#need to try and get a consistent temp job somewhere. which would also be good for routine

[karliahs]

my main job is term-time only and every year I have such high expectations for the summer, like I'm gonna fix my whole house & garden & health & social life, apply for jobs, make money, write a book, etc.

and then inevitably I get like 2 weeks in without structure or routine or consistent human contact and it's like hm. thinking about going missing

[quicksilversquared]

Lost Heart Ch 6

Ladybug/Chat Noir: Interlude

Magic can be a dangerous thing to play around with, particularly when that magic is tangled up in a curse. When Nathalie Sancoeur experiments with magic that she doesn’t fully understand, it sends her on a path to become Paris’ most dangerous supervillain and tips the balance between superheroes and supervillain.

But which way will the balance fall?

links in the reblog

                                     ----------------------------------

Akuma battles had gotten a lot harder as of late.

It seemed that Hawkmoth was done messing around. Gone were the days of underpowered akumas and easy battles where Ladybug and Chat Noir could banter and laugh while fighting and defeating their opponent with relative ease. Gone were the times where it was at least somewhat safe for civilians to hang around to watch. And gone were the fights that they could consistently handle all on their own, as a duo without backup.

It was not a pleasant change.

Even on the rare occasions when Hawkmoth did send out a weaker akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to be on guard in case Hawkmoth himself appeared behind them to try to surprise them. It had only happened a couple times- their opponent clearly didn't like risking his own neck, not when he could hide instead and rely on minions to try to do his dirty work- but it would only take one too-effective surprise attack for him to defeat them. Hawkmoth came out more often with the more difficult akumas, when it was harder for them to fight one opponent effectively while watching their backs at the same time.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had had to take a step back to restrategize shortly after Hawkmoth had started joining the fights so that they wouldn't get caught out on their own with no backup. It was too dangerous for them to enter a battle, only to realize that they would need another person and have to leave only one of them fighting while the other went to get the Miraculous for Alya, Nino, or Chloe. Instead, they started meeting up a ways back from the battle to get a visual and a feel for what powers the akuma had before they went in, so that if they felt like they might need backup, they could go get it right away instead of once they had engaged with the akuma and it knew where they were.

It helped, but not enough. Not enough to properly turn the battles back solidly and unquestionably in their favor from the start.

It didn't take long for them to figure out the fact that only having five minutes to wrap the fight up or get away after they used their powers was a liability, too, particularly when Hawkmoth was lingering nearby to attack them once the akuma was taken down. So naturally, Marinette went to Master Fu to see if he knew what Hawkmoth had been talking about on Heroes Day with eliminating the countdown timer.

Judging by Master Fu's wince, he did.

"The kwamis never like it much," he told her, pushing himself up off of the ground and leading the way back into his kitchen to pull the whistling teapot off of the heat. "It's very hard on them. The five-minute timer is a way to make sure that you don't overdraw your kwami's powers. So don't use this as a way to linger after fights for interviews and whatnot. Once the fight is done, make sure that the victim is all right and safe, and then move on and detransform."

"Of course," Marinette agreed at once. "I never like hanging around anyway. The reporters always ask the same questions, and I always have to get back to my normal life. It's getting harder and harder to hide the fact that I'm gone for ages with the akuma attacks."

Master Fu nodded understandingly. "Yes, I've been watching the battles and they do take up a good chunk of time nowadays. I'm afraid that I can't help you with that, but I can help with the timer. There's a spell that you'll need to override it. It's fairly simple."

"And like Master Fu said, you use it with the understanding that you won't abuse the extra time. If you've used your powers and the akuma has moved on, then find a safe place to detransform and recharge!" Wayzz chimed in. "Poor Nooroo is going to be exhausted after all of this is over if Hawkmoth has just been keeping him trapped for the entire fight instead of detransforming and recharging! You don't want that to happen to Tikki or Plagg."

"Of course," Marinette said hastily. "It's just that the timers have lead to some really close calls recently, and we'd rather that that not happen."

Master Fu nodded as he lifted his teakettle off of the stove and started pouring two cups. "Exactly. We just want to drive home the point that the five-minute limit was not put in place for no reason at all." He passed Marinette her cup of tea, then gestured for her to lead the way back into the main room. "We can discuss the spell and also other changes you might make while we enjoy our tea."

Marinette went.

"Master, I sense someone coming," Wayzz said suddenly as Marinette settled down. "Chat Noir has decided to come visit, too."

"Marinette, please transform and close your eyes," Master Fu instructed. "I'll have Chat Noir come in and transform, too. This is actually for the better, so that you two can brainstorm together."

In a flash of light, Ladybug replaced Marinette on the floor. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as Master Fu headed over to open the door. She heard the door open and did her best to resist flinching.

No matter how long she was a superhero, she would never be not curious about who her partner was. But it wasn't safe for them to know, not with Hawkmoth around.

"Greetings, Chat Noir," Master Fu said cheerfully. "Ladybug is already here, so I'll just have you step in and transform."

"Wha- oh! Ladybug!" Chat Noir sounded delighted. There was some hasty shushing, and then, quieter- "Right! Plagg, transform me!"

Master Fu laughed. "All right. It's safe to look now, Ladybug."

"And safe to hear, too, right?" Ladybug opened her eyes and gave her sheepish partner a Look. He could only shrug in return. Sighing (Chat Noir was such a dork), Ladybug refocused on Master Fu. "Okay, so we were starting with the spell for keeping the countdown timer from starting, right?"

"Right. And I was driving in the importance of not staying transformed after those five minutes unnecessarily. It puts stress on the kwamis, which we would rather avoid." He smiled at Chat Noir. "And it would no doubt spur more begging for cheese from Plagg."

Chat Noir groaned loudly.

"And then after that, we want to discuss other changes to the fights," Master Fu continued, clearly trying not to smile. "After all, we want the city's superheroes to be doing the absolute best job possible, and for your fights to be effective as possible to ensure that you aren't missing too much of your normal lives."

Ladybug nodded, mind already whirring as she tried to think of any of the things that she had noticed that slowed them down or didn't make them fight quite as efficiently. She was still thinking about it as Master Fu taught them the extension spell, and it was a good thing that the spell wasn't that difficult because otherwise she might have had trouble remembering it, with as distracted as she was. As soon as Master Fu pulled out a notepad to take notes during their improvements brainstorming session, she was ready.

