#and i have a ton of english credits banked up so i think i can make the switch and still graduate on time but im meeting w my advisor

[gworlinterrupted]

the last push i needed to realize i wanna change my major is the prof walking into my social determinants of health class and going omg i havent seen most of you since covid its so nice to see ur smiling faces without the masks

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I'm sorry I left this bitter ask earlier on. I didn't mean to rain on your parade. I'm just trying to work through my feelings and I really wish I could go back to enjoy a comeback. BTS really was my comfort place and I need it with everything going on my IRL. I miss them so much, I fear I'm never getting that feeling again, even when they comeback. I already have been pushed away from the fandom because I couldn't express how uncomfortable I felt with Seven and now I feel so lonely. I'm trying to just enjoy the older music, but letting go of keeping up to date and being 100% invested is hard. Really hard.

I'm happy for you that you can enjoy this comeback, but he lost me for good. "These are love songs, to comfort ARMY" and then he goes on to perform 3D Jack Harlow version. What's comforting in being compared to a dead body? Before release maybe he didn't get it, but we know he monitors fandom reaction, and there is an alternate version. He just wants to be cool and edgy but banks on ARMY blindly supporting him no matter what. I feel betrayed, not because he went explicit, I was fully expecting it, but because he's doubled faced. Comforting ARMY my @ss. Just admit you wanted the fuck boy image. He's so talented, but he just throws BTS legacy out the window. Namjoon sit next to the SK president and explained how he consulted scholars to avoid misogynist lyrics ffs. And 3D isn't the only song I have a problem with, just the worst. "It's just lyrics and images" and what are BTS songs? It just feels like a slap in the face.

I think he performed the Jack Harlow version because the alternate version is not in Golden, which he was promoting - it's the feature that opens the album. I also doubt he saw fans objecting to the lyrics, unless the Koreans fans were complaining as well, and a lot of them probably don't speak English well enough to be as bothered by the lyrics as the international fandom as a whole was. Although a lot of Armys didn't like Jack Harlow, the song still did well, and tons of people did the TikTok challenge. Jungkook probably concluded that, while Seven was better received, people still enjoyed the song. BTS may monitor what Armys say but there is ton of stuff they miss, or ignore...

Jungkook isn't doubled face. "Comforting Armys" doesn't mean lyrics like Spring Day. He brings comfort to Army by delivering cool songs, performances, and content which distract Army from their daily lives, providing them with comfort and entertainment. Also, Seven is chill and relaxing - just hearing his voice in the track is comforting. There are three ballads in Golden as well, and all songs except for SNTY and 3D are rather chill and comforting. Jungkook's voice is comforting to me regardless of the lyrics or genre. He wasn't lying when he said he wants to comfort Army. Giving back the love we give him is one of his biggest motivations. He wasn't fully sure that he wanted to release an album, but I think Army was a huge factor in him doing so.

Jungkook doesn't want to be "cool and edgy". I mean, yes, in a way, but he isn't counting on Armys blindly supporting him. He trusts we will support him because we have so far, and he's also confident in the songs he's putting out because he's making music he'd like to listen to, and expects Army to be big fans of pop - kpop is pop after all... He's not interested in lyrics or a message, so he doesn't get that fans might be. Is he supposed to live in fear? Is it not his career and his life, his choice? Armys for the most part have liked his solo career. There was only a somewhat negative response to 3D. Obviously, Seven divided a few Armys, but the reaction was generally positive. Same for Golden - even on Reddit it's mostly positive. Plus, like I said, he is much more aware of K-Armys' response to his music, and, from what I've seen, they are even more positive than international Armys.

Jungkook is not RM, and I'd say you're giving RM too much credit. BTS have performed Boy in Luv and Danger in recent years, despite acknowledging how sexist their early music was. Girl of My Dreams has some disturbing lyrics from Juice Wrld yet Suga is on it. Jimin was in a song with a rapist. Bad Decisions featured Snoop Dog who defended Bill Cosby. There are plenty of examples of BTS, including BTS, collabing with, or expressing admiration for, very problematic artists. MJ, for example, was a pedophile, yet Jungkook and Jhope in particular are big fans, as are the rest of BTS (and the world...).

I don't understand how Jungkook is throwing out BTS's legacy. He built that legacy too. Sure, the "fuck boy" image that he pushed a bit with Seven and 3D, but not really with SNTY or Golden as a whole, contrasts a little with BTS's image, but it doesn't contradict it. The sexist lyrics in 3D were not his. RM and the rest of BTS get along with Bang Si-hyuk and support New Jeans and are okay with MHJ despite both being objectively terrible people. They also support brands that are unethical (they support consumerism, aren't environmentally conscious, and the brands they endorse are corrupt and built on labor rights abuse and the inhumane treatment of workers). BTS's legacy is a mixed bag and always will be. It's build on fans mass buying albums and merch, and spending their money recklessly just so a bunch of millionaires can top the charts. Also, if we're talking about meaningless love lyrics, V didn't write his own lyrics either, and BTS didn't write the English trilogy.

I feel like you're romanticizing BTS too much, even if I understand that a big part of BTS's selling point, and what I love about them as well, is them writing their own lyrics. But that was mostly always RM, and the rap line, and BTS could only give their input on concepts that the company wanted and never had the freedom to freely pick the songs on their group albums. A lot of BTS's songs are just "lyrics" and "images". Their early music, for example, had a lot of romantic lyrics that RM wrote because Bang PD wanted them to have a softer concept that appealed to fans (eg., I Need U).

Anyway, thank you for the follow-up ask. I've been harsh about BTS, and particularly Jungkook, before too. I understand that when you're upset everything seems worse than it is, and I understand that it can be really isolating in the fandom because everyone's aggressively positive all the time. I had to unfollow tons of people after Seven because I was so disappointed in the song but kept seeing everyone praise it. On Friday I also blocked out the fandom because I couldn't relate to their reaction to Golden. I also struggle with wanting to be up to date with everything BTS do and not having enough time or even interest. This is especially worse with Jungkook (that pressure).

I could tell you that it's okay to let go of BTS, but it's a bit like giving up on a huge part of you - like losing a limb. I get it, that's what it means to be Army, it's sad sometimes too. If you feel lonely you can talk to me. If not for my anons, I'd feel really lonely in the fandom as well, which I don't even consider myself to be a real part of. I'm Army but I'm not in the fandom, if that makes sense.

It might take time, but perhaps after they've all enlisted, you, and I, will have time to reconnect with BTS without the pressure of keeping up with them. The constant releases and content fatigue me too - it can be overwhelming. When BTS reunite, it won't be the same, but hopefully we'll all come together again, even if for the last time...

Thanks for the ask!

[winnie-rioter]

‹ chou tzuyu. cisgender female. she/her. muse 2n. › winnifred “winnie” smith is back in rochdale for the summer. they’re currently twenty two years old and are known as the caged bird of the rioters, especially after they snuck out of the house to be able to go to senior prom. they graduated in 2017 and since then they’ve been getting their undergrad in political science before planning to go to law school. they decided to come back for the summer because she wants to explore her wild side again before going back into “good girl mode”. let’s hope they have the summer of their dreams! ( eddie. she/they. 24. pst. )

tw parental abuse (just in case)

adopted from Taiwan by two significantly older adults from the US

her mother owns and runs a flower shop downtown, and her father is a family lawyer with a practice in town and the next biggest city (wherever we’re all from lol)

Being raised by older well educated parents led Winnie to be incredibly bright herself, but not very good at socializing with people her own age

It didn’t help that her parents were incredibly strict about everything; her diet, her appearance, but especially her school work.

Back when she was in elementary school and they didn’t have letter grades yet, her father yelled at her in the car when she got a single 2, even though she got 4s all the way through.

ever since, she’s been paranoid about her grades, wanting to never get yelled at like that again

ever since then, she would be that annoying kid to teachers; brilliant and gets all her work in on time, but god forbid you give her a B or a C on an assignment,there will be HELL to pay

however, besides regarding her grades, Winnie was a timid, very sweet girl until her freshman year of high school. 

Calista apparently saw potential in the excellently dressed in pink girl and took her under her wing, bringing her into the “Mean Girls”

So now shes closer to the top of the food chain, still a very quiet presence, even a part of Calista’s clique and the rioters. She never instigated any mean behavior, but she definitely did nothing to stop it either.

Then, when Calista ripped that girls hair out Winnie’s junior year, she finally broke her characteristic silence and call out her best friend, resulting in a fight and friend break up.

So Winnie had to spend her senior year of high school on damage control, trying to amend some of the bridges she inevitably burned through her silence (wcs??)

during the week before senior prom, one of her teachers gave an extra credit assignment to complete before the monday after prom. Despite insisting she didn’t need it, Winnie’s father insisted that skipping prom was far more important than “some silly dance you won’t remember”.

So, with Banks’ help (WILL COME TO YOU TO FLESH THIS OUT I PROMISE), she snuck out that night and had tons of fun with her friends ina  sort of last hurrah before she knew she would have to go right back to being a good girl.

despite wanting to major in English, since writing is a huge hobby of hers, she majored in political science so she could become a lawyer like her dad

she has one more summer before she starts law school, and she wants to have as much fun as she possibly can before she sells her soul to the bloodsuckers

random headcanons now

her parents were very into “pink for girls blue for boys” when she was growing up, but it ended up working out that Winnie loved pink for the rest of her life. She always has at least a little pink somewhere on her person.

incredibly well organized, like everything in her room and notebooks and planner is color coated

WANTED CONNECTIONS besides anything and everything lol

People who Winnie watched get bullied and didn’t say anything

People who forgave Winnie and became close during her senior year after realizing that she is sweet she just had no backbone for 16 years lol

Crush- I think she’s the type to crush on someone from afar for a long time and do nothing about it unless they do something first, so maybe she realizes the crush is still there even after all this time away? I think this would be one of the nicer boys, but of course open to plotting possibilities <3

[mindlcssartist]

is that [LAURA HARRIER]? no, that’s just [ADELAIDE 'ADDIE' ATKINS]. [SHE] is [TWENTY-SEVEN] years old and is a [B&B OWNER]. rumor has it they’ve been in town for [FOUR YEARS]. on a good day, they’re [RESILENT & ALOCENTRIC]. but watch out! they can also be [DECEITFUL & TACITURN]. [GROWING PAINS BY ALESSIA CARA] plays in my head whenever i think of them. can’t wait to see them around springhill!

tw: child neglect, arson, cheating.

hello hello hello! you all can call me g and i invited myself to this party to introduce to you my baby addie SO, without further ado, let’s do it shall we?

H I S T O R Y

Adelaide Atkins Savoy is the daughter of Edward Atkins, an English salesman/conman and Ann Savoy, a French teacher that came from a (somewhat) noble family.

The Atkins family moved to Peachtree, Georgia from England when Addie was five years old after a business initiated by Edward, her father, went awry with the Savoys. Addie’s grandpa, who probably lost the most out of the business con but loved Addie to no end and wanted her grandkid to have a decent life, decided to fly the Atkin-Savoy family and bought them a wonderful, luxurious home on Addie’s name.

Her childhood was… an odd one, to say the least. Her parents still acted like they were part of the Savoy family while in Georgia (and with the housing/jobs Addie’s grandpa got them, there was no reason to doubt them) so they fit perfectly with Georgia’s finest, they were living a double life of sorts, socialités in debt who schemed their wealthiest friends without them knowing. Her parents promptly got Addie to work alongside them, either as a distraction or as an active asset in their plans and she couldn’t quite deny her skills to them alas, Addie did stuff she wasn’t proud of, illegal stuff she could get away with because no one suspected the little girl with the ponytails.

Edward Michael Atkins Savoy, Addie’s younger brother was born when Adelaide was around eleven. Ann lost interest on Eddie pretty quickly so Addie pretty much raised the kid as well as she could after she turned thirteen. The two formed an unbreakable bond very quickly.

She learned many skills during her time with her parents: pick locking, html, pickpocketing, boxing, sewing (which served the young woman well when her parents decided to stop buying their kids clothes and she started making them for the two of them instead), whatever her parents required of her and whatever she could learn to make sure her brother was well taken care of, she’d learn.

CHILD NEGLECT TW The worst instance of their parents neglecting both Addie and Eddie happened right after Eddie turned five. Their friends found out about how the couple had played them and the Atkins family lost all respect within the community, so they quickly started to go in debt with banks and strangers to try to live the life Ann and Edward were so used to. By this time, the matrimony had mostly forgotten their kids to the point where they stopped providing for them unless they needed Adelaide for some job, so it was all Addie’s responsibility to not only care for her brother but her parents somehow. She started working (an honest job) when she was fourteen and never truly stopped.

