#or on a resume/college entry thing would be cool.

[mr-squidgy-jr]

Idea: sleep club

We all get a little brain rest, play calm music( without lyrics for my peoples) bring warm drinks, sleep a little bit, and if you can’t sleep there is a reading corner, and a whispering corner where people just talk about happy things to help others sleep. You can sleep on your own, around a group, or find a buddy to cuddle with or lay your head in their lap! If you sleep in chairs, beds, hammocks, and whatever else, we’ve got it! Forge friendships in silence and chill comfort. Part of being in the club is logging sleep hours, though there is no shame or requirement for a certain number of hours, as everyone has different factors affecting them. For those with sleeping disorders they are asked to explain it when they join so that we may do our best to support them. The club provides menstruation supplies that won’t spill out as you sleep, weighted and non weighted blankets of varying textures for all types , stuffies, pillows, earplugs, heating pads, slightly chilled water, sleepcaps, and more!

[astriiformes]

Hi! I’m a different person asking about applying for herbarium jobs. I actually followed you a little bit ago specifically because I saw you post about working in one, I just hadn’t gotten the courage up to ask about it.

I’m in college now, with plans to go into plant research, and I’m probably going to graduate with a good amount of lab experience. I recently realized though that herbarium work might also be a good fit for me. I’m not quite sure what to ask here, but is there anything that would make that transition difficult? Or anything I should know or focus on before I graduate? I saw you said you had more of a science background so maybe you know what I’m getting at here

Thanks!

So, full disclosure, my herbarium position was a work-study job last year (I have had a.... winding and tenuous path through college and am currently going back to school at 26 to attempt to finish my Bachelor's by doing a weird syncretic individualized degree instead of a standard biology one) and I do not have experience with applying for similar positions as a graduate or more standard professional candidate, which can obviously be quite different for some jobs.

That said, I don't know how long you have left in school, but looking to see if your own university offers any similar options OR if there's a local herbarium or museum where you could volunteer in your (limited, I imagine) free time would probably serve to make you a good candidate for herbarium work. Even working or volunteering in non-herbarium collections may help -- I know one thing that came up as a positive in my interviews was that I already had a lot of collections experience on my resume, even though it was all in zoology and paleontology collections. Any collections job will get you acquainted with basic curatorial duties and procedures, and may even familiarize you with specific methods of data entry or other skills you can namedrop on your resume. Even if it's volunteer work (all of mine was -- my herbarium position was my first ever paid collections job) it's a great thing to be able to show you have experience in.

As far as particular difficulties go... nothing particularly glaring is coming to mind. Working or volunteering in a collections job as a student before you graduate would also probably help you figure out if it's the right field for you, which is always another bonus. If you've largely got lab experience I'm sure you're very familiar with the tedium of data entry even when you're doing cool research (although there is the occasional entertaining error message, haha) and a lot of collections work is pretty data entry-heavy, though with the immense bonus that you are entering data about some pretty fascinating things and may find yourself crying over the human experience while handling lichen specimens that were collected in the mid-19th century (I speak from experience).

Best of luck with whatever route you go down, and I'd love to be able to consider you a collections comrade. Folks who make the jump from research science to museums are sometimes particularly great advocates for the importance of specimen collections, considering how useful they can be to researchers and having the background to explain how collections are used for contemporary science and not simply kept around as relics of the past, which may be an angle for you to consider if you dip your toes into the field.

(And don't be shy if you ever have other questions! I love talking about this stuff.)

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: Fallen Angel Cake

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Rating: T? Words: ~1.4k Fandom: Love Live Sunshine Time Frame: Sometime late in Riko’s 2nd year of college and Yohane’s 1st Events: Femslash February 2023 & Femslash Friday Event Source: @femslashfeb & @femslash-friday-prompts Prompt: Light & Icing Content Warning: Mentions of blood... sorta...

---------

Author’s Note: Combining prompts from two sources again. It was a fun self-challenge last time and, no surprise, it was again this time.

Summary: Yohane bakes on stream for her followers while Riko watches and helps taste test

---------

“And now, we add the blood of my enemies!”

Wha? Riko paused halfway through the door with her hand still on the handle.

The sound that was probably a spoon against the inside of a can came from the kitchen.

Oh, Yocchan is doing another cooking stream. Riko realized and resumed her entry into the apartment. What is she calling angel blood this time? Ketchup? Tomato juice? Red grape juice? No, those didn’t typically come in a can, much less were thick enough that they needed to be scraped out.

Riko continued to ponder the idea as she removed her shoes and hung up her jacket. She smiled as she heard chanting in Latin. She had decided to take a class in Latin recently so she could start understanding what her girlfriend was saying during her rituals. And while she was nowhere near fluent yet, she could pick up some things here and there.

Something about an unholy sacrament? Of course mention of angel blood and the glory of defeating them and whatnot. Something about falling or descending; no surprise there. And…

“Riri!”

No, that wasn’t part of the ritu… oh…

“I didn’t hear you come in!” Yoshiko set down her mixing bowl and opened her arms.

“Sorry, Yocchan,” Riko responded, stepping into the kitchen, “I didn’t mean to interrupt your stream.” She jutted her chin in the direction of Yoshiko’s phone.

“It’s fine! It’s fine!” Yoshiko assured before bouncing on her toes and waving her arms a little to indicate they were still open. “My little demons always love seeing their favorite angel, Riri!”

Says the girl performing a ritual about supposedly sacrificing angel blood… Riko amused herself with the thought as she made her way over to accept her girlfriend’s welcoming embrace. And kiss… geez, she wondered if she would ever get used to doing such things in front of a live stream.

Riko startled as a loud beep sounded behind her and she pulled back from the kiss.

“Oh, the oven is ready.” Yoshiko said as she disengaged from the hug and turned to pick back up her mixing bowl. “Gotta finish this quick.”

“Are you baking a cake?” Riko inquired, moving out of the camera angle.

“Not just any cake, a Fallen Angel Cake!” Yoshiko declared proudly.

“Is that anything like Devil’s food cake?”

“Maybe? The recipe does say it’s supposed to taste like chocolate.”

Riko tilted her head with curiosity. “Supposed to?”

“Well, it doesn’t have any chocolate in it, so yeah.”

“How does that work?”

“The dark magicks of condensed angel blood!” Yoshiko used her elbow to indicate an empty can on the counter as she began to pour the batter into a prepped cake pan.

“Tomato… soup?” Riko’s mind fumbled for a bit. She blinked and leaned forward as if that would somehow change the label she had just read. “Tomato soup… in a cake… Why?”

“One of my little demons sent me a really funny video about it,” Yoshiko explained. “So, I thought I’d try my hand at it.” She stooped to open the oven door and slid in the pan. “Alright, my little demons.” She said as she righted herself. “That concludes this segment of Yohane’s Hellfire Kitchen. The cake is gonna need about fifty minutes to bake, and then like an hour or two to cool before we can add the icing. So, in the meantime, it’s game time! And, if we’re lucky, Riri will do us the honor of joining us.”

Riko chuckled, having somewhat expected the invite. “Alright.” She agreed before the couple made their way into the living room.

---------

“And now, my little demons,” Yoshiko intoned, “it is time to add a sinfully delicious layer of Hellrime to our Fallen Angel Cake!”

Hellrime? Riko thought as she watched Yoshiko’s antics from her position at the kitchen table. Hell fros… Oh, frosting. Riko mildly chastised herself for not figuring that one out right away, especially since Yoshiko had mentioned icing the cake earlier.

Riko watched in amusement as Yoshiko took far too great a pleasure in whipping milk into cream cheese.

“And now, chocolate!” Yoshiko announced.

“I thought there wasn’t any chocolate in the recipe.” Riko said.

“Not in the cake, no.” Yoshiko shook her head. “But in the icing, yes.”

“Isn’t that cheating when it comes to saying it tastes like chocolate without chocolate?”

Yoshiko shrugged. “Apparently it still does with a light frosting made from just milk and powdered sugar. But Yohane loves chocolate.” She grinned. “So, we’re adding chocolate!” She poured the melted chocolate into the mixture with great flair.

Riko chuckled. She was well aware of her girlfriend’s favorite foods. For all of half a second, she wondered if she had missed strawberries being added to the cake before she had arrived home. But then she remembered the recipe Yoshiko had shown her while they waited for the cake to bake. Strawberries were not on the ingredient list, but at the same time, for as strange as the cake was, and knowing Yoshiko’s often off kilter tastes, she couldn’t put it past Yoshiko adding them in anyway. Or cayenne pepper powder. Or Tabasco sauce. Or mayonnaise. Or…

“With this dark ink, Yohane shall inscribe the unholy runes of damnation!” Yoshiko’s voice returned Riko’s attention to reality.

The streaming baker had scooped the frosting into a piping bag and was now positioning it over her cake.

“Hngh!” Yoshiko grunted as she squeezed the bag. “C’mon out you cursed… Geh?!”

“Yocchan!” Riko launched forward.

The piping tip had apparently come off, and the resulting blast of icing had splattered the cake, the counter, the stove, some of the cabinets. And of course, Yoshiko herself.

“Are you alright?” Riko asked as she reached her girlfriend.

“I’m fine…” Yoshiko groused. “Stupid bag…”

Riko brushed a finger across Yoshiko’s cheek, gathering some of the frosting that had managed to land there.

“Riri?” Yoshiko questioned as she watched Riko taste the icing.

“It’s good.” Riko confirmed. “But I believe the recipe called for lightly frosting the cake, not the baker.”

“Riri~” Yoshiko whined as crimson blossomed across her cheeks.

Riko couldn’t help laughing lightly at Yoshiko’s adorable pout.

“Sorry, everyone,” Riko turned toward Yoshiko’s phone. “I think we’re going to have to have a short intermission while I get your master cleaned up. Watch for, uhm… notifications from across the digital void.” Was that how Yoshiko often signed off? “The Hellrime application shall recommence soon.” She tapped the button on the screen that would end the stream.

“Riri is learning Yohane’s methods.” Yoshiko observed, though without dropping into the tone she usually used for Yohane. “Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.” Riko smiled. “Now, let’s get this cleaned up quickly so you can finish your stream.”

“Right.” Yoshiko nodded before finding a towel to begin wiping things down.

---------

“I’m not getting any chocolate from this.” Riko commented after her first bite. “Well, not from the cake anyway.”

“Mm…” Yoshiko nodded in agreement, still chewing and contemplating her own mouthful. “More like gingerbread? I think?”

“But there wasn’t any ginger in the spice mix, was there?”

“No.” Yoshiko shook her head. “Hrm… if it was supposed to taste like chocolate without chocolate, but ended up tasting like ginger without ginger… Maybe Yohane misspoke during her invocations?”

“Maybe.” Riko chuckled. “Still, not a bad cake, Yocchan.”

Yoshiko grinned at the compliment.

“Unexpectedly good, considering the main ingredient. I really thought it would taste like tomatoes.”

Yoshiko nodded. “I did too, honestly. And I’m a little disappointed it didn’t…”

“Really?” Riko asked incredulously, before remembering all of the other odd things Yoshiko enjoyed.

“Anyway, if Riri liked it, maybe Yohane can make it again some time.”

“Maybe with only half a teaspoon of cloves?”

“Agreed, a full teaspoon is a bit overpowering. And maybe since it tastes like gingerbread anyway, maybe actually add ginger?”

“May as well use premixed pumpkin spice at that point.”

“Yeah, I could do that.” Yoshiko agreed before turning her attention to her phone. “So, that’s it, my little demons. Riri and I are in agreement that the Fallen Angel Cake version 1.0 is good, but needs some tweaking. And next time on Yohane’s Hellfire Kitchen, we’ll see if pinto beans can take the heat and be transmogrified into a cake fit for the depths of the Abyss. Be sure to watch thy usual digital messenger systems to that thou might participate in that gathering from across the void.”

With that, Yoshiko ended the stream. She and Riko then moved to the kitchen table to continue enjoying their cake.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: The first thing that came to mind when I decided to combine the prompts of Icing and Light was essentially Riko’s line about frosting the cake not the baker. And while it didn’t necessarily have to be Riko saying it, I could have gone with one of my other flagships, Yohane’s bad luck just seemed the best fit for the idea of accidentally spraying icing on herself.

