#first of all WHY would you take a TAXI to SOUTH DAKOTA that is SO MUCH MONEY

[peachcitt]

thinking about him (the gnc man i met at a tattoo shop in my dream who decided to take a taxi to south dakota to find himself after one night of knowing me)

[magdelen69]

The Meeting

I had just crossed the finish line of the Mini Marathon. I was glad that I had flown out from South Dakota. Indianapolis wasn’t my last stop on my trip. I was going to Jersey, the Island dependency of the UK. I was going to run in the Durrell Challenge. It’s a 13k, not as long as the Half Marathon I’d just run, but between the two races, I would be short 6 miles of running a full Marathon.

So after my shower, I checked out and called my Uber. I was on my way to the Indianapolis International Airport. I had my compression sleeves and socks. They were helping with the recovery by opening the circulation and getting the acid that comes with running 13.1 miles to go down.

My flight will get to London by way of a layover in New York. In London, I will need to take a taxi to the Ferry where I get on and go across the Channel to the Island. Then another Taxi to the Hotel. But fate had other plans.

I hate flying. When I say that I mean I haven’t flown in a plane since 1992 when I got out of the Army. I had to fly from Seoul, South Korea to San Francisco to my home town of Rapid City, South Dakota. I was also four months pregnant at the time. I’m also superstitious. If I have heard of a third plane crash, I’m not getting on the plane. I’m convinced death comes in threes. I’m going to be on that third plane when it goes down. I know its stupid Lol....

But to say I’m looking forward to this layover is an understatement. I booked myself a first-class ticket on British Airway A380. You get a Massage (and after the Half Marathon, this is much needed), Spa and British Airways own skincare used on you. Full wait service and a full meal with wine pairing. Bed service (hopefully they can wake me up).

I was looking at my phone, not paying attention, reading comments on my Social Media from my Back On My Feet Family when I tripped over my own two feet. When I looked over, I was staring at Kal Cavill, the scuba diving, feline chasing big bear and jungle pig himself. He was looking at me wondering what this human was doing on the floor at his level. He looked up at his Adonis and Hercules's looking owner, Henry, a question on his face (She’s one you)

Looking down and trying not to laugh, “Are you okay?”

“ Yeah, I do this all the time.” This was not how I wanted to get Henry’s attention but since I had it. I was going to with the flow of the moment.

“Thanks for checking. The last time I did something like this I broke my wrist. I was also 10 and I was playing soccer at the time. I mean Football that is what you call it in England right?”

“I’m impressed That you know that. I’m Henry Cavill.”

“I’m Leah and I know who are. I’ve been watching your career since you starred in The Tudors. I’ve seen most of your movies correction I own most of your movies.”

“Impressive. Which ones haven’t you seen, and why haven't you seen them?”

“That would be Hellraiser: Hellworld and Bloodcreek. Horror and I just don’t get along it’s my thing.”

“Would you like to join me? I was just about to eat a light meal and read my script.”

“I would love to, but I know that you don’t get a lot of time to yourself because of fans like myself. I don’t want to interrupt you or anything.”

“It’s because of my fans that I’m where I’m at. Besides, I asked you. It’s not like you fell on purpose. Or did you?”

“I will never tell..lol but no I didn't I was looking at my phone. (yawning) If I fall asleep will you wake me up? That massage really got me to relax.”

“Now I’m your alarm clock and you haven't even answered my question!”

“Oh My GOD! How did I forget that? I blame it on your handsomeness. Yes, I would love to join you.”

“Why are flying to England?”

“To meet you.”

“What? Wait..”

“Let me explain. I’m running in the Durrell Challenge. I signed up as a VIP. I raised enough funds to get to have breakfast with you and get the photo op.”

“You just run a Half Marathon and next week you’re going to run a 13k?”

“Yeah”

“Are you ..”

“Insane? I have my moments where I don’t think everything through. I figured this was the only way to meet and get a photo with you.”

“Why not go to Comic-Con?”

“That’s a lottery draw. I’m not guaranteed a ticket. This way I get to help endangered animals and run and meet you.”

“Why a week early? Why not fly out Thursday?”

“I want to acclimate to the weather. I want to see the Hills that some people have told me is killer.”

“You’re going to do some training before the race?”

“Yeah, just to familiarize myself with the course since you or Charlie wouldn't answer my question on Instagram. I had to fly out early.”

Later…

“Thank You for inviting me to join you for dinner, Mr. Cavill.”

“Leah, I told you, it’s Henry.”

“ I really can’t call you by your name.”

“We just spent an hour having dinner together. You can call by my name. I insist.”

“I enjoyed it. Is it alright if I pet King Kal?”

“Yes. He enjoys a head scratch now and then.”

“I’ll see you on the plane. Hopefully”

I move to gather up my stuff, making sure I have everything as I was getting tired from the days earlier race. 

Henry could tell something was amiss. 

“Leah, what’s wrong ?” 

“I’m just tired from the race. My anxiety about flying is going into hyperdrive. I'm not big on flying. In fact, I haven’t flown since I was in the Army back in 1992.”

“You were in the Service?” 

“Don’t look so surprised. I mean, I know I don't look like Gal Gadot, but I did just run 13.1 miles. I can hold my own. I can shoot pretty well, you know.”

“I didn’t mean to offend. You just don't look like the type.”

“I get that all the time.” Yawning one more time. “I know that I am going to pass out in my seat.”

“I’ll wake you up when the plane gets to London. How are you getting to Jersey?”

“I’m taking a taxi to the Ferry, then another Taxi to the Hotel in Jersey.”

“ You really have this all planned out, didn't you?”

“ Yeah, all except for meeting you in New York. That kind of threw a kink into all my plans. But it was a good thing because I probably would have skipped dinner and wine. But you didn't get to look over your script.”

“With the way you're yawning. I'll get to look over it while the plane is flying. It is a seven and a half hour flight.”

“ Oh great, that means I can sleep. If we crash Superman will save me… Right?”

“ Now you’re being cheeky” 

“You mean just like you were when you were when you were on Fallon?”

Talking on the way to the gate, I make sure I have my boarding pass out so that the flight attendants can see it.

Henry looks at it and sees that it's right beside where he and Kal are gonna be, that way he can wake me when we land.

After the seven and a half hour flight, Henry leans over and wakes me up.

“Hey, beautiful wake up.”

“No, I don’t want to, Mom. I was having a great dream.”

“ Hey, beautiful wake up. This is Superman. I'm here to save you.”

“Shit. we’ve crashed.”

“So you are awake.”

“Yeah I heard the Captain say chairs in the Upright position” 

“ Did you have to call me Mom?” 

“ Well, I could’ve called you Dad, but you get called that all the time on the internet.” 

“You’ve seen that.”

“More like I’ve watched the Thirst Video.”

“Are any of those-”

“Those are my questions. I'm not saying nor am I going to admit anything.”

“Did you get to read your script?”

“Yes and No. There was an angel sleeping beside me who kept whimpering. Kal went over 

several times to make sure you were okay.”

Blushing a little bit. “I’m so so sorry. Everyone says I do that. I told you I hate to fly”

Looking up at Henry to make sure it was ok to touch Kal. “Thank You for checking on me. I owe you a flavored bone the next time I see you. If that is ok with you, of course.”

“I don’t see why it wouldn't be Ok”

As we make our way off the plane and down towards the carousel where we pick up our luggage I see my black luggage. Henry was standing just a few feet away and grabbed the same luggage but when I looked at the tag on the one I had in my hand. It said Henry Cavill. This can't be happening to me. Why does fate want to embarrass me in front of God and everyone? 

“Excuse me, Henry, your luggage looks like mine and I took it from the carousel by mistake.”

“I think you just wanted another way to talk to me again.” Smiling with a mischievous look in his eye. “Leah, why don't you save your money and get into the car with me? I'll take you to Jersey.”

This is for the writing challenge that @cavillanche posted.

Synopsis: This story is pure fluff.

 personal note I tag a few of you because all of you inspired me to write it. I missed a few @sciapod@adorkbeezle 

feedback is welcomed. remember first one. Thank to my editor @ hollydaisy23.

[wreckedhoney]

June 2019 – Highlights of Tristan Harris (Computer Scientist, Design Ethicist, ft. on documentary The Social Dilemma) and others before Senate Commerce Committee regarding large tech companies using algorithms and machine learning to influence the public in the context of radicalization from false information and accountability.

The video is sixteen minutes and transcribed, and I’ll paste the dialogue under a cut for this post with some highlights in bold, but I want to share first just one of the many important insights of this meeting:

“…the business model is to keep people engaged…There's a tendency to think here that this is just human nature – that people are polarized and this is just playing out; it's a mirror it's holding up, a mirror to society. But what it's really doing is it's an amplifier for the worst parts of us.…It's calculating what is the thing that I can show you that will get the most engagement, and it turns out that outrage, moral outrage, gets the most engagement.…the polarization of our society is actually part of the business model.”

“…shorter, briefer things work better in Attention Economy than long, complex, nuanced ideas that take a long time to talk about…But reality and the most important topics to us are increasingly complex, while we can say increasingly simple things about them that automatically creates polarization – because you can't say something simple about something complicated and have everybody agree with you; people will, by definition, misinterpret and hate you for it, and then it's never been easier to retweet that and generate a mob that will come after you… subsequent effects in polarization are amplified by the fact that these platforms are rewarded to give you the most sensational stuff.”

Harris: Everything you said –  it's sad to me because it's happening not by accident but by design, because the business model is to keep people engaged – which, in other words, this hearing is about persuasive technology, and persuasion is about an invisible asymmetry of power. 

When I was a kid, I was a magician, and magic teaches you that you can have asymmetric power without the other person realizing it. You can masquerade to have asymmetric power while looking like you have an equal relationship. You say pick a card, any card, while meanwhile, you know exactly how to get that person to pick the card that you want – and essentially, what we're experiencing with technology is an increasing asymmetry of power that's been masquerading itself as an equal or contractual relationship where the responsibility is on us. 

So, let's walk through why that's happening in the race for attention, because there's only so much attention companies have. They get more of it by being more and more aggressive. I call it “the race to the bottom of the brainstem.” 

So, it starts with techniques like pull-to-refresh; so, you pull to refresh your newsfeed that operates like a slot machine. It has the same kind of addictive qualities that keep people in Las Vegas hooked to the slot machine. Other examples are: removing stopping cues. So, if I take the bottom out of this glass and I keep refilling the water or the wine, you won't know when to stop drinking. So, that's what happens with infinitely scrolling feeds; we naturally remove the stopping cues, and this is what keeps people scrolling. But the race for attention has to get more and more aggressive, and so it's not enough just to get your behavior and predict what will take your behavior; we have to predict how to keep you hooked in a different way. 

It crawled deeper down the brainstem into our social validation – so, that was the introduction of likes and followers and how many followers do I have. It was much cheaper to – instead of getting your attention – to get you addicted to getting attention from other people, and this has created the kind of mass narcissism and mass cultural thing that's happening with young people, especially today. After two decades in decline of the mental health of ten-to-fourteen year old girls, it has actually shot up in the last eight years, and this has been very characteristically the cause of social media and the race for attention. 

It's not enough just to get people addicted to attention, and the race has to migrate to AI, who can build a better predictive model of your behavior. And so, if you give an example of YouTube: You're about to hit play in a YouTube video, and you hit play, and then you think you're gonna watch this one video, and then you wake up two hours later and say, “What just happened?” The answer is, because you had a supercomputer pointed at your brain, the moment you hit play, it wakes up an avatar voodoo doll like version of you inside of a Google server, and that avatar based on all the clicks and likes and everything you've ever made – those are like your hair clippings and toenail clippings and nail filings that make the avatar look and act more and more like you. 

So, that inside of a Google server – they can simulate more and more possibilities. If I pick you for this video, if I pick you for this video, how long would you stay? The business model is simply, “what maximizes watch time?” This leads to the kind of algorithmic extremism that you've pointed out, and this is what's caused 70% of YouTube's traffic down be driven by recommendations; not by human choice, but by the machines. And it's a race between Facebook's voodoo doll, where you flick your finger – can they predict what to show you next? – and Google's voodoo doll. And these are abstract metaphors that apply to the whole tech industry, where it's a race between who can better predict your behavior. 

Facebook has something called loyalty prediction, where they can actually predict to an advertiser when you're about to become disloyal to a brand. So, if you're a mother, and you take Pampers diapers, they can tell Pampers, “Hey, this user is about to become disloyal to this brand.” So, in other words, they can predict things about us that we don't know about our own selves, and that's a new level of asymmetric power. 

And we have a name for this asymmetric relationship, which is a fiduciary relationship, or a duty of care – relationships the same standard we apply to doctors, to priests, to lawyers. Imagine a world in which priests only make their money by selling access to the confession booth to someone else. Except, in this case, Facebook listens to two billion people's confessions, has a supercomputer next to them, and is calculating and predicting confessions you're gonna make before you know you're gonna make them – and that's what's causing all this havoc. 

So, I'd love to talk about more of these things later. I just want to finish up by saying this affects everyone even if you don't use these products. You still send your kids to school where other people believing the anti-vaccine conspiracy theories impact your life, or other people voting in your elections. And when Marc Andreessen said into 2011, that the quote was, “Software is going to eat the world,” and what he meant by that – Marc Andreessen was the founder of Netscape – what he meant by that was that software can do every part of society more efficiently, because it's just adding efficiencies. And so, we're going to allow software to eat up our elections, we're gonna allow it to eat up our media, our taxi, our transportation – and the problem was that software was eating the world without taking responsibility for it. 

We used to have rules and standards around Saturday morning cartoons, and when YouTube gobbles up that part of society, it just takes away all of those protections. And I just want to finish up by saying that I know Mister Rogers, Fred Rogers, testified before this committee fifty years ago, concerned about the animated bombardment that we were showing children. I think he would be horrified today about what we're doing now, and at that same time, he was able to talk to the committee. And that committee made a choice differently, so I'm hoping we can talk more about that today. Thank you. 

Senator Thune (R-South Dakota): We know that internet platforms like Google and Facebook have vast quantities of data about each user. What can these companies predict about users based on that data? 

Harris: Thank you for the question. So, I think there's an important connection to make between privacy and persuasion that I think often isn't linked, so maybe it's helpful to link that. 

With Cambridge analytic – that was an event in which, based on your Facebook Likes, based on a hundred and fifty of your Facebook Likes, I could predict your political personality, and then I could do things with that. The reason I described in my opening statement that this is about an increasing asymmetry of power is that without any of your data, I can predict increasing features about you using AI. 

There's a paper recently that, with 80% accuracy, I can predict your same Big Five personality traits that Cambridge analytic got from you without any of your data. All I have to do is look at your mouse movements and click patterns. So, in other words, it's the end of the poker face. Your behavior is your signature – and we can know your political personality based on tweet text alone. We can actually know your political affiliation with about 80% accuracy. Computers can calculate probably that you're homosexual before you might know that you're homosexual. They can predict with 95% accuracy that you're gonna quit your job according to an IBM study. They can predict that you're pregnant. They can predict your micro expressions on your face better than a human being can. Micro expressions are your soft reactions to things that are not very visible, but are invisibly visible. Computers can predict that. As you keep going and you realize that you can start to deep fake things. You can actually generate a new synthetic piece of media, a new synthetic face, or synthetic message that is perfectly tuned to these characteristics. 

The reason why I open the statement by saying we have to recognize: That what this is all about is a growing asymmetry of power between technology and the limits of the human mind. My favorite socio-biologist, E.O. Wilson, said, “The fundamental problem of humanity is that we have Paleolithic ancient emotions, we have medieval institutions, and we have godlike technology.” So, we're chimpanzees with nukes, and our Paleolithic brains are limited. Again, the increasing exponential power of technology at predicting things about us, the reason why it's so important to migrate this relationship from being extractive to get things out of you, to being a fiduciary, is you can't have asymmetric power that is specifically designed to extract things from you – just like you can't have, again, lawyers or doctors whose entire business model is to take everything they learn and sell it to someone else. 

Except, in this case, the level of things that we can predict about you is far greater than actually each of those fields combined when you actually add up all the data that assembles a more and more accurate voodoo doll of each of us. And there's two billion voodoo dolls by the way; there's one for one out of every four people on Earth with YouTube and Facebook are more than two billion people. 

Senator Peters (D-Michigan): Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses. This is a fascinating discussion. I like to address an issue I think is of profound importance to our democratic republic – and that's the fact that, in order to have a vibrant democracy, you need to have an exchange of ideas and an open platform. And certainly, part of the promise of the Internet, as it was first conceived, is we'd have this incredible Universal Commons, where a variety of ideas would be discussed and debated, and it would be robust. And yet, it seems as if we're not getting that. We're actually getting more and more siloed. Doctor Wolfram, you mentioned how people could make choices, and they could live in a bubble, but at least it would be their bubble that they get to live in. But that's what we're seeing throughout our society as polarization increases, more and more folks are reverting to tribal type behavior. Mister Harris, you talked about our medieval institutions and Stone Age Minds. Tribalism was alive and well and in the past, and we're seeing advances in technology, in a lot of ways, bring us back into that kind of tribal behavior. So, my question is to what extent is this technology actually accelerating that, and is there a way out? 

Harris: Thank you. I love this question. There's a tendency to think here that this is just human nature – that people are polarized and this is just playing out; it's a mirror it's holding up, a mirror to society. But what it's really doing is it's an amplifier for the worst parts of us. 

