#and eater is a big catholic holiday | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

unfortunate-arrow · 4 years

Note

For the future ask: 5, 15, 20

5.) Where does MC spend the holidays?

Ryan, Cara, Sara, and Conor generally spend the holidays together, with their spouses and children. They normally spend Christmas Eve and Christmas at one of their homes, usually they rotate each year or they’ll rent a large house every few years. Occasionally, they’ll go to a Christmas Eve mass at a nearby Catholic church.

They usually make their grandmother’s gingerbread cookie recipe and a few other ones. The O’Donnell family does a secret Santa gift exchange because there are so many of them (only caveat is you can’t get your sibling (the fankids only), child or spouse). They also have a large Christmas dinner, but it varies what the meal is. Sometimes it’s a traditional feast with ham and such, but other times it’s pizza or pasta.

Conor celebrates Hanukkah with his wife, Ruth, as she’s Jewish. They usually have Ruth’s father up every few years or they go down to visit him. Ruth usually makes her grandmother’s latkes.

15.) MC’s experience at Bill’s wedding? (Did they attend Bill’s wedding? What did they wear? Did they play a role in it? Were they the bride? =p)

Ryan: Ryan definitely did attend, along with Penny. He didn’t play any important role, and was kind of distracted because no one had seen Conor since Sara and Barnaby’s wedding. He wore a regular muggle suit (black jacket, white button-up, tie, black slacks). Penny did her best to keep him distracted, but then the death eaters attacked.

Cara: Cara also attended and didn’t play any big role. She also attended with Rowan. She was also distracted because of her brother’s disappearance. She wore traditional dress robes, in a navy blue. She definitely got into a few duels with some of the death eaters.

Sara: Sara attended as well. She was also kind of swept up in newlywed bliss and danced a lot with Barnaby, even though they only swayed. She wore a dark purple dress. She healed a few of the injured after the death eaters attacked and did her best to help the Order fight, but it was kind of difficult to fight from behind Barnaby’s big frame.

Conor is already answered here.

20.) Did MC join the Order of the Phoenix and/or fight in the Battle of Hogwarts?

All four quadruplets joined the Order, but in different roles. Ryan usually identified cursed objects and then subsequently tried to break the curses, as well as identifying curses on other members. Cara ended up helping guard safe houses because she is a talented dueler. Sara was a healer and during the ministry denial phase would report any gossip she heard. Conor ends up a spy, but not until 1996, as he was out of the wizarding world for a few years as he studied architecture at a muggle university and then gained an apprenticeship with a Dublin-based architect.

All four fought in the Battle of Hogwarts as well. None of them were killed or gravely injured, but Conor’s previous injuries were exacerbated and he passed out from a combination of blood loss and sheer exhaustion.

Future asks

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #asks #ryan o'donnell #cara o'donnell #sara o'donnell #conor o'donnell #O'Donnell quadruplets

3 notes · View notes

gotatext · 5 years

Text

hullo, i’m nora ( gmt, she/her) i like gillian flynn, greek myth & dangerous women. look below this cut to find out some stuff about my interpretation of emmeline n how i will be playin this character. i’m sure i’ll make a pinterest for her soon because i have no self control x

this bitch was raised in the irish highlands. she was raised by roman catholic pureblood parents. her mother was a folk musician and her father was a quidditch commentator. both her parents had Large Personalities, so emmeline’s never really been shy around adults, even as a kid she’d speak to them in a forthright, confident manner, and because she was always surrounded by adults, she’s always seemed a bit Wise Beyond Her Years.

learned to ride a broom as a tiny smol child. her father, a fierce supporter of puddlemere united, was always trying to encourage her to ride her broom. she broke several bones as a child, but nothing a bit of skelegrow can’t fix, eh? her childhood was very ‘rough and tumble’. she grew up in a cottage on a farm -- her parents didn’t own the farm land, just the cottage, but they occasionally helped the farmers out. during the summer holidays from her catholic prep school, emmy worked as a waitress in the farm’s cafe.

studies hard and plays hard. she gets top marks but it’s because academia is literally her life, she loves the smell of libraries, the ancient smoke of learning, of feeling like old wine in a new bottle reincarnated from the bones of some old, dead witch who invented a cure for dragonpox or somethin.

isn’t a foward-planner, however. emmeline prefers to leave her options open, play the field, live in a spontaneous manners so her study style is mostly cramming a few days before a test, or staying up all night writing an essay on a massive adrenline boost powered by red bull or probably adderall, scribbling (or typing) furiously into the night.

has an addictive personality. seems unable to do anything in a small dose, she has to let it utterly consume her. with sports, she’s fiercely competitive, runs track, played lacrosse at school, now is a chaser for ravenclaw. with alcohol, it’s never a shot, it’s a whole bottle -- wine or whiskey -- she’ll be table dancing before the night’s up and making out with someone she’ll regret in the morning. she takes hallucinogenics -- mostly shrooms or LCD -- to increase her creativity when creating new potions. she smokes weed to help with divination and takes coke to increase her mobility and reflexes for DADA.

not afraid to go after what she wants !! ambitious academically and romantically thirsty !! she loves the adrenaline of the chase. when someone’s easy to get, she becomes bored. very bisexual and very proud of it. feminist as fuck nd part of a queer representation in the arts group which holds fortnightly meetings to discuss lgbt representation in film, literature, art etc.

