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#like i've had a picture of mini carolina for a while
shineoko · 2 years
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CACTUS OR ME?
Part of ‘START UP’ series
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↳ "That cactus is stealing you away from me."
↳ Fluff, bff2l, crack
↳ You've been spending alot more time around your new cactus more then your no.1 bestie until he thinks it's a good idea to set up some important bestie vs cactus business meeting.
Shinko's note: This was... interesting.
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9am on a Sunday morning and someone's already trying to break down your door.
You reluctantly opened the curtains of your apartment, not even caring about the blinds underneath, and made your way towards the front entrance making sure to pick up the pot that heald your heart and soul.
Once you opened the door you were disappointed but not surprised. Your no.1 tree-sized bestie was standing outside your apartment at 9am on a Sunday in a green and white checkered cardigan with the most serious face you've ever seen.
"What's wrong." You asked petting your cactus while leaning on your small kitchen counter.
"That green fuzzy thing with the mini pink flowers is wrong."
Your jaw dropped at his statement and you slowly place your free hand on your heart to express your pain. "How dare you insult Baby Angel Carolina like that."
"YOU GAVE A CACTUS THAT SMALL A NAME."
"Yes and what's your deal with Baby Angel Carolina." You said holding the plant in your arms as if it was a fragile baby.
"That cactus has been invading your free time. And now I'm lonely." He said a pout forming on his face. For a second you thought that he was just as cute a Baby Angel Carolina until he opened his mouth again. "I know you're gonna say that I have Yeonjun and Taehyun but they aren't as easy to be around or as chill yet humorous as you are and I think their shitty sense of humour is slowly spreading in my brain like a bubonic plague."
You still stood there petting Baby Angel Carolina but your facial expression had changed from 'Spit it out, it's too early for this' to 'What... tell me more'.
"What do you mean?" You asked slightly softening but you don't know if it's because of Beomgyu's sudden outburst or you getting used to being awake.
"I mean that I've just realised after being away from you so long is that I like you more than a friend." Beomgyu abruptly spat out.
It took you a moment for his words to sink in and he was looking quite scared that you may just straight up reject him but instead you smiled. Beomgyu couldn't help but smile back at you, he hadn't seen you smile at him for so long that he may just take a picture of you now, put it in a frame and worship it daily.
"Beomgyu, would you like to raise Baby Angel Carolina with me?" You said just above a whisper so that Beomgyu could hear your every word. "You know. As like a father figure. I don't want Baby Angel Carolina to grow up fatherless."
"Well duh." He deadpanned "If it means I can spend more time with the cutest being that ever graced this planet. Of course I will."
The smile on your face grew and now you weren't to sure if you liked Baby Angel Carolina or Beomgyu more.
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peacehopeandrats · 1 year
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🦖 and 🎤 for the ask game!
Ooh. Thanks for these. You get one long answer and a partial answer because the real answer I wouldn't be able to write in a whole day.
🦖 Favorite extinct animal:
Well, it should be one of the original horses, but it is a Brontosaurus. When I was a kid there was (and still is, though no one goes to it any more) a Brontosaurus on a trail at the Museum of Life and Science. You could see it from the road, through the woods, unlike any other thing at the Museum, which was originally made up of multiple mini buildings, each housing a different type of science. You can still see these buildings today, but they have been corrupted, like the space building being cut wide open to make an atrocious picnic area. Whenever I saw that dinosaur I thought of fun, adventure, and learning. It had a kind face and was the one thing that could be way up over my head that I wasn't afraid of. I got a shirt with its picture on the front, Carolina Blue fabric, black lined coloring book style background, and a florescent lime (it was the early 1980's!) Brontosaurus in the middle. The Brontosaurus had glow in the dark bones though. I still have it even though I can't wear it. The funny thing about this being my favorite prehistoric animal is that Pluto was my favorite planet, so I ended up going through the agony of "this thing isn't what you think it is" twice. I have been afraid to have favorite things since.
🎤 A song you know all the lyrics to:
Is there a song I DON'T know the lyrics to? Okay, that's a bad question I've just asked. Lol. Basically, if I know a song and like it, I know all the lyrics after a while.
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tblsomedoodles · 3 years
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Caboose and Carolina as kids
Just a polaroid style doodle b/c i thought it would be fun. (i kind of imagine it being something the OG Alison used to keep on her person after being deployed, which makes it pretty sad in actuality.) i’ll put an unweathered version under the cut just in case someone wants to see it. I liked both versions.
(based on my fic What Makes Us Human where they’re siblings.)
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I've always been interested in working in Japan through the JET program but I'm interested in hearing your experience with working in Japan and the reasons you work there.
STORY TIME!
I’ve always been interested in Japanese culture. The first time I watched Sailor Moon, I was completely enthralled. When I found out it was a type of animation from this little island across the world, I was hooked. It’s always been one of my childhood dreams to come here, whether to live here or for a visit, it didn’t matter. One way or another, I wanted to set foot upon Japanese soil, even if it was just to cross something off my bucket list.
So I found out, very early on in my college career (through a Skype call with a friend of my Japanese professor during class freshman year), that teaching English in Japan was a thing that I could do without being fluent in Japanese/a certified teacher. And since I always knew I wanted to be an author, but wasn’t enthused about the thought of slaving away at some job I wasn’t passionate about until I finished a book, once I figured out this was A Thing?
