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concreteburialplot · 4 months

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VIRALITY // 11

11 - Peak Fashion

pairing: noah sebastian x fem!oc [vallie] 👀

masterlist: here | crossposted: ao3 | word count: 5k

warnings: angsty? but cute?, jealous nicholas, sassy but goofy noah, something revealed, very short time skips, 18+ MDNI

summary: vallie abruptly wakes to a million texts to meet for a last minute music video. upon arriving she discovers that the band is not at all prepared which sets her and noah on a mission.

Reminder: This contains the very mild crossover with Christian 'Kras' Anthony from Chase Atlantic ...... and introduces another extremely mild crossover 🫣 they are both merely for side character/reference purposes. Nothing huge, don’t worry lol just for fun

Disclaimer - This story is semi-AU since it does not follow actual timelines or events. The band is still fairly small & does things entirely on their own with no other support.

don't like it don't read it. don’t be mean for no reason & let others enjoy things thnx :)

VALLIE

Sunlight warms my eyelids and gently lulls me awake. My eyes shoot open at the realization that I have once again fallen asleep somewhere that isn’t my home – well my pseudo-home anyway. It seems that anywhere else feels homier than my showroom-esque Airbnb.

This time I don’t wake up in a panic, the smell of Christian’s woodsy cologne reassures me that I’m somewhere safe. The last time stamp I saw on my phone last night was 4:30 am. We had spent the whole night catching up, watching our favorite comfort shows, and binging all his favorite American snacks that he can’t get in Australia.

I reach over to the nightstand to grab my phone. A groan escapes me when I see that the time reads 8:47 am. My brows curve up at the ridiculous amount of notifications that fill my screen. While my job doesn’t really have “days off”, I had no specific plans or meetings booked for the day. So, it’s unexpected.

Most of them were from Bryan, the Omens’ photographer that I met at the warehouse with Noah. The messages flood my screen with missed calls and texts.

Bryan: Warehouse. 8 am.

Bryan: Hello? Are you awake?

Bryan: Music video. Today.

Bryan: I think you should be there.

Bryan: Hey!!! Music video !! Today !! 8 am !!

Bryan: Dude

Bryan: We’re starting. Show up whenever, if you want.

Fuck.

Kras continues to snooze next to me and I know that not even a plane crash could wake him up. So, I press a quick peck on his cheek before I roll out of bed and quickly begin gathering my belongings.

I’m rushing because well… Bryan seems like the only Omen who wants to cooperate or include me in any actual band activities. So, I have to be here. And I’m already an hour late.

I leave a small note on Christian’s dining table, saying how nice it was to see him, thanking him for the pep talk, and that I’ll see him and the rest of his band in a zoom meeting next Monday morning.

I’m still not sure if saying yes to his job offer was the right choice. I’m already stretched thin enough between my main client and now Omens, adding Chase might be more than I can handle. While my main client’s fanbase is much more… intensive, Chase Atlantic is still larger than both of them. And that swirls a terrifying pit of anxiety in my stomach because I’m not quite sure I’m equipped with enough experience to handle it all.

Gravel cracks beneath my tires as I pull up to the warehouse. I gather my bed head hair into the closest thing to a bun I can get it and try to rub off the slept in mascara smudged under my eyes.

My engine isn’t fully off for half a second before I’m out and locking my door.

I smooth out the exact same outfit I wore to Christian’s yesterday since I didn’t have time to stop home. Usually, I would never show up to a work event in sweatpants, a cropped cami, sneakers, and a flannel, but here we are. It’s not like the band is particularly formal anyway.

I see Folio and Jolly first, who both give me strange looks, like they’re surprised I’m here. Then, Noah and Nicholas once I get to the entrance. They seem equally as shocked too.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asks, lined with his usual snarky tone, seeming almost offended by my presence.

“I invited her.” Bryan speaks up from the background, adjusting the camera around his neck. “And you’re about an hour late by the way.”

Regardless of his criticism, he gives me a smile and a side hug – which surprises me.

Aside from Nicholas – for…obvious reasons – Bryan is the one who meets me with the most warmth out of the five of them.

I offer a closed lipped smile and a small awkward wave to the band. I wasn’t prepared to accidentally crash a music video shoot.

“Nice outfit, you just get out of bed?” Noah quips.

I roll my sleep-deprived eyes, “Nice to see you too, Noah.”

The rest of the band disperses into whatever they were doing before I arrived.

Nick walks up to me and I can tell he’s trying his best to act casual.

“Hey.” He says simply but quietly between us.

“Hey.” I match his somewhat awkward tone.

My gaze reluctantly meets his and I immediately regret it. His hair is pulled up into a fluffy ponytail with his hair flat against his head and he looks so good.

This was going to be more difficult than I thought.

“Val?” He asks trying to get my attention.

“Huh?” I shake my head from the fuzz sitting in my brain.

“Oh, I just said it’s nice to see you.” He says demurely. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I take note of the dullness of his normally bright eyes, and the dark bags beneath them. It makes me wonder if he got as little sleep as I did.

The energy of this whole ordeal is so… odd. It makes me feel as though I’m once again missing parts of a puzzle that I’m not aware of.

His gives me a once over and lingers a bit on my flannel.

“Oh! Right!” I set my bag down on a nearby table before slipping the flannel off my arms, giving it a lazy fold, and offering it over to him. “Here have it back.”

He instinctively takes the folded garment, looking at it like I just handed him the wrong Chipotle order. His brows furrow, initially in confusion then into something much different.

Before he responds it hits me.

I fucked up.

Fuck

“This isn’t mine.” He states in a slighted tone.

“Oh- Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night–“ I immediately realize that probably wasn’t the best thing to follow that up with. “I just need a coffee.”

“Right.” He lands the flannel back in my hands. He goes to pass me and stops as he’s grazing my shoulder. “And who’s ever it is, has shitty taste in cologne.”

My eyes widen.

Did I just put Kras’ proposed scheme into action by accident?

It’s fine.

It’s perfectly fine.

I’m fine.

I discreetly shake out the tips of my fingers and glance up to finally take in my surroundings fully. The floor is covered in a massive tarp, covered in… dirt?

I steal the phone from my tote pocket and carefully walk over to where Bryan is messing with some equipment. I shuffle right up next to him and whisper, “What…exactly is happening here?”

“I don’t know. Noah just woke us all up at the ass crack of dawn and said we needed to do this today.” Bryan shrugs, not stopping his actions for me, and continues walking carrying a large umbrella light.

“…and you all just went along with it?”

“Listen. I just work here man.” He sets down the heavy light and sighs dramatically.

I can’t help but chuckle at his verbiage.

“Okay… and why did you have to drag me into this?”

“Well, you have a job to do, don’t you?” He questions as if he doesn’t know the answer.

“I mean y-“ I begin but he cuts me off.

“Exactly.” He walks back over to a pile of equipment on a plastic table, and I follow him around like a puppy while he talks. “And you want them to like you, yes?”

“Well, I mean,” My eyes glance over at Nicholas who’s sat on a stool tuning a teal bass. The memories of our bodies entwined graze over my tongue and his working fingers sends a tingle between my legs.

Well, one of them likes me.

Is my first reflex to say.

But I’m not even sure if that’s true, especially not now. I should know better than to trust band boys anyway. I manage them, I’ve been around them since the start of my career. I’ve been best friends with Kras for nearly a decade. I’ve seen what band men do. How they treat the women they use to get off, even the ones they love.

“Look. They need you.” He says, his tone more serious than before and leans against the wall beside him with crossed arms. “Whether they believe it or not, they need you. You and I both know that. If Noah wants to be an arrogant, stubborn asshole, then let him. But don’t give up on them. They just need time.” His eyes drift to the four of them messing around with their instruments. “You’re stuck with them one way or another. And they’re not a bad bunch to be stuck with. Trust me.” He gives me a half smile before nudging my arm. “Loosen up a little, you might find that you like ‘em.”

Bryan pushes himself off the wall going to find some other task and I’m left with this peptalk I wasn’t expecting, especially from him.

I take the time to watch them, really watch them. Noah is well … Noah, so there’s some grumpy tension that follows him – but the rest of them, even while grumpy and irritated, flow together effortlessly.

Noah ripped everyone from their sleep and yet, they’re still all here. Sure, you could write that off as good work ethic, but I think it’s more than that. As unpredictable as he is, they let Noah lead them. At least for the most part.

They all showed up for him today and the whole time I’ve known them.

‘This band is all he has.’ Nicholas’ words echo in my ears from that rainy night in his car.

Maybe they all know that, and maybe they all honor it.

They all love him enough to show up and keep showing up.

Christian is right. I can’t let my feelings cloud this. If not for me, then for them.

As I clear from my dissociation, I realize I must’ve hyper fixated on their bustling about because the only thing I see now is their attire… or the lack thereof.

“Wait, wait, wait.” I cautiously step around the piles of dirt on a brown tarp to reach Noah. “Is this the whole outfit? This is what you’re wearing for the video?”

Noah sighs in exasperation and drops the corner of tarp he’s holding to face me. “Yes? Do you have a problem with it?”

“Problem with it? It is the problem.” I give him a once over, just black jeans and plain grey shirt with a faded CocaCola logo on it. I reach to his sides and give the seems a small tug to pull the logo taught against his thin chest. “You see that? What does that look like to you?”

Noah raises a snarky brow at me, “A Coke logo?”

“Wrong. That-” I drop the edges of his shirt and stab his sternum with my finger. “That is unpaid brand advertising.”

I can tell he immediately wants to roll his eyes but doesn’t when he realizes I’m right.

The rest of the boys wear similar outfits, jeans, t-shirts, hoodies.

“Okay, well this is all we brought last minute, and the house is like an hour away, I’m not driving back there.”

There’s no way I’m letting them shoot an entire video in dirt with such casual outfits. I tug at my lip and tap my fingertips on my arm in thought.

As if a lightbulb appears above my head, a possible solution crosses my mind.

“I think I saw a thrift shop in that strip where the bar is.” I shrug, “I can try to find something there. But I can’t just let you play around in dirt like this.”

Noah raises his brows and crosses his tattooed arms across his chest, “Well I’m sure as fuck not letting you pick out outfits for us.”

I walk over to my bag, picking up easily and walking towards the warehouse opening. “Then you better hurry up and get in my car.”

Noah and I had been looking through racks of dusty clothes for about 10 minutes without speaking to each other. I knew a thrift shop was somewhat of a risky choice, but after not seeing anything worth shit for a bit had me nervous.

I’m not sure why I’m nervous – but I shouldn’t be making risky bold decisions with them.

Across the racks I catch Noah picking up a thick peacoat. At first glance, I find it absolutely repulsive, but for a music video? It could be exactly what we need. At least it’d be better than a Coca-Cola shirt. For the vibe I think he’s going for, it might be perfect.

He lifts up the hanger and flips it around, his brows knitting intently at it. He likes it.

I haven’t known him that long, but he’s pretty transparent, no matter how mysterious he thinks he is.

I quickly divert my eyes back down when he goes to return the coat to its place on the rack. I know that if I say I like it, he’ll immediately be against it, so I keep my mouth shut.

“So, what kinda vibe are you going for?” I ask casually.

He glares over at me, “What do you care? Changing our clothes was your idea remember?”

“Whoa.” I put my hands up in defense. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Well, I’m sure you wanna put us in the same preppy clothes you put your other big mysterious client in. Which I’m still convinced is Harry Styles by the way.”

I roll my eyes knowing which “client” he’s referring to since I haven’t mentioned that I took on a third one yet. He means the first one, the one that landed me here in the first place, my ‘big success’. At least that’s what they kept telling me when sitting in meeting after meeting getting pitched different ‘next big artists’. And somehow, I got stuck with Noah & friends™️.

“No, it’s not Harry and I don’t put them in preppy clothes.” I reply absentmindedly sifting through hangers.

“Them?” He picks up on my slip immediately and my eyes widen slightly. “It’s a band?”

I clear my throat and shake my head. “No – no that’s not what I–“

“It is, isn’t it?” His brows lower at me. “It better not be a conflict of interest, that would be a breach of contract and I-“

“Relax. I’m not stupid, I wouldn’t have signed contract if it was a conflict of interest.” I glare over at him with annoyed, tired eyes.

I sigh then allow my tense shoulders to roll back. “Yes. It’s a band. But they aren’t a heavy band they’re ehm…. more classic rock, hippie-ish?” I shake my head. “And trust me, I would NOT put you or the rest of you in any of their clothes.”

I press my lips together trying to stifle a giggle that threatens to escape at the thought of Noah in a glitzy jumpsuit.

“What’s so funny?” He furrows his brows at me in offense. “You don’t think I could pull off some hippie clothes?” He asks seriously, but I can tell he doesn’t believe it either, he’s just trying to be difficult.

Then it occurs to me that this reverse-psychology defiant behavior may work to my advantage.

“No, actually. I don’t think you could.” I shrug, sliding some clothes over. “Just like I don’t think you could pull off that hideous peacoat.”

His brows rise higher than I’ve ever seen them. “Oh really? Maybe that’ll be the one I choose then.”

Checkmate.

I ignore it to not put too much emphasis on it. “You never told me what’s the vibe you want.”

“Hm.” He pauses, maybe he doesn’t even know. “I’m not sure. Cult-y? Business-y? Underground elite secret society-y?”

“Wow.” I say with wide, surprised eyes and exaggerating my mouth around the word. “That’s… specific. And you planned to achieve that with graphic tees?”

“Shut up.”

“Right.”

“Would I know your other band?” He inquires, the curiosity obviously eating at him.

“Shut up.”

“Right.”

We continue to mind our own business in our individual searches while early 2000’s pop plays through the small, dingy shop.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Noah lifting up an obviously homemade PitBull t-shirt.

I can’t help but let out a loud laugh.

He snaps his head over at me with a goofy grin, “What you don’t think Mr. Worldwide is peak fashion?”

I shake my head laughing, “No, I definitely wouldn’t say he is.”

“I think this might be the most badass piece of clothing I’ve ever seen.” He seems half serious and half trying to hold back a cackle.

“It’s a… choice. But you know what? It might be perfect for you.”

He feigns offense, “Why because you think I’m so badass?”

A laugh erupts from me. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Well, I’m getting it. I might wear it in the video.” He throws the white shirt into his cart.

“Great.” I reply sarcastically.

The search seemed to be going a bit better the further we dig. I found a couple pieces that might work for the rest of the band to fit into Noah’s vaguely hyper-specific theme. He’s done the same, just not as successfully.

