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getfitnessgym · 1 year

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The clouded side of the exercise centre

Fantasies: I should stay away from carbs to get in shape. On the off chance that I lift loads, I will look "massive". I need to tighten up .

I routinely work out and find powerlifting in the exercise centre very fulfilling; I love to perceive how my body changes shape as various muscle bunches answer my exercises. I've become mindful of a disturbing sensation at the rear of my brain, which makes me more worried about my psychological state when I'm not working out.

I realize that rest is both essential and valuable; it's when muscles modify and develop, forestall wounds, and upholds consistency (since you don't feel as obliged by a constant everyday practice). However, no matter what this information, I find it hard to give myself "personal time" from working out, much over bubbly periods or when I'm not feeling 100 per cent. I'm fortunate to be somebody who doesn't get harmed effectively, be that as it may, I wouldn't say I like the prospect of not having the option to prepare because of a supported physical issue.

Am I the one in particular that feels as such? I don't think so. Thus, I invested energy in exploring the reason for this disturbing sensation to recapture more command over my psychological state.

Here is the splendid side

You're possibly mindful of the advantages of activity — controlling your weight, combatting medical issues and supporting energy levels — yet emotional well-being benefits are frequently disregarded.

I most appreciate "that inclination" when I've completed an extreme exercise and feel depleted and phenomenal. In any case, what's filling that sensation? Indeed, I know that it's not only a response to a "great siphon"; it's the arrival of a class of cerebrum synthetic substances called endocannabinoids, which are otherwise called "relax, be cheerful" synthetic compounds.

In our cerebrums, a few regions direct our reaction to stress and uneasiness, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. These regions of the cerebrum are rich in endocannabinoid receptors. When these endocannabinoids arrive at these receptors, two things occur:

We experience a happy state of mind that causes us to feel content and decreases uneasiness.

We experience an expansion in dopamine, a synapse (our body's compound couriers) that assumes a critical part in the cerebrum's "reward framework".

Regarding psychological well-being, these substance responses manifest in more ways than one, including higher fearlessness, more inspiration, amiability, and expanded aversion to satisfaction.

What's more, here's the clouded side

Dopamine is habit-forming.

All the more explicitly, the sensation of remuneration and satisfaction we experience when we practice is habit-forming. The genuine concern is that it's a compounding phenomenon that can prompt more extreme circumstances, for example, dietary problems and body dysmorphia.

I'm not saying you shouldn't work out;

if you are dependent on anything, there are far more terrible things you could be dependent on. However, it's essential to know that practice dependence can begin quietly with an unrestrained craving for actual wellness. For instance:

You sort out a couple of times,

you feel perfect, you begin to eat better, and you feel improved. You figure out a couple of additional times and feel exhausted, so you take a rest day. On your rest day, you feel like you're being lethargic, so you go for light exercise. Etc.

This is how it begins;

I know from individual experience where it closes. In the best case scenario, you don't rest enough and deprioritize well-being in your daily practice, and to say the least, you feel a profound vibe of responsibility when you don't work out and over-examine an excessive number of parts of your life, for example, how you search in the mirror, how others see you and all that you eat.

How do I have any idea about that? This is because that is how I believe; I realize I'm an activity fiend.

It was most horrendously awful when I couldn't exercise I've been in past circumstances when I've been unable to work out. My most expanded period was when I needed to go through two hip arthroscopy tasks to fix an inborn (from birth) issue. I was on support or restoring on and off for the most fantastic aspect of two years — it was extreme.

During that time, I encountered what I could portray as melancholy, which was even more recognizable since I'm mostly hopeful. I encountered a large number of the signs that somebody going through melancholy would introduce, which include:

Mental side effects:

A steady low state of mind or trouble

Feeling sad and powerless

Low confidence

Tension

Hesitation and indifference

Being touchy or intolerant of others

Actual side effects: Changes in craving or weight, muscle exhaustion and touchiness, low energy, low charisma and upset rest.

Social side effects:

Low efficiency Participating in less-friendly exercises Disregarding leisure activities and interests and being hermitic

While it's enabling me to comprehend this, looking back, my anxiety is that I would feel similarly assuming I wound up experiencing the same thing now. Of considerably more concern is that I experience a portion of these sentiments (but gently) presently, in any event, when I take a solitary rest day — and I know I'm in good company.

Having addressed individuals similarly as excited about wellness, I know that many stress over not having the option to practice out of the blue and feel like a rest day rises to a terrible day (as opposed to one that is equitably great for your brain and body). What can be done Assuming that you understand this and (like me) a lot of it reverberates with how you feel, then, at that point, the most exciting thing we can furnish ourselves with is mindfulness. Familiarity with ourselves, the consciousness of our necessities and attention to everything others notice and say to us. That is the general purpose of this post; it's to make you and myself more mindful of what we're putting ourselves through and, afterwards, get it sufficiently early to take care of business.

In the soul of mindfulness, I need to cause you to notice a great article I found on Healthline that will assist you with distinguishing whether your activity propensities are coming from an unfortunate spot. What number of these signs do you relate to? (I'll put a next to the ones I connect with).

You work out to compensate for dinners or body parts you could do without

You're consistently at the rec centre.

You feel tired more often than not.

Your change intends to oblige your exercise plan.

Your sentiments about practice incorporate words like required, responsibility, nervousness, and unbending.

Your outcomes are lessening.

You have a negative self-perception

Supportively, the article likewise prescribes a few activities to handle practice fixation:

Keep a work diary to assist you with distinguishing sentiments and examples associated with working out.

Look for professional assistance. Indeed, this can be treated (which I'm a colossal promoter of). Yet, it could likewise be a wellness expert or fitness coach who could assist you with rearing better exercise propensities.

I will check the work diary out, particularly on days I compel myself to take a very much-procured rest — wish me karma!

#nutrition #fitnessmotivation #gym body

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aro-culture-is · 3 years

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Romance neutral aro culture is not necessarily minding romantic ships, but being an absolute sucker for wholesome BrOTP stuff.

#aro culture is #aro #aromantic #actually aro #actually aromantic #ask #mod kee #romance indifferent aro culture #do i need to break out the sign again.#postive/neutral/negative = MORAL JUDGEMENT ie romance is morally okay/in some circumstances it's okay/morally bad #the things y'all keep using those to represent are: favorable/indifferent/repulsed #and there's more options! averse exhausted etc

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wickednerdery · 4 years

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Anonymous asked: Death Naughty Alphabet?

I’m so delighted that someone asked for this, for her, I can’t even, haha! For one, I’d have never thought anyone would be interested in knowing such things about a female OC, but since you are let’s do it!

NOTE: Tumblr marked this inappropriate and denied my appeal - apparently Tom kissing girls or laying on his back is too much to handle, lol - so this is merely a repost. Death is from Encounters with Death. Let’s hope Tumblr isn’t a dick...again lol!

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex):

Assuming the lover’s survived the actual act, Death’s post-coital behavior depends widely on what’s needed. If she needs a place to stay or is trying to lower a target’s guard she will stay as long as necessary. She can and will pretend to be in love, she will read the other’s needs and play into them to the fullest. If given the option though, she’ll prefer to move along quickly. Death’s not into cuddling or conversation - what are we, friends now? - to the point it can actually make her outright uncomfortable if made to do it without a clear reason (such as for a mission).

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Death loves every part of herself; some would say she’s arrogant, full of herself, but she argues “self-esteem is a good thing to have…if I don’t love myself, who will?” On a partner of her own choosing she’s not overly picky, focusing on more general things such a build that suggests they can handle her in the sack. That said a nice face and great ass will also catch her attention.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

She’s an expert at faking it and tends not to actually orgasm; she’ll get aroused, very close, but rarely are partners able to push her over the edge. If she does orgasm and it’s very very intense, she’ll squirt though. Partners that accomplish that she’ll return to. No matter the gender Death doesn’t care if another comes inside of or on her body, but prefers not to let it hit her face or have to swallow during oral as she’s generally not fond of such tastes or consistencies. IF she allows for either it’s a good indication she’s enjoying the other in and out of the bedroom enough to willingly be flexible on her own wants.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

A successful job can get her as, if not more, excited than any sexual activity. For her there is a rush almost dangerously close to arousal in watching her targets die as a result of her handiwork. This can carry over into the bedroom even when her lovers are not targets…it’s not uncommon for her to choke a partner to the point of them nearly passing out or using a knife to cut them, enjoying the violence as much as any sex act.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Her sexual experiences began early in life so she’s got a lot and absolutely knows what she’s doing. She’s experienced a wide range of partners so is also skilled in adjusting her own habits, shown experiences, and even apparent preferences to suit whoever the lover of the moment is. Despite the high level of experience, rarely has it been pleasurable or even pleasure-seeking for her so much as a means to an end. Because most of her experiences haven’t been her choice and/or included violence it often shows in her own selection of lovers.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

If given the choice, Death will always fuck in a position where she feels she’s got the upper-hand. That, obviously, includes any variation in which she’s on top…though especially the cowgirl position where she can both be on top and in the most control of the experience. Also, from this position, she can watch the other person’s reactions to what she does be it killing or pleasuring them. This need to be in charge can also carry over with her straddling a partner on a chair or the like.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

While Death’s humor is not so much goofy as dark, she would be considered more relaxed than serious in the sack. Like with murder, sex can be seen as sport to her. It’s something to enjoy, if you can, and not take too seriously. In fact, getting too serious during sex is likely to turn her off.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Provided she doesn’t need a cover that requires her to be otherwise, Death is always very well groomed. Her wigs are always in perfect condition and of the highest quality, she attends famous salons, and uses high-end products. Assuming she’s not wearing a wig, the carpet does, in fact, match the drapes and is often trimmed to a manageable “landing strip”.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Sex is a means to an end, it’s a game, it’s never a romantic/bonding moment for her…even when she might behave romantically. During sex she’s goal-oriented - whatever the goal is - rather than emotional. Attempts to add intimacy or some element of love-making may very well unnerve her as she’s unsure what to do with any sort of attempt at (emotional) depth during the act.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Death does masturbate, but not with much frequency. When she does though, she’s far more likely to think of a successful kill than anything else. This said recently she’s found her mind occasionally wandering off to her previous interactions with one Jonathan Pine and been able to find nearly as much satisfaction in those sessions as with thinking about prior kills. She’s also fantasized about her and Pine killing together…everyone needs goals, right?

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

She’s big into knife, gun, and blood play…usually subjecting her partner to such things, but not averse to letting specific, repeat, lovers also hold to a blade or weapon to her or even cutting her some. Anything rough, pseudo-violent, or aggressive are always going to be up Death’s sexual alley.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the deed)

Usually somewhere private because she’s often about to kill her partner OR is otherwise trying to keep a low profile. This said, if the mood strikes her, Death will have sex regardless of where she is. She doesn’t care about getting caught and sometimes find amusement both in her partner’s potential worries and the shock of others when she is.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

More than anything (even aggression), it’s a challenge that arouses Death’s desire. Someone who can take her on without fear or thoughts/hopes of outright taming her. They need to be not easily defeated, not willing to just fold to her, but also willing to stroke her ego by letting her win. It’s a difficult balance and rarely achieved by others, but a select few have managed to get her truly aroused…including her latest lover, Pine.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

That soft, sweet, gentle, and emotionally intense act known as love-making. While she’s had to act it out to get close to targets, she hates it. At best it’s a boring turn-off, at worst it makes her outright uncomfortable.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

She’ll always prefer receiving, even if she doesn’t reach orgasm it can feel amazing and get her close enough to satisfy. It’s also one of the few times she’ll allow herself to be in a potentially vulnerable position. While she will give, and can be quite skilled at it, Death is rarely into the act…it’s far more likely that she thinks it’ll help lower the other’s guard and/or get her whatever she truly wants. IF she gives for the sheer enjoyment, however, she’ll absolutely put her considerable skills to use and indulge her partner, not stopping until they’re begging for climax and nearly fainting after.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Often fast, always rough bordering on violent. She can go slow, sensual, but only does so as is necessary. She’s far more likely to enjoy taking her time with a kill than a fuck. Even if she slows things down, the aggressive side remains nevertheless.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Death will absolutely prefer a quickie over proper sex; a quickie gets the sex out of the way so she can move onto her true goal, whatever it may be. 9/10 times she will indulge in fast and furious sex over anything else and this has borne out even with those she wishes to have sex with.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

