#anyways. do NOT have my charger on this 5 hour flight and my phone battery has been so shitty so uhhh. lets goooo.

[lakecoded]

most harrowing airport experience survived

[oncearoundthegarrison-blog]

London to Lundy Part 1

5 months sounds like a long time, but when you’ve started a new job in a completely different industry, it flies by. New colleagues, new commute, new schedule, new maze-like museum building that took at least a month to get used to. Even new vocabulary. 

I felt like I was desperately treading water, slowly drowning in a sea of to-dos. It finally took the Christmas period, when the museum was closed, most colleagues and external contacts had taken holidays and my telephone and inbox fell quiet, that I had a moment to realise... I have 13 days of annual leave to use up before the end of the financial year.

My husband’s birthday is in March, so I thought we could go somewhere together to celebrate, as we had been doing the last few years. The thing is, my husband works in a small company, a team of 3, in fact. Unfortunately, the other 2 also have their birthdays in March, so, being the most junior, he felt he couldn’t take a week off, especially because they were planning a work trip around that time too.

“You should go on a yoga retreat by yourself.” he suggested. As if I wanted to pay hundreds of pounds to go and spend days stretching with strangers, some of whom were guaranteed to be a little too ‘woo-woo’ for my taste (no offence). 

I decided I wanted to do something that was ‘worthwhile’ with my time. After hours researching expensive (and scammy) conservation holidays, scrolling through WorkAways and WWOOFing opportunities, I somehow landed on the jackpot; a National Trust working holiday on Lundy, a three mile long, half mile wide island off the coast of North Devon.

Having hastily signed up and gained a place, I set to work on the dreaded getting-there logistics. The first thing was already ticked off the list. The only way of getting from the Devon coast onto Lundy Island at that time of the year is by Helicopter. With that booked, I looked into getting from London to Devon and back. 

The autumn before, I had bought my first car. It’s a fully electric Nissan Leaf. Using it largely for the weekly shop and commuting to work (15 minutes if the traffic is nice, 1 hour if it’s the usual), it’s the perfect car for pootling around the city and suburbs, where an electric charger is always close to hand. We’d done the odd 2 hour drives, but the route planning, and adding 30 mins per charge stop, the anxiety of ‘what if the charger we are heading towards is out of order’ was quite stressful, so a solo drive down to Devon seemed a foolhardy concept.

But, the more I tried to arrange the public transport, the more complicated things got. First off, the nearest train station is 25 miles away, and you need to get on a bus for an hour even to get close to the helipad. Not only that but you had to get there by 10am latest, so unless you wanted to leave London at crazy o’clock, you had to arrive the night before and find accommodation. On top of that, on the way back, you have no idea what time your helicopter flight is. “Sometime between 11 and 3pm, and it depends on the weather, you could be delayed to later in the afternoon or even the next day!” So booking a train for the way back was a gamble. Driving to Devon in my electric car started to look like a more attractive, at least simpler, concept.

I’m not what you call a confident driver, and some past long distance drives had been very stressful. It’s hard for me to forget that I could kill myself or anyone else by making a silly mistake. And I make plenty of those in my everyday life. What if I don’t plan well and I run out of charge on my car? The prospect of driving alone, for four hours, which would probably include at least 4 charges, was terrifying. Also, if I want to arrive at the heliport at 9:30am, then I would need to leave at 5:30am, but add on 4 x 30 minute charges is 3:30am, and maybe I should add an extra hour in case I take the wrong turning or there is traffic or a diversion... well that’s crazy o’clock. So I decided to break up the journey by stopping off at my uncle’s in Bristol.

The week before setting off, I made sure to check and double check the route on the Zap-Map app, which shows you the locations of all the EV chargers. I read reviews of each charger, making sure it was used recently and recorded as having a successful charge. I made sure I knew the locations of at least 2 other chargers near the one I actually planned to charge at, in case that one was occupied or faulty. 

I wrote out the addresses of each charger, in case I lost my phone. I packed a portable power bank for my phone, in case it ran out of battery. I found out what numbers I need to call if I break down or run out of charge, or have an accident (yeah OK I should’ve known those already). Some chargers require you to start the charge using your mobile phone... but what if you didn’t have enough reception? I drove my husband crazy with my fretting and stressing. I made sure I had enough car snacks and a good playlist.

Then the day finally came. I left for Bristol around 9.00am. It was a bright sunny day and I left in high spirits, onto the M4. Forty minutes later, dirty black clouds appear and it starts to properly pour. The roads were not too busy but there was a ropey 15 minutes of very poor visibility, the spray from the other cars and lorries obscuring the road like a thick fog. My heart pumping, I was very glad to arrive at my first charge stop at a service station just after 10am.

There, I struck up a conversation with a fellow Nissan Leaf driver, and I asked him if he’d heard the rumour that you shouldn’t charge your car up to 100% on one of the rapid chargers (there are a few different charge speeds, you see). It’s something I was told by the customer services person when I rang up the helpline on a day a charger refused to stop charging (really reassuring). The man looked at me doubtingly and said that he hadn’t. When he left, I googled it and it really does seem to be the case that it damages your battery. I hope he looked it up later as well. I had a hot chocolate in the Starbucks, charged my phone and bought some gloves, as I forgot to pack mine. Feeling panicked about damaging the battery, I headed off at 82% charged.

Luckily, the closer I got to Bristol and my uncle’s flat, the lower the speed limit, the more traffic there was. I say lucky because driving in those circumstances uses up much less charge than going 70mph down the motorway. By 11:40 I have arrived at my final charge stop, a Bannatyne Health Club just round the corner from my final destination. I was even more happy to see that it was a simple plug in, tap your contactless card and charge jobby. You’d think that’s how all chargers are, but no. EV chargers are run by different providers, I have no less than 5 different apps on my phone plus a physical tap card, and there’s still some chargers where I have to spend ages registering on a website in order to start a charge. Mental.

I go into the health club and explain I’m not a member but would like to sit in the cafe while my car charges. I was a bit worried they would turn me away, but, just as my Zap-Map colleagues had reassured me, they asked me to sign in to a guest book and let me in. I order a tea and settle down for 20 minutes. In hindsight, during my journey to Devon and back, I think I spent almost the same amount of money on beverages and nibbles waiting for the car to charge as for the charge itself!

Anyway, all in all a smooth journey to Bristol, and I get to my uncle’s around 12:15, just in time for lunch. After a lovely afternoon taking in the sights of Bristol (managed to catch the excellent Wildlife Photography of The Year 2019 exhibition at M Shed, see below for the fun image of a shocked Himalayan marmot that won the Grand Title) and catching up with a friend over a quick drink in the evening, I go to bed early, ready for an early start in the morning.

[windandwater]

back from Finland and my nightmare flight situation got really fucking funny (and awful) at the end so I’m gonna tell you the whole goddamn thing. cut to save you from Airline Stories.

I mentioned in a previous post that I had to sprint through Heathrow to get to a flight, and it wasn’t my fault. that turned out to be just the beginning but here’s what happened.

airline randomly decided to change my flight to an earlier time

I found out about this from a 3 am text that I read at 8 am on my way to work

cool I have to leave work much earlier

I do that. it was about to rain in New York so it was a good goddamn thing. no subway delays at all.

I sit at the gate for a bit. an hour before boarding, there are still zero airline employees to be found

what the fuck.

I google my flight number. it is not at the gate I’m sitting at.

great.

I walk over to the new gate, the lady there explains “it got changed.”

fine. I’m still on time.

….

the flight is not.

the rain started while I was in the airport and New York is gridlocked, and they barely had enough flight attendants to take off

I check my flight information. I have a connection in Heathrow that’s an hour after my flight and my flight is delayed…you guessed it. an hour.

I’m definitely gonna miss my connecting flight

I accept this (I am on a lot of anxiety medication) to deal with when I get there (thank you, medication!) and go to sleep (so. much. medication.)

arrive in Heathrow

announcement on the plane says that the connecting flight to Helsinki is also delayed, and to see them up front if you are getting on that flight

so I talk to them

“they’re leaving at 8:20 (it is now 7:50), so you can make it but you have to BOOK”

me: “GOT IT.” *takes off*

*accidentally knocks off a baby’s blanket. does not stop, like an asshole. yells EXCUSE ME to every British person in the way, while elbowing them, I’m from fucking New York, MOVE*

“few people runnin' about” happens

gotta go through security first

lady at the desk spins her computer monitor to show me what it says when she scans my boarding pass: “please proceed directly to gate 9”

me: “TRUST ME I FUCKING KNOW”

someone in front of me for some reason has every glass bottle in the world, doesn’t speak enough English for the security people to explain that it’s fine so long as there’s  no food or liquid in them

somehow I get through and make it to the gate

“if you had been 10 minutes later you would’ve caught us, but you’re good!”

phew.

find out later that my family had a similar yet worse experience in Frankfurt. ha.

turns out that was only the fucking beginning. because I still had to come back. here’s how that went.

day 1:

I’m supposed to fly out Saturday at 3 pm. my brother is flying out Saturday at 7 am. Friday night, we are on our way to the BnB and I double check my email.

surprise! my flight has changed. now at 7 am.

ughhhhhhhhhh

fine. I’ll just go to the airport with my brother.

we do that. Air BnB host nice enough to wake up and drive us—for a price, but a pretty good one.

they had a sauna and I had to skip out on using it (I only got to do it once) and I was pretty upset. fuck you, airline.

get to the airport at the asscrack of dawn

I check my email in the car one more time

….

wait a second

the date on this is for Sunday

fuuuuuuuuuuck

screw it, I’ll wait around until their service desk opens and have them put me on a flight

1 hour: nothing

I try and call them. on a janky phone that has issues with phone calls

customer service is closed, because Europe

call the US number

customer service is open and in English but it rings a few times and then I get a message in Icelandic and it hangs up.

….I’m never flying a Scandinavian-based airline ever a-fucking-gain.

2 hours: nothing

fuck. this.

