lenavaz

[lenavaz]

Atta girl! Only a little bit longer to go until the summer bash, and then I'm assuming we'll be seeing you in lots of booty shorts and bikinis! Which is how it should be, obviously. I'm glad to hear it! Merrock always knows how to throw a good Pride, you know? And the rainbow outfits are always so cute -- yours included! But I expected nothing less, obviously. And hey, tomorrow is the first official day of summer, to top it all off!

I'm waiting for beach days to lay out tanning, but my whole collection of dresses is out at this point! So are all my booty shorts and bikinis. I am ready! Oh! I know! It always goes by so fast. I love any excuse for a theme, so you know my outfits always are my favorite part. But I had a great time at the party, great time shopping, eating my way through all of the themed foods being sold. It was fun! Like always!

[lenavaz]

"No kidding," which wasn't necessarily a bad thing -- Elena wasn't sure that she would want to live in a tropical place after having grown up in Merrock. Sure, it might be nice for a vacation, but she liked having the four seasons and as much as she might complain, she really would end up missing the snow and the blustery wind that came with the winter storms. That was just how things worked. "Somewhere in the woods, I bet," she turned to look in that direction, "if we were on a lake, I'd say follow whatever creek or stream feeds it, but ponds don't typically have those… so we might not have any luck there." Now she wanted to make it her goal to go home and follow Black Creek to see how many waterfalls she could find. "I'd want to stay in Maine. I like my seasons, my snow storms, getting to wear my warm winter coats. What about you?"

"Yup, we're about as tropical as the mountains of Switzerland." Maybe that was a bit of a stretch... but it wasn't really untrue! He grinned. "Imagine if we had tropical weather, we'd be in a very different situation here," he chuckled. "Although, I'm sure somewhere around here or wherever... there might actually be a waterfall?" Bryan smiled at Lena again. "I promise I won't make any mating calls to any bugs or creepy frogs while we're here. Would you prefer to live somewhere more tropical or do you like our weather around here in our area?" he asked curiously. "I'm sure there are a lot more frogs and lizards and bugs in the latter category."

[lenavaz]

You call Netflix, I'll call Hulu. If neither of them bite, we have other options, right? Tubi does original shows now, I'm pretty sure! We're going to make this happen, one way or another. It has to, because that's going to be the big hook that makes people tune in, since they're so fascinated with the Benefactor… hmm. Needs to be a really catchy name, too. Any suggestions?

Wait...I hadn't even thought of the Benefactor...we need our own Netflix show immediately. Should I make the call? Do we tag team? Write a proposal? We'll get a cut for sure when we actually have our names on something tangible. We just need a catchy name now. I'm sure it'll revolve around the Benefactor?

[lenavaz]

Mistakes are a pretty natural part of life, but as long as your mistake is something like leaving the graded homework at home, I think you'll be okay. The kids will forgive you for that one! I think you'll always have kids that find ways to buck the systems, or complain that they need their phones. I understand that there are reasons for them to have it, which means that their parents just need to each them to keep them put away during the day, easy! Me too, I would say that summer is my favorite season in Merrock, but… honestly, I love all seasons in Merrock.

Thank you! I'm just hoping that I continue to do a good job. Keeping it up, and not making any big mistakes. Oh yes, same. Well, I had it in my pocket for emergencies at least. But I think I was so preoccupied by what was going on in class that I didn't think I needed to bring it out so much. I had to do that sometimes, but the kids this year weren't all that bad. Some of them just tried to be sneaky. I guess they always tend to do that, though. I agree, it was pretty great. I'm looking forward to what the rest of summer brings!

[lenavaz]

TASK #28 LET'S GET PHYSICAL

Elena's face claim is Zion Moreno, and for the most part, she very closely resembles her. She is six foot tall, and slender, which is her natural frame more so than something earned through physical fitness or diet. Elena has long, dark brown hair and brown eyes with soft features and dark brows. Most of the time, she wears her hair straight or with slight waves, and one of her favorite hairstyles is that cutesy, girly half-up, half-down look. Sometimes, about once every couple of years, she'll get a chop, never going shorter than shoulder length! (Having long hair is a comfort thing for Elena.) She'll only let Sylvia do that, though. She's dyed her hair a couple of times, but normally just a shade darker or lighter, and keeps it pretty on par with her natural color.

