#anyway what a RIDE i started this on october 10 and finished march 2

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Mitered Squares Blanket! Behold: Shots of the Finished Object!! Washed, dried, and in use for two (2) days already. No pattern (I mitered 63 squares with my heart), but the yarn is Lily Sugar’n Cream, colorways Kelp (for the squares) and Jade Mist (for the five-stitch i-cord border).

[daisukitty]

29.12.2020

Hey y’all ! Just a recap on my 2020.

So, for the past few years I’ve been busy with my job and other shenanigans. I finally decided to begin my journey in working abroad, I’m looking at you IRELAND. Why Ireland? I have two aunts who work in Hospitals abroad (Ireland and America), they always share stories about their job and life abroad, I find Ireland more enticing because I think the weather and the mood in Ireland would suit me better than the US, I am a person who enjoys cool cold weather after all. Anyways, I sat and took the IELTS exam twice on 2019 but sadly I did not reach a passing mark in my writing test in both of them. Luckily, a close friend of mine invited me to take the OET exam, albeit it was rather expensive I gave it a go and thankfully passed the exam. Passing the exam was my ticket to apply in Ireland as a Non-EU applicant.

The NMBI process was easy once you have all the available documents at hand, the waiting part is tough but it’s over within 6 months or less. The part where I had a hard time was procuring my PRC documents, I had to go to Davao City since it needs to be sent by a Regional office. So, amidst the pandemic and the threat to visiting a covid-19 hotspot, I really needed those documents so I had to force my mom to let me go even if I travel alone. It was the first time I drove to Davao by myself, and what do you know my tire exploded, I wasn’t hurt (THANK GOD!) and I had a spare tire, a bystander helped me find a car mechanic to change the tire. It was a 4 hour ride, time was ticking, by the way I cried when I got back on the road thinking ‘I could have died back there.’ So I arrived at PRC and I find out that they were about to stop accepting applicants because they’re only open in the Morning and I got there at 10:30am. Close call but I got in. I started processing and then I was informed that there were no stamps left, the stamps are needed for processing documents. My heart sank, I asked them where I might be able to buy the stamps, but they said even the ones selling outside has none left, and they don’t know when the stamps will be available. My heart sank even deeper, I came there with only one goal and I almost got into an accident and I won’t even get what I came for. The NMBI deadline was nearing its end and the PRC documents is the only requirement left. If I don’t get this now, I will have to reschedule my appointment and the next available date is past my NMBI deadline. I was teary eyed, thinking of just leaving and accepting my destiny, I went to the gate and talked to the guard eating his lunch. He told me to go back inside and wait for him, so I did. After a few minutes he approached me together with an applicant, the guy gave me 2 stamps, he said he brought four earlier, so he gave it to me. I paid him, and I paid the guard. I felt so blessed, I was being helped by strangers whenever I encountered problems. I finished processing and went home directly.

After a month of waiting, I received my Decision Letter from NMBI (October 25), that day I began sending my CVs to various Hospitals and Agencies who are advertising for Theatre Nurse vacancies. November 09, I was chilling at home drawing on my pen tablet when my phone suddenly rang, my eyes widened and my heart beat fast after reading [IRELAND] on my phone screen, I picked up my phone and frantically paced around the house, it was from an agency called CCM recruitment. The call went like this:

agent: Hello? Is this [my name] ?

Nina: Yes, yes maam, speaking.

agent: Okay. I am from CCM Recruitment, are you available for a pre-screening interview right now?

Nina: (right now? I’m not prepared...I need to prepare!) uhm, I’m actually at work today maam (LIES!)

agent: oh, is that so, sorry for calling at this hour.

Nina: No, no, i’ts fine maam. I’m off duty tomorrow.

agent: Okay, can we have the interview tomorrow?

Nina: Sure maam, at what time would that be?

agent: same time. okay? talk to you tomorrow nina.

Nina: thank you very much for calling maam.

And that’s how I escaped because I got scared of not knowing what questions she’ll throw me. I researched some examples on pre-screening interviews and asked a group of nurses with the same experience on what I should be expecting. The day finally came, her first words were ‘sorry ha, natagalan.’ so I thought, ohhh a filipina? My agent was a filipina, I felt a bit relieved knowing that. She just clarified things about my experiences and background, most of her questions were about what I have written on my CV. When I heard the words ‘Okay nina, I’ll help you land a job here in Ireland.’ I was screaming internally! I reviewed my CV after the interview and found a mistake on the year when I started in the OR, I was scared I thought that I would loose my credibility as an applicant and that they would be disappointed and reject my application. I emailed Maam Beth (agent) about the mistake and she replied ‘noted.’ I got my confidence back, I felt blessed to have a kind and understanding agent like her. 

December 2, I received a call from Maam Beth, she was bearing good news:

Beth: Hello nina, sorry medyo natagalan tayo, ilang weeks din tayo na tengga.

Nina: Hello maam beth, no worries po maam.

Beth: soo, my good news ako, may interested na employer sayo no, 2 hospitals and scheduled for interview next week. (SHOOKT) yung CHI and yung isa naman Blackrock, bale may webinar so mag attend ka ha.

Nina: wow, thank you po maam beth.

We discussed about the schedule of the interview and what to do to prepare for an interview. I attended the webinar but it focused only on CHI, I found out later that I was not short-listed for CHI so I focused on Blackrock Clinic Hospital. December 9, the interview schedule was later at 11pm which is 3pm in Ireland, I was told that the interviewer will be the Matron of BRC (Carmel). I was super nervous, I just left the window open, she was late for 30 minutes, I got scared coz I thought she skipped my file or something. When I saw her on the screen I said “oh Hi maam, I saw you on youtube.” A bit unprofessional but she chuckled and I gained a  bit of confidence. The interview lasted for 15-18 minutes, she asked about my experiences in OR and some situational questions inside the theatre, she asked if I would be able to handle their hospital since my current hospital is not as busy and stuff like that, she asked if I’ll be able to pass the RCSI exam, and many more. The interview ended, I did not really know if I did well or if my answers were enough to pass but I lighted a  candle in the Church and prayed to pass. December 10, I received a call from maam beth, at first she asked if we discussed the salary and I said no she didn’t tell me. I thought, the salary wsnt discussed by her because maybe I didn’t pass the interview...I felt sad, but then maam beth broke the silence with a “congratulations”. I was overjoyed, I PASSED!? I PASSED!! She told me about the salary and the RCSI exam and about the next steps. The next day I signed the contract.

I’m still currently processing the papers that were sent by Ate beth (she wants me to call her that and not maam) and some requirements that I need to secure like GP check-up and vaccination status, I’m still employed in the Philippines right now, the next RCSI exam is  on March 2021, I’m not sure if i’ll be able to sit that one with the current pandemic but I’m hoping for the best! I AM FAVORED AND BLESSED IN SO MANY WAYS! I guess my next post will be when I arrive in Ireland.

[crazy-loca-blog]

Personal thoughts on… 2019 releases (Part III)

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week.

I’m so sorry! Not only I wasn’t at home during New Year, but I also noticed that I hadn’t finished one of the books I had to write about, so I was kind of stuck! Welcome to the final part of my review of 2019 books. As I said before, I will include current releases and books that were released on 2018 but finished in 2019. The list is organized in alphabetical order and it doesn’t include the VIP Books (as I don’t have access to the feature) or the seasonal books (as I’ll talk about them in another post, after all of them have been fully released). You may see Part I here and Part II here.

Red Carpet Diaries, Book 3 (June 7, 2019 - September 27, 2019): I still wonder “what were they thinking”. Personally, I have no complaints on the first book, it was a nice story, but I already had problems reading the second book (blame Teja and Seth for it), but dealing with the third one was just a nightmare. And I hate to admit it, but I only finished it because I hate to see incomplete books in my feed. As I said plenty of times in the past, we didn’t need a wedding book. Ninradell (did anyone figure out what Ninradell was about?) and the stalker plots were enough (we could have seen our MC winning some awards as well). The wedding left me speechless… and not in a good way. It was simply painful to read at times. We basically planned it by ourselves, and we had so many LIs and so many storylines (one per each LI) that I ended up feeling like they were the worst.  

Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance, Book 1 (January 25, 2019 - May 3, 2019): I don’t remember people complaining so much about a book before its release as they did with ROD. People were destroying it even before we knew what the plot was about! Based on those comments, the book was destined to be a failure. And then, Chapter 10 came. You may have seen it coming or not, but the plot twist of the book was brilliant, despite of being somehow predictable. It made so many people change their minds about the book and it attracted so many new readers, that this story ended up getting a second book at the very last minute (that’s the power of reading a book and buying diamond scenes, people!). Luckily, I’m part of the people who decided to give it a chance and I enjoyed it since the very first moment; however, I feel the story came to full circle at the end of the book, so I’m not that convinced about the idea of getting a second book.

Save The Date (September 29, 2019 – December 29, 2019): I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say everything about this book screams “toxicity”. At some point, I ended up feeling like half of the characters in the story had to go to therapy to control their anger issues, and the other half needed therapy to improve their self-esteem. Poor Ali, the only “real adult” character in this book, who had to deal with this bunch of crazy people. Despite having too many weddings this year, I liked the premise behind the story before its release: I saw it as an awesome space to meet different types of couples and celebrate different types of weddings (as all our wedding books at that point felt quite similar). And certainly each wedding was different and cute in its own way. However, the fact that the weddings were not the center of the story was disappointing. Instead, they focused on showing us the worst of each character: they were dull or too shy (hi Simon! hi Lindsay!) or they were too explosive and controlling (hi everyone else!). Too bad, PB… too bad.

Sunkissed (June 26, 2019 - October 9, 2019): I have some mixed emotions on this book. On one side, we have the grieving processes of this book’s characters. I just loved how the writers addressed it. They showed so many different reactions, points of view and feelings (they even addressed the grieving process after a breakup through Samson’s story), and they did it with so much respect… they did a brilliant job. On the other side, we had our family. Everything was OK at first, but as the book moved on, we ended up dealing with a mother that was quite toxic and manipulative (I’m still surprised that any of the girls suggested her to go to therapy because she was seriously damaging the family) and a sister who was a bitch with the guy who loved her. At the end of the book, I couldn’t believe that it took our mom like two chapters to move on from our dad and start dating “the artist”, and that our sister ended up in a relationship with the “not so hot” boy. Those guys deserved better than those women.  

The Elementalists, Book 1 (October 24, 2018 - February 22, 2019): Spells, magick, and a whole new life. I wish we all face the same destiny as our MC when we feel out of place! I read this book a little later because it was hard for me to catch some things, such as making spells or knowing when to attack or defend myself (thanks for existing, dear wiki), so it was kind of inevitable to see some spoilers, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. I actually liked it a lot! Where do I begin with? The attunements. You can tell there was research and that the writers really took care about the elements to be used as attunements (I got metal, by the way). Then, the evolution of the MC, in a process that lasted a whole book. From thinking that everything was a mistake to defeating Raife, the way our MC grew during the story was beautiful. Also… we had a twin who protected us without us knowing of his/her existence! That’s just true love. And finally, some of the most loyal friends. They made mistakes, sometimes they screwed things (hi Beckett!) but in the end, it’s cool to see them learning from their own mistakes. There is only one thing I still don’t understand. Why did a lot of people think that Zeph would be the one to “betray” us? I mean, at some point everyone was convinced of it, but I never understand why. Was it because he wasn’t a LI? He never gave any clues for us to think that! Anyway… you can tell that I really liked this book, and as a person who doesn’t understand a thing about magick, this is huge!

The Elementalists, Book 2 (March 15, 2019 - August 2, 2019): The reason why it took me forever to finish this post was this book (oops, sorry!). I hadn’t finished it until a few days ago because I’m the worst when it comes to making spells, so I had to replay certain chapter (ahem, Chapter 10) like three times to make things right. What I like about this book (it’s definitely my favorite in the series) is how the writers link certain events from the first book, but at the same time they make us feel like this is a completely different story. We got new characters, new villains and a whole new story about sources. Also, our MC is more mature, he/she deals much better with his/her new powers and he/she found a whole new support network in Evelyn and Alma. However, I think the biggest mistake was the insane amount of diamond scenes with Beckett. I can totally understand how uncomfortable it was if you’re not dating him. The book was already fine, it wasn’t necessary to add so many diamond scenes with him just to get more money from us! Anyway… I can’t believe they finished this series after book 2. The ending was so open that I can’t imagine they won’t revisit this story in the future. What about our mom? What about Gemma trying to bring Alma back to life? Was Alma a good or a bad character? Are there other sources? Have we truly seen the full power of the twins? I need answers!

The Heist: Monaco (December 10, 2018 - March 18, 2019): I completely understand why people love this book. It definitely has a lot of things to love: we had a chance to choose our MC’s gender, our crew was customizable, and it’s not focused in romance. The plot is pretty solid as well, but (and here is where my only complaint about this book comes) I felt like some of the chapters in the middle of the book were just fillers to make the story longer. I don’t know if you noticed it, but in every chapter one member of the crew had a problem and we had to help them. After three or four chapters of it, I was bored and I just wanted them to talk more about the heist and less about their personal problems. But overall I enjoyed it, and just like most people, I still can’t understand why this story is not having a second book.  

The Royal Heir (June 22, 2019 to October 26, 2019): One of the things I like the most about The Royal Romance series is the sense of friendship and loyalty in our gang. But when The Royal Heir was announced I had some doubts. I liked the idea of seeing these people again, but after seeing our MC physically fighting the bad guys, it was weird to imagine her with a belly and trying to keep calm. The biggest mistake in this book was not changing the story. When they decided to take the short book about Bertrand and Savannah’s wedding and turn it into a pregnancy/motherhood series, they should have realized that no one expected to spend most of the book at the Walker ranch planning a wedding. They should have kept it simple: no more than four chapters at the ranch, and then back to Cordonia, maybe deepening Olivia’s plot. However, and even though I’m hoping to have a better plot in Book 2, I do have a favorite moment in this book. Playing as Bertrand was a non-sense, but I don’t remember laughing out so hard in a long time. Making the choices that he would make and seeing him doing stuff like riding a motorcycle, serenading Savannah or dealing with a bear was just priceless.