“HELL YEAH SIGN ME THE FUCK UP”
I had to wait until my senior year to apply, naturally. XP My first choice was the JET program, because it was the most well-known, and I read nothing but good things about it. I sent in my application, and checked my e-mail OBSESSIVELY, waiting for a response.
I didn’t even clear the first cut. OTL
Took time to be sad about it. My friends were very sympathetic (they even bought me chocolate to help cheer me up that night, ha ha~) Once I was done being sad, I picked myself back up and threw myself back into the search. If the JET program didn’t want to hire me, then it was their loss. But now I was Determined: I was GETTING to Japan one way or another, and this one rejection wasn’t about to stop me.
And then, after signing up for several sites which granted jobs to gaikokujin and OBSESSIVE searching, I found my company: Interac. I read up on it, did my research. They didn’t pay as well as JET supposedly does, but still, it was a teaching job in Japan. Repeated the process: sent in my application and waited, on pins and needles now, because I was going to be graduating soon and if I didn’t have a plan, I felt like I’d be screwed.
I heard back VERY quickly from Interac. We did the phone interview, I presented myself as professionally as I could, and then we were done.
Very soon after THAT, I received an e-mail for a SECOND INTERVIEW!!!!
The only difficulty was that the interview was being held in D.C., which is near where my folks live….but it was a week before my graduation from my college in North Carolina. ^^; THAT was an interesting weekend: I had to fly back to Maryland early on Friday, prepare for the interview AND do a mock lesson that night, drive to D.C. Saturday and do said interview/mock lesson, and then fly back to North Carolina on Sunday to graduate a week later. Whew!
But yeah, that happened, I graduated and got my degree in English Writing, then went back home to CHILL for a bit as I waited for a response.
We had gone to Texas to watch my brother’s ceremony for completing his basic training (we’re a military family, hahaha~) when I got the e-mail. Now, we were there for my brother, so I didn’t wanna kick up a fuss, but my dad saw me grinning like an idiot and asked what was up. I passed him my phone and let him read the e-mail, bouncing in my seat. Naturally, my mom and grandma had to know what was up too, so, as quietly as I could (I get loud when I’m excited), I said, “I got the job…!”
Queue mini-celebration before the ceremony started, but needless to say, I was deliriously excited~
Once we returned to Maryland, I threw myself into the next step: paperwork, paperwork, PAPERWORK. Luckily for me, Interac works to take care of most of the big stuff: securing an apartment, picking the schools you work in, stuff like that. But before I could get there, I had to apply for a working visa first. That required photos being taken and several trips to D.C., but I got it did. There was a bunch of other stuff involved too, if I recall correctly, but the visa was the one big thing I remember.
Next, I had to find a job in order to pay for my plane ticket/have start-up money as soon as I headed over there, because I wouldn’t be paid until about two months in (this could be different for JET; I never found out, so I’m just sticking to telling you my experiences, ha ha~). I remember they gave me two options: to start training in August so I would be prepared for September, or to come in March to be prepared for April, when the school year officially started. It was June when these options were presented to me, and since I didn’t have anywhere NEAR the funds I needed, I chose the latter and took a cashier job to build up my funds/pay student loans.
My company worked with me throughout the months, updating me on things like what I would need to bring and where exactly in Japan I would be placed. They made sure to check that I would be comfortable in my placement and if I had any questions while working through the processing of the paperwork I had to send them, so I never felt like I was at a standstill with them, which was nice~
And then, at long, LONG last…it was time for me to go. I booked my plane ticket a month in advance, my grandmother (who was heartbroken that I was leaving) was gracious enough to throw me a going-away party, and my family saw me off at the airport. I was anxious that the sudden SNOW IN APRIL would delay my flight, but things went off without a hitch. (Flight delay due to snow happened to me just this past winter, though; that super sucked. Oh, important advice: MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHO’S OPERATING THE FLIGHT. It might say one airline, but it could really be operated by another airline altogether. Which reminds me: DON’T FLY UNITED. WORST AIRLINE TO FLY OVERSEAS ON.)
And then…I was here.
Been here for a while; going into my third year with my elementary school, and the four kindergartens I teach at. Some days are harder than others, but the kids are really cute, and I’ve found that if I try my best, they’re usually willing to reciprocate. And it makes my heart swell when they get excited to eat lunch with me, even if they ask some inappropriate questions (the amount of times I’ve been asked if I’m married/have a boyfriend…)
What I want to say, though, before I get further lost in my rambling, is that everyone’s experience is different. Some people love it here; some people leave half-way through their contract because they can’t stand it. It all depends on how well you can adapt. The language barrier sucks sometimes, and you feel “other” sometimes when the Japanese folk stare…but overall, I find it a pleasant place to live. My coworkers are nice, my town is small and convenient, and I found that it very quickly became home for me. I don’t know what everyone thinks when they picture Japan, but to me, it’s just where I live. The people just happen to speak Japanese here. :P
If you’re seriously considering living here, the truth is that, in some ways, you will be inconvenienced, compared to what you’re probably used to. The people at the convenience store ask you a question you can’t understand, the NHK man comes knocking at your door demanding payment for a service you don’t use, TALKING CARS AT 11 PM. But there’s a lot of good about it, too, so much that it would make this answer waaaaaaay longer than it already is.
But I think the most important question, Nonny, is this: how bad do you want it?
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