#what do they expect if I’m signing up to book a virtual appointment with a doctor

[justtogetthrough]

I have so many tasks I need to do around the house but this weekend I can’t do anything due to being extremely sick, still, going on over a week.

My friend suggested I book a virtual appointment with Telus Health if I wanted to avoid the hospital as my only way to see a doctor.

In order to book an appointment though they need the front and back of my drivers license as well as a picture RIGHT NOW to verify the photo I submit matches my ID.

That seems like such an unnecessary invasion of privacy. If any ID, why would it not be my healthcard? When we have the appointment they could see that I match my submitted ID.

Right now I look like utter shit from having barely eaten in a whole week and having my phone turn on the front facing camera and needing to look at myself in this state and then submit the photo that will then stay in their records in this state of ill health made me cry and I closed out of it all.

Would I rather lie in the fetal position in terrible abdominal pain for the foreseeable future? No. But I’m starving and sick and I already have a serious eating disorder and body dysmorphia. Being required to take and submit a photo of myself when I am at my absolute worst just to see a doctor who may or may not be able to help without the possibility of a physical exam makes me want to die.

Healthcare in Ontario is fucking impossible.

#it’s so surreal what is involved in seeing a doctor now #it makes me actually want to kill myself because I am in poor health and the barriers and lack of availability now mean #I will continue to experience great suffering and a terrible quality of life due to lack of adequate medical care #it fucking sucks #I know I’m dysregulation right now from being so sick for a week but #what do they expect if I’m signing up to book a virtual appointment with a doctor #do they think I’m gonna be feeling great and willing to jump through fucking hoops? #personal #healthcare #cdnpoli

[nehawriter16]

2020 / 24

There are only 2 things I can do on an airplane – dose up on sleeping meds and pass out, or order one too many cappuccinos, keep my exhausted brain awake, and will it to talk to paper. The flight from JFK was in the afternoon and in the chaos of leaving for the airport early in the morning, I forgot to pack my pills.

Two cappuccinos in, my hands were shaking and begging to be typing out the Mrs. Maisel speed monologue that constantly runs in my head. Even though there is a month left in this year, I decided to do my annual New Years Eve post. Over the last 3 days, I’ve been drilling it down to go from gibberish to slightly readable.

Here it is.

Like the rest of the world, in January, I was blissfully unaware of the shitstorm that would follow. I got into several colleges on the East Coast for a Master’s in Finance degree. Every day, I would race down the stairs with my laptop and show my parents: another admit, another scholarship! On the surface, I was making pro and con lists for each one. Deep down, my heart had already picked Fordham in New York. It was New York. Nothing else would cut it.

The day after I turned 24 in January, I also met my (now ex) boyfriend on the internet. Completely by accident, he saw my profile because a mutual friend followed my writing. Two days later, she texted me and said he would like to talk to me. Did I want to talk to some boy studying in Paris? I was single and bored and already had my year laid out for me, so why wouldn’t I?

It moved quickly. Three months later, we had been speaking every day and were exclusive. We had not hung out in person. It was stupid, but I had never come across anybody who liked me as much as he did. In every relationship I had been in before this, I always knew I was more emotionally involved. I fell in love with his devotion to me – he would stay home (who stays home in Paris!) and choose to spend virtual time with me over going to clubs with his friends. I watched myself become the epicenter of his life and thought – this is how much I’ve always wanted to mean to somebody.

In March when the pandemic hit and India shut down, my father sent a car to pick me up from my internship in Bombay, where I had moved two weeks ago. I didn’t pack so much as my toothbrush – the driver brought me home and I had no idea that it would be months before I’d get to leave again.

Morales stayed high in the beginning – we thought it would end in 21 days, then 2 months, then 5. It has taken over the whole year now, and despite us gridlocking it into “2020,” we all know the first half of 2021 will also be filled with masks and sanitizers and not hugging your friends. I wonder if I will ever settle into somebody’s arms without cringing again.

March melted into April, that melted into one long drawl until suddenly it was August and college was beginning the following week. I found myself refreshing the US consulate’s website absent mindedly one afternoon, and all appointments that had been suspended suddenly showed you a tiny little bar that read “reschedule.” I screamed and clicked.

I had thought I would be spending the year stuck at home, awake and attending classes at odd hours. While my classmates went to happy hours in dive bars in Manhattan, I would be in my bedroom, still chained to my parents’ curfews and ultimatums. But then suddenly, I was standing before a US immigration officer in Bombay, and he was telling me I had been granted my student visa.

All that was left to do was book a flight to New York, and break the news to my boyfriend, who was on his way to my abandoned apartment at this very moment for our first date, 7 months after we first began speaking. He had come home in March when France went into lockdown, and it was starting to feel like a throuple with long distance, the third and very present member in our relationship.

I packed up the belongings I had left there, and we sat across from each other on the double bed. I kissed him first. There were roadblocks, and our personalities and views clashed on so many important things, but I loved him. Two days later, I said: I have to leave for New York in 3 weeks. He didn’t take it well.

In September, I landed at JFK. When the wheels of the plane made contact with the runway, I was smiling behind a mask I’d had on for 16 hours. On the Air Train to Manhattan, I felt a sense of happiness wash over me and toyed with the possibility that maybe I wouldn’t mind if it was just me in this city. I would be okay alone.

I found an apartment, a roommate, signed a lease in a beautiful building in Hell’s Kitchen, walking distance from college. I met lots of people from my class and instantly picked out the ones I wanted to become good friends with. I dove straight into academics and extra curriculars at college – after 5 months of nothing happening, life was suddenly exciting again.

When New York lit up every night, it felt like anything was possible. I started eating better and walking a lot. My hair grew out from the bad haircut I’d gotten the year before. Coffee was no longer just coffee, it was finding a new café and walking through Central Park. Drinks were not just drinks, they were about accidentally stumbling onto a secret bar in the East Village, finding favorite spots in the neighborhood, letting a cute waiter recommend a cocktail to me even though I was perfectly capable of picking one myself.

The boyfriend and I were fighting more than usual. I was getting tired of it. We had discussed a life together, but it was slowly and surely becoming clear to me that I would resent myself for making big compromises for a person who still had a lot of growing up left to do. As New York got cold, I did too – without trying. When one particular argument got really bad, I asked for a break from the relationship. He didn’t like it.

A week later, I woke up to a girl sending me screenshots on Instagram of her conversation with him (pre me asking for a break) on a dating app, and without getting into details, I will tell you it was not a conversation anybody with a girlfriend should have been having. I should have been broken in half on the inside, but now I could finally say, without feeling guilty – this relationship was not working, nobody was happy, and you were so unhappy you thought talking to other women was okay. I spent all of one day drinking with a friend in Central Park and sobbing myself to sleep.

But mostly, what hit me after the initial shock had died down was a tsunami of relief. I felt lighter, freer. I try not to think too hard about the trauma that comes from finding out that the person you think is so devoted to you, and definitely loves you more than you love them (or so you think) is being unfaithful, because it hurts a part of me that is already very bruised from all the things that have happened to me before. So I don’t.

But it was New York. I was young and smart and there was a wine shop down the block that sold $14 bottles of Moscato. I didn’t need much else to know I would be okay. At 20, I would have jumped right back into going on dates every other night to distract myself from what had happened, then never called any of those men back. At 24, this emotional speed bump resulted in a lot of quiet introspection in my bedroom. I spent a lot of time alone, on the phone with friends, and walking around the city. I had learnt to like my own company enough to not fill a suddenly empty void with anybody else’s, even though there have been several tempting offers in this past month, and sometimes, I have succumbed to them, but mostly I am very strict with who deserves my company.

It was nice to spend that second month in New York by myself. I owed absolutely nobody a single minute of my time. No one asked me questions, or called me and expected me to share my day unless I wanted to, and once I had worked hard and cleared out the things from my to do list for the day, time stretched out before me and I had the autonomy to decide the smallest thing down to who to meet, what to eat, how much to sleep.

I didn’t let my academics and ambition suffer – no matter what happens, I never do and I never will. The grades stay up – it’s built into my system. I am back home now and just 2 days in, I find myself wishing I hadn’t left New York. I was starting to build a life I liked there, and the only price I had to pay for it was a 4 pm sunset. It would have been slightly lonely, but I like the time I spend by myself. I worked hard to become like that.

This month, I will see my friends here at home. I’ve missed them. I can’t believe I grew up in this city and I already feel so alienated from it just from 60 days of living away. Is that how badly I wanted to leave?

I might be dramatic and fly back on my 25th birthday, so that I can say, “I was on a flight,” and ignore the slowly expanding bubble of dread that comes with turning that old. I like the ambiguity of airports and I’m the sort of inherently sad person who would love to be alone and unreachable on my birthday.

I acknowledge that my problems this year have been so small in the face of those of us who have lost family members, contracted the virus, had to give up internships or had jobs taken from us, been torn away from family, or had to make it through this alone.  

I feel almost guilty that good things have happened to me in a year that has predominantly been bad for almost everyone else. I feel apologetic, even though from 2017 to 2019, I was treated like life’s sick joke so I should deserve these good things that I worked hard for.

I definitely feel myself growing up, though. Emotionally I find I have a clearer idea of what I want from relationships and friendships, and I don’t second guess cutting off anybody who doesn’t serve that purpose or messes with my mental peace. I still have days when self-doubt comes over for a cup of tea, leaves me weak in the knees, but most days are free of it. I am also moving out of that chameleon phase where I mirrored what I thought a room full of new people would want from me, and I am unapologetically myself, irrespective of who’s watching.

Last year I remember wishing for something stupid, like “I wish there was somebody to kiss on New Years Eve,” because I’ve never had anybody to smack lips with when it’s midnight. This year, I don’t care. I’ll kiss myself in the mirror, for all I care. I love her. She’s my homie.

It’s been a weird year. I know who I was in 2019, and I remember wondering if I was proud of her. Things were still in purgatory then. But I steered my life and brought it back on track. This year, I am proud of myself without doubting it.

There’s no measuring scale for personal growth, but if there was, I feel at least a couple of inches taller in 2020.

#personal 2020 writing

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Take me to your river

A/N: Okay. So this is my first time writing for this fandom and honestly I’m actually really worried about it. It’s a huge fandom so I hope its received well. Anyway, it has been ages since I’ve posted but I have been so busy its ridiculous, but I had this idea and I had to write. I know that the tenses are slightly mixed up through this, please bare with me, I’m overloaded right now.

Title: Leon Bridges - River

Pairing: Sirius Black x Fem!Reader

Summary: (Set in the year of Prisoner of Azkaban, so I’m taking a guess at 1993/1994) You’ve left the wizarding world, barely had contact for over ten years. Then Sirius Black breaks out of Azkaban.

Requested: No.

Warnings: none, I don't think. 

Word count: 2.5k.

It had been thirteen years.

Thirteen years since you had last seen the man you loved.

Twelve years since he was put away for a crime he didn’t commit. You knew that, you knew that deep down in your very being. That that day in the street, it was not Sirius who killed the muggles and Peter.

But you didn’t speak up. It would do no good. The Ministry of Magic had signed his death warrant – life in Azkaban until he died of insanity or the Dementor’s performed their kiss.

Sitting in your kitchen, the sunlight filters in through the window and you relish the slight warmth. It had been thirteen years since you had slept properly.

You and Sirius had been together through it all. He had asked you out on a Hogsmeade weekend, and you didn’t say no – how could you? You had been crushing on him since Third Year. He was your first for everything; first kiss, first relationship. Together, you had sat your O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.Ts. Sirius being your rock through the constant growing stress you put yourself under. (Looking back, you can’t help but chuckle, if your past-self had any idea of what your future would look like you would not have put in so much effort with your exams.) You had also been there for Sirius when he was disowned by his family and went to live with James and his family. James’ mother accepting you as one of her own as well. You two had danced together at James and Lily’s wedding, had waited anxiously for news of their baby and had cried when asked to be godparents of tiny Harry James Potter.

However, you were left alone to cry over their graves after that tragic night in Godric’s Hollow.

Shaking yourself awake, you take a long drink of your coffee and stretch your limbs, willing some life into them. The sun had completely risen now, and it was almost time to start your day. After what happened in 1981, you somewhat shunned all wizarding society, you left it not even a year later. Instead, isolating yourself to a tiny village in Yorkshire. People in Yorkshire kept themselves to themselves and your neighbours didn’t ask a lot of questions. The only one of the Marauders to visit was Remus, he didn’t visit often, but it was nice when he did.

One of your last remaining contacts with the wizarding world was your subscription to the Daily Prophetnewspaper. It was this subscription that brought you to your predicament. Slapped across the front page: Escape from Azkaban and there, in the centre, a picture of the man you thought you had an eternity with. Sirius Black.

Tears threaten to fall as you continue to stare at the moving picture. He’s screaming and screaming, and it physically hurts you to look at. But it’s the first time you’ve seen him in thirteen years. Any memories of Hogwarts and the Marauders were safely locked away in a trunk in your attic; waiting for a time when it doesn’t hurt so much to remember. You don’t think that that time will be coming soon, however, especially now with news of Black’s escape.

The article reported that out of protection, Azkaban’s guards the Dementors would be placed at Hogwarts. You had to take a minute when you read that little bit, James and Lily’s son would be at Hogwarts now, he would be entering his third year. You could only hope that the Dementors would not attach themselves to him. But you doubted it, he had already seen so much at such a young age. It would be likely that they would. You prayed he would be safe; Remus had contacted you over the summer to tell you that he had been appointed a teacher at Hogwarts – he didn’t have to tell you that he would look after Harry; it would be in his nature. Remus was more than his wolf.

Shaking your head, you rid yourself of anymore thoughts of Black and his escape, if you stared at his mugshot any longer you felt as if you would go as insane as the new article was painting him to be. It would only trigger your anxiety and that wasn’t happening today. Instead, you leave the kitchen entirely, depositing the Daily Prophet in the bin as you go. You head towards your office where you can begin your workday. You had settled well within the Muggle world; when you had arrived in Yorkshire you had no idea on what you could do and what you wanted to do. That was your one caveat with the wizarding world, it was so alienated from the rest of the world because they expect all witches and wizards to remain there – it does not cater for those that want to leave. So, once you had settled the business of finding somewhere to live, you set out to make your house your home. To do this, you virtually ransacked a charity shop of their furniture and of a second-hand computer sat gathering dust in the corner.

It was not the old computer that you used now, but rather a newer one. One you had treated yourself to with the profits of your last bestseller. After you had settled, and you needed something to do, you simply started writing. Your genres ranged from fantasy, all the way to romance. As the computer started up, you took a moment to look at you copies of your books on the shelves, and you felt happy. This was your life now, and you were completely fine with it. The last thing you needed was something coming in to mess up the balance you had created.

-time skip-

Months had gone by and whilst you had met the deadline for your next book, and it was currently going through its editing stage, you had religiously kept up with the news of Sirius Black and his escape.

Every sighting, every theory. You read each and every one of them. You had even gone so far as to send a message to Remus at Hogwarts, but he reassured you quickly enough that everything was fine and that you had no need to worry.

So you let yourself relax for a bit, enjoying putting the finishing touches upon your next novel. Christmas had come and gone without an issue; spending the festive season on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching Muggle Christmas films. In all your years in the Muggle world, your favourite Christmas film would have to be The Muppets Christmas Carol. It never failed to make you feel Christmassy.

Winter melted into Spring, and you started working outside more. You spent the early days of March travelling the country to bookstores to promote the release of your new novel. Remaining as tight-lipped as always when asked about your inspiration for this book.

The weeks were slipping away, and you were celebrating the fact that one of your books had been bought by a film company. Your version of celebration meant no work for the evening, and your new favourite TV show that you had recorded, ER. A recent TV medical drama set in a hospital in America; you were hooked from the very first episode, particularly drawn to the young Dr. John Carter.

It was through this particular TV show that there was a knock at your door.

You paused the show, uncertain as to what you heard.

Another knock sounded throughout your house. And some part of you just knew.

Throwing the blanket off you, you head towards the front door. A third knock rang at your door and you knew you couldn’t keep him waiting any longer.

Unlocking the door, you opened it and stood before you was him.

Stood before you, after thirteen years, was Sirius Black.

You take him in. Your eyes raking over every single inch of him, to his greasy hair to his too-skinny body. You stand there, not quite sure what to do. It isn’t every day that the man you have loved for over two decades is stood on your doorstep after escaping from a heavily guarded prison.

He utters the first word, “Darling.”

You take a couple of breaths before answering, “Sirius.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Thirteen years, if I’m correct.”

“Too long.”

“I don’t think the situation could be helped, Sirius.”

He laughs, and asks, “Can I come in? I haven’t had a roof over my head for a couple of weeks.”

Somewhat still in shock, you move aside for him to enter. You close the door behind him before gesturing to the living room. He follows you in and sits down. You stand in the doorway, uncertain of what to do next. You never expected for him to find you but found you he has and now everything is up in the air.

Sirius is watching you; he’s calculating every possibility. He never imagined he’d get through the front door and now he’s in your living room watching you have an internal panic over what to do next.

Then all of a sudden, you say, “Tea! Tea makes everything better. You can solve everything over a cup of tea.”

Then you’re off. Heading into the kitchen where Sirius can hear the kettle starting to boil and mugs being slammed onto counters.

“Everything okay in there?” He asks, even though he knows it isn’t and she just needs a minute to collect herself and her thoughts.

“Of course! Everything is fine!” You shout back pouring the now boiled water into the mugs. Your mind is whizzing through every possibility as to how he found you. You had never hidden yourself away, but you were never open about where you were living. You prayed that Remus hadn’t given you away, knowing how close he and Sirius was through Hogwarts.

