#but it's been so nice to just decompress especially in last 2 days just joining everyone to react to the dt content

[dveam]

okay I'm 4 posts away from post limit :|

[pixiebuggiewrites]

Sorry Wrong Number!

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Chapter 2:  Hawkmoth has really bad designs and perhaps even worse timing

Since it was her off night from patrol, Ladybug was the last one onto the scene. She landed down on a building next to Viperion, who was observing the akuma’s skillset as Kuro Neko played distraction down below them.

The villain of tonight's look was... interesting to put it nicely. They were a boy around the same age as the heroes that seemed to be wearing a slightly oversized purple and blue three piece suit with a not-so-subtle lightning pattern running up the arms. His hair was shock white and seemed to be defying gravity while his eyes were protected by bright blue goggles-possibly where the akuma was residing. More importantly, he seemed to be covered in electricity, which was gonna make it difficult to get any hits in. He also had a laptop with him- another contender for the akuma’s hiding place but most likely just a weapon.

Not Hawkmoth’s worst design, but it definitely wasn't his finest work either. Though to be fair she had run around in spotted spandex for two years before she found out she could change her costume, so those in glass houses she supposed.

Viperion, noticing the team leader's arrival began to fill her in on what they knew so far.

“They're calling themselves ‘Elect-Trick’, keeps sending out shockwaves to try and knock us back which is frustrating but our suits seem to take the brunt of it which helps but Neko’s staff is a no go at the moment since there's no way to know if it’ll conduct the electricity.”

It likely would, something they had found out the hard way during the last weather akuma they had to face. While magical it was still metallic in nature sadly, which meant she needed to also be careful with her yoyo. She still isn't really sure what it’s made of besides magic, but this was not the way she wanted to find out.

“Alright, in that case we’ll continue to keep him away from the Eiffel Tower, it’s likely the akuma’s going to try and use it as a large conductor. I’m gonna head down, stay up here and be ready to use your second chance at the signal.” She instructed

Viperion nodded and went back to watching the fight just as Ladybug swooped down to join in. She was just in time as the akuma had begun to corner Neko, who had no choice but to rely on playing defense while her staff was out of the mix. The two heroes nodded their heads in greeting as Ladybug yoyo-d her cat themed friend over putting the duo back on even ground with the villain, who seemed to be ranting about school elections of all things.

Which would be a probable explanation for the first half of his name.

The two continued to fight back against the akuma, neither side quite able to grab the upper hand. Ladybugs yoyo-as it turned out, did not conduct electricity afterall. And, seeing as it's practically indestructible she was able to land hits on the akuma without getting shocked. But the akuma had realized the issue with Neko’s staff and was using that to their advantage, aiming a decent chunk of their attacks at the cat hero which forced them to go back on the defense.

As the fight had been going for over an hour at this point, the spotted heroine decided to bring out the big guns. After doing a silent signal letting Viperion know to start his timer, she got in position to call on her lucky charm.

But she didn't get a chance to. Just as she went to throw her yoyo in the air, Viperion called out a warning that sent a feeling of dread through her.

“LB watch out, There's an amok headed straight for the computer!”  

Sure enough, there was an all too familiar purple feather floating through the air on track for the laptop that she quickly caught and purified it before it could land. Thank the Kwami for the power of second chance, nobody wanted to deal with a sentimonster on top of everything else tonight.

Keeping Kuro Neko on the lookout for anymore feathers, She finally activated her lucky charm. Throwing her yoyo up she manifests��� a slingshot! She could work with that, just needed to find ammo. Looking around her eyes land firmly on the window of a small toyshop.

Bingo!

Having Viperion keeping an eye out in case he was needed temporarily as backup, she sneaks over and breaks the window with her yoyo. Typically, the heroine would feel bad about causing this much property damage but tonight she’s tired and wants to get this over with so she can make a plan of action for the whole ‘Mayura seems to be back’ thing with her team and maybe get at least a couple hours of sleep. Anyways her miraculous cure would fix the window and return the bouncy balls she was actively stealing so no harm done? After finishing committing what was technically a misdemeanor, she made her way over to the roof Viperion was on and handed off the slingshot supplies before making her way back down.

Luckily Neko had managed to keep Elect-Trick distracted enough for the team to catch him off guard. On Ladybugs call Viperion began to pelt the Akuma with rubber balls, drawing his sight away for long enough to tie him up and take his glasses. One cataclysm later, the teen had been successfully deakumatized and she was able to cast her cure, fixing the decent chunk of property damage caused that night. After making sure the teen was okay to get home safe and getting his address for the interview she would have to conduct later, she turned to her team.

“Good work today guys, let's meet back at base in 30.” Her eyes communicated the urgency of the meeting despite the neutral tone of voice she tried to maintain.

From there the teens all departed in separate directions to recharge their powers and head to the team's secret base.

----------

Okay so secret base was a bit of an overstatement. It is a secret place that the team uses as a base of operations but it was less of a Batcave and more of a repurposed hotel room in Le Grand Paris.

Chloe had brought up the idea after one too many close calls with Marinette's parents while the girls were investigating Hawkmoth. They needed a place to discuss hero work safely without having to talk in code but the question was where. Obtaining an apartment would be difficult as all of them but Luka were still underage, not to mention the issue of trying to pay rent without any parental suspicion. Luckily for Chloe, it's surprisingly easy to just claim a hotel room without being questioned when your Father owns the hotel.

And while it was no Batcave, it wasn't anything to scoff at either. The four teens had been able to pool together enough money in the beginning for the basics, which meant that now any small snuck away chunks of commission money, music gig payments, competition winnings, and allowances were all able to go to improving things bit by bit.

The room was already quite nice, having a separate bedroom that they used as a gym and a kitchenette that was kept well stocked with kwami snacks. Then there was the  main area, which had been split down the middle. The first side was dedicated to the investigation and housing Marinette's Guardian materials, While the second half was a hangout zone where they could chat or decompress after any particularly rough fights.

The base was also secure, Marinette had put so many spells and protections on the room with the help of the kwami that it might as well be a pocket dimension of sorts. The magical security system of sorts was extremely complicated, being tied to the teams auras in a way so that the only way to even find it without being one of them was to be taken there by Ladybug herself. It had taken weeks to pull off but was well worth it to give her team a place that was safe from the outside world.

Ladybug was the first to arrive this time, having flopped down into a chair at their meeting table as her two friends entered the room and joined her. They all sat there for a moment, processing the fact of Mayura’s return. Of course this would happen when they were down a member, it wasn't a complete surprise that the peacock miraculous would come back into play at some point but it was really bad timing.

“So what exactly is the plan?” Viperion asked, finally breaking the silence.

Ladybug sighed, knowing that their workload was going to increase once again. At least it was close to summer vacation.

“First we need to increase patrols- especially around the typical hot spots, Neko do you think we’ll be able to finish those jars by this time next week?”

The cat hero nodded “They're almost done, we’ll need to test them somehow though.”

The two of them had recently been working on a variation of an object enchantment technique mentioned in the grimoire. The original object was dubious in nature, having been used as a cage of sorts that kwami wouldn't be able to phase through. Marinette was disgusted by the thought, further feeding into some suspicions she had about the old order. As she was ranting about it to Kagami about it, her fencer friend got an idea for a way to repurpose the spell to trap akuma when Ladybug couldn't easily get to a fight. It would also allow them a new way to prevent possessions when Ladybug wasn't actively on patrol.

“That's good. Lastly I need Bee’s new number, I was going to ask you for it tomorrow but I need to give her a heads up to start on a new case file. We also might want to move up our plans to contact the heroes there.”

Kuro Neko quickly jotted down the number on a nearby notecard and handed it to Ladybug. After hammering out a few last details about their new patrol schedules the heroes were all free to head home for the night.

The trip home was uneventful, and she arrived home to see that it was just past midnight. She also noticed that her bath bomb had been fixed! It was sometimes a gamble on if something like that would count as akuma damage so it was a nice victory after the day she’s had.

Marinette quickly put in Chloe's number, eager to get to bed. She sent her blonde friend a summary on what happened and let her know to be on the lookout for an email tomorrow with the information to assemble a case file. And with that, Marinette drifted off to sleep.

She had made a small mistake though. In her tired state the young designer’s finger slipped, putting a 5 where there was meant to be a 4.

Meaning Chloe Bourgeois was not the recipient of her intended message.

Good thing she wrote the message in code?

----------

Across the ocean, Damian Wayne received a strange text message.

--------------------------------------------

Taglist (open!!): 

@queencommonsense

[aoibaratraveler]

A Look Back At My Time in Japan Chapter 3!

Double Collage! One for Busan and one for Nagasaki in May!

Heyo! We’re back for chapter three and it’s only been a little over two weeks! Looks like I’m getting the hang of this...maybe?

Second Month on Exchange: May

I last left off with the beginning of my South Korea exploits in the city of Busan. We had met some other travellers, visited some street markets, had lunch with our host and started our trip off rather nicely apart from sleeping on the hardwood floor of our host’s apartment every night….

