#i found this on flickr while looking for something else and it made me laugh so hard

[razorsadness]

Fugazi paper dolls from Action Teen zine, c. 1990s (x)

[surveysand]

forty-two.

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? save them and use them for trash bags in my small garbage cans.

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? not necessarily, i think it's pretty unlikely to happen.

Have you ever slept in a water bed? no.

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? i love britney, i hope she's doing well. she's been through such tumultuous times and i really do wish the best for her.

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? yes, lol.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? myself, considering i live alone.

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? slept in.

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? i don't just because i cramp badly and can't move too well, but i support those who do, lol.

How do you feel about anal sex? i've never done it and don't think i ever will.

Does your ex have a job? i think so? i'm honestly not really sure.

Have you ever slept in a car? yes.

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? i don't know.

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? babe.

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? showering.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. i wish you listened more.

How often do you use Flickr? never.

Have you ever peed while on the phone? yes.

Have you ever been on a blind date? no.

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? no.

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? yes.

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? no.

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? no.

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for. 1. our first time meeting in person. i really fell for him so, so hard.

2. the time he went on a family vacation with me.

3. after something really traumatic happened to me, the way he comforted me was unlike anything else. i will never forget what he did for me.

What did you do yesterday? slept, applied to jobs/followed up on previous applications, took my dog on a walk, and that's about it, lol.

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. friend one: engaged, friend two: single, friend three: has a partner, friend four: single, and friend five: single.

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? not out of sadness.

Does anyone disgust you? yes.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? i wish i had a job.

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? yes.

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? no.

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? i would ask them to be clear with what they wanted and, if they still sent mixed messages, i would end it. i don't do that garbage.

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? onion rings, brownies, and pasta.

How’s your appetite atm? fine.

Is anything annoying you at the moment? yes, i've been having to transfer my utilities to my new address because i move to a new apartment in a week and it has been so much more difficult than it needs to be.

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? one that i had with my partner talking about my dog and how much he makes us laugh.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. when i was last on the phone with a potential job opportunity.

What makes someone a good friend? someone who understands that we all have our own lives and that, as long as we can pick up where we left off when we see/speak to each other again, the love is still there. someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is and knows they can confide anything in me and vice-versa.

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? no.

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? a few days ago.

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? i'd be fine. i prefer vanilla, anyway.

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? my partner.

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? making a late lunch, doing surveys, and watching "impractical jokers".

What will you be doing in 30 mins? probably taking a nap.

Was today better than yesterday? a little bit. yesterday was incredibly mundane.

Will tomorrow be better than today? i hope.

[survey--s]

136.

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? We just keep them and use them for things like cat litter, rubbish or wet dog stuff. There’s always a use for things like that, lol.

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? I mean, it’s not really something I think about.

Have you ever slept in a water bed? No.

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? I’m happy for her.

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? I mean, I’m sure it’s happened at some point in my life.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? I haven’t had meals cooked for me by my parents for about fifteen years, lol.

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? I woke up at 6am ish but didn’t get out of bed until half seven, which is most definitely still far too early for my liking, haha.

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? It’s not for me.

How do you feel about anal sex? I’ve tried it and it was pretty good.

Does your ex have a job? I assume so.

Have you ever slept in a car? Yeah, not overnight but on long journeys or whatever.

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? It’s eighteen here (five in private homes) and I think that’s fine. I don’t get the logic of having a drinking age of 21 when you can go and die in a war at 18.

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? I have no idea.

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? Peeing.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. Hurry up with dinner, I’m bloody starving.

How often do you use Flickr? I don’t.

Have you ever peed while on the phone? No.

Have you ever been on a blind date? Yes.

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? We’re married.

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? Of course. I mean, I don’t think you can live with someone and never, ever argue with them.

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? No.

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? No.

What did you do yesterday? Worked, came home, had lunch and binge-watched Parks and Rec.

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? Not intentionally.

Does anyone disgust you? Sure.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? I wish the weather was different this weekend as I have walks and a house-sit and it’s supposed to absolutely PISS it down, lol.

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? Nope.

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? This is it, and well, yeah.

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? I mean, it depends on the circumstances.

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? Waffles, chocolate buttons and chicken skin crackling.

How’s your appetite atm? Fine. I’m currently starving as I’m waiting for Mike to get home with takeaway, so I haven’t eaten since breakfast.

Is anything annoying you at the moment? My hands are weirdly cold.

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? I don’t know, really.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. Today when I was walking Archie and Charlie. I pulled Archie off the path as he can be reactive to some dogs on lead, and this idiot just let his huge dog approach us and when Archie lunged (no contact) this man tutted at me and I said well, you could see me getting out of your way so why the FUCK did you think it was acceptable to allow your dog to get in his face? lol.

What makes someone a good friend? A good sense of humour, loyalty and trustworthiness.

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? Probably not.

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? I can’t remember.

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? I mean, I’d care but I’d cope.

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? He’s my husband.

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? That was only ten minutes ago, so I was answering this survey.

What will you be doing in 30 mins? Eating dinner, maybe.

Was today better than yesterday? Yeah - the weather was better and the dogs were better behaved, lol.

Will tomorrow be better than today? Who knows.

[surveysonfleek]

1619.

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? save them and reuse them

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? not something i’ve really thought about but yeahhhh that would hurt haha

Have you ever slept in a water bed? no :( i’ve alwaysss wanted one as a kid and obviously never got it. are they even a thing anymore?

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? good on her! i’m glad she’s finally free. not sure about a music ‘comeback’ though

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? not twice

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? both

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? i woke up 2 minutes before my alarm went off

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? i prefer not to tbh

How do you feel about anal sex? never say never but i dont think im interested

Does your ex have a job? i dont know anyone personally thats an adult that doesnt. no one can afford to not have a job when youre living in a city like sydney

Have you ever slept in a car? yes

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? its already 18 here

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? love

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? peeing

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. stop complaning

How often do you use Flickr? never. i did back in the day when tumblr was more popular

Have you ever peed while on the phone? yeah

Have you ever been on a blind date? no

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? hes my fiance. more than a crush

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? yes

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? no

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? haha nope

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for. the day he proposed. such a funny feeling, it sorta gave us a spark that we hadnt felt in a loooong long time. our first trip alone together which was in san francisco. still one of my favourite cities of all time. it’ll be 10 years this year which is crazy :( any time we visit our land together. hoping we can have a house built and move in by the end of this year.

What did you do yesterday? worked

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. the five people i thought of are all taken except one

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? i dont think i have actually! 

Does anyone disgust you? no

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? only one thing and thats my diet and exercise. iim such a lazy ass

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? nope

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? no

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? id find a time to speak to them one on one and ask them straight up whats going on

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? chips, soda and ritz

How’s your appetite atm? full

Is anything annoying you at the moment? yeah. i have some wax melts on and it smells amazing but now its too overwhelming and giving me a headache

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? i was talking to my workmates today, our workplace does id tags which lists our favourite food and movie and we were going through everyones, it was hilarious.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. meh everyday

What makes someone a good friend? at this point in my life everyones really busy. i love my friends who i dont have to speak to everyday but the love is still there when we catch up. and its also a two way street, its not always me or them reaching out

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? haha no

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? i forgot haha

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? it would be a shock but id stock up and get over it

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? my fiance

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? showering

What will you be doing in 30 mins? tiktok probably

Was today better than yesterday? it was kinda the same tbh. today is better because its nearly the weekend (i queue my posts)

Will tomorrow be better than today? sure will be! friyay!

[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #66

Date: 14th of June, 2027

Dear Diary, 

I’m really ready for this school year to be over. 