likes old things. old books, old music, old houses, it reminds her of happier times like when she wasn’t alive. buys all her music on vinyl and has a gramphone because “The Sound quality is Better” kfdsjj.

her clothing style is like.... vintage thrift store but make it preppy. berets and cute hats, neck scarves, large fluffy cardigans or like those leathery jackets with big suede fringes on them, mini skirts (very 70s), and knee high socks or boots. quite often she’ll be in sports kit, maybe a cute tennis skirt, n when she’s feeling casual she’ll wear like, a talking heads tshirt with a pair of mom jeans and converse, but otherwise, the library is her catwalk.

pretentious motherfucker. LOVES poetry, especially the romantics, loves morbid ones too, edgar allen poe, sylvia plath, allen ginsberg, she just loves them all. can’t get enough. her favourite films are like.... wanky artfilm independent european cinema. especially french new wave. “what do you think of goddard’s work??” while snorting a line off someone’s sink at 5am on a school night, but you can bet she’ll make it to that 9am class.

humanities and literature student. obsessed with w.h. auden and the beat poets. very Intelligent and Beautiful and knows both of those facts. vocal feminist. soapbox sadie. Very Passionate about Issues. plays devil’s advocate. humanitarian, vegan. judgemental but takes great care not to appear so. just wants to be Loved By All.

tries to be an Enigma. wants to be mysterious and unreadable because that’s what books have taught her makes women Desirable and Interesting and Cool. obsessively devours mystery and thriller novels. she herself is a gillian flynn book waiting to happen.

act like the flower but be the serpent under it. is a user. manipulative. leads people on. will throw another student under the bus to demonstrate her own intelligence and integrity

relates to ophelia from hamlet and sibyl vane in dorian gray. weirdly obsessed with women who commit suicide. loves jackson pollock paintings and abstract art.

i cant think of anythin else right now which is probs a good thing bc this is already too long, yikes, but yeah !! here are some generic wanted plots but by all means message me so we can flesh them out more if any strike ur interest:

study buddies !! someone who is equally unprepared and so spends all night in the library with emmy before a big deadline, maybe they even met in the library

cousins . second cousins / extended family / family freinds -- is a pureblood so has been to lots of wizarding family events and sacred 28 stuff even tho her fam aren’t in the sacred 28, probably spat volavons on your character once as children, omg childhood friends !

people who are also confused about alliances. right now, she’s kinda neutral, frequently pretends to be fully in it for 3rd echelon, but actually tryin to be impartial, staying out of the drama, weighing up her options, and feels guilty for it, n i think if someone figures out her game (either because they are in the same boat, or they are a death eater junior and think she could be persuaded to their side) it would make things mighty busy in her head

frinds !! unlikely friends !! toxic friends !! former best friends separated by quidditch rivalries ! sporting friends who are on other teams but who she absolutely loves playin against!!! fellow academics who like meeting up to discuss latin and greek !

people she gets mortally fucked off her tits with, probably alice and co, at parties, people who think she is throwing her academic potential away by caving to hedonistic impulse, people she has drunkenly made out with, hooked up with, or regularly sleeps with casually, maybe even a friend w benefits she is repressing feelings for, i love angst, people she used to date or unrequitedly likes, but to them it’s just a physical thing, give me all the thirsty angst plots, and maybe some softness too, i need some religion in this girls life, she is a roman catholic after all

thats all for now folks jeez louise thanks for stickin with me

#shadows.intro #throws this into the wild like a joint of beef to a pack of hungry wolves come plot w me #tw drugs

8 notes · View notes

rinnnyxr · 3 years

Text

I don’t really care for Owl City. I either love you or hate you, sorry there’s no in between with me. When telling a story, I say “I was like” a lot. I always want what I can’t have and I hate it. I’ve waited around months and months to be with a guy. Being in a bad mood is a normal thing for me. It always takes me forever to really get over someone I really liked. I think it’s hilarious when you’re sitting there laughing, while trying to order at the drive-thru. Liz Lee’s voice is incredible. I’d rather text you than call, it’s less awkward. I don’t eat that much. I’m always listening to music, tapping my hands on things, or singing something. Honestly, I have a sweating problem that I’m quite embarrassed about. I get really really paranoid at times. I need to let the fuck go of someone. I know what “The Situation” drinking game is. I really need to make some more friends. I don’t really leave my house at all, it’s pathetic. I love having the house to myself. Spinning around and around doesn’t mix well with me. I need to get with the program and get the internet on my phone. I love songs I can sing along to, even though I sing like shit. I always seem to be missing my past. I need to start working outttt. I’d love to be on a TV show like Jersey Shore. I have a fear of my hair falling out. My legs fall asleep everyday. I could listen to music all day long. I haven’t eaten yet today. I always spill my drink all over myself. Whenever I’m out, I don’t want to go home. When I’m home, I don’t want to go out. What gives? I tell people how it is, I don’t sugar coat anything. A lotttt of the songs on my iPod I do not listen to. I’ve always been a reeeally picky eater.