The Royal Masquerade (October 18, 2019 - Present): Even though I think this book helps us to understand some things about politics in Cordonia, I don’t think it’s actually working as I thought it would be. I assumed this would be like a link between The Crown & The Flame and The Royal Romance, but so far, I still can’t see the connections clearly. Hunter is the example of an assigned king/queen (just like in TRH if you didn’t marry Liam), we also know that Percival and Annalisa are Bertrand and Maxwell’s ancestors, and if you read chapter 13 (spoiler alert!) you got to know the link between the Nevrakis family and the monarchy in times of queen Kenna, but that’s all. There is something about this story that I like (I’m still trying to find out what it is) but at the same time, I think the book still lacks of that “wow” moment to blow our minds. I also feel like choosing a LI at the beginning of the book was not the best idea (damn, they both are so good!). And I still have so many questions! Why is there no mention to houses Fierro and Vescovi in TRR? Where does our magic come from? Why do I feel our MC could be related to Dom? Is Vasco a friend or an enemy? Too many questions, only a few chapters left.  

Wishful Thinking (April 15, 2019 - July 8, 2019): This book had so much potential that I can’t believe they messed it up so badly. You may have liked it or not, but you can’t deny the overall idea of the book was attractive. You had this shy character who suddenly goes from unknown to superstardom because she gets some powers and reads people minds. I’m still not convinced that this story deserved a second book, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t deserve the rushed ending it had. If they didn’t want to release a second book, the least they should have done was to give WT the same treatment as Across The Void and A Courtesan of Rome, that is, a single book, but longer, so that the writers could explain everything properly, because there were too many unanswered questions (mostly everything about her powers!).

[kristallioness]

2016 | 2017 | 2018

*quietly sneaks back in*... Happy New THIS Year, my dear followers! In Estonia, we have this saying that if you wish someone a 'happy new year' after Three Kings' Day (the 6th of January), you gotta have a bottle of alcohol with you and give them a drink. *lol*

Anyways, I would like to apologize for the sudden disappearance that happened prior to Christmas. I was just busy travelling back home for the holidays, unpacking and putting away my stuff, watching some great, traditional movies or shows on TV, and most importantly, working on those 2 latest masterpieces that I posted (which barely got 30 notes each.. *sigh*).

But as you can (and probably will) see, the year of the yellow earth pig (i.e. my dad's year) was a rollercoaster of emotions and accomplishments, or lacking thereof.

My creative side seems to have suffered the most due to lack of leisure time. I only managed to finish 3 full digital drawings and left behind several sketches or unfinished WIPs (2 of which are revealed here under the months of June and November for the first time, I intend to finish the Korrasami one btw). At least I got to start 2020 with a completed drawing on the very 1st day, ha-ha! Perhaps that's a good omen for this year?

If so, then I hope I'll find the time to finish the rest of the 2019 Inktober prompts, since I only did 4/31 this past October (even though I'd thought of ideas for all of them). I brought all the necessary drawing utensils and sheets of paper with me, so whenever I'm in the mood, I'll try to sketch another one.

*calculates for the nth time*.. I wrote 18,110 words worth of fanfiction, plus 820 words for the UYLD prompts (making the total 18,930). Technically, you can count another 8k+ in there, since it comes from that unfinished story (of Aang taking care of a flu-ridden Katara, as illustrated by the September sketch), which I haven't finished within the last 4 months or so. Plus, I barely wrote 1/5 of the amount compared to 2018.. *hides in shame*

Then again, I was an excellent pupil for picking up an actual book and reading through 150+ pages (which means I have ~300 pages to go). I'm talking about the new Kyoshi novel that came out. As I once said, I haven't voluntarily read a book in years make that 2 years ago (most of the reading I've done in my life is either Tom & Jerry comics, now the Avatar comic trilogies and art books as well as fanfiction online, or compulsory reading during school). But this novel is freaking fantastic superb!

Not only that, I bought all the new comic trilogies and managed to read them through. Damn, did they give me feels.. especially "Ruins of the Empire" (ngl I squeed so hard when I saw the Korrasami farewell kiss on the 1st page of the 2nd part). I can't wait to read the 3rd part this year!

However, I failed to rewatch Avatar last year, and I haven't seen Korra since.. 2016, I believe? Wow, that's 4 whole years.. But I intend to fix that mistake starting from 2020. Hopefully I'm in the mood to start my rewatch this weekend tonight. *fingers crossed*

But as I said, I had much less time to focus on my hobbies since 2019 was the year for finally moving on with my life (sort of, I'm still working on it). I still remember how down I'd been feeling for a while and how valid those emotions really were. The first quarter of the year (+ like a month or two) was a continuous descent into desperation and feelings of utter failure, which already started around the 2nd half of 2018 and only continued to deepen around that time.

Everything began to change when I was first chosen to be part of a 2-month summer internship in an IT company, and I had to start building a new nest in a new location in Tallinn this May. And now, I feel like I've hit the jackpot by getting a permanent job in another IT company this October.

I got the opportunity to work in two different fields, in two different teams within a year. I met some awesome colleagues (a lot of whom are foreigners) and got the chance to really put my English skills to the test.

Thanks to the new job, I also had to go to a free health check, which went really-really well. Despite my nervousness in the beginning, I feel much more relaxed about my physical (and mental) health, cause the results showed that everything's okay (something I'd been worried about since March 2017).

Speaking of health or staying healthy, there were a few sports events that I went to, too. Our team held the first winter team event (it was the first one for me, at least) by going to do archery in a range on the outskirts of the capital.

I watched the football match between 2 teams of our local league at my hometown together with my dad on his birthday. Our home team won the match and came in 4th place overall in the league this year, which is their best result so far (I'm really proud!). And merely days before I started work, I visited the Tallinn International Horse Show for the first time (also with my dad). I last got to watch horses jump over fences or dance to their musical programs ~ 10 years ago, and I loved it!

Event-wise 2019 was pretty full of them. As has become tradition, I went to the Defence Forces parade on our 101st Independence Day (which seemed rather bleak compared to the centennial, even more so since we didn't have ANY snow at the time).

What will hopefully become new traditions, I visited the television tower on the Restoration of Independence Day (where Uku Suviste gave a free concert in the evening), and went to the Veteran's Rock concert (to honour our war veterans) on our Freedom Square on the 23rd of April (since I'm residing in the capital now, I should be able to go again this year).

To continue with the centennial celebrations (yes, some things are STILL turning 100), I saw and explored inside the armoured train no. 7 called "Wabadus" ("Freedom") in the Baltic Station. This armoured train was one of the keys that led our country to victory during the War of Independence from 1918-1920.

There was an even bigger (150th) anniversary to celebrate in the beginning of July, when I attended our Song and Dance Festival. This was a really important, if not the biggest event of the year. I intend to make a longer post about my experience, cause it's something that you foreigners need to see for yourself. I can't simply describe or put it into words, I have to show you some videos and photos.

But while we're on the topic of concerts, I should mention that I went to 2 more at the beginning of June - Bon Jovi and Sting - as well as 2 that were part of Christmas tours in December - Elina Nechayeva and Rolf Roosalu.

Besides that, I went to 6 different festivals, half of which I'd been to several times before, such as the Türi Flower Fair, Jäneda Farm Days (where I went on my first helicopter ride for my 25th birthday present) and the Christmas market in the Old Town of Tallinn.

The other half is comprised of festivals that I'd been considering going to for a while, or which took place for the first time. The latter applies to the Black Food Festival, whereas the "Valgus Kõnnib" ("Wandering Lights") and the duck rally, both of which took place in Kadriorg, fall under the first category.

The duck rally is a charity event held in the beginning of June. Regular people can buy at least one (or several) rubber bath duckies for different prices, which will then be dumped into a tiny stream that'll carry them towards the finish line. This event has grown more popular each year, and the money the Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer (sorry, long name in English!) collects is donated to the Cancer Treatment Fund.

*wipes forehead*.. Phew! I'm surprised, that's a whole lotta positivity for 2019. I think there's one more important, but seriously negative topic I haven't covered yet, but I feel should be mentioned and explained.

When it comes to politics, 2019 was a complete disaster for us. EKRE (Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond in Estonian, or Estonia's Conservative People's Party in English) i.e. our populist/nazi/pro-Trump party is in the government as of April 2019, thanks to 100,000+ idiots (out of our population of 1.3 million) who voted for them and gave them 19/101 seats in the Parliament.

No, I am NOT going to apologize for calling them a nazi party, because their main leaders have repeatedly supported ideology that's common to nazis (they use aggressive rhetoric, blame the media for making them look bad, downgrade women, minorities, are racist, anti-semitic etc...). And I will not apologize in front of the people who voted for them, because "thanks" to this, EKRE has dragged our country's reputation straight through a mud puddle (not to mention the scandals that have accompanied 5 of their ministers, 3 of who have THANKFULLY stepped down from their positions) and.. *swears like the British*.. it's BLOODY EMBARRASSING.

I am done being nice, I have at least some kind of prejudice about anyone who supports them or their ideals. And I will certainly not let Estonia end up like America. So that is why I participated in two protest events against EKRE and our current government (because the 2 other parties, who were willing to form the coalition with them, are spineless jellyfish that simply seek to hold onto their current positions of power). I'm willing to take bets as to when our government falls (the sooner the better).

*shakes off the frustration*.. Brrr! So besides that, I guess the only downside to 2019 was my spare time falling back in the list of priorities (which shows in the empty square of July).

2020 is gonna be the year of the white metal rat. I can only hope (and take action so) that it'll be just as eventful, and much more creative than 2019. Thank you all for following me (or lurking anonymously) for so long, especially to the bloggers who've offered me support through better or worse! *raises a glass* Here's to 2020!.. *sip*

[karasunonolibero]

2019 writing self-evaluation

so i did this over on my main last year, and since i had what i felt was a productive year, i wanted to do it here! i’ve included all works, from every fandom i wrote for, so there’s definitely a variety but also a clear distinction of when i stopped writing 1d and started writing for haikyuu, heh. anyway, i’m proud of all the work i’ve done this year, so here’s to 2020!

ALL FICS MUST HAVE POSTED ON AO3 IN 2019

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 50

2. Word count posted for the year: 147,038

3. List of works published this year (in order of posting):

two loves have i (5 january)

it’s only your imagination again (25 january)

the pain’s only temporary (8 february)

blow a kiss, fire a gun (9 may)

waiting to be found (14 may)

a swim with a shark (6 june)

sweet and lowdown (19 june)

one more time as if we planned it (24 june)

always be my thunder (23 july)

will your mouth read this truth (30 july)

tumblr drabbles & prompts (last updated 3 august)

I’m on my way up (’cos you make me bliss out) (completed 4 august) (collab with Rider_Of_Spades on ao3)

even mountains crumble into the sea (7 august)

we’re on each other’s team (14 august)

dangerous, tainted, flawed (20 august)

life can do terrible things (25 august)

the night before life goes on (1 september)

when the letter says a soldier’s coming home (17 september)

when the air ran out (19 september)

something missing tonight (21 september)

built castles from sand (26 september)

underneath the stars we came alive (8 october)

sweet talk and sugar (10 october)

got my name on this treasure (11 october)

just a little taste, babe (14 october)

iwaoi horror week drabbles (completed 1 november)

don’t let the tide come (31 october)

daisuga week drabbles (completed 24 november)

how (not) to put on a condom (26 november)

taste the tension, now i’m begging (2 december)

kiss the boy (7 december)

till tonight do us part (11 december)

i wish i could be there now (13 december)

on our way to twenty-seven (15 december)

for the dream far away (24 december)

a collar full of chemistry (25 december)

fall down and commune with me (28 december)

a little of love’s electricity (31 december)

the city is at war (last updated 31 december)

4. Fandoms I wrote for: (stats pulled from the ao3 filter feature on my works)

haikyuu!! (41)

one direction (9)

the legend of zelda: breath of the wild (3)

all time low (1)

crystalline (1)

5. Pairings: (i didn’t count side or past pairings)

iwaizumi hajime/oikawa tooru (14)

sawamura daichi/sugawara koushi (13)

oikawa tooru/sugawara koushi (4)

azumane asahi/nishinoya yuu (3)

kuroo tetsurou/sawamura daichi (2)

kuroo tetsurou/yaku morisuke (1)

akaashi keiji/oikawa tooru (1)

sawamura daichi/sugawara koushi/terushima yuuji (1)

sawamura daichi/terushima yuuji (1)

sugawara koushi/terushima yuuji (1)

link/revali (1)

mipha/zelda (1)

louis tomlinson/harry styles (5)

louis tomlinson/zayn malik (1)

alex gaskarth/louis tomlinson (1)

liam payne/louis tomlinson (1)

zack spade/pixel fade (1)

6. Story with the most:

Kudos: two loves have i (275)

Bookmarks: two loves have i (34)

Comments: two loves have i (25)

9. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

on our way to twenty-seven! i was digging into some identity and sexuality issues that i myself have dealt with in the past and writing about it was the first time i’d really dove into some of that stuff, so i really enjoyed writing it and i think it’s some of my best.

i’m also really proud of i’m taking back the crown and i wish i could say why. i just really like the way it came out. writing oikawa as this desperate dethroned prince trying to reclaim his kingdom at any cost only to be beaten at his own game in his own home was just...ugh. it was so much fun to write.

10. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

one more time as if we planned it, definitely. i just felt super rushed writing it. it was for the one direction rarepair fest, which was super fun, but i had Just finished a longer fic a few days before this one was due and i initially tried to drop out because i thought i wouldn’t be able to finish it, but i did, but i still feel like it’s rushed and just not as good as it could have been if i’d planned better and given it some more time.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

im gonna do what i did last year and post more than one, because 1. i can’t decide and 2. i quite honestly am pretty proud of a lot of what i wrote this year

from when the letter says a soldier’s coming home —

Tooru’s squealing somewhere behind them, and Hajime’s gruffly trying to get out the door, and he’ll have to call the school and make up something about being sick so he can spend the day catching up with Daichi, but it can wait. It can all wait. Because Koushi’s waited long enough. It’s about time the rest of the world waits for him.

from strawberries on a summer evening —

Suga hums against him, licking strawberry seeds from between Daichi’s teeth, like he’s just as intoxicated by Daichi as Daichi is with him. Daichi could live here, in this feeling, ignoring everything except how Suga sounds (like bliss personified), smells (like sunblock and sweat), tastes (like sugar and salt). He’s the hottest part of the summer, high noon in mid-August, just this side of too much to handle, but addicting in how it leaves you at its mercy.

from on our way to twenty-seven —

“Sorry, what was your name again?”

Tetsurou opens his mouth to say his American name, but he catches Daichi and Suga looking at him, and he swallows it down. “My name is Tetsurou. Tetsurou Kuroo.”

“I thought you wanted people to call you Tyler,” Timothy says.

Tetsurou shoots him a glare and says it again, feeling his confidence start to grow. “My name is Tetsurou Kuroo. Tetsu is fine, too, but I don’t go by Tyler anymore.”

12. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

any time tasteofsummersnow left me a comment, it made my heart go doki doki!! her comments are so in depth and so very sweet and it’s so much fun to see her real-time reactions to my writing. i go back and reread them like once a week they’re so nice ;_;

13. A time when writing was really, really hard:

the spring/early summer in general was tough, like from march to june. i didn’t post anything between february and may, and i feel like i was struggling a lot creatively around like may/june of this year. i think it’s because a lot of stuff in the 1d fandom was really turning me off at the time and that’s when the burnout fully hit.

14. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

definitely sugawara in the city is at war. i was writing that first chapter and initially i just wanted to see him step up when daichi wasn’t around but he very quickly turned sadistic and ruthless and scarily sharp, which is just so much fun to write him as. and his relationship with daichi is just—ugh. love that violence-fueled romance. they would kill a hundred men for each other and be turned on once they were finished.

honestly, all of the city is at war has surprised me. the idea came to me in a dream on a long bus ride, of all the clan leaders having a meeting and being attacked, and i woke up and banged it out in 36 hours. i meant it to be a oneshot but as i wrote it, i realized i loved the au so much there was no way i could leave it at that. so now it’s got a whole plot and all that. fun!

15. How did you grow as a writer this year:

last year i said i felt i grew writing angst and exploring different emotional themes, and i think i built on that even more this year. i did a bunch of shorter pieces this year and i feel a lot of them really explored emotions and characters more than plot, and that’s been so much fun. and then as well, like i said before, i’ve branched out into the crime-action genre with the yakuza au. and! iwaoi horror week was my first real attempt at spooky/creepy/horror-type writing, and, it was a fun challenge for sure.

i also said i wanted to just keep writing and be spontaneous and i definitely did that this year. i posted so many fics not caring how long it had been since the last one—sometimes it was less a day. numbers stopped mattering to me. i posted just because i wanted to put my writing out there and share it with the world, knowing there had to be someone out there who’d like it.

16. How do you hope to grow next year:

i feel like 2019 was a year of trying a lot of new things, so in 2020 i’m hoping to explore some different ships and tropes. the sheer number of characters and ships in haikyuu means there’s a ship for just about every trope and au out there, and i want to play around with some dynamics i’ve never written before.

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

as always, a shoutout to the loggies, who have been a fantastic source of inspiration and support all year even after i retired from 1d fic. and i would also like to thank the people i met via various hq discord servers—you know who you are!! thank you for the sprints, the encouragement, the inspiration, and the friendship. as someone brand new to the fandom, the support and sense of community has been nothing short of amazing, and you guys are part of the reason i felt so comfortable in this fandom so quickly.

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

actually, yeah. even mountains crumble into the sea was written the night before i broke up with my ex. i wrote it as an exercise to get all my feelings out, lay them all on the table where i could see them and pick through them, and then imagine the best possible way the scenario could go.

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

honestly—just write! write what you’re happy with. write even if you don’t post it. write, because everything you do is practice that’ll help you improve.

and don’t be afraid to write out of order or write more than one project at a time. i know that won’t work for everyone, but for me, if i didn’t immediately write what was on my mind, i probably wouldn’t have posted half of what i did this year.

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

hey remember last year when i said i was gonna finish the breath of the wild au?? L M A O i’m really gonna finish it next year i swear!!

i have a fic posting in the spring for the nsfw big bang which i’m ALSO very excited about! i’m lucky to be working with such a talented artist and the end result is gonna be amazing and i’m so so excited.

i also want to keep going with the city is at war, because that plot was a pleasant surprise. and there’s an ever-growing list of fic ideas and aus that i’m so excited to write—some of them were originally for larry aus but i’ve repurposed them for haikyuu pairings and that’s helped breathe new life into some old ideas.

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

anyone who sees this and wants to do it! just tag me, i wanna read your answers!

[kellyzeagman]

Hello from the cruise ship in Singapore!!

What a crazy last few days. I guess I should back track a little bit, even though it might be a little hard because everything has been such a blur. Firstly, the airport in Toronto. Definitely extremely hard to leave. The entire time I was there with my parents I felt like I was having an our of body experience and watching myself from the outside. I  had never felt so uneasy about something in my life. Obviously I was so excited to start this new chapter but my nerves definitely took over. I have never lived more than 20 minutes from home, nor have I ever spent more than a month away from friends and family. So, getting on a plane to live on the other side of the world for 5 months was extremely terrifying. I tried my best at not acting like it, but I was definitely feeling it. After I said goodbye to my parents and got through security, pretty much the only thing going through my head for the next hour before getting on the plane was “what the F*** am I doing”. It was 100% the most overwhelming moment i’ve ever experienced. Once it took off, there was obviously no turning back, which changed the game and I had to sit in this new reality for the next 20 hours of travelling. I was doing this whether I liked it or not. I liked the idea of what was about to happen, but wasn’t too fond of leaving. The plane ride to Hong Kong was 15 hours. It was also such a blur. I honestly don’t know how I made time pass by myself. I felt super lucky because I was able to pick an aisle seat online but once I got on the plane, I found out it was right beside the bathroom. I could quite literally lift up my left arm and touch the door. People opened and closed that door for 15 hours straight. I wondered why this aisle seat hadn’t been taken, but now I do :D.  But hey, at least I could stick my legs out and always have my own arm rest. I probably only slept for a combined 3 hours, so I don’t know how the other 11 seemed to go by decently quick. Watched a few movies, listened to some podcasts and basically pondered what the hell I was doing and why I was doing it. There were quite a few young children on the plane and a decent amount of crying (bless ear plugs). However, they made up for it because TRULY, there is nothing like a little toddler walking up and down the aisles of a plane to bring everyones mood up and provide a little bit of entertainment and give everyone the feels. Finally, we landed in Hong Kong and I had one hour till my next 4 hour flight to Singapore. I was able to lay down on the sexy airport carpet for a bit and then quickly got on my next flight. I was beyond exhausted and wanted to just pass out as soon as we took off. It wasn’t a busy plane, so there were quite a few empty rows. Part of me didn’t want to be annoying or a bother and lay down across the seats when no one else was, but thank god I did. I would’ve punched myself in the face if I decided to not because it was so worth it and I will never see those people again. Passed out across 4 seats until we landed. Amazing. We landed in Singapore at about 6:30pm. I wanted to store my bags so that I could explore a bit of the INSANE airport. While struggling to carry my 3 heavy luggage items to storage, I managed to completely destroy the “pull up” handle on my suitcase.  The handle literally cracked off and snapped out from how heavy my bag was. If I went to pull my suitcase, the handle would completely come out and the suitcase would drop to the floor and I would have a piece of metal with two prongs in my hand. I now have to pull that suitcase using the tiny little leather handle. It is truly horrible and I can’t wait to never touch the suitcase again until March. Anyways, I wanted to go see “The Jewel” at the airport. I’m planning on posting a picture of it at the end of this, but if it doesn’t work, google it because it is crazy. I went there for 7:30 because there was a light show. The Singapore airport is like a different planet. Everything is so futuristic and obviously very expensive. Very much similar to “Crazy Rich Asians”. The Jewel is basically a mall with stores and restaurants, but the middle has been made into an enormous waterfall that falls from the ceiling and the entire space around it has been made into a jungle/forest. I can’t really think of how else to explain it. I was a little bit sad watching the light show and exploring the airport by myself, because everywhere I looked around people were with friends and family and then there was just me by myself. ~Maybe I developed some personal growth~ Anyways, if you’re ever in Singapore- go to the Jewel!! Definitely worth it to go see, and free. I then lugged myself and my broken ass suitcase to catch a taxi to go to the hotel. When I checked in, the guy was like “your roommate has already arrived” I was so confused because  I obviously thought I would have the room to myself and was ready to just pass out. Luckily, my roommate also happened to be a youth staff and was starting her 5th contract. I ended up staying up longer than I wanted because I asked her about 100 questions. It was such a relief to get to chat to her about the job and what cruise life is like.  And so great that my first friend I made was going to be someone I would be working with. If I had been alone in that hotel room that night I feel like my head would have exploded, so I’m so glad it worked out the way it did. We went to bed at 10:00 and I totally thought I would pass right out until our alarms went off, but i’m silly and have never experienced jet lag before. So basically I think I only slept for 3 hours and just tossed and turned and panicked the rest of the night. When we waited for our shuttle the next morning to take us to the cruise ship there were two other new hire youth staff members waiting outside. This is also their first time working on a cruise ship, which was definitely comforting. I feel like everything just played out perfectly that night and morning which made everything much, much easier. The shuttle to the cruise was about an hour drive, so we got to see some of what Singapore has to offer. Super clean, lots of buildings, seems very rich.

The boat I am working on is currently in a “dry dock” where it is getting a 150 million dollar renovation. The total time in the dry dock will be around 5 weeks, and they are about half way done now. We got dropped off in the shuttle and had to walk our luggage about 400m to where we could enter the ship. It wouldn’t have been that bad if I had a suitcase on 4 wheels like every other sane person. And if it wasn’t 45 degrees. I looked like an absolute fool struggling to wheel my broken suitcase, with a 20lb duffle bag over one shoulder and a backpack over the other. I thought we would walk on the ship on a nice ramp, but because it is in dry dock, that wasn’t the case. We had to lift all of our suitcases up the most narrow 10 stairs i’ve ever seen in my life and pull them across a metal plank that was barely wide enough for any of the luggage. Luckily I’m not afraid of heights, because it was damn high. And not above water. The ship is literally out of water during this dry dock. Can you even picture a cruise ship out of water? It’s crazy. The amount of work and labour going into it is hard to wrap my head around. The first three days have just been filled with a ton of paperwork and training and touring around the bottom of the ship. I can’t believe i’ve not even been here for three full days yet, it feels like it has been a month already. We aren’t allowed on any upper levels that guests would go to because of all of the construction. However, I did get to briefly see a bit of deck 5 which is where one of the main guest areas is and I have no idea how they are going to be finished all of this in time. Literally everything is getting revamped. Everything. There is an unfathomable amount of things to get done still and to clean up. They have hundreds (if not thousands) of people from all over the world working on it on top of the 1,100 cruise staff that are also helping to do things. Everywhere i’ve seen on the ship is a sea of contractors in blue jumpsuits working 24/7. Its a mess, but a good mess.

Starting my contract during the dry dock has been great because there won’t be any guests on the ship until mid October. Everything has been extremely laid back in terms of training because there is not a rush. Myself and the other new hires are also super lucky because we do not have any duties during this time. Mostly everyone else has to be on “fire watch” where you are supposed to supervise a part of the ship for like, 6 hours and make sure a fire doesn’t start. Very glad to not be doing that. So when we aren’t doing training, we can kind of do whatever we want, which mostly involves napping or laying in bed. Jet lag is truly something. I’m in a temporary room right now until I can get placed with another youth staff. The room is a legit shoe box and everything is crammed, but I knew this would be the case. I currently am on a top bunk and cant sit up without bumping my head. It’s tricky to get out and requires some core strength. I’m also living out of my broken suitcase because I don’t want to unpack everything and then have to pack it all up again in a few days when I move. The last two nights i’ve gone to the crew bar where all the staff can drink, apparently some people go every single day, even when they are working. I’m now ready for a chill night in bed after the last 2 days.

It’s crazy how many different people i’ve met from all over the world in just 3 days. I’ve met 3 Canadians so far and one happened to be an engineer from Burlington. I was wearing a mcmaster t-shirt and he came up to chat. Small world. I think there are over 70 different nationalities working on the ship. Talk about a melting pot of culture. The food here is looking like it might be a bit tricky for me as a vegan. It has been the same stuff pretty much every day (pasta, salad, rice, potatoes, peanut butter sandwiches and fruit for me). Apparently the food gets better once it is out of dry dock, so we shall see. I’ll also be able to eat at guest restaurants once they are up and running. Unfortunately/also kind of fortunately, it looks like I wont be having any sweets or desserts until March.  I have to make my dark chocolate from home last!  It’s going to be so weird (but kind of nice) to not cook or clean any dishes for the next 5 months, though i’ll definitely miss being able to make whatever I want.

