#junk tube association

[takmiblog]

(http://yoshimoto.a.la9.jp/Njta/Njtalogo.htm)

日本駄球協会

National Junk Tube Association

National Junk Tube Society

[jihanesroom]

Codes and Conventions: Pop Punk

Genre

My song for my music video is 'Whats My Age Again?' by blink-182. blink-182 is widely considered a pop punk band, with influences from punk rock.

Pop punk: Rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. Punk Rock: Loud, fast-moving, and aggressive form of rock music.

Punk, being the linking factor between the two is characterised by raw energy, fast tempos and shouted vocals.

Punk subculture and ideology

Emerging in the 1970s, from punk rock, the punk subculture is a wide movement spanning from ideology to the arts. Punks key ideas promote anti-establishment views.

Pop punk music videos tend to be performance based, with theatrical set ups. Often, the videos are a self contained narrative starring the artists. Concurrently, they also tend to feature the artists in a band setting, which can be intermixed into the narrative.

Pop Punk Bands 

Despite roots in the 70s, pop punk bands rose to prominence in the 90s before exploding into the mainstream in the early 2000s. Famous band of the time include:

- My Chemical Romance - Panic! at the Disco - Good Charlotte - blink-182 - Green Day

Analysis: First Date - blink-182

blink-182 music videos embed the punk ideology consistently throughout.

Style and ideology

Punk ideology valued anti capitalist, anti consumerist mindsets. From this stemmed the 'do it yourself' movement. Whether strategic or otherwise, this mindset is applied to the style of this music video. The use of either a shoddy camera or the application of effects to make the video quality appear less so emanates feelings of the video being shot by the boys themselves.

What only adds is the setting choice of American, lower middle class suburbia and the depiction of stereotypes associated with it. Throughout the video, there are intentionally provocative shots, actions and styling choices. This spits in the face of conformity, showcasing the less glamorous lifestyle most Americans live.

Though the origins of the misbehaviour aren't stated, it is likely a depiction of not only the punk ideology, but the rebellion, angst and outright evil present in every teenager, which is the target audience of blink-182.

Opening

The video begins with a cold open demonstrating the band preparing to perform. This short scene where they discuss intimate (and honestly quite crude) topics serves to humanise the band, as pop punk bands are known for being raw, down to earth and rough around the edges. What only makes it more intimate is the voyeuristic, low angle perspective.

Mise en Scene

As previously stated, the video takes place in lower middle class American suburbia in the early 70s. The set dressing is appropriate, with the band playing in an attic full of clutter with an American flag. Staples of the era are seen, such as a diner, Samba van and muscle car.

The clothing and styling is equally considered, with both the band and extras dressed in era appropriate attire. Another counterculture movement, that being the hippie movement, is showcased fully, with trends such as the horseshoe beard, short shorts and tube socks.

Narrative and Camerawork

The narrative is non linear, with the video largely being a montage of the band being up to no good and intercutting with footage of the band playing the song.

Close ups are used to emphasise provocative actions and ideas, often following their first appearance. The overuse and display of things can cause feelings of disgust and leads into the bands punk philosophy.

Wide, group shots are used to show the bands playing prowess as unit as well as showcase the sheer size and volume of junk in the attic.

[chiefobservationpeace]

 Know how a diet affects pregnancy

Know how a diet affects pregnancy

Did you know that your diet during pregnancy will have an effect on your baby’s health, tastes, and preferences? Hence as soon as a woman gets to know she is pregnant, it is vital to make immediate changes to her diet and lifestyle. Healthy nutritious food along with a perfect routine of physical activity will definitely help to keep the baby and mother healthy in a long-term. What you eat for the next nine months of your pregnancy can impact your baby’s health as well as yours for decades to come.

Poor diet during pregnancy and its effects

Pregnant women need to follow a healthy and nutritious diet for optimal development of their baby. Although a timely treat to satisfy a pregnancy craving is generally alright, but too much junk food during pregnancy can be hazardous to both mother and baby.

Neural Tube Defects and Low IQ

Folate and essential fatty acids are very important during pregnancy for the growth and development of the fetus. Lack of these essentials are associated with poor brain development and can also hinder the growth of the spine and spinal cord.

Malnutrition

Pregnancy diet and nutrition plays a vital role during these nine months for the healthy development of the fetus and also for the mother. Hence, a proper and nutritious meal plan should be followed by the pregnant women which include all the vitamins, proteins, carbs, fats, minerals and other nutrients. Lack of this might lead to malnutrition among the babies.

Heart diseases and hypertension

The pregnant woman who eats more of junk food, carbonated drinks, and other sugary items are at a risk to develop obesity for themselves as well as their babies. This will lead to increase in bad cholesterol levels and also spikes the blood sugar levels which can, in turn, be a reason to cause various heart diseases, breathing problems, obesity, diabetes and also hypertension among the babies.

Underdeveloped bones

A lack of vitamin D can affect the growth and development of bones in fetuses and lack of vitamin K can hinder the development of the face and teeth and with mineral deposition in fetal bones. Minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, and iodine are vital for both the baby and the mother to have a full term pregnancy.

Pregnancy foods

During pregnancy, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet which is low in saturated fats and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables is crucial. Some pregnancy foods include:

Fortified Breakfast Cereal

Dried Beans and Lentils

Non-fat milk

Broccoli

Eggs

Cheese

Bananas

Oatmeal

Leafy greens

Whole grain bread

Oranges

Dry fruits and nuts

Soy foods

Salmon

Sweet potatoes

Greek yogurt

Water

Poor health and nutrition during pregnancy directly affect a baby’s building blocks and its ill effects cannot be reversed. Pregnant women need to make sure that their diet provides enough nutrients for the baby to develop and grow healthily. They also need to make sure that her body is strong enough to deal with the changes that will occur.

READ MORE...Best Indian Diet Plan Weight Loss Weight gain

[gilbertdb]

This pediatric surgeon Email list contains a variety of fields

Pediatric surgeon Email list:

     Gilbert data backing from the Pediatric Surgeons Dispatch Database, medical marketers can reach prominent pediatric surgeons from each around the world. To help you target prospects and admit a high response rate and certain results, we give accurate and pukka data. We admit that reaching a pediatric specialist has no way been so straightforward. Gilbert Data, one of the assiduity's top directors of thoracic surgeon mailing lists, is then to give you access to the most recent, secure, and material information on pediatric surgeons' contact information. You can use telemarketing, direct correspondence, and dispatch marketing juggernauts to connect with the right prospects with the help of the data.

       The variety of information in our dispatch list will help your prospecting sweats because it contains authentic and vindicated information on estimable pediatric surgeons and other professionals from across the world. With your target followership, you can snappily establish meaningful conversion with the help of the pediatric surgeons dispatch list.

What Is the Job of a Pediatric Surgeon?

 Cases who are grown-ups differ from children. When cases are unfit to completely communicate what going on with them, croakers May finds it grueling to interact with them. Whether or not they're apprehensive of what's passing will depend on their age. Pediatric surgeons are professed at calming youths and talking with them easily. Pediatric surgeons are also responsible for opinion and post-operative care. They offer the following four major forms of care, each of which may be specialized in

 • Antenatal

• Neonatal

 • Trauma

 • Adolescent oncology

 Pediatric Surgery Types:

Pediatric diseases can be treated surgically in a variety of ways for children as youthful as babies and as old as teenagers. The following are just a many exemplifications of the surgeries performed by pediatric surgery specialists

Surgery on the abdominal wall

Surgery of the airways and lungs

Abdominal surgery

Surgery for excrescences and cancer

Surgery on the casket wall

Surgery for the digestive system

Surgery on the genitalia

Surgery on the liver and corrosiveness tubes

Surgery on lymph bumps

Minimally invasive surgery

Child surgery

Surgical junking of the ovaries

Surgery on the spleen

Thoracic surgery

Injury treatments

Surgery involving the vasculature

 This pediatric surgeon dispatch list has the following fields, for illustration:

Field of Specialization and Secondary Specialty

Geographic data, such as public, state, county, MSA, SCF, zip law, and area law.

Dispatch, Phone, Fax, Postal Code

Academic, exploration, locum, executive, office-based, sanitarium-based, and resident croakers

Number of croakers

Staff members are in attendance

Manager of a medical office responding

Association with hospitals

State License Number, DEA, NPI, and UPIN

Use of EMR and EHR

Well-known prescribers

Board approval

Accepted Forms of Insurance

Medicare and Medicaid providers

Information on the provider's gender, age, and graduation date

[tabletoptrinketsbyjj]

Hotlinks to all Tables: A complete list of every trinket table for quicker access. This also functions as the easiest link to reblog or save for reference purposes as it’s updated with each new table. Now with 161 full d100 loot tables, resource tables and a working rollable Omni Loot Table.

---Note: The links sometimes don’t work on mobile devices or some apps. Try using a desktop or browser extensions if they aren’t working. 

-The Omni Loot Table: The loot mega-table that allows the user to roll randomly on the 161 tables this blog has collected. This grants a DM literally millions of unique trinkets, equipment and items that players can find to enrich their world and playing experience.

-Character Creation Loot Generator: This generator creates an sample of trinkets, curiosities and loot, pulled from a wide list of other tables that is meant to provide the player with items to encourage engaging roleplaying. Best used at character creation to help with ideas of where the character has traveled, what they’ve accomplished and what they’ve chosen to carry with them.