Across the aisle I notice his hands grasping the sides of a hideous white puffy jacket with patches of sherpa all over it and an oversized hood. The nylon material rasps as he rubs it between his inked fingertips. My brows curve at how he looks at it like it’s some lost treasure.

He pauses before turning to me, lifting it up to showcase its entirety.

“What do you think about this?” He asks genuinely, which throws me off. It sounds so authentic, so real, and not hidden behind any sort of sassy, crude walls, or ulterior motives. I don’t know if he’s ever truly talked to me like that before, especially not sober.

I’m still cautious since he’s fooled me before, so I stay neutral by lifting my shoulders to a shrug. “I don’t know. Why don’t you try it on?”

He eagerly scoots past his cart that takes up the entire aisle and walks to the mirror. The thick zipper hisses at how quickly he undoes it, like he’s been waiting his whole life for this moment.

I watch him in some form of awe, maybe it’s more curiosity of his behavior. The more I get to know him, the stranger he seems.

He slips his skinny arms through the sleeves, and it fits him loosely but just right, like it’s made for him – though that doesn’t detract from how it still looks a little ridiculous, just less so now that it’s on him.

He turns back to me and spreads out his arms like a child showing off a Halloween costume.

“Well?” He questions.

“I mean the jacket is still pretty silly.” I chuckle. “But it looks nice on you.” I compliment honestly.

A toothy grin spreads across his mouth and turns back to the mirror, “Yeah, I think so too.”

Quiet falls between us again and we move on to different sections. I get so focused on rifling through the clothes that I realize I’ve lost track of Noah. I scan the small store and can’t spot him.

“Noah?” I call and as if right on cue, I feel something dropped around my head followed by a scurrying Noah.

“What the hell?” I reach up and catch the edges of the large hat pulling it off and finding that he’s dropped a massive sombrero on my head. “Hey!”

He chuckles and pulls his shoulders to a shrug, “Might be perfect for you.” He mocks my words from before about the Pitbull shirt.

“Ha-ha very funny.” I roll my eyes playfully. “I’ll get you back.”

“Bring it on.”

What follows is a series of us trying to find the most ridiculous shit to throw on or at each other.

First, I got an ugly, dusty, grandma shawl that I threw on Noah’s shoulders as best as I could before quickly walking in the other direction.

Then, when I wasn’t paying attention and with great stealth, he was able to drop a yellowing Disney rain poncho over my body.

Now, he’s stood in front of a full-length mirror holding up various different pieces of black clothing. In my stroll through the hat section, I found a leopard print fedora perfect for his big head. I sneak up behind him, making sure not to get in frame of the mirror. I reach up on my tip toes to somewhat reach his head, tossing the hat up to bridge the rest, hoping that it would land.

It does land, crooked atop his head.

I cover my mouth to hide a chuckle before backing away slowly. Before I can make my escape, he snaps his head over in my direction, jostling the hat to fly off his head. In a swift move, he catches it with fumbling hands.

“Hey that’s not fair! You’re tiny and fast!” He plops the leopard fedora back on his head and anchors a fist at each hip playfully.

The goofy sight of it all makes me double over nearly cackling. “It’s not my fault you’re big and clunky!”

He pulls the flimsy hat off his head, squishing it thin between his fingers pointing at me. “You better watch your back, Thornhill.”

“Ooh, you’re so scary, Sebastian.” I tease with raised hands feigning fear.

“You think you’re so funny huh?” He speaks directly at me probably trying to distract me, but I catch him snatching another random hat off the rack while he slowly makes his way towards me.

My eyes glance at down at his actions and I make a run for it. I don’t know what I expected but, he chases me around the thrift shop like we’re little kids in a toy store. I stealthily weave through metal racks full of musty clothes trying to lose him, giggles pouring from both our mouths.

I ignore the judging looks from the employees and the few patrons shopping around us. It’s a blessing that I can’t hear the murmuring around us. My ears are full of only my own heartbeat and the sound of his playful and competitive laughter.

It’s then that I realize I hadn’t fully heard him laugh before, not sober anyway, and it’s so… endearing. It’s one of those laughs that’s contagious and only makes you laugh harder. Which isn’t something I expected from him. None of this is really what I expected.

He finally corners me in the scarf section. I spin around in the tiny space between us and within that split second he’s snatched a bizarrely colored thin scarf and throws it around my neck like a towel, keeping hold of each end.

Just as fast, I grasp a similar scarf and match his actions, throwing the scarf up around his neck. With the speed and rush of the motion, I accidentally tugged him closer and lower to me.

My eyes flutter up and the edges of his laughing grin shorten when his eyes meet mine. Unexpectedly, my breath hitches in my throat. I never noticed just how chocolate-y brown his eyes were until now. Normally his eyes are so serious or angry or… drunk, but right now, they’re wide and warm and just as confused as mine. His eyes shift side to side seemingly searching mine for something I’m not quite sure of.

Being this close to him really emphasizes just how tall he is, the top of my head barely meets his shoulders and for some reason, that realization makes my heart thump harder against my ribcage.

I’m frozen where I stand, I should pull away, but I can’t. I shouldn’t enjoy the butterflies that run rampant in my tummy. It’s just Noah after all. The asshole that somehow always ends up drunk on the floor. The one that tells me how to do my job and how not to manage him. The one that told Nick that I’m a ‘stuck-up corporate bitch’.

But, that’s the same Noah that’s chasing me around this store like we’re playing tag on a playground.

My tummy twists and my breath sharply lodges itself in my throat when I catch his eyes dart to my lips – once.

Twice.

He moves closer, just marginally, and then again – eyes, lips.

I mimic his actions, my eyes flicker from his brown eyes to light pink lips.

Then he’s even closer – so close I can feel his exhaled breath brush past my nose.

Again.

Eyes, lips.

I feel his knuckles just graze my shirt where he’s still holding the scarf at either end and it sends electricity down to my fingertips.

Then, a strand of his long brown hair falls from behind his ear, and it seems to snap him from our daze. He lets out an awkward chuckle, steps back and slides the scarf off my neck by one end.

“We should probably wrap up here… I’m sure the guys are sick of waiting for us.” He scratches the back of his neck and diverts his eyes from me.

It seems like the right thing to do, but for some reason it leaves me a little disappointed.

Disappointed in what exactly?

What the fuck just happened?

I pull the scarf off of him in the same manner and hang it back up on its hook. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

Checking out is hushed and awkward as we stand next to each other in front of the workers that had to watch us nearly destroy the store.

We walk out silently until I notice that he’s walking out with the leopard print fedora proudly plopped on his head.

“You really bought that stupid hat?” I chuckle calling after him carrying 2 heavy, giant bags full of clothes.

“Yeah duh-“ He begins looking back but trips over his feet across the exit door frame.

I bring a plastic bag-occupied hand up to cover my mouth to hide a giggle.

“Shut up.” He directs me with a pointed hand even though I hadn’t said anything.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re kinda goofy?” I laugh, shaking my head and clicking my key fob to unlock the car.

“Goofy?” He gasps as if he’s offended. “Valerie this is peak fashion.”

I chuckle and roll my eyes, “Get in the fucking car, will you?”

He laughs and matches my actions of throwing the heavy bags in the backseat. He slides in the passenger of my blue Mercedes rental and the clunky weight of his lanky body shakes the small car. He stuffs his legs into the tiny, allotted space for them. I would make a comment about how large he is, but I’m not in the business of boosting men’s egos.

I press the push-to-start and begin navigating my way out of the parking lot. It takes a bit for my phone to connect and begin playing music, but when it does it fills the car with a familiar tune.

Noah reaches over and spins the dial to turn up the music. It doesn’t fully register in my mind what song it is until Noah speaks up.

“Is this the hippie rock band you’re representing?” He asks, a bit of sharpness to his voice.

“I-I well, no, I just-“ I’m caught off guard and stutter. I’m new to handling more than one client and having them not know about each other seemed like the best course of action. But I particularly didn’t want Noah to know since I knew he’d compare what I do with others with what I do with them.

“It is, isn’t it?” He snaps. “You manage Greta Van Fleet?”

“I… well,” I pause then sigh out of pure exhaustion. “Yes. I manage them.” I say flatly, somewhat annoyed. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business though.”

He’s silent for a moment, seemingly just taking in the song – Lover, Leaver.

“You’re right. They’re nothing like us.” He announces simply. “The voice on that singer is insane though.”

I can’t stop my brows from furrowing, and from one abruptly propping up.

He’s not upset.

He’s not upset?

“Yeah… I know.” I reply cautiously, glancing over at him to decipher the unbothered look on his face.

“Well, don’t look so surprised, they’re good. I can appreciate good music, can’t I?” He lets a few moments pass. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. They sound so familiar…” He trails off in thought.

“I know, you were expecting Harry Styles.” I joke. “But it’s not, so you can chill.” I tap my fingertips across the leather steering wheel.

“I knew it wasn’t Harry.” He shifts in his seat, crossing his arms across his skinny waist with his hands draping over his sides. He rests his head on the door looking out the window. “If it was, you wouldn’t have taken us.”

“I bet you wish it was Harry Styles then huh?” I say as a somewhat half joke and glance over at him while mindlessly tapping my fingertips on the steering wheel. He stays silent, just watching the trees go by. I can’t tell if the silence is intentional or if he’s just zoned out.

Some time passes before he returns to the conversation.

“Well, I don’t care if you represent them. Just know that I’m not dressing up like some wizard man like your other singer.” He warns firmly with a playful pointed finger.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Sebastian.”

tag list; @ladyveronikawrites @kingdomof-omens @persuasivus @strawberryruffilo @thebadchic @the-hell-i-overcame @sinkingteethinwhitenoise @cncohshit @dominuslunae [comment if you'd like to be tagged?]

A/N: Thank you if you've made all the way to chp 11! lol thank you for reading anything i write. thank you so much for every like, reblog, ask, or comment. It means the world to me truly. Thank you.

i love hearing your thoughts so feel free to share! (i'm really bad at responding to comments/asks but i still love them 🥺)

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darlenealive · 6 months

Text

Back from my Scandi vacation!

Felt like I took it for granted leaving my brain back in SG and letting Ax do the planning and the navigating. I brought my spirits though! Spending my day off today looking back at the trip which was such a great use of my time. Really appreciating this extra day off after my vacation.

Some tips for Norway and Denmark travels first

1. It's cashless even in the small towns. Cash was more of a liability as it forced us to spend it all

2. Hotels cost as much as Airbnb for 2 pax so opt for hotels as there's guaranteed shampoo, soap, hair dryer, heating and laundry. Most of our airbnbs were missing soap or shampoo which we didn't bring any of, in order to travel lighter. The bnbs we stayed in were also commercialised houses so there's absolutely no feelings attached. Checking in and out would also be more convenient with hotels. We had to return one of our keys from a convenience store which wasn't open in the early morning, in time for our flight.

3. Groceries are marked down on Friday if they expire Monday. If you're in Norway, go to Kiwi or Coop for basic groceries as it seemed to be the cheapest. However, each shop will hv their own discounts (not standardised across the same chain). Eg. We went to a place with 40% discounts on Freia choc which was only available at a particular store.

4. Northern lights chase was the coldest we experienced. Basically, the guide said that if its frost on the floor, it's worse than snow as there's no insulation for your feet. Not the coldest real temperature but coldest we felt. Bring extra clothes and heatpack just in case. The bonfire didn't do anything for me because it's too cold. We went with GuideGunnar which updates its aurora sightings on a daily basis. These guys are crazy and would bring you as far as Sweden just to chase the lights so bring your passports along! They also offer a 50% off the next trip if you don't see it on the day.

5. There's no heat packs there so bring them from home.

6. In Copenhagen, we recommend the Copenhagen card. It's only 65USD for 24hrs and you get free transport, museum pass and boat rides. We only decided to get the card after our boat ride which cost about SGD25-30, which was already a quarter the cost of the card. In Copenhagen, checking of bus tickets was a regular thing.

7. Useful apps for riding public transport: Oslo uses Ruter, Tromsø uses Troms billet, Copenhagen uses Dot tickets. Ticket checking was not very often in Norway. We did not cycle as it felt too cold for more wind to hit our faces.

8. Skip Oslo if you dw to visit a city. We spent 3 nights there and it felt too long. We wanted to do our last minute shopping at Oslo but everything was expensive throughout the whole trip that we started to buy souvenirs earlier when we saw marked down prices. With one more day in Tromsø, we could've gone whale watching.

9. Take into account daylight savings from 29/10. You have 1 more extra hour to sleep but your days are much shorter. We slept a lot because of the cold, about 10hrs of sleep each day and it felt just right.

10. Personally I would have brought instant noodles as the food there isn't flavoured with the same umami as I'm used to. I would also bring a thermal flask there to enjoy my hikes even more, taking a comfortable and warm rest at the peak.

11. If driving, please remember to pay for parking. There's usually a machine to start your parking. Otherwise, the fine is 660NOK. Don't let the rental company settle it as it'll still be billed to you with an extra fee. We would also recommend full insurance since we aren't used to left hand driving and Norway is famous for its narrow roads (at least from Stavanger to Odda where we drove).

12. We used waze for driving and it seemed that speed cameras are only in tunnels but nobody was following the speed limit anyway.

That's about all of the suggestions Ax and I thought of!

Hope these suggestions come in useful for someone.

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oliviab-scstudyabroad · 1 year

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Going Off the Grid

Hey everyone! Sunday marked one month since I arrived! Where has the time gone?

This past weekend, I took another trip to Cabo Polonio! Cabo is an off-grid community in Coastal Uruguay that is not connected to the nation’s supplies of electricity, gas, and running water. Despite this, many tourists come and visit to disconnect and embrace the peaceful atmosphere. Those that live in Cabo have a reverence for protecting the planet and living like their ancestors did. I thought it would be a great opportunity to turn off my phone for the weekend and enjoy quality time with friends!

Everyone from the house and I took a 4-hour bus ride to Cabo. You cannot drive to the little town of Cabo because there are no roads, so we rode on a mega 4X4 to get to our Airbnb! This was my favorite part because it felt like we were on a safari riding through the dunes. Our house in Cabo was rustic to say the least. It only had a charging station (no lights), and no running water. After using the bathroom, I had to pour water out of a bucket into the toilet for it to flush. Although 12 of us went, there were only 3 beds, so many people slept on the floor, in hammocks, and in chairs. Such is the life of traveling on a budget!

