#and the other is on vacation and went home for July 4th long weekend

[otaku553]

2 am thoughts about roommates

#small dooble at 2 am :) #I think the they were roommates trope is great because living with someone beyond the sort of intimacy of sharing a space also comes with #compromises and accomodations for each other’s differences. small psychological changes such as internal clock and lighting and such #I’m glad I have roommates haha though it’s a bit lonely right now since one of them is doing summer research in Wisconsin #and the other is on vacation and went home for July 4th long weekend #a bit sad that I’m working over July 3 and 4 but I did plan it out that way for myself since there’s not anything else to do on those days #anyways I should go sleep

[badfauxmance]

Frequently Asked Questions

Hey everyone! We decided to post some frequently asked questions for people who might be a little new to the shit show that is CB and Seb’s fauxmance. We will update as more questions arise!

1. Who is Alejandra Onieva?

Alejandra Onieva is a Spanish actress, who is 28 years old. She is mostly known for her show Alta Mar “High Seas”, which was on Netflix. She comes from a very rich family and apparently her father owns a few buildings in Tulum, Mexico.

2. When did Seb and Ale meet?

We don’t really know the exact moment, but they were first seen on 4th of July weekend on a yacht in Ibiza, Spain.

3. Where are all the places Ale and Seb travelled in 2020?

Just to state for the record, we do hold Seb accountable for his traveling during the pandemic. But anyway, Seb travelled from NYC to Spain, they spent some time there before they went to possibly to the UK and then Bermuda (though that might have just been Ale and not Seb) so Ale could loophole her way into the US. We know about UK and Bermuda from Ale’s stories at the time. They spent a small amount of time in NYC, where they went on a few pap walks, before Seb had to go down to Atlanta to finish filming TFATWS and take some pics by a firepit. After a few weeks the cast and crew went to Prague to finish the show. Ale followed Seb like a puppy, but when she realized she couldn’t be with him, she walked around with her manager, went home to Spain for a weekend, and then went back to Prague with her mother.

After the show wrapped, they took a nice vacation to Tulum, Mexico before Ale, again, loopholed her ass into the US. LA to be exact. They spent the holidays there, but we didn’t see them together since before Christmas. There was a pap walk, a shadow picture, and then some random friend posted a pic of them “celebrating” Christmas together.

Seb eventually went to Vancouver to shoot a movie and Ale went back to Spain. Seb is currently in LA to prep for his next job Pam and Tommy, and look! Ale is back in Tulum! Loophole anyone?

4. What do Seb’s fans call Ale?

Oh boy... we have the all popular CB, which stands for Covid Barbie/Bitch, depending on your mood. Our friends have also started calling her Barnacle because she is stuck onto Seb’s ass and it’s hard to get her removed!

5.  Why do we think it is PR? 

Well the short version? They never met before and then suddenly they are making out on a yacht, and supposedly didn’t know the paps were around! 😂

Then it’s the fact that she literally turned into a barnacle and latched onto him, following him everywhere, loopholing multiple times to get into the states, pretending to be staying at the same hotel as him in Prague.

The stupid traveling during the pandemic. Seb was so adamant in March about staying home and being safe during the pandemic. He literally said he was going to stay in NYC until it was over, and then not long after he is off and away to Spain to shack up with her? Doesn’t make sense. Then after he is done working they go to Tulum? Then LA? Come on! I mean yes it’s so hypocritical of him and he should know better, but it doesn’t make sense. He should have put his damn food down! We do hold him accountable for the unnecessary travel.

The pap walks/swims. The yacht... come on! In the middle of the sea and you don’t notice a boat close by with paps taking pictures?! The walks in Spain and NYC where they look like they hate each other? Hilarious! Tulum where Seb basically abandoned her in the water to get away from her after being kissy kissy? LA where they were in a small parking lot that the paps would literally be a few feet in front of them. He has never had so many photos of him and a gf before... why now?

The articles... OMG!!! How in love they are... how beautiful she is.... how private they are... 😂😂😂 She is from Spain, UK, US... she is an actress, a model, an agent.... they have been together for 2 years, 1 year. The latest one that says they broke up in 2020 is my personal favorite. But even articles with Daisy that his team allowed. We don’t think there is anything romantic between those 2, but his team is ok with articles with headers that say there is. 🤔

THE BAITING!! pictures of too much sushi, burnt fish, crappy pancakes with hair, cauliflower pizza, first it was a picture of her and we see his swim suit behind her, then its the Hudson River looking at Jersey City, then its a hike, possibly in Atlanta, then fire pit pictures with blurry faces, hotel lobbies pretending to work, pictures with his bandana that he had just posted a video with. Then showing you’re in LA, a shadow photo with a tag, pictures of a Christmas tree that they both post, but never with them together. An ornament with their initials on it! Once separated a polaroid that might be Seb, a picture with her phone with a photo that might be the two of them, seeing the press and making sure that her phone is shown with that picture in hopes that they ask, but they don’t. Having their friends post things on their behalf to keep the fandom on their toes. Showing that once again you are attempting a lovely loophole to get into the US!

It took Seb almost 6 months to follow CB on instagram!!! HELLO?!?!?!?!

If this doesn’t scream PR to anyone else when it’s all laid out like this? Then your opinion will never change, which is fine. But these are the facts that we were given and we are using to show why we think this is all PR.

6. How many posts he has liked and commented on CB’s Instagram?

ONE!! ONE LIKE AND ONE COMMENT! THAT’S IT FOLKS! NOTHING ELSE! HE NEVER EVEN APPROVED THE PHOTO SHE TAGGED HIM IN TO BE IN HIS TAG!!

**Update- Oh look... on a huge day for him... hours after she posted... he just so happens to like and comment on another picture! 🙄🙄🙄 Can’t pap walk but can still bring attention***

7. What do you think of his comment on her IG post? Is it PR and why?

We think it was once again a PR stunt to keep people thinking this shit is real!! Why? Well let’s look back in time to when he followed her, almost 6 months into their love fest. He followed her after he commented on Margot Robbies post, probably got in trouble for giving another woman attention, then told to finally follow the barnacle! Why did he comment after being together for more than 8 months? He posted a story about Jessica Chastain’s birthday saying he loved her and would walk through fire for her. Next day oh your my most beautiful wave Ale!

He never commented before... never liked a post, did approve her tag, hasn’t tagged her or even mentioned her on his IG, she never even responded to the comment like she does with friends, didn’t even like it!! Also based on what I’ve seen some Spanish people comment, his comment is not grammatically correct so he probably did the bare minimum and google translated it. The only thing he could think of is that she is a beautiful wave?? Lmao!!

Then to top it off!!! He approved some tags making fun of Ale as a wave!! So... there you go!

8. Why are people obsessed with his tags on Instagram?

Well when this shit show happened, Seb stopped allowing all tags to be put on his page and made it that he had to approve the tags first. Every once in awhile we get a new stack of pics that he approves. However a lot of fans noticed he started to approve pictures that clearly make fun of CB. Now when you approve a tag, you only see the picture and not the caption. Ok, but then people started testing that theory and basically writing captions in the pictures talking badly about CB, and they STILL GOT APPROVED!! If that doesn’t show that he knows what’s up then I don’t know.

9. When will this damn contract end?

Honestly, we don’t know for certain.  We all speculating that it’s a year long contract, however that doesn’t necessarily mean July. Contracts are usually signed before the couple are seen together. So we are all hoping that it was signed late May or early June and that we are at the end of the road. It seems to slightly be the case based on the narrative Sebs team has been showing between Daisy and the Elite article. CB’s team is trying to milk this shit for all it’s worth! She is in Tulum AGAIN! And we know the Loophole Queen will be most likely making her way to LA to be with her “love”. Seb is currently there to start shooting his next project. Seb’s team made sure to make it known he was in LA, not long before pictures of CB in Tulum arose. There has been news of a wedding of one of CB’s friends, and people are speculating, thanks to 2 girls on tik tok, that Seb will be in attendance, however with the Pam & Tommy show looking like it’s delayed, but will be starting soon, and it being 8 episodes, we here at Bad Fauxmance highly doubt he will be going to any wedding when he will be in Covid Protocol for the show. Just our opinions.

10. Why her?

This is the question of the hour isn’t it? Well as pretty much most of the fandom knows, Seb signed with CAA in May 2020. CAA just happens to be known for pimping out their stars for PR relationships. CB is a rich actress who would love nothing more than to make it big in Hollywood. Enter a B list celebrity who is about to get a lot of publicity due to his up coming Disney +/Marvel series and it makes sense. Put her mommy and daddy’s money to good use and buy herself another PR relationship.

What does Seb get out this? Still trying to work that out. I am certain that there is more behind the scenes of this disastrous shit show that we do not know, which honestly they don’t want us to know. Most celebrities use PR to hide something, promote something, enhance their reputation, or just bring notice to them. We all know that this did not enhance Seb’s reputation, the general public doesn’t know or care, the fandom has officially split in either still supporting him or hating him, and the industry looks like they either don’t know or really don’t care. 

Both teams have handled this whole thing so wrong, that I think both Seb and CB will come out worse then they started. She got something though, recognition from a new group of people, but it’s definitely in a negative light. Though they say there is no such thing as bad publicity or PR, I have a feeling she is in for a rude awakening. My theory? Once this thing is over, and they “break up”, all those people that have been watching her every move, will disappear and she will fall back into non-existence. The only ones left with her are her fans and the followers she bought on instagram. I personally think we should start with everyone unfollowing her now. Show her what she has to look forward to, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Also as a side note, her equally horrible brother Inigo is also in a PR relationship with Tamara Falco. In fact on the day that CB was walking out of the restaurant with her phone on for the paps to see the picture of her and Seb, they only cared about her brother’s relationship, which she wasn’t too thrilled about.

#sebastian stan #alejandra onieva #pr relationships #fake romances #an absolute shitshow #cb #free sebastian stan

[mediocre--writing]

The One Where Jill Shows Up

(steve and jill series)

(jill is like 5 years older than steve)

oh ok so steve seems to put himself down very often and his parents are very dismissive of him, which could be a result of an older sibling and steve being… unplanned.

i feel like her name would be jill. both her and steve would have insanely long names because they’ve got posh parents.

so steve is like steven michael robert harrington or some shit. then jill’s name is jillian rebecca christine harrington

she’s like their perfect little girl, straight a’s, does community service, is cheer captain in high school, and she’s going to yale to become a defense lawyer. she’s their pride and joy.

but like 5-ish years after she was born, they thought they weren’t going to have more kids, because they weren’t really parent material. enter Steve.

jill became like a mother to steve as they grew up. she was there for him as often as she could be. when she got her driver’s license, her parents began leaving on longer and longer business trips and vacations, eventually just sending checks in the mail for food and stuff and coming home for christmas and jill’s birthday, steve’s if they had time.

it wasn’t like they didn’t love steve, he was their son, they loved him, but they didn’t plan on having him.

plus, jill turned out so well, steve will probably just follow in her footsteps.

except they failed to realize that they had completely contradicting personalities and steve just wasn’t an academic person.

even when jill went off to college, she tried to visit at least once a month, but eventually that turned into once every three months, then twice a year, then maybe she’d visit at christmas.

and all steve ever heard from adults is how much they admired jill. how cool it was that she was following his father’s footsteps and going into law. they asked if steve was planning to follow her and go to yale. maybe harvard?

steve couldn’t even get into community college.

jill showed up one grey, stormy day at the end of august.

steve and billy, who’d just recently been released from the hospital, were out running errands. groceries, picking up billy’s meds from the pharmacy, going to the little bakery on the end of the plaza to get bear claws and coffee.

as they reached the end of the long driveway that led to the harrington house and parked the car, billy asked the obvious.

“whose car is that?”

steve had never seen that car before. it was expensive, that much was obvious, but he wasn’t sure if it was his parents or not. his dad always bought red cars, and this car was a shiny silver camaro that looked almost just like billy’s did (before steve slammed into it on july 4th)

they grabbed the groceries and started walking to the front door, steve testing the handle before realizing it was unlocked.

there was music coming from the house, loud, obnoxious music.

“hey i love this song,” billy chirped up from behind steve.

as he said before, loud, obnoxious music.

they walked further into the house and steve took note of how everything looked the same as he’d left it, until he saw the only clue he needed:

the grey hoodie on the armchair that read ‘yale’ across it in navy blue block letters.

there was movement in the kitchen, along with the music, which steve guessed was probably metallica (he thinks that he’s heard this song in billys car a time or two).

as steve set the large bags down on the island and billy put the gallon of milk next to them (steve wouldn’t let him carry anything heavier), jill turned from the pot she was stirring on the stove and noticed the two boys staring at her headbanging.

she jumped back and accidentally slammed her hand onto the hot burner, yelping in pain as she shot to the sink, running it under cold water.

“stevie, turn the radio down, please,” she yelled over the noise.

steve did as told and then came to sit on one of the barstools around the island.

“why are you here?”

billy slapped steve’s shoulder lightly in reprimand for his rude comment.

“well, i’m not sure if you know this, but i used to live here,”

billy noticed that her and steve both had the same smirk and glimmer of chaos in their eyes when they made a snarky comment.

they also had the same dark brown hair and full cheeks, but sharp nose and jaw. jill was almost as tall, if not as tall as steve, had no moles or freckles that he could see and had green-ish/hazel eyes as opposed to steve’s brown ones. they were both relatively thin and long-legged, too.

“oh, wow, you’re so damn funny, jill,” steve snarked back.

jill was still running cold water over her burnt hand. so they were both clumsy as hell, too.

“can you get the hot chocolate off the stove, i don’t want it to boil,” she asked, more like directed, steve to do. he got up and pulled the pot off the burner, turning the burner off. “thanks,”

there was a few more beats of awkward silence that followed.

“so who’s your friend?”

billy sat up and smiled charmingly, “billy hargrove,”

“well, i’m jill,” she turned the water off and grabbed a bag of mildly cool peas from their grocery bags, holding it on her palm. “i’m sure steve talks about me all the time,”

“yeah, i have nothing to talk about but you and your loud ass mouth,” steve grumbled, getting another soft slap from billy.

“so, billy, are you sleeping with steve?”

both boys choked a bit at the comment, trying to not make their bulging eyes too obvious.

“why would you ask that?” steve questioned quietly, almost scared of the answer.

“well, you went grocery shopping together, so you’re living together. or billy stays over often.” jill shrugged as she leaned on the counter, “when i was putting my stuff in my room, there wasn’t anything in the other rooms that insinuated someone else was living here, then i peaked in your room because i was seeing if you were home or not, and there were leather pants, oversized jean jackets, and there was some hairspray brand that i know you refuse to use.”

billy and steve were caught red handed. they knew it. jill knew it.

“please don’t tell dad,” steve begged as sternly and un-childishly as he could manage.

“dude, i don’t care,” jill scoffed, turning to grab three mugs from the cabinet and pour hot chocolate in each one.

billy and steve were sharing a look that screamed “what the fuck are we supposed to be doing in this situation?”

“you’re… ok with this?”

“i go to new york city every other weekend when i’m in connecticut, what do you think i do there? study group?”

“but you’re not mad?” steve still didn’t believe her. he wasn’t sure why but this just seemed too easy. billy was stiff as a board next to him, too.

“that would make me kinda hypocritical, steve,”

billy’s head shot up at her comment and the clinking of mugs being placed in front of them. “you’re…”

“bisexual,”

another thing her and steve had in common, billy thought.

steve and jill were still at odds with each other, but, as steve took a sip of his hot cocoa, he figured they may get used to being siblings again. like they were before she ever left.