So, in the race to the bottom of the brainstem to get attention, let's take an example like Twitter. It's calculating what is the thing that I can show you that will get the most engagement, and it turns out that outrage, moral outrage, gets the most engagement. So, it was found in a study that for every world word of moral outrage that you add to a tweet, it increases your retweet rate by 17%. So, in other words, you know the polarization of our society is actually part of the business model. 

Another example of this is that shorter, briefer things work better in Attention Economy than long, complex, nuanced ideas that take a long time to talk about, and so that's why you get a hundred and forty characters dominating our social discourse. But reality and the most important topics to us are increasingly complex, while we can say increasingly simple things about them that automatically creates polarization – because you can't say something simple about something complicated and have everybody agree with you; people will, by definition, misinterpret and hate you for it, and then it's never been easier to retweet that and generate a mob that will come after you. And this has created a callout culture and chilling effects, and a whole bunch of other subsequent effects in polarization that are amplified by the fact that these platforms are rewarded to give you the most sensational stuff. 

One last example of this is on YouTube. Let's say we actually equalize; I know there's people here concerned about equal representation on the Left and the Right in media. Let's say we get that perfectly right. As recently as just a month ago on YouTube, if you did a map of the top 15  most frequently mentioned verbs or keywords in the recommended videos, they were: “hates,” “debunks,” “obliterates,” “destroys” – in other words, you know, “Jordan Peterson destroys social justice warrior in video.” So, that kind of thing is the background radiation that we're dosing two billion people with, and you can hire content moderators in English and start to handle the problem, but the problem is that two billion people in hundreds of languages are using these products. How many engineers at YouTube speak the twenty-two languages of India where there's an election coming up? So, that's some context on that. 

Sen. Peters: Well, there's a lot of context. Fascinating. I'm running out of time, but I took particular note in your testimony when you talked about how technology will eat up elections, and you were referencing, I think, another writer on that issue. In the remaining brief time I have, what's your biggest concern about the 2020 elections and how technology may eat up this election coming up? 

Harris: Another example of how we used to have protections that technology took away – we used to have equal price campaign ads, so that it cost the same amount on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. for any candidate to run an election. When Facebook gobbles up that part of media, it just takes away those protections – so, there's now no equal pricing. What I'm mostly worried about is the fact that none of these problems have been solved. The business model hasn't changed. And the reason why you see a Christchurch event happen in the video just show up everywhere, or, you know, any of these examples – fundamentally, there's no easy way for these platforms to address this problem, because the problem is their business model. 

Harris: This is one of the issues that most concerns me. As I think Senator Schatz (D-Hawaii) mentioned at the beginning, there's evidence that in the last month – even as recently as that, keeping in mind that these issues have been reported on for years now – there was a pattern identified by YouTube that young girls who had taken videos of themselves dancing in front of cameras were linked in usage patterns to other videos like that, which went further and further into that realm, and that was just identified by YouTube, as a supercomputer, as a pattern. It's a pattern of “this is a kind of pathway that tends to be highly engaging.” 

The way that we tend to describe this is: If you imagine a spectrum on YouTube on my left side, there's the calm Walter Cronkite section of YouTube. On the right hand side, there's crazytown, UFOs, conspiracy theories, Bigfoot – you know, whatever. If you take a human being and you could drop them anywhere, you could drop them in the calm section, or you could drop them in Crazy Town. But If I'm YouTube and I want you to watch more, which direction from there am I going to send you? I'm never gonna send you to the calm section. I'm always gonna send you towards Crazy Town. So, now you imagine two billion people, like an ant colony of humanity, and it's tilting the playing field towards the crazy stuff. 

The specific examples of this: A year ago, a teen girl who looked at a dieting video on YouTube would be recommended anorexia videos, because that was the more extreme thing to show. The voodoo doll that looked like a teen girl – there's all these voodoo girls that look like that – and the next thing to show is anorexia. 

If you looked at a NASA moon landing, it would show Flat Earth conspiracy theories, which were recommended hundreds of millions of times before being taken down recently. I wrote down another example. Fifty percent of white nationalist in a study had said that it was YouTube that had “red pilled” them; “red pilling” is the term for the opening of the mind. The best predictor of whether you'll believe in a conspiracy theory is whether I can get you to believe in one conspiracy theory, because one conspiracy sort of opens up the mind and makes you doubt and question things and, say, get really paranoid. And the problem is that YouTube is doing this en mass, and it's created sort of two billion personalized Truman Shows. Each channel has that radicalizing direction, and if you think about it from an accountability perspective – back when we had Janet Jackson on one side of the TV screen at the Super Bowl, and we had 60 million Americans on the other, we had a five-second TV delay and a bunch of humans in the loop it for a reason. But what happens when you have two billion Truman shows, two billion possible Janet Jackson's and two billion people on the other end? It's a digital Frankenstein that's really hard to control, and so that's the way that we need to see it.

From there, we can talk about how to regulate it. 

Senator Sullivan (R-Alaska): Anyone else have a thought on a pretty important threshold question? 

Harris: Is it okay if I check in? Thank you, Senator. The issue here is that Section 230 of the Communications Decency section – 230 has obviously made it so that the platforms are not responsible for any content that is on them, which freed them up to do what we've created today. The problem is if, you know, is YouTube a publisher? Well, they're not generating the content, they're not paying journalists, they're not doing that, but they are recommending things, and I think that we need a new class between, you know… 

The New York Times is responsible if they say something that defames someone else that reaches a certain hundred million or so people. When YouTube recommends flat earth conspiracy theories hundreds of millions of times, and if you consider that 70% of YouTube's traffic is driven by recommendations, meaning driven by what they are recommending, what algorithm is choosing to put in front of the eyeballs of a person, it's if you were to backwards derive a motto, it would be, “With great power comes no responsibility.”

[schizo-spoon-blog]

Spoonbender Society: Selected Schizoepistles

FW: FW: FW: FW: FW: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE:

We Live In A Society

People say we live in a democracy/democratic republic, a form of government intended to amplify what people think and address problems they find to be important. But it doesn’t ever seem to function that way.

The issue is in voter suppression, but as always not in the way people generally think voter suppression works. The issue is psychic, spiritual, and social suppression of citizens. Systemic over-development of senses of rationalization, neuroticism and anxiety, industrially incentivized narcissism.

People develop a deathly fear of what others think, or may think, or what they may have thought about them or what they think, what they may think, or what they may have thought.

A democracy where we’d rather not hear what other people have to say, because we find their thoughts offensive and retarded. That’s one thing people are happy to share. But because we suspect that there are so many offensive retards in the world, we fear... "Perhaps I’m a retard too?" You wonder that even for just a second in your life, if you have a soul. It’s OK to be a retard really, but you’ll never believe that it’s OK, and that's probably What Your Fucking Problem Is.

The opinions of us purported non-retards, to avoid sounding like complete retards, end up soft, ambivalent and stale, phrased like True Neutral Orgasm in Ego-Death Nirvana, but less Chad, less gratifying, and nobody cums. To not be reminded of the possibility of our own retardation, we like to pretend that if the retards just shut up and nobody can hear them, they go away. If they are Physically Removed from our presence, their evil thoughts and their malicious intentions will go away with them. We win. But they don’t. They never do.

We always fail to Psychically Remove them. We lose.

We can hypothesize a law of conservation of hatred, correlate one too of love, but the truth is banal. How can it be in light of our timeline? Why are these Hate Groups all over the place? Hitler’s corpse is rotting or burned to a crisp, or embalmed in a tomb or made a toilet for Some Rich Dude ((parenthetical removed)). (Or was he cloned?)

Great Fatherland Germany - defeated by the "untermensch" and partitioned like a cheese between rats. That Great "Faustian" and "Supreme" "Aryan" Race is subjugated by the hated "Juden" and all the "vermin" of the world, humiliated, castrated to be reunited a shadow of its former self. Yet the Nazi threat is omnipresent nearly a century later, in an era which may be an alien planet to those who lived in Hitler’s time.

How is it that the Great Allies, our fathers and grandfathers, achieved such total victory over so loathsome a foe, so unsympathetic and vile, only to see his Evil infect their own countrymen and posterity? How can something so thoroughly defeated still persist in what could be our neighbors or our co-workers our bosses or our employees? Each one could be a secret Nazi now. In parenting blogs moms worry that their children are becoming Nazis from goofy men they see in videos on line. Marriages are ending in divorce because the husband or wife is allegedly or apparently a Nazi. How could this happen?

Have you ever seen “The Matrix? Who hasn’t? You know all about the red and blue pills, and all the rainbow-flag DLC that it comes with, black and pink and green and brown and in configurations invisible to the human eye, I’m sure. If you don't know, the pills are portals to different realities. Take the black pill and you only see death, take the white pill and everything’s alright, take the blue pill you vote for Hillary, take the pink you become genderqueer. But this is not about taking any pills. This is about going off your meds. Going straight edge - except for whiskey, cigarettes, cocaine and pussy. It’s about the spoon - no, not for shooting up. It's for bending - with your mind. Remember? That spoon - The Spoon That Isn’t There.

That spoon is a Nazi.

If you are aware that there is no spoon you can tie it into knots. You can make it into a balloon animal. That Nazi Spoon could be a Jewish Socialist from Vermont, or a kosher Brooklyn Zionist, or a Dominican Taxi Driver. It could be an evil copy of your own son from Bizzaro World. It's probably your uncle. It could be Rottweilers, and Chihuahuas. Whether Pitbulls are Nazis or Jews/Blacks is an ongoing debate in the contemporary discourse.

But imaginary shit can be whatever the hell you want. You don’t have to be "The One" to Bend the Spoon. You don’t have to be anyone at all. What was the name of the kid who said the line about the spoon again? Nobody knows, nobody cares, and that's the beauty of Spoonbending.

"The Nazi" is the guy who keeps talking when he should shut up. He might be autistic, but he could just be an asshole. There is a strong possibility he could be both. Why does he keep saying all of this ridiculous stuff? He’s more offensive and more retarded than the usual, but it feels like He Has To Be This Way. Like it’s his curse, He Knows Too Much. He fell down some rabbit hole and ended up gorged on Fascist Propaganda. He mentions some girl named Celine. He rambles on about some guy you’re pretty sure is a Tekken character... the guy who turns into the Devil maybe. He mentions a vacation in Turkey with his family but insists on saying Constantinople and there’s a wild-man tear in his eye. He insists he knows about Atlantis and calls you gay for saying you liked Aquaman. Instead of saying goodbye he says “Subscribe to Pewdiepie.” The Nazi belongs in an institution. You wonder if he has guns and if maybe he should have them taken for a while. He probably doesn’t, but you can’t be sure. He’s 12.

When is it too early to become a school shooter? Is 12 too early to be an incel?

12 is probably the age at which incels hatch from their human hosts.

“Who is Pewdiepie, and how has he groomed my nephew into the Hitler Youth?” many families today are asking. They think they’re looking at a spoon. Conditoning fills your heart with a desperate desire to see the spoon. A fact, pure fact, logical, reasonable, peer reviewed, widely accepted, So True, a Textbook Fact. The spoon. Everyone else sees it too. That goddamn Nazi Spoon.

You ever try to ask this at a party as an ice-breaker and see how the guests react?

“So, anyway, was The Holocaust Real?”

“Excuse me, what?”

“What do you think, was it real, how many people do you think died, don’t the gas chambers sound goofy to you?”

”Um… no… they don’t sound goofy. What are you talking about?”

“You ever hear about the Nazi Roller-coaster they had at one of the camps? They’d put Jews into a roller-coaster except they’d fly off the edge and get splattered. That’s how the Nazis killed ‘em. I swear. I read it in a book by a Holocaust Survivor. Impossible to believe if it weren’t so True. No shit. You hear about that?”

”I’m… gonna get another beer.”

Of course there’s a Correct answer to that initial question. It’s also the Right answer. Who would ever get this wrong? It's the 2+2=X of History. Well…

Pop-Quiz, Random Nazi Check, Anybody here Hate Jews? You a Groyper, Son? What’s so funny? You think the Cookie Monster committing genocide is a laughing matter boy? We don’t take kindly to your kind around here.

Maybe you should give the Nazi-check thing a try, it’ll separate sheep and goat real easy for you.

If you do this everyone will think you are The Nazi.

The Nazis hated Jews, but did they hate real Jews as Jews exist, or did they hate the Fascist Propaganda Jew who was a work of fiction? On that note, were you in love with your last failed relationship, or just pretending you were? Have you ever had one impression of a person, but then learned they were another kind of person entirely? That first impression you had, the one that wasn’t True, was that a Real Person, or Imaginary? But you still spent all that money and sweat on an imaginary girl, huh?

Hope her hole was real.

I think that fake bitch of an ex you dated was a nazi. Your ex was a fascist. Oh, was she Jewish? It doesn’t matter, changes nothing. I’ve never met her - wouldn't matter if I did. When I imagine her, she's in Hugo Boss black and got skull-and-bones on her officer's cap, and she's saying racial slurs as she ruins your life, cheats on you, drains your bank account and kills your dog after getting custody over it in court. I imagine all bad people this way. All women who rejected me were exactly like this.

But I must breach working-class anti-fascist solidarity, and admit, on That Question ("Would you?").... Yeah, I would. Sorry bro. Take me away Comrades, I admit it, I'd give it to that Nazi Jew raw. Would I do that to her as she exists, or the Fascist Propaganda her who is a work of fiction?

That depends. You still got her number?

haha it's ok you can call me an incel, it's a step up from what i actually am

(User was banned for this post.)

The Nazi and the Fascist aren’t my hallucinations. That’s not my mental illness. But it’s adjacent to me, it’s thrown at me without my Consent, and it's a Trigger. I'm paranoid about commies myself.

In the multicultural cyberpunk year of 2019, with its trans-human gender-sex-orientations, anti-racist ethno-narcissism, fanatic anti-normalism, cultish critical theory intersections, grand byzantine minimalism, placidity, in such splendid predatory banality… In the absolute state of the world! – Aah! An undead ideology conceived by a salty Frenchman in the badlands of South Dakota in the 1890s shambles forth the devour all that is Good and Holy in the Great United States of AmeriKKKa, God Help Us All! And A Child Will Lead Those Dreadful Legions of Corruption Upon All The Meek Of Our Fallen World!

Or it’s just a spoon that isn’t real.

Nobody wants to be straight-forward, and I gotta navigate the labyrinths of euphemism. Maybe there's something weird going on - how people talk, how people act, how people think, none of those correlate to each other. It makes you feel schizo when you do all your mental rain-man calculus and realize there's a fucking Elephant in the living room and he's not wearing any goddamn pants. Once that little ray-of-sunshine blesses your tiny bug-man brain to enlighten you that the elephant is real, and the spoon isn't, it's only a matter of time before you're crowned in tinfoil a Potato King on your off-grid Bug-out estate in the Idaho Panhandle, or start drinking yourself to death and bullying mailmen (or both).

If you'd like to avoid that sort of Elephant-Mania Spoon-denialism, maybe you should try answering Uncomfortable Question instead of being so Weird about it, oh wise Mr. Kirk, Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Talking-Head, Mr. Important-Guy, Mr. Movement, Mr. Politics, Mr. Voice of Reason, Mr. Metatron. Take it from a schizo-maniac with a manifesto, you’re freaking out the hoes.

Try Praeger U talking points out on a Tinder date and watch her shrivel up from instathot to instahag -- she will go through menopause before your very eyes, that's how dry her pussy will get. Trying not to sound racist while talking about the Antarctic Nazi base and the importance of craniometry in ethnocultural anthropology will get you more action than anything that sounds like a paraphrase of Charlie Kirk -- because even if you're still being cringe at least you aren't being fake. Point and laugh at that fucking elephant - the moron isn't even wearing pants! That'll get her thinking about taking your pants off. Or not - it's not foolproof. If she doesn't laugh, red-flag, she's a Nazi so Begone Thot!

Please, for the love of God, go off-script! See the damn elephant and forget the spoon, and forget the wise Mr. Kirk, Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Talking-Head, Mr. Important-Guy, Mr. Movement, Mr. Politics, Mr. Voice of Reason, Mr. Metatron. Take it from a schizo-maniac with a manifesto, you'll go insane if you don't.

[. . . ] [T]hen there's that neuroticism, that narcissism, that fear. The whole point of these politics groups and gatherings and Q&As is what, anyway? Is it really just basic marketing tactics, like a live-action advertisement you expect for people to passively consume as though it is persuasive? To shove free-markets and free-speeches down my throat and have me swallow it without having anything that’s been bothering me answered? What do I look like to you, an Ideology Whore? You don't even reciprocate a good time, huh? I'm not that kind of girl. You didn't even buy me dinner. You made me pay to bore me. I'd cuck you if we dated just to make a very important point -- fully aware it'll go over your head. Fuck you.

We gotta hear The Script. We gotta recite The Script.

Real Conservatives Think Like This. Real Progressives Think Like This. White People Walk Like This. Black People Walk Like This.

Gotta hear that joke ten thousand times so you can recite it like a mantra in your sleep.

Free markets mean free people. Facts don’t care about your feelings. Private Companies can do what they wish. What you do in your bedroom is your own business. We want legal immigration, not illegal.

Abolish ICE. Your childhood hero says Trans-Rights. Do you not want me in the movement? Abolish whiteness.

The Racism of Lowered Expectations.

Reparations.

A white nation.

Workers of the world unite!

Abortion is a human right.

Have you got it memorized?

Let’s go over it a few more times.