So we had the dueling tourney. I’ve been practicing my spells and stuff, I can cast everything in my year now. They put our faces on posters in the Great Hall and made us into collectable cards, like the exploding snap cards and the chocolate frog cards. I was super excited.

We entered the hall and… This must be my favourite transformation I’ve ever seen. It was exactly like how I imagined the forests in my fairytale books are like. It was… so completely stunning. I felt like I was in one of my dreams. 

And then we all sat down at the tables and it was like a big court, everyone was dressed so brilliantly in colourful gowns and some had wings, others crowns. Arthur Letsworth and Riven Redwhisper were crowned the king and queen of the night, and we ate food and watched people duel down below. 

I had to sit next to Octavia, which wasn’t very fun, but she left me alone for the most part. And then I moved to go sit next to Casey before my duel while Peach was dueling, and Ruby came over and talked to me about how he wanted to steal a dance with me. 

I was gonna write about all the duels, who went up against who, who won and all that, but after my duel, I sort of forgot all of that. Except for the fact that Octavia had to duel Bonnie? Which was sort of wild, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.

Anyways, I suppose I should talk about my duel, now. I was supposed to go up against Aloy. I had this whole plan, I was gonna try something new and try colovaria, change the colour of her uniform like the faeries did in that muggle movie, Sleeping Beauty. Be all silly and stuff since you just have to succeed on getting a spell on the other person to get a point - it doesn’t have to be a painful or mean spell! And I didn’t imagine I’d win. Everyone kept telling me they believed in me, that they knew I’d win and stuff, and I just sort of smiled and laughed along even though I knew it wasn’t true, but…

Aloy petrified me before I could even lift my wand. I didn’t get to test out any of the spells I had been practicing. I mean, Merlin, I didn’t even get to duel. Everyone else got to go, some more than once, and I didn’t even get a chance to. I waited forever, practiced just so I’d have a chance to have fun before I lose, and I didn’t even get to fight. 

I ended up running away (like I do so often) and some people chased me but I hid from them in that little magical forest. There was this tower thing I climbed into, and I just tucked myself away until they left. And then I cried a lot. A year full of failures is what it was. And I know it’s my first year and that’s to be expected but… even with my last, final failure, I couldn’t even have fun with it. I couldn’t show off or test any of the things I’d been practicing all year. It's like nothing I learned even mattered. I practiced for nothing. I might as well have not even tried, it would’ve been the same result. I just wanted to have fun with it.

Anyways… After the people trying to find me gave up and went back to the duels, I walked around and explored the ballroom area. It was simply astounding, and I am grateful that I got to enjoy it by myself before everyone came in. There was this really beautiful pond full of statues and lily pads, and there were giant mushrooms and toadstools everywhere. And all these pretty ruins and lights and flowers. The King and Queen’s throne was perched up on top of the ruins. It was magnificent. And I felt really happy to explore it in the dress I’d sewn, because I felt like a faerie myself. I didn’t have my face painted anymore, I had tried to paint my face red with white spots like a mushroom, around the cheeks and my nose so it was sort of blushy, but… Suffice to say that became messy and was mostly gone by the time I put on my dress. But I had these cute little wooden mushrooms I’d stuck in my hair! 

Professor Dracheblume found me just before everyone came in from the duels, and told me I should be proud to have made it as far as I did. But I feel like I don’t even know why or how I did in the first place! And then they gave out awards, and I got ‘best in year’ but I felt like I didn’t even deserve that award because I was the only one in my year anyways and… I didn’t even get to duel! I wasn’t best at anything! 

But Bobby found me then, and we actually had a lot of fun dancing. We talked about playing Dungeons and Dragons over the summer, and what might happen if he tried to take a board game through the floo. And everyone looked so pretty. Bonnie did such a good job, honestly. I hope I can be like her some day. 

Bobby went to go get punch, when Ruby found me and asked if I wanted to run away. So I said goodbye to Bobby, gave him one of my little mushrooms, and then off we went. 

He showed me this tiny hidden room behind a painting, with a skylight thing? Like there was glass and lights and stuff. It was really pretty. We talked about summer, he said he was gonna try to visit as much as he can since he’ll be in Bulgaria (I think that’s what it was, anyways) and we danced for a bit in the quiet, away from everyone else. It was a nice bit of peace. 

Tourney and Midsummer Ball aside, I was in a more optimistic mood before all that because Bobby talked to me and sort of gave me a pep talk about starting the next year and new beginnings. And also I went down to the hut outside the castle and saw Dracheblume, and she showed me the baby unicorn I had dreamed about, that lost its mum in the battle in the forest. Did you know baby unicorns start off gold, and then turn silver and are only white when they’re adults? I never knew that! Dracheblume let me name her, so we named her Calypso. She really likes fruit.

I’m so ready to go home. I’m ready for this year to be over. I wanna have fun again. The only thing that makes me sad about this year ending is that Bonnie won’t be here next year.

Just a couple more weeks now and some exams stand between me and freedom for a couple of months. I can work on my play and the other things I wanna study, play Dungeons and Dragons with Bobby and Aures and maybe I’ll invite some other people too, maybe some of the other third years. I can explore the forest around my new home and see what it’s like when it’s bustling with summer life. 

Soon!

Much love, Everly

[ Eve’s Wiki Page ] 

[ Flickr ]

[lovemesomesurveys]

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? We mostly use reusable bags now, but when we do get plastic bags we use them for our little trash cans, like the one in my room. Are you afraid of being electrocuted? It is something I think about whenever I plug something in.  Have you ever slept in a water bed? Nope. What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? She’s been taking time off this year. Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? UGH, yes. More than twice. Same with my cheek. It’s the worst.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? I make like Ramen, easy stuff in the microwave or oven, and sandwiches, but my parents make dinner and breakfast like eggs and such. Unless I have a microwave breakfast meal. Did you sleep in or wake up early today? Well, I finally got out of bed for coffee around 11ish, but I woke up off and on before that.  How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? I wouldn’t feel comfortable. Does your ex have a job? I think so. Have you ever slept in a car? During car rides. Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? No. What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? I’m not a term of endearment type of person. Not seriously, anyway. If I use ‘em, it’s more in a joking way. What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? Brushing my teeth. How often do you use Flickr? I don’t. Have you ever peed while on the phone? No. Bathrooms echo and people don’t need to know what I’m doing.  Have you ever been on a blind date? Nope. I have no desire to ever go on one. Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? I only ever text one of my parents or my younger brother and no, I’m not interested in my family in that way. Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? Yeah. Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? Yes. Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? No. What did you do yesterday? Same stuff I do everyday. How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? 2. Have you ever made any of your friends cry? Not intentionally. Does anyone disgust you? Myself. Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? A lot of things. Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? Yes. Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? This is it. What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? I’m quite familiar with that and it’s very frustrating and I ended up getting hurt. How’s your appetite atm? It’s slowly getting back to normal. I go through periods where it’s fine and then times when I hardly eat at all, and when I do I have to force myself and it’s just not enjoyable at all.  Is anything annoying you at the moment? Yes. Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? One I had with my brother recently. Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. That’s not an uncommon occurrence.  Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? I look decent in my avatar photo thanks to Snapchat filters. When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? I don’t know. If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? Not really. I’m not a big chocolate eater. What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? She’s my mom. What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? Watching TV. What will you be doing in 30 mins? Eating. Was today better than yesterday? My stomach was really bothering me today.  Will tomorrow be better than today? I’m doing some stuff with my brother and then grabbing lunch from our favorite pizza place, so that’ll be cool.

[eldritchsurveys]

357.