Walking back through to the living room, you hand a mug to Sirius warning him that it would be hot before sitting down in your spot where ER was still on pause. You turned the TV off, knowing that you would not be watching it tonight. You can’t help but look at him, seeing how he has aged after a decade spent in Azkaban.

“Don’t you want to know how I did it?”

“Of course I do, but it isn’t my place to ask such things.”

“I used my Animagus form to get out of that hellhole and then swam the rest of the way. I would have come to you sooner, but I needed to go north. I had to see him.”

“How is he? What does he look like now?”

Sirius smiles wistfully, “He is the spitting image of James. But he has Lily’s eyes. And he’s got a group of friends and they are as close as the Marauders were. He’s doing okay.”

You close your eyes at that, as if a deep wound within you had finally healed. Harry was doing okay, he had friends and he had settled at Hogwarts.

“I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” You start. “I never believed a word anybody said, and after you were gone, I couldn’t live in that world anymore. So I moved here.” You gesture to your house.

Sirius looks slightly taken aback by what you’ve said. For over a decade, he hadn’t let himself think of you, he hadn’t let himself dream of you. And now he was at on your couch and you had just admitted to missing him too. He only hoped that you had no-one else in your life. He may be an escaped prisoner, but for over ten years he has loved no-one else but you. There would be no-one for him, but you. You were his true north, he could only hope he remained yours. Sirius didn't realise, however, that you had done the same. closed that part of you off, the part of you that belonged to Sirius - for the first two years in the Muggle world, you could barely think of him without feeling as if your heart had been broken all over again. 

Taking a sip of his tea, he asks, “What have you been doing for all this time?” He has to know.

You look down at your mug, wrapping your hands tighter around it as if willing the warmth to seep into your bones, to help you relax. “Not a lot. I moved here not long after James and Lily and I haven’t left since. I’m an author now, I love it. It wasn’t the path I had chosen for myself when I was leaving Hogwarts, but I love it all the same, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m happy here, Sirius, in my little Yorkshire village with my mugs of Yorkshire tea, and my books.”

Sirius smiles weakly, he has to ask you, he has to know. “Has there been anyone else?”

“No, there hasn’t.”

For the time in twelve years, Sirius lets himself hope. He lets it bloom in his chest. He can only pray that your feelings haven’t changed.

“What are you going to do now, Sirius?”

“I don’t truly know,” he admits, “I could go to London, to Grimmauld Place where I know Remus will join me. There isn’t a lot I can do, I’m an escaped convict.”

“No shit.”

He barks a laugh at that. It’s the first bit of humour all night, and it helps to relieve some of the tension in the room.

He knows he needs to tell you, but he doesn’t know the right time. Everything is so delicate, so fragile, one wrong move and everything he could ever dream for could be lost within seconds. But he has to do it.

So he does.

“I still love you.”

You drop your mug of tea. It doesn’t smash, but your lovely rug is stained for life with tea. At least you won’t forget this moment, you think to yourself.

“You what?”

“I still love you,” he repeats.

“After everything?”

“After everything. It was us next to get married after Lily and James. I had the ring, and I was working up the nerve to ask you. Then everything happened and I couldn’t. Then I was taken away and any hope I had that I would see you or hold you ever again was crushed. It is astounding how quick a life planned can veer off course. I’m not saying we should get back together, I would like that, but I am nowhere near mentally, emotionally or physically ready for one and I don’t think you’re the type to jump into relationships either. What I’m trying to say is that I’d like to give the Muggle life a go, I need to rest and your life sounds so peaceful.”

You take a minute to digest everything that Sirius has said to you. You debate everything internally, but you know that your heart will win. And win it does.

“Okay. The Muggle life isn’t so bad, it’s done me well for this long. Let’s see how it works for you.”

“You’re serious?”

“I am. I have a spare room for you, we can sort everything else out tomorrow. But for now, lets get ready for bed. It isn’t every day that the man I’ve loved for almost twenty years comes knocking on my door.”

“I like the sound of that,” Sirius says as you stand up, holding out your hand to him. He grasps it tightly in his own. “I like the sound of that very much.”

#sirius black x reader #sirius black #harry potter fanfiction #sirius orion black #sirius black imagine #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black fanfic #marauders x reader #marauders fanfiction #the lightning era #siriusblack #x reader

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Harry Potter and the Best Summer (5 | An Unwelcome Visitor)

Summary: AU - canon divergence. Harry had barely been back at the Dursley’s for two weeks, when an unexpected visitor arrived at the door. He quickly finds himself spirited away back to the wizarding world and learns some secrets that have long been kept from him.

A sequel to Of Family and Unexpected Friendship. Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune.

And for anyone who’s interested, I made a Harry Potter discord server! Introducing, Virtu Alley! (like “virtually”, get it?) Feel free to pop by and chat if you’d like. (https://discord.gg/AUq3eXY)

[Sorry for the lack of hyperlinks, but my posts have once again stopped showing up when I search for them when I include them. I will reblog later to include links at the bottom of the post.]

- - - - - - -

5 | An Unwelcome Visitor

If Harry thought his first day at Oakstone Manor was hectic, it was nothing compared to the next morning, when he awoke to a loud crash coming from the hall, quickly followed by a stream of apologies from Nymphadora Tonks (who threatened to hex him if he dared called them by their full first name) and Andromeda's much quieter admonishment.

Harry found himself grinning despite the rude awakening. It was so much better than getting woken up by Aunt Petunia.

He'd met Tonks the night before when they arrived just as dinner was being arranged on the table. The very first thought he had was that they were the embodiment of everything the Dursleys hated. Short, bright pink hair was shaved on either side of their head and the length on top was gently spiked upwards. Several piercings dotted their ears and whenever they gestured with a wild flourish Harry could see that their fingernails were painted pink to match their hair.

“Wotcher, Harry,” they said with a wink and their hair shifted from pink to purple to blue and then back again.

Harry thought they were brilliant.

Andromeda's husband – Ted Tonks – was a cheery and friendly man who engaged Harry in effortless conversation about growing up in the muggle world and how shocking it was to be thrown into the magical one. He spoke only a little of his work in the pediatric ward of St. Mungo's, instead choosing to focus on learning more about Harry, as well as catching up with everyone else.

Altogether they were the picture of a healthy, functioning family.

Morning flew by and all Harry could do was sit back out of the way and watch everyone rush around in preparation for the rest of the day. Ted was the first to leave, kissing Andromeda on the cheek before flooing away to St. Mungo's. A short while later, Tonks headed out the front door, giving an explanation that they were meeting their mentor in a secret location. Harry watched as they spun on their heel and vanished with a popping sound.

Andromeda sat them all down for lessons after that. She gave Leona and Aquarius worksheets to do and then cast a silencing charm around Harry's chair so she could verbally quiz him and help fill in any blanks in his basic knowledge. He was pleased when he remembered most of what Leona had taught him, but faltered when it came to naming other Heirs he attended school with.

From there he listened with rapt attention as Andromeda covered the current active Lords and Heirs of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, of which House Black was one.

Their studies took up the rest of the morning and it was only after lunch that Harry was saved from going back to it.

Remy went with him to St. Mungo's for his appointment, only stepping out of the room for the examination and vaccinations and returned once Harry said it was okay. He wasn't terribly surprised when his healer – Adam Rue – told him that he was undernourished and that his eyeglass prescription was out-of-date.

“I am prescribing a nutrient potion for you to take with dinner each evening. I understand you'll be going back to Hogwarts in September and I will make arrangements to inform Madam Pomfrey that you are to take one each day,” said Healer Rue.

Harry fidgeted, a little worried about his schoolmates finding out he needed potions. “Do I have to take it in the Great Hall?”

“If you truly wanted to, you could always travel down to the hospital wing each evening however, the way we typically handle potions like this is to simply charm it into your goblet so that no one else is aware. The house-elves of Hogwarts are quite talented when it comes to matters of secrecy,” Healer Rue said with a reassuring smile.

He then told Harry and Remy that they could visit the offices just down the hall to either update Harry's eyeglasses or have his vision corrected completely.

“Mr. Potter, I don't mean to make assumptions about your care growing up, however I'd also like to recommend visits with one of our mind healers for the rest of the summer,” Healer Rue told them. “If for no other reason than to ease your transition into a wizarding household. All of our mind healers are sworn to keep the secrets of their patients, but if you are still uncomfortable with speaking to someone in Britain considering your status, you could hire a private healer from overseas. I would be happy to recommend a few who I have personally worked with in the past.”

“Healer Rue, can I ask about the damage left by the Magic Block?” Remy asked.

“We have removed it, of course, and taken the time to examine the damage from the curse scar. It seems that the block prevented your magic from fully cleansing it, Mr. Potter, and now that it is gone you'll see a significant ease in using your magic. That being said, our recommendation is a minimum of two weeks before you cast any spells in order to give your core time to adjust to the influx of power. A month, if you can manage it,” said Healer Rue.

Harry nodded. It wasn't like he was allowed to use his magic during summer anyway. He was sure it would be easy to go another month without casting.

Remy asked a few more questions about Harry's health and then Healer Rue handed her the prescription for the nutrient potions, which was signed and marked with his magical seal to prove its validity, as well as a list of recommended mind healers. He then guided the two of them down the hall to the office which specialized in eye-care, stepping inside to inform the receptionist that they were there for a thorough exam.

While they waited for one of the healers to become available, Harry got the chance to browse through the different frames that were available and, at Remy's urging, tried on a few to see if he liked any.

Each one was an improvement on the cheap, circular frames the Dursley's had “graciously” given him.

Remy chuckled as she glanced over a selection of frames catering to the older crowd. “Your father was always fond of horn rims. He thought they made him look rather smart. Your mother always said it made him look like more of a ponce than he already was.”

“She really said that?” Harry asked, looking away from a pair of frames that was continually shifting colors.

“Well, at first,” Remy corrected herself. “Your father was a good man and a good friend, Harry, but as a teenager he was... well, a bit entitled. Sirius was as well. I imagine it comes from being part of an old pureblood family. It all made it so your mother was less than impressed by him which only made him try harder. He came around by our sixth year, but I'll have to tell you more about it later.”

She nodded towards something over Harry's shoulder and he turned to find a woman in soft green robes walking towards them. Her badge bore the name Healer Agatha Newmark.

“You must be Harry,” she said in a chipper tone. “I'm Aggie. You can both come with me and I'll get you sorted out.”

Harry and Remy followed her back to a smaller room, where Harry sat down in a chair that faced a poster with differently sized numbers and letters. She first had him remove his glasses and attempt to read the lowest line, which he found impossible. He couldn't fully make out any letter until the third line down, but even that was blurry enough that he struggled.

A few waves of her wand had an enchanted quill scratching out the details of his eyesight and once it finished, Healer Newmark went into detail on the options available to him. Harry could get a new pair of frames with his updated prescription, charmed unbreakable and scratch resistant for up to two years, or he could get his vision corrected completely and no longer need glasses.

“Everyone is a little different and I know just as many people who like the way they look while wearing glasses as I do people who jumped at the first opportunity to have the correction done,” said Healer Newmark. “The correction is, of course, more expensive than a pair of frames, but we do have a finance program for anyone who prefer a staggered payment.”

“Harry, it's up to you,” Remy said quietly.

He didn't think about it for long. From the moment he first heard there was a chance he wouldn't have to deal with his glasses any longer, he hoped it was true. No more crooked frames. No more feeling around for his glasses every morning. No more worry about a bludger knocking them from his face and leaving him completely blind.

“I'd like to get it corrected.”

- - - - - - -

Harry expected that they would be heading home after he was finished at St. Mungo's but instead, Remy whisked him away into wizarding London to a street near Diagon Alley named Asymetric Alley, which looked like a village out of a history book, with rough, winding cobblestone streets and old timber-framed shops all pressed close together.

It gave a cozy, warm vibe that Diagon Alley didn't have, giving the impression that loitering was welcome on the streets and stopping to chat with those you walked past was a way of life.

Harry didn't spare that more than a passing thought, too busy marveling over the clarity with which he was able to see the world. There were so many details that he hadn't been able to see before! Things that he'd come to accept as being blurry around the edges suddenly had sharp outlines and signs that he once had to squint just to read he only had to glance at and know what they said!

Remy treated him to ice cream and then they were off to visit a number of shops where Harry was asked to pick out clothing, new shoes, and then helped pick out ingredients for dinner that night so Cici could make his favorite meal. Their last stop was a used bookstore, where Remy picked up an order that was waiting for her and she encouraged him to take a look around.

Harry wasn't terribly interested until he spotted a small book titled Fallacies of the Rankings of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and after reading the back cover thought that if it turned out to be something he didn't like, Hermione was likely to find it fascinating.

He was about to turn to go when a heavy thump stopped him. When he looked, he saw a dark green book laying face-up on the floor. Swooping gold lettering informed him that it was called The Magical Court of Camelot – The Truth Behind the Legends and that it was written by someone named ML Black. He picked it up and took it to the counter.

“Aunt Remy, look at this,” he said, holding up the book for her to see.

Remy examined it with interest, her eyes lingering longest on the name of the author. “ML Black... It's not a name I'm familiar with, but it Andy might know it. Would you like to get it?”

Harry nodded. “And this one too,” he said, as he passed to her Fallacies of the Rankings of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

She seemed a bit amused by the second book but didn't say a word against it, quickly passing it off to be rung up. Remy paid for it all and even got Harry a tote bag to carry them in and then they were off once again.

“I think it would be best to side-apparate on our way back. Floo travel is more difficult when you're carrying packages,” said Remy.,

She explained what it was and how it worked as she lead him towards a sectioned off area marked: Apparation Point. One side was designated as Arrival and the other Departure, which Harry supposed helped keep things more orderly. He felt a little nervous as he looped his arm around Remy's and squeezed his eyes tightly shut as she directed him to spin on his heel with her. Harry felt the weight of pressure all around him and his stomach roiled uncomfortably, and then it was over and they were on the road just outside of the gate to Oakstone Manor.

“Unpleasant, isn't it?” Remy asked, sounding apologetic. “I know it's not a comfort right now, but you will get used to it as you get older. By the time you learn to apparate, the most you'll feel is that pressure around you.”

Harry didn't know how to respond to that and simply shrugged his shoulders before following her through the gate (which opened at their approach) and back into the manor.

“Evie?” Remy called out.

There was a popping sound and then a new house-elf in gray and blue appeared. She immediately bowed, which caused the bright yellow kerchief to start slipping off her head until it got caught on her massive ears. When she straightened up, she beamed at the sight of the bags in Remy's arms. “Do you need Evie to take them to your room, miss? And put them away?”

“That would be wonderful. Only the books go to my room. Everything else will go to Harry's,” Remy told her.

Evie nodded quickly and turned her attention to Harry. “Evie will organize them very nicely, young sir! If it's not to your liking you can call for Evie or Cici and we'll come help!”

“Oh, um, thank you, Evie. I'm sure you'll do great.” Harry wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say, but Evie didn't look upset as she bounced over to take the bags. Once she had them in her arms, she popped away without another word.

“Tonight I think we'll burn your hand-me-downs,” Remy said conversationally. “But for now, you deserve a chance to rest and do whatever you'd like until dinner. Leona still has another hour of tutoring to get through, but Aqua should be free by now. She'll be in the library, if you'd like to find her.”

Harry needed a refresher on how to get there and once Remy gave him directions on the easiest path to take – up the main staircase to the second floor, take a left and go to the end of the hall, where you take another left, and enter the second door on the right – he set off to find Aquarius.

Just like Remy said, she was sitting in the library in a squishy armchair beneath one of the windows, a heavy looking book open in her lap. Aquarius looked up when she heard the door open and beamed when she spotted Harry peeking inside.

“You're back! And you're not wearing any glasses?”

Harry grinned at her as he stepped fully into the library. “I don't need them anymore.”

“Brilliant!” Aquarius responded. “You have a letter, by the way. Butternut brought a response from your friend while you were away.”

Harry looked to the side table where she gestured and saw a envelop sitting there. When he walked over and picked it up, he found himself recognizing Hermione's tidy handwriting and eagerly ripped it open to see what she wrote.

Dear Harry,

I'm so glad to hear you're alright! Ron and I were terribly worried that something awful happened to you once you got home. Please thank Aquarius for sending me the letter saying that you're safe with her and Leona. She says that you're not going back to your muggle relatives. Is it true? Did they do something to keep you from receiving letters? I know you are all looking into what happened, but I think I'll do some research of my own and see what I can find. I'll keep you updated!

I've talked to my parents about visiting you this summer and they have agreed to it, though they'd like to talk to Leona's mum about it first. I think they want to make sure it's alright with her. Will Ron be joining us as well? He hasn't mentioned any visiting, but it does sound like the Weasley's have a full house anyway and I would hate to add to that. I think meeting up at Diagon Alley would be a far better idea, especially since it would let my parents meet the Weasley's. They didn't get much time to talk at King's Cross.

It probably won't surprise you but I've done quite a lot of reading so far this summer. Most of my homework is already complete, except for that essay on goblin wars that Binns assigned. I must admit, even I find it a bit droll and difficult to complete. All I can hear is his voice droning on. If you'd like, we can review our summer studies together when I visit! And please tell Leona that I've finished the books she recommended. I suppose I should just write a letter to her instead of using you as a personal owl.

What's Oakstone Manor like? It must be exciting to see a wizarding home!

Hermione's letter carried on like that as she wrote about whatever came to mind. She spoke a little of her parents and how excited they were to hear about her first year at Hogwarts and then went into more detail of how she spent her summer when she wasn't studying or reading. Every now and then she'd circle around to ask him a question about what it was like living with Leona. Was there a library? Had he had time to do any of the summer homework?