-All Trinkets: Interesting baubles or semi magical items that have little to no practical in game or mechanical use for an adventurer.

0   /   1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /   10   /   11   /   12   /   13   /   14   /   15   /   16   /   17   /   18   /   19   /    20   /   21   /   22   /   23   /   24   /   25   /   26   /   27   /   28   /   29   /   30   /   31   /   32   /   33   /   34   /   35   /   36   /   37   /   38   /   39   /   40   /   41   /   42   /   43   /   44   /    45   /   46   /   47   /   48   /   49   /   50   /    51   /   52   /   53   /   54   /   55   /    56   /   57   /   58   /   59   /   60   /   61   /   62   /   63   /   64   /   65   /   66   /   67   /   68   /

-All Unique Armors: Splint mail, studded leather and sturdy shields of all shapes, sizes and mysterious backgrounds. Distinctive armors that can serve as the basis for family heirlooms, legendary artifacts and magical or masterwork weapons.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   / 

-Masterwork Armor Bonuses: Over a dozen homebrew armor improvements, enhancements and modifications created though superior craftsmanship. These masterpieces are more useful than standard armor but less powerful than a +1 armor.

-All Artifacts: Artist masterpieces, rare magics and opulent combinations of jewels and precious metals. These objects can be found in the throne rooms of kings, the demiplanes of archmages and the pinnacle of a dragon's hoard.

1   /

-All Books: An eclectic library of dusty tomes, fictional textbooks, pocketbooks, paperbacks, hardcovers, booklets, leaflets and magical manuals.  

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /   10   /   11   /   12   /   13   /

-Book Descriptions: A short list of quirks, physical descriptions and eccentricities to add additional characteristics to the book trinket list. Rollable Book Descriptions table

-All Cloaks: A collection of unique descriptions of cloaks for DM’s to give to their players as magical or mundane loot and for players to use during character creation to help flesh out their personal style.

1   /

- All Circlets, Crowns and Coronets: Resting on the noble head of the mighty king or regal queen are the physical manifestations of their wealth and power. The symbols of their right to rule, these various headdresses are often tailor made to serve as metaphor for the monarch’s personality or that of their kingdom.

1   /

-All Minor Magical Items: Not-quite-wondrous objects, common magic items, utility and niche magical equipment, underpowered relics or depowered artifacts. These options are essentially cantrips and weak magic spells in physical form and are perfect for low level characters.

1    /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /

-All Necklaces: Amulets, lockets and pendants that grant an immediate glance into the bearer’s personality, wealth, rank or social class and often serves as an iconic part of that character’s look. While a locked metal torque can instantly mark the bearer a penniless slave and a string of lustrous pearls mark their owner a flauntingly wealthy noble, so can an adventurer's necklace mark them as a creature to bestow quests upon.

1   /   2   /   3   /

-All Rings: Enough bands, loops and rings to wear three on every finger and toe while still having dozens to spare. These tiny bejeweled circlets of bone, metal and wood always add more to the story than the sum of their parts.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /

-All Sealed Glass Vials: Faulty potions, weak elixirs, alchemical supplies, spell components, ritual elements, enchanting materials, crafting ingredients and magically preserved biological samples.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /

-All Unique Weapons: Blades, bludgeons and bows of all shapes, sizes and mysterious backgrounds. Distinctive weapons that can serve as the basis for family heirlooms, legendary artifacts and magical or masterwork weapons.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /    10   /   11   /   12   /   13   /   14   /   15   /   16   /   17   /

-Masterwork Weapon Bonuses: Over 20 homebrew weapon improvements, enhancements and modifications created though superior craftsmanship. These masterpieces though more powerful than ordinary weapons but weaker than a +1. Rollable Masterwork Bonus Table

-Running the Numbers: On Balancing Homebrew Masterwork Weapon Bonuses

-Random Weapon + Random Masterwork Weapon Bonus.

-Random Unique Weapon + Random Masterwork Weapon Bonus.

-Minor Weapon Enchantments: A collection of minor bonuses that are weaker than a standard +1 weapons, as they come with trade-offs, risks, prerequisites, limited uses or niche benefits. These enchantments provide feat-like bonuses, low level class abilities, modify damage types, provide short bursts of power or replicate the effects of low levels spells. Rollable Minor Weapon Enchantments Table.

-Random Weapon + Random Minor Weapon Enchantment.

-Random Unique Weapon + Random Minor Weapon Enchantment.

-All Unique Minor Magic Weapons: A collection of weapons of artifact level  flavorful but low level power. Much like the Minor Weapon Enchantments, these provide small bonuses and combat options that are restrained by limited uses, niche situations or come with risky drawbacks. 

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /

-All Valuables: More useful than simple baubles touched mystery, these items have either a clear purpose, a reliable ability or are made from a fairly costly material. The items could fetch fair prices to collectors of the strange, jewelers, antique or art dealers or simply to barter with if the owner is short on actual currency.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /   10   /   11   /   12   /   13   /

-All Worthless Trinkets: Vaguely interesting garbage, vendor trash and junk loot. Not magical or mysterious like regular trinkets or worth anything more than a copper piece or two even if you could find someone to buy it in the first place.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /     9   /    10   /   11   /

—Keep reading for all reference and resource tables.

-Random Artisan's Tools: A tool helps you to do something you couldn't otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item, forge a document, or pick a lock. This list is meant to be used as a reference for other tables on this blog and to serve as a resource for players and DM’s

-Battle Cries: Simplistic and bone chilling warcries, complex and inspiring calls to arms and primal wordless screams of rage that shakes the enemy down to their iron-shod boots. A collection of simple phrases, threats, insults and violent promises for creatures to yell before and during combat to add verbal spice to each attack.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /

-Random Color Table: Pretty self explanatory and it’s basically only here because many of the trinkets reference it. Roll for colors or just use it as a reference while handing things out if you don’t have a color wheel handy. Rollable Random Colour Table.

-Random Creature Type Table: A quick guide to the various creature types for reference purposes. Rollable Random Creature Type Table.

Random Godly Domains Tables: Depending on your system and in-game universe, there may already be a pantheon, singular or lack of Gods. However, people are superstitious wherever your players go and these tables allow a DM to generate a domain, theme or patronage to quickly flesh out a trinket with a “Random Godly Domain”. Rollable Godly Domains Table.

Unique Metamagic Options: The practice of learning, preparing and casting spells is often considered Art rather than religious fervour, academic knowledge or inborn skill. Over a dozen homebrew options all of which provide a vivid description of exactly how the caster is deliberately warping the nature of the spell to achieve their goal. Rollable Unique Metamagic Options.

-All Mottos: Whether they're called adages, maxims or creeds, these simple statements are essentially promises made to oneself, family, or institution. A character's motto can be a goal in itself or a moral anchor that centers his life and guides his action. A mixed collection of real life and fictional mottos that can aid a DM to quickly expand the history of the campaign or to aid a PC in a richer character creation.

1   /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6   /   7   /   8   /   9   /   10   /   11   /   12   /

Random Musical Instruments Table: There are a surprisingly large number of ways to pluck a string, blow through a tube or hit something with a stick. This collection of real life instruments are all capable of being created with pre-industrial techniques and can be easily be carried, maintained and played by a traveling adventurer. Rollable Musical Instruments Table.

Random Nightmares: A collection of unspeakable, nonsensical night terrors, worse than the strongest of bad trips on powerful hallucinogens. These exist to frighten adventurers who have seen more than their fair share of trauma. A cleric’s healing words can mend the flesh but nothing truly mends the mind from witnessing the aberrant horrors, monstrous beasts and undead abominations, whose defeat is an adventurer’s main source of income. Rollable Nightmares Table.

Random Weapon Tables: Sometimes you just need a weapon and literally anything mildly lethal will do the trick. These lists give a DM the ability to quickly look through different options when generating loot. Rollable Random Weapons Table.

-Random Sword Table

-Wild Magic Surges: A collection of Wild Surge options for DMs and PCs who find the published tables limiting, repetitive or boring, three things wild magic by definition, should never be. Rollable Wild Magic Surge Table.

Glossary and Common Terms: A collection of terms and lingo that are frequently used in D&D and other tabletop games, along with terms written by me specifically for use in this blog. Some words used in this blog are purposely written as “catch all” ideas or “Common Terms” that can easily be adapted to any game system.

[cosmicpines]

(spiderman spoilers)

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.

.