Your name begins with an A. You’re Caucasian. You’re over the age of twenty. You’re a Virgo. Your parents are divorced. You’re overweight. You suffer from chronic anxiety. You love to read. You enjoy going to concerts. You have a younger sibling. You’re really pale. You hate seafood. You’re finished with high school. You like to write. You like to explore abandoned houses. You use Mozilla Firefox. You’ve never broken a bone. You wear mostly black. You have only one grandparent that’s still alive. You prefer white chocolate over dark chocolate. You like cats more than dogs. You have a lot of allergies. You prefer light liquor over dark. You’re terrified of heights. You love horror movies. You like to interpret your dreams. You only have a handful of “real” friends. You don’t have a license. You like to browse through thrift stores. You love strawberries. Your room is painted a dark color. You cling onto the past, as much as you wish to let it go. You dislike the way you look. Your hair is naturally curly. You’ve had your nose pierced. You prefer hot weather over cold weather. You get along better with your mom than your dad. You have neat handwriting. You dislike country music. You’ve been bullied. Your sleeping pattern is really screwed up. Your eyes are blue. You wear glasses. You have short legs. You believe in the paranormal. You have a famous ancestor. You listen to a lot of alternative music. You don’t know how to whistle. Turtles are your favorite animal. You live in the southern United States. You get on Reddit and Tumblr way too much. You like to do jigsaw puzzles. You believe in LGBQT rights. You love the ocean. You’ve met a celebrity. You don’t watch a lot of TV. You’ve seen your favorite band(s) live. You dislike discussing politics and religion.

You own more than four red shirts. Your name is longer than five letters. The room you’re in has a calendar. You love the band All Time Low. You hate fish. You loved playing with big balls when you were younger. You believe that the number thirteen is cursed. You wish you could see a real pirate. You like dark jeans better than light jeans. You hate hunting. You don’t like to wear coats. You’re older than 21. The brand of computer you’re on is Toshiba. Your name has more than two syllables in it. Your shirt is more than one color. You hated gym class. You don’t like talking about your family. Your dad is almost or is bald. You can’t wait to get married. Your first date was to the movies. You’re Facebook friends with your crush. You came home and took a nap. Someone in your family has had a stroke. You would love to have a pet tiger if you could. You’ve never danced in the rain, but you want to. You’ve never been in a hot air balloon. You’re afraid of mice. You’ve bought tickets to a concert and it was canceled. You like wearing your hair half up. You’re usually online for more than four hours a day. You like meatloaf. You have brown eyes. Your phone doesn’t have any scratches on it. You play the game Draw Something. You like tulips. You’re more negative than positive. You’ve made your own t-shirt before. Your shirt has words on it. You think glitter is the greatest thing invented. You don’t like to fart in public. You don’t have a dog. You’ve never been drunk before. Your brother has blue eyes. Baseball is a sport that you like.

0 notes

aerosmiley219 · 7 years

Note

CJ and Danny for the meme! (Although, soooo tempted to say CJ and Josh)

ULTIMATESHIP MEME!

Send in two (or more) names and I’ll fill all this out aboutthe ship!

General:

How long will they last? – Forever and ever AMEN

How quickly did/will they fall in love? – He was head over heels on day two and she realized he was the one for her slower than she should have. But then her heart was in it but she was conflicted about work. And then she didn’t realize she could have work and a personal life until he reminded her that it was possible and she noticed he was always there. TL;DR longer than it should have.

How was their first kiss? – SO damn good. Like… thank god we got to see it because it was even better than I could have imagined. She walked into the door for god’s sake! *sigh*

Wedding:

Who proposed? – I would love to say it was Danny making a huge gesture but I really think it was just a matter of, hey, we’re moving to California so why not make it legal? Nothing spectacular, more like it’s a given? Not romantic, I know…

Who is the best man/men? – Danny’s best friend from college (OC), Josh, his 7 year old nephew because Danny loves family and the kid got a huge kick out of it (OC)

Who is the bride’s maid(s)? – Hogan, Donna, Carol

Who did the most planning? – Danny (but CJ helped. A bit)

Who stressed the most? - CJ

How fancy was the ceremony? – Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.*People pushed for it to be big and they only got married in a church because they were raised Catholic (so it’s a technicality, really) but then they had a reception outside in either wine country or by the beach.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? – HOYNES!! (that’s the only guy who comes to mind?) Because DUH!

Sex:

Who is on top? – They switch. It all depends on the time and place and mood, etc.

Who is the one to instigate things? – You probably think I’m going to say Danny but I think CJ does because she realized what an incredible lover he really is and feels the need to make up for lost time. (Actually, I think it’s an even split)

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks,nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now*It’s extremely healthy (the last option doesn’t make it sound healthy. It makes them sound like nymphomaniacs and that’s not healthy. So HA) And it’s an incredible experience

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head *And I’ve got fic to prove it!!! And that’s not to say they don’t enjoy vanilla sex, because they do!

How long do they normally last? – It all depends. They can do quickies or 3 hour making love sessions. I guess, on average, from end to end, I want to say at least 45 minutes?

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? – Of course. But then again, sometimes they do for one another and don’t expect anything in return (*cough cough* healthy relationship)

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it. *All of the above. It all depends.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.*Again, all of the above (not a cop-out, they’re versatile)

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - *sigh* 2 (I really didn’t think they’d have kids but I do LOVE the prospect of them having at least one curly redheaded wee one)

How many children will they adopt? – They considered it but then the second one came along so they chose not to

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? – Stuck? I feel like they’d equally share the duty (LOL! See what I did there?!??) But then I feel like Danny would try to do it more often?