Cabo Polonio is known to be a great weekend trip to take with your friends because there isn’t much to do in terms of tourist attractions. We spent a lot of time at the beach (steps away from the house), looking at the Island of Leones Marinos (sea lions) from afar, and climbing the lighthouse to see the view. At night, we saw the abundance of stars (clearly visible because there’s no air pollution) and even the Milky Way! It poured the whole day on Saturday, so we played cards amidst the candlelight. You can imagine how long it took to explain a card game to exchange students who all have different native languages.

If I were to do it again, I would’ve done more research about places to visit nearby and how much cash to bring. Cabo has a national forest where you can camp, so I would’ve done that for a night. Almost no restaurants took card (again due to the lack of electricity), so I was rationing out my pesos and buying eggs and rice from the local tienda. That being said, I tried some amazing dishes such as milanesa de pescado (breaded and fried fish), pizza caprese, and el desayuno frances which included fresh mango and shredded coconut. Que rico!

Although I probably wouldn’t stay in Cabo Polonio again, I enjoyed discovering a more hippie and slower-paced side of Uruguay. That’s the beauty of traveling- even if you don’t fall in love with the place that you’re visiting, now you know and you discover more about yourself along the way.

Until next time, blog! Ciao!

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sharonlifeoutsidesocial · 6 months

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The One Where Lois Got Married

Except they both said the right names.

But I will take you first to the days leading on to the big day.

Lois' bridal shower was interesting. Albert told his friends that she wants to learn how to bake so we had a suprise baking class at BakeBe in S Maison. I was the first person she made an eye-to-eye contact with and cried right after meeting her girl friends. I enjoyed it very much! Rhea and I made delicious cupcakes that we took home after.

There was a heavy downpour, Friday the 13th upon checking in our Airbnb in Makati. We'll have food for dinner I ordered ahead of time. We just have to do some grocery shopping to fill in some necessities like kitchen towels, wipes, chips slippers for Rhea, mints for all of us and our breakfast the next morning. After early dinner, we prepped our things for the wedding. We were doing so much all at the same time. Pat was steam ironing her gown, Mika was doing a mani and pedi on herself, Koko was cooking our breakfast at night and I prepared some sandwiches for our 'baon' because we all know we're going to starve waiting for hours. Some of us tried to sleep early, Koko and Rhea went to bed first. While Mika, Pat and I just had our little catching up because it's been so long! We talked about our medical conditions, why are we very afraid seeing doctors and some cute-girly stuff. Pat and I finished the night off by watching Friends Season 1 and 4 while painting her nails. By the way, we're ALL at the living room that time when Ross said the wrong name – I totally forgot my friends' reactions. I guess they were too busy doing their thing. Turned off the lights at 2300 expecting to sleep but our brains are still alive! Tried our best to close our eyes because it's definitely a long wedding day.

Running on 2 hours of sleep to witness a beautiful wedding and have a night cap in Poblacion was a stimuli to get up and take a shower. I had to take a bath first then it was Pat and Mika who were next. We also had a very heavy breakfast to prepare us for the day with Mean Girls playing on Netflix. As I am writing this, that time I guess was one of the highlights of that wedding weekend being at peace with my best friends. Anyway, we weren't able to do the dishes. We then proceeded doing our make-up. The light was an absolute challenge because it's hard to do it with a very minimal source of light to check if it sets good! Around 0430, Koko starts to remind or annoy us with his time check while we're all panicking because my eyeshadow isn't perfect, Mika's foundation is cracking, Pat's very slow doing her thing. Rhea by the way left at 0300 to have her make-up done at Lois' hotel suite with Eka. We finished Mean Girls mid-prep and I started looking for a perfect episode of Friends, Ross' wedding to Emily. The rush and excitement we're feeling plus Koko's continues to bother us with his time check while Ron arrived around 0400 and reminded him with things to bring because he'll just attend the wedding. At 0500 we finally booked a Grab, packed our change of clothes and things needed for the whole day. We arrived at around 0515, said hi to Lois asked if she slept well. We caught Eka and Rhea doing a Tiktok in the suite's bathroom and we stayed there all throughout because they didn't have space for us to wait. Took lots of photos, gossiped, tried Tiktok while Mika was trying to attach her nails. I remember Koko also messaging me, he was just in Albert's suite doing nothing but waiting. I wasn't able to reply because I was already with my girl friends enjoying our little company. Poor him but he's a good sport, he did great though! He was dapper and blue really looks good on him. After taking photos wearing our satin robes with Lois and the bride tribe, we're instructed to wear our gowns. I put on highlighter on my girls' shoulder to have that good glow. We go downstairs again and the moment we stepped into the lobby, the strap of my dressed popped. Yes, because I believe I over ate and tried hard to have a snatched appearance. Thankfully, the couple have a very helpful and accommodating set of wedding coordinators and fixed my dress. Phew! I went back to the lobby and the photographer told us that we'll be late if we continue taking photos so we have to proceed to the church. Good thing, Mine has very much welcomed us as Eka's plus ones so we were able to hitch a ride minus Koko and able to drive thru at a Starbucks in Magallanes and had a coffee fix. We met with Ron there and waited for Koko to arrive, had our pre-packed sandwich for breakfast around 0845. We took film photos from Pat while Lois' coordinator was standing there hurrying us to get to the church. It's 0900 and we are all waiting, we were instructed what I'm going to do at the ceremony.

At 0915, the wedding begins. Aaaah I introduced myself to my partner, his name was Joshua? I don't know! Aaah I was ugly crying when the doors opened and showed Lois. We all are! Even Koko on the other side told us he wants to cry so hard but he's with unknown people. Anyway, Lois has been my friend for quite some time now and I know the ups and downs of her life especially when she's struggling in college. He helped her on our senior year in college. Albert was her rock and the love of his life. We teased each other for crying buckets because "Are we her mother?". I guess that will always be my reaction attending weddings. It's beautiful, romantic and meaningful. The ceremony was about 40-minutes reminding them to love one another and not love another one. They weren't able to tell each other's vow because of the time constraints but I heard Lois's part when she got interviewed for the SDE where she cried a lot. I wasn't able to process it but I remember how Albert helped and loved her despite all the things that happened, that Albert is her life. I love how happy Albert was, he's so excited and have the brightest smile. While Lois is radiant with her look and she's so pretty. When it finished, we took a lot of photos inside the church. Amp texted us that he had just woken up and he's going straight to the reception. That was a sunny morning, another set of photos outside church with lots of semi-scripted moments were taken by the photographer. Kudos to him and the team because they brought out the best in the bride and groom squad. Since we all do not fit in Eka's car they went to the reception first. Ron, Koko and I booked a Grab on the way to Le Parc.

We're all tired and sleepy because we haven't had a proper sleep and meal for almost 8 hours now, right? We arrived in Le Parc lunch time. We were seated, table #8. Amp was there and we're completed easily. Of course there are fun games to keep the crowd alive while waiting for the newlyweds. I think Ron won in the animal game? Well for me, I was too busy doing arts and crafts and sticking polariods at their wedding guest book. We took photos — not so much digital but we had polaroids and from the photobooth. We are all laughing and teasing each other about things and munching on the snacks too that Ron and some person from our group won for us. We were also called when Lois and Albert arrived and instruct to follow steps for a dance number. As someone who is over at doing this on Christmas parties and events I didn't do it. I seated on our seats and let them perform. Being the KJ that I am, my friends booed me after their performance of the viral Total Eclipse of The Heart. By the way, we were laughing hard at Eka's turn because she didn't sing! Mine was cackling while taking a video. That's a must watch! We were getting tired of the games and all the gimmick that's been around for like the past 2.5 hours. We are all hangry and finally photo with the bride and groom marked that we can finally eat! Well, the menu was Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Teriyaki, Shrimp with tartar sauce and beef something. Dessert was Buko Pandan shots and they had bar for drinks too. I memorized the menu because that's a criteria when I attend weddings in the future too, kidding. Everyone finished their plates. Can I just tell here that Amp said the chicken teriyaki reminds him of Baliwag chicken which is 100% true! I am a Baliwag Lechong Manok apologist so I liked it so much. Everyone in our table loved the food too. Also while we are all doing this Eka is attending her classes in PCU for her master's degree, Mika was unlucky and pissed that day because she cannot play with her pressed-on nails while all of us are on our phones.

After the late lunch they continued on some games, like raffle where Koko got a LV paperbag (inside was a laundry v(b)asket. Well, another game is for those singles which I was utterly mad because I know Lois is the culprit for this! Koko, Amp, Pat, Rhea and I were called plus some of their friends from high school and Albert's side. God knows how pissed I was because one thing, I will not dance or do something ridiculous infront of many people. I was talking to the coordinator stating clearly that I won't dance ever and he reassured me that I will not. The guys danced and Albert's Best Man remained, the game was like trip to Jerusalem but the guy is at the center and we have to touch a part of his to be eliminated. How unfortunate despite of trying and being the one who really touched that man's arm first instead of Pat, I loss and got retained being with that guy who I told Ron about how pissed I was because the best man was wearing the souvenir shades the whole time. To finish this thing with an ease, we tried to be 'game' just to make the couple and the crowd happy. We followed cheesy-steps from the couple and received 350 pesos which is not bad. I survived the week after that.

That was exhausting, absolutely mind and energy draining. It's about 4 and we are all dead-tired, no one was reacting to cheers anymore. They finally showed us the prenuptial video, pre-wedding film and the same-day-edit wedding film. Koko and I were giddy to tell our friends how Lois and Albert look steamy in their prenuptial video, our inside-jokes were funny as ever. We all loved the final video, they captured the beautiful scenes in the wedding, the guests and entourage reactions, bride and groom had their best scenes too, the church was immaculate even with the simplest flowers. Finally, the wedding was a delight!

It's time to bid goodbye to the couple of the year! Yes, we named them after that because that was a good wait. We tried to be prepared as much as possible but boy, there are just some things that are unpredictable. We booked Grab 2 x for us to get home comfortably. We met everyone in the Airbnb and I get in the shower first because I was feeling too sticky from all the sweat, make-up and tears.

The night after wedding was a night to remember too but that's for another story.

To Lois and Albert, you two are an endgame since the beginning... Surely it will last forever. Please love, understand and trust each other. Here's to your beginning as The Mojicas.

Also to quote from my favorite series though we were not able to watch it on that moment, "I thought I'd never find someone I could relate to…then I found you. And you were weird, too." – Chandler to Monica

I hope someone who's reading this post will find Chandler to his Monica and vice versa. Never lose faith in love. May you never ever get tired of waiting and finding love (and peace). And if you ever find one, I hope he/she loves you the way you wanted to be loved. It's the best kind and the love in its highest form.

PS.

May your soul rest in peace, Matthew Perry. (August 19,1969-October 28, 2023)

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engbergeurovacay23 · 10 months

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Arrived to Madrid today!

I am writing this from our Airbnb in Madrid. I *think* we are in the Conde Duque neighborhood. It was very, very quiet in this neighborhood at about 4 p.m. when we arrived. I suppose maybe this was "siesta time" but I also thought it could just be Sunday. I was proven wrong on the Sunday theory because we walked to see the Nacional Ballet de España at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, and to get there we walked down the Gran Via, and that was a very, very busy street with lots of shops, theaters, and hotels. And when we were done at the ballet around 8:45 p.m. and went back up the Gran Via, there were still loads of people out, shopping at the shops, which were all pretty much still open!

I am a very nervous flier, so the overnight flight always gets me worked up. This flight, on Iberia, went quite smoothly. About our flight out of Albuquerque to Dallas, I cannot say the same. There was pretty hardcore turbulence over the Sandias and then when we landed in Dallas, the plane thunked down so hard it felt like we landed on wooden wheels. But, the Iberia flight was just fine. The layout was 2-5-2, so Cece and I had two together and Rowan was right behind me at the window--with no one next to him! He had his own bed for 9.5 hours. Eric--lucky duck, but I am the one who made it this way-- flew over the water in Business class because he get s horrifically grumpy if he can't sleep on the plane and with his height, the space in Business works well. And with miles, it's possible. I am such a nervous wreck on flights anyway that me flying in Business is a waste on a flight where one should be sleeping. I simply cannot. Though, I've got to say, I shut my eyes for like 4 hours or so on the flight last night and may have actually caught a wink or two! I was very excited to be able to use FB Messenger to chat with Michelle and Amy Coor as I was whiling away the sleepless hours. Then, I watched some of a cycling movie about the EF team and the 2020 Tour de France called Enter the Slipstream, I think, and then I did my almost-sleeping routine. It was also hard to sleep with Cece on my lap. But, she and Rowan both slept.

Once we arrived in Madrid, the kids got to go up and meet the captain and then, we made our way out of the Madrid airport (which is huge; we joked that we were walking back to Albuquerque) and got our Uber. Our Airbnb host was not there right when we arrived but his friend came soon after and helped us get in and settled. But, she didn't quite know which unit it was or which key, so perhaps she could've been better prepped. Anyway, we came up, dropped our bags, walked to the Carrefour and got some groceries, and then ate a bit quickly, and then walked down to the Teatro de la Zarzuela!

I was very excited to see this performance, the "American"-focused repertory show, with works by Balanchine, Peck, Martins, and Tharp. Lauren Lovette I guess performed previous dates this week, but she did not dance in Sinatra Suite, which I expected her to! The woman who did, though, was elegant and lovely. The Justin Peck piece was so cool and energetic and clever. The kids enjoyed the performance, though I think we were all a bit tired for it ;) Eric went on a five-mile run while we watched ballet--and then a 3-mile walk! What a guy! We Ubered back to the Airbnb, because we were too tired and hungry to walk, and I fed the kids eggs and toast -- and then off to bed they went. I am going to do the same in a sec! We shall see what time we all awaken tomorrow. But at 2:45, we are going to see the Royal Palace. We will also go to a playground and the Prado, but not sure how much will happen tomorrow. It is also supposed to be about 104 degrees. Nice.

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caitlin-scstudyabroad · 1 year

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Post 4: Classes & Piercings!

This was the first week that I had classes! I am studying at Universidad Autonoma Barcelona and the campus is absolutely beautiful. I have to take the metro to school, but it really is not that bad. It takes me about 22 minutes to get to class and it doesn’t help my studies -or my bank account- that there is a cute cafe on every corner along the way. This one is called Camellia Cafe, and it is spectacular; I ordered an iced vanilla latte and eggs benedict. Speaking of coffee, there is one thing I have noticed about Barcelona: they don’t use a lot of ice! When you ask for iced coffee they will make you a hot shot of espresso and put a singular ice cube in the hot mixture so it becomes ~ luke warm. I have started to enjoy getting regular hot coffee, but I do miss a large iced caramel swirl from Dunkin!

