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urfavoritedcwhore · 2 months

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the Russian boy//part one

a fanfic about the goldfinch

summary: a new girl named lucy gardener has just moved to las vegas, nevada. she meets two boys her first day and takes an interest on the black-haired Russian boy named boris.

this is a series i’m going to be working on, and yes, there will eventually be some juicy smut.

warnings: swearing, marijuana usage, and some brief mention of alcohol usage.

not proof read!!

part one: the first day

"FUCK" , i yell when i awake to see my alarm clock isn't plugged in. i must have forgotten to plug it in last night when i was setting up my room. im gonna be late for my first day of school. great. i rush to the millions of moving boxes in my room trying to remember which ones have my clothes in them, finally i mange to find a box with a folded up Tshirt and decide to wear that and the leggings i slept in. i throw on the Tshirt and run into the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. "first day of my new school and im going to show up a total mess. amazing.", i think to myself while i spit out the tooth paste in my mouth and see the knots all over my head. i grab my brush and hurry back into my room to put my shoes on and get my book bag together. "MOM!!", i yell while brushing my hair and putting my folders in my bag. no response. great she's probably passed out downstairs drunk, or hasn't come home from last night yet. i don't blame her though, if i had found out my husband was cheating on me and lost all my money in the divorce i would be drinking away my feelings too. i just hate that it caused us to move here. the fucking middle of nowhere in las Vegas. why couldn't we have moved to someplace cool like New York? or just someplace where the sun isn't beating down on me like it wants to fry me and eat me for lunch. whatever, no point in being mad right now, i need to grab my keys and get to school. i go downstairs to see my mom passed out on the couch with a bottle of tito's and lifetime blaring on the tv. no time to worry about that now. i find my keys laying on the kitchen counter and rush out the door. i hop in my truck (well, my mom and me's truck) and head on my way to school. joining a new school three months into the school year as a junior, who knows nobody in this awful town shouldn't be hard, right? i look up on google maps where it is and learn it's only 20 minutes away from my house, not too far of a drive. gosh, its already 11:30am, i'm so fucked. i pull into the school parking lot and quickly run into the double doors at the front of the building. i spot the front office on my right and make my way in there, the small lady behind the desk looks up from her computer at me. "name?", she says like she's dealt with more late passes then she wanted to this morning. "Lucy Gardener, I'm a new student here and-", she cuts me off, "yes, miss gardener, you're a junior correct? here's your schedule and here's your late pass.". she pulls out a small green peice of paper from here desk drawer and writes, my name, the date, the time, and her signature on it before handing it to me. awesome, i'm gonna have to show up in the middle of class and stop the lesson to give this to my teacher. she reaches into the printer and gives me a list with my name on the top and a bunch of classes with times next to them. "right now you should be in....3rd period, english.", the lady said pausing to squint at her computer, "room 224. down the main hall and to your left.". "thanks.", i say stuffing my schedule in my bag and walking out of the office. i follow her directions and head down the main hall and to the left, until i see room 224. fuck, ok ok, just go in there, give the slip to your teacher, and pray he doesn't make me introduce myself to the class. i open the class door and immediately all heads turn to me. i can feel my cheeks burning red as i walk to the man in his mid 40s standing in front of the whiteboard. "sorry." i say handing him the slip and turning away to find a seat towards the back of the class room, just as i thought you may get away with say nothing else, he calls you back up front. "Lucy? you're our new student right? come up here and tell us a little about yourself please.", he says with a huge smile on his face. you've gotta be fucking kidding. i turn back to him and walk back up front. "hi i'm lucy, um i just moved here from New Orleans.", i hear slight laughter coming from two boys in the back of the classroom.

"can i go sit now?", i say turning towards the teacher. "well it's great to have you here lucy, i look forward to getting to know you, i think there may be a seat next to theo. theo, raise your hand so lucy knows where to go.". i see a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair raise his hand and realize it was one of the boys who were giggling. i walk towards the desk that the teacher was referring to, and see that it’s actually right in between the two boys that were giggling. how wonderful, this should be soooo fun. i sit down and immediately hear the blonde boy with glasses on my right giggling. damn, do i really look that bad today. the one with black hair is just staring so intensely at me, i feel his eyes burning holes in my head. i guess i came just at the right time though, cause about two minutes after i sit down i hear the bell ring. "anddd that's lunch.", i hear the teacher say as i stand up and grab my bag. i let out a sigh of relief, at least i can just go sit in the bathroom and look at my phone for the lunch period. i'm walking to the door when someone behind me calls out, "lucy!". i turn around to see the blonde boy with his mouth slightly open and the boy with black hair standing behind him smirking. "i-it's lucy right?" he says stuttering over his words. "yea. you're theo, right?", i say hoping that i heard the teacher correctly and didn't just call him the wrong name. "ding ding ding! and this," he pulls the boy with black hair in front of him like he's showing me a puppy or something, "is boris. he, well we, were wondering if maybe you wanted to hang with us during lunch? you know, since you're new.", theo says in a almost shy manner. do i want to have lunch with them? is it a trick? weren't they literally just laughing at me? if they didn't look so raggedy i would've guessed that they were two popular boys messing with me. the dark haired one, sorry, "boris", speaks up. "we have weed." , he said in a whispering tone.

i'm not sure because his voice was so low, but i think he may be Australian? that doesn't matter, they had weed, i need something to calm my first day anxieties. "i'm down, should've led with the weed." i say looking at both of them as theo looked at boris with a smile. boris walked in front of me, "follow me.". boris and theo led me out the school doors, into the parking lot, and to a beat down 1985 volvo. this looks sketchy i'm not gonna lie. the car is rusted, missing a headlight, and theo has to crawl through the driver side door to get to the passenger seat. let's just hope and pray they don't kill me and dump my body in the nevada desert somewhere. boris opens the back seat door for me and i crawl in, as soon as i'm in the car i know they're not lying about the weed. the smell is so strong that i imagine they smoke in this car everyday and don't know what air freshener is. boris gets in the drivers seat, shuts the door, and immediately opens the glove box. "shit bor, did you not roll another one this morning? it's gonna take me at least 20 minutes to get this shit done.", theo said holding a small baggie of weed, and a pack of joint papers. these kids don't even know how to roll a joint. i snicker, "let me see it.", i say holding out my hand. theo and boris looked at eachother suspiciously. "oh come on, let me see it i can get her done in 5-10 minutes tops.", i start making a "gimme" motion with my hand. theo hands the bag and papers over to me. it doesn't even take me ten minutes and im done. "here", i say, passing the joint to boris. they inspect it carefully until boris looks back at me and smiles, "nice job new girl.". i do a small bow, "thank you thank you very much, now light that shit.", i say looking at the lighter in theo's hand. theo hands the lighter over to boris, who starts to touch the flame to the tip of the joint and takes a long hit. he lets the smoke out, coughing as he does so. boris takes another hit then looks at me. he gives the joint to me with a grin, "new girl gets next hit, eh?", he says glancing over to theo. "that's fine with me man.", says theo, who's too focused on trying to get the radio to work.

