#also came up with this one months ago when i first got into hk | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

themostexpensiveboningknife · 3 years

Text

2020

Failed party, money in drawer, communicate, move house, move boxes, drive in van, walk to shops, buy noodles, think it’s the end, see whole bus of soldiers in Beijing, new area, walk in darkness, think about leaving, leave, think its temporary, in taxi, post stupid photos, check and check again phone, think people with goggles on my plane are over reacting, take off my mask to eat, keep taking off to loosen, arrive back in London. Tube. Cold. Pub. Party at WeWork. Exhibition at Dulwich Gallery. Farringdon. Drugs and drinks. Brockley, South east London. DJ. Ethiopian food. Morley’s Peckham. Walking on the River. Photographer friend’s house. Canal cycle. National Gallery. Car crash, Dalston. Omar Souleyman. Corsica Studios. Meet girl, back to my friends, back to hers, sex. Morning up to mum’s best friends birthday, Covent Garden restaurant. In a van, Sunday roast. Chisenhale Gallery. arebyte Gallery. Getting worse in China, seems nice and easy and calm in England. Camberwell beers and more. Second-hand book shops, Charing Cross Road. Courtauld. Leafed through a book about a man who lived his entire 86.5 years in East London. Still talking to the same girl back in China. Both believe I’ll be back soon. Chicken wings. West London, meal. South London pub. DJing somewhere inside. Kent, see grandma. Rave, Bermondsey. Friends from Israel and Germany arrive. More drinks, more drugs. Mixing friends. Gay bar in Bethnal Green for old friend’s birthday. Acid, confused and hilarious. Tate Britain. Serpentine. Cranes on the bridge. Liverpool Street film screening. Feels shallow, but good. Begin regular E Pellici sojourns. Primrose Hill with Dad. Beer festival with Keaton and co. Peckham, school friend’s house, bad vibe. More drinks, more drugs. Working on first music compilation with Slowcook and Fafa. Begin watching all of the Studio Ghibli movies. Watching Breaking Bad. At some point have huge argument with my brother, it went like this: He came home from work and I was sitting watching Breaking Bad, he asks, “Have you been like that all day?” I either took it in the wrong way or picked up on a sly dig. It was probably me, but at this point I was pretty self-conscious and worried about going back to China and whether or not I would have a job back there. Was getting surprisingly pissed off with my brother mentioning his work, felt like an affront to me. Weird. He goes crazy (he has a short fuse), punching a wall, ready to fight me. My mum is pretty upset. A few days later I go into his room and try to patch things up. Turns into a deeper chat. He feels like I haven’t been a good brother to him, he gives the example of not looking out for him on his first days of school. I say I’m sorry, it’s because I’m a bit scared and insecure. In retrospect I regret a little laying so much weakness on the table, seems his interactions/ways of acting around me have changed a bit. Still not sure how I feel about it all. Considered getting a gold tooth with Matthew. Play with cats, enjoying them more and more. Rave in Dalston, good music from Asia and beyond. Looking at magazines. Not doing much work at all. Being out and about instead. Go to Norfolk. It’s beautiful, but get way too drunk on first night, sick everywhere, wake up naked in sick. Massive fucking shitshow. Majority of people there have no choice but to act weirdly around me now, which is understandable. Still some nice aspects. One girl there surely hates me a lot. Tate Modern. Art stuff by self is good. Corsica Studios, semi-art, semi-music event. Mr. Bao for first time of many. Radio in Tottenham. Take drugs. Pubs. Drive to Asda with brother to stock up on food. It’s March and the reality of the pandemic is hitting. More canal cycling. First and only group chat on Zoom. BH Funk. Probably have taken cocaine and messaged one of three or four girls numerous times by now. If there’s one, in the cold light of day, horrible and disgusting thing I’ve done too much this year it’s this. Incessant messaging of poor girls that I know will react (although increasingly they don’t, I manage to alienate even close friends in this way). Southbank and The Mall with Nick. Reading about Wuhan. List of good texts. Continuing to do some writing. Making WeChat posts for guī WeChat, including mix series and miniessays. Greenwich park with Matthew. Grime quiz online. Delivering food regularly for my mum’s school. Hackney Marshes with Luan. Epping Forest with Mum and Dad. By this point probably have woken up feeling sorry for myself in Ludo’s flat, after untold amounts of alcohol and cocaine. Online rave. Beijing artists only mix. Go to Switzerland, pass through Italy on the way. Its breath taking, the mountains, the expanse of scenery, not used to it. Climbing up mountains with no one around. Rolo and Patrick and Rita smoke too much weed. I really, really, really still hate smoking it. Feel a bit annoyed how long we spend sitting around while they smoke, but this is way outbalanced by the uniqueness of where we are and the beauty all around. Producing more and more, actually getting somewhere. Cooking more and more food. Reading more and more, like: Black and British, The Corrections, Real Fast Food, Bass, Mids, Tops, Zadie Smith, Olivia Lang, Graham Greene, JG Ballard, Monica Ali, Mo Yan, Jenny Zhang, John le Carre, Naked Lunch, Nabokov, Bukowski, Zora Neale Hurston, Wiley, Bitcoin, Murakami, Judith E. Butler, The Painter of Modern Life, Maupassant, Chekov, Video Art, Gravity’s Rainbow (couldn’t finish), Anaïs Nin, The Net Delusion (couldn’t finish), The Establishment and how they got away with it (couldn’t finish), Roddy Doyle, The Secret of Scent, General Intellects, Women In Love, The Intelligent Investor, Lyndon Johnson. Victoria Park more often than I can remember. To Chrissy’s house. Mile End Park. Very regularly sitting on the river in Wapping. Bring the chessboard and play Ludo sometimes, people smile and look at you differently when you’re playing chess and drinking beers versus just sitting and drinking beer. I May Destroy You. Industry. The beautiful wide expanse of Hackney Marshes. My incessant quest to reach 1000 followers in Instagram. More cycling, and I hate to say it but it really was: Here there and everywhere. Margate with my Dad to see my grandma in hospital and saw the Turner Prize exhibition. Light blue like scrubs, the sky and sun felt eternal. Swimming in dirty water. Make a DJ mix of old 2000s Road Rap. Eat cheese in Peckham. Cycle along the canal north, keep going and going through Tottenham, past Enfield keep going, it’s mad how quickly it becomes quiet fields on all sides, arrive to some kind of lake, swim and then back to the centre of town. Outside a Hawksmoor church in Shadwell ate chicken with Karim and Ludo. DJing. From my bedroom window saw a big crane in the middle of the night sitting on the canal. Begin developing the second DCCY compilation this time with BULLY magazine. Go to a house in an old school in Camberwell. Discover new secret riverside spots in East London. Finally give up my apartment in Beijing. Mile End park. Cycle further and further East to a pedestrian bridge I didn’t know existed. Get onto the beach and into the Thames water. Interview Akito. Begin writing more, after few months of wiling away the summertime. My friend Emmy gets married in Rwanda, I give him some money as a wedding gift which he tells me he used to buy his wife’s dress. Protests in HK always on TV. Get more into finances, crypto and trading, and just saving in general. Had sex with an old friend. Now meeting a girl I first knew years ago in Beijing. More secret river spots. Keaton has his baby, Noah. More times on Hackney Marshes. Barbican conservatory. Watching more films, try to watch all the films of some directors including: Jia Zhangke, Bong Joon-ho, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Decide to watch all of the infamous lauded series, go through Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos. Go to the seaside for a few days, camping also. Henry Wu album launch in a car park in Bermondsey. Go to visit Keaton’s baby for the first time. Good photography exhibition at Photographer’s Gallery. Go to Wallace Collection again. August. Go to Berlin. Swimming in Berlin lakes until I get an ear infection. It makes me drowsy and lethargic, but still seems to spend all my time cycling around the city. On one night cycle for hours to a rave on the outskirts of the city. Like a lot the abandoned airport in Berlin. Oh yeah, vaping. Found a dead bumble bee. Speak with Nevin about projects. Write a piece about the future of the art world for a magazine being started by Nevin’s friend in Canada. Go to Lithuania. Walk around Vilnius, get too drunk by myself. Get to the Curonian Spit and Nida, beaches and new friends. For the Nightlife Residency project. For a short while life is like on a desert island of new food, new people, new locations, quiet and new meaning. Go to the Russian border on the beach. Cycle to the road boarder and get stopped by the police. Go nude on the beach for the first time. Sauna, sand dunes and forests. DJ out for the first time in ages, this time with Nono. To Kaunus and try nice and stodgy Georgian food for the first time. Hackney Wick back for party. Meet a ginger girl online and go on a date. Wallace Collection again. Free beer and pizza. White Cube. National Gallery, Titian. On BBC Radio London with my Dad. Riverside beers. Saw a lost swan near my front door. Meet Keaton near his work, one of many times. Making more and more music, getting better. Decide I need more organisation and clarity, put everything I’ve done on a blog. More or less long since given up on my job at M Woods. But don’t really begin looking for anything new because it’s still sunny. At some point I start getting benefits money. Go to see La Haine in the cinema. Someone blocks me on WeChat because of me. Some pub somewhere. Sunday walks and breakfast with my parents. Go to an exhibition in Woolworth Road with Muzi. Realise how nice it is to run to Victoria Park along the canal. Vicky Park in general. Dinners at friends’ houses. Museum of London. Walking with Michael in some countryside near London, surprising how quickly things turn green. Break onto a pier in Wapping with Jack. Battersea Park. Tate, Bruce Nauman. Old Street Weatherspoon’s with Keaton, drugs. Central London cemetery. Chinese in Camberwell. Chinese in Aldgate. Italian in Camberwell. More and more exercise, running, weights and yoga with my brother. Sadie Coles. Nick, Central London. Gucci Mane. Hampstead Heath more because Ludo and his flatmates are nearby. Ludo’s now house more for days and nights of you guessed it. Borough Market more, with Emma. Alexandra Palace walk and famous sandwiches after. Tate Britian new lights. More time at Muzi’s. Signing up for cycle courier. LYL Radio show. Shave head. Take acid and it hurts my stomach. Camden Arts Centre with Muzi. Christmas party with friends. Birthday. Cake with Muzi, presents and Indian takeaway from family, walk in Vicky Park with Ludo and Karim plus battered sausage and chips. Christmas at home nice and warming meal. Evening to Ludo’s place with more friends. Boxing day with Matthew, pints and then more at his house in Peckham all night long. Next day is tough! Giant turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey curry. Buy first NFTs. New Year’s Eve stay in at Muzi’s, one drink and a cake.

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the-energon-hole · 5 years

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Could I request some fall/autumn/halloween headcanons with tfp Smokescreen and Bee with their s/o's?

((A/N - I got stuck on this one, so I’m sorry if it seems a little off in anyway I had to adjust it so many times.))

Bumblebee

-”Oh, do you like that picture Bee?” You asked as you sat in an old lawn chair in the garage next to him. You were wrapped up in a nice warm blanket sipping a nice warm cup of coffee in your pajamas, it was a little self indulgent to do this with Bee, but the two of you decided that a night in could be relaxing and fun. No Decepticon Autobot War, no patrolling around the dusty old desert to keep watch for danger, and absolutely no one else but the two of you just sitting around and having a good chat. It was becoming a rarer and rarer commodity that the two of you would get time to yourselves beyond the little sneaks of affection you could squeeze in when there was down time at the base- it was nice to just sit and relax and talk to each other the way normal domestic partners were able to do, even if your relationship was far from normal. Bee beeped quizzically at you as he found one of your old photo albums lying on one of the workbenches in the small concrete room, you let him go through all your old photos… even if some of them hurt to look at and remember. The one he was asking about though was a fond memory you had from when you were younger and much more entrepid than you were now. It was a picture of you wrapped up in a warm and colorfully knitted scarf with mittens to match that were covering your hands, and as you had them thrown over your head there were leaves of so many varying colors flying around you in a messy fashion, some even sticking to your flushed looking face and to the dark beanie that covered your head. “That picture? Hmm… I can’t remember who took that one, but it was a trip I took up to the mountains so I could see the changing of the leaves for the first time. You don’t really experience seasons out here in the desert, so it was nice to be able to experience it at least once in my life.” Bee beeped at you quizzically again with a lot of inflection in his tone, and it finally hit you what he meant through his words… he had never experienced Autumn either. He hasn’t been able to see the world beyond the desert and the city the resides within it. It was then that you vowed to take him on the most amazing road trip once this whole war was over, you were going to show him the most amazing and beautiful places that the world has to offer.

-You sat cross legged on Bumblebee’s yellow and black hood as you examined a medium brown shipping box that was surprisingly light for its size. Bee beeped quizzically at you as you rotated the box in your hands as you shook it a little to try and guess what was inside. It was a package you ordered months ago and completely forgot about due to the fact you got swept up in an alien war between a species that consisted of giant robots- you argued that was a pretty fair reason to forget about your mail delivery on a consistent basis. Bee beeped at you again a little louder, which pulled you from you thoughts enough to chuckle and answer hks question- “Sorry, Bee, it looks like a package I ordered a while ago. I forgot what it was that I bought and I was trying to think of what it was that I could have ordered.” Bee responded with a noise of understanding as you adjusted yourself on the top of his hood so that you could properly open the box without making to much of a mess that you would have to clean up later. “Oh! This is the knitted Fall Ware I bought from that online designer I like” you exclaimed as you pulled out a plush looking scarf that was very soft to the touch, the next item you fished from the box was a sweater made of the same material that had a beautiful and artistic depiction of a tree losing its leaves that had changed to all different kinds of colors as they almost appeared to sway in the breeze on the still image on the piece of outerwear, and the last thing you pulled from the box was a cute little beanie that had a similar pattern to that of the sweater that was made of equally soft material. Bee beeped at you again as you wrapped the scarf around your neck in glee as you strokes at the fabric with your fingers, “These were fashion accessories that were apart of a bigger fall line by this internet designer, aren’t they cute? It’s a little too warm to wear them out here in the desert, but I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to snag myself a set when the time came.” Bee didn’t understand what you meant by fashion, but he was happy that you were happy about getting clothes that were meant to match the season of autumn. Besides, he thought you looked nice with all your new pieces of clothing- the warm colors matched your personality in a way he couldn’t describe, it was like a reflection of not only the changing of the season but also of who you were on the inside.