The classes I am taking are very different from my classes in America; they only have 15-20 students, all of the classes are in one building, and each class is 1 hour and 30 mins long. It almost seems a little bit like highschool - in the best way possible. Another aspect that is different is their attendance policy; you can only skip class 5 times - skip it a 6th time and you will fail the class! During class, we mostly participate in class activities and presentations, and there are very few written tests or exams. I think the mindset of learning is overall different here, they focus more on your understanding of the material and concepts of class. Whereas in the US they concentrate more on tests and exams (this is a nice change). In my Digital Photography class, we go outside and practice some of the lessons we are taught in class. We learn how to use the AV function; where you can make the background blurry and focus one particular thing. This was very intriguing to me because I own a camera but had no idea how to use it! Here are some pictures I took outside my school:

My best friend from childhood, Marilyn, came to visit me this week in Barcelona. She has been studying abroad in London, England for the month of January but came to visit me on the way back to America. It was not too challenging balancing school and exploring Barcelona with her because I only have two classes a day. So, in between one of my classes, we made the spontaneous decision to get matching ear piercings! We searched up a piercing place that was rated 4.5/5 stars on yelp, Tattoo Luxury and Piercings, and hopped on the metro. I got my flat and third piercings, and Marilyn got her conch and flat pierced! Our dream is to get matching tattoos, but we both are indecisive, broke, and worried about what our dad’s will think!

The next day, we met up with some of my other friends after class and went to a fabulous Italian restaurant, Bella's Ristorante. We ordered truffle pasta, hot cherry rigatone, carbonara, and parmesan risotto (that was served straight out of a parmesan wheel!) The ambiance of the restaurant was decadent, with cute little handmade plates for every different dish. It was simply amazing and we all left with our stomachs full and our pockets empty.

Thursday came and it was time to say goodbye to Marilyn, I shed a couple tears as I won’t see her until summer time. On the bright side, after my last class we jumped on the train to Madrid. It was surprisingly very easy and cheap; we took the metro straight from class directly to the train station and went through security in under 10 minutes. It is a comfortable 2 and half hour train ride and I slept the whole way there, I definitely will take the train more often! We got a taxi to our airbnb and promptly went to bed.

In the morning we walked around Madrid, we went to Plaza Mayor which was a beautiful square with a bunch of shops and performers dancing in the streets. We then followed the crowd to the Arzabal Market, this was my favorite part of the trip. It was a huge market with so many different food stands, they were all unique and tasty with little spanish treats that I have never heard of before. I ordered a shrimp tostada and the best sangria I have had in my life. Then, we walked to the Royal Palace where the king and queen of Spain live. I don’t know if the palace took my breath away - or if it was the wind. Since we were so high up the wind was freezing and strong, almost taking us away with it! But, everything happens for a reason because we had to find a close restaurant so our fingers wouldn’t freeze off! We stumbled upon a hole in the wall pub where everything on the menu… was 1.70 Euros! It was so cheap and everyone inside was so friendly and kind.

#studyabroad #madrid #barcelona #Piercings

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rei-usa · 2 years

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A late start to the day and early end but a good day. Each day, I am learning, or re-reminding myself a little more about what I can handle and do differently.

Today, I re-learned that taking little breaks along the way are extremely helpful. It's not about the destination, but the entire journey itself.

Although I slept nearly 11 hours and woke up at 6:45, I still managed to stay 3 hours past checkout time. Mariell's daughter came home for lunch at 10:45 and I was packing my things in the kitchen and we started talking. I was eager to ask her how she felt about her mom AirBnB'ing out the guest bedrooms. She said it was strange at first but now it's normal and it doesn't bother her. And I believed her. She is a cool girl and we chatted for 15 minutes or so before Mariell came downstairs. We just talked and talked and talked. (Moon sat there on her phone and headphones but she was certainly interested or she would have returned to work earlier. ;) Mariell and I talked about her history of AirBnB, family, work, our ancestors, our cultures, and a tiny bit of politics. I could have talked to her all day and even told her, "I'm sorry it's so late checking out, clearly I'm having a hard time saying good-bye". She didn't seem to mind and mentioned earlier that hosting foreigners has its pros and cons but moments like this make it nice. I was her first guest in her home from the United States and she was my first Norwegian home! <3 =]

About half way into our conversations, I asked Moon what was sitting in the big pot on the stove. Mariell was excited to tell me about the dish, Sodd. It is a traditional Norwegian dish that carried/s generations through the long, dark, cold winters. Sodd is a quite simple soup-like dish, potatoes, carrots and meatballs (sheep), but a staple and a beautiful example of how people ate up until the past century or so. She warned me several times how bland the dish is and how people complain at potlucks about the lack of flavor, but she was excited to heat some up for me. I was nervous about taking something that I didn't necessarily ask for but VERY EXCITED to try. I knew I would enjoy it. Meat, vegetable, potato, hell yea! The dish was SO GOOD. I understood what she meant about it being bland, but after eating nuts, cheese, bread and crackers for 4 days, that was LUXURIOUS. I truly loved it and wish I had taken some to-go like she offered. I didn't have time to cook her my favorite American dish, but will be sending her the recipe for my macaroni and cheese :D

Well, as difficult as it was to say good-bye, the energy and scenery changed immediately upon walking up the stairs to the bus stop. I sat there and drank the rest of my coffee. Just as I was about to leave, a bus driver came to ask me a question. I quietly and humbly asked, "Do you speak English?" with a big smile on my face. Every single time I do this, the answer is always something different in a positive manner, "Well but of course!" (Unlike when I was in France...) This man was so kind and eager to know what hikes I was going to do and what I was going to see and what kind of hikes I was looking for. He pulled out his phone and showed me more than a dozen different hiking routes, almost as if he was getting ready to go himself on his short 30 min break. I am so fortunate to be in such a beautiful country.

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supraveng · 3 years

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Marvelous Friends - part 8

Summary: your summer in Boston is moving along and so is your relationship with Chris

Warning: SMUT, SMUT, SMUT, objectifying Chris, cursing....non-con

A/N: sorry for the delay....I rewrote the smut more times than I car to admit

Word count: 2834

Series Masterlist previous part Main Masterlist

dividers by @firefly-graphics

The summer seemed to be flying by with endless amounts of papers to grade and checking in with the attorney regarding the lawsuit. Reaching out to your ex was not on your priority list, but you put on your big girl pants and called him anyway. Finally speaking with him wasn't as awful as you had anticipated but that may just be the fact you didn't have to see him face to face, yet. You knew if this was to go as far as you hoped, you would have to sit down and hash out this mess and possibly end up discussing the past but, thankfully you weren't there yet.

Dating Chris felt so easy and comfortable for you, but you had both decided to take things slow, not wanting to jump in too fast, which you knew was a major decision but damn was it frustrating. Once your brothers found out who you were dating, your sister in laws were relentless about wanting details, it was unsettling to say the least.

Annette: so…..we had to hear from our husbands? Really Y/N?

What are you talking about?

Marie: the boys are talking about if they approve of Mr. Evans and his intentions with their only sister

Oh geez….it’s only been a few weeks, we are nowhere near intentions

And even if we were, they won’t be involved

Jan: LOL you said that like you actually think it’s true!

Ugh, why are they such pains in my ass

But I am thankful that it’s you 4 texting me and not them

Meghan: can we get back on topic? I want details…..

LOL! What kind of details Meg? We’ve been dating for a month

Meghan: what is this high school? Are you trying to say you haven’t slept together?

Annette: we want to know if his ‘persona’ is accurate?

Ok….we haven’t slept together and what persona are you referring to?

Maria: Really? I would have on the first date!

Jan: his BDE persona…..so?

LOL I just said we haven't slept together

Annette: there’s plenty of other fun to be had to confirm his size

Marie: If you confirm it or not, I know he has a monster cock!

OMG! Have you been drinking? I’ve never heard such things from you!

Shaking your head at the ridiculousness that was your family, you tried your best to concentrate on your current predicament. The teaching job was almost over, and honestly, it wasn’t your cup of tea. You could continue, if the school asked, but you weren’t passionate about what you were doing and just going through the motions wasn’t you.

So deciding if you were staying in Boston was your main concern, your summer AirBNB rental was up in 2 weeks, and to top it all off, you needed a new manager or you would be stuck trying to maneuver your career on your own and your brain did not work that way. It was almost 2pm on Saturday, you had writing you needed to do, but right now you needed a drink.

You wrote a text to Chris, then rewrote it another 3 times before sending it, you were a professional writer, but he still made you anxious

Hey, I need to get out of the house and could use a drink, you free?

Chris: I’m home, ‘working’ but the pool and beers are calling my name….grab your suit and come over

Huh, an afternoon lounging by the pool with a shirtless Chris could really improve your mood.

I’ll be there in a half hour

You rushed to be presentable, you were determined to be cute but make it look like you weren’t trying. How did this guy make you feel like you were 20 again? Taking a deep breath you grabbed your stuff and headed to his place. Your anxiousness dissipated as soon as Chris opened the door and flashed you that perfect smile, instead you only felt butterflies.

In no time, the two of you were lounging poolside with beers, Chris looked over at you “so what’s got you stressed? And where are the stress cookies?”

“Well, there is a laundry list of things I need to accomplish and not much time. I didn’t bake today, so it’s less stress and more of an overwhelming adulting that I’m actively avoiding” you chuckle as you finish off your beer.

“Alright, so what’s on the list?” he asked as he grabbed the empty bottle.

“I need a new manager and a place to live, those are my top priorities. I should follow up with Henry and his buddy that’s handling the case against Aaron, but I’m not sure what else I can help with. I also have a new story I’m writing that needs attention, and the family is requesting me to come visit soon” you shrug at him.

"Ok, that's a pretty long list, so we start with the most important and go from there. When do you have to get out of your current place? I...I, uh have an extra room if you need something soon" he smirks at you and you realize how blue his eyes really are.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think it's a bit soon for that" you smile at the sweet offer.

"Can't blame a guy for wanting his girlfriend around as much as possible" he shrugs before taking a long sip of beer.

You stutter before responding "girlfriend? you just called me your girlfriend" you were a bit shocked and giddy all at the same time, geez what this guy did to you.

Chris' eyes went wide before he smirked and shrugged "if you don't want to be, just let me know, but that's what I want so it's up to you." He seemed pretty calm about it, but you could see a bit of hesitation in his eyes. The thought of rejecting him was ridiculous but you were a bit tipsy from the beers and wanted to tease him a bit.

"Well, it doesn't quite fit does it?" You cocked your head and could have sworn he saw him hold his breath, before you bravely got up and walked towards him, slowly straddling his lap "I haven't been a girl in decades" you whisper, keeping your eyes glued to his, as his hands rested on your hips. "But I'm sure if I was a bad girl, you'd punish me, wouldn't you?" biting your lip and slowly beginning to rock back and forth before leaning into his ear and breathy add "daddy".

That threw him over the edge as he grabbed your ass and moaned while starting to nibble on your neck. He pulled back to look at you, growling low in his chest "you are a very bad girl….and you're mine".

Your lips smashed together as you wrapped your arms around his neck and started tugging on his hair, you squealed as he spanked you in response.

He chuckled as he kissed you again, "I thought we were taking things slow….. but you are making that very hard right now" raising his hips to emphasize just how hard he had become while you were grinding on his lap.

"I tried, I really did, but seeing these tattoos up close made me lose any self restraint I had left, so it's essentially your fault" you shrug and begin kissing his jaw.

He hummed in response "so I'm the one that made you needy, huh?" One hand was now inching its way in your bikini bottoms to get a better grip of your ass, while the other was softly massaging your thigh.

"Mmmmm, yes daddy" was all you could respond before he was standing up with you in his arms, and he started heading inside. Yelping, you were a bit shocked at the movement and quickly wrapped your legs around his waist so you didn't fall.

"Then it's my responsibility to take care of you" he mumbled against your neck before walking upstairs with you still attached.

You were graciously dropped on his bed as he leaned down and began trailing kisses down your neck to your breasts, pulling your suit top off. He moved his mouth to your nipple and elicited a groan as he swirled his tongue around your sensitive bud, bringing up one hand to palm at the opposite breast.

You moaned at the sensation he sent through you and tried your best to run your hands over his arms and back but were too distracted by the sinful things his mouth was doing. His lips moved to your other breast and you were certain you could orgasm just by watching him and the intensity in his eyes while he was worshipping your body.

Working his way down your torso, leaving love bites In his path. When he reached your bikini bottoms, he looked up for consent, which made you want to melt. Your only logical response was a small whimper of "please" before he growled and pulled them from your body in a flash, immediately throwing your legs over his shoulders, pulling your thighs apart and instantly feasting on your pussy. The slurping sounds he was making were obscene and causing you to become more aroused by the second.

"Mmmm you're so wet for me and you taste amazing…..I could eat you all night" His words made you moan more than you were but you couldn't hold back. "That's it….let daddy hear just how good I make you feel" he mumbled against your slit, causing you to arch off the bed slightly.

"You gonna cum baby, I've barely gotten started" he had a hint of pride in his words. Your breathing was shallow as you panted out "yes daddy…...please...I'm so close."

As soon as the words left your mouth, his lips wrapped around your swollen clit and that was exactly what you needed to throw you over the edge. Your eyes clamped shut, and your head thrown back as you shouted his name.

Once your breathing had slowed, you opened your eyes to see Chris hovering over you with a smile on his face before capturing your lips in a passionate kiss.

"That was amazing" you breathed out and smiled back at him, running one hand through his hair and the other along his bicep.

"Oh baby, I'm just getting started" Chris kissed you again as he hovered over you and positioned his cock at your entrance, after slowly running it back and forth through your release. Your moan turned into a grunt as he started pushing into you.

He stopped immediately and looked at you with concern, "you ok?" he asked while caressing hu our cheek. You nodded but he stayed still, "keep going, please" "are you sure? We can stop if you aren't comfortable…..I want you to enjoy this" he whispered and you almost wanted to cry at how attentive and kind he was.

The stillness helped you adjust and you smiled at him. "I'm positive, I want you more than you could possibly know, it's just…" you trailed off not sure how to assure him.

"What is it?" he looked worried now and you wrapped your legs around him before you could get away.

"Its just that it's been a long time since I've been with anyone and you are….rather large" you felt a little embarrassed but right now it didn't matter, you have been fantasizing about this moment since you met him and you knew you were falling for him, you just hoped this was the beginning of a romance you had been dreaming of.