#harringrove #Steve and Jill #Steve's a bratty little brother #as he should be #billy x steve #Steve x billy #stranger things #mediocre—writing #mw harringrove

[abigailpoe]

Date Night Alphabet  Micheal x MC

Summary: Okay, so I saw a few NSFW alphabet things floating around, and I wanted to make one with cute date nights that the LI and MC would go on.

Notes: I don’t own any of these characters. This is my first orginal post in about a year, and I had it in my drafts. If you’re tagged or not, it’s the tags that have been there for a long time... Anyways! Please enjoy!

Rating: PG

Tags: @boneandfur  @drivenbyfantasy@laniquelove@tmarie82@angstymarshmallow @ashtonmore@blazerina@beaumonttrash@choicesmyway @dangerous-capri15@syltti78@thechrispowell

A: Anniversary: Congratulations! You and Micheal have been dating for a whole year. In honor of this, Micheal decided to take you out on the town. You got all dressed up, but he took you to the park, making you confused. He made your favorite foods, played your favorite music, and printed your favorite pictures together as polaroids.

B: Birthday Breakfast: Sick day! Micheal knew you had been sick for about a week, and you had also been quarantine with no visitors allowed. On your birthday, your dad lets Micheal bring you some pancakes and hash browns. A few weeks later, Micheal got sick, but he said it was worth it.

C: Cat: Micheal hates cats, but he knew that you loved them. You couldn’t have one at your old house, but now, you were allowed to. Micheal went everywhere looking for what he thought was the perfect cat. On Christmas, he came over and supposed you with one. It has a little pink collar, and there were toys in the box. He said he found the cat when riding his bike one day. He didn’t want to leave it there, so he took care of it for a while before giving it to you. You named it Snow.

D: Dance Class: Your aunt is getting married this weekend! You even get to take Micheal as a date. Your whole family was going to be there, and he was super nervous about it. You asked if he wanted to take a dance class before, and Micheal said yes. The two of you learned some basic steps, but only after Micheal stepped on your feet a few times. At the wedding, Micheal got it off with your family. Micheal kept complimenting you on your bridesmaid dress. But, it wouldn’t be a party without a prank, so Michael and you hacked in the stereo system and played some more modern music.

E: Escape Room: You And Micheal decided to try out the new escape room in town. The room was Romeo and Juliet themed, and in order to escape, you had to reunite the families and save the duo. You and Micheal didn’t finish, but you both decided to get ice cream afterward.

F: Flying: Beating Micheal for flying lessons seemed like fun when you started, but it quickly turned south when both of you realized you had fears of heights right before you were supposed to jump out of a plane and go sky diving. Was it scary? Hell yes. But did you get a goo Go Pro video of Micheal screaming to make it worth it? Also, hell yes. 

G: Girl’s Night / Guy’s Night: Okay, let’s be honest, even though Micheal is your boyfriend and you love him, sometimes the two of you just need some time with your friends. That’s when the groups schedule a girl’s night out with the guys going out on the same night. You started out at the mall, but you all because hungry after the first few stores. The girls decided to head to the 

H: Hacking: Max and others from that group kept messing with you and Micheal while at the diner. They took your food and dumped a milkshake onto Micheal’s head. You decided to get them back at their graduation. Micheal taught you a few basic tricks. In the PowerPoint they played at the end, you added a few bad pictures of Max that Micheal provided you. Zoe caught you, so you ran out of the school and hopped onto Micheal’s bike and drove away.

I: Indoor Camping: You had always lived in a city and never got to go camping, so Micheal was going to take you one weekend. It ended up getting canceled due to rain. You both already had your bags packed. Your dad said you could go camping inside your living room. The two of you started a fire in the fireplace, and you made s’mores.

J: July Forth: On July 4th, you and Micheal went to the park to watch the fireworks. You took your car this Micheal, and you had a picnic before the show. He later out a blanket, and about halfway through the show, you got cold. Micheal gave you his jacket, causing you to fall asleep on his shoulder. Later, you woke up on your couch with Micheal on an air mattress on the floor. You slid down and cuddled up to him the rest of the night.

K: Karaoke: After a long basketball game, Micheal took you to your favorite karaoke spot. The two of you got a corner booth and ordered a lot of food. After you got your food, other people in your group also came to get food. Micheal said he’d only sing if you went, so you did. You got up there and sang a song to Micheal, and he sang a song to you as well.

L: Late Night: It’s the night after getting home from the road trip, and Micheal and you are playing board games, video games, and ate three pizzas all on your own. You watched a few movies and played some poker with each other. Though neither of you really knew how to play, at least Micheal said he didn’t know how to play. The two of you ended up falling asleep in the middle of Endgame with donuts and other various foods all over both of you.

M: Midnight Memories: It’s the afterparty prom night, and that means partying until the sun come up with all of your friends. That means hitting up the casino because you all finally turned 18! After the late night with Micheal, you learned the right way to play poker. You didn’t win much, but hey! $20 is better than nothing.

N: Netflix: Stranger Things is back and better than ever! However, you and Micheal agreed not to watch the new episodes until the weekend when you could hang out with each other. However, you both keep finding each other loading each other’s Netflix accounts at school. And at lunch. Every single day of the week for five days. But when the weekend finally comes, you both put on your 80′s attire and get some New Coke, which you quickly threw away.

O: Open When Letters: Micheal was going to visit family for the whole summer in Montana. There wouldn’t be any internet so the two of you wouldn’t be able to talk. On the day he was leaving, he gave you a box full of open when letters and one of his hoodies. The two of you had to go old school and wrote to each other during the summer. Your favorite open when letter was “Open When You Forget I Love You.” It was addressed to be open on the next to last week of summer, so you saved it. In the letter, he talked about when he fell in love with you. He also filled the envelope with pictures he took of you when you weren’t paying attention. Right after you got done reading it, the doorbell rang, and it was Micheal outside.

P: Prom: Prom is finally here! you both get dressed up and arive in style on Micheal’s motorcycle. Sure, holding your dress up on that thing was hard to do on a motorcycle, but Micheal only drove it about four blocks from your house. The night was amazing with memories to go around, incluing the Midnight Memories made at the after party. 

Q: Quixotic Adventure: After graduation, and within 24 hours, you, Micheal, and the rest of the group are heading on a weeks long vacation to Texas! Who knows what kind of trouble you’re going to get into there? For one, loosing Maria’s binder in the airport, which resulted in a melt down, the rest of the trip went well. Micheal and Caleb even rode a mechanical bull. 

R: Road trip: You woken up with a shake at 4 am. You scream as you find Micheal standing above you, and out of impulse, you slap him. Lucky for you, your dad got it on video. Micheal reveals that he came home early from camp, and he’s taking you to the city about 2 hours away. On the way, you stop and eat greasy diner food while watching a sunrise. You stay in the city for the whole day with Micheal, and you get home around midnight.

S: Ski Trip: Senior year has come, and you finally get to take the school skiing trip that you’ve been waiting for! But on the way there, the group stops, and you get food poising, meaning that when you get to the lodge that you stay in your room for most of the first day. That night, Emma and Maria come back with a surprise! They snuck Micheal into your hotel room with chicken noodle soup and crackers to help you feel better!

T: Theme Park: When driving in the middle of no where with Micheal to find a nice place to picnic, you and Micheal stumble upon an abandoned theme park, so the two of you decide to sneak in. You never realized it, but Micheal was secretly a fantastic photographer. The two of you ate and did several shoots before finding some rats and leaving. 

U: Unique: Surpise! Micheal decided to get peices of paper and write an numbers on them. The first role is for outfits, second is for food, and thrird is the activity. However, he didn’t erally think out how you’re suppoed to wear a winter coat and sweater in a Japanse steakhouse while then going swimming. Even though he didn’t think eveything through 

V: Video: Congratulations! It’s been a year of you and Micheal dating. For your one year, you gave him a box filled with different things from dates you went on. There was a menu from your first date; a dried up rose from the second; some things from prom; and more. Micheal, however, pulled out a CD and put it into the movie player. Confused, you sat down on the couch as he pressed play. The video started with a few days after you met with you skateboarding in the parking lot. Then, the first football game. Football homecoming. Basketball homecoming. When you took down Isa. Prom. It was clips of your life as a homemade movie. Him saving you from getting hurt. His winning throw to you as football. Everything.

W: Winter Wonderland: Sledding. Ice skating. All your favorite things wrapped all up into one day with your amazing boyfriend. However, things go wrong when you loose your bracelet in the middle of the day. Micheal said he would look for it, but you said it was too cold to try. you even suggested that the two of you wait until the snow melted. The next day, you open your house door to find Micheal, blue and shivering, holding your bracelet. When you bring him inside and cover him with blankets and cuddle to warm him, he tells you that he didn’t want you to loose it, so he searched all night for it.

X: XBox: It’s Black Friday! The sales and people are crazy, as they usually are. You decided to go without Micheal to try to see what you could get him for Christmas, and that’s when you see it: a Xbox. You push and shove people out of the way. This day will go down in history as the day you accidentally knocked over a child (don’t worry, you helped them up). That’s when you reach it. And when you go to grab it, someone else grabs the item too. When you look up, there stands Micheal. Welp... you ended up getting him jacket instead.

Y: Yoga: Let’s be real: Micheal has always hated yoga. However, after a back injury from trying to run from Hearst, Micheal agreed to do it since your doctor recommended it. It was... rough to say the least. But, you were happy that he at least tried to help you the best he could, even if he, himself, ended up in the ER after you.

Z: Zoo: You’ve always wanted to volunteer at a zoo that helps injured animals and then releases them back into the wild, unless their injuries are too extensive. Micheal and your dad worked together to allow the three of you to go to the zoo together and help. You had a lot of fun, even though it was sad, helping some bear cubs that lost their mom to a poacher.

#choices #choices hss #High School Story #pixelberry #pixelberry choices #mc x micheal #Micheal x mc #date night alphabet

[nightofthelivingmeme]

My dad got diagnosed with Glioblastoma the summer after I graduated college. He’d been having killer migraines, calling out of work, couldn’t stand up without vomiting. His doctor couldn’t figure it out and sent him to a specialist when no medication was working. They found a tumor somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball in his left frontal lobe. They kept him in the hospital over the 4th of July weekend and his tumor was removed on my 22nd birthday; I joked that I wanted his tumor in a jar for my birthday. I was scared and angry and also sad that my birthday had been erased. I remember after surgery he told us he was still him. They had gotten as much as they could but it had tentacled out so finely that they couldn’t risk going in for the small strands without possible damage; chemo and radiation it was then. For the next few months he recovered, then he started his treatment cycle; we had a cookout to celebrate him and wish him luck. Every friday he wore his “chemo shirt”, all his friends signed it and it had words of encouragement everywhere. Mom kept a countdown every day of how many more days in the cycle. He was limited in drinks, he couldn’t drive if he wasn’t feeling good, but other than the working from home he seemed functioning. He had a hard time understanding and coping. So did us. The fall came and went, we rolled into new years. 

Shortly into 2016, the results of his rounds came back; he just wasn’t responding to the treatments to keep it from growing so rapidly. He went on his last vacation, and very quickly could no longer climb stairs. then couldn’t really walk, use the bathroom alone. People started telling me I was going to have to do more heavy lifting; Alex can’t do it alone and mom doesn’t have enough strength. I got angry, it wasn’t fair, I was too small to really do any of that but I was expected to suddenly gain a new set of skills I’d never known. It didn’t last long. Dad’s reasoning wasn’t keeping up with his new limitations and his new environment. He became a danger to himself and was put in the hospital, then to one rehab center and another. We watched his speech get more and more slurred, more limited, more exhausting.

My dad was popular, had a crowd of friends around him almost constantly, mom spent every free minute she could at his side, his rehab room was down the street from work. I worked, I worked, I worked; I waited until his room was mostly empty to have some time with him. People thought I wasn’t visiting enough. They shamed me, told me I needed to “make the time” because I wasn’t making a scene of it. All the visitors made me anxious, I just wanted to spend a little time around him without so many eyes. He could barely make noise and he was always in pain. He couldn’t sleep one night so we stayed until the nurses gave him medication and got him settled. That was Monday, he died that Thursday. I got out of work around noon, went straight there. He was breathing uneven and his lungs were gurgling and the nurses said it sounded more painful than it actually was. It took hours for him to go, we sat around, held his hand, played his favorite music. When he finally went his body jollted around lightly; the nurse told us he was beginning to leave. And slowly he just stopped. There was no going cold, no loud beeps or gasps or anything really big. He left rather silently, too weak and destroyed to say goodbye. The last time I hugged him before I left his room for the last time he was still warm. He was diagnosed and died in under a year.

I still ask why it wasn’t me instead.

I’ll be 26 in a week and a half, I still haven’t gotten that tumor in my jar.

#glioblastoma #brain dump #venting #brain cancer #cancer #death #tw death #tw cancer

[charonsbudgetpsychopomp]

My life is a fanfic

So, my reblog earlier about how my wife and I are the slow burn relationahip that got married trope got us talking, and she encouraged me to tell the story in more detail.

We met in a college mythology course. We met several other people as well, some of which we are still frienda with, some of which we drifted away from, some of which we dropped without ceremony. We actually both dated the same guy from that group at different times.

We drifted for *years,* running into each other in passing, always friendly, always able to connect like there was no time missed. But never relationship vibes.

Enter: the sweetest, dumbest cat I ever rescued.

I was at a low point of my life and trying to recover from several traumatic blows that happened in rapid succession. Like, 'ready to drop out of college and check myself in to the hospital' low. I went on a walk to clear my head and returned to several frantic voicemails from a different group of friends about a cat they found.

They knew I was doing animal rescue and didn't want to take it to the shelter. I decided I could use a pet project (heh) to keep myself out of my own head.

They brought me a senior siamese cat with no teeth who looked like she had swallowed a bowling ball. It took a week for this poor cat to come out from under my bed.

I was searching for a home for this cat and while she was sweet, she was...dumb. nothing neurological or anything. She would just up and do things like fall on her face because she forgot how to sit. The vet said this poor cat was the dumbest animal they had seen in their 30 years of business. She needed a patient adopter who knew how loud Siamese cats can get.

Enter my wife's family.

They adopt the cat and the cat fits in perfectly.

A side effect: this one-time classmate is suddenly coming over every day after work/class to just chill.

We also got into some fun adventures over the proceeding few months. Her roommate at the time was a fetish model, and I helped act as her body guard during a work event that was open to the public. We went on a week-long beach vacation and the B&B only had one bed.

At one point she flew halfway across the world for a wedding. We shared our first kiss right before she left. Like, she was driving to the airport and was already running late level of right before she left. She had no reception and had to really search to make phone calls, so we didn't really talk for two weeks. This was August.

Our next kiss wasn't for another several months.

You may think our next kiss would have been Halloween night when we stripped naked and ran around the local haunted mill with a friend, but no. We ran back to the car and got the hell out of there.

You may think that, a few months after that, as we were shopping for holiday gifts on Thanksgiving weekend for our friends and a long, drawn-out joke that ended in me suggesting we date and she said sure, but no. That wasn't even when we realized we were dating.

It was an accidental brief brushing of our lips in Wal-Mart when she went to playfully kiss my cheek at the same time I noticed the pumpkin spice bagels and turned my head to stare at them. We both pretend like it didn't happen for months.

The next intentional kiss was almost a year after our trip to the beach. Even then, we were in. this weird, grey, "I don't know if this is a relationship or we're just good pals" phase. This was in April.