ARSON TW when Addie was seventeen, one year from graduating high school Edward and Ann made a decision: they needed money to pay off credit debts and alas, they needed to burn down the house the Savoys had bought for the family because they needed the insurance money. Addie started to storage as many stuff as she could when she was informed of what was going to happen (was guilt-tripped into staying silent) and the night her parents actually burnt the house down, Addie grabbed Eddie, everything she had gathered, a car a friend had lend to her and flee Peachtree, the two siblings didn’t look back. Adelaide didn’t finish High School.

After the two siblings escaped Peachtree, they situated in Arkansas for about a year, where Addie worked around two, three jobs in order to take care of herself and Eddie. No longer after a friend encouraged her to give her testimony (and all the proof she had gathered that backed up the claim that the fire had been premeditated) and she put her parents in jail for arson and child neglect, gaining her brother’s full custody and whatever money was left from the insurance payment.

The Atkins have lived in: Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New York and now New Jersey, always trying to make a home out of these places to no avail.

In one of these cities, Adelaide met a dark, mysterious man who she quickly fell in love with when she was no more than twenty-three years old and for the first time in her life, she opened her heart and mind, fully, to someone else other than her brother and close friends. However, not everything was a fairytale: it didn’t take long until Addie discovered the man she had fallen in love with was engaged to be married to another woman, and their relationship ended as abruptly as it started, leaving her completely shattered and heartbroken and thus, the Atkins siblings arrived to their final destination: Springhill because it was their next point in the map. they’ve lived in the city for a little over four years now.

After working as a waitress/bartender/cook/whatever she could get to make a living for her and Eddie, Addie got a letter from the Savoy family one day with the news that her grandfather had died and had left behind a trust fund for her, enough money for the two siblings to live off comfortably for the rest of their lives. However, the oldest decided to only use enough to buy a nice house for the two of them and to open a modest, lovely b&b, their major source of income. They have a nice life.

She and Eddy don’t really talk about their past a lot, unless any of the parts truly trust the person they tell their story to.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Most days, Addie is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, the kind of girl who smiles at everyone she meets and greets strangers with a smile on the daily. She likes making people around her happy. She thrives when people around her shine.

However, she can be very closed off and go as far as to be very deceitful? I mean, she is sharp, even though people don’t think she is because they write her off as a “southern belle” type, but what most people don’t know is she can be cunning whenever she sets her mind on it, she learned from a very young age how to take advantage of everything she had to get what she had her mind settled on.

The one thing she cares the most about in the world is her brother, Eddie. The boy is pretty much her own and has been since the day he was born, she would stop at nothing to make sure he is fine and he is happy.

Her hobbies include painting and sculpting (which she makes some money off of), gardening (the Atkins sibling’s home is a glorified zen garden by now) and designing (she sometimes uses this skill to make clothes for selling to friends and acquaintances).

She has fleeting relationships that never take to anything serious (committing issues plus a ton of other issues let’s be honest), but it doesn’t mean she isn’t opposed to the idea. She simply believes it’s not in her destiny to find the one.

Loyal to no end, good god. It takes a lot for her to feel comfortable with someone to call them her friend but once she does, she is the most loyal friend. Also the mom friend, no matter how close you are. If it’s even a little bit chilly outside and she sees a stranger shivering she WILL give them her sweater, has medicine and candy on her at all times.

She can be quite impetuous and extremely curious to the verge of being noisy, but never in a malicious way, unless you mess with someone she cares about.

Whatever you throw her way, she’ll land on her feet.

P L O T S (*will be a wc on main)

Ex-boyfriend*: There could be many ways to go with this, many reasons why he never told her he was engaged in the first place or why he lead her to believe he was equally in love with her, but boy do we love the angst in this household and I would love to see what this connection could bring.

Best friend: Either the best friend who help the Atkins while the lived in Georgia (preferably) or a new friendship they’ve built in the years they’ve been in Springhill Addie would be nothing without this person. She trusts them more than her own shadow and would kill for them in a heartbeat.

Foreign cousins: Maybe someone seeking vengeance because of what Addie’s father did to the family? Maybe they don’t even know they are related, everyone loves having someone you can tell “well, now i know where the craziness comes from”.

Muse: Whenever she’s stressed or just… inspiration strikes, Addie calls this person to either use them as a model or a canvass. She has every line of their body engraved on her memory and she still finds them fascinating and could spend hours painting them. We can discuss what shape this plot could potentially take.

People she works for: Either her art or the clothes she makes, I’d love to write about any of those.

Hook-ups: past, present, ended in good terms, ended in bad terms, one-sided infatuations that couldn’t go over due to Addie’s commitment issues… I want it all!

Possible love interest who will make her want to commit for once and open her heart again??????

Friends, enemies, neighbors… just love my baby, she and Eddie will love you back!

Okay, wow, if you made it through… honestly bless you and you deserve a freaking award. if you read this mess (i literally haven’t slept AT ALL because i wanted to binge the politician and idk if it makes any sense) and you still wanna plot, hmu of like this post and i’ll come to you!

[florcnces]

HEY HENS ! my name’s nat & today i present to you the one, the only ... ms florence ! under the cut you’ll find a few bits & pieces i’ve come up w/ so far just so ... u kno ... we can plot or whateva 😏😏😏so if u want me to shower you w/ love, feel free to drop a big, fat LIKE or im me 😏😏😏also ... if u read this thru u will notice that ... i gave up somewhere in the middle of it ...

new york’s very own 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄  𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐃 was spotted on broadway street in 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐀'𝐒  𝐁𝐁𝐒 . your resemblance to 𝐒𝐘𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐘  𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐘 is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 - 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 birthday bash . while living in nyc , you’ve been labeled as being 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋 , but also 𝐍𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 . i guess being a 𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋  𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒 ,  𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐌𝐄 - 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄  𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐒  &  𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 - 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒  𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐔𝐌𝐄 . ( i seduced the director to get my first big movie role. )  &  ( cis-gendered female & she / her  ) 

𝐢. 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 

name : florence noel brassard

dob / age : may 22nd, 1996 / twenty - two

hometown : paris , france

occupation : actress

aesthetics : pearl necklaces , femme-fatale movies , half-used bottles of perfume , lavender bouquets & satin sheets

positive traits : nurturing , logical , self-motivated , thoughtful 

negative traits : vengeful , scornful , two-faced , devious 

likes :  morning runs , feeling accomplished , freckles , seltzer water , blueberry yogurt , random picnics

dislikes : not getting attention , impulsive decisions , being late , not taking care of herself , mess all over the place , loud voices

𝐢𝐢. 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 

baby florence was born & raised in new york city and was immediately thrown into the world of luxury - there literally was no other outcome when your parents appeared to be, like, one of the most powerful couple in the fashion industry, owning a huge chunk of loewe, lv, berluti and etc (so basically think like antoine arnault & natalia vodianova as her parents ... thnx xxxx)

with everything being handed to the girl on a silver platter, flo’s childhood was as boring as it could be. ‘ want to attend ballet classes? we’ll arrange private ones for you with the nycb principals.’ / ‘ can’t find a dress for the event we’re throwing? here’s five custom gowns to choose from, honey. ’ / ‘ there’s a scratch on your shoes; here’s a credit card, go buy yourself three new pairs. ’ / so, basically, tl;dr, they spoiled her ROTTEN

not gonna like, flo had a phase of being a bratty, greedy & ungrateful bih at the age of 13-15 because of the people she surrounded herself with & in order to fit in, she had to have like the best of the best. tho it wasn’t like she hadn’t had any of those things already - she just started taking advantage of her parents’ generosity. it took cutting her allowance down to the minimum for a few months and a few serious conversations to get a confession out of florence and to get her to understand that people should consider your their friends for your personality and not your bank account. so basICALLY she loves her parents v v v much & treasures the relationship they built over the years.

by the time she finished high school, she was v much set on the idea of creating a name for herself. starting a business wasn’t an option bc of how influential her parents were; sports weren’t an option either bc she didn’t have any exceptional talents (fun fact: she tried out for the cheerleading team for 3 yrs in a row only to not make the cut every single time which led to her crying at lunch ... ): #poorbby). being an influencer didn’t sound right to her either, so she went with the option that probably fit her the most - the julliard ! 

it was quite hard getting in there, mostly due to the fact that people there didn’t exactly understand why florence wanted to get into acting. it wasn’t like she needed any additional buzz to her name or more a-list events to be in attendance of, so she did have to prove that she was noth talented & sincerely interested in pursuing the career. however, it wasn’t the hardest thing she had to do to actually become the person she is today.

studying at the julliard wasn’t enough bc it didn’t make it any easier for flo to get a role. she tried her absolute damndest, used every connection she had -- yet, nothing was working. & since going to her papa for her was in no way, shape or form an option, she resorted to the worst.

bc she knew her mother was always in charge of organizing charity galas and whatnot, florence made sure to check out a list of invitees and, much to her sheer luck, she found a few familiar names of actresses and directors who rsvp’d to the event already. the night of the gala was spent with florence circling the room, looking and acting as gorgeous and charming as ever, but nothing seemed to be working bc everyone were either uninterested or just wanted her to get their name to her parents (& that wasn’t an option). however, at the end of the night she found the one. the one who lit up her star.

she didn’t go into it without thinking all of her options. she spent weeks flitring w/ the guy, going on dates and accepting gifts - everything to make it seem as if she was truly interested in him as a person. she laughed at his jokes, enjoyed his embraces - at some point, she even felt as if she could actually end up loving him. however, the moment he offered her the role of her life (plS one day i’ll actually properly headcanon that ish ... but not rn i proMISE!), whatever feelings (or whatever resembled them ...) immediately vanished.

so ! currently bby florence is basking in the newfound limelight and making sure to move further in her career... without having to resort to seducing middle-aged dudes... :-)

𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 

florence, like i said, isn’t exactly a multi-talented skinny legend. yea, she’s decent at skating, somewhat good at singing, is quite beautiful - nothing out of the ordinary, hence why she sometimes struggles with her confidence. and by sometimes i mean A LOT of times. but if u think she’d ever show it U R SO WRONG BABE. usually whenever she falls into her self-called pit of uncertainty and lack of confidence, florence resorts to dressing up as nicely as she can and going to the first bar that comes to her head to get a drink and attract as much attention as she can. 

she also finds comfort in cooking. sure, with her daddy’s money she could eat out for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between,  but there’s something incredibly comforting in taking the time to cook something for herself. besides, she is very fond of the memories of her mother teaching her how to cook. and the times they’ve accidentally burned the food bc they were too busy talking abt random things :’) like bby can actually make a MEAN kedgeree !!!

since her father is french and her mother is american, florence is bilingual. she prefers speaking french over english purely bc of the beauty of the language, so sometimes she might just switch languages mid-sentence.

florence is also ambidextrous due to the fact that she broke her arm when she was 7 and had to wear a cast for a longer period of time since the bones couldn’t heal properly :-)

also ... v much a dog person. like, cats? EW, don’t talk to her. don’t even think of calling her KITTEN bc u will ... get ur ass handed to u

always and i mean ALWAYS !!!! wears a pearl necklace on her neck that her father gave her for her 18th birthday. and just hella obsessed w/ pearls and flowers. iDK why she just is ...

𝐢𝐯. 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

obv !!! a best friend ? like, that typical ride-or-die situation where they wouldn’t hesitate to catch the bullet for the other person

maybe a friend / some friends from high school ? either they were the ones pressuring flo to take advantage of finer things and daddy’s money or ... flo could have left them for those ppl

a rival ... who had their eyes on the role florence landed ... and now there’s just a ton of anger and distaste towards each other

exes / one night stands / flirtations ... :-)

[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

Death Come True thoughts

I just got done with my first playthrough of Death Come True, Kazutaka Kodaka’s newest live-action game! Being that I’m just too good, I finished the game without getting every possible scene and achievement, which means I’ll have to replay it a little bit differently. An element of the game does make it so one should be obligated (from my understanding at least) to play through it twice, though, so I’m glad I didn’t forcefully attempt to get everything on my first playthrough.

Here are my first thoughts! They are completely spoiler-free, however, I understand that by being a short game, and the way the player learns its plot, the developers are extremely careful to avoid the sharing of any type of spoiler. As far as I’m concerned, my post is completely safe for someone who hasn’t played the game yet and would like to know what they’re getting into without having plot or gameplay elements ruined for them, but if you really, really want to go in blind, I encourage you to avoid reading it!

(I’d say basically that if you mean to play the game anyway, or if you have tons of far-fetched theories you want to keep for the longest time possible, you could read my thoughts later and share yours then. If you’re on the fence, why not check what I have to say first?~)

Yet another introduction to a post that’s much more solid than the actual content of said post.

