had since you guys were four years old. Because you were scared of the rejection you knew you'd face.

You pulled out your money and paid for your groceries, giving a small smile to the bag boy and told him to have a nice day, before rolling the cart out to your vehicle. It was dark outside, very dark, it was almost ten at night, but you had gotten caught up late at work so you had a late start getting groceries. After you got all of them in, you got in your car and put on your seatbelt, starting the engine.

And there goes your phone again, dinging from where it sat in the passenger seat.

Better. Much better.

Ominous. Very, very ominous. You didn't know whether to be excited or scared. Regardless, you put your phone back down after replying and began your drive home.

You're scaring me, Tuan. Should I be worried?

Your phone dinged once more as you were driving, but given that you can barely walk and chew gum at the same time, it wasn't wise to try and read a text message while piloting a huge piece of machinery. As you pulled into your driveway, you picked up your phone, killing the engine.

However, just as you were about to reply, a FaceTime request with Mark popped up. You tilted your head slightly in confusion but clicked accept.

"(Y/N)! Are you ready to see your surprise?"

You could barely see him apart from the streetlights on the small screen of your phone, and his did little to illuminate his own face.

"I'm a little nervous... But su-"

The reason you didn't finish your sentence was because you let out an earth shattering scream.

Because there was a knock at your window, which startled you. And peering closer, you saw that none other than your best friend, Mark Yi En Tuan was the one knocking on said window.

It took you a good few minutes to process it. But then you were ecstatic. You threw open the car door, at risk of ripping it off it's hinges, and you embraced Mark in the biggest and tightest hug you ever thought imaginable. You buried your face in his neck, small squeals of surprise and happiness overtaking you as he lifted you off the ground and spun you a bit, hugging you just as tight as you did him.

And you felt your heart ache a little when you two parted.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you were still waiting for your comeback in Korea?"

A beautiful smile graced his face. "This tour is spread to the U.S. as well, and our second concert is in a few days here in L.A."

Your eyes grew rather big as you thought it over. "So does that mean... d-does that mean we can have our amazing spectacular best friend sleep over this year?"

Mark gestured to a miniature suitcase that was on the ground next to him that you assumed had clothes and other necessities in it.

"Yes. This means we can have our amazing spectacular best friend sleep over that I've missed the past four years."

~*~*~*~*~

Mark helped you bring in the groceries and you put them away while he got changed into his pajamas for the night. You couldn't believe this... Your best friend after four years finally comes back -- he remembered and he didn't forget about you and it made your heart swell with contentment. After putting away the groceries, you pulled out a few bags of popcorn and set them in the microwave one by one, filling the huge bowl you had stuffed away in storage, used only once a year at the sleepover. It definitely was dusty, but a good wash had it clean in no time.

You hadn't heard Mark walk in until he came over and rested his chin on your shoulder, a small gesture that you had completely forgotten about and it made you jump slightly. "Popcorn smells good." Mark commented, rubbing his hands up and down your arms, trying to warm them up since externally you were freezing.

However having him this close, with how much he'd grown up and how long you'd been apart, was making your cheeks warm in no time.

"Would you mind watching it for a minute? I'm gonna go change." You told him and he nodded, rubbing your back in a small departure gesture before you scampered off to your room to go change.

This kid was gonna be the death of you eventually.

You decided on a pair of black shorts and a white tank top with a pair of fuzzy grey socks, appropriate sleep over attire, making sure nothing important was on display before you walked out to see him pouring the last of the popcorn in the bowl, filling it to the brim.

You watched him as he did it. He certainly had matured from the awkward, cute kid you knew him as... He had gotten much taller, and thankfully they had let his brown hair live to see another day. It was slightly long, not too much, and his skin was tanner though only by a little. His shoulders were more broad, his shirt leaving little to the imagination as it clung to his body. He wasn't muscular, but lean -- and the veins in his forearms were definitely not helping with your act of playing cool around him.

"(Y/N)?"