There was only one reference to Professor Quirrel, who had disappeared sometime before the End-of-Term feast, and that was to say there was a small article in the prophet about there being a warrant for his arrest and how any sightings should be immediately reported to the DMLE.

Harry wondered if Tonks knew anything about that. Would they be able to tell him anything if they did?

He folded up the letter and stuck it into his pocket, resolving to answer Hermione when he had time later. “Reading anything interesting, Aquarius?”

She silently tilted her book so he could read the cover and Harry was delighted to find he could see the words without having to squint. The Complete Beginners Guide to Potion Brewing was the name of her book and Harry wondered just how in-depth it went to make it so it was at least five centimeters thick.

“Leo says that Professor Snape will probably look for any reason to take points from me or give me detention, so I thought if I start studying now then he won't be able to find as many,” she explained with an easy shrug.

There was something about the idea of Snape harassing Aquarius that rankled Harry. She was a ten-year-old girl who hadn't done a thing wrong and she was already prepared to be utterly humiliated by one of her professors, who took issue with who her parents were.  It was bad enough that Snape targeted him and Neville – though he still didn't know why he demonstrated such loathing towards Neville.

Instead of saying anything, Harry left Aquarius to her reading and took a seat in a nearby chair to check out his two new books. The first one he grabbed was the one on Camelot, which reminded him of a question he had.

“Hey, Aquarius? Do you know of anyone called 'ML Black' who might be related to you?”

“Not in recent history,” Aquarius said slowly. “It does sound familiar, so there must be someone with those initials on the family tree. Why do you ask?”

“They wrote this book I found. The Magical Court of Camelot – the Truth Behind the Legends,” Harry told her.

Aquarius marked her page and set it aside, her eyes alight with interest. “And it's written by a Black?”

Harry nodded.

“Follow me!” Aquarius said, hopping up out of her chair.

Feeling a little bewildered, Harry left his things in his seat and got up to follow her through the tall shelves of the library and to a spot tucked away in a back corner. There was a heavy, navy blue curtain hanging across an elaborate archway and stepping through revealed a rounded alcove. Candles on either side of the arch lit themselves when they stepped through, illuminating the nearly black walls to reveal a massive tree painted in silver ink, its branches rigid and following a clear structure.

Most notably, it was upside down, with the base of its trunk resting where the wall met the ceiling.

“This is the Black Family Tree, which dates back to our earliest magical ancestor, Ambroise Fabron,” she said, pointing up to the top. “They were blacksmiths. He brought his knowledge of the craft to the magical world and then applied enchantments to make it even better. His greatest achievement was a charm embedded within cookware that made it easier to clean without repeatedly using scourgify.”

Harry's brows knitted together. “But that means... he was muggleborn?”

“If you go far back enough in a pureblood line, you'll find many muggleborns. It just didn't matter as much back then,” Aquarius said. She reached out and placed her hand on the wall, waiting for the space to light up silver before dragging her hand down. As she did so, the tree scrolled down until the trunk was nearly eye-level with them and the rest of the branches danced across the floor.

“Ambroise had three children. Two were girls who married into other lines and the other was a son, Michel, who continued the name Fabron and took up his father's work...” Aquarius continued to move down the three, explaining a little more about what little they still knew about their ancestors, until she came to Michel's third son, Célestin, who moved to the UK and changed his surname to Black before going on to revolutionize the production of cauldrons. “Oh! Harry, here she is! Mnemosyne Lucinda Black! She married Célestin! No wonder the name sounded familiar!”

“There could be another ML Black somewhere,” Harry pointed out.

“There could be,” Aquarius agreed. “But considering she was born in the seven-hundreds, I think it's probably her. It's too bad the tree doesn't list maiden names. I would have loved to know which family line she came from but I don't think any of our records have it listed. We can always ask Leo or Andy.”

Harry almost wanted to continue looking at the family tree to see if there was anyone else, but there were so many names. Not to mention Aquarius had a good point about the timeline. Mnemosyne would have been born close enough to the era of King Arthur's reign that she could gather correct details about that period. Maybe the book itself would have something in it to confirm his thoughts.

Aquarius released the magic that lowered the tree, allowing it to move back to its correct location across the wall. “I bet the Potter manor has a tree showing all of your ancestors too. You must be excited to go see it.”

“I hadn't thought much about it, to be honest,” Harry admitted. “Haven't had the time.”

There was a lot he suddenly had to think about and he wished he had the first clue where to start. Maybe if he had a moment to himself, he could slow down to think things through.

“If you want some time to yourself, you don't need to stay here with me in the library,” Aquarius said, sounding sympathetic.

“You don't want to look at the book?” Harry asked.

Aquarius shook her head. “It's yours to read first. I may take a look around and see if we have a copy on one of the shelves. Its likely, since it was written by a Black.” She pushed the curtain aside and then walked through, continuing to hold it for Harry as he followed.

After a bit of thought, Harry remained with Aquarius in the library and the two sat silently read their books until Leona came to fetch them for dinner.

“Hey, bookworms, it's time to eat!”

She grinned at the pair of them when they looked up, both surprised at how much time had passed. While Aquarius marked her page and set her book aside to read later, Harry put his back in his bag so he could take it to his room after dinner.

“How were your lessons, Leo?” Aquarius asked.

“Dull,” Leona responded with a groan. “Andy has me practicing with old speeches so I know how to properly present myself during Wizengamot meetings. It's important, sure, but I can't think of anything more boring.”

“History of Magic,” Harry responded immediately.

“The Annual Yule Ball at Malfoy manner,” Aquarius supplied cheekily.

“Brats,” Leona said affectionately. “Yeah, you might be right. Those are both pretty boring as well.”

Harry almost asked about the Yule Ball, wondering what it was and whether or not he'd be expected to attend it as well, but Leona changed the subject before he could say anything.

“Mum and Andy say that you'll officially start lessons tomorrow, Harry. She wants to go over a few things before you go back to Gringotts and talk to the holder for the Potter accounts. Mostly etiquette and stuff so you don't accidentally insult someone. Easy stuff,” Leona said with a shrug.

Harry hoped she was right about that. There was so much he felt like he didn't know. Stuff that Leona and Aquarius spent their entire lives learning and experiencing. He felt hopelessly behind compared to them.

Was it the same at school? How many of his peers had he unintentionally affronted with his behavior and language? It never seemed to matter that much in Gryffindor, but was that because he spent most of his time with Ron and Hermione?

Harry resolved to do better.

- - - - - - -

Andromeda smiled as she watched her family merrily converse over dinner.

Ted and Remy were in the middle of a rousing discussion on experimental medicines; a topic she hadn't expected Remy to show much interest in knowledge in, but the younger woman seemed to be holding her own even as Ted delved into more advanced potions.

The kids were all at the other end of the table with Leona and Nymphadora leading most of the conversation while Aquarius made comments and Harry primarily listened. Every now and then laughter would break out and Harry would grin, bright and carefree, and Andromeda was reminded of the way he was treated by his relatives and how glad she was to have gotten him out of there.

Dinner went well until just before dessert, when Milla popped into the room and got Andy's attention with a single tap on the arm.

“A guest has arrived, Miss. Milla be telling them it is rude to intrude over dinner but they insisting.”

“Thank you, Milla,” Andromeda said as she gently set aside her utensils. She patted her mouth with a cloth napkin and then excused herself from the table with a soft apology. She briskly walked to the foyer and made sure to compose herself before entering the room.

Standing near the door was an old man with a long beard and twinkling periwinkle robes.

“Albus,” Andromeda cordially greeted. “It is considered rude to visit during dinnertime.”

He met her aloofness with a polite smile. “I do apologize, Lady Tonks, however there was no other time I could get away and there is something of grave importance that I must discuss with you.”

Andromeda arched one eyebrow. “Oh? And what is so important that you would arrive completely unannounced and interrupt a family meal?”

“It has come to my attention that you removed Harry Potter from the care of his Aunt and Uncle. You have to understand how important it is that he remain with them,” Albus told her. “There are blood wards in place around their residence. So long as he calls Privet Drive home, he will be protected from those in our world who would do him harm.”

Andromeda had a myriad of choices before her. She could play along with his little game, letting him try and garner sympathy for his actions. She didn't doubt that he genuinely thought he was doing the right thing, but she wouldn't stand there and allow him to speak up in defense of those horrid muggles.

“Harry will not be returning to that place and especially not by your hand.”

“My dear-”

“No,” she interrupted firmly. “You have no right to determine where he lives. You had no right to send him to those people; the only people who Lily herself specified he was never to go to. We have heard their Will, Albus. The boy will stay with his Magical Guardian and there is nothing that you nor anyone else can do to change that.”

Andromeda stepped back, never once taking her eyes off of Dumbledore. “Bastion!”

With a pop, a house-elf appeared. He was clad in the same gray and blue as the others, but he bore the Black Family shield across the back of his shirt and carried a tiny dagger on the belt around his waist. He bowed to Andromeda.

“How may Bastion help?”

“Please escort the Headmaster from the property and place a ban on the wards to prevent him from returning without permission,” Andromeda instructed.

Albus looked pained by her words, but politely inclined his head and went without a fuss, leaving Andromeda to stand in the foyer by herself. A few minutes later she felt a slight shift in the wards. Only then did she feel comfortable returning to the table.

“Everything alright?” Ted quietly asked as she sat down.

Andromeda nodded. “Nothing to worry about, dear. Just an issue that needed to be handled sooner rather than later.”

She would tell him and Remy more about their guest later. For the moment, she wanted to sit and enjoy dessert with her family.

#harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter au #HP and the traditions of the magical world

[lovemesomesurveys]

1. What is something in your life that you feel hopeful about right now? Umm.

2. What was the last thing you worried about that turned out better than expected? I was worried my doctor was going to give me a hard time because I didn’t get the CT Scan done before my appointment yesterday. It totally wasn’t my fault considering it didn’t get approved by my insurance until Wednesday, but still. I’ll have it done before my next appointment. I have a new doctor and she’s strict about shit, so. Anyway, she ended up being fine about it.

3. Name somewhere you are planning on visiting in the near future? The place to get the stupid CT Scan next month.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping and how much food do you usually get in one go? I personally haven’t gone since March. I used to go with my mom twice a month for our big grocery shopping trips, but when the pandemic and quarantine hit, I really holed up at home. My mom is still the one doing all the shopping.

5. What is a meal you eat extremely often? Or do your meals & food choices vary a lot? Chicken strips and fries from Carl’s Jr, Wingstop, scrambled eggs, spaghetti and meatballs, and ramen. I eat those same few things. 

6. When was the last time you felt unable or unwilling to speak your mind to someone? I wish I spoke up more for myself. I need to be more assertive at my doctor appointments. 

7. What was the last thing you changed your mind about? Hmm.

8. Who was the last friend you saw, and what did you do together? I don’t have any friends.

9. Who tends to show up in your dreams? Do you ever wonder if you appear in anyone else’s dreams? It’s always so random. Like, I’ve had a few about a guy I went to middle school with and wasn’t even friends with. I have NO idea why he popped up in my dreams.

10. What is something you wish you could say to someone who is no longer in your life, or something you wish they could know? They didn’t do anything wrong or deserving of me ghosting them the way I did and I hope they know that. As stupid and cliche as it is, it really is a case of “it’s not you, it’s me.”

11. Instead of flat earth, what do you think of the simulated earth theory, that we’re basically all just a giant computer program or virtual reality? I don’t believe in either theory.

12. What worries you most about your future? Everything.

13. What is something you do to feel better when you’re scared? I guess I try and distract myself and get my mind off it if I can. Or talk about it. Unfortunately, what I tend to do is dwell and worry.

14. Who do you feel you can count on the most in life? Is there anyone you wish you could count on more? I know I can always count on my mom.

15. What makes you trust someone? When was the last time someone broke your trust? It’s hard to explain, it’s just a feeling I have. And of course if the person isn’t known for being shady or having a big mouth, ha.

16. When was the last time you shared a secret with someone, and how did they react? I don’t recall. 

17. Are you more likely to give advice or to ask for it? I was always the one people came to for advice.

18. When was the last time you felt totally lost, figuratively speaking? How about literally? I’ve felt completely lost the past few years.

19. In what ways are you emotionally strong? In what ways are you emotionally weak? I don’t feel I am emotionally strong. :/

20. What is the strangest book you have ever read? How did you find out about it? Hmm. I’m not sure about the strangest. I can’t think of one at the moment.

21. Do you prefer to watch movies or tv alone or with other people? Is there anything you refuse to watch alone? I enjoy watching with someone else. I like having someone to talk to about it with.

22. What was the last thing you broke? How about fixed? I dropped a glass the other day. I don’t recall the last thing I fixed.

23. Is there a sign or symbol that means a lot to you for whatever reason (eg. seeing certain animals or birds, 11:11 or other repeating numbers, syncs, butterflies, hearts in nature, etc)? Hmm.

24. Do you have any personal ghost stories or paranormal experiences? No.

25. What do you get complimented on the most? When I’ve recently had my hair colored I’ll sometimes get complimented on it. Otherwise, it’s about something I’m wearing or my bag. I don’t get a lot of compliments, though.

26. What is something unusual that you find attractive? I sometimes find hands attractive on a guy.

27. What time do you tend to eat your first meal of the day? And your last? For the past month or so my first meal has been dinner around 8PM. My last meal is my ramen around 1AM.

28. What was the subject of the last video you watched? ASMR. 

29. When was the last time you traveled out of town, and where to? It was for my Disneyland trip back in February.

30. How would you describe your overall aesthetic? Hmm.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

[andytfish]

FREELANCE GUiDANCE: A 10 Part Series - #3 Setting Up Work Parameters

One of the benefits of Freelancing is the FREEDOM but sometimes too much freedom leads to disorganization and chaos.  Possibly the biggest challenger a Freelancer faces is the ability to be his own boss-- with no one constantly over your shoulder, no fear of a walk thru by the uppity mucks there's plenty of opportunity to slack off, and that will kill your career.

1. ESTABLISH YOUR WORK HOURS - This should be a "general" guide because as I've already covered sometimes creativity cannot be caged. Sometimes that great idea or inspiration comes at 2 in the morning rather than at 9. Everyone is different and this is a find your way kind of rule. During a week of working freelance take occasion to jot down notes of the time and productivity-- you'll likely see a pattern emerge. In my own case I like to get an early start but seldom do. But after years of study I've discovered my peak productivity blocks in the day- 5am-8am and 2pm to 10pm. We'll get into this a bit further below.

2. ESTABLISH A WORK AREA - This is the BIGGEST key for me. I don't allow my work to spread out all over the house. I work ONLY in my studio space. The entire third floor of my house is my office area. It houses my computers, drawing tables, easels, supplies and reference material. I DON'T spend ANY time in there NOT working. You wouldn't drive to your corporate office job so you can search eBay would you? I treat my work area with the same respect.

3. KNOW WHEN A JOB IS NOT THE RIGHT FIT - It’s hard when you're just starting out to turn down a job, but sometimes (especially early on) things come along that are not right for you. I can't draw cute. I can't. Bunnies might start KIND OF cute but eventually they're going to look depraved. It's not in my makeup. Early in my career I would have taken that gig and kept at it killing myself and doing four times the work to make it right for the client. Now I know better. You turn down the WRONG job so you're available when the RIGHT job comes along.

4. DEADLINES TRUMP EVERYTHING - My kids from an early age knew the phrase "Dad's on a deadline" -- which meant I'm a phantom that might pop up out of my studio 2-3 times a week. The Deadline is the thing. I don't miss deadlines. This should not be your every week routine— you need to have a life, but those deadline crunch times are special circumstances.

5. SET UP PRODUCTIVITY - Da Vinci used a similar schedule and I've found this works; 45-90 minute working sessions with breaks in between makes me MUCH more productive.

LET'S GET A LITTLE FURTHER IN-DEPTH to my talking points

1- Establishing Your Work Hours-- I would suggest you even buy yourself an OPEN/CLOSED sign that you can put outside your workroom door.  It doesn't have to be a fancy neon one, it can be a simple cardboard one.  In my studio I use to blowmold ghosts that sit at the edge of my desk-- when they're on I'm working.  It not only lets other people know you're "at work" it gets yourself into the right frame of mind.

Share your working hours with significant others.  Let them know you're going to be struggling to "work from home" and you'll need their help.  They wouldn't walk into your office on Park Avenue with your co-workers all around and your boss down the hall clutching the light bill and saying we need to talk about that neon beer sign you must have on 24 hours a day-- they would wait until you're home from work, and just because work is now home there should be no difference.

They need to understand that work from home does NOT mean you don't work.  It does not mean every elderly relative can expect you to shuttle them around to doctor appointments, it doesn't mean you're instantly the chaperone at juniors Zoo trip.  YOU ARE STILL WORKING just AT HOME.

You’ll need to decide if you are going to follow a standard Monday-Friday work week or will you take Mondays and Tuesdays off?  Resist the urge to not take days off because money is coming in. I strongly advocate days off for your own mental health.   It's easy to swing the opposite direction in Freelance and work 24/7.

One of the first things I wanted when I went Freelance was weekends off.  After years of working in retail I never got to enjoy them.  In retail I had every Sunday and Wednesday off.  SPLIT days-- and I was looking forward to two together.  It seemed like a dream to me.

The downside to being off weekends is so is everyone else.  So those Wednesday trips to the bank or the post office I used to make were a breeze compared to trying to go on Saturday morning.

Now, I schedule days off (and to be honest A Day Off) the week I'm working.  It allows me to better balance projects.  And being completely honest, I LOVE working freelance, sometimes taking a day off is like punishment.  But even on the weeks I don't take a day off I take a morning off, or an afternoon, or an evening-- that works for me.  Starting out-- I'd give yourself at least one day off each week as you're figuring out what works for you.