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im so fucking disappointed when they get into MIT they don't have tubes like LITERALLY the ONE ICONIC tradition MIT has with admissions is that they send you a silver tube full of cheap fun junk like balloons and confetti and they didn't do it and like if you're gonna use my school as a plot point at least fucking use our tradition jeez

also mj is incorrect when she says "the engineers? the mascot" bc our mascot is tim the beaver and we love him. the engineers is the name of the sports teams. to be FAIR tho "the engineers" is like a thing associated with the general student body in a few places (most notably the drinking song -- you know, we are we are we are we are the engineers / we can we can we can we can demolish forty beers etc etc ) but like nobody on campus actually refers to us as "the engineers" bc its too confusing since. most people who graduate then get a job as engineers lmao. but also to be fair this is totally something prefrosh would do so that is accurate

i was also disappointed when they talked about living together that they didnt name drop a dorm bc i wanted to judge them lol

i also personally doubt mit wouldnt admit them bc of the controversy bc bezo's son goes to (went to? i dont remember how old he is) mit but shrug

[dropkickspindle]

[Image ID 1: A round cardboard tube covered in yellow Bulgarian postal office tape, resting on a bundled up blanket that’s red on one side and tan on the other. /End ID]

[Image ID 2: A dressed distaff: that is, a round length of wood about three feet long, with dark teal wool wrapped around it and tied on with string. The distaff is leaning against a dark colored bookshelf containing comics and stuffed animals. /End ID]

[Image ID 3: The same distaff, naked this time, propped up against the same bookshelf. This time you can see the top of it, since it’s not covered in wool. It’s topped by an acorn-shaped bump that tapers down into an almost bell-like shape about a third of the way down, after which the wood rounds into a long, blunt cone. /End ID]

[Image ID 4: A close up of the top end of the distaff against a background of the bookshelf, showing off the curves and rounds of wood that make it up. /End ID]

So I taught myself to hand spin on a drop spindle about three years ago now, but I only this past year started using distaffs. While the spindle, made of a whorl and a shaft, twists easily-snapped fibers into a stronger thread or yarn, and so is pretty necessary for making long sections of string (you can spin yarn just using your palm, twisting it on your thigh, but that can turn into a tangled mess pretty quickly if you don’t wrap the extra length around a stick), the distaff is more optional. A distaff, at it simplest, is a stick of your choice of size. You bind your fiber to the distaff, and the distaff functions as a third hand, keeping the fiber out of the way and from snarling up, while your actual hands do the spinning itself.

The thing about distaffs is that they were more or less ubiquitous in hand spinning for millennia. If you’re responsible for turning every possible scrap of fiber into something that keeps you clothed and warm, then anything making your job easier was quickly adapted. Women were so associated with spinning, and spinning so associated with the use of a distaff, that you’ll still sometimes hear people describe the maternal side of a family as the “distaff” side. With the invention of the spinning jenny and the decline of hand spinning as a practiced craft, the distaff began to slowly disappear. A lot of modern hand spinners don’t bother using a distaff at all, which is probably why it was so hard for me to find one. Not a ton of new ones are being made, and those that are tend to be on the smaller side. I have a small one, about eight inches long, that I’ve been using for awhile, but I really, really wanted to try out one of the big boys.

A hip distaff or belt distaff was a couple feet in length, which allows you to tie on more fiber (useful when you were spending a lot of your time spinning). Then you would either rest the distaff on your hip or slip it through your belt to hold it. I really, really wanted one, but had little luck locating one, because again, the demand is not really there.

And then, gloriously, after checking etsy for roughly the millionth time, I found a store based in Bulgaria that was selling antique distaffs, along with a lot of other old stuff. Honestly I suspect the stock comes from going around to farms and asking people if they’ve got any old junk in their barns to sell, because they have some fantastic farming implements, fiber arts stuff, antiques of all sorts. I will reblog this post with the name of the store after I’ve been able to clean them out of handwoven wool cloth. And textile tools. And maybe a sickle or two for the garden. Oooh, and that amazing tiny butter churn with the little tiny dasher. Anyway...

So I finally got my distaff. I’m not sure how old she is, but she was definitely in use for a long, long time, and then disused for perhaps even longer. I love her. I honestly still haven’t quite figured out how best to use her, teaching yourself to spin is an adventure like that, but this is the purchase that made me happiest in a long, long time. I had to oil up the wood before actually using her to spin and I swear the wood was happy to be taken care of again, to be prepared to be used. Probably just wistful thinking, but then again, if Japanese lore about tsukumogami is right, and objects do grow a soul through long enough use... well, it feels less impossible than maybe it should.

[jalaluvsu]

Interference

https://beautiful-disasters-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/631749044177403904/what-if-marinette-was-tims-little-sister-who-was

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“Y’know, just ‘cause Kori’s got a baby coming doesn’t mean you can boss us around Robin,” Beastboy whined as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube.

He scoffed at the notion, “That’s literally exactly what I can and will do, you absolute buffoon.”

“Oh, shutup.”

He sighed. There isn’t ever a moment where Garfield doesn’t wish Starfire still led the Titans. The past three weeks have gone by at an agonizingly slow pace, filled with never ending fights between him and Damian. And! Before you get the wrong impression, no, he did not start these fights. In fact, he was practically the one getting attacked!

Really, what’d you expect him to do when Damian insulted tofu during dinner at the Waynes’? Smile and wave?

Laughable.

Garfield will tell you what happened after, whether he’s proud is a matter of who asks. Let’s just say Alfred’s put him on a month-long ban from the dining room at the manor; worth it, nonetheless.

“Beastboy, earth to Beastboy,” He heard Raven chant over comms. Oh, right, the mission.

“Reporting for duty!” he saluted obediently, like the responsible hero he is.  

“Stop standing there and you know, actually read the coordinates I sent to your navigator,” he grinned at her snark as he pulled out his compact. A hefty amount of unchecked notifications was in its wake.

Automated message coupons from the local pizza place at Jump City (hell yeah!)

Missed calls from Terra, he faltered at the offending contact; as if he would respond. The time for that has passed, long passed.

He scrolled down the small screen as he flitted his gaze past the hundreds of junk mail. Ah, and lastly, one lengthy preview of information regarding the mission. The text listed an address along with...enrollment details? Huh.

Garfield glanced both ways before crossing the busy street; him previously being in the too-bright alleyway. 

Okay, see, he knows what you’re thinking. Someone like him- or rather someone who looked like him, would stick out like a sore thumb. Especially in a place like Paris. How common were metahumans here? Probably not as high as the rate in Metropolis, that’s for sure.

There were only so many green colored people, and a good ninety-nine percent was or is associated with heroes (vigilantes, fine) or even aliens. That being said, he was keeping it on the down-low. In Paris, he wasn’t the cool, collected, and most desired by all Garfield Logan. In Paris, he was just Grant Roth. What? It’s a good cover! And he was planning on taking Raven’s surname eventually anyways. (wink wink, nudge nudge)

A few spells and enchantments via Magical Goth Gf ™ prior to his ride in the tubes later; he practically looked uncanny to his appearance before the whole ‘failed experiment injection’ thing. You know, a mop of auburn hair, pale as paper skin, and cutesy little freckles (Blue Beetle’s words, not his) (Okay, maybe it was his too..)

Garfield pulled out his pocketed compact once he safely made it across the street. Now that he gave more than a glance at the address it looked...short. In fact, it was vague, extremely vague. He discreetly looked around for any eavesdroppers and lowered his voice to a whisper as he walked down the 21st arrondissement.

“Uh, guys? Where exactly am I supposed to go?”

He hated not knowing how to do something he was expected to, incredibly so.

“I was hoping you’d dispose of your body there,” he paused, "but since you asked so nicely, we’ll tell you.” Robin chimed in matter-of-factly.

Garfield could practically feel the next set of words. He didn’t know what they were, but they were going to suck. He just knew it.

Raven took a long swig of coffee before announcing the dreaded news, “We’ve signed you up for a foreign exchange student program,” 

Ah,

“You what?!” he shrieked. A couple of onlookers gave him dirty glances, he smiled sheepishly.

Blue Beetle toggled his audio, “C’mon Gar-“ Robin interrupted,

“No names on field!”

 “Shutuuuuup,” he drawled out.

“Anyways, Beastboy,’’ cue pointed glare at Robin,’’ did you really think we’d let you roam around without a leash for what? Three months? In a foreign country of all places?” Garfield could practically hear the smirk in his voice, the fucker.

“I was hoping, yeah!” Damn. He thought he would get away with them actually trusting him here alone, wishful thinking on his part.

He pouted at the idea as he scouted for a place to lounge in.

Raven huffed, “You’ll be living with a host family during your stay at Paris, if it wasn’t clear enough already.”

He froze; what other surprises were up their sleeves?!

“C’mon, be real for a sec. I’m a superhero, I don’t need to go to public school, I don’t need a couple of strangers!” he stressed as he weaved between crowds of Parisians.

Ooh, a bench. He sat with the intent of winning this argument, no matter the consequence. So what if he looked crazy, supposedly talking to himself? Priorities people, priorities.

“Doom Patrol’s strict orders, you know, ‘cause they can’t homeschool you a whole continent away,” Jamie deadpanned.

Garfield dragged a hand down his face. Stupid Doom Patrol, stupid worrying for his wellbeing. “But- it’s a mission!” he gestured rapidly, in clear exasperation.

Jaime tsked, “And? Gotta keep that brain of yours in tip-top shape, amigo!”

“Whatever, man;” he got up to dust himself off, “still don’t know how that’s related to the address on the Seine but- “

“They live there, your host family,” Raven supplied.

Garfield scratched his chin in wonder. Who lives in a body of water? That’s so- Wait. His friends were totally holding out on him!

“You guys didn’t tell me I’d be staying with Aquaman! That makes this ten times better!”

What were the chances that the man himself was in Paris too? They can bond over sea creatures, and Garfield could show him his animal transformations! This mission wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t bad at all. He had an extra skip in his step as he pranced down the pavement.