My first and main thought about Death Come True (hereinafter referred to as DCT...) is that it is, indeed, a really short game. Not in the sense that it feels like anything’s missing from it, however. Its writing and pacing is well-balanced, properly explaining and wrapping up its story. Rather... I’d say DCT is like a short story adapted into an interactive movie - short story in the “novella” sense. (Why didn’t you just say “novella” then, you ask, and “what the fuck kind of foreign language is english even” I ask in reply)

Now taking its price into account... I think ¥1960 is a very good price for this game. This would translate to 15,84€, however it ended up costing me 17,99€. This price, a little closer to 20€, made me hesitate a little more-- but at the end of the day it’s only 2,15€ more than I expected, and I was curious about this game, so I told myself “fuck it” and bought it anyway. If unlike me, you have money in your bank account, DCT’s cost shouldn’t feel like a waste to you, as it is, after all, a lot less than the usual pricing for such a game.

Now onto my ~actual fucking thoughts~. I enjoyed it. DCT’s not breathtaking, it’s definitely not going to reshape the way I see my life or anything of the sort, and I probably won’t spend the rest of my life thirsting over its characters. It was a very sweet experience, however, and made me laugh every now and then (... though I’m not sure if that was fully intended-- the game isn’t humouristic per say, but the protagonist finds himself in such absurd situations you’ll likely let out a chuckle every now and then, at least as far as the beginning of the game is concerned. To be honest, some of these might have seemed a bit less absurd to me if I’d picked every wrong choice, because if you play the game you’ll see that they justify Makoto’s weirdest of choices.), as well as feel a little emotional at the end. I’ll scour the interwebs for fanart. I’ll cosplay Nene. You can’t stop me. I enjoyed this game. Might skip the Makoto Karaki angst art tho.

I mean, there isn’t much I can say about what makes this game enjoyable - if you’ve ever enjoyed a murder-mystery novella or its adaptation, you’re likely to enjoy DCT.

What I want to share my thoughts about the most, though, is that this game has Kazutaka Kodaka written all over it. Some characters, plot elements, situations... Will make a Danganronpa fan realize that “oh, yeah, that’s a concept Kodaka likes”.This does play into DCT not being some sort of amazing new discovery, but as someone who’s a  h u g e  fan of Danganronpa and appreciates Kodaka as a creator (... which isn’t as common as you might think among the DR fandom), I really appreciated that about it. Frankly, all it’s missing is some “almost canon” heterosexual pairing between a tall woman and a small man.

Playing through the game, I often asked myself questions, and each was answered rather quickly. Yeah, the suspense doesn’t last very long, and there isn’t a lot left to the imagination. At all. From a story-telling standpoint, though, I’d say that this again highlights DCT’s writing’s good balance and pacing. The game raises the right questions at the right time, making their answers feel satisfying and logical.

Some characters are a bit lacking. Two of them mainly- had an interesting concept, were properly seen in action, but mostly disappeared from the rest of the plot, which felt a little disappointing, when they could have had a looming influence on the general gameplay. Yet they’re mostly missing. They have their time to shine once, and then disappear. I’ll have to say that was a little bit disappointing.

I think that’s about all I have for now. I’m glad I played the game, and I don’t know for sure if I would have liked for it to be longer or not. In some ways, I’d say the answer is yes... But I also feel like the way it actually is, its quick pacing and short story, just works the way it is. So you know, it’s solid on its own, and I appreciated that, but it could also have been something more.

I found myself wondering if the reason behind every question being so clearly answered, leaving almost nothing to the imagination, was a reaction coming from Kodaka to Danganronpa V3′s plot and ending being so globally misinterpreted. Food for thought. ┐(´∀｀)┌ Though it could as well be an attempt to make it clear this isn’t the type of title to ever get any sort of sequel or spin-off.

Well, when I was done playing DCT... Rather than questioning the experience I’d just had with the game, I found myself questioning my relationship to Danganronpa and what it means to me. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed finding elements that screamed “Kodaka” all over a new game and story. I don’t know. It feels like I’m starting to know him as a creator, and I find that we have similar tastes in matters of story concepts. Hey, if you like Kodaka’s scenarios, you’ll like DCT, is what I think. I also found myself thinking about it being 2020, and me being in my bed, playing a new game by Kazutaka Kodaka, with promotional art credited to Rui Komatsuzaki and soundtrack by Masafumi Takada. I wondered what that meant to me, and where I was in my life.

But that’s a whole other post.

Death Come True is a good game. I can’t extrapolate much more or pretend that I revere it, all I can say is that it is, in fact, good. I’m glad I got to discover a live-action title from TooKyo Games and knowing they can come up with nice concepts like this one makes me all the more excited for their upcoming titles.

(Edit: I didn’t think about it at first but I just read some french guy’s review that mentioned the cinematography feeling a bit “cheap”. I personally disagree, as I think the filming contributes to the good and quick pacing of the game, and the special effects were very well implemented.)

[heathendolan]

I Couldn’t Be More in Love [E.D]

Summary: Ethan’s not about cliches, he swears, but he has the feeling he might just die if he doesn’t tell you how he feels during your last senior prom slow dance.

Warnings: nothing but like I’m very sorry for the cheesy picture BUT LOOK HOW CUTE

Author’s Note: just a lil something I couldn’t get out of my head, it’s cheesy, it’s lame, it’s short, and it’s nothing special but my prom is next weekend and like c’mon how perfect would this be. just stopping by, hope you’re all doing fantastic!! love you all, and photo credits to popstyledolan (?? i’m not sure if this is instagram or twitter or tumblr, lmk if you guys know and i’ll add a link!!) ALSO like isn’t this song such a prom song I FEEL LIKE IT IS 

Word Count: 2.6K+ || masterlist

Ethan had a gut full of fruit punch (spiked--thank you Casey Fraiser) and a head full of fuzz; what's a guy gotta do to get you for a slow dance?

He's slumped on the third row of the high school gymnasium's wooden, creaky bleachers, both hands threaded in the messy, over-gelled locks on his head, his foot tapping a mile a minute. And he should really be out there next to Grayson, whooping and hollering to the ancient Lil Jon song echoing out of the low budget DJ's rusted speakers, but he just can't stop thinking about you, okay? And this isn't new, and that's what's getting old.

He just wants one slow dance. Or two. Or three, or four, or ninety. It's the only time he gets the excuse to hold you close and make a fool of himself and not have to apologize once. He always does everything in his power to deprive the mood of romanticism, though.

Because this isn't the first or even the second dance he's spent beating himself up over you. No, this has become a tradition over the years; Ethan says something like, 'Hey, let's go together to the dance, just as friends, cause I don't want to waste my time begging some chick that's probably out of my league when I can take my best friend and have a way better time' (romantic, he knows), you guys suit up in your best homecoming, snowball, or prom attire, and spend the night together.

As just friends. 

Ethan's made that super clear to you; Just Friends. Every single dance is Just Friends. And it's started to make less and less sense over the years, why he wouldn't go with Molly Kozial even though he'd been talking to her right up until promposals started getting popular again in March. 

"Molly's a lot of work," he had said through a mouthful of fries, his feet kicked up on his dash in the parking lot of the McDonald's you guys went to all the time. "What's the good in going out, spending a shit ton of money on candy or whatever, getting all nervous to ask her, and having the drama of it the next day in school when I can just go with you? Easy as pie."

Right, you had thought. Cause I'm definitely not worth the time, or the candy, or the drama. Ethan had made that very clear by the eighth time he'd taken you to a dance. 

It's not like you were going to bother yourself with the pain of his backhanded rejection; this was your senior prom. Just Friends is what you needed right before heading off to college--no need to invest yourself in some guy who'd inevitably break your heart by the end of summer. 

"Yeah alright," you'd said, slurping a thick gulp of milkshake. "But I think I want to wear white this year and-"

"Nooo, everybody's going to say we're getting married," Ethan whined reflexively, his head flopping against his car seat and a pout on his lips. 

"Deal with it," you shrugged. "That's what you get for your lack of, uh, chivalry?" 

Ethan shot a glare your way. "Chivalry?" he asked through a bite of his cheeseburger. "I hav' pl'nty 'f chivalry." 

"Right," you snorted, yanking the burger out of his hand and taking the biggest bite you could. 

So you'd announced it oh-so-inanimately to your friend group at lunch the following day, ignored their pointed smirks and knowing glances, and searched for a prom dress worthy of your bank account. And it was fun! God, it was fun, it was always fun going with Ethan and your friends, but...

Well, but you wanted to feel wanted. You wanted that whole experience, getting asked with roses, being slow danced with and held tight. Ethan unfailingly went overboard on slow dances every year; he shouted the lyrics to the songs off key, spun you around dramatically, made fun of all the surrounding couples--just sucked any bit of romance out of it. Cause you guys were Just Friends. 

And that was fine, but it wasn't perfect.

You looked around and saw him stuck up in the bleachers, his hair disheveled and his face pale where it hung. He looked awful--he looked sick. You stopped grinding on your best friend Courtney for a split second to examine him more properly. 

Ethan did feel sick. He thought he was going to throw up thinking about what he was about to do. 

Should he? Should he really expose himself like this, at a school dance of all places? Didn't you deserve better than that? You deserved a fun, drama-free night full of shitty 2000's music and even shittier spiked punch--the staples of a good prom. You deserved a bed of roses and chocolate truffles in those heart packages and a million other cliches. You deserved more than Ethan. 

But it's May now, Ethan realizes. Realizes he's got exactly 24 days until graduation, and then only three months until college begins and you two split about half an hour apart. It's May and how much longer does he really have anyway? What if you died tomorrow? Ethan's heart actually sinks at the mere thought.

He looks up to see you frowning at him half a gym away, your hair dolled up all pretty, your face caked with all the make you don't need but love so much. You look spectacular in your dress, obviously. Ethan knows there's no way in fucking hell he can't do this tonight, cliches be damned.

And now, now Ethan's made a promise to himself--he's gonna tell you how he feels--and it feels like torture. He has the heaviest, most leaden bit of dread sunken in his stomach. And yet, he's gotta do this. He's just gotta. 

You've started trekking towards him--wobbling like a newborn colt in those heels you forced yourself to wear--when the DJ says with the stalest of voices, "Alright everybody, we're going to slow things down a bit..."

It's a song Ethan would never know off the top of his head if he hadn't heard you singing it in the shower one time when he'd come over. He can still hear your voice--less than angelic, he will admit--wailing the lyrics of I Couldn't Be More In Love by the 1975. Rasp and cracks aside, the memory still makes his knees weak, even weaker than they are now, rising despite the butterflies in his belly begging him to sit back down. You halt where you are and gaze up at the rafters of the gym once you realize what song's playing, and Ethan can see the faint smile on your lips even in the lowlight and beams of disco glitter. He thinks he just might faint. 

By the time he gets to you, he can hear his own pulse, can feel it too in the expanse of his neck and planes of his chest. His hands are clammy—no, clammy hardly covers it. He might just sweat through his dress shirt; luckily, he discarded the vest and dinner coat awhile ago. You're still grinning up at the ceiling and Ethan wonders if he should just run while he still has the chance. 

But he doesn't, of course he doesn't, because he has to do this. So, he taps you on the shoulder gently, the most gentle he's probably ever been with you, and swallows the lump of fear in his throat. You look at him and grin, all teeth, and mumble, "I love this song."

"I know you do," Ethan blurts too quick, his words strangled. Slowly, he slides a hand down the length of your waist and wraps his palm there and takes your hand in the other. Then, the two of you realize that that just won't work, so he chuckles and pulls you in close, tight, fits you between his arms with his wrists dangling over each other behind your back. You slip your arms around his neck and it feels different this time, much different, and you wonder when Ethan grew up without you noticing. 

"How'd you know?" you ask after a beat, a quirk in your brow. 

Ethan pinches his eyes shut, cursing under his breath. "Uh..." he begins, swallowing thickly, "heard you sing it in the shower one time..."

He knows there are better ways to explain that, but he can't figure out any bit of the English language right now, not with you pressed against him naturally, like you could slow dance with him forever. He prays to god you can't feel his heartbeat against your cheek. 

"Oh my god, tell me you're kidding," you groan, heat licking at the back of your neck. You bang your head against the bone of his shoulder, humiliated beyond repair. "I have the worst voice and you know that."

Ethan shakes his head right away, his hold on you tightening just a little. This is so foreign, Ethan being... God, if you didn't know any better, you'd almost say Ethan was nervous. 

"That's okay, I like your voice," he squeaks. 

You stiffen against him and then realize he can't possibly be serious, so you giggle in his ear. "E, stop sucking up to me, we're already best friends." 

Ethan knows he has to do it now, now. He lets out a shaky breath and squeezes his eyes shut tight, counting back from ten. 

