#you eat some pizza and some chips and desert and have two drinks and the next morning you feel like carol-ann in the walls

[princehendir]

The consequences of junk food binges are so much steeper now that I am elderly

[slightlypossessed]

Tag some mutuals you want to get to know better

I was tagged by the lovely @amywritesthings, so tysm!!

let us begin!!

Favourite time of the year: October & November time of the year. I love, love October's spooky Halloween vibe and I hate when it ends, but I also love and welcome November because it's easily the best weather of the year, perfect for hanging out outdoor and walks.

Comfort Food: my favourite question! I love a good cheesy pizza and it's best eaten with friends/fam or while watching a movie or show, and never ever outside these two sacred (for me) settings. My dad also makes this perfect seafood pasta, each time a lil different sometimes with shrimp, others calamari, maybe both, other times he goes for salmon — but the fucking sauce? heavenly, beyond description, the absolute epitome of comfort and hearty food; I want him to open up a restaurant just so he could serve this delicacy of a pasta because everyone deserves a taste of it.

Favourite desert: jam mille-feulle. the most exquisite of patisserie. typing it out makes me feel the most pretentious I've felt but i seriously love it and everyone deserves to eat it and now how perfect it is. I don't like the ones with the cream piped in the middle, but rather the ones where it's spread out, they're just a more enjoyable treat. I'm also deeply in love with chocolate chip cookies and a good, warm orange cake.

Things you collect: a possibly very boring answer but notes. Like academic notes (and research and shit) I just can't bring myself to part ways with them, especially the ones for my fav subjects. I also collect doodles and stuff. I rarely throw out my own doodles and i keep my friends doodles and silly notes in class — i just love how they symbolise this frozen moment in time of random self expression, and we always have little inside jokes associated with each note or drawing, so yeah. I also LOVE to collect funky or cool looking stuff, like brochures or cards or anything really that's designed really well; I'm studying to become a graphic designer so shit like that helps inspire me, you know?

Favourite drink: Lemonade. simply put the most enjoyable thing in the world is lemonade, in all it's various iterations. Also anything cold and caramel, caramel latte, caramel frappe, caramel shake anything caramel and cold I'm in need of it. I also once drank this EXQUISITE drink that idk what it's actually called but it said blue island on the menu: it was mix of citrus and orange and a blue syrup and idk what exactly it is but it's simply the best thing I've ever drank, I still daydream about it.

Favourite musical artist: questions like these should be illegal because i simply have NO idea how to answer them. The answer changes every hour, every 4 minutes when i listen to a new song. however, i do have some names I'd like to share: Ólafur Arnalds, a literal brilliant musical mastermind, i love him and all his little tunes; Nelly Furtado & Timbaland, I listen to them and immediately get possessed by the spirit of the mid 2000's clubbing scene™, listen to them and have a good, good time; I've recently been really into M83, the genius of all his music boggles me everytime i hear it. I'm also a deep deep lover of soundtracks so 60% of my Spotify is just different movie and show soundtracks.

Last song you listened to: Leaving for The Trial from the Defending Jacob soundtrack. I just finished the show yesterday and it's so good and this is my fav soundtrack from it. And if you don't think of soundtracks as REAL songs (which would make you absolutely wrong btw I'm sorry) them I'm happy to provide the answer Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation.

Last movie you watched: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE!!!! i love more serious and sad Steve Carell characters, which is why i deeply love beautiful boy and now little miss sunshine. The movie made me cry, laugh, reconsider my life and have an absolutely rad time dancing along to Olive's raunchy little dance number (i love it sm u have no idea) EVERYONE should watch this movie it's brilliant and I'm ashamed to have not watched it much sooner than I did.

Last series you watched: Defending Jacob (as is mentioned a few paragraphs up) I love chris evans, and i love the dynamic he has with jaeden martell. The show is such an enjoyable watch i love the directing and the pace of it, i just wish they hadn't good with the ending they decided on going with.

Series you're currently watching: nothing rn. I just finished defending Jacob last night so I haven't had time to start something new, but I'm thinking maybe succession. I haven't watched any of it and it seems to be a fan fav recently so I might start it soon. I'm also thinking of starting Only Murders in The Building or Trust + I'm watching she-hulk at the moment, but unlike the other shows i mentioned I can't binge it yet cuz it's stil being aired weekly.

Current obsession: this is getting repetitive I'm sorry....but series and shows. I love watching them, and not just to get entertained, but i love to break down the plot, and study the characters, and admire the actors and their acting choices (and find similarties between their other characters) I love admiring the cinematography and directing and all the various camera techniques used, and god do i love the music, whether it be radio songs or original soundtracks i love how they use them i love it all and goddamit i want to be an actor or a director so bad!!

Dream place to visit: Italy. i fucking love Italy. also maybe the major US cities, like Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. maybe Sweden too.

A place you've been that you want to go back to: Twoo places actually!! one is UAE, i visited both Dubai and Abu Dhabi (I also used to live in Dubai when i was younger so it feels familiar in a sense). I love city lights at night and I LOVE the subway in dubai u get to pass by so many land marks and towers i love it, it's the best during sunset time (a lil busy tho because people are leaving work). Abu Dhabi is also amazing, i love the sea there sm!! we used to go walk (me and my fam) on the corniche every night and eat ice cream from a cold stone on the corniche, it was seriously the best time of my life. Also there's this sailing competition thing they do around the beginning of February that's so ethereal to watch, the coast just becomes full with pretty white sail ships.

The second place (although abu Dhabi and Dubai may count as 2 separate places but I'm putting them in one category because they're in the same country) is Alexanderia. I LOVE!! the corniche in Alexandria, it's a "long" city, it feels like one tall branch along the Mediterranean. It's so beautiful and i appreciate the roman/greek influence on the city, especially in its architecture. There's a food court/hang out place there called Tivoli it's right by the sea and has so many cafes and restaurants; there's something so purifying about drinking a cold, sweet lemonade right by the sea there. Also Fort Qaitbay is INSANE from the inside, if anyone ever visits they should go at a time where it's open to enter because holy fuck it feels like a different world. it's so high and the stairs are so steep, but the view when u reach the top is worth it (trust me) and it's so so much fun if you travel with a group of friends. The Royal Jewelry museum is also a must-see, the pinnacle of royal luxury. Ethereal to walk through, the architecture is insane. I can't believe I was in the bedroom of a literal princess judging her choice of silk sheets. The ceilings and chandeliers are a work of art (as are the floors, carpets, bathroom tiles, pretty much every inch).

The answer is very long but these places are so beautiful to visit and experience, and they're not often found on "top 20 places to visit" lists, so here u go.

Something you want: absolute peace of mind. I wanna reach a point where I'm content with what i have, and I also wanna have a comfortable living... situation (??) idk it's why I'm studying and trying to make something out of my self, I don't wanna worry about money and bills, and I wanna spoil my family — it's not realistic but it's something I want.

Currently working on: 28 different drafts, WIPs for different characters, including the moon boys, din djarin, matt murdock the outlaw of a lawyer, and carmen Berzatto because i recently watched the bear and I'm obsessed (and think everyone should watch the bear it's beyond captivating) anyway it's chaos and my motivation to sort through it is around 3%

Some more people to play: @preciouslandmermaid @astroboots

(p.s) not mutuals per se but they're people whose writing I admire and want to know more about them

[wjbsart]

A complete, very long list of all GBoard-combinable emojis because I can't find one anywhere.

Ok so for those who haven't seen my stuff (or have only seen my Bionicle posts), I sometimes emoji mashup redraws, with the recent fourth one using GBoard-based fusions. Frustratingly, there's no actual list of fusion-compatible emojis, so I'll attempt to compile them, in a list below the "Read More" thing:

Green/▢ = compatible with fusion Blue/△ = only works with certain emojis Red/◯ = not compatible with fusion

Also, since other people's terms for specific emojis might not match up with mine, I recommend using CTRL+F and then doing this to find the specific emoji you're looking for. This list is in the order presented in GBoard's Emoji menu. Some of them will be generic unicode symbols, I don't know how to change that, sorry for the inconvenience. Also, I won't aknowledge multi-category Emoji.

Smileys and Emoticons

😀Open-mouthed smile▢

😃Wide-eyed smile▢

😄Closed-eyed smile▢

😁Closed-eyed grin▢

😆Laughing▢

😅Sweating smile▢

😂Cry-laughing▢

🤣Cry-ROFLing▢

😭Crying▢

😗Kissing▢

😙Kissing, closed eyes▢

😚Kissing, blushing▢

😘Kissing, winking w/ heart▢

🥰Surrounded by hearts▢

😍Heart-eyes▢

🤩Star-eyes▢

🥳Noisemaker and party-hat▢

🤗Hugging▢

🙃Upside-down▢

🙂Smile▢

☺Blushing, smiling▢

😊Blushing▢

😏Looking off to the side▢

😌Relieved▢

😉Winking▢

🤭Hand over mouth▢

😶Nightmare fuel Mouthless▢

😐Neutral▢

😑-_-▢

😔Pensive▢

😋Licking lips▢

😛Tongue out▢

😝Tongue out, eyes closed▢

😜Tongue out, winking▢

🤪Tongue out, wide-eyed▢

🤔Hmmm▢

🤨Suspicious▢

🧐Monocle▢

🙄Rolling eyes▢

😒Unamused▢

😤Snorting▢

😠Angry▢

😡Angry, red▢

🤬Swearing▢

☹Frown▢

🙁Frown but less▢

😕Confused▢

😟Distraught▢

🥺Pleading▢

😳AWOOGA Flushed▢

😬Yikes▢

🤐Zip▢

🤫Shushing▢

😰Distraught, sweating▢

😧Distraught, shocked▢

😦Distraught, neutral▢

😮Open mouth▢

😯Open mouth, surprised▢

😲Shocked▢

😱Horrified▢

🤯Your head asplode Mind blown▢

😢Crying, single tear▢

😥Crying, less sad▢

😓Sweating▢

😞Dissapointed▢

😖Pained▢

😣Persevering▢

😩Weary▢

😫Tired▢

🤤Drooling▢

😴Sleeping▢

😪Sleeping but different?▢

🌛Left-facing moon▢

🌜Right-facing moon▢

🌚New moon face◯

🌝Full moon face◯

🌞The sun▢

🤢Queasy▢

🤮Vomiting▢

🤧Sneezing▢

🤒Unwell▢

🤕Bandaged▢

🥴Drunk▢

😵Dizzy▢

🥵Hot▢

🥶Cold▢

😷Masked up▢

😇Angel▢

🤠yee haw▢

🤑Money-tongue▢

😎Cool▢

🤓Nerd▢

🤥Lying▢

🤡Clown▢

👻Ghost▢

💩Poop▢

👽Ayy lmao Alien▢

🤖Robot▢

🎃Jack-o-Lantern▢

😈Demon 1▢

👿Demon 2▢

👹Oni◯

👺Tengu◯

☠Skull and crossbones▢

🔥Fire▢

💫Star with trail▢

⭐Star▢

🌟Star with bits▢

✨Stars▢

⚡Lightning◯

💥Explosion◯

💯100△

💢Anime anger symbol◯

💨Steam▢

💦Sweat Droplets▢

💤Zzz▢

🕳Hole▢

🎉Party popper▢

🎊Confetti ball▢

😺😸😹😻😼😽🙀😿😾Literally all the "cat in different emotions" emojis▢

❤🧡💛💚💙💜🖤Literally all the coloured hearts△

♥Heart suit▢

💘Heart with arrow▢

💝Heart with ribbon▢

💖Shiny heart▢

💗Growing heart▢

💓Beating heart▢

💞Swirling hearts▢

💕Two hearts▢

💌Love letter▢

💟Heart in square▢

❣Heart exclamation mark▢

💔Broken heart▢

💋Kiss▢

👥Two silhouettes◯

👤Silhouette◯

🗣Talking silhouette◯

👣Footprints◯

🧠Brain◯

🦠Microbe▢

🦷Tooth◯

🦴Bone◯

💀Skull▢

👀Eyes◯

👁Eye▢

👄Lips◯

👅Tongue◯

👃👂🦶🦵💪👍👎👏🙌👐Every other body part and hand gesture, seriously this isn't even all of them◯

People

Seriously, I don't know why none of the people-category emojis are Fusion-compatible. Let's just move on.◯