"It's hard to get back here undetected when we need to call in another user," Ladybug said immediately, starting with their most obvious problem. "Even though we've been trying to make sure that we make the decision if we'll need someone else before we ever enter the fight. And each trip that we make over here while transformed- well, that puts you in more danger, and then we have to find somewhere to detransform and then transform again."

Master Fu nodded thoughtfully as he wrote that down. "That is true."

"It's the same thing if we want to use a combo Miraculous," Chat Noir chimed in. "And it adds time to each fight, which, well... my attendance record at school doesn't particularly appreciate that."

"That is an issue," Master Fu agreed. He exchanged a glance with Wayzz, then turned back to them. "And Wayzz and I have actually discussed this before, so even though I'm not entirely happy with what we came up with, I do have a suggestion."

Ladybug sat up, interested. The reluctance in Master Fu's voice made her think that he was going to suggest a large change, something more than a small tweak. The last time he had sounded like that was when she first wanted to call a third person into temporary service, something that had been a huge help in those fights and played a key role in defeating the akumas.

"You two have picked out a couple Miraculous that you like combining with your own at this point," Master Fu started. "You have tested out combos and found what works best. And you have a set handful of people that you know that you can call on. I propose that you choose two to three Miraculous to keep on hand and guard. You know now how to access things in your civilian bags from your weapons, so you could get to them without detransforming."

Ladybug nodded, but she couldn't deny how nervous the idea made her. Guarding one Miraculous could be nerve-wracking enough, even though she had more or less gotten used to it by now. Guarding two or three more- and she knew she would probably go for three, because it would be more efficient and she liked having options- and having them out in fights with her?

Yikes.

"I think I would only be comfortable with one more Miraculous," Chat Noir admitted right away. "But I suppose that I should take two, one for a combo for me and one for one of our temps."

Master Fu nodded. "Understandable. I would like to say that I prefer to keep the Turtle with me," he added. "Wayzz and I talk all the time about the battles and any potential leads, and I don't think I would be as effective without him. Ladybug, you have my number. If you determine that you need the Turtle, let me know and I'll try to meet you somewhere out of the way."

Ladybug nodded. "Understood."

"I think I'll take the Bee and the Snake, then," Chat Noir decided after a moment's thought. "And yes, I know I have to be careful when delivering the Bee. Maybe I can put her phone number into my staff so that we can arrange different meeting places each time."

"And I'll take the Fox, the Dragon, and, uh, the Mouse," Ladybug said, nodding decisively. "Though I might try out the Tiger at some point."

Chat Noir perked up, grinning toothily at her. "My Bug, becoming a cat like me? Me-wow!"

"I'm interested in the claws, that's all." Ladybug made a swiping motion at her partner's shoulder. "I think they would be fun."

"Maybe you can take the Tiger first and give it a try right away," Master Fu suggested. "Then come back if you decide that you want to switch after all."

Ladybug nodded.

"I will have some security boxes commissioned, then," Master Fu told them. "And I will put them on rush order. After all, I don't feel comfortable sending any other Miraculous out until they have some extra layer of protection."

Ladybug nodded, pushing away the urge to suggest that she make the boxes. After all, she had made her diary box, and it had certainly done a good job at keeping her diary safe from Chloe and Sabrina. But that was just made of wood, and it wouldn't stand a chance against a supervillain's fury. She also didn't exactly need anything more added to her already-overflowing plate.

...she wanted to see the process of making the boxes, honestly. It would be really cool to see all of the moving parts that went into something like that.

"So we'll have probably a week more of fights where we'll have to keep on doing what we've been doing," Chat Noir summed up. "Or more."

"Hopefully only one." Master Fu smiled at them. "I'll make sure that the boxes get put on the rush order list. And there might end up being two- a temporary one, and then one modeled more after my own box so that it doesn't look quite so suspicious." He gestured towards the record player. "Though smaller, of course, and personalized for each of you. Ladybug, I might have you design the wood carvings."

Ladybug perked up at once. "Of course!"

"Okay, then, more ideas?" Master Fu said after a moment, clearly deciding that that particular topic was more or less exhausted. "Because I have a few."

                                      ----------------------------------

 Hawkmoth clearly hadn't expected Ladybug and Chat Noir to have found out the secret to an extended transformation. He had dropped in on them right as a battle ended, when the two of them would have had two minutes left before their detransformations, and they had turned on him in unison.

Two minutes passed, then three, and four. Ladybug had seen the moment when Hawkmoth noticed her earrings and all of the spots still on them. His expression dropped.

Chat Noir pressed their advantage, extending his baton and cracking Hawkmoth over the head with all of the strength he could manage. Hawkmoth staggered, then turned and fled. They pursued him, at least until the now-familiar purple moth appeared out of nowhere, throwing them off just long enough for Hawkmoth to vanish into the streets below.

"That's so annoying," Chat Noir groaned when a couple minutes of searching turned nothing up. "We would have had him."

"Yeah, he would be so done without Mayura," Ladybug agreed. She reached up to her ear. "But I think he's gone this time. We should go, too."

Chat Noir nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait until we get the extra Miraculous and can pull in more people."

"I wanna try out claws," Ladybug announced, grinning at the pink that appeared on Chat Noir's cheeks. He always got flustered when she brought up wearing the Tiger Miraculous, and she was determined to enjoy it while it lasted. "But I think we better go right now, kitten. We don't want our kwamis to get worn out."

"Good point." Chat Noir held his fist out for Ladybug to pound. "See you next time."

"Of course."

Ladybug swung away, making sure to check over her shoulders that she wasn't being followed. Once she landed and detransformed, she hurried down the road. On the way home, she passed a community gym that she had taken a few free fighting lessons at over the summer, and out of curiosity, she peered in. In the main gym, self-defense classes were going on, the instructor leading the group through a set of practiced moves. Marinette watched for a couple seconds, then turned her attention to the schedule posted by the door.