But what about these feelings I've got? I couldn't be more in love.

By the end of that line, Ethan decides he must spit it out. "I know, and I hate it." 

He hears your breath hitch in his ear, feels you tense and pull back from his chest, warmth disappearing from your body and your personality. Ethan knows he has to keep going when a look of pure heartbreak splits on your face. 

"I-I don't like being best friends. Well- no, I love being best friends, but I don't- I- I don't like being just best friends, okay? I don't like pretending and I've spent the past four years pretending," Ethan breathes, his whole body shaking. 

You've caught on by now, and your jaw's completely slack. It's a good thing Ethan's eyes are sealed shut--permanently, from what you can tell.

"Eth-"

"No, I gotta say this," Ethan whines, his head falling forward. He presses his temple to yours, so close and intimate in a way you've never seen him, never felt him. The two of you are still swaying, slow and steady, blending in with the crowd of lovesick teenagers. And it's weird because it feels so personal, you feel so alone in your own little world of Ethan. You love it. "I fucking love you. And I'm not saying it in that way that we end our facetimes with, I mean that I really fucking love you. I'm- I'm in love with you," he chokes out, his voice crackling. He pauses for a beat and shakes his head. "That's not even right. I don't even know if there're words out there that can describe how I feel about you. And I know I'm an ass about a thousand percent of the time, but that's because you make my legs feel like jelly and my head feel like static. And usually, I can just ignore it--well, not ignore it, I can never ignore you--but usually I can, uh, push it down," he says. 

Ethan pulls back and looks down at you, his eyes round and doe-ish. His tongue darts out to lick his lips and he shakes his head again. "But not tonight. Not when you're looking like this and acting like you always do. I- I think I nearly passed out when I picked you up from your house," he says, squeezing his eyes shut once more.

You're absolutely gobsmacked. Amazed. Stupefied. Speechless. 

"And I get it, I'm shit at romantics and even worse with words, but I mean it. I'm so into you. And this might be surprising since I'm pretty good at pretending like you're a little sister to me-" Ethan pauses to scrunch his face up distastefully. "-but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I, um, I couldn't be more in love," he finishes, wincing at his cliche and the way he's echoing the chorus's lyrics. 

You think you might just cry with relief, staring up at him. He's looking at you like you've just saved the world, or aligned the stars, or waxed poetry; his eyes are soft but full of awe, a few inches from yours. And his lips are parted like he wants to say more, but Ethan's right, he's never been that good with words, not until now. Your hearts thundering, pounding, racing in your chest, swollen with love for Ethan Dolan. And you thought he ought to know it.

You giggle with disbelief and shake your head. Your head falls forward on his collarbone and he takes the opportunity to kiss the crown of your head, and you wonder if Ethan feels this inevitability, that there has always been a spark of tension between you, that just friends can't care as much as you two do and remain just friends, that he's got nothing to worry about. So you pull back, inch your lips forward, and check his expression for permission, but Ethan's already halfway there. 

You lean in, and press your lips to him softly, graze your fingers against the peak of his cheekbone. He's kissing you back like he's got all the time in the world to love you under the glow of these disco lights, in the mass of these slow dancing bodies, in the middle of your high school gym. His tongue glides along the split of your lips, hesitant but warm and wet and stomach-flipping, and you crack open your mouth with a giggle, slipping your fingers into his over-gelled hair. Ethan slides his tongue along tentatively along yours. He must notice your shudder and feel you press into him more firmly, more sure of yourself, because he does it again, leaving you dazed and crazed and desperate. You cradle his jaw between your palms and kiss him like you mean it, lost in the feeling of love and the tune of a love song.

Subliminally, your brain registers the snickers and whispers sounding around you, but you're too intoxicated by the reality of your constant daydreams to really acknowledge them. However, Grayson has other plans as he claps a hand--hard--on Ethan's back as the song draws to a close, startling the two of you and peeling you away from one another. 

"About fucking time, bro," Grayson snorts, his eyebrows lifted skyward and his smirk far too smug.

Your cheeks are burning as you glare at Grayson and the way he's chuckling along with your crew of friends. Ethan decides there's far too much space between you and yanks you back to him, ignorant to your stiffness. "Suck my dick," he snaps back, resting his chin on the crown of your head. After a beat of swaying still, as the sound of a song less heavy rolls in, Ethan says, "I think your lipstick is like, all over my mouth."

You snort. "How much gel did you put in your hair?"

Ethan scoffs and shakes his head, his chin rubbing over your hair. "No idea. Too much."

"It's all over my hands," you giggle, squeezing them in the air and cringing at the way they stick.

"It's all Grayson's fault, the bitch doesn't know how to do hair apparently." 

You chuckle and shake your head, so familiar with this side of Ethan it comes as no surprise. What does shock you is the way he keeps his arms tight around your waist, the way he slips a finger under your chin and tilts your face to his, and plants another kiss--albeit tongueless--on you in front of half the student body. If Grayson gags violently and Courtney attracts the attention of everyone with her obnoxious awe's, that's okay with you. You couldn't be more in love. 

[nicosroom]

My Money Snapshot

[Inspired by Corporette]

Location: Ohio, small college town

Age: 29

Occupation: PhD candidate (English)/half-time instructor

Income: $16,000 before deductions

Net worth: $588 (I’m crying)

Current Debt: $12,844

Living situation: Renting with a roommate

Money Philosophy:

I grew up in the “working poor” category. My parents are divorced and my father never contributed much financially. Mom made around $21,000 per year at work and she cleaned houses “under the table” to supplement that. Somehow, we never went hungry, what we ate was relatively fresh and healthy, and she managed to put two of us through Catholic schools for a total of 14 years. I know now that mom is still paying some of those loans and credit card debts and that part of her strategy included not contributing more than the 3% that her employer matched in her 401k. Every time I complain about the financial stress I feel at my salary level, I have to remind myself how comparatively unstressful my financial life is.

I’ve always been poor and I always knew that graduate school/academia is not a lucrative career. I tell myself that if I can make things work at this pay grade, then I’m ready for just about anything. My main strategy is to have a budget, stay in the budget, and save every bit that I can.

Monthly budget

$1000-1100 for the necessities each month. Monthly spending on eating out, entertainment, shopping and other categories varies widely. I also won’t lie... dating someone who makes 4x more money than me helps... I’m fairly frugal on all of these fronts: I buy most of my clothes second hand and I tend to shop seasonally. Spikes in spending occur around the winter holidays when I’m buying gifts and when I am doing traveling. And I also have totally weak, impulsive moments - like the $3 soap sales at Bath & Body works, or that time I spent $110 on bras and underwear on a whim. Anyway:

Rent: $272.50/month

Other living expenses: $130-170/month (electric, internet, phone, renter’s insurance - lower in summer, higher in winter)

Transportation: $332/month (gas, insurance, car payment)

Healthcare: $162/month (health+dental insurance, no vision coverage)

Groceries: $120-150/month ($30/week)

Debt Picture

Student loan: $2000

Car loan: $10,488

I’m a career student & my motto for all the years I’ve been in school has been “follow the money.” I went to college on very hefty scholarships and I only had to take out the $2000 loan to cover housing costs during my first year. For the subsequent three years, I was an RA, so I never had to take loans again. I applied to graduate programs based on the research fit, and when I got my offers, money weighed heavily in the decision. I would have loved to live in Boston as a wee 22-year old, but I wasn’t about to take out loans for a year’s worth of tuition and the living expenses. And to get a PhD while living in Minneapolis, my very favorite city in the US? It would have been such a dream, but for the quite steep difference in stipends and the significant disparity in cost of living compared with Ohio. My only regret on this front is that I haven’t started paying back my tiny student loan. I’ve been able to defer it since I’m in graduate school, which was a great idea when I was a master’s student who didn’t know the first thing about budgeting. But if I had just paid $25/month from the start of grad school the balance would be $0 about the same time I graduate from this PhD program this August. Instead, I’ll be scrambling to pay off the whole balance before my 6 month grace period ends. 

The car loan is less than a year old. I finally broke down and bought a new (by which I mean used) car last summer after really pushing it with the car my parents had bought me in high school. Repairing that car put me into credit card debt more than once and I was getting so stressed about it. It was time. I have a very good credit score, so I qualified for a nice loan rate with my credit union, and to get a better rate I got my mom to co-sign my loan. It’s a popular rental fleet model so there were tons of them on the market, but average miles were high - so when I saw one that was two years old with only a years worth of miles on it at $1000 less than the average price for that make, model, and year, I jumped on it. My payments are $231/month on the 5-year plan. Currently, I’m paying that minimum, but I plan to escalate my payments as my income goes up (I’m on the academic job market now, pray for me). I folded this car payment into my existing budget by giving up solo-living and finding a roommate. When I had my own apartment, very spacious with a huge kitchen and tons of windows/natural light, I was paying about $585 for monthly rent. I hate living with people, but I hated the idea of being trapped in this college town without a car even more - one of my other mantras is “you can do anything for a year.” 

A note on credit cards: I love them. I’m one of those responsible people that charges everything and pays the balance like clockwork every month. This is the only way to make sure you’re actually taking advantage of the cash back/reward perks! Currently, I’m using Capital One’s Venture card and stockpiling airline miles for travel (it has a 40,000 mile sign-on bonus). If you’re good for it, I also recommend one card with a great balance transfer program. For me, when I get into an emergency situation, it makes me feel like I have options. It’s been about 4 years since I’ve had to use my balance transfer card to cover costs ($1400 in car repairs, summer 2015), but at my level, I can’t afford to not have back up plans. 

Savings and Investments

$5,517 Cash

$7,861 Roth IRA + employer mandated retirement account

Retirement: The biggest financial mistake I've made in grad school is that I did not opt into the retirement account offered by the university when I started my M.A. in 2012. When they ask me that “what I wish I had known before I went to grad school” question, this is near the top of the list. I did, eventually, open a Roth IRA and slowly I started to build something. This year, when my graduate funding dried up and they made me a “half-time instructor” the retirement account for public school teachers was mandatory and the contributions are high: 14% of every pay check (annoying, yes, but on the flipside, there is an equally high employer match). While I’m contributing to this, I’ve paused my contributions to the IRA. I’ll roll this money over, either into the IRA or into another state/employer retirement fund when I move on from here. 

Personal savings: I strive for a minimum of $100 per month and frequently do a little more, but each month is different and I consider it a win if I break even. Through most of grad school, I’ve taken on “second jobs” to bolster what I can save (and boost my resume). Both jobs have been through the university, so they limit me to five hours a week. When I max them out, this can be an extra $200-250 each month. 

I took up a new savings challenge this academic year to build on my “play money” savings account (a high yield savings account which my bank labels a “goal setter” account). The challenge involves tallying the “total savings” printed on my receipts each month (i.e. when the grocery store is like “you saved $6″ because of sales and coupons). So, At the end of the month, I put that running total into my goal setter account. Sometimes the total savings are like $26, but others its as much as $171. It’s an interesting challenge because it encourages me to do tedious things, like scroll through all the digital coupons on the grocery store app; but at the same time, I know that the higher that number is usually coincides with a lot of shopping which encourages some self-regulation. 

I initially set my goal at $2500 when I opened the goal setter account in 2014. When I had to dip into the account in April 2018 to pay $930 in car repairs, I finally set plans in motion to buy my car. Since I bought used, I only put 10% down on the car (just over $1200). When I sold my old car for $1000, I put that money right back into the account to start saving for new things...

What I’m saving for now:

travel: to celebrate finally finishing this PhD, I’m hoping to pull off a trip to Europe. Later this year, I’m also turning 30 around the same time that one of my regular professional conferences is meeting in Hawaii. If I can do one or both in the next year, that’d be grand. (As I mentioned, I'm saving up airline miles with my credit card program, too!)

a multicooker: think InstantPot...but more expensive because my dreams all revolve around small appliances that match my stand mixer. 

What I do to be frugal... 

I’ve been frugal my whole life, but a couple of major habits I’ve formed include:

Meal planning and home cooking (read my guide to meal prep here). The money part of that means planning what I eat around maximizing the ingredients I have to buy. I plan meals that use the same ingredients so I’m not spending on an entire bunch of celery and then throwing out 75% of it. Routinization also helps, so my grocery lists stay about the same week to week and the bill relatively predictable - for example, I eat avocado egg salad almost every day for lunch. I know, avocados are not cheap, but I also believe in spending on the things that nourish you––literally and “spiritually.” Roxane Gay once said that she never bought avocados or blueberries when she was a “poor grad student.” Once she started making money, she realized she would buy them because she could afford them, but she also threw them out all the time because she didn’t plan her meals right to actually eat them. The point is, buy the foods that you like/feel good about and build habits around them. It’s not wasted money. That said, I won’t pay more than $1.25 for an avocado!