Dry dock is looking like its going to be pretty repetitive and similar every day.  I’ll have more to share once things get rolling and when we actually start working. I’m already missing the autumn weather that is going to be coming soon at home, it is so unbelievably humid and hot here and is only gonna get more intense. I think tomorrow we are able to get off the ship and go to Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay at night time. 

I’ve posted some pics either above or below this text post of the airport and one panorma of the back on the ship’s view in dry dock. (not supposed to post any pics of anywhere on the ship during the reno)

Cheers

[papermoonloveslucy]

MY FAVORITE HUSBAND ~ Season 2

July 2, 1949 - June 25, 1950

“My Favorite Husband” ~ Season two aired on CBS Radio from September 2, 1949 to June 25, 1950.  There were 40 half hour episodes sponsored by Jell-O. Episodes were also aired on Armed Forces Radio & Television Service (AFTRS) without advertising.

Regular Cast: Lucille Ball as Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Cooper, Richard Denning as George Cooper, Gale Gordon as Rudolph Atterbury, Bea Benadaret as Iris Atterbury (and others), Ruth Perrott as Katie the Maid, and Bob LeMond, Announcer.  

Season 2 Guest Cast: 

Hans Conried (17 episodes), Frank Nelson (11 episodes), Hal March (8 episodes), Jay Novello (5 episodes), Eleanor Audley (5 episodes), Peter Leeds (4 episodes), Elvia Allman (3 episodes), Richard Crenna (3 episode), Herb Vigran (2 episodes), Jerry Hausner (2 episodes), Anne Whitfield (2 episodes),  Doris Singleton, Jack Kruschen, Rolfe Sedan, Joe Kearns, Wally Maher, Johnny McGovern, Sam Hearn, Norma Zimmer, Sam Edwards, Jim Backus, Gege Pearson, Joe Forte, Mary Jane Croft, Harry Bartell, and Veola Vonn (1 episode).

To Experience the Full Episode Blogs - for both “My Favorite Husband” and “I Love Lucy” - simply click on the hyperlinked (underlined) text.

“The Elves” ~ September 2, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz and George arrive home from summer vacation to find that someone has been ordering strawberry ice cream from the milkman every day, and the pink trail leads to the doorstep of their new neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Wood, and their ten children.

“The Auction”* ~ September 9, 1949

“The Bank Outing Baseball Game” ~ September 16, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz is determined not to be left out of the baseball game at the Annual Bank Outing, so she persuades her neighbor Mr. Wood to teach her how to play the game.

“The Attic” ~ September 23, 1949

Synopsis ~ One of George’s old Glee Club friends is in town and George wants to find his old ukulele, so he and Liz search for it in the attic but get locked in.

“Women’s Club Election” ~ September 30, 1949

Synopsis ~ George has cause for alarm when Liz is elected treasurer of the local women’s club because he knows how much trouble she has with figures but Liz has a surprise for him.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19) 

“George Needs a Raise”~ October 7, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz tries every trick in the book to convince Mr. Atterbury to give George a raise. To get results she even resorts to selling apples in front of the bank where he is employed.

Basis for “Ricky Asks for a Raise” (ILL S1;E35)

“Too Many Television Sets” ~ October 14, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz can’t get George interested in buying a television set, until they spend an evening at the Atterburys, who have one. With his interest piqued, George arranges one be sent over on trial. Little does he know Liz has done the same thing - as have the Atterbury’s!  

“Liz’s Superstitions” ~ October 21, 1949

Synopsis ~ A chirping cricket in the Cooper’s hearth is driving George crazy, but Liz is convinced it means good luck. When Liz insists that it isn’t lucky to banish a cricket, George gets upset with her superstitions.

“Halloween Surprise Party” ~ October 28, 1949

Synopsis ~ The Atterburys decide to throw a Halloween surprise party for Liz and George, but when Liz hears about their party at the beauty salon, she thinks that she and George just weren’t invited.

“Mother-in-Law” ~ November 4, 1949

Synopsis ~ George gets a letter from his mother that she’s moving to Sheridan Falls. Liz has no doubt that means staying with them!  But when will she ever leave?

Although similarly titled, this radio episode is not the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy’s Mother-in-Law” (ILL S4;E8) in 1954.

“BABY SITTING” ~ November 11, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz takes up baby sitting to balance her financial books and earn money for George’s Christmas present.

Shares plot elements with the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Amateur Hour” (ILL S1;E14) 

“Liz The Matchmaker” ~ November 18, 1949

Synopsis ~ After dating Mr. Negley the postman for three years, Katie feels that their relationship is not going anywhere, so she enlists Liz’s help!

Although similarly titled and themed, this radio episode is not the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15), “Lucy is a Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27), “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4), or “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12).

“College Homecoming”* ~ December 2, 1949 

“The French Lessons” ~ December 9, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz and Iris are humiliated when they can’t read the menu at a French restaurant, so they decide to take French lessons. The lessons lead to the prospect of a duel between her favorite husband George and her amorous French teacher.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “The Adagio” (ILL S1;E12) and “The French Revue” (ILL S3;E7)

“George’s Christmas Present” ~ December 16, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz vows to finish knitting George a sweater by Christmas. She finds George’s Christmas presents for her and exchanges it too early.

“The Sleigh Ride” ~ December 23, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz is taken for a sleigh ride (figuratively and literally) when she and her neighbors borrow a milkman’s horse and make a jingle bell trip to the countryside for a yule log. The party turns sour down when the horse insists upon making all the stops on his milk route.

“Liz & George Are Handcuffed” ~ December 30, 1949

Synopsis ~ Liz is playing ‘cops and robbers’ with little Tommy Wood from next door, and lets him handcuff her and George with what turn out to be real handcuffs! During the time the Coopers are linked George finds himself under the hair dryer and Liz later has to stand by at the barber’s while her husband gets a shave.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Handcuffs” (ILL S2;E4)

“Is There Another Woman?” ~ January 6, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz buys a book that lists the danger signs to look out for to tell if your husband is being unfaithful, and George has them all!  Liz then she finds herself innocently coupled with her husband’s boss!

“Liz Teaches Iris To Drive” ~ January 13, 1950

Synopsis ~  The Atterburys have bought a new car but Rudolph refuses to teach Iris how to drive. Liz readily volunteers to be Iris’s driving instructor.

“Liz & The Green Wig” ~ January 20, 1950

Synopsis ~ George goes over Liz’s accounts and discovers that she has listed $180 for miscellaneous expenses! George decides she can eliminate the $10 a week she’s spending on her hair. Liz buys a green wig to show George what might happen if she dyed her hair at home.

“Liz Writes a Song” ~ January 27, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz is convinced that she is a musical talent, but when a music professor tells her she’ll never be a singer, she decides to take up songwriting.

Portions of this script were used as inspiration for “The Benefit” (ILL S1;E13)

“Country Club Dance” ~ February 3, 1950

Synopsis ~ Iris and Liz want to go to the country club dance, but George and Rudolph want to go to the fights.  The girls decide to get dates and go anyway, until their plan ends in disaster.

The plot inspired elements of the story in “The Girls Want To Got To A Nightclub” (ILL S1;E1)

“Mrs. Cooper’s Boyfriend” ~ February 10, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz decides that the only way to keep George’s mother from coming over on Valentine’s Day is to get her a boyfriend.

“Liz Teaches the Samba” ~ February 17, 1950

Synopsis ~ George talks Liz into teaching Wally, the son of the bank’s newest director, Mr. Forsythe, how to dance the Samba, and Wally gets a crush on Liz.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20)

“Liz Redecorates the House” ~ February 24, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz wants to hire the town’s new interior decorator, Andrew, to redecorate her house, but George tells her she’ll have to do the job all by herself.

Although this script never directly inspired any specific episode of “I Love Lucy” it is most like 1952′s “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8)

“Women’s Rights - Part 1″ ~ March 5, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz and Iris start a campaign for equal rights, so George and Rudolph take them out to dinner but insist they pay their own check. With no choice but to do dishes, Liz plots to make the boys resent abandoning them - but even when everything is patched up they still want equal rights.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “Equal Rights” (ILL S3;E4)

“Women’s Rights - Part 2″ ~ March 12, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz and Iris have bet George and Rudolph that they can hold down a job, and the boys have bet the girls that they can take care of the housework and cooking.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1)

“The Wills” ~ March 19, 1950

Synopsis ~  After Liz and George make out their wills, Liz is convinced that George intends to do away with her. Liz is startled to find a receipt for some arsenic and rope in his pocket, but is shocked when George suggests a trip to the country - with a one-way ticket for Liz!

Basis for a scene in “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her” (ILL S1;E4) 

“Liz’s Radio Script” ~ March 26, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz’s entry is a finalist in a playwriting contest, and the Coopers and the Atterburys perform it on the local radio station.

Portions of this script inspired the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Writes a Play” (ILL S1;E17)

“April Fool”* ~ April 2, 1950

“Hobbies” ~ April 9, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz and Iris are tired of waiting at home on weekends while George and Rudolph are at the golf course, so they decide to leave half-smoked cigars around the house to make the boys jealous.

Some elements that were later used on “I Love Lucy” in “The Golf Game” (ILL S3;E30) 

“Anniversary”* ~ April 16, 1950

“Liz Appears on Television” ~ April 23, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz and Iris make an appearance on a television show celebrating Friendship Week. Their friendship is tested, though, when they discover they’ve bought the same dress for the occasion.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3) 

“Spring House Cleaning” ~ April 30, 1950

Synopsis ~  Liz sends George an anonymous love letter that she wrote to him during his bachelor days, and he thinks its from his secretary, Gladys.

”The Health Farm” ~ May 7, 1950

Synopsis ~  Liz and Iris are fed up with their husbands taking them for granted, so they check in to a fat farm.

This episode features elements that later went into the “I Love Lucy” episodes “The Diet” (ILL S1;E3) and “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15) as well as the “Lucy Show” episode “Lucy and the Countess Lose Weight” (TLS S3;E21)

“Numerology” ~ May 14, 1950

Synopsis ~ Mr. Curry, George and Liz’s landlord, is raising the rent, supposedly on instructions from his late wife, Bernice. Liz figures that she can fix things with a crooked Ouija Board.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Seance” (ILL S1;E7). It is a revision of the script used for “My Favorite Husband” episode #24, also titled "Numerology” when the characters were then known as the Cugats.

“Mrs. Cooper Thinks Liz is Pregnant” ~ May 21, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz tells George’s mother that she’s ill so the older Mrs. Cooper won’t try to come to Liz’s bridge game, but George’s Mother thinks Liz is really pregnant, and tells all of Liz’s friends what she thinks.

“Liz Sells Dresses” ~ May 28, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz accidentally returns a dress to a more expensive store than where she bought it, and makes money on the deal. She then decides to go into business buying dresses at one store and returning them at another.

Basis for a scene in “I Love Lucy” episode “The Freezer” (ILL S1;E29). It was a revision of the script for episode #14 from season one, when the characters were known as the Cugats. 

“George is Messy” ~ June 4, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz is fed up with George’s messy habits around the house, so she draws a line down the middle of the living room and divides the house in two -her half and half his.

Basis for “Men Are Messy” (ILL S1;E8) of “I Love Lucy”

“Liz Learns to Swim” ~ June 11, 1950

Synopsis ~ George makes a bargain with Liz: If she’ll learn to swim, they can go to the beach with the Atterburys for their vacation.

“Be a Pal” ~ June 18, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz feels thinks George would rather not spend time with her anymore, so she tries everything she can think of to be a pal to her husband.

Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;E29) and “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2). It is a revision of the “My Favorite Husband” season one episode "Be Your Husband's Best Friend" when the characters were named Cugat.

“Dance Lessons” ~ June 25, 1950

Synopsis ~ Liz cons George in to taking her to a nightclub by telling him it is to celebrate their anniversary but it is actually to celebrate the anniversary of the last time they went out to a dinner dance.

[klainelynch]

2017 in review

I always say that I’m going to post a “how my year was” at the end of the year, but I have an awful memory so I never remember what happened in each month. This year, I tried to post about each month as it finished- the good and the bad. Under a cut because of course it got long, and I never seem to post about my real life, so this may be boring if you don’t actually know me.

January

Got a snow day after having students for just one day

Accidentially read a book in one night (Perfect) because of aforementioned snow day/borrowing it electronically from the library/not knowing how many pages there were (not that many since it’s YA)

Got two more snow/ice days because my county has mountains in it and we’re in the South, so we’re not prepared for winter

Saw Hidden Figures and cried about how good humanity can be when we actually allow and encourage all people to be their best (black women!!!! they did that!!!!!!!)

Helped my students navigate our county’s program of going one-to-one with Chromebooks (there were many good things, such as getting my kids to play freerice for extra credit; there were many bad things, such as a quiz getting screwed up because I shuffled the questions but had asked my co-teacher to help me by reading the quiz [as she normally does] to a half dozen students...who all had a different order of questions...).

Went to a conference for new teachers and while a lot of the information was repetitive, there were a few things I got from it (such as 6.5 professional development hours aw yis).

Got to see lots of family I don’t usually see on this weekend!

Started reading The Diary of Anne Frank with my students because this country allowed fascism to be A Thing™ and I’m going to resist however I can.

Got two (!!!!!!) days off at the end of January for sick days (apparently other students in the county? not us but we benefitted!!!!)

February

Finally had an entire 5-day week of school

Then got another two days off for sickness (8th grade was doing our part by asking ENTIRE classes “Hey! Anyone feel sick? Anyone want to go get their temp checked???”)

Went to an open house at a local mosque, and y’all, I live in The South™ but their parking lot filled up a good 15 minutes before the event even started and there was an overflow room and so much support for this community during the Muslim Ban and it just filled my heart with joy

Got a haircut (it was literally down to my butt y’all!!!!) and now it’s right below my shoulders

Had pedal extensions installed in my car because I’m 4′9 and would have literally died if the airbags went off.