Chris' smile returned to his face as he leaned in and kissed you passionately, "don't worry baby, I'll be gentle" you noticed he had a glimmer in his eyes before he added "this time."

Your eyes widened as he continued inching into you slowly and kissing your jaw, up to your ear and down to your pulse point before his hips finally met yours.

You could only moan in response, you had never been stretched like this before and wanted to focus on the pleasure as the slight pain began to disappear. Bringing him back into a needy kiss you rocked your hips forward and clenched around him signaling your desire for him to begin moving and he immediately responded with slow powerful thrusts.

As Chris gradually sped up you were clawing at his shoulders and back, practically holding on for dear life. He started panting between kisses "fuck baby….you feel amazing….better than I imagined."

Just the thought of him imagining you like this made you clench up around him and moan as you arched your back, "fuck daddy!" You could have sworn he growled as he started to move in and out of you faster than you thought possible.

Chris' hand found your clit and added the perfect amount of pressure with tight circles "cum for me baby…..I can feel you are close…..be a good girl for daddy" he grunted in your ear as your climax hit you and your entire body tensed. He worked you through your high before pulling out and shooting his load across stomach and breasts with a groan. Immediately collapsing beside you, Chris pulled you to him before kissing you softly.

You were warm and so comfortable that you didn’t want to open your eyes, until your activities with Chris came racing back into your mind. Slowly peeking, you inhaled quietly when you realized the pillow you were using was actually his right peck, with his nipple so close to your mouth you could almost lick it.

Deciding to enjoy the view rather than wake him you tried your best to remain quiet and take him all in. His face was soft and relaxed, and he looked even more handsome up close if that was even possible. You admired the tattoos that littered his chest up close and wanted to trace them with your fingertip but too afraid that would wake him.

Moving your hand slightly, he didn’t stir or change his breathing pattern, so you decided to take advantage and explore the man lying next to you. Knowing how big he felt, was different than actually seeing how big he was, so you bravely removed the sheet covering the bottom half of the two of you.

Your breath hitched in your throat and your mouth began to immediately water at the site of him. Even without being erect, his size was rather impressive. This is when you decided that you were going to take what you wanted, if you happened to wake up, you hoped he was feeling too good to be mad at you for it.

As slowly as possible, you made your way down the bed until his cock was right at eye level, biting your lip. You slowly started to stroke, it immediately twitched in your hand. Licking your lips, you took the tip in your mouth and began to suck, causing Chris to make a noise somewhere between a moan and a sigh, which only encouraged you to continue.

Running your tongue over his balls before bringing it along the underside from base to tip, causing him to become fully erect. You smiled at yourself as you took him back into your mouth and started to bob your head up and down as much as you could take in, only looking back to Chris when you felt his hand brush your hair away from your face.

Looking up at him, you decided to play coy, and slowly pulled him out of your mouth but continued to stroke him in your hand. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” you smirked at him.

“You did, but only in the best way possible” he groaned as you continued your previous task and began bobbing again, using one hand to massage his balls and the other hand to stroke what couldn’t fit in your mouth.

Chris’ moaning and heavy breathing was turning you on, but your objective this morning was his needs and not yours. You continued working on his cock while looking at his face, and gawd did he look beautiful like this, but you could tell he was close or holding back trying to make it last longer, so you pulled back and smirked at him, whispering “cum for me, daddy”.

A few more bobs of your head and he was gone, sending his seed to the back of your throat as you moaned around him. “Well, that is a hell of a way to wake up…..what time is it?” Chris looked at you with a sleepy smile.

“I’m glad you liked it, I just couldn't resist. Whatever time it is, I’m hungry, we’ve worked up quite the appetite” you respond as you make your way back to lying beside him. He leaned in for a sweet kiss.

“I propose we shower and get something to eat.” You could only smile and nod in response before he was lifting you bridal style and carrying you into the bathroom.

next part

#chris evans fan fiction #chris evans smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans rpf #marvel reader insert #marvel fanfiction #marvel au #marvel cast rpf #chris evans

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foster-the-world · 2 years

Text

In route

Flying home after a great vacation. The national parks in Southern Utah/Arizona are simply amazing. Baby boy is a asleep - which is a real hallelujah moment.

10 out of 12 days were amazing. The other two were normal exhaustion/annoying stuff that traveling with three little kids entail.

My parents/Aunt joined for the first 9 days. Having them around always makes it feel more like a real break/vacation. My Mom is so good with all three kids.

Las Vegas - 2 nights. It was the closest airport and weren't excited about putting baby boy in a car after a 5.5 hour flight. The kids loved it. We took the girls to a comedy/magician show that they enjoyed. The pool was huge and three feet all the way across - so perfect for five year olds that are beginnings swimmers.

Valley of Fire. My Aunt's not a hiker and says things like "why would anyone think this is enjoyable, just a bunch of rocks, so much dirt, etc, etc." Which works out fine because any of the kids could go back to the car with her when tired.

St George, Utah - 6 nights - We did a home exchange. Some of the best playgrounds I've ever seen. There were some signs noting private donors. I wonder if it's all of the Mormon money? So many things in Vegas/the parks were free for 5 and under. Which is amazing for us. I feel like in NYC you are lucky if any kid over 1 gets in free to anything.

Zion was an amazing place. Baby boy decided to not sleep the night before. Which left us pretty cranky and not really fit to parent well. My parents/Aunt did a jeep tour while we hiked with the kids. Both girls complained a lot - which is not like them.

Arizona - 1 night - Luckily, my parents had offered for us to leave the kids with them while we drove to Arizona. We did a parents only trip for a more serious hike in Zion then onward to Antelope Canyon/Lake Powell/Horseshoe bend in Arizona. Truly otherworldly. Ate amazing Mexican food and slept in.

Of course, the kids had the time of their lives. Luckily, baby boy was back to sleeping like a charm so I didn't feel too guilty about saddling my parents/Aunt with them.

Did some more local/state park hikes with the kids when we got back. Pretty lake surrounded by mountains. Then an ATV ride with just the girls. As Rebel said "what a wild ride."

Bryce Canyon - 2 nights. What an amazing place. The girls and I did a few great hikes- they were champs. It was snowing. We also went to a country show dinner buffet. The music brought me back to my high school days. The girls were blown away by the idea of a buffet. Their eyes filled with joy when we told them they got to go back.

Unfortunately, baby boy realized he could climb out of his pack-n-play. He screamed bloody murder every time we put him back in. Can't have him bothering the neighbors so we drove him around to get him to fall asleep. I think we realized he's not really ready for hotel stays, yet. Home exchanges/airbnb's make our vacation lives so much easier.

Vegas - 1 night. Up at 3:20am to catch our flight. With flight prices being crazy it was the most affordable. It worked out as the airport was not crowded, I wasn't going to sleep well anyway and baby boy passed out right away. I realized we were going to be zonked when we got home so our sitter is scheduled.

Overall, an amazing trip. Next time I do less moving of places. Def want to take the kids back to Bryce Canyon when baby boy is 4+. So much more to see.

Both our arriving and returning flight has medical emergencies that asked for medical professional assistance. As a student, obviously I'm not qualified. But i don't think I'm going to be when I graduate either. The return flight it was a non-responsive elderly women making odd breathing sounds before we even took off. Her daughter seemed very unconcerned. Another passenger had to alert the flight attendants to stop us from taking off. Apparently the women has been released from the hospital recently and then caught a flu. The daughter tried to convince the flight attendants they could still fly. THEN ASKED IF SHE HAD TO GO WITH HER? How insane is that? Imagine not wanting to get off the plane with your elderly mother who was just non-responsive?

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hazard-and-friends · 3 years

Text

Month 11

What the fuck. Holy hell buddy.

The focus here will be catching us up with the missed months and then next month I’ll do a 1 year retrospective.

The last time I posted one of these was January 9th. In late February, we moved from FL to WA; at the end of the month we moved into a new, one bedroom apartment. In mid-March I started a part time job which I adore (running puppy camp at a R+ facility! in the next few weeks I’ll start teaching swims and puppy play groups!). So first we did a massive amount of prep for the move, and then we did even more prep for post-move things like “meeting my family” and “oh shit there’s hills now” and in between the two we’ve made huge strides on the cat thing.

The details!

Night time: We have completely stopped putting him in the crate at night. There were two reasons for crating to begin with: 1) We didn’t know where Penny wanted to sleep and didn’t trust them when we were asleep and 2) to create good sleepy associations prior to the plane flight. #2 is no longer relevant and a) Penny wants to sleep Up or in the bed and b) Hazard laaaaargely doesn’t care about her once the lights go off. So he sleeps on the floor, after a VERY exciting 4 nights at the airbnb where he got to sleep in the people bed with the people (Penny slept on top of the catinets cabinets).

Crate in general: I spent 2 months working on the plastic crate not being the actual devil, and he did end up being happy in it. But he’s regressed to thinking that crates in general are prison spaces due to the plane flight, so it’s all to the good that he doesn’t have to go in at all anymore. Regular crate training (for trials) is on the task list.

Medications: He was on trazodone through late March. For the flight itself, I started him on gabapentin (100 mg 3x daily) 24 hours before the flight, and gave him a double dose when we left the apartment. All of this was cleared with his vet first, consult with your own etc. No side effects and the gabapentin definitely helped--but he was still upset at takeoff and landing. One of the reasons I wanted him to see a vet in March was to switch off trazodone and onto something actually validated in separation anxiety. He’s now on Reconcile, 24 mg once a day. At 2 weeks in: No lasting side effects (the first 48 hours were a little weird), and overall anxiety is decreasing.

Anxiety in general: IT’S BEEN A FUN TIME Y’ALL. Because trazodone and prozac (Reconcile) both affect serotonin, he had to come off trazodone for 4-5 days before starting Reconcile. Which confirmed a bunch of things:

Trazodone wasn’t doing very much at all. 90% of the time he was unchanged.

He is WAY more anxious on car rides than anyone realized. Once off trazodone, he started whining continuously on the way out--the way back is fine, either because he’s exhausted, he knows we’re going home, or we’ve already been to the superfunexcitingplace.

Trazodone wasn’t doing SHIT for his separation anxiety, which was unchanged.

He was only slightly more reactive to the cat and no more reactive to strangers. Cool.

Now that we’re 2 weeks into Reconcile: Starting to see big improvements in separation anxiety (more on that later) and cat tolerance is back to baseline (ditto). Car rides are still chatty but rapidly improving. No side effects, still playful and happy and silly.

Separation anxiety: Over a month, we achingly worked our way up to 90 seconds of me gone, or 30 seconds of me gone if I had done one preparing-to-leave thing. And even that was unreliable. That’s not right, guys. That’s the big reason we switched medications. Because keep in mind that all of this is while Jo was in the room with him. Yesterday I left to run errands with no prep and he just watched. I love Reconcile. It took about 5 minutes for him to settle down, but still. Plan is to bust ass and get to 15 minutes with no pre-departure cues and then add them back in.

Cat: Two steps forward one step sideways. While he chases her every other day or so, there are no gates in the new apartment. Sometimes we close the door to the bedroom so Penny can be unmolested, but often she’s the one who wants out, and she’s finding more and more places to chill. Moooost nights Hazard gets tied (harness to longline to my desk) but that’s more so that we don’t have to be constantly watching. At night there’s sometimes scuffles, but those end with Penny wherever she wanted to be and Hazard under the bed.

Weight: Vet had him at 44 lbs but he hadn’t pooped that day. He’s now on diet Hills SD, 1.5 cups, but he also gets around 100 pieces of treats a day so that’s surely impacting things. He’s looking better and better though--nice thigh muscles.

Formal training: I have completely jumped the shark and started teaching rally cues. As soon as the budget balances I want to get back to doing rally with Sydney’s trainer, and he’s picking up the basics really fast. Also, recall?? Is coming along fabulously?? Amazing. Love it when I don’t have to do anything.

I jest, I did a lot. We did a bowl game where I put him in a wait, put food in his bowl, then went to the other side of the room and called him. He had to come to me before going to the food, and that really helped recall click in a way that other games hadn’t.

Handling: After 11 months I admitted defeat and took him to the vet for nails. The vet tech’s verdict is that he sang at her but she got them done in 5 minutes so hey. We’re going back to the very basics and doing it to enthusiasm, not compliance, this time. Sigh.

Good note: I did teach him a chin rest and he now LOVES offering it. Amazing. Love him so much.

Stranger danger: the BIGGEST progress. In the last month he’s met both my parents, my grandparents, one of my siblings, and a friend. 6 people, 3 genders, aged 19-77, and a whole array of builds and heights. They’re all white but you can’t have everything. A growing theme is he’s much better in novel environments than in his home base, so probably we’ll be meeting people outside and then walking them in. But still, seeing huge improvements in his willingness to associate with strange humans and let them touch him.

Walks: 40 min morning/20 min evening, except for once a week when it’s a 50-60 min hike or sometimes we rent the field at my work... It’s hard to be a dog ;) Fitness is less his problem on walks than focus for that long, so the hike is actually easier for him than 40 min along a 35mph road. Still, we’re getting lots of nice perky behavior out and about.

#ELEVEN MONTHS SORRY WHAT #training log #april 2021 #hazard to society

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withabackpackandcamera · 3 years

Photo

July 4th, 2021 Day 9: Ending Our Last Full Day With A VERY Full Day Indeed

We arrived at the streetside parking lot for Geldingadalsgos (based on what I found out from Jeroen, the vent that I was taking photos of isn’t the volcano volcano, but more so a vent of a bigger volcano system; therefore, the vent itself doesn’t have a name, the eruption is called Geldingadalsgos, and the volcanic system is Fagradalsfjall Volcanic System. So, 60 Minutes named it wrong… lol) around 12:15am or so, at which time there were probably somewhere between 20-30 other cars parked. Yup, we didn’t even start hiking until after midnight. Indeed, we were a bit crazy and so was everyone else out there at an ungodly hour. Anyhow, because I got a little bit of rest in the car thanks to Minh’s driving, I was ready to go and see this volcano again.

Unlike the first trip to the volcano on our first day here in Iceland a week ago, this trip was much nicer despite the time of day we hiked. Instead of clear skies with heavy midday sunlight, we arrived as the sun was setting in the colorful orange and pink sky. The skies were darker than expected but the night itself teased us but never actually came in full force. The wind today was calm and collected compared to the violent winds the guys in the group endured last week. And the hike up the mountain was much smoother and easier than the first time up, likely because the authorities had done some fixing up, de-graveling, and repaving of different routes to make it safer for hikers. With conditions being great for hiking (and because I had emptied my camera bag of nonessentials), I made it up the mountainside in about 50 minutes or so, which was much faster than the first time. Cynthia and Minh slowly made their way up behind me since I was rushing to get to the top and they weren’t really into rushing.