How About Holidays?   That seems like a no-brainer until you're on that big project and it's due Dec 27th and using the Organizational skills I set up for you in Session 1 you realize you're behind.   Suddenly you have a virtual scale in front of you held by Santa Claus with family and friends on one side and the client on the other.

Deciding up front that it's a hard and fast rule that you won't work CERTAIN holidays is a concession I made right away.   I don't work on Christmas-- in fact I don't work two days BEFORE Christmas and I don't work the week FOLLOWING Christmas up through to Jan 2nd.  I don't.  Nope, not gonna do it.

Why?  I like Christmas and it's a holiday I look forward to.    I work extremely hard up to Dec 22nd but truth be told Christmas is VERY Slow in Freelance because most clients aren't thinking about projects either.  So a studio shut down is perfectly acceptable.

But the OTHER 99 holidays on the calendar?  They are all up for grabs.  I don't work the night of my wife's Birthday and I keep the schedule light during the day-- but other than Xmas, New Years and my Wife's Birthday I will work any other holiday even at the drop of a hat.

Knowing this helps me keep the stress level down.  My family knowing this keeps them from asking me why I'm not coming to the Memorial Day cookout, or the Patriots Day party. 

2. Establish a Work Area - My wife has her own studio on another floor of the house.  We meet daily for Breakfast and Lunch which is a nice break.  Her studio is very zen.  Very few things, a handful of books, some sparse furniture and warm inviting lights with some inspirational artwork hanging prominently around the room.  Mine is the polar opposite of Zen.  It's loaded like a High School locker.  There is not an inch of space on my walls or shelves that is not filled with comics, posters, original art, toys, action figures, vintage japanese vinyl toys, a lifesize Frankenstein, an Adam West Batman Cowl, a Nicholas Hammond Spider-Man Mask a Tony the Tiger display head, Darth Vader mask, more toys, more art more action figures and did I mention Books?  Libraries come to me to borrow things.  There are THOUSANDS of books.

I love the kinetic cluttered energy it gives off.  At Christmas time I decorate Frankenstein with colored lights.  The rest of  the year Halloween Lights hang in my studio.  It's my own personal Batcave-- all I'm missing is a British Butler walking in with coffee and scones every forty five minutes.

But that space works for me.  It gets me juiced up and ready to work.

That's how you need to set YOUR space.  When you're just starting out you may have to incorporate a drawing or work area in another room because of space restraints.  When I was first starting out in a one bedroom studio my bed was three feet from my drawing table.  It made for some tough nights sleeping because it was hard to "turn off" working mode in the same room.

Regardless of space, make some for yourself.  I have a good friend whose first studio space was a medium sized closet.  It was actually kind of cool-- you had to climb in like a race car but once you were encased in the environment like a man piloting a lunar shuttle to the moon you were ready to work.

The point is to make this space YOUR work inspiration-- so make it a place you WANT to spend time in.

3. Know when a Job is NOT the Right Fit - Easy to say when you're established.  You're going to take pretty much any job that comes along at first, and that's okay.  Sometimes you don't even know the job isn't right for you until you're doing it. When we get to PART 5: GETTING PAID SON we'll look at how to budget for these types of jobs so at least you're getting paid well for something that isn't a fit.

Let's assume that despite your portfolio of Goth Animals someone comes to you thinking you'd be perfect for that highly detailed photo accurate oil painting of Grandma.  That's not a good fit for you, you know it, they don't.  But the light bill is due and there's not a lot else coming in right now so you're thinking hard about taking it.   It's a fork in the road decision:

A. You take it and spend HOURS upon HOURS resisting the urge to give grandma dark undereyes and floppy ears. If you went with this option the biggest advice I can give you is do a lot of research and spend a LOT of time warming up. Look at portraits, look at Presidential Portraits and study the brush strokes. Grab your favorite sketchbook and some colored pencils and get to an art museum and do some sketching of the portraits in the collection. Get your head ready for the project and then give it your best shot.

B. Pass on it and recommend a friend you know who would be a better fit, earning Karma points from the friend and freeing yourself up for that job that WILL fit. Spend the downtime Marketing yourself (also coming up in the series) which is a better expenditure of your time and resources.

4. Deadlines Trump All - All my rules of work parameters combined with the skills I imparted in the ORGANIZATION session should lead you to a point where you don't have to work overtime, but in the real world we know that occasionally that IS going to happen.  If you find yourself CONSTANTLY working overtime on projects re-evaluate your working methods and see if you are actually being productive or if you're wasting a lot of time.

5. SetUp Productivity - The eight hour workday became the norm at the turn of the last century and pretty much has been the standard ever since.  This method goes back LONG before that to the days of Leonardo Da Vinci who often used this seemingly odd method to accomplish the amazing array of achievements he did over the course of his life. 

It's simple-- you work in 45-90 minute sessions with breaks in between.  During the session you do NOTHING but work.  You don't answer the phone if it rings (that's why Voicemail was created) you don't check your email.  You don't jump on IMDB to see who was the actor inside Darth Vader's suit (it was Dave Prowse, body builder and former Frankenstein actor).  YOU WORK.  Because SO much of our day is actually filled with distraction.  That's OK if you work for SNIDELY WHIPLASH INDUSTRIES who is paying you a fat check to work 30% of the time, as a Freelancer you only get paid for the hours you actually WORK.    Novel concept isn't it?  It's the price you pay for being your own boss.

This is best accomplished either by setting up a PLAYLIST running the allotted time, or by streaming an episode of a TV series or even setting an alarm clock.  Give it a try-- WORK for the allocated time and THEN take a break of 15-30 mins (also timed) to check your mail, return phone calls, do whatever-- you will be AMAZED at how this works if you can really be disciplined about it.

NEXT WEEK: LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS -- it's the difference between eating and not.

Andy Fish is a freelance artist and writer who has been living the lifestyle longer than there has been an iPhone on this planet.  The advice given has worked for him, it might work for you, he hopes it does.  But like all advice, take it with your own situation in mind.  If you want to contact him shoot him an email [email protected]

#ADVICE #FREELANCE #FREELANCE LIFESTYLE

[getmassage2019-blog]

10 Do's and Don't's of Getting a Massage

Back in might, I denote a diary regarding things that individuals might get embarrassed that their massage healer won't decide. With any new expertise it is exhausting to grasp a way to act or what to expect, and whereas there are loads of things that you just shouldn't worry regarding, there are bound niceties that basically ought to be exercised. Below you may realize a listing of do's and don't of obtaining a massage. If you have got not followed them to the present purpose, don't have any concern. All behavior and data is unaccustomed USA at some purpose. the purpose is to not continue behaviors which will be seen as rude or unhelpful. Most of those don't seem to be things that individualsdo out of malice, that is why I attempt to not encourage shame, however rather educate for future exchanges. 1. DO communicate If you don't like one thing, you have got to let American state understand so as for it to alter. Don't be afraid to talk up regarding things like techniques, music, heat, etc. If I actually have the table hotter on and you're hot, let American stateunderstand to show it off. If you're still hot, let American state understand to get rid of the blanket. If you are feelingpain, completely let American state know! Pain isn't a traditional a part of a massage, however rather your body's manner of telling you that one thing is wrong and wishes to be modified. you may not feel higher after if you're livid on a massage table. folks assume this is often the case as a result of they begin to feel higher a number of days after, however are you actually feeling higher than you probably did before you had your massage, or are you feeling higherthan you probably did simply after as a result of you cured from the injuries that were caused? presumably the latter. *A note on pressure. i do know that individuals prefer to treat the pressure. Pressure is setting out to become a uncleanword on behalf of me. I actually have had shoppers UN agency need a painful massage as a result of they need been told that it's the sole manner permanently work to happen. Your tissue can let American state understand if I ought toapply additional pressure. there's a natural provide and a natural end. Forcing past those endpoints can get you that pain the you appear to need, however it'll conjointly harm your tissue, and injure American state. each massage healer is completely different, however I typically move to the end through most of the massage. The goal is to possess the endamendment. thus your tissue won't let American state in terribly deeply initially, thus I work with what it'll permit till it softens and American statelts and lets me in additional. inquiring for "more pressure" can honestly not get you terriblyso much with American state. Here could be a post regarding the distinction between a deep tissue massage and a deep pressure massage. Clock 2. DON'T show up late (or too early) Your massage time begins at the time that you just are regular. I encourage new shoppers to arrive quarter-hour early for work and intake, and returning shoppers to arrive regarding 5-10 minutes early for a quick verbal sign up with enough time to use the convenience if would like be and find on the table to start on time. I a great deal need for you to possessthe quantity of your time on the table that you just reserved, and so as to try to to that, it's vital that you just arrive on time. If you get into the door at 12:00 for your 12:00 appointment, the massage won't begin till 5-10 minutes into your regular appointment time. to urge the foremost out of some time, attempt to hit the time advised by the institution. I have found that after I encourage folks to arrive quarter-hour before their appointment, they're going to are available inanyplace from forty five minutes early to fifteen minutes late. Neither of those is suitable. i'd a lot of like somebodyshow up early than late, however if you arrive early, the area might not be found out, and also the last shopper should still get on the table. This could be alright if you're progressing to a spa wherever you'll sit in a very relaxation areasipping tea or to an workplace that you just are acquainted with, however if it's your initial appointment at an area you have got ne'er been to, certify disclosure 30-45 minutes early is ok. My workplace is extremely little. The living roomwherever you fill out intake forms doesn't have a lot of room, however works simply fine once it's just American stateand a shopper. Adding another person will make it incommodious and work an ungainly feeling. terribly recently I had a brand new shopper show up half-hour early whereas my previous client was still on the table. I had already left the clinicand was permitting her to urge dressed once the new shopper arrived. once my initial shopper came out of the clinic, there was no place for her to sit down down as we have a tendency to went over payment, creating her feel hurried and uncomfortable. I had conjointly secure to relinquish her the cardboard of somebody i used to be referring her to, however wasn't able to do thus, nor was I able to provide her some self care tips once her session. I respect the privacy of every of my shoppers, so wasn't able to speak together with her regarding her session ahead of a whole unknown. I conjointly respect confidentiality that couldn't be unbroken beneath the circumstances. My workplace could be a smartsize for one shopper and one healer. it's alittle personal follow workplace, and that i schedule my shoppers half-hourapart for that reason. By disclosure thus early, the new shopper not solely created American state feel hurried to urgethe area turned over, however additional significantly created my alternative shopper feel uncomfortable. When you arrive late, it's annoying to American state, however you're honestly doing additional of a injury to yourself. Your massage is completed at the top of the regular appointment time. meaning that if you book a sixty minute massage, show up ten minutes late, take five minutes to fill out your work and another 5 to try to to oral intake and findon the table, you're currently twenty minutes into your hour before I even bit you. meaning that your sixty minute massage has become a forty minute massage. i'll not inconvenience my next shopper UN agency might show up quarter-hour early as taught by going twenty minutes over on some time. You blocked out AN hour on my schedule, I promise to be there and to figure to the most effective of my talents throughout your hour, however once your hour is up, your massage is completed notwithstanding after you got on the table. I accustomed be additional lenient regardingthis, however found that i used to be being expected to inconvenience others because of somebody else's timing. Since then, I actually have created the policy on top of, and stick with it. 3. DO use correct nomenclature There are variety of terms that are out-of-date and should be found offensive by several therapists. I perceive that the majority of those terms are still those that you just hear on tv, which you'll not remember that they're offensive. i do know massage therapists UN agency can get upset over the nomenclature, however I favor to acknowledge that the person victimisation them wasn't doing thus out of malice, and can attempt to educate them on the correctnomenclature and justify why we have a tendency to use it. This nomenclature is what's employed in the u. s.. In severalalternative countries they still use nomenclature that has modified here. Some common terms are: Massage healer NOT masseuse- A massage therapist could be a licenced skilled UN agency has competent an honestdeal of education and coaching so as to produce you with a therapeutic massage. A massager is commonlyundisciplined and unaccredited and provides services additional fitting to a whorehouse than a spa. Table NOT bed- once more, we have a tendency to are attempting to line ourselves except the sex trade. By asking shoppers to undress and lie on the table beneath the sheet, we have a tendency to are setting a additional clinical tone. Asking a shopper to undress and find on the bed beneath the sheet sets a distinct quite tone. Massage clinic, practice, spa, or workplace NOT massage parlor- A clinic, office, spa or follow sounds skilled and suggests healing and relaxation. A massage parlor is wherever you move to lie on a bed and see a massager. No Smoking! 4. DON'T smoke before your appointment If you're a smoker, I perceive that it is exhausting to travel while not smoking because it is extremely habit-forming. That being same, I encourage you to do to refrain from smoking before your massage so as to guard the health and prosperity of your massage healer furthermore as the other shoppers. I will admit that this one could be a sore spot on behalf of me. i'm really extremely allergic to a number of the chemicals in fag smoke, and have had allergies to shoppers on my table before. after you smoke, you're taking in any variety of poisons and poisons. Your body acknowledges that they're harmful and tries to urge eliminate them by any means thatpotential, which means that the toxins from your cigarettes virtually flow out of your skin. Whenever you bit another person, you're passing on all of the toxins from your cigarettes to the opposite person. Please don't endanger my health by smoking before your session. Smoke are a few things that a good variety of individuals have a sensitivity or allergic reaction to, and also the smell will stick around for a short while before it dissipates. i favor for my clinic to smell clean, and none of my shoppers ought to have to be compelled to walk into a massage area smelling of fag smoke. 5. DO close up your mobile phone It is thus unpleasant to be giving (or receiving) a pleasant quiet massage solely to listen to text messages, calls, and alarms going off. swing it on vibrate is commonly not enough. after you are lying on the table and listen to that abuzz in your purse, you mechanically tense up. You get out of that house of relaxation and are suddenly curious UN agency is looking or texting. currently there's one thing happening on your phone and you don't understand what it's. simply flipyour mobile phone off. it'll not hurt you to travel 60-90 minutes while not communication with the planet. Take the time for yourself instead of worrying regarding what people need from you. If you wish to stay your mobile phone on because of being on decision or having a family emergency, let American state understand. Otherwise, flip it off. leg drape 6. DON'T be a "helper" When you are on the massage table, attempt to relax your body. i do know this is often exhausting for loads of individuals. If you have got bother belongings go, a minimum of attempt to not actively "help" your healer. Yes, i'll be putting the bolster beneath your ankles or knees, and yes, i'll got to elevate your arms and legs to try to to draping, however I promise that i'm quite capable of lifting your leg. often I actually have a shopper UN agency can jerk their arms and legs up in an endeavor to help with the draping or bolstering. simply the opposite day I nearly got kicked within the face by a shopper UN agency was anxious to assist American state drape her leg. This was a primary time shopperwith American state UN agency had received loads of massage before. I got the impression that she knew what was returning next and needed to assist by lifting the suitable limb. after you attempt to facilitate your healer during thismanner, you're really making additional work for them, and risk striking or kicking them within the method. it's a lot ofeasier to elevate a limp leg than one that's being upraised for you. If i'm having bother obtaining you into a particularposition, i'll provoke your help. If I don't raise, simply attempt to relax and revel in the massage. I ought to be the one doing the work, not you. foot massage 7. DO have smart hygiene Please certify that you just are comparatively clean after you show up to your massage. attempt to have clean feet, nails, hair, and skin generally. bear in mind that you just are asking somebody else to the touch you. Before returning in raise yourself if you'd need to the touch you. Over the years, I actually have seen folks of the many completely different hygiene levels are available in for a massage. Please do your healer a favor and close up or rinse if you wish to. The worst cases of poor hygiene tend to occur with the feet, nails, hair, and behind ears, however I actually have seen those that have are available in off the beach, from mowing the yard, or UN agency simply don't appear to possess bathed recently. Not solely is that this disrespectful to American state as i'll be massaging you, however it's disrespectful of my clean space. I actually have worked in places that didn't appear to worry a lot of regarding cleanliness, however my workplace isn't one amongst those. there'stypically not time between shoppers to brush and vacuum the floors which can have dirt, mud, sand, yard clippings, or additional half-tracked in by somebody UN agency didn't rinse before their session, thus please don't track them in within the initial place. 8. DON'T usher in artificial fragrances As a courtesy to future shoppers, please solely wear lotions, creams, or sprays that are unscented or gently scented with essential oils. every massage healer can have their own preferences for merchandise that they use on shoppers, and that i use loads of aromatherapy with natural base oils and essential oils. These are typically lightweight and natural and few folks have bother with them. like several natural aromas, the scent of the oils typically has time to dissipate before succeeding shopper enters the area. If you select to usher in your own lotion or oil to use, certify it's unscented or scented solely with essential oils. Please don't spray or apply merchandise with artificial fragrances within the massage area. many purchasers have allergies or sensitivities to artificial fragrances, and also the fragrances take for much longer to dissipate than natural aromas. this suggests that if you spray your fragrance within the workplace before you allow, or wear a fragranced lotion throughout your massage that seeps into the hotter or cushioning on the table, another shopper might have a negative reaction, and you'll build their massage terribly uncomfortable for them. sick 9. DO keep home if you're sick This is for your protection and my very own. obtaining a massage whereas sick will cause you to feel worse by pushing the malady through your body additional quickly. Fever is additionally a reason for a massage, which means that you just mustn't receive massage if you have got one. Also, please attempt to bear in mind that I bit folks for a living. I can't move to work if i'm sick, thus please don't share your malady with American state. Like several alternative businesses, I actually have a twenty four hour cancellation policy leading to a fee if unheeded. If you decision American state to let me understand that you just can't are available in because of malady, i'll not charge the fee. this is often simply my policy, and should not apply to alternative institutions. 10. DON'T even joke regarding sex! Just don't. It's not funny, it's offensive. I don't would like you telling me that you just have a giant tip on behalf of me if i need to earn it, and that i don't need to listen to regarding your "injury" that caused "scar tissue" on your pouch. Yes... I actually have detected each of those before, and more. If you advisedly bit or grope American state throughout your massage, that's regulatory offence. it's not funny, and positively not acceptable. I conjointly don't need to listen to your jokes regarding happy endings and massage parlors. Keep them to yourself. don't tell American state you're preparedfor your massage and have me walk into the area to search out you sitting or lying confront on the table in the raw onceI taught you to begin face down beneath the sheet. you ought to continually be beneath the sheet. the most effectivecase situation for you here is that I finish the massage, and you have got to pay money for your whole session notwithstanding once it terminated. The worst case situation is that I decision the police and press charges for regulatory offence, public nudity, solicitation, etc. simply don't. So there you have got it. 10 do's and don't's to recollect once entering into for a massage. I wrote this text in person as a result of it's supported my preferences. several of those tips are universal to any or all or most massage therapists, some are additional vital to American state, or solely relevant to those that operate out of areas just like mine. I willsolely tell you what I actually have ascertained in my very own expertise.