But what to have her bake? Heaven forbid I have her bake something normal. And I have recently begun working my way through the good recipes posted by B. Dylan Hollis, the tomato soup cake among them. So, why not use that? It seems like a recipe that would amuse Yohane enough to try.

And in all honesty, the cake really isn’t all that bad. It’s not mind blowingly good by any means, basically just a spice cake with unusual ingredients, but definitely not bad. So if you don’t mind some experimentation in the kitchen, I would happily recommend finding Dylan’s videos on YouTube or TikTok and making something a little different. Also, I would recommend following Riko’s advice and backing off a bit on the cloves, unless you really love cloves.

[glittertimes]

I remember when I was getting ready to transfer from community college, my mom said that I needed to go to a good university otherwise the time I spent at cc would have been a waste. And I did a whole journal entry about the things I learned at cc and how I really valued my time there.

And now as I do little resumes for jobs after graduation, I remember how many cool things I did in elementary school through high school like volunteering at summer camps, and all the adventures I went on with girl scouts.

And it makes me wish I had done more in cc, and I wish I remembered how cool I was on my own instead of waiting for my friends (who didn't really value me) to call all day.

[soliverse]

winter promises - q.kn

pairing: gangster au!kun x student!reader

genre: angst, a tiny bit of fluff

warnings: mentions of violence, death, injury and bullying (they weren’t explicitly shown but they were mentioned by the characters. nothing too graphic or triggering.)

word count: 2323

ps: hello @strykiss​! I got chosen as your secret santa this year. I debated whether to post From Home or Winter Promises at the last minute but this was the fic that I promised you at my ask. Sorry it took a while :< I hope you liked it.

Winter Promises is a part of the Secret Santa Collab by @lucaswithnoshirt and @bumblebeenct. This is my very first collab and I’m thankful that you have let me be a part of it.

If you want to read the other fics created by the other amazing nct writers, just head over to @neoculturechristmas​ for the other secret santa entries.

networks: @nctcreations​ @kdiarynet @kpopscape

The harshness of the winter has never felt colder than today. Just a few weeks ago, you planned to visit your brother James and spend the rest of Christmas break together. Everything changed when you received a call from the police a few days ago. You almost broke down when they told you about your brother’s passing.

You lived in a different area from your brother because you had to go to school. All this time, you believed that your brother is a salesman. That’s how he was able to pay for college fees and living expenses. Little did you know, he was actually hiding a secret from you.

The police found his body after a gang fight. After a bit of an investigation, they discovered that your brother is actually a member of one of the notorious gangs in the area. He is one of the Guardias. They are people of the night, lurking in the shadows and can only be identified by the tattoo of a black wolf in their forearms. That explains why he wore those long sleeves all of the time whenever he visits, even when in the blistering heat. He just used the excuse that he had to look professional at all times

What’s worse about his death is you had no other living relatives. You were both orphans that got kicked out of the systems when you got older. Nobody attended his funeral but the priest and yourself.

You stood at the middle of the field alone, the cemetery wrapped in a think blanket of snow. You did nothing for the past few hours but stood there in front of his grave and stared blankly at his epitaph.

IN MEMORIAM

JAMES Y/L/N

March 31, 199x – December 20, 20xx

A LOVING BROTHER

Reading the engraved letters made you tear up again.

You just can’t believe that he had to die like this, that he had to lie to make you feel better. You wondered how much he had to suffer just seconds before he dies, recalling the horrible state of his body when they discovered him. Just thinking about it made you shake from anger and grief. It didn’t take long before you broke down and sat right next to the grave hugging your knees.

“Hey…”

You were interrupted by a concerned Kun. He pulled you towards him and wrapped his loving arms around you.

“Sorry for being late.”

You desperately needed someone that day and him coming meant the world to you. If there’s someone that will understand what you are currently going through, it would be him. Just like the two of you, he’s also alone because he had to study overseas. He had a brotherly bond with James, like he’s an extension of your brother. James would always tell Kun that he would be the one to take care of you while he’s gone. It’s safe to say that he still fulfilled that promise.

“I’m sorry you had to spend Christmas like this…”

Eventually, he took your hands to find a nearby bench that you can sit comfortably. He started patting your head and never let go of you until you stopped crying.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming.”

He handed you a handkerchief from his pockets so you can wipe your tears away. His hand still remained your shoulders, patting it gently to calm you down.

“If it makes you feel any better, I got a gift for you.”

He started patting all over his winter coat and his pockets to look for something. Taking it out on one of his inner pockets, he pulled out a box wrapped with a tiny red bow on top. You opened it right away and there was a unique bracelet inside of it.

“Merry Christmas Y/N. I made a promise to James when he’s still alive...”

He took your hand and placed the bracelet in your palms.

“As long as you’re wearing this, James and I will always be with you…”

Your heart melted as he said this to you. You couldn’t help yourself but to hug him once again. His touch felt like summer on this cold, winter night.

///

About a few weeks passed by and your classes resumed once again. You used that supposed break to mourn over James and help yourself to get over from his loss. Kun had a part-time job to attend to, but he always made sure to check on you from time to time.

Wintertime still surrounded the area, but some people already took down their decorations and things went back to normal. As you skipped across the snowy road, you couldn’t help but stare at the thing that’s jingling in your right arm. You stopped on your tracks and held it up to the sky. Your eyes squinted, trying to look for something special in the bracelet that the Kun gave you for Christmas.

It was the single thing that made you smile every day. His words repeated in your head like a broken record and you can’t help but blush at the thought of it. You always this little crush on him even before, but his caring nature the past couple of weeks make your heart flutter even more. This made you unconsciously touch it. You raised your arm up to your eye level and you finally realized that the bracelet is held together by two wolves, one on each side of the bracelet. You wondered why this was the design that he chose, considering that it doesn’t look that girly. It was weird, but you just shrugged it off when you realized that you still have to walk to school.

///

You came just shy a few minutes before the class starts. The professor is still out of sight, so you bowed to greet everyone inside before you walk towards your desk. The class didn’t pay you any attention. It’s always been that way ever since you got admitted to the school. Making friends is hard when people judge you from the way that you dress or the life that you live in every day. You don’t get to wear nice cloths just like everybody else because you liked to save your money for things that are more important.

The other girls would roll their eyes out and point out how worn out your uniform looks or make gestures behind your back. It stayed that way for years, but you never had the guts to tell Kun or James. You have to be strong for yourself sometimes and just ignored their mockery.

You were taking out the textbooks from your bag when you overheard the other girls squealing excitedly at each other. One of them is your classmate Lilith. Everyone thinks she’s so cool because she has a gangster boyfriend that buys her expensive stuff. It’s probably another designer brand bag or something.

“It looks so pretty! Have you tried using it yet?”

You swear that you can sense Lilith’s condescending smirk even when your back is turned against her.

“I haven’t actually. But he said it’s suuuuppppeeeer expensive. Like, it’s worth more than anything he’s ever bought me. I can’t wait to use it at clubs tonight!”

She said in this exaggerated tone that you hate. She had this habit of making herself extra loud so that you’ll hear what she’s trying. You roll your eyes internally and just proceeded to open your notes and tried to recall the lessons that you had for the past few weeks.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look that much…”

“Ugh…” She sounded so offended at her friend’s remark.

“This bracelet are only given to very special people. It means they are under the protection of the whole group. It means nobody is allowed to touch the very fiber of her being. I can basically do whatever I want and no one will stop me.”

Your hopes of concentrating on your lessons was completely thrown out of the window. At a desperate attempt to keep your sanity intact, you cupped both of your ears with your hands.

“Special, huh? Then why does Y/N have one too?”

“There’s no way…”

You yelped as you felt someone yank out your hand away from your head.

“What do you want, Lilith?”

She yanked it again towards her face and so she can get a better view of your right hand.

“Hey! Let me go!”

You tried grabbing your hand away from her at the same time that she lets go of your hand aggressively, the force sending you off to the floor.

“So, you got claimed too huh?”

You glared at her direction, but the bright red thing on her wrists caught your attention. It looked similar to your bracelet, the only difference being that it was red and the wolf was replaced with a silver dragon. It’s strikingly similar to the one you’re currently wearing.

“I wonder which lowlife scum you had to sleep with just so you can have one of those.”

She folded her arms and scoffed at your direction

“Of course. It had to be one of those filthy G-.”

A stern voice interrupted her from the front door.

“Watch your mouth, Lilith.”

The voice came from Kun, you looked incredibly pissed.

“Leave her alone. She just lost her brother.”

Lilith opened her mouth again but Kun just raised his eyebrows at her. His gaze seemed to be sending her a message that only the two of them can understand.

The stand-off have successfully shut Lilith down as she begrudgingly went back to her desk. The professor came right after, so Kun smiled sweetly at your direction before he sat down at his desk.

You got up from the floor and dusted the dirt off of your uniform, still completely oblivious at what just happened. It made you a bit more self-conscious now that everyone has their eyes on you. Thankfully, the professor caught everyone’s attention and your class proceeded as usual.

It didn’t take long before lunch break comes and the bell rang. As soon as the last professor left the door, everyone’s attention was back on you once again. You just sat there awkwardly as you waited for everyone to leave the classroom, not really sure what else to do about this situation.

Kun felt your uneasiness. He stood up from his chair and offered his hand to help you stand up from your chair. Your smile grew wider once again as you took his hand and you walked together to your usual place in the cafeteria.

The both of you took your seats and brought out your lunchbox with you. You took out your lunch, which was a simple meal composed of eggs, bacon and a cup of rice. When took out his containers, you remembered that your bestfriend is actually a bit of a masterchef. There were several varieties of home-cooked meals from his lunchbox. There are dumplings, warm chicken soup, and some of which you don’t even know the names of.

“I made extra so we can share...”

You can tell that there was extra care given to the meals that he made. This man just never fails to amaze you. Looking around the cafeteria, everyone felt the same way. Some of the other girls looked at you with what you can assume is jealousy written all over their faces.

“You know, the girls of this school hate me because they thought I’m your girlfriend right.” He laughed at your comment, his eyes completely disappearing from the stretch of his smile.

“If you’re actually dating me, then I’ll be the luckiest man alive.”

You felt heat coming up from your face, unsure if it was because of his laugh or the thing that he said. Instead of answering him, you took some of the fried rice that he made and stuffed your mouth to hide your embarrassment.

Time passed and you’re about to walk home as well. Kun called out your name and offered to walk you home. You felt some dirty glance being thrown away at your direction once again, but for once, you didn’t mind them.

“Just making sure got home safe.” He explained when you asked him on the way. It’s a sweet gesture from his part once again, but he’s been acting weird throughout the walk. His eyes kept on looking from left to right, as if he’s looking for something.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

He relaxed and his cheery self appeared in front of you once again.

As soon as you got inside your house and closed the door behind you, he started to walk along the snowy road. His uneasiness crept back in, looking left and right to make sure that no one is following him.

His whole demeanor changed as soon as he entered his territory. The apartment that you thought he’s staying in is actually the headquarters of a secret gang that’s meant to protect the whole city. Men lined up in his path, bowing at his presence. At his room, he took off layers of his winter clothing, finally revealing a secret that he’s also been hiding from you. It was a tattoo of a black wolf, only given to the elite members of Guardia.

He sat on his couch and grabbed his phone to dial someone’s number.

“Yes, boss?”

“Hey Xuxi, would you mind giving the Kids a call?”

“Sure. What for?”

“Tell Chan that one of his bitches is misbehaving…”

He rested his head and closed his eyes, reminded of how you were treated earlier by Lilith.

“If he doesn’t do anything about it, I will. Make that very clear to him, unless he wants me to break his other arm.”

“I’m on it, sir.”

The call dropped and his phone was now showing his wallpaper, a candid picture that he took without you knowing.

The other gangs have been becoming bold lately and have orchestrating attacks from left to right. Knowing them, he’s sure that they’ll be going after the next Guardia successor, you.

///

“Protect Y/N at all cost. It won’t take long before the world knows about her real identity.”

That is a promise that he’s willing to keep, even to his death.