Animals and Nature

💐Bunch of flowers▢

🌹Rose▢

🥀Wilted rose◯

🌷Tulip▢

🌺Hibiscus flower◯

🌸Cherry blossom▢

🏵Rosette◯

🌻Sunflower◯

🌼Daisy▢

💮White flower◯

🍂Falling leaves◯

🍁Maple leaf◯

🌾Rice plants◯

🌱Seedling◯

🌿Herb◯

🍃Falling leaves again◯

☘3-leaf clover◯

🍀4-leaf clover◯

🌵Cactus▢

🌴Palm tree◯

🌳Deciduous tree◯

🌲Coniferous tree▢

🏞National park◯

⛰Mountain◯

🌊Wave◯

🌬Wind◯

🌀Tornado symbol◯

🌁Foggy scene◯

🌫Fog▢

🌪Tornado▢

☃Snowman (with snow)▢

⛄Snowman (without snow)▢

❄Snowflake

🏔Mountain with snow◯

🌡Thermometer◯

🌋Volcano◯

🏜Desert◯

🏝Desert island◯

🏖Beach◯

🌅Sunrise/set (water)◯

🌄Sunrise/set (mountains)◯

☀Sun▢

🌤Sun with cloud◯

⛅Sun and cloud◯

🌥Cloud with sun◯

🌦Sun and cloud with rain◯

☁Cloud▢

🌨Snowcloud◯

⛈Stormcloud◯

🌩Thundercloud◯

🌧Raincloud◯

💧Drop◯

☔Umbrella with rain◯

🌈Rainbow▢

✨Sparkles▢

🌙Crescent Moon◯

☄Comet◯

🌠Shooting star▢

🌌Milky Way◯

🌉Bridge◯

🌆City in the evening▢

🌃City at night▢

🌍🌏🌎Earth▢

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘The moon◯

🙈🙉🙊🐵Monkeys, wise or not▢

🦁Lion face▢

🐯Tiger face◯

🐱Cat face▢

🐶Dog face◯

🐺Wolf face◯

🐻Bear face▢

🐨Koala face▢

🐼Panda face▢

🐹Hamster face◯

🐭Mouse face◯

🐰Rabbit face▢

🦊Fox face◯

🦝Raccoon face◯

🐮Cow face◯

🐷Pig face▢

🐽Pig nose▢

🐗Boar head◯

🦓Zebra head◯

🦄Unicorn head▢

🐴Horse head◯

🐸Frog face◯

🐲Dragon head◯

🦎Lizard◯

🐉Dragon◯

🦖T-Rex◯

🦕Diplodocus◯

🐢Turtle▢

🐊Crocodile◯

🐍Snake◯

🐁Mouse▢

🐀Rat◯

🐇Rabbit▢

🐈Cat▢

🐩Poodle◯

🐕Dog◯

🐅Tiger◯

🐆Leopard◯

🐎Horse◯

🐖Pig▢

🐄Cow◯

🐂Bull◯

🐃Water buffalo◯

🐏Ram◯

🐑Sheep◯

🐐Goat▢

🦌Deer▢

🦙Llama▢

🦘Kangaroo◯

🐘Elephant◯

🦏Rhinoceros◯

🦛Hippopotamus◯

🦒Giraffe◯

🐒Monkey▢

🦍Gorilla◯

🐪🐫Camels◯

🐿Squirrel (why does the squirrel of all things have a Unicode symbol?)◯

🦡Badger◯

🦔Hedgehog▢

🦇Bat▢

🐓Cockerel/rooster◯

🐔Chicken◯

🐣🐥🐤Chicks◯

🐦Bird▢

🦉Owl▢

🦅Eagle◯

🦜Parrot◯

🕊Dove◯

🦢Swan◯

🦚Peacock◯

🦃Turkey◯

🦆Duck◯

🐧Penguin◯

🦈Shark◯

🐬Dolphin◯

🐋🐳Whales◯

🐟Fish▢

🐠Tropical fish◯

🐡Pufferfish◯

🦐Prawn◯

🦞Lobster◯

🦀Crab◯

🦑Squid◯

🐙Octopus▢

🦂Scorpion▢

🕷Spider▢

🕸Spiderweb◯

��Shell◯

🐌Snail▢

🐜Ant◯

🦗Grasshopper◯

🦟Mosquito◯

🐝Bee▢

🐞Ladybird◯

🦋Butterfly◯

🐛"Bug" yeah sure ok◯

🐾Pawprints◯

Food and Drink

🍓Strawberry▢

🍒Cherry◯

🍎Red apple◯

🍉Watermelon◯

🍑Peach◯

🍊Orange◯

🥭Mango◯

🍍Pineapple▢

🍌Banana◯

🍋Lemon▢

🍈Melon◯

🍏Green apple◯

🍐Pear◯

🥝Kiwi◯

🍇Grapes◯

🥥Coconut◯

🍅Tomato◯

🌶Chili▢

🍄Mushroom◯

🥕Carrot◯

🍠Sweet potato◯

🌽Corn◯

🥦Broccoli◯

🥒Cucumber◯

🥬Lettuce◯

🥑Avocado▢

🍆Aubergine◯

🥔Potato◯

🌰Nut◯

🥜Peanuts◯

🍞Bread▢

🥐Croissant◯

🥖Baguette▢

🥯Bagel◯

🥞Pancakes◯

🍳Frying pan◯

🥚Egg (somehow)◯

🧀Cheese▢

🥓Bacon◯

🥩Meat◯

🍗Chicken leg◯

🍖Anime meat◯

🍔Burger◯

🌭Hotdog▢

🥪Sandwich◯

🥨Pretzel◯

🍟Chips◯

🍕Pizza◯

🌮Taco◯

🌯Wrap◯

🥙Stuffed flatbread◯

🥘Paella◯

🍝Spaghetti◯

🥫Can◯

🥣Bowl◯

🥗Salad◯

🍲Pot of food◯

🍛Curry◯

🍜Noodles◯

🍣Sushi◯

🍤Fried prawn◯

🥡Takeaway container◯

🍚Cooked rice◯

🍱Bento◯

🥟Dumpling◯

🍢Oden◯

🍙Jelly Donut Rice ball◯

🍘Rice cracker◯

🍥Fishcake◯

🍡Dango◯

🥠Fortune cookie◯

🥮Moon cake◯

🍧Shave ice◯

🍨Ice cream◯

🍦See above◯

🥧Pie◯

🍰Cake slice◯

🍮Custard mate what kinda custard have you been eating, this is clearly a créme caramel◯

🎂Birthday cake▢

🧁Cupcake▢

🍭Lollipop◯

🍬Boiled sweet◯

🍫Chocolate◯

🍩Donut◯

🍪Cookie◯

🍯Honey◯

🧂Salt◯

🍿Popcorn◯

🥤Soft drink◯

🥛Milk◯

🍼Baby bottle◯

🍵Green tea◯

☕Coffee▢

🍺Beer◯

🍻Beers, plural◯

🥂Champagne glasses◯

🍾Champagne◯

🍷Red red wine◯

🥃Whiskey◯

🍸Martini◯

🍹Cocktail◯

🍶Sake◯

🥢Chopsticks◯

🍴Knife and fork▢

🥄Spoon◯

🔪Kitchen knife◯

🍽Plate▢

Travel and Places

🛑🎡Everything from the stop sign to Ferris wheel◯

🎠Merry-go-round horse▢

🎪🏕Everything from circus tent to campsite◯

🌇City at sunset yes I'm surprised as you are▢

🛤Train tracks◯

🛣Road◯

🗺Map◯

🗾Japan is an island by the sea filled with volcanoes and it's beautifuul!◯

🌐Globe with meridian lines▢

💺Plane seat◯

🧳Luggage◯

Activities and Events

🎈Balloon▢

🎀Bow◯

🎁Present◯

🎇Sparkler◯

🎆Fireworks◯

🧨Dynamite Firecracker◯

🧧Red envelope◯

🎐Wind chime◯

🎏Fish streamers◯

🎎Japanese dolls (that's what the emoji's called, don't @ me with the actual name for them)◯

🎑Moon viewing ceremony◯

🎍Pine decoration◯

🎋Tanabata◯

🎄Christmas tree▢

🎗Ribbon△

🥇🥈🥉🏅🎖Medals◯

🏆Trophy◯

📣Megaphone◯

🥅Goal◯

⚽⚾🥎🏀🏐🏈🏉🎾🏸🥍🏏🏑🏒SPORTS◯

🥌Curling stone◯

🛷Rosebud Sled◯

🎿Ski◯

⛸Skate◯

⛳Golf-hole◯

🎯Target◯

🏹Bow◯

🥏Frisbee◯

🎣Fishing rod▢

🎽Running shirt◯

🥋Martial arts uniform◯

🥊Boxing glove◯

🎱8-ball◯

🏓Ping-pong◯

🎳Bowling◯

♟Chess◯

🧩Puzzle piece◯

🎮Controller◯

🕹Joystick◯

👾Videogame alien◯

🔫Gun◯

🎲Dice◯

🎰Slot machine◯

🎴Flower playing card◯

🀄Mahjong tile◯

🃏Joker◯

🎩Top hat◯

📷📸Camera◯

🖼Painting◯

🖌Paintbrush◯

🖍Crayon◯

🧵String◯

🧶Wool◯

🎼🎵🎶Music▢

🎷🎺🎸🎻🥁Instruments◯

🎤Mic◯

🎧Headphones▢

🎚🎛🎙📻Assorted audio stuff◯

📺TV◯

📼VHS◯

📹Camcorder◯

📽Projector◯

🎥Film camera◯

🎞Film◯

🎬Clapperboard◯

🎭Comedy and tragedy masks◯

🎫🎟Tickets◯

Objects

📱🧻Everything from smartphone to toilet roll◯

🧸Teddy bear▢

🧷🧢Everything from safety pin to baseball cap◯

👑Crown▢

🎒💍Everything from backpack to ring◯

💎Diamond▢

💄👓Everything from lipstick to glasses◯

🕶Sunglasses▢

🥽📁Everything from goggles to folder◯

🕶Newspaper▢

🗞🔎Everything from rolled-up newspaper to right-pointing magnifying glass◯

🔮Crystal ball▢

🧿🔓Everything from Nazar amulet to open lock◯

Symbols

There are no compatible non-repeated Emoji here.◯

Flags

Aaaaand none here either.◯

Feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong.

[mr007pennyworth]

Alfred and Food Headcanon

Alfred has a interesting relationship with his meals and cooking. As a ex-military major he’s not used to overly fancy food, even when he’s been with the Wayne's for so long.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner consisted of rather simple 300-400 calorie meals. Protein was heavily featured, so even though Alfred had been raised on having limited meat in the family he was fed meat more often in the army that he’d seen as child. 

The Army was were he found a love hate relationship with coffee, in some places tea wasn't always available to make and coffee was drunk by more of the squad on a morning so tea was typically only seen at dinner. 

When he moved in with Thomas and Martha, he refused to drink coffee any time of the day but at breakfast, it was though Martha he found the world of more than English breakfast tea. Now Alfred has many types in the house, from fruit to herbal, black and even white teas each of them kept for health and emotional reasons. 

Peppermint tea became a common evening drink due to side effects from his pain medication giving him bad indigestion. 

It was a few years after Thomas and Martha died that Bruce noticed more of Alfred’s odd military habits around meals. 

Breakfast was at 7am on the dot with him. Lunch was 12.30pm and Dinner was served at 6pm. Supper became a new thing between the two of them when Alfred started using Martha’s tea and toast after 10pm which she used to clam Bruce after nightmares as little boy. 

Even as Bruce grew up and made sure Alfred was completely financially stable should anything happen to him, he noticed the man's habits rarely changed. 

Breakfast, Bruce would down a protein shake on bad days, bacon, beans, toast and mushrooms with a coffee on good days. 

Alfred rarely strayed from his typical small breakfast, two slices of toast, a hard boiled egg and half a piece of fruit with coffee. Bruce had occasionally seen Alfred have a potion of beans with it if the can needed finishing up but it was once in a blue moon. 

It was after Dick arrived it changed up. Bruce tried early on to eat breakfast before work, failed most days and it left Alfred to eat his meals with the boy. 

Dick loved cereal, Alfred didn't mind giving him the sugary one’s while he was this small, but as he started to train, Alfred was consistent in swapping the boy’s cereal for fruit and porridge and even learnt how to make pancakes just to change up Sundays.  

Alfred was brought to a cross roads one morning when Dick questioned why Alfred didn't have pancakes like him. Alfred couldn't find an excuse but that he wasn’t allowed pancakes. Bruce had to nudge the butler’s thoughts later that day when Dick came to him demanding Bruce allow Alfred to eat pancakes. He’d thought Bruce didn't allow him to eat as he wished. Bruce insisted Alfred try and let himself ‘live’ outside of old habits nobody here was going to judge. 

It was hard at first, Alfred found sweet food on a morning to make him feel full too quickly and found a way to make things more savory. Bubble and Squeak pancakes became a heavy favorite.

Lunch time and Dick was eating pizza and chips. Alfred, felt ill at the idea of it all, but by reading packets and taking more time shopping, he left his tuna mayonnaise and crackers behind, picking up the habit of stuffed bell peppers or even making home made soups. 

Dick one evening in summer was bored to sit at the table for dinner, no Bruce ment he wanted to play out on the grounds and he asked Alfred if they could go for a walk and have dinner as a picnic! 

Alfred was unsure how to turn the boy’s typical meat and three veg dinners into a picnic but relenting to try something else for once at his enthusiasm. 

Dick helped rather a lot in that matter hunting about the pantry and bringing stuff out. Ham sandwiches, potato salad, fruit salad, biscuits and a cheese board later Alfred was learning to understand the boys way’s with foods. 

“You can have breakfast for dinner Alfie, you can have lunch for dinner...you can have dinner for breakfast, or even breakfast for lunch no-one says what is what you know”

He did know he considered later. He’d known that all along and was surprised it had taken him this long to just....EAT instead of being so cautious about his routines. 

Baking became a big step, cookies and cakes were always around and Alfred grew a naughty habit of snacking on his own goods when every he made a cup of tea between meals. 

By the time Timothy turned up, Alfred’s cooking and eating habits were much improved and breakfast became a full plate, still not as exciting as the other's would eat but a far cry from toast and a boiled egg. 

Where the boys would dig into a stack of pancakes or waffles smothered in syrup, Alfred would eat fruit salad or sausages and eggs with toast and beans. The Batkid's sweet toothed food on a morning still didn't become his thing.

Somedays Bruce will sit down to the table and find his plate full to brim with Bacon, sausage, fried eggs, beans, fried mushrooms, tried tomatoes, toast and hash browns and roll his eyes at Alfred.

Who sat with a couple of sausages, mushrooms, a boiled egg and coffee. 

“What? I’m not the one on a 3,000 calorie diet” he chuckles.  

At least it was more befitting Bruce thought. He’d hated seeing Alfred eat in ration’s for years and it might have taken ten years but he was finally happy to watch the butler join them for desert at the dinner table. 

Alfred had been licking his fingers of the chocolate frosting when Bruce spoke up late one evening as they sat by the fire with a sneaky second cut of Alfred’s 70th birthday cake.

“Took you long enough”

Alfred chuckled. “What, to eat cake?”

Bruce shook his head. “To stop being a solider and eat like the king you deserve to be treated as dad”  

Alfred hasn’t turned down cake since that night. 

[rosesloveletters]

This is a very personal post for me. I never thought I would be making it, but I would like to share the trip I took with J exactly a year ago; I’ve spoken about this trip on a number of occasions and it is what really bonded us together. We’ve been inseparable ever since. J is not the kind of guy to open up easily, yet this trip was the very beginning of the both of us learning how to trust again. 

I don’t like to share such personal details of our relationship, but it’s been a year since all of this took place and I kept it mostly quiet for that time; I’ve had the chance to hold this close to my heart and keep it only to my own knowledge, but now I would like to document it, as I’ve been looking back on it heavily today. 

The rest will be under a cut, because there are pictures and I don’t want to clog everyone’s dash with useless info, photos and such if you don’t want to see. For those that read on, please enjoy.

In all of my life, I have never been away from my home for the holidays. Every Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day, I am never anywhere but home. Last Thanksgiving was a ‘spur of the moment’ kind of thing that came to fruition only a few months before the holiday. 

I had been sick a week prior to the trip and J had remained with me throughout that time. I can’t say I am completely new to F/Os, though before joining this community I did not know that self-shipping had a “name” or that “F/O’s” is a term; I have never had another F/O stick by my side during an illness. I tend to push them out of my mind when I have a virus, but I learned quickly that J is persistent. He did not leave. I was completely alone for the entire day and feeling J there kept me from utterly falling apart. 

After my illness, the very next week we were on our way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you’ve never been there, it is extremely touristy and crowded, but I love it. It has been practically a second home to me for so long; my family and I used to go there every summer. We stopped a long while ago, but I was thrilled to finally be back in a place so familiar. I know where all the restaurants are, all the stores I like, the aquarium (which we visited!) and more. 