boris hands the joint over to me. please please please don't let me get too high and embarrass myself God. i mean look, im an avid smoker, but after taking a break from weed for like 6 days because of all the moving shit i had to do, i’m definitely gonna get really fried. i take a long drag of the joint and hold the smoke it for about 7 seconds before exhaling with a sigh. "fuck that's nice.", i say passing the joint to theo and leaning back into the seat. "so new girl, where do you live?", boris says with a thick accent. "i don't really know the name of the street, i just got here last night. it's like desert something.", i say trying to remember what the street is called . boris raises his eyebrows as he grabs the joint theo's passing to him, "desert end drive?", he says before taking a long hit of the joint. "yea actually, that's where i am.". the two boys exchange looks. "no way, that's where we live." , says theo almost giddy with excitement. ok this is good. at least i have two people that smoke in my neighborhood. "do you live more towards the front of the neighborhood or the back?", theo says. boris passes me the joint and i take two quicks hits while they stare at me with anticipation. "way in the back, it takes like 3 minutes of me driving just to get out of the neighborhood.", i say shifting my eyes between the two of them. theo looks at boris as i hand him the joint. "i bet you're right by bor then.", he says smiling a child like smile. "oh shit that's nice.", i say trying to not look excited. i mean boris is cute. i don't really know him at all. and that accent, maybe it's just the weed talking, but that accent is so fucking sexy. "what's your accent?", i blurt out, not so shy anymore from the high i'm feeling. boris smirks at me, "i mean i've lived in a lot of places so i have little accent from everywhere, but the one you probably hear the most, is russian or ukraine maybe?", he says, "my english isn't perfect, potter says i miss words sometimes, but i do pretty well, eh?", he says taking the joint from theo. i let out a laugh, "dude you're so right, he does kinda look like harry potter!", which makes both me and boris burst out into laughter.

"hardy har har, soooo funny.", says theo trying his best to hold back a smile. we sit, passing around the joint and just talking and getting to know each other for about the next 15 minutes until all that's left of it is the filter. "i don't wanna go back in.", i say as the laughter dies down in the car from a stupid thing theo said. "well you're in luck, me and bor usually skip forth period anyways.", theo says turning his head to look at me and smile. "yes! come with new girl, will be fun. i have vodka at house.", boris says with excited eyes. "your parents won't mind?", i say, "nah, only live with my dad and he'll be gone for next few days.", says boris as he puts the bag of weed and papers back in his glove box. "alright, im down. but fuck, i'm way too stoned to drive right now, i haven't smoked for like a week cause of the move.", i say, remembering just how high i am. "give me your keys, im not too fucked.", says boris holding out his hand, "potter can drive my car, he does all the time.". i look at boris for a second, before pulling out my keys and placing them in his hand. trust me if i thought this boy was too faded to drive, i would not let him in my truck. but since i'm pretty sure he does this everyday multiple times a day i'm fine with it. especially since, i myself drive while im stoned all the time. well when im not in the middle of an involuntary week long T break i mean. boris hops out of the car and opens my door, extending his hand to me, as theo crawls into the drivers seat. i take boris's hand and hop out of the car. i say a quick thank you and let go of his hand before leading him to my truck. when we get to my car he follows me to the passenger side and opens the door for me. "such a gentleman." , i joke as i put a hand on my heart and hop in the car. "always a gentleman for a pretty lady.", he says back shooting me a quick wink then chuckling. ok he could so get it. i mean he called me pretty, he definitely wants it. no lucy...you two are joking around. he's being polite. don't think anything of it. boris walks to the other side of the car door and hops in the drivers seat, putting the keys in ignition. "let's go get wasted new girl.", he says to me with a smile as he puts the car in drive, and pulls out of the school parking lot. i have a feeling this is going to be fun..

part 2 will be out soon. let me know if yall fw this

#boris pavlikovsky #boris pavlikovsky smut #the goldfinch #theo decker #thegoldfinchfanfic #fanfic #boris pavlikovsky fanfic #the russian boy #thegoldfinchbook #the goldfinch movie #book boris #finn wolfhard

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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990

survey by starsareonly2nd

Have you ever been to Las Vegas? No. Doesn’t sound like my type of city. I wouldn’t mind visiting the rest of Nevada though.

What did you have for breakfast this morning? Just a cup of coffee; I skip breakfast except on Sundays, when we actually sit down at the dining table and eat as a family.

Do you have any loose change in your pocket? I don’t have any pockets right now but I do have very few coins in my wallet. I used to have plenty, but I’ve given most of them away because I usually give tips to the nice people who help me get out of parking spots.

Do you like Taylor Swift? I like some of her songs, especially the ones from 1989, but I have no idea why I just can’t get into her as a person.

What's your favorite Disney Channel movie? I haven’t tuned in to that channel for a very long time now, but the movies that I got the most excited about as a kid were Twitches, Wendy Wu, Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls, and High School Musical 1 and 2.

If you met your favorite celebrity, would you be calm or star struck? I’d be starstruck in a calm way; like I’d most likely be too shocked to get more than a few words out. I’m sure I’d come off as shy or boring haha, which is why I’ve refused to meet or interact with my favorite celebrities even if I’ve already had the chance to.

Are there any lights on in the room you're in? I have a ceiling light and a desk lamp, but both are turned off. My only light source at the moment is my laptop screen.

What's your favorite subject in school? History.

What's your favorite holiday? My birthday, if that counts. Christmas can also be great but only for the food, the reunions with extended family, and the freedom to guiltlessly cut off contact with colleagues for a couple of weeks. All other aspects of it make me miserable though.

Do you ever have to do yard work? I’ve never had to do that before.

Is your school close to your house? I mean, it wasn’t a 10-minute walk away but it’s relatively close and driving to my university objectively doesn’t take too long unless there’s heavy traffic. If there’s absolutely no barriers I could get to school in 15-20 minutes, but this is really only just for weekends where I have to go to school for some reason. If there’s traffic (and there always is), I take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

Speaking of school, how did you get there today? I haven’t been to my school since the first week of March, and I’ve already graduated since then.

Do you think Bad Romance is a catchy song, or an annoying one? I can honestly tell you that I have genuinely never gotten sick of that song. It’s a late 2000s classic, man. Of course it was too explicit for my 11 year old ears when it first came out, but I found it catchy nonetheless.