[aal-archaeology]

Words from a so-far successful archaeologist (25 years old/recent Ph.D. admit)

Hello Everyone!  I have revived my Tumblr to find many messages asking “what do I do next” when it comes to Archaeology/Anthropology. So I thought I’d create a post explaining what I went through to get to where I am now, and hopefully give some information to those who are pondering on the next steps to take in this truly wonderful field of study.  Quick academic about me: 

Undergrad: Ivy League, Major: Anthropology-Geography, Minor: Religion

After Undergrad: 1 year of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) & Substitute teaching

Graduate School: England MSc in Archaeological Information Systems

After Graduate: 10-month long research grant in Cambodia

Now: (USA)  Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Archaeology Track

I come from a low-middle class family, all of my academics have been funded through financial aid or through grants that I’ve applied for. A lot of the time school and research can get expensive, but that doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy to pursue it!

Per usual, please feel free to DM me at any point with questions (here or IG @ aal.archaeology), I’m always happy to help to the best of my ability. Success in this field is really dependent on networking!

I’ll set this up based on the various landmarks of my academic career: 

1. Undergrad

Themes: Ask for help, build your resume, write down everything

No matter where you are going to school, it is so so so important to use the resources around you. Becoming a professor is HARD work, and each one of your professors went through a lot to be able to stand in front of you and teach you. They’ve likely had years and years of research experience, which is probably still happening behind the scenes of teaching and grading papers. More often than not, professors want to help you, they want students to be excited about the research they’ve worked so hard on, and they want to do what they can to help you achieve your career goals.  Therefore, if there’s a class you’ve taken or a professor whose research you’re interested in, tell them. This is how I got my first experience with archaeology (before I even knew that I wanted to do archaeology). I randomly took an Anthropology class that sounded cool, and after the first class, I was like WOW I love this topic so much and I really want to know more about it. I went up to the professor that was teaching it, told her I was really interested and asked if she knew of any research opportunities available. She then hired me as a student researcher in her lab to do data entry for one of her archaeological projects in Mesoamerica, and after working for her for a few months, she asked me if I wanted to go with her and her team to Mexico for fieldwork. 

         (my timeline at this point: 19 years old, end of Sophomore year)

From this experience, I learned how to apply to grants within the University and funding outside of the University, and was able to FULLY fund my research experience in Mexico. During this fieldwork, I got to work with 3000-year-old artifacts, do archaeoillustration, and eventually got my own chapter published in the book that my professor wrote about the research that was done.

After I got back from Mexico, I started exploring archaeology further. A new professor entered the department who specialized in “digital archaeology,” and his research involved tracking looting patters in Syria using satellite imagery. I thought this was crazy so I then went up to him and asked if I could help him with his research. (the common theme throughout this entire process is just asking for help). From this experience, I learned that I loved the possibilities that technology brought to the study of archaeology, everything from 3D modeling to identification of sites in satellite imagery to spatial mapping in GIS. With this professor, I was able to form an “internship” with him, and continued doing that and other minor projects within the department. I ended up modifying my major to incorporate coursework from the Geography department and created my own “Digital Archaeology” major.

        (my timeline at this point: 22 years old, Senior year)

As graduation began to creep closer, I had been able to get a good amount of lines on my resume. I had:

research assistant/ data entry

fieldwork in mesoamerica

x2 internships with digital archaeology prof

multiple “small” projects around the department i.e. making posters, painting 3D prints of bones,

all of the coursework I had done on GIS/ relevant digital experience

started a drone club at my school (it flopped, but it still counts as a line on the resume!)

All of these lines became useful when starting to think of jobs and the “next step”

UNDERGRAD HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:

Ask for help, your professors are there for a reason, it will almost always lead you to new opportunities. These relationships last well beyond your graduation and definitely come in handy later, make it count!

Write down EVERYTHING that you do. Did you help out with a conference? Write it down. Did you do a couple hours of data entry? Write it down.

Follow your leads! I started my anth journey in Mesoamerica and ended my undergrad in Near Easter digital archaeology (and I entered college wanting to do astronomy?). Change is natural, let it happen.  

2. Gap Year Between Undergrad and Grad School

Highlights: Job applications, field school, CRM, uncertainty

Something that I was always told during my undergrad was that you really need to do a field school and some CRM to be taken seriously post-grad. This shows that you actually want to be an archaeologist outside of the classroom environment. Field Schools and CRM give you valuable experience such as: excavation methodology, report writing, grant applications, teamwork, leadership, etc. 

I started applying for jobs probably about 5 months before I graduated and ended up securing a job at a CRM company in LA. They liked how much I had done during my undergrad, but they really wanted me to have a field school under my belt before I started working for them. Because I had already graduated and didn’t need course credit, I was able to do my field school at a discounted price (these things really do get expensive, and this was a difference of about $2k). I think this worked out in my favor waiting until the summer after I graduated because it saved me a lot of money in the end. 

After my field school was done, I started work that September in CRM. This job ended up being nothing like what I thought it would be, to be honest. I was an Archaeological Field Technician that was part-time/on-call, meaning I only got work when they needed someone to go monitor a construction site. I only got work once every month, sometimes every couple of months, so I was making hardly any money. I realized this quickly and decided to become a substitute teacher to supplement the CRM job. I HIGHLY recommend doing this if you end up in the same situation. Not only does subbing fill up all of your non-working days, but it also gives you the flexibility to choose when you can work and gives you teaching experience that you can put on your resume. That CRM experience can be really important, so it’s good to stick it out long enough to quit.

      Why didn’t I like CRM? For me, my job was very sparse, included driving long hours to a construction site, sitting there all day in case archaeological material popped up, and then driving home. Sometimes it was just walking back and forth across a massive field full of cow poop looking for arrowheads, and often it felt like I was just clearing land so that a big building could be erected. I was really missing the research component to all of it. The pay was also not great. 

GAP YEAR HIGHLIGHTS AND TAKEAWAYS:

What I got from this year was very valuable, even though it wasn’t necessarily that fun, however. 

I got the experience I needed in CRM

I got some teaching experience (also volunteered to mentor clubs and research at local high schools during this time)

I started doing some networking (I found some alumni that were doing work that I wanted to be doing and reached out to them)

and most importantly, I realized that I really do love school and wanted to go back for my Masters

So I started looking into Masters's programs. This is kind of a scary thing especially in the US because school is expensive. I still really wanted to do Digital Archaeology, and I couldn’t find a single program in the US had a focus in this topic, and especially couldn’t find one that I was willing to pay for. 

The UK, however, had plenty of Digital Archaeology programs, and the programs were only a year long and a fraction of the price in the US. I decided to take a chance and apply, got in, and then suddenly I was moving to England. (in hindsight I really didn’t spend much time at all making this decision, but it worked out in the end). 

3. Masters Program

         (my timeline at this point: 23-24 years old)

I chose the program I applied to based on its focus on the techniques that I wanted to use, namely, remote sensing, GIS, and 3D modeling. I really wanted a degree qualification that spoke for itself, and therefore applied for an MSc in “Archaeological Information Systems.” 

I had done some networking during my gap year and connected with an alumnus who was doing research in Cambodia using digital methods, and she offered me the opportunity to join her fieldwork. I agreed to join her in Cambodia during my degree, and also applied for a research grant for the year following my master's degree to continue fieldwork in Cambodia. 

I used this opportunity to fuel my dissertation topic and focused all of my writing and coursework throughout my grad school experience around Cambodia. While I was surrounded by people studying Roman architecture and Medieval Studies, I spent my time doing independent work and building a network in Cambodia. 

This program was a great experience for the most part, I was surrounded by beautiful medieval architecture and had a great community throughout. I personally didn’t really like the UK school system compared to what I had received in the US, however. This was largely because of the way coursework was set up. (If you want to know more just DM me).

MASTERS HIGHLIGHTS AND TAKEAWAYS:

Follow networking opportunities, and find someone doing what you want to do (or close to it) and let them help you take the steps to get there

If you’re going to do grad school, do it in something you know you love. Don’t waste money on a program that isn’t right for you.

Make sure that the program you apply to allows for flexibility so that you can do research on what YOU want, not what THEY want.

Halfway through my Master's degree, I received word that I had been accepted for the research grant (Fulbright) and would spend the next year living in Cambodia doing independent research.

4. Gap Year Between Masters Program and PhD

If you’re planning on a Ph.D., I think its a really good idea to do something before applying that relates to what you want to be studying. This shows that you’re dedicated to your research and to a life in academia, and have the ability to produce something from your work. 

My master's degree was nice because 1) it was short, only a year-long, and 2) allowed me to focus research on what I was interested in. This gave me the experience I needed to lead into a year of independent research.

This year of independent research was definitely contingent on receiving the grant in the first place, and I think that I would have started job searching again had I not received it. However, the small things I did leading up to applying for it really helped in qualifying me to receive it. 

     I had:

All of the undergraduate research experience

CRM experience

teaching experience

fieldwork experience

a master’s degree that focused on the region 

established a network of people in the country beforehand

a couple “publications” from fieldwork 

This grant fully funds me living in Cambodia, and has allowed me to participate in cultural exchange with some amazing people here in addition to allowing me to partake in archaeological fieldwork across the country. 

Again, I cannot stress enough how important it is to network. If you like something, find someone else who likes the same thing, send them an email.

Networking got me my experience in Mesoamerica, Digital Archaeology, my CRM job, my research experience in Cambodia, and so so much more. All because I sent that first email.

5. PhD Applications

I applied to 1 school. I got in. Its a really good school. I’m still in shock. 

However, I think I really did set myself up for success in this one. 

The biggest advice I can give in the world of Academia is:

NETWORK

Talking to people who have gone through what you’re going through are the BEST help. They can mentor you through these experiences, offer you new opportunities, or lead you in the direction of someone else who can help.

PLAN AHEAD (but be open to change)

Okay, so you’re applying to grad school. What do you want to focus on while you’re there? What do you want to do with the degree when you’re done? Do you want to start working? Do you want to do more research? What opportunities are out there for research funding? What is the job market looking for? Is there anyone in my network that can help me get there?

None of these have to be concrete plans, they just have to exist in some shape or form so that you have the ability to latch on to one when the opportunity arises.

If you’re doing something that you love doing, you’ll find a way to make it happen. All opportunity comes from the amount of effort you put into getting it! Thanks for reading and best of luck on your studies! Also Happy Anthropology Day! :)  -Lyss 

[munstarr]

The Guardian

Hello everyone!! I just edited this again and decided to re upload because I wasn't happy with it originally and I wanted to write something id love, now I can say I am super happy with the outcome!! This will be a slow burn, eventually nsfw! Currently working on the next part! Id love and appreciate some feedback! Please feel free to DM me! Thank you so much for reading!!!  ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

A little over eighty years ago Earth scientists sent out a signal into space in an attempt to make contact with other beings. In a surprising turn of events an alien alliance ship happened to be passing by, how had they missed earth before? Well the milky way was merely a skid mark compared to the rest of space. After months of back and forth between the alliance and Earth. Many planets had decided to make contact with earth with wonderful intentions and were more than willing to share their technological developments. In exchange most species requested to study human life and their history. After many trials and errors the Earth officially joined the planetary alliance. Together they worked out many systems and programs to mix species and learn from each other, Thus our current story begins!

Planet Yalnak was an unearthly forest filled planet with cool days and a deep purple sky. The program they had implemented was different from others in the Alliance. Humans could only sign up to live on Yalnak to be of service to the home species, the Nuks or to study a trade. Yalnak was one of the more stubborn planets who were hesitant, after learning of Earth’s hatred they were the last from the alliance to make contact. It wasn't until learning and witnessing of Human’s surprising endurance and loyalty that they joined and formed an earth acceptance program.