Our first day there was not much because we had been traveling the whole way. We rented a bed and breakfast up in the mountains; it was a fifteen minute drive of terror to get there. There were no guard rails on the steep hill and nothing keeping us from a sheer drop every time we came up or down, but what was at the top made it all worth it. Our little apartment was perfect and the view was spectacular. 

This was our place at the top of the mountain and the spiral staircase that led to the loft where I stayed with J:

I could tell he felt safe up here in the middle of nowhere; I wanted to take him somewhere he wouldn’t be recognized. Within the hustle and bustle of the city, though, he had to be careful. He wore old clothes that he had saved that had been his, dark suspenders and black lace up shoes most days. This trip was the first time I saw him without his face paint. The point of the trip for us, was for us to be able to grow closer. J is a tough nut to crack, but we’ve known each other a long time; we got to know each other in a much different light on this trip. 

This is the view from our balcony the first morning after we arrived:

We achieved a kind of solitude up there that we never would have in the city. J doesn’t like the city, despite his adamant request that we continue to live there. He has such a recognizable face that he is only truly at ease in a place like this, with civilization miles away. 

When we did go into town, we stood in line for donuts. Of course since it was Thanksgiving, it was swarming with crowds and crowds of people (J hated that and several times he thought someone had recognized him.) J is a sucker for sweet treats and he was thoroughly excited with the idea of donuts; I later took him into a candy store in the same venue and he behaved, well, as one might suspect. I think he shoved a bunch of rock candy into his pockets because when we got back to our apartment later I heard him crunching on something and we didn’t buy any chips. 

This was where we stood in line for donuts (I got a glazed donut with white frosting and sprinkles and J had something called a ‘pillow’ which was basically a square-shaped donut with creme filling):

We sat on a bench by the fountain and ate our donuts; J had his finished in about thirty seconds and was licking his fingers by the time I was on my third bite. That was the best food we had had there so far; the night before, we went out for pizza and it was horrible. 

After we had had our donuts, J was ready to get away from the crowds; he felt like someone had been staring at him, so we headed out to the park for a while. J is not much of an outdoorsman, but he likes the solitude and that no one would be around to spot him. Everywhere we went, there were people, so J and I headed further back in the park where there was less of a chance to be around anyone. We got out and walked along a deserted pathway and stood on the edge of the creek as it rushed past us. 

Here’s a photo from our walk: 

After that, we headed back into town for lunch. Before we went inside to sit down, J dug around in his luggage for a purple knitted hat of his and put it on so he’d be less recognizable and his identity would be concealed enough for us to sit down long enough to share a meal. We had Mexican food; I learned that J has a thing for tortillas and extremely spicy salsa (and that he’s a messy eater.) We had our food fast and I think J had a margarita or two, but his scars were attracting some unwanted negative attention and people were staring, so we left fast before he could say anything. We went and bought tickets to the aquarium, per my request. 

Inside the aquarium was the first time J saw my childish side; I get super excited at aquariums and zoos because of all the animals and it reminds me of all the fun school trips I used to take when I was little. We saw all kinds of sea creatures. J was most fascinated with the sharks and the jellyfish, while I was busy looking at the sea turtles and string-rays. However, my favorite exhibit was the penguins. We stood and watched them for close to thirty minutes. The staff members were feeding them and the little penguins got so excited. One man held up his cup and straw to the glass and one little penguin tried to grab it! 

J and I were shocked when we saw this sitting inside the medical facility’s window where they tend to the penguins (for those who don’t know, Burgess Meredith was the actor who played the Penguin in the original Batman television series with Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin and Cesar Romero as the Joker): 

We spent much of our time that day in the park after the aquarium trip and then we retired to our apartment at the top of the mountain and spent that night watching movies. That night was the night J told me the origin of his scars. He had never told anyone the full and completely truthful story and that was the first time he ever did and probably the last. This trip was full of ‘firsts’ for us; it was the first time we ever made love (watch him get pissed at me for saying that pffft.)

On Thanksgiving morning, J whipped us up some cinnamon rolls. It was a scene watching him try to use the oven; it was an extremely ancient appliance and he was dropping f-bombs left and right and I think he also burnt his hand on the pan. The only thing J will make correctly are things that come from a can, tin or otherwise are pre-made or sweets. In this case, we had a very decent breakfast: 

We spent the rest of that day in the park and then that evening, we traveled over to the next town for our dinner reservations. Even though we had reservations, there were so many people we still had to wait over an hour to be seated. It was cold and we were wedged into a tiny corner as we waited. There was nowhere to sit and so I leaned back against J; he rested his chin on top of my head and would occasionally tap on my shoulders along to the music coming through the overhead speakers. 

When we were finally seated, we were brought several courses, the first being apple fritters and drinks (the highlight of the meal), then we had some soup and it was terrible, and finally we were brought the main course: turkey, ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls. There was so much food and, spread out across even such a large table, it was unimaginable how we were expected to eat it all. J finished almost all the turkey and about half the ham (he didn’t eat all day so he could “save room” for the meat.) He went to town on the rolls and mashed potatoes as well. He kept sneering at the cranberries and watched me with disgust as I ate them. He threw a dinner roll at me across the table to get my attention and grinned when I looked at him; he had corn stuck in his teeth. he took his hat off halfway through dinner because it was warm inside the dining room and somehow he wound up with mashed potatoes in his hair.

Here’s our meal before J had ravaged it all 9utter chaos ensued after this photo was taken): 

Our last full day in Gatlinburg was fairly relaxed; we went into the city that morning, but it was even more crowded (it was a Friday) and J decided we’d better head out. We went into the park and started up one of the mountains. I let J drive and he drives like a maniac; we made such sharp turns I almost ended up out through the open window. He sped up the mountain and we quickly made it to the top. The view was breathtaking but J didn’t even blink. I know he had to have appreciated it as well, but he doesn’t make a big deal out of things. The farther up we went, the more deserted the lookout spots became and when we found ourselves alone, J scooped me into his arms and kissed me. Seeing tiny glimpses of his humanity was unsettling at first because I had never known him as such; J still finds ways to surprise me, even now. 

This is the view we had at the top of the mountain: 

and this is the spot where J kissed me: 

( Cameron: and she kissed me

Pat: Where?

Cameron: in the car )

Little did we know that on the way down from the mountain, we would be sitting in the car for almost three hours stuck in traffic. We made the most of it; J wouldn’t let me turn on the radio for some reason, so I talked to him. He didn’t say much, but he listened. This was when I found out J was more of a listener unless he was in a playful mood. 

When we got back to the apartment that night, we watched a Christmas movie together. I don’t fully embrace Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving - I owe it to all the holidays to give them equal time and attention (and I like Thanksgiving a lot.) No Christmas movies, music or decorating until after Thanksgiving. J kept talking through the entire movie and every time he laughed it scared me because he was so loud. It doesn’t bother me if he talks through movies because I do it too. 

The next day, we packed our things and left to come back home. This is the view from outside our balcony on our last day: 

I keep coming back to the memory of this trip because it was the last trip I got to take before the start of Covid; no one knows when it will be safe to travel again or if it will even be next year. I miss when everyone was able to do so and we weren’t risking our health and safety as well as other people’s just by going out. Of all the trips I’ve taken, this one will always be special to me because of J; he was like a light in my life and he came in at the most opportune time. 

I haven’t felt that happy in so long. I had been suffering greatly a few months prior to the trip, but because of him things were beginning to change. I might not be a part of this world if I hadn’t met him again at the time I had and I am lucky that I got to experience such a lively time in my life and all the little ways loving J has renewed my sense of self-love and awareness in the world and things around me. 

This trip is one I owe to J, but also to myself; I felt aware of myself and my space in the world. 

I have no idea how I talked J into making this trip with me, nor if I’ll ever convince him to come with me anywhere ever again, but I will hold the memories close to me forever and I’ll always look back on this time of the year as something special and happy. 

[thelittlefanpire]

50 questions you’ve never been asked

tagged by @probably-voldemort and @the-most-beautiful-broom

What is the colour of your hairbrush? I have a brown comb that may or may not get passed between the kids and I on occasion.

Name a food you never eat? I was (am) a pretty picky eater. some foods that come to mind immediately: tuna, boiled eggs, peas

Are you typically too warm or too cold? I like to complain about both depending on the season; too hot in summer and too cold in winter

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? freaking out over the beliza 1yr anniversary. idk those two just get to me. They’re MARRIED & they’re SOULMATES!

What is your favourite candy bar? Snickers

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? Yes! Mostly Baseball games

What is the last thing you said out loud? “I’m in the potty, Zoom-Zoom!”*

What is your favourite ice cream? chocolate chip cookie dough

What was the last thing you had to drink? Frozen Coffee

Do you like your wallet? I got rid of my wallet and now I have a cute little anti-theft bag

What was the last thing you ate? chicken nuggets and fries from Chick-Fil-A!

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Yes! We’ve been taking advantage of those online sales to get the kids summer clothes.

The last sporting event you watched? my brother-in-law’s basketball game. it was the semi-finals for State. Sadly they lost but the bro made the first basket and played a great game!

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? currently it’s white cheddar but I like movie theater butter and salt.

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? my husband

Ever go camping? I love camping! Last camping adventure was at this private lake in the middle of the Cali desert. With our three kids and the dog, + friends and their kids/dogs...and I started my period with the shittiest bathroom the day we got their for the long weekend. haven’t been camping since

Do you take vitamins? Flintstone Gummies

Do you go to church every Sunday? Not anymore.

Do you have a tan? I have a sunburn lol I’m trying to keep up with this #Floridalife

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? pizza

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Only if it’s from the drive-thru

What colour socks do you usually wear? black

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? I used to all the time, but after 3-4 speeding tickets I just couldn’t afford to live that life anymore.

What terrifies you? Birds

Look to your left, what do you see? Zoom-Zoom on her iPad, X shaking his butt in his big boy underwear*

What chore do you hate? Cleaning up the kitchen after a big meal, especially if I didn’t cook and it’s someone else’s mess.

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Nothing because I have probably melted into a puddle on the floor. Australian/British/etc Accents are a weakness.

What’s your favourite soda? coca-cola

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus? Pre-corona I’d say hit the drive-thrus...during corona I’d say HIT THE DRIVE-THRUS! lol

Who’s the last person you talked to? My mom. She’s reading the last book I read see below and she was telling me she was at the part of the Sun/Moon and I asked her about the Story Sculptor. It’s a great book, please, check it out!

Favourite cut of beef? I’m not picky about meat. So whatever has been cooked to medium.

Last song you listened to? Together by for KING & COUNTRY

Last book you read? The Starless Sea

Favourite day of the week? Friday? Idk all days blend together for me*

Can you say the alphabet backwards? No, and I have no desire to.

How do you like your coffee? A little bit of sweet cream creamer and two spoons of sugar. Preferably before it gets cold*

Favourite pair of shoes? Flip-flops all day, everyday

The time you normally go to sleep? 9-10pm*

The time you normally get up? 7-8am*

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunrises are mystical but sunsets are magical

How many blankets on your bed? sheets and a comforter with a weighted blanket on standby if I need it.

Describe your kitchen plates: .79 cent bright blue plastic plates from target are my new obsession. but my white with colorful dots around the edge from Pampered Chef are my fav.

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? The answer is always WINE

Do you play cards? Go fish?

What colour is your car? BLUE

Can you change a tire? lol yeah no definitely not

Favourite job you’ve ever had? Military Hospital where I met and worked with my Soulmate BFF. The job itself was stressful and demanding, but the people were awesome.

How did you get your biggest scar? Butterfly-shaped burn on the top of my right foot from the day I as born from an IV medicine spilling and burning my foot.

What did you do today that made someone else happy? The littlies are potty training and sleeping in their beds so when they do that they get a special treat and they’re the sweetest and doing so well with all the changes lately. they make me happy as much as I make them happy when I hand them a treat*

*Kids, y’all, KIDS.

tagging: @dylanobrienisbatman @pawprinterfanfic @kindclaws @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @marauders-groupie @kinetic-elaboration @teeandsnowflakes and anyone else who sees this! I feel like this has been done by everyone already and I’m just late to the party!

[ego-driven-one-wing-angel]

Send a number | Answers

Thanks again for 250 followers!!!

What’s one animal you wish you could have as a pet but can’t?

A penguin. I love them so much.

Favorite thing to wear to sleep?

Sometimes I wear one of those “drug rugs” or baja hoodies. With shorts. And sometimes knee high socks. I HATE pajama pants. So if I’m cold I find alternatives. 

What song really gets you going?

Right now, Drinking Alone by Carrie Underwood. But usually Tranz by Gorillaz.

Where do you usually eat your meals?

At my dining table or in the family/living room with my mom.

Favorite meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

BRUNCH

Most embarrassing habit?

Sometimes I’ll pick my nose at the most inconvenient times like a child.

Chocolate or fruity candy?

Chocolate

Soft or hard tacos?

When I ate meat regularly, soft, with carne asada. 

Worst way to break up a fight?

Throwing a pan at them? Dude I don’t know. Wrestle them to the ground? I feel like either of those are terrible.

Best thing to say in an elevator of strangers?

“You’re all probably wondering why I gathered you all here today.”

What color/design are your bedsheets?

Teal. And my comforter is a black/white diamond pattern.

Any hidden talents?

I was a dancer for roughly nine years. So I’m pretty good at that.

Favorite thing to drink out of (mug, glass, etc.)?

My Star Wars Luke Skywalker lightsaber water bottle. 

Socks or bare feet around the house?

Bare feet man. Those who wear shoes in the house are weak and will not survive the winter.

 Favorite board game?

Clue!

Do you sleep with the fan on or off?

I don’t even own a fan.

Heat on or keep it cold with lots of layers?

Heat at 67.5 and a sweater. Perfection.

Do you sing in the shower?

Who doesn’t?

Favorite song to belt out at the top of your lungs when you’re alone?

Tranz by Gorillaz. All time favorite song EVER.

Last thing you cried about?

Watching Zack die YET AGAIN in Crisis Core. I don’t think I’ve ever watched that scene WITHOUT crying.

At what age did you first have alcohol?

15ish. Wine.

Relationship status?

Single

What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a single item of clothing?

249$ A Guess coat that I absolutely adore.

What do you typically wear to formal events?

A modest dress. Heels. And a Louis Vuitton bag to match.

Favorite memory?

Probably almost getting arrested with my friends back when I was 17. We were at a closed park, after hours, past curfew, and it was like 3 am. We bought 64 tacos from Jack in the Box and pigged out in the venue. Super rad.