Say it with me! Hillary was found innocent in a hundred hearings and it is sexist to besmirch her reputation.

Repeat after me! Trump’s economy is the best in history, and if he's racist why is black unemployment is at historical lows.

You benefit from unearned privilege. You suffer from toxic masculinity.

The world is about to end and everything you know and love will die, and it is your fault, for not believing in the correct things at the correct time.

Are you laughing yet?

I’m dying. I feel like an e-girl, and my orbiters are sides.

But do you wanna know what I really think? The whole bit about psychic and social suppression? You ever hear about the Procrustean bed? Well, what if we put your political, social, moral consciousness and your psychic abilitys into a bed like that. We could talk about it. You ever play Xenogears?

Or you could just put me in a box. I really wouldn't mind. I'm Houdini. Hey, was Houdini a Nazi, like Henry Ford? Can we get a fact-check? I didn't mean to be problematic.

Break the Conditoning - Step outside the box, and use it as a step ladder. Ascend, Beyond the Box - use The Spoon.

Bush did 9/11, the Israeli’s danced, the Aliens killed JFK - sure - but I only say this because of my MK Ultra Schizo-brain. It’s true, it’s false, it’s fact, it’s myth, I don’t have to believe any of it -- I also don't have to believe any of you if I don’t want to. My feelings do not care about your facts, and did you know that some of the world's most uncomfortable facts are manifested into being by uncomfortable feelings? Is it the fact of the bullet that kills the political dissident, or the feelings of his executioner? Is it the deranged lust of the rapist that violates his victim, or the fact of his power to do so? I guess it depends on whether the perpetrator said "nothing personnel kid" before he committed the act. I don't know about that Nazi Rapist's feelings, but MY feelings are valid and I can believe or disbelieve whatever I want on the basis of my feelings, and my feelings alone. My feelings bend the spoon of your facts.

Are you going to say I don’t have the right, Adolf? Sucks for you, bud, I may be a commie by blood, but the heart that pumps it was assembled in the ole USA -- and we got the Right to be a Retard here in America. It's a Free Country.

[Note: please insert image of Jonathan Frakes from Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction]

Now that the dust has settled: Was the Nazi Roller-Coaster Real? Or did we put the Truth in a Mass-Grave? We will let you know at the conclusion of our program.

Sincerely and Full of Suffering Your Friend Always, Orcbrand

[bellabottomtrousers]

Undercover (Bucky Barnes x Reader) [Part 2]

Read Part 1 here 

Fic Details:

2.1k words

Summary: This takes place outside of the MCU, but Bucky is still Bucky. You are a secret agent who is put on a mission with The Winter Soldier, someone who you do not get along with. You have to go undercover as a couple on your honeymoon.

Contains: original characters, language, a scene used from Sebastian Stan’s new movie Destroyer. 

Author’s Note: Part 2 of a 5 part series! Please leave feedback!

The three hour jet ride to the Florida Bed and Breakfast was spent mostly in silence. Bucky  looking out the window on the other side of the plane, while I listened to music and read a book. I knew we needed to talk eventually, we had to convince these people we were a couple on our honeymoon. I just didn’t know when, or who was going to talk first. Until Bucky surprised me, sitting down right in the seat in front of me, staring. I pull one of my earbuds out.

“Can I help you?” I ask raising my eyebrow.

“How are we doing this?” he grumbles out looking down at his feet. His hands were together in his lap, he occasionally squeezed them together which caused his muscles to shift under the fabric of the long sleeve red shirt he was wearing. I could tell he was tense about this whole thing.

“Well, we have to pretend to be a happy couple on their honeymoon. So maybe you could start by relaxing a little.”  I say, shutting my music off and shifting in my seat. He releases his grip on his hands and sits back a little, relaxing his shoulders.

“I’m relaxed” he mumbles, although we both know its a lie. He sits there staring at me for a few seconds and I’m about to tell him it’s a little creepy until he speaks first.

“You should kiss me” He says leaning forwards, like it’s the most casual thing to come off his lips. My eyes nearly bulge out of my head.

“Excuse me?” I choke out. He’s looking right at me, but I can’t read his expression.

“Kiss me” he repeats. I shake my head in disbelief and let out laugh.

“Why?”

“So I know” he starts, “I don’t want to look surprised the first time it happens in public”

I continue to stare at him, my mouth slightly open, I turn my head to glance around the plane. It was a good plan, but I couldn’t believe he was the one who thought of it.

“Dead serious” he say when I turn back to look at him.

I move forward placing my hand on the back of his head pulling him into me. I move my lips against his and he kisses back firmly. The kiss lasts a few seconds before I pull back and sit in the chair leaning back. I look to him for a reaction and he looks at me, letting out a breath.

“Okay. Got it” he says nodding.

“Think you can fake liking that?” I ask, raising my eyebrow at him.

“Probably..yeah” He answers leaning back in the chair as well.

This is your pilot speaking, 10 minutes till landing, we’ve got clear skies and 80 degree weather coming up in Ocala, Florida.

“Are you going to be good in that shirt? It’s going to be hot as hell” I say gathering my things and rebuckling my seat to get ready for landing.

“I’ll be fine.” He says harshly, tugging the sleeves to further cover his arms. I roll my eyes at his rudeness.

“Oh before I forget we have to put these on.” I say reaching into my purse and taking out two wedding rings. I hand him one and he hesitates before taking it from me, frowning down at the ring.

“It’s not even real, jesus does the thought of marrying me disgust you so bad?” I scoff annoyed. He looks at me and opens his mouth to say something, but instead gets up and goes back to his seat for the remainder of the flight.

***

The drive from the airport to the B&B was about a half an hour long. We went from being in the city, to being surrounded by lots of empty land stretching out for miles. Cattle and horses scattered about in each one.

We pull up to the huge, white farmhouse, with a porch going all around the sides. There’s horse stables and fields with cows on one side and on the other is an entire golf course and an inground swimming pool.

“Jesus Christ this place is huge” Bucky mutters as the taxi comes to a stop. I silently agree with him as thoughts are running through my mind of where exactly this secret bunker could be within all this land. We step out of the car and grab our luggage making our way up the steps of the house. Before we get to the door it’s opening and an older man and woman greet us. I quickly grab hold of Bucky’s hand which makes him jump a little. He looks down at our hands and back up to me.

“Hello! You must be Y/n and James! Welcome to Destination Retreat! I’m Mary and this is John we are the hosts of the house” The older woman greets us, stepping forward to shake our hands.

“It’s nice to meet you” I say, putting on my best smile,

The man steps forward and takes our luggage from us, smiling bright.

“I’ll take these for ya! You can follow me inside and I’ll take you to your room!” He says and we walk with him to the upstairs as his wife explains the grounds.

“So! We have horseback riding, golf, a game room, and a pool! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be at the same time everyday in the community dining room!” She explains and Bucky pauses.

“Community dining room?” He asks, raising his eyebrows. She nods enthusiastically.

“Yes! You both and the other guests are welcomed to join us for meals everyday, family style! The other guests love it, and it’s strongly encouraged” she finishes as we enter our room. It’s a large room with a king bed in the middle. Two large dressers, a desk, and our own private bathroom.

“We’ll let you both get settled in! Dinner is at 6!” Mary says before her and John leave the room shutting the door.

“Well at least we have our own bathroom” I say taking my suitcase over to one of the dressers. I put it on the floor and unzip it. I look up to Bucky who is still standing there with a sour face.

“What?” I ask and he points to the bed.

“There’s only one bed” he says.

“Well yeah. This is a couples suite” I say standing up.

“So I have to share a bed with you?” He says and the way he says it stings, but I ignore it.

“Whatever it’s not a big deal it’s clearly big enough for both of us. You won’t even touch me” I shrug. He looks at me with a blank stare on his face, like he’s thinking about something.

****

Bucky’s POV

At dinner time Y/n and I walk into the dinning room at 6:05. Everyone was already at the table and Mary and John were beginning to place the food down. There were three other couples sitting at the table and everyone looked at us as we walked in. Y/n gives them an awkward wave as Mary set down a bowl of mashed potatoes.

“Oh! I’m so glad you’ve joined us! Please take a seat!” She says gesturing to the two empty seats at the table. We sit at the tables and the other couples cheerily introduce themselves.

There was Deborah and Mark from Nebraska, Judy and Carl from Maine, and Steve and Gina from South Dakota. They all had very enthusiastic personalities which was kind of nauseating.

“So you two are on your honeymoon?” Judy asks grabbing Carl’s hand, “We are as well!”

Y/n smiles wide, I can tell its forced, but they seem to buy into it. She grabs my hand and squeezes it, my heart beats a little faster at the touch of her skin to mine.  

“Yes! James and I just got married a few days ago it was really beautiful” She says looking at me. The sight of her smile makes me smile and it doesn’t feel forced at all. Her gaze lingers just a little bit longer than normal and there’s something in her eyes I can’t make out. She then turns away as the others share the stories of their relationships and I sit there silently as she does all the talking. Mary and John sat quietly listening to the conversations of their guests. I want to get them talking so we could learn more about them. I nudge Y/n a bit and she looks at me. I move my eyes towards the older couple hoping she gets the clue. She nods slightly and turns to face them.

“Mary, John, how long have you two been married?” She asks.

“About 30 years and still going strong!” Mary says “We met in college in the science department, we both had similar majors, he was physics and I was chemistry.” She explained. So they were both majors in the exact specialties that are capable handling nuclear substances. Clue number one.

“So you could say you both could feel the chemistry between the two of you!” Gina laughs out, causing everyone to laugh with her. Y/n and I let out strained chuckles and looked to each other. If there’s one thing we have in common it’s that we do not want to be here. We all continue eating in silence until John spoke out.

“So James, I would love to hear the story about your arm” He says setting his fork down. My body tenses and I squeeze the fork in my hand. Y/n looks over at me like she’s waiting for me to tell the story too.

“I lost my arm and got a new one” I say simply, not giving anymore information.

“Oh come on you’ve got to have a story behind it” John says.

“Please tell us! I’d love to know why it looks so strong!” Deborah giggles earning a look from her husband. I can feel my heart racing and my breathing getting heavier.

“Tell us the story!” Carl says and the rest of them are all talking over each other, trying to get me to speak. It’s incredibly overwhelming and I abruptly stand up, my chair making a loud screeching noise that quickly silences everyone. Without saying anything I leave the dining room and make my way upstairs. I could hear Y/n’s voice apologizing for me, “I..um..I’m sorry about that. I’ll just go check on him” she’s stutters.

I walk into our dark room not bothering to turn the light on, I sit on the bed with my head in my hands trying to work on my breathing. A few seconds later I hear the door open and close and the click of the lock.

“Bucky?”  She asks. I don’t respond and I feel the bed sink in next to me, “Hey I-” she starts placing her hand on my shoulder, her touch is like a burning fire and I jolt away

“Leave me the fuck alone” I mutter.

“What is your problem I’m trying to make sure you’re okay, you just stormed out on them which is incredibly rude!” She says. I turn to her, filled with anger and agony.

“I was rude?! How about them asking all their nosy fucking questions.” I say raising my voice.

“Lower your fucking voice” She sneers, but then pauses letting out a sigh. “They did come on strong, are you okay?” She asks the frustration in her voice fading as she steps closer to me again. I look at her with a pained look, my heart clenching at her words.

“Why do you care? Just leave me the fuck alone” I say walking into the bathroom and slamming the door.

“You are so fucking frustrating!” I hear her whisper yell kicking the bed.

I leaned up against the bathroom door letting out a few breaths, trying to calm myself down again. I can’t talk about my arm, it’s not something I ever talk about. They never ask me anything else it’s the first thing that comes out of their mouths. And Y/n, god Y/n drives me fucking insane. I push her away the best that I can, I treat her like shit, and even though she gets angry back at me, she still seems to care. It’s true, I don’t have any reason to hate her and I don’t hate her which is the problem. I can’t let myself get close to her. Even just her touch sends me somewhere else, my idea to kiss on the plane, I don’t know where that came from.  

I decide to just take a shower and when I finally go back into the room the light is off and Y/n’s in bed. I get dressed, putting on boxers and sweatpants before climbing into bed. In her sleep she turns around to face me and I sigh, taking in her resting features and without thinking reach up brushing my human hand against her cheek and she leans into the touch.  

***

Taglist:

@mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank

[thatonecurlygirl]

Coddled

Dean x Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Christmas came and went along with New Years and now you and the boys are fighting the cold South Dakota snow as you are fighting a cherub gone rogue. The cherub had been using his abilities to make anyone fall in love to also get them to kill each other. Sam, Cas and Dean walk into the apartment they believe houses the cherub and orders me to stay in the vehicle and they will be back once they take care of things. Once you know the guys are inside you get out and slowly sneak into the building and up the stairs. you peek into a room where you see the cherub but all three guys fighting each other as the cherub chuckles.

you position the Angel Blade in my hand as you sneak in, plunging the blade through his back and watching the tip peek through his chest, pulling the knife back out as he falls to the floor. None of you thought that maybe your one rogue cherub could be two, so you were surprised when a bullet flies, ripping through the skin of your arm, lodging itself there. The guys fight around you as the cherub and you stand there staring at each other. She lifts the gun and before the can pull the trigger you throw the knife with precision as it sticks into her chest. you walk over to her body laying on the ground as you pull the blade from her chest, the guys stop fighting.

“What the hell (y/n)!” Dean growls, ripping a piece of his shirt and walking up to you. “You could have gotten yourself killed!” he yells

“Are you fucking serious?!” you yell back, paying no mind to the blood dripping down your fingers, “I just saved your asses and this is the thanks I get?!”

Dean wraps the torn piece of the shirt around your arm, trying it tight to stop the bleeding. you reach up to scratch the side of my neck, but blood coats your fingers as you curse under my breath realizing that she pulls the trigger and the bullet grazed your neck. you turn and walk away, down the stairs and to the Impala. you slide into the backseat and pull some gauze out of the first aid kit you just stocked in my purse and you place it on my neck applying pressure.

“Are you okay?” Cas asks as they get into the vehicle.

you smile and nod, thankful that he isn’t pissed at you right now. you look up in the front and see both Sam and Dean, jaws clenched and staring straight ahead. The five-minute drive back to the motel felt more like an hour and the tension was building. Dean killing the engine burst that tension bubble exploded and so did Dean. He whips around staring you dead in the eyes.

“That was a stupid move, charging in there nearly getting yourself killed! I told you to wait in the car, but your impatient ass can’t get anything right!” He roars, anger filling his eyes.

“Thank you (y/n) for saving our asses, we almost killed each other and I appreciate your help!” you say under my breath. “You know fuck you!” you yell, beyond pissed. “If my impatient ass is screwing up the hunts, why don’t you just leave me at the bunker!” you suggest.

“Next time we will!” He retorts and you climb out of the Impala, slamming the door closed behind you.

You walk up to my room, directly beside the one that the guys are sharing. you unlock the door and walk in, slamming it shut behind you and locking it. you go to the fridge and pull out the whiskey Dean left taking a swig, before plunging a pair of tweezers into my arm to dig out the bullet.

“Fuuckk.” you groan as you wiggle the bullet out, dropping it to the table and sewing my arm up.

you walk to the bathroom, looking at your neck in the mirror. It’s not that bad, looks more like a cut than anything. you put two butterfly stitches on in and jump in the shower. The hot water burns, but relaxes you as you wash my face and body. When the water starts to turn cold you get out, wrapping myself up in a towel and walk out. The angered yelling next door is now replaced by a female moaning and Dean’s loud voice and moans. you look out the window to see the Impala gone. Dean must’ve kicked Sam and Cas out so he could fuck some bimbo.

you were hurt by the fact that Sam and Dean couldn’t even be appreciative of the fact that you saved their lives. you were hurt that he yelled and said you couldn’t get anything right. you were hurt by the fact that you am in love with him and he is having sex with some random stranger next door. you were hurt enough to pack up my bags and call an Uber. you went to the motel lobby and checked out, handing in my key and paying for the nights you stayed in there.

You decided to catch the first flight to Kansas and took a taxi from the airport and as close to the bunker as possible, getting out and walking the rest of the way. By the time you made it inside you were extremely tired and just ready to get some sleep. You plop down onto your mattress, kicking your pants off but not bothering to even tuck yourself under the blankets, you just fell asleep.

you were exhausted and sleep longer than you intended, waking up to the sound of the bunker doors slamming shut. Knowing it was the guys and that you were going to be in for an ear full you locked the door and turned the television on. you hear Dean’s heavy feet padding toward my door and you turn the volume up as loud as you can. The twelve o’clock news. You slept in later than intended. Dean bangs on the door, but it is barely audible over the sound of the television. After about twenty minutes Dean gives up and you turn the television down. you look at my phone to see twenty-one missed calls and thirteen texts from a combination of both Sam and Dean.

“(y/n).” you look up to see Dean standing in the doorway.

Of course, he would pick the lock. “What do you want?” you ask, grabbing my shorts and slipping them back on, standing up to look Dean in the eye.

“I’m sorry.” He sighs.

“No need to be sorry. You were right.” you turn walking back toward my bed, slipping on some socks and shoes, “I shouldn’t of went in there. If you would have died you would have come back somehow, some way anyways. No point risking my life for someone who doesn’t know how to stay dead anyway.”

“(y/n) stop,” he says, the look of guilt on his face.

“I can’t do anything right, I may as well stay here at the bunker. I’d make a good maid though, what do you think?” you continue.

