#i have a feelin todays gonna be another super busy one but i’ll hop on if/when i get a free moment!! :3

[yuukimiyas]

hello!! ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა & good mornie!! we’re halfway through the wk!! woo!! i hope today goes so well for everybunny!! lets continue to treat ourselves & the world w so much kindness!! <33 im bringin you all a fresh cup of coffee in your absolute fave mug!! ᜊ꒰ ᜊ ´ ˘꒱ ੭♡ ilya so so sm!!

[lickstynine]

Misadventures of Kit: Chapter Thirty-One

written with @ocsickficsideblog​

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Kit was still snoring spectacularly when the smell of pancakes came wafting through the house. The kitchen was bustling with hungry redheads, all elbowing each other for the first plate. Surprisingly, it wasn't a desire for food that woke Alistair. Siofra had accidentally left the door ajar when she went to get breakfast, and Finny took the invitation, leaping onto the bed and snuffling the boys. Alistair squealed under the mound of dog on his head, then spluttered with laugher. “Finny! You scared me to death.”

Finny boofed cheerfully in response, shoving his nose under the blankets to give Alistair's face a lick. Kit was scrambling around in his heap of blankets, woken by the commotion.

“It’s okay, Kit, it’s just Finny,” Alistair said, trying to sit up. “Happy Boxing Day.”

"Happier if I wasn't being assaulted in my sleep." Kit grumbled. Finny boofed and licked him as well. Kit shrieked.

Alistair laughed. “He just licked you, Kit!”

"I know! It's disgusting! Now I smell like dog!" Kit wailed. Siofra's head popped in the door, her hair frizzy from sleeping.

"Who's gettin' murdered in here?"

“Kit’s being licked to death,” Alistair said.

"Get off 'im, then." Siofra laughed. She let Kit squirm under Finny a moment longer before yelling "Oi! Get down." The dog hopped off the bed at once, cheerfully wagging his tail. Kit popped out of the blankets, red-faced and horrified.

"I've been defiled."

"Ain't the first time. Shower's open, if ye want it." Siofra offered. Kit nodded, and she went off to find him a fresh towel.

“I wish you two wouldn’t say gross shit in front of me,” Alistair sighed.

"And I wish you wouldn't lick your fingers when you eat something sticky." Kit replied, climbing out of bed to search through his luggage for a change of clothes.

“What else am I supposed to do with them?”

"Wipe them on a napkin! Wash them! Anything else!" Kit cried, thumbing between several pairs of sleek, dark jeans. He'd set out a sweater already, navy-blue cashmere with accented stitching around the collar. Eventually, he settled on the charcoal jeans, grabbing a pair of blue-black socks to finish it off. "I'm going to shower. Don't let the dog follow me."

Finny boofed at Alistair, wagging his tail. Alistair shook his head. “I appreciate you, Finny.” Finny hopped back onto the bed, climbing onto Alistair's chest to lick his face. Siofra peeked in a moment later, having thrown a stack of towels at Kit.

"Oi, you comin' to break — dammit, Finny, I toldja get off!"

Finny whined dramatically, turning to give Siofra a sad look. Alistair grinned. “Come on, Finny, I’ll feed you a bit of breakfast,” he whispered.

The dog jumped off the bed at once, trotting to the kitchen with Alistair in tow. Siofra shook her head, closing the door behind them to get dressed. "Idiots."

Gran was still in the kitchen, a massive bowl of pancake batter slowly depleting beside the stove. Riagán and Mr. Rafferty were sitting at the table eating, while Cillian waited for her to finish piling his second plate. She didn't hear Alistair come in, but she felt Finny nosing her side in search of food.

"Well, hello there, mister. I'm afraid these aren't for you," said Gran. Finny whined dramatically, but she just shook her head. "Try someone more gullible, dear." Finny quickly turned to look at Alistair again. Cillian snorted. Even Alistair smiled, putting a finger to his lips conspiratorially in Finny's direction. Now Gran followed Finny's gaze. "Mr. Heathen! Were ye plannin' to say good mornin', or didja just wanna stand there all day?"

“Um. Morning?” Alistair went red. His own family had never greeted each other kindly, morning or otherwise.

Gran laughed. “I ain’t gonna bite, I just wanted a hello. Ye want some pancakes?” She asked, gesturing with the pan as she flipped a cake.

“Yes please.”

“Alright, hang on.” Gran hip-checked Cillian out of the way, grabbing a fresh plate to stack pancakes on. He cried out in protest.

“Gran! I’ve been waitin’!”

“For yer seconds. Be patient, fat-arse, you’ve already outgrown the poor lad.” Gran said, dropping a pancake on the plate and pouring a fresh one. Once it was cooking peacefully in the pan, she turned to Alistair. “Help yerself to a drink while ya wait. I’ve got tea, coffee, milk.” She gestured towards the fridge with her spatula. Alistair got a coffee, going to sit at the table. He still wasn’t completely comfortable talking to all Siofra’s lively family.

Riagan and Mr. Rafferty looked up from their plates, nodding at him. It was Riagan who spoke first, since he knew Alistair better. “Ye ever call your boyfriend, or didja just talk about it an’ forget?” He asked.

“I called him after Kit went to sleep.”

“He doin’ alright?” Riagan asked. He wasn’t super familiar with Julius, but it was hard to hate someone who was basically an anthropomorphic lamb.

“Yeah… His family all love each other and everything. He actually likes going home,” Alistair said. He sighed. “Miss him though.”

“Gay.” Riagan grinned, taking another bite of his pancakes. Gran thumped him.

“If yer gonna take the piss out’o someone, at least be creative.”