I start googling hotels by the airport instead. check into one. get a shuttle there. room itself isn’t too expensive, but not money I really have.

oh fucking well

I pass out.

wake up, have to leave the hotel to get lunch, come back and read Yuri on Ice fanfic

oh daaamn this hotel has a sauna

tight

get smoked reindeer pasta at the hotel restaurant

go to sauna again

go back the fuck to sleep

day 2:

airport shuttle at the asscrack of dawn but this time I’ve slept all day

feeling annoyed but optimistic. this will suck but at least I’m rested.

get to the airport

once again they have changed the airline on me. this was not self-evident in the email

haul my ass to the right terminal. thank fuck there are only 2.

that last sentence is foreshadowing

in line for getting my ticket (b/c of course I can’t check in at a kiosk) and two people in front of me are going through the same shit. airline answered their phone calls tho and promised them money back

feeling more hopeful

am now flying through Amsterdam. they can’t print my connecting flight boarding pass. I will have to get it printed at the airport when I get there.

there is only an hour between the flights

I am hit with a sudden premonition of doom

but am still hopped up on anxiety medication

here we go again!

make it to Amsterdam with no drama

phone battery is dying. my external battery stopped working abruptly and there’s no charger on the smaller planes. it wouldn’t charge at the gate; was plugged in but draining. I turn it off. charges 2%.

more foreshadowing

I get off the plane and have to ask where to go to get to the correct airline. someone directs me. it’s a different terminal. I run-walk over there, knowing what’s about to happen.

passport control. spend 5 minutes panicking that I don’t have an e-passport b/c I don’t know where to look for the logo. turns out it’s on the front cover! I’m a dumbass.

get there. can’t check in/print off boarding pass

oh boy

have to wait in line for a service rep

this wait takes 35 minutes

I get to the front. my seat reservation somehow does not exist

she manages to print off my ticket. and call them to tell them I’m coming.

looks me in the eye: “you run.”

me: “I run.”

I do that.

new gate is 2 more terminals away

Amsterdam is fucking big and I have now run across 3 terminals of it.

the Dutch are better at moving out of the way than the English

I make it to the gate and people are there yelling “New York? New York!!” make it on the plane. phone won’t charge. ...... great.

no podcasts for me! I watch a Stonewall documentary, a gay rom com, and a slew of nature documentaries.

at least I’m on brand.

make it to New York in one piece. meet a nice German lady and everything.

it was hell coming back here from Greece but from Scandinavia it’s fucking amazing.

anyway

slight panic after going through passport control. I handed them my receipt, promptly forgot I did that, then got my baggage and began looking for my receipt to show to the next set of cops.

receipt was gone

ummmmmm

I empty out my entire bag

nothing

I ask the lady next to me if they kept the receipt

she says yes they did and I nearly collapse. guess there’s no next set of cops this time around. it’s different every fucking time.

she sympathizes. we have a nice chat. she has family in Helsinki and just got back from Greece and Italy.

Scandinavians are not friendly. FUCK I missed New York.

because some people will assume otherwise if i don’t say so: it was not a white lady. I really really missed New York.

I manage to make it to my subway stop with no more drama than wondering why I’m the only person on the train

I realized literally this morning that it’s almost a holiday weekend. oops.

make it to my apartment door

they installed a new front door while I was in another fucking country

(there were issues with the old one)

sign on the door says go see the super. who never answers his door, only the phone.

my phone battery is now at 10%

….

super’s not answering his phone. or the door.

7%

text and call neighbors who live near me. leave messages. try not to panic.

feel raindrops

look up

there’s a storm cloud coming in

I hear thunder

this is the point where I started laughing

I try the super’s other number

“uhhh you changed the door”
 “you were sleeping!”
 “I was in FINLAND!” 
“okay, give me a minute, I’m on my way”

5%

turn phone off

super appears. I am not soaking wet and laughing hysterically. yet. if he’d been any later it would’ve been another story

make it inside. plug in phone. it’s at 3%

answer all my family’s frantic texts, order food delivery, take a shower, go the fuck to sleep, and sleep 14 hours. felt fucking great.

go to work today because it’s 4th of July and if I don’t I’ll only be in for two days. oh well!

[beatconductor-blog]

Blame Coco for this

Coco 👑Today at 4:17 PM

You've been having kind of a really shit time in the car even if your Dad was kind enough to share his stash of drugs/painkillers so you are more than thankful that you FINALLY get to rest in a bed again. Now where's your body guard though? It's basically his job to cuddle you now. You could say as much  but instead you just give him the good old grabby hands. Love me.

rootyToday at 4:35 PM

You're definitely not far, probably sitting on the edge of the ?bed? while watching the remaining 3% of your battery fade with absolute terror. Fortunately, Sock is awake-ish and ready to distract you from your impending boredoom. Time to get some cuddles on as he demands.

Coco 👑Today at 4:45 PM

Don't you have a charger hidden in your shades or something you loser? Get on that maybe. You are blissfully unaware of the battery status of your phone, something that would usually cause you some anxiety. Instead you rub your face on Dave and peep softly. "Hey Mr body guard..You here often?"

rootyToday at 4:53 PM

Listen. You got a powerbank with you, but that one is long empty. That internet addiction is real. "Kinda. May be happening more often now since I got a new job nearby." Cuddle up real close to him. God, when did you get so affectionate...

Coco 👑Today at 4:58 PM

"Fuck yeah... I like having you close. Always did." No gay filter right now.

rootyToday at 4:59 PM

Oh man, good that he's too drugged to notice how hard you're blushing. Right??? "Sure you do" you just mumble and pet his hair some.

Coco 👑Today at 5:03 PM

More peeps. This is nice, time to ruin it a little. "I was so dumb thinking that you like... Stole my life or whatever back then? I'm so glad I never had the guts to try to kill you, I love you so much. Maybe I was just  so angry because of Scratch and his fucked up shit...Yeah.." You aren't really aware of just how upsetting what you are saying is. You genuinely only think of it as a big hey...I love you.

rootyToday at 5:33 PM

Oh. That sure was upsetting. It takes a moment to even register what he said, you're that tired. But when it does, your stomach drops and the guilt hits you. Stole his life..... You sure did that, huh. 

Wait, what, Scratch what. 

You want to ask more about that, but your throat is closing up. Your petting hand is frozen to the spot and you're just holding him. Maybe squeezing him a little too tight. That fucker.. what....

Coco 👑Today at 6:16 PM

You are just fucked up enough to just continue, you only barely register that something is up with Dave but if you explain he will understand right? 

"I mean...'s not your fault. Not your fault they came to snatch me in the middle of the night. Not your fault that Scratch needed a lab rat for his shit. Not your fault he turned me into a fucking bird and cut off parts just to see if he can again and again and again."  You didn't realize that you started crying, whoops. "Not your fault that Bro just straight up replaced me even if...it fucking hurts." 

You know what else fucking hurts? Dave squeezing this tight, even with pain killers that hurts and you whimper a little, suddenly scared that he's mad at you.

rootyToday at 6:24 PM

Oh. That was  Too much wasn't it. You notice as much through this moment of total numbness. You ease off on the hug just a little, and... it feels like you should say something? You're trying your hardest to keep calm, keep your breath steady, no need to upset Sock any more than he already is. The tears don't listen to you and the first ones begin to roll soon, despite all your flighting. 

You try to thinking of what to say. Something to cheer him up. Anything to distract him. Nothing. ".....sorr........" you just bring out, really faint and hoarse.

Coco 👑Today at 8:16 PM

Oh no, you fucked up. You fucked up again, hard. You didn't want to upset Dave, or yourself for that matter, you just wanted to tell him how happy you are that he's here despite everything but you fucked it up. Idiot, idiot, idiot. 

"Sorry..I didn't..I mean..I just. I just wanted to tell you...that I'm happy I met you. That you're here not...Fuck. Sorry." That's not very helpful either is it? Your hand moves to clumsily wipe these tears away even though yours don't stop.

rootyToday at 9:04 PM

Oh, yes, his touch on your face manages to break you, and the tears just flow.

You press your face against his head, with the intention to squeeze a kiss on it, but the result is much more you burying your face inbetween his hair and the pillow. "I'm-" Sorry? That was silly, right? The two of you would just continue apologizing to each other forevermore just for having massively fucked up lives. Thinking already isn't your strong point usually, but it's really impossible right now. Eventually though you manage to utter, "I'm here.."

Suddenly, the idea to work as his bodyguard didn't seem that absurd at all anymore.

Coco 👑Today at 9:22 PM

"Th-Thank you.." Yes, this is a little better than just apologizing over and over. He doesn't kiss you but you do your best to make up for it, kissing whatever part of his face you can each. It's wet, and awkward but you don't care about that. You just want to be as close as you can.

rootyToday at 9:33 PM

You  h a t e  how quiet it is. You always did, but usually you're quite good at filling the silence with your own rambling. This time it was hard. No more words came out. It wouldn't feel right anyway. But you still manage to keep your mouth busy by answering his kisses with your own.

Coco 👑Today at 9:52 PM

You usually can't stand the silence either, there always has to be some background noise to keep you busy, music, TV, a game, anything will do. But right now you are just exhausted, emotionally on top of physically now. It's a bit much for one single bird. You keep on kissing Dave for a bit, you hands holding him close and your wings wrapping around him as best as you can manage to keep him as close as you can before you start to doze off. It's been a long day.

rootyToday at 9:58 PM

You're lying awake for a few more moments. You know more than anyone that you could use some naptime, with only maybe three hours of sleep over the same amount of days. And you're exhausted, because boy... that have been some days. But the thoughts are racing in your head and keeping you from getting that good, good shuteye. But you can't leave. You don't want to leave his side, nor his embrace, but even if you did, there is little at hand right now that could give you enough stimulation to keep your mind distracted enough, short of running out of this hideout and right into the arms of a candyman maybe. 

But you can't do that, not while he needs you here. Eventually, sure enough, even you manage to pass out.

[whoshe-sandy-sides]

Hello! Reporter Anon #6669 here, how does it feel to be stuck on a plane for God knows how long? Please give us as much detail as you can, the viewers and followers are very interested! 😄

Well HELLO!!! I shall give you ALL the details you want!! (SORRY ITS A LONG ONE)

It was pretty normal for a landing, a little rough, a slight bump, but all was good. I shifted my computer bag between my legs, ready to pick up and go, keeping in mind that my other bag was in the overhead of the seat behind me.

I took one last glance outside, noticing four large passenger planes lined up perpendicular to the runaway we landed on. They towered over the small plane as we drove in front of them, apparently joining the growing line.

My first instinct is to text my mother, waiting for me, to let her know I’ve landed. She’s on her way. I’ll see her soon, she texts me. I text my friend that I flew away from, I’ve landed and I can’t wait to see them again. He’s happy as well.

A minute goes by, restless passengers shift around waiting patiently. The intercom sings and the flight attendant, Patricia (as her white embroidered font said against her black apron), answered the cabin phone. Her eyebrows furrowed and she spoke hurriedly to the other end of the call… nod nod, fumbled with the phone and it clicked in place. She looked down the aisle at the other attendant, a silent nod later and the intercom dings once more.