“Are you entirely brain dead?” Robin audibly face palmed,

”No, you’re not- you know what? Yes, you’re going to be living with Aquaman. At a river. In France,” quiet murmurs along the lines of ‘idiot, and ‘cómo adorable,’ sounded out from his remaining teammates.

“This is gonna be so awesome!” Garfield exclaimed giddily.

He spotted a boulangerie-pâtisserie a couple blocks away. Aha! Time to get him some sweet, sweet, treats. And hopefully, some directions.

“Robin spent weeks doing full analysis on the whole family,” Jaime grinned over the comm.

Raven cut in, “Even though it was incredibly self-destructive, “

Analysis? On the King of Atlantis? Boy, no one was safe from Damian’s wrath.

“Awww. You do care, Robin!” he cooed as he entered the bakery.

Robin gasped, affronted, “Don’t flatter yourself! I needed to make sure you wouldn’t feel obligated to blabber all our secrets, obviously.”

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” Garfield shrugged to himself, but quickly zipped his lips shut once someone came into view.

“The Couffaines are...adequate at best;” he quieted, “well, at least from what I could infer before I was so viciously torn away from my research!” was sniffed hotly.

Couffaines? Was that a code name?

“If I didn’t know any better Robin,” Jaime mused, “I’d think you were taking after Tim, especially with how many late nights you’ve had...”

A beat.

Garfield ignored the squabble taking place in his left ear, opting to chat with the kind looking, lady at the register.

“Hello! What can I do for-“ she looked up from tying her apron,

“Oh! You must be new here; I don’t recognize you,”

Garfield offered his hand, “Hah, yeah! I was just walkin’ around town. I’m Grant, by the way,’’ he silently praised himself for remembering his alias.

She shook it firmly, “Sabine.”

A warm smile was sent his way before she gestured to the variety of sweets on display. His mouth watered at the sight and contemplated his choices, no matter how hard it was.  ‘’What would you recommend?’’ he whispered, completely in awe.

Sabine paused to give him a once-over before lighting up. ‘’Well, you don’t strike me as a tart kind of guy so, how do you feel about chocolate?’’

‘’Love it.’’

‘’Great! My husband just put out some fresh Pain Au Chocolates before you came in!’’ Score. His luck hadn’t completely run out.

‘’That sounds fire! I’ll have that,’’ he exclaimed cheerfully.

She blinked at his wording, ‘’Pardon?’’

What? Did she not unders- Oh.‘’Sorry, American slang. It means cool!’’ he rushed out.

She mulled it over, ‘’Ah, okay. Well, coming right up!’’ Sabine opened the glass in search of the Pain Au Chocolates.

“Don’t ever compare me to that insufferable fool, -“

He snickered, “Your brother?”

Robin fumed, “-you complete and utter nincompoop!”

“Now, now, don’t use big boy words on me,” Jaime taunted.

“I’ll show you ‘big boy’ words-! “

Garfield faux scratched his ear in favor of switching off the comm as he watched Sabine bag the treats. He grinned in thanks once handed to him.

“If that’ll be all...?” She trailed off.

He wasn’t really paying any mind as he took a big whiff of the sweets. His thoughts floated over to a haven filled with a never-ending overflow of pastries. Ah, what’s stopping him from staying here forever? A pat on his shoulder, apparently.

“Hm?” Garfield found the petite baker leaning over the counter with a patient smile.

“Sorry, I totally zoned out! Did you say something?” he rubbed his neck bashfully.

She chuckled, “I asked if there’s anything else I could do for you, sweetie.”

If there anything else she could- Right! Yes, he needed to know where the hell he was staying at. Garfield fumbled for his phone, luckily for him he copied the address into his Notes app.

“Yeah actually! Well, not food wise but, I’m here in Paris for,” he blanched momentarily, “uh, an exchange program; and I have a like host family here, right?” he gestured to his voice; the American accent evident.

She nodded.

He continued, “And I don’t really uh, like, know exactly where I’m supposed to meet them. I was wondering if you by chance knew someone who lived on the Seine around here?” Garfield shoveled a croissant into his mouth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marinette was a lot of things.

To some she was the sweet bakers’ daughter, insanely witty and clever, granted a bit scatterbrained, but she was your trophy student by all means of the word; to others though, she was someone to be wary of. A classmate’s spew of lies crawling under their skins, itching to be taken into account. Every move watched meticulously, waiting with bated breath for a slip up, for anything to grasp on to.

In simpler terms, Marinette was over it. Over being unable to speak her truth; over being villainized, constantly put under a spotlight. There was already enough on her plate, one of its regulars accumulating to a steadily-rising designer. One of her biggest flexes, if she was being honest; because really, what fourteen year old could say they constructed glasses for the Jagged Stone? Surely not the average bunch.

Oh, and did she mention superheroine? Yeah, she’s a superheroine.

The whole gig was shoved at her face, three months shy of her thirteenth birthday; and by gig she meant a brief guide, a blindingly red polka-dotted suit, a questionable choice of weapon (seriously, a yo-yo?), and an ill-timed partner.

Nonetheless, she worked with what she got. It's kept her alive so far already, why complain now?

She rubbed her eyes with a stifled yawn, ‘’Radiant....Carefree....Dreamy…’’

Marinette slammed the snooze button at the sound of that god forsaken jingle. Christ, she needed to change her alarm. All it did was make her reminisce of her former crush on Adrien Agreste; top teen Parisian model, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, and current boyfriend of future Olympiad, Kagami Tsurugi. Alas, old habits die hard, and this one was going to crash and burn any time soon; Marinette was sure of it.

A groan sounded out as she flopped to the floor, skillfully ignoring the tinkling laughter coming from her bedside. Ah, who was she kidding? It’d take some sort of absolute miracle to get over him completely. She would end up forever lonely, pining over a taken man, indefinitely getting dropped from position as lead designer for Jagged, friendless, Akumatized, disowned by her parents-

“None of those things are true, and you know it!”

She snapped her gaze up to the floating embodiment of creation, Tikki. Had her friend really thought that, that look could get Marinette to take back her spiel? She looked like an angry kitten for crying out loud!

Her cheeks reddened as she got up and dusted herself off, “Did I say that out loud?”

Judging by the narrowing of the tiny god's eyes, she’d say yes, it was said out loud. Damn, she was not looking forward to a morning lecture about her declining self esteem and her tendency of speaking her mind. Before Tikki could get even a word in, the Just In Case™ alarm for bad mornings went off. She shot the kwami a rueful grin and scurried over to the counter.

“Radian-“ the clock was chucked out of the three story building. Marinette watched from her window as it plummeted to its demise, in a heap of cheap metal and wires. Lovely.

A red blur zoomed to the front of her face, making her go cross-eyed, ‘’Marinette!’’ Tikki frowned shakily, struggling not to smile at her antics. 

She shrugged and skipped over to her closet, in search for acceptable clothes,

‘’What? It was getting annoying! And besides, it’s not like it was worth that mu-!’’ They both froze at the pounding of the trap door.

Ugh, couldn’t they wait to bother her later?

‘‘You better get out of there soon, young lady! I don’t want another call from your school added to the list,’‘ Marinette was going to absolutely combust. It sucked enough that barely any of her ‘‘friends’’ stuck around, but Tom and Sabine? Really? Believing some complete stranger over her? It must be the lack of familial relation that makes it sting a bit less. It must.

She groaned tiredly, ‘’Yes, Sabine.’’

Once the descending pattering of her footsteps quieted, Tikki raced over to latch onto Marinette’s cheek. Her bluebell orbs peered up at her, filled with sympathy for her holder. She shook her head at the silent offer to talk; there’s no time for a pity party. 

The kwami sighed sadly, before pecking her cheek and floating over to rest on her shoulder. Marinette plastered on an encouraging smile, ‘‘C’mon Tikks’, help me pick out and outfit for today! You know how indecisive I can be,”

After some thinking, they’ve come to the mutual decision of something completely out of Marinette’s alley. Instead of her usual pink capris, floral shirt, blazer, flats, and pigtails; she sported a plaid pleated skirt, a tucked in Queen Bee graphic tee, black two-inch heart buckled platform Mary Janes, and spacebuns. Who knew her wardrobe from Clara Nightingale’s on-set music video would come to use? 

She ogled her reflection with a satisfied smirk, yeah, she was hot. 

‘’Holy shit, Tikki, if I was still into Adrien,’’ she whistled, ‘’he’d drop to the floor as soon as he saw this; and that’s coming from me!’’ 

The kwami shook her head good naturedly, ‘’I’m glad you think so. I really like confident Marinette!’’ she nudged her shoulder, ‘’Although, I hope you aren’t doing this for your classmates’ approval...’’ 

She directed her gaze at Tikki; an other person’s approval? Why would she do something for another person’s approv- Oh. She actually wasn’t that far off. 

‘‘Pssh. No, I would never! This is all me baby! The awesome, cool, and Pinterest board version, I mean,’‘ Marinette gave her little friend finger-guns and grabbed her purse. Enough about her, they needed to get to school before she was late again. 

‘‘Get in Tikks’, if we wait any longer I’ll be,’‘ she checked the time on her phone, ‘‘like five minutes late to homeroom!’‘ 

She flitted into the bag as Marinette settled it onto her side. With one last look-over, she was off. 

To say she struggled down the stairs was a complete and utter understatement. She almost died, multiple times. Maybe the platform shoes were a bad idea, a very, very, very bad idea. Marinette clutched onto the railing with an inhumane grip that could rival Alya’s on her phone; and that was telling you something. 