Gum or breath mints?

Gum

Favorite shoes?

Probably my Guess sneakers. I don’t wear them often, but I love the design.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My chubbiness. I’m not fat per say. But I’m not skinny either, but I want to look more like a classic, 1950′s pinup model more than anything.

What is the natural state of your hair?

My hair has very soft curls. Naturally, there more like “beach waves”

Have you ever had braces?

YES. WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE

Most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

Ghost hunting. I was illegally trespassing, and the building was real sketchy. 

Most embarrassing thing your parents have caught you doing?

I’m just an embarrassment through and through. What haven’t they caught me doing. But I guess writing porn is a close first.

Last time you had an orgasm?

I’m a virgin who has never experienced anything remotely sexual. 

Celebrity crush(es)?

Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Sam Claflin, Karl Urban, Sebastian Stan

Windows or Mac?

I’ve never owned a Mac, so I’m biased when I say Windows.

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?

Six, seven? I was still quite young.

Makeup or natural?

MAKEUP

What color do you wear the most?

I wear a lot of neutral colors like gray.

Favorite season?

Winter.

Umbrella or rain coat?

Umbrella.

Have you ever fallen out of a tree?

No

First car you ever owned?

A 2002 Toyota. Super old, and the chip was painting off. My trunk also broke. Oil leak. Y’know, a traditional first car.

What time do you usually go to bed?

Anytime between 11-1 am.

Are you a competitive person?

Yes.

Least favorite color?

Orange.

First pet you’ve ever owned?

A cat :)

Sweet or salty?

Sweet

Favorite pasta dish?

Ravioli 

Favorite kind of chips?

Cheetos

Talk about something you’re passionate about.

Writing. I love being able to put my ideas on paper, let my thoughts and emotions run free in a world where I have to act a certain way. I can be anyone while writing!

What are some of your hobbies?

Writing

Drawing

Watching too much television

puzzles

Caffeine? If so, what kind?

I’m a tea gal. But I LOVE coffee. Especially mochas and caramel. With extra pumps of espresso. Hell yeah.

Favorite kind of pizza?

Ranch and Chicken or just plain cheese.

Fast food or sit-down restaurant?

Sit-down

Lots of acquaintances or a handful of close friends?

I love having a large circle, but I choose my best friends wisely. I only have about two or three of those and they’re the one’s I keep close to my heart.

Something that ruins your appetite?

This is a bit more dark, but my dad and I don’t bond outside video games. And he’s the type that believes it’s his way or no way no matter what. So if you get him angry he acts like a two-year-old who just got a toy taken away, and will try to push your buttons until you’re the same way. I saw the signs years ago, but whenever his anger is targeted at me I just don’t want to eat. I write instead. 

Favorite labels about you?

As in names? It’s near 1 am while writing this so I might have just gone stupid. But I love it when my friends call me cutie. Or my good friend Charlie calls me Smarties. And he’ll pull out a smartie from his pocket when he does it. I also get called Reid, as in Spencer Reid, a lot.

Are you a religious person?

Yes. I try to be at least. I’m Christian.

Night out with a bunch of friends in public or night in with one friend having deep conversations?

Night out. I spend too much time indoors with one friend as is.

What size shoe do you wear?

9

Favorite thing about yourself?

My confidence, or my keen fashion sense. 

Have you ever told someone you loved them first?

No.

Have you ever had sex on the first date?

No.

Heroes or villains?

Villains. (Sephiroth, Bucky Barnes, Loki, etc.)

Favorite fruit?

Pomegranates. 

Least favorite fruit?

Bananas. I’ll eat them, but there are a lot better choices honestly. 

Favorite vegetable?

Broccoli

Least favorite vegetable?

Brussels sprouts

How many plates can you eat at a buffet?

About a good three. First is salad. Second is fruit. Third is desert. 

Favorite dessert?

Ice cream. Bubble gum flavor is my favorite!

Do you play any sports?

Nope.

Age you learned how to swim?

Seven or eight.

Tell a funny story.

Maybe this is just funny to me, but earlier today my cat was trying to lick her coat but she set her front paw on a piece of paper and anytime she bent over to lick herself she slid and she would have to readjust herself. She did this like four times before she decided to move.

What’s one interesting thing about your culture?

As someone who is a part of the Navajo tribe, something neat is the more fat you have on your bones the more people respect you because they believe you have money.

What’s one annoying thing about your culture?

We can’t touch cold-blooded animals. It’s said if you touch the scales of a snake, or even breath in the same air, you’ll get the same skin as them.

What job would you be terrible at?

Accounting. I can’t do math to save my freaking life.

Would you rather watch a TV show or a movie?

TV shows.

What’s your favorite compliment to give?

“Cute Outfit!” or “Love the Hair!” You have no idea how many people light up on either of these, male/female/nonbinary. Looking good is a happiness found across all the spectrums. 

What’s your favorite compliment to receive?

“Cute hair.” Or “Love your makeup/nails.” 

Has your opinion changed on something recently?

I can’t remember. Like I said, it’s close to bedtime where I’m at and boi, it’s hard to concentrate right now.

Do you always order the same thing at a restaurant or order something different each time?

I order the same. 

What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

This sounds awful, but I’ve always wanted to try ecstasy. I have buddies who’ve taken it and say, if you do it right, the first time is pretty bomb. 

If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

Singing. I can’t carry a tune.

Favorite physical feature about yourself?

My eyes.

Least favorite physical feature about yourself?

My wide hip/waist ratio. If my waist was thinner I wouldn’t mind as much.

What’s one amazing thing you did that nobody was around to see?

OKAY. I scored a strike on Wii bowling while i was on the toilet one time. Two rooms away and not even looking at a screen. Just using my heart and determination and it was SUPER COOL AND I WISH PEOPLE COULD HAVE SEEN THOSE SKILLS.

If you could change your height, would you?

Yes. Everyone is a good foot taller than me. So I would most definitely want a few more inches.

What’s something you would rate 10/10?

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Character concept for Sephiroth. The eyes, the height, the hair. WOW. In love.

Heels or flats?

Heels

What’s something you wish you had more knowledge about?

Politics. I want to get more involved but every time I do I get so confused.

Would you want to be famous?

I wouldn’t mind. But I value my private life.

What’s something you would get arrested for?

Well I already almost got arrested for eating tacos in a closed park at 3 am. So maybe that.

What’s your spirit animal?

A cat. 

What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?

The fact that I graduated high school. I was developing anxiety and literally had no idea what the frick was happening with me and no one told me what it was. So I ended up skipping loads of school for that reason. 

Are you the type to have an organized mess, or no mess at all?

Organized mess. Or just a mess. 

Do you tend to make decisions based on the past, present, or future?

The future.

Are you a planner or a more spontaneous person?

Planner. I hate when things are sprung on me last minute. I have to emotionally prep up before a social event so 5-10 business days are needed.

Thoughts on the oxford comma?

I was taught to use it, but it’s literally so useless? I found myself either not using it or just doing it on instinct. So in one story you could probably find multiple instances where I use it and where I don’t use it, maybe in the same paragraph. I just do whatever fits that moment I guess.

What do you hope never changes?

My squad. I love them to pieces and it would break my heart if at some point they’d want to split.

How would you celebrate your 100th birthday?

Something extremely dangerous like skydiving or zip lining across a canyon. 

[welcome-to-noir-world]

OC Creation Day Celebration Week: Aesthetics

Ah, my favorite thing about storytelling: aesteticc. Yes, I did spell that with two c’s. Yes, the last one is bolded. Because you have to place extra emphasis at the end of the word to do it justice. Anyway. Here’s some Noah Signore aestheticcs

[ COLORS ] red. brown. orange. yellow. green. blue. purple. pink. black. white. teal. silver. gold.grey. lilac. metallic. matte. royal blue. strawberry red. charcoal grey. forest green. apple red. navy blue. crimson. cream. mint green.

[ ELEMENTS ] fire. ice. water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. mist. frost. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn. dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. magic. anti-magic.

[ BODY ] claws. long fingers. fangs. teeth. wings. tails. lips. bare feet. freckles. bruises. canine. scars. scratches. wounds. wrinkles. burns.spikes. feathers. webs. eyes. hands. sweat. tears. feline. chubby. curvy. short. tall. normal height. muscular. piercing. tattoos. lithe.

[ WEAPONS ] fists. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic. rocks. mud balls. pyre. teeth. rifles.

[ MATERIALS ] gold. silver. platinum. titanium. diamonds. pearls. rubies. sapphires. emeralds. amethyst. metal. iron. rust. steel. glass. wood.porcelain. paper. wool. fur. lace. leather. silk. velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal. clay. stone. asphalt. brick. marble. dust. glitter. blood. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. shadow. carbonate. rubber. synthetics.

[ NATURE ] grass. leaves. trees. bark. roses. daisies. tulips. lavender. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. sand. rocks. roots. flowers. ocean. river. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rainforest. caves. underwater. coral reef. beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. poppies.

[ ANIMALS ] lions. wolves. eagles. owls. bears.falcons. hawks. swans. stag. snakes. turtles. ducks. bugs. spiders. crickets. birds. whales. dolphins. fish. sharks. horses. cats. dogs. bunnies. praying mantises. crows. ravens. mice. lizards. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. rats. livestock. foxes.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ] sugar. salt. candy. bubblegum. wine. champagne. hard liquor. beer. coffee. tea. spices. herbs. apple. orange. lemon. cherry. strawberry. watermelon. vegetables. fruits. meat. fish. pies. desserts. chocolate. cream. caramel. berries. nuts. cinnamon. burgers. burritos. pizza. french fries. ambrosia.

[ HOBBIES ] music. art. reading. watercolors. gardening. smithing. sculpting. painting. sketching. fighting. writing. composing. cooking. sewing. training. dancing. acting. singing. martial arts. self-defense. electronics. technology. cameras. video cameras. video games. computer. phone. movies. theater. libraries. books. comic books. magazines. cds. records. vinyls. cassettes. piano. violin. guitar. electronic guitar. bass guitar. harmonica. harp. woodwinds. brass. bells. playing cards. poker chips. chess. dice. motorcycle riding. eating. climbing. running. exploring.

[ STYLE ] lingerie. armor. cape. dress. tunic. vest. shirt. sweater. boots. heels. leggings. trousers. jeans. skirt. jewelry. earrings. necklace. bracelet. ring. pendant. hat. crown. circlet. helmet. scarf. brocade. cloaks. corsets. doublet. chest plate. gorget. bracers. belt. sash. coat. jacket. duster. trenchcoat. hood. gloves. socks. masks. cowls. braces. watches. glasses. sunglasses. visor. eye contacts. makeup. ties. uniform.

[ MISC ] balloons. bubbles. cityscape. light. dark candles. war. peace. money. power. percussion. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. kisses. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness. optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies. loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. hugs. revenge(?).

[bites-kms]

Southwest Roadtrip - Episode 1: Viva las Vegas

When it comes to discovering the US, Johnny Cash kept it simple and straight to the point: 

“I've been everywhere, man. Crossed the desert's bare, man. I've breathed the mountain air, man. Of travel I've had my share, man. I've been everywhere.“

And what a journey it was! Who knew a failed attempt to fly to Hawaii would result in such a fun adventure? We packed our stuff and jumped on a plane, destination Southwest of America. Starting by Vegas, passing through Arizona, stopping by Utah, resting in Colorado. Only my friend Belu would be as kamikaze to propose such thing and found in me such a blind partner-in-crime. It was September 4th, and we were rushing in a taxi from Hoboken to Newark to board our first flight during a global sanitary emergency, looking like Darth Vader’s close cousins with our masks and face shields. 

After an approximately 6-hour flight, we landed in the middle of literally nowhere. We were able to see the pyramid and some other iconic architecture which I currently do not remember because it was about only for 5 seconds before landing. On arrival, on a mostly empty airport, we were surprised by the amount of slot machines that were there, welcoming everyone to place their bets. For sure, ours was to have fun and contrary to common belief, the house didn't win this one: we had a blast!

Followed by a surprise “SIN CITY, WOOO HOOO!” shout from someone who obviously has been living inside a thermos for the last past months, we cracked up and went to fetch a car. This very nice gentleman took us to the Bellagio (yeap, we went full on cliche mode, with what was originally a non-existent promo) while DJ Dani blasted her best records to kick off this adventure with the right feet: Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley and Just a Gigolo by Louis Prima Success. 

DAY 1: 

First things first: check in and adventure. Hotel, amenities and surroundings. Vegas spins around two main areas: the famous Strip, 6.8kms of the brightest place on earth seen from outer space full of hotels, restaurants, shops and of course, casinos. Pretty much Disneyworld for adults. The Bellagio is the iconic hotel which hosts some of the greatest restaurants and also the famous dancing fountains. Also, is one that is pretty centrally located, in between Caesars Palace (Roman Empire themed), The Cosmopolitan (which imitates boheme life from France) Aria and Park MGM Las Vegas (New York City represent!), Excalibur (Middle Ages) Luxor (Cleopatra’s Egypt) and The Venetian (of course, Venice). Everything is within walking distance but beware of the heat: a normal day in the desert is around 42C (107F), if not more, with a melting down thermal sensation of 1000 in any scale. This is why is also a city that is enjoyable during night time. So, do not feel bad about sleeping in a bit: you can always chill by the pool in the morning, have a little something for lunch and sleep (or remove the hangover) during the afternoon when the sun is unbearable. OR, the casino is always open so that could be an option. We chose to walk around a bit (big mistake) but luckily once you enter to the casinos, they are all connected with escalators, shade and AC, so we were mesmerized by this grown up themed park, where is so easy to lose track of time. 

After an Italian lunch on a french bistro in a corner of Paris (? yes.. I know..) we went back and rest by the pool. Once the sun was already getting ready to bet some chips at night, we did too: we changed into our most shinny and glamorous outfit and won exactly 27 dollars! We checked out Venice, and some of the night shows that were happening on the streets (like naked promoters, the massive PM lines, and the crazy long-ass “juice” towers flowing around the more energetic covid-prone crowds) right before we headed up to Yellowtail, the Japanese and Michelin Starred restaurant at the Bellagio. We had their famous tuna pizza (it sounds terrible but it is more of a tostada or sashimi-style like) and got disappointed that they run out of the short ribs, but instead had some amazing sushi rolls and some tempura bites. When we found out about the beautiful, sigh-seeing windows that displayed all the fountain show we left our high-end attires aside and run to the windows, interrupting some other people’s dinner while leaving the waiters behind. We decided to go for dessert somewhere else and went to the piano bar located at the reception for a delicious espresso and a chocolate diamond cake. We did some neon-gazing and loved the fountain show to the beat of Believe by Cher, while being overwhelmed by a surreal feeling of actually being there, having so much fun and appreciating our friendship (and of course, avoided a high/drunk fellow who tried to take our pics and phone with them - she didnt know we were from New York and from Rio de la Plata, so the scam was on her!) 