March

Got my professional teaching license! I’m no longer an apprentice! I don’t have to have 4 observations a year!!! Only 2! And while I’m REALLY good at playing the observation game (and am MUCH better at this than the testing game), it will be nice to not think about it so much.

My mom came to stay for a few days because it was her and my sister’s spring break.

During that week, I had a LONG 4 day week, which included staying at my school until 7:30 for a town hall meeting/carnival/extravaganza. F U N.

My spring break was purposefully low-key. I rested a lot, read books, caught up on Netflix, shopped at Old Navy, and went to the local art museum for the first time (I’ve only been in this city for 8 years...)

April

I found that I actually enjoy teaching how to write an essay. The 5 paragraph essay, while it has many faults, is a really good place for beginning writers (which 8th graders are) to begin. I had a student tell me that she liked how I made each sentence have a specific purpose because she was able to plug in her evidence and thoughts more easily- this honestly made my whole day.

That being said, I HATE teaching essays when students are absent. Trying to get them caught up and keep everyone else on track is SO MUCH WORK. Especially when the absent students don’t come to me during my plan to make up their work...

For two whole days, my last period class was not allowed to use erasers because some people (two boys, as it turned out) were shredding and throwing them at each other.

I turned 26

The Welcome to Night Vale Live Show FINALLY TRAVELED TO TENNESSEE AND Y’ALL CECIL (REAL CECIL NOT THE CHARACTER) IS FROM KNOXVILLE!!!! The weather singer was super fun (she played Rocky Top and we ate that shit up like biscuits and gravy with no shame whatsoever) and the show itself was just so much fun even though I went alone. It was almost an hour of normal segments with the plot of the glow cloud, but they also brought in Steve Carlsburg and Tamika Flynn (I diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied when she walked on stage because I majorly crush on that actress whoops) and watching those actors interact on stage was so much fun.

May

End of the school year is always chaotic and better left forgotten tbh

We took the 8th graders to the local theme park, and it was really good (though my expectations were super low because last year’s trip SUCKED). The weather looked like it might rain, but it was nice all day, the kids were pretty good, and the rides were fun.

There were some really sad community deaths around this time :(

The teacher who normally MCs the 8th grade commencement is now an administrator, so while we still had him open the ceremony, I gave out several of the awards, and I don’t think I did a bad job (two of the other teachers hate public speaking and the last one was new to the team this year, so I was really the only choice).

June

Worked my church’s festival, which is always fun. The crowds are never what they ought to be (due to a combination of rain threats and poor marketing), so a lot of people missed out on some really great food and music.

Great music included a new band- Southern Avenue- that I got to see again later in the year.

I had to miss the third day of the festival because of a friend’s baby shower. I knew a few people (besides the couple), but they left early; luckily, the people throwing it were a lot of fun. We played games (don’t get caught saying “baby”; pin the sperm on the egg; etc) and decorated diapers/onesies/bibs for the baby). The next day, we went to church (IN A MOTHERFUCKING MONSOON) and for Mexican food.

Started my reread of Harry Potter (it had been about 5 years since I’d last read the series). I cried in almost every book, and not always at sad parts. I’ve become very protective of Harry as I’ve gotten older.

My younger brother found an NES, which was the console I grew up with and my parents gave away years ago. They really loved to play on it, so this was a wedding anniversary present for them. The Legend of Zelda is the shit.

July

I finally got a new phone (I’d had mine about 3 years, and it died in May) and I know it’s fun for iphone users to shit on Android users, but I really do love the camera quality on my Samsung.

Rachel came to visit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drank wine and went to the zoo and got real bbq and the best donuts in the world

Had a Treat Yo Self Day which included:

WAFFLE HOUSE

BITCH!!!! B I T C H

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN GET AT THE WAFFLE HOUSE

DO

YOU

KNOW

COUNTRY HASHBROWNS!!!!!

aka

biscuits and gravy minus the biscuits plus the hashbrowns

I just had regular biscuits and gravy BUT ALLI HAD THE GLORY

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

McKay’s

I bought Pokemon yellow because I never played/watched it as a kid, and while at my house for the summer, I found the old black & white gameboy an older cousin gave me, so naturally I had to do it.

Pokemon Go

yes still

You know what once I was back in town I went to my favorite library almost every day for an hour or two and read while opening Pokemon Go every few minutes so there

Went with some of my best friends to visit another one of our best friends who lives in the middle of fucking nowhere and had adventures including, but not limited to: getting pizza because we were too weak to change out the gas’s grill, waiting 5ever for food at dinner, and watching the entire Flowers in the Attic series.

August

School started back up, and at the kick-off for all the teachers, I won $500 in a drawing of all the people who hadn’t used a sick day last year!!!!!

And I didn’t even realize that I’d won $200 at the previous school board meeting in the same type drawing!!!!

New class started off with 85 students. It was a DREAM to be able to focus on individuals and not just herd cats.

I actually felt more confident in the classroom with my early units (poetry & our whole class novel).

September

Still felt confident in the classroom!

I got my testing scores back from the previous year (this shit takes 5ever and it’s dumb) and did better in about the only way I could have, so that was good to see.

I had about 10 county people in my classroom (principals, academic coaches, etc) to see a certain style of teaching ELA that the county is working on. It’s basically making sure that teachers keep students engaged in complex text (which is what I do almost every day anyway) and I had been to two of these trainings already, so I knew what sort of lesson worked. Well...they LOVED it!!! The kids were in small groups and did SO GOOD discussing evidence/answering questions (they all got candy afterwards) and I got some good feedback about how I talk to my students. Then that same day the superintendent came in my room (one of several rooms he visited while doing his yearly observation on the principal). That visit was super unannounced, but still fine.

The academic coach got rid of my classroom’s desks and found tables and chairs instead!!!! My classroom is tiny and weird shaped, so this works SO MUCH BETTER.

I help coach volleyball (aka I keep the books) and the girls won district (beating out a team with a redneck grandma in the stands who literally came up to our girls and yelled at them for cheering on their own damn team in the previous game). They didn’t do so well at sectionals, but that’s ok.

October

Holy shit I won another $200 in that drawing!!! And this time my parents let me buy them plane tickets so we could see family over Christmas.

LESLIE ODOM JR CAME TO MY CITY AND HE PERFORMED BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND I WAS THERE AND I DIED

Got to see a lot of family at my cousin’s ‘wedding party’ (he got married last year in Europe since he met his now wife over there, and wanted to have a family party here). I learned that my uncle and his son dance exactly the same at the same level of alcohol.

November

I should have known something was up when my first 9 weeks went so well. Apparently my county is in the bottom tier for the state, and now everyone is freaking out (never mind that the data to support this was mONTHS LATE AND BASED ON STANDARDIZED TESTS WHICH WERE A CLUSTERFUCK TO BEGIN WITH) so there was a lot of school stress during this time.

Nice things though- got to see friends when their baby was baptized and went home for Thanksgiving, where my dad came into the Catholic Church.

I organized most of the 8th grade field trip for the semester- going to see “A Christmas Carol” put on by my old college’s theatre. I was stressed the entire time because if something went wrong it would be on ME, but it was absolutely wonderful and I cried which honestly surprised me. We went to the local mall for our lunch and it was good to see the kids just relax. It was a great field trip and several people including the principal thanked me for my hard work which felt great after a hard month.

December

School was nothing but survival mode per usual.

Hosted the Christmas party for my friend group at church and it was a lot of fun.

The actual break was fast- we flew to Texas with one of my mom’s sisters and her family to visit their brother and his family. I hadn’t been to Texas since high school, so it was fun to explore and eat good food.

My final count for books was 93 (67 new and 26 reread) (I’m trying to finish an audiobook I’m borrowing from the library but I still have 80 minutes left and literally 4 hours to finish it so we’ll see!!!).

[hanwritesstuff]

2016 Fic Roundup!

Wow okay so first off this was my most productive fic year ever (yes i only started publishing stuff in 2015 it’s still true) and thank you to all 226 followers on here, all 3404 followers on my main, all 28 people subscribed to me on ao3, and everyone else who gave me a chance this year. You all rock <3

☆ Indicates the fics I’m most proud of

I Like... (bokuaka, 1.5k) - February 15

Written for tumblr user @malfettooru for the Haikyuu!! Valentine's Day Fic Exchange 2016!

Prompt: Person A starts to receive sticky notes in front of their locker door. They irk him at first but later guiltily admits that it’s cute and very heartwarming, though he has no idea who sends them. One day after practice ends, he caught the sight of Person B stealthily slipping a confession letter into his locker.

In which the mystery is solved before Akaashi even starts to investigate it.

☆ MitAoSI 2: Coherence (tsukkiyama w/ side kiyoyachi, bokuaka, kuroken, 47k) - Started November 15, 2015, finished February 22

You can fly as high as you want to, I'll be there to catch you if you fall.

In which Tsukishima Kei falls asleep in a limo, runs faster than he's ever run before, remembers just how adorable he was at age twelve, finds out his time at the top is limited, and realizes he might be okay with that.

Final Destination (tsukkiyama, 1.2k) - February 28

Yamaguchi says he can't do double replacement reactions.

Tsukishima says he can't use a simile correctly.

Neither of them are correct in their assumptions.

☆ Smooth Seas (tsukkiyama, 1.7k) - March 13

Love sounds like crashing waves, the piano, and the sound of your voice...

Get Ready, Get Set... (gen, 1.9k) - March 14

It was a thing at Kitagawa Daiichi, apparently. Not like anyone else understands.

Or, the Pretty Setter Squad™ gets together for some reason and plays the worst best game ever.

A Kenma Sandwich (levkenhina, 755) - April 10

All Kenma ever wanted was to sleep.

drabbles from mitaosi-verse (tsukkiyama, 3.2k) - Started December 7, 2015, updated April 13

In which a pair of unlikely heroes gain a new asset, control their chemistry teacher's mind, have an extensive telepathic conversation instead of paying attention in class, become some of the most popular people in the country, and cuddle way more than should be legal.

Among other things.

A collection of mitaosi-verse drabbles and side stories.

(^_-) (kiyoyachi, 909) - April 17

From: Yachi Hitoka 4:42 PM Sugawara-san, can I ask you a weird question?

To: Yachi Hitoka 4:42 PM Yes...? What is it?

From: Yachi Hitoka 4:43 PM Is Shimizu-senpai single?

☆ Oikawa Tooru Has Great Intentions (iwaoi, kyouhaba, kinkuni, 3.4k) - May 23

Oikawa tries to get the rest of his team together, and Iwaizumi is somehow dragged along

Simple Things (tsukkiyama, 1k) - June 2

The moment was simple, but like all the other simple things, Tadashi couldn’t ask for much better. 

Sawamura Daichi, Nice to Meet You :D (daisuga, 1.6k) - July 20

At some point during your childhood, you recieve your Journal. Everything you write also appears in your Soulmate's Journal, but it's up to you to find each other. And Sugawara Koushi just happened to find Sawamura Daichi by chance.

☆ The Excruciatingly Beautiful Process of Falling In Love (As Told By Tsukishima Kei Over Ten Chaotic, Wonderful Years) (tsukkiyama, 13k) - August 27

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" - Winnie the Pooh

☆ I Like Us Better When We’re Wasted (iwaoi, ushiten, matsuhana, 1.9k) - Started July 30, updated August 29

“Do you secretly hate me -” Oikawa stops dead in his tracks, narrowing his eyes. “You two have to hate me to pull something like this.” “Don’t be silly, Oikawa, we love you.” Matsukawa grins. “Not as much as Iwaizumi does, but we still love you.” Hanamaki fist-bumps Matsukawa without even looking, and Iwaizumi disowns every part of him that thought this was a good idea.

Rest in Pieces, Tsukki (tsukkiyama, 640) - September 27

Three strikes and Kei was out.

☆ Semi-Conscious (tsukkiyama, 780) - October 24

Kei's cute when he's sleepy. Tadashi doesn't know how to deal with it.

Damsel in Distress (ushiten, 1.2k) - October 30

At one point in his life, Tendou Satori wished he could be a cartoon villain. Not anymore.

Sweater Weather (tsukkiyama, 1.6k) - November 9

Yamaguchi Tadashi's sixteenth birthday is just a normal day. Mostly.

Forty Days (semishira, 927) - November 11

All Eita wants is to come home, but a birthday Skype call can suffice in the meantime.

Semishira Weekend Day 1: Happy Birthday/Pocky Day

Come On It’s Lovely Weather for a Sleigh Ride Together With You (tsukkiyama, 1.3k) - November 12

It hasn't snowed in Torono in years, and Tadashi has every intention to take advantage of that, whether Kei likes it or not.

Merry Crisis (semishira, 953) - November 13

Who had the bright idea to bring mistletoe to the Shiratorizawa Christmas party anyway?

Semishira Weekend Day 3: Karaoke/Free Prompt

Sleepers (kugushiba, 2.7k) - December 8

In which Shibayama Yuuki finds a guy in the library with a green hoodie and a suspiciously similar wrist tattoo to his own.

The Adventures of Stubborn and Petty (tsukkiyama, 573) - December 11

“What was that for?” “Revenge.” Tadashi grinned. “Petty, aren’t we?” Kei smirked.

Deck The Halls With Boughs of Volley (Falalalala lala la la) (kagehina, 772) - December 24

Gift-giving is not Kageyama Tobio's specialty.

☆ ☆ ☆ Camp Cantabile (kagehina, tsukkiyama, iwaoi, kuroken, levyaku, kyouhaba, matsuhana, ushiten, semishira, daisuga, among others, 34k)  - Started May 1, updated December 24

Their first violinist just wants this to be over so he can get to orchestra rehearsal and be another face in the section.

Their second violinist is brand new, well-rehearsed, and ready to succeed.

Their violist wants to be heard but doesn't want to stand out.