On Earth, Azura flipped through all the different planetary Alliance program brochures.She had been working as a hospitality and business specialist. Working towards her degree and getting to her dream job in less than three years time. After chasing her career goals she thought she would be happier. Another busy day of working had her coming home drained for what felt like the millionth time. She sure could use a change she thought. Sighing deeply she placed the brochures on the coffee table in front of her. ‘’Pfft’’ She blew a piece of coily raven hair out of her face, Maybe a hot bubble bath would ease her stress instead. Azura drew herself a relaxing milk bath, filling it with different oils; after setting out lots of candles she slipped into the hot soapy water. She sank into the tub closing her eyes, these were the only times she felt that she could truly relax. Her big bundle of raven curls spilled out of her clawfoot tub. Rubbing her rich mahogany body with her creamy bath butter, she whimpered. Her lathered up pink loofah traveled all over her , leaving a trail of bubbles all over her curvy body. It had been a long time since she’d had any sort of real pleasure. Not that she felt she wasn’t attractive, at twenty - four she was a small chocolate woman with a lean body and a bosomy frame ,or so she had thought. It had been a long while since she had been with anyone, let alone on an actual date. She sunk deeper into the warm bubbles as she roamed her body with the loofah, slowly caressing with the soft fabric. With closed fluttering eyes she imagined the type of person she fantasized to be with her. He was strong and tender as he gripped her throat tightly squeezing as he circled her clit with his strong roughened fingers. He caressed her hot button as her head fell back against his solid chest, nibbling her bottom lip as she let out a muffled moan. Azura imagined such a thing could happen to her. She’d gone through college as a studious maverick, putting her grades above all else. She was paying for it now she felt, getting nicely along in her career but feeling very lonely at times. She had been getting a degree in helping others have fun essentially, without ever really having any herself. Without even having any close family or even friends she was starting to feel more alone  than ever. “UGH” she grumbled aloud, splashing her hand against the water and huffing in frustration. Now she couldn’t even relax with herself! Of course, only she could make herself sad in the middle of a fantasy. She pouted and decided to drain the bath and cut her losses. After drying off and oiling herself up for bed, she slipped on a satin red slip with a lace peekaboo. Another night of eating dinner alone to the sound of terrible reality tv, after two episodes of bad reality she clicked it off deciding it was time for bed. On her way out of the living room she decided to toss her brochures into the recycling, none of the programs were right for her anyway she thought. Huffing she tossed them into the bin. One dark colored brochure had fallen out, she hadn’t noticed it before. It said very plainly in black letters on the outside the word “YALNAK” . Azura had heard of this planet, it had accepted the least amount of humans into their program, only posting new ads when they had specific positions open. She picked it up reading the first and only page which had ads for tradesmen to study and helper companions. Azura thought being a helper could be interesting but didn’t want to waste her time being a glorified errand girl. Every ad was submitted by individuals of the planet it seemed. There was an entry that caught her eye and was offering triple the pay! The only downside was that she had to submit qualifications and pass an assessment, she’d never been great at taking tests she thought.  The description was vague but seemed to offer interesting benefits and career opportunities. Her interest was piqued of course, so she decided to give in and opened her telepad to do the application, what's she got to lose?  After uploading her resume and completing the exam online she uploaded both to her telepad. This could be a long shot but she was ready for a new adventure, besides being a helper companion couldn’t be so bad. She decided to send an introduction to the ad placer to tell them about herself and to say how she could be right for the job and how she was ready for a change, whatever it was. Maybe it sounded desperate? No, she shook off that silly anxious thought and hit submit. After sending she smiled to herself and decided to go to bed, excited about new possibilities. A few days later Azura decided to check the ad to see the status of the position , since she hadn’t heard anything back yet. Checking her telepad she frowned, it said in bold red letters “FULFILLED”. She was disappointed but she knew it was a gamble to begin with and probably not even worth her time. Shaking off her unexpected disappointment she went on a run to clear her mind and think about her future. Her big coily space buns bounced on top of her head as she ran, her rich skin shining in the sunlight. After a few times around the block she was tired and decided to walk the rest of the way home to enjoy the cool breeze. Approaching her apartment door she noticed her mail had been delivered. She had received a large metal box and a thick black envelope place on top. Taking the huge box into her house she carefully sat it on her coffee table. “What the hell..” she whispered to herself. She sliced open the letter and it read  “ Congratulations Azura Elaine Emem from Earth, You have been chosen to be a helper companion for the honorable guardian Mirin”. She reread the letter in confusion, she was great at what she did but she wasn’t sure how she could be of any assistance to some honorable guardian! The letter continued “Please read the inclosed packets for further briefing on your new assignment”. Azura opened the box to find it contained brief information about the planet, it’s customs, and a request form for Earth foods she’d want while there, and last but not least a black square and a note. Azura picked up and inspected the intricate wax seal before carefully peeling it off and carefully unfolding the letter. In beautiful writing it stated simply ‘Dear Ms.Emem, I wanted to personally contact you because I am looking forward to working with you and want to set you up for success. Inside the black holding bonds I have included your uniform for the beginning days of training along with my crest, please wear this on your right side of your garment.’ With a short goodbye it concluded. Azura was stunned, she wanted a new life but wasn't expecting it to actually happen. She felt a new fire ignite inside of her, she was nervous for a new life but excited nonetheless. With a slurp of her melting iced coffee Azura smiled, wondering what sort of life she had signed herself up for.

[charmingcentry]

GSA

Entry for Day 4 - High School

Summary: Beca has had a big crush on Chloe Beale ever since freshman year and thinks she has no chance at all with her. That is until Fat Amy and Jesse swoop in to save the day.

AO3

-

There are officially 179 school days left until Beca is out of this shithole.

Don’t be fooled by the brunette’s high marks in classes or how she frequently participates in school events, Beca Mitchell can’t tolerate dozens of people on this campus. The awful stereotypes and insignificant drama is what ruined the whole “high school experience.” Not that she expected much when entering in as a freshman, but ever since then, she dreads her school. The maintained 4.2 GPA and involvement within the school community is only kept because unlike many people at her school, Beca actually wants to attend college.

She doesn’t talk to people much other than her best friends Fat Amy and Jesse Swanson, both from completely separate friend groups. Fat Amy, is apart of what is considered the “popular” group and Jesse is categorized into “geeks and nerds,” it was luck that pushed Beca towards the two drastically different people.

Beca preferred to seclude herself from friend groups, usually sitting on the field and listening to her music which apparently deems you as a “loner freak,” just another example of why the brunette hates this school. She could’ve chosen to partake in socializing with people but conversations weren’t her thing. Sure now she sits by Fat Amy’s table or Jesse’s but she doesn’t talk much, usually studying or on her phone.

After school, the brunette doesn’t go anywhere… she’d rather stay away from home. Even after dozens of offers from Amy and Jesse for a sleepover or just to hang out, Beca would rather stay within school property, typically finding herself on the bleachers at the baseball field. Maybe not the best decision, especially after many excruciatingly prolonged conversation with a redhead, Chloe Beale.

“I like your bracelet.” Chloe compliments, pointing at a black-beaded bracelet with the colors of the rainbow on six of the beads. Beca looks up from her Calculus textbook.

“Oh, thanks… “

“What are you doing here?” The redhead asks, sitting next to Beca as she notices what she’s reading. “I’ve always had trouble with limits… especially these ones.” Chloe points to a problem in the textbook.

Without thinking Beca goes through the problem in her head. “You just factor out the numerator then it’ll cancel out in the denominator. Then you plug in this number for x in the expression you’re left with.” Her mouth became dry and could feel her stomachs doing flips when Chloe grinned at her

“You’re smart… no wonder your mister’s favorite.”

Beca raises an eyebrow. “Sure…” “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question, what’re you doing here?” The redhead asks once again, moving in closer to Beca

The brunette swallows down a lump in her throat and stutters. “I- just, need some time for myself.”

“When the softball team is practicing?”

Beca notices the blue and white school jersey. “Oh… I mean, I don’t really pay attention so. I don’t mind.”

A whistle blows and Chloe shoots up. “Oop! There’s coach, I’ll see you around Bec!”

The redhead runs back onto the field as Beca looks back at the problem Chloe pointed out and swallows another lump in her throat.

It’s not that Beca doesn’t know the girl, she does… it’s just that Chloe may be the girl Beca has been pining on ever since freshman year, the only other girl in her grade that was nice to the brunette. She wasn’t the stereotypical popular girl nor was she a stereotype in general… Chloe was, Chloe. The redhead was honest, compassionate, intelligent, and extremely friendly… and kind of hot. But Beca knew she wasn’ t gay. Yet still, the brunette couldn’t get over her.

Fat Amy and Jesse are heavily aware of Beca’s crush on popular softball player Chloe Beale, the blonde being one of Chloe’s best friends. The brunette never discusses anything related to her romantic feelings, yet her attitude and demeanor towards the redhead clearly show how she feels for her. Fat Amy noticed when their Physics teacher had people go into partners for a project.

Beca was sitting at her desk, looking around to see who doesn’t have a partner, Fat Amy paired with this kid named Bumper so the brunette was left on her own. The teenager sighs and contemplates asking their teacher if they could be individual for this project too until someone pops up.

“Hi, Bec!” Fat Amy turns her attention to her two best friends

Beca’s cheeks go pink as she shuffles around in her seat. “Uh, hey Chloe.”

“You have a partner?” Chloe asks, sitting in the seat directly in front of Beca. The brunette shakes her head. “You wanna be mine?”

Beca readjusts her sitting position once more as she twirls her pencil in her left hand. “Y-yeah that’d be cool.”

The teacher calls time for partner search. “Well, text me to see when we can meet up okay?” Beca nods. “Awes.”

The redhead smiles and winks at Beca before returning to her original seat. “Yeah! Awes.”

Fat Amy chuckles at how the brunette places her head in her hands and mutters an incoherent phrase. The blonde returns her attention to Bumper who is staring very intensely at her…

Jesse noticed during an interesting interaction between the two during the passing period…

“Okay look, I’m just saying! You’re way too smart to be at this school Beca.” The brunette rolls her eyes as she walks down the hall to their next class, World History. “Like really? You’re always receiving A’s and shit, then you still stay here?”

“Yeah, Jess because it’s nearly end of the sophomore year where am I supposed to g-

A redhead walks past the two, she smiles at Beca, along with one of her signature winks. The brunette immediately shuts up and waves awkwardly at Chloe. Beca looks behind her to see Chloe still walking until she hears Jesse clear her throat.

“Sooo… Chloe?” The male teases, nudging Beca in the shoulder.

They stop in front of their designated classroom. “Shut up Jess, never speak about that again.”

Her friends are extremely supportive of Beca, Jesse even going as far to say “I’ll be the best lesbro you’ll ever have,” which the brunette finds slightly annoying. But Beca couldn’t believe how supportive her two friends are, she found that’s why she’s always stayed with them - no matter what happened, Amy and Jesse were and are always there behind the brunette.

-

“Hey, Jesse come here for a second.” Fat Amy says, waving her hand over to Jesse during a break they had during their Economics class. Jesse immediately comes on over like a puppy and sits next to the blonde.

“What’s up?”

“You tired of the sexual tension between ginger and Beca?” Jesse lets out a laugh and notices how serious Fat Amy sounds about this question.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, kind of. Like it’s obvious Chloe likes her back… all those winks and flirty moves and crap…” Fat Amy nods.

“So I have a plan to convince the little gremlin that Chloe likes her back.” Jesse leans in to listen more.

“What is it?”

“Drag Beca to GSA.”

Jesse widens his eyes. “She wouldn’t Amy, like never.”

“Whatever, we’re gonna do it, Swanson, whether Beca likes it or not. It’s for her own good”

The teacher calls their attention back to the board and the class resumes… the two are going to have to do a lot of dragging to get Beca into the GSA classroom.

The bell rings to dismiss the fifth-period classes, signifying that lunch is starting and it is now time to drag Beca into the Gay-Straight Alliance classroom. Fat Amy and Jesse walk out of their economics classroom quickly, on their way to find wherever Beca would be. Usually, the brunette alternates between the two’s friend groups, sitting at either table throughout the school week. Some days Beca goes to her usual alone spot, so it’s usually a challenging task to locate where the brunette may be.

“Is she supposed to hang out with me or you today?” Jesse asks, the two scanning the cafeteria room for a petite brunette with headphones around her neck. Amy looks around, their friend is nowhere to be seen.

“I think she’s on her own today, come on, let’s go find that gremlin.”

The two acquaintances walk out of the cafeteria towards the quad area of the school, their heads darting around every direction to find Beca. They walk near an area with a tree and find Beca laying down under the shade, headphones covering her ears and her eyes were closed. Fat Amy storms over to the serene brunette and pulls her up by the arm.

“Dude what the fuck!” The brunette yells, trying to resist Fat Amy’s grip around her arm as her headphones fall around her neck. Jesse leans down to gather Beca’s school belongings and holds Beca’s other arm down. “Jesse you too? Okay, what the hell is going on…”

They begin walking over to the GSA classroom and unbeknownst to Beca, Chloe will be attending the meeting as well. As the two friends begin dragging Beca to what seems her inevitable doom, the brunette tries to pull away. “Beca you’re going to a GSA meeting and that’s that.” Fat Amy declares, turning left around the corner of a school building.