Once she made it passed the death trap, or rather simply a few steps, she grabbed an espresso and a handful of cookies; the former being for her, and the latter for Tikki. She gave a fleeting wave to Sabine and Tom, not that they gave any mind. 

She pulled out her phone, 8:26, she could work with that. Her phone buzzed with a text notification. 

 (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥          ɴᴏᴡ

where the fuck are you

Marinette snorted and slid the cookies into her purse. She unlocked the screen and tapped the message icon.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟕}  .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.    

wouldnt you like to know weather boy

.

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟪} (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥

wow ur so funny im literally laughing so hard rn 😐

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐8}   .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.  

thank you, thank you, im here all night 🖤

.

 Marinette looked both ways before crossing the intersection, Dupont just about a block away. She chugged her now-cold coffee and tossed it in the recycling bin, ‘’Score! And the crowd goes wil-!’’ the atmosphere suddenly stilted.

‘‘Dupain-Cheng,’‘ she swiveled around, and was met with the putrid swamp green slits shes grown to despise. 

A snarl rolled off her tongue, ‘’Rossi.’’ 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

omg guys so hi. im doing this. im actually doing the thing i said i would do here  cuz im a bad bitch. 3k words i think. sorry for any mistakes i literally wrote this while watching pbs kids LMAOOOASODFWOEB @beautiful-disasters-sunshine idk if u still wanna be tagged when i do this kinda stuff but pm me if u dont <3

[cdarkheartzero]

Today’s theme-

“Diary of a security guard part 4- “His own legs”

Data log entry 6553

I barely even started my shift before I got the news. Three smeets had disappeared at some point during the night and -OF COARSE- the little shit was one of them.

Receiving the names of Zim and Skoodge wasn’t surprising. Those two were always together and up to something but I was shocked when the keeper said “Smeet Tak”. TAK? She was usually fairly well behaved. Few fights here and there, sure but this? Especially because she hates Zim. Why would she join them? At least that’s what I hoped for anyway.

Since the “snack heist” episode, I assumed the boys were off to find another “treasure chest” of pure sugar so I figured I would check the pantries first. They weren’t stupid enough to do the same closet twice in a row but I would bet my monies that’s where they were.

[[MORE]]

Stumbled down the halls when I noticed a door slightly left ajar. Yup. There they were. As I approached I could hear a conversation being had between Tak and Zim. GOOD. I can grab them all at once. I slowly opened the door juuuust enough to squeeze my body through and crept in behind boxes , eyeing the mess of once-again ripped open junk food and wrappers littering the floor. I sat behind a rather large box (big enough to shield me from sight at the very least) and waited for the opportunity to pounce.

Skoodge was sitting on the floor very much invested in the “ploof puffs” he was shoving into his adorable chubby face. Not really paying much mind to the other two. Zim and Tak sat atop two boxes staring each other down. Tak had her back to me and Zim was so fixated on his enemy, that he didn’t notice me peeking out from the box behind her. I could see on Zim’s face that SOMETHING said before my arrival was eating at him. The conversation continued-

“I’m telling you the truth, Zim.”

“There is NO WAY you did it on your own, Tak.”

“You think I’m lying? Or is your pride eating away at you because I’m clearly the superior soldier to-be?”

“There is NO WAY YOU would hurt my pride. BESIDES, how could someone with your intellectual shortcomings accomplish something soldiers are trained YEARS to do?!”

“Okay, fine. This will shut you up, you reject!”

I couldn’t see her face but she stood straight and her body tighten, I could see her fists turning pale by the amount of pressure she was putting on them. The ports on her back slowly opened and her PAK legs menacingly emerged. Awkwardly crawling out and wobbling as the touched the ground and lifted her mid air.

Skoodge panicked and fled at the sight of the thin, metallic limbs- having never seen or been told about these things prior, this must have been quite terrifying. And it’s true. I was shocked myself. The shit was right. Irken soldiers are taught how to use these well into their military training and it takes a tremendous amount of skill and concentration to activate. For a smeet this was basically unheard of. Tak May very well be the most advanced smeet in Irken history.

Zim was.... far from impressed. He puffed his cheeks and pouted quietly as Tak spat insult after insult to him, Landing harsh and pride crushing comments. I almost felt sorry. It wasn’t until one of her legs abandoned its position of stabilizer and shakily made its way toward Zim’s throat that I knew I had to step in NOW.

Not wanting to use my taser on her, I did the next best thing. I took my boot off and smacked it on the PAK leg closest to me, knocking her off balance and bringing her hurdling downwards. The PAK legs quickly retreated back into their holder and the small Irken was left confused and slightly stunned by the secret attack.

Skoodge ran over to me, tears in his eyes, wailing about the scary legs. He clung to my foot tight. Real tight. Kid has a good grip. I (and my newfound leech) walked over to Tak to picked her up. She just stared at the floor, quickly blinking and not saying a word. Man.... I got her good. I put her to my chest and she didn’t budge. It was unnerving to say the least but she was still alive so.... I just gotta gather the last one.

Zim was spaced out. Totally lost in thought. Didn’t even twitch when I approached him. Seeing those legs really internally triggered something. I scoop him up and stare. I might have well had not been there as far as he was concerned. He was gone from this place.

We get back to the smeetery and I drop off Zim and Skoodge (Skoodge waved me good-bye too. He is so cute sometimes) and made my way to the medical ward with Tak. Just to make sure I didn’t mess her up too bad, you know? The staff there assured me she was okay and just stunned but I told them to keep her for testing anyway. Can’t have that on my conscience.

By the time I got back to the smeetery, Zim was gone and Skoodge was alone, doing some light reading in the form of a cooking magazine. Where he got it, I didn’t ask. It was unusual to see these two separated though. “Where is Zim?” I asked confused. “Hmmm?” He hummed with a slight jump. Must’ve startled him. “Zim wanted to go to the tube room. Is Tak okay?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. She’s fine. You okay though?”

“Yeah. That was just scary.”

“They really aren’t. Just another tool we have to protect ourselves and aid ‘n battle. One day you will be trained to use yours too.”

His eyes lit up in wonder and confusion “I HAVE THEM TOO?????”

“Yup. But it’s totally normal you can’t use them yet though. The fact that Tak could is real unusual. I know you’ll get there.” I said ruffling his antenna. He let out a laugh and smiled “Thanks”

“Anytime. Imma see what the little shit is up to.”

“HAVE FUN!” He joyfully waved as I walked away. Skoodge is unusual too. Now that I think about it, everyone associated with the little shit is so quirky. This batch of smeets...they really do have bright futures ahead of them.

Walking through the doors to the usually silent unborn sleeping chambers, the room echoed with low, muffled grunts and heavy breathing. I know this voice. I just had to find him.

Tucked off to one of the corners of the massive room, Zim was doubled over panting, clutching at his chest. His PAK opened and his legs partially exposed, spazzing and sparking, filling the air around him with a dangerous electrical charge. Never in all my life have I seen a PAK respond this way. His body seized, confulsing constantly. His eyes welled with tears, sweat dripping down his entire frame. Veins bulged out of his skin.

Here is something ya gotta know about Irken anatomy. PAKs serve as a second brain and is connected to the organic brain through the spine by a series of wires. Some things are only possible BECAUSE of this connection. Like using PAK legs. The host needs to be able to simultaneously create a gateway both consciously and subconsciously to allow data to flow between the two. Using the legs as an extension of their organic bodies. Being able to tell each of the 4 legs to move independently but having enough focus to not completely be distracted by it. Kinda like breathing. Your brain knows to do it automatically. But if you wanted to, you could alter its patterns. Except a loss of control would mean a comrade getting empaled. Concentration and data input is everything. I’m gettin side tracked though, I didn’t even know it was POSSIBLE to see the bridge between the two minds. But here they were. I could see every ridge, every curve of the wiring violently throbbing.

This is bad. THIS IS SO BAD.

I tried to grab him- he needed medical attention ASAP. WHAT ON IRK WAS HAPPENING!? But as I reached for him, the legs became defensive and started stabbing in my direction. The electrical charge strengthened too. Zim coiled into himself more. He wanted to scream. I could see it in his face. But every time he opened that yap of his- there was nothing.

Oh, My tallest. The closer I got to him, the more his PAK simultaneously defended/harmed him. I screamed for help. Someone.... ANYONE, please. Come! I have no idea what’s going on!

“....z-zara....” I heard faintly between gasps and groans. He reached his hand to me. FUCK THIS. I cannot let the suffering go on any longer. I’m sorry, Zim. But I gotta do this.

I grabbed my taser out and gave his PAK a short jolt, praying that it would short circuit and reboot. His legs stabbed into my hand before going limp, just like the rest of him. The bright pink lights emminating from his back faded to a faint, dim color. But it was still lit. Please. PLEASE. Be okay.

There was a moment of silence. Felt like a decade though, wondering if it worked. Or if I just made the worst mistake of my career.

“REACTIVATING”

The PAK light shone bright again and gave the body a single jolt. The legs instantly retracted. He stirred, groaning. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, not a single word spoken between us. He looked at me, pained and spiritually drained. “Zara....” he finally said.

