#it's 5:31am I'm not ready for this

[nikkeisimmer]

Trip done...safe and sound.

This morning at 4:30AM (decided to postpone my departure time half an hour) - less time waiting for the gas station to open.but actually found a gas station with the same cheap price open enroute closer to that same route.popped in there. 

This morning's post: 

It’s 4:21AM and projected departure time is at 4:30AM. Just making sure I’m awake and ready before finally getting myself behind the wheel. . Nobody wants to meet-up with a sleep-deprived driver.

Thank you, insomnia.

FULL MOON.Good morning…Departure time, baby. (4:31AM - out to car; dang it was cold.)

Setting out from Hope after a gas pitstop to top off to near full. What a gorgeous morning.

Going UP the Coquihalla enroute to Coquihalla Summit.

Disclaimer: "Do not do this.while behind the wheel.ESPECIALLY while mountain driving"  Bad toad. Bad Nikkei_Simmer!  37 years of driving experience.eyes glued on road.while letting my fingers do the work - not even looking.as soon as picture shot put phone down. Will check to see if it's any good when I hit Merritt. 

Paused at the chain-up area to take this shot - much clearer.

Reached Merritt around 8:15.pitstop at the local McD's.  Then headed on my way to Kelowna. 

On the 97C Coquihalla Connector that heads towards the Okanagan. 

Another bad toad image.  again. DO NOT DO THIS WHILE DRIVING.

and no there are NO guard-rails. 

Kelowna. 1 picture - that's it - waiting for my wife to meet up and head for home.

There's rattlesnakes in them there hills.  (Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes)

97C return trip - clear sailing, remembered to pick up wife. roads are clear. Sorry, no photos. . Pitstop in Merritt right now.

Hey...I'm glad I remembered.  Remember I woke up at 4:15 this morning, I'm lucky if my brain-cells were coherent...let alone functional. 

Merritt Pics.Two measly pics.

Merritt was nice n' sunny with puffy white clouds. And there's rattlesnakes in them there hills too. same type.

...

the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in British Columbia start here.This is around 2PM.and we're heading for the Coquihalla.again.this time back to the Fraser Valley. 

We ran through the Coquihalla at around 2-4ish. Summit was clear and sunny, roads were dry-ish with some wet spots from the melting snow. Road crews were out in force. doing maintenance. Unlike my last Coq run with the Impala. The drive coming down towards Great Bear Snowshed was not so white-knuckle. The Impala picked up a ton of speed going down hill and I was riding the brake down. The Versa Note came down at a nice steady 110kph. Doing a lot of handwaving "Pass." Like I said before.today was a rookie driver's dream-drive. When I did the Coq with the Impala it was snowing flurries at Summit (thankfully not bad-enough to close the pass but enough to cover the road). Got clear of the Cascades and we were home by 6:15.

I hate Fraser Valley traffic - it was nuts along 64th Avenue.  We would have been home by 5:30 but had to pop by and pick up something. 

Wife and I arrived home safely.and that's what counts. 

[walkerrenee]

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Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World SPOILERS under the cut:

hello, this is just a random post to document my reactions as i read the Ari and Dante sequel, it's not going to be interesting just me screaming mostly but i might spoil something so beware.

start time: 1:55pm (pacific time) 10/13/21

1:56 pm - i've read the first page and am already crying, this is going fantastic

1:57pm - "i'm already home. i'm with you"

no🤍

1:59 pm - "i love the rain more than anything." "i know. i want to be the rain." "you are the rain, Dante."

CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP

2:29pm - i have a feeling i'm going to be crying everytime a character is crying

2:34pm - hahahhahaha not religion i haven't worked through my religious trauma yet help

3:02pm - sometimes i relate so much to Ari it feels like someone crawled into my brain to extract my deepest thoughts

4:02pm - they way they have to pretend to kiss makes me want to fling myself off a cliff (:

4:14pm - A POEM SHUT UP

5:40 pm - I WANT TO KEEP READING BUT IM FALLING ASLEEP

6:07pm - UPDATE i've obtained caffeine and ordered Dominoes we're back in business I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK ASAP

6:21 pm - someone be my very own dante quintana please im emo

6:39pm - they just met emma and i'm bawling so of course my dominoes driver pulls up at this exact moment

8:11pm - ok i'm really slacking on reading, i keep crying and i feel like something not very great is gonna happen and i'm scared i'm not mentally stable enough for all this

8:18pm - idk if dante calling ari "aristotle quintana" was just a typo or not but i loved it lmao (also if it is a typo it's the 2nd one i've noticed smh they should have hired me to proofread)

8:21pm - "i used to think that she wanted me to be someone else. but it wasn't her who wanted me to be someone else—it was me"