Second hand clothes shopping, especially for my business casual (it’s amazing what people donate to the Goodwill, barely worn!)

[fromtheringapron]

WWE SummerSlam 2016

Date: August 21, 2016.

Location: The Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

Attendance: 15,974

Commentary: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves (Raw). Mauro Renallo, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, and David Otunga (SmackDown). 

Results: 

Kickoff Match: The Usos (Jimmy and Jey), The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder), and American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) defeated Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze), The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), and The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English. 

Kickoff Match: Sami Zayn and Neville defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von). 

Kickoff Match, First in a Best of Seven Series: Sheamus defeated Cesaro. 

1. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass. 

2. Raw Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks (champion) to win the title. 

3. Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz (champion) (with Maryse) defeated Apollo Crews. 

4. AJ Styles defeated John Cena. 

5. WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (champions) via disqualification.

6. WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (champion) defeated Dolph Ziggler. 

7. Nikki Bella, Natalya, and Alexa Bliss defeated Naomi, Carmella, and Becky Lynch. 

8. WWE Universal Championship Match: Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins to become the inaugural champion. 

9. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Randy Orton via knockout. 

My Review

SummerSlam 2016 is one long ass show. I’m aware that’s a bit of a redundant statement because, in the age of the WWE Network, every show is long and, more often than not, they’re also ass. However, the point still stands: this show is a whopping 4 hours and it’s not something you can digest in one sitting on a rewatch. For the record, I totally support making the SummerSlams and Survivor Series and so on seem just as big and important as WrestleMania. It’s fine by me for WWE’s Big 4 to feature absolutely stacked cards. Unfortunately, in modern WWE, this approach also results in the shows running out of gas midway through and some of the matches going on way longer than they should. The 2016 edition of the summer classic isn’t exactly the worst example of this trend, but it definitely shows similar signs of fatigue.

On top of that, it’s such a heel-dominated show. It’s only occasionally satisfying. In their crusade to make the audience finally embrace Roman Reigns, the WWE would pile on the heel victories in hopes the crowd would pop like crazy once the Big Dog got the W in the main event. It’s inherently flawed psychology to think the crowd is just going to accept a long-awaited face win from just anybody. That can really only work in a particular situation. Needless to say, it often failed because while Roman would get the W, the crowd still hated him. Worse here is that he doesn’t even wrestle on this show. So who was this booking supposed to benefit? I guess you could make the argument for Finn Balor, whose Universal title win remains a highlight of his WWE tenure. Even then, it was rendered irrelevant 24 hours later, as Balor would vacate the title due to injury.

With all that in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that such a heel-heavy show ends on a rather depressing note. Brock Lesnar pummels Randy Orton into a bloody mess and that’s it. That’s the show. Fade to black. It would’ve been fine if placed somewhere in the middle of the card, but it’s such an awkward way to close up shop. They did have a pretty workable story going into the match, and I’m not gonna pass up the rare occasion to see Orton get beaten into oblivion, but talk about deflating. The whole thing winds up looking like a pale imitation of Lesnar’s squash of John Cena back at SummerSlam 2014. Oh, and there’s some drama with Shane McMahon at the end because, as we all know, that’s exactly what the WWE needs: more McMahon family drama!

The far more successful dream match is John Cena vs AJ Styles. Truly something special. It’s essentially the same finishing move and near-fall spam fest that plagues every major WWE main event, but I don’t mind it here. This is meant to be an epic blockbuster between two of the biggest stars in wrestling of the post-Monday Night War era. It makes perfect sense for both guys to throw all of their deadliest ammunition at each other right out of the gate. Styles was in the midst of one of the hottest stretches of his career at this point, but Cena deserves just as much credit here. It’s kind of amazing. For all the times he’s proven that he can rise to the occasion in a big match situation, there are still anti-Cena bros to this day who’ll deny it every step of the way. His record of putting people over isn’t perfect, especially at SummerSlam, but what he does for AJ here is pretty selfless. I don’t think even his haters can deny that.

Overall, SummerSlam 2016 isn’t a bad show by any means but, again, the length ensures it will inevitably start to drag. A shame, because there’s probably a pretty good show somewhere in here. It’s nice that the WWE is trying to make the biggest party of the summer feel important, but too much partying can make even the most diehard fan eventually feel pooped. 

My Random Notes

I can only imagine what someone like Jon Stewart really thinks of WWE’s comedy. I mean, he’s probably had plenty of experience doing his best with bad material, but you’d have to think he had to grin and bear it here at several points.

In light of Sasha Banks’ recent spat with the company, I can really see why she’d be frustrated with her booking. Would it have killed them to have her hold the Women’s title for longer than a month? I know an injury is cited as the official reason she dropped the belt here, but it’s still the first of several instances of them yanking the rug out from under her.

Man, Enzo and Cass were so frickin’ over. They’re such laughing stocks now that it’s quickly become lost to time how much the fans were digging them. Of course, they only have themselves to blame for fucking it all up, but they really did have something special there for a bit. 

Dean Ambrose in his black torn shirt gives me some serious Bobby Heenan singlet vibes.

Funny how the pre-match hype package for Dean vs. Dolph centers so much around who Dolph Ziggler is because, as I’ve stated here previously, I still have no frickin’ idea who Dolph is supposed to be. He’s some anonymous hybrid of HBK, Mr. Perfect, Billy Gunn, and an ‘80s Trapper Keeper with literally no individuality. I find it ironic that he later got into a storyline where he kept changing gimmicks only to never find anything of his own. What a summary of his entire WWE career.

Hey, Balor may have had to surrender the title 24 hours later, but at least this meant him getting another run with the belt in the future, right? Right?!?

Man, Nikki Bella was so frickin’ over. Why does it feel like I’m repeating myself? In all seriousness though, people can hate on the Bellas all they want, but in no way should it be surprising that they still get big pops. They’ve done more for WWE’s mainstream visibility than a lot of other superstars allegedly have.

Speaking of Nikki, crazy to think that she’s only one in the six-woman tag to not hold the Smackdown Women’s title.

I can’t be the only one who felt a little kick to gut when they showed fans waiting outside the now-deceased Toys R Us. I don’t need another reminder that my childhood is dead.

When did Lana drop the accent? I don’t watch Raw and Smackdown weekly anymore, but it horrifies me to know I let this travesty pass me by.

I know some people were upset they allowed The New Day to surpass Demolition’s record for the longest reign as tag champs but I’m totally okay with the decision. Sure, they occasionally get into terrible storylines like this ringpostitis shit, but they’re incredibly over, sell a ton of merchandise, and can wring out some entertainment from even the worst material. If they really wanted to insult Demolition, they should’ve given that honor to The Ascension.

[everly-kindred]

Everly’s Diary - Entry #6

Synopsis: Eve finally goes to Diagon Alley so she can experience Ollivanders, and get her first wand!

Words: 1183

Date: 15th of February, 2026

Dear Diary,

Today was a special day! The day I’ve been waiting for! I finally convinced my parents to take me to Diagon Alley so I could get my wand. The day was a little weird at first, but the extraordinary moment of being matched completely erased any strange occurrences in my mind. The feeling of finding the wand meant for me, this odd experience of just knowing it was right… It’s beyond words, honestly.

I had actually had a dream about the wand beforehand, which is what I used to ask my parents for the upteenth time if we could go. I had only seen vague glimpses of it - a flash of one of the golden flowers, a blur of the blue-green colour of the box, a hint of the twisty nature of it. I woke up and immediately told my mom, who finally agreed that we could go just to get my wand. The rest of my school shopping will be done closer to when the school year starts - which, I’m still excited about that, too.

I had yet to ever go to Diagon Alley. I haven’t really gone to London in general, actually. It wasn’t very busy, probably because of how cold it was, but I did see some interesting witches and wizards. We went through this wall of bricks and watched as they all twisted and turned away - I guess that’s how they keep it hidden from muggles. I think the thing that caught my eye immediately was a bright orange shop with a giant head on it, called Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

Honestly, I was drawn to that store most, at first, but we were on a mission. Down the long road that was lined with all sorts of interesting shops, we came closer to the end, where Gringott’s Bank was. We stopped outside of Ollivander’s and my parents had me wait outside - they said they needed to go get money from the bank, and all. I did try to wait outside, but there was this very nice wand-keeper in the store who asked me to come in from the cold. Honestly, I think I was too excited to mind the cold, but I still obliged.

She had been talking to a very strange man, with a stiff sort of posture about him. He seemed like the sort to get cranky easy, but also had this sort of sickly sweet smile that could rot your teeth out. I didn’t trust him. Turns out, the wand-keeper didn’t either. He ended up hearing me mumble stuff about the wand I had seen, and asked me how it was that I knew what it looked like. I lied and told him I just had a gut feeling. Well, that’s more of a half lie, really, but I don’t think he bought it at any rate. But I doubt I’ll ever see him again.

After he left, me and the wand-keeper began to talk. She was a very lovely woman, with these flowers tattooed on her chest that seemed to move with her smile. When she was laughing, they were in full bloom and looked colourful, but when she was talking to that man, they looked thorny and wilted. I didn’t know tattoos could do that! Turns out she has a little sister one year younger than me, who will be going to Hogwarts in 2027.

It seemed like my parents had been gone awhile at this point. I’ve never been to Gringotts, and my parents said they didn’t want to take me as they felt I was too small for the carts they use to go to the vaults. I think this is silly, as goblins are smaller than me! At any rate, they eventually sent me an owl and a bag of coins for me to buy a wand, and so the shop-keeper began her work.

First she gave me a willow wand. The description she gave it made it seem like it’d really suit me, but I ended up unintentionally knocking over a whole shelf of wands when I gave it a wave. After that, she gave me a pear one. This one I simply knew was not right as it was far too… beautiful to be for me, if that makes sense. It looked like it belonged to a queen. As a failure was expected, it turned some small candles into a roaring fire and began burning the walls.

Finally, she brought in a box from the very back. She said she had heard it making noise when I walked in the store, but was too distracted by the weird man to bother with it. Turns out, this box was the very same shade of blue-green I had seen, and contained a wand of vine wood. I knew immediately it was the one I had dreamed about. It’s thin and twisty, with all these curves and swirls, and is covered in flowers that have been carved, burned, and painted with gold. When I used it, I brought some dead tulips that had been wilting over the door back to life. I admit that I cried, but I simply couldn’t help it!

This wand in particular, had made noise because apparently vine wands know when their owner has walked into the store. Apparently these wands are bound to those who are more than meets the eye, with strong personalities, and seek to live their lives with greater meaning. I'm not sure what all of that means yet, but I know that I can feel I'm going to learn a lot from this wand, and go on many adventures with it. I can hardly wait!

After I got my wand, I met my parents at Fortescue’s for some celebratory ice cream. I ended up buying a cupcake for the shopkeep as well. This one was a shimmery pink with these colour changing sprinkles. I waited until I could see she wasn’t at the counter anymore, and then rushed in to leave it there with a little thank-you note. Then, before leaving, we stopped at Weasley’s so I could buy a ton of these different wizarding candies. Who knew candy could do so many gross and destructive things? I got these exploding chocolate… things, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Beans, and a bunch of chocolate frogs. I think I might start a chocolate frog card collection, honestly. So far, I’ve only had one bean from the Bertie Bott’s, and it ended up being grass flavoured, so for now I’m leaving them until I’m feeling… braver.

Now I’m home again, and I’ve been doing hardly more than admiring my wand. I’ve carried it everywhere with me, even though I know I won’t be able to perform magic with it yet. The days have been lazy and relaxing, when dad isn’t making me read up on my english or doing math work. Though yesterday I did make a bunch of Valentine’s cards for all of my family members, so that’s something.

I think I’m going to go read now. Until next time!

Sleep well - Everly

About the Character: Everly Rosemary Kindred is an imaginative Hufflepuff attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She keeps up with her magical journey through a series of diary entries, dream journals, and tarot readings, all documented for future reflection. Her diary is a small glimpse into her enchanted life, and her adventure into the wizarding world and all its splendors. If you’d like more information about Eve, visit her wiki page. 

About the Author: My name is Elowen! I am a 21-year-old Hufflepuff & Pukwudgie from Louisville, Kentucky. This page is my creative journey into the magical world, through the lenses of Second Life. Here I post diary entries, dream journals, and tarot readings all from my character’s perspective. If you’d like more information about me, visit my Flickr! 

Photo Credits:

Wand - Kore: Everly’s Wand (Original, One-Of-A-Kind Edition!)