You may think it was when she picked me up from the airport when I came back from a cruise after getting dozens of "I miss you" texts while I had my phone off to avoid international roaming charges, and you would be wrong. I had decides to sleep on a screen porch in a thunderstorm on the last day of the cruise. I had never felt more alive, but I was beyond sleep-deprived. I drank several cups of coffee, bought more incense than reasonable at the local metaphysical shop, and passed out when we got back to the car.

It was a week or so after that, because we felt like it.

Queue a few more months of obliviousness and lack of willingness to commit to our own feelings.

One of our close friend's father committed suicide that October. I was the first person to come help the family. A different friend stayed with them for a week. I went over as much as I could. After the funeral, said friend and I came back to my house and just held each other and cried. We talked about how helpless we felt and how much we wanted something to take our minds off everything. As consenting adults, we could both see where this was headed.

And I just...stopped. It was in the middle of mourning I realized I was in love with my now-wife, and distraction sex wasn't going to help me in any direction.

Anxiety brain explained all of this out loud before I could stop myself. My friend was happy for me, thankfully, and shortly thereafter realized she was in love with the woman in her life ahe had the same type of relationship I had with my now-wife.

(They also got married in the end.)

We dated for five years before I wound up proposing to her over a Buzzfeed quiz result. On Valentine's Day. We had dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner. Yes, really. I'd picked out the ring the previous November and was waiting for the right moment.

We got married in our front yard. My favorite uncle got ordained to marry us. My parents, who divorced on bad terms, were cordial and got on like friends. My sister brought her little dog, who almost stole the show. We wrote our own vows and cooked all the food and handled all the decorations ourselves.

(Side note: two days before the wedding our then-roommate came home to find me almost asleep over an indoor grill.)

Less than a month later we flew across the country so she could meet the rest of my family. I wanted so badly for her to fall in love with the Pacific Northwest, and she did. She told me so on the 4th of July while a bunch of young children lit barely-legal fireworks on the top of an empty oil drum. I felt two parts of my heart merging to the sound of the miniature rockets igniting.

We moved two weeks after we got home, fearing our roommate's sudden mood changes and aggression. We left with an air mattress, our two cats, some clothes, and some absolutely irreplaceable posessions. We did wind up getting most of our stuff back, but there were two weeks where all we had was each other and the cats. We ate on paper plates and washed the same two cups over and over. My mother bought us two oversized bean bag chairs so we didn't have to sit on the floor.

We told stories until we fell asleep every night.

About six months after our wedding, the whole "I married my best friend" thing hit for real. It was wonderful but overwhelming.

It's been a little over two years since we've gotten married, and we've definitely ticked several other trope boxes: loving through crisis, chronic illness, death in the family, family disownment and developing a chosen family, unemployment, to name a few.

I guess the ultimate point here is your life is a hell of a story, but underatanding what type it is isn't something you can understand while you're going through it.

And no matter how impossible it seems, sometimes all it takes to get your life on the best possible track is a vet-certified Really Dumb Cat.

#styx rants #story time #life story #married life #the course of true love never did run smooth #cat rescue #you cant make this up

[traciedemars]

COVID & buying or selling...Education

Home Buyer & Seller Education & Virtual Classes

Please remember that, currently, ALL BUYER & SELLER classes are being held virtually. We look forward to teaching at the community centers again, once they open.

For the virtual classes, they are TWO hours long, and will start at the scheduled starting time. Please email [email protected] for link & password

Upcoming Home BUYER Classes

Saturday, August 8, from 10am-12pm (ish)

Saturday, August 15, from 11am-1pm (ish)

Saturday, August 22nd, from 12pm-2pm (ish)

Monday, August 24th, from 5pm - 7pm (ish)

Saturday, August 29th, from 10am - 12pm (ish)

Upcoming Home SELLER Classes

Saturday, August 8th, from 12:30-2:30pm

Saturday, August 22nd, from 9am-11am

Thursday, August 27th, from 5:30pm-7:30pm

Happy August!

I have to admit.. I am sad today. Today is the day before the Clark County Fair would have started. Today I should be at the fairgrounds setting up our booth and getting ready for the fair to start tomorrow morning. We are at the fair every year, and as exhausting as it is, it is also fun, exciting...and honestly... I absolutely love it when our friends, family, clients (both past, present, and future) come and visit us. I love seeing everyone and visiting with them. I also love being able to give little gifts to everyone. I am also looking at the projected weather forecast for the next week, and honestly, I am crying a bit as it is really a PERFECT fair forecast.....of course it is, right? Remember how at the beginning of this year we were so excited? All the holidays that were going to fall on the weekends? 4th of July on a Saturday? Rock on! Halloween on a Saturday AND with a Full Moon? AWESOME! Christmas? New Years? On Saturdays? Score!! It's like the stars all lined up for a perfect year....and well, it's like that piece of cake you are so excited to come home to eat, and that you have been thinking about ALL day...and you come home, and it is GONE!!! Someone else ate it!! You know what I mean...right? That is what 2020 feels like to me... crazy.. but here we are.

HEADS UP, if you are a CLIENT, please check your mail boxes! We couldn't do a Client Appreciation this spring, but there is something in your mailbox that should be a little fun. We are also trying to plan something for the end of summer... we will see how that shakes out... stay tuned!

This month I am going to talk about showing a home and a few of those 'hidden' fees that people don't think about. Whether you are thinking about selling (because it is definitely a sellers market), or you are buying a home... how does that work right now with COVID and everything else going on? Well, hopefully, this should help. As always...feel free to reach out with any questions! Thank you!!

While showing homes, we go over lots of 'little' things that otherwise people don't think about. Some of these items are the 'hidden' costs of buying a home....those things that you weren't planning on, but probably should be. Not too long ago, I was on one of the facebook swap/free/sale sites, and I was reading how some people were upset with the home buying process and the 'hidden' fees they weren't told about. It is true that there are a LOT of fees and other expenses involved with buying a home. The point of these blogs, and of course, the home buyer classes is to give folks this information. There shouldn't be anything 'hidden' about the home buying process. As you know, I am a big fan of not sugarcoating anything....I believe that an ugly truth is better than a pretty lie every day of the week. You might not always like what I have to say (and that is ok), but I am not going to hold anything back from you on the off chance you might not ask me to help you buy, or sell, your home. Personally I don't just want to hear about the 'good' things about a loan, or process....I want to hear it all...the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that I can make the best decision for me and my family based on the pros and the cons....not just the good. So....yes, I am not going to just agree with what you read on the internet, or saw on HGTV, or heard from your direct and personal circle....I am going to give you the pros and cons because this is YOUR home buying (or selling) adventure, and YOU need to make the decisions. My job is to help you find, and have, all the information I can get you so that you can make those choices based on a full picture....not just half of one. Last month we talked about the 'basic' fees of earnest money, home inspection (including the possibility of radon & sewer scope), and appraisal. However there are a few other 'fees' that you might want to think about.

Other fees?

Changing out locks

...I always advise my clients to change out the locks of their new homes. Why? Well, even if the sellers give you all the keys they have...there is not guarantee that there isn't more keys running around somewhere. I used to change out my house locks every couple of years because my kids were always losing keys. Finally....last year... I went and purchased the the house locks that have the key pad. It is awesome!! I don't worry about lost keys anymore. Every family member has a code, and what is the best is that I can add and delete codes as needed. So...go away for a couple of days, and have a house sitter? Give them a code,and when you get back you simply delete the code. I tell you....worth it!

Mailbox key

...yes, legally you are not supposed to copy the mailbox key, but a lot of people do. Mail is not something you want to mess with. Take your HUD form down to the post office, and have them re-key the box, and get a new key. Cost is about $100, but for peace of mind...that isn't much. When you are changing out locks, talk with the locksmith... she/he may be able to help with this as well.

Paint

...you will probably want to paint some, or all, the rooms of your new home. Each gallon of paint runs about $25. Paint is the easiest thing you can do to make the home 'yours', and it's fun! Paint can change the entire feel of a room, or home. Personally, I am a fan of semi-gloss. I like the shine to it, and most importantly, it cleans up easy....with kids and big dogs, this is my go-to.

Minor repairs

...during the home inspection the inspector will probably point out repairs that the home may need. Some of these repairs may be cosmetic repairs that will be part of your 'honey-do list' with your new home. Remember that, at the home inspection, we are looking for any repairs that will affect the safety of the home, or occupants...or anything that may need a contractor to repair. The 'big' areas that we usually see repairs for are roofs, attic spaces, crawlspaces, and siding. These are the places that usually get called out during the repair process for a licensed contractor to come in Remember that home inspectors are licensed for home inspections. It is during this period that we will request a second opinion by a licensed contractor...who can give a better, more thorough inspection/repair for the item that the inspector called out. All homes have some repairs that will need to be done by the (new) homeowner....it is part of being a homeowner. Don't forget that the worst thing a homeowner can do is to defer maintenance. If you need help with that, give me a call or email... I always have a 'guy' that you can call for help. Anytime you need work done around the home that you can't do, give me a holler...I know people. I tease, but it is true. I know excellent contractors that will usually give you a better deal because I refer them out. I refer them out because they do a good job...and give better deals. Just like in Real Estate... referrals are the name of the game. :-)

Lawn supplies

...did you come from an apartment? Well, most likely now you have a yard. You will need a lawnmower to start with. There will be other lawn equipment that will follow...weed eaters, trimmers, wheel barrels, shovels, and a myriad other things that come with having a yard.

Appliances

...don't forget that washer, dryer, and fridges don't come with the home. If you don't already have these appliances then you may also be purchasing a washer, dryer, and/or a fridge. Just please, please, please wait until AFTER you get keys for the home before you go purchase these things.

Curtains/Blinds

...if your new home doesn't already have some then this may be on your 'to buy' list. Sometimes even if your home does have some, you may want new ones. Honestly, I have had very good luck with curtains at places like Target, or Fred Meyer, or even Wal-Mart. I think I've gotten all my curtains from Target. They have blinds as well.

House Cleaner/Carpet Cleaner

...when a home is vacant you know exactly what you're going to be walking into when your buyers agent (hopefully me LOL) gives you keys, but... when the home is owner occupied, you don't. Yes, you can and will do a walk thru of the home before closing, but it will still be occupied. In many cases, when the home is owner occupied the (soon to be) previous owner doesn't vacate the property until day of closing, or sometimes even a couple of days after closing. With cases like this, you really don't know what condition the home will be upon closing. We have to have faith that the (soon to be) previous owner will leave the home in a clean condition, but sometimes...well, sometimes, they don't. Also, one persons idea of clean is not another persons idea of 'clean'. :-) Many times, whether the home is vacant or owner occupied, a buyer will book a professional carpet cleaning, or house cleaning after closing....simply for peace of mind.

Insurance

...wait..you already have insurance, don't you? Well...yes, you have mortgage insurance, title insurance, and homeowners insurance, but what about earthquake insurance? You don't...

When I purchased my home my homeowners insurance included earthquake insurance. About 10 years ago though we received a letter that no longer would homeowners insurance include earthquake insurance....why? Because we live in the #1 high danger area for earthquakes. Because of that earthquake insurance must now be purchased separately. So, AFTER you buy your home, call your insurance company and add on earthquake insurance. Cost isn't too much, but it is important....just in case.

Toilet Seats

Yeah, I know you probably didn't think of that, but really....if it were me, I would change out the toilet seats when you buy your new home. Why? Well, since now you are thinking about it....I'm sure you can see why. LOL Toilet seats are not expensive, and really...having new seats just makes you feel better! :-D

As we've talked about, once you hire a Realtor to help you with your home adventure, you are ready for the 'fun' part.....LOOKING AT HOMES! :-) This is always an exciting time for buyers, and it should be! Every home you pull up to has the possibility to be 'the one'....The one you make an offer on, the one that you buy, the ONE that becomes YOUR HOME...and it is very exciting. For the sellers though, it is very stressful because currently it is THEIR home, and they're leaving so that strangers can come in. As a Realtor, we are trying to make this as easy as possible for both the buyer and seller, but we need help... especially right now...

We are in the world of COVID, and it has changed how we look at homes.

For the homeowners (sellers), we are asking that the home be available to show, that the home be clean, nothing of value is being left out, all medicines are put away and out of sight (not left in bathrooms or kitchen cabinets), anything that a seller wants excluded from the sale is noted, that sweet pups are either removed or kenneled, that sweet kitties are noted as inside only or inside/outside ok, and that please, please... homeowners (sellers) be gone for showings. Selling your home means opening up your home to strangers. Please note that anytime a Realtor shows your home, that Realtor is responsible for the buyers they bring into your home. If you have any COVID concerns, please bring them up with, and talk about them with your Realtor. As always, there is more to it than this, but that is a different class....and email. You can always call me for more information when you are selling your home.

For the buyers....it gets a bit more complicated... before we go house shopping, we are asking that you have a pre-approval letter with a solid lender, we are asking that you do not look at homes above your price range, we are asking that you have thought about the Top Three things you want in a home (so we can show you homes that have those items you value most), and that you help us help you.... We are currently in Phase 2 which means that we can't have more than 3 people (including the Realtor) in the house at a time, and yes, masks are currently required when we are showing homes. Many homes will request that we take off shoes so be sure to wear easy on/off shoes.

When a Realtor opens the lockbox to show you the home, we are taking responsibility for everything that happens from that moment on....until we lock up the house and put the key back into the lockbox. As I say all the time... Real Estate is NOT like HGTV... you don't just get to wander the home while your Realtor sits outside... we must be with you at all times when touring your potential new home. Sometimes this can be like herding cats, but we understand your excitement... just please, please as you are touring the home, and we know you have your family with you, please...we must all stay together. Don't make me sing to you here.....

As cool as those toys look, I'm sorry but the kiddos can't play with them, and sorry...but you can't jump on the beds either. It's ok to open cupboards, and closets, but we can't open dressers, or go through someone else's personal items. Touring a home is a VISUAL thing....sorry. However, yes, you can use the bathroom....usually.. sometimes we do have requests from sellers that bathrooms are NOT used. I showed a home last week where the sellers literally taped the toilets shut on days they were showing. I thought it was funny...

When we are looking at homes, often we have more than one home to look at, and many homes are owner occupied so your Realtor makes appointments. We do the best we can to make sure we have enough time to look at the homes, but we need to stay within our timeframes as the sellers are waiting to come home after we leave, or there are other Realtors waiting to show the home. I promise we are not trying to 'rush' you through the home...we are just trying to stay within the timeframes so that you can see the other homes on your list.

Looking at homes is exciting, and many of you will send your Realtor a long list of homes to go see, but what you don't know.....yet...that looking at homes is exhausting, and they quickly starts to blend together. Don't look at more than 6-8 in one appointment. I've had clients look at up to 10 at once, and that is a lot. We can do it....just be prepared. Your Realtor should give you a print out for each home we see, so be sure to take notes on each of the houses because they will blend together and you will not remember what you liked, or didn't like, about the first couple of homes by the time we get to the last couple of homes. :-)

With the real estate market being so crazy right now, it's important that if a home comes up that you like, that you let your Realtor know as soon as possible so we can make an appointment for you to see it. Many homes are receiving multiple offers and go pending within a few days. Your Realtor should be sending you a list of homes as they come on the market for you to check....drive by the homes...check out those neighborhoods....and let's make an appointment to go see the inside of the home.

Do not trust Internet photos! Realtors hire professional photographers for our listings for a reason. Smile Internet photos are a lot like internet dating...you don't know what you're going to get when you get there

Like the neighborhood, but not sure about the house? Let's at least go check out the inside! You never know as you can't judge a book (or a house) by its cover.