Who is the stricter parent? – CJ (it’s for their own good and she feels sort of bad later but only lets Danny see that side of her)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? – Danny. Been there, done that, not a fan of the ER.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? – Mostly Danny but CJ does every once in a while (OOH! And while she’s at it, she makes him one, too. And even writes a love note on a napkin)

Who is the more loved parent? – Ew. I don’t like this question. Not applicable! They’re both awesome

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? – They both make a point to show up because education is important

Who cried the most at graduation? – CJ (well, they both do, but mostly her)

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? – I feel like they’d take a stance on this and let the kid sit in jail overnight. But, maybe Danny? Like he’ll be the one to say “okay, but first thing in the morning”

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? – Danny. CJ is learning, though

Who is the most picky in their food choice? – Um, neither? They’re both well-traveled and are open to trying new foods

Who does the grocery shopping? – They make a point to do it as a family

How often do they bake desserts? – Special occasions (holidays, parties, birthdays, first day of school)

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? – Both.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? – Both (again). They’re busy but they try to do small, spontaneous things for one another whenever they can

Who is more likely to suggest going out? – Danny. CJ goes out a lot to schmooze folks for work. Then again they both ate out a lot while in DC so I think they like eating in more often than not

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? – CJ. But she’s learning, remember?

Chores:

Who cleans the room? – They do different rooms. CJ gets the bedroom, Danny gets the kitchen.

Who is really against chores? – Neither. Kids need structure!! It’s something they agree on

Who cleans up after the pets? – CJ, but Danny steps in when need be. Until the kids are old enough, then it becomes a chore the kids share

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? – CJ. He knows it’s there so Danny goes behind her and vacuums under it once a month. And she knows he knows so it’s all good

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - CJ

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Danny

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? – CJ. She’s discovered the beauty of quiet, lavender-laden, relaxed baths. And when they shower together, it’s amazing (although I’m not sure who initiates it more often)

Who takes the dog out for a walk? – Danny. With the kids. It’s kind of a bonding thing they do (it started with CJ discovering the beauty of bath time. Now it’s an at least once a week thing)

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? – Always. Danny started the tradition but CJ’s gotten into it, especially because of the children, and now they do it all the time

What are their goals for the relationship? – Never go to bed angry. Agree to disagree. Happily ever after

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? – Hmm. I want to say CJ but I feel like it could either way

Who plays the most pranks? – Danny. It starts as a reminder to loosen up but then it just kind of becomes a cute thing she looks forward to (obviously, they’re not mean pranks)

*Thank you for this! And, BTW, I’m TOTALLY doing CJ/Josh next!!!*

2 notes · View notes

i-ystar-blog · 4 years

Text

Host Country Report

The name of my host country is Germany. It is a well-known country in the world which is located in central Europe. It has 16 states and the capital of it is Berlin. The most important cities would be Bayern, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, and Potsdam. The country is bordered by the Baltic and the North Sea. It shares borders with 9 countries such as Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west of it. Germany is culturally very similar to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Austria. These countries share the same values and almost the same laws. The lifestyle is also quite similar in the countries. They are quiet and peaceful and have unbelievably beautiful nature surrounding it.

Germany as well as Belgium, Netherlands and Austria is a low context communication country. It relies on an explicit way of communication and exchanging information, ideas and opinions. These countries express themselves verbally, while nonverbal communication is not very significant there. They like to share their opinions and stay on top of things.

If you are sojourning to Germany, there are some things to pay attention to. Germans don’t like extra volume and extra things in general. People dress up there casually but with a style. They don’t look homeless when they leave their houses, which means they put some effort into what they wear. They like looking good but they would never overdo it. Everyone minds their own business and there is no drama going on in the country, so it would be good to be a well-behaving person while being outside at least. What is more, Germans prefer their own personal space with strangers. They are not the most welcoming culture but they are quite friendly unless you overdo it too fast and step into their personal space. Most likely you won’t become friends with that person. It is good to take it carefully and slowly with this kind of culture. They appreciate you appreciating their space and business. Moreover, as we all know Germans like to plan their life very particularly and they don’t like being synchronic time-oriented. They also try to hide their thoughts and feelings, which leads to the conclusion that they are a neutral communication type of country.

Talking about the history of Germany, ten of the most important historical moments are starting from founding the capital of Germany - Berlin in 1237. The moments like - The Protestant Reformation, Emigration Prior to 1800, The Peace of Augsburg, 1919-1933 Weimar Republic, German Empire, two World Wars all happened starting from 1515 and finishing around 1945. Finishing up till nowadays with the Reunification of Germany and currency change from Deutsche Mark to Euros in 1999.

Since all the historical moments the political system has changed a lot. It is not as ancient anymore. Nevertheless, it stays very strict and well planned. German politics treat religions neutrally and don’t have anything against beliefs. Their biggest religion is Christianity and most of the german are related to the Catholic Church. What is more, history affected nor the language nor the gender roles. Germans have been speaking the german language as long as they are known but they have different dialects and in some bordering with other countries regions you can hear languages like Low Rhenish, Luxembourgish, Alemannic, Danish, Upper Sorbian, Bavarian, North Frisian, Saterland Frisian, Romani.