You snapped out of your daze, just in time to see him throwing a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth, sucking off the butter and salt from his fingers and dear god that wasn't helping. You tried to ignore the smirk on his face, walking up to him and grabbing a few pieces of popcorn for yourself. Opening the fridge, you grabbed a few sodas and walked out to the living room, setting down the sodas on the entertainment center before going to pull out the futon.

"So-" Mark began, putting down the popcorn and nudging you aside so he could do it for you -- though not that you were complaining, it gave you ample time to lowkey watch his physique. "What are we watching tonight?" He said with slight strain to his voice as he pulled it out, grabbing the pillows off the floor and tossed them on the bed, plopping down with the bowl of popcorn in hands.

"Well, as much as I wish to torture you with romance films and chick flicks-" you started, sitting up at the far right corner of the bed, grabbing the blanket as you were cold, "I think I need a few laughs. You up for a comedy?" You asked and he grinned brightly. "When am I ever not up for comedy?"

You two ended up watching White Chicks, followed by Anchor Man, and then binged on a few episodes of Fraizer. You missed it. Laughing with him until your sides hurt, throwing popcorn at one another, poking each other randomly just because -- you missed the friendship, the closeness, you missed him. God, it'd been four years since you'd seen him and it felt good to laugh out the frustration you had the past few years without him.

"(Y/N)? Wanna play a game?"

This caught your attention. Games with Mark were dangerous.. Mainly due to the fact that it was typically truth or dare, and the last time you played that with Mark you nearly broke your ankle after running around outside in nothing but a BatMan onsie, yelling "ASK ME ABOUT MY WEINER" at four in the morning four a solid minute.

That was when you were thirteen and ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' was the shit.

But for some reason, you always agreed.

And here you were, six truths in from either side, and two dares from his side. You found out what kind of girls he dated in Korea if any, he found out that you watched the same K-Dramas Yugyeom did. They were all normal and not as mean as you knew Mark out to be in these types of games.

Which was suspicious as all hell.

"Alright, Mark. Truth or dare?" You had an overly dramatic tone to your voice, and he chuckled lowly, his eyes never leaving yours from where he sat on the opposite side of the bed before answering just as dramatically. "Dare."

Well that was a change.

You thought for a minute before a small smirk came over your face. He'd been playing with you all night, at least it felt that way in your head, with lingering stares and touches, so now it was time for a little teasing in return.

"Mr. Tuan, I dare you to tell me your kinks."

Mark pinked sightly, but brushed it off easily. "And here I thought you were going hard on me-" he laughed and you thought you'd caught a glimpse of silver, but you just nudged it away as he responded.

"Well, it's definitely been a while...Almost too long since I've gotten any with schedules. But my kinks definitely revolve around," Mark licked his lips and you saw it. The two silver barbells just underneath his tongue. "Using my tongue." Fuck, if that didn't have your panties flooded by now, you didn't know what else would. You often imagined what it'd be like to kiss Mark, but after seeing those it brought a whole new perspective into light.

You shook your head slightly, running a hand through your hair. "Y-Your t-turn."

Mark pretended to think for a minute before biting his lower lip, looking down at you. "Dare or Dare?" You scoffed, "it's truth or dare!" You protested and he shook his head. "No, you've been picking truths all this time! Come on, (Y/N) live a little!"

With a groan, you planted your face into your palms. "Fine, dare." You grumbled.

"I dare you to give me a hickey."

Your head shot up, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"I-I beg your p-pardon?"

"Give."

"Me."

"A hickey."

"You know, those marks you leave on someone's neck or chest or hi-"

You squeaked at his teasing words, scrambling to shove your hands over his mouth. "H-Hey, I know what it is! I don't need an explanation!" You yelled and he laughed, grabbing your wrist and pulling you fully to sit on his lap, your legs wrapped around his hips and your faces dangerously close.

"If you're not comfortable, we don't ha-"

Mustering up what little courage you had, you cut him off mid sentence.

"I'll do it."

That certainly got his attention. A big smirk spread across his face, and he bit his lip before slightly lifting his head so you got more access. "Do your worst, (Y/N)." And you were more than happy to. All the teasing from his end was about to get handed back to him, and you couldn't be more enthralled.