“Well, it looks like there’s a ‘ground command’… everything has stopped and all aircraft are on the ground… it’ll be another 5-6 minutes before we’ll get to our gate. We will let you know when more info comes. Thank you again for all of your patience..” The captain, so sweet and sounding young, reports and the cabin settles.

Oohhh if only we knew.

I alert my mother through text about the predicament. I read a few more poems from the antique book I found at the shop my friend and I went to before the airport. Slowly, discomfort grows.

My pinky toe is the first to go numb. The AC rushing out of the floor vent, pointed directly at my feet. I sit awkwardly, trying to keep my feet up and warm. I redirect my attention to my phone, play a few games.

20% battery

Oops. I thankfully had a large battery set and ready for the occasion. Click. And my phone happily charges as I continue to text my mother.

It’s panic. Chaos. Cars parked on the side of the road, security running around, and honking. My mom joins the line of parked cars and texts me confusingly.

I try to keep a light mood for the concern-growing situation, laughing off humanity’s stupidity in moments of stress.

The sweet captain allows people to get up for the bathroom. It’ll be a long wait.

Some one asks Patricia a question and she begins to shake her head from where she sat at the front of the plane.

“No no. It’s not a mechanical thing. This plane is perfectly fine.” Patricia answers quietly. The passenger is hesitant to leave her side, but eventually crawls back into their seat.

My dear grandmother begins to text my mother, randomly forbidding me from flying EVER again. To lock our doors, don’t go outside, it’s DANGEROUS!!

A Q300 Alaska Airlines, Horizon operated plane (the same type of plane I currently sat in) has been stolen and is flying around Tacoma! There’s fighter jets after it!

My grandmother tells my mother, who, in return, forward the message to me. That’s crazy! No wonder nothing is happening.

I settle deeper in my chair, expecting (hoping) it’ll only another 10 minutes or so… I tell my friend about the events unfolding and switch over to text my brother.

Hit me with some memes bro, I’m bored. I text and later receive 7 different memes to giggle at.

Movement to my side catches my eye. The man in the aisle seat beside me is making eye contact shyly.

“My phone died. Can I use your charger? I need to tell my neighbor to feed my cat… thought I’ll be home by now…” He asks, I smile and excitedly give the cord over. I love being able to help. I’m at 50% anyways after 20 minutes of texting and playing games.

I continue to gather information through my waiting mother. Slowly the story is unfolding.

Patricia comes on the intercom: “sorry everyone and thank you for your patience. I would just like to clarify that there’s a ‘ground command’ so no one can deplane or lift off at the moment. The only thing we know so far is that this is an ‘airport security concern’. Thank you.”

After an awkward minute, people begin to mumble, someone is passing their phone around showing the news feed they were receiving from family. More harsh whispering gains my seat-partners attention.

“do you know what’s going on?” He motions to everyone.

“A mechanic stole a plane, did a barrel roll with fighter jets after him and crashed!” I answered in obvious misplaced excitement. I summarized the jumble of messages i was getting from my mother and friend.

“It crashed? where?!” He sat up straighter. I scrolled through my text messages with my mother.

“Chambers Bay, it looks like.” I answered. He nodded and looked back to his phone.

I went to social media, having barely enough service to refresh a few pages here and there. I asked for entertainment from some and others I simply watched the mayhem.

“We’re so sorry, looks like one of the connecting flights has left already.” Oh dear… that’s not gonna make customer service happy…

2 hours have gone by. Texts message all sent and read. The entertainment I requested was fruitful. I’m sore. My battle with the AC vent is going poorly. They had handed out more airplane biscuit cookies as hunger grew.

“We got our gate! A few more minutes as they get the other airplanes out of the line and we’ll be able to deplane!” The captain’s voice chimes in. Someone claps in happiness. The baby on board stirs and the elder woman in the seat in-front coo it back to sleep. Not now child… just a few more moments.

FINALLY the plane slides forwards. The engines go silent and everyone is reminded to remain patient. It’s my turn to leave, only four rows into the front, I’m happy to get off early! But…

I turn to grab my bag in the overhead of the seat behind me… to see the mother of the infant and her 8 year old daughter… with a broken leg, look back at me. I try to explain my situation. Thoroughly embarrassed to halt progress for everyone else and cause this mother to backtrack for my sake, I take a hold of my bags and practically leap off the small plane with a small thanks to the flight attendants.

IM FREE!!! Only from the plane, however… people are dog-pilling by gate, anxious to get on their two hour delayed flights. I race past overflowing restaurants (mainly pubs) to the exit doors. Traffic is chaos.

My waiting mother is quick to the draw and I only wait a few moments before my patient mother finds me and I hop in in no time.

That was only ONE thing to go wrong that night. My mother sadly says, “I was hoping for a drink and movie tonight … I thought it was Friday!”

We laugh at our misfortunes and drive home with McDonald’s.

[nancydrewsilentspy]

Midnight in Salem Chapter 1: Deirdre asks for help

The Drew house was quiet. Nancy and her two friends, Bess and George, were scattered asleep in front of the TV. They had decided to have a study party in order to get ready for finals. It was about 9:30 when the doorbell rang.

Hannah Gruen, the Drew's housekeeper, carefully made her way over the mess of textbooks, notes, and leftover junk food to answer the door. Bess mumbled in her sleep, "No... I don't remember how to conjugate jugar," and then rolled over onto a chemistry book.

Hannah smiled and shook her head as she opened the door. Three young men were outside, holding a box of donuts. "Come on in, boys. The girls are still asleep."

"Thanks, Hannah," said Ned. "We'll wake them up for you."

Ned, Dave, and Burt were students at Emerson College. They knew their girlfriends had been studying and thought it would be fun to surprise them.

Dave wandered over to Bess. Burt whispered to Ned, "5 bucks says she decks him for waking her up."

"No way. I don't make bets I know I have no chance of winning." Ned smirked. He knew Bess well enough to know that she didn't like to be woken up.

Ned spotted Nancy buried in a pile of blankets on the couch. He snuck up to where she was, prepared to scare her awake when an arm flew out at him. A familiar voice, "Not today, Nickerson."

Ned laughed. He knew Nancy was impossible to scare, but he still liked to try anyway. He saw it as revenge for the times she managed to scare him. "We brought breakfast, sweetie."

Nancy popped out from under her nest of blankets to hug her boyfriend. "I hope Dave didn't try to wake Bess..." A loud yell broke through, interrupting what Nancy was about to say. She winced. "He really should know better by now."

Bess rushed passed Nancy and Ned and flew up the stairs.

"She didn't have to hit so hard!" Dave groaned.

"She actually hit you? Good thing you didn't bet Ned." Burt smiled.

"Bess didn't hit me herself," said Dave, "she threw a really hard pillow at me."

"Serves you right!" Bess yelled from upstairs.

"Don't worry. She'll be back down here picture perfect in another 5 minutes," said George as she went for a donut.

"So how did studying go last night?" Ned asked.

"About the same as always," said Nancy.  "Bess is better at Spanish than she thinks. I think another few hours of studying for chem and I'll be good."

"Same here," said George. "Mr. Erikson always has brutal tests."

Just then, Bess made her way back down to the group and grabbed a donut out of the box. "Thanks for breakfast, but next time give us a little warning."

"We tried," Dave muttered. "Four times!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy saw something flash. She turned to see the message light on her phone blinking. Nancy looked and saw that she had missed a message from Deirdre Shannon.

As the others kept talking, Nancy listened to the voice mail.

"Nancy, it's me. Deirdre. I know you're not exactly president of my fan club but listen. I need your help. Someone really important to me is in danger. Things are going from bad to worse. People are even saying she's some kind of...witch. Nancy, if you don't help me, I don't think she's going to make it out of this alive."

By the end of the message, Deirdre sounded close to tears. Nancy sighed. "Sounds like I've got another mystery on my hands."

"Again? Didn't you just come back from one in Iceland?" George asked.

"Yeah, it's from Deirdre. Listen to this." Nancy replayed the message for the group.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever heard her sound upset like that," said Ned. "Maybe you better call her back."

"Good idea. I'll be right back." Nancy's phone beeped. "Oh hang on, I've got a text from her."

Did you get my message? There is a flight to Salem in 5 hours that we can catch.

"Looks like I'm headed to Massachusetts...in 5 hours. Sorry everyone, guess I have to go pack."

"Need some help?" Bess asked.

"Yeah you don't want to forget to bring money...again." said George.

"Good point. Sorry boys, we'll pick this up another time."

Ned kissed Nancy and gave her a quick hug. He then snagged a donut and gave her another kiss. "For the road. I love you. Let me know if you need any help."

Nancy smiled. "Of course and I love you too!"

The girls showed the boys to the door and then headed to Nancy's room to get ready.

"You'd think with all of the cases you take, you would have your bags packed at all times." said Bess as she flopped onto Nancy's bed.

"I can't do that. I never know where I am going ahead of time. I like to make sure I only bring what I need. I don't want to be without a coat if it's cold or have to lug it around if it's hot."

"Good point." Bess rolled around to face Nancy's closet. "Seriously Nancy, you need to go shopping. Your wardrobe could use an update."

Nancy had never been one to care about shopping, however, she could see Bess's point. She had some things in her closet that were either falling apart, more than 5 years old or both. "We can go when I get back. I could use a girls' night."

"That is if you don't get pulled away on a case right when you get back," Bess said. Nancy had only gotten back from Iceland a week ago.

"She can't help when mysteries happen," said George. "But we can be ready to help out. Nancy, have you updated your phone with those apps I told you about? I have another for you to test out."

"It's updated, but I'm not sure there's space for anything else. There's a lot right now as there is." George had begun designing apps that have proved helpful in Nancy's cases. Her favorite was a translator that Nancy could speak into and have it accurately translate what she said into over 100 languages. She could also take pictures of something in a different language and the app would translate it. No more having to carry multiple language dictionaries.

"It won't take up much. It's a new cloud app to back up your pictures and files. It also has a notebook that you can use to keep track of what you find."

"I'm not so sure about the notebook, but the cloud could come in handy." Nancy tossed George her phone.

Bess was rummaging through Nancy's closet. Clothes were flying onto the bed in a heap. Nancy pulled out her trusty suitcase and her backpack. Bess turned to Nancy and said, "Nancy how old is that suitcase?"

"Not sure. It was my mom's."