Once upon a time, she had planned on taking more classes there so that she could improve her fighting skills. While her yo-yo was very, very useful, it wasn't always nearly as good for close combat as Chat Noir's staff, even if she had been practicing, and she only sometimes had a dual transformation that gave her a more close-range weapon. But between the unpredictable akuma attacks that could have her missing classes and her complete and utter lack of free time thanks to the more intense attacks, it just wasn't a practical idea.

"It's too bad they don't have yo-yo fighting classes!" Tikki giggled as Marinette turned and headed back down to the sidewalk to go home. "That would be helpful!"

Marinette smiled at that. "I think I've learned pretty much all of the yo-yo tricks in the books. The hand-to-hand and staff fighting is what I'm more interested in. That, and using a sword."

"Longg can teach you more about that, if you take her out for long enough," Tikki told her. "You could always use us as a combo in fights even if the extra boost isn't needed, just for the practice. Or you could go watch Adrien's fencing classes!"

"Watching can only take me so far." Marinette paused to wait for a crosswalk signal, glancing around to make sure that she wasn't overheard. "I need to actually learn how to do it. Hacking away like a crazy lady can only take me so far."

Learning how to fight under pressure, like she had for most of her time as Ladybug, had taken her really far. Still, it could only do so much before she started plateauing. And right now, she could not afford to plateau. Not with Hawkmoth and Mayura upping their game and trying different attacks with practically every fight.

"I've been thinking- once we reach winter break, I might try actually signing up for some of the classes. Even if they can't cover much over the break, every little bit helps."

Tikki beamed. "I'm proud of you, Marinette! You're really taking the initiative here."

"I just hope it's enough. After akuma battles had stayed the same for so long, I didn't expect for Hawkmoth to step it up like this." Marinette glanced up in time to see the crosswalk sign change, so she continued on her way. "And I don't want to let Paris down. But for now, I need to do my homework and then work on the defensive spell that Master Fu taught Chat Noir and I. I need to be ready to use it, if he's correct and Hawkmoth does know any curses."

She had a packed schedule, that was for sure. But her parents had more business than usual- perhaps because the rapidly cooling weather had people seeking out sweet treats to cheer them up- and so they were busier, too, and weren't likely to notice her sudden uptick in things to do.

Thankfully they hadn't asked for her help down in the bakery, instead giving more hours to several of their bakery workers. Perhaps they had picked up on the fact that she had a lot of work to do. The fact that all of her design projects had been put on hold was probably a pretty good give-away, now that Marinette thought about it.

She was going to flatten Hawkmoth if he didn't lay off enough before Christmas for her to be able to finish her gifts. At least she had started over summer break and there was still a month and a half. Still, normally Marinette tried to be finished several weeks in advance, and she still had so much to do.

Tikki beamed. "That sounds like such a good plan, Marinette! But... didn't you say something about playing video games with Adrien later this afternoon?"

Marinette yelped, her stroll becoming a sprint almost instantly. "I forgot about that! And I still need to clean my room, too, because I left laundry everywhere this morning!"

Tikki giggled as her frazzled holder wove through crowds of puzzled pedestrians. No matter how much some things changed, other things had a tendency to stay the same no matter what.

                                      ----------------------------------

 Having more Miraculous with them made a huge difference from the start.

Gone were the days when they had to try to lose the akuma (and sometimes even Hawkmoth himself) in order to get away and detransform, then get to Fu's place and get the Miraculous before re-transforming and finding Alya or Nino or Chloe, sometimes adding an extra thirty minutes to the fight. Now they just had to duck away for a minute to pull a Miraculous out of their respective weapons and then find the holder they wanted before rushing right back in to the fight. If they were calling in Queen Bee, there wasn't even a need for them to hide on the way there. Getting out an extra Miraculous for their own use went even faster, with them only having to duck around a corner briefly to hide from both akuma and public so that no one picked up on the fact that they had more Miraculous with them all the time.

(Chat Noir couldn't help but wonder why Ladybug had gone for three extra Miraculous when she seemed to favor her Dragon Bug combination so much. Despite all of her teasing, he had yet to see Tiger Bug appear on the battlefield.

...maybe that was a good thing. Seeing his Ladybug with claws and a tail might be a bit of a distraction.

And cat ears. He wasn't positive that he would survive the cat ears. It would be too much cute all at once.)

Hawkmoth had stepped up his game, and the superheroes had stepped up in return. Chat Noir didn't want to brag, of course, but with their improvements- getting rid of the limitations of their timers, the readily available extra powers, the spell that they were both mastering, the potion that Master Fu had found for when they were exhausted and still needed to fight- they were back to taking down akumas within their old timeframe. That was definitely a comfort to Paris, especially after the scare that Hawkmoth had given Chloe and the increasingly dangerous and brutal akuma attacks. They needed to see their superheroes decisively coming out on top again.

Still, not everything was going quite as well as they wanted. Mayura was a pain in their side, one that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir (or Master Fu) knew quite how to fully address yet. It was hard to, since they never came out, and they didn't know what powers of the Peacock's Mayura had been able to figure out beyond her main one. Master Fu had mentioned some of the possibilities, of course, but they had only ever seen Mayura use the giant moth monster.

That they were seeing it so frequently was troubling, actually. According to Master Fu, the Peacock was cursed, with Duusu stuck in limbo and the Miraculous extracting a price every time it was used. But whoever Mayura was didn't seem to care about that at all.

"Hawkmoth spotted," Queen Bee said suddenly, breaking Chat Noir out of his thoughts. She was hovering above them- after several months of occasionally going out, she had added wings to her costume- and frowning. "Uh, can you take him and I'll focus on the akuma?"

Chat Noir glanced at her. Under the mask, she was pale. Clearly she hadn't quite fully recovered from having Hawkmoth visit her in her room. "Yeah, sure. I'll hold him off until you and Ladybug can get the akuma down." He grinned and flexed his hand, letting the claws extend and glint in the sun. After several hours of messing around (and more rounds of Camembert than he cared to think about), he had finally managed to unlock that particular ability. With the new claws, he could do something similar to a mini-Cataclysm, destroying something small without draining Plagg. Hawkmoth's little sword fit that 'small' description perfectly. "Don't drag it out for too long, though. We don't exactly want to be split up."

Queen Bee nodded sharply. "Right. Got it!"