For her profession she can’t exactly afford to be squeamish so she forever remains open to new experiences. At least trying something new keeps it interesting, give her ideas for when she might select a lover on her own. And risky behavior is in her nature in every day life so it feels almost natural in the bedroom or anywhere else she might have sex.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Given her athleticism, that she’s got the strength and stamina to kill fully grown men if need be, she’s more than capable of going a few rounds in the sack…she rarely does though. More often than not she feigns exhaustion to not have to continue. If she keeps going, encourages another round, you’re doing something very right.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Aside from the standard vibrator, Death doesn’t have much in the manner of sex toys. Any she might need she’ll merely buy, then get rid of once they’re no longer of use…just like most her partners, haha! Her own vibrator is usually just reserved for herself, but she’ll use it on a lover if the mood strikes her. One toy that she buys with more frequency and for her own, personal, pleasure though is a strap-on…one that’ll she’ll use on whatever lover allows her the pleasure to. Death also uses rope, cuffs, knives, and even guns her in sex-play, but those hardly qualify as standard “sex toys”. It’s more common for her to use them on her partner - merely because she finds more power in doing so - but isn’t averse to having them used on her now and again.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Just as she doesn’t want a partner to just fall into the sack with her, she refuses to do any such thing herself. Beyond just teasing, she enjoys posing a challenge. If you want to be a true lover of hers you’ll have to prepare for a chase, for her to tease until you’re ready to just force her into submission.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Her profession, her life, is all about staying under the radar and that translates into sex as well. While she can get loud if need be, Death tends to remain as quiet having sex as she does killing a target. If you can get her to make any kind of genuine sounds, no matter how small or rare, you should consider yourself thoroughly enjoyed by her. The sounds she actually make tend more towards deep moans, groans, and gasps…if you can make her pitch high you’ll be her new favorite.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Her dealings with Jonathan Pine are highly unique for Death. Not only did she get sexual with him for little reason aside her own enjoyment, she neither killed nor seriously harmed him after even when it may have benefited her to do so. She’s allowed him to top her on more than one occasion, freely given him oral sex, and even found his taste acceptable. Beyond sex she’s also let him into her private world a touch and indulged in softer, more “romantic”, acts such as dancing. While she would not declare any kind of love for him, she does care for him and finds enjoyment with him beyond sex and violence.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Death is athletically built with thin, but firm, muscles throughout. While not the classic hourglass figure, she most certainly has the curves of an adult female and would not be mistaken for a male unless she made the effort to do so. Her breasts are noticeable, though may be considered small by some while her ass is rounded, high and tight, atop muscled thighs. Her skin is smooth, not tattooed, but spotted with various scars in different stages of healing. As mentioned prior her pubic hair is well-trimmed (and occasionally waxed) into a landing strip…her inner lips just poke out from her outer, clit is of average size and sensitivity, and she only bleaches her asshole if she feels she must for a job, which is incredibly rare.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

She actually has a remarkably low sex drive given how much sex she has. Death would be completely fine going years without sex as, in general, it’s viewed as a tool more than a pleasurable activity. This said, if she finds someone with which she finds the act pleasurable, her sex drive may increase significantly…but only with that specific person.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Death usually doesn’t actually stick around long enough to fall asleep or has sex at times of the day not conducive to going to sleep afterward, haha! On those occasions in which sleep would be an option she still rarely does though. She leaves or stays up listening to the other person sleep until she can longer remain awake. Actually sleeping with another is rare for her, but a sign of trust if she does - whether of the person or merely their inability to hurt her.

((And that’s what I’ve got for Death at the moment, haha! I don’t see much changing beyond what occurs in character growth, which will happen over time, no doubt. Thanks again for asking for this, Anon, it was a ton of fun and highly educational for me!!))

#jonathan pine #the night manager #death #aka pine's love #encounters with death #characters in my head #headcanon #asks #asked and answered #repost

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icontainmvltitvdes · 5 years

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eventide.

The story so far: Bella’s first name stays the same---for now---but is otherwise reworked and pretty much completely disconnected from the rest of the Twilight story and characters. I’m not sure if she’s lesbian or bisexual yet, but she’s absolutely a wlw. A lot of this is still very much up in the air, though.

Bella’s story begins in the fall of her freshman year of college (circa 2005), all the way in Eureka, California. She’s going to either College of the Redwoods, a community college, or Humboldt---one of those things I haven’t decided yet. Her car is a tiny Japanese make---most likely a Honda---that’s just as old if not older than she is, that she bought with her own money. (She wanted a VW Bug, but couldn’t find one in her budget, so she settled for the more reasonable option). It’s painted bright yellow because Bella wants to be 100% sure she won’t lose it.

Undeclared major, I think? Or English Literature lol

She shares a dorm with three other girls. I want to say that their names are Sarah, Danielle, and Emily? It doesn’t really matter; they have about as much impact in her life as og Bella’s classmates in Forks. Also, Bella is Literally Dying due to lack of sunlight because it’s foggy and overcast all the time and she’s not used to it at all. A v homesick gal.

Anyway, she has a few run-ins with Jackie*---this mysterious woman who might be going to college/uni, but is definitely not local to the area. (Bella’s roommates suspect she’s involved in the drug trade). They meet mainly at parties, but sometimes in other places: cafes, libraries, on nature trails through the redwoods. Jackie is aloof and a little sarcastic, runs between hot and cold so fast that it gives Bella whiplash sometimes.

Jackie has a boyfriend---maybe. There’s a guy, anyway, who seems to have a lot of power/influence over her. He skeeves Bella out, though most people who first meet him seem fairly charmed. Alan* is a fairly gorgeous guy who knows how to work a room, but there’s something a little off and Bella is the only one who seems to notice??

Anyway, if he’s Jackie’s boyfriend, he isn’t a loyal one---he hits on basically any girl he comes across and doesn’t care if he does it to Jackie’s face. She doesn’t seem to be particularly jealous or anything, but she is a little uncomfortable about it??? Jackie especially doesn’t like when he flirts with Bella---there’s, like, enough Moments(TM) where shippers of a Certain Type think that Alan/Bella is The Ship, but they’re not valid. It probably isn’t helped that he confuses her and at least one person tries to convince Bella that her aversion to Alan is because she has a ~crush on the guy.

There’s also this thing about people going missing in the nature trails, people leaving for break but not coming back, etc. Maybe??? an attack on campus ??? Leading to a very cute scene where Jackie walks Bella back to her dorm to keep her safe---when Bella asks her how she’s supposed to be safe walking back to her place, Jackie says that she’s definitely the strong enough to handle herself.

Spoiler alert: Jackie and Alan are both vampires. And they’re both, uhhh, suspicious in their own ways?? Not sure if there’s other vamps hanging around near them though.

---There’s a whole ass ~intently staring into each others’ eyes moment that ends with them Actually Kissing and that’s also the first time that their subtextual attraction to each other crosses into Actual Text. I want to say that one of the roomies (or another girl?) walks in on them kissing and they awkwardly split apart.

Whether that girl’s reaction is positive, negative, or neutral is unknown to me RIP. I think it would probably a more interesting choice to have her reaction be negative, but not for homophobic reasons.

God I’ve been here for hours and this is all I’ve done and I’m exhausted. This is winding down, but this isn’t all that I’ve got in me lmao

Note that the Jackie/Bella relationship is starting to really get going into something that’s More than just flirting, though they’re still pretty secretive about it. Not only is Bella still closeted, but Jackie seems to really not want Alan to know that they Have Feelings and are getting into a Relationship. So it’s, like, bittersweet in certain parts, but it’s also explicitly romatinque.

Roomie/dorm mate girl goes missing or gets attacked by like a “cougar” or smth?? And that’s the end of, like, part 1. She isn’t, like, explicitly dead if she’s attacked, mind you.

____

fun facts: Edythe is totally a valid name and spelling for Jackie in her ~dob, which I kind of find hilarious.

Also, if there’s any interest, I’m willing to create, like, commentary about equiv characters and choices or w/e.

#* bella hc.#* bella canon.#[ i did nothing but write this and waste time RIP ]#[ * no names set in stone ]

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sterekshaven · 5 years

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Hello followers!

I got myself a Bingo Card from @badthingshappenbingo a while back (which is such an awesome place, btw! Much love to them! ♥). Sadly, I've had a hard time writing lately and I've only managed to post one fic for it, so now I'm thinking I could ask for prompts for that card. (edit: Two now xD)

Either you can just send me one of the tropes as it is, or you could send me one of the tropes and a little more on how you'd like to see the specific trope done, like, is it Stiles or Derek (or both), where and how (or why) does it happen, etc. (this is kinda what I would prefer, since writing is so gd hard rn, tell me what to write!)

I won't write anything long, I'm aiming for 500-5000 words, so keep that in mind, not too complicated prompts =) Everything will be Sterek, whether it be established relationship, getting together or pre-slash. I don’t mind AUs, but I will most likely always write Derek as a werewolf.

The tropes (and who I'd prefer it was, a / simply means I slightly prefer the first option to the following):

Raspy Breathing (either)

Hidden Scar* (either)

Locked in a Trunk (either)

On the Run (both/either)

Don't You Dare Pity Me (Derek/either)

Forced to Kneel/Bow (Derek)

Cry into Chest (Derek/either)

Made a Slave (Derek)

Shaking and Shivering (finished)

Collared and Chained (Derek/either)

Traumatic Touch Aversion (Derek)

Empty Shell (Derek/either)

Caught in a Storm (both/either)

Broken Limb (finished)

Go Through Me (Stiles)

Cauterizing a Wound (Stiles)

Bruises (Stiles/either)

Taking the Bullet* (Stiles/either)

Bound and Gagged (Derek/both/either)

Hair Matted with Blood (either)

Knife to the Throat (either)

Doesn't Realize They've Been Injured (either)

Stabbing (either)

I Ain't Got Time to Bleed (either)

Worked Themselves to Exhaustion (Derek/either)

* I have WIPs I like for these two, and I’m hoping on finishing them eventually.

I won’t say no to other suggestions of who it’s about, the parentheses are just who I prefer, not the only way I’d write it.

My plan is to write all of them eventually, I’m not expecting to be done with the whole Bingo Card anytime soon, but I want to write for all the 25 squares. I’m not promising I’ll write for all of the prompts I get, but I will try, I will do my best. =)

#Smowkie writes #also bthb only allows for one square per fic so don't combine tropes pls #there are some I'd love to combine buuuut xD #bthb prompts #prompts #ALSO i'm a sucker for hurt/traumatized Derek so you know keep that in mind xD #and also I won't write smut #and I love the HC of ace!Derek so if that's something that fits I'll likely add it #(it's not really relevant in a lot of fics though but I do like it and I want to write it *always* these days xD)

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fairycosmos · 5 years

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was not tryna give a part 3 omg but i feel like my mom is just tired of me. i know she is. she barely comes home anymore n whenever i try to spend time with her she acts like it’s a task, like she’s being forced. & in ways she makes me feel bad for talking or anything but i just miss her. i miss everyone. my mom & i never had a good relationship but she’s what keeps me here & i just feel like i have nothing sometimes. my heart just hurts more than i can say. thank u for listening, ur an angel 🥺

hi bby :(( thank you for being so honest and open w me, it really is something to be proud of and is also proof that you are genuinely more capable of this than you think !! which seems like bullshit but it's not !! honestly the worst thing about treating your mental health is the amount of trial and error involved. you have to find that specifically works for you in exactly the right way. it's annoying, and you have every right to be frustrated. sometimes it can make you feel like giving up completely, because it's just so exhausting, and that's ok. as long as you understand the difference between having an urge and acting on it. the prospect of a new therapist is totally daunting but at the same time, you are allowed to set boundaries and take it at your own pace. if you do your best to explain how mentally tired you are, and that you want to take it slow, they will generally respect that. the thing about therapy is that you just don't know how it's going to go until you're there. sometimes you surprise yourself. sometimes it all just comes spilling out. sometimes you clam up. and all of it, all of it a natural part of the process. i mean this in the least patronising way, you are so strong for picking yourself up every time, for continuing to try. you may feel like your brain is totally fried right now but when push comes to shove, you are so much more than you realize.

as for school, jesus, that just be so nerve wracking and i don't blame you for being a bit scared at at all. the few weeks before you begin is always the worst part because your mind sort of runs wild with possibilities. but always try to remember that anxiety job is literally to take situations and warp them into something they're not based on fear and trepidation. in reality you have no idea what's going to happen and a middle ground, average result is always the most likely outcome anyway. take a breath. i get that logically knowing things doesn't help much with mental illness but it always helps to ground yourself. bottom line is, you will adapt and grow with the new environment even if you don't think you will. it's inevitable. you will find your routine and your mundanity again, and all of it will become second nature. even if there's a few awkward moments, even if you struggle a little at first. most people do. as long as you understand that there is always help available, always other options, and you are never trapped or totally stuck in a situation no matter how much your brain tries to convince you that you are. if your schoolwork gets on top of you, you CAN take a step back for the sake of your mental health, even if adults whine about it. if you don't know how to talk to people, learn by example and keep in mind that they're probably perceiving you better than you perceive yourself. like with therapy, let school integrate into your life at its own pace. half the battle is honestly just showing up. unfortunately all of this fear is where the growth happens. it's very normal to want to go back into hospital, to want to avoid reality, but there is no life waiting for you there. this is something i find very hard to come to terms with myself. you have to get up and touch the tangibility and live in it with everyone else. and you are, you're doing it as we speak, and that genuinely counts for so much dude. i can't stress that enough. these periods of loneliness and isolation are absolutely horrible and i don't really know the answer to them to be honest, but i do know that they are often periods of massive self growth, and they can end just as aprubtly as theuy begin. you are deserving of companionship and love, and just because it's hard to find doesn't mean it's not out there for you. in so many forms, over and over again, you will feel it. it's not as far fetched as your anxiety wants you to believe. where you're at right now isn't where you'll always be, and new beginnings are proof of that.