"Wow, it has really held up over the years. Do you have a necklace that goes with this?" Bess held up a white turtleneck sweater.

"Check the jewelry box on my dresser." Nancy turned towards her desk and began adding items to her backpack. She added her laptop, charger and spare battery packs, a notebook, a few pens, lock picking kit, and a novel. Nancy always brought a book with her for the flight.

"Alright, Nancy. You're all set." George passed the phone to Nancy. "Holey cow, Bess, take it easy."

Nancy's bed was completely covered in clothes. "I just want her to be ready."

"I don't think she'll need those high heels...or that dress."

"You never know. What if Nancy needs a disguise?"

Nancy smiled and shook her head. "George has a point. Let's narrow this down a bit."

Half an hour later, Nancy was on her way to O'Hare airport. The trio managed to get everything packed up, but Nancy had a small worry that she was forgetting something important. "I don't know what I am worried about. If there really is anything I need, I can get it in Salem." she thought. "This whole trip is a little weird though. Of all the people she could call, Deirdre calls me. She can't stand me and I'm not really her biggest fan either. There must be more to this case than she said on the phone." Nany sighed. Time would tell soon enough why Deirdre called her.

Deirdre reached the gate and found a spot to wait for Nancy. She had gotten a text from Nancy saying that she was in. Deirdre left Nancy's ticket at the check-in counter. "Where is she?" Deirdre muttered.

Moments later, a familiar redhead popped out from among a crowd of people and made her way to where Deirdre was sitting. The usual sting of irritation that hit Deirdre whenever Nancy was around came and went. She had to try to be nice since she needed Nancy's help. She swallowed. "Thanks for coming, Nancy."

"You're welcome. Hope I can help." Nancy said. There was a palpable tension between the two girls. "So…what's going on? Who is your friend and what happened to her?"

"it's my friend Mei. Her dad and my dad were friends in college, so we grew up seeing each other every time we'd visit. We didn't like each other at first, but we grew on each other over the years. She has albinism, so she kind of makes some people nervous. She got accused of burning down this old, historic house in town and almost hurting the judge's kid. Mei told me she was home but no one else believes her. The building was locked up but people are saying she kidnapped the boy and used magic to get in the house. It's all so horrible."

Nancy was going through her backpack while Deirdre was talking. She pulled out a spiral notebook. "Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened. I'll take notes so I can reference them later."

Deirdre retold Nancy everything Mei had said. Once Deirdre finished, Nancy skimmed over her notes to make sure everything was in order and then packed in away again. "I'm going to grab something to eat for the flight. You are welcome to join me or stay here."

"What, you've already solved the mystery? That quickly? Then tell me, who is framing Mei?"

Nancy smirked. "I'm not that good. I'm hungry and I'd like something a bit more substantial than a bag of peanuts. Are you coming?"

"Fine."

The two girls got up and began their hunt for food. They walked into a nearby store to stock up on food for the flight. A few minutes later, they paid and got in line to board the flight. In a few hours, they would begin one of the most dangerous mysteries Nancy has ever had.

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve added to the story. I have been dealing with anxiety issues and it’s hard to write all of the time :/

[espanakatie-blog]

3 marzo

Okay, so now it’s been a really really long time since I’ve written. Sorry about that. In my defense, I wasn’t doing anything that new or exciting until Italy this past weekend. And my converter didn’t work in Italy so my laptop was muerto (dead). Since nothing of superb interest has happened since my last writing and Italy, I’ll just write about Italy (my very first solo trip!)

Day 1: Sevilla > Bologna

I got to the airport early because in America that’s what you do for international flights. Show up even earlier than normal. But I went to check in and the woman behind the counter (not so) nicely told me the Bologna flight wasn’t open yet so I should sit and wait off to the side. So I did, where I listened another (not so) nice couple bicker. Eventually I got to check in behind what I’m 95% certain was a sugar daddy/sugar baby situation. For a sugar daddy he was pretty cheap, flying Ryanair and all. In any case, I checked in and got through security to find that they wouldn’t announce where my gate was until about 40-45 minutes before take-off. This is a quality I’ve found happens more often than I realized and becomes particularly annoying for someone accustomed to waiting at their gate. All is fine though, I made it on time and got my seat.

While I was waiting for my flight, however, I was starting to wonder if I was going to regret traveling by myself. I was sitting next to a group of girls flying to Bologna as a group, excited for their girls’ weekend. I was pondering how comfortable I was really going to be alone for the weekend. Luckily, I finished a book right before going to Bologna called “What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding” by Kristin Newman. It’s a memoir about all her travel stories, group trips and alone, while all her friends were settling down and having kids. This book played a much larger role in my psyche during this trip than I expected. On a vacation to Russia with a friend, Newman describes being the only person at the dinner table unable to speak Russian. She felt out of place, but learned how important it was to be okay with just your own thoughts. I remembered this and tried my best to channel Kristin Newman. So, I got on the plane and went to Bologna.

Day 2: Bologna

I soon discovered that my converter didn’t work in Italy. So, I spent the first part of my morning walking around Bologna in hopes of coming across a store that would have converters (and a new phone charger because mine so conveniently broke while trying to charge my phone from what was left of my laptop battery!). It was a bit chilly (but manageable) in Bologna that day. While I was comfortable in a light cardigan, Italians were piled in layers upon layers and scarves and looked at me like I was crazy. I think they’re the crazy ones. Just yesterday I walked to the store by my apartment without a coat, while a Spanish woman wore a winter parka. Whatever your body is adjusted to, I suppose.

Anyway, my first day was nice but slightly boring as I bought lunch and went back to my hostel to eat it. I overestimated the amount of English speaking there would be in my hostel. As English is the lingua franca, I assumed people would speak it with each other in the hostel. While it would make an appearance sometimes, most people spoke Italian with each other while I was there. So I ate my lunch by myself and took a siesta because I am very adjusted to Spanish hours. This would come to bite me in the butt when it came to dinner. I stopped getting hungry for dinner before 8:30 PM, but a lot of restaurants in Bologna closed around 9. I ended up eating some middle eastern food because that’s how I am as a person. Goes to Italy, land of some of the greatest food in this world, and ate some of the greatest food in the world from somewhere else.

Now, I have been sick for quite some time now. But I had improved and just had a slight cough. However, in Bologna I conveniently got my deep, guttural cough again. It was worse when I was lying in bed and I think it’s because of the position I was in. Walking around I wouldn’t even notice that I had a cough because it wasn’t that often. I could tell the people sharing the room with me weren’t thrilled with my coughing but what can you do? I tried my best to suppress it, I took meds, I drank a lot of water, and still I was coughing. Oh, and my left ear was completely plugged up.

Day 3: Bologna

I decided to do the things you’re supposed to do in Bologna because the weather was better, I had a charged phone, and I was ready for what the day would bring me. I started by going to the tower in Bologna, to get the best view overlooking all of Bologna. I underestimated quite how tall it would be. I’m glad that this tour was hard for everyone, and I wasn’t just another out of shape American. And because the tower was made when people were much smaller, SOME STAIRS WERE EXTREMELY SMALL. I climbed all 29 stories (in 5-7 minutes might I add) to get an incredible view of Bologna. The climb was well worth it, but I would recommend bringing a bottle of water. After the tower I got one of the best slices of pizza I’ve ever had in my life in a nearby shop. It was gigantic and just two euros. I sat on the curb of the street and tried to take in that I was in Italy, by myself, eating a slice of pizza, and just had the most incredible view of Bologna. I was getting up to start finding the hidden canal views in Bologna when I was approached by a man who wanted me to buy him food. I could barely hear him and started to wish I knew any obscure language so I could’ve pretended to not understand him. Or that I was a man. Because men don’t deal with the creepy old men. I told him I had to go and used the best RBF that I have to seem more unapproachable to anyone else who would try to do the same.

Anyway, I started to look for the little canal views and found a few. My favorite is this little window in the street that has a view of the canal and some houses built along the sides. I also tried to do things in the old Jewish ghetto, but everything was closed. By the time I got to the Jewish museum I realized it was a Saturday (you know, the holy Sabbath day) and nothing was going to be open in the old Jewish ghetto.

I came back for another siesta and walked around Bologna and I settled for a bowl of spaghetti alla carbonara and I couldn’t even finish it. I can’t tell if it was because it was so rich or because the last time I got spaghetti alla carbonara I had awful food poisoning and threw up 14 times throughout the night :-). Luckily this time, I kept everything down.

Day 4: Bologna > Venice

I bought a train ticket to Venice the night before and set an alarm for 7 AM so I could walk to the train station (about a 25 minute walk) with plenty of time to eat breakfast and get ready. I don’t know if I slept through my alarm because of my plugged ear or if I was so tired that I don’t remember turning it off, but I didn’t wake up on times. I think my train was at 9:00, and I woke up at 8:35. Which was the time I needed to leave the hostel to just (barely) make it on time for the train. So I hopped out of bed, changed as fast as I could, grabbed my stuff and ran out the door. I basically sped walk/ran to the train station and made it with 2 minutes to spare before the train left. The perfectly manicured Europeans didn’t seem to thrilled with my makeup-less face and unbrushed hair. I did my makeup on the train, where someone sitting next to me asked if I have bronchitis. I think. He said something like bronchitia. I told him I don’t speak Italian (in English, lol). He, his wife, and the person next to me went on to say something in Italian and then laugh. Love it. I now have to try to make an appointment for the doctor here because I may or may not have acute bronchitis.

I got to Venice and entered a state of absolute euphoria. I have wanted to go to Venice since before I can remember, and I was finally there. I ate a lot of dessert that day too, which definitely helped. After finding out a gondola ride would cost me 80 euros, I was taken aback a little. But during lunch, I remembered that Kristin Newman says to always do the thing you’re supposed to do in the place you’re supposed to do it. That little piece of encouragement reminded me that my fantasy of being in Venice ALWAYS included a gondola ride, and I was gonna ride in a gondola even if it killed me. I went to the nearby gondola stop and got my own private gondola ride. My gondola person (driver? captain? what do you call these people?) told me a few facts about Venice in a thick Italian accent that I did not always understand, but I just nodded and gave a few “oohs” and “ahhs.” I am sure I am in at least 80 photos from my one ride, as every tourist took a picture of this gondola going down the canal. At one bridge, we came across my gondola person’s friend where they said something, and then his friend said hello to me and blew me a kiss. Again, I awkwardly wished I was a man because he was probably in his thirties. This kind of stuff only happens to me outside of America. I’m starting to question if foreigners are just that much more vocal or if American boys don’t appreciate the absolute beauty that I am (lol, I can sometimes be modest...ish).