Chat Noir smiled to himself as he raced away from Queen Bee and Ladybug and towards Hawkmoth. It really seemed that Chloe had settled down into her superhero role now. She had become a good fighter, and was learning to use her trompo like Ladybug used her yo-yo. And then his partner had learned how to extend her yo-yo into a staff like his only the day before (though hers was only a set length instead of ever-extending) and fight with that, so she could more or less shift into his usual role with fighting the akuma, even without pulling the Dragon into use.

She was better at dodging than he was, which was definitely a good thing.

He met Hawkmoth on the top of a small cafe, tugging his lips into a snarl as he gave the first blow. Like always, he had to give the fight his all to make sure that the supervillain didn't get any lucky blows in. Hawkmoth was older, taller, and heavier, meaning that he was harder to simply trip up or hit aside. But Chat Noir was younger and lighter on his feet, not to mention more experienced in battle. That kept them fairly evenly matched, and so Chat Noir had to bring his A-game.

So he did. His baton countered every one of Hawkmoth's strikes, and when he had an opening, his claws extended and slashed. He caught Hawkmoth across the arm, and the supervillain yelped as four long scratches appeared across his upper arm. Chat Noir pressed his advantage, until he spotted Ladybug and Queen Bee getting flung through the air out of the corner of his eye. He frowned, then let out a yelp of his own as the akuma barreled into him from behind. By the time he had gotten back on his feet, Hawkmoth was gone.

Coward. It happened the same way every time. As soon as it was clear that the battle was not going his way, Hawkmoth fled. He used Mayura or his akuma as a distraction, then tucked his (metaphorical) tail between his legs and ran.

But Hawkmoth couldn't run forever. The city's superheroes were getting better and better by the day. One of these times, Ladybug and Chat Noir would anticipate and avoid all of Hawkmoth's distraction techniques, and the supervillain would go down in flames.

Of that, Chat Noir was positive.

[eminperu]

Dreams Money Can Buy: The economics of a pay-as-you-go vagabond lifestyle

Since my last Facebook post about another jaunt across the world, several people have reached out to me asking the same question: how do I “fund my lifestyle” (copyright Emma). It dawned on me that A) lots of folks are looking to travel the world but B) are not sure how to do that realistically and responsibly. As an additional obstacle, people—even the vagabonds—often get weird and cagey when asked about their finances. Luckily, I’m 100% comfortable letting you know that I’m pretty poor and I’m still living what Cardi B and Chance might classify as close to—if not my best—life. I’m happy to share my strategies for the nomad life as someone who has never considered planning a strong suit and whose butt gets all itchy at the sound of the word “budget.”  This is definitely not a how-to, but a how-I-do guide that hopefully can offer one perspective to those who, like me, dream of being homeless and financially insecure—I mean, wanderlusters.  Naturally, each point is organized by subcategory titles borrowed from legendary and timeless songwriter Aubrey Graham. Started from the Bottom (now we’re still near the bottom)

Okay, not exactly the bottom, but not far off. I did have some savings before I started traveling, and I think that cushion was pretty important for my peace of mind/not dying famished in the streets. I set a (admittedly pretty arbitrary) bottom line that I would be comfortable—not thrilled, but not fully catatonic—to have when I returned to a more “traditional lifestyle.” I put that amount in a do-not-touch savings account. Luckily, I haven’t really had to dip into this kitty very many times. Though, again, I’m admittedly no financial wizard, I would estimate over the course of the last year I’ve netted about -$2,000. To me, this year, the amount of time I spent not working, and the amazing experiences I have had were worth significantly more than that figure.

God’s Plan/Controlla

You can plan your travels in advance to varying degrees, but it’s crucial to be honest with yourself about how much uncertainty you can stomach without anxiety sucking all the joy out of the cool stuff you’re doing. I’ve had people tell me, “Oh, it’s so crazy how you can just hop on a plane and not know where you’re going next. You’re flying by the seat of your pants!” Two things: 1) I hate pants. 2) More often than not, I do plan at least my immediate next move in advance. This isn’t so much a due my discomfort with uncertainty, but rather how frustrated I get when I’m forced to spend substantially more money on a ticket/room because I couldn’t commit in time. As a general rule, I plan international travel at least a month in advance and try to get things settled for big within-country trips a week before I leave. I make sure to search airline sites directly, especially for within country travel, and I don’t hesitate to call booking sites instead of reserving online to see if if they can cut me a deal—they’re out here looking for that commission. That being said, the best practice is to seek advice from people who have visited or, better yet, live in your destination. Not only can they steer you towards the right locations/companies/etc., they can also advise you when it might be more economical to book real time in-person as opposed to beforehand online (this happens quite a bit, especially in less-developed countries. Trip Advisor is not always your friend, yo.). Plan as much in advance as you need to in order to feel comfortable and excited, not overwhelmed and anxious, for your trip.

Hold On, We’re Going Home

Building off my last point, for me, having a space to unpack my borderline-hoarder amount of clothes and plug in my electric toothbrush is crucial to my mental health. Who doesn’t love a nest? Though a lot of people move intermittently between destinations, I was pretty settled in Lima. Before flying in, we booked a month in an Airbnb. I easily found a three month room to rent on Facebook/Craigslist, and used the same method to find two of my jobs (oh, sidebar—look for and join ALL online Expat groups as soon as you get to a country. Go to a language exchange and ignore the creepy older dudes who try to get you to “teach them English” and look for other expats who are probably new to the area, too). I also knew I was setting up base camp somewhere with an incredibly low cost of living, and that was intentional (Meygan’s intention, not mine, but still).

Mob Ties

This will be a small section, as it deviates from the financial focus of this piece, but I think it’s important: be proactive ASAP in making friends. It’s so, so easy in any city with a large expat population (again, join the Facebook groups).  Expats are prone to be quite outgoing, likely share your interests, and probably have lower friend standards than you’re used to! Living abroad is like college, and all the other expats are your new floormates. There will definitely be some weridos, but you’ll sift through them and find the gems. Plus, traveling with friends makes things cheaper, so this section is totally relevant. (Nailed it.)