“What! No! Why!” Beca says, still trying to plant herself to the ground

“For your… own… good!” Fat Amy says, opening the door to the GSA classroom and shoving the brunette inside. Of course, being the good samaritans they are, stick with Beca for the meeting to make sure she won’t run away. The teacher who supervises the club, waves over at the seemingly distressed friend group and hands the three a sign-in sheet.

“Amy, what’re you doing here?” A taller female brunette asks, walking over to the three, she notices Beca. “Hey, newcomer!”

Beca turns back around after frustratedly signing herself into the club. “Uh, hey.”

“I’m Stacie, you’re in my Chemistry class.” Beca raises an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, you know that you hang out with us sometimes…”

“Yeah… these two-” Beca points at Jesse and Fat Amy. “Dragged me in here and I have no clue why…” Stacie smirks. “What?”

“Nothing. Just our president is late so the meeting isn’t starting yet.”

The group of four took their seats at a table near the front of the classroom as the rest of the club talks amongst themselves. The main ones talking were Jesse, Fat Amy, and Stacie while Beca was sitting in her seat, pouting like a 5-year-old. Just as she’s about to drape her headphones back onto her head, the door opens and someone runs in.

“So sorry I’m late guys, let’s get started.” A familiar voice rings from the side of the room, Beca turns red the minute she hears the voice and her head subconsciously focuses on the president of the club… Chloe Beale. “How’s everyone’s first we-

“Chlo! We have a new member.” Stacie intervenes as she points at Beca who is sinking slowly in her seat. The redhead looks over at notices the brunette and gives Beca an endearing grin, the two of them both blushing crazily. Beca waves awkwardly as Chloe gestures her to stand up The brunette follows and hesitantly stands, waving at all the people within the club.

“Introduce yourself Bec! Don’t worry, we don’t bite.” Chloe winks, walking closer towards the brunette.

“Okay well… I’m Beca Mitchell and uh, yeah. That’s it.” The brunette immediately sits back down as the redhead lets out a giggle of her extremely awkward demeanor.

“She’s also candidate for valedictorian guys~” The brunette tries to hide her amused grin and playfully rolls her eyes. Fat Amy and Jesse high-five one another as Stacie gives a thumbs-up to Chloe. “Glad you joined us here today Bec… okay, the topic of today’s meeting, going to middle schools and promoting GSA and support!”

A smile slips onto Beca’s face as she admires how Chloe looks when she’s in charge and leading a group.

-

The lunch bell rings and everyone begins gathering their belongings, Beca especially as she doesn’t want to go through any more of the awkward tension surrounding her. Just as she’s about to walk out, she feels a soft grip wrap around her wrist. Beca turns around and notices Chloe, smiling softly at her.

“Hey, I’m glad you came today Beca.” The redhead says as Beca begins to walk closer to her crush. Fat Amy, Jesse, and Stacie walk past the two and smirk, walking out without their friend. “I’ll keep this short but I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to my softball game? Friday? First one of the season.” Chloe entices, still holding onto Beca’s wrist. The brunette is shocked by the invite and the corners of her lips perk up.

“I- yeah sure. I mean, yes. I know a lot about… softball. My favorite sport actually.” Beca blurts out, distracted by the smile Chloe gives off. The redhead’s grin becomes wider as she slowly lets go of her wrist.

“Great! See you then Bec.” Chloe leaves the classroom as Beca follows her out as well.

As Beca makes her way to the final period of the day, she realizes what she had just said about softball during their interaction. Her face scrunches up as she pounds her fist against the palm of her other hand, knowing damn well she had just lied to her crush.

Beca sure has a lot to learn about softball.

And that GSA meeting sure won’t be the last.

[dschribe]

What Would Jake Do?

I taped a photocopy of Jake’s latest press photo to the cinder block wall above my desk, and on it I wrote with a Sharpie in all caps, HERO.

If I looked over my shoulder, I could see the real Jake, across the hall, past the copier, though the open door to his office, beyond his assistant Joan’s desk, seated in profile on the couch he used as a desk chair, leaning over paperwork on the giant coffee table he used as a desk.

Sometimes he, JBC, would say, “DPS, you got a minute?”

I’d go across the hall to discuss a piece of copy, some item of marketing, or be handed a 5 x 7” index card with some notes on it, written in Sharpie, which is where I got the habit. (I once called his handwriting “angst-ridden” and he said immediately, “That’s not angst, it’s Sharpie.”)

I was a week out of college, a college I never once went to on a Thursday, because a midweek season’s pass to Stratton Mountain was way cheaper than the one for the weekends. Plus I had a growing skateboard and snowboard retail business I needed to tend to.

Burton, just a couple of hours up the road from me, was my biggest supplier and, I thought, likely the only one that would still be in business in ten years. So it was there, in my senior year, I sent the one and only unsolicited resume in my life. Nobody called for months.

About six weeks before I graduated, I was having the greatest game of my life on the Funhouse pinball machine outside my shop. The vendor who collected money from the games let me paint my quarters red. He’d fish them out and give them back to me, so long as I didn’t block paying customers. I got real good at that game; the phone rang about 45 times before I lost the ball.

The Burton HR woman scolded me for letting the phone ring so many times during business hours, but then told me that Burton folks wanted an interview. I thought I could hear an eye roll. But I scheduled a time, and a couple of weeks later I drove up to meet with Dennis Jenson, the head of marketing. A couple of more weeks went by. Then I got the callback to meet Jake.

I’d seen Jake a few times but never spoken to him. Although the sport was still small, we all looked up to him. He was older than all of us. Killing time in the UMass library I had stumbled across an issue of Time Magazine with a cover story called “Twenty Something.” It was about my generation. I didn’t realize I even had one until I read it. (It would be a little longer before they called us Generation X.) Our generation wasn’t supposed to have heroes, but we had Jake. And maybe Time had it all wrong; three years earlier they had called snowboarding "the worst new sport."

On the drive up to the Burton headquarters for my interview, I grew increasingly nervous about the meeting. When I got close, I pulled over in a panic and paced around the outside of my car. I contemplated turning around. Leaving my hometown of ten years, my friends, my business behind: it was all terrifying. It was also terrifying to go meet my hero. They say you never should.

I had a portfolio of my work—photos and press coverage of my shop, the skateboard and snowboard demos we held, and our skateboard camps. I had the letter that proved I had been the one to get “snowboards” as an entry into the Yellow Pages. I had the work I did to help get the word “snowboard" literally into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, via my lexicography teacher. And there was a photo of a gang of kids, all mid-ollie, from skate camp.

The first time I taught anyone to ollie was the night before a skateboard contest I held to raise money to open my shop. As they signed up, the kids saw me building the ramps in the roller rink where it was going to be held, and demanded they get to skate them before the big day. Late evenings after the rink closed, we built and skated on the ramps. When any kid asked for help, I showed them what little I knew, and I knew enough to ollie.

One kid had been trying all week but not getting it. He told me it was impossible for him to learn it. I put out a scrap of 2x4 lumber. I pointed out that it wasn’t even that high; it was 1.5” x 3.5”. A few pointers and attempts later, and he cleared it. We high five-ed and I went back to my amateur ramp carpentry.

The contests was a success. The clear winner, who everyone knew would take the prize, snapped his board in half in the middle of his run. Nearly every kid in the place shoved their own board out onto the course so he could keep going. I started to see this wasn’t at all about competition. This became more clear to me as the kids were leaving: they all thanked me. That one kid I taught to ollie told me it was greatest week of his life. He was so genuine. The feeling of getting a kid to believe he could do something he thought he couldn’t do, changed me.

It took me a long time before I could see it, but ever after my life became a pursuit of trying to help people see that what seemed impossible for them, was possible, including levitating a wooden board with wheels off the ground. Snowboarding seemed just as impossible when I tried to learn it. Then it clicked and it was like walking on water. I sold snowboards knowing everyone who learned would be likewise transformed.

As I debated turning back from my interview, I flipped through the portfolio on the hood of my car. I studied the photos of skate camp, and thought about how snowboarding was starting to change how those kids saw the mountains and themselves. I had to go see Jake.

In the interview, he let me do most of the talking, and I went through my portfolio. Then I told him the story of teaching kids to ollie, of teaching a community to skateboard, and how snowboarding felt like the next step—maybe to teach a generation to ride.

He said, "Well in that way we’re a lot alike. That was a hell of a pitch. You should work in marketing.” I got the job, and with it, started a career I never imagined: in marketing.

I went to my graduation ceremony, car packed with all my possessions, then drove to Vermont that night.

My marketing coordinator job, as one of four people in the Burton marketing department, required writing a lot of copy. My first meeting with Jake was to write a press release about him, as we had no stock bio to give the media. In the process, I got to spend hours with him, hearing his whole story, and I hadn’t even gotten my first paycheck yet.

I came back to Jake a few days later with the piece. I titled it “Everyone Calls Him Jake.” I had no idea what the process would be when I handed it to him. He pulled out his Sharpie and started writing notes on it as he read. For the most part, it remained intact—but what he marked up was an impressive collection of notes on grammar, style, and narrative voice. He cared about the words. I had found a great editor.

He said, “This sounds like someone who went to college wrote it.”

I said, “Yeah, let’s not underestimate our riders’ intelligence.”

He nodded in agreement and kept reading.

In the opening paragraph I referred to Jake as the “patron saint of snowboarding.” He said he was’t sure if he was cool with the title. I explained to him that any other way to say it—inventor, pioneer, sponsor, champion, mogul—either wasn't accurate or would alienate core riders who didn’t want an authority figure in their sport. He finally put his pen down and said, “Okay, leave it.”

My writing continued that summer, on catalogs, hang tags, in store displays, and instruction manuals. There was a new snowboard binding, adjustable to over 2 million positions on a snowboard, that needed a lot of explanation. I wrote a lengthy manual for it and then the description for the catalog. Deep inside, I hid a little challenge: if anyone could show the math behind the stance options, they would get a prize.

The writing continued into the summer, but there were other projects, too, like making a video of all our riders. Jake came by the studio one night to see what we’d put together, a film I called, “Push.” He said he didn’t like the title, but as I did when we were writing copy together, I challenged him on it. The name stayed.

About a week later he came over to my desk and handed me a beanie that said “Push” on it, and told me he found it at one of our retailers he’d visited. “It’s to remind you not to push so hard for your ideas. Try to listen little more,” he said. “Oh and if you’re ever in one of our retailers, buy something. Those guys need our support. Even just a hat like this.”

I lived by both pieces of advice ever after.

With all the work, I’d forgotten about the math contest until five envelopes showed up one day in my mailbox. I had five winners. I needed to get them a prize.

Another of my projects that summer was to deliver a sign for Burton retailers, made out of a cross-section of a log. It was being produced by a sign maker down the street named H. G. Wells, as in Homer G. Wells. His ability to tell stories lived up to his literary name, and his business was called Sign Language. As a punning, snowboarding, English nerd, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Homer G. Wells while he worked. Each log slab had a metal inlay of Burton’s newest logo, dubbed the "B-13.” The B-13 came from the design team led my Michael Jager, whose agency JDK was a little further down the road from Homer. I hung out there a lot that summer, too, watching them make ads and design snowboard graphics.

With all these creative people around, I wanted to make things, too. Homer had a drawer full of experiments and spare parts for various Burton items he’d been prototyping. In it I found a few examples of the coveted “Air Disk” medallions that the pro riders had been seen wearing around their necks the past winter. He gave one to me. He also had a little brass cube of metal with a backwards B-13 on it. He told me he was working on a branding iron but he decided to use a different metal. He gave me that too.

I wore the Air Disk around my neck, but after watching Homer make a few more log signs, I had an Idea. I would make my own miniature version, one that I could wear like an Air Disk. I burned a B-13 into a little slice of a branch by putting the brass cube on a hot plate. Homer made me a rubber stamp with "Burton Snowboards" in a circle that fit around it so it looked like its big brother. With a screw eye and piece of twine, I made myself next year’s model of the Air Disk necklace. I felt like I was a Burton team rider.

Years before, I first met Burton team riders who worked at one of the country’s first snowboard schools at Stratton Mountain. When I discovered snowboarding and started selling boards in my shop, one of the kids who worked at the roller rink next door bought one. As a starving computer science student, I did not have a car, but he had access to his dad’s, so for a discount on the board he drove us to Stratton to take our first lesson.