-You sat in your driveway in your new Halloween costumes as you watched the sun orange and yellow sun begin to dip down over the horizon. You’d be surprised at the fact that this small town does have quite a population of children, young children specifically- the ones that like to dress up in fun costumes and run around and collect as much candy as their bags could carry. You always loved Halloween and being able to celebrate it when you were little, and now that you were older and able to give out sweets on your own, you found it endearing and cute to see all the little ones running around asking for candy. You had the driveway decorated in a small way- a few body parts here and a few spiders there, but the big focal point of your decorations was none other than the bot himself, Bumblebee! He stood there nervously as the first group of kids of the night ran up to him and marveled at the “decoration” while the parents asked how you managed to accomplish such an amazing feat of engineering. “How did you get it’s eyes to glow so bright?” “It makes sounds just like a real machine!” “Oh, wow! It’s so warm and not cold at all!” After the night went on for awhile, you noticed Bee was actually having a good time receiving so much attention- you knew he would like pretending to be a statue more than he thought, olus, it was a good reminder for him about what it was that he was fighting for here on earth. These kids, these families, these people all called this floating rock their home and had nowhere else to go in the entire universe- this was a good way to not only see what he was fighting for, but for him to feel appreciated by civilians without giving away the fact he was an alien machine from another galaxy. so many kids dropped by that there was almost a party there on your block, but as it grew later and passed their bedtimes the crowd of people began to dissipate as they all waved goodbye to both you and the “statue” you let out a sigh of relief as your street was once again empty with all the houses that had light in them begin to grow dim. “How’d you like your first Halloween, Bee?” You asked as he transformed back into a car so you could usher him back into the privacy of your garage. He beeped happily at you as he began to describe all the kind things those kids said about him when they came up to place their hands on his frame- he felt so warm and loved as they spewed kind words at him in a way he had never experienced before. It made you smile as he continued on and on about his whole experience as if you weren’t there to see it, and it warmed your heart so much as you politely sat and listened to him speak with great passion and love.

Smokescreen

-You sat inside Smokescreen’s quarters that was located in the Autobot base doing nothing more than making a huge mess out of the project you had began just a few hours ago, but then again, the whole fun of this project was to get messy and mushy while teaching him the wily ways of humanity on the side. “So, why are you making a big mess again?” Smokescreen asked you as you sat on his desk covered in orange stringy pumpkin guts as you were trying to make the most traditional Jack-O-Lantern you could from this small one you picked up from the grocery store, you sighed at his question again as you tried not to touch your face out of frustration because you were still very sticky, it was literally about the third time he had asked that question- “It’s an old Hallow’s Eve tradition that dates back generations of humanity. Some people say that these little guys are supposed to protect your home from the undead, and others say they are meant to light the way for the good spirits to come and find you and give you blessings…” You explained as you finally began to carve into the surface of the pumpkin with your carving knife. “And… You believe that?” He asked in a rather crude tone as he cut you off before you could even finish your story, but you know he didn’t mean it on purpose- he just didn’t understand human customs and traditions quite yet, so it was only natural for him to think that what you were doing was rather… alien. “Does it matter if I do or not?” you shot back at him in a lighthearted tone as you placed a small tealight candle into the now hallowed and carved out shell of the tiny pumpkin “The point is that it’s tradition- and this tradition in particular can bring a lot of happiness to people. It’s a fun family activity that helps everyone get into the mood of the season, you know?” You light the candle and closed the pumpkin up to show Smokescreen what it was that you were trying to teach him about. It was nothing fancy, just your run of the mill goofy face with triangle eyes and a jagged mouth, but it seems Smokescreen just made a strange noise as he just couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept as he looked down into the face of the Jack-O-Lantern you just carved. “C’mon, help me with the next one you big grump.” You snickered as he made a face at you calling him a grump- you pulled out another round pumpkin that was much bigger than the last one that could really use a face- the point wasn’t for him to understand really, the point was for you two to finally spend some time together doing the things that you wanted to do instead of having to worry about the war that was going on outside of these walls, and he was just happy to be spending one on one time with the one person who understand him… even if he doesn’t understand you completely yet. Hew was trying to understand, and you really appreciated the effort, even if he did fall flat sometimes.

-”Thanks for taking me all the way out to the nearest coffee shop, Smokescreen” you said as you swirled the hot cup of liquid around in your cup as you sped down the freeway to head back to Jasper. You felt a sense of comfort when you felt the warm liquid swirl around in the paper cup that was in your hands, it was a little sappy, but you knew that this little cup of coffee guaranteed that you were going to have a great start to the new season (even if you didn’t really get to experience it due to living in a desert climate). “Anything for you, though, I have to say- it smells a little funny but also a little familiar… funny in a good way, I think?” He responded as you took a big whiff of your coffee through the small ventilation hole on the top of the cup. Pumpkin Spice, for you it was the perfect sign to let you know that it was the changing of the season, a perfect way to remind you that the rest of the world is experiencing cooler and cooler weather while beginning to prep for the upcoming holiday season. “It’s a special kind of spice that uses seasonal vegetation to celebrate a successful year of harvest- it’s a very popular scent on top of flavor. I use it all the time in the house as a candle because it’s kind of comforting.” You told him as you took a sip of your slightly too hot coffee- you might have to wait for it to cool off just a touch before you can really enjoy all of the flavors in the bitter liquid. “That must be why it is familiar! It’s comforting for me too… it reminds me of you, and anything that reminds me of you always makes me feel better.” You made an ‘aww’ noise at his words ad you put your hand on his dashboard. You could hear his voice stutter a little bit as he made a noise of sucking in air “I-I mean, you know- I like you and stuff but I- ummm.” He was stumbling through his words as he was trying to articulate his thoughts- he was so bad with words and it was so endearing and adorable to you. “You care about me and it’s very sweet, but don’t worry, just because you spill your guts to me it doesn’t make you any less of a macho mech.” You heard him sigh in relief. “Good! I mean- not that I think that kind of thing matters or anything. I mean- it does matter, but it doesn’t also… I mean-” “Relax, Smokescreen your emotional secret is just between you, me, and this cup of coffee.” You cut him off as you raised your cup a little to signify a mock toast as you took another sip of your seasonal drink. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” You just chuckled as you got comfortable in the driver’s seat once more as you opted to just watch the dry scenery pass you by once more- you reminisced about never being able to truly see the colors of fall, but that was ok, so long as you were surrounded by the people and bots that loved you nothing else really mattered.

-You jumped in your seat as you placed your hand over your chest in a way to try and quell the dramatic beating that you could feel inside of it. Smokescreen made a surprised noise as well, but his reaction was less dramatic than yours, which made you laugh harder at your own silliness. You both sat in front of a projection screen in his room just watching old classic horror movies from the 80s, you have seen all of these movies so many times as they aired as reruns on TV or they are always playing in the background during this time of year in shopping malls and movie theaters alike. “This is pretty gruesome! Why would those two teenagers stop in the middle of the woods to exchange fluids?! There is a guy trying to kill you!” Smokescreen emphasized as he was having a hard time understanding why humans would willfully do sexual things when there is a crazed serial killer on the loose. “You know Smokey, though this is a fictional movie, it has been known that adrenaline can increase the libido in humans- so scary things can make humans a little frisky.” You explained as you watched the killer hack up the poor teenagers who were screaming and begging for their lives. You didn’t really think beyond the words that came out of your mouth, as you were pretty much used to explaining things like this to Smokescreen, but when you caught him staring at you it made your face begin to flush as you asked him what he was looking at you like that for. “Are you watching this movie to… get your… libido er- going?” you nearly choked on your own oxygen as you coughed and almost panicked at what it was that he was implying. “Of course not! It’s nearly Hallow’s Eve and I was simply trying to get into the spooky mood!” you exclaimed as you put your hands on your cheeks to feel just how warm your face hard really gotten. “Ah…” He replied as he shifted a little in his seat on his berth. “Does that disappoint you?” you asked in a stoic way as you saw your opportunity to try and force Smokescreen into being more open and honest with his feelings. “I-I mean… I don’t- I don’t know. Yes? No?” He stammered as he too tried to cover his face in embarrassment “I mean- I like you. I think you’re attractive and I mean- who wouldn’t want to lay with you? N-Not that I want to right now! I mean, if you want-” You just chuckled as your face began to return to it’s normal color as you watched him struggle to find the words that were stuck in his audio box. “I know what you mean Smokey, I was just teasing you, you big goof.”you said as you gave him a gentle punch on his his servo- it was the closest appendage to you that you could reach to emphasize that you were just playing around with him. “Ok, good! Good” he sighed as he tried his best to turn his focus back onto the movie and to not try and think about the jarring conversation he just had with you where he nearly let his whole spark just puke out all of the deepest thoughts he had locked up in his processor. It wasn’t the right time to talk about that yet, but when it will be, he hopes that he doesn’t stammer and lose track of his words like he did earlier.

(02/11/2019)

#Long Post #Transformers Prime #Bumblebee #Smokescreen #Headcanon

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sarah-samedi · 5 years

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Tattoo for me / tattoo for you / you have tattoos / and I have some too!

I got my first tattoo when I was 20 at a parlour that isn’t there anymore: Wylde Tattoos on King St. East. I’d worked for them as a receptionist until my first cosmetic job at Shopper’s Drug Mart came up. It was in the area of art that I wanted to be in, since I was definitely no graphic artist and would never be a tattoo artist, myself.

But I am fair and willing, and make a beautiful canvas, I promise. I’m just too broke to get the tattoos I want. But I digress.

I walked in and the artist looked at me and said “It’s about time I get to tattoo you!” We had already decided what I’d get: the dragon from the Dracula (aka Tepes) family crest. The artist who laid this first piece of ink on me had begged me to get a scorpion of some sort, because astrologically I’m a Scorpio. In hindsight I’m so glad I didn’t.

My parents found out on a double-whammy that I smoked cigarettes and that I had this tattoo at the same time thanks to a photo an ex-boyfriend took. I was holdling the back of my shirt up, a cigarette in my fingers, and the thing my mother was most concerned about was the red rash that formed a perfect square around the ink. It was the reaction I’d had to the adhesive on the bandage they’d placed over the tattoo when it was completed, and I was allergic to it. I still am. Screw you, fabric bandage tape.

I’ve seen people who regret tattoos they’ve gotten; I’ve seen tattoos that I’d regret if they were on me. Misspelled, not well done, etc. I can’t say that all of mine are fantastic, but do I regret any of them? No way, not a one.

My second tattoo came on a whim and was from a parlour named Skinner’s. It was on my hip, and at the time was by far the most painful thing I’d ever experienced. I went with a friend I’d known since primary school, and stretched out on my back having a needle scratch at my opposite-of-lean hip, my artist was kind enough to put on some Slayer for me to relax to.

I’ve had lots of tattoos done in lots of places, both on my body and locations: Cambridge, Kitchener, and all over Hamilton.

My legs were done by an awesome dude in a super comfortable environment. I’d worn a super short black dress to get them done, so they’d have a chance to be comfortable post-inking. Those were painful. I went to a girlfriend’s house afterward, riding the bus, and then vomited and passed out briefly in her bathroom.

I assure you it wasn’t from the tattoos. I was less than six months out from a stage four cancer diagnosis, and losing a lot of blood on a regular basis. The experience, while hella frickin’ painful, was fun, relaxed, with tonnes of good music and good energy. Good energy, yup, so much so that he’s done four of my pieces, including a memorial piece for a much-missed friend.

My stomach was tattooed in May of 2016 after I’d had my stapled removed about three weeks earlier. I wanted something to make my Frankenbelly pretty; I needed it to accept this new and permanent part of my body. Even though it needs to be touched up, I love it and am proud of it. My Mom thought it would be funny for me to get a zipper tab at the top. I debated getting centipede legs and antennae at the top. Yuck, right?

I have pieces dedicated to artists I love and respect, and plan more by others: Rob Zombie, David Lynch, Mike Mignola. For my arms — either when my fiancé learns to tattoo or otherwise in my fantasies — I’ll have two Francesco Francavilla portraits: one of HP Lovecraft and Cthulhu on The Horror Arm (my right arm) and Stephen Hawking on The Science Arm (with my cancer ribbon; my left arm). Also featured on The Science arm will be Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan: more people I emulate and look up to.

The future of my body is mostly planned out, already:

Mirrors on the tops of my thighs, one each to represent the reflection of who I am through my parents, pieces of ink of more dedication, love and respect

The Alien Facehugger, its body wrapped around my right calf, its tail wrapped around my ankle

The solar system on the inside of my right arm, from elbow to wrist, in gorgeous linework and stippling, with the phrase “Onward To The Edge” beneath

Runes from the Necronomicon and Mike Mignola’s mythology to fill the space betwen the pieces on my right arm

The inside of my right wrist will have Rob Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” drawing to go along with the sketch of Mike Mignola’s Sea Witch and the Lords of Salem piece — I like the format of the tattoos seeming rough and hand-drawn

The four main phases of the moon on the insides of my right-handed fingers

A little fox on one of my knuckles

An infinity symbol on the inside of another finger, but on the left

A bow on one of the fingers of my left hand — chemo has left me with a goldfish memory and I forget everything now

That leaves my right arm just above my wrist up to the inside of my elbow free, my left calf, ribs, and around my waist free for more ink. I can’t lie, though, when HK gets his skills down for tattooing, I’ll be friggin’ covered. Sorry, Mom!

I have very little colour in my pieces; only two have colour in them while the rest are either outline, graphic black, or greyscale and black. It was important for my cancer ribbon to have colour, same with the bow on my belly. They’ve played an important part of me learning to love my body again post-surgery, and to show the world that I’m a friggin’ warrior. Hah!

Anyone who donates to HK’s tattoo fund will get equivalent tattoo time when he’s practiced, starting with yours truly.

20 years ago when I got my first tattoo (okay, almost 20 years, let’s not make me older than I actually am), they were stigmatized as something people judged; now it’s commonplace, both good tattoos and bad. I can’t wait for more.

xoxo, Sarah

To be sung in the tune of “Duff Beer” Tattoo for me / tattoo for you / you have tattoos / and I have some too!

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thotyssey · 6 years

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RePoint: Viva Vidalia

When Thotyssey last interviewed Viva Vidalia (one of our earliest), she’d just won the Mr. Rockbear sash at her home base of Rockbar, and had also just started doing drag. Much as changed! Now among many other things, Viva is the key element to Thotyssey’s latest nightlife venture. Let’s review with Viva!

Thotyssey: Viva, hello again! So I understand you’re off tonight... how are you spending your “down time?”

Viva Vidalia: Hey Jim! YES I finally have a Friday off, and all I want to do is be as far away from a bar as possible! I'm using today to catch up on sewing commissions and hair things. The drag never stops!

When did you start making stuff for other queens?