[rocketwerks]

Imperial Tobacco Company

102-116 South Sixth Streets (Warehouse & Stemmery)

Built, between 1877 - 1896

Demolished, unknown

118-120 South Sixth Street (Office)

Built, 1904

Demolished, after 1977

[RVCJ03] — showing Stemmery & Warehouse at Sixth & Main SW

The British tobacco bully-boys. What’s wrong with a little friendly competition?

(Duke University Libraries) — James Buchanan Duke

This is one of the quaint stories of the Gilded Age, those good old days when men were men and trusts were normal.

The American Tobacco Company (ATC) set aside a massive 30 million dollars to buy up British tobacco companies one by one at the start of the 20th century. The key figure was James Buchanan Duke, head of ATC, whose aggressive methods had created a virtual monopoly for the company in the US. Individually, British companies, even those of the size of WD & HO Wills and John Player & Sons, could not survive.

(Wikimedia Commons)

When Duke arrived in Liverpool in 1901, he walked into Ogden's factory and bought on the spot. Duke then approached other British companies and is reported to have burst in on the Player brothers, saying: "Hello, boys. I'm Duke from New York, come to take over your business." He was politely shown the door, an experience repeated at other companies. Facing such resistance, he paused for reflection.

This pause gave 13 family-run businesses, led by Wills, Players and Lambert & Butler, time to meet and, in December 1901, The Imperial Tobacco Company (Great Britain and Ireland) Limited was formed. (Imperial Tobacco)

[RVCH03] — Wellford C. Reed

Duke’s bluster would come back to haunt him, and it wasn’t long until the fight was brought directly to American Tobacco’s doorstep.

According to information received in the city, Mr. A. F. Thomas of Lynchburg, who, along with Mr. Wellford C. Reed, of this city, was appointed to represent the Imperial Tobacco Company in this country, will remove to this city and will establish himself here. He as sold out his place in Lynchburg and is preparing to make a change in his residence. It is understood that he will come here tomorrow, though hardly to settle here so soon. This will probably be a preliminary visit, with a view to securing residence, office, &c.

(Pinterest) — tin of Repeater, fine cut mild smoking tobacco, product of Imperial Tobacco Company of Montreal, Canada

The determination of Mr. Thomas to locate here casts more mystery than ever over the plans of the Imperial Company with reference to this country. When he and Mr. Reed were appointed it was thought that the two would divide the territory between them, Mr. Reed looking after Virginia and the Carolinas and Mr. Thomas the West, or vice versa. This arrangement seems to be knocked in the head by Mr. Thomas’ action in locating here. It may be, however, that he will undertake to conduct the Western business from this point. One thing seems to be signified by the coming of Mr. Thomas to this city, namely: that Richmond will in reality be the American headquarters of the Imperial. [RT19020315]

[RVCJ03] — James N. Boyd

They started by taking over the buildings of James N. Boyd, a former leaf tobacco broker who’d found a new occupation as President of the Planters Bank and Virginia Trust Company. His warehouse and stemmery commanded most of the western block of Sixth Street between Cary and Canal Streets, a clear finger in the face to Duke, whose American Tobacco buildings stood right across the street. 

(Library of Congress) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 11 — showing 102-116 South Sixth Street locations

Nor did it take long for Imperial to make its presence known, leaning hard on its British brethren to not do business with American Tobacco.

London, March 21 — At a meeting of the Edinburg Association of Retail Tobacconists, to-day, a resolution was adopted unanimously declining to sign the Imperial Tobacco Company’s agreement not to sell American goods for a term of years, but expressing a willingness, if the minimum price is raised so as to allow a fair profit to the dealers, to do what is possible, bonus or no bonus, for the sake of British goods. The chairman declared that no one outside a lunatic asylum would sign such an agreement, which would make them the servants of the Imperial Tobacco Company. While the Americans offered a large bonus, no restrictions were placed upon the dealers. [RD19020322]

Indeed, the London tobacconists felt that Imperial Tobacco Company offer “out-Americanized the Americans” and was “unjust and unfair to the dealers, and un-English.”

May 2019 — looking towards 102-116 South Sixth Street today

Such resistance had limits, as Imperial continued to come out swinging, with two announcements in May alone.

The Universal Tobacco Company of this country, it is learned, will work with the Imperial Tobacco Company, of Great Britain, against their common foe, the American Tobacco Company, through a co-operative alliance altogether different from what has bee supposed.

The scheme of co-operation, according to the information received, is to have the Universal Tobacco Company become the selling agents for the Imperial in the country and the Imperial for the Universal in England and Europe.

Such an alliance would be an exceedingly strong one and would be hard to beat. [RT19020511]

[RTD19040177] — Plans for Imperial Tobacco Company’s Splendid Office Building, Sixth and Cary — Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sunday, January 17, 1904

This was followed just three days later with the announcement of the acquisition of the Well-Whitehead Tobacco Company of Wilson, North Carolina.

In July, the Richmond Dispatch announced that British tobacco dealers had been notified that the Imperial was arranging for direct imports of Virginia and Carolina leaf, effectively freezing out American firms from selling to British manufacturers. Later the same month, the Dispatch ran another story that described Imperial’s intention to compete aggressively in the Farmville market during the next tobacco-buying season.

While the general public know nothing of the merits of the alleged controversy between the Imperial and American “giants,” every farmer is in high hopes of larger profits from his labors by reason of the anticipated struggle between these companies. [RD19020713]

(Vintage Richmond) — Imperial Tobacco Company building — March 1977

Duke tried fighting back.  

Through Ogden's, American Tobacco Company began cutting prices and offering free gifts in the UK - tactics that had served it well in the US. But Imperial frustrated ATC at every turn. It acquired the retail business of Salmon & Gluckstein and also set up a customer bonus scheme, whereby a proportion of Imperial profits was distributed among wholesale and retail customers.

After suffering heavy losses in the UK, and faced with a trade war at home, ATC was ready to talk. In September 1902 an agreement was reached - ATC surrendered Ogden's to Imperial while Imperial abandoned plans to enter the American market, except for leaf buying. The result was the formation of the British American Tobacco Company Limited. (Imperial Tobacco)

(Vintage Richmond) — Imperial Tobacco Company doorway — March 1977

The cessation of hostilities allowed Imperial the luxury of planning a brand new office building, which was constructed in 1904, right across the street from the warehouse and stemmery. Sadly, the giddy good times did not last.

In 1907, American Tobacco Company was indicted in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. They fought it all the way to the Supreme Court, and in 1911, the justices issued their decision in United States v. American Tobacco Company, holding that American was indeed guilty of attempting to monopolize the business of tobacco in interstate commerce.

The tobacco giant was split into four smaller companies: American Tobacco Company, R. J. Reynolds, Liggett & Myers, and Lorillard. American Tobacco continued to hold the rights to sell a number of Imperial brands in the US, leaving Imperial free to export any of its other brands to the American market. (Imperial Tobacco)

May 2019 — looking toward 118-120 South Sixth Street today

Imperial may have seen the writing on the wall and elected to bail for greener pastures. A 1908 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch discusses the company’s contemplated move to Henderson, Kentucky, and their transformation into Imperial of Kentucky. Great things were anticipated from the exploitation of the great Western tobacco belt, and they expected to construct a new rehandling plant in Henderson. [RTD19080305]

The warehouse and stemmery buildings continued to be used by Imperial as late as 1924, but the office building became a warehouse for the Western Electric Company, and then Graybar Electric by 1950.

(Imperial Tobacco Company is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)

Note

The always readable Shockoe Examiner has plowed this same topic in a post from 2018. There are additional pictures and details about the office building that are worth checking out.

Print Sources

Newspapers provided by Chronicling America. 

[RT19020315] Richmond Times. Saturday, March 15, 1902.

[RD19020322] Richmond Dispatch. Saturday, March 22, 1902.

[RT19020511] Richmond Times. Sunday, May 11, 1902.

[RD19020713] Richmond Times. Sunday, July 13, 1902.

[RTD19040177] Richmond Times-Dispatch. Sunday, January 17, 1904.

[RTD19080305] Richmond Times-Dispatch. Thursday, March 5, 1908.

[RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.

#rvalegends #rva #rvahistory #sixthstreet #carystreet #atlasrva #cityatomic #rvatobacco

[xseildnasterces]

silk chiffon.

2021-09-06

No-one plans to end up in the ER, I mean, I certainly didn’t anyway. That was not my plan for yesterday evening. I had been really unwell all week. I knew that I was flaring, and I knew the situation wasn’t great, but I didn’t expect to end up in the ER. It seems like I am beginning to make a habit of unintentionally exploring the inside of hospitals in each country I live in. Last night it was the turn of the US!

I woke up yesterday morning and was passing blood – a lot of blood. H messaged me and asked if I wanted to go out for the day. I didn’t want my IBD to stop me going out, even though ideally, I shouldn’t have gone. I spent most of the day worrying because of the amount of blood that had left my body in the morning and what exactly that would mean. I ended up having a really good day with H, F and M. We went to explore a new nature and wildlife park that none of us had visited before and then went out for lunch at a Bavarian restaurant. Due to the morning incident, I was scared about eating much, and considering the heaviness of German food I got a salad – even though that clearly didn’t help as I don’t think it would have mattered what I had eaten. We then went out to explore a fort which I loved and just had such a nice time with my US fam. I was worried about getting home. I was worried about bleeding again, and pretty much as soon as I did get home that’s exactly what happened. It was a huge amount of blood again, so I began to panic. I decided to call the urgent virtual appointment line.

I got an appointment straight away and told the Dr what was happening. He basically said I needed to go to the hospital urgently… great. Surprisingly I wasn’t as anxious about it as I thought I would be, but I think I was so unbelievably worried about what exactly was going on in my body that I just got on with it. I packed a bunch of magazines, a book, and made sure my phone and iPad were charged and I set off. Thankfully, the hospital is really close to where I live, so I went to the ER appointment, signed in and went to wait. I could hear people complaining that they had been waiting over 8 hours. I was glad I packed a good number of things to read on hearing that, but once I was there and feeling anxious, I just wasn’t in the mood nor did I have the concentration to read. I messaged a few people on my phone so that they knew what was going on and told everyone not to worry. I messaged my boss so she was aware that I would be taking time off work and tried to calm my stress and anxiety by browsing random things on my phone. The online Dr had told me that due to my IBD background and the issues I was currently dealing with I should be moved up the list and I shouldn’t have to wait as long as some of the other people who were there for lesser urgent things. That was correct and after an hour or, so I was called by a nurse. I was fully checked in and she went through a few details and basically told me that I would then need to just need to be patient and wait until there was a bed free. I sat back down in the waiting room and expected to be there for a longgggg time, however, I think I had only been sat there 20 minutes before I was called up again and taken through to a bed.

All my medical team were so lovely. They were all so helpful and answered all my questions. They all also seemed like they had all the time in the world to help find out what was going on – perhaps that is due to the amount it will cost for the visit, or maybe they are all genuinely just really nice and good at their job – which I felt they were. I felt really well looked after which made me feel reassured that being there was worth my time. They also made me feel like I wasn’t wasting anyone else’s time either and that it was important that I had gone in. I had a physical exam which as always wasn’t exactly the most comfortable experience, but it was needed and then I was hooked up to an IV, a heart monitor and a blood pressure monitor – all because my heart and blood pressure were a little off. This always seems to be the case because my anxiety of course peaks and then they must keep monitoring me for abnormalities – thankfully everything was fine in that regard. The doctor visited me and went through everything that was going on with my body at the moment. The reaction was just as I expected – I need a colonoscopy urgently. Unfortunately, there was nothing else that they could do for me IBD related until I’ve had the colonoscopy. I will either need surgery or my medication will need to be changed, but neither of those can be done until they have seen the colonoscopy results. However, due to what was going on and the amount of blood that I was passing the medical team wanted to rule out anything else that could possibly be causing it. They seemed quite concerned so I had numerous blood tests, specimen tests, and even a CT scan – something that I had never imagined myself needing.

Thankfully my bloods and CT scan results all came back at normal levels. The only thing that came up in my bloods was an increase in white blood cells which I was told was due to a need to fight off an infection which brought up more concerns about the possibility of an infection somewhere in my body that was not related to my IBD. They thought it was unlikely but again they wanted to check and conduct tests to at least rule it out. I won’t get those results for a few days, and if something does come back regarding an infection, I will be prescribed antibiotics. However, they are pretty sure it’s IBD related.

2021-09-08

I was in the hospital until after 1am, they checked all my insurance details and registered me and then they let me go. Basically, because my symptoms were not life threatening and they had checked everything that they could without a colonoscopy they had no reason to keep me in overnight. I’m not simply suffering at home in intense pain, clutching my hot water bottle and doing my very best to avoid food. The cramps are honestly unbearable and seeing the amount of blood that is coming out of me is simply terrifying. I can’t go to work, hell, I can barely move, so I’m bored, stuck at home and literally waiting until my procedure day. Oh, and I got prescribed some steroid medication that will compromise my already compromised immune system right in the middle of a pandemic – great. Not only that, but steroids make you gain weight and due to pass eating issues I am also incredibly scared of gaining weight because of medication, but right now the options are; continue to experience insane pain and large blood loss, or maybe gain some weight and a moon face. Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.

[Blog title: Silk Chiffon - MUNA ft. Phoebe Bridgers].

#silk chiffon #MUNA #Phoebe Bridgers #life #life update #update #me #my life #thought #thoughts #feeling #feelings #emotion #emotions #lgbtq #queer #gay #diary #personal #journal #medical #health #ibdf #ill #crohns #uc

[purplesurveys]

1237

disclaimer I’ll be taking into account the last 24 hours for the first part because it’s 3 in the morning and I haven’t really done anything yet lmao anywho

survey by chasingghosts

Have you today?

Looked in a mirror? Yeah I took a shower earlier so I couldn’t really avoid the mirror in the bathroom.

Watered a plant? I don’t do plants. Can never take care of them to save my life.

Worn denim? I did, actually. Some package came for me earlier today and I didn’t really look the most decent, so before heading out to meet the delivery guy I grabbed the first jacket I saw, which was denim.

Washed your hair? Yes, when I took said shower a couple of hours ago.

Been in pain? Yup my back and shoulders feel like hell from sitting on my ass all day while at work.

Had a nap? Kinda, I guess? I fell asleep at around 9, 9:30ish...woke up at around 1 AM, and here I am now. I don’t plan on sleeping anymore.

Brushed your teeth? Yup.

Kissed someone? Just my dogs.

Used a cheese grater? No, I don’t think I’ve consumed any cheese today either.

Eaten something sweet? Nah, it’s all been salty/savory for me today.

Spoken to a stranger? Sure.

Dropped something? I drop my vape pen at least once a day, so yes.

Felt upset in some way? UGH yeah. Our internet disappeared at around 2 in the afternoon and it still hasn’t come back, and our service provider’s social media has been unsurprisingly unresponsive and useless. I’ve been using data since then and I’m just worried about how long this would take because I don’t want to keep spending just for extra load. I also have my Korean language classes this afternoon which will for sure require a lot of data :/

Drank coffee? I have a full mug of it beside me right now.

Walked for more than thirty minutes? LOL no, I’ve only stayed indoors.

Signed up for something? Hmm I don’t think so.

Travelled in a car? See two answers above this.

Opened a can? Nopes.

Thought about doing something crazy? Just me thinking about dropping another couple thousands on merch until I mentally slapped myself and told myself I’d be fucking stupid if I spent on one more piece of stupid merch.

Listened to a new song? Yes, I tried listening to Love Shot by EXO over dinner since my sister had started humming it. It was okay but I quickly shifted back to BTS right after hahaha.

Written in a notebook? No. I only do so when I practice my Hangul but I have yet to work on that today.

Fed an animal? Yes, I have pets.

Checked your emails? I mean that’s kind of the standard in my job lol I have my Gmail tab up throughout the 8 hours.

Told someone you love them? No.

Made a phone call? No, I’m rarely the one who makes the call.

Have you in the last week?

Travelled on a bus? I’ve never ridden a bus solely for commuting by myself. I’ve only been on them when it’s the arranged vehicle, like for school field trips or our family vacations. Our public buses are quite bleck and unsanitary and the drivers maneuver the buses like it’s their last goddamn hour on the planet, so I don’t get on them myself.

Washed your face? I mean yeah, when I take showers. I don’t really have a skincare routine though, if that’s what you mean.

Used a blender? We rarely have a use for a blender at home so we don’t even have one.