about your mum, god i'm so sorry she's been making you feel that way?? i can't tell you how much i relate and how much it hurt me when i was younger, and i promise you're absolutely not alone in feeling this way. so many people can and do understand, and that goes for all of this - the mental illness, the therapy stress, the fear and annoyance of starting anew. complexes caused by negative parental relationships are always so hard to heal from because they're so deeply rooted within, but i need you to try to understand that your worth does not lie in your mother and you can not force her to be mature, to to understand if she's so insistent on misunderstanding. it's one of the fuckin hardest lessons to learn and i don't know if the pain ever stops from it (though it definitely settles and becomes more manageable), but there is a point in every kids life where they just realize their parents are wrong. they're ignorant, or they're obtuse, or they're mean - and that is on them. it is a reflection of them and that is it, there's nothing else to it. of course you shouldn't have to deal with it at all, but it is not caused by you no matter how much it feels like it is, angel. your mental illness is harder for you to put up with than it is for her to witness and if she can't accept that, she's fucked. idk the details of your relationship with her, and maybe even if you sit her down and force her to listen, something will click. it's not an impossibility and i sure hope it happens, but if it doesn't i promise there are so so so sooo many other avenues of support out there. and your parents are truly not the beginning and end of the world. one day, sooner than you think, you are going to live a life divorced of her opinions, and even better, you won't feel such a craving to hear them. you will be in control of your own environment and mental well being and it will not be anything like what you're expecting. that's a guarantee, something you can always rely on. i know words are pointless, i know they're empty to you. and i know i can't make you see your situation the way i do, obviously. but i really hope you can take the time to find the ment clarity to examine why you're so averse to accepting the positive, what you can do to help yourself, and whether or not your anxieties are rooted in rationality of not. there's seriously so many ways to battle and to overcome the shit you're going through and it only feels so chaotic at the moment because you're in the midst of finding your feet. think back to when you first went into hospital, and how foreign everything felt, and how you got through it a day at a time. you didn't confront all that for nothing. you are so much more resilient than you realize and i wholeheartedly believe that. i'm assuming you're still very young, and so even the natural growth and development of your life is going to afford you so many answers and so much relief, though of course there will always be new questions and things to fight. but the bottom is you've got time, and if you have to take this one step at a time, or one hour at a time, or even a minute at a time - you can. you are okay. some days are rough but they do not negate your progress. so take a breath and try to identify what it is you need (e.g to talk to your parents, to be honest with the professionals in your life, to incorporate coping mechanisms into your daily routine so you feel less overwhelmed about school etc) and let that be good enough, because it is. i'm infinitely proud of you for being here and i know the hurt and the loneliness is a total tidal wave right now but it will it always be, and that's a certainty, unlike your fears. i really hope you find some peace of mind soon and that your mum heard you out. if you want to talk about this properly or if you need a friend i will be here. sending love and warmth to u dude. message me anytime.

#anon #long post

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blisspads · 3 years

Text

Pregnancy Journey: Tips for an Easy 9 months

Hurrah! You see those two pink lines on the pregnancy test and your joys find no bounds. At the same time, you feel nervous and extra cautious to safeguard the precious baby growing inside your womb. A woman experiences a lot of challenges both physically and mentally, which can be tiring and overwhelming. Along with the excitement, the expecting mothers will have a lot of questions, wonder what to expect and how to prepare for the upcoming nine months.

Pregnant women should take care of themselves, eat healthy food, and exercise regularly for a stress-free pregnancy. Besides these, there are some tips which can help the carrying mothers to have a healthy pregnancy and provide knowledge on how to prepare themselves for this wonderful journey.

Month 1 – Folic Acid

Visit your gynecologists’ to verify your pregnancy and to make sure there are no abnormalities.

If you are not taking any supplements already, it is not late to start with Folic Acid. Folic increases the chances of having a 100% healthy pregnancy and reduces the risk of defects or abnormalities in the growing baby.

Your ob-gyn might suggest additional supplements like vitamins or iron on top of the folic acid.

You should start eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Avoid fried items and include steamed foods for easy digestion and make sure to drink lots of water.

Morning sickness can be exhausting, eat small, and frequent meals to deal with it. You can also use ginger to settle your stomach.

Sleep when you can! You still have plenty of time to be deprived of sleep. So, get some rest and it is ok to sleep when you are tired.

Month 2 – Nausea and Loss of Appetite

The serious nausea trouble kicks in at the second month of the pregnancy. It is absolutely normal to have these symptoms, however, it can affect the daily activities of your life.

You can try including bland food in order to lessen the symptoms of nausea. Many pregnant women nibble on dry crackers to maintain a healthy eating habit even with the loss of appetite.

If nausea or vomiting makes you very exhausted and uncontrolled, your ob-gyn will prescribe anti-nausea medication to you.

During this period, the doctors will do prenatal tests. It is a crucial part of the pregnancy journey, so do not miss them.

Also, this is the moment when you have to plan your finances and verify the insurance plans.

Month 3 – Wear Supportive Bras

Your breasts will grow in size and become tender and sensitive. So, you should buy comfortable and supportive bras to avoid constant fatigue.

The body of the pregnant woman undergoes hormonal changes in the first trimester which can lead to frequent mood swings and backaches.

The expecting mothers are also more prone to dental issues like inflamed gums and gingivitis. So, book an appointment with your dentist to check your teeth and get them cleaned.

Preparation is everything, so check the maternity leave policy at work beforehand. This might save you a lot of worries at the last minute.

Doing ultra-sound scans to learn the sex of the baby is illegal in India. Even if you are curious wait for another 7 months to know whether you are having a princess or a prince.

Month 4 – Execute your Travel Plans

The first trimester is over and your morning sickness and aversion to food would have started to fade. You might feel a lot better during this period.

If your pregnancy is progressing well and if you have any travel plans, this is the right time to execute them. Make sure to get approval from the ob-gyn you are visiting before booking the tickets.

It is a good time to announce the good news to your friends and family. You can also inform your colleagues and managers and get their support on this incredible ride.

Make a healthy routine for yourself and include exercises at least three times per week. Do not over-push, but make sure your body is getting light exercises.

After the fourth month your bump will start growing, so start shopping for maternity clothes.

Pregnant women might also feel itching sensations around their belly, so moisturizing creams can be used to relieve themselves from those symptoms.

Month 5 – Pay Attention to your Sleeping Position

During the 5th month of gestation, you may feel tired and complain of back pains. This will happen if you sleep on your back for a long time.

Pregnant women are advised to sleep on their sides and not to lie flat on their backs for too long. Researchers suggest that sleeping on the left side can improve blood flow in the body and to the fetus.

You can use pillows to raise your head, this will help in preventing heartburn.

Join yoga or meditation classes to remain stress-free.

Follow up with your gynecologists’ regularly and have your anomaly and ultrasound scans to check the progress of your baby’s growth.

Month 6 – Exercise Regularly

Go walking for at least 30 minutes daily, this will help to build stamina to deal with the tough labor.

Make exercise a part of your daily plans, doing regular back strengthening exercises can help in lessening the back pains.

Think thoroughly about your delivery options, fix a specific ob-gyn and clarify your doubts and expectations in advance.

Apply for your maternity leave and delegate your jobs beforehand, this will ensure a smooth transition away from, and back to, work

Month 7 – Enjoy your Baby Shower

Indians have a special tradition in which the expecting mother is blessed by the elders by putting glass bangles on her hand. It is a belief that the baby can know the presence of the mother by hearing the noise made by the bangles.

The baby shower is celebrated by family and friends in other cultures too, people bring gifts for both mother and baby. But in India, it is considered inauspicious to buy clothes or gifts for the unborn baby. So, gifts are only for the would-be mothers!

The love and support from their family and friends create a positive impact and boost their confidence.

Make sure to eat healthy foods and rest well during this 3rd trimester.

Month 8 – Read to Gather Knowledge

Reading pregnancy-related books and new born baby guides can help you to gain knowledge on what to expect. This will help you not to get panic in the infamous labor process.

You will start seeing stretch marks this month. Drinking lots of water and fluids and stay hydrated to reduce the growth of stretch marks. You can also lubricate your skin by using coconut oil.

Your feet may get swollen during this month. Do not stand for a long period and rest as much as you can.

Decide a place for your new-born and their things like a crib, toys, clothes, etc.,

Month 9 – Prepare for Labor

Finish packing your hospital bag. Do not forget the clothes, toiletries, and cell phone chargers.

Get help from your friends and family to provide you with food or any other support you require in emergencies.

You can go into labor at any time from now, so make plans for your other kids or pets and decide who will take care of them when you’re in the hospital.

Be relaxed and wait for the big moment to receive the little one safely into this world.

Message from Bliss Naturals:

With these pregnancy tips, your journey of nine months will feel like a breeze. Enjoy this wonderful time where you get treated like a queen and do not worry about anything else. You are not going to be pregnant forever, so accept the physical and mental changes and relish the memories to share them with your little one. Our warm wishes to your family and the baby. Happy parenting!

#pregnancy blissnaturalpads labor

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roman-winter · 7 years

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okay last ones Storm and also Eli

STORM

2-4 songs that are probably on their iPod

storm has the musical taste of my father and i’m not even mad….

take me home, country roads - john denver // blue bayou - linda ronstadt // wagon wheel - old crow medicine show

the one place they sometimes end up falling asleep — where they’re not supposed to

in his office. he’s perfected the art of the discreet office nap. it’s one of the only times he closes his door fully, and because of it, all of the people who work in his office know better than to disturb him when his door is closed, because it usually means he’s asleep

the game they’d destroy everyone else at

storm is really good at like a billion stupid board games, but he kills it at sorry, which feels kind of ironic considering the fact that he’s rarely sorry about anything he does

the emoticon they’d use most often

🤷 but also just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he uses both versions of the shrug emoji more than any grown ass senator should

what they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep

storm’s life is a constant state of not having enough sleep, and so he’s really good at not letting it show, sometimes it just means he makes even more stupid jokes than normal and is a little goofier, if that’s possible, but he’s not one of those people who gets grumpy or bitchy if only because he’s always been watched

their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever.

on cold nights, he’s a sucker for a hot toddy or a hot buttered rum, but if he has to work, which he usually does, he’ll just go straight up tea, although he prefers sweet tea ofc

how they like to comfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump

he’s really shit at that sort of thing, and p much generally dealing with his own issues, so he ignores everything and just throws himself even more into work. probably even spends nights at the office working on bill proposals and getting shit done. it’s not healthy but that’s what he was taught, repress and work harder

what they wanted to be when they grew up

storm didn’t really have any other options, since his family already had a political legacy going. he always wanted to be a senator, though, and he couldn’t imagine himself doing anything else. the dream, though, was president, and it’s a dream that’s still plausible considering how young he is

their favorite kind of weather

even though he’s from the south and lives in d.c. now, he really isn’t a fan of the heat, he’d much prefer those slightly chilly but sunny fall afternoons that you can wear a coat and a scarf if you want, but it’s still nice enough to walk around in

thoughts on their singing voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?)

storm is a great singer, but it’s not something that he really ever has a use for, except for sometimes singing in the shower, or when he’s working at the office alone late at night

how/what they like to draw or doodle

he doesn’t really doodle, mostly because every chance that he has to doodle is a time when he really genuinely needs to take notes. sometimes he’ll just scribble absentmindedly when he’s on the phone with particularly long-winded senators, but that’s about it

ELI

2-4 songs that are probably on their iPod

i could make a list of 100 songs on eli’s ipod bc it’s just any 80s pop but here are a few:

come on eileen, africa, total eclipse of the heart, don’t you want me, time after time, sweet dreams, careless whisper, take on me, etc etc etc

the one place they sometimes end up falling asleep — where they’re not supposed to

honestly? none really. eli doesn’t need much sleep, and isn’t really a napper unless it’s a cute af nap w andrew like on the couch or in bed or whatever. he doesn’t really sleep in any other places besides those two. although i’m sure when he was in medical school for that brief moment there was A LOT of falling asleep in the library on his books or shit like that

the game they’d destroy everyone else at

eli’s not super competitive, he’d rather just have a chill, fun time than try to destroy at any game at all, BUT he was basically a heather in hs/college so he’s really fuckin good at croquet

the emoticon they’d use most often

LITERALLY LIKE ANY EMOJI. he texts andrew in all emojis and it’s The Worst and The Best at the same time, but probs mostly 🍆 🍑 bc he’s actually still 12 despite being 49 lmao

what they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep

this isn’t really a problem he has bc he gets up at the butt crack of dawn to bake for the coffee shop every day, but i just imagine that he’s a really adorable exhausted when it happens, a lot of eye rubbing and stretching so that you see a little bit of his tummy and yawning, but no complaining bc he deals w shit v well

their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever.