I have been sewing costumes for other performers for a long time now. I started openly taking commissions about two months ago, and I'm very fortunate to say that it's been keeping me quite busy.

And do you have a piece you did for another queen that you’re most proud of?

I recently worked on Honey Davenport's Poison Ivy costume for her BloodBath performance, and I am still super proud of how the entire look came together.

So the last time Thotyssey spoke to you was in 2016. you’d just won Mr. Rockbear, and had been doing drag for like 5 minutes! Obviously a lot has changed since then.

Yeah, that was a while ago!

What has surprised you the most about how you have evolved as a queen since you started?

I think what's surprises me the most is how much I absolutely did not have anything together back then, even though I really I thought I did. The last time we spoke I was still trying to balance a bear life and a drag life. It was tiring, and not very fruitful. I think when I married both parts of my life, I was able to evolve into the performer I am right now.

I recently saw a drag king performance you did with Jason Mustachio’s revue at Rockbar... that was kind of a tribute to Bear Viva in a way, but still very drag!

Absolutely! That night actually is, to date the most nervous I've ever been about any performance. But I'm glad I was able to bring out Vincent; I perform as Viva so much that I sometimes forget about the man underneath the lashes and stretch fabric.

So today, what’s the best thing about drag for you, and what’s the worst?

The best part of drag is the performing. I absolutely love being on a stage and entertaining. For me there is no feeling on this earth like it. The worst part would definitely have to be getting out of drag! There is nothing I hate more than getting home at 3am and having to take everything off and shower before bed. All I ever want to do is sleep!

I can imagine! So we’ve seen a few cycles of Drag Race come and go... Dusty Ray Bottoms is your gurl, isn’t it exciting to see what she’s been up to since her season?

Dusty has been one of my favorite performers in NYC since I first saw her perform. She has always been a star in my eyes, and I'm glad to see that the show has put her in a place to get the recognition she deserves.

Will Viva be a RuGurl someday?

I'd sure like to be. NYC is full of incredible queens, and the show in clearly looking at this city as a prime pickup spot. I think the chances of me getting on that show are as good as any other queen! So... fingers crossed.

Let’s talk about gigs! You used to host Miss Runner Up at Rockbar on Fridays with another drag seamstress, Miss Florence D’Lee! Today you are with Lilith LeFae and sometimes Catrina Lovelace too.

Yeah! Miss Runner Up has had many queens come and through. Working with all the previous hosts has always been great because they are all my dear friends. Every Friday on stage was essentially just hanging out with my friends

These days it will just be me and Lilith Lefae keeping it going. We will actually be postponing the show to do a viewing party for Drag Race: All Stars when is starts.

That fuckin’ Friday night Drag Race time slot! How bullshitty is that!?

Haha! Truly any chance I get to get up in drag, sit down, watch and make money... I'm cool with it.

Congrats on recently becoming Boxers HK’s Wednesday night karaoke queen! How is that treating you so far?

Thank you! This week was my first time hosting. It's such a fun venue, and the neighborhood is super cute. The new GM is an absolute angel, and the entire staff are equally as great. It’s slowly becoming my favorite gig to host.

If you could pay, like, $10 to remove a song from the karaoke book forever, what would it be?

As much as I fully love and acknowledge this song as a classic, if one more person drunkenly stumbles through "Don't Stop Believing” one more time I might pelt them with my wig!

And I hear your stepping in for Shuga Cain at Hardware this Thursday.

Shuga is not only one of my favorite queens, but truly one of my favorite people on this planet. I have been guesting with her pretty regularly at the show, and stepped in to cover some she is away. It's always such a good time.

Love her! Now let’s talk about Viva Variety, the variety show at Bedlam we just premiered this past Tuesday night. It’s a Thotyssey production featuring guest performing queens, musicians, burlesquers, etc. (this week: Honey Davenport, Gloria Swansong & Senerio) each night, and you are the host! How fuckin’ fun was that premiere!?

I'm truly humbled and honored to be a part of it! We are celebrating not just drag, but all the different kinds of talent that exist within our community. Singers, dancers, comedians, burlesquers... anything and everything is welcome... and most importantly, appreciated. Bedlam Bar is the new queer bar / safe space in town, and such an incredible venue!

And I understand you have a Thanksgiving party coming up on Friday the 23rd at Cmon Everybody with the guys of Faith Lyft!

YES! I got a message asking if I'd like to be a part of the party and off course I said yes. I'm actually a closet disco freak, so I know oit’s ts gonna be a good time. The party is going to be benefiting the Bowery Mission as well. DRAG for a cause is always a good thing!

Anywhere else?

I am at The Phoenix on Sunday 11/25, at 10.

Werk! Okay last question... Mariah Carey’s Glitter soundtrack is suddenly and inexplicably back in the Top 10 downloads... yay or nay?

ALL. THE. WAY. YAY.

LOL! Thanks, Viva!

Viva Vidalia hosts “Viva Variety” at Bedlam on Tuesdays (9pm) and karaoke at Boxers HK on Wednesdays (9pm), and co-hosts “Miss Runner Up” with Lilith LeFae on Fridays at Rockbar (7pm). CHeck Thotyssey’s calendar for all of her scheduled appearances, and follow Viva on Facebook and Instagram.

Previously: Viva Vidalia (4.19.2016)

On Point Archives

#onpointwith #vivavidalia

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datmadginger · 4 years

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This story is set in a different time line to my main head Canon for my MC in Hogwarts Mystery and it will be a star wars story and Hogwarts mystery crossover where Earth is in star wars old au story (side note: Fuck Disney's SJW star wars) and it has been for over ten years it will also have some major changes to both Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker's story and to what we main story and It will also have the alien races from the mass effect universe to make the galaxy bigger and finally my MC will be a grey Jedi padawan under Jedi master Shan along with her daughter and a few other knights and padawans under her the main story will be set before, during and after the clone war and at the same time there will be a new mc for the Hogwarts Mystery story that will not be related to my MC story before year 5 in/this version of my mc will not be a main player in the Hogwarts mystery before the new mc and the gang begin their 5th finaliy the main relationships/love interest for my MC will be Penny Haywood and for the new Female MC will be Charlie Weasley

My name is Niall Case grand master of the new Jedi order and this is my story from my days as a padawan fighting in the clone wars to order 66 and the Jedi purge to war the empire with the United Council of the Unknown Regions along with other adventures during my life with the Jedi order being fully restored in the Unknown Regions I leave a Jedi holocron with all my knowledge on it and why the old Jedi order failed to stop the Sith and the new Jedi order defeated the empire, Darth Sidious and redeemed Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader with the help of Anakin son Luke Skywalker

I was born on Earth in Manchester England 10 years after Earth was discovered by the wider galaxy on the day I was born Jedi master Lucia Shan decover me to be force sensitive mum died in child birth and my dad was no where to be found master Shan was a like a mother to me and she has a daughter named Sara Shan who is just a little bit older than me but we all see one another like family as I grew up In the Jedi temple I would come to learn to I was storng with the force and I have a very deep contention with the force both light and and dark side of the the force were storng with in me when I was eight years old masters Shan, Yoda and the Jedi in charge of my training master Rakepick took me and a few other Jedi padawans to the ice plant of lium to get our first lightsaber crystal and with me being the first human born on earth to be train as a Jedi I want my lightsaber to represent my home world parts from my homeworld and after I finished making my lightsaber the blade was a light blue and I used the metal that I is for earth for hilt built with my fighting style being aggressive in attack and elegant in defence my lightsaber materials i used was gold.

Two years after I built my lightsaber the Clone wars began and I fought in space during the first battle of the war two months after the my first battle space I had my first battle on the ground at the plant mygeto and I had my first lightsaber duel against a dark Jedi named Kai Loana who turned to the dark side and I was able to over power my opponent with me being faster and with me learning four of the seven lightsaber forms 2, 3, 4, and 5 and my opponent only using one lightsaber form I was able too beat them with ease and the first battle of mygeto was the first many battle during the clone I fought a dark side user's.

Two year after the war began my homeworld was attacked by the droid army after getting permission form the Jedi council I lead the 682nd Clone legion known as the stars because there armor was painted to look like the night sky to the unknown regions where earth was along with several other alien races from the unknown regions that call that part of the galaxy home along with innocent civilians for the main regions of our galaxy that escaped there home's after the war The droid army took their homes away before the command ship of the 682nd known as the new dawn jumped to earth I got in touch with the Jedi knight who was like an older brother to me Anakin Skywalker and asked for his help in taking back my home world and he agreed bringing the 501st legion with him but as we entered the unknown regions the navy of United earth contacted us and told us to meet at titan the largest moon of Saturn once we arrived we were be Admiral Hackett of the Warhound a super javelin battleship from Earths navy and it was 17 km long it was longer at that point in time than anything in the Republic navy after meeting the captain of the ship I told him that I am from earth and I am the first human born from our world to be trained as a Jedi and I want to help save our plant Admiral Hackett looked at me and asked me for my name and I told him "my name is Niall Case Jedi padawan under Jedi masters Rakepick and Shan and I am a commander in the grand army of the Republic and I am here with 682nd clone legion and i've also got help from Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker and his 501st clone legion in order to save our home world from the droid army."

A month after the battle Earth had finshed with an Republic & United Earth victory I discovered that Earth is home to a verson of the force call magic as they called it I was mediating in a courtyard letting the force follow through me after me and the 682nd, clone legion saved Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and Hogsmeade village along with the help of the United earth air force and head master of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore and some of the wizarding world version of law enforcement we saved the school and village as I came to the end of my medications I could feel the school starting to come alive for the day I made my way inside the castle and one of the students came towards me and she said that Professor Dumbledore wanted to speak with me in his office as we made our way over to his office I would learn that her name is Georgina Jones and that she is in the middle of her 3rd year at Hogwarts and that she is trying to stop something called the Cursed Vaults she also told me about Hogwarts and there house system and she is in a house called Hufflepuff and along with her house there is three others Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. After my meeting with professor Dumbledore I agree along with my troops and I will keep Hogwarts a secret along with magic on Earth as I make my down to the main courtyard I here Georgina call me over to meet her some of her friends Benjamin Copper a muggle born Gryffindor is the what he called himself then I met Rowan and his twin sister Rowana then Georgia boyfriend Charlie Weasley and Charlie's older Brother Bill after meeting the Weasley brothers i met Tonks, Merula, Tuilp, Chiara and finally Georgia best friend Penny Haywood and the second I saw her I thought that she is amazingly beautiful she is and she has the compassion of a Jedi and her compassion is one that most of the Jedi masters will be proud of having.

Two years have passed since earth was saved I am now leading a collection army of the Republic clone troopers and the army's of beings from the unknown regions with it growing by the day I still keep in touch with the friends I made at Hogwarts and I grew close with Penny over the last two years and she became a really good Friend of mine when I was off duty and based on earth during the time that passed I fought a dark Jedi called Carla Torres on Naboo and during the fight I lost my right hand just bellow my ellbow but I fought though the pain and killed her in lightsaber combat after the duel I was taken to a medical centre run by United Earth on Mars where the latest technology used by my homeworlds army's, navy and air forces along with medical technology and they gave me a new hand that was better than anything the Republic had to offer after my fight on Naboo I learned that my Master Ratepick went missing the Jedi council told me she had a lead on the Sith Lord that is hiding in the Shadows and that she has been seen in two months ago on Mustafar I tried to look for her though the Force but I couldn't sense her so I assumed that she was dead a month and a half later I was assigned to the first Krogen that was trained as a Jedi over 400 years ago by Grand Master Yoda my master was called Urdnot Vassar a Grey Jedi master and He was the master to master Shan ancestor and now he was my new master.

As the clone wars was coming to an end I was based on the Kashyyyk in the last two year the war got worse and after fight dark Jedi after dark Jedi a few fight with the Sith apprentice Count Dooku and one battle the droid General grievous where I almost killed him but he escaped in that time i also saved a wookiee named jufar and he was a the champion warrior of his people and a really good friend along with him found and actervated a old war droid called HK-100 and it has been with me ever from the moment he came online as a reward for how far I have come master Yoda called me to the command centre where he along with masters Shan, Vassar and two other Jedi were stand with there lightsaders on master told me to step forward and kneal before him and I did he would lower his lightsaber just above my right shoulder then over left shoulder and finally above my head and says "Niall Case by the right of the council by the will of the force dub thee I do Jedi knight of the Republic." I was finally a Jedi knight the first Jedi knight from earth but little did I or my forces know what would happen next.

("Commander Grinder the time has come execute order 66" from Darth Sidious) I saw the message and I could felt the Shift in the force with my training in both the light and the dark sides of the force not wanting to be gunned down by the clones I attacked and killed them all before they could get a single shot of at me I the contacted Admiral Hackett and told him that the Republic has betrayed us and to give the fall back order to all units that are not clones and I told him tell our army to save as many Jedi and wookiee's as they can a few our of fight my way to the landing zone trying to make my way to Lucia and Sara Shan and master Vassar I could see the transport getting ready to take of I had a hand full of wookiee's with me we were able to get on broad but at a massive cost master Vassar the Jedi that completed my training gave his life to save us after we escaped aboard the Warhound we made our way to Earth to catch our breaths and to plan our next move.

During the Warhound return to Earth I was meditating in my room a board the warship I could sense Jedi after Jedi being gunned down by the clones we had come to trust over the last 5 and a half years the Sith have played both the Republic and the separatist the clones and the droids And the Jedi couldn't stop it and now we've lost during my meditation I reached out to Obi Wan and Ashoka and they both responded I told them that I'm heading to Earth and asked them to join me here and if they find Anakin tell him as well Ashoka responded with that she was going to stay with Lux Bonteri on Onderan and Obi Wan told me to meet him at a medical station in the outer rim after meeting up with Obi Wan he told me that Anakin Skywalker was dead he was killed by a new Sith Lord called Darth Vader the new Sith Apprentice to Darth Sidious Emperor of the Empire that has just taken over from the Republic Obi Wan also told me that Anakin was married and his wife was sentor from Naboo Padme who had died in child birth and she had twins Luke And Leia Skywalker Obi Wan told me that he was going to take Leia to Anakin's home world and train her to become a Jedi in that moment the force told that I must take Luke on as my padawan to train him to become a Jedi so I did and after I conceived the Jedi master that Luke would better of with me being trained as a grey Jedi than the Sentor Organa and after a 4 hour debate it was decided that I will take luke to earth and train him as a grey Jedi.