I could confidently say I like two things about Germany. The first one is that the gender roles in Germany are quite equal. Specifically, looking at the fact that the country’s president is a woman for so many years, I can surely say that women and men are equal in this country. The second fact is that Germans also don’t pay attention to the social classes even though they are divided into three of them. The upper class includes Royal families, Scholars, Administrators, and other wealthy people. Then it’s the middle class. And a lower class includes the working class and the underclass. Despite the classes, Germans are still friends with whoever they want and they don’t look at the person’s class.

Talking about German exciting parts. There is a thing like German mass media. The most important newspapers in Germany are Bild, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Also, the most important TV stations are ZDF, Das Erste, RTL, and VOX, and the best and most popular radio stations are NRW, Bayern 1, SWR 3, WDR 2 and Antenne Bayern. In addition to this, Germany has a big movie industry and the movies are known internationally. For example “Der Untergang” - The Downfall, and “Good bye Lenin”. The movies are mostly about the world’s second war, which made them so popular.

Finally but not lastly about tasty things. The dominant cuisine in Germany is German cuisine. Germany is not only about sausages and bread. It is rich in delicious dishes. The most popular ones are Schnitzel and Sauerbraten. Both of them are made of meat and not made for vegetarians or vegans. So if you go to Germany and you are a non-meat eater, be ready to struggle to find meatless options. Also, be ready to eat three times a day and have dinner late evening around 8-10 pm, because most Europeans prefer having dinner much later than Americans. Additionally, Germans prefer eating and cooking at home unless it’s some kind of holiday. Then they can go out to eat with their friends or relatives.

All in all, Germany is a great and friendly country. They greet people with a warm hug, especially friends who they haven’t seen for a long time. In other cases, try to keep your distance and give a handshake to establish trust with a german person. However, if you are a woman like me, you are welcome to give a cheek kiss to someone you were looking forward to meeting. It is okay to be extra nice to people who have already heard about you before.

0 notes

pa-awesome · 5 years

Text

Small Lies That Escalated Into “This Is My Life Now”

• Found out a coworker was from the same city I grew up in. He asked what my "old man's" last name was. Being an unmarried woman, I assumed he was asking about my father to determine if he knew my family back home. Apparently he was asking about my non existent husband, so until he quit I carried on the facade that I had a husband from back home.

• My mom gave my sister a chocolate orange about 15 years ago and she kind of embarrassed the family by saying it was gross. I didn't want to make my parents feel bad so I said that I'd eat it. It was gross but I pretended to like it. Now every year for Christmas I get a chocolate orange.

• Pretended to be a girl on World of Warcraft for a solid two years. I didn't actually set out to do it, just never corrected anyone when they assumed I was and by the time I thought to come clean it seemed too awkward.

• I convinced pretty much everyone in my life that I was allergic to coconut at a young age. I simply just didn't like it at all and it was a good way to avoid eating it (logic of a pre-teen mind). My mom played along. It wasn't until about 3 years ago when my mother in law had a surprise birthday party for her husband and she made a german chocolate cake. The kicker here: she did HALF of it coconut and half without so I could enjoy the cake and not have an allergic reaction to it. I broke down. Laughed. Told them it wasn't true and I actually am not allergic. Her face melted. I hadn't realized how long I had kept up the lie until that very moment.

• When I was 12 years old, I lied about my age and made myself older for about 3 years, so I could still be somewhat cool in WoW. Now some of my WoW friends settled over with me to other games, and whenever I meet someone new, they're likely connected to them. At this point it's too awkward to explain that I'm not the oldest, but in fact the youngest in our friendgroup.

• Told one guy i was canadian bc they asked why i apologized so much. That was in 1st grade, im now a junior in highschool and people are shocked when they find out im not canadian

• I dated a guy who's father was a minister. I liked this guy a lot. I knew their church was one of those loud, dancing talking in tongues churches and his parents asked me to come to church with them. The dad did this whole long ass sermon about premarital sex and being saved. The guy I was dating kept nudging me and his family kept smirking so when they asked who felt the Holy Spirit and wanted to be saved I walked up to the front, everyone was jumping around and people were getting popped in the forehead and going into convulsions on the floor. I pretended to feel it. They smacked my forehead, I fell back, I just laid there with a few other people on the floor with my eyes closed wondering if I should twitch or something. Afterwards everyone was hugging me and his parents were crying.....

• I was working at a small company about 10 years ago, around the holidays. It was approaching Thanksgiving, and the ladies in my department had organized a pot luck luncheon. I was adding my contribution to the sign-up sheet when I noticed that one particular co-worker had signed up to bring brownies. She was a nice, single, older woman who had many pets at home (2-3 cats and as many dogs) and was regularly covered in a layer of pet fur. The day of the party had arrived, and everyone was going around filling their plates. There they were on the dessert table - the brownies. I didn't want to eat any of them, but I also didn't want to be impolite - so I told her I couldn't have any because I was allergic to nuts. Fast forward 9 years, and I am out with a friend (who had also been a co-worker at this company) I had kept since that job. After a few drinks, I tell her, tearfully, that I have a confession to make - I'm not really allergic to nuts. She burst out laughing, thinking it was going to be something much more serious than that. She is the only person I have made this confession to.