“It’s alright, it was an accurate statement,” Alistair said.

Gran chuckled and shook her head. "I'll never understand you children. But at least I know how to feed ya." She offered Alistair a towering plate of pancakes. "Syrup's on the table."

He took it and poured a liberal amount, glad Kit wasn’t around yet to tell him how gross all that sweet stuff was. It still looked like a snack compared to the portions Siofra’s brothers were eating. A cold, wet nose brushed up against his leg, and Finny boofed, having been promised a snack. Alistair slipped him a pancake under the table, looking around for someone with bacon. He’d have to quickly pinch a streak, since Siofra knew he didn’t eat meat. Finny happily scarfed the pancake. There was a plate of bacon in the middle of the table, next to a heap of scrambled eggs. Alistair waited until everyone seemed distracted by their own plates, then hastily grabbed a couple of rashers and dropped them on the floor for Finny. The dog was crunching happily when his owner walked in.

"Oi, what'd I miss?" Siofra asked, grabbing a coffee and dropping down next to Alistair.

"Nothing interesting, I'm afraid." Gran said. "Where's yer lovely date got off to? Still asleep?"

“He was in the shower when I left,” Alistair said.

"Finny licked 'im." Siofra grinned, "'e was shriekin' like I beat 'im with a bag'o bubonic plague."

“He’s always been like that with animals. On the island he used to run away screaming when I caught lizards to show him,” Alistair said.

Riagán snorted. "How big were they?"

“Small enough for a fat five year old to catch them and carry them around.”

Now both brothers were cackling. "Don't he have dragon tattoos?" Cillian asked.

"Yep." Siofra laughed, "Not scared'o needles or giant monsters, but a lil salamander? Lord save 'im."

“Anything small, really. Including children,” Alistair said.

"I don't like children because they're messy and loud. Though based on that, it's a miracle I like you," came Kit's voice from down the hall. "By the way," he continued, "it's rude to talk about people when they're not around."

"Sorry! Thought ye were busy bein' a germaphobe!" Siofra called back.

"I'm done showering. Just brushing my hair now." Kit's usual hour-long shower had been interrupted by the freezing reality of a small water heater tank.

"Oh, so we'll see ye next year then?" Siofra asked.

"You'll see me never with that attitude!" Kit said, hoping she couldn't hear his muffled laugh.

“It’ll be way longer than next year. Practically next Christmas,” Alistair said.

"Very funny, Al! I keep my hair nice, so it doesn't take nearly as long to brush as yours." Kit quipped back.

“I don’t brush mine.”

"Is that why ya look so shitty?" Siofra asked, grinning.

“Partly. The rest is my face,” Alistair said, deadpan.

"Maybe that's why Julie likes ya. He's too short to have a good view of either." Riagán offered.

“He’s just very very good at liking ugly shit if it’s on me. He’s very tolerant of it.”

"It's truly a miracle you found him." Kit said, finally coming to sit at the table with everyone. He had no interest in pancakes, or bacon for that matter, but he grabbed a mug of tea before sitting down. He saw Alistair once when he was grabbing bacon for Finny, and Alistair made eyes at him not to tell anyone. Kit just rolled his eyes and went back to stirring his tea. "Do you all do anything special on Boxing Day?" He asked.

"Not really." Siofra shrugged. "Sometimes if we're feelin' nice, we'll go help neighbours shovel snow, but… I don't feel that nice today. We'll probably just go down to the park in a bit, walk Finny, go sledgin'."

"Ah. Fun." Kit forced a smile, but he couldn't have been less excited.

Alistair snorted. “If you’re looking for a way to dispose of Kit, there’s plenty of quicker ways than hypothermia.”

"Well, I figured ‘e'd wear a jacket… or ten." Siofra shrugged. "I have some extras he can put over top if need be."

Kit tried to smile gratefully, but he was really grimacing.

“He’s really not a fan of the cold…”

"Well I know that. What would ya rather do, then, Ice Princess?" Siofra asked.

Kit ducked his head sheepishly. "I don't want to interrupt your plans. If I don't go, I'll help Al set up his new tablet -" Siofra snorted, and Kit amended, "keep him company while he sets it up."

"Maybe he wants to go sledgin' with Finny." Siofra challenged, her tone light and teasing.

"Then I'll just stay here and become your grandmother's new favourite." Kit teased back.

"You're already in the runnin’," Gran piped up, setting the last of the pancakes on the center of the table. She'd finally run out of batter and was sitting down with a cup of tea.

“I’d go. I haven’t been sledding since…” He paused. “I don’t even know. Since I was like, five.”

"Really?" Even Kit looked surprised. "Julie never wanted to go?"

“It’s never really snowed when we’ve been visiting his family, I know he’s gone before. There’s nowhere to sled in the city,” he said. “Plus I worry about him out in the cold for a long time. He starts coughing a lot.”

"Ah, that's fair. I haven't been sledding since hypothermia. I took Elle skating a few times, though." Kit mused.

"Elle? Is that the guy who booted ye just before we met?" Siofra asked.

"Yeah…" Kit said, grinning sheepishly.

"Who would ever dump you?" Gran cried incredulously.

"Oh, he… he was right to do it. I was being a pretty lousy boyfriend." Kit replied hastily.

"Oh, I doubt that. You're such a charmin’ young man!"

Siofra kicked lightly at her grandmother under the table, muttering in Gaelic, "Stuff it Gran. It was a mess and he's probably still upset."

Gran begrudgingly quieted down, while Kit just sipped his tea, realizing he'd never told Siofra he knew Gaelic. He glanced over at Alistair, suddenly unsure if he'd told his cousin either. Alistair winked at him, grinning. He knew alright. Kit smiled back over his mug, taking another sip before saying, "If you all really want to go, I suppose I could climb inside a taxidermied polar bear and brave the weather."