So, you got to work. You made little kitten licks up the side of his jugular, blowing cool air on his skin to which you saw goosebumps forming already. You placed a small open-mouthed kiss just at his pulse point, feeling him shudder and he could feel you smile against his skin as he gripped your thighs slightly.

"Someone's enjoying themselves."

He scoffed, "don't make me laugh, (Y/N)-"

To cut him off, you bit down into the skin, just hard enough to get his attention, you sucked lightly at the skin until a small red and purple mark formed, and you pulled back after a small kiss of apology to the blooming bruise on his neck. He was breathing heavy, his lower lip worried in between his teeth so badly you were fearing he'd draw blood. He wouldn't let go of your thighs either, his grip having hardened throughout the ordeal.

"Are you satis-"

Then he attacked. His lips clashed with yours, one hand moving up from grabbing at your thighs to grip the back of your neck, pushing your lips closer together if that was even possible, the other still massaging his own set of bruises into your thigh. He lightly pushed you down towards the bed, and you felt two small, cold steel balls at your bottom lip, asking for entrance.

He had his tongue pierced, as you previously suspected. That was fucking hot.

You allowed him entrance, and the two of you kissed languidly, your hands curling in his hair and when you pulled away, he was still chasing your lips for more. His hands were halfway up your shirt, dancing along your ribs and pulling it up but not all the way to where you'd be entirely exposed to him.

"D-Does this m-mean that-"

"Yes, (Y/N), it means I like you back. And it also means I'd very much like to stop being your best friend and start being your boyfriend."

A small flush of pink dusts your cheeks as you looked up at him in awe. "You knew I liked you? All this time?"

He smiled brightly, a small laugh leaving his throat. "I had the suspicion when I left for Korea. You only confirmed it just now with that hickey. No person I know would give their best friends a hickey that well if they were just best friends-" He brushed a strand of hair away from your face. You sighed, opening your mouth to make a smart ass retort when he leaned down and gave you another kiss that took your breath away in seconds.

He let his lips trail further until they were at the top of your sternum, just between your breasts and he sucked a dark mark into the skin, doing the same to the spot where your neck met your shoulder. Oh, your friends were never going to let you live that down. But then again, you were almost positive that you didn't mind it with how he was making you feel right now. It blew your mind to think that your best friend of so long could make a fire erupt in the pit of your stomach in mere seconds.

However, he stopped and pulled back, a concerned look on his face. "So is that a yes?"

With a huge grin, you nodded in response.

"But that makes me better than Gong Yoo and Park Hyung Sik, right?"

With a chortle, you rolled the two of you over so you were straddling his waist, you leaned down and kissed him sensually, your knew-found knowledge of making out servicing you well. When you pulled away, you dismissed his worries.

"You're better. Much better."

general masterlist

[papersandkeyboards]

4/11-17: The Spring Break Series; Part 5 (End): Ended Spring Break with Something Grand

FRIDAY, APR 15, 2016.

(^calon paparazi)

Sitting right smack in the middle of probably the driest states of the United States, people who didn’t know a lot about the Grand Canyon would assume that the place was dry and hot all year round.

However, I found out that the top of the Grand Canyon—logically—was situated high above the sea level. The South Rim, in which most of the tourist activity took place, stood in an average elevation of 6800ft (that’s more than 2 kilometers, if you don’t mind, Americans), and the canyon itself went as deep as 2400ft (700m) above sea level.

If we had the right page on Geography, we would know that as elevation rises, temperature decreases, and vice versa. With that in mind, it can be safely stated that the temperature at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is always gonna be hotter than the temperature above.

Thinking about this, now it made sense to me why Karen and Eric hiked down the Grand Canyon in January. It might be dead cold at the top of Grand Canyon in January, but down at the bottom it was pretty warm. Wise decision to make, instead of climbing down Grand Canyon in, say, June, because if it was already hot at the top of Grand Canyon, people might as well bring raw meat to cook over a mere rock down at the bottom. Very hot.