It looks like we started off May with visiting the beautiful park and cliffs of Dongsam with our host. It was a glorious day with spectacular weather where we walked along the rocky cliffs and coastline for a couple of hours. Our host was a really friendly dude who really wanted to show us a good time when he wasn’t busy with his university classes. Afterward, we headed back to Gwangbok street and met up with the other couch surfers to enjoy more street food and some skincare shopping as well as check out a nearby beach. It was about here though when things started to go a bit south with TC and me. I mean it pretty much started from the beginning of the trip, especially when we met these other travelers but it really started to get to me that night when we went shopping. You see, TC loves herself a bit of attention which I didn’t care so much about. It was the belittling and nasty remarks that I couldn’t stand. She is someone who hates taking responsibility for anything and has no empathy or consideration for others. Throughout the course of that night, she kept making snide remarks about how I’m too cheap and I should be spending as much money as her because in her opinion I was holding back too much. I mean truth be told I was holding back, I was nearing the end of my first two months in Asia and running out of the scholarship money I had received for my trip (it wasn’t that much money but more than enough for at least 2 months), which wasn’t anything too major as I still had my credit card and savings back in Canada but I didn’t want to use them unless I really needed to - especially since I knew that when I returned to Japan I would get my month’s earning from my part-time job at the English school. Besides, I’m not that much of a shopper, even though I do love my Korean skincare. Who doesn’t? It wasn’t just money. She started body-shaming me since I had put on a bit of weight from all the food I was trying and claiming that I should stop and lose the weight in order to fit into Asian clothing better so I could properly shop with her (I refused to go clothing shopping). I mean, I do agree that by that point I wasn’t looking my best but I was trying to enjoy myself and all the digs she was throwing at me was really making me resent taking this trip with her. The atmosphere between the two of use was starting to drop and we were making it a bit awkward for the guys with us. I was trying to be normal but anyone who knows me, when I’m upset or frustrated, knows that I tend to go quiet which is very different to my usual energetic, happy self so it was apparent that something was wrong. I tried to be diplomatic, I really did, but I also felt that she just kept spinning things to make me look bad. I was really embarrassed especially since I was starting to like Z, whom I mentioned earlier, and we were getting along but meh it wasn’t meant to be. The night ended a bit sour and we both decided that we would do our own thing on what we thought was going to be our last day. My trip to Busan was, unfortunately, a bit of a blur after this as things tend to be for me if it is spent with bad company. I can tell you that the next day I decided to go off to the area of Haeundae and spent the day walking around the beach, getting some dinner and bingsoo and just having some self-reflection. I do remember getting a message from Z asking if I wanted to join them (them being him, the other guy, and TC) for a night at a day and night spa but since I was feeling a bit insecure about my appearance and just too embarrassed from the day before, I declined. I finished at Haeundae and decided to head back but didn’t realise that TC hadn’t given me the code for the apartment and she wasn’t planning to come back that night and was spending it with the guys at the spa so I was locked out and nowhere near wifi and had to wait for the host to come back… Yea the Busan trip wasn’t going so well. The first day or two were nice though and I would love to go back but this is just an example of how traveling with some people really brings out their true colours. I had only known TC for a month at this point but still. Unfortunately, a huge storm came that night and lasted until the next morning and our ferry back to Fukuoka was canceled and we were forced to stay in Busan for an extra day. Couldn’t really do anything that day either but when TC got back and the weather got a bit better we just went for a walk in the neighborhood and checked out the nearby convenience store to try some more Korean goodies. Our host ordered dinner for us on our real last night there and I told him that I couldn’t eat any pork so he asked the restaurant to just make it meatless but then, of course, TC was then spiteful for the rest of the night because of this claiming that she “needs her protein…” I’m sorry. I wish I could tell a great story of my Busan trip but unfortunately, TC and I just had very different personalities and thus were probably never meant to travel together. I do honestly highly recommend Busan as a lovely side trip from Fukuoka. Anyway, the day of our departure finally arrived and I couldn’t be more thrilled. When we arrived back in Hakata, it was late at night and our bus back to Nagasaki wasn’t going to arrive until the next morning. I mean we could have paid more for a train or opted to stay in a hotel or something for the night, well TC could have, I was going to be my frugal self and go back to the family restaurant that I had stayed in the first time I arrived in Fukuoka and chill there for the night and get some dinner and even though we weren’t so friendly anymore, TC decided to join me. The next day we boarded our bus back to Nagasaki and parted ways, then, and for the rest of my time in Nagasaki (we remained civil at school though, of course). I spent the rest of that day walking around Suwa shrine to decompress.

The next day was Friday and since it was still Golden Week, I decided to spend the day exploring Peace Park. I should mention that Golden Week in Japan is called as such because a few national holidays happen to occur during that week. The university wasn’t closed the whole week but luckily one of my teachers, an American who was in charge of all the exchange students, allowed me and several others who had plans to travel to just take the whole week off because we “should just enjoy our time and make the most of it”. He was a very relaxed individual. Peace park was a remarkable place, a symbol of hope that is also filled with melancholy. It was established in the early 1950s and is close to the hypocenter of the bomb and remnants of the concrete wall of a cathedral.  At the park's north end is the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue created by sculptor Seibo Kitamura of Nagasaki Prefecture.

“A plaque at the nearby hypocenter gives the following account and statistics of the damage caused that day.

At 11:02 A.M., August 9, 1945 an atomic bomb exploded 500 meters above this spot. The black stone monolith marks the hypocenter.

The fierce blast wind, heat rays reaching several thousand degrees and deadly radiation generated by the explosion crushed, burned, and killed everything in sight and reduced this entire area to a barren field of rubble.

About one-third of Nagasaki City was destroyed and 150,000 people killed or injured and it was said at the time that this area would be devoid of vegetation for 75 years. Now, the hypocenter remains as an international peace park and a symbol of the aspiration for world harmony.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki_Peace_Park

This adds a bit of a sad tone to this blog but I do think it is necessary for people to be educated about what happened. I also think that everyone should at least watch Grave of the Fireflies once to be further educated on the history of this event. I think a lot of foreign tourists go to Nagasaki and Hiroshima while remaining ignorant of the past and just take a lot of pictures to add to their collection or add this site and the nearby museum as something on their tourist checklist but even my local friends are too horrified to go to the museum and be reminded of what happened but do visit peace park often. Junior high school students also make annual trips there to lay a dozen cranes against the statue, another symbol of peace. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I began to focus more on university and taking my language studies seriously. I decided to ditch taking the bus every day to and from university and either use an old bike that my homestay family had or walk. The bike ride would take about 45 minutes but the walk would take 2 hours. It was a big difference and I would mostly just walk when the brakes on the bike weren’t working so well, which was a lot of the time (as I said, it was old). I did this partially to save money and partially to get in shape and I honestly loved it. The university may have been far from my homestay but this allowed me to really get well acquainted with the area as well as shed a few pounds. Around mid-May, I checked out Glover Garden and the Dutch area of Nagasaki with one of my Japanese friends whom I had met in Vancouver when she was doing her exchange there. It was a very interesting place and different from the rest of the city. We explored the garden and Glover residence of a Scottish merchant who lived there hundreds of years ago and is the oldest Western-style house in Japan. Later on, we walked around the Hollander Slope which was a preferred settlement area for mainly Dutch foreigners in the mid 19th century. Upon returning home that night, my homestay mother cooked for me a non-pork version of Nagasaki Champon which was delicious. 

The next day, I joined my homestay family in supporting my homestay brother at his undokai, or sports day while having a picnic. It was a fun-filled day with lots of excitement and was much like something that I had seen in anime numerous times.

At the end of the month, I went with the rest of the exchange students on a day trip to Huis Ten Bosch which is a slightly overpriced, but still fun, Dutch theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki. May was pretty much a chill month where I became more acquainted with my surroundings, became closer friends with my classmates; two French girls, CA and LY and an American girl, R as well as my coworker at the English school, B, who was my rock during my time there and whom I considered like an older sister (well apart from the bf who I was messaging every day during my time in Japan and becoming closer friends with. I think having him as a connection that was separate from everything happening in Japan was what really made me feel like I was never alone, I also felt like I could tell him anything so that helped.). Honestly, apart from what I am going to tell you next, it was a not too eventful time in regards to my regular life. Oh and I woke up one day at like 4 am to walk up the hill behind my apartment by myself to watch the sunrise peek behind the mountains and go for a run, it was amazing.

Boy Drama Part One:

So what good study abroad trip in a foreign land where everything is new and exciting is complete without a bit of boy drama here and there? I’m separating this into two parts because it took place around mid/end of April until mid-June and setting this aside from the rest of the story because it really needs its own part and I can’t remember when exactly everything coincided with the rest of my time there. Hold onto your horses folks.

Ok, I know I said that I had a bit of a crush on Z whom I met in Busan but I only met him for a couple of days and it wasn’t anything too serious. Before I went on my trip to Busan and began a few my classes at the university, however, I met E, a 27-year-old Japanese man who also happened to be one of my Japanese language teachers. Don’t worry guys, I was 22, it was fine. Well, that’s what I told myself anyway. To me, at the time, he was super cute and a bit shy and I found that attractive and even though everyone told me that I shouldn’t, I decided to pursue this crush. Very innocently, of course. What do you take me for? I wasn’t expecting anything serious to happen but I wanted to get to know him and see where it would go from there. I tend to be a bit forward when I crush on a guy, I mean, I am after all the one who asked out the bf but the bf turned out to be an amazing guy which I can’t really say the same for E… oops I’m getting ahead of myself! Ok, where was I? Right, I decided to pursue E so I added him on Facebook and began to message him every now and then to get to know him. In the first week or so, I think he could tell that I liked him a bit and so he reminded me that he was my teacher and nothing could happen. I completely agreed. Honest. This story may make me look a little bad but I wasn’t hoping to become his girlfriend at all, I just wanted to get to know him and maybe go for a date since I didn’t know anything about him. So I told him that, I told him that all I wanted was to be friends since there wasn’t that much of an age difference and it didn’t take him long to get over the fact that he was my teacher and start to become very responsive in our chats. We began to become a little flirty with each other in school when no one was looking and I even went as far as to cook him lunch after he had told me what his favourite food was. I was very silly, giddy and just fully embracing my girly side. It was certainly an experience to be doing something that felt like it was straight out of a shoujo manga. Over the course of the first half of May, I could tell that he was really starting to like me back which was interesting….because I was starting to lose interest in him. Ok, chill I’m getting ahead of myself again but I’m looking back on this whole experience with hindsight and really I was just pursuing him so much because everyone told me not to and the more they did that the more I wanted to. I know, very childish. Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was around mid-May when we finally went on a date.