ASK QUESTIONS!! For heavens sake...this is a home you are thinking about buying... ask questions! As your Realtor, we are here to help! If we can't answer your questions, we can at least set up in the right direction to get those answers.

Buying a home is a very emotional experience. Your Realtor is here to point out pros/cons, and to help you.... Trust your heart, but use your head... or your Realtor. :-) Remember that we work FOR you.

As always....this is just a quick overview.... again...and I can't say this enough...please remember that your agent is NOT a salesperson, and should not be acting like one. Real Estate is not really about houses, it is about relationships. Your agent, and your lender work for YOU. You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals. Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure. The goal is to be informative and non-promotional. :-) We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.

If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard...or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email, text, or facebook me anytime. I am, as always, happy to help!

Thank you again for your business and your referrals!! ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.

. ..disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings...

Information is power, and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there.... If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.

If you have any questions, or comments please get a hold of me anytime. You can call, text, email, or even facebook me. Please remember that while I mean these emails/blogs to be helpful, and educational, I am still hoping that you will call, or email me as I would be honored to help you with your home buying, or home selling adventure.

Upcoming Topics:

What if I don't have a Down Payment?

How do I hire a Realtor, & do I have to sign anything?

Heating Types (but I want AC)

Last Week: Can you buy a home with ZERO out of pocket?

Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,

;-D

Tracie DeMars

Real Estate broker

Re/Max - Van Mall

360/ 903-3504 cell

360/ 882-3600 fax

www.traciedemars.com

[email protected]

“Interested in free and non promotional home education classes? Go to www.learningtobuyahome.com or www.freesellerclasses.com for local upcoming home BUYER and home SELLER classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog.”

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

- Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999).

#traciedemars #traciedemarsrealestate #buyingahome #sellingahome #learningtobuyahomedotcom #learningtobuyahome #learningtosellahome #buyersagent #sellersagent #traciedemarsremax #remax #traciedemarsrealtor #pnwrealtor

[vulnerabl-t]

Love life

T- My First Girlfriend was when I was 18 in Junior year of High School. I first noticed her in Chemistry, she had beautiful red hair, dark brown eyes that seemed to swallow your attention,  a full and dashing smile, smart and charismatic, she could catch you off guard with her sarcasm. I would toss glances her way when I got to class and catch myself staring at her when class lost my interest. She played soccer and golf, but that’s all I knew about her at the time. The first words I ever spoke to her where mustered up over weeks, rethinking what could go wrong over and over again. Telling my self what a dime she was and that I could never land a girl like her. She was a bird and I was a leaf, two things that brush by constantly but one never would need the  other. I finally said those encouraged words, “Those are cool Nikes.” Clever, really out-did myself on that one. She glanced around and down at her shoes, then back at me, pointing to herself,  “Oh mine?” Somehow someway, I was able to start hanging out with her, I invited her to Sand volleyball and we played till 3 in the morning. I kept telling myself there is so many ways to mess this up, lets hope I don't. We continued to hang out for a couple weeks into the summer, I asked a couple buddies if they wanted to go to Zion, of course inviting her, which they enthusiastically said yes. We ended up hiking for a while, I would mess with her and she’d shoot it right back at me. My first kiss was on that hike. Being the kid with no experience and not understanding relationships, I bravely asked her to be my Girlfriend on the drive home from that. By bravely, I mean writing a classic, Yes/No question of if she would be my girlfriend or not on a piece of work paper. She looked at me, smiled beams at me while she checked a box, I asked which one and she said, “I think you know.” 

That summer was spent with me working 6am-7pm, 6 days a week at a car dealership and getting to see her only at night, after her practices. Everything was going really good, she’d come and visit me at work, and I’d come see her when I was off. I remember 4th of July vividly, she wore some cut-off jeans and boots, with a cowboy hat, and goddamn did she look fine. It was that kind of “How did I land you?” love. Of course, love started to fade, and it sucked. I remember seeing her somedays only to kiss for a solid hour and a half until she had to go home and that was it. Near the end of Summer, I went on family vacation with my parents, I tried to text her but my communication skills were rather par. The day after I got home, I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I hadn’t seen her in a solid 2 and half weeks, a text comes in, saying the dreaded line, “Can we talk outside?” With my puffy cheeks, wearing a hoodie and carrying things I had bought for her on the trip, I had my heart broken the First time. With not a lot to go on, only “it’s not you, it’s me.” Record Scratch. 

M- The next girlfriend was the longest relationship I have had. I met her while a buddy and I were walking back from lunch my Senior Year. She was dazzling, she had a boot on one leg and a cowboy boot on the other. She had a plaid shirt on and ombre hair (my weakness). Blue eyes that shook me to my core. I honestly didn’t say anything to her, my buddy was talking to the group that she was with and I stood laughing at his jokes and glancing at her. My buddy ended up introducing me to her weeks later, and I fell in love instantly and hard. I had already asked a girl to the next school dance but was ashamed I hadn’t asked her. My date ended up not being able to go to the day-date, so I asked her. She gave me an answer about a week later. That ended up being a really fun day-date to be honest. I couldn't help but think about her when my original date showed up later that night. Little did I know that this was going to wreck my world.  

We began talking more and more and taking her out on the weekends. I asked her to be my girlfriend and we were pretty swooned. In that April, I ended up breaking my ankle quite seriously. She was the one who drove me to the hospital. She sat there holding my hand when the x-ray came back, showing how brutal the break was. From there it was a tough battle. I missed the last dance because of surgery, she came by when she could after school. We went to Senior Trip, my roommates would leave to Disneyland, leaving me in the room and she would come over and lay with me for a while until I was ready to go. She was very sweet and kind-hearted. But she had a bad side as well. She ended up pissed multiple times during my recovery for unknown reasons to me. She had multiple bad breakdowns, (as did I because of the stress of my leg), She began to show me a side of her I hadn’t seen, fighting with her family, showing how awfully religious she was, and some emotional issues. 

I got recovered, back on my feet and I began to see her worse side. She began to bicker me for everything I did wrong or messed up. She threw attitudes at me, hated the way I wasn’t religious, hated the way I grew up, asked why we were even together, told me what I needed to change. She would belittle my interests and hobbies while gratifying her own.  What did I do? I stayed, stupidly I was too swept up with being in love. I began changing for her, I started going to church, began cutting off my friends. When my parents commented about how much I’d changed, I lashed out at them, telling them to “stop caring then.” When she told me that I did something wrong, I tried my best to change for her. I told her how much I loved her and she would reply medially back. I felt that I had no where else to go, no one other than her that would love me. She would give me back-handed remarks, when I told her of other girls jokes or something about someone she told me I should go date them instead. She told me how my sibling bothered her, or how my parents bothered her. Becoming more and more negative. I’d ask her what she’d like to do and we’d go enjoy them together, I would ask her to come with me to do something I love and only got Nihilism for it. She would complain about it, saying, “just take me home.” I enjoy lifting with all my heart and she would be mad at me for not taking her, then be pissed when she came with me because she didn’t enjoy it. It seemed that I was the one who was always reaching out to her and never getting anything back. I seemed to put 110% of my effort in, only to get 40% back. I told her I didn’t want kids and she treated me poorly for about 2 weeks, only to never have herself bring it up. Her parents weighed on me heavily as well, asking constantly if we were behaving, watching over us, eyeing us, always grilling us for some small reward to them. She wasn’t allowed over on holidays for very long, but I was pressured to stay over at theirs. I was baptized for her. Went through the whole process nodding my head and making false friendships to hopefully save this relationship. I told my uncle moments before getting baptized that it didn’t feel right. Because it was something I didn’t want for myself, only doing it for her. I glanced over at her the entire time during the service to get reassurance. She was a home wrecker, came into my life and tore apart everything I had and knew. 

I woke up in that December of being baptized and remember saying I don’t want to date her anymore. Only to be immediately corrected by a voice in my head saying, “no, you have to stay, it’ll work out, it has to.” 6 months later I finally got the balls to do it. I had worked up the courage for weeks on end, telling myself I will be alright, I need to get out of this now. I went over to her Grandma’s house and broke the news to her on the front porch. After an hour and half, I finally left, telling her sorry and please make it home safely. I got a call the following night, saying she wanted to talk things over and get understanding of it. Being the man my father raised me to be, I reluctantly went over to put it to rest. When I got to her house, I was confronted by her parents and dragged inside. They yelled and preached to an empty choir, I was done. When they quieted down, I calmly stood, gave the girl one last hug, told her parents thanks for the things they did for me, and left. That was one of the hardest things to recover from and I still have psychological issues from that toxic relationship that I'm trying to get over.

After that mess I've only had a couple short stents

E- Had a crush on a girl at the gym. Talked to her and stayed late. Strictly platonic, I just needed connection at the time and she honestly stole my heart. Red Flags popped up, like smoking, drug use and drinking heavily, dangerous activity but I continued talking to her. I was craving human connection because I hadn’t had any friends to talk to. Foolishly giving me a hard to get over crush. I matured up and told her I hadn’t recovered from my last relationship and wasn’t ready for anything, but I never got a response back, I had sent it through text because she seemed to have disappeared off the earth. I still think about her but I believe it was only because I truly cared about her. I was craving that emotional connection that I had failed to have. 

S- This one kind of stung, but for the best. She was in my humanities class and sat a row behind me. Gorgeous red head, had freckles that spot-lighted her pungent blue eyes. She had a tattoo on her wrist and ankle that stuck with me.  She ran track and cross-country so she was very active, something that is huge to me. I slowly got to know her, gave her rides to her car across campus after class. It was usually pegged with deafening silence, that I never knew how to crack. I slowly began to get small conversation out of her, like how she grew up, what her parents were like and all that. I invited her to dinner with my family and she politely said yes. We had a great time getting to know each other, this went on for about 2 months. I kissed her on my favorite spot in town during the sunset because I wanted everything for her to be perfect. She seemed to hold herself at a distance though, I still reckon that was half her never experiencing a relationship and the other half being defensive against relationship. I went over when she was sick to help her through it, and help her through rough school days. I remember one night where I had had a panic attack for some unknown at the time (I finally reasoned it was because she was holding herself at a distance and I craved intimacy.) I gave her a long hug at the door of her apartment and I held her close on the couch, being able to talk through what I had on my mind. I realize now that I was doing all of the communicating and she was mearily listening and not giving any input. She terminated the relationship by means of FaceTime, out of the blue on a Saturday night. I had sensed something was coming because she had grown even more distant. 

So what have I learned from all that? 

Communication- That I need someone who has good communication skills, who can let me inside their head and let me walk through whatever they’re going through with them. Someone who is non-defensive and open with me. I love when someone can be vulnerable with me. I want to express how I feel without scaring someone off. I have pretty good communication and am constantly working on it. I am also working on being open with people around me and to not skirt around someones feelings. 

Active & Healthy- I crave someone that wants to get outside. Someone who wants to go to the gym with me. Someone who is a hard worker. Someone who eats pretty healthy but can indulge every once in a while, not everyday. Someone who is motivated and will help keep me motivated, while I help them stay motivated. 

Positively realistic - I am mostly optimistic, I truly look for the best in the situation. When a situation gets bad I note the bad things, what could happen, what most likely will happen and keep my head above water. So to find someone who is mentally sound. 

Non-Religious: I’m not a fan of religion. It seems to turn peoples critcal thinking off and they turn close-minded. I would like someone who loves to talk about deep topics like why did man-kind make up a god figure? What religions are based off of earlier ones and so on. Religion ties people down and becomes a burden. 

#(500) days of summer

[fuck-customers]

The longest job I held down was three and a half years. This job easily gave me enough stories to post here once a week for...indefinitely. Mostly of the "fuck managers" variety; they were 100 percent the reason I ended up quitting. Here goes (long story ahead) The summer of 2015 I found out very suddenly I needed surgery. I asked my doctor if there was any way I could postpone until the fall, when we slowed down (because I would miss the 4th of July which is one of our busiest weekends). He said if I waited that long the surgery would be much more risky and he would have to refer me to a specialist in Atlanta. So we went ahead and scheduled the surgery and as soon as I got home, I put in the time off request on our scheduling app, and texted my KM (kitchen manager) and let him know what was going on, and that I would need accommodation, mostly carrying heavy things, afterwards. He approved my time off and my vacation days (yeah, we didn't get sick days. Some vacation.) Now, I was the prep cook in this restaurant. The only prep cook, in a scratch kitchen. There used to be two of us, but the other woman quit because they cut her down to ten hours a week, a whole damn year ago. I had been begging for them to hire another prep cook, because I was working 6 days a week and not taking any breaks because there was just. So much that needed to get done. So much. On my one day off the KM would do (the bare minimum of) prep, the rest of the time he'd send a line cook to help me out as time permitted, but I couldn't ever count on that. So what did they do? Three days before I had my surgery, the KM walked into the prep kitchen with a new hire and told me this is our new prep cook. He had actually been hired to work the line but it occurred to them that, hmmm, our only prep cook is going to be out for two weeks, and maybe only having ONE person besides the KM who knows how to prep is maybe not a good thing, just, in general? (Ya think?) So I had three. Days. To train this guy. Thankfully he was smart and a hard worker, he even kept a notebook. But still there was no way he was gonna learn it all in three days. So, anyway, I had the surgery, but had some (pretty scary but ultimately very fixable) complications that set my recovery time back a few days. Again, I texted the KM, letting him know what was up, basically just that I had complications and had to go back to the hospital. Now I'm not fishing for attention by any means, but the polite thing in this situation is to express concern and well wishes. He responded to my text with "Heard". That is literally all he had to say to me having to go the fucking ER two days post op. Then to top it off, I came down with a stomach virus the day before I planned to come back, and that knocked me flat on my ass (again). And of course, I wasn't supposed to lift anything more than 20 pounds. I know I should have taken another week off, but I felt bad for the New Guy because I genuinely liked him, and felt guilty for basically throwing him to the wolves (even though it was zero percent my fault), so I went back to work still feeling like crap. Around noon I was reeeaally feeling that mistake, and decided to go home, but I ended up staying because they hadn't even bothered training New Guy while I was out, just gave him busy work like slicing meat and portioning things. So I kind of sat around and directed him. Then even after I was feeling better, I still had to have him carry heavy stuff for me because my incision was still healing. And then come to find out the KM was badmouthing me, acting like I was lazy because now I had a ~man~ to do the heavy lifting for me. Just, fuck that guy. But, I did have a small measure of satisfaction. About...8 months after I finally quit, KM called me out of the blue, to check up on me, he said. Asked me how my new job was going, etcetera, and he said a couple times, and I quote, "I ain't mad at ya". Now my first reaction was to say "I wouldn't care if you were", but I'm not that unprofessional. Still, I got suspicious, cause you weren't interested in checking on me when I had major surgery. So I texted one of my old coworkers and she confirmed New Guy was still there, but the person they hired to replace me was basically useless and that prep was shit now (confirming my suspicion that the KM was feeling me out about coming back to work for him). Lmaoooo good luck with that. My ass is gone and it's staying gone.

[purplesurveys]

1202

survey by nadine07

General Stuff To Start With

What name do you go by most often? Just Robyn. It’s short enough that it’s never really needed a nickname.

Is that your real name or a nickname? It’s my real name. I do have nickname, but it’s used just by family.

Has your birthday come yet this year? Yes, it has. And what a great one it was :)

Where is your mom right now? She’s in the kitchen cleaning up since she just finished cooking a couple of afternoon snacks.

What were you doing at 4pm? Yesterday? I think I was just watching BTS music videos. Can’t really answer this now as it won’t be 4 PM here til after 25ish minutes.

Are you a good speller? Yeah, I’m confident in my spelling skills.