Facially, she would say that her favorite feature is her nose, but overall, she's fond of her legs. And no, she doesn't care that putting on heels makes her over six foot tall. Deal with it, short kings.

A sucker for a good skincare routine, Elena has really good, soft skin. She wears a lot of SPF in the hot sun, and doesn't freckle -- jealous of anyone who does, she sometimes will speckle herself when doing make-up, just for fun. Although she is a make-up artist, she keeps her daily routine pretty light; a little pomade in the brows, color on the lips and cheeks, and a tiny bit of mascara before she heads out the door. She doesn't have acne or any kind of blemishes, other than the occasional one that will pop up here and there. When she goes all out with glam, she really goes all out, and is one of those people who has learned the art of shapeshifting through make-up. In the best way possible.

No scars, outside of the occasional faded cat scratch, and anything that she has dealt with due to transitioning, but mostly not visible to people looking at her. Elena doesn't have any tattoos at the moment, but she does have each of her ears pierced twice! She actually doesn't wear a lot of jewelry -- she tends to lean towards simple pieces for her hands and wrists, but doesn't wear them at home, since she spends a lot of time gardening and doesn't want to lose anything, and loves a good statement earring! She wears her grandmother's birth stone ring on her right index finger every day.

During the warmer months, Elena wears a lot of typical summer styles: t-shirts and cut-off shorts with sneakers and teen-approved sock lengths, of course. But when she wants to dress up a little bit, she leans towards cute sun dresses, flowy skirts and tops, high heels. Light, airy fabrics.

When it's colder, she likes to be cozy. Oversized sweaters and skinny jeans. Tall boots with short skirts and lined tights (long coat is an extra bonus). She's not afraid of wearing a hat and gloves, even if it might mess up her hair a little bit, and she definitely always has a warm coat on.

Elena doesn't really dress 'sexy' all that often (a breakaway from Zion, who is the definition of bombshell!), but when she does, she tends to think that simple is best -- short, strappy dress, tall heels, show off a lot of leg or a lot of cleavage, keep the jewelry complimentary rather than something that steals the show. That sort of vibe.

Here 'pajamas' drawer is ridiculous, by the way. She probably has as many cute pajama sets as she does dresses -- frilly little bottoms with cute tops, mumu-style dresses, caftans to wear around the house, robes that she pulls on over her favorite pair of undies and bra, basically anything you can imagine? She has it.

[lenavaz]

This wasn't quite the normal type of boat that Elena spent time on when she went on a tour around the coast, or visited friends at the marina, but it was still pretty smooth sailing, even out there on a little pond. "We're pretty much the furthest thing from tropical that you can get in the United States," she agreed with a laugh and a nod of her head. Maybe there were places that were colder, but they were very much so up north, so that was something. "Not yet, but… I think we'll find one, I just have a good feeling. Although," she cast him a look as he mentioned the bugs, "you can keep the insects to yourself. Especially if they bite."

“That’s what I’m here for!” Bryan said with a cheeky smile. He knew the boat was relatively safe. It wouldn’t be an option if it wasn’t. So they’d just have the option to have some fun with it. He laughed a little. “See!” He nodded again. “Tropical places, forests in South America. Something like that. Definitely not Maine,” he hummed. “They’re just there to chill, which is cool,” he said, glancing around them. “A turtle? Have you seen one yet? I’ve seen maybe four kinds of flying bugs, but no turtles yet.”

[lenavaz]

Sometimes it does feel like they're trying to cram too much in for too few episodes, you end up losing track of details and having to go back and re-watch things if you get too confused. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but maybe not the most convenient! I'm a big outdoorsy person, but I'm not sure I would want to do that… watch it again, go camping at a place like that? Sure! So you're braver than me. I'm looking forward to outside time being more my speed with the carnival and beach party.

Yeah, it felt really different! There was a lot of anticipation. And some of the stories didn’t seem… compressed? Not that today’s stuff isn’t good! It is, it’s just different! Watch it in two days and then have to figure out what to watch next. That is true, that’s probably a big factor. Yes, for sure. I think I’d do it again. I had fun. There’s always a reason to go spend some time outdoors!