• A dude I knew was giving this girl some shit and she kicked him in the nuts. Ok, extreme reaction, but such is life. He doubled over in pain, but since he was kind of a douche anyway, no one cared much. The next day (a Friday) his dad took him out of school for some reason. Then when he returned on Monday he learned that the big rumor was that his balls ruptured from the kick, and he had to get emergency surgery. Rather than correcting anyone, he went along with it. This went on for years. People made fun of him, and he just joked about it. There were idiotic songs people sung about him. He laughed about it. Never denied it once, in fact participated in some of the joking at times. Finally, one day about 3 years later he comes clean. She didn't even actually kick him in the balls, just in the gut and it really knocked the wind out of him. After all this time, the dude who got kicked in the balls was basically his identity. Strange turn of events.

• When I was 16, I humored some Mormon missionaries to make my best friend and his family happy (they were Mormon). So after a few home "lessons" about the LDS church I had already showed a lot of fake support and interest. Being awkward, I didn't want to admit to not being interested. When they asked if I wanted to be baptised weeks later, I said yes, imagining I'd eventually back out. I didn't. Became an athiest Mormon. After months of living this double life, attending church, etc, my mom decided to show support by becoming Mormon. I was mortified. My recovering Catholic dad pulls me aside and asks me if I really believe this stuff. I explained everything to him and he thought it was hilarious. I also made him promise not to tell Mom because, again, awkward and too far deep. She asked me to baptise her and I refused. This insulted her. Fast forward a year or so and I distanced myself from church people while still maintaining the close relationship with my friend and his family. It's been 12 years now, and we still hang out weekly and nobody considers me Mormon. I never explained this to him.

• The second or third week of college my freshman year I stumbled into a room where a newly acquired friend and his roommate were playing kingdom hearts. We briefly talked about how much they loved the game, etc. Eventually, I fall asleep on their futon from general college induced exhaustion. An indeterminable amount of time later, I wake up to them quietly talking about what to do with the person napping on the couch. Not wanting to be rude, I tell them "Oh sorry - I wasn't really napping" They call me out on my buffoonery, and I decide to double down that I WAS NOT NAPPING. We get into a pretty heated argument about what constitutes a nap and the specific things that I was doing if it were not napping. I do not back down and start essentially yelling at them that I was not napping. This grew into an uncontrollable inside joke where whenever I would go anywhere with these guys they would say something like "man, its a good thing bendernas doesn't take naps", he'll be the life of the party. Or some shit. This slowly spreads to basically everything we did (small school of ~ 3000 students, where most people had some sort of obscure connection to most other people) and I eventually became known as the person who didn't take naps. (edit: i love naps) A few years later we became roommates and the proceed to wake me up basically every single day whenever I took a nap.

• When I got out of college, I got accepted in an internship. After that internship, they hired me. When they asked about my diploma, I said the truth, that I needed a few more general classes(French and PE) to finish and get my diploma. They said: No problem, but you have to get your diploma. I said(the beginning of the lie): It's alright, I'm already registered for the classes next semester. They said: Ok but make sure you get it soon! Then never asked about it again, even after changing HR management twice since then. I've been working here for 10 years now, never went back for my diploma. I know it's stupid, but let's hope I end my career here or something.

• Living in a College Town, every year around spring graduation there's one or two "I'm here to see my kid graduate, but I haven't been able to locate them" families. Usually kids that stopped going, pocketed their parents money, and/or just gave up and couldn't handle telling the family. It ends sadly sometimes. That's a big lie/deception to deal with and maintain. It almost always comes to a head.

• My first relationship. A few days in, then-girlfriend tells me she isn't ready to go public just yet and if we could just pretend we weren't together for a few days then she would be ready. Six months later, I had lied to so many people for her I can't tell whats real anymore and any time I asked her if we could stop because it was messing with me she refused and argued her way out of it. Looking back on this fucks with my head to this day. Amazing how much things like that can snowball.

• One time someone who I wanted to be better friends with showed me a metal gear solid meme and me being me I pretended to understand it. I then was forced to research all the games and their plots, Easter eggs, quotable characters, and other memes to better fake understanding. I still have never played a metal gear solid game.

• My fiance has a great one. She's a picky eater, and rather than tell her best friend that she doesn't like bananas, she told her "I'm allergic to bananas." For YEARS, her best friend would make sure everything was banana-free. From cakes, to desserts, to even clearing her house of anything banana related. After close to 15 years, my fiance finally told her "Hey, I just don't like bananas." Nervous, thinly veiled hatred in the form of laughter ensued.

• One teacher at school said my name wrong and I was too anxious to correct him. Long story short it’s almost been a year and I’m in too deep to say anything else.

• I live in Cambridge, UK and my go to answer to those "interesting-facts-about-you" moments (you know, corporate icebreakers or interview stuff) is that I got knocked over by Stephen Hawking whilst on the pavement near my house. Partly true as in he lives in the city, travels out and about on said streets. Truth is I just saw him on a path once. I was driving. People love that it's a bit different so imma keep using it.