But hiking down the Grand Canyon was supposedly an activity that should be well-prepared—physically and logistically—which was exactly why we weren’t doing such thing in this occasion. Like I said, just touristy things. Guided tours, information boards and pamphlets, and pictures. And cheap souvenirs. #sorrynotsorry for being a tacky tourist, really. Kapan lagi.

We drove for around an hour or more from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff already stood in high elevation to begin with, but the road we took to the Grand Canyon was a dead-straight road that wasn’t steeply inclined it didn’t feel like we’re gaining so much altitude. When we got there, it was so chilly it didn’t feel like spring break. In fact, the high elevation did kill the ‘spring break’ vibe, kind of like what Flagstaff did to me the night before, because this was what I found on the ground:

But I wouldn’t complain. I like snow. Gotta enjoy its existence while I still got the chance.

The Grand Canyon was… well, grand. The weather was perfect: it might be chilly, but it wasn’t raining. The skies were bright blue with big blobs of white clouds. The air was fresh and breezy. I haven’t experienced being in such a big open space in a long time. And it felt refreshing.

I might have about a hundred pics of the Grand Canyon, but I didn’t have a lot of words for it, except that… nature really was magnificent. Way to go, God.

There were so many ledges and spots that would have been seriously beautiful to watch the whole canyon from or to get my picture taken from, but those spots were mostly unfenced, and none of us would like to risk it, so we went to the safe spot, the designated viewing ‘balcony’ for tourists. But even the view from there was amazing enough already.

What a pretty layer-cake-like structure. Unlike the tan lines of the Hoover Dam, these layers of the Grand Canyon should have been shaped over millennia.

And being a nationalist exchange student I was, of course I just had to do a mandatory pic of me with my flag in an American landmark.

(I probably shouldn’t have worn green hijab because that combined with the flag made me look somewhat Hungarian)

We could also see the bottom of the rim, where people go to camp for days. Karen told me people usually hire a mule to bring their stuff down and up, since it’s kind of exhausting to bring two-three-day camping supplies, including food and water, down and up the rim for miles. Heck, it should have taken way longer than just some miles because it was ALREADY ‘some miles’ if you pull a line straight down from the top to the bottom of the rim, let alone the walking trail which should take many more miles to avoid steepness. I saw at the bottom of the rim, somewhere, ran the Colorado River—or maybe a branch of the Colorado River—along which sides the trees were growing much greener than the other greens in the surrounding area.

We walked this trail called “Trail of Time”, which purpose was to walk the visitors through the journey of the Grand Canyon, geologically. The trail entirely was 2.83 miles (4.56 km), but I personally didn’t think I walked THAT much. But then again, if I try to remember, I was pretty tired and the trail was waaaaay longer than what I expected.

The trail was filled with information boards and polished model of different kinds of rocks. I’m not a person of Geology, but these rocks did have interesting patterns of layers and curves and colors. Each meter walked on the trail marked one million year of the Canyon’s geologic history, like this:

I didn’t read through all of the information on the boards, but it was fun with the viewing tube that gave you a real-life sight of what kind of rock layer was being talked about on the information board. The tubes were specifically set to one point of target, which were specific part of rock of the Canyon that correlated to the rock explained on the board.

This is what I like about making public facilities educational with effort not to make it boring, instead of, say, copy-and-pasting information straight out of Wikipedia and put it on a board for people to read.

We found a quite pretty unfenced place where we could take pictures too, though. Haha.

We walked some (and by some, I meant quite some) distance until we found a restaurant at the end of the trail. Ta-da! Stomach is hungry.

A classic log cabin design, with the deer head mounted on the wall and all (wait are those creatures with huge antlers called deers too bc i’m not sure). After that we took the bus back to our parking lot (because nope, no more walking thank you) and hit the road to Phoenix, AZ.

(not after an effort to find cheap souvenirs—I didn’t remember what they were selling but somehow I walked our of the store with nothing because, apparently, nothing in the store fit my criteria) (ya)

If the way across Nevada was a hot desert with patchy bushes, the way across Arizona was a hot desert with bunches of huge red rocks.

Beautiful.