Their cellist is only here because his teacher said he needed chamber music experience.

Their ragtag string quartet has three weeks to make something beautiful, no matter what that something is.

Total Words: 100,276

2017 Goals

Finish chamber au! (or get really close)

Finish and publish MitAoSI 3

Make more fics for people

Write longer oneshots

Actually finish the 3k giveaway fics (sorry you two I’ll get on those)

Branch out into other fandoms NAHHH

Not just disappear over the summer like I did last year

[a-badz]

2019 in review - A Year of Firsts

A lot has happened in 2019.

If there's a year in which I'm supposed to transition into adulthood, then it's been this year.  

It's been a year of firsts. I traveled on my own for the first time in my life. It's my first time on a plane since 2012. I've finally visited my favorite city and much more.

It's also my first year in Libya with unlimited internet. Thank you LNet.

I can say it's been a good year. Probably the best for me this past decade. Probably the best years of all my life.

I’ve finally experienced the impact of all the work I’ve done in my Life and tasted a bit of success.

and  I got funding for my first project...  My first "serious" car accident and a lot more...

I'm going to write this from memory... and follow a per quarter format as one of my friends did on their blog, since after all, reading theirs, is what inspired me to write this one.

1, 2, 3

January started off with me juggling my 7th semester in college with my first "professional" job at Edah, I've worked before in retail, and also for myself before (I play my entrepreneur cards when i need to) but this is the first time I have several layers of bosses above me and colleagues that that's the term you give them since you're hardly co-workers.  I learnt a lot about interacting with others at work, how work ethics work, how they should be and shouldn't and the type of moves to pull since not everyone cares about you and mostly they only care about how they can use you. How I minimized the using part, and tried to create partnerships instead. I realized that photocopying machines suck, 95% of medicine students are wackos, human resources is one big floating bubble of BS. From January to March that was my life and my boring job. What did I mostly take away from this? Work smart, never hard, don't be a slave to a system, break free.

Me and my friends also took a trip to Jadu. Probably the 3rd, in a year. It was kinda of fun but it was getting repetitive and told them that this is my last time I'm going there since I'm sick of holidaying these Zardas in my hometown. In between this I also interviewed for the MEPI Student Leaders Program, and believe it or not all the hard effort extra curricular work and volunteering of 2017 and 2018 finally paid off. I made it to the interviews, and aced them this time getting me a place to be one of 6 Libyans to visit the USA this summer.

4,5,6

April was a bit of an April's fool. I quit my Edah job or I took a "leave without pay" (since they said I could come back whenever I wanted) to focus on my final semester, where I had submitted my graduation project proposal in March. And I still had 3 courses to take. But all of a sudden the city is in a state of war again and this time under an attack, all colleges stopped. I was devastated, I didn't hate the fact I quit my job but I became frustrated and depressed or maybe I did hate the fact I could've made 600LYD more instead of sleeping all day.. I can't remember. And Since you can never know if it's really depression or not I will only assume to call it that. I shaved my head bald. By myself. First time in my life. Then, me and my friend Tameem interned at MSC after a friend of his invited us. Mediterranean Shipping Company was a great experience, we learnt how actual professional work places worked. And we got 500LYD as a gift! Now that's what you call a great company.

Came May and I was invited to the US embassy for the visa procedure. My first flight in 7 years. Yeay! March 2012 was my last flight before that, on Thomas Cook airlines, which is now defunct! Tunis was beautiful. and I met the other Libyans who were to travel with us. 4 became friends, and one of them even more than so. The visa procedure didn't go so well since I was chosen for "further processing" or whatever. And a stressful month all the way to the second call up in June. I got my J1 US visa 2 days before flight!  Apart from my family, I only told a few close friends I was going. And on June 27th I landed in the motherfucking US of A.

7, 8, 9

It was about time anyways since the electricity cuts were becoming unbearable in Libya. While most of my friends said that July was the longest month ever, to me it went in a blink of an eye.

In the 35 days in the US I discovered myself like never before. I made my own decisions. I tasted FREEDOM and financial independence. I went out of my comfort zone. I went out of my emotional zone. I tried plenty of new things. I met lovely people from 7 different MENA countries who were with us on the program and lots of great american people. 6 states in 35 days. Landing in Washington Duelles, for Washington DC, on to know that our hotel was in Virginia... so yeah the country roads did take me home. I would call the US my second home for sure

Washington DC, Falls Church, Virgina Newark and Wilmington, Delaware Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pennylvania Baltimore, Maryland New York City, New York!

I took a night bus from the UD campus to Baltimore and roamed the city at night, the sirens didn't stops and met plenty of colorful people, slept on a bench at 2 am only to be woken by a homeless guy 3 hours later but that's a blog post for another time. Me, Amal and Rony partied like never before! Me and Dina going 30 hours no sleep in NYC! or Hassan kicking of a farewell party in DC and me dancing on the table like its 1999. 

There’s so much to say that I’ll write some stories individually every now and then but overall the MEPI Student Leaders Program changed me like nothing before. I was motivated and inspired to go back home, work on my community project and battle it all out in the middle of the ongoing war.

August the 1st 3 direct flights. Washington > Paris > Tunis > Tripoli slept on all 3 of them. even the last 50 minute flight.

I came back to Libya only to know that I had 3 days to study for my VoIP final. and another final later that week. Yet I went bowling on Friday, met with le mentor Mackey and the rest of the P24 squad. Passed the exams.

Then friends begged me to go with them to Jadu. I didn't want to make them feel that I'm better than them or that I've changed so even though I said last time would be my last, I said okay. The shittiest ever Zarda. I love you guys, but you don't know how to travel and that was a shit Zarda.

And on the way back home my tire exploded tilting the car a bit but thank God it stayed on 4 wheels. However the electricity went nuts and it wouldn't start.We were stuck in the middle of nowhere. Haribo marshmallows our only food. A month ago I was living it all in NYC. Broadways, buidlings and bridges. and here I am. And the rest of the ride back to Jadu is a blog for another story.

While September was mostly spent begging money from my parents to get my car fixed.

10, 11, 12

October, I was back in business! I did the green talk. Talking about recycling and my CEP. I designed a recycling system for our college. wrote a funding proposal and got it funded by Pepsi.

November was more of the same, Plenty of talks and plenty of meetings. More volunteer work with SEED, HEXA, and launching the Reflect Recycling system in our college and doing my first ever TV interview. It was a year full of firsts indeed.

This would bring us to a dull December after quietly celebrating my 22 Birthday, where depression would hit again. A bit for feeling guilty for staying unemployed for a while now, a bit that my recycling system didn't exactly work out like I wanted it to and that I'm too tired to keep up with it and dissatisfied with myself for saying “hey, at least I did something”, a bit that my graduation project hasn't been finished yet and not being satisfied by the overall work, a bit that I couldn't join friends celebrating new years in Istanbul. But Decade 2020 is upcoming. Already have a few things in mind to do, and a few goals. I'll write about that soon.

But overall if I could relieve 2019, would I do anything different?! Mostly nope. It was a great year. And despite all the ongoing war in Tripoli, I kept as optimistic as possible. I've met many wonderful people. I've re-evaluated my relationship with some other people. I'm too kind sometimes. easily angry sometimes. clumsy sometimes. I’ve took plenty of good pictures. I've unlocked my full potential at sometimes. Like the Pepsi funding interview or my solo trip  to Baltimore. Those were some of the greatest days in my life which gave me a glimpse of what I want more of. or the many beautiful nights that ended with a nice game of football with friends which gave me the satisfaction that good times can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere.

I’ll end this with 3 quotes:

We suffer more in imagination, than in reality. -Seneca

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead. - Charles Bukowski

Life is 10% percent what happens to you and 90% percent how you react to it. - C. Swindoll

[paradoxicalca]