literally any kind of coffee. he makes so many different kinds of coffee drinks, and he probably has a different one that he makes for every feeling and occasion, and that’s def what happens whenever they have cuddly cold nights in front of their fireplace

how they like to comfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump

lots of cuddles w andrew and also melody, lush products and a bunch of hot baths, baking a bunch of shit and then eating it all, a good long cry, just generally letting himself feel everything and talking about it with andrew and being such a sweetheart tbh

what they wanted to be when they grew up

eli thought that he wanted to be a surgeon, mostly because all of his older brothers were doctors and so was his dad, but he realized very quickly once he started medical school that he didn’t want that at all, that he really wanted to fight for what was right and make a difference in the world in that sort of way

their favorite kind of weather

SUMMER HEAT BABY. he’s from california and moving to chicago was like the strangest decision ever considering his aversion to cold weather, but he manages, and he loves chicago summers, wearing tank tops and walking melody down on the piers

thoughts on their singing voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?)

eli sucks at singing but that doesn’t stop him from singing almost constantly, poor andrew

how/what they like to draw or doodle

he loves to leave andrew little notes and he draws a lot of hearts and flowers on them, probably bad pictures of melody too, just a lot of cute little doodles for andrew

#chrysalis-writes #; senator storm harrison #; eli whitehall #no read more we die like men #this made me really want new threads w both of them t b h #and now i'm thnking about all of the amazing backstory we have w andrew and eli and i'm dying all over again

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whereisyaya · 5 years

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Reykjavik

A quick trip to Iceland has been on my bucket list for a while with all the super cheap tickets and deals I kept seeing. I wanted to save this trip for a long weekend since I had heard that Reykjavik is not that big. This year, my friend J and I finally decided to book a trip to this wonderful city for Labor Day weekend and it certainly turned out to be the perfect weekend getaway abroad!

Lodging:

Now! The thing with Iceland is that although getting there can be super cheap and you will pay yourself on the back for the airfare deal you snag; everything else in Iceland (especially once you get there) is super expensive. It is literally the opposite of Asia when it comes to travel planning.

When we started to look into hotels and lodging, we realized very quickly that this was going to be an expensive booking. We were also probably not going to get away with staying in separate locations and decided to share a room to cut costs.

J handled the hotel reservations after I told him my budget and we found a cute and tiny – emphasis on tiny – hotel in the heart of downtown called the City Center Hotel. It was within walking distance to city hall so the location was pretty good!

Airport:

Keflavik Airport is pretty tiny and getting through customs etc is usually a breeze. You are usually able to get out within 30 minutes. Unless you have the bad luck that I did!

I was actually banking on the quick exit because my flight landed at 7am and my tour for the Golden Circle left at 10am from City Hall. However, a bunch of flights got in at the same time and there was just utter and complete chaos all around the airport. No lines, no organization - just a massive crowd of people slowly following the crowds to what they believed and hoped was the customs area. Quite strange because for the most part, everything else in Iceland is very organized. I just chalked it up to a rare occurrence. Needless to say, I got through customs and the exit in about an hour and then I had another hour and 15 minutes to make it to my hotel.

The best option to get to any destination from the airport is to take the Flybus which operates daily and is timed according to the incoming flights. The ticket counters are right next to the terminal exit and I got a one way for about 30 bucks. Welcome to Iceland. Everything is expensive! =) You can book in advance on their website but I just went with booking the day of. When you book at the counter, you tell the person which hotel you are trying to get to and your ticket is color coded. I believe mine was blue. That is because the bus takes you to the main bus station and from there you get on one of the several mini shuttles that correspond with the color of your ticket and they service the area your hotel is located in.

I was on my bus by 8am and was hoping to be at the hotel by 9:30 at the latest to freshen up and run to the tour bus. The drive was pretty and scenic and the driver dropped me off in the general vicinity. He was even kind enough to spark up his own google-maps app and guide me to where my hotel was. I walked into the room just in time because J was getting a little anxious as he thought I would miss our tour bus. Since the bus was picking us up pretty close to where we were staying, I had more than five minutes to freshen up, grab a quick cup of coffee from the lobby downstairs and then we made our way to City Hall where we hopped on our bus and headed off for the Golden Circle Tour!

Below you will find some helpful links on how to get to center city from Keflavik airport!

https://www.thepoortraveler.net/2016/12/keflavik-airport-to-reykjavik-city-center-bus-fare/

http://www.flybus.is/

https://airportexpress.is/?AffiliatePass=448ca543-ae2c-489e-8ea0-c22d78ad3a33

Public Transport!

Everyone knows I absolutely adore subways and metro systems and look forward to experiencing them when I travel. Unfortunately, Reykjavic is not really a public transportation city. Of course there are buses etc, but no metro systems. That is primarily because Reykjavik is a pretty small city and if you are staying in the city center, you can just walk everywhere.

And that is exactly what we did.

Main attractions like the Golden Circle Tour and Blue Lagoon are pretty far away and out of the city limits so most people grab tours to visit them or rent a car. We had booked tours for both those attractions which worked out well and when we were back in the city, we just walked the quick 5 minutes to wherever we were going.

Phone Communication

So when it comes to phone communication, I have to be honest that although I did some research, I ended up going with the “phone-free” for the long weekend. I used my whatsapp messaging etc on my US phone while on airplane mode.

Of course, there were moments – like when I was walking around looking for my hotel – when I would have killed for a smart phone but after a day passed without a phone, I figured it was not worth it to get a SIM card.

For those of you still interested, there is a SIM package for about 40 bucks that people can use and if you want to use the SIM package only for data, it can go down to 30 bucks. If you are flying Iceland Air, there may be an opportunity to purchase a SIM on the plane but you can also buy the package at the duty-free store at the airport when you arrive.

Golden Circle Tour:

A few hours after I arrived in Reykjavik, I was already boarding a bus with my friend for the Golden Circle tour. One of the things I must mention is that I usually travel to big cities where I would never have to rely on tours to explore its landmarks. I prefer doing that on my own by adventurously navigating a city’s metros, subways and public transportation.

In Reykjavik however, I had to put my aversion for tours (and my love for public transportation) aside and do in this city as most tourists do!

Tours!

There are many tours to Golden Circle and The Blue Lagoon so you can research on the ones that works best for you.

My friend had booked the tours for us in advance so I went along with the ride. Literally! It took us about an hour to reach our first destination which was the Pingvellir National Park! It is also the where many of the Game of Thrones scenes were shot so if you are a GOT fan, you will love this place. Personally, I have never seen the show so I could not experience that particular joy but still the sights were breathtaking. Walking around the rock formations and the mountains was truly an experience.

An hour later, we all piled back on the warm bus and headed over to the Geysers where we were scheduled to have lunch at the Hotel Geyser.

The lunch was delicious and much needed. We all drank gobs of coffee to warm up on such a cold day. Please note that it will be cold in Iceland, so definitely dress in warm clothes and layer up with something that is preferably waterproof. You WILL get wet when you visit the waterfalls.

After lunch, we walked around the geysers and it was a blast waiting around for the geysers to sneeze! I spend quite a while trying to get the perfect selfie but the sneeze is so short-lived that I never succeeded. I did get a few non-selfie photographs. Some bursts were definitely larger than others.

Our last stop was at the Gulfoss Waterfall. I must admit, those waterfalls were some of the largest I had ever seen in my entire life and was definitely a popular spot of the Golden Circle Tour. We all got pretty damp so I am glad I brought a rain poncho with me! I was cold but I was smiling.

An hour later, we all piled back on the bus and headed back downtown with a quick stop at a local bakery where I grabbed some tasty treats. I slept the entire way home and then grabbed a second – much needed – nap at the hotel room as well. Once, I was rested and well-slept, J and I headed out to enjoy the city’s nightlife!

I highly recommend Yulia’s blog Miss Tourist as well as Miriam Risager’s blog Adventurous Miriam for some great tips about the Golden Circle Tour.

https://misstourist.com/iceland-road-trip-part-1-south-east-and-south-iceland-in-4-days/

https://adventurousmiriam.com/driving-icelands-golden-circle/

Some helpful tips

Admission: No admission however you would have to pay for a tour,

Tips:

- Try to book a tour which includes lunch.

- If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you will particularly enjoy this tour.

- Wear something warm (gloves and all) and wear something waterproof

Blue Lagoon

If someone were to ask me what my favorite part of Iceland was, it would definitely be hard to pick but, I would have to say, The Blue Lagoon!!! My favorite memory in Iceland!

We were scheduled for our Blue Lagoon tour on Saturday and the forecast said that it was going to be a chilly day. I was praying for no rain. And YESSS! My prayers were answered. Even though it was cloudy during the day, the sun came out by the time we reached the lagoon.

I was exhausted from the night before since J and I decided to check out the local nightlife and were pleasantly impressed by the DJ. Still, I woke up in time to grab some coffee from the lobby and we boarded our tour bus at the designated stop at 10:30am. Once we arrived, we were all given a key to a locker and a towel. Admission is usually 70 to a 100 bucks but once again our tour included the bus ride, the admission ticket and lunch so it was quite a good deal.

Also, the water was so nice and warm that even though it was cold outside, it felt like a giant hot tub with blue water. It was very shallow and I was just walking around all over with friends from the tour. You can swim up to different corners – some corners are warmer than others – and there is even a swim-up bar as well as a swim-up lotion station. You get free silica mud masks which is great for your skin. The station has additional masks as well that you can purchase. The water from the blue lagoon is supposed to be great for your skin however it does dry your hair quite a bit. I wore a baseball cap the entire time but some people also condition their hair prior to getting into the water.

I should mention that I did not do the Blue Lagoon on the way to or back from the airport because that is how our tour was set up. However it is highly recommended to schedule your Blue Lagoon trip either the day you arrive from the airport or when you are on your way to the airport. The reason: it is located right between Reykjavik and the airport so you would not have to travel too far out of your way. That sounds like a great idea and friends who opted for that option loved it and had no issues. Still, for me, the Blue Lagoon was such an important plan on my agenda that I did not want to risk missing out in case my flight was delayed etc. So I was ok with the travel time. It really is not that much. Just an hour!

Blue Lagoon sells out quick so it is not a good idea to schedule a tour or a ticket the day of your visit and sometimes even on that weekend. I recommend purchasing your tour or you ticket in advance. If you miss your tour, finding another option for the weekend may be very difficult.

Another very important tip! Pictures! We all want to capture the perfect memory. It is not like we get to visit Iceland every weekend and the Blue Lagoon is definitely a memory we would want to capture with a selfie or an “Ussie”. However, smartphones are not always waterproof and it is never a good idea to dip into the water with them. I left my phone in the locker for that very reason but it was so hard to wade around knowing that I was not able to capture even one shot of this lagoon. So I ran up to the locker. Grabbed my phone. Gave it to one of the staff members hanging out in the dry area and they were more than happy to take a quick picture for me. Then, I jumped out. Quickly dried my hands and returned my phone to my locker. Later, I waded around the pool happy and content. If I had known, I would have definitely invested in a waterproof case for my phone. Totally worth it! I believe they do sell them at the Lagoon but you could probably find a much cheaper version of the same thing on Amazon before your trip!

Here are two great blogs about The Blue Lagoon. Miriam Risager’s blog the Adventurous Miriam lists some great tips on her blog titled “10 important tips for visiting the Blue Lagoon.” Also The Inspired Hostess also lists some equally helpful tips on her blog.

https://adventurousmiriam.com/blue-lagoon-iceland/

http://www.theinspiredhostess.com/travel/15-tips-for-visiting-the-blue-lagoon

Admission: 70, 90, 500

Address:

Hours: 10:30am to 2:30pm

Tips:

- Try to get a waterproof cover for your phone for good pictures.

- Best to do to or from airport.

- Sells out quick so get your tix in advance and schedule in advance

Food:

So obviously I have to get my grub on in every city that I visit. Hence, I had arrived in Reykjavik with a long list of local fare that I just couldn’t wait to try.

Puffin & Whale

Or just whale. However I must admit. I did not try this. A friend messaged me on Facebook and lectured me on consuming extinct animals and made me feel so bad that I decided to opt out. But if you want to still go for it. No judgement from me!

Meat Soup

Mostly a hot Lamb soup. If you are lucky it will come in a bread bowl. I pretty much ate a lot of this from an amazing place called Icelandic Street Food Café. More about that later.

Skyr Yogurt

A cheap on the go option where you get to try a local favorite grocery store item. Some amazing flavors too. Crème Brulee was my favorite. You can stock up on these from a nearby store to keep in your hotel room and just devour on the go. Yummy, good-for-you and a quick and easy option. Oh, and while we are on the subject of local manufacturers. Applesin is a local soda drink which I absolutely loved. Do give it a try.