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? >> Either toss them or put them under the sink for future use. Generally depends on how many are already under the sink. Are you afraid of being electrocuted? >> I mean, no, not without reason or anything. Like, I wouldn’t go touch an electric fence on purpose, of course, but I don’t think about the possibility of electrocution unless it’s immediate. Have you ever slept in a water bed? >> No. What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? >> I’m guessing this is an older survey. Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? >> Yes, and it’s the fucking worst.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? >> --- Did you sleep in or wake up early today? >> I woke up around the time I usually wake up. How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? >> --- How do you feel about anal sex? >> No. Does your ex have a job? >> Some do, some don’t. Have you ever slept in a car? >> Aside from napping during a long drive, no, not that I recall. Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? >> I don’t have an opinion. What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? >> I don’t use them, so IDK. What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? >> Brushing my teeth. How often do you use Flickr? >> I don’t. Unless I’m looking for a source for a photograph I saw on tumblr, or something. Have you ever peed while on the phone? >> No. Have you ever been on a blind date? >> No. Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? >> --- Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? >> King Crimson and I have... passionate discourse sometimes, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it arguing. Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? >> No. Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? >> Not that I’ve noticed. What did you do yesterday? >> Grocery shopping, stopped at the birthday party for some child from Sparrow’s family, did laundry at the Wayland house, stayed for dinner (grilled lamb chops!), had a vaguely-todash-y moment on the way home, came home and wrote about it on Dreamwidth, went to sleep. How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? >> --- Have you ever made any of your friends cry? >> --- Does anyone disgust you? >> I mean, sure, there are people out there who do things that disgust me.  Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? >> Meh, not really. I mean, I don’t want to stagnate or anything, but I also don’t feel any pressing need for self-directed change right now. Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? >> No. Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? >> I keep a dreamwidth, and yeah, I assume that sometimes people (subscribers, I mean) read the stuff that I allow access to. What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? >> I can’t even imagine what it’d be like to have this experience, so. How’s your appetite atm? >> Intense as always. Oh, you mean my mundane human appetite for food? Eh, I could eat a snack but I’m not really hungry-hungry. Is anything annoying you at the moment? >> No. Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? >> I don’t know. Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. >> I don’t remember. Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? >> I think I look decent in most of my photographs. When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? >> I don’t know. If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? >> No. What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? >> --- What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? >> It hasn’t turned 4pm yet. I don’t know what I’ll be doing. Maybe playing a game. What will you be doing in 30 mins? >> I’m not sure. Maybe taking a different survey? Was today better than yesterday? >> Not necessarily. Today is good and yesterday was good. Will tomorrow be better than today? >> *shrug*  

[bornconfused444]

Get you a man that lies and says you’re pretty when you know you look like trash

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? Reuse them as garbage bags.

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? Not really.

Have you ever slept in a water bed? Once when I was like 8.

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? That was forever ago but she’s doing pretty good with that comeback so props to her..

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? Not my tongue no but my cheek yes.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? I cook my own meals.

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? I slept in until 9 which is sleeping in for me.

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? I would not want to do that. <-- I don’t do that it’s gross and messy.

How do you feel about anal sex? Not something I know about or have an interest in. <-- I know about it as in I know what it is but same, not interested..

Does your ex have a job? Probably.

Have you ever slept in a car? During long car rides. <--

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? No.

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? Babe.

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? Peeing.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. I love you more than words can ever express.

How often do you use Flickr? I don’t.

Have you ever peed while on the phone? Yes.

Have you ever been on a blind date? Once it was a horrible experience.

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? Yes my boyfriend.

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? Yes.

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? Nope I don’t think I’ve cried in the last 3 days surprisingly.

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? Yes.

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for. 1. Before we even started dating I could sort of tell that he liked me because he would drop hints about how I needed a better boyfriend and a tall boyfriend to reach shit for me, and he would show me relationship memes and I could kind of get the hint but another part of me was thinking that maybe it was just a coincidence but it wasn’t so I admitted that I liked him through Facebook Messenger and he admitted that he liked me and it was just cute and school-girlish.

2. When we hadn’t had our first kiss together yet, and he would do something silly and I would tell him to shut up, so he would say “Make me” because he wanted me to kiss him, but I was too nervous to so I said later. XD But when I did it it was like fireworks in my stomach and butterflies all at once.

3. 3. When we went on like a 3 hour long hike in the nice part of the trails around my city. It was just the perfect weather for a hike and gave us some alone time.

What did you do yesterday? I went out with the boyfriend and just did the same type of shit we always do.

How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? Like 6.

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. All are single except one who’s married.

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? Yes.

Does anyone disgust you? Yes.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? I wish I was employed cause ya know been unemployed for literally like 10 months now but ya know.

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? Nope.

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? I call it a journal but yes.

Tell me about the person you had your first kiss with. How do you feel about that person now? I haven’t spoken to him in like 15 years I feel nothing for him now because I haven’t spoken to him in like 15 years. XD

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? Just ask what they want and if they can’t figure it out then I would just give up.

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? Ramen, really buttered popcorn and BK.

How’s your appetite atm? I can’t stop eating even if I wanted to.

Is anything annoying you at the moment? Yes even though they rectified it it just pisses me off how they did it.

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? The conversation me and my boyfriend had after watching “It”.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. This afternoon when I went to see a movie with the boyfriend and one of his ex’s best friends was there.

What makes someone a good friend? someone i have a lot in common with, a good sense of humour, loyal and genuinely interested in my life vice versa. < Sure. <–Sounds good. <<< I’ll keep this going. <-- same.

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? I don’t know I’m too lazy to check the last photo I took.

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? I don’t know.

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? I don’t think I would care until my period came then I wouldn’t be too happy.

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? Boyfriend.

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? I was just finishing food and maybe just starting my makeup.

What will you be doing in 30 mins? Hopefully finishing watching the news and going to bed.

Was today better than yesterday? Yes.

Will tomorrow be better than today? I don’t think so unless I’m unexpectedly getting laid or something.

[sirtadcooper]

I was tagged by @mistressoswald! Thank you! :)

The last...

drink: Diet Coke with the roast dinner I made today. Yum!

phone call: To the secretary of the show I was at yesterday - she didn’t answer.

text message: My friend Toni to finalise the time she was to be at my house yesterday so she could get a lift to aforementioned show.

song you listened to: I had my playlist on shuffle and the last song I listened to before I turned it off was Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine.

time you cried: Today - I cried multiple times during Creed.

dated someone twice: I haven’t even dated anyone once! Good luck with that.

kissed someone and regretted it: Never.

been cheated on: My hypothetical boyfriend cheated on me? The scumbag! He’s dead to me. 

lost someone special: One side of my family is going through a tough time at the moment and the only times I’ve seen them this year has been at funerals but my answer is actually going to be my pet lamb from last year, Nobby. He was so special to me. We went out for walks in parks and out for ice cream. I still miss him so much. He was the best lamb ever!

been depressed: The last time I had photographer’s block, or whatever the name for it is. You can’t even bring yourself to go outside and take pictures because you’re convinced they’ll be rubbish.

gotten drunk and thrown up: Once again, never. I don’t drink.

3 favorite colors: blue, rich chestnut horses, harmony in colours, I don’t know...

In the last year have you...

made new friends?: A handful at camera club.

fallen out of love?: One of last year’s pet lambs has turned into a monster sheep and I am selling her at the earliest opportunity.

laughed until you cried?: Most likely. I just can’t remember exactly when.

found out someone was talking about you?: Yes, but in a good way, actually! It was about my pictures and was really flattering.

met someone who changed you?: I don’t think so...

found out who your friends are?: I know their names and they make me laugh and they sometimes pay for my meals.

kissed someone on your Facebook list?: (Very obsessed with kissing, this question list.) No, I’m more of a hugger. I have hugged.