I grabbed him and gave him a hug. I was so relieved. He was okay. He just accepted my embrace. He didn’t have the strength to fight. Slowly pulling him away, I could finally speak. “Imma take you to the medical station, okay?” He replied with a humm. Response accepted.

The smeetery staff rushed in (it was so hard to believe only a moment had passed In real time) but I took it upon myself to hand deliver him where he needed to be. It was a long, unsettlingly uncomfortable walk. But this.... I wanted to be here. I needed to. Unfortunately, we soon arrived to the medical station and I finally had to hand him off and return to my shift. I didn’t wanna leave him. Not one bit. I can’t even imagine how he was feeling. But I have a job to do. We gave each other a sad look as we parted. There was a slight pain in my chest the whole time.

The rest of the day dragged on what seemed like years but within a few hours, Zim had been released from care and returned to the Smeetery by a member of the medical staff. She just silently walked in, spoke to a smeetery staff member, placed him on the floor and disappeared. I was thrilled (I would never tell him that though). But I can tell he was still deeply upset. I approached him and asked if he was okay. His eyes said more than his words ever could. I picked him up. I honestly don’t have a game plan but... he needs a few minutes to breathe, I think.

I wave to another guard and ask her to take my place. She saw the smeet I held close and said “fine. But you owe me one.” Wouldn’t be the first time Kira helped me out. She was probably the closest thing to a friend I had in this place. I thanked her and took my leave. Zim didn’t really ask any questions. Just kinda went for the ride.

We wound up in a pantry. I sat down on the cold floor and put him next to me. This... was awkward. I couldn’t figure out what to say or do. Or even why I wound up HERE of all places. Why not my office???? Thankfully, he tore me away from my thoughts and broke the ice.

“Why are we here? Don’t you usually want Zim OUT of the pantry?”

“Uhhhhhh.... you looked like you needed a few minutes to breathe.”

He hugged his knees. “Zim is fine.”

There was that silence again. I’m the adult here. I gotta do something....right?

“You know, the thing with Tak has never happened before.”

“Just rub it in...” he mumbled burying his face into his legs.

“But, you were able to pull yours out too. Even just a little. That’s impressive too.”

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but mine tried to kill me.”

“Maybe yours are just-“

“The medical staff-“ he cut me off “told me I might never be able to use them right. That Zim might be “defective”.”

I was agitated to say the least. How can you say something like that to a smeet? A BABY? This little soul who just began living this life he never asked for? My emotions got the best of me. “Listen here, Zim. Maybe you can’t use your legs the way she does. Or the way I do. But I know you will find a way. You have never bowed down when the odds were stack against you before. Why start now?”

He didn’t stir. I passionately rambled on “you are a lot of things. Cunning. Manipulative. Obsessive. Persuasive. Passionate. But you are damn smart. I’m constantly surprised by your ingenuity and craftsmanship. You know how good I am at dismantling your bombs at this point? You challenge those around you to grow and be better. I wish you WOULDN’T challenge me with explosives, mind you, but you aren’t defective. No way, no how. You are different. And no one said different is bad. Just means you leave your mark in ways no one expected before. And maybe that scares some but.... I believe that you can do amazing things. And screw em If they don’t see it.”

He let out a small chuckle. It was refreshing to hear, even if it was a sad, emotionally drained laugh.

“Does that mean you don’t hate me?”

“I didn’t say all that now.”

He smiled with sorrow and hugged himself tighter.

Maybe that was a little too deep. I was actually kinda embarrassed for that. But.... perhaps I could say something else to make him feel better. “You know” I started “when I have a bad day, I like to look at the stars. You can’t see them here but they always put me at ease.”

“Stars?”

“Yeah. They exist outside the planet, in space. Burning, exploding balls of chemicals. Mostly hydrogen and helium. But from Irk’s surface, they are just beautiful bright lights littering the sky. You can’t see them everywhere here ‘cuz of the brightness of the surface’s refelection in our atmosphere. But I came from the sugar mines before I was a guard. It’s a lot less industrial and darker there so it was always so much easier to see.”

“Burning balls? Really?” He scoffed, amused and confused but intrigued.

“I guess tellin’ you about ‘em doesn’t do it justice. Here. Let me show you. Computer.”

My PAK lit up and released a small floating, mechanical ball with a small circular screen used for projections. Zim just stared. “Show us stars.”

As instructed, the screen painted a gorgeous night sky (as “night” as Irken pink skies get anyway) glistening with hundreds of stars. Zim stared, taken aback. There was a slight sparkle in his face. Good. This helped. Thank the Tallest. The projection stayed active for only a moment before I thought it was enough. Without saying anything, the orb returned to where it had come from.

“You okay?” I finally asked, knowing the answer already but hoping for the best.

“.... can we stay here a little bit longer?”

I can tell in his voice, he was embarrassed. Ashamed. Depressed. Confused. Self-loathing. His whole world thrown in a blender. “Sure” I said pulling him closer to my leg. I kept my hand on his back, gently stroking it. Imagine my surprise when he accepted my compassion and snuggled up to me.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking but all my organic brain kept repeating was “just be there for him.” I dunno what this feeling in my spooch could have been but it felt knotted and twisted at the sight of his misery. I had to look away. What is this smeet? Why does he make me feel this way? Do I have a bug? Is this something else I don’t understand? ...You know what? It’s Best not to think too much about it, I guess. Just take in this silence with the little shit. He will be back to his old self tomorrow I bet.

Zara signing off

[the-firebird69]

Did a great night so far Cloverfield went off good and all sorts of people who died and cleared New York City again and it took what we needed and we got that going and we've got clover out there doing the job he took out tons of stuff underwater it's a huge amount of things to do under there it's really yes a lot of stupid things off the city I got a list of work and India the creature is risen and it's time for it to go to Mexico New Mexico pretty soon in that it's going to get the ship and that ship is there shortly and they're going to see what happens because as much just going to take it over and possibly see who's flying it and that's going to happen within moments district 9 I already happens and no spots are running the saucers but now the bugs are grabbing tons of them because they are wearing out of YouTube in space it's a huge huge fight bugs are kicking ass.

Huge robots I brought out tonight gigantic and all over Earth doing the job calling you out sickness huge numbers too gigantic numbers. They also see the bJ and others are losing their everything that they had and they're going down the tubes their ships and stuff are crashing and disappearing and junk and their bases are disappearing and their people disappearing and he's going down cuz he should but he is a huge a****** that guy. Is losing cloud City and it's to the dragons and he's going to lose all of what he has it's cloud City and anything associated with it to dragons cuzthere a huge.

The cracking of the east coast is up momentarily and he'll be out the island is prepped and ready to go up and has to at any moment and he says let's get it going it's almost daybreak let's get some people up there and let's get all the people that want to see it happen and then have one to to assist in the area let's knock it out and requesting now all personnel were available and not on the duty that requires them to be that area to report to duty immediately and any Giants there available

We're going to help now and we can see it moving and there's tons and tons of people volunteering and we're rolling on it and it's going and it will be done fairly shortly and he will be out

My son also request any and all troops that are available then are going to be on the northeast or within the bunker or associated to it or that you want to see the bacse in because you want to beat you say to leadership please report to duty and report now in order to ready all the equipment you ready to decon it and to assist doing any task that needs assistance in other words I'd like to have this bunker set up in moments as compared to the other not that was slow but and make sure everything is ready right now to go in. Uriel and Goddess Wife are volunteering and they're sending contingents now and it's because as Uriel and his goddess wife say of our involvement and because we want the leadership to go down and we're sending the contingent and they're going to stay there and they're going to make sure everything is put in correctly and a timely fashion and that it's used and use correctly on them and that's what we're doing it for. And he and she are perfect example of who's volunteering down there are many others and we're going to listen because it is what is happening and this is a momentous occasion and it is in the position that is going to be underneath it their leadership center and it will be a former center and we will be there it is huge and I think everyone I'm feeling a little sleepy but this is going to be a momentous occasion to be marked in our history calendars and my son is leading the motion and move it now and he is in control

Zues says.

I'm headed to the floor to him and we're going to go ahead with us tonight and is a romantic occasion come all of us please let us come together and enjoy the work and enjoy each other's company when we do so

Thor Freya

Waiting for a moment to speak and here it is we're all here and have a great time on Earth and other and that's why I put here and where to do it without harming anyone and these people do not believe that and they're not making it at all and it is pitiful and invisible what happens to them and we must never become them so hereby state that we are going to take over their capital and become their leadership in that we will contain law and order and peace throughout the world until we are taking over fully in God's name amen

And my Father and Mother says Amen to that we may know for proceed. And I used to go ahead

Darth Maul we give the go ahead Darth Talon

[houseclearanceleicester1]

What To Ask When Hiring House Clearance Leicester Based Agency

If you run a business, your time is more valued and should be used to deal with essential matters for the business's benefit. You may also not get time to carry different types of waste to other places. For example, you cannot just throw hazardous chemicals anywhere since they can be harmful to the environment.

By taking the waste to the dump or recycling facility by yourself, you take a lot of time to use for other purposes. Therefore, hiring a garden and house clearance Leicester based agencies to perform the task for you will be beneficial to your business. But before you do that, here are what you need to ask them. Read below.

What type of vans do they have?