Who was the last person to give you a 'high-five'? I think my sister; the only person I give high-fives to at home, anyway.

Would you consider yourself a shy person? I’m definitely shy at first, but over the years I’ve gotten considerably better at warming up more quickly to new people and situations.

Can you play the guitar? No, I can’t play any instruments.

Three things you ate today? Omelette, a pancake with peanut butter, and fish tacos.

What did you do last Sunday? Well, it’s Sunday today... but to stick with the question, last Sunday was pretty unremarkable. I remember watching a few episodes of Bon Voyage, then in the evening I watched 1 1/2 episodes of Hwarang.

How many orange shirts do you own? Continued from Sunday. I believe I don’t own any. Orange isn’t really my color.

Are you currently taking any prescription medications? Nope.

Do you like skim milk? I don’t think I’ve even tried it yet. I’m not sure I know what it is, either.

How did you bring in the New Year? I remember watching Mr. Bean and Kitchen Nightmares with my cousins while waiting for January 1. I also drank a little bit of soju and ate some fried chicken.

Are you missing anyone right now? I miss my friends. I talk to Angela everyday, but I wish I can see her.

If you could relive one moment in the past week what would it be? Last week was a little boring.

If you could spend 30 minutes with someone who is gone, who would you pick? Idk if I’d want to take up that offer; 30 minutes is too short a time to be with someone I’ve lost.

Biggest mistake to date? Giving too many chances to the wrong people.

Where did you go to grade school at? A local school you wouldn’t know about.

Have you ever lived in Tennessee? I’ve never lived in the US.

Idaho?

Nebraska?

Maryland?

Texas?

Does anyone in your family smoke? Yeah, I can think of a couple of relatives.

How many of the people you live with are over 21? Just two, my parents. Nina is turning 21 this September.

Who do you wish you could talk to right this moment? No one. It’s my alone time right now, and I’ve put away my phone for the meantime since I’ve already done a fair amount of socializing today.

How many clocks are in the room you are in? Just the digital ones on my phone and laptop.

Do you use MSN messenger? Nope.

What time will it be in 6 hours? 3:45 AM.

Have you kissed anyone in the last week? No.

Do you enjoy classic rock? Not really.

Have you ever been told you looked like someone famous? Every now and then. It’s not a common comment.

Are you anemic? I’m not.

At Christmas, do you have a fake or a real tree? We use fake ones where I’m from.

Do you usually go watch fireworks on the 4th of July? I don’t celebrate that.

Do you remember when the game Oregon Trail was really popular? I can remember the time, yeah, but I never played the game and I don’t even know what it’s about.

Does anyone have your heart? In my real life, no. In my head, absolutely lmao.

What did you do last Valentine's Day? I don’t even remember. I think I went out to eat that weekend? but I think I just stayed at home for the actual Valentine’s Day. I would guess that I spent the time watching 2 Days 1 Night.

Can you count to 20 in any other language? Filipino and Spanish.

How old were you in 2001? I was 3.

In 1973, how many years was it until you were born - or were you born? That’s 25 years before I was born.

Have you ever had a crush on someone, and found out they liked your friend? That’s never happened. I’ve had a small crush on someone before but they weren’t interested in me, which was fine since I knew nothing was possibly going to happen between us anyway.

Have you ever been liked by someone you didn't expect would like you? Yup.

Who ended your last relationship? She did.

How do you feel about that? I’m over it.

Do Mondays get you down? It’s really only hard and anxiety-inducing in the morning when I have to accept that there’s another week’s worth of work to do, but once I get into the groove of my shift it’s easy to deal with again.

How long have you been at your current job? 7 months this June.

Have you ever been fired? Nope.

How many times have you been pulled over by the cops? I’ve never been pulled over by an actual policeman, but I’ve been stopped by traffic enforcers...I’d say maybe around 4-5 times? usually for violations I didn’t know were violations in the area I had been driving in.

What is your mood like right now? I feel quite peaceful and happy, actually. It's been raining all day and the weather is nice and chilly, so I got in the mood to take a survey and put on lo-fi music to wind down :) All I need is sushi and this night would’ve been perfect, but I’m not really complaining.

Where did you go today? I just stayed at home.

Do you know anyone who is pregnant right now? Not that I know of, no. Then again most people my age - at least in my circle - usually keep it a secret until they’ve already given birth.

Do you cut the crusts off your sandwiches? Noooooooooooo I love the crust.

Do you prefer sweet or unsweetened tea? Sweet.

Who did you last embarrass yourself in front of? My sister, who was reminding me of how much I disliked BTS before :(

Would you rather meet the president or win $500 dollars from the lottery? I have absolutely no desire to meet the president.

What was the reason you last smiled? Someone on my timeline brought back an old BTS tweet from 2013 that finally revealed V as the secret member of the group shortly before they debuted.

A Little About Your Friends

List 8 Good Friends

1. Angela

2. Jo

3. Reena

4. Lui

5. Andi

6. Blanch

7. Kate

8. Macy

#1

Are you related to this person? No, but she’s felt like a sister to me for as long as we’ve known each other.

What did you do the last time you hung out? We had some drinks at Perfy’s before it closed down.

Would you trust this person to keep a secret? I’d trust her with absolutely anything.

Who is this person dating? Hans.

Do you live in the same town? No, she lives in a different city but cities here are small lol so I can easily drive to her place whenever I want to.

#2

Are you dating this person? I am not, and I’m not dating anyone on the list either.

Would you consider this person attractive? Yes.

What is this person's full name? It’s not my place to share that.

Is this person taller than you? Much much taller than literally everyone. I believe she’s 5′10″.

Do you go to the same school? We went to the same university. We technically went to the same high school, but in a different chapter.

#3

Is this person engaged? None of the people on the list are.

What color is this person's hair? Black.

Where does this person work? She’s still a student; she’s actually Angela’s coursemate in architecture.

When did you last call this person? I’ve never called her. Never had a reason to.

Have you ever been drunk together? Hahahahaha yes when we go out for drinks we are notoriously the two people in the group with low tolerance.

#4

What is this person likely doing right now? Probably asleep or cramming an article.

Does this person have any children? Nah.

How did you meet this person? I met them in college since they were in the execomm when I started applying for our mutural org.

Have you ever had a crush on this person? No, it was the other way around.

Where was the last place you went together? ...I don’t even remember the last time we were together? If they were at our org’s Christmas party in 2019, then the last time we were together was at Rita’s house.

#5

What is this person's middle name? Daniel.

Does this person like rap music? Yes, I believe so. Then again I know they listen to all types of music anyway.

Has this person ever been arrested? I don’t think so, at least not to my knowledge. They would’ve already shared that with me if it had ever happened.

Is this person older than you? No, they’re younger by only a few months.

When did you last see this person? January.

#6

Have you ever met this person's parents? Nope.

When is this person's birthday? OMG I don’t remember. I think it’s September 8? Sometime that month, anyway.

Is this person still in high school? No, we graduated college together.

What color are this person's eyes? Dark brown/black.

Do you work with this person? Nah, she’s sticking to the journalism field as far as I know and currently works for a media non-profit org that does fact-checking and investigative reporting.

#7

Do you and this person share an ex? No, our dating spheres are veeeery different haha.

Where was the last place you went to eat with this person? I have no idea :( Marugame Udon, if I had to guess.

What color is this person's car? She doesn’t drive.

Can this person play the piano? I’m pretty sure she can’t.

Does this person like scary movies? I have no clue, actually. I feel like she’d be a scaredy cat though.

#8

How long have you known this person? Since the 2nd grade.

Does this person have hair past their shoulders? Not at the moment.

Does this person have any tattoos? Nope.

Have you ever kissed? Never; she’s more like a sister to me.

Did you go to grade school with this person? Yes.

Finish the Sentence

My hair is: In need of a big-ass trim. I also need to get rid of my bangs because I can’t stand them anymore.

I wish I was: Vacationing in a different country.

The only thing I can't stand: I can’t stand a lot of things, but right now I am hating the feeling of being hungry. I’m making a peanut butter sandwich right after this.

There is no way: You can leave me in a room with a cockroach.

Someday I am going to: Complete an embroidery template. Bake a cake. Go bungee jumping. I can’t really choose; I want to do a lot of things.

I couldn't live without: My phone.

I hate when: It’s sunny.

I love it when: It’s raining.

Sometimes I can be: Moody.

I am not interested: In Bitcoin.

#survey #surveys

[canaryatlaw]

alright, today was good and I’m sleepy so we’ll see how long this is. I woke up to my alarm at 11 and got out of bed, ate some toast for breakfast and then got my shit together and dropped some shit at the UPS Store before getting on the very crowded bus to Target. the buses didn’t line up for me today so I ended up taking the one for the first half and walking the rest of the way, thankfully it wasn’t too hot out. Got to Target, went first to the Starbucks because I had to try their ~limited edition~ tie dye frap because I’m a sucker for stuff like that, it was alright haha not that exciting. grabbed some random shit including a pink see through fanny pack that I’m gonna use for SDCC next week and just some other random things I needed, got my prescription and left. I ended up doing an uber pool home just because I had the big thing of cans of cat food in my bag which is heavy and getting home on public transit with heavy groceries is a pain. that worked out well though. Got home, put the stuff away, then started making the angel food cake I was going to use for the trifle I was making later, so I got that in the oven and then went on my computer for a bit before starting my work clock at 2, and when the angel food cake was done I took it out of the oven and managed to balance it upside down (because that’s how you’re supposed to cool it) on the cooking spray can. I gave the brief one final glance over, and shortly before I was done I got an email from the guy asking when to expect it and I was responded like “ten minutes?” then finished it shortly afterwards and sent it to him. Apparently it’s due Monday so hopefully that will be the last I hear of it. I’m just concerned now he’s going to be the one editing the brief I’m working on right now because my normal boss guy isn’t getting back from vacation until the 23rd, and that’s gonna be a pain in the ass, so we’ll have to see how that goes. From there I did some editing to the statement of facts on the new brief and then started writing the argument, I managed to write through the first issue and get some good case cites in, even though it’s driving me nuts I can’t find the one case in the memo that was mentioned (it’s happened a few times before though that they’ll say its from this circuit or the name is this and when I can’t find it it’s actually from a different circuit or has a different name and I’m pretty sure that’s what happened here so I’m trying not to let myself get too worked up over it). So I worked on that until 5 when I decided it was time to start cooking, which was a mistake because it gets the kitchen way too hot and I was dying the whole time so we’re not doing that again. but I made dinner, which were these like chicken and cheese tex mex mini pies that were made with like a bisquick batter mixture that you pour a little into the bottom of the muffin tin cups and then top it with the chicken and cheese mixture and then put more batter on top, but the ratios ended up being super off even though I followed the recipe for how much of what to use so a few of them ended up being mostly chicken and not any like biscuit part which was kinda gross so that wasn’t great. I was also making the trifle that I wanted to make for the 4th of July because it’s really good with the angel food cake and that ended up being a lot of prep and work between the two of them so I was working for like an hour and a half and really tired at the end. Jess came over around 6:30 and we ate, then watched the new episodes of Young Justice that we hadn’t caught up on yet. After that we ate some of the trifle while watching random videos of the kpop boys before Jess went home. I watched two episodes of Jessica Jones, only two episodes left in the season now, not sure how I feel about where we’re going but I guess we’ll see what happens. After that I showered and started getting ready for bed and now I’m here. It’s 1:20 am and I gotta get up at like 8:40 to get brunch with Jess because she has to be done in time to wait for her roommate’s package blah blah blah....so I should get some sleep and am going to do that now. Goodnight babes. Happy weekend.

#daily journal #July 2019 #Jess tag

[ikagrp]

Welcome, Dia! You’ve been accepted as your first choice of Genevieve Cortese as Alchemy Rose. Please send in your account within the next 24 hours.

Also, please follow these tags: ikag starter, Ikag social, ikaghh, ikag important, ikag task, ikagfollow, ikagunfollow and   ikag event

[ OOC INFORMATION ]

NAME / PRONOUNS | AGE | TIMEZONE

Dia / she/her / 22 / PST

YOUR ACTIVITY:

After this week I’ll be on break - so lots of free time to write whenever! - but otherwise, evenings and weekends will be my most active times.

ROLEPLAYING EXPERIENCE

Too many years

IC INFORMATION

WHO ARE YOU BRINGING TO THE SHOW?

Please keep this layout for us. So that it is easier for us to update everything.

FACECLAIM: Genevieve Cortese Secondary choice: Dichen Lachman

NAME: Alchemy Rose

AGE: 30

BIRTHDAY: July 4th, 1988

OCCUPATION: matchmaker & wedding planner

HOMETOWN: Brisbane, Australia

PETS: zero

BIOGRAPHY:

During the ambrosial hours of July 4th, the chirping of awakening birds was abruptly interrupted with the piercing sound of a baby’s cries, followed by the sound of sobbing. Gabrielle Rose had delivered her first child, a daughter, with her husband Alexander Dumitru standing stoically by her side. No one could have predicted that this day meant to be remembered as one of celebration would also end up being a day of mourning. Alchemy Dumitru’s birth began a chain of tragic events; her existence causing damage before she was even conscious of it. Born at her parents’ home on a vast coastal acreage in Brisbane, Australia, as soon as she took her first breath and began her life, it was the premature end of her mother’s. Although it was clear to everyone else in the room that something was wrong with her mother’s health at the time, Alchemy never had the opportunity to learn about the specifics of the situation. All she had been told, years later, was that within the following hour Gabrielle Rose had taken her last breath.

For the first 13 years of Alchemy’s life she was as carefree and happy as any other typical child, growing up with a seemingly ordinary childhood - as far as she could tell. Unexplained visits to her home from quirky looking characters always insisting on talking with her father in the other room in his native Romanian language probably happened to everyone, right? For that over a decade, the information that she had caused her mother’s death through delivery also remained purposefully undisclosed. Alchemy genuinely believed her mother was the woman her father had remarried a mere fortnight after his daughter’s birth: Anamaria Augustin. She could not have children, and treated Alchemy as her own the only way she knew how: pretending.

Only one other family member knew the truth and was willing to spill secrets - the mother of Alchemy’s father. Her Grandma was the epitome of the crone archetype; all white hair, wise eyes, half moon glasses, and a pipe cradled in her palm with which she would thoughtfully take a pull on whenever her curious granddaughter challenged with endless questions. Alexander considered his mother a crazy and unreliable character due to her age, despite her profession lending to her advice being paid for (a psychologist), but seemed content with her presence so long as it went hand in hand with providing free babysitting. In retrospect, Alchemy’s close bond with her Grandma may have inspired her own interest in studying human behaviours. She spent far more time with her Grandmother than her busy parents, and had thought it was normal until she started talking about it at school. The older she grew, the more things appeared obviously off kilter.

It happens one afternoon, no different from any other. Alchemy is sprawled on her Grandma’s floor with a pile of craft material making a handmade card for Mother’s Day. She’s been at it in silence for several minutes before she asking for clarification on how to spell her mother’s full name, to which her Grandma absentmindedly replied with “Which one?” It was swiftly revealed that Gabrielle and Alexander had been extremely private in their relationship. He had gone overseas to visit his hometown in Romania for covert business reasons, and returned with a wife on his arm. She had been a tourist; on vacation from Australia. Grandma suspected it was was more to due with him being allowed Australian citizenship than for the sake of genuine love, and had been more surprised to hear they had had a daughter than the fact that her mother had died. Apparently Gabrielle had been terminally ill for a while, seemingly unfit for pregnancy, and had been secretly been receiving therapy from Grandma to cope with Alexander’s lack of emotional investment in their relationship. 