“Imagine if you did. All the other people sledding would shit their pants,” Alistair snorted. “Remember when we went around your father’s house putting sandwiches in the mouths of all his taxidermied animals?” By “we” Alistair really meant himself, Kit had just been present (and begging him to stop the whole time).

"I remember." Kit sighed. "They didn't find all the sandwiches right away, and Father was rioting for a week because the house smelled like mayonnaise."

“I’m still pretty proud of that,” Alistair admitted.

"Of course you are." Kit rolled his eyes, looking over at Siofra as she stood up from the table and gathered empty plates. He took his empty mug to the sink himself, following along after her. "Are we… intruding? I feel like this should be a thing for your family and Al and I are interrupting."

"Well, if it were a thing for my family, there'd be near thirty more people here. My dad's brother has five kids, and my mum had five siblings, and most'o them have kids, and almost half'o those kids have kids. We just like to see Gran when we get a chance. If ye were intrudin', ye wouldn't'a been invited in the first place." She shrugged, taking the mug from him to wash in the sink with the plates. "Go start puttin' sweaters on. I'm sure I'll be done before ya."

"I don't need that many sweaters…" Kit mumbled, but he hurried away nonetheless. The necklace Alistair had given him was sitting under his current sweater — he wondered if it would be safe. The chain felt so fragile, he was afraid tumbling down a hill could snap it.

Alistair followed him, nudging his cousin. “Irish family, huh? All those siblings and kids.”

"I mean, mum's family was pretty big up until her generation. And Grandfather had like seven siblings." Kit pointed out. He dug through his bags, pulling out several sweaters. "Do you think my necklace will be safe or should I take it off?"

“It’ll probably be okay under your million layers. Sledging isn’t much of an extreme sport. Or at least it wasn’t last time I did it,” Alistair said. He paused. “Seven siblings? I thought it was five! Which two am I missing..?”

"Catherine and Bernard." Kit replied without hesitation. They'd had this conversation quite a few times.

“Oh yeah, those two. Catherine was that one who used to give me cough sweets and call it candy. Why do weird old people do that?”

"I think that was candy by their standards. The olden days didn't have a lot of sweet flavouring." Kit shrugged. "Help me with this sweater?"

Alistair pulled it over Kit’s head. “Don’t know why you have maids when you’ve got me, you know.”

"The maids know how to clean. But they're not here." Kit shrugged, smoothing out his new layer before handing Alistair another sweater.

“I can clean,” Alistair said, pulling the new sweater on too. “Just not obsessively.”

"Mnn, you say that, but I've seen you with chocolate on your face hours after you last ate." Kit countered, looking in the mirror at his last sweater. He still wasn't as wide at the waist as Alistair, but he no longer looked like a skeleton with so many layers.

“I was only little!” Alistair nudged him gently. “You’ve probably put on thirty pounds with those coats.”

"More like ten. I don't think I'd be able to stand if it were thirty." Kit laughed, pulling out several thick coats from another suitcase. He laid them on the bed in order of how he'd put them on, reaching back in the suitcase for a long cashmere scarf, a luxurious dark-furred ushanka hat, and equally well-lined leather gloves. He wrapped the scarf snugly round his neck before beginning to layer on coats.

“How have you never been mugged?” Alistair sighed. “You’re exactly the type of person they’d target.”

"I don't go where people get mugged." Kit replied flatly. "Help me button my coat?" He asked. He'd tucked his gloves into the sleeves of the last one, but now he wasn't nimble enough to button. Alistair rolled his eyes and helped him.

“You’re like one of my kids.”

"Are you working with children already in your training?" Kit looked surprised, then felt like an ass for not knowing.

“Not as much as I’d like, and not care kids yet. We mostly just help out at holiday camps and classrooms. But it’s still great fun,” Alistair said.

Kit shook his head. "I can't imagine doing that voluntarily, much less enjoying it." He smoothed his outermost coat. "You need to put on a coat, too. Did you pack something warm?"

“Of course I did.” He pulled on his own coat, which was a good deal cheaper and shabbier than Kit’s, as usual.  

Siofra came into the room as Alistair was putting on his jacket. She took on look at Kit, who was twice as broad as usual with layers of coats swallowing him, and burst out laughing. "Fuckin' hell! Are ye on yer way to Moscow?"

"Ew, no. There are better places in Russia to visit. And better places to visit than Russia." Kit replied.

Siofra rolled her eyes, muttering about jet-setting posh boys as she took off her t-shirt, throwing it in Kit's face. She grabbed a sweater from her bag, pulling that on and digging through a haphazardly packed heap of clothes in search of a proper coat. Kit struggled to get her shirt off his face, as his many layers made it hard to fully bend his arms. Siofra looked up when he made a frustrated noise, only to howl with laughter again. Alistair joined in too. “You look a little kid in a snowsuit!”

"I just don't want to get cold!" Kit cried indignantly. Even he couldn't help starting to laugh at the absurdity as he fruitlessly struggled to bend his elbows enough to grab the shirt. He gave up flailing before long. "Sheef, please. Help."

Siofra popped up from where she'd stuffed her head in her suitcase, reaching over and snatching the shirt effortlessly off his face. She threw it on the floor and kissed his cheek. "There ye go. Idiot." Turning back to her bag, she stuffed seemingly her whole arm into the sea of clothes, rifling around for a minute before feeling a familiar waterproof lining. "A-ha!" She cried, triumphantly yanking the coat out of her suitcase. Several other things came flying out of the bag, but she just kicked them under the chair the suitcase was sitting in.