“(y/n), I’m trying to fucking apologize here!” He says raising his voice.

“No Dean, you are trying to force you to accept your apology. That’s your problem, you think you are all high and mighty on your fucking pedestal and that you can rule over everyone’s lives.” you say, pointing your finger into his chest “The sad part is, you don’t even realize it.” you soften my voice, “Everyone has to play by your rules and when you don’t get your way, you get mad. Everyone said you would grow up to be trouble, I guess I was too blinded by how great I thought you were to realize that they were right.” you say pushing past Dean.

you walk down the hall and up the stairs, grabbing my coat and walking outside. you were so distracted by my emotions that you just walk, forgetting that you’re wearing shorts outside with the snow falling around you, but you don’t feel like going back inside just yet. you walk around through the trees and pass the bunker doors a few times before deciding to come back inside. you walk down the stairs seeing Dean sitting at the table, head down and fingers in his hair.

He looks up at you, “Is all you said true?” He asks, he looks so sad that it kind of hurts my heart.

“I may have been a little angry and exaggerated things a little. I know you care and you are doing what you think is best and trying to protect me but I can take care of myself. You are so fucking stubborn though and it's annoying but you’re my best friend and we all put up with it because we love you, but you have to realize how hard headed you can be sometimes.”

“I really am sorry. I just get so worried sometimes and when I saw you were hurt I just flipped my lid I guess. When Sam and I realized you left I was pissed at myself for yelling at you-” He explains but you cut him off with laughter.

“I did not leave because you were yelling. I left both because you pissed me off and she was yelling.” When he looks at you confused you begin to imitate the sounds the girl was making with you, “Oh- oh-oh  yessss Dean yassss. Harder harder.”

Dean sits there wide-eyed as you stand up laughing, walking back to my room. you pull some clothes out of the closet and pulling them on. you look at yourself in the mirror approving of the knit sweater dress and knee-high boots. you pull my purse over my shoulder, careful not to let it rest on my wounds. you walk out of my door and right into Dean.

“Where are you going?” He asks, eyebrows knit in confusion.

“As you may know, tonight is Valentine's day and I have a date. So if you’ll excuse me.” you push past Dean.

“You have a date?” Dean asks, turning around and following you.

“Don’t act so surprised Dean.” you scoff. “I met him on the plane ride here, he seems nice and he asked me out tonight. I’m a big girl Dean, trust me,” you say before walking up the bunker stairs, leaving him behind.

You and he meet for dinner and decide to go out for a drink at the bar afterward to let loose. you weren’t expecting to walk in and see Dean at the back of the bar, drinking by himself.  His eyes meet mine and then look over at Miles and my arm hooked in his.

“I’ll take a Dos Equis, and whatever she wants.” He tells the bartender, you break my eyes from Dean.

“I’ll take the same also.” you smile, refusing to turn back and look at Dean. “thank you,” you tell the bartender as he hands you my beer.

“You play pool?” Miles asks with a smile almost as beautiful as Deans.

“No, I suck at it.” you laugh trying to push back the thought of Dean staring down Miles and you while you are playing pool.

“I’ll help you.” He smiles, running his hadn’t through his short black hair.

The two of you began a game of pool and when it would come to my turn he would stand behind you, wrapping his arms around you and leaning into my back. It was really cliche, but you’d be lying if it didn’t get you hot. He leans into my ear, his soft breaths tickling my ear. you turn my head slightly toward him and he places his lips on mine. you kiss him back, heart nearly pounding out of my chest when you remember that Dean is sitting across the bar, but by that time it’s too late.

you feel a pull on my hand as Dean pulls you away from Miles, your lips now feeling empty as you open your eyes seeing the look on Miles’ face. you yank my hand from Dean’s as he looks at Miles with those angry eyes.

“Can I help you with something?” He asks Dean, reaching his hand out to you.

“You can keep your fucking hands off of her,” Dean says stepping between Miles and you. “(y/n), we’re going home,” Dean demands not taking his eyes off Miles.

“Whoa, (y/n). I thought you said you were single?” Miles states it more as a question than a statement.

“I am single,” you say moving from behind Dean. “Dean is just my friend, who happens to be an asshole.”

“You know, I think it’s time for you to go home anyway.” He looks down at you with a smile, “I had a great time.” He says and with that, he walks out.

“There you go again Dean.” you sigh in defeat as you walk up to the bar, Dean following closely behind. “Leave me alone, please.”

you didn’t really expect that to work, but when you look back over my shoulder he had returned to his seat in the back. you sigh and lay my head down on the bar and look up and back in Dean’s direction when you hear an over the top giggle. Sure enough, there sits some girl in Dean’s lap and he is nibbling on her neck looking down her shirt as she looks dead at you. you stand up and walk out and to my car, driving the ten minutes out to the bunker.

“Hey (y/n), how was your date?” Sam asks as you walk down the stairs.

“It was going great until Dean ruined it.” you groan, plopping down in the chair across from him.

“Dean ruined it?” He questions and you nod my head.

“Yep,” you look up at Sam, “We went to dinner then the bar. We were playing pool and Dean damn near ripped me away from him. Then he went over and started sucking some random chicks neck.”

“I’m sorry about that (y/n), Dean can get kind of… jealous sometimes.” Sam tries to make up something to say, but you see through that.

“I’m just going to go to bed if Dean comes home tonight tell him to leave me alone.” you stand up walking out of the room.

you walk to my bedroom softly closing the door behind you and kicking off my clothes. you slide underneath my plush covers and turn off the light on the bedside table. What is Dean’s problem? you just wanted to have a good night and enjoy myself for once. you sigh and pick up my phone, with the intention of apologizing to miles.

you (to Miles): I'm so sorry.

Surprisingly it didn’t take long for Miles to text back and you definitely were not expecting his response.

MILES: Don't worry about it. If I was him I'd be jealous too.

you just wanted to tell him that it wasn’t Dean being jealous and that is just how he acts, but what’s the use in doing that? It doesn’t matter because you probably won’t even see Miles again thanks to Dean’s stupidity. you place my phone back on the changer and set it by my lamp.

“(y/n)?” Dean’s voice breaks the silence of the room. “Can we talk?” He asks light from the other side of the door pooling in as he opens the door.

“About what Dean?” you ask, turning on the lamp on my nightstand. “What do you possibly want to talk about?” you ask sitting up and fighting back the tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

“I am sorry, I couldn’t stand watching him all over you like that. I couldn’t watch it any longer.” He explains walking in and closing the door behind him.

“Then you should have left.” you say honestly and maybe a little too harsh, “I was having fun and I was happy. Why don’t you want me to be happy?”

“(y/n), I do want you to be happy, just not with him.” He sits on the edge of your bed gently grabbing your hand.

you snatch your hand away from him “With who then Dean, who?” A tear of frustration slips from my eye.

“With me (y/n). I don’t want you to be happy with anyone but me. I know I sound selfish right now, but I can’t take it anymore. I can’t take seeing how guys look at you, knowing that you are so oblivious to it.” He wipes the tear from your cheek.

“What are you talking about?” you ask confused as he leans away from you.

“God, (y/n). I am trying to tell you that I’m in love with you, okay?” He throws his hands up in the air, letting them fall back into his lap. “I am in love with you and can’t stand watching other guys drool all over you.” He says and your jaw falls open at his confession. “I know you don’t feel the same and I’ve been trying to distract myself with all these other girls, but it’s just not working. I’m sorry.”

you just still there still shocked by what he had to say. Dean looks away from you, burying his head in his hands. He looks back up at you nervousness in his eyes, searching yours for something. He must not have found what he was looking for, because he stood up with a sigh prepared to walk out.

“Dean” you stand up, following him towards the door as he shakes his head. “Dean, I love you too.”

[letsimportanttreecollection-blog]

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

"New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://saleinsurancequotes.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

RELATED QUESTIONS: 

Health insurance question?

me and my boyfriend are planning to move to california soon. we're moving when we're 18. i was wondering if his parents health insurance would still cover him when he moves. he has Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO.

""What is the lowest, best Liability auto Insurance in Dallas?""

btw anyone tried Geico and are they really cheap? I know that billionaire guy owns the company, but is it any good?""

Car insurance occupation matter?

I am a first year student a University, in full time education and I am planning to drop out of University within a month or so. My car insurance does say I am in full time education but when I leave; I will be classed as unemployed. If I leave in January, I am technically unemployed, can I still leave my occupation as full time University student? And how would the insurance company find out? Because to change my occupation title; the insurance company is charging 400. I have 8 months left till my renewal and by then I'll have a job and keep my insurance company updated about the changes in my occupation. What are the consequences that can happen?""

How much is Auto Insurance in Italy?

Hi, im going to be moving to italy with my wife and child to stay there for four years so i will be purchasing a vehicle to get around with, im planning on a car but i want to find out a little more of how much it can cost for insurance on autos over there, both for cars and motorcycles, if its cheaper for motorcycle i will probably just get one car for my wife and get a motorcycle for myself. Any information will be helpful and thanks ahead of time""

How much is insurance for jeeps?

I want to get a jeep cj7 or wrangler, but i have to make sure i can afford the insurance first. Im a 17year old guy in highschool. Are 4by4s more expensive for insurance?""

What does your car insurance company do for you?

If you are not at fault in an accident, what will your insurance company do in order to get your car fixed? How much help will they give you, or are we supposed to settle everything, make the calls etc. with the other carriers insurance. I was hit from behind while I was stopped at a yield sign. The other drivers fault ( a no-brainer). Yet I am getting different information from my agent, the other drivers agent, and even the auto-repair shop !!! Any feedback will help greatly.""

Temporary car insurance question?

In Which condition i can take temporary car insurance? i heard that it cannot be taken as general insurance is it true?

How much would Liability cost on my car?

Im 16 and i just got my license. Me and my dad are gonna go look at a car tomorrow. its a 1999 mitsubishi eclipse GS with 130,000 miles. take in to consideration all of the basic things of a teenager nothing special just an average kid how much would liability in wisconsin cost? all my friends say they pay around 65 a month but than i went to some insurance website and it said some crazy thing like 850 a month... how much for an average 16 year old kid am i gonna pay monthly for liability?""

I am looking at becoming a taxi driver and i am looking for quotes for insurance?

i need to find out how much it would cost me for hire and reward car insurance for the taxi and chauffering service on britians roads and if possible if i am able to pay with weekly payments

What is the least expensive color of car to insure?

I know red is the most expensive. I've heard that white is the least from one person and green is the least from another.

Cheap car insurance for a young driver on a VW Golf?

Where would be able to find the cheapest insurance for my Golf 1.6. I'm 17 years old and I'm going to be a named driver on my dads name (him being the main). The cheapest I can find is 2000. If anyone could find me a good website to find an insurance quote cheaper than that; it would be fantastic! Thanks in anticipation

Moped insurance in texas?

I am looking into getting a 49cc moped and am trying to figure out how much it would cost to insure it. I am a 25 yr old female with a clean driving record if that helps.

Why is my car insurance so expensive?

I'm 17 years old, with no convictions or points on my licence. I passed my test about a week ago, and I cannot get insurance for my VW polo 1.2, 02 plate lower than 10'000!!? What do I do?""

Where can I get some car insurance from?

Insurance for a 1998 ford explore

Does a paid speeding ticket affect auto insurance rates or anything?

Does a paid speeding ticket affect auto insurance rates or anything?

What are the cheapest home owner insurance for oklahoma city?

what are the cheapest home owner insurance for oklahoma city? can someone tell me which company give the cheapest rate and the best coverage please, thank you very much; this is my first time buy a house, if you have any advise please let me know, thanksssssssss a million :)""

Does Pass Plus reduce the insurance rate if the young driver with it is the second driver?

I'm 17 and want to get a second hand car but the insurance is too high. I plan to get the car, put it in my dad's name and then drive it myself. Will that reduce insurance premiums?""

""Is it possible to get insulin for a type 1 diabetic with no insurance, medicare or medicaid?""

My fiance has type 1 diabetes. He gets food stamps, but doesn't qualify for SSI for some reason. He's only 26. I am the only one working, getting minimum wage, and little hours. We can't afford to pay a doctor $100 just for them to tell him he has what he knows what he has, and to get a prescription that cost twice that. It just seems like a vicious cycle we cant get out of.""

""How much would you have to make to own a $50,000 car?""

the question is what would your salary have to be to go to a dealership and buy a brand new car worth $55,000 car not owning a home, or having anyother bills to pay not even a cell phone??? and what would you figure your monthly payment to be, and insurance????""

Is it true that the affordable care act will double the cost of my health insurance to meet the ACA requiremen?

Double premiums and out of pocket cost my health insurance is not from healthcare.gov exchanges

Where can i get the cheapest car insurance with a dui in northern michigan?

Where can i get the cheapest car insurance with a dui in northern michigan?

Car insurance site for 18 year old !!?

does any body no of a decent car insurance for an 18 year old ?

Would insurance cover it?

My husband was involved in a car accident 2 years ago...the people filed a claim/law suit recently over some 'injuries' (which is BS because he works with this guy and he was no injured), just 2 days before statue of limitation expires. Since my husband's work requires so much traveling, it was pointless for him to keep car/insurance if he never drives, we sold his car so he no longer has car insurance. Now that these people 2 years LATER decided to sue...would his old insurance take care of it since the accident happened while he did have car insurance? And he was driving a friends car at the time...not his own care.""

MICHIGAN NO FAULT INSURANCE?

I was in an accident today and the other person left the scene, cops came and got all of my info... my car is REALLY banged up.... i have michigan no fualt insurance becuase that is all i can afford... a $500 deductible ..what does this mean? how much will my insurance company cover to get my car fixed? thanks""

Best Averaged sized car for a teenager?

So I'm going for my license soon and we're starting to look at cars to get me around. I want something that's pretty easy on gas, reliable, easy on car insurance cost, doesn't cost an arm and a leg but ALSO isn't a tiny car like the Chevy Aveo because most of the people in my family are pretty tall for instance my mom is 5'9 I'm 5'7 /5'8 and my other sisters are also about the same height. I've been thinking about the Prius because I hear it's got some leg room and is easy on gas, but people say that batteries are more harmful than regular ones and all this jazz. Then I thought about the Honda Insight but I heard that the headroom in the back is not comfortable. I was thinking the Hyundai Sonata, but the only model I really like is the 2011 and I don't think the insurance company takes kindly to teenagers driving new cars. I would prefer not too big or long a car like the Toyota Avalon, but it's manageable. Any suggestions?""

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

""Conservatives, you're always claiming that Obama-care is the reason that insurance costs are increasing, so?""

regarding the 80% increase in insurance premiums, and the 11% increase in the number of Americans who did not have health insurance coverage during the Bush presidency, was that because a magical elf traveled back in time to the year 2000 to tell insurance company executives that Obamacare was coming? Or could it be that insurance premiums have been increasing at an average rate of 8 to 11% per year for about the last 15 years and the increases we've seen in the last few years aren't indicative of costs associated with Obama-care (Which hasn't even been fully implemented yet) and Conservatives are just trying to make political hay out of cost increases that are consistent with established trends?""

How does the insurance company find out about moving violations?

My understanding is that when you get a moving violation (e.g, a speeding ticket), the police or the courts or whoever will notify your insurance company. When your insurance company finds out and finds out about the points that are now on your license, they raise your insurance premium. However, a friend tells me that he's received several speeding tickets, that his insurance company has never found out (meaning no one is notifying his insurance company), and that his premium has therefore never gone up. How is that possible?""

Don't want to renew Virgin car insurance but having problems contacting them?

I recieved a renewal car insurance quote from Virgin which is really high. I have shopped around and decided to buy my insurance elsewhere. The only problem is Virgin automatically renew my car insurance for me unless I tell them not to. The only method that they give to contact them is a phone number. I have been on call waiting for 20 minuted now and still not managed to get through to them. Does anyone know of another way of contacting them as I am worried that my call will never get answered and I will be forced to keep my insurance with them?

Health insurance help?

usually, how much does it cost monthly for health insurance in california, marin county?""

""I'm 17 years old, and I'm going under my parents driver's insurance plan soon for driving, how much is it?""

My parents said I can drive now that I got a job, however I will have to go under their plan, and I'll have to pay the insurance. How much will it be? (:IMPORTANT NOTE: I took $1000 driving classes) So I'm guessing that will reduce the cost? Also I live in the state of PA and my parents are on AllState Insurance. So how much will the insurance be every month if I'm under my parents plan? AFTER I TOOK THOSE DRIVING CLASSES! And how long can I stay under my parents driving insurance? When will I NOT BE ABLE TO stay under my parents driving insurance? Or am I always able to stay under their driving insurance if I want to?""

How much does canadian car insurance cost for a 20yr old male NEW driver for a used CAR or used SUV?

Just give me an estimate for a car or an suv in canada. Just an estimate. I know its different for all cars and suvs but just give me an idea obviously the differences CANNOT be thousands and its gonna be in a certain range. if u can give me a range fine, give me a range im just a new driver and male, 20. these stupid car insurance companies cant even give me that much its not like im going to be paying 9000$ instead of 300$.""

How much does Bmw Insurance costs?

My dad and I will buy a BMW 2006-2008 3 Series he is 45 and he pays for his mazda 3 year 1998 80$ per month, but i wanna know how much will it costs for a BMW..we live in florida and i am 19""

Which Of These Cars Has The Cheapest Insurance ?