General

how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life?: I have to have met them in real life before I add them.

do you have any pets?: Three dogs, a pony, and a small flock of pet sheep and lambs.

do you want to change your name?: No. Ruth is nice. Rare but not too rare, if you know what I mean. 

what did you do for your last birthday?: It was a busy day in the lambing shed! I also erected a new pen for the pet lambs. Then we had a carry out for tea.

what time did you wake up?: Flipping 6AM! My body clock likes to mess with me. I lay on until 6:45 to spite it.

what were you doing at midnight last night?: Sleeping.

name something you can’t wait for: Wimbledon. End of. Less than two hours. Thirteenth Doctor. Help.

when was the last time you saw your mom?: She’s sleeping in an armchair behind me right now. 

what are you listening to right now?: Mum’s breathing behind me, Pip the dog’s breathing next to me, and traffic going by outside.

have you ever talked to a person named Tom?: I went to school with a Thomas.

something that is getting on your nerves: Nothing at the moment but get me talking about the treatment of women in certain Christian groups and I get angry.

most visited website: It varies but at the moment it’s Tumblr.

hair colour: Medium to dark brown.

long or short hair?: To my shoulders, so long.

do you have a crush on someone?: Nope.

what do you like about yourself?: I like that I give good hugs and my sense of style.

piercings: None.

blood type: All I know is it’s red.

nickname: None really, but sometimes one of my friends calls me Rooty.

relationship status: Single and can’t be arsed to mingle.

zodiac: Pisces.

pronouns: She/her

favourite TV show: Above all else there is always Doctor Who.

tattoos: None.

right or left handed: Right handed.

surgery: Thankfully none.

piercing: Nah.

sport: I don’t watch sports or have much interest in them but if there was an equestrian sport or a sheepdog trial on TV I might watch it.

vacation: London last year was epic. I photographed the Queen and she looked right down the lens of my camera and I am not over it.

pair of trainers: Comfortable ones.

eating: What, now? I’m still full after dinner!

drinking: (Whoever wrote these questions out needs to be more specific.) I mostly drink water.

i’m about to: Once I’ve done this I’m going to start my photos from the show yesterday uploading to Flickr and while that’s going I’ll go out and feed the lambs and dogs.

waiting for: The Announcement™

want: Happiness? Money? Questions I can understand?

get married: This isn’t a question, but I suppose whatever will be will be. It’s not my goal in life.

career: I have no career.

Which is better...

hugs or kisses?: 100% hugs all the way.

lips or eyes?: Eyes I guess?

shorter or taller: No preference.

older or younger: Most of my celebrity “crushes” are older.

nice arms or nice stomach?: I’m one to talk!

hook up or relationship?: If anything, a relationship.

troublemaker or hesitant?: The problem with troublemakers is that they are a lot of trouble.

Have you ever...

kissed a stranger?: I pecked Manu Bennett (Google him) on the cheek, only because he kissed me first. 

drank hard liquor?: No.

lost glasses/contact lenses?: Thankfully no, and I wear glasses all the time so isn’t that neat?

turned someone down?: Nobody’s turned up (boom).

sex on the first date?: See answer to previous question.

broken someone’s heart?: Not that I’m aware of!

had your heart broken?: I was very sad about Nobby.

been arrested?: No. Although when I end up talking to police officers I find myself complimenting their dress sense because I get nervous and that is my solution to the problem.

cried when someone died?: Nobby again. (Shut up, he thought he was a person.)

fallen for a friend?: I did have a bit of a crush on a friend five or six years ago because he laughed at my jokes. I swiftly got over it when he revealed himself to be self-obsessed.

Do you believe in...

yourself?: I believe I can fly.

miracles?: Where you from / You sexy thing, sexy thing you.

love at first sight?: Gosh, I don’t know. Can’t you only know it was love at first sight with hindsight?

Santa Claus?: I like to believe in the dude. It is a great story.

kiss on the first date?: All depends.

angels?: I believe in Castiel.

Other:

current best friend’s name: Current best friend? Man, that’s savage. I’ve got two that I’ve known for 11 and 10 years respectfully, Dawn and Toni.

eye colour: Blue.

favourite movie: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron has been my favourite film since I was eight.

Wow, that was a marathon! I tag @sircolinmorgan, @borntosavethedoctor, @guardiansinferno, and @orsowethought if you’d like to do it. :)

[suckitsurveys]

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? We use reusable bags usually. When we do get plastic, we used them for kitty litter waste. Are you afraid of being electrocuted? I mean, not terribly so, but I don’t want it to happen to me. Have you ever slept in a water bed? Yes, when I was a kid. My Aunt had one and I spent the night a lot. What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? I am happy for her.

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? Yes. It’s horrible.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? Mark cooks mostly. Did you sleep in or wake up early today? Woke up early dammit. How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? It’s messy but it actually feels amazing. Does your ex have a job? Don’t care. Have you ever slept in a car? Yes. Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? Whatever. What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? Babe, I’m sure. What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? Getting ready for work. How often do you use Flickr? Never. Have you ever peed while on the phone? Yes. Have you ever been on a blind date? Nope. Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? The last person I texted was my husband, so :P Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? Yeah. Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? Yes. Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? Yes. What did you do yesterday? Went to work, went to Target and fought so many impulse buy urges and left with exactly what I came in for (I deserve a reward), came home, ate dinner, watched The Good Place, and cleaned up/organized my house a little bit. How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? One. Have you ever made any of your friends cry? Not intentionally. Does anyone disgust you? Yes. Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? ^ I’d like to get rid of that person. And lose like 50lbs. Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? No. Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? This is it. What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? Depends. How’s your appetite atm? It’s okay. Is anything annoying you at the moment? Yes. Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? Ones I had with my friends on the beach on Monday. Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. Just, my life in general. Haha. Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? Yes. When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? I don’t know. If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? I’d get over it. But I love brownies and fudge so I would be sad. What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? My husband What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? It’s barely 7:30 am. What will you be doing in 30 mins? Working. Was today better than yesterday? Again, only 7:30 am. Will tomorrow be better than today? I don’t know.

[theconservativebrief]

Before the invention of clothing, agriculture, and even the wheel, our ancestors were playing with fire.

How do we know this? In 2012, archaeologists announced they had uncovered traces of ash, burnt twigs, and animal bone — evidence of a controlled fire — while excavating a cave in South Africa. Those tiny fragments were more than a million years old and likely the handiwork of Homo erectus, a species that predates Homo sapiens (i.e., you and me).

Not only did this evidence suggest our ancestors invented campfire before they invented anything else (perhaps with the exception of stone tools), it also revealed that making fire was one of the very first activities to get us working together.

Yet this incredibly ancient practice of campfire making still remains mystifying to many of us humans. A few months ago, a group of friends and I shared a laugh around a campfire realizing none of us — college-educated adults — could explain what, exactly, fire was.

Considering fire’s importance in human history — and that it’s still how most of the developing world keeps warm and cooks food — we really should understand it.

Here’s a science-backed history and guide to the ancient practice of building a campfire, from its importance for human evolution to the chemistry of how it burns to this age-old fuel’s impact on our health and our environment.

Mathias Erhart / Flickr

“Campsites are in essence nests made by human beings,” the biologist E.O. Wilson writes in The Social Conquest of Earth. And nests are the first step to becoming a species whose members look out for one another. The earliest humans “raised young in the nest, foraged away from it for food, and brought back the bounty to share with others,” Wilson writes. The campfire is the origin of community.