OKAY NO NEED TO CALL ME OUT WTF

8:25pm - NO I DONT LIKE HOW THEYRE TALKING ABOUT ARI'S DAD AND FUNERALS NOPE THIS BETTER NOT BE SOME SICK TWISTED FORESHADOWING I SWEAR TO GOD

8:43pm - "if we're lucky. if we're very lucky, the universe will send us the people we need to survive"

riGHT i had to take a break to sob my eyes out at this part <3

9:57pm - i have only just officially made it halfway through the book, too much crying not enough reading

10:49pm - ok i took a break to paint my nails but i'm officially back on my bullshit pt.2 let's go

10:55pm - "to imagine a future for ari and dante was a fantasy. i did't want to live my life in a fantasy. the world i wanted to live in didn't exist. and i was struggling to love the world i did live in. i wondered if i was strong enough or good enough to love a world that hates me."

IM 3 PAGES INTO THE SECOND HALF AND ONCE AGAIN SOBBING

11:11pm - "but, for me, to love was one thing. to let yourself be loved, well, that was the most difficult thing of all."

HAHAskfsjutdbgsardzrizurzufxbigstk

11:58 pm - "i wondered why people felt they could speak for god."

i have no words tbh

12:07am - he's really going to kill Jaime off isn't he? I CANT STAND THIS FUCK OFF HASNT THIS FAMILY BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH I DONT CARE IF THIS IS HOW REAL LIFE IS IT SUCKS AND IM GOING TO CRY AND I HATE CRYING

12:18am - i mean i already knew bernardo was a piece of shit but god (also i'm glad the topic of the victim being transgender was handled better in this book, by ari mostly obviously. i hated how it was addressed and brushed aside in the first book.)

12:31am - alright i have work in the morning so i should probably sleep, i ended on dante saying the new year was going to be their best one ever so obviously in book language that means shit's about to hit the fan so i'll let future me suffer with that tomorrow (:

DAY 2

12:25pm - i am currently at work waiting for laundry to dry so i am ready for round 2

12:29pm - NO WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK YOU CANT JUST START THE CHAPTER ABOUT HOW HAPPY ARI IS AND HOW HIS MOM AND DAD LOVE NEW YEARS AND THEN FUCKING KILL HIS DAD IN THE SAME CHAPTER FUCK OFF FUCK OFF FUCK OFF

12:43pm - i hate it here i hate everything i haven't cried this hard in years whyyyyyyyg

2:30pm - WAIT A SECOND did he change ari's sisters names in the sequel? i literally just realized, i'm pretty sure he did, i dont have the first book by me atm but i'm almost positive. who tf let this get published like that im screaming

4:35pm - FUCK YOU DANTE I'LL KICK YOUR ASS I SWEAR TO GOD

4:43 pm- "he's not just some boy, mom. he's dante quintana."

SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE I'VE BEEN WOUNDED

5:02 pm - "i was going to ask you to marry me. but they won't let us do that. so i thought maybe it was best just to skip the wedding and get straight to the honeymoon." "have you decided where you'd take me?" "yes, i thought i'd take you to paris. we'll spend our time writing our names on the map of the city of love."

that's it. IVE FINISHED IT. and i'm crying and i loved it and i hated it and ari and dante grow old together in love and no one will convince me otherwise or take that away from me thank you very much. now i will live in a purgatory of numbness for the next week while i try and process this

[wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog]

Body-positive male model: 'I'm trying to represent the average-height, fluffy men that get forgotten'

Two years ago, Arcadio Del Valle was just a regular guy with a regular job living in Boston. His life was turned upside down when he was scouted via social media by a big and tall men’s brand that was showcasing at New York Fashion Week. It wanted him to walk in the first plus-size male runway show.

“I hesitated at first,” Del Valle tells Yahoo Lifestyle. He says he was dubious about the brand’s proposition. “I’m a 400-pound guy. I’m no model, but they loved my look and style, so I said yes and said, ‘The heck with it; I got nothing to lose.'”

Show them, don’t tell them. • • TOP: @asos_man @asos_man_us @asos @asos_studio • • PHOTOGRAPHER: @jclopez617 • • Thank you for making me look my best, you a beast. • • • #BigAndTall #streetfashion #streetstyle #urbanfashion #malemodel #mensfashion #beardgang #beardporn #malefashion #bigmensfashion #bigandtallmodel #gay #gaymen #Instagay #malestyle #fashion #fatshion #plussizemalemodel #plussizemodel #effyourbeautystandards #brawn #plussizemenswear #plusmenrevolution #brawnsquad #BodyPositivity #WLYG #celebratemysize #buzzfeed #AsSeenOnMe

A post shared by Ady Del Valle (@iam_adydelv) on Feb 5, 2018 at 1:47pm PST

The 30-year-old’s career has taken off since then, and he has walked in several runway shows and been contacted for photo shoots. But Del Valle’s real passion lies in spreading the message of body positivity and self-love, and his platform as a model has made it possible to for him to reach more people than he ever thought possible.