Upon learning Anamaria was not her real mother, the world Alchemy thought she knew was spun on it’s axis. It was the first time she felt the need to strategize a battle plan. She knew little of what her father did, only that he was a strict and powerful man of influence in circles related to crime (and she only figured out such because he claimed to be a work-from-home artist yet did not own a single pot of paint). Throughout her years spent at home, at least twice a week she would answer the door to ominous looking men in suits with strange accents, bearing envelopes of money owed to her father. So, she sat on the information for a few days before confronting her father, knowing very well that one wrong move could end up with unreconcilable circumstances. With her stubborn determination against his equally headstrong attitude and repetitions of ‘you’re too young to understand’, their conversation soon escalated into questions too personal and met with threats, each stepping on each other’s toes so much a physical fight seemed inevitable. They were at each other’s throats within minutes. That was the first time her father raised his hand at her, and she surprised even herself with how willing she was to welcome the advance without flinching, but he was unable to follow through. Anamaria appeared to disperse the conflict. Alchemy was disorientated, unsure whether to resentfully cold shoulder them both or press her (step) mother for questions as well. Cornered, she decided to flee the scene to lock herself away in her room to regroup her approach. Taking advantage of her scattered state, Anamaria knocked on her door sometime after midnight, leaving at her door a short written apology and a bottle of something that burned Alchemy’s throat. Addicted to the sensation and numbness which ensued, she accidentally (and blissfully) became drunk for the first time. It only took a small amount before she fell asleep, but it activated a new kind of unquenchable thirst within her.

The relationship between Alchemy and her parents grew increasingly strained, and she held onto a heavy grudge toward the two figures she once would have laid her life on the line for. How could she be expected to sleep in a bed swathed with a fabric woven of deceit and secrets? Since she was legally forbidden to leave home until her 18th birthday, she found a loophole in being bound to her parents by escaping to sleepover at her grandmother’s as much as possible. An unspoken agreement was present between the two of them; don’t ask, you won’t learn. Ask, and you’ll receive the honest truth; no matter how much it hurts. As a result, they didn’t talk much about serious subjects, for Alchemy never knew when to stop asking once she started. Coping mechanisms prevailed. Under the radar, her budding alcohol addiction carried on throughout her years in high school. Every beverage she sipped always spiked with something. Anamaria unknowingly enabled the habit by supplying Alchemy with a steady allowance of a handsome sum, wanting to be involved on good terms with her step daughter even if the feeling was not mutual. The everyday dull buzz of inebriation paired with Alchemy’s dyslexia led to a very short attention span, and the majority of her classes ended up skipped or failed. For better or for worse, detention became her second home. There was one other regular in detention, Rasmus, and the two of them soon clicked with the common desire to create more chaos together, both on the streets and in the sheets. Recklessness was their hobby of choice, and co-creating was their strongest suit. Alchemy’s father had always been particular about her behaviour in public and the impression she made. He had ingrained in her that anyone carrying the Dumitru surname should not strive to draw attention to themselves unless establishing a creditable role of dominance. A teenager in revolt with a vicious grudge, it was hardly surprising when Alchemy started disregarding the household rule in favor of testing every limit. Together, Raz and Alchemy committed various offences such as stealing, severe property damage, and public debauchery. Alchemy was always able to flirt or bribe herself out of sticky situations, and often ended up with a new set of digits too. But it was her partner in crime that she fell for with unwavering devotion. He was her first love, her first kiss, her first scar, her first time, her first everything. She couldn’t imagine anything coming between them. She always assumed the feeling was mutual.

At 17 years of age, Alchemy looked down to see a pink ’+’ sign in the center of a pregnancy test stick. Knowing it was Raz’s, she was driven to keep it. Her excitement toward their potential future together crashed down the moment she told him the news and he laughed. Within a week, all forms of communication she extended towards him went unanswered and silent. Broken hearted by the abandonment from the one she adored, in a rare moment of desperation she sought out her parents. Her father was inexplicably angered by the news. She knew it was so by how quiet he became and the fierce clench of his fists, which remained anchored at his sides by a glare from Anamaria (who also gave little to no reaction to the news). Without looking his daughter in the eye, he instructed her to leave. Evidently, Alchemy was forced to live at Grandmother’s.

A month later Alchemy didn’t bat an eye when her Grandmother informed her that Alexander had gone missing. She ignored Anamaria’s calls and letters. No one mentioned Raz, but she dreamed about him for a year before she finally stopped looking for his face in every crowd. Jezebel ‘Ella’ Rose was born a few days shy of Alchemy’s 18th birthday. She was a perfectly healthy and beautiful baby. For the first three hours, Alchemy did nothing but hold and gaze down upon her. She refused to let go, knowing that once she did it was unlikely she would see her miraculous daughter ever again. Without a steady income or supportive home life, Alchemy had decided soon after Raz left that she would not be able to raise a child on her own. Even with the support of her Grandmother, it wasn’t clear how much longer the old woman would be alive, and she knew it would be selfish to rob the child of opportunity due to how much was lacking in Alchemy’s life. No father, no money, no real home. With little else than an apology note and a basket, Ella was left under Anamaria’s care. She understood now, why her father had done what he had done. Being loved, even if it was illusion, hurt considerably less than not knowing how it felt at all.

Wanting a fresh start, after Alchemy graduated from school (barely) she and her Grandmother moved overseas to the UK. It was there that Alchemy dropped her father’s last name in favor of her mother’s in an attempt at a truly blank slate. Deep down, Alchemy had wishful thinking that whilst abroad she’d find a high paying job that would allow her to one day return to Australia where she could support her daughter as her own. It only took a few months for her to make fast friends amongst the London nightlife, picking up the local lingo easily, yet never able to completely shake off her own accent. As a fun social experiment, she began setting up her single acquaintances on dates together… but when the results came back unexpectedly positive, she realized she had a natural skill for recognizing compatible chemistry a mile ahead of anyone else. Naturally, she then proceeded to busy her time with meddling in other people’s affairs. She was fascinated how universal love was. No matter which country she was in, everyone seemed kept afloat by it in some form or another. At the very least, being able to study of the emotions of others kept her from feeling so depressed about her recent personal estrangements. Feeling useful to others for the first time in a while, slowly but surely, her confidence began to rise again. The infamous cupid had earned her wings. 

Not long after, Alchemy’s grandma passes away. She doesn’t host a funeral, but has her cremated and spread among a rose garden. With no one keeping her tied to a particular place anymore - and refusing to return to Australia until she has enough money to be a reliable and supportive figure for her daughter - fate seemed to intervene with the path her life would take when, a library book on 'Wedding Planning For Dummies’ (quite literally) fell into her lap after a stumble into a bookshelf. After a few years of slowly booking appointments independently, eventually she was hired by a wedding agency. Professionally pulling romantic strings for heart eyed couples became what sustained her. If there was any a moment where Alchemy questioned her sexuality, it was at it’s highest when the bride’s final look was revealed on The Big Day™. Her infatuation towards the beautiful princess-like figures was hard to deny, yet thankfully a sight always in abundance thanks to the new clients sent her way each week.Nonetheless, 'speak now or forever hold your peace’ became an instance she’d have to deliberately bite her tongue over, lest she make an impulsive fool of herself. Ironically, her own love life and was the one she always gave the least amount of thought to. With her gifted knack in setting up others consistently reaping excellent results, no one would have ever guessed the lack of success Alchemy had experienced in love. The idea of getting invested in someone that could leave her behind the next day was far too unpleasant to dare endure again. But her inner idealist begged to differ, every time someone particularly pretty crossed her path. Maybe it was worth trying again? Or for the first time, all things considered…

RELATIONSHIPS:

None yet!

FOR RETURNING CHARACTERS ONLY:

X

ANYTHING ELSE:

I used to be a part of this RP waaaay back when. I’m stoked to see this revival happening. Thanks for all your effort and time! <3

#ikagaccepted #who were you waaaayyy back when? im curious! #submission

[kktravelblog]

puerto rico: july 2018

Only a few short months later, I was able to take yet another last minute trip. At the time, I had been nannying for about two months and had already become part of the family. This family and experience deserves its own blog entry though, especially as I write this five months later, so more on that another time. But rewinding back in time… throughout the summer, the family loved to take spontaneous, last minute trips out of Hoboken, giving me random days off throughout. And as you know, this is where I thrive. With 4th of July already being a long weekend, the next family spontaneous trip gave me enough time to take a trip of my own. 

So on Monday, June 25, I received confirmation from Rachel (mom) that the family would be heading out of town at the end of the week. By end of that Monday, I had a flight booked to San Juan, Puerto Rico, set to leave Friday morning and return on the 4th of July, the following Wednesday. Puerto Rico had never been at the top of my list for no reason other than it wasn’t, but there were a few reasons I chose it. I started by using the site SkyScanner.com. If you don’t know what it is, it’s this really cool tool that you can set dates of travel and set the destination to “everywhere” and the site will automatically generate the costs of flights from low to high by country with city breakdowns. It makes it very easy to narrow down last minute plans to realistic locations. There were a lot of cool options on the cheaper side, but Puerto Rico ultimately won because I had been lazy and never got my passport renewed… meaning I couldn’t leave the United States because the expiration date was within the six month bracket. Don’t worry, it has since been renewed (wait until you see the new picture. it’s questionable for sure.) Nonetheless, I was definitely excited that a trip worked out, and this would be my first time in the Caribbean. 

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean Island and unincorporated U.S. territory with a landscape of mountains, waterfalls, forests, and beaches. Now writing this months later, it definitely has its own culture and vibe that separates it from the mainland of the US, while still having bits of United States reminders, like CVS and other chains. Pre-trip, I was very interested to see the damage of Hurricane Maria. It’s so easy to forget these natural disasters that completely rip apart homes and countries once the news stops covering. And now, I have even more of an emotional tie to this destruction, but more on that in a later blog. Suspenseful, right?

And like I mentioned in the England blog, I was trying to travel alone more. This was another step closer to my goal. I took out ol’ blue (my pack), packed her tightly and headed for a six day adventure with no plans besides the first night hostel. It’s funny, I had zero nerves about this trip. I was instead extremely excited and had high hopes. Puerto Rico did not disappoint. 

After landing and figuring out the flawed, highly inflated taxi service (I was pre-warned), I arrived at my hostel, just outside of the tourist hotel strip, only to be immediately asked if I would be okay with being in their upcoming hostel ad. You can watch it here. That’s me in the beginning, acting natural, putting down my pack. It’s because I didn’t know I was being filmed. I messed up the part where they asked me to actually act. If you know me, you know that as soon as there is a camera, I become more awkward than I already am. It didn’t make the cut in the film. But hey, this short acting gig got me an upgraded room to one with what Puerto Rico calls air conditioning. 

From the drive in, I didn’t register any hurricane destruction, but was quickly informed that it was because I was in the touristy section, where the relief teams rebuilt first due to money. I also will naively state that I didn’t expect much more. To me, it looked like a lot of the other South and Central American cities I’ve been to. However, the air conditioning was just one small example of the little effects that still remained. Even with some extra sweating, the hostel ended up being well-worth it. It was known on HostelWorld as the perfect hostel for single travelers as they do communal, family style dinners every night and include free breakfast. Basically a way to easily come together and make friends. It also had so many random balcony and seating options that you were always bound to find someone to talk to. Within the first ten minutes, I had met a new friend Joey, who was living there and working for FEMA, and we were off to the food trucks for some much needed Puerto Rican lunch. This is the beauty of hostel life. You become instant friends because the fact you’re traveling already connects you. 

After lunch, Joey headed out to work, so I somehow found myself back to the hostel after a few wrong turns and made new friends with this guy who had been traveling for years, Milan. He was the guy filming the ad. We ventured to Walmart (definitely an experience and madhouse all the same) and then back to the hostel so I could figure out the next day and meet up with Joey, where we would later head out for my first Puerto Rican night on the town. Joey basically knew everyone at the local bars, and all the great spots, so it was definitely cool to see a large city from someone who knew it and was well acquainted.

Before I knew it and a whirlwind of new friendships, I was in an off-the-market uber for a cheaper rate with three new people, heading to a ferry to go to Culebra, a smaller island off the coast. I got on the ferry and immediately fell asleep, only to wake up finding Joey staring at me, with two new friends an Australian named Heather and a Swiss guy that I cannot remember his name right now. We arrived to the island, made our way to the hostel to find out that there were 4 beds, but 5 of us. The American woman who managed the hostel was incredibly kind and did what most hostels won’t do and let two of us share a bed for half the price. 

The first night on Culebra, we wandered around, drinking and hanging out with locals we met. The main reason I had wanted to go to Culebra was because of the diving. So I used this opportunity to ask anyone and everyone about diving on the island. I was quickly informed that the only dive shop’s dog recently died and the shop was closed for the week for mourning. Totally understood. No further explanation needed. I had given up and we set our plans for the next morning to head to Flamenco Beach, formally known as the prettiest beach in the world. It was definitely pretty, but unfortunately, I think Hurricane Maria played a pretty large impact on it. Don’t worry Flamenco, you’ll bounce back! And although it lost some of its beauty, it made up for it in pizza empanadas. My mouth is watering writing this.

It wasn’t until we returned later that night and stopped by the local convenience store, I made one last ditch effort to ask the man who works there about diving and he told me about Taz, a man notoriously known for spearfishing underwater. Taz kept his boat in the water right outside the convenience store, so the man told me he would keep an eye out and to check back in. It took about a day, but finally the man (never got his name) tracked down Taz’s number and before I knew it, my other friends were heading back to the mainland and I was staying an additional day to dive. 

The dive experience was absolutely worth it. Taz and his wife were a perfect example of following your gut and living your life the way you want. Taz initially left the states to join another dive company and later open his own on the island. Meanwhile, his wife became his wife after she went on vacation to Culebra years ago, met Taz and never left. That wasn’t the only cool story to come from this dive though. This experience was also incredibly strange, and again, shows just how weird traveling can be because there was a family of six on the boat with me and turns out that two of them live in Hoboken, only two blocks away from me. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing I never sent them the GoPro videos, and weirdly enough, have never passed them on the street. These type of run-ins never makes sense to me.

The dive itself was also really cool. The notorious spearfishing underwater story was every bit true. Every time I looked over at Taz swimming, wiggling along with his gun, board shorts, and tattooed arms, I couldn’t help but giggle and immediately fill up my mask. Once we finished, I was also incredibly proud of myself. The Galapagos definitely set me a few steps back on my fear of water, but I got in, with no hesitation and had an amazing dive. 

That night, I set back out to return to San Juan on the ferry. This is where I met one of the most unique people in the world. Mom and Dad, I apologize for this story in advance. But I made it out alive. As I mentioned on the way to ferry, we took an off-the-market uber that was driven by a local Puerto Rican girl. She spoke perfect English, followed traffic laws and gave an amazingly cheaper rate. Unfortunately, she was busy that night so she sent me contact information for her friend. After a few broken english and eccentric texts, I knew I was in for a treat. About forty minutes late, I stood on the side of the road in the pouring rain and eventually was found by a large, friendly man blasting the top 100 hits. The drive home was one of the most eventful drives of my life. This guy completely disregarded all traffic laws and signs. In his defense, post-hurricane, none of the traffic lights worked anyway, but he was also creating new lanes, all while giggling, dancing, and singing along to Pitbull, Rihanna and more. I was honestly having the time of my life and trying not worry about getting into an accident. It wasn’t until we were on the highway, speeding, that he went to pull out a cigarette and I kid you not, he completely stopped the car on a main highway to light the cigarette. This would happen a few more times and I was watching the map like a hawk, counting the minutes to safety. Looking back, I never really was scared. I was actually dancing and singing along with him the majority of the time because it was our only real form of communication. But it was definitely an experience I hope to never relive. 