[lenavaz]

Letting out a little bit of a louder laugh, Lena shook her head, "for what it's worth, I grew up swimming in Black Creek, it's really not that bad." There were parts that were a little shallow, full of rocks, and you could run into trash and mud and all the bad stuff if you weren't careful, but the swimming hole was always a good, safe bet when looking for a way to cool off on a long, hot summer day when you just wanted to take your mind off of everything else. "But I'm pretty sure that you will not find me in that pond. I saw a skim of algae on top, and let me tell you right now: Lena and algae do not mix," she shook her head, pulling a face at the idea. She didn't mind getting dirty when gardening or doing some other work, but to purposely dive into a very gross pond…? Nope, not on that trip. "Good point -- beavers, frogs, some fish, probably a lot of bugs, though, that might not be the best part," she let out a breath, glad that they wouldn't have to worry about that when they were in the cabin, though, if nothing else. "I'm on board with that!" she jumped up from where she had been relaxing against a chair, breaking into a broad smile. "I feel like you have to have good snacks when you're on vacation, right?"

It was so nice to let those small decisions go for a bit. With Lena deciding on the room, Minnie took the other. It was so cozy, with a nice bedspread already folded down with little puffs of fabric all across it. A fleece blanket was layered over the foot of the bed, and the rustic decor was different, down to the deer antlers, though they were too shiny to be real, weren't they? She liked it though. The wicker chair, the braided rug. She looked around at the warm chestnut of the wood and smiled. This was one of those I've always dreamt of this moments, but a dream she hadn't really known she had until it came true. "Oh, no. I'm good with water. I'm good. I really thought I was never going to get out of that dang river when I was helping clean it. I was like, this place goes on for miles, and so does the trash. Thankfully, here we are trash-free." She also meant the people. "That is one big decision I'm making right here and now. But if you wanted to find a water slide and go in the pond, I won't stop you." That had been one thing she didn't pack, a bathing suit, considering they were in the woods. She huffed, hands on hips, as she paced back out into the common room. "I got that itch already. Now I have to scan the whole property and point really menacingly at all the deer and beavers. If there's a pond, there have to be beavers." They definitely were in the rivers. She stared out at the treeline, but she felt no dread, just that strange, stretchy sense that came with a new place. "Right now, we should run ... for some snacks, I am so ready for that."

[lenavaz]

"I guess you could be on to something," she laughed, nodding her head, "I guess once we find a worm, we'll see what we can do about making it famous." For now, though, the goal would be finding the worm. As they looked over to see the photos that Joella was showing her, she broke into a smile, nodding eagerly, "looks perfect to me! You can clearly see the different flowers, so check and check as far as that goes," ticking each one off with the pen that she had stored in her back pocket, she nodded. "Look at us go!"

“Mhmm,” Joella nodded. “I… I don’t know. It’s a worm, Lena. I mean, people follow fog on Instagram. They’ll do anything that’s fun and different. Maybe there are more work enthusiasts out there than we know!” She laughed a little. So maybe people did have strange tastes sometimes. Who was she to judge? It kept things interesting, really. She gave a chef’s kiss gesture before pulling her phone out again to take a picture of the flowers. “How do these look?” She asked, pulling up her camera roll for Elena.

[lenavaz]

But you do a great job with it! And that's what matters the most, is making sure that the kids feel listened to and well taken care of by the adults who are responsible for them. In one way or another. I was going to say, I don't think that a no-phone policy ever really stopped me from being on mine. Once I was older, I just tucked it into my purse and kept texting, so no one noticed. Worked pretty well for me! But then some teaches would take the phone from you if you got caught. So you did have to be sneaky. I'm sure of it! It was so fun to see the excitement on their faces.

It's been a wild ride to keep up with. But we always do what we can! Kids just want someone to listen to them, and sometimes it's a delicate line that we toe. They are always on their phones. The school has a no-phone policy in the classroom. Some of them think they're so clever trying to sneak around that rule. Trust me, it's something we always look out for. Oh very nice! I think I did see you around there. I'm glad you enjoyed it. The kids had a lot of fun with the show.

