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motiveandthemeans · 4 years

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When Dan met Abbey

He’d met her at a random lunch meeting on the Affordable Care Act he’d been forced to attend. She was the arguably the youngest (his junior by at least five years), and the most beautiful woman in the room. Probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Abigail Holland, RN, MSN, CEN. Blonde hair, blue eyes, long legs, the strangest accent he’d ever heard. Not quite southern, not quite west coast Cali girl. She’d been brought in as an expert on primary care deficiencies and for some reason the Senator Feinstein insisted Dan go in her stead, despite health policy being 100% not his area of expertise or interest.

Everyone noticed her pillowy lips but Dan had noticed her smile, the way she tried not to appear intimidated, surrounded by politicians and political players alike. She was clearly out of her comfort zone as well. He didn’t miss the once over McDonough had given her, how it disgusted him a married man could be so blatantly attracted to someone else.

They’d been inadvertently sent to the background of the meeting, clearly not the key note speakers at this particular luncheon.

“Is it always like this?” She asked quietly.

He chuckled. “Yeah, pretty much. I’m usually sitting against the wall though so this is new for me too.”

She smiled, grateful for companionship. “I’m Abbey. You’re Dan Jones. You work for Senator Feinstein, don’t you?”

He gave her a quizzical look. “How did you know? Is it that obvious?”

She laughed and he felt his heart skip a beat. “No, no. I just...I saw you in her office a couple of months ago. Just in passing.”

“Really?” He couldn’t think of a scenario how he could not have noticed her. “Do you know the Senator?”

“Her granddaughter and I were college roommates. We spent many spring breaks at their house in San Fransisco.” Abbey said. “She and my father were on a couple of committees together when she was in the house.”

“You’re Dad is Dr. Benjamin Holland?” He sputtered. “The director of the NIH?”

“Yep.” She said awkwardly.

“I didn’t know he had a daughter.”

She shrugged. “Four boys ahead of me so, it’s not like it’s all that important. Also I’m a nurse, not an MD, so it’s a stain upon the family name to be sure.”

Dan smirked. “Because you’re the ones actually bedside and know what’s going on with the patient?”

She looked at him, shocked.

“My mom was a nurse.” He clarified.

Her powder blue eyes lit up when grinned. “She must be awful proud of you, making it big in D.C.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m making it big, but yes. She’s your typical Jewish mother. Anytime the Senator makes a big move, she’ll say ‘My son did so and so...’”

“Don’t be too humble now, D.C. is cut throat. People might think you have morals.” Abbey said with faux disgust on her face.

“Not a fan of politicians, are you?”

“I have a healthy enough tolerance.” She countered with a wry smirk.

Dan couldn’t help the smile Abigail brought to his face and was going to tell her so when he was interrupted by McDonough calling an end to the luncheon. He lost her through the crowd, heart sinking at the idea he’d have to find some asinine way of contacting her when he felt something slip into his hands. It was a napkin and it had Abbey’s number on it.

She grinned over her shoulder as she walked away, he smiled back.

He’d agonized over how long to wait to call her, it’d been years since he’d dated, well out of the convoluted dating scene of D.C. it was early, almost six thirty in the evening when he finally dialed her number.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d call me.” She teased. “Hello, Dan.”

“I’d give you some bullshit excuse about being busy with work and not worrying about seeming too interested, but I get the impression lying to you wouldn’t go down so well.” He grinned. “Hey, Abby”

“Am I that easy to read?” She asked with a laugh. “What are you up to?”

“Working, to be honest.” He said dryly. “You?”

“About to leave for work, actually. They’re short tonight and it’s my turn to pull call.” She answered.

“Sorry, do you need to-“

“No, I have a while till I need to clock in. I live around the corner from GW.” She said. “Is it getting late for you?”

“No, technically I’m supposed to be off work and enjoying the weekend but well...”

“Duty calls?” She mused.

“Yeah.” He chuckled breathlessly. “Something like that. Do you work tomorrow night?”

“No. I’m off till Tuesday after tonight, thank the gods.”

“Let’s have a drink.” Dan wondered if he sounded as casual as he hoped he did.

“Alright, when and where?”

“Old Ebbits, eight o’ clock?”

“Sure.” He could hear the smile in her voice and he wonder if she could hear his too.

—

She wore black slacks that accentuated her slim waist and a black lace top he could make a tell tale sight of her bra through, such as was the style for women these days. Christ she made his mouth water.