So this is part one of four my star wars Hogwarts Mystery crossover au so part one is my mc story as a Jedi and part two will be the different version of year 5 and the beganing of the romance between mc and Penny along with other Jedi that didn't die durning order 66 and maybe an dark Jedi or Vader showing up plus i will answer what happend with Ratepick in part 2 I hoped you enjoyed this 5 year of my main story will be out next with a few changes to what we get in the main story.

#hogwarts mystery mc #hogwarts mystery headcanons #star wars au

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emilyzh2019-blog · 5 years

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My Interview with Nomadic Matt

Travel Inspiration

If you’ve ever researched a travel destination online, you’ve probably come across Matt Kepnes. He’s been blogging & writing about travel for many years.

Today, I wanted to chat with Matt about his newest book, saving money on travel, plus some of his most memorable misadventures. Here’s Matt:

Tell Us About Yourself!

My name is Matt Kepnes, but these days most people know me as Nomadic Matt. The short version of my story is that I grew up in the Boston area and went to school to be a high school history teacher. I ended up taking a job at a hospital doing administrative work while I tried to find a teaching job and ended up there for three years. I hated the job and found it really mundane and boring. I mean my co-workers were nice but the job itself was awful.

In 2006, after meeting some backpackers and falling in love with the idea of long-term travel, I quit my job to travel the world. My plan was to travel for about a year.

I came home eighteen months later, decided the “real world” was right for me, and left again. I ended up spending a decade on the road.

And here we are now.

In addition to my blog, I also I co-own a hostel in Austin, Texas called HK Austin, I teach a few online courses, I organize an annual travel conference for bloggers, writers, photographers, and other creators in the travel industry called TravelCon, and I run a charity called FLYTE that helps students in underserved communities around the US experience transformative trips abroad.

Matt Exploring Madagascar

What Have Been Some Highlights Over The Years?

After a decade on the road, there’s been a lot of great moments. But some highlights includes the month I spent on Ko Lipe in Thailand (barefoot mind you). We had a great group of people there and I would have stayed longer if my visa hadn’t expired.

Something similar happened in Greece on the island of Ios. I ended up meeting some amazing people and staying for a couple of months just hanging out and working on my tan (and blog).

Then there was learning to scuba dive in Fiji, living in Bangkok for a couple of years, playing poker in Amsterdam for a few months, hiking Patagonia, visiting Madagascar, and having a job that lets me travel.

What Do Most Budget Travelers Do Wrong On Their First Trip?

As a backpacker or budget traveler, money management is key to your success — especially when you’re traveling long term. You have an infinite amount of time but not an infinite amount of money so backpackers who fail to keep track of their spending are going to find themselves going home early.

When you aren’t working, it’s easy to spend money — you have a lot of free time after all! Meals, tours, and night’s out — they all add up pretty quickly. So, if you’re not keeping track of where that money is going, you aren’t going to know how to pace your spending. I still keep a budget journal so I know what I’m spending. It allows me to go, “Ok, I’ve been spending too much on X (alcohol/Starbucks/tours/taxis/whatever) so it’s time to cut down so I can get back to what my daily spending needs to be.”

If you’re on a budget or need to keep an eye on your spending, keep a journal to track your expenses. There are apps you can use too, like Trail Wallet or Mint. Whatever method you prefer, track your expenses. It’s the only way to make sure you don’t go home early broke!

Hiking in Patagonia

How Can Travelers Save Money On Their Next Trip?

Travel has never been more accessible or affordable thanks to a large number of deal websites online, the sharing economy (which lets you avoid traditional travel gatekeepers), and just all the information out there that lets you find out cheap and affordable things to do in a place. Here are a few money-saving tips worth considering for your next trip:

Visit the tourism offices. Every city has one, and they are a great way to learn about discounts, coupons, free activities, events, and money-saving tourism passes. In short, they’re a great resource that is often overlooked. Don’t make that mistake!

Start travel hacking. Collecting points and miles is a great way to earn free flights and free hotel stays. I’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars over the years — and you can too!

Go on free walking tours. Most major cities have them, and they are a great way to learn about the history and culture of a new destination. You’ll get access to a local guide too, which means you can get any and all of your questions answered as well. Just be sure to tip your guides!

You Usually Travel Solo. Why?

Well, I learned a long time ago that if I wanted for people, I’d never go anywhere. If I wanted to travel, I just had to be willing to go alone. But, what’s kept me traveling solo, is the freedom. As a solo traveler, you’re free to do whatever you want! Want to change your travel plans on a whim? You can. Want to stay in and watch Netflix all day? You can. Hate museums? Skip them!

When you travel solo, the world is your oyster. You’re free to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

But more than that, solo travel teaches you a lot about yourself. Without anyone around you, you have to solve problems. You have to figure out how to get from point A to B, deal with people who speak a different language, get comfortable eating alone, find things to do, and work out problems that arise. It’s you and your wits. That teaches you a lot about yourself and forces you to grow in ways you won’t in the comfort of your home or with a group.

I encourage everyone to try solo travel at least once. Even if you don’t love it, you’ll still learn a ton about yourself in the process. Travel is an amazing personal development tool after all, and solo travel is one of the best ways to learn and grow and challenge yourself.

What Tips Do You Have For Planning A First Solo Trip?

Planning a trip can seem daunting — especially if it’s a longer trip. Buying the right bag, researching cheap flights, comparing travel insurance plans – there seems to be never-ending list when you are planning a trip. Three things I would recommend that would make the planning process easier are:

Try to always break your trip planning down into steps so you have a roadmap to follow. This checklist will ensure you cover all your bases, which will also give you some added confidence and eliminate any anxiety about missing things.

Book your first few days of accommodation before you arrive. This will give you time to settle in and adjust to a new environment without worrying about where to go and where to stay. From here, you can plan your next steps if you haven’t done so already.

Be flexible. On shorter trips, this is challenging because you want to maximize your experiences. But for longer trips, don’t plan out every minute of every day. Give yourself time to relax, to stumble into something unplanned. No matter how much research you do, you’ll always discover new things to see and do. And you’ll meet people, as well. Give yourself time to accommodate these things. A little serendipity goes a long way!

Any Travel Misadventures You Want To Share?

I’ve had some minor hiccups, like when I fell in the water when I was in Italy and ruined my brand-new camera. I popped an eardrum scuba diving, got food poisoning in Costa Rica, and I’ve had some less than stellar hostel experiences, like when I woke up and someone had shit themselves in the dorm and got shit everywhere.

And I’ve had some terrifying experiences, like when I was stabbed in Colombia.

Fortunately, I was able to learn something from each experience. As a traveler, things will go wrong. It’s inevitable. From minor hiccups to major incidents, you always need to be willing to roll with the punches. Just like life at home, life on the road will take some unexpected turns. But with the right mindset, you can always find a silver lining and learn from your experiences.

10 Years A Nomad

You’ve Just Written A New Book. What’s It About?

My new book is called Ten Years a Nomad. Unlike my previous book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, this book is a memoir and not a “how to” kind of book. It’s about my ten years traveling around the world, the lessons I learned from the experience, my advice on being a better traveler, and how people can apply it to their own travels.

It features stories I’ve never told on the blog and goes deeper and into more detail with some I have shared.

In short, this book follows the emotional journey of a trip around the world: getting the bug, the planning, setting off, the highs, the lows, the friends, what happens when you come back — and the lessons and advice that come hand in hand with all that.

I spent years writing it (literally) and I’m really proud of how it turned out so I’m looking forward to hearing what people think!

Why Write A Memoir, Instead Of Another “How To” Book?

While “how to” content is certainly helpful, travel is about more than just how to get from A to B. Travel is about learning. It’s about growing and connecting with people. It’s about opening yourself up to the world and seeing things with your own eyes.

I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences and stories in a way that could do them justice. A simple blog post can never really capture every little detail. How do you condense 10 years of experiences into a few thousand-word blog post? You just can’t do it.

So that’s why I wanted to write this book. I want to share my story, my philosophy, and my reflections on the art of travel in the most honest way possible.

I’m really proud of how it turned out and I’m looking forward to traveling around the US and Canada (and eventually Europe) to see what people think! ★

BIO

Matt Kepnes is a budget travel expert and the creator of Nomadic Matt. He’s the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Travel the World on $50 a Day and his latest book, 10 Years A Nomad. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

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tocinephile · 5 years

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Ada’s Top 10 Films of 2018

In tandem with this post, I’ve also recreated this list in Letterboxd.com, you can find it at: https://letterboxd.com/palindr0me/list/adas-top-10-films-of-2018/

Between Christmas shopping, baking a couple hundred cookies, and rewatching Bad Santa every December, I try to take a peek at critics’ lists of the top films of the year (even if I myself manage to procrastinate well into February to compile my own list each year). On December 31st a good friend and fellow writer published his list, the opening sentence of his blog proclaimed 2018 was the best year for film this century and that’s when I began to panic.

Though I was far from finalizing my list, I had thought 2018 to be one of the worst years for film in recent history! I immediately starting chasing all the award season favourites plus other talked about films at TIFF 2018, and spent as much of January in front of a screen as possible. I hoped against hope that I somehow missed all the good films of 2018.

A month later I will say this: 2018, it wasn’t as bad as I thought! However, after much brainstorming and revisions to the order of my list, I will say that not a single film stood out for me as the year's best, which is very rare. So here are 10 films (and then some) in not much of a particular order that I think should be talked about for 2018.

Qualifying films for Ada’s Top 10 Films:

• any film that screened at a festival that I attended in 2018 • any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2018 • is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2018

1. Widows 2. Hotel Mumbai 3. Destroyer 4. Capernum 5. The Hate U Give 6. Love, Simon 7. Isle of Dogs 8. Pick of the Litter 9. Shadow 10. Transit

Honourable Mentions:

• Shoplifters • Free Solo • BlacKkKlansman • A Star is Born • Vox Lux • Everybody Knows • The Other Story

1. Widows

I firmly believe Widows film came in under the radar considering all that it embodied. In a year of diversity in film, Widows is made by a man of Caribbean descent (Steve McQueen), written by a woman (Gillian Flynn), starting FOUR women - 3 of which are of a visible minority (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Enviro, and Elizabeth Debicki), and Daniel Kaluuya portrays one cold-blooded villain. And on top of that, Widows is good entertainment! I may have a soft spot for heists and ass-kicking women, but I’d like to think I know a good thriller when I see one. I feel that Widows didn’t get the love it deserved and so I'm mentioning it first.

2. Hotel Mumbai

I saw Hotel Mumbai last year and it is dated 2018 across the web, but it is coming to theatres soon and I assure you it’s good entertainment for your buck. I saw it in the midst of back to back films and long work days during TIFF 2018, worried that I’d accidentally nod off. Instead, I couldn’t close my eyes if I tried. Again this ensemble cast film is more about entertainment value that cinematic artistry, and I never compared the story on screen to historical facts, but what I took in was enough to stay with me and rank it amongst one of the best times I had in a movie theatre in 2018.

3. Destroyer

Destroyer is fresh in my mind having only seen it a few weeks ago. Due to the nature of my volunteer work with TIFF, it was one of the films this year that I kept walking into mid-movie (much to my dismay). I purposely avoided the ending of the film and then had no opportunity to see it again until recently, giving me lots of time to forget anything I might have accidentally absorbed. Fully aware that it was going to be a dark, depressing watch, I quickly found myself engrossed in the story reminiscent of the HK police dramas that I grew up with about divided loyalties and double agents. Director Karen Kusama pushes Kidman's character well past the point of likability but the story keeps you invested in the events as they unfold. That's when you know you've got a good story.

4. Capernaum

Also fresh in my mind is Capernaum, a Foreign Film nominee in this year's awards season. This film that looks at extreme child poverty from Lebanon is at once heartbreaking and endearing. The film follows young Zain but is supported by a host of complex characters, ch with a detailed back story of struggle and survival. Together they give the film a fullness and weaves a world where although individuals' actions fall into a decidedly grey area, no explanation is required to justify them. It is a world unknown to the majority of people who will see this film, but it is utterly engrossing.

5. The Hate U Give

This was a last film on my list of 2018 movies to watch before compiling this list and I'm really thankful I didn't get lazy and skip it. While there's no single aspect to make it truly stand out in awards season, it's a shame that The Hate U Give isn't getting quite as much love as Green Book nor BlacKkKlansman because it delivers a similar powerful message, from a different angle that actually made it the differentiator for me. The story comes from the eyes of young black teenager girl named Starr, wonderfully portrayed by Amandla Stenberg, and addresses an aspect of being a visible minority that speaks volumes to me: assimilation. Compared to other common themes (oppression, profiling, etc)

6. Love, Simon

When I think of light hearted, entertaining but impactful teen-targeted, coming of age tales, I like to compartmentalize them by the decade. Now maybe I'm getting too old, or maybe it's become so ok to be and do whatever you want that no individual story can resonate anymore, that I don't have too many examples from the 10's, but Love, Simon is definitely one of them. It's not heavy nor gritty, rather glossed over in fact (the main character even admits it), but the message shines through and it's a really fun film that I think will remain a crowd pleaser for years to come. There is a place in our hearts for movies like this one, it's easy to go over the top or fall flat in this territory but I think Love, Simon really hit the nail on the head.

7. Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson + endearing tale about dogs, I mean, come on! None of my defenses would be strong enough to dislike this film! I wish I'd had a chance to rewatch it so that I offer you more than just a rehashing of all the things I love about Wes Anderson's style and trademarks.

8. Pick of the Litter

Perhaps 2018 was truly the year of the dog, not just in the Chinese Zodiac but in film as well. Pick of the Litter was my most memorable documentary of the year, I did not make it through the intro without tearing up (it was really embarrassing and thank god the friend I went to see it with was sniffling harder than me) It was truly a journey, and insightful too, it goes way beyond humour and cuteness, and believe me there was a lot of cuteness. The thing that hit home most about Pick of the Litter for me besides the idea of guide dog named Phil (and we still always wonder how Phil and his human are doing!) as how invested I became in the litter's story through the course of the film.

9. Shadow

Ok, here's my Chinese film of the year. Joke aside, Zhang Yimou's Shadow is not on this list merely because I need an Asian film to fill a quota. With the possible exception of Isle of Dogs, the films on my list this year were selected largely based on story over style... Except this one. This is all style, it's a visual stunner that really puts the director back at the top of his game. He devotes the film to a steely palette that's at once cold but exciting. Come to the think of it, the story wasn't bad either.