Well, not that our trip all the way from Grand Canyon to Phoenix was all red rocks, but when we reached the city of Sedona and the sun started to glide westward approaching the horizon, the scene got real pretty.

Wish it was in Utah, which supposedly specialized in cool red rock boulders. Well, gotta save some things for later, am I right?

(menunggu hujan duit)

And we finally reached the city of Tempe, Arizona, and had our dinner there.

Kalau saya bilang ke orang-orang saya pergi ke Amerika dan mengunjungi kota Tempe, yang ada kayaknya malah diketawain ya.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APR 16-17, 2016.

Real quick. Visited Karen’s uncle in a retirement home (is that the correct term?), then went to his house to help cleaning up his house. It’s pretty obvious that Phoenix stood right smack in the middle of a huge desert, with the adobe buildings and all, so I wonder why was I surprised when I found a LOT of jerrycans full of water hidden all over his house (“in case of a drought,” Karen said, emphasizing the water shortage problem experienced by the state and surrounding states despite the Hoover Dam’s existence). We ended up using the water for plants.

Also, Phoenix was hot. If I were to compare, it was probably as hot as Duri (>30 Celcius in the middle of the day), but it was so... dry, like, so different from Indonesian hot. I couldn’t even understand how to explain it, but the sun was so intense and it was so dry. Oh, and, no wind, at all. Plus, what made it so extreme to me was the fact that I had just been through my past 7 months living in cold weather. I was at a point of life where 15 Celcius counted as ‘warm’ and 20 Celcius means ‘real hot and sunny yay let’s play outside all day’.

The next day we went to Scottsdale for none other than *drumroll* souvenirs! Then caught the plane back to Seattle in the afternoon. For some reason, when we arrived in the evening, I got this crazy headache, so I went straight to bed.

...yeah. That was all.

Incredibly exciting spring break, and most definitely super-duper-out-of-this-world unforgettable half a month. Demi apa kayaknya baru pertama kali ini jalan-jalan panjang ke mana-mana selama dua mingguan. Sempat ketemu artis lagi. cihuy.

Absolutely couldn’t thank enough my parents (both natural and host), but this time their kindness and love couldn’t save me from what’s coming the next day.

But for now, need sleep. Headache.

Adios.

[annaoposa]

We (re)built this city (Part 1 of 3: Athens)

I have been wanting to go to Greece because, well, we don’t really need reasons to go to Greece, do we? It’s known for its historical landmarks, cuisine, coasts, blue and white structures, Greek men gods… 

I didn’t have a grand let’s-see-all-of-Greece plan. I usually spend time booking tours and researching restaurants for a shape of a plan, but I didn’t do any of that because all my energy has been dedicated to work and fieldwork [1]. On one March evening, I made an impulse decision to book accommodations in three different islands via AirBnB and left that as my starting point for my annual soulbatical [2]. 

After the 10th anniversary of the Future for Nature Awards in Arnhem, I flew from Schipol to Athens via Aegean Airlines (€186.98 with 23 kg. baggage), and took the metro from the airport to the stop near the apartment (€10). My AirBnB host, Nick, met me at the stop, and together we walked to his place, where I would be staying for two nights. Since I arrived late afternoon, all the museums were closed, so I just walked to the restaurant that Nick recommended called Black Sheep and stuffed my face with this life-changing cheese dish and slow-cooked lamb. I generally don’t eat lamb, but ah, when in Greece. 

I scheduled only one full day in Athens because a couple of friends told me it was “overrated.” To maximize my day, I did my go-to tipid tip / traveling “hack” for any new destination: a free walking tour [3]. 

The walking tour started at the National Library, which used to hold the first copies of any book ever printed in Greece, as well as any publication that was related to Greece (ang lawak ng criteria!). Since it can no longer accommodate the increasing number of materials, they are now being moved to a new, 22,000-sqm building. We then walked to the Parliament, where our guide, Michael, discussed the current economic crisis. Greece’s unemployment rates are at an all-time high, and Transparency International named it the most corrupt country in the European Union in 2012 and 2013.   