For a first time, 17 year old driver ? Vauxhall Corsa Fiat Punto Daewoo Matiz Ford Ka Ford Fiesta Rover 200 Renault Clio Ford Puma Thanks, I will choose a best answer aswell Any help appretiated =)""

Wwhat are the characteristics of disability insurance ?

Wwhat are the characteristics of disability insurance ?

How much will the insurance pay me?

I got a 87 mustang and a truck hit my front bumper. I made a report and i need to wait about for days to pick up the report at the police station. I had a Stalker front bumper by the way. How much y'all thing there going to give me back, because they usually send a check after they inspect the car. They need to buy a $500 Stalker Cervini bumper install it and paint it. It was his fault and his insurance needs to pay, but im just wondering because sometimes insurance companies are pain in th bud!!""

Any idea how much insurance for a new male driver 25 years old?

passed test january 2009, car with smallest engine something like a corsa 1.0 nothing flashy ,just need a quick kind of quote ....split up with partner whos taking me off car insurance....any insurance companies reccomended .cheers emma for a friend xxxx""

How much will my car insurance be?

I live in Dallas Texas, I'm 18 years old, I've had defensive driving school, which I've been told gives you at the most 10% off your rate...i own a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, in REALLY good condition, car alarm...all the gadgets...but since I'm 18 who would be the best to go with...also I'm seeking FULL Coverage for the first 6 months of driving in Dallas, because people do not know how to drive and I want to make sure I'm covered...any help or advice??? THANX""

""Car insurance, help!!?""

Hi I am 17, soon to be 18 in January! i have not took my test yet but it is very soon, if i pass i am looking to get a citroen c1 or peugeot 107, the maximum i am willing to pay on insurance is 2800, maybe 3000. I cant seem to find a quote reasonable anywhere, i dont know if it is something im doing wrong. I will not be getting the car until my 18th birthday so i would be 18 when the policy starts not 17 if that helps. Would anyone be able to help me???? thanks""

Can I own a car with no insurance?

I'm sixteen and looking to buy a car. I'll have a license in about 4 months, but I want to buy a car first - that way I'm good to go. Is it legal to let my car sit in my garage or driveway for a few months without insurance or plates? I know plenty of people who have had cars before they've had licenses, but I want to make sure I'm not breaking any laws. I live in Connecticut. Thanks!""

Can I buy a used car without insurance?

I'm only 18 and I got accepted for a car loan. It's about $200 a month but I can afford the car insurance rate now. I'm buying the car from a dealership. Can I buy the car then drive it home and let it sit till I get insurance? Or can they deliver the car? If I drive it home rate away wouldn't it be like a test drive for the used car?

Car insurance for husband and wife.?

Recently I went to insure my daughter and her car in the company me and my wife have been insured for some time. I wanted to include myself in her insurance but it went up in premiums a lot and we decided to insure her without me as an additional driver. Before that (last year to be exact) I insured my wife and I was included as a second driver. Basically, I was advised to do so on the basis that it would be cheaper. I heard about this option before and therefore did not check it properly with this company. This time (with my daughter) this option went an opposite way with higher premiums, so I asked them whether I can exclude myself from my wife's insurance as well because my insurance allows me to drive any car, but was told: ...because you are husband and wife, by law you cannot drive her car without being included in her insurance policy whatsoever... I am suspicious about this statement now and feel that I am being cheated. Does anybody know whether this rule exist or is it just the usual salesmen lie? Thank you.""

Ballpark figure on motorcycle insurance?

First please don't tell me to call my insurance agency, that's why I'm on here. I just want an estimate I'm 17, male, it's a 1999 cbr600f4, I don't want full coverage, just liability, I am on excelsior high honor roll at school, I took the msf course, I have had my moorcycle license for a year now, I live in upstate new york. And would be riding leisurely. Any guesses? How much do u pay, how old are you etc. Thanks!""

Insurance on a cbr 600rr for a 20 year old in California?

Ive had my normal license (California) for 3 years and just got my motorcycle license. I am looking to buy a street bike, a sport bike specifically. I've looked at all the sporty bikes from 250 to 1000 and I plan on getting a 600 because I've been riding dirtbikes since I could walk so I know I'd get bored of a 250 but at the same time I know I'd kill myself on a 1000. I have a clean driving record aside from one speeding ticket(wasn't even speeding horribly) and a couple parking tickets. So what I'm ultimately trying to figure out is what the cost of my insurance would be and what insurance provider would give me the best coverage on my bike. I know I plan on getting liability since it is cheaper but any and all insight or examples would be very helpful. *people on yahoo love to hate on questions, so if you're one of those poeple, don't even comment. I know how bikes work and I've ridden them before, just need advice on insurance. Thank you!!""

Fastest accelerating car in the insurance group 1-3?

Hello, I am going to be turning 17 shortly and would like some advise on which car that would be very responsive and quick. My budget for the car itself is 1450 but there could be a bit of flexibility. As I am sure you all know, insurance for new drivers is very high, so I want something in between groups one and three as I believe that is the area that I can afford. Could I also please ask for serious answers. I am not not wanting to drive irresponsibly, if that is a worry to some contributors. Thanks.""

Can i get cheaper car insurance with historical license plates?

can i get cheaper car insurance with historical license plates

CRAZY Insurance Premium! Any way out?

From Toronto, Ontario, I am a 19 y/o male and want my own vehicle. Without paying a crazy insurance rate of $6000+ per year, how can a 3rd vehicle be purchased and licensed under my parent's name (I live with them) having them as the primary driver? The problem is, from what I know, if I am licensed and living at the same address, I will automatically be primary driver of the 3rd vehicle as now there are 3 drivers and 3 vehicles. So what if my parents had 6 cars? There must be some way out..""

How high are insurance rates for a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer GT?

Its a car with the whole package; mags, sunroof, skirt, spoiler, sound etc. It's a 4 door 2.0L 4 cylinder. I'm wondering how much insurance I'll be paying in comparison to a Hyundai Elantra GL to which I was quote 1300 a year for - yikes! Anyone own this vehicle in Canada? Btw I'm 20, clean record, been driving for 2-3 years (dont even remember honestly).""

Car accident without insurance?

I hit a parked car with a moving truck. My insurance was evoked at the time of the accident and I got a phone call today from the insurance company of the car I hit saying that the ...mostrar mais

What's the Cheapest Car insurance for First Time Driver?

I just wanna have the cheapest car insurance. I dont need the insurance cover anything. just the cheapest! which company would be the best except geico, progressive or Liberty Matual? Something else?""

Am I covered on someone else's insurance?

For example: I am a licensed driver first off. My grandma can't drive very well. Sometimes I take her places if I have time using her truck that has insurance on it. If she is with me every time I drive her somewhere, do I have to be insured? (Louisiana)""

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

Stopped for no car insurance but we do have insurance car seized not fair?

11.30pm last night pulled over said no insurance.Did not have insurance document in the car,just the license.Because of the time they seized the car because they could not phone the insurance company.Told them only way i can get proof is bank statement as i was 20 miles from home,but that was still not good enough.I have paid insurance by direct debit for the last 2 years and no problems.so i am well cheesed off this has happened. Have produced the lenience at local station,and shown them documents,they phoned the insurance company and have now give released papers to pick up the car.I am very unhappy with this whole situation and now out of pocket. Is there anyway of claiming the costs from police or insurance company,whoever it is to blame,as there is no way i can be liable for something i am paying for,and to pay 30in taxi fares another 20 to get to the car compound and another 170 to release the car.There must be a way i claim this money back as i feel i am in the right.plus have to fight the 200 fine and 6points also totally unfair and messed up situation this is. I just can't except the inconvenience and the costs that i have to pay when i am legit on the road.surely i can claim if anyone knows""

Do insurance companies operate on bank holidays?

I wouldn't mind getting some insurance for my moped tomorrow, but I heard its bank holiday monday...Will this stop me getting through to them?""

Where can i get cheap car insurance?

I keep trying to find a cheap car insurance as a new driver but the cheapest I get is bloody 3000 pounds .

How much should I insure a 2 bedroom condo for?

I want to buy insurance for a 2 bedroom, 1150 square foot condo in Orange County, California. I am interested in knowing how much coverage to buy to cover inside damage due to a catastrophe like a fire for example. I don't care about coverage for personal belongings or outside of the building. I just need to know what it costs to restore the inside walls, floors, etc. in case they are ever destroyed.""

Car accident but driver isnt under my insurance?

Last month my boyfriend and I were driving and someone rear ended my car. I am insured under Mercury insurance and the car is owned under my moms name. My bf has his own insurance but not for my car. We were not at fault but I'm nervous about filing a claim with the insurance company cause he is not under my insurance and was driving my car.. A police report was filed.. But what will happen if I file a claim with Mercury insurance? Will I get charged or fined for letting someone that wasn't on my insurance drive my car? Or can I not file a claim to the other company cause he isn't insured under the car that was damaged ? and if I ask my representative from Mercury what will happen will she report me even if I don't file a claim for letting someone who isn't under our insurance drive the car?

Consequence of lending your car in terms of car insurance?

If I lend my car to my brother or sister, but I have car insurance, will they get a ticket when they drive? The car insurance covers the cost of the damage to the car, so does it matter who is driving it? What is the purpose of having someone as a secondary driver?""

On average how much does it cost a year to drive for a 20yr old in UK?

I'm planning to start driving (im already learning)but I have big plans I want to carry out and been told I won't e able to if I start driving I spend about 120 a month on bus fair already but how much would driving cost? Would it make any difference on insurance if I waited till I was 21?

Can I cancel my car insurance at any time?

I've been with Zurich car insurance for 1 year and 10months, insured on my mums car as named driver. The time has come to get myself a car on my own insurance. We pay the current insurance monthly. There are two months left on the current policy, is there normally any cancellation fee's? If so, ruffly how much should I be looking at? Also.. Would I have any NCB as I was named driver on the policy? Thanks.""

Car Insurance Cost Estimate (UK)?

Iam 21 and 22 this year, i want to know an estimate car insurance cost for any car for a new driver, note i have passed my driving test a few years ago should be around 18, but i didnt really need a car back then. if Sum1 knows roughly how much i should be paying for car insurance please post here. i dont mind having the lowest benefits etc... just want a cheapest price estimate.""

What are your utilities like in Georgia. How much do you pay ? What do you pay for car insurance on a yearly?

What are your utilities like in Georgia. How much do you pay ? What do you pay for car insurance on a yearly?

I am about to be 18 and i wont a gsxr 1000 and im wondering about the price of insurance?

I am wondering the price ranges.

How do I find out my cars auto insurance points rating system?

Insurance companys give cars a rating number to determine if one type of car pays more insurance then the other. Where can I find out what the number of my car would be?

Insurance for an SRT-10?

Hi is there anyone out there (in the UK) who knows of an insurance company that does a good deal on SRT-10 fully comp. I'm struggling to get it under 1200.00 per year, and the one I am going to buy is upgraded to 600BHP as well, so I know I'll pay more for this on top""

What does insurance mean?

Well I'm 16 and I don't know what insurance means : so I heard that louis' bum has insurance? What does that mean

Car Insurance and Registration?

I am a Kansas Resident and have a Kansas Drivers License; however, I am studying in California for the next four years. I am receiving a car from my friend as a gift, but it's already registers at California. What do I do to make it legal for me to drive it?""

""This is the time to renewal of my auto insurance, but do not want to continue the same company.?""

So I purchase a new policy from other company, but my previous insurance company sending me e-mail and mail me, that insurance gap will u cost and it might harm me financially. But as I already purchased new policy and will start as soon as previous one expire. so do I need to worry? ( is the current insurance company doing their job to aware me or they to threat me so I go back to them)""

How much should I expect to pay for car insurance at 37 years? I have a clean record.?

moving out of the city, and I am gonna need to buy a car for my Suburban life!!""

How much would insurance be on a 2001 convertible mustang for a 16 year old?

hey everyone I was wondering what price range i would be looking at for a 2001 convertible mustang. not looking for a exact answer just a ballpark range. I have a 3.00+ gpa male 16 year old no ABS on car convertible thanks all.

""Could $5,000 cover the healthcare insurance premium for a family?""

If McCain's credit becomes reality, doesn't it seem logical that a major healthcare provider would put together an affordable health insurance package for the credit amount and market the heck out of it? Obviously, it won't have all the bells and whistles, but people would be covered. There is the issue of the tax on the premium, but it still seems like a good idea. This link was interesting - it describes both plans clearly: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/10/news/economy/tully_healthcare.fortune/""

How much do you think my car insurance would be(details inside)?

I am 15, I have taken drivers ed and I have my restricted liscense. I have a 3.8 gpa(I heard you get a discount for that) and I live in Kansas. I am looking at a 1995 Ford Explorer with 168,000 miles. I know you couldn't tell me exactly, but about what do you think my monthly payment would be? Thanks""

Car insurance write off price?

If an insurance company (Admiral) writes off a car thats been in an accident,what percentage of the car do they normally Pay? The car is 10 months old and been owned by us from new?""

Do you need the VIN to purchase insurance?

my husband bought a car at an auction today with his friend, we will have the car tomorrow by 1pm but were hoping to get insurance bought in the morning, do we need the VIN to purchase insurance so he can drive it tomorrow?""

Is it illegal to not have car insurance?

and if it's not illegal, what am i getting confused with?! i always thought it was illegal....? my friend is getting his car and he said it's a crappy car so there isn't any need to insure it. ???""

Driving without a license and no insurance?

I recently got pulled over in GA im from PA for driving without a license and no insurance on my car and i was sent to jail and i bailed out and i go back to court in April and i was wondering if i should waste my time on actually getting an attorney and what exactly you think they'll do to me. And is there anything i can do to go in there and fix the problem like get my license or will it show up in the DMV that i went to jail for not having one? I figured if i could go get my license and my insurance figured out maybe the charges wouldn't be so harsh. Any ideas?

How much would i pay for car insurance?

Im 17 and i had my g2 for about 9 months now. No accidents no tickets no nothing. I'm a good respectful driver. I drive my moms car which is automatic. its a rav 4. my dad has a van and doesn't want to drive manual. I really want to get a car because i like manual and i want to get experience with it. I would like it really soon. If i were to get an older honda civic or toyota corolla manual 5 sp, How much do u think i would pay for primary.""

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

Can my car insurance company do this?

I called my insurance company yesterday to get a quote for a change of vehicle as I was planning to buy a new car. They said my monthly premium would still stay the same and the quote was only valid till end of the day which is fair enough. They said they give the quote on whatever the insurance rate is at the current time so if i was to call another day it could go up but it shouldn't go up that much. So I went to view the car yesterday evening and decided to buy the car. I called my insurance company today and they said it would cost me an extra 350 to get me insured on the car. So i asked them how could it go from nothing to 350 within a day. They come out with the quote is based on the daily rate of insurance and they cant do nothing about it. I wouldn't have mind if it went up by 100 or so but from nothing to 350 in one day is a big jump. Is there anything I can do?

What is average annual homeowners insurance premium in los angeles?

What is average annual homeowners insurance premium in los angeles?

I have geico auto insurance .I moved to another state and got cheaper insurance.Do i need to provide geico wi?

new insurance company name and info or are they just supposed to cancel my policy .

Young Drivers Car Insurance In London?

Hey there, i live in a area that gets me pretty high quotes for an 18 year old.. Well my dad's purchasing a car and i asked if he could insure me on it too and he agreed to this but i've gotta find a decent insurer first.. I mean i'm getting quotes such as 3,000 a year that's pretty high for a 01 plate corsa.. I was just asking for people with experience on maybe any ways i can reduce this price.. Maybe a really cheap insurer you know? or any help would be appreciated if you know the situation i'm in. Thanks!!""

Do you need social security number to purchase car insurance?

Im a student under student visa here in california, I want to purchase car insurance but dont have a ssn. If you can, which companies will and which will not?""

Where to find a reliable and cheap insurance for my 2008 car?

I'm frustrated with my previous insurance company, it's expensive and unreliable which means most of the time they dont pay my claims. :'(""

How can I find out what auto insurance a company has?

OK. So I use to work for this repossession company and I was hit by an idiot that ran a red light. Anyway after the accident I got a lawyer. I quit there shortly after. Well the insurance card in the tow truck was expired and not the right company . When the company switch insurance they forgot to put the new card in.. well since the drive that hit me did not have insurance the personal injury will be covered by the companies insurance. But the owner will not tell my lawyer the name of the insurance company or anything. And said your gonna have to take me to court. He is a real jerk btw. So does anyone know how I could find out online or something what company they were with at the time of the accident??

What happens if lie to your car insurance company?

So i dented my mother's car by hitting another car. i told my mother it was a hit and run and she told me she was going to have the insurance company take care of it. The dent on the car wasn't that bad but it was pretty noticeable but the car that i hit didn't have any dents, just a few scratches .So the owner of car came out and took a look at her car and she said don't worry about it and thats when she let me go. I was pretty shocked of how she handle the situation. So can the car insurance find out if I'm was lying? i told them that a scooter hit it. The dent almost looks like somebody through a rock at it. The dent doesn't really look like i drove it into a car. its a really small dent with little cracks.""

1992 BMW 850I CALIFORNIA INSURANCE PRICE?

IM 19 YEARS OLD I PAY $115 FOR MY TOYOTA MR2

Cheap Car Insurance for a 20 year old...?

I'm 20 years old I live in Houston, Tx 77045 I have a 2003 Toyota Corolla CE. I never had accidents, or traffice tickets. I need a insurance that will not be so high. Any suggestions? Thanks..""