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Oct 14, 2019 - Oct 20, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (28/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.52)Colorado Avalanche-7-0-13-0-1Avs are strange they are winning, but at the same time they are very sloppy with many issues. The giveaways are sometimes out of control and the defense is often scattered. The Power Play is bad right now very stationary missing Barrie hurts. The first line looks normal which is unusual for a line that is typically so dominant. On the positive this team is a collective unit and its depth is showing up. The stars are flashing at different times and different lines are breaking through each night. Whether Kadri, Burakovsky, or Jost players are replacing the top lines dominance. The top line is still a sleeping giant and I worry for the rest of the league when it wakes up. Calder update: not a great week for Makar which is saying something still multiple assists on the week and 7 points in 8 games so far.2 (3.86)Edmonton Oilers37-1-12-1-13 (4.07)Buffalo Sabres27-1-13-1-0Its obvious that the west coast style of hockey was a shock to us, but we still managed to pull off 4/6 points for the trip. Victor Olofsson has cooled off a bit along with the powerplay, but our 5 on 5 play has been exceptional to compensate. Rasmus Dahlin is now second on the team in scoring to Eichel and second in PIMs to Kyle Okposo, who along with the Roaring 20's line has looked fantastic. We can't continue this pace forever, but I can dream right?4 (5.07)Boston Bruins-25-1-21-0-2The Bruins started off strong this week with a big win against the Ducks and Pasta scoring 4 goals! The rest of week had middling results with a shootout loss to the Bolts and an OTL to the Leafs. The Bruins still struggle to score 5v5 against the Bolts with all 3 goals coming on the PP. More secondary scoring is starting to show up on the scoresheet which helps but not at the level the team would like. The Bruins need more than the first line putting up points.5 (6.41)Carolina Hurricanes-36-3-01-2-06 (6.69)Vegas Golden Knights-6-3-02-1-0The Golden Knights are boasting one of the league's best special teams. Cody Glass's addition on the top unit has added an extra dimension to it allowing them to score on 30% of their power play chances. The penalty kill has only allowed two goals while scoring 4 short handed. Marc-Andre Fleury has been lights out lately playing like a Vezina candidate. But you have to ask the question if the Golden Knights are playing Fleury too much having him play all but one period in the season.7 (7.79)Anaheim Ducks36-3-02-2-0Ducks are living on the edge. Finishing problems have not been solved but Rakell looks night and day better than last season. Current team mood(not including Calgary): https://ift.tt/33urMd4 With wins over Buffalo and Carolina, the ducks look to shock teams thinking they can pull 4 points from a socal swing. Also does anyone have a power play goal for sale?8 (7.83)Washington Capitals-6-2-23-1-0Holtby has been much improved these last couple of games. Which is great news for Caps fans and bad news for everyone else. I think he may have realized his payday is coming up and he needs to get his numbers back to 2016-17 year. Although I would be okay with him repeating his playoff numbers from 17-18.9 (8.66)Pittsburgh Penguins56-3-02-1-0Despite having the most extensive injury list to start the season the boys are still playing at an elite level and winning games against tough opponents. Even in a loss against Vegas that game was kept close until very late but the Flower is going to do what he does best.10 (9.03)Toronto Maple Leafs-15-3-12-1-011 (12.21)Tampa Bay Lightning-4-3-12-1-0I really don't know what to make of this team yet. D has looked solid, and the PK hasn't been terrible (just need to win more faceoffs). The offense seemed to pick it up a little more, generating 46 shots against Colorado. The powerplay however, has looked awful, dropping from 28% last season to 16% this season.12 (13.86)Nashville Predators-4-3-11-1-1Well, the good news is the Preds found their missing PP. The bad news is now we need to start putting up flyers for their PK.13 (15.03)New York Islanders75-3-03-0-0Isles look to be getting into a groove now. Goaltending is solid and Mat Barzal is showing off his scoring while Nelson follows his regular Brocktober schedule. Wahlstrom being called up is very exciting with him showing some great skills, despite not getting his first goal yet. Next week's roster moves will be interesting, with Eberle hopefully returning to health and Dobson riding watching from upstairs lats couple of games.14 (15.03)Montreal Canadiens44-3-22-2-015 (15.21)St. Louis Blues-83-2-30-1-2This team is still hungover. Good play from some players but not really cohesive yet. Still early in the season though.16 (15.59)Calgary Flames-5-4-13-1-0A 3-1 week was the bounce back that the Flames needed, however an abysmal effort leading to a 4-1 loss against LA leaves fans wondering what kind of team the Flames are this year.17 (15.83)Arizona Coyotes54-2-13-0-0While the Coyotes have had one of the top D-groups in the league since last season, offense has finally started clicking for the Desert Dogs. The Coyotes have taken 9 of the last 10 available points, scoring 4.6 gpg over the previous week, and only allowing 2 gpg. The PP has heated up to over 30% in this time frame, and Darcy Kuemper set a franchise record for most consecutive games allowing 2 of fewer goals. Kuemper has not allowed more than 2 goals against now since March.18 (16.1)Vancouver Canucks55-3-03-1-0I suppose I should say something I'm thankful for this year, but as a true Canucks fan I'd rather just be an entitled little egg eater and not give thanks for anything. This team is pretty good, but what I really deserve this year is a Stanley Cup win, or maybe the first overall draft pick if we miss the playoffs. Ideally, the Canucks will win both, otherwise it's time to #firebenning. Anyway, The Canucks turned around their early season slide with a very convincing win at home vs. the Kings and a less-convincing shootout win vs. the Flyers. The top line continues to be somewhat stifled, but that's okay because there are now various interesting players to watch on this team. Miller and Hughes have both come exactly as-advertised, Markstorm is tight, and Pearson appears intent on revitalizing his career. Myers is big, and while I don't know how his play will end up on statlines, he is very fun to watch.19 (17)Winnipeg Jets-65-5-01-2-0Tough, week was tough. Last week saw us win 3 in a row, this week saw us lose 3 in a row. The truth is we're probably somewhere in the middle of that. No one is doubting this teams offensive depth or skill level, The defense continues to leave much to be desired. Rumblings of Buff's return continue to give us this false sense of hope about the season. The tenders have been decent, through this tough stretch. Not alot to say at this point. The forward core is good enough to score on anyone, but if they run into a hot goalie, like they did vs the Isles they are going to lose. Frustration isn't the correct word, I'd say it's more of a malais. Also, they failed to sell out a game for the first time in 2.0 history, I understand it was vs the Gila River Coyotes on a Tuesday while there was snow on the ground on October 15th, but still, not a great sign.20 (20.34)Florida Panthers13-2-32-0-1Can the Panthers end a game in regulation? Can the Panthers hold on to a lead? No and no. But they managed to win against Nashville without Barkov, pretty good.21 (21.79)Columbus Blue Jackets33-3-21-0-2Three solid performances this week, but both overtime losses were games that were very winnable. Poor power play performance continues to plague the Jackets and this year the penalty kill seems to be having issues too. Cam Atkinson is on the right wing side on the PP and it doesn't seem to be working. Outside of special teams, though, the young Jackets team has looked pretty good at driving the game though puck possession. There were multiple shifts vs Chicago that were a minute plus of sustained pressure and chances in 5 on 5 situations. Only issue here is burying chances which should eventually happen if this play keeps up. Two tough opponents this week should be a good test. Expect to see Elvis get his first win soon!22 (22.86)Philadelphia Flyers-52-3-10-3-0Thanks to the backup ranker, I'm a student who is working as well so sometimes time escapes me. Thanks again for covering last week. That being said, the flyers made me sad and I want them to not suck. Oilers hurt our Goodboye(tm) Hart, we lost to the flames who I feel we should have at least been able to take to overtime, and I dont want to talk about the stars game. Lets just hope that we do that hockey thing better this week.23 (23.48)New York Rangers-82-4-00-3-0This team's starting to look a little more as I expected. Actually a little worse than I figured. It may have been due to the schedule, but holy shit was this a painful week. There were only about 20 minutes of hockey that I was hyped about this week and that was the third period against the Canucks. Defense needs to be addressed and the forward lines need to be sorted out. Andersson still deserves more minutes and Kakko should get time with the first line and possibly even the first power play unit. Hopefully this upcoming week gets better.24 (23.52)San Jose Sharks33-5-01-1-0Much better week for the Sharks. The rookies are starting to look more comfortable, and everything is starting to fall into place. The team is starting to regain confidence and everyone's playing much better than the first week.25 (23.62)Chicago Blackhawks32-3-12-1-0Kirby Dach made his NHL debut last night. The 3rd line of Saad-Kampf-Kubalik has been the most consistent, and arguably our best line so far. They have a 60.75 CF% and 67.90 FF% at even strength, and the team has a 46.54 CF% and 42.91 FF% when none of them are on the ice. The Hawks are a much more physical team, averaging 31.3 hits/game, up from 16.5 last season. But are hurt by poor special teams: they are 3 for 18 on the PP (16.7%) and 12 for 18 on the PK (66.7%).26 (23.79)Los Angeles Kings-13-5-01-2-0no bueno for the kings this week, Drew Doughty may have exerted dominance in his love-hate relationship with Matthew Tchakuk. along with a flying Mark Giordano superman appearance. The Kings look poised for mediocrity or worse again.27 (23.86)Detroit Red Wings-83-5-00-3-0We expected regression to hit at some point, things took a turn for the worse as they went 0-3 getting killed by VAN/CGY. The “veterans” seem to be hindering development. Dropping Bertuzzi from the top line to create “balanced” scoring was unnecessary by Blashill as no increased production came from Athanasiou along with decreases in Larkin/Mantha hot start. Most teams in the league load up a top line(COL/BOS) or have players to spread out(VGK/STL). Detroit is definitely not the latter and having Darren Helm on the top line kill many opportunities for Larkin/Mantha. Defense is still lackluster outside of Hronek and the Goaltending is still hard to evaluate since the defense is playing so poor. However I still maintain that Howard and Bernier do well enough to keep the WIngs in games. Their loss against EDM was a good step forward as Bertuzzi rejoined the top line near the end of the game and they were able to keep the EDM studs from running up the score.28 (27.59)New Jersey Devils22-4-22-1-0WE DID THE THING! It may have taken us longer than everyone else but we did it and against the Rags, making it all the sweeter. Predictably, the rampant calling for Hynes' head in the sub and GDTs have largely subsided, though he is still very much on the hot seat. Hughes got his first goal of hopefully many against his brother's team, and it ended up being the GW and only goal. The team as a whole seems much more cohesive and the pieces are starting to fall into place. And in possibly the best news of the week, we signed Nico long term, 7 years 7.25 AAV with a MNTC. Having Nico signed until 2027 is a relief knowing exactly how much a high talent player will be making before the offseason hits.29 (28.24)Dallas Stars-32-7-11-3-0If you're panicking this week, I don't blame you. I am, too. Things went almost as bad as they could have. The negatives are many. We're all aware of them, so let's try to be optimistic. What went right this week? Hintz and Heiskanen continue to deliver. Bishop showed he can still stand on his head for a win. Perry and Gurianov look promising. Can we take our successes against Philly and triumph against the Senators tonight? Can we use this win to build momentum and get key players back to playing elite hockey? Lets hope... otherwise, it's going to get messy, and you'd have to imagine that drastic changes are on the table.30 (29.97)Ottawa Senators-11-5-10-2-1An incredibly boring loss against the Minnesota Mild this week pointed the Sens' tank back in the right direction this week. Despite an incredible performance from Nilsson in Las Vegas and finally recording a goal on the powerplay, the team managed no wins and only a single point over the course of this week - exactly the kind of performance they want to continue if they wish to remain at 31st in the standings for the best possible shot at 1st overall pick in the 2020 draft. The only concerning part about this week is in Chabot, Tkachuk, White, and Zaitsev all clearly looking frustrated by the team's struggles; It will be a test of new coach DJ Smith and the "veteran presence" guys that Dorion brought in to keep locker room morale up in this tough rebuild year.31 (30.14)Minnesota Wild-2-6-02-2-0This blurb requires more effort than the Minnesota Wild have shown so far this season. Were it not for a dumpster fire of a matinee game against Ottawa, Minny would still be looking for their first win of the season going into Sunday's tilt against Montreal. 8 games in and Brad Hunt is the leading the team in points. Seems pretty fitting as the rest of the team is playing like total Hunts (unfortunate that one important key on my keyboard is broken). r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition Source

[auburnfamilynews]

Fans outside the stadium, the official Jordan-Hare time is...

Yesterday marked two weeks until kickoff, so now we’re going to get into the real rollercoaster ride that’s been Auburn football over the last dozen years or so. Today we talk about the number thirteen.

2002 - Auburn 13, Penn State 9

We touched on this game very briefly just a couple of days ago during the article about the 2002 season. Auburn had just beaten Alabama with a bunch of backups on the field after having nearly beaten Georgia the week prior. The Tigers had finished the regular season strong, winning four of five and taking out two top ten teams along the way. Ronnie Brown had been a major workhorse in his time taking over the starting role, and despite and ankle injury that kept him out of the Iron Bowl, he’d be well enough to play in time for the Capital One Bowl against the Nittany Lions.

Auburn and Penn State met on New Year’s Day 2003 with the Tigers back at full strength, but with a big test ahead. PSU featured Larry Johnson in the backfield, a powerful tailback who’d eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark over the course of the year. He’d even finished third in the Heisman voting behind Carson Palmer and Brad Banks of Iowa. In his final four games of the regular season, he’d gone for 279, 188, 327, and 279 yards with ten total touchdowns. The guy was a machine and would certainly pose a huge threat to the Auburn defense.

He got completely outclassed by that Tiger D and Ronnie Brown. Johnson was limited to just 72 yards on twenty carries, while Brown rumbled for 184 yards and the game winning score with just a couple minutes left. Auburn ended up winning 13-9, setting up impossible expectations for the next season.

1983 - Auburn 13, Georgia 7

I would expound on this game that sent Auburn to the Sugar Bowl with a conference title, but why not just let John Facenda, aka the Voice of God, do it for you?

What’s not shown there is a nearly-field-length touchdown run by Bo Jackson, who barely grazed the sideline on his way to paydirt and negated what would’ve been one of his signature runs. Either way, and you see it in the video, Georgia had no business testing that Auburn defense, and the furtive sugar-licking glances of Pat Dye afterward suggest as much.

13 Years Ago - 2004

And here we are, finally reaching 2004. Up until Cam Newton arrived on the Plains, this was the greatest year in the last half-century of Auburn football. Undefeated, conference champs, SEC Player of the Year Jason Campbell, two top-five draft picks, and some of the best football played at Auburn in some time all came out of this season.

How did we get there? Well, after the fiasco of 2003’s offense, the Nallsminger experiment, Tommy Tuberville knew he needed to modernize just a bit. Thus, the coaching search began for a new coordinator. I remember the prospective guys, from small schools with high-flying attacks like Miami (Ohio) and Toledo.

Then, a decision was made. Auburn hired Al Borges from Indiana. He hadn’t really been on the list, and after looking at the Hoosiers’ stats from 2003, I had 100% confidence that we’d screw up Campbell, Williams, and Brown’s senior seasons. Indiana averaged less than fifteen points per game, good for 115th in the country. They barely put up 300 yards per game, again near the bottom of the ranks. This did not look good.

Still, as we watched Auburn in the opener against Louisiana-Monroe, we saw some different things. Oh, there’s a deep ball. Hey, they threw to the running backs. That out route actually went past the sticks on third down. It was super vanilla, but it got the job done and the Tigers took the opener 31-0 over the Warhawks. We’d see how things went in a couple weeks against the defending national champions when LSU came to town.

There was still a game against the newly-led Mississippi State Bulldogs before that. Gone was Jackie Sherrill, and in his place was the first black head coach in SEC history in Sylvester Croom. Croom seemed to be a great hire — a former star under Bear Bryant and a well-respected coach around the country. He just had too much going against him in Starkville, where the cupboard was completely barren.

Against the Bulldogs, Auburn really opened up the offense a bit. Both Williams and Brown went for over a hundred yards, while Jason Campbell threw for three scores. Auburn got up 43-0 before MSU hit a couple of garbage time touchdowns, but it was still a very satisfying win.

At 2-0, Auburn would have to now face off in a huge early season matchup with LSU, the defending national champions. These two had traded 31-7 wins the last two seasons, but LSU had hit its stride under Nick Saban, boasting a stingy defense and an offense that put up points fairly quickly. Two days before the game, however, Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast.

Living in Montgomery at the time, the road to my house was blocked from trees falling everywhere around it, and we didn’t get power back until Sunday night. All Thursday, the winds blew and rain spat down from above and doubt was cast upon whether they’d be able to play the game. Friday dawned hot and humid with power out around the Southeast, but Saturday emerged with all the clouds sucked away by the storm and a gloriously dry and wonderful September Saturday.

When the game kicked off, LSU took its opening drive on a quick march all the way down the field and scored on a Dwayne Bowe touchdown that took nearly seven minutes out of the opening quarter. The Bayou Bengals would miss the extra point, putting them up 6-0 (this would be so important later).

Auburn notched a field goal by John Vaughn on its opening drive, and LSU matched with a kick of their own early in the second quarter to go up 9-3. For nearly 45 minutes after that, the two teams played even football.

In one of the most hard-hitting and tense ballgames I can remember, Auburn and LSU went back and forth, advancing and retreating, jabbing and blocking, weakening each other with each blow, until Auburn ended up with the headshot late.

The Tiger defense stood tall after allowing the nine early points, hitting as hard as possible and abusing the LSU offense throughout the rest of the game...

Auburn’s offense wouldn’t have it any easier. You could tell they were close to breaking through, even failing on a fourth down inside the one late in the third, but they couldn’t cross the goal line. With just a few minutes remaining in the game, however, they’d need to cobble something together to get the necessary points.

The Tigers began their final drive methodically with about six minutes left on the clock, starting with powerful running from Ronnie Brown and a stellar catch-and-run from Anthony Mix for first downs. Still, they’d find themselves in a fourth-and-twelve situation inside the LSU 30. This was where the Auburn Tigers of my childhood would fail and we’d be disappointed, but not overly surprised. This time, though, Jason Campbell calmly rolled out and found Courtney Taylor at the last second just past the sticks for the first down and new life. Three plays later, Taylor again came to the rescue.

Oh, the bewildered looks of Nick Saban and Will Muschamp on the opposite sideline. That was one heck of a coaching staff that also featured Jimbo Fisher at offensive coordinator. Good Lord.

We weren’t out of the woods yet, as Auburn missed the extra point but was given a retry thanks to a newly-instituted leaping penalty. The Tigers booted through the second attempt and led 10-9 with a minute to play. Junior Rosegreen intercepted Jamarcus Russell’s last-second pass to seal the win and Auburn had escaped with a monumental victory.

The win vaulted Auburn into the top ten, and they’d cruise against The Citadel a week later, getting everyone involved in a 33-3 win. It set up a top ten tilt with Tennessee inside Neyland Stadium the first Saturday in October. College Gameday was there, as Tennessee rotated two fantastic freshmen quarterbacks in Erik Ainge and Brent Schaefer. In an interesting move, ESPN got not a Vol legend to visit the show for their final picks, but Sir Charles himself. And Charles had no qualms about sticking up for his guys.

If you watch past the picks and listen to Tubs’ pregame speech, I love his rationale for playing on the road. “No stupid penalties, we on the road, so you know they gonna call ‘em.”

What followed was a complete evisceration of Tennessee. Auburn gave notice to the entire country that they were playing with the big boys. The Tigers led 31-3 at halftime and ended up winning 34-10. Junior Rosegreen picked off four passes on the night, and Ronnie Brown made a poster of Vol safety Jason Allen. It was both one of the loudest atmospheres (right before kickoff) and the quietest (right after halftime) that Neyland Stadium has ever heard.