Excellent house clearance Leicester based agencies have large vans and trucks to render the service efficiently. The size matters, especially when you are going for the commercial clearance. Also, ask them if their vans are insured to carry waste or if they have the right kind of machinery to clear your house? These questions will give you a good idea when looking for the best house clearance agency out there.

Do they provide valuation services?

Look for house and garden clearance Leicester based agencies that provide valuation services. So if you need to dispose of an item you don't know the value of, ask them. They can offer their professional and trusted service for items in good condition. Ask this before you hire them so that transparency is maintained in case they find something worth a lot of money. A good and reputed house clearance company will hand over any valuable thing to you and let you know the good price you can get after selling it.

Can you provide evidence of final disposal?

It takes little effort for a waste carrier to provide a tipping receipt and other evidence of final disposal. However, you can't immediately have these. Therefore, it's crucial to check that any house and garden clearance Leicester based agencies are happy and able to provide this information – ask for examples of evidence supplied to other clients. It will offer peace of mind about the waste audit trail and allow a much better understanding of how much waste is avoiding landfill.

Do you have separate arrangements for collecting hazardous waste?

Hazardous waste, such as fridges, TVs, computer monitors and fluorescent lamp tubes, should not be bundled in with general waste and should only be disposed of at licensed facilities to handle such waste. You need to consider three factors when knowing an agency's procedure for hazardous waste collection.

Firstly, look for a Leicester garden waste removal agency that supplies hazardous waste consignment notes to their clients, copies of which should be kept for three years – so ask to see examples of some that have been provided to other clients. Secondly, expect higher disposal fees because it is more costly to dispose of hazardous waste at a properly licensed facility to handle it. Thirdly, ask for evidence of ultimate disposal to prove hazardous waste is disposed of via the appropriate channels.

What type of property do you clear?

A good home clearance firm should have the capacity to clear the contents of any property. It can either be real estates for let, offices, hotels, stores and factories.  

Are you fully licensed?

Reputable house clearance and removal firms will have a valid waste carrier's license. Besides that, look for Leicester garden waste removal agencies that are a member of a reputable association. This is a legal requirement for any company that handles and disposes of waste.

Are you fully insured?

Insurance is not a legal requirement for home clearance firms. However, a good agency has this.  With an insured house clearance firm, you'll have peace of mind knowing that if any of your valuables get damaged during the clearing process, the company will cover the cost of repairs.

Which areas do you service?

Find out whether you live within the company's catchment zone. Hire an agency that has your area included. That means you can minimise house clearance costs if you choose a company in the right location.

What types of payments do you accept?

A reputable company should accept various kinds of payment to ensure your convenience. You can pay them by way of issuing a check, your debit or credit card or cash. Beware of companies that accept only cash payments.

These are what you need to ask when hiring a garden and house clearance Leicester based agency. You can ensure getting what you've paid for when you get their help. Not only because you saved a lot of time for yourself, but they are also cost-effective. You have an option to hire a person who owns a truck to carry your junk or perform the sorting, loading, and hauling tasks by yourself, but hiring such an agency has numerous advantages that outweigh the other options. The process is cost-effective in the long run because this will leave your compound tidy. Additionally, they can help you in recycling some of your waste materials. So keep in mind the questions mentioned in this article and use them when hiring a garden and house clearance Leicester based agency.

[janisthaafertility]

Causes and Risks

The causes and risks associated with fertility issues are plenty. Due to the change in environmental conditions, economy, society and other factors, the causes for fertility issues have also doubled. To begin with, age is a factor that is often related to difficulty in conception.

Women above the age of 35 are known to have difficulties and with increased choice of delayed pregnancy, often due to career choices, fertility is easily affected. Physiological issues include complications with ovulation – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure (loss of eggs from ovaries), imbalance of hormones; issues with the fallopian tubes (damage or blockage), endometriosis (extra tissue growth), and uterine factors such as tumours, inflammation, birth defects etc. Of late, it has been noted that a lot of women under the age of 30 experience low levels of Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), which leads to ageing of the ovaries faster than one’s chronological age.

Several lifestyle practices that are on the rise have also added as risk factors. Smoking, intake of alcohol and several recreational drugs are known to affect fertility. Smoking damages the cervix and fallopian tubes, increasing chances of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Obesity or being overweight affects the normal process of ovulation, due to lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle. Stress, due to increased working hours, career goals or other factors, is another huge impediment that adds to fertility issues. Hormonal imbalances are often caused by high-stress levels.

The above risk factors are in fact interlinked to each other. More stress leads people to indulge in certain habits. This could lead to other physical conditions that need to be corrected in order to conceive.

A solution to this problem

Although the picture looks a bit grim, measures can be taken up in preventing the situation or correcting the same, in cases of complications. First and foremost, it is important for women to pay special attention to their health. Eating well, healthy and on time is of prime importance.

A healthy and balanced diet, free of junk and full of anti-oxidants (berries, beans, dark chocolate, red cabbage etc) helps improve fertility.  Regular exercising to keep the Body-Mass Index (BMI) in the normal range of 18.9 to 25, helps in healthy ovulation. It helps prevent issues of PCOS, hormonal imbalance etc. Regular health check-ups on blood pressure, diabetes, and thyroid are also essential. At other times, certain factors may be far more complicated and require medical help. It is important to consult an experienced gynaecologist who understands the conditions and has a well-equipped centre with all the facilities to provide the right kind of treatment.

At, Dr Swetha.Y.Baratikkae’s Janisthaa Fertility Center and Hospital, located in Basaveshwar Nagar, numerous expectant couples visit on a day to day basis with a wide range of problems. They are treated with the utmost care by all the staff and experts at the centre.

Diagnosis is made using the latest technology that is available under the same roof, to avoid the patients from running pillar to post. Once diagnosed, the condition is explained in most simple terms to create awareness and appropriate treatment method is suggested. Several visitors have received successful treatment and have found the centre to be a place that truly opens the doors of parenthood.

For more information on the various treatment methods available at the centre, visit the website www.Janisthaaivf.com and book a free consultation to find solutions to any kind of fertility-related issues.

[the-art-of-animated-gifs]

Should Gif Artists be Paid?

Rambling thoughts on Instagram now owning Giphy

Part 2:  Why did Instagram reject gifs?

Now I am an Instagram fan, as I have written about, and I believe they had a reason for not putting gifs on their platform.  Let me explain.

Gifs are democratic in that anyone can easily generate one, and the dominant aesthetic at the time Instagram came out was represented by the likes of Steph Davidson.  Garish, cartoony, bold colors, energetic, often crude.  The opposite of clean, white space ‘Apple style’.  And the gif world itself was associated with 4Chan and low rent things like that.  You know....memes.

Instagram’s design minimized text and enabled the image to dominate the interface.  This was genius, in my opinion.  So many other popular apps like You Tube and Facebook and Reddit and even Tumblr had a lot of junk around the image, and still do - and images are usually the only thing people want to see.   Someone at Instagram designed the interface for images and minimized text and links (and really only for phone or tablet - it is problematic on a computer screen).  This design dovetailed beautifully with the clean white space of ‘Apple Style’ that has been so dominant.  Instagram fits in with Apple style so well that it could have been designed by Apple.

It worked then and it is still, in my opinion, why it is so popular.  They applied this same aesthetic to IGTV, which is beautiful imho, but no one seems to care about it the way they do Instagram.  But that is another story.

But they had a problem - how to deal with motion?  Not adding motion would limit the scope of what people could post - and it would be anti-modern. People love motion.  But adding short motion meant adding gifs which were the way you did short motion 10 years ago.  And adding gifs would enable that aesthetic to invade their pristine space.  So they came up with this idea of short mp4s instead and I am sure that the idea was that anyone on 4Chan who created a crude gif was very unlikely to go to the trouble of converting it into an .mp4 file and then post on Instagram.  People move fast, and no one wanted to do that.  I remember feeling that way the first time I was faced with putting my gifs on Instagram:  I have to do what?  and a specific size?  What a hassle.  And the kind of motion they really wanted - people and nature, etc.  were easily integrated from people’s phones.

All this was to enable a culture of beautiful photos.  I think graphics have been a bonus for Instagram - what they really cared about was the photos.  It was a way to take the feature of Facebook that many people loved most, posting and looking at beautiful pictures of people, nature, children, dogs, etc.....front and center, without all those annoying links and text blocks all over the screen.