Hotline Bling

This one is straightforward: Make sure your phone is internationally unlocked and get a prepaid SIM card immediately in each country you go to. I’ve never needed to pay more than $20 a month for talk/text/data (you’ll only really need data) and it is PLENTY (how many of you are looking at your Verizon bill and fuming right now?). International plans don’t make sense in the long run and scrambling from Starbucks to random hostels for WiFi is not a good look.

Nice for What

One of the benefits of living abroad is that as soon as I moved, people started hitting me up to visit and/or meet them places. I’ve had the opportunity to visit magnificent destinations with magnificent friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in years. If, like me, you’re overwhelming popular and well-liked, you have to be realistic and honest about where you can and cannot travel. Whilst on a budget and trying to function in day-to-day life, sometimes merging plans with friends looking to vacation is just not feasible. Compromising is great; it’s also valuable to let the homies know that this isn’t just a trip for you, it’s your lifestyle (did you just throw up a little bit as you read that? Me too. Sorry). I got super lucky and my friends who came and visited me in my more permanent location—Peru—didn’t force me to go to Machu Picchu 96 times! Every country has a bunch of cool stuff to do, and they were more than happy to meet in Colombia, hop on a jungle excursion, or otherwise with plan something that was in my budget/I hadn’t already done.

In addition to being realistic with my budget and with other people, I had to be realistic with myself, which involved some reprioritizing. I haven’t really bought clothes in the last year. I didn’t make my usual music festival rounds. I wasn’t planning to see my family for Christmas. My shoes, which have amassed an innumerable amount of miles, are essentially all falling apart. Time and time again, I chose experiences over things and I couldn’t be happier with that decision.

Nonstop

Having a job, regardless of the wage, always makes me feel better about spending money. You can make money in a variety of ways, but here’s a hot tip: TEACH ENGLISH ONLINE. I AM NOT KIDDING YOU I WOULD NOT HAVE DONE WHAT I DID THIS LAST YEAR WITHOUT IT. There are a myriad of companies (I’m with VIPKID—lemme talk to you about it and get some $$ for helping you apply) that allow you to set your own schedule and teach online from anywhere with a strong WiFi connection. I taught every weekday in Peru from 6:30 am to 9:00am (and an occasional weekend evening) and was done with my workday by 9:15 in the morning. I was also able to teach when I came back to Kansas, when I was home in California, and when I was traveling, Plus, I get money for referring you desperate plebs.

Let me tell you why VIPKID is infinitely better than getting an in-person job (even teaching English) abroad:

The hours and location are 100% flexible. I can open my schedule weeks in advance or the night before, and I can teach fifteen classes in a row or one single class.

There is no lesson planning. Prepping for teaching is an evil succubus that lures you in and steals your time and also several parts of your soul. The VIPKID platform offers ready-to-use lessons that have a universal structure. I don’t even glance at them before I start teaching. It’s the most low-maintenance, easiest form of instruction I’ve ever been involved with.

You don’t need to worry about getting a work visa. For all the work I did in Peru, I was paid cash under the table, as getting a carnet de extranjera (similar to a green card) is time-consuming, expensive, and difficult. I'm not 100% sure, but I feel like this is the case in most countries.

Yes, I make $20-$25 an hour, which can make you feel no ways (real Drake fans will catch that Easter egg), especially if you’ve been making a steady salary in a a place like New York or SF (let’s not get into it here, but all the more reason to advocate for not paying/treating our teachers like trash). However, it’s consistent money, I can do it anywhere, and $20 goes real far in most places outside the U.S.

The Catch Up

That being said, the side-hustle is EVERYTHING. Proofreading, translating, tutoring, working remotely, waitressing, bartending—anything that doesn’t require a lengthy application process and set hours is ideal. While I was back in the States, I very quickly and easily got a temp job working in my mom’s radiologic imaging office; I got to experience an entirely different line of work and gossip and eat donuts with the girls in the front. I absolutely loved it.

Apps like Grabr or housesitting apps are also excellent ways to make money doing stuff you’re already planning to do. Grabr allows travelers to sign up to bring things to people in their destination country that take too long or are too expensive to ship from their country of origin. This utilized two of my strongest skills—ordering items from Amazon and packing a checked bag weighing exactly fifty pounds. On my trip from the U.S. to Peru, I made over $300. Did I bring a kitchen scale and finely ground white electrolyte powders through South American customs? Yes! Did I assume I’d be going to Peruvian jail? Maybe! Honestly, I was more concerned about the giant car part leaking oil that I brought through TSA in Kansas City (thought about leaving a “This is not a bomb note”—decided against it). The point is: it might have taken a little time, some research, and a bit of aplomb to find opportunities like this, but luckily I had all those things in spades. Disclaimer: Use your judgment. Don’t do weird stuff.

Also, in all honesty, got a pretty cute tax refund this year, seeing as I made a significantly larger sum of money in the half of the year when I was full-time employee in California than when I was a part-time degenerate in Peru.

All Me

As resourceful and savvy as I’m feeling after writing this, I have to come clean. This might be a bit of a bummer for those fiercely independent amongst you: I did not even come close to doing this without a ton of help from my ridiculous circle of incredibly generous family and friends (HAHA GOTCHA, IT WAS NOT ALL ME. SEE? SEE WHAT I DID?) My list of people to thank would surely earn me the wrap-it-up music at the Oscars, but I’ll try anyway: My parents helped my broke ass get home so I wouldn’t be alone for Christmas. My friends from all across the world and all phases of life let me crash with them for weeks at a time (and gave me cute clothes that “looked a little weird on them,” made me banana flaxseed pancakes, and did my laundry). My brother and his smokeshow wife bought me flights and let me move into their giant British mansion to be their nanny (they don’t have kids). My saint of a mother literally gave up her bed and shared her tiny apartment with me, advocated for me to get a job that meant her doubling her workload, and let me eat all her food while standing at the refrigerator like a teenage boy. People have given me advice, contacts, hotel points, and miles. Gratitude will forever be the brush with which the memory of this year was painted.

All in all, I’ve had an overwhelmingly positive, life-changing experience with the joys far outweighing the stresses. It’s not hard to do, and I hope this very Emily-specific example can be of some help to you. Remember, you too can shirk all your responsibilities and run away to a foreign country! Even if you’re 25 sitting on 25… cents.

P.S. If you liked this post, please send me shoes.