“I saw the positive feedback and all the messages from men, women, and even teens telling me how much they have been inspired seeing someone of my size and confidence,” he says.

SYMMETRY. • • Photography: @jclopez617 • • #BigAndTall #streetfashion #streetstyle #urbanfashion #malemodel #mensfashion #beardgang #beardporn #malefashion #bigmensfashion #bigandtallmodel #gay #gaymen #Instagay #malestyle #fashion #fatshion #plussizemalemodel #plussizemodel #effyourbeautystandards #brawn #plussizemenswear #plusmenrevolution #brawnsquad #BodyPositivity #WLYG #celebratemysize

A post shared by Ady Del Valle (@iam_adydelv) on Feb 11, 2018 at 3:01pm PST

Del Valle says the body-positive movement is well on its way for women, but men need more inclusion and representation — and he’s trying to change that.

“All bodies are beautiful bodies and should be part of the movement, regardless of who you are and what you look like,” he says. “The men’s side needs to embrace that more and be more comfortable, including men that are more than just average size or masculine all the time. Like the women, we all come in all shapes and sizes and identify differently, and that’s the beauty of it.”

It’s Friday • • #BigAndTall #streetfashion #streetstyle #urbanfashion #malemodel #mensfashion #beardgang #beardporn #malefashion #bigmensfashion #bigandtallmodel #gay #gaymen #Instagay #malestyle #fashion #fatshion #plussizemalemodel #plussizemodel #effyourbeautystandards #brawn #plussizemenswear #plusmenrevolution #brawnsquad #BodyPositivity #WLYG #celebratemysize

A post shared by Ady Del Valle (@iam_adydelv) on Feb 9, 2018 at 7:31am PST

Del Valle is calling on fashion brands to be inclusive and represent men of all sizes.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American male’s waist measures 40 inches. But very few designers and fashion brands include models who represent the average American man.

“I want agencies and brands to expand and see that the bigger guys have [the] potential to do what our smaller counterparts can,” he says. “My goal is to prove and show that you can kill it and slay it at any size.”

Assistant: Mr. Grey is ready to see you. • Me: • • • Harness: @bawdyloveclothing • • Sheer Top: @asos_man • • Photography: @jclopez617 • • • #BigAndTall #streetfashion #streetstyle #urbanfashion #malemodel #mensfashion #beardgang #beardporn #malefashion #bigmensfashion #bigandtallmodel #gay #gaymen #Instagay #malestyle #fashion #fatshion #plussizemalemodel #plussizemodel #effyourbeautystandards #brawn #plussizemenswear #plusmenrevolution #brawnsquad #BodyPositivity #WLYG #celebratemysize #buzzfeed #AsSeenOnMe

A post shared by Ady Del Valle (@iam_adydelv) on Feb 7, 2018 at 6:09pm PST

For those who struggle with self-love, the model has advice about how to overcome insecurities: “It starts with: Stop worrying what others will say or think. If we live worrying what others think of us, then we are not living for us; you’re not being yourself.”

“The first steps, whatever, starts with you — the only way you’ll live happily and do it with confidence,” he says. “It’s baby steps.” He adds, “No matter what your size is, sexual orientation, age or whatever …  you can feel and be beautiful.”

Effortless • • Look #2 Overcoat : @asos_man Puma Powder Blue Shirt: @Puma @asos_man Boots: @asos_man_us Jeans: @levis • • Photography: @jclopez617 • • • #BigAndTall #streetfashion #streetstyle #urbanfashion #malemodel #mensfashion #beardgang #beardporn #malefashion #bigmensfashion #bigandtallmodel #gay #gaymen #Instagay #malestyle #fashion #fatshion #plussizemalemodel #plussizemodel #effyourbeautystandards #brawn #plussizemenswear #plusmenrevolution #brawnsquad #BodyPositivity #WLYG #celebratemysize #buzzfeed #AsSeenOnMe

A post shared by Ady Del Valle (@iam_adydelv) on Feb 6, 2018 at 8:29am PST

So what’s next for Del Valle? Grab any opportunity he gets “by the horns,” he says. “Show the industry and anyone who doubted that bigger men are capable and worthy. Even with the critiques and cyberbullying, I’m determined to strive for greatness and positivity for all.”

We can’t wait to follow his journey.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: 

Plus-size model Alexandra Thomas is fat-shamed by her dermatologist: ‘I’m not just my weight’

How I learned to love my kinky hair and full lips as a black woman

Plus-size model posts body-positive photos in Kim Kardashian-inspired swimsuit

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