Received a phone call? No. My biggest pet peeve is when delivery riders call me up once they’ve arrived at our place just to say “I’m here,” but fortunately the one assigned to me today to deliver my package knew how to use the doorbell.

Talked to someone you dislike? Yeah I have to deal with a client I absolutely fucking despise everyday.

Consumed alcohol? I’ve thought of it, but then I thought of how sleepy I get whenever I drink alcohol and decided against it because I wanted to stay up tonight.

Eaten pasta? Yeah, my dad made Filipino-style spaghetti for dinner the other evening.

Planned for an event? Not an event per se but sure, I made some plans? Punk is slated to make his debut on AEW/return to pro wrestling next weekend or sometime soon, idrk - and this is a big fucking deal omg, 15 year old Robyn has arisen from her grave - and Andi and I made plans to watch it together so we can freak the fuck out.

Asked someone for a favour? Yes. I borrowed cash from my mom since the delivery fee for my packaging earlier was apparently cash on delivery.

Watched something funny? I mean I watch BTS clips pretty much everyday and a gigantic chunk of them are hilarious.

Trimmed your nails? No, but I did bite on them multiple times.

Browsed Reddit? I did actually! After a super long time of not doing so...I just decided to randomly check out r/bangtan to see what’s going on there. It’s mostly Americans though so idk if I’ll make a habit out of browsing.

Talked to yourself? Oh this happens a few times a day.

Purchased tickets for something? Nope.

Felt like you were annoying someone? Just about everyday.

Cleaned a toilet? I have not.

Reminisced about the past? Not really. I’ve made references to the past with friends, but we didn’t ~reminisce.

Used headphones? Yeah I always use my headphones when playing Rhythm Hive so I can hear the beats better.

Laughed with a friend? Many times. Always just virtually, though.

Cooked dinner and then didn't feel hungry? I don’t cook.

Written a list? LOL yes. My period had been coming and I noticed I was crying over the smallest, stupid things, so I started a list of the things I cried over the last week. The funniest item on the list is probably an ad that was shown to us during a campaign briefing...

Played an instrument? Nope.

Felt jealous or envious? I will sometimes feel the tiniest tinge of envy and wistfulness when I see my friends in happy and fulfilled relationships, but it passes in a second.

Ignored a text message on purpose? So many hahahahahahah

Congratulated someone? Yes!!! Graduation season was last week so I congratulated a shit ton of friends.

Have you in the last month?

Made a piece of art? Making art was never made for me, so no.

Rewatched one of your favourite tv shows or movies? Yep, I rewatched Friends a couple of weeks ago.

Called a plumber? Nope.

Been to a see a doctor? I mean, technically I guess yeah? When I had to get my vaccine shot.

Finished a book? I haven’t done that in a while.

Had a crush on someone? Just celebrities but I won’t count those.

Travelled on a train? I haven’t.

Worn heels? Haven’t done this either.

Been to a friend's house? I’ve been to Angela’s house semi-regularly, yup.

Shared a bed with someone? Nah.

Been to see a movie at the cinema? I haven’t been to the cinema in like a year and a half.

Paid attention to celebrity drama? Erm not really. I also haven’t been up to date with that, especially with American celebrities hahaha.

Felt anxious? Maybe not anxious but nervous.

Taken an elevator? Yeah in Mega since that place is so goddamn big.

Given someone the cold shoulder? Yep, my mom when she is being extra annoying/condescending.

Purchased a new book/game/movie? I guess you can say that? I bought a subscription pack on Rhythm Hive because I was using it regularly anyway.

Applied for a job? I already have a job, so no. I did get a job proposal on Linkedin a couple of weeks ago with another PR firm, but I took a look at their clients just to see if the offer was something I could sink my teeth into - and even though their brands were quite high-profile, they were in industries I didn’t particularly find interesting.

Used a printer? Nah.

Had lunch in a park? No.

Gotten a manicure or pedicure? I have not.

Made an appointment? Just for my shot but that’s it.

Had a blood test done? Noooooo not another one of those plz.

Suffered from a major bruise? Not a major bruise but a huge bloody gash on my thigh after a particlarly rowdy play session with Cooper. There’s still a very visible scar on me.

Researched a topic in-depth? I do this quite a bit in my work, yes.

Have you in the last year?

Been to the beach? No, I’ve mostly stayed at home since July 2020.

Visited someone in the hospital? I haven’t. Too risky.

Played pinball? No, it’s never interested me.

Travelled on a plane? I haven’t. :(

Worn a costume? Sure, for Halloween last year I went as Dora.

Been thrift shopping? Not that I can recall, no.

Thought about getting pregnant or got pregnant? Definitely not at this point in my life.

Made a big life decision? Uh yeah this past year was both the worst and best rollercoaster I’ve ever been on. I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since that shitty breakup...

Changed a lightbulb? Nope.

Framed something and put it on your wall? No but I have been meaning to do this for months. I just never get around to buying some actual picture frames lol.

Been stargazing? Not the professional kind of way with a telescope and all. I’ve just lied on my back at the rooftop to gaze at the night sky and the stars.

Made a new friend? So many!!! Reena is probably my bestestestest new friend <3 I mean we’ve met a while ago, as Angela’s mutual - even had a few drinks or so together - but we didn’t become closer until just a couple of months ago.

Added to a collection? I’ve had merch that arrive every week or so these days because I bought a ridiculous amount of shit between May and June when I was a new Army. I’ve substantially calmed down now, but I should expect to receive my running list of ordered merch up until September LMAO. At first I used to bitch about the really long shipping period considering all the products come from Korea, but after 3 or 4 fulfilled orders you kinda get used to it.

Been to the dentist? No.

Broken up with someone? Yessss. I didn’t know it at the time but it would turn out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Held a baby? Nah.

Created a budget? Yeah...doesn’t mean I’ve been successful. I always go over, hehe.

Confessed feelings for someone? There isn’t anyone to do that for.

Had surgery of any kind? Nopes.

Quit a job? No and I have no plans to anytime soon.

Been in a car accident? Nah but my dad has, c/o some stupid and unattentive motorcycle driver.

Purchased something worth over a grand? So in US dollar conversion, around P50,000? Hell no.

Been on vacation at least 500km/300mi from home? No. :( The farthest we’ve been to was Tagaytay and I think that’ll remain the same for a while.

Applied for an academic course? Yes, my Korean class.

Had your photo taken by a professional? No, it’s been over a year since my last professional shoot for my senior photos.

#survey #surveys

[imgilmoregirl]

Bittersweet (Chapter 2)

AO3 Link

This chapter was revised by the awesome @ethereal-wishes.

The elevator’s doors opened with a low noise, allowing  Lacey to  walk into the corridor that led to Gold’s office.  She stepped out, inhaled deeply and went straight to the counter where a beautiful blonde woman was. Biting at her lip, Lacey stood in front of her, expecting to get her attention, but she seemed too preoccupied with the papers she was flipping through in her hands to see her. The brunette waited for another couple of seconds before cleaning her throat and making the assistant look up.

“Can I help you?” She asked, her badge indicated that her name was Ashley.

“Yeah, I need to see Mr. Gold.”

Putting the papers aside, the assistant moved to the desktop and tipped something, opening some kind of virtual schedule, before turning back to her. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Mm, no,” the brunette contemplated. “My name is Lacey, I’m a friend of his.”

“A friend?” Ashley chuckled, looking her up and down as if she had decided that Lacey definitely wasn't the sort of people Gold would have as a friend. “I’m sorry, but if you want to see him, you need to book an appointment.”

There was a small part of her conscience telling Lacey that she should do as the girl was saying and go home without causing a scandal in the office of the most incredible man she had ever met, but this voice belonged to her old self, the one who would curl on her bed with a book and cry all the day after the terrible week she had, her newest self was the one who cared about nothing else right now but getting to see Adam, whatever the cost.

“Really, do you want me to start screaming his name until I'm heard?” The brunette coerced.

And in that moment the doors opened, and Gold stepped into the waiting room with a tall man by his side, too distracted with their conversation to notice her presence at first.

“I'll see you as soon as all the documents arrive, Mr. Humbert, and…” he trailed off, training his eyes on her, standing in front of the counter. “Lacey, what are you doing here?”

From behind the counter the blonde attendant seemed to shrink. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gold.  I’ve tried to tell her that you don’t see anyone without an appointment.”

He waved his hand at the attendant, dismissing her, and fixing his gaze on Lacey, admiring how pure, clean, and shiny she looked. That night they spent together at the bar and the library, she was all made up and dressed for a night out, but today she seemed to be trying very hard to look better than that. Her dark-blue dress was still very short but it wasn't as tight as the other, and she was wearing a cream jacket that matched her small high heels.

“It’s alright, Ashley, cancel the next appointment, I’ll talk to Lacey,” he said with a smirk, walking towards the brunette and placing his hand on her back, nodding to his other client. “Good afternoon, Mr. Humbert.”

He opened the door, leading Lacey through the corridor until they reached his office, a spacious room with an oak desk, a row of bookshelves and comfortable velvet  armchairs.  He gesticulated for her to sit in a chair adjacent from his desk.

“Thank you, for having me,” Lacey smiled nervously, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other.

“I have to confess that I didn’t expect to see you here,” he spoke as he reached for the coffee pot, pointing to it. “Coffee?”

Shaking  her head, the girl declined his offer. “No, thanks.”

He got a cup for himself before sitting in front of her with that welcoming smile that made her heart race. “So, what brings you here?”

She felt as if she was going to throw up and considering that it had already happened a couple of times that week, she didn't doubt she wouldn't. Her glance fell to the paper bag in her hands, and she took a deep breath before placing it on the desk between them.

“I’ll get straight to the point, so open the package, please.”

Gold raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he picked it up and opened the bag, taking the small box out. His breath got caught in his throat as he reached for the contents in the box -- a thin stick with the two faint pink lines.

“A pregnancy test,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yes,” Lacey confirmed, grasping at the arms of the chair, her palms growing damp with perspiration. She was waiting for a big reaction, she thought that he might scream at her or immediately throw her out of his office, but Gold was calm, even though she could see something that resembled panic in his brown eyes. “If you don’t know the meaning of the signal - ”

“Oh, I know the meaning, sweetheart, that’s for certain,” Adam assured her, placing it back on the desk and looking straight at her. "This is from that night at the library?”

And though she'd despaired over her situation, he still managed to make her smile.  Her hand gravitated to her flat stomach, and she was glad that out of every man she knew it was Gold who had fathered the baby she was carrying.

“You have a peculiar  way of trying to ask me if the child is yours without offending me. But I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure that it is,” Lacey said sincerely. “However, I’ll understand if you want to take a paternity test after the baby is born.”

“Your word is enough for me,” Gold assured. “So…”

He couldn't manage to complete a whole sentence anymore; he was stupefied, both wanting to slap himself for being so stupid and impregnating a twenty-five-year-old girl he met at a bar and wanting to hug her and kiss her, assuring Lacey that everything would be fine and they would have a beautiful baby that he would very dearly. The words just couldn't come while he was still in shock, but when she started to speak, he decided that it was better if he didn't say anything at all.

“Look, I’ve been thinking about this ever since I found out some days ago, and I can’t do this Gold. I can’t be a mother; my life is too screwed up for that. A kid deserves a happy childhood.”

Gold swallowed, trying to understand what she just said. “I – I thought we were keeping it.”

Lacey breathed in, and he could see the shattered girl from the bar coming to surface. “Well, I’m here because you already have a boy, so I guess you like children, so if you want it, I’m giving this baby to you the moment he or she is born. But please, don’t feel pressured to do it. I’ve read a lot about the adoption system, and they can do the work as well.”

“Great,” he grumbled with a gasp. “I truly don’t believe what I’m hearing.”

For six weeks, he had been trying to cope with the fact that his ex-fiancée didn't want custody of their son and preferred to see him during the weekends, and now he sat in his freaking office, hearing this girl tell him she was thinking of  giving his  unborn child away. This couldn't possibly be real.

“You don’t need to feel pressed,” Lacey repeated.

“Yeah, I don’t, but you come here and tell me that you’re expecting my child and want me analyse the situation coldly?” He shouted back at her angrily.

“Mr. Gold - ” Lacey muttered, shrinking.

“Adam," he corrected. "You called me Adam that night, call me Adam now.”

“Adam, right,” she nodded. “I’m just offering you another solution if you didn't want it."

An offer, he asked himself if it was all for her or if she was just hiding herself under her shell again. But he couldn't evaluate it properly right now.  He was too pissed off, and he was too worried about what he should do next.

“The mother of my first child just left me at the altar six weeks ago; I’m trying to deal with my own problems, and you want me to decide if I want to raise two children all alone or throw an innocent babe into the system?”

“I’m sorry, it was a mistake,” she said grabbing her purse and standing up, tears shinning in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

Eyes closing for a brief moment, Gold commanded: “Lacey, sit, please.”

When he looked at her again, she was sitting, tears running down her cheeks and trembling hands gripping nervously at the handle of her purse.

“I know what you think," Lacey started, "but I’m not being selfish, if I was I would have been looking for abortion on the internet, instead of coming here to humiliate myself and ask if you want this baby, but I want our child to live, and I really wanted to be able to be its mother, I’m just not the motherly type."

“Oh, Lacey,” he whispered, fighting against the urge of going to her and pulling her into his embrace. Now he had some priorities. “Have you drank anything these past few days?”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t drank anything ever since that night.”

“Why not?” he asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

“I didn’t feel like I wanted to,” Lacey shrugged before pointing at her belly. “And then, this.”

“Then this,” Gold repeated, looking down at the pregnancy test on his desk with an idea coming to his mind. “I’ll offer you a deal. You go to my house and stay there until the baby comes; I’ll provide you with everything you need during that time, and I’ll make sure you won’t go near a glass of whiskey.”

Lacey laughed weakly, still shedding some tears. “After that, you get the child?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll raise it and love it?” She questioned, catching her lower lip between her teeth.

“Aye,” Gold agreed. “Do we have a deal?”

He wasn't sure if she was going to accept that, given all his conditions, but if they were going to do this, then he would make sure that his child was safe and healthy from the very start.

“We do.”

“I’ll make a contract,” Gold said, opening his laptop.

“A contract?" Lacey inquired. "I thought my word was enough for you.”

“It is, but if the child is to be mine, I need a paper signed that guarantees me of that.”

With a nod, she agreed, though she felt it was wrong.

Lacey went straight back to Gold's office after she closed the library. She had spent the day trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing, by making this crazy contract with him, but she was still uncertain. When she let herself fall into a chair in the waiting room with a loud sigh, Ashley looked at her inquisitively, but didn't say a thing, only plucked a piece of chocolate from her purse and took a bite of it. Gold appeared a whole hour later, carrying a laptop bag.

"You're here," he said as if surprised.

"We have a deal," she reminded him. "You said that I should go to your house tonight."

"Yeah, right. We shall stop at yours first, so you can pack some things."

Lacey nodded, standing up to follow him to the elevator. There wasn't a single part of her that wasn't nervous about his. Some weeks ago, they were having a half-drunk conversation at a bar that led to some incredible sex in the library and now they were here, their lives turned upside down more than ever before.

"Have you spoke with the runaway bitch?" She said in an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation, but her words seemed to startle him.

"Her name is Milah."

"I know, I just - " Lacey shook her head. "Forget it."

The elevator's doors opened, and they went straight to Gold's car, which was parked in front of the building. He greeted the security guard before opening the door for her, and allowing her to  settle herself inside. For some reason, she suspected that if she wasn't expecting his child, they would have never seen each other again after that night at the bar. They didn't speak during the car ride to her house.  She only opened her mouth to say the address and then the car was drowned in silence, her thoughts making her compare how different their lives were. Gold had been at that bar out of sheer coincidence.  She had been there for too long, drinking to forget all of her problems.

As they stopped in front of her house, Lacey looked down at her belly and sniffed, remembering that she hadn't yet told her father that she was pregnant, but now he would probably be too drunk or passed out to mind her presence at home.

"Are you sure your father will be alright with you leaving?"

"He won't even notice," she muttered bitterly. "As long as I come here once a week to bring food, I could move to California, and he wouldn't realize that I was gone."

"I know how it feels," Gold said emphatically, but she didn't know exactly what it meant.

Opening the car's door, she went inside the house, finding Moe sleeping on the couch, her eyes narrowing as she felt the nauseous smell of beer all around the living room. There were three empty bottles on the floor near him, but Lacey bet that he had way more than that. She sighed and walked towards the hallway to her room, packing some essentials, before going back to the car, with only one suitcase.

"That's all you have?" Gold asked, glancing at her bag when she placed it in the backseat.

"Obviously not," Lacey answered with a roll of her blue eyes, "but I don't have any more suitcases, and I can always come here to take more clothes when I need them."

He nodded wordlessly and started driving again. Lacey pulled her jacket around her lithe frame, feeling cold as she leaned her head against the window, watching the landscape swiftly passing by.

"We need to find a doctor to check on you," Gold stated in a low voice.  However she was so sleepy by the lulling of the engine that she didn't realise that her eyes were almost closing. "I want to make sure that this baby is fine."

"As you wish, Mr. Gold," she muttered.

"And there is something else," he added, "my son will definitely not understand this situation. He is four and just watched his mother move away with her boyfriend, so I don't want him to be confused about us too."

She snorted at the thought of such a young boy having such a tough life. But she didn't let her bitter tone show because of it. "Alright, so I shall hide in your attic and only come out when he is not around?"

"That's not what I meant," Gold defended himself. "I'll tell him you're a friend of mine who is helping me to give him a little sibling."

"Yeah, that explains everything perfectly as long as he is over the old stork story," she mocked. "But seriously, Adam, I'll do whatever you want to keep this deal up, I just really want to have this child instead of putting it up for adoption."