I told him to meet me next to my homestay’s apartment at Suwa shrine and after that, we walked up to Tateyama to sit at a really nice viewing spot (same place I woke up to see the sunrise). I thought this would be a great location where we wouldn’t really be seen by anyone and where we could have some privacy since only the elderly or really young kids ever go near there but it’s mostly empty when it’s not cherry blossom viewing season. We didn’t really need to hide anything because again it was just two people innocently meeting up (I do realize now that it was inappropriate) and there was only a 5 year age gap plus he looked super young. My interest in him sparked back up a bit that day because forbidden fruit and what not and I thought it was fun and exciting to have a secret date with a teacher. Anyway, I can’t remember for how long we sat at the top of Tateyama for but it was at least a few hours and all we did was talk….well I was talking. I filled in a lot of silence because he didn’t really have anything to say, I don’t even know what I talked about but it became apparent that outside of Facebook messenger this guy wasn’t so good with talking to women. He did tell me that it had been ages since he had a girlfriend and he hadn't met with a girl alone in a really long time (a bit of a red flag there...maybe?). Finally, around dinner time, we grabbed some cheap food from a bento place and some yakitori and sat outside to eat it as it became dark. It was kinda nice, I could tell though that he was starting to like me more than I liked him. A little while later we said good night to each other and parted ways and I went back to my apartment. I was satisfied. Honestly, in my head I felt like I was good, I did not need to pursue him any longer and I had experienced my “forbidden fruit”. Nothing happened of course, literally just talking and dinner. I had satisfied my curiosity and I honestly think that after that date is when I completely lost interest in him because I did get to know him a bit. I got to know...and this might sound a bit mean but I got to know that he really wasn’t interesting at all and was actually just a bit starved of attention, which I had given him. Over the next couple of weeks, he would message me and I would reply but I was no longer instigating the messages. He would tell me how much he couldn’t wait for our next date and after a while, his messages started to become really creepy and I stopped replying as much which made him not send as many messages. Anyway, I now need to backtrack a bit for you. So E and I went on our little date around mid-May and then afterward I pretty much put him at the back of my mind, right? Actually, just a little while before is when I met another guy, maybe like a week before? Which is also what was making me lose a bit of interest in E… Welllll a lot of interest. I still went on that date with him just because I wanted to see how things would go and if there was anything actually there and I proved to myself that there wasn’t. (Of course, E did not realize that the date didn’t go that well...but more on that later). Yea, so this new guy, who we’ll call Y. Another Japanese boy and damn was he like Japanese pop star attractive. I’ll start from the beginning. I was hanging out a lot with my coworkers by this point and one day we decided to meet up at Starbucks (one of three in Nagasaki city, it’s a small city and Starbucks was THE place to meet up) which is where I thought I would study and they would complete some marking and whatnot. After a while, my friend and coworker, B had to go and I was left with the receptionist...who was a little crazy but we’ll get to her some other time. Anyway, what happened next was very simple. This barista was spending a lot of time near our table cleaning up and at first, I didn’t notice until the receptionist (oh right, we’ll call her M) pointed him out to me and damn was I instantly attracted. I chatted him up a bit and I could tell that he was everything that E wasn’t. Very charismatic, boyish good looks, tall and talkative. 

So I hung around for a little while longer and then I packed up my stuff, walked up to him at the barista counter and asked if he was to be working the next day and told him I’ll see him then. (honestly looking back on it for some reason when I was living in Japan I just gained all this confidence that I never really had before, I have always been forward with my feelings but never this assertive and flirty and honestly, I kind of had the feeling almost that if I wanted a guy that I could have him, it was probably all the freedom and excitement of living abroad and being away from my parents) Right, so the next day I decided to take my time in going back to Starbucks, I hung out with LY, one of my French friends for most of the day, and studied with her and didn’t did really get to Starbucks until around 6. I rocked up with my books, saw that he was still there and set myself up to look like I was still gonna study. But then suddenly he disappeared from behind the counter, I figured that maybe he had gone on a break but then he reappeared in front of me in his civies. I was a bit taken aback that he was done work but pleased that he came to talk to me. He told me that he had just finished which was really just good timing and then we talked some more. I found out that he was 19 and in his first year of university studying to become an architect. He had to leave after a little while but I told him that we should be friends and that we should exchange LINE IDs (a popular Japanese messaging app, although I think it originated in Korea?). From that day onwards we messaged each other every day and damn was I smitten. He was a great talker and really made me feel special in our chats which I can’t really say the same for E. I never needed to instigate a conversation, he was always the one messaging me and was able to naturally keep the conversation going. The way he spoke to me and made me feel special was kinda like how Neal from White Collar talks to women, especially when he’s trying to con them. He would wish me a good morning and good night everyday, asked how I slept and how I was doing and really just showed that he cared. I began going to his Starbucks a lot more and would stay until he finished his shift and then he would walk me home, he was super gentlemanly. I told him that I like riding my bicycle everywhere so he said he loved riding his bike too and would always cycle to my apartment on his days off and we would walk our bikes side by side, we didn’t actually ride them so we could have a proper conversation. Towards the end of May, we met up one night and walked our bikes and chatted as we usually did but this time we went to a nearby river and sat down. It was all very romantic and what do you know, like out of a friggin romance novel or, again, shoujo manga, a lone firefly flew past and it really set the tone and made the night magical and intimate because it was both of our first times seeing one. We held hands, spoke for a while longer and I felt like I was in high school again and all my romantic fantasies from back then were coming true. I had properly fallen for this guy.

[gutterdreams]

Honestly [Billy Hargrove]

4.7k word count. 

Warnings: swearing, lite smut/mentions of smut. 

Disclaimer: I do not own the gif. 

Please let me know what you think. I’m excited to write part 2.

To say your relationship with Billy caused a rift in your friendships would be an overstatement, but a ripple was certainly surging through your platonic relationships because of the California boy. Even when they had tried, they failed to see anything redeeming about him. Between his mullet, inability to button up his shirts, and foul mouth, none of your friends saw anything even remotely decent about Billy Hargrove. Sometimes, you couldn't even defend the issues they took up with him, but he was good to you and, as you liked to tell yourself, that was all that mattered to you.

“I will be there tomorrow, it just won't be until after I'm off work.” Closing your locker right beside Nancy, one of your dearest friends since preschool, you mentioned. She was having a small get together since her parents were out of town due to her dad's business trip and her mom's desperate desire to muddle up some romance between them again.

“Great, great.” Nancy nodded as her voice went up an octave. She exchanged concerned looks with your other friend, Denise, and then sighed. She would regret it if she kept it to herself, “Would it be cool if you didn't, maybe, bring Billy?”

While it was no secret that your friends didn't like your boyfriend, you still looked at them with a widespread stare of disappointment.

“How are you guys ever going to come around to him if you don't hang out with him?” The question felt reasonable to you.

“We're not going to come around to him.” Denise clarified bluntly. Nancy might have been beating around the bush, but as she adjusted her fitted floral blouse that was tucked into her high-waisted pair of Jordache jeans. “Your boyfriend is a psycho. I'm not going to try to understand what you see in him besides his amazing ass.” She could give credit where it was due. They were all just waiting for you to see the light and walk away from him even if they were also scared of what he would do when that day came.

“It's really challenging to be nice to him.” Nancy tried to explain as she turned to lead the three of you down the hall. Even if your schedules rarely collided this semester, you three spent as much time as you could in between classes. She hugged her textbook to her flat chest and cocked her head to the side. It was tiring to always have to talk to you about Billy when she disliked him so contently. She was over trying to convince you that he was no good. It often felt like you weren't talking about the same person. “Especially with how he treats you.”

“That's the thing,” Stopping in front of the door to your chemistry class, you faced them both with a wrinkled forehead. “He's good to me. I know he's flawed and has done really shitty things, but as far as being my boyfriend goes, he's good to me.” It was a line they had heard from you more times than they could count.

Nancy and Denise checked in with one another again, almost decompressing in sync as they returned their eye contact to you.

“He cheats on you, [Y/N].” Denise mentioned. Sometimes, it was so obvious to them that they just assumed you knew and made yourself okay with it. Judging by how narrow your expression went, they realized that you weren't actually clued in. This was the first time you were hearing about it. “After he takes you home,” Your curfew was a nonnegotiable 12:30 AM. “He meets up with someone else.”

“Last week it was Heather O'Malley.” Since you didn't look like you believed Denise, Nancy jumped in and added faces to the story. “And that party at Jared's, he came back and was all over Ashley P.” She nodded along with Denise. “So, if you want to be with him, that's your business, but we can't support it.” She sounded firm and it was the first time that you saw a real resemblance between her and her mother.

On one hand, Denise and Nancy were your closest friends. You couldn't imagine them lying to you or being hurtful on purpose, not after losing Barb. The bond between the three of you had stitched itself even tighter when you lost the other girl in your group. However, you knew how Billy felt at the idea of you being close with someone else. You two talked about trust due to his impulse to crush the skull of any guy who even mumbled your name. You really did give him the benefit of the doubt. If you cheating on him made him feel as horrible as he said it would, you imagined it went both ways. As if on cue, the school bell rang and you could tell Nancy was itching to leave the awkward conversation and head to class.