Kit was staring at her in astonishment. He couldn't understand how anyone could live with such chaos, much less find anything in it. Siofra saw him gawking, and she grinned, grabbing a beanie and gloves from the side pocket of her suitcase. "What's got ye so fascinated? My shirt ain't even off."

"How did you even find that in there?"

"I knew I packed it. Knew what it felt like. Just gotta keep gropin'." Siofra shrugged, slinging the jacket around her shoulders and stuffing her arms through the sleeves.

“All his stuff is meticulously organised,” Alistair explained.

"Yea, but does he organize it, or does the help do it?" Siofra asked, doing a mockingly posh accent when she said ‘the help.'

“What do you think?” Alistair muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Figured." Siofra shook her head. "C'mon, princess, my brothers are waitin' on us." She said, dragging Kit along while he whined about how he paid his servants and they weren't slaves or anything.

“They’re actually quite decent, most of them,” Alistair said. “When I was little they’d slip me sweets if I sang silly nursery rhymes for them.”

"Still gotta be lousy to spend yer life workin' for some rich wanker. Can't imagine livin' back when everybody did." Siofra grumbled.

"I mean, you'd probably be a court performer or something. Might even find yourself a decent husband if you struck a minor nobleman's fancy." Kit offered.

Siofra scoffed. "Oh, yeah. That's way better. Be a dancin' monkey an' then upgrade to fucktoy."

“I don’t think most would dance anyway. Not back then. Only the pretty ones,” Alistair added.

"Are ye sayin' I ain't even pretty enough to dance for rich twats?" Siofra raised one eyebrow menacingly.

“No, I’m just saying it’s even more unfair if you happen to be poor and ugly.”

"Oh. Fair. It'd be shit to be you back then, eh?" She asked.

Kit laughed so hard, he snorted, and he instinctively covered his mouth. Embarrassed as he was, he couldn't help adding, "No, Al was born noble. He'd just be hidden in a tower where no one could see him, sort of like Quasimodo."

“Fine! He had way more fun. I’d spend my time climbing over the roof and rescuing gypsy girls,” Alistair said.

"Who's stealin’ gypsies?" Gran asked, giving them a confused look as they walked into the living room.

"Don't worry about it." Siofra laughed. "Did the lads already grab the sledges?"

"Yep. They're waitin' out front." Gran nodded. Siofra hugged her before heading for the door.

"We'll be back in a bit."

"Don't rush yer fun. I'll just be nappin'." Gran said, grinning and pulling down Siofra's hat over her eyes. "Dont freeze, either."

Siofra laughed and fixed her hat. "See ye, Gran." She led the boys outside, where her brothers had shoveled earlier this morning. The path was still fairly clear, since it had stopped snowing around dawn. The second she stepped outside, Riagán nailed her in the face with a snowball. She yelped, and Finny came galloping over to see what was wrong.

"Finny, he got me!" She cried, "Avenge me!"

Finny boofed and sped off towards Riagán, tackling him into the snow. He yelled when the dog hit him, but he was laughing before he hit the ground. He wrestled with Finny for a bit before climbing to his feet. "C'mon, boy! We're goin' to the park! Can ya lead the way?" He asked. That was all the incentive Finny needed to go dashing through the snow, Cillian and Riagán close behind. Siofra walked a bit slower, knowing Kit wouldn't be able to keep pace. Alistair stuck by his side too, almost instinctively.

[victakestaipei]

WEEK 3 RECAP: 9 min mile, SZA, and The Red Poop Scare

This week was not very eventful. Sorry to say folks, but it’s not going to be exciting all the time right? You have to have boring/uneventful days to balance out the exciting ones. I guess it makes you appreciate them more... But regardless of this fact, I still am going to write about the week due to the fact that I’m trying to stay consistent and make blogging feel like a habit/hobby, rather than a chore (at times). If you keep reading and get to the end of this post, you the GOAT!

Monday: 

I was super exhausted this morning from the long weekend (visiting Longdong and Fulong)... I didn’t want to get out of bed and it took all of my strength to get up and climb down the ladder from my bunk bed. I also was still recovering from the first real sunburn I’d had in years, so pulling on my sports bra and t-shirt this morning was definitely a wake up call. In class we had our third test of the course. It was definitely harder than the previous two, but I still think I did well. Class dragged on harder and slower than ever before... I found myself counting down the minutes until 1:10pm.. and it seems like I wasn’t the only one hehe

At the gym it was floor day/abs. So I did mostly floor work with a matt. The weight lifting area of the gym is pretty small so usually when I use a matt I take it outside of the weight lifting room and do my sets in the hallway/foyer. But, there is no air conditioning out here so I find myself dripping sweat onto the matt and it’s just a mess.  ALSO!! I actually ran a mile today, in 9 minutes! That was my goal cut off time and I made it by the skin of my teeth. So I ran the 1.6 kilometers in 9 minutes... Not too shabby from last week ;)

For lunch Bunny and I grabbed potstickers to go (I got the curry flavor) and hopped on the bus to head home. We didn't feel like sitting and having lunch because we are still recovering from the weekend and were super tired. After I got home I hopped on FaceTime and caught up with Karis and some other loved ones. I wanted to take a nap, but I figured it might be better to just stay up so that I can sleep real good when I finally hit the hay. For dinner Bunny made rice, scrambled eggs, and we picked up some fried chicken from the food stand place by our dorm. I had bought a dozen eggs the weekend before in the grocery store, and they were going to go bad soon so we had to figure out what we were going to do with them. It turned out to be a really good dinner. I finished my blog post about Fulong today, and also did some personal journaling of my own before starting my homework. Today was a bit of a moody/emotional day, and I'm not sure why. But it feels good to write. It always feels good to write...