I went back to the same hostel, only to be greeted by my old friends as well as some new friends. We hung out, ate dinner, traded stories. It reminded me how good it felt to be back traveling. At this point, I had one full day left, which I would use to walk to Old San Juan and explore on my own. Old San Juan is a barrio of San Juan and the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico. It also the home of the cruise ship port, drawing in an awesome people watching crowd. I spent the morning moseying around, eating, holding a massive lizard (not really sure why) and then headed back to meet new friends on the beach on the tourist hotel strip in San Juan. This is where having a baby face came through. We snuck into a hotel and when one of the workers stopped me and asked where I was going, I immediately smiled and said “oh my parents are right behind me!” And then spent the rest of the day, laying on a lounge chair and swimming in an infinity pool at a $200+ a night hotel to later return to my $15 a night, free breakfast/dinner, no air conditioning hostel. You tell me who won that day. 

Before I knew it, it was my last night. Again, we all hung out at the hostel, while others went out for the night. I decided to stay back because I wanted to wake up early and head to the beach to have two last hours of Puerto Rican sun. I bargained with the lady renting chairs to let me pay a discounted fee for two hours and it was well worth the $2.50. I later made my journey back to the airport, landing in New Jersey just in time to meet up with my friends and celebrate the 4th of July the true American way… watching the same fireworks I’ve seen for the last 20+ years. 

Before I go though, I do feel the need to reflect on the damage post hurricane. As I mentioned, the area I spent most of my time in was the touristy section of San Juan, receiving the most care at the fastest speed. However, there were still signs of destruction there. Especially within the smaller boutique hotels that were most likely independently owned and did not have the monetary backing some of the bigger chains did, like the Marriott. Because I wasn’t heading into the inner part of the island, I used my time there to ask locals about the hurricane and their personal experiences. I was quick to add in just how naive I was on the matter and that I understood the United States news coverage probably didn’t do it as much justice as it deserved. It was astonishing to hear how many people were still without homes or power, while some only recently gained it back after months of being in the dark. Imagine that. It’s really hard to even fathom what these people went through and are going through. As mentioned earlier, since this trip, I have an emotional tie to disaster relief as I volunteered with an organization called All Hands and Hearts Smart Response this past Thanksgiving. I originally found out about this organization because Brianna had previously volunteered on the Puerto Rico base and recommended I look into it. I am so happy I did. If you’re interested in learning more, volunteering, or donating, please visit allhandsandhearts.org. I will share more on this experience in a later blog. 

[tlcrescuepa]

New Post has been published on To Love a Canine Rescue

New Post has been published on https://tlcrescuepa.com/week-end-update-memo-to-mother-nature/

Week-End Update: Memo To Mother Nature

We’re pretty glad that Mother Nature spared us from snow yesterday since it meant our pack walk with our buddies at Buds went on as planned (and everybody had an awesome time)!

When our Kelly came to us we thought she was nearing the end of her pregnancy but quickly became aware something was amiss. Sadly we had to take her to our friends at VRC where we discovered the pregnancy was not meant to be and she needed an emergency hysterectomy. This sweet girl was a total champ through her whole ordeal and recovery, so we really happy to announce that it didn’t take her too long to find the perfect furever family for herself.

Also adopted this week were: Awesome, Felicity, Hammer, Harley, Latte, Lawson, Maryanne, Mr Needles, Nettie (now Athena), Nyrobi, the Professor, Sidney, Skipper, and the last of Mittens’ pups, Socks.

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Awesome

Felicity

Hammer

Harley

Latte

Lawson

Maryanne

Needles

Nettie now Athena

Nyrobi

Professor

Sidney

Skipper

Socks

Kelly

  We also have some pupdates to share with you:

  Macy

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“So we recently bought beach house and decided to go down for a weekend. Macy loved the beach!”

  Speaking of Macy, we also received updates on/pics of  her pups!

  Ruckus FKA Donald (Macy’s pup)

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“Hi!! I had a missed call from Erin last week checking on Ruckus and haven’t been able to connect with her so thought I shoot an email over.

We LOVE Ruckus (fmk as Donald). He is seriously the absolute best puppy! Training has gone great, he’s not a barker, fantastic on walks, crate trained during day and takes turns sleeping with kids at night. He is Mr. Personality and the the happiest puppy! Loves going to the kids baseball/softball games (I think he loves the attention he gets!). We couldn’t be happier with him. He’s a big boy…tall and long and hit the 70 lb mark this week. 

We found out several weeks ago too what his DNA is: German Shepherd, boxer, American bulldog, English bulldog, and American staffordshire terrier. 

We also see his Mom, Macy, a couple days a week now. They are great together! Would love to know how his siblings are doing and hoping they found wonderful homes too. ”

Keagan FKA Porky (Macy’s pup) & Eanna

Keegan FKA Porky and Eanna

“Just dropping by with a great pic of our two TLC pups.

Eanna (on the right adopted June 2014) is celebrating her 4th birthday today.

Keagan (AKA Porky…on the left…adopted Dec 2017) is being a great “little” brother although at 7 months old is over double her weight now at just shy of 65 lbs.”

     and some pics of  Daisy (with her handsome brother Iggy) and Charley FKA Petunia

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Charley FKA Petunia

Charley FKA Petunia

Daisy (w/Iggy)

Daisy

Daisy (w/Iggy)

  Odin FKA Athos

“So far so good. He has been doing great with our other dog. He has only had a handful of accidents in the house and is taking to crate training very well. We named him Odin. He is very timid and skittish but we are working with him and socializing him to get him used to new things.”

  Luna FKA Barbie & Theo FKA Liam

“Luna and Theo were a great match and playing very well together.  She fits into our family perfectly and loves to snuggle and even try to lay with Theo, which ends up with them both wanting to play. It is so cute watching the two of them.”

  Delilah FKA Nora

“We have renamed our girl to Delilah, a mutual decision by all of our children. 

She had her first vet visit last week.   All looks good,  we are just awaiting test results, which came in today and she has hookworm and some yeast.  We immediately started her on meds and will re-test in 4 weeks.

Otherwise, she is doing fantastic and we all love her to pieces!”

  Editor’s note: one of the reasons we recommend our adopter’s take their new pup to their vet within 2 weeks of adoption. Even though we put dogs through a de-worming protocol, there are times they do need another round of de-worming

  Chloe & Louie

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“We just wanted to update you on their great progress. It didn’t take long for them to become members of our family. They are very sweet, lovable, and affectionate. Even Chloe, who was very reserved initially, warmed up quickly, both to us and to her new canine brother Louie. She loves to play with him…on her terms. We believe that they know they have found their forever home. They are very protective of their family and have made friends with the neighborhood dogs. They love going on walks especially to the dog park. In July they will have their first vacation to the beach! Thank you for helping us find our new, little family members! We attached some pictures for you guys. “

  Chief FKA Lidge

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“He is doing very well. He doesn’t like the cage very much though. We changed his name to chief. “

  Xany FKA Natalie

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“Thanks so much for following up!  I’ve been putting off responding to this email because I wanted to get together all of the pictures we have of Natalie (there are SO many).  She’s settling in wonderfully — she is honestly the most well-behaved and calm puppy I have ever been around. 

We changed her name to Xany, and she’s already learned it quickly!  

Again, thanks so much to TLC as an organization for making this process so painless.  Everyone I interacted with was so kind and helpful.  Xany is such a perfect girl, she’s already changed our lives so much, and everyone that meets her just falls in love with her.  

She’s so well-loved & such a happy girl.  Attached are some pictures!”

  Bert Macklin FKA Bert

Bert Macklin

“We are very happy we were able to give Bert his forever home. We kept his name, just added a middle name, Bert Macklin. He is settling in well. He is now getting comfortable and is starting to act more and more like a puppy. He is not happy when he is in his crate. He has a vet appointment on Friday. “

  Harry

“Harry is so great and we couldn’t have asked for a better dog! He is very mellow and just loves attention. We plan to keep his name since he responds to it and is a bit older. 

Harry seems to be adjusting pretty well all things considered. m His foster family went away for the holiday right before we got him so he may be feeling a bit overwhelmed and not realizing this is his forever home! 

His vet appointment is on Monday and I’ll double check the microchip as well. In terms of training/Jeri – are we able to reach out with general questions or is that more for like setting up a training appt or attending a class? 

We’ll also share pictures of Harry soon!”

  Editor’s note: our trainers are available to our adopters for phone & email support, and adopters can feel free to contact them directly

   Campbell

Campbell

“Thank you for your follow up on Campbell.  We did keep his name Campbell since he seemed to recognize it and respond to it, plus, much like himself, we thought it was very cute. 😊  Campbell is doing really well.  He met Dr. Banks on Monday morning and aside from a little cold or respiratory infection, he is in perfect health.  Neither Jeff nor myself can get over how smart this little bundle of fur really is… we watch him figure out all kinds of things, both good and bad (he is a very curious puppy after all).  We have all been working with him to keep up his good manners and socialization… again, he is a very smart puppy.  As for our cat, Jason, the two have yet to really bond, but things definitely look promising as Jason has started not really caring where Campbell is in the house.  They have also (maybe by accident, maybe not) actually shared the bed… albeit on opposite sides of me, but I can’t complain about all the cuddles from my two fur babies and after only just under a week.  

We love Campbell completely and feel like he’s the perfect fit for our family.  He has more toys and love than he knows what to do with.  We are still figuring out this whole “why do I need to stay in a crate again” thing, but we’re getting the hang of it and it’s not so bad anymore… in fact, it’s actually pretty nice for taking naps in and hiding all our new toys.  We’ve made quite a few new friends, both human and of the fur variety and everyone seems to love us, so we can’t wait until my little furry brother arrives to join our pack in two weeks.  We will be sure to share some pictures.

We want to thank Campbell’s foster family(s) and TLC Rescue for taking such good care of him and for first rescuing him from the shelter.  Campbell sends his love and kisses as thanks as well.

PS – See photo for tired-out puppy in his natural habitat.”

  Zoe FKA Latte

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“She is doing very good.  We renamed her Zoe.  She has her first appointment with the vet tomorrow afternoon.  Here are some pics of the new family member settling in.” 

  Frankie FKA Magnum (Penny’s pup – Magnum PI litter)

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“Frankie’s been doing great! We are wrapping up our third obedience class series, and will begin CGC training next week! He’s been a delight, and has several close doggy friends he sees daily for play dates. His favorite acitivities include hiding my shoes and protecting our home from squirrels he sees outside the window. I don’t know how I got this far in life without him. :)”

  Louie (June FKA Ariel’s pup)

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“Louie is doing great! Some pictures attached.”

    Oreo FKA Klay

“Everything has been wonderful with my new friend.  I have ended up naming him Oreo, and he has been an amazing companion, and is loved by my friends and family!  He has just turned one year old, and seems to now be full grown at a healthy 60 lbs.   Thank you and your organization for all the excellent work you do, adopting Oreo has been one of the best decisions in my life.  I have enclosed a few pictures of him in case you were curious how he ended up looking as a full grown dog. 

Thank you again for all your help, I really appreciate it!”

  Jagger FKA Jenner

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“Thought I would give you an update on Jenner, who’s name is now Jagger.  First of all, we love him!  He’s such a total sweety! He plays with our other dog all the time, and we are so happy we added him to our family.  

I’ve attached some pictures of him in the snow, playing with our other dog Tyson, and also at our beach house he loves looking out the low window. Our older dog we just lost loved those windows too.  

I also wanted to let you know we did his DNA test and he has a crazy mix!  He is majority Husky, and then 10-20% each of these three breeds- Border Terrier (see this in his face), Bulldog (don’t see this at all), and the craziest- Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (??) the funniest thing is he doesn’t really bark normal, he tends to do a high pitched whine bark instead, which we learned is a trait of the Duck Tollers! They have a “scream”.  So, let me tell you when he sees a cat outside that window that scream comes out! 

Thank you for rescuing this sweetheart of a pup.  He just loves exploring the backyard, going on walks, going for rides and viewing the world. I can’t imagine him being in a shelter for so long.  This summer we’ll see how he likes hanging on the beach! He has some serious webbed feet so we’ll see if he likes water at all. 

Thank you for all the wonderful work you do! 

  PS Jagger thinks he’s a lap dog. :)”

  Wolfgang FKA Beethoven

Wolfgang FKA Beethoven

“On 4/6/2014 Wolfgang became a part of out family. He is more than we could have ever asked for. He introduced us to This great organization that we are now a part of. He truly changed our lives and we are forever grateful.”

#adoptions #updates

[lauren-nabors]

2017 was very tough; i know it was for many people. our current president and the shape of our political climate, along with what felt like lots of major natural disasters, added to the overall “suck” of the year. for us, it was our second year of business and it felt much harder in general than in year one. we had some pretty big things happen that rocked us and challenged us, though i feel proud that we came out on the other end intact and, hopefully, a little bit stronger because of it all.

January: we rang in the new year with friends, cupcakes and “pass the pigs.” my nephew Parker turned TWO and we celebrated with him at a bounce house and with lots of dinosaurs and cake! Neighbor’s Mill Springfield turned ONE. the day felt exciting with birthday cake and some fun giveaways for our customers, but was ultimately over-shadowed by Trump’s inauguration, which was disheartening for me to the point of tears.

February: the biggest highlight of the month (and most of the year!) was our trip to Puerto Rico. we had an amazing time and were joined by my best friend Jen and her husband Matt for five days of absolute bliss. PR is a beautiful country with lovely people and delicious food and we cannot wait to get back! 

March: this was a low-key month that somehow always feels eternally long. we celebrated Clif’s birthday as well as my Ninnie’s. Clif and I also took a quick weekend getaway to St. Louis where we enjoyed our favorite pasta, saw a classical guitar concert, and hit up Trader Joe’s. at the end of the month we took our staff bowling. we had a great turnout and some really high scores! 

April: we had so many friends come to visit this month, it was awesome! first Sarah Jo and Peterson took a road trip and stopped our way for three amazing days. Alice and Kyle flew in to Springfield the following weekend andwe hit the highlights, Neighbor’s Mill and Bass Pro (ha!) our friend Adrian surprised us with a last-minute visit; work brought him to our state so he rented a car and drove to see us for two nights. unfortunately, our basement flooded while he was here but we still enjoyed our visit with him, we just tried to ignore our old home taking on water =/ 

May: this month always feels hopeful with warmer temps and spring flowers popping up. some of that was overshadowed by a difficult work situation that ultimately ended in us parting ways with our head baker. we definitely had to spend some time grieving that, which took the better part of the summer. on a lighter note, we enjoyed spending time with some dear friends, Stacy and Bryan, before they moved away to Italy. 

June: an Alamo Drafthouse opened up here and, as we are baking some bread for them (!!) we were invited to a VIP night with some of our staff where we enjoyed good food, a free movie with super comfortable recliner seats, and an amazing photo opp with King Kong gorillas. Clif and I celebrated our 6th anniversary in Kansas City -- a town we had never visited before and ultimately decided was fun but we’re way more “St. Louis people,” thanks anyway.  I also enjoyed getting to see my cousin Kim, who came in town from Colorado for a week.

July: we celebrated 4th of July in Harrison at my parents and got to meet my new niece, Finley, who was born just a few weeks earlier. another highlight was taking our management team ziplining. it was a super hot day and emotions were high. some people loved every second of it (me!) and other’s not so much (Clif). toward the end of the month we, along with my parents, went back to Kansas City to see Steve Martin in concert. 