Do you use perfect grammar online? I always try to be correct, yes. When I use improper grammar it’s usually because I’m joking.

Are you currently using a laptop? Yup.

Do you have any live versions of songs in your music software? I haven’t used iTunes in a while and Spotify, which I do use, doesn’t work that way.

Did/do you listen to Britney Spears songs? I’ve never skipped her singles whenever I caught them on the radio and I’ve always fairly enjoyed the music she puts out, but I normally don’t voluntarily listen to her i.e. look up her songs myself on Spotify.

Is it a windy day? It is now that it’s nighttime, but it was a little humid all day today.

In the past week, have you ridden in a taxi? No. I’m not actually sure if that’s even already allowed...the possibility of public transport is still pretty murky where I live.

What shorthand do you use the most? I have no idea what this means. I did try looking it up but I dunno if I’ve ever had to use shorthand at any point in my life.

Do you ever wish on stars at night? Every now and then, but it’s just the little kid in me.

What color are your eyes? Dark brown. I feel like I answer this at least once a week.

What album is the current song you're listening to off of? Not listening to music but the last song I heard is from an album called Petals For Armor.

What are you doing after you finish this? Try not to cry/break down. Find something to watch on YouTube. Maybe play with Cooper to destress and forget about my problems for a bit.

In your opinion, what song is the most overplayed right now? Other than songs I occasionally put on repeat, I have not heard any new music for a while now.

Are you in a band? Nope, never been.

How clean is your bedroom? We just tidied it up and rearranged a few things last month so I’d say it’s clean - at least tidier than it used to be. And I’m a little proud that despite how rough life has been, I’ve managed to keep it clean. It’s the little things.

Is there a pen within reaching distance of you? Yeah, there’s one on my desk and I can easily reach out and grab it.

Are you sitting at a desk? I’ve moved to my bed for now. My back does not appreciate sitting at a desk all day.

Does your favorite band have a male or female lead singer? Female.

Do you normally shut your bedroom door before you go to sleep? Yesssssssss. We have a light source by the stairs that extends to the hallway and reaches my room, so it gets super annoying if my door is even just slightly ajar because my eyes get distracted by the faint light. My door has to be completely shut for me to feel comfortable in the privacy of my room.

Have you seen the movie Moulin Rouge? I haven’t. I loooove Lady Marmalade, but I’m just not sure if the movie itself is my cup of tea.

Would you ever dye your hair a different color? I’d love to have the chance to do that, yeah.

Are there any framed pictures in the room you're in? There are a couple.

Have you ever been to a Broadway show? Nope.

Do you watch So You Think You Can Dance? I don’t think so but I do remember watching a few episodes of Dancing with the Stars because a wrestler that I liked was one of the contestants for one season. I’m just not sure of SYTYCD also featured wrestlers in their shows; if that has been the case in the past- and I’m just not sure because my memory is a little hazy - I would’ve given it a watch.

What's your favorite movie soundtrack? The Twilight Saga churned out some bomb ass soundtracks. Other than that, I also enjoyed Interstellar’s and Requiem for a Dream’s.

Do you prefer group or individual work? Depends on what kind of work needs to be done. If a task is graphic design or video editing-heavy, I would prefer to work with other people; but if it’s gonna be heavy on something that’s already my forte, I like to work by myself.

Do you have a key to anything besides your house? Just my car.

Are you wearing anything with stripes? Not at the moment.

What time did you go to sleep last night? 9:45 I think? A little later than 10? Somewhere along that range.

Did anyone tell you you were beautiful today? No.

What show did you last watch? Friends.

Do you think you'll do anymore surveys today? I doubt it. This one is already quite longer than the surveys I usually take.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies and cream; and more recently, chocolate chip cookie dough.

When was the last time you stayed home from school sick? Sometime in February last year. I developed a fever the night before but wasn’t able to start feeling better by the next morning, so I had to skip the one class I had that day.

Could you ever complete a 500-piece puzzle? Yes. I’m actually planning to buy a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle; it’s one of the items I’ve put on my cart recently. Depressed Robyn is also spend-a-lot-of-money-on-artsy-craftsy-supplies-Robyn, so.

If you could run a red light and not get caught, would you? Hell no.

Do you like to listen to music as you do your homework? Not usually, but sometimes I’ll put on lo-fi since that’s the only kind of music I can listen to and still keep my focus.

Did you think Adam Lambert's AMA performance was really that controversial? I’ve never encountered it, but I doubt I’ll have a problem with it if I do get to watch the performance. I love Adam Lambert and I've never found myself shaking my head at whatever he’s doing.

Do any bands flat-out annoy you? They’re a boy band more than anything but The Vamps has consistently irritated me through the years.

Do you have a mirror in your bedroom? No. I used to, but I gave it to my sister.

Was today a birthday for any of your friends? I don’t think so. With all my social media being deactivated I never get notified about birthdays anymore, but I’m fairly sure none of my friends blow out their candles every October 22nd.

When was the last time you rode in a limo? I’ve never been in one.

Do you take naps daily? No. I can’t really do that anymore since I have an 8-hour shift on weekdays, lol.

Do you still make Christmas lists? No.

Do you watch the show Dexter? I tried getting into the show because it used to always be said in the same breath as Breaking Bad, but I never got invested. I heard later seasons sucked too, so that also turned me off from continuing to pursue the series.

What's the background on your phone? I have a motivational comic that says “You’re doing really well given the circumstances” as my lockscreen. Cooper smiling is my home screen.

When were/will you be a a sophomore in high school? That was six years ago.

Are you scared of any animals? Any flying insect or bug, and I find them scarier if they come with a loud buzz.

Have you ever been to any sort of convention? YouTube Fanfest, if that counts as one. I’m not really sure what counts as a convention haha, but that’s the closest thing I��ve got.

Which song did you last listen to on repeat? Why We Ever by Hayley Williams.

Where do you want to live when you grow up? I’ve stopped thinking about that for now. My focus has since shifted to asking myself if I’ll still even be alive in a few years...ugh, how far we’ve fallen.

Are you currently using a blanket? No. It’s not cold enough for a blanket yet, but maybe in a few hours.

Are there any songs that make you cry? A lot.

How many siblings do you have? Two.

What are you doing this weekend? I have no idea.

Do you prefer swimming at the beach or in a pool? BEEEEEEEEACH. Once I took my first dip in a beach, I never wanted to swim in a pool ever again.

When was the last time you had a haircut? March.

Which musical instrument do you think sounds the prettiest? Piano, saxophone, and violin. Can’t pick a favorite; I think they all sound beautiful.

Are you in band or chorus at your school? I was never in either.