• A buddy of mine's dad had a funny ongoing joke of sometimes referring to his son's friends by similar, but incorrect names. Trent became Trevor, Scott became Sam, Ethan became Eric. Just silly stuff like that. So in that vein he starts calling me 'Donald' (jesse is my middle name, my first one starts with 'D'). At first I thought he was joking, but he just. Didn't. Stop. Its been years, and now that we're all moved out and on our own I rarely ever see him. But he still calls me Donald whenever I do, and at this point its way too late to correct him.

• This is a small thing, I don't go by my full name but when I sign up for classes at my gym, it's done through an app and shows up on the roster as my full name. I never thought that anyone there would eventually know me by name, so when the instructor would take attendance I just never corrected in. But now I'm a year in and I'm casually friendly with most people there and I'm in way too deep to correct them now. It's not that I mind my full name that much, I have just never really gone by it.

#repost #liar #lies #story

0 notes

artycreative-blog · 6 years

Text

March in Malta

For my Mum's 60th birthday in April, we decided to return to the country of her birth for the first time since she was three years old. We had a lot of expectations of what it was going to be like; we were right about some and so wrong about others! I'm going to talk a little about where we stayed, how we got around, what we visited and where we would recommend restaurant wise.

Mellieha Bay Hotel

Tucked away in the north of the island, Mellieha Bay Hotel is a fair sized resort situated next to the 'best beach on the island'. The beach isn't anything special when you compare it to other countries around the Med, or even some in the UK, but the sea view rooms all have glorious vantages over the bay, which is beautiful. The decor inside is lovely and has clearly been done up at some point over the last few years. It's got a big restaurant, bar/club, two outdoor pools and one indoor, as well as a host of activities available each day that start in the morning and go on into the evening. It seemed more geared up to pensioners than anything else, as that was the majority of the residents that we saw there. There were also some families and younger couples, but there's not as much for them to do. The hotel also had three small shops; one for snacks, one for jewellery, and another for souvenirs, all run by one friendly lady who spoke very good English.

Our room looked nice at the outset; fresh looking, bath with shower, balcony, all nice things. However, the beds were hard, the air conditioning only blew out hot air no matter what we tried, the TV wasn't set up correctly so it cut off a decent chunk of the picture, and the toilet was broken so you had to slap the flush button to make it stop leaking.

As we wanted to take it as easy as possible while on holiday, we elected to go half board, so we would only have to worry about getting lunches out. Breakfast and dinner were both buffet style all week. Breakfast remained mostly the same, other than they switched potatoes for mushrooms on alternate days, which was a bit of a pain for someone like me who can't eat bread and doesn't like mushrooms. It wasn't very geared up to gluten free eaters, although there was usually one lactose free meal and one vegetarian meal each evening. The evening buffet had four main meals, including a carvery, as well as a host of cold food, and two to three desserts, with jelly and ice cream. Overall, we think that eating at the hotel wasn't the best considering it was supposed to be a four star resort. The buffet style didn't lend itself to a high quality of food because it had to be made in such large portions and it was often left out for a while, which meant that the food could go dry. One example of this was the pork carvery, which was horribly chewy. Their fried eggs were a highlight, as was their lamb shank.

Although the hotel is close to two bus stops (one goes north and the other goes south), which are served by buses that go to Cirkewwa, Buggiba, Sliema, and Valetta, in terms of distance it's so far from everything but the ferry port to Gozo and Comino that journeys end up being very long, compounded by bad roads and busy traffic.

If we ever go back, we'd choose to be much closer to Valetta or stay somewhere on the south of the island.

Buses

I'll warn you now, I don't have much good to say about Malta's public transport system! The bus station in Valetta is good, straightforward with good signage, and has sheltered areas with seats. However, people can smoke while they're waiting for the bus, which isn't pleasant for asthmatics. There is also a wide network of buses that go around the island, so you can get pretty much everywhere important without a car. In hindsight, though, we wish we'd rented a car. Our two main buses from Mellieha to Valetta took an hour and a quarter at the very least because they took all the back roads (which are falling to pieces) and stopped at every stop along the way. This meant that buses were often packed to overflowing, the only way to get a seat was to get on at the first stop at Valetta or Cirkewwa. Also, for some reason, the seats were all curved up at the edges (I'm assuming so people are less likely to fall out while the buses rocketed around the twists and turns), which meant you had to have a tiny butt to be comfortable!

Our ExplorePlus Cards were not worth it for the price, the E21 cards would have been fine to cover us for the bus trips that we did. It might be more suitable in the summer when the fares go up by 50 cents. One of our cards also stopped working the second day on the island and their main pass office in Valetta refused to do anything about it, saying that it had expired when it had only been activated the previous the day. Not only were they rude, but the bus drivers were too. I have a certain amount of sympathy because they had to get around quickly and didn't have a lot of time scheduled for each journey considering how bad the traffic was the vast majority of the time. However, this doesn't permit you to yell at your passengers or hit them. I've never been so disgusted with a bus driver in all my life.

My final issue with the whole system is their app. It's not a bad app by all means, but when none of the buses run to time and they don't know where half of them are, it makes looking up times, routes and live information pointless. Your best bet is to just go to a bus stop and wait for whatever comes that will get you to your destination.