August: ugh, is it just me or is this month the worst? honestly, the entire month felt painfully hot, so we didn’t do much except stay inside. a highlight of our summer (no joke) was binging The West Wing. we are hard-core fans now and definitely consider it one of our favorite shows ever. also, here are some pictures of our cats to fill the space. 

September: we kicked off the month in Austin, TX where we planned a last-minute trip to meet up with our besties, Jen and Matt, making this our second vacation to take together in one year (it will be the last for a while as they’re expecting this march)! we visited a few of our fave ATX places and stayed at the lovely and hip South Congress hotel. back on the home front, we spent a fun day at Silver Dollar City with the Allen five, some of our closest friends here in Sgf. 

October: the most exciting part was our trip to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest for Clif to take a milling class (see below post dedicated to the trip) it was such a beautiful area, we’d love to go back and be able to stay longer. the rest of the month was crazy busy, especially as I started a year-long program called Leadership Springfield that has monthly commitments. at the end of the month we participated in the Food & Wine event here locally; probably my favorite fundraiser we do to sample food and support Ozarks Public Television. 

November: all of the 4th quarter felt like a marathon to the end of the year. Clif ran his first half marathon with a great time (so proud of him!) and things are always crazy at the mill leading up to the holidays. Thanksgiving was spent in Harrison at my parents; my older bro and family came up from Houston and it was great to spend time with them. I am also continually thankful for any holidays that we still get to have with my Pops. on Thanksgiving morning Clif made us all get up and run a 5K -- I dreaded it but in the end had a great time doing it, as it was a nice excuse to spend some quality time with my cousin Kim and my sister-in-law Krysta. 

December: the beginning of the month (literally, on the 2nd) I cut my hand open at the Mill, resulting in 3 stitches and having to take antibiotics for ten days. such fun! we headed to St. Louis and enjoyed Leslie Odom, Jr with the St. Louis Symphony -- so good! -- our absolute favorite pasta (always!) and some Christmas shopping. we had our 2nd annual staff Christmas party at the mill with food, games and prizes - we had another great turn out. Christmas eve and day were spent at home with my parents, then we headed to Memphis to see Clif’s family. sadly, Clif’s grandpa “Pop” passed away two days before Christmas. Clif gave the eulogy at the funeral and did a wonderful job; we are thankful that ultimately Pop is in heaven and did not have to suffer on this earth any longer from his cancer. Praise the Lord! 

[joyfullyimportantyouth-blog]

update

June 28

How close to perfect was today?

As soon as I sat down in 22A, I just listened. No music, staring at people as they moved with their own thoughts.

My baggage was lost, I just made my flights, I spoke to a French girl while kneading my necklace strand in my pocket. I sat down in the evening cold on a cinderblock outside of the airport. And there he was, and we were hugging for a lot longer than we ever have, and I realized this was a new part of my life, and I welcomed it. So it was perfect.

June 29

When did you last sing out loud?

There’s always a chance that it was by myself, cleaning the cafe one last time (it has been the last time for the last two years), singing to M.I.A. when I open the doors, “Work From Home” when I close the doors — freedom.

June 30

What was the last gathering you attended?

A trance/techno music festival in a field three hours outside of Toulouse. I wore the same dress for three days straight because I had no bags and watched youthful Frenchies bond over wine and cheese and dance to techno in a way that middle school grinding cannot handle. It’s a mixture of a jump and a body electrocution that looks really cool all at once.

July 1st

Did anything make you sad today?

There’s that feeling that you have everything you’ll ever need at 5 AM…. and then there’s the switch of doom when you wake up absolutely wrecked at 8 AM the next morning, sweaty and sorry you ever stayed up that late because now everything is the biggest deal ever. So a lot of things made me feel not sad sad, just displaced within myself. Waking up to a new boyfriend should’ve made me happy, but maybe “should” and happy shouldn’t mix together: I just felt sad. So I went for a walk and cried my eyes out. And cried some more when I found my lost jean jacket… delayed tears. And then cried some more with that hollowed out dry feeling, like you’re observing yourself cry.

July 2nd

Share a secret thought…

My first crush ever was JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas, I still get goosebumps) which isn’t that unusual if you once bought fake hair scrunchies from Clair’s and ate Ritz peanut butter crackers as an after school snack while playing Bop-It. But I also used to have crushes on some cartoon characters, such as the prince in The King & I (Disney Version); I’m sorry, Mom, I know that when we saw that movie we walked out because they had the Chinese bad guy have buck teeth and you educated me that it’s “ethnically ignorant” to portray people as stereotypes. But I really liked that prince and would think about him on my swing set for hours, twirling back and forth imagining that he was my boyfriend and we would have really long talks and we were both Asian so we would eat Asian food together. It’s like the day you realize you can’t sleep on clouds; very sad and humbling to understand you just can’t be the significant other of a not real person. Perhaps this imagining contributed to my late start with dating.

July 3rd

List 5 things you wish you invented:

Hug Me Pillow

July 4th

What’s the last recipe you prepared?

Tuna casserole - unashamed. I find that I eat things that I normally wouldn’t at home; it’s nice to not think of bread as a carb. It’s called breakfast.

July 5th

What made you lose track of time today?

Watching iAm orchestral rap with my boyfriend and his dad.

July 6th

What are you confident about?

Honestly, it’s pretty hard to feel confident right now. But that’s the point; I’m aware. Since I’ve been here, it’s been hard to feel like I’m good at anything; when I realize I’m feeling sorry for myself, like when my conversations are three minutes long tops because I can’t remember how to say something, I give myself permission to try again tomorrow. And try better. More creatively. I’m confident that I can find the good.

July 7

How did you do it?

Let him beat me at beer pong and head to a Colombian family’s spare bedroom for a week. Ride collectivos and feel very attracted to his Manatee Singlet.

July 8

What is the last purchase you made?

An orthopedic appointment

July 9th

Did you show someone appreciation today?

I bought a Nescafe for the German guy in my class who told me where to locate the United States on a map. His demeanor resembles a Neopalitan Mastiff. 

July 10th

What are you looking forward to?

Being able to speak to anyone in street restaurant French (i.e. “How do you go, do you want the gourmet mustard with the crocodile tears?”)

July 11th

There is no such thing as too much_____

 LOVE.

July 12th

What is the most important thing you were told today?

That what I’m doing is right now for right now.

July 13th What was the last thing you thought about today?

Why I would ask myself if I ask for too much. And also how I wore a California t-shirt and a Lao PDR bag at the same time (if people didn’t already get the message…)

July 14th What is the last book you read?

“Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002,” by David Sedaris. He’d be on my last supper list in a non Oprah dinner party way (but in a non hipster hole in the wall way) -- we could be anywhere and it’d be all good. 

July 15th What matters today?

To try. Like really try.

July 16th

What project are you working on?

An art series that’s not too hyphenated; ordering a metro ticket without the guy telling me in English how he has always wanted to go to Canada.

July 17th

Today I was so _____. intrigued by the American who waxes his Harley Davidson across from my bus stop. Whenever I roll up, he’s either walking in slow circles, as if he cannot remember what he was doing out there, or he is making no progress sorting the recycling, waiting to yell at his neighbors in English. By the looks of him, I would guess after the Vietnam War he met a French girl at a Woodstock knockoff festival while driving his motorcycle around Europe and stayed here. She might’ve dumped him after his grunting and refusal to learn French sapped her of an easy life. And he continued to buy jeans two sizes too small and ride motorcycles through nondescript residential neighborhoods in the imagined spirit of Denis Hopper. I’d like to know if Thailand will be his next move…

July 18th

The last thing I bought myself was… A hiking backpack that was less functional but a better color than the other option, which was neutral but with logos all over. It was the kind of backpack you’d see matched with eyesore dress pants for commuters back in Seattle who would be scorned by the real-milk-drinking tunic French grandmothers here. It was a lovely accoutrement to have on a hike in the Pyrenees last weekend, essential for carting the wine. While gently handling the bottle, Ao sighed: “It’s no good. I can tell by the mark on the cork.” A birthmark of a dent. He opens. Sighs again. Drinks a sip. Spits it out with vitriol. “This is undrinkable. It tastes like vinegar.” Being raised no-frills but knowing the finest of everything, the French have an ingrained and strict set of aesthetic moral standards that will prompt them to say things like: “I’d rather starve than eat that.” I decided to drink some after carrying it all the way up a rocky mountain pass. “Tastes fine to me.”

July 19th I really wish…

Trump would melt into a vat of hydrogenated oil misogynist cheap ties soup with a wall built around it.

July 20th

Who is the first person you saw today?

My boyfriend, Ao, though only half of his face because he likes to barricade the windows so that no light comes in.

July 21st

What memory do you want to keep from today?

Ao: You treat the cat like a toy. It is an animal.   Me: I really don’t like the way you said that to me. Ao: If I were the cat I wouldn’t want to be picked up like you pick it up all the time. Me: I didn’t have a cat growing up. We really need to talk about speaking to each other with kindness and respect. Ao: I really don’t want to talk about everything. Me: I don’t like to be told what to do. Just say you noticed it but don’t tell me what to do.

*Puts passive aggressive PNW flannel on and goes back to bedroom. *He enters room.

Ao: Are you upset? Me: Kind of. Ao: When I’m mad, I’m mad. When I’m happy, I’m happy. I show it. I’m French... Me: I like to talk in a calm voice about my feelings.

*He reaches for incense next to gourmet pate and wine that he keeps in the room. *Deep embrace

July 22nd

I realize tomorrow…

Is one of the three days a week that the boulangerie across the street throws packaged bread into the dumpster. And that beaucoup hippies I live with will grab them. And I will stare at my $15 hemp hearts and gladly eat the free bread.

July 23rd

What was weird about your day…

I was in a car accident but sometimes I forget to count my blessings like I did when Amelia and I were eating hospital food and holding hands and I never felt more thankful for someone to talk to when we got to wake up the next day.

July 24th

How much of your day did you spend completely alone?

Just a little; when I took a nap in Ao’s childhood vacation home bed and my body felt really, really tired from the accident. And then he crawled in next to me and I didn’t feel quite so alone.

July 25th

What word are you using too much lately?

Maintenant *right now* (“I feel ___…. RIGHT NOW!” “I’m doing this… RIGHT NOW!”)

July 26th

How was your day today?

I wore a neck brace in public today and wandered around a small French town home to medieval festivals. 

July 27th

Today I chose to look at celebrity gossip and then eat a lot of bread and cheese while writing. And hang out with my boyfriend at 2 PM because we are both unemployed (which is apparently pretty normal and not that impoverishing in France).

July 28th

Who do you wish had been a part of your day?

My friend Mary. We would be getting wine drunk and reading passages from an astrology tell-all.

July 29th

What was your weakness today?

Claiming there is life beyond Instagram and then going on instagram.

July 30th

The music genre I list to most is… HIP HOP.

July 31st

Today I felt… “humbled.” A little kicked in the nuts. Like the chemical product I brought home made me eco satan and Lang the Vietnamese girl I sit next to in French class can dance grammar circles around me. And that my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend has this melange of unassuming earthy sensual vibes because she wears the same mom jeans every time I see her (non materialistic) and is a carpenter and has a throaty nurturing voice and plays in the river with her dog (while I sit in a thong bikini hungover on a rock being scolded by my boyfriend for making a penis joke from the sausage served last night). So I felt very humbled and needed to take a nap in the car after that passed and I found a bulletin board in our room of them circa 2013-ish time holding a baby and then I needed to move the tent that is also hers that they share.

August 1st

What improvements are you making?

I can now describe my feelings like a French pop song (“It hurts!” “I want it”).

August 2nd

Share some good advice:

Have the room to yourself once a week for at least six hours of uninterrupted bliss and do whatever the hell you want to do.

August 3rd

What do you want to tell yourself in one year?

You have a job, can smell a good red wine, have a flair for clipped street pedigree French, and you’re enjoying the hell out of yourself, warts and all.

August 4th

What decision are you glad you made?

I won’t say all of them I’m glad I made because not all impulsive decisions end up leading you to a light at the end of the tunnel; sometimes they’re just very dumb (like when I used real spray paint to transform on Halloween night and had to work a double the next day with partial white hair). But I’m glad that I decided to travel on my own. And always have good girlfriends; they’re simply THE BEST.

August 5th

My body is…

An amusement park parking lot right next to a temple. 

August 6th List the people you live with… -Julien, boyfriend of Fanny (description: is the house mom, can make quiche out of the food he finds in the dumpster on Tuesdays Thursdays and Sundays, wears harem pants and kimonos, is very shy nice and contributes rock magazines and a step by step Kama sutra guide in the upstairs bathroom) -Julien #2 (has a way of whistling through his teeth when he talks and looks drunk when he talks, has a very professional tall girlfriend, musician, rarely at home) -Fanny, girlfriend of Julien (or maybe partner; very feminist, wears glasses that aren’t real, doesn’t shave armpits but somehow goes mainstream with her choice of perfume, a Petit Casino creme brûlée scented spray…) -Amalia (the exact definition of je ne said quoi, aka idolized French girl of your dreams) -Adele -Matthieu -Ao (my roommate) -Romain (mumbles and is nice and helps me with the Italian coffee maker that for the French is basic, in the U.S. C’est luxury)

August 7th

Share a favorite quote:

“It’s a terrible thing in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that no one is actually ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally thinking, now is as good a time as any.” -Hugh Laurie 

August 8th What is the last thing that made you cry? Needing to talk about things and then being told I think too much then wanting to talk about why I think so much and then feeling very asexual and confused and hangry after.

August 9th

Were you creative today? How?

I drew very snarky comics that weren’t as funny the next morning. 

My last 5 google searches:

Charlottesville Why is feminism branded Workout plan with whiplash How to say “no way” in French Why did Matt Dillon and Cameron Diaz break up in the 90’s

August 11th Where do you want to go next?

To the chair to start writing my book.

August 12th

What are you grateful for? Leftover ice cream.

What did you eat/drink today?

Whatever a machine would eat: bread and confiture, a pear, couscous salad to counterbalance and then just more bread and butter and cheese. And ice cream. And gummy bears.

August 14th

What are you looking for from life?

Being okay with deeper meaning when it’s there, okay when it’s not; that some things happen in a second, and some things pop up quietly after years then go away. Ya never know.

August 15th

What did the last text message you received say?

Trying on dresses for a wedding, Tolo 2008 what upppp #itstighter —my dearest one, Molly (we wore the same dress)

August 16th

Did you act your age today?

No, because I am 25 and went to class and the last time I did that was when I was 22. Perhaps it was the beautiful summer weather, but during break I started to feel forlorn about not having friends to enjoy this warm weather with. So in the spirit of being 18 and having just landed on campus determined to make friends, I pegged the Korean girl Helen to be my new friend. I quickly stuffed things into my bag while she spoke to the teacher, but as soon as she yelled “a demain!” she booked it out of the classroom, leaving me in her wake. “She’s busy at work with her Venice Biennalle job,” I muttered, heading to the library to do my homework.

August 17th

What was your horoscope today? Was it accurate?

Horoscope for Pisces Rising: “This week pokes around issues of your potency. Issues around feeling valued. Worthy. Wanted. Issues that will have you feeling sensitive to rejection. Sensitive to situations where you feel invisible. Blotted out. Overshadowed.Take the energy that is building within you and use it for creative projects. Let your canvases, blank pages and studios be the spaces that you use to transform any stuck energy. You are not the feelings that flood you, but you can use those feelings as a jumping off point for a great many works of art.” -Chani Nicholas

—YES. I feel all of this.