Tuesday: 

So as it turns out, I got a 97% on my test from yesterday!!! Feelin’ good. Feelin’ like a smarty pants. We also had a written quiz today too on the dialogue. I got a 94% on that. I’m really starting to get the hang of writing traditional, and I’m actually glad I chose Taiwan as my study abroad destination, so that I could learn both forms of written Mandarin. I know it’ll pay off in the long run when I’m making dem big bucks! Hehe (kidding)... ((kindof)).

In the gym I ran another 9 min mile. It was also leg day (my favorite)!!... When I got home I bought my SZA ticket. I AM SO EXCITED YOU ALL HAVE NO IDEA. I have been listening to this woman for years now and she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves and I’m so happy for her :-’) I’ll be seeing her with Poirshea in Sacramento in September. Can't wait. Gonna die of excitement!!! P and I really bond over SZA and love her to death and I’m so glad we’re going to experience her music live together. Twin bonding at it’s finest. 

I miss you Twin!!! 

Sza is so adorable I just can’t!!!! Ugh. 

Anways, for lunch the three of us went back to the soy sauce braised place, and filled up on udon noodles, veggies and tofu. I got it a bit spicier than last time.. and it was really really good. WAYY better than last time! For dinner I was still pretty full off of lunch, so Bunny and I went to the street market around 10:30pm to get some fruit and egg scallion pancakes. I NEED to learn how to make these pancakes at home because they're so dang good. I will make them everyday for every meal. BOMB.COM. Egg scallion pancakes are basically green onions, eggs, and dough in pancake form... sounds odd, but man is it tasty!

Wednesday: 

Today I jumped up out the bed at 9:52am like I was just ressurected from the dead. And for those of you who don’t know, my class starts at 10:20am. Bunny was still knocked out when I was startled out of bed.. so we found ourselves throwing on clothes and rushing out the door. We ran to the bus stop, and was only about 10 min late to our class. Thankfully our teacher wasn't upset or anything... But right after we arrived we had a quiz waiting on us at the do’

I’m not sure about my grade yet, but I don’t think I did so well. I was drawing a lot of blanks because I was still frazzled from rushing this morning. After class we got something small to eat before the gym because at this point it's 1:30pm and I'm starVING!!! At the gym I did a really really quick back day, because there’s a class that meets in the gym at 2:20 on Mon/Wed/Fri so usually I have to do short workouts on those days. 

After the gym we headed to a fruit stand to get mango smoothies and dragon fruit... *REMEMBER THIS* 

I wasn't super hungry because of the food I had before the gym. And then we went home, did homework, took a nap, and watched netflix. At around 9 Bunny and I went to get potstickers at the place by our dorm. That place is the best ever. 

Thursday: 

This morning we actually woke up on time. We were even able to gnab some bread at the local bakery before class. I usually pair my morning bread with a tea of sorts... I’ve been drinking alot of green tea lately, and I really really love the green tea infused with passionfruit. So so good. But, I’ve come to find out on days that I don’t have any tea or milk tea, I get massive massive caffeine headaches. I used to get them alot when I would stop drinking coffee after a few days... But I didn’t think this would still happen to me because the caffeine amount in green tea is so much smaller... who knows. But nonetheless, the tea is worth it!!! 

We had a quiz in class today, and before the end of the three hour period, she sprang a test on us right there at the end. She did this because alot of us (4 out of the 9) will be absent tomorrow due to travel. There’s another student in our class (the Swiss guy) who’s going to Seoul, South Korea this weekend, and he left midway through our class. And then the three of us (Bunny, Nick, and I) leave for the Philippines tonight at like 2am.

Also in class I got called Beyoncé more than I wanted to... Our teacher first brought up Shakira, and asked us if we all have heard of her before (which obviously we have), but she just learned of this Columbian singer’s existence and was tickled/excited to share the news. She then brought up Beyonce and drew the conclusion that I look strikingly similar to the superstar mother of three. I can admit it is quite the compliment, but Lord knows she only thinks this because we are both lightskin, tall women. Hooray for racial insensitivity!!!

At the gym it was leg day once again (it’s Thursday, duh!). I ended up running a 8:40 mile! I definitely shaved off some seconds. SO Proud. Drenched in sweat!

For lunch we went back to that Malaysian place with the sweet lady who showed us pictures of her 8month old grandson. I love her. I ordered the hot/sour Chicken with potato wedges... so incredibly bomb. 

Bunny and I went home after lunch and packed for our trip to the Philippines this weekend, as well as napped. I went to the bathroom and had the fright of a LIFETIME. Which brings me to the “Red Poop Scare” segment of this blog post.... 

I have had problems pooping regularly since I’ve gotten here, I think partly due to my change in diet and stress levels... but nonethless it has only just started to get more regular/consistent. So just IMAGINE my shock when I went to handle my business and my poop was RED!!! I’m talking BRIGHT RED/MAGENTA!!! I thought I was dying!!! Blood in my stool??? Can you IMAGINE!!! I would have had to find a doctor here in Taiwan and omg the HORROR. But when I was handling my business there was no pain or strain or anything... so it was also pretty confusing. After I went back into the room and talked to my roommate I realized that I had DRAGONFRUIT YESTERDAY!!! Which is conveniently the same exact color as my poop. So that was exciting and a relief to realize. It was only that color because of the fruit I had the previous day. THANK YOU JESUS I AM ALIVE AND HEALTHY AND IT WAS NOT BLOOD. 