“I will talk to Billy.” Itching at the hair falling into your face, you told them exasperatedly as you moved to let others past you to get into class. “See you guys later.” Biting down on your lip, you watched them leave with pouts that pitied you and went to find your spot. Of course, your brain couldn't shake what they had said. You found yourself looking for traces of your boyfriend all over the other girls in your class, almost smelling Melissa Godlewinski next to you to see if she carried the aroma of his cologne.

Lunch break required you to assemble yourself like a divorced parent. Some afternoons, you met up with your friends in the cafeteria and hung out or worked on homework and then the others, you stood around Billy's car with his friends or just drove around for the hour with his hand fiddling up whatever skirt you had on. He was leaning against the locker next to yours when you came out of chemistry, waiting for you with an unlit cigarette between his fingers and the sole of one of his shoes against the metal locker.

“Hey, Gorgeous.” He groaned at you through his smirk as you leaned into him, his magnetic pull stronger than your own free will. Instantly, you smiled at his knuckles against your hip and kissed his mouth that perpetually tasted like cigarette ash. It was a flavor you had learned to like. “You ready to go?” He was calling dibs on you this lunch hour.

“Yeah, but can we just hang out you and me?” You asked once your faces were more than a centimeter apart. He flung some of his hair out of his face and looked you up and down, devouring your frame under your chunky red cardigan.  

“Oh yeah?” Both brows wiggling under his curly fringe, he turned his head against the locker and watched you closely as you unlocked your own to put your books away. He was blissfully ignored the freshman who was assigned to the locker beside you, the one he was using as a post to lean on. “You miss me, huh?” He drew his finger, the one against his cigarette, over your ear to tuck hair behind it since your black headband was doing a lousy job at that. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Billy always wanted to be touching you whether it was both hands leaving fingerprints on the cheeks of your bare bum or just grazing his fingers through your hair. He figured you wanted to hookup and afternoon delight was always worth ditching his friends for.

“Yeah.” Chuckling at his comment, you nodded and shut your locker. His arm was swung over your shoulders almost as soon as your locker was closed. He pushed off the wall and headed slowly down the hallway with you. “I also got to talk to you about something.”

“Is this about that party at Nancy Wheeler's house tomorrow? Because I'm really okay if we skip it.” Just as your friends were uninterested in Billy, he wanted nothing to do with them. Their acceptance meant nothing to him.

“No, it's not that.” You shook your head and wandered through the glass door he held open, releasing you both to a cool November afternoon. “Um...” Billy was already at the bottom of the three cement steps and on the ground while you nervous waited up top. He turned around and impatiently waited for you to join him, his eyebrows connecting above his nose as he observed you and how anxious you appeared. It was a look he only ever saw you wear when you were standing uncomfortably between him and the prudes that were your friends.

“Nancy and Denise and I were talking...” You started through the knot tying itself over and over at the pit of your stomach. As soon as you said the name of your two best friends, Billy's blue eyes rolled to the side and his head dropped back with irritation. “They said they've seen you with other girls before...”

“What do you mean?” His tongue poked into his cheek and he spoke nonchalantly behind his pearly whites, waiting for you to carry on. He wanted you to come right out and say it, accuse him of being the piece of shit everyone knew him to be. “We go to school with other girls. I'm around other female humans...”

“No, like, with them.” Sucking in your stomach, you continued. “And they just - “

“What?” Billy cut you off and stepped back up one stair, his eyes stabbing into yours as he closed more of the space between both of you. “They just what? They just don't want us to be together so they're making up stories? Those bitches would love it if I was cheating on you. They don't like me.” He started to growl, his eyes looking overhead to see if he could spot either of your friends through the windows in the door. He knew where they spent their lunch and had half a mind to go spoil it. “I thought you trusted me, [Y/N].” He pointed his index finger into your chest and pursed his lips together in a protruding frown. “You believe them, don't you?”

“I don't know.” It was the wrong answer and you knew it before you looked up from the toes of your burgundy Keds. Billy let out a burning exhale through his nostrils and it sent your head shaking. “No, I don't. I trust you, I just – it's hard when neither of you guys like each other. I'm in the middle.” Putting up both your palms as if you were caught in a crime by police, you saw the fire threatening to explode in his expanded pupils and tried to calm him down. “I'm sorry.” That was more likely what he wanted to hear. “I shouldn't have even asked. I trust you.” You did even if your friends didn't.

Reluctantly, after a few beats, Billy uncurled his fists at his sides and exhaled deeply from his mouth. He offered you an open hand and linked his fingers between yours before leading you both down the steps. He only unlocked your hands to throw his arm over you again, looking around the parking lot for your friends as he headed to his car. He needed to drive right now. He needed an outlet for his anger. He needed your thigh under his hand as he sped carelessly down an open road. Billy opened up the door to the passenger side of his car and pulled you back just as you were about to enter.

“Don't let them come between us.” He advised in a low tone, hovering his face over you and then kissing you fervently, one hand grabbing your hip and the other behind your neck. “They're just fucking jealous.” He summed up as his lips left yours. Billy stepped back and watched over the hood of his car, looking for the likes of anyone you were close to, and then shut your door behind you. He walked around his beloved Camaro and got in, content to spend his lunch on the go and taking you away from the school he so ardently despised.

* * * *  *  *  * *  

Somehow, Billy felt as if he had won. It was Thursday night and you were in his bedroom, not at your part time job at the nearest Dairy Queen and not listening to pop music in Nancy Wheeler's room. He was smoking like a chimney, letting out long exhales of pungent smoke, while laying with his shirt open on top of his unmade bed. Loudly, Slayer was playing as you sat crossed legged by his feet, using your shut textbook as a makeshift desk as you filled out an application for California State University, this time the Long Beach campus.

He rolled his head to the side of his pillow and watched you, eyes fluttering with adoration as you kept focused on writing your answers with clean penmanship. While it wasn't always easy to work while Billy's loud music bounced off the walls, you had learned how to mostly drown it out. Under his sock, Billy wiggled his big toe against your knee and earned your attention. Looking up slightly, you smiled at his feet and then at him, noting the big grin he had on.

“Seven months and we could be in Long Beach.” From the second you pulled the brochure out of your bag, Billy had begun building a life for you in the California city just like he had on Monday when you were filling out an application for the Bakersfield campus. Each time, he couldn't contain his excitement. It drove him to finish high school in Hawkins, to keep going when his house felt more like a war zone. You two were going to graduate high school and he was going to whisk you away, take you to California, where you could start the life he wanted. 

He thought he had it all figured out. He would work construction while you went to school studying whatever major you finally decided on. You two would rent a bachelor apartment that was just enough room for the two of you until you could afford larger. He figured you could easily find a random waitress job or part time gig at Gap to help pay rent. Billy was even finding himself imagining you with a ring on your finger and a little mullet donning baby bouncing on his knee. Marriage and kids hadn't been in his daydreams before, but when he thought about the two of you ditching Indiana for California, his mind expanded into colorful places it hadn't considered before. 

“You're going to love it out there.” He promised. You two had chatted once before about moving elsewhere, but Billy had his heart set on going back to California and you didn't mind. The college selection out there was large and well-regarded. It wasn't as if you knew what you wanted to study yet anyway. You just knew you didn't want to be serving blizzards out of a drive-thru window much longer.

“I know. You tell me that all the time.” Chuckling, amused, you reminded him as you put down your pen on top of the application – giving the ballpoint and your fingers a short break.

Billy pat the open space under his other arm that was folded behind his hair. You rested the textbook, application, and pen on the floor and laid down beside him with ease. You wished that Denise and Nancy could see Billy like this: relaxed and in his element. This was where you felt closest to him and this is why you could forgive his temper, bad judgement, and lack of manners. Feet crossed together at the edge of his bed and his arm around you while you stared at the ceiling with each other, Billy felt like someone you could be with forever. Of course, you knew your friends would never see him like this. He felt so tense and defensive around them that he would have to be sedated in order to actually relax. Billy's heartbeat never went to a normal rate when he has standing around with your group. It took all of his energy to not start a fight every time.

In an effort to be closer to you, Billy put out his cigarette in the plastic ashtray on the night stand beside him. He turned onto his side and grinned like the Chesire Cat at you before beginning to kiss your neck, right where your clavicle and shoulder met. He tugged at the wide neck of your shirt to make room for his mouth. Both his hands wandered around the perimeter of your body as he nuzzled into you, moaning. Your eyes fluttered open and closed as you squirmed on top of his bed.

“Your stepmom is home.” You reminded him with a small laugh. “And Max.”

“I don't care.” Billy groaned into your neck as his hands slid under your shirt, tugging on it slightly as a clear indicator that he didn't want it on your body anymore. His erection was growing under his jeans and he happily pushed it against your groin. It was a wonder how it didn't split through the front of his denim that he only wore skintight. As you pulled your top overhead, Billy broke away from your body to fiddle with his belt in order to remove his pants. He was watching you as you laid back down, a bra and jeans the only thing left in his way of the body he proudly called his own. Your eyes slid away as you removed your headband to toss it to the ground. It went without saying that when you and Billy fucked he would grip at your hair. Your eyes caught the sight of his open cigarette carton on his nightstand next to the ash tray. A phone number in black cursive was written across it in a style much neater and daintier than Billy's. Underneath it, the name Brenda was written in the same font. Right before you could ask who Brenda was, his mouth was on yours again and he put your right hand on the elastic waist of his boxer briefs, urging you to touch him as he clumsily kissed at your mouth, parting it  with his eager tongue.