We both struggled while our instructor, pro snowboarder Suzie Rueck, tried to get us to adopt the counter-intuitive stance that makes snowboarding possible.

When I finally got the hang of it and I could make turns, leaving Jeff behind, Suzie said to him, “Wow, your friend must be quite an athlete.”

“He’s not an athlete,” Jeff said, with a sneer, “He’s a fucking mathematician.”

Back at college, I eventually switched from Computer Science to English, but my respect for math continued. My Burton math winners deserved a great prize, so I made five more of my log necklaces, and dropped them into the mail bin.

The next day there were 50 right answers. The day after a couple hundred showed up. In all, the pile got to over a thousand, yet I was hellbent to make them all a log necklace.

The wood for Homer’s full-sized sign was from downed elm, found on the forest floor and full of worm holes. (Our discriminating Japanese distributor would reject their shipment of them because the inferior wood showed insect damage.) Likewise I wanted deadwood for my miniatures, so I had to scrounge fallen branches from the woods across the street from Burton during lunch. After work I hand-sawed disks into the night. I had the hot plate running with the branding-cube, the rubber stamp inked up, and the eyes and the twine set out—in the foyer between the two doors at the entrance to our building, where the light was good and I could reach an outlet with the hot plate’s cord.

The last person out that night happened to be Jake, who stopped to ask me what the hell I was doing. I explained the situation and he said to follow him, he'd show me a better way. He helped me carry my supplies out back to the now-empty snowboard factory, turning lights on as we went. He powered up the dust vacuum and showed me how to use the same radial-arm saw that cut wooden snowboard cores to length. He set up a production line with all my supplies, clamping things in place so I wouldn’t have to pick them up and put them down repeatedly. He explained how, in the beginning days of Burton, he’d gotten in over his head more than once on snowboard production; he had learned the hard way how to manufacture a product in quantity.

Once I was up and running, he handed the operation over to me. Before he left he said, “Two things. One, you know you don’t have to do this all by yourself. We’re all here to help. Two, I thought with all this college-level copy we’ve been writing, you’d know not to fucking underestimate the mathematical intelligence of snowboarders.” And he laughed.

Then he handed me a key, “Lock up when you’re done.”

I said I would leave the key on his desk.

He said, “Keep it. Now that you know how to use the factory, you might as well have a key to it.” And he left.

Just a few months after college, I was a professional writer, a marketer, and someone with the key to the building. But it was even bigger than that: I was trusted—trusted to be the voice of Burton, the messenger of the sport, and the night foreman of the greatest snowboard factory ever.

As the voice of Burton, I’d work with Jake to write everything from letters to our senators about what a snowboard boot was (for some tariff legislation, which I learned needed to be address to the “The Honorable Senator Patrick Leahy") to re-writing the mountain resorts’ “Skiers Code” to be inclusive of snowboarders. Some of the stuff I wrote would get faxed to our distributors around the world to get translated.

One time I wrote an unfortunate press release that made fun of one of our distributor's cultures. I left it as a joke for Jake. The next day his assistant Joan came across the hall to hand me the fax receipt that confirmed she’d gone ahead and saved me the step of faxing it to the distributor myself. I was mortified. Then Jake came in laughing and said, “Don’t make fun of other countries. We’re a global company. And besides, that kind of shit is just not funny.”

I’d write really long emails and Jake would print them out and hand them back to me with, “Just tell me what you want,” written in Sharpie.

One all-company meeting I wrote some notes for him on an index card, suggesting a few talking points based on what I’d been hearing in the halls. He handed it back to me after he spoke with Sharpie written over it, “Who’s running this company God dammit?” I saved that one; it always makes me laugh.

As a messenger, I had to represent snowboarding to the industry, the press, the resorts, the United States Olympic Committee, anyone who might help (or get in the way of) snowboarding’s growth. I also had to represent Burton to the pro riders, who Jake would remind me, I had to listen to.

“If you were good enough to decide what’s right in snowboarding, you’d be riding, not sitting at that desk. Plus the riders have two ways of being right. First, they should know, they ride more. Second, if they’re off, they’ll set a new direction and call it right."

When he made me head of marketing, he told the company that I was always brutally honest about how I felt about the direction of the company, and that he didn’t want that to change. He let me know that my views from behind a desk counted too.

As unofficial night foreman of the factory, I always had projects going. We built skate ramps, buried a time capsule, and pulled all-nighters collating press kits. I designed and helped build trade show booths in a corner of the warehouse before packing them into crates and shipping them to Las Vegas, San Diego, Montreal, and Tokyo. I made a sign that said, “My Boss is a Protestant Carpenter,” and someone came up with the idea of bracelets that said “W.W.J.D.”—What Would Jake Do. Some nights I'd skateboard around the factory with my friend Andy, the PA system blaring music from a telephone dialed into it, duct taped to the speaker of a boom box.

It was in the factory, at another all-employee meeting almost ten years later, when my title was president, that Jake said he trusted me implicitly as the conscience of the company. Standing there, I still had that key in my pocket, and a million lessons from Jake in my head. One of them: by all means, do meet your heroes.

Jake passed away 27 years after I first started working for him—when I was 27. So half my life, his words have been with me. He and the people he assembled at Burton gave me a home, a career, and I hope, an open mind. They gave me a platform to help teach generations to snowboard, along with the humility to step off of it and just listen. My experience with Burton led to a job at another company where I could help teach a world that if you have a body, you are an athlete.

They say when you die, you can’t take it with you. Another way of looking at it is that when you die, you get to leave all of you behind. Losing Jake, for me, is being left with everything he had to give. I don’t feel loss, just the unspeakable pain of permanently indebted gratitude.

The day he got the news, The Honorable Senator Patrick Leahy, still in office, tweeted of Jake, “He was the soul and patron saint of snowboarding, and a beloved Vermonter whose vision has had worldwide reach.”

It makes me so proud: the title Jake accepted in 1992 in my first week, something I was able to give to him. I am grateful I was invited there to push for it.

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs: Patronizing Meeting

Primary Pairing? Trio?: MariKana... Dia? Hinted: RinPana, KotoUmi? Words: ~2.1k Rating: G AU: Theater, Werewolf, Werebeast, Monster, Cryptid

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Author’s Note: A bit of a detour from NicoMaki. Honestly, I thought the spotlight would first swing to YohaRiko, but this is what came to mind, so here we are.

Summary: The theater’s primary patron pays a visit.

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“Oh, park there, Kanan-chan!” A voice cried excitedly from the back seat.

Kanan sighed and shook her head. “We can’t just park anywhere on the street, Mari-chan.”

“Uuu…” Mari pouted. “But I want to have a good view of Dia-chan’s new theater.”

Kanan chuckled. “You can see it just fine from here, and you’ll get to see it close up in a little bit. Let me just find your designated parking slot.” She turned the steering wheel to direct the car into the lot.

“We have a designated spot?”

“Of course, you do. Didn’t you read the email Dia-chan sent the other day?”

“I skimmed it.”

“All of the top tier patrons have designated parking slots.” Kanan explained. “And since your donation was the largest, even managing to edge out the Nishikino family, you get the best spot.”

“Of course mine was the highest, I want to help my Dia-chan however I can.”

Her Dia-chan… Kanan mused silently. If only…

While it was true that the three of them had grown up together, they had lost track of each other back in high school when Mari spent her second and third years over seas in the United States before going to college in Italy. Dia also left to attend college in Tokyo, leaving Kanan alone in Numazu.

It had barely been a year since Mari tried to reestablish contact. She managed to convince Kanan to leave the dive shop in the capable hands of a cousin, move to Tokyo and open a new shop right on Odaiba Beach. However, she ended up spending much of her time driving Mari around and leaving the shop to her employees. Not that she minded this arrangement. She enjoyed the excuse to spend time with Mari, and if she was being completely honest, knowing the blonde’s habits behind the wheel, it let her worry less for her friend’s safety.

Driving was also a way for Kanan to feel like she was contributing to the household. Mari was obviously the primary bread winner, so Kanan liked to do things in return.

Mari had found a huge 3LDK penthouse apartment where she invited Kanan and Dia to live with her. However, thus far, only Kanan had accepted. Dia, unfortunately, had been less responsive to either of their efforts to reconnect. But there was a room was open for her to accept at any time.

“Ah, here we are.” Kanan spotted the slot and pulled in.

“Eh? The best parking is on the second level?” Mari sounded confused.

She really didn’t read the email… “Of course, this is where the skyway entrance is.” Kanan explained.

“Skyway? Booo… I wanna see the main entrance!”

At this Kanan laughed. “Alright, just let me message Dia-chan to tell her where to meet us.”

With that said, Kanan exited the vehicle and was about to open the door for Mari, when the blonde hopped out herself instead.

“<Let’s go!>” Mari cheered in English, offering a brilliant smile and pumping a fist into the air.

Kanan pulled out her phone as she followed her energetic friend toward the stairway.

Krakanan: Mari-chan wants to see the main entrance, so we’re heading there instead

KurosawaDia: Very well. See you two in a few minutes.

KurosawaDia: Umi-san will be joining me.

Krakanan: I figured as such

Krakanan: I look forward to meeting your new business partner

Krakanan: I’ve heard good things about the Sonoda Theater Group

Not expecting a response, Kanan returned her phone to her pocket and continued her way toward the front doors of the theater. She and Mari made their way across the street, around the corner and..

“Dia-cha~n!” Mari cried, running up the handful of steps between the sidewalk and the entry and all but tackle hugging the raven-haired woman at the top.

“Salutations, Mari-san.” Dia greeted. “Thank you for coming today. I look forward to introducing you to the cast and crew.”

“Always so formal, Dia-chan.” Mari pouted. “It’s been for~ever~ since we saw each other, you should be more excited.”

Something changed in Dia’s expression. Just for a second. Had Kanan blinked, she would have missed it. And she had no idea what to make of it.

“Anyway,” Dia said after a moment “please allow me to introduce you to my partner in this endeavor, Sonoda Umi.” She pulled an arm free of Mari’s embrace to indicate the blue-haired girl beside them.

“Thank you for your generous donation, Ohara-san.” Umi said with a bow.

“Ohara-san?” Mari repeated. “<No, no, no.> You can just call me Mari. Any friend of Dia-chan is a friend of mine, Umi-chan.”

Pink dusted Umi’s cheeks undoubtedly caused by the casual referral. “V-very well, Mari-san it is.”

“Anyway, what a lovely place you two have here.” Mari finally released Dia and stepped down a few stairs to get a better view of the façade above her. “But, Sonoda Kurosawa Theater? Really?”

“We decided it best to put Umi-san’s name first.” Dia explained. “Her family is more renowned here in Tokyo than my own.”

“No, that’s not it.” Mari dismissed. “I meant, why just your names? That’s so boring!”

“How do you mean?”

“You should call it something more exciting, like The Monster Mash!”

“That is a song, and a dance type.”

“Or how about Tales from the Cryptids?”

Dia sighed. “That’s just a play on the title of an old television show.”

“But I mean that’s what this whole place is about, right? Giving our kind a place to be what they are while excusing any slipups as movie magic?”

“Theater magic, but you’re not exactly wrong.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Umi spoke up “but should we really be discussing such things out in the open like this?”

“Oh, you worry too much, Umi-chan.” Mari waved her hand at the other woman.

“No, Umi-san has a point.” Dia conceded. “Let’s head inside, shall we?” She turned and motioned for the others to follow.

“Fine.” Mari crossed her arms before moving back up the steps. “But you guys hired that Yoshiko girl, right? I think we’ve all seen how her claims are reacted to by the general public.”

Kanan couldn’t help enjoying the show as she watched her friends behave pretty much the same as they did back in high school. They really hadn’t changed much… except for whatever that crack in Dia’s demeanor had meant. She decided she could explore that issue later and smiled to herself as she followed the others into the theater.

“<SHINY!!>” Mari proclaimed, throwing the front doors wide as she entered.

“Pigi!” A voice squealed as a head of red hair ducked below a nearby counter.

Ah, of course Dia-chan would bring Ruby-chan here with her. Kanan thought to herself. I wonder if that means Hanamaru-chan is around here somewhere as well.

“You can come out, Ruby.” Dia said, her tone softening immediately as she called her younger sister and moved toward where she was hiding. “It’s just Mari-san being her usual boisterous self.”