....I’ve come to realize that maybe this segment of the blog is a bit TMI... but I also told myself that if I’m going to blog, It’s going to be as open and honest and transparent as possible.. everyone has poop probs am I right??? 

Anyway,

We also did a quick run to the night market before taking the MRT to the airport. At the night market we got some more food to eat because we knew the journey to get to Philippines would be long. We were to land at 4am. And we left to the airport around 10:15pm. It takes about 45-hour to get to the airport, plus we wanted to allow enough time to check in, go through security, etc before our plane departed at 1:45am.

Here’s some pics of the wanton/noodles I bought and the really really good burger I had at the Night Market.. THE BURGER MIGHT BE BETTER THAN IN-N-OUT DONT @ ME

I’ll come back with another post about the Philippines!

until then, xoxo

[cosmosogler]

tired.

i had trouble sleeping last night again. i woke up really early. before the sun was up. dreamed about a road trip i’m pretty sure. i don’t remember the details. when my alarm went off i was so tired i set it to snooze for another 15 minutes, so i got up at 7:35.

i goofed off for a while instead of hopping to it. i had a real small breakfast because i just didn’t feel like making anything. tomorrow i’ll make some eggs... today i was so wiped from not having a big breakfast.

so i went downstairs to the gym at 9...? i was on the bike for the full 20 minutes (i even did a “sprint” thing at the end where i doubled the difficulty setting!) and then i swam 8 laps in the pool. while i was flailing around in the water i accidentally got a mouthful of chlorine water and that made me really sick about 20 minutes later.

i showered and stuff and got the laundry started. it was about 10:40 when i started cleaning the apartment. i’ve been feelin pretty sick in the mornings lately, so i figured, well, it wouldn’t hurt to give the bathroom and kitchen a good wipe-down. so i did that for a while. then it was 11:30 so i decided to head out to the bike shop.

i called mom for a quick check on the directions and it sounded like i had woken her up. she didn’t understand that there are two “7th street”s here, one on either side of main street. the bike shop was at the closer one.

at first i couldn’t find the shop. then i saw a tiny sign pointing at a back alley and i thought, “seems legit,” and walked back there. there was a door, and next to it, a 2-foot-long wooden fence that opened up into a driveway. i went through the door.

it took me a minute to find the guy. i was kind of overwhelmed by all the stuff arranged on the walls and laid out on the floor and hanging from the ceiling. eventually my timid “hello?”s got his attention. he had a single bike (out of like a hundred) that was a good size and weight for me. he didn’t have any helmets my size that i liked. 

riding the bike to test it out and see what needed to be repaired, i was struck by how i’ve... kind of forgotten how to ride a bicycle. i didn’t feel comfortable just rolling out into the back street with it, especially on game day when everyone’s looking for obscure parking, and then making a lap around the parking lot across the street was actually stressful and wobbly. 

i hung out there for a while as he fixed the brakes and i checked out some lights and locks and baskets. it ended up costing less than half of what mom had told me to expect. that was pretty cool. i rode the bike home and wobbled down the sidewalk and i might have been holding my breath for most of the 3-minute ride. there’s no bike lane on the main street and there’s... stuff on the sidewalks. 

when i got home i made a small lunch and ordered a helmet online. and i continued my laundry adventure. i’d gotten home at 12:40 so that was nice. at about 2 i went out to the grocery store. i didn’t bring my bike because i didn’t have a helmet. i forgot to see if they have bike racks in the parking lot too.

i spent a lot more money than usual but now that i have TWO canvas bags i can carry everything i need no problem. i found tofu and tempeh finally, so maybe next weekend i can make something that will be filling for lunch every day. tempeh’s SUPER good on soft tacos.

i got home at three. not ENTIRELY sure what i did until 4, but at 4 i swept the floors and brushed snoopy and gave her some cookies and made orange veggie chicken for dinner and had some peppermint tea. then i set aside about 15 minutes to stretch and another 10 to do a longer guided meditation. i fussed over my laundry for a little bit and then around 6:30...? i sat down on the smaller couch and read my textbook. i took a long break to have a snack and switch out the laundry, and then i read again and then it was 8:30. i finished more than half the chapter.

i mean, i’d meant to get more done... but i was aware that i might not get ANYTHING done because of all the running around i had to do. and reading for 90 minutes is pretty good all things considered. i arranged to do homework with keegan tomorrow afternoon- i’m going to go in to the department in the morning and work on the homework myself and then when keegan and soham get there i’ll have some questions ready. i’m stressed that i need to finish two full assignments though along with an unknown amount of textbook reading. i’ll have to pack a lot of food in my lunchbox and prepare to walk home after the bus routes end.

not riding the bike yet because i don’t have a helmet. 

i didn’t do much after i stopped reading at 8:30. i checked some updated comics at my usual 9, one of which prompted me to go back through the archives for 20 minutes because i just enjoy it so much. then i started writing here. 

you know, i actually didn’t watch ANY youtube videos today other than loading up some music. i still got distracted for a while this morning, but it wasn’t because i was watchin tv. 

i also composed a long email to my, uh, aunt linda. she’s uncle don’s cousin i think. i’ve visited with them before since they live in phoenix, i wrote about it here a few months ago, in like may i think.

i dunno i feel pretty comfortable being frank with them about how i’m doing. i guess it’s partly because i feel like it ain’t gonna hurt me if i’m honest. i, i guess, i wish i had met her and david sooner. i can’t really imagine having a reason to connect with them before grandma pearl died, i don’t think i knew they lived in phoenix or how to contact them. pearl talked about them a lot though and they visited with her fairly often. 

anyway overall i’m feeling pretty uneasy but it’s nice to be tired from running around all day again, instead of existentially tired. i mean i’m still existentially tired but i also feel like i might be able to sleep when i do go to bed.

i am not sure how well keegan and soham and i are going to be able to do the homework together. when i was working with keegan and harrison yesterday the three of us were VERY distractible. soham seems a little more business-oriented but i haven’t spoken with him personally before and i don’t know how comfortable i feel about being helpless and needy about the homework in front of him. suzanne should be there too hopefully... we do have long conversations but those usually come in between actually finishing actual homework problems.

can i actually do nine homework problems tomorrow...? probably not. but i’ll give it my best shot.