[lenavaz]

I plan on spending as much of my free time as I can outside, since... how do you not take advantage of beautiful weather like this?! Did you end up finding the perfect sundress for the weather? I hope so! Pride was great! I did so much shopping, ate all the sweet treats, went to the party, but it was over too fast. Did you have fun?

Thursday is supposed to be pretty hot out! I am actually so happy. Sun dress season! Yeah, I felt like I had to make myself useful, somehow! Luckily, blood isn't something I'm bad with. So, all the more reason to jump in and help. How did you enjoy Pride?

[lenavaz]

Oof, was it on those walls? I know a few of them looked pretty tricky just from standing on the sidelines! I know I would have been falling off of them right and left, trying to get through the course. At least Pride Weekend was a little more laidback, and next we have the carnival, so that's not really as intensive as far as what kind of energy you need to put into it, right? I'm very much so looking forward to the carnival, too. And the beach! I love a good beach day. And if I get to spend all day at the beach and then throw on a pair of shorts to go ride the ferris wheel and eat a hot dog, that's even more of a win in my book, you know? Mostly the same -- just enjoying things here in town. And lots of gardening, too!

That is all that matters, and that I finished in one piece. That actually was the most important part. Because I definitely slipped a couple of times that I thought things were going to go a vastly different way. The Polaris ATVs were fun though, especially when you didn't want to walk anymore, or move your body. I did, I relaxed pretty much the rest of the time and then took it easy in just office days when I got back. Perks of planning ahead and knowing what I was going to need to do. No nothing solid planned, aside from enjoying the upcoming beach and carnival, because I've always been the girl that loves all things carnival based. I'm sure I'll go exploring around Maine, take a trip or two, but nothing concrete set up. Anything big you're planning for the summer?

[lenavaz]

"Incredibly good," Lena said with a wicked grin. Growing up, she had always joked with her abuela that she knew magic spells, could curse a man for life if she wanted to, maybe Elena had inherited some of those magical powers, could use that for herself. Maybe. "I guess it either means yay us, or we have room for improvement," she said with a small smirk, "we'll figure it out." But then when they were focusing on the flowers again, she nodded her head, starting for the little table where they could pick out what they wanted. "Oh yeah! The perks of being friends with a florist, right?"

"I would think it depends on how good we are at cursing people," Amina joked, bumping their shoulder against Lena's. "If the curses didn't work it meant we didn't know how to curse properly and that's not good for a metaphysical store but...if they worked, that means oru stuff works?" They nodded. "Yeah, or I can bother Nari for suggestions just about whenever."

[lenavaz]

Oh, it's wild! I don't have the same experience as you, with seeing how it's changed education and what they learn and how they learn, but just seeing how much kids rely on even their phones these days, and knowing how different it was for me, growing up, it's crazy. And it's only getting… more. I was going to say worse, but I guess it's not always inherently a bad thing. It just is what it is, right? Not good, not bad, just how it goes. For sure! I stopped by the library this weekend to watch one of the drag queen story time readings, it was so much fun!

That probably won't ever change. I think that's just what it is. But kids still learn, they have those bonds. Maybe some of it changed. I never really realized what a big impact technology has on these young kids until I started teaching middle school. High school, we've gone through it. But they're geting younger and younger. That's what I am hoping for too! Oh yes, the library has a pretty great team.

[lenavaz]

"Now there's an idea," she couldn't help but to laugh as Joella brought up the idea of making the worm insta-famous, "how many followers do you think that a worm could get on Instagram? You'd have to make it a funny worm, granted, but I think that's possible!" They could be clever in captions, say things that would make other people laugh. Just, well, Joella wouldn't be able to touch it. That would have to be Elena's job. "I'll let you collect the photographic evidence, and I'll check it off the list," she said with a curt nod, marking a check next to purple flowers and dandelions.

Jo couldn’t help but wrinkle up her nose again. Worms weren’t her favorite thing. Not that she would even ever try one dipped in tequila. But she was a Texas girl, and she had been back there since she left. She had seen some interesting things. “Okay! That’s even better then,” she laughed a little. “We find the worm, make it all insta-famous and then leave it alone. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear myself say,” she shook her head with a smile. “Aha! Even better!” She made her way towards the flowers.

[lenavaz]