Billy slid one hand behind you, wasting no time to play with the clasps of your bra. As much as he liked that you were wearing one with no padding, just white lace, he much preferred the feeling of your bare breasts in his hands. The goosebumps that arose around your nipples when he touched them always turned him on more than he generally was. You arched your back slightly to give him more access and when his hand slid out, you noticed the pack of birth control that slid from under the pillow with it and not the championship smile he was donning over you.

“Whose are those?” Instantly, you sat up and put your arm out to keep space between both you and Billy. You fumbled with raising the straps of your bra over your shoulders as they had fallen as soon as he had it undone.

“They're yours.” He shrugged and lifted his nose upward.

“I take mine in the morning. I've never brought it here.” That was a fact. “And that's a 28 pack and it's Alesse.” You took a 21 pack and by Yaz. Some things, a girl just knew. Some things, Billy Hargrove couldn't charm his way out of. “Oh my god.” Shaking your head as you held it low, you reached behind yourself with both hands and started to clasp your bra back on. “God, I'm so stupid.” Hissing at yourself, you tried to remember to breathe. Billy lied to you. He looked you in the eyes that afternoon and lied to you, made you feel awful for assuming he was cheating on you. Your friends were right and you were the fool.

Dumbfounded, Billy just slid off the bed and stared at you with a look that suggested you were insane. It was his go-to defensive trick whenever you two disagreed.

“How am I supposed to know how it got there? Maybe, it's Max's, or Susan's, or some random girl my Dad's with.”

Once your shirt was over your head, you fixed Billy with a look that silently asked, 'Are you serious?'.

“Why would you step mom's birth control be in your bed?” Your eyes were squinting so tightly together that they were practically shut. You couldn't believe that you even had to ask a question so ridiculous. You knew the birth control wasn't Max's because she was thirteen and you weren't about to entertain the possibility that Neil Hargrove was cheating, not Billy. The fact of the matter was there was birth control pills in Billy's bed and they were not yours. “I'm leaving. I can't be here right now.” You swung your legs over his bed and stood up and Billy had to stop himself from pushing you back down, he stood in front of you and tightly took your wrist in one hand to keep you from moving away from him.

Fear shone evidently through your eyes as a gasp was stuck in your throat, mouth hanging open as Billy shook in front of you with his eyes maintaining a piercing glare at you. He had scared you, just like he did when he sped with his eyes shut. He remembered how shitty he felt when he pulled over,  manically laughing only to see how terrified and upset you were by his side. Billy loosened his grip and slid his fingers over your palm softly until his hands were locked behind his head.

“It was one time, [Y/N].” He confessed and rolled his eyes as soon as you huffed. “It meant nothing. I was drunk. I don't even remember her.”

You didn't know what to think or what to believe because, all at once, the trust between you both that kept your relationship together was broken. It was impossible to know now if Billy was telling you the truth or not.

Your mouth stayed hanging open until you swallowed at the pain forming in your chest and threatening to meet your throat. You bent down to collect your things and pack them up in your school bag. The music you could usually tune out was growing louder and it made the room feel smaller. All you wanted to do was get out. Billy was hovering over you as you unzipped your bag and started stuffing things into it.

“Come on, don't leave. Talk to me. Hit me. Scream at me. Don't fucking leave.” Billy spoke at you, frustration with the situation obvious in his tone. Up until then you had never heard a vocal eye roll.

“I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to hit you. I don't want to - “ Stopping yourself you started looking around his room for your cardigan, not sure where he had pulled it off of you when you first came in an hour and a half ago. “Billy, I can't even think right now. You lied to me today and for however many other days...” Right now, you were in action mode, but your voice was warbling along with your bottom lip and you didn't know how long you could stay there without sobbing. The ache in your chest was beginning to knock loudly and you were seconds away from letting it in.

“One girl! One time. You're going to throw this away because of one fuck up?” He shouted at you, side stepping to stay in your path every time you tried to move past him.

“Was it Brenda?” You asked, thinking of the cigarette carton on his nightstand.

“Who?” He asked right as you saw your knit sweater laying over top of his messy dresser. Billy was confused by the female name you guessed and let you slip over to his dresser due to the distraction. You peeled your arms through each sleeve viciously and then opened up his top drawer, just in case he was lying again. The collection of lacy underthings confirmed in a bevvy of colors that everyone else was right about Billy. You had been played. For a second, you heaved out a laugh and then glanced over your shoulder as you could sense Billy coming closer. His cologne wafted closer, the floor creaked under his socked feet, and his body's warmth was infringing on your back. You spun around and tossed the first underwear you grabbed, a small black crotchless contraption that you had never even considered wearing. It hit his chest lightly and slid down him to the floor, but before he had looked up from his feet he had a handful of other pieces being tossed at him.

“One fucking girl!” You shouted as you threw bra after bra after underwear at him, eyes burning with tears that were rushing out of you in a heavy flood. “One girl!” You screamed. “What did she move in for a week?” You didn't look at the sizes of lingerie, but you could tell they weren't all just from one girl and, if they were, they were not from just one night. Loudly, you began to sob as Billy moved in closer. He took your arms, one by the wrist and one by the elbow to keep you from whacking at him and tried to hold you firmly in one spot. “You don't deserve me!” You screamed in his face, your own violently turning red. Nancy had told you from the night you first went out on a date to the movies with Billy. He didn't deserve you. At the time, it sounded silly, but now you wanted it to be true. You wanted her to be right finally.

“Calm the fuck down.” Billy warned behind grit teeth. He couldn't talk to you if you were so worked up. “[Y/N]!” He groaned bombastically as you tried to wrestle away from him, but before he could carry you over to his bed to sit you down, his bedroom door swung open and his Dad looked angrier than both of you in the doorway.

“Both of you!” He almost roared, holding himself back. You knew that Neil had a temper that inspired his son's, but he had never directed it at you before. He had degraded his son in your presence or raised his voice at Billy, but Neil largely left you out of it. It was no secret that he felt you were too good for his boy. “Stop it.” He growled and instantly Billy let go of you. “Max is going to sleep, you two are being very fucking rude,” He kept going, his glare opening fire on Billy and then bouncing quickly over to you. “turn your music off and shut up!” He shouted before composing himself. His chest fell inward and he took note of the girl's underwear all over the floor behind his son. “[Y/N], it's time for you to go home.” You were only there under the belief that you and Billy were working on homework together. He didn't think that included studying for the debate team.

“Yep.” For once, you agreed with Billy's dad. With one wrist, you wiped at your eyes and then stalked between the Hargrove men to collect your backpack. “I'm sorry, Mr. Hargrove.” The manners your grandmother drilled into you as a little girl won and you couldn't help, but mumble out an apology as you walked by Neil to the door.

“I'll drive you home.” Defeated, Billy sighed and walked around his bed to find his jean jacket and keys. You didn't turn around though, you didn't stop to wait or acknowledge him at all. “It's cold out.” He spoke past his Dad to you, but you walked towards his living room, out of his sight. Leaving him alone to handle his Dad's wrath, not playing the role of his safe haven anymore.

[mubal4]

Glad I said Yes!

 This past Saturday I had a plan to go out for a long run. Typically, the week after a race I would have a light, recovery week.  However, since my next couple of weeks will be busy with traveling, volunteering, soccer games, etc. I figured I would just back up the 50k from last Saturday with another longer week of training runs.  During the week I was able to get a few, good, middle distance runs in but did want to hit one of my favorite trails, Pemberton, for a long 20+ mile run. Then, during the next two hectic weeks, I would try my best to get as much, time on feet as possible, whenever possible.  I was also planning to reach out to a friend of mine, and fellow ultra-runner, Jeff, to see if he would like to join me.  We are both training for the same 50 miler in December and we’ve been trying to get out in between our race schedule and life as husbands and fathers 😊.  I was delighted to get a text from him on Thursday afternoon inviting me to actually join him on another portion of my favorite trail with a nice climb up Thompson Peak and some of the other surrounding mountains in the McDowell Mountain Range. As the title of this entry says, I am glad I said yes.  The company was terrific, and we talked the majority of the 20+miles.  Although, we were both a bit quite on the big climb high above Scottsdale 😊.  I typically, and I think Jeff too, run alone on most training runs.  So, having him to share these miles was refreshing and made the morning go by.  We discussed life, races, running, shoes, food, family and the crazy thing is, we met not even a year ago while we were both crewing an aid station, ironically for this same race we are training for.  We actually made a pit stop at that same spot on the course Saturday and soaked it in.  That day last December was a great day with some great people, Jeff and his brother Greg being two of them 😊.  We got out a couple of times earlier this year and Jeff was willing to pace for the 2nd half of the Black Canyon 100k last February.  We were planning on him doing the last 10 miles with me. However, because of weather, they rerouted the course, so it turned out he did 25+miles and that was the longest he had run in a very, very long time, possibly ever at that point.  I am so proud to say he completed his first ultra, a 50k a few weeks ago and has another 50k in a few weeks before taking on the 50 miler.  After running with him this Saturday, I am confident to say he will be ready to go for both and I am excited to spend some more time on the trails with him leading up to the race, and hopefully, during the race as well.  The ultra-running community is a special place and it has afforded me the opportunity to meet folks like Jeff, his brother, and so many other genuine, authentic people, all with a story to share.  “They” 😊 say ultra-runners are usually running from something.  There may be some truth to that.  I think we all get into it and are driven toward it for some reason, but we stay because of the culture of the community and the wonderful people we get to meet. There are often times I want to be, and, maybe I need to be, alone on my runs.  It helps me clear my head, decompress, and let my mind work through circumstances.  It also provides me the opportunity to not think of anything at all and just run.  I do like the peace and calmness a solo training run provides; especially when you are out in a remote area and have the trail all by yourself.  But then there are those days, like Saturday with Jeff, that I am grateful to experience. We got to see an incredible sunrise, some amazing views from atop Thompson Peak, and ran into 2, yes 2, tarantulas.  I thought it may have been the same one but Jeff provided a dose of reality, very compassionately too, by explaining that it would have been hard, “although possible Mike,” for that one tarantula to travel about 1.5 miles over the course of 90 minutes.  The picture is of the 2nd one we saw………. which looks almost identical to the first one (still think it is the same one 😊).  Over the next couple of weeks, it is going to be challenging for us to get out, but I think we will be able to prior to his next race.  Fortunately, in the meantime I will be volunteering at the Javelina Jundred next Saturday, the site of my 2nd 100 miler from last year.  It will be a different perspective crewing an aid station and helping other runners create a new story for them but like my time with Jeff, I will be sharing 8-10 hours with a gaggle of those wonderful people within this community and will likely have some more pictures, and, another story to share next week. Until then, get out and enjoy the fresh air, get some time on feet, and say “yes” a little more, you never know what the experience will give you!!