It’s also possible that fire aided our cognitive development. In the book Catching Fire, biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham argues that campfires — and the subsequent invention of cooking meat and eating it — were the catalyst that allowed our ancestors to develop big brains. “The extra energy [in the cooked meat] gave the first cooks biological advantages,” Wrangham writes. “They survived and reproduced better than before. Their genes spread. … There were changes in anatomy, physiology, ecology, life history, psychology, and society.”

In these early days, it’s likely our ancestors didn’t actually know how to start fires. They only knew how to maintain them — after a lightning strike or spontaneous conflagration of brush got one started. Anthropologist Christopher Dana Lynn writes in the journal Evolutionary Psychology that inability to start fires put even more pressure on early humans to cultivate ingenuity and tolerance for one another:

The inability to start fires would have required groups to coordinate activities to access and maintain them. This continual cooperation would have put pressure on cognitive capacities for social tolerance, conceiving of others as collaborators in future cooperation …

Dana Lynn also hypothesizes that we may be instinctually comforted by fire; he found some preliminary evidence that suggests blood pressure lowers when we’re around it.

Fire would also lead to inventions like the steel mill and the steam engine, which would allow humans to literally reshape the world to their likings.

“Fire is the one [invention] that made us,” Adrian Bejan, a thermodynamics professor at Duke and the author of The Physics of Life, a new book on technological evolution, tells me. “Without fire you and I would be nothing today.”

rahul rekapalli / Flickr

When you look at flames, you are seeing the results of a complex chemical reaction called pyrolysis. You’re seeing wood turned into gas, gas ignited by heat, and light from the excitement of electrons.

Here’s another way to think about it: The entire process of a fire is about tearing a log into as many pieces as possible. The tearing releases chemical bonds, expending energy as heat and light.

But anyone who has tried to ignite a whole log with just a single match knows that it takes a lot to get a fire going. You can’t do it with a single match or spark from a piece of steel on flint.

You have to take a tiny bit of energy and transform it into a self-sustaining reaction. Each component of the wood has to absorb enough heat to begin the pyrolysis process.

Here’s how it goes: As plant fibers heat up, the plant’s tissues — mostly made out of a molecule called cellulose — start degrade and break down. As the tissue gets hotter and hotter, water is driven out of the cells, and they then break apart, forming volatile, combustible gases, “just like a burner from your stove,” John Bailey, a professor who teaches fire science Oregon State, tells me.

Igniting those gases releases some energy, which then can be used to break down more cellulose and generate more combustible gases and heat.

Here, from the textbook Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels, is a breakdown of the stages of pyrolysis. It starts with the evaporation of water out of the wood and ends with the combustion of wood gases. Bioenergy

All of this needs to be done in the presence of oxygen, as fire is an oxidation reaction. (The oxygen bonds with the carbon in the wood to form carbon dioxide, and releases heat and water along the way.)

The ignition of the gas continues the process of breaking down that log further and further. Inside that gas are actually hundreds of carbon-based compounds. Some of these form soot and then are broken down further in the flame. If a fire burns perfectly, the log will break down all the big molecules into carbon dioxide and water vapor.

But why does this process create light?

It comes from the electrons releasing extra energy — going from an exited state to a less excited state. (You know how metal glows when it’s heated red-hot? The same thing is happening in the flame, but instead of metal, it’s the tiny particles of soot absorbing the energy.)

Here, via the YouTube channel Distort, is a very cool look at how pyrolysis occurs in slow motion.

[embedded content]

Building a campfire only takes three ingredients.

Fuel: Twigs, paper, branches, logs, etc.

Oxygen: Free and always available!

Heat: A match should do the trick.

These three are called the “fire triangle,” and if they are kept in balance, a campfire will burn evenly and thoroughly. But if they are out of whack, the fire will sputter and fail.

Wikimedia Commons

Here are some general rules to get a good campfire going.

1) The first rule of building a campfire is to start small.

You may be tempted to start with big branches if you have a big fire in mind. But remember, a match or a lighter contains only a tiny speck of energy — just enough to bring small branches, pine needles, or other kindling to the critical temperature at which pyrolysis can occur.

As a campfire builder, it’s your job to coax that tiny bit of energy into growing, slowly and thoroughly. So start with some very dry kindling, some pine needles, and crumbled-up bits of your least favorite daily newspaper.

Also remember: Large pieces of wood have to absorb a lot of energy before they ignite. If there’s too little heat in the fire, they won’t catch. Too much wood will smother the flame from oxygen as well.

2) Use the driest branches you can find.

Be sure to find the driest pieces of wood for your campfire, as it will take extra energy to get wet pieces of wood to start burning. “If the moisture content is too high, an appreciable amount of energy is necessary to vaporize the water, reducing the heating value of the wood as well as decreasing combustion efficiency, which in turn increases smoke formation,” the journal Chemosphere explains. Wet wood will also produce more smoke, which is bad for your health and environment (more on that below).

“There are many stupid ways of making fire, but there’s one special way of making it which needs no explaining, because everybody knows it”

When the fire is hot enough — when there’s an inch or two of hot, glowing coals on the bottom — it won’t matter if the fuel is a bit wet. “If you build up a nice bed of coals, you’ve got the fire getting progressively bigger, you’ve got this big generating heat source now, then you can lay that big piece on there,” Bailey says.

3) Start with low–density wood.

The best woods to get a campfire going are something light, like pine or cedar. These will ignite the fastest. (Pine also has a lot of resin, which makes for nice crackles when in a fire.) Then move on to denser woods, like oak. These take a lot more energy to start burning and will burn longer.

When it gets going, a fire is like a living thing. It needs to be fed, sustained, and looked after, or it will die.

4) The best shape for a fire is one that’s as tall as it is wide.

You can find plenty of diagrams for building campfires: teepee designs, log cabin designs, elaborate plans for digging underground air-intake vents. But really, all these designs come back to one basic rule: Build a fire that’s as tall as it is wide.

This rule comes from Bejan, who thought of it while watching a mound of charcoal ignite in his backyard grill. He realized when a fire is built into a pyramid shape, it will burn the hottest for the longest amount of time. It’s the perfect trade-off.

Duke

“If the shape of the fire is extremely flat, shallow, then the fire does not draw [oxygen],” Bejan explains. “A flat fire means a puny, puny fire. The extreme is to have a skinny, stick-like pile. The skinny stick is burning all right, but it is so skinny, it’s surrounded by cold air; therefore, it is a cold fire. That, too, is a bad design.”

In the middle is “a very special shape where the cone is not too shallow, not too tall, and the answer is the base is as wide as it is tall,” he says.

Bejan published this finding in the journal Scientific Reports. To him, the universality of the fire shape is evidence that humans have an innate sense of physics. “There are many stupid ways of making fire, but there’s one special way of making it, which needs no explaining, because everybody knows it,” he says. That’s universal across human cultures, stretching far back to the beginning of time.

Yes!

If a fire burned perfectly, the log would be completely torn down into carbon dioxide and water vapor.

But most fires do not burn perfectly. And as a result, wood smoke contains a lot of pollutants: chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde, as well as fine particles that can irritate lungs and eyes. As Brad Plumer has explained, indoor air pollution from wood smoke is the deadliest environmental hazard on the planet.

But the hotter a fire burns, the more these toxic chemicals can get broken down into simpler, safer ones. Burning dry wood also helps keep these pollutants to a minimum. But no matter what, “you’re going to put out a lot of pollution when you burn a campfire,” Lisa Herschberger, an environmental research scientist with Minnesota’s pollution control agency, says. “I would stay upwind of it.”