[candidateofloyalty]

2019 Fic Retrospective

I saw a number of people doing this, and since I’m always up for talking about my own writing, I decided to imitate them. Admittedly, I’m a bit late, but since I didn’t have computer access for a decent part of this week I think it’s justified.

Apparently I wrote 55k words of fic this year? Given that I spent half the year out of the country, that is higher than I expected. I guess suddenly allowing a podcast to become my entire personality is a powerful motivator.

1/31

The Clock Strikes Midnight, Fire Emblem Echoes, 3.5k words

The prince is throwing a ball to find a spouse, and Faye just knows that this is her chance to make her dreams come true. There's no time for her to worry about the messenger who brought her the news, not when she can finally live out her fairytale.

My birthday gift for star, this time only posted one day after their birthday. Someday I will figure out this timing thing. They wanted a Cinderella AU, and as someone who read approximately 5 million fractured fairytale novels in high school, I had an immediate idea of where I wanted to take the plot. I’m pretty pleased with how this one came out, especially since I never actually played Echoes. It’s also one of my rare fics where the title isn’t a song lyric.

2/14

Sacred Simplicity, Dangan Ronpa, 900 words

Sakura and Aoi meet up for their weekly donut date, but Sakura's mind is elsewhere.

I can’t believe it took a fic exchange to get me to write Sakuraoi. The request was cute and I had a good time, though. I’m always a fan of the concept of Hope’s Peak practical exams. The whole premise of the franchise is that these kids have crazy skills, so let them use them.

3/3

My Fantasies from Long Ago, Persona 4, 5.2k words

While walking home from work, Yosuke is hit on the head by a mysterious cat-dog-thing. This is the least weird thing that happens to him over the course of the next 24 hours.

Apparently I had a lot of outside sources of inspiration this year. I guess that’s what all fanfic is, but even so. This AU is from kawaii-bunny-mel, and is ridiculously fun to write. This one sticks pretty close to the source material, since I intended it as an introduction to the AU. I wrote most of it on trains while cross-referencing the original episode. As it turns out, writing is much faster when you don’t have to worry about pacing or coming up with original events.

5/4

The Present You's Daydreams, Persona 4, 7.2k words

Yosuke's been doing magical girl temp work for about a month, and it's pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to him, even if it does mean having a weird bear roommate. Then Souji invites him to a party, and Yosuke has to face something even scarier than magical enemies: social interaction.

The second part of the BAPC AU, and the one where I went off and did my own thing. As much as I love the source material, I wanted to fit the rest of the IT in somewhere, and there are like 6 characters in the entirety of BAPC. Really, though, a significant amount of this fic was an excuse to have Yosuke use his customer-service voice on a dragon. I’d also meant for this to be the one where they got together, or at least showed mutual interest, and then Yosuke went and made things awkward. I don’t know what I expected. I got to write Hamuko being cryptic at Souji, though, which was even better.

5/19

Dazzling Blue Sky on the Window, Persona 3, 3.9k words

After Erebus, Metis is prepared to vanish, but Igor suggests another option.

This one was my birthday present to myself. You might wonder what that means when all of my fic is incredibly self-indulgent to begin with, and the answer is merging two universes and saving my favorite minor character in the process. It was only after the fact that I realized how much projection was involved. It’s fine.

6/16

Bright-Eyed, Tireless One, The Adventure Zone, 2.2k words

Minerva is here, physically present, and Duck's so glad to see her. The only question is what to do with her. They've got enough people hidden in the Amnesty Lodge basement as it is. (Immediately post Episode 28)

I caught up to Amnesty right after episode 28 was released, which is what we in the writing business call good timing. I immediately wrote this in a haze of love for Minerva and have not thought about it since. I think episode 30 confirms it as canon, though.

7/8

Not So Nec-Romantic, Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, 1.7k words

Nene's been studying to join the Healers' Guild for years, and it's finally time for her admissions test. It doesn't quite go as planned.

Star egged me on to write this and then wrote their own, funnier take on an RPG AU, which would have been rude if it weren’t for the fact that I got to read the better fic without having to write it. My favorite part of this fic is Mitsuba and Kou charging in from their epic fantasy quest without noticing that they’ve landing in the middle of a comedy of errors. I kind of want to write what they were actually up to but also it’s funnier this way.

8/25

Open Seas and Ways Of Life I've Forgotten, Friends at the Table, 3.5k words

Cass is adjusting just fine to life on their own, thank you.

They'd be doing even better if their new teammate wasn't so eerily reminiscent of their sibling, but that's all right. They're definitely coping.

And here we hit the fatt tipping point of my year. The Kingdom Game was probably the point where I fully devoted myself to this show, and a large part of that was the ability to conspiracy-board all of Sokrates’ influences on Cass’ personality. I have not stopped thinking about the Pelagios siblings since.

9/29

Not the Only Ones Pretending, Friends at the Table, 1.2k words

It sounds so nice, in theory. Mako's just running into an old friend while going out for fried chicken. But even though the Chime has broken up, two of them in the same place can still throw the simplest of missions into chaos.

I wrote this in an hour after listening to the penultimate episode of Counter/weight because the Orth-Mako scene ended right where things got good, to my mind. I just wanted to know more about how the Chime interacted after the timeskip. This also marks the start of me defaulting to Mako’s POV in every other Counter/weight fic I write.

10/14

A Magic That Won't Go Cold, Friends at the Table, 4.5k words

Jacqui doesn't normally like being sent on bodyguard jobs, but then, she's not normally working for Joypark darling Aria Joie.

I’ll just come up with a fun Jacria AU to think about in my spare time, I thought to myself. There’s a lot to explore with an Aria who never left Joypark. I can come up with some neat bullet points and it will be a good time. Then I started connecting the bullet points and at that point I had an entire outline for a fic. It’s what they deserve.

10/18

Questions Ricochet Like Broken Satellites, Friends at the Table, 2k words

Kobus' entire life had been pointless, but for once, they could see exactly what they needed to do. Then Vicuna pulled them out of Liberty and Grace.

I could not tell you why I latched onto Kobus so hard, but that didn’t stop me from doubling the size of their ao3 tag in a month. This fic ended up pretty depressing, which is ironic since the whole point was to give them a happier ending than they got in canon, but at least they’re alive at the end of it.