Candy - .random.Matter. - Study Break

[sweetdisabled]

Guide: Shopping on Taobao with Yoybuy

note: the pictures here will be uncaptioned. i’m sorry about this, but it’s going to get pretty visually heavy!

shopping on taobao is a pretty essential life skill for any lolita or lolita-to-be - and quite frankly it’s also just fun. what can i say, my forefathers stalked the savannah, working on bringing down that wildebeest, and in the same spirit, i stalk one yuan sales. they still sing tales around the campfire about how i got all of those fuzzy socks.

taobao is a marketplace of many different stores. think of it kind of like the ebay marketplace. it is located in china, and stores there largely ship only to other chinese addresses, so you need to use a buying service if you’re not in china yourself. for this guide, we’re going with yoybuy, because i’ve had good success with it and find it easiest to DIY.

first step is to open a browser to do your online shopping. i really like chrome for this because you can set it to automatically use google translate on a page. however, you’re going to want two tabs open before you even get to taobao...

in one tab, google for ‘google translate english to chinese’. google will automatically pop up the english to chinese boxes. we want simplified chinese here (which is usually the default).

also google ‘yuan to usd’ (or insert whatever your local currency is for usd). this will mean you can convert prices easily and readily, with that tab already at the ready.

one more tool and we’ll be ready to actually go to taobao!

when you right-click a webpage in chrome, this is the menu that pops up. we want to pay attention to translate to english here.

most of the time chrome will automatically translate. however, it may need a little push here and then.

with all of these tools ready, we’re finally ready to actually open taobao.com in a new tab.

this is... pretty overwhelming, right? google translate can automatically translate text, not anything in a picture, so it still ends up half-translated. phew. get your bearings a moment, though, and soldier on!

tonight i’ve decided that i could really use some cute hankies to go with a strawberry-themed outfit i’m planning. so, tab over to our english to simplified chinese...

now copy those chinese characters into the search bar on taobao...

it will give you some further suggestions - but let’s keep it pretty general for now. hit ‘submit’, and let’s see what we have.

looks like we’ve lucked out - there are tons of choices!

to get you acquainted with this page, the column on the right is where recommended advertised items show up. these can largely be disregarded. the main block of items will be underneath all of these options at the top.

as you can see we have a lot of different choices we could look into, if we wanted to narrow it down. however, this grey bar is where we have the important stuff.

we can hit the price button to sort things. scroll over it, and we’ll get more options.

since all i got is like three fiddy and some pocket lint - plus i’d rather have a cheaper cotton hankie that i won’t feel guilty about perhaps blowing my nose on - i usually sort price from low to high, so cheapest items are first.

that’s more like it! (7 yuan right now is about a dollar.) now we can browse for what catches our eye. you’ll also see, next to the price, how many people have bought it. under that is the translated name of the product, then the name of the storefront.

i like the looks of this one - properly frilly and fancy! right-click and open it in a new tab so we can keep organized. (that way there’s no getting frustrated if it’s a ‘bust’.)

now we’re on the product’s page in the seller’s store. we can look quickly off to the side for some information about the seller.

this guy’s apparently been selling on taobao for 6 years. the shop is rated out of 5 points in three areas - how accurate the description of their products is, how good their service is, and logistics (which probably covers things like how quickly they ship the products and how well they wrap them up, etc). this guy’s got a 4.8 rating that is rising.

that means we can probably buy from him with some confidence. if you see a store that hasn’t been open for very long, that would be a red flag. same if you have a store with low ratings, or absolutely perfect ratings. if it’s 5.0 across the board, it’s a little too good to be true sometimes! one red flag may not be worth it to stop you in your tracks, but be on the lookout for them, just like you would with any online seller.

and don’t worry about see all baby. google translate likes to think all items on taobao are babies... (it’s a mystery to all of us.)

wading past the translation, it looks like this shop sells a lot of linen goods, especially for the european market.

a really cute tea party vibe, right? :D

this is where we could browse this store more - it’s very cute, after all - but i’d like to maybe make the coordinate a little more specific and cohesive. let’s see if we have any better luck with a more specific search!

when you get more specific with your searches, it means there’s often a lot less items - for example, there’s only one page of search results instead of 15+. but i think we’ve found something that’s perfect!

cute, right? looking at it closer, though, it’s not embroidered, and it’s more of a terrycloth or towel texture. those are two things i’m not really sure about - this is why we open our finds in a new tab.

it does give me a chance to talk about this one thing, though -

sometimes the final price of an item will be hidden unless you’re a ‘VIP’. you can login and make a taobao account if you like - it requires a cell phone with texting, but international cell phones are okay. however, i usually just shrug and go “well, we know it’s somewhere under 9 yuan”.

whatever taobao agent you use will usually be able to get the VIP price for you.

another trick is that if you find an item that you go ‘oh, that’s close, but not quite....’ about, hover over its picture in the search results. you will then get two choices - find the same or find similar. the first option finds the exact same thing, but at other retailers. find similar, well, finds things that are variations on that same thing.

this hankie looks perfect! so... let’s actually buy it!

since taobao sellers largely only ship to people in china, and i’m in america, i can’t just hit that buy now button. this means i need to use an agent - and there are a lot of different choices out there.

i’ve used two so far, largely for ordering BJD stuff and home goods (and some accessories) (largely necklaces... what can i say... i read the words one yuan sale and my eyes light up). taobaospree is a professional outfit that you contact via email. they definitely give you the ‘white glove treatment’. their prices are very fair, and their staff very helpful. if you’re making really big important purchases, or purchases you’re worried about, i’d recommend them.

however, yoybuy is also really good for if you want to park the car yourself and walk instead of handing the keys to the valet, so to speak. i’ve also had really good experiences with them.

for taobaospree, they ask that you just email them a list of what you want with some details - they have a template you can use on their website. but since we’re just buying hankies, let’s use yoybuy.

first things first, we’ll need to sign in. yoybuy offers deals every so often like ten dollars of credit if you register with them, so it’s worth looking out for if you’re about to place an order. (every little bit helps, right?)

once you’ve signed in/signed up, take the url from the item you want...

and copy it into the search box at the top of yoybuy’s website, then click buy now.

yoybuy’s website will then load up all of the item’s information, like this.

now we can just shop as normal! it give you the converted rates of how much each item is, plus the domestic shipping, or how much the shipping will be from the seller to yoybuy. (yoybuy will help calculate the shipping from yoybuy to you later.)

so i’d like 6 total, and i can select the options. just to make things clear, i’ve also said as much in the ‘comments’ box. if something is a little unclear, you can add your comments there to make sure they get the right option.

as you can see this is totally meant for a much wider screen than mine, but it gives you an updating total of what is in your shopping cart.

on the black bar you also have some options like being able to ask for a live chat with someone if you get very confused.

when you’re ready, click ‘buy’. you’ll have a chance to do an overview of all your items before clicking the ‘pay’ button.

as you can see, there’s a couple of options here.

you can pay via a regular visa or mastercard, paypal, or use some other services i’m not familiar with. you can also send money via money transfer (like western union) and have it waiting there in your account.

there’s a service charge which is usually around 4% here. yoybuy themselves charge a fee of 10% for acting as your agent. they don’t ask for all of this up front. you pay in two parts - one is the items and domestic shipping that’s been calculated. they then bundle up all your items and figure out the best way to ship them to you, and you pay the 10% fee to them then.

if you’re initially doing a large order, your bank may balk a bit - so be prepared. for me, it took a text message of them going “uh hey, was this you? because random chinese company charging your credit card 200 dollars looks real sketchy.” and me going “lol it’s ok guys”.

however, in this case, handkerchiefs get!

you will now get an overview page of your order. 

each item will have its own line, and you can track how things are going.

the agent will purchase the item for you, then await shipment of it. you can click the chat bubble at any time to chat with the agent to ask them about the state of the item. this is where they’ll also inform you if something is out of stock or if there are any difficulties. you can also ask for them to take a picture to show you, if you want to make sure something is ok before they send it on to you.

as your items come in, you can click the checkbox and get an estimated parcel weight. that will help you figure out how much the shipping from yoybuy to you will be - and they even estimate how much they’ll have to spend on shipping materials.

once your items all arrive at yoybuy and they ship them on over to you, you can look at the options on the left to find a record of all your packages.

redacted information ahoy, folks, but let’s take a look-see at the package i already got from them -

the parcel number is what you click to open up an information page, showing all the items that are in the box they sent. the tracking number will be what you can check to track your package. they offer a variety of different carriers to use, and iirc, all of them come with tracking numbers. (you get yoybuy’s cut rate on shipping through all carriers, though!) if there are any problems, they’ll show up in the status - along with things like if it’s in an immigrations check.

if there are any problems, you can then report it to yoybuy and they’ll help you out - however, i’ve not had any problems with them. all my items came safe and sound!

so there you have it, a short guide - ah, well, at this point, just a guide - on how to, step-by-step, order stuff off taobao via yoybuy.

good luck in your own shopping, and happy hunting! 💖

[xtruss]

Real Retirement

America’s ‘Ugliness and Divisiveness’ Pushed This Couple to Retire Abroad

‘Leaving the U.S. for a more peaceful environment was in our best interests’

— September 11, 2021 | By Paul Brandus | Market Watch

A Sunny Day in Panama City. Getty Images/I Stock Photo

The United States has always been divided, but in recent years this has been accompanied by a nasty, off the charts intolerance that each side seems to have for the other. Some Americans who can afford to do so are getting out.

Which is why Cheryl Smelson (a retired journalist) and her husband David (a sales manager who will work remotely) are kicking up their heels in Panama, where they moved on Sept. 1.

Cheryl, a former member of the White House press corps (we often sat together in the briefing room) tells me “the ugliness and divisiveness among the American people is a danger to democracy. We felt leaving the U.S. for a more peaceful environment was in our best interests.”

Cheryl

Why Panama?

Panama, described on one retirement site as “one of the top retirement destinations in the world,” boasting an “affordable cost of living and high standard of living,” quickly attracted their attention. “We wanted to live reasonably close to Maryland, where our son is attending college,” Cheryl says. “That pretty much ruled out Europe and Asia. We prefer warmer climates over colder, so that narrowed the field to Central America. We had vacationed in Costa Rica a few years ago, but our research led us to Panama (which borders Costa Rica) as the better choice for us. There is a large community of expat Americans active on social media who gave us lots of information about life on the ground.”

The quality of life for expats is good. “Panama currently has a lower Covid rate than the U.S.; a low crime rate; per capita income is high compared with other Latin American countries; and the government is stable,” Cheryl says. Panama also uses American currency, so there’s no need to change money or figure out what things cost.

Housing Costs

In the capital of Panama City, dotted with skyscrapers, high-end shopping and abundant nightlife, a couple can live quite comfortably on $1,500 to $2,000 a month. If you and your spouse had nothing but the average-size Social Security check ($1,543 in 2021), you could do pretty well. The Smelsons can afford to spend more—$2,500 to rent a luxury apartment with gorgeous views—but you could get by on less.

Compared with most major American cities, those costs seem reasonable.

But Panama City is also blazing hot and dripping in humidity, and can have American-style traffic jams. Some retirees opt for nearby beach towns like Coronado, which are buffeted by cool breezes and quiet.

The Smelsons, who are renting on a short-term basis while they house hunt, are drawn to nearby mountain towns which are much cooler. Two are Santa Fe and Boquete, which can have California-like weather, but rents that can average—get this—about $500 per month. Boquete has tons of expats, many of them baby boomer retirees lured there by the cooler temperatures and low cost of living. Cheryl advises, however that

“Your average American likely will experience higher [than $500] costs because they’ll have higher standards (like hot-water in every faucet, reliable electricity, shop in more expensive grocery stores),” Cheryl advises.

Healthcare

U.S. healthcare is very good—if you can afford it. Fidelity, the Boston-based investment giant, estimates that the average American couple retiring at age 65 will need to spend a whopping $300,000 to cover healthcare expenses over the remainder of their lives. Panama offers socialized medicine to all for basic care, and according to the Smelsons, who cite comments made by other expats, “doctors in Panama are highly qualified, accessible, and costs are exponentially lower than in the U.S.”

But expats are still encouraged to have their own health insurance for comprehensive care.

Planning and Preparation

Moving abroad is obviously a big deal and involves a lot of “planning, planning, and more planning,” says Cheryl. “Get advice from the people who have been there before you, but really understand your own circumstances. The definition of ‘low-cost’ means different things to different people. And be realistic about your priorities.”

The Smelsons also spent a year decluttering, getting rid of virtually everything they owned.

“It was done painstakingly, a little each day,” Cheryl says, and when they arrived in Panama, they were down to two large checked suitcases and a carry-on bag each. That’s it. There’s really nothing that can’t be bought in Panama anyway, she adds.