Fine particles from the smoke and soot can be smaller than 2.5 micrometers — tiny enough to lodge themselves into the crannies of the lungs.

“The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles,” the Environmental Protection Agency warns. “These microscopic particles can get into your eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. Fine particles also can aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases — and even are linked to premature deaths in people with these conditions.”

The particles from wood smoke also can contribute to smog and haze. In Minnesota, for instance, where recreational outdoor fires are popular, Herschberger says recreational wood smoke accounts for around 5 percent of all the fine particles released to the air. “I call this a sizable contribution to air emissions,” she says.

In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, wood smoke can be carbon neutral if the wood you burn is replaced by new growth. “But it’s not a slam dunk,” Herschberger says. “It will be really important [for emissions] to learn how that wood was grown, how it was transported. It takes knowing the whole life cycle of the wood to know if you’re ahead or behind [on carbon emissions].” Burning dead wood also releases what’s known as black carbon, or soot, which has a greater warming impact than carbon dioxide alone, she says.

Another danger is when fires grow out of control.

On the small scale, fire is predictable. “If you build exactly the same pile of kindling and had the same temperature, you would get literally the same fire again. It’s just physics and chemistry,” Bailey says. But when it sparks into a forest fire, it’s an entirely different beast.

“The fuels get very complicated, and the temperature, wind speed, relative humidity varies,” he says. “Then you just have random stuff: a gust of wind, a pine cone rolling down a hill, a little stream flowing through an area. It makes fire on a mountainside absolutely magical, unpredictable.”

(Like dark magic? “The more you’re fascinated by fire, the more it moves from the dark to the light,” he says.)

With ongoing drought, climate change, and, ironically, a history of fire suppression, forest fires in the Western US have been growing bigger and more destructive over time.

A lot of these fires are started by lightning. But as Smokey the Bear has cried for decades, you can help prevent forest fires.

Bailey offers a few commonsense suggestions:

Don’t leave a fire unattended. Put out fires with water, or smother them completely before heading out of a campsite.

Don’t park a car on dry grass. Car underbodies can get hot enough to ignite fires.

Be aware of fire hazard warnings before lighting a fire in a forest.

monnibo / Flickr

A marshmallow is made up of gelatin and sugar. Sugar burns at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. A campfire can top more than 1,000 degrees. That’s why it takes Jedi concentration to heat a marshmallow over a flame (but not too close!) so it oozes instead of cinders.

Original Source -> Campfires, explained

via The Conservative Brief

[tortuga-aak]

8 traits of toxic bosses

Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/Flickr

One of the largest factors in whether employees are happy at work is the behavior of their bosses.

There are 8 traits of toxic managers that drive employees away. 

Those traits include: stealing the spotlight, bullying, and narcissism.

Randstad USA, a provider of HR, legal staffing, and recruitment services, recently conducted an employee engagement survey that reveals more bad news about the state of the American workplace (with some findings that you just can't help but laugh at).

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, which reported on the Randstad study, unhappy workers admitted that while on the job they:

Drank alcohol (5%)

Took naps (15%)

Checked or posted on social media (60%)

Shopped online (55%)

Played pranks on co-workers (40%)

Watched Netflix (11%)

Before you cast employees in a judgmental light and say they're strictly to blame for their unhappiness, let me be clear: These results are part of a trend of burnout and job dissatisfaction — common human reactions to stressful environments — and managers, not employees, are primarily to blame.

Who are your managers?

One Gallup study of 7,272 U.S. adults found that 50% of employees left their job "to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career."

Gallup CEO Jim Clifton once summarized in a succinct sentence the bottom line of why your company's employee turnover may be high. He said:

The single biggest decision you make in your job — bigger than all the rest — is whom you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits — nothing.

Over the years, I have observed firsthand many counterproductive behaviors in middle and upper management. Eight traits I have recognized as toxic really stand out.

1. Managers who only look after themselves.

These managers aren't concerned with driving the company mission or aligning team goals to organizational objectives. It's about their individual performance and getting that annual bonus. Managers with this attitude are playing for the name on the back of the jersey and are only concerned about their accomplishments and how they look to their superiors.

2. Managers who steal the spotlight.

The team puts together a wonderful product and rolls it out on time. The client is giddy with joy about how much money and time the new system will save. And then it happens: The manager takes all the credit for the work. No praise for the team, no celebration of everyone's success, no recognition of team members for their contributions. This type of manager will hog the spotlight, and when that happens, team morale plummets. 

3. Managers who are never wrong.

Ever work with a manager who's always right and you're always wrong? He has a hard time taking blame or ownership for things and will never admit to having made a mistake. He's more concerned with preserving his reputation and saving face. 

4. Confused managers who don't know the direction they're headed.

Such a manager will say one thing on Monday and change direction by Wednesday, often without telling the team. Team members don't know where they stand, as communication is often cryptic.

5. Managers who like control.

This person micromanages to the last detail. The work environment is overbearing and stifling because she wants control over decisions; she distrusts the team and doesn't delegate. In such a scenario, there's hardly room for group discussion or input because the leadership style is autocratic. Creativity or learning something new is absent under this dictatorship. Loyal workers trying to find meaning in their jobs are left with nothing but taking their marching orders.

6. Managers who are bullies.

The effects of bullying in the workplace are huge, and costly for businesses. Baird Brightman, a behavioral scientist, consultant, and writer, reports that "aggressiveness (both verbal and physical) undermines safety and requires people to divert resources from productive work into defensive operations such as fight or flight." Babs Ryan, author of "America's Corporate Brain Drain," says, "Only 1% of bullies are fired; action is usually taken against the [bully's] target. Your only choice may be to leave as quickly as possible — especially if the company supports that bully repeatedly and has already exited several of the bully's targets."

7. Managers who are missing in action.

They're checked out physically, mentally, or both. If they're in the building, they're behind closed doors most of the time to avoid personal interaction, especially when things are going south. You'll note they are conveniently "busy" at crucial times when their input or direction is needed, and often take shelter in incessant meetings that are really façades to mask their insecurity or fear of facing conflict. They are only interested in good news, because they're not able to handle anything more. Got a problem? Talk to someone else.

8. Managers who are narcissists.

This is unfortunate for manager and employee. For the manager, it's an actual mental condition known as narcissistic personality disorder that requires medical attention. For the employee, a pathologically narcissistic manager could ruin his or her career. Joseph Burgo, author of "The Narcissist You Know: Defending Yourself Against Extreme Narcissists in an All-About-Me Age," says this person "often relies on contempt to make others feel like losers, proving himself a winner in the process. He will belittle your work product or ridicule you at meetings. When he needs something from you, he may become threatening. At his most toxic, he will make you doubt yourself and your ultimate value to your employer."

NOW WATCH: This is what separates the Excel masters from the wannabes

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[lavieboheme930]

110

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? Reuse them as garbage bags.

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? Yes

Have you ever slept in a water bed? No

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? She’s never been gone in my opinion.  It’s Britney bitch!  Love her music

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? Yes

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? My mom does.  Or I microwave

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? earlier than I wanted.

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? Gross

How do you feel about anal sex? I never had sex in any way so why all these sex questions?  Seriously!!!.

Does your ex have a job? N/A

Have you ever slept in a car? On trips out of state.

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? No.

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? No idea

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? Peeing.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. I don’t want to

How often do you use Flickr? I don’t.

Have you ever peed while on the phone? Yes.

Have you ever been on a blind date? Yes.