Am I covered by my dad's liability insurance?

I just got my license, but my dad says I can't drive his car because I don't have insurance. The car itself has liability insurance under his name, but he says I would need liability insurance before I can drive any car, even if it's just once in awhile. That doesn't really make sense to me, to have car insurance even though I don't have my own car... Is he right? If I were to get in an accident in his car would it not be covered by his liability insurance? Thanks in advance.""

How much would it up my car insurance if I started a weekend driving school business?

I currently pay about $700 per car.

Can I be on someone's auto insurance policy if I don't live with them?

I'm 16 and I would have my first car if it wasn't for insurance. I got some quotes and the cheapest one was like 316 a month. Is there any way I can be on my grandparents' policy if they live 60 miles away? I go up there almost every weekend. Also would it be cheaper if I was on their policy versus me having my own? Thanks in advance.

""Where can I find an AFFORDABLE health insurance in Dallas, TX?""

to cover my family; me, wife, 3 kids. without too much deductions. I only know Unicare and BlueCross offers lower rates, but wanted to see if you guys can find something lower than Unicare and BlueCross. Can I apply health insurance internationally like Canada or should I wait until Democrat president to setup an special health insurance plan (I forgot what its called)? Thanks!""

How can a non BC resident be on a car insurance (ICBC)?

BC only has one choice of auto insurance, ICBC (gov't run). And ICBC is not flexible and so expensive. I have a car insurance from ICBC on my car, but they told me that when my boyfriend who has an international driver's license cannot drive my car under my insurance. I thought about renting a car so he can be insured and drive. But ICBC's rental car insurance does not cover non BC residents either. So how people who visit BC from other countries travel and be insured to drive a car??? Any information will be much appreciated. Thanks!""

How does Progressive compare your insurance rates with top companies?

How is that possible? I've applied for Progressive quotes before (and wasn't impressed at all), but how are they able to do that? Insurance companies all have complex formulas that are used to calculate rates using several factors, including driving history, location, credit, household drivers, vehicles, etc. Unless they have robots online that steal competitors' bandwidth and automatically fill out the forms, it doesn't seem possible. If that was the case, you would think other companies would block Progressive from abusing their servers. Any ideas?""

Quick insurance quotes with no personal info?

Hi, I'm doing some research into what I want my first car to be. I've narrowed it down to the original Golf GTI, original Mini Cooper S and the Peugeot 205 GTI. I love all these cars but I need to insure them for a 17year old boy. I am a careful driver but you know how expensive insurance is. I live in the UK and want a quick insurance quote without having to put in all my details such as where I live. Any websites that can let me do this? Thanks!""

""I need short term auto insurance, since i will be on vacation for 45 days in southern california,?

Now my insurance company doesn't cover me in the states

Is there any way of avoiding finance charges on monthly motor insurance ?

Like everyone, I'm strapped for cash and the other half's credit cards are maxxed out. In fact I'm so considered so bad for credit now even a loan shark wouldn't touch me with a bargepole despite having a job and being a discharged bankrupt - however my car insurance is due. Is there any way around the extra charges ? My renewal quote was 258 if payed in one lump, yet searching for monthly payments my cheapest payback is 366 over 12 months. Not that I'd ever accuse the banks of ripping us off. Any idea's ??""

Why do auto insurance company ask for social security number when asking for a quote?

must i give my social security number if i were to purchase a auto policy?

Who is the Blonde looking for better insurance rates in the progressive insurance commercial.?

She works alongside Stephanie Courtney in the progressive insurance company commercials.

Will my Car Rental include insurance?

I'm hiring a car in Texas from Avis, it says it Includes Unlimited mileage, CUSTOMER FAC FEE, TRANSPORTATION FEE, VEH LICENSE FEE, Additional Liability Insurance (ALI), Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) - does this mean I won't have to arrange my own car insurance (I live in the UK) to cover driving the hire car abroad?""

Why is my car insurance so much cheaper than other companies?

i was looking around for auto insurance to see if there was anything cheaper than what im paying now. im a 20 year old male with a 2005 scion tc. i have been driving for about 2 years and currently use state farm. when i first insured my car 2 years ago, i was paying $148/mo. due to a speeding ticket, it has risen to $194/mo. i also have comprehensive and collision with a $500 deductible. $100,000/$300,000 coverage with full glass also. not complaining, i think this is great i looked at nationwide, allstate, geico, and progressive. these companies are supposed to be so great, but progressive quoted me at $485/mo for the same coverage! the other companies where all in that general area. progressives state minimum coverage plan for me was almost $300/mo. why do these other companies cost so much more? im not complaining about mine, obviously im not gonna switch, but i am curious as to the difference in price.""

Can I get the tax for my partners car as insurance will be in my name but the car will be in her name?

Neither of us have a car at the minute but my partners mum wants to buy her a car. The car will obviously be put in her name as it is being bought for her but she can not drive at the minute so I will be taking out the insurance in my name as I will be the main driver but we will need to tax the car can I get the tax for the car even if the car is not in my name but the insurance is in my name?

Polk County Auto Insurance?

Hi, is it true that come this October no auto insurance will be required or is it just another rumor?""

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

New Effington South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57255

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/csaa-home-insurance-quote-justin-garrett"

[captnbarnesrogers]

Better For Me (Part Six)

Pairing/Characters: Bucky x Reader, Steve x Natasha (Reader sometimes calls her Natalia), Sam Wilson, let’s just say everyone in the fuckin compound lmao Warnings: Swearing, cocky!Bucky, sexual tension, eventual smut, it’s a slow buuuurn.  TRIGGER WARNINGS (CHAPTER 6): Attempted sexual assault, talks of past sexual assault/rape, violence, swearing, almost smut, angst Summary: You meet one of New York’s richest Bachelor’s. He’s hot, he’s rich, and he’s an absolute fucking asshole. Luckily for you, you’re an asshole too and you could take a challenge any day. Within the first 24 hours of knowing each other, you’ve already pushed each other over breaking point. But when something comes up, you’re both forced to try and get along. Can it be possible? Word Count: 3K+ Chapter Summary: You and Bucky spend the holidays with your family and he discovers something horrific about you and the only thing on his mind is getting out of there. A/N: Chapter 7A coming soon! If I missed any trigger warnings, please let me know! If you want to be in the taglist, links are below!

<<<PREVIOUSLY ON BETTER FOR ME

Four hours was not long enough. To say you didn’t want to arrive home to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was an understatement. Bucky took a hold of your small hands and pressed it against his warm mouth.

“What’s on your mind?” He whispers,

“I don’t know if I should’ve taken you home.”

“You don’t want me there?” His faced dropped and he sighed,

“What? No, no, of course I want you there, I just, I don’t know what you’ll think of me after.”

“Look,” He turned your head to face him, “look at me, doll,” he kissed you softly, “no matter the outcome of this, I’ll still be here, okay?”

“Buck, you can’t make that promis-”

“Yes, I can, if I have to spend the rest of my life showing you, I will.”

“You’re a silly, man, James Buchanan Barnes.” You smiled,

“I feel something good coming out of this.” He leans in to kiss you and you rest your hands on his face, smiling against his lips.

The plane landed shakily, your hand gripping Bucky’s hand tightly. It wasn’t because you feared the plane. You were afraid to go home. You only go home to see your little sister, to check if she’s okay. To make sure what happened to you, doesn’t happen to her. Your daily phone calls weren’t enough. You wanted to see her, you just couldn’t afford to fly home every weekend or every other week, you also couldn’t afford bringing her to New York to live with you, so Christmas was the only time she could see you. Bucky took your hand and you both headed out of the airport, the breeze making your hands feel like ice. You hauled a taxi and packed your bags in the trunk, entering the cigarette smell filled vehicle.

The car ride was silent, just the sound of the radio playing ‘Jessie’s Girl’ by Rick Springfield which Bucky was tapping his foot to. You arrived at the house after thirty minutes. It was still concealed from the sunlight, almost foreshadowing the evil within it. You let out a big huff as you walked out of the yellow car, paying the cab fare, Bucky grabbing the bags from the back. You walked to the front door of the house and knocked. You heard hurried footsteps, almost instantly knowing who it was. The front door swung open.

“Lily!” You opened your arms as she jumped atop of you, “Hi, sweetheart, I missed you so much!” You gripped her tightly,

“I missed you too, Y/N.”

“I want you to meet someone.” You dropped her on the ground and stepped back so she could take a look at your Bucky, “Lily, this is Bucky, my boyfriend, Bucky this is Lily, she’s my sister.”

“Nice to meet you, Bucky.” She said holding out her hand for him to shake. Bucky let out a chuckle and shook her small hand,

“You too,” she nodded and gave him a smile, “you know, for a-”

“Ten-year-old she has a good grip?” You finished his sentence,

“Yeah, how’d you…”

“She gets it from her big sister, a lady who has a good grip, shows?” You implied for her incoming,

“Shows strength and independence!” She chirped in,

“Good girl.” Bucky saw your eyes light up, the more you looked at your sister, something he’d never really seen before, “It’s a little chilly out here, you gonna let us in, kid?” She nodded and let you both inside, running off through the hallway. Bucky grabbed your arm before going in, crashing you into him for a kiss. He pulled away as the air from your lungs began to cut out, “What was that for?”

“You just… Never cease to amaze me.” You playfully pushed him and laughed, leading him inside.

You were met with a façade of love. Your mother, Jean, and your step-father, Sean, in the kitchen dancing to the slow music coming from the radio near the fridge. You rolled your eyes and cleared your throat. They were caught by surprise and turned to face the figures at the door.

“Y/N, dear! We’re so happy you could be home!” She rushed to you and gave you a hug, which you returned,

“I’m happy to be home too, mom.”

“You’ve grown since last Christmas, Y/N.” A voice behind your mother snuck in,

“Sean.”

“We’ve missed you, darling.” You almost gagged at his pet name, you gave him warning eyes not to come near you in which he refrained from doing so,

“Who’s this dashing young man?” Your mother asked,

“Oh, yeah, um, this is my boyfriend, James Barnes.” Sean made his way over to Bucky with prying eyes, almost as if to attack your boyfriend. He roughly gripped Bucky’s hand for a handshake,

“Nice to meet you, both of you.” He says politely. You look at Sean whose eyes were sneering at your boyfriend,

“Well,” your mother started, “dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes and I assume you’ll both be staying in your old room together, so why don’t you both get up there and get ready for dinner and unpack?”

“Thanks mom.”

Exiting the kitchen was like exiting a war zone; something was lifted from you but you knew going back in, all the troubles would start again. You let out a big huff as you took the last step into your room, Bucky following right beside you. As you closed the door, Bucky took you in his arms in an embrace.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asks, your face pressed up against his chest, you nod even though you weren’t really sure what you were feeling. He pulled you away, shortly after rubbing your back comfortingly. He lifted your head to face him and then leaned down to place a soft kiss on your lips, “I don’t know what’s wrong but you’re gonna be okay, babe, I’ll be right here.”

Dinner was silent except for your mother trying to shut you and Lily up at the dinner table. It wasn’t until Sean asked Bucky what he did for a living did the tension between the two men rise but it barely rose. When the silence came back, Sean didn’t shy away from openly showing his dislike towards Bucky and Bucky felt it. Bucky’s fork made a screeching sound as he played around with his food, not knowing what to do with a situation like this. Jean only smiled at Bucky while trying to quieten you and Lily. Moments after, she began collecting everyone’s plates.

“Hey, mom, I’ve got some laundry and I saw some upstairs, do you want me to do those for you?” You suggested,

“Yes please, if you don’t mind.”

“Is the laundry detergent already out back?” You asked. Your mother nodded and thanked you as you went upstairs to grab the laundry, Bucky following behind you, “I’ll be out in the laundry shed for about thirty minutes, you alright in here, babe?” He nodded and gave you a kiss on the cheek. You collected your laundry and put them in the basket, then went around the rooms to collect the rest of it.

You greeted you mother once again in the kitchen, a chuckle making its way through your lips as she cracked a joke. You stepped out and felt the cool breeze hit your face. You walked around the corner to the side of the house, opened the door to the shed and started unloading the clothes from the basket and into the washing machine. You hummed as you separated the colours of the clothes, not hearing the door creek.

“Your boyfriend is something else, huh?” The sound of his voice made your insides sink, your whole body froze into place, the hamper dropping onto the floor, “Oh, my little darling…” You heard his footsteps draw closer behind you,

“Please- I just- I want to-”

“You’re mine, haven’t you learned?” You felt his breath on your neck, his finger making its way around and feeling the skin which covered your collarbone. You couldn’t help but sob, “You don’t need to cry, I know this is what you want.”

“Sean, I d-don’t-” Your heart was beating so fast when his hand trailed from your back, down to your ass. A single tear escaping your eye, his hands slid from your behind and to your front. Your breathing began to fasten in panic.

Lily couldn’t really spend time without you when you came home. She followed you everywhere, even as far to wait for you outside the bathroom. She loved you. She skipped along the footpath to the laundry room in excitement to tell you about a cute boy at school. Just outside the shed she heard your sobs, she peaked through the cracks and covered her mouth from what she saw. Sean had you bent over the washing machine as you sobbed. You caught a glimpse of Lily and looked at her with pleading eyes, she tip toed away from the shed and ran off when she got the stairs of the house. She ran into the house and up the stairs, passing her mother entering the master bedroom. She rushed into your room, where Bucky was on the phone to Steve, discussing the wedding.

Lily heaved a breath in and out, her eyes welling with tears. Bucky took one look at the panicked little girl and ended the call with Steve, telling him that the wedding could wait for just one moment. He bent down to face her and rubbed her arms to calm her down.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” He said comfortingly,

“Y/N.”

“Y/N? What’s wrong with Y/N?” His tone changed but still underlaid with comfort,

“Sean…” Lily huffed, “She’s in the laundry room with Sean.” Bucky’s eyes widened, remembering the only thing that Natasha had told him. He lifted himself up from the floor and rushed down the stairs. He swung the door open and didn’t take a second to look at the scene before him, he roughly pulled Sean away from you, making Sean land across the small shed. Within seconds, you’d dropped to the floor and Bucky was on top of Sean, punching him.

“Don’t... fucking… touch… her again!” He puffed out, lifting his fist from Sean’s face, he turned to face you, caressing your mascara stained cheeks, “Baby, Y/N, look at me, you’re okay… Fuck, Y/N, I’ve got you.” He saw Lily and slid himself towards her, “Lily, I need you to be a big girl and stay her with your sister for two minutes.” Lily nodded and sat beside you. Bucky ran into the house and up into your room. He zipped up your suitcases and rushed downstairs with them in hand. He placed them near the front door and ran back to you, “Lily, I need you to be honest with me, okay?” She nodded, “Has he ever tried to touch you before?” She shook her head ‘no’, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“I need you to go into your room and lock the door, okay? We’re gonna come back for you, sweetheart, I need to make sure Y/N’s okay first.” She nodded and ran off into the house and into her room, locking the door behind her.

“B-Bucky, I-I’m so sorry.” You cried,

“Don’t you dare apologise for this monster,” He says helping you up, “we’re getting out of here.” He carried you in his arms out the door and dialled a cab before grabbing the bags, placing them in the back when the cab arrived shortly after. The cab took you to the nearest motel, your sobs filling the vehicle the whole ride through. He paid for the motel and carried you inside with your bags. Your sobs had stopped temporarily but once he had set you down on the bed, it started again. He made his way beside you, embracing you tightly, and your hands gripping onto his shirt as you cried into him, “Shhh… It’s okay, Y/N, he will never touch you again, I won’t leave you, Y/N, shh…”

“I was- I was stuck and I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream, I tried, Bucky.”

“It’s not your fault, you hear me? It wasn’t your fault.”

“We have to get Lily, she’s not safe there, I don’t want her there.”

“We’ll take her back to New York.”

“Buck, she won’t be able to go to school, I can’t pay for her scho-”

“Y/N, my mom knows the principal at Hunter College Elementary, we could send her there.”

“Bucky…” You looked up at him with widened eyes,

“We can’t keep her here, Y/N.” You knew he was right,

“I’ll call my mom in the morning and tell her Lily can spend the last semester with me.”

“You need to rest up, okay?” You nodded, laying into the bed. Bucky got up but you grabbed his arm,

“Don’t leave me.”

“Never.” He laid down next to you and placed a kiss on you head.

Your mother approved Lily’s leave from their home. Lily was excited to go to New York with you, her clothing and valuables already packed when you arrived at their front doorstep to get her. You gave your mother a kiss before leaving and squeezed Lily’s hand on the way to the airport. On the plane, Lily crossed her legs on the chair, Bucky on her left side and you on the right side. Her earphone dug within her ears, drowning out the mechanic sounds of the plane. You gently squeezed her arm to get her attention. She took out her earphones and gave you a smile.

“Lil, you know why we’re taking you to New York, right?” You asked in a whisper,

“Because Sean is a dick.” Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle,

“Bucky!” You exclaimed, giving him a light tap on the knee before turning back to face Lily, “That’s one way to go about it but maybe don’t use that word.”

“You’re gonna take care of me, right?”

“Of course, sweetheart, you know I’ve always got your back.”

“And I’ve got yours, Y/N.” You gave her a kiss on her forehead,

“Thank you for last night, Lily, for telling Bucky, you really had my back.”

“That’s okay,” She took yours and Bucky’s hands and connected them together, “I’m happy that you found someone to love.”