Hakarl (Fermented shark)

Now you know I had to try this! Why? Because the faces everyone made when they documented their first bite on their youtube channels, gave me FOMO. Apparently locals don’t really eat it anymore and it is supposed to taste terrible. Luckily the bar at the Icelandic Street Food Café had it. For free too. They get so many tourists, they always have some lying around in Tupperware for the brave and curious tourists.

When I asked to pay for it, the friendly bartender remarked “Mate its free. I can’t get rid of it. No one wants it!” Challenge accepted. I only had a little piece. Because that is what you are supposed to do but my initial thought was that it definitely smells worse than it tastes. However, don’t speak too soon. The kicker is the aftertaste. That is what really gets you!

Ice-Landic Hot Dog

Mostly contains pork so I could not try it. But it was a popular after-hours bite for the drunken tourists. Pylsr is apparently the place to go – although you can get them anywhere – and it is best to make sure that you have the correct change because there is a bit of a line sometimes.

Icelandic street Food Café

So my best find in Reykjavic was the Icelandic street food café. It is less of a café and more of a place owned by a very generous person who just wants everyone to have fun, enjoy their food and leave happy. They had amazing deals. Some so inexpensive you wanted to thank everyone who worked there. My favorite was the “all you can drink” lamb soup. Yes, you heard me. You pay once and can return as many times as you want. On a cold day, it was just what you need in a bread bowl. Seating can be limited but they also own the bar next door where many customers carry their bowls to and from for refills while enjoying a beer and some board games. In addition to that they also have free brownies and macaroons (even waffles in the morning) for their customers. I loved this place and I recommend it as a must-visit!!! On my last day there, when I left after breakfast, an excited backpacker turned to me and remarked “Can you believe this place? Too good to be true”. I smiled at her and agreed!

#goldencircletour #bluelagoon #reykiavik #iceland

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bigoutsource · 4 years

Text

The Significance of Low Attrition Rates for Outsourcing Services Providers

Attrition rate pertains to the the number of personnel that leaves a company within a specified period of time. It is also otherwise known as the “staff turnover”. The more employees that resign or are let go, the higher the attrition rate is.

Why is high attrition rate a bad thing for an outsourcing company?

A waste of valuable resources

Acquiring and maintaining employees require an immense and exhaustive amount of resources. From hiring to training, the time, money and effort spent on molding applicants into people who can be relied on to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively are considered to be worthwhile investments. When these very same people leave, not only are they taking with them any experience and knowledge they might have gained, they are also wasting the resources that have been spent on them in the duration of time that they have been in the company. All those “investing” -- all those expensive signing bonuses, online courses, seminars, trainers, allowances, free lunches… swiftly flushed down the drain.

Decline in performance

When people with the necessary skill-set and experience departs from the company, it leaves behind a hole that the rest would struggle to fill in. The remaining staff would, of course, have to cover all the work left behind. Even worse if the tasks the former employee used to do requires specialized technical skills and know-how that no one else in the office is equipped to perform -- the quality of output would be forced into an inevitable downward spiral until a suitable replacement is found and sufficiently trained.

Gives off the wrong impression

It might seem superficial, but an outsourcing company’s public image is important not just for the acquisition of more employees, but for attracting more clients as well. And having large numbers of staff leave in a short period of time does not exactly shine a positive light on a company’s name.

The aforementioned reasons are just some of the many nasty disadvantages that high attrition rate brings into a company. It is a curse that not just the BPO sector, but almost every other field in business suffers from as well.

What exactly causes a high attrition rate?

Low salary

The employees might feel like they are not being paid enough for the amount of work that they are doing.

Toxic work environment

There are a few who would argue that the only thing worse than a company that hurts the pocket, is a company that hinders personal growth. Being treated like objects, unprofessional behavior by other employees, constant and incessant gossiping, bullying -- being subjected to these things would be more than enough reason to make anyone want to leave.

Lack of recognition

Another thing that might sour the employees’ affections is the fact that their successes and accomplishments are not even being noticed.

Poor employee selection

The person that has been hired might not have been the candidate best qualified for the position after all.

Overworked

Employees might feel like they are being made to do far more than the amount of work that they should be doing.

Inequality

Being treated as less important than someone else is never a good feeling. Some might feel like this is reason enough to burn bridges and move on to a better place.

Aversion to administrative and and/or management staff

There is a saying that goes “bad managers lose good employees”. Perhaps this could be chalked up to a toxic work environment as well. The bottom line is, no matter how great the compensation, if the management does not treat its people well, it's very likely that they would look for others who will.

Poor working conditions

Perhaps the employees find that the environment/place of work is not to their satisfaction. Some of the things that might contribute to poor working conditions are the following: unmanageable stress and noise levels, lack of basic amenities, lack of security, untidy spaces, etc.

Now, there is technically no way for a company to hold people back from leaving when they want. However, there are some preventive measures that can be put in place to stop them from wanting to leave in the first place.

Optimize the hiring process

The best way to keep employees from leaving because they don’t have the necessary skills for the tasks needed to be done… is to select the right people in the first place. Make sure that the candidates are screened and tested rigorously, to identify which one would fit with the position the best.

Offer a competitive compensation and benefits package

What’s the best way to keep your staff from moving to greener pastures? Simple -- be the greener pasture. Make yourself the more attractive option. Keep your people from leaving by giving them a good enough reason to stay.

Make work enjoyable

Monotonous, repetitive tasks are boring. They stifle creativity and passion. They inadvertently lead to loss of productivity. Make sure that the job is stimulating and challenging- something to look forward to rather than to dread.

Promote a healthy working environment

Team buildings, company lunches, recreational events, even simple parlor games -- these things serve not just to boost morale, but also to promote camaraderie and easy friendship within the workforce. However, events are not the only way to promote a healthy working environment. Even starting positive little practices like saying good morning everyday before the shift starts could contribute a lot to the improvement of the workplace.

Communicate your vision

Give the employees a goal to strive for. A motivated person performs twice as well when there is a finish line he is working hard to get to.

Fire people who don’t fit

It might seem like an odd thing to do when trying to keep the attrition rate down, but there are people who, instead of adding to the company, detracts from it. These are the people who start trouble, and lead other employees into resigning. It is like cutting off a diseased limb. It is healthier for the entire body in the long run.

Provide opportunities

Give the employees the chance to grow and to move up the ranks. There is nothing more motivating than the prospect of hard work being rewarded accordingly. It also promotes a positive impression towards new recruits.

Engage your employees

Get to know them and the work that they do. Gain a bit of knowledge about the tasks that they routinely perform. Ask for their opinion on important decisions that would ultimately affect them as well. Let them feel like actual people who have a say in what goes, and not just silent, insignificant cogs in a wheel.

Honor achievements

When your team reaches a milestone, show them that you appreciate their hard work. When a personnel surpasses a record, give him the recognition he deserves. When a staff attains breakthrough success, award her. Basically, let your people know that the work they put in are not being taken for granted, and that their every progress and accomplishments are being acknowledged and valued. It doesn’t have to be a trophy or a certificate. It can be as simple as a “thank you”, a “well done” or a “good job”. Positive reinforcement works wonders.

#attrition rate #bpo #bpo philippines #outsourcing #outsourcing philippines

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alexstrick · 5 years

Text

Solid Study Habits for Coders

I’ve been working to diversify my skills over the past three years, in particular to grow as a software developer / computer programmer. To that end, I started working my way through the Launch School syllabus a few months back. I’m at an inflection point in the course right now so I thought it worth reflecting on what study habits have served me well as well as which ones I still haven’t quite managed to adopt.

Before I started, I exhaustively read through their forum comments and in-house blog posts to see how I might best approach my study time. They recommend you spend 20+ hours per week working on their course materials. With such a large investment of my time, I wanted to make sure I was getting the best return.

Core principles / Mental Models

‘Get Good at the Fundamentals’

This is a bit of a mantra at Launch School and I find it greatly appealing as a principle to drive how I study. It’s also useful as a heuristic to decide whether to dive deep on something, to read an article, to attend a meetup and so on. (See more here.)

‘Process, not goals’

I’m not sure I saw this explicitly enunciated somewhere, but given the fact that it can take around two years to work your way through the syllabus it seemed useful to keep in mind. I already have adopted this thanks to Beeminder and a really excellent piece by Scott Adams from 2013. With a somewhat long-term goal, arbitrary goal-focused time deadlines (‘finish the 202 course by May’) are less useful than something where you specify the amount of time you’d like to regularly invest into the study process.

‘Finishing is not the goal, mastery is.’

There’s a little bit of fetishising the idea of ‘mastery’ at Launch School, but this principle reminds me not to be in so much of a rush while working through the course. As Chris Lee mentioned in the forums, “if you’re in a rush, my question is: “where are you going?””

(Find ways to) enjoy what is hard

This one I find quite difficult, lazy and averse to struggling with difficult things as I am. The whole skill/career of coding and wrestling with these abstract concepts in your head is one where you’re constantly upgrading your baseline of difficulty. This is rewarding in that there are always challenging problems to chew down on. This is also frustrating, though, because there’s always somewhere harder / out of reach to work towards. A number of students and TAs on the forums mentioned that having a mindset where you actively seek out those moments as opportunities for growth was a game-changer for them. (Note: strong intersections with Dweck’s growth mindset here).

Mindset

Abandon artificial timelines

Don’t work to get through a course in x or y number of months ‘just because’. Rather, only advance if you’ve actually mastered the things in that course. This is a freeing perspective to take if you can find a way to adopt it. Society / culture encourages always keeping an eye on the clock, so this is a hard one (for me at least).

Comparisons are odious

It doesn’t help to compare timelines. Everyone is coming at things with a different background and set of experience behind them. It also doesn’t help to compare competency / progress through the course for the same reason. It adds very little to my ability to grasp a particular topic to know where I lie on the bell curve. The only slight exception to this is knowing that the full core curriculum will take somewhere between 6-24 months to complete; this way if I am still studying it 20 years from now I can maybe recalibrate.

Lean in to hard problems

I covered this earlier. If I have it as a sort of rubric which reminds me to lean into the difficulty whenever I encounter such a patch, then that’s useful.

Master the current problem in front of you, right at this moment, without anxiety

Books are written one word at a time. Similarly with logic problems, or broken code or whatever, taking a calm look at something that looks knotted and gnarly is the way to approach it. There’s no need for anxious sudden movements, or huge massive changes. Work your way through things one step at a time.

Be clear about the ‘why’

For something that isn’t completed quickly (i.e. within a few days), it pays to remember why you’re doing it. This helps with motivation, it helps reorient you to what kinds of choices you have to make, and it (often) helps remind you of some best practices around working towards that mastery.

(Be specific)

This is sort of a sub-point relating to specifying the reason why you’re doing something. Try to specifically connect with some kind of emotion, visualise the outcome in some kind of image etc; this will help get the most of your reasons why in terms of it translating into motivation and clarity of purpose.

Practice

Study ‘to depth’

Make sure to study the exercises or problems to their full depth rather than just completing them for the sake of moving on. A useful image to have in your mind is that of squeezing an orange. You don’t want to abandon the orange (i.e. the opportunity to study a particular problem) until you’ve squeezed every last drop out of it. There’s a point at which you’ve spent toomuch time, of course, but for many / most people you’re likely erring on the side of ‘making progress’ vs getting lost going too deep.

Do code exercises

There’s lots of options for this. You probably don’t want to start out doing this when you’re still figuring out what a variable is, but fairly soon it pays to get into the habit of doing an exercise or three each day. Think of it almost like your daily workout. You’re building your muscle memory for solving problems, as well as cementing various syntactic and idiomatic phrasings. Of course, Launch School has you doing a mountain of exercises as well, so don’t worry too much about supplementing from outside the course, at least not initially.

Reinforce concepts / theories using active recall

This is learning meta-methods 101, but always worth reminding oneself to actively test yourself. Don’t just read through notes, but keep a list of higher-level concepts or method names and then take 30 minutes or an hour once a week to type out an example or two using each of those concepts and methods. (More on this later).

Deliberate practice

This builds on the previous concept of active recall. For me, this often takes the following shape: I’ll complete an exercise or a challenge. Perhaps I’ve solved the problem fine using my own code / approach, but when I finish and look at the ‘official’ solution it differs from mine in some (big or small) way. I’ll take a look, make sure I understand the principles around which it’s organised, then I’ll shut that page / window and try to replicate that approach myself. Sometimes, if a problem was hard enough to solve, I’ll even leave it a few days and just try to work the problem from scratch in any possible way that I can think of. I have enough of a goldfish brain that sometimes this will feel like I’ve never solved the problem in the past.

Compare solution tradeoffs

Alongside just trying to code it from scratch yourself, it sometimes helps to compare the various approaches (perhaps adding in solutions given by other students) and seeing which might be optimum. Asking ‘why’ at this point is often a useful place to stretch towards, even though the answer to that ‘why’ is often a few modules ahead of where you are. I keep a log of these bigger picture ‘why’ questions.