[anonymoustalks]

I did half marathons and triathlons years ago! Stopped then for a while just do 5 and 10Ks now

(6-15-20) You both like conversation.

Stranger: Hi

You: hi

Stranger: How are you?

You: a little stressed but okay

Stranger: I hear you

You: wha about you?

Stranger: Pretty good thanks

You: anything on your mind?

Stranger: Not a lot, just in from a run

You: oh, thats nice

You: do you run a lot?

Stranger: Yeah pre lockdown, 3 times a week. A bit more now I guess to keep sane!

You: thats cool!

Stranger: you run too, eh?

You: no, not really... I guess I don't have quite the motivation

Stranger: Hey I hear that, We all go through spells like that! Running is great to unwind though

You: yeah, I normally go on long walks

You: but for some reason it's hard to bring myself to run

Stranger: That's absolutely fair! I know plenty like that. Running takes practice

You: did you run competitively before?

Stranger: I did half marathons and triathlons years ago! Stopped then for a while just do 5 and 10Ks now

You: wow

Stranger: Mainly for fun but do the odd event, Great buzz there especially at the 10Ks

You: that's really good for you

Stranger: Yeah thanks, Hope to another 10K or even 5K after all this madness! Not the same now just running by myself

You: mhm right

Stranger: What are you upto today then anyway?

You: mhm I came back from work

You: feeling tired

You: had a shift from 6 to 2 today

Stranger: Wow fair play, Really admire people going into work these days! What do you do?

You: research kinda

You: idk if there's much to admire though

You: some places are just opening up

Stranger: Yeah fair play, you like your work?

You: I like it when it isn't stressful haha

Stranger: Haha We can sing that! What sort of things do you research?

You: biology things, skin, that type of stuff

You: what do you do?

Stranger: Nice one, Sounds very impressive!

Stranger: I am a business manager

You: oh wow

You: that sounds especially impressive

Stranger: Thanks mate, Got a lucky break and promotion a few years back! Haha Love what I do though

You: that's great

You: what kind of area is your business in?

Stranger: It's a financial firm, That's my background

Stranger: Still do some finance and number work But I'm Over recruitment in the firm now and oversee how new grads and interns settle in

You: wow that sounds really impressive too haha

You: out of curiosity, what brings you to omegle?

Stranger: Thanks mate

Stranger: Just a quick Chat I guess, Needed a bit more of a break from home here, New on. You?

You: I guess just tired, possibly? decompressing?

You: do you ordinarily get good conversations here?

Stranger: Not really, Just my 3rd time on - Been lucky though and met an interesting person both last times. You?

You: ohh, it's mostly just up and down... omegle certainly has a bad reputation though

Stranger: I hear that Damn I Definitely met my fair share of bots and wasters before. Lucky tonight though, Just on

You: yeah I guess it's a good day!

You: if you don't mind me asking random questions, what are some misconceptions that people have about working in financial firms?

Stranger: Think we are all serious. Or that we make maths jokes... Neither of which are true

You: I think I had a family friend who was in finance, I heard he worked very long hours

You: I don't know much though

Stranger: Yeah That's pretty true actually, Wish it was a misconception!

You: aww haha

You: what makes it long hours?

Stranger: I generally start at 8 and I'm lucky if I'm out by 5, Sometimes it's after 6

Stranger: A lot of meetings, accounts, I give talks and workshops to new grads/interns/students etc. So that keeps me busy now too

You: huh and there's stuff you have to finish by the end of the day?

You: I feel like my perception is like people leaving after 8 or 9 or something

You: and then people going to get drinks

You: idk if that's completely off at all though lol

Stranger: Generally yes - We have to finish accounts by end of the day

Stranger: Sometimes I can leave planning a workshop or talk or getting back to emails till the next day but Then it builds up

You: right that would be bad

Stranger: Haha Yeah some of the guys do that Alright, We'd all feel like drinking after work at times

You: lol I don't really drink much (and I'm not very social) so I worry about how I come off if I decline hanging out like that

Stranger: Haha Hey mate, I rarely drink with them either to be honest - There's absolutely no pressure!

Stranger: I am always trying to convince co-workers to join me at the gym or running, Guess that makes me boring!

You: awww haha

You: yeah I'm never quite sure to what extent it counts as a work obligation or people just hanging out

Stranger: Hahaha No way is it an obligation buddy! We all have different commitments and interests in our life outside work!

You: like one time a supervisor I had when I was an intern invited me to hang out with his friends they were visiting a brewery

Stranger: That's a nice idea But I hope you didn't feel under pressure to show up

You: ah... I came up with an excuse

You: but I also worry about it making me seem cold

You: although I am fairly antisocial I think

Stranger: Hey That's no hassle - I am sure he absolutely understood, No way are you the first person who couldn't make it!

Stranger: Definitely doesn't make you antisocial either

You: ^^ I think I just don't really enjoy hanging out with people for some reason

You: I think omegle is nice because I don't have to go anywhere lool

You: and maybe it's low stakes too

Stranger: No problem with that buddy

Stranger: Where are you from?

You: us east

You: what about you?

Stranger: Nice one, Ireland here

You: ohh wow

You: my boss is irish

You: I heard it's very beautiful

Stranger: Haha No way, Very small world!

Stranger: Lovely countryside near me now alright - Very lucky! Hence I go running in it alot haha

Stranger: Tell me you get on well with your boss, eh?!

You: yup, she's nice

You: we are a big group though, and she's pretty busy

Stranger: I understand! Sounds great!

Stranger: Mind if I ask your name?

You: Mhmm I hope you're not offended if I don't share?

You: It's actually kind of unusual haha

Stranger: Absolutely No hassle! I understand it is a very personal question

You: some people tell me I should just make one up, but I prefer not to for some reaso

Stranger: It's all good

Stranger: Definitely appreciate the honesty far more

You: idk I think things are strange on omegle with its anonymity

Stranger: Spot on!

Stranger: I'm a guy anyway, Can tell you that

You: I don't really come to omegle for romantic purposes, so I hope you're not interested in anything

Stranger: Definitely not, I am only chatting

You: ^^ I've heard a lot of strange things on omegle lol

Stranger: I bet. That means you're a girl?

You: yup

Stranger: Cool

You: mhm it's just normal lol

You: I think it's interesting to hear about finance

You: I honestly don't know much about it at all

Stranger: Yep!

You: my younger brother was sort of interested in it

You: but then decided to do computer science

You: why did you choose finance btw?

Stranger: Oh Cool

You: I guess, what got you interested?

Stranger: I did a general business degree, I liked business at school

Stranger: And then specialised in finance

You: ohh interesting

You: do they have general business degree for university education?

Stranger: Yes

You: I feel like we don't have those at the undergraduate level in the US

You: most of our business schools are post-graduate

You: MBA

Stranger: I understand, We are lucky here Iguess

You: I wonder why a lot of things need post-graduate degrees here in the US

You: it's the same for medical education here I think

You: medical school is only after a bachelor's degree

Stranger: Yeah I have no idea

You: whereas almost everyone else in the world, you can go to medical school after high school

You: do you have anything you're passionate about, aside form running?

Stranger: Working out and playing football. Swimming a bit

You: oh I swam in high school

You: swimming is much more comfortable than running lol

You: at least in my opinion lol

Stranger: Haha yeah I hear you, Easier and more relaxing!

You: do you have a team you play football with?

Stranger: Yes!

Stranger: Probably my favourite thing to do, Really love it!

You: that's great!

You: are they your old team, or did you find a team?

Stranger: Yeah it's the same team I've played with all my life

You: wow it's nice that you're able to stay together

You: I feel like it is harder to find adult leagues of things once you grow up

Stranger: Yeah Absolutely! New members are always welcome on my team

You: Have there been many people who left over the years?

Stranger: But I understand what you mean, All our new players really are 16-18 and played on our kids teams for about 10 years

You: ahh

Stranger: Yes, People usually retire at about 30 and plenty give up as a teenager or in their 20s too

You: I feel like the intensity drops have high school / university too

You: or at least, that was my perception

You: *after

Stranger: For some yes, But not all! We still train very hard 2-3 times a week (pre-corona!)

You: wow haha

You: There was a master's swim team at the place I used to go to

You: but I remember always feeling like they were slow when I was in high school

You: but I'm probably slow now lololol

Stranger: Haha No I'm sure the masters are slow too!