The National Library

Next stops were Pláka, the pretty, touristy shopping district; Hadrian’s Library; Tower of Winds, and the ancient Agora. Michael informed us that most ruins can be viewed from the gates, and unless you pored over Greek literature and history and would appreciate every single Doric column (or what remains of it), it’s best to spend on any or all of the following: Agora, which closes at 3PM, the Acropolis, and/or Acropolis Museum, which both close at 5PM. We stopped by a viewpoint of the Acropolis, where Michael posed a question: is it better to reconstruct these ancient sites or leave them as they are? 

For him, they are better off as is to let people’s imagination work. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I suppose an average tourist would appreciate a reconstructed structure more, instead of just slabs of marble on the ground, and perhaps appreciate history more?   

Or not :)) Up for discussion. 

The tour wrapped up by the Acropolis Museum at 2PM. I was starving, so I walked back to Pláka to eat a kebab and have a beer.   

While finding my way back to Acropolis, I stopped by a store to look for postcards. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do on a trip. 

According to the staff member on duty, the word on lower left means “yes!”, the lower right has no direct English translation, but it roughly means “friends for life” or “good friendship.” I hope she’s right, because I’m sending it to one of my best friends. Baka SOUVLAKI pala yung totoong meaning. Shet. 

I found the Acropolis and entered at around 4:15PM, forty-five minutes before closing time (€20). The word acropolis comes from akron, “highest point,” and polis, “city.” The Acropolis holds the Temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon. The branding of Nike is so strong that I forget the brand was named after the Greek goddess for victory.

The Parthenon is being rebuilt with marble from the same site of the original structure. 

I was out 10 minutes before it closed, and walked up a couple of more viewpoints: one that overlooked Agora,

and another named Socrates’ Prison, which offered another view of the Acropolis.

Here, I wrote on the postcards and reflected on democracy and the concept of citizenship, two contributions of Athens to the world [4]. I read in A Little History of the World that people would vote for the most popular person... to be kicked out of Athens, i.e., “any politician who showed signs of becoming too popular, lest he seize power for himself and rule as a tyrant." 

Makes sense, huh?

The word "democracy” comes from dêmos, “people,” and krátos, "force" or “power” -- essentially, “rule of the people,” or as we know it, “people power.” People power is integral to our narrative as Filipinos. Democracy is the only form of government I grew up with, and it is messy. Our current situation is becoming increasingly frustrating: we’ve elected really, REALLY questionable politicians and fake news and alternative facts have become part of daily life. It’s democracy at work. But democracy at work also means the right and privilege to vote, which generations of women before me fought for. Democracy allows me to write letters to leaders and be openly critical of these leaders. It lets us stage protests. I’d take democracy over tyranny or communism, any day.

After my muni-muni moment in the middle of couples making out and men playing the guitar and singing Greek songs, I made my way back down layers of flowers and trees to the main roads. Since I have no sense of direction, I followed groups of friends walking their dogs (in the least creepy way possible, I swear). 

On my way back to the apartment (at this point my FitBit said I had already over 25,000 steps and my legs ached to prove it), I walked past the Panathenaic Stadium, the venue of first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Just right there, by the main road. It was a racecourse in c. 330 BC, rebuilt in 144 AD, excavated bit by bit from 1836 to 1869, and refurbished in 1896. It was also used in the 2004 Olympics. Isn’t that incredible? Full circle. Think of all the wins, losses, heartbreaks, and cheers (and nude male bodies, as the first track events were done without clothing) this stadium has seen and heard. 

Given the chance, I’d like to go back to Athens and spend two or three days. Turns out Athens isn’t overrated for someone like me who’s a nerd for history, art, and politics. One day wasn’t enough. Athens has been destroyed and rebuilt, war after war, and there are layers of stories beneath the Starbucks, H&M, and Sephora that line Ermou Street, and under the remains of Propylaia and Erechtheion. Someday.

Next stop: Naxos!

[1] I owe Fiesta Tours & Travel a big thank you for fixing my UK and Schengen visa appointments and requirements while I was traveling for work. I was only in Manila for about two weeks, collectively, from January-March and I was so worried I wouldn’t get my visas in time, but Ms. Eve, Ms. Anna Marie, and Ms. Jean of Fiesta Tours figured it out so I wouldn’t have to. Thank you. 