“Mari-chan?” Ruby poked her head up. Emerald eyes sparked with recognition. “Mari-chan! Kanan-chan!” She ran to greet the two excitedly.

As Mari happened to be closer, she greeted the blonde first with a warm embrace. However, she was quick to shift to Kanan to welcome her as well.

“Good to see you again, Ruby-chan.” Kanan said as they parted. “We’ll have to catch up sometime soon.”

“Mm.” Ruby agreed with a smile. “Are you two the reason for the meeting?”

“They are.” Dia confirmed. “I want everyone to meet some of our generous patrons. I believe we have the Nishikinos slated for tomorrow?” She turned to Umi who confirmed with a nod. “Anyway, speaking of the meeting, we should head to the stage now for it.” She was about to turn and resume walking when…

“One last thing, Dia-chan.” Kanan spoke up.

“Yes, Kanan-san?”

Kanan spread her arms wide. “Hagu.”

Dia flushed a little but smiled anyway and stepped into the embrace.

“It’s… good to see you again, Kanan-san.” Dia spoke quietly, surprising Kanan. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a little cold as of late.”

Then, all too soon, as far as Kanan was concerned, Dia pulled out of the hug and resumed leading the way through the theater to the stage. Upon arrival, Umi and Dia began their introduction of the theater’s patron, Mari.

It seemed Dia’s penchant for long drawn out speeches hadn’t changed. Kanan considered. And it seemed she had found a business partner with similar tastes.

Ah, there’s Hanamaru-chan. Kanan thought as she scanned the crowd gathered on stage. Next, she picked out Chika and You, remembering their faces from back in Numazu. She made a mental note to greet them all after the meeting.

She recognized Nico and Maki from pictures included in emails sent by Dia about the lead roles for their first production. A few other faces looked familiar from other pictures, but she couldn’t readily place their names.

Still, it was amusing to observe some of the body language of those gathered. There was a young woman with red hair both longer and darker than Ruby’s. She was giving nervous side glances to a shorter girl near her. That girl had some of her blue hair tied up in a bun with a black feather sticking out. Wait, was that the Yoshiko girl Mari had mentioned a few minutes ago?

Next was an ash blonde whose attention seemed focused on Umi. Then, there was another redhead with braided twin tails who looked quite friendly standing next to slightly taller woman whose aura was as cool as the dark blue of her hair. A bespectacled brunette was looking at Nico like a fan waiting for an autograph. A darker brunette with a lovely red ribbon in her hair next to another ash blonde sporting an uneven, though cute haircut. A short pink haired girl with a blank expression stood next to a taller blonde with a brilliant smile. Then a sleepy looking brunette, a raven-haired young woman giving off a fiery aura, another with the tips of her dark twin-tails dyed green and a redhead with a stylish bun surrounded by a braid.

Quite the crew. Kanan found herself wondering what each might be.

“Food’s here, nya!” A voice cried from somewhere in the auditorium before an orange-haired blur scampered down the aisle. “Where do you wanna set up, Umi-chan?” A young woman asked, not seeming to care that Dia was still talking.

“Rin.” Umi scolded. “You’re early.”

“Better than late, right? Oh! Kayo-chin is here!” Rin scampered over to the brunette with glasses.

“R-Rin-chan...” Kayo-chin? said as Rin rubbed their cheeks together. That must be a nickname.

Kanan wondered if the nya had been indicative of her actually being a cat or just a verbal tic. Based on her running speed, Kanan suspected the former, though both wouldn’t surprise her.

“Special delivery!” Another voice rang out.

“Honoka, you’re…” Umi started.

“Ooo, what did you guys order for us?” Mari interrupted.

“We got lots of stuff!” Rin announced proudly. “But I gotta set up the tables and such for Honoka-chan to put things on.”

“Do you need help carrying anything?” The braided redhead spoke up.

“Sure! Lemme show ya, nya!” Rin sped back up the aisle.

“Emma-san…” Umi sighed as the redhead followed.

“It’s alright.” Dia said. “We’ve already lost Mari-san.” She turned back to her staff. “It seems the meeting is adjourned. Please be sure to thank Mari-san for sponsoring this meal, brought to us by Kousaka Catering.”

“I thought she didn’t know what was ordered?” Umi raised an eyebrow.

“I placed the order. Mari paid the bill.”

“I see.”

“There’s plenty of food!” Mari announced loudly. “Don’t hold back! Eat all you want! Take some home if you want. I don’t want to see anything left.”

As Kanan headed up the aisle to see what else needed to be carried in, she mused about the appetites of those she knew. If those were any indications of the others, she wondered just how much had been ordered. She figured it would probably fill an entire…

Box truck.

Sure enough, parked haphazardly on the sidewalk, emblazoned with Kousaka Catering on the side, sat a box truck. And it indeed appeared to be completely packed.

She spotted Emma carrying several catering boxes, stacked past her head.

“The breadsticks are buono!” The young woman said as she passed.

Part of Kanan wanted to break out her other arms in an attempt to carry even more boxes, but as there was no shortage of witnesses on the public street, she settled for a similarly sized stack as Emma. Perhaps some other time. No more than three steps later, and Rin was already slipping past her, carrying only half as many boxes, but speeding along at probably thrice Kanan’s pace.

Again, Kanan found herself wondering what all everyone was. She knew Mari would want to stop by the theater on a regular basis, so perhaps over the next week or so, she could find out.

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Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post

[bettsfic]

feel free to ignore this if you're too busy atm but i seem to remember you did psych for undergrad and i finished mine last year and i feel unqualified when i look at job applications? i feel im lying to potential employers all the time like SURE I CAN DO THAT but all i have is a psych degree and an unrelated internship that i never had to apply for and i was wondering if you have any advice on how to approach hunting for an entry level job with this kind of background based on your experience?

first of all, degree aside, when you’re looking for a job, you need to be selling yourself, even if you twist the truth. anything you can’t do, you can google. anything you suck at, it doesn’t matter, they’ve already hired you, no going back now. unless you have some kind of high-stakes gig where people’s lives are on the line, you don’t have to be good at your job, you just have to show up. and if there’s one thing a degree in psych teaches you how to do, it’s show up.

when securing a job, it’s important not to think “in what way can i be good for this job?” but “in what way will this job be good for me?” be selfish. if you go into an office job thinking “i’m not qualified for this” you’re going to get trampled over. people will see your insecurity and your youth your desire to be good and helpful and leverage it to their gain. in an interview, approach it outright as “here’s why this job is a good fit for me” and explain how it works nto your existing skillset. 

which brings me to the degree stuff. 

first of all, any bachelors degree will give you certain experience. i’ll give you the things i use on my resume, but you can also come up with stuff on your own by asking yourself, what’s changed? college is a place that blasts you with information for 4+ years. it expands your worldview exponentially. so who were you going into college and who are you now? in what ways have you grown? make a list just for your own purposes and there you go, that’s the skillset college has afforded you.

which brings me to my first point: critical/analytical thinking. a college degree teaches you how to think. it’s the entire function of humanities/social science undergraduate degrees. critical thinking is when you can take new knowledge, and rather than reject it, you apply it. find where it belongs in your greater understanding of life the universe and everything, and slot it in. boom. now you see the world differently. now you can take that small piece of knowledge and extract bigger meaning from it. you can take what you learn from place A, which may have nothing to do with anything, and apply it to place B.

in any job, this is extremely important. it means that you won’t just take the pile of work handed to you, you won’t sit at a conference table listening passively. it means you’ll ask good questions, make connections, and see the bigger picture of the work you’re doing. you’ll problem-solve and make processes more efficient (although this once bit me in the ass really badly and i got demoted. in the interview process, you want to make it look like you’re an angel ascending into their workplace, ready to fix all their shitty old broken processes with your bright young promising mind). 

a bachelors degree also gives you time management skills and shows that you are internally motivated. no matter how compulsory your degree felt, at the end of the day, you chose to go to college. you didn’t have to, but you did it anyway. you pursued a subject that was interesting to you for the sake of your own betterment and education. that says good things about you. it says that you have higher priorities than just bringing home a paycheck. and because you dedicated four years of your life to this study completely of your own volition, and graduated no less, it also shows that you’re capable of managing your own time without being babysat or micromanaged. you took all your due dates and exams and you showed up on time and prepared. in most entry level jobs, the ability to show up on time and prepared is 99% of what they are looking for.

so, now for psych-specific skills:

the most helpful skill i got from the psych part of my degree was the ability to build experiments (this would be your research methods class maybe). on a big picture, this is problem solving but it’s also project management and successful implementation. to build an experiment is to take a hypothesis -- to ask a big question of the world -- and develop a way to test that hypothesis -- to find an answer to it. working backwards to achieve a desired result is one of the most challenging things about psychology. in an entry level job, you’ll have to do it all the time. someone might hand you something to do, and you go “i don’t know how to do this” and they say “figure it out.” you have a desired result, a task, and you have to work backwards -- research, find solutions, implement solutions -- in order to do the job you’re assigned. 

along with problem solving is research and data analysis. this is something you’ve probably done nonstop for the past 4 years. you go out and find answers to your questions, you use your critical thinking skills to better understand the big picture, you implement what you’ve learned, and you articulate it back out. along with this is effective written communication. if you have ever written a research paper, you are ten steps ahead of any baby boomer you’ll ever meet. 

think also about the work of statistics -- you take numbers. numbers! and you read them as words. you build an experiment and you analyze the results and you make conclusions from those results. ultimately, a psych degree teaches you how to make knowledge from questions. how fucking cool is that? these are skills that are applicable anywhere. these are skills you have inside you now that you just carry around all the time. you basically bleed the scientific method. 

you can ask a huge, all-consuming questions about humanity (which is in itself a skill -- to question, to be inquisitive, to perceive anything deeply enough to wonder about it) and you go out, research, experiment, collect findings, and find answers. you have the skillset to further our understanding of human nature. you make knowledge!! from nothing!! why wouldn’t an entry level job want someone who can do that? who can see the bigger picture of any situation or environment, inspect its problems, ask it hard questions, break it apart, and make it better? who can manage their time wisely and utilize their resources and communicate easily and effectively in any medium? your degree makes you a hard working, problem solving, critical thinking machine.

so go out and tell your potential future employers all the ways their company can suit your skills. 

[sehestedboyer88-blog]

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"NOW" HIRING!

Oh hello Tumblr, do people still use this thing?

I certainly don't. In fact this blog has just become the place I return to every January (or so) to post my top ten favorite albums list... which excitingly enough is coming up soon!

But no, this actually has nothing to do with that. In fact this is just good old fashioned blogging. Which is to say it's good ol' fashion bitching about life and really just feeling like a teenager again. Screaming into the void of the internet because I'm out of options and don't know what else to do.

So if anyone is out there reading this thinking it might be something of interest you may want to jump ship now, because it's about to become nothing but a public diary entry. Now ~let's get personal!~

So speaking of screaming into a void, I have a question for you: where do job applications go? Do they go to people? Does a person see them? When I submit my resume to a company, does anything actually happen? Have human eyes laid eyes on my credentials anywhere? Because I swear to god the entire thing is a sham. Like I'm literally realizing I've never gotten any job through conventional hiring processes, it's all been through networking. I'm serious.

My first job that I got when I was 16 was as a dishwasher at a local cafe. I heard about the job from a friend at school and they literally just told me they were looking for another dishwasher and put in a good word for me. A couple days later I got a phone call from the owner who told me to come in right then and there for training, and I just showed up and started working. When I left I was very confused about what was happening. I wasn't even sure if I was hired or what, he told me to "come back tomorrow." So I showed up again, and eventually just kept showing up until my name was officially on the schedule, and then I worked there for years.

When I got my job at Domino's it was because I had multiple friends who worked there. They basically told the manager I could handle the job, and she called me to show up for an "interview." Once again the interview was basically just me showing up and her saying "so uh, you wanna work here? Okay cool, here's some training videos." And presto I'm hired and still work there a decade later.

A couple years ago I graduated from college with a degree in sound design. I figured the easiest way to start rounding up post production work would be to start doing location sound gigs. I started learning how to be a location sound recordist by working student films from people I had met throughout college, and once I had a little experience was able to get a couple gigs through word of mouth, and that just kept snowballing. There was never an application, an interview, it was just a flow of meeting people on sets and getting asked to come back to new sets.