DAY 2

Repeat. (and pretty much that’s all we did). We kicked it off with a fake breakfast by the pool, and some piñas coladas in between facemasks. We also had a light lunch by the pool (a greek salad with some much needed water) and then, around 6:15 we took a cab to the Neon Museum - yeap, for those who think there is only light fun in Vegas, nope, think again, there are worthy museums, too! ( I even made a joke here! damn I’m inspired!). The Neon Museum is a scrap dealer cemetery, where all the old and somehow “broken” -even thou most of them have been repaired and are currently working!- neon signs from Old time Vegas rest. It is very fun to see old hotels, random letters, icons and logos being laid there, creating a wonderful mess in the middle of, again, you guess right, the desert. It was very fun and beautiful to be honest. 

Another short taxi drive later (I was too naif thinking we could walk in short heels under the killer heat more than a block!) we drove thru what is known as “Old Vegas” or “Downtown Vegas”. This used to be the place where the magic happened before the creation of the Strip, but nowadays it only hosts what lingers of once a glamorous and kitschy past. The center of this action can be found throughout Freemont Street, a pedestrian long avenue that gathers classic neon signs, all-time Vegas characters (we still missed out on Elvis, so watch out impersonator, we will be back just for you!), stripers, street sellers, all you can eat venues, dodgy bars, and more and more neons.  According to Las Vegas Tourism Board>> “Fun people, crazy people, partying, gambling, drinking, street performers, free music and light shows, zip lining and just having a good time... that's what you expect at Freemont.”

We had some pizza, talked to this Montana guy who for a second thought he was able to have a threesome with us on his dirty van, were voluntary abused by these hot, ripped stripers who made us laugh with their pick up line: “You can leave your face mask here, right by your underwear too, please.” The guys were a “sample” - since the show is canceled due to the pandemic- of Chippendales, something a fine woman needs to experience once in their lifetime. Belu felt in love with her boy, but given the current times and protocols, this love couldn't prosper as we all wished it had. No worries amiga, next time!

But the most striking part of this decadent place was witnessing this surreal restaurant called Heart Attack Grill, where people who weight more than 350lbs (almost 160kgs) eat for free. The biggest burger consist on 8 patties, and as an FYI, only the 4 patty burger is marked on the Guinness World Records Book as the “Quadruple Bypass Burger” with almost 10.000 calories, all the beverages consists on massive soft drinks, milkshakes, beers and wine, (full bottles, of course, served from an IV drip bag) and it is not allowed to share food. The place is cash only, you gotta weight yourself before entering, each patty is made of half pound each, everybody must wear hospital gowns and if you dare not to finish your meal, you get three spanks by the horny yet not so sexy waitress dressed as nurses. As a nice little detail, on the biggest burger you can pump it up with 40 slices of bacon by only $7.99 more!  And, to wrap up this majestic hospital parlor, I recently researched that the legal owner of Heart Attack Grill is hilarious – Diet Center LLC. The founder is Jon Basso, who strives to provide “nutritional pornography” in his food. For a better comprehension (for a lack of a better word) of this place, you can check out this recap of Showtime’s series: Deadly Sins. 

So, we were mesmerized, we were educated, we bet, we ate, we drunk and we touched some sweaty strippers, so there was only one thing left to do: crush a weeding. So there we went. There were multiple chapels around the area, but I dont know whether it was the time (it was around, 9, 9 and coins) so it may have been a little bit too late or due to COVID, but no weddings were in place. We finally arrived to the Little White Chapel, the original, unique one that has the Elvis sign, the drive-thru and the proud sign that states how Michael Jordan and Joan Collins got married there. We were so bummed to found only a very young, very dull couple getting married (she was wearing black, hence, that is all you need to know) and there was not a very jolly, merry spirit. Still, we managed to hang out with the best men and got a picture of two to remember this fail attempt to crush this very much lame wedding. Up we went to the Bellagio, checking out what was missing from Sin City: the Wynn Hotel, Route 515, 51 and the Famous Welcome to Las Vegas Sign. 

We wrapped this unique experience witnessing an amazing, full moon in the middle of the desert, with a massive and delicious full on breakfast at Sadelle’s, a little piece of home in our far-away-from home hotel.  Till next time, Vegas! You were great fun! 

[thebellrays]

the BellRays/Supersuckers Tour Journal DEC 2017

BELLRAYS TOUR JOURNAL DEC. 2017

 Here it is! This is the official journal of our tour with the Supersuckers! It's going to be a pretty dry read mostly. Just the facts ma'am...just the facts.

 Dec 1  Friday the Backstage Bar and Billiards, Las Vegas NV

Planned to leave at 11am

Bernard is flying into Vegas and going to meet us at the club

Marty arrives at the studio 10am with his Dad (Marty) and his uncle (Junior). Marty tells

us he never got to tour with the Faragher Bros back in the 70's. He got to see

Rufus, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder

We pack the van while Lisa advances the shows

We leave around noon and go to the guitar center in San Bernardino to pick up a guitar

cord and a mic clip for Lisa.

Lisa goes to Staples for some clips for the merch.

We go to In n Out and the line is insanely long and we finally hit the road to Vegas by

1pm.

2 double doubles, Lisa's has grilled onions, an order of fries and a diet coke

The drive up is pretty easy with light traffic and no accidents.

Lisa falls asleep for about an hour and a half.

We get to Vegas around 4;30 and check into the Stratosphere hotel where our rooms

are comped and that's awesome! We go straight to the club because we think we have to be there at 5.

The club is closed and the SuperSuckers van and trailer is there but the band is not.

The Supersuckers arrive and we talk for a bit and get reaquainted. It's really great to see

Eddie again and we all agree that this is going to be fun.

We find out the club is not going to open until 6 so we walk up to the Fremont

Experience where we find a White Castle.

The Supersuckers go to their hotel to pick up a guitar.

Lisa and I get a couple of sliders each and we hang out for about a half hour before

heading back to the club, which is now open.

Bernard is there and we load in.

The Backstage looks like a nice place. It's big and has pool tables, black light posters,

and a big stage, but it's drink tickets (2 each) for the band and they only get

you Pabst Blue Ribbon. It's cold though so that's good.

The Bomb Pops show up and we meet them for the first time, 2 girls, 2 guys.

The Supersuckers sound check and then we check Lisa's wireless mic.

Lisa breaks down the merch into a single box that can go out on the floor and she and

I set it up at the merch table next to the Supersuckers merch.

The first band finally starts playing at 9:30. They're a country-ish band whose name

I can't remember. They were ok but they played a long time setting the night

back even further.

The Bomb Pops get on and race through their set. They know what they're doing but the

vocals are buried really far back, so are the solos. It makes it hard to get a read

on what they really sound like.

Our set is a work in progress. At times we sound pretty good. At other times it sounds

like we only practiced 3 times. We hit the wall on "Never Let a Woman' and

actually have to start over. Once we do that we manage to get through the rest

of the set without casualties and even shove two christmas songs ( Mary Xmas

and 'Christmas is Coming') in that come across pretty well. I'm anxious to get

to the 3rd or 4th show and everyone's dialed in.

The Supersuckers are tight and fill the room up with sound. There's a bunch of people

coming while they're playing and they've stopped charging at the door. So

people are wandering in to check it out. Then they wander out. It's Vegas and it

seems like the people are looking for something that they wouldn't know if they

found it.

After the Supersuckers get done playing people start settling on the merch table and

a couple of them are really talkative. I don't think they understand how tired I

am and how badly I just want to shut it down and get to bed.

Finally, we're loaded out and ready to leave when we find out that the owner of the club

Eva has offered to buy our dinner at the Claim Jumper in the Golden Nugget so

we go to eat (we haven't eaten dinner yet).

We walk 10 minutes to the Golden Nugget (it's cold) and sit down. The foods good. I

ordered pancakes, hash browns, bacon and two sunny-side up eggs. Lisa got

the chinese chicken salad. We ate it all and as we were getting ready to leave Eva showed up and we talked to her for a bit. She's really cool and a big part

of the LA club scene. She opened the Martini Lounge and the Dragonfly, sold

em and then moved to Vegas and opened up the Backstage.

It was 4:30 am by the time we started walking back to the venue where we picked up

our van and drove back to the hotel.

We went right to sleep.

 DEC 2

 We woke up at 9:45 and immediately called down to get a late checkout (noon).

We ran a bath and enjoyed it immensely.

We re-packed the van in the parking lot and hit the 93 south.

The 93 is a really beautiful drive. It's about 4 hours of desert scrub, Joshua trees and

saguaro cactus (my personal favorite). The saguaros get thick as you get closer to

Phoenix and they're neat to see how different each one is.

I drove the whole way.

In Kingman we stopped at a Sinclair Travel America and got food. Lisa and I got hot

dogs, a bag of chips and large diet coke (mine).

It seemed to take forever to get to Mesa and the Bar Red and we arrived just before doors

opened, threw our stuff behind the opening band on stage. I found a Stella and

sat my ass down for a few minutes before I helped Lisa do the accounting for the

previous nights' merch.

Right now we're listening to Eddy and Marty learning "Beer Drinkers Hell Raisers' by ZZ

Top on acoustic guitars. Rockin'

The opening band (sorry, I don't know the name) is a rockabilly outfit (maybe more

punkabilly) not too bad but I really didn't get to see too much of them. I was

busy fixing the merch and getting our stuff ready.

Watched the Bomb Pops' set standing next to our drummer Marty and he seemed to be

getting some energy out of it. They were good and the sound was much better.      

I could hear what they were doing much better tonight.

Our set was really good! For the second night we brought a lot of energy. Maybe a little

fast, some of the stuff, but there was a really energetic feel to it. I had a good time.

After our set I say hi to Fun Bobby. A really cool guy here in the Tempe/Phoenix/Mesa

area. He used to book us in Hollywood Alley when we first started touring

through Arizona. He's helped us out a bunch and I'm always happy to see him!

Now I'm listening to a bunch of pot heads that have invaded our dressing room tell inane stories about cats and dolls. I remember why I stopped getting high.

Thank god they finally left.

I must've fallen asleep because now the Supersuckers are in the dressing room and they

were just playing on stage when the pot heads left.

We pack up and leave and it's only 1 AM. Yippee!

We check into the Econolodge and find a parking place just outside our the window

of our room (which always makes it easier to sleep).

We ordered a pizza and wings from Zio's and scarfed it because it was really good.

Good times!

 DEC 3

 Woke up around 9:30 and took a bath. The bathtub stopper didn't work so I had to wrap it in plastic (the stuff the plastic bathroom cups are wrapped in). That did the trick. Nice

Checked out at 11 and we wandered to the circle K to grab munchies and then to Safeway to get some more munchies while we waited to see where Fun Bobby wanted to go for lunch.

Met Fun Bobby at the Cornish Pasty Co. They make British pasties (meat or whatever baked into a dough wrapper. kind of like a meat pie). This place is great! I got a Reuben pasty and 32 oz hefeweisen and was completely happy. Lisa got a beet salad and a shandy. The bartender/waitress, Brooke was awesome! We had a great time.

We left for Tucson around 2;30 and got there around 4:00. The drive was easy and scenic, if you like the desert...and I do.

Another Econolodge. This one a little less nice than the last one but it was nice to lie down.

We loaded into the Rock a little after 5.

It's a spacious club with a lot of different little spaces coming off the main live music room.

I changed strings and then sat down to type this.

A few minutes later we head to the hotel to check in and chill out for about an hour before we go back to the club.

The room is a weird corner affair that feels like a converted store room. The bathroom is tiny and the shower is...ineffective.

The Bomb Pops have already started playing and there aren't very many people.

I have a theory on how to get a rough estimate on crowd size. Take the number of people who are in the crowd just before the first band starts and multiply it by 3. There will be AT LEAST that many people in the club come headliner time. It almost always works.

My theory works tonight. There are three times not very many by the time the time we s go on. But they're enthusiastic and we get a really good response.

The first show we tended to play too slow. The second one had all energy and the tempos were faster. Tonight we straddled the two and I think we're finding our rhythm, which usually happens around the third or fourth show.

We started using the Supersuckers drums and bass cab so we had to reconfigure how to load our gear in our van so we don't have to pull EVERYTHING out every time. This way our drums and bass cabinet stay in the van. The two heaviest things no longer come into the club. Nice!

We get to the hotel early (before midnight) which is great because we need some sleep.

We sleep.

 DEC 4

 Woke up about 9

Bernard and Marty did the driving today and I got to spend the whole ride in the back seat. It was an easy drive.

Had lunch at a Pilot and Lisa and I got Subway sandwiches. I wolf mine. Lisa saves half.

On the way we find out that the Bomb Pops' van has a brake issue so at best they're gonna be late, if they make it at all.

The venue in Albuquerque, the Sister Bar, is really nice.

The parking and load in situation is iffy though. But Bernard manages to snake a spot out front and we load in.

They have a great selection of sour beers and over the course of the night I had two Cascade's. Lisa got a  Dogfish head IPA. Really good! The food is good too. I had a breakfast burrito. Lisa had the Frito pie. Tapatio hot sauce, christmas chili salsa...yep, hit the spot!

The Bomb Pops get to the venue about 8:20. They use the Supersuckers gear and start playing really fast. It's a good set for them since they didn't know if they were gonna make it or not.

Good crowd.

The minute we start playing the lights on stage go out. The sound is still working so we keep playing while people use their cell phones to light us up. The blackout lasts till the next song. Other than that the set is great.

Loading out is interesting as there's a large contingent of homeless people wandering around or setting up there beds for the night all around where we're parked.

It's getting progressively colder as we head north.

 DEC. 5

 On the road to Denver!

We start out at 10 AM and head straight up the 25.

Once we're away from Albuquerque it's amazing how unpopulated the country is. I expected to see truck stops all along the route but there are hardly any. Towns are spread out.

There aren't very many troopers out either. Just a couple sitting in the medians waiting for speeders, which we're not.

We see a lot of antelope grazing in the fields along the highway.

We stop for gas and eats at a conoco station that has a Subway sandwiches. Lisa goes there. I get a hot dog.

A couple hours later we pull in for a bathroom break and meet up with the Supersuckers who've also stopped.

Bernard takes over driving and Lisa rides shotgun. Marty and I take the benches.

There's still 3 hours to go before we get to Denver.