[2] “Soulbatical” is a term my best friend Claudine coined when I visited her in California in October 2015, after my MSc. “I’m soul-searching. Kind of like a sabbatical,” I told her. “A soulbatical!” she declared. So now I have an annual commitment to go on a soulbatical where I do as little work as possible and travel on my own. 

[3] Free walking tours don’t have a fixed price, but run on tips.

[4] This is what happens when you travel alone - ang daming time for rumination and contemplation.

[thetravelinggeiger]

I never thought I would find myself on an Alaska cruise. Something about being stuck on a gigantic ship with thousands of other people never appealed to me. Who wants to travel like that? Well, after starting my job as a travel agent with AAA I quickly learned the cruise industry is a big deal. Apparently, 20+ million people a year go on cruises and it’s growing, fast. When I was presented a great opportunity to go on one myself, I couldn’t pass up the chance. I had to see what this was all about.

Voyage of the Glaciers

I chose a May 10 sailing from Vancouver, Canada to Whittier, Alaska (Anchorage) called Voyage of the Glaciers.

The sailing was on the Island Princess, part of the Princess Cruise Line. I chose Princess simply because they offered a “Graduation” cruise to travel agents who had completed their training program.

I booked myself and Glenna in an interior room, while my parents accompanied us in a balcony room of their own. This gave me a great opportunity to experience both options. The daily activities on the ship and in the ports kept us very busy so I felt like the room choice was not all that important. With that said, however, relaxing on the balcony with some drinks and watching the mountains and glaciers sail by was a wonderful experience.

A Day at Sea

  We flew into Vancouver a day early to experience the city and make sure we wouldn’t miss the ship. Around noon the next day, we headed over to the marina at Canada Place to board. As expected, quite a crowd had formed. However, outside of playing the hurry-up-and-wait game, the embarkation process was very smooth. Herded like cattle, we went through a series of rooms as officials tagged and removed our luggage, verified our identification, issued us cruise cards, and ushered us onto the ship. Around 7PM that night, we set sail and had the remainder of the night and the entire next day at sea. This was ideal as it gave us time to explore the ship and get our bearings. We visited the different lounge and bar areas, listened to a couple talks in the theater, played some casino game, and of course ate a lot of food.

Ketchikan

Our first port of call was Ketchikan, the self-proclaimed Salmon Capital of the World. While it was settled because of its abundant fish and lumber, the city’s primary source of revenue nowadays is tourism. We jumped right in and followed the fellow camera toters to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.

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Corny lines and all, the show featured the historical rival lumber camps of Spruce Mill (Ketchikan, USA) and Dawson Creek (BC, Canada), as their lumberjacks competed for top place in all sorts of chopping, sawing, climbing, axe throwing, and log rolling events. It was very entertaining and also quite impressive. After the show, we walked Creek Street; famous in the 20th century for its line of brothels.

Still standing today is Dolly’s House. Outside, a sign announces it as the place “Where both men and salmon came upstream to spawn.” Ketchikan also boasts the largest collection of standing totem poles in the world, carved by the native Tlingit. Both Totem Heritage Center and Saxman Totem Park would be worth a visit.

Juneau

Dominated by jewelry stores and gift shops, the state capital of Juneau is a good place to go on an excursion or get out on a hike. We chose the latter and took a city bus west of town to the Mendenhall Valley. From there, we walked The Trail of Time through a temperate rainforest to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. The trail had markers designating where the glacier edge was years ago. Remarkably, the glacier has retreated some 2+ miles and the large lake that now sits below it only started forming in 1930.

A short hike further led to Nugget Falls, where we spotted a mountain goat high above on the cliffside. The clouds parted just enough to get a decent view of the mass of blue ice.

Icebergs lazily drifted out on the lake. Back in town, we had a couple Duck Farts at the Red Dog Saloon. A mixture of Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Crown Royal, the duck fart is as Alaskan as the Mai Tai is Hawaiian.