I got off the gondola ride and walked around a little more and got gelato so I could sit on the edge of the canal in peace and soak in all that was Venice. I was in a more quiet part of Venice and I was feeling such bliss. It was carnaval in Venice and it was PACKED. Some of the main bridges took three to five minutes to cross because there were SOOOO many people. I would really love to come back when there are less people and take a more detailed, historical tour of Venice. But, I was content just buying a cookie and sitting by the edge of the canal watching gondolas go by. I know now you’re thinking, “Katie, that’s a lot of pasta, pizza, and dessert you’re eating. How did you manage?” Let me just tell you there are quite a lot more stairs than I had anticipated basically everywhere I went in Italy. I walked about 10 miles everyday because I didn’t take public transportation anywhere (except the trains between cities) and I think it’s fine and I encourage you to do the same. Indulge in all the beautiful Italian carbs because you’ll be walking everywhere anyway.

Before I left I grabbed a latte from a cafe and people watched by the canal. Kristin Newman talks about how she longed to be the girl who could sit alone in a cafe at Paris and enjoyed it. She did, and I’m glad she wrote about it because it inspired me to be that same girl, just in Venice.

Now this is when I discovered just how annoying the whole delayed announcement of where the gates/platforms is. They announced where the train would be not too much before the train was scheduled to leave, and people were RUNNING. It was HOARDS of people running toward the train. I didn’t think much of it because I was like “I don’t need any specific seat, I’ll be fine” and luckily got a seat. However, there were people standing in the aisle for the two hour train ride back to Bologna. I didn’t realize how packed the train was, and that’s why people were running.

When I got back to Bologna it was after 9 PM and the only thing that was open was an American diner by my hostel. I went in and soon discovered they had several hot sauces, that when combined, was HEAVEN. FINALLY SOME SPICE IN MY LIFE. It was magical, it was beautiful, and my life had changed for the better.

Day 5: Bologna > San Marino (?)

I woke up and decided I wanted to go to the Republic of San Marino. Unbeknownst to me, the Republic of San Marino and San Marino are not synonymous. I bought train tickets to get to what I thought was the Republic of San Marino. It would take 2 train changes to get there, and I thought I got it down. I missed my second train though, because the platform was “pf” which was not a real place? So I went to customer service to get a new train ticket and they didn’t say anything about the fact that the Republic of San Marino and San Marino are different, leaving me to not think anything was wrong. On my second train, the conductor scanned my ticket and asked “You are trying to go to the Republic of San Marino?” and I said “yes.” He chuckled and the rest of the conversation went like this:

Conductor: You’re on the wrong train

Me: I’m going to get off at the end of the Bassano del Grappa stop and from there would go to San Marino

Conductor: No no, the Republic of San Marino doesn’t have a train station. That San Marino is a small town of about 50 houses and nothing else. I don’t think you want to go there

Me: Oh

Conductor: A lot of tourists make this mistake

Me: So what should I do?

Conductor: To go to the Republic of San Marino, you need to go back to Padova, get a train to Bologna and from there you can take a train and then a bus to the Republic. Where are you staying in Italy?

Me: Bologna...

Conductor: [chuckles]

Me: Yeah...

Conductor: What did you want to do in the Republic of San Marino?

Me: Just walk around, see what it’s like

Conductor: By the time you get there, it’ll be 5-6 PM. You can get off at Bassano del Grappa, the last stop of this train. It’s a very nice town.

Me: Okay, I’ll do that instead then. Thank you.

So, that is how I bought a ticket to the wrong San Marino but ended up in Bassano del Grappa. This was the best thing I could’ve done for myself. I fell in love with Bassano del Grappa. I felt such a euphoric bliss in Bassano del Grappa, even more than I had felt in Venice. The best part about this mix up was that I got to decide on a whim to see Bassano del Grappa. I didn’t have to check in with anyone to see what they wanted to do, I did whatever I wanted to do when I got there, and no one was complaining. I walked past a cafe in Bassano del Grappa, and just walked in! There was no “do you want to eat here? Do you want to keep looking?” I just chose what I wanted. I spent an unnecessary amount of time by the river skipping rocks and no one could get annoyed with me for being happiest by the water. I walked wherever I wanted, bought tickets to whatever museums I thought were interesting, and I was happy to just walk around and see what Bassano del Grappa had to offer. I already started planning a trip back in my head, maybe with some family. I know where I want to stay, for how long, and what I want to do. Bassano del Grappa was hands down the best mistake I made and my favorite part of the whole trip. And there were no creepy men!

Day 6: Bologna

It was my last day in Bologna, and I tried to do things in the old Jewish ghetto but it started to rain and I didn’t want to have sopping wet stuff in my bags so I hung out in my hostel. I got another gigantic slice of pizza for two euros and was extremely happy about it. I ate one last cannoli in the Bologna airport and headed home.

I’m so glad I had this adventure alone. I honestly came back feeling more confident, even with it being just a couple days. I learned in those few days how to be comfortable with just the company of myself and my own thoughts. I’m capable of solo travel and I owe a big thank you to Kristin Newman for being an idol for how to do it. And a thank you to my mom for buying to book for me. And everyone who gave me money for travel for making this trip financially possible.

[ecotone99]

[HR] Weekend Alone

(I got the idea for this from a writing prompt that said “Start a story with a sentence and then end it with the same sentence but in a completely different tone.” I also wasn’t sure if horror was exactly right, but I think so... here we are.)

I knelt to the tub and slid my hand into the warmth, sighing, utterly content. I needed this. It had been such a long night at the hospital; being head of trauma had its perks, but last night was not a shining example. As I lowered my stiff, aching body into the hot bubbles, I could practically feel the stress melt off me. Legs relaxed and the little girl who swallowed a battery evaporated from my brain. My back relaxed into the lavender soak and the old woman who fell on the stairs breaking most of the bones on her left side bounded out the doors in my head. The pregnant woman who had gone into labor at her son’s band concert washed away with my hands, and the young man that had leaped from a building on a frat dare slipped out of my thoughts as I completely submerged myself. I let the bath jets kick on, creating a perpetual loop of bubbles. And hour later and I sat toweling my hair off at the foot of our bed. “Want to talk about it?” Liam asked as he ran his sturdy hands down my tense shoulders. Do I? I wondered to myself. A pause. Yes. Turning to look at him, I remembered a laundry list of reasons I love him. Deep green eyes that are always warm, how he never asks how work was because it’s never good, the way he never falters even when I’m at my worst… I could go on forever. “It was rough…” Liam nodded, solemnly. “I’ve let most of it go, but…” I trailed off, glancing behind him. He glanced back, following my gaze to the dresser mirror. “What’s wrong?” Concern seeped into his voice, hanging heavily in the air. “It’s just… been a long night.” I smiled half-heartedly. “Thought I saw something in the mirror.” I proceeded to tell Liam about the last patient I’d seen last night. He was brought in just after midnight. The kid was only 12. His father had found him in their attic covered in carvings — pentagrams, scratches, and other markings no one recognized were etched into his exposed skin and all over his back. Dad claimed the boy had gone to bed at 9. Dad had stayed up working and was headed to sleep when he heard deep chuckling and small whimpering from the closed attic. Their house had a pull-down ladders — no way the four-foot-nothing child had opened it on his own. But dad had a feeling and went to check his son’s room to be safe. It was good he did. When the boy got to the hospital, his temperature was problematically low and he’d gone slightly delirious with pain, probably exhausted too. He kept addressing someone in the corners of the rooms, occasionally screaming to get out, sometimes whispering to come closer. We’d stabilized him though. He was given painkillers and sleeping medicine then his wounds were stitched, dressed, and meticulously watched by the nurses. He would be fine, but he’d have the scars forever. Hospital policy in these cases is pretty clear; social services was called, police were brought in to interview the father who hadn’t even his son since they arrived, and hospital security posted a guard at the room door at all times until we heard otherwise from the authorities. It almost felt cruel. My gut told me this wasn’t child abuse, but that wasn’t my job to determine. Liam, of course, listened intently. He asked some questions, but ultimately let me get the whole story off my chest. “Is that everything?” he asked cautiously. “You still seem a little frazzled.” I pondered for a minute. Was that all? What am I not saying? Then it hit me. “The boy,” I said, “he coughed up blood all over my face.” Why hadn’t I remembered that? Liam pulled back a fraction of an inch. “It’s why we ended up sedating him.” “Are you okay?” “Of course.” I waved the questions off. “Full blood panel on both of us immediately following. I’m on mandatory 72 hour leave while samples culture, but it’s not like he had ebola.” I smiled, full and vibrant this time. “It’s a mini vacation.” “I’m sorry I’ll miss most of it then,” he laughed, pulling me to lay normally on the bed. “This meeting is what I would have at the bottom of my list of shit-I-could-do-this-weekend.” He wrapped his arms around me and I let my head hit the pillow, sleep taking me as I whispered how much I loved my husband. When I woke up, I was alone. The curtains were drawn, but some of the midday light peaked through. There was a folded piece of paper on the nightstand. Off to Chicago. I’ll call when I land at O’Hare. Dinner has been ordered and I’ll see you tomorrow night. Love, Liam I don’t know what I did to deserve that man, but I will forever be thankful for him. I got up, started coffee, took a quick wake up shower, poured coffee, and sat down in the living room. I grabbed my controller and powered everything up. Sipping my coffee, I watched the procession of startup logos -- Samsung, PS4, PS4 warnings, pentagram, PS4 startup menu -- wait. I blinked. Pentagram?? Power down everything. Wait a minute. Power up TV. Normal. Make sure input is correct. Power on PS4. Logo. Warnings. Startup menu. No pentagram. Probably just still waking up. Everything is fine. I downed my first cup of coffee and poured a second. For a few hours, I played video games and forgot all the work stress and the pentagram until a sharp knock at the door brought me back to reality. It was 6:30pm. The sunlight had all but disappeared. A second knock. I scrambled up and managed to open the front door before a third knock came. Pizza. Liam knew just what to do to cheer me up. “Tip is already included,” the delivery girl I’d seen a few times before said. She handed me three boxes - one pizza and two small long ones. “You guys enjoy.” “Just me tonight,” I said smiling. “Have a good night.” I handed her another $5. She looked confused, glancing behind me then towards her car then back to me. She smiled hesitantly but said good night and left. I raised an eyebrow. She must have expected Liam because his name was on the receipt. Closing the door, I headed back to the living room and… I backtracked to the hallway mirror. Was that someone walking behind me as I crossed in front of it just now? I walked back to the front door, then back to the living room, watching the reflection as I went. No. Must have been the shadow behind me that caught my eye. As I sat back down, I grabbed my phone. I hadn’t heard from Liam yet, but I know his company often gets flights with long layovers to save money. Liam probably checked the bag with his charger. What was I going to do with him? I chuckled. I tried calling anyway. “You’ve reached Liam. Please leave your message here and I’ll r̵etu̡r̨n҉ y̶ou̖̫͞r̘͎ ̸̹c̵a̤̥̲̹̝̫l̥̫l̹̺̫̱̱̫̺̀ a̛̪̩͘s̫͇͚̤͘ ̢̗̻̱̥͕̣s͏̟̘̻o̶͍̮̫̮͎̻̺o̸̗͓̺̖͡ń̖̹̠̥̞̣̬̝͔ ͖͇̞̠̘̯͈͢a̶̹̪̦̲̠̞s̥͙̗͇͈̖̩ ̢͚̯͢I̷̡̖̻͉͍̹̜̜̤͖ ̸̶͉͚̟͉̞̻͉͈͘c̡̖̣͍͜a̷̯͇͇͈̩̺n̢͍̖̯̳̟̯̞̲̱.̨̳͓̦͔͖̦̟̀͘ ̸̛҉̬͔͓̞̼T҉̶̗͕͕̙h͉̤̟̭̫̯a̷̶͇̰n̳̗̼̯̩̰̻͚͞k̡͎ͅs̴̥͕͎̞̻͟͝.͎̜͙̪̞̟̝” ̫̫̟ The audio got weird. Words scratched apart and jumbled, then the call disconnected. Did he power on his phone? I redialed. “You’ve reached Liam. Please leave your message here and I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Thanks.” Beep. I hung up. Definitely not on. I decided to message him on Facebook. If his laptop was connected, he’d see me on and maybe we could chat. After sending him a short thank you with a picture of my pizza, I dug in and turned on a movie. Rom-com, of course. I could use a- was that one of the symbols from the kid’s arm? Just now? On my rom-com opening credits? I put down my pizza and skipped back. Starring…. Nothing. No weird symbols. Just actors and actresses and directors. I blinked a few times, rewound one more time, then slowly went back to eating dinner. Probably time for real sleep after this. I ended up dozing after dinner. I woke up to the final swell of the orchestra as the couple said “I do” and kissed. Camera panned up to the perfect sky, and credits started to roll. On my phone, I had two notifications from Facebook Messenger. Liam: Hey you. Glad pizza is good. I’m on layover in Denver. Charger is in my suitcase and my phone died. :( I’ll call from hotel. Love you.