Do you know what you want for Christmas? Yeah but they’re all intangible. I want to be happy, be at peace, normalcy, etc. I’ve stopped pining for presents, especially now that I can afford my own shit.

Do you watch fireworks on New Year's Eve? Always.

Is your birthday within the next three months? Nope. You’ll have to add three more months to that timeframe.

How long is the song you're listening to? No music.

Are you anticipating anything this week? I’m waiting for a couple of very specific emails to come in, and I hope they do before the week ends.

Is your mom or dad the older parent? My dad, but only by 8 months. They were born in the same year.

Have you taken the SATs yet? I never had to take them, but I heard they’re triiiiiiiicky.

Do you watch anything on E? We never had E! in our cable service but I like tuning into that channel whenever we stay at hotels because I get to watch KUWTK, hehe.

Are you going to get off the computer now that you've finished this? Most likely.

#survey #surveys

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veroniicaflores · 4 years

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task 001: character introduction.

(admin tangerine, 21, est) ☼ who’s that hottie, standing outside the love hotel? it’s VERONICA FLORES, a BISEXUAL CIS FEMALE, who looks a lot like NATHALIE KELLEY! NIKKI’s insta bio says SHE is a STYLIST and is looking for a fun time this summer. SHE is into DADDY KINK & GROUP SEX, but not into SCAT & BLOOD PLAY. by the way, SHE reminds me of ORANGE POPSICLES & COLORFUL SUNSETS.

quick infos:

full name: veronica eleanor rosemary flores (i swear i have never watched dynasty EVER and i was told this is the last name of nat’s character.... too late)

dob: august 23rd 1988 (she’ll turn 31 this year)

pob: las vegas, nevada.

kinks: daddy***/mommy kink, mild roughness, group sex, public sex, receiving oral (eat her out good and she’ll marry you... too soon) although she enjoys giving oral to girls and/or strap-ons/dildos, mutual masturbation, nipple play, hair pulling squirting, spanking, consensual somnophilia.

anti kinks: blood play, wax play, electric stimulation, bondage, very rough sex, scat, foot play, humiliation & extreme anal (fingering and butt plugs are fine, but there will be very rare anal sex).

3 favorite things: dancing naked at 2am to some electronic music or old rock songs, italian gelato (she’d give you a handjob for a raspberry gelato) & puppies videos on instagram.

3 things she hates: spiders or bugs of any sorts (excluding spider man or ant man or black widow wink wink), people who lack of respect & compassion, bad hair days.

+2 positive traits: easygoing & compassionate

-2 negative traits: gullible & jealous

wanted connections:

ex-husband: idk where i’m going with this, but i have a feeling this would be so interesting if he’d come back to the hotel and they’d reconnect after a few years of being apart and not speaking. bonus points for high sexual tension and cute stuff!

daddy and/or mommy: just that “caring, loving but also can please all your needs” vibe. spoiler alert, she won’t be the mommy, she’s too much of a sub for that.

femme fatale: just a woman, preferably younger whom nikki just can’t resist. someone with dominant tendencies. or someone around her age too!

friends with benefits: GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

sexual tension: it says it all.

headcanons

childhood + teenage years + early twenties:

only child of a loving family of restaurant owners, veronica inherited the best conditions to become a traditional girl from a just as typical and traditional family. she was loved by her parents, she loved them. she learned to cook at a very young age and had a noticeable talent. she was the preppy girl from the picture perfect family. she had a dog, alfredo, that she rescued from the streets and who became her only friend for most of her childhood.

in high school, she bonded with a pair of twin siblings who came from a completely different background. from what she knew, their parents were big gamblers and lost most of their savings in casino nights. these people had that edge and gave that down to earth vibe nikki admired yet could not completely comprehend. they were a dynamic trio that balanced one another perfectly. jack (npc) was a total artist who encouraged nikki to express herself, valerie (npc) was very analytical and had a talent at reading through nikki while nikki herself was that sweet figure who was easy to please and could easily please everyone.

when they graduated, valerie confessed she had no idea what she would be doing with her future with no money at all. they were sitting in nikki’s family restaurant and drinking beer in cask with nostalgia and a part of sadness. jack had big plans, he found an apartment in san francisco and wanted to become a graphic designer. nikki, however, was torn between taking over the family business or making a living of her own. that was when valerie drunkenly suggested to work at one of the newly opened strip clubs nearby their neighborhood.

so she did.

she turned 18 when she realized she had lost so many years to living in a mold she no longer fit in. she was more than just preppy church outfits and cooking sundays with her mother, she was more than a daddy’s girl who washed tables when the restaurant was closed. what did adults always say? a good education promised a good future, so, veronica applied to the college of southern nevada for a degree in communications with a minor in women’s studies. she had no idea where she was heading, but it was a start.

her parents contributed by driving from class to home every day, they paid her more adult looking clothing and they finally gave her the freedom she never knew she needed until she reached majority.

although jack disappeared from her life, valerie remained very present. they did as they agreed and found a job at a high end strip club in vegas. they made good money instantly without having to do nasty stuff nikki had never been introduced to. within a few months, they saved enough to get matching tattoos, new jewelry and pay for valerie’s apartment. the club provided a living area a few blocks away, but valerie felt better living on her own. nikki tried to mingle and fit in with the other girls, but they were too different. maybe it was the education, maybe it was the background, but the trashy side of this job did not interest the italian girl more than that.

veronica worked as a stripper during college until she graduated with a degree that would soon become irrelevant and useless. with contribution from her parents who never even judged her for her job (it was true nikki did tell them it was just a dancing studio) and with her savings, veronica moved out of nevada and headed to california.

now

she worked in clothing stores, in malls and eventually in expensive boutiques. the other sellers and all the clients noticed she had a talent for matching outfits, accessories and every details making sure the person who wore them would be at their best. eventually, she started doing this as a side line. she promoted her skills on social media and got quite the hype. she worked for magazines and influencers. she became a private stylist as well. no rest for the wicked!

along the way, she met the man who would become her husband. they really had a perfect marriage. being career driven and uncertain of being able to meet her parents’ expectations, she could not lie to herself. the marriage ended in a peaceful and respectful divorce. she is still convinced he is the love of her life.

at 26, she started a youtube channel when she became a bit bored of her casual job. on her channel (youtube.com/user/floralpatternslover), she does a lot of hauls, diy accessories, storytimes, recipe tutorials and various challenges. she has 2 millions subscribers and just as many instagram followers. nikki lives off of that more nowadays. she tries to post at least once a week on youtube to keep the ad revenue coming.