11/4

Detect My Sudden Existence on Your Sonar, Friends at the Table, 3.1k words

AuDy didn't intend for the rest of the Chime to move in with them. They didn't object when it happened, though.

I had a lot of trouble trying to write from AuDy’s perspective but I’m pleased with the end result. Maybe next I’ll figure out how to do pacing and/or tonal consistency. I do like the Cass stuff at the end but I think my favorite scene from this fic is everyone helping Aria unpack her stuff and being goofy.

11/11

Telling Dreams from One Another, Friends at the Table, 1.3k words

Mako shows up on Kobus' doorstep holding a Divine, and doesn't even have the decency to bring fried chicken.

This started because I kept thinking about how Kobus’ form of Ambition would have been Faith and how close that comes to Loyalty, and then the more I wrote the more I liked the dynamic between Kobus and the younger Makos. A lot of it can be summed up as Mako being the mid-twenties upperclassman who looks at the freshman and goes “oh look, a baby” much to the freshman’s annoyance, except instead of being in college they’re both secret agents raised as weapons since they can remember. It isn’t addressed in the fic but I imagine this ends with Kobus following Mako back to Kesh and ending up with eight identical older siblings.

11/24

Find Out What Broke Me Soon Enough, Friends at the Table, 1.9k words

Kobus is still reeling from their failed attack on Grace, but when Aria Joie asks for their help, they can't think of a good reason to refuse.

Continuing the theme of “what if Kobus had friends,” I like the idea of Aria being worried about Righteousness consuming her and going to the one person she knows of who’s successfully stepped away from a Divine. Like the last fic in the series, I tried very hard to give Kobus a happy ending and they categorically refused. As it turns out, when you’ve been raised to see yourself as a sacrifice for the greater good, it’s hard to find other ways to make a difference, and Aria doesn’t know them well enough to push it. One day I will find the right combination of characters and circumstances to let Kobus rest.

12/7

Take Our Time 'Cause It Feels Like We're Dying, Friends at the Table, 1.7k words

When Cass coughed up the first flower petal, all they could do was stare at it in disbelief.

Yes, I know, hanahaki. I am surprised at myself too. I was just thinking about what it would take to get me invested in hanahaki and because of who I am as a person my brain immediately applied that to Counter/weight. I know where I’m going with it but I want to finish F&M before continuing, so keep an eye out maybe in February. Also, doing this retrospective made me realize that this is the second time I’ve used a line from this song as a title for a Counter/weight fic. Whoops.

12/17

The Movements of My Mind, Friends at the Table, 1k words

On his way back to Auniq for the negotiations, Throndir stops by the cave where he met Kindrali.

My first non Counter/weight fatt fic, and once again it is introspection about a Dre character, because without realizing it I ended up with a favorite player. I just like coming up with in-universe explanations for things that were probably mistakes on their part, and I’m always interested in how the Kindrali connection works. Even if I am now incapable of thinking of Kindrali without going “I wonder what day he remembers??”

12/25

Fantasy and Microchips, Friends at the Table, 9.2k words

Five times Mako hacks things accidentally because of Cass, and one time it's intentional.

The year ended as it began, with me taking someone else’s AU and writing a fic about it. In this case, it’s a comic done by drowzydruzy on twitter. I looked at it, went “that’s pretty funny, maybe I could write a fic about it,” and then two chapters in I realized how to exploit it for angst and pretty much didn’t stop. The trickiest part so far has been making Rigor references without getting too heavy-handed. I’m halfway through writing the last chapter now, so naturally I’m procrastinating by doing this meme. It’s actually a meta-narrative about defeating Rigor by not being too beholden to your own projects, or something.

[livingcorner]

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

In the Vegetable Gardening for Beginners Guide, we cover how to start a vegetable garden from scratch, which vegetables to grow, and when to plant what. This year, we’ve added a “starter” garden plan consisting of easy-to-grow vegetables, companion planting techniques, and some lovely flowers!

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

Why garden, you ask? How about enjoying the best vegetables and fruit you’ve ever eaten? If you’ve never tasted garden-fresh food, you will be amazed by the sweet, juicy flavors and vibrant textures. There’s absolutely nothing quite like fresh veggies, especially if you grow them yourself—which you can!

You're reading: Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

It may seem daunting at first, but gardening is a very rewarding hobby. On this page, we’ll highlight the basics of vegetable gardening and planning: how to pick the right site for your garden, how to create the right-size garden, and how to select which vegetables to grow. 

Pick the Right Location

Picking a good location for your garden is absolutely key. A subpar location can result in subpar veggies! Here are a few tips for choosing a good site:

Sunny spot: Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. There are a few veggies (mostly the leafy ones) that will tolerate some shade.

Drains well and doesn’t stay wet: If you have poorly drained soil where water pools, plant veggies in a raised bed or raised row for improved drainage. Wet soil means wet roots, which can turn into rotted roots. If you have rocky soil, till and remove the rocks, as they will interfere with root growth and make for weaker plants.

Stable and not windy: Avoid places that receive strong winds that could knock over your young plants or keep pollinators from doing their job. Nor do you want to plant in a location that receives too much foot traffic or floods easily. Plant in a location that would make Goldilocks smile—somewhere that’s “just right.”

Nutrient-rich soil. You soil feeds your plants. If you have thin, nutrient-poor soil, you’ll have poor, unhealthy plants. Mix in plenty of organic matter to help your plants gro. See how to prepare you soil for vegetable plants.

Choosing a Plot Size: Start Small!

Remember: It’s better to be proud of a small garden than be frustrated by a big one!

One of the most common errors that beginners make is planting too much too soon—way more than anybody could ever eat or want! Unless you want to have zucchinis taking up residence in your attic, plan your garden with care. Start small, and only grow what you know you and your family will eat.

Size of Garden

Read more: What Is A Zen Garden – Information And Tips For Creating Zen Gardens

If planting in the ground, a 10’ x 10’ garden (100 square feet) is a managable size. Pick 3 to 5 of your favorite vegetables and buy 3 to 5 plants of each one.

If planting in a raised bed, a 4’ x 4’ or 4’ x 8’ is a good beginner size. See our Raised Garden Bed Guide which covers the benefits of raised beds, how to build a raised bed, and what type of soil to fill a raised bed with.