Once at the top, I scurried across the ridge and to the same area that I had already hiked to last week, hoping for a good vantage point for some volcano photography. Most of the conditions were great for photography on this early, early morning. The skies were beautifully colored. The weather wasn’t too cold or windy. And the volcano was a little more active today compared to last Saturday. But the conditions weren’t perfect because we were still far from the volcano, the volcano wasn’t spewing out enough lava to make lava rivers that we could see from where we were, and the darkness of the lava field and volcano made it hard to take great landscape photos without the contrasting colors of lava rivers. But I guess that when you’re traveling on a tight schedule and you’re looking to photograph natural phenomena like erupting volcanoes and vents, you just have to make do with the photography conditions you’re presented with and live with the result.

So I just took out my camera and started taking photo after photo after photo of the vent spewing lava. I attempted to take portraits and action shots of the volcano and its activity as well as landscape shots of the volcano in relation to its beautiful surroundings and the gorgeously colorful sky above. I moved to a couple of different spots to try and find different perspectives from which to shoot from but ended up spending most of my time at one location where Cynthia had found a spot to sit and chill.

Throughout our time there, I tried my best to look for Jeroen, the photographer I was communicating with on Instagram. When I had contacted him earlier in the evening to help assess the volcano situation for the evening, he told me that he too was headed to the volcano and that if we spot each other, we should definitely say hi. But unfortunately, I never did catch him there. I later found out that he had hiked way past the point where I had stopped and had made his way over the mountain ridge and to the backside of the valley and lava field, where he discovered lava in action. He found a place to see lava (relatively) close up! So jealous! And that’s the problem with attempting landscape photography on a short schedule… You just don’t have enough time or energy to roam around and scope out areas after a packed trip full of sleep-deprived days. How I wish we could’ve had another whole week in Iceland just to hang out in Reykjavik and follow the volcano live stream until we found the opportunity to leisurely make our way over to photograph the volcano when its activity increases.

We stayed at Geldingadalsgos for quite some time and didn’t actually start heading back to the car until close to 4:00am. Minh and Cynthia went on ahead as I took some time for my last few shots. Once I finished, I ended up basically running down the mountainside and arriving at the split in the hiking route at around 4:15am, at which time I could see the heavy clouds and fog rolling in over the mountains, creating a beautiful, early morning scene. I caught up with Cynthia and Minh shortly after that and by the time we actually turned on the car to leave, it was around 5:00am or so. Yeah, really late and really early… I drove home as everyone crashed in the car and got us all home safely around 5:30-6:00am, at which time we all just crashed, knowing that there was little sleep to be had this morning. Because we had an appointment at 9:00am to get our COVID swabs completed for our flight back home, we slept for a measly 2.75 hours until 8:45am, at which time we had to wake up and jump into the car to drive to our testing site. Luckily, the line and swabs were quick and we were in and out in about 15-20 minutes.

We went home after the swab. The three of us who were out until early this morning were pretty exhausted and groggy. But because it was our last full day in Iceland, Cynthia was determined to make the most of it despite severe sleep deprivation. So instead of taking a nap like Minh did, Cynthia and I joined my parents on a morning walk to explore downtown Reykjavik. We started from our AirBnB located near Klambartun Park and slowly made our way toward Laugavegur, the main street lined with shops and stores that ran through downtown Reykjavik. As we strolled down the quiet street, we spotted a long line in front of a store and decided to take a closer look at what people were waiting for. And it was pastries and baked goods at Sandholt Reykjavik! So we joined the line (though mistakenly, since we waited in the dine-in line before realizing there was a faster, shorter line just for take-out from the bakery) and bought our delicious morning pastries to enjoy outside at a table nearby. And the pastries were delicious! Especially the almond croissant Cynthia bought! SO SO GOOD!

The family sat and enjoyed our pastries and coffee before continuing on our lovely morning stroll through town. We walked around downtown and checked out some stores here and there before turning around to head back toward Hallgrimskirkja to meet up with a rejuvenated Minh. Along the way, I took the family on a detour so that they could see my old flat on Bergstaðastræti. We briefly got lost along the way since I couldn’t remember exactly where it was but we eventually found it after some backtracking.

We met up with Minh at Hallgrimskirkja and took a brief look inside the church before splitting up from mom and dad to meet up with Thorsteinn and his girlfriend Thordis Erla on the other side of downtown at a cute brunch place called The CooCoo’s Nest near the Old Harbour. Along the way there, we stopped by to look in a couple of stores and even ran into an old Stanford buddy, Bryce Kam, and his wife walking around Laugavegur. What a coincidence! We chatted in the streets for a few minutes before we had to bid them farewell so that we could make it to brunch on time.

After a relatively short walk through town to get to the Old Harbour side, we finally arrived at The CooCoo’s Nest and found Thor and Thordis already there waiting for us and for a table to open up. After officially meeting Thordis, we sat outside and started catching up over all sorts of things until it was time to be seated at our table inside. We continued on with our great conversations inside as we ate our delicious brunch (Cynthia and I ordered their Breakfast Burrito and Eggs Florentine, both which were yummy). We had a wonderful two-hour long late brunch with the two of them and shared a ton of great stories and talked about all sorts of topics, from Thor’s and Thordis’ life updates (including buying a house together, Thor getting a new job managing assets and portfolios, Thordis going back to school to study industrial finance after briefly working, Thordis’s previous work life working for Icelandair as a flight attendant) to stories about our trip and our lives in the States during a pandemic. So much fun to catch up after almost five years!

Once we had taken our photos and said farewell to each other, Cynthia and I slowly walked through downtown and made a couple of stops along the way as we headed back to the house while Minh went off on his own to look for Icelandic sweaters to buy. By the time we arrived back at the apartment, there was only 1.5 hours left until our next social gathering with Sveinn Magnússon and Kristin Bragadottir at their house for dinner. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I was so full and so tired by the time we got home that I couldn’t even think about more talking and more eating. We helped do some laundry before Cynthia and I went to lie down and take a quick power nap. Unfortunately, we were woken up soon after we went to bed and rushed out of the house so that we could make it to dinner on time at Sveinn’s. We drove over there, and when we arrived, we were warmly greeted by Sveinn and Kristin before Minh and dad finally showed up after their souvenir-buying stroll. It was such a pleasure to see Sveinn and Kristin again after these busy last 4.5 years!

Sveinn and Kristin welcomed us with open arms into their warm home, one that I have visited every trip I’ve made to Iceland. While waiting for dinner to be prepared, I introduced Sveinn and Kristin to my parents and Cynthia, who they had never met, and we shared stories in the living room while sipping on white wine. It was great to finally introduce everyone to each other after they had all heard stories about each other over the years. We caught up for a while before we were seated at the dining table for a fabulous and delicious dinner spread that included an appetizer of shrimp and cheese salad, mains and sides of baked salmon with a puff pastry top, half-mashed potatoes, and salad, and rhubarb oatmeal pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. What a yummy treat! Over dinner, we learned so much more about Iceland, past and present, from Sveinn and also learned about Kristin’s journey to her PhD in history and her authorship of several historical books as a result. Always so great to hear about the amazing things they are doing and the amazing knowledge they are always willing to share with us!

After dinner, we continued to sip on more wine while chatting more and looking through family photo books that Sveinn had collected over the years. I learned more specifics about Sveinn Magnusson as a physician. For example, before working at the ministry, he was a general practitioner in Sweden and Iceland and was boarded in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine. He then transitioned to working for the Icelandic government where he served primarily as director general, the second highest ranking civil, nonpolitical official in Iceland who reports directly to the prime minister. And while working at the ministry for 21 years, he served a total number of 16 prime ministers. These days, while not doing government work, Sveinn is primarily on call to do death exams on folks in the community. Every now and then, he is tasked with doing a little more than that. In one instance a few years ago, he was the physician who did the baseline intake physical exams for the group of Greenland boat guys who were involved in the murder of a young Icelandic woman. Crazy! After hearing all sorts of cool and crazy stuff and before we even knew it, it was 9:30pm and time for our exhausted family to bid Sveinn and Kristin farewell and a big thank you for hosting us at their lovely house on our short trip through Iceland.

Before driving home, we briefly stopped by the water so that everyone could check out Sun Voyager Sculpture and the Harpa Concert Hall. After some photos, we were pooped and drained, so we finally drove back home and started the task of packing and tidying up for our trip home. Minh’s energy tank was still holding some gas by this point (probably because of his effective power nap), so he decided to walk around downtown and check things out before hitting the sack. Cynthia decided to go with him to maximize her only full day in Reykjavik but because I was so tired, I stayed in to rest. I helped with laundry and hung out around the house until a bit past midnight, at which time I went to bed shortly before Cynthia and Minh returned home. What a ridiculously packed and exhausting last full day in Iceland! If only I had more time to just chill and do everything over a few days instead of over 36 hours… But at least there is one more half day left to enjoy tomorrow…

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. Today, tourism is the number one industry supporting the infrastructure and economy of Iceland, surpassing Iceland’s fishing industry. Therefore, when the pandemic hit and set the world on fire, tourism took a huge hit in Iceland and resulted in the crippling of Iceland’s economy. There were huge drops in revenue due to travel restrictions and mandates. But for some Icelanders, it was actually quite nice to have their country all to themselves once again after a decade-long boom in tourism. Local Icelanders got the chance to, once again, experience and enjoy Iceland’s beautiful nature the same way they used to enjoy it before tourists flocked to Iceland. It was now quieter and less crowded and locals could now go to tourist hotspots that they previously avoided due to tourist crowds (like the attractions along the South Ring Road). Icelanders got to travel locally with their families again and spent much of the pandemic just reconnecting with their families and friends. With tourism essentially on pause, it also gave nature time to rest and recover, something that was much needed in Iceland. Funny enough, though, despite everything I wrote above, when the country was open to tourists again, a lot of Icelanders, who are a social breed of people, actually appreciated and welcomed the tourists again. Not only did tourists bring money that was desperately needed into the country’s economy, but they also brought with them interesting conversation topics and new perspectives that helped break up the monotony of Icelanders keeping conversations afloat with people they’ve known their whole lives. During the pandemic, Icelanders actually missed seeing and talking to us tourists! Funny!

2. Thordis informed me that Icelandic weddings typically don’t have wedding parties to accompany the bride and groom to the altar but just have the bride and groom’s fathers present at the altar for their ceremony.

3. Supposedly, until 1974, the many rivers running through Iceland played a major role in travel and exploration in the country. Rivers were one of the major reasons that limited domestic traveling because, at the time, the country lacked a way to cross those rivers. However, around 1974, Iceland was gifted single-laned bridges to bridge them to broader horizons and to expand their previously-limited area for exploration.

4. When the latter half of the year arrives with its darkness, snow, and cold, windy weather, non-city-dwelling people in Iceland sometimes have to take up a secondary job or change the nature of their primary jobs because their work may be limited due to the challenging and harsh weather conditions. For example, if the farmers are growing crops, they can’t really do any of that in the winter. So they, along with other people from the countryside in need of something to do, sometimes volunteer to help in town. Sometimes they volunteer in civil roles and things like firefighting and teaching. Others will just take the down time to fix up their homes and do repairs they didn’t time to get to over the year. If you’re a farmer who raises animals or has animals to deal with, those farmers can continue working but maybe in a different way. Dairy farmers will continue their work with their cows. Sheep farmers will work to feed and breed their sheep after the sheep have been collected from the previously-green-but-now-yellow-and-brown fields where they roamed all summer. They can also start collecting the wool they shave off the sheep to get that side of the business going.

5. It isn’t that farmers don’t grow crops in Iceland because of the poor soil. Rather, they can’t grow successful crop fields because of the variation in the amount of sunlight and relative lack of sunlight during certain parts of the year. However, some manage to grow potatoes or other crops in very environmentally-controlled set-ups like greenhouses.

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theinnerhalf · 3 years

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2019 in Review: Highlights

Making a venture back into writing again with this “year in review”. I guess I’m slightly less damaged than I was last year and have finally built the courage to write about how this year was for me, even some dark times included. Thank you 2019, for not much, but I guess thank you. A “fuck you” would be more appropriate but regardless, I’m grateful. Let’s do this.

January 2019

An extremely slow start to the new year, as it usually is when it comes to me. My January’s tend to be bleak, gray, and cold especially considering the coming down from a constant holiday high. I spent this first month with friends I could call my family, regularly going out as much as we could while the two military guys (EJ and James) are here for the time being. In this month as well, I got to finally meet up with my ex who I can now proudly call a friend. Diana and I were able to catch up extensively to make up for all the lost time, talking about things like how we’ve been, the changes, the constants, and occasionally reminiscing. I know I’ve felt at peace before already, for having her back into my life rather than staying a bittersweet memory, but getting to catch up like this was a whole other type of joy I didn’t know I needed. As for the picture of the pants, I finally made the decision to buy a pair of jeans that I wanted soooo so bad from one of my favorite designers.

February

Goodness...Where do I even start for this month?...Like January, February for me is usually bleak. Regardless it being a month for “love”, it sucked. Maybe the worst for me in the year. The start of this month wasn’t all too bad though! There was a fashion show that Celine was walking/modeling for held at Rice University in order to celebrate Asian cultures and Chinese New Year. The show overall was alright...I guess it was just nice to be out supporting Celine and whatnot. I thought this month would at least provide a break for me, but just five days later, my grandma was sent to the ICU after suffering from a stroke...It happened so suddenly...Celine and I were at an outing when the two of us came back to my place and ran into my dad who was leaving in a hurry. He had a lost look on his face, as well as panicky and shifty eyes. He broke the news to us and had the sinking feeling in me hit so fast. The next thing I know, we’re at the hospital waiting room, anxiously waiting to be briefed with (hopefully) good news. I remember disassociating when the doctor had finally came to us, thinking that this really couldn’t be happening...not to us...not to my dad. I remember thinking that this isn’t fair...We literally had just gotten her into our lives’ and now we’re losing her.