she makes a lot of money, but she really doesn’t act like it. she thrives on late night trips to 7/11 or on dollar store snacks and stuff. she gives a lot of money back to charity, and clothes back to other organizations as well. similar to chris klemens,

headcanons

BIGGEST SUB AND BABY ENERGY YOU HAVE EVER MET. she’s just... so willing and vulnerable, it’s crazy. make sure your muse can handle that!

she will never take the lead, or, well, almost never. if she feels really needy, she might initiate things and suggest certain positions and actions, but otherwise, you choose and she obeys.

she works with clothes all the time, love clothes, sleeps on her bed covered with clothes because she’s too lazy to put them back in her walk-in closert... yet she would live naked 24/7 if she could. she goes from 0 to 100 real quick when it comes to exhibitionism!

she LOVES sex. passionate sex. sex for sex. group sex. watching sex. she’s really into it. it takes her mind off everything else.

once again i repeat i have never watched dynasty and now i’m playing two fcs from the show TALK ABOUT A COINCIDENCE i’m sorry about the last name thing, i just thought it fit

alsoooooo i was very attached to lea as a fc generally, but especially for nikki. it was hard choosing someone else :( i hope nathalie can fit!

#lvhtl.intros #about nikki.#lvhtl.tasks

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memorylang · 4 years

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Fathers’ Day, Familiarity and Faith | #38 | June 2020

If my COVID-19 experiences were a Netflix Original Series, I feel someone could title it, "The Groundskeeper."

Synopsis: Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Mongolia, now back in Nevada, learns a thing or two about hedge trimming and much more about life living.

The inspirational hit series stars award-winning memoirist Daniel Lindbergh Lang, director and editor. “Please support the official release.”

Quirky thoughts keep me sane. More on these later, of course.

The U.S. celebrated Father’s Day 2020 on June 21, so I commemorate it with reflections from being my father’s son.

The adventures follow both my Mothers’ Day reflections (#36) and Easter in America stories (#35). I focus now on continued COVID-19 adventures in yard work, sorting and reminiscing.

Chronologically, we pick up from my stateside Week 11 (May 15-21), when my sisters came home from their unis’ spring semesters. With them as collaborators, I continued sorting our family’s memorabilia. After a few weeks’ interlude 'round Memorial Day, big changes occurred Weeks 14 through 16 (June 5-25) through Fathers’ Day.

I also consider Pentecost and the Spirit. Easter 2020 ended Sunday, May 31, so we’re in a fruitful new time. In fact, I write here results from the smattering of routines I shared before.

Lastly, to clarify, many assume my dad’s Asian. But that’s untrue. He’s Austrian-American. That’s where I get my “Lang” surname. Ethnically, I’m about half Austrian. Culturally, too, Dad’s family influenced me far more than Mom’s when I grew up. My mom was ethnically full Chinese, hence that half.

Now back to Dad!

Father’s Perspective on My Boyhood

During my 2020 time home since Peace Corps’ evacuation, Dad often prods me to take on projects he sees around the yard. So, I do yard work. I don’t like desert heat, so I usually work the daily tasks an hour or two at dawn, sometimes dusk. Picture three months this way.

But Dad would tend to demand a certain perfection on many projects, expecting me out there working when there’s work to do. I’d rather let nature do as it pleases. Peace Corps experiences taught me decorated yards generally feel overrated. When I’m older, I feel I’d much rather have my family frequent parks to get our yard fix. Nonetheless, yard work lets me chat with God, who reminds me empathize.

It is difficult to say, "I serve the Father," if I do not serve my father.

With this in mind, I consider the patient progress of waiting while working often.

Dad grew up in rural America’s Midwest from the mid-20th century. Dad’s parents and community were largely Austrian-American Catholics. Dad’s grandfather immigrated with Dad’s great-grandfather because land in Austria was scarce, late-19th century, yet plentiful in Kansas. My dad grew up on a farm as a third-generation Austrian-American. He funded his higher ed. through U.S. military service and numerous side jobs, including those in teaching and sales.

Through Dad, I’m a fourth-generation Austrian-American—though, only second-generation Chinese-American, through Mom. I wasn’t quite on a farm, having grown up between Midwestern suburbs and an urban West. Still, Dad regularly tasked siblings and I with yard work.

An Energetic Kid, Ages 4-7

Now this gets interesting!

This mid-May 2020, my younger sister and I unearthed Christmas letters our parents (mostly Dad) had written to Dad’s siblings—my uncles and aunts—since before 2000. Turns out, our mom kept hard copies in the bins beside her desk. From these, Sister and I read pretty enjoyable pieces about our child selves.

Here I share Dad’s tales from grade school me in Indiana (used with permission):

2001: "Daniel is 4 years old now and is looking forward to kindergarten. He likes outdoor activities and he is quite strong for his age. He can do a lot of sit ups and push ups already. He likes to walk with [his mom] at the airport, which is nearby."

2002: "Daniel is five years old. He is in kindergarten. He is [...] very competitive. He is in the same school as [his older brother] and is rapidly learning to read now. He is good at math, and he studies very hard."

2003: "Daniel is six years old. He is very competitive and naughty. He always keeps track of the books he reads and comes home to tell us how many books he has finished. His goal is to reach 100 books this year. He is over 90 already. Well, he likes to pester [his brother a lot]. He thinks that is fun. [...]"

2004: "Daniel is seven. He is goal oriented and a 'do'er. He is good at making all kinds of crafts. He is our family's talented teacher. He taught [his younger sister] how to read before she went to kindergarten. He also gives homework assignments to the others, except [his older brother]. He always pesters [his brother] as usual."

God graced me with energy as a kid.

I noticed three themes. For one, I seemed to follow Dad’s lead in filling my time productively. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard and emphasized self-discipline. As a civilian family practitioner, too, he advocated for daily exercises, such as sit-ups, push-ups and walking. I seemed to follow suit.

On the other hand, I was a kiddo with an older brother, and I didn’t mind expending plenty spare energy to bother him. Thankfully I stopped pestering when I grew up with enough self-awareness to know good people don’t intentionally troll. Uni helped.

Curiously, I noticed the letters seemed to note many of my interests resembling Mom’s. Arts, reading and studying seemed more like Mom’s interests than Dad’s, yet I hadn’t realized my similarities to Mom back then. Of course, Dad values education, too.

Studious Beyond Belief, Ages 13-19

As I went through elementary school, Dad’s military service included deployments overseas to Afghanistan (2005) and Iraq (2007). In 2008, our family moved from southern Indiana to North Las Vegas, Nev., where I started middle school. Since my younger sister and I hadn’t found letters from Dad’s years deployed with the others letter, we figured Mom wrote them. By 2009’s end, Dad retired as a lieutenant colonel. But he continued work elsewhere, including in a dozen nations to indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Here were Christmas letters from my adolescence on. Coincidentally, I noticed the first couple we found both came from my last years at respective schools.