Auburn moved up to #6 in the polls following that win, and breezed by Louisiana Tech 52-7 the next week. With other teams around the country falling off, the Tigers sat at 6-0 and #4 in the land when Tuberville’s personal bugaboo visited the Plains for what everyone hoped wouldn’t be a classic spoiler game.

The day of the Auburn-Arkansas game, my grandfather was on death’s door. I was at home, while both of my parents waited at his house for the inevitable to happen. Just as kickoff happened, I got the call from my dad that he’d finally passed on after a long battle with cancer. After breaking the news (and he knew I was watching the game), I could hear him walk out of earshot of everyone else and he asked “So, uh... what’s going on with the game?”

I told him Auburn had the ball first and had just run its first play. He told me they’d be over there for a little while making some arrangements and he hung up. The very next play, something miraculous happened.

I like to think my grandfather going out had something to do with that, but it could’ve just been good timing. Anyway, Auburn throttled the Razorbacks, winning 38-20 as Jason Campbell threw for more touchdowns than incompletions.

Auburn enjoyed an easy win over Kentucky the next week by a score of 42-10, then headed to Ole Miss for a Halloween showdown with the SEC West on the line. That’s right, the Tigers could win the division before November, and all they had to do was beat Ole Miss.

The Rebels proved to be a tough home opponent, and stymied the Auburn offense for nearly thirty minutes. Auburn finally broke through on a Campbell sneak at the goal line in the final seconds of the first half, but a 7-0 lead was shaky at best. The Tigers scored on their opening drive of the third quarter, but Ole Miss answered with a long touchdown pass to cut the lead back down to a touchdown. It went like that all night long before Auburn finally pulled away late with two fourth quarter touchdowns for a 35-14 victory.

It wasn’t even November, and everyone else in the SEC West might as well have stopped playing. Auburn had won the division and would play TBD in Atlanta the first weekend in December. There were still much bigger things on the table than a chance at the Tigers’ first SEC title in fifteen years.

Sitting at 9-0 and #3 in the polls behind unbeatens USC and Oklahoma, Auburn needed a statement game against a powerful opponent to truly pull into the discussion for the BCS National Championship. What better opportunity than with #5 Georgia heading to the Plains the next week with an 8-1 record and a national TV audience?

With another College Gameday setup, all eyes were on Auburn to see how the Tigers would fare against their first really good opponent since LSU. Auburn didn’t disappoint.

After a testy first drive from the Bulldogs, Auburn went on autopilot. A cold, relentless machine that ran over and around Georgia in all facets. The Tigers marched down the field on their opening drive to take the lead, then dazzled the crowd with trick plays and murderous defense. Ronnie Brown showed off the hands that helped earn him a high draft grade, catching seven passes for 88 yards and score, while Carlos Rogers probably won the Thorpe Award in this game by locking down Georgia’s passing game all day.

24-6. Auburn. All day.

The win propelled the Tigers into a tie for second with Oklahoma. Auburn was finally in the actual discussion for the national championship, and had overcome the huge lead the Sooners had in the polls. Just beat Alabama, and this could hold up.

Easier said than done.

A trip to Tuscaloosa is never easy, and even when Auburn has been the vastly superior team, the Tigers have failed to run the Tide out of their own building. Same story, different day on November 20th, 2004.

Alabama succeeded in limiting the effectiveness of Auburn’s West Coast passing game, negating Brown and Williams out of the backfield, while the wet conditions evened the playing field just enough to keep Bama in it. The Tide led 6-0 at the half and things were on edge. But just as they’d found ways all year, the Tigers took one shot early in the third quarter, and it hit.

After the big completion to Aromashodu, Auburn took control, scoring three straight touchdowns to lead 21-6 before a late Bama score made it look closer than it was.

The damage had been done. Oklahoma regained its lead in the polls and Auburn fell back to third, but the SEC Championship still loomed the next week with a top fifteen opponent and another chance to show off for the country.

Auburn met Tennessee for the second time that season, making it the second Tigers-Vols meeting in Atlanta as well. Of course, Auburn had massacred Tennessee back in Knoxville two months prior, but today would be different. That didn’t mean that the Tigers still wouldn’t start off in a hurry.

Auburn scored barely 90 seconds in to take an early 7-0 lead, then followed it with another touchdown and it looked like the rout was on again. Tennessee did regain composure enough to cut the deficit in half, and keep within striking distance until Gerald Riggs’ 80-yard burst tied the game at 21 midway through the third quarter.

The Tigers didn’t panic, as Jason Campbell was having one of the games of his career. Two long late touchdown passes sealed the deal as Auburn won 38-28 to claim the first SEC Championship since 1989. Campbell won the game MVP award, and Auburn sat at 12-0. Some people threw oranges onto the field, but the win had a bittersweet taste due to the fact that most already knew Oklahoma or USC would likely have had to lose for the Tigers to move up in the polls.

While the Trojans got to play a weak UCLA team (and squeak by 29-24), and Oklahoma got to wear out a 7-4 Colorado team in the Big Twelve Championship Game, Auburn had beaten a top fifteen team by double digits after already rolling them on the road earlier in the year. I won’t go through the entire case for the Tigers to play in the title game, but it was hefty.

Auburn was “rewarded” with a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face ACC Champ Virginia Tech. In a lackluster game, Auburn took a 16-0 lead before the Hokies finally scored twice in the final seven minutes to make it a close ballgame. The Tigers held on for a 16-13 win and a perfect 13-0 season. It was a dream year, but right in the middle of the celebration was a jilted feeling of being perfect in the nation’s best conference and getting left out.

It would’ve felt better if Oklahoma played USC close in the BCS title game. It would’ve been alright if it seemed like both of those teams were better than Auburn. The fact remains that only in one ballgame all year (LSU) did an opponent have the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead over the Tigers. It’s astonishing when you consider that Tuberville sat on the ball with a big lead and Auburn didn’t score nearly as much as it could’ve. The Tigers had the nation’s best scoring defense, while Oklahoma and USC were taken to the wire several times that year.

Everyone remembers the 55-19 Trojan win, but before that, they nearly lost at 4-7 Stanford, 6-6 UCLA, and 7-5 Oregon State. Not exactly the best of the best. Meanwhile, Oklahoma got scared by Texas A&M and Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks. Auburn won four games against ten-win teams. OU and USC combined for that many victories against ten-win teams.

Some good did come out of the snub. The SEC got a free pass after that, and finally Florida showed what the league could do in 2006. Auburn would get its own chance just a few short years after that.

Coming Up: What Comes After Perfection?

from College and Magnolia http://bit.ly/2wuEz1M via IFTTT

[ambular262-blog]

Can I get a car please?!

For 10 years I drove a convertible. I drove a 2004 Limited Edition Ford Mustang GT convertible and a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT convertible. Those were sexy cars and I did have pride in those cars. The Mustang was totaled in 2010 (another story). That is when I got the Eclipse. A couple of years ago I hit a really hard spot and my car got impounded because my insurance lapsed because I couldn’t make my payment. The car was a 120 days past due and needed a lot of work. So I called the finance company and told them to come and pick it up. They weren’t willing to work with me anyway. The guy at the finance company actually told me that he had never heard of a customer who had been so far past due and still in possession of the vehicle haha. This also occurred on the Friday of the last day of a shitty job that I had been working and the following Monday I was starting a brand new job that was awesome. My very generous roommate at the time helped me get back and forth to work for a couple of weeks until I was able to purchase a new car. I have really crappy credit (2 divorces) so I went to a Buy Here Pay Here place. I got an 06 Honda Accord with a sunroof. It wasn’t as flashy as what I was used to but it was a car and that’s all I cared about. Fast forward a month, I’ve just made my first payment. Its 4:30 in the morning, one of my roommates’ dog is outside, underneath my window, barking his ass off at the cat sitting at the basement door. I go banging on his door telling him to get his dog. On my way back to my room, I run into another roommate of mine (yes, there were many of us). She says that another roommate has just been kicked out of some girl’s house and has no way home and is walking and would like to know if I could pick him up or if she can borrow my car. He was only 15 minutes away and would be a really quick trip. Now, I’m a really nice person most of the time, but I am not a morning person. So, like a dumb bitch, I said that she could borrow the car. As soon as she left I had a horrible feeling. All I did was sit in the carport, smoking, waiting. At about 5:30 to 6 in the morning an ambulance and firetruck fly down the road. Now, I’m living in Cumming Georgia at the time so of course this means there’s been an accident. So, of course now, I’m filled with dread. About 30 minutes later I get the phone call from my roommate saying she wrecked my car. I asked her how bad the damage was and she said “well it went into the ditch so there’s some front-end damage.” I asked her if it was drivable? She said that she wasn’t sure, maybe. She was literally right down the street from the house. I called my other roommate, the one who was so generous to help me get to work, and asked if I could borrow his truck to go down the road to survey the accident. I get down there and find my car nose down in a ditch. I notify the cops that I was the owner of the vehicle and provided them with the insurance information. During all the commotion, I am standing with my roommates on the corner of the road, looking at my car. The windshield, shattered. The airbags, deployed. This car was an automatic total loss. My roommate was not on my policy. I flip out as gently as I know how to. I very loudly said to her I just got this car, I just made the first payment. She seemed to understand and didn’t down play the seriousness of the situation. Just to keep a long story short for the purpose of this particular entry, the loan was cleared, insurance took several months but it got taken care of. Roomie paid a good amount of money towards the loss. I could have gotten more from her but I didn’t feel the need to be malicious or unnecessary or over the top. So few months go by and I’m looking for a new car. During this time a co-worker of mine is helping me get back and forth to my work. I find the car I want at CarMax. It was a 2015 Kia Soul + green, I wanted (did) to name her Mary Jane. It took so much work to get this car that I almost lost my shit with my salesman. I have never had to jump through so many hoops and provide so much documentation for an approval on a car. Not even the approval actually, I had the approval. But, apparently the finance company needed specific documentation that had to be written a certain way or else it wasn’t acceptable. My salesman turned into an ass he even at one point made it seem like he was even going to pull my approval but I finally got the car. Man, I loved that car. It was cute, it was me, I loved it. I purchased this car in June, first payment was made August 15th. August 18th, driving home from work, going the speed limit (which was 50) and it had just finished raining. I had actually been thinking about how I thought things were going to be getting better. I had just stopped and gotten myself dinner, bought a new book from the author that I love, was going home, happy and hopeful. That was my big mistake. A kid, and I say kid because I don’t think he was more than 17, fails to yield and turns in front of me. Now mind you, I’m going 50 miles an hour, it had just been raining, and I was literally on top of this kid. If I had not swerve the way I did, I would have t-boned his car. If you were looking at the front of my car, you could see the vehicle’s front end shifted. I knew, because of my line of work, my car was totaled. Following the accident, I ended up with a rental for two months. The insurance company handling the claim dropped the ball and so I ended up getting a rental for two months, which is very unusual. I did have another vehicle that I was driving for a few months after. My brother had just passed and he had just bought a car so I drove this vehicle until the finance company located it for non-payment. For more than a month, I used lyft and the bus to get back and forth to work. And I use lyft more than the bus because riding the bus scared me. Of course, this is costly but, if you look at the larger picture, the amount that I paid for lyft equaled what I would have paid for a car payment plus car insurance. But, of course, I wanted my own transportation. I’m doing everything I can for months to get the money together for a down payment and get everything together for a new car. Everything had been laid out for the new car to be purchased middle March. Unfortunately, because of my brother’s car being repossessed, it threw me back a little bit. In addition to this, my medical treatments were causing me to miss a lot of work. This was causing a huge problem with getting a new car. I emailed my bodily injury attorney and explain to them some of the problems that I was having with the doctor’s office, which is another posting, and also the problems that I was having financially. I explained that I couldn’t miss this kind of work because of the procedures that I needed to have done. I even said at one point in my email to him that maybe we should just settle the claim with insurance company and get it over with. I told him that I knew that that was not the best course of action, however, I was at the end of my rope and I just I didn’t know how much more I could take. In response, he gave me the option of taking a small loan against my pending medical settlement and I could use that to help me with the vehicle down payment on the car that way you and missing the work wouldn’t be so bad. Perfect, now I had the down payment for my car. Contacted the guy at Carmax, got everything set up for Friday the 17th and it was supposed to be done. But anybody that knows my life story knows that, of course, it did not go down that way. I get to CarMax and apparently the salesman didn’t have quite all the information correct. The financial institution wanted a paid in full letter. We assumed it was for the Kia that had just been totaled. Apparently, they wanted a paid in full letter for the vehicle that I co-signed with Austin that he never refinanced. That’s the first problem. They brought me to my house to pick up a copy of my divorce decree that specifically states that the vehicle was supposed to be refinanced without my name and that I had signed documentation for Austin to do so. It proves I have no financial responsibility for the car. But they’re not sure that this is going to be sufficient enough for the finance company. This makes no sense to me since the vehicle they’re questioning is a Chevy Equinox and the documentation on my divorce decree says Chevy Equinox. It just doesn’t say Capital One so they're not sure the finance company will accept it. This is so fucking stupid. There’s no other Chevy Equinox on my credit report, what other Chevy Equinox could we be possibly talking about?! The second issue is proof of residency. I’m not on a lease, I sublet. I don’t have a utility bill in my name. All of my mail goes to a PO Box. Except, for medical bills that I received in relation to my car accident. This is apparently perfect for proof of residency however, it has to be within 30 days. Meaning, that the statement date has to be within 30 days. My most recent statement date is just over 30 days. Now, despite the fact that I have the same statement dating all the way back to October, going to this address, this apparently is not good enough for the finance company. So I guess we will find out what will happen tomorrow. I really have no belief that anything is going to come of it but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I don’t really have any new documentation for them so I don’t see myself walking away with a car.