Build things

Perhaps slightly controversial amongst those taking Launch School. They don’t encourage a ‘hack and slash’ mentality but rather direct towards a more methodical and deliberate approach. That said, once you’re at a certain point, it can be useful, motivating and just practically beneficial in terms of the reps it gives you, to build something that has meaning for you or for others. At the moment I’m just working on somewhat more pure Ruby code in the terminal / via the command line, but later on I imagine this will become more relevant. (To that end, perhaps keep a list of project ideas).

Taking Notes / ‘Studying’

This is the one that people seem to have the most thoughts about on the Launch School forums. That’s possibly explained by the fact that people will know what works for them — or at least will have some patterns that they feel have worked for them in the past, in somewhat analogous situations.

Type out all code examples manually

This one is easy to forget. When you’re following along with a video or textbook, make sure to type out the examples, however easy or seemingly comprehensible they seem. Typing not only engages your muscles, giving you an additional hook for memory, but it forces you to slow down and gives an opportunity to question what each character of a code snippet is doing.

Take notes with pen and paper first time round

This is especially true for things that I’m not fully comfortable with. For something where I have thousands of hours of experience under my belt — the modern political history of Afghanistan, let’s say — I have more of a structure in my head and so can get away with typing notes. For the rest, like all these new things I’m learning about Ruby, pen and paper is pretty unbeatable. There’s a bunch of good science confirming that that’s the case, and it aligns with my experiential sense as well.

Core principles / Mental Models

‘Get Good at the Fundamentals’

‘Process, not goals’

‘Finishing is not the goal, mastery is.’

(Find ways to) enjoy what is hard

Mindset

Abandon artificial timelines

Comparisons are odious

Lean in to hard problems

I covered this earlier. If I have it as a sort of rubric which reminds me to lean into the difficulty whenever I encounter such a patch, then that’s useful.

Master the current problem in front of you, right at this moment, without anxiety

Be clear about the ‘why’

(Be specific)

Practice

Study ‘to depth’

Do code exercises

Reinforce concepts / theories using active recall

Deliberate practice

Compare solution tradeoffs

Build things

Taking Notes / ‘Studying’

Type out all code examples manually

Take notes with pen and paper first time round

Some people in the forums noted how one of their preparatory tasks prior to an assessment was to type up their handwritten notes into a more formal digital reference of the course materials. I’m in two minds as to whether I think that’s going to be useful, mainly because the online documentationexists to serve that purpose. But I’m at the point where I have to decide about that so watch this space…

Anki for things you need to remember

If I think a particular method / fact / morsel of knowledge is something I’m going to want to actively recall from memory in the future, I’ll add it to Anki. I try to follow the principles outlined in Piotr Wozniak’s essential piece entitled “Twenty rules of formulating knowledge”. (Seriously if you use Anki and you haven’t read it, stop right now and go read it).

I use a mix of cloze-deletion cards and custom templates for coding.

This card is a simple cloze deletion card. I wanted to make sure I was learning the options for file permissions as part of the command line portion of the prep course.

This card tests my ability to produce an example where I’m using the .reduce method. I try to include a bunch of these production cards since they mimic the kinds of situations / circumstances where I’d need to recall this piece of information in real life.

[Even though comparisons are odious (see above), in case it’s of interest to others, I’m just through RB101 and about to begin RB109 and I have 536 cards that I generated during the course of my studies.]

Ask questions

Ask lots of questions. The advice given by Launch School instructors is to focus on the why questions when asking others. (The how questions are usually a matter of looking something up). I found this was broadly true. I have a reserved set of pages at the end of my notebook where I write down these questions that seem a bit outside my comfort zone.

Some of these get answered in the course of the programme. For example, I see that one of my questions was about why symbols are often preferable to non-symbols when used as hash keys. This was answered (sort of / enough to give me a sense of the answer) a few lessons later. Others are bigger issues for which there probably is no final answer. For example: “doesn’t dynamic typing force us to spend a lot of time validating input? isn’t static typing safer?”

Asking ‘why’ something behaves they way it does allows you to better develop your mental models and can be an effective way to grasp what’s going on.

Feynman technique

I use a slight variant of this much-lauded technique. It consists of something approximate to the following steps:

Write the title of a topic that you want to study / test yourself on

Write or map out an explanation of that subject intelligible / appropriate to a non-specialist. Do this from memory.

Identify any gaps in your explanation / understanding.

Relearn / restudy / interrogate to fill in the gaps.

You can use narrative / diagrams to condense and clarify your explanation. For my Launch School studies, I do this once a week on Saturdays. I keep a list of new methods that I’m learning about during the week. Particularly towards the end of RB101 these started to mount up. Then on the weekend, I’d take the list of methods and test myself by writing out (by hand, with pen and paper) code that illustrated how to use each method. If needed, I’d write or say out loud an explanation relating to that method. This is a humbling exercise; you realise that you don’t know the things that you thought you knew.

Write blog posts to explain anything that feels unclear

My last blog post is an illustration of this. I was having trouble getting what the .zip method could be used for and how it transformed things to which it was applied. So I wrote up some notes to myself in the form of a blog post.

I sometimes worry that too many of these posts — written purely for me to understand something — are alienating for those who subscribe to the blog via something intrusive like the email newsletter. I considered putting my ‘writing for the purposes of understanding’ posts in a separate location. In the end, though, I’m probably overthinking it. Like it or lump it!

Make mental models of how things work

A lot is made of this, both at Launch School and in the wider world of study techniques. I’m not sure I have too many examples of where I’ve formally had to think through something using a mental model of how it works. I imagine this will start to be more applicable in later courses. Or perhaps it’s just that I already have some mental models for how the code behaves owing to my previous studies in coding. At any rate, I’m keen to get the most out of this but so far haven’t found it to apply too much.

Make a cheat sheet at the end of a topic

I haven’t done this yet, though I can see how it’d be useful. For my current course and assessment, I think it’s probably hard to do — i.e. condensing the Ruby language to a single sheet of paper. But I’m reserving the right to do this at a later stage.

Spend time reading the code of others

I tried to do this a little bit while going through the exercises. My hesitation was initially that the code hadn’t been reviewed or formally assessed and I didn’t want to absorb bad patterns from others who — like me — were likely at the beginning of their journey and who couldn’t be expected to know if they were writing something that should be emulated or not.

In the end, I think it’s still useful to read the code of others. It’ll usually be somewhat clear or not whether an answer is overly complicated. And answering why you think that is in itself a revealing process.

Review

The Launch School syllabus takes a year or two to get through. You start off with Ruby, but later on you’re working on Javascript or whatever. The concepts and the methods and the details could easily start to get forgotten if you’re not regularly reviewing and practicing things you studied in the past.

Anki as the cornerstone for spaced repetition

As evidenced by the large number of cards in my Anki deck, Anki occupies a central place in my strategy to outsource the need to worry about reviews and recall over the long-term. If there’s something I want to be able to recall a year from now and it’s not something I’m using literally every day or two, then it’s going to end up in Anki.

An important note, though: learn the material FIRST, before adding it to Anki. I’ve learned this the hard way in the past; if you don’t learn it before adding to Anki, you’ll find Anki becomes slow and filled with a sense of drudgery. It’s also inefficient to group those two very separate tasks into a single moment at the point where you’re reviewing a card.

The great thing about Anki is that as a particular fact passes from your short term memory to your long-term memory, the need for reviews becomes less frequent, so you’ll see it less often. Trust the spaced repetition algorithm. It knows what it’s doing.

Explain a concept out loud

This overlaps with the Feynman technique (see above). You can do this on your own, or to a friend / captive audience. Doing this with people who are much older or younger than you can be instructive as to whether you actually understand a particular topic.

I sometimes build this in as part of my Anki studies. I’ll have a card where the front says “What is [concept x or whatever]? Try explaining it out loud.” Then I’ll either find someone to do this with or I’ll just do it myself. Then on the back of the card it’ll either have a small list of key sub-concepts to make sure I got it right or it’ll say “Go look at your notes to confirm that you covered everything important”. This way I’m getting prompts to review old material, but they’re reoccurring at regular enough intervals that I don’t have to worry about having to do this too often.

Keep Ruby / other fundamentals sharp

People in the forums mentioned that when they moved on to Javascript or other parts of the course, they found their Ruby skills starting to atrophy. Many said they wished they’d been more formal about reviewing old materials and keeping those skills fresh.

I think this is best solved by doing regular code challenge exercises as provided by sites like those listed above. I’ll use Beeminder to keep me honest and doing at least one or two every few days.

Review old materials

People suggested that roughly 20% of your weekly study time should be devoted to reviewing old materials. I wonder if that’s a little high, but for me that might translate to keeping a solid hour or two on Saturdays for review of those old materials. And by review I mainly mean active recall using some of the techniques mentioned above, and then reading through notes to confirm whether I still knew something or not.

Getting Stuck

This is where I struggle the most with coding — the mental game of failure. But having a process to deal with those moments — because they will come — addresses a good chunk of the issue when it comes to getting stuck. The following are possible options for working through it, as suggested by fellow students / instructors:

Read the error messages thoroughly

First try it with pseudocode

Solve problems on your own before looking at solutions or asking others for help. (If you can’t solve it, and depending on the size of the problem, still don’t look at the solution until a day or two has passed).

Use the rubber ducky method of talking through a problem. (This can be translated to writing as well, where just the act of writing up where you’re stuck can often be enough to get you unstuck)

Don’t cheat yourself of the opportunity to learn if the problem is difficult. Work through it and take your time.

Use the PEDAC system / process

Community

Everyone studying at Launch School is doing so remotely. We’re all scattered around the world, but doing thing with others can be really helpful with motivation. I don’t always find it the most time-efficient way of studying, but working with others in a structured manner seems to be strongly recommended by posters in the forums. For me I think this will take two forms: attending the group study sessions appropriate to my particular level, and interacting with discussions on the forums and Slack channel.

I might supplement this with ad hoc study groups depending on my need for that during assessment preparation. At any rate, there seems to be a good deal of opportunity for that kind of thing among fellow students.

Habits / Meta-Structure

A lot of this comes under the rough category of ‘life fundamentals’. Most shouldn’t need too much explanation.

Stop using / viewing social media or meaningless input — for me that’s Twitter and YouTube. I have turned this off completely outside specific windows.

No email — I also have email turned off everywhere except outside certain windows. On my phone, I’ve set it up that I don’t have access to IMAP mail via apps or the standard ‘Mail’ app, but I am able to send mails through SMTP email.

Be careful with caffeine / tea — I don’t drink coffee, but some varieties of tea cause me to get a little too edgy and scatter-brained. So this is just a reminder to be conscious of that and always err on the side of caution. Also, periodically taking 1-3 weeks completely without caffeine (as with salt) allows me to reset my baseline, needing less to cause the stimulating effect it has.

Keep the house / room clean

Go for a walk every day

Exercise — do it.

Sleep — this is maybe the most important item in this entire post for me.

Scheduling Study / Core Routine

Study Every Day

I try to study a minimum of two hours every day on average, moving up to a stretch goal of three or four if I am able. This allows me to make meaningful progress in my studies. Ideally, I try to have at least one day / week which is a 3-4 hour uninterrupted slot. But probably four hours is my maximum when it comes to focused, productive work.

Pick a sustainable pace

I could probably do a few days of full-on / flat-out work, but eventually I’d burn out. The trick here is to do enough that you can always work the next day. This means not working from a place of exuberance or excitement. Learning and coding doesn’t have to be high-octane. That doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable or satisfying, needless to say.

This means starting with reasonable weekly hours and slowly increasing them rather than jumping straight into an intense pace of 5 hours a day, let’s say.

For me, this initially looked like starting with 15 hours per week and I’m currently at around 18. Reaching somewhere around 25-30 would be my ideal, but I have to listen to how my mind and body responds, and have to balance other work to support (read: pay for) this course of study.

Create a routine / habit around Launch School study

For me, this means having my studies as the first thing I do in the day. I want to give it the time when I’m at my best during the day, so that means first thing in my morning. I potter around for 30-60 minutes after getting up, and then I immediately start work on my studies.

Block things

I covered this above a little, but basically for me it means using tools like Freedom and Focus apps to keep me honest and not distracted. I’m fairly good about using these tools, but not always and it’s easy to notice the difference.

Take breaks

I usually segment my studies with inbuilt short breaks. These can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes and I try to get up, stretch or do some kind of physical exercise / movement. For Macs, the Move! app is a great utility. I like to take somewhere between one and two breaks per hour on average.

Think about posture early on

This is something which I haven’t thought too much about, but people on the Launch School slack channel and elsewhere have suggested it’s important. If you’re going to spend hours behind some sort of laptop, getting posture and ergonomics right seems like a good thing to aim for. I’ve had good experiences with the Ninja Standing Desk (sadly not being produced any more, it seems!) though I don’t currently have it with me. This is something to return to in a few months.