Denver is officially freezing and the traffic is pretty bad. We lose our buffer hour for the hotel and we have to go straight to the venue.

The Lost Lake Lounge is a nice dive bar/club. The dressing room is small for ONE band and there's 3 in here.

The gig is sold out and the crowd is the best so far. It seems everybody in the place comes by the merch table and tells us how much they liked our set. With how many times we've played Denver I'm surprised at how many people haven't seen us before or even haven't ever heard of us until now.

After the show we head to our bomb ass hotel and sleep.

Did I mention it's fucking cold?

[ahqueenoh]

Berlin to Budapest.

If like me you have the travel bug, but equally prefer travelling alone, I couldn’t recommend Contiki more! They are a travel company for 18-35 year olds and they go (almost) everywhere. Every trip is an adventure and the people you meet along the way make every moment worth the long flights and sleepless nights.

This is my third time travelling with Contiki (my 4th is already booked! Bring on January!) and as the title suggests, we went from Berlin through Prague, onto Krakow and finished in Budapest. I had a wonderful time and many delicious meals, starting with Berlin Street food!

During the Second World War a woman called Herta Heuwer would approach US soldiers and swap liquor for ketchup and curry powder. She would combine these together, pour it on top of a sausage and you had Currywurst (pronounced curry vurst)!

Still a traditional street dish in Berlin you can find the kiosks EVERYWHERE. So of course I decided to try this special meal.

In all honesty, I did not know what to expect, I had been to Germany before and was still on the fence about the cuisine, that coupled with the idea of curry powder and ketchup did not fill me with joy.

Nonetheless we queued and paid, I went for Currywurst with chips (fries) and a drink, so if it was inedible I at least had something to last me until dinner.

In our group, we were also surprised to see that the kiosk offered vegan and vegetarian Currywursts so for all you none-meat eaters you too can enjoy this dish.

And enjoy it we did, the first taste to hit you was the sweetness of the ketchup, followed closely by the warmth of the curry powder. Of course you could taste the sausage too which added to the pleasure of this street dish. There’s something unique and indescribable about German sausages but I couldn’t imagine enjoying a Currywurst without one.

Since the dawn of the 20th century, Germany has gone through two world wars, the Nazis, the Soviets and five currencies. It is now one of (if not) the strongest economies in the EU and its capital is a diverse city that boasts being one of the safest cities for solo travel, a hub for street art, nightlife and reinvention. Nothing quite sums up all that history like this eclectic street dish, so should you have the pleasure of being in Berlin I can’t recommend Currywurst enough.

The adventure didn’t stop there, almost as soon as we arrived in Berlin it was off to Prague, which was certainly one of the most beautiful cities on this trip, but one of the biggest highlights for me (of course!) was the food.

We had the joy of attending a restaurant called Michal’s, (organised by Contiki) to enjoy a traditional Czech meal in the heart of this stunning city.

We began the meal with bread, soup and a garlic butter, the butter itself merits an entire blog post, it had the texture of cream cheese, the taste of butter and just the right amount of garlic.

For me, the soup was the real standout of the meal, I will go out on a limb and say, there is nothing more special in east Europe then their soups. Light, rich and full of big chunky vegetables and meats these soups are the cure to your worst break up, hardest heart ache and the most dismal of dismal days. We do not have the equivalent in England and it breaks my heart a little every time I eat Heinz Canned Tomato Soup (which gets far to much glory in the UK).

I could’ve easily eaten ten bowls of the beef soup but I was promptly presented with a platter of meat and potatoes. Again another triumph, so tender it fell apart on the journey from platter to my plate.

Czech cuisine is not for everyone and is rich and heavy to the extreme, but for me it is the sort of comfort food to make your soul sing and to bring all kinds of people together.

The restaurant certainly succeeded in bringing our tour group all together, a band played traditional music while two people danced. Of course there was some audience participation from inhaling enough water through a plastic sword to fill three wine glasses (my personal sucking skills won me a small bottle of liquor) and the dancers selecting some of our group to get up and dance.

Overall a joyous evening, full of food, laughter and copious amounts of wine.

A must do if you’re in Prague.

We waved Prague goodbye and zoomed off to Krakow (well, not quite “zoomed”, one cannot simply “zoom” in a coach containing 31 passengers and their luggage).

Sadly we were greeted by torrential rain which put quite the dampener on our first day and the chocolate box Old Town Square, but! In the spirit of making the best of a bad situation we persisted with a bicycle tour (which was rescheduled to the next day) and wondering the Cloth Hall, now a tourist market hall featuring the finest souvenirs this side of Poland, and generally getting rather soggy.

After drying our toes, Contiki had organised another restaurant extravaganza, this time at Kogel Mogel, rated highly by Michelin and known for their Perogis, we were given the chance to experience fine food and a cooking lesson.

Of course we started the meal with the aforementioned Perogis, almost anything can go in these traditional dumplings, usually they are filled with potatoes, meat or cheese (my personal favourite is red cabbage). The dumplings KM served us were a selection of potato and cheese, deer and pork.

Perogis always baffle my brain a little. While in your mouth the dough feels thick and heavy but the filling is often light and fluffy. You anticipate bloating and stomach ache but instead feel warm and satisfied.

The restaurant was kind enough to show us how to make Perogis and to let us have a go. The recipe and execution was simple enough so we gave it a go, needless to say I was hopeless but I got better, as with most Eastern European food, the key seems to be a caring hand and lots of love, a skill I can utilise when eating Perogis, not so much when making them.

After marvelling at our peers Perogi talent we returned to the table for our main course which was delicious but the standard meat and potatoes.

Now back to the Perogis, we had another dish of desert Perogis which I am ashamed to say I did not enjoy, for the simple reason they were stuffed with plums, a fruit I find so disgusting I am offended at its very presence on my plate.

However this has given me a vocation, I am now on the hunt for more sweet Perogi flavours to try.

Alongside the plums we had a dish that seemed to be like a Creme Brûlée but was not, this compote like desert, was extremely sweet and just hit the desert spot I had been craving since Berlin.

If you ever find yourself in Krakow it would be plain old bad manners to dine anywhere else but KM.

Our last stop on this epic adventure was Budapest. Technically three cities, Buda, Old Buda and Pest (pronounced Peshed) this was our sweetest stop on the trip, which was an ideal ending for me, as a large woman with an even larger sweet tooth I was certainly missing the sweet treats I love to indulge in at home.

Introducing Ruszwurm, a gorgeous confectioners established in 1827 and still going strong today, you can find this little gem on the Buda side of the city, within spitting distance of the Fisherman’s Bastion.

My first tip would be to go in a small group. I decided to go on a day the rest of the group was going to the famous Budapest Baths, another must do, so I was able to find a seat easily.

I was absolutely desperate to try the famous Ruszwurm Vanilla Kreme, a cake that is 90% cream, sandwiched between two thin biscuit/cake layers.

As soon as it arrived I regretted coming to the confectioner alone. It was large and thick and I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish one alone.

How wrong I was! This cake is the most delicious cake I have ever had the joy to taste, it has already had a reoccurring role in my dreams and I went back the next day with a few of my Contiki friends for another slice of this devilish Kreme.

Like Perogis, this cake will mess with your mind a little. It is able to stand securely with a solid thick looking cream centre and the biscuit like pieces, provide a strong hard looking foundation for the cream to sit on, but once on the lips, the cream melts into a light, perfectly sweet, whipped vanilla taste that makes me weak at the knees, the matching wafers crumble and crunch providing an excellent contrast to this sweetest of sweet treats.

This Vanilla Kreme was clearly made by a man who sold his soul to the devil and I thank god we cannot find this cake in London otherwise, within a week, I’d be bleeding cream.

If you take nothing else from this post, you must go to Ruszwurm when in Budapest.

Honourable mention:

Beetroot Soup- a delicacy in Poland that also contains little meat Perogis. This vibrantly coloured soup has a mild pickle taste that I deeply enjoy and with the accompanying Perogis is a must have lunch dish.

Central Market Hall- located on the Pest side of Budapest, this old market hall plays host to excellent street food and souvenir stands alike, an excellent stopping point for food and presents (for all the haters at home who wish they were in a city like Budapest). The “must have” street food is Langos, essentially fried bread with sour cream and cheese (most places will allow you to add various other toppings as well). Goulash is also a popular choice in Hungary and makes for a convenient lunch. Neither of these meals are a Burger Queen approved “must” I found Langos too doughy for my taste and strikes me as a pretentious pizza (not quite why I travelled all the way across Europe.) and goulash has nothing on my favourite Polish or Romanian soups.

For me, the must have is Cabbage Rolls, a dish I had the delight of eating when I worked with some fantastic Romanian women and went to Bucharest. It is the must eat meal of choice in the iconic Central Market Hall. You are served a huge portion with a side of additional cabbage. The “roll” is pork and rice (vegetarian options available) wrapped in pickled cabbage I love them so much I would marry them if I could.

Needless to say Romania and Hungary share a border and a close history so the Cabbage Rolls are (almost) as good as Romania.

[scottgw62]

New Post has been published on https://coachscottworswick.com/lets-check-out-cambodia/

Let's check out Cambodia

After around 19 months in Thailand I felt it was time to look for new pastures and decided to move to Cambodia.  Some of you may be thinking, ‘What!! why would he do that’, moving from one of the most developed countries in Asia, to a very small and under developed country without the many facilities offered by a more advanced nation.

Stay tuned and I’ll let you know.

So I arrived in Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia traveling by coach, an experience in itself!

Some of the roads were filled with deep pits and holes and it had been raining so muddy too, however we eventually arrived safely in Phnom Penh in the late evening in October 2014.

Fortunately, after only a short walk I was able to find a hotel for temporary accommodation while looking for a job and a more permanent apartment.

It did not take long to acquire a new position and I started work as a Tutor for a company run by an English owner. This involved some one on one tutoring and some small group work with local companies, again at a fairly low level. I continued working here until I met a guy in a local bar one evening and he told me about a language school run by IDP called ACE (Australian Centre for Education) and that I should apply there.

I suppose I should add a rather funny story (although not so funny for me at the time), one day my boss invited me to meet for lunch this was about 2 hours before my lesson with a Korean guy, very good in English but he wanted to improve even more and learn many of the idioms we have in English as well as converse with a native speaker. Anyway so at lunch my boss ordered some pizza and we had a pleasant time eating and drinking. However, unknown to me was the fact that this was commonly known as a ‘happy pizza’ in other words it was laced with cannabis.

I now had to proceed to my lesson with an executive client who spoke very good English and try to provide a good session. But that was not to be, I found myself feeling very drowsy and unable to concentrate eventually after about 30 to 40 min’s he ended the class. I’m sure he must have realised what had happened, but I put it down to not feeling very well. For me a terrible experience, as I would never drink or take mild drugs like that knowing I had a lesson to do, but quite funny looking back. What a boss right!!       

 This I did and after an interview, I was accepted to stat in a new branch in an area known as Toul Tom Poung. It was a brand new building with about 7 floors. This was to begin in the New Year January 2015.  

All the teachers that started in this branch were new teachers and we had induction training before we started. Very professional and although they did have classes for all ages we were able to stipulate our preferences. So I chose to teach at level 4 and above which was at an intermediate level and with teenagers and adults.

Quick note; IDP is an organization in Australia I believe its government run to encourage foreign students to study in Australian Universities. They are one part of the team that makes up the IELTS exams with the British Council.

I was very please to find this position as it was my first experience of working in a well run and organized school, it also took care of our visa’s and working permits and provided medical insurance after a 6 month probationary period.  We had all the necessary tools and equipment to plan our lessons and a structured curriculum using English course books. So whilst it was still required to make lesson plans they were developed around the lessons from the books, these included audio and video material.

Cambodia Expat Lifestyle

OK, so what about Cambodia, I found it a very nice place not too much traffic compared to other major capital cities, which made it easy to get around, here I did buy a second hand scooter rather than renting as they are very cheap here. Most of the traffic is motorbikes and bicycles not so many cars as the population is still relatively poor and cars here are very heavily taxed, they cost more here than in western countries.

The driving is not so good, they do go through red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road and you have to watch for vehicles coming from all directions, but they tend to drive quite slow, so just be careful.

About the traffic police if they stop you there will be a fine, even if you have done nothing wrong, but if you keep your eyes open they are avoidable and if you keep to the outside lane a go faster it’s difficult for them to stop you. It’s also acceptable here to ignore the police if they are flagging you down, they never pursue you.

I bought my scooter and never had a license in Cambodia, didn’t have any insurance. The only expenses were the petrol, about $1 a litre and any repairs, punctures did occur quite frequently but they have many places to repair and not very expensive.  

Cuisine in Cambodia mostly revolves around rice and noodles just like all the other Asian countries, meals could be bought at local restaurants for around a dollar, a can of beer about 70 cents in a store for the local brew or if in a bar $1.50 to $2. That’s if you wish to be on the economy side. But like Thailand being the capital city they have many different kinds of foods including, hamburgers, chips, Kebabs, Chinese, KFC and as in Thailand some western owners of bars and restaurants.

Of course if you venture into the small towns and villages you can only find the local foods.

Things to do, they had some small shopping malls and also one big AON mall that had just been built, with cinema that catered for blockbuster movies.

I also found a gym not as modern as the one in Thailand and no air conditioning which actually I prefer. But it had all the weights and equipment for me to work out a circuit for myself and it was only a dollar per visit.

Cambodia has many holidays, so the students and the school closed quite a bit and I decided to travel to the beach at Sihanouk about a 4 hour mini bus ride from Phnom Penh during any of the longer holidays. It was here that I noticed the scuba diving schools and being an adventurous person. I began by having an introductory course at a PADI diving school close to the beach at Sihanouk. After getting into the diving, I made my mind up to complete my open water certificate, this entailed buying some books and doing some study as well as the diving.

The centre I used had a place on an island, so we went by boat to this Island known as Koh Rong Sanloem and although there were some other small resorts it was almost a deserted beach, especially when it was out of the main season for tourists. However, on the other side of the Island, there were larger resorts and I occasionally took a walk over the hill to the other side, quite a steep climb and took about 30 to 40 min's, through a dense overgrown forest and a few streams to cross quite a nice little hike.  

          I got hooked on diving and went on to complete my advanced diving and also a rescue and first aid course. I thought about becoming an instructor but in the end decided against it.

I was also able to get involved with the school 5-a-side football team, we went to a local venue and played against the local teams, in my first 6 month contract we had two young guys teaching with us who were quite good footballers. So when the school had a 5-a-side competition we had a good team, even at 58, I was able to play in the side and we managed to win the competition on penalties in the final.  Not bad for an old geezer.   