“Lily! You can’t just-”

“Y/N, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Bucky says laughing. He lifts your hand up to his lips and gives it a soft kiss, Lily clapping her little hands with a first prize winning smile.

“Y/N, what about school?” Lily asks curiously,

“Bucky’s mom knows the principal at an elementary school in New York, we’ve got you covered.”

“I spoke to my mom this morning and it turns out, this guy owes my mom and massive favour so you’re already enrolled and they’re waiting for you.” Bucky gives her a soft smile and she then wraps her arms around Bucky’s neck and hugs him,

“Thank you.” Bucky rubs her back comfortingly, telling her that it was no trouble. The more you looked at Bucky with your sister, the more you thought that maybe Lily was right, maybe there is a part of you that’s starting to fall for him or already have fallen for him.

Two hours into the flight, Lily had fallen asleep on you. Her soft snore making it obvious that she had not had a goodnight’s sleep. You turn your head away from your book and look at Bucky who was already looking at you with a grin.

“Do I have something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?” You asked,

“Nothing,” he whispers, “you’re just… Beautiful.”

“What am I to do with you, Bucky Barnes?”

“Love me.”

“In due time.”

“I’ll always wait for you, you know that Y/N? I have never felt this way about anyone.” He took your hand and kissed it, “I’m always gonna be here for you.”

“Thank you, Bucky.”

A week had passed since the Thursday before and everything seemed peaceful. Lily had started school and Bucky hadn’t been called for duty. You’d dropped off Lily at school and you and Bucky had breakfast at a café just thirty minutes from your place. There was something about the way he was looking at you that morning.

When you got home, Bucky’s hands were on your hips, his lips on your back, making their way onto your neck. You leaned head onto him as his hands moved their way up to your breasts, taking your shirt off along with his movements, and your hands making their way into his hair, gripping tightly. You moaned and led him to your bedroom. You laid down as you kissed him, arching your back as you felt his mouth drag down onto your chest.

Suddenly, memories flashed through your head. Your breathing got faster and your eyes opened wide, screaming.

“Y/N! Y/N, what’s wrong?” He asked, trying to embrace you. You flinched away from him and cried, covering yourself from his view,

“I think- I think you should leave, Bucky.”

“Y/N…”

“Please, I think this is for the best.”

“Whatever it is, we can work it out, Y/N, please.” You kept sobbing as he tried to hold you,

“Bucky! Can’t you see what happened!? I’m going to keep remembering him if we do this, I can’t, I don’t want to remember him every time you touch me!”

“I-I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“You’re a guy, Bucky, there’s only one thing on your mind.” You said cold heartedly,

“You seriously think that that’s the only thing on my mind?” You sat their silently as he stood up and you heard him sob, “I understand, Y/N.” He left the room and you heard the door close, not a sense of anger left behind. You cried and sobbed. Natasha found you in your room still in the same position. She grabbed you into her arms as you sobbed and just like your heart and your eyes, the clouds of New York City began to darken and rain fell profusely.

MASTERLIST

PERMANENT TAGLIST: @winchester-negan-one-shots @stevette60 @marvelous-fvcks @megandrawsspace @marvel-fanfiction @potterhead1265 @zoejohnson8 @frickin-bats @iamwarrenspeace @kenmen02 @captianwintersoldier@noelia8villa @bucky-bear-barnes @hollycornish @marvelbase001@duncedgoofball @abouttimefortea @buchananbarnestrash @minervaem @barnes-heaven @buckyywiththegoodhair @mellifluous-melodramas @heartmade-writingbucky @hellomissmabel@justanotherbuckydevotee @alphaabucky @firebendergirl33

BETTER FOR ME TAGLIST: @randomchick555-555​ @chipilerendi @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @firebendergirl33​ @bria133​ @ancchor​ @thelovablesociopath @buckywiththegoodheart​ @charlesgrey1875​ @zoejohnson8 @afflect40 

SEB STAN/BUCKY BARNES TAGLIST: @yana-tardis-drwho@cassandras-musings @charlesgrey1875 @zxcorra @journeytresbien@chipilerendi

CLICK HERE TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST TAGLIST GUIDELINES

PART 7A >>>

[tripstations]

To Travel the World at 90% Off, Join an Airline

Paris for the weekend. A day on a beach to escape winter. Never been to Montenegro or Tahiti or South Dakota? Let’s go, go, go.

Just work for an airline. Most let their employees fly standby free of charge and their competitors’ staffers for close to free. Children, parents and retirees get some flight perks, too.

It just might be the best work privilege of all time. (Don’t call it a benefit: It doesn’t get taxed.) In no other industry do companies extend generous perks to competitors’ employees. It would be like Ford giving free cars to all employees and 90%-off discounts to

General Motors

laborers.

More than 200 airlines around the world have agreements allowing competitors’ employees, from accountants to warehouse clerks, to ride standby, sitting in any open seat for about 10% of the cost of a ticket. The perk of pass travel creates a different lifestyle for airline employees when they take advantage liberally. Even if employees rarely travel, just knowing they could go to London for the weekend or New Orleans for lunch is a powerful bonus.

Hawaiian Airlines employee Damian Balinowski, here in Iceland, explores the world with his wife. He says that if he lost his airline-travel privileges, his wife would divorce him. Photo: Damian Balinowski

“My wife has told me many times: If you decide to quit

Hawaiian Airlines

or if you get fired, I’m divorcing you,” says Damian Balinowski, Hawaiian’s manager of internal communications, who takes frequent trips to Europe and weekend hops to Maui. “The thing we both cherish is the flexibility.”

Employee standby travelers, known as nonrev or nonrevenue passengers, employ strategies that would make even the most seasoned road warrior blush. With backup plans B, C, D and E at the ready, they check in for three and four flights at the same time, hoping to get on one. They wait to book hotels or Airbnbs until planes start taxiing because there is always a danger of getting bumped out of a seat at the last second.

They are also a big reason why the empty seat next to you gets filled just before the aircraft door closes.

During his first year at United Airlines, Jaspreet Singh stayed home in Chicago only four weekends out of 52. In the three years he has worked at the airline, the senior analyst for in-flight entertainment has taken 500 flights covering 700,000 miles.

United Airlines employee Jaspreet Singh uses travel perks for weekend trips to European cities, including Rome. Photo: Jaspreet Singh

Sometimes Mr. Singh, 25 years old, jets to Kansas City, Mo., to mow the lawn for his mother. Other times he goes to London, Brussels or any city in Germany he can get for the weekend. He flies to the West Coast to escape winter cold. An avowed aviation geek, he likes to planespot at an In-N-Out Burger adjacent to the flight path for Runway 24R at Los Angeles International.

“I’ll just show up at the airport, look at the departure list and see what has the most open seats,” he says.

Southwest ,

a favorite of nonrev travelers for its frequent flights and lighter passenger loads, has flown nearly two million nonrevenue passengers this year, through July 15. About 1.5 million were Southwest employees or dependents, and a further 487,000 were employees of other airlines, according to Rob Dusseau, Southwest’s senior manager for employee engagement and travel.

Share Your Thoughts

Exploring the world can be exciting and excruciating, informative and infuriating. If you could travel for free, how much would you travel? Join the conversation below.

Southwest doesn’t have code-share marketing alliances with other airlines or interline agreements that move canceled or bumped passengers to other carriers. But it does have deals with 140 airlines for employee travel.

“It’s pretty impactful to people’s lives,” says Mr. Dusseau, who has managed pass travel at Southwest for 20 years and currently leads an industry association of pass-travel managers.

He gets around himself: 46 flights so far this year for leisure travel totaling 45,651 miles. When going to Europe for the weekend, he’ll leave Thursday night and take Friday off, maybe Monday, too.

“I just think I’m going to have some awesome memories when I get older,” he says.

There are varying theories on how all this began. Historically, airlines only filled three-quarters of their seats, on average, so they could attract people to the sometimes low-paying industry with free travel.

Alex Da Silva of Hawaiian Airlines visited Mo’orea Island near Tahiti last summer, and then learned the pitfalls of standby travel. He couldn’t get on his airline’s once-a-week flight home to Honolulu. Instead, he caught a flight to Los Angeles and then Las Vegas, and from there back to Honolulu. Photo: Stephanie Da Silva

Some industry long-timers think carriers wanted office workers to experience the product and track competitor innovations. Airlines also wanted to make it feasible for workers to commute to jobs, as they do today, by flying.

The tradition gives airline employees flexibility that paying customers rarely have, such as adding a stop impulsively or staying a few days longer. Employees do have to pay taxes and government fees on international tickets. When flying competitors, they pay what is called a ZED fare, for Zonal Employee Discount, based on distance. ZED fares start at $15 and top out for flights halfway around the world at $179.

These days airlines are filling more seats and flying standby is more challenging. Airlines say nonrevenue employees typically get lower standby-list priority than paying customers, though some top executives and crew members needed to fly a trip can jump ahead. At many airlines, seniority determines the standby-list order for employees. At others, it is check-in time. Employees of other airlines always fall below an airline’s own employees.

With seats hard to score, nonrev travelers study bookings and track trends, such as which flights tend to fill up just before departure. Employees have access to bookings at their own carriers and apps that show available seats on others or predictions for standby success.

“There’s some energy and excitement behind the strategy and the game of nonrevving,” says Mr. Dusseau of Southwest.

Frequent nonrev travelers all have stories of nights spent sleeping on the floor of an airport or crazy routings they took to get home in time for work. Mr. Singh got himself back to Chicago from Honolulu one time via Los Angeles, Newark and Milwaukee. A trip home from Tahiti for Hawaiian’s Alex Da Silva meant flying 2,700 miles past the islands to Los Angeles and then Las Vegas before backtracking to Honolulu.

JetBlue employee Eric Tanner in the Saharan desert town of Merzouga, Morocco. He is so addicted to airline travel privileges that he created an ‘Amazing Race’-style competition for the carrier’s nonrevenue fliers. Photo: Eric Tanner

JetBlue

employees addicted to the game of nonrev travel created their own “Amazing Race”-style competition in 2017. Three teams of three people get handed a destination at 3 p.m. on a Friday at the airline’s New York headquarters.

Eric Tanner, a network planner for JetBlue and creator of the competition, has won both races so far. The inaugural destination was San Sebastian, Spain, and Mr. Tanner figured the whole game was getting to Spain first. His team checked in for flights from New York to Madrid on Iberia and American, stationing team members at different gates in different terminals. An Iberia flight at 5:15 p.m. looked fully booked but they tried anyway. Ten people didn’t show up and they were on their way.

JetBlue has one expectation of its nonrev employee passengers: They have to help clean the airplane after a flight. It is taught at orientation. When nonrev travelers board, they are handed a pair of blue gloves for cleaning.

“I view it as a fun part of the experience and a way to help out my fellow crew members,” Mr. Tanner says.

Maryanne Dao began to understand nonrev travel her first week at JetBlue, when her boss showed up on a Friday with a suitcase packed with bathing suits on one side and sweaters on the other. She was heading to the airport looking for an empty seat.

In just under four years Ms. Dao, an analyst in strategic sourcing, has been to 36 countries using nonrev travel. The week of the July 4 holiday she went to Bermuda for a few days then came back to New York to join colleagues on a trip to a beach in Montenegro. She left her Bermuda backpack at the airport and had clean clothes in a carry-on stashed in a closet for the European trip.

The peripatetic travel is exciting, and addicting, she says.

“I will continue to do this for as long as my body allows me to,” Ms. Dao says.

MORE FROM The Middle Seat

Write to Scott McCartney at middleseat@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

The post To Travel the World at 90% Off, Join an Airline appeared first on Tripstations.

from Tripstations https://ift.tt/2Yh8aWW via IFTTT

[studylifeusa]

Qing Qing Li, from China, is taking a Master’s Degree program in Physics at the University of South Dakota

Why did you decide to study in the USA?

Studying abroad has always been a part of my bucket list.

Why did you choose this particular college or university?

I knew about the University of South Dakota (USD) through a professor who visited my university in Jing Zhou. I was attracted to USD because it had a program that would allow me to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree in 5 years.

What do you like best about your university?

It has a peaceful environment and it suits me well, and it does not have the hustle and bustle of a big city.

What do you miss most about home?

My parents’ home-cooked meals. Even though I try to cook with recipes and all the listed ingredients, something is still missing. I also miss public transportation.  I used to take buses, trains, and taxis at home to travel from one spot to another. However, the public transportation in this town in not as developed. Therefore, I have to either walk or ask for a ride.

What was your biggest surprise about U.S. life and education?

I am taking an online class this semester. This is my first experience learning through a screen and without any classmates. It was difficult at first, but once I learned to communicate with professors and classmates with emails and texts, the experience was quite pleasant.

... your biggest disappointment?

The public transportation system and the weather. Since I come from the south, it took some time for me to get used to the cold weather.

How have you handled: ... language differences?

I am handling the classes well thus far. However, I have to work hard and prep for classes that are heavy with technical terms.

... finances?

I will start to work as a lab assistant in the summer. It comes with a stipend that covers the majority of my expenses living in this town; therefore, I am supported financially by the Department of Physics at USD.

... adjusting to a different educational system?

The education system in China is less demanding than classes in the US system. Friends at home can miss classes on a regular basis and still pass the class if they do well in the comprehensive final test. However, I have to work diligently over here because homework, quizzes, and attendance are assigned throughout the semester.

What are your activities?

I used to visit schools in nearby towns with teachers when I was in the Intensive English Program. We interacted with and learned from the students. I also participated in events hosted by the International Office. However, my schedule keeps me busy this semester. As much as I want to be involved, I placed my priorities in studying.

How easy or difficult is making friends in the USA?

Since I have only been here for a semester, I’ve made a lot of friends in the classes that I’m taking. I enjoy learning and studying with them.

What are your career goals?

I wish to be a physicist and a computer scientist. I have been a physics student, but I have expanded my expertise to computer science as well since I’ve come to the US. I hope to have a career that can integrate knowledge from both fields, but I am open to any working opportunities.

What is your advice to other students from your country who are considering a U.S. education?

I think studying abroad is a great experience for me, and I learn a lot more things than just acquiring knowledge, so if you want to go abroad and have the same experience that I’ve had, you should give it a try!

Download Study in the USA® Magazines

[jacewilliams1]

More travel, less tourism – how aviation can take us beyond the guidebook

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but if I had to commit to one for 2020 it would be to spend more time traveling and less time as a tourist. That might sound like a distinction without a difference, but I believe the change in mindset is profound—especially for a pilot. It’s fun to visit Times Square, but that’s not where you meet the most interesting people or learn the most powerful life lessons. And it’s not what general aviation is made for.

Tourism has developed something of a bad reputation lately, whether from environmental activists upset at airlines’ carbon emissions or locals complaining about full-time Airbnb apartments. Pictures from places as diverse as St. Mark’s Square in Venice and Mt. Everest show crowds of tourists. “Overtourism” was even one of the Oxford English Dictionary’s words of the year in 2018. 

The crowds are growing in Venice and many other famous places.

The reasons behind this explosion in tourism are straightforward. Increasing wealth around the world (especially in Asia), coupled with cheap airfares, has led to a tripling of international tourist arrivals since 1990, to an astonishing 1.4 billion. Unfortunately, social media means many of these people are focusing on the same few places, like Venice, instead of thousands of less trendy locations that deserve attention.

I’m less worried about the crowds than about what we miss by staying on the metaphorical tour bus. Traveling means an adventurous mindset, not a consumerist one. It’s an active search for real experiences, not a lazy acceptance of preserved stereotypes. Most importantly, a great trip should go beyond the big city and the top ten list.

That’s exactly where general aviation can help. If you fly Delta to LaGuardia and take a taxi to Manhattan, you’ll have a postcard view of New York—enjoyable, but pretty one dimensional. On the other hand, if you fly into Caldwell and drive through New Jersey, you may see a completely different side of New York life. And that’s not to mention the fuel stop you might make in North Carolina or Ohio. In fact, you might not ever make it to Manhattan.

As most pilots instinctively know, there is so much to see in our own backyards, often in quiet towns that aren’t in any guidebooks, but you have to be curious enough to look. That should be easy for us, since many of these towns are served by quiet and convenient general aviation airports. These are gateways to unique, authentic, and affordable places, and in America our airports are a national treasure. 

When I review my logbook, I see a scrapbook of airports. There are recent trips to Chicago and Los Angeles, but those aren’t the places that stick in my mind. Instead, it’s the places I never knew existed, the accidental visits, that led to memorable experiences.

Take Mott, North Dakota, the first place I ever visited that was so quiet I could hear my heartbeat. It’s a town of less than 1,000 people, two hours west of Bismarck, so I doubt it’s on any Instagram influencer’s feed. But it has a natural beauty that took my breath away, and genuinely warm people who made me feel like I’d grown up there. The only reason I made it there was the small airport just south of town; there is no chance I would have ever seen Mott if not for general aviation. That would be a loss, because my trip gave me a deeper appreciation for small town America and a new perspective on the Great Plains.

Columbus, Indiana, is larger than Mott, but it’s hardly overrun with tourists. It’s only 80 miles from my house, and yet I had never visited until I landed at the airport to try the airport restaurant (breakfast at Blackerby’s is excellent). While walking around the terminal, I realized the city was a goldmine for an architecture buff like me. The list of visitors to Columbus reads like a who’s who of modern architects, with buildings by I. M. Pei, Cesar Pelli, Eero Saarinen, and Robert Venturi among many others. It’s not easy to get there by airline, but the large, well-maintained airport is five minutes from town. Last time I was there, I got a free ride into town from a friendly local—try that at LaGuardia! 