Take a day off

I take one day off each week which is for non-tech things, or family or friends. This is usually Saturdays for me but not always. I turn off phones and laptops and don’t let myself use them for the whole twenty-four hour period. I sometimes lose this habit when I have too many things going on and am overcommitted — witness that I’m currently writing this blogpost on my supposedly sacred Saturday ‘day off’ — but in any given year I’ll stick to it perhaps 80% of the time. The more I work on Launch School the more I’m reminded that it’s a good thing to disconnect from digital input and reconnect with the world around me.

A routine for the end of the day

Currently the two key parts to this involve writing down what’s coming up tomorrow and where to start with them. It also includes making my environment conducive to just starting work the next day — i.e. cleaning my desk.

#launchschool #study #coding #productivity #ruby #anki

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opalmothnightingale · 7 years

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More Blogs. Yay (For Me At Least)!!

10- 7- 17 -

More blogs I’ve made. More ways to compartmentalize my thoughts, goals, etc... And try to make myself focus on one thing at a time and commit and follow through, because I took the time to make a freaking blog on the goal itself, come on now, self! Lol So,.. the blogs:

A blog about spirituality, as in what I’d most like to share with others, if I was to share “my spiritual path”, instead of just random daily life tidbits and convoluted practices that are spiritually-relevant (yet vague, too complex or perhaps totally unnecessary or confusing, even misleading, like this blog and some of my others can be),... Yeah, just sharing what spirituality is, more to the point, or what it is, to me:

pathsaremade.tumblr.com

A blog about silence, and practicing silence, and things that enhance and facilitate silent meditative states, silent energy and guidance that comes through, healing and so on, during these silent times,... Or quiet, not necessarily just pure silence (as silence is difficult for me to obtain and sometimes to bear, in its pure sheer blank state),...

And what silence is useful for, when it is useful, or important and needed, when it can help with certain kinds of problems, can be like a form of meditation (even without formal meditative techniques) etc...

Attempting to motivate and focus myself to practice silence more, is what this blog is for, and possibly also contemplating silence, writing about its relevance to other things in my life or life in general:

divingdeepintosilence.tumblr.com

A blog about the shadow, and healing of the shadow. Healing trauma, aversion, fear, anxiety, avoidance, judgmental attitudes,...

I started this blog because I feel a lot of trauma about being other peoples’ living walking shadows, or so it feels. I also have my own shadow and I want to heal that. I think part of my shadow is accepting that they see me as their shadow, and accepting the part of them that represses, rejects, denies, pushes my reality out of sight.

So, this blog is for helping me to help myself those ways, and also to try to explain and find a way to bridge a gap to others who see me in such a fearful, negative light, and the backlash I have had of being so withdrawn, prickly and cringing away from all affection and kindness and presenting this kind of dark, imposing, threatening, confusing persona,...

Which I do to prevent people from getting close, because I’ve had it with exhausting, meaningless interactions that end in being misinterpreted, told what to do, and at last, rejected, often even having my character attacked severely... Arghh!! So here is that blog:

shadowsantidote.tumblr.com

A blog for dealing with the fact that I want to mortify my flesh, and my mind and heart, my human self... Both in spiritual ways that are tried and true for certain religions and paths and also just my going it on my own, outlet for my self-flagellations of criticism and such, even if they don’t always make sense, but I feel there’s a reason and a rhyme that may become apparent in these urges to put myself down. I think there’s a message, a useful one, at times, and it may be exaggerated, distorted, even completely warped and misdirected...

But if I just get the feelings out, without obsessing on them or amplifying them... Just release it...

Then I think the feelings underneath or the reasons or thoughts will get more of a chance to rise up and make themselves known to my awareness, or my subconscious, till I sense it out and get to the root of all this need and desire to mortify and shame myself,... for some purported higher moral objective...

And sometimes I think there really is a benefit to quieting, restraining the flesh, weakening it, like with fasting and even pain and other ascetic paths...

I’m not sure what all practices like that I’d like to try, but some of them, at least, and here is a blog to explore all that:

https://falltoclimb.tumblr.com/

A blog to create a friend-like feeling when I feel a sore need of a friend to confide in about my issues and feelings and dreams and vulnerabilities that I feel a friend would support, be open to, be enthusiastic about, and care about the best. But I have to create that feeling for myself, oftentimes, and a blog can help me do that better, though... It’s own separate space, set aside with the intention of accessing and building up and exalting that state of mind and heart that lets flow my need and desire and deservingness of a good, deep, truest, super close friend,... Even if I don’t have a friend I really feel most comfortable with in this way and have the ability to talk to right now:

friendofmyheart.tumblr.com

A blog of prayers and answers to those prayers, and also practices of spirituality, art and offerings to spirit, and things like that, which I see as related to or various kinds of prayer, to me... And as far as the “answers to the prayers” thing...

I have another blog with questions to the universe, and possibly answers, too, but this is to be more overtly focused on tracking, noticing, and receiving the answers, than I had in mind with that other blog...

Trying to track and see and notice if I can see actual answers to my prayers. Because I think I can sometimes receive the answers to my prayers and not even notice them. Sometimes I actually act on those answers, not realizing it is the answer to my prayer. I worry sometimes I might not act on them at all, not notice that I got the answer, and let it slip by, too sometimes.

I want to keep track, either way, just so I can be more aware and grateful and acknowledge the answers and help from spirit that I do get. Also to give others examples and encourage them in their own prayer and spiritual life. So, here is this blog:

drinkthedivinenectar.tumblr.com

Then I made two other “outlet” blogs, for things that felt even worse than that which I felt able to confide in a friend, easily or comfortably, or necessarily at all... But that depends, I guess... Anyway, I felt it would flow more easily if I created a “safe space” for expression, of these things, in their own separate blogs, and they are about shame, my worst of shameful things I have to face and deal with and try to address and overcome.

Things I feel no one would want to support or listen or care or validate or help me with, in an honest way. They would judge or expect more of me than I can offer, and thus I have to face my shame, purify, love, tolerate and be my own supporter in that way. I haven’t written the first post yet for this blog.

Then another blog, also shame-centric... About abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and psychological, manipulative abuse, and so on... And the feeling of being trapped.

The feeling that I also harbor tendrils of abusive patterns, even though I don’t think of myself as an “abuser”, but I see it as a potential, if pushed to bad enough limits of misery and inability to cope with my illnesses, mental illnesses and spiritual illnesses and traumas and psychological conditions, behavioral conditions, personality conditions. Generally these things are not a problem and I feel proud of myself, proud in my shame, actually...

That I can be honest about these things, things I think are far, far more common than most people will admit to, and those who do admit generally shift the blame, instead of admitting they too can be a part of the abuse cycle, and those who admit to being a part of the abusive decay themselves often turn to helpless resignation or complaining, banding together with others of their kind, criticizing the victimes, minimizing their harmful actions, distorting the facts.

I will not fall prey to that because it would eat a hole in my soul. I never wanted to feel the way I feel, to feel driven to be this way, to be cornered into a position where I feel so without better options and the ones left are so dark and insidious and threatening...

I know a few things about the social institutions that would try to relieve my problems for me, if I tried to partake and they’re rife with dysfunction and abuse themselves. My husband is the product of that system, taken from his parents when he was a teenager along with his many siblings.

So we both have seen a lot and it’s no clean, clear, safe, good and reliable solution, and considering the level and frequency (low level and very infrequent for a very long time now) of the “abuse” (arguments with verbal abuse, and complex manipulative games and covert mental abuse, from him to me, with me only rarely lashing back in retaliation, when I can hold it back no more)... Considering all that, we’re better off the way we are until I heal enough to have any better options. I cannot support myself, etc. So, it is what it is.

I haven’t written the first post of that blog either. But here they are anyway:

https://underthewingsofspirit.tumblr.com/

https://sacredprofane.tumblr.com/

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organisemybiz · 7 years

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Robo advisors are automated investment platforms that use algorithms to manage and allocate investor's funds. These services analyze each customer's current financial status, risk aversion, and goals. From here, they recommend the best portfolio of stocks available based on that data. Thanks to this ease of use, robo investing or automated investing has been on the rise in recent years. The reasonably wide selection of online financial advisory services on the market has given consumers options for automating their investments. BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, forecasts that robo advisors will manage approximately 10% of all global assets under management (AUM) by 2020. This would equate to approximately $8 trillion. So it's clear that these automated services are becoming more prevalent. But a user-friendly experience is just one reason that robo investing has been steadily growing in popularity. Below, we've put together a list of the four most significant factors in automated investing growth. 1) Global wealth is concentrated. The majority of worldwide AUM is in the hands of an extremely small portion of the global population. Therefore, only a few high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) would need to let robo advisors manage even a portion of their money in order to drastically affect the AUM for automated investors. BI Intelligence expects 60% of these HNWIs to invest 20% of their assets in robo advisors by 2020, which would equate to approximately $6.4 trillion. 2) Asia will push robo advisor adoption. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will overtake the U.S. in investable wealth later this year. Therefore, BI Intelligence expects the APAC region to represent $2.4 trillion in robo advisor AUM by 2020. 3) Consumers are interested in automated investment. The investing public is largely receptive to robo advisors thanks to the services' ease of use and ability to take stress and worry away from investors. BI Intelligence found that 49% of HNWIs worldwide would consider letting a robo advisor manage at least some of their wealth. 4) Robo advising has advantages over traditional human financial advisors. In a majority of cases, companies are able to offer robo advisor services with significantly lower fees than traditional human advisors while still maintaining approximately the same return on investment. This lets these companies promote themselves to a much broader segment of the market, such as millennials who might be otherwise averse to place their trust and their money into a human advisor's hands. On top of this, robo advisors usually automate items such as application processing. This eliminates a portion of the friction for customers and also helps companies lower their labor costs, which then turns into savings for customers. Finally, robo advisors oftentimes offer auto-rebalancing, accessibility from multiple devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.), extremely low or nonexistent minimum investments, and tax loss harvesting. More to Learn This overview of robo advisors' growing popularity is just the beginning when it comes to the automated investing market. That's why BI Intelligence spent months putting together the greatest and most exhaustive guide on robo advisors entitled The Robo-Advising Report: Market forecasts, key growth drivers, and how automated asset management will change the advisory industry. To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the payments industry, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the Complete Robo-Advisor Research Collection, which contains 5 in-depth reports, slide decks, and appendices. >> BUY THE BUNDLE Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of robo advisors. See Also: ROBO ADVISORS: Online financial advisors with automated investing Top 15 best robo advisors of 2017 Robo Advisors: Here's how to craft the optimal customer journey

#IFTTT #Flickr #business #bizfeed #businessinsider

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mvhs2013 · 7 years

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Cat Scratching Solutions & Alternatives to Declawing

“Cat scratching is a natural form of self-expression for felines that satisfies multiple needs associated with health and well-being. Scratching provides a natural manicure that strips the outer sheath or layer of this claw for hygienic purposes; allows stretching of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons for health and vitality; provides an outlet for responding to stress and crisis; and provides a satisfying species-specific activity associated with excitement and play.”

This list ended up being created to assist those who need solutions to cat behavior that is scratching alternatives to declawing. Our goal is to create an exhaustive list so that people have the information necessary to know natural healthy cat scratch behavior and practice while feeling empowered and adept at redirecting it to designated scratch surfaces.

NOTE: This list is long and varied in recognition of cat's individual purrsonalities, pawticular purreferences, and cat that is unique expressions and impressions. Another words, some of these solutions will work with your cat while others will not. The purrpose is to offer pawsibilities that are sufficient can be chosen and implemented based on your specific requirements, the needs of one's cat, as well as the requirements of your interspecies household. Although we're attempting to collect 100 pawsibilities, we want people to realize that we're not suggesting that you utilize all of these with one pet. We do suggest that people observe their feline family members behavior for cues and clues in order to determine the solutions which will be most effective and functional within their particular cohabitation situation. Any purrson, and any household although it won't be necessary for a person to employ every option, solution, or intervention mentioned in the list...more pawsibilities ensure that some solution can be found for any cat.

1. Have you created a space or area in the true home where your feline member of the family can feel safe, secure, and comfortable? A cat at ease is less likely to engage in what appears to be random, indiscriminate scratching.

2. Have you provided a scratch surface with a texture that your feline prefers or multi-textured options? (fabric; wood; window screen; upholstery; rugs/carpet; mattress ticking; sisal, basket weave; cardboard; cork)

3. Have you provided a scratch surface that provides a variety of scratch directions? (horizontal, vertical, angled)

4. Have you provided a scratch surface that remains stationary and stable in response to your feline family member’s scratching behavior?

5. Does your scratching post or surface that is scratching a 28 inch to 36 inch vertical height so your cat can reach, pull, and get a full stretch of this body?

6. Have you placed the scratch surface in an area where you’ve observed the scratching behavior? (where resting quarters are located; where food & water bowls are located; at entrances/exits/doorways/window sills; near home furnishings; common living areas provided by the remainder family)

7. Have you placed several scratching posts/surfaces in multiple areas around the home so your cat has opportunities to land the right scratch in the right place at the time that is right?