Stranger: I actually took improver swimming lessons for adults before the lockdown, Loved them

Stranger: They are for adults who can swim But Would like to get better, Definitely recommend them to anyone!

You: that's cool

You: are your triathlons usually open water?

Stranger: Yes!

Stranger: They were that was a long time ago

Stranger: A long way off that now haha

Stranger: Of course the swimming instructor loved hearing I once did triathlons!

You: right

Stranger: For many years my swimming had been a 15 minute or so cool down after the gym

Stranger: I'm lucky the pool is at the gym But I Hadn't swam properly in years

You: mhm

You: I wonder when our gyms will reopen again

Stranger: Yeah Soon enough here

You: well, I think I will get going

You: it was really nice talking to you!

Stranger: Thanks very much for talking, wish you all the best

You: have a good evening!

[phatjosh180]

RACE #178: Oquirrh Mountain Half Marathon

One thing I tend to always point out to many Utah runners is how lucky we are to run here in Utah. Not only do we have NUMEROUS places to run, but we have a ton of awesome races as well.

Like, tons.

There always seems to be an argument that the market is over saturated, especially when you can pick from 2-3 half marathons on pretty much any given weekend. And, that’s usually just races between Weber County to Utah County along the Wasatch Front. I won’t argue that it’s a tad over saturated, but you won’t find me complaining about it either.

Race #178. Bib 178. Very fitting.

A post shared by So, I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 8:45am PDT

With this being my 178th race toward my 180 goal — this was my first time running this race. In fact it was the first time that I’ve run in Tooele. Two firsts for me which I find odd considering how much I’ve run in the past seven years. But, there’s a first for everything I guess?

Being very unfamiliar with the course and area I didn’t really go into the race with a time goal. My goal for pretty much every race is to simply do my best. I did kind of want a sub-three time, but I wasn’t so sure if that was possible after I glanced at the course. There was some great downhill, but there was also a good amount of climbing on an out-and-back that didn’t look like much fun.

When life gets too hard and nothing seems to be going your way, just remember I can’t match my socks to save my life … #race178 #oquirrhmountainhalf @joshruns180

A post shared by So, I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:21pm PDT

But, I knew at the end of the day if I did my best I could live with three hour plus time. I just didn’t want it to get to that point if I could avoid it.

Another thing of note about this race is that it’s a SMALL race. There were about 44 or so runners — which I believe that was spread amongst the half marathoners, 10Kers and 5Kers? And, it’s done that way because the race (which has been around since 2013) is a fundraiser for local scout troop.

So when we were “bussed” up the canyon in a caravan of minivans driven by the local LDS ward members — I didn’t mind. If I paid $75 or more for the race I probably would have expected at least a school bus. But, I paid $35. For that price I would have been okay with a scooter ride to the start line.

This was a first. Our bus up the canyon was basically a caravan of minivans driven by ward members. We rode in the Bishop’s minivan. No PPIs given. #race178 #oquirrhmountainhalf @joshruns180

A post shared by So, I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:12pm PDT

You get what you pay for — but, I’m glad I was able to help in their fundraiser. I remember doing odd fundraisers (we cleaned the old Jumbotron at the Delta Center one year) for our scout adventures. I guess it’s the most I can do being an Eagle Scout, right?

The Skinners, Janet, Zach and I jumped into one of the minivans for the ride up Middle Canyon and ended up riding with the bishop. He was a nice guy. He gave us a brief tour of the race course and gave us some pointers to avoid getting lost.

I made a joke about the number of runners and that odds are I’d be the last runner. I guess he took it as a sign that this was my first race. After I said I’ve done a few he asked how many — I won’t lie, outside of my friends and this blog I always feel uncomfortable telling people how many races I’ve done. I don’t want that to define me, especially since this goal is much more than just a number.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:17pm PDT

So I just left at over a hundred or so. Specific enough to be honest and vague enough to not feel too braggy. We talked about marathon and trail races as well. In any regard he was a really nice guy and we had a fun ride up the canyon.

After snapping a couple quick pictures we only waited less than 5 minutes before we were off and running. As low key as this race was I really appreciated that part. It was a BIT chilly, not too bad — but, I didn’t want to wait around to run.

As soon as we were off I started running with Janet. She is much faster than me and so I just enjoyed the conversation with her because I expected her to eventually blaze pavement. But, she never did.

Calling this a small race would be an understatement. I caught this picture before the gun — annnnd, I won’t lie, I feel like it’s a picture of the opening prayer. #race178 #oquirrhmountainhalf @joshruns180

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:15pm PDT

The first few miles blew by pretty quickly. Between the nice drop in the canyon and our conversation I was feeling great and enjoying my time. The canyon itself was gorgeous and I wish I took more pictures than I did during the race, but I’m not going to complain because I had great company.

At mile six the course deviated to the right for a 5-6ish mile out and back up Smelter Rd. This was the toughest part of the whole race. It wasn’t a horrible climb, but it was a gradual uphill with a few rollers thrown into the mix. It was tough. But, Janet and I did a run walk method up the road that kept us going.

The return trip down Smelter Rd. was much better and enjoyable. The view of the Great Salt Lake, the Stansbury Mountains and farmland (along with lots of cows) was absolutely amazing. A view I wish I personally discovered much earlier.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:49pm PDT

Janet and I plugged along with great laughs and conversation. We talked a lot about Robert and how much we both miss him. We both talked about how difficult it is to be at so many of these races and know that he’d be there to if he was still here. We talked about this week’s AF Canyon Run Against Cancer and how hard that will be, especially since the team name is in honor of Robert.

And, throughout our conversation I was personally reminded how that as difficult as it’s been processing his passing — how blessed I should that I knew him. And, as I reflect on my 180 race journey it’s not the specific races I remember — it’s the people, it’s the moments. And, I’ve been reminded of that these past couple of weeks.

When people ask me what’s next? I don’t look at my Race 180 as an end. Just because I hit Race 180 doesn’t mean that the journey I’ve discovered is over. There’s going to be other adventures, new friendship and even more cherished moments as long as I continue to move forward — which I will.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 12:55pm PDT

As Janet and I took the final turn to the finish line we both embraced hand-in-hand with arms raised in triumph — followed by a big sweaty hug. It was a perfect ending to such a perfect race with such a great friend.

Not only was the race emotionally and spiritually perfect, physically we slayed it. We both came in at 2:50:27! A time I wasn’t so sure I’d get. But, between the distraction of our conversation, pushing each other on Smelter Rd. and not worrying about time — we did something I was not expecting.

But, as excited as I was about the time that obviously wasn’t my biggest take away from the race. It was just a great sweetener.

A post shared by So, I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 16, 2018 at 1:41pm PDT

After grabbing some water I then collapsed on the church lawn by the Skinners, Zach and Carla as we waited for Colette and Reese to run it in. It was the perfect way to decompress my emotions and reflect on the moment.

The focus right now is AF Canyon this weekend. A race I know that will be pretty emotionally for a number of us as we’re running for Robert. But, at the same time I hope to be able to build upon on this race and continue to get faster. I’m really shooting for a 2:45 or faster. But, we’ll see.

I’m now just two races away from this goal. It’s hard to believe.

Breathe in and smile.

THE ROAD TO 180

The following are the remaining races to Race #180 at the Bountiful Handcart Days Half Marathon on July 21st. If you would like to join me on my Race #180 there’s a Facebook event you can RSVP at here.

A post shared by The Runcast (@theruncast) on Sep 28, 2017 at 11:33am PDT

RACE #178: Oquirrh Mountain Half Marathon was originally published on PhatJosh | My Life Running.

[youreghanamissme]

Hey There, Brown Booger

a11/14/2017

It's that time of year again-- when I'll have to filter my tears, my sweat, and every drop of water imaginable because the rain has finished. The landscape has reverted back to its tan and dusty self. I can no longer leave anything of value near the windows overnight lest I want to a nice coat of dust on it in the morning. My boogers are red-brown, and soon, my hacking cough caused by the dust will return in full force. Moto drivers have already started to wear their face masks, some of which perform double duty as a fashion statement (fuzzy cheetah print is all the rage right now, y'all). It's been a while since I've sat down and typed about myself. I wish I could say it is because I'm a very, very important person who hasn't a modicum of time to spend on my arse, detailing the contents of my crazy life to the internet. Nope, nada, nein! Idleness is three-fifths of existence in country. Henceforth, the abridged capitulation of the past few months for my five readers out there (hey peeps!)...

I.       Wake Me Up When September Ends

Half a year later, and GLOW/BRO camp still lives! One of my favorite campers had been reminding me to visit her community for a while, and I wanted to! But life happens, so instead, I invited her to mine :) She's a Gonja by tribe, so I thought it would be cool to show her a little taste of how we live it up in the heart of Dagomba land. Her stay was short but sweet. She wanted to continue living a slice of my siliminga (foreigner) lifestyle, but she couldn't bear to be apart from her mother for too long. Her siblings don't help their mother out at the market. Honest, my few days with Gifty were some of the most rewarding and intense bonding moments I've had as a mentor. Spending time with her illuminated a fact of Ghanaian life that I already knew but never fully internalized until Gifty shared with me the hardships of her life—that children in Ghana are forced to deal with the burden of adulthood far too early. We cried, we laughed, we watched a lot of movies and played a lot of checkers... Youth camps may be a finite venture in the Peace Corps realm of projects, but I say participate if you can. Or, just work with youth through volunteership or something. If not for GLOW/BRO I wouldn't have met some of the most intelligent, self-motivated, and hopeful young people in Ghana.