We spent the following week trading stays at the hospital between my siblings and cousins. I can’t remember the proper psychology term for the feeling of false hope and security for an event that seems to be too horrible to be true, but that was what I had felt for the entire time. There’s no way that my family could lose our grandma like this...and not this soon. Just a day before my grandma’s stroke happened, she was asking when my younger sister and I were going to get married. The two of us looked at each other like, “What the fuuuu--? Where is this coming from?” My grandma explained shortly after that she felt as if she didn’t have much longer for her time here with us, and that she wanted to have the honor to make the dresses and suits for Lacel’s or my wedding. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t stop thinking about how cruel and merciless the world could be, but also at the same time, that I should’ve known better and that I should be used to this...I should be but I would rather not. I think it was after a week and a half where I found that my grandma would be transferred to a hospice. My family had told me this and I was under the impression that hospices were for people who had recovered enough that they don’t need to be in a hospital but still needed professional caretakers. I told this to Andrew and Quin and they both shared painful and shocked expressions with each other. I asked why they were looking at each other like that and then they broke it to me that hospices were for people who didn’t have much time left. I remember crying in front of them that day during work.

Virginia Barreda passed away, February 19, 2019. My family grieved separately and in different ways. I slept off the entire day...The picture of the room was how my grandma left the room right before she was taken to the hospital and was left untouched for the entire duration of the situation. I embarrassingly and shamefully made a gofundme to help raise money so that my family and I could attend her final farewell back home in the Philippines. I thought it wouldn’t get anywhere...but my heart...I was so surprised to see the amount of love and support that friends and even strangers had decided to put out, and I was touched beyond anything I had ever expected. A big thank you to those who donated and have come across this post by any way. You have my sincerest gratitude and even with that, I cannot thank you enough.

To end the note on a positive note at least, Celine and I hit one year at the end of this month. Amazing.

March

My family and I were in such a weird head space entering this month. There was a lot of recovering to be made and coming out of the state of denial from my grandma’s passing. It was like a new chapter of our lives abruptly opened itself onto us and we all did not know how to proceed. My dad was stressing out over medical expenses and how we were going to afford to bring the entire family to Philippines for my grandma’s final resting place. I did my best to keep the gofundme a secret from him, because knowing my dad, he would not accept the money under any condition. He only came to find out about it because some of his friends and relatives came across it, donated, and then told him about how sentimental and touching my gofundme passage was. He just asked why, and I regrettably said that it was because we were struggling out here and all I wanted to do was help. After some convincing with the help of my two sister’s, my dad accepted the help and agreed that we can now at least afford to take my dad for the initial ceremony while the rest of us would follow-up, hopefully in the summer or late 2019.

The first picture in this month’s set is of the Pieta in Italy, taken by Lacel. Lacel was on a two week school trip, while in the second picture is the view my dad had while his two week stay in the Philippines. Both my older sister and I stayed at home while envying our dad’s and Lacel’s experiences. Their trips only served as motivation for me to save up a lot more for Japan and I really wanted to make that happen no matter what. Even if it meant me going alone, I was ready to accept it.

The following pictures of Lacel are when they came back from Italy and celebrated their two years of being clean/no relapses. I know I rarely ever let it be known, but I really do care and love my younger sister a lot, and to see them make it this far in the span of two years meant so much to me. I’m glad that my family was able to celebrate that milestone in Lacel’s life because it was definitely quite the journey. The last photo is of my car’s fourth brake light functioning again with Travis’ help and was fixed just in time for the long drive to Marfa.

April

Really, the only one significant highlight for this month, which I am incredibly excited to share, was the moderately spontaneous trip I took out to Marfa, Texas with Yentl. I do have to say, the two of us were quite ambitious for taking on this trip by leaving Houston around 12am shortly, after grabbing oh my gogi and some boba. With the help of a trenta iced coffee, I was able to knock out 6 hours of the 8 hour drive. While the drive was a lot of fun, I started getting really sleepy around the 4 hour mark but it started raining extremely hard after we had passed San Antonio. I was so reluctant to switch over to Yentl driving because I had been losing traction every now and then. It was only until the sun rose that we finally had passed the rain. I shortly knocked out after the switch.

I woke up to Yentl ecstatically saying, “We’re heeeeere!” I opened my eyes and was immediately blinded, forgetting that daytime was a thing. But from the short time my eyes were open, I saw a railroad and buildings styled from days of the past. I fought to keep my eyes open only to tell myself, maybe five more minutes. As soon as we parked, Yentl and I took the opportunity to walk around.The weather was pleasant, not too hot and not too cold either. The humidity that seems to be a pestering presence in Houston was nowhere to be found in Marfa, so the daytime stroll was bliss. The two of us checked out Marfa’s welcome sign, the city hall (only from the outside because it was closed), a couple of local shops and art galleries, and the hotel Paisano, a hotel best known for having a movie shot in it.

All the walking had made us hungry...That and the only thing inside of us were boba and caffeine. Yentl and I checked out a place called Aster’s that was primarily a breakfast joint recommended to us by a person working at the welcome center. We both got an egg’s benedict. Me with a lemonade, and her an iced coffee. After eating, we proceeded to go to our Airbnb located 30 minutes away at another small town called Alpine. The Airbnb’s neighborhood was located in some rural area with cliffs surrounding it all. The Airbnb itself was a small and cute place that was divided into just three small parts: the bedroom, living room, and a bathroom. Yentl and I freshened up, put on the new fits, and made our way back to Marfa.

Headed back, we decided that we would first go see the outlandish Prada store located in the middle of the desert. The Prada store itself is a permanent art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, built with the concept of using biodegradable materials so that the art installation could eventually return and be reclaimed back to Earth as all things eventually do. The drive to Prada, Marfa was an unexpectedly longer drive than I thought. It was a non-stop view of your textbook Western landscape...Desolate, scattered with ordinary desert shrubbery, and one thing to set it apart, a lonely, silver blimp just casually floating at the wind’s mercy.

When we finally arrived, it looked surreal to say the least. The building was so unexpectedly placed, yet at the same time, it wasn’t intrusive to the desert landscape. There were less people there than I had thought, which made it easier for Yentl and I to take the photos we wanted. What a pleasant oddity it was, I thought, to even drive eight hours just to see this left me with a sense of fulfillment knowing that this had been on my personal bucket list for quite some time.

The two of us made our way back to the city to kill some more time before it was time to see the mystery Marfa lights. We checked out a bookstore placed in the lobby of a hotel, wandered around the from one edge of the town to the other, checked out some more art galleries, and ate dinner at a local BBQ place. The sun was on the verge of setting so we headed to the viewing area that was located right beside the highway. We got there conveniently early and was able to secure a good parking spot as there was not even a designated parking lot. Yentl and I situated ourselves onto a bench with a clear view of the field. We both sat there in amazement of the sunset…layers on layers of colors dancing in the sky, almost a love letter to us from the sun itself, as it sank over the horizon, tucking itself in to say goodnight. The two of us couldn’t wrap our heads around the fact that we actually did this, an 8-hour drive to see some art and an unexplained natural phenomenon that happens in the desert at night. We really did this.

The sky turned from its calm lilac tones to an enveloping darkness and what followed were gasps of oooooh’s and aaaaah’s. It was finally happening. We peered over the horizon, somewhat confused, and there it was. Beside a constant blinking red light, appeared the mystery lights, bobbing up and down inconsistently, disappearing and reappearing on a whims notice. Yentl and I watched in awe and pondered about the mysteries of life like, does the supernatural exist, are there aliens out there, and what does it truly mean to love? Apart from the mystery lights themselves, the stars overhead was truly a sight to take in. The indescribable feeling of being small while looking up at the stars happens to be a favorite sensation of mine, but only this time, I was overwhelmed by it. I found a completely empty bench to lay down on just to look up. It must have been the most relaxed I have been since forever and I never wanted the feeling to end…But as all good things do, it did. Yentl and I made our way back to our Airbnb after catching what seemed to be a UFO flying above us. Marfa truly was surreal.

The two of us rested for the night, packed our stuff the next day, and made our way on the long journey back home.

May

The start of this month initially started incredibly slow. Not much has been done aside from learning how to shoot better on film which I spent a lot of my time on. I would keep pestering my friends to let me use them as models and surprisingly, they agreed! The first three photos are just a few of the pictures taken. This was also the month that the restaurant I work at, Noon (previously known as Verts, also previously known as Vertskebap), had undergone the change to being Daphne’s Greek Mediterranean. The change allowed us to finally get tips trough credit cards and no longer just cash tips. This allowed me to leave my shifts with a lot more money in hand.

It occurred to me…with this I could finally make my Japan trip a reality…In the span of just a week, I was able to raise 100 dollars in just tips alone (I know this doesn’t sound like a lot, but this is a big difference coming from leaving work with no more than 50 cents to 5 dollars on a busy day). I decided that the tip money would be strictly set aside for Japan and Japan only. I thought at the rate it was going, a 100 dollars per week would be sufficient for a trip set out in October/November. The rough estimate was at least around 2000 dollars if I decided I would really stay true to my word and not touch this extra money.

In this month also, my little sister got their associates degree in art, which I am really proud of! They then decided that they would be continuing their education at the university of Texas at Dallas. The last picture is a picture of one of my favorite musicians, blackbear, taken at a concert for his DEAD 2 THE WORLD tour. It was my second time getting to see him perform live, and while he was not in the best health to perform my favorite song the way that he usually does, it was still quite the experience. I would be more than happy to see him perform live again, and hopefully in better health.

June

Ahhh June. What better way to start of this month by getting into an accident…My neighbor ran into the passenger side door of my car while they were reversing and failed to see that I had already pulled out first. Extremely disappointing knowing how much my car means to me…What followed shortly after were series of looking for a trustworthy and affordable auto body and collision shop to do the work while being able to get covered by the person at fault’s insurance. Was honestly such a convoluted process and was so stressful that a part of me decided that maybe I would just leave and live with it. I ended up finding a shop called legendary auto and agreed to the other person’s insurance’s choice to only cover 80 percent of the costs because I allegedly had some “preventative measure” on stopping the collision from happening. Me, tired and not in the mood for a disagreement, agreed. I just wanted my car back to the way it was before.

The next highlight for this month was for an overnight camping trip I took out with my family and other family friends somewhere near Austin. It was a lot of fun! Everything was nearly perfect with the trip aside from the sweltering heat combined with a THICK humidity that made its dominance extremely clear. I remember there being so much good food…and with family friends that you’ve grown up with, there was never a shortage of people telling you to eat more when you just downed three plates of crawfish, bbq, and rice. There were boats and a tractor with a little tow for people to ride on in the back, a working NES system, a basketball court, playground, and an entire forest to explore. We spent our time playing card/board games, held a basketball competition, the dads versus the boys, a bonfire complete with smores, and a sad attempt at a Marvin’s room music video, complete with a hot tub and color changing lights.

Spending your time consistently outdoors resets your internal clock, and so by 9, everyone had started to get ready for bed. I remember being outside on the campgrounds and it being pitch black. Not being able to see past 15 feet in front of me at the most. One look at the sky in this setting and there was the full moon. Brighter than I had ever witnessed it…almost blinding to be honest. The older “kids” were cooped up in the RV designated for more kids to sleep in and were there playing monopoly deal. I joined in and found ourselves playing monopoly deal until 2am until I called it a night. I woke up the next day, sad to leave earlier than we’d have to because I had a shift at work to attend to even with all the begging I did with my other coworkers to cover for me.

As for the rest of this month’s highlights, I finally got the see the Van Gogh exhibit that was here at the Museum of Fine Arts. It was the most packed I have ever seen the MFAH in a long time and was glad that I was able to see Van Gogh’s work as art is always inspiring to me…Sad that the starry night wasn’t there but that’s alright. I also got to visit and hang out with Yentl this month during a trip I made to Dallas for Lacel’s scholarship interview. I haven’t seen her since our trip to Marfa and we got to talking about the Japan trip we’d be potentially taking out in the fall. We had Gyu-kaku (which she covered for like BRUH) and went over the possible itinerary that I had been researching for months now. As usual, it was always nice to see her, and I left Dallas feeling even more hopeful and motivated for the trip.

July

After one long month, I finally got my car back in perfect condition! So exciting to see my car just the way it used to be…Marwan and the rest of his team over at Legendary auto have all my gratitude for doing a stellar job. Could not thank them enough. For this month also, my family and I visited Galveston for the 4th of July, mainly for a parade and pleasure pier. It was a really nice experience getting to spend a whole outing with my family which we aren’t able to do often considering how busy we all are. Even more so with Lacel going to school soon in an entirely different city the following month. As for the final highlight of this month, I got to catch up on life with Lexi as we talk about the occurrences of life and sometimes even the past and how much we’ve grown from it. Always an experience to see her and it’s so interesting to see how I get to hang out with her during my days in college when in high school, we weren’t all that close.

August

I kicked off this month by helping my younger sister pack and move into their apartment in Dallas. We had to rent a car for all their stuff to fit because the 86 definitely was not able to carry everything that Lacel was bringing. It was a quick and pretty emotional ordeal, having one last dinner together as a family, and then having to say goodbye. I thought that would be the last time I would see my sister for a long time, but soon enough, I found myself making a trip to Dallas once a week for five weeks straight haha.

For the next highlight, it’s just a picture of me reveling in the fact that I had finally mustered the courage to go and change my major from nursing to journalism. I was shocked by how much easier it would’ve been for me to finish my associates if I had done this so much sooner. I found myself with only two more semesters, and maybe even just one if I had dedicated myself to just school. Also, in August, I had been unemployed for about two months prior. Shoutout to Daphne’s for pulling the rug from underneath my friends and I without any warning whatsoever. A double-edged sword might I admit, because while it left me unemployed suddenly, the closing of Daphne’s allowed to me find more opportunities and finally be free from the comfort of familiarity that the restaurant had provided me for about four years. Being in H-E-B made me realize how much I was missing out on such a good work environment. Everyone was absurdly and unbelievably nice…The customers in my H-E-B are also nothing compared to the customers I dealt with in food service and my goodness, it was such a nice change of pace. Happy to be here, cause after all, “here, everything’s better.”

For the last highlight of this month, Celine threw an e-boi/girl themed late birthday party. It was honestly really well set up, especially with the Airbnb and the vibes it had come with. They were constantly anxious about how their party would end up and I was always telling them that it would be a lot of fun! Which in fact, it did turn out to be a lot fun and it was so interesting to see everyone so dedicated to the theme of the party. Seeing Celine around a lot of the people they care about was really something, and to see them have such a fun and good time was all that mattered.