Lacey meant every single word she said. He had a stable life, money, was maybe still heartbroken for all the things that had happened lately, but for the short time she had spent with him, she could say that Adam had a big warm heart with enough love to father a child.  And if she wasn’t sure that she would ruin the kid if she was around after the birth, she acknowledged that he was already a good father, and he didn't need her.  She would only make things worse if she stuck around.

She had an amazing mother for years and knew how to distinguish what was a good childhood and what wasn’t. The life Lacey had to offer to her child now surely didn’t fit into the good side, and as a girl who had dealt with an alcoholic father for years, she wasn’t going to give herself the chance of becoming the female version of  Moe French.

Glancing at Gold out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that his lips were pressed into a thin line, but he tried to give her a half smile, though he appeared  to be terribly haunted, he still looked handsome. "Well, prepare yourself to meet my little Baden."

#rumbelle fic #golden lace #mine #writing #rumplestiltskin #belle french #lacey french #rumbelle #fanfic #ao3 #ethereal-wishes beta

[lovemesomesurveys]

jst more random q’s by x-hallie-x (tumblr) // seed_pod_says (livejournal) 1. What is something in your life that you feel hopeful about right now? I don’t feel hopeful about much of anything. 2. What was the last thing you worried about that turned out better than expected? Sometimes my doctor visits will go better than expected, like things will have either improved a bit or at least haven’t gotten worse. I always expect the worse, though. 3. Name somewhere you are planning on visiting in the near future? Wal-Mart. ha. That’s about the extent my outings, apart from doctor appointments. 4. How often do you go grocery shopping and how much food do you usually get in one go? We go twice a month for grocery shopping (about every 2 weeks), and those trips are when we get a lot of food to try and last until the next trip. However, we do make quick trips to the store in-between our big grocery shopping trips when needed as well.

5. What is a meal you eat extremely often? Or do your meals & food choices vary a lot? Lately it’s been chicken sandwiches, but I eat Taco Bell a lot as well. I also eat Top Ramen quite a bit. 6. When was the last time you felt unable or unwilling to speak your mind to someone? I feel that way currently, but I also feel that way a lot. I keep to myself about a lot. 7. What was the last thing you changed your mind about? I don’t remember. 8. Who was the last friend you saw, and what did you do together? Arynthya for her birthday last year.

9. Who tends to show up in your dreams? Do you ever wonder if you appear in anyone else’s dreams? For some reason I have these dreams about people, a couple in particular have made a few appearances, that I don’t even talk to. Like they’re people I went to school with in elementary and high school. I’m always like wtf? It’s super random. My grandparents who have passed away appear often as well. 10. What is something you wish you could say to someone who is no longer in your life, or something you wish they could know? I wish I could talk to Ty and explain some things and try to get back to the way things were, but I don’t see that happening. 11. Instead of flat earth, what do you think of the simulated earth theory, that we’re basically all just a giant computer program or virtual reality? Nah, fam. 12. What worries you most about your future? Oh ya know. Everything. 13. What is something you do to feel better when you’re scared? Distractions of some kind, such as ASMR or watching something funny or just mindless TV. 14. Who do you feel you can count on the most in life? Is there anyone you wish you could count on more? My mom most definitely, and my younger brother as well. Oftentimes I feel like I’m the younger sibling and my younger brother is actually the older one because he does so much for me and takes care me a lot.  He’s always going and getting me food, oftentimes paying for it, and taking me to doctor appointments sometimes. He does a lot. 15. What makes you trust someone? When was the last time someone broke your trust? Hm, I don’t know how to really explain it. I just feel like I can with some people like if I feel comfortable talking to them. 16. When was the last time you shared a secret with someone, and how did they react? I don’t recall. 17. Are you more likely to give advice or to ask for it? I used to be the one always giving advice. I rarely ask for it, and the advice I give myself I never follow.

“I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.” 18. When was the last time you felt totally lost, figuratively speaking? How about literally? Uh, currently. Right now. All the time. I don’t recall the last time I literally was lost, but figuratively I feel that way all the time. I have no idea what I’m doing or what to do. 19. In what ways are you emotionally strong? In what ways are you emotionally weak? I don’t feel like I am emotionally strong anymore, but I used to be. I’m completely weak now. 20. What is the strangest book you have ever read? How did you find out about it? Hm. I’m not sure. 21. Do you prefer to watch movies or tv alone or with other people? Is there anything you refuse to watch alone? I have some shows that no one else in my family like to watch so I just watch them by myself, but I love having shows we can watch together. We have a few of those, and it just makes it more enjoyable and fun. 22. What was the last thing you broke? How about fixed? I don’t know. 23. Is there a sign or symbol that means a lot to you for whatever reason (eg. seeing certain animals or birds, 11:11 or other repeating numbers, syncs, butterflies, hearts in nature, etc)? The number 8 has been my favorite since I was a kid, and then a few years ago the number 9 was appearing a lot and I thought it might of meant something, although I wasn’t sure what. I don’t believe in like numerology or anything like that, but it was interesting. Plus I found out that spiritually, the number 8 means new beginnings and I really like that. 24. Do you have any personal ghost stories or paranormal experiences? I know of some from a couple family members and a friend, but none of my own. 25. What do you get complimented on the most? My hair. 26. What is something unusual that you find attractive? I find some guy’s hands and neck attractive. 27. What time do you tend to eat your first meal of the day? And your last? It really depends on when I get up, but usually about an hour or so after that. I typically sleep until anywhere between 1 and 5. My first meal is often pretty late. I typically eat something at night sometime, like around midnight. 28. What was the subject of the last video you watched? It was an ASMR video. 29. When was the last time you traveled out of town, and where to? Back in September. 30. How would you describe your overall aesthetic? Uhhh. I really have no idea.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

[pogueman]

iOS 11 is about to arrive—and here's what's in it

If Apple’s (AAPL) usual annual schedule is any guide, then Tuesday, September 12 won’t just be the day we get new iPhone models. It will also be the day —or at least the countdown to the day—we get a new version of the iPhone system software, which will run on several years’ worth of older iPhone models. This year, it’s going to be called iOS 11.

It won’t bring you any one big-ticket feature. Instead, you’ll get a wholllllle lot of tiny nips and tucks. They seem to fall into five categories: Nice Tweaks, Storage Help, iPad Exclusives, Playing Catch-Up, Fixing Bad Design.

Here’s what you have to look forward to!

Nice Tweaks

Expectations set? OK—here’s what’s new.

A new voice for Siri. The new male and female voices sound much more like actual people.

One-handed typing. There’s a new keyboard that scoots closer to one side, for easier one-handed typing. (You can now zoom in Maps one-handed, too.)

The new one-handed keyboard.

Quicker transfer. When you get a new iPhone, you can import all your settings from the old one just by focusing the camera on the new phone on the old one’s screen.

Do not disturb while driving. This optional feature sounds like a really good one. When the phone detects that you’re driving—because it’s connected to your phone’s Bluetooth, or because the phone detects motion—it prevents any notifications (alert messages from your apps) from showing up to distract you. If someone texts you, they get an auto-response like, “I’m driving. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going.” (You can designate certain people as VIPs; if they text the word “urgent” to you, their messages break through the blockade.)

No more distracting notifications while you’re on the road.

Improvements to Photos. The Photos app offers smarter auto-slideshows (called Memories). Among other improvements, they now play well even when you’re holding the phone upright.

Improvements to Live Photos. Live Photos are weird, three-second video clips, which Apple (AAPL) introduced in iOS 9. In iOS 11, you can now shorten one, or mute its audio, or extract a single frame from that clip to use as a still photo. The phone can also suggest a “boomerang” segment (bounces back and forth) or a loop (repeats over and over). And it has a new Slow Shutter filter, which (for example) blurs a babbling brook or stars moving across the sky, as though taken with a long exposure.

Swipe the Lock screen back down. You can now get back to your Lock screen without actually locking your iPhone—to have another look at a notification you missed, for example.

Smarter Siri. Siri does better an anticipating your next move (location, news, calendar appointments). When you’re typing, the auto-suggestions above the keyboard now offer movie names, song names, or place names that you’ve recently viewed in other apps. Auto-suggestions in Siri, too, include terms you’ve recently read. And if you book a flight or buy a ticket online, iOS offers to add it to your calendar.

AirPlay 2. If you buy speakers from Bose, Marantz, and a few other manufactures (unfortunately, not Sonos), you can use your phone to control multi-room audio. You can start the same song playing everywhere, or play different songs in different rooms.

Shared “Up Next” playlist. If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, your party guests or buddies can throw their own “what song to play next” ideas into the ring.

Screen recording. Now you can do more than just take a screenshot of what’s on your screen. You can make a video of it! Man, will that be helpful for people who teach or review phone software! (Apple didn’t say how you start the screen recording, though.)

Storage Help

Running out of room on the iPhone is a chronic problem. Apple has a few features designed to help:

Camera app. Apple is adopting new file formats for photos (HEIF, or High Efficiency Image Format) and videos (H265 or High Efficiency Video Codec), which look the same as they did before but consume only the half the space. (When you export to someone else, they convert to standard formats.)

Messages in iCloud. When you sign into any new Mac, iPhone, or iPad with your iCloud credentials, your entire texting history gets downloaded automatically. (As it is now, when you sign in on a new machine, you can’t see the Message transcript histories.) Saving the Messages history online also saves disk space on your Mac.

Storage optimization. The idea: As your phone begins to run out of space, your oldest files are quietly and automatically stored online, leaving Download icons in their places on your phone, so that you can retrieve them if you need them.

iPad Exclusives

Many of the biggest changes in iOS 11 are available only on the iPad.

Mac features. In general, the big news here is the iPad behaves much more like a Mac. For example, you can drag-and-drop pictures and text between apps. The Dock is now extensible, available from within any app, and perfect for switching apps, just as on the Mac. There’s a new Mission Control-type feature, too, for seeing what’s in your open apps—even when you’ve split the screen between pairs of apps.

The iPad now offers a “Mission Control,” showing what’s going on in all your apps.

Punctuation and letters on the same keyboard. Now, punctuation symbols appear above the letter keys. You flick down on the key to “type” the punctuation—no more having to switch keyboard layouts.

No more switching keyboards just to type punctuation.

A file manager! A new app called Files lets you work with (and search) files and folders, just as you do on the Mac or PC. It even shows your Box and Dropbox files.

A Finder–a desktop–comes at last to iOS.

Pencil features. If you’ve bought Apple’s stylus, you can tap the Lock screen and start taking notes right away. You can mark up PDFs just by starting to write on them. A new feature lets you snap a document with the iPad’s camera, which straightens and crops the page so that you can sign it or annotate it. Handwriting in the Notes app is now searchable, and you can make drawings within any Note or email message.

The iPad grows ever closer to becoming a legal pad.

Playing Catch-Up

With every new OS from Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), or Apple, there’s a set of “us, too!” features that keeps them all competitive. This time around, it’s:

Lane guidance. When you’re driving, Maps now lets you know which lane to be in for your next turn, just as Google Maps does.

Lane guidance. At last.

Indoor Maps. The Maps app can now show you floor plans for a few malls and 30 airports, just as Google Maps does.

Siri translates languages. Siri is trying to catch up to Google Assistant. For example, it can now translate phrases from English into Chinese, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. For example, you can say, “How do you say ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ in French?”

Siri understands followup questions. Siri now does better at understanding followup questions. (“Who won the World Series in 1980?” “The “Phillies.” “Who was their coach?”)

Person-to-Person payment within the Messages app. Now, you can send payments directly to your friends—your share of the pizza bill, for example—right from within the Messages app, much as people do now with Venmo, PayPal, and their its ilk. (Of course, this works only if your friends have iPhones, too.) When money comes to you, it accrues to a new, virtual Apple Pay Cash Card; from there, you can send it to your bank, buy things with it, or send it on to other people.

Send payments directly to your friends.

iCloud file sharing. Finally, you can share files you’ve stored on your iCloud Drive with other people, just as you’ve been able to do with Dropbox for years.

Fixing Bad Design

Some of the changes repair the damage Apple made to itself in iOS 10. For example:

Redesigned apps drawer in Messages. All the stuff they added to Messages last year (stickers, apps, live drawing) cluttered up the design and wound up getting ignored by lots of people. The new design is cleaner.

Redesigned Control Center. In iOS 10, Apple split up the iPhone’s quick-settings panel, called the Control Center, into two or three panels. You had to swipe sideways to find the control you wanted—taking care not to swipe sideways on one of the controls, thereby triggering it. Now it’s all on one screen again, although some of the buttons open up secondary screens of options. And it’s customizable! You can, for example, add a “Record voice memo” button to it.

The new, customizable, somewhat ugly Control Center.

App Store. The App store gets a big redesign. One chief fix is breaking out Games into its own tab, so that game and non-game bestseller lists are kept separate.

After nine years, the App Store gets a new look.

Coming very soon

There are also dozens of improvements to the features for overseas iPhones (China, Russia, India, for example). And many, many enhancements to features for the disabled (spoken captions for videos and pictures, for example).

So what’s the overarching theme of the iOS 11 upgrade?

There isn’t one. It’s just a couple hundred little fine-tunings. All of them welcome—and all of them aimed to keep you trapped within Apple’s growing ecosystem.

  More from David Pogue:

MacOS High Sierra comes this fall—and brings these 23 features

T-Mobile COO: Why we make investments like free Netflix that ‘seem crazy’

How Apple’s iPhone has improved since its 2007 debut

Gulliver’s Gate is a $40 million world of miniatures in Times Square

The 5 best new features of this week’s YouTube redesign

Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is ambitious, powerful, and half-baked

Is through-the-air charging a hoax?

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, is the author of “iPhone: The Missing Manual.” He welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here, or you can sign up to get his columns by email. 

#_lmsid:a077000000BAh3wAAD #_revsp:yahoofinance.com #$AAPL #_author:David Pogue #_uuid:9b33dcbf-7f4e-343c-b5f9-271cfdf12842

[real-estate-virtual-assistants]

Gary Keller Talks About How a Virtual Assistant Can Fuel Growth

Gary Keller: We’re here to talk about MyOutDesk. First off give me the short 1–2- minute explanation of what a Virtual Assistant is from your point of view.

Daniel Ramsey: About 3 or 4 years ago I was at a conference and somebody said “If your doing your own paperwork, you’re an assistant”. If you’re basically saying your worth, you know, what an assistant gets paid. Are you worth $10 bucks and hour or $12 bucks an hour. And as a mega agent most people understand the value of leverage. Then you, you’ve pointedly said you know focus on leads, look at listings, and then look at leverage. And a lot really good, really, really good agents are great at generating business but once they get in the door, they need help. In my opinion, there’s 3 areas that a real estate virtual assistant can really be, you know, impactful to a Real Estate agent in their office.

One is on the Admin side. You know, transaction coordination. That’s inputting MLS. That’s taking care of all the paperwork kind of mundane stuff. You know what’s cool about the, that personal admin person is you can also use them on a personal side. So my wife’s birthday is coming up this weekend. On Wednesday she wants to go to a comedy show on our favorite restaurant downtown and so I sent over a link to my VA, my virtual assistant, and said “Buy 6 tickets, make reservations at this restaurant, go”.

And so from what a virtual assistant can do, that’s really cool example on the personal and on the business side. It is organizing your life.

Gary Keller: On the Admin side. What’s the second one?

Daniel Ramsey: The second one which we all need is the marketing side. And that’s like social media, creating in 33 Touches, doing videos, flyers, all that kind of stuff that drives business in.

Social media and video, it’s such a big push and on KW got a video division now and I think everybody understands that the growth in Real Estate is online marketing and having a great presence there had been able to capture those leads. And so there’s a lot of repetitive work that goes into creating that marketing machine and so that’s another area that a virtual assistant can help.

Gary Keller: Now you used the phrase repetitive work. It would that significant when you said that? Is that way that we view a virtual assistant’s highest and best use is repetitive work?

Daniel Ramsey: Whenever you have an hourly employee who’s not being paid on commission, repetitive work is reading that machine continually that you can depend on that’s always he and the virtual assistant, their strength is taking a program that you’ve created and then running with it.

You can have them in a specific role where they excel and that’s kind of how we view our virtual assistant services. The repetitiveness, the system, the process, the coaches, the agent, the players, the virtual assistants. They can be used in many different things but they shine, just like you said, they shine when it’s a systematic, repetitive kind of machine driven task.

Gary Keller: Got it. And the third thing was?

Daniel Ramsey: The third one is, the whole sales support side. I mean such an important part ofwhat we do today. You know making calls, talking to clients. And so we’ve created a Leads Coordinator position or an ISA. On what’s interesting just some basic statistics here 80% of sales are made between the 5 th and the 12 th contact so most agents are really good in making 2 or 3 contacts to someone.

This is something that was put out by the National Association of Realtors probably 3 years ago.

What is basically says is that most sales people need to make a consistent follow up program. And this is R and D rebuff and redistribute from our company. I think I saw it on a blog post three years ago from another agent and it’s just a really good testament that it’s got to keep in contact with your client whose interested today may or may not buy. But if you talk with them over 6 months, create rapport, develop a relationship, show them value, make them feel like they’re important and, cared for, you’re most likely get a sale out of that transaction. The difficult part for a sales person is doing all of those follow up calls. Keep providing that value over time so we’ve created a position within our virtual assisting company called an I.S.A. An inside sales person. And that’s when you’re using our model, an agent can get on the phone, start building that rapport, set an appointment, gather the details, and then all they had to do, they didn’t have to make 24,000 calls. They didn’t have to make 4,322 conversations. They had 350. And this is spread about 40 different clients so they only had to talk to that person who raised their hand and said “I’m ready to list today” or “I’m ready to buy today” and that’s an important, powerful tool.