The Smelsons also set up a virtual mail service in the U.S., which will only forward essential pieces of mail. What’s “virtual mail?” (A virtual mailbox service provides individuals and business owners with a real street address or virtual PO Box. A digital mailbox enables individuals and corporates to improve receiving postal mail and packages anywhere in the world. For example, if you are a frequent traveler or your business is located outside the US. You definitely need a virtual address to view and manage your postal mail and packages. A virtual mailing address gives you a more prestigious address located in a big city. It will also give you an anonymous mailbox to keep your home address safe.) Here are several companies that offer a variety of services.

List of Virtual Mail Companies (Left). The slimmed-down possessions Cheryl and David took with them to Panama (Right).

Banking

One drawback: It’s harder to open a local bank account in Panama than in the U.S., Smelson says. The Panamanian law firm they hired to process their residency visas helped cut through red tape, and now they’re good to go. Wire transfers are common and so is cash — compared to the increasingly cashless and digital U.S. “We’ve found cash is used more commonly, although most restaurants in the (Panama) city take credit cards.”

It’s important to add that anyone seeking to apply for a permanent residency visa in Panama is required to retain a Panamanian law firm, Cheryl says. “Our law firm was among those recommended by the organization that specializes in helping Americans relocate to Panama. It’s an extra service to have the law firm help set up a bank account, but very well worth it in my opinion.”

She adds: “Our Spanish is not good (they’re learning) and government and banking officials mostly don’t speak English, so a bilingual law firm is extremely helpful.”

What About You?

Have you retired abroad? Are you thinking about it? Tell me where you are—or where you’re considering moving—and why? Help me share your advice with others. Write to me at RetireBetterMarketWatch@gmail.com — and thanks.

[gracereally]

I graduate college soon and im interested in teaching English in Korea, it keeps me in academia where I love to be and gives me an amazing chance to leave the USA. But, I am legit terrified of all the things that come with that big of a move: cell phone service, money exchange and banking (even credit cards), what to pack or ship...literally being alone hella far from my family. I want to do it but its so intimidating, did you have these concerns? How did you deal with them? Also what are the quarantine requirements, does your school provide accommodations/food/etc.? Sorry long af ask Everyone on YouTube makes it seem like such a quick, painless transition...but a quick Google search begs to differ. Good luck and have an amazing time!

Hi Anon! You're right, it is a really intimidating move, and I do think that the YouTubers tend to downplay just how lengthy and expensive the process can be. But with that said, one of the reasons I decided to come to Korea in particular is because of how much support the schools typically give you in this wild process.

Whether you go with public or private schools in Korea, the standard is that your school will help you with all of those things mentioned: setting you up with housing, banking, phone service, even helping pay your bills and navigate the flight & quarantine. A recruiter may also help you with these things, and I am really glad I decided to go with one. Between my recruiter and my school director, I had support every step of the way during this move.

There is a lot to do, but the process of moving takes a while, so you do have time to get everything figured out. I started applying to EPIK in March, hagwons in April, got my role in June, and flew out in August. So it's been a good six months of getting all my shit together to move across the world, haha.

As for the quarantine, yes, my school set me up with everything I'll need, but not every teacher is experiencing the same thing. Some people have to quarantine in the government facility, while others are set up in an AirBnB by their school. I was luckily able to quarantine in my own apartment. Some schools will get you food and supplies for the quarantine, and others leave it up to you. In most places outside of Seoul, the government gives you a care package with food and sanitary supplies for your quarantine as well. I can talk more about it in a post if you're interested. It really depends on your school/program.

The hardest thing by far is being so far from family & friends. I think the pandemic actually cemented my decision to do this, because I survived over a year of social distancing from the people I cared about and I still was able to maintain my relationships. Everyone is comfortable with video calling and texting these days, so I don't feel quite as distant from them. At least, not any more than I was in the height of the penicillin.

Ultimately, I think if it's something you want to do, you should totally consider it. But also remember you don't have to go right now if you're not ready. I'm 26, and there are a ton of teachers here in their late twenties & thirties. Korea will always be here, so make sure you're ready for it.

It's scary! But a good scary :) I still can't quite believe I was brave enough to do this.

My DMs are open if you want more info! I can also write some more detailed posts about some of the nuances of getting set up here if you want. I also recommend looking into some Kakao chatrooms with others applying to teach in Korea - they have been super helpful for me!

Peace ✌️

Grace

[allenmendezsr]

Investment Property Success

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/investment-property-success/

Investment Property Success

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From: Mark Johanson, 2:00pm

Dear friend,

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Wishing you great success.

Warmly,

Mark Johanson

P.S. Don’t forget, you’re getting $150 worth of bonuses for just a fraction of that price. Everything to get you started on the road to success with your investment properties. So if that’s what you want to do, this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Also, I’m taking all the risk…If after trying my system you don’t start to improve your results, I’ll refund every penny. What have you got to lose? Try it now!

Remember, you can download Investment Property Success immediately. Five minutes from now you’ll be on your way to implementing the system.

P.P.S. Don’t forget the “Limited Time Special” price of $27 can be guaranteed for the next 24 hours only. After that it could be increased back to the normal price at anytime.

Click red heading to expand or hide section…

Here’s Proof of Some of my Recent Purchases

In recent years I’ve purchased a variety of top quality residential investment properties. The principles and techniques I use are universal and can definitely be used anywhere.

2 of these properties purchased were ‘Off The Plan’ properties within 7km of Melbourne’s CBD, with a total value in excess of $800,000. The Melbourne property market grew by 26% that year, that’s $208,000 in equity growth, and these properties weren’t due for completion for another 6 to 12 months.

Here’s the basic details of my more recent property purchases:

Property 1 (September 2007) – 4 bedroom, 2½ bathroom, 2 storey country property. Purchase price $300,150. Set up as Luxury Holiday Accommodation in Mansfield – check it out at www.mansfieldhouse.net.

Property 2 (August 2008) – purchased ‘off the plan’ top level 2 bedroom apartment, settled Jan’ 2011. Purchase price $370,000

Property 3 (March 2009) – purchased tri-level townhouse in Footscray ‘off the plan’, settlement due Dec 2012. Purchase price $440,000, recently valued at $550,000.

Property 4 (March 2010 ) – 3 bedroom, 2½ bathroom, double garage townhouse in Brisbane. Settled August 2010. Purchase price $349,000

Property 5 (August 2014 ) – 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, double garage townhouse in Melbourne. Settled September 2014. Purchase price $365,000

Property 6 (October 2014 ) – 3 bedroom, 1½ bathroom, double garage townhouse in Melbourne. Settled December 2014. Purchase price $404,000

Property 7 (February 2015 ) – 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, double garage townhouse in Melbourne. Settled June 2015. Purchase price $383,000

Property 8 (July 2016 ) – 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, double garage townhouse in Melbourne. Settled July 2016. Purchase price $485,000

[3 April 2011] “One of the purchases had to have their Footscray townhouse valued a few weeks ago. The great news is that the bank valuation came in at 550k, meaning it would sell for about 575K, so that’s a profit of $135K since you signed last June 2009”. A 30% capital growth increase.

– Labahn & Associates (Accountant), Melbourne Australia

These are potentially the results you can get if you apply and follow the simple rules and principles in Investment Property Success.

Click here to order securely through ClickBank

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[thetinfoilhatlady]

-Awaken the Spark-

Greeting Khepher the NEW SUN

in Egypt

December, 14 – 26 2020

Winter Solstice at Karnak Temple

Tinfoil Tours

Cairo 2013

There is a certain group who are being called back to Egypt,

to set a Peaceful Tone for the Decade. For the NEW SUN.

The ending of AMEN (the 5th Sun in the Ancient 5 Sun Cycle) is upon us. December 2020 Solstice at Karnak is the marker for the start of the First Sun -KHEPHER- the beetle pushing up the Sun. This is when the Mother gives Birth to the Sun and the ancient cycle resets.

We are out of the Darkness and into the Light.

Egyptian 2020 is a time cycle ending and resetting, As Mayan 2012 was.

These cycles mark the evolution of human consciousness.

Khepher Brings the Dawn Sacred Scarab Art by EsscenceofAsh.com

Though this energy will be felt globally, visiting the SOURCE,

Karnak at Luxor in Egypt will be most intense.

In this LIGHT we are pleased to offer a 14 day 13 night Egyptian tour with not only a focus on the amazing spiritual and technological secrets of the ancient world, but also allowing our guests time to welcome the new Sun Cycle with intentions, to offer gratitude and absorb the energy of each site.

Full details at the end.

Mindful. Respectful. Harmonious. A time for introspection and peace. A place to become inspired for future activities. A place to meet others and share stories. A place to be part of a special ceremony dedicating the next decade to peace.

Awaken the Spark of Life

Karnak Solstice Sunrise

Experience Luxor Egypt during an historic 2020 Winter Solstice Sunrise at ancient Karnak Temple.

This Winter Solstice is a time of re awakening. The birth of the FIRST SUN KHEPHER. A time to set intentions into the LIGHT of the SUN.

Where better to learn to reawaken your Human Auric Field (The Armour of God) and how your health and happiness depend on its proper functioning.

Your body itself is reflected in many sacred places in Egypt, will you come and allow it to resonate and heal? Your Intentional healing will inform the next decade for all.

Help set the tone.

Join our group as we visit some of the Famous Temple Sites of mystical Egypt with eyes inspired by ancient high technology with

Mohamad Ibrahim Guide of Egypt

Forward thinking Guide of Egypt’s Egyptologist Mohamad Ibrahim , and ME

Human Potential Advocate, Beata Van Berkom aka Tinfoil Hat Lady.

Isle of Philea Isis Temple 2013

Karnak-Sekmet’s Chapel 2013

I will offer Twin Heart Planetary Healing Meditation, an informative Lecture on The Human Auric Field as well as private session for Jikiden Reiki, Chakra Balancing and Tarot.

I highly recommend a visit to the Chapel of Sekmet at Karnak. Sekmet has been known to speak to people. She did to me in 2013. This photo was taken during my experience.

Maybe she has a message for you too!

Email me at tinfoilhatlady@gmail.com and I will send you payment details !

Awaken the Spark

Greeting Khepher the NEW SUN

Egypt December 14th– 26th, 2020

Winter Solstice at Karnak Temple

$4950.00 USD per person Double Occupancy

$5850.00 USD single person Single Occupancy

(Includes: Airport greet/depart, English  Speaking Guide, Hotels, Travel inland, Site Admissions, Lecture, most Meals, Daily Water)

Excludes

Flight and Entry Visa to Egypt Insurance Laundry Service

Any other service or tour not mentioned in the itinerary

Day 01 Cairo Monday (14th December) Upon arrival to Cairo airport you will find our representative waiting for you to help you through the formalities, help you to get the entry visa ($25.00 USD) and drive to your hotel and help you to get your room. At 06:30 PM we will have a meeting for introductions, followed by a Welcome Dinner together. Overnight at Le Meridien Pyramids (D)

Day 02 Dahshur Tuesday (15th December) After Breakfast we will drive to Dahshur to visit the Bent & Red pyramids and enter the Red pyramid,

  Red Pyramid 2013

Lunch at Sakkara palm club. Overnight Le Meridian Pyramids Hotel (B, L)

Palm Club

Day 03 Sakkara Wednesday (16th December) Visit the new sites of Sakkara (Unas Pyramid and the Serapeum)

Read my blog on the Seapeum No Bull ! Ancient Technology Revealed.

then we see the Step Pyramid and some tombs at Saqqara.

Very special ancient healing site. Sakkara offers a chance to hear and feel this energy still living, by placing one’s head inside a niche in the wall. One can heart a rushing of  water and a type of heart beat sensation. This was my personal experience. What will you experience?

Lunch at the Palm Club. Overnight Le Meridian Pyramids Hotel (B, L)

Day 04 Aswan Thursday 17th December

Fly to Aswan. Drive to the boat for check-in. After lunch we sail with a motorboat to visit Elephantine Island, and we will sail to the Nubian Village. Overnight Aswan 5* Hotel (B, L)

Elephantine Island evidence of high technology 2013

Day 05 Nile Cruise Friday 18th December

After breakfast we will take a motorboat to the enchanting Island of Philae,

we will explore the famous Aswan quarry that is home to the 1,200-ton Unfinished Obelisk. Overnight Nile Cruise. (B,L,D)

There are many places in this quarry where ancient high technology can be seen in the way the rose granite is cut. See my blog on this Mystery Tool.

Strange evidence of melted granite ?

Day 06 Nile Cruise Saturday 19th December

In the morning we visit Kom Ombo, where we’ll visit the twin temples dedicated to the crocodile Neter, Sobek and Horus, the Elder, Here it is said one could face one’s fears. Learn the secret of how this was accomplished. Many famous carvings on these walls are very curious as well. Do they depict the 42 tribes of humans ?