8. Have you provided enough scratch outlets to accommodate a household that is multi-cat?

9. Have you placed posts/surfaces that are scratching communal areas where the family members spends the majority of their time? (Your feline family member will want to be near you, not stuck in a corner far from all the action)

10. Have you considered buying a perch-scratching surface combination like the CatAWhack Unit? Cats like to look out over the area that they share with you and the rest of the family; a perch provides a great platform for spying interesting things, staying entertained, and seeing "eye-to-eye" with the rest of the family... and like any member of the family who wants to communicate or share their discoveries, they need a way to communicate it to you…that’s where the scratch surface (aka: writing pad) comes into play providing a conveniently located means of expression.

11. Does scratch behavior happen before, during, or after exposure to experiences that are particular activities? (eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, searching out of the window, spending time on the screened in porch, visiting the vet, engaging with other residents in the house)

12. Does the scratch behavior occur at pawticular times of the day (dawn, dusk, middle of the night); after specific activities (waking from sleep, eating, playing); or after seeing other felines, birds, squirrels or interacting with the family dog or other felines (within the home, seen through windows, scent detection through window screens or under doors)?

13. Have you integrated the meeting of multiple needs that are daily the placement of scratch surfaces? For example, creating a space where feeding, drinking, sleeping, playing, exercising, stretching, and occurs that are scratching. Designated purrsonalized spaces that fulfill multiple needs associated with feline health, wellbeing, and activities of daily living make natural scent that is recurrent a reinforcer for return visits and repeat scratch purrformances.

14. Have you rewarded scratching behavior placed on designated “claws on” surfaces with treats, catnip, affection, pawsitive praise, and/or play time?

15. Have you tried placing your cat on or near the scratch surface while you pet her? This often inspires “kneading” motions with the paws that retract and extend the claws into and out from the scratch surface leading to sensations that are pleasurable a desire to return and repeat.

16. Have you used rewards or reinforcement that is pawsitive YOUR cat is tuned in to? (treats; interactive play time; solitary play time with a treat ball; praise; kitty massage; catnip; access to an area, room, wardrobe, basement, etc. that is not always accessible)

17. Have you enticed interactive play time to your feline family member around the scratching post/designated scratching surface or with sights, sounds, scents, tastes that encourage exploration around the unit? (dangle toys; chase toys; catnip; hidden treats; pre-recorded “prey” sounds that initiate at timed intervals; games of chase, tag, or hide-n-seek)

18. Have you made efforts to change out rewards that are positive reinforcers to make it more interesting for your cat? (For example, adding a cardboard box or some other addition that would encourage exploration and curiosity in the area where the scratching post is placed)

19. Have you placed treat that is automatic around the scratching post/surface? (Make homemade treat dispensers or work-to-eat toys by cutting small holes in a brown paper bag, small cardboard box, or wc paper roll that has the ends folded up; Try the Amazing Treat Machine Rollers)

20. Have you been consistent in your efforts to redirect, reward and reinforce behavior that is scratching designated “claws on” surfaces?

21. Have you provided your cat with at least 14 days to change their scratch practice to approved surfaces? (After all, it takes at least 14 days to break or change a habit)

22. Have you made scratching that is old or “claws off” surfaces unappealing to your feline family member? (Covered with double tape that is sided furniture protectors such as: Sticky Paws Furniture Strips; Sticky Paws on a Roll; Used safe scents or non-toxic repellents during the site of undesired scratching such as orange rinds, natural citrus, lemon, or orange sprays, Pet Organics No Scratch!, bitter apple sprays or repellents; used Motion-Activated Deterrents which is a motion detector that senses your cat and releases a blast of air from a compressed aerosol can when the cat gets near old scratching haunts; Placed aluminum cans filled up with something noisy like coins, pebbles, or dry beans (Remember to tape over the opening with a natural latex tape) teetering on the side of unwanted scratch areas like the arm of a chair. The scratch action will cause the can to fall creating a noise that will deter a repeat purrformance.)

23. Have you used a pet odor remover such as Nature's Miracle Just for Cats Orange Oxy Power Stain & Odor Remover on old scratching haunts before covering with the above? (Scent glands in the paw pads accompany scratch placement. Remove the scent before covering so that when a new scratch practice is established and it’s time to uncover, they won’t have a desire to come back)

24. Have you considered using bananas as a scratch deterrent? Believe it or not, it has been reported that some cats do not like the smell of bananas. You can place a single banana or a bunch near the "claws-off" area or surface. Other options include natural banana extract or banana powder. NOTE: All cats are not the same and have different aversions to smells.

25. Have you placed a smooth or type that is satin blanket over the furniture where the scratch is occurring? This texture combined with the blankets tendency to slip, slide and move will make it difficult for your feline family member to get a good "grab" and will therefor be less appealing than many other surfaces or textures. NOTE: so it stays in place and doesn't fall to the ground although you want the blanket to move somewhat in response to scratch attempts, it will tend to adhere to the upholstery. If you have a vinyl or leather piece of furniture, tuck one end of the blanket in to the cushions to anchor it.

26. Have you positioned the CatAWhack Unit/ scratch surface next to former scratching haunts (aka: couch, dining table, doorway or window frames, carpets or rugs, draperies, shower curtain) to encourage transfer of this scratch practice from “claws-off” surfaces to “claws-on”?

27. Have you gradually moved the CatAWhack Unit or another scratch surface away from former scratching haunts over the course of a 14 period in order to establish your feline’s scratch practice on "claws-on" surfaces outside of regular foot traffic paths throughout the home or at the periphery of a room instead of the center day?

28. So they will be more comfortable with nail trimming if you have kittens, are you getting them used to having their paws handled?

29. Are you trimming your cat’s claws at least once a or having the veterinarian do it for you month?

30. Are you avoiding trimming your cat's claws it or are afraid of cutting into the quick of the nail because you don't know how to do? The PetStreet Vet if so, here are a few resources to help: How to Trim Your Cat's Claws; Trimming Your Cat's Claws Video with Cat Henstridge

31. If you're having difficulty trimming your cat’s claws, have you tried the Klaw Kontrol Bag which restricts movement for the accomplishment of essential grooming?

32. If for example the feline family member becomes anxious during nail trim sessions, have you tried a Cat Muzzle that will cover the eyes, minimize reactions to the environment, and produce a sense of calm? NOTE: A properly fitting muzzle that is kitty since used by vet techs and groomers, has been found to be a safe and humane way to minimize or alleviate your cat's anxiety during grooming and some types of medical intervention and treatment. Then kitty can breathe freely if you decide to use this option, please be sure the muzzle fits properly so that your kitty's nose is through the front opening before proceeding; if you can see the nose clearly! Just as with anything else, not all cats will react to one the same way, and some will fare better without one.

IMPORTANT: before attempting this option, provide your feline family member with some time to get familiar with the muzzle...put it on the floor, allow her to brush up against it, introduce gradually over a few days.

33. Have you tried music specifically designed for the acute hearing sensitivities of your feline to inspire a sense of calm? Pet Acoustics have discovered that felines prefer long sustained tones and harmonies at a moderate to volume that is low maintain their feline state of relaxation. Pet Acoustics music can help create an environment that minimizes stress and excessive scratch activity in response to a variety of things in the environment including grooming (nail trim sessions), separation anxiety, thunderstorms, car travel, or veterinary visits.

34. Have you tried Soft Claws adhesive nail caps that cover the claw for a 4 to 6 week period? Here's a video demonstration to help: How to Apply Soft Paws and Soft Claws Nail Caps with Veterinarian Dr. Christianne Schelling and Charlie the Cat

35. Have you tried Feliway Comfort Zone Plug-In, a substance that is natural odorless to humans, that mimics a cat's facial pheromones to reduce overactive scratching in response to stressful environments?

36. Have you tried Clicker Training where you pair a clicking sound with the desired reward and behavior delivery? Captivate their attention by clicking when they move in the direction of the desired area and engage in scratch behavior. Immediately follow the sound of the click with positive reinforcement until a new behavior occurs on a basis that is regular.

37. Have you provided your family that is feline member at least 15 minutes of playtime per day? (boredom can lead to more scratching behavior)

38. Have you taken the right time to observe your cat for clues and cues on how to inspire their cooperation? What curls your cat's whiskers, produces a tail swish, gets that motor that is purr or inspires a meow?

39. Have you provided a stimulating environment that will keep your cat entertained? For example, have you opened curtains, blinds, and window shades; provided a perch high enough to see outside windows; and placed scratch outlets within close proximity?

40. You considered playing DVD's that feature footage of outdoor critters like birds, squirrels, rabbits, crickets, or mice to provide visual stimuli and environmental enrichment if you live in a basement apartment with few windows, have? Have you placed a scratch surface in the vicinity?

41. Have you considered introducing enticing sounds or recordings around the designated scratch surface or area? The crinkle sound of a brown paper bag; The scratching sound that a fingernail makes on a textured surface; The sound of an index finger thumping underneath a blanket; Insect, rodent, bird, bat, frog sound clips produced by an electronic device that automatically plays at set intervals or begins in response to movement (You can get great sound clips here: animal communication that is acoustic

42. These sounds will stimulate predatory preparatory responses that encourage scratching in the area of the sound and reinforce scratching activity on and around the designated scratch surfaces where the sound originates. You can also enhance the effect by placing hidden treats and toys in the vicinity of the sound that have a similar appearance, texture, and quality of the prey associated with the sound.

43. Have you considered placing cat puzzles or small cubby holes with hidden treats near the scratch surface or having a treat dispenser nearby to dispense treats?

44. Another great lure is to use a light source at night to project moving shadows onto a floor, wall, or ceiling that is located near designated scratch areas to encourage the use of claws. Shadows can be created by placing a light source behind a moving, rotating, or object that is rocking adjusting the intensity and positioning of the light source to achieve various levels and patterns of shadow.

45. Consider using Calvin Klein Obsession for Men Cologne. It has been found to attract and illicit responses in once wild big cats now in captivity. Check out the video Big Cats Wild for Calvin Klein Cologne. A squirt or two on or around the scratch surface may be just what is needed to grab the attention of your feline.

46. Have you considered purchasing one of many iPhone or iPad apps for cats to provide your feline family member with some play time in the vicinity of a scratch surface?

47. Have you consulted with an animal behaviorist that specializes in cat behavior, a pro-claw rescue organization, or a pro-claw veterinarian?

48. Have you used an Internet Search Engine like Google or Yahoo to discover more about feline behavior and scratch practice?

49. Here are a few websites that may offer information, resources, tools, and products that can help: Cattress Mattress; Expert Cat Behaviorist Jackson Galaxy; Paws Need Claws Campaign; Veterinarian Dr. Christianne Schelling; Holistic veterinarian and writer Dr. Jean Hovfe

50. If your cat experiences a cat scratch relapse and begins scratching "claws-off" areas, explore what may have triggered the behavior: Is there such a thing new or different in the environment? Is there a new addition to the family or a recent lack of a family member? Are there changes in the external environment that are contributing to changes inside such as construction projects in the area, a neighbor with an affinity for loud music, or any loud noises that may have startled or spooked your feline family member when he was occupying his designated space or practicing his scratch behavior? Is kitten bored? Are there any new smells left over from a home enhancement project, guests entering the home who may be carrying the scent of their feline family members members that would only be detectable to the delicate nostrils of your feline, or any other smell that could trigger a scratch reaction or need to place scent?

51. If you're not sure what is contributing to your cat's abrupt change in scratch practice, do some detective work. Consider an appointment with your veterinarian to see if there is a physical or reason that is medical Invest in a Motion Detection Camera to check-in with your feline family member at anytime each day by wireless remote video viewing which could provide some clues of what happens when you're not there.

52. If you’re using a CatAWhack Unit or other cat furniture that incorporates a scratch panel, consider moving it occasionally (every 4-6 months) to another desirable location such as a new window view to keep Kitten engaged, curious, and stimulated OR reconfigure the CatAWhack Unit by moving the scratch panel, bed, or leaf toy OR introduce a new component or accessory such as a box, a blanket over half of the unit, crinkle tube, or a new toy.

Remember, don’t take the scratch purrsonally…put yourself in their paws and simply discover how to inspire claws to designated surfaces.

Give your cats a scratchin’ opportunity! They truly are simply attempting to find their way; determine their area; discover where they belong; allocate space; map away a perimeter; define boundaries; allow other home inhabitants know they’re there; communicate; practice activities of self-care that contribute to health, longevity and well-being; and establish an identity within the family unit.

http://clashofclanscheats.us/ Help us add to the list! Together we can reach 100 interventions and solutions.

So what would you say? Energy to the Paw: Claws & All! We can do it!

Read More Articles about Cat Scratching Solutions & Alternatives to Declawing on my blog http://mvhs2013.tumblr.com/

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