Next:  But wait....Gifs are not going away

------------------------------------

If you have found this content valuable considering getting me a cup of coffee

[noreenluce552]

Drug Addicts And Drug Rehab Centers

Try to eat smaller meals more traditionally. Less is more. It's time to consider charge with the items you chew on. Take a strong step towards getting a set of six pack abs by integrating the ten foods below into your diet, and eliminating the junk. Cannabis vodka is tough to get making it only sold by a few stores all over the world. You've got to selected that you are buying authentic Cannabis vodka and not some homemade bootleg form. Many people enjoy brewing incredibly homemade vodka with stems and seeds but you might be an occasion full consuming system. You can look for the real thing online on at absinthe liquor brands. I'd like my back, lats and traps Cannabis Study to check full and Herbal Pure CBD Tincture Pure CBD Oil powerful and I'd personally sure like to get associated with these chicken legs. We're sure every single guy we know would want to be bigger and stronger. Before we start exercising details flab, ought to find out the root involving the problem so that anyone can win the battle of the bulge. The excess flab can be due to poor calorie burning. Our appetite is controlled by hormones produced by our body and certain chemicals produced our minds. We should strive to balance our hormones and consume omegas, pumpkin oil, Herbal Pure CBD Oil Benefits, flaxseed oil as they simply help reduce fat. Drinking water for shape is optimistic. Water with flavoring? As Rabbis usually says, we could look at the in distinct ways. Funny sometimes are Rabbis but in fact there is just too very much wisdom because they. You see, you in no way go wrong with ingesting water. No one does. Any liquid that's not nesessary by the body gets right out of the body. The extra is flushed out, far less difficult our system gets, not to mention the healthier we become. What ought being bothering is what we mix with the actual. Perfect eating always leads to perfect lose weight. Top price for meds at this "out-of-the-way" location is $55 an eighth. This is the closest dispensary to Poway / Scrips. Saturdays, Miramar Wellness sells a special "4 gram eighth", prices as marked on the daily compilation. On Sunday, make a small donation on the Center in order to get a free joint. First-time patients get yourself a free gram of mid-range meds. One of the several largest selections of Sativa meds in San Mikka. This is my big week. I hope that all Jack's supplies come in so he will come home this week . The VA ordered them this morning. I'm waiting for meds, the bed and the tube meat. If reside in America, you will probably be flying. My suggestion might be to bookend an Amsterdam trip in between England, France and or Germany. I make this suggestion two reasons. Firstly, those countries have bigger international airports than Schiphol in Netherlands. Therefore you will save a little money on transatlantic airline tickets. We dug into the internet and found three airlines that offer quick affordable trips from neighboring European countries. These airlines included RyanAir, Air Lingus and uncomplicated Jet. We opted with Easy Airplane. It was a 1 hour flight from London, uk. For the two of us a R/T cost us less than $150 all together. Big sizes of omega 3 is the same at the regular sizes. Each one has to go through a standard of quality check to present you the appropiate product for your wellbeing. Omega 3 is for a capsule or a liquid for quick swallowing. The larger the order, an price is more superior.

[dummyclip-blog]

Dummies With regard to Babies

As a Midwife and Child Health Health care worker who works closely having babies from birth to five years old, I have some practical insight into the use of a new dummy for babies i would like to share with you. 6 constructive reasons for a baby to use a junk. 5 ways a baby is usually disadvantaged for using a clod. What type of dummy to choose: Only some babies take to sucking your dummy but there are absolutely babies in the world that witness sucking one. These are: Toddlers who are 3 - month old who have learnt to require and feed well from breast but think they have to feed constantly. In this problem, the breast feeding mother in addition to her nipples could complete with some relief and possibly restore from constant sucking. However, it is, important not to substitute any breast feed for a device soothe as this can reduce dairy products production resulting in an undernourished and unsettled baby.

Child sucking a dummy can help to eliminate their tummy discomfort plus pain until the cause of this and discomfort is determined and relieved. Sucking some sort of dummy can reduce the pain connected with oesophageal reflux allowing for additionally sleep! Recent knowledge implies a baby sucking a trick can reduce the incidence with SIDS (Sudden Infant Passing away Syndrome). This is thought to be caused by a baby being in a more forewarning state of sleep and also having their airways in a very more open position counting in better air entry. There are other factors relating to the lessen of SIDS. Premature toddlers are given a dummy to help encourage them suck if they are fed via a tube in order to stimulate their suck previous to they are able to breast feed.

A child who settles to sleep finest with a sucking action. Normally, a baby who is fed often breast milk or child formula from a bottle has a dummy to build up the length of fondling time required in a day. Let us discuss 5 reasons why a baby is definitely disadvantaged using a dummy. It comes with an increased risk of bacterial infections by dirty dummies. Sterilise these individuals regularly and throw out almost any that have cracks or worn out areas where bacteria can pay back. The continued use of a new dummy after 3 instructions 4 months can build strong sleep associations that could lead to unsettled sleep inside months that follow. The off the shelf and frequent use of your dummy has been shown to decrease how much time a woman will continue to breast area feed.

A young baby who all sucks too often on a junk can be too tired to get nutritional breast feeding. The use of any dummy after 9 several months can not only disturb sleeping patterns but it can also stop speech development. It can be hard know which dummy is ideal when there is a large variety available. Consider these 3 things which will closely mimic a chest nipple. Look for the clod that is soft and delicate. The brown latex rubberize is usually the softest. Go with a shape that is similar to a right nip, this is usually the round fruit or bulb shaped device. It needs to be large enough to arrive at back into the back of the child's mouth. This will depend on the length of baby. With the above facts in mind, I believe there is a put for a dummy in a little one's life providing that it is the right dummy used at an ideal time and only for the first three or more - 4 months regarding life when a baby's robust sucking reflex is present. Next they discover other ways for being soothed other than a trick.

[alanaandthesong]

Saddle Sore.

**The following is a piece for a newsletter catering to female cyclists called Dynamo Jenny, which is hosted by the Adventure Cycling Association.** >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   We walked into the dimly lit pub, our clipless shoes glancing off the concrete floor. As soon as I set my bags down at our table, I limped directly to the bathroom. I gingerly peeled off my bike shorts, trying to be gentle with the sores. I whimpered, and shed a few tears, as my piss stung the blisters on my labia. I cradled my head in my hands as I let the last drops fall into the bowl, and gently patted dry. At least there would be a beer waiting for me at the table, even if I couldn't sit straight on the stool. 

We were twelve days and 277 miles into what would turn out to be an 1800-mile trip through Canada, beginning in Anchorage, Alaska and ending in Whitefish, Montana. 

Before beginning this trip I hadn't trained a lick, let alone ridden more than 20 miles in a single day. I started the trip for two reasons: 1) my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to, 2) I couldn't see any reason why not. 

There is one big positive to not preparing particularly well for a trip, and it’s that you don't run the risk of over-preparing - of waiting until you know you're "ready" to launch.  You can read all the blogs, pack all the maps, exercise all the muscles, but if something can truly be prepared for, then that "something" can’t possibly be an adventure. 

The cons, on the other hand, are obvious; you run the risk of getting lost, or finding yourself without food or potable water. Maybe your gear fails you, and you find yourself with a flat and no patch kit in the middle of nowhere.

Or maybe you find out three days into your 45-day trip that you are paired with an ill-fitting bike saddle.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Day one: 40 miles. 

Day two: 60 miles. 

Day three: 90 miles. 

It was almost 11 p.m. on our third day when we finally rolled into the podunk town that was our destination for the night. An exhaustion began to set in that was far more than physical: I was zapped to the very core of my being. Part of it was that I was promised an easy time finding lodging once we got to town, and this turned out to be very much not true. But on top of that, my bum was so fatigued that getting on and off the saddle while we were hunting for a place to camp was just shy of torture. 

Once we found a site, I was too dejected to eat; I crawled into our tent and began to weakly peel off my layers. When I got to my bike shorts, I realized something was wrong. I pulled out our tiny compact mirror and looked at my nether regions...

For the next nine days, the pain got progressively worse, but we still managed to average sixty miles a day. My best defense was to stay on my bike for as long as possible, since getting off and on was the hardest part. I developed a strict schedule of stripping off my bike shorts to air out my junk at every lunch break, and again as soon as we rolled into camp at the end of each day; of eating too much ibuprofen; of asking Alex for assistance with applying Gold Bond in the places I couldn't quite reach; of slathering on Vagisil before reapplying my shorts, it being the only substitute for Chamois Butt'r I could find in the desolate northern region of the Yukon Territory.  

The first town with any amenities beyond a gas station or a post office was Whitehorse. Whitehorse had a bike shop. Whitehorse was my Mecca. 

The owner of the shop (shoutout to Cadence Cycle) kindly let me install a couple of saddles for a test ride around the block. I swung my leg over the top tube with a wince and pushed off, settling myself cautiously onto the seat. 

Instantly, I began to cry. 

I was overcome with a combination of relief, joy, and exhaustion. The saddle actually made room for me, for my body and my pain. I may as well have been seated on a cloud, I was in such ecstasy. 

We rested for three days so that my sores could scab over and the swelling could go down. When we left, I was playing a whole new game (shoutout to my Specialized Power saddle). 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Was it worth it? 

Most of you won't be surprised to hear me say that it absolutely was. In fact, I wouldn't even say that this was the most difficult part of the tour. 

What may surprise a few more of you is that I wouldn't trade any of those devastating, debilitating, physical, emotional, humiliating experiences if I had the chance. (At one point I even found myself crying under my bike as I lay on top of an actual pile of horseshit.) 

Anyone who thinks that the word "adventure" is synonymous with "good time" has probably never been on one. Of course adventures are fun, unforgettable, and life-giving, but just as much because of the lows as the highs. 

Even though I’d never been on a bike tour before, saying “yes” to going wasn’t out of character for me because I had made a practice of putting myself in new and uncomfortable situations for years. Applying for jobs in new industries, going to parties where I don’t know anyone, or even giving speeches at weddings were all ways I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve learned that when you say "yes" to uncertainty, you say "yes" to ensuring that you will come out of that experience having been challenged, made uncomfortable, and having grown. And that, my friends, is the heart of adventure.

Say "yes" more often, take more risks, and invite the unknown to become a regular part of your existence. However, please do test and break in your saddle before going on tour. There are some things you'd rather not learn the hard way.