    As for the cost of living, a bit less than Thailand especially for accommodation, although I have to say, I was very blessed to find a 3 bedroom two floor apartment fully furnished, for $200 a month. Most of the rented apartments were more in the region of $250 to $300 depending on what kind of facilities you were after, Oh! and with a balcony.  

Food to buy in the markets are cheap and varied you can get most vegetables that you might be used to, as well as many you have not seen before in your home country, unless you’re from another Asian country of course.                  

Scott Worswick

[seniorbrief]

75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

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The Inception and the Legacy

1. Seventy-five years ago, in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up the first McDonald’s restaurant—a BBQ joint—in San Bernardino, California (at left; it’s now a museum). Eight years later, they switched to burgers, shakes, potato chips, and pie. The McDonalds purchased several Multi-mixers for use in their establishment, and when Multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc visited, he was impressed by their success and efficiency. Kroc purchased franchise rights from the brothers. In 1955, he opened his first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. Looking for more McDonald’s facts? This is the first McDonald’s menu ever.

2. McDonald’s first drive-thru opened in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona. What inspired the then-revolutionary concept? The restaurant was located near a military base, and soldiers were not allowed to leave their cars while wearing fatigues. Check out how the McDonald’s menu has changed throughout the years.

3. There are almost more than one-and-half times more McDonald’s locations than hospitals in the United States: 14,350 versus 10,660. Find out the only U.S. state capital without a McDonald’s.

4. All those dimes and pennies do add up: In 2013, Ronald McDonald House Charities—the nonprofit organization that is McDonald’s charity of choice—raised around $450 million. It used those funds to help nearly 9 million children and their families worldwide. Today, RMHC has nearly 300 local chapters in 58 countries and regions.

5. McDonald’s invested in Chipotle in 1998, back when the fast-Mexican chain consisted of 16 restaurants. By 2006, McDonald’s owned 90 percent of Chipotle—which had grown to 500 locations—but it sold its stake in order to focus on McDonald’s.

6. The average McDonald’s drive-thru transaction took roughly three minutes, or 189.49 seconds, according to one recent study; the fast-food leader was Wendy’s with a 133.63-second turnaround time.

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McDonald’s Facts: All About the Arches

7. The Golden Arches are said to be the most recognized symbol in the world, even ahead of the cross. By the way, this is the drink you should never order at a McDonald’s, according to an employee.

8. Founder Richard McDonald first sketched the Golden Arches as an architectural feature to attract customers in cars looking from the roadside, but it took five more years for the arches to be linked into an M (shown at right, at a present-day restaurant in Downey, California, the oldest one still in operation). Did you know there might be a hidden sexual meaning behind McDonald’s gold arches?

9. At its Paris Champs-Elysees restaurant, McDonald’s typically yellow Golden Arches are neon white to blend in with the lighting of that location. This is the real reason the logo is yellow and red.

10. The McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, has the world’s only turquoise arches—the owners of that franchise were told that they needed to make the location more in keeping with the distinct desert environment. The blue was chosen to echo the sky, and the building is more orange and red to resemble the surrounding terrain. Read more about it here.

McDonald’s Facts from Around the World

11. While many international McDonald’s look the same as their American counterparts, their menus contain unique items that reflect local tastes. Some examples: nurnburger, or three bratwursts on a bun (Germany); creamy stars, or deep-fried star-shaped pieces of cheese (Italy); McFalafel and McKebab (Israel); McSpaghetti, or pasta served with Chicken McNuggets on the side (Philippines); McRice burger, or a burger in which rice patties are used instead of a bun (Singapore); quiche de quejo, or cheese quiche (Brazil); red bean pie (Hong Kong); McAloo Tikki burger, or a spiced-potato burger (India). Pssst: There’s a reason why Coke tastes so much better at McDonald’s.

12. Samuel Jackson’s character came pretty close in Pulp Fiction: a Quarter Pounder in France is called a Royal Cheese, not a Royale with Cheese. This is the McDonald’s with the best menu in the world.

13. Since 1996, skiers have been able to schuss into the world’s only ski-thru McDonald’s in the Lindvallen resort area in Sweden.

14. Many people probably wish they could dine on McDonald’s on a flight instead of airline food; for now, they’ll have to settle for dining at a New Zealand McDonald’s, which includes an actual retired aircraft as part of the restaurant.

15. Nations that have placed a ban on McDonald’s include Bermuda, Montenegro, Kazahstan, and Macedonia. Here are more countries that have banned McDonald’s.

16. In all the world, there is one floating McDonald’s. Known as the McBarge, it’s in Vancouver, Canada. It was built for and served food at the 1986 World’s Fair, but it is now abandoned. Perhaps it should open as a sail-thru?

17. The Queen of England owns approximately $11 billion of real estate in the United Kingdom; among her holdings is a McDonald’s near Buckingham Palace. So far, she has yet to dine there—but she may be more of a drive-thru type.

18. Golden wedding arches: McDonald’s in Hong Kong offers a variety of wedding packages. The deluxe package, which costs around $1,200, includes a two-hour rental of a decorated McDonald’s location, 50 invitations, McDonald’s gifts for 50 guests, a pair of McDonald’s balloon wedding rings, a bridal bouquet, apple pie display, and an emcee.

19. In the U.K., McDonald’s has launched a program to recycle its employees’ uniforms. Some of the material will be re-spun into fiber to make new uniforms; the rest will be shredded and used to stuff mattresses.

20. In another innovation, McDonald’s Hungary and the advertising agency DDB Budapest recently unveiled the BagTray: a paper bag that has a reinforced cardboard tray at its bottom. By ripping off a strip of the bag, you can detach a sturdy tray.

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McDonald’s Facts: Menu Mania

21. McDonald’s best-selling menu item is … French fries! Check out the 10 most popular items at McDonald’s.

22. But it took nine years for fries to appear on the restaurant menu (they debuted in 1949); before that, only potato chips were available. This is the secret ingredient behind the addictive flavor of McDonald’s fries.

 23. You don’t need a passport to try exotic McDonald’s offerings. In some parts of America, McDonald’s restaurants sell their own specialty items. In the summer, you can get a McLobster roll at restaurants in New England. But Hawaii takes the prize: Choices include Saimin, a Hawaiian noodle soup with fish cake, nori, char siu pork, and sliced scrambled eggs; a taro-root pie; and a breakfast platter with Spam or Portuguese sausage as the meat options.

24. A McDonald’s franchise owner in Monfort Heights, Ohio noticed that residents in his highly Catholic town did not eat hamburgers or cheeseburgers during Lent so he created a meat-free alternative, the Filet-o-Fish, which swam onto menus in 1962. Today, 23 percent of all Filet-o-Fish sales are thought to occur during Lent.

25. The fish in the filet was originally halibut; now it’s wild-caught Atlantic pollock.

26. The chain’s worst-selling item may have been the Hula burger. Invented by Ray Kroc as a meatless alternative for Catholics on Lent, it consisted of a grilled piece of pineapple with a slice of cheese in a bun. It lasted a brief while in 1962. Here are the failed McDonald’s menu items you’ve probably never heard of.

27. McDonald’s McGriddle was invented by product developer Tom Ryan because he wanted a handheld breakfast item that was both sweet and savory. He is the Dr. Frankenstein of fast food. In an earlier job at Pizza Hut, he created stuffed-crust pizza and the Meat Lovers, Veggie Lovers, and Cheese Lovers pizzas. He is now the founder and chief concept officer at Smashburger.

28. Franchisee Herb Peterson created the Egg McMuffin, which became available in 1971, by modeling it off his breakfast of choice, eggs benedict. This is the only McDonald’s Breakfast made with fresh eggs.

29. Some discerning diners believe that the Coke served at McDonald’s tastes better than it does at other places. They may be onto something: Only at McDonald’s is the Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks to preserve its freshness; elsewhere, it’s transported in plastic bags.

30. At a grand total of 1,880 calories, the 40-piece Chicken McNuggets are the highest calorie item on the regular menu. That’s more calories than many adults should consume in a single day. Find out the 5 healthiest things you can order at a McDonald’s.

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31. The number of ingredients in Chicken McNuggets? 40, which is low compared to the ingredient list for the McRib, which has 70. By the way, this is why McNuggets always come in one of four shapes.

32. The McRib, which debuted in the chain’s restaurants in 1981, was invented in part because chicken farmers couldn’t keep up with the demand for McNuggets.

33. There are no ribs in McRib; it’s a patty made from pork shoulder meat.

34. The McRib was removed from the McDonald’s menu in 1985 due to its lack of popularity. But thanks to a loyal cult following, it came back in 1989 and was offered until 2005 in the chain’s restaurants in much of the world. From 2006 on, it’s been available for a few months every year. However, all along it has been a menu staple in one country: Germany.

35. According to Reddit users, you can get a Big Mac for half the price if you order a McDouble without mustard or ketchup and add shredded lettuce and special sauce. The only difference will be the lack of a third bun.

36. Those in the know say that McDonald’s has a secret menu. The most popular items include the McLeprechaun shake (a chocolate shake mixed with their seasonal Shamrock Shake), the McKinley Mac (a Big Mac made with quarter-pounder patties), and the Land, Air, and Sea burger (a McChicken patty, beef patty and Filet-o-Fish patty combined). Here are the McDonald’s secret menu items you need to know.

37. In an effort to provide a more customized experience, the “Create Your Taste” initiative allows diners to use tablet-like kiosks to pick different buns, cheeses, toppings, and sauces for their burger. It’s expected to roll out at 2,000 locations in the United States this year, or about one in seven McDonald’s in the United States.

38. Customer Moshe Tamssot posted a YouTube video that showed him creating the biggest burger possible with a “Create Your Taste.” Although he was limited to two quarter-pound beef patties, he was able to add 10 times all the other ingredients. His sandwich was topped by 10 slices of bacon, 30 slices of cheese, and 10 servings of guacamole, tomato, pickles, lettuce, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, raw onions, and grilled onions (not to mention a variety of sauces). The sandwich weighed 3.8 pounds and cost $24.89. We believe he is still digesting it.

39. In a one-off event in 2013, McDonald’s challenged celebrity chefs to deploy McDonald’s ingredients to create a “McGourmet” meal. Guests at the NYC dinner enjoyed kung pao chicken (made with Chicken McNuggets and sweet-and-sour sauce), a tortilla espanola (hash browns and eggs), slow-cooked beef with blueberry pomegranate sauce (the chain’s blueberry-pomegranate smoothie) and gnocchi (French fries!), and washed it all down with mojitos (mango pineapple smoothie).

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Ronald McDonald Facts

40. While there are disputes about who invented the Ronald McDonald character, Willard Scott—who later became famous for being The Today Show weatherman— was the first to portray him in TV ads.

41. Scott was fired from being Ronald McDonald after he was deemed to be “too fat.”

42. In Japan, the character is known as Donald McDonald, due to the lack of a clear “R” sound in Japanese.

43. The original Ronald McDonald wore a yellow-and-red striped suit, which he often accessorized with wearing a tray bearing a hamburger, fries, and milkshake as a hat.

44. Ronald’s newest wardrobe, which debuted last summer, consists of yellow cargo pants and a vest and a red-and-white striped rugby shirt; on special occasions, he tops it all with a red blazer emblazoned with golden arches on the front pocket. His new look was created by theatrical costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, who won a Tony for Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast.

45. In 2005, a man from Manchester, New Hampshire, robbed a Wendy’s. His name? Ronald MacDonald. Learn which McDonald’s is the most expensive McDonald’s in the world.

McDonald’s Facts: Crime, Punishment, and Some Bizarre Lawsuits

46. Shaneka Torres of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is currently serving a three-to-seven-year prison sentence after she was convicted of shooting a bullet in a McDonald’s drive-thru window after she failed to receive bacon on her burger. She has also been banned from the restaurant for life.

47. In 2014, a McDonald’s customer sued the company for $1.5 million after claiming to suffer “undue mental anguish” after he received only one napkin with his order. This is why McDonald’s ice cream machines are always broken.

48. After starring in a McDonald’s-bashing ad for Burger King, the then-4-year-old actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was named in a lawsuit by the fast food giant—and was banned from McDonald’s.

49. While the best-known McDonald’s lawsuit in America is the one involving scalding coffee, the company is known in the U.K. for a different legal matter. In 1994, two members of the London Greenpeace group were sued by McDonald’s for distributing pamphlets that claimed the company was responsible for hunger in the Third World, deforestation, food poisoning, cruel treatment of animals, and paying low wages. The trial—dubbed the McLibel case—still stands as the longest in English history at 300 days, generating 20,000 pages of trial transcripts. The defendants were found guilty of making some libelous statements and ordered to pay a fine. But in 2005, they brought their case to the European Court, which declared that the case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression (mainly due to the unavailability of legal aid for the Greenpeace members).

50. Children’s television producers Sid and Marty Kroftt sued McDonald’s in 1973, saying that McDonaldland ripped off the “concept and feel” of their TV show H.R. Pufnstuf. McDonald’s was ordered to pay the brothers one million dollars.

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McDonald’s Facts: Amazing Feats

51. In the Guinness Book of World Records, one record is unlikely to be beaten anytime soon: “Most Big Macs Consumed.” When Don Gorske of Wisconsin set the record in 2008, he’d already consumed 22,477 sandwiches. But since he eats two a day, he’s had over 27,500 of them by now. He had his first at age 18 in 1972 (it cost 49 cents). He liked the sandwich so much that after eating it, he had eight more of them—for a one-day total of nine, a limit he has never exceeded. Both his weight and cholesterol are said to be normal.

52. The world’s largest Big Mac can be found in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the Big Mac Museum (which bills itself “the most tasteful museum in the world”).  While the mega-Mac is inedible—it’s a 14-foot-tall statue—hungry visitors can eat the real thing at the on-premises McDonald’s restaurant.

53. Mike Fountaine holds the record for owning the most McDonald’s related memorabilia. His 75,000-item collection—which includes buttons, uniforms, cups, and Happy Meal boxes and toys—spills over nine rooms of his Pennsylvania home. In 1968, a then-15-year-old Fountaine began working at the Golden Arches and began his collection one year later. Today he owns two McDonald’s restaurants.

54. The world’s largest McDonald’s PlayPlace is in the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It includes a 500 gallon aquarium, waterfall, and 100 arcade games.