If you want to go bigger, a 12’ x 24’ garden in the ground is probably the biggest a first-timer should go. For example, a garden that feeds a family of four could include: 3 hills of yellow squash; 1 mound of zucchini; 10 assorted peppers; 6 tomato plants; 12 okra plants; a 12-foot row of bush beans; 2 cucumbers on a cage; 2 eggplant; 6 basil; 1 rosemary, and a few low-growing herbs such as oregano, thyme, and marjoram.

Whatever the size of your garden: Every four feet or so, make sure that you have paths that allow you to access your plants to weed and harvest. Just make sure that you can reach the center of the row or bed easily without stepping on the soil.

Choosing Vegetables

As a beginner, start by choosing easy vegetables that are also productive. We’ve listed ten easy vegetable below. However, it would also be wise to contact your state’s Cooperative Extension Service to find out what plants grow best in your area. For example, if you live in an area with extremely hot weather, vegetables that prefer cooler temps may struggle. 

Top 10 Easy Vegetables (Tip: Click on a veggie’s name to see its detailed Growing Guide.)

Lettuce

Green beans

Radishes

Tomatoes (bush variety or cherry are easiest)

Zucchini

Peppers

Beets

Carrots

Chard, Spinach, or Kale

Peas

Mix in flowers such as marigolds—which discourage pests, attracts pollinators, and adds some color!

Five tips for choosing vegetables:

Choose what you (and your family) like to eat. If no one likes brussels sprouts, don’t bother planting them! But if your kids love green beans, put more effort towards growing a big crop of beans.

Be realistic about how many vegetables your family will eat. Be careful not to overplant, as you will only stretch yourself thin by trying to take care of tons of plants! (Of course, you could always give excess veggies away to friends, family, or the local soup kitchen.)

Consider the availability of veggies at your grocery store. Maybe you want to grow tomatillos, instead of cabbage or carrots, which are readily available. Also, certain veggies are so far superior when homegrown, it’s almost a shame not to consider them (we’re thinking of garden lettuce and tomatoes). Also, homegrown herbs are far less expensive than grocery store herbs.

Be prepared to take care of your plants throughout the growing season. Going on a summer vacation? Remember that tomatoes and zucchinis are growing strongest in the middle of summer. If you’re gone part of the summer, you need someone to look after the crops or they will suffer. Or, you could just grow cool-season crops such as lettuce, kale, peas, and root veggies during the cooler months of late spring and early fall.

Use high-quality seeds. Seed packets are less expensive than individual plants, but if seeds don’t germinate, your money—and time—are wasted. A few extra cents spent in spring for that year’s seeds will pay off in higher yields at harvesttime.

Where and When to Plant

If you are simply growing two or three tomato plants, this process is easy. But if you plan to grow a full garden, you need to consider:

Where will each plant go?

When will each vegetable need to be planted?

Here are a few guidelines for arranging your vegetables:

Not all vegetables are planted at the same time.  “Cool-season” vegetables such as lettuce and brocoil and peas grow in cooler weather of early spring (and fall). “Warm-season” such as tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers aren’t planted until the soil warms up in late spring and summer.

Plant tall veggies (such as pole beans on a trellis or sweet corn) on the north side of the garden so they don’t shade shorter plants. If you do get shade in a part of your garden, save that area for small, cool-season veggies. If shade is unavoidable in parts of your garden, save those areas for cool-season vegetables which appreciate shade as the weather heats up.

Most veggies are annuals (planted each year). If you’re planning on growing “perennial” crops such as asparagus, rhubarb, and some herbs, provide permanent locations or beds.

Consider that some crops mature quickly and have a very short harvest period (radishes, bush beans). Other plants, such as tomatoes, take longer to produce, but also produce for longer. These “days to maturity” are typically listed on the seed packet. 

Stagger plantings. You don’t want to plant all your lettuce seeds at the same time, or all that lettuce will need to be harvested at around the same time! Stagger plantings by a few weeks to keep ‘em coming!

When to Plant What

Every region has a different planting time based mainly on their weather, and every vegetable has its temperature preferences, too. See the Almanac’s Best Planting Dates—a gardening calendar customized to your local frost dates. Just enter your zip code (or postal code in Canada)! 

For specific planting information, see our individual Grow Guides for over 100 popular vegetables, herbs, and fruit. For each crop, we provide specific information about how to plant, grow, and harvest, including watering and fertilizing and pest control!

Read more: What do garden pea plants reproduce?

A Starter Beginner Garden Plan

To help out beginners, we thought that it may be useful to see a garden design. Here is an example of a starter family garden using mainly of the common easy-to-grow vegetables listed above. It also features companion planting (the practice of placing plants that thrive together next to each other).

You’ll see that we have given the garden decent-sized paths and mixed in a few herbs and flowers, too. Frankly, if we had grown this garden in our very first year, we would be thrilled! In planning the garden this way, we have made it so much easier for you to succeed with it.

Click here to see the full plant list, number of plants, spacing, and spacing in rows.

Garden Planning Tool

The Old Farmer’s Almanac offers an excellent online garden planning tool which makes your garden planning fun and easy. With this tool, draw your garden plan on the computer and drop in your preferred vegetables, and it automatically calculates the proper spacing for each type of crop! This way, you don’t waste seed or crowd your plants. The Garden Planner automatically pulls in the frost dates for your specific location, identifies easy vegetables, and even identifies companion plants. Then you can print out your plan and the tool reminds you of your seeding and harvesting dates for every vegetable!

Plus, you’ll see many free garden plans for inspiration! Over time, you’ll see that this tool also provides “crop rotation” so that if you plan a second season, you can properly reposition your plants to avoid pests and disease.

With new gardeners in mind, we offer a FREE week to try the Garden Planner—ample time to plan your first garden. Check it out here: https://ift.tt/3zUJcjo

Photo: Almanac Garden Planner. Earth’s most popular tool for planning your garden. Try it free for 7 days.

Any questions or advice about starting your garden? Check out some of the comments below. Many of your questions may have been answered already by our Almanac community or you are welcome to add your own comment. Happy gardening! 

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/vegetable-gardening-for-beginners/