“Dan.” She greeted, her make up was light, natural. Her blonde hair fell in waves to her back. He wore his nicest jeans and button down. Naturally, people gave them strange looks. He knew she was out of his league, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Hendricks and Tonic, please.” She said to the bartender when asked what she wanted.

“Hungry?” Dan asked.

“Nah, I already ate.” She shrugged. “You?”

��No, I actually remembered to eat today.”

Abby grinned. “It’s a rare day I get to eat lunch, too. Much to my mother’s dismay. All five children grown and out of the house and she can’t seem to kick the habit of ensuring we’re all fed.”

“My mom still sends me care packages like I’m a college freshman.” He joked.

“That’s sweet.” Abby took a sip of her drink. “What kind of nurse is she?”

“Labor and delivery.” He answered.

Abby made a face. “That was my least favorite in school. I passed out in my first delivery. And naturally the OBGYN was buddies with my father so, that was a fun congressional Christmas party.”

Dan winced. “I can only imagine.”

“You never told me what it is you do for the senator.” She said.

“I’m basically a liaison for her intelligence committee.”

“And that’s about all you can tell me, isn’t it?” She ventured.

“You do know your D.C., don’t you?”

She smiled. “So what do you do for fun? Since work is clearly a subject we must steer clear of.”

“It doesn’t bother you I can’t talk about it?” He asked.

“Why should it? Anybody who asks you to jeopardize your position is no friend, Dan. I’d hoped you know that by now.” Abby replied. “Also, we are more than our job designations. For instance, I love to bake, but I’m terrible at making cakes.”

Dan laughed. “Really? Is that a thing?”

“Hey, don’t mock till you’ve had my key lime pie. It’ll make you forget cake is even a thing.”

She grinned.

Dan sipped his whiskey. “I run five miles every morning.”

“I swim.” She replied. “I love the ocean. I was born in Hawaii and lived there till I was 12 while my Dad was in the navy.”

“Never been.”

“You should go sometime.” She joked.

“Yeah, it’s on the bucket list.” Dan smirked. “I grew up outside of Pittsburgh.”

“Steeler Nation?” She rose her brows.

“Of course.”

“My father is a die hard Steelers fan.” She said.

They carried on back and forth, laughing and lightly teasing. Regalling childhood stories of growing up with four older brothers and a single mom in Pittsburgh. Abbey wasn’t what he initially expected, she’d had a job all through public high school, bought her own car, worked during the summers in college. Her father paid for her BSN from Chapel Hill, but she went on for her masters of nursing directly after graduating. She was 27 and head charge nurse of one the most prestigious hospitals in the nation. Dan made a perfect score on his SAT and took a full ride to Elizabethtown, earning his masters from John’s Hopkins and his post doc from Harvard. He grew up Jewish, but only attended temple on high holy days and definitely did not keep kosher. His father had died in a car accident when he was three and his mom remarried a nice guy when he was in college. David owned a landscaping company and treated his mom like she was gold so Dan couldn’t complain.

“Walk me home?” She asked. “But just so you know I won’t be inviting you up for coffee. I do have my standards, Dr. Jones.”

“I expect no less, Miss Holland.”

She lived four blocks from the bar in a nice neighborhood, clearly her salary out ranged his, not that it bothered him. They laughed and joked more, especially when he made a pop culture reference she didn’t understand.

“Hey! You’ve got like five years on me!” Abbey joked defensively.

“Almost seven, actually.” He looked down into her smiling eyes when she came to a halt in front of her townhome. “Nice place.”

“My brother, Anders, owns it, he rents it to me cheap.” She shrugged. “Well, cheap for D.C. anyway. And he lets me keep Frog.”

Dan gave her an incredulous expression. “Frog?”

She grinned. “My cat.”

“You have a cat named Frog?”

“Are you gonna kiss me or what-“

Before she could finish the sentence, he swooped in and kissed her. Gently at first, then as Abby leaned into it Dan wound his arms around her deepened the kiss. She tasted like tonic and cherries and he thought he’d died and gone to heaven at how soft her lips actually were. They were both a bit breathless when they broke apart.

“What are you doing Sunday?” She asked.

“Working, though I could be persuaded otherwise.” He chided.

“Come over for dinner.” She said. “I’ll make you something, however there will not be sex for you in lieu of dessert.”