We also ordered some Alaskan White, which is brewed just down the street by the Alaskan Brewing Company. On a sunny day, I think the Mt. Roberts Tramway would make for a great trip, but it wasn’t in the cards for us.

Skagway

  The history of the Klondike Gold Rush lives on in Skagway. Appearing almost overnight, Skagway and the neighboring town of Dyea formed the main gateway into the Klondike. For three years from 1897-1900, hopeful miners came by the thousands. Arriving by steamship, their trip had only just began. They then must haul 1 ton of supplies up either the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail, or the 43-mile White Pass Trail to Bennett Lake. From there, it was a measly 550 miles by boat on the wild Yukon River to reach Dawson City and the gold fields. By the time most arrived, the claims had been made and the gold was gone.

We retraced the route of the White Pass Trail by motor coach, stopping at the Yukon Suspension Bridge, and feasting at a salmon bake for lunch. Back in Skagway, we explored the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Museum and browsed a few shops. We also had a beer at the Skagway Brewery and took a brothel tour in the Red Onion Saloon.

Retaining some of its 1890’s atmosphere, Skagway was my favorite port town.

Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay National Park is iconic Alaska. Carved by advancing glaciers over 300 years ago, they have since retreated, leaving behind a breathtaking, remote landscape. For over 65 miles, pristine blue water runs up numerous inlets and smaller bays, all surrounded by jagged, snow-covered mountains and huge swaths of ice. Enormous tidewater glaciers flow from mountain tops miles away, inching their way to the bay where they calve off in thunderous roars. Joined by some National Park Service Rangers who gave a wonderful commentary, our boat sailed the duration of the bay. At the terminus were the main architects, Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. While Grand Pacific is full of dirt and glacial debris, Margerie is picture perfect.

We floated here for almost an hour, listening to the cracks and groans of the moving slab of ice. Eventually, we had to leave and make the return trip back down the picturesque bay.

College Fjord

We had truly been spoiled. College Fjord was the most stunning landscape we had come across… other than Glacier Bay. From where our boat sat, we could see all 5 tidewater glaciers spilling into the bay, as well as numerous others high in the mountain tops. There was so much ice it was almost blinding.

  The boat lingered here before making a short journey across the Prince William Sound. We docked that night in Whittier and disembarked in the morning in a freezing rain. A coach bus took us from Whittier to Anchorage and dropped us off at our hotel. Our first cruise had come to an end.

Food & Service

I can not overstate how incredible the food was on this ship. Sitting down for a meal in the main dining area was like being treated to a 5 star restaurant… every night! Seriously, we were treated to salmon, halibut, crab legs, lobster, steak, perfectly cooked every time. Top that off with fabulous appetizers and incredible desserts, it was truly a highlight of the trip. The food in the buffet areas and grills were just as good. Heck, even the room service food was ridiculously delicious.

Tips & Tricks

Princess@Sea. As do probably all the cruise lines, Princess has its own Intranet on board their ships. You can use this to message other passengers and look at the schedule of events for the day.

Hit the Happy Hours. Drinks on board the ship are pretty pricey, and you have to be a fairly heavy drinker to make the $55/day Beverage Package worth it. Instead, hit the twice daily happy hours and get 2-for-1 prices.

Don’t bring a book. A, you probably won’t read it and B, every ship has a whole library full of them, including a take a book/leave a book section.

Bring Binoculars. This is especially necessary in Alaska, where whales and wildlife are all around.

Manage Your Excursions. I definitely recommend going on at least one excursion, but don’t go overboard with them. Some of the ports have a lot to offer and it’s fun to just walk around on your own.

Island Princess Specs

Registered in Hamilton, Bermuda

Built by Chantiers De L’Atlantique- Shipyard of St. Naizare, France

Built in 2002

Max Passenger 1,970

Max Crew  900

Read more about our Alaskan adventure, including our Kayak trip in Kenai Fjords!

Voyage of the Glaciers- A First Time Alaska Cruise I never thought I would find myself on an Alaska cruise. Something about being stuck on a gigantic ship with thousands of other people never appealed to me.