Comino

On our first full day in Malta, the sun was shining so we decided to take a trip to Comino, which is the smaller of the two islands situated to the north of Malta. We ended up hopping off the bus too early when we saw signs for the 'Comino Ferry' which, uh, was a speed boat. This ended up being a hilarious accident, because we actually got a tour of some of the island’s caves included in our trip, before whizzing round the island at high speed, disco music blaring, and laughing all the way as the choppy waters made the boat bounce. On the way back, even the two elderly people at the front were cackling as they got soaked.

Comino is almost completely uninhabited, apart from a few farmers and a couple of small hotels, which are closed during the winter months. This means that the land is mostly untouched, apart from a few buildings dotted about and St Mary's Tower, which is a majestic figure up on the hillside. I made my family trail all the way over to it to take pictures because it was featured in one of my favourite films, The Count of Monte Cristo. It's impressive considering it's 400 years old.

The island is also home to three bays, including the Blue Lagoon. It doesn't disappoint. The water is stunning and clear, the high winds made for some impressive photographs of the sea spray. I loved it.

Two small things to bear in mind when you visit: there are two toilets on the island, one at Blue Lagoon, which isn't very well kept, and one at Santa Maria Bay, which we didn't visit, so be aware for when you want to take toilet breaks. The paths are also very rocky, so make such you wear appropriate shoes. I got sore knees walking around in Sketchers.

Hagar Qim Temples

Wednesday was probably our most eventful day because of the bus pass incident, but it was also the day that we had the longest journeys, none of which were particularly pleasant. We did, however, have a very nice lunch in Valetta at the The Pulled Meat Company, which I will talk about later.

After lunch, we headed out to the Hagar Qim Temples on the coast. They're some of the oldest free standing buildings that still exist, built in around 3200 BC, using only stones, balanced on top of each other to create walls, doors, and ceilings. The history of the place is fascinating and the views from the walkway down to the second, larger temple are fantastic. There's a small island out in the water that the British Army used to use for target practice during WWII.

There isn't much to see at the site, which is a shame considering how long it can take to get there. My recommendation would be to also visit the Blue Grotto down the coast on the same day. It's supposed to be amazing and would have made a nice edition to the day had it not been so late when we left the temples.

Mdina

The walled city of Mdina was my favourite day out of the whole trip. It can trace its history back over 4,000 years, with a lot of the current architecture having been built in the 1500's. The whole city has been so well kept that you would think it was built yesterday. It's Catholic cathedral was a highlight for me because of the ornate decorations and the marvelously detailed painted ceilings. The museum opposite was great as well as it housed pieces from the cathedral, as well as old coins dating back to the early Roman era.

I could have taken photographs of the city all day.

If you head to the far wall from the main gate, you can climb up onto a walkway to look out across the surrounding countryside, all the way to the main city. It's an unbelievable panorama, one of the best views on the island.

There were several places to eat, only a couple that did gluten free food. It was quite pricey because they know that tourists don't really have any other options, but the atmosphere was nice and the food was decent. Just be careful to check the opening times when you're researching places to eat, as some places don't open at lunchtime, only in the evenings. This may be beneficial if you want to be in the city at night. They call it the silent city when darkness falls, which could be an interesting experience!

Restaurants

We didn't eat a lot of great food while we were away, but these three are worth a visit if you're thinking about visiting Malta.

Munchies (in Mellieha)

Munchies can be found on the beach, just down from the Mellieha Bay Hotel. They do plenty of different meals, including Maltese specialties and breakfasts past midday. It was number three out of my top three, as we had food elsewhere that was spectacular, but my chicken tasted awesome and the fries were cooked perfectly.

The Pulled Meat Company (in Valetta)

We tried to visit this restaurant on Monday, but it turns out there are quite a lot of places that are closed all day Monday in Valetta -- another thing to bear in mind! When we came back on Wednesday, it was definitely open, with staff standing in the doorway hoping to entice people inside. It has a TripAdvisor award for its food, which is well deserved. We all decided to have the brisket burger, as it sounded so delicious. Rarely are burgers so tasty. Slow cooked to perfection, we stuffed our faces until there were none left! Would definitely recommend unless you're vegetarian, this is definitely not the place for you.

Vecchia Napoli (at the Airport)

Our best meal on the island was actually our last. I was looking up places to eat at the airport and Vecchia Napoli came highly recommended. A little taste of Naples in Malta, we got a table quickly and ordered a variety of meals, including lasagna and two different types of chicken. My chicken with garlic, honey and seasoning was tremendous and my Mum and sister both thoroughly enjoyed their meals too. If you arrive in Malta starving, this is place to go for lunch. There's also a sushi bar and a place that does English style food (Bert’s) on either side. Vecchia and Berts both label all their food with what contains gluten, lactose, garlic etc and which are vegetarian.

There was also a chef doing pizza tossing at the front of the kitchen! What's not to love about that?

Overall, our trip was a bit hit and miss. There was stuff that we really enjoyed, like Comino and Mdina, but a lot of stuff we could have done without experiencing, like the bus drivers/rides and how distant the locals and staff could be, among others. We probably wouldn't choose to go back, but that's our personal taste. For someone a little looser, who has lots of energy and isn't picky about what they eat, this could be a fun adventure for you.

#malta #blog #travel blog #mdina #comino #valetta #hagar qim temples

0 notes