So much to learn, think about and share 🙂

after lunch will ride a horse carriage to visit Edfu temple dedicated to Horus. Here there is deep history and strong energy. The white alabaster ‘Throne” in the temples heart is truly stunning. How was it built ?

Later Beata Van Berkom will offer a Lecture on the Human Energy Body: Auric Field (The Armour of God) Sailing to Luxor. Overnight at Nile Cruise (B,L,D)

Day 07 Nile Cruise Sunday 20th December)

After breakfast we drive to the West bank of Luxor where we will spend a great day visiting different sites 1- Valley of the Gates of Kings or as we call it Valley of the Kings.

2- The unique temple of Queen Hatshepsut and visit the side temple of Hathor.

3- The Colossi of Memnon which used to be flanking the first gate of Amonhotep III temple,

and then we’ll drive back to the Nile Cruise, we will have lunch and relax then we will have time for shopping. Overnight at Nile Cruise (B,L,D)

Day 08 Luxor Monday 21st December

At 05:30 we will drive to Karnak temple to witness a unique phenomenon which happens once a year, the Sun alignment with Karnak temple.

Holy Alabaster Karnak Tmeple 2013

Visit Sekhmet Chapel.

Beata after SEK MET spoke to her. 2013 “You are my Daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”

Evening visit to Luxor Temple. Steigenberger Luxor (B.L)

Luxor by Night 2013

Luxor Temple 2013

Day 09 Dendera Tuesday 22nd December

After breakfast we will drive to Dendera city where we will visit one of the giant temples of Ancient Egypt, the temple of Hathor, Hathor deals with vibrations and resonance and it is considered as one of the gates or portals to the high conciseness. Temple of Hathor was one of the main healing centres in Ancient

Egypt. The carvings of the ceiling of Hathor temple according to many scholars it represents the cosmos.

The famous Crypt here shows the curious ‘Lightbulb’ depictions.

Also the Chapel of HAT HOR a wonderful space of powerful female power.

Chapel of HAT HOR 2013

Read my blog The Miraculous Chapel of HAT HOR and the 5 Sun Cycle.

Cleopatra the 7th Image at Dendera HAT HOR Temple

Drive to Sohag, after arrival we drive to Abydos (about one hour). Lunch, dinner and overnight at House of life hotel. (B.L.D)

Day 10 Abydos Wednesday 23rd December Abydos was a very important city for the Ancient Egyptians, it is where they used to do the pilgrimage every year, it is the city of Osiris the lord of the afterlife, we will visit Abydos temple and also we will see a unique structure called the Osirion temple,

it was built in a lower level of the ground than Seti I temple, Egyptologists think it is a memorial cenotaph to Osiris. We know it probably much older. According to the list of Kings on the walls in Seti 1 Abydos Temple, there were many rulers before the flood. Could Seti 1 have built his temple to honour this older one, knowing it was from the ‘time before’ ? Who could have built this? Also we evidence of the mysterious knobs here as on the Third Pyramid as found in Peru!

Peru has the same bumps !

Abydos Temple is home to the mysterious Helicopter glyph !

Stay in Abydos or return to Luxor (B.L)

Day 11 Sohag-Cairo Thursday 24th December Fly to Cairo. Visit the Egyptian Museum. Overnight Le Meridien (B.L)

Day 12 Dahshur Friday 25th December

After breakfast we will visit the most famous monument in Egypt, Giza pyramids, we will explore around the Great pyramid and then drive to the 02nd pyramid where we will visit the Mortuary temple and Valley temple. From inside the Valley temple we will inter a short cut to the Sphinx.

After Lunch we will have the chance to visit one of the essential oils centres in the area.

After lunch we visit to Giza Plateau again at 17:00 to do a private visit inside the Great Pyramid,

then farewell dinner. Le Meridien Pyramids (B, L, D)

Day 13 Sakkara Saturday 26th December

Breakfast and transfer to the airport

$4950 per person sharing room

$5850 single private room

Includes

05 NTS at Le Meridien Pyramids (B)

01 NTS at Aswan Hotel 5* (B)

03 NTS at Nile Cruise 5* (F.B)

01 NTS at Steigenberger Luxor (B.B)

02 NTS at House of Life Abydos (B.B)

Domestic flights (CAI/ ASW – Abydos/CAI)

Meals mentioned in the itinerary (B breakfast, L lunch, D dinner)

Meet & assist at the airport

English speaking tour guide

04 bottles of water daily

Transportations to the mentioned sites by A C car

Entry tickets to the mentioned in the itinerary

Excludes

Entry Visa to Egypt

Insurance

Laundry Service

Any other service or tour not mentioned in the itinerary

Reservation and Payment

A non-refundable Deposit of $1000.00 per Person will be required at the time of booking. To insure your Reservation,

Final payment will be due 60 days prior to Tour start. Bookings made within 60 days preceding Tour

start will require full and final payment immediately upon booking. It is the responsibility of the traveller (or

agent) to determine that final payment reaches us on time. No booking will be considered until final deposit is

received by the Tour Operator. Payments are to be made via Bank Transfer. Any fees charged, will be the

responsibility of the sender. Please inquire about this before you make your bank transaction.

Cancellation and Refunds

Due to high preparation costs, Cancellations must be received in writing within 90 days of travel date.

Cancellations received more than 90 days prior to departure will have a penalty of $1000 per Person; those

received between 90 and 60 days will have a penalty of 50% of the full cost per Person; those received between

60 and 45 days will have a penalty of 75% per Person. Cancellations received 45 days or less before departure

will receive no refund. No refund will be made for transfers, city tours or any other services (including meals,

accommodations or transportation) voluntarily not taken.

Changes

This Itinerary is subject to changes in order to adapt to possible alterations in domestic flight times or other

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Awaken the Spark Egypt Dec 14-26 2020 -Awaken the Spark- Greeting Khepher the NEW SUN in Egypt December, 14 - 26 2020 Winter Solstice at Karnak Temple…

[fuckyeahcatdog]

Robert Lamoreaux Interview CatDog writer

1. As an animation writer describe your job tasks. Did you also assist in the animation and drawing?

"Me? Draw? That's a laugh! CatDog would be a vastly different looking show if I drew it. And I don't mean different in a good way."

"My job was basically just to write. CatDog's writing was set up essentially like a sitcom. We had a staff of four writers including a Head Writer. We each wrote our own scripts but punched them up together. Occasionally as shows were storyboarded, the writers would be asked for additional lines of dialogue, but that's about it." 

2. Describe your fondest memories working on CatDog. What were some of the craziest and funniest moments?

"CatDog was a great show to work on. Probably my favorite. In fact Nickelodeon in general is just a great place to work. You can't beat free lunch Fridays."

"The craziest moment had to have been when our Head Writer, Vic, kept urging Peter and the other writers to do a CatDog episode based on his favorite play, Les Miserables. He actually stood up and started acting out how CatDog would play the roles. Very peculiar. Needless to say, it never came to fruition." 3. As a later writer, was it difficult at first getting settled in, with the rest of the team?

"No. I had worked on CatDog since almost it's inception, just in other capacities. CatDog was a very comfortable, relaxed place to work. Except that my office was next to Rob Porter's and he had a chronic flatulence problem. That wasn't too pleasant but I supposed that's a story for another time."

4. Out of the episodes you worked on, which seemed to be the most enjoyable to put together and why? Which seemed the most challenging and took more time than others?

"Well, certainly the TV movie was a lot longer and more complicated than the other episodes. It was really cool that we were able to have a cast and crew premier at Paramount on a big screen."

"I also, really liked "Cat Gone Bad." The voice actors are so talented, they really brought the beatnik Cat characters to life (I'd like to see a show based on just those characters). I still haven't seen the episode, but the board and audio were really cool." 5. Describe the story idea and brainstorming process. The writers room.

"Basically, the Head Writer would tell us to come up with ideas. Then we acted like we went into our offices to work but we really snuck out to 7-11 and bought big blue Slurpees. Nothing gets the creative juices going like Slurpees. Then when the end of the day rolled around, we'd look at each other and say, "Oh, no! The premises!" We'd run back to our offices and type like the wind." 6. From the TV movie, "CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery", which parts of the movie can you safely say were your ideas?

"All the good ones!"

"Seriously though, I'd say it was mostly a group effort, but obviously a lot of the credit needs to go to Peter Hannan. He had strong vision of what he wanted -- especially with the musical aspect of the movie."

7. Before joining CatDog, which episodes impressed you a lot as a writer?

"I love "Send In the CatDog."

Also, "The Island." Any of the early shows where Steven Banks wrote songs."

8. The age old question for all fans, Cat or Dog? Which one suits you > more?

"A lot of people identify with Dog. I really like Cat. I have a lot of sympathy for him. No matter how hard he tries to get his house in order; or mingle with the rich and famous; or impress a girl he never gets his way."

9. Name some of your favorite CatDog characters, and why. Which character(s) best fits your personality?

"I love Rancid... what an actor! Sometimes he's very mean and blustery and at other times he's all sparkly and charming. Call me crazy but he reminds me of Sean Connery."

"Winslow was a riot to write for. Also Lube."

10. CatDog, has so many different mysteries and story line ongoing gags added into the mix. What are some of your favorite ongoing gags, and "mysteries"? (such as the bathroom mystery, Shriek's crush on Dog, etc)

"I love the episodes where CatDog are out having an adventure then we cut back to Winslow doing something cryptic and strange in their absence."

11. Have you worked any other positions in animation besides writing, such as sound editing, supervising, etc?

"Not really. Everything I do is related to writing except maybe directing the odd voice session and a little casting. Those are some of the responsibilities you get once you build your credit up to Producer." 12. When did you decide to get involved in the writing, and animation business? Did you study anywhere, and have any special degrees in art or writing?

"I started writing little plays and skits in my bedroom when I was about 7. Boy, the critics (my older brothers) were harsh on my work back then. Eventually I went to film school in New York, but then switched majors to English to satisfy my desire to write, and to satisfy my desire to get away from people who wore big clunky shoes and dressed in all black." 13. What advice would you offer, to those reading that are thinking about a career in animation or television writing?

"I can't really speak intelligently about the artistic aspects of animation. Heck, as you can tell from this interview, I can't speak intelligently about much of anything. But as far as writing -- it helps to watch tons of movies. Read tons of scripts and most importantly write scripts and move to Los Angeles. Oddly, there seems to be a lot of people who want to be writers but they don't diligently write."

"How's someone going to hire you if you don't have any spec scripts for them to read? Unless of course you're like Steven Banks and you can just mime your way through life."

14. Are there any cartoon writers from the past that inspire you most when you are writing for cartoons?

"Until a few years ago, I never knew they wrote scripts for cartoons. When I found out they did, I thought, "Wow! That's a scam I could really capitalize on! Where do I sign up?"

"I really love the writing on the now defunct "Larry Sanders" show. Surprisingly a lot of live-action style writing translates to animation. For example, almost any given episode of Hey Arnold could be live-action. And in many ways CatDog echoes shows like the "Odd Couple." 15. What other projects are you currently working on?

"Right now I'm Head Writer on a new show for Fox Family called "Totally Spies." It's sort of like "Charlie's Angels" meets "Clueless." We just started the second season of writing. It premiers in early September I think. I'm also developing and Producing a show for Fox Kids called "Senior Misterioso." Imagine a Latino "Austin Powers." Hopefully, we'll start writing in the Fall."

"Other than that I've done some "Hey Arnolds," my wife Michelle is a Producer on that and continues to write episodes. I did a few "Angela Anacondas." Other odds and ends." 16. Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans, about your experiences with CatDog crew or anything else?

"Only that working on the show was a great experience. And I'd really like to thank Peter Hannan for giving me the opportunity to contribute."

Thank your Mr. Robert Lamoreaux, for agreeing to this email interview. Your fans appreciate it very much.Well there you have it fans from a great mind of CatDog!

Robert, has written these episodes.(CW)= co-written

Cloud Bursting

Cat Gone Bad

ConeDog

Dog the Not So Mighty

CatDog, and the Great Parent Mystery(CW)

Robert has also helped with writing on the games CD Rom "The Golden Hydrant", and Playstation's, "Saving Mean Bob". Steve Molaro and Robert, did a lot of the writing on the CatDog pages at Nick.com. Along with Peter Hannan, he was an editor consultant, on most of the CatDog books; "CatDog Catcher", "CatDog's Big Idea", "CatDog Undercover", "CatDog's Vacation", "Way Off Broadway", "The Perfect Bone", "Cat's Big Night"/"Dog Behind Bars", "Romancing the Shriek", "Joke Book", and the "Trivia Book".