Never once in my life have I been able to send out a resume, or an application, and get anything back in return. Never an interview, never a phone call, never a goddamn e-mail. So I ask again: is it all a joke? Do the applications actually go anywhere? Because I constantly feel like I'm just screaming into the void "HELLO, I'M READY TO WORK, PLEASE LET ME WORK!"

"But no one wants to work these days!" they say. Okay, I know that's a whole thing pertaining to minimum wage jobs so it's not totally applicable, but still. For so much of my life all I've wanted to do is get a good job that pays a little bit of money and work. I want to work. Is that enough? Can I just want to work? Can anyone hear me???

The past two years of audio freelancing since I graduated college have been awesome, don't get me wrong. I've essentially dropped from living off of working full time at Domino's to only doing it in between gigs. But that's sort of the problem: I don't want there to be an "in between gigs." Freelancing has its advantages absolutely, but I'm much more of a stability person. And as such, now that I have some professional experience under my belt, I've been applying to various studio positions.

And I've heard nothing back from anyone. And it's frustrating.

There have been a ton of positions out there where I flat out don't meet the requirements. I apply anyway, just sort of as a "well, what if?" scenario. When I don't hear back from those I just kinda shrug and figure "alright, that makes sense."

Then there's even more where I'm partially qualified. I apply to those as well, with a tinge of hope that maybe I'll get a call back and talk my way into getting the job. When no reply comes, I'm a little bummed, but it's still understandable.

But then every so often I run into an opening that I am 100% qualified for. This happened recently, and is really the impetus for this ranting rambly blog post. I ran into an opening that was the dream job. Not only in the actual job itself, but in the fact that I confidently hit every marker on their requirements that they were looking for. It was the first application I sent off with the absolute confidence that I can do this job.

Now I know that this doesn't mean anything, guarantee anything, or whatever. I'm not entitled to the position just because I'm qualified. But this time I at least expected some sort of response. I was extremely hopeful to get an interview. But at the very least I would have settled for a rejection e-mail. Even a form letter.

After nine days of waiting I checked back with where I had submitted the application. You know what it said? "Position Filled."

Nothing, no consideration, no response. Not even a robot e-mailing me to let me know.

For a week I lived with the hope that maybe this time I would be able to get a job and put my skills to use. That maybe this time I would be able to afford health insurance and see a doctor. Maybe this time I would have enough money to stop worrying that my entire life will come crashing down around me. That I can stop feeling the urge to vomit when I think about what happens if my car breaks down, or if I get injured in some way. God the idea of having a stable life sounds like winning the lottery, and I was so sure I was potentially holding a winning ticket.

I just want to work so bad, and no one will let me.

[dwfewgfew]

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Should I Take a Gap Year or Go Directly to Grad School/Work?

The biggest question on any college student’s mind is, “What am I going to do after graduation?”

After four solid years of partying, studying, and finding themselves, every student is faced with the tough task of deciding what happens next in their life. College life was fun, but you can’t be a student. forever. Graduation eventually comes around and what happens next is entirely up to you.

Graduation means you’re officially an adult. You are staring down the barrel of a 9-5 job with all the office politics and responsibillities that come with it. You kiss those 3 month summer vacations you’ve enjoyed your whole life goodbye, but gain the chance to truly make an impact on the world.

So, the question becomes, is there a rush to move on? Do university students have to hop straight into the workforce, getting that head start on their career, or should they take some time to have a break, travel the world, and truly find themselves?

Should I apply for that job?….. Should I apply for law school? …..Should I go travel? ….Should I go home and work at my old job?….

Starting your career or returning to school right away sounds like the responsible choices, but can be harmful as they may cause you to burn out. (Your brain may be a wee bit tired after just finishing four years of university). However, traveling on the other hand, while sounding fun (which it is) may not be the best choice either since the competition for a good career has never been tougher.

Taking the gap year

The pros for taking a gap year depend on what you plan on actually doing. A gap year is the year after university (or usually after high school), where you essentially take a a year off from school and work to do whatever you want. Travel the world, volunteer overseas, write a book, the world is your oyster (till money runs out at least); there are even websites to help you decide.

However, just make sure what you do is meaningful.

I don’t mean everyone has to do something huge like write a book or attempt to cure cancer, but wasting your year would just be, well, a waste. Your gap year is your best chance to do whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want. Never again will you have so much freedom. Think about it, most students graduating from college have no kids, no mortgage payments, no job, no homework, and therefore no commitments. Take this chance and do something special.

So, what can you do?

Traveling is of course a must. Go surfing in Australia, backpack through Europe, or live in the city lights of Shanghai. You don’t have to see every country in the world, but by immersing yourself in other cultures, you will learn new things about the world as well as yourself.

Volunteering is also a great thing to do. Many people take off overseas to help others in developing countries. The experience can be rewarding for both themselves and those they help along the way. However, just make sure if you volunteer overseas that you are sure you are actually helping. “Voluntarism,” as it is now being called, can sometimes be worse than doing nothing as some companies make profits off the good hearts of westerners by exploiting the local poverty.

If money is short, creating a side project is a great way to spend your year off. Learn how to play a musical instrument, create a website, write a book, take some art classes, or learn how to fix your car.   People always have some sort of skill they want to develop but just never find the time to do so. Learning a sweet new skill will do you wonders in life and may lead you to another path you may have never thought existed.

Reasons a gap year could be positive

Time to reflect on your life. Re-examine your values, interests and future goals

Learn new languages and cultures from traveling

Meet new friends and make connections you normally would have never made

Chance to branch out from your degree and test out other professions

Good for your resume. Employers like to see an applicant that has experienced other cultures and is different from the rest of the herd

Discover things that cannot be taught in a classroom

See things you may never, ever get the chance to see again

Time to calm your brain

However, as cool as everything sounds, sometimes the gap year isn’t the best idea for some.

The Money

Money can be a major issue, especially after paying tuition for the past four years, so taking off for a year with minimal or no wages may not be the best idea. Traveling or not working for a year will obviously put you further into debt, giving you an even bigger headache when you return from your gap year. It may be best for some to start looking for work or ways to pay off their debts first before they decide to travel the world.

However, I’m not saying that people with debt shouldn’t take their year off. All I’m saying is it is important to have an idea on how you will be repaying this debt when you return from your year off. If you are leaving university without the proper skills needed for your desired job or you have no clue on how you will pay pack these debts when you return, maybe some time should be spent sorting out these factors beforehand. Taking the gap year should be a way to cool your mind and find yourself, not escape your debts.

Hitting the workforce

Some people are excited to start their careers and that is awesome.

As aforementioned, the competition for jobs has never been greater so starting work right away has many advantages. You begin to start earning a solid salary and paying off your debts while many of your friends are still sinking lower and lower into their credit while they take that year off. Having no debts means you start spending your money in other ways, whether it is through investing, buying a house, or in other fun ways.

  Diving straight into your career is also good as you never skip a beat from university to your professional career. We all forget stuff over the summer so just imagine what you might forget over an entire year off from school or work. This way you get the ball rolling right away and you can start working on some sweet projects while also getting paid for them. Win win.

However, as mentioned before, going straight into work may cause you to burn out as your brain may be saying “no way” after four long years of university. Therefore, it is best to truly ask yourself if you are ready. Starting your career is not like starting another year of school. Your career is a much longer and much bigger commitment. Being ready will not only lead to you being happier and healthier, but also you being the best employee you can be.

Staying in Academia

If more schooling is needed for your dream job, then you may be stuck in the middle of all of these options, asking yourself whether you should go straight into your post-undergraduate studies or if you should take that break to travel or start working. School is always a great idea, but a graduate degree is something you should not just hop into.

Graduate degrees are expensive…like major debt expensive. Getting that MBA or law degree is going to cost an arm and leg so it’s very important to decide whether this is exactly what you want. If you are going to put yourself down $10,000 to $100,000 dollars in debt, you want to be sure you are going to enjoy doing that job for a while. Do not just enter graduate school because you’re confused with what you want to do or you can’t find a job right away. Doing that may just lead you to being more confused and more stressed.

  Waiting a bit before entering graduate school will also make graduate school more useful when you eventually attend. Robert Farrington, a contributor to Forbes Magazine, spoke about this issue, stating that he regretted going to grad school at such a young age since he couldn’t contribute as much as others.

For Farrington, he says graduate school should be about combining your work experience with your degree, not just getting another degree. Too often are people just getting degrees and not getting the proper experience and therefore falling into a trap at their jobs. Just because you have an MBA or another graduate degree, does not mean you will get an entry level position. You need experience as well. As Farrington states, “Going to grad school right after college is not a substitute for real world work.”

Yet in the end, whether you choose to travel, volunteer, work, study, or just hang out on your couch, the decision is entirely up to you. Nobody knows you better than yourself. Asking yourself questions like, “Is this worth it?” and “What do I really want?” is important when it comes down to making the big decision. Plus, traveling, work, and grad schools are not going anywhere soon, so the decision does not have be final. Your commitments will slowly build as you get older, so if you can, the faster you decide the better. But you also have all the time in the world when you’re in your 20s. Relax. Don’t waste time! But don’t stress.

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[mysongfortheasking]

The Day-Book Entry

In one of my writing classes, my professor suggested we keep a “day-book” of sorts. Not a diary, where we log our activities throughout the day, but rather, a book where we jot down what she called “fabulous realities.” Fabulous realities are the little “normal” things we pass by everyday and fail to notice. The day-book, she said, was for noticing those little things, writing them down, and realizing the beauty and meaning in the small things we take for granted. I recently dug out my old day-book and found this entry that I thought I would share...

There’s something magical about eating alone. Because although you’re alone, you’re not.

“Two Amigos” is where I’m at today. It’s Waxahachie’s well known home of the breakfast taco. Parking is a nightmare—I chose to park across the street to avoid being either trapped in parking prison or hit by an oversized truck trying to squeeze into the undersized spaces. I don’t know what Two Amigos was before the two amigos took it over and made it into a restaurant, but it had to have been something like a convenient store or maybe even a dry cleaners. Whatever it was, it is apparent by the way tables are crammed too close together and the awkward placement of the tiny kitchen that the architect of this building did not originally intend for it to be the popular place for the citizens of Waxahachie flock to between the hours of 9 and 11am.

Today, there’s an old man sitting not far from me. He is thin, wearing coke bottle glasses, and has a cane rested against his chair—the stereotypical grandpa. But the best part about him is the way he tries to talk to everyone around him. He isn’t trying to flirt or panhandle or annoy—he is simply hungry for conversation.

The table with two sorority girls catches his eye. He turns and begins to ask them their thoughts on the weather, if they go to college, and what are they studying. When they answer that they are studying advertising, he brightens up and turns a little farther in his chair to face them. He informs them that his nephew is advertising in New York, and seems very excited to have found this common ground between himself and the girls. They, however, are not intrigues. They respond with an Oh, cool, and much to the old man’s disappointment, the conversation dies and the girls return to their worlds of Instagram and Snapchat. After some time, he addresses them again: You gals hungry? Without even waiting for an answer, he continues to inform them, You can’t beat their breakfast tacos!

Watching this elderly man and these two young girls interact is like watching Pluto and the sun try to high five, but miss and awkwardly fumble around. He wears a medical alert bracelet and drinks black coffee. They wear Kedra Scott, James Avery, and ask if there’s any way they can get only egg-whites in their burritos. A question to which the waitress looks at with a dumbfounded look and simply says, “No.”

The waitress is like my window thought which I observe all this. She gives me the inside scoop on all the customers by her facial expressions alone. When the old man makes loud comments, she rolls her eyes as she fills up my coffee. When the sorority girls ask if they can get “low-carb, low-fat” egg-whites, the waitress gives me a look that says, Did you hear that? Who would ask a thing like that? I feel this is a truly valid question, considering we are being served greasy eggs and bacon in a building I think was formerly a gas station.

Every time the waitress has something to say with her eyes, she comes to fill up my coffee, ignoring the fact that I have only taken one sip and it is still barely below the rim. She fills my cup up, we have an unspoken conversation, and she walks away, resuming her wiping of the same empty table she’s wiped seven times since I’ve come in.

I came here to eat alone, but I am not. I realize that all of these people—the talkative old man, the health-conscious sorority girls, the bustling waitress—are now a part of my world. These strangers whose names I will never even ask are my fellow human beings. And here, in this former gas station turned to restaurant, without any real exchange, we are separate—but for a brief moment in time, we are also one.