[junker-town]

Trash Or Nawl: The 10 trash albums of the year

Welcome to Trash Or Nawl, a weekly column to help you weed through the Internet Muck. To do that, I’ll be breaking it down to a helpful binary: Is something trash? Or nawl? Topics here will involve sports and whatever else the hell I say is sports or sports adjacent. I’ll do my best to make sense of what's going on each week, but the thing to remember is no matter what I say, most of these things are still trash.

You might say this is simplistic, and hell yeah it is. This is how I make sense of the chaos. Professional grade hating restores power to my powerless stupid fan hands. I give a middle finger because I've given up clapping.

Trash or Nawl criteria: We will pick a topic. We will breakdown why or why it isn't trash. You can agree, you can comment or tweet your disagreements. Or we can fight. Really, it's up to you.

Good morning, hopefully y’all are hungover too. Today on a special edition of Trash Or Nawl, I’m finna discuss why y’all decided to make and praise these garbage ass albums. A lot of the blogs kept saying these tapes were fire, so we found out. Please enjoy this rare moment of where I put my Diddy hat and matching fur on.

“The inability to tell the difference between good pop and trash pop is the sign of a music philistine.” — My editor, Nate Scott.

With that in mind, I’m bout to fry tf outta all of the music Nate likes. [Editor’s Note: I don’t even like two-thirds of these albums and I’m not sure why I’m allowing this article to run, but whatever. Happy Holidays everyone.]

Lorde — Melodrama

I’m so muhfuckin tired of you internet people tellin me that Lorde, who basically only makes music that belongs on FIFA video game soundtracks, is making good music. This is some bullshit. Last night, I thought I was bangin out some whiskeys and was ready to party and tried out this wannabe Avatar background music. Woke up in a daze, night ruined.

And don’t you give me that “you a hating ass asshole I love Lorde” bullshit. I was gettin busy when “Royals” came out just like you were. And then whatever the hell “Green Light” is came on and ruined it. Lorde gon’ stop whisper singin’ on these tracks.

[Editor’s Note: This is one of the albums on this list that is objectively Good, and you need to understand that Tyler is just doing this to get a rise out of me and you.]

Also idk who told Lorde that this pop art album cover was litty, because this some diet Pablo Picasso ass shit. Ain’t fuckin wit it.

Haim — Something To Tell You

What the actual fuck is this? Most of these artists also just sound the same: like some weird version of whatever ‘80s movies made for white people were. Like, this easily coulda been the opening music for Pretty Woman. “Want You Back” doesn’t even make sense to me. Do you have a fear of forgiveness? Are you too proud? Are you blaming yourself?

We gotta stop telling our kids in grade school they can do anything they set their minds to because then we get shit like this. Seriously tho. I’m tired of the re-incarnation of Hall & Oates making pop music. I listened to “Founded It in Silence” five times by accident before I realized it was playing and not just my heater making noise.

Feist — Pleasure

Before “Pleasure” finally came on, I thought I got an album that didn’t have any music on it. Then when the song started and I spent the next minute not knowing what was actually said. The guitar was dope tho. Can’t hate on that. That fuckin guitar was dope as hell. But if I actually hear the word “pleasure” anymore in the way I have on this album that makes me think I’m in a Brooklyn dive bar with some round glasses ass hipsters wit they stupid turtle faces, I’m finna fight someone.

This album makes me feel like I’ve taken a lot of acid. I’ve never even had acid. Someone send me acid so I can know how I’m supposed to feel for listening to this album. [Editor’s Note: Please do not do this.] But, still. Can’t lie. This guitar is real real dope. Especially on “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You” but that ain’t gonna cut it, fam.

Charly Bliss — Guppy

I can fucks with a lil bit of some good rock music. But this fake ass Paramount [Editor’s Note: I think he meant Paramore but it’s a lot funnier as Paramount so I’m leaving it] sounding ass band wasn’t poppin. The drums was litty tho. New Indie Rock loves to do this thing where it remakes music that was born in the 80s but also the 90s now too. I felt like this coulda been played in Bring It On when Kirsten Dunst was hype because some bro made her a mixtape with his I’m Really Doing Something In Life struggle stubble. Also: Go Clovers.

Guppy wasn’t as bad as Lorde and Haim and Feist, but I just felt like someone was crying to me for 30 minutes. It also isn’t Future, Kendrick, SZA, John Legend, Migos, Badu or anything resembling it. Shit. This ain’t eem Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” level litty. [Editor’s Note: (Long, sustained sigh)] This ain’t making me pick up a guitar. Yeen head noddin to this. I can’t keep lettin y’all whine on a track and say you waxin poetic. I fuckin refuse. Empire wouldn’t even play this on they show.

Jason Isbell — The Nashville Sound

This is purely here because in a world where we’ve decided we ain’t fuckin with blatant white supremacy and nationalism (lol, this won’t last), I am triggered by a song titled “The Last Of My Kind.” Also, Isbell getting mad because folks laughed at him in college as a justification for this song is highkey highkey highkey the same reason people comment on Breitbart.

Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

He also made a song called “White Man’s World,” which, lol, y’all never really need to keep asking why folks don’t listen to country if this what y’all keep giving us. #WokeSZN #Resist #DumpTrump

[Editor’s Note: All the sportswriters of the world who are obsessed with this dude, please know that I had nothing to do with this section. Jason Isbell is great. Jason Isbell is the best. The Beatles? Beethoven? Fuck em. There is no one better than Jason Isbell, except maybe Bruce Springsteen, who I think you all also love for whatever reason. Please, for the love of god, don’t yell at me on Twitter.]

Margo Price — All American Made

A lot of you On The Internet Money Makin Whites love Margo Price. So because of that (and because OG Willie Nelson was making an appearance) I turned this on expecting non-pretentious and pompous ass country bangers I am accustomed to. Y’all told me this. Y’all told me she was the shit.

Welp.

Somebody call Deputy Raylan Givens and whip up that good wild west bullshit because Margo sound like the soundtrack to Justified. Margo dropped some bars that say “a little pain never hurt anyone” which is a whole lie because I promise you I was reeling from this weak shit.

OG Willie was dope tho. Don’t worry about that.

Taylor Swift — Reputation

Y’all knew this was gone be here.

First of all: IF CARDI B WASHED YO MIDDLE OF PENNSYLVANIA ASS ON THE CHARTS THEN YOU SHOULDA KNOWN WE FINNA GET THAT ASS UP OUTTA HERE BOI.

**re-adjusts collar**

I’m sad Future had to be dragged onto this album, but I know he owe Rocko a few Brinks trucks so I understand. I don’t know what Taylor keeps doing with these albums, tho. She’s always gonna get a few body rolls from me just because Future was featured here on some childish ass beats. But, y’all can’t expect me to think it’s pawpin for Tay Tay in the year of our lord 2017.

Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The New York Times, however, wants you to know this was super hot fire. Smh.

Katy Perry — Witness

Listen dog. I used to get it EXTREMELY LIT at high school mixers to some Katy Perry. Ain’t nobody gonna ever tell me Katy Perry wasn’t the white T-Pain at one point in my life. Left Shark is the hero this world needed at a time we didn’t know it. But the song “Swish Swish” which includes a line saying “Swish Swish Bish” featuring Nicki Minaj is one of the worst things created in a year full of some of the worst things ever.

The thing I didn’t expect: Nicki Minaj was actually the second-best thing about as much of this album as I was able to tolerate. Quavo yelling “KATY PERRY,” harmonizing with her in autotune, rapping many random “ayes,” yelling his own name, and randomly saying “Bon Appetit” on “Bon Appetit” is the best thing. [Editor’s Note: This is actually correct.] I need you to notice, the good things here have nothing to do with the person who made the music. If Space Jam and an elevator had a child and it grew to become a singer, it would make this album.

Macklemore — Gemini

Skylar Grey SANG her ass owf on this tape for “Glorious.” But Macklemore following up her vocals with “I’m feelin glorious, the crib lookin Victorian, you know we been goin in, since we hopped out that Dolorean, I’m gone, things are just things, they don’t make you who you are, can’t pack up a UHaul and take it wit you when you gone, we posted on the porch my family glasses to the stars, my grandma smiling down on me like OUU THAT BOY GOT BARS” is the most sickening thing I’ve ever had to take part in.

I don’t know if I’m more mad that another Macklemore album came out or the people who keep letting Macklemore let another Macklemore album come out. The sad part is: Macklemore actually gets some really fire ass beats. But we keep getting some fake ass Eminem verses because nobody gonna tell Macklemore either 1) he can’t rap that well or 2) he can’t rap that well about happy go lucky shit all the time.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Mack also steps on Kesha’s angelic vocals on “Good Old Days,” Yachty’s assumed piano playing in “Marmalade,” and Offset’s ad-libs on “Willy Wonka,” which is just unconscionable. Also every single song on this tape except “Ten Million” had a feature. He reverse J. Cole’d himself. What world are we living in.

DJ Khaled & Friends — Grateful

I’m mad at Khaled for several reasons:

I followed him on Snapchat in anticipation to this album

His bit is lowkey tiresome at this point

Asahd is the most handsome baby in the world, which brings envy from my being

The album has 23 songs and is an hour-and-a-half long

The album was no where near any other Khaled bangers out

Khaled hyped this shit up for no good damn reason

That being said, this Khaled tape is probably the best worst tape of the year. “Shining” with Beyonce and her lil’friend is a fun song, and Qween has never made bad music. You’re welcome, Shea Moisture Twitter. “Wild Thoughts” still got me thinking about Havana fwiw even tho Bryson Tiller is the corniest dude alive next to Big Sean. “I’m The One” had me trine buy Bieber Merch and loudly singing said song at many functions. “I Love You So Much” was some cute Disney shit. “On Everything” had me jumpin on people’s couches.

But literally the other 80 percent of the tape is hot ass garbage. Which is super disappointing because a dude with the most Jordans in the world, prettiest baby alive, 18 mansions, superstar friends, and a call log that would envy the Lord hisself should be able to do marginally better than this.

Most times I think Khaled’s music is only good as an audio soporific. Sometimes that’s okay. Not this time. I’ve been deceived. To make up for this: Khaled plz send me some sneakers, Bellaire Rose and Jordan sweatsuits and all will be forgotten. [Editor’s Note: Khaled, don’t do thi... Actually, you know what? Khaled, do this. And throw in a sweatsuit for me.]

We’re good, Khaled. Because at the end of the day: You still better than Lorde.

If you disagree with these verdicts, comment below. As stated earlier, you can agree, comment, tweet through your frustration or fight. Really, it’s up to you.