Gary Keller: So what are your biggest AHA!’S that you had from agents using virtual assistants?

Daniel Ramsey: So when somebody calls us, you just jump on to our website, myoutdesk.com, you call our 1–800 number or you filled out a lead form on our website. You get put in on a queue and then we actually have a coaching. It’s a free coaching session. And it’s actually really a good thing because most people call us and they, they ask simple questions like, you know, “What time does the virtual assistant work if they are 16 hours ahead? Do they work my schedule or their schedule?”.And so we answer all the basic, you know, housekeeping questions but at the same time we dive in into their office and we find out who they have currently. We identify talent versus non-talent on their current team and then we look for the holes within their company like where are they dropping the ball. My biggest AHA! is that without that piece, the virtual assistant side doesn’t typically work. In the beginning we just didn’t know that it was necessary and certainly one of the biggest AHA!’s for us.

Gary Keller: What do you think the biggest mistake that an agent makes when they hire a virtual assistant?

Daniel Ramsey: We look at this as an overall leverage piece and when we’re doing our consultations or when we’re had a team meeting for, for any office, we’re really talking about, you know, when your triangle the leads, listings, and leverage. We’re really talking about leverage and so the biggest mistake I think that agents make is assume that that’s not as important as the other sides of the triangle.

Gary Keller: Leverage is a business concept and it’s a whole, new discipline not related to leads and listings. So you can go and study Real Estate all you want and it’s gonna deal with those first two.

The problem or challenge that every Real Estate agent has; All of their success as a Real Estate agent doesn’t qualify them one iota to be successful in hiring someone. It’s like studying one field and then trying to be something else.

Daniel Ramsey: I think the difficulty is if, if an agent focused on generating as many leads on the leverage side as they did on the Real Estate side, then that problem of finding talent wouldn’t be an issue.

Gary Keller: What you just said is the, the keys to the kingdom. That’s a step that every Real Estate agent has to ask themselves “Am I ready to make?”. Because the problem is, that when you decided to generate leads for leverage and you decided to master that, you’ve now agreed to do 2 things.

You’ve agreed to be a Real Estate agent and a business person. And that’s like a 2 masters that’s taking on 2 roles and something’s gonna have to give. And usually people don’t even realize that that’s the issue staring at them. So 2 quick question for me to go. Number 1, what will I expect to pay?

Daniel Ramsey: $9.60 is our high end executive person and we have a range between and the reason for that is because you know, we want to be able to offer high quality people over in the Philippines and give them an option to it that they don’t have in their country. And so we pay our virtual assistants 2 times the standard income over there. We give them health care. We give them vacation time. We do two conferences a year and so we give them more incentive to stay with their clients for a long time period because turnover is the enemy of the leverage piece in the business.

And what’s cool about that is it’s like paying a cellphone bill. They work 20 hours, which is on minimum by the way, or 40 hours. They sign in to our website. They log in to our stuff and they log their time and then we send you a bill, you know, it’s kinda like $300 bucks a week or some crazy small number like this and you know, you just pay it. And there’s no health care, and there’s no tax or fight care you know, other kinda jazz that’s crazy in our country. It’s a great option to supplement your current leverage piece within your office. And that’s, that’s kind of our motto right now.

Gary Keller: So last thing and that is if I was listening to this today and I wanted to contact MyOutdesk, how would I do that?

Daniel Ramsey: MyOutdesk.com is the website, you can fill out, you can watch videos there. So it’s a really great resource. If you have some questions you can call us at 1–800- 583–9950 during business hours and we’re gonna, we’re gonna set that consultation up with a licensed realtor whose have hundreds of this exact same consultations.

Gary Keller: You know Ramsey, it’s been fun. MyOutdesk, thanks a lot.

Learn more by visiting us online at https://www.myoutdesk.com and book a Double Your Business Strategy Session while you’re there!

#virtual assistant #virtual assistance services #business #real estate

[ageloire]

How to Be Productive After a Long Weekend

What could be better than a three-day holiday weekend? Whether you decide to staycation at home or take advantage of the time off by visiting a new place, most people would agree that getting an extra vacation day is a good thing.

The trouble is, once you get back into the office to a deluge of emails and only four days left to get your job done, it can feel overwhelming.

Trust us, we’ve been there too. That's why we've put together our best tips for getting back on track after a three-day weekend -- without derailing your four-day workweek. (And if you don't have time to read the full blog post, we understand -- here's a quick video summary.)

How to Be Productive During a Four-Day Week

Before you sign off

1) Reorganize your schedule for a four-day week.

Before you head out for the long weekend, take a look at your calendar for the week ahead. Reschedule your appointments that fall on the day off. Then, reorganize the rest of your week so your schedule isn’t overloaded with meetings the second you get back to the office.

I like to use Trello for my to-do list and my calendar so I can see my meetings and my action items all in one place. Its responsive interface makes it easy to move tasks and meetings around so I’m not swamped the day I get back.

2) Set expectations with your out-of-office message.

If you know you won’t be able to respond to emails until the end of your first day back, tell people that in your out-of-office auto-reply. If you want people to flag urgent matters for you, ask them to write “Urgent” in the subject line. Whatever your style is for getting back to work when you’ve been away from your inbox, let people know so they can help you stay sane when you get back into the office.

Here’s my one of my favorite out-of-office messages from HubSpot Principal Marketing Strategist, Sam Mallikarjunan:

3) Block off time for responding to emails in advance.

Book yourself off a window of time to dedicate solely to replying to emails. If you schedule this before you leave the office, you won’t be scrambling on your first day back trying to balance everything you need to do.

Plus, this system helps you avoid multitasking, which is estimated to cost businesses billions of dollars in productivity loss each year. Check out some of the data on this from Fuze and Visual.ly:

Source: Fuze

4) Create a reasonable to-do list for your return.

While it’s fresh in your mind, make a list of what you have to prioritize when you get back into the office. It’s easier than trying to remember it three days later, and your future self will thank you for getting organized in advance.

Again, I like using Trello, but there are various tools and strategies you might use to keep your list organized and doable. I also use the on-paper bullet journaling method to keep track of tasks that are in progress. This method leaves more room for personal style and creativity, too.

5) Schedule emails, blog posts, and social media posts that need to go out on the holiday.

Don’t forget to schedule marketing emails and social media content to go out while you’re away from your desk. If you’re a HubSpot Marketing customer, you can use Social Inbox and the email tool to schedule these items, or you can manually schedule them using the social apps themselves.

When you get back to work

5) Check in with your team.

Whether it’s virtual or in-person, have a quick stand-up meeting with your team to review what everyone’s focusing on to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. The meeting also gives you all a chance to catch up on how you spent your time off and how to prioritize the week ahead.

Make sure you’re holding a productive meeting by keeping the meeting short and making sure to recap with follow-up materials via email. CT Business Travel also suggests setting an agenda ahead of time so everyone in the group can prepare to talk, which is especially helpful for introverts who may not feel as comfortable speaking off-the-cuff in a group.

Here’s an example of what the HubSpot content team’s meeting agendas look like, with a helpful breakdown of how much time will be spent on each topic for maximum efficiency:

6) Prioritize your to-do list.

Take a look at your to-do list. It’s probably a bit longer than on a typical Monday, right? Sort through your list and determine what needs to be prioritized and what can wait until the next day.

Behavioral scientist Dan Ariely says that the two hours after waking up in the morning are the most productive time of day, when you have the greatest capacity for higher-level decision making and cognition. Take a couple minutes when you first get into the office to review your to-do list and determine which most important tasks should be taken care of first thing in the morning, and which can wait until the afternoon.

I use different-colored Trello labels to designate which items are the highest priority, and which I can push until later in the week:

7) Triage your email inbox.

We also encourage organizing your inbox using multiple inboxes, which help you organize you sort messages in a way that makes them easier to wade through when you get back into the office. Use labels like "Needs Action" or "To-Do List" to easily visualize which emails are of highest priority.

When you log back into your email, sort and label your messages according to which need replies immediately, and which can wait until later in the week. You might need an entire day to read every single email you received, but by using this system, you can quickly sort through your inbox and skip ahead to the messages you have to return ASAP.

8) Don’t burn out.

You might feel stressed at the prospect of only four days in the week to accomplish your entire to-do list. However, there is such a thing as working too hard, and burnout could end up sabotaging your productivity as the week goes on if you don’t take enough breaks.

Remember tip #6? Prioritize your to-do list and determine what can be accomplished by one person over the course of a workday. You could try the Pomodoro Technique, which calls for 90 minutes of work, followed by 30 minutes of rest to regroup and recharge. This technique helps you align your most and least productive times with your working and resting periods, respectively, and there are timers you can download to keep track of your status.

My method for not burning out over the course of the workday is slightly different but still effective: I downloaded an app called Daily Water that reminds me to drink a glass of water once per hour. When the reminder goes off, I get up from my desk, drink water, and walk around. Taking regular breaks achieves greater productivity than working nonstop, and so do drinking water and exercise. Here’s what my hydration break schedule looks like:

If you’re feeling dehydrated and want to try this method, other apps include Waterlogged and Hydro Coach.

Have a Good Weekend

When possible, try to unplug when you have time off and make the most out of your time off by doing other fun activities outside of your role. With the help of these steps, we hope you have a great holiday weekend -- and a great next week, too.

What are your strategies for getting organized after a long weekend? Share with us in the comments below.

from HubSpot Marketing Blog https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/productive-long-weekend

#HubSpot Marketing Blog

[mybumpbirthandbeyond]

Operation Abs of Steel

It’s crazy to think I’m at this point already. I genuinely feel like I’ve blinked and I’m back at the start again. Only this time is so different; this time, I am informed; I have the most incredible team in place already so I’ll be seen so much quicker; and I know what’s to come.

I have probably thought about the first two in person consults since falling pregnant. The first two being my first with Lyndsey, and my first with Gráinne. They are the official starting point for rehab this time around, and will tell me exactly what my separation looks like after a second pregnancy. This is the comparison point for any progress up to the date I have surgery. These will be the hardest hitting – the reality check of how far I have to go and how hard I will have to work. This is the start of an even longer road….

Prior to any consults, I wanted to get started. Most people are probably getting the measure of me by now: I don’t like to sit and do nothing and I like to work hard. The fact that I felt so much better more quickly this time, just increased that desire. I had been in touch with Lorna from Ur Mama Strength (I had done her classes until I was about 35 weeks pregnant). She kindly sent me the postpartum guide she sends all her pregnant women which gave a guide for things like connective breath work, walking and mobility for the first 6 weeks postpartum. I did that as well incorporating some of the stuff I had been doing right up until the week before I had Emily from prehab and of course, my pelvic floor exercises.

The checklist of things that physios look for was in the back of my head when I started. First of all, could I properly carry out the connective breathing and was there any sign of rib flare? I never had rib flare last time and I certainly didn’t pick that out this time either. The appearance of my tummy in general was awful when breathing – wrinkly skin just like an elephant, mind of its’ own, loose skin that is paper thin. Aesthetically, this definitely appears worse this time. I knew I would have to do a self-assessment at some stage and I was pretty nervous about that. I knew it was bad and probably as bad as last time, but the thought of finding out how bad, somehow made me apprehensive.

My hand continued to sink and sink telling me there was little to no tension. I had to use two hands to measure the gap between the rectus muscles and even that wasn’t enough. It seemed to be about 11 fw + at the widest point at rest. This is more or less exactly like last time – the only difference was I didn’t self-assess last time. Knowing that, I had a bit of wobble starting exercises again. Staring at the same ceiling I had for the best part of a year before I fell pregnant, but knowing I was back lying on my back really overwhelmed me. Knowing how long it took, and how much hard work I put in to get to where I was, it was pretty difficult to imagine being able to do that again, starting from scratch. But I shook it off. What made me progress last time to the point that I did? Not sitting around feeling sorry for myself that’s for sure (though I allowed myself that once or twice on the really bad days). It was gritty determination, competitiveness, stubbornness, and unwavering resolve that got me to where I needed to be. I couldn’t change that about me if I tried so there’s no way I won’t get back to where I was, if not even further.

Prior to my first in person consult, I had a virtual consult with the team. This was actually scheduled for the week I had Emily, thinking it would be my last one before the baby was born. When she arrived early, we decided to push it a few weeks. We ended up looking at a few things. I’m not entirely sure what they expected to see, but one of the exercises was one Antony said many people would be shocked by at 2.5 weeks postpartum. I struggled to see what was shocking about it – without meaning it in a boastful way, it felt easy. The good news was the initial signs were promising – I was clearly managing to generate tension and control the pressure well considering where I was at. We booked in my next consult for after my appointment with Lyndsey.

In the lead up to my appointment with Lyndsey, I started to test my ability to manage the pressure based on what I had done in the virtual consult. Headlifts felt fine and I also did a few more challenging things like birddog and introducing resistance to some of the exercises. Most of the time I could see the exercises were manageable. Birddog was a funny one – it felt like there was lots of pressure, but it didn’t feel that different to being in standing. It was pretty hard to feel and do the exercise at the same time so I got my husband to check – by this point he’s about as knowledgeable as I am! (though I still have the edge 😉) We agreed that gravity didn’t help and it was likely any additional pressure was not doming, but the weight of my organs falling forward. One of the many things I have learned from my physios is the pressure is visible when I am just standing doing nothing – that’s why my tummy protrudes. If that’s the case, if there is little to no change when doing more challenging core exercises, what’s to stop me from doing those exercises? I can’t prevent or stop the pressure when standing or sitting down, so what’s the difference?

It’s lessons like that that have made the world of difference to how I view this journey. I have learned so much already, and despite not knowing a thing last time, I wouldn’t have risked trying anything until I was seen by someone who was qualified to tell me. This time, I know enough to try things myself without bothering my physios for a simple yes or no.

My appointment with Lyndsey felt like an exam day in some ways. I had this nervous apprehension and kept clock watching until the appointment time. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to see what happens as time goes on, but as I said, the first appointments will be the hardest. I think my experience of being asked when I was due the previous day hadn’t helped. You feel ashamed, self-conscious and like crap to put it bluntly. It knocks your confidence and just demonstrates how much work there is to do.

I had been really worried about prolapse this time around. There’s something about being blissfully ignorant that can be comforting. The fact that I see posts on prolapse all the time and how your chances increase the more children you have, did not help. That’s probably a positive indication of how much more readily available this information now is on social media. My birth was very lucky in that I only grazed this time instead of needing another episiotomy so it had made a lot of difference, but there was still an initial heavy feeling for the first few weeks. I had stopped bleeding earlier than I had with Cailean, but I’m pretty certain I’ve already had a cycle as I started bleeding again almost as soon as it had stopped. Us females are so lucky….🙄🤦🏽‍♀️

I had been doing my pelvic floor exercises as I said, but I was still a bit worried when it came to the pelvic floor check. It’s so integral to the core and what will be my rehab, that it was important to know exactly what was going on. Thankfully it was good news – good contraction and release, no damage to the muscle and no indication of any prolapse. My endurance could be better, but I’ll build that back up again, just like I did last time.

The tummy assessment was unsurprising. 11fw + was what Lyndsey also found at rest. Tension was awful as her hand also sank down to my bowel. On contraction when I did a crunch, above the belly button was 4 fw, at the belly button was 8 fw and below was 6 fw. Lyndsey had the impression my tummy looked better in standing but we both agreed there was next to no elasticity in the skin, particularly above my waistband and below my belly button. As Lyndsey pointed out, this could get worse as we improve the tummy itself and the only way this will be fixed will be when I have surgery.

I was asked to fill out the outcome measures as a mark of where I’m at mentally. I have been filling in two regularly for Gráinne, but by the time I’m finished, I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a single pelvic health outcome measure that I haven’t completed!!

We were then able to go into the hospital gym to try out some exercises. Lyndsey had spoken to Gráinne and they had come up with a plan. It once again dawned on me how lucky I am – how many people do you hear of who end up with a team of physios all more than willing to collaborate and work together in your best interests? Unbelievable.

The basic exercises all have their place, but as I’ve said before, they are the ones I hate – they make me feel incapable and like I’m really weak. I expected to do progressions of these – such as introducing resistance to the likes of clams or glute bridges. The fact I was able to do things like birddog with resistance, bear holds and lunges with theraband was a pleasant surprise – I was starting at a further point than last time. To me, that indicates things will hopefully move quicker, and I will progress sooner, which is everything I hoped for this time around. The reigns are firmly on at this point so I’m only to do rehab 3 - 4 times per week, but I expected that. Plus, it’s harder to fit in with two kids so probably not a bad thing!

I came out of the appointment with my confidence back. It’s amazing what seeing someone in person and being able to try things out while being assessed does for your mindset. I had taken being in person consults for granted. I think the toll my second pregnancy had taken on me mentally during lockdown and the fact I had only been seen twice in person throughout the entire duration had also played a part. Don’t get me wrong, I have made great progress through previous virtual appointments, but when you’re dealing with something physical, there is no substitute for someone being able to put their hands on you.

Getting started was one of the most important things to me. The apprehension of not knowing what the diagnosis was and where I would be rehab wise, was only going to be counteracted by the fact I would be back in control once I got started. I am the master of my own fate now – the progress will be dependent on me putting in the work. As I’ve said before, this is what I thrive on – the pressure I put on myself to succeed and the fact I will work harder than ever to ensure that I do. The goals I have set this time around are ambitious and will be challenging, but I have plenty of time and to be honest, I need a challenge to remain focused. Rehab 2.0/Operation Abs of Steel starts now.

#mybumpbirthandbeyond #postpartumrecovery #postpartum #secondtimemum #diastasisrecti #rehab