10. Transit

If you haven’t seen Transit, I have some advice for you. This is not a spoiler so please take it into consideration. Transit is adapted from the 1942 novel by Anna Seghers with a few modernizations that calls for a leap of faith. As an audience member, be prepared to suspend believe and it will make all the difference in your enjoyment of the film. I wish someone had told me this beforehand so that I didn’t spend half the movie trying to make sense of details that had little bearing on the plot. I spent days after the fact trying to decide whether I loved the film or it didn’t make any sense. Thankfully the conclusion I came to was that Transit is a lucid tale of love, loss, longing, and humanity. Characters and story mirror each other in early meanderings that creates an almost surreal existence contrasting against the harsh realities of events taking place around them. There is profound sadness, but there is also beauty.

Honourable Mentions:

You'll note from above my list of honourable mentions is getting to be almost as long as the top 10 itself (in fact it was probably just as long until I trimmed a few films off... You don't need me to tell you about Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther)

I saw Destroyer, Capernaum, and The Hate U Give quite recently, but until I had, Shoplifters and Free Solo had firmly been in my top 10.

I'm typically not a fan of Japanese cinema, but there are always exceptions and Shoplifters was definitely one that defied the odds. It broke from the often tiresome mold (to me) of demure characters, restraint, and complicity that's often portrayed in that country's cinema. The message of making your own happiness and family being those that loved you most regardless of genetic ties was heartwarming and resonating.

Free Solo ranked amongst the fictional narratives on my list for thrilling and edge of your seat viewing. It takes a lot to keep me wide-eyed griping the arm of my chair in the theatre in anticipation and fear for an hour and a half. I love heights and I was scared witless.

BlacKkKlansman and A Star is Born are seemingly award show favourites, though not winning as many awards as they might have hoped, both have strong scripts, powerhouse talent, skillful direction for the former, and one of my favourite songs of the year from the latter. They truly are amongst some of the best films made in 2018.

Vox Lux is one of those films that warrants a discussion after viewing, at least for me. Though it feels like the film scored points neither with critics nor audiences, there’s a part of me that’s drawn to intricate explorations of the selfish and narcissistic. Natalie Portman was great in the role in my opinion. To make an unlikable character worth watching is not an easy feat, especially when the possibility of redemption isn’t really on the table. Like Destroyer, it takes one hell of an acting performance and skilled direction to pull this off. I guess this is where some thought Destroyer nailed it, and pretty much no one thought Vox Lux did.

Everybody Knows (Spain, thought director Asghar Farhadi is Iranian) and The Other Story (Israel) were also amongst the most enjoyable foreign films I watched in 2018. I'm not sure if The Other Story got Canadian distribution but Everybody Knows is playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox right now for those who want to see it. Both are dramas centred around families.

We're well into 2019 films now and I'm really hoping for some standouts this year, at least in my eyes. I mean, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does have a July release date after all! As well, we're about to wrap another decade in film so even more lists charting the best of the last 10 years. But first, we got some more movies to watch!

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nedilynndominique · 7 years

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Hong Kong (June 20-23, 2016)

I can’t believe that it’s almost been a year. I don’t want it to be a year just yet, I want the memories to be so vivid that it feels like it just happened a week ago. It was my first to travel outside of the country, and oh how I want to do it again and again. I want to learn about people, their culture, their food... All these landmarks... All these places that people create memories in. I only wish to be motivated enough to finally find a job and earn so much money that I can get to travel as much as I want. With that being said, here is my Hong Kong experience.

After my graduation and after Kuya finally finished his thesis, papa was happy enough to take is to Hong Kong. He paid for kuya, Layne, mama’s, and my airplane ticket, Disney ticket, and accommodations ticket. On that day, uncle Jay was home from Australia. It’s so weird to think, because uncle Jay went home last Christmas, and it just shows that this HK trip happened months and months ago. Anyway, uncle Jay was home and uncle Alvin and his kids were at home that day. Uncle Alvin is going to be driving us to the airport at... I can’t even remember, I think 1 in the morning. I didn’t get to sleep at all! We were so early that we lounged around and ate some snacks for a few hours. It was so weird! My last plane ride was during my 3rd year in High School, but our Cathay Pacific plane ride now was so much better, and so much comfortable. I sat beside mama, and I started taking videos of our experience then. Cathay had all the best music: from Charlie Puth to Demi Lovato! And also, I used the lavatory because papa told us to. Haha. So with zero sleep, I felt like I was floating by. We rode some sort of a train, rented a pocket WiFi, and looked for our travel agency guide, Randy. We were grouped with fellow Filipinos and a lot of Arab people. We were dropped of at our hotel- Rambler Garden Hotel, and mama talked to some Filipino people that already went to Hong Kong before. We waited SOOOO long to be checked in, that we roamed around at the basement level of the hotel to see a 7-11 store, the Park n Shop grocery, We were supposed to go with them to Madaam Tussauds, and ride with them at the shuffle that the hotel provided, but we left our room too late. We decided to buy some snacks at 7-11, and then we rode a taxi (100 HK dollars for a 20-minute ride) to Tsim Sha Tsui.

On our first day, we just roamed around and promised to return here on our free day. We bought some food at McDonald’s, yes! And then went back to the hotel- we had two rooms and Layne and I shared rooms, while kuya and mama shared another one. Since they get to keep the pocket WiFi, we stayed at their room up until before we slept.

The next day was a fun day! We went with a Filipino group to tour Victoria’s Harbour, a jewelry shop in Hong Kong- where a Filipino guy who speaks a different language would always hover around me!, a souvenir store (I think they tricked us because the food were really expensive there, but I got Carlos’ dad the Hopia that he liked, and the mirrors I bought were 4 for 100, when the store at our hotel sold mirrors for 7 for 100!!! I only found out about that later that night), and to this boat place- that mama decided we ride even if we spent 60 HK dollars per person and it was a short boat ride. It was still a good experience though! And, while showing us around, Randy made me stand up at the bus, and he called me beautiful, “ a future beauty queen”! Haha! I made sure that Carlos knows that. The best part was when we went to Hong Kong Ocean Park. Only 3 groups of people went there, alongside a Filipino couple who we got to talk to. :) Ocean Park was loads of fun. We ate lunch even if the the food was expensive, at one of the stalls there. We road the cable car- and we were ALL scared, especially kuya. And we saw so many animals!!! The penguins and the pandas were the cutest of all. We weren’t able to watch the sea lion show though, but the sharks and the jellyfishes were really pretty. There were a lot of rides, too, but we didn’t ride any because we easily get dizzy. This was a really beautiful place, although it was very tiring because we walked around the entire day! At nighttime, we went to Park n Shop and 7-11 to buy some more snacks! A 24-pc Ferrero pack was on sale for only 60 dollars at 7-11 so we loaded up on that, I bought 2. Layne bought 2. Mama bought 2. And kuya bought 3!!!

On our third day, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland for the entire day!!! It was so hot there! Mama bought a cap for herself, but it was so hot that I was getting grumpy, so she bought one, too. We took pictures a lot and tried to look for places that had air conditioners on- like the shops, where mama almost had a fight with a Chinese woman who cut to the front of the line, and the Lion King show (which was really beautiful!). Before that, we had lunch at the rocketship/spaceship-themed restaurant, and I ordered a two-piece chicken with rice. It wasn’t that good, but it was really expensive! We also went to take pictures with the Disney characters- we spent the entire day waiting in line for picture- I got a bad sunburn because the shirt was really tight! But we got to take pictures with Donald Duck, Zootopia characters, Sofia the First, and Mickey and Minnie. We got badly sun burnt for the Mickey and Minnie line because it was soooo long! For the Zootopia characters, we were originally in line for Chip and Dale, but the couple before us, the guy to be exact, decided to punch one of the mascots!!! The couple quickly left the scene and guards were suddenly all over the place looking for them. Anyway, we saw Pluto, Goofy, and Elsa, but didn’t get to take pictures with them. My dream was to meet the handsome Flynn Rider, but we never saw them. The Disney princesses, aside from Elsa, weren’t around the time that we visited. We joined the afternoon parade, and I felt like a Disney character being one of the people at the front. Lol. And then we had some overpriced snacks at the Disney Bakery- I had a chocolate croissant with crushed pistachios. We bought several drinks throughout the day, too, because it was extremely hot. I noticed my sun burn in the afternoon, and decided to change into a different, more loose shirt. It was a green sequins top that reminds me of the Little Mermaid. We walked around the entire day- and no, no rides yet again. (I will definitely try and ride some rides the next time, THERE IS A NEXT TIME, I go there). We watched the Disney Paint the Night parade at around 7:30, and mama again almost fought with an old woman that tried to steal our spots while waiting for the fireworks show. We then watched the Disney in the Stars fireworks show, and I greeted Carlos an early birthday in one of the videos I shot. I kept on sending him videos of the fireworks. By the way, the internet connection in Ocean Park and Disneyland was soooo fast! When it came to an end by 9 PM, we half heartedly went home. It was tiring, but I really enjoyed it. We were sooooo tired, but we still went down to buy snacks at Park n Shop. We bought these really delicious cherries, and a lot of different candies and snacks (Almond Roca for 2 for 10, Kinder, Snickers, and this mentos/chupa chups 40 pcs pack for only 11 dollars). I also bought these Oreo wafers at 7-11 for only 11 dollars! We ate at Cafe de Coral at the basement floor of the hotel that night. We were supposed to keep the WiFi that night because tomorrow was Carlos’ birthday and I wanted to greet him on midnight, but it turns out that we used up all of our 5 GB data. So Layne and kuya accompanied me to the lobby, so I can greet Carlos via Facetime. Hehe. That night also, Layne and I realized that the cleaners took our towels, so I had to call to get some towels, and panicked because we thought that we would be asked to pay for it- it was 100-200 dollars per towel! Fortunately, we weren’t asked to pay.

Our last day was sad! First of all, I realized how dark I got! I hated my pictures with my black jacket on, because I was so dark!!! We returned to Tsim Sha Tsui after checking out at the hotel - we left our luggage there as well. We had lunch at KFC, it was soooo good, and the line was sooo long. We walked around a lot to look for kuya’s shoes, but he didn’t buy any. We looked at Giordano and another store, and the clothes were so inexpensive, because they had a sale around this time of the year- plus 10% discount on your birthday month and it was kuya’s birthday month. HAHA. So they bought a lot, and I bought Carlos a 60-dollar hat from Giordano! So we returned to look at the malls- we bought pasalubong face masks from one of the stores along the strip, and we went to H&M!!! nd we went inside a mall where Kuya bought a G-Shock watch.We returned to H&M and again, it was so inexpensive! Layne bought 2 shoes, and because I was a cheap girl, I only bought one boots- but it’ the best and it’s my favorite!, for 150 HK dollars. I bought a couple shirt for Carlos and I, too, for 60 HK dollars. We were getting late, and taxi drivers won’t stop for us- they don’t like tourists, mama panicked. We eventually had to ride a taxi cab that made us pay 200 dollars for the short trip- he was very rude. We arrived on time. Got to the airport, said goodbye to our WiFi, ate dinner at Cafe de Coral one last time because we still had coupons (coupons are from the travel agency) and walked around. We bought some Starbucks and a couple of Big Macs from McDonalds, before boarding at around 9 pm. Mama and Layne slept the entire ride, but I chose to watch Zootopia. Hehe. Note: We sat at the middle seat next to a Pinay this time, and kuya sat across us. This is where our trip ends. The best days and most memorable trip of my life so far. :) Uncle Jay and Uncle Alvin met us at the airport, and we were all so sleepy, I zonked out immediately.

Hong Kong is such a beautiful and clean place, I would definitely want to return here someday soon! There were a lot of rude Chinese people, but I guess that comes with territory. Again, I love the place and the food and the culture that I got to experience here, and I hope to never forget all that has happened while I was here.

Link to my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8_DfFr1gMY

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findingjules · 7 years

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New Year, new me?

Seriously... It’s rather shallow, but I’ve been on a rampage recently with beautification procedures.

About two weeks ago I went to a dermatologist for the first time (which I really should’ve done a long time ago), because I’ve always known I had sensitive skin but never really knew why. My dermatologist took one look and told me I have rosacea and she recommended that I do a 5-time IPL treatment, which uses intense pulsed light to strengthen my skin and try to reverse any damage already done, such as freckles and broken capillaries. I didn’t even realize I had broken capillaries on my face! But IPL is supposed to help with my redness as well. Then afterward, I can consider doing it once a year to maintain it. The vain side of me said what the hell, and I got a $1500 package for a 5-time treatment.

I’ve also been doing a lot of research over the past couple years in getting Invisalign or invisible aligners/braces to straighten my once straightened teeth. I had metal braces for about 3 years as a kid and boy did my parents spend a lot of money on my teeth, because I had such problematic teeth. My jaw was too small and crowding was an issue, so I had to remove 4 molars in order to get braces. I also have microdontia, which is when one or more of your teeth are abnormally small, affecting one of my upper lateral incisors, the tooth right next to your front teeth. Only one of mine is affected, so I got a veneer for that one to match the other side. Next, one of my canines refused to come out, so a special procedure had to be done along with my braces to gradually pull it out. Long story short, because of my complicated teeth, my parents had to pay more than normal parents would for braces for their kids.

Fast forward a few years, I lost my retainers while in college and I didn’t bother getting replacement ones thinking my teeth will be fine, because I was surrounded my people in my family who stopped wearing retainers and their teeth barely shifted. There were my cousins and my mom. But boy was my case different. My teeth shifted quite a bit in those few years following the disappearance of my retainers and looking back at those pictures, you can see the gradual movement.

Now that I’m 29 and turning 30 in about 3 months, I had another “what the hell” moment and decided to go and re-straighten my teeth with invisible aligners. I did research on orthodontics in NY, HK and Thailand, all of which I spend significant amounts of time in. Thailand is slightly cheaper than NY and HK. NY and HK prices are about the same (really expensive!), but I never really enjoyed visiting doctors or dentists in HK, because they tend to be very business-minded, trying to hard sell or push you to do certain procedures, so they can make more money, or they would try to get you out of there as soon as possible, making it hard to ask a lot of questions if you’re really concerned. So since I was home in NY for a while this time, I decided to see an orthodontist in NY, especially because I'm much more comfortable with the research I’ve done on the orthodontists in NY.