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? No.  He’s my best friend

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? No

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? Technically yes.  But cause I’m missing said person

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? No

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for. Since they were an ass to me, I don’t want to talk about it

What did you do yesterday? went to the library

How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? 2

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. No

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? No

Does anyone disgust you? Yes.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? I wish I had a boyfriend

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? Nope.

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? Yes and no

Tell me about the person you had your first kiss with. How do you feel about that person now? We’re still friends

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? Ugh so many times that’s happened to me.

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? bacon pretty much

How’s your appetite atm? I’m full

Is anything annoying you at the moment? My hand that’s hurting

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? Anytime me and Ricky chat.  So I think our latest texting session about Sal.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. When I first met Sal cause I embarrassed myself

What makes someone a good friend? Someone that is nice. It’s hard to describe

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? Yes

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? I don’t know.

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? No

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? friends

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? working

What will you be doing in 30 mins? another survey

Was today better than yesterday? it was the same

Will tomorrow be better than today? yes

[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #60

Date: 15th of April, 2027

Dear Diary, 

It’s been a pretty busy and strange week or so, with Easter and a few other happenings. There’s been like… I mean, the normal shenanigans, but also like, a lot of weird stuff with the frogs? Anyways… I suppose I should start explaining. 

Easter morning, I woke up to a basket full of homemade candies from Marigold. There was a lot of little chocolates and hard candies, but I think the coolest thing was this big hollow egg she’d made, and inside was this thing that was like a pygmy puff with bunny ears, but it was made of fairy floss and chocolate.

I went to the Easter Feast, and sat with Tal and Peach and Marigold and this boy named Tom. Tom ended up flinging strawberries at Tal while I was trying to eat my crepes, and then said it was our fault cause we didn’t move or something, so I got annoyed and decided to go play in the rain. I also saw that Nate was wearing a full rabbit onesie, and everyone was acting like it was lame, but I thought it was brilliant so I said that as loud as I could while I was leaving. 

They also announced a castle wide egg hunt, so I went around to try to find all of the eggs I could, which is always a lot of fun. It’s hard not to get lost, but I think at this point, I know my way around the castle well enough. It was fun because I had to get a basket from outside the great hall, and when I did, I guess they were enchanted to make me sprout a rabbit nose and bunny ears. But it went away once I found all nine of the eggs. Which actually made me kinda sad!

In Hufflepuff Hangout, we had an egg war in the long gallery. It was a lot of fun, and I tried to hide on these spiral stairs to keep away from everyone, but Quinn spotted me. I was using Wingardium Leviosa to throw the eggs, and I did pretty good! I think someone might’ve started using some other spells though, because some girls started dancing like they had a dancing jinx, and Marigold was laughing like someone invisible was tickling her. 

While I was looking for eggs later on, I actually ended up finding a sign about one of Professor Dracheblume and Eastwood’s creatures. I think it’s… an ostritch or an emu? I can’t tell. But anyway, apparently it’s name is Dr. Strange and it’s loose in the castle? And we’re not supposed to approach it, so I guess it’s dangerous.

Speaking of dangerous things we’re not supposed to seek out, they’ve been making announcements about some… artifact that’s been loose in the castle, and if you find it, you’re supposed to report it to a professor because apparently it can kill you? So the ministry has been in the castle trying to find it. I hope I don’t run into it… But I’m also incredibly curious.

As far as classes go, I went to dueling club and watched Persephone vomit slugs on Tom by accident (he wasn’t who she was dueling but oh well) and I ended up taking pity on Tom and using wingardium leviosa from up where I was to remove them because he was absolutely losing his gobstones. I also saw Bonnie turn a boy into a frog (which was kind of funny given all the frogs that are everywhere and all this talk of frog princes and… something else I’ll tell you about in a second) and then we also discussed fruit names because of Peach. I said I liked the name Cherry. I also kind of like the name Apple? But as a surname, not a first name. Like Fiona Apple. Anyways! I dueled Arthur but I was so distracted and sleepy by the time it was my turn that I lost. He used the petrifying spell on me. 

In herbology, we learned about something called Preacher’s Porridge. When the professor asked us if we knew what it was, Peach thought of it more literally I guess and said it was porridge that a preacher has… The whole class laughed and the teacher even told her that she should start taking special herbology lessons with her. I had thought it was funny at first, but now I feel bad about it because she seemed really embarrassed. We also learned about sopophorous pods, and I also found out when talking to Talula, Casey, Peach and Aloy in the greenhouses that Casey is going to Egypt on holiday this summer! Which I think is really cool. I hope he takes pictures. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Vikander was odd this week. He had us come in comfortable clothes and bring our cats if we had one. When we came in the room, he’d filled it with pillows and blankets and snacks and stuff. It was basically a sort of guided meditation that he used to sort of help us think about conquering and overcoming our fear. Which, if I think about it, a skeleton is a silly thing, and I don’t know why it terrifies me so other than the fact that my dad used to try to spook me with one. Making it chase me, hiding it around my room, putting my clothes on it. So it’s made me think that maybe some irrational fears are learned? And we can unlearn them! 

In Astronomy we met on the pitch so that Professor Priaulx could help us understand the distances between the planets and such. I actually earled 15 points for Hufflepuff in that class! 5 of that was because I had made the professor laugh when she asked why we weren’t including pluto. I had guessed it was because we ran out of room on the pitch - and had also quoted that one Disney movie. “Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind.” So yeah, I’m pretty proud of that, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her laugh before! I also shared my planet song that my mum had taught me with the class. It goes: Mercury and Venus, Earth and Mars. Flying in an orbit, around the star! (The original lyric was stars but Priaulx corrected it and say they only orbit around the sun, so… One star) Jupiter and Saturn, what a view. Uranus, and Neptune, Pluto too!

In transfigurations, first and second years practiced orchideous while the older years dueled. So we were all up on the second floor of the dueling room, and I was making it rain cherry blossom petals on the students down below. I think it’s the easiest time I’ve ever had with a spell, actually! So it’s definitely a massive step up from the struggles I was having last time we practiced. 

Aside from all of that, yesterday morning I think it was? There was this giant frog croak sound and it literally shook my bed and the walls and startled me out of my sleep! Which was funny because I was having a dream about frogs anyways. But yeah, I think I’ll probably investigate that eventually. No one has said anything about it, really. 

I suppose that’s all for now. I think I’m going to go get lunch. 

Much love, Everly

[ Eve’s Wiki Page ] 

[ Flickr ] 

[toomanysurveys9]

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? we put them in a box and use them as little trash bags.

Are you afraid of being electrocuted? on occasion.

Have you ever slept in a water bed? never slept in one. but i’ve laid on a few.

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback? i don’t really care.

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something? i’m sure that has happened.

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? i cook or we go out. occasionally we eat dinner at my parents.

Did you sleep in or wake up early today? we were awake at like 8:30 am.

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? gross. i am not okay with it.

How do you feel about anal sex? it’s not my favorite.

Does your ex have a job? he’s in prison.

Have you ever slept in a car? yeah. on car rides and whatnot.

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? no. i think 21 is good. at 18 your brain is still developing.

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? i called wyatt baby love.

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom? i was using the bathroom.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody. i had surgery under a week ago. i wish you’d help a little more with wyatt because he’s over my weight limit, and my stitches have been hurting so bad. it sucks that all you want to do is play video games when i’m obviously struggling. but i don’t want to burden you or push him on you...

How often do you use Flickr? i don’t.

Have you ever peed while on the phone? no. i have not.

Have you ever been on a blind date? i have not.