55. A limited edition—one out of 200 produced in the world—500 ml bottle of McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce sold in Australia on eBay this year for $20,600 in Australian dollars, or around $16,144 US. One hundred percent of the profits went to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

56. But the ingredients in the special sauce are no longer secret. According to the company website, it contains soybean oil, pickle relish, distilled vinegar, water (main components); egg yolks, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, garlic powder, vegetable protein, caramel color, paprika and turmeric extracts (for flavor and color); high fructose corn syrup, sugar (for sweetness); sodium benzoate, calcium disodium EDTA (for preservation of color and taste); propylene glycol alginate, mustard bran, soy lecithin (for thickness and creaminess).

57. In 2012, Rebekah Speight of Nebraska auctioned off a truly one-of-a-kind possession on eBay: a chicken McNugget that resembled George Washington. The winning bid was $8,100, which Speight planned to donate to her church’s youth camp. At the time of sale, the nugget was already three years old. In general, eBay bans the sale of expired food products, but the company made an exception.

58. McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys. It gives away around 1.5 billion toys each year with Happy Meals.

59. Jamaican runner Usain Bolt claims to have eaten around 1,000 chicken McNuggets during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where McDonald’s had an outpost in the Olympic Village. It was the lunch (or dinner) of champions: At those games, he won three gold medals and set three world records. This is the secret that makes their apple pies taste so good.

McDonald’s Facts All About the Employees

60. One in eight U.S. workers has been employed by McDonald’s at some point in their careers. These are the secrets McDonald’s employees won’t tell you.

61. Famous former employees of McDonald’s include Rachel McAdams, Pink, Macy Gray, Jay Leno, Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, and Andie MacDowell.

62. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “McJob” is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector.”  McDonald’s threatened to sue to change the definition, but ultimately responded with a clever U.K. ad campaign that extolled the company’s employee benefits. It ended with the line: “Not bad for a McJob.” This is how much McDonald’s workers really make.

63. On a corporate level, McDonald’s has some pretty spectacular benefits. Employees get an extra week of paid time off in the years when they reach an anniversary ending with a “5” (5, 15, 25, etc.). They’re eligible for an eight-week paid sabbatical for every 10 years worked.

64. In 1961, the company opened Hamburger University to train its executive employees; today, there are more than 2750,000 graduates. The original campus is in Oak Brook, Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Other campuses are in Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, Sao Paolo and Shanghai. All together around the world, Hamburger U. employs more than 60 full-time college professors.

65. McDonald’s holds its own version of American Idol. Called the Voice of McDonald’s, the competition shines the spotlight on the vocal talent of its 1.8 million employees. In its most recent contest, 58,000 McWorkers from 63 countries entered. Lucy Ospitia of Bucaramanga, Colombia, won the $25,000 grand prize. Rocky Rosabal from the Philippines won second prize ($17,500); third prize ($12,500) went to Ashlae Nelms from Illinois.

A Pop Culture Icon

66. The Economist created the “Big Mac Index” in 1986 as a shorthand way to determine whether a country’s currency is inflated. The index uses the international prices of a Big Mac, a globally available food product, to illustrate the differences in monetary value between nations. It’s still referenced today. In January, the average price for a Big Mac was $4.79 in the America and $7.54 in Switzerland. (All prices are in U.S. dollars.) Russia and Ukraine were among the cheapest places at which to buy a Big Mac, $1.36 and $1.20, respectively.

 67. In the 2003 documentary Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock chronicled his 30-day, all-McDonald’s diet. At month’s end, Spurlock had gained 25 pounds, sent his cholesterol sky-rocketing, and caused serious harm to his liver. McDonald’s removed Super Size fries and drinks from its menu six weeks after the film’s release, although it said Super Size Me did not influence its decision.

68. The “I’m Lovin’ It” McDonald’s jingle was written by Pharell and recorded by Justin Timberlake.

69. Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond is nicknamed Hamburglar. How he earned it: A fan threw a burger on the ice at Hammond after a recent win (in 12 starts, he’d amassed an impressive 10-0-1 record); the goalie graciously accepted it but did not eat it because he said it was too cold. To ensure that he always has access to a hot burger, Hammond received—courtesy of McDonald’s in Canada—a special card that entitles him to a lifetime of free eats.

70. Octogenarians Carl and Barbara Becker of Virginia were regulars at their local McDonald’s, where they liked stopping in for “scrunch”—a snack between lunch and supper. One day, an employee was sweeping up near them, and when asked if it bothered them, the couple answered that it did. A manager then told the Beckers that they’d exceeded their allowed 30 minutes in the restaurant and had to leave.  The Beckers wrote a heartfelt letter to their local paper in which Carl explained how the incident had marred their McDonald’s ritual. For the pair, scrunch is “a sweet time of fellowship, which we enjoy, which helps sustain our marriage of 63 years,” wrote Carl. In response, McDonald’s corporate offices sent the couple coupons for two small coffees. The Beckers refused them but said they’d still patronize the chain—just not the Culpeper location.

71. The Beckers were not left burger-less, however. Shawn Moss, who owns Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ restaurant in Culpeper, was so moved when he heard about the couple’s experience that he offered them one free “scrunch” a week for the rest of their lives.

72. In 2014, 18-year-old Stian Ytterdahl from Norway had a tattoo artist ink a McDonald’s receipt onto his arm after his friends dared him; a week later, he had the same receipt tattooed on his other arm. For the rest of his life, he’ll always know what he ate at 7:36 PM on March 24, 2014: a Coke, three cheeseburgers, a cheeseburger Happy Meal, a McFlurry NonStop with three extra toppings, and an extra Happy Meal toy. This is why you should always ask for your receipt at McDonald’s.

73. At the McDonald’s online shop, customers in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Australia can purchase Big Mac-patterned pajamas, wallpaper, long underwear, rain boots, dog coat, and (human) bedding.

74. Scientists studying McDonald’s patrons found that female diners ate less when they were eating in mixed-sex groups rather than in same-sex groups, while male diners ate more in mixed-sex groups than in mixed-sex pairs, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health Psychology.

75. While only McDonald’s is on Twitter (with more than 2.8 million followers), both McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald have Instagram accounts. McDonald’s boasts 565,000 followers to Ronald’s 10,900.

Original Source -> 75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

source https://www.seniorbrief.com/75-mind-blowing-mcdonalds-facts/

[gloriacumming43-blog]

No Croutons Required ..

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[365-money-diary]

DAYS 300 - 306

DAY THREE HUNDRED

8:30 AM - I arrive at work and have an hour long meeting before I get to make coffee and toast.

12:00 PM - I walk to Sprouts and buy a package of vaginal probiotics because I’m starting to feel iffy, some kale, tomatoes, an avocado and a cucumber. $44.31

3:30 PM - We have a big meeting and I think I do relatively well with them, but they take forever to leave our office.

4:45 PM - I scat home super quick, let the dog out, and change my shoes for dinner.

6:00 PM - I meet my sister and the doctors she interviewed with for dinner at Seasons 52. I get a vegetable medley and a glass of wine. Doctors pay.

8:00 PM - My sister and I head down to The Van Buren and meet up with my boyfriend. We watch a few songs by Jose Gonzales and then head to Crescent so she can see the inside of that. We head to Valley Bar next where we sit for a glass of wine. Boyfriend buys.

10:30 PM - I drop her off at her hotel and I’m so hungry when I get in the car that I order boyfriend and me JJ. $17.99

11:00 PM - I hate eating late but I can’t help it this time. I eat and head to bed almost immediately.

DAY THREE HUNDRED TOTAL: $62.30

DAY THREE HUNDRED-ONE

9:30 AM - I wake up and head to Cartel. I’m taking the day off today to hang with my sister, but she has a small meeting before we can hang. I get free coffee again, but I don’t end up tipping today cause they hand it to me really far away from the register.

10:00 AM - I get a phone call from my sister and she’s done with her meeting. I walk up to the register to see if they have vegan cookies today and they don’t which is a bummer. We’re not eating until 1:30 and I’m starving.

10:15 AM - I stop at QT and get gas. $24.36

10:20 AM - I get one of those pretzel hummus combos to fight the hunger. $2.15

10:30 AM - I pick my sister up from the rental car place and we head to my office so she can meet my coworkers.

11:00 AM - We stop by my cousin’s building and they show her around. We chat for a while and then head out to Arcadia so she can see some houses.

1:30 PM - Sister and I head downtown to my boyfriend’s office. I pay to park the car and then we grab him and walk to Crescent for lunch. I get a salad and a sangria. My sister gets tacos and a marg. Boyfriend covers the tab. $4.25

3:30 PM - We decide to go to Top Golf and then the casino. Sister gets Top Golf, I cover the casino. $22

6:00 PM - We head back to Tempe and meet up with my boyfriend at Postino. I pay for our meal. $87.99

8:00 PM - I drop my sister off at the airport and she flies home to Chicago.

8:30 PM - I arrive home and am emotionally drained. I sit on my phone for a while and then turn in for the night.

DAY THREE HUNDRED-ONE TOTAL: $140.75

DAY THREE HUNDRED-TWO

8:15 AM - I wake up to a Serato charge. $9.99

9:00 AM - I make it to work on time! I toast some bread and make coffee for my assistant and me.

12:00 PM - I walk to Sprouts and pick up a giant bottle of seltzer water and a can opener. $6.34

5:30 PM - I arrive home, let the dog out, and shower quickly and then head out to meet my boyfriend and his Tucson friends downtown before the game.

7:00 PM - We all eat together at Cornish Pasty. Boyfriend and I split a charcuterie board (I just eat pickled veggies). I also get a cocktail and a pasty. He gets a salad and I cover it all. I am so fucking full. $54.63

8:30 PM - We make it to the Suns game and Isaiah Canaan fractures his ankle badly, but we still win.

11:30 PM - We arrive home and fall asleep trying to shake off the Isaiah Canaan injury. You can’t unsee that shit.

DAY THREE HUNDRED-TWO TOTAL: $70.96

DAY THREE HUNDRED-THREE

9:00 AM - I roll out of bed and head to work.

9:30 AM - My assistant already has made me coffee which is nice. I toast a piece of bread.

12:00 PM - I walk to Sprouts and buy kale, an avocado, and an 8 pack of lemon La Croix. $5.20

12:30 PM - I eat my salad but I’m still super hungry. Sad! 3:00 PM - I eat a piece of bread because I’m still starving and wash it down with a La Croix.

5:30 PM - I arrive home from work and need to snack. I catch up on the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules and eat chips, salsa, and “Bitchin’ Sauce” with a Polar seltzer.

7:00 PM - I make my way up to Postino in Old Town where I meet my cousin. She treats me to a glass of wine and a veggie panini. We gossip about her brother’s engagement and family drama. It’s really nice to have her in the valley.

9:15 PM - I head home from dinner and veg out on the couch for a while. My boyfriend makes it home from a long day at work and we start to watch the Waco doc on A&E but end up moving to the bedroom and our cable login stops working so we give up and watch The Jump and fall asleep.

DAY THREE HUNDRED-THREE TOTAL: $5.20

DAY THREE HUNDRED-FOUR

8:30 AM - Boyfriend asks if I’m going to be on time for work today. I groan and roll out of bed, brush my hair and throw on some clothes.

9:00 AM - I make it to work on time. I make some coffee and a piece of toast. The usual.

11:45 AM - My colleagues and I go to Sauce. I get pasta with pizza sauce with mushroom and spinach. It’s so nice out and we sit outside -- lunch accidentally takes us 2 hours because no one is in the mood to work. $10.53

3:30 PM - We leave work early and I head home to work on my set for tonight at PV.

5:00 PM - Boyfriend comes home and cleans out his car. He plans to trade it in for a new one. I’m so excited for him!

8:00 PM - I realize I really don’t have much to eat here so I order JJ for both me and my boyfriend. $19.84

9:00 PM - I pack up my stuff and head to PV! We set up and I go on around 10:00. My set goes over pretty well and I feel good about it! For the rest of the night, I walk around collecting money for an event I put on every year called the Vanishing Show. I end up leaving with around $300! So happy about it.

3:00 AM - It feels really good not to drink honestly. I get home and fall asleep pretty quickly.

DAY THREE HUNDRED-FOUR TOTAL: $30.37

DAY THREE HUNDRED-FIVE

9:30 AM - I don’t know how I’m awake but it’s a thing. Boyfriend and I take his new car to Cartel and he treats me to some coffee. We then head to Waffle House where I load up on hashbrowns. He pays for this as well.

12:00 PM - We head home and watch some basketball.

5:00 PM - Boyfriend leaves to go to The Van Buren for Desert Trash and then to Marquee for Vince Staples. Super bummed I’m missing Desert Trash, but I have a gig tonight. I am super hungry so I make some Daiya mac & cheeze. It’s kind of gross.

6:00 PM - I take a much needed nap.

8:30 PM - I wake up and prepare the rest of my set for tonight.

10:00 PM - I head to Dutch Bros and buy a tea before heading to Rebel Lounge. $4.25

10:35 PM - I arrive at Rebel and load in my stuff. I am all set up and ready to go at 11 sharp.

2:00 AM - I close my set with My Heart Will Go On and it bums everyone out. I think it’s hilarious though. I collect my $200 check and head back to Tempe.

3:30 AM - I am able to naturally calm down after this set which is something I’ve been working on since my last set in January where I really had a hard time. Feeling really good and positive about my efforts!

DAY THREE HUNDRED-FIVE TOTAL: $4.25

DAY THREE HUNDRED-SIX

11:30 AM - We sleep in and it feels sooooooo good!

12:00 PM - We get Cartel. I’m extremely dehydrated so I opt out of coffee today.

12:30 PM - We get brunch at Gallo Blanco. I order and iced tea and a veggie burrito. Boyfriend gets a breakfast burrito and we split chips. I pay today. $26.72

2:00 PM - We arrive back home and we watch the Suns game. The Super Bowl is on at some point but I have no idea when/what’s going on at all. After the game’s over I put on a Lakers vs. OKC game from earlier today. Boyfriend falls asleep on the couch and I am somehow awake.

5:00 PM - I try to fall asleep in the bedroom but it doesn’t pan out very well.

6:00 PM - We go to the Sprouts and I get conditioner, ($12 of this total spend goes to home and health) 3 Big Sur burritos, a few cans of beans and tomatoes, a jalapeno, an onion, an avocado, some garlic, some pasta, a loaf of bread, and a bell pepper. $45.94

6:30 PM - We go to Walmart and boyfriend buys me a tiny six pack of Dr. Pepper and a giant Lemon Lime Gatorade.

7:00 PM - We stop at Fry’s and boyfriend gets a ton of canned soup.

7:30 PM - We arrive home and I partially clean out the fridge and make chili on the stove. It turns out okay, but I’m sure it’ll be way better tomorrow after those spices soak in.

DAY THREE HUNDRED-SIX TOTAL: $72.66

[trendingnewsb]

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