I decided to set up a consultation appointment at Manhattan Bridge Orthodontics, because they have really good reviews on customer service, attention you would get during a visit, the cost competitiveness, etc. And they’re ranked a top 1% Invisalign provider. Their consultation fee was $50, which I thought was very average. They only had availability 2 weeks out. I had my consultation yesterday at 2 pm and I didn’t get to go into the consultation room until 2:17pm, while during the time I saw patients being called into the backroom and coming back out. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the consultation took about 30 minutes, where an assistant gave me the basic rundown regarding Invisalign, and took pictures and x-rays. The orthodontist later came and spoke with me about my case, telling me it will take about a year to fix my teeth and because of my shorter roots compared to normal teeth (yes, that’s another problem I have with my teeth. The roots are shorter than normal), she would have be to gentler with my teeth and go nice and easy with shifting them back in place. I was seriously hoping for less than year, but a year is not as bad as the 3 years I had braces for. After talking with her for a bit, the assistant took me to a different room, where the officer manager came and spoke to me about the pricing plan. In total it would cost a little over $5100 for everything over the course of 12-15 months, including one set of retainers and refinement treatment if I’m not too satisfied with the end procedure. They offer a 5% discount if you pay for everything at one go. The whole process would have to be complete within 5 years, but I know I don’t want to stretch it out for that long, and they’re quite flexible if you’re not always in NYC. I already know people in NY pay on average about $5000-7000 for Invisalign done in Manhattan, so I figured $4892.50 (with the 5% discount) is not too bad.

Anyway so I went for it. My crooked bottom row really bothered me, because when I speak sometimes you can only see the 2 front bottom teeth and it looks those are the only 2 teeth on the bottom row, like a teething toddler. And there’s this one front tooth that has turned a bit, but other than that, my top row is really not too bad.

Argh, just forked out all that money this month to appease my vanity. Farewell pretty bags and shoes. I can’t be see buying you up anytime soon! *sad tears streaming down my face*

#beautification #vanity #ipltreatment #invisalign

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thelmasirby32 · 4 years

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China Still Censoring Google, Now Globally

Google Gets Out of China

In March of 2010 Google announced they would no longer censor their search results for China:

earlier today we stopped censoring our search services—Google Search, Google News, and Google Images—on Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong.

While the move was pitched as altruistic, it came only after the state put their thumb on the scales to promote domestic competitor Baidu in part by periodically blocking Google search from working.

The Value of Leaving China

By leaving China on their own accord, Google controlled the narrative for investors. They didn't "lose" a market, they chose to not operate in a market.

If you are destined to lose due to political interference, you may as well look principled in the process. The idea of staying the course (being highly compromised while also losing) would have lowered Google's leverage (over publishers and governments) as well as their brand value elsewhere.

Think of how long Google has kept the EU at bay in terms of their anti-competitive practices in search.

Countries like France and Australia are just now beginning to require payment to publishers from Google.

In spite of being in fifth place with about 2% search marketshare in China, one could easily argue that today Google is *still* being censored by China, except now it is global.

Official != Legitimate

Whenever there is a crisis Google has the ability to adjust their news algorithms (and rankings on other sources like YouTube) to prefer authoritative sources. If China lies but gives a direct quote that is an official response which can be reported in the media. Speculating, on the other hand, is not news, and thus is not likely to be done at scale on official sources.

The WHO parroted the official line of the Chinese Communist Party for months before sending in a team to begin investigating the virus which was quietly spreading globally in the background. This is evil (or, more charitably, ill-informed) their advice was:

Tedros said there was no need for measures that “unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade,” and he specifically said that stopping flights and restricting Chinese travel abroad was “counter-productive” to fighting the global spread of the virus.

Evidence is Backward Looking

Promoting "consistent, evidence-based" risk control is utterly stupid because the evidence that you are dead only appears after you die.

It is not a game of 50/50 chance.

One outcome is death. And at the other end of the spectrum you spent $15 needlessly on a facemask.

How lowly must you view the value of a human life to determine a $15 spend on risk mitigation is reckless behavior?

Don't exceed the global standards based on China's misinformation. OR ELSE!!!

WHO can hold countries to account when they needlessly exceed these global standards. This is critical to ensuring the international response is evidence-based, measured & balanced to protect human health in ways that are neither over-reactive nor under-reactive.- Dr Houssin pic.twitter.com/HaRMNXpmOb— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 30, 2020

Evidence is backward looking even if the sources are not lying scum. When lying is vital to maintaining political power many people die while waiting on the true.

Can anyone who followed official anti-warnings get a refund on their death?

Better luck next life?

Evidence

Later, as evidence emerged, we find that wearing a facemask is a great idea, in spite of early media reports they would not help you.

Later, as evidence emerged, we find the WHO sponsored doctors who published studies which showed official Chinese numbers were bogus.

Later, as evidence emerged, we learn that the CCP are lying, jackbooted thugs. They had coronavirus research destroyed, arrested doctors who mentioned the issue, and held secret internal meetings discussing human to human transmission even as the WHO stated the risk was low & there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission, so there should be no restrictions on international travel.

Later, as evidence emerged, we find that closing borders is a great idea - even China does it. Of course early media reports were to not be xenophobic or racist and accept this global problem: "Ultimately some pandemic responses will require opening borders, not closing them. At some point the expectation that any area will escape effects of COVID-19 must be abandoned: The disease must be seen as everyone’s problem."

Later, as evidence emerged, we learn that Taiwan warned the WHO of human to human transmission last December.

Later, as evidence emerged, we learned that WHO representatives Bruce Aylward hung up on a journalist who brought up the topic of Taiwan. This problem got "solved" by the news organization being reprimanded.

‼️WOW‼️ Bruce Aylward/@WHO did an interview with HK's @rthk_news & when asked about #Taiwan he pretended not to hear the question. The journalist asks again & he hangs up! She calls back & he said "Well, we've already talked about China."ENJOY+SHARE THE MADNESS! #CoronaVirus pic.twitter.com/jgpHRVHjNX— Hong Kong World City (@HKWORLDCITY) March 28, 2020

While China's CCP was lying to the world, the WHO shared appreciation for their commitment to sharing info.

Not Just China

Health officials the world over were guilty of the same sort of "evidence-based" stupidity.

Here is a video from February of NYC health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot advising people to go out and take the subway and live their lives, noting that city preparedness is high, their personal risk is low, and casual contact was not a large risk.

How much of a risk is the new coronavirus to New York City?Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot explains to @InsideCityHall how likely it is to transmit the virus. #NY1Politics pic.twitter.com/mUbU8F0p3N— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) February 7, 2020

You can see the stupidity in the circular logic here: "we also know that if it were likely to be transmitted casually we would be seeing a lot more cases."

Yes we would! Or soon would be. And did.

Time shift that statement a couple months and lawmakers are asking her to be fired.

May you enjoy a happy Lunar New Year:

“We are very clear: We wish New Yorkers a Happy Lunar New Year and we encourage people to spend time with their families and go about their celebration,” Dr. Barbot said.

Later, as evidence emerged, we learn from serological studies that around 24.7% of people in New York City & 14.9% of New York state had antibodies for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

If you are a poor minority you are more likely to die as you have less of a cushion to do things like taking time off work and AVOID TAKING THE SUBWAY.

Thank you Dr. Oxiris Barbot!

Even the New York Times warned against quarantines, virtually guaranteeing the city would get one.

Protecting Yourself from Dr. Oxiris Barbot & the CCP

How many billions of dollars do people spend buying lotto tickets?

A high-quality facemask was a $15 lotto ticket that might save you from death. But buying one was ill-informed & xenophic & antisocial and and and.

Back in January I saw a video on Twitter of a guy walking down the street in Wuhan and then just fall over and die. Upon seeing that, I quickly ordered facemasks for my wife, our babysitter, my wife's parents, my mom, and my siblings.

My mom thought I was crazy for spending hundreds buying so many masks, but it was a fairly simple calculation. Whatever China was saying was hot garbage as they were literally welding apartment complexes shut.

Ongoing Disinformation Campaign

They accosted doctors who warned of the pending pandemic, locked down millions of people, and held internal briefs about human to human transmission was happening while lying externally about it. China then pushed some garbage about how the US Army created the coronavirus which caused COVID-19, then they both claimed it was racist to state the disease came from China while also claiming it originated in Italy.

That's the CCP - literally zero shame.

You can be against the jackbooted CCP while not hating Chinese people. I would rather be wrongly called a racist and not die of coronavirus than virtue signal my way to death via Italy's "Hug a Chinese" day.

As a general rule of thumb, life is more important than the feelz.

My wife took a DNA test and a big part of her ethnic background is Chinese. When she and I are in the Philippines many people think she is a foreigner. When I was walking with my wife in Hong Kong years ago a local street vender started talking to her in Chinese thinking she was a local. And there's nobody in the world I love more than her, but that does not mean she or I are planning a trip to Wuhan anytime soon or wanted to end up as statistics as a side effect of virtue signaling.

To this day China is using their ability to purchase foreign debts & infrastructure across weaker European countries to push the EU to understate the culpability of the CCP:

"Bowing to heavy pressure from Beijing, European Union officials softened their criticism of China this week in a report documenting how governments push disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, according to documents, emails and interviews. Worried about the repercussions, European officials first delayed and then rewrote the document in ways that diluted the focus on China, a vital trading partner ... China moved quickly to block the document’s release, and the European Union pulled back. The report had been on the verge of publication, until senior officials ordered revisions to soften the language."

Maintaining The Illusion of Stability

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The doom scenario for China would be one where the disease spread widely across their society while not directly impacting other economies. Currencies float and trade can eventually be re-routed if supply chains are unreliable. If a place where repeated coronavirus outbreaks happen has massive hidden debts in their shadow economy the propped up currency peg would likely fall as those debts go bad and their economy crashes. Hot money has been rushing out of China for years: their companies buying foreign companies, individuals buying foreign real estate, short domain names, Bitcoin, life insurance policies, etc.

China already faced sharp food price inflation last year as African Swine Flu killed a lot of their herd. When people can't afford to eat they are more likely to push for political change. Hyperinflation is the reciprocal of political stability. Maintaining a stable food supply is a core requirement of staying in power.

Masks might make no difference, but if I spend a fraction of a percent of my income protecting my immediate and extended family even slightly then that is a good investment.

What is the price of a single needless death?

That is the calculation one should use when adopting simple & cheap life changes that can protect their families and society as a whole.

The mainstream media not only downplayed Covid-19 to pitch Trump as xenophobic & neurotic, but after the most important story they got entirely wrong was revealed as the disaster it was, they also warned about the wrong people hoarding much needed supplies.

If people would have rushed to buy masks in January it would have sent the market signal to make more. Virtue signaling was considered more important than life.

Instead of any attempts at truth we got communist-fed false assurances to provide the illusion of stability. Lives lack value when compared against maintaining political power:

In 1989, when Chinese citizens raised a Goddess of Democracy on Tiananmen Square, some pinned their hopes on the People’s Liberation Army: Surely the people’s army would never fire on the people. In fact, PLA soldiers proved quite adept at firing on the people. And to this day Beijing refuses to come clean about how many it killed at Tiananmen. ... Communism has always been far more about Lenin than Marx—that is, about getting and holding power, rather than any economic arrangement. And it’s extraordinary how consistent the lies and violence have been across time and geography, given the many different flavors of communism.

Fake News About Fake News

As China was lying to the world, setting hundreds of thousands of people up for death & destroying the global economy, we suggested the problem was not lies from the CCP or the disease that spread globally in part due to their lies, but rather we should fight "fake news"

The rise of “fake news” - including misinformation and inaccurate advice on social media - could make disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic currently spreading in China worse, according to research published on Friday.

The WHO shills for the CCP:

The lengths to which the WHO went to sacrifice its scientific- and health-related mission for political considerations relating to China were at times both absurd and trivial. For example, in the Coronavirus Q&A that was first posted to its website, the WHO maintained multiple versions. The original English language version of the Q&A counseled that there were four common myths about preventing or curing a COVID-19 infection: smoking, wearing multiple masks, taking antibiotics, and traditional herbal remedies. The original Chinese version omitted ‘traditional herbal remedies’ as a myth. Then the WHO took down ‘traditional herbal remedies’ in both languages. Politics over health. Politics over science. At even the smallest, silliest level.

As the WHO praises the CCP we learn fake news is anything which counters the WHO.

And to protect people globally and fight sources of fake news Google is working with ... the WHO:

WHO is also battling misinformation, working with Google to ensure that people get facts from the U.N. health agency first when they search for information about the virus. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation and rumors about the outbreak.

YouTube is also removing medically substantiated content about coronavirus.

Even the China Uncensored video about the CCP's coverup has a COVID-19 learn more banner redirecting attention back to official sources.

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Now there are some horrible and ridiculous official statements being made & a whole bunch of crazies spreading "eat aquarium cleaner, protect yourself from COVID-19." I even read a story about a guy who committed suicide because he feared he had COVID-19. All that stuff is horrible, but any and all attempts to defuse those horrible issues & clean them up should come with a note about how the CCP lied broadly, extensively, and is to not be trusted in any way, shape or form.

The AP report continues...

Chinese officials are increasingly speaking out.

And so should we! At least while we still can:

Where possible, China wants to criminalize any speech … any social media … that does not follow the official party line. Where it’s not possible to criminalize that speech, China wants to ban it through the cooperative censorship of global tech and media platforms. Where it’s not possible to ban that speech, China wants to shame it into the shadows by getting us to reject it as “fake news”.

And if you don’t see that the United States is about two minutes behind China in doing the same damn thing, then you’re just not paying attention.

Categories:

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publishing & media

from Digital Marketing News http://www.seobook.com/china-censoring-google

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piilokarsastus · 4 years

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End of the year ask game - 2019

1. Favorite book you discovered this year? Not sure if I’ve started any new books this year

2. Favorite movie that was released this year? It seems I also didn’t go to the movies this year apart from one time but the movie wasn’t that good

3. Favorite TV show you discovered this year? Fargo

4. Favorite artist you discovered this year? I don’t really do “artists”

5. Favorite music album that was released this year? The kind of music I listen to doesn’t come in albums but Veli Kujala’s Violin Concerto “Auseil” has got to be one of the greatest modern pieces of music I’ve heard.

6. If you are using a music streaming platform that provides you with stats about this year, post them! I’m not

7. Favorite memory of this year? Maybe the time I went biking with a good friend in July

8. Favorite song this year? It’s so hard to pick favourites, but Grieg’s Jeg elsker dig always has a special place in my heart

9. Post a selfie from January of this year and one from today. I literally haven’t changed at all so no

10. Favorite travel destination of this year? I didn’t really travel much but our short excursion to Lappeenranta was fun

11. Did you make new friends this year? How? Yeah, I’ve made a lot of new friends in university, and also one of the students I hung out with during my work period at OUAS in 2018-2019 has since become a close friend. I got many other friends of varying levels there but she’s the only one I still see and talk to regularly.