A little later into this month, Celine and I decided to end things on a mutual note. Things had been comfortable for a while, and while there may have still been feelings, things have stagnated…A lot…My mental health at this point of our relationship wasn’t anywhere close to where I’d want it and things haven’t been okay with me for a long time. I spent a lot of my time getting triggered over the past and my thought process started falling towards methods of self-destruction rather than dealing with things head on. I found myself either in a constant state of anger or depression over not knowing how to deal with the thoughts eating away at me. Had I waited any longer, I’m not sure what I would have done.

Sad as that may have been…It was ultimately for the better. At least I hoped it was…

September

(Insert obligatory “Do you remember”) September was thankfully one of the better and more eventful months out of the year and kicked it off with Yentl’s birthday party. I remember making the 4-hour drive for the second year in a row just to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday. I arrived later than most and found myself in the middle of a really nice neighborhood where the Airbnb was located. Interesting, I thought. The area was devoid of streetlights with a lake nearby and made me hopeful that maybe a getaway like tonight could really take me away from all that was going on in my head. I’ll drink to that.

I shyly walked in, asking people where Yentl was. I was led to the kitchen where she was and found her already multiple drinks in. Received a tight hug from her and was cordially invited to start drinking haha. I told her that I’ll a eat a little bit, maybe get re-acquainted with everyone and the Airbnb first, properly settling in before I find myself trying to drown my demons lurking behind the corner, waiting to make themselves present in my conscience. I held my trusty detox water, comprised of lemon and limes, tightly, hoping it’d be my saving grace for this party. The objective for the night: Survive…But have a good time. I chatted up with people I haven’t seen in so long…probably since Yentl’s last birthday but I guess because of the vibes the party had, it felt incredibly easy to converse.

I made my way to the pool where everyone happened to be in the meantime. Too self-conscious to jump in so I just snapshotted everyone on film for the most part. Took the liberty and made myself the party’s personal photographer for the night. I went back inside to admire the Airbnb a little bit more or sneak a drink by myself but was ushered to take shots of someone’s personal tequila concoction. “I hate tequila”, I thought…but why not? The vibe was right and the goal was to get out of my mind one way or another. I downed it, regrettably. The burn of the tequila was reminiscent of the nights I spent uncoordinated, lacking self-control, and being passed out in a fetal position beside a toilet fighting for dear life. After recollecting myself after that shot, I was immediately handed another one while not realizing it. Everybody started bracing themselves for the shot, gathering their chasers and mentally preparing for the hit while I on the other hand, looked at everybody and the cup in my possession utterly appalled at the situation unfolding in front of me. Three…two…one…cheers.

After that, the rest of the night was a blur. There came I point where I nearly blacked out because my vision had nearly gone, but after two full servings of my detox water, I was all good to go. I spent the rest of the night just talking, occasionally grooving to Jayson’s live mixing, playing smash bros and leaving undefeated, making conversations, and trying my best to stay out of my head. The party had started to slow down so I went outside to sit by the pool with a glass of wine and admire the quiet and stillness of the night. The backyard overlooked a lake and I was reminded by how nice this Airbnb really was. The moon wasn’t out so it was extra dark and allowed for some reflecting on a couple things, like the break-up…maybe on how lonely I was feeling. I watched some ducks pass by and called it a night. I went back inside and saw Yentl passed out on one of the couches. Made sure she was okay, and we had a conversation about several things, like the break-up…and how lonely I was feeling. Eventually the conversation ventured onto more positive things like how nice this Airbnb is, how nice this party was, some unwanted drama that happened during this party, and the upcoming Japan trip.

After just spending a little more time with each other, and a disagreement on who would take the last bed and sleep on the couch, we said goodnight as she had declared I get the bed. Had to respect the birthday girl’s wishes, even when it was her who had paid for the entirety of this Airbnb…Not to disclose that information or anything, but it was a LOT. I woke up, surprisingly not hungover all thanks to the detox water. As much as I had wanted to stay for any further hangouts of the day, I had to leave for a shift at 2pm. I drove the four-hour drive back home hastily, only to find out that I wasn’t needed for work and that I could actually take the day off…Amazing. Thankful that I was able to attend the party in the first place and see Yentl at all.

The following highlight was a concert I attended in Dallas for the artist Aries’ Welcome Home tour and was a largely anticipated experience for both my younger sister and I. Aries had grown to be one of my favorite artists because of how new and refreshing his sound was. I also happened to find his music during a defining point in my life, specifically during a three hour mindless drive leading to nowhere and found myself halfway to San Antonio and has become the mood and aesthetic I had been living in for a quite a while now. Months prior, my sister and I had been listening to him constantly in preparation for this concert. My only concern was that since Aries is a smaller artist, the concert might only end up being more like a listening party rather than him actually performing. By listening party, I mean that his songs are playing in the background and is overpowering his vocals or that he’s not performing for majority of the time.

My sister and I arrived at the venue with the discovery of a line that wrapped around the entire block. The suspense was too real. The feeling of knowing that I just happened to stumble upon Aries from a YouTube video of him remixing a Post Malone song into a lo-fi one, to him suddenly having the anthem of the entire spectrum of my anger and the prolonging bitterness that dwelled inside me. His music is definitely a trigger, but in a different way. His music gets me angry but doesn’t drive me to a seething, blinding rage the way I see anything remotely related to skateboarding, tall fuckboys with curly hair, or the name Kevin (fuck you Kevin…fuck you!). If anything, his music was a testament to the three months of mental and emotional anguish I had undergone earlier in 2018. I was more than ready to yell my heart and lungs out to the lyrics, “fuck your friend, that man’s a bitch, probably wish I don’t exist”, and “Promise that I will stay out of reach, far gone, cause the shit still bothers me.”

The concert left me speechless by how much energy there was from the crowd, the hype man, and Aries himself. While it may only have been just over an hour, it was the most invigorating concert I have attended by far. Probably the most fun too. As Lacel and I headed out after taking pictures with the venue and our tour merch, we were suddenly told that Aries had came out to greet people. We rushed back in and just stayed around, somewhat awkwardly, casually standing by as fans took pictures with or of him. He was able to sign a piece of paper that Lacel handed to him and he left shortly after taking a big group picture with the fans that were present. We left soon after, put on his Welcome Home album to relive the concert in the car, and got lost driving around Dallas for maybe another hour to end the night.

The last highlight for this month was Quin’s birthday celebration that him and his closest friends organized. The initial plan was to pre-game at Marian’s place and then follow up by going out to Washington Ave. which is notoriously known for Houston’s night life scene. I arrived at Marian’s apartment for the pre-game, and even before I could greet anyone, a friend came by me with a bottle of Hennessy and started pouring some in my mouth. “So it’s gonna be that type of night”, I thought haha. I finally got around to greeting everyone including the birthday boy who was in the middle of taking a shot and was then shortly handed one to take alongside Quin and a handful of other friends.

We eventually made our way to Washington Ave. in different Ubers and arrived at Concrete Cowboy. The whole group lined up and waited for our turn to get in. As we neared the entrance, I pulled out my ID in anticipation as I’m used to being told that I don’t look older than 19 most of the time. The bouncer let my friends in but said something to me that I couldn’t quite make out over the music blasting from inside. I said excuse me, thinking like, hello…my ID is legit, I promise you I’m legal and this is a valid ID haha. “No air forces”, he said. “What?”, “No air forces…”, he repeated. Back to the line I went, astonished that this was even a problem in the first place. I received a bunch of texts from my friends asking where I was and exclaimed to them that I was denied access because of the shoes I was wearing. I went to the little fence that Concrete had and exchanged my air force 1’s with Andrew’s dress shoes and lined up once more.

Eventually that was all a waste because the group ended up leaving Concrete Cowboy…WITHOUT the birthday boy. We crossed the street to another club/bar that escapes my memory but this time around they let me in regardless of my shoes. Immediately, this was already better than the experience with Concrete, from the music, the general vibe, to how less packed it was. Ruben bought everyone two rounds of shots for some reason, and it really helped loosen everybody up. While the group was having a lot of fun in this bar, a handful of us felt guilty that we were having this much fun without Quin and decided we should go back to Concrete to go celebrate with the person this night was originally dedicated to. We left to go line back up across the street, only to find others that also separated from Quin to come join us over where we were at…We all found ourselves back in the same bar/club we just left haha.

Feeling guilty of admitting to this, but we were having an absolute blast at the place we were at. My friends and I ended up having the biggest floor presence and had even started a cypher with the occasional strangers jumping in who had actual dance experience as well. My friends and I shook hands and even made friends with these strangers after finding out we had mutual dance friends and connections to major Houston dance studios like soundbox and soreal. 2PM had finally snuck its way into the night and it was time to go back to Marian’s to regroup. We arrived at Marian’s apartment to find out that Quin had gotten shitfaced at Concrete Cowboy. Quin! The same Quin who took 20+ shots on his 21st birthday, just to be fully coherent, coordinated, and mentally sound to take care of other people rather than being taken care of. There he was, bent over the toilet, clutching it for dear life. It was an absolute sight to behold, and one we would never let Quin live down. It was finally our turn to take care of him, and as friends that love Quin, we were more than happy to finally get the opportunity to pay the favor back.

October

My birth month. My favorite month too and well deserved so. October for me is the transition from the Hell that is Houston’s summer to those cool crisp Autumn afternoons. A transition from bright yellow and blue hues to the golden, orange, and amber tones that coincide with everything regarding the season of fall. Fall is Halloween. Fall is Thanksgiving. Fall is pumpkin picking and carving, apple pies, and the metaphorical dusk of the year, while interestingly sharing the same colors as a sunset. This month was surprisingly uneventful but was largely a pre-cursor for what was coming up in November: Yentl’s and my Japan trip.

The first highlight for this month was this photoshoot/hang out with fellow FRZ86 owners, Lily and Ray. I was meeting both of them for the first time and was excited that they both agreed to be models for further practice with my film camera. Really happy with how the shots came out, I felt ready for taking pictures in Japan and grew more confident in this new profound hobby. The following highlight for this month but not pictured for privacy reasons, was my approval for my travel visa. The news had me beaming. After days of gut-wrenching anxiety at the thought of refunding my airfare, the Airbnb, and all the plans just going to waste if I was not approved, the good news was a major sigh of relief. It had finally cemented the trip, and the only thing that was left, was to save as much as I can in this last month.

My money saving process for the rest of this month involved eating four slices of a day for lunch (only when I was at work), refusing to hang out, and reducing my eating out budget to just under 30 dollars. I was determined. My will power, incorruptible. I attended a hang out that involved eating, and I only spent my money on a drink. My savings were not going to be stopped…My birthday eventually came around and my family and I found ourselves in Dallas…for the second year in a row. I don’t remember exactly why we were celebrating MY birthday in Dallas just to hang out with my younger sister, but that’s just what went down. We went to Gen Korean BBQ for lunch, and followed up with boba (a must). We hung around a Kinokuniya for a little bit to kill time and were deciding on what we should do now. I just threw in that maybe we could stop by the Dallas galleria to just waste even more time, while in the back of my head, I had a burning desire to finally pull the trigger on something I’ve been wanting since the summer of 2017: a Gucci ghost ring.

I only mentioned my intentions to my younger sister because I knew my idea would be met with opposition and disappointment from my dad. After several times being asked why we had decided to go here, I mentioned that I was buying the ring, as a big gesture to myself for making it this far and as a final accessory to bring along to Japan for the outfits I had planned. Ran me back $250 dollars, but did I mind? Not one bit. So much for saving…haha.

To close out October, I departed for Dallas to pick up my sister and Yentl. The plan was to pick up Yentl from Dallas, drive back to Houston because that’s where we’ll be departing for Japan, have a layover BACK in Dallas, and after an 8-hour flight, arriving at Narita airport in Tokyo weirdly at the same time we had left from Dallas due to time zones. The plan sounds counterintuitive with the layover being in Dallas and all…but departing from Dallas added an extra 400 dollars to the airfare. It also worked because it meant that neither of us would have to make a 4-hour drive back home to our respective cities due to another layover in Dallas on the way back home.

November

This month will have an entire separate post dedicated to Japan.

Enjoy these pictures for the meantime.

December

After Japan. I had spent the rest of November coming down from the high I had experienced from my vacation. I had to deal with the come down as well as the seasonal depression that comes along with the shorter days of Winter, despite always being fond of the season. It’s going to sound a little silly to admit, but things really did start to lose meaning. I had this goal of traveling to Japan for as long as I could remember, and it was finally fulfilled! The long workdays, forty-hour work weeks, the months of research and planning, and just everything I had been doing was for the sake of trip.

Not wanting to feel as if my life had lost meaning, I forced myself to get into the holiday spirit…Or at least I tried. In the first highlight presented for this month was Travis’ Christmas present to me. A bunch of treats…and a gun. Yes, a gun. Looks like just a random assortment of food but in reality, has a ton of sentimental ties to it. As described by Travis himself, the honey buns were given because of one time we were in the campus cafeteria and I was craving honey buns. The campus was charging 2+ dollars for a single one and Travis was like, “Don’t waste your money here smh”, and told me he had spent just a little over a dollar for a multipack. The oreo thins were given because I had an obsession with oreos, the gummies because whatever, and the limon lays for a callback when Andrew, Travis, and I would have consecutive movie nights together on the summer of 2017 where we would pick our usual snacks from out midnight Walmart runs. Lastly, but definitely not least, the gun. Travis was concerned by how often I would go to so many places during the middle of the night and was also tired of being my personal protection considering he himself was armed.

The gifts left me speechless and admittedly, a little teary eyed by how thoughtful it really was. During the brief period of trying to take the moment all in, Andrew pulls out his very own and the entire room goes up in screams and laughter. Travis bought guns for the two of us! Unbelievable and entirely wild of him. I love that man to death.

The following highlight of the drink and the board game was when I finally had a first successful meeting from a connection I had on a dating app haha. Wooo Ral finally stepping out there after multiple awkward matches and getting ghosted on several platforms. The two of us met up in Dallas at a videogame restaurant bar thing, where we can eat/drink while playing on a console! Pretty cool idea and props to her for actually catering to what my interests were. Ended making a cool friend out of that meet up since. The rest of the following highlights were just more Christmas festivities such as, baking Christmas themed cookies, secret Santa with the OG5 + DJ, H-E-B white elephant Christmas party, and seeing Christmas lights with Jackie at the River Oaks neighborhood.

Just like this year in review itself, I was so eager to get the year over and done with. 2019 seemed to be bad year for the world, myself included, but finishing writing this up in 2021…I only wish I had treasured the moments just a little longer, not knowing what I will be missing the following year.

P.S. If you’re just a person randomly coming through this, thank you for your time to scroll/read

#year in review #2019

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