Small airplanes are the only way to travel to many islands in the Caribbean.

Some memorable destinations are farther away, but even in a foreign country it pays to get off the beaten path. The islands of the Caribbean, for example, are some of my favorite places in the world. While Nassau welcomes millions of travelers every year to the Bahamas, the best spots require a small airplane to visit. The relaxed pace of life on Long Island or the gregarious people of Exuma offer much more interesting and authentic experience. There are no t-shirt shops, no casinos, and some of the restaurants feel more like an islander’s living room than a resort, but that’s exactly why I love them. 

That’s true north of the border, too. This summer, I visited Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, a place I had never heard of until a few months before flying there. It’s only 250 miles from Maine, but it feels like another continent. The rugged terrain looks like the British Isles, many residents still speak Gaelic, and the music scene is alive with fiddles and step dancing. It’s unlike any place I have been to, and once again it’s easily accessible by light airplane. To get there by airline would require a connecting flight to Halifax and a four-hour drive. Even if you endured that, you would miss the stunning view of the island from the cockpit of your own airplane.

Of course we can’t all quit work and start criss-crossing the continent by light airplane. But the beauty of a traveler’s mindset is that you don’t have to. If you’re simply open to new adventures, and willing to build a little slack into your flying schedule, there are fantastic locations to discover almost anywhere. This isn’t about being a travel snob, either, avoiding the popular spots so you can brag about the exclusive places you’ve found. It’s about charting your own course and exploring the places that are interesting to you, even if they’re only 100 miles away.

So in 2020 I’m going to plan my fuel stops with more time to explore, I’m going to read more airport bulletin boards, I’m going to talk to more locals in the pilot lounge, and I’m going to write more comments in ForeFlight to share my experiences with others. More than anything, I’m going to be curious about each and every town I visit and embrace serendipity along the way.

The post More travel, less tourism – how aviation can take us beyond the guidebook appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2019/12/more-travel-less-tourism-how-aviation-can-take-us-beyond-the-guidebook/

[sentrava]

Hey Girl Hey! Best Girls’ Trips in the US

While my husband and I travel together for a living, I also spend a lot of my free time going on both work trips and getaways with my girls. I’ve spent years judging a city for whether or not it would make a good bachelorette trip or long weekend with friends, and I’ve finally compiled a list based on what I’ve deduced.

(Spoiler alert: You will not find Las Vegas anywhere on this list.)

Savannah, Georgia

Ahhh, Savannah. The Hostess City of the South. A dream of a town cloaked in moss and serving up hearty doses of Southern cooking with a side of love. I can’t think of a place better made for a girls’ weekend, from dining at culinary hotspots like Cotton & Rye and The Grey to hitting the beach on Tybee Island to checking out the late-night scene on River Street, and it’s becoming even easier to visit Savannah if you’re a non-Southerner thanks to a growing number of flight options directly into the local airports.

Where you’re staying: Kimpton Brice Hotel

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This might not be one you expected, but it’s my latest city crush and I can’t imagine a more fun mid-sized city than the heart of Okie territory. Why? Consider this: No traffic, affordability, easy parking, compact, plenty of delicious places to brunch, great local shopping, street art photo opps for days, outdoor adventures galore. I guess the question remains: Why wouldn’t you go to OKC on your next long weekend break?

Where you’re staying: Colcord Hotel

Austin, Texas

It’s no surprise that Austin tops my list as it’s Nashville’s doppelgänger in a sense, but spring and autumn in particular are glorious times to grab your girls and hop a flight to Texas’ capital (and its hippest city). You can fill your shopping bags with funky clothing and home décor along South Congress, eat tacos from Torchy’s, sample the burgeoning brewery scene, see plenty of rockin’ music and spend a leisurely day out on Lake Travis.

Where you’re staying: Hotel Ella

The Gulf Coast, Florida

I may be biased as my family used to have a vacation home near 30A and I’ve been going to Panama City Beach and Destin since I was a wee tot. And it’s still one of my favorite places to unwind—in fact, SVV and I just arrived here today for a much-needed, no-social media, non-blogging vacation (I already broke one of those rules…)! But it’s also insanely fun with your gals in tow. Ever since my freshmen year in college, 30A has been where my girls and I go to have a little fun, but mostly unwind and settle into that toes-in-the-sand mentality. In recent years, I’ve held bachelorette parties in South Walton and PCB, and I love how affordable they are for the gal on a budget as you can rent a big ol’ beach house and really keep the cost-per-person low, particularly if you’re cooking out of said house and using the beach as your free daytime entertainment.

Where you’re staying: Carillon Beach or an Airbnb near Watersound

New Orleans, Louisiana

I had my own bachelorette party in New Orleans and went back for round two this summer with a pair of my best blogger gal pals. What I love about NOLA is it’s easy to navigate, it’s relatively compact, it’s more affordable than, say, New York City and it’s got a killer music scene, perfect for those who love to burn the midnight oil (but still a good fit for those who don’t). We had a great time exploring the Big Easy and eating our weight in Cajun food. Airlift may have once been a problem, but New Orleans is getting new flight routes all the time—and bonus: They’re serviced by my personal favorite airline, Southwest.

Where you’re staying: Catahoula Hotel

Nashville, Tennessee

How can I write about girls’ trips and not include the Bachelorette Capital of the United States, not to mention my hometown? I can’t! But please, please venture off Broadway. Stay in an Airbnb on Music Row or around 12South and use my bachelorette guide to Nashville  and tips for having a grown-up girls’ weekend as ways to avoid the tourist traps. If you have more than just a Friday through a Sunday, I highly recommend you tack on a day in Franklin to your itinerary for shopping, dining, sipping and more.

Where you’re staying: an Airbnb in 12South

Charleston, South Carolina

I realize this list is tending to skew Southern—what can I say? I write what I know—but having lived in both California and New York, I find the Southern cities to be much more accessible for meeting up with groups, not to mention affordable (and as a CPA’s daughter, I’m always looking for a deal). I’ve planned three girls trips to Charleston in the past few years, and for those who really enjoy eating, drinking and beaching, you couldn’t pick a better city to visit.

Where you’re staying: Zero George Hotel

St. Augustine, Florida

Despite this charming coastal city being in prime hurricane territory, it seems to weather any storm. I only visited for the first time last year to see my girl Jade and couldn’t believe I’d gone more than 30 years without experiencing St. Augustine’s splendor. From Nashville, it was just an hour flight and then under 45 minutes to drive to St. A from there. We stayed on Vilano Beach, explored the historic downtown, had cocktails at the Ice Plant, went to a concert on Anastasia Island and just kicked it on the beach.

Where you’re staying: an Airbnb on Vilano Beach

Lexington, Kentucky

Louisville may be on your bucket list (see: mint juleps and Derby parties), but I urge you to also consider Lexington, which I believe to be one of the South’s most underrated cities. The college town has much more curb appeal aesthetically than its bigger western neighbor, not to mention it’s far more walkable. And it’s got booze to spare: Lexington has its own distillery district, a handful of awesome breweries, and is within a half an hour from other Kentucky big boys like Woodford Reserve and Castle & Key.

Where you’re staying: 21c Museum Hotel Lexington

Orlando, Florida

I’ve been to Orlando with my family, I’ve been with SVV, I’ve taken small children to the parks, and I’ve been with friends. There’s really no bad way to do Orlando—just as long as your trip companions love theme parks as much as you do! If I were to have my bachelorette party at (almost) 35, I’d probably consider doing it at Universal Orlando Resort. It’s got a brand new water park, Volcano Bay, five hotels to choose from (with several more in the works), so many delicious food options (see: The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, Antojitos, Mama Della’s, Amatista and many more), and you don’t ever have to deal with the nuisances of driving anywhere (or taking a Lyft), as there’s a water taxi that transports you to and from the parks and CityWalk, as well as the other resorts. You could easily pool-, restaurant- and bar-hop around the resort complex for four or five days and never repeat anything. Just promise me you’ll actually spend time in the parks, too—and drink your weight in Butterbeer on my behalf.

Where you’re staying: Cabana Bay Hotel

Portland, Maine

This was the first big girls’ trip I took as an adult with my soulmate Lemon, and we had the best time, not just because Maine is home to the friendliest people in the world, but also because there were so many things we loved about Portland: the food! the shopping! the coast! the lighthouses! Acadia National Park! It’s got all the New England charm without the crowds or inconveniences.

Where you’re staying: the Press Hotel

**********

I know there are plenty of other cities that are primed for fun weekend trips, and I can’t wait to explore them—already on the docket for girls’ weekends in 2018 are Western Canada; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Fargo, North Dakota.

What’s been your favorite girls getaway in the continental U.S.? And who wants to plan one with me for next year?

  PIN IT HERE

Hey Girl Hey! Best Girls’ Trips in the US published first on http://ift.tt/2gOZF1v

[mrbillgeorge]

The Worst Day of My Life

The worst day of my life actually begins the night before. I’m leaving the next morning for a vacation in Punta Cana. The flight I’m booked for has a bit of a tight connection. It’s about 45 minutes. So my second plane is set to begin boarding at basically the same time as I’m landing.

So I reach out to Delta on Twitter to get their thoughts.

Hey, they do this stuff every day. So I trust ‘em. 

Like all travel days, I get to Logan early. I eat breakfast right across from my Gate and I wait…

Everything is going well, and then the board updates about a half hour before my boarding time. Ding! My flight is delayed 7 minutes. So I go to the gate attendant and tell her, with this schedule change, I’m even more nervous about my connection.

She says it’ll be fine. The plane is in the air. The gates are near each other, ‘you’ll be okay.’ She says the other option is to rebook me, connect through ATL and be in PUJ around 8pm (instead of the currently anticipated 3pm). But again, she says I’ll be fine, so I stick.

This moment right now is the turning point in the story. 

What I should have said was, “I don’t trust you. I want to play it safe. Rebook me through Georgia. I’d rather be there at 8 than risk not being there at all.” But I didn’t, and thus, the dominoes begin to fall.

So the flight goes from 7 minutes delayed, to 12, to 21…

I finally get a notification on my phone saying, hey, this delay may affect your connection, wanna rebook through Georgia? ... Of course, I get this notification on the goddamn jetway to the plane so it’s a liiiittle late for that.

What follows is the most stressful flight of my life (for now (that’s what we call a ‘tease’)). I think I can still make it. We begin to taxi before takeoff. And taxi. And taxi. We stay on the ground fooooorever. Finally we take off and my heart is going.

Halfway through the flight, I’m in full-on panic mode. I hit the flight attendant button like an asshole and she comes over and stares at me. I tell her I have a tight connection and I was wondering if she could radio down to the gate and tell them to hang tight for me.

She says now that we’re in the air she can’t contact anyone. … Which, the pilots are talking to the tower right? Like, we have the technology. Am I wrong?

So the flight lands and I dart to the front. I’m waiting for them to open the door. They open the door and the jetway starts to move in. I beg them to let me loose. She does and I jump to the jetway and go into a full on sprint. I checked the terminal Map so I know where I’m going and I just RUN.

Now, keep in mind, I’m an indoor kid. Usain Bolt I am *not.* So after about three gates my calves are on FIRE. I finally get to the gate and, sure enough, door is closed.

I head to the Delta rep and this is where things get reaaaal interesting.

They say they don’t have another flight until the next morning. Which means I miss a day+ of my stay at the resort. Which is unacceptable. I tell them there has to be a way for me to get there. Even if it’s another airline.

She says there’s an American flight in two hours that has a stop in Miami and gets there a bit after 8. But I’d have to pay out of pocket for it. I say fine. Just hook me up. She say she’s not supposed to do that. I beg her to help me and she says fine. She books me on American.

So I’m waiting for her to print my boarding pass or whatever and she says, ‘check your phone.’ I pull it up and there’s an email with my confirmation from *priceline.com*

Are you kidding me? She basically minimized the Delta system, pulled up Internet Explorer and just booked me through Priceline!

Okay, breath, whatever. At least I’m getting there. So now I ask about my bag, which is still *in* the plane from Boston. She says they don’t have a deal with American anymore (that ended two years ago apparently) so they can’t hand the luggage over to them. [Eye roll.]

She says my bag will end up at the Delta baggage service center. I can grab it there and then book it for my next flight. I ask if that’s outside security. She says yes: I’ll have to go to baggage claim, hope my bag arrives in the next half hour or so, grab it, take the air train to change terminals, go back through security and check my bag with American.

I ask why they can’t just put the bag on the flight that I *would* have been on the next morning. Then I can have the resort get it from the airport for me. They say for security reasons, if you don’t check in for an international flight, your luggage won’t get put on the plane.

So the clock is ticking, and I head to baggage.

I’m at baggage… no sign of the bag. The woman is not helpful whatsoever. I ask if it might arrive in, ya know, the next hour or so. And she says she has no idea. At this point, I’m freaking. I call my parents. I need someone else in the decision making process at this point.

My dad, always wise, says forget the bag. ‘You may never see that bag again.’ Fair point.

So I head to security to get on the American flight.

At this point, I’m in a better place. I know I’m getting there. I’ve come to terms with losing my luggage. I’ll still be there for 8pm-ish. I’ll only be losing 5 hours... and my stuff. Not *terrible.*

I get on the phone to call the resort to tell them I’ll be later, because they are my ground transportation from the airport. No one picks up at the number I was provided. So I call the website I booked through. They say no big deal and they ask what flight I’m on and they’ll adjust ground transportation. Great.

Then… TWIST!

The woman says, ‘wait, you booked a different flight?’ I say, ‘yes… why?’ She says, in a panicked voice, that if you don’t check in for an international Delta flight, they automatically cancel the return trip.

Whaaaaat?! 

[Loudspeaker] “Now boarding group 7 on American flight to Miami.”

I start to board and I’m losing my mind. If I don’t have a flight home, I cannot go. I’m not getting trapped in a foreign country with no way back. I’ve seen how that movie ends.

I start texting furiously with my mom. I’m sending her all my flight info and see if she can have my dad call as if he’s me to confirm I have a return trip. She says she’ll do her best and ends with:

I begin the flight to Miami, which has *now* taken the top spot as the most stressful flight of my life. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’ve narrowed it down to three options: 1. I land and I have a return flight and I make my connection to PUJ. 

2. I don’t have a return flight and I decide to spend a few days in Miami to salvage the trip, then go home. 

3. I don’t have a return flight and I book the next direct flight to Boston and I pull the plug on this entire catastrophe.

As we begin our initial descent into Miami, the pilot comes on. There’s a weather issue that we need to travel around and it will add 20 minutes to the flight. 

So now, I may not even make the connection to Punta Cana that I don’t even know if I want to make!

We finally land in Miami and my phone goes off. It’s my mom. She says dad talked to Delta and I’m all set and confirmed for my return from PUJ.

At this point: tears. I and holding back tears. The raw emotion of something *finally* going right and for my folks coming through for me, I could barely contain it. I’d also been up since 4am and eaten next to nothing and my entire body was tense from stress. And this was the thing that put me over the top.

So I get off the plane and start running to my PUJ connection. And, guess what, that flight’s delayed an hour and a half! 

I wait for that flight and take it to Punta Cana. Fast forward to when I finally get ground transportation sorted out.

I’m in a van and we’re dropping people off at various hotels and I’m waiting for mine. It had also just rained heavily and the streets are *flooded*. We are driving through small lakes on almost every street.

I ask the people next to me if they’re staying at the ‘Grand Hotel Bavaro’ and they say yes. And I say, ‘great, so am I.; And they say it’s their second time and it’s wonderful. So I decide to stick with them.

They’re from South Dakota. Some town, forget the name, Chasing Water, or something. Anyway, we get to the hotel and they say here we are. So I go to the desk. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a reservation under that name.”

I pull out my phone and point to it. They look at the reservation and say I’m at the *Iberostar* Grand Hotel Bavaro. This is the *Palladia* Grant Hotel Bavaro…

Meanwhile, the South Dakotans that fucked me are checking in next to me. So I say I’m at the wrong hotel. And the fella says, ‘ohhh yea. Well I mean they’re *all* called the Grand Hotel Bavaro. It’s that first part that’s really important.’

Gee thanks Cleetus. Next time consider a follow up question, will ya?

Meanwhile, ground transportation is gone, so now I need to take a taxi to the my hotel. Which is a real ‘there but by the grace of God go I’ situation. I’m just putting my life in their hands here.

I start to get in the taxi, and then someone starts flashing their lights and waves me out of the cab. It’s the van from the airport! The guy got to my hotel and I wasn’t in the van anymore so he came back for me! Humanitarian of the year status.

I thank him so much. ‘Gracias! Gracias!’ He asks if I speak Spanish, I say ‘un poco’ (a little). He then says something that I don’t understand so I nod and say, ‘si.’

I stagger into the hotel at 11:30pm. I tell the guy at the desk I don’t have any of my stuff and I ask for help with some toiletries etc. They say they’ll hook me up, thankfully. So I stumble into my room and start to sett--

BOOM!

Power goes out. 

Pitch black. No night lights. Nothing. I don’t even know the layout of the room yet so I’m just walking into walls and pin balling all over the place. 

Finally power comes back. I decide, forget everything, I just wanna crash in bed and watch the game. 

I go to turn on the TV. Grab the remote. Start hitting the power button. Nothing happening. I notice it feels light aaaannnddd...

And THAT, dear reader, was the worst day of my life. Thank you and good night!