12. Did you lose a friend? Why? Well not really, but kind of. We’re still officially friends and we recently even texted each other for the first time in months but I just can’t bring myself to connect with her more since I have this feeling that she isn’t really interested in seeing me because I had a crush on her a year ago. The fact that she never texts first doesn’t help either.

13. Any deaths in your social environment this year? My grandpa passed away in September at 83

14. Any newborns in your social environment this year? no, although my cousin and his wife have a baby under way

15. Favorite concert you´ve been to this year? This one concert of new music in Oulu, in October

16. Favorite festival (music or other) you attended this year? Uuden musiikin lokakuu (see previous question)

17. Did you quit a job/an education this year? I didn’t exactly quit, my work period just ended as scheduled

18. Did you start a new job/education this year? Yeah, I started university

19. Did your relationship status change during the year? If it stayed the same, did your perception of this status change? nope, still single

20. Any new piercings this year? no

21. Any new tattoos this year? no

22. Any other body modifications this year? no

23. Favorite clothing item of this year? I just got a really cute shirt for Christmas, so I’m choosing that even though it’s only been in my life for a few days :D

24. Favorite person this year? that would be a certain HK. Funnily enough those initials can refer to two people, both of whom played an important part in my life at different parts of the year: one in December-February and the other especially from May onwards.

25. Favorite place to be this year? (can be a city or just a place like a library, home, a certain forest and so on…) Ever since I moved out, my old home (at my mum’s) has been my favourite place since I come there on holidays to do nothing except relax and enjoy life.

26. Any dreams you fulfilled this year? Started studying in the university I wanted to study in and now I finally have a genuine friend squad who actually do fun stuff together outside of school and we just have a really great group spirit. It’s something I’ve always wanted to have but never had. I’ve mostly just had singular close friends and all the friend groups I’ve been in before rarely did anything outside of school or just weren’t very close friends to begin with. I did have a small group completely separate from school in 2014-2016 but we hung out quite rarely and have since lost touch completely even though I really enjoyed my time with them.

27. Which was your happiest month? Why? I can’t decide on one favourite but the happiest times for me were January (when I had recently met someone special and was heavily crushing on her and life seemed great for a while), July (when I spent a lot of time with an aforementioned friend) and then October (or any month in autumn because I’ve had a great time in uni)

28. Which was this years worst month? Why? On Feb 27 the preceding period of happiness ended and my dreams were crushed, and that sadness was present for the entirety of March and for some time after that as well.

29. Anything you started this year? (sports, drawing, tarot…) university, as I’ve already mentioned more than once.

30. Did you move this year? If not, did you change anything about your place of residence? Yes

31. Did you change anything about your look or your style during this year? Not exactly, but I can feel that change is in progress in a way I can’t yet describe. And last winter (starting already in late 2018) I did start preferring sweaters to button-ups

32. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best: how would you rate this year? a solid 8,5

33. Any political scandal in your country this year? yeah our government fell after barely six months in office, but as a result we got an even better one with the worlds youngest (and female!) prime minister.

34. Any global event that happened this year that had a strong impact on you or your way of thinking? I can’t remember whether it was this year or the year before but the IPCC reports have certainly made me more aware of how doomed capitalism is

35. Anything you did for the first time this year? (Bungee jumping, drinking alcohol, traveling by plane ….) nothing I can think of

36. Any big mistake you made this year? yyyeah about that Feb 27th thing... I confessed my feelings to someone I was really really interested in but nothing good ever came out of that decision and my self-esteem hasn’t been the same since

37. Favorite Youtuber this year? muyskerm probably

38. Favorite music artist this year? didn’t we go over this already?

39. Favorite hobby this year? making music, same as always

40. Relfect on the year: what are the strongest memories? In the first half of the year, I had a great time at OUAS and there were many memorable moments in that job. My favourites were maybe when I was teaching aural skills classes and when I worked as an accompanist for the opera ensemble class. In May, a large-scale piece of mine was finally performed after I worked on it for the entirety of 2018, which was a big milestone for me as a composer. And finally, in August, we had a super fun orientation day at uni and it was the first time I spent some true quality time with my new squad, sitting in a dark corner talking about music :D

41. Which goals that you had for this year did you reach? Come to think of it, I’m not really a goal-setter.

42. Which goals that you had for this year did you not reach? it would’ve been nice to get into a relationship or even just have sex at least once

43. Any injuries or major diseases you had this year? no

44. Did you have to go to the hospital this year? yeah, but just for a root canal treatment

45. How much/how often did you travel this year? not very often, mostly just between Oulu and Helsinki

46. Did you spend most of your time alone or with others? If with others, who was/were this persons(s)? Well I lived at home until August so my parents, I guess

47. Any new blogs you made on tumblr? yeah, just a private place for a new kind of aesthetic

48. Any blogs you deleted on tumblr? no

49. Any social media that you started with that year? Well I finally got into tiktok but I don’t make content there

50. Favorite food this year? pizza, as always

51. Favorite sweets this year? chocolate, as always

52. Favorite drink/beverage this year? water, as always

53. Any celebrity you really looked up to this year? nah

54. Tell us a quote that inspired you during this year. I’m not a quote person

55. Any new device you bought this year? no

56. If you are wearing makeup: Did your makeup style change during this year? makeup isn’t part of my current style

57. Are you looking forward to next year? I kind of am actually, not really for anything specific but I just have a good feeling about things

58. What are your goals for next year? to learn a lot of new things, discover a lot of good art and basically just continue rebuilding my identity and self-esteem and make myself into the best person I can be. And yeah that girlfriend would be nice too :(

59. What would your biggest dream for next year be? To have a private lesson with my favourite musicologist who will be a visiting professor at my university next year

60. What do you hope will change on this world withing the next year? can we like finally eat the rich, please?

61. Any changes within your own life you have planned for next year? I’ve considered starting working out again since I haven’t done much since school started

62. What are your fears about the next year? that school’s going to be even more stressful since I have more classes

63. How and with whom are you going to spend new years eve? alone and with my mum, currently am

64. Any song that is connected for you to new years eve? no

65. Any new years eve traditions you practise? no

66. Any travels planned for next year? no

67. What do you want to focus on more during the next year? I’d like to make more art but we’ll see how much time I have

68. Any release you are looking forward to next year? a number of tv shows are set to release a new season

69. Any behaviour you want to get rid of during next year? I wish I could stop dwelling on the past

70. Do you think this year changed you? Why? Definitely, I can’t really put it to words but I’m on my way to feeling a lot happier being who I am

71. Do you think next year will change you? Why? hopefully for the better

72. Any changes planned for next year already? (moving, job change etc.) no

73. What major changes happened for you during this decade? In the beginning of 2010 I was year 4 in primary school and now I’m first year in university, so there were a lot :D Biggest ones were maybe starting puberty and my parents splitting up in 2013, starting to compose music seriously in 2014, getting my first girlfriend in 2015 and my second, longest-to-date relationship in 2017, as well as said relationship ending in 2018. And yeah, in 2019 I moved away from home.

74. Post a picture of you from 2009 and one from 2019. lol not going to happen

75. New people that came in this decade into your life? pretty much all of my friends except for like 3

76. People you lost during this decade? Grandpa I lost literally although we weren’t that close, and there are several friends who are still friends but who I’ve lost in a way since we just don’t stay in touch anymore and we just aren’t as close as we used to.

77. Dreams you fulfilled during this decade? When I downloaded musescore in late 2013 and typed in my first, cringey attempts at composition, I could only dream of being able to write music like Mozart. And here I am now, pursuing a career as a composer.

78. Favorite music artist of the decade? I still don’t do artists

79. Favorite movie of the decade? there are so many

80. Favorite TV series of the decade? you could just ask me my favourite tv series altogether, it’s equally impossible to decide

81. Favorite book of the decade? Does this mean books published in or books I just read this decade? I’m picking the latter: while they’re perhaps not the best books of all time (although still really good), nothing has impacted my adolescent years more than the Harry Potter series.

82. Favorite music album of the decade? I’m just going to say Mozart, okay?

83. Favorite celebrity of the decade? The idolisation of celebrities is a phenomenon I don’t really endorse but the Justimusfilms guys are a precious bunch of idiots I’m always happy to see whatever they do

84. Favorite author of the decade? I haven’t read nearly enough and diversely to consider this a valid assessment but of the few authors I have read, Herman Koch seems like a really interesting one

85. Celebrities you admired that died this decade? Christopher Lee, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Alan Rickman

86. Favorite actor/actress of the decade? I find it hard to name a favourite, I don’t really enjoy a particular actor but rather the roles they play if they’re written well and played convincingly

87. Favorite travel desitnation of the decade? Italy (2011) and St. Petersburg (2017)

88. Any changes in believe this decade? no

89. Did your main occupation (student, working fulltime etc.) change during this decade? it did for one year but now I’m a student again

90. Favorite memory of this decade? I’m happy my life has been meaningful enough that this question is entirely impossible to answer. Besides, there are two very distinct periods in this decade, late childhood and teenage years, which are hard to compare

91. Hobbies you gave up upon during this decade? violin and badminton

92. Hobbies you started during this decade? piano, writing, composing... and violin and badminton

93. What new did you learn during this decade? (Languages, arts, crafts…) basically anything I’ve ever learned after 4th grade, including, but not limited to, the Swedish language, music theory and composition, and how to boil potatoes

94. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, how would you rate this decade? Since I’ve only lived through two, I don’t really have much to compare it with but I’d say 9. Overall I’ve had a really nice and happy youth but there are things I wish went differently especially in middle school.

95. Favorite quote during this decade? “yolo swag” -Albert Einstein

96. Which body modifications did you get during this decade? none

97. New dreams you gained during this decade? all of them

98. Dreams you gave upon during this decade? I once thought of becoming an author but music took me in the end

99. Worst year of this decade? Why? 2012. the end of sixth grade was pretty okay but seventh grade sucked tbh + atmosphere at home wasn’t the best. Meanwhile I was still a kid so everything was hard and I didn’t control anything that happened in my life. I did start writing that year, which was nice.

100. Best year of this decade? Why? I’ve thought about this a lot. I remember 2010-2011 being nice with many lovely memories of playing with my best friend of the time. Many of those adventures are the basis of my eternal WIP novel and I have a special nostalgia for those years but they were so long ago and I was so young that I can’t really tell them apart as distinct years and I still think I can’t compare them with the other years since I’m a very different person now.

2012 sucked ass as I’ve already discussed. 2013 wasn’t as bad but not great either. Some of the shit from the previous year carried over, along with my parents separating, but on the other hand, I had my first date ever with my crush (even though she rejected me) and it was the beginning of my teenage years with many nice moments.

2014 is a strong contender: I met some new friends at confirmation camp, started gradually enjoying middle school and started hanging out with the girl I would eventually start dating. There’s not much bad to say about 2014 but overall nothing very big happened.

2015 was both the end of 9th grade (where I had a lot of fun at school since our group spirit was amazing) and the beginning of high school. I was doing well in life, got new friends and I also got into my first-ever relationship and that, along with the events leading to that, was a time of great happiness for me. Although our breakup in November kind of ruined the end of the year for me, 2015 has got to be one of the best years of the decade.

For some reason, my mental image of 2016 isn’t very distinct. I spent the better half of the year feeling a bit depressed because of the breakup, but there were happy times especially from May onward when I started growing closer with a good friend. That summer we texted literally every day, we basically just became best friends and I also eventually fell in love with her. From August to the end of the year I have nothing but good memories and I’m very nostalgic for that time.

Which leads us to 2017. I went to prom with my crush (which itself was really fun) and we started dating in March. I was so so happy, especially in the summer. I also had some early break-throughs as a composer and made some of the best pieces I’ve conceived to date. School was fun too, and generally I just enjoyed high school a lot.

2018 is a year I’m very divided about. I was still in a relationship and had some of the happiest times with that person in April-June. Then again, we had some communication issues and I had a recurring paranoia that she just doesn’t want to be with me anymore, which was a constant source of anxiety in January-March and July. The breakup did come in August and of course for the rest of the year it weighed me down quite a bit. However, generally speaking I was somewhat more fine than with my first breakup since I had new exciting things going on in my life such as my work at OUAS which helped keep my thoughts away from the loneliness and also introduced new friends into my life. And in December, I had what was probably the best date of my life with a new, interesting person, which ended 2018 on a positive remark.

2019 was a year of change, even more so than the previous one. A lot of things changed for the positive, although there is also a certain sadness to leaving old things behind. I was happy at work and now I’m happy at school, but I’ve also felt lonely and unattractive, especially after getting rejected in February by someone I had such high hopes for. Suddenly I was back to the preceding sadness and my self-esteem dropped drastically while I was left wondering why I wasn’t enough. Still, I’ve had so much fun with friends and so much personal and professional growth that 2019 is still up there in the top 5.

As you’ve probably noticed already, I suck at picking favourites. Every year had its moments, some of them more than the others. Overall, I’ve been very happy especially in 2014-2019, but of all those years, 2017 was maybe the coolest and had some of the best memes as well.

#Random info about me #rambles

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monicalorandavis · 5 years

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Hello Kitty Friends Around the World Tour is my Shenyun

I didn’t know that when my sister asked me a month ago if I could make it to a Sanrio event on Wednesday, October 16th at 2pm that she was inviting me to the promised land. But I am now a different person than I was yesterday. Today, I’m a sweet, childlike being full of wonderment and joy. Thank you, Hello Kitty. Thank you.

The Hello Kitty Friends Around the World Tour is not to be missed. Please buy tickets if you can attend it. Weekend tickets are apparently scarce to say the least. But if you can swing it, here are some tips:

Wear something festive. It helps you get into the spirit and let loose. Be polite to other guests. They are dorks, like you. And last, but not least, eat some edibles. Speaking from experience, ooh baby, that was fun.

The exhibit is designed to be an international tour of Hello Kitty’s favorite places. You enter and present your tickets to a flight attendant who then presents you with a Hello Kitty passport, boarding passes and a Hello Kitty headpiece. I promptly threw the passport around my neck but struggled to put my phone somewhere without dropping all of my things to the ground. (Being stoned sometimes makes me lose the most basic functions of my hands. But, gotta say...worth it!) Once I remembered how to put my phone in my backpack, I threw the headpiece around my large dome, then helped my younger sister do hers. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her head was not too big for the headpiece which has literally never happened before. Things started strong!

The flight attendant told us to hang tight and that our flight would be departing in 8 minutes. At this point, I started getting pretty stoned. “Did she say flight?” The technicolor suitcase display and annual Hello Kitty banners that decorated the foyer were a feast for the eyes. Not to mention, everywhere I looked there was some new, limited edition merch - tour tee-shirts, letterman jackets, hats, stuffed animals, bracelets, keychains, water bottles, sodas, YOU NAME IT. At this moment I knew I was about to spend a million dollars on some stupid shit and I wasn’t even afraid.