2010: “Danny, 13, is finishing at [...] a magnet [middle] school associated with math, science and technology. He [earned last year] a 4.0 [grade-point] average. He received a letter this past week from a magnet high school stating that he was the type of student they were looking for. [I, Dad, think Danny] is also in the National Junior Honor Society [service group]. [...] Danny continues to have to be at the school bus stop at 5:50 in the morning.”

2014: “Danny is the ultimate study robot, with his inhuman ability to study for hours on end in place of sleep, or other usual activities for high schoolers. He attended NV Boys State this past June, and he has risen to the rank of Division News Editor within [Kiwanis] Key Club--a HS service group. Danny and [his younger sister] also attended Key Club activities in CA in Nov. [...] As this is his senior year [...], he should be starting to apply for colleges now, but [...] he has not applied to Yale, which is causing his mother to feel that she is a ‘failure’ if none of her kids get accepted at this prestigious school--it’s used by Chinese mothers as a guilt trip for their kids! [...] He also received an AP with Honors award [from his magnet high school]. He presently is in the ‘top 10’ students in his class ranking. But if he doesn’t get his applications in, then there is always UNLV [Las Vegas]!”

2016: “Daniel is now a sophomore at UNR (Reno) in the Honors Program, and is an honors ambassador. He says he has 1 major in journalism with 3 minors at the present time, and he works at the library when time permits. He also completed an internship in publishing during the summer session, when he stayed in Reno and frugally survived during the summer by ‘couch surfing’ at several different locations. Several of us attended his confirmation at Easter in Reno. He also [...] presented at a few [conferences]. Additionally, he is involved in [the Kiwanis] Circle K service group on campus, as well as the Knights of Columbus, and he sings in the choir at the local Newman Center. Based on his Facebook postings, he seems to be enjoying college immensely. [...]”

I definitely loved service groups—and still do, if Peace Corps counts!

Seeing these letters in 2020, I feel amused how Dad wrote of my later academic interests with distance. Dad’s 2002 line about 5-year-old me, “[Daniel] studies very hard,” escalated exponentially, noticeable by his 2014 line about 17-year-old me, “Danny is the ultimate study robot, with his inhuman ability to study for hours on end in place of sleep.” I figure my peers were similar, though…

I feel amused, too, how Dad included Mom’s wanting me to pursue STEM careers. Chinese often expect this of their kids. In some sense, I’m glad Dad let me escape the Asian tendency and Mom’s ideal to have me pursue a Bachelor of Science. Back then, I contended a bachelor’s from the professional School of Journalism would still make me hireable.

Sure enough, Peace Corps hired!

Besides, I felt vindicated later when I learned my minors in English literature, Chinese studies and communication studies resembled my late mother’s fields of English literature and international relations... She clearly benefited from Liberal Arts. More on these in previous reflections, though. :)

Back From Mongolia

Snap back to March 2020, when I just returned to America after our COVID-19 evacuation from Mongolia.

I was really into “Frozen II,” the cathartic film easing me back into the States. My first week back felt very different from those after. Because “Some Things Never Change,” I discerned to do “The Next Right Thing.” Waking to various “Frozen II” numbers of looping in my brain, days began with such thoughts.

My first days, I often compared experiences to Mom’s when she raised my siblings and me. Despite being at home, I was alone. Dad worked away, plus siblings had school and work. (This preceded American schools canceling or moving online.) So, I felt confused what to do.

I discerned I could tidy the house, serve where others couldn’t. Whether dishes to wash or rooms to clean, I addressed what I saw. I imagined Mom felt this way when my siblings and I attended school and Dad worked.

I also considered my living father matters as much as my late mother. So, honoring Dad honors her, too.

Dad always had yard projects he wanted me doing. I had to weed so much when I first returned.

I felt insights, at least. I considered, weeds are eternal. Weeds will always grow on spiritual life. Weeds attempt to choke our crops’ life. We must uproot our weeds and prune dead areas to fortify new and better parts of being. The physical and spiritual are one. … Yet, weeds still annoy me.

Noticeably, my labors seemed to confuse many in my family. They seemed mostly to recall the 2015 me who’d choose studying over chores any day. But I guess most hadn’t factored I’ve experienced plenty in my years away from home, especially during my months living alone cooking for myself in Mongolia. House tasks are necessary parts of life.

Besides, I’d already been doing these tasks others seemed disinterested in, even back at Christmas 2019, when I sorted Mom’s books, and later during post-evacuation Week 9 (May 1-7), packing up Mom’s desk after three years gathering dust. I felt frustrated others seemed slow to accept I’ve changed since Peace Corps. I pray for grace.

The New Journey

June 6, 2020—just days after Pentecost and coincidentally one month to my 23rd birthday—marked one huge occasion.

Dad remarried!

I felt excited.

I also noticed a curious parallel in threes. For, on my family history adventures, I discovered something about Dad’s parents. In 1987, his mother's spouse passed away; on the third year, she married again, in 1990. 30 years later, my dad’s spouse passed away in 2017; on the third year, he married again, in 2020. Coincidences comfort me at times.

That day, I’d also finished revisions to submit my thesis to a different journal for publication. I’d tried before with one in June 2019 and February 2020, but unfortunately my work hadn’t fit within their scope. Still, the editor believed that I could publish it in the right place!

College Town Return

That Week 14 (June 5-11), Dad also purchased a house in Reno, Nev., where my kind stepmom may move, too. Dad requested aid moving things in Reno. My younger sister and youngest brother both opted out, so I went instead. I prefer Reno’s weather, anyway.

In Reno again, I felt parallels to past years.

Helping my youngest sister and her friend move from a condo and house to the new place, I recalled the many who helped me move between Reno homes during my undergrad. Honestly, I felt weird to think of my dad relocating to Reno, especially since I hadn’t known the area he chose existed during my years studying in town.

Mongolia returned to mind, too, while I lugged belongings in and out of the condo, up and down stairs. Hard to believe that that was three months ago when Peace Corps evacuated us. Exactly three months before, March 9, 2020, was my first Monday in Nevada again.

Writing of Mongolia, I also recalled every bellhop who's hauled my 23 kg (50 lbs.) luggage up stairs in Asia. God bless them.

On the bright side, with helping the sister and friend move, Dad said I got stronger. That felt good. When he asked how many push-ups I could do, I said 50—my new personal record met just days before. When I started working out the month and a half prior, I could only do half that.

Thanks to the lifting and yard work tasking me in Reno, I paused my fitness routines. I realized, I’ve enough strength and endurance for what I’d want to do. So now, having met the goals, I still work out, just less concerned about gains.