Liam:⛧ H̷̞̞̥̬̘͉͍̘̞̥̻͐ͧ̌ͩͦ̃ͬ̀͢e͒ͦ̋ͮͩ̄͐̌̽̌́҉̵͖͉̥͈̰̭͈̥̥͖̯̣͇͕ ̵̼͚̲̻͇͓͕̘͈̙̜̱̠̦̳͎ͥ͒̒̅́̋̏͂̐̀ͫ́ͪͯ̈̅͡ͅi͕̩̮̪̝̝͎ͦ͗͛ͮ̂ͨͥͩ̄̀s̛̛̭̟͕̤͔͋̇͛̈́ͅ ̨̆ͦͩ̿̃ͨ̐̎̓̈ͭ́̅ͧ̉͋̚̚͝҉̸̪̩̹̟̙̝͍͘hͨͪ͌͛͂͗͂̂ͯ͋ͨ̇̓̇̒̆҉҉̰̫̥̪̻̲̦̙͟ͅe̎̊̊̉̈ͦ͒̂͟͠͠҉̯̬̻͇͉̹͚̱̤͇͍̗͖̠̟ͅr̵̢͓̖̠̼̘̦̞͙̹̻̬̭͎̗͙̻̲̮ͥ̎̂̈ͪͫ̀ͤ̽̄̈ͤͨ̃͒ͯ͂̀̚͡ͅē̛̦͎̗̖̠̊ͩͤ͐̆̐̑̈́͒̎̾̀͘̕ ̸̙̳̪̦̼̳̜̰̩̰̩̘̮̞͍͎̈ͬ̈́̀͗ͫͨ̕͟͢͠w̌͂̀ͬ͌̑͐̽ͮͯ̄̎̆̚҉̠̹̜̻̭̀̀i̧̾ͬ̂̊̆ͩͦͭ͆҉͏͔͙̖̖̥̙̫̀ţ̶̛̝͚̺͓̘̠̌̏͑̎ͧ̌̑͒ͦ͒ͥ̀͆͌ͫͅḩ̤̣̠͇̿ͫͩͭ̽̋͋ͭ͋͛͘͘͡ ̘͙̘̦̫̣̠̥ͤ́ͪ͆́͐͌ͩ̅͑͑ͤ̌̇̕y̡̙͍̠̝̰̪̻̫̥͎̗̹̯̟͇̥̦̓ͧ̓ͬ̓̓ͩ͗ͯ̀̚͝͞͠ͅò̶͇͎̝̟͙̗̰͖͚͙͇̱̮̟̀ͫͥ̋̿̉̊̃ͯ̑̏̕̕͟ͅų̷̩͕̬̩̳̩͇͓̘̳̻̙͎̄̃̅ͭ̐̇ͪ̀̒ͪͤ̿̅̐̈́̇͠.̈ͫ̒̓̈́́ͨ̅͊ͣ̈ͥ͏̕͜҉̢̥̟̤̙̻̰͎͚͚̞̻͉̙̫̦̭ ⛧

The second message had two pentagrams surrounding dozens of incomprehensible words and symbols. I blinked. They were still there. I took a screenshot, closed the app, and reopened the messages. The symbols and gibberish had changed to real words.

Liam: ♡ Hope you enjoy your movie and alone time. ♡ Rubbing my eyes, I sighed. Time for bed. I turned everything off and headed upstairs, ignoring the chuckling and shadow that crept behind me in any mirrors I passed. As I laid down, my phone started to buzz. I sat back up. A local number was calling me. Why so late? It was almost 9pm. I silenced the ringer. If it was important, they’d leave a message. That night was restless. I kept moving and dreaming of a shadow behind me. I dreamt of living in my video game, all stealth and assassin. I dreamt of killing someone. I woke up with a start. I had a voicemail from last night. It was 3:30am. There was a message in my email from the hospital telling me the boy with the cuts had died. “Don’t laugh, it’s rude,” I told the shadow in the mirror. I listened to the voicemail as the shadow and I walked into the bathroom. “Hi, this is Lisa from Liam’s office. Liam never made it to the airport and his phone goes straight to voicemail. You’re his emergency contact, so we just wanted to check and make sure he’s alright. Thanks!” Liam’s green eyes stared up at me from the bathtub, no longer vibrant and full of life. A huge gaping wound glistened on his neck. My shadow friend nodded with approval as I set our phones on the sink counter. I knelt to the tub and slipped my hand into the warmth, sighing, utterly content.

submitted by /u/BardInTheStreets [link] [comments] via Blogger http://bit.ly/2Wq5shI

[thelifeofkaiblog]

Christmas in Paris....

•*•*• 30th December 2017 •*•*•

23rd December

Our flight was at 7am, so we arrived at the airport two hours early. It took that whole time, which was grating, but it had to be done. When we had to get a train from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, it was  €20.60 for the two of us, which isn’t that expensive, but it had to be in change, which we weren’t expecting. I was happy to see tram stops named after Ella Fitzgerald and Rosa Parks!

We stayed in Hotel Home Moderne, which was lovely. The bedroom and bathroom were a good size, but the shower cubicle was tiny. The  €12 per person breakfast, which I’d paid for in advance, was just continental (pastries, bread, cereal, cheese, coffee, etc.) and an omelette was the only cooked option, being  €5 extra. It was okay, but I’d hoped for a little more variety on the cooked side, as a “cheese and ham” omelette was a “cheese omelette with cold ham underneath it”. The reception team were always friendly and helpful, so that was nice.

We had planned to go to Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (then quick visit round Notre Dame) after leaving our suitcase at the hotel, but an hour delay with our flight and massive queue for train tickets at the airport meant we didn’t have time. So, we skipped ahead to the Louvre, after finding an SD memory card for the camera (I’d forgotten it and realised when we were on the way to the airport!). 

We got into the Louvre for free because we are “18-25 year old residents of the European Economic Area (EU, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein)” and had the ID to prove it. Cameras where allowed, which surprised me a little. We saw the Mona Lisa through a crowd ;) The architecture was incredible and just seeing the different exhibits was awesome.

We ate in a tiny restaurant called L’Avant Premiere. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but the food was good and the staff were friendly.  €50 covered two dinners, desserts and drinks. Squish was rather surprised when there was only a urinal in the men’s room :P no pooping allowed ;)

Unfortunately, upon getting back to the hotel, we realised that only one of our Euro plug adaptors was the right type, so a big issue over the trip was sharing it. My charger was temperamental anyway, unfortunately, so my phone would be plugged in for hours and either only go up a little (the electrical flow was unreliable) or go down! Squish had to charge his phone and vape, so it was quite stressful to work out a time share with the adaptor, giving us both enough charge on things.

24th December (Christmas Eve!)

We had rough travel routes planned, so we didn’t have to “waste” time deciding on the day, so we headed to the Arc de Triomphe to get cool pictures. We only stayed there for about 30 - 45 minutes, as we just wanted to walk around it, see it up close and then go to the Eiffel Tower. I bought a couple of postcards at a small shed-like stall there. We saw our first ever double-decker train during our stay in Paris and I’m fairly sure it was the one that took us to AdT.

After we finished there, we went to the Eiffel Tower. It cost approximately  €38 for two tickets to walk up the 669 steps(!) and then get a lift to the summit, where you can’t go by stairs. We shared a large doughnut on the first floor and got tap water, as the bottled drinks were  €5 each! We thought it was funny that the gift shop sold “want to see the tower?” condoms next to the pens, magnets, keyrings, etc. :P They did have a couple of cool things to buy, but I was worried about overspending early - not in terms of running out of money, but on buying gifts that were fairly pricey on our second day, then finding something I preferred elsewhere. I do wish I’d bought one of the mugs, though.