When it was time to depart (exactly 8 minutes later) another flight attendant, in head to toe Hello Kitty, ushered us into the first city, HK’s hometown of London. It was poppinggggg. I don’t want to go through every city because it’ll be boring but London was a strong start. They had the stereotypical London sights: cute red double decker buses and a Queen’s guard that my sisters did not let me twerk on. Again, I was high, but I think objectively this was a very, very good time.

Everyone was a full ass grown-up ready to rage except for a mother of a 6 year old. Neither of them were a fun time. And I know I’m talking shit about a 6 year old buuuuuut she was super shy and not loving the spotlight nearly as much as I would’ve at her age. It was like pulling teeth with her for the poor flight attendant who just wanted the kid to be adorable and take some of the pressure off of her to be entertaining for the next 45 minutes. Luckily for all parties, our flight attendant, April, was a fucking delight. She did give us Hello Kitty madelines when we got to Paris so could be the cookie talking. But the same could not be said for her side kick, what’s her name. I know being a fabulous host is not easy - I host a monthly hip-hop bingo night! (Feel free to attend, Los Angeles.)

But back to the main event. The exhibit was comprised of 5 cities - London, Paris, New York, Honolulu and Tokyo - and the only letdown was Honolulu. I know I will not make any fans with this hot hot take, but, Hawaii is sort of not for me. The aesthetic is really not my jam. Bad tank tops and bare feet. (And you know some people’s feet simply must be covered up!!!!) Honolulu was mainly empty walls with a couple tan Hello Kitty’s thrown around and a sad display of hoola skirts that we were supposed to take pictures with but they looked like they’d gone through a particularly rough Mardi Gras. I passed.

While the whole thing was marvelous, I do need to make one point about some of the other tour guests. They were - how do I say, old? Like in a surprising way. Granted my sister is 41 and a diehard fan. So I was expecting women her age. However, these ladies were well into their 50′s. And if Hello Kitty came out in 1974 that means that they were 10ish years old when it came out. I guess that math adds up fine. There’s plenty of things that I still like from when I was 10. Gwen Stefani comes to mind.

It could also be that these were women who were perhaps younger than they appeared and that’s just fine. Maybe Hello Kitty was their little spot of sunshine in their otherwise difficult lives. I have a feeling it’s the latter. The fanaticism was on a level 10. April was throwing out trivia questions that were real head scratchers. Needless to say, I knew not a single correct answer. Yet, these women were like the Ken Jennings’ of useless Sanrio trivia. Only difference is Ken Jennings won some frickin’ money with his knowledge. These women got 4 seconds of recognition from 10 strangers. And, fuck it, let them have it. Today was about embracing the dumb shit. What is celebrating a cartoon cat if not celebrating dumb shit???

I had such a blast spending big money on some swag that I don’t know (I do know) that I’ll ever wear again. My sister spent $200 on a matching sweat suit, a tee-shirt and three pop sockets. She’s planning on keeping the pop sockets as collector’s items. And, I don’t know why! That is a technology that is already on its way out! (Mind you, my sister also thought Crystal Pepsi was cool. But, whatever.) My other sister spent $140 on a jacket that she’ll (hopefully) get two wears in. We were not making grown-up decisions today, people. We were behaving like children with credit cards. And what else could you really want?

#sanrio #hello kitty #hello kitty friends #friends around the world tour #hello kitty friends around the world tour #los angeles

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marymperezga · 5 years

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10 Years A Nomad: An Interview With Nomadic Matt

My Interview with Nomadic Matt

Travel Inspiration

If you’ve ever researched a travel destination online, you’ve probably come across Matt Kepnes. He’s been blogging & writing about travel for many years.

Today, I wanted to chat with Matt about his newest book, saving money on travel, plus some of his most memorable misadventures. Here’s Matt:

Tell Us About Yourself!

In 2006, after meeting some backpackers and falling in love with the idea of long-term travel, I quit my job to travel the world. My plan was to travel for about a year.

I came home eighteen months later, decided the “real world” was right for me, and left again. I ended up spending a decade on the road.

And here we are now.

Matt Exploring Madagascar

What Have Been Some Highlights Over The Years?

Something similar happened in Greece on the island of Ios. I ended up meeting some amazing people and staying for a couple of months just hanging out and working on my tan (and blog).

What Do Most Budget Travelers Do Wrong On Their First Trip?

Hiking in Patagonia

How Can Travelers Save Money On Their Next Trip?

Start travel hacking. Collecting points and miles is a great way to earn free flights and free hotel stays. I’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars over the years — and you can too!

You Usually Travel Solo. Why?

When you travel solo, the world is your oyster. You’re free to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

What Tips Do You Have For Planning A First Solo Trip?

Any Travel Misadventures You Want To Share?

And I’ve had some terrifying experiences, like when I was stabbed in Colombia.

10 Years A Nomad

You’ve Just Written A New Book. What’s It About?

It features stories I’ve never told on the blog and goes deeper and into more detail with some I have shared.

I spent years writing it (literally) and I’m really proud of how it turned out so I’m looking forward to hearing what people think!

Why Write A Memoir, Instead Of Another “How To” Book?

So that’s why I wanted to write this book. I want to share my story, my philosophy, and my reflections on the art of travel in the most honest way possible.

I’m really proud of how it turned out and I’m looking forward to traveling around the US and Canada (and eventually Europe) to see what people think! ★

BIO

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

from Tips For Traveling https://expertvagabond.com/10-years-a-nomad/

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travelguy4444 · 5 years

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How Hostelworld Screws Hostel Owners

Posted: 01/21/2019 | January 21st, 2019

I’ve wanted to own a hostel since I first started traveling. During my month on Ko Lipe in 2006, I spent my lazy days on the beach dreaming of opening one in New Zealand with some friends. It was going to be eco-friendly and called “The Greenhouse.”

A few years ago, my hostel dream came true when a friend and I opened one called HK Austin in Austin, Texas.

Since then, a lot of new hostels have opened in the city, and the competition for guests has heated up. (As much I would love to say it was because we’re so great and everyone wanted to copy us, it’s because Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the country!)

As my friend and I were thinking of ways to draw in guests, we stumbled onto the Hostelworld Elevate program.

(OK, he did. Then texted me all about it!)

What does this program do?

It gouges hostels owners — and lines Hostelworld’s pockets.

As a consumer, I’m well aware that booking websites charge a commission for properties to be listed in their results. That’s how they make money. And also that “featured” properties pay more for special placement on top of regular results. (They should just put the word “ad” up instead of being coy. We all know what’s going on.)

I don’t find anything wrong with that model. Hostels get access to a larger pool of guests, companies get money, consumers get a one-stop-shopping solution.

But this Hostelworld Elevate program is much more insidious than that.

Here’s how it works:

Hostelworld, like all search sites, has a default search results listing (the one you get if you don’t use a filter or sort by any criteria). Let’s use Austin as an example:

As you can see, we’re #5 despite having the top rating in town.

The standard commission for Hostelworld is 15% per booking:

So how do we end up number five on this list?

Thanks to Hostelworld Elevate, hostels can pay more to rank higher in the results.

If we pay 25% commission, for example, we can go up two spots on this list. (That means the other hostels on this list may be paying even more than that to secure a higher ranking on the default search results.) It doesn’t put us at the top as a featured listing or anything — this is just to move up on this default list.

In theory, we could jump to #1 in the default search results if we paid a lot more money to Hostelworld, regardless of how good our hostel is. As long as we are willing to pay to play, we can be anywhere we want to be.

However, HK Austin is definitely not going to pay the extra fee, even if that means sitting at the bottom of the default rankings as more hostels in Austin open up.

But Austin is a small sample size. There are only five hostels on the list, so even without paying, we aren’t likely to be missed.

But think about big cities with hundreds of hostels, like London or Paris or Berlin or Sydney.

Who is going to scroll through pages and pages of results? How easy it to miss even the sites on the bottom of the default list when Hostelworld returns 20 results?

Have you ever wondered why so many of the top hostels on the default search results list seem to be bigger or part of chains?

Here’s London as an example:

Look at all those chains! And here’s Paris as an example too! Look at all the similar names here:

To the hostel owners out there, this is probably old news, but to me — who’s not involved in the day-to-day aspects of the business — this was a huge shock.

(And, as a consumer, this was also a bit of shock. I finally got to see how the sausage is made!)

To be fair, I don’t know the exact formula Hostelworld uses to pick the default list without Elevate getting in the way but I do know that if you pay, you can be anywhere you want.

Which is why you see sooooo many chains as the tops results in so many cities. I can’t prove it but based on what I know (and the fact these chains tend to have higher prices), I bet they are paying. I’m sure there are some chains out there who don’t pay and still rank well. But my guess is that many of them do pay for their spot.

Small hostels like mine can’t give that much money to booking sites. Hostels aren’t a high-margin business. They are often a labor of love. Small, cozy, family-run hostels don’t have the beds or cash flow to give 25% of their revenue to Hostelworld. Paying more for higher rankings would put many of us out of business.

(And you don’t even get anything extra for paying more money — there’s not even a support number or dedicated email address. It can take days to get an answer from someone at Hostelworld!)

Larger hostels with a lot of beds and/or that are part of chains can make that happen. They have the margins.

This might be why I sometimes see chains with low ratings on the top page (or like in Paris where 3 hostels from the same chain are in the top 5). This is, in part, why I think much of the default list is paid for.

That means that hundreds of hostels that might be great are stuck at the end of the default search results because huge chains can pay the higher fee for higher placement. (Imagine what the competition must be like to get to the top in a city like London! Yikes!)

I get why Hostelworld does this (and why hostels pay). It’s a business decision. But not all decisions are good ones. I love Hostelworld, but this left a bad taste in my mouth. There are not a lot of other places where hostels can go to be found, especially since Hostelworld bought Hostelbookers, its biggest competitor.

Sure, there’s Hostelz and Gomio, but they lack the inventory Hostelworld has.

So what can you, the consumer, do to make a huge and positive impact on the hostel owners of the world?

If you’re going to use Hostelworld, just:

Sort by price

Sort by rating

This will ensure that any cheap and/or incredible hostels that get pushed down to the bottom of the search results because they don’t want to pay the placement fee will not, in fact, get buried.

Also, book directly with a hostel. Most hostels offer discounts if you book directly as an incentive to go around the large booking websites. I’ve seen lots of signs at hostels offering discounts when you book direct. The hostel keeps more of the money and you get a lower price. It’s win-win.

Whatever you do, when you book your next hostel please don’t reward this scheme and only pick hostels on the default search setting.

P.S. – If you’re coming to Austin, book with us directly and use the code HKNOMAD! You’ll save 20% off your stay from now until May 31, 2019. No minimum booking required!

The post How Hostelworld Screws Hostel Owners appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/hostelworld-elevate/

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joshuamshea84 · 5 years

Text

How Hostelworld Screws Hostel Owners

Posted: 01/21/2019 | January 21st, 2019

A few years ago, my hostel dream came true when a friend and I opened one called HK Austin in Austin, Texas.

As my friend and I were thinking of ways to draw in guests, we stumbled onto the Hostelworld Elevate program.

(OK, he did. Then texted me all about it!)

What does this program do?

It gouges hostels owners — and lines Hostelworld’s pockets.

I don’t find anything wrong with that model. Hostels get access to a larger pool of guests, companies get money, consumers get a one-stop-shopping solution.

But this Hostelworld Elevate program is much more insidious than that.

Here’s how it works:

Hostelworld, like all search sites, has a default search results listing (the one you get if you don’t use a filter or sort by any criteria). Let’s use Austin as an example:

As you can see, we’re #5 despite having the top rating in town.

The standard commission for Hostelworld is 15% per booking:

So how do we end up number five on this list?

Thanks to Hostelworld Elevate, hostels can pay more to rank higher in the results.

However, HK Austin is definitely not going to pay the extra fee, even if that means sitting at the bottom of the default rankings as more hostels in Austin open up.

But Austin is a small sample size. There are only five hostels on the list, so even without paying, we aren’t likely to be missed.

But think about big cities with hundreds of hostels, like London or Paris or Berlin or Sydney.

Who is going to scroll through pages and pages of results? How easy it to miss even the sites on the bottom of the default list when Hostelworld returns 20 results?

Have you ever wondered why so many of the top hostels on the default search results list seem to be bigger or part of chains?

Here’s London as an example:

Look at all those chains! And here’s Paris as an example too! Look at all the similar names here:

To the hostel owners out there, this is probably old news, but to me — who’s not involved in the day-to-day aspects of the business — this was a huge shock.

(And, as a consumer, this was also a bit of shock. I finally got to see how the sausage is made!)

To be fair, I don’t know the exact formula Hostelworld uses to pick the default list without Elevate getting in the way but I do that if you pay, you can be anywhere you want.

(And you don’t even get anything extra for paying more money — there’s not even a support number or dedicated email address. It can take days to get an answer from someone at Hostelworld!)

Larger hostels with a lot of beds and/or that are part of chains can make that happen. They have the margins.

So, hundreds of hostels that might be great are stuck at the end of the default search results because huge chains can pay the higher fee for higher placement. (Imagine what the competition must be like to get to the top in a city like London! Yikes!)

I get why Hostelworld does this (and why hostels pay). It’s a business decision. But not all decisions are good ones. I find it morally repugnant because there are not a lot of other places where hostels can go to be found, especially since Hostelworld bought Hostelbookers, its biggest competitor.

Sure, there’s Hostelz and Gomio, but they lack the inventory Hostelworld has.

So what can you, the consumer, do to make a huge and positive impact on the hostel owners of the world?

If you’re going to use Hostelworld, just:

Sort by price

Sort by rating

This will ensure that any cheap and/or incredible hostels that get pushed down to the bottom of the search results because they don’t want to pay the placement fee will not, in fact, get buried.

Also, book directly with a hostel. Most offer discounts if you book directly as an incentive to go around the large booking websites. I’ve seen lots of signs at hostels offering discounts when you book direct. The hostel keeps more of the money and you get a lower price. It’s win-win.

Just please don’t reward this scheme and only pick hostels on the default search setting.

P.S. – If you’re coming to Austin, book with us directly and use the code HKNOMAD! You’ll save 20% off your stay from now until May 31, 2019. No minimum booking required!

The post How Hostelworld Screws Hostel Owners appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/hostelworld-elevate/

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