Casa de Deeshini was lit in September! Thankfully not literally. The end of the month marked the Fire Festival, a traditional Dagomba celebration. The story goes something like this:

A long, long time ago a Dagomba prince went missing. His father—the Chief—and the community members scoured the land for him. At the edge of the community they found him asleep in a tree. They concluded that the tree was evil for stealing their prince from them. They rescued him, and to punish the tree, they threw flaming torches at it. And every year following the prince's abduction, they would set a tree on fire with flaming torches to commemorate the return of the prince and to penalize the tree.

I wasn't able to go last year because I was at OpSmile in Tamale, so I knew I HAD to go to the one in my community this year or else I would forever regret it. And y'all... IT. WAS. LIT. ...LITERALLY!! I have never seen nor experienced so much energy in my community. Hell, I have never seen so many people out and about in my community. There was so much food and drumming and singing, and people were so, so kind. We made torches; we gave torches away; people gave us torches... I loved it. Every single minute of it. I got such a high from the cumulative energy of the whole experience. I invited a few PCV's to come and join in on the festivities where my community lit not one, but THREE trees on fire. We were conked after Tree #2 and headed back to decompress and catch some Z's, but I have never danced, screamed, yelled, sang, and ran with such intensity or felt such ecstasy as I have at Fire Fest. I truly felt beloved and accepted by my community at that moment, and I will forever hold onto those feels when PC life isn't looking so bright.

  II.    It's Scorpio Season, Bitches

October was so intense that I was barely in my community. I had a lot of workshop prep going on that took me out of site (more on that below). It was also my birthday month, the race in Accra, and Halloween (one of my Top 5 favorite holidays of all time)!

It was a little embarrassing this year. I forgot how old I was. I did the math and thought I lost a year of my life, culminating in one of the most pitiful weeks in the history of my existence (sorry, PCV friends who had to deal with my woes and existential crisis), but then I realized I did the math wrong and felt young and relieved (who needs to swim in a tub of virgin blood to retain your youth when you can just buy a calculator?)! Woo-hoo! But then it made me think... is my shitty memory due to the antimalarial pills or am I just truly deplorable in simple arithmetic? The jury is still out.

I celebrated my most recent revolution around the sun with my long-lost twin... who just happens to be from the other side of United States of America (South Carolina, holla at yer guuurl). Something was amiss when I found out that Allie and I both had an unhealthy obsession with costume/ period dramas, chiefly of the British persuasion. And then she told me she used to be a museum docent (!! One of my dream jobs!! Up there with bartender). And when I I found out we had the same birthday... OH LAWD.

It all made sense. We are basically the same person. Once our mutual love for Antiques Roadshow was uncovered, it was basically like the universe was fucking around. What else was there for us to do? Throw a joint costume birthday party, duh.

October 23rd, dudes. I made acquaintances write it on their calendar, and I'm not even ashamed.

But we celebrated the day before because, y'know, the weekend.

She dressed up as Squints from The Sandlot (ugh, a classic!). I dressed up as a deadbeat-nik. Yeah, YEEEAH. Y'all aren't the only ones who didn't think it was punny/ funny. It's fine though. I chuckled to myself. It also gave me the opportunity to finally, after a year and a half, wear that beret that I got in Accra. KG had proclaimed time and again, “Di, I don't know why you bought that fucking beret. It's a million degrees outside. YOU'LL NEVER WEAR IT.”

I whatsapped her a photo of me in the beret.

It was super fun. Friends came and dressed up, even though some of them hate costume parties, DIY costume parties even more so. I had a grand ol' time, and I thank the folks who made it out and those who wished me a HBD.

A couple days after my superspecialawesome day was the regional Tamale Spelling Bee. My homegirl Sarah is involved with the organization/ event, having volunteered last year. It seemed like such a cool opportunity that I asked and received permission to help out too. I'm not well-versed in the logistics, but the brightest of the bunch in Tamale will travel down to Accra to participate in the national spelling bee. Ghana is the only country in West Africa that participates in the International Spelling Bee held by Scripps. The winner of the national spelling bee gets to go to America to participate in the Scripps competition. They also receive a cash prize (thousands of Cedis, dude), material gifts, and a trip to South Africa or something. Their teacher gets to accompany them too, so it's not just the student benefiting. It's such a cool opportunity, and I'm sad to say that the students (Primary 6 to JHS 2 are eligible) in the north do not have as great an advantage as those in the more southern regions, especially those from Greater Accra or Tema with their ipads and better, more consistent education. But to see the Northern students try their hardest made my heart swell. These students were so bright that some stiff competition will not diminish their shine!!

There were two parts to the regional contest. A written comprehension portion and a verbal spelling portion. The combined scores determined who was going to go to Accra. At the end of the verbal spelling portion, after students had been spelling for over two hours, many remained, but only five students were supposed to be selected. The spellers were exhausted, and somehow the MC of the event asked her boss, the event organizer, if he would allow to send the remaining six spellers to Accra. In a moment of unexplained virtue, he was convinced (sucks for that seventh student that was eliminated...), and the crowd erupted into cheers and whoops and whistles. Just pure happiness, y'all.

 After the Bee, the Accra International Marathon happened. I participated. I didn't die. #praisebe #underhiseye

It was awesome to see so many expats, Ghanians, children, and students participating in the race. I even ran into (not literally, thank jah!) a colleague from an NGO in the North at the 10K starting point! Pardon my smugness, but I wasn't last! In the scheme of life, it doesn't matter as much as the fact that I finished! WOO-HOO!! It was such a thrill. And I felt overwhelmed with joy when I heard the friendly cheers calling out my name near the finish line. These voices were familiar... these voices could only come from loud PCV's who DGAF!! It was bliss to see my friends there. The best thing to come out of training and completing the race was my new found appreciation for running. I have said in the past that I hate running. I often scream it at the top of my lungs when people ask me my views on the very subject, “I. HAAATE. RUNNINGGG!!”

I hate it less now. Part of it may be my assumption that “running” meant going hard, 100% of the time. I'm more lax about it. I walk a little here and there, and I always listen to a good podcast while I'm out completing a run. Take home story: if I can be converted to the Church of Somehow-Running, you can be too. Even though it often appears so, it's not some sort of cult. It just feels nice after you finish (It's those goddamn endorphins). I even kinda feel like a lump if I skip running for too many days. I'm hoping to one day train towards a half marathon and then, maybe, a full marathon, kindasortanotreallyidunno.

Whenever I'm in Accra, which is seldom, I try to couple my visit with a medical purpose because all medical distins are taken care of there. Sucks for folks in the Northern and Upper regions. I went to the dentist for some tooth pain that had been recurring for months. The PC Medical Officer had been telling me that we should “wait and see” about the pain for the past half-year. Whelp, I got it sort of checked out. It's a cavity, underneath a filling of an older cavity... probably. They weren't 100% certain since their x-ray machine was broken and they couldn't fix it before I left for the north. Dang-diddily-nabbit. Add that to my diminishing hearing abilities (to be checked out next time I'm in the country capital as well) and frequent questionable moles (sunscreen is moot when you sweat it all off), and I tell ya what—Ghana, maybe, has a vendetta against me.

  III. I'm An Unauthorized Authority Because I Have a Degree In This

I was chosen to be a trainer for the 2017 Nutrition IST (In Service Training). YASSSS. YAAASSSSS. Started as a participant, now I'm here!

It was a lot of work and planning, and my team was fabulous. The star qualities of this IST compared to the other IST's offered in country are that a female counterpart is required, that female CP's can bring their child, and that there are translators available, so English comprehension/ a formal education is not a requirement. The latter two solutions are imperative in overcoming many of the barriers that prevent women (the primary caretakers and often the MVP when it comes to nutrition in the household) from going to Peace Corps Ghana trainings. I am so proud that the Nutrition IST was so inclusive and mindful of the mamas.  It's empowering to the women that participate, and it's encouraging as trainers and as PCV's to witness their growth and excitement.

I have to give plenty of kudos to the Moringa Man and the Health PCVLT (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader-Trainer ?? I don't know. Too many letters in this acronym) for arranging curriculum that is interactive and varied to meet the needs of our audience.

The Ghanaian diet is mostly carbs and fats because it's cheaper to, say, pound a cash crop like maize into a ball and eat it with groundnut stew, a soup made of a lot of oil (more fat means more calories AND it helps preserve the stew) and another accessible crop, than to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Poverty already affects access to vegetables and meat. The dry season—a time when food is scarce and can be more costly to families whose plush harvest money has already been spent—makes good nutrition even harder. Knowing that food security is an issue, we did our best to come up with applicable alternatives that Ghanaians can explore, highlighting the nutritional benefits of staple crops but emphasizing the addition of others that are available in the market.

We put the men to work in the kitchen!

We did a LOT of cooking demos, often with fortified recipes for existing Ghanaian meals. We discussed the benefits of breastfeeding, certain micro-nutrients during pregnancy, the correlation between food safety/hygiene and malnutrition caused by frequent diarrhea, and so much more. Because the crops and the culture of the northern regions of Ghana are vastly different from the southern regions, we had two separate workshops.

The best surprise is hearing updates from PCV's who attended and their stories about their empowered CP's holding space to talk about nutrition in their communities. Moments like these remind me of the reasons why I'm here and why I choose to stay. I have a lot more thoughts on the Nutrition IST that I'd like to spotlight in a post apart, just because there are so many facets to it. Look forward to it soon, hopefully haha

  It's November now, so I can stop listening to Christmas music in the privacy of my own room and start singing “Santa Baby” off-key in public. More updated posts coming somehow-soon (read: as soon as I finish my session plans for future nutrition IST’s, eek!)