Tests of Faith

Back to that ‘groundskeeping.’

With Reno versus Vegas, I prefer hedges to palm trees. Hedges are more fun and less merciless. They leave my body less bloody than palm trees, too. Reno’s weather also keeps cooler.

As you’d expect, yard work leaves plenty time to reflect, chat with God. In earlier days these chats opened with lamentations about the heat and constant tasks. But God graces peace.

Ultimately, Dad’s tasks need someone to do them. He’s busy working full-time out-of-town, and siblings still have activities they must or would rather do. So I volunteer.

On the other side, Dad at times says he’ll compensate me once the bills are paid. There always seem bills to me, though. Since it’s been three months now, I try to think of this like the Kingdom. Whether or not I see rewards, I try to persevere. I must trust the Father to provide in time, no matter the wait. It’s a spiritual exercise.

Pa says he’s glad I’m financially stable, too—My scholarships, grants and work study graduated me debt-free. Those seem good, I guess.

So, spiritually exercising while laboring, I consider parables of workers in the field and masters. Christ spoke of such. Parables about fields and wages seem more nuanced after feeling comparable questions.

I think, too, to re-education labor camps sometimes. During China’s Cultural Revolution, my mom’s parents—both teachers—were sent to those. So, my ‘toiling’ in Dad’s backyards are surely nothing compared to what my grandparents involuntarily endured. I can bear my ‘shackles.’

These bring me to privilege.

At the day’s end, I have places to stay, food to eat and stable internet. Many Americans and people worldwide face greater turmoil than these, perhaps including you, my reader. So, I try acknowledging my ‘hardships’ hardly compare. I try to focus prayers for the needier. Faith helps me through.

On a happy note, I just reached the Diamond League on Duolingo! So, life could definitely be worse...

The Climb

One day during Week 15 (June 12-18), after Dad came home at dusk from work, he asked me to get out the ladder to climb the backyard tree. I thought that was wistful thinking!

Well, I had the time and realized he wanted me to climb after all. The tree had a fallen limb he wanted me to saw off, since I weigh less than him. I insisted I’d only climb with him around.

Well, he came around.

I ascended and sawed four limbs! Before the climb, we thought I only had to address a single one. But as I climbed for it, I found more. Thankfully, these were thin limbs. Dad gave some advice from below, handed me our hand saw then left me while he took care of other tasks around the yard. I climbed higher, wedged my feet in semi-stable positions and got to work.

Atop, the wind blew, so the tree rocked. I clung high in a swaying tree. Good Lord.

But I felt amazed, handling my saw even with my off-hand. I’d cling with one arm and saw with the other. When branches got stuck, I had to grab them, push and jerk them away from other sections to send them down. Dad had me call out, “Timber!” With the final branch out, I let the saw fall.

Success felt like redemption from that random tree I climbed the first culture-shocked day I returned to Vegas from Mongolia. This time I’d such control. My safety depended on it! Plus, I only grazed the back of my hand, as opposed to gashing my palm like the last time I left a tree. Less bleeding is better.

By the end, my arms and legs trembled, not from worry but from muscle fatigue. Still, I felt empowered. Throughout my childhood, I could never climb a tree. Now I passed the physical I hadn’t expected a month and a half prior.

All told, my climb took just half an hour.

Staying the Course

In a week and a half, I turn 23! So I’ll be one (1) 23-year-old, hehe. Look forward to new reflections on how I’ve grown and changed.

As an extension of my paternal family history projects, I started writing memorable quotes from Dad. My siblings and I wound up adapting these and more into our Fathers’ Day 2020 gift! Dad enjoyed our “Book of the Father” we printed.

Meanwhile, America begins to slightly reopen amid COVID-19 conditions, and the post-solstice summer’s begun. So, I encourage us to, whenever possible, still #StayHome more than usual, wear our face masks, maintain physical distance and of course wash our hands. We’ll get through this.

And I hear some are struggling with loneliness, too—If you need someone to talk to, you can always count on me. It’s among the most challenging feelings, given we humans are social beings staying physically apart. Writing, phoning and video calls help me, at least. Feel free to reach out. I keep you and loved ones in my prayers.

Best wishes, and till we chat again.

You can read more from me here at DanielLang.me :)

#Peace Corps #Mongolia #memoir #story #Catholic #God #memoryLang #USA #moving #Las Vegas #Pentecost #faith #Reno #Coronavirus #COVID-19 #hope #summer #StayHome #WithMe #Fathers Day

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theliberaltony · 5 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

After poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Joe Biden’s campaign is pinning its hopes on South Carolina — in particular, the black vote there. The rise of Sen. Bernie Sanders and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the polls has corresponded with a Biden decline, but South Carolina will be the first state to vote where most of the electorate is black, and black voters have disproportionately supported the former vice president for most of the campaign (before people actually started to vote).

So two questions: How well is Biden holding up among black voters in the wake of the first two contests? And how much could the debate on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, which seemed to go poorly for Bloomberg, shift the race in the last few days before Nevada and South Carolina vote?

Two answers: Not particularly well. And maybe quite a bit.

In an average of national polls, Biden’s support among black voters has dropped about 12 percentage points from before the Iowa caucuses to the post-New Hampshire period.1 Conversely, during the same period, Bloomberg and Sanders (the two other candidates averaging double-digit support among black voters in recent national polls) each gained 10 points among black voters. And recent polls show Biden dropping fast among all voters while Sanders and Bloomberg are gaining ground. So if the Nevada debate really hurt Bloomberg, Biden stands a decent chance of winning back a lot of voters. Not only are he and Bloomberg both running in the same “moderate” lane, but it appears that a lot of voters left Biden for Bloomberg after Iowa and New Hampshire.

Biden’s 12-point drop among black voters is particularly bad considering how much his nomination hopes rest on support from that voting bloc. Black voters account for about one-fifth of the national Democratic primary electorate but make up a disproportionately large share of Biden’s potential electoral coalition — about a third, most likely.2 Indeed, Biden has dropped 10 points in our national polling average since the Iowa caucuses — from being the national polling leader to finding himself behind Sanders and in a battle with Bloomberg for second — and roughly a quarter of that slide is likely due to his drop among black voters specifically. Proportionally, Biden has actually lost more white support than black support, but he still lost around one-fourth of his support among black voters nationally since Iowa voted.

Biden’s diminished support among black voters matters in Nevada too, where Biden is currently running second to Sanders by about 12 percentage points in our polling average of all the state’s voters. Nevada is more racially and ethnically diverse than Iowa or New Hampshire, and while Hispanic voters form the state’s largest nonwhite voting group, there are a fair number of black voters in the Silver State, too — 13 percent of the 2016 caucus electorate was black, according to the 2016 entrance poll.