My knees struggled with the steps on the way up, but I’m glad we walked it - it was an achievement for both of us. 669 STEPS, PEOPLE! :P Actually kind of proud of myself :)

Once we finished at the Eiffel Tower, it was about 4pm. The last river cruise departure (from the Eiffel Tower) was at 5:30pm. We were quite hungry, but we didn’t want to miss the pre-booked Bateaux Parisien river cruise and do it another day, so we decided to go on the 4:30 one. When we were about to go to the ticket booth, I realised that our printed tickets were in the hotel safe and we’d forgotten to put them in the bag. Luckily, Squish remembered to check the email for electronic barcodes. It worked and we waited for the next cruise. 

When planning this, we’d wondered whether to do it in the daylight or night time, but we ended up getting about half of each, as the cruise was an hour and it got dark midway through. We sat on the top deck, to take pictures. Unfortunately, our camera batteries died on the first day, as they’d been in there a while. The spare set drained extremely quickly, though, so we had to turn it off after every picture.

As a side note, it was probably on this day that we realised just how many people wandered the trains for money and the likelihood of being ambushed by the crazy number of street sellers.

25th December (Christmas Day!)

We weren’t sure what would be open on Christmas Day, so I booked Disneyland Paris. Squish was more into going than I was, but it sounded like a good idea, after he suggested it months ago. I’d kept the secret for a few months. A wonderful moment happened the night before, but he didn’t remember.

I’ll get the negative out the way first; it wasn’t what we’d expected, with the hype surrounding it. We thought there would be more rides for teens/adults to enjoy and we’d thought the parks itself would be bigger. Anyway, the overall atmosphere was amazing and magical, as there were Christmas decorations all over the park and the design of the buildings are amazing. Hyperspace Mountain (Star Wars) was the best ride we went on.

In terms of souvenirs, most shops had more or less the same items in them, but it was still fun to look in them all. For Christmas prezzies, I bought my brother an Indiana Jones top (from the ride we went on) and I bought my dad an “I hate mornings” Grumpy (the Dwarf) mug. As all of the spending money was technically “mine”, I had to encourage Squish to buy himself a Stitch mug, as a souvenir. I bought a Mickey Mouse with the Eiffel Tower keyring and an Olaf (Frozen) glass/cup.

It was worth going to for the experience, but we’d anticipated more, so Squish had asked to go early and we were there for 11 hours, when 7 - 9 would have been plenty. We did have a good time together, though. The Christmas tree light-up show was interesting :P

26th December (Boxing Day)

As we’d missed it on the first day, we headed to Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. I’d seen pictures online and it looked incredible, with a suspension bridge, Temple de la Sibylle, man-made waterfall and a lake. I knew it was going to be hilly, based on the reviews, but I didn’t realise how steep the hills were and how difficult the main attraction area would be to find. It turns out, there was a flatter entrance that was on the “doorstep” of the lake, temple, etc., but the route from our hotel hadn’t taken us that way. We got some great photos, though, and we were glad we went.

We ate at a nearby restaurant - I had a burger (no surprise) and Squish had beef bourguignon. We chose that place mostly because I was desperate for the toilet and we were both fairly hungry. We went to a large shopping centre, after that, hoping to find souvenirs for my mum and nan. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any because it was more for the locals, than tourists. That said, I did spot a cool wind chime with 7 mineral stones for the Chakras, so I bought that for our house.

27th December

We got to the airport 5 hours early, as I’d let Squish sleep in (after another lovely middle-of-the-night moment) and we’d missed the hotel breakfast. We had considered going somewhere else first, but had pretty much explored what we’d hoped to and it would have been a bit late, as check out had to be by 12pm and dragging our suitcase would have been annoying.

On our way to the airport, I slipped down several concrete steps at a train station. I had a little scrape on my left arm, my hand was sore from gripping the railing and my upper left thigh hurt. A Parisian man helped me up, which was nice. I cried on the train, though. I wasn’t comforted by Squish (he didn’t know how to?), which was disappointing, but that’s another story.

Anyway, once at the airport, we went to McDonald’s for brunch. We met a French man who was doing a lot of travelling and had just come back from Guadeloupe and waiting for a night flight to Madagascar, where he planned to stay for a long time. He was interesting to talk to, though a bit blunt and crude for what I’m used to! ;)

After eating, we were heading to the toilet when I checked the board for our flight.... CANCELLED. It felt like a dream. I hadn’t prepared for it and wasn’t sure what to do in that situation. As soon as I pointed it out to Squish, his stress levels intensified, as we both had work on 29th and didn’t want to rush a flight and his return train to uni the next day.

We went to the toilet, then to EasyJet customer service. We were one of the first to notice, with only a couple of families in front of us, asking about the same flight. It rippled through the waiting line that no flights would be going to Luton, Gatwick or Stansted for two days. EasyJet offered to pay hotel and food for the extra days, but we couldn’t miss work. I had to get a loan from my parents to pay £412 for Eurostar tickets, then spent extra to get us from London to my hometown. We got home that night, though, so it was the better plan.

Overall

There were some rocky mood swings that were hard to keep up with, but I honestly had a lovely time with someone I care deeply about. We had a great time exploring Paris and going on an adventure we’d talked about for a while. If I hadn’t booked it when I did, before everything got more complicated, I doubt we’d have ever gone on this trip, which would have been unfortunate. We deserved to go on a break and this was a pretty good one. It was most definitely worth it and I’m glad he’s expressed the same.

[lakecoded]

most harrowing airport experience survived

[foodtravelsleepstuff-blog]

Tour Review #4

Name: Indochina Discovery

Company: G Adventures

Length: 30 Days, 4 Countries (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos)

Start Location: Bangkok, Thailand

End Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Other Places: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Cần Thơ, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hoi An, Huế, Ha Long, Hanoi, Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Muang Pakbèng, Chiang Khong, Chiang Mai

Price: £1949

Overall Rating: 7

Accommodation Rating: 7. The accommodation was pretty decent in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. We stayed mostly in hotels but we also had 4 overnight trains and 2 homestays. The hotels were very basic and all apart from the one in Chiang Khong had air conditioning. The only downside about having air conditioning is a lot of the rooms smelt very damp/mouldy. Having said that, I’d rather have air conditioning than be melting every night! Some hotels were nicer than others (the hotel in Saigon where we had a jacuzzi bath and the hotel in Chiang Mai where we had huge comfy beds as examples). The Vietnam homestay, I absolutely hated. The beds were like sleeping on a sheet of cardboard. I think the bad day we had contributed to my hatred. The Laos homestay, I enjoyed. The food and company was lovely and the beds were definitely softer than Vietnam. The overnight trains were not as bad as I had been informed! But they are very cold due to air conditioning, so make sure you bring a jumper (especially if you are on top bunk)! My expectations were pretty low before I arrived, but I was definitely proved wrong.

Weather Rating: 8. The weather was basically super hot and humid in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. However, in Vietnam, we had around 5 days of cold weather! It actually dropped to 10 degrees at one point. We also had quite a bit of rain which was annoying, but it didn’t stop us from having fun! I love the hot weather, but I’m not a fan of walking around for hours in the heat (which we did a fair amount of) so I definitely suggest wearing a cap / sunglasses. You can’t really control the weather, but I had been advised March-April is a good time to visit these countries, as you don’t want to visit during rainy season.

Inclusions Rating: 7. For the price I paid for the tour, I think the inclusions rating was alright. Most breakfasts were included along with a couple of lunches and dinners. Food and drink in each country was stupidly cheap, you could have a full meal for $1. Included activities were the Angkor Wat sunrise (which was one of my top memories), a local Khmer meal at a G Adventures supported project, floating market boat trip, noodle making demonstration, Halong Bay cruise with lunch and the 2 day Mekong river slow boat. All transportation was included to each place on the tour, as well as to and from included activities, 4 overnight trains and 1 internal flight. You can’t really get better than that!

Activities / Free Time Rating: 8. The range of different activities that were available during our free time was brilliant. I’m pretty sure I did something every free day unless I was too exhausted. If there was something we wanted to do that wasn’t included on the list, our CEO would always help us to find it. For example, we wanted to visit some tigers (this activity was not on the list) but was told a lot of the places around Thailand treat them very badly, apart from one place. Our CEO arranged for those who wanted to transport too and from Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai. Although a lot of people judged me for posing with a tiger (which I may also add was NOT drugged), it was a very memorable day for me. The prices of the non-included activities were very reasonable - I spent around £500 in total for food, drinks and activities for this whole tour plus my extra days before / after and I made sure I did everything I wanted too.

Group Rating: 8. I loved my group. Everyone was super friendly. There were no arguments. Everyone looked out for each other. We all got on really well. My roomie was amazing, we always paired up with each other during activities. We all still have each other on Facebook and I have met up with quite a few people since the tour has ended, with plans to meet up with those further afield later on this year! 

Tour Leader Rating: 7. My CEO was hilarious! He was a bit of a joker and always tried to make us laugh. He was really informative about each location we were in and made sure we all had the best time, every single day. He spoke the different languages which was a big bonus and helped us when we had language barriers. He did really well keeping us entertained and even on low days, kept us all smiling for 30 days straight! 

Top 3 Memories:

1) Watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat

2) Spending the day feeding and bathing the elephants in Chiang Mai

3) Caving, kayaking and chilling at the Blue Lagoon in Vang Vieng

Top 3 Tips:

1) Try not to use hotel laundry services. I did this once and ending up paying £60 as the price was per item, rather than kilos. It smelt lovely and was ironed perfectly (even my underwear!) but as a traveller, that was such an unnecessary cost. Ask your CEO for recommended local places, you can usually get a few kilos done for a few dollars.

2) I was advised before I went by my doctor, that I would need to take malaria tablets for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. I purchased Malarone (the more expensive tablet) but when I began taking them, I found out half my group had been advised they did not need malaria tablets. My CEO also agreed suggesting they weren’t needed. I continued to take them anyway, as I didn’t want to risk it and I had already purchased them. My advice is it is always better to be safe than sorry!

3) There are 4 overnight trains and quite a few long drives on this trip. Therefore I suggest bringing an external charger allowing you to charge devices en route, just in case you run out! On several occasions, my phone died (because the battery was slightly dodgy!) and my external charger saved my life and boredom. I now bring mine whenever I travel, you never know when you may need it.

I have a past blog post that has more details on this tour, otherwise feel free to head over to the G Adventures website for more information here.