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? it’s way more than a crush. we are married and have been together over nine years and have started our own family. it’ll be nice when we can get our own place without living with my grandparents and everyone else.

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? yeah, we have (i’m going with jake).

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days? nope.

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? not that i can think of, no.

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for.

1. our wedding day. there were so many bumps in the road, but it turned out totally perfect at the end we got married. he was also so sweet and he even choked up and had tears in his eyes and he’s so rarely emotional with me.

2. the first couple hours that we had with wyatt when it was just us. it was amazing watching jacob interact and be excited about having a little boy... i don’t know what happened. he’s still cute with wyatt every now and then but i feel like a single parent 99.9% of the time.

3. when he asked me to be his girlfriend on august 12, 2008. he kept asking for my house number, because he didn’t want to ask me over text (it was back when we didn’t have unlimited calling minutes on cell phones). i didn’t know why he wanted my number though and thought he was going to do something mean, i don’t know. but i finally gave in and he called me when my mom and grandparents left for work and asked me to be his girlfriend.

What did you do yesterday? hung out at home. my throat hurts. wyatt is sick. and i had surgery less than a week ago. so i don’t feel super awesome.

How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed? one romantically. i was dared to kiss kayla once when we were drunk and brittany was dared to kiss me when we were drunk the same night. i’ve kissed family members, too.

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. i’m just going to choose five people i know. kayla seemed to be in a relationship with jose again on september 23. but i haven’t seen her much or got to talk to her much lately. debbie is married. jenna is engaged to my cousin. libby is single. and stephanie is dating a guy.

Have you ever made any of your friends cry? not on purpose.

Does anyone disgust you? a couple people, yes.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change? i wish jacob would help more.

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days? not really.

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it? i don’t have n actual diary, but when i did keep diaries, my mom had read them before.

Tell me about the person you had your first kiss with. How do you feel about that person now? that’d be jacob, and i adore him still..

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages? i probably wouldn’t do anything. i’m generally not a confrontational person. however, mess with wy or jake, and it’s a different story.

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently? well, we just had chinese with kayla and kayden... i had teriyaki chicken and pork fried rice... breakfast was lucky charms so i guess there’s you’re three unhealthy things.

How’s your appetite atm? just had dinner so i’m good.

Is anything annoying you at the moment? nothing i want to talk about.

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? kayla came over and she made me smile a lot.

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. when i was getting ready for surgery. so last wednesday.

What makes someone a good friend? someone i have a lot in common with, a good sense of humour, loyal and genuinely interested in my life vice versa. < Sure. <–Sounds good. <<< I’ll keep this going. <<<<< same.

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? probably not. lol. last picture that was taken of me was by my mom before i went back for surgery.

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t? i don’t know. it’s been awhile i guess.

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care? for the most part, probably not. but sometimes i really want it, so those times it’d suck. i’d have to find a replacement.

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you? we’re married.

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon? just hanging out with wy and jake.

What will you be doing in 30 mins? probably just hanging out with wyatt.

Was today better than yesterday? a little because i got to see kayla.

Will tomorrow be better than today? doubt it. plus i’ll probably be taking wyatt to the doctor tomorrow. he’s sick and i’m worried he’s going to get dehydrated...

[skiasurveys]

Cant stop overthinking smh

What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things?
Reuse them as garbage bags

Are you afraid of being electrocuted?
Not reallyyyyy but that would be horrible

Have you ever slept in a water bed?
No.

What do you think about Britney Spears comeback?
this is a dated survey lol

Ever bite your tongue twice in a row while eating something?
more so my cheek than my tongue

Do you cook your own meals or do your parents? 
I cook my own meals but Mom cooks more. I live at home still but I like to cook my own meals or cook for everyone. That way I am not that fucked when I move out !

Did you sleep in or wake up early today?
I slept in

How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? 
I feel like it wouldn’t be any different and it would be messy. I wouldn’t do it, I don’t like the idea tbh, but I’m sure my boyfriend would not like that either. I did get my period once during sex ..lol that was awkward, he wasn’t weird about it tho

How do you feel about anal sex?
i don’t mind it but it hurts a lot even with lube, so I rather not do it. My boyfriend is larger too so that also plays a huge part.lol pun unintended

Does your ex have a job?
I’m sure but I don’t talk to him

Have you ever slept in a car?
During long car rides. <– same

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18? 
It is where I am from. And honestly I think 18 is OK but I honestly do think 21 is better

What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? 
Babe I think

What were you doing the last time you were in the bathroom?
Peeing.

Without naming any names, say something to somebody.
i love you sorry for being so overbearing some times

How often do you use Flickr? 
I don’t use it

Have you ever peed while on the phone?
No lol

Have you ever been on a blind date? 
No

Do you have a crush on the last person you texted?
No

Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed?
Yeah

Has anyone made you cry in the last 3 days?
I don’t think so

Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else?
Haha yeah

Share 3 nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for.
1) Our first date which was weird because I met him on Okcupid so I wasn’t sure about it. But he was the first boy I was actually completely comfortable with within the first 10 minutes. We played super smash brothers melee and then we went to a Vietnamese place and he talked about Pokémon for like an hour. That’s when I knew he was perfect for me LOL. We also kissed while watching a Donald Trump meme video

2) Before we started to date we used to play elder scrolls online for the ps4 all the time. We talked on the headset and I remember when we were just flirting and we spent all night jus talking and gaming and having fun and it was honestly the first time I felt completely happy with someone.

3)Staying up all night talking about our fears and stuff we want to do, and us just having complete fun, and feeling safe with him. I love staying up all night just talking with him.

How many of your Facebook friends have you kissed?
Like 2 or 3

Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status.
most of are single

Have you ever made any of your friends cry?
Yes.

Does anyone disgust you?
Yes.

Is there anything about your life at the moment that you’d like to change?
I wish I was employed cause ya know been unemployed for literally like 10 months now but ya know. <- same omg

Do you regret anything you’ve done in the last 7 days?
I kinda regret feeling like I’m forcing Connor to be with me for the past 24/7 even tho 8 don’t but I Sometimes get clingy

Do you keep a diary? And if you do, has anyone ever read it?
i use a journal and sometimes write my feelings but not a actual diary thing

Tell me about the person you had your first kiss with. How do you feel about that person now?
he is just some dude I kinda liked in high school but not overly. He was funny but I didn’t like him that much and he was a horrible kisser lol . I don’t feel anything besides the fact that he is kinda funny and has mutual friends with my current boyfriend which is weird.

What would you do about someone who was sending you mixed messages?
uhhh in terms of dating ..? Usually I just ask them flat out

What are the 3 unhealthiest things you’ve eaten most recently?
McDonald’s, a donut and popcorn

How’s your appetite atm?
not hungry

Is anything annoying you at the moment?
yes

Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most?
there’s a few

Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward.
my boyfriend telling me he feels trapped cus idk why he said that or what he means tbh

What makes someone a good friend?
someone i have a lot in common with, a good sense of humour, loyal and genuinely interested in my life vice versa. < Sure. <–Sounds good. <<< I’ll keep this going. <– same. <- well I can’t break the cycle

Do you look decent in your most recent photograph?Sure

When was the last time you wanted to laugh, but felt like you couldn’t?
Idk

If they decided to stop making chocolate tomorrow, would you care?
no . Chocolate isn’t my fav thing.

What’s your relationship with the last person who put their arms around you?
My boyfriend

What were you doing at 4 o'clock this afternoon?
homework

What will you be doing in 30 mins?
trying to sleep I think

Was today better than yesterday?
Eh

Will tomorrow be better than today?
I hope so!