But Biden’s standing among black voters matters especially in South Carolina, where 61 percent of Democratic primary voters were black in 2016. Often referred to as a “firewall” for the Biden campaign, the former vice president basically has to win South Carolina — maybe even “win big” — or his campaign could find itself on its last legs.

Indeed, some recent South Carolina polls, though not all, have shown a similar trend to the national polls. Right before Iowa, East Carolina University found Biden leading with 37 percent overall, including 44 percent support among black voters. But in ECU’s latest poll, conducted after New Hampshire, Biden slipped to 28 percent overall (still leading), with 36 percent support among African American primary voters. Another South Carolina survey from The Welcome Party/Change Research dropped on Wednesday, and it found Biden tied for first overall with Sanders at 23 percent, and Biden leading among black voters with 33 percent. Unlike the ECU polls, this wasn’t much of a change for Biden compared to Change Research’s previous South Carolina survey just before Iowa3 that found Biden at 25 percent overall — 5 points ahead of Sanders — and at 30 percent support among black voters. Meanwhile, another new poll from UMass Lowell found that even if Biden’s black support holds up in South Carolina, it might not be enough to get him the big win his campaign is hoping for — the survey found him ahead of Sanders by just 2 points overall even though 43 percent of black voters backed Biden, double Sanders’s 20 percent support.

Biden doesn’t have to worry about Bloomberg in South Carolina because Bloomberg is not on the ballot there, but there’s another billionaire who may be hurting Biden’s chances of consolidating support among black voters in the Palmetto State: Tom Steyer. The post-New Hampshire polls from ECU, Change Research and UMass Lowell put Steyer at 17 percent, 31 percent and 19 percent among black voters. Indeed, Steyer’s place in the South Carolina race is somewhat analogous to the way Bloomberg may be complicating Biden’s ability to retain support among black voters in Super Tuesday states with sizable African American electorates, as recent polls of North Carolina and Virginia have suggested.

There are reasons to think much of Bloomberg’s rise in the polls among black voters came specifically at Biden’s expense. A large share of both candidates’ support comes from voters who describe themselves as more moderate, a group that includes many black voters. Of course, it’s hard to say how much Bloomberg’s gains are about Biden’s poor performances and how much they’re about Bloomberg’s campaign successfully cutting into Biden’s support — both likely play a role. But Bloomberg is pushing hard for black support among both rank-and-file voters and party elites. He’s holding events with African American groups and spending millions of dollars on advertising, which could help win over older black voters, a demographic group that watches a lot of television. Since Iowa voted, Bloomberg has received more elite backing than Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight’s endorsement tracker, with nine black endorsers backing Bloomberg compared to three for Biden. This includes multiple black members of Congress and mayors in big Super Tuesday states (Houston and Charlotte, North Carolina). This movement toward Bloomberg could reflect some of the changes we’re seeing among black voters at large.

Sanders’s gains, meanwhile, likely have less to do with Biden’s struggles. Instead, Sanders’s uptick in African American support is likely spurred by his early wins in the primary. Sanders started the campaign with essentially a tie in Iowa and a narrow win in New Hampshire. So his positive performances are helping him capture new supporters from lots of demographic groups. Sanders may also have benefited at the margins from the departure of tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who had a modicum of black support and whose supporters were far more likely to pick Sanders as their second choice than any other candidate. Unlike Bloomberg, Sanders doesn’t have any recent endorsements from black leaders in our tracker, but that certainly hasn’t stopped him from winning over some African American voters.

Now the question is whether Biden can maintain enough support among black voters to get a win in South Carolina. Any erosion in Bloomberg’s support in the wake of the Nevada debate would make that more likely. And a Biden victory in South Carolina might produce a “comeback” narrative that could dramatically shift the tone of media coverage surrounding Biden’s campaign and help him remain competitive in the larger nomination race.

If Biden’s falling support is mostly about his poor performances in the first couple states, a respectable showing in Nevada and a win in South Carolina could turn things around. And if Biden’s slide has as much or even more to do with Bloomberg’s overwhelming advertising firepower and his effort to win over black elites and voters, the former vice president might not be able to recover even if he has a solid performance in South Carolina later this month — unless, of course, the Wednesday night debate really cuts into Bloomberg’s standing. Regardless, Biden’s current trajectory among black voters is a serious problem for his campaign, so he absolutely needs something to change for the better.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Geoffrey Skelley

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nfrlivetv-blog · 6 years

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@Watch National Final Rodeo 2018 Live streaming Link

http://nfrlive.net/

Watch Wrangler National Finals Rodeo 2018 day 10 performance from the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 10-day event begins on Thursday and runs through Dec. 6-15 and CBS Sports Network (CBSSN) will cover all of the rounds each night from the Las Vegas arena. The 2018 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour opened at the Clark County Fair & Rodeo back in April, and since then, more than two dozen different events have been held across the United States. Now, the ProRodeo Tour Finale, presented by Justin Boots and hosted at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, Wash., is set to bring the tour to a close with the top 24 contestants from the ProRodeo Tour standings. The winner in each event of the Tour Finale will then be crowned the 2018 Wrangler Tour Champion.Walt Garrison, a star Dallas Cowboys running back in the 1970s, also was a prize-winning steer wrestler on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. After he retired from football, he was a great promoter and ambassador for rodeo. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame last month in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Jared Allen owned bulls that were part of the Professional Bull Riders circuit in recent years. Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco attempted to ride a bull at a PBR show in 2011. Ochocinco lasted only 1.5 seconds and crossed bull riding off of his bucket list. One former NFL player who has recently become involved with pro rodeo is former New York Giants tight end Bear Pascoe. A high point for the 6-foot-5, 260 pound tight end was making several receptions in Super Bowl XLVI for the Giants in the 21-17 against the Patriots in Indianapolis.Pascoe was in the NFL from 2009 through 2016. But during the past two years, he has learned how to become a prize winning steer wrestler on the PRCA circuit.During the past weekend, Pascoe finished the money in the steer wrestling title race at the Ellensburg Rodeo, which was the highest paying PRCA rodeo of the Labor Day Weekend. The Aug. 31-Sept. 3 rodeo in Ellensburg, Washington, offered competitors $341,885.Pascoe turned in times of 4.4, 4.0, and 4.0 seconds along the way to finishing fourth in the average title race with a three-run aggregate time of 12.8. Pascoe said steer wrestling is very challenging and similar to playing pro football in some ways.

Watch National Final Rodeo 2018 Live>>> http://nfrlive.net/

WNFR 2018 Live Coverage Info:

First Performance of Wrangler NFR:

Date: Thursday, Dec. 6

Time: 7:00 p.m. PT (10:00 pm ET)