[josephlrushing]

The LG Velvet Is a Stylish Phone with a Versatile Dual-Screen Case Option

If there is one thing that 2020’s new tech has shown us, folding screens and dual screens are a popular feature that people want, even if they aren’t always affordable. Smartphones that can seemingly do it all are de rigueur, and sometimes it takes more than just a single screen to make that happen. The 5G LG Velvet starts as an agile, fashionable, and versatile Android smartphone; the addition of its optional and removable Dual Screen case provides a second display for those times when you need a phone that can do more.

I’m going to focus on the AT&T version of the LG Velvet that I received for review, but the Velvet is also available for T-Mobile and Verizon customers. Depending upon which carrier you purchase from, the LG Velvet will come in Aurora Gray, Aurora Silver, Aurora Red, and Pink White; my review unit came in Aurora Silver.

There’s not much included in the box. Inside, you’ll find the phone, a wall charger (labeled “fast charge”), a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, a quick-start guide, a booklet with info on product safety and the warranty, and a flyer with how to turn your phone into a digital wallet with LG Pay on one side and information on how to get a second year added to your limited warranty with registration and an upload of your purchase receipt on the other.

The LG Velvet measures 6.6″ tall by 2.95″ wide by 0.33″ thick, and it weighs 6.2 ounces. The phone is quite tall and very thin, with a 6.8″ FHD+ OLED Display (2460 x 1080; 395 ppi) with a 20.5:9 aspect ratio and an uninspiring 60Hz refresh rate. It fits quite well in my hand, but the Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which covers its front and back, is very slick (and a fingerprint magnet) without a case. The glass edges on the front are quite curved, and the display wraps subtely down the long sides; a metal frame holds the glass pieces in place. The overall effect is stylish and sharp. The phone is gorgeous and striking; the back glass reflects light so beautifully, as you will soon see. The Velvet isn’t a flagship phone, per se, but it looks and, for the most part, feels like one.

There’s a 4mm black border at the top and bottom of the display with a 1mm black border on each of the sides. A single front-facing 16-megapixel camera lens dips down from the upper border at the center top of the display. If the lens hole bothers you, LG allows you to set a solid black status bar that stops just below the camera display, but doing so puts an 8mm black border at the top of your screen, and it only works with LG apps anyway, so don’t bother. There is a sizeable in-screen fingerprint reader (it’s been about 95% accurate in my use), but no facial recognition. The Velvet’s display is crisp and very bright, and I had no trouble seeing the display outside. The display dims nicely at night with a Comfort View blue light filter that you can manually set; you can also schedule it to come on from sunset to sunrise, or you can set specific times for it to activate. If you prefer to run your phone in dark mode, LG offers the option to do so. You can also set the otherwise bright white screens to go into dark mode from sunrise to sunset or between specific times. LG also offers the option of an always-on display, and they have an excellent selection of clocks and cute creatures (some animated) with which to personalize.

On top of the phone, there is a microphone and a combination SIM and microSD tray. The LG Velvet comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB user memory (On the AT&T version, about 97GB of that is available to the user from the start), and it can accept up to a 2TB memory card. Because I received the AT&T version, it came preloaded with a vast selection of software, including games I won’t play, premium television services that I don’t pay for, and all of the standard AT&T apps. Some of the preloaded apps can be deleted, including HBO Max, Amazon Shopping, NBA, Bleacher Report, Pandora, Candy Crush Saga, three versions of Solitare, DirecTV, Wish, SmartNews, Gold Fish, NewsBreak, Great Big Story, Puto TV, and Coin Master. But many — like most of the AT&T apps, DC universe, CNN, GOT: Conquest, AT&T ProTech, Booking.com, The CW, and Facebook can only be disabled, meaning they are hidden from showing on the phone, but they are still using ROM. After deleting all the non-LG apps that came preloaded to see what would now be available, I had 98.78GB free.

On the left side, there are two volume buttons and a dedicated Google Assistant button.

On the right side, there is a power button.

On the bottom, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and a speaker.

On the back, there are elegantly descending lenses in this order: a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 5-megapixel ToF (time of flight) sensor followed by an LED flash. I like this simple design, as it is less obnoxious than the square and rectangular camera arrays so many device makers have embraced. The LED flash and the bottom two cameras sit flush with the Velvet’s back, and there is a ~1mm protruding ring around the top lens.

SO SHINY!!!

Let’s take a look at some sample photos; I thought the LG did a good job capturing the water lily display in San Angelo. The zoom photos can get grainy, but it’s to be expected.. (Click any picture to open a larger view slideshow.)

The LG Velvet runs Android 10 with LG’s Velvet UI skin running on top; I’ve had several updates arrive since I had the phone with the most recent being on September 24th. The UI is fine; it’s not too heavily overloaded with weird “features,” and I genuinely appreciate that swiping right on the home screen still brings up Google News (unlike the travesty forced on Samsung users to choose Samsung Daily or … nothing, for instance). However, there are still some head-scratching additions to the system; one of them is the annoying reminder not to remove the (non-removable) battery. I mean, when was the last time a smartphone’s battery was removable? Is someone out there actually still trying to do this?

One addition that Samsung Note admirers might like that the LG Velvet works with an active stylus (like this one), but because I don’t have one and my review unit didn’t include one, I wasn’t able to test that feature. It’s just as well, though; there’s no place to store a stylus, so it would just be an extra piece of gear to carry, and I am not sure how often I would use it anyway.

I like that the Velvet supports WiFi calling, as my network coverage at home can be spotty; this is one of those things that is a deal-breaker for me when considering whether a phone could be my primary or not. We don’t have 5G in my area, so I could not test how well it did or didn’t perform with that type of network.

The phone may look and feel like a flagship, but it runs the mid-to-higher-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G Mobile Platform. While the Velvet is capable and zippy enough most of the time (opening web pages, playing games, opening apps, etc.), there have been some odd stalls — like when I scroll on certain web pages or when trying to take a photo with HDR.

Battery life has been surprisingly good; even though the Velvet is a thinner phone, it has a 4,300mAh Li-Ion battery that lasts for about 8 hours of semi-solid use for me. The phone has Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0+ and wireless charging, so that’s convenient when it is time to top off.

One thing I was disappointed in was the removal of the excellent Hi-Fi Quad DAC digital-to-analog converter feature that higher-end LG phones utilize when headphones are plugged in. If you usually use Bluetooth headphones, you likely won’t even miss it. Still, I always felt it was a wired-headphone feature that set LG phones apart and that LG made the most of, especially considering that they were one of the few phone makers still including a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Worth noting is that the LG Velvet is IP68 Certified & MIL-STD 810G Passed, so it’s dust, water, and shock-resistant, which is useful for those who like to bring their phone to the pool or hot tub. This is an underrated feature until it is needed, and then it’s something to be thankful for once an accident or dunking occurs.

Like several models of higher-end LGs before it, the Velvet offers the option of adding a Dual Screen Case to give the user an extra display for enhanced multitasking. Unlike the reflective front on the LG V60’s Dual Screen Case, the front of the LG Velvet’s Dual Screen Case is matte silver with a shiny black cover display; the cover display activates when you lift the phone or press the power button, and it shows the time, date, battery status, and various notifications without having to open the case to check the phone. The Dual Screen Case adds considerable weight and bulk to the otherwise svelte Velvet. With the phone installed in the case, it will now measure 6.9″ tall by 3.4″ wide by 0.6″ thick, and it weighs 10.8 ounces; it is only slightly thinner and lighter than the V60’s Dual Screen Case, but it feels perceptively sleeker in hand.

The benefit of adding this extra bulk to your LG Velvet is, of course, the addition of a second 6.8″ OLED FHD Display. On it, you can operate completely separate apps than those you are running on the main screen. I went into heavy detail on the functions and uses of the second screen in my V60 review, but suffice it to say that it is convenient for having a separate area to chat in another app, for instance, when you are in the middle of a Zoom call. It is also handy for checking email when you are watching a video, or pulling up multiple news sources when researching something. When you’re using the Dual Screen features, you can swap screens from the main to the second screen, you can put the main screen to sleep, or you can turn off the Dual Screen completely. The Dual Screen case folds 360º so you can fold the second screen behind the main screen when you need to reply to emails or answer texts with both thumbs; it’s a bit difficult to manage actual keying when the Dual Screen case is open unless you are proficient at typing with your pointer fingers.

Even though there is no camera in the Dual Screen Case’s display, there is a matching black circle where the camera appears on the main display.

As they did on the V60, LG opted to connect the case to Velvet via a built-in USB Type-C charger on the inside of the Dual Screen Case rather than using POGO pins inside the case with an open charging port on the bottom as LG had on the V50. The Dual Screen Case does drain the battery significantly faster than when using the Velvet alone, So you need to be mindful of that when using it.

The design of the case necessitates using an included white dongle that clips onto your regular USB Type-C charging cable and then magnetically attaches to the charging pins on the bottom of the Dual Screen Case.

The optional Dual Screen Case is not necessary, but it is nice to have when you do want it. And when you don’t need it, you can remove it and carry the LG Velvet on its own

If you buy the LG Velvet outright at AT&T, it will cost $599, but if you make the 30-month AT&T installment payments at $10 per month, it is just $300, which makes it an excellent deal. For $300, you’ll get a gorgeous IP68 5G phone with a large, brilliant screen, a decent camera, a fast processor, wireless charging, and the ability to add the Dual Screen Case with a second display for $200 more. That makes the LG Velvet a compelling choice; if better multitasking is what you need from your phone, you’ll likely love it.

The LG Velvet is available from AT&T ($599.99), Verizon ($699.99), and T-Mobile ($588). The LG Dual Screen Case for the AT&T and Verizon versions of the LG Velvet is available separately for $199.99. You can learn more about the LG Velvet here. 

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: 5G support; 3.5mm headphone jack; The LG Velvet’s design is gorgeous and svelte; The screen is brilliant; You can add a microSD card to expand storage; The Dual Screen case is easy to activate, personalize, and control; Excellent battery life (when not using the Dual Screen case); IP68 dust and water-resistance; Battery life is very good; Wireless charging: LG Velvet works with an active stylus (but there is no place to store it if you have one)

What Needs Improvement: The LG Velvet has a 60Hz screen refresh rate in a time when some even mid-tier phones are offering higher; Battery life takes a considerable ding when running both screens; No face-ID; Phone stutters at times; The Hi-Fi Quad DAC digital-to-analog converter feature usually found on high-end LG phones when using wired headphones is not present

The post The LG Velvet Is a Stylish Phone with a Versatile Dual-Screen Case Option first appeared on GearDiary.

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2020/09/25/the-lg-velvet-is-a-stylish-phone-with-a-versatile-dual-screen-phone-option/