“How can a man refuse such an offer.” He laughed. “Should I bring anything?”

“Frog is kind of mean. A cat toy would not go amiss.”

“Ever think it’s because you named him Frog?” Dan joked, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

Abby rolled her eyes benignly. “Everyone says that!”

Dan kisses her gently once more. “Goodnight, Abby.”

“Good night, Dan.” She smiled, unlocking her door and disappearing from sight.

As he hailed a cab, Dan couldn’t get rid of the grin stuck on his face.

#thereport #adamdriver #danjones #adamdriverthirsty #dan x reader #dan jones x reader #adam driver x reader

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professional-anti · 6 years

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City of Bones: Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Secrets and Lies Clary’s drawing and experiencing some Frustration. And like…..ya girl I gotcha. I know the pain. Clary wishes she could be more like her mother which is kind of sweet but super cliché. The phone rings, and it’s Simon being That Lovable Dork™ and pretending to be one of the guys she saw carying a knife. It’s a little funny, ngl, but Simon…come on. Clary’s upset rn.

Clary’s mom was apparently upset they were home late, and we get this:

“I am the bane of her existence,” Clary said, mimicking her mother’s precise phrasing with only a slight twinge of guilt.

…That was her mother’s precise phrasing? Clary, don’t feel guilty mimicking that. Your mom called you the bane of her existence! This is just bad writing, y’all. Jocelyn Fray is set up to be this loving, kind mom…and she says something like that? It makes sense that she’s angry, like, fine, let her be angry. But Cassandra Clare has absolutely no sense of extremes. This is just a li’l too much, babe. Tone it down.

OH GODD. I forgot. Simon has a band. Of course he does, bc this can’t get any more cliché. Simon invites Clary to a poetry reading one of his bandmates is doing. So far, it seems like all of Clary’s friends are boys, which really urks me. Let girls be friends! Let girls take care of each other! A girl isn’t “cool” just bc all her friends are boys. A girl who says “I don’t get along with other girls?” Take care of her. There is some deep internalized mysoginy going on. (Don’t @ me!)

Apparently Eric is really bad at poetry, which, like, mood. They agree that even though Clary’s mom is mad at her for going out the night before, Simon’ll still pick Clary up and bring her to the poetry slam. Not so nice of Simon, but I get the appeal of dragging someone along to a terrible poetry reading. Sometimes you just need support.

There’s a picture of Clary’s dad over the mantel. Apparently he was a soldier who died crashing his car into a tree before Clary was born. Even someone who has never heard anything about these books before and is experiencing them for the first time would be able to tell that Clary has clearly been fed a pack of lies. Apparently Jocelyn never talks about him but has a box with his initials (JC, gonna come up later 100%) with his medals inside.

Clary hears someone coming and grabs a book bc “Jocelyn recognized reading as a sacred pastime and wouldn’t interrupt Clary in the middle of a book, even to yell at her.” Ummmm,,,, sounds like a bad policy, Jocie. Clary should have walked in the night before with a book glued to her face.

A guy called Luke comes in holding folded cardboard boxes, and all I can picture is this:

And that’s how we’ll be thinking of Luke from now on. There’s some dumb background info:

“Hey, Un—hey, Luke,” she said. He’d asked her to stop calling him Uncle Luke about a year ago, claiming that it made him feel old, and anyway reminded him of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Besides, he’d remind her gently, he wasn’t really her uncle, just a close friend of her mother’s who’d known her all her life.

I’M SCREAMING. This is bad writing, folks. This is bad writing. Have any of you guys braved the steaming shit pile that is Handbook for Mortals? This reminds me of that. Totally unnecessary detail that just detracts from the action. Besides being unnecessary, it’s really fucking awkward. Nobody talks like that. “Hi, Uncle Luke!” “Don’t call me that. That reminds me of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which for some reason Cassandra Clare won’t italicize. Besides, I’m not really your uncle, just a close friend of your mother’s who’s known you all your life.” Umm, Luke??? That’s what people call close friends of their parent’s. It’s a known thing that people do. Also, most people do not think of Uncle Tom’s Cabin after hearing “Uncle Luke”. So calm down, Uncle Luke.

There’s some banter. Apparently Clary’s mom is parking the truck. (Do you guys know how hard it is for me not to type Clare instead of Clary?? It keeps happening.)

Apparently the book Clary grabbed from the side-table was The Golden Bough. Now, spoiler alert: Jocelyn has had Clary’s memories of magic all wiped, which I know from the first time I read this hell book. So why would she purposely put books about mythology and magic in the house??????

Clary asks Luke if he’s ever seen something no one else could see, and he reacts totally unsuspiciously by dropping his tape gun. He spews some bullshit about hallucinating being okay bc she’s “an artist” and “sees the world in ways that other people don’t.”

Jocelyn walks in, and ofc, she’s super gorgeous blah blah blah. This happens:

People always told Clary that she looked like her mother, but she couldn’t see it herself. The only thing that was similar about them was their figures: They were both slender, with small chests and narrow hips. She knew she wasn’t beautiful like her mother was. To be beautiful you had to be willowy and tall. When you were as short as Clary was, just over five feet, you were cute. Not pretty or beautiful, but cute. Throw in carroty hair and a face full of freckles, and she was a Raggedy Ann to her mother’s Barbie doll.

#letgirlsknowthey’repretty2018!!!! Alternatively, stop being fucking cowards and let your MC not be classically beautiful. Bc I’m sorry, we all know Clary is supposed to be gorgeous. Her biggest flaw is that she’s short??? Honey, I am 4 feet 11 inches, and I’ll be that tall until the day I die (unless I do one of those old-lady shrinks). Being short isn’t actually a fucking flaw, Clare’s just pretending it is. I’m just sick of this. Girls have to be beautiful, but they can’t know they’re beautiful. And they can’t be beautiful if it’s not in a thin, white-girl way. Here’s what I want: fat girls who know they’re gorgeous. Girls of color who know they’re gorgeous. Jewish girls and Muslim girls who know they’re gorgeous. Alternatively, I want girls aren’t gorgeous and aren’t described in such a way that we’re supposed to know they’re actually gorgeous. I want girls who don’t pass judgement on themselves at all. I want girls who can just be without having to fulfill some vision of beauty.

Bc here is what we’re supposed to take away from Clary’s description: she has striking red hair and pretty freckles. She’s short and slender. She’s cute and pretty. She just doesn’t know it. Gag me.

Ughhhh. Clary’s also clumsy, her second “flaw”. This isn’t a real fucking flaw!! A flaw is something that is actually detrimental to you, okay??? When you say, “Oh, this character is clumsy,” you’re really saying, “I’m too lazy to think up some actual flaws.” And Clare’s been known to plagiarize, which is a lazy person’s sin.

Jocelyn drops the bombshell that they’re, um…going on vacation. Jocelyn, Clary, and Luke are going to a place called the “farmhouse” in upstate NY for the rest of the summer. As any well-read YA reader knows, this is code for OH FUCKING SHIT WE’RE ABOUT TO DIE THEY’RE ON TO US THROW YOUR CLOTHING INTO A SUITCASE AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE.

Clary flips shit bc even though she earlier said school is only a few weeks away, the rest of summer is apparently really long now. She demands to know what could happen if she stays behind. Apparently the only way Clare can show that somebody is startled is by them dropping something, so Luke drops some picture frames. Ugh, totally not worth being startled over, Uncle Luke. He says he has to go, and Clary hears him and her mom whispering about someone called Bane. From now on, this is Bane:

I promise he’s more badass than anything Cassandra Clare could come up with.

There’s some more Shady Conversation between Jocelyn and Luke that Clary is too dumb to follow, and Luke tells Jocelyn to talk to Clary. It’s really weird that after years of protecting Clary they’re just gonna argue right in front of her, but Clare does what Clare wants.

This happens:

The door flew open. Jocelyn gave a little scream. “Jesus!” Luke exclaimed. “Actually, it’s just me,” said Simon. “Although I’ve been told the resemblance is startling.” He waved at Clary from the doorway. “You ready?”

;lasdlajlkajldljl So much happening here. For one, Jocelyn screams. Why is it always the woman who screams? Why was Isabelle the one shrieking? Why is it possible for female authors to be mysoginistc? Why does the world suck?

But my main point is that I think Simon is supposed to be likable? But honestly he’s just coming over as a real douchebag, so jot that down. Anyway, Clary and Simon fuck off. It’s a little weird that Jocelyn is just letting Clary go, but as we all know, Clare does what Clare wants. Oh, and Clary’s super rude to her mom as they’re leaving. The usual.

Oh, God. Another wonderful Simonism. As they’re going down the stairs, Simon says, “Jesus, woman, don’t rip my arm off.” I love, love, love when a female character is referred to as “woman”! Hahahaha nope. Not even as a joke. I think it’s dumb and sexist and argh. Simon is just proving himself to be a real treat.

We learn that Clary lives in a brownstone that’s been divided into apartments and she and her mom share the building with a psychic called Dorothea.

“Nice to see she’s doing a booming business,” Simon said. “It’s hard to get steady prophet work these days.” “Do you have to be sarcastic about everything?” Clary snapped.

Hate to say it, but I’m with Clary on this one. Also, once again, Clare shows that she really doesn't understand moderation. Simon making a crack once in a while? Okay. Probably funny. ALL OF SIMON’S LINES BEING THESE ANNOYING JOKES?? NOT FUNNY. KILL BILL SIRENS EACH TIME. I’M TIRED.

WAIT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I THINK MAGNUS JUST WALKED OUT OF DOROTHEA’S APARTMENT??? YASSSSSS, HERE WE GOOOOO. Clary does the annoying thing where she’s like “am I remembering something?” but then doesn’t remember anything at all. Anyway, that’s the end of Magnus for this chapter.

We rejoin our intrepid assholes at a Mexican restaurant where Clary is angsting about her mom and Simon is cracking jokes. Clary talks about how she knows nothing about her mom’s life before her mom had her. It’s page 31 and nothing interesting has happened yet I swear to God. Simon’s like, “Haven’t you see all those scars your mom has?” and Clary’s like “What scars?” which we all know is bc she’s been mind-whiped or something. Clary ignored a call from her mom, which is exactly the thing to do when your mom is acting erratic and scared!!

They leave the restaurant and Clary thinks she sees a doll’s wings flutter. Simon complains about being the only boy in his band without a girlfriend. Save yourself, Clary! You suck, but save yourself from the Nice Guy™ anyway!! There’s a low-key homophobic joke:

“Pretty soon the only people left without a girlfriend will be me and Wendell the school janitor. And he smells like Windex.” “At least you know he’s still available.” Simon glared. “Not funny, Fray.”

And then Clary gets even worse:

“There’s always Sheila ‘The Thong’ Barbarino,” Clary suggested. Clary had sat behind her in math class in ninth grade. Every time Sheila had dropped her pencil—which had been often—Clary had been treated to the sight of Sheila’s underwear riding above the waistband of her super-low-rise jeans.

(source: https://tenor.com/view/batman-donotwant-animated-gif-4668582)

Look. I am not a nice person. I’ve been known to commit lashon hara, which is the Jewish way of saying being a big ol’ gossip whore. But I would never slut-shame. And I expect better of my female protagonists. This book is just so filled with girl-on-girl hate. And I hate girl-on-girl hate. I want girls building each other up. I want girls loving each other. I want girls supporting other girls, not tearing them down. I don’t want girls who only make friends with boys and then slut-shame other girls with them.

Oh, it turns out Eric the poet is dating Sheila. And we’re on our way to the poetry reading. Great! I bet we’ll meet her, and it’ll be slut-shaming goodness. Clary calls Eric a sexist pig for telling Simon to “just decide which girl in school had the most rockin’ bod and ask her out on the first day of classes.” I am totally in agreeance that Eric is a sexist pig. So why, perchance, is Simon FRIENDS WITH THIS ASSHOLE? This is the CLASSIC Nice Guy™. They always have a coterie of sexist pig friends to show how Nice they are in contrast. Fuck that. Actual nice guys, who aren’t Nice Guys™? They have nice friends.

Clary ignores a call from her mom and thinks about how much she’ll miss Simon while at the farmhouse even though she’s been nothing but annoyed at him since page one. The chapter thankfully ends.

#anti cassandra clare #anti the mortal instruments #book snark #CoB: Chapter 2 #CoB snark

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technicallymedia · 6 years

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Meet Christopher Wink: an interview with Technically Media’s Cofounder/CEO

What did you think of Brian James Kirk when you first met him and when were you like "yeah dude I wanna be partners in business with you for the next 9+ years"

I first met @brianjameskirk as undergrads at our college newspaper and I absolutely saw Brian as this stoner designer dude. He saw me as a preppy kiss ass. It took a year for us to come together. We’ve grown and changed together a ton. Here we are now!

What were you like as a teen, were you nice to nerds?

I was surely the nerd to some myself. I think I had become a decent dude by high school. In contrast, I was a bit of a brat in elementary and middle school. I was always an "involved" person but by my teens I was likely even more similar to how I am now: I said a lot of ridiculous things and always had some scheme or project. I think that and playing sports (basketball and soccer) let me dip into several social groups.

When are you running for office and what's your policy platform?

If I'm running for office (which is clearly not in any immediate horizon for me), my platform would be very centrist-y and trying to make the word "compromise" distinct from "compromised." Historically social movements have lasted when they've been about gaining widespread popular opinion. Economic development through entrepreneurship would be a focus.

Who is your favorite person besides Shannon and Brian James Kirk?

My father is deeply influential on me, I’ve traveled on annual road trips with my childhood friend Michael. Considering what you’re asking me, Patrick BIG TIMBS McNeil is my best friend and would likely be the person I have the most intimacy beyond Shannon and Brian James Kirk.

What's one thing you never expected to be hard about starting a company?

I think I remain surprised by how many decisions are neither the RIGHT nor WRONG one but instead are simply choices. Choices that WILL hurt someone and help someone else. I find clean decisions are very rare. Life is messy and you get put in a position of guess work. Growing a company is 1,000 choices that in the moment no one very much agrees on.

What's your spirit animal?

Spirit animal. I'm gonna be real with you, I'm v into the domestic house cat. But I might go with a nurse shark because they look fierce but they actually don't kill, they're just kinda badass. I saw a bunch of them while snorkeling off the coast of Belize last year and was blown away.

What did running with the bulls in Pamplona feel like and was it worth it?

Running with the bulls probably best travel decision of my life. The moments before it started was the most scared I had felt in a "safe" public place.

Gratuitous video of part of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziZyUa9Dt24

You're tall as hell dude, did you ever consider playing basketball ? I'm thinking you coulda played small forward at a Div 2 school at least bruh.

I played basketball growing up and into high school! Last night I was telling the story that so crystallizes the kinds of relationships I tend to have. When I was a senior, we had an exceptional point guard (1k+ career points) and so my entire job as the other guard was to just give him the ball and then go play defense. Late that season against our arch rivals, the team came out and started immediately double teaming him. I was open a lot and got hot and scored 20 points in the first half (mind you, I’m maybe averaging 7 points per game). At halftime my closest high school friend says to me "I guarantee you don't score another point in this game." .......He was correct

Did you win a high school superlative? If so, did you ask people to vote for you?

Yes! I was "Class Clown" and "Most Involved. " I was runner up for "Most Likely to Succeed" and still plan on surpassing that friend to own it. Admittedly, I went to a pretty small school :)

What's your favorite Technical.ly memory to date

Favorite Technical.ly memory to date. Real talk, I always have a favorite moment that happened in the last few weeks because I really seriously no BS love the evolution and growth and seeing us get better together. So always a v recent thing is my favorite memory. But because I don't think that's really what you want meant to say, I'll instead say the kickoff of Philly Tech Week 2013 when we did our first outdoor kickoff and after we almost finished the later-Guinness Book of World Records confirmed world's largest video game by playing Pong on the Cira Center, a torrential storm crashed over us. This photo is @brianjameskirk Corinne Warnshuis, Juliana Reyes, Andrew Zaleski and I holding tarps over arcade games we had rented and were afraid we’re gonna get destroyed

Can we get an office dog? just met a really cute Australian shepherd puppy

Communities are platforms on which collective action can take place. You are empowered to gain consensus among the team and keep, maintain and care for a dog, yes.

What advice do you give 21 year old CGW?

Advice I'd give 21-year-old CGW? (1) Do not self-deprecate needlessly. (2) Start a focus on email subscribers sooner with Technical.ly (3) Do more family stuff

What's your favorite story that's ever run in any of our markets/brands?

Favorite story that has run in our markets, I'm gonna go with two because there have been thousands. Off-hand, the Tyler Woods Startup Founder on Welfare story stuck with me and I think about it a lot. Yes, it isss probably something that would run elsewhere but it felt v much OF us, like a relationship built because of deep ties that was trying to be REAL about something. PRODUCTIVE https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2016/01/12/inside-welfare-office-anonymous-startup-founder/

And I'd sadly point to a byline of mine but more because of what it was for the org as a whole. This piece was a big pivot point for us

https://technical.ly/philly/2011/04/25/how-open-data-philly-got-done/

When we were INVOLVED in launching OpenDataPhilly and I can't underscore how WEIRD that was. We had a lot of internal conversations, including @brianjameskirk and I about whether it was OK that we had reported on WHAT the city needed and could we be INVOLVED In it

I think about the full disclosure at the top of that story a lot. It threw us into a lot of open data and civic conversations, but it also set up HOW we approached being a PART Of our community. I think not long after we changed the tagline to "Better Cities through Technology"

Fave place you've traveled

I lived in Tokyo for a bit less than a year and so fitting in my interest in time to get to know a place, that stands out to me a bunch. It is this international city so it’s so easy to go and it not be special but living in a neighborhood and having neighbors and a grocery shop was really profound. I did so much writing and reading it was profound. It was also where I first started as a bicycle commuter.

What's the most embarrassing professional moment you've ever had and, I guess, what did you learn from it?

Early on, I remember not knowing what SaaS was during an interview and I fumbled my faking it and it resulted in several weeks of me having nightmares of being on CNBC for an interview and embarrassing us all. So I got obsessed with returning to a basic business and tech background, preparing for disruptive questions

If you could pick, what would be your superpower?

Invisibility always stands out to me as lowkey powerful. But maybe SUPER LINGUAL, like, where I could speak any and all languages

What was the most hilarious/ridiculous thing that happened to you in a professional moment?

My oft-cited memory of me finding out I had a giant hole in the crotch of my only pair of thrift store khakis after I had sat down w/ my first big client meeting (that is the rock bottom moment that turned around my relationship with clothes)

Is the future of journalism bright or dreary?

Journalism bright or dreary? Yah, for me, journalism is a THING you do, like producing software open source, so I think its future is super bright, so long as there are practitioners like us passionate about its utility. I was able to pull five-county criminal records last night in an hour online for this story I'm reporting. I am better sourced because of web tools, so journalism is easier to do. Building it into business models (like we're doing,) that is really hard and it's the most important thing I think I'm working on but the strategy of making public information that is true accurate and helps other people is v bright

What's your inbox at rn?

Ooff, rn I'm inbox 64, with 25 unread!!! It has been a busy yesterday and this morning. I'll leave today with that at 20~ with all read and w/ necessary actions cleaned up in Asana.

What's the next Chris Wink side project after the retirement of Story Shuffle?

I came to reporting from the writing side first. There is nothing I love more in the world than writing. In the last 18-months I've been picking back up some creative writing and so I'll be putting some real time into getting a few modest pieces published on that form. I def self-identify still as a journalist but really, more than reporting, it's the writing I love. I want to move a bigger effort there (Story Shuffle was always part of that longer term strategy too )

You're good at talking about yourself and exceptionally self-aware. Advice for knowing when to STFU and when to dig deeper?

I think journalism training is soooooo good for self-discovery. I think it really starts with accepting yourself. You'll get teased for (as I do) for being self-referential or self-involved but I think it's really important to be able to say I REALLY LIKE THESE THINGS ABOUT ME but also be able to say THESE ARE THINGS I REALLY WISH I WAS BETTER AT. And then attacking both of those with questions. You can internally interview yourself like you would. I want to be able to understand why I am good at some stuff and why I'm crummy at other stuff. Self-improvement is v cool,but it starts w/ some self-love.

Do you like being surprised?

Nah, I don't like being surprised. It's probably part of the whole reporting love. I want to be the one who knows stuff, not surprised.

If you were not the CEO of Technically Media, what would you be doing?

If not in my job now? Realistically, probably a reporter somewhere, likely in/around politics/government. Less likely but relevant, maybe ended up cofounding a dif kind of company or in some other purely writing role.

When you come back into the office can you show us your signature dance move?

I assume you mean my interpretive dance performance "Swallowed frog." No! I'm all for embarrassing shit WITHOUT CAMERAS. I say let people live and be silly and keep the cameras for things strangers can see. Intimacy doesn't do well w/ recorded archives

Best marriage advice?

Take a half-hour walk every single night together.

When did you get your first phone? What type of phone was it? What was your background picture? And, did you have a ringback tone (if so, what song).

I got my first phone when I was a sophomore in high school (!) when I got my learner's permit for driving. I remember using a pay phone to get picked up as an 8th grader. I'm pretty sure that phone literally did not support background images or ringtones.

Been wanting to visit Tokyo for years. Any tips for traveling there?

Tokyo (Edo) was constructed over time as a medieval place to protect from attack, so the streets intentionally do not make sense. It's the opposite of Center City. (London got confusing just over time, Tokyo is intentionally built as a confusing fucking place to navigate. ....So def have .GPS access...or don't and just leave time for getting lost. Eat at every ramen shop under a train stop. The tiniest old men with craggy faces and expressionless smiles will serve you at the counter and then bow, and you will bow in return. It will be nice. Fun Tokyo story we've already talked about, I was part of a lil NBCU pilot online reality show jawn and I got lost in all the episodes

Who's a person outside of Technical.ly (or Shannon) you would turn to for management advice?

I talk to my father weekly on the phone and I find his perspective interesting. He works at a small concrete, stone and tile manufacturing company and I find his perspective on what is normal in the workplace. I also have always been moved by his pragmatism and quiet generosity.

What motivates you?

It is v internal facing. I am v demanding of myself to be better than I was before. I don't like things that I don't understand how to get better at. So: to be a better version of myself than I was. Shannon and I talk about that: that we're supposed to keep becoming better versions of ourselves for the other

Who are the top 3 journos out there you would pay / do pay to read?

So the Economist famously does not have bylines so I don't think I could name one but I am a very happy proud longtime print subscriber so surely someone there. I truly love the ways we approach storytelling here, so those bylines from Julie Zeglen Stephen b Tyler Woods Tony Abraham Juliana Holly Quinn Zack Seward etc, do mean alot to me, I would consume them. ...And, yeah, I'm a George Saunders fanboy and so I like when he's been pulled into doing fun profiles

Name three Philly tech scenesters you're truly fond of / name one that you... could do without?

Robert J. Moore and Jon Gosier on the founder front, I'm v impressed w/ them and always feel smarter when I talk to them. (Garrett Melby is that too). I make no secret that I have a real soft spot for Archna, whom I long found one of the most under-celebrated for her relative impact. And on the v young front: Dawn McDougall. I think she took a v mature pathway to not wanting a full-time director role for Code for Philly because she wanted to gain some experience at an org. She showed some power. For someone to get rid of? I don't think I can put that in writing.

What's the main reason Yuriy Poritko fascinates you?

Two things on the Yuriy front (for others, he's a Philly organizer who has been around forever and I'm writing a lil something on him that's gonna run next week). I try to write something for one of our markets every six weekssss~ and so I always wanted to do something on him just because he is eccentric and colorful. So it started just that he is interesting. But then other pieces started coming together, and I started putting more time into it once I wrote my nut graf. I found that I could connect him to a bigger/broader lesson that I think other communities face too. So (a) he's interesting and (b) he does represent something. He has caused some real pain and damage, but he has done genuine good. I don't find EVIL or GOOD characters interesting. I think people who are complex and complicated are far more challenging to write. I am not aiming to judge the man in this piece, I’m aiming to better understand why he is who he is. I think that’s the kind of community reporting and business journalism I love most.

What do you do when you’re bored?

I’d say I can’t remember the last time I was bored but I know what ya mean. I watch a ton of science and history Youtube videos when I’m eating at home. I also am basically always tryyyyying to write, whether that be my iPhone notes app open or scribbling in a pad. ..Also Twitter is an incredible place to learn if you curate your followers thusly :slightly_smiling_face:

What are your thoughts on early let outs on Fridays before national holidays?

:eye-roll: Seriously I always find those questions weird, I am not tracking anyone's hours, never have been! Get your shit done. Work hard! Do your time most weeks and take time for you other times. It's so simple, if you're doing good work and giving :100: and build a relationship of trust with your team, then choose when it's right for you. I guess I can do a better job of communicating that but there is no magic time that you can work toward and I am HAPPY. If you're supporting your team and doing great work and you are EXCITED About being here, I don’t think anyone says anything. So, idk, go home!

How about some book recommends for another avid reader?

I am not a fast reader, my wife has me beat. I'm trying to simply get back to a book a month (have a resolution of reading a writer of color for the first time each month this year) and not nailing that but I loved Zadie Smith's throwback White Teeth.

Who here is most likely in 10 yrs to write the book on Technically Media?

Probably you [Cary Betagole, Senior Product